December 2006 - Posts
For all the players who have registered for and are competing in the 2006 Global Xbox Live Arcade Challenge, there is an update on the Small Arms competition.
Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties, the Small Arms TruSkill Rankings Leaderboard was not wiped on 12/24 at 12:01AM GMT. To ensure all players have a level playing field, we are moving the competition to early January. We are in the process of working out the details and will post them later this week.
When the new date is posted, all you have to do is play; all registrations will continue to be valid. Thanks you for your participation in the Arcade Challenge and hope you are having a happy holidays!
http://forums.xbox.com/9103018/ShowPost.aspx
Per i partecipanti alla Sfida Globale Xbox Live Arcade 2006, c'e un aggiornamento sulla sfida Small Arms.
Sfortunatamente, a causa di problemi tecnici, la sfida verra' rimandata ad inizi Gennaio. Maggiori dettagli verranno annunciati questa settimana.
Tutte le registrazioni saranno ancora valide quindi dovete solo giocare! :)
Wish you all a Merry Christmas! :)
Auguro a tutti un Buon Natale! :)
Thanks to XCN we have an interview with Bungie;
Who? Frank O’Connor (Frankie), Content Manager, Bungie Studios
What? Halo Series 5-Year Anniversary, December 2006
- Back in the infancy of the original Halo, what were your hopes for the series?
Frank O Connor: Halo actually started its life as a real-time strategy game for the Macintosh, but the guys here at Bungie had so many story ideas that eventually it grew out of that genre and into a first-person shooter. It also grew out of the Macintosh and into the PC, then initially it was an Xbox-exclusive title. It went through a lot of evolution and it sounds quite drastic, but actually it was a very smooth process. As it became more fun to use the vehicles and the physics that the guys had created it became obvious it should be an action game rather than an RTS. Luckily it ended up being the game we all know and love today!
- Has the series surpassed your expectations?
Frank O Connor: The success and the expansion of the halo universe is certainly something that caught Bungie a little by surprise. We’re always ready for these things but the fact that we now have a range of action figures, a Marvel comic book, toys, games, New York Times best-selling novels and best-selling original soundtracks is always surprising. I don’t think Jason Jones could have predicted that back when Bungie first started. But it’s an absolute pleasure to see the universe that we love expand and be so fondly embraced by the fans in the community.
- Halo 2 is very popular on Xbox Live. How are you going to continue to support this game in the future?
Frank O Connor: Halo 2 continues to be one of the most popular games on Xbox Live and my personal prediction is that we’ll take over from Gears of War again eventually, even if only for a short spell. I think one of the reasons for the continued popularity of Halo 2 on Xbox Live is our matchmaking. It’s so user-friendly and it makes it so easy to find a game with the huge population of players. That long-term success has been great for us as developers but also fantastic for the fans, so we want to reward the people who play Halo 2 online. One way we’re going to continue to do that is to update matchmaking playlists. We watch them very carefully to see what’s popular, what’s unpopular, what’s causing cheating and so on. One thing that’s unpopular with the fans is when we have to kill a playlist, like when we killed Team SWAT recently. The reason we have to do that is because we have a huge playing population and sometimes we need to balance out the playlists by making sacrifices. That’s the hard part, but we will have some surprises and treats for Xbox 360 Halo 2 players in the coming months. Keep an eye on Bungie.net to see more about what they are.
- Can you give us some more details about the downloadable Halo 2 maps that were recently announced?
Frank O Connor: We did announce that one of the things we’d be doing to keep the Halo 2 community playing the game is that we’re going to be making some maps. We haven’t announced how many we’ll be making – there won’t be dozens so don’t get too excited – and we haven’t announced what the maps will be. But you will enjoy them. Trust me, I’ve played all of them and they’re all fantastic. We have been asked why they’re only available on Xbox 360 and the simple fact of the matter is that we simply don’t have enough resources to build the maps and test them for both Xbox and Xbox 360. They’re both very different and we just don’t have the manpower. We had to pick one platform or the other so we picked the one we think will have the largest Halo 2-playing population by next year, and that’s Xbox 360. We know that’s bad news for original Xbox owners and I don’t just want to tell people to go out and get an Xbox 360 because I know that’s not always possible, but if you’re a big Halo fan then I think you should probably get a 360 next year anyway. So I apologise that the maps will only be available for Xbox 360, but I know the fans will enjoy them and I think they’ll inject a lot more life into the game before the arrival of Halo 3.
