Xbox 360 Marketplace and Arcade thread

reeche · Post by **reeche** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 7:40 pm

Yeah, I'm going to pick up Test Drive also. Terrific concept for a racing game and the price makes it not such a burn even if ultimately I don't like it. Shouldn't every game be this price?

Then I would buy more.

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 10:31 pm

reeche wrote:Yeah, I'm going to pick up Test Drive also. Terrific concept for a racing game and the price makes it not such a burn even if ultimately I don't like it. Shouldn't every game be this price?

Then I would buy more.

Yes, they most certainly should. And I think they will within a year or two. They'll at least drop back down to $50 imo.

Gurantsu · Post by **Gurantsu** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 9:59 am

The $60 price tag has definitey curbed my impulse buying of video games. I'm more willing now to wait for a sale or go the pre-owned route off of ebay.

Danimal · Post by **Danimal** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 4:55 pm

Interesting little quick facts about the marketplace and XBL from Joystig
http://www.joystiq.com/2006/08/31/micro ... downloads/

For those too lazy here are the bullet points:

* Texas Hold 'em set a one day record as the fastest download item ever on the Marketplace. There were over 100 downloads a minute in the first 24-hours of release.
* Over 2 billion hours spent on Xbox Live by gamers across the globe since the launch of the Xbox Live online gaming network in November 2002
* More than 60 percent of Xbox 360 owners are connected to Xbox Live
* 65 percent of all connected consoles already downloading and playing Xbox Live Arcade titles
* Over 8 million downloads of Xbox Live Arcade games following the launch of Xbox 360
* Over 2 billion Microsoft Points sold to date

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 5:49 pm

Well I think MS and their marketplace strategy is very strong. I can only guess why Poker was free but it sure seems to me someone at MS said, "no one will buy this game later of if no one is playing it."

webdanzer · Post by **webdanzer** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 5:58 pm

JRod wrote:Well I think MS and their marketplace strategy is very strong. I can only guess why Poker was free but it sure seems to me someone at MS said, "no one will buy this game later of if no one is playing it."

I don't recall where I heard or read this, so I don't have a source for you, and wherever I heard it it certainly wasn't 'official,' but I heard that MS promised it as a free game at some point, with the intention that they were going to get a major casino to sponsor the game. ("Golden Palace" on the table and cards or something). No one bit, though, and rather than go back on their word MS offered it free for the first two days.

webdanzer · Post by **webdanzer** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 6:01 pm

Still not 'official,' but here:

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6154473.html

Early Internet reports stated that the game would be free because it was being sponsored by Riverbelle.com, an online casino. The Xbox.com listing for the game makes no mention of Riverbelle anywhere, an odd business practice for a major sponsorship deal. One possibility is that Riverbelle dropped its sponsorship, perhaps forcing Microsoft to charge for the game. Attempts to reach Riverbelle were unsuccessful as of press time.

Zeppo · Post by **Zeppo** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 6:23 pm

How odd. I popped WE9 in this evening around 6:15, and it d/l'ed a new update, presumably an update to the August update. Seems like this is a pattern, and I wonder what this one was meant to fix.

Phototropic · Post by **Phototropic** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 6:27 pm

I've played 4 or 5 online games since the WE update and have noticed a lot more cards for tackles from behind. I'm not sure if I am imagining things or not.

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 11:38 pm

Phototropic wrote:I've played 4 or 5 online games since the WE update and have noticed a lot more cards for tackles from behind. I'm not sure if I am imagining things or not.

