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If you’ve had an Xbox360 for any amount of time, it’s pretty likely
you’ll have grown accustomed, maybe even addicted, to the
accumulation of GamerScore. It’s a great way to judge
your gaming
skills against rivals on your Friends List and gives a great sense
of achievement when you hit 1000 Points on a title, well, most
titles anyway. However, due to things not going exactly how
Microsoft would have liked, GamerScore Blog, Microsoft’s Global
Marketing team, has issued a new statement:
1. All
regular disc-based games MUST have 1,000 GamerScore in the base
game. This means that any consumer who buys a retail game will have
the opportunity to unlock the full 1,000 GamerScore without having
to pay for any add-on content. Note that a publisher may decide to
deliver a portion of this GamerScore via add-on content, but the
add-on content will always be free to the consumer.
2. Game
publishers will have the option to deliver another 250 incremental
GamerScore on top of the 1,000 via add-on content from Marketplace.
This add-on content could be either free or paid. So if you complete
a game and earn the full 1,000 GamerScore, you could by getting new
add-on content, earn up to a total of 1,250 points from a game.
3. XboxLIVE!
Arcade games will operate in similar fashion, but given the size of
these titles they will allow you to earn up to 200 GamerScore from
every game and up to another 50 points from add-on content.
Hopefully this will clear up a few things, namely full price titles
from certain franchise heavy publishers having as much as three
hundred Points less than the norm on certain games. Many of us are
also looking forward to possibility of the upcoming The Elder
Scrolls IV: Oblivion expansion, Knights Of The Nine,
taking advantage of the increased GamerScore limits, since we’ve
probably spent way too much time in Tamriel already!
Great news for all fans of XboxLIVE! Arcade, and there are
quite a few of us, Microsoft has announced a whopping ten games
scheduled to be released starting this month. Check out this list:
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3D Ultra Minigolf
Adventures, from developer Wanako Games and publisher Sierra
Online, allows gamers to putt their way through 36 fun-filled
holes of manic mini-golf action on wild courses that range from
the Old West to outer space and feature a bevy of crazy hazards
and obstacles.
-
Band of Bugs
from NinjaBee is a fast-paced Tactical Strategy game that offers
gameplay deep enough to satisfy tactical genre fans and friendly
enough to appeal to casual gamers. Creative gamers can even design
their own Levels with the built-in Level Editor, then play them
solo or over XboxLIVE! with friends.
-
Eets: Chowdown
from Klei Entertainment Inc. is a completely revamped version of
the popular PC title of the same name. It offers new items, 120
new Levels and the exclusive debut of Marsho Madness, a
high-adrenaline action game in which players must keep the
impending evil marshmallows at bay.
-
Paperboy, from
developer Digital Eclipse and publisher Midway, is a classic
coin-op hit, specially enhanced for XboxLIVE! Arcade.
-
Root Beer Tapper,
also from developer Digital Eclipse and publisher Midway, features
fast-paced reflex action as players scramble to keep thirsty
patrons happy without dropping root beer mugs in the scramble to
earn the biggest tips.
Although not all will be to everybody’s tastes, classics such as
Paperboy, CastleVania: Symphony of Night and, of course, the
legendary Worms, are bound to raise a few smiles! No certain
release dates are set yet, but if the past is anything to go by,
it’s likely we’ll see a return to the traditional every Wednesday
launch that so many of us have grown accustomed to.
Are you out this Friday night? No? Luckily for you Microsoft has a
party on your Xbox360 this weekend. The slightly unoriginally titled
XboxLIVE! Party will be taking place this Friday, the 9th,
from 5pm GMT. The idea is to get as many people on XboxLIVE!
as possibly to create the biggest online
 party ever, evidently
World Of Warcraft notwithstanding, with a lucky gamer and seven
friends being escorted to a luxurious lounge for the night should
they win a typically easy competition. There is also the chance to
get your game on with a selection of celebrities such as Busta
Rhymes, Dizzee Rascal, Theo Walcott and a load more people that you
may or may not care about. Be sure to check out
www.xbox.com soon for more details.
And finally, our rumour of the week. Apparently folks over at RARE
are developing a brand new original XboxLIVE! Arcade game.
Not much is known about the title aside from it isn’t a iteration of
any of there established franchises, much to the dismay of all the
foul-mouthed furry animal fans, and that it will be developed by
Nick Burton, creator of Kameo: Elements of Power and
StarFox Adventures. Given hints of this in the past and, of
course, Microsoft’s acquisition of RARE, we’re pretty sure this is
for real. Another classic like Viva Pinata? Or a generic
me-too like Perfect Dark Zero? We’ve got high hopes, watch
this space. |
