EL33TONLINE: News tag archive: xboxlive

Another eclectic collection of Rock Band downloadable content will be available this week on the PlayStation Network and Xbox LIVE Marketplace, with songs from bands such as Children of Bodom and Tokio Hotel.

There are nine incoming songs total, one of which (Headphones On by Miranda Cosgrove) is free, while the rest (except one) feature a lower than normal price for one month, after which the price will revert to normal (i.e. the price doubles).

The tracks will be available December 2nd on Xbox LIVE Marketplace and December 4th on the PlayStation Network. The full track listing follows below:

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For everybody looking for a good, free time on Xbox LIVE today (and the PlayStation Network on Thursday), you’ll be able to get in on the Dead Space action by downloading the demo.

The ‘Dismemberment Demo’ apparently “showcases the critically acclaimed combat and strategic dismemberment of the epic sci-fi action game. As Engineer Isaac Clarke, strategically dismember the Necromorph hordes as you carve a bloody path to survival.”

Sounds just great! Go get it now, if you’ve got the stomach for it for that is…

Adding to the flood of Rock Band downloadable content will be an assortment of songs from a diverse selection of bands, including The Killers, Soundgarden, Yngwie Malmsteen and Lamb of God.

From The Killers we’ll see one new song, Spaceman, from their new album, Day and Age, included with Mr. Brightside and Smile Like You Mean It in a three song track pack. Offerings from Soundgarden will also be available in the form of Jesus Christ Pose and Pretty Noose, from their albums Badmotofinger and Down on the Upside respectively. Yngwie Malmsteen also features in the new DLC round-up, contributing Caprici Di Diablo, Damnation Game and Red Devil from his latest album, while Lamb of God chips in with Laid to Rest.

Each of the tracks will be available on Xbox LIVE or on the PlayStation Store on November 25th, either individually for $1.99 (160 MS Points) each or as track packs for $5.49 (440 MS Points). The listing listlessly follows in list form below:

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To celebrate the release of their new DVD, The Complete Masterworks 2, Tenacious D will be playing Rock Band 2 with Xbox LIVE Gold members on November 20th. What do you need to do to get in on the jam session?

Send a friend request to either of the following Gamertags:

• JBTenacious
• KGTenacious

Then, make sure you’re online at 8:00 PM EST (1:00 AM GMT on November 21st) for the action at 8:30 PM.

If you want in on this event, you’d better send those invites soon! For more information, head on over to the announcement on Xbox.com.

Just what has everybody been playing on Xbox LIVE over the last week? Would it surprise you to find out that Gears of War 2 wasn’t the number one most played game on the service? Sure it would, so logically it shouldn’t surprise you that it’s beaten out all of the most popular titles to become just that - the most played game on Xbox LIVE for the week of November 10th.

The battle raging between Call of Duty 4 and Halo 3 for the top spot will have to be waged for No. 2, while new challengers, Call of Duty: World at War and Left 4 Dead (in demo form, but now released in the US) will make the top five games even more heavily contested. It’s going to be extremely interesting to see how it all shakes out in the coming weeks.

The full top ten most played Xbox 360 titles, XBLA titles and original Xbox titles, based on unique users, follows below:

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According to the good ‘ole Major Nelson (is he even that old?), Xbox LIVE will be down for some routine maintenance, following some turbulence experienced by the service over the weekend. Was this due to the New Xbox Experience Beta? From the Major:

“On Monday, 11/17/2008 from 2:00 AM PST for up to 45–minutes, Xbox Live will be offline for maintenance. As a result, Xbox LIVE and the ‘My Xbox’ section of Xbox.com will be unavailable, and the Xbox forums will be in read only mode (you won’t be able to post.) The remainder of Xbox.com will be available with limited interruptions.”

“This service maintenance is in preparation for the new Xbox experience which will be available this Wednesday.”

If our calculations are correct, that’s 10:00 am GMT. How’s the weather in your part of the world?

Microsoft has banned some Xbox 360 owners who have modified their consoles to play pirated games.

According to Major Nelson the banning has been carried out to “keep game play safe and secure” for the 14 million community members. He noted that “modifying your Xbox 360 console is also a violation of the Xbox LIVE terms of use, will void your warranty and result in a ban from Xbox LIVE.”

“The health of the video game business depends on customers paying for the genuine products and services they receive, both from manufacturers and the local companies that support them,” Nelson continued. “We will continue to employ and bolster anti-piracy security measures to counter piracy in the gaming industry and improve security in the Xbox LIVE community.”

To be released under Microsoft’s upcoming Xbox 360 initiative, Xbox LIVE Community Games, Audiball is a music game unlike anything you may have seen before… and with good reason. While the game looks incredibly intriguing, it’s also incredibly nonsensical.

If you can figure out what’s going on in the trailer and how you actually ‘play’ the game, you win a ‘knowledge prize’ - you’ll be safe in the knowledge that you are smarter than at least one other person in the world (i.e. me). Watch the trailer for Audiball below.

