Capcom has just sent out a brand new gameplay trailer of the upcoming Xbox exclusive downloadable only; Dead Rising 2: Case West. Along with the trailer they also revealed that Case West will be available some time in December.

Dead Rising 2: Case West features new weapons, enemies, items along with an online co-op mode were you can play as either Chuck Green or Frank West.

The Halo: Reach Noble map pack is now available for download on the Marketplace. It comes with three new maps (Anchor 9, Tempest, and Breakpoint) and will set you back 800 MSP.

If all you want to do is play the three new maps, Bungie has added a DLC only playlist called DLC Grab Bag.

Many gamers thought that the previous iterations, prior to Need for Speed Shift were less than stellar. Shift was a successful revival to the dying series but also moved away from its arcade based roots to a much more simulation and circuit-like approach. The game was a hit with many, including me, but left a craving for the open road feel of chasing and being chased in exotic supercars, that only few of the previous Need for Speed entries achieved.

This is why EA put Criterion on the franchise which decided to reboot the beloved Need for Speed Hot Pursuit. The Burnout developer set out to recreate the feel of the fantastic Hot Pursuit with modern day tech and lots of flair. Need for Speed Hot Pursuit is butter-smooth from a technical perspective, the frame rate and visuals are to the highest standards. Racing the cars down the open roads feels very natural and intense at the same time. Criterion has nailed the driving aspects much like they did with Burnout Paradise. Revving the engines and speeding down an open road feels fantastic and the cars handle very well. I always felt in control of the vehicles while they were on the edge of losing it.

Of course, driving exotic cars through beautifully rendered environments, including day and night cycles as well as stunning weather effects, is not enough to make a great Need for Speed game. In order to do that Criterion added the Hot Pursuit element in a near perfect fashion. Players have the choice to take part in two distinct careers which have separate experience levels and progression. The two distinct options are; playing as a ‘racer’ or ‘cop’ which do have one thing in common though; epic speed and thrills. No matter if you are escaping a high speed police chase by avoiding road blocks, EMPs, nail strips or helicopters as a racer, or trying to catch the mad man in the Lamborghini utilizing those exact weapons, Need for Speed has its grip on you so tightly that you’ll exhale only, once you’ve crossed the finish line.

Cops aren’t the only ones able to use toys; the racers also have the special abilities to level the playing field. No matter which side you’re on, using those weapons and gadgets wisely will determine your success or failure. Burnout Paradise was a great driving experience and included an awesome open world, shortcuts and takedowns. Criterion has taken all of that and put it into a Need for Speed skin, which is all but a bad thing. Players can also use nitrous to get an edge on the competition which can be filled by driving into oncoming traffic or drifting, which has been implemented in an excellent fashion as well.

There are several modes in Hot Pursuit including the careers as cops and racers. As cops, players will be asked to respond to calls as fast as possible, shut down races and take out racers based on certain time limits which will be posted on the game’s leaderboards, called Autolog. The Autolog keeps track of races and challenges you have completed and compares it to your friends while suggesting challenges to each other. This is a nice feature and increases the competition between friends throughout the game without having to be online at the same time. As racers, you’ll be asked to escape cops, win races and beat certain times to get ahead. Cops and racers level up and unlock new cars based on their achievements and experience. The better you do, the faster you’ll have new and exciting cars to try out.

Players can also take their competition online in races, Hot Pursuit mode or direct one-on-ones which I have enjoyed the most as it pins two players against each other. Players will take turns as the cops and racers trying to outrun and catch each other.

When Criterion was revealed as the Need for Speed developer for this year’s entry into the franchise, many gamers were very excited and had high expectations. Rightly so, the studio has not let their fans down with Hot Pursuit. The game is fantastically well executed on every level, plays fantastic and looks gorgeous. Hot Pursuit captures what was great about the original and adds new elements to it that make this a must play for anyone, racing fan or not.

Score: 9.5 / 10

Need for Speed Hot Pursuit was developed by Criterion Games and published by EA for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC on November 16th. A copy of the Xbox 360 version was purchased by the reviewer.

Along with the announcement from early today of the release date for VIP Map Pack 7, DICE also released a brand new trailer showing off the four new levels that you will be able to play tomorrow. Check it out below!

