Games I had no idea were on Xbox Live


Perhaps I have, indeed, been living under rocks, or working my “real world” job too much, or too worried about my backlog of games, but just for a fun weekend update, I thought I would write up a list of several games (mostly recent) that I had NO IDEA were on Xbox Live Arcade.

I’m not necessarily saying I like this games, just that I had no idea that existed for us Xbox Live users! In some cases, I know so little about them, I’ll be checking out demos in the near future, and I encourage you to do the same, if a title is new to you! It’s worth noting that none of the games listed below are Xbox Live Indie Games, even if they sound like it – so you should expect to be rewarded with gamerscore if you play these!

MLB Stickball
Sonic & Knuckles
Domino Master
Ms. Pac-Man
Aqua
Ben 10 The Rise of the Hex
Gin Rummy
Minesweeper Flags
Puzzle Arcade
Phantasy Star II
Super Contra
Rainbow Islands Towering Adventure

Microsoft wants in Handhelds, but how?

How do you merge an Apple iPad with Microsoft’s Project Natal? That must be what is going through the minds of Microsoft execs right now. More on that idea in a moment.

As many other media outlets have reported on potential shakeups happening within Microsoft, and ZDNet specifically reporting that J. Allard was leaving due to the cancellation of the Microsoft Courier, an iPad like device.

It seems likely, to me, that problems must have arisen from the Courier not being as user friendly as the Apple iPad, or as Microsoft would like. As the Zune trails behind the iPod, and even Windows Mobile cowers in a corner behind relative newcomer Google’s Android, Microsoft must be looking for a good IN to the handheld device market. But with the lackluster sales of the PSP in this country, wanting to do a handheld video game console to compete head-to-head with the Nintendo DS doesn’t seem like a smart choice, either.

The success, to me, of the iPad comes from the success of the iPhone and iPod Touch. The iPad commercials airing, which state “you already know how to use it” are true enough. The simple interface design makes using these handheld and tablet devices a breeze. With Microsoft set to fully reveal the details of Project Natal at E3 in less than a month, the discussion at Microsoft must be fast and furious. A phone simply isn’t powerful enough for gaming – not like they would like to do, not to make it run something as complex as an Xbox Live Arcade game. Having access to my LiveID on my phone will be a fun feature, touted in Windows Mobile Phone 7 Series, but the level of integration has not been explained.

So the question must be posed: if iPad, iPod Touch, and iPhone can share an interface, and Android phones are starting to sweep the mobile phone market with a unified design, how can Microsoft make an impact? How do you make an easy to use, consistent interface across multiple devices, when you’re about to try and make a hands free interface add on for the Xbox 360? Do you force firmware updates to the Zune and Windows phones that give it an NXE like interface? Do you ditch the NXE and make the 360 look like a ZuneHD? There are a lot of questions to be answered. Unfortunately, I’m just a blogger who asks those, and an excited techno-geek who can’t wait to see the answers.

Backorder Bonus: Win Gears of War 2 Flashback Map Pack!

When Gears of War 2 launched, the pre-order hungry gamers got a few extra multiplayer maps for free. The maps were then released on the Xbox Live Marketplace for 400 MSPoints. The map pack included five maps for an astonishingly reasonable price. Some people hated the idea that they were just “remake” maps, but Epic recognized that and made the maps essentially $1 each. The remade levels from Gears of War 1 multiplayer in this map pack are: Gridlock, Subway, Canals, Mansion, and Tyro Station.

Maybe you didn’t pre-order your game, maybe you bought the game used, and maybe you just have no intention of paying for old maps! Either way, if you still don’t have this map pack and you’re interested, here’s your chance!

All you have to do is leave a comment on this thread between now and 12:00 NOON EDT on Friday, April 9th. A comment will be chosen at random and then sent a code. If you leave your gamertag, I can easily send you the code over Xbox Live. If you do not leave a gamertag, I will only be able to contact you if you are a registered user of WinBreak.com.

[update 2] Halo Legends Sweepstakes (sorta) has achievements!


