VampireG’s Blog

Microsoft® today affirmed its place as global leader in downloadable high-definition gaming and entertainment content, as its Xbox LIVE®™ Marketplace Video Store service launched in five new countries - Canada, France, Germany, Ireland and the United Kingdom.

Following a highly successful launch in the United States last year, all Xbox 360™ owners connected to the internet in the above countries can now download to rent both high definition and standard definition movies direct to their console using Xbox LIVE Marketplace Video Store.

Following last week’s launch announcement where Microsoft revealed partnerships with Warner Bros and Europacorp in Europe to bring exciting films to rent on Xbox LIVE including 300, Zodiac, Harry Potter and The Good German, Xbox 360 owners can also expect to download to rent additional Warner Bros films such as Batman Forever, Batman Returns, Analyze That[1], by the end of the year. Cost per download for a catalogue film is from as little as 250 Microsoft Points (*ERP £2) for Standard Definition movies and from 380 Microsoft Points (*ERP £3.20) for High Definition movies.

Additional Films coming to Xbox LIVE Marketplace Video Store UK before 7th Jan 2008:
TMNT
WE ARE MARSHALL
BATMAN & ROBIN
BATMAN FOREVER
BATMAN RETURNS
WILD WILD WEST
US MARSHALS
DEEP BLUE SEA
SPHERE
UNFORGIVEN
MAVERICK
CONTACT
CONSPIRACY THEORY
OUTBREAK
LAST BOY SCOUT
MISS CONGENIALITY
ANALYZE THAT

Read more…

Found some cool GTA IV images on the press release site I use hence the “GP” stamp on them, as I am far to tight to pay for their premium service to get rid of watermarks just to upload images to a hobby site!

The images show a little more of the game also, more boats etc.

Anyways thought I would share them with you, you may have already seen them, but hey! This game is really starting to make me feel  like it is a must buy when it finally comes out.

Image below!

• GTA IV Image 1
• GTA IV Image 2
• GTA IV Image 3
• GTA IV Image 4
• GTA IV Image 5
• GTA IV Image 6

Prepare for an action-packed dungeon crawl with Sierra Online’s “Arkadian Warriors” and experience the innovative cross genre gameplay of “GripShift®,” by Sidhe Interactive, this week on Xbox LIVE® Arcade for Xbox 360™. Both games launch on Wednesday, 12th December, 2007 at 9:00 a.m. GMT.

Three heroic shape-shifting warriors fight to release the Land of Arkadia from the evil Gorgon’s stony gaze. In the uniquely expansive “Arkadian Warriors,” randomly generated dungeons and cooperative multiplayer hack & slash action enhances a deep single-player campaign. The robust cooperative multiplayer mode is available for two players both locally and over Xbox LIVE. Upgrading is key as players hone their skills, acquire loot and master powerful magic spells and numerous deadly weapons in a journey of mythical proportions.

Through a mix of sky-high platforming and stunt driving, “GripShift” combines automotive and puzzle solving skills across 120 challenging levels, 25 rubber burning race tracks and 20 deadly deathmatch arenas across four themed worlds. Zoom to victory with four players over Xbox LIVE or race solo, all while enjoying a customisable music experience! Choose your driver, unlock faster vehicles and customise your ride with new skins. Developed by Sidhe Interactive, “GripShift” is a gravity-defying thrill ride every racing fan must experience!

Where can I get “Arkadian Warriors” and “GripShift “ from?

Arkadian Warriors: available for 800 MS Points from 9:00 a.m. GMT, Wednesday 10th December 2007

GripShift: available for 800 MS Points from 9:00 a.m. GMT, Wednesday 10th December 2007

They are rated 12+.

 PS: Don’t forget that today you should now be able to download movies to your XBox as the Video Marketplace should be switched on today! I will confirm this when I get a chance.

I am now officially excited about this game after seeing the latest trailer!

If they keep the free roaming and the game looks and plays as good as the trailer it is going to be amazing.

Shame we have to wait until April next year for it. I know the debate will begin soon on whether to buy it on PS3 or Xbox 360?

