The Xbox 360 Weekend Warrior: Say ‘Bye-bye!’ to Bill, and other flights of fancy

360 Weekend Warrior goes LIVE! - Image 1Welcome to the Xbox 360 blog’s Weekend Warrior section, where we tackle the many important things that have happened in the Xbox 360 scene in the past couple of days, as well as discuss the highs and lows behind Microsoft‘s console in general. Find out all the interesting things that have happened in the past week after the jump!

Xbox 360's Weekend Warrior  - Image 1 

Welcome to Xbox 360’s Weekend Warrior section, where we tackle the many important things that have happened in the Xbox 360 scene in the past couple of days, as well as discuss (ideally, of course) the highs and lows behind Microsoft‘s console in general.

The 360 Weekend Warror is also the place where we’ll talk about things that’ll be happening in the future for the Xbox 360 blog. Feel free to add your comments below about our plans or, if you have any ideas in mind, write them down and we just might take a look see if we can pull them off on the blog.

In any event, let’s get started, shall we?


People are people, and they say things…

First up on our agenda for today is CliffyB. He has been in the news recently, bringing out all manner of Gears of War 2 goodness for people to enjoy. That means a multiplayer trailer and detailed information on the game. Add to that some fighting words about not making a “passive entertainment” game like Metal Gear Solid 4 and some leaked gameplay videos for Gears of War 2, and you have the makings of a pretty interesting week for one of the Xbox’s signature games.

Link: CliffyB: Gears of War 2 multiplayer first look and details
Link: Leaked: two Gears of War 2 multiplayer beta videos
Link: CliffyB: we’re not pulling a Metal Gear Solid

Next up on our list of important informational tidbits is Mr. David Gosen, European VP of strategic marketing for interactive entertainment at Microsoft. He’s got a lot of cautious optimism for the Xbox 360, as well as some words for analysts who are making their predictions a bit too early. Simply put, he says that the Xbox 360’s battle with the PS3 is far from over.

Link: Gosen: Xbox 360’s battle with PS3 far from over

The last person on our list today is Chris Kline, Bioshock’s Lead Programmer. His reason for being here today? Well, he said that BioShock, the game he helped develop, should have failed. The strange thing? The failures and setbacks behind the game’s development helped make the game really good. Funny how life works out, doesn’t it?

Link: Kline: BioShock should’ve failed


DRM, XBL, SSF2THDR, and other acronyms

DRM is an important issue for Xbox gamers, mostly because losing your Xbox usually means you’d have to redownload everything you previously owned, or go through a lengthy process of haranguing Microsoft to get your games in order. Well, it should be easier now, as Microsoft has released the DRM transfer tool.

Link: Xbox 360 download license transfer now available

Another important issue for gamers these days is Street Fighter. Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, to be exact. The beta has gone up (and we have some lovely screenshots of the beta as well) but it hasn’t been without problems, as the beta seems to be freezing up during attempts to go online and play multiplayer matches.

Oh, and there won’t be any patches for the beta, according to Christian Svensson. Insert your favorite swear word here (just don’t put it in the comments).

Link: SSF2 Turbo HD Remix Beta now live on XBLA, new screenshots
Link: SSF2 Turbo HD Remix Beta has freezing problems, Capcom responds

In Xbox Live related news… Battlefield: Bad Company‘s demo was probably a big draw on the Xbox 360 and PSN, as 1.5 million downloaded the thing. Rockstar also got in on the Xbox Live action by patching Niko Bellic up in GTA 4. Frontlines: Fuel of War also got its Xbox Live on with a downloadable map, and the Happy Tree Friends make their debut on the service, along with a game called Ticket to Ride.

Link: Battlefield: Bad Company demo hits 1.5 million downloads
Link: Rockstar releases patch for GTA 4
Link: Frontlines: Fuel of War gets free Boneyard map, more freebies to follow
Link: Happy Tree Friends False Alarm!, Ticket to Ride arrive on XBLA this Wednesday


QuickJump: It’s Serious Bizness

We’ve also got QuickJump-specific articles for you to ponder over. First off, we wrapped up our Aces of the Galaxy t-shirt giveaway, and were surprised to find a lone starfighter in our midst. SamtheGMR, we sent you an email so please reply if you want your shirt!

Link: QJ.NET’s Aces of the Galaxy contest wrap-up: the sole winner

Second, and perhaps more importantly, we’ve got an XBLA review up for Sierra Online’s Sea Life Safari, and it’s the first XBLA game we’ve reviewed under our new ratings system. We’ll be coming out with reviews more often so check them out as they become available. In the meantime, read up on Sea Life Safari and see if it suits your gaming tastes.

Link: Sea Life Safari for the XBLA: A QJ.NET Review


Goodbye to the Chairman of the Board

Our final bit of info for today has more in relation to Microsoft in general than to the Xbox 360. Friday, June 27, 2008 marks the last day of Bill Gate’s tenure as Chairman of Microsoft. He’ll be focusing his time on managing the charitable foundation named after him, as well as enjoying the life he’s managed to earn throughout the years.

While there aren’t any specific articles we could link to about this on QJ, Microsoft’s PressPass does have an in-depth repository of news and information on the guy, which includes a video looking back on what he’s done as well as some interviews with Gates himself and news on the Gates foundation.

External Link: Microsoft PressPass information for Bill Gates


In the future, there will be robots

Well, that’s the 360 Weekend Warrior update for this week. Let’s close the whole thing up by telling you what we’ve got planned in the coming weeks for the blog.

First off, we’re developing a series of articles that focus on hunting down ways in which you can earn specific achievements in games. This is kind of tough to develop, seeing as some games have INSANE achievements (collecting every item in a game) or achievements that are too straightforward (finishing an act or chapter), so we’ll do our best to provide you with coverage of achievements you can grab in a single sitting.

We’ve also got some reviews planned for the blog. Expect to see reviews of Battlefield: Bad Company and Operation: Darkness in the coming weeks. July looks pretty slow for the first half of the month though, but seeing as Spectral Force 3, Soul Calibur 4, and Too Human are coming out after July 20, there’s a good chance we’ll be doing those too when they become available.

In any event, welcome to a new year of QuickJump Quickpeekery in the form of the Weekend Warrior. Let’s see if next week turns out to be as interesting as this week in terms of news and other forms of content.

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