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No Online Co-Op For Halo 3, Yet

Halo 3

The speculation is true – the latest issue of EGM confirms that Halo 3’s co-op (which will exist offline, with player two playing as the Arbiter) is not currently online. Bungie is working to get the feature implemented, but currently it isn’t happening. Considering they have a very limited amount of time left to work on the game, it seems highly unlikely that online co-op will make it into the retail version of the game. Of course, we could always get it through a patch or downloadable content down the road – but so help me if it costs even a penny.

“We’re not dumb,” says Bungie’s Frank O’Conner. “We know that people want it and we’re trying to make it happen. I think the biggest problem for us for online co-op is that we have a situation where you can be in a Warthog with five troops, almost a mile away from the other player. That’s a significant challenge. And there’s lots of design things you could do to prevent that from happening, but they would make it not feel like Halo anymore. If we can make it happen in a way that works well, we will - and if it works badly, we won’t.”

A smattering of other things are revealed in the EGM story, as well, including new weapons and gear: the Flare (flashbang), the Mauler (dual-wieldable Brute shotgun),the Gravity Hammer (according to CVG it sends vehicles flying), and the Regenerator (opposite of the power drainer). New vehicles include the Prowler, Hornet, and Elephant. They don’t sound quite as cool as Ghosts, Banshees and Warthogs, but hopefully they play well. Additionally, a remake of the popular Halo 2 map Lockout was revealed, now known as Guardian.

Read More | CVG

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Xbox Live Arcade’s Texas Hold ‘em Gets Updated

Xbox Live Vision CameraThe free update for Texas Hold ‘em, which rolled out yesterday, included a variety of features – including some really great ones. Bug fixes and updates such as Xbox Live Vision Camera support are the headliners here. And the good part for dedicated fans is that bankrolls won’t be reset with the update.

Poker is the perfect fit for the Vision Camera, and finally we’ll have just that. This’ll likely breathe new life into the game, and luckily it’s the type of game that isn’t just a fad – plenty of people still populate Hold ‘em online as it is. While I wish this had come out sooner (like, not 11 months after it was first released), it’s better late than never, especially when you’re referring to uses for the Vision Camera, which are few and far between.

  • Improved usability such as the addition of Custom Match Lists, which allows gamers to view and select which available Custom Match game they would like to join.
  • Improved rich presence in the game, allowing players to not only see what their friends are up to, but also if they just won that big pot!
  • Improved matchmaking and user results.
  • Scoring and screens are more readable than before.
  • Multi-language support including English, French, German, Italian and Spanish.
  • New premium downloadable content allows players to customize the in-game environment, and access new gamerpics and themes.

Gallery: Xbox Live Arcade’s Texas Hold ‘em Gets Updated


Guitar Hero ‘80s Final Tracks Unveiled

Guitar Hero II 80s EncoreThe list of songs that will appear in Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the ‘80s has been fully revealed with the announcement of the final eight, making for a total of 30 songs. Overall, the list isn’t terrible; it’s got a mixture of everything, from A Flock of Seagulls to The Vapors to Dio, but it just seems to be lacking any true flavor. It feels like a completely random selection of ‘80s songs, as opposed to, say, a really sweet group of ‘80s songs or one that captures a particular aspect of ‘80s music.. We still don’t have any official word on why Bow Wow Wow’s “I Want Candy” disappeared after being seen in earlier builds of the game.

The game is set for release on PlayStation 2 on July 24 at a full retail price of $49.99. Nothing has been announced, but 360 Guitar Hero II owners might be seeing a downloadable content package (read: lots of microtransactions) later this year containing these songs.

The newly announced songs:

  • Anthrax’s “Caught In A Mosh”
  • Accept’s “Balls to the Wall”
  • Judas Priest’s “Electric Eye”
  • Dead Kennedy’s “Police Truck”
  • X’s “Los Angeles”
  • The Go Gos’ “We Got the Beat”
  • The Vapors’ “Turning Japanese”
  • Winger’s “Seventeen”
  • Limozeen’s “Because, it’s Midnite”

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Gallery: Guitar Hero ‘80s Final Tracks Unveiled


Tons Of Crackdown Content Coming

Crackdown leaping through air

As if your Crackdown disc didn’t already have enough worth – it’s your key into the beta, after all – Microsoft and developer Real Time Worlds are planning on releasing nothing short of a mammoth load of content for the game. Through a combination of a title update and two content packs – one free, and one premium – there will be plenty of reasons to keep Crackdown in your 360 drive long after the Halo 3 beta ends.

Before getting into this laundry list of content, one nifty feature that has been implemented is basically a “try before you buy” system. Join up in a co-op game with someone that owns the “Getting’ Busy Bonus Pack” (the name of the 800 Microsoft Point premium content pack) and you’ll temporarily be given full access to everything included in the pack.

