Hushed Casket News

Free Gears of War 2 Gold Plated Lancer. Other Xbox Marketplace content.

Midnight — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 18:41:19 +0000

A glitch in the Xbox Marketplace allows you to download exclusive game content to your Xbox 360 console for free. Most of this content was previously only accessibly if you had a redeemable code that came with your pre-order from a store like Gamestop or if you purchased a limited edition version of the game.

I did not buy the Limited Edition of Gow2. I do have the gold-plated Lancer. I have confirmed in-game that this download technique works. I've got the gold lancer now.

Follow the links to download game content to your Xbox 360. Due to your region, not all downloads may work:

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare - Prestige Icons Picture Pack

Call of Duty: World at War
CoD: World at War - Day 1 Tactical Edge
CoD: World at War: - Collector’s Edition Tactical Edge

Gears of War
Gears of War - Gears of War Emergence Day Message from Cliffy B (720p)
Gears of War - Emergence Day Theme
Gears of War - Emergence Day Gamer Picture

Gears of War 2
Gears of War 2 - Gold-Plated Lancer Assault Rifle
Gears of War 2 - Gamestop Exclusive Theme

Guitar Hero III
Guitar Hero III: Dream On by Aerosmith

Halo 3
Halo 3 - Bungie Day '08 Theme!
Halo 3 - Bungie Day '08 Gamerpics
Halo 3 - Bungie Day 2007 Theme
Halo 3 - Bungie Day 2007 Picture Pack

The Last Remnant
The Last Remnant - March To War Set (Pre-order extras, 100 M$)

Left For Dead
Left For Dead - Demo

Lumines Live!
Lumines Live! - Heavenly Star Skin
Lumines Live! - Breeze Skin

Test Drive Unlimited
Test Drive Unlimited - Pagani Zonda C12S Roadster + McLaren F1
Test Drive Unlimited - Lamborghini Gallardo Coupe

Tom Clancy's EndWar
Tom Clancy's End War - FirstWar Enlistment Pack

Xbox Live ARCADE Games
Banjo-Kazooie - Get it early, before release on 12/3/08

MISC
Fable II - Limited Edition Content
Gears of War 2 - Flashback Map Pack
Gears of War 2 - Gold Plated Hammerburst
Halo 3 - Exclusive Xbox 360 Halo 3 Special Edition Gamer Pics
Halo 3 - Exclusive Xbox 360 Halo 3 Special Edition Theme
Rock Band 2 - Bonus tracks
Bioshock - Ryan Industries Plasmids and Gene Tonics
TotemBall

Zune Pass users get to keep 10 songs indefinitely

rapture — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 23:38:54 +0000

Zune Pass users can now download 10 tracks per month in a protection-free MP3 format for permanent ownership, in addition the existing "all you can eat" subscription usage. For $15 a month users can download unlimited music and keep listening to it as long as they pay the monthly fee. Stop paying the fee and you get to keep the 10 songs per month that are a part of your Zune Pass. Each month, Microsoft will credit you with 10 free downloads.

Microsoft is also dropping the price of their flash-based players: The 4GB version will drop to $99, the 8GB model will drop by $10 to $139, and the 16GB model will sell for $179, down from $199.

90% of the Zune Marketplace library is in .mp3 format. The Zune Pass works with some non-Zune devices.

Hushed Casket Gamebattles Gears of War 2 Ladder Team

Oculus — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 18:05:17 +0000

http://gamebattles.com/xbox360/gears-of-war-2/team/hushedcasket

Lets face it GOW2 is epic. The multiplayer will get better, and we'll adjust to learn the new techniques it takes to win games regularly like we did with GOW 1. I am recruiting team members to play semi-competitively against ladder teams on gamebattles.

Sparda, JDogg, Resin, Bama..., and I played 10 or so matches yesterday in matchmaking and ended up winning about 8 out of 10. I'd like to put some of that gameplay towards some type of ladder.

As a general thought I don't expect this to be hardcore competitive. I'm betting we will lose a few matches and bottom feed the ladder to get a few wins if possible. Hopefully we'll have enough players to swap out. In the TWL ladder we participated in a couple years ago, we ended up holding 1st place for some time before we got frustrated with the staff's inability to resolve conflicts between some of the less sportsmanlike teams and ourselves.

This time around I'd like to take it with a more easy-come-easy-go strategy and have fun with it while learning a thing or two in the process.

Everyone is welcome including people I don't know personally and since this is more for fun we will regularly rotate team members in and out if we end up having more than 5. Also, looking for additional person to serve as leader/communicator to other team leaders when setting up matches.

=============================================
Current Roster:
Mikeulus
RedDuke83
JDogg
resin
rapture
Sparda
THX Cyneater
=============================================

In you're replies, please state your Gamebattles profile ID. I'll shoot an immediate invite once I get your reply.

Lets have some fun!

Mirrors Edge

Oculus — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:29:26 +0000

Played the demo.. wow. I'm going to have to give this one a try. May pick it up this weekend. Takes the fun part of platformers, jumping around on rooftops and avoiding enemies, and adds great graphics and a well done camera system in first person.

