It didn't take long for this thread to appear on our newly opened Shivering Isles forums. If you've got the Xbox 360 version of Oblivion but don't have an internet connection to your 360, we don't have a way to get you Shivering Isles. Distributing expansion packs on console to retailers like EB and Best Buy only works with compilations that include the original game -- much like the Morrowind Game of the Year edition on Xbox, that included both expansions, Tribunal and Bloodmoon.

I'm curious if there is a big demand for this. The main problem is copy protection. Since Shivering Isles requires Oblivion to play, you could essentially pass the Shivering Isles disk around to your friends.

Mass Effect Box Art 10:11 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Consoles: Xbox 360 (1 comment)
Lookie here, it's the box art for Bioware's Mass Effect:

(Click to Enlarge!)

Windows Vista Showcase Photos 09:59 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: Action (0 comments)
The Gamerscore Blog posted some photos from the Windows "Elevate Your Game" Event held today. They even managed to capture a nudie of Dave and Joost who were of course camping the Crysis booth.

First CryEngine 2 Live Demo 09:45 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: Action (0 comments)
Crytek announced that the first live, public demo for the CryEngine 2 will be held at GDC later this year:

Crytek, the award winning developers of the hit game "Far Cry" and the upcomming blockbuster game "Crysis", announce the world's first public presentation of their CryENGINE2 to be held at GDC 2007.

Crytek will be demonstrating the capabilities of their new CryENGINE2 game middleware to the public as well as potential future licencees. Professional developers and modders will be able to get a first hand look at the tools and editors used by Crytek's own specialists to create their highly anticipated PC game. Interested parties should come by Booth 848 and check the presentation schedule to see at what time their favorite engine feature will be demonstrated.

Aion Screenshots 06:20 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: MMOG (10 comments)
A few lovely new screenshots of of Aion, an upcoming MMORPG from NCsoft that's powered by the CryEngine. In it, you can play as an Angel, Demon, or Dragon.

(Click to Enlarge!)

Any game that has turtles gets a +1 from me.

Turok Screenshots 05:39 pm - Andrew Burnes - Consoles: Xbox 360 (10 comments)
That is one big pile of shit.

Random Rumblings 05:24 pm - Andrew Burnes - Games: General News (5 comments)

• Crackdown demo now available on Xbox Live. Includes co-op multiplayer.

• Mario Kart 64 will be available to purchase from the Wii VC Shop next week.

• Ubisoft revealed today that the PS3 version of Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 has been delayed till "god knows when."

• Ubisoft also announced that a Xbox 360 demo for the sequel will be available on live shortly.

• New PS3 firmware is out today that allows you to hook a credit card reader up to the console and pay for stuff using your credit card, just in case entering some numbers on the screen is a bit too challenging.

• Tomy unveiled the world's smallest commercial robot today in Japan. One can be yours for just 245 bucks.

Bungie Admits Halo 2 Sucked 02:42 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Consoles: Xbox (23 comments)
Edge Online has an interview with various folk at Bungie who reflect back on the first two Halo games, and look forward to the third installment of the series.

There's a fair amount of criticism of Halo 2 amongst Bungie staff. Writer and community officer Frank O'Connor, an acerbic ex-pat Scot and former journalist, admits the cliffhanger ending was rather abrupt - "we drove off Thelma & Louise style". He also admits that Bungie's vocal, internal, inter-disciplinary self-analysis can be its own worst enemy sometimes: "The trick is to avoid designing or writing by committee. You have to take what's best from the input you're getting and not have it turn into that too many cooks situation."

"That's sort of what happened with Halo 2, agrees Greisemer. "Toward the end we were working on balancing the weapons and everybody was very vocal about a ton of things and I think eventually we just sort of polished away some of those hard edges."

WoW: TBC Sells 2.4 Million Copies Day 1 01:53 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: MMOG (20 comments)
The power of PC Gaming is overwhelming! Blizzard sends word that it has shipped over 4 million copies of World of WarCraft The Burning Crusade and sold 2.4 million of them on launch day:

Blizzard Entertainment® today announced that World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade has broken the day-one sales record to become the fastest-selling PC game ever in North America and Europe, with a worldwide total of nearly 2.4 million copies sold in the first 24 hours of availability. The Burning Crusade, the first expansion set for World of Warcraft, was simultaneously released in North America, Europe, Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia on January 16, and on January 17 in Australia and New Zealand.