- What criticism of Halo 2 affected you the most?
Frank O Connor: The funny thing about Halo 2 is that we get the angriest complaints from the people who play it the most. We have this weird dichotomy like a site called Halo2Sucks.com which is populated by people who do nothing but play Halo 2, but set up a site to *** about it. Some of their complaints are insane and some are pretty valid, but the biggest complaint we get is that game type A is not as good as game type B. Surprising as it may seem, not all Halo players are the same. Some like totally different things. Here’s another one: Weapon A is more powerful than Weapon B, and that makes the game imbalanced. We have actually addressed some weapon balancing issues in the past and contrary to what some people think Halo 2 is actually very well balanced right now.
- Which part of the Halo games do you feel has given the Halo franchise that "it" factor?
Frank O Connor: The fact that people are still playing Halo 2 two-and-a-half years after it was released is a combination of a bunch of things, but I think it’s best summed up by one of our designers Jaime Greisemer. He said that Halo is all about “30 seconds of fun, repeated ad nauseum”. We have these fun moments that just keep coming. Even in a big objective-based game like Capture the Flag the most fun moments are quite short – capturing the flag, trying to escape with it, then getting killed and starting over – but they are endless fun and they never seem to get old.
- Is Halo 3 the end of the Halo series?
Frank O Connor: We get asked that question all the time. Halo 3 is the end of the trilogy. There are 3 games. But there are also 3 novels with more coming, there’s a graphic novel, there’s IP everywhere, there are other games coming. The Halo trilogy is a story we’re telling in 3 parts and I think that’s all we need to explain at the moment. Will the Halo universe magically end at the end of Halo 3? No. There are lots of characters and storylines that we’ve touched on in the trilogy and they will continue to exist. Characters and events and scenarios in the Halo trilogy aren’t just going to disappear. But it is very important that we close the Halo trilogy with a bang rather than a whimper. That’s something we’ve invested a lot of time and emotion into, and it’s something we’re very excited about sharing with our fans in 2007.
- Can we expect some "back to the halo roots" game play in halo 3, or is it more like an advanced halo 2 gameplay?
Frank O Connor: If I had to summarise the gameplay in Halo 3 – and remember this is a personal statement and not the official line – I’d have to say that fans of Halo 2 will be incredibly excited about how the multiplayer experience has evolved. We’re keeping everything you love like the matchmaking, but we’re also adding a ton of stuff. I think there are some things that will really surprise people and – I’ll regret saying this – but I think everyone will like what we’re adding. There’s certainly nothing anyone could get upset about. Things like weapon balance, gameplay types, matchmaking features etcetera are all improved, so I think the multiplayer aspect should be a giant upgrade for everyone. There will be a few weapon balancing things that people will complain about initially, but that’s usually just a learning process. The Campaign game is probably the most dramatically different aspect. I’m not going to say much more, but I will say that I’m constantly amazed by some of the encounters I’m having in the Campaign game. I’ll fire up a build, play 15 minutes and then just turn around to the guys and say “wow!”. One of the best thing about the first Halo was telling the stories about your game, and we’re putting more of those stories in Halo 3.
- What new opportunities does the power of the Xbox 360 offer, and are there things you planned for Halo 2 that you can only now implement?
Frank O Connor: When developers are asked about sequels between platforms they’re often reluctant to say how much better the extra power makes the game. Halo, however, has always been about big encounters, big spaces, smart AI and beautiful environments and if we said that extra power doesn’t help with those things we’d be liars. There are things we’re doing in Halo 3 that wouldn’t have been possible on Xbox. You can look forward to some vastly improved encounters visually, technically, and also in the gameplay stakes too.
- What measures have been taken to prevent modding, bridging and any other issues faced in multiplayer with Halo 2?
Frank O Connor: We suffered a lot in Halo from these issues and – to be honest – human behaviour. There’s only som much you can do technologically to prevent people from being jerks, but we’ve put more thought into it this time. We probably know more than anyone else about this kind of thing on console and we’ll be putting that to good use in Halo 3. I can’t talk to much about it right now, because every time you implement something some jerk finds a way around it. For every 10 awesome players there’s always a jerk and that’s unfortunate, but hopefully we’ll be able to mitigate that with a combination of technology and social engineering.
- Are there any plans to include an all time stats page to count lifetime kills, headshots, sticks, splatters etc across Halo 2 and Halo 3? How will Bungie.net change?