Audiball is coming to Xbox LIVE Community Games on November 19th for a piffling 200 Microsoft Points.

A demo for the seemingly amazing first-person running game, Mirror’s Edge, will be made available today from the PlayStation Store and tomorrow on Xbox LIVE Marketplace. From the press release:

“The demo features the prologue of the game, a tutorial and a segment of the single-player story mode. Now is your chance to experience the action that has GameSpot saying ‘Unlike anything we’d ever played before.’”

Mirror’s Edge can best be described as a first-person runner with guns. Playing as main character, Faith, you’ll be doing more running and jumping along colour-coded rooftops and sewage systems than any amount of shooting you’d see in a typical first-person game.

The full game releases November 14th in the UK and Europe, while the US will be playing on November 11th, on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.

Thanks to a post on Major Nelson’s Blog, we now know that a Tomb Raider: Underworld demo has been unleashed unto the world, available on Xbox LIVE right now in all LIVE regions. The tag line reads; “Explore everything. Stop at Nothing.” A further bit of blurb describing the motivation behind the game is as follows:

“For generations, stories have been told of the fearsome weapon of Thor, the Norse god of thunder. Legend holds that Thor’s hammer had the power to smash mountains into valleys and to destroy even the gods. For more than a thousand years it has existed only as a myth … until now.”

Indeed. The full game is out on almost every platform November 18th in the US and November 21st in the UK and Europe.

“Calling all shower singers, wannabe rappers, pop princesses and bedroom belters,” the press release begins, “Lips, the highly anticipated singing party game exclusively on Xbox 360, will be hitting stores on 21st November 2008.”

Lips can be thought of as the Xbox 360’s version of Singstar, a karaoke game in which you get to sing along to your favourite songs of yesteryear. Lips, however, comes with two wireless, motion-sensitive microphones and has a feature allowing your friends to play percussion with regular Xbox 360 controllers.

Lips also features original music videos, lyrics and score for each of its forty songs, and you’ll also be able to download additional music from Xbox LIVE Marketplace once Lips is released. “It doesn’t stop there,” however, as you’ll be able to compete against friends and family, or work together in a co-operative mode, while yet another feature allows players to plug in their MP3 player and sing along to their own music collection.

“So if you feel like you want to ‘Bust A Move’ or simply want to ‘Boogie 2 Nite’,” the press release concludes, “then Lips is simply ‘Irreplaceable’ for a night of unbelievable entertainment in the comfort of your own home!” Well said, press release person. The full tracklist follows below:

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It’s probably happened to many of us - you’re playing your favourite online game and you’re having a blast, getting on a roll and owning some noobs. Then, just like that, your online persona is shattered by the utterances of one of those selfsame noobs you dropped just seconds ago - utterances of hate, bigotry and all-round ignorance and immaturity.

Microsoft aims to rid its online players of foul language and ridiculous insults, with patented technology that will censor the offending bits and bytes coming down the pipe in real-time, so any inappropriate language, recognised by a particular word’s unique phonemes, will be replaced with bleeps, noise or silence.

Hopefully Microsoft is successful in its attempts to stamp out this unwanted rubbish.

Source: Ars Technica

The classic, massive addition to the Grand Theft Auto series of games, GTA: San Andreas, has been confirmed as coming to Xbox Originals. What does that mean? It means that, when available, you’ll be able to download San Andreas via Xbox LIVE and enjoy it all over again, or enjoy it for the first time. For those that haven’t played and/or heard of San Andreas, here’s a blurb:

“Five years ago, Carl Johnson escaped from the pressures of life in Los Santos, San Andreas, a city tearing itself apart with gang trouble, drugs, and corruption. Now he’s back in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

But Carl’s family is in dire straits and his friends are headed for disaster. To make matters worse, he’s just been framed for homicide. Join Carl on his journey across the state of San Andreas as he fights to save his family and take back control of the streets.”

Add to that the huge open-world, free-roaming elements, as well as the extensive soundtrack, and you’ve got it. GTA: San Andreas will be up on Live as an Xbox Original on October 20th for a minimal cost of 1200 Microsoft Points. Visit over here for more.

While it was announced that a program has been put in place for the US Xbox 360 Arcade and Core owners to claim a storage solution if eligible, the same program is to make an appearance in Europe.

If you are an owner of an Xbox 360 without a hard-drive or 128 MB memory unit and higher, also currently residing somewhere in Europe, go over here to see if you are eligible for Xbox 360 goodies, or read on to see what package you qualify for:

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In the wake of the news that Microsoft will attempt to alleviate any problems Xbox 360 owners without a hard drive will have when the new Xbox experience launches, due to space constraints, they’ve announced their current plan (currently only known to be available in the US).

Microsoft will be giving away a free 512 MB memory card or will be making a refurbished $19.99 20 GB hard drive available to eligible Xbox 360 Core owners. Xbox 360 Arcade owners, meanwhile, will be able to get a refurbished 20 GB hard drive, as well as three months of Xbox LIVE, for $29.99. Click on over here to see if you’re eligible for the offer (and you live in the US).