Dreams Are Dead

2007-12-11T13:03:00.000Z

Non-gaming: Birthday boy!

Whoah 19 already! That was a year? It went quickly. So, I thought you might be interested to know what I got, and I got some pretty sweet stuff really. Here goes:

Black Nintendo DS console, Mario DS carry case, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, Mario Kart DS, Animal Crossing: Wild World, Assassins Creed, Tomb Raider Anniversary, God of War, Shawn of the Dead DVD, Bruce Almighty DVD, Spiderman choccies, and money...phew! :)

Not very varied but a lot of games, which is no bad thing- and I haven't bought many games at all this year.

As for the website, I must admit it looks a little neglected right now [pause: arwww.] Rest assured that new life will soon be breathed into it, with a re-design and perhaps a new url. I'll keep you posted.

2007-10-23T01:29:00.000+01:00

Update: I'm still here!

You will no doubt be wondering- 'where the hell are the new articles?' Well unfortunately I have been incredibly busy in recent weeks and have simply not managed to keep the site constantly updated as normal. That is not to say however that I have had my attention diverted and I do plan to upload the backlog of articles this week and normal service shall also resume. No worries!

2007-10-02T22:22:00.001+01:00

News: Bungie and Microsoft to split?

Are Bungie and Microsoft officially ending their long running partnership? Rumours are gaining real momentum on the Internet that this could be the case. It seems hard to believe doesn't it, though if the rumours are to be believed- Bungie wants to move on from Halo and Microsoft want them to simply continue with the AAA franchise. Another rumour is claiming that Bungie will indeed leave MS, though allowing MS first refusal to publish it's future titles.

The slight problem with this is that Microsoft in fact actually owns the studio, so the only way that a split could occur is if Microsoft agreed to sell it. It seems unlikely, but stranger things have happened. The other slight oddity with these rumours is that if you've now finished Halo 3, you will know why it would be strange for Bungie to jump ship. Oh, and just in case you were wondering, Microsoft fully owns Halo- so there's absolutely no possibility of seeing any Halo games on any other system.

Both Microsoft and Bungie are yet to comment.

2007-09-26T21:46:00.000+01:00

News: Finish the fight!

Halo 3 hit store shelves across the UK and Europe today and sales have apparently gone through the roof! In the US, where the game launched yesterday, the game has already racked up sales of USD 170 million! The game has also been received by highly favourable reviews, receiving a 9.5 from IGN and Gamespot, and a 10 from Eurogamer. The reviews average currently stands at 95.3% after 32 filed reviews. Anyway, I'm back off to play! More on Halo 3 soon.

2007-09-19T16:03:00.000+01:00

Xbox Live Arcade Wednesday: Update

Both Sega's all-time classic masterpiece Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Eidos' Geon are now available for you to add to your arcade collection. Sonic 2 is downloadable for a price of just 400 MSP and is an absolute must- any old Sega fans will tell you exactly the truth about this game, that it is truly one of the best games ever created. Geon can be yours for 800 MSP.

2007-09-17T15:59:00.000+01:00

News: Halo 3- Believe

With Halo 3 now just 9 days away, Microsoft have started their advertising campaign with 2 new trailers entitled 'Believe.' The first trailer can be downloaded from Xbox Live Marketplace at just 10 MB. The second, and longer, trailer can be viewed right here and will be shown on television for the first time tomorrow evening between the Champions League football action on ITV1.

Microsoft are believed to have spent over USD 10 million on advertising for Halo 3, but as the game is expected to make more money on it's first day on sale than any other previously released video game or film on it's opening weekend, I'm sure they aren't too concerned about it.

Halo 3 will be released here in the UK (and Europe) on September 26th, with those lucky lot in the US-of-A getting it a day earlier.

2007-09-13T00:18:00.002+01:00

News: Ninja Gaiden II announced!