Frank O Connor: Halo 2 stats and Halo 3 stats are not going to talk to each other but we are going to give users more tools to record statistics and Achievements. Bungie.net will remain a great place to go and track your statistics and we’ll be giving you more information on how the game will reward your progress soon, so stay tuned to Bungie.net for that.
- Will Halo 3 feature an online Coop Mode?
Frank O Connor: There are quite a few things that didn’t make it into Halo 2 so we get asked if they’ll be in Halo 3. If they didn’t make it into Halo 2 there’s a very good reason for that. Things like the Mongoose have made it into Halo 3, but we haven’t made any announcements about a coop mode yet.
- Are you influenced by other games like Gears of War, would you consider implementing some things like the Gears of War cover system in Halo 3?
Frank O Connor: We’re always asked about the influence of other games on Halo and recently the ‘other game’ often seems to be Gears of War. Will the cover system influence Halo? The honest answer is no. The gameplay for Halo 3 was decided long before Gears of War even shipped. If we put the cover system in Halo it would ruin the game because it’s not about cover. It’s about big encounters and open spaces and vehicles and so on. Gears of War is about cover. Sticking something like that onto our game wouldn’t be a good idea. Anyway, there is a cover system in Halo – it’s called ducking behind objects and using the environment to shield you from harm. But we won’t be putting a cover button in, and it’s certainly not the X button that we’re often asked about.
- Can you give us some context about where the Halo 3 TV ad fits into the Halo 3 storyline? And who are the kids?
Frank O Connor: The ad was kind of a tease of the universe we’ll be portraying in Halo 3. It’s obviously not gameplay and we do have some real-life actors acting the kids at the start. Who are those kids? It’s not an answer. It’s a question. We put it in there as a question for people who know the Halo universe and we want people to speculate about their role. They could be there to show the contrast between the peaceful night sky and the war-torn environment Master Chief finds himself in. Ask away. It’s unlikely we’re going to answer that question any time soon. As for the second half of the ad, it’s Master Chief on Earth. It’s fair to assume he’s in Africa in that scene. He is fighting Brutes. One of the big takeways that most people got from the ad was the shield Master Chief uses – what is it, and can you use it in the game? We even got asked if it would ruin multiplayer! All those questions will be answered but I can guarantee there’s nothing in that advert that will ruin gameplay.
- Will we see any Xbox Live Arcade games from Bungie in the future?
Frank O Connor: We’re very busy on Halo 3 and finding the bandwidth to do something as seemingly simple as creating maps for Halo 2 is very difficult for us, so being able to work on a whole new game is even trickier. That said, Arcade games are loved by so many people and certainly people here at Bungie, so it wouldn’t be out of the question to see us working on an Arcade game sometime down the road. But anytime soon? Don’t count on it. You know what we’re working on and it takes lots of time, but an Arcade game is definitely something the studio is interested in. Maybe it could be a side project like Geometry Wars or maybe it would be something more involved. We’ll see.
- Do you have any plans to develop any more games outside of the Halo franchise in the near future?
Frank O Connor: If the question is whether bungie will work on anything else other than Halo then the answer is yes, of course. We’re working on Halo 3 right now and we’re going to concentrate on making it the best Halo game yet, but there’s a huge bunch of creative people here with so many ideas. If you’re new to the Bungie community you might just associate us with Halo but we’ve made a ton of old PC and Mac games like Marathon. We’ll continue to work on other games in the future.
As far as other Halo games go we do have blueprints and designs for other things kicking around the studio, but I’m not going to commit to what they are now. What I will say is that we love the characters, environments and experiences of the Halo universe and there may be other ways to tell those stories. You’ll just have to keep an eye on us!
Xx TERREMOTO xX risponde all'Intervista Del Mese:
- Come ti chiami?
Mi chiamo Manuel
- Quanti anni hai?
Ho 24 anni
- Cos’è il Jaguar cd?
E' una console a 64 bit uscita a metà anni '90
- Hai ancora il jaguar cd?
Si,è in una vetrinetta in ufficio
- Perchè lo hai preso?
Sto facendo una piccola collezione di retro-console
- Quale è stata la tua prima console?
Atari 2600 con il gioco Defender
- Quale gioco ti piace di più per la 360 ? e in generale?
Mi piace moltissimo Burnout Revenge per la sua spettacolarità,in generale mi piacciono i giochi di macchine.
