Xbox LIVE Arcade’s second game in this Summer of Arcade series is Hydro Thunder Hurricane. An arcade style speed boat racing game designed as a sequel to Hydro Thunder which you might remember from your original PS/N64/dreamcast days.

Hydro Thunder

Now I’m not a huge fan of driving/racing games but I was really drawn to the graphics and the colors in this game. Like most racing games you race on tracks to earn credits to unlock new tracks and boats. There’s also a multiplayer mode. You can choose to race your friends in split screen or race over Xbox LIVE.

After being blown away by LIVE’s first game this summer, LIMBO, Hydro Thunder Hurricane left me a little disappointed. It’s a nothing special speed boat racing game. So if you are not into racing games I wouldn’t bother. If you played the original and want a game that is pretty much the same besides the upgraded graphics, go for it.

Hydro Thunder Hurricane

I am still trying to figure out how to describe this game. It’s a game that will make you feel the full range of you’re emotions. LIMBO is a puzzle game that puts you in the shoes of a little boy who wakes up in a dark forest. You are given no explanation, goal or direction.

The lack of explanation didn’t bother me, I immediately felt like I knew what I needed to do. I needed to find my way out of the forest. Easier said than done of course. Being a puzzle game, making your way through the world required you to push boxes/chains, avoid buzz-saws/giant spiders, and many other obstacles.

No need to adjust your TV, this game is in black and white. But the lack of color adds to the mystery that is the core story of this game. The same can be said for the lack of dialogue.

While it’s a game that some can complete in one sitting, others (like me) found themselves getting frustrated with some of the puzzles. This was the queue to put it down for a while. Come back with a clear mind and you’ll wonder what the hold up was.

LIMBO is the first game of Xbox LIVE’s Summer of Arcade. It certainly did not disappoint. If you want a game to challenge your mind and raise your eyebrows shell out the MP for this game. It’s well worth it.

I’m not going to lie, I will miss 1 vs 100. It was a great concept and always a good time. I mean I never made it into the “100″ or got to be the “1″ but I still had fun playing.

Getting gamers together to answer trivia for reall prizes in a LIVE game setting is a pretty cool idea. 1 vs 100 was a new step towards getting gamers from all ages and game types to come together. You could get the whole family to join in and compete or team up.

Hopefully we’ll see other games try to do what 1 vs 100 did.

Statement from Dave McCarthy

When we started on this journey, we knew we were creating an entirely new genre of entertainment that would be a continually evolving concept. We’re very proud of the ‘1 vs 100′ team and their accomplishments, and are excited to apply what we’ve learned to future programming.

Looks like Walmart wants in on all the excitement surrounding the November release of Xbox 360 Kinect. Until July 23rd Walmart is offering a a pre-order bundle for Kinect. It includes Kinect, a $30 eGift card for Walmart.com, and your choice of one Kinect launch title. The bundle will run you $199 asuming Microsoft is going to stick with the $150 price tag.

Now I wasn’t crazy about the idea of Bioshock 2 even having an MP mode in the first place. I felt that such an amazing story driven game had no use for Multiplayer. I still stand by my original thoughts but the MP was not a total waste. It’s an enjoyable little extra but I would never give it the amount of time I put into a Call of Duty MP.

So is it really worth putting out DLC for this game? This week was supposed to be the release of the second pack of DLC entitled the “Rapture Metro Pack”. It has been delayed but in reality does anybody really care? I’m not trying to be cruel towards Bioshock in any way. Heck I shelled out the cash for the special edition. But the MP is not what I bought the game for.

I do admit that I bought the first DLC, Sinclair Solutions. At the time, I was pretty into playing the MP because I just couldn’t get enough of the game. And I’m sure half of the people that bought it shared my feelings. But now we at months later. If players haven’t traded the game in already, it’s collecting dust in their game rack until they feel like picking it up again. It’s just the inevitable path for games.

2K  made an amazing series with Bioshock. But we buy it and keep it for the story. For the replay value of the single player campaign. The MP was just lack luster in comparison.

