E74 Xbox 360 error on the rise say Joystiq

When we recently posted about the Xbox 360's E74 error and asked for your input, we weren't prepared for the staggering response we'd receive.

Within a few hours, we had dozens of emails from readers like you who had experienced this particular hardware failure (typically caused, according to unofficial web reports, by a loose scaling chip).

It was surprising to touch such a nerve, but what really knocked us for a loop was what we found when we started compiling the data sent to us.

Read full post here on Joystiq

Guitar Hero Metallica four song demo on Xbox Live Marketplace

Four song demo unleashed featuring Metallica and two guest acts: Queen and Alice in Chains

Gamers itching to get a taste of Guitar Hero Metallica in advance of the game’s release need not wait any longer as Activision Publishing announced that the demo will be available today for free download on Xbox LIVE Marketplace for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft.

In the demo, virtual rock stars across the globe can shred, drum and wail to Metallica’s explosive hits “Sad But True” and “Seek And Destroy,” as well as “No Excuses” from Alice In Chains and “Stone Cold Crazy” from Queen, both hand-picked by Metallica as featured guest acts in the game. Set in The Forum venue, highlighting the new in-the-round stage designs and custom camera angles, players can begin honing their skills in single-player and band Quickplay, head-to-head, Face-Off, Pro Face-Off and Battle gameplay modes.



“Ride the Lightning” with musical icons Metallica and 21 other rockin’ acts in an all new Guitar Hero® experience – Guitar Hero Metallica. Enter the world of Lars Ulrich, James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo and experience the intensity and skill of one of the greatest bands of all time. Shred on the guitar controller, rip on the drum kit controller and wail on the mic to a set list featuring over 45 explosive hits from Metallica’s illustrious career and a wide variety of other legendary artists personally selected by the band, such as Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band, Alice In Chains, System of A Down, Foo Fighters and Queen. Fans will be able to rock as Metallica while performing in venues reminiscent of the band’s epic album covers, themes from their music and real world locales.

Guitar Hero Metallica is being developed by Neversoft Entertainment for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and the PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system. The Wii home video game system from Nintendo and the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system versions are being developed by Budcat. The game is rated 12+ by the BBFC.

Mushroom Men – The Spore Wars on Nintendo Wii -Part II - Combat

An ichorous green meteor plummets through Earth's atmosphere, fracturing and showering the earth with glowing green space dust that affects all forms of life nearby. Some plant life - like mushrooms and cacti -acquire sentience. At the same time, the green glow twists and mutates other life forms like spiders and roaches, transforming them into semi-intelligent, warlike communities.

DEVELOPER DIARY

WII COMBAT Prt 2: Combat Variety
Written by Kain Shin, Lead Programmer/Combat Designer

Input Variety with Combat:

Variety was another core aim of the combat system. Melee combat by itself would eventually feel repetitive and tiresome if the game offered nothing else to the user throughout the game. The combat design of Mushroom Men emphasizes variety in the form of motion (melee), pointing (Spore Punisher), and a combination of the two (Telekinesis-Throw). Telekinesis-Throw allows the player to use the environment to make fights end quicker. It provides an opportunity for a gratifying tactile sensation related to picking something up and throwing it at an enemy. The physics objects in each level have been tuned to apply just enough damage to make medium-sized enemies bleed. Bleeding is an important part of the feedback in the game because it indicates the availability of the third and most lethal attack method in the game: Spore Punisher. Spore Punisher not only destroys the victim completely, but it also has an area of effect that damages nearby enemies. Because it is so powerful, it has to be presented as a finishing move available only after the enemy has been "softened up".

Strategic Weapon Choices:

In addition to three actions for use in combat, weapon variety also adds a reason for having four types of weapons in the game. Not all weapons are good for all situations and that will become apparent in specific situations:

Bashing Weapons:

The player starts out with Bashing weapons, which have a vertical arc but can be a handicap when facing multiple opponents.

Slashing Weapons:

Eventually, the player gets Slashing weapons, which do less damage, but can be useful against multiple opponents with its wide horizontal arc.

