XboxScreens has your Xbox One and Xbox 360 splash screens

Posted on by Orion Williams
Games

When you start that new Xbox One game and a cool piece of concept art pops on the screen, you’re looking at a splash screen. A splash screen is an image, sometimes with text, that appears while software is loading. New game consoles have splash screens that differ from the content you see once the game is loaded.

XboxScreens.com is a new website for Xbox One and Xbox 360 splash screens. The splash screens are hard to come by because you can’t use the Xbox One’s internal game capture to take a screenshot. Each game must be manually launched and then recorded through a capture card. Because of this, XboxScreens.com can only capture splash screens for games that they have direct access to.

But thanks to XboxScreens, we can now share with the world that Titanfall 2 seems to favor left-handed soldiers. And that awesome NBA Jam loading screen for the backward compatible Xbox 360 version can now be saved as a wallpaper.

XboxScreens.com

Xbox One HOTAS, Let’s make this happen!

Posted on by Orion Williams
Games

Some of my most immersive gaming moments on the Xbox 360 were using the Hori HOTAS flight stick. I bought the controller in a bundle with Ace Combat 6 and played the heck out of it, eventually playing on the hardest difficulty.

Few games took advantage of the Xbox 360 Hori flight stick, but eventually Apache Air Assault came along and my HOTAS got another workout as I learned to fly the Apache on “simulation” difficulty. Continue reading →

Sunset Overdrive gets an UNofficial theme song

Posted on by Orion Williams
Games, Music

 

Sunset Overdrive, the open world action game set to release this October exclusively for Xbox One, oozes style and energy.  So far, in the trailers and gameplay footage we’ve seen from the game, there hasn’t been a song that represents the style and energy we would expect from such a game.

Yes.Mustache is a musical act that observed the previously mentioned “style and energy” and has released an “Unofficial Theme Song” for Sunset Overdrive.  It’s a pop-punk styled tune that drops quite a few references to the game.

It’s a fun song.  Check it out if you like your songs on the upbeat side with a helping of wall-running and exploding mutants.

http://yesmustache.toolofgod.com/sunset-overdrive-unofficial-theme-song-released/

Zombie Driver: Ultimate Edition Review

Posted on by Orion Williams
Game Reviews, Games

My Great Capture Screen Shot 2014-07-19 07-04-25

Note: This is an updated review of Zombie Driver HD for Xbox 360, but based on the newly released Zombie Driver: Ultimate Edition for Xbox One.  Review is based on a copy of the game given to us by Exor Studios.

There may be some time in the future (whether near or far, no one knows for sure) where it will be boring to face wave after wave of various types of zombies, smashing them into pieces with your car and watching their mangled torsos roll off of the hood of your car.  Now is not that time.

While many people may be bothered by use of zombies in…everything, driving your car into innocents isn’t as accepted as it may have been when video games were less mainstream.  Most folks are ok with killing zombies, so we won’t likely see the end of the zombie killing simulator soon.  And that’s ok, because it means we get fun, if flawed, diversions like EXOR Studios’ Zombie Driver HD.

Continue reading →

Tomb Raider: The Definitive Edition – Review

Posted on by Orion Williams
Game Reviews, Games

gameplay Screen Shot 2014-02-10 07-17-32

Last year, Crystal Dynamics created one of my favorite games of the year, Tomb Raider.  A reboot of a franchise that I am very familiar with, since it’s initial release.  The new Tomb Raider looked great, even on the aging hardware of the last console generation.  And though console gamers didn’t get the fancy TressFX and high resolutions that the PC release saw, the gameplay and story showed up in a major way and Lara became fresh again, if naïve and vulnerable.

Having thoroughly enjoyed Tomb Raider last year, I wasn’t thrilled about the announcement of a new and improved “Definitive Edition” on new gen consoles.  Was this just a gussied up rereleased cash-in?  Was there enough here to warrant the infamous “double dip”?

Continue reading →

Max: The Curse of Brotherhood Review

Posted on by Orion Williams
Game Reviews, Games

 gameplay Screen Shot 2013-12-22 04-17-36    A review of Max: The Curse of Brotherhood from Press Play, on Xbox One, Xbox 360

When Max comes home to find his little brother, Felix, playing (rather aggressively) with Max’s toys, Max reaches his last straw and decides to run a web search on “How to make your brother disappear!”  He finds an incantation that, when recited, summons a portal and seconds later Felix is gone.

Max has a rather instantaneous change of heart and jumps in after Felix and his monster captor.  This brief cutscene is all you get before jumping into Max’s beautiful adventure.  The gameplay starts soon after and has you control Max in an effort to bravely acquire Felix from the evil kidnapper that has claimed him, the mustachioed Mustacho. Continue reading →

I can’t upload my Xbox One Game DVR videos to Skydrive

Posted on by Orion Williams
Games

If you are having a problem locating your Xbox videos uploaded from Upload Studio.  Try checking your “Pictures” folder for a folder called “Xbox Game DVR”.  Why is it in the “Pictures” folder?  Your guess is as good as mine.  They are moving ‘pictures’, so maybe that’s why.

Upload Studio won’t upload to Skydrive

Project Spark Beta signups now available

Posted on by Orion Williams
Games

project spark logo

Project Spark is an ambitions game creation tool that has been in the works for two years. Being a Microsoft first party title, it appears to draw comparisons to Sony’s Little Big Planet. But those familiar with Microsoft Research will instantly recognize Project Spark’s roots, Xbox Live Indie Game and PC release Kodu.

You can sign up for early access to Project Spark through the beta program at JoinProjectSpark.com

Project Spark is coming for Xbox One, Xbox 360, and Windows 8.

Watch this video of Project Spark to understand more of what it’s about.