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Introduction:
World domination! That is what the famous civilization series is all about. That and choice; the choice of who and how you want to do it, and as far as that goes Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution (Civ.) is 100% accurate. If you are an old Civ. fan there are things you will miss, but for new comers to the series there is plenty of fun to be had and enough number crunching and strategy abound to keep you busy for the rest of your summer.

Gameplay:
You are one of 16 famous leaders through out history from as far back as Cleopatra to as recent as Gandhi, each receiving different bonuses at the start and through each technological era. The single player is very open and does not feature a ‘Campaign’ mode that most strategy fans would expect, but it has 5 degrees of difficulty from Chieftain to Deity. Also included are a number of pre-made scenarios that have different rules from your standard method of play.

Victory is decided in one of four ways: Domination, Economic, Cultural and Technological. You can take over all the other civilization’s palace cities, obtain 20,000 gold and build the world bank, obtain and keep 20 Wonders/Great People/Converted Cities and build the UN or research Space Flight and launch a mission to Alpha Centauri. Anyway you look at it the game, there’s a large amount of diversity for victory and play style. The game features a very familiar looking technology tree, which can be daunting for new players the first couple of times they see it, but becomes second nature after a few games.

Extras:
The multiplayer in the game is sadly plagued with disconnects and latency issues, which make it seem like the game was rushed. As I mentioned before, technology plays a big part in the game – mainly in the changing of the era. You start out in the ancient era and then move to the Medieval, Industrial and Modern era’s once you have researched 4, 14 and 24 technologies respectively. There are currently no imbalances between civs. during online competition, but if you do not use your era bonuses you will find yourself quickly falling behind. That is, of course, if you can at least find a game that you can join and won’t have at least one player lag out or quit early.

Conclusion:
While it is a good game, Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution does very little to stand out from the other titles this summer, and the multiplayer on it suffers tremendously. While there are numerous possibilities for single player combinations to make your games different, they do not differ quite enough for my taste. Though the game is still good for a laugh when you find yourself being threatened by honest Abe or Gandhi, how can you not enjoy it?

Score: 7.5

Electronic Arts Inc. announced today that Madden NFL 09 will celebrate its launch with Maddenpalooza, a music, sports and gaming fan festival hosted at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California on August 11. To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the award-winning Madden NFL franchise and the release of Madden NFL 09, Maddenpalooza will run from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. the day before the official August 12 launch date. The event will feature live musical performances by bands from past and current Madden NFL soundtracks, including Good Charlotte who will headline the music stage. In addition to the music performances, Maddenpalooza attendees can enjoy a number of fan-friendly festivities including autograph signing stations with retired NFL legends, interactive NFL activities, 300 Xbox 360(r) gaming kiosks to play Madden NFL 09, and a Wal-mart pop-up store where customers can be among the first to purchase their copy of Madden NFL 09.

“Maddenpalooza will truly be a celebration of the 20th anniversary of one of the most popular video games in history,” said Director of Marketing Chris Erb. “The fan festival will provide an interactive experience for Madden fans to come together and experience Madden NFL 09 before its launch.”

Each summer, the launch of Madden NFL has emerged as a highly anticipated event that wins the attention of both consumers and media across the country. Past Madden NFL launches have centered around the concept of Maddenoliday, where thousands of Madden NFL fans flocked to stores and took the day off from work and school to immerse themselves in that year’s copy of Madden NFL. This year, with Maddenpalooza, EA SPORTS(tm) will take it to the next level for the 20th anniversary of Madden NFL. Hosted at the Rose Bowl, the stadium where John Madden and the 1976 Oakland Raiders won their first Super Bowl, Maddenpalooza brings together the impressive mix of elements from sports, entertainment and video games that have made the Madden NFL franchise an American pop culture icon.

In addition to Good Charlotte, whose song “The Anthem” first appeared on the Madden NFL 03 soundtrack, other music acts scheduled to perform include Busta Rhymes, Rev Theory, Airbourne, From First to Last and Young Dre The Truth. Each of these bands will perform throughout the day - leading up to the first sales of Madden NFL 09 which will begin at 9 p.m. PST at the Wal-mart pop-up store located within the Rose Bowl stadium.

Admission to Maddenpalooza is free, tickets will be distributed through the Los Angeles based radio station KIIS, as well as various other local radio stations and promotional partners. There will also be a limited amount of tickets available at the Rose Bowl on August 11 through a first-come-first-serve basis.

