Burnout: Paradise Achievements

There are 50 achievements worth 1000 GamerScore

Achievement Name - GamerScore
Achievement Description

Lookin’ Good - 5 GamerScore
Repair your first wrecked car

Watt? - 10 GamerScore
Set a Time Road Rule on Watt St

It’s Showtime - 10 GamerScore
Set a Showtime Road Rule East Crawford Drive

Great Start - 10 GamerScore
Win a Race

Misdemeanor - 10 GamerScore
Collect 5 Billboards

Off the Beaten Path - 10 GamerScore
Collect 25 Smashes

Bottom of the Class - 20 GamerScore
Get your D Class License

Perfect Rage - 5 GamerScore
Get 10 Takedowns in Road Rage without Wrecking

Rising From the Ashes - 10 GamerScore
Repair your car at critical damage in a Road Rage event

Spinnin’ Around - 10 GamerScore
Perform a 360 Flatspin in any car

Underachiever - 30 GamerScore
Get your C Class License

Learning to Fly - 10 GamerScore
Successfully land 5 SUPERJUMPS

Duckin’ and Weavin’ - 10 GamerScore
Win a Marked man without being taken down

The Show Must Go On - 20 GamerScore
Get a 10x multiplier in Showtime

Rampage! - 20 GamerScore
Get a Takedown Rampage

Must Try Harder - 40 GamerScore
Get your B Class License

Parallel Park - 20 GamerScore
Power Park with a 100% rating

Daredevil - 25 GamerScore
Landed a 2 barrel roll jump

Boosting Around the World - 25 GamerScore
Get a x20 Boost Chain

Flying Colors - 50 GamerScore
Get your A Class License

Millionaire’s Club - 25 GamerScore
Score over a 1,000,000 in Stunt Run

Supercharged - 20 GamerScore
Win 25 Burning Routes

Car in a China Shop - 20 GamerScore
Get 500 Takedowns (online and offline)

Paradise Won - 60 GamerScore
Win your Burnout Driving License

All Pimped Out - 10 GamerScore
Win all Burning Routes

Explorer - 10 GamerScore
Find all Events

Paid and Displayed - 20 GamerScore
Visit www.burnout.ea.com to find out more

Bustin’ Out - 20 GamerScore
Collect all Billboards

Totally Smashed - 20 GamerScore
Collect all Smashes

Flying High - 20 GamerScore
Successfully landed all SUPERJUMPS

Speed King - 20 GamerScore
Set a Time Road Rule on every road

Crashin’ All Over The World - 20 GamerScore
Set a Showtime Road Rule on every road

Shopaholic - 10 GamerScore
Find all Drive Thrus and Car Parks

Elite - 70 GamerScore
Win your Burnout Elite Licence

Criterion Elite - 20 GamerScore
Get your Elite License, win every event, find all discoverables and beat every Road Rule

Online Racer - 10 GamerScore
Complete an online Race

First Win - 10 GamerScore
Win Your first 8 Player online Race

Online Champion - 20 GamerScore
Win 10 online Races

Online and Kicking - 30 GamerScore
Complete 20 online Events

Firestarter - 20 GamerScore
Make 50 online Rivals

Just for Pics - 10 GamerScore
Make Your First online Rival

Happy Snapper - 10 GamerScore
Send 5 Camera Shots

Notorious - 20 GamerScore
Send 50 Camera Shots

Hotshots - 20 GamerScore
Get 50 Snapshots in your Lineup

Join the Party - 10 GamerScore
Complete 1 online Challenge

Party Crasher - 15 GamerScore
Complete 25 online Challenges

Party Animal - 25 GamerScore
Complete 250 online Challenges

Block Party - 35 GamerScore
Complete 2 whole sections of online Challenges (excluding PDLC)

Burnout Skills - 30 GamerScore
In 8 Player online Freeburn lead 6 of the Today’s Best Scores

Criterion Fever - 20 GamerScore
Catch Criterion Fever - Visit www.burnout.ea.com to find out more

99th and 100th Arcade Title Reveiled!

This Wednesday marks 100 Arcade releases on the XBOX Live Marketplace.

The first of the two titles is: SHREK N ROLL
Navigate through 16 challenging mazes across four unique environments in Far Far Away’s newest competitive tournament. Test your tilting and rolling skills in Single Player mode, challenge others in Versus mode, or work together with friends and family in 2-player local Co-op mode. The game will be available worldwide with the exception of Korea and Japan this Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. GMT (2:00 a.m. PST) for 800 Microsoft Points, and is rated “E” (Everyone – Comic Mischief) by the ESRB.
• For more details on “SHREK N ROLL,” please visit http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/s/shreknrollxboxlivearcade/

The second of the two titles is: Screwjumper
“Screwjumper!” allows players to compete with friends locally via a split-screen mode, as well as over Xbox LIVE. The game will be available worldwide with the exception of Korea and Japan this Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. GMT (2:00 a.m. PST) for 800 Microsoft Points and is rated “E 10+” by the ESRB.
• For more details on “Screwjumper!,” please visit http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/s/screwjumperxboxlivearcade/default.htm

Next week has been confirmed as "Undertow" (21st) so it looks unlikely that we'll see Sensible Soccer this month.

