I have been busy as hell lately. On top of my normal work, which is writing guides to games for MyCheats, I have been doing more than my fare share of previews for 1up.com and Modojo.com. I just wanted to share them with you because they are about games I think the readers of our site should know about (especially Kane and Lynch). So, click away!

Medal of Honor Heroes 2 (PSP, Wii)

Kane and Lynch (360)

Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron Hands-on Multiplayer (PSP)

Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron (PSP)

Jam Sessions (DS)

Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain Slick Precipice of Darkness Episodes I (PC, 360, Mac, Linux)

So, as you can see, I have been busy. Lots of meetings, talks, travels to game companies. All in all, it’s been amazing. Either way, just wanted to share, some of these games are looking pretty good.

Chufmoney

No, the preview I wrote is not going to be posted here. I wrote a full length preview for 1up.com that you should check out if you are interested in this game. Despite the trailers that were abysmally received a while back, the game is shaping up really, really well. The writing is superb, the graphics are very stylized, and the blend of RPG battles with point-and-click adventure is sure to get most any gamer’s nerd-sense tingling.

Check it out here.

Chufmoney

Patrick Klepek’s complete interview with Microsoft’s Shane Kim is up on 1up.com, and it is well worth the read. Patrick’s interviewing style is a keen to a small child, asking his
parents for cash. Just get them to say yes to something, or bug them enough, and they’ll eventually fall to your charms. Shane Kim holds strong, however, and actually delivers some great non-answers. For example, here is his take on user-generated content on the various online gaming services.

“In general, a) we’re bringing user generated content to our platform. Look at what’s happening with Forza Motorport 2 with the auction house and the livery editor, that’s just taken off huge. It’s not the same kind of user generated content model that Epic is going to do with UT, but it is user generated content. We have just as much interest in that space as anybody else, but I will tell you that there is a lot of value to managing the service and system the way we do on Xbox Live, versus the wild, open, supposedly open PlayStation Network. You’re going to have to be very careful about what happens and we’ll see how much responsibility the platform holder actually takes there in terms of managing that stuff….It’s not unlike Sony PlayStation HOME. It’s great to talk about all this, but assuming you could even build it, one of the biggest challenges is actually managing the behavior. We have a lot of experience doing this on Xbox Live and that’s part of the value proposition we bring to our customers, is that you’re going to have a great experience on Xbox Live and we take care of a lot of problems for you and don’t just say it’s the responsibility of the publisher of the responsibility of the community to manage this. We take accountability, we do that as the owner.”

Peep the rest of the interview for all the Microsoft questioning-dodging goodness!

In what is a huge, huge move, 1up announced today that Microsoft will be extending their warranties on all Xbox 360’s by Three years. And here is the big news: If you had to pay them to repair your 360, Microsoft will be paying you back! Are pigs flying? Someone check out side. From Microsoft:

“As a result of what Microsoft views as an unacceptable number of repairs to Xbox 360 consoles, the company conducted extensive investigations into potential sources of general hardware failures,” said the company in a statement. “Having identified a number of factors which can cause general hardware failures indicated by three red flashing lights on the console, Microsoft has made improvements to the console and is enhancing its Xbox 360 warranty policy for existing and new customers.”

This follows the resent European uproar, 1up’s report of a gamer and his eleven failed Xbox 360s, and Forza 2 players who have complained of failing consoles while gaming. Reportly, Microsoft will be taking a “1.05 to 1.15 billion dollar” hit because of this resent warranty change. You can read Microsoft’s official statement here. All in all, this is the victory that 360 owners have been waiting for.
[via 1up]

Jayslacks