What games will you store on your Xbox Hard Drive tonight? And XBL New Experience 8 person parties

Oculus — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:58:59 +0000

Now with the new XBL New Experience you will be able to store games from disc onto your hard drives for faster loading times and a quieter running Xbox. What games from your library will occupy that space?

Some on my list:
Gears of War 2
Call of Duty 4

Edit: It appears there some info that shows that Halo 3's load times are ACTUALLY SLOWER after loading the game to your hard drive..
http://nikon.bungie.org/news.html?item=24545
Thanks to Master Kim for the link. This discourages me from trying any other games until I get see some performance data first.

The feature will still require you to have the game disc in the tray to make sure you own the game of course.

On another note, I've been eagerly anticipating the new party system. Allowing for 8 people to chat together (hopefully while in game) virtually eliminating the need for in-game voice chat solutions. I'm looking forward to getting in some games of Gears 2 with the increased communication abilities. There is no reason we should have been limited to 1 to 1 chat as we have before since PC gamers have had the luxury of ventrilo and teamspeak forever now. GG on the new additions.

Epic is working on GoW 2 matchmaking issues, suggest possible quick solutions

Oculus — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 18:58:03 +0000

As posted on Epic's forums:
http://forums.epicgames.com/showthread.php?t=637410

Hi all,

We're aware that some folks are experiencing longer-than-ideal wait times while using the skill-based Public matchmaking in Gears 2 multiplayer. We're working on some solutions but it's a complicated issue as there isn't any one problem; it's a combination of factors. Clearly, scale is one of them as we've had millions of successful matches played online so far, however a small percentage of players are having issues, which is unacceptable. We're working closely with Microsoft to address the matchmaking issues, I promise you that it is our #1 priority, and we hope to have an update soon.

In the meantime, I would like to suggest some workarounds:

If you're experiencing long delays (longer than 2 minutes) or you're seeing your matchmaking search restarting over and over again, please try a different playlist as that indicates a possible population issue with the currently selected one.

The problem seems to be heightened for parties of 1 and parties of 4 so please try to invite at least one friend into your party before matchmaking. And of course the fastest way to play is to have a full 5 person party before looking for a match since you won't have to find any teammates beforehand. Fortunately our new "What's Up" feature makes finding Friends who're playing Gears 2 online easier.

Also, after a match, if you'd like to continue to play with the 9 people you just played with, simply press Y to look at the previous match stats and press X to invite them all to your party so you can continue to play in a Private match if they accept. Private matches, while not arbitrated, gives you the flexibility to set exactly which map and mode you want to play along with customizing other aspects of the game.

And as always, please ensure that your router is set correctly so that your NAT is considered "Open" by Xbox LIVE as "Moderate" and "Strict" NATs make Xbox LIVE matchmaking more difficult. There are many guides available online to walk you through the process of correctly configuring your router for Xbox LIVE so I won't go into the specific details here.

Also, in case you're curious, a few interesting facts about Gears 2 multiplayer so far:

* Almost 3 million multiplayer matches (excluding Private) have been played.
* Almost 1 million screenshot photos have been uploaded to gearsofwar.com
* The most popular multiplayer mode is Horde.
* The most popular multiplayer map across all modes is River.
* The most lethal weapon is the Gnasher shotgun with almost 29% of all kills.

Again, I apologize for any issues you may be having and I hope the above workarounds give you a better experience until we are able to correct the issues we're seeing.

Thanks,

Rod.
__________________
Senior Producer
Gears of War 2

Left 4 Dead

trigger119 — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 17:27:49 +0000

The Zombie Apocalypse is here- are you ready?

In honor of tomorrow's impending Left 4 Dead release, I thought I'd post a topic about Valve's latest game, Left 4 Dead. Sporting a 4 player co-op mode, and a versus mode, Left 4 Dead is definitely targeted at those who love playing with friends.

For wallpapers, screenshots, and a couple videos from Left 4 Dead, click here.

I personally was curious who else is getting this game. I'll be picking up my copy from GameStop tomorrow. If you haven't had a chance to play the demo, do. It's on the XBL Marketplace right now and I think this may be the best zombie game I've ever played.

I found quite a bit of information on the game from the official Left 4 Dead website, and Left4Dead 411, a L4D fansite.

Double Dipped Gears of War 2 Complement Sandwich

Oculus — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 15:15:29 +0000

No Spoilers, this includes comments please! If you feel you must, use spoiler tags!

I've had enough time to try out Gears of War 2 and I thought I'd give a breakdown of how I feel the game has progressed (or regressed) since the first rendition.

First of all, the campaign: I believe this campaign was definitely better than the first. This is where I'm betting Epic spent most of their time on the game and it shows. In a campaign I usually look for a solid shooter, well designed levels, and a cinematic experience to tie everything together and GOW2 delivers on all three. I won't say much more, but there are really some cool moments that leave you with your jaw hanging open. Needless to say, I can't wait to run through it again on a more difficult setting. Gears 2 campaign is one of the best single player experiences I've been through.

Multiplayer Matches: What in the heck were they thinking?

