1P Start

Dortios has announced their five finalists for the “Unlock Xbox” contest. If you don’t know what that is, it’s basically a competition where you, the gamer, got to design your own Doritos-themed Xbox LIVE Arcade title, with the winning selection to be put on Xbox LIVE Arcade for everyone to not download. Kind of like Backgammon — I don’t know anyone who owns it. The finalists are…

“Doritos Presents UDS: Ultimate Dodgeball Champions”
“Rythum Racing” (someone should tell them that ‘rhythm’ is spelled wrong)
“PB’s Quest for Flavor”
“Doritos Dash of Destruction”
“Monkey’s From Mt. Doritos”

Visit the Unlock Xbox website to play the demos… you would think they have these demos on, say, Xbox LIVE… but whatever.

Doritos, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE Arcade

Guitar Hero III and The Simpsons Game, if you aren’t getting one, you should get the other, hitting all three big systems this week. Though I am going to wait on Rock Band myself (I want those drums), Guitar Hero III is here now, and has a great line up of songs itself. The Simpsons Game might possibly be *the* Simpsons game to own, looking like a perfect mixture of comedy and gameplay, however, with the track record of past Simpson games, it may be best to keep an eye on Metacritic before making a full on dive into buying it.

Some other notable things this week, Manhunt 2 makes its way onto Wii, I might give this a rent, though never into the series, the fuss it has caused makes me curious as to the content. Virtual Fighter 5, the first good fighting game on the 360, I am still waiting on Soul Calibur, but for now, VF5 looks like a “definite rent.” PC games seem to reach into every single genre, even fashion designing. PS3 gets a hold of Stranglehold finally, and… well, time to just check the full list after the break:

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First, we here at 1pstart are all about the quality, and because of that, JW or myself did not post a video that had made the rounds over the streaming flash video sites recently. Seeing as how the title has “HD” right in it, it didn’t make sense to show a video of it running with it looking so pixelated. Now, I don’t want to deny anybody the pleasure of watching a beautiful game look terrible, so if you want, after the break I have embedded the video so you can see it, however, I just ask you first check these screenshots first:

So crisp and beautiful. Not only are these pretty, but on the Capcom blog they even try to apologize and make excuses why even these screens do not show how good the game will look. Now for those who have any desire to do so, check below for the video of an early build of the game running.
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At the top of this week should be noted that PS3 finally has what some may consider a “system seller” title with Ratchet & Clank. Platformers are not everyones cup of tea, however you have to admit the game is rated ‘E for Everyone’ and can help the PS3 make sure it has some consoles sold this holiday season (that and the now “Affordable Edition” of the PS3).

I am not sure what is worse with Nintendo, the Dancing with the Stars (also on PS2) or the game that gives me nightmares of the Noid (NES) and Cool Spot (SNES) games, M&M Kart Racing!!! Seriously, what in the hell. Anyways, for the rest of the systems, there seems to be quite a bit of ’something for everyone’ .. Ace Combat (360), a new Phoenix Wright (DS), Assault Heroes (PC), and… well, just check the list after the break:

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You know, there are times where my job is so easy. I could just easily write “Street Fighter IV” and be done with it, but that wouldn’t be very professional of me, now would it? Regardless, now that you KNOW there is a Street Fighter IV in development, you all can run along on your merry way. But, if you care, Capcom has also made some other huge announcements this week as they held their Gamers Day in London.

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Straight from Major Nelsom himself is the announcement that the next Tetris game, Tetris Splash, will make its new nest on Xbox LIVE this Wednesday. It will retail for 800 MS Points.

That’s right, Tetris will cost more than Defender, Galaga and the original Pac-Man. Tetris. A game that you can buy for your Game Boy for about 75 cents on your Game Boy, or play online for FREE. I guess, if you REALLY love your Tetris, then you outta think of picking this up. But, if you really love Tetris that much, then maybe you should sit down with your family and admit that you have some form of social anxiety disorder.

Don’t pay $10 for a twenty year-old game, people. Just don’t.

NOTE: No, JW is not a Tetris fan. Paco, however, loves the stuff.

[Major Nelson]

Microsoft, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE Arcade, Tetris

Xbox Live’s Major Nelson has just posted the latest Live Activity in terms of traffic. Of course, Gears of War is first, but Rainbow Six Vegas isn’t trailing too far behind. It seems as if Guitar Hero 2 is picking up pace, as it finishes in third. Bomberman Live is the most downloaded on the XBL Arcade at the moment, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that title stayed at the top for a while.

I just wonder what kind of impact Halo 3 is going to have on these top Live titles once it ships.

Full list after the jump.

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Major Nelson has just provided us with the newest list of Xbox Live activity per game. Forza Motorsport 2 seems to be dropping slowly, and Rainbow Six: Vegas has come out on top. Of course, Bomberman Live is the most played XBLA arcade game, because it is awesome, and as always, (until Halo 3 comes out,) Gears of War is at the top. The full list after the break.

