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.

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.

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/.

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.

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!

In addition to the debut of TiQal (800 Microsoft Points) on XBLA yesterday, Sierra Online re-released a new and improved version of the “TeamXbox.com’s XBLA Game of the Year for 2007″, Switchball.

The updated version of Switchball includes enhanced graphics for a smoother gameplay experience as well as enhanced leaderboards and is available now for 800 Microsoft Points.

For more information on Switchball, visit http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/s/switchballxboxlivearcade/default.htm.

A set of new maps are now available on Marketplace for the dinosaur laden FPS Turok according to the game’s publisher Touchstone. The Velociraptor Pack can be had for 400 Microsoft Points and includes:

Co-Op - A brand new Turok co-op map for 2-4 players. In this co-op map your Whiskey Company squad has been captured and is being held in a Mendel-Gruman facility designed for holding dinosaurs. You and your team have to break out and make it to the rescue chopper before the Wolf Pack troops decide to feed you to the captured raptors.

Desolation - A brand new swamp-based map where simple structures are set up alongside a rock cliff to allow helicopters and transports into the area to bring in supplies. There are many hiding spots on this multi-level map which enables numerous quiet kill opportunities.

Sentinel - Another new multiplayer map and one of the largest Turok maps to date. The setting takes place at the top of a mountain around one of Kane’s orbital defense arrays - the very base that shot down the Whiskey Company ship from orbit in the single-player campaign. Also, the presence of a few large dinosaurs on the map can make things very interesting during multiplayer combat.

Inconclusive Tests - This time the Testing Grounds map takes place at night and offers a different view of the world that now contains more dark hiding spots. A word of caution — watch out for the raptors.

A Rivalry Continues - As the name suggests, the struggle for the compound from A Heated Rivalry is not over and has extended into the eerie darkness of the night.

Sid Meier’s Civilization III and IV are two of my all-time favorite games on PC. In fact, the only game that I may have wasted more hours of my life playing would be the original Half-Life, so I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t really excited about Civilization Revolution coming to Xbox 360 in June.

For those of you who also have June 3^rd circled on the calendar, 2K Games have launched the official Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution website at www.civilizationrevolution.com. The site contains a ton of info regarding the new game including fun and interesting facts about the in-game Civilization leaders, screenshots, concept art, the official game trailer and more.

They also have a nice community section for fans of the game which includes a game forum, podcasts from the developers and the ability to sign-up for community updates. It’s a fun, nicely designed site about what will hopefully be an awesome game!

Microsoft and Bungie have announced that a brand new set of multiplayer maps for Halo 3 will be hitting Marketplace on April 15.

The Legendary Map Pack (800 Microsoft Points) will contain a total of 3 new maps: Ghost Town, Avalanche and an as-of-yet unnamed slaughter ground. Here are a few details:

Avalanche is a tribute to Sidewinder, a Halo: Combat Evolved fan-favorite. This massive, vehicle-oriented objective map adds a twist to its classic predecessor with all new interiors, dramatically reshaped exteriors and brand new vehicle variants. Take a ride and admire the visual variety from the cockpit of the retuned Hornet.

Ghost Town is a battle-scarred maze of narrow passages and dangerous ruins outside the once-prosperous city of Voi. Collapsed ceilings and shell-battered buildings provide both valuable cover and deadly traps, as catwalks and stairways take the fight from claustrophobic ground combat to dizzying rooftop battles. Ghost Town is a mid-sized map ideal for Team Slayer games and smaller, objective types.

In regards to the third map, Bungie has only said “fans of smaller Slayer maps” should start getting excited! Check out www.xbox.com and www.bungie.net for more details.

Believe it or not, my original post on the announcement of Deadliest Catch Alaskan Storm for Xbox 360 drew a fair amount of reads, so I thought it was worth updating.

Since we last discussed the game there have been two more videos released featuring members of the crew as well as scenes from the game. The vids can be viewed below and, as always, your thoughts on the game are welcomed.