Free Bungie Day '08 Downloads Available

Just so you know, the FREE Bungie Day 2008 theme and gamer picture pack are now available for download off the Xbox Live Marketplace. W00tacular! And no, your calendar is not misinforming you. The downloads are available a day early (tomorrow, July 7th is officially Bungie Day), but that just allows us to celebrate 48 hours of Bungie Day(s). You'll have to wait for Cold Storage though, it'll be made available for FREE sometime tomorrow.

Also, when you download today's free goodies, be sure to note the gamer picture pack. Not only is there a soffish, a Pimps at Sea logo and bleached white Bungie logo, but there's one other featuring none other than the mysterious Superintendent himself! He also makes an appearance on the theme's Games blade. What a damn cute lil' plumber.


[Courtesy of Xbox360Fanboy]

Mortal Kombat vs DC: Brutal

Let's face it -- one of the main things that has set Mortal Kombat apart from its contemporaries throughout the years has been its inclusion of flagrant acts of grisly violence. When Ed Boon explained that the upcoming Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe would explore the softer side of the series with Teen-rated acts of pugilistic carnage, many fans were upset, as it seemed their thirst for evisceration would go unslaked. The latest salvo of screenshots for the brawler from Midway might confirm or ease your fears of a censored MK title -- no, there's no evidence of any impromptu spine-removal procedures, but there's pummeling and arm-breaking aplenty. Does the latest entry in the toasty franchise look gruesome enough for your sinister bloodlust?



[Courtesy of Joystiq]

PSP leading the first half of the Year in Sales

The first half of this year belong to the PSP in Japan. According to Famitsu publisher Enterbrain, the PSP moved 1,964,461 units, while the Wii was hot on its heels with 1,720,263 units. Rounding out the top three was the Nintendo DS, selling 1,593,844 units. Now that Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G has been out for three months, we'll have to wait and see if the Sony portable still has enough steam to snag the second half of the year.



[Courtesy of Kotaku]

Mario Super Sluggers Hands-On

The first time we had a chance to check out Mario Super Sluggers for Nintendo Wii, we were none too impressed. As a sequel to GameCube's 2005 Mario Superstar Baseball – also developed by Namco – we knew what to expect from the simple "charge and release" gameplay the Mario Sports franchises have been using for years previously. Unfortunately, the first live demo Nintendo showed off wasn't making too strong of a case for the game, showing off some pretty admirable visuals, but a whole lot of waggle and Wii-mote only control. Pull back and then forward to pitch or bat, and watch as your team auto-fields and base-runs on the fly, with only a bit of waggle to encourage them to move faster. It was none too impressive.

The game has since released in Japan, along with some new info on the title along the way. Nunchuk and Wii-mote control is supported in the final build, as is the ability to turn the remote on its side and play Sluggers like a classic NES game. In fact, now that we've gone hands-on with the other modes and options in the game, we've got more faith in the product than we openly expressed originally. There's more depth, some entertaining gameplay quirks that the Mario sports series is known for, and a pretty robust experience for both single and multiplayer gamers. It's not amazing by any standard, but it's an easy recommendation for younger baseball fans, and we're only a few hours in.


Sluggers is set up like the previous GameCube title, so anyone returning for a second trip around the bases should already know the score pretty well. Whether you're pitching or hitting, the game uses the same "charge and release" system as before, so the better you time your swing or pitch, the better you'll execute. Holding A on the Wii remote allows you to pitch a lob ball, which will still act as a strike if missed, and holding a direction on the analog stick while flicking will throw to any base on the diamond. Of course in Wii-mote only mode, a flick in any direction will automatically throw to the right base, and it's a bit too simple; very much a "baby mode" to say the least.

The charge and release mechanic works well, and pitchers still have a chance to add a little after-touch to throws, curving it out of the strike zone with either the analog stick, or Wii-mote tilt (in Wii-mote only mode). Super pitches and hits make a return, executed by holding A and B together while either swinging or throwing, and while you can still hit off of them (or defend them, should you be on defense), it's a nice way to swing the favor in a specific team's direction in as little as an inning of play. It never got too cheap or imbalanced, which is nice, but it added a much-needed level of strategy into the otherwise simple design.

We still have a few gripes though, and are trying to figure out just how to move past them since the game is finished and out the door in Japan. The mini-map in the upper right of the screen, for example, doesn't show fielders, so a ball can be flying, and you've got no idea which player you're currently selected on, or where the final destination of the ball is until your player comes into view on-screen. Depending on the type of hit, you'll have some time to navigate an arrow that points to your defender off-screen, but it really isn't precise enough, and we're hoping there's a hidden option among the Japanese text that lets us cut the camera from the ball mid-flight, over to the defender we're trying to position.

Along those same lines, there's also some annoying issues with player auto-switch while trying to field balls. The game will often switch your defender on the fly, so while you're moving towards the ball with one player, you may find yourself running away from it with another in a matter of seconds. Again, maybe there's a hidden option we're not seeing yet, but if nothing else players will need to learn to work with the game, anticipating when and where your player will switch mid-play.


