September 5, 2008 - Microsoft is fond of reminding gamers than there are more than 20,000 pieces of content available for download on Xbox Live Marketplace, and new downloadable items are added every week. We haven't counted, but our interns have, and they passed out from asbestos poisoning at around 80. Maybe we should move their workspace out of the basement.
Regardless, that's a lot of stuff, and we at least casually glance at it all. This week saw the release of four XBLA games of varying quality, a handful of random Rock Band tracks, and the usual collection of themes, demos and in-game content. The biggest surprise was an update for a game we had long since relegated to the back of the desk drawer. What do you get a superhero who has everything? How about multiplayer?
Incredible Hulk Multiplayer Expansion
Price: Free
Size: N/A
We have some hardcore Hulk fans in the IGN offices, and they wanted to like The Incredible Hulk videogame SEGA released this summer to accompany the film. Unfortunately, the title was mediocre at best, and reviewer Hilary Goldstein gave it no more than a passing grade. This week, SEGA released a free patch for the Hulk that enables online multiplayer over Xbox Live, a feature that wasn't included in the retail version of the game. Like the single-player mode, the new multiplayer is pretty bare-bones. It's two-player only, and you can choose between ranked and unranked matches. The goal is to get the most points by destroying both enemies and your opponent. It's nothing special, but it's free, and it will liven up your Hulk experience if you already own the game.
Demos: NBA Live 09 , Pure, NHL 09 , Beijing 2008
Price: Free
Size: Various
We're firm believers in free downloadable game demos, and it was actually a pretty good week in that department. Why believe what we have to say when you can grab a small portion of the game in question and try it out for yourself? Wait, that would put us out of jobs. Never mind, don't download these demos – just head over to our reviews and believe what we say. After all, we're professionals.
Rock Band PAX Track pack
Price: 240 MSP (80 MSP ea.)
Size: 100 MB (30 MB ea.)
To celebrate the coming and going of the annual Penny Arcade Expo convention in Seattle, Harmonix and MTV Games released three songs in a PAX pack: "Skullcrusher Mountain" by Jonathan Coulton, "Shhh...." by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets, and "Livin' at the Corner of Dude and Catastrophe" by MC Frontalot. I know Coulton as the writer of "Still Alive" (aka The Portal Song), but the other two are new to me. Of the three, the MC Frontalot song is the best, if only because he drops an Airwolf reference. To me, this pack seems like a collection of songs MTV and Harmonix didn't know what to do with, so they packaged it as a PAX collection. Unless you're a big fan of one of these bands, save your points for something better.
Shred Nebula
Price: 800 MS Pts. ($10)
Size: 85 MB
Do you love to shred? Do you heart nebulas? Well then your dreams have been realized in the form of an XBLA game called Shred Nebula. IGN Insider editor David Clayman reviewed this indie shooter for us, and he found it to be a good game with some obvious flaws. It's nothing revolutionary on the top-down shooter front, but it's a solid title worth checking out if you're a shooter superfan.
Gin Rummy
Price: 400 MS Pts. ($5)
Size: 34 MB
Imagine a post-apocalyptic world in which the price of playing cards has skyrocketed so astronomically that casual gamers are forced to venture onto what's left of the global Internet in order to enjoy their favorite games. Then you'll understand why a game like Gin Rummy for XBLA simply had to be made. However, that grim future hasn't yet arrived, so we don't quite get the existence of Gin Rummy. It works, it looks slick and it says all the right things. But we still don't really want to go home with it. But hey, that just leaves more for you, right?
Themes: Mass Effect, Too Human
Price: 150 MS Pts. ea.
Size: About 4 MB ea.
It's not that we hate Dashboad themes, it's just that we hate paying for them if they a.) Advertise games we already paid $60 for or b.) Don't look al that great. These two fall into both categories. They're not bad, they just don't amaze, so we're opting out. Free themes are great though… so more of those please.
Pirates vs. Ninjas Dodgeball
Price: 800 MS Pts. ($10)
Size: 137 MB
Who would win a dodgeball fight between pirates and ninjas? Well, first of all, everyone knows the ninjas would win (yes, even in a naval battle, Erik Brudvig), and second of all, Pirates vs. Ninjas dodgeball isn't even a dodgeball game, so the argument is moot. Confused yet? Don't worry, it doesn't matter. This game is not good, so don't download it unless you're writing your masters thesis on the overexposure of ninjas in modern media.
Tales of Vesperia in-game items
Price: 80 – 100 MS Pts. ea.
Size: Negligible
This week Bandai Namco released a slew of downloadable items and upgrades for Tales of Vesperia, the company's recently-released Japanese RPG. These are all items and skills that are included in the game that Namco is now selling for Microsoft Points. So, essentially, you can pay a few bucks to get things like extra health items (gels), recipes and ingredients (sandwich) and skills for your party members that they'll eventually get anyway. You can even pay 300 MSP to immediately increase all your characters' levels by 10. Paying for things that will eventually be unlocked in the game as you play? No thanks.
EA Sports Live Score Tracker
Price: 80 MS Pts.
Size: 88 MB
Love fantasy football but longing to pay for an app that lets you track NFL scores and stats on your Xbox 360? Apparently EA's market research shows that some of you are, so they created Live Score Tracker. Fantasy football can be played and tracked online for free, so the point of this application is unclear. Why would I want to load up this software in XBLA every time I want to check my progress rather than just load up EA's web site or even ESPN.com? Not sure. Not going to download.