These features includ Video Kinect, Facebook, Zune Video and of course online gaming, making them free for all users.

This week we launched a new Xbox LIVE dashboard offering controller-free online entertainment through Kinect, making the Xbox 360 more intuitive and interactive than ever before, whilst connecting users to an ever-expanding world of games, movies, TV, music, sports and social entertainment.

Throughout the weekend, Zune Video will also be offering movie deals and free content to everyone. Visit Xbox LIVE and get a 10 minute preview of the blockbuster hit The Hangover Part II for FREE and enjoy up to 40% off amazing titles such as The Hangover, Green Lantern, 40 Year Old Virgin and many more.

To try some of these exciting new features along with all the other existing fantastic Xbox LIVE Gold features visit the Xbox Dashboard and log in to Xbox LIVE.

There are four classes in Lead and Gold, Gunslinger, Trapper, Deputy and Blaster. The Gunslinger possess only one weapon, a revolver. He is most effective at close range using his fanning ability. A technique which increases his rate of fire but reduces his accuracy. The Trapper is a sniper, armed with a Buffalo rifle which requires a reload after every shot. The Deupty carries a rifle and is most effective at medium to long range. He possess the ability to tag enemies, which marks their location. He may also remove tags from allied players. The Blaster is equipped with a double-barrelled shotgun that is lethal at close range. He also carries dynamite which can be used much like a grenade. The Trapper, Deputy and Blaster each carry a secondary weapon, a slow firing and inaccurate revolver that’s only useful when you are knocked down. Each character also has their own unique abilities called Synergy Effects.

Synergy Effects are a nice addition to the game. A Synergy Effect is a buff that is granted to you and all teammates nearby. It’s a system which encourages players to stick together and use team work. The Gunslinger increases accuracy, the Trapper increases critical hits, the Deputy increases damage and the Blaster increases defense. The Synergies do not stack so it is recommended to use different classes. Along with all of these, each class has a Healing Synergy, which automatically restores some of your own HP and that of any teammate you pass by. The strength of your Synergy Effects can be increased by leveling up. By increasing your rank, your Synergy Effect ability increases. However, all ranks you gain in a game are reset back to one once the game ends.

There are seven games modes and seven maps. Although one game mode and map are restricted to each other(the online tutorial), there is still plenty of variety in the game modes. There’s the usual deathmatch and capture the flag type game modes, along with different variations of Team A attacking certain points and objectives with Team B defending. With the games being only 5v5, the maps are adequately sized. This keeps the game flowing with lots of fighting. Depending on the damage you receive, you can either be killed or simply knocked down. You can be very easily killed while knocked down and you may still shoot using your revolver while in this state. Teammates can revive you if you get knocked down. A player from each team may carry a respawn flag which allows you to respawn on that players, this will keep you in the middle of the fighting at all times. All of this ofcourse, is if you can actually join a server.

Server browsing is a painful experience at the best of times and just down right horrific at the worst of times. You are unable to sort the servers by ping, players, game mode or map. They are simply thrown at you in a random order and in random quantities. Sometimes you get thirty servers listed, sometimes only five. You are required to continuously refresh the page for servers. This isn’t the only problem, not by a long shot. Servers are very slow to update, so expect to see misleading numbers of players per server, often I’ve joined servers listed as near full, only to have the game load and realise there’s no more than two or three people, or worse, I’m the only person in the server. The problems don’t end there, while the game does have dedicated server support, it’s a very rare occurrence that you find a dedicated server actually in use. The full servers? Player hosted servers with atrocious pings. The host simply breezes around with his ping of five, while you struggle to make it five steps with your ping above four hundred. I simply can’t understand why people choose to play on these player hosted servers instead of the low ping dedicated servers. All of this isn’t helped by the size of the player base, on average there are 50 players online at all times and at peak times, roughly 100.

I really struggled with scoring this game, I’m torn and in two minds over it. On one side, it’s a very fun game with plenty of content and some very nice features. On the other side, it’s got a torturous server browser, nonexistent developer support, tiny player base and quite frankly, a rather unintelligent player base. It appears that the game was simply thrown out the door and left to rot once complete. I really want to recommend this game but there’s a dwindling player base and a lack of support. Priced at €15, the content is certainly more than worth it, but with the tiny player base and how often you’ll struggle to join a server with a playable ping, it’s highly unlikely that you will get value for your money.

