Here is a round up of the reviews have have been posted on DCEmu recently:

Xbox 360

Too Human - 6.8/10

Fable 2 Pub Games - 2.3/10 (XBLA)

Castle Crashers - 9.2/10 (XBLA)

Wii

Blast Works: Build, Trade, Destroy - 8.8/10



Thanks for our reviewers Shadowblind and fg-54

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A representative of Black Rock Studio (formerly Climax Racing) is looking your views on their new racing game, "Pure".

You can find out more info about the game (including a trailer) here

Make sure you post your thoughts. ...

In a Penny Arcade Expo interview posted over on Joystiq, The Behemoth's Dan Paladin and Tom Fulp talk Castle Crashers problems, making it very clear that they're working hard to release an online co-op fixing patch "as soon as possible."

"We're trying to get it out as soon as possible, because we know it's important to people" Paladin explained, saying that the main issue with Castle Crashers' online component is due to players' conflicting network conditions. But Paladin made it clear that they did all they could to work out potential network issues prior to launch saying that network problems "was something that never came up in testing." So, when will we see patch goodness? As soon as humanly possible, though truthfully, Fulp admitted that there "isn't any official time frame yet."

Check out the complete The Behemoth interview over at Joystiq to learn more about the Castle Crashers development process, how pricing XBLA games really works and learn a super secret strategy for unlocking a few new in-game characters.

via Xbox360fanboy ...

Fable 2 Pub Games
Publisher: Microsoft
Developer: LionHead
Genre: Casino mini games
Players: 1
MSRP: 800 MS point ($10, £6.80, €9.30)
Platform: Xbox 360 (XBLA)

First of, you can get these games for free as they will be bundled with Fable 2 or if you preorder Fable 2. Any money you make can be used in the full game of Fable 2, but also if you get too much debt it will have consequences in the fable world (people will come after you for the the money you owe? ). Also when you win tournaments you can unlock items for the main game, like strength potions, tattoos etc. Sounds like a nice little game to wet you apatite for when the main game comes out, doesn't it? Shame the games are so bad ....

There are 3 games in Pub games, Spinnerbox ,Keystone, Fortune's Tower. You can only play some of the low bet limit games first in each type, the rest are unlocked as you gain experience points, which are gained mostly by how much you bet and not how much you win, which is good because it seems you lose more than you win in some of the games.


Fortune's Tower is by far the best of the 3, Its basic card game, cards are laid out in a pyramid formation with a row added to the bottom for every round. First you place your bet then the first 3 cards are drawn, the first card in turned down, and the next 2 are placed face up underneath (in a pyramid formation). For each round another row is added to the pyramid, and your winnings is based on the total value of all the face cards on that row (15 is break even). Now the catch. If a card from the current row is touching a card of the same value on the row above it, it's "Burned" which is game over. The only way that can be stopped is if an Knight card is drawn in that row (as in the screenshot above), which saves the row from any burned cards. If no Knight cards are drawn, then the card from the top of the pyramid (who's value you don't know) is used to replace the "burned" card, but this can only be used once.

For each row you have the option to take the current offer of that row, or risk revealing another row. But as there are more cards on each row, there further down the pyramid you go, the higher the reward could be, but then there is more chance to be "burned". If you get to the last row with out using the save card from the top of the pyramid, you win the jackpot, which is the face value of all the cards in the pyramid added together (= alot), so there is a good reason to keep going to the end.

Yeah its seems a bit complex, but once you play it, it makes sense. You can draw parallels with "Deal or No Deal" as is all about getting the best deal you can get.


Keystone is basically a roulette game. You make bets on what number, colour, shape, etc that will be thrown. Once bets are placed 3 dice are thrown, which added up, is the wining number. Each time a number is thrown a stone is removed, if that stone has already been removed then the one under is removed. This keeps going until the "keystones" are removed (2 or 18 / 10 and 11). The rules are interesting, and some of the variants have reverse rules (you bet on what numbers are not thrown) , but ultimately its very slow, drawn out game.


Spinnerbox is medieval version of slots, and like slots requires no skill, other than pushing a button. The only saving grace is you don't have to be in the same room to play (thanks wireless control), just keep hitting "A" (Auto-fire anyone), to keep spinning, which is handy for getting though the tournaments, which, if you have not guess by now, are complete luck if you win.

Most Casino computer games fail because there is no risk with virtual money, who cares if you lose. What makes Fables pub games interesting, losing (and winning) does mean something.... if you are planning to buy Fable 2 when it comes out. But considering only one of the 3 mini games, is really a game that can be called "a game", its not really anywhere near enough to justify 800ms points for it. As a free game is interesting, but asking people to pay for it is a bit much. I was wondering why this game has been left out of the much hype "Summer of Arcade" that Microsoft has been going on about, now I know why.