As most of you know I spent a lot of time playing Gears 1, and I loved *almost* every part of that game's multiplayer experience. Sure, there were BS THX Slayer Magic Shotgun (TM) moments, but all in all the game was actually quite fun to play. Turn the clock two years later and we're at version 2.0 (or 1.9 candidate release if you've tried the matchmaking system).

I'm left with just straight confusion as to what they were trying to achieve this time around. To be honest it's like they never really thought through the changes, just went around and said.. "Hey man this would be totally awesome if we threw in this cool new thing.. people will love it!!!".

Exhibit A: the concussion effect - this is when you happen to be near a smoke grenade when it goes off. You'll receive a nonlethal and quite annoying jolt that knocks you to the ground, making you a target for 4 seconds until you get up. Combine this with a totally neat-o awesome stick effect to stick smoke grenades to walls and you get a funtastic standoff where routing out that last player is virtually impossible if he has an ounce of skill in his thumbs.

At least you're not able to pwn people with superior lancer/hammerburst skill any more. The people who are getting the kills are doing so through one of two things, hoarding a power weapon, or you guessed it, the chainsaw. Lowered shot rate on the shotgun and continuously running chainsaws whether they're shot or not provide a zone of opportunity for any three year old child with a B button. The lancer fire is effectively useless, taking almost more than a full clip (which has been extended) to down someone. The hammerburst is ok, except for the fact that it's melee is useless against unstoppable and never ending chainsaws.

The power weapons: Get the torque bow and win. Get the boomer and win. Get the mortar and have a distinct advantage. Get the frag grenades and win. Get the sniper and have your whole team cuss you out while you lose. And that sums up exactly how you're game will go if you do those exact steps.

The torque bow is now so overpowered that you just have to shoot the ground next to an opponent and he's mashed potatoes. We discovered this while, after his whole team had died, an opponent destroyed all 5 of us (1 vs 5), all with what we thought was an innocent looking torque bow from GoW 1. Meet the new Halo 2 sword folks! Do not use standard weapons in this game. You will be doomed to disappointment over and over again. I confirmed this by grabbing the torque and subsequently destroying the opposition every time. And here's where I say it:

I PREFER PLAYING HALO 3 MULTIPLAYER FAR MORE THAN GEARS OF WAR 2 MULTIPLAYER.

God help me. After getting sawed *cough* sworded *cough* in GoW2 35 times maybe others will feel the same way

And I will end in typical complement sandwich form by saying something good about the GoW2 experience.

Horde mode is amazing. Horde mode rocks your face off. Horde mode gives your Mama a back massage and strokes your Aunt Bethyl's bunions. I can't say enough about how much fun I have playing this mode. At this point I'm feeling like GoW 2, much like this post of mine, is akin to owning a Lamborghini with a turd for a stick shift. The awesomeness is there, but you have to constantly grab on to that turd in order to get the full experience.

Sweeney, your still my hero.

Thnx.

Echoes of War

trigger119 — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 20:21:14 +0000

So, I ran across an interesting story on Kotaku today. Apparently the Eminence Symphony Orchestra released probably one of the most amazing music collections I've never thought of hearing this way.

They've basically been composing and arranging full orchestral music from the world of Blizzard- The Diablo series, Starcraft, and Warcraft.

After reading the Kotaku article linked at the beginning of this post, checking out the sample tracks, and checking out the video trailer, I'm definitely convinced this is worth a buy. I'm a big fan of classical music anyhow...and combining that with games is usually win-win.

The "Echoes of War" release is in 2 different packages. You can buy the Standard Edition for $29.95. The Standard Edition contains:
* Two audio CDs
* 8-page colour booklet
* 15 audio tracks
* Over 90 MINUTES of orchestral music including exclusive music from World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, StarCraft: Ghost, StarCraft 2 and Diablo III

The 2nd package is the "Legendary Edition" for $49.95. The Legendary Edition comes with:
* Two audio discs
* DVD including feature length documentary Inside the Echoes of War, Kow Otani featurette Taking of Diablo and more
* 32-page colour booklet
* Nine exclusive art cards
* 15 audio tracks
* Over 90 MINUTES of orchestral music including exclusive music from World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, StarCraft: Ghost, StarCraft 2 and Diablo III

Apparently from what Kotaku says, there is a limited number of the Legendary Edition being made. What that number is, is unknown- might be just a sales ploy. No way of knowing, yet.

The documentary "behind the scenes" aspect of the Legendary Edition really caught my eye...so I'm springing for the Legendary.

MLG Gears of War 2 Film Festival

trigger119 — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 21:15:59 +0000

Major League Gaming has kicked off their first Gears of War 2 film festival today. Users are to submit their best plays in a skill video no longer than 90 seconds. There is no limit on your number of entries. As for prizes, 500 bucks and MLG prize packs are up for grabs. The deadline for entries is December 1st. For the rest of the information on the contest, please follow this link- http://gameroom.mlgpro.com/film_festival.php?fid=137

Also, please Digg: http://digg.com/gaming_news/Gears_of_War_2_MLG_Film_Festival

Fable 2: My Thoughts

trigger119 — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 18:38:10 +0000

I just finished the campaign last night, so I thought I'd post a few of my thoughts. There are many ****SPOILERS****

Having played the first one on the original Xbox, I'd say the best summary to my thoughts is that it's everything the first one should've been and was definitely worth the money.