Available for purchase through Steam.

Also available on Playstation Network and Xbox Live Arcade.

The trailer below shows heavily influence from shows like Twin Peaks, specifically that it’s set in similar location Pacific Northwest and even seem to be using the same composer Angelo Badalamenti.

Gold members will get first 2 episodes on April 25, everyone else the day after. Episodes to be released weekly. Will also be available on brightfalls.com from April 27.

playedDestruction Derby? Ever played Need For Speed? Well mash all of them together into one mangled car wreck of pure awesomeness.

I tend to go for the games that I can just drop in a play without having to pay attention to story lines and the like, so this suited me to the ground. So lets start from the beginning.

The game has a number of game modes, each more violent than the last. The standard race is a number of cars doing laps around a track from a top down view. You have a certain amount of boost to help you slam your opponents  into walls or in my case, go up a ramp and slam myself into the wall (I was never any good at top down games).

While you are running around the track you have a weapon attached to your vehicle. Some have guns, some have flames and some have chainsaws! You can also pick up extra boost or special weapons to help you explode your enemies. Last one standing is the only rule you need to know!

Another game mode (and my favorite to be honest) is the demolition derby mode. This brings back all the good memories of playing Destruction Derby as a kid. There are no laps and no rules except to destroy everyone! You can smash them, shoot them, cut them, burn them whatever you want! Once you are the last one alive thats all that matters. You get extra weapons every now and then like bombs and oil slicks.

The game is linear much like the story in NFS or a beat em up game. Each track has associated missions that you must complete ending in a boss battle. You have to do elimination races, were after each lap whoever is last is lost! There are last man standing races were you have 99 laps to win a race, but (as hinted by the title) if you can destroy your opponents before then, YOU WIN!

The boss battles are set by laps but not in the conventional sense. You have to hunt down and destroy the boss before he completes all the laps. If you do, you get the pink slip! And thats really the aim of the game, win races, destroy people and collect menacing vehicles on the way.

When you get a car you can customize and upgrade them to your liking. Making them faster, better and much more deadly. All in all I loved this game. Its something I would sit down and play after a stressful work day! And its a mix of all of my favourite Playstation games. Very interesting concoction that I will give a whopping  4/5! *BEEP BEEP*

The primary argument refers to the fact that most users appear to think they buy 100 points for every $1, which is not an accurate assessment. On top of that Microsoft only sell “blocks” of points, thus leaving most users with extra points left over.

Microsoft have yet to respond to the lawsuit. But we’ll keep you posted…

This is either some clever viral marketing idea or actually a huge gaffe on the part of Microsoft. Either way, head over to XBL and download… for free.

Finally, after months of waiting, Europeans will get a chance at playing Braid on PS3 for a mere €9.99.

One of the most unique, original and brilliant XBL & PSN titles in a long time, Braid will bend your mind with new side-scrolling puzzle twists at every turn. Each time you figure this game out, it throws something new at you. Absolutely worth the price of admission.

So, if you don’t already own it via Xbox Live or a sneaky American PSN account, do check this out tomorrow. UK visitors (we know you’re out there!) note that it’ll set you guys back £7.99…

360!

In part one of our Christmas present rundown of the three big consoles, we looked at the hardware. Controllers, specifically. Well, this time we move on to the main bit, the computational powerhouses locked up in shiny and matte cases. We’ll also introduce the portables as a means of testing the cheaper option. So let’s dive in, shall we?

Before I start remind yourself of the scores last time, with 3 points to the 360, 2 to the ps3 and 1 for the Wii. Lets see if anyone can take the lead this time…

Given the mighty Microsoft box of 360 X’s won last time, we’ll start there. The 360 rushed to the market with all the graphical and number crunching prowess claims as the PS3, sort of. Instead of showing actual numbers and claiming to cure cancer, Microsoft just released Halo and Gears of War to annoy the potential PS3 market. As such, with their beefy system and lower price mark, they managed to take a hold of the market which only this year Sony are recovering from.

The machine itself is fine. A decent PC spec that obviously runs most games in full swing. In fact, the graphics in multi-platform games usually favour the 360 over the PS3 because of it’s standardised development kit and Windows based platform.

