Notice the recent xbox live arcade game Lost cities but don’t have a clue how the original game was played? Well you are in luck. A “How To” tutorial type video was dropped in my inbox today from Sierra Online. Hold on tight for and check out Kevin Vlaming (Sierra Online’s Global Brand Manager) as he paves the way for explorers of all levels with detailed gameplay instructions and strategies.
I plan on putting together a review of the game hopefully this weekend, hopefully this 5 minute video improves my skills 
So to try and track down what was performing so badly I have gone through the site and split it up a bit to help troubleshoot the issue. What does this mean to you? With any luck nothing - but if you have things like the forums bookmarked you should notice the URL is not the same and you might want to update it. (and you are likely to have to log in again to generate a new cookie)
I have put in some redirect stuff automatically so you should not actually see any problems and without reading the address you might not even notice, but the forums are now at http://forum.360friendspot.com, reviews are now at http://reviews.360friendspot.com, and game lists are now at http://gamelist.360friendspot.com. This will help me find out things like which area of the site might be performing badly so that it can be fixed and if the traffic gets high like that again, it will not cause an issue.
finally the forum might be more of a default template look - I was playing around with a lot of stuff trying to get the registration problem fixed (which I think is working now right?) but by doing so I some how lost the forum template that looks just like the main site - I guess it could be worse. I will give it a look again when I can, but as far as I can tell it functions this way - just no easy way to get back to the home blog - but lets be honest most of you forum folks like to stick to the forum anyway 
This new way does complicate a bit of how I originally designed the site, so things like editing your game list is currently offline (sorry)
Any weirdness either leave a comment or just get a hold of me if you see me online.
Apparently this week has just been crazy with all the things going on, I didn’t even notice that today was “Xbox Live Arcade Wednesday”. In any event, Sierra Online is coming at us with another arcade title by the name of Lost Cities. The official word is you were a fan of Catan - you should give it a try, personally I think you should try at least the demo of ANY arcade game. A few of my arcade favorites are games I wouldn’t have even thought of playing if there was not a free demo, even based on the press content that all the sites are running - so kudos to the xbox live arcade demo process i guess! I should have some images and whatever else I can dig up for you guys, but since I didn’t post this early, you probably all ready have access to the game anyway!
Full press release after the break….
Just a quick update everyone. With all the new traffic from the contest my host had a bit of an issue that were were eating their server CPU alive, I have disabled the blog registration (i think that was part of the problem - and alot of spammers were hitting it). So I think that we might be ok for now. I am going to monitor the server as best I can, and the host will surely contact me if there is something else on the site that needs a little bit of optimization.
Blogs won’t be going away - as long as I can keep them online. Registration however might be changed to a request for a blog and me creating your blog for you, rather then having it open to the world to spam the blog creation page and cause chaos. Worst case scenario I might consider upgrading the hosting to some newer plans I have been looking at - but that does of course come with an increased cost so we will see.
For you Achievment Hunters from the unlocktheachievement.com contest
- All achievements are visible without creating a forum account, gamer blog, game list, or anything i provide to the members - in other words, you can be completely anonymous, not register or sign in and still get the achievements - but if you wish to participate in the site, we will not chase you away!
Click the ‘Read More’ to get hints if you wish, otherwise, good luck hunting!
The Japanese arcade hit “Ikaruga” receives the full Xbox LIVE Arcade treatment and is poised to launch on the platform this Wednesday, April 9, 2008 at 9:00 a.m. GMT (1:00 a.m. PDT).
“Ikaruga” is a fast-paced scrolling shooter with a twist – players must constantly switch their ship’s polarity to maximize their damage output and avoid incoming enemy fire of the opposite polarity.
“Ikaruga” on Xbox LIVE Arcade features a two-player co-op mode both locally and over Xbox LIVE. Newcomers can also easily bring their skill up to speed by using the game’s slow motion training mode.
“Ikaruga” is a perfect combination of beautiful, manga-style storytelling and challenging arcade heroics, all brought to life in a gorgeous HD environment.
Gamers itching to obtain a moment of “Ikaruga” glory will be wise to master the chaining system that detects when enemies of the same polarity are destroyed consecutively. Doing so will reward players with huge score bonuses, which will be key to topping “Ikaruga’s” leaderboards.
The ability to relive a particularly harrowing battle is also possible thanks to the game’s record and replay function, which is new to the Xbox LIVE Arcade version of the game.
From the Japanese developer Treasure, “Ikaruga” will be available worldwide for 800 Microsoft Points and is rated E for Everyone by the ESRB. For more details on “Ikaruga” please visit:
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/i/ikarugaxboxlivearcade
Independent developer Void Star Creations unveils two new downloadable content packs for their hit Xbox LIVE Arcade title, “Poker Smash” this Wednesday, April 9, 2008 at 9:00 a.m. GMT (1:00 a.m. PDT). The new content includes two Action Mode Environments in the Environment Pack and an additional 15 Puzzles in the Puzzle Pack, giving “Poker Smash” players a total of 13 immersive environments and 70 mind bending puzzles. The “Poker Smash” Environment Pack and Puzzle Pack will each be available for 100 Microsoft Points.
