mikeszekely

Endgadget has some leaked specs for the Xbox 360. Obviously, we're going to have to wait until at least Thursday before we know if they're real or not.

They don't have a ton of Macross stuff, but they do have some... not to mention a lot of anime and videogames, including a lot of imports, so definately check out Starland. There's two in VA (Annandale, and Centerville), plus one in Maryland (Greenbelt). Not sure about Centerville and Greenbelt, but the Annandale store is close to DC. You can check out their website here. My friend that lives in Annadale says that, aside from Starland, there's a lot of other little shops that have all kinds of Asian stuff (although a lot of it is Korean). Aside from shopping, you could always check out the usual tourist stuff while you're there... the National Air and Space Museum, the Smithsonean, etc. If you can get over there, the Baltimore Aquarium is great, too.

Personaly I'd rather they ripped off the SNES or PS style pads. **Waits to get yelled at by the so-called "true" gamers** I'd rather they scrapped the gamepad totally and packed a half-decent joystick in. If it's like the d-pad on the regular Xbox controller-S, it shouldn't be too bad.

I didn't notice anything like that. From more than 1 source: Review 1 Review 2 Review 3 I'm not saying it's not there. I'm just saying I didn't really notice it.

Well there you go, Phoenix. Go visit Opus.

Yeah, it doesn't really look like a gerwalk mode would work for it.

Not necessarily. Depending on where you're at in VA or WV, you can get to DC without much fuss. They have a lot of stuff like that there.

I didn't notice anything like that.

I got used to the placement of the black and white buttons on the controller-S... but I'm definately in favor of moving them to the shoulders. But if you really don't like the 360 controllers, rumor has it that the current Xbox controllers will be useable. As for PD0... I think the original would still be my favorite console FPS if it wasn't so ugly by today's standards. A lot of what they did with the original would carry over well if they do it right... great maps, smart AI, a variety of sims, the ranking system, dual functions on weapons... and proximity mines . Rare's biggest challenge should be to work out a good control scheme (using a button for aiming and the C buttons for strafing on the N64 made sense, but it's not necessary with a dual analog setup), crafting a good story mode, get everything looking good, and then convincing Johnny-come-latelys that it really is worth putting Halo down for.

Gives the annoying kids something to do besides team-kill, anyways. ... Wasn't that supposed to come out for the CURRENT XBox? Actually, it was supposed to be for Gamecube. Development switched over to Xbox after Microsoft bought Rare, then time passed without any updates, and suddendly it was reannounced for the Xbox 360, with rumors hinting that it'd be available at launch. I really enjoyed the original. Hopefully, for as long as Zero's been in development, it'll turn out to be equally enjoyable.

I think the controller looks fine. What's more, I think the console itself looks fine. Yeah, it's not the slickest design I've seen, but the "endearing" design of the original Xbox was huge and clunky, with a plastic green dot on top. The Xbox 360 is no worse. It seems that Microsoft will be ripping off Sony's Eyetoy in the next gen...

I've done the first, second, and last bonus missions. Is there any reward for doing all of them?

After you did that fight where you play Obi and fight Anakin, did you go back in and do that last level? ***SPOILERS*** You do basically the same mission, except you play as Anakin instead of Obi. After you win, instead of losing limbs, Anakin kills Obi. Then, he goes back to the Emperor, who says something about ruling the galaxy together and gives Anakin a new red lightsaber... which Anakin promptly uses to kill the Emperor and proclain that only he will rule.

Use the Force to throw the barrels at it, or twirl your lightsaber to reflect its shots. I think about a 7 is fair for the game. It's not great, and there's a lot of things differently. (I've said it before, but a Jedi action game built on God of War's engine would absolutely rock). But, once you accept it for what it is, it's still pretty entertaining.

It reminds me of the orbital frames from ZOE. I think it's a pretty slick design.

Team Xbox game it a 7.9.

IGN has a unique talent for being way off with their reviews, though. I mean, these are the same people who gave Lethal Skies II a 7.7 (should have been MUCH worse). I'd take an IGN review with a grain of salt. All said, while not the best game I've ever played, I learned to except it for what it was and mostly enjoyed it. Certainly more than Lethal Skies II...

That's awesome, FG! I think that's your best one yet!

See, I thought Mace and the Jedi weapon Master were really tough, but the rest of the game isn't nearly as difficult. Make sure after you "beat" the game and get the credits that you go back in and do mission 17...

I tried it. I like the games cute and carefree style, but I absolutely can't stand it's outdated gameplay. I mean, golf games with swing meters have been around since at least when I was in 6th grade (I've been out of college for three years, for reference). If they took the style of Hot Shots but used the analog stick to swing ala Tiger Woods, Outlaw Golf, or Links, it'd probably be my favorite PSP game. As it stands, I'll stick with Tiger Woods.

Yup. I have played through Episodes 1+2 of the LEgo game. Now I am going back in and trying to find everything. Not playing Episode 3 till after I see the movie. The Lego game was fun, but far too easy and too short.

Pretty much. This game was rushed and could have used some polish in just about every department - engine, 3D models, level design, and music. Wished I had bought Battlefront last night instead. Oh yeah! I mean, I'll stick up for Episode III... I mean, it's good for what it is... but Battlefront's much better. I'm really looking forward to Battlefront 2. Republic Commando, for the Xbox/PC crowd, is also a much better (if short) game.

Ew, no. I hate playing games that have any kind of combat controlled by the right analogue stick. It's becoming a bit of a fad, since Rise to Honor and Death by Degrees both use it. I much prefer button mashers.

Try playing it after just coming off of God of War. Now I think all action games should use the right analogue stick for doing rolls! I would have to say that I am, in fact, a little dissapointed with it. I mean, this is the game that they were billing as "the ultimate Jedi experience." And while it might be a little unfair to compare the game to God of War, I can't help but think that a Star Wars game that played more like GoW with silky smooth combat, force powers you could pick up as you progress through the game, and some interesting platforming would be more of an ultimate Jedi experience. Keith's comparison to the old Ninja Turtles games is actually spot on, though. The game really doesn't have any platforming elements at all, and as he already mentioned, there's pretty much a single path through the levels. By themselves, the levels would be short, but like those old beat-'em-ups, the idea is that you take a few steps, kill a bunch of enemies, take a few more steps, kill more enemies, and keep ond doing that until you finish the stage. Once you accept the game for what it is instead of what it could have been, it's actually actually not that bad. Killing droids in this game is fun like killing hordes of guys is in Dynasty Warriors. Force powers aren't particularly useful, but the game is more about swinging a lightsaber than force pushing stuff, anyway. Bosses can be cheap though (you think Dooku was bad, wait until you fight Grievous). I'd give it a 7 out of 10.

Thanks, sounds like a good deal to me, is this promotion lasting awhile or ending soon? It just started Wednesday, so I'd say it'll run for at least a week. I want to run through Episode III real quick, maybe trade it in with MLB and two DVDs.