Blizzard had supplied more than 4 million game boxes to retailers worldwide, and more than 5,000 stores throughout the world had their doors open at midnight to welcome thousands of expectant players.

Day-one sales totals on both continents were similar, with an estimated total of nearly 1.2 million copies sold on the first day in North America and an estimated total of more than 1.1 million copies sold in Europe within the first 24 hours of launch.* By the end of the first day of availability on both continents, a total of more than 1.7 million players had already logged in and upgraded World of Warcraft to play The Burning Crusade.

"The Burning Crusade has already exceeded even our most ambitious expectations," said Mike Morhaime, president and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "We're pleased that so many players are eager to see all of the new content that the expansion has to offer, and we look forward to seeing everyone online as additional players continue to upgrade in the days ahead."

Retailers are continuing to report sustained demand, so if players have not yet purchased their copy of The Burning Crusade, they are advised to call ahead to make sure their store has copies on hand. Additional shipments of the expansion have been routed to retailers to help maintain stock levels.

"The immediate popularity of The Burning Crusade once again shows that Blizzard consistently delivers what gamers want," said Robert McKenzie, senior vice president of merchandising at GameStop Corp. "In addition to setting a new day-one PC-game sales record at our GameStop and EB Games stores, the expansion garnered more online pre-orders than any other PC game in our company's history."

Prior to the launch of The Burning Crusade, World of Warcraft was played by more than 8 million players around the world -- with more than 2 million on North American realms and more than 1.5 million on European realms -- making it the most successful subscription-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game in PC-gaming history.

Quake Wars Screenshots 01:15 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: Action (16 comments)
Activision fired over some new(ish) 2048x1536 nudies of Splash Damage's online FPS Quake Wars:

(Click to Enlarge!)

Hardware & Tech Nuggets 01:15 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - hardware: General News (0 comments)

Boards

• Intel P965: abit AB9 QuadGT - Anandtech

  Cases
  

• Antec Nine Hundred - Boot Daily

  Cooling
  

• Alpha Novatech PRE9060M92P Socket 775 Heatsink - Frosty Tech
• Spire Fourier IV Intel/AMD Copper Heatpipe CPU Cooler - Tweaknews
• Noctua NF-S12 and RF-8 Cooling Fans - Big Bruin
• Noctua NC-U6 Northbridge Heatsink Madshrimps
• VIZO Voyager HDD Cooler - Gideontech
• Value Cooling: Two Towers for under $30 - Anandtech

  CPU
  

• Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 CPU Quad Core - MVK Tech
• Intel QX6700 Core 2 Quad Extreme Edition CPU - i4U

  Keyboards
  

• Saitek Eclipse II Illuminated Keyboard - Tweaknews

  Mice
  

• Logitech MX Revolution Laser Mouse - ASE Labs

  Power Supply
  

• Antec EarthWatts 500W - Overclockers Online

  Video
  

• MSI's NX8800GTX-T2D768E GeForce 8800 GTX - HotHardware
• MSI NX8800GTX Review and Mixed-Vendor SLI - NVNews
• Real-World Gaming CPU Comparison with 8800 GTX SLI - [H]
• Sapphire Ultimate X1650PRO 256MB - Virtual Hideout
• The GeForce 8800 in SLI - Tech Report

  Windows
  

• Top 8 Vista Annoyances - TechAge

Assorted Downloads 12:57 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: General News (0 comments)

• AirStrike II: Gulf Thunder updated demo & retail patch v2.62
• Medieval II: Total War Digital River patch v1.1
• WarCraft III: Reign of Chaos & the Frozen Throne retail patches v1.21

RPG Vault Goodness 12:55 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: Role-Playing (0 comments)

Earth Eternal Interview
We question Iron Realms principal Matt Mihaly about his team's online world based on a variety of mythical themes - Includes two exclusive model images

