If previous success is any indication, Microsoft's Xbox Live online service is in for a big week. The publisher said today that Rockstar Games' 2004 all-time best seller Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas will join Valve's 2007 award-winning The Orange Box pack-in puzzler Portal. Winner of multiple...
If previous success is any indication, Microsoft's Xbox Live online service is in for a big week. The publisher said today that Rockstar Games' 2004 all-time best seller Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas will join Valve's 2007 award-winning The Orange Box pack-in puzzler Portal.
;)
Winner of multiple GameSpot Best of 2004 awards, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas continued the open-world action adventure gameplay established by Rockstar with GTAIII and GTA: Vice City. The M-for-Mature-rated game will be available Monday, October 20, as an Xbox Originals at a price of 1,200 Microsoft points ($15). GameSpot's review of the original game has the lowdown on what gamers can expect from the XBL download.
Trumping Valve's Half-Life franchise is no easy feat, but Portal arguably managed that Herculean effort when it debuted alongside Team Fortress 2 and Half-Life 2: Episode 2 last November. The first-person puzzler with a mordant bent walked away with a Game of the Year award at the Game Developers Conference, beating out such highly acclaimed titles as BioShock, Call of Duty 4, and Super Mario Galaxy.
With the original Portal already available by way of the Xbox 360 edition of The Orange Box, Portal: Still Alive is an expansion of sorts. In addition to the original game, Microsoft said today that it will include 14 new levels exclusive to the XBL release, as well as another six "advanced maps." Portal: Still Alive will be available on Wednesday, October 22, for 1,200 Microsoft points ($15).
Tom Magrino has covered the games industry since 2006. He's been compared to Steve Martin by Ozzy Osbourne and Daniel Craig by Tim Schafer. His voice, heard largely on GameSpot's podcast, recalls that of Kermit the Frog. It ain't easy bein' Magreen.
Portal Still alive is ok but.. its way to easy once you get the hang of it and then becomes unchallenging & repeatative, and the Computers voice is cheesy, outdated, and then irritating in my opinion! As for San Andreas.. i already have that on disc why would i want to download the whole thing again unless they add some new features like a in car view and updated HD graphics and some new missions etc etc..a waste of money if you ask me?
lamprey263: I'm pissed as well; you'd think Valve (with their anti-piracy and Steam and everything) could have figured out a way to give it to Orange Box owners. I mean, honestly...these maps should be free, so even if you RENT a copy of Orange Box to verify it, you should be able to download just the levels. Heck, JUST GIVE ME THE LEVELS FOR FREE, VALVE; I'll be picking up L4D when it comes out! (Isn't that enough?) I'm still waiting for my FREE TF2 CONTENT...
the extra Portal maps sound interesting, since I already own Portal I can't justify paying $15 for the XBLA game... though I'm still debating that, but still, it'd be nice if Orange Box owners can pay less for that extra content
@x-2tha-z: If selling old games for current consoles is profitable, I wouldn't be surprised to see a PS2 emulator for the PS3. They already have an emulator for the PS2 CPU (as used in the first generation PAL consoles) -- what they don't have is an emulator for the graphics chip. I doubt they'd go to this effort simply to let PS3 owners play their old games, but if it also gave them a new revenue stream through downloadable games they might.
I think I have about $15 left on my account. I figure I'll pick up Portal after I play through Braid. By the way, Braid is hella fun and very rewarding, but it's pretty short, there's not a lot of actual content, and it's really not worth $15. Definitely $10, but not $15. Oh and for the record, if you buy any Xbox Originals your an idiot and a tool. I hope you enjoying making everything on Marketplace and PSN so much more expensive then it actually deserves to be.
I only use XBLA originals for games I cant find anywhere (Stubbs the Zombie) AS for portal, I hope it doesnt stay exclusive, because my friend is stuck with the pc version, BUT none the less, YAY for 14 more levels
Yes people all say that you should buy them from stores second-hand blah blah but the Xbox Originals are a GUARANTEED way of getting the game you want, the funds I dare say would actually go to the developers meaning they make more money to produce more of the same quality and it is one step closer to the eventuality of the digital distribution of full sized games.
i completely agree with gandalf storm buying the games from the shops is much cheaper and you can get money back when your finished with them why dont big companys understand this and offer games for ($5 or £2.50) i would buy them then,and for begining a xbl user you should get some free games like one a month or somat to atract more people to use xbl
its much cheaper to shop around places like game and gamestation who have 3 for £10 etc. on xbox games. No need to use up your precious hard drive space either.
omarfierros > It would probably do a lot better too if it had PS2 classics. Would keep the backwards compatible critics at bay mostly (like myself). I'm debating on the game. I already have the Orange Box, but the new 14 levels exclusive to the XBL? I'm curious to see if that means the maps not available on the PC version. I don't mind picking it up again but it would really sway me if it was TRULY exclusive.
What it means by an Xbox Original game is that it was s best seller on the Xbox console. Just because it says an original Xbox game, doesnt mean it was exclusive, just a best seller n the "Original Xbox". Also im lookin forward to Portal: Still Alive, i love portal...
