11/1/08 - 12/1/08 - XBLN by Team XBLN | XboxLiveNetwork | Gaming 24/7

Saturday, November 29

Shoppers Brawl Over Xbox 360's

By Deus Legend November 29, 2008 2 comments

Black Friday shoppers at Walmart brawl over Xbox 360 Bundles.

Listen! It's Time! Game Time: November 29th - December 6th!

By Saiprashant LR November 29, 2008 No comments

Prince of Persia
Platform: Xbox 360
Release Date: 12/2/2008

Prince of Persia opens an entirely new chapter in the Prince of Persia universe in addition to introducing a fresh Illustrative art style, evolved combat system, open world structure and dynamic AI - ... more

Banjo-Kazooie
Platform: Xbox 360
Release Date: 12/3/2008

Back in 1998, Banjo-Kazooie was the duo's first romp in adventure land. Carrying on the age-old tradition of bear and bird, the team must rescue the soon-to-be monster-ized sister from the ever so ugl ... more

Rumor: GTA IV 'Lost and Damned' DLC Going Retail?

By Deus Legend November 28, 2008 No comments

The new downloadable content for Grand Theft Auto IV is set to be available in stores as well as via Xbox Live, according to a new listing on the website of US retailer GameStop.
It prices GTA IV: The Lost & Damned at USD 19.99 (GBP 13 / EUR 15) and, according to GameStop, consumers won't get an actual disc but a "token card" with a unique code that lets them buy the expansion pack via Live.
Rockstar has yet to comment on the listing, or to announce a price for the new DLC. However, The Lost & Damned will be released on 17th February.

[GamesIndustry]

Around the Hawk: Skate 2

By Jerhawk November 28, 2008 No comments

Now that the majority of the big games have already come out, there's not much left to really look forward to for the majority of gamers out there. However, there's still Skate 2! Check out this amazing vid, which shows how you can customize the way you eat it in the Hall of Meat.

Xbox Live Network Presents: Madden NFL 09 Tournament

By Deus Legend November 27, 2008 22 comments

Xbox Live Network Presents its very own Madden NFL 09 Tournament. We are hoping this will be a very enjoyable league for SIM players. This will be a very closly monitored league where all un sim actions will be taken into account and could lead to league suspension. More on that later. And best of all, the XBLN Bowl Champion will receive 3 Months of Xbox Live!

League Rules:
Difficulty: All-Madden
Qrt Length: 5 Minutes

The season for this league will consist of 2 games per week which will equal 20 games altogether for each team to play. The divisions and conferences will be the same as they are in the NFL today. The only difference is that this league will have a few more games. Also, the NFL has it where teams will play their own division games twice and play two other divisions once, we will add another division that each team must play and two teams at random. Example, the Atlanta Falcons play the NFC North and also the AFC West, in our league system we will add lets say the AFC South to their schedule plus two more games. The schedule will basically be the same as the NFL schedule now but we will add another division to each teams schedule. Teams in the same division will play the same extra division.

If we do not get enough people, then we will make changes to this an make our up another way to schedule the games.

*About Sim play: In our league, sim play does not consist of 1) Running down the clock unneccessarily 2) Going for 4th downs when you are winning the game, 3) Onside kicks when you are up, 4) And finally, performing cheap D-line stunting where the user controls the player and gets in every play, 5) Not quitting, or you will get the lost unless there is an EA Server problem.

If the person you are to play is not available to play, league headquarters must be contacted. Depending on the circumstances, the game will either be postponed or decided by league officials.

Teams and Owners:

AFC East:
Buffalo Bills
Miami Dolphins
New England Patriots
New York Jets- Phil03

AFC North
Baltimore Ravens- LatinGangsta187
Cincinnati Bengals
Cleveland Browns
Pittsburgh Steelers- bdhnbtown8532

AFC South
Houston Texans
Indianapolis Colts
Jacksonville Jaguars
Tennessee Titans

AFC West
Denver Broncos
Kansas City Chiefs
Oakland Raiders
San Diego Charger

NFC East
Dallas Cowboys- Saluki1137
New York Giants- Babyrock1
Philadelphia Eagles- Stopable
Washingotn Redskins- Drumphreek

NFC North
Chicago Bears- AKAthatoneguy
Detroit Lions
Green Bay Packers- xSgt Meatloafx
Minnesota Vikings- Bengalfan85

NFC South
Atlanta Falcons- Deus Legend
Carolina Panthers- Antman0317
New Orleans Saints
Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Romanmusiq

NFC West
Arizona Cardinals- Robin Sweety
San Francisco 49ers
St. Louis Rams- Flynn4daWin
Seattle Seahawks- Jerhawk

To sign up, simply leave your gamertag and team here and you will recieve further instructions.

