According to Microsoft’s official Xbox website, Xbox Live may be seeing some techincal difficulutes. No, you won’t be shut out of the service completely but if you’re looking to download items you have already purchased or download original Xbox titles through Games on Demand, you may be seeing some problems.

Luckily, Microsoft is aware of the problem and is working hard to fix it. We’ll keep you updated.

Dell is continuing their video game deals this time offering an Xbox 360 Arcade version for $159. That’s $40 off the normal price which is certainly a deal to me, if you’ll settle with the Xbox 360 Arcade Version.

If, however, you want to up the ante a bit, Dell is holding deals for higher end consoles as well, listed below:

• Xbox 360 Elite w/ Halo 3 ODST and Forza III – $269
• Xbox 360 Elite holiday bundle – $259
• Xbox 360 HDMI cable – $19.99 (nice!)
• Street Fighter IV FightStick for Xbox 360 – $34.99
• $10 off Super Street Fighter IV with Dell pre-order – $29.99

To snag these deals and more head over to Dell.

via destructoid

For years certain series were only found on certain consoles. These exclusive titles were a big win for whoever had them since many of them were popular enough to sell a new console on the mere promise of a game for it. Unfortunately with the rising costs of development this has become less and less of an effective strategy. Sony in particular has been suffering as a result of this. Recently the newest Final Fantasy title was announced to be a multi-platform title; the JRPG series had been a Playstation exclusive for more than ten years. Now with Metal Gear Solid Rising being developed for the Microsoft console as well, Xbox strategy boss Shane Kim has said that the third-party playing field has become level.

Kim says that achieving this has always been part of their strategy for the console, hinting that they knew the viability of exclusive games was soon to be ended. Their future plans include focusing more heavily on exclusive downloadable content for multiplatform titles as they have with games like Fallout 3, as well as Project Natal.

Seeing as how me and the Big N parted company back around the Gamecube era (as in, I had one, but after a couple weeks I took it to the local Gamestop and traded the sucker in on an Xbox because, as far as I could tell, Nintendo would not put out a game for anyone over the age of twelve), I never really got the opportunity to take a stab at the Mario Party line.  Thusly, my first exposure to the Mario Party series was this one right here, Mario Party 8 for the Wii.

Yes, it’s true–the game that amounts to little more than a board game wherein mini-games are played to decide who wins and who loses has reached its eighth iteration with this one.  And, plotwise, that’s really all you do.  You’ll play, generally in a four player environment with computer players to make up the slack as needed when humans aren’t on hand (if it’s just you, you’ll play against a trio of computer players), a series of board games.  You’ll punch a dice cube above your head when it’s your turn, then you’ll proceed the correct number of spaces along the board, at which point you’ll receive rewards or punishments based on the rules and then proceed onto the next mini-game, and you’ll repeat for a certain number of turns.

Yes, it’s a little bit monotonous. No one ever said this sucker was going to be the kind of thing you’d ever mistake for high art.  Or low art.  Or any other kind of art, come to think of it.  There’s nothing really resembling a storyline here–in fact, the only thing that keeps Mario Party 8 from being nothing more than a second-rate collection of mini-games is that it’s actually a FIRST-rate collection of mini-games.  I admit that, when I played this, I had more than my share of fun, for about the first half-hour or so.  After that first half-hour, however, that’s when the boredom settled in.  It only started grating, though, and every time a new mini-game came up, the boredom lessened significantly.

Now, there’s a lot of appeal in a game like this.  Indeed, with three or more friends around this sucker’s probably incredible fun.  Even with one extra buddy in tow, Mario Party 8 could easily be a great time.  But if you’re playing this one by yourself, the limits of the fun are sorely strained.  In fact, the appeal in playing this one in single player mode is fairly well limited to the number of new mini-game experiences you can have.  Once you’ve played through all the different games, and all the different boards, and won all the various prizes you’re able to win, you might as well just unplug your Wiimote and take that sucker back to the store, because you’ve just done everything you could ever possibly do with this game.

Mario Party 8 isn’t the kind of game you can give a simple yea-or-nay review to.  It has a series of very specific applications that, if your intended use doesn’t fit them, will limit your enjoyment of this game by limiting its usefulness.  If you need a game to play with friends or as a short-term rental, then yes, absolutely, Mario Party 8 will do the job nicely.  The game is called Mario Party for a reason–take the hint.