- Che indirizzo di studi hai frequentato?
Ho frequentato il biennio dell' I.T.I.S. (istituto tecnico) ed una decina di corsi di specializzazione in autronica.
- Comprerai la PS3?
Si la prenderò.....non all'inizio però altrimenti devo fare una rapina.
- Quante e quali console hai?
Ho: Playstation 1e2,Atari jaguar-cd, super-Nintendo,Dreamcast,Gamecube.
- Che cosa fai esattamente con i go kart?
Faccio il 'piltota o pirlota della domenica'
- Compreresti l' hd-dvd player x 360 quando uscirà?
Si
- Che significato ha il tuo gamercard?
Il nome terremoto ha origine molto strane,di solito usavo il nome 'Manuel81' nei vari forum ma era occupato e probabilmente quel giorno doveva esserci stato un terremoto da qualche parte nel mondo e così ho usato quel nome.
- Sei tu la mente diabolica che ha preparato tutti i casini successi nel forum xbox, tempo addietro(vecchio e nuovo)?
Il casino del 1 gennaio 2004 è opera mia al 50%,poi alcuni casini li ho fatti personalmente.
- Cos’ è il “Tesc”?
Era una 'società' che includeva mè e Il Saggio,lo scopo era di gestire al meglio il forum e dagli un po di allegria.
- Quante volte sei stato bannato?
Da stime ufficiose sono stato bannato quasi 15 volte.
- Eri tu che spammavi nel sito della Playstation ?
Ho spammano a gennaio 2004 poi non ci ho messo piu' piede in quel porcile.
- Funziona ancora la tua cara vecchia 500?
La macchina è del mio capo e funziona alla perfezione (quasi 20'000euri di restauro)
- Dammi un motivo serio perchè detesti fino alla morte Halo 2
Detesto quando si prende sempre halo2 coe una pietra di paragone per i vari FPS.
- Quanto è distante la fiera da casa tua?
La fiera di Milano (Rho) dista 60km da casa mia
- Come dovrebbe essere il gioco che hai sempre sognato?
Di solito sogno altro e non produco videogiochi :P
- Cosa diresti ad un giocatore che ti disturba mentre giochi in live?
Gli tiro addosso 4 bestemmie.
- La tua auto dei sogni, e se c'è l'hai, sprecheresti qualche soldo in più per installare una console ed un monitor all'interno?
La mia auto dei sogni è la Ariel Atom (la avete usata tutti in PGR3) e non metterei mai una console in macchina.
- Ti sei comprato un nuovo paio di cuffie live?
Uso le cuffie incluse nella scatola della 360-pro.
- Se TR1GG3R MAN ti offrisse la possibilità di andare all'E3 in America per fare il community reporter tu ci andresti?
Si ci andrei.
- Ti piace il caffè?
Si mi piace.
- Che musica ascolti?
Ascolto musica dance e house.
- Sony o Microsoft? (vale per qualsiasi accessorio)
Sony dato che ho molti accessori di quella marca.
- Coca Cola o Pepsi?
Coca Cola.
- Che fai nella vita?
Sono un meccanico/elettrauto di autoveicoli.
- Comprerai il Wii?
No
- Come andiamo con le donne?
Ci stò lavorando con una :).
- Quali sono le cose che ti danno fastidio e che avvengono sul forum xbox?
Mi da fastidio quando vengono ripetute in 400 thread le solite 3 cose.
- Come miglioreresti il forum?
Mancano le immagini in questo forum!
- Quante ore al giorno riesci a dedicare ai giochi?
Durante la settimana un 2 ore la sera tardi,al sabato qualche ora.
- Forse mi sbaglio ma tempo fa un giocatore straniero ti aveva accusato di avergli rubato il gamertag, cos'era successo esattamente?
E' tutto frutto di un malinteso causato dai traduttori online.
- Che ne pensi della juve in B? Troppo poco vero?
Han avuto quel che si meritavano dalla giustizia sportiva.
- Polenta o cannolo siciliano?
Polenta.
- Ti domandi perchè sei nato?
....al massimo se lo domandavano i miei genitori ROFL
- Dove abiti?
Abito in provincia di Bergamo.
- Vivi con i tuoi genitori?
Si.
- Sei omosessuale?
No.-_-'
- Come fai a sapere sempre tutto?
So quel che basta per essere informato.
- Qual'è il tuo mese preferito?
Giugno
- Hai animali?