XBOX Live Activity (5th - 11th November)

This week's XBOX Live Activity shows no real surprises but I can guarantee it won't look like this next week.

Xbox 360 Top Live Titles (UU’s)
1 Halo 3
2 Gears of War
3 Guitar Hero III
4 Call of Duty 4
5 Madden NFL 08
6 Guitar Hero III Demo
7 America's Army: True Soldiers Demo
8 Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas
9 Guitar Hero II
10 The Orange Box

Top Arcade Titles (Full Versions)
1 Mutant Storm Empire
2 Battlestar Galactica
3 EXIT
4 Pinball FX
5 Word Puzzle
6 Switchball
7 3D Ultra Minigolf Adventures
8 Bomberman LIVE
9 Speedball 2
10 Every Extend Extra Extreme

Original Xbox Top Live Games
1 Halo 2
2 Battlefield 2: MC
3 Star Wars: Battlfront 2
4 Counter-Strike
5 Madden NFL 08
6 Call of Duty 3
7 Madden NFL 07
8 Rainbow Six 3
9 Ghost Recon 2
10 Forza Motorsport

These lists are based on global unique users connected to Xbox Live or in the case of Arcade, full versions purchased this week. The arcade list is based on full versions purchased.

This Week's Releases

Games For Windows
Gears of War

Nintendo Wii
EA Playground
Endless Ocean
Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots
Tony Hawks: Proving Ground
WWE Smackdown VS Raw 2008

PlayStation 3
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Dynasty Warriors - Gundam
LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
Ratchet and Clank - Tools of Destruction
WWE Smackdown VS Raw 2008

XBOX 360
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Dynasty Warriors - Gundam
LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
NASCAR 2008 - Chase for the Cup
WWE Smackdown VS Raw 2008

Halo 3 Maps and Modes Revealed

Halo 3's new maps for the mulitplayer mode are well underway and Bungie has released a few details on them.

Jodrell Bank, Purple Reign and Vandelay are the the names of the maps which could be available as a mappack over XBOX Live very soon.

Jodrell Bank "is a Team Slayer main course and player counts would fit swimmingly into both Social Slayer and Team Slayer hoppers and I think it might even be possible to shoehorn a few more players into the mix without overcrowding things."

Purple Reign "is the earliest iteration of the map actually had a completely different overall shape. If I sketched the cross section of the map's floor onto a napkin it would've looked like a small hill, but when you played it, it wasn't readily apparent," says Bungie.

"In the last month, the concavity was changed so that if you were staring the same napkin with the new version of it it'd look more like a gently sloping bowl. The difference in the way the map played then versus now is pretty remarkable. Subtle changes to the floor's geometry resulted in wider lines of sight for players staring down one half of the map and an intricate and strategic mix of floor/column/ramp gameplay on the other side and all of the sneaky jumps those mechanics entail."

"Vandelay is structurally the simplest map we've ever made, yet the tools that we're providing with the help of the Forge give the map tons of potential. That potential could be used for devising clever contraptions, unique playspaces and when paired with Player Traits could become a test bed for new ideas from both Bungie and the playerbase."

"Up until now, Forge has been primarily thought of as an object editor. It's been a great tool for devising tweaks and changes to maps, the net result ranging from "Oh, you put more BRs on Snowbound," to "Wow, you made a Jail that you rescue players from."

"Map forgers and game variant makers we are watching, playing and enjoying what you're doing and it's entirely possible that you'll get a message from us once we've tested a gametype with some feedback and a few notes and maybe a date as to when it will be showing up on Favorites," says Bungie.

Good Night Fight Night Studio

EA Games president Frank Gibeau has released a statement about the closure of EA's Chicago Studio:

"Today we are announcing the closure of our studio in Chicago. This is a difficult decision but we are convinced it's the right thing to do for the future of the Games Label and EA.
Within the EA Games Label, we are committed to running each franchise and facility as a city/state, teams with unique creative identities as well as responsibility for product quality, ship dates and profitability. We recognize that games require large investments and extended development cycles. We're willing to take risks, make long-term investments, and to support teams and individuals between launches. But each team is responsible for staying on a reasonable path to profitability. Sticking to that strategy is what gives us the financial resources and flexibility to take risks on new projects.

Unfortunately, EA Chicago hasn't been able to meet that standard. The location has grown dramatically in the past three years while revenue from the games developed there has not. The number of employees has grown from 49 in 2004 to 146 people currently in the new facility in downtown Chicago. As it stands, EA Chicago has no expectation of hitting our profitability targets until FY2011 or later.

Closing EA Chicago is the toughest decision I've made in my career - one that in no way reflects on the talent and dedication of the people who work there. I've enjoyed their games and consider GM Kudo Tsunoda to be one of the best creative minds in our industry. The people impacted by this decision will be treated fairly - we're offering relocation opportunities to many and there will be outplacement assistance and severance for all eligible employees.

