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RECENT XBOX LIVE NEWS

Splinter Cell Conviction Demo Releasing On Xbox Live
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Splinter Cell Conviction Demo Releasing On Xbox Live

Mon, Mar 15th, 2010, 8:49 pm (EST) BY DARRYL

The latest edition of Inside Xbox, which can be found on Xbox Live, revealed some rather interesting news. It stated that a demo for Splinter Cell: Conviction will be released in just a few days. More »


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Mega Man 10 Review

Sat, Mar 13th, 2010, 7:20 pm (EST) BY DARRYL

Since the release of the original Mega Man game back on the NES in 1987, Capcom have released numerous titles in the franchise, spanning numerous consoles and handhelds. In 2008, Capcom took the series back to its original roots with Mega Man 9, a throwback to the old "classic" NES style Mega Man titles. While overall the game was just as good as the originals, there were some nagging issues which were readily visible for anyone who played the originals back in the day. Two years later, Capcom is giving their second try at releasing another throwback with Mega Man 10. Does it improve on its predecessor, or is this Mega Man 9 with a new coat of paint? More »


How Voice Acting Has Changed The Video Games Industry
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How Voice Acting Has Changed The Video Games Industry

Sat, Mar 13th, 2010, 3:58 pm (EST) BY FOZZIE

Voice acting, as defined by Wikipedia, is the act of "providing one's voice to an animated character." Though its origin is unknown it's been safely lodged in the acting world for quite some time now. Disney, as many of you are well aware, has been well known for its animated movies and, more impressively, as a voice acting pioneer. Snow White (1937) was the company's first full-length animated feature film made and Adriana Caselotti voiced the movie's title character. More »


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Greed Corp Review

Sat, Mar 13th, 2010, 12:00 pm (EST) BY DARRYL

Greed Corp, the second game from Dutch developer W!Games, is a turn-based strategy game recently released for Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, and PC. W!Games' latest offering comes in sharp contrast to their first game, My Horse And Me - a collection of horse riding mini games released on the Nintendo Wii in 2007. Fortunately, Greed Corp holds up much better. The game boasts unique, addictive strategy mechanics, a lengthy single player campaign, and numerous multiplayer options which will keep players engaged. Only a throwaway story and some minor design choices hold Greed Corp back from greatness. More »


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Peggle Review

Fri, Mar 12th, 2010, 6:28 pm (EST) BY DARRYL

There has always been a sort of odd distinction of "hardcore" versus "casual" games, but sometimes that line becomes hazy. PopCap is at the front line of having games that not only appeal to a mass audience of "casual" players, but anybody who considers themselves a fan of games in general. Peggle consists of the simple task of shooting balls into a play area of pegs with the goal of removing all orange pegs from the board. It's a simple enough premise, but it has exceedingly addictive gameplay that causes one to lose themselves for hours trying to get that one last peg. More »


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Switchball Review

Fri, Mar 5th, 2010, 11:29 pm (EST) BY DARRYL

Switchball, made by Swedish developer Atomic Elbow, was originally released on PC and Xbox Live Arcade in late 2007; now the PlayStation Network port has arrived bringing with it all the highs and lows of its counterparts. A puzzle platformer, Switchball takes a fresh approach to the standard 'get the ball from point A to B' puzzler by introducing multiple types of balls, each with their own pros and cons. Fans of the genre should definitely take a look at Switchball as it offers a fairly long, fully featured single player as well as online competitive and cooperative modes which give the game staying power. On the other hand, the game's camera can be a bit frustrating, which steadily gets worse as the game progresses and the puzzles get more complex. More »


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Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light First Details

Fri, Mar 5th, 2010, 10:32 pm (EST) BY COLIN

Brand new details and images have surfaced on Lara Croft's next adventure. Amusingly enough, while Lara will still be traversing through tombs, the downloadable game from Square-Enix and Crystal Dynamics will not have Tomb Raider in it's title. More »


Lara Croft And The Guardian Of Light Announced
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Lara Croft And The Guardian Of Light Announced

Thu, Mar 4th, 2010, 10:15 am (EST) BY DARRYL

Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics have announced that Lara Croft will be returning in a new adventure, which has been dubbed - Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light.