Role Playing Games (RPG) are a big hit and while we have tons of them around in the market, expect one big splurge from this latest from tri-ace, Sega in Resonance of Fate. Resonance of Fate will be the next big RPG from tri-Ace, Sega announced today, as the title is currently in development for both the PS3 and Xbox 360 . A release date sometime during spring 2010 is all we could get out of Sega, though the company did share a few details about the game itself.

Resonance of Fate will include highly stylized graphics and focus on “realistic gunplay” for its core gameplay mechanic. And speaking of mechanic, players will find themselves role-playing their way through a gritty, mechanized world that is ripe for supporting Hollywood-style action sequences.

With its focus on gunplay, Resonance of Fate will let players completely customize their weapons, presumably giving unique weapons for each of the game’s characters.

(Source) Daily Game

Though this game has been around for some time now, it is still widely played. And ever since the change in game play where it is practically a turning into a simulator, the challenge is there no matter how simple it may seem to be. You can’t believe how realistic players can seem as you serve, volley and lunge for balls.

But the game gives you less help than before in body movements and swings, so you really have to practice and learn to position yourself exactly right to hit that little ball on the screen or you’ll lose. And the controls are a little tough to master. So, if you’re looking for a challenging, lovely, frustrating game, this is one. It’s selling in used game stores for $15 for Xbox 360 and PS 3, and $10 for Wii and DS. It’s rated “E.”

(Source) Times Picayune

For the people who have heard of the coming of Overlord 2, you can mark your calendars now. Codemasters is bringing back hoardes of minions with the release of Overlord II on June 23 in North American for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC, a date much sooner than anyone had anticipated.

Overlord II wraps itself around a brand new story, more combat options and a whole new breed of minions out to capture blood and laughs. No word on an improved camera which plagued the original, but an on-screen map has been added as detailed in one of the new screens below.

(Source) The HD Room

Zoom, one of the latest additions to the Xbox Live community gaming lineup, is a game that’s a fantastic idea but also a game that shows how important it is to execute a good idea correctly.

Zoom is a racing game that puts you, alone, on a track in a high-powered hover racer to see just how fast you can go.  And as the world speeds by around you, you’re out to break your own high score on a nearly continual basis.

This sounds awesome, of course–why would anyone play a racing game if they weren’t out for the vicarious thrill of the simulation of high speed without having to risk their lives doing it in an actual car?  But the problem with Zoom is that it can’t hold its speed, and with sloppy controls leaving you bucking around the track even when you’re not actually accelerating, that’s never a good sign.

So as much as I want to enjoy this particular high-speed thrill ride, it never really gets off the starting line for me.  Even at two hundred Microsoft points, it’s not worth the ride.

Xeno Arena, which I recently found on Xbox Live community games for the stunningly low price of two hundred Microsoft points, is a top-down shooter that tries its best to be a good game but can’t overcome its many design flaws to be a really good game.

Basically, this one’s all about survival as you plunge into the depths of a random facility that just happens to be infested with aliens.  Along the way into the depths of said facility, you’ll pick up weapons, ammo and health pickups all in the hope of getting steadily deeper in the facility.

Like I said, there’s some serious design flaws here–the graphics are a rolling practical joke played on the player.  For example, actually seeing enemies come at you is surprisingly difficult as they’re rather small.  And distinguishing a weapons pickup from the floor will also prove difficult due to the lack of quality graphics.  And anyone afraid of the gameplay proving repetitive has a lot to be afraid of here–definitely not an irrational fear–as you’ll be moving through random-generated mazes and shooting random tiny monsters until you die.  Die in the game or in real life, whichever comes first.

With horrible graphics and lackluster gameplay, Xeno Arena may be cheap, but it’s still not worth the cost.

The really interesting part about Xbox Live community games is that they’ll really stretch the definition of what a “game” really is.  And Drum Xplosion, which really isn’t a game so much as it is a big drum kit, will still provide a lot of fun.

Considering that a proper drum kit with all the bells and whistles can cost hundreds, even thousands, of dollars, the fact that this one only costs two hundred Microsoft points and yet offers fully fifty different customizable drum sounds is a point worth bearing in mind.  You can even string together two different Xbox 360 controllers to simulate a full drum kit.  Fully customizable in a lot of different ways, this may well be the most extensive drum simulator ever released, even counting Rock Band.

If you ever wanted a drum kit growing up, or were a former percussionist looking to get back into practice, then you’ll likely enjoy playing Drum Xplosion.  In fact, parents out there should be advised that, now, Junior can actually afford his OWN drum kit even on what little allowance you’re giving him.  But if you can’t stand the racket or weren’t a band nerd back in high school, then this one may not be the one for you.