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Gears of War 3 single-player preview: Two paths coming together
During Microsoft's E3 2011 press conference, Cliff Bleszinski and Ice-T took to the stage to show off some single-player co-op action in Gears of War 3. In a small room high above Microsoft's booth here at the LA Convention Center, I was given an extended look at that sequence by Bleszinski himself, who was keen to show me the destructive capabilities of the mech, which I would ultimately get to see more of in my time with Horde mode. As you can imagine, the Silverback mech is pretty powerful. But before we could get to that, Bleszinski set the scene. "The section we saw at the press conference showed Marcus and Dom on a flotilla, dealing with a Lambent Leviathan. It's ultimately taken out by them in a Silverback while Cole and Baird up above take a giant crate of Tickers and empty it onto it. Once we're done with Marcus and Dom, we're going to swap over to Cole and Baird and play with them during that same sequence." %Gallery-125877%
Gears of War 3 Horde mode preview: Cash, challenge waves and boss battles, oh my!
Epic has been waiting to reveal Horde mode for Gears of War 3 for quite some time. I was able to go through two different sessions, ten waves a piece, each putting me Lancer-to-face with some of the Locust horde's toughest enemies. Make no mistake: some of the tougher nasties from Gears of War 2 make a return, but now COG soldiers have to take down Berserkers and immulsion-infected Lambent Locust, too. But that's not the biggest change. Horde mode is now held up by a cash system. Players earn skrilla by killing enemies and surviving waves. Cash goes into everything: ammo, new guns (save for the ones picked up from dead enemies, of course), barriers, decoys, turrets and the Silverback, a bipedal mech sporting dual chainguns and some rocket launchers (it was shown during the Microsoft E3 2011 press conference). Cash can also resurrect players, and can be shared with all teammates via a handy chest. %Gallery-125799%
Fable: The Journey preview: Speak and spell
Shortly after Fable 3 was first announced, Peter Molyneux announced that it would include support for what was then called Project Natal. Of course, the final game abandoned that ambition with Molyneux explaining that in order to do right by both Kinect and Fable, his team at Lionhead simply needed more development time. So when Microsoft announced a Kinect-exclusive Fable game during yesterday's press conference – titled Fable: The Journey – it might seem obvious that some of that jettisoned Fable 3 content had been repackaged as a standalone Kinect title ... except it hasn't. "Whilst we thought about doing a gimmick or two for Fable 3, it was always in the back of my mind that it would be great to do a Fable for Kinect," Molyneux explained in his second demo ever for the new title. In fact, the team working on The Journey isn't even the same as the team that made Fable 3. When he explained that the Journey team had two years worth of experience developing for Kinect, we had to ask you know what. "A lot of the team were working on Milo," Peter admitted after getting a nod from the game's marketing manager in the back of the room. "A lot of the Milo tech we're not showing off. This is the first outing of this so we're keeping some of our big stuff safe behind. A lot of the stuff you can do in Fable: The Journey is some of the stuff that was originally found in Milo."%Gallery-125521%
Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary vs Halo: Combat Evolved: FIGHT!
You've seen Halo: Combat Evolved. You've seen Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary. But have you seen the two compared side-by-side? We've got you covered! As seen above and in the gallery below, the remastered version of the original Halo has seen some pretty enormous updates. Check out that lighting!
