And here's the Halo 4 teaser!
Showing posts with label microsoft. Show all posts
Showing posts with label microsoft. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
E3 2011: Microsoft Press Conference Digest
Wow, Microsoft really seemed to have something for everyone at their E3 press event!
To kick things off, we were treated to some in-depth live gameplay of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. This looked rather good, and if you've played any recent COD title you know what to expect, but that submarine level they played looked flat out CRAZY! I know this is a redundant statement, but I am really excited for MW3.
Next up, Microsoft showed us the first ever gameplay footage from the upcoming Tomb Raider reboot. Tomb Raider lost my interest many years ago, so I was very pleased with the direction the new Tomb Raider is taking. Clearly there's been some influence by the Uncharted series, as well as less focus on Lara Croft as a sex symbol.
From this point, Microsoft was sharing with us the future of Kinect with lots of "core" titles with interesting Kinect support. First up was Mass Effect 3, which allows you to speak your dialog choices instead of inputting them via the control pad. Then we got a look at the upcoming Ghost Recon: Future Soldier (Gears of Recon anyone?) - which seems to have had quite a bit work done since last year. After seeing GR:FS in action, it's become a must-have for me. It was announced at this point that all future Tom Clancy games will have Kinect support in some way.
Next, Microsoft shared with us whats to come with the Xbox 360's system software and additional apps. The 360 UI is getting a slight overhaul that really reminds me of Windows Mobile 7. Microsoft also informed us that YouTube and Bing search would be coming to the 360. I'm very excited for this YouTube support as it will provide me with easy means to view YouTube on my TV. I'm not so excited for Bing, as I can't imagine a situation where I'll need to do an internet search on my 360, but hey, whatever!
UFC events will also be coming to Xbox Live. I am unsure if this will be live current events or a back catalog of on-demand events, but it should be rather fun for the UFC/MMA fans out there.
From here Microsoft announced that the rest of the titles shown were Xbox 360 exclusives. They kicked this part off with an on-stage demo of Gears of War 3 co-op.... with Ice-T on hand! Body Count is reuniting and has done some music for Gears of War 3. CryTek then hit the stage and showed off a new title called Ryse. This will be a title to keep your eyes on for sure. Then a most welcome title was show - Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary - the long rumored High Def revamp of the original Halo. They've redone the entire game and added Xbox Live support for multiplayer AND co-op! While this is a 10 year old title, I won't be shocked when it sells like crazy in November. My guess is it will be an XBLA title.
Next, Forza 4 was demonstrated, with Kinect support. Turn 10 really impresses me with how quickly they produce quality work. Forza 4 will be a must-have for me. A new Fable title was then show - Fable: The Journey. It's an on-rails first person adventure game that uses Kinect.
After all this - out of nowhere it was announced that the indie darling of the PC gaming world, Mincraft, was coming to the 360 with Kinect support. I have a feeling Mincraft is about to go mainstream in a big way! Next up was Kinect Disneyland Adventures, which has a very detailed rendition of the amusement park and a VERY Disney art style.
At last, we got a good look at the Kinect Star Wars title. As a Star Wars fanboy my interest in piqued, and I look forward to trying this game in person.
The next few titles were very family friendly - Once Upon a Monster (Seasame Street Kinect title), Kinect Fun Labs (which is live *now*), Kinect Sports Season 2, and Harmonix's bgi game this year, Dance Central 2.
However... the very last title Microsoft showed off may have been the biggest...
Halo 4!
We were only shown a quick teaser and no actual gameplay, but I know this has many of you beyond excited. I hope 383 is up to the task, this is one of the biggest names on Xbox and the fans will not settle for anything less than awesome.
So there you have it, my digest of Microsoft's press conference. Up next is Sony and Nintendo!
To kick things off, we were treated to some in-depth live gameplay of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. This looked rather good, and if you've played any recent COD title you know what to expect, but that submarine level they played looked flat out CRAZY! I know this is a redundant statement, but I am really excited for MW3.