Thanks.

Madden NFL 09 Chicago Bears Highlights

By Deus Legend November 27, 2008 1 comment

Above is a pretty entertaining Chicago Bears Video Package brought to you by VSNGaming.com. Enjoy!

WWE Legends of Wrestlemania Box Art

By Deus Legend November 26, 2008 No comments

"Andre, Hogan, Austin and The Rock represent the breadth of incredible talent that players can use to relive, rewrite or redefine history in WWE Legends of WrestleMania," said Cory Ledesma, senior creative manager with THQ. "In addition, they will have access to dynamic managers, such as Heenan and Hart, who will play important roles throughout critical gameplay moments."

Not much is known about Legends except that it'll be using a simplified control scheme and shipping in March to coincide with WrestleMania 25 in Houston, Texas. Keep it on IGN for more on the game as it becomes available.

XBLM Black Friday Deals

By Deus Legend November 26, 2008 No comments

If you live in the US, you know that the day after Thanksgiving is called Black Friday. Starting this Friday Gold Members located in the US can save on select Marketplace Offers. Here is the complete list of items, including the discount and savings in MS Points:

Type	Content (click to purchase)	Original Price	Black Fri Price	Discount	Savings
Arcade	Rez HD	800	500	37.5%	300
Arcade	Arkadian Warriors	800	500	37.5%	300
Arcade	Assault Heroes	400	250	37.5%	150
Arcade	Catan	800	500	37.5%	300
Arcade	Brain Challenge	800	500	37.5%	300
Arcade	Boogie Bunnies	800	500	37.5%	300
Arcade	Golf: Tee It Up!	800	500	37.5%	300
PDLC	GH3 Metallica “Death Magnetic” Full Album	1440	1000	30.6%	440
PDLC	Forza – March Car Pack	400	250	37.5%	150
PDLC	Crackdown – Getting Busy Bonus Pack	800	500	37.5%	300
PDLC	Rock Band All That Remains Pack 01	440	290	34.1%	150
PDLC	Lips – The Remedy (Jason Mraz)	160	100	37.5%	60
Theme	Gears of War 2 – Last Day	250	180	28.0%	70
Theme	Sonic Unleashed	250	180	28.0%	70
Theme	Castle Crashers Premium Theme	250	180	28.0%	70

The sale starts Friday morning and will run through Sunday evening. These special prices will be available for Xbox LIVE Gold Members in the US only. If you click the links above, you’ll see the current prices. The new prices will be updated on Friday morning when the sale kicks in.

[MajorNelson]

Avatar Celebrity Look-a-likes

By Deus Legend November 26, 2008 1 comment

[GamesRadar]

Halo 3 Recon Name Changed

By Deus Legend November 25, 2008 1 comment

Bungie's upcoming Halo project, announced as Halo 3: Recon has undergone an official name change. Now the title will be known as Halo 3: ODST. The ODST acronym stands for "Orbital Drop Shock Troopers."

A Microsoft representative gave the reason for the change was, "We decided that "Halo 3: ODST" was a better name for this title as we look to build out this new character and the story behind the title."

NFL Picks: Week 12 Results / Week 13 Picks

By Jerhawk November 24, 2008 7 comments

Week 12 is officially over, as well as many NFL teams' seasons. My Seahawks have proven to be more than dissapointing, and some teams are turning heads. The Titans are no longer perfect, so the '72 Dolphins can feel free to crack open a cold one! High school graduate Matt Cassell is proving everybody wrong, and Peyton Manning just won't go down without a fight. This is really a very interesting season, giving everybody something to talk about.

An important note for people to know: UnKillableBeast has changed his identity to xSgt MeatLoafx.

Here are the results of our Double EXP Weekend:

Successful 2-Point Conversions:

Oakland Raiders over Denver Broncos (Jerhawk, xSgt MeatLoafx, Finch865)

Failed 2-Point Conversions:

Detroit Lions defeated by Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Jerhawk, Deus Legend)
San Francisco 49ers defeated by Dallas Cowboys (Deus Legend, Stopable)

Here were some other things I found when going over the picks for Week 12:

-Finch865 was the ONLY person to pick the St. Louis Rams over the Chicago Bears, but got it WRONG.
-Jerhawk was the ONLY guy to get the San Diego Chargers WRONG as they lost to the Indianapolis Colts.
-Deus Legend and xSgt MeatLoafx were the ONLY people to get the N.Y. Jets CORRECT as they took down the Tennessee Titans.
-Deus Legend and Stopable were the ONLY playas to get the Houston Texans CORRECT over the Cleveland Browns.
-EVERYBODY that picked got the Pittsburgh Steelers CORRECT as they beat the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday Night.

