I wanna see a show of hands people, and be honest. How many of you would have bought this game if not for the Halo 3 beta invite enclosed within? Anybody? Anybody? Bueller? Bueller? That’s a crying shame too, because while this game may not be Oblivion, or even Saint’s Row, this is one of the finest open-world games available on the Xbox 360. For good reason too, as David Jones, the original creator of Grand Theft Auto and Lemmings is the brains behind this package. Crackdown features a unique spin on sandbox gameplay, and its playing style encourages players to have as much fun as possible with it. Throwing in the Halo 3 beta invite wasn’t a bad idea either.
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A While after Age of Empires II, Ensemble game studios went to work on another RTS. Although it has similar gameplay mechanics to Age of Empires, it’s a different experience. For one, there are are only three civilizations as compared to the many civilizations from Age of Empires. Players can choose between the Greeks, the Norse, and the Egyptians. However, each civilization has it’s own set of powers, units, and structures. Each civilization has three gods, one of which you select before a match. Also, there is only one single-player campaign, although it’s huge and expansive. You follow the adventures of Atlantean general Arkantos as he attempts to regain the favor of the god Poseidon. You’ll travel through each of the three lands and meet each of the three civilizations.
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It’s over! The last of our three-part coverage of TGS 2007!

In this final installment, we cover:

Microsoft’s Booth
The Retro Video Game Awards
Pixel Junk Racers
…and our final thoughts about TGS

YouTube

Video Netcast
 Subscribe to iTunes POWETcast
Famicom Dojo – TGS 2007 Special – Part 3

Show notes after the jump:

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Lately, I’ve been playing a lot of real-time strategy games. Mainly I’ve been sticking with the Command and Conquer series, Starcraft, and Warcraft. You can never go wrong with their simple-but-addictive play mechanics, but there are also options available for people who seek something deeper. Total War, Age of Empires, and Empire Earth are a lot more complicated than beginning RTS players are used to, but the historical settings they utilize as their backdrop reward those who have the patience to learn the play mechanics. Microsoft Game Studios/Big Huge Game’s Rise of Nations however, achieves a happy medium between the fast paced and simple mechanics of Starcraft and the world building aspects of Empire Earth.
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Wow, what a mountain of awesome stuff in the Dashboard Update! This video comes from Microsoft’s Game Score Blog. The update should be available very soon, if not by the time you read this.

Couple of things you might want to check out:
Friends Of Friends – here you can set your privacy settings for the new Friends Of Friends feature.
Arcade Hits – some of the pricier Xbox Live Arcade titles now cost less! Marble Blast Ultra and Lumines and more! More arcade titles will drop in price just like the ‘Platnium Hits’ program on disc games.
DivX Playback – At last, watch video you downloaded on you home computer on a TV without converting it all into some other goofy format.

See the full list of updates on Xbox.com

Seems as though last weeks rumors were true, and Bungie has indeed split from Microsoft to pursue other opportunities. The Microsoft press release reads:

“REDMOND, Wash. — Oct. 5, 2007 — Microsoft Corp. today announced a plan for Bungie Studios, the developers of the “Halo®” franchise, to embark on a path to become an independent company. Microsoft will retain an equity interest in Bungie, at the same time continuing its long-standing publishing agreement between Microsoft Game Studios and Bungie for the Microsoft-owned “Halo” intellectual property as well as other future properties developed by Bungie.

The critically acclaimed Xbox 360®-exclusive “Halo 3” achieved $300 million in global sales in its first week. Released on Tuesday, Sept. 25, “Halo 3” is the fastest-selling video game ever and already one of the most successful entertainment properties in history.

“Our collaboration with Bungie has resulted in ‘Halo’ becoming an enduring mainstream hit,” said Shane Kim, corporate vice president of Microsoft Game Studios. “While we are supporting Bungie’s desire to return to its independent roots, we will continue to invest in our ‘Halo’ entertainment property with Bungie and other partners, such as Peter Jackson, on a new interactive series set in the ‘Halo’ universe. We look forward to great success with Bungie as our long-term relationship continues to evolve through ‘Halo’-related titles and new IP created by Bungie.”

“This exciting evolution of our relationship with Microsoft will enable us to expand both creatively and organizationally in our mission to create world-class games,” said Harold Ryan, studio head for Bungie. “We will continue to develop with our primary focus on Microsoft® platforms; we greatly value our mutually prosperous relationship with our publisher, Microsoft Game Studios; and we look forward to continuing that affiliation through ‘Halo’ and beyond.”

Bungie Studios will remain in its current location in Kirkland, Wash….”

What this means for Microsoft competitors Sony and Nintendo remains to be seen, but this is big news any way you slice it. More info as it becomes available.

Yes, a few weeks ago we posted some stuff from the manual. And yes, on September 13th, Powet was shut down for a period of 20 hours for not removing the material at Microsoft’s request.

Now, as if to rub it in our faces, Microsoft has posted the entire book, using this new Silverlight app, which I’m installing and will probably never use again.

So here you go. Halo 3 Manual. Thanks for enforcing that DMCA stuff, Microsoft.

13 hours until I can play this game…

The edition of Halo 3 every one is talking about is finally revealed!

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