Piercing Weapons:

Piercing weapons happen to be my favorite weapon category. The emphasis with piercing weapons is auto-aiming precision against a single enemy, but a master player can really feel like a ninja with its flying thrust. The piercing jump attack is especially useful against flying enemies.

Radical Weapons:

The Radical Weapons use ammo and can run out, but the amount of damage they cause can be the difference between life and death when facing a gang of aggressive enemies.

Miscellaneous Combat Features:

There are three features in the game that are never taught to the user for various reasons and will probably be discovered by the more core players. These three features deserve more than just a mere mention in the instruction manual.

The first unmentioned feature is the passive co-op mode where anyone can pick up the second Wii remote and help out the first player by using reticle actions or mashing the A button to regenerate health on the hero. We call this the roommate feature.

The second unmentioned feature is batting non-physical projectiles back at the shooter. This is a fun thing to do against enemy sage characters that shoot unblockable projectiles at Pax.

The third unmentioned feature is the ability to flick the nunchuck to switch to the last equipped weapon. Switching back and forth between radical weapons and melee weapons can be very convenient in tight situations.

Mushroom Men – The Spore Wars and Mushroom Men – Rise of the Fungi will be available across Europe in March, 2009.

TITLE: Mushroom Men – The Spore Wars
PLATFORM: Wii
TITLE: Mushroom Men – Rise of the Fungi
PLATFORM: DS
DEVELOPER: Red Fly Studio
GENRE: Action Adventure
RELEASE DATE: March, 2009

Parabellum - brand new Free2Play massive multiplayer online First Persons Shooter

Parabellum combines the best elements of FPS (First Person Shooter) and MMO (Massive Multiplayer Online) games to create an extremely unique and fully customizable gaming experience. Parabellum introduces the first interactive non-linear multiplayer campaigns in addition to an advanced character & weapon development system and realistic and engaging game-play.

“Parabellum will set the standard of what to expect from Free2Play games,” said David Demers, Associate Producer of Parabellum. “Bringing quality Triple-A titles to the Free-to-Play market raises the bar for all and sets GamersFirst apart from the rest.”

Set in a world in a not too distant future, the privatization of global military forces has created highly profitable opportunities for ex-soldiers, mercenaries and adventurers. Gamers must choose their alignments carefully to survive. You must join forces with one of the two foremost covert reconnaissance organizations in the world. The CTF; an organization avowed to keeping anarchy at bay, or the Syndicate; a legion of bloodthirsty rebels bent on destruction and chaos. Each of them are solicited by the C.I.N. a Global Mercenary Network that provides contract missions to each of these factions who vie against one another with the fate of the World as the ultimate prize.



“GamersFirst is a pioneer and market leader of the free-to-play model in Europe
and North America.” Says Frank Trigub, Director/Founding Partner, Acony Games. “We are happy to have such an ideal partner in GamersFirst for Parabellum.”

Leisure Suit Larry - Box Office Bust video game on Xbox 360 and PC with Carmen Electra as Porn Star Ginger Vitus and Jay Mohr - with videos

Exclusive voice talent from Carmen Electra and Jay Mohr

Leisure Suit Larry - Box Office Bust is an innuendo-filled third-person comedic adventure game about a guy looking for love in all the wrong places. Lampooning the glitz, glamour and gorgeous women of Hollywood.
Larry’s set to run riot on the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PC when the game is published on March 27th with a S.R.P. of £19.99 on the Funsta label.

Laden with illustrious voice talent to provide the laughs, gamers can now catch video interviews with Jay Mohr (Simpsons, Family Guy, West Wing, Scrubs) who voices Larry Loveage and Carmen Electra (Starsky & Hutch) who plays Ginger Vitus.

Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust sees the eponymous amorous hero spending his vacation working on his uncle’s film studio as he tries to make a name for himself in Tinseltown. However, while working on the movie lot, Larry stumbles upon a plot from another studio that threatens to air the studio’s dirty laundry in the tabloids – now it’s his job to save the day and the reputation of his uncle’s studio.

Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust will feature saucy comedy and bombshell babes as players tackle exploration, platforming, racing and puzzle-solving challenges to complete missions. The series’ trademark humour is in full effect as Larry’s new adventure takes him through parodies of Hollywood’s most famous studio sets. Whether he’s sneaking around on the ‘Bytanic’ or gun-slinging on ‘Beefcake Mountain’, Larry’s always got an eye out for the ladies.



Join Larry on the Hollywood studio tour that they never wanted people to see when Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust launches for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PC on the 27th March, with a PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system version to follow.

Theatre of War 2 Africa 1943 video game Manual online - download now

The full english language Game Manual for Theatre of War 2: Africa 1943 is now available online! If you have any questions after playing the demo, this is probably the first place you should check for key combos, commands, and tactics! (By the way, the full version of the game additionally comes with separate Map Editor, Mission Editor and Multiplayer Manuals.)

Click here to jump directly to the Online Game Manual for Theatre of War 2: http://www.battlefront.com/index.php?option=com_flippingbook&book_id=11

Download the wallpapers here...

Football Superstars enhanced gameplay and features update

Football Superstars, the world’s first virtual football world, is currently adding a wide range of extra gaming features to their existing MMO football experience. Having listened to a wide range of gamers and gaming journalists, CyberSports’ Creative Director Steve Marshall, with the help of Monumental Games, is looking to add to and implement a number of new gaming features in the coming months.

Steve Marshall, Creative Director commented “With the help of our hugely supportive and growing community we have moved forward in leaps and bounds, which has not only allowed us to take Football Superstars from the concept I had in 2006 to a virtual reality, but also has allowed our players to have a very real impact on what we have always hoped would be the community’s game as much as our own. Football Superstars has always been viewed as a service to our player base and we continually strive to improve the service in what is a one of a kind product, where players can for the first time play real football with real people internationally, whilst enjoying the trappings of superstardom in a full virtual world.”

NEW FEATURES

Player Managed Club system: Own your own club and manage REAL players

Play 3, 5, 7 or 11 aside football with offside, foul and card system where making space and marking your opponent are critical to team success

New fame system. Are you a Local Hero or a National Star?

Improved Keeper AI, the holes have been filled, can you beat the keeper?

Defender awards have been significantly increased which means strikers will need to be more aware of space and position or stand to lose the ball

Three new clothing designers released, stand out from the crowd in Bownz, Avralan or Devine outfits

Sheffield FC, the worlds first Football Club goes virtual! Visit the hallowed grounds of Sheffield FC and even grab a refreshing orange juice at the Coach and Horses!

11 aside matches opened up in the 3rd division. No more struggling to get into the 2nd division, challenge the best of the FS club world earlier.

In Football Superstars, players re-create themselves online as a footballer and then have free reign in a state of the art interactive virtual world. Players can play their way from 3-a-side up to full 11-a-side matches, gaining new attributes and skills in order to specialise in their chosen playing position. Away from the pitch players can socialise in restaurants, bars and clubs and visit virtual stores where they can buy equipment and clothes. Players can train in gyms and on training pitches to enhance their skills or flirt with the paparazzi in a bid to boost their fame and status and gain access to the most exclusive clubs and venues.

Phil Booker, CyberSports Head of Sales and Marketing, said:

“With nearly 300,000 pre-launch registrations for Football Superstars, these new features are going to give us a massive assist in the great work we are doing in converting that base into active players. We already know from our forums and our search engine activity that the introduction of Player Managed Clubs is the most eagerly anticipated feature we have introduced to date. We are now confident that all of these new developments will help us push on to reach our target of 150,000 active playing accounts by the end of May 09, setting some firm foundations for a great MMO”.

Booker continued “CyberSports are also proud sponsors of Sheffield FC, having struck a club sponsorship deal with SFC in July 2008. SFC is officially recognised by both FiFa and The FA as the world's oldest football club. In 2007 Fifa gave out for the first time 2 Orders of Merit, one of these went to Real Madrid C.F. who are recognised as the world's most successful football club to date and the other going to Sheffield FC.