I coughed up the extra cash for the limited edition. The bonus disc was definitely worth it. It contained what I expected(some unexpected, too): a long behind-the-scenes video, an art gallery from Fable 2, and a video with....hobbes. Lionhead takes tiny plastic hobbes( a creature in the game) to famous locations in Europe many will recognize.

Fable 2 isn't really a direct "sequel" but rather a new story in Albion(500 years later, to be exact) starring one of the descendants of the hero of the original game. I really enjoyed the different ways things had changed and how actions from the first game had rippled through time. For example, in Wraithmarsh the town that used to exist there is now wholly a den of evil, resulting from the evil actions of your "evil self" from the first game. It's far from the same place that existed in the first game. The main training ground of heroes from the first game is now nothing more than ruins.

The game starts you off as a child, much like the first game. You have a sister, also much like the first game. I really felt anyone new to Fable would have no problem if they hadn't played the first game. However, I am glad I did because you see the things/locales that Lionhead has put in Fable 2 that only players of the first game will notice or remember.

Things seem in an even worse state then ever, when speaking of the world at large. Magic and heroism for the most part is a thing of the past, nothing more than a legend. The game, through different cutscenes and quests, gets you acclimated to how Fable works and sets the story off in epic fashion. One compliment I would definitely extend to Lionhead is that the world of Fable 2 is vastly bigger than the first Fable.

You and your sister discover a music box that you buy for 5 gold at the urging of Theresa, a mysterious woman who guides you throughout the whole main story. You discover this music box is magical, and the lord of the land, Lord Lucien, sees the magic from his tower and summons you.

The events in the tower set the stage for the whole game. He discovers that heroes blood runs in you and your sister's veins...and promptly kills your sister and thinks he kills you. Your youth is told in cutscene, unsurprisingly training to become a hero and get revenge on Lucien.

Apparently Lucien is trying to rebuild the "Spire" which was to be a conduit of magic for the whole kingdom. I'll digress from telling the whole story. I really wasn't terribly impressed by the story of Fable 2, to be honest. It's not too unique of a story, or original. However, the presentation was spectacular. The way in which it is told is quite unique, in my opinion. The unique artistic style of the whole game was so awesome!

As for the graphics...well I don't think they pushed the Xbox 360 as far as they could have. I found the graphics to be glitchy at times, with textures popping in. The graphics are not bad, by any means, but the difference between Fable 1 and 2 in graphics is not as vast as it should be. I found, being a wizard by nature, that things got quite slow when I really let loose the higher level spells. By slow, I mean laggy, in terms of the speed of the game animations for everyone.

The sound of the game was great. It's not as memorable, as say, Halo's music, but it was great. Perfect for the type of game it is. The voice acting was pretty solid.

The gameplay was fantastic, for the most part. I still feel that the first person aiming system for shooting guns and bows is still quite clunky and requires little to no skill. Not much of an improvement over the first game there. However, the swordplay and wizardry were quite fun and topnotch. The A.I. of the enemies were puzzling at times- there was more than one instance where I could attack a group from far away with my bow and never even get so much as a bad look as I popped every one of them with arrows.

The side quests of Fable 2 are great. If you really throw yourself into all Albion has to do, from side quests to jobs to being a real estate mogul, you can easily spend 30 hours, I wager. I personally didn't, but there is easily 3x more to do in Albion this time around. Lionhead really brought Fable up to the level of, say, Elder Scrolls IV. One thing I found puzzling was the lack of a full world map- you could only access the map for your region.

I've really been looking forward to this game, and overall I was definitely enthralled and impressed. I neglected to do any sort of co-op action....from what I hear, it's pretty fun. Overall I think Fable 2 was a huge improvement over the first, but if there is a 3rd(and I believe there will be) Fable, there are still quite a few improvements Lionhead can make for the next outing in Albion.

Gears of War 2 reviews roundup. Avg: 94/100. Matchmaking is different. Horde mode revolutionary.

rapture — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 23:56:01 +0000

Update: After 28 reviews, the score is now 94 out of 100.

Gears of War 2 is already being reviewed by media outlets and they think it’s a great game. With about 20 reviews in the books, GoW2 out scores its predacesor.

According to MetaCritic.com, GoW2 has a 95 out of 100 rating. Notable scores are 100/100 from 1UP, Gamespy, and GamePro. Team XBOX gives a 98/100; IGN 95/100.

Probably due to social engineering, GoW2 has a pethetic 3.3 out of 10 score from 3455 votes from readers of MetaCritic.com. GoW2 is out on the street if you are in the right lanes. However, I'm having a hardtime believing that nearly 3500 gamers have played the game and gone to MetaCritic just to voice their opinion on the game.

For your reference, the original Gears of War, Halo 3, and Call of Duty 4 all had average scores of 94/100 and graded by the major media outlets. With more GoW 2 reviews due out later, it is likely that its current 95/100 rating won’t last and will drop a point or two. As if it matters. GoW 2 will definitely be one of the best games of the year and one the best first person shooters to date on the XBOX 360.

