Xbox 360 console licenses now transferrable

When you download content on your Xbox 360, it's linked not only to the Xbox LIVE account that downloaded it, but also to the console on which it was downloaded. That console license allows any profile on that particular console to access the content, not just the user that downloaded it. Unfortunately, only one console license can exist for each piece of content, so if you replace your Xbox 360, or lose it due to theft or disaster, you can't use that content again without being signed on to Xbox Live. Well, not until now.

Microsoft has just released a new tool to allow you to transfer your console licenses to a new console, meaning that people who have replaced their Xbox 360 may now re-download content and have it be accessible to any profile logged into that Xbox 360. It helps simply the licenses, and makes content more accessible, at least on one console. Microsoft still doesn't allow content to have two console licenses, which would be useful for people with multiple Xbox 360s, but as always, content can be accessed from anywhere using the Xbox LIVE account that the content is linked to.

Major Nelson (Larry Hryb) has posted a small story explaining the process and linking to a walkthrough video that shows how it all works.

Content License Transfer Tool (aka the DRM Tool) now available [MajorNelson.com]

Nintendo announces Wario, Kirby as part of their fall 2008 lineup

Nintendo jumped the gun on the E3 announcements by releasing a little info on some upcoming titles for the Wii and DS. Instead of being lost in the shuffle of E3 2008, they are telling us about their new Wario and Kirby games, along with the previously announced Super Sluggers and a new Mystery Case Files game.

The full press release is available after the jump.

Review: Lost Planet: Extreme Condition COLONIES EDITION

Many games are released in different editions. Collectors Edition, Ultimate Edition, Barnyard Edition, whatever. Usually these editions involve different packaging, a bonus comic book or artwork, or maybe even a figurine. After a game has been released and sells well, it may even be re-released in a "Game of the Year" Edition, or in the case of Lost Planet: Extreme Condition, the COLONIES EDITION. There have been a few changes to the game since its original release, but are those changes enough to tempt new consumers? Read the full review below to find out!

Some royalties based on Metacritic scores, say developers

When games are released, developers usually see a portion of the revenue based on the amount of sales. In this way, their performance is tied to their income. MTV's Stephen Totilo recently found out that sometimes developers see their income tied to the review score that their game receives, regardless of how many copies are sold.

Here’s the way it works: a game publisher agrees to finance the work of a development studio and includes a stipulation that certain bonuses or royalties won’t be delivered unless the game achieves a certain Metacritic score. If you’re that developer and you agree to that deal, you better hope reviewers give you a fair shake, no?

The unfortunate part of the formula appears when the publisher has influenced the development of the title after this agreement is made, which may cause a lower review score. If the developers are not in control of their own product, then the tie between effort and reward is lost, and the motivation to create a quality game disappears. Another problem is that new genres may receive only low-to-average scores since many reviewers will not like the genre, and there is nothing else to compare the quality to.

Perhaps publishers will not be able to force developers into these types of agreements now that they are more publicly known, or maybe developers will simply request that their royalties be based on the vote of the consumer with their wallet.

Low Metacritic Scores Cause Game Publishers To Withhold Developer Royalties [MTV]

Review: Teenage Zombies: Invasion of the Alien Brain Thingys

Aliens and Zombies have been staple characters in video games almost since they first began. Space Invaders taught us to kill anything we saw that we didn't understand, and countless zombie games like House of the Dead taught us that as long as we didn't know the people before they were zombies, we had no problem shooting them in the face. Zombies and Aliens both appear in the new title Teenage Zombies: Attack of the Alien Brain Thingys (TZ:AotABT) for the Nintendo DS, but you play as a trio of zombies trying to destroy the evil brain... thingys.

Review: Rocky & Bullwinkle

Whenever people talk about mini-game collections these days, the games likely end up being for the Nintendo Wii. However, a new mini-game collection has recently come to the Xbox Live Arcade in the form of Rocky & Bullwinkle. Can a traditional controller bring as much fun to the living room as a motion-sensing remote control? Let's take a look at this mini-game collection from a few different perspectives, and find out.

The Rocky & Bullwinkle Enthusiast
On the surface, this game sounds like a great fan service to all the Moose & Squirrel fans that like mini-games. Unfortunately, the graphics don't have the same endearing quality as the original TV programs. All the characters are here, but they won't animate the same way they did on the show, and none of the characters actually talk. Audio clips play at the beginning of each mini-game, but no video from the original series plays except in short, soundless montages at the beginning of each "show."

Click read more to read the rest of the review.

Review: Rocketmen: Axis of Evil

They say you cannot judge a book by its cover, so I guess sometimes you cannot judge an Xbox Live Arcade title by its demo. Rocketmen: Axis of Evil is one such title. What seems dull at first look became an addicting romp through a colorful world of action packed adventure.

The first two levels included in the demo give you some idea of the weapons available, the enemies you will face and the gameplay that you will experience. I cannot explain exactly when I started to like the game, but I do know that a large part of it is the RPG element of upgrading your weapons and character through loot and experience points. Enemies drop three different types of 'money' which can be used for armor, weapons and secondary items between missions. The XP you earn allows you to improve the stats for your Rocketman (or woman). I played enough to fully upgrade my Rocketwoman , and it is quite a joy to blast through endless waves of enemies when you are at your quickest and toughest.

Click the read more link below for the rest of the review