XboxSold.com BLOG

Hope you haven’t traded it in yet, because Sega has announced that it’s releasing its second downloadable content for Aliens vs. Predator on July 7.

Called the “Bughunt Map Pack,” the DLC will contain two new multiplayer maps for “Deathmatch,” “Predator Hunt,” “Infestation,” “Species Deathmatch,” “Mixed Species Deathmatch,” and Domination. Also in the pack will be two more maps designed specifically for the “Survival” mode.

Sega says the maps will included “environment hazards and new weather effects.” Then again, it also says that detailed descriptions of the maps can be found on its official website, but the last thing it mentions is an Alien and Predator “galactic dance off” in PlayStation Home. So I’m not sure if I can believe them.

The “Bughunt” pack will be available for $6.99 on PC and PlayStation 3, which translates to 560 MS Points for the Xbox 360. You thinking about picking it up?

Online modes in fighting games have come a long way, but Midway never really went very far with its Mortal Kombat franchise. It was mostly “hop in a fight, hop into the next fight, repeat.”

Now that the studio behind the fighter has re-branded itself NetherRealm Studios, it’s ready to branch out. Speaking with Gaming Union in the shortest interview the world has ever seen (seriously, it’s two questions), the game’s lead designer John Edwards is making some big promises, but giving few details.

“We have a really robust online system,” he says. “I can’t go into too many details but it’s going to be pretty much the most robust online fighting system ever imagined.”

We’d previously confirmed that NetherRealm has big plans for downloadable content, including characters, fatalities, and more. We’ll find out early next year if they can pull it off.

E3 2010: Q&A With Mortal Kombat Lead Designer [Gaming Union]

Drum Studio is an Xbox 360 game/application that lets you play and record your own drum songs, and then edit and tweak performances. It’s a musical tool that uses your Guitar Hero or Rock Band kits as controllers for song making.

You can jam with the software’s included sounds, picking from over 320 drums. And like any good musical tool, you can go back in and layer tracks — multitracking, the kids call it. If you’re musically minded, this one should already be on your download list. But even those that aren’t very musical should still get this.

Here’s the kicker: Drum Studio is only 80 Microsoft Points. That’s $1. One dollar to give a ton more functionality to those silly plastic drums? What’s there to think about? Go! It’s on the Xbox Live Marketplace now.

It was pretty much a given that Criterion was going to knock it out of the park with its take on the Need for Speed franchise. Based on what I played and saw at E3, that’s more or less confirmed — Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit looks as awesome as it plays.

Don’t believe me? If you live in one of the seven cities Electronic Arts is taking Hot Pursuit on tour to leading up to the game’s launch, you can try it out yourself. The tour kicks off in New York City on July 14 at the Manhattan Classic Car Club with DJ Z-Trip dropping beats, in case playing a rad videogame wasn’t enough for you.

The tour will make its away across the United States, hitting “hot” local venues and featuring hip-hop and rock musicians, along with exotic cars, like the one-of-a-kind Lamborghini cop car displayed at E3. Hit the jump for the full schedule, and head over to the official site for more details and info on how to attend.

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit hits shelves on November 16.

• New York, July 14
• Chicago, Aug. 5
• Seattle, Sept. 4
• San Francisco, Sept. 11
• Austin, Oct. 7
• Miami, Oct. 21
• Los Angeles, Nov. 16

My peer and pal Ben Kuchera, Gaming Editor at Ars Technica, showed me the first and probably only cool pair of 3D glasses not too long ago. While everyone else around was looking like a d-bag with the silly movie theater style shades, Ben was looking pretty cool in his passive 3D glasses from Gunnar. They’re styled beautifully, and look closer to high-end eyewear than you’d imagine. I wanted a pair immediately after seeing his.

RealD tech is what goes into about 75% of the 3D flicks out now, and Gunnar Optiks’ glasses are compatible. Ideally you’d also have a rig at home to use them in. They won’t work with anything that requires active shutter glasses, but my guess is that you’ll still get a lot of use out of them.