The results from Week 12:

1.) xSgt MeatLoafx / 14
2.) Jerhawk / 11
3.) Stopable / 10
4.) Deus Legend / 9
T5.) JRC 865 / 8
T5.) Flynn4DaWin / 8
6.) Finch865 / 7

Here's the XBLN.com NFL Picks PowerRankings, presented by Viagra (Do not take when pregnant):

1.) Jerhawk / 114
T2.) Flynn4DaWin / 106
T2.) xSgt MeatLoafx / 106
3.) Deus Legend / 105
4.) JRC 865 / 103
5.) Stopable / 102
6.) Finch865 / 59

So, pretty much everybody has eclipsed the 100 point mark. That's pretty cool. I wonder if we'll get to 200?

Here's the games for Week 13:

*Tennessee @ Detroit (Thanksgiving Early Game)(Super-Mega Upset Alert)

*Seattle @ Dallas (Thanksgiving Turkey Game)(Upset Alert)

Arizona @ Philadelphia (Thanksgiving Late Game)

*San Francisco @ Buffalo (Upset Alert)

*Baltimore @ Cincinnati (Upset Alert)

Indianapolis @ Cleveland

Carolina @ Green Bay

*Denver @ N.Y. Jets (Upset Alert)

Miami @ St. Louis

New Orleans @ Tampa Bay

N.Y. Giants @ Washington

Atlanta @ San Diego

Pittsburgh @ New England

Kansas City @ Oakland

Chicago @ Minnesota (Sunday Night)

Jacksonville @ Houston (Monday Night Football)

Here's some inside information for the 5 Double EXP Weekend games, selected by Commissioner Jerhawk:

Tennessee Titans (10-1) vs. Detroit Lions (0-11)
The Titans are favored by 11 points.

Seattle Seahawks (2-9) vs. Dallas Cowboys (7-4)
The "Ballas" Cowboys are looking to make Turkeys out of the Seahawks. They're favored by 13 points.

San Francisco 49ers (3-8) vs. Buffalo Bills (6-5)
The Bills are favored by 7 points.

Baltimore Ravens (7-4) vs. Cincinnati Bengals (1-9-1)
The Ravens are favored by 7 points.

Denver Broncos (6-5) vs. N.Y. Jets (8-3)
The Jets are favored by 7.5 points, but you wouldn't think that by looking at their records.

Deus Legend and Jerhawk have made a bet! Here are the details of this gamble:
Jerhawk is sad about his Seahawks. He has made fun of Deus Legend's Falcons for the past two years. Deus Legend is tired of it, so has made a deal with Jerhawk. If Deus Legend's Atlanta Falcons win the Super Bowl this season, Jerhawk will shave his head! Here's what I look like if you're curious, since my hair is very precious to me. My hair is actually a bit longer than this now, basically just like my Avatar character:

If you guys out there have any other crazy bets or gambles, please post a comment about them, I'm sure everyone will get a good laugh out of them.

Also, I strongly recommend getting your picks in by Thanksgiving, since there are three games on that day.

Good luck everyone, and Happy Turkey Day! Gobble gobble!

Avatar Fun

By Deus Legend November 24, 2008 1 comment

While in Avatar Customizer

Left Bumper - Makes Avatar do a random expression: depressed, apologetic, surprised, laughing, or angry.
Right Bumper - Opens Avatar's mouth
Hold Left or Right Trigger - Spins Avatar making it lose its balance.
Move Right Thumbstick - Rotates Avatar's head.
Move Right Thumbstick Left, Right, Left, Right - Makes Avatar angry.
Move Right Thumbstick Up, Down, Up, Down - Makes Avatar happy.
Rotate Right Thumbstick in a Circle - Makes Avatar dizzy.
Click Right Thumbstick - Makes Avatar burp.
Click and Hold Right Thumbstick, Then Move Right Thumbstick - Makes Avatar burp continuously in various pitches.
Hold Right Thumbstick Left then move Right - Makes Avatar enthusiastically spin to the right.
Hold Right Thumbstick Right then move Left - Makes Avatar enthusiastically spin to the left.