Listen up Ninja Dogs/Lesser Ninjas/Greater Ninjas/Head Ninjas/Master Ninjas- Tecmo have officially unveiled the sequel to one of the greatest (and toughest) games of all time- Ninja Gaiden II. The game was announced at Microsoft's pre-TGS (Tokyo game show) through a fairly short teaser trailer. No release date was announced, nor were any further details- all we know is that Ninja Gaiden II is coming and it's coming on Xbox 360! The trailer is now available to download from Xbox Live Marketplace.

2007-09-05T19:54:00.000+01:00

News: Latest news...

The Gears of War 'Hidden Fronts' multiplayer map pack is now available to download for free

A new in-game demonstration of Ensemble Studios' (Age of Empires) Halo Wars can be downloaded from Xbox Live Marketplace

Both Midway's Cyberball 2072 (400 MSP) and SNK Playmore's Fatal Fury Special (400 MSP) were released on Xbox Live Arcade

2007-08-31T00:06:00.000+01:00

News: Xbox Live Arcade half price sale

The generous folk over at Microsoft (stop sniggering you) have decided to offer us a small selection of discounted arcade games this weekend. For a 48 hours period between 12:00 GMT on Sunday September 2 and 00:00 GMT on September 3, gamers can pick up any of the following titles for half price. Be quick to avoid the virtual ques.

Small Arms- 400 MSP (normally 800 MSP)
Zuma Deluxe- 400 MSP (normally 800 MSP)
Gauntlet- 200 MSP (normally 400 MSP)
Dig Dug- 200 MSP (normally 400 MSP)

2007-08-30T23:42:00.000+01:00

Xbox Live Marketplace: Timeshift demo

Remember Timeshift anyone? Timeshift was a title originally scheduled for release last year, but following poor write-ups, generally abysmal feedback on the OXM demo, and even the developers themselves starting to question the game- Timeshift was pretty much scrapped...though not completely. Through the Ashes rises, the new Timeshift- which is practically unrecognisable from that bloody awful demo last year.

Timeshift essentially allows you to control the flow of time- (stop, reverse, slow) in your very hands. Well I suppose it's a handy skill to have! Having an assortment of futuristic weaponry at your disposal can't be too bad either. Can Vivendi Universal get it right this time around?

Size: 582 MB.

2007-08-29T23:22:00.000+01:00

Xbox Live Arcade Wednesday: This week's releases...

This week we have both Capcom's Puzzle Fighter HD and Sega's Streets of Rage 2 fighting it out for our virtual coins. Puzzle Fighter HD brings together the worlds of Street Fighter, Darkstalkers, and other Capcom characters in a game of puzzle mayhem- with both a singleplayer mode and multiplayer mode either locally or over Xbox Live. The full version is now available for 800 MSP.

Streets of Rage 2 meanwhile is a remake of the old Genesis side-scrolling beat'em'up classic. Besides the usual singleplayer, the game also supports multiplayer for 2 players either locally or over Xbox Live. 400 MSP and it's yours.

2007-08-28T22:44:00.000+01:00

News: Bioshock gets number 1

Bioshock has, not too surprisingly, gone straight in at number 1 in the UK all formats chart this week- with the Xbox 360 accounting for 88% of the sales and 12% on Windows, while in the separate formats chart the Xbox 360 version came out at number 1, with the Windows version at 4. As if that wasn't enough, it was also announced that Bioshock has become the 2nd fastest selling Xbox 360 game of all time (behind Gears of War.)

All in all, quite a successful week for Bioshock then, especially when you also consider the rave reviews the game received leading up to it's release- giving it an average review score of 96.1% officially making it the 4th highest rated game of all time. The team at 2K have got to be pleased with that!

2007-08-25T18:06:00.000+01:00

Xbox Live Marketplace: Medal of Honor Airborne demo

EA have today released a demo for the upcoming Medal of Honor Airborne, and yes...it is Saturday. In Airborne you play as a member of the airborne division in the US army during WWII, allowing you to take to the skies and land practically anywhere within the given area and take on mission objectives from any angle. The demo is sized at 972.84 MB and allows gamers to take on the first 4 objectives of Operation Husky. Medal of Honor Airborne will be released on September 7th.

