Joystiq [Xbox]

Science: Uncharted 2 is the best game of 2009

by Justin McElroy { 6 hours ago }

Who says so? Science says so. Just look at the numbers in this Metacritic round-up of the year's top games and it's pretty obvious that Uncharted 2 is the best. Also, according to math, the PS3 is better than the 360. This isn't us or even Metacritic saying it, people, these are innocent, irrefutable numbers.

In all seriousness, while Metacritic has collected some interesting, worthwhile data in its report, we're not sure what the point is in trying to pick the best system or game of 2009 just going by statistics. We've relied on numbers just to help us organize our annual Game of the Year selection, and even so, just look how much damage they were still capable of.

This Wednesday: Alien Breed Evolution brings about Puzzlegeddon on XBLA

by Richard Mitchell { 7 hours ago }

It looks like we get more than the previously announced Alien Breed Evolution on XBLA this week, as Major Nelson has revealed that it will be joined by Puzzlegeddon from Tecmo. Despite its apocalyptic name, Puzzlegeddon sports an entirely cheery disposition, complete with lots of bright colors and bubbly music. The PC version previously received some decent reviews, and we've certainly been roped in by cute puzzle games in the past.

Alien Breed Evolution and Puzzlegeddon will run you 800

($10) apiece.

Dante's Inferno producer hopes for sequel, despite challenges

by Justin McElroy { 8 hours ago }

Would it be possible to use Dante Alighieri's spinning corpse in oil derricks, as as a sort of fleshy drill, or perhaps to power a large centrifuge? That might be a real opportunity if Dante's Inferno executive producer Jonathan Knight gets to make a follow-up to his forthcoming adaptation, a hope he elaborated on for G4.

There's a hitch though: While Knight knows that EA will want a sequel to the game if it performs well, he's not sure that the follow up in The Divine Comedy, Purgatorio, will lend itself as well to a game.

... So Visceral can turn one of the great literary works into a game about a scythe-wielding maniac fighting nipple-born monsters, but making a game about the seven-layer Mount of Purgatory that ends in Earthly Paradise is beyond it? Really?

Aliens vs. Predator attempts Aussie classification on appeal

by Alexander Sliwinski { 8 hours ago }

Sega and Rebellion won't release a "sanitized" Aliens vs. Predator for the Australian market, but it appears the companies are at least going to try and appeal the government's decision to "ban" the game. Refused Classification noted over the weekend that the classification board will hold a review of AvP's status this Friday, December 18.

The most recent high-profile game to attempt an appeal with the Aussie ratings board was Valve's Left 4 Dead 2 -- it failed. However, an edited version of the zombie apocalypse survival trainer was released in the region. We've contacted Sega for comment on the matter.

[Via GamePolitics]

Xbox 360 Fancast 146 -- Tempting Fate

by Richard Mitchell { 8 hours ago }

It's unclear just how it happened, but this week's Fancast clocks in at almost two hours. It took a long time. Time that we could have spent writing about games. But, you demand podcast goodness and we must oblige, so prepare for a mountain of emails about underage gaming, the Japanese game industry, delicious dessert islands and more. We also take some time to discuss the NPD numbers and, of course, Starship Troopers.

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (MP3).
[Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in Zune Marketplace (MP3).
[RSS MP3] Add the Xbox 360 Fanboy Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically.
[MP3] Download the MP3 directly.

Hosts: Richard Mitchell (SenseiRAM), Alexander Sliwinski (Sli Xander) and Dave Hinkle (KnifefightYoDad)

Produced by Richard Mitchell

Music: Intro/Outro: "Electromooq" by Uma Floresta. Break: "Pillar of Salt" by The Thermals.

For fans: Xbox 360 Fancast Facebook group

Continued →

Buy Xbox goods at Best Buy, get a Sherlock movie ticket

by Richard Mitchell { 8 hours ago }

The following is an excerpt from the Sherlock Holmes story "The Adventure of the Free Movie Pass," which many scholars believe to be apocryphal. Joystiq makes no claims regarding its authenticity and presents it purely for the sake of the information contained within.

"The case of the free movie pass is quite simple," said Sherlock Holmes. "In order to procure a free ticket to see the film Sherlock Holmes -- a film from the future based on my past exploits -- one must do the following. First, select one of a myriad of Xbox 360 products listed on this Best Buy offer site. Following this, simply select the 'Sherlock Holmes Movie Pack' and it will be added to one's cart, gratis.

"Said pack will grant the purchaser one free pass to see the aforementioned film, so long as the ticket price does not exceed $12. In addition to said ticket, one will also receive a Sherlock Holmes outfit for his Xbox 360 Avatar," concluded Holmes.

"Brilliant!" said Watson.

"Not at all," said, Holmes, "It was logic, nothing more."

[Via Slickdeals]

Now Playing: December 14-20, 2009

by James Ransom-Wiley { 9 hours ago }

Don't call it the prologue.

Choose your platform to jump to a specific release list:

Last updated: Monday, 6:00 PM

Continued →

Mass Effect 2 dev profiles Sentinel class, the 'Jack of All Trades'

by Ben Gilbert { 9 hours ago }

After Mass Effect 2 lead gameplay designer Christina Norman walked us through the Engineer class and it's sanguinary droid last week, we were wondering how BioWare could possibly appeal to our inner tactician any more. It appears that the developer sought to do just that with this week's introduction to the Sentinel.

Skilled in both biotic skills (thats space magic, folks) and tech abilities, Norman says the Sentinel is "the only class that can blast through any enemy's defenses ... with or without your squad backing you up." With only a handful of weeks left before the game's January 26 release date, it won't be long before we get to find out exactly how adept the Sentinel is for ourselves.

