For gamers, the new year usually begins after mid-November and this year’s no different; pretty much all major console exclusives have been released.
So, this is the first time that we can actually look back at 2008 and see which console had the best exclusives for the year - the PS3, Xbox 360, or Wii.
To do this, I decided to tally up the Metascore ratings (as of 11/20) for what are arguably the top ten exclusives for each console. Games that are available on PC and only one console are on the list as well (World of Goo and Left 4 Dead are two examples). So let’s dive right in to those potentially forum-rioting numbers:
Nintendo Wii: 1. No More Heroes - 83%
2. Super Smash Bros. Brawl - 94%
3. Mario Kart Wii - 82%
4. Wii Fit - 80%
5. Wario Land: Shake it! - 78%
6. Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility - 64%
7. World of Goo - 95%
8. Wii Music - 63%
9. Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the N... More »
Looks like the New Xbox Experience dashboard update is experiencing some not-so-new Xbox woes. November 19: launch day for the NXE update. Not 24 hours after it went live, complaints
are already piling up.
Various forums online (such as the one linked above) have threads and threads of people reporting anything from connection freezes, slow downs, lock ups, broken TV connections, and so many other different numerical errors that, if all of them were strung together, could potentially measure all the way from Earth to the moon (and back).
There are even reports of brickage - yes, the famed red ring of death is back. Some say it's limited to modded consoles only (no surprise there) but other untainted units seem to be affected by the same problem too.
We've yet to hear any official response from Major Nelson or any of the Microsoft staff. Some say the slow downs are caused by the simple fact of surging traffic accessing XBL, but the oth... More »
The US space agency NASA said it successfuly conducted a first test of a deep space communications network modeled on the Internet.
"This is the first step in creating a totally new space communications capability, an interplanetary Internet," Adrian Hooke, NASA's manager of space-networking architecture, technology and standards, said in a statement.
The US space agency said Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineers used software called Disruption-Tolerant Networking, or DTN, to transmit dozens of space images to and from a NASA spacecraft some 20 million miles (32.4 million kilometers) from Earth.
NASA said the software protocol, which must be able to withstand delays, disruptions and disconnections in space, was designed in partnership with Vint Cerf, a vice president at Internet search giant Google.
DTN sends information using a method that differs from the normal Internet's Transmission-Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, or TCP... More »
Along with the much anticipated Dashboard update, Microsoft has announced a new "Download & Win" contest where gamers have a chance to win free Microsoft Points.
The company is putting 1,000,000 Microsoft Points up for grabs for people who download content from Xbox Live between 6:01 AM PST on November 19th, and 11:59 PM PST on November 23rd.
The downloads must be from the following categories:
- Movie
- TV Show
- Full Arcade Game
- Xbox Originals Game
- Game Add-On
- Music Video
- The Prizes include:
- One Grand Prize of 500,000 MS Points
- Five 1st Prizes of 50,000 MS Points
- Ten 2nd Prizes of 10,000 MS Points
- Thirty 3rd Prizes of 5,000 MS Points
Sounds like a great way to kick off the New Xbox Experience. I think we all could use a cool 500,000 MS Points. If you have a few points laying around you might think about buying a game or two next week.
Just under two days ago we reported that some LittleBigPlanet Custom Levels were being moderated (deleted) due to EULA violations.
Today, Media Molecule Dev Sam_Protagonist has posted on the LittleBigPlanet Workshop the following clarification:
Oasis is the name both of a band and of a soft drink (at least in Europe), however any level using the title "Oasis" would be absolutely fine right now unless it included music by Oasis the band, or the likeness of the drinks bottle.
There is a lot of exaggeration at play here with exactly what's going on with moderation. Firstly, no level is moderated unless it has been reported using the Good Grief tool, at which point it will only be blocked from online play if it is in violation of the EULA.
To date there have been fewer than 200 levels which have been blocked - considerably les... More »
Softchip is designed to allow booting of 1:1 backup discs on your Wii.
Goals:
• Allow booting of 1:1 Wii Disc backups Region/Video patching to allow booting of imported discs and backups of imports
• As close to 100% compatibility as possible
• Compatibility with consoles of all drive types
• Allow booting of non-standard ISO9660 Homebrew Wii discs
• Store configuration to SD or USB drive to allow configurable autoboot
Wishlist:
• Ability to use Ocarina-style codes
• Compatibility with Waninkoko's decrypted disc format
• Runtime patching of the System Menu & Starlet to use the Disc Channel to load discs
• Remove the need for any cIOS
•... More »
Google's hotly anticipated push into operating systems for mobile phones was a media sensation, but HTC's version of its Android-powered device is falling short of the hype. Critics say the "Google phone," which went on sale Oct. 22, is a little clunky with design flaws like no earphone jack and an oddly jutting chin. Close, but no iPhone killer.
Zune video MP3 player - Price: $230
Microsoft's latest answer to the iPod, with 120 gigabytes of storage and a 3.2-inch high-resolution color screen, is a vast improvement over the original Zune, which debuted in 2006. But the new Zune faces the same problem as the iPod: Smartphones and other Web-enabled devices chock full of features (think iPhone) threaten to render these one-trick players obsolete.
More »
By now, the term 'Next-gen' has transformed itself into 'Current-gen' in the minds of videogame enthusiasts. Gamers all across the world have seen what the consoles are capable of, played the cream of the crop, bickered about which version has more Trees, etc.
While there have been a few flops this Gen (Yes, we're looking at YOU Too Human & Lair) there have certainly been plenty of hits. With excellent software having been released for all 3 platforms, we turn our attention to the teams behind the software.
#5- Nintendo EAD (Mario Galaxy, Wii Sports, LOZ: Twilight Princess)
Nintendo's dramatic shift into casual gaming caused a lot of anger and complaints: "Why all the casual games?!?", "Do they even care about core gamers?!! "What The heck is WiiFit?", all these were questions thrown at the Japanese video game juggernaut.
While it's clear the 'Old Nintendo' is long gone, the 'new' Nintendo still has the most valuable feature of... More »
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