I'm not questioning this but Konami patching a game...hahaha

Zeppo · Post by **Zeppo** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 11:52 pm

JRod wrote:
Phototropic wrote:I've played 4 or 5 online games since the WE update and have noticed a lot more cards for tackles from behind. I'm not sure if I am imagining things or not.
I'm not questioning this but Konami patching a game...hahaha

No, I don't imagine this update to the update has anything to do with WE, more likely one of the new back-compat games had something screwy, or more likely one of the games that has been back-compat got messed up with this latest update. Every time they've done a new one, there's been another update to the update a few days later. What's even weirder is that this time I had no problems getting the update with WE, something I've not been able to do the last couple of times.

kevinpars · Post by **kevinpars** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 6:45 am

I noticed that the NHL demo has been posted. Since i am still without a 360, I would love to hear some feedback about the demo from anyone who downloads it.

laurenskye · Post by **laurenskye** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 9:44 am

Well it's only a shootout so can't really comment on AI but I REALLY dig the new controls for shooting. I've been saying to use this type for years and it's great. Took me 4 shootouts before I scored though

. The goalie animations, saves and puck interaction are also the best I've seen a hockey game. I had Rolo leaning left I brought it back right and wristed one med. height. I should have aimed higher as Rolo slid, pads stacked (as goalies do, not that stupid head first dive crap) and as the puck was just going to clear his top pad he raised it just enough to get a piece and deflect it over the net. It was only one shot but it was definately THE best hockey package I've ever seen in a video game.

Oh and with the new controls they got rid of the turbo button (another thing I've complained about) so instead of 2 speeds (full analog stick or stick + turbo) there is just analog stick. Thank god.

Sully · Post by **Sully** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 10:00 am

I'm impressed. This could be arguably the best looking sports title on the 360 to date. I've seen more goalie animations in 5 minutes than I've seen from 2k in the past 5 years, and the transition animations make the movements look entirely realistic.

My concern all along has been the AI with 10 skaters on the ice, and it still is. After playing the shootout demo, and seeing the great strides EA has made with this series, I'm hopeful they can pull it off.

FifaInspected · Post by **FifaInspected** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 10:21 am

I agree with everything said above pertaining NHL 07. It looks great and I love having teh stick controls on the rt. stick.

Question though. How do you aim your shots high / low?

RallyMonkey · Post by **RallyMonkey** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 10:27 am

Okay, i echo those sentiments before me. It's only a shootout but wow is this looking good. Having HATED EA's hockey offerings including the much heralded release a few years back, this has the makings of being special. Already seen goals slide through the five hole, get roofed up over the blocker, trickle over a pad after the goalie got a piece, among others.

Playing as the goalie i had one of the sickest saves i've seen in a video hockey game. Staal had me faked out of my shoes (sorry skates) as i stacked the pads to go to my right...he pulled it back and as he did i flicked the stick the other way and as Rolo was sliding to his right he stretched out the stick the other way and knocked the puck down with the paddle of the stick and it dropped and sat just short of the goal line.

BUT.....and i hope this was just a demo issue, after playing probably 12-15 shootouts i saw this. Again i got faked out of my skates and reached back to glove the puck off the stick of the 'Canes shooter. Only issue was it was halfway into the net and i yanked it out. They didn't get credited with a goal. Hopefully nothing but thought i'd mention it.

The right stick controls are long overdue and so far i like the feel. They did move pass to the right trigger which i'm sure will cause a lot of errant passes this year as i pull on it to try and fly up ice, just fyi. (First shootout opportunity i crossed the blue line and passed the puck to the corner...

Minus the hiccup i mentioned, i'm really looking forward to the final product...it could be pretty nice.

RallyMonkey · Post by **RallyMonkey** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 10:30 am

Question though. How do you aim your shots high / low?

I believe using the left stick to aim when flicking the right stick up to shoot. At least that's what i've been doing.

RallyMonkey · Post by **RallyMonkey** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 10:46 am

One more cool thing (and this may have been in one of the videos), i've seen the goalie, when the puck was under a pad or between their legs, turn and look behind them as though they thought it went through. Best part was the last time it happened, not only did Ward look behind him he actually had the glove hand already moving ready to pounce in case it had slipped through.

GameSeven · Post by **GameSeven** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 11:15 am

I'd like to echo the sentiments of those who have already commented on the demo in saying that it matches the expectations based upon all of the early videos.

Once the dual analog mode 'clicks' (and it didn't take too long) the duel between shooter and goaltender becomes pretty entertaining. I'd say that the challenge is about right, with goaltenders playing their position very well and the computer scoring ability being right around where I'd like it to be on breakaways. I liked that slapshots seemed to be timing sensitive and I saw a number of them shot wide and high of the net. Good stuff overall. The sound effects for well driven slapshots off the glass and boards were nice as well as the sound off the pipes.

