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• Mass Effect May Get New DLC

  by Gus Lanzetta August 7th 2008 2:24 PM CDT0 Comments

  In a recent interview with MTV's Multiplayer Blog, BioWare co-founder Greg Zeschuk said that more DLC for Mass Effect may be on the way.
  
  He said that they are "also looking at some other post-release content. We’re working away. And added that "BioWare’s pretty busy these days." When questioned about the date of this new content, Zeschuk said only that "We’re talking about [new DLC]. You know how we are. We’re always very circumspect until we can go “Aha! There it is!” With everything we build now, we want to have this long-term relationship with the customer and always have something for them to try. So we’re definitely looking at that for Mass Effect.” Zeshuk was also quick to remind us that Mass Effect was planned as a trilogy and that "there’s some stuff happening.
• Ozzy World Touring With Guitar Hero

  by Gus Lanzetta August 7th 2008 1:39 PM CDT0 Comments

  G4TV.com posted earlier that Ozzy Osbourne will be in Guitar Hero: World Tour as a character and the two of his songs, "Mr. Crowley" and "Crazy Train", will be playable.
  
  Mr. Osbourne commented on the motion capture process by saying "I had to put on this black suit with all these little ping-pong ball-like things all over me." It's not the first time he has said that, but the first time it actually made sense to anyone. Context: here to help you make sense of weird statements.
• Ben Heck Looks The 60GB Beast In The Eyes (and Guts)

  by Gus Lanzetta August 7th 2008 1:15 PM CDT0 Comments

  Ben Heckendorn, hardware modder extraordinaire, opened up the new Xbox 360 Pro model and took a look into its entrails. And guess what? There only minor changes.
  
  I guess you noticed there is a 60GB hard drive in there, there is even a vere subtle sticker on the front of the box. Also, the some of the memory chips changed positions a bit, but the biggest change we could see was the adition of the 65nm processor, which reduces the energy consuption and therefore reduces the production of heat as well.
  
  
  
  
  Look, even the ac adapter's output has changed, previous models' output was 206 watts.
  
  Source
  
• Conquest mode launched for Bad Company

  by Chris Holmes August 7th 2008 11:49 AM CDT0 Comments

  The old favourite conquest mode for Battlefield: Bad Company has finally been released on the Xbox Live Marketplace today for free, bringing the total number of modes in the multiplayer-dependent series to two. The download is a surprisingly light 80MB, and should be a fun little distraction for Battlefield fans who might be a bit bored with the current mode, Gold Rush.
  
  We're proud of EA, letting DICE release a free mode must've been an awkward decision for the company but it could bring players back to the game and might swing potential new buyers during this fairly quiet period for games.
  
• Fable II release date announced, Pub Games coming next week

  by Chris Holmes August 7th 2008 11:22 AM CDT0 Comments

  Lionhead Studios today confirmed some release dates for Fable II. In the US, the game will launch on October 21st, and in the UK, it will be released on the 24th. This part of the year is going to be severely punishing on our wallets, what with Viva Pinata: Trouble In Paradise, Banjo Kazooie, and Gears of War 2 amongst Microsoft's other first party offerings also being released around the same time.
  
  Also mentioned today was a Limited Collector's Edition, that obscene collection of tat in the picture accompanying this post. It includes a making of documentary, a little figurine of an enemy Hobbe, five printed fate cards and surprisingly some exclusive in-game content. Hopefully the game itself will also be included amongst that collection of weird things.
  
  Lastly, they unveiled that Fable II: Pub Games will be released next week on August 13th for 800 marketplace points, but will also be given away for free by some retailers as a pre-order bonus.
  
• Microsoft brings in 240 million from Xbox Live

  by Beau King August 6th 2008 12:30 PM CDT0 Comments

  Microsoft may spend millionms for exclusivity rights, but they take it in stride as it's all part of a master plan. A plan that has helped them achieve about a quarter of a billion dollars since The Marketplace's inception in 2005. $180 million of that has been in the past year, which points to some serious exponential growth. And with myriad of fresh content hitting the update this Fall; this cash cow has only just begun to bloat.
  
