Xbox Archive

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Remedy and Rare Developing Next Gen Titles?

By
Cristian Reyes
– May 17, 2012

John Root a former employee at Remedy who works on Motion Capture and is a Virtual Production specialist was hired to upgrade the ‘Character Pipeline’ for next gen devices, specifically the next Xbox. From the looks of his LinkedIn account it appears as though Remedy was or is working on a next generation game for the next Xbox.

Root’s LinkedIn Job Description at former work space Remedy

Remedy brought me on to Lead an upgrade to the character pipeline for use on next generation consoles (XBox 720) I installed a FACS based scanning and facial motion capture pipeline on top of a muscle / skeleton based body rig that is currently generating industry leading data in real-time. One of the more interesting endeavours was a compression technique for converting vertex cache into bone based transforms. Remedy is a wonderful company that truly appreciates fidelity of performance.

Although John Root no longer works at Remedy his LinkedIn account now shows his current job position is at Spark Unlimited an independent developer working on current gen consoles such as Lost Planet 3 for Capcom. Spark has worked on plenty of triple A titles one of them being Call of Duty which means Lost Planet is in good hands.

This is not the first time we see evidence of next gen development. Lionhead Studios developers of Fable have been hiring employes for work on the next Xbox as well. There was even a secret conference going on a while ago for development on ‘Durango’. Also it appears as though Rare, creators of such hits as Donkey Kong and Viva Pinata is looking for a Program Manager for their team in the UK. The Posting in the Microsoft Carree’s page does not state development for a next gen game but at this stage of the Xbox 360′s life span it would only seem natural to start development on the next Xbox.

What do you guys think of this news? Excited to see Remedy working on a title for the next Xbox. Remember to follow us and like us on Facebook and Twitter to keep up with the latest Xbox news.

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Halo 4 Box Art Revealed!

By
Cristian Reyes
– May 14, 2012

You are looking at what is believed to be the box art for Halo 4. Microsoft sent out E-mails earlier today on puzzle pieces of this image. Luckily the Xbox community wasted no time in assembling the cover and gave us this neat surprise. The new art features the Master Chief in his new Spartan armor. What do you guys think of the box art? It remind us of the box art for Halo 2.

 

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Zunited Podcast 137 – Will Apollo end up hurting Microsoft?

By
Josh Martin
– May 8, 2012
Play

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 38:59 — 53.5MB)

This week on the Zunited podcast Anna and Josh discuss whether or not Microsoft is shooting themselves in the foot with the Apollo update miscommunications. Also, how well is the Nokia Lumia 900 selling? There have also been some really cool updates to some Microsoft services. All this and more on episode 137 of the Zunited podcast!

Send us your feedback, comments, questions, suggestions, fun things, fanmail, and all that good stuff to podcast[at]zunited[dot]net!

Hosts: Josh Martin and Anna Yap
Episode: 137
Title: Will Apollo end up hurting Microsoft?
Date: Tuesday, May 8th, 2012

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Grab a refurbished Xbox 360 Slim with 250GB hard drive for $149

By
kfemmel
– May 7, 2012

Are you put off by the idea of paying $100 to get an Xbox 360 with only 4GB storage and a contract that charges you $15 per month, with early termination fees? Well, that isn’t the only significantly cheaper way to get Microsoft’s current home console.

Best Buy is selling refurbished 250GB Xbox 360 slims for $149. That’s half the price of a brand new 250GB 360 console. It doesn’t include any games. Worried about reliability? Check out the customer reviews on the listing to see how it’s working out for people.

That said, a majority of the Zunited users probably already own a 360, so this may be a good way to get some of your friends who still haven’t bought one to jump in.

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UPDATE: Microsoft considering $99 subsidized Xbox 360 with a contract?

By
kfemmel
– May 7, 2012

UPDATE: It’s rumor no more. The new bundle will go on sale through Microsoft stores. You will have to fork out the $99 initial purchase for the 4GB Xbox 360 and Kinect bundle, and thereafter do a monthly Xbox Live subscription of $14.99.

Just like any cellphone plan with carriers, there is a cancellation fee should you wish to cut-off the subscription, and depending on how deep you are into your two-year plan, you will have a corresponding amount due at cancellation. You can view the chart here.
Via Engadget

Yes. You read that headline correctly. Rumor has it that Microsoft may be preparing a subsidized Xbox 360 bundle, at least the Verge thinks so.

Rumors say Microsoft would sell a 4GB Xbox 360, with Kinect and two years of Xbox Live Gold for $99, but require users to pay $15 per month for two years. This is estimated to cost users roughly $460 over the two years which is about $40-$60 more than they would pay normally.