Where it all falls apart is, once you pay your initial price up front, you need to buy a separate wireless connectivity device, a subscription to xbox live and a whole slew of extra stuff just to bring it up to the spec of the PS3. So, when all was said and done, both consoles cost the same – just the 360 gave you the “option” to cost more.

The machine also uses DVD to let you play games, and recently allowed users to install games on the machine itself. Why? Well, because the machine is loud as hell. Too loud for a machine of its size, frankly. Compared to the cool breeze of the Wii or PS3, the 360 churns out noise even Harley riders would be ashamed of. This comes from the ludicrously noisy disk drive as well as the stupidly cheap fans on the power brick (who’s size mounts up to being nearly as big as the console itself). A ridiculously cheap device in terms of manufacturing too, saw a huge proportion of users suffering the “red ring of death”, where your console simply dies. Something that Microsoft has had to face since launch, and has only recently died down with newer versions of the console with smaller sized chipsets.

A good console overall, able to keep up with any PC or PS3, but too loud and isn’t “ready” when you buy it, which given the current price point of the machine’s highest entry, adding the extra’s you need to be properly set to go brings it to be more expensive then the PS3. It’s kind of like as a kid getting the coolest toy ever, but finding you need a pile of AA batteries to make it run – and the batteries didn’t come in the box.

So big and hot, it can make some nice sausages

Next up, the PS3. The power speaks for itself. A new, IBM developed processor system powers this beast. It’s so powerful, in fact, that the US military runs over 2000 of these to do computational number crunching work, and that’s not the only place that has a load of these hooked together to run super computers!

In the box, for almost the same price as a 360, you get the console which features a slot-loading drive (no problems akin to the PS2 or 360 with sliding trays) that sucks in blu-ray disks as well as DVD’s to upscale to high definition, wifi built-in as well as no visible power brick. Add to that the fact that this device is silent. Even in heavy-duty games like Killzone or Uncharted, this machine chews through them without batting an eyelid.

Add to this the fact that playing games online is completely free of charge, it really puts Microsoft to shame. A much better machine on paper, cheaper then the 360 with all the bells and whistle, plus more. Keep in mind that the 360 does not play blu-ray disks. Sure, digital distribution is there, but we’re in Ireland – 3MB is the standard here, which is pathetic when it comes to streaming or downloading films.

The PS3 also has a browser to do the stuff the 360 recently added (twitter, facebook, etc.), which also plays flash. Which means going to YouTube or other sites (that may or may not have tv shows and movies) is easy, and can be done from a sofa on a big tv!

On a value-for-money basis the PS3 is an unbeatable deal. Even when it was more expensive then the 360 by a long shot (€600 at launch), it did everything the 360 did but with more, built in. Not relying on additional extra overpriced muck. On top of this, expanding the machine is easier as it takes standard 2.5″ SATA hard drives. Not first-party interfaces like the 360… which means it insanely cheap to upgrade your storage.

No, not wee.

Next, the Wii. A console that came into the market under-cutting the big boys by some margin. The problem? No one cared to utter the words that it’s a complete pile of crap compared to the other two. Realistically, the PSP can match the Wii in most pound-for-pound fights. Literally, the Wii is a gamecube shoved into a box that accepts a fancy input, for more money then a gamecube. It’s no wonder Nintendo made so much money when the mark-up on a 5 year old device was massive.

However, it does over a ridiculously terrible online system. A console aimed and marketed at adults left behind by Sony & Microsoft as well as young kids should never have a 12-digit code system for finding friends online.

The machine uses a slot-loading DVD drive to play games. But don’t dare put a DVD movie in there. Oh no, you’ll be met with a strange surprise – they don’t work. That’s right, Nintendo didn’t even bother letting the console play movies. Though it will play gamecube games. Funny, that.

A great little device if you like certain games

Portable devices are always popular, especially now with the DSi and DS LL on the market. The DSi is the same as the DS, but with a camera, basically. And the LL is just a large-format DS.

The DS is a great little device, holding two screens in it’s fold-out format. One is a touch pad that interfaces with a stylus pen-type piece of expensive plastic while the top is a standard screen. Controlling the device can be a bit of a pain because the device is so small your hands are forced to bend in unimaginable ways. Do this while trying to hot swap your hand from the d-pad to the stylus makes for an uncomfortable gaming experience.

