This is the first official video of Halo 3 multiplayer. You can either watch this embedded version, download it from Bungie, or grab it from Xbox Live Marketplace. As with the previous looks at the Halo 3 Trailer and the Brute video, this one goes about 7 minutes and if you aren’t paying close attention, you’re going to miss a dozen cool things. Also, we’re looking at Alpha build gameplay, which isn’t going to be the same level that will be available in the Beta, which also will be less polished than the final game.

Oh yeah, about that Beta test. It starts May 16th at midnight and will run through June 6th at midnight. Thats 3 short weeks, but more than enough to get a taste of the game. There will be 2 new guns, 3 new maps, and lots of new features. Watch the video for more. If 3 weeks isn’t a long time, keep in mind that this is only a beta test so that Bungie can try putting the game dynamics and the online functionality on a more diverse testing group, its not supposed to be a demo of the game.

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!
[Read the rest of this entry…]

Hot on the heels of the Xbox 360 Spring Dashboard Update leaking from GameSpot, they posted and removed images of an Xbox 360 controller with a full qwerty keyboard placed between the handles.

This is no doubt coming in anticipation of Live Messenger support, but it may also encourage development of my social elements in games, like MMOs.

UPDATE! The keyboard is now official. It will be bundled with its own headset since it will plug in the headset jack, and the keys will be backlit. No word of price or release date, though its expected in the summer.

This video (leaked from GameSpot) shows off some of the new features coming our way, and even mentions a date of May 7th. Marketplace will get its own blade, integrating Friend lists with Windows Live Messenger, and new download options are on the way.

Bungie’s weekly update is upon us with the usual shocking revelations and totally ordinary and expected announcements.

Halo innovated in a lot of ways over the very cookie-cutter FPS genre. One way they very clearly did not innovate was the exploding barrel. The Bungie Weekly Update confirms that newer, prettier “fusion cores” will be present in Halo 3, along with newer, prettier explosions when you shoot them.

Good News! Theres an auto-update coming soon to Halo 2 that will enhance Banhammer functionality to dispatch cheaters quicker. This will pave the way for the new maps on April 17th! Matchmaking playlists will be updated to include the new maps on April 24th!
Bad News! Rankings will be set back to ZERO with the update. Sorry, Sean, you’re going to have to work your way up Rumble Pit all over again. This reset will make matchmaking easier with the smaller, but still dedicated player base. I feel less bad about dropping from a 23 to a 20 in Team Slayer a couple weeks ago, but the last time stuff was reset there it was pretty quick to rank up, so I’m not sweating this too much.

Public Beta still hasn’t been dated, but a new video documentary should hit Xbox Live before it starts.

This week there was also a re-release of Halo: Ghosts Of Onyx in paperback.

Halo 3 may be mere months away. Halo 3’s beta may open very soon. But for only $4 on April 17th you can add 2 maps to Halo 2! These were announced a while ago, but held under wraps until today. Both are remakes of popular maps from the original Halo: Combat Evolved. Desolation is the new Derelict and Tombstone is the new Hang ‘Em High.
Some are griping that charging for content on a game that sold as well as it has is cheap, but the simple fact is that both of these maps were developed by Certain Affinity, a group of ex-Bungie staffers, so they had to get paid somehow.

Read up on the new maps, and maybe enjoy some Master Chief-flavored Mountain Dew.

Xbox Live Arcade is on a roll. This week was TMNT. Last week was Worms. Before that we had Alien Hominid. What release could possibly trump 3 of the best games to hit the service so far?

Oh yeah. Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night. This classic from the 32bit era allows you to literally go medieval as you smash through giant bosses and explore the finer pits and dungeons of Romania.

Unlike your standard NES Castlevania where you took the role of one of the Belmont clan and brandished a whip, Symphony of the Night lets you use knives and stabbing weapons from the hand of Dracula’s own son, Alucard (which just happens to be “Dracula” spelled backwards!).

This is the biggest Live Arcade release yet, coming in at a whopping 96 MB, so make sure you’ve got your hard drive ready, this ain’t fitting on your 64MB memory card. All that space is of course taken up by the lovely English voice acting (“Die monster! You don’t belong in this world!”)

GameScore Blog Press Release

I just got a very nice email from the Xbox Live Rewards program. You may recall this little promotion being set up so that Xbox Live gamers can get a reward for spending so much time bulking up their gamer scores. Prizes included copies of Fusion Frenzy, downloads of Contra, and Microsoft points. I had trouble getting through the registration when the site went Live, and given my low gamer score, I kinda gave up on it. I wasn’t alone, and now they’re sending out consolation prizes for putting up with these technical difficulties

The email in my inbox tonight included all the rules for participation and registration and they admitted to having problems, and to make up for it, they included codes to redeem for a free download of Robotron and Joust from Live Arcade. Thats pretty generous considering I just was going to sit the whole thing out.

Anyone else who had problems get this email? Leave a comment below.

Full email after the jump.
[Read the rest of this entry…]