XBOX Game Reviews

Star Ocean: The Last Hope Release Now in Feb.

Square Enix announced that it has updated the ship date of its upcoming game Star Ocean: The Last Hope from March 3 to February 24, 2009.

With this highly anticipated prequel, acclaimed development studio tri-Ace Inc. brings the Star Ocean series to Xbox 360 for the first time. Star Ocean: The Last Hope continues the franchise's space opera, blending science fiction with fantasy for a unique RPG experience. The gameplay features four party members and team-oriented combat.

Increase in Friends Limit on Xbox

Aaron Greenberg, group product manager for Xbox and Xbox Live, has confirmed Microsoft's plans to increase the 100-friend limit. Greenber told Joystiq:

"I can't commit to when that will happen, but that is something we want to do. It's definitely something we're looking at expanding and, as this social network grows, we've absolutely heard the pleas for that. It's on the list."

"Bring Down the Sky" Download

Download for only 400 MS Points

Published February 6, 2008

To date, more than 1.6 million gamers have explored the engaging sci-fi universe of Mass Effect™. Beginning on March 10, expand your Mass Effect experience with the release of downloadable content for the award-winning saga.

Prepare to meet the Batarians.

The "Bring Down the Sky" content pack will be released to Xbox LIVE® Marketplace on Monday, March 10 at 2:00 A.M. PST, and will be available for 400 Microsoft points.  This is the first in a series of planned downloadable content that further expands the Mass Effect universe and continues the adventures of Commander Shepard and the crew of the Normandy.

Top 10 Games on Planet XBOX 360

#      Title                        Publisher      PX360 Score     Reader Score
1     Call of Duty 4:           Activision                    9.9        8.6
Modern Warfare
2     Gears of War             Microsoft                     9.7        9.1
3     The Orange Box         Electronic Arts             9.7        8.5
4     Rainbow Six Vegas     Ubisoft Entertainment  9.6        9.2
5     The Elder Scrolls IV:   Bethesda Softworks      9.5        9.0
Oblivion
6     Halo 3                       Microsoft                     9.5        8.7
7     Guitar Hero II            RedOctane                   9.5        8.7
8     Call of Duty 2            Activision                     9.2        8.7
9     Bioshock                   2K Games                     9.2        9.1
10     Ghost Recon            Ubisoft Entertainment   9.1        8.4
Advanced Warfighter 2

You can see more XBOX 360 game ratings at Planet Xbox 360

Microsoft extends Xbox 360 warranty

Microsoft said Thursday that it will take a $1 billion charge as it extends the warranty on the Xbox 360, after an investigation showed the game console can be prone to hardware failures.

"As a result of what Microsoft views as an unacceptable number of repairs to Xbox 360 consoles, the company conducted extensive investigations into potential sources of general hardware failures," Microsoft said in a statement.

Microsoft said its probe found "a number of factors" that can cause a general hardware failure indicated by three red flashing lights on the console. The company said that, in addition to extending the warranty, it has made unspecified design changes to the product.

Microsoft said it will cover machines that experience failures for up to three years from the date of purchase. To cover the cost of the new policy, Microsoft said it will take a pretax charge of $1.05 billion to $1.15 billion in its just-ended quarter.

Microsoft said it will reimburse customers who have already paid for repairs for the hardware problem that is indicated by the three flashing lights.

XBOX 360 Games for the Summer

Worried that you might have to go outside and entertain yourself this summer?  Have no fear, there are a lot of releases for the XBOX 360.  Take a look at the following:

Assassin's Creed™
BioShock
BlackSite™: Area 51®
Blue Dragon™
Brothers in Arms: Hells Highway™
The Darkness
Eternal Sonata
Hellboy
John Woo presents Stranglehold™
Kane & Lynch: Dead Men™
Mass Effect™
Medal of Honor Airborne™
MotoGP '07
NCAA® Football 08
Overlord
Project Gotham Racing® 4
Project Sylpheed™
Stuntman®: Ignition™
TimeShift
Tom Clancy's EndWar™
Too Human™

Gears of War (XBOX 360)

Haven't tried Gears of War yet?  Wondering if you should go pick it up?  We say a resounding yes, it's a great game, especially when played with a live person rather than the AI.  But don't take our word for Gears of War, here's how other sites rate Gears of War:

Team Xbox:     9.6
IGN Xbox 360:  9.4
1Up.com:       10
GameSpot:      9.6

Why bother looking for more reviews - we say go buy Gears of War, grab a friend and stomp some enemies!

Lost Planet Cheats (Xbox 360)

A couple Lost Planet Cheats for the XBOX 360:

Cheat: Infinite Health
February 06, 2007

At the PAUSE screen, enter DOWN, DOWN, DOWN, UP, Y, UP, Y, UP, Y, UP, UP, UP, DOWN, X, DOWN, X, DOWN, X, LEFT, Y, RIGHT, X, LEFT, Y, RIGHT, X, RIGHT BUMPER and LEFT BUMPER buttons. These codes are valid only during the level when used. The codes became invalid when the game is stopped or after the mission is cleared and are only usable in Easy and Story mode.

Cheat: Infinite Ammo

At the PAUSE screen, enter RIGHT TRIGGER, RIGHT BUMPER button, Y, X, RIGHT, DOWN, LEFT, LEFT BUMPER button, LEFT TRIGGER, RIGHT TRIGGER, RIGHT BUMPER button, Y, X, RIGHT, DOWN, LEFT, LEFT BUMPER button, LEFT TRIGGER, RIGHT TRIGGER, LEFT TRIGGER, LEFT BUMPER button, RIGHT BUMPER button, Y, LEFT, DOWN, X, RIGHT BUMPER and LEFT BUMPER buttons. buttons. These codes are valid only during the level when used. The codes became invalid when the game is stopped or after the mission is cleared and are only usable in Easy and Story mode.

XBOX 360 vs Playstation 3

HardCoreWare recently posted this review of XBOX 360  vs Playstation 3:

Being a video game developer (I develop for both, Playstation 3 and XBOX 360) people ask me almost daily which platform I think is better. These are my personal feelings, in no way does this reflect my employer.

Short answer: XBOX 360.

Long answer: Price, performance, visual quality, game selection and online support. I think the XBOX 360 wins in every category.

Read it all here:
http://www.hardcoreware.net/reviews/review-348-1.htm