“Poker Smash” is rated E for Everyone by the ESRB. For more details on “Poker Smash” please visit:
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/p/pokersmashxboxlivearcade
Hey everyone just got a press release about the upcoming 50Cent sequel coming out on xbox360 and PS3, if I can get my hands on some more information, video, screenshots….whatever I will pass them along, full press release below, and for more info check out www.50bloodonthesand.com
50 CENT IS BACK IN NEW XBOX 360 AND PLAYSTATION(R) 3 SYSTEM
Hip-Hop Fans Welcome Long Awaited Sequel
to the Multi-Million Unit Selling 50 Cent: BulletproofLos Angeles (March 27, 2008) – Sierra Entertainment, a division of Vivendi Games, announced today that 50 Cent will reprise his role as video game hero with the upcoming sequel to the hit 2005 PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system and Xbox game with 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand ™. 50 Cent and G Unit’s Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo and DJ Whoo Kid will star and provide voice and likeness in the upcoming video game this fall on Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system, and PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system.
In this fictional story to the multi-million unit seller Bulletproof video game, players will be able to play as one of the world’s biggest hip-hop stars in an all out battle to protect 50 Cent’s assets and to collect payment from a crooked overlord.
“We are taking this sequel to the next level with exciting combat and gunplay, new original music, great graphics and a new story,” said 50 Cent. “50 Cent: Blood on the Sand will have everything my fans are looking for in a 50 Cent game.”
The 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand video game will feature multi-player drop-in and drop-out co-op, interactive counter-kills, driving, and aerial combat. Following the success of the 2005 Spike TV Video Game Award winning Best Original Song, “We May Be Crazy” 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand will be packed with more exclusive unreleased music from 50 Cent and G-Unit.
“50 Cent and shooter fans everywhere came out to support 50 Cent in Bulletproof and made it a multi-million unit selling video game,” said Al Simone, senior vice president of Global Marketing for Sierra Entertainment. “Gamers will be excited that 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand provides the ultimate next-gen 50 Cent game experience to ever fit into one disc.”
The 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand video game is written by Kamran Pasha, Producer of Bionic Woman, and is being developed by Swordfish Studios. For more information, please visit the game’s official Web site at www.50bloodonthesand.com .
Vivendi Games Mobile is also making 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand available for mobile phones throughout North America and Europe.
That’s right folks, Microsoft is finally starting to wipe the gamerscore of those cheaters as promised, and they even get a shiney label on their xbox.com profile that lets everyone know their cheating ways.
From MajorNelson.com
I wanted to follow up and let you know where we are on the post I made a few months ago on Gamesave Tampering. Today we took action on some of the accounts we have identified as the most serious offenders who have violated the Xbox LIVE Terms of Use by tampering with their Gamerscore and Achievements.
The steps today takes the form of the following:
• Resetting the entire Gamerscore for an account to zero
• The account will be unable to regain all previously obtained achievements and Gamerscore, however, the players will have the ability to gain future Achievements by earning them fairly, like the majority of the Xbox LIVE community does.
• The account will be clearly labeled as a cheater for the community to view on xbox.com. You can see an example here. In dash, the personal view of the gamercard will be labeled as well.Xbox LIVE remains committed to keeping the service free of cheating in order to maintain a fair and level playing field for everyone.
To read more about Gamerscore corrections read the FAQ on Xbox.com
Thats right folks, I finally found a way to make it happen, and possibly easier then I originally was going to do it.
Sure there are other free blogging sites out there that you can use, but the thought here is, the FRIENDspot is a site for gaming friends to gather in a central location and interact with each other - what better way to do that, than to have a blog here?
creating your own blog is as going to the register page and following the steps to create your own blog
example:
http://360friendspot.com/squidpunch/
http://360friendspot.com/digilearner
I am still rather new to this multi user format, but essentially if you are familar with Wordpress you should feel right at home. You should also have the ability to change your themes and possibly activate plugins as well, again I am still figuring this all out - if you want a new theme or plugin available which doesnt seem to be there, let me know and I will get it set up for you, as long as it doesnt break the site 
I am going to see what things I can do to expand this as well, like links to your game list, and your 100% completes as I had in the one I was bulidng from scratch, most likely these will be plugins you just enable if you want them to show on your blog -etc
Test it out, tell me what you think - and hopefully you guys actually put it to use
I finally got around to uploading this video to youtube so I can share it with you guys - if you haven’t all ready seen it, here is the official Assault Heroes 2 Trailer
No new arcade this week, just a discount on two existing items. Doom will be now priced at 400 MP ($5) as well as Assault Heroes. With the news of Assault Heroes 2 coming, I was just about to buy the original Assault Heroes and give it a try - now I am definately getting it.
“Assault Heroes” (Sierra Online). Become the only surviving member of an elite special forces unit searching for a secret underground lab. Play the mission alone or fight side-by-side with a friend in the two-player cooperative mode. The winner of IGN’s Xbox LIVE Arcade game of the year for 2006, “Assault Heroes” will be available for 400 Microsoft Points.
““DOOM” (id Software). Originally released in 1993, “DOOM” introduced millions to the white-knuckle excitement of the first-person shooter (FPS). Relive the classic demon-blasting action with up to four players over Xbox LIVE*, complete with 5.1 surround sound and smoother graphics. “Doom” will be available for 400 Microsoft Points.