I know this decision will be unsettling to many beyond those who work in Chicago. It's important that you understand that we are willing to take creative risks and make long-term investments in people and projects. But the city/state philosophy demands that every project be committed to delivering a reasonable expectation of profitability. It's a performance commitment that binds us together and ensures we have the resources we need to invest back into our people and creative output.

Finally, when EA announced our quarterly earnings last week, John and Warren referenced facility closures. We had planned to include Chicago in that communication but a personal tragedy in the studio - the death of a colleague - resulted in our delaying the announcement out of respect for his family and friends. I apologize for any confusion or concern that caused.

I think you'll find that in addition to tackling some serious challenges, we are making great progress on our business. Consumers have responded well to our new IP and quality scores are tracking up. We are proud of our recent hits, such as Skate and the success we have made in making a solid game with The Simpsons. And we're looking forward to breakout hits like Need For Speed Pro Street, Rockband, Burnout Paradise, Battlefield Bad Company, Army of Two, Crysis, and more in the future with Mass Effect and Mercenaries 2 World in Flames.

We're definitely headed in the right direction.

Frank"

This studio close affects games such as "Fight Night" and "Def: Jam", whether EA will continue making these games is unknown.

Double Trouble Arcade Releases

This week Switchball and Word Puzzle will be released on the Arcade for 800 points each.

Switchball:

The traditional pen and paper word search game is taken to a whole new level this week as InterServ brings “Word Puzzle” to Xbox LIVE Arcade. This brain-busting game features intricate 3D boards, exploding word bombs and a whole host of synapse melting challenges and special effects. With five unique game modes, LIVE support for up to four players and Xbox LIVE Vision Camera support, “Word Puzzle” will keep you playing with friends and family for hours. The game will be available worldwide for 800 Microsoft Points and is rated E.

Word Puzzle:

The traditional pen and paper word search game is taken to a whole new level this week as InterServ brings “Word Puzzle” to Xbox LIVE Arcade. This brain-busting game features intricate 3D boards, exploding word bombs and a whole host of synapse melting challenges and special effects. With five unique game modes, LIVE support for up to four players and Xbox LIVE Vision Camera support, “Word Puzzle” will keep you playing with friends and family for hours. The game will be available worldwide for 800 Microsoft Points and is rated E.

"Guitar Queer-o"

The next episode of South Park "Guitar Queer-o" will air in America on Wednesday 7th November.

A brief description of the episode was revealed:

Stan and Kyle are hooked on Guitar Hero. But Stan's superior skills on the video game damage his friendship with Kyle.

Taken from South Park Studios.

Guitar Hero III is available in the UK on Friday 23 November and is available in the US now!

Weekly News Round-Up

What we've learnt this week:

Monday:
Rock Band Tracks

Tuesday:
Bungie Are Still Dedicated To Halo 3 With Special Halo-Ween Playlist
Football Dominates Charts
Viva Pinata: Party Animals Achievements

Wednesday:
Burnout: Paradise Box Art Revealed

Thursday:
Mass Effect Achievements
Metal Gear Solid 4 Officially Delayed

Friday:
PlayStation Network Future Releases

Don't forget to vote in the poll which finishes on Friday!

PlayStation Network Releases Announced

The PlayStation Network has been quiet compared to the XBOX Live Marketplace but today nine new PSone titles were released available to download and more expected content for November and December have been revealed. All this can be found below.

PSone titles:

• Coolboarders
  
• G-Police
  
• Destruction Derby
  
• Colony Wars
  
• Motor Toon Grand Prix 2
  
• Syphon Filter 2
  
• Bust-A-Groove
  
• Crash Bandicoot 2
  
• Crash Bandicoot 3

November Releases:

• Feel Ski
  
• PS Eye Mesmerize Distort
  
• PS Eye Tori Emaki
  
• Uncharted: Meet the Dogs/The Characters & Music: English Only - localised versions to follow
  
• Lair: Call of the Beast trailer
  
• MotorStorm Revenge Weekend Trailer
  
• Folkore - Bottom of the Sea pack
  
• MotorStorm Devil Crossing pack:
  Track - Devils crossing
  4 new tickets containing 10 races
  2 new vehicles with 3 liveries each. One unlockable vehicle with 3 liveries upon completion of the mini devils crossing festival (as per Coyote revenge pack)
  
• Tekken 5: DR Online pack and full game
  
• Uncharted Animation Overview
  
• Ratchet and Clank launch trailer and TV ad
  
• PS Eye Mesmerize: Trace
  
• MotorStorm Livery packs 1 & 2
  
• PSP Wing Mirror (F1 CE)
  
• Riff: Everyday Shooter trailer
  
• Uncharted - A Living Environment
  
• Blast Factor: Advanced Research
  
• Uncharted DEMO
  
• MotorStorm Rascal & Governor vehicles pack
  
• Dark Mist trailer
  
• Folklore: The Alchemist pack
  
• PAIN trailer
  
• Devils' weekend trailer
  
• Toy Home game
  
• flOw Expansion pack
  
• Uncharted Hunting El Dorado
  
• Snakeball game
  
• Resistance: Fall of Man Pack 2 - Two maps pack

December Releases (Highlights):

• High Velocity Bowling
  
• Riff:everyday Shooter
  
• Kula World (PS One)
  
• Uncharted TV ad
  
• Dark Mist game
  
• MotorStorm Domino & Adventure vehicles
  
• Wipeout HD Trailer
  
• Pain Game
  
• Piyotama game - English only game
  
• Warhawk expansion pack 1
  
• Everybody's Golf Demo.

