E3 2007: Microsoft’s Press Conference Recap And Impressions

Posted by Chris Pereira Categories: Accessories, Action, Activision, Adventure, Bungie, CAPCOM, Casual, Corporate News, Driving, E3, Electronic Arts, First Person Shooters, Hardware, Microsoft, Party Games, PC, Puzzle, Release Dates, Retro, Role Playing Games, SEGA, Simulation, Special Editions, Sports, Strategy, Survival Horror, Take2, Third Person Shooters, Trailers, Ubisoft, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace,

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend E3 this year – instead, I’m on vacation in Cape Cod, using awful hotel Wi-Fi to watch streamed press conferences. Not the most glamorous way to take it all in, but exciting announcements, great games and new details are welcome no matter how you hear about them.

Here’s my personal transcription (in very brief form) of all the announcements and showings, along with some reflection on what Microsoft had to show.

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Top Ten Improvements in Halo 2 for Windows Vista

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Action, Editorial, Features, First Person Shooters, PC, Xbox 360, Xbox Live,

So, Halo 2 for Windows Vista is launching on May 8, 2007, and we have been able to spend some time reviewing the title. Since everyone is familiar with Halo 2, we felt a full review wasn’t in order. Instead, we wanted to clue you in on the ten best improvements we experienced while reviewing the game. These ten features raise the bar for Halo as a whole, and may be a foreshadowing of things to come in Halo 3:

Achievements: If you are looking for something fun that adds another level of fun and challenge to the Halo 2 world, this is it. We have said it before, and we will say it again - Microsoft hit a gold mine with the notion of achievements. No sooner than when we finished a multiplayer deathmatch did we rack up a total of three achievements. Meleeing five people from behind (and thusly earning the Ninja achievement) was nice, but Meleeing someone who already had the Ninja achievement (and thus earning the Flaming Ninja achievement) was even better. We have the achievement to prove it. For those wondering, yes, the achievements you earn in Halo 2 for Vista (or any other Games for Windows game) is counted towards your Xbox Gamerscore.

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Live For Windows Pricing Revealed?

Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Internet, PC, Xbox 360, Xbox Live,

Microsoft has apparently revealed the pricing structure for their Live for Windows Vista gaming platform, according to Game Informer Online. Xbox 360 gamers should be familiar with the price structure; Gold accounts on Live for Windows Vista will cost the same as an Xbox Live Gold account. A one year subscription will sell for $49.99, with one month options selling for $7.99, and three months sell for $19.99. Also, those gamers that have both and Xbox 360 and a PC won’t have to subscribe twice, as a single subscription will work for both accounts. This pricing structure would seem to be great for Xbox 360 gamers, not so great for PC gamers. While Xbox gamers have gotten used to paying Microsoft for the privilege of playing online, this will be a new experience for PC gamers. It also remains to be seen if there really is a value proposition in Microsoft’s Vista offering, considering the competition in the PC space. For those PC gamers looking to play online against their Xbox 360 brethren, Live for Vista may be the only option, but consumers may find that mere online access to this competition plus Achievement and Gamerscore support my not be worth it.

Read More | Game Informer

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Halo 2 Vista To Be Shown At Leipzig

Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Bungie, First Person Shooters, Hardware, PC,

When Halo 2 was released in 2004, PC gaming fans hoped for a fairly quick release on Windows. However, it was ultimately announced that Halo 2 would be available exclusively on Windows Vista. This was somewhat puzzling, given that the Xbox version of the game was running on hardware that could easily be matched by PCs at the time. This week, however, Matt Priestley gives an update on the Halo 2 port that may give some insight into what gamers can expect. While more information will likely be featured when Halo 2 is shown at the Leipzig Games Convention, there are some interesting tidbits in the update. First, Halo 2 seems to be running decently under Vista, and was shown in 1920x1200 with 5.1 sound.

The audio and video portions of the game are also seeing an update, including new bump mapping effects, updated weapon models, and improved texture detail. Sound gets updated; Priestly indicates that sound effects are now better spatially located, and some tweaks have been made to vehicle sound effects. The other tweaks that were present in the latest build include support for the “mouse and keyboard” controls most PC gamers are used to and gamepad support. The article also hints at a new PC controller that may be available by the time Vista ships, possibly a gamer specific revision of the Intellimouse.

Read More | Bungie

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