Free Avatar

Microsoft released an interesting little toy on xbox.com - Free Your Avatar. It allows anyone to make various pictures with Xbox Live avatars.

You type in someone's gamertag and it pulls up their avatar. You then drag the avatar into the picture where you can move it around and/or resize it. You can even drag in multiple avatars. You can also add in a background and a line of text.

But you can only add one line of text(in black or white). If you want to add other lines, you'll have to do it with a picture editor after exporting the image.



The weird thing about it is that you can use anyone's avatar. So you can make pictures with griefers and people you have problems with on Xbox Live.

Review: The Video Game Awards Show

I can't remember if I've ever watched an awards show before, but I watched Spike TV's Video Game Awards Show tonight. Some of it was entertaining, but a lot of it seemed stilted and vaguely uncomfortable like the actors had never seen their lines before.

Most of the musical guests were fine, but when the announcers and actors would be talking with each other nobody seemed to know what was going on. Jack Black did well most of the time, but there were bits when he also seemed confused. I like how Neil Patrick Harris had no idea who the winner of his award was. Awkward...

And who let crazy Mike Tyson come on with his crazy face tattoo?

Gears 2 Combustible Map Pack Available Tomorrow

It had been rumored before, but it was just confirmed on Spike TV's Video Game Awards - a new Gears of War 2 map pack will be available for download on Xbox Live tomorrow(technically midnight PST).

The Combustible Map Pack will include three new maps for use in multiplayer.

Flood is a map filled with imulsion which rises throughout your game, causing the safe areas to shift. Fuel Station takes place around a gas station. Gold Rush seems to have a lot of high ground/low ground.

No official word about the price of these maps, but rumor prices it at 800 Microsoft points.

Mercenaries 2 DLC Coming Tuesday

EA and Pandemic Studios are releasing a DLC pack for Mercenaries 2 on December 16th. One great thing about this content? It's free for the month of December!

The Blow It Up Again content pack contains four additional game modes and a few "patriotic characters."

I'm not exactly sure what the patriotic characters, but I'm definitely downloading this. Of course, it's free. But it will also motivate me to finally beat the game. I had a lot of fun when I first got the game but then got distracted by some other games...

Update: Apparently, this DLC is already live on the Playstation Network so if you have Mercenaries 2 on your PS3, go ahead and get to downloading!

Star Wars: The Old Republic - Video Doc #1

Bioware has released their first community update email that includes a link to the first documentary about the upcoming game Star Wars: The Old Republic.

I've heard game journalist mention that they thought the game looked like garbage, but I think it looks good. They are definitely going with a cartoon look, but it looks clean and consistent. I loved KOTOR and KOTOR2, so I'm really looking forward to this. I just hope the rumors aren't true that I will have to pay an extra monthly fee to play the game online.

Wii Sold 2 Million in November

Nintendo is rolling in the dough and finally shipping more units to consumers. The NPD is reporting that the Wii hardware sales for November reached past 2 million units.

2nd place is held by Nintendo's very own DS hardware, which brought in 1.5 million units during November. No other company came close to even reaching half of the Nintendo Wii sales.

GTA IV DLC Release Date Confirmed

Microsoft has confirmed the rumors that the new DLC "The Lost and Damned" for Grand Theft Auto IV will be available on the Xbox Live marketplace beginning February 17th.

This addition will allow players to play the character of Johnny Klebitz, a member of the motorcycle gang The Lost. It will also introduce new multiplayer modes, vehicles, weapons and music.

No official word yet on the price for this DLC, but I wouldn't expect it to be cheap.

The DLC will be exclusive(at least for a time) to the Xbox 360. DLC is expected for the PS3 in the future, but it may not be the same. Microsoft paid to get the first DLC for GTA IV.

Rumor: Splinter Cell Release Date?

I ran across this release date the other week on Gamestop's website, but apparently it's starting to appear with other retailers as well. Splinter Cell: Conviction is being listed with a February 2nd release date.

Personally, I don't put much stock into this. I think there would have been a much bigger to do about the official release. And it doesn't fit with Ubisoft's fiscal plans. So I wouldn't bet on this rumor.

... Unless the game is beyond salvage and Ubisoft is going to quietly release it just to get it over with.

