Dead Rising 2 confirmed, now under development for Xbox 360

Good news for gamers, bad news for zombies. Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu has just announced that Dead Rising 2, the sequel to Capcom's zombie massacre-ing game Dead Rising, is currently under development for the Xbox 360.



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Gene Simmons rocks Times Square with Guitar Hero II

The legendary Gene Simmons (of KISS fame) rocked hard in Times Square promoting the newly released Guitar Hero II for Xbox 360. The nation's (supposed) top Guitar Hero masters were invited to perform in NYC's Virgin Megastore, and the top hero would be gifted with an autographed guitar and the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play with Simmons.



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Rumor Control: Assassin’s Creed

The “Hype”. It’s inescapable. Companies spend millions in advertising, building up positive reaction for a game before it hits stores. You see it everywhere. In TV, billboards, and flash animations more annoying than those insipid “You just won two free Ipod Nano” ads. With so much exposure, rumors inevitably follow....



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Team Fortress 2: PC Gamers VS Xbox 360 Gamers..It Works

The Cross Platform multiplayer aspect of Team Fortress 2 is perhaps one of the most interesting, and now, it is technically finished. Let this be a benchmark of truth when the game ships to see if Xbox 360 owners can actually pwn harder than PC gamers with their little keyboards and mice.



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Greenberg talks 360 Live Messenger

"Speaking with Gamasutra, group product manager for Xbox Live, Aaron Greenberg, laid down some new specifics regarding the new Live Messenger functionality coming in the spring update. First, and most importantly, the service will be completely free to both Gold and Silver members. Big surprise, right? The Live Messenger integration is compatible with other versions of Messenger across the board, so users on 360 will be able to chat with users on PC and even mobile devices. Users can open up to 6 separate chats, but group chats are limited to 3 people. Greenberg uses the example of a player on a 360 chatting with a friend at work on a PC and a girlfriend on a cell phone all at once. We're not sure how often that kind of thing comes up, but it's cool nonetheless.

Greenberg also makes a point to allay fears regarding the new thumbboard peripheral. Greenberg notes that the device is very light and shouldn't interfere with the gameplay experience. Furthermore, Greenberg says that he uses thumbboards often, so the peripheral is second nature. Of course, USB keyboards are supported as well.

Discussing concerns of IM spam, Greenberg notes the messenger privacy features. The privacy features of the Xbox 360, including who you can and can't receive messages from, will apply to IM as well. There are also option"

Perfect Dark Zero sequel on the way?

"Seems like a good day for rumors springing from magazines, so why not add one more? This one comes to us courtesy of the Official Xbox Magazine. It seems that a recent press release regarding the next novel in the Perfect Dark series also mentioned a forthcoming sequel to the game itself. Given that Perfect Dark is really one of the only existing Rare IPs that Microsoft can leverage (Donkey Kong is out for obvious reasons), it makes sense that they would be gunning for a sequel. Perfect Dark Zero suffered from more than a few issues, no doubt brought on by a monstrous development cycle that saw the game jump from Gamecube to Xbox to Xbox 360 (the same thing that happened to Kameo, by the way). Considering these previous issues, a sequel designed from the ground up for the 360 is just what the doctor ordered. Still, with Halo 3 coming out later this year and a Gears of War sequel presumably falling in 2008, we wonder where Perfect Dark would fit."

Whiney PS3s hitting Canadian shelves?

Did a noisy batch of PS3s make it to EB Games store shelves in Canada? That's the question of the hour, as a number of customers with units manufactured in January with serial numbers in the CE133190xxx and CE133212xxx blocks have reported having severe "whining" issues with their consoles. Let us remind one and all that the PS3 and Xbox 360 are both quite loud with their respective fans running at full bore, but this new high-pitched PS3 whining was apparently so severe that it drove one customer to return his console multiple times because the sound was so unbearable, while another couldn't even make it through a Blu-ray movie with his Mrs. without having to shut down the machine. Anyone having unusual noise issues with theirs? As always, shout it out.

Loads of new GTAIV details rounded up

With scans of the latest Game Informer hitting the net earlier today, our paymasters at Joystiq have uncovered lots of juicy details about Grand Theft Auto IV. There are so many details, in fact, that it would be impossible to enumerate them without the aid of a bulleted list. Lucky for everyone, we have such a function handy for just this kind of situation. Many of these bits were copied directly from Joystiq because we're lazy to preserve clarity. So, here we go.

Setting: re-created Liberty City which is a much better representation of the real life New York city. The game area is technically smaller than San Andreas, but it is also denser.

• MetLife building = "Getalife"
• Statue of Liberty = "Statue of Happiness"
• DUMBO = "BOABO" (Beneath the Offramp of the Algonquin Bridge Overpass
• Area includes an adaptation of four of NYC's boroughs (no love for Staten Island), and a section of Jersey:
• Manhattan = "Algonquin" (The Lenape did speak an Algonquin language from which our word "Manhattan" is derived)
• Brooklyn = "Broker"
• Queens = "Dukes" (a duke ranks just below a prince)
• Bronx = "Bohan"
• New Jersey = "Alderney" (also named for one of the British Channel Islands -- or a breed of cattle)

Main character: Niko Bellic; "Eastern European" (non-specific country, in keeping with the GTA theme we'll call it Communislovakia)

• Niko is called to America by his cousin Roman, who claims to be living the American dream with 2 women, 4 hot tubs, and 15 sports cars. In reality, Roman runs a taxi depot in Broker and is in serious trouble.
• "Many of Niko's activities revolve around being a criminal" (Really? Wow.)
  

Miscellaneous:

• NPCs: lots of "non-American" characters, varied behaviors (e.g., shopping, drinking, smoking, chirping, hurrying, or just maxing on the stoop), "context sensitive," and dependent on environment; more freaks: "angry yuppies" and "lunatics"
• Dynamic storyline: "A big part of the game is delivering story in new ways and allowing the player to plot their [sic] own destiny"; less of a sense of being a slave to NPCs' demands; communication is also dynamic (in person, by celly, etc.)
• No planes; but motorbikes
• Improved physics; characters' movements are influenced by weight and variations in physical terrain
• Emphasis on night and day lighting
• Seamless loading after initial boot (even between indoor and outdoor environments)
• No details about targeting system -- but Rockstar claims to have found the new "sweet spot"
• Voice casting will not focus on big-name stars; soundtrack will reflect 2007
• Crime experts and ex-police have helped Rockstar create a realistic contemporary criminal atmosphere (i.e., it's not the 80s or 90s anymore; crime and crime-fighting have evolved)
• Multiplayer confirmed; not MMO
• Both Xbox 360 and PS3 version will 'likely' be identical; Xbox 360 version will include exclusive episodic content (what about PS3?)

So there you have it folks. Drink it in. We can only assume this is the tip of the iceberg and that we'll be hearing plenty more before the game's release. Hit the "read" link for the full rundown.

Splinter Cell Double Agent - Xbox 360/Playstation 3 Comparison Shots

The key difference between the two platforms seems to be in the lighting, amazing how much of a difference a little bit of dynamic lighting will affect the visual quality of a game.



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GH II: Song Packs (3 of 'em)

"Name: Guitar Hero Track Pack 1
Price: 500 Points
Availability: Not available in Asia
Dash Details: Bark at the Moon as made famous by Ozzy Osbourne, Hey You as made famous by The Exies, Ace of Spades as made famous by Motorhead, For all song credits please visit www.redoctane.com.

Name: Guitar Hero Track Pack 2
Price: 500 Points
Availability: Not available in Asia
Dash Details: Killer Queen as made famous by Queen, Take it Off as made famous by The Donnas, Frankenstein as made famous by The Edgar Winter Group, For all song credits please visit www.redoctane.com.

Name: Guitar Hero Track Pack 3
Price: 500 Points
Availability: Not available in Asia
Dash Details: Higher Ground as made famous by Red Hot Chili Peppers, Infected as made famous by Bad Religon, Stellar as made famous by Incubus, For all song credits please visit www.redoctane.com. "