That also doesn’t take into account buying a hard drive or the fact that you can often find three month or twelve month Xbox Live Gold cards for significantly cheaper than their stock prices.

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App Showcase: Zenobia

By
Dario
– May 4, 2012

When I was a little kid, one of the most memorable gaming experiences I ever had was with a game called Blaster Master. For the pitiful uninitiated (meaning too young to know), the game gave you a tank that could scale walls, fly in the air and shoot things. Yet, its most appealing foundation was its exploration elements. Taking cues from Samus Aran’s adventures, Metroid-like progressive exploration was a key instrument in its success. It sucked me in pouring hours on end trying to figure out the locations where a new weapon might reveal a new door to a new level.

It was engulfing. You just had to see what you could find right over that next ledge. What enemies you had to discover in order to progress, and of course, pretty nifty boss battles. They sure don’t make ‘em like they used to. Maybe nostalgia glosses over some of the rough edges that those games of yore had, but its also revealing that even those sullied experiences don’t come through in our memories. At least not mine. To me, Blaster Master is a classic.

So it’s no surprise that developer Nate Monster’s Zenobia wakes up those good ‘ol feelings of familiarity. It’s roots firmly grasping at the fibers of Blaster Master’s fabric, making no apologies where it’s foundation comes from. It’s retro gaming at its core.

The game’s premise is somewhat familiar to Blaster Master. You have a tank, and you have to shoot things to survive, but it also comes with a deep land to explore. The maps available expand in all four directions, making exploration a key element of the game. You have also a few upgradable weapons and the option to change out your load out on the fly.

The game wouldn’t be fun if it had unforgivable controls, and luckily, Zenobia has some wonderful virtual input that allows you to move about, jump and shoot without handcuffing your mobility. I always say the best controls are the ones you don’t think about. I do have some issue where the ads are located, as I dislike when ads are represented under a control scheme that forces you to keep your eyes off of them. It’s pretty easy to hit an add that takes you out of the game into a browser.

Luckily, the game supports Mango multitasking, which will save your progress once you make your way back to the game. I understand that this is a limitation of the screen size, and having an ad directly on your field of view, the part of the screen you’ll need the most visual real estate, would have been criminal. It’s the lesser of two evils, and the only way to keep the game free. Although if you prefer your games to be ad free, there is a paid version in the marketplace as well.

A guy has to make a buck somehow.

Rounding out the features, the game does have leaderboards, checkpoints and a way to revisit old boss battles to obtain a higher score. Nicely done.

Overall, you owe it to yourself to pick up Zenobia. It harkens back to the days where things weren’t given to you on a silver platter. This is real work, people, but one that you’ll enjoy doing.

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Ghost Recon Future Soldier Multiplayer Experience

By
Cristian Reyes
– April 24, 2012

The Beta

The Ghost Recon Future Soldier Beta has started and has left us impressed with the game. Having played the beta multiplayer for about a week, I got a feeling that Ubisoft has another hit in their hands with the third-person-shooter Ghost Recon: Future Soldier. In the ‘Conflict’ multiplayer beta you play as either team ‘Ghost’, American Soldiers with high tech gadgets that perform covert operations or the classic/cliche opposing Russian team. The ‘Conflict’ game type, which is the only game mode provided, is an objective based game mode. Throughout the match you are given objectives such as protecting an EMP for the opponent team that wants to sabotage it or capturing a supply package. Unlike most other shooter games Ghost Recon does not treat players who run and gun friendly. Cover is your best friend in this game and intel is the goal.

Before the match starts you are give the option to chose between a few classes of soldiers. You can pick a rifleman, a heavy gunner type. This class has the option to carry heavy machine guns that can pin an enemy with suppressive fire. The rifleman class also has extra armor making him the class with the most endurance. Expect powerful weapon upgrades.

The Scout class carries with it an invisible cloak which activates when staying still in one spot. It is the coolest of all the gadgets if I do say so myself. Upgrades to the cloak can be made for longer lasting effects. The scout class is basically the sniper of the team. Long range battle with invisibility makes for a dangerous combination.

The Engineer receives some of the most helpful tech of all. They are given sensor mines to locate hidden enemies and defense turrets. Playing around with a UAV is the highlight of the engineer class.

Each class receives a whole bunch of other weapon upgrades and gadgets and with ‘GunsSmith’ you can create and customize a weapon to create hundreds of different weapons to choose from. The good stuff helps your team coordinate attacks and by finding the intel’s location.

Overall, Ghost Recon: Future Soldier feels different but fresh from past Ghost Recon games. It has some hiccups like Ubisoft’s server failing to be found, but this is just a beta and I expect them to work out the kinks by the time this game is shipped. To learn more check out some of the videos below.

