If you follow me at all on here it should be no surprise that I have not seen much of a difference between Alan Wake and Silent Hill. At least that's my opinion from the viewpoint of the screen shots, trailers and the most recent live action Bright Falls series. I mean, they look so very similar. If you don't think so, then you should have your brain examined. Well, I was just recently able to give Alan Wake a good play through. A really good play through so I could contrast and compare between this new IP and the "older" Silent Hill IP. Read More...

Well, The Escapist has reported that the last player has been logged out of the final Halo 2 lobby on the Microsoft dedicated servers, officially ending the game's popular run since 2004. Despite Microsoft officially ending Live support for the original XBox on April 15th, a handful of dedicated Halo 2 fans refused to log off until the last one, with the handle Apache N4SIR was forcibly booted at 1:28 EDT this morning. Despite your feelings on the Halo franchise, it is pretty cool that even a game that is six years old is (well was) still supported by a committed fan base. Think about how many great games have come and gone out of our memories and minds in the last six years. Read More...

For you non-hardcore Halo fans out there, you may not have known that the Halo: Reach beta is kicking off in the next week, May 3rd to be exact. Perhaps you did know because of the mighty inter-webs. In either instance, Bungie wanted to ensure that everyone knew that there was a Beta on the way. They want you to know so much that they have placed an ad to inform the uninitiated and give you hardcore fanatics something to get all moist over. Here it is, submitted for your approval. Oh, and if you are confused a bit on what you are seeing, look below the clip for Bungie's explanation as to what is going on here. Read More...

A new collectors edition as been announced by Bungie for Halo: Reach, which will be available in standard, Limited and Legendary editions when the game launches this fall. Both the Limited edition and the Legendary edition will have content that is based on the fiction of Halo: Reach and the Halo universe. The Legendary edition will be produced in very limited quantities and is designed for fans who have to have it all. What do I mean by that? Read More...

If you somehow missed Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last night, then you missed one of the hottest trailers to grace your television screen. It is no secret what Cliff Bleszinski and the rest of the crew over at Epic Games are working on with the pre-mature announcement over on XBL (way to go Microsoft to blow that news). Well it was time to showcase to the world, or the few that could actually stayed up to watch Jimmy Fallon, the new trailer for Gears of War 3. “When we released Gears of War more than five years ago, we set out to tell the world an unforgettable story of bravery and sacrifice in the face of insurmountable odds, and a year from now, players will get the chance to experience the final chapter in the story of Marcus Fenix and his companions in Delta Squad,” said Cliff Bleszinski, Design Director of Epic Games. Read More...

Attention Halo fans. The World Premiere Trailer for Halo Reach is out. It is also below for you to check out and gaze at what Bungie and Microsoft have in store for you sometime later this year. Well at least a basic story of things. All in a fully rendered video clip with the following seeming to be the story they wan to tell with this clip: A bunch of space marines, Spartans, are gearing up to go fight some huge alien threat, the Covenant. Amazing right? I can't believe they took this story in this arc for Halo in this trailer. Read More...

With Mobile gaming on the rise, and new technologies emerging from console makers these days it was no surprise to see Microsoft announce XBox LIVE connectivity with the new Windows Phone 7 software. Unlike Windows Mobile 6.1 and higher, this is aimed at a more social experience by increasing communication across a multitude of carriers and phones. Windows Phone 7 will be available (unlike the iPhone) on Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and HTC phones. Windows Phone 7 OS is going to be Microsoft's mobile entertainment platform, by bringing gaming to the player anywhere they go, and the ability to network with all your LIVE friends, Microsoft is coming out the gate swinging. Read More...

If you have not heard yet, an official release date range has been given for Alan Wake. Something you will have heard about once you watch the below trailer for the game just loosed on us from X10. Which was something that was quite the buzz when it hit. It was all over Twitter once it became public. Well I will have to say, after watching the below trailer, I am wishy washy on Alan Wake. It looks almost like a Silent Hill clone. Read More...

