Gamernode: Latest Xbox 360 News

Take-Two officially confirms BioShock 2

Even though rumors persisted for a few months, Take-Two Interactive officially confirmed that BioShock 2 is in the works due for release in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009.

In their first quarter fiscal 2008 financial results, Take-Two reported that newly formed studio 2K Marin will handle BioShock 2's development.

2K Marin is primarily made of up ex-BioShock team members and will focus on creating games for 2K Games' IPs. A follow-up conference call revealed that 2K Boston studio founder and BioShock lead designer Ken Levine will be involved "in some way with the development of BioShock 2."

Lastly, Take-Two mentioned that BioShock has since sold over 2 million units worldwide since its release in August.

I certainly enjoyed BioShock so I would enjoy more of the same; I think the story is ...

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Microsoft drops price of Xbox line in Europe/UK

Rumors were flying around a couple of weeks ago about a possible price drop for the Xbox 360. Today this has become a reality as Europe and the UK saw an across-the-board price reduction for all of its Xbox 360 models--the Premium, Elite, and Arcade versions.

The price drops will be 269.99 to 189.99 Euros for the Premium, 369.998 to 289.99 Euros for the Elite, and 199.99 to 119.99 Euros for the Arcade. In British pounds that is a flat reduction of approximately £61 for all Xbox 360 iterations. In US dollars that would amount to about $123 per machine.

The news of the price drop of the 360 in Europe will undoubtedly cause tremors throughout the Sony camp as Europe has long been considered PlayStation country. Microsoft's plan in reducing the prices of its Xbox 360 line is an indication that...

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Pedo shows his diddly to kids over Xbox Live

It's tempting to hang one's head in shame when reading this story, and wonder why they had to ruin it for the rest of us, but you really had to know it was coming sooner or later.

A Lansing, Michigan mother named only as Jennifer (probably just so they could keep this story an exclusive) says that her children unwillingly was subjected to nude images by another player. Needless to say, this has sparked lots of people into saying that Xbox Live is a dank pit of creepy pedophiles.

The writer of this story was quick to be the first, "Video games are meant to be a haven mostly targeted towards children but just like logging onto the Internet, state police say online games have become a magnet for sexual predators."

Egregious grammatical errors aside, you simply have to wonder about the parentin...

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New Far Cry 2 screens will make you feel love

New screenshots for Far Cry 2 have turned up on the internet today and while I was definitely not a fan of the first game, they still managed to look pretty nice to my skeptical, skeptical eyes.

The one thing that strikes me, is the screen that shows an enemy character carrying his wounded comrade out of the field of fire. Or at least attempting to (and judging from the way that sniper rifle is keyed in on them, they won't get far).

Still, this seems to represent at least a small step forward in terms of enemy AI. If the AI is going to go beyond just working together to kill you, but is now working to keep the other AI enemy alive, (so they can later kill you), then Far Cry 2 may just tread on some interesting new ground. I'll be keeping an eye out for this game to see if it will tickle my...

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Xbox Live coming soon for the Middle East?

CVG is reporting on a rumor that is making its way around the world that very soon Microsoft is planning to announce the launch of Xbox Live in the Middle East.

There is an event being planned in Dubai very soon where Microsoft plans to make a big announcement with regards to 360 in the region. Microsoft gave me the cold shoulder with a "Microsoft does not respond to rumors and speculation," when I rang them up, so for now it's unconfirmed.

I once heard a guy on Xbox Live yelling at someone speaking French, "SPEAK ENGLISH," he said. "THIS IS AMERICA!" As humorous as his incredible ignorance would have been on its own, the man he was yelling at turned out to be French Canadian, and pointed out his glaring error to the laughter and merriment of everyone in the lobby.

I think that if Xbox Live g...

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Bully: SE getting a remedial patch on the 360

Bully: Scholarship Edition is a little broken, and Rockstar knows it. In response to the complaints heard 'round the internet shortly after the game hit store shelves, the company will be releasing a patch to fix any issues gamers may be having with it. The patch should arrive "within the next week."

Said Rockstar spokesperson Darlan Monterisi:

"We will be releasing a title update through Xbox Live within the next week that we are confident will rectify the problem.

We apologize wholeheartedly for the inconvenience that this matter has caused some owners of the game. We are very aware of the problems some people have been experiencing with the Xbox 360 version of Bully: Scholarship Edition and have been doing everything within our powers to resolve these issues as quickly as possible."

It...

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Hot rumor: 60GB HDD replacing 20GB 360 HDD

Gordon Kelly of trustedreviews.com says that he has received information from a "rock solid" tipster that indicates Microsoft will be swapping out the 20GB hard drive and replace it with a new 60GB HDD for the Xbox 360.

