Xbox 360 S 250GB + Kinect Bundle announced

Microsoft has announced the details of a new bundle that will be included as a part of the Kinect launch. This new bundle will be a step up from the previously announced Xbox 360 S 4GB and Kinect bundle which went on sale in August. Microsoft will be throwing in the Xbox 360 S 250GB plus the Kinect accessory itself, and the game 'Kinect Adventures'. This bundle will set you back a cool four hundred dollars if you decide to pounce on it November 4th (The North American release date for Kinect). Kinect will go on sale on November 10th in Europe, followed by November 20th in Japan.

It's sitting pretty now, but it won't hesitate to take a bite out of your wallet.

Analysts have criticized Kinect's lack of worldwide language support. The new motion based gaming accessory from Microsoft will only have support for English, Japanese, and Mexican Spanish upon launch. Despite it's limitations, representatives from Microsoft predict that the accessory alone will sell four million consoles this holiday season.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Wager Matches (New Feature)

Just this week, Treyarch revealed a new game mode for it's upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops title. A new game type, dubbed 'Wager match' will allow players to bet in game currency with fellow gamers. The top three players will take home the dough, while the rest will be left with nothing.

Surely this new game mode will add a new twist to not only the Call of Duty franchise but video games in general. These in game credits can be used to unlock and customize player outfits, weapon unlocks and skins, and more. There will be four game types available for the wager match mode, which include:

'One in the Chamber' - Player's start with a pistol that contains only one bullet. If they kill someone, they pick up their bullet. If they miss, they will be left with only the melee option as a way to kill their opponents.

'Sticks and Stones' - Players will be equipped with the crossbow weapon, ballistic knives, and tomahawk. If they are killed by a knife, they will be bankrupted.

'Gun Game' - Players start with a basic weapon and are given a more powerful gun every time they get a kill. If the player is killed, they will be bumped back one weapon in the cycle. The first player to reach the final weapon in the cycle wins.

'Sharp Shooter' - Players will all start with the same randomly assigned weapon. Weapons will automatically cycle through randomly for all the players after a certain set amount of time.

These new game modes should add a new element to Black Ops which has not been present in any Call of Duty series game in the past. The Wager Match mode will surely keep people on the edge of their seats as there will always be something on the line.

A slight lull in activities

Its been a busy past few weeks. I haven't found much time for gaming as of recently. Although I am occasionally on FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010. I'll be waiting until the end of this month for FIFA 11 (September 28th in the US). Other than that, not much to report on. My old Xbox 360 has left, and I have about a hundred or so dollars to show for it. I will probably be putting that down toward my Kinect pre-order later this week. There isn't too much else going on at the moment, possibly some new info on Call of Duty Black Ops or FIFA 11 to come later this week.

Until then,

BakEd

EA Sports' FIFA 11 Preview Q&A | David Rutter

Following last week's Gamescom event, David Rutter of the FIFA production team answered questions from Facebook users regarding the upcoming EA Sports title, FIFA 11.

The demo is due September 16th for both the Xbox Marketplace and Playstation Store. Rutter has mentioned that there will be a few surprises in the demo, and chose to not reveal the demo teams in the interview. FIFA 11 is due to be released on September 28th in North America and on October 1st in Europe/Asia.

FIFA 11 will implement many graphical and gameplay improvements, including the following:

• Personality+ engine in which players are true to their real life characteristics. This means an aggressive defensive midfielder such as Gattuso will be a tough competitor on 50/50 balls and slide tackle with much more intent as opposed to someone who is not known for his defensive skills, such as Nani. Even referee's will have their own personality traits, which affect how leniently or strictly they referee the game.

• Player faces have been remodeled and updated. Although Rutter didn't specifically mention which teams and players were updated, it is a safe to say that most big name clubs and players have had their facial look and personality traits modeled according to their real life characteristics in FIFA 11.