The game is beautiful to look at with some of the best ice textures and reflections to date. All of the player model detail looks exceptional with stitching on the jerseys and goaltenders that are better articulated than any before. The cutscenes are well done and really enhance the atmosphere and the commentary seems fairly fluid for a shootout.

Some additional plusses include a confirmed 2vs2 mode, which was inexplicably dropped from Madden 06 and not restored in this year's version either. The demo includes Edmonton's alternate sweater so hopefully that bodes well for inclusion of third jerseys in the shipping version of the game.

There have been a couple of negatives, though I think the sum of parts far outweighs them.

The animations, while largely good, do appear jerky from time to time and I think a disproportionate number of CPU shooters end up falling to the ice after bumping the goaltender during their shots (though the shots themselves tend to be well-conceived). Hopefully this doesn't become an all too frequent occurrence in 5vs5 play. I have seen players warp in space slightly to make certain animations work, particularly when skating around the net or between the goalie and the net. I managed to score on a rebound once although I might possibly chalk that up to the default of RULES OFF. I couldn't repeat this after setting RULES ON. The rebound goal highlighted a couple of minor quibbles. Though the rebound itself was a good one with a nice subtle redirect of a sliding puck, there were significant clipping issues as the shooter's stick and leg moved through Roloson's pad in order to reach the puck. Certainly somethig I could live with, but others might be more picky. Also, the rebound was caused when a wrist shot caught Roloson up high while in the butterfly and it proceeded to bouce from chest to back of stick to inside of left leg as he drifted back towards the net for about 5 feet. I like the vastly improved physics but at some point Rolie should have probably tried to pounce on it. Overall though, I'd say there wasn't much to criticize in the goalie's play which is good. Lastly, the CPU shooter once started his attempt by dumping the puck in the corner and proceeded to skate in circles at the blueline. I hoped the attempt would timeout, but didn't seem to after close to a minute. The only way I could get the demo to continue was to switch sides at skate the shooter down to touch up the puck, which then caused a whistle.

Overall, there was nothing to deter me from getting the game next week. Kudos to EA for making a demo that is easy to jump back into without having to drop down to the dashboard between every play. Got sucked in for probably 45 minutes or so. Good stuff.

-G7

Diablo25 · Post by **Diablo25** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 3:01 pm

Sounds great fellas. I can't wait to download and play this one after work

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 3:02 pm

It certainly does look good. Still feels a little fast to me...I'm sure there are some settings to slow it down a bit in the real version. I am definitely optomistic.

FifaInspected · Post by **FifaInspected** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 4:16 pm

The more I play this the more I like it. The right thumbstick is genius and there is some satisfaction in scoring a nice goal. The visuals are amazng as well.

It really makes me think about the entire demo concept. This demo is generating a lot of buzz and could very well sway some 2k hockey people l(like me) towards this title. (even though it's only a shootout) Why would 2k not release a demo if they were confident in their product?

By the time Tuesday hits, i'll be spoiled by the graphics and the right stick.

Diablo25 · Post by **Diablo25** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 8:21 pm

I'm definately impressed. Its looking good. I love the fact that there is no turbo button. I'm with DB on the speed....there has got to be a speed slider. Let's hope it plays a great game of hockey. The 2K series has grown a bit stale for me. I still like it but its lost some luster in the past year.

Diablo25 · Post by **Diablo25** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 8:29 pm

I just read a post over at Gamespot that says 2KSports is releasing an NHL2K7 demo Friday Sept. 8th

2K Sports is releasing a full Xbox Live Marketplace demo of NHL 2K7!
It will be up on Marketplace at 2am (PST?) Friday September 8th!

What you get:
- 4 playable teams,
- 1 5 minute period
- 1 or 2 player

http://2ksports.com/forums/showthread.p ... post838754

laurenskye · Post by **laurenskye** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 8:59 am

Yes 2k hockey is up, downloading now.