Edge have put together their estimates of the 60 Biggest Selling Games of the Last 12 Months, combining European and US sales data and estimates. Accurate figures are notoriously hard to come by, so the exact rankings of games on their list won’t necessarily mean too much, and it is worthwhile taking note that all the games on the list are deemed to be “million” sellers so could be seen as relatively successful in their own right depending on the title.

Wii Music comes in at #33, pipped by Kung Fu Panda at #32, which must surely have been helped by the Xbox 360 console bundle. I’m not entirely sure of the rationale behind the calculations though – Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures sits at #12 with 4 million sales but said “not to include bundles” (Kung Fu Panda’s 1.6 million does not carry the same statement).

Metal Gear Solid 4 features at #18 – somewhat surprisingly it was only one place ahead of Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games for DS (the Wii version released in 2007). Both games are said to have sold about 2.5 million.

Click past the break to find out the what the top 10 games were – 3 Nintendo first party titles features in the top 10 so there is no doubt that their pockets will be well lined to face the tough economic times ahead.

10. Gears of War 2
9. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
8. FIFA 09
7. Madden NFL 09
6. Call of Duty 5: World at War
5. Super Smash Bros. Brawl
4. Wii Fit
3. Guitar Hero (various titles in series)
2. Mario Kart Wii
1. Grand Theft Auto IV

A new set of clothing has been released for avatars in the NXE. No All White tops for local fans, but the national strips for 18 European countries is now available for free. When you next sign into the avatar editor, any new clothing options will carry a gold star to denote that they have been added since your last sign in.

For a full list of available team shirts, click past the break.

Austria
Belgium
Denmark
England
Finland
France
Germany
Ireland
Italy
Netherlands
Northern Ireland
Norway
Portugal
Scotland
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Wales

Ars technica are reporting that there is to be a limited edition Xbox 360 console to be released, with a Resident Evil 5 theme. Their mole previously supplied early information about Xbox 360 price drops in September 2008 so has proven solid so far.

The details supplied are that a bundle is to be released containing:

• * Red Xbox 360 console
• * Red controller
• * Copy of Resident Evil 5
• * Exclusive Resident Evil 5 NXE theme
• * Download coupon for Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD

There is no word on pricing, which markets it will be available in, or any pictures on what any of this will look like. The image above is based on a mockup from Kotaku. ]]> http://www.mountaindew.co.nz/xbox/rumour-limited-edition-re5-360-console-to-be-released/feed/ 0 http://www.mountaindew.co.nz/xbox/when-it-comes-to-skate-2-money-buys-you-everything-2/ http://www.mountaindew.co.nz/xbox/when-it-comes-to-skate-2-money-buys-you-everything-2/#comments Sat, 07 Feb 2009 16:39:56 +0000 Mountain Dew NZ http://www.mountaindew.co.nz/?p=3374

You’ve just forked out $120 for the brand new Skate game, take it home, and hook up to the game servers to find out what’s on offer at the store. There’s the usual micro-transactions you’ve come to expect of games these…

You’ve just forked out $120 for the brand new Skate game, take it home, and hook up to the game servers to find out what’s on offer at the store. There’s the usual micro-transactions you’ve come to expect of games these days – new clothing, new looks, new boards. But as everyone knows, Time is Money (especially those at EA it seems). And in the corner of your eye you see DLC that is so named.

What is it? Well, for those with more money than sense it is a way to bypass the usual unlocking routine within the game, and have everything unlocked for you – at a price. That’s right – having put down $120 for the game, you can be granted access to all of the content you’ve already bought, for a mere $6.67 (400 Microsoft Points).

In the past, we used to read magazines to find these sorts of cheat codes. Then came the internet. But why give these away for free when you can charge for them?

This is not the first game to do it – EA have previously offered the same paid unlock for Tiger Woods 07. But it is a bit of a slap in the face to be asked to pay more to access something you’ve already paid for. Of course you aren’t forced to do it, and you can instead play the game you’ve bought. It does still seem a little on the nose though.

The most ironic thing is that paying money to unlock the content reduces the time you’ll probably get out of the game.

]]>

It has been a while since the “line 3 blocks in a row” genre has really been utilised to its full potential, and we finally have a contender for XBLA’s best. But how does it fare, and has the 4 year long wait been worth it?

For those who aren’t too clued up in what goes into Meteos Wars you simply need to look at titles like Puyo Pop or even Tetris. Single blocks drop from the top of the screen and it is up to you to clear them out. Line up three or more in a row and watch as they turn into engines and push anything above it up and out of the screen (and down onto your opponent’s). The big challenge here is that you can only slide blocks up and down which definitely changes things up a bit.