Pros:
- Unlocked items for Fable 2
- Might earn money for Fable2
- One of the games is interesting

Cons:
- Most likely get debt for Fable 2 (unless you use the glitch)
- Only 3 Games
- OMG So Boring!!

Overall:

*Note: the above score is in relation to 800ms points price point. If you get it for free, add a few more points to it ...

Right now, there aren't many/any 360s in Japan. Place went bananas for Tales of Vesperia, they're practically sold out, and won't be getting any more in for a while. When they do come back in, there'll be a slight change: they'll be cheaper. A lot cheaper. Microsoft Japan have announced that - as was rumoured last week when Bic Camera accidentally jumped the gun - the 360's due for some price cuts. The Arcade 360 will have its price slashed by ¥8,000 to ¥19,800 (USD$182), which makes it significantly cheaper than the ¥25,000 Wii. The Pro and Elite will also be reduced, by ¥5,000 (from ¥34,800 to ¥29,800/USD$274) and ¥8,000 (from ¥47,800 to ¥39,800/USD$367) respectively.

Story by kotaku via Forbes ...

Total PSP hardware and software sales figures for Japan have been announced. The console itself has shifted over ten million units in the period from December 12, 2004 and August 24, 2008. Software sales-wise, Capcom's Monster Hunter juggernaut is leading the charge. Here's the totals for the top selling PSP games so far in Japan:

1. Monster Hunter 2nd G (Capcom) March 27, 2008 Release: 2,396,642 copies sold
2. Monster Hunter 2nd (Capcom) February 22, 2007 Release: 1,706,387 copies sold
3. Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII (Square Enix) September 13, 2007: 790,705 copies sold
4. Monster Hunter Portable (Capcom) December 1, 2005: 668,964 copies sold
5. Phantasy Star Portable (SEGA) July 31, 2008: 545,242 copies sold

The PSP seems to have really taken off in the last two years here in Japan.

Via Kotaku ...

An issue of Dengeki PlayStation that goes on sale August 29th in Japan, Final Fantasy XIII director and writer Motomu Toriyama and FFXIII Versus director Tetsuya Nomura talk about the possibility of Japan getting a Final Fantasy XIII Xbox 360 version. Nomura says that he himself was "surprised" at the FFXIII Xbox 360 Asia version news, saying that Microsoft's comment ("It would be nice if the game came out") was taken to mean that it was actually confirmed for Asia. More interesting than that cluster**** is Toriyama's comment about whether or not Final Fantasy XIII will be released in Japan on the Xbox 360 platform:


Obviously Toriyama is not mincing words. He's being crystal clear. But, really, why not release it on the Xbox 360 in Japan? Sales of the game in both America and Europe (in multiple languages) on both platforms are likely to exceed the Japanese sales markets — so what's the point of no mulit-platform for domestic consumers? From a business stand point, Toriyama's statement seems rather odd.

via Kotaku ...

Here is a round up of the reviews have have been posted on DCEmu recently:

Xbox 360


PS3 & Xbox 360
...

A British woman who put a game on a file-sharing network has been ordered to pay damages to the game's creator.

Topware Interactive has won more than £16,000 following legal action against Isabella Barwinska of London, who shared a copy of Dream Pinball 3D. Three other suspected sharers of the game are awaiting damages hearings.

The test case could open the floodgates for litigation against thousands of other Britons suspected of sharing the game. In the case heard at London's Patents County Court the game maker won damages of £6,086.56 plus costs of £10,000.

"The damages and costs ordered by the Court are significant and should act as a deterrent," said David Gore, a partner at Davenport Lyons who acted for Topware. He added: "This shows that taking direct steps against infringers is an important and effective weapon in the battle against online piracy."

"This is the first of many," said Mr Gore. "It was always intended that there would be a lot more." Mr Gore said details of "thousands" of suspected file-sharers of the game who might now face legal action were known.

Topware Interactive started its campaign against pirates of Dream Pinball 3D in early 2007 after legal action forced 18 British net firms to pass on details of suspected pirates that it had identified.

Following this it sent out about 500 letters to Britons it had identified as making the game available via file-sharing networks such as eMule, eDonkey, Gnutella and many others.

In the letters the company asked for a payment of about £300 as a "settlement" figure that would head off further legal action. Some of those accused of sharing the game chose to fight the legal action and it was in one of these contested cases that Topware Interactive won its claim for damages.

Full story BBC News ...