Games for Windows Live Launches May 8
But will you pay $50 a year to play with 360 gamers?
By Patrick Klepek, 03/14/2007
We already examined much of the difficulty Microsoft faces in adapting their wildly successful Xbox Live service onto the Games for Windows platform, so let's skip right to the point: Microsoft announced today Games for Windows Live will launch on May 8th, alongside Halo 2 (playable only on Vista -- don't ask us why).

Shadowrun, allowing for Xbox 360 and PC owners to play against each other given the PC user has forked over $50 for a year-long subscription to the service, ships in June. UNO will also launch on the service later this year, and will also support cross-platform play. No word on whether Microsoft will start making simultaneous Arcade releases.

Go figure, it launches on my birthday of all days. Well I've already got my 360 Subscription so I won't have to worry about paying the $50. I'm very excited as I like the way the Xbox Live service works for most games. There are some that really suck when it comes to how they implemented the online element but in general its been done very well. I won't how PC gamers are going to adopt to it?

Then again there has been multiple game matching services up and running on the PC for some time now. I think every game I install has a different one, XFire, GameSpy, etc. I think a unified one would be GREAT.

Blu-ray Outsells HD-DVD For Second Month Running
Sells 2:1 against HD-DVD in February.
by Gerry Block

March 13, 2007 - Trade magazine Video Business reported today that Blu-ray outsold HD-DVD in February for the second month running. According to the magazine's figures, roughly 250,000 Blu-ray movie titles were sold in February compared to only 125,000 HD-DVDs. In January movie sales for each format were roughly the same.

Debate over what factors are contributing to Blu-ray's recent dominance has generally focused on the impact of the PlayStation 3. Somewhat less than 2-million PS3s have been sold since launch, which effectively means a roughly similar number of HD-DVD and Blu-ray players are presently in circulation.

Some within the movie industry questioned whether PS3 gamers would choose to use their consoles extensively for movie playback in addition to gaming. Current sales figures would suggest that a fair number are, which hardly surprises us since hardcore gamers tend to also be big fans of new technology and movies.

With a second month of leading sales in the bag the Blu-ray camp is gaining confidence. There won't be an end to the format war any time soon, but if a few more months of Blu-ray outselling HD-DVD 2:1 stack up the industry will of course take notice.

While I've seen various results on this, nothing is really telling me that the market is swarming at all to these new Hi-Def formats. I know personally I am not sold on either of them. My current DVDs look GREAT and cost at most half the price of the same title in Hi-Def. For the visual difference it makes on my 32" Widescreen TV, I won't be forking over any hard earned money for either of these anytime soon.

EA Los Angeles (EALA) is pleased to announce that the highly anticipated Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars™ for the PC has officially gone gold and will be on stores shelves Nationwide March 28.

Fast and fluid gameplay, a breakthrough single player campaign, the ability to transform online battles into a spectator sport, next-generation graphics, and an epic story with full-motion video sequences featuring top Hollywood talent, mark the return of the genre-defining Command & Conquer™ series.

Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars is rated "T" (Teen) by the ESRB and has a US MSRP of $49.99. A special, numbered collector's edition will be available simultaneously and has a US MSRP of $59.99. Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars: Kane Edition is a definitive collectible for any Command & Conquer or Real-time Strategy fan and will feature an enormous amount of exclusive content including a bonus DVD with a behind the scenes documentary, deleted scenes, a blooper reel, a series of gameplay strategy videos, and more. The Kane Edition will also feature exclusive in-game content and wallpapers.

Source

So I can't wait to get my copy here in the next few weeks. I'm really looking forward to this game after playing the demo until I picked up Def Jam Icon. I can't to see what this new race plays like. Not to mention the return of Kane has me intrigued.

Not to mention that the first month I own the game I will stand a chance at beating my best friend in Command & Conquer. A feat that is almost unheard of in our gaming past.

Picked this bad boy up on an impulse on my way home from work this evening. I was just driving past the mall and suddenly turned in to pick it up. Been a big fan ever since I played the first one, then again I am a Method Man fan so I couldn't miss it.

What I'm really impressed by is the fact that this fighter you can play without power bars. You can tell how much shit you've kicked out of the other brawler just by looking at them. Clothing gets torn up, faces start bleeding, and shit gets destroyed. The actual fighting is very simplistic from what I've gathered so far. I liked that in FFNY you could pick your moves and such for you fighter. This one is sorely lacking that feature. You get like 6 fighting styles to choose from, but it still doesn't feel like a fighting game or a wrestling game like the previous ones did.

It does however, mix in a new style of interaction with your fighting and the music. Nothing says BAM! like smacking a sucker into the gas pump as the beat of the music explodes it and sends them flying. Icon also delivers what A LOT of fighters are missing or have done horribly in the past, Story. You are working to create a record label and you are fighting punks who are bootlegging your artists shit, stalkers, the media, even other labels. It gives a reason behind each fight.

Overall I'm really enjoying it but my final judgment will be reserved until after I have given the Online modes a through play through.

IGN's Preview Playthrough

This game looks like I will be getting a Wii just to be able to play this. Paper Mario RPG on the GameCube was excellent, so I've got very high hopes for this one.

About Achievements

While dual-wielding across the campaign or inside a multiplayer match on Windows Vista, Halo players will soon earn achievements for the first time in the game’s history. And while there are a lot of exciting new features in “Halo 2” for Windows Vista, the achievements are one of the most compelling, especially for the gamerscore addict in your family.

Designing Achievements for “Halo 2” for Windows Vista
The Xbox version of “Halo 2” obviously predated the era of the Gamerscore, so this represents one of several compelling reasons to give “Halo 2” another spin. For the team, designing fun and significant rewards in a game that is already well-established was a bit challenging. This was accomplished with the help of the talented staff at Bungie Studios and Hired Gun, with a watchful eye on the latest trends in the gaming community. The achievements were designed with some fundamental goals in mind – keep the game fun, encourage beginners to join our “Halo 2” community, and provide a new challenge with a few tough or interesting achievements for our most dedicated fans.

Achievement Development Process

Designing anything for an existing and best-selling game can be arduous and risky, as options are weighed heavily against already-popular and well-trod game aspects. We started by brainstorming every possible achievement that trickled out of our caffeine-addled minds, and then whittled our list to a beefy 40+ achievements. It was a process we performed in lockstep with Bungie Studios and their designers and producers, through the course of many design meetings and reviews. What we ended up with was a set of achievements that beginners and skilled “Halo 2” players alike will immediately tackle with different results, but we were sure to include several that any veteran will only get to after some serious work.

So easy your n00b buddy could unlock it

Remember the first time you applied sticky grenade to Elite ass, and the ensuing cries of doomed anguish? Yeah, that’s a moment to cherish, and it’s not bad being able to point to a specific record of it. Or how about the first time you finally wielded the sword and started dominating for like 10 seconds? We want to encourage our expanded audience of PC players to enjoy these first moments in “Halo 2” for Windows Vista with a few easy achievements in the game. For pro-style Halo enthusiasts, you’ll see the familiar achievement indicator going off like you won a prize or something. Fear not, though: perfection will be a tall order.
For the more committed “Halo 2” warrior, try and imagine what it might mean to become a Violent Cartographer. *Pssst*! It involves maps and bloodletting.

Campaigning with Achievements

“Halo 2” for Windows Vista offers achievements for all aspects of the game. For campaigners, we have an achievement for finishing each playable level of the campaign, at Normal, Heroic, or Legendary, while you are on Games for Windows – LIVE. It’s like the Achievement system was designed for the very purpose of being able to demonstrate to the world your mettle and grit against Bungie’s awesome A.I. on Legendary. Prepare to throw down.
In fact, turning out all the lights on all the levels in Legendary will give you the title of “Legend.” You may have thought, “Killing a Legend in head-to-head LIVE combat is, therefore, an action worthy of an achievement.” We thought so too, so be on the lookout.

It wouldn’t be right if we didn’t create a single-player achievement for insane people. If you think you can complete an entire campaign level without dying, or know somebody with that much moxie and twitch (and a heap of time on their hands), you’ll be testing yourself to gain the Demon achievement. Sounds cool, and it’s oh-so-apropos.

Earning Achievements (Silver & Gold)

It’s an exciting new era for “Halo 2” players, as a new frontier opens on Windows Vista. We are adding a lot to the game to make it a much richer experience, especially if you have a Games for Windows – LIVE service account. Silver accounts on LIVE can earn achievements on the single-player campaign, and play in multiplayer games. Gold accounts on LIVE have the added benefit of being able to earn achievements in both single-player campaign and multiplayer matches.

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So it looks like they are going to allow Silver Members to play MP games on Live Anywhere, but just hold out on rewarding them with achievements. So far I don't see the point in subscribing to the Gold for the Windows users, but that could change. I hope I will get selected for the Beta so then I can truly give my final comments on it.

While this game won't be winning any prizes, I found it to be so much more appealing then the GTA clone I had originally wrote it off as. I managed to finish the game today by killing Wang of the Shen Gi gang. The ending gave me a good laugh and let me know that they are planning a sequel. I did feel a true sense of accomplishment but not from beating down all the gangs. It was from actually being able to climb the Agency tower and getting that all important 4th Agility star. Now I can just about fly across rooftops in Pacific City. I've collected about 300 of the 500 Agility orbs and I plan on getting enough to max out my character to get that all important last achievement. But once the last gang member is gone, there is no one left for you to kill. It kinda makes the sandbox mode afterwards really boring.

Overall though I find it was a good game, then you can beat in a weekend rental. I'll probably be keeping it around until the Halo 3 beta is released, or if there are too many good games out there that I need to rent from GameFly. Good game, but not worth $60. $40 I would consider though.

There are a handful of you reading this blog, so post a comment and let me know what you thought of the game.