Gears of War limited edition Xbox 360 bundle on Sept. 20 for $399; controller for $59.99 on August 11
Sure, you've seen the footage on Gears of War 3, but without an Xbox 360, how are you going to gunsaw dudebeasts in half? Well, with a limited edition branded console, of course! Epic and Microsoft are teaming up to offer not only a special console bundle pack, but also custom, individual controllers -- both of which will be accompanied by download tokens for in-game content. For $399, you can snag the console bundle (which has special sound effects like the Halo: Reach console), which features a 320gb hard drive, two Gears of War 3-branded wireless controllers, a copy of the game, headset and two pieces of DLC: the Infected Omen Weapon pack, skins for the game's starting weapons (the Lancer, Retro Lancer, Gnasher, Hammerburst and Sawed-Off Shotgun) and the Adam Fenix multiplayer character. This bundle goes on sale September 20. If you're looking for just a special controller, you can snag one of them for $59.99 starting on August 11 -- which has that new transforming d-pad and the aforementioned in-game content. Hit the gallery below for some shots of the new hardware, conveniently posed up against a red wall. So much red! %Gallery-125565%
Fable: The Journey conjures up a trailer
While you won't see any Kinect-enabled spells casted in this pre-rendered trailer for Fable: The Journey, there may be a few morsels of info in here. The trailer stars the series longtime prognosticator and narrator, Theresa, as she flees from a very The Nothing-like cloud of evil. Dare we say it, she looks a little younger than her previous iterations. Do we smell a prequel? Check it out after the break.
Gears of War 3 co-op gameplay footage from E3
Keen on seeing Cliff Bleszinski and faux-detective Ice-T take on the stage three boss from Contra? Mantle on past the break and see the gameplay demo for yourself, direct from the E3 2011 Microsoft press conference stage.
Here's what the 'new' New Xbox Experience looks like
Anxious to see how your Xbox 360's UI will transform this fall? We've got some new images for you to flip through -- you can't gesture through our gallery, but you can click through. That's kinda the same thing, right? Right? %Gallery-125518%
Halo 4 finishes the fight (again) in 2012 [Update: teaser trailer!]
At Microsoft's E3 2011 keynote today at the Galen Center, Halo 4 was officially announced -- surprise! Master Chief and Cortana are back (kicking off a new trilogy, apparently), the brief teaser trailer showed. 343 Industries is at the reigns with a Holiday 2012 launch date proposed. Update: Hit the jump for the teaser!
Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary coming November 15, 2011
As expected, Microsoft has announced a remake for Halo: Combat Evolved to celebrate the series' 10th anniversary. The revamped version of the original Xbox launch title will deploy on November 15, 2011, boasting assassinations, online co-op and a fully remastered campaign. Update: David Ellis, 343 Industries' content producer, hit Twitter to clarify that you can "switch between classic & new graphics" in Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary. Good to know!
Rumor: Halo 4, Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary revealed early by Microsoft
Halo 4? Halo: Combat Evolved ... Anniversary? Wait ... Halo 4?! Allegedly, these titles (and more) were revealed by Microsoft itself, hours ahead of its 10AM (PT) press conference, on the company's E3 community site. NowGamer supposedly spotted the posting, which has since been removed by Microsoft, but not before a mess of details were loosed. Among them: news that "Halo 4 is on the way." A scene from the end of Halo 3 prefaces the news, which also teases "but that's not all." As we reported back in February, a Halo: Combat Evolved "remaster" is also apparently in the pipeline. The image says nothing beyond the game being "remastered for a new generation," and dubs it "Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary" -- just in time for the ten year anniversary of Halo 1's original launch in November of 2001. We've reached out to Microsoft for comment, but we imagine we won't hear anything back until Microsoft's official presser in a few hours.
Forza 4's Kinect head tracking features previewed on video
There are two things that every discerning gamer needs to see in the Major's Minute video posted below. First: the Kinect-based head tracking features of Forza Motorsport 4, which look exceptionally neat. Second: the steely, Earnhardtian gaze of Major Nelson behind the wheel of a virtual stock car.
Age of Empires Online launching August 16th
There are just a couple of months yet until you can conquer the world from the comfort of your bedroom, but that's no excuse to let your hygiene slip. Microsoft Game Studios announced that Age of Empires Online will be released on August 16th with two initial civilizations: the Greeks and Egyptians. As the latest in the long-running civilization sim franchise, Age of Empires Online will allow players to build up persistent towns, establish trade between other players, work on crafting and quests, and even go to war when needed. While the initial core gameplay will be available for free, Microsoft hopes that players will get so hooked that they'll gladly purchase Age of Empires Online "Premium Content Packs" to enhance their experience. These packs will include new civilizations and game modes. 1UP reports that in addition to the typical digital download, Microsoft will be shipping out retail boxes in order to snag a larger audience -- although these boxes will merely contain instructions how to download the game. %Gallery-99582%
Gears of War 3 campaign trailer is a great soccer moment
For us, the most exciting part of the Champions League Final was when that grotesque tentacle-necked monster started tossing cars around, while Black Sabbath's "War Pigs" played in the background. Or did that happen in the Gears of War 3 campaign trailer that premiered after the game? We might be getting the two mixed up. We'll watch the trailer again (after the break) to straighten the situation out.