(The original Gears of War title had an average review of 8.0 out of 10 from 877 users on MetaCritic.com. If Epic can't handle the XBOX Live traffic and if there are technical glitches in the game (perhaps due to a rushed production to meet the holiday drop date), then you can expect users to score this game much lower than 8.0 out of 10.)

Below are direct links to highlighted reviews:

1UP - 100/100
GamePro - 100/100
GameSpy - 100/100
TeamXBOX - 98/100
IGN - 95/100
CVG - 93/100
EuroGamer - 90/100
GameDaily - 90/100

Early reports say that there are texture loading problems with GoW2. GoW2 pushes the envelope when it comes to graphics and you can bet that Epic has used some of the industry's highest resolution texture maps. However, TeamXBOX says that installing GoW2 to your harddrive (something we'll all be able to do in a few weeks) fixing the texture loading problems.

There are mixed reviews on the voice acting.

Gameplay and graphics are getting the highest marks.

Matchmaking has changed. From IGN: "The matchmaking for Gears of War 2 is totally different from what was available in Gears 1 and works very well. Players are matched according to their rank and, once matched, must then vote on the gametype and then the map. There are two choices for each and your options depend on which playlist you select initially. The playlist selections are a little odd. I had hoped for an option to just play the new modes, while there are mixes that are close, none provides exactly that."

Horde mode seems awesome. From IGN: "Horde mode is an unbelievably simple and addictive mode that lets you compete not only against swarms of different enemies but also against your friends. Each map has its own leaderboard and you'll probably need to get through all 50 waves without your entire team dying to even come close to being at the top. My only complaint with Horde mode is that the mix of enemies is the same for every ten waves. Meaning that Wave 11 contains the same enemies as Wave 21 and 31, they're just tougher later on. Oh, and where are the Reavers and Brumaks?"

GLHF.

Complete Xbox 360 VGA Audio/Video Cable and Adapters = $14.40

Midnight — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 15:11:24 +0000

I needed an additional audio adapter to make my Xbox 360 VGA cable work with PC speakers, so I went to Monoprice because they generally have audio/video cables and adapters at dirt cheap prices with tiny shipping costs to boot. I wasn't disappointed. I got the adapters I needed shipped to my door for $3.xx Out of curiosity I added all the cables necessary to get Xbox 360 video to a PC monitor and the audio to PC speakers. The total is $14.40. Here's the parts needed, all quantities of one.

Part ID Description Price

678 3.5mm Stereo Coupler Jack to Jack (Female-Female) $0.68

2120 RCA Audio Splitter Adapter (3.5mm Male to 2 RCA Female) (Stereo) $0.65

4010 XBOX 360 VGA CABLE $8.27

USPS Priority Mail Shipping to 35763 $4.80
-------------
Total $14.40

I was really surprised how inexpensive this could be. You provide the monitor, 360, and PC speakers, and the above hardware gets you in business. If you've been on the fence about going to a VGA monitor and PC speakers for BYOS LANs, this could seal the deal.

D-Link DGL-4500 Gaming Router Mini-Review

Midnight — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 13:19:33 +0000

I recently purchased a D-Link Gamerlounge DGL-4500 Xtreme N Gaming Router. In this thread I will post my thoughts about it in a somewhat realtime manner as I begin using it. It will eventually be a full review, but I'm going to write it as a stream of consciousness rather than a complete review. Read on for my experience thus far.

I just purchased it two days ago and installed it yesterday, but I still don't have all the features configured or any experience with it during online gaming.

First, I purchased it because I run two Xbox 360s in my house, sometimes gaming at the same time, and my current router (~4 year old Belkin Wireless G router) can't support open NAT on both. This creates interesting problems when trying to host and organize online games. Another small problem that it promises to fix is increase in ping times to your online gaming host while another network computer is uploading or downloading large amounts of data.

It supposedly fixes this by prioritizing network traffic to allow gaming data through first. I don't know how it works, but it sounds great. Perhaps I'll learn in the coming days. It also has 802.11n (draft), but I currently don't have any devices that support N, so that's just some incentive for the future. It also has an LED display.

The router is a little expensive at $170 delivered from Amazon. I wasn't excited about paying this much, but my previous router lasted many years. Not only was it getting old, but it lacked several features that I want and would use regularly. I get a lot of utility from my home networking equipment through online gaming, LANs, and my home theater PC, so it was worth the $ to me to buy a quality router with lots of features, because I tend to use those features.

Last night I installed the router, upgraded the firmware, set up my wireless network, and set up MAC address filtering. My wireless security is to not broadcast my SSID plus only allow approved MAC addresses. Yes, it's possible to find out my SSID and spoof a MAC address, but it's not very probable--especially in light of all the open and WEP encrypted networks around me.

Upgrading the firmware was easy. Some reviews complained about it. I think the complaints are unfounded. Setting up MAC address filtering was essentially easy, but I did stumble on one nuance: make sure the first MAC address you add to the approved list is the MAC of the device you're using, or you essentially lock yourself out of the router and must do a hard reset to default settings.

Yeah. It happened twice.

