Wednesday, 14 November 2007

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

Monday, 12 November 2007

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.

Sunday, 11 November 2007

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.

Friday, 9 November 2007

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

Wednesday, 7 November 2007

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.

Monday, 5 November 2007

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!

Friday, 2 November 2007

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.

Thursday, 1 November 2007

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