Madden NFL 09, the First Sports Game That Adapts To You, introduces over 85 new features and enhancements. Whether you are a seasoned veteran, or a franchise rookie, Madden NFL 09 will continuously asses your skills and adjust the gameplay to keep the experience both fun and challenging, all while training gamers to become better Madden players. Madden NFL 09 also includes a brand-new broadcast presentation package featuring Cris Collinsworth and Tom Hammond, online leagues, and the most realistic graphics in franchise history.

Madden NFL 09 is developed in Orlando, Florida by the award-winning EA Tiburon studio, which also produces NCAA(r) Football, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR(r) and NASCAR(r) racing.

Madden NFL 09 will be available for the Xbox(r) and Xbox 360(r) video game systems from Microsoft, PlayStation(r)2 and PLAYSTATION(r)3 computer entertainment systems, Wii(tm), Nintendo DS(tm), PSP(r) (PlayStation(r)Portable) handheld entertainment system and is rated E by the ESRB.

Click HERE to see the Madden 09 Maddenpalooza trailer.  Lookin’ damn good! 

Game on!

Capcom has released a great behind-thescenes trailer, to give us an in-depth look at the upcoming Live Arcade title: Bionic Commando Rearmed.

Right click HERE (and ‘Save Target As’) to download the trailer (247MB MOV - High quality - 6.5 minutes).  Enjoy - and watch for part 2 here on 360 Rant Rave when it becomes available. 

Game on!

Bizarre Creations has moved the release date for Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 up by a week.  It is now set to arrive on the Xbox Marketplace on Wednesday, July 30th, for 800 points.

You’ll also be happy to hear that the trial version of the game will include the full ‘Deadline’ game mode in both single-player and multiplayer.   

Here is more info on all the different game modes:

Deadline

The first mode is Deadline. This is also the mode which is unlocked in the trial version of the game (both single and multiplayer). The idea is simple: score as many points as you can in 3 minutes. You have as many lives as you want, but of course if you die a lot then you won’t be scoring as many points as the next guy. You also have bombs, but these are limited (you start with three).

Destroyed enemies drop Geoms (little glittery yellow things) which you can pick up by driving your ship over them. These Geoms increase your score multiplier, so grab as many of these as you possibly can! Every game mode has Geoms, and you should always pick them up. I can’t stress this enough: pick up the Geoms to score big! Your multiplier is no longer capped at 10x either, so having multipliers of many thousands is quite normal (if you’re good enough)!

King

This mode is easy to explain, but very tactical once you start to really get into it. Again the premise is very basic: circular “zones” appear all over the grid. You can drive into these zones, and whilst inside them you are safe (the enemies can’t enter the zones). You can shoot outwards, destroying the baddies outside your zone. However (and it’s a big HOWEVER), after a short time the zone will collapse and you’ll be left exposed.  Whilst outside a zone you can’t shoot at all, meaning that you had better hot foot it to another zone as quickly as you can!

Try to collect a bunch of Geoms as you move between the zones. If you’re playing with a friend in co-operative mode, try this tactic: one of you stay inside the zone shooting outward, whilst the second player collects the fallen Geoms. Then swap when the zone decays. That’s the trick to scoring big in co-op!

Evolved

You can think of Evolved as a super charged version of Retro Evolved 1.  You start with three lives and three bombs, and you keep playing until those lives run out. There are quite a few changes this time though…

Here’s the short list:

*        New enemies make an appearance, like the gates, rockets, etc.
*        Overall balance has been changed, so the game gets more exciting after a shorter amount of time (no more spending the first three minutes of the game waiting for it to get intense!)
*        No more multiple weapon types. We nuked the first “starter” weapon from GWRE1, as well as the big, slow gun. The only weapon that you’ll use throughout GWRE2 is a tweaked version of the faster-firing weapon (which was pretty much the fan favourite to begin with anyway).
*        Tiny spinners (the little purple guys which split from the big spinners) no longer track the player. They stay rotating in one spot, acting more like a “blocker” than a normal “follower” type enemy.
*        Gravity wells now destroy enemies on exploding! Not only that, but it’ll give you 5x the score for the privilege! Gravity Wells should now be a priority to take out when things get busy. Note: destroying enemies in gate explosions (and bouncing bullets off of gates) also gives the same 5x score bonus.
*        Repulsars have a new look, and slightly changed behaviour. They no longer repulse your bullets, but they are still only vulnerable from the backside.
*        Lives and bombs are still given once you reach a set score, but this time the gap between them gets exponentially larger each time. In other words the first extra life/bomb is given at 100,000, then the second at 10 times this amount, and the third at 10 times that amount.
*        Of course, “Snake spawn” is no longer an issue.