Gunnar’s website has a couple of styles available, and one set is priced at only $99. You’ll have to take my word on it, but these definitely look worth the $100 in person. Gunnar says that these i-AMP 3D glasses are hitting retailers now, and Amazon is currently taking pre-orders.

I don’t know if it’s too early to be dumping $100 on 3D glasses, but at least Gunnar is getting out there with something that doesn’t look like it was used on the set of Saved By the Bell.

Saints Row 3DS was only briefly mentioned by Nintendo during its E3 press conference, and THQ has today decided to reveal a little more. It’s called Saints Row: Drive By, and it’ll also be available for Xbox Live Arcade. The XBLA version will apparently have connectivity with Saints Row 3, unlocking content for the next main entry in the series. 

“Nintendo particularly wanted an ‘M’ rated game for 3DS’s launch. We had it in production – we were doing a 3D version on XBL of Saint’s Row: Drive By,” confirmed Core games VP Danny Bilson. 

Bilson believes that Drive By “won’t be a risk like Chinatown Wars was” due to the fact that Nintendo wants the 3DS marketed to “core” gamers. We’ll have to see if THQ’s predictions hold true, but it really is encouraging to see Nintendo attempt to appeal to all markets with the 3DS. The DS is amazing, but it’s impossible to get the average gamer to care about it. I hope the 3DS gives us all something to be excited for.

Saints Row 3DS called ‘Drive By’, coming to XBLA [CVG]

It appears that, with the launch of PlayStation Plus, Sony may be taking a shitstained leaf out of Microsoft’s playbook. According to Hulu’s website, the console-bound version of the TV streaming service will require a PS Plus subscription. 

What this means, obviously, is that Hulu on the PS3 will cost you $50 per year as well as the required $9.99 a month. Microsoft has already confirmed that Hulu Plus will need an Xbox Live Gold Subscription, but we expect that kind of “take features away rather than add cool features” mentality from Microsoft, not so much from Sony. 

This is the kind of industry we’ve all helped make, though. Having to pay a subscription fee for the honor of paying another subscription fee strikes me as completely ludicrous, but we gamers have demonstrated to Sony and Microsoft just how tolerant we are of ludicrous behavior in the past, so don’t expect things to change. You can, in fact, expect any cool new PS3 features to demand PS Plus access in the future. But hey, at least you’ll get the free rental of an old PSOne Classic that nobody wants because it’s crap!

Playstation Plus: Required for Hulu Plus? [Technologizer]

Sonic Colors has been a surprise, to say the least. Before Sonic the Hedgehog 4 has even released, this game popped up out of nowhere and is actually stealing a considerable slice of spotlight for being a 3D Sonic game that actually looks kind of good. Having played it at E3, I can confirm it certainly looks hopeful. 

Of course, all Sonic games look hopeful after one or two levels, so we’ll have to play the full game to see. In the meantime, here are a collection of screenshots, some of which may even be new! They features both Sonic and colors, so you’ve got a double bill of visual fun right there. Good for you!

[Via Nintendo Everything]

Want more news about games the Japanese will be getting so you can salivate and pray that the gaming gods will shine their benevolent light on the project for international releases? Your wish is my command. Famitsu’s new issue has a page devoted to a White Knight Chronicles game for PSP.

The vigilant folks at andriasang have translated said page, and the contents suggest some major changes in store for the series. The story told in the PS3 games comes to a conclusion in the soon-to-be released White Knight Chronicles 2 and the PSP title sounds like it will be a completely separate affair, as suggested by the large text at the bottom of the page which reads, ”And then, to a new world.”

I’m interested and always up for an excuse to flick on the old PSP. I don’t really have my hopes up that this one will come to the US, though. Hell, I’m starting to get nervous about the odds of White Knight Chronicles 2 making the leap. Am I being overly pessimistic here?

White Knight Chronicles Set for PSP [andriasang]