Ho 1 cane e poi ci sono io.
- Sei grasso o magro?
Magno.
- Come fai ad avere una firma gigantesca all’interno del forum? (I soliti vantaggi dei membri fondatori?)
La super firma è un trucco vecchio come il mondo.
- Quanto hai speso (circa) per acquistare i microsoft points ?
Penso di aver speso una decina di euri.
- Quanti video-game hai (per tutti i tipi di consolle) ?
E' difficile fare un conto,solo per il Dreamcast ci saran 100 giochi .
- Quanto ti piace la 360 da 1a10 ?
8.
- Perché hai quasi sempre un immagine giocatore diversa ?
Perchè voglio una immagine che non ha nessuno sul forum in quel momento.
- Qual' è il tuo genere di giochi preferito (sparatutto, giochi di ruolo, avventura ecc. ecc.)?
Preferisco i giochi di macchine.
- Ogni quanto vai a pulire la macchina?
Due volte al mese minimo.
- Qual’ è stato il gioco che ti è piaciuto di più della tua infanzia? (oggetto, non videogame)
I lego.
- Quale drink ti piace di più?
Mi piace molto il Campari con la RedBull
- Quando è stata l’ultima volta che sei stato in ... concerto/disco/rave, ecc.?
Sono stato al concerto del Bepi ad agosto
- Se fossi figlio del buon caro vecchio zio Bill, cosa gli chiederesti?
Gli direi...a papi caccia fuori un pò di verdoni!
- Faresti il collaudatore ufficiale maserati-ferrari?
Si
- La tua velocità massima in auto?
Guidando io sui 180,come passeggero i 250 con una Lancia Delta a Monza
- Mai fatto un incidente nella realtà con la macchina?
Sono stato tamponato 2 volte da 2 donne.
- Le bionde o le more?
Bionde
- Il tuo sogno nel cassetto...???
.....ricco e famoso !
- Fumi...??? se si, cosa...???
Non fumo
- Come è nata la passione dei Kart?
Ho la pista di go-kart a 1km da dove lavoro e li ripariamo anche.
- Come mai sei così matto?
Genetica.
- Il miglior gioco che hai mai giocato?
Indy500 sul computer 286.
- Hai mai mandato in assistenza la 360 ?
Si una volta.
- Ti piacciono di più i computer Macintosh o quelli Windows? Quale dei due usi attualmente?
Uso windows a casa ed abbiam 2 mac sul lavoro,preferisco i mac.
- Mare o montagna?
Mare.
- Pasta o pizza?
Pasta.
- Mastercard o Visa?
Visa.
- Bianco o nero?
Bianco.
- Verde o rosso?
Blu.
XCN: Q&A with the developers of Crackdown™
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Questions |
Answers |
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Was there any difficulty implementing the multiplayer in an open world game? |
Definitely! Everything in the solo game is pushed to the limit. We have an environment drawn to the horizon and heavily populated with characters, vehicles and various other objects that can all be influenced by a powerful physics engine. Duplicating the entire solo experience for the co-op game by making sure nothing is left out has been our greatest challenge. In addition, the programming team begged us to keep the players together at all times. However, we wanted the core goal of player freedom to extend to the co-op game, so players can go anywhere and do anything anytime. The programming team also insisted that we shouldn’t include vehicles that travel at well over 200mph in a fully streaming environment, let alone a co-op one, but we did it anyway! The list goes on, and we’re delighted that we pushed the programming team so hard that they delivered the seemingly impossible. |
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Will there be new content and things to do in the coop mode, or will it be the same as the single-player game? |
It’s exactly the same content, but it’s often been said that it’s twice the game! |
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Many people have labeled Crackdown a "GTA wannabe". How do you feel about this kind of statement, especially when you were involved with the original GTA? |
Well, in so far as it’s what Dave Jones always wanted GTA to be, I guess that’s true! It’s a shame that so many action games set in open urban environments have been attempting to offer nothing more than a GTA style experience. It means that a game like Crackdown comes along and people immediately assume that it functions in the same way. The Crackdown team really enjoys the GTA games and, as you stated, many of them have been involved in their development. So, we know we’re offering a very different experience. |
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Do you intend to make the main character have more impact on his environment? So far the footage we have seen makes him appear very light on his feet, more like a Spider-Man or Daredevil type character than a Hulk or Thing. |
The principal goal of the character movement was to deliver pace and fluidity. We wanted the player to seamlessly grab ledges, thrust upwards to a rooftop and then leap out into an open space while searching for his next foothold. An Agent is a type of super hero. One of the five skills he develops is agility. The Hulk might be able to jump huge distances, but I don’t think we’d ever describe him as agile! Of course, an agent can also develop his strength and as he bulks-up you will certainly notice him becoming more “Hulk-like.” |
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The graphic novel visuals are very distinctive. Why did you go for this visual style, and what does it add to the gameplay? |
Well visuals never add anything to gameplay and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise! ;-) We prototyped this game with flat coloured, flat shaded, blocky environment and skeletal characters. That prototype delivered on what’s core to the playability of the finished product. When that happens, you know you’re making a game for the right reasons! Quite rightly though, we all want a big slice of spectacle served on the side of our gameplay. We’re confident you’ll agree that Crackdown more than delivers on that too!