After that things went smoothly. Both Xbox 360s have open NAT and all my devices are online. It integrated seamlessly with my existing 16-port switch that services all my home network drops. However, it appears that I must reconfigure my Vista Media Center machine (HTPC) with my Media Center Extenders (Xbox 360s). Changing the router seems to have destroyed the connection, but that should be simple enough to fix. I plan to drag the HTPC out of the closet and tackle that tonight (hopefully before the debate).

Update 1: Got my HTPC and Vista Media Center running with the 360s as extenders again. I have no idea why the new router killed the connection but it was almost as simple to restore as I thought it would be. I had to set up my tuner's TV signal again, which was about 10 minutes of work, but now everything is kosher again. Next two challenges are installing my old Belkin router as a wireless access point near the center of my house and sharing a USB printer via the new D-Link router.

Of curious note is that it's little (but older) brother, the DGL-4300, is certified Xbox Live compatible. The DGL-4500 is not. I can only assume that the certification process is yet to be completed or that D-Link decided not to send hardware to Microsoft for certification because everyone would assume a "gaming router" would work fine with XBL.

Update 2: From the Xbox Live compatible router webpage: Routers that are marked "Works with Windows Vista" are compatible with Xbox LIVE.

The DGL-4500 is indeed marked "Works with Windows Vista"

Update 3: Configured my old Belkin wireless G router to work as an access point for the DGL-4500. Was fairly simple. Router IP is 192.168.1.1 with assignable IPs from .100-.199. Set the Belkin router (hereafter known as the access point) to 192.168.1.2, same subnet. Connected one of the 4 LAN ports of the access point to my 16-port switch and now I have full strength Wireless G from my front yard to my back yard. I set the channels manually to Channel 10 and Channel 2 to avoid interference.

Interesting point about the 4500: It defaults to broadcasting 'mixed' 802.11b/g/n. I was getting a rather poor signal from my iPhone from right outside the router. I have no b or n devices, so I set it to broadcast g only. Instant full strength signal. I suppose there's a limited amount of gain that has to be shared. I thought it could only broadcast one signal at a time (either b, g, or n, but not all three). I'm a little confused, but it worked.

Over the course of setting this stuff up I managed to have to reset the AP to default settings 4 times, and the router once, but I got it figured out. The router experienced a bad glitch where I could no re-enable the wireless broadcast (after disabling it to check signal from the AP). I managed to re-enable it by resetting the router to default settings and configuring it again. Was a slight pain.

Gears of War 2: Video Roundup

trigger119 — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 18:13:07 +0000

In case you all missed these: Epic has been releasing these "developer diaries" for the upcoming release of Gears of War 2. You can download most of these in High Definition WMV format at the official GoW 2 website: http://gearsofwar.xbox.com/Media/videos.htm

All videos are chronologically ordered, from newest to oldest.

Never Fight Alone:
The crew at Epic dishes on multiplayer, new modes, and psychological warfare in Gears 2.
http://gameroom.mlgpro.com/view/mcWKEmj2Gb4.html

Enter the Horde:
Take a closer look at the brutal new foes in Gears 2.
http://gameroom.mlgpro.com/view/Cic8ngjs9W0.html

Delta Blues:
The Gears 2 team talks about what makes their characters tick.
http://gameroom.mlgpro.com/view/EVsulpbQwEdD3M.html

Every Gun Has A Story:
The Gears 2 team explains how to reach out and touch someone… with a flamethrower.
http://gameroom.mlgpro.com/view/d8fhsalslNPfA84w.html

Touch The Sound:
Learn all about the "meatier," "crunchier," Gears 2 sound design.
http://gameroom.mlgpro.com/view/NTm4Zx0X9As.html

Gears 2: Multiplayer Footage:
Part 1:

Part 2:

Call of Duty 5: World at War beta impression and game summary. Collector's edition has exclusive addons.

rapture — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 17:13:58 +0000

Several Hushed Casket members are now in the public beta of Call of Duty 5: World at War. For those of you that aren't in just yet, here are some of my thoughts after playing it for the first day:

By the way, reserve the game at Gamestop and you can get access to the multiplayer beta. Also pay attention to this website and we'll let you know when beta keys are going to be given away.

My take of the beta:

CoD5 is as if you took the CoD4 engine and gameplay, stripped out the modern warfare element and the Middle Eastern setting, and then replaced it with WWII warfare in the Pacific/Asian theater and the German/Soviet front.

The party system, rank system, weapons, perks, classes, and kill bonuses are all built into the game just like they were for CoD4. Some new perks are added. Of course the weapons are from the WWII era.

During this first stage of the beta the maximum level is capped at level 11.

As of this writing (2PM CST), 7000 players are online.

My first game was in a large map set in what seemed like a Philippine island. The map was dark and set on a beach. On the shore where huts and buildings made out of old wood and old metal. Some of the buildings stretched out over the water. At least one building was raised about 20' off the ground and a sniper was owning us from that spot.

Wild dogs attacked us as we were playing. See below:

If you get 3 kills without dying you can call in a recon plane that will reveal enemies on the map just like the UAV in CoD4.

If you get 5 kills without dying you can call in artillery rounds to the spot on the map that you pick. (The cannon fire seemed to last 3 or 4 times longer than the bombing in CoD4). I feel like this will be more deadly than the airstrike in CoD4.

