Aramation Games

Here it is, the official features list of Xbox 360’s update for Fall 2007.

• Xbox Originals: download games for Xbox
• Xbox Live Arcade Greatest Hits: best-selling arcade games at reduced price
• Inside Xbox: news update from Xbox.com
• Enhanced online profile
• Family timer
• Improved navigation
• New codec support including Xvid and Divx

I’m mostly excited about the last feature as it will finally turn Xbox 360 into a full-featured media device able to stream everything your computer throws at it. This mandatory update will hit the tubes on Tuesday December 4, 2007. (I think they should just call it Winter update as there’s a lot of snow outside my window, and it sure doesn’t look like fall.)

Perhaps gearing up for the launch of Xbox Originals service, which promises downloadable Xbox games to be played on your Xbox 360, Microsoft has released an updated compatibility list. Now featuring over 300 original Xbox games, it doesn’t seem like many noteworthy titles are remaining.

List of updates:

• 2006 Fifa World Cup Germany
• 25 to Life
• AMF Bowling 2004
• Apex
• Arena Football
• Armed and Dangerous
• Baldurs Gate: Dark Alliance
• Batman Rise of Sin Tzu
• Bionicle
• Blade II
• Blinx: The Timesweeper
• Blitz The League
• Blood Omen 2
• Blowout
• Breakdown
• Burnout 2: Point of Impact
• Cabelas Dangerous Hunts 2
• Championship Manager 2006
• Colin Mcrae Rally 2005
• Crime Life: Gang Wars
• Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2
• Dungeons& Dragons Heroes
• ESPN College Hoops 2k5
• ESPN NFL 2k5
• Fantastic 4
• FIFA 06 Soccer
• Fight Night: Round 3
• Final Fight: Streetwise
• Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone
• Freedom Fighters
• Freestyle Street Soccer
• Future Tactics: The Uprising
• Godzilla Destroy All Monsters Melee
• Godzilla Save the Earth
• Goldeneye Rogue Agent
• Greg Hastings Tournament Paintball Max’d
• High Heat MLB 2004
• Hunter: The Reckoning
• Indiana Jones And The Emperors Tomb
• MLB Slugfest Loaded
• MVP Baseball 2003
• MVP Baseball 2004
• MVP Baseball 2005
• Nascar Thunder 2002
• Nascar Thunder 2003
• NBA 2k3
• NBA Ballers
• NBA Inside Drive 2002
• NBA Street V3
• NCAA College Basketball 2k3
• NCAA March Madness 2005
• NCAA March Madness 2006
• NFL 2k2
• NFL 2k3
• NHL 2005
• NHL 2K3
• NHL Hitz Pro
• Nightcaster: Defeat The Darkness
• NTRA Breeders Cup: World Thoroughbred Championships
• Playboy The Mansion
• RLH Hunt or be Hunted
• Robin Hood: Defender of the Crown
• Rocky
• Rugby 2006
• Shattered Union
• Shrek Super Party
• Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter
• Starsky & Hutch
• Syberia II
• Techmo Classic Arcade
• Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
• Test Drive
• The Bard’s Tale
• The Chronicles of Narnia The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
• The Guy Game
• The Lord Of The Rings: The Third Age
• Thousand Land
• Thrillville
• Tom and Jerry in War of the Whiskers
• Turok: Evolution
• Van Helsing
• WarPath
• Worms 3D
• Zathura

No noteworthy releases this week…

• Boogie (DS)
• Cranium Kabookii (Wii)
• Cruis’n (Wii)
• Game Party (Wii)
• Geometry Wars: Galaxies (DS)
• History Channel: Battle for the Pacific (Wii, X360)
• Omega Five (X360)
• Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords (Wii)
• Shadowgrounds: Survivor (PC)

Mass Effect (X360)
Bioware, creators of the critically-acclaimed Knights of the Old Republic, releases a RPG set in a brand new world.

Rock Band (X360, PS3)
Harmonix, creators of Guitar Hero, returns to the music-genre with more guitars, bass, drums and vocals.

Unreal Tournament 3 (PC)
Epic Games’ popular franchise unleashes the latest version: console versions will hit the stores shortly after the release of PC version.

Other releases:

• Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Burning Earth (X360)
• College Hoops 2k8 (X360, PS3, PS2)
• Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings (DS)
• Fire Pro Wrestling Returns (PS2)
• Ghost Squad (Wii)
• Kane & Lynch: Dead Men (PC)
• Link’s Crossbow Training (Wii)
• Mario Party DS (DS)
• Medal of Honor: Airborne (PS3)
• Soldier of Fortune: Payback (PS3)
• Soulcaliber Legends (Wii)
• Time Crisis 4 (PS3)

Microsoft has teamed up with Entertainment Software Association to release a 3-game package for charity. Priced at $29.99 USD, Microsoft is donating the entire sales proceeds to ESA Foundation. If you ever wanted to pick up Cars, Fusion Frenzy 2 and Open Season, 3 very mediocre games with very average reviews, now you can do it for charity.

Or if you look at this another way, it’s merely 1 cent per Achievement points. Will that be justification enough? For some Achievement whores junkies, there’s never a bad reason to increase the score.

This package will be available in retail stores as well as online retailers such as Amazon.

Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
Mario is back with the best adventure since Super Mario 64: latest game features Mario defeating enemies while navigating many tiny planets with different puzzle mechanics, and gravity. If this game doesn’t sell Wii consoles, then I don’t know what else could.

Assassin’s Creed (X360, PS3)
Ubisoft’s latest stealth/action game is set in 1191 AD during the Third Crusade. You play as an assassin tasked to killing high-profile personalities in the Holy Land during this turbulent times. It is set to feature a life-like crowd system that responds to your move.

Crysis (PC)
It’s finally here: this game requires you to get a brand-new PC with top of the line components in about 2 years for you to be able to play it as intended. Gorgeous graphics showcase what can be done on the PC, in this sci-fi tale of humans trying to survive an alien invasion.

Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 (Wii, DS)
The Rabbids are back in the latest game, featuring more minigames and more customizable options. Surprisingly all the media released so far don’t feature any Rayman at all, surprising since it is still part of Rayman franchise (right?).

Other Releases:

• Alien vs. Predator: Requiem (PSP)
• BlackSite: Area 51 (X360, PC)
• Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 (PS2)
• Kane & Lynch: Dead Men (X360, PS3, PC)
• Medal of Honor Heroes 2 (Wii, PSP)
• Need for Speed ProStreet (PC, X360, PS3, PS2, Wii, DS)
• Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles (Wii)
• SimCity Societies (PC)
• Solider of Fortune: Payback (X360, PC)
• Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune (PS3)
• WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2008 (X360, PS2, Wii, PS3, PSP, DS)

Spike TV’s annual celebration of the best games of the year are getting underway as they revealed the nominees. There aren’t too many surprises as most games in this list are critically acclaimed and mostly commercially successful as well. One thing that’s apparent is the dominance of multi-platform games, as publishers release quality titles on both Xbox 360 and PS3.

Read the entire list after the jump:

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Sam and Max was revived last year as a series of episodic games: in order to celebrate the beginning of the 2nd season, the developer TellTale Games has released one of the finest episodes available for free.

Abe Lincoln Must Die is one of the finest in the series so far, pitting the rabbit thing against Abe Lincoln in a hotly contest presidential race. The series may not be as original or memorable as, well, the original, but it still remains the best option for adventure fans. If the price of nothing still doesn’t convince you, go read my review and get downloading.

[Download Sam and Max: Abe Lincoln Must Die]

Upgrading firmware on a modern console is a regular ritual, and the next major update to PS3 will be 2.00. Here are some of the features already revealed:

• Remote Start: PSP can now start PS3
• Information Board: scrolling headlines chosen by Sony. Later you may be able to add your own RSS feeds
• Themes: you can finally customize the look of the UI, not just background pictures
• Music & Photo Playlists
• DualShock 3 Support
• Canon printer support

[Update: The firmware has gone live already, and it is available for download.]

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (X360, PC, PS3, DS)
Call of Duty franchise finally abandons WWII for, well, modern warfare in its 4th incarnation. Featuring gorgeous graphics and innovative multiplayer ideas, those who are already tired of Halo 3 will find plenty to like.

Other releases:

• Bladestorm: The Hundred Years’ War (X360, PS3)
• Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker (DS) 
• Empire Earth III (PC)
• F.E.A.R. Files (X360)
• F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate (PC)
• Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn (Wii)
• Game Party (Wii) 
• Gears of War (PC) 
• Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga (Wii, X360, PS3, DS)
• Mario & Sonic at the Olympics (Wii)
• Silent Hill: Origins (PSP)
• The Simpsons Game (PSP)
• Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance (PC)