As you’ll no doubt have realized by now, everything in Crackdown is turned up to 11. We haven’t blown our budgets on a handful of extremely detailed characters or vehicles. Instead we’ve created a previously unseen world where thousands of people and hundreds of vehicles are visible at any one time in an environment that, from the always-accessible rooftops, can be seen in full. We wanted Crackdown to stand apart visually rather than follow the flock, so with the OTT action and superhuman abilities we quickly settled on a graphic novel stylization as a perfect fit.
The graphics technologies required to nail this look have largely been cutting-edge and difficult to achieve. This has worked against us over the last year or so as we released video footage and screens while the visual style was still in development. Take a look at the latest media though and you’ll see what our intentions always were; we’re certainly extremely pleased with the results. |
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There are three gangs terrorizing the city. Asians, Russians and Mexicans. Do the gangs interact with each other? |
Microsoft’s geopolitical department would have a field day with this question! But yes, though there is a fairly balanced inter-gang status quo across the city before the Agency kicks into action, the gangs do from time to time engage each other in open warfare. When this happens the player can move in for some easier kills or just sit back and let nature run its course.
The gangs predominantly speak in their native tongue – Los Muertos in Spanish and The Volk in Russian. I should say that, though the Shai-Gen Corporation is of Asian origin, the board of directors (gang hierarchy) is completely multi racial. Therefore, their corporate language is English. |
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Can you describe how the player develops new skills and abilities as the game progresses? |
All skills can be developed by killing. In fact, internally we refer to it as ‘skills for kills’! Hand to hand combat is one way to develop the strength skill, but any kill resulting from an act of brute strength will develop that attribute (i.e. bowling a dumpster through a bunch of enemies and then using one of the resulting bodies to beat the life out of the others). In this case the incentive isn’t just to become tougher for the harder missions, it’s to smash up previously indestructible barriers, rip up streetlights, use them as weapons, and hurl trucks across freeways into the path of an oncoming gang vehicle. Everyone wants to be a super agent!
As for developing the other skills: make kills from altitude and the agility skill is developed to the point where the player can leap Matrix-style from rooftop to rooftop; run down the bad guys (while surgically dodging the innocents) to develop driving skill and use of firearms and explosives should speak for itself. In testing we’ve found people fooling around with vehicles for hours on end: performing massive jumps, nailing stunts or simply completing races again and again. The mantra has always been to reward with skill progression any actions that players perform repeatedly AND continue to find fun. In fact many activities in the game will result in skill bonuses. The agility skill can also be developed by collecting markers scattered across hundreds of rooftops throughout the city. |
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Why did you go for coop multiplay instead of competitive? And is competitive multiplay planned as a surprise? |
That’s a funny question because almost all cooperative game sessions regularly deteriorate into all-out death matches before a truce has to be called. It’s a lot of fun, particularly in the unique world of Crackdown, so we obligingly keep score until the score is settled. As for more complex multiplay, that would also be awesome but it’s a different kind of game compared to the one we’ve made here. Plus, I’ve never been one for ruining surprises either…J |
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What kind of areas are included in the huge city and will there be other locations outside of the urban sprawl? |
The city is divided into three main districts, with a fourth island at its centre forming the base of Agency operations. The districts are all uniquely themed to their host gang. The mission locations within them are all original and distinct, from the lighthouse and surrounding caves, to an offshore oil rig, to floor after floor of a towering skyscraper. As you can tell from those examples, we have many rural locations away from the city lights. We wanted the size and scale of Pacific City to overwhelm the player to begin with, but only to begin with. Through exploration and character development you should eventually get to know the full environment really well and take ownership – it becomes your city! |
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People might initially see Crackdown as a GTA clone, but in which directions did you want to take the game to set it apart? |
The most obvious answer to this question is ‘up’. In Crackdown we’ve created a highly detailed vertical environment providing a true play volume for the intense action. In Crackdown the player is a crime-fighting super-soldier in the same morality mould as Judge Dredd. The city is his playground, everything in it are his toys. He has one clear objective: remove all trace of crime, but how he goes about doing this is entirely up to him – there is no restriction of a linear plotline; he becomes immensely powerful and regularly performs spectacular actions. So I guess you could say the directions in which we wanted to set the game apart from GTA was ‘all of ‘em’! |
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The coop-mode sounds very interesting. Can you explain how it will work and how we can play it with our friends?