The following is essentially an unpaid commercial for something I think is pretty sweet.

Update 2: I have decided I will continue to update the code list day to day, at least until I complete all of my sets, look to the BOTTOM of the post for the latest!

Have you been following the news about the Halo Legends DVD and Blu-Ray coming soon? I’m a huge sucker for a good story, I love single player video games and their campaigns, I do enjoy the backstory of the Halo universe. In the new tradition, popularized by The Animatrix, Halo Legends will fill in a great deal of Halo lore via anime short films. To celebrate the release on February 16th, 343Industries is putting on a contest, hosted as a Facebook App. You could win everything from an Xbox 360 to copies of the movie, and Grand Prize even gets a trip for two to see 343 Industries HQ (the new home of all things Halo). To sign up, you can just visit HLSweeps.com.

To earn sweepstakes entries, all you need to do is enter the daily codes – doing so can also unlock some very hi-resolution artwork and a trailer for the Halo Legends DVD & Blu-Ray. You earn these nice little achievement bonuses by collecting the “cards” given to you with each code entered. 1 sweepstakes entry & 2 “cards” per code. If the left side of the sweepstakes page doesn’t reflect 32 entries when you’re done with what’s below, you missed something, so try a few more! Get started entering codes on the Facebook app page, and visit HLSweeps.com each day to continue entering them!

To get you on your way faster, I’ve compiled a list of codes from all participating sources. Dating from February 5th, 2010 backwards:

Codes from MySpace:
Daily Code for 02/05/10: JP9MJ9
Daily Code for 02/04/10: RCZJKG
Daily Code for 02/03/10: V9EJNE
Daily Code for 02/02/10: K7VS38
Daily Code for 02/01/10: 29PEJ8
Daily Code for 01/31/10: XB8UF3
Daily Code for 01/30/10: QJFPHP
Daily Code for 01/29/10: 5JSQ87

Codes from Twitter:
ZYMSZJ
KA9FGP
YRX22P
6BJ23J
VBCAWU
RTT75C
VK2W9D
38JCG7

Codes from HaloLegendsDVD.com:
KZJY36
QDWQ5G
HB845A
ZRUNMN
AZU2HH
QN55UN
S833B7
FHPA83

Codes from Facebook:
Daily Code for 02/05/10: 97ZA96
Daily Code for 02/04/10: MC9SPB
Daily Code for 02/03/10: FYMK4U
Daily Code for 02/02/10: 52UN9B
Daily Code for 02/01/10: B8TE96
Daily Code for 01/31/10: JUSY4U
Daily Code for 01/30/10: KSJZWA
Daily Code for 01/29/10: QT4C7T

The gaming element of the page will also reflect cards which you have “multiples” of – if you want to unlock the high resolution art or the preview video by collecting these cards, you can trade with other “collectors.” To send a card to a friend, just click the “SEND” button beneath a picture – a window will open asking you to begin typing your friend’s name and you can send away – the person must be on your friends list to send or receive cards from them. I happen to need 5 cards to complete my set: 2, 29, 30, 40, and 48 – feel free to help me out by adding me as your Facebook friend! So start entering those codes on HLSweeps.com!

Update 1: 2/6/10:
Facebook: F29Z7V
Twitter: DMAB9E
MySpace: XUQNGP
HaloLegendsDVD.com: PG9V6W

Update 2: 2/10/10:
Myspace from 2/7-2/10:
Daily Code for 02/10/10: QCE2XQ
Daily Code for 02/09/10: DRFYZF
Daily Code for 02/08/10: ZBF9JH
Daily Code for 02/07/10: RDGYM2

Facebook 2/7-2/10:
Daily Code for 02/10/10: G49DZE
Daily Code for 02/09/10: D8J5U4
Daily Code for 02/08/10: 8R3WKN
Daily Code for 02/07/10: ZE6GX3

Twitter 2/7-2/10:
2XY979
YHK4ST
SFH7YT
EYFG26

HaloLegendsDVD.com 2/7-2/10:
77XMR3
ZFKWAG
RRQ2D9
2XY979