Pacifism

Everybody remembers the Pacifism achievement from Retro Evolved 1. At the time it was hailed as the first of a new breed, encouraging a different way of looking at the game. Well we couldn’t just leave pacifism in the past… in GWRE2 it’s been promoted into a full game mode of its own. Yay!

As you might have already guessed, you can’t shoot whilst playing Pacifism. Oh, and you only get one life and no bombs. The only offense you have against the infinite blue shapes is to drive through the gates (a new enemy type), which triggers a big explosion deadly to the bad guys. Driving through multiple gates in a row will give you bonus points, so try to chain together as many as you can without stopping.

One word of warning: avoid the deadly yellow gate ends! Make sure you drive straight through the middle of the gate, without touching the sides!

Waves

If you’ve played the hidden Geometry Wars mini-game in PGR4, then you’ll have an idea of what to expect here. The Waves game mode gives you one life (and again, no bombs), and asks you to survive as long as possible against wave after wave of incoming rockets. The rockets travel either horizontally or vertically, so you’ll need to pick your route through them carefully in order to come out the other side unscathed.

If you’re having trouble mastering Waves, bring some friends along and quadruple your firepower. Oh and check out the Surf achievement, where you must stay alive for 8 wave spawns without firing a shot. Sound tough? It is!!

Sequence

The final game mode is Sequence… and this is one for the professionals. There are 20 levels, and the aim of the game is to make it through all twenty without dying. On the plus side, each wave is identical every time you play… so if you remember the spawns then you’ll be at a great advantage. The bad news is that each wave is pretty freakin’ hard, and you only start with a set number of lives and bombs to do them all with.

Every level must be completed in 30 seconds, and if you lose a life you skip to the next level (thus forfeiting the points you could have scored if you had stayed alive).

Sequence gets interesting in multiplayer, especially when you’re playing competitively to beat each others scores. More devious players might experiment with the green Weaver enemies… try pushing them into another player to kill them off early in the level! When one of you dies you have to sit out for the remainder of the time, meaning your opponents can really score big whilst you’re on the sidelines. Ouch!

Game on!

Just this past Tuesday, at Microsoft’s Gamefest 2008 in Seattle, Microsoft finally answered the criticism surrounding their Live service for Games for Windows.  It seems PC gamers were not willing to pay and Microsoft has finally figured that out. 

“Introducing Games for Windows – LIVE, the free gaming service built for Windows that makes great Windows games even better.  With Games for Windows – LIVE, you get an online identity – called a gamertag – and a friends list that works across multiple games, the XBOX 360, and even the Zune music service.  You can easily find and communicate with your friends online with text and voice chat.  Earn achievements and Gamerscore that lets you track and compare your accomplishments. 

Play multiplayer games with your friends, or play against new opponents online using our exclusive TrueSkill™  matchmaking system – with other Windows® players or with or against XBOX 360 players (in supported games.)

All of this is possible today – and at no charge.”

There are no indications at this time that MS has any plans to make Live free for the 360, but we can hope.

Game on!

Microsoft made some big announcements yesterday at E3. Among them were the 360 dashboard update, the addition of avatars and a new partnership with Netflix. That’s not all though. Let’s take a look at what they announced and what it all means to us as gamers.

First came the game announcements for the titles MS knows we’ve all been waiting for. Preview videos were shown for Fallout 3, Resident Evil 5 and Gears or War 2 (all of these videos are available on your Xbox 360 in the marketplace). Personally, I’ve never been that into the Resident Evil series (though the video was nice), but I’m really looking forward to Fallout 3 and especially Gears of War 2. I loved the retro look to the Fallout 3 trailer and they seem to have upped the gore factor even further for Gears 2 - and chainsaw dueling looks like a lot of fun. We’ll certainly have plenty to keep us busy this fall.