Mass Effect Achievements *SPOILER ALERT*

There are 45 achievements worth 1000 GamerScore

Achievement Name - GamerScore
Achievement Description

Medal of Honor - 100 GamerScore
Complete 1 Mass Effect Playthrough on any setting

Medal of Heroism - 25 GamerScore
Complete Feros

Distinguished Service Medal - 25 GamerScore
Complete Eden Prime

Council Legion of Merit - 25 GamerScore
Complete Virmire

Honorarium of Corporate Service - 25 GamerScore
Complete Noveria

Long Service Medal - 25 GamerScore
Complete 2 Mass Effect Playthroughs on any setting

Distinguished Combat Medal - 25 GamerScore
Complete 1 Mass Effect playthrough on the Hardcore difficulty setting. Do not change the setting.

Medal of Valor - 50 GamerScore
Complete 1 Mass Effect playthrough on the Insanity difficulty setting. Do not change the setting.

Pistol Expert - 10 GamerScore
Register 150 Pistol Kills

Shotgun Expert - 15 GamerScore
Register 150 Shotgun Kills

Assault Rifle Expert - 15 GamerScore
Register 150 Assault Rifle Kills

Sniper Expert - 15 GamerScore
Register 150 Sniper Rifle Kills

Lift Mastery - 15 GamerScore
Use biotic Lift 75 times

Throw Mastery - 15 GamerScore
Use biotic Throw 75 times

Warp Mastery - 15 GamerScore
Use biotic Warp 75 times

Singularity Mastery - 15 GamerScore
Use biotic Singularity 75 times

Barrier Mastery - 15 GamerScore
Use biotic Barrier 75 times

Stasis Mastery - 15 GamerScore
Use biotic Stasis 75 times

Damping Specialist - 15 GamerScore
Use Damping Field 75 times

AI Hacking Specialist - 15 GamerScore
Use AI Hacking 75 times

Overlord Specialist - 15 GamerScore
Use Shield Overload 75 times

Sabotage Specialist - 15 GamerScore
Use Sabotage 75 times

First Aid Specialist - 15 GamerScore
Use medi-gel 150 times

Neural Shock Specialist - 15 GamerScore
Use Neural Shock 75 times

Scholar - 25 GamerScore
Find all primary Alien: Council Races, Extinct Races and Non-Council Races codex entries

Completionist - 25 GamerScore
Complete the majority of the game

Tactician - 25 GamerScore
Complete playthrough with shield damage greater than health damage

Medal of Exploration - 50 GamerScore
Land on an uncharted world

Rich - 25 GamerScore
Exceed 1,000,000 Credits

Dog of War - 25 GamerScore
Register 150 organic enemy kills

Geth Hunter - 25 GamerScore
Register 250 Synthetic enemy kills

Soldier Ally - 20 GamerScore
Complete the majority of the game with the Alliance soldier squad member

Sentinal Ally - 20 GamerScore
Complete the majority of the game with the Alliance sentinel squad member

Krogan Ally - 20 GamerScore
Complete the majority of the game with the Krogan squad member

Turian Ally - 20 GamerScore
Complete the majority of the game with the turian squad member

Quarian Ally - 20 GamerScore
Complete the majority of the game with the querian squad member

Asari Ally - 20 GamerScore
Complete the majority of the game with the asari squad member

Power Gamer - 20 GamerScore
Reach 50th level with one character

Extreme Power Gamer - 50 GamerScore
Reach 60th level with one character

Renegade - 15 GamerScore
Accumulate 75% of total Renegade points

Paragon - 15 GamerScore
Accumulate 75% of total Paragon points

Paramour - 10 GamerScore
Complete any romance subplot

Spectre Inductee - 15 GamerScore
Become a Spectre

Charismatic - 10 GamerScore
Use Charm or Intimidate to resolve an impossible situation

Search and Rescue - 10 GamerScore
Locate Dr. T’Soni in the Artemis Tau cluster

Metal Gear Solid 4 Delayed

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots has been delayed for "further improvements".

The Official Statement:

Metal Gear Solid 4 Guns of the Patriots Release Update October 31, 2007
Konami announced today that Metal Gear Solid 4 Guns of the Patriots, the latest in the Metal Gear series, is scheduled to be released in the second quarter of 2008.

Konami had initially intended to release Metal Gear Solid 4 Guns of the Patriots this winter and has been working on the production of the title.

Konami has decided to delay the title's release in order to make further improvements to the quality of the game and provide even greater enjoyment for more customers worldwide.
Konami will continue its efforts to make Metal Gear Solid 4 Guns of the Patriots meet everyone's expectations.

Just as the PlayStation 3 was looking good for games.