The game, which will be shown behind closed doors for the first time at the upcoming Game Developers Conference on the 9th of March, noticeably has two words missing: Tomb Raider. More »


What Sony Could Offer In A Premium PSN Service
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What Sony Could Offer In A Premium PSN Service

Tue, Mar 2nd, 2010, 11:34 am (EST) BY ADAM MA

There's been a bit of talk over the alleged leaked Premium Playstation Network features, and how much anyone would actually want to pay for those services. Some people are interested in possibly getting free games, PS1 Classics, and discounts to all content. Others would prefer the beta access, and supposed user-to-user challenges that allow a bit more customization. But in the end these features are just icing on a cake, and have little to do with what being online with a console is all about.

Unlike Xbox owners most people feel that since Playstation 3 already offers free online services there's no reason for them to be charged for. Copying the things Xbox Live already does then offering a slew of useless additions won't help. If Sony really wants to start winning the console wars, then whoever is in charge of this Premium service outline need only look to a few simple things: More »


Darksiders 90 Minute Demo Now Available On PSN/XBLA
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Darksiders 90 Minute Demo Now Available On PSN/XBLA

Thu, Feb 25th, 2010, 2:41 pm (EST) BY DARRYL

Darksiders performed pretty well in its first month on sale, managing to sell over 150,000 units in North America throughout January. However, THQ want even more people to experience the game, so they've published a new demo on the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Marketplace. More »


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Bioshock 2 Getting Multiplayer DLC In March

Mon, Feb 22nd, 2010, 5:17 pm (EST) BY JORDAN DOUGLAS

2K announced today that Bioshock 2 will be getting multiplayer downloadable content (DLC) in March, with single player DLC to follow "In the coming months." The first multiplayer content, known as the Sinclair Solutions Test Pack, will be available on Xbox Live and Games for Windows for 400 Microsoft points and on Playstation Network for £3.19. The new content will feature new playable characters, weapon upgrades, trials, masks and an increase in the rank cap to level 50. More »


Interview With Antic Entertainment On Junk Battles
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Interview With Antic Entertainment On Junk Battles

Sat, Feb 20th, 2010, 11:12 am (EST) BY KYLE WYNEN

Last month Gaming Union reviewed a browser based, free-to-play game call Junk Battles. Little do most gamers know that one of the key developers behind the title is Fredrik Liliegren, Co-Founder and former CEO of DICE, the now EA-owned studio that brought the Battlefield series to the masses. Liliegren now heads Antic Entertainment as the company's CEO, spearheading Junk Battles' on-going development with Technical Director Mark Mikulec, and Creative Director Jeff Evans, who not to mention both worked on Dark Sector and Bioshock.

Gaming Union sat down with Liliegren, Mikulec, and Evans to talk about Junk Battles, why they're working on browser based games, and where they see themselves in the future. More »


How Modern Warfare's Failures Contribute to FPS Gaming
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How Modern Warfare's Failures Contribute to FPS Gaming

Thu, Feb 18th, 2010, 9:40 am (EST) BY ADAM MA

It's hard to talk badly about a game that sold over 1 billion dollars worldwide, because it's clear that they've done something right. In this case that 'something' was Call of Duty 4, a game that set the stage for a whole new generation of shooting games. But now that Modern Warfare 2 is actually out, it's really hard to justify playing it still. Cheaters and exploiters are naturally rampant in almost every single game with a multiplayer component, but Modern Warfare 2 is absolutely out of control.