According to Microsoft on April 15th 2010 they will be discontinuing there XBox LIVE services on the original XBox. The discontinuation of service will also include XBox v1 games that are backwards compatible on your XBox 360. So basically all you Halo 2 fans out there have been "cut-off". The original XBox LIVE had a good run, almost eight years from when it first debuted back in November 2002. Obviously there were numerous attempts at online gaming before XBox LIVE (Dreamcast anyone?), but none that became such a power house of online gaming. Read More...

With all the consoles (finally) starting to stream digital media, either from Netflix, or from online stores, it seems that the only natural progression would be to start showing live TV shows/sporting events. ESPN were in talks with Microsoft in a very "private" meeting, about the possibility to stream sporting events live on the XBox 360. Of course fee's would be involved but now your average gamer, on any given sunday, could sit at home and switch back and forth from Madden '10 to whatever football game was on. For a per-subscriber fee, ESPN could provide live streams of sporting events, similar to the ones available through ESPN 360, a service that is available from some high-speed Internet providers. Read More...

Microsoft has finally caught on to the whole instant gratification idea and released it's long awaited Games for Windows- Live games on demand. Talk about a day late and a dollar short.Microsoft opened it's doors to PC gamers everywhere, with their new Games for Windows LIVE software.  Gamers can download numerous titles from Microsoft ranging from Dirt 2 to Street fighter IV.  Yes we are all aware that Digital Distribution already exists with Steam and Direct2drive among others, but Microsoft gives the players the ability to use cash or Microsoft points to purchase games. Read More...

<rant>So awoke today to an all to familiar sight: a red ringed 360. I've had 4 red rings in 5 years, and while I most likely use my 360 more than the average user, 4 units in 5 years is unacceptable for a company who can afford to make a system that won't fail.</rant> I did a poll of my 60 some friends on Live and got 30 responses: 23 of them have had red rings, 7 of them haven't, and of those 7, 3 got theirs this year (the newest 360, which allegedly won't red ring anymore). While many polls have been done outside of mine, the results are always staggering, in some polls (like the game informer poll) gamers report that the failure rate is over 50% while some polls report around 20-25%. Anything above 10% in my mind is a completely unacceptable. Read More...

So some news about Natal is making the rumor rounds. According to a member of a “secret tour of a Microsoft lab”, the controller-free movement only control system will come out November of 2010, which Microsoft had previously hinted at and then claimed bollocks. Microsoft hopes to have 5 million units available for purchase worldwide at the time of launch, some being sold with a 360, and some being sold on their own. The price would range anywhere from £30 to £50 (what the price would be in USD is anybody's guess at this point) and would have a fairly robust 14 launch games. We know that Criterion/EA had modified the popular Burnout Paradise to work with Natal, so maybe the 14 includes patches for some games. Read More...

Microsoft announced yesterday that they have banned a very large number (rumored to be up to 1 million) Xbox Live player accounts for modding their Xbox systems and playing pirated games.With the current release of Modern Warfare 2, players are anxiously trying to get online and fragging their friends but it seems Microsoft has other plans.  Microsoft is citing it's terms of service agreement that players agree to when buying an xbox system:Download or use any material sent or provided by another user of the Service that you know, or reasonably should know, cannot be legally shared or distributed in such manner (except as expressly permitted by us).What they could and would do were clearly laid out:Microsoft may, among other things: (a) restrict or limit access to the Service; (b) retrieve information from the original Xbox, Xbox 360 console, personal computer, and any connected peripheral device used to log onto the Service as necessary to operate and protect the security of the Service, and to enforce this contract. Read More...

"Loaded with multi-touch, accelerometer, and 3D graphics, Zune HD makes portable gaming even more exciting. All to the sound of your favorite music. Download free games from our catalog of popular titles like Vans Sk8: Pool Service and Audiosurf Tilt.", says Microsoft's Zune Site.Not one to allow Apple to comfortably situate itself atop the movie gaming market, Microsoft has rolled out some titles for the Zune HD. These titles range from new properties to some existing licenses. One of the advantages right off the bat for the Zune HD as a gaming platform -- and by extension as a mobile device in general -- is that it takes advantage of Microsoft Points. Read More...