This Week's Releases

Games For Windows
Age of Empires III: Gold
Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties Expansion Pack
Championship Manager 2008
Flight Simulator X - Acceleration Expansion Pack
Hellgate: London

Nintendo Wii
None

PlayStation 3
BLADESTORM - The Hundred Years War
NHL 2k8
Tony Hawks: Proving Ground

XBOX 360
BLADESTORM - The Hundred Years War
Naruto: Rise of a Ninja
NBA 2k8
NHL 2k8
The Simpsons
TimeShift
Tony Hawks: Proving Ground

Burnout: Paradise Box Art Revealed

Burnout: Paradise is out in the not to distant future and EA have released the artwork for the front cover! Give your opinion on it in the comments!

Looney Tunes: Acme Arsenal - First Thoughts

Looney Tunes: Acme Arsenal has a storyline we've seen many times in the cartoon. The Evil Mad Scientist is fed up with the Looney Tunes and plans to get rid of them once and for all. Using his homemade time machine and giant ACME eraser, he will travel through time and erase the Looney Tunes and their ancestors from existance. Little does he know though that the Looney Tunes have built their own time machine, and will fight the Evil Mad Scientist to save themselves from disappearing! In this mayhem-packed action-adventure game, players can take on the role of seven different Looney Tunes characters, including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tazmanian Devil, Foghorn Leghorn, Marvin the Martian, Gossamer and a special secret character, all rendered in high-definition, next-generation graphics. Looney Toons : Acme Arsenal serves up combat, puzzles, and vehicle-based action. Players also command an arsenal of ACME melee and projectile weapons in outrageous battles and travel to various locations such as Camelot, Ancient Egypt, Mars, and the Wild West.


What We Got To Play
We got to play the tutorial and one level with Bugs Bunny and Marvin Martian (as the game can be played in Co-op mode). The tutorial had us learning simple attacks, jumps and how to use weapons. Attacking is simply button bashing, jumping is hard but forgivable and most of the weapons can only be used when within a certain range of an enemy... one that you could just attack with!

The level started off in a castle where Bugs Bunny is lost and Marvin is flown in by the Tazmanian Devil and you simply just need to make it into the castle on a "simple" route. One thing I noticed during the game, is that at points it is too dark and the camera angles are sometimes very poor. This is purely a kid-based game which older people might only play for the achievements.

Football Dominates Charts

The latest sales chart has been released and it seems Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 tips FIFA 2008 to the top for this week with Football Manager 2008 just behind. The highest non-sports game is the DS exclusive game, Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass at 4. The full list:

1. Pro Evolution 2008 (Konami)
   
2. FIFA 2008 (EA)
   
3. Football Manager 2008 (Sega)
   
4. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (Nintendo)
   
5. Ratatouille (THQ)
   
6. The Orange Box (EA)
   
7. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Nintendo)
   
8. Halo 3 - (Microsoft)
   
9. High School Musical: Makin' The Cut (Disney)
   
10. Cooking Mama (505 Games)

Halo-ween Playlist

Bungie have posted a Q&A of a special Halloween exclusive playlist called "Living Dead". The playlist will be only available for 27 hours (12:01am on the 31st October - 3:00am on the 1st November PST) and it's a good chance to get those achievements you can't get (e.g. Overkill, Triple Sword Kill). It would be a dream come true for fans if the playlist was there permanently but Bungie have hinted at it! More information on this new playlist can be found below.

Q: Infection, what’s that?

Infection is this really great gametype, inspired by a custom game devised by our community in Halo 2, which we added official support for in Halo 3. In Infection, most players start off on a Human team, with one or more players starting off as Zombies. The odds are stacked heavily against the Zombies at first, but when a Human is killed by a Zombie (as they inevitably are), they join the Zombie team and turn on their former teammates.

Q: How long will the Living Dead haunt matchmaking?

Just for Halloween, from 12:01am to 3:00am the next morning, PST. We decided to let it go a bit late into the morning to give people a chance to play when they got home from their Halloween carousing. Infection is a lot of fun when everyone is into it, but we don’t think it would make a good playlist long term, so it’s going to come and go.

And if everyone has a good time, who knows? It may return, as the restless dead are known to do.

Q: Can I get achievements in this playlist?

Yes, it is set up as a Ranked Playlist, and players will have some good opportunities to pick up a few of the harder MP achievements without any of that pesky guilt. Fending off the hungry dead is as righteous a way as any to score an Overkill. It’s also a good chance to fill out your Ranked Medals with some of the Infection medals, like Infection Spree and Hell’s Janitor.

Q: There’s more than one version of Infection in this playlist, what is each version and how does it work?

We’re using two main versions: Save One Bullet, which is close to classical Infection but with limited ammunition which keeps the Humans from holding off the Zombies forever, and Creeping Death, where the Zombies are a bit slower but shockingly invisible and deadly. Creeping Rockets is a third variant where the Humans are more heavily armed, but the Zombies are tougher too.

Q: Do the maps in Living Dead have the same set-ups that I am used to?

The Living Dead playlist will be the first to use Forge variants in Matchmaking. Lars [Bakken] and Dan [Miller] pulled out all the stops and Forged some masterful variants featuring fortified positions and anti-Zombie booby traps to help get people into the Zombie mind (which is to say, wanting to get into a Human’s mind. Directly.)

