Saturday, 20 March 2010 21:54
Phil Meza

Forget about getting your game face on with Project Natal in that cramped dorm room later this year, as the 360's new hands-free camera will require a fair bit of space to accommodate your flailing actions. Though, can you really say you're suprised?
Microsoft held a private demo of the new add-on last week for various outlets, and TechFlash noted that Natal needs an area "at least 4 meters (a little more than 13 feet) away from the television," according to company reps present at the event.
"That's the back edge of the space to be taken into account by the Natal sensors. In terms of width and height, the field of vision naturally expands as it moves from the Natal device to that back edge, ending up a little more than 4 meters wide and 2.7 meters high (about 8 feet, 10 inches)," reports the site.
As previously confirmed, Natal will not be one hundred percent "hands-free", as the 360 controller and other yet-to-be-revealed accessories can be used alongside the camera to give more precision, different control options, and numerous other experiences. That sure-to-be-coming Claymore accessory for Fable III might do some damage if swung around in your living room, and your coffee table, couch and other bits of furniture are too close.
Xbox's Don Mattrick wouldn't confirm a price point yet (we likely have an idea already, but hard info will drop at E3), merely saying: "We're going to drive the business, and make it scale, and make it profitable."
Saturday, 20 March 2010 04:55
Phil Meza

Red Dead Redemption is a game that's been a long, long time coming. We first got wind of what would become Rockstar San Diego's Wild West epic all the way back at E3 2005, and here we are five years later with the title's release looming, due at the end of May.
It's also been a project subject to much controversy, specifically regarding its development. Earlier this year current and former staffers of the studio claimed that Redemption was an "organic disaster," a product that would never recoup its dev costs, and the cause of a less-than-stellar work environment. All claims that were eventually silenced by Rockstar execs.
Speaking with GamesTM, Rockstar Games' co-founder Dan Houser says the newest open-world title from the house of GTA has been a "long, gruelling" challenge, but is something the company is confident will live up to its expectations.
"This project has been long, gruelling and enormously challenging for us, despite our massive experience at making open world games, the big team we have on the project, our strong technology base in RAGE and experience of making Red Dead Revolver," Houser says. "There is simply no way someone could have made a game like this twelve months ago, let alone on previous generations of hardware."
"People were trying to do something [before] that was fundamentally impossible," he claims, in regards to creating western-set gaming experiences.
"For the game to be fun and engaging and everything we hoped it could be, we had to include a huge range of classic western moments - stand-offs, duels, stagecoach fights, gunfights on trains, hold-ups, bounty hunting, and so on. This is the strength of the game, but doing this in a seamless way in a massive open world was a huge challenge."
Red Dead Redemption is sure looking like something we won't soon forget. The game releases on May 18th.
Last Updated on Saturday, 20 March 2010 05:13
Saturday, 20 March 2010 04:27
Phil Meza

SouthPeak Games, publisher of titles such as Section 8, Velvet Assassin and Two Worlds II, is being sued by developer Paradox Interactive, who accuse the company of being insolvent.
According to Paradox, who have terminated their distribution deal with and filed an injuction against the publisher, SouthPeak have failed to pay owed revenue amounting to "at least" $585,382. Paradox are behind Europa Universalis 3 and Lead & Gold, an upcoming third-person shooter.
"SouthPeak has failed to comply with its payment obligations even for game units which it previously reported to Paradox, and SouthPeak's executives have informed Paradox's executives that SouthPeak is currently financially unable to satisfy its payment obligations to Paradox under the Agreement," the the suit claims.
Paradox allege that following the February 22nd axing of the distribution agreement, SouthPeak's chairman "threatened" to "insist that its retailers return any unsold inventory of Paradox games that were previously distributed," a move that Paradox says would "irreparably harm" them. Also one they state has "no rational business reason" for happening.
The injunction requested is asking to stop SouthPeak from moving forward with that action, and Paradox are seeking that the court find SouthPeak legally responsible for paying them what they're owed. SouthPeak is no stranger to legal shenanigans as of late. The publisher was found guilty of copyright infringement and breach of contract against German publisher CDV, as well as being sued by TimeGate Studios who also allege that the company owes them royalty payments.
No comments have been made by either party.
Saturday, 20 March 2010 03:20
Phil Meza

(Editor's note: This review contributed by our resident freelancer, Larry Wyant)
Final Fantasy has long been a franchise known for being the R.P.G. king, and has stood as the bar for the genre since Final Fantasy emerged in 1987 on the Nintendo Entertainment System. Since Final Fantasy II there have been three constants in the Final Fantasy universe: a character named Cid, Chocobos, and gaming excellence.
Will the latest installment keep Final Fantasy at the pinnacle of the RPG genre? Will it have the type of story that the franchise has become known for? And most importantly, will there be Chocobos?
Hit the jump for the answers to these questions and moreā¦.
Last Updated on Saturday, 20 March 2010 04:17
Friday, 19 March 2010 16:16
Phil Meza

BioWare has confirmed a release date for Mass Effect 2's much anticipated and long-overdue Hammerhead missions, and they're coming next week.
On March 23rd, the "Firewalker" add-on will release for free the Cerberus Network, patching five new vehicle-based missions into your galactic romp.
But it doesn't end there! Possibly to ease us into the days of paid-DLC soon to come with Kasumi next month, the "Alternate Appearance Pack" will arrive the same day, with new outfits for party members Thane, Jack and Garrus. The content pack will cost 160 MS Points.

Last Updated on Saturday, 20 March 2010 04:18
Friday, 19 March 2010 10:25
Phil Meza

Peanut butter and chocolate. Foul language and online multiplayer. Double experience promotions and new DLC. They all go together, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will soon play host to two of these items.
Alongside the roll-out of the March 30th, absurdly overpriced Stimulus Package map pack, Infinity Ward are kicking off a double XP weekend, Activision announced today.
All you have to do is make sure to log in and play between April 2nd and April 5th for your reward. No purchase of the ridiculous DLC required. Huzzah!
Last Updated on Saturday, 20 March 2010 01:57
Friday, 19 March 2010 03:24
Phil Meza

Xbox Game Room launches next week allowing your Avatars to walk around a virtual, yet modernized recreation of your misspent youth, and you'll be getting Achievements for it, too. We already knew that the service would add to our Gamerscores, but by how much, well, is a surprise.
MyGamercard has posted the full list of 56 Game Room Achievements, totaling up to 1,000 Gamerscore. For (sort of) an XBLA game. Good lord. Nostalgia looks to pay off quite handsomely.
Once you've downloaded the free application, all the actual titles within will cost MS Points, remember. You'll get Achievements for actions such as simply setting a theme up, activating Mascots (which come with downloaded games), winning Challenges and Medals, spending loads of time in the arcade and more.
Hit the jump for the list. Game Room drops next Wednesday.
Last Updated on Friday, 19 March 2010 04:33
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