Sonic load times are slow ... very slow

 

We haven't touched Xbox 360 game Sonic the Hedgehog, but we're kind of glad we didn't. Following Revolution posted a video of the game's load times during some mini mission where you help out one of your human friends. And look what we have, a loading screen literally every five seconds. Seriously, if this loading screen appeared that much in the game Sonic would be ejected and flung against the wall out of disgust. This has to be horrible coding especially when a game like Gears doesn't bring up a load screen once during the game. Do you know of any other 360 game that we should avoid due to extremely long load times? Video after the break.

Source: Sonic load times are slow ... very slow
Originally published on Mon, 01 Jan 2007 13:00:00 GMT

Mad Tracks achievements and more

 

Xbox360Achievements released not only the achievements for upcoming XBLA game Mad Tracks, but also got a few questions answered in their forums. Denis, lead developer of Mad Tracks, answered some questions from fans about the game, but didn't spill any beans on an official release date. Rest a little, look at some achievements, read a few responses ... you know how we roll on New Year's Day.
[Thanks, DaKing240]

Source: Mad Tracks achievements and more
Originally published on Mon, 01 Jan 2007 17:45:00 GMT

Preview all 360 themes before you buy

 

A new site just popped up on the net called Dashboard Themes and it looks to be quite useful. They have every theme released for the 360 on the site with screenshots of each blade and guide. Also built into the site is a ranking system, newly released themes list, and the layout is well thought out. Now how cool is that? So now you know where to go before you purchase a theme off of the marketplace or just a place to get an idea of what others like ... this is definitely a great resource.

Source: Preview all 360 themes before you buy
Originally published on Mon, 01 Jan 2007 20:00:00 GMT

Halo 3 photos leaked!

 

Beta shots hit the net...

Source: Halo 3 photos leaked!
Originally published on Tue, 02 Jan 2007 02:42:16 GMT

Gears Of War Walkthrough And Strategy Guide

 

Lunabean’s Unofficial “Gears of War” Walkthrough and Strategy Guide for the Xbox 360 will triumphantly walk you through each and every chapter of this challenging game. It contains the locations of all Cog Tags, gives strategies for all bosses, including RAAM, and explains multiplayer.

In other words, if you’re looking for Gears of War help, you need not look any further!

[Screenshot Version] [Text Only Version]

Source: Gears Of War Walkthrough And Strategy Guide
Originally published on Fri, 15 Dec 2006 08:58:12 GMT

Xbox Live leading video downloads?

 

Microsoft's Xbox Live movie service may well be at the forefront of paid movie downloads, according to a new report. Variety reports that the recently launched Microsoft service is drastically outperforming Amazon's Unbox store, which in some cases sells as little as 100 titles as downloads per day. Although no figures are available to directly com...

 

Source: Xbox Live leading video downloads?
Originally published on Fri, 22 Dec 2006 22:10:00 GMT

Just posted on the Video Marketplace...

 

Xbox Live members in the U.S. can download ‘Superman Returns’ in either SD or HD from the Video Marketplace.

Source: Just posted on the Video Marketplace...
Originally published on Sun, 31 Dec 2006 18:27:34 GMT

Top Xbox Live Games of 2006

 

Here are the top games for 2006, based on Xbox Live connectivity.  The following rankings are based on data collected from 1/1/06 – 12/29/06:

2006 Top Xbox 360 Titles (UU's)

1 - Gears of War

2 - Hexic HD

3 - Call of Duty 2

4 - Ghost Recon 3

5 - Oblivion

6 - PGR3

7 - Perfect Dark Zero

8 - Call Of Duty 3

9 - UNO

10 - EA SPORTS™ Fight Night Round 3

11 - Saints Row

12 - Geometry Wars Evolved

13 - DEAD OR ALIVE 4

14 - Texas Hold 'em

15 - Madden NFL 07

16 - DEAD RISING

17 - Need for Speed™ Most Wanted

18 - Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six® Vegas

19 - BFMC

20 - Splinter Cell Double Agent

2006 Top Arcade Titles (Purchased)

1 - UNO

2 - Street Fighter II' Hyper Fighting

3 - Geometry Wars Evolved

4 - Marble Blast Ultra

5 - PAC-MAN

6 - DOOM

7 - Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3

8 - GALAGA

9 - Gauntlet

10 - Frogger

11 - Bankshot Billiards 2

12 - SmashTV

13 - Contra

14 - Zuma

15 - Texas Hold 'em

16 - Bejeweled 2

17 - Feeding Frenzy

18 - Small Arms

19 - Cloning Clyde

20 - LUMINES LIVE!