Q: Man, I love these gametypes is there any way I can get them?

Any time you play one of these variants in Matchmaking, they’re saved in your Recent Games queue (in the Custom Games lobby, go to select the game type—the Recent Games list is at the top.) They may also show up in the Bungie Favorites this week.

Q: Will there be more special hoppers in the future?

You bet.

First Assassin's Creed Review Should Be Disregarded

Film website, Empire, earlier posted a review of one of the most anticipated games of this year, Assassin's Creed. The review was pulled down hours after being published with the following statement:

Assassin's Creed

Please note that the early review of Assassin's Creed that appeared here was published in error. The review contained misleading information about the game's control system which should be disregarded. Please wait for the final, full review, which will be published online on November 16th.

Viva Pinata: Party Animals Achievements

Viva Pinata: Party Animals isn't out till the 16th November in the UK, and we've got the achievements! There are 44 achievements worth 1000 GamerScore

Achievement Name - GamerScore
Achievement Description

All Your Game Are Belong To Us - 50 GamerScore
Play all Challenge Events.

Social Flutterscotch - 50 GamerScore
Finish the game in first place with each of the 8 characters.

King Roario Award - 50 GamerScore
Win all Challenge Events and races in a single game.

Redhott Racer - 50 GamerScore
Finish every race.

Boy Band - 30 GamerScore
As a male character, finish a game while never losing to a female character.

Megaton - 30 GamerScore
Use the Fiesta Missile power-up on each of the 8 characters.

Chewnicorn Streak - 30 GamerScore
Win 8 Challenge Events in a row.

Girl Power - 30 GamerScore
As a female character, finish a game while never losing to a male character.

Professor Pester Award - 20 GamerScore
Hit every player with a power-up in a single race.

Kittyfloss Streak - 20 GamerScore
Win 5 Challenge Events in a row.

Rashberry Gluttony - 30 GamerScore
Collect more than 1,000 pieces of candy while playing as Fergy Fudgehog.

Artful Dodger - 20 GamerScore
Avoid the snowball in Snow-bowl Dodgeball.

Catch It if You Can - 20 GamerScore
Play a game with anyone who has this achievement to earn it. Then, you can “spread” it too.

Aiming Artist - 20 GamerScore
Hit the farthest target at least 3 times in 1 Launching Loathers game.

Do You Feel Lucky, Piñata? - 20 GamerScore
Win a game of Short Fuse! without the Loather ever detonating in your hands.

Eaglair Eye Award - 20 GamerScore
Find and use all the shortcuts in the races.

Get to Know Everyone - 20 GamerScore
Finish the game in any place with each of the 8 characters.

Host with the Most - 20 GamerScore
Host 3 games over Xbox LIVE.

Loaded Bases - 20 GamerScore
Hit the target 4 times in a row in Swing for the Stars.

Scenic Route - 20 GamerScore
Win a race without using any shortcuts.

Pacifist - 20 GamerScore
Win a race without using a Fiesta Missile, Colored Water Bomb, or Smoke Bomb.

Hi-yaaaa! - 20 GamerScore
Destroy 10 objects in a single race while playing as Petunia Pretztail.

Party Crasher - 20 GamerScore
Win 3 games over Xbox LIVE where you are not the host.

Practice Makes Perfect - 20 GamerScore
Play the game for 5 hours.

Int'l Piñata of Mystery - 20 GamerScore
Use each power-up at least once in a single game.

Don’t Be Left in the Dark - 20 GamerScore
Knock each of the other players out of the light in a single game of Spotlight Mania.

Sticky Feet - 20 GamerScore
Use the Buzzlegum Honey Slick power-up 10 times.

Strike! - 20 GamerScore
Get a strike in Bouncy Bowling.

Stuffed! - 20 GamerScore
Get more than 99 candies in any single Challenge Event.

Tricky Treats - 20 GamerScore
Destroy at least 25 pumpkins in a single game of Messy Mayhem.

Rainbow of Piñatas - 20 GamerScore
Play each of the 8 characters in 1 of their alternate colors.

Game Guru - 15 GamerScore
Win the game.

Coulda Been a Contender - 15 GamerScore
Win 1 race.

Quick Like a Bunnycomb - 15 GamerScore
Hit 3 speed strips in a single race.

Whirlm Streak - 15 GamerScore
Win 3 Challenge Events in a row.

No Wipeouts - 15 GamerScore
Never fall down in a single race while playing as Franklin Fizzlybear.

Classic Gamer Reward - 10 GamerScore
Enter the classic gamers code while on the START screen. For a hint, go right into your manual…

Bear Hug - 10 GamerScore
Never use a power-up on Franklin Fizzlybear while playing as Florence Fizzlybear.

Flutterscotch Quickness - 10 GamerScore
Use the Flutterscotch Wings power-up to overtake an opponent.

Share and Share Alike - 10 GamerScore
Play a game with someone who hasn’t unlocked a Challenge Event you have unlocked.

Mama's Boy - 10 GamerScore
Lose to Fergy Fudgehog while playing as Francine Fudgehog.