• Users can now control the Goalkeeper, which will allow full on 11v11 online club gameplay. Goalkeepers can also be chosen as the user's individual player in Career mode. The goalkeeper's position can be controlled by using the left stick, while diving is initiated with the right stick (similar to the way the keeper has been controlled in penalty kicks). For those of you who don't feel up to the task, a simple press of the 'X' button will allow the keeper to make an assisted save. If you are playing with a friend, one of you can control the goalkeeper in the loading arena, allowing for fun 1v1 gameplay.

• A new 360 degree gameplay system which allows players to jostle and fight for the ball in a dynamic new way.

• Manager mode and Be a Pro mode have both been scrapped, er or um, combined in a new 'Career Mode'. Career mode allows players to choose a single player (or your virtual pro) and control him over the course of 15 seasons. Users can also decide to partake in a combined player-manager role or just a manager.

• The penalty kick system from FIFA: World Cup 2010 will be returning for FIFA 11.

• No new national teams will be added from FIFA 10's crop, but the Russian Premier League will be making it's debut on the 'next-gen' versions of FIFA.

• Virtual Pro's cannot be transferred over from FIFA 10, so you will have to start from scratch. The number of VP accomplishments has been doubled to about 400. New Virtual Pro unlock items and traits have also been added. The online clubs system has been improved, allowing for better recruiting and scouting of fellow Virtual Pro's, including a 'trial' option which allows you to bring another user's Virtual Pro over to play a practice match with your club before deciding to bring him on.

A truly impressive list I must say. I will be pre-ordering my copy of FIFA 11 this week. If anyone wants to play a quick game on FIFA 10 or FIFA: WC 2010, send me a message (my gamertag is on the right hand side of the page).

Parting ways with an old friend.

It will be a sad farewell for my trusty ol' Xbox 360 Pro. After 5 long years, a time away at the RROD intensive care treatment room, and hours upon hours of playing time later, it's time to let her go. Yes, sad times for all of us involved, but fear not, I will be looking forward to the Xbox 360 S 250GB and the wonderful world of Kinect.

Preparing to depart :(

In the mean time, it looks like I have my eyes set on pre-ordering the following during my next trip to GameStop.

FIFA 11
Call of Duty: Black Ops (Hardened Edition)
Kinect

Until next time,
прощание

Call of Duty Black Ops Multiplayer Teaser Trailer!

There was a big buzz of excitement among gamers as the new Call of Duty Black Ops Multiplayer teaser trailer made it's way onto the official Call of Duty Black Ops website. While playing Modern Warfare Two, word of the trailer spread like a wild fire in every multiplayer lobby I joined. It looks like Treyarch will be adding a few new elements to the game such as new rewards for kill streaks, among which include a remote controlled RC car bomb and a spy camera which replaces the player's radar on the upper left hand portion of the HUD. It also looks like Black Ops will be taking a page out of Halo's book by adding a theater-like replay function that allows you to record, save, upload, and share gameplay footage with friends.

Without further ado ...

How to Install Xbox 360 games onto your Hard Drive

Through my time playing both on Live and browsing discussion boards, it seems that most casual Xbox 360 owners are not aware of the ability to install games onto their Xbox 360 hard drive. The benefits of installing a game onto the hard drive are immense. For those of you who have the room to spare, 60GB-250GB owners, installing games onto the hard drive is a must. 20GB owners may be able to allocate enough room to install one or two of the games they play the most.

Some games receive a significant performance boost, including smoother gameplay, faster loading, and less frame rate stuttering. The greater benefit though, applies to all games, as once a game has been installed onto the hard drive, the Xbox 360 will run at almost dashboard level quietness. The disc drive will no longer have to spin, which will save the system from generating extra heat from having to read the disc while playing, as well as save electricity and create a quieter gaming environment. Before you start hot swapping discs, remember that the actual game disc still needs to be inside of the Xbox 360 for the game to play.

To install a game onto the hard drive:

• Make sure the game disc you want to install is inside the Xbox 360 and has been recognized (readable).
• Go to the 'dashboard' on your Xbox 360.
• Make sure you are in the 'My Xbox' pane.
• Scroll to the right and press 'A' on the 'Game Library' menu.
• Highlight the game that is currently inside of your 360's disc drive and press 'A'.
• Choose the 'Install to hard drive' option and let the system do it's work. The installation should take about 5-10 minutes.

Once the installation has finished, you are good to go. Hope you enjoy the peace and quiet.

New Xbox 360 Fall 2010 dashboard update coming soon! + Screenshots

Recent screenshots have surfaced on the internet from the French website Logic-Sunrise.com which show new possible images for an upcoming dashboard update for the Xbox 360. The new update is designed to integrate the Kinect accessory into the dashboard (although referred to as NATAL in these early developmental screenshots). Among the other changes are a vertical orientation between selectable items on the dashboard, a newer sleek theme that surrounds menu options and the guide button menu, plus added options to the system settings menu.

This new dashboard update will surely be a part of Microsoft's fall system update which should arrive before Kinect's launch date of November 4th.

The Xbox 360 S 250GB Console Bundle ... Reviewed!

Just about a month ago, Microsoft made a big splash in the water by releasing the new, redesigned, 'slim' version of the Xbox 360. The new console, dubbed the Xbox 360 S, is sold with WiFi compatibility built in and includes a 250GB hard drive. The Xbox 360 S also takes on a new appearance, sporting a sleeker form factor that includes a slight redesign of the physical appearance system itself, while maintaining the same basic shape of the original Xbox 360.

The New Xbox 360 S

Many current 360 owners will ask themselves, "Is it time for an upgrade?"... "Is it worth it to upgrade?"... "Yes, no, maybe so...".

First off, considering how the new Xbox 360 S sizes up against the original Xbox 360, there is really not much of a true physical difference. While it's definitely no Playstation 2 turned slim transformation, the new Xbox 360 S manages to cut about an inch and a half of height, a sliver of width, and actually increase a third of an inch in depth. Microsoft also decided to cut down the weight from 7.7 pounds on the original to 6.3 pounds on the new redesigned Xbox 360 S. The actual physical resemblance between the two systems is very clear, although the newer 360 S takes on a slimming and more futuristic look.

The Xbox 360 S sports all of the same cable connections as on the original system, while also adding an optical audio jack, a dedicated kinect port, and a redesigned hard drive bay. With memory cards entering the final waning days of their lives on the 360, Microsoft decided to ditch the mem-card ports in place of two extra USB sockets. Interactive buttons on the front of the system, such as the DVD tray eject button have been made capacitive (touch sensitive). Overall, the system does make slight improvements physically speaking, although there is nothing that really goes as far as to stand out.

The most useful addition to the 360 S is the built in 802.11n WiFi connection, which allows for downloading and online gaming on par with a direct Ethernet connection. The hardware, although slightly updated, does not make any noticable improvements on processing speed (loading or installing games). Fortunately, the 360 S redeems itself by acting as a more efficient incarnation of it's older brother. Tests have shown that the redesigned system uses a third less power when playing and installing games or watching DVDs, and close to nothing when sitting idle at the dashboard. The 360 S is also stealthy quiet compared to even the newer Xbox 360 Elite systems, it hardly makes a whisper when playing games that have been installed onto the hard drive. Unfortunately, it still manages to act as a makeshift space heater when left on for long periods of intense gaming.

So is the new Xbox 360 S truly worth getting? For first time Xbox 360 buyers, the answer would be a definite yes. With many new games coming out this fall that are sure to make a splash, as well as the built in Kinect compatibility, it is hard to overlook such a powerful system. For current 360 owners looking to upgrade, the question is a bit more debatable. Most Xbox 360 owners will be satisfied with their 120GB hard drives for now, and a system redesign alone doesn't hold much weight in the eyes of most casual gamers. Sure it may be quieter and use less power, but those perks alone are most likely not enough for the current 360 owner to make the splash, unless you are own a Xbox 360 arcade or 20GB Pro and are looking to make the step up, or just have deep pockets.

Pick me! Pick me!

Fortunately, for those current owners who are interested, there is are ways to get the 360 S for less. A 'old' 20GB system complete with cables and a game or two (something you don't really play anymore) can be sold for $150 on eBay. You can even try asking if any of your friends are interested in the system, possibly through a social networking site, or even post it on craigslist (to avoid eBay's fees). Couple that nice return with an online retailer who is running a free shipping promotion and you pick up the Xbox 360 S for $299 flat. Not too shabby I'd say, but I'll be sticking with my trusty 120GB system for now, but I can't say I don't see a possible upgrade in the near future.

Medal of Honor Beta for Xbox 360 is live!

Well folks, it looks like EA was finally able to get the Medal of Honor beta online for Xbox 360 users this past Friday. Gamers who had already pre-ordered the game through GameStop will have received a hard copy of the code upon checkout or through an email (for those who pre-ordered online).

When starting up the beta for the first time, you will notice two available game types, Team-Assault and Mission. The Team-Assault game mode is essentially a team death match with a few interesting differences. The winning team is decided by reaching an overall score total, which in this case is 1200 points. The scoring system gives a base of 10 points for each kill, plus an additional 5 for a head shot, melee, and or redemption or savior kill (of a teammate). These bonuses add up quickly, making it possible for a team to win the match while having less overall kills than their opponents. Many Battlefield Bad Company veterans will recognize the Mission game type as having great similarities to the Rush game mode on BFBC and BFBC2. Attackers try to destroy a certain objective in the map, if they are successful in doing so, a new objective will appear and players advance to a new point further along in the map. There are a total of five objectives to destroy in the Mission game type on the beta. Defenders must stop the attacking team from destroying the objective by withering away the opponents ticket count, which when reaches zero, equates to a victory.

The game play is essentially a hybrid between the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare series and Battlefield: Bad Company 2. The game is produced by DICE and EA, using the frostbite engine, leaning closer to the Battlefield series in terms of game design and weapon feel, while maintaining a fast pace and rewarding "point streak" rewards give it a resemblance to Call of Duty. Bullet damage seems to resemble BFBC2 more closely than in the Call of Duty series. Head shots on the MOH are deadly, let me repeat that deadly, because chances are if you don't head shot the other player in a firefight, you will likely be seeing the respawn screen. Although the hit detection system is still a bit flawed, and it is frustrating to deal with the 'delayed deaths', the beta still does a good job of finding a niche in the balance between the two FPS games. The frostbite engine combined with DICE's game developers have led to the creation of 'Call of Duty sized maps" with BFBC2 style texture and environment design. The beta maps are relatively well designed, providing a good balance for both teams.

Users can choose between three pre-determined soldier classes, Rifleman, Special Ops, and Recon. Players start out with a limited ability to customize their equipment, but as they progress by earning points with the respective class, unlocks such as combat scopes, silencers, muzzle brakes, extended magazines, and open-tip ammunition become available. Players rank up their own skill level separately from kit classes. The player ranking system is based on a 'skill level' which changes depending on the dynamic performance of the player in ranked games. Posting a 40-5 kill death ratio in a lobby filled with lower leveled opponents (in comparison to your own) will only net you a 10 point bonus on your overall skill level. Yet placing mid table in a lobby filled with players way above you in terms of skill level can net you a large bonus.

For anyone who has yet to try out the beta, I highly recommend giving it a shot. It may not be the most ground-breaking FPS to hit the 360 scene, but it sure is a nice change of pace from the usual MW2 or Bad Company. For those who would like to catch a game with me before the beta runs it's course, my gamertag is listed in the right hand column of the page.

Until next time,
- BakEd

Amazon is running a good deal for those who order through their website, saving you some money by providing free shipping.

Fifa 10 Double Champs Achievement Guide

So I've been playing EA's Fifa 10 for a while and I decided to go for achievements. I'm currently managing Arsenal, in my 2nd season. I play all of my games manually, usually winning most of not all. For those who like to simulate the fixtures, in an essence giving you a true manager mode experience, it may be a bit more difficult to unlock the 'Double Champs' achievement, especially when managing in a top level league such as the English Premier League.

For those of you achievement moguls who don't feel like sweating out two long seasons, I'd suggest this as an easy way to unlock the achievement for winning the league title twice in a row. Go to 'Team Management' in the main menu and select 'Transfers'. Select a team from a first tier league that has low ranked teams overall (such as the MLS) and transfer players into a team in that division (this will be your manager mode team). Spend about five minutes transferring over top players from notable teams to fill your roster with at least 7 top players in every position, and two goal keepers.

For example you can use:

GK:
Iker Casillas (Real Madrid)
Julio Cesar (Inter Milan)

DEF:
Dani Alves (Barcelona)
Carles Puyol (Barcelona)
Maicon (Inter)
John Terry (Chelsea)
Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United)
Philip Lahm (Bayern Munich)
Sergio Ramos (Real madrid)

MID:
Kaka (Real Madrid)
Michael Essien (Chelsea)
Frank Lampard (Chelsea)
Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
Xavi Hernandez (Barcelona)
Esteban Cambiasso (Inter Milan)
Diego (Juventus)
Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan)

FWD:
Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
Fernando Torres (Liverpool)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Barcelona)
Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Robin van Persie (Arsenal)
Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)

You may have to transfer out players that are currently on the team along the way to make sure the roster is not completely filled up. Next, once you have your team stacked with top players such as the ones mentioned above, transfer out all the other players that were on the team.

Now save your rosters and go to 'New Manager Mode' and select the team you transferred all your players to. Turn off auto save to make the process go by quicker, and just simulate every game. You should be winning almost every game. Once you have the money you can upgrade your teams fitness level as teams in these leagues usually have a poor fitness staff, leading to the tiring of your players. After playing through the league for two seasons you should easily unlock the 'Double Champs' achievement, not to mention likely 'The Treble' and 'Established' achievements aswell.

'Double Champs' 10G | Win consecutive League titles in any top tier League in Manager Mode

Looking forward to 2010

So to a close comes a great year for gaming in 2009. The Xbox 360 has had some huge releases and brought about some really interesting stuff over the last twelve months. Modern Warfare 2 was a ton of fun, and I have been playing it at a near daily rate. I've also had a lot of fun playing Forza Motorsport 3, building my garage and tuning my cars. Lastly, FIFA 10 failed to disappoint, it's more often than not continually kept me sitting at my desk and playing 360 rather than actually watching live games on TV.

I will be getting my hands on Assassins Creed II and Borderlands very soon aswell. I can tell you I am eager to begin my ACII campaign and try out the multiplayer features on Borderlands. But for now it is a farewell, bringing a close to 2009. With 2010 will likely come the much anticipated release, or further development of Project NATAL for Xbox 360. x360n.com will have all the latest when any new information is available. Farewell for now...

Modern Warfare 2 Limited Edition Xbox 360 (250GB)

There was a lot of buzz in the air regarding today's announcement from Microsoft regarding a new 250GB Limited Edition, Modern Warfare 2 Style Xbox 360 console. This new bundle is set to hit the shelves the same day as the game itself (November 10th) and will include two wireless controllers. The Xbox 360 console will have a Modern Warfare 2 themed design and will include all the accessories that come with a normal Elite. Plus the nice 250GB hard drive, which is surely a hint about what is the future of the Xbox 360 platform(DVR, Media Center, Downloaded Games).

The bundle will retail at $399 USD in the United States. One notable article to mention is that the 250GB hard drive will be limited to the MW2 bundle at this time, and will not be sold separately. This leaves the 120GB hard drive retailing at $149 USD, a steep price to swallow. Look for Microsoft to restructure hard drive prices in the near future. We are predicting that the 20GB will be completely phased out, the 120GB will notch down to $69 USD, and the 250GB should slide in at around the $99-$129 USD range.

Not much else to report on this week... Did I mention that rumors are already surfacing within hours of this MW2 Limited Edition Console announcement that Sony has already prepped an equivalent 250GB PS3 Slim bundle that will likely drop during the Holiday season.

New Modern Warfare 2 Multiplayer Gameplay Trailer

Infinity Ward has released a sneak peak at their new multiplayer game mode for Modern Warfare 2. As shown in the trailer below, a new 'capture the flag' mode has been added to the game.

Among new features seen in the video were people running around in Riot Shields, an Air strike Perk at 4 kills, and a Predator missile Perk at 5 kills. The gameplay looks slightly refined and the graphics look better than on the previous Call of Duty 4 installment. Host migration has also been added, allowing for a new host to be chosen almost instantly if the current one leaves, allowing for fluid gameplay without the need to return to the lobby. Players can also throw knives to down opponents who are not within hand's reach.

Interesting stuff, be sure to check it out below. The retail version of Modern Warfare 2 will hit shelves on November 10th.

Microsoft cut the price of the Xbox 360 Elite Console to $299 USD

That's right, the new $299 USD console will be effective by tomorrow morning at most major retailers. This obviously seems to be a pleasant response from Microsoft to Sony's addition of a newer 120GB Console that will retail at the same price. Microsoft also announced that the Arcade Xbox 360 Bundle would have its retail price sliced on the shelves to $199 USD. They have also confirmed that both current and new $299 USD Elite Console's will be compatible with Project NATAL and controller free gaming.

Seems like a good move from Microsoft to attract any remaining gamers that have yet to dip their feet into the world of Xbox 360. Hey, and if you are reading this and you don't own one, go ahead and shell out the three-hundred bucks for the new quieter and more efficient Elite, I promise you won't regret it... (psst, don't bother with the Arcade Edition, Elite ftw).

EA Sports Fifa 10 demo release date confirmed

Electronic Arts as confirmed that the new Fifa 10 demo will be coming to the Xbox Live Marketplace on September 10th. The demo will likely include four teams and allow users to play a game with two minute halves. A bit short for my liking, but hey, I will very excited at the prospect of getting my feet wet with this promising installment for the 2009-10 season.

A full preview will be posted after the Demo has hit the Marketplace.

Check out the new preview trailer below:

Gamestop Adventure

Well, not much going on today. The update has fully set in around the Xbox world, and the in-game content seems to be selling. I took a quick look at my friend's list today before playing my beloved Fifa 09. About half of my friends online had avatar marketplace items outfitted on their avatar.

Not much else to report on, except for, oh, a little adventure to Gamestop. I walked into the store and a strange influence came about me. I decided to splurge and put down $30 on Fifa 10, $40 on Forza 3 Limited Edition, and $30 on Modern Warfare 2. Burned a nice little bill in the process but at least I won't be scrambling for cash when the games come out. I've decided when I have the cash to spare, I'll put it down on any money I've pre-ordered. It's nice to walk in on the date of release and pick the game up 'without paying'... well it beats coughing up $65 on one go. I'll cushion the blow with small incremental additions...

That's all for now. I'll be on Twitter a whole bunch, so subscribe if you'd like, here!

Xbox 360 August Update is Live!

The wait is over, the new August Xbox Live Update has arrived! There had been a lot of excitement brewing in regards to the features the new update would boast.

If you have been living under a rock, read the preview of the update here.

I logged into my account this morning and was immediately prompted to download the update. It only took about thirty seconds and I was on my way. A thing I noticed which was not mentioned in previews during the days leading up to the update was a little message that displays below the download bar to indicate the estimated time remaining. Yes, I know those can be annoying, especially when downloading files on the computer or moving files from your hard drive to a external storage device (or vice-versa). "Mommy, it says two minutes left." You go and grab a quick snack from the fridge... "Mommy it says three hours left." Three hours pass... "Mommy, it still says thirty minutes left"... then those thirty minutes precede to drag out for over an hour. Alright, that was an exaggeration, but well at least in my experience while downloading stuff off the marketplace today, the estimated time remaining indicator was pretty accurate.

I swapped my Avatar's clothes for the all black tux, which incidentally, was free, and has been on the Avatar since it debuted. But of the new things available, a COG Soldier, Star Wars Storm Trooper, or USMC full body outfit would cost you 400 Microsoft Points a piece ($5 USD). Quite expensive, but I admit they did look cool. I couldn't resist shelling out 160 Microsoft Points ($2 USD) for the new soccer ball prop that was available. Among the other things available were new clothing and shoes from Quiksilver, Adidas, and 'in game brands' such as Halo and Bioshock.

The new game rating feature is also active in the marketplace, and no surprise that Halo 2 is among one of the more popular titles. Although in my opinion, the GoD (Games on Demand) prices are a bit too steep for games that can be found at GameStop or on eBay for a third of the price. I have yet to try out the Netflix feature, but it looks very interesting. I dished out a few party invites and everything seemed very streamlined and easy to use. I also noticed a nice big '2' next to my gamertag, which means I've been using Xbox Live Gold for two full years, and soon to be three this fall.

Well folks, that's all for today. If you haven't signed in to XBL today, your missing out on some cool new stuff. I suggest you hurry over to your Xbox 360 and download the new Update. I definitely wasn't disappointed.

Preview: August Xbox Live update

Microsoft unwrapped all the details regarding the new Xbox 360 Update that has now been confirmed to be available on August 11th. This update will NOT boast Microsoft's previously promised Facebook, Twitter, Zune Instant 1080p, and Last.FM compatibilities, which are now expected to be unrolled in the late fall or winter
updates.

Avatar Marketplace

Fear not, there are many new interesting features bundled in this summer update from Microsoft. First off, a new Avatar Marketplace will be introduced which will allow gamers to buy clothes for their in-game persona. Yes buy clothes, as in with real money, err Microsoft Points. Real world clothing manufactures will be featured in the Avatar Marketplace, aswell as Microsoft branded items, such as a Halo style top. Other articles of clothing can be unlocked through beating games. 'Props' will also be introduced, such as a remote control car or even possibly a pet animal that can be 'controlled' by your avatar.

Party and Friends List

Next up, Microsoft has introduced a new way to organize your friends list and has refined the party system. Users may now organize their friends list by gamertag (alphabetically), activity, and online status. Also if you or someone else drops out of the party, they can easily and automatically reconnect. Inviting people to the party can now be done through a special menu, with one press of a button you can quickly run down a list of online friends and invite up to eight people in about three or four seconds. A new veteran badge will be added to the top right side of a player's gamertag which displays the number of years the user has been a gold Xbox Live member.

Netflix

Netflix users will benefit a great deal from this new update. Subscribers can now instantly add videos to their queue directly though their Xbox 360. Gold Xbox Live members who wish to watch a movie with friends have had their wish granted. By inviting friends to party, up to four different users may view the same Netflix movie together through Xbox Live.


Games on Demand in the Marketplace and User Ratings

Both gold and silver Xbox Live users can now purchase and download Xbox 360 titles directly through the Games on Demand Marketplace. Game manuals can be downloaded and printed for free through Xbox.com website. Gamers will also be able to rank both full games and arcade titles in a five star rating system. These ranked games can now be sorted and searched for by ratings through the new refined marketplace.

The following games will be available for download on August 11th:

1. Assassin's Creed (Ubisoft)
2. BioShock (2K Games) - North America Only
3. Burnout Paradise (EA)
4. Call of Duty 2 (Activision)
5. Dance Dance Revolution Universe (Konami) - North America Only
6. Fight Night Round 3 (EA)
7. Kameo: Elements of Power (Microsoft Game Studios)
8. Karaoke Revolution American Idol Encore (Konami) - North America Only
9. LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga (LucasArts)
10. Mass Effect (Microsoft Game Studios)
11. Meet The Robinsons (Disney)
12. MX vs. ATV Untamed (THQ)
13. Need for Speed Carbon (EA)
14. Need for Speed: Most Wanted (EA)
15. Perfect Dark Zero (Microsoft Game Studios)
16. Prey (2K Games)
17. Rainbow Six Vegas (Ubisoft) - North America Only
18. ridge racer 6 (Namco) - North America Only
19. Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis (Rockstar Games)
20. Sega Rally (Sega) - Europe Only
21. Sonic the Hedgehod (SEGA) - North America Only
22. Test Drive: Unlimited (Atari)
23. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda)
24. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas (Ubisoft) - Europe Only
25. Tomb Raider Legend (Eidos) - Europe Only
26. Viva Piñata (Microsoft Game Studios)
27. Viva Piñata 2: Trouble in Paradise (Microsoft Game Studios)

Miscellaneous Updates

• Display Discovery allows for the highest possible quality of display and audio through an option that allows you to override the default input and select audio and video formats independent of the information your television sends to your Xbox 360 console.Xbox LIVE Community Games has been renamed Xbox LIVE Indie Games.

• An Achievements browser which allows you to easily read through all the achievements of a certain game while playing. You can now also launch a game directly from the browser.A new view inside the profile panel which includes a summary of Achievements earned across all the games played, and shows of all your completed games.

• Streamlined navigation, including new entry points in the dashboard for Active Downloads, redeeming codes, recovering Gamertags and more.

• When recording a voice message, a warning will pop up if no audio is detected.

• Time stamps now appear in the memory area in conjunction to your saved games.

• If your Xbox LIVE subscription is about to run out, you will now be notified when you sign into Xbox LIVE.

• Updates for Invalid Windows Live IDs. If the Windows Live ID you provided has expired, you will now be prompted to update it the next time you sign into Xbox LIVE.

• Account recovery process has been made faster and more reliable.
  

A comprehensive update from Microsoft to say the least, I'll be excited about downloading this one on Tuesday morning.

[Images courtesy of Joystiq.com]

What I've been doing lately... Forza Motorsport 2 and Battlefield 1943

Well good morning everyone. I hope you all have not been missing the blog too much, because my Xbox 360 sure didn't seem like it was missing me. Well until this week... I've been working my '360' non-stop, it's only allowed to take a nine or ten hour break every night :P

I have rekindled my love for Forza Motorsport 2 last weekend. I had put it down in late 2007 after the release of Call of Duty Modern Warfare and Halo 3. My FM2 disc sat in the corner of my room for nearly two years before I decided it was time to get back to the old days. Dusted her off the other day and decided to give it a go.

I restarted back at career level '0', excited at the fresh 'new game' esque approach I decided to take. I went from having a sluggish Audi TT to compiling a garage full of tuned beasts putting down U999 ratings left and right within a few days. In fact, I was so enthusiastic about Forza 2 that I decided to go right in to pre-order the Limited Edition version of Forza Motorsport 3 at GameStop. Cha ching... there goes eighty six dollas. Wait did I really spend that much for a video game? What? But our economy is really thriving right now isn't it? Dude I'm fine.

With that, I had to break into the three digit mark with my spending for the day. I picked up a 1600 Microsoft Point card to go with my pre-order. Why you ask? Well I had to pay homage to my old love, Battlefield 2: Modern Combat, which was commonly abbreviated as 'BF2MC' (aka intarnetz crack for most who played it). An amazing game really, I may have logged over 650 hours on it total, considering the Playstation 2 and Xbox 360 versions combined. Anyways back to what I was saying, I decided I would try out DICE's new Battlefield 1943 after playing the demo. It cost me 1200 Microsoft Points, or roughly $15 USD. Heck, I said why not. Although I was disappointed by the Battlefield: Bad Company Beta and decided not to pick up the full game, I decided I'd give DICE's new slightly updated 'arcade' version of Bad Company a try.

Battlefield 1943 is a tiny bit different from its predecessor Battlefield: Bad Company. First off, it was set in the WWII timeframe, which provided different guns, scenery, and vehicles. Okay, you could have inferred that from the title, but I thought I might as well point it out. The game engine seemed to be slightly tweaked, slightly closer to BF2MC than Bad Company was, although not very noticeably. The addition of airplanes also intrigued me, as they had not been present in past console Battlefield games. All in all, it was enough to get hooked to log a good fifteen hours on a temporary gold account (technical issues while I was waiting for MS to change my original gamertag to Gold after I had bought and activated a subscription :/ ), and another five on my main gamercard.

With a good twenty hours of gaming time under my belt for Battlefield 1943 over the past week, I think it's time for a review. Look out for a complete review soon and stay posted. You can always follow me on my gaming adventures through Twitter!