This Week in Xbox: Oct. 15-22, 2008
At A Glance
- Denny Atkin takes a look at this week in Xbox news.
Don't you hate it when you investigate a distress call and discover the ship's crew has been mutilated by an ancient alien scourge? Dead Space™ is a frightening space shooter where you use weapons and telekinesis to practice "strategic dismemberment" on the alien horde. It's sci-fi survival horror at its best—the game's getting great ratings across the Internet by reviewers and gamers alike. My own favorite feature is the ability to fight in Zero G—that's a feature I've wanted in a game for a long time.
Zero G combat in Dead Space keeps you wondering which way is up.
The other big release this week is Saints Row 2, which takes you back to Stillwater years after the original game. It's up to you to show those upstart new gangs who's really in charge. It's the freeform style of gameplay you enjoyed in Grand Theft Auto IV™, but with a fully customizable character, and a co-op story campaign.
Either he ticked off the wrong hood in Saints Row 2, or he ate the pizza in our cafeteria.
My boss is from England, and he tells me tales of a strange version of football where people wear shorts, never touch the ball with their hands, and rarely score. If you'd like to experience this foreign curiosity yourself, check out the new FIFA Soccer 09. I kid, of course. If you've played earlier versions of FIFA, you know it's action-packed. And with 10 vs. 10 online play, Xbox LIVE® play promises to be a blast.
FIFA Soccer 09 adds 10-on-10 Xbox LIVE multiplayer support. Goal!
This week's new Xbox LIVE Arcade game is Age of Booty™, a game of pirate strategy that might owe just a little inspirational credit to a certain Bungie web prank a few years back. This one looks like a boatload of fun, and I can't wait to try the eight-player game on Xbox LIVE. Check out KP's preview of the game for the full scoop.
Battle at sea in Age of Booty.
Wrapping Up
Fun story for the week: I've been playing LEGO® Batman™: The Videogame with my young son, who received actual LEGO kits of some of the toys in the game for his birthday last week. So we build a couple of the vehicles and he starts playing with them. "Time for bed," I say. "Just a few minutes, Dad. I have to defeat the Penguin; he's the boss in my game. But don't worry, it won't take long. He only has 9 hearts left." Yes, that's right. When playing with the toys that they based a video game on, he's acting out the video game. My head is spinning.
And now, once again, off to wrap up the script for our latest Insider Moves tips show. Drop by the Insider Moves topic and let us know what you'd like to see in future episodes.
Article by Denny Atkin
