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Xbox 360 Review: Sneak King

2008-01-15T07:55:00.017-08:00

Solid Snake. Sam Fisher. The King. What do they have in common? Yes, they’re all sport some pretty slick outfits, but now with the release of Sneak King for the Xbox systems, The King gets to join the ranks of silent stealth operations. Unfortunately for gamers, The King opted to leave his knives and guns at his castle and stars in a no-frills, frustrating title with little to no replayability.

Out of the three Burger King games now available at the restaurants, Sneak King is the one that focuses solely on the burger chain’s beloved mascot as he sneaks around various locations, a la his commercials, and stalk hungry people in order to deliver BK treats to them. From lumberyards to the downtown streets, no citizen’s hunger is to go unchecked and it’s up to you to see that The King is able to deliver the goods.

Not only can The King tiptoe his way behind an unsuspecting diner, but he can also take advantage of a number of hiding places from which he can pop out of with sandwich or side dish in hand. If people go hungry for too long, however, they will pass out and collapse, which in some cases causes your current mission to end.

Variables such as how close you are to a person when you feed them, how hungry they are, whether or not you are hiding and more are taken into account and multiplied with a chain combo, which extends for every delivery you make unnoticed. The game throws a total of 80 challenges at you ranging from "do this within X minutes," to "serve X amount of people while in hiding spots," etc.

Completing all 80 challenges unlocks a sneaking suit, but don't expect Metal Gear out of this title. Tedious game play and some shoddy mechanics are definitely going to turn many players away from what is easily the weakest title in the BK lineup.

The first aspect of the game many 360 owners will notice right off the bat is the less than stellar graphics, which is likely due to the fact the game also plays on the Xbox. The graphics are passable for an Xbox title but when combined with generic environments, repetitive bare-bones “customers” with stiff animations and routes and a sometimes awkward camera, Sneak King isn’t too much of a treat to look at.

It seems most of the attention to detail went to The King himself. He is noticeably more detailed than any other aspect of the game and while running; his cape features some decent fluid animations.

To even further dull down the presentation, the music is extremely generic, repetitive and forgettable. Xbox 360 users, though, will have access to the custom soundtrack feature in order to mask over the dreary, soft tunes that loop through the stages. Most of the sounds heard in the game are from the ambience of whatever environment you are in at the time – birds chirping, saws spinning, construction equipment, etc. If you get close enough, you can hear people talking in a manner that can only be compared to Simlish (i.e. nonsense).

The controls get the job done and feature solid performance that gets The King to where he needs to be. The real problem lies within the camera controls that easily get stuck on walls, creating a huge number of blocked views, most especially while hiding.

There’s nothing more to the game play than what I’ve already described – the entire game is nothing but sneaking up behind people and giving them surprise helpings of Burger King products. That concept alone gave me a definite “WTF?” moment when I first heard it, as it isn’t the most appealing concept in the world. Why recreate World War II, go on massive fantasy quests or battle enemies in hand-to-hand fighting when there’s food delivery games to be played? Being so, Sneak King is so absurd that it ends up being somewhat compelling to where you just can’t stop after a few mere deliveries.

Those playing the title in the 360 will benefit from at least one play through thanks to the mostly-easy achievements to add to your Gamerscore. However, with no multiplayer, online capabilities or huge in-game rewards, there is no reason to give Sneak King another play once you’ve had your fill. Unfortunately for some people, a few minutes may be all they’ll need for that.

Most of the time, avoiding sight isn’t too hard thanks to the narrow vision cones placed directly in front of your customers. Most of your danger stems from people other than your target that is positioned off screen. You can literally walk directly beside someone and not be seen.

However, the people all follow a set path repeatedly and make jerky turns thanks to their stiff animations that can reveal The King with no time to react. This can make Sneak King nothing more than trial and error, which is doubly frustrating seeing as some of the later missions can take 20-30 minutes to complete. If you have to start such a mission over, you’ll have to devote yet another 20-30 minutes to the cause.

