The Rabies Blog

Assault Heroes 2, the long-awaited follow-up to the XBLA hit Assault Heroes, has been given an official release date of May 14^th and will be priced at 800 Microsoft Points.

With the far reaches of outer space as a backdrop, Assault Heroes 2 promises all the fast paced action of the original combined with new features such as hijackable enemy vehicles, more levels and enhanced on-foot and co-operative gameplay modes.

Keep an eye out for more details and screenshots as they become available…

Rock Band fans from the U.S. and Canada are the recipients of a new musical treat today as Harmonix and MTV Games released Judas Priest’s classic 1982 album Screaming For Vengeance on Xbox LIVE Marketplace.

Screaming For Vengeance, a heavy metal masterpiece, is the first full-length album to be released for Rock Band and features the original Judas Priest recordings. Here are the tracks included in the download:

“The Hellion”

“Electric Eye”

“Riding on the Wind”

“Bloodstone”

“(Take These) Chains”

“Pain and Pleasure”

“Screaming For Vengeance”

“You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’”

“Fever”

“Devil’s Child”

Gamers can now download the entire album for 1200 Microsoft Points or pick and choose their favorite tunes for 160 Microsoft Points each (Note: “The Hellion” & “Electric Eye” are offered together as 1 downloadable track).

For more info on Rock Band, and the 140+ songs available today, visit www.rockband.com and www.harmonixmusic.com.

That got your attention, didn’t it!

I mentioned in my previous post that there really wasn’t a whole heck of a lot I could share right now about last week’s Summit, however there are a few things that occurred that I can talk about and this happens to be one of them.

On Tuesday of last week, our hosts surprised us with a special dinner trip for some fresh seafood. What they didn’t tell us was they had made arrangements for us to tour the Deadliest Catch’s fishing vessel the Northwestern (which was docked for some routine maintenance) as well as a chance to go hands on with the upcoming Deadliest Catch Alaskan Storm video game.

We were treated to some of the best salmon and king crab legs that I’ve ever had as we sat along the pier with crew members and their families. Afterwards, Matt Bradley, deck hand on the Northwestern, took us aboard for a close-up look within the ship. During the entire time we were there, they had 3 Xbox 360 units for us to experience the game.

I was able to get a short amount of time in playing one of the included mini-games which challenges players to maneuver a much smaller water craft along the choppy ocean, hitting check points as you go. Although this was still an incomplete build of the game, I along with others in the group, were very impressed with the way it looked and played. The “campaign” mode of DC:AS will allow players to manage all facets of their ship as they tackle the icy waters in search of the ultimate haul and the big payday. The game is on track for release in mid-May and after having had the chance to test drive it last week, I can say that I’m looking forward to getting my hands on the final version.

Below are some photos that I took while aboard the Northwestern, more of which can be viewed on my Flickr page.

“Dude, where you been?”

I know I haven’t been around all that much over the past couple of weeks, although there are a couple of good reasons as to why. The first has to do with a job change that I won’t bore you with, but the second may be of a little more interest…

Last week I flew out to Seattle to attend Microsoft’s MVP Summit, an amazing event which brought together people from all over the world to collectively meet, exchange ideas and share feedback from the communities we are all involved in. While I really can’t discuss the majority of what went on during the event, I can tell you without reservation that the group of Xbox community members I met during my stay were among the friendliest, funniest and most passionate gamers I’ve ever had the pleasure of spending time with.

Most of their websites, blogs and forums are linked under the “Xbox MVP Webring” listing here on TRB, but they all deserve an additional shout-out, so here goes (if I’ve missed anyone, I apologize. It wasn’t intentional):

Kamshaft

Peench

Morgon

Wiseguy

Mordeux (who I owe a dinner next year for taking all his $$ in poker)

Avid X3ro (who owes me an “optimal temperature coffee”)

Club 108

CraigN

MASTAglach820

BAPenguin

boid

litheon

El Hatton

MPDamon

Fatty Chubs

PMS Kitty

FragMaster B

Tbird

SpaceGhost2K

Knuckles Dawson

de menace

cjivan

And last but certainly not least: John, Tony, Chris, Nelson and Sara.

Thanks to all for a GREAT week!

Although the majority of posts here on the blog are Xbox 360-related, there are occasions when something of interest comes along outside of that category that I think is worth mentioning. This happens to be one of those things…

Originally released for PS2 back in 2006, the critically acclaimed Okami will be coming to Wii later this month. In anticipation of the event, Capcom has launched a new website, http://www.okamiart.com, which features the unique artwork contained within the game (300+ images), downloadable wallpapers and fan-submitted art. The website also contains links to pre-order Okami for Wii and the “Okami Official Complete Works Art Book”.

For more information on the game, visit the official Okami website.