While all big companies like to tout their numbers, it was still impressive to hear MS announce that Xbox Live now has over 12 million members. It’s a testament to the fact that plenty of gamers out there still feel that the pay service that is Xbox Live is worth the money. Granted, not all 12 million of those members are gold members, but it’s still impressive.

Since the news of the dashboard update hit, there have been strong feelings on both sides. Some love it, while others truly detest it. Why all the controversy? (Video about the new dash HERE.)

Many feel that MS’ introduction of 3D ‘Avatars’ is too blatant a copy of Nintendo’s Mii characters for the Wii system. On the surface I tend to agree with that view, but I still really do like the overall look of the new dash, and I understand that some of the other new features would be far more difficult to implement without an avatar to represent your presence in the virtual world. 

The new avatars will work in conjunction with the new ‘Community Channel’, where you can see what your friends are up to, and the new ‘Primetime Channel’, where we’ll see new and massive games like 1 vs. 100, and playing for actual, real-life prizes.

Many fear that the dashboard themes and gamer pictures they’ve spent so much money on will become worthless once the new dash design arrives. Fear not. MS may be a bit money grubbing, but they aren’t about to screw over millions of gamers like that. The new dash will still allow you to use the themes and gamer pictures you’ve purchased over the past few years.  They simply didn’t have the time to demo this fact on stage. 

The other big announcement, that we’ve known has been coming for a while, is MS’ exclusive partnership with Netflix. Now, if you have an Xbox Live subscription and a Netflix account, you can access Netflix’s library of ‘watch it now’ movies from your Xbox 360. This gives you an easy way to watch your Netflix movies on your TV rather than having to watch them on your PC, which can really be a pain.

The Netflix setup is even integrated with the new community features of the dash, so you and up to seven other friends can all join up to enjoy a Netflix movie together (An Xbox Live Gold subscription & a Netflix account are required for each party member). I cancelled my Netflix account about a year ago but if they have improved their watch it now offerings (which have traditionally offered far fewer choices than their mailed films), I may seriously consider signing up again.

The last main announcement is something that Xbox fans have been waiting for (and that PlayStation fans have probably been dreading), Final Fantasy XIII has been confirmed for the Xbox 360. This was a big announcement, as the FF series has traditionally been joined at the hip with the PlayStation.  Some die hard FF fans are really up in arms about it. 

Other announcements included:
-Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 (Coming August 6th – See our feature on it HERE).
-Portal: Still Alive is coming to the arcade with all new levels 7 achievements.
-There will be a South Park arcade title.
-The first GTA IV downloadable episode will be out later this year.
-Viva Pinata 2: Trouble in Paradise
-Scene it 2: Box office Smash
-You’re in the movies
-Guitar Hero: World Tour
-Rock Band 2 (360 Exclusive - over 500 songs by year end)
-Infinite Undiscovery (360 Exclusive)
-The Last Remnant (360 timed exclusive - then PC)

It was an impressive press conference and it looks like the Xbox 360 is in for an amazing fall season. Watch 360 Rant Rave for more info on the Xbox 360’s new features and titles as more info becomes available.

Game on!

Electronic Arts Inc., announced today that NCAA(r) Football 09 is available in stores now. Feel the electricity of Big Play Saturday with NCAA Football 09! Powered behind the Break Away Engine, which provides all-new groundbreaking gameplay controls, NCAA Football 09 arrives on campus with wide open, high octane gameplay and all the excitement and pageantry of a storied college bowl game. Available for the Xbox 360 ™ video game and entertainment system, PLAYSTATION(r)3 and PlayStation(r) 2 computer entertainment systems and PSP(r) (PlayStation(r)Portable) system, NCAA Football 09 focuses on the wide-open collegiate style gameplay and unique atmosphere that can only be found during college football Saturdays. NCAA Football 09 All-Play, designed specifically for the Wii(tm), hits stores with unique features such as user-controlled touchdown celebrations, a mascot mode with 78 mascots, and a unique, fan friendly control scheme that uses specific Wii remote motions to snap and kick the ball, complete passes and avoid defenders.

Gamers will experience the exhilaration of making big plays on the field with the ability to directly control and influence the game through the Break Away Engine. The Break Away engine allows players to break in and out of moves, giving the user ultimate control with instant responsiveness on the field. With huge cut-back lanes, new tackling animations and wider blocking holes, NCAA Football 09 offers a host of offensive opportunities.