Follow and like Zunited to keep up with your Xbox gaming news.

 

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Rumor: Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 reveal coming May 2nd.

By
kfemmel
– April 19, 2012

Halo and Call of Duty may be heading for the biggest first person shooter showdown this holiday season, as it will be the first time the two series release new installments within the same month.

Are you looking for more details on this year’s Call of Duty game? Well, it will be made by Treyarch and has been speculated to be a sequel to 2010′s Black Ops. I’m not exactly reaching when I say it will probably release around the second week of November.

It turns out that we won’t have to wait much longer for details on the next Call of Duty game. This poster is supposedly making the rounds at retailers. The poster seems to be about a Call of Duty game by Treyarch. It’s easy to assume it will be Black Ops 2 since Activision already has a website for Black Ops 2 waiting.

Amazon listed Black Ops 2 a few months ago. You can see where this is all going.

On May 2nd, we should get more details on the next installment in the Call of Duty series. Will it release on election day like Halo 4? Will any self respecting gamer survive a seven day period where a brand new Halo and Call of Duty release? Let us know if you’re looking forward to the next COD game in the comments!

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Dragon Ball Z for Kinect Trailer and Box Art

By
Cristian Reyes
– April 18, 2012

The trailer has finally arrived along with the official title of the game, Dragon Ball Z for Kinect. The game is being published by Namco Bandai and is being developed by Spike Chunsoft Co.The game will feature over 50 iconic character from the DBZ universe you loved. No controller will be necessary for this game seeing as how it is a Xbox Kinect exclusive. Along with it’s new paradigm of gaming DBZ for Kinect will bring never before seen anime in the United States. Along with that the game will have the ability to unlock new characters and power ups via QR codes. The game Kinectamls had a similar feature one where children who bought a Happy Meal at McDonalds where given a special code that the Kinect would scan giving them a new pet to play with. DBZ for Kinect still has a long time before it’s release date so the final product might look different than the video below.

Dragon Ball Z for Kinect will be available on October 2012 on Xbox 360. Follow and Like Zunited for the latest Kinect news!

 

 

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Dragon Ball Z Kinect Screenshots

By
Cristian Reyes
– April 13, 2012

Namco Bandia has just released screenshots of the latest Kinect exclusive Dragon Ball Z game. In the latest game rendition of the Dragon Ball Z series gamers will choose from over 50 characters and for the first time play from a first person point of view. Players will unleash their inner Super Saiyan and enjoy never before seen anime footage in the United States and Europe. The game will also come with a ‘Story Mode’ and a ‘Score Attack Mode’. Check out some images below and the full press release to get a better idea at what you will enjoy from the game.

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SAN JOSE, Calif. (April 11, 2012) – Leading video game publisher and developer NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. today announced that Dragon Ball Z® for Kinect™ will be coming to the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft this October. All of the classic action and intensity of the Dragon Ball Z universe will be felt with an unprecedented sense of immersion when players learn to deliver over 100 moves, including the legendary Kamehameha with their own fists as they charge their way to victory in this ultimate evolution of the classic franchise.

Developed by Spike Chunsoft Co. Ltd, players will be entering the Dragon Ball Z universe in an entirely new way. Featuring iconic characters, famous attacks, and epic battles authentically created from the original manga series, Dragon Ball Z® for Kinect lets players unleash their inner Super Saiyan with no controller in the way! Fans will also be treated to new anime footage debuting in the US and Europe for the first time, along with over 50 playable characters and an entirely new character. Leveraging the Kinect sensor, Dragon Ball Z® for Kinect will also support QR code functionality, allowing fans to hold up special QR codes to unlock characters and power-ups in the game.

“There’s going to be no better feeling in the world for fans of the Dragon Ball Z series than standing in front of their screens and unleashing their own fists and raging blasts upon enemies with this game,” said Carlson Choi, Vice President of Marketing, NAMCO BANDAI Games America. “The Kinect sensor has truly enabled the development team to finally realize the dreams of millions of fans of both the classic games and the timeless original anime. This game will truly represent the next generation of interactive entertainment in the Dragon Ball Z universe.”

Choosing between ‘Story Mode’ and ‘Score Attack’ mode, players will enjoy battles and events following the story of Dragon Ball Z in first-person view for the first time. Dramatic battles use anime-style camerawork and require the player to move in the same way as their character and perform the same attack or movement from a particular famous scene, combining CG demo scenes and battle controls to experience giant boss battles like never before! In ‘Score Attack’ mode, defeat opponents in 1-on-1 battles to get the highest score!

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