There's no information on the release date but according to Kelly, plans are in motion to release the new console sometime in the second quarter of the financial year.

If the rumor proves true it will no doubt give Microsoft another shot in the arm to generate more buzz and interest in the 360. While the source says that there will be a larger hard drive for the machine there was no word on the actual console itself--whether it will be a new and more dependable model.

Since the release of the Xbox 360 it has had a difficult time in trying to dodge its image of being an unreli...

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M$ says "no plans" for Blu-ray on Xbox 360. Right....

Since the departure of HD DVD to that "big electronics store in the sky," speculation has it that Microsoft is working on plans to develop a Blu-ray player for the Xbox 360.

The rumors started to really heat up when Sony Electronics president of US operations, Stan Glasgow, reportedly told people at a media dinner event that Microsoft and Sony were discussing plans for a Blu-Ray machine for the Xbox 360.

Perhaps Glasgow had a few to many glasses of wine during the gala event. We'll never know because Microsoft has responded by saying that they aren't working on such a project and that it will "remain focused on the games" and not on a playback device for movies.

A Sony rep told Next-Gen, "There are no plans to introduce Blu-ray. In response to Stan Glasgow's statement that Blu-ray is a p...

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GRAW 2 DLC: Don't make Captain Mitchell cry

Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2 is a fantastic game with a fantastic control scheme that has pretty fantastic graphics. It also has fantastic DLC that came out two days ago. Unfortunately nobody seems to care. Even I overlooked it, and I pay attention to these things.

According to the good Major, 9 new multiplayer maps and 5 new co-op missions have been released in what is being heralded as Co-op Collection 2. It also adds 8 achievements for 125 gamerscore, presumably for the co-op missions.

I love to see big publishers supporting their game a full year after release. I had some good times with both GRAW games and I really liked their take on co-op. Rather than just a playing through the single player story with another person, the co-op levels were completely separate and specificall...

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Xbox 360's don't like to be Bullied

Earlier today NeoGaf posters started a topic about a ton of bugs in the 360 port of Bully, which went on sale only yesterday. People have been reporting frame rate issues, frequent freezing and skipping audio. I have also heard that some of the games hang-ups can only be solved by starting a new game.

A few hours after stories of the incomplete game circulated throughout the whole of the Internet Rockstar's issued this statement:

"We have just become aware of the issues people are having with Bully Scholarship Edition on Xbox 360. It appears that some older 360s are experiencing framerate issues, freezes and other problems. You have our word that we never experienced any of this in QA - in any of our offices or at Microsoft. I am horrified, and we are now working around the clock to recti...

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EA producer compares Army of Two with Contra

Other than Halo 3, Gears of War, Rainbow Six: Vegas, Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 and perhaps Crackdown (feel free to disagree), there haven't been many excellent (and the key word is excellent) cooperative games for the Xbox 360.

Electronic Arts is hoping to change that with its impending, or currently, release of Army of Two; hopefully it'll provide some actual decent co-op gameplay and also remain fun to play (unlike Kane & Lynch).

Game Focus sat down with Reid Schneider, senior producer on Army of Two, and topics discussed include the game's uniqueness and sequel plans.

Regarding Army of Two's uniqueness, Schneider compared the game's co-op backbone to Contra, in terms of that both games were built from the ground up to completely support cooperative gameplay. He also mentions that ...

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Volition says Saints Row 2 can compete with GTA IV...

During its official unveiling in London, Greg Donovan, producer at Volition, made comments regarding how Saints Row 2 can compete with Rockstar's upcoming GTA IV. One of the big deciding factors between the two games will be the implementation of co-op gameplay.

Regarding co-op, Donovan believes that co-op gameplay will be "a plus for us," but doesn't believe that Rockstar is holding anything back. Donovan confirmed that Saints Row 2 will continue expanding the co-op gameplay featured in the first game.

"I think co-op is a huge distinguishing factor. Unless they are really holding something, I don't think they are. I think that's a big step, a plus for us. We also remember that Saints Row 1 was the first one to do competitive multi play - we're going to continue to blow that out as well."

Whe...

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Undertow expansion deploying this week

For you fans of the Unreal Engine 3-powered, underwater shooter XBLA title Undertow will be happy to know that developer Chair Entertainment will release an expansion pack this week. Subtitled Path of the Elect, the expansion will include five new single-player levels, four new multiplayer levels and a new playable race, the Elect.

To enjoy the expansion, you'll have to slap down 400 MS points ($5). The Elect are described as "armed with superior technology and fire power" and are "determined to rule the earth and destroy those who seek to stop them."

According to Chair Entertainment, Undertow has been downloaded nearly a million times since its release in November. The game was released for free back in January for compensation due to the various Xbox Live outages during the past holidays; ...