According to unnamed sources “with knowledge of the proposal,” Chernin would like to create a station featuring original programming and re-runs aimed at the demographic of young men who like games. The programming would be funded by a fee tacked onto Live’s service. Perhaps interested gamers would pay an extra dollar or two a month for access to the private channel. (via G4tv.com)

With movies and whole TV series being offered in the Zune marketplace and on Netflix I suppose a TV channel would be the next logical step. But the closed minded idea of focusing on the “young men who like games” is ridiculous. Female and adult gamers are on the rise and catering to only one demographic will not help your sales.

How about shows that cater to gamers in general? Giving us shows that you might find on G4 such as Attack of the Show or Xplay. Or creating new shows that focus on tips and tricks of the new games out there.

If you plan to make a TV channel at least put some effort into it. I’m not going to pay for re-run shows I can find anywhere for free. Give us(all gamers) something that’s worth the extra buck on Live.

Want to get videos from Hulu and YouTube right on your console? Play On is the way to do it. Install some software to your computer and you are ready to stream videos right to your 360, PS3, or Wii!

I don’t mean to sound like an infomercial but this download is worth the money if you hate watching Hulu with strained eyes at the computer screen. For twenty bucks (if you use the code LIFETIME before the end of the month) you get the download with unlimited access to all of your favorite video sites.

So check it out. They have a FREE trial!

It certainly wouldn’t surprise me in the least, but how soon will it be before those bright green cases become a thing of the past?

With the release of Games on Demand last year Microsoft took the first steps into what could be the future medium of game distribution. With releasing popular original Xbox titles and Xbox 360 Platinum Hits Microsoft can tread the waters of how popular downloading games is.

But could this really be the norm for releasing games in the future? I’d have to say no, at least in the case of this generation of consoles. It will continue to be an alternative to going out an buying the old classics but could never take the place of buying the actual disk when it comes to new releases.

For one thing, there simply isn’t enough storage space. Even with the release of the 250gb hard drive, storing a library of games and movies will eat up that space in no time. And should they create an even larger hard drive, the price would soar past the tag of an Xbox 360 Arcade.

Games on Demand may become the norm, but I don’t see it anytime soon.

It’s still a long ways away but motion gaming is coming to the Xbox 360. Since it’s announcement at E3 2009 there has been mixed thoughts from the gaming community. Unlike the Wii or the soon to be released PlayStation Move, Microsoft’s Project Natal will be controller free. This allows the gamer to use their whole body and voice commands.

Project Natal will open a whole new genre of games for the Xbox 360. The concern for most “hardcore” gamers is that motion control will infiltrate games that should remain without it. I, of course, share that concern. As excited as I am for Project Natal there are defiantly some games that are better left to the old in hand controller. I’m sure that many would agree that games like Call of Duty would not benefit from motion control. We just want to sit back, relax, and take out the enemy.

There’s a legitimate fear that motion control will be forced into some games. But that is an issue for game developers themselves. They will have a new question in their development process. Will this game benefit from motion control? Hopefully they take into serious consideration the audience their game is marketed to. I’m not saying they don’t do that now but when motion control becomes involved, I feel it will be a bigger question.

Motion control needs to remain it’s own genre. Stay out of our favorite games and we can all get along just fine.

Ah yes another proud parent letting their child run wild on Xbox Live. As many of you know I troll the suspensions and bans forums on xbox.com just about every day. I sometimes pick my favorites and post the link in my twitter as my “Xbox Live Idiot of the day”. This one defiantly made, if not topped the list of my Xbox Idiots.

Now on a serious note, WHERE WERE THE PARENTS! Sure as soon as the kid runs in crying that they were “unfairly” banned or suspended, the parents are right there at bat for them. Didn’t think “little Johnny” would ever do such a thing? Think that the PET just have him confused with someone else? WRONG.

This kid had to have been exposing himself to multiple people. At least one person then filed a complaint. That complaint is read by the PET and then investigated by an enforcer who actually gets in a game to prove guilt.

So parents before you go out and buy that camera add on for your child’s console, you might want to think twice about how he/she is going to use it.