Get this...

If you get 7 kill without dying you can call in dogs. The dogs will sniff out the enemies and go attack them. The enemies can shoot the dogs. A new wave of dogs may attack if the dogs are killed before a certain time limit or before a certain kill limit.

I've been killed by dogs more than once already.

In my second map we moved to what looked to be a place in Germany. The industrial complex was in rubbles. The map was large with plenty of cover. There were also many walkways high above ground level. Tanks were in this level. Because of all the buildings and the rubble, it was easy to avoid the tanks.

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Beta maps:

Castle: The Imperial Japanese Army faces off against the Marine Raiders in a daytime battle, located on the grounds of an ancient, Japanese castle.

Makin: The U.S. Marine Raiders square off against the Imperial Japanese Army in a nighttime fight, set in an outpost on the Makin Atoll in the Pacific.

Roundhouse: The Wehrmact will fight the Red Army to the bitter end in a daytime struggle that features tank and infantry combat, set in a desolate, war-torn European train depot.

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Perk 1:
- Special Grenades x3
- Satchel Charge x2
- M9A1 Bazooka x2
- Bomb Squad [level 16]
- Bouncing Betty x2 [level 24]
- Bandolier [level 40]
- Primary Grenades x2 - [level 44]
- M2 Flamethrower [level 65]

Perk 2:
- Stopping Power
- Fireworks (higher explosive weapon damage)
- Flak Jacket (reduces explosive damage)
- Gas Mask (protects against Tabun gas)
- Juggernaut
- Camouflage [level 12]
- Sleight of Hand [level 28]
- Shades [level 32]
- Double Tap [level 36]
- Overkill [level 56]

Perk 3:
- Deep Impact
- Extreme Conditioning
- Steady Aim
- Toss Back [level 6]
- Second Chance [level 9]
- Martyrdom [level 20]
- Fireproof [level 48]
- Dead Silence [level 52]
- Iron Lungs [level 60]
- Reconnaissance [level 64]

Vehicle Perk:
- Water Cooler (decreases turret overheat)
- Greased Bearings (increases turret rotation speed)
- Ordnance Training [level 12]
- Leadfoot [level 28]
- Coaxial Machine Gun [level 40]

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Primary Weapon:
- Bolt Action Rifles
-- Springfield
-- Arisaka
-- Mosin-Nagant
-- Kar98k
-- PTRS-41

- Rifles
-- SVT-40
-- Gewehr 43
-- M1 Garand
-- STG-44
-- M1A1 Carbine

- Submachine guns
-- Thompson
-- MP40
-- Type 100
- PPSh-41

- Shotguns
-- M1897 Trench Gun
-- Double-barreled shotgun

- Machine guns
-- Type 99
-- BAR
-- DP-28
-- MG42
-- FG42
-- Browning M1919

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Gametypes

War - Capture battlefield command points. Secure and hold all positions to achieve victory. Players 6-12.
CTF - Get the enemy flag and return it to your base. Players 6-12.
Team Deathmatch - Straight up TDM. Use teamwork to kill enemy players and reach the score limit. Players 6-12.
Pick up TDM - Straight up TDM with no parties allowed. Players 6-12.
Free for all - Kill or be killed. You are alone. Everyone wants you dead. Players 6-12.

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As of this writing, War has 1417 of 7084 gamers, CTF has 769, TDM has 3755, Pick up TDm has 504, and FFA has 639.

Prestige mode hits at Level 65.

Party privacy settings are available.

The multiplayer beta is only playable through XBOX Live. I have not heard if CoD5 will support LAN play.

13 multiplayer maps will ship with the game. Expect for there to be more maps to purchase after the release.

Soviet T34 and German Panzer tanks are playable in some multiplayer maps. They are destructible and were added to the game with balance in mind.

Unrelated to the beta, CoD5 will support online co-op during the campaign.

CoD5 is not made by Infinity Ward. It is made by Treyarch, makers of CoD3. CoD3 was a disappointment to many gamers. Treyarch is not going to let you down with CoD5.

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The collector's edition of the game contains exclusive content:

- Colored Clan Tag: Identify your VIP-status in multiplayer with a uniquely colored clan tag

- Day 1 Edge: Dominate your rivals online and rank up faster with your instantly available FG 42 Machine Gun. The FG 42 is a high-level (45+) machine gun which you can have from day-one. Saw through your opponents from 50 yards with this fast firing machine gun.

- Double Experience: Take advantage of a week of double experience in multiplayer to accelerate your advancement. (Limited time offer. Exact date for week of double experience will be announced on CallOfDuty.com, register online to receive confirmation of date and time and other key information.)

- Stainless Steel Canteen: Authentic 8-ounce brushed stainless steel Call of Duty branded canteen.

- Metal Storage Tin: Featuring Call of Duty inspired artwork, this collectable metal storage tin provides enough space to store multiple games and their cases.

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Call of Duty 5 beta keys. Hurry. Less than 6000 keys remain.

rapture — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 21:37:48 +0000

UPDATE: It's too late. You missed out on the keys. Stay tuned.

Ways to get keys:

1) preorder the game at Gamestop
2) register at callofduty.com and wait for another open call for keys
3) eBay

Want to play the beta version of Call of Duty 5?

Go to this website and register your name and email address. If you are one of the first 20,000 to register, you'll get to download the beta version of Call of Duty 5 to your XBOX 360.

Hint: On the registration this translation may help you:

Nom (Name)
Prénom (Last name)

You can skip the middle section labeled "Communauté".

Adresse email (Email Address)
Vérification email (Repeat Email Address)
Date de naissance (Date of Birth)

As of this posting only 5886 beta keys remain available.

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BTW: Be sure to follow The Hushed Casket on Twitter.com to get breaking news updates on your cellular device.

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Hushed Casket readers are beginning to get their beta keys. Good luck.

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The website has no more keys to give out. Stay tunes for more updates. We'll try to alert you of any more beta key offerings.

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The collector's edition of the game contains exclusive content:

- Colored Clan Tag: Identify your VIP-status in multiplayer with a uniquely colored clan tag

- Stainless Steel Canteen: Authentic 8-ounce brushed stainless steel Call of Duty branded canteen.

- Metal Storage Tin: Featuring Call of Duty inspired artwork, this collectable metal storage tin provides enough space to store multiple games and their cases.

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Edit: The collector's edition of the game gives you exclusive content including a colored clan tag.

Gears of War 2 preview summary. Exclusive DLC maps with purchase. Skorge playable. Not coming to PC.

rapture — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 00:55:56 +0000

(Skorge)

Gears of War 2 will be released on November 7th. Here is round up of what to expect:

* graphical upgrades (Wikipedia)
* physics engine improvements (Kotaku video)
* play as a Skorge in multiplayer (dual chainsaw not usable)
* 10 players in multiplayer
* at least 3 multiplayer modes: "Guardian" is essentially a modified version of "Assassination" from the original Gears of War, but allows players to continue fighting after the leader has been killed, but losing the ability to respawn. "Wingman" splits all ten players into five teams of two, where both members of a team play as the same character. "Submission," formerly known as "Meat Flag," is a version of capture the flag in which players attempt to "down" an enemy controlled by the game's AI and move its body to their team's base to earn points.
* bots will be available in multiplayer
* A new co-op game mode was confirmed during Microsoft's E3 2008 press conference; called "Horde," this mode allows up to five players to fight off waves of attacking Locust together. Horde Mode will not feature bot support as in competitive multiplayer, and can be played alone. The Locust attack in waves of multiple enemies which become more difficult as players progress.
* the new Battle Cam allows players to pan around a map as the camera focuses on areas of intense fighting, and the Ghost Cam allows a player to roam freely around a map. A photo mode will also be featured, with each photo taken by a player rated on the amount of action in the shot.
* no plans to bring GoW2 to the PC
* to get an achievement which requires 500 kills with a weapon or 500 headshots, only the first kill or headshot made by a player in a given multplayer match will count towards the achievement.
* new characters introduced in campaign mode
* players will be able to fight the large Brumaks
* dueling chainsaw battles
* us downed enemies as shields
* players who have been injured can crawl as a final desperate attempt at life
* the level of blood and gore will also be increased, for example, when the player is close to death, wherever he moves there will be trails of blood behind him
* more "fatality" moves added
* In Co-op Players can play on different difficulties in the same game
* some of the Xbox Live achievements can be completed through both play in single player and multiplayer mode
* bigger and badder enemies than the Brumak are planned
* you'll be able to ride and pilot a Brumak
* the collection of COG tags has been expanded to include the collection of story-based items such as personal letters and medical records, and a "war journal" will track which collectibles have been found and where missing ones can be located.
* all grenades can now be used as mines by placing them on walls or floors, and will detonate when approached by enemies
* players can now be knocked over by the concussive force of a nearby detonating grenade
* Amazon will deliver this game to your door the day of release (pre-order the game here)

What do you think of these changes and features? What are you expectations for this game?

Bungie releases vague trailer for next project. Looks like Halo 3 add-on.

rapture — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 03:52:12 +0000

UPDATE: More developing news about this game can be found here: http://hushedcasket.com/node/3021

Bungie has released a trailer for their next project while not revealing much of any details about their work. The game is obviously based on Halo and is set in New Mombasa. From my interpretation, this looks like a campaign prequel for Halo 3.

Recall that we reported about the "Halo Blue" title that leaked from Wal-mart documents. "Halo Blue" is supposed to be an M-rated shooter that is released on September 30th.

What do you think is going on here?

XBL DLC Sale - Bring Down The Sky and Shivering Isles both discounted...

Slayer — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 16:31:56 +0000

In case anyone is interested...

XBL has a sale going on downloadable content for six titles including Mass Effect and Oblivion. Bring Down the Sky, Mass Effect's episodic campaign add-on and Oblivion's, IMO, overpriced Shivering Isles expansion are both discounted. Through October, Bring Down the Sky is 100gp off bringing the total to 300gp, a 25% discount. Shivering Isles is 800gp off bringing it's total to 1600, a savings of 33%.

GTH3 is also seeing some price cuts on a few of it's downloadable track packs. The complete list of sale prices is listed at IGN.