Game Reviews 12:45 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: General News (0 comments)

PC

• SPWW2: 1930-1946 - Armchair General - 85%
• World of WarCraft: The Burning Crusade - GameDaily - 9/10

  360
  

• Lost Planet - 3DAvenue - 4/5

  PS3
  

• Marvel: Ultimate Alliance - PSU - 78%

  PS2
  

• Naruto: Uzumaki Chronicles - Killer Betties - 2/5
• Superman Returns - Strategy Informer - 4.3/10

  DS
  

• Eragon - Game Revolution - D

In Other News... 12:30 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - In-House: In Other News... (82 comments)
Windows Vista launches in less than a week!

Today's question is from KevlarGorilla, who asks:

Name a game that people around you say was awesome, but you just didn't get.

I could go on and on about the expansion, but I tried to stick with the main points, and also include the gripes I have with the game. Yet when all is said and done, TBC takes the existing game we all love (or hate) and extends that out for another ten levels with new content, fixes and improvements. That, of course, is exactly what WoW fans wanted…"more". No, Blizzard didn't offer a whole lot of "totally new" game dynamics or feature additions here (Arena and flying being the two main exceptions). No, it didn't improve (or improve enough) a few flaws that I mentioned above. But if you were happy with the game before, you will love the expansion...at least for a few months.

Fallout 3 Producer Blog Updated 07:55 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: Role-Playing (1 comment)
Ashley Cheng, senior producer over at Bethesda, updated his blog with news that the Shivering Isle expansion pack to Oblivion is nearly complete, and work is really starting to ramp up on Fallout 3. Thanks NMA. Here are some of his personal views on the series (which probably match your own):

Fallout has always been a personal favorite. It was not a commercial success, only hard core gamers played it, and its one of those games that is highly coveted by game developers. Efforts to expand the game to a more mainstream audience, like the Xbox Brotherhood of Steel game, failed miserably. Much like the philosophy behind Superman Returns (which I watched last night on my Xbox HD-DVD), I prefer to pretend Fallout stopped after the 2nd game:)

I've played the first one several times through, played Fallout 2 and Fallout Tactics (never finished Tactics). I started to play Brotherhood of Steel (the one for xbox) but was very disappointed.

More on Hellgate's Multiplayer Scheme 07:49 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: Action / Roleplaying (3 comments)
Gamasutra managed to wrangle up some new quotes from Flagship's Bill Roper who promises free multiplayer (to some extent, at least) for Hellgate London:

Looking to the game itself, Roper spoke candidly regarding Hellgate: London's online components, which interestingly he openly compared to those found in other popular massively multiplayer online games. "We have always had the intention of providing a rich, robust, MMO gaming experience for our players," stated Roper. His comments follow Flagship's August 2006 formation of Ping0, a joint venture designed to manage online services for Hellgate: London.

He continued: "This means that we will be providing everything from a secure client/server infrastructure to 24/7 customer support to maintaining a complete live team to provide not only balance and bug fixes, but more importantly, continuing, ongoing content updates to the game. And while we are still finalizing the commercial and game aspects of our online plans, we can tell players that there will definitely be significant free online play."

Blizzard's Next Game... 07:40 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: MMOG (13 comments)
Will not be based on World of WarCraft, as Blizzard's VP of Development Itzik Ben Bassat told Empire:

How do you imagine you'll be able to top Warcraft in the future?

When we announce our next MMORPG it's not going to be another WoW - we're not a company that tends to tread the same ground. It'll be something innovative and new that really brings entertainment to another level.

BioShock Podcast 06:49 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: Action (0 comments)
The Cult of Rapture site was updated with a new podcast featuring 2K Games Producer Melissa Miller. Episode One gives a nice intro to the upcoming FPS from Irrational. Some highlights include: diverse gameplay options, plasmids, weapon variety, different types of monsters, looting corpses, water in the underwater city (and how you can play with electricity), befriending NPCs, plus oh-so much more.