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One of the great things about the co-op feature is that players can dip in and out of each other’s games at any time. Games can be opened up to accept join requests from anyone or just friends if preferred. If you’re having a hard time with a particular gang boss, you could invite your friend in to help out. If you’ve arranged to meet up in the game then there’s no reason to wait at a lobby just play the game until your friend’s join request pops up.
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Xbox Live Arcade Challenge Heats Up the Holidays with Small Arms and Lumines Live!
11th December, 2006 - While the weather outside may be frightful, the gaming inside during this Holiday season is sure to be delightful. Microsoft today announced that registration is now open for the first two events in the highly anticipated Xbox Live Arcade Challenge. Competitors in each event have the opportunity to win prizes ranging from a high definition plasma TV to Xbox hardware and Microsoft Points tokens.
Xbox Live Arcade Challenge is a brand new programme featuring fully integrated global tournaments designed specifically for all people playing Xbox Live Arcade games. The programme is for all levels of gamers – those who like to compete and win and those who simply want to play and join in with friends. Gamers can play for points, prizes and fun.
The first two events feature the recently released Xbox Live Arcade titles “Lumines Live!” and “Small Arms.” The first tournament will use Q Entertainment’s “Lumines Live!,”the newest edition to the blockbustger franchise created by Tetsuya Mizuguchi. The “Lumines Live!” challenge will run between 17th December and 23rd December, and will feature competition in the Time Attack Mode. Gamers will be able to prepare for this competition by viewing the instant replays of players who have made it to the top of the leaderboard.
The next Xbox Live Arcade Challenge features the recently released brawling game “Small Arms” and will run from 24th December to 30th December in ranked matches. This original title developed by indie developer Gastronaut Studios has rapidly become one of the most popular Xbox Live Arcade releases ever. In fact, during the week of 27th November “Small Arms” was the number one paid download across all of Xbox Live Marketplace and was the number one most played Xbox Live Arcade title and the third most played Xbox 360 game.
So polish your skills and select your favourite weapon-strapped furry creature, as it’s going to be fast paced arcade brawling action this Christmas. Prior to the competition, the "Small Arms" leaderboard will be reset to provide a level playing field.
To see the complete list of prizes, as well as register and read the official rules, please visit http://www.xboxlivetournament.com/.
Source: XCN

Passa le tue vacanze con la Sfida Xbox Live Arcade. A partire dal 17 Dicembre 2006 potrai scaricare e giocare con la versione completa dei Lumines Live! e/o Small Arms su Xbox Live Arcade, e vincere un televisore al Plasma completo d'accessori.
Registrati subito e inizia a giocare!
Per vincere, devi registrarti. La registrazione comincia Dicembre 11, 2006 e finisce Dicembre 22, 2006. Devi solo registrarti una volta per accedere ad entrambi i giochi. Una volta registrato, comincia a competere perché avrai solo due possibilità per vincere. Competi in entrambe le sfide o solo una. La scelta è tua.
Sfida Lumines Live!: Dicembre 17 - 23, 2006,
Sfida Small Arms: Dicembre 24 - 30, 2006
Se sei uno dei migliori, potrai vincere una marea di premi.
Sfida Lumines! Live
Primo Premio: Un Hitachi UltraVision 42'' HDTV al Plasma.
Premi per i Classificati 2, 3, 4: Un Pacco Regalo Sfida delle Vacanze che include: Un assortimento di HD-DVD e un assortimento di Senza Fili (Mouse, Cuffie).
100 Premi Addizionali: 500 Gettoni MS spendibili per immagini Xbox Live.
Sfida Small Arms
Primo Premio: Un Hitachi UltraVision 42'' HDTV al Plasma.