So what do you do when cheaters ruin a poorly programmed game? Move on to another title, and hope its programmed better. Is it really a surprise to anyone that Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and Aliens vs Predator demos are doing so well? Aliens vs Predator might of had a lot of criticism surrounding its gameplay, but that didn't stop 14,000 people from trying it out over the span of a single weekend. Bad Company 2 squashes that by comparison, having been downloaded over 2 million times across Xbox Live and Playstation network, making it the most downloaded demo EA has ever released. More »


Halo Reach Multiplayer Demo Launches In May
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Halo Reach Multiplayer Demo Launches In May

Fri, Feb 12th, 2010, 9:04 am (EST) BY COLIN

It's official! The Halo: Reach multiplayer demo launches on the 3rd of May. The announcement was made last night at Microsoft's X10 event in San Francisco among a myriad of other goodies for the 360.

According to Bungie, the game boasts a new arsenal of weapons, customization and some pretty big battles previously unseen in any Halo game so far. Reach's beta program will also be the largest ever on any console to date and is "expected to see millions of participants when it begins." Creative director Marcus Lehto adds that the developer will be taking "pretty big risks" with their final Halo game, although he wouldn't go into specifics. All this in addition to the already established online community, Forge and co-op modes. More »


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Fret Nice Review

Wed, Feb 10th, 2010, 10:44 am (EST) BY DARRYL

When Swedish developer Pieces Interactive formed in 2007, they set out to create unique games that would stand out in a crowd. Their second title, Fret Nice, for PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade, does indeed stand out from the crowd, being best described as a "platformer that loves music." However, in this case Pieces may have tried a little too hard to be different, with Fret Nice ending up being a game that sacrifices fun for inventiveness. More »


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Punchers Impact Announce Crasher As New Title

Wed, Feb 10th, 2010, 9:07 am (EST) BY DARRYL

Punchers Impact, a new development studio that formed in October 2009, have announced their first game - Crasher. It will be releasing on PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade and PC. More »


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Bungie Planning 'One Last Hoorah' For Halo 2

Tue, Feb 9th, 2010, 4:39 pm (EST) BY JORDAN DOUGLAS

Halo 2 fans disappointed by the discontinuation of Live service for the original Xbox will be happy to know that Bungie, makers of Halo, feel your pain. In a statement on their official website, the developer let players know they are "saddened" by the shut down and to "mark your calendars now - on April 14th let's all rally to go online for one last hoorah." More »


Latest Modern Warfare Fix Coming To Xbox 360
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Latest Modern Warfare Fix Coming To Xbox 360

Sat, Feb 6th, 2010, 6:39 pm (EST) BY ADAM MA

Another wave of exploits will bite the dust soon, putting Xbox 360 owners one step closer to a bug free Modern Warfare 2 experience. A patch fixing Care Package speed (which will also be a fix to Sentry Gun and Emergency Airdrop glitches), Sentry Gun terrain exploits, Model 1887 range bugs and various XP hacks will be released 'soon' to Xbox live. More »


Xbox Live Service Meeting Its End For Original Xbox Games
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Xbox Live Service Meeting Its End For Original Xbox Games

Fri, Feb 5th, 2010, 10:15 am (EST) BY KYLE WYNEN

In an open letter to Xbox Live users, Xbox Live General Manager Marc Whitten has announced that the service for the original Xbox will meet its end this April 15th. This also includes original Xbox games played on an Xbox 360. Whitten explained Microsoft's choice to do so, "I want to start by saying this isn't a decision we made lightly, but after careful consideration, it is clear this will provide the greatest benefit to the Xbox LIVE community." More »


Dark Void Downloadable Content Coming Next Week
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Dark Void Downloadable Content Coming Next Week

Thu, Feb 4th, 2010, 8:13 pm (EST) BY JORDAN DOUGLAS

Capcom has announced, through a press release, that Dark Void downloadable content (DLC) will be hitting PSN and Xbox Live next week. The DLC is being described by the company as an "arcade-esque experience" which will have players fighting "through hoards of enemies on the ground and in the air... the goal being to survive to Round 10." Seems Capcom, like many other developers, have taken a page from Gears of War. More »