Facebook and Twitter may be coming to the Xbox sooner than expected! Now you can get status updates from your friends while playing Halo! Ok we’re kidding about that last part, but if Social networking sites are a part of your life, this promises the convenience of keeping your ass plotted on the sofa instead of walking the 5 feet over to your computer to check on your Facebook. We still don’t have a definite date yet but it is definitely due out some time in the Autumn season. Don’t get your hopes up though as it has been confirmed that this will not be part of the August dashboard update. The applications will be independent of the dashboard.

[Source: Eurogamer]

In an interview with Cliff Bleszinski, the lead developer of Gears of War, he stated his admiration for games like Deus Ex and Bioshock. These games were both FPS games that had a dash of RPG in them. Both those games were also critically acclaimed masterpieces in gaming history. Bleszinski has since hinted that there may be elements of RPG gameplay in the next installment in the Gears of War franchise. While there has been little news on the third installment, it is definitely in the making. While I’ve always been a fan of Bioshock and Deus Ex, I am not so sure the RPG elements would work well especially when introduced in the middle of a franchise. After all, we’ve all gotten used to the unchanged formula that makes Gears of War so successful a game.

[Source: IGN]

9) Mirror’s Edge – Expect to begin your virtual parkour November 11th 2008. Don’t try this at home…
Prince of Persia – A new epic chapter in the Prince of Persia series with a new prince and completely original storyline.

7) Rock Band 2 – All the best parts of being in a band and none of the worst! All your songs are good, you just gotta perform em well!

6) Tom Clancy’s EndWar – Voice commands and the inclusion of characters and elements from all previous Clancy Games is sure to make this a must-have for strategy enthusiasts!

5) Star Wars: The Force Unleashed – Use the force in all the ways you truly wanted to… none of that restraint crap.

4) Dead Space – Its like being a dead man walking, in space….

3) Fable 2 – Who wouldn’t want a chance to go into a buddy’s game world and wreak havoc?

2) Fallout 3 – From the makers of Oblivion. Welcome back to the post-apocalyptic world of Fallout where you set out in search of your lost father.

1) Gears of War 2 – I’m already revving up my chainsaws for an epic re-enactment of the events of GoW. On second thought, 60 dollars buying the game will probably be lower than the hospital bills.

Microsoft posted a job listing this morning looking for someone to help create a “Connected Entertainment experience, realized through the Zune service, that spans multiple devices such as Zune, Xbox, PC and Mobile phones.” Rumors of such a device have been all over the Internet for sometime but now it seems like Microsoft is really pushing to make it a reality. Having the features or the ability to control your PC and Xbox 360 with a Zune like mobile phone would amazing, and if done right could give the iPhone 3G a run for its money! Check out the Microsoft job posting for more details.

-Ray

[Source: zunerama]

I’m pretty sure eveybody heard the news. There is a new Dashboard update coming this November. Check out this review from Chris Thomas, creator of RPG-TV.

Preview of New XBox Experience + LIPS

I got back from Microsoft’s London office a couple hours ago where they demonstrated the new “XBox Live Experience”, XBox Live Primetime, the advertising opportunities within it and then some hands on time with upcoming karaoke game “LIPS”.

In terms of the new dashboard or “The New XBox Experience” there isn’t much to cover that wasn’t already said at E3. The avatars animate really nicely and the general artistic style chosen by Rare sits well with me. From what I saw there are a lot of customisation options and yes, It sounds like in the future you will be able to deck your avatar out in branded clothing and accessories. Whether this is free as advertisers try this as a method of advertising clothing brands or whether they’ll try and create a virtual fashion market where users pay for premium brand clothes remains to be seen. The impression I got was that Microsoft themselves still need to hash these details out.

In terms of the UI I’ve come to like it. On the whole. It’s fairly straightforward as you just scroll between the various screens in the now obligatory shiny gradient backgrounds to access your games, music and video content. On the whole it seems better for browsing if you don’t have a clear idea of what content you are looking for. If you wish however you can access the old school blade system as an overlay to quickly navigate to a specific section and this is a welcome addition.

I’m not sure if this has been confirmed already or not but I was told the new dashboard would arrive in November. Dates-wise I also discovered that the first piece of GTA downloadable content will be arriving in November as well. Very little details were given but I was assured it would be sizeable bringing roughly 15 hours of additional play time. I’m expecting either an additional island or a new family bringing new missions. Will be interesting to see whether or not this progresses the core story.

Finally I got to try out LIPS. There really isn’t much to say about this. It’s designed to be the kind of thing you leave on in the background of the party. If nobody plays the game it just plays music with videos. If somebody picks up the microphone and gives it a shake, the mic lights up and activates alowing would be singers to jump in and start singing along. The USP of course is that you can connect your Zune or iPod and use any MP3 on your machine. The idea being that an online database will recognise the song and pull the lyrics allowing you to sing along with it. Whether this can dethrone Singstar remains to be seen but to be honest, I’m not particularly interested in the Karaoke genre of games sooooo meh.

Based on the review, Microsoft is really working hard to compete with both the Nintendo Wii and the Sony Playstation 3. That can only mean good things for use Xbox 360 gamers as more updates should be coming in the months to come. Excited? I AM!!!

- Geoff

[Source: RPG-TV]

The rumors have been flying around again. And this time it seems to be true. According to gaming blog Joystiq, all three Xbox 360 models will be getting a price cut. The gaming blog stated the following:

“A few of our retail contacts, some of whom have given us good intel in the past–and who all work for separate corporations–have sent us identical information regarding a price drop.”

The rumors seem to be true due to a recent Radio Shack newspaper advertisement. All three Xbox models on the advertisement have a price drop. The 120GB Xbox 360 Elite is listed at $399, a price drop from $449. The new 60GB Xbox 360 Pro model is listed at $299, a price drop from $349. And the Xbox 360 Arcade, which does not have a hard drive, is listed at only $199, a price drop from $279. These price drops make them very competitive with the Sony PS3, which is listed at $399 for a 80GB model, as well as the Nintendo Wii, which is listed at $249. Microsoft has yet to have a official response to the rumors.

- Geoff

[Source: Joystiq]

Rumors, rumors, rumors. We hear them all the time. So what rumors do we have today? Rumors have been flying around the floors of the Leipzig Games Convention that Mircosoft will be releasing Xbox 360 controllers with a revised d-pad. Although the actual controller will have a similar appearance as the older models, but the new revised d-pad will have 32 direction support. Eurogamer has posted pictures of the new controllers. If the rumors are true, this would improve the gameplay of a lot of games. But the question it poses now is how many games would support the new and improved, or rather just revised, d-pad? And will this sexy green controller be available in the market? Stay tuned for more information.

- Geoff

[Source: Eurogamer]