The face (or rather, voice) of the Xbox 360, Larry “Major Nelson” Hyrb, has announced on his blog that Far Cry 2 and Battlefield 2 are coming to the 360’s Games On Demand service, meaning that they will be available as a digital download from the Xbox Live Marketplace. From where I’m standing, this can only be a good thing, as it meant these games will reach a wider audience, and maybe some of the people who couldn’t be bothered to pick them up when they first came out might get them. For some reason, however, BF2 is only available in North America and Asia, whereas Far Cry 2 is available anywhere except North America. Bizzare! Anyway, FC2 is £19.99 in the UK, and BF2 is $19.99 in the USA. Anyone got any idea why the odd regional restrictions are being enforced?
So here we are in November, just under 60 days away from the prime gift giving season of the year and we have some more games for you to add to you list as an avid 360 gamer. Whether you like silent killing, rocking out at a lego character or even just slaying large dragons, there will be a game for you this month.
Also, let us take note of another great case mod for the Xbox 360 this month, with the Halo Helm 360 case. This case has a large window to view in to the case that is styled in the shame of the Master Chief visor. If you would read more about this mod, head over to Unreality for their top 15 Xbox 360 case mod article. Also, make sure to check out our other Ones to Watch articles for the PC, PS3/PSP and Nintendo Wii/DS platforms.
After rumors started the discussion of whether there would be Xbox 360 Avatar awards in Left 4 Dead 2, Valve has released some video footage that confirms the rumor. Shown in the video are such rewards as a Left 4 Dead 2 logo t-shirt, a pink Depeche Mode t-shirt, and a zombie t-shirt.
The full list of rewards and what it takes to earn them is as follows:
- Left 4 Dead 2 Shirt – A Left 4 Dead 2 shirt earned by winning 10 games of Scavenge
- Left 4 Dead 2 Shirt #2 – A Left 4 Dead 2 shirt earned by winning 10 games of Scavenge
- Depeche Mode Shirt – A sweet Depeche Mode shirt earned by rescuing Gnome Chompski from the Dark Carnival.
- Depeche Mode Shirt #2 – A sweet Depeche Mode shirt earned by rescuing Gnome Chompski from the Dark Carnival.
- Zombie Hand Shirt – A scary zombie shirt earned by killing 10,000 Infected
- Zombie Hand Shirt #2 – A scary zombie shirt earned by killing 10,000 Infected
With the podcast down one man this week, we decided to hit up the community for some topics. However, one of those comments from one Jordan Snyder, drew Fourhman out from the House of Mouse to call in and retort. To say it is epic is selling it short.
We also took the time to sit discuss some of the recent hulabaloo on the web surrounding the complaints over the recent scores that Uncharted 2 has received from some media outlets. Yes, you read that right, people have been complaining about 9.3, 9.4 and 4.5 out of 5 scores. We just found it interesting that a game that has reviewed so well, is still getting complaints over the review scores being so low.
The podcast music is provided by Revolution Void and they can be found at www.revolutionvoid.com. The podcast is mixed as always by our favorite DJ, Stephen “stop clearing your throat already, Joe” Munn.
Download the podcast from here or subscribe to the podcast using one of the services below: Also make sure to review us on iTunes.
The NPD numbers covering September (five weeks from August 30th to October 6th to be exact) are out, and the PlayStation 3 price cut to $299 seems to have worked. Microsoft cut their console down to size as well, of course, and even Nintendo decided to take a dip in the profitability of their console with their drop to $199, boosting everyone’s numbers, but the PS3 outsold everything except for the DS.
The DS didn’t exactly blow its doors off, though. The DS sold 524k, the PS3 sold 491k, the Wii sold 462k, the Xbox 360 sold 352k, and the PSP (pre-Go, remember) chugged along at 191K. In last place, limping along, is the PS2 with 142k units sold. The 360’s number is nothing to sneeze at, but it looks like that PS3 price cut showed that consumers still really did want a PlayStation 3 after all this time. Does Microsoft consider that along with having sold a full 110,000 units less than the Wii this time a problem?
