Xbox 360 Features

Respawn: Panzer Dragoon Orta

I am sure that I can speak for every person in the entire world when I say that we all wish that we could ride a giant dragon that shoots lasers. That is the entire basis for the Panzer Dragoon series from Sega. Orta is the fourth title in the series, but it may be the first title that you have actually heard of because the other three titles were exclusives for the Sega Saturn and released in extremely limited quantities.

Panzer Dragoon: Orta follows the tale of a girl named Orta who has been imprisoned for her entire life by mysterious people known as the “Seekers.” Her tower that she is held captive in is destroyed by the Empire who ride genetically engineered dragons (that are apparently way better than regular dragons) and just as the Empire is about to kill Orta she is rescued by, you guessed it, a dragon. Listen people, it’s an on rails shooter, if you’re looking for a deep and engaging narrative look elsewhere.

What Is Your Gaming Setup?

Our “gaming setups” are cherished things. We groom them and add pretty little accessories to make them look better. Below are your favorite Xbox Team member’s setups topped with some text explaining them. Don’t just read, though! Comment with pictures of your setup! And describe some things about it if you want.

The Force Unleashed 2 Hands-On

I was beyond excited to get my hands on The Force Unleashed 2. It’s my most anticipated title of the year so imagine my joy when the Penny Arcade Expo this year in Seattle gave me access to play the first level on the 360 version. In short, the game is awesome. But more importantly it looks like LucasArts is out to improve the overall experience in every aspect, rather than just rush out a sequel for some quick coin.

Who’s Winning the Console Wars?

It’s been debated ever since the launch of the consoles in 2005/2006, who will win the war between the three big monster pieces of tech?  At first, it seemed like the Wii winning was inevitable but since then, the Xbox and PS3 have slowly started to take ground. The war between the consoles, money-wise, is all but over. The Wii averages around 300,000 consoles sold a month even now, four years after its launch. This proves we’ll see a Wii 2 (HD?), we can only hope they have an actual shot at winning the war next time around, and not just one battle.

Respawn: Cilve Barker’s Jericho

Clive Barker Jericho is a horror themed first person shooter—not much else to say about. There are some squad mechanics if that means anything to anyone… there is some gore, there is some more shooting… there is nothing of this game that I can justify in saying that it’s groundbreaking as this game is so mediocre… it almost seems a tad bit funny. From the famed Clive Barker, this game is a very mediocre game but it looks pretty and that’s all there is to it. The art design is impeccable, the story is interesting and disappointing, a rollercoaster ride really. The premise is very tasteful and promising—on paper, it looked rad and that’s something I took into account when I got a copy… but when I look back at such a time… the execution left a lot to be desired. Factors such as lazy level design, sub-par friendly AI, and absolutely atrocious ending of a storyline, such factors help bring this down to be one of the worse games that the Respawn feature ever had to revisit.

Top 3 Most Anticipated Xbox 360 Games

Anticipation is something we all feel rather you love games or you don’t. Some people occasionally garner a certain level of anticipation that makes them want to explode with excitement for their favorite upcoming game. That is just what I (Jay Malone) and fellow Xbox Team member (and Blade Kitten reviewer), Jon Jamrog, will be doing below. This list is not limited to exclusives nor is it limited to games releasing in 2010.

Vanquish Preview

Vanquish has been a title that up to this point, I had no idea what it was. All I knew was that it was some sort of third person game with a guy in a suit. After sitting down and playing the demo, I feel like I know just about enough to conclude: Vanquish should be great.

Peter Molyneux Interview Plus Fable 3 Preview

Our own Ray Carsillo has sat down with the man, the myth, the legend, Peter Molyneux, folks. Within this interview Ray and Peter discuss Fable 3’s environment, story, its newer gameplay mechanics, combat, difficulty in game design, Fable 2’s slight inconsistencies, the new Fable 3 ”sanctuary”, and your own personal hilarious butler.

The Guide To Make Better Of You In Call of Duty: Rifles

My god… Call of Duty Black Ops is coming out soon and yet no one has yet to prepare you for the one thing that you’ll probably find most frustrating about the game… the multiplayer. Don’t be modest; if you think your pretty f’ing awesome at the game, think again as you are probably either just lucky, or you’re just shitting out the right answers every time you enter a lobby. There are several basics I’m going to run by you in this little guide I decided to do for the upcoming Black Ops game, and I will take you around and about with the basics of how to be better at Call of Duty in general. Follow these simple rules and you actually may live to see to getting that UAV. This first part is a general overview of the game…

Before I even start, I have to run the basics over with you on how to play the game… left sticks to move, right sticks to aim… etc, I’m tired so I’m not going to explain all of that to you. I mean, honestly… I ain’t no tutor, I’m just here to make you better—not to have you learn everything from scratch, that’ll be silly. After you get all that done and out of the way, you must decide what guns you want to use… here are the basic designs you have to keep in mind when you pick your classes and set them up for later.

Gimmicks: 3D

Video games have always been involved with gimmicks. Well before the move, kinect, and the Wii there were things that game companies wanted us to shell out our cash to buy. Case in point the Nintendo Power Glove (which I won’t talk about, but I’ll let the nerd do the talking on that). However these days gimmicks are everywhere in the entertainment industry, and most likely won’t be going away. However I think some need to know more about this stuff, and gimmicks in general. I don’t know where better to start talking about gimmicks that to mention 3D.