Premi per i Classificati 2, 3, 4: Un Pacco Regalo Sfida delle Vacanze che include: Un assortimento di HD-DVD e un assortimento di Senza Fili (Mouse, Cuffie).
100 Premi Addizionali: 500 Gettoni MS spendibili per immagini Xbox Live.
Non aspettare. Scarica la versione completa di entrambi i giochi e dai inizio al divertimento!
Fonte: XCN
Please find below the link to your local EMEA Xbox Live Ambassador page:
Ecco la nostra pagina Italiana:
http://www.xbox.com/it-IT/live/ambassadors.htm 
Benvenuto nel programma Ambasciatori di Xbox Live. Il programma offre l'opportunità ai i nuovi esploratori della frontiera online del gioco di incontrare i veterani dell'arena Xbox Live. Perché? Per imparare i rudimenti ed essere introdotti in modo facile e amichevole alla più eccitante rivoluzione nel mondo dei giochi.
Quale che sia il tuo livello di esperienza, essere un ambasciatore è il modo migliore per entrare a far parte della community.
Nuovo giocatore?
Ti senti un po' intimidito? Hai paura di essere spazzato via senza neanche aver capito cosa sta succedendo? Ecco dove puoi trovare una "guida" vivente che gioca il tuo stesso gioco e parla la tua lingua. Qualcuno che sa cosa vuol dire essere su Xbox Live per la prima volta - emozioni e timori compresi - ed è disposto a rivelarti alcuni trucchi del mestiere. Non ti resta che andare su Cerca Ambasciatori, scegliere quello giusto per te e chiedergli di giocare. Ecco dove inizia il divertimento (e la sfida). E non dimenticare di mandarci i tuoi commenti.
Veterano di Xbox Live?
È da un po' che sei sulla scena, hai una solida lista di amici e ormai sai perfettamente come funziona? Questa è la tua possibilità di diventare un membro importante della community di Xbox Live, di condividere le conoscenze e le esperienze che hai acquisito nel tempo con legioni sempre più numerose di nuovi giocatori. Oltre il 50% delle console sono connesse, manchi solo tu ad aprire la strada nel mondo tutto da scoprire del gioco online, magari aggiungendo quel tocco di classe in più. Se pensi di avere i requisiti giusti e hai voglia di partecipare, registrati e saremo noi a contattarti.

I just have to quote our AceyBongos on this one
:
"New shield grenade, old school battle rifle, Moongoose, a whole bunch of armour-plated enemies and Master Chief without his helmet - OMFG Halo 3 is back! Get the HD video while it's hotter than a plasma grenade in your pants. It's on Marketplace NOW!"

Special thanks to XCN for providing the screenshots!
Iscrivetevi alla prima sessione di gioco organizzata per la Community Xbox.com Italiana.
Per iscrivervi rispondete a questa pagina con il vostro Gamertag entro il 5 Gennaio 2007.
L’evento si svolgerà il 5 Gennaio 2007 dalle 21.30 alle 23.00 e giocheremo ad Halo 2 (come deciso dalla Comunità Xbox.com in questo thread).
Le partite saranno divertenti e rilassanti, con conseguente pubblicazione dei risultati. Il giocatore migliore, oltre a ricevere la stima o l’invida dei suoi compagni, dovrà difendere il suo titolo non solo in partita ma anche nei forum Xbox.com!
Per maggiori informazioni sull’XCG cliccate qui.
Get ready to interview the winner of December’s voting poll: Xx TERREMOTO xX
Use this page (or this thread) to propose questions for the interview!
Reminder: everyone can participate and ask whatever they’d like (respecting the forum rules and using good judgement).
Questions must be asked before the 7th of December 2006.
Interview of the Month is a Community Program on which you can find more info clicking here.
Visti i risultati della votazione di Dicembre, prepariamoci ad intervistare il candidato vincente: Xx TERREMOTO xX
Usate questa pagina (oppure questo thread) per proporre le domande che successivamente faranno parte dell’intervista!
Ricordo che chiunque può partecipare e che siete liberi di chiedere qualunque cosa (ovviamente nel rispetto delle regole del forum e del buon senso).
Le domande dovranno essere formulate entro e non oltre il 7 (sette) Dicembre 2006.
Intervista del Mese è un Community Program di cui potete trovare maggiori informazioni cliccando qui.