My buddy Morgon at My GamerCard.net has joined forces with Sierra Online to host the Battlestar Galactica Season Premier Play & Win Sweepstakes where players will have a chance to win some very cool prizes including a die-cast mini model of the Colonial Viper Mark II and a script from an episode of Battlestar Galactica signed by cast and crew members!

The Sweepstakes runs from Midnight April 10th (Eastern US Time) through April 23rd 11:59 PM. For the complete list of rules and prizes, head over to http://www.mygamercard.net/bsgsweepstakes/.

In honor of the new season of Battlestar Galactica which begins this Friday, April 4th on the Sci-Fi channel, Sierra Online will offer up their Battlestar Galactica Xbox LIVE Arcade game at half-off for a very limited time.

Normally priced at 800 Microsoft Points, Battlestar Galactica will be available on Saturday, April 5th at a reduced price of only 400 Microsoft Points. This is a 24 hour only sale so be sure to grab your copy this Saturday!

For more information on the game, head over to www.BSGarcade.com and http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/b/battlestargalacticaxboxlivearcade/.

In case you hadn’t noticed the RSS link to the story at XE, some friends of mine from across the pond, along with Gaming4Others.org, are working hard to raise funds for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children by way of an online Rainbow Six Vegas 2 tournament:

“XboxGameZone, in association with Gaming4Others, are pleased to announce the first ever European charity gaming tournament to be held across Xbox LIVE. The event, which will take place on Ubisoft’s newly released Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2, will invite players and teams from across Europe to test their skills as they go head to head. But this time it’s not just about the winning - teams will be competing against each other to help raise money for NSPCC (registered charity - National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children), have some fun and maybe even win some prizes along the way.”

Registration is now open with full details listed here.

List of the participating community sites:

http://www.xboxgamezone.co.uk
http://gaming4others.org
http://www.matchbox360.co.uk
http://www.msxbox-world.com
http://www.play2compete.com
http://www.wonderwallweb.com
http://www.xboxliveaddicts.co.uk
http://www.xboxlivenation.com
http://www.xboxelite.co.uk

NAMCO BANDAI Games will be providing this week’s Arcade Wednesday title with the release of MR. DRILLER Online (800 Microsoft Points).

MR. DRILLER Online, a unique new puzzler, challenges players to…, well…, drill through colored blocks while avoiding a crushing collapse AND maintaining an adequate air supply. The game features single player Standard Driller and Quest Driller modes along with online multiplayer support for up to 4 players.

Head over to http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/m/mrdrilleronlinexboxlivearcade/ for more information on MR DRILLER Online.

Pinball FX fans should also take note since new downloadable content for that game will be available this Wednesday as well.

Hawty McBloggy Invites You to Play is without question, one of the most entertaining, creative and relevant gaming blogs on the internet today. The blog’s author, and self proclaimed “gamer geek” bs angel, has quickly risen to Superstar status within the gaming community thanks to both her fantastic writing style and her outstanding dedication to delivering the best gaming-related web finds to her ever expanding audience of readers.

Just how relevant is Hawty McBloggy? When bs angel took up the cause for gamer Nathaniel and his ruined Xbox 360, gaming communities across the net took notice, pleading for Microsoft to make things right for the poor guy. Her rallying cry, coupled with a massive outpouring of community support, resulted in both Bungie and Microsoft sending Nathaniel a pair of incredible gift packs to try and make up for what he had lost.

If Hawty McBloggy Invites You to Play isn’t part of your daily surf routine, it should be. I’ve had her link here on the blog for quite a while and I strongly suggest you add one to your collection as well.

The Faceplate Addict Forums over at XboxAddict.com are running a faceplate give away with prizes that include:

* A complete set of all five Eternal Sonata Faceplates
* A complete set of all five Ace Combat 6 Faceplates (four giveaways + the promo plate)
* Five codes for the Mass Effect “Bring Down The Sky” DLC, GRACIOUSLY donated by the fine folks at BioWare, Edmonton.
* One custom faceplate made by SpaceGhost2K

All the contest details are here!

Don King Productions and 2K Sports announced today that they will be celebrating the launch of King’s very own digital network, www.DonKingTV.com, by giving away 5 copies of the upcoming Don King Presents: Prizefighter.

Winners will be chosen at random from those who tune into tonight’s “Meet Me in St. Louis” championship doubleheader at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT which includes a live webcast fight between Cory Spinks and Verno Phillips. Ten runner-ups will also be chosen to receive a copy of Major League Baseball 2K8.

“This is another new and exciting adventure for us,” said Don King. “Like the Gateway to the West, we will be taking St. Louis and this trailblazing fight card worldwide via the internet. Fans will be able to see IBF 154-pount champion Cory Spinks take on Verno Phillips and undefeated 140-pounder Devon Alexander against Miguel Callist. We want as many people as possible to see just how great our technology is, so we’re making four exciting hours of action available free of charge.”

Don King Presents: Prizefighter is set for release on June 10th, so be sure to tune into http://www.donkingtv.com tonight for your chance to win!