Entertainment Electronics Blog

Software pirates may want to reconsider downloading that leaked copy of Halo Reach in advance of the game’s September 14 release date. Microsoft is issuing permanent Xbox Live bans for anyone it catches playing unauthorized versions of Reach.

Xbox Live’s director of policy and enforcement Stephen Toulouse commented on his Twitter (via Joystiq), “As with all unauthorized play on Xbox LIVE, anyone playing any unauthorized title runs the risk of account permaban and console,” adding, “Legit store bought copy runs no risk of ban. Key word: UNAUTHORIZED. We have ways of knowing.”

Don’t want your console permanently exiled from Xbox Live? Then don’t pirate games, dummy. And have a little patience; September ain’t that far away.

DeathSpank, the downloadable action-RPG by Hothead Games, officially has a release date.

Developed by The Secret of Monkey Island creator Ron Gilbert, DeathSpank stars the eponymous hero and his sidekick, Sparkles the Wizard, as they “collect loot” and “solve crazy puzzles.” Both characters will be able to team up in local co-op play.

It will be released for $14.99 on the PlayStation Network and 1200 Microsoft Points on Xbox Live Arcade. Look for it on July 13 and July 14 respectively.

Crackdown 2 is just a few weeks away from release, but you’ll be able to try it out much sooner than that. A demo of Crackdown 2 will be released on the Xbox Live Marketplace this Monday, June 21. Major Nelson has posted a list with details on upcoming releases on the Live Marketplace.

Besides the Crackdown demo, next week looks like an especially busy one. Monday will also see the release of Mirror’s Edge and Bee Movie Game on Games on Demand. On Tuesday, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 will get Onslaught Mode as DLC for 800 Microsoft Points ($10) and the free ‘Outlaws to the End’ DLC will come out for Red Dead Redemption. And next Wednesday, Jenga, Pictureka!, and Connect 4×4 will be released for Hasbro Family Game Night, along with two new 800-point Xbox Live Arcade games: Risk Factions and Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project.

Sometimes telling a loved one goodbye for the last time is just too painful, especially after spending the better part of the last decade at one another’s side. Such is the case for a handful Halo 2 fans who’ve refused to let go of their first-person shooter of choice, even after Microsoft pulled the plug on the original Xbox Live roughly two weeks ago.
It turns out these intrepid gamers have been able to remain connected to the old Live service as long as they don’t shut down their consoles or lose their internet connection. As a result, there are still around 13 people still playing Halo 2 online. The initial group of holdouts started much, much larger, but — as tends to happen when you leave your system on for weeks at a time — many have dropped out due to their consoles overheating, random disconnects, and other issues.

A fellow going by the name of Joe Campbell decided to chronicle this stalwart bunch of Halo players in a thread on the official Bungie forums. You’ll find his updated list of remaining Halo 2 users inside, as well as links to any livestreams that may still be running.

“We will keep playing until we are all forcibly removed,” Campbell writes. “It could be by Microsoft, Bungie, our Xbox’s overheating, or just lagging out. Not for competition, not for a prize, but for the love, and memory of Halo 2.”

Today marks another new entry in Microsoft’s Xbox Live “Deal of the Week” program. This week’s deal brings us Splosion Man, developer Twisted Pixel’s highly-combustible Xbox Live Arcade platformer, for half off its usual price of 800 Microsoft points ($10).
Like all of Microsoft’s weekly bargains, this deal is set to expire precisely one week from today. So if you’re at all interested in a game in which every face button on the controller causes the main character to explode, then you should probably hit up the Xbox Live Marketplace immediately.

The only remaining question is what to do with the extra five dollars in your wallet after you’ve downloaded the game. And the answer is pretty obvious: Go buy a box of donuts. Everybody loves donuts, right?

Remember Jade Empire? BioWare sure does. In fact, according to lead designer Mike Laidlaw, it’s a favorite among those at the studio.
“We will certainly announce it if it’s going to be coming out. At this point, Jade Empire is a staff favorite and a lot of us love it, so we’d love to revisit it at some point,” he told Strategy Informer.

Of course, they have other priorities at the moment. “Right now, we are very focused on Dragon Age and Mass Effect 2,” Laidlaw said.

The original game was an action-roleplaying title set in ancient China, and was released exclusively for the Xbox. BioWare is arguably better known for Knights of the Old Republic, Baldur’s Gate and Mass Effect, but it appears that Jade Empire has its followers.

If we hear anything, it will likely be after Mass Effect 2 arrives next year. In the meantime, Dragon Age is due November 3.

PlayStation 3 has become most players’ new favorite with its awesome features and also its handsome appearance. At today’s Comic Con, the Behemoth confirmed that the former Xbox exclusive game ‘Castle Crashers’ is scheduled to land on the PlayStation Network some time soon, and played the game video to the public.

Basically, ‘Castle Crashers’ is a little action RPG. It embraces the age-old classic premise of knights chasing after damsels in distress, and it was one of the more successful downloadable titles available on Xbox Live. Last month, The Behemoth announced the game had reached 1 million players.

As for those PS2 owners, who are also big fans of ‘Castle Crashers’, don’t worry, the controller converter can help. By using it, you can still play the PS3 game with your PS2 controller.