The day many of you have been waiting for is December 21st. DICE and EA will be dropping the Battlefield Bad Company 2 Vietnam Expansion DLC on your dome in just three weeks.

For the people that can't wait, VIP Map Pack 7 is hitting on December 1st. That's tomorrow folks. Put away those BLOPS discs for a while and dust off the your BC2 discs. I know I will.

The DLC will be 15 bucks while the VIP Map Pack 7 is free to those who bought a new copy of the game.

Just a day after Microsoft revealed that Kinect sold 2.5 Million units, Sony announced the sales for its motion controller.

According to a press release, Sony stated that the Move Motion controller 'sales reach over 4.1 Million units worldwide'.

Keep in mind that the statement used the word sales, not units shipped. If these are truly sales numbers then Sony has truly achieved a solid start and success to its motion controller launch.

The sales numbers are based on figures for the month of November 2010.

Sordahon’s Journey continues. Have a look at the latest escapades from this curious series of shorts. Oh, also - check out the Two Worlds II website, here. Lastly, Mullets. They are great, aren't they?

It might have taken longer than expected but the excellent Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light has now finally gotten a patch on PSN, enabling full Online Co-Op.

If you are looking for a reason to get into this great title and Co-Op is not enough, there is also free DLC available.

‘Things that go Boom’ DLC will be given away for free for 30 days to PSN players. Once the 30 days are up, the DLC will cost $3.50. The pack offers up four new explosive challenge maps featuring a variety of tense puzzles, deadly traps, and relentless combat encounters.

You remember that insane tech demo that Epic released on the iPhone and iPad a few months back? The one with the amazing graphics. Of course you do, there would be no way to forget it. -- Now that we all know what game I am talking about let's get on to the details that you came to see. The full game will be releasing December 9th on the App Store for the low price of $5.99, and will work on iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad, iTouch 3, and iTouch 4.

Well, that didn't take long.

Breaking news from Major Nelson's blog, aka Larry Hyrb - Xbox Kinect sold an impressive 2.5 Million units in its first 25 days on the market. Microsoft seems to be on track with the predicted 5 Million by the end of 2010.

Castlevania ships 1 million units, Test Drive Unlimited release date announced, Direct2Drive crazy Christmas sale, first Back to the Future screens, Dead Rising 2, Gran Turismo 5, Assassins Creed 2: Brotherhood, Need for Speed Hot Pursuit and LOADS more on this weeks episode of onCAST.



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News:
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Shipped 1 Million Units
First NFS: SHIFT 2 Screens Released
Sonic Free Riders demo out now
Gran Turismo 5: Best Racing Game Ever or Dinosaur?
Test Drive Unlimited 2 release date announced
Direct 2 Drive is giving 1 in 5 Customers their Order Free
Tim Schafer's next Game: Stacking
First Back to the Future Screens
Brand Spanking New Two Worlds II Trailer
Get crazy with Crazy Taxi on XBLA
nail'd Adrenaline Rush Trailer


Games:
Dead Rising 2
Crazy Taxi
Minecraft
RAGE iPad
Sly Cooper Collection
Apache Air Assault
Need for Speed Hot Pursuit
WWE 11
Assassins Creed 2: Brotherhood
Gran Turismo 5
Black Ops


Other:
lost complete collection
test drive 1
dead nation
nab jam
fallout: new vegas
blood drive


Twitters:
Ronnie: @RonyDean
Andreas: @RacingFreak

Check the onPause team Twitter stream out!

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Email us: onCAST@onPause.org

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Sony and Housemarque have joined forces yet again to bring Playstation 3 players a new downloadable experience after the excellent Super Stardust HD which was a hit on the console. Dead Nation is Housemarque’s latest title and deals with, you guessed it, Zombies. Picture a world with plenty of undead in the way of you and survival, maybe a cold milkshake as well. Dead Nation is a top-down shooter that has been so well executed that the developer can get away with making yet another zombie game in this very saturated market.

