Watching the Xbox One unveiling, one could be forgiven for thinking that Microsoft doesn’t seem to see itself as a games publisher, or the Xbox One as a gaming console. During the event, Microsoft made a big deal about how the company wanted to change the way gamers related to their TVs, but said nothing about wanting to change their relationship with game retailers as well.

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Before being outsourced to other developers and turned into a first person shooter, Metroid was one of Nintendo’s most celebrated franchises of both the 8 and 16-bit era. Come to think about it, it’s still one of Nintendo’s most celebrated franchises even after being outsourced to other developers. Its exploration heavy gameplay has made it a hit among gamers, and its heroine Samus Aran is one of the most recognizable female protagonists in gaming. Super Metroid represented the series at its best.
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This past weekend I was lucky enough to participate in the open beta for Gazillion Entertainment’s free-to-play MMORPG Marvel Heroes. I got an invite for the closed beta a few weeks back, but didn’t have the chance to play for very long. I took more time with the Beta this past weekend, and was impressed by it. Since progress in the beta won’t carry over to the game’s launch, I avoided making too much progress in the game. At the same time, I got a good sampling of what the game had to offer. Marvel Heroes will feature over 2 dozen playable characters (including Rocket Raccon and Squirrel Girl), each with their own upgradable skill tree, Unreal Engine 3 powered graphics, randomly generated environments, and a script by Brian Michael Bendis (Avengers, Uncanny X-Men, Ultimate Spider-man).
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10000000 is a mash up of match-3 puzzle gameplay and dungeon crawling. It doesn’t look like much, but it’s very addictive and it’s a perfect time killer for mobile devices. Your goal is to escape from a dungeon by scoring 10000000 points – however it all has to be done in one session. Each time you are defeated, you are sent back to your room. However, you can use the wood, gold, and stone gathered during each run to upgrade shops, unlock new features, and gain new abilities which will make it easier and easier to make it through the game. Although there isn’t much to do after gaining the 10000000, it’s still a fun and simple game that’s best suited for mobile devices.

Remember that TV show Captain Planet? Created by Ted Turner in the early 90s, it starred a group of kids known as the planeteers who had special rings based upon the 5 elements. By putting their rings together, they summon a blue-skinned superhero known as Captain Planet who battled pollution. It was basically one big environmental PSA in animated form. Surprisingly, it was enjoyable, and it’s themes resonated well with audiences both old and young. Not only did it handle environmental issues, it dealt with heavier subject matter such as racism, drugs, and even HIV (and this was the first children’s program to deal with HIV too). It lasted 6 seasons, and contained celebrity voices such as Whoopi Goldberg, Sting, and Meg Ryan. Of course the obligatory video game tie-in followed. While the TV show was cool, it’s too bad we can’t say the same thing about the game.
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Eternal Darkness was a Gamecube classic, and a rare M-rated exclusive for a Nintendo system. It’s centuries-spanning storyline, spellcraft system, and sanity effects helped make it one of the best entries in the survival-horror genre. Ever since then, fans have been clamoring for a new entry in the series, and it looks like their prayers have been answered. IGN has just revealed the first details on Shadow of the Eternals, a spiritual successor being developed for Wii U and PC, and it’s developer, Precursor Games is seeking $1.5 million for development via crowdsourcing. Precursor is composed of developers who have worked on the 2002 classic, including Silicon Knights founder Denis Dyack. The game’s plot will be told via 12 episodes, and will span over 2,500 years of history. The crowdfunding campaign will begin on Monday May 6th. So how about it? Are you excited for what is essentially Eternal Darkness 2? I certainly am, although I’m a bit apprehensive after the performance of Silicon Knight’s last 2 titles, X-Men: Destiny and Too Human.

Choplifter HD is a remake of the classic bullet hell game. Taking control of an up and coming rookie pilot, you are tasked with getting civilians to safety under hellacious conditions. You’ll have to take on enemies both on the ground and in the air as you take civilians to safety. You’ll also have to deal with dwindling fuel and munitions, as you’ll have to restock frequently. Doing well in each mission earns you stars for each mission, and eventually upgrades for your copter. The game starts out easy, but gets challenging as you progress. Regardless of if you played the classic Choplifter, or this is your first introduction to the franchise, Choplifter HD is a fun and challenging update of a classic.

Credit: Image from Reddit user C-Ron (This is not official art!)

Major Nelson made a blog post revealing that May 21, 2013 will herald the reveal of the third generation XBox.

Here is the announcement of the announcement:

On Tuesday May 21st, we’ll mark the beginning of a new generation of games, TV and entertainment. On that day, we’ll be holding a special press event on the Xbox campus and we invite you to join us via the live global stream that will be available on Xbox LIVE and Xbox.com. If you are in the US or Canada, you can also watch the broadcast on Spike TV.

On that day, we’ll share our vision for Xbox, and give you a real taste of the future. Then, 19-days later at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles, we’ll continue the conversation and showcase our full lineup of blockbuster games.

We are thrilled to pull back the curtain and reveal what we’ve been working on.

Rumors have been flying around that the next generation console will be called XBox Infinity due to some possible leaked logo images. We will know for sure on May 21st!