Apparently the UK will finally get Video on Demand through their Xbox 360’s. On December 11th 2007 Microsoft has confirmed it will be launching the UK version of the Video Marketplace.

Intial reports state that a Video once purchased will stay on your HD for 14 days, however if you start to watch the Video then you basically have 24hours before it self deletes.

Below is the initial list of movies that will be available:

Available in standard and high definition:
300
Zodiac
Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone
The Matrix
The Matrix Revolutions
The Matrix Reloaded
Ocean’s Eleven (2001)
The Perfect Storm
Swordfish
Three Kings
Training Day
The Fugitive
Risky Business
Space Cowboys
Eyes Wide Shut

Standard definition only:

Analyze This
Demolition Man
Eraser
Executive Decision
Lethal Weapon 3
Lethal Weapon 4
Looney Tunes: Back in Action
Mars Attacks!
Clash of The Titans
Superman III
Dead Calm

Estimates on cost currently are being quoted that a SD movie would set you back 250 MSP and a HD version of the movie will cost 380 MSP. I don’t have a Microsoft Point Convertor to hand, but I make that about a couple of quid for the SD and three quidish for HD? Which is not bad considering the cost of DVD rentals.

I know this is probably old news by now, but I have been busy so out of it for a bit. As most Xbox 360 owners will know there is going to be a Dashboard update on December 4th 2007 which will include some new features. Microsoft are keeping quiet about most of the new features but have released a press release about one of them.

It basically allows your friends to see your friend list, I guess what are trying to expand the friends list to allow more people to contact each other. Press release below:

Friends of Friends Coming to Xbox LIVE

Published November 26, 2007

Microsoft is making it even easier to expand your Friends network on Xbox LIVE®, starting with the Fall Dashboard Update on December 4. You’ll be able to check out the friends lists of fellow Xbox LIVE members right from the Dashboard. With this new feature, members can find old friends or connect with new ones within the community of more than eight million people on Xbox LIVE around the globe and send messages and game invites, as well as compare games and Achievements.

With the prevalence of social media websites such as MySpace and FaceBook, this type of capability has largely come to be expected from consumers as a means to relate in an online community. Xbox LIVE continually seeks new ways to better serve the expectations of its members, which often result in free enhancements made available through the bi-annual Dashboard updates.

Friends List Settings
When the Fall Dashboard update is distributed on December 4, the new default setting on Xbox LIVE will be active, enabling members to see the Friends lists of other Xbox LIVE members. If you’d like to keep your friends list private, you can take the following steps to change your settings beginning today:

Log in to www.xbox.com/fof and select one of the three options available for your Gamertag:

• Everyone (only available to members 18 and older)
• Friends only (available to members 13 and older)
• Blocked (available to all members, and automatic for anyone under the age of 13)

Stay tuned for more information about the Xbox 360 Dashboard Update later this month!

Ok Mass Effect has arrived in my life, it has been over a year and half since I first heard that BioWare where going to be creating a game within their own universe.

A whole new universe with new races, characters, ships and planets. Knights of the Old Republic was one of my favorite Xbox games and to know that BioWare where going to release a game on 360 got me excited.

Well the game arrived Friday and so far I have managed to invest 8 hours of time playing it, and I have to say it does not disappoint. The game is amazing! The story is interesting, the characters I actually care about, the dialogue system is very fluid and every damn line of speech in the game is actually voice acted.

There a couple of niggles with it however, I mean it is not a perfect game but it is the most enjoyment I have had playing my 360 for a long time, and for me so far this has to be the game of 2007.

I am sure I will write more babble when I get further into the game, however for those of you that own a Xbox 360 and like RPG/FPS games then this has to be in your collection.

So as I mentioned before I managed to end up with two versions of Assassins Creed, one for the 360 and one for the PS3.

I thought this would be a great opportunity to compare the games side by side and share my thoughts.

Price

Well both versions cost me £39.99 from Gameplay so I this is a pretty easy one to be honest.

Tie: XBox 360 and PS3

Gameplay

In essence the games played exactly the same from what I have seen which is basically playing both games up to the first Assassination. The games played the same I could no see difference in content and gameplay at all.

Tie: Xbox 360 and PS3

Controls

Ok I think controls are something of a personal preference. The Xbox controller will suite some people and the PS3 controller will suite others. There is no Sixaxis support in Assassins Creed so be honest for me anyways out of the box I prefer the XBox 360 controller which also supports rumble. However to be fair this is really a tie.

Tie: Xbox 360 and PS3

Graphics

This is the big one then really, this is the one that most people really care about. I am not going to waffle on about how great the game looks etc, as to be honest the game does look amazing on both consoles, instead I will just get straight the point on what is actually not good about the graphics and why.

The PS3 loses out again to the 360, which I was really disappointed with to be honest. For a game that started life on the PS3, for a console with more beef than a Burger King Burger the graphics on the PS3 should be better than the 360, but they are not! Why? I noticed that on the PS3 there was a lot of frame-rate drop when the screen got busy, and lets face it most of the time you are in a busy city so the frame-rate dropped a lot. I also noticed that the textures on the PS3 did not seem as crisp as the 360 although this was only noticed under real scrutiny and would detract from playing the game. However the PS3 did suffer from a lot more pop-up than the 360. Both consoles suffer from a bit of Pop-up however the PS3 more so. I really noticed things such as textures popping-in, shadows appearing from nowhere.

Both games are great to look at, just the PS3 version lacks some polish on textures, suffers from more pop-up and poor frame-rate drop.

Winner: Xbox 360

Sound

Both games use 5.1 surround sound and to be honest they both sounded exactly the same through my Sony Surround System.

Tie: Xbox 360 and PS3

Overall

Well overall the games are pretty much the same on whatever console you choose to buy it on. The Xbox 360 really only has it’s nose slightly ahead here but alas wins this comparison for me. What with the overall better graphic performance and with the achievement system to me it would be my choice.

Overall Winner: Xbox 360

There are few games that I get excited about, Mass Effect by Bioware is one of those games. I have had Mass Effect on Pre-order for over a year now and finally this week the waiting is over. Fingers crossed it does not turn out to be a Mass Disappointment I am sure it won’t be, but there has been a couple of games recently which have been a little disappointing.

I guess I better finish Assassins Creed by Wednesday as hopefully Thursday Mass Effect will arrive on my doorstep. As sad as it sounds I even booked some days off work to play this one!

Ok a bit of a cock up took place when I ordered my Assassins Creed. I originally ordered the Xbox 360 version, and then on hearing a rumor that the PS3 version was going to be better I cancelled the Xbox 360 version and ordered the PS3 version. Well I was a little slow in my order cancellation and low and behold yesterday Assassin Creed for the XBox 360 arrived on my lap.

The interesting point is today Assassins Creed for the PS3 has also landed on my lap, so I think what I will do over the weekend is play them both and give you a honest review of both versions.

However here are my initial thoughts on the Xbox 360 version of the game:

What I like so far:

• Graphics are absolutely gorgeous
• Control system is very fluid and easy to use
• The city crowds actually seem alive
• The sheer size and scale the game portrays is amazing
• I actually like the “twist” as people are calling it

What I don’t like so far:

• The fighting mechanics are a little clunky
• The “Blend in” mode makes the game too easy as you may as well be invisible

Ok so the list of don’t likes currently is not too long, but I have only really played the game for about 3 hours. The really stand out thing for me is the graphics engine, it is amazing the level of detail you get with the distance the game draws. As for the objects that are right up close to you the textures are very detailed indeed.

The character moves very fluidly and I think is a triumph as it could easily have been complicated and impossible to get your assassin to leap from roof to roof.

So far I have arrived in Damascus and I am collecting information for my first contract so to speak. Currently this is new and pretty fun, although I can imagine having to do this over and over again is going to get a little boring but we will have to see.

Overall at present I am impressed with the game. I know you may feel these thoughts are a little thin, but I don’t want to give too much of the game away as it is so new. Lets just say I will share some more thoughts soon and also share my thoughts on how the XBox 360 and PS3 versions sit side by side.