With 20 missions per level and not too much variety through each one, playing through the game seems like the same mission over and over. The tedious nature of the game mixes with the lackluster presentation and creates a game that isn’t to be taken seriously. Sneak King is good for a few laughs, food for curiosity and perhaps a couple of achievement points but nothing else – even at a $4 price tag.

Click here to read complete article, (Source: xbox 360 - Google News )

Conan MMO Confirmed for Xbox 360 - Next Generation

2008-01-15T07:55:00.015-08:00

Conan MMO Confirmed for Xbox 360
Next Generation, CA - 27 minutes ago
By Kris Graft. The highly anticipated, formerly PC-only MMO Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures has been green-lighted for development on Xbox 360. ...
Age of Conan Confirmed for Xbox 360 TeamXbox (press release)
all 3 news articles

Click here to read complete article, (Source: xbox 360 - Google News )

Microsoft Ships Free Xbox 360 Developer Tool - WinInformant.com

2008-01-15T07:55:00.013-08:00

Playfuls.com

Microsoft Ships Free Xbox 360 Developer Tool
WinInformant.com, OH - 35 minutes ago
This week, Microsoft shipped its Xbox 360 game developer tool, the XNA Game Studio Express. The product, which allows anyone with ...
Microsoft releases XNA Studio Express GameSpot
XNA Game Studio Express 1.0 Released MyGen
XNA Game Studio Express Released Hard OCP
Portal IT - Crave
all 62 news articles

Click here to read complete article, (Source: xbox 360 - Google News )

PS3 console sales in Japan top Xbox 360 - Pro-G

2008-01-15T07:55:00.011-08:00

Playfuls.com

PS3 console sales in Japan top Xbox 360
Pro-G, UK - 2 hours ago
After only a month on sale in Japan, the PS3 has sold more units than Microsoft's Xbox 360. ... However, things aren't quite all over for the Xbox 360 in Japan. ...
Xbox 360 meets PS3, and it's ready to rumble CNET News.com
PS3 storms ahead of 360 in Japan MCV
Should you buy a Wii or an Xbox 360… or wait for the PS3? about-electronics.eu
AZ Central.com - University Times
all 76 news articles

Click here to read complete article, (Source: xbox 360 - Google News )

MS Takes 360 On The Road To Take On PS3 - Kotaku.com

2008-01-15T07:55:00.009-08:00

DM News

MS Takes 360 On The Road To Take On PS3
Kotaku.com, NY - 6 hours ago
Microsoft is sending some corporate Xbox 360 evangelists on the road, ready to do a side-by-side comparison throwdown with Sony's PS3. ...
It’s mortal combat to find the season’s new game systems DM News
Iwata: "Not Thinking About Competing" Kotaku.com
all 4 news articles

Click here to read complete article, (Source: xbox 360 - Google News )

Xbox Live Vision - Xbox 360 - Pocket-lint.co.uk

2008-01-15T07:55:00.007-08:00

Xbox Live Vision - Xbox 360
Pocket-lint.co.uk, UK - 11 hours ago
... Like the EyeToy, the Live Vision is basically a webcam that connects to your Xbox 360 allowing other people around the world to tune in and see what you look ...
Corel Paint Shop Pro XI - PC software Pocket-lint.co.uk
all 2 news articles

Click here to read complete article, (Source: xbox 360 - Google News )

Alien Might be Headed to the Xbox 360 - Planet Xbox 360

2008-01-15T07:55:00.005-08:00

Game News

Alien Might be Headed to the Xbox 360
Planet Xbox 360, MI - 32 minutes ago
by Nelson Rodriguez. Sega and Twentieth Century Fox today announced a worldwide exclusive agreement to bring game content based on ...
Sega to hatch Alien games on PS3, Xbox 360 Punch Jump
Aliens RPG and FPS coming to Xbox 360 myXBOX360.com
Next-gen Aliens shooter, RPG coming in 2008 GamePro.com
Cinematical
all 42 news articles

Click here to read complete article, (Source: xbox 360 - Google News )

Pimp Your Xbox 360

2008-01-15T07:55:00.003-08:00

By Author: John Lin

You can now pimp your ride with the Xbox 360.

