It wasn’t going to stick around forever, and actually it was around longer then many expected. However, it is a sad day for those that started their online gaming with the original Xbox. In the early days of Xbox, I know a lot of people like myself logged on and spent countless hours with games like MechAssault and Ghost Recon. The service has change quite a bit since those days, but it still seems like yesterday I added the first person to my Friends List.
On April 15 we will discontinue the Xbox LIVE service for original Xbox consoles and games, including Xbox v1 games playable on Xbox 360 and Xbox Originals. I want to start by saying this isn’t a decision we made lightly, but after careful consideration, it is clear this will provide the greatest benefit to the Xbox LIVE community.
Seven years ago we laid out our vision for the connected console when we launched Xbox LIVE. We believed then that the power of the Internet to connect people would revolutionize living room entertainment. It started with amazing multiplayer games, and we’ve since seen that bet pay off again and again with the launches of Xbox 360, Marketplace, Netflix and powerful social features like Facebook, Twitter and Last.fm. None of this would have been possible without the success of LIVE as a multiplayer gaming network.
There’s no greater example of the power of the Xbox LIVE community than the “Halo” franchise. “Halo 2” has had an amazing run on LIVE, with a dedicated community more than five years after launch and well into the next generation of consoles. It has fundamentally changed the way we play video games. And while it’s difficult to see that run come to an end, the “Halo” franchise continues to act as the benchmark for multiplayer gaming in this generation, with “Halo 3,” “Halo 3: ODST” and soon “Halo: Reach” on Xbox 360.
Your Xbox LIVE community has grown to 23 million strong. And as we look down the road, we’ll continue to evolve the service with features and experiences that harness the full power of Xbox 360. To reach our aspiration, we need to make changes to the service that are incompatible with our original Xbox v1 games. We will contact the Xbox LIVE members directly impacted by this change and if this includes you, I encourage you to check your LIVE messages and associated e-mail account over the coming weeks for more details and opportunities. We view you as a partner in this process.
We’ll share more details soon, but in the meantime I want to assure you that the best is yet to come for Xbox LIVE. I believe we’ll look back on 2010 as a landmark year in gaming and home entertainment, and I couldn’t be more excited about what we have in store with “Project Natal” and LIVE. The LIVE community is the driving force behind everything we do, and it’s because of the community that ground-breaking experiences on Xbox continue to be possible.
Source: Gamerscore
This trailer is pretty sweet, and should hold you over until the game releases on February 9
If you plan on playing Bioshock 2, but never played the first one or can’t remember that far back, IGN has put together this review of Bioshock. WARNING – If you haven’t played the game and plan on it, DO NOT watch this trailer.
Here are two recent Red Dead Redemption Trailers. The first one is explains weapons and death in the game, while the second one is a Gamestop advertisement asking people to vote for an exclusive in-game item.
A new holorecord in the Jedi Archive tells the story of the Sith Empire’s surprise attack at the start of the Great War over 28 years before the Sacking of Coruscant. Master Gnost-Dural notes the brilliance of the Imperial military’s carefully orchestrated assault which put the Republic at a disadvantage for the duration of the conflict.
BTC 28 – Centuries after being driven into exile, the Sith Empire returned from deep space to launch the most calculated military assault in Republic history. Strategically revealing its attack in a menacing manner, the Sith struck fear into the hearts of the Republic’s defenders even while orchestrating surprise attacks at carefully targeted locations across the galaxy. When the Republic fleet rushed to respond, they discovered the Sith had established puppet governments on several planets in the Outer Rim. Surrounded by enemies and traitors, the Republic fleet was forced to scatter, allowing the Sith Empire to sweep through most of the Outer Rim without further challenge. The Empire’s initial victories put the Republic at a disadvantage for the duration of the Great War.
Coming to Xbox 360 and PS3 March 9, 2010.
If there’s one thing to know about Halo: Reach, it’s that it sucks to be a Spartan III – at least according to February’s Game Informer. In a 10-page feature about Bungie’s latest, the magazine introduces us to Noble Team – a six-person squad made up of mostly Spartan IIIs – and the fact that their lives are completely expendable in the day-to-day operations of the UNSC.
Good thing the planet’s about to fall to the Covenant anyway.
Halo: Reach is the prequel to Halo: Combat Evolved. Here, the 100-year-old colony of Reach will fall to its alien attackers, and you’ll be there as Noble 6, the newest member of Noble Team. Carter-259 is the leader, the female Spartan Kat-320 is second in command, Jorge-052 is heavy weapons specialist and the only Spartan II on the team, Emile-239 has a skull painted on his helmet, and Jun-266 rounds out the squad.
However, according to Game Informer, the planet of Reach is going to be just as pivotal to the story as Noble Team. There will be a darker color palette to this outing to reflect the somber feel, the environments will be detailed, you’ll meet the cultures inhabiting the planet, and so on.
When the demo described in the article starts, Noble Team goes to check out a tinkered with communications array and finds no rebels, a whole bunch of abandoned houses, and walls and ceilings covered in plasma burns. Soon, the Covenant is upon the troops and there’s a massive battle. Bungie says that it’s making the Covenant scarier this time (the game’s being framed in a more cinematic style) and that they’ll be talking in their native tongue in deep, creepy voices. On the tech side, look for Halo: Reach to support battles packing 40 AI characters and 20 vehicles (Halo 3 only supported 20 AI).
Fans of the original Halo will see a number of throwbacks in Reach. The health bar will take damage and not replenish over time like your shield, and the sniper rifle, assault rifle, magnum, plasma pistol, sword, and needler are all back. It’s not all old news, though. Spike and flame grenades are out, and frag and plasma grenades are in.
Meanwhile, the designated marksman rifle (a mix between a sniper and a battle rifle) and the needle rifle (a medium range gun that will cause three people to explode if they’re hit in succession) are joining the fray for the first time alongside melee assassinations, which are described as being performed by holding down a button near an unaware enemy for a context-sensitive takedown. Still, one of the coolest additions in Halo: Reach seems like it’ll be armor abilities. Here, a Spartan can choose a super-up ability (sprint or camouflage) and be able to use them until a rechargeable meter runs out. You can swap the abilities whenever you like.
Game Informer touches on multiplayer briefly, confirming that Halo: Reach will at least feature all of the multiplayer features of Halo 3 (including four-player online co-op, split screen co-op for two players, 16 player online matches and saved films). It also will feature a few new treats that haven’t been unveiled yet and will make use of the aforementioned armor abilities.
The article also showcased the new enemies known as Skirmishers (Jackal cousins that travel in packs and have dino-like faces while moving on two feet), announced that the game will use 20 to 40 dynamic lights at one time, and that Reach will use motion capture for the majority of its cinematic scenes. Basically, it made Halo: Reach sound awesome and made the wait until the game’s fall release all the more annoying.
Source: IGN.com