Great games blog

The Fall Xbox 360 dashboard update has been revealed to the Official Xbox Magazine in the UK and will include classic game downloads and films on demand.

Starting December 4th, Microsoft will introduce games it has published for the original Xbox on the Xbox Live Marketplace. This means for about 1200 Microsoft points 1200 Microsoft points (that’s US$15 / €14.40 / £10.20 / CAN$18.60 / AU$19.80) you’ll be able to download and play Halo on Xbox 360! The goal of the service is to bring as much of the back catalogue online as possible.

The initial list of downloads includes: Halo, Fable, Psychonauts, Fahrenheit, Crimson Skies: High Road To Revenge, Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath Of Cortex, and Burnout 3. No word yet on if any of these games will have an increased resolution and whether or not they include online play.

Another welcome addition is new films on demand, although it’s not yet confirmed for the December 4th date. Studios such as Warner Bros are potentially lined up for the service, meaning the initial list of movies will include: The Dark Knight, The Assassination of Jesse James, and I Am Legend.

The film rental service will cost about 600 Microsoft points (that’s US$7.50 / €7.20 / £5.10 / CAN$9.30 / AU$9.90) and come in 720p resolution. You have 14 days to start watching a film once it has been downloaded. Once you started watching a film, you have 24 hours to finish it. After that, the film deletes itself from your hard drive. It’s an online rental service, like the US Video Marketplace.

CVG has since publishing removed the news, likely at the request of Microsoft if it was revealed too soon.

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Microsoft has announced an Xbox Live event called Xtival 07. From November 23rd to 26th, Xbox Live Gold memberships will be free to everyone in Europe. So expect your online multiplayer matches to be a lot more crowded.

During this long gaming weekend, Microsoft will host competitions, exclusive downloads and more that will all soon be announced on Xbox.com. And if you don’t want to do that, just keep an eye on the Xbox Live Marketplace.

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Eidos confirms that Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Anniversary for the Xbox 360 will be released to retail stores on October 23rd in America and October 26th in Europe. In November 2007, the game will also be available as downloadable episodic content for Xbox 360 in two installments, each containing two chapters and the mansion level.

In order to access Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Anniversary downloadable episodic content for Xbox 360, players will require a Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend disc. All four episodes will cost you 2400 Microsoft points (that’s $29.99 / €27.91 / £20.40). Additional downloadable content will also become available for purchase on Marketplace to support the launch of Tomb Raider: Anniversary such as gamer picture packs and theme packs.

Inspired by the first Tomb Raider video game, originally released in 1996, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Anniversary is a totally new adventure for Lara, faithfully preserving the elements which made the original Tomb Raider such a classic (selling over 7 million copies worldwide). The Tomb Raider series is still one of the best-selling videogame franchises of all time with over 32 million copies sold and two major feature films released, starring Angelina Jolie.

“Tomb Raider Anniversary encapsulates the exploration and discovery which was the core story of the game that started it all, but is dramatically enhanced for a modern audience”, commented Robert Lindsey, executive vice president of sales and marketing, Eidos, Inc. “With the release of Anniversary for the 360, we are bringing an already celebrated title to the Xbox audience and embracing online trends with the downloadable version”.

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