MTV's Pimp My Ride was launched by Activision Publishing for the Xbox 360 today. It was already available on PS2.

"We are thrilled to bring the signature style from our hit show, Pimp My Ride, to the world of video games," said Tony Calandra, Senior Director at MTV Games, "It is great for us to see the evolution of the franchise that helped to put car customization and culture on the map, and now fans of Pimp My Ride will be able to experience and enjoy it from their own homes in an exciting and fun, new way."

The game takes place in Pimp City, made up of five free-roam boroughs such as New Wave Beach, Hip-Hop Heights and Downtown Metro. It offers an MTV generation backdrop of urban music, art and sound. Players customize cars, picking the mods, tricking out tires and rims and hooking up bumpin' subwoofers and flat panel TVs. Bragging rights and street cred go to the one that has the most style skilz in transforming broken down beaters into pimped out racing masterpieces.

"Pimp My Ride allows gamers to experience all the fun of MTV's popular television program with a heart-pounding racing element," said David Oxford of Activision Publishing, Inc., "Players test both their customization and driving skills by creating and racing the coolest rides in authentic neighborhoods and dynamic environments with tons of suppliers and hundreds of parts."

Click here to read complete article, (Source: xbox 360 - Google News )

ReelTime offers Download-To-Own movies to XBox 360

2008-01-15T07:55:00.001-08:00

The service is aimed at those who would rather watch movies on their widescreen TV and surround sound in the lounge room rather than their computer hidden away in the study at the other end of the house. Customers with Microsoft XP Media Centre Edition and an XBox 360 connected to their television, can watch movies directly on the TV from the XBox 360. The Xbox 360 can be connected to the PC via cable or wireless.

"With over 100,000 Xbox 360s already sold in Australia and positioned near the family television set, ReelTime has
provided our customers with a further technology option to solve the TV-in-the-lounge-room versus PC-in-the-study challenge. WiFi-enabled XBox’s can now receive their movies from the PC, with little effort to set up," says ReelTime managing director John Karantzis.

The announcement follow's ReelTime recent introduction download-to-own movies available the same day as they hit the retail shelves. The downloaded movies are be available in three formats: a Windows Media format for PC viewing, a Plays4Sure Windows Media format for portable devices (but not the Zune or iPod) and compressed VOB files for burning to DVD. The latter can be burned three times to DVD within thirty days, while playback of the Windows Media files is limited to the MAC address of the devices they are downloaded to.

Combined, the files make a heft 4GB download - which would take almost a day on a 512 Kbps connection at full speed. Thankfully more than one hundred ISPs don't count data downloaded from ReelTime, including Netspace, People Telecom and Westnet. Noticeably absent are Telstra and Optus, which run 10 Mbps cable broadband networks that would make downloading movies far more practical. Major ADSL2+ provider iiNet is also missing.

ReelTime is one of a growing number of providers attempting to discover the perfect video download formula. Video Ezy has starting a three month "electronic rental download service" in Sydney, with the aim of rolling out the service nationwide in 2007. It's only a "download" service in that you can go to the store and "download" up to 40 movies onto a portable USB storage device such as an iPod, take them home and play them on their TV via a special Home Media Centre you have to buy from Video Ezy first. You don't pay for movies until you watch them, but payment requires broadband or dial-up internet access. If you don’t have internet access the HMC can be fitted with a modem that connects to the GSM mobile phone network.

