Adam Creighton, Computer and Video Gaming: 11/01/2004

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Adam Creighton, Computer and Video Gaming (Subscribe)

Tuesday, November 09, 2004

Must continue to ... play ... Halo 2 ...

... Because, for the most part, it rocks. There are a few things I'm surprised they didn't learn from the first game (repetitive levels), but the game is a blast. I'm tooling through the single player, and haven't jumped online yet, but I want to get through the campaign before someone ruins the surprises for me.

I wish the local EBgames (store #2603) had been a little more organized (would it kill you to have a separate line for those who already paid in full?), but I got my game by 12:30, and am thoroughly enjoying it.

G'wan, make Microsoft a little richer today -- buy Halo 2 today ...

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I have Halo 2! I have Halo 2!

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In line again ...

OK, so I'm back in line, with my #36 slot. They'll be doing a raffle to
pick slots #1 and #2, so here's hoping ...

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Monday, November 08, 2004

I'm standing in line ...

I'm standing in line at the EBgames near my house, waiting to get my number that will determine when I get my game at midnight.

I'm standing between a nice family from Utah and a really, really cool high school student (seriously; just ask him) ...

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Halo 2 available tonight, new Battlefront content, Dragon Ball Z is coming ...

Halo 2 available at midnight

More Halo 2 music available

Halo 2 on TV

New content for Star Wars Battlefront

More star power in games

Dragon Ball Z coming to Xbox

New Black Arrow maps available

Game Updates

Tiger Telematics buys Warthog

New Releases

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NEWS:
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Halo 2 available at midnight
- Halo 2 will release at midnight Monday night, technically the beginning of the Tuesday, Nov. 9 release date. Thousands of stores across the country (EBgames, GameStop, Hastings, Best Buy, Circuit City, Toys "R" Us, etc.) will be open at midnight. Check with the individual stores, because some are having special Halo- or sci-fi-related events, and some are opening only for those folks who have shelled out their pre-order ducats. EBgames is already saying they're out of the Special Edition versions, "and supplies of the regular edition are limited".

More Halo 2 music available
- The Halo 2 soundtrack is available tonight as well, but you can get two more tracks -- "The Last Spartan" and "Follow (1st Movement of the Odyssey)" -- from the kind folks over at Team Xbox.

Halo 2 on TV
- Besides the MTV "Making of the Game" episode, SpikeTV debuted a behind-the-scenes expose on Halo 2, which is re-airing throughout the month. Oh, and Halo made a cameo appearance on The Daily Show's "Prelude to a Recount" election night coverage.

New content for Star Wars Battlefront
- LucasArts and Pandemic Studios are bringing new content to the PC and XBox versions of Star Wars Battlefront at the end of this month. The new content adds Jabba the Hut's palace for the existing planet of Tatooine. It also adds Gamorrean Guards, the Rancor monster, and an appearance by the slug himself.

More star power in games
- Monica Bellucci (The Passion of the Christ, The Matrix Revolutions, Bram Stoker's Dracula, etc.) is adding her voice to the upcoming The Matrix Online MMORPG and Prince of Persia: Warrior Within video games. Bellucci is gorgeous and talented -- can you believe she's 40? No freakin' way!

Dragon Ball Z coming to Xbox
- Finally! Atari announced the multiplatform Dragon Ball Z: Sagas for 2005. The title will be the first in the franchise to see the XBox, and is an action/adventure game that also sport co-op story mode. Atari, please make co-op available via Live!

New Black Arrow maps available
- Considering it's irritating trend of "premium content", Ubisoft (via Microsoft) is offering 4 new maps (English Killhouse, Canadian Winterlodge, Saudi Arabian Petroleum, and Canadian Office 2) for $5; you can also download a separate, single map (Italian Village) for free.

Game Updates
- Halo 2 is available tonight. Duh.
- Ultra Bust-a-Move for Xbox (Majesco Games) shipped last week, and takes the puzzling classic online via Xbox Live.
- Xbox Live Arcade is available now. I've got mixed feelings on this, because though it seems like a great way to rope in the casual gamer, the non-demo pricing tier is ridiculous ($9.99 and $19.99 a title). You can get the set-up disc free from Xbox.com, for only $4.99 shipping, plus tax on your shipping (???). Order the disc now, and you'll get a full version of the original Ms. Pac Man.
- Tron 2.0: Killer App, the Xbox version of last-year's PC game, has shipped to retail outlets, starting at a $39.99 MSRP. Though the single-player experience is virtually identical to the PC, only Xbox owners get added weapons, online light cycle races, oveRIDE mode (combining both on-foot FPS and light-cycle combat), and tons of extra multiplayer maps and modes.
- Spyro: A Hero's Tail, the Vivendi Universal fan-favorite franchise (previously just on PlayStation) has shipped.
- Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2 (Ubisoft)is shipping 2 weeks early, and will be available November 16th. Not enough Tom Clancy goodness? Ubisoft just announced the upcoming release of a three-game set including the original Ghost Recon, first Splinter Cell, and Rainbow Six 3 -- all for $39.99!
- Sonic Mega Collection Plus has shipped from Sega, and includes 13 playable classic Sonic games, and unlockable games and content -- all at a $19.99 price point.
- Electronic Arts Need for Speed Underground 2 has gone gold, and is scheduled for a Nov. 15 release.
- Microsoft Game Studios' Blinx 2: Masters of Time & Space has gone gold, and is scheduled to ship November 16. The Xbox-exclusive adds (oddly) offline multiplayer to the mix.
- NCAA March Madness 2005 (EA Sports) has gone gold and is scheduled for a November 15 release. Bowing to the Sega/ESPN pressure, the game will debut at a $39.99 price point.

Tiger Telematics buys Warthog
- Tiger Telematics, the parent company behind the Windows CE-based Gizmondo game/movie/music/messaging/GPS/camera handheld, has aquired UK-based Warthog for $1.1 million. I'm assuming this means they also get Austin-based wholly owned subsidiary Warthog, Texas, but the details haven't been announced. Tiger would do well to leverage Warthog's proprietary game-engine-porting software ("Tusk", heh) for their handheld. Tiger specializes in telematics, GPS, and GSM-related technologies.

New Releases
- Week of 11/07/2004
  - Halo 2 (Action/FPS)
  - High Rollers Casino (Puzzle)
  - Hot Wheels Stunt Track Challenge (Driving)
  - IHRA Professional Drag Racing 2005 (Driving)
  - Karaoke Revolution (Puzzle)
  - Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (Action)
  - Pinball Hall of Fame (Puzzle)
  - The Urbz: Sims in the City (Strategy)
- Week of 11/14/2004
  - Atari Anthology (Classic)
  - Backyard Wrestling 2: There Goes the Neighborhood (Action)
  - Blinx 2: Masters of Time & Space (Action)
  - Cabela's Big Game Hunter 2005 Adventures (Sports)
  - Call of Duty: Finest Hour (Action/FPS)
  - Crash 'N' Burn (Driving)
  - Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix 2 (Puzzle)
  - Fight Club (Fighting)
  - Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone (Action RPG
  - GoldenEye: Rogue Agent (Action/FPS)
  - Greg Hasting's Tournament Paintball (Action/FPS)
  - King Arthur (Action)
  - NCAA March Madness 2005 (Sports)
  - Need for Speed Underground 2 (Driving)
  - Tom Clancy's Classic Trilogy (Action/Tactical/FPS)
  - Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2 (Action/Tactical/FPS)
  - World Championship Poker (Puzzle)
- Week of 11/21/2004
  - ESPN College Hoops 2K5 (Sports)
  - Godzilla: Save the Earth (Action)
- Week of 11/28/2004
  - CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (Adventure)
  - Dai Senryaku VII: Modern Military Tactics (Strategy)
  - GunGriffon: Allied Strike (Action)
  - Heroes of the Pacific (Flight Simulation)