R1ncew1nd16: I'm pretty sure by "Xbox Original" it only has to have been released on the original Xbox and have been a big seller.
How does a game qualify as an Xbox Original? GTA:SA was ORIGINALLY on PS2. I'm not trying to be a fanboy or anything but come on, how does that work exactly?
im not gettong San Andres, since i still have my ps2 copy :) and yay about portal my brother bought The Orange Box and i really didnt care but dam Portal is addictive is the only thing i played there
GTA: SA and Portal for the Xbox 360? -GTA = HOT COFFEE ALERT!! WATCH OUT FOR THAT HILLARY CLINTON, GAL! SHE'LL GET 'YA MICROSOFT! epic faill. -Portal = YAY! Finally, I've been waiting for this, for a long time. I gazed at the single Portal game in GameStop for the PC, and I would think 'It's worth going on my PC hard drive.' And the Orange Box, I didn't think I would buy it for only Portal, so I let that go. Half-Life is just not my game, and Team Fortress? I would like to try it but I'm just not sure.
I don't like the control scheme of the old GTA games, so I'll be avoiding GTA:SA. However, Portal is AMAZING. I may have to scrape together some cash for that one.
Portal wasn't even that good without the rest pf the Orange Box and GTA4 is better than San Andreas so I don't care.
Can't wait to play San Andreas again. This game, for me, is way better than GTA IV in so many ways. More guns, car customization, more stuff to do, and a much bigger world to play in. True, it won't have the same level of impact as it did 4 years ago, and it won't have achievements or online multiplayer, but you can still have fun with it for hours on end. And I also lost my PS2 version, so I will definitely be downloading this!!!!
was expecting new tf2 maps, sick and tired playing on like 4 maps, but we all dont get what we want now, so oh well.
14 extra levels? I loved Portal on my 360, but instead of getting Portal: Still Alive, I got the PC version for $10 at Gamestop. That way, I get HUNDREDS of user made puzzles and the ability to make my own. Not to mention the recently released fan-made Portal prequel.
Awesome!!!!! Portal is freakin' incredible! I was expecting this to come out much later in the year so this is great news. I can't wait to see the genius of Portal extended with this new content!
PLEAZE don't make fun of me gamespotters but I own the Orange Box and never got into it. The games kinda bored me and I could never seem to find my way around. I also tried Portal for like a min and got bored of it too. Did I just not give it an honest chance? I really really BADLY wanna see what the hype is about for portal and even half-life. Can somebody mail me to let me know why they liked it so much? If I should stick with it etc. I know that sounds dumb. Or is that "reads" dumb since it wasn't spoken......
Niiiiiice but most people won't buy SA due to lack of achievements which is quite shallow
The 360 just continues to chug out more and mroe great games, new and old. The way XBL has transformed itself into, its just amazing. I never thought they would ever reach the extend where new and old games are being downloaded in the masses. Heck even i broke downa nd got a remake of a classic...Bionic Commando.
XBL just keep getting better and better with each thing they add. I want to play portal and look forward to downloading it.
Portal is an instant buy if I ever get around to buying and finishing Braid and Castle Crashers then I'll consider GTA
"SwedeMerc Posted Oct 16, 2008 11:44 pm GMT One thing good about GTA:SA on XBL is, being a teen whose parents actually BELIEVE Jack Thompson, now I can get it without them knowing." ___ lol, or not if your parents read this and get to your family settings first! Notwithstanding this particular problem, surely the best option is just to buy a pre-owned copy of San Andreas, particularly if you're a space-deprived 20 gigger? I must admit though, as good as SA was/is, there's been no looking back since GTA IV came out. I honestly don't think I'd take the time to play through SA again, or certainly not in the same depth I did the first time round.
Damn why can't they just release the extra Portal levels stand alone? Everyone who will want to play them already has Portal anyway.
Might still suck on the xbox 360 cos it is an old game. Might just stick to the PC version.
Gonna be cool having GTA launch from the HDD. It's one of those games you wanna just dive into without having to mess with discs. Should also have quicker load times due to the lack of disc searching. Also, Gamespot, your link to the "review of the original" is a link to GTA4, not GTASA.
Well...since I own the Orange Box they better put the extra Portal stuff in as an expansion AS WELL as the full Portal game. I don't wanna have to pay extra to buy the normal version of the game just to get the extra stuff. :( As long as it's also an expansion that's cheaper than the full game. Either way...Portal is A-FREAKIN-MAZING, and I'd get this no matter what...I just don't wanna HAVE to pay extra if I don't have to. You know?
Wow, that's amazing. San Andreas just came out 4 years ago, and now you can download it. Might take up 6 GBs, but for those who haven't played, it's seriously one of the best games ever made. I've never played Portal but I plan to get The Orange Box VERY soon. In the meanwhile, I'll just download the trial version of Still Alive.
San Andreas is the best freakin game ever period, I love it and still play it. If you missed it under your rock buy this bargain. ...lol I thought the title was for a GTA:Portal game.
pretty pointless if you own the xbox trilogy or original gta san andreas i already finally beat san andreas yesterday lol, my saints row 2 just came in and , why in the world would i need to download this rockstar just hurry up with san andreas 2
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