Opinion: Xbox 360's Avatars

I like the New Xbox Experience (NXE). It's slick and interesting. But I really like the Avatars. I don't know why I like them, but I do. I mess with my Avatar all the time.

Reactions to the Avatars have been interesting. Critics decry them as simply rip-offs of Miis. And they definitely are influenced by Miis. But they're so much more.

First off, the option of changing the clothing and having different clothes and such to choose from is one of the biggest improvements. People complain that in the future Microsoft will make money in microtransactions from selling clothing items and outfits on Xbox Live. And believe me, that will be coming. But if you don't like it, don't buy it! It's that simple. There's plenty of free clothes available and more on the way. (They just released some winter clothes as modeled by my Avatar.)

I, personally, will spend some money on such things if I find something I like, but that's what I do - spend money needlessly in order to help the economy.

I can also see the Avatars helping companies with pre-orders or limited edition sales. Include a code to download limited clothing items that pertain to the game? That would sell. Believe me, having my Avatar be able to wear a Gears of War outfit would be much cooler than a gold lancer(sorry, Charlie).

I also find the Avatars interesting because most people work hard to make their Avatar look like themselves. But some people just work to make their Avatar look like a freak. One thing I found odd about the Avatars is that you can't really make them that fat. My Avatar is as fat as they get, and he's not that fat.

I also like the way that you can take various pictures of your Avatar and use that as your Gamerpic. Of course, this makes the vast majority of the Gamerpics I've accumulated over the years worthless. Maybe they could make an option where I could put a cool Gamerpic on a T-shirt for my Avatar...

   

December Game Releases

It's been an avalanche of games the last couple months, but now that the weather's getting colder and Santa's looking over his lists, the games have begun to slow. But let's see what stocking stuffers we might find...
 

DS Titles
December 1
• Emma at the Farm
December 2
• Animal Boxing
• Dreamer: Puppy Trainer
• Mushroom Men - Rise of the Fungi
• My Fun Facts Coach
• Prince of Persia: The Fallen King
• Slingo Quest
• The Tale of Despereaux
• Winter Sports 2: The Next Challenge
December 9
• Cate West: The Vanishing Files
• Drivers Ed Portable
December 16
• Candace Kane's Candy Factory
• C.O.R.E.
• Peggle
December 18
• Left Brain Right Brain 2
December 21
• Master of the Monster Lair
December 23
• Bigfoot: Collision Course
• Paint by DS
December 29
• Secret Files: Tunguska

PC Titles
December 1
• DQ Tycoon
• Neopets Puzzle Adventure
December 2
• Grand Theft Auto IV
• Shaun White Snowboarding
• The Tale of Despereaux
• A Vampyre Story
December 5
• Defense Grid: The Awakening
December 9
• Prince of Persia Prodigy
• Runes of Magic
December 16
• Rise of the Argonauts

PS2 Titles
December 2
• Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
• SingStar ABBA
• The Tale of Despereaux
December 9
• Persona 4
December 22
• Rock Band 2
December 31
• Fun Park

PS3 Titles
December 2
• Prince of Persia Prodigy
• SingStar ABBA
December 4
• Soldner-X: Himmelssturmer
December 9
• Sonic Unleashed
December 16
• Rise of the Argonauts

PSP Titles
December 9
• Dungeon Maker II: The Hidden War

Wii Titles
December 1
• Space Invaders Get Even
December 2
• Agatha Christie: Evil Under the Sun
• Family Party: 30 Great Games
• My Fitness Coach
• Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars
• Nancy Drew: The White Wolf of Icicle Creek
• The Tale of Despereaux
December 3
• SPRay
December 9
• Bigfoot: Collision Course
• Fun Park
• Neopets Puzzle Adventure
• Rygar: The Battle of Argus
• Six Flags Fun Park
December 15
• Deadly Creatures
• Ultimate Shooting Collection
December 16
• WordJong Party
December 22
• Rock Band 2
December 29
• Secret Files: Tunguska
December 30
• Deal or No Deal
December 31
• Puzzle Kingdoms

Xbox 360 Titles
December 1
• Destroy All Humans! Path of the Furon
December 2
• Prince of Persia Prodigy
• The Tale of Despereaux
December 3
• Banjo-Kazooie
December 16
• Rise of the Argonauts