2006 Top Original Xbox Titles

1 - Halo 2

2 - Battlefield 2: MC

3 - Star Wars: Battlfrnt 2

4 - Madden NFL 2006

5 - Counter-Strike

6 - Splinter Cell Chaos

7 - Forza Motorsport

8 - Call of Duty 2

9 - Ghost Recon 2

10 - PGR 2

11 - Rainbow Six 3

12 - NFS Most Wanted

13 - Ghost Recon 2: SS

14 - Rainbow Six 3 BA

15 - Ghost Recon AW

16 - Far Cry Instincts

17 - Madden NFL 07

18 - Conker: Live Reloaded

19 - Tony Hawk Am Wasteland

20 - RS 4: Lockdown

Remember, UU's is the number of Gamertags that have played a game. In the case of Arcade titles, that list is ranked by purchased games. That is why the Arcade titles may be ranked out of order on the top list. Some Arcade titles may be purchased by one Gamertag, but played by multiple Gamertags.

Source: Top Xbox Live Games of 2006
Originally published on Sat, 30 Dec 2006 10:06:00 GMT

Video Marketplace Top Downloads

 

I have received quite a bit of email me asking to post the top downloads on the Video Marketplace (in addition to the Xbox Live activity list I post each week.) Here are the top 10 TV and Movie downloads between Dec. 11 and Dec 17th.

Top 10 movie downloads:
1. Mission Impossible III - SD only
2. Nacho Libre - SD only
3. V for Vendetta - HD Available
4. Poseidon - HD Available
5. Swordfish - HD Available
6. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation - SD only
7. ATL - HD Available
8. The Lake House - SD only
9. Clockwork Orange, A - SD only
10. Clash of the Titans - SD only

Top 10 TV episodes:
1. South Park - SD only
2. Enterprise - HD Available
3. UFC - HD Available
4. Chappelle's Show: Uncensored - SD only
5. Jericho - HD Available
6. The State - SD only
7. Avatar: The Last Airbender - SD only
8. Robot Chicken - SD only
9. Drawn Together - SD only
10. The Venture Bros. - SD only

Edit: Added SD/HD versions

Source: Video Marketplace Top Downloads
Originally published on Thu, 28 Dec 2006 00:54:03 GMT

Rumor: Killer Instinct 3 for 360 in 2007

 

Filed under: Rumors

The rumors keep rolling in this week. This latest is an oldie but a goody. A Dutch website called Xbox 360 Only is reporting that the latest issue of Games TM (a UK publication) states that Killer Instinct 3 is headed to the Xbox 360. For those that don't know, Killer Instinct was part of the nineties fighting game boom (think Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat) and also one of the earliest games to promote the Nintendo 64 (called Ultra 64 at the time). Not only that, but KI is one of Rare's most fondly remembered titles, introducing millions to the dial-a-combo system that still pops up in fighting games today.
Killer Instinct is a game that fans have clamored for since Rare was purchased by Microsoft. It's not uncommon to see people hoping it -- and other classics like Goldeneye -- will pop up on Xbox Live Arcade. Interestingly, this article doesn't mention Xbox Live Arcade. Could Rare be working on a full fledged sequel? It's possible, but we get the feeling they're probably too busy concentrating on Banjo Kazooie. Stick this one up on the big board and forget about it for now.

Read 

 

Source: Rumor: Killer Instinct 3 for 360 in 2007
Originally published on Fri, 29 Dec 2006 16:30:00 GMT