Gears Projected to Top AIAS Awards 06:23 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: General News (6 comments)
The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences (AIAS) announced the finalists and Epic's Gears of War received no less than ten nominations. You can check out the big list of potential wieners in the comments.

"The discussion and debate among the panel concerning the nuances of each genre/award category reflects the commitment of the Academy's peer panelists to critically evaluate each other's work and to recognize great achievement," said Joseph Olin, president, AIAS. "The Interactive Achievement Awards is dedicated to acknowledging the people who create these innovative and excellent games."

Top 10 Best Selling US PC Games 06:19 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: General News (3 comments)
Here are the top-10 best selling PC Games in the US from the NPD Group for the week of Jan 7- 13th:

1) World Of Warcraft- Vivendi - $20
2) The Sims 2 - Electronic Arts - $37
3) The Sims 2 Pets Expansion Pack - Electronic Arts - $27
4) Battlefield 2142 - Electronic Arts - $41
5) Deal or No Deal - Global Star Software (Take 2) - $20
6) MS Flight Simulator X Deluxe - Microsoft - $67
7) Medieval II: Total War - Sega of America - $49
8) MS Age Of Empires III - Microsoft - $49
9) The Sims 2 Glamour Life Stuff Expansion Pack - Electronic Arts - $20
10) Bejeweled 2 - Mumbo Jumbo - $19

X-Play: The Musical 06:15 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: General News (2 comments)
Oh goodness... I guess reviewing and previewing games is a little too boring for television, as X-Play is going to have a little musical interlude:

As The Recording Academy prepares to present the 49th Annual Grammy Awards on February 11, celebrating the outstanding musical achievements of the past year, G4's X-PLAY kicks off the musical week with a song-filled extravaganza of its own: In the rich tradition of Busby Berkeley, Fred Astaire and "Cop Rock" comes X-PLAY: THE MUSICAL, the most expensive musical about videogames ever filmed in the history of cinema and television. Starring a cast of hundreds (okay...dozens), X-PLAY: THE MUSICAL is a first for G4's flagship series and for its multi-talented co-hosts, who do all their own singing throughout as they count down the best videogame soundtracks of all time. The episode, shot entirely in HD, features five original songs written in a certain Stephen Sondheim-ian style: "The Best Show on Television," "The Devil Went Down to X-Play," "A Game is Born," "Gamer's Lament" and "One Out of Five"-the latter incorporating the show's infamous rating system for videogames under review. X-PLAY: THE MUSICAL premieres on Monday, February 5th from 8:00-8:30 PM (ET/PT), only on G4.

Creative Introduces ALchemy for Vista 06:09 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - hardware: General News (11 comments)
Creative Labs sends word that it is working on bringing 3D sound to Vista with ALchemy.

What: Creative (NASDAQ: CREAF) a worldwide leader in digital entertainment products, today announced the launch of a public beta, dubbed Creative ALchemy, to ensure that popular legacy game titles such as World of Warcraft, Rome: Total War and F.E.A.R. sound as awesome with a Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ sound card on Windows Vista as they do on Windows XP.

"The result of Microsoft's removal of the hardware audio abstraction layer for Vista will confuse many gamers," said Steve Erickson, vice president of audio at Creative. "Many people who have experimented with popular legacy games on the Vista beta release have been unable to experience multi-channel audio, with Creative and other sound cards, and even with motherboard audio. This is not something that a driver update can fix. The good news is that we have invented our Creative ALchemy application, so Sound Blaster X-Fi owners can experience the same multi-channel audio quality that they enjoyed with Windows XP."

Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars Screenshots 12:09 pm - Andrew Burnes - Games: Real-Time Strategy (4 comments)
Did ya check out our preview yet?

Driver 76 Announced 12:05 pm - Andrew Burnes - Consoles: PSP (3 comments)
Here's word of a Driver PSP title from Ubisoft, the new owners of the franchise:

Today Ubisoft, one of the world's largest video game publishers, announced that it will launch the Driver 76 video game for the PSP (PlayStation Portable) system. Driver 76 will feature all-new content with 27 new missions exclusively designed for gaming on the go. Driver 76 is the first all-new edition of the famed Driver series to be released since Ubisoft acquired the franchise in 2006. Developed by Sumo Digital Ltd. and Ubisoft's Reflections studio, Driver 76 will be released in March 2007.

