This Week’s Xbox Live Activity
Every week Xbox Lives Major Nelson aka Larry Hryb put’s out the top Played Xbox 360 games as well as Top Arcade title and Top Indie gamses. Here are the numbers for the week of October 5th 2009
Xbox 360 Top LIVE Titles (based on UU)
- 1. Halo 3
- Call of Duty 4
- Call of Duty: WaW
- Halo 3: ODST
- Gears of War 2
- Madden NFL 10
- FIFA 10
- GTA IV
- SOUTH PARK LET’S GO TOWER DEFENSE PLAY!
- Left 4 Dead
Top Arcade Titles Purchased (Based on Full Versions Purchased)
- SOUTH PARK LET’S GO TOWER DEFENSE PLAY!
- Zombie Apocalypse
- Trails HD
- Battlefield 1943
- Shadow Complex
- Castle Crashers
- BUST-A-MOVE Live!
- Defense Grid: The Awakening
- Marvel vs. Capcom 2
- Magic: The Gathering
Top Indie Games (Based on Full Versions Purchased)
- Avatar Drop
- I MA3D A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES!!!1
- The Visualizer
- Avatar Golf
- Headshot
- Pumpkin Carver
- Junkyard Battle
- Paint Boll
- Miner Dig Deep
- The Fart Machine II
The top 2 games are several years old so my question to myreaders is, what attracts you to these older games when we are in the Q4 stretch with weekly Triple A titles being released?
More information count on Xbox Live Stats can be found at Major Nelson.com
read moreRecap of the Sony Holiday Preview Event
Last night I was able to very lucky to attend the Sony Playstation Holiday Preview event at the Burroughes Building located in the Queen Street West area. This was my first time attending a Sony event and there were plenty of games and as always there wasn’t enough time to check everything out.
Assassins Creed II
First game I was able to get a demo on and hands on time with Assassins Creed 2 from Ubisoft Montreal. The objective of this demo was to kill 5 archers and replace them with our own guards and then proceed to assassinate our target. In order to get to the area I needed to I didn’t look for a group of monks to blend in with like the original Assassins Creed, I throw some cash on the ground to try and cause a distraction it barely worked. I then hired some courtesans to cause a bit of distraction while the thieves and mercenaries I hired set off to take care of the guards. While I took care of the first 2 archers, the thieves took care of archer’s number 3 and 4 and left me to deal with the last archer who had the chance to meet my sword and ultimately die by it. I then returned back and reported in and was given my assassination target. On my way over there I stopped by a local merchant and bought some clothes for Ezio. Unfortunately I died during assassination and that crashed the demo which happened to be a known bug. I have to say overall I’ m very impressed with the changes and am looking forward to the release date.
DJ Hero
This was my second play through of DJ hero as I briefly had the chance to check it out last week at X09 where I completely sucked at the game. I was determined to get more hands on time to improve my skills and help me decide if I should buy the game or not. I initially watched several people take their turns playing their 2 set mix. Each of the individuals started on easy and gave medium a go. Don’t worry there are hard and expert modes for you hardcore DJ’s. I was able to check out the tutorial and actually learn how to play the game and I definitely going to go buy the Renegade edition when it comes out.
Tony Hawk Ride
As soon as I walked into the event I walked around the area and as soon as I saw the Sony Hawk set up I dashed right for it as I had a blast with it at X09 and I’m hooked on the game. I explained to Kelvin Lu the Activision publicist that I had already played the game and didn’t need the full demo on how to play. I started off on the half pipe where it’s all about busting tricks and getting high scores. When I was done I asked if I could do a free run on medium so I could experience going down the course and having the ability to fully control and move my character using the board. It took a few seconds to get use to the movement as in the beginner mode the game is on rails and you don’t have to worry about moving your character. I ended up with a high score and then it was time to check out the controller. There is no real difference between the Xbox and Sony Skateboard other then the buttons. As long as the pricing doesn’t get out of control on this game I will be picking up.
Where wild things Are
I was told I should check where Wild Things Are developed by Griptonite games by fellow blogger Justin Amirkhani. I was glad he pointed out it to me. As the game title states it’s based off the movie that is coming out in a few weeks. Yes I know generally movie games aren’t that good however this game looked great and played very well. The game pits you as a character named Max as he journeys across the land which is almost destroyed. He helps the Wild Things find a way to escape to a new safe land before its way to late. The game looked great and the controls were easy enough for a child to pick up and play the game.
Also on display were Uncharted 2 Among Thieves, MAG, Little Big Planet PSP, Heavy Rain, Avatar and a slew of other solid titles. With the recent price drop of the PlayStation 3, the new PSP Go! And all the amazing exclusive titles and multiplatform titles on display will surely lead Sony to the forefront during this Holiday season.
read morePreview of the new social networking applications and Zune Marketplace
This fall, Microsoft will be rolling a fall update to the dashboard that will include Facebook, Twitter and Zune Marketplace. I recently got to check out these new features coming to the dashboard courteously of Xbox Canada’s Glenn Purkis.
The Facebook application is also launched from the Xbox live Dashboard and once you opt in you will you will be connected to your news feed, profile and allow you to update your status. Another cool thing is you are able to search your facebook friends and see if any of them are connected to Xbox live. It will be interesting to see how developers integrate facebook into their games.
Zune Marketplace is going to replace the current Xbox Video Marketplace and will provide consumers with streaming 1080p movies and television shows. During the demonstration, I was asked what movie I wanted to see and I picked one of the Harry Potter movies. After you select your movie, the service automatically runs tests to determine whether to stream in Standard Definition or High Definition, which is based on the speed of your internet connection. Within seconds we were watching Mr. Potter causing havoc with his cousins. One thing that was not discussed was the pricing structure of the movies, I’m curious to see if the price will remain the same or if they get increased.
I am a Twitter junkie and when Microsoft announced Twitter was coming to the Xbox live service I was generally excited. After seeing the demonstration, I have to say that it very easy to use and well designed. What you get is an application which you launch from the dashboard in which you can view tweets, retweet, search and view trending topics all of which are current twitter features. Once you close the application no more twitter updates. This is where I would have wanted some sort of background application were if someone’s @ replies me or sends me a direct message a little pop notification would appear.
Overall I was generally impressed with I had to see and I think if Microsoft is on their way to making the connected console. However there still is 100 friend limit issue… if you truly want to be connected to all social platforms, should there really be a friends limit?.
read moreX09 Community Dinner
A large group of Xbox Community members went to Jack Astors for dinner, check out the photos
Jaken Bear and The Ic0n
Jaken Bear, The Ic0n, Geekess
Johnny Rotten73
Keadin and Master Switch
Master Switch Dancing for us
Tehflakes and GreenSkull
X09 Round Up
First and foremost a big thanks goes out to JakenBear and Jade for hosting an awesome event.
Check out this Sweet Audi R8
Here are some pictures of the venue
The surprise of X09 for me was Tony Hawk Ride. WOW! was it ever fun, the skateboard controller was built solid and 4 sensors on it and it provided a very good workout. The Sensors allow you to perform grabs and kick the ground as if you were actually riding the skateboard.
Check out this DJ Hero Photo’s. The controller felt nice however I wish the slider had more of a click when you returned back to center. My concern with this game is the price.
Forza 3 was on display however it was the same demo from E3 2009
The start of the show was Modern Warfare 2 by Infinity Ward. This was a closed door demo in which I got to play Spec Ops. Not photos were allowed however here are some photos of the Limited edition console
DjDatz had a lot of the community members sign this controller
Pre X09 Poutine Meet Up!
Check out the photo’s from the Pre X09 smoke’s poutinerie Dinner
Hey, Look it’s Kowz!
Keadin
The Turok Hat and Master Chief