Next up, Microsoft showed us the first ever gameplay footage from the upcoming Tomb Raider reboot. Tomb Raider lost my interest many years ago, so I was very pleased with the direction the new Tomb Raider is taking. Clearly there's been some influence by the Uncharted series, as well as less focus on Lara Croft as a sex symbol.
From this point, Microsoft was sharing with us the future of Kinect with lots of "core" titles with interesting Kinect support. First up was Mass Effect 3, which allows you to speak your dialog choices instead of inputting them via the control pad. Then we got a look at the upcoming Ghost Recon: Future Soldier (Gears of Recon anyone?) - which seems to have had quite a bit work done since last year. After seeing GR:FS in action, it's become a must-have for me. It was announced at this point that all future Tom Clancy games will have Kinect support in some way.
Next, Microsoft shared with us whats to come with the Xbox 360's system software and additional apps. The 360 UI is getting a slight overhaul that really reminds me of Windows Mobile 7. Microsoft also informed us that YouTube and Bing search would be coming to the 360. I'm very excited for this YouTube support as it will provide me with easy means to view YouTube on my TV. I'm not so excited for Bing, as I can't imagine a situation where I'll need to do an internet search on my 360, but hey, whatever!
UFC events will also be coming to Xbox Live. I am unsure if this will be live current events or a back catalog of on-demand events, but it should be rather fun for the UFC/MMA fans out there.
From here Microsoft announced that the rest of the titles shown were Xbox 360 exclusives. They kicked this part off with an on-stage demo of Gears of War 3 co-op.... with Ice-T on hand! Body Count is reuniting and has done some music for Gears of War 3. CryTek then hit the stage and showed off a new title called Ryse. This will be a title to keep your eyes on for sure. Then a most welcome title was show - Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary - the long rumored High Def revamp of the original Halo. They've redone the entire game and added Xbox Live support for multiplayer AND co-op! While this is a 10 year old title, I won't be shocked when it sells like crazy in November. My guess is it will be an XBLA title.
Next, Forza 4 was demonstrated, with Kinect support. Turn 10 really impresses me with how quickly they produce quality work. Forza 4 will be a must-have for me. A new Fable title was then show - Fable: The Journey. It's an on-rails first person adventure game that uses Kinect.
After all this - out of nowhere it was announced that the indie darling of the PC gaming world, Mincraft, was coming to the 360 with Kinect support. I have a feeling Mincraft is about to go mainstream in a big way! Next up was Kinect Disneyland Adventures, which has a very detailed rendition of the amusement park and a VERY Disney art style.
At last, we got a good look at the Kinect Star Wars title. As a Star Wars fanboy my interest in piqued, and I look forward to trying this game in person.
The next few titles were very family friendly - Once Upon a Monster (Seasame Street Kinect title), Kinect Fun Labs (which is live *now*), Kinect Sports Season 2, and Harmonix's bgi game this year, Dance Central 2.
However... the very last title Microsoft showed off may have been the biggest...
Halo 4!
We were only shown a quick teaser and no actual gameplay, but I know this has many of you beyond excited. I hope 383 is up to the task, this is one of the biggest names on Xbox and the fans will not settle for anything less than awesome.
So there you have it, my digest of Microsoft's press conference. Up next is Sony and Nintendo!
Monday, June 6, 2011
OOPS: Microsoft's US E3 site outs Halo 4, Halo HD
According to VG247:
Big oops. Xbox US’s E3 site just outed Halo 4, as well as a ton of other titles.
Dance Central 2, Halo: Combat Evolved HD and more are listed.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Xbox 360 to join the 3D club
According to Eurogamer - Microsoft will announce Stereoscopic 3D support for the 360, possibly at E3. Here's the scoop:
I'm hardly surprised at this news, mostly because this has been one feature the PS3 has had over the 360 for a while now. I wonder what titles will support this functionality?
