Just a quick little weekend update for your gaming cravings. Bungie Entertainment and Microsoft have released the official box art for the highly anticipated Halo 3 game, slated for release in September. Ravenous fanboys can breath a sign of relief now, for gazing upon it’s cover is the next step between now and the game hitting the shelves. Master Chief, we salute thee.

It may be just me, but for such a highly waited-for game that fanboys have been drooling over since Halo 2 came out, the cover art seems a wee bit….anticlimatic to me. Of course, that’s just me, and I’m just a silly gamer girl who doesn’t know quality, right?

The rest of you can continue salivating now.

Well kids, looks like your anxious waiting and thumb-twiddling has come to an end. Microsoft has confirmed that Halo 3 will be released with a date of September 25th of this coming fall for North America. Europe will have to wait an extra day. Sorry Euros.

This announcement comes mere hours before the official beta release of the game early tomorrow morning. Three editions have also been said to be made – the regular edition for normal price, the Limited Edition for $10 more, and the uber Legendary Edition for the ungodly price of $129.99 – all of which can now be pre-ordered. So save up, all you Master Chief wannabees. Despite the fact you’ll still be waiting a decent chunk of time, this should still prove to be an interesting trip.

Bungie.net: Finish The Fight: September 25

E3, the once great video game Exposition, has been reduced to a shadow of its former self. What was once a never-ending cacophony of lights, sound and swag is now an invitation only press event. While we can still expect industry-shaping keynotes from the big three hardware developers, the show floor is barely recognizable. Industry giants, Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, Electronic Arts, THQ and others have been relegated to a 20’X20′ space.

Quite a contrast to previous E3s where developers battled each other for total show supremacy. After last year’s expo, which was completely dominated by Nintendo and the newly revealed Wii, Sony and Microsoft decided that paying millions or dollars for little or, worse yet, negative press coverage just wasn’t worth the effort. They basically took their ball and went home. The other big companies followed suit and now we have, what I’ve dubbed, Neo-E3, or the E3 Media & Business Summit.

Moved from May to July, and Los Angeles to Santa Monica, the newly redesigned expo is meant to create a smaller, more intimate environment for developers and publishers to talk shop. Neo-E3 is also designed to make it easier for independent developers to roll out their wares to potential publishers, (even though next to no indie devs are on the roster).

Hopefully we can expect more direct feed footage and one on one interviews with the movers and shakers of the industry. The E3 Media & Business Summit will take place from July 11-13th.

What are your thoughts on the redesigned E3 expo?

Out of no where comes the announcement of four new maps for Gears coming this Thursday.  The maps are priced at 800 MS points ($10), but will become free downloads starting September 3rd.  The new maps include:

• Bullet Marsh – In this Kryll-infested swamp, an old generator still powers the area lights. A few stray bullets could easily knock out the generator, leaving combatants to fend for themselves against the Kryll.
• Garden – This overgrown and crumbling conservatory still has a working fertilization and pesticide system. This system can pose a serious hazard to anyone who ventures into the greenhouse without first venting the air.
• Process – Teams must fight for control of this subterranean Imulsion processing plant, still active despite the cessation of the Pendulum wars.
• Subway – Timgad’s Central Subway station used to serve as a central hub for commuters. Now the tunnels are crawling with Locust.

Compared to the last map pack, which was rather dull, these new maps sound really exciting.   Especially if they offer more environmental threats, which many of the default maps were lacking, this could wind up being a really worthwhile download. 

Just got back from Walmart, and while I was there I snapped a couple pictures with my camera phone of the Xbox 360 Elite Accessories that are apparently already for sale. The 120 GB Drive was priced at $172, the black controller is $49.99.

Of note on the black control, it includes a battery pack and a charging cable, usually priced at $20. I’ve been rocking the white box and have no intentions of stepping up (I’m 1337 enough as it is) but I’ll get that black control just for the battery savings.

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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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.

Pop Gears of War into your Xbox 360 right now and you’ll be able to download the latest game play update and bug fix, but also the the new game type “Annex” which is depicted in the video above. Skip past the cut to see the full press release with the bug fixes listed.

Annex is a variation on King Of The Hill, where players struggle for control of one spot on the map. Sounds fun already, since KotH was my favorite Halo gametype, but its sweetened by adding respawns. Yes, Gears Of War finally has a gametype where you can die and respawn.

Also on this week’s 1UP Yours Podcast, Epic’s Mark Rein stated that their team has 4 new multiplayer maps ready to go, and has been trying to get Microsoft to release them free. MS thinks charging is the way to go. Ultimately they’re going to comprimise with maps going for sale to start and going free after some time has passed. I’m fine with paying or getting them free, just as long as they get here soon!
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