However, it is cheap and nice. Sometimes difficult to game on the go, as games like Zelda really make you use the machine (like asking you to shout at it via the mic) but in a controlled environment it can be fun. That said, it really is just a Mario & Zelda device. Not many other games shine on it.

The PSP is Sony’s response, featuring a beautiful screen and for us old school PSPers, new types of discs. The PSP Go is all digital, though, offering games through PSN store via credit card.

The interface will be familiar to PS3 owners

Games vary from puzzlers to sprawling games like GTA. Inside is a robust processor… basically, it’s a PS2 in a smaller form. Much smaller. Sometimes the controls can cripple you as it is quite small, and not the most ergonomic of devices. Still, nice to look at. Especially now with the comic book reader, MP3 player, video player and so on in there.

It packs quite a punch and has epic games on there, from GTA to Gran Turismo all the way to smaller PSN-exclusive titles like Gravity Crash and Pixel Junk.

Doom resurrection is the best example of graphical power on the iPhone/iPod

Finally, in portables it’s hard not to mention the iPhone.

As an interface and powerhouse it’s great. Better then the DS for power, and the screen is better then the PSP. However, it’s better suited as a host for puzzle style games rather then big titles. However, some big titles are there, like Doom, FIFA10 and even MGS4(ish).

Most decent games are only 79c, which means it’s easy to buy a game that might be bad, unlike the PSP and DS whose games market at about €40. However, it will never replace the PSP – but could easily replace the DS, as long as you can live with not having Mario or Zelda while on the bus!

So, the scores.

In the “normal” market:

3 points to the PS3
2 to the 360
1 to the Wii.

In the portable market:

3 to the PSP
2 to the iPhone/iPod
1 to the DS.

This leaves the tally for the normal consoles at:

PS3: 5
360: 5
Wii: 2

The final test will come in the next week or so. We’ll be looking at the games themselves, particularly exclusives!

Its an Orchestra dedicated to playing Video Games Music….

Ill let the Video tell you the Rest

Sorry bout the shitty Quality, Im poor, my Camera sucks

SETLIST (As far as I can remember):

ACT 1:

Classic Games Segment
Metal Gear Solid
God of War
Kingdom Hearts
Space Invaders
Metroid
Sonic the Hedgehog
Zelda
Final Fantasy (Piano piece)

ACT 2:

Mario
Starcraft 2
World of Warcraft
Guitar Hero
Halo
Super Mario Bros. (Piano Piece)
Audience Requests on Piano
Mega Man

ENCORE:

Advent: One Winged Angel
Castlevania

What the update does is add a new tab to your dashboard called “My Community”. Within, there is a twitter application installed and you have the option to install a zune marketplace (for video content) and facebook.

Facebook acts as it's own dashboard

First up we’ll look at the facebook application. The functionality apes the standard dashboard functions, which is tried and tested and means you’ll instantly know your way around the system. All of the usual stuff is included so as long as you’ve used Facebook before, this will work fine. It looks fantastic in HD with a few Micorosft-generated graphical wizardry, and also includes your Mii Xbox Live Avatar.

Twitter looks fantastic on the big-little screen

On the twitter side of things, the application looks stunning. Graphical swirls everywhere really suit the twitter platform, and the program works so well it’s very easy to just leave it on in the background as you go about your bits n’ bobs, letting your HD screen update with beautifully presented tweets about teeth whitening and joining some sort of mafia family. Wonderful.

Updating is easy, but it is recommended to stick a USB keyboard in to make life easier. Microsoft do recommend the additional keyboard available to attach to your joypad.

Finally, the Zune marketplace is similar to the Facebook application, in that it apes the functionality of the dashboard itself. Only this time, it’s sleeky black and has the colourful Zune logo at the top. Sections are divided up to allow for indie clips to get love from the web, or the curious “Gamer TV” (which has no content as I write this).

Zune will also allow parties to watch movies together over XBL, as well as tell anyone around that you’re checking out a film on the Zune marketplace.

All in all this is a pretty packed feature-filled update to XBL and will certainly add a lot of extra functionality to sway any on-the-fence console shoppers this Christmas. Is it all worth buying a console for? Not really. Is it cool? Yes, as long as you use twitter and facebook, and plan on streaming HD movies (something we’ll look at in another post). It adds some cool new features that don’t really affect the way you play games, but is nice either way. It’s also worth noting that all of this comes at the best price possible: free… as long as you’re a gold subscriber to XBL.