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Read More | Major Nelson

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Impossible Mission: First Non Virtual Console Game Download

Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Internet, Nintendo, Wii,

Impossible MissionInfendo today is indicating that the remake of Impossible Mission by System 3 will be coming to the Wii shop channel, rather than by retail disc. Nintendo Power is sourced as claiming the title will head to the Shop channel as well as see a Nintendo DS cartridge version. While the Opera browser for the Wii has lived in the shop channel for a while (and will cost 500 points after the end of June), this would be the first confirmed game title that is not a Virtual Console title. Hopefully this is just the opening of the floodgates to more original works heading to the Shop Channel in the future.

Read More | Infendo

Gallery: Impossible Mission: First Non Virtual Console Game Download


Guitar Hero III Wii Bound, Will Feature Online Multiplayer

Guitar Hero PS2 ScreenshotCareful, RedOctane, careful!! Guitar Hero II hasn’t been out for very long, and already you’re talking of Guitar Hero III? You do realize it’s going to get harder to make people buy a new copy of (essentially) the same game with every iteration, don’t you? Now that GH2 is out for the 360 featuring downloadable content lovin’, it’s hard to see why 360 owners would upgrade to a new game.

Still, this announcement is going to be very exciting for Wii owners… that’s right GH3 will be the first game in the series to be available for the Nintendo Wii, and it’ll feature online multiplayer and downloadable music (hopefully to the SD card?) to boot! Wii owners will also be getting a guitar peripheral, though it’ll be interesting to see how it incorporates the Wiimote… will the little remote be used for some sort of motion sensing? For now, your guess is as good as ours, though IGN promises to update this story later today.

Update: Looks like the interview’s already posted! Check out the link here

Read More | Wii.ign.com

Gallery: Guitar Hero III Wii Bound, Will Feature Online Multiplayer


Guitar Hero Song Packs Hit Live Marketplace

Guitar Hero 2The first Guitar Hero II song packs have hit the Xbox Live Marketplace, according to the Major Nelson blog, and they aren’t cheap. 500 Microsoft Points will get you a song pack of 3 songs. At $6.25 per song pack, this translates to a little over $2 a song. Not only that, but these songs are not original to Guitar Hero 2 for the Xbox 360; all of the songs are from the original set list of the original Guitar Hero. If Red Octane and Activision price the rest of the set list like these first three packs, the whole batch of songs from the original game will cost Xbox 360 gamers over $95. For those still interested, these are the songs included in each pack:

  • Track Pack 1: 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
  • Track Pack 2: 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
  • Track Pack 3: Higher Ground as made famous by Red Hot Chili Peppers, Infected as made famous by Bad Religon, Stellar as made famous by Incubus

Read More | Major Nelson

Gallery: Guitar Hero Song Packs Hit Live Marketplace


Bungie Dropping “New” Maps For Halo 2

Halo 2 Map

Bungie today announced that coming in April, two “new” multiplayer maps will be available for download in Halo 2. The maps, new to Halo 2 are recreations of original maps found in the original Halo: Combat Evolved. The two maps, “Hang ‘Em High” and “Desolation,” will be downloadable on both the original Xbox and Xbox 360 for $4 on April 17th; luckily, original Xbox hold-outs won’t be left in the cold for this content update.

The full press release continues after the jump.

 

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Resistance Adds New Modes, Maps Via Download

Resistance

Insomniac Games is preparing a couple of updates for their flagship launch title for the PS3, Resistance: Fall of Man. Speaking with IGN, the company indicated there would be a couple of releases. First, a patch release in March will fix a bunch of multiplayer issues and exploits and will add two new game modes, “Team Conversion” and “Assault.” In May, gamers will see a downloadable expansion that will bring two new multiplayer maps along with some exposition regarding the backstory for the Resistance universe. No mention was made of any new weapons, or a cost for the map pack, but the IGN interview does offer a little insight into the plans to extend the life of the game world.

Read More | IGN

Gallery: Resistance Adds New Modes, Maps Via Download


A Brief PartnerNet Tour

A couple of recent Xbox Live Arcade leaks have increased attention on Microsoft’s PartnerNet, the development network for debug Xbox Live content for developers and press. First, Eurogamer leaked the existence of Ikaruga on Xbox Live Arcade, and then Computers & Video Games had an article about the release of Rare’s Jetpak on PartnerNet that was quickly pulled. Now, CheapyD at CheapAssGamer.com has a brief tour of the PartnerNet on video, courtesy of an anonymous informer. The video shows entries for a few titles like Centipede and Millipede and a couple of other new games and gives an idea of what developers on the network can see.

Read More | Cheap Ass Gamer

Gallery: A Brief PartnerNet Tour


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