Faithful to the brand spirit, Driver 76 is an action driving game that features Hollywood-style car chases while also letting the player experience the open environment on foot. The game thrusts the player into the heart of the 1970s, through 27 missions divided into six main plots. Players can take side jobs, earning cash that can be used to modify their rides. Driver 76 also offers an extensive multiplayer mode and a host of mini-games ranging from street races to all out carnage in Destruction Derby mode.

Features Include:

All-New Content Developed Exclusively for the PSP system – Twenty-seven all-new missions created for the PSP system.

Prequel Storyline to Driver Parallel Lines – The year is 1976, two years before Driver Parallel Lines.

Multiplayer Games and Downloadable Content – Games include Street Racing, Destruction Derby, Pink Slip Racing and Swap Meet. Also download new paintjobs to use on your collected vehicles in the garage.

Experience Open Environments in Authentic 1970's New York – All the architecture, music, cars and clothes of the '70s. Spans New York from Jersey to Coney Island.

Vehicle Modification System – Collect your favorite vehicles and complete side job missions to get the cash to modify your ride.

High-Speed Hollywood Racing Action – High-speed car races and crashes. Go even faster by customizing your car with special parts.

Authentic '70s Soundtrack – Immerse yourself in the '70s with classic songs from the decade.

MotorStorm Screenshots 11:55 am - Andrew Burnes - Consoles: PS3 (18 comments)
The developers never quite made it to the level of fidelity they were touting in 2005, but still, MotorStorm looks pretty damn good:

BioShock Community Site Launched 02:00 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: Action (7 comments)
Irrational and 2K Games have launched The Cult of the Rapture, a community website for BioShock (thanks Blue's News). Included, is a Q&A;:

Can you hype Ken Levine more like CliffyB?
Ken is very busy making BioShock a phenomenal game for you, but he will be giving more written and spoken interviews for those of you interested.

Hardware & Tech Nuggets 01:30 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - hardware: General News (0 comments)

Audio

• New Generation PC 5.1 Speaker Systems - THG

  Boards
  

• Biostar TF550 Motherboard - Motherboards.org
• FOXCONN 975X7AB-8EKRS2H Motherboard - Bjorn3D

  Cases
  

• Thermaltake Swing Case - Modders-Inc

  Cooling
  

• Antazone ASC-1000 CPU Cooler - Pro-Clockers
• Arkon VG929-S Swivel Air Vent Mount - GameApex
• Thermalright HR-05 Northbridge Heatsink - OCModShop

  CPU
  

• AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ EE (65nm) Keyboards
  
• Saitek Eclipse II Illuminated Keyboard - Tweaknews

  Pads
  

• Ratpadz XT - techPowerUp

  Video
  

• ATI Radeon X1650 XT - Xbit Labs

  Windows
  

• Should you buy Vista Ultimate? - TechAge

Game Reviews 01:15 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: MMOG (0 comments)

PC

• Stronghold Legends - Gameslave - 4.5/10
• The Mark - Gbase - 6/10

  360
  

• NCAA March Madness 07 - GameSpot - 6.7/10

  Wii
  

• Super Swing Golf - GameSpy - 4/5
• Trauma Center: Second Opinion - Gaming Age - C-

  DS
  

• Children of Mana - Eurogamer - 6/10

  PS3
  

• Lemmings - GameSpot - 7.2/10

  PS2
  

• Drive to Survive - GameSpot - 2.3/10
• Rogue Galaxy - GameSpy - 4.5/5
• The Shield - GameSpot - 3.9/10

  Wireless
  

• Centipede - Wireless.IGN - 7/10
• Jewel Quest 2 - Wireless.IGN - 8/10

In Other News... 12:55 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - In-House: In Other News... (43 comments)
This morning we have our big World of WarCraft: The Burning Crusade review. Tasty...

Today's question is from zwaffle, who asks:

If you had to spend the rest of your life within a video game world (a la Tron), which one would it be?