Gallery: Mass Effect 2 (Sentinel Class)

Zeno Clash: Ultimate Edition trailer isn't creepy enough

by Justin McElroy { 10 hours ago }

The trailer we've placed below the break for XBLA's Zeno Clash: Ultimate Editiion is a failure. It's not that you won't get a good idea of the first-person-brawler-slash-shooter's gameplay -- you will. It's that the clip doesn't come within a million miles of communicating just how skin-crawlingly creepy the experience of playing Zeno Clash is.

Just for the record, it's kind of like taking a shower in Neil Gaiman's bathwater after its been filtered through David Lynch's birth certificate. Cr-eepy.

Continued →

Spec Ops: The Line not dusting up until Nov. 2010 at earliest

by Justin McElroy { 10 hours ago }

Though the Bjork-filled trailer for Spec Ops: The Line may have left you eager to start shooting up a sandy Dubai, we have to recommend that you save at least some anticipation for late next year. According to publisher Take-Two, the Yager-developed shooter isn't due until the 2011 fiscal year, which kicks off on Nov. 1 of 2010.

Yes, it's a long way off, but don't get depressed! Your friends at Joystiq have a wonderful way of filling your quota for desert-based e-murder in the interim: 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand. With Game of the Year list time just around the corner, has there ever been a better moment to revisit the most points-laden diamond skull hunt of the year? We think not.

Square Enix plans '0 Day Attack on Earth' for Dec. 23

by Randy Nelson { 11 hours ago }

Square Enix is swooping in like some kind of Tetsuya Nomura-designed Santa Claus and delivering the world what it wants -- nay, needs -- just in time for the hap-hap-happiest time of the year: a twin-stick shooter for Xbox Live Arcade. Its been announced via the game's official Twitter feed that 0 Day Attack in Earth will invade the Xbox Live Marketplace on December 23.

Like Sony's The Last Guy, 0 Day Attack on Earth uses satellite photography for its real-world city battle zones -- only players are tooling around high above the ground blasting ginormous alien invaders with a friend, or just solo. We went hands-in with the game at TGS 2009 and found it to be ... well, the verdict's still out ~~of this world~~.

Modern Warfare 2 players report matchmaking malfunction

by David Hinkle { 11 hours ago }

Now that the exploding men and unrelenting rain of crates have been taken care of, it would seem a new issue has arisen in Modern Warfare 2. Specifically, a bug in the Xbox Live matchmaking assignments is reportedly dumping playlist searchers into private matches. (Nothing's worse than being teamed with the lowest ranking players, after all.)

Penny Arcade's Gabe tweeted (warning: foul language through link) that he had encountered the issue several times. Meanwhile, Infinity Ward's man in the trenches, Robert "fourzerotwo" Bowling, confirmed the issue is known and that a fix is currently in the works.

[Via Gaming Union]

Source - cwgabriel [Twitter] (NSFW)
Source - Robert "fourzerotwo" Bowling [Twitter]

Splinter Cell: Conviction Collector's Edition revealed for the rest of the world [update]

by JC Fletcher { 11 hours ago }

Click with conviction to see larger images Paying more for a fancier version of Splinter Cell: Conviction is no longer an exclusively North American privilege. Ubisoft just announced a Collector's Edition of the stealth sequel for "all" European, Middle Eastern, Asian, and Pacific territories -- and it comes with different stuff than the North American version!

The rest of the world's Collector's Edition will include the usual steel-book case and soundtrack, and also the distinguished-looking Sam Fisher statue seen above, frozen forever in the act of almost stepping on his night vision goggles. The pack also includes in-game bonuses like an Infiltration Mode, a special "Shadow Armor" skin, and "early access" to the SC300, SR2 and MP5 weapons.

Head into our gallery to see images of both the Xbox 360 and PC sets.

Update: See the new weapons and the other bonuses in a video after the break.

Gallery: Splinter Cell: Conviction Collector's Edition

Continued →

Left 4 Dead 2 DLC 'The Passing' to feature L4D1 cast

by Ludwig Kietzmann { 12 hours ago }

Not content with unleashing a full-blown zombie apocalypse, Valve has come up with the second most socially awkward event imaginable: inviting characters from the original Left 4 Dead to hang out in the sequel's first DLC campaign. Bill, Louis, Zoey and Francis will meet with the stars of Left 4 Dead 2 in "The Passing," which Valve VP of marketing Doug Lombardi calls "the most important campaign in the Left 4 Dead story, as all the Survivors are being called together in one campaign." It's targeted for release in early 2010 on Xbox 360 and PC.

In addition to a co-op campaign (set in rural Georgia) and a new "co-operative challenge mode of play," The Passing will offer new content for Survival, Versus and Scavenge modes. Playing as the L4D2 cast, you can also expect to encounter a new melee weapon, firearm and "uncommon common" zombie.

We can't wait to meet up with last year's survivors again ... oh, assuming they really are still survivors.

Square Enix teases something 'stylish' for FFXIII

by Justin McElroy { 12 hours ago }

As if the wait for Final Fantasy XIII wasn't already difficult enough, Square Enix's assistant PR director, Sonia Im, is making it even more torturous. On her Twitter account, Im teased "something cool most of you can participate in a few days from now" within a mysterious Square Enix memo. Im later added that the memo "eluded [sic] to something stylish." If you squint, the date in the memo seems to be December 17, which would coincide with a PSN update.

It's anybody's guess past that, but we're hoping for a totally magical Final Fantasy-themed fancy dress party for us and a few of our closest friends, set inside PlayStation Home. Can you even imagine?

That, or a demo like the one our Japanese friends already have. Either way.