Xbox 360 Elite Price Drop

No leaked photo would be complete unless it was blurry; and, in a recently leaked ad, it appears that the Elite version of the Xbox 360 will drop in price down to $299. This seems to suggest that perhaps the Pro version will be discontinued. Now that it will be the same price as the old Pro version, the Elite version looks to be an amazing deal and hopefully be enough for Xbox to gain a bigger share of the market. The ad is set to be released in a few weeks, so stay tuned to see if the price really does drop.

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Halo Waypoint

The Halo universe has expanded far beyond that which i would have imagined. With the original Halo trilogy, Halo Wars, 2 upcoming Halo games, and the recently announced anime series. There is quite a lot to keep track of. Now, it has been announced that Xbox Live Users will have access to what is called Halo Waypoint, a way to access Halo media and keep track of Halo achievements, along with other Halo information. It is said to be a way to connect with friends and it will be apart of the Xbox Live Dashboard. It will also feature the new anime series, Halo Legend. Stay tuned to see what it is all about this coming Fall. It is said to be free to Gold Members, but no word yet if there will be a price for Silver Members.

Modern Warfare 2: Sticky Grenades

There’s one thing about Halo that brings me back for more, and that’s the thrill of chucking a plasma grenade for a nice sticky kill. I spend hours playing Halo only for the sticks. Few people, it seems, realize the potential of these smoking blue balls, and far fewer have mastered their potential. But getting good enough to get sticks in any situation, and not just point blank suicides, can help any Halo player get even better. Now, following the Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer trailer, it appears that sticky grenades have made their way into Call of Duty. This brings a lot of possibilities for strategies in gameplay and it definitely adds a new twist to how this game might be played. This is sure to be something to look forward to, along with all the other great additions that MW2 is looking to have. Mark your calendars for November 10th and be the first to own Modern Warfare 2 on your block and practice up on your sweet sweet sticking skills.

Now check out this video showing off the awesome multiplayer action of Modern Warfare 2 and at the very end see a glimpse of MW stickys.

Metal Gear Solid: Rising

There are not very exclusive games that have kept the Playstation 3 in the game. Xbox 360 has always had many awesome games exclusive to the Xbox platform. Playstation also has some of these and they help to really define a system and can help motivate a buyer on their decision of which console to buy. One game in particular that Sony has held over Microsoft is the Metal Gear Solid series. However, it has just been announced that they are hard at work on the next game in the series called Metal Gear Solid: Rising. Along with coming to the Xbox, there is also a new main character, Raiden, which means no more Solid Snake. There has been no word if it is Xbox 360 exclusive, however, I’m sure that it will also be available for the Playstation 3 when it comes out.

Left 4 Dead 2

Left 4 Dead brought a whole new level to multiplayer FPS. There was no real story line and no real motive other than fight your way to extraction. However, this did not stop this from being an awesome game that was meant to be shared with 3 of your closest friends. Many hours could be spent fighting tirelessly through all those zombies and it would never get old. Now Left 4 Dead 2 has been announced and with it comes 4 new survivors and 5 all new campaigns to play through. This should help keep the game fresh, although I will miss playing as Zoey, and new levels means new action; plus Valve has said levels might play out differently and not just end in a final standoff like the first Left 4 Dead. After watching the teaser trailer it looks like there will be several new weapons, and now melee weapons as well, axes and chainsaws look like they will add a whole new level of gameplay and should add some variety on awesomeness over beating zombie after zombie with the butt of your gun. This game looks super exciting and although there doesn’t seem to be too much innovation it doesn’t need it. Stay tuned for more L4D2 information and it should be released by the end of this year.

Halo: Reach

Halo: Recon is set to release in September of 2009, but Bungie has just announced the next installment in the Halo Franchise; Halo: Reach. I was not expecting another Halo game to be announced just yet, and definitely was not expecting one like this. I have always dreamed of a Halo game to take place prior to the first ring. If you have not read any of the books in the Halo series, I would highly recommend it to any avid Halo fan as it will bring into play rich background information and storyline that really enhances gameplay. However, that is not why I mention these books; the first in the series, Halo: The Fall of Reach, seems to be exactly what this game will play out. I always wanted a game that lead through the Master Chief’s training and childhood, but I knew that just would not happen, but this game looks like it will play out the last portion of the book and it’s events.

So now that you’ve watched the teaser trailer, here are some of my predictions for what this game will be like.

Spartans. Plural.

As the video suggests there are going to be Spartans. Lots of them. This game is going to be all about the Spartans and it is going to be all about their teamwork and controlling them. So perhaps it will have more of the tactical side to it that ODST should have. Halo has always been about the one and only Master Chief, but this one should have a focus on all of them and using them in the last stand to defend Reach.

New Protagonist

The Master Chief might not be the protagonist. I feel the Master Chief is too played out for right now, and he will not be the main person in this next game. He will still be there and he will take a big part in it perhaps, but it won’t be all about him. If you read the first book you will understand, as he never fights groundside for Reach. Therefore there is no way that he can be the main character as all the action takes place away from him.

Space Battles

I want some space battles. Enough of the groundside all out warfare. There are epic battles that take place in outerpace, and I want to take part in it. Wouldn’t it be cool to take command of a UNSC spacecraft and destroy some Covenant ships. I think if played out right this could really bring new life and open many new doors for the Halo franchise. Space battles would be absolutely epic; plain and simple. So lets make it happen.

Pelican and Multiplayer

Obviously there will be new weapons and vehicles that will be added for all to enjoy. I can’t wait, but there is only one I’ve been waiting for. The Pelican dropship. Letting the player take control of a Pelican would bring different gameplay into the franchise and could be an excellent idea for a level in the game, but also in multiplayer it could change things as well. However, for it to really work and be worth while in multiplayer there needs to be a few changes. Multiplayer needs to have much bigger levels, and many more players. A level twice the size of Sidewinder and the ability to have 32 vs 32 would make Halo multiplayer the best multiplayer game ever. It really would, big team battles just aren’t big enough in my opinion. I know there are probably some complications as to their ability to carry this out effectively, but we can all dream right? Hopefully this will be an epic game so stay tuned for more information as it becomes available.

Well that’s it for my predictions what are your predictions?

Project Natal

“Project Natal” is Microsoft’s new Motion Sensing controller for the Xbox 360. It is like Wii 2.0, it can capture full body movements, along with facial and vocal recognition that should allow players of all kinds to be able to get into the game and really have an awesome time. However, this all seems a little too perfect for me. The motion control that Project Natal seems to bring will really change the way casual and even hardcore games are played. However, I’m not sure how really accurate it will all be just yet. This kind of thing takes time to build a foundation and I’m not so sure that it will be able to work as flawlessly as advertised. However, it definitely looks like a lot of fun and it should bring a lot more people into video games, which is OK in my book. I want this to work, this could breathe new life into video games and put a whole new spin on it, but it just seems too early to tell as Microsoft said it won’t be released in 2009 so there is still time for it, and we can always hope for the best, but I think we might want to prepare for the worst.

What do you think about Project Natal? Let me know in the comments.

Modern Warfare 2 New Video

Check out this awesome World Premiere video of Modern Warfare 2. This video was just released and is definitely a step up from the last teaser video they pushed out. There is no real gameplay footage, but it definitely shows just how epic this next game is going to be. So far it looks like it is going to be much more epic than the last and it should make up for the lack of awesomeness that COD: World at War provided. Mark your calendars for November 10th and make sure your the first on the block to have this awesome game.

Mythic Map Pack Coverage

On April 9th, Bungie released another multiplayer map pack for Halo 3. This map pack includes 3 brand new maps for 800 Microsoft Points ($10). The levels include Assembly, which takes place in a scarab factory; Orbital, which takes place on a UNSC ship; and Sandbox, which is a perfect sandbox in every way. These new levels breath some fresh life into online gameplay, and with several new achievements what is not to love. These levels bring new types of levels in that fit well with the other Halo 3 levels, but bring something of their own to the mix.

Assembly

Assembly is a great level with lots of ledges and other paths, all leading up to the middle where the fun begins. There is a transporter beam in the center of the level that brings you down to the bottom level with a Gravity Hammer. There is always fighting to be done in the center but with lots to explore throughout the rest of the map as well. Assembly is a good addition to the list of maps.

Orbital

Orbital brings the visual appeal that I always really wanted in a Halo 3 multiplayer map. I have always loved playing on UNSC ships and this level has a great feel to it. It reminds me of the first level in the first Halo game, aboard the ship. There are several levels to this one and it is pretty big in size. There are many small corridors that could lead to surprise attacks on the enemy. There is so much to be had on this level, it is thoroughly enjoyable.

Sandbox

Sandbox is definitely a change of pace from the other maps. This map is completely customizable; completely. Take out everything and start tabula rasa. The best part is there are three different playing fields, the main sand floor, a huge steel bunker of a basement, as well as a floating field in the sky. You can take advantage of all three at once. Create death defying obstacles in the sky to have a sweet sniping vantage point, or set your level in the basement, perfect for grifball. You can be as creative as you want and have as much fun as possible with it.

I don’t know if this map pack is for everyone. $10 just seems like a lot of money to spend on a few multiplayer maps. I wouldn’t say this map pack is for the casual Halo player, if you only play every once in a while when some friends come over, you can live without this map pack. However, definitely for the hardcore players out there, these maps could bring some new strategy into your gameplay and mix things up to keep you wanting to succeed, or if you love forge and love creating levels then this map pack is for you. Sandbox is your sandbox, enjoy it and take advantage of it. Someone that likes building levels could easily pump hours and hours into building the next great level. This map pack is not for everyone, don’t spend $10 unless you know you want it. There is a lot to be done on these new levels and a lot of achievements to be earned so check out this video of the map layout to see what it is all about.

Assassin’s Creed 2

I’m very excited for the release of the second iteration of Assassin’s Creed. The first one had great graphics and gameplay and a story that left you saying “Uhhh… wtf?” and because of this, this recently released teaser video shows just when and where the next one will take place. Perhaps a visit with Da Vinci is in order. No matter where it takes us, get excited for the full press release by Ubisoft on the 16th of April.