Players are part of the fight against the zombie outbreak in Dead Nation, which is visualized in the menu system where statistics for each country are being tracked. When I booted up Dead Nation for the first time I was a bit skeptical but also excited to dive into this interesting looking title. The game runs in a beautiful HD resolution and looks stellar even if a bit dark at times. Players get to choose a male or female protagonist when they start their journey through hordes of undead, zombies or infected – whatever you would like to call them.

Dead Nation is based on a set of 10 levels which are split up by checkpoints where players can change their load-outs, upgrade their weapons re-up on ammo before going into the next dead zone. As I said, Dead Nation is a great looking game and has a well crafted level design which is also visually appealing. Playing through the game was fun at all times but could be a bit frustrating when I mismanaged my inventory and used mines or flares at the wrong time causing my inevitable death. Using equipment and weapon types wisely is key in Dead Nation, as there are plenty of intelligent zombies of various types, which will swarm after you when alerted. Of course, players can distract the zombies with previously mentioned flares, car alarms and beeping grenades which resemble pipe bombs from Left 4 Dead.

The game is at its best when a horde of zombies is attacking the player who then barley manages to use a pipe bomb, a car alarm and a few calculated shotgun blasts to get rid of the undead and the immediate danger. Dead Nation has lots of variety in zombie types with enemies ranging from generic zombies to witch-like undead or ones that resemble the well known boomer. Throughout the levels, Dead Nation supplies the player with ammo, money and health packs which need to be managed intelligently so that supply satisfies the ever growing demand for all of these items.

While the story is not the best asset of Dead Nation's package, the comic book style cut scenes portrait a nice grim picture of what the world has become. I quite enjoyed the narrative on most levels.

After I played through Dead Nation, I can firmly say that this is one of the best downloadable games on the Playstation Network to-date and at 15 Dollars, a must buy for PS3 owners. Going through the various -- often frantic but well paced -- levels has been an absolute pleasure and had me somewhere between creeped out pumped with adrenaline throughout.

Score: 8.5

Dead Nation was developed by Housemarque and published by Sony for the PS3 on November 30th. A review code of the retail version was provided to us by Sony for reviewing purposes.

Hey guys, do you want to get some dirt thrown in your face? Would you like it in slow motion as well? Sure thing! Just push play and duck. nail'd is out on November 30th on consoles and PC. Enjoy!

Ready to live out your fantasy as a San Francisco taxi driver? Crazy Taxi was just released onto the Xbox LIVE Arcade for 800 MSP. Download size is a little over 100 MB. -- What are you waiting for? Go download the trial and live out your fantasies!

Download link.

Many of you might have heard of a little game called Two Worlds. Some might say it fell a bit short from its goals and that is why SouthPeak and Reality Pump would like to remedy that with a proper sequel.

Two Worlds II is set to cast it’s spell on North American RPG fans in January 2011 on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Windows PC.

Check out the latest trailer full of awesome below:

Well, well Marty - you HAD to start up the DeLorean didn't you? We already know that BAck to the Future is coming out next month but now we finally know what it will look like. IGN has run a story in 'Back to the Future' and included 3 brand new screens that will take you back in time. We will have more info on the game as it becomes available! Great Scott!

In case you did not know this, Tim Schafer and Double Fine are in process of creating four downloadable games. Costume Quest was the first one in the series and Double Fine just announced the second game which is due on Xbox 360 and PS3 Spring 2011.

The game is called 'Stacking' and is an action-adventure puzzle game where players control Charlie Blackmore, he is the worlds's smallest Russian stacking doll.

Check out the debut trailer curtesy of IGN who broke this story.

Steam competitor Direct2Drive is starting a very enticing promotion today. The online digital-download-only retailer will be giving 1 in 5 customers, who check out between now and December 31st their entire order completely free of charge.

It does not matter if you are buying every single one of the 2,500 strong library or pick up only a single title. In other words, there is a 20 percent chance your purchase is free.

In addition to this crazy enticing promotion Direct2Drive is also starting ‘Lowest Price Match Guarantee’ and ‘Weekly Publisher Promotions’ today, running through December 31st.

Head over to their website if you’re feeling lucky!

Atari and Eden Games have just announced that Test Drive Unlimited 2 will be releasing February 8, 2011 in North America. They also revealed today that TDU2 will be getting a bunch of pre-order content from a whole bunch of different retailers. Check out the pre-order options below.