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With all the hulla-baloo going on with the Halo 3 beta, there is actually more happening on Xbox Live today. Aegis Wing, Microsoft’s FREE Xbox Live Arcade title was released earlier this morning.

My initial impressions are pretty good, as it has plenty of old-school arcade style. There are few Live Arcade titles that feature 4-player modes, and this fits in the gap pretty nicely. It’s absolutely free for both Gold and Silver users, so check it out. Like you have anything better to do before the Halo 3 beta.

Xbox Live Arcade, Aegis Wing

It seems the internet rumors about Prince of Persia making it’s way to the XBLA have been confirmed today by Ubisoft.

According to the press release, it seems the XBLA version of Prince of Persia is going to receive a complete graphical overhaul with new character designs, animations, and lighting effects that give the game a “3D look”. But don’t fret old-school fans, because even though the game is going to look all pretty, the game will for the most part have the same storyline and puzzles from the original Prince of Persia.

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“What took so long?”

In a surprise to nobody, classic Bomberman gameplay is coming to the Xbox 360. Bomberman LIVE is being developed by Backbone Entertainment and should be dropping in June.

Expect the game to be around 800 points, with additional costumes for the Bomberman that you can get for a price. Hit up Belgian site X-Power for more screenshots(Not to ruin the surprise, but it looks the same as all the other classic Bomberman games).

Bomberman, Xbox Live

It seems SEGA has announced that we will be experiencing the craziness and gore that is the Happy Tree Friends very soon. Happy Tree Friends False Alarm is going to be a downloadable game available for the PC and Xbox Live Arcade. Here’s what players can expect from this game:

• Playable Happy Tree Friends characters: For the first time in 3D, play as the rescue squad of Flippy, Handy, and Lumpy to save other Happy Tree Friends such as Cuddles, Toothy and Flaky from life-threatening disasters!
• Unique twist to the action genre: Using physics-based reactive environments and problem-solving elements control a rescue squad with unique abilities such as hurling concrete, spraying water, or throwing nitroglycerin to augment the dynamic 3D environments creating a variety of unpredictable outcomes.
• Disaster levels made exclusively for Happy Tree Friends False Alarm: SEGA and the creative minds behind Happy Tree Friends have teamed up to create 10 original and engaging disaster scenarios such as the Mine Shaft, Candy Factory, and Museum.
• Gameplay true to the franchise: Experience the non-stop hilarious action Happy Tree Friends-style where their accident prone universe means destruction and mayhem are inevitable.
• Xbox Live® Arcade features: Xbox Live® Arcade will feature leaderboards to compete with friends, earn achievement medals, and track your progress as you advance through Career mode.

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To celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the awesome movie Tron, Disney has announced they will be introducing enhanced version of Tron and Discs of Tron to Xbox Live Arcade. Although the movie was great, the games were not so awesome. I did like the original Tron game for it’s time, but Discs of Tron was rather boring when it came out.

It’s possible with enhanced graphics and sound that these could end up being a great addition to the arcade. We’ll just have to see how many enhancements are made. The trailer above is from Tron Redux.

[Via Destructoid]

Disney, Interactive, Tron, Discs of Tron, XBLA, Microsoft, Xbox 360, Tron Redux, Movie Trailer

The Xbox Live releases keep on coming, as arcade classic Double Dragon will be available next Wednesday. This news comes from Clive Kabatznik, CEO of Silverstar Holdings, who mentioned the specifics in a recent press release. While Microsoft has not given the official word, all evidence points towards Wednesday as the release date.

While I am sure that this game will have some heavy nostalgia factor, it remains to be seen if the online-cooperative play and enhanced graphics will make the game worth the money. Just be cautious, this game is probably just as hard if not harder than you remember it. Expect to get kicked in the face, like every 3 seconds.

Double Dragon, Xbox 360, Live Arcade

A few weeks ago, Capcom announced they are going to be bringing Super Street Fighter II Turbo to the XBLA and PSN with new artwork and a promise to bring the franchise into the HD era (1080p anyone?)

As you can see from the picture above from Racketboy, the attention to detail in the enhanced version of Super Street Fighter II Turbo is simply amazing. When the game is released later this year, no more will the word “sprite” be used for this series.

I personally embrace this much needed upgrade. I’m all for nostalgia, but there is nothing much left to do in the 2D fighting market. The only logical thing now to do is give 2D fighters the complete graphical upgrade they so rightly deserve, not a game with 80 characters who’s character models are obviously outdated. If Capcom pulls off this transition, I forsee a rebirth of the “2D” fighting series.

[Via Racketboy]

Microsoft, Xbox 360, Sony, PS3, Playstation 3, PSNetwork, XBLA, Capcom, Super Street Fighter II Turbo