2007-08-25T02:00:00.000+01:00

News: Bioshock out now!

The first of this year's 'killer apps' is now available from all good video game stores, and some rubbish ones too...probably. Is it as good as they say? In short, yes, infact it's a bloody masterpiece but you'll have to wait for the full review to find out exactly what I thought of it. Let me play the darn game first will ya!?

2007-08-22T22:24:00.000+01:00

Xbox Live Arcade Wednesday: Available now...

This week gamers looking for the latest arcade thrill can enjoy two new titles with Street Trace NYC and Space Giraffe now available. Street Trace is combat racing where you must fire up your customised hover board and take out other combatants in a variety of battle arenas in this brutal and dangerous new sport. The full version of Street Trace can be downloaded for 800 MSP.

Space Giraffe on the other hand is best explained as an ever-so-slightly bizarre 2D shooter. Heck, I don't know how to explain in any more detail than that! The Giraffe says 400 MSP and a bag of leaves to you good sir.

2007-08-20T23:19:00.000+01:00

News: Price cut for UK and Europe

Following on from the announcement a few weeks back that the Xbox 360 was to receive new lower price points in the US, Microsoft have kindly offered us lot over the old pond a similar deal. The new pricing structure will be effective from Friday which also nicely co-insides with the release of the new Xbox 360 Elite and Bioshock.

Xbox 360 Elite: GBP 299.99
Xbox 360 Premium: GBP 249.99 (-30)
Xbox 360 Core: GBP 179.99 (-20)

Microsoft also announced that a stand alone 120GB HDD will cost GBP 129.99.

2007-08-15T23:24:00.000+01:00

Xbox Live Arcade Wednesday: Hexic and Ecco

Microsoft's Hexic 2 and Sega's classic Ecco the Dolphin are this week's Xbox Live Arcade offerings. Hexic 2 follows on from the successful original title, which comes pre-loaded on the Xbox 360 HDD, and adds new special pieces, new formations, and new game modes- and take the battle online with Xbox Live. Hexic 2 is unfortunately not priced as generously as it's predecessor at 800 MSP.

Ecco the Dolphin meanwhile has been re-worked for Live Arcade; you must help Ecco find his friends by exploring the vast ocean world. Ecco is available for 400 MSP.

2007-08-15T12:41:00.000+01:00

News: Halo 3 new weapons!

Want to know about two new weapons for Halo 3? Well both the flame thrower and incendary grenades will make it in to the final build. With the flame thrower, you will view the action from a 3rd person perspective and it contains nine 3 second bursts with a range of up to 44 feet. As for the incendary grenades, they will burn on the ground for up to 4.5 seconds. Toasty. Things are certainly 'hotting' up as we count down the remaining 5 weeks to release.

2007-08-13T16:03:00.000+01:00

Xbox Live Marketplace: Bioshock demo

A demo for 2K games' highly anticipated first person action adventure Bioshock has been released and is ready to download from the Xbox Live Marketplace- I'm sure you can find 1.35GB of free space on that (no doubt) almost full HDD of yours. Problems with my broadband are preventing me from downloading it, imagine how long it'd take on a 100kbps line...yeah, that's right...it doesn't bare thinking about. So what you waiting for, go get it! Explore Rapture, take down a Big Daddy, harvest some ADAM...oh and let me know how it is!

Bioshock is released this month on August 24th with both a standard edition and limited edition available, exclusively for Xbox 360 and Games for Windows.

2007-08-10T21:32:00.000+01:00

News: Halo 3 reaches milestone

Microsoft announced today that pre-orders of the Xbox 360's highly anticipated flagship title Halo 3 have exceeded 1 million in the US. That's quite a lot really. Halo 3 will be released on September 26th, with 3 different versions available- though it is expected that the legendary edition will sell out with pre-orders alone. If you haven't already pre-ordered your copy (you really should have) then do so now to avoid day 1 disappointment.