Amazon
Amazon.com pre-order shoppers will receive the iconic Aston Martin V12 Vantage Carbon Black special edition, exclusive avatar apparel and an additional bonus of Amazon Video Games Credit. The carbon edition features a bespoke Carbon Black color scheme, distinctive carbon fibre details, black mesh components, and high polish black 10 spoke diamond turned alloy wheels. A bright finished grill and front parking sensors complete the exterior detailing of this hand crafted masterpiece. Amazon customers receive an exclusive apparel item for their avatar to compliment the Carbon Black package on their Vantage V12.

Atari.com
Customers who pre-order on Atari.com will unlock the impressive Ford Shelby GT 500. The rebirth of a legend, this reinvented Shelby delivers classically inspired styling and a supercharged engine. The rear-wheel-drive Ford Shelby GT500 is one of the all-time greatest muscle cars ever to hit the pavement. Draped in prestige, and history, tame this masterpiece of modern American muscle and tear up the roads of TDU2.

Best Buy
Best Buy pre-order consumers will be rewarded with the Aston Martin DBS Carbon Black special edition – Aston Martin’s ultimate sports car, and a Carbon Black themed apparel item for their avatar. Featuring bespoke Carbon Black metallic paint complimented with gloss black 10 spoke diamond turned alloy wheels and the iconic Aston Martin side strake fashioned from carbon fibre. Customers will also receive a piece of exclusive Avatar apparel to compliment their new ride. Best Buy Reward Zone members also receive a significant bonus in reward zone points with their TDU2 pre-order.

Direct 2 Drive
Atari fans that pre-order from Direct 2 Drive will receive the Jaguar XKR with Speed Pack and Black Pack. The XKR speed pack increases maximum speed from 155 mph to an awe-inspiring 174 mph. In addition, the Black Pack is a sleek, black custom package that includes a unique, aerodynamic body kit with front splitter and larger rear spoiler, body colored rear signature blade and diffuser, side sill extensions, gloss black front grilles, air intakes and 20” Kalimnos gloss black alloy wheels. An “XKR” side graphic has also been added. Pre-order customers will receive an exclusive shirt for their avatars that compliments the jet black cloth seats, steering wheel, shift knob and center console.

GameStop
The TDU2 Casino Online is a fully functional add-on product for Test Drive Unlimited 2, this valuable game mode is available as a pre-order bonus exclusively to GameStop customers. Unlock this fully interactive in-game environment to play popular casino games, meet up with friends, and more. Players who master the table games in the casino can unlock TWO unique vehicles, the Audi R8 Spyder and the Spyker C8 Aileron Spyder. Casino owners can even win additional money to spend on your cars, properties, and avatar in the world of Test Drive Unlimited 2.

K-mart
Pre-orders at K-mart will unlock the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti. The design, especially the large side scallops and the headlights, pay homage to the custom 1954 Ferrari 375 MM that director Roberto Rossellini had commissioned for his wife, Ingrid Bergman. The car is capable of speeds up to 196 mph and can reach 60 mph in just 4.2 seconds. This grand tourer is unique as a true 4 seater with adequate space in the rear seats for two adults. Only sixty of these rare masterpieces were built (60 units) to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the company.

Steam
Steam pre-order customers receive the special edition Pagani Zonda Tricolore. The Pagani Zonda Tricolore is a high end performance coupe produced in extremely limited numbers by revered Italian manufacturer, Pagani. The ultra-exclusive Zonda Tricolore is both a savory treat and a spectacular sports car, built to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Italy’s Frecce Tricolori, the nine-plus-one aerobatic training squadron based at Rivolto Air Force Base in northern Italy. Steam customers will also receive a stylish pullover to wear when driving this exclusive masterpiece, highlighting the unique design features and striking coloring of the Zonda Tricolore.

Walmart
Walmart.com pre-order customers will receive the Bugati Veyron Supersport 2010. This beloved supercar has been clocked as one of the fastest production vehicles in the world, setting a previous street record at 267.86mph. The Supersport packs an impressive 1200 HP that can launch this fireball from 0 to 60 in 2.2 seconds.

