Video tour: Xbox 360 Fall 2010 Dashboard update

Join us in our video preview of the upcoming Xbox 360 Dashboard update. While Microsoft keeps the Kinect component under wraps, we've got plenty to show you: there's the promised ESPN content, updated Netflix functionality (now featuring "search") and, of course, the new Dashboard UI. Oh, and Avatars are looking a bit different and sporting some new features.

Hit a link below to jump to the corresponding video or watch them all after the break.

Dashboard and Family Settings | ESPN | Netflix Search | Avatars

Gallery: Xbox 360 Fall Dashboard -- Zune and ESPNContinue reading Video tour: Xbox 360 Fall 2010 Dashboard updateVideo tour: Xbox 360 Fall 2010 Dashboard update originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 29 Sep 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments

Asura's Wrath aiming for 'continuous drama' a la Lost, Battlestar Galactica

Asura's Wrath looks crazy, but that compelling weirdness isn't just in the visuals for the Capcom title. In a recent interview with Eurogamer, director Seiji Shimoda of developer CyberConnect2 expressed that "drama -- continuous drama -- is also another key point" in the game.

CyberConnect 2 President Hiroshi Matsuyama elaborated, calling the game "very Japanese" and noting that the company doesn't want to hide from that. However, it also plans to incorporate narrative elements found in popular TV shows like Lost, Battlestar Galactica and 24. "That feeling where you're at the end of an episode and you're desperate to know what happens next -- that's a feeling of continuing drama that we want to put in the game," he said. Hopefully Asura's Wrath will work out a better ending than those influential dramas did.
Gallery: Asura's WrathAsura's Wrath aiming for 'continuous drama' a la Lost, Battlestar Galactica originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 22 Sep 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments

Left 4 Dead 2's next mutation suffers a Healthpackalypse

The one thing saving Left 4 Dead 2 from being the world's most comprehensive zombie apocalypse survival sim is its liberal use of pain meds and "health packs." In the real world, these things don't have the immediate recuperative effects they do in the video games. If you want a taste of how it'll truly be, you should probably check out this week's mutation: Healthpackalypse.

In this custom Versus play mode on both the PC and Xbox 360, the survivors get no health packs whatsoever. If you're on the Infected side, laugh maniacally as the humans try to make it through without the use of first aid. If you're on the survivor side, well -- better luck next time! It's called "the apocalypse" for a reason, muchachos.Left 4 Dead 2's next mutation suffers a Healthpackalypse originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 18 Sep 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments

Half of Mass Effect 2 players imported a save (and other stats!)

Mass Effect 2 Executive Producer Casey Hudson has shared some juicy statistics about the game with IGN. Basic takeaways are that people really did treat the game as a "shooter," with the soldier class chosen more than every other combined. Also, the women's lib movement for intergalactic saviors still has some work to do, with 80 percent of players choosing the male Shepard.

The "anonymous player data" collected by BioWare is obviously meant to inform the studio in designing future titles. For example, only 15 percent of people skipped conversations in the game, most of the time in "non-critical moments like in the hub worlds." Hudson says that if the company found people skipping 80-90 percent of the lines that they'd have to "reevaluate the work" the team put into digital acting -- and we'd have to reevaluate why people are playing Mass Effect in the first place. Check out IGN's piece for more on how the stats support current decisions and influence future projects.
Gallery: Mass Effect 2 "Lair of the Shadowbroker" DLC (8/23/10)Half of Mass Effect 2 players imported a save (and other stats!) originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments