1P Start

The best compilation of games since….. ever is just about here now (if you think Midway Treasures offers better value, stop reading and end yourself). You more than likely have a PC if you are reading this as well as uou more than likely have an Xbox 360 or PS3, now to determine what would be your best choice as to what version of the Orange Box you should get. The first argument is the age old “Keyboard/Mouse vs Controller.” Lets look past that though, as if it all comes down to that for you, you have already made your decision, but if you can game with a controller, I think its safe to say there are some very positive features to the 360/PS3 versions that may make some compelling selling points.

Communication: Yes, PC’s gamers have had the option of VOIP or other solutions other than having to type a message out during game play, but lets be honest, that is a very small percentage of users that make use of that option, on top of the fact that every single Xbox 360 is sold with a headset in the box.

Comfort: Having to play while at my computer or getting to kick back in my bed or on my couch… … exactly. Yes, some of you may want to argue that you have a bad ass gaming chair that is better than that Matrix weirdo from Grandma’s Boy, but for the rest of us, you just can’t compare a 19″ screen to a 32″ one.

(more…)

sinExchange analyst Jesse Divnich believes that the announcement of the Xbox 360 Holiday Bundles will cause an ever-so-slight drop in hardware sales as consumers wait for the new bundles to arrive on store shelves later this month. The prediction market forecase shows that the 360 forecast has dipped only 9,000 units, from 315,000 to 304,00.

However, Divnich added that Microsoft will gain back the 9K lost in October, selling upwards of 408,000 in November. The bundle, as well as some game called Halo 3 will help spur the surge in sales.

So how will the PS3 affect these numbers?

(more…)

Rumors began to swirl back in August about new holiday bundles for the Xbox 360, but now those rumors have been put to rest as Microsoft has confirmed that there will indeeed be a holiday bundle this Christmas.

The bundle, which will include both Premium and Elite consoles, will include two games: Marvel: Ultimate Alliance and Forza Motorsports 2. Both bundles will go on sale sometime this month for their standard console prices (Elite: $449, Premium: $349).

So if you’ve been on the fence about getting a 360, hold out a few more days. Trust me, both these titles are Grade A, and should be part of anyone’s collection.

Microsoft, Xbox 360, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, Forza 2

It’s Monday, which can only mean one thing — New Games are on the horizon tomorrow. While Sega Rally Revo is coming to just about every console under the sun (sans Wii), the obvious choice for game of the week is Half-Life 2: The Orange Box. PSP fans should also rejoice, as both Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron and Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions are due this week.

After the break is the entire list, broken down in alphabetical order by console.

(more…)

1up had a quick interview with Brian Jarrard of Bungie to get the scoop from Bungie’s side about the whole Microsoft/Bungie break up. That whole issue has been covered though, what hasn’t been is the Peter Jackson Halo game, which is now confirmed by the interview that it is what Bungie is currently working on with Jarrard letting out this:

“…Well we are already at work on another Halo game — I wouldn’t call it “Halo 4″, but it is based in the Halo Universe and represents a collaboration between Bungie and Peter Jackson. Halo 3 was definitely not the last Bungie Halo game.”

But wait!? you may ask, isn’t Peter Jackson already all tied up with other things, such as that Halo movie that isn’t coming out! You may remember the talks about Peter Jackson not wanting to work on the movie unless Neill Blomkamp was attached to the project. Well Neill has spoken out on the issue, with some interesting comments about the movie with Creativity Online saying:

“The film is entirely dead. In the configuration it was in. Whatever happens with that movie, assuming that movie gets made, will be a totally different configuration. It’s not so much me as the entire vessel sank.”
(more…)

It’s that time for a new episode of Mass Effect: Character Spotlight! The last one, which definitively made up my mind to reserve the game, left my jaw dropped. Of course, that was because it was the first time I saw Mass Effect in HD. But I digress. This time around we get spotlights on five characters.

Donnel Udina - Human Ambassador

Benezia - Asari Matriarch

Dr. Chakwas - Normandy Doctor

Captain Kirahee - Salarian Military Officer

Manuel - Raving Genius

Yeah. The more I see, the more I like.

Xbox 360, Microsoft, BioWare, Mass Effect

Zero Punctuation’s Yahtzee has gotten his hands on Halo 3, and what follows is nothing short of glorious. While many Xbox fanboys will take a step back and possibly shit themselves when they see this video, those of us who have taken a minute to step back, and objectively look at the game can agree on at least one of the things he points out in this video.

In my case, I’ve gotta agree that the bloom effects are freaking over-the-top. To be kind.

[The Escapist]

The Escapist, Zero Punctuation, Microsoft, Xbox 360, Halo 3, Bungie, Designtopia, Yahtzee, review

Well, the numbers are in, and it’s official — Halo 3 is more American than apple pie. In the latest sales chart, released by VGChartz.com, Halo 3 premeired at the top spot, selling 2,634,108 copies in its first four days of release. To put that in perspective, Halo 3 outsold all 49 other games on the VGChartz Top 50 list combined.

By 1.47 Million.

I don’t know about you all, but I think this Halo 3 thing may be fairly popular. Mr. Sterling over at D’toid thinks this may even be the sleeper hit of the year. I’d keep an eye on it, people.

[VGChatz]

Microsoft, Xbox 360, Halo 3, Sales Figures, pwnage

You know the rumor that Bungie and Microsoft are through? Well, a new story posted by GameInformer on their website makes the claim that, based on what their inside sources have told them, Bungie is indeed set to leave Microsoft.