Click here to read complete article, (Source: xbox 360 - Google News )

More MCR For Guitar Hero 2 On Xbox 360 - dBTechno

2007-08-15T11:59:00.005-07:00

dBTechno

More MCR For Guitar Hero 2 On Xbox 360
dBTechno, MA - 24 minutes ago
Toronto - You can now start shredding along to more My Chemical Romance on the Xbox 360. A new song pack download on Xbox Live is made up of 3 MCR songs. ...
Xbox 360 to get memory shrink: cooler, but mostly cheaper Ars Technica
Are consoles taking over gaming, or just catching up? We investigate Ars Technica
all 3 news articles

Click here to read complete article, (Source: xbox 360 - Google News )

Pokemon tackles Xbox 360 Madden NFL 08 at retailer - Punch Jump

2007-08-15T11:59:00.003-07:00

Pokemon tackles Xbox 360 Madden NFL 08 at retailer
Punch Jump, CA - 30 minutes ago
s Xbox 360 on Wed. following a discount that spurred sales for the latest Pokemon title at Amazon.com. Pokemon Pearl on Wed. morning held the No. ...
GameFly Requests Again Topped By BioShock, 360 Gamasutra
New 'Madden NFL' Kicks Off Season CNNMoney.com
all 5 news articles

Click here to read complete article, (Source: xbox 360 - Google News )

Codemasters Announces Games Convention 2007 Lineup

2007-08-15T11:59:00.001-07:00

Codemasters' table is set for a stellar showing at this year's Games Convention 2007 in Leipzig, Germany.

Click here to read complete article, (Source: Video Game Industry News)

Clive Barker's Jericho - PS3 (RP)

2007-08-15T09:46:00.005-07:00

A spectacular, creative, and unflinching realisation of a Clive Barker nightmare for next-gen console platforms and PC, Clive Barker’s Jericho is a new supernatural horror concept with story by the master mythmaker, novelist and filmmaker Clive Barker.

Jericho deals with the mysterious reappearance of a lost city in a remote desert. When a form of evil that goes right back to the dawn of days resurfaces from there, a Special Forces squad, trained in both conventional warfare and the arcane arts, is sent in. Their mission: Hunt down and destroy the evil that lurks at the heart of the city before it destroys humanity.

Clive Barker’s Jericho is designed as an action horror title that will up the stakes in visuals and phantasmagorical special effects. Mingling the darkest elements of Barker’s horror fiction and films with an ambitious, age-spanning story, aimed at mature gamers, fans of Clive Barker and horror fiction enthusiasts.

Release Date:Thu, 23 Aug 2007

Click here to read complete article, (Source: Coming Soon Games - Playstation 3)

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 - PS3 (T)

2007-08-15T09:46:00.003-07:00

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 builds off of the events in the first game and places gamers in control of the U.S. military’s elite fighting unit, the Ghosts. In the year 2014, the rising conflict between Mexican loyalists and insurgent rebel forces has thrown Mexico into full-scale civil war. Under the command of Captain Scott Mitchell, the Ghosts are called upon to face an imminent threat to the United States. The fate of two countries now lies in the hands of the Ghosts as they fend off an attack on U.S. soil. Equipped with the most cutting-edge weaponry and technology, the Ghosts must battle on both sides of the border to neutralize the escalating rebel threat.

* Groundbreaking Visual Experience: The war zone in Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 comes to life as you navigate through trash-strewn streets and pick off enemies from behind bomb-scarred structures. The cutting-edge physics and particle systems will show you some of the most intense and realistic explosions, smoke, and environment destruction ever seen in a video game. Dynamic lighting and shadows will morph as real-time day/night cycles and a constantly changing weather system require you to adjust to the changing conditions on the fly.
* All-New Battlegrounds: For the first time ever, the Ghosts will defend U.S. soil from a cross-border attack, taking the fight to all-new locations. The Ghosts will battle enemies in mountain terrains, barren deserts and even on their home turf in El Paso, Texas. Each environment presents its own benefits and challenges and will call for fresh tactical approaches.
* Vastly Improved Artificial Intelligence (AI): Watch your back as rebels send their own team members to flank your position or gain vantage points by utilizing vertical gameplay to pick you off from the rooftops above. Improved squad-mate AI will now feed you more of the information you need with descriptive commands like “enemy spotted behind red truck ahead.”
* Improved Cross-Com: The revolutionary new Cross-Com 2.0 will give the player more information than ever before. You will be able to see what your friendly forces see in the top left display and the click of a button will expand that to full-screen view for a clearer and more precise picture. This will give you a more comprehensive view of the entire battlefield. The new Full Command View will allow unprecedented precision in developing and issuing tactical plans on the battlefield.
* Expanded Support: Command lethal air strikes with jet fighters, gain mobile cover for otherwise impassable situations and replenish armaments on the battlefield using an unmanned artillery MULE. Players can now heal their team on the battlefield, including squad leader Scott Mitchell, with an all-new Medic class of soldier.