*Exclusive to "My Features" area or anywhere Avatar head is zoomed in on.

Move Right Thumbstick Up then Down - Makes Avatar hit its head on the screen, making it dizzy.

While in Xbox 360 Dashboard

Move Right Thumbstick - Rotates Avatar's head.
Move Right Thumbstick Left, Right, Left, Right - Makes Avatar angry.
Move Right Thumbstick Up, Down, Up, Down - Makes Avatar happy.
Rotate Right Thumbstick in a Circle - Makes Avatar dizzy.
Click Right Thumbstick - Makes Avatar smile and wave.

Dead Space Demo Coming

By Deus Legend November 24, 2008 No comments

EA just informed us that a Dead Space demo will be releasing to the Xbox Live Marketplace this week. Specifically, Tuesday, November 25th. We're told that the demo will feature the use of both stasis and telekinesis abilities as well as four of Isaac Clarke's weapons-o-destruction.

GTA IV DLC Information

By Deus Legend November 20, 2008 1 comment

According to USA Today, the GTAIV "Lost and Damned" episodic DLC will release on February 17th, 2009 and feature main character Johnny Klebitz who's a member of the Liberty City biker gang "The Lost". Rockstar VP Dan Houser describes Johnny as "a very different character than Niko, with a very different background" and promises that "the story will show you a different side of Liberty City." No other story information was revealed and pricing is still not finalized. I suppose somewhere around 1600 MSP or $20.

DiRT 2 Announced, Coming Next Year

By Deus Legend November 19, 2008 No comments

Codemasters has announced it is to release a sequel to Colin McRae: DiRT, the highly acclaimed off-road racer that lit the dawn of the current generation in 2007. Dubbed Colin McRae: DiRT 2, the game will retain the name of the late Scottish rally driver who fostered the series from its roots on the first PlayStation before his untimely death prior to the release of DiRT.

"Colin McRae was all about the speed, the excitement and the entertainment of rally driving," said the game's executive producer Gavin Raeburn. "Later his showmanship shone through in events such as the X-games, the Dakar Rally and the Race of Champions. He could do things with a car that no one else would and that's where we're taking the series with new events at the extreme edge of rally and motorsport. It will be a great tribute to an incredible champion."

Exploring various disciplines of off-road racing, Colin McRae: DiRT 2 will utilise an enhanced version of the EGO engine that was last seen in the impressive looking GRID, and will feature comprehensive online modes that promise to be a marked improvement over those in the original.

Colin McRae: DiRT 2 will be spreading its wings beyond the HD axis of the Xbox 360. It's due at an unspecified date in 2009

Need for Speed Undercover Mixed Reviews?

By Deus Legend November 18, 2008 1 comment

Need for Speed Undercover is a poor game with a ton of problems, both technically and in terms of design. The open world design is completely lost as you can't actually drive to any event, many races are closed off which means no cross traffic, and it's incredibly easy. The presentation could have been good but winds up feeling totally contrived and confusing at times. The game could, and should, have been leaps and bounds better than it is. As it stands, though, there's absolutely no reason to pick this up over the likes of Burnout Paradise or Midnight Club: Los Angeles, both of which demolish it in every way possible.

IGN Ratings for Need for Speed Undercover (X360)

Rating	Description
out of 10
6.0	Presentation The cutscenes don't work as well as intended, it's way too easy and the open world setup is almost completely pointless.
5.0	Graphics The cars don't look all that great and the city is lifeless. It also doesn't run as well as it should.
8.0	Sound The engine effects are great, though they could be mixed better. The soundtrack is decent, though it isn't used too often.
5.0	Gameplay Why is this game set in an open world? You can't drive to events or find anything, so what's the point? It's also way too easy.
6.0	Lasting Appeal The online stuff works, but it's very basic and will get old after a while. There's a decent number of events, but it just isn't any fun.
5.0 Meh	OVERALL (out of 10 / not an average)

[IGN]

Team Xbox Review

No matter where the NFS franchise takes gamers, one thing has held steady throughout the journey: These racers are only as good as their core engines. While Need for Speed Undercover delivers in the areas of cinematic production, audio, visuals and through its sweet vehicle roster, it falls a bit short in the realm of top-tier, arcade-quality handling models.

Need for Speed Undercover is still worth a serious look due to its overall thoroughness, but those looking for sheer circuit mastery by something other than raw horsepower numbers should probably give Need for Speed Undercover a rental first before deciding if to steer clear of its sneaky ways.