Making Friends - 10 GamerScore
Play a game over Xbox LIVE, or invite someone to an online game.

Popularity Contest - 10 GamerScore
Complete a game with all 4 characters playing as Hudson Horstachio.

Gassy Gusts! - 10 GamerScore
Get your ship all the way to the finish line in Burps Ahoy!

Scene Stealer - 10 GamerScore
Beat Hudson Horstachio while playing as Hailey Horstachio.

Seeing Double - 10 GamerScore
Finish a game while playing as the same Piñata as at least 1 other opponent.

Squished! - 10 GamerScore
Jump and ground pound each of the other players at least once in Raisant Stomp.

Keep Your Friends Close - 10 GamerScore
Complete a multiplayer game offline.

Think Fast! - 5 GamerScore
Never get hit in an entire contest by a Fiesta Missile while playing as Paulie Pretztail.

So Awesome! - 10 GamerScore
You, the master of unlocking.

What Your Band Will Be Rocking Out To!

Rock Band is out early next year and a list of the soundtracks your band will be performing have been announced!

1960s
Rolling Stones "Gimme Shelter"

1970s
Aerosmith "Train Kept a Rollin'"*
The Who "Won't Get Fooled Again"
Boston "Foreplay/Long Time"
Mountain "Mississippi Queen"*
The Police "Next to You"
David Bowie "Suffragette City"
Black Sabbath "Paranoid"*
Blue Oyster Cult "Don't Fear the Reaper"
The Ramones "Blitzkrieg Bop"
Deep Purple "Highway Star"
KISS "Detroit Rock City"
Molly Hatchet "Flirtin' With Disaster"
The Outlaws "Green Grass & High Tides"*
Sweet "Ballroom Blitz"*

1980s
Rush "Tom Sawyer"*
Bon Jovi "Wanted Dead or Alive"
The Clash "Should I Stay or Should I Go"
Faith No More "Epic"
R.E.M. "Orange Crush"
Iron Maiden "Run to the Hills"*

1990s
Foo Fighters "Learn to Fly"
Metallica "Enter Sandman"
Nirvana "In Bloom"
Stone Temple Pilots "Vasoline"
Weezer "Say It Ain't So"
Smashing Pumpkins "Cherub Rock"
Radiohead "Creep"
Beastie Boys "Sabotage"
Hole "Celebrity Skin"
Garbage "I Think I'm Paranoid"
Soundgarden "Black Hole Sun"

2000s
The Hives "Main Offender"
Queens of the Stone Age "Go With the Flow"
The Strokes "Reptilia"
Jet "Are You Gonna Be My Girl"
OK Go "Here It Goes Again"
Nine Inch Nails "The Hand That Feeds"
Pixies "Wave of Mutilation"
Yeah Yeah Yeahs "Maps"
Red Hot Chili Peppers "Dani California"
Coheed & Cambria "Welcome Home"
Fallout Boy "Dead on Arrival"
The Killers "When You Were Young"
New Pornographers "Electric Version"

*Indicates a cover song, all others songs are original master recordings

Mutants Storming Halloween Arcade Release

Mutant Storm Empire will be released on the XBOX Live Arcade this Wednesday for 800 Microsoft Points (about £6.64).

Press Release:
There's this evil emperor, see, and … well, he's evil. Now someone has decided to put a stop to the whole evilness thing, and that someone is you. It's the right thing to do! Besides, in Mutant Storm Empire, it'll be fun. Battle through line after line of the emperor's minion horde, destroying absolutely everything you can! Blast through bunches of robots, crush colonies of aquatic monsters, smash swarms of UFOs, and demolish devastating bosses. It's a continuous adventure through four immense, strikingly vibrant worlds, and you can fight alone or join forces with a friend in two-player cooperative mode. Enjoy the frenzy!

• The art of blasting: Practice the way of "Blastikkidoo" or the art of blasting, as you plow through the different worlds in Mutant Storm Empire. This all-new sequel to Mutant Storm Reloaded ratchets up the competitive challenge!
• Numerous levels: The four different worlds feature sixteen challenging levels, all in gorgeous high-def 3-D graphics.
• Multiplayer modes: Play co-op offline with a friend, or head into Xbox LIVE® territory and go multiplayer for up to 2 people.
• Achievements: Twelve new achievements to master ranging from easy, such as getting a single combo of beasties, to difficult, such as completing the game on the Black Belt level.

London Games Festival

Taking place from Saturday 27th October till Friday 2nd November is "London Games Festival". The festival lets players into a lounge to play some of the latest and upcoming games including Scene It!, Guitar Hero III, Dancing Stage Universe, Halo 3, Call of Duty 4 and Project Gotham Racing 4.

There is also prize competitions for certain games such as Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 and Halo 3 so all that practice could come into some use.

The Lounge opens from 12pm to 8pm every day, except on Sunday 28th October when it's only open until 6pm.

If you're interested in going, the address is: Vinyl Factory Marshall St, London W1F 7QH. You can also get there through Phonica Records, Poland St, London, W1F 7NG. Nearest Tubes: Oxford Circus & Tottenham Court Road.

