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Eric's XBox Games Blog

By Eric Qualls, About.com Guide to XBox Games since 2004

Overlord II Review (X360)

Sunday July 12, 2009
Codemasters and Triumph Studios caught everyone off guard in 2007 with the release of the first Overlord. It was gorgeous and funny and fun to play and no one expected it to be as good as it was. Of course, with that success comes higher expectations, and a lot more is expected of Overlord II than to just be a cult hit. Do the new evil overlord and his band of naughty minions capture the same magic as the first game? Find out right here in our full Overlord II review.

Overlord II Review (X360)

Image © Codemasters

Fight Night Round 4 Review (X360)

Thursday July 9, 2009
Here we are, three and a half years after its release, and Fight Night Round 3 is still one of our favorite Xbox 360 games. To say that Fight Night Round 4 has a lot to live up to is a massive understatement. Does Round 4 meet the challenge? Yes and no. It is definitely a step above as far as presentation goes, but there is just something about the gameplay that falls a little short. Find out all of the details in our full review right here.

Fight Night Round 4 Review (X360)

Image © EA

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Review (X360)

Sunday July 5, 2009
Another Harry Potter movie, another Harry Potter game. This is a good thing, of course, because we actually quite liked the last one. Half-Blood Prince isn’t a huge jump over Order of the Phoenix as far as presentation or core gameplay goes, but it does offer a few great minigames and a couple of hilarious set-pieces, and even though we ran all over the castle in the last game already, exploring Hogwarts is still a lot of fun. Fans of the series, especially kids, will love it.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Review (X360)

Image © EA

Win Real Prizes in 1 vs. 100 Live Starting July 10th

Friday July 3, 2009
Chris Cashman just announced it tonight during 1 vs. 100 Live. Skill-based prizes will start being awarded Friday, July 10th. The game is still considered to be in Beta, but Microsoft is going to start giving away prizes. Great news!

Just to clarify. Skill-based prizes are only awarded during 1 vs. 100 Live shows on Friday and Saturday. You can win prizes as the One by eliminating all 100 members of the Mob or by quitting and taking the prize. Or if you're in the Mob you can win by answering questions correctly until the One loses. The top three players in the crowd will also win an XBLA game.

A few other announcements tonight were that there will be a Community Written episode of Extended play four days a week. And there will be Videogame Trivia every Monday in Extended play. The current sweepstakes (which you earn entries for in Extended Play) is coming to a close on Sunday, July 12th, but a new one will start on Monday, July 13th.

For more information on 1 vs. 100 Live on Xbox Live, check out our FAQ.

Prototype Review (X360)

Thursday July 2, 2009
Activision and Radical Entertainment’s Prototype is like the ultimate superhero (maybe super villain is more appropriate) sandbox game. Pretty much every super ability we have seen in a sandbox game over the last few years has been crammed into Prototype to ensure that you can literally do anything you want. And that is a good thing because it makes Prototype one of the best pick up and play goof off games we have seen in a while. Find out all of the details right here in our full review.

Prototype Review (X360)

Image © Activision

Kodu Programming Tool Now Available on Xbox Live

Wednesday July 1, 2009
Microsoft's ambitious visual game programming tool "Kodu" is available for download now in the Community Games section of the Xbox Live Marketplace for 400 MS Points ($5).

What Is It? It is essentially a game that lets you create games (rather like Sony's Little Big Planet, but at the same time completely different). It lets you create 3D game worlds with any terrain you want, and then populate that world with items and objects and characters. Anything that you put in the world can be adjusted with custom physics and other instructions to really make a full, complete experience. And the best part? You can do anything and everything with just your controller. No programming skills required here.

Now, it doesn't quite let you make fully custom games (you're limited to the preset character and item choices and you won't be able to do everything you might want) but for $5 it is pretty darn robust. After spending some time with it I'm sure people are going to be able to make some pretty nice things with Kodu, so it is definitely something to keep your eye on.

Check out the official Kodu website here.

FAQ: Why Won't Original Xbox Games Work On My Xbox 360?

Monday June 29, 2009
Every once in a while we get a panicked e-mail from a reader who just got an Xbox 360 that won't play original Xbox games. Until now, the solution to this problem hasn't really been clear, but we think we have it figured out. It all has to do with the 360 hard drive and who you buy it from. Find out more here.

FAQ: Why Won't Original Xbox Games Work On My Xbox 360?

Guitar Hero: Smash Hits Review (X360)

Friday June 26, 2009
In theory, a greatest hits edition of Guitar Hero that lets you play classic songs with the gameplay tweaks of World Tour is a great idea. Really, it still is a good idea. But the execution here in Guitar Hero: Smash Hits leaves a lot to be desired. Sound issues, charting issues, and just an overall “slightly off” feeling to the gameplay spoil what should have been a glorious homecoming for longtime GH fans. Find out all of the details right here.

Guitar Hero: Smash Hits Review (X360)

Image © Activision

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 Review (X360)

Thursday June 25, 2009
A mere 9 months after Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 was released and Tiger 10 is already on store shelves. Usually this quick turn around is a bad thing (and Tiger 10 does have a few more glitches and issues because of it), but since Tiger 09 was such a great game to build off of Tiburon has been able to tweak and tune and generally improve the experience in pretty much every area. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 is simply a great game of golf. Find out all of the details right here.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 Review (X360)

Image © EA

Fallout 3 DLC #4 "Point Lookout" Mini-Review

Wednesday June 24, 2009
The fourth Fallout 3 DLC, Point Lookout, came out this week. Is it worth the 800MS point asking price? Find out right here.

Point Lookout starts with a message that a boat has docked on the Potomac River and a marker appears on your map. When you get to the marker, you will be able to purchase a ticket to ride the boat to Point Lookout, Maryland. Why would you want to do that? Unlike the other DLC, there isn't really a pressing reason to go other than just to see what is there. Sometimes, though, just killing time and seeing something new is good enough reason to do anything.

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