Full stereoscopic 3D is set to hit the Xbox 360, Eurogamer can reveal.
This stereo 3D support works exactly like the PlayStation 3's 3D effect. In other words, full-on HDMI 1.4 stereoscopic 3D in the 1280x1470 twin 720p framebuffer configuration.
This would mean a 720p image per eye.
When asked for information on this planned improvement, a source familiar with Xbox 360 development hinted at an E3 announcement.
I'm hardly surprised at this news, mostly because this has been one feature the PS3 has had over the 360 for a while now. I wonder what titles will support this functionality?
Friday, May 20, 2011
VIDEO: Gears of War 3 teaser!
Hot off the presses - here's a short teaser for the Gears of War 3 trailer to be released on the 28th:
Not much to really say about this as it's so short, but I am excited for Gears 3 (who isn't?!)
Not much to really say about this as it's so short, but I am excited for Gears 3 (who isn't?!)
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
MS to replace old 360s that have trouble with upcoming system update
The upcoming spring update for the Xbox 360 adds support for higher capacity disk, however it seems some older 360 units aren't keen on the update. Here's what GamePro has to say:
Nice of MS to get right in front of this issue before it becomes a problem. My guess is this affects the oldest 360s out there (I'm hoping my Jasper 360 is fine - I love that little white box)
Some beta testers of the upcoming Spring Dashboard Update for the 360 have reported that their system is incompatible with the new firmware and stops reading discs. Microsoft is apparently able to detect this issue via Xbox Live and is compensating affected customers by sending them a brand new Xbox 360 S and a year's free Xbox Live subscription.
The reason the problems may be occurring is that the impending update reflashes the system's DVD drive to be compatible with the new higher-capacity XGD3 disc format, set to start being used soon. It appears that some older DVD drives are incompatible with the new firmware and are causing problems to varying degrees. Apparently only a "minority" of console will be affected by this issue, however.
Nice of MS to get right in front of this issue before it becomes a problem. My guess is this affects the oldest 360s out there (I'm hoping my Jasper 360 is fine - I love that little white box)
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Security alert issues by Microsoft - COD:MW2 Phishing attempts
From Xbox Support:
This is nowhere near the scale of Sony's current security problems, but it's worth sharing anyway. If you're still rockin' COD:MW2 on the 360, be careful out there!
Users may experience difficulties with the following services:
Users may receive potential phishing attempts via title specific messaging while playing Modern Warfare 2.
We are aware of the problem and are working to resolve the issue. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your patience
This is nowhere near the scale of Sony's current security problems, but it's worth sharing anyway. If you're still rockin' COD:MW2 on the 360, be careful out there!
Monday, June 14, 2010
Microsoft E3 Keynote digest
What the hell?
Did Microsoft seriously just show off a bunch of titles that are at best clones of Wii titles? Kinect Sports?! REALLY?!
Wow.
Well anyway, let's run through some points here:
- Call of Duty DLC for 2010, 2011, and 2012 will be available first on the Xbox. I guess this is also a bit of a backdoor announcement for COD 8 and 9.
- Metal Gear Solid Rising was shown. More hack and slash, less stealth is the impression i got.
- Gears of War 3 was shown - 4player co-op mode!
- Fable 3 shown, along with a teaser for a title codenamed "Kingdoms".
- Halo: Reach is hitting retail September 14th
- ESPN for Xbox 360. I was shocked that this feature will be free for Gold member of Live.
- And of course, Project Natal is now named Kinect. Kinect was the main focus of this keynote (as i was expecting). The software shown in my opinion boiled down to a lot of clones of existing Wii titles and franchises. Again - Kinect Sports? REALLY?! Your Shape: Fitness Evolved? Kinect Joy Ride looked like a Mario Kart clone. What exactly is MS' strategy here besides the usual "embrace and extend" philosophy? Also worth noting was a lack of an announced price for Kinect, just a street date of November 4th 2010 in North America. If this add-on hits retail for less than $150, i will be shocked.
