Games Cheats and Reviews

Pre-order bonuses often have some fun toys or exclusive in game content.  This bonus is almost always the same thing no matter where the upcoming game gets pre-ordered from.  Red Dead Redemption is looking to change that.  There will be several pre-order items to choose from.  Here is the breakdown.

US:

• Gamestop – Exclusive in-game outfit
• Amazon – Golden Guns pack + $10 Amazon gift card
• Best Buy – A War Horse
• Game Crazy – Mini game guide
• Target – $5 Target gift card
• Walmart – $10 Walmart gift card
• Rockstar Warehouse – Red Dead T-Shirt

UK:

• Game – Deadly Assassin outfit
• Amazon UK – Golden Guns pack
• HMV – The War Horse
• Zavvi – Mini game guide

Get those pre-orders in now and get your bonus.  Why doesn’t Amazon UK offer up a gift card like Amazon US?

Sharing: It’s Win/Win

Destructoid: There’s nothing solid on this yet, but some signs out there seem to point to the current Xbox 360 Elite, the 120GB model, becoming extinct. Right now it seems that most retailers are out of stock on this model, including Walmart, Gamestop and Best Buy. Hell, Kotaku says that right now, GameStop is giving you a $50 gift card with the purchase of the Elite. Maybe they’re trying to clear shelf space for something new. And this same disappearing act is happening to the separate 120GB hard disk. Just try finding one now.

I asked Microsoft’s Aaron Greenberg about the hard drive specifically last week. I pointed out that it would be nice to have that 250GB hard drive from the Xbox 360 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 system separately as an upgrade.

Kotaku: "On Monday, we wondered where all the 120GB hard disk drives for the Xbox 360 had got to. This GameStop promotion may help explain what’s going on.

It’s offering a $50 GameStop gift voucher with every Xbox 360 Elite console sold. Out of the blue, not long after official price cuts and the holiday season. Considering almost everybody buys a few games or at least a second controller with their console, it’s effectively a temporary $50 price cut.

Why the rush to get Elite consoles out the door? Well, if you look on GameStop’s site, the regular Elite bundle is "Currently Not Available Online". It’s not available at Best Buy, either (only the holiday bundle is). Same with Walmart.

Sounds to us like the previously limited edition, 250GB "Super Elite" Xbox 360 is about to replace the regular 120GB model of the Elite."

From Gamertell:

"If you go out and, for many, brave the snow, to get Sunday’s newspaper, you’ll find a plethora of store ads declaring fantastic after Christmas sales. Best Buy is one of those stores, and the ad is impressive. Remember though, the sales in the Sunday Best Buy ad only apply between December 27, 2009 and January 2, 2010."

Best Buy has discounted Metroid Prime Trilogy to $19.99.

Just in time for the holidays, Best Buy has a hell of deal on Xbox 360 consoles.

Peter Dille, Senior Vice President of Marketing & PlayStation Network, writes:

"Hi everyone. I hope you’re all well recovered from a tryptophan-induced holiday and are getting ready for some exciting shopping ahead (this is of course, if you haven’t already taken advantage of our great Black Friday promotions).

It’s been a lot of fun rolling out the many creative executions of our "Dear PlayStation" ad campaign over the last few weeks. Kevin Butler has garnered legions of fans as he demonstrates how the PS3 "Only Does Everything" in his very unique style. In fact, even our friends and partners at Best Buy have been impressed. So much so, they approached us about a unique collaboration featuring Best Buy’s "blue shirt" campaign in which actual Best Buy employees solve customer needs. Of course, we loved the idea."

Steven Burke at ChannelWeb writes:

"Here are three reasons why Sony’s PS3 is beating Microsoft (NSDQ:MSFT)’s Xbox 360 in the marketplace."

1. Sony PS3 Is A Better Value Than Xbox 360

Check it out. For $349.99 from Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) you get the new lighter and slimmer PS3 with a 250 Gbyte hard drive, built in Blu-Ray disc player (yes Blu-Ray!), built-in WiFi lets you access the Internet and the FREE PlayStation Network, where you can download exclusive games, movies, TV shows.

2. The PlayStation Network Is Better Than Xbox Live

PlayStation got it right with its Free service to gamers offering unmatched games and game content along with robust Blu-Ray video content from Netflix and major studios.

3. PS3 Is A More Reliable And Better Engineered Product Than Xbox 360.

Yes, engineering and reliability matter particularly for hard core gamers that are banging on a system day in and day out.

NG writes:

"Who really needs more than 18 people in one game anyway? Or an ability to pick who is hosting? Or an in-game console? (We know only paedophiles used the console in MW1). Oh, and leaning around corners? A likely story. Only F.A.G.S. used that on PC. Still, it’s not all bad news coming out of a developer chat with Best Buy. IW confirmed the PC version is not a port of the console version, citing "mouse control, text chat in game, and graphics settings"."

The music game genre has exploded as of late. Guitar Hero and Rock Band are the most notable, while karaoke like games such as Sing Star have a solid grip on their respective niche. With a mic, guitar and drum set, readily available, most music genres have found a home in video game form. A notable exception to this trend is Hip Hop, which seems to be better suited to something like Dance Dance Revolution. FreeStyleGames wants to change this.

DJ Hero is a turn table based music game that works much like Rock Band and Guitar Hero. Players must hit their spins, scratches and fades, while simultaneously learning to use the newly introduced turn table peripheral. Looking at the turn table could be intimidating, but early word is that the difficulty curve is kind enough to ease players in. A good selection of mixed music should hopefully keep the songs from blending into each other too much.

I’m still a little skeptical, and FreeStyleGames understands this. Swing by your local Best Buy and try the game out if you’re interested. This should help you decide if this game is for you. If you like rhythm games or club music, this could be the game for you. It might be a bit too much for the average gamer, but should provide a solid gaming experience.