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Microsoft wipes out rare Xbox 360...literally

Seeing the Red Ring of Death, nowadays, is as common as seeing clouds in the sky. However, one Xbox 360 user got less than he bargained for, so to speak.

Over the course of two years, "Nathaniel" was able to get key personnel from Halo and Microsoft to sign his Xbox 360; a highly prized possession, indeed. But one dark and dreary day, his Xbox 360 succumbed to the dreaded RRoD.

And as many of us have experienced, he had to send in his 360 for repairs. But before doing so he wanted to make sure that his Xbox case would not be altered in any way after repairs, for obvious reasons. He took care to call the Microsoft repair center to explain how important it was that his case be intact upon return and how valuable this console was to him.

In addition he included a letter along with his Xbox 360 ...

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Not so Alone anymore: The AITD Special Edition

Last generation special edition versions of games were not so special, charging an extra ten dollars for nothing more than a DVD most people never watch, and the occasional tin box.

This generation we're seeing some pretty sweet deals. The Big Daddy figure in the BioShock special editon and the duffel bag/safety deposit box combo coming with GTA4 are far above and beyond anything we've seen before.

Details on the Alone In The Dark SE have come through the wire, and I must say, I am impressed. Besides the standard game + DVD scenario gamers have become accustomed to, Atari is also including a ton of other goodies. You will be getting a 60-page art book and an audio CD all wrapped up in a sweet-looking box.

It will also have the one thing that can always push me over to the SE side of thing...

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Misinformed McGuire mulls mandatory memory

Rory McGuire, PS3 fanboy and lead game designer on the Bourne Conspiracy, should probably do his homework before speaking to the public. In a recent discussion with ComputerAndVideoGames McGuire said that it was a 'mistake' to not include a hard disc drive (HDD) with every Xbox 360.

He also added, "They did it with the original Xbox. I'm not sure why they decided to not require a hard drive on the 360. If you have a hard drive, the whole game loads faster... the developer benefits from it and you definitely benefit from it as a player." And this is true to an extent.

Unfortunately all the game data is stored on a disc to begin with. So you're either pulling data off the disc onto the hard drive or pulling it off the disc into the memory and playing the game.

I, for one, like fewer steps....

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King of Fighters XII is fully hand-drawn

Kotaku just had the pleasure of being sent down to SNK's Japanese offices in Osaka to check out the latest build of King of Fighters XII. Everybody is used to getting their minds blown by the graphics of fighting games, but this is something entirely different. KoFXII is not only spectacular looking, but it's also entirely hand drawn. Yeah, as in every single frame of motion was drawn by an artists' hand, and then scanned in and put into a videogame. The game itself may not be groundbreaking, but this is some cool new ground for a fighting game to tread on graphically.

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Wrap me in Velvet please

Sometime in 2006 I saw screen shots for a World War II game called Sabotage. Overall the game looked absolutely gorgeous and the unique visual style kept me interested. Anytime there was any news about Replay Studios or Sabotage I made sure to read every word twice, so as not to miss anything.

Replay Studios has announced that the name Sabotage is no more. The new name for their WWII stealth action game is now Velvet Assassin. Velvet. Assassin. Say it with me. Velvet Assassin. Turns you on a little, no?

From the Replay Studio press release, "Rather than a trite, overused, and generic working title like 'Sabotage,' 'Velvet Assassin' captures the heart of what we're trying to accomplish."

If they were trying to make a sexy looking game with a sexy sounding title I'd say mission accomplis...

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Dark Sector multiplayer details

From what we've seen so far, Dark Sector will likely deliver an incredible single player experience. The modern videogame community, however, is just as interested in online multiplayer as they are in the game's core adventure. What, then, does Dark Sector's multiplayer have to offer?

According to WorthPlaying, the game's multiplayer will be broken up into just two gametypes: Infection and Epidemic (do I sense a theme here?).  Hopefully that will be augmented via some free dowloadable content soon.

In an Infection match, one player will assume the role of the game's protagonist, while up to nine opponents work together as Lasrian Troopers to bring him down. Once a player kills Hayden, he or she will assume the role of "the infected" and a new round will begin. Points will be earned wit...

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Worst gift ever: Xbox 360 box filled with clothes...

So wht does every kid want on Christmas - a video game console, perhaps? Here's a cruel and unusual video clip of a kid who thought he was getting an Xbox 360, only to discover that his family was playing an evil, evil joke on him. Either this kid was a terror all year long, and this was his punishment, or he seriously has the worst, psychologically-torturing parents ever.

Since the video was made public, the folks over at Engadget have made an effort to get this kid the 360 he thought he was getting months ago. (PS: I love your hair, kid)

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