NCAA Football 09 also brings the atmosphere, pageantry and tradition of college football to life. From the college stadiums to the dynamic sidelines filled with school colors, cheerleaders and mascots, players are sure to feel the excitement of college game day. This year, players can revel in their touchdowns by enjoying animated celebrations with their mascot. All 120 Football Bowl Subdivision schools are represented in the game and players can customize the in-game atmosphere with their own personal music collection.

“NCAA Football 09 showcases everything that makes college football exciting and unique,” said Executive Producer Jeremy Strauser. “From enhanced gameplay and presentation, to our online Dynasty Mode, this game truly reflects the electricity of big-time college football at its best and captures the true emotion of football on Saturdays.”

Off the field, NCAA Football 09 features its most robust Dynasty Mode(tm) yet, inviting fans to create and manage a perennial powerhouse program from landing blue-chip recruits to winning championships on the field. For the first time ever, Dynasty Mode goes online with up to 12 competitors to recruit head-to-head, customize schedules and play for up to 60 seasons.

This year, the packaging for each of the NCAA Football 09 console platforms features an exclusive cover athlete. The console specific pack fronts feature Darren McFadden on the Xbox 360, Matt Ryan on the PLAYSTATION 3, DeSean Jackson on the PlayStation 2 and Owen Schmitt on the PSP. To commemorate the franchise debut on the Wii, fans voted to determine the college mascot that would grace the NCAA Football 09 All-Play cover, with Michigan State’s Sparty the Spartan earning the spot.

Game on!

At E3, a new trailer was released for Dead Space.  It has been banned in the US because it’s a bit ‘disturbing’ (well, not rated by the ESRB, which is tantamount to a ban), but you can view it here anyway.

Here it is.  Enjoy!

Game on!

As you may have heard in the Microsoft keynote yesterday, Bizarre have finally
announced a game which I know you’ve all been waiting for for quite some time:
Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2! The game will be available on 6th August, exclusively
on Xbox Live Arcade.

GWRE2 is vastly bigger than the original, including not only a remixed version of
Evolved, but also 5 additional game modes which each provide a unique challenge.
Waves returns, but has been supercharged and tweaked. Fan favourite Pacifism has
been promoted from achievement to full game mode, and newcomers King, Deadline, and Sequence round out the package.

Each game mode can be played solo, or with up to 4 players on a single Xbox 360
console. Either team up with a friend in co-operative play, or every man for himself
in competitive mode. You can also play Co-Pilots, where one player drives and the
other shoots.

GWRE2 features full XBLA leaderboard support as you’d expect, as well as 12 new
achievements designed to encourage players to see the game from a different angle.
Retro Evolved 2 has been created entirely in-house at Bizarre, led by coding veteran
Stephen Cakebread (creator of the original Geometry Wars games).

Bizarre will be unveiling more details on the new game modes, multiplayer options, enemy types, achievements, etc. on their website between now and launch. Please do stay tuned.

Screenshots:

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Video:

Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 Trailer

Game on!

Microsoft is giving consumers more gigabytes for their buck. The company today announced an Xbox 360® console with triple the storage space of the original console, but for the same price of $349 (U.S.) estimated retail price.

Available in retail stores in the U.S. and Canada starting in early August, the upgraded Xbox 360 will include a 60GB hard drive for storing the growing wealth of digital entertainment available for the console, including music, movies, television shows, and game content. In addition, Microsoft today dropped the price of its 20GB Xbox 360 console in the U.S. and Canada to just $299 (U.S.) (ERP) while supplies last, a savings of $50.

“We know consumers need more and more space to store the amazing digital content Xbox 360 offers, and we’re giving it to them at no extra charge,” said Albert Penello, Xbox director of product management at Microsoft. “No one device offers the depth and breadth of entertainment that Xbox 360 can deliver, and now you’ll have three times the storage to manage all that great content.”

Xbox 360 is just one of three Xbox 360 gaming and entertainment systems Microsoft offers. Microsoft’s Xbox 360 Arcade, which comes with a 256MB memory unit and five Xbox LIVE Arcade games, is a value for the whole family for $279 (U.S.) (ERP), and the premium Xbox 360 Elite console is available with a 120GB hard drive for $449 (U.S.) (ERP).

Game on!