  Speaking of the update, many today realized premature joy as a mandatory console update hit Live. Simply looking at the interface will show no change as it is merely some back end coding to help transition the work coming later on. Any left with a glimmer of hope by something new can look to Major Nelson's blog for the final blow.
  
• New tracks confirmed for Guitar Hero: World Tour

  by Jaleel Boone August 5th 2008 8:59 PM CDT0 Comments

  New Guitar Hero: World Tour tracks confirmed via Stuff Magazine scans at the GH forums.
  
  
  
  • Steve Miller Band - "The Joker"
  • Interpol - "Obstacle 1"
  • The Doors - "Light My Fire"
  • Michael Jackson - "Beat It"
  • Linkin Park - "In The End"
  • Smashing Pumpkins - "Bullet with Butterfly Wings"
  
  You realize what this means don't you? Finally I can shred Eddie Van Halen's Beat It solo while laying down  the MJ's vocals I've been memorizing my whole life for. Screw onscreen lyrics. Game of the Century confirmed.
  
  This also means I may have to play In The End though. Quite the quid pro quo, I say.
• Burnout Paradise bike update to be free

  by Jaleel Boone August 5th 2008 8:11 PM CDT0 Comments

  Great news today from the Criterion Games camp. Next month's Burnout Paradise Bikes Pack (or The Pack Formerly Known As "Davis") which adds motorcycles and a day/night to the game system has now been announced to be free immediatly upon release. Criterion also pointed out that the day/night cycle affects traffic and the events that are available. Straight from the horse's mouth:

  
  "We’ve got two rides ready to go – Day 1. Just head for your nearest junkyard in Paradise City to pick up the FV1100 street bike and the stunning Japanese Firehawk racing bike. That’ll do for a start, but there’s more in store once you’ve played a little way through the bike-specific gameplay." 

  
  Originally the plan was to charge for the pack so this is a surprising and welcome turnaround. On Monday the Cagney update was released for free on XBL and added a new calendar feature, over 70 new freeburn challenges, and new vehicles.  Let me congratulate EA and Criterion Games for such amazing support for their title nearly eight months after it's release. That's how you do DLC, gaming industry. Bravo.
• Final Fantasy XIII 360 version to be released in Asia

  by Chris Holmes August 5th 2008 7:29 PM CDT0 Comments

  Kotaku is reporting that Microsoft has confirmed an Asian release of the 360 version of Final Fantasy XIII. The news broke from a recent Microsoft games event over in Taipei, where only a local version for Taiwan has been announced so far. Back at Microsoft's press conference at E3, the game was only confirmed to be releasing in North America and Europe, so this is good news for Asian 360 owners, who we believe exist, albeit in very small quantities.
  
  
  Hopefully it means that there might eventually be localised versions for each region, but that could be a pipedream given the completely bizarre way Microsoft and Square Enix are talking about the title's Asian release.
  
• Rock Band 2, Rock Revolution, and Guitar Hero: World Tour release dates

  by Beau King August 5th 2008 2:04 PM CDT0 Comments

  
  Word on the street and a street date as we know are two different things. Proof is always in the pudding. Fortunate for us todays cup is filled with a list of release dates for RB2, Rock Revolution (sorry, no cool abbreviation yet) and GH:WT. Also included and not yet publicized is a slew of other games you've been waiting for. 
  
  Starting with the rhythm based games, out the gate first is Rock Band 2 as a standalone disc on September 14th. The new guitar and drumset bundle won't ship until October 19th. Rock Revolution will follow fully geared a month later, October 14th, and finally GH: World Tour will land on October 26th. Just in time for that early Christmas shopping you fail to do early every year. The list provided by Destructoid is available after the jump. Luckily for you i've also highlighted other games of interest.

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