New Downloadable Content and a Patch on the Way for Gears of War

Since its release on November 7th 2006, Gears of War has become the most played game on Xbox Live, dethroning the mighty Halo 2 for the first time since its release. Players have been chainsawing each other to bits and stomping each other’s heads in all over the ten maps included with Gears of War. Later this week, they’ll have two new places to shoot at each other and blow each other apart. Microsoft has just announced that there will be two new multiplayer maps available on Xbox Live.

Epic games recently mentioned that free downloadable content was on the way for Gears of War and this week, they will deliver on their promise. This Wednesday, two new multiplayer maps will be available on the Xbox Live Marketplace. No specific time was mentioned for the release of the downloads, but we speculate that it will be released at 1 AM Pacific Time, concurrent with the times recent Wednesday releases have been posted.

Brief descriptions, as well as a few screenshots of the two maps have been released by Microsoft. Raven Down takes place at the crash site of a Raven helicopter and Old Bones sees players battling for supremacy across several Museums.

The two maps are sponsored by the Discovery Channel, which will soon be launching a contest, giving away 2 million Microsoft Points in 400 point increments for use in the Xbox Live Marketplace. Full details regarding the promotion have not yet been released but will soon be posted on the website www.readyaim.com.

Full details regarding problems the patch will address will be available at the Gears of War forums. For more information regarding the game read our official review.

January Rumor Mill

The new year has just begun and already a number of juicy rumors have been swirling around. The rumor about the Xbox 360 Version 2 (Zephyr) was just the tip of the iceberg. As always, I am required to state that this list of rumors should be taken with a grain of salt.

Playstation 3:

Lair will have online play.
Metal Gear Solid 4 will be released by the end of 2007.
White Knight Story demo due out in March.
A Final Fantasy VII remake is planned for the Playstation 3.
An old Playstation One franchise will be resurrected for the Playstation 3.
Coded Arms has been cancelled for the Playstation 3.

Xbox 360:

Banjo-Threeie release will see the release of Banjo and Kazooie for the Xbox Live Arcade.
New Conker game in the works.
Halo 3 will be out by 2007.
Lost Odyssey will be simultaneously released worldwide on its release date.
Perfect Dark is in the works for the Xbox Live Arcade
Devil May Cry 4 will see an Xbox 360 release.
Tekken 6 might come to 360.

Wii:

Some games will be updated with online play and new features, including: Excite Truck, Call of Duty 3, and Wario Ware Smooth Moves.
Metroid Prime 3 will be the first game to feature online play for the Wii.
The next Wii system update will include a section for game demos and the activation of the News Channel.
Star Fox is in development by Nintendo for the Wii.
A new Kid Icarus game is in development.
Virtual Console games might be updated.
NIGHTS Sequel is in the works for the Wii.
Kingdom Hearts 3 will be released on the Wii.
Fire Emblem Wii will have 2 parts: One being the original Fire Emblem.
From Software is developing a first person action game for Wii.
Swords of Legendia is a spin off of Tales series.

Nintendo DS:

Phoenix Wright 3 is in the works for DS.
Pokemon Diamond/Pearl will be released alongside Pokemon Battle Revolution.
Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass will be released in March.

Playstation Portable:

Sly Cooper: Portable Theft is in the works for the PSP.
Capcom is working on a new IP for the PSP.
A sequel for Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops in the works.

Second Version of the Xbox 360 revealed? (Codename: Zephyr)

There is a rumor floating around the internet today that there is an updated version of the Xbox 360 in development, codenamed “Zephyr” that includes an HDMI port and a much bigger 120 gigabyte Hard Drive. The Xbox 360 was recently updated to provide 1080p output through VGA and component cables but the question lingering on everyone’s mind was whether the Xbox 360 could output a digital signal (and more importantly support HDMI output) for use on televisions that do not support 1080p via analog signals. For a while, there was much speculation that Microsoft would release an HDMI cable for the Xbox 360, but based on the rumor, they have just decided to throw in an HDMI port instead. This is not the first time this has been rumored, according to another rumor that surfaced a few months ago, the HDMI equipped Xbox 360 was already in development.

The rumored 120 gigabyte hard drive is a much needed add on, as Xbox 360 users are finding themselves short on space after downloading the many demos and high definition movies and television shows available on the Xbox Live Marketplace. It is unknown whether or not the larger hard drive will come bundled with the new console or will be sold separately. The price of this new console (if this rumor is in fact, true) is still up in the air but I guess it will come in at $399 and the current Xbox 360 console will receive a price drop. When will this console be available for purchase? That is also unknown, but from what I hear, “soon”.

As for my personal take, this does not sit too well. I get the feeling that Microsoft is milking the extra buck out of current Xbox 360 owners who have 1080p televisions that only accept 1080p signals through HDMI. These people have only two options if they want to enjoy their Xbox 360 in the full 1080p resolution, they can buy a new television that can support 1080p through VGA or Component inputs, or buying the updated Xbox 360. Although this is not the first time a hardware manufacturer has revised their hardware (see Sony’s slim line Playstation 2 and Nintendo’s DS Lite), I would rather not have to buy a new version of something I already have to get the best experience. But, I do understand that this is only a rumor and should be taken with a grain of salt until an official announcement is made.

Wii Internet Browser Impressions

After promises of browsing the Web from the comforts of your living room for months now, Nintendo has finally delivered on that promise. The trial version of the Opera browser has been released for the Wii today for users across the world to download and evaluate until the final version is released next March.

The browser itself is pretty easy to use, you point the Wii remote directly at the screen and use the pointer as a virtual mouse. When you load the browser, you are taken to the start page, where you can then enter a website URL. Text entry is a bit time consuming, and there is no support for a USB keyboard at this time. The navigation buttons are large and easily accessed at the bottom of the screen. There is an option to bookmark your favorite sites so you can return to them later, eliminating the need to type them into the browser over and over again.

The interface is clean and accessible by even the gaming illiterate and it couldn’t get much simpler. Unfortunately, in many ways, it’s too simple. Power users won’t get much use out of it in the long run. You can only view one web page at a time, a far cry from browsers of today which allow you to simultaneously view many web pages at once. Even the Wii’s competitor the Playstation 3 allows for the viewing of multiple websites at once and provides methods of switching between them quickly and efficiently.

The Wii browser has no problems handling graphics heavy sites and loads them pretty quickly. The Wii browser even supports the Macromedia Flash player and has no problems viewing and interacting with the majority of flash content such as games and videos. Not all flash content will work with the Wii browser. Many sites that utilize Flash content coded in more recent Macromedia flash players will not work and will prompt you to upgrade your software, which at this point is impossible.

There are a few bugs in the browser which cause you to arbitrarily jump back to the start page. This is not entirely the fault of the Wii’s browser, much of the time this is due to poor coding. Some sites are unable to be loaded in the Wii browser and constantly refresh themselves before the page has completed loading and then send you back to the start page. Occasionally I have hit the back button to return to a page I was just looking at and found myself back at the starting page. At the end of the day, the glitches, while annoying, won’t significantly impact your enjoyment of the browser.

In the end, the browser does what it promised, allow quick and easy access to the internet from the comforts of your couch. It isn’t exactly the deepest or full featured browser you can get, and won’t replace your PC as your main internet browsing device but for those who just need a way to check their email, news or the latest sports scores, its great. I look forward to the final release next March in which the glitches will (hopefully) be fixed. Until then, if you've got a Wii and you'd like to surf the net on your television screen this is perhaps the easiest way to do it.