Looks like a May 7th system update for the Xbox 360 will bring major updates to the the system’s Dashboard. Video was leaked by Gamespot, so the source seems solid.

I am a little dissappointed by the fact that everything Microsoft is doing for the Xbox 360 is focused around being online in Xbox Live. About 60% of the time I use my 360, I am not connected to the internet. So, where’s the system updates that bring new features for the offline users? What are your thoughts?

New features are:

• 600 Windows Live Messenger contacts for your friends list
• Contact list will integrate Windows Live Messenger and show joinable session status
• Messenger contacts see what game you’re playing and gamertag
• Marketplace has own blade, skin will change independent from theme
• Users will now see what achievement they’ve unlocked onscreen
• Low-power download mode followed by auto-shutdown
• Watch partially downloaded video files

Hello and welcome to Gamer’s Grotto. A place for casual gamers to get news, info, and whatever else I find interesting. All things gaming.

I am not a professional.  I work 40 hour weeks, have 2 kids and a wife, and enjoy video games very much.  I grow tired of reading reviews and news from professionals.  What does their opinion mean to me?  I have enjoyed countless throughout the years that have received bad reviews and negative comments.  So, instead of feeding more of what you read all the time, I’ll try to give you my own opinions, and hopefully you will give me the same back.

So, enjoy your stay, speak your mind, and come back soon.  This is going to be fun for gamers of all sorts.

Check out the whole story Here

Hardcore PC gamers can now upgrade a new Alienware 51-m gaming desktop with a 1 terrabyte hard drive. The drive is made by Hitachi, and costs about $500 to add the upgrade. These drives can hold a killer 16 days (not hours) worth of DVD quality video or two years worth of continuous music.

So, all you gamers who insist on keeping every game you own installed with 30 gigs of music to fill your Ipod and more pirated movies than a Taiwan Wal-Mart can store it all with 500 gigs to spare!

Check out Alienware’s full line of gaming specific desktops and notebooks

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

If you managed to sit through all three parts of Molyneux’s presentation, it’s pretty exciting stuff. It’s always great to watch videos of him since he’s so passionate about his work. I never would have believed that game developers actually enjoy the games more than the people they develop the games for.

I enjoyed the first one very much, even though it disappointed me in the end. And The Lost Chapters really rounded things off for me. And I know there are people out there that will disagree with me, but oh well. This sequel seems like it will be everything that everyone expected from the first Fable.

As for the features, I’m really looking forward to this sequel. The dog seems like a very cool idea, if they can pull it off that is. I love a good RPG that pulls at my emotions (we all remember when Sephiroth slayed Aeris at the end of disc 1 in Final Fantasy VII, right?). And being a father myself, I know that feeling when my children rush me as I walk through the door after work. If this game can re-create those kind of feelings, then this game will be one of the top Xbox 360 releases.

Keep an eye on Fable 2, expecially Peter Molyneux. He loves to reveal information, even when he’s not supposed to. There’s still no release date, but I say that’s a good thing. The first Fable was rushed and released prematurely, and that was probably due to pressure to make a deadline. I would much rather them keep the deadline open-ended and take all the time they need to make this game the best it can possibly be. What do you think?

Read the full story at: eMediaWire

I checked the Peach Direct website, and this seems fully legit. No scams here, just apply for your credit account, then get what you’ve always wanted for a low monthly price. Their slogan even says “making luxury affordable”.

After reading some fine print on their site, they claim it will take about 55 months to pay off $1000. Doing some quick math, it looks like it would take about 33 months to pay off $600, which ends up being $660 for a $600 game system. Not a bad deal if you ask me, considering that $660 is being spread over 2 and half years or so. So, if you really want that Playstation 3, but can’t dish out the high price tag, this may be a good option.

Keep an eye on this site, though, maybe they will offer the new Xbox 360 Elite or that Nintendo Wii you’ve been eyeing up.

After long await, the cult classic Castlevania: Symphony of the Night makes it to the Xbox Live arcade. This is hailed by many to be the best title in the Castlevania franchise to date, and I agree. The play style, which definetely reminds me of the old-school Metroid titles, broke out of the classic Castlevania play style with linear levels and bosses at the end of each one. Before I get into my thoughts of the emulated version of this game, I need to say a few things. This game is timeless! 10 years old, and it still plays as solid as most next-gen titles. And the price tag of about 10 bucks makes it a no brainer. If you have played this game through and through in the past, get it and enjoy it all over again. If you’ve never played it before, get it! You’ll enjoy it. Plus the game does some acheivements, which adds a little to the challenge of the game.

My first impression playing this game was a little sour. The game plays in a sort of window with a border around it. This looked a little goofy on my widescreen TV, but after some searching, I finally figured out how to stretch the image to cover up the goofy border and make the game as close to full screen as I could get it. This changed my mind a little bit.