You also have the added task of speeding up the rate at which blocks drop so you can get the upper hand on your opponent both in the amount of blocks coming his way, and also for score in case neither of you lose in each of the 3 minute rounds. But speeding up the blocks is only a good tactic for those who are already fluent in the creation of decent “rockets”. After all, if you already find the game hard, and can’t get a rhythm to lining up a few coloured blocks, having more rain down on your playing field isn’t going to help.

It’s finding a rhythm in Meteos Wars that many will find difficult. Sure, you might stumble your way through Mission Mode on Easy, or maybe even kick through a few easier AI controlled enemies, but simply attacking this title on Normal mode will either put you off completely, or challenge you into bettering yourself.

Creating a rocket is easy, pushing through the differing gravity found on different planets is another story altogether. Once your first rocket takes off and you see it slowly dropping back down you need to find a way to either push it up-screen with the help of another rocket, or start adjusting the blocks on the airborne rocket as it drops so that when it lands (and before the engine blocks turn back to coloured blocks) it creates another combo and another engine and powers back off your game table.

Nothing overly amazing about this title graphically, but the soundtrack clearly stands out. Each planet or enemy you come across has their own theme music, and each is amazingly crisp and downright funky, with one of my favourite sounding like the congested noise you’d find in a casino.

Multiplayer (via XboxLive or solo console) is where this game shines, but it seems not many people in Australasia have picked up the title, and anywhere else causes the game to lag fairly intensely.

Closing comments

There are a bunch of game modes, and, like most 360 titles these days, the ability to go head to head over XboxLive, but as mentioned before, you’ll either love or hate the game. The fact is, you will more than likely struggle through this game to begin with, and that will probably put you off. While there are tutorials on how to play the game, you will never feel like they’ve told you enough.

Learn to keep the blocks flowing at the highest speed and make use of the new special weapons when possible and you’ll start appreciating Meteos Wars for what it is. If you don’t have the patience to learn through failure then I’d recommend chucking it onto Easy until you get more of a feel for the title.

Well Criterion have news for us. On February 6th yet another free update releases with a whole slew of changes to the racing title, but for me and many others, the big change comes in the form of being able to restart mid-race.

Check their press release for information on this addition, and the MANY free others (including the in-game store, tweaked visuals, vehicle overhauls and time speed changes) coming on February 6th.

Press release

Not a lot of detail, but Ubisoft have confirmed sequels for Assassin’s Creed and Splinter Cell will be released in the coming financial year, which could be anywhere up until March 2010. However one would assume that Christmas 2009 will be targeted.

The original Assassin’s Creed drew polarising opinions, with the main complaint being from many who found the game structure repetitive. If this is addressed, then I can see a lot of gamers giving the franchise a second chance.

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon will also get some treatement this year, as well as the game our younger sisters will be hanging out for: Petz.

Full details of Ubisoft’s announcement are at: videogaming247.

Rockstar have announced today The Lost and Damned DLC for GTA IV will cost 1600 Microsoft points when it is released on February 17. That’s $26.67 for Kiwis, which represents a bargain compared to our US counterparts who will be shelling out USD $20 for the download, although Yanks can get a bonus 2 sided poster with their XBL download codes by ordering from Gamestop.

It seems not everyone is happy with the pricing, with mostly negative comments being left on website concerning the USD $20 price tag. Rockstar have come out and stated that the DLC content is roughly equal to a third of the original game length, so one can only guess that the price was calculated out at one third of the original release price of GTA IV.

Time will tell if this is enough to make Xbox 360 gamers dust off their discs and revisit Liberty City. Additional game screenshot is posted after the break:

After the break are some new screen shots from 2K to continue the wait until later in the year when the game is expected to arrive.

Japan gets themselves a nice Resident Evil 5 logo 80GB PS3, two DualShock 2 controllers and a copy of the game.

America gets a special steel case packaging emblazoned with Kijuju writing, which contains the game and a bonus disc filled with art, trailers, and a making of feature as well as including a Chris Redfield figurine, a BSAA patch, a Kijuju-inspired pendant, and a lovely Tricell messenger bag to carry it all.

Europe, however, don’t get quite an extreme package an instead get the game, a tin box and a bonus disc including a documentary on the making of the game and a Resident Evil Degeneration trailer.

But which do us NZers get?

Check after the break for pictures of each of the Limited Edition sets as well as a look at what we’ll be getting.

Japan:

America:

And Europe:

As for which copy we’ll be getting here in NZ, while there isn’t a price point yet, you might want to click on the second picture and get a better look at all the goodies you might have in your little hands come March.