In the latest version of Football Superstars we are delighted to have taken the first steps towards fully integrating Sheffield FC into our game. Our community can now drink in SFC's own pub The Coach and Horses and walk around the perimeter of their ground, which will be opened for game play in the near future. We love the almost irony of blending the world's oldest football institution with the world's newest form of football...which is of course Football Superstars!”

Exclusive: Combat Arms Waverider HD video game screenshot trailer

After the recent commercial launch of the highly anticipated in-game Cash Shop Black Market in late February, Combat Arms Europe now brings additional items and gears for players to further personalize the game and offers the chance to refresh the game play with name change and statistic resets through the Black Market.
With the reset function, players who have improved within the game receive a chance to deliver a more accurate representation of their current skill level, and the name change item allows the change of character and clan name, all without having to restart an account and lose their hard earned rank.

Furthermore, new powerful machineries such as SCAR-L Trispear and L96A1 Arctic Wolf as well as additional gears and camouflage are now available for purchase with NEXON Cash, whilst two new GP items can be obtained using Gear Points.
Along with the stocked up Black Market, the game has been further updated with the newest security tools for a safer and cleaner playing environment.

This only being the very first update after its opening, more striking varieties will be added to the shelves of the Black Market in the nearest future, and gamers of Combat Arms Europe can definitely look forward to receiving regular updates with new maps, combat modes, weaponry and other free contents as well as in-game and joint tournaments / events to participate at.

Ferrari Challenge up for games award

Racing simulation Ferrari Challenge: Trofeo Pirelli – developed by Gateshead-based driving game specialist Eutechnyx - has been shortlisted in the 2008 North East Digital Awards in the Best Example of Game Development category.

“We’re delighted to have been shortlisted for this award,” said Brian Jobling, Managing Director of Eutechnyx, “Ferrari Challenge was a labour of love for Eutechnyx and so you can imagine how pleased we were when it was so well-received by the audience and critics. To now be recognised in the North East Digital Awards is a great honour.”

Published by System 3 in the UK and by Activision-Blizzard in the US, Ferrari Challenge: Trofeo Pirelli was released in the Summer of 2008 on PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2 and Nintendo Wii. Offering players the chance to race some of the world’s most prestigious and desirable cars, the game uses Eutechnyx’ IAM – Intelligent Assist Mode – Technology to tailor the game to suit the player’s skill level and allows gamers to choose how real they want their racing experience to be. This gives players a unique gaming experience suited to their skill level to ensure a fun, exciting challenge.

Hailed as “the best racing game yet on PS3” (C&VG) and praised for “the best graphics, most intuitive gameplay and advanced AI of any racing title” (Game Informer), the game was a worldwide smash-hit and developed a large online following.

The game’s success comes as no surprise considering its pedigree. Developed by driving game specialists Eutechnyx, the game was produced by industry veteran Mark Cale of System 3, a former Trofeo Pirelli driver himself and passionate Ferrari fan. With a driving engine designed in conjunction with professional driver Bruno Senna and vehicles modelled with input from the Ferrari team, it’s no wonder the game received such praise.

Established in 2007, The North East Digital Awards celebrate the excellence of the growing digital industry in the North East of England showcasing the best of the region's digital talent. The winning entries will be announced on March 25th.

Sho Online Players Get Cash Point Reward

Sho players get compensation for resetting of War Fame ranking with new War System update.

Lizard Interactive announced that they decided to give out cash points to players of Sho Online, free-to-play Oriental Fantasy MMORPG, who have participated in a war since December of 2008 as a compensation for War Fame reset.

New War System adopted a regular rest of War Fame, accumulating points earned by participating in wars. Without regular War Fame reset, new players would have no chance to be ranked. All players who have participated in a war received 100 cash points and top 50 ranking players received compensation from 500 to 4,000 cash points.

War Fame gained at war does not just prove that a player is a great warrior, but it allows players to obtain exclusive unique items and use them after certain points are accumulated. War Fame points will reset every three months which makes possible for all players to have a new goal of becoming high rankers and get these exclusive items they have been drooled on for a long time.

Previous Sho Online post at gamezplay.org here...