2007-08-07T19:31:00.000+01:00

News: US 360 gets price cut

Those folk over the pond have been treated to an official price cut, with no word yet on a similar deal for Europe. The price cut will come in to effect from August 8th onwards. The new pricing structure will be as follows:

Xbox 360 Elite: $499.99 (-$30)
Xbox 360 Premium: $349.99 (-$50)
Xbox 360 Core:$279.99 (-$20)
Xbox 360 Premium (Halo 3 Special Edition): $399.99

Those hoping for a similar announcement over here should keep an eye on the 2007 Leipzig Games Convention between 23rd-26th August.

2007-08-07T19:17:00.000+01:00

Xbox Live Arcade: August line-up

Track & Field will be this week's Xbox Live Arcade release, though fortunately Microsoft have also announced an advanced schedule for games headed to Arcade this month to soften the blow. Gamers can also expect to play Puzzle Quest, Space Giraffe, Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, Ecco the Dolphin, Hexic 2, War World, Geon: Emotions and Streets of Rage before the month is out. As for Track & Field, you can waste 400 MSP if-you-so-wish.

2007-08-01T02:48:00.001+01:00

Xbox Live Arcade Wednesday: This week...

For the fourth week in a row 2 new xbox live arcade titles will dual wield us right in the face with Bungie's classic FPS, Marathon, and the slightly more boring offering, Spyglass Board Games.

In Marathon, ported to the arcade by developer Freeverse, you are humanity's sole survivor; you must explore an alien planet and discover it's secrets, using the usual array of weaponry. Xbox Live and Split-screen multiplayer is also included. Marathon will be available for 800 MSP.

Spyglass Board Games will be available for 400 MSP and includes all the classic board games you would expect including Chess, Checkers, and Draughts. The game also supports the Xbox Live Vision Camera.

Both games should be available to download from the usual time of 08:00 GMT.

2007-07-31T23:37:00.000+01:00

News: Bungie tells us what we want to hear

Bungie confirmed today that we will indeed be able to play Halo 3's campaign co-operatively over Xbox Live, or system link with up to 4 players (and 2 players in split screen) ending months of speculation.

"We’ve been playing it for quite some time, and bluntly, having some of our greatest ever Halo experiences" say Bungie. "Apart from the horrifying network challenges this new mode presented us, were the various gameplay balance issues it adds to the fray. So we got it all together, polished it, and that’s why we’re revealing it now. As a result, you’re going to want to play co-op as hard as you can stomach it. We’d certainly recommend Legendary, but we’ll be revealing some more ways to make the game more interesting and challenging for multiple players in the very near future."

Players will not just play as a bunch of Master Chief Clones (as in previous Halo games) either. Player 1 will take control, of course, of the Master Chief, with player 2 controlling the Arbiter. Players 3 and 4 will play as 2 new Elite Characters called N’tho ‘Sraom and Usze ‘Taham.

Well done to Bungie for making this happen! Get your assault rifles and bubble shields ready for September 26th!

2007-07-26T13:42:00.000+01:00

Xbox Live Marketplace: Resident Evil 5 trailer

The full trailer (approx 140 MB) for the next installment in Capcom's survival horror series, Resident Evil 5, can now be found at Xbox Live Marketplace. The trailer shows Chris Redfield (Resident Evil, Resident Evil: Code Veronica) seemingly investigating unusual goings on within an African Village, the inhabitants of which appear to be controlled and infected with some sort of virus. From the trailer we see two figures holding down a male villager who looks to be infected with something, eyes bleeding, he lunges towards Chris.

Gameplay looks rather similar to that of Resi 4, though we are promised some innovations- such as how Chris must adjust to light. Stay out in the heat and bright sun light for too long and vision may soon become blurred.

Resident Evil is one of my favourite game series of all time, so I'm obviously looking quite forward to this. Resident Evil 5 is due out sometime next year.