As the 360’s Spring Update and the Halo 3 Beta come closer and closer, Microsoft dropped a rather big surprise on us today! A rather large and unexpected list of newly added backwards compatible Xbox titles for the 360! Namely Sega’s Jet Set Radio Future, Panzer Dragoon Orta, Star Wars Rupublic Commando and some very high profile 2D fighters have been added to the list. This is probably one of the strongest updates released and should please anyone still interested in the service.

Read on for the full list.
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The first issue of the ongoing comic book based on the Halo universe is coming in July. Marvel.com has a page up previewing the story and this image, which may be the first cover.

The Eisner Award-winning team of superscribe Brian Michael Bendis and artist extraordinaire Alex Maleev unleash an epic story of mankind’s struggle against the alien threat of the Covenant. Picking up from the conclusion of blockbuster video game Halo 2, the must-read issue reveals how the Master Chief, while onboard a hostile ship headed towards Earth, is battling against Covenant forces! Intertwined with Master Chief’s interstellar one-man-war is the saga of a great American city’s rebellion and downfall, two disparate lives’ collision and shared fate, and the Convenant’s hunt for an ancient relic of untold power and value. With hope dwindling and the fate of humanity hanging by a thread, is there any chance for a future? Read this debut issue to start the journey into the Halo universe!

All this can be yours for only $3.99! Seriously, it’ll be nice to get some more story in before Halo 3 launches, though with any expanded universe stuff, I doubt too much of it will effect the game itself. Theres been lots of Spartan action all over the books and in the graphic novel last year, but Chief is still the only one in the game. Still, with Bendis on board they’re not exactly turning this over to a fanfic writer, so we may get some good stories.

Just my quick kneejerk reactions to the newly released maps to Halo 2. They went up for purchase in the content downloader this morning for $4. Note this is the Halo 2 content downloader, not Xbox Live Marketplace.

This first thing that strikes me about these maps is some of the weapon choices. Tombstone’s default start is the Battle Rifle, and with good reason as its too big to use SMG or Plasma weapons to start. The Sentinel Beam also makes a return appearance in Desolation. 2 Halo mainstays are completely missing from the weapon set: Plasma pistol and Sniper Rifle. This can be changed easily in a custom game, and I’m sure Tombstone will become a popular sniper map, but its kinda odd for them to be missing. Neither map supports vehicles or turrets from what I can tell, which further narrows the gameplay. I think the designers were trying really hard to bring orignal Halo multiplayer into Halo 2

Also, neither map feels like Halo 2. While any of the original maps felt like they were plucked from the single player campaign, these look more like arena maps more common to Quake. Tombstone in particular has lots of hallways and ramps everywhere, and it doesn’t have the organic feel of Halo 2. It is a remake of Halo: Combat Evolved’s “Hang ‘Em High” map, and its still really fun to play capture the flah, oddball, and King Of The Hill, but the geometric nature and screwy structure choices seperate it from a map like “Turf” where the art style kept you within the Halo universe even in the free for all multiplayer games.

Ultimately the maps appear well worth the money as they will add some new life to the game and its been a good 2 years since I’ve grabbed a flag and had no idea where to take it and thats a fun feeling. Just don’t expect a new classic like Lockout, Terminal, or Relic. The best way to play these maps will be with friends, so send a friend request on Xbox Live to me, and we’ll get in some games in the upcoming Powet.TV Game Night for Halo 2 on April 28-29!

So what do you think of the new maps? Was a throwback to Halo: CE welcome in the last days of Halo 2? Leave a comment below!

WORLD WAR III
written and drawn by DC’s army of creators

The long awaited “World War III” event lands this Wednesday at DC, and I’m here to help provide you a roadmap in how to navigate the five books that tell its story this week. After all, there are 5 different books coming out this week which tell the story, and it might be nice for you to know what’s what. Read on, after the jump, IF YOU DARE!
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Hi, I’m Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars! I want some candy. I’m not a regular Taxi, I’m fighting a war over fares. Isn’t that CRAZY? Now give me some candy!

Blue Dragon is a game for Xbox 360 I’ve had my eye on for a while. Why?

The original game is the first time that Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, Dragon Quest character designer and Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama, and Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu have collaborated since the classic roleplaying game Chrono Trigger. The game debuted in Japan on December 7, 2006, and will arrive in America on August 15, 2007.

Yes, while Chrono Cross never met my expectations for a sequel, and Chrono Break never happened, this is as close to a follow up as I may ever get to one of the greatest games ever made. This is not opinion, this is fact.

Anyway, Blue Dragon is getting fleshed out with a matching anime series thats just started airing in Japan this month. VIZ Media has announced they’re bringing it to the US, though theres no timetable as to when we can expect subs&dubs to be released. I’d imagine that given the Toriyama pedigree this show has and the push Microsoft has already made for the game that TV airings may be possible. I don’t know if this will be more of an afternoon kids show or something we’d have to leave for Adult Swim though.

So do you like anime based on games? Will Blue Dragon possibly meet Chrono Trigger fans expectations? Can the world possible resist more Toriyama character designs? Leave a comment below.

Source: AnimeNewsNetwork.

Breaking news at Variety: Edward Norton has been cast as Bruce Banner in the new movie based on the Marvel Comics character The Incredible Hulk. Bruce Banner, as you may well know, is the man who is also The Hulk, a giant unstoppable creature triggered and controlled only by rage.

Norton takes up the reins from Eric Bana, who starred in the Ang Lee directed The Hulk in 2003. This new movie, as has been stated and re-stated is not a sequel or in anyway related. Marvel Studios got the rights back from Universal and is moving forward with a more traditional vision for the film.

So what do you think? Edward Norton is certainly a great actor, and though he hasn’t been in too many huge movies lately American History X and Fight Club more than prove his worth. Leave us a comment!

In 1994, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle franchise was waning in popularity. As it would soon go dormant for a while, Konami decided to make one last attempt to cash in on the franchise by releasing a trio of fighting games for the SNES, Genesis, and NES. In an era where the difference between multiplatform releases meant more than simple graphical upgrades, the three games were vastly different.
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