Tomorrow is Wednesday, November 24th 2010, also known as the day Gran Turismo 5 is actually coming out. The game is real, I have seen it. Tomorrow you all will be playing it and think it is the best thing since sliced bread OR you won’t care.

Which side are you on?

Sony’s only big exclusive flagship game to hit this Christmas is Gran Turismo 5, that is besides all the Move games of course. Will it be enough to carry Sony across the heavy holiday competition? That is another question all together.

Today we are discussing whether or not, Gran Turismo 5 is still relevant today. In a time when fast paced action racers like Blur, Split/Second and Need For Speed are the norm, can a heavily simulation based racing game still compete? Do gamers still want to grind? The other big sim racer on consoles is Forza 3 which is a very good game with tons of customization and realism but even it cut some corners to get around the ‘too realistic’ bump by adding loads of assists and even an unlimited rewind feature which GT5 will not have.

Gran Turismo 5 will be a massive game for gamers to explore, over a thousand cars and dozens of tracks along with an entire new mode which allows players to build their own race team with RPG elements. GT5 might arguably be the most complete racing game ever created but it took over 5 years to get it out of the door and caused a lot of upset and sarcastic gamers as well. When Gran Turismo 5 comes out tomorrow, many gamers will be buying it because it’s a Gran Turismo game but how many will do the opposite because of it.

GT5 might actually be too much, too full of options and realism when most gamers just want to drift around turns and hit the nitrous oxide button. I am pretty sure that Gran Turismo 5 will sell exceptionally well but had it come out 3 years ago it would have done a lot better.

Which side of the fence are you on? Are you craving more simulation and grinding of levels or are you already satisfied with the arcade racers from recent months. I guess only time and sales numbers will tell but one thing is clear, Gran Turismo 5 is a polarizing game and might be the last of its kind.

Konami has put in a lot of great effort with Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. The game turned out to be a quality title that many people liked. The publisher has announced yesterday that the 3D Castlevania shipped one million units in the United States and Europe.

While we haven't published our official review for Castlevania: Lords of Shadow yet, I can tell you that the game is more than worth playing. Congrats Konami on this achievement.

A bunch of new images from the upcoming racer published by EA; SHIFT 2, have just hit the intertubes this morning and are ready for you to enjoy. View the screenshots after the jump. -- In case you missed it, here is a link to the trailer that was released last week.









[Images via our friends at AWSM Sauce]

Along with Xbox's Marketplace Thanksgiving deals, Playstation Network will also be having an awesome sale. Starting tomorrow November 23rd and ending November 29th, you can pick up JoeDanger and Death Spank for $7.49, PixelJunk Racers 2nd Lap for $3.49, and a bunch more at really great prices. Check it all out below.

PS3:
PixelJunk™ Racers 2nd Lap - $3.49 sale price; $6.99 regular price
Top Gun - $7.49 sale price; $14.99 regular price
Gundemonium Collection - $7.49 sale price; $14.99 regular price
DeathSpank - $7.49 sale price; $14.99 regular price
Joe Danger - $7.49 sale price; $14.99 regular price

PSP:
Groovin' Blocks PSP® - $4.99 sale price; $9.99 regular price
Fat Princess: Fistful of Cake - $9.99 sale price; $19.99 regular price
Dissidia™ Final Fantasy® - $9.99 sale price; $19.99 regular price
Dante's Inferno™ PSP® - $19.99 sale price; $39.99 regular price
Metal Gear Solid® Peace Walker - $19.99 sale price; $39.99 regular price

Minis:
Young Thor - $2.49 sale price; $4.99 regular price
Fieldrunners™ - $3.49 sale price; $6.99 regular price
Hero of Sparta™ - $2.49 sale price; $4.99 regular price

Alien Zombie Death - $1.99 sale price; $3.99 regular price
Monopoly® - $2.49 sale price; $4.99 regular price

Microsoft has just sent out a list of XBL games and movies that will be on sale at some point starting November 23rd to November 29th. Some of the deals are; Halo, GTA: San Andreas and NFL Arcade for 400 MSP, 'Splosion Man for a super crazy 160 MSP, and a few Zune movies at 720 MSP. Check out the full list of deals after the jump.

Xbox Live Marketplace sample deals (featured daily from Nov. 23–29)

Xbox Live Arcade:

* Madden NFL Arcade (400 Microsoft Points)
* The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition (400 MSP)
* 'Splosion Man (160 MSP)
* Trials HD (400 MSP)
* Portal: Still Alive (400 MSP)

Xbox Originals:

* Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (400 MSP)
* Halo: Combat Evolved (400 MSP)

Zune movies:

* 300 (380 MSP)
* Cats and Dogs 2: The Revenge of Kitty Galore (720 MSP)
* Clash of the Titans (720 MSP)
* Sex and the City 2 (720 MSP)

Remember: Not all the deals will start November 23rd, more will slowing pop up later in the week.

It's time for you to get your free riding on in today's Kinect demo that has released. A demo of Sonic Free Riders is now available for download on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace coming in at 404 MB. Download it here. Also, check out our review of it here.

EA Sports is the biggest sports videogame publisher in the world, renown for the NFL Maddens and FIFAs which dominate most of the sports genre today. NBA Jam being an IP based on the SNES game from almost two decades ago makes a welcome return to today’s generation of consoles, but is also a bit of a surprise as it doesn’t quite seem to fit the publisher’s track record of big simulation style games. Either way, NBA Jam is back on the court and made a rather big splash even before its release. As opposed to the retail released Wii version, NBA Jam HD was supposed to be downloadable pack-in with the, since canceled, NBA Elite 11. When Elite was shelved for many reasons, EA decided to make this a standalone box retail release for 50 Dollars. Does NBA Jam warrant the higher asking price or is it just an air-ball?

I am sure many of you have played NBA Jam on the SNES and other condoles when it first released in 1993. The over the top arcade playstyle along with one of the most memorable announcers ever (Boomshakalaka!), made the original NBA Jam a hit that warranted a remake in 2010. EA Sports has decided to flesh out this, previously planned downloadable title, into a full game with several game modes including online matches over Xbox LIVE and Playstation Network.

Right off the bat, NBA Jam induces the classic feel of NBA Jam with new, fresh and crisp HD graphics as well as solid audio and of course Tim Kitzrow’s commentating that will put a smile on your face. There are several modes in this remake including the classic and familiar NBA Jam campaign, online multiplayer and the newly added ‘Remix Tour’ which has players compete in several different new challenges such as games with power-ups, ‘Backboard Smash’, ‘21’, ‘Domination Free-for-All’ and ‘Elimination’. While the new modes are fun, they don’t quite add enough to the game which will have most players spend their time playing the classic NBA Jam.

I really, really enjoyed playing the new NBA Jam. The game has the controls down to a perfect sweet spot as they feel very intuitive and satisfying, players will only need a few different buttons to play the game and have fun as they throw down unbelievable dunks and shove the opposition out if the way to score that final bucket while being on fire. Even though EA Sports is introducing the stick based controls many are familiar with from their other franchises, it is not necessary to use them to succeed. Playing 2 v 2 with an AI team mate can be a bit frustrating as he just doesn’t quite seem to get when I clear a lane or go up for an alley-oop. Something that might help overcome this sometimes frustrating problem is playing with another person online or offline, NBA Jam for 360 and PS3 includes seamless online multiplayer over LIVE or PSN, allowing for much customization and quick match making including the new ‘Remix’ game types. NBA Jam also keeps track of your stats and online progression which is a nice touch and has players come back many times, trying to improve their record.

It seems that EA Sports has managed to get the job done with NBA Jam. The game plays perfectly and how players would expect it to, all while looking pretty and with plenty of ‘Boomshakalaka’ through your speakers. I can’t help but feel though, that NBA Jam would have done a bit better as a downloadable title as the new game modes aren’t adding enough meat to the experience. Smashing backboards is fun for a while but does not make me continue to play it. The classic game mode is the best part of NBA Jam and had me playing many games offline and online alike. The amount of smack-talk to be had over LIVE or PSN in a game featuring players with giant heads, legal (and encouraged) shoving and dunking from the free throw line is remarkable. NBA Jam is very reminiscent of the days when we all played couch competitive one on one which often led to some painful bruises or ended friendships.

My final verdict for NBA Jam is bittersweet but overall positive. I would have liked to see this game hit the Playstation Store or the Xbox LIVE Marketplace at a lower price which would have made NBA Jam the possibly best downloadable game ever. However, playing the game brings back so many good memories along with hours and hours of quality content and fun experiences that I would have to recommend this title. NBA Jam is a really refreshing and well executed game made me feel like a kid again.

Score: 8 / 10

NBA Jam was developed by EA Canada and published by EA Sports for the Xbox 360 and PS3 on November 16th. A copy of the Xbox 360 version was provided to us by EA Sports for reviewing purposes.

With this past month being the sequel month of the century, some of them can get swept under the rug, or brushed aside, or even blown to smithereens in a nuclear holocaust. Of course I am referring to the epic expansion pack sequel, Glitchout Fallout: New Vegas. New Vegas takes place in 2281. Three years after the events of Fallout 3, and 39 years after Fallout 2.

Fallout: New Vegas' story is based around a package courier that is set to deliver a platinum chip. But, as it turns out, more than just the recipient is interested in the contents of this pack. Matthew Perry A man in a striped suit explains that this isn't just bad luck, but a completely planned out ordeal. After this heart-felt welcome, you are promptly shot in the face. At this point I would have said *spoiler alert,* but as seeing as this is the opening cinematic, you can't avoid it.

While the opening credit begin to roll, you sit back and wonder, wow, is this game going to be "everything that happens to this point?" or "Now, what?" For those of you guessing the latter, ding ding, you are correct.
You come out of your coma in a white blur, being talked to by Doc. Mitchell. He does all the warm up junk that happens with ever RPG game. You know, a/s/l what is your name, is this your face, what perks do you want, what traits do you want, here is some stuff, wanna play hardcore mode? You know, the normal things. Upon leaving his home, you are hit AGAIN, with a white blurry light and thus completing your first quest. "Ain't that a Kick in the Head." And for those on Xbox, you just a friendly notification and 10G to your name.

OK, and now my first official opinion comes into play. However much time you plan on playing New Vegas, be sure to get an Egg Time or Alarm clock to stop playing after 1-1.5 hours. I say this because after this time, your chances to glitch out, freeze, hang-up, fail, or otherwise screw your game up rise exponentially. I also say this because reading comments from other online forums told me to do the exact same thing. For which I ignored them. I thought, it is a video game created and produced by a reputable company. There is no reason I should be limited to enjoyment. I was wrong. I spent a good amount of time in Doc. Mitchell's home looting and taking everything I could carry, only to find out my game froze after I opened Doc's door. Fail Number 1.
Pressing onward. For those of your that have never played a Bethesda game, you should not start with this one. That is not a burn, or bash, or anything abusive. There is just so many extras added to New Vegas, that you will miss out on what it should feel like to actually play and enjoy an expansive RPG. Lol. Burn.
Mean thoughts aside for now, New Vegas welcomes you with open arms to Goodsprings. Your quest tracker begins telling you to either ask around about the man who shot you, or optionally, talk to Sunny. Personally, I wanted to avoid the man who shot me. He did it once, why wouldn't he do it again. So, I made my way directly north to the fantastic place that is New Vegas. Which, is the dumbest idea I could have had. I had no usable weapon. No Stimpaks. No Rad-Away.
While I ventured upward, I listened to Radio New Vegas, with Mr. New Vegas detailing the events of the story. Which by the way, Mr. New Vegas makes me miss Three Dogg a million times over. The music for Galaxy News Radio was fantastically wonderful. The music from Radio New Vegas is good. But, Galaxy News was better.

Ok, back to the topic at hand, while moving north, I found Black Mountain. A super mutant haven that is completely covered in radiation. I died instantly. If the rads didn't do it, the stealthed super mutants did. Ok, noted, avoid Black Mountain until you have something good to kill them and some Rad-Away. So, I went past Black Mountain to what looks like an abandoned quarry just east of the Make Shift Great Khan Camp. This also turn out to be a lose-lose. While the quarry looked pretty open, it turns out I was wrong again. The quarry was covered with deathclaws. And I found out very quickly how the new Damage Threshold works. Apparently, enemies and the courier have a Damage Threshold. And now deathclaws have more HP than anything else, and they have more DT than anything else. So, since my crappy guns only kill one. I died.
For the record, north is a dumb way to go.
Without going into any more detail of the storyline, I need to cover the nitty gritty of what makes this game good, and what makes this game avoidable.

First and foremost, just like other Bethesda games, Fallout: New Vegas is incredibly and dynamically involved. The side quests, optional storylines, and expansive environment. You can spend nearly 40+ hours on side quest, and exploring the world. New Vegas has over 200 locations to discover. Which means over 200 potential stories and secrets to explore. One of my favorite locations is Vault 11. Second of which being the Crashed Vertibird.
With that obvious perks aside, the downfalls are pretty numerous. First and foremost, the game decides to freeze at some of the most unfortunate times. Entering doors can sometime lead to entire game crashes. Too many NPCs on the screen creates framerate disasters.
The graphics are unchanged from Fallout 3's engine. It looks like nothing has been upgraded. Everyone is a pail shade of grey. Eyes aren't luminous. Blue eyes and brown eyes look exactly the same. Character faces never look pretty and are always on the bad end of ugly.
As I mentioned near the beginning of this post, playing for over 1-2 hours is very troublesome. Load screens increase in time for 5 seconds to nearly 20 seconds. Then from 20 seconds to sometimes over a 1 minute. And this occurs at every load screen. Door to door. Fast travel to fast travel. It makes the game very frustrating and very annoying. With each minute you play longer, loud times increase, and crashing occurs more frequent.
These opinions and review comment are strictly for the Xbox 360 version. The PC version for me is completely unplayable. Conversations are running at 5 fps. Battling runs at 4 fps. There are "patches" and work around that communities have created. None of which have fixes the issue at hand. A game company released a bad game. And people buy and play it. Not cool.

Score for Xbox 360: 6 / 10 - Without a major patch release to fix the glitches, I can't ignore the bad despite all of the good.

Score for PC: 3 / 10 - I'm not going to get into it. Just Google Fallout: New Vegas PC issues. You'll see. It's lucky to get that.

On this weeks episode of onCAST Andreas and Ronnie discuss Fable 3 getting first DLC, Homefront's release date, Bizarre Creations shutting down, Portal 2 release date announced and much, much more in news. And for what they have been gaming it's; Black Ops, Mafia 2, Dead Nation, Rock Band 3, RAGE for iPhone and loads more on this weeks podcast!



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News:
First Fable III DLC Announced, Coming November 23rd
New Screens for Bad Company 2 VIP Map Pack 7 DLC
New Bulletstorm Trailer
PS3 Exclusive Dead Nation gets a Price and Release Date
Microsoft: Kinect hits 1 MM in 10 Days, on Track for 5 MM by End of Year
First DIRT 3 Developer Diary Kicks Up
APB Officially Aquired, to be Relaunched in early 2011
Trailer: EA Announces SHIFT 2: Unleashed, Drops NFS Label
Breaking: Activision shutting down Bizarre Creations and Budcat Creations
2010 VGAs: Batman Arkham City World Premiere and BioWare Announcement
First Fallout New Vegas DLC Coming to Xbox LIVE on December 21st for 800 MSP
THQ's Homefront Has a Release Date
You Can Now Pre-Order The OnLive Game System
RAGE hits the App Store, Priced to Sell
Black Ops reaches Worldwide Revenue of 650 MM USD in 5 Days, Breaks LIVE Records
Get nail'd by these Trophies and Achievments right Now!
Latest Kevin Butler Ad 'Only Does Gran Turismo 5'
Portal 2 Receives new Release Date


Games:
OnLive Just Cause 2
Call of Duty: Black Ops
Minecraft
Modern Warfare 2
Mafia 2
Dead Nation
LittleBigPlanet 2
Rock Band 3
007 Blood Stone
Fable 3
Dance Central
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit
NBA JAM
RAGE iPhone


Other:
Black Friday Deals
GripShift PSP
Spike VGAs
PSP2 Prototype


Twitters:
Ronnie: @RonyDean
Andreas: @RacingFreak

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