Gallery: 360 Text Input Device

"John Porcaro just posted these new pictures of the Xbox 360 text input device. Man, it's fat. From those first images I didn't realize it would stick up so much from the controller. I guess I'll have to wait until I have one in my hands to see if it gets in the way of gaming. Brian Crecente"

Guitar Hero 2 Software Update to Fix Whammy This Week?

After emailing Red Octane about the famous Whammy Bar problem from the Guitar Hero 2 guitar controller, I began to gain some hope. The email sent back to me revealed that this problem may be a software issue, and that there may be a fix coming early this week.



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Fix Your Guitar Hero Controller Yourself

If you don't feel like returning your newly bought game, and if you're brave enough to want to try the repair yourself, here's a guide for you.



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Gears of War update (and Annex) coming tonight!

"Major Nelson just posted an update on the much anticipated Gears of War ... update. True, the auto update was initially slated to be released today and then was later denied, but we just got word that it is now back on for a release later tonight! Major isn't certain of the exact time that the update will be pushed through, but he did post a list of all the new enhancements and features that will be included;

* New Annex gametype.
* Better VGA cable support.
* Assassination gametype leader no longer unlocks weapons, but has to be executed to die.
* Boomshot's splash damage increased.
* Hammer of Dawn will be more forgiving with moving targets.
* Road Run has been tweaked to lesson accidental wall sticking.
* Kill message ticker will be available when down and while spectating.
* Fixed numerous multiplayer exploits (praise the lord!).

So, we'll be playing the new Annex gametype sometime later this evening and benefit from the other tweaks. We're just hoping that all the glitches and exploits have been fixed and that Annex turns out to be a blast. Anyone up for some Gears of War action later tonight?

Update 1: Gamerscore Blog is reporting that the update will release at 4"

Xbox 360: now with H.264, MPEG-4, PlaysForSure

"Color us tickled, but we totally missed some of the finest points of all in Microsoft's Xbox 360 spring Dashboard update: they're totally tricking out the video (finally!). No longer will we be confined to our very least favorite video codec, WMV -- the new update will enable Windows Media Connect or Media Center streaming MPEG-4 up to 8Mbps, H.264 up to 15Mbps, and PlaysForSure WMV videos (and, as we understand it, PlaysForSure audio as well). Wow, finally we can actually use the 360 to play video that wasn't recorded off our Media Center or converted by our Zune software (cough, hack). See, was that so hard, Microsoft? Now just hold on to your asses until the week of May 7th, Xbox fans, that's all you've gotta do."

Video Head-to-Head: Double Agent

April 5, 2007 - We'll be adding PS3 version of the game to the full written Head-to-Head later this week. To hold you over we've synced up some hi-res video of the PS3 and 360 versions of the game. We noticed some major visual differences between the two builds including:

The PS3 versions of the game is much brighter. This was also an issue in Oblivion, but while Bethesda's game was simply easier to see, Double Agent's gameplay relies on deep blacks and the lighting on PS3 came off as less dynamic in many areas. It's a trade off. When Sam first drops into the water on 360 it's difficult to get your bearings and figure out the correct direction to swim. However on PS3 you'll switch to night vision less often because there seems to be plenty of ambient light even in the "dark" areas.

The PS3 versions is lacking some small details present on 360. For example when we first enter Sam's prison cell there is a chessboard on the ground and some scattered belongings next to his bed. These aren't included on PS3. There are also a few less background characters in the prison and different fire effects.

On 360 Sam's night vision included a graphical effect that warped the screen and seemed to outline objects with a thick black line. On PS3 the night vision looks more like old style.

You Grew Up Playing Shoot'em-Up Games. Why Can't Your Kids?

You grew up playing gory shoot'em-up video games, and loving it. But are you gonna let your kids play them?



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A look at GoW's Annex, a video preview

Even though we didn't get our Gears of War update today, that doesn't mean we can't learn more about the upcoming Annex gametype. Embedded above is a video preview of what Annex will look like, play like, and what HUD changes will be made. From what we gather the HUD information on the top left seems pretty easy to understand and the hill locations are very obvious (colored rings floating above the ground are eye catching). It looks fast, furious and deadly ... we just want to play it already! After watching the video what do you think? Will Annex be a welcome change to the Gears gameplay or will you be sticking to your old favorite?