First copies of Forza 4 include five extra cars, pre-order bonuses revealed
Despite the fact that retailers will assuredly have plenty of extra copies of Forza 4 when it arrives at retail, perhaps you're interested in pre-ordering the game long before its planned fall launch? Well that's just peachy, 'cause today Microsoft announced pre-order bonuses that folks can pick up at a variety of retailers. Unfortunately -- as has become de rigeur as of late -- rather than making it so fans of the series can actually acquire all the pre-order items that they're nicely plunking down money for ahead of time, various retailers have exclusive in-game content that can only be attained through a pre-order at their stores. In essence, this means that folks who pre-order Forza 4 at Target are locked out of the bonuses being offered at Amazon, GameStop, Walmart, and Best Buy... at least, unless the retailer DLC is offered later through XBLM. At very least, fans who pick up the game (at any store) around its launch later this year will snag a quintet of free vehicles in the "Ship Bonus" car pack, listed alongside the aforementioned pre-order items below the break. The car pack will only be free to folks purchasing the "first production run" of Forza 4, so be sure to choose your fastest supercar for shuttling to the local brick and mortar.%Gallery-124664%
Ms. Splosion Man 'Public Access Testing' (aka beta) details
That's right, Twisted Pixel is running a multiplayer beta test for Ms. Splosion Man, which will see 10,000 individuals granted early access to the game's online multiplayer throughout the majority of June. Beta sign-ups are currently underway, so interested parties will want to halt reading this post at the end of this sentence and click on this link. Are you still reading? Well, aren't you a rebel? OK, how about you rebel against the front page of Joystiq and click past the break for the full press release? No? Well, how else will you know you need an Xbox 360 with a hard drive to take part in the beta? ... crap.
Trenched dev diary shoots ... the breeze
This Trenched video isn't so much a "dev diary" as it is a "devs sitting around drinking beer and sort of talking about their game diary." Of course, given the manly bent of Trenched, the straight-forward, no frills approach seems fairly appropriate. Crack open your own beverage and check it out.
Halo: Reach gets free demo, one-week Games on Demand price drop
With over eight million units sold (and that was in January!), Kinect has proven to be a massive hit for Microsoft, strategically extending the hardcore Xbox 360 brand to a more casual audience. It's to this more casual Xbox audience that we now direct this here news post. So you've wrapped up Kinect Adventures, aced every Dance Central track, and stomached more than a minute of Fighters Uncaged? If you were wondering what people did with these video game consoles before Kinect came along, we have the answer: It's called Halo: Reach and Microsoft wants to make sure you try it out. Starting today, the uninitiated can download a free demo for Reach that includes the "Long Night of Solace" campaign mission, the Free for All Slayer and Headhunter multiplayer modes on the "Powerhouse" map, and Firefight on the "Overlook" map. If you like what you see, you can unlock the entire game from the Games on Demand service for the reduced price of $39.99 (£39.99/€39.99) this week only. So put down that Game Boat, pick up a controller, and see what else your Xbox can do.%Gallery-124307%
'Kinect Me,' 'Crimson Alliance' among new Microsoft games rated
A trio of game ratings appeared on the Australian Classification website today, perhaps spoiling some of the titles Microsoft will announce just around the corner at E3. New entries for "Crimson Alliance," "Fusion: Genesis" and "Kinect Me" all list Microsoft as publisher and run the gamut from Mature-rated to PG to