Next, are the graphics. Players can choose between the original graphics or enhanced versions. In enhanced mode, everything just seems to look smoother. Not much difference, unless you’re playing in 720p or 1080p. In that case, you’re most likely going want the enhanced graphics, as the original were just not intended to be viewed in a resolution like that (and it just looks bad, lol).

The acheivements are a nice addition to the game as well. There’s a few that only veterans of the game are going to acheive without a guide, and there’s others that are easy enough for a newb. Kill 10 enemies without getting hit with normal weapons, kill 10 enemies without getting hit using special weapons, and find all the morph relics. For the more advanced, there’s completing %200.6, finding all 5 familiars (the sword’s always the tricky one), and complete the entire game playing as Richter (which is damn near impossible, but can be done).

The controls in the game are excellent. Everything runs very smooth. I hit a very small number of spots where the game seemed to stutter a bit, but considering the last time I played it was on a PsOne, it wasn’t a bother at all. I did have the game freeze on me twice, though. The music all the sudden stopped playing, and the next time I tried to enter the menu it got stuck on a black screen. So, if you hear the music stop playing strangely, don’t try to go into the menu! Get to a save point, quit the game and restart. But like I said, about 80 hours of gameplay and this happened twice, so it must be quite rare.

But all in all, this game is a must have from the Xbox Live Arcade. For the gameplay value this game holds, $10 is simply a steal. Especially since the game is still going for almost $60 or $70 on Ebay and Amazon!

Anyone else grab this game and want to lend something to the discussion?

Read the full story HERE from PS3 Fanboy

This is definetely a huge blow against the PS3. First, Sony loses big exclusives such as Assassins’s Creed, Virtual Fighter 5, and Tekken 6. And now Devil May Cry 4 is going multi-platform as well? Sony doesn’t even get to hold onto an exclusive release. And what about everyone’s favorite Grand Theft Auto? It’s also going to be simultaneously released for the 360. So, it doesn’t look like Sony is going to be making much of impact in 2007 in this generation’s console war. But that’s just my opinion.

I for one am glad to hear this. I do not own a Playstation 3 nor do I plan to own one in the future, but I am a huge fan of this series. I’ll definetely be picking this one up for the 360. Now all we need is Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy XII to go multi-platform and I’ll be set. Sony, hold on tight!

As the name implies, softmod means software modification. In the case of the PS2, this is a software approach to modifying the way the hardware behaves. The guide tells you what you need in order to backup PS2 games to a hard drive installed into the PS2 and also boot them. The advantages? Save the life of your discs (as we all know they do wear out over time), save the life of your laser lens, and cut-down game loading times (the biggest advantage in my opinion!). Loading times almost disappear when booting games this way since the system can access information from the hard drive MUCH faster than it can when reading from a disc.

3 items are needed to re-model the PS2: A standard IDE hard drive (check HERE for a list of compatible hard drives), the HD Advance Software, and the PS2 network adapter. Chances are you already have the network adapter, but if you don’t head over the Ebay to pick one up (Looks like it’ll run about $20-$30). For the hard drive, Ebay is the probably the best choice as well, but sometimes you can find a good sale at your local retail store or even at an online retailer (tiger direct). Make sure you check the hard drive compatibly list before deciding on which one to buy. As far as the size to buy, that’s really your personal preference. If you want to backup a large number of games without needing to delete any, go bigger. I personally use 160 gig. Each game runs about 4 or 5 gigs, so 160 will fit plenty of games. Lastly is the HD advance software. There’s quite a few places to get it, but here’s a page that lists some places to buy it online. I chose Console Source. The’re based out of Canada and offer many console trinkets you are sure to find interesting (mod chips and the like), but the choice is yours.

So, you’re asking yourself “What do I do with all this?”. The little known fact is that the PS2 network adapter has an IDE connection for a hard drive on it. I believe the only game intended to use the hard drive was Final Fantasy XI, but I’m sure glad it’s there. So, sadly this will not work on the “Slim” models of the PS2, but there’s a solution for you as well. Once you receive the HD Advance software, all the instructions you need are contained in the package to install the Hard Drive and get started using it right away. Piece of cake. And all without the need for opening up the system and installing any hardware modifications (hence the name “softmod”).

The solution I mentioned for the owners of the “Slim” PS2 is a program called USB Extreme. It can be purchased by itself or bundled with HD Advance from most of the retailers at the link mentioned earlier. This method works almost the same, except it uses a USB Hard Drive instead of an internal Hard Drive.

And that’s all there is to it. Check out the HD Advance forums for any information you need regarding game compatibility. Almost all games are compatible, but some require extra modes to be enabled to run (all explained in the HD Advance documentation). I usually do a Google search for the game title and HD Advance, and you’ll usually be able to find out rather quickly what needs to be done to play the game from the hard drive.

Get the most out of your old Playstation 2 and have fun doing it! Break out those old games and play them without load times. If you have any questions, let me know, or check out the HD Advance forums.