Darkstalkers Resurrection Now Available!

Capcom has confirmed that Darkstalkers Resurrection is now available to download in North America on PlayStation Network (PSN) for $14.99. The game will be released in Europe on PSN on March 13th (€14.99 / £11.99) and across all territories on Xbox LIVE Arcade for 1200 Microsoft Points.

Featuring a unique and colorful cast of characters blended with fast-paced fighting action, Darkstalkers Resurrection contains two games (Night Warriors: Darkstalkers Revenge and Darkstalkers 3), for the price of one. The combo breathes new life into each game with a slew of features including robust GGPO-enabled online game play, HD graphical filtering with multiple viewing options, replay sharing, Spectator Mode, in-game achievements, Tutorial Mode and an unlockable vault filled with concept artwork, videos and more. (more…)

Xbox ‘Gold Family Pack’ Gets Discontinued

Back in November 2010, Microsoft rolled out a great service to families with numerous gamers within the household called the Xbox Gold Family Pack. The deal was actually really sweet, you get four Xbox Live memberships for $100 (a savings of $100). This was great for families and friends who pitched in together to get a cheaper subscription to Xbox Live.

Today it was announced by Microsoft that the plan is no longer available. Read on for the official statement from a Xbox representative. (more…)

Free Xbox Live Gold Weekend Starts Now

If you don’t have Xbox Live GOLD already this is your chance to sample all the goodness of a gold subscription without having to send any dollars out the door.

This weekend from March 8th until March 10th, Microsoft has unlocked Xbox Live Gold status to all users. Until the end of the weekend users can freely take part in online multiplayer, online entertainment services, watch tv and movies, listen to music and loads more.

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Who is Juarez Gunslinger?

Today, Ubisoft released a new teaser trailer for Call of Juarez Gunslinger. From the dust of a gold mine to the dirt of a saloon, Call of Juarez Gunslinger is an homage to the Wild West tales and era. The game is set to be released on Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network, as well as on PC digital download.

Players will live the epic journey of Silas Greaves, a ruthless bounty hunter who spent his life on the trail of the West’s most notorious outlaws. Now it is Silas’ time to tell his story, which is linked to the history of the Wild West era: a mix of myths and historical facts.

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Zen Pinball’s ‘Classic’ DLC Lands On XBL This Week

Zen Studios popular Pinball FX 2 expands with the release of four remastered tables sporting a brand new coat of HD Paint. The Zen Classics Pack includes the following tables: Tesla, Eldorado, Shaman and V12 Rolling. The tables in Zen Pinball 2 are of course known for the colorful graphics, insane interactivity and ability to make you addicted to getting a brand new high score.

Alongside the news that the pack will be available for 800 Microsoft Points this Wednesday Zen Studios also released brief synopsizes of each table which you can read after the jump.

Source: Zen Studios PR
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Huge Black Friday Weekend For Xbox 360

Microsoft announced that over the Black Friday weekend (November 18th to 23rd) they sold 750,000 consoles in the United States alone. I have to admit, I even know some folks that took advantage of the new bundles and wonderful deals available for the Xbox.

Also noted was that Halo 4 sales exceeded expectations. It seemed quite a few retailers were offering gift cards along with the latest adventure in the Halo franchise. Sounds like the new trilogy is off to a great start both in reviews and sales!

Lastly Microsoft reported that on Sunday alone more than 14 million people logged into Xbox Live across the world. Once the newcomer to the console industry, Xbox has come a long way.

Improved ESPN & New Karaoke App for Xbox Live Announced

As someone who uses the ESPN App to peruse the high caliber programming that ESPN has to offer, like re-airings of CFL games or the Scripps National Spelling Bee prelims, it’s nice to know that Major Nelson has announced the big update for the app. The brand-new ESPN App is no longer an over-glorified version of ESPN 3 (where sports are often ignored) and is an absolute collaboration of all things that make up ESPN thanks to the culmination of WatchESPN. Now this app will allow every ESPN channel and its programming available to Xbox Live Gold users, including all their respected broadcasts of NBA, MLB, and Monday Night Football games.

On the other side of the of the app inclusion is the announcement of Karaoke from Stingray Music, which looks to provide Xbox 360 users with a more reasonable karaoke experience that Lips may have abandoned in recent memory. Since Stingray Music has had success with the Karaoke Channel on televisions, computers and even on smartphones, video game consoles seemed like the next logical step. Obtaining music in this is hardly an issue; Instead of downloading songs to sing-along to, the app will stream a random collection of free songs that anyone can enjoy. However, to use the full collection of songs, Microsoft Points are needed and even then it’s only to rent from a few hours to an entire day. Of course a microphone is needed, as you are going to need something to sing into, be it a wired or wireless microphone, or just even a headset.

Both of these will not only utilize Kinect, but are also prepared for Smartglass integration to enhance the app’s usage. The ESPN App is currently available with Karaoke ready for December, and will hopefully provide those that aren’t playing Halo 4 or Black Ops 2 with something more sociable when company is over.

Double Dragon Neon | Review

Version tested:  PlayStation 3

Double Dragon has one of my favorite openings in games:  A babe stands alone in a street and a gang approaches her; a dude steps forward from the gang and he punches the babe straight in the gut. He then hoists her over his shoulder, turns, and walks off with the gang. The garage door of the residence in the background opens, and 1P emerges. He has a Camero by his side, but ignores it. He’s taking this to the streets. Everyone on the street. You’re Billy Lee, and some dudes just took your girl, and you’re going to beat the shit out of everyone that gets in your way until you get her back. It’s this single mindedness and lack of exposition that makes the opening so damn great. It doesn’t matter why they took her–they just took her! And so starts Double Dragon. (more…)

Minecraft Topples COD: Modern Warfare 3 For XBL Supremacy

The Xbox Live “most played” charts aren’t usually a site for heated competition between popular games but this week we have a new king in Mojang’s Minecraft. The Xbox Live version of the block building toppled Activision’s Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 for the most players on Microsoft’s Online service. Certainly MineCraft is no longer the small indie title that it was back in 2009 but it is still amazing to see a game developed by a small team dethrone a juggernaut like COD.

Older titles like Modern Warfare 2 and Halo: Reach are still in the top but with new entries in both of those series, Black Ops II & Halo 4, surely they will move down in the ranks to make room for newer games.

Here’s the top 5 Xbox Live games for last week:

News Source / Image Source

Medal of Honor Warfighter Open Beta This Weekend

Still sitting on the fence about EA’s Medal of Honor Warfighter? An open Beta for Xbox Live gold members will go live tomorrow morning and last until Sunday. For Canadians, like me, this means a Thanksgiving filled with bullets, kills and certainly swearing teenagers over Xbox Live headsets.

The beta features a territories style gameplay mode called ‘Hospot’. This mode has two opposing teams rushing to secure moving control points, similar to a king of the hill match. Only one map will be playable in the beta, ‘Sarajevo Stadium’, which takes place in Bosnia.

Will you be gearing up to join the battle? The Battlefeild 3 Beta last year was a huge deal and lasted 2 weeks. I don’t really see Warfighter drumming up the same buzz.