- Harmonix was showing off Dance Central for Kinect.
- A Kinect Star Wars title was shown in trailer form... but really the gaming world has been teased with motion based Star Wars games since 2005/2006. Can we get one for real someday?
- Also to note was Forza for Kinect. It was not made clear to me if this was a new Forza title, or an add-on for Forza 3.
- A new rev of the 360 hardware was also shown - the only lingering question i have based on the slides - "did MS remove the ethernet port in favor of built in 802.11n networking?". New hardware will be available this week - everyone at the keynote however was given a system.
I've got to be honest, this was pretty much exactly how i expected this keynote to play out. It will be interesting to see the hardcore xbox fanboy reaction as they were none too kind towards the Wii when it was announced and shown.
Anyway, Nintendo and Sony tomorrow. I will be sorely disappointed if there is anything resembling Move Sports for the PS3.
Did Microsoft seriously just show off a bunch of titles that are at best clones of Wii titles? Kinect Sports?! REALLY?!
Wow.
Well anyway, let's run through some points here:
- Call of Duty DLC for 2010, 2011, and 2012 will be available first on the Xbox. I guess this is also a bit of a backdoor announcement for COD 8 and 9.
- Metal Gear Solid Rising was shown. More hack and slash, less stealth is the impression i got.
- Gears of War 3 was shown - 4player co-op mode!
- Fable 3 shown, along with a teaser for a title codenamed "Kingdoms".
- Halo: Reach is hitting retail September 14th
- ESPN for Xbox 360. I was shocked that this feature will be free for Gold member of Live.
- And of course, Project Natal is now named Kinect. Kinect was the main focus of this keynote (as i was expecting). The software shown in my opinion boiled down to a lot of clones of existing Wii titles and franchises. Again - Kinect Sports? REALLY?! Your Shape: Fitness Evolved? Kinect Joy Ride looked like a Mario Kart clone. What exactly is MS' strategy here besides the usual "embrace and extend" philosophy? Also worth noting was a lack of an announced price for Kinect, just a street date of November 4th 2010 in North America. If this add-on hits retail for less than $150, i will be shocked.
- Harmonix was showing off Dance Central for Kinect.
- A Kinect Star Wars title was shown in trailer form... but really the gaming world has been teased with motion based Star Wars games since 2005/2006. Can we get one for real someday?
- Also to note was Forza for Kinect. It was not made clear to me if this was a new Forza title, or an add-on for Forza 3.
- A new rev of the 360 hardware was also shown - the only lingering question i have based on the slides - "did MS remove the ethernet port in favor of built in 802.11n networking?". New hardware will be available this week - everyone at the keynote however was given a system.
I've got to be honest, this was pretty much exactly how i expected this keynote to play out. It will be interesting to see the hardcore xbox fanboy reaction as they were none too kind towards the Wii when it was announced and shown.
Anyway, Nintendo and Sony tomorrow. I will be sorely disappointed if there is anything resembling Move Sports for the PS3.
It's Here at last!
It's E3 time everyone!
Microsoft's E3 Keynote is set to kick off around 1:30pm eastern time. I'm sure if you're read any gaming site in the past 48 hours you're aware of the xbox 360 "slim" and the project natal official name.
I'll check in with my reactions form ms' keynote as soon as it wraps.
(if anyone is interested, i'll be following the liveblog over at Engadget)
Sony and Nintendo's keynotes are tomorrow - don't be shocked when i post reactions from those ;)
Microsoft's E3 Keynote is set to kick off around 1:30pm eastern time. I'm sure if you're read any gaming site in the past 48 hours you're aware of the xbox 360 "slim" and the project natal official name.
I'll check in with my reactions form ms' keynote as soon as it wraps.
(if anyone is interested, i'll be following the liveblog over at Engadget)
Sony and Nintendo's keynotes are tomorrow - don't be shocked when i post reactions from those ;)
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