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Gamerscore Blog has done another one of their Friday updates offering some more tidbits about the new Xbox Experience that is apparently due in November, or so has been speculated (nothing official has yet been announced). This time, they tackled the issue of background themes. Since the new interface was announced, there has been much concern about the background themes, and how they will work in the new look. Well, as you can see in the shots below of the Gears of War theme, they will work, and while they claim they'll look even better in HD, I think the green boxes are a little obtrusive and block the graphics. New themes will actually have dynamic interactivity, which could either be kind of cool or completely annoying. They will animate subtly, and each graphic will tie into the theme. I've grown very attached to my Katamari theme, and have never changed it, but if I can upgrade to something with cool animation, I may be lured to the dark side.
The friends list will now be more visual, with the avatar behavior revealing the player's status. If they're online, your friends' avatars will wave at you to join them, and if they're offline, they'll be snoozing. Again, the jury's still out on this one, because it might be fun, or it could just be overly complicated. I'm still not sold on this whole new experience myself. We'll just have to wait and see. Check out the gallery below for some sample images courtesy of Microsoft.
NXE - What You WAnt To Know: Themes 2.0 And Friends Channel [Gamerscore Blog]
All you Mega Man fans can start getting your thumbs ready for some punishment because Capcom has just announced how much longer you're going to have to wait to get your sweaty little paws on the retro-flavored Mega Man 9.
- Wii Ware: September 22
- PSN: September 25
- XBLA: October 1
Not sure why the staggered release dates, unless Capcom promised Nintendo a little bit of a window. But honestly, if you really want to go all the way with the retro, you'll probably want to play it in the Wii since you can use the Wiimote sideways like an old-school gamepad. I'm sure some hardcore geeks out there would totally frown on using a joystick of any kind to play this game. I've also got a gallery of some select screenshots and some art for you, but I'd like to close with this quote from Capcom's release that gave me a chuckle:
Please have fun playing Mega Man 9 and when you inevitably ponder why this game is so freaking hard, please remember that Inafune-san has a decanter on his desk full of broken gamer spirits that keeps him perpetually youthful.
Eidos has released a ton of new screens from the recently announced Batman: Arkham Asylum. I'm enjoying the look, very gritty and recalls some of Batman's darker days. I only hope that the gameplay and storyline match up with the dark graphic style. Check out the gallery below for the latest screens.
Eidos has released a nice little collection of Tomb Raider: Underworld screens from their newly announced Thailand level. I saw TR:Underworld at E3 and was quite impressed with the graphical look of the game and the new mo-capped Lara moves quite nicely. If the storyline and gameplay follow at the same quality, this could well bring Lara back to her former glory as gaming's most iconic female character.
As an RPG fan, I've been keeping an eye on the ones in development (well, at least for the platforms I own), and Square Enix and tri-Ace's Infinite Undiscovery has been right up there at the top of the list. The Xbox 360 exclusive won't be out until September 2 here in the States and September 5 in the UK, but Square Enix just released a whole bunch of new screenshots to whet your appetite and make the wait that much longer! So pretty...
I managed to squeeze myself into a Prince of Persia demo at E3 which was quite a feat considering how popular this title was. By far one of the most visually beautiful games at the show, this new Prince of Persia boasts many new features including an all new Prince. The visual style is a cross between cel shading and watercolor painting creating dazzling backgrounds and character models.
The new Prince also has a new ally in the form of Elika, an AI character who is always around to give a helping hand but thankfully never gets in the way. She is always able to keep up and you never have to worry about keeping her out of harm's way. She can also pull off some amazing acrobatic partner moves when the need arises as well as helping the Prince across large gaps or grabbing him when he falls. She will also be able to show you the most direct route to tyour goal if need be. One thing the developers stressed was the fact that Elika will never be a hindrance. However, the Prince has no magical powers and must rely on Elika to provide them.
In the short demo we saw, the Prince and Elika made their was across a large expanse of crumbling buildings by climbing walls, swinging across gaps. The animations were smooth and the acrobatics were truly marvelous. Unlike previous POP titles, this new version provides a non linear storyline, allowing the player to make their way through the game as they see fit.
From what I can see Prince of Persia is poised to be one of the top titles from Ubisoft this year. If extended gameplay holds up to the visual style it will definitely be in the running for one of the top games of the year. Look for it on your PS3 and 360 later this year.
Sierra has posted a few more Ghostbusters game screenshots for your slimey enjoyment. Hopefully we will be able to get a hands on with it sometime in the next few days but our schedule is so full already.
One of the games I am most looking forward to checking out at this year's E3 is Fable II. Despite the unfulfilled promises that everyone loves to go on about, I really enjoyed the original Fable. Something about it just really spoke to me and my often questionable gaming tastes. And I also happen to find Sir Peter an absolutely fascinating individual. Now while I am off wiping the fanboyish drool from my face, please take in these gorgeous new Fable II shots.
Namco has a fresh batch of Soul Calibur screens for us featuring a new character, Algol. Algol is the new "big boss" of the Soul Calibur universe and was once the king of an ancient civilization. According to character designer Hideo Yoshie, he is the strongest SC character ever made. Make the jump to check out a full description of the new character by Yoshie himself.
Nothing kicks the weekend off right quite like a heaping helping of new screenshots! Midway has releases some new gameplay shots and new character renders for the upcoming Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe. Four characters have been revealed including Sonya and Shang Tsung from the MK universe and Catwoman and The Flash from DC. I know many people are reticent to like this game because of that whole "no fatalities on DC characters" business but visually the game looks quite stunning. I'm especially loving Catwoman's look here. The neo 60's purple catsuit and sweet goggles are really doing it for me. Although, I'm still crossing my fingers for the arrival of Wonder Woman...
Capcom has announced that their new shooter, 1942: Joint Strike will be out by the end of the month, so get your trigger fingers ready! The downloadable title hits the PlayStation Network on July 24, and Xbox LIVE Arcade on July 23. As the charming and handsome Tiny Dancer informed you earlier this year, 1942: Joint Strike is an update of the classic 194x top down scrolling shooters, made all shiny with an all-new 3D graphics engine. And if that's not enough, you also get 2-player online co-op play at no extra charge! And the music is by Norihiko Hibino, who has composed for the Metal Gear series. But really, when you're shooting up Nazis, what else do you really need? How about some screenshots? Oh, okay then. Twist my arm...