PROGRAMME OF EVENTS:

Saturday 27^th October 12pm – 8pm
All Day: Xbox 360 blockbuster games

Competition: Dancing Stage Universe

Sunday 28^th October 12pm – 6pm
All Day: Xbox 360 blockbuster ganes

Competition: Scene It!

Monday 29^th October 12pm – 8pm
All Day: Xbox 360 blockbuster games

Competition: Dancing Stage Universe

Tuesday 30th October 12pm – 8pm
All Day: Activision Day

Competition 1: Guitar Hero 3. 6pm – 8pm

Competition 2: Call of Duty 4 Tournament

Wednesday 31^st October 12pm – 8pm
All Day: Xbox 360 blockbuster games

Competition: Guitar Hero 3. 6pm – 8pm:

Tournament: Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2

Thursday 1^st November 12pm – 8pm
All Day: Konami Day

Competition: Dancing Stage Universe. 6pm – 8pm

Tournament: PES Rankings Tournament

Friday 2^nd November 12pm – 8pm
All Day: Xbox 360 blockbuster games

Competition: Scene It! 3pm – 8pm

Tournament: Halo 3

For more information visit the Official XBOX site.

No Downloadable Content for EA's Skate

The EA Black Box Executive Producer, Scott Blackwood, has told EGM.

"We're not planning any new content for Skate 1 ... We didn't want to go back and ask people for more money to get more shoes and shirts. That's not how we wanted to enter this market."

Blackwood continued to talk about adding female characters, clothing and hairstyles;

"We really wanted women to be in there and have all sorts of cool stuff to wear and hairstyles. You have to choose between watering the whole thing down and making it just really mediocre for everybody, or do you focus? We decided to focus. I will say, however, that was the hardest decision on this project. But we are going to make it up to you. When we do it -- and we will -- it's going to be done very well."

Crysis Single Player Demo Now Available

After a slight delay, the Crysis Single Player demo is now available to download from the "Crysis Demo" site.

Minimum System Requirements:

OS - Windows XP or Windows Vista
Processor - 2.8 GHz or fast (XP) or 3.2 GHz or faster* (Vista)
Memory - 1.0 GB RAM (XP) or 1.5GB RAM (Vista)
Video Card - 256MB**
Hard Drive - 12GB
Sound Card - DirectX 9.0c compatible

Recommended System Requirements:
OS - Windows XP / Vista
Processor - Interl Core 2 DUO @ 2.2GHz or AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+
Memory - 2.0GB RAM
GPU - NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS/640 or similar

*Supported Processors: Intel Pentium 4 2.8 GHz for Vista) or faster, Intel Core 2.0 GHz (2.2 GHz for Vista) or faster, AMD Athlon 2800+ (3200+ for Vista) or faster.

**Supported chipsets: NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT or greater; ATI Radeon 9800 Pro (Radeon X800 Pro for Vista) or greater. Laptop versions of these chipsets may work but are not supported. Integrated chipsets are not supported. Updates to your video and sound card drivers may be required.

The Orange Box Gets Second Update

Valve has released the second update for The Orange Box with this update focusing on Team Fortress 2, one of the five games included in the box। The update fixes:

- Reduces network bandwidth usage in multiplayer.
- Improves overall game performance.
- Arranges search results to favor preferred host conditions.
- Improves searching for ranked games.
- Addresses a possible false report of too little storage space on larger hard drives.

"Scene It? Lights, Camera, Action" - First Thoughts

"Scene It?" is a well-known DVD game where players answer questions about movies from famous quotes to answering questions about a movie clip. The DVD game has become so popular, special editions have been made for certain series and films (such as Friends and James Bond). Now, Microsoft are using the license for "Scene It?" to make a family-friendly game to enjoy this Christmas.

The basic idea of "Scene It?" LCA is to answer a series of themed and general knowledge movie trivia questions, linked to a series of clips from movies. You're probably thinking, "Haven't I played this before?" Well, "Scene It?: Lights Camera Action" is simply a very similar version to the PlayStation 2's series "Buzz!". They both have specially made controllers, lots of questions, movie clips and great mutliplayer value. The game takes you to different parts of a studio, to answer different questions in different categories. There are twenty categories which are full of different question types such as "What's missing?" and "Finish the quotes". You answer three questions in each category before going onto the next one. Some categories require players to buzz in using the big button on the remote or the D-Pad on the controller, and then to select the answer using A, B, X or Y on the controller or remote.

"Scene It? Lights, Camera, Action" looks promising and fun, but it seems the novelty side of it won't last as long as we hoped or the single player, but get a few friends round and you'll be laughing at each others movie trivia. The demo is available on the Marketplace right now!

Burnout: Paradise Release Date and Demo Announced

It's been confirmed that Criterion and EA's upcoming racer, Burnout: Paradise, will be released on the 22nd January 2008. A demo has also been confirmed which will be available on the PlayStation Store, XBOX Live Marketplace and Internet, as of December.

Burnout: Paradise is the fifth installment of the Burnout series, which allows players to cause havoc in Paradise City. It's also the first Burnout title, to have no menus. Instead, an open world awaits (similar to Need for Speed: Most Wanted and Test Drive Unlimited).