September was also notable for stopping a long slide of months where game sales were down significantly from the previous year. This is no small feat, even if this month just meant staying on par with 2008. New consoles on the market could have been a big part of that and if the holidays are good to those new console owners it could very well be a very happy holiday for all three console makers after all.
Seen at Gamespot.
Gearbox has bucked the trend of holiday delays by going gold with Borderlands today. When I heard Joe call it something of a Diablo-ish shooter on Aeropodcast #102 I was intrigued. The three gameplay videos I found over on Co-Optimus shows off its semi-cel-shaded style with some post-apocalyptic-looking action, but there’s something in the last of them, shown here, that intrigued me.
I found the gameplay pretty easy to follow and the weapon variety surprising. When your hero starts getting badly hurt, notice how they treat death. She’s knocked down and an arcade-like message flashes for her to “Fight For Your Life!” Apparently, by doing enough damage as she’s down, perhaps on her knees, on the verge of death, she’s given a second chance. I could just hear Mick barking at Rocky on the mat: “Get Up Rocky Gaddamn You!”
A big apology for this podcast getting to press so late. Real life has been getting in the way of things for the last week and a half, but things are getting better. And believe me, beyond a technical issue for this podcast, it is well worth the wait. Why is that you say? Well, we had our writer from the UK, Vikki, making an appearance on the show. So for once, we have a really good English accent on the show, although a really bad accent shows up as well at one point.
Features in this podcast include shopping for good, not so cutesy DS and DSi games, and the Xbox 360 and PC Ones to Watch titles, so it was not a fanboy oversight that they were not on the site.
Music is provided by Revolution Void, and mixed as always by Stephen Munn.
Download the podcast from here or subscribe to the podcast using one of the services below: Also make sure to review us on iTunes.
Think those Wii sales numbers have been sagging? Sure the whole industry’s been dragging itself along through the middle of this year despite some stellar titles hitting very high marks on non-Nintendo systems, but Nintendo apparently thinks their massive bank of money counting machines needs a workout again.
Now that the PS3 is $299 and Microsoft is throwing a rebate at the 360 to take it down to $250 for a couple of weeks to blunt Sony’s numbers Nintendo has decided to up the value proposition on its little white juggernaut of a console by cutting the price to $199 effective Sunday the 27th. So says Engadget.
Anyone else think that the surge from this won’t hit previous sales numbers? I’m guessing everyone that really wanted a Wii by now has one. Then again, a recession is a recession, and this is a convenient excuse to spend unnecessary money on something around the holidays, and it probably means even I will have one before the year is out.

It looks like the rumors were almost completely true about a 250GB Xbox 360. Yes, the unit is coming, but it is not a full blown production model. Major Nelson posted up a couple of pictures of the Call of Duty Modern Warfare Limited Edition Xbox 360. The unit, priced at $399.99, will include an Xbox 360 with a 250GB drive, a custom Call of Duty Modern Warfare design, two wireless controllers and a copy of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2.
Looking at the contents of the console, this is a really good deal. You are getting a $60 hotly desired game, a second $50 controller, and twice the hard drive space of the Xbox 360 Elite, considering the pricetag of a 120GB hard drive (since you would need a second hard drive to get the same comparable space).
Check the jump for a straight on picture of the console. Also, let us know if you might be picking one of these up.

While I am currently knee deep in a copy of Section 8 on the PC, the 360 players will have the chance to play against the developers of Section 8 on Saturday, September 12th at 3:00 PM Pacific time. There will be a total of 12 to 15 developer gamertags that you will be able to look up and join on the fly.
Also, stat junkies can now have a number orgasm, because the statistics site for Section 8 just went live. The site will track all of your stats, in the vein of Left 4 Dead, Gears of War 2, Halo 3, etc. Want to know how often you use a certain rifle, or how many entrenchments you have called in? Just check the site. Hit the jump for all the pertinent info.