***WARNING***
This show contains some…actually, a lot of EXPLICIT language.
Topics Include: Call of Duty 5: World at War. Are they stuck in the past? Spiderman: Web of Shadows. Will this one be any better? EA Battlefield: Bad Company poking fun at Gears of War and Rainbow Six. Sporn! There goes the spores! This week’s movie review: Hulk! We also touch on other Marvel games coming out in the next few years. Also, special guest KingL3pr3chaun! All this and more! Thanks for listening, Please leave us a comment on the show or send us an e-mail at: xblradio@platformnation.com
Hey there all you sports fans. Kemanswar has been doing some stock car racing this past week with NASCAR ’09 for the Xbox 360. This year’s cover athlete is Jeff Gordon, driver of the number 24 car in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. At the start of the game he provides the tutorial to help get you started. Any time Gordon is explaining anything to you it is via cut scene; you can skip it or listen to him talk. If you are a fan of NASCAR you already know the basics but let’s break it down anyway.
If you run through the career mode you start out in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, this is where all you rookies will get some experience. You can sign contracts for teams and sponsors, as you progress and meet objectives i.e.: place in the top 25 for 3 races, etc… This gives you Reputation Points, the more of them you have, the more options you have for sponsors and teams. As you complete sponsor objectives and team objectives you also get Performance Points. Use these to upgrade your stats in four categories: Engine, Chassis, Aerodynamics, and Durability; and in the four track types: Speedway, Super Speedway, Short Track, Road Course. Leveling up comes in heavy when you play online (more here later). After some time in the Truck Series, you can move up to the Nationwide Series, think of this as big engines with training wheels. A faster car, better aerodynamics, better stability, makes competition a little bit harder than the trucks. Same rules apply though work your way through the season and build up your reputation and make your way to the Sprint Cup Series.
Sprint Cup Series: fast cars all turning left over and over! This is where the big boys race for the win, or make a smoking wreck in turn four! All your big names and big sponsors are here where big engines cut loose for you to take to the front.
If you were to remove the NASCAR licenses it would still be a decent racer, it has control modes that make it easy for novice users to keep up with the hardcore simulation fans. Speaking of whom, will love to go in and tweak their set up, much like Forza 2. This detail into handling, aerodynamics, tire pressure, etc makes it a worthy simulation (I’m not going to lie; I just looked at the options, as I know nothing about cars).
There is also a race now feature, as in all EA Sports games, and of course the obligatory country EA Trax. One of my favorite features is the option to create your own paint scheme, which for once EA stepped up and is giving you more. You can also upload your very own custom paint job from your computer. Love to edit in Photoshop? Than go to the EA website and download the templates you need to create what ever your mind can come up with. We could talk about the dangers of what some gamers will “paint” on their cars, but that’s been beat to death.
Overall I really enjoy NASCAR ’09, it’s a fun race game that helps you learn how to adjust your cars and build up a reputation. If you are a fan of NASCAR than you will probably enjoy the ’09 outing, heck if you like racers check it out! It’s more about how you control your car and how you tweak your settings that make this a keeper. If on the other hand, you are not a fan of either, but your interest has been sparked, rent it and find out what you think.
Please leave comment here or submit feedback to xblradio@platformnation.com
After our hiatus after GTA IV, Keman returns with his favorite rants!
Topics Include: What games we’ve played the past few months! Demos we’ve played…Grid and Dragonball Z Burst Limit! GTA IV DLC content delayed…if you want to call it that. Bioshock movie and sequels, and how it is not as exclusive as we thought. Jack Thompson has really lost it this time! Star Wars Force Unleashed unleashes another character for Soul Caliber IV! All this and more! Thanks for listening, Please leave us a comment on the show or send us an e-mail at: xblradio@platformnation.com
Topics Include: Games we have been playing! This weeks game releases! Listener Mail All this and more! Thanks for listening, Please leave us a comment on the show or send us an e-mail at: xblradio@platformnation.com
What’s up gamers, it’s X3R0 9 here giving you a quick low down of what’s been going on at the XBLRadio camp. No worries, nothing bad is going on, we just had to take a week off to take care of some personal things, recover from illnesses, and play some hot games that just came out. Last week we saw the releases of GTA IV and Mario Kart, which also meant that we were either busy playing them or trying to.
Well, enough beating around the bush, let me get to the information you’re all waiting to hear. Episode 66.5 The GTA IV Roundtable will be recording this weekend. INFECTEDPB503 will be getting a list of listeners ready, but if you would like to be on the show, please feel free to send us your Gamertag and Skype name to xblradio@platformnation.com. We will be recording Saturday May 10, 2008 around 7-8pm Pacific Time (10-11pm Eastern Time). As the title says, this will be a GTA IV roundtable, so brush up on your Russian survival skills ‘cause you’ll need them for this episode.
Also to add to this very special extended episode, Mr B4 will be doing his own roundtable. As stated earlier, last week we saw two great releases, the other one being Mario Kart! That’s right gamers, Mr B4 will be hosting a Mario Kart roundtable! So if you want to chat it up with regular gamers about throwing turtle shells and dropping banana peels while speeding around a race track in go-karts, contact Mr B4 at xblradio@platformnation.com.