Release Date:Tue, 21 Aug 2007

Click here to read complete article, (Source: Coming Soon Games - Playstation 3)

Pirates vs. Ninjas Dodgeball Screenshots

2007-08-15T09:46:00.001-07:00

We bring you four new screenshots of Pirates vs. Ninjas Dodgeball, an Xbox Live Arcade game that features multiplayer support for 4 players Local / 8 players Online, and 4player Coop modes.

Click here to read complete article, (Source: Screenshots News)

Postal III Official Site and Screenshots

2007-08-14T19:47:00.029-07:00

The official Postal III website has been launched, as well as several new screenshots released. Get updated on everything inside.

Click here to read complete article, (Source: Planet Xbox 360)

Madden NFL 08 Released to Stores

2007-08-14T19:47:00.027-07:00

Electronic Arts today announced that Madden NFL 08, the newest iteration of the best-selling EA Sports football franchise with the exclusive videogame license of the NFL and PLAYERS INC, is now available in stores nationwide.

Click here to read complete article, (Source: Planet Xbox 360)

Beautiful Katamari Demo Goes Live

2007-08-14T19:47:00.025-07:00

Namco have released a demo of Beautiful Katamari onto the Xbox Live Marketplace that you can download and play starting now.

Click here to read complete article, (Source: Planet Xbox 360)

My Chemical Romance Brings New DLC to Guitar Hero II

2007-08-14T19:47:00.023-07:00

Guitar Hero fans now have the opportunity to download three original recordings from The Black Parade album from My Chemical Romance through the Xbox Live Marketplace, beginning today.

Click here to read complete article, (Source: Planet Xbox 360)

SKATE Flickit Video

2007-08-14T19:47:00.021-07:00

Electronic Arts have released a new trailer for SKATE entitled "Flickit".

Click here to read complete article, (Source: Planet Xbox 360)

Three Universe at War: Earth Assault Vids

2007-08-14T19:47:00.019-07:00

Another couple of videos from Sega, this time we have three new high definition videos taken from Universe at War: Earth Assault.

Click here to read complete article, (Source: Planet Xbox 360)

Sega Rally Tropical Trailer

2007-08-14T19:47:00.017-07:00

It’s a beautiful day in the SEGA universe and where better to race than through the lush green jungles of SEGA Rally. We have a new "Tropical Trailer" for you to look at.

Click here to read complete article, (Source: Planet Xbox 360)

Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War Screenshots

2007-08-14T19:47:00.015-07:00

KOEI have sent us some new screenshots taken from Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War. Check them out within.

Click here to read complete article, (Source: Planet Xbox 360)

KOEI Reveals Three Upcoming Demos

2007-08-14T19:47:00.013-07:00

KOEI, today announced the release date for the Fatal Inertia demo on Xbox live along with confirmation that this release will be followed up with playable demos for Bladestorm: The Hundred Years’ War and Dynasty Warriors GUNDAM.

Click here to read complete article, (Source: Planet Xbox 360)

Prepare To Go Schizoid

2007-08-14T19:47:00.011-07:00

At GameFest 2007, Tropex Games will be showcasing their new Xbox Live Arcade title which they reckon is a pretty addictive co-op... it's called Schizoid.

Click here to read complete article, (Source: Planet Xbox 360)