Features

No Andrew this week so we brought on PSNFans writer and new podcast producer of the PSNFancast, Josiah Renaudin. He joins us for one of our longest new releases/what we’ve been playing discussions possibly ever, in which we talk about Bloodforge, Deep Black: Episode 1, The Walking Dead and the Hybrid beta.

Perry of course brings all the big news stories, followed by Todd Talk and a twitter topic. You still have another week to play the Remember The Days game, which is Heavy Weapon, and send your thoughts to us on twitter.

Please subscribe, rate and review the podcast on iTunes. We appreciate it! Check us out on twitter (@XBLAFans) where you can win codes for games, give us feedback or just ask a question. We are also now on Stitcher, so you can stream the show on your smartphone, give it a go!

Big thanks to Chris Green for the awesome theme music, be sure to check out his site BlurredEdge and why not follow him on twitter too @BlurredEdge.

[podcast]https://xblafans.com/xblafancast/XBLAFancastEpisode59.mp3[/podcast]

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Trials Evolution is about to celebrate two weeks since its release, and as expected the really great tracks are starting to surface. There were so many that we’ve upped our showcase this week to five tracks: three trials tracks, one supercross, and a skill game. As always you can find these tracks by entering Track Central, selecting Get Tracks, then pressing X to search. Enter the gamertag below to find the track. Be aware that the search is case sensitive.

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What we are playing is a weekly column published on Sunday. Select members of the team talk about the games they’ve been playing over the past week and which they’re …
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After a brief hiatus, Weekly Roundup is back!
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Today’s Most Wanted is our first downloadable content article. As such it has a slightly different format.

The world has been bitten by the Trials Evolution bug. Over 100,000 players saddled up in the first day, and close to 350,000 after just one week. It shattered sales records on Xbox Live Arcade. DLC has been promised. Though we’re more than satisfied with the game’s default content and the endless supply available via Track Central we’re still itching for more. But what are they going to put in? We’ve got some ideas, and even a name: the Nitro Pack, inspired from RedLynx’s own Monster Trucks Nitro.

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The regular crew of four gets back together for the first time in a few weeks, and as such it’s a bit of a bumper episode. We kick things off with Perry telling us about Bloodforge, he has some mixed feelings about it. Then it’s onto this little game that came out last week, you might have heard about it, Trials Evolution. We briefly talk about Fez again but there’s not too much new to say on that front.

Perry brings all the news as usual, then Todd Talk is more like a question than a discussion. Andrew rounds things out with twitter questions and the remember the days game, this weeks game is Heavy Weapon, you’ve got two weeks to try it out and let use know what you think!

Please subscribe, rate and review the podcast on iTunes. We appreciate it! Check us out on twitter (@XBLAFans) where you can win codes for games, give us feedback or just ask a question. We are also now on Stitcher, so you can stream the show on your smartphone, give it a go!

Big thanks to Chris Green for the awesome theme music, be sure to check out his site BlurredEdge and why not follow him on twitter too @BlurredEdge.

[podcast]https://xblafans.com/xblafancast/XBLAFancastEp58.mp3[/podcast]

RSS | MP3 | iTunes Read More

We’re coming up on a week since Trials Evolution‘s release, and in that short time the community has already dished out several great tracks. We featured one, “AMA Supercross 4P” by sVVa eXTR3MZ yesterday in our preview. Today we’ve got even more great tracks. Hit the jump to find today’s gems, and if you’ve found a great user track post the name of it along with the author’s gamertag in the comments below.

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While everyone knows what strategy games are, and role playing games, and massively multiplayer online games somehow the multiplayer online battle arena genre remains confusing and mysterious. Perhaps this is because, despite being a combination of strategy, RPG and MMO (aka SRPGMMO, but nobody liked that acronym) being something everyone can understand, it in no way adds up to MOBA. However, like every other genre, MOBA is branching out, growing and adding elements from other beloved genres, so before things get out of hand let us explain what MOBA is.

Okay, so what is it?

The Multiplayer Online Battle Arena genre is a micro-MMORPG experience with strategical elements surrounding it, hence the combination of the three. MOBA combines some of the key features of each genre, and bakes a peculiarly delicious cake. First and foremost, however, MOBA games are team-oriented, with one team competing against one other team. Each team has a core (or something like one) which they must protect. If their core is destroyed, they lose. Read More

Tomorrow we’re re-launching our Trials Tuesday. Today we’re giving you a sneak peek at our revamped format and how to get the best tracks available. Each week we’ll feature 2-4 custom tracks or skill games we think need to be on every player’s hard drive. For the aspiring creators, here’s what we look at when seeking potential Trials Tuesday feature candidates:

• Does it play well? We look at whether the checkpoints set up correctly, if it works for 2-3 different bikes, and if it feels like some thought was put into it.
• Is it unique? It can be hard to sift through the ho-hum levels, particularly in the Skill Games category where every other level is a incredibly minor change on the Icarus Factor or Hill Climb defaults. That’s not to say we don’t look at those, but rest assured if all you’ve done is add one extra ramp you won’t be featured.
• Are the medals set up well? In other words, are bronze, silver, and gold realistically attainable and spread out well?
• Is it quality? Are you someone who spent time giving your track or skill game pizazz with things like explosions, physics hinges and the like? Bonus points if so.
• Does it have a decent name? Tracks named “Test” or “Dave’s Aw3sUm Track!!1!11” need not apply.

And that’s really it. Long story short we’re looking for the best of the best. To submit your level for feature simply reply in the comments with your level name and gamertag so we can search for it. YouTube videos (if they are HD) are welcome, but we can record them if necessary (and if you’re a featured track). Hit the jump for our first featured track, available as a sneak peek.

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What we are playing is a weekly column published on Sunday. Select members of the team talk about the games they’ve been playing over the past week and which they’re …
Read More