According to the GI article written by Billy Berghammer, an unnamed source at Bungie has told them that the developer is “tired of making Halo”. They have even gone so far as to buy back the Bungie name from Microsoft for an unspecified amount of money.

That’s code for “shitload of cash”.

The source also told GI that Microsoft also has, in essence, first dibs on all future Bungie-developed games. If they see something they like, Microsoft can come in and say “Yeah, we’re publishing this”, which will most certainly make things interesting when Bungie wants to make a Wii game.

[GameInformer]

[Digg This. This is important.]

Microsoft, Xbox 360, Bungie

Giant RC Mario Kart car eat your heart out, user PK of the 3dnow.net forums has posted his mod of a “Fast Lane Super Slicks Monster 4X4 RC Car” (pic to the right) into a Halo Warthog including a driver and a gunner (pic above). From the little details such as taking the old antenna out and replacing it with coiled wire to even throwing in an assault rifle in the drivers hand, for those into mods, this guys work shouldn’t be ignored, it really is fantastic. The final product has a perfect paint job and is able to climb up to 45 degrees. Nice job PK! Check after the break for a video of the Warthog in action.
(more…)

1PStart has gushed a bit about how absolutely awesome the new Turok game is looking. From the visuals to the story reboot, everything about the new Turok, simply entitled Turok, is looking sweet. Now, it appears, it will sound sweet as well, as many hollywood actors have signed on to do voiceovers for Turok.

Joseph Turok - Gregory Norman Cruz (Saving Grace)

“Cowboy” - Timothy Olyphant (Live Free or Die Hard)

“Slade” - Ron Perlman (Hellboy)

“Shepard” - Donnie Wahlberg (New Kids on the Block)

“Logan” - William Fichtner (Prison Break, GTA: San Andreas)

“Cole” - Mark Rolston (Enterprise)

“Jericho” - Christopher Judge (Stargate SG-1)

“Gonzalez” - Lombardo Boyar (Happy Feet)

“Reese” - Gideon Emery (Passions)

“Parker” - Josh Gomez (Chuck)

“Foster” - Jon Curry

“Carter” - Jason Harris (Chicken Little)

“Henderson” - Steve Van Wormer (Bubble Boy)

Of course, predominant bad guy Powers Boothe will play Roland Kane, the game’s villian, and former mentor to Joseph Turok. Kane’s right-hand man, Grimes, will be voiced by Sean Donnellan.

As if there wasn’t enough to get all giddy over, now we find out that Turok is set to have one of the best VO casts in recent memory. Good Lord.

Turok, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Powers Boothe, Ron Perlman, Tim Olyphant, Donnie Walhberg, William Fichtner, Christopher Judge

Apparently, Bungie hates search features in their online games. When asked why there was no search feature in Halo 3 to help you find a match, Bungie essentially said it was because they want you to use their matchmaking.

“The reality is that it’s not something that is getting changed or tweaked, so what exactly would the point of stickying it be? There’s no searchable custom games because we want to keep the population in Matchmaking high so that the end user experience in matchmaking is as good as it can be, that success presupposes certain population levels. We appreciate your diligent feedback.”

So, in essence, they are forcing us to use the matchmaking. Weak? Yeah. But I don’t mind it.

[Bungie]

Microsoft, Xbox 360, Bungie, Halo 3, Matchmaking

I love Guitar Hero, not enough to plunk down $100 to buy a copy (though I am pretty sold on the Rock Band/Drum combo pack when that comes), but I love the game and respect those that can play on expert, as ‘Hard’ mode is as far as I can go, moving my fat fingers up and down the neck of the guitar while hitting notes flying by me is just too much. However, for these two guys fat fingers, they make it look easy hitting 400+ note streaks. Just for you Guitar Hero fans, check this video out, the end starts getting tense as both these guys prove they are some of the best:

Briefly, while on the subject of Guitar Hero III, as I was reading through my usual news sites this morning with my coffee, I noticed something on PCGamingRally.com noting that the PC version of this game was coming. For all you Frets on Fire players, I just question will you actually be purchasing this game, or will this be a Bit Torrent download for you?
—

In Flames, Tenactious D, Guitar Hero III, Rock Band, Gibson Les Paul, Gibson Flying V, Tournament, DigitalLife2007, Frets on Fire, Edgehopper, DangerIsGo

Straight from Major Nelsom himself is the announcement that the next Tetris game, Tetris Splash, will make its new nest on Xbox LIVE this Wednesday. It will retail for 800 MS Points.

That’s right, Tetris will cost more than Defender, Galaga and the original Pac-Man. Tetris. A game that you can buy for your Game Boy for about 75 cents on your Game Boy, or play online for FREE. I guess, if you REALLY love your Tetris, then you outta think of picking this up. But, if you really love Tetris that much, then maybe you should sit down with your family and admit that you have some form of social anxiety disorder.

Don’t pay $10 for a twenty year-old game, people. Just don’t.

NOTE: No, JW is not a Tetris fan. Paco, however, loves the stuff.

[Major Nelson]

Microsoft, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE Arcade, Tetris

It’s that time of week again, where we remind you of all the new, kick ass games coming out in the next week. The game I’m most excited for this week is, without question, PGR4. Other games coming to retail shelves this week include Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, Spider-Man: Friend or Foe and The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass.

All in all, not a bad week for gaming.

(more…)