During the Too Human launch signing in St. Catharines, Ontario, Denis Dyack took a few minutes to answer some of our questions. While reserved, Dyack did speak fondly of the community Silicon Knights represents, the success of the demo and misunderstandings within the media.
Surrounded by fans awaiting a signature from the Silicon Knights development team, Dyack brushed off our questions regarding the recent reviews of Too Human, message board communities and the future of both the franchise and the studio's next announcement.
This week on a newly rejuvenated Ask X3F, we tackle wireless internet stealing sharing, erratic Xbox 360 sign-in problems and the ability of the Xbox 360 Fancast to turn people into (extremely) minor internet celebrities. We also discuss the practice of borrowing games from friends. It's a tricky road to travel. Personally, we've seen some of our best games lost to the abyss thanks to untrustworthy friends (thanks for losing Earthworm Jim, Joey!). However, it can also be a great (and cheap) way to experience games you wouldn't otherwise. Delve dee into this week's edition of Ask X3F and uncover its secrets. No, seriously. Delve.
Got a question for Ask X3F? Maybe you have a story or some information you'd like to share? Send it all to ask [att] xbox360fanboy [dawt] com.
In the beautiful, quiet town of St. Catharines, Ontario, members of Silicon Knights -- including company president Denis Dyack -- held a launch signing event at their local EB Games to promote the release of Too Human. While attendees quickly entered and left with copies in hand never a dull moment was found as gaming enthusiasts of all ages trickled in one after the other for a glimpse and signatures from their hometown gaming heroes.
X3F was on hand for the event and had the opportunity to speak with Denis Dyack regarding the community they support, Too Human itself and pre-orders. Stay tuned for the interview later today.
Specially created for the Leipzig Games Convention, Ubisoft just released their latest EndWar trailer which is aimed at getting you, the consumer, pumped for worldwide EndWar shenanigans. And after giving it a watch, we're intrigued, but know our experience with the EndWar beta has already pretty much solidified our opinion of the game. But for those who didn't get in on the beta fun, what say you? You loving the trailer? You loving the EndWar? You loving life?
With only eight days to wait for Castle Crashersto storm the Xbox Live Arcade (for 1200 Microsoft points), we're impatiently finding new ways to occupy our time until next Wednesday. We find that sketching Castle Crashers knight doodles helps relieve some of the built up excitement as well as baking mini knight shaped cookies (don't ask.) But for those of you who don't mind "spoiling" your first fifteen minutes of Castle Crashers fun, then make your way over to Destructoid. They have 15 minutes of exclusive Castle Crashers gaming footage (warning: you may want to mute) that should take the edge off your urges. We can wait, though. We'll just bake more knight shaped cookies in the meantime.
It may not be as exciting as, say, the actual release of Fable II, but we are required by gaming law to inform you that Lionhead has posted new Fable II wallpaper. There are four such wallpapers, three of which feature the citizens of Bowerstone or Bloodstone. Bloodstone, by the looks of it, is full of some less than savory characters, including a man sporting what appear to be rouged knees and a sign that reads "Call me Doris." Whatever you say, Doris.
Microsoft announced today that gamers can now pre-order Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts. Much more exciting is the fact that the rumored price of $39.99 is true, making Nuts & Bolts a real bargain. Making the deal even sweeter, gamers that pre-order the game will receive a download code for the Xbox Live Arcade version of the original Banjo Kazooie. Even better than that, the code will work starting on November 14, the day of the Nuts & Bolts launch, a full two weeks before the XBLA game hits Xbox Live Marketplace. The XBLA release will include a feature called "Stop N' Swop" which allows players to unlock new features in XBLA game by playing Nuts & Bolts.
Finally, a new Nuts & Bolts world called Jiggoseum was revealed. You can check out the first images of Jiggoseum in the gallery below.
Sticking to their word, Dragonforce and Activision will be releasing a new Guitar Hero III Dragonforce track pack to the Marketplace this Thursday, August 21st for an expected 500 Microsoft points. The new Dragonforce three pack will be comprised of "Revolution Deathsquad" and "Operation Ground and Pound" which come from their Inhuman Rampage album as well as the song "Heroes of Our Time". The debut single from Dragonforce's upcoming Ultra Beatdown album. Now go begin your strumming finger exercises immediately, because you'll need all the strength you can muster up. Presser after the break.
Now that Rock Band 2, Guitar Hero World Tour and Rock Revolution are all headed our way, Xbox 360 gamers will soon be flooded with new instrument peripherals. This raises the question: which instruments will work with which games? Joystiq has stepped up to the proverbial plate and provided the answer: the Joystiq Instrument Compatibility Matrix 3.0. If you're planning to pick up any of these upcoming music games (and you really should be), consulting this handy chart is a must. It will be updated as new information is released, so be sure to bookmark it for the next time you've got a hankering for a new plastic instrument.
Here's your jaw dropping amazing video of the day. After the break (or jump, if you're all about BIG videos) you can view a demo of Far Cry 2's map editor in action with commentary by a seductive narrator (not that we're complaining or anything). And it's a guarantee that you'll be impressed. Seriously, we had no clue Far Cry 2's map editor would be so vast, so customizable and so epic in scale. There are over 1000 objects, you can change the weather, the landscape AND even alter the environment's textures. It's hard to admit, but Far Cry 2's map editor puts Halo 3's Forge to shame. Hell, there is no comparison. We're flipping impressed with what the Far Cry 2 dev team has accomplished. A big round of applause to them.
Talking with Eurogamer, Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts lead designer Salvatore Fileccia confirmed their plans to release a Banjo demo to the Xbox Live Marketplace prior to the game's release. "We've got various different ideas" Fileccia explained, saying that the demo will most likely include the four challenges as seen in the E3 demo as well as an editor "because that's a whole different part of the game - building things and seeing how they perform, and taking part in challenges."
So, there you have it. You can expect colorful Banjo-Kazooie demo goodness prior to the game's release this November. Huzzah!
Bizarre Creations, hire this man. His name is Matthew McCarthy and he has done something wonderful. Specifically, he's taken his frustrations with Geometry Wars 2 and channeled them into something creative: a song. Entitled "Geometry Wars Will Be the Death of Me," we think that most gamers can relate. So, the next time Geometry Wars 2 gets you down, turn up the volume, listen to the song, and remember that you're not alone.
Seriously, this song is awesome though, and not the new, watered-down version of awesome either. No, this is the original awesome in that it actually inspires awe. This is like Grand Canyon awesome. Watch out Johnathan Coulton.
Fresh from the Rock Band downloadable contentEasy-Bake Oven and onto the XBLM are five new chewy-moist morsels of DLC to purchase. And as you're already aware, two tracks from Devo AND two tracks from Duran Duran (yes, Duran Duran!) are available for 160 Microsoft points as well as a song from American Mall that's value priced at 80 points. Sadly, there are no money saving track packs being offered this week ... tear. A comprehensive breakdown of all of today's newly released Rock Band DLC is posted after the break. Rock on!
After blogging about the Duke Nukem 3D achievements yesterday and the whole ESRB rating thing, we finally bent them into submission! 3D Realms just officially confirmed that Duke Nukem 3Dfor the Xbox Live Arcade is in fact a reality (uhh, duh?) and that it has already passed Microsoft's certification process. Celebratory high five! Though, they're keeping their release date, pricing and game feature cards close to their chest. But 3D Realms promises us that Duke 3D previews should be making their way onto the internets sometime next week and also mentions that OXM's October issue has plenty of juicy Duke bits. Duke Nukem 3D ... it's really real!
Episode 080. Wow. What can we say? It seems appropriate that this show drops the week after Madden 09. The more things change, the more they stay the same, so they say. As such, we bring you this fresh Fancast that is much the same as it ever was. We've got news, Fanmail, Fantalk and everything you've come to expect from us. And, thanks to Madden 09, we've got a heavy dose of footbaaaaalllll! Listen as we ponder our own existence (not really) and discuss just what the heck we're going to do for episode 100 (we really do talk about that).
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (MP3). [Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in Zune Marketplace (MP3). [RSS MP3] Add the Xbox 360 Fanboy Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically. [AAC] Download the enhanced AAC directly. [MP3] Download the MP3 directly.
Serious X3F Fans: Interested in participating in the Xbox 360 Fanboy Fancast Defense Force podcast? Longtime listener Richard Elliot is looking for an additional co-host. If you think you've got what it takes and can record Fridays from 5-7pm GMT, contact Richard Elliot at x3ffdf [att] googlemail [dawt] com. You can also join the discussion and contribute ideas on the X3FFDF message board on our Facebook group.
Anytime we hear that a game will feature live action sequences, we immediately have nightmares about awful, awful Sega CD games. Now, we're not saying that the live action sequences in Need for Speed Undercover will be awful. In fact, if this recently released video is any indication, they may actually be pretty good. The video features a police officer discussing the state of Tri-city, the city where Undercover takes place. Unfortunately, other than what appears to be some CG footage at the end, there isn't a hint of what the game actually looks like. Maybe next time.
Even with an ESRB rating, some leaked XBLM screenshots and a hint from 3D Realms themselves that it'll be releasing soon, we still don't have any concreteXBLADuke Nukem 3D release details. It's sad, really. But now we can add achievements to our war chest of Duke Nukem 3D proof, because a complete list of all twelve achievements has made its way to the internets today. Complete with artwork too! You can view the list over at Achieve360Points.com, but be mindful of where you step. You wouldn't want to unlock the "Looks Like Cleanup on Aisle 4" achievement while navigating the internets for Duke Nukem 3D news, now would you?
Talking with develop magazine, Too Human lead Dennis Dyack expressed his continuedanger towards Epic Games for putting him, Silicon Knights and Too Human through a development hell. Four years of development hell thanks to the Unreal Engine.
"They [Epic Games] have defrauded us, and a major portion of the industry" Dyack explained, saying that Too Human "would have been out even quicker, but we had to re-write the engine because of all the Epic stuff." Very mud slinging-like. So, you ask, how is all that legal Epic stuff going? According to Dyack, quite peachy, saying that he feels "really good" about their legal claims. Congrats for that!
We reported during E3 that the Dragon Age franchise would be heading to consoles in "the future," though it wasn't made clear in exactly what form it would arrive. Given that Dragon Age: Origins is heading to PC, it would make sense that we might see a version of the same title hit consoles, and BioWare's Dan Tudge has confirmed just that to Eurogamer. "Yes. Dragon Age: Origins will be coming to consoles in the near future, yes," said Tudge, adding that the console version should be arriving in late 2009 following the PC release earlier in the year. Such dates should be taken with a grain of salt though, as BioWare PR notes that "plans for consoles haven't been finalised yet."
Frankly, it doesn't matter when the game shows up. No matter how soon it arrives, the wait for the "spiritual successor" to Baldur's Gate will feel like an eternity.
This is it. Ten years of development have finally culminated in an actual finished product. We are speaking, of course, of Too Human. It's finally coming out folks. Will it be worth the wait? Will the quest for phat lootz pull you in? There haven't been any major online reviews posted as of this writing, so take that for what it's worth. We're also getting Namco Banadai's Smash Court Tennis 3 this week. So, you've got to choose between cybernetic-Norse dungeon crawling ... and tennis. What's it gonna be?