As far as the interface and options go, Sluggers is pretty slick overall. The game supports a fast, intuitive IR pointer (one of the best on Wii, as far as we're concerned) for menus, and there's a lot to see and do within the game. As always the experience opens with a quick two minute CG trailer to get players into the mood, and then offers three save slots with the last time and date played to identify it. Miis are included in-game as well, but they pale in comparison to the amount of total Mario mascots that make an appearance. There are 12 captains to chose from, including DK, Diddy, Wario, Birdo, Daisy, Luigi, Mario, Peach, Yoshi, Waluigi, Bowser Jr., and Bowser. Each captain has different skill levels for pitching, hitting, fielding, and speed, as well as three other specific stats centered around both sides of the ball.

Also included are 40 supporting characters, including everyone from Toad and Shyguy to Koopas, Hammer Bros, multiple types of Goombas, Monty Mole, and the baby versions of Mario and Luigi. As an added bonus (and maybe our favorite aspect of the roster, actually), certain "non-specific" characters such as Shyguy, Toad, or Koopas have alternate colors, and each one comes with their own different stats. That means if you want an army of Koopa Troopa, Toad, or Goombas at your disposal, you could have up to five variations depending on the character, each with a different color and stat set. That really ups the roster.

As a few other odds and ends, we'll briefly mention that the game includes Toy Baseball this year, which is a party mode based on the classic "darts" inspired baseball arcade games. Hitting to different spots awards more points. There are also a few mini-games included in a party mode, but they're pretty generic and hit or miss for the most part. The stadiums we've played thus far include Mario Stadium, Peach Rink (ice based), Yoshi Park (theme park inspired, with trains and other moving obstacles), Wario City (urban, with streets that send ground balls randomly about), and DK Jungle, complete with stun flowers. The classic control mode, which is Wii-mote only, held on its side, plays like the nunchuk control scheme, but with the 2 button as your charge/swing/pitch control. Oh, and the music is a great little blend of classic Mario tracks, now with level themes worked into the audio presentation.

[Courtesy of IGN]

Free Microsoft Points & Xbox Live

To get your free Microsoft Points, you need:

• A website account
  
• Free Time
• Roboform
• Email

______________
As a gamer, I crave the extra goodies in games. The new maps of Call of Duty or more DLC for Rock Band. The thing is though, us gamers have next to no extra money to spend on Microsoft points. Well I stumbled across this site. I immediately saw this and thought, "SCAM"! "No one gives stuff away for free" Now I've tried Gaming lagoon and all those sites but they were all garbage and not very user friendly. But being the bargain hunter I am, I had to give this site a shot. Within minutes, I noticed the difference between this site and all the others. It was so much easier to use and the free Microsoft Points I got for my Xbox were totally useful.

The idea is simple: You complete small 2-5 minute surveys. In return you receive points. You then use these points like money. Each point = $1. Within a week I had 20 points. I couldn't believe it. I got my free Microsoft Points with that and am working on my free Xbox Live at the moment. I encourage you guys to atleast try it out. And have fun with your free stuff!

___________
Here are some hints and tips for making money quicker:

• Create an alternate email account at www.gmail.com (or other sites) and write down the username and password somewhere. Some offers need an email confirmation to get credited.

• Download Roboform! I HIGHLY recommend this, as it will save you a ton of time when filling out forms. www.roboform.com is the link. It is free, you can just use the demo version and it's just as good (don't pay for the full version unless you want to). It's a lot better than Google Autofill also.

• When going through giant lists of Yes/No forms, just hold down Tab and press the left arrow key over and over to do it automatically. Be sure to say yes to at least one offer to make sure you're credited (I usually just do the newsletters)

• After every offer, clear your cookies. Lots of these companies are linked together and if you have the same cookies you may not get credited. To clear cookies, click Tools and then click Clear Private Data (it may say Delete Browsing History), and check the cookies box and click OK.

Offers That credit quick: (Get your free Microsoft Points faster***)

Memolink Survey	0.5
Hollywood Tans	0.4
Burger King Vs Macdonalds	1.1
Clorox Bleach Pen	1.1
Free Halo Wars	0.4
Get a Game System	1.25
Big Win - $1000 Gas Gift Card	1.5
Entourage vs. Sex and the City	1.5
BigWin: Economic Concerns	0.9
Backyardigans vs. Spongebob	0.5
Free Bic Soleil Shimmer	0.4
Quiz Rocket - IQ Test	0.5
M&M Peanut vs. Plain	1.5
Wheel of Fortune vs. Jeopardy	1.5
CashKrazy	0.5
RSC: Target	0.7
XBOX 360 & HALO WARS	0.5

That's $15 already!


Proof it works and why:

This is just a clever marketing tactic that benefits you. You see, advertisers pay this website to put up their advertisements, and using that money they pay for your gifts (like microsoft points!) while still turning a profit for themselves. It's really logical and I don't see why people find it so hard to believe once explained thoroughly.


My Video Tutorial:

Vote for Your Favorite Cover for the upcoming Spiderman Game

Following the whole "Seize Control" theme they kicked off by allowing fans to vote on the preorder bonus for Spider-Man: Web Of Shadows, Activision is now giving players a chance to decide which box art the game ships with this fall. The choices are limited to the left image, which is almost mildly appealing, and the right one, which for some reason makes Spidey's arms and hands into display monitors for concept art.


While you struggle between mildly pleasing and completely stupid covers, keep in mind the special message below the voting section on the website. "Activision shall not be bond by the outcome of the community vote and Activisions decision(s) and selection(s) shall be final and binding." So yeah, vote, but don't expect it to actually matter. Awesome.

Vote Here

[Link to Article, courtesy of Kotaku.com]