Now to keep the excitement rolling, we have two codes for Rocketman: Axis of Evil to giveaway to a lucky listener. All you have to do is listen to XBLRadio version 66.5 to find out how to win. INFECTEDPB503 and Mr B4 will have all the details you need to know to find out how to win.
Until next time everybody, this is X3R0 9 and I will see you on Live.
This is a short episode that will let everyone know what is going on with XBLRadio this week and updates all contests XBLRadio currently have going on!
1. Unlock the Achievement update! You only have till tomorrow night (Sunday) to enter and compete! XBLRadio Achievements hints are included in this episode!
2. XBLRadio 66.0 is giving away a Rocketman: Axis of Evil code to one lucky listener. Just comment on that show and your entered to win.
4. Mr B4 will be going to Mario Kart Wii Launch! and is setting up a Gamer’s Roundtable just for this game. If you are interested please post comment here or send message to Mr B4 at xblradio@platformnation.com
5. Join us next Saturday for XBLRadio’s Live Call In Show which will be a GTA4 Gamer’s Roundtable. More info to follow so keep an eye on xblradio.com for more info. DURING THIS LIVE SHOW we will be having some GIVEAWAYS! At least one more Rocketman code will be up for grabs and a Xbox 360 game of the winner’s choosing may also be giving away. You’ll just have to listen in and call in to find out.
So just a quick update for all the loyal XBLRadio listeners! Hope you enjoy it and look forward to the live call in show next week!
What I’m going to talk about here today has nothing to do with EA attempting to buy out Take Two. With that said lets get into the meat and potatoes of today’s topic. Why is Grand Theft Auto IV the make or break game of the series?
I’ll start by stating it may suffer from the Halo 2 problem. The Halo 2 problem is when the IP does not meet the fan expectation for the game, or the competition raised the bar higher than anticipated. With more and more developers entering the ever-expanding sandbox genre, more quality titles are being released each year. Games like Crackdown changed the way we want to play these games, by adding free roaming co-op. Prototype, the upcoming Free Radical title gives you the powers from Crackdown with the atmosphere of GTA 3. The point being the bar has been set higher than ever before, and is still climbing.
Marketing cannot purchase the hearts and minds of the gaming community. Halo 3 suffered from the negative perception left by Halo 2. The weak story combined with better shooters (i.e. Call of Duty 4) is what pulled Halo 3 from the top spot on Xbox Live. The last 3 console releases of GTA were all based on the GTA 3 engine. While the improvements were seen from game to game, they always suffered from the same problems. Pop in, aiming, etc. For GTA IV to truly excel it has to exceed all expectations, it has to innovate gameplay and change how we play. I’m afraid if GTA IV does not revolutionize the genre, then the Grand Theft Auto name, Rockstar, and Take Two will be left broken and unemployed.
As gamers we expect the best no matter when “your” game was first conceived. We always want the shiniest feature in all games at all times. Halo 3 has its faults but we can agree saved films are needed in all multiplayer games now. A feature that would take months to create and implement must be used to the fullest potential on a game releasing the very next week. GTA IV needs to see the implementation of multiplayer built into the single player campaign. It needs to fix the faults of the previous games, and it must absolutely keep sacred what made the games so addictive to begin with.
If it feels rushed, or a rehash of GTA 3; it will mark the beginning of the end. While it will take 1-2 more games to put the final nail in the coffin, we “hard-core” players will leave it on the shelf next to our copies of Sonic, Mortal Kombat, and the newest addition, Tony Hawk.
stops by for a fews seconds and a ONE TIME Announcement on XBLRadio!
This Episode we talk about many things and have a great time. Pre-show topics include: BDazzler’s Toliet Fetish but the “biggie” was the Official Xbox Magazine’s Exclusive Rock Band Songs, that were NEVER! to be released on XBLM, somehow got released on Xbox Live Marketplace! for only $7 cheaper then buying the magazine.
By now, I’m sure you all have heard what EA was going to do with Battlefield: Bad Company, right? They were going to charge gamers that purchased the regular edition of the game to buy five more weapons that the Gold Edition got free with the purchase. Sound a little unfair? Well, EA has heard our outcries and our complaints.
In an interview with IGN, DICE’s Karl-Magnus Troedsson, senior producer of the game, announced yesterday (April 9, 2008) that EA will not charge us to unlock any of the weapons. This is a complete 180 from a couple of weeks ago. These five weapons will be unlockable once the gamer reaches the level cap at 25. This is for gamers that get the regular edition. For the gamers that get the Gold Edition, well, you still get to unlock the weapons as soon as you buy the game.
“We are not charging for any guns that are out there,” said Troedsson. “We read the forums, we read all of the articles and listening to the storm that is out there, we’re not going to charge for any of those guns.”
This is great news for us gamers. We all teamed up, and spoke out against this ridiculous decision to charge us for weapons and won. For that, I congratulate all of us for that, as far as EA, I salute you for listening to us and cutting us a break.
Call of Duty 5: World at War. Are they stuck in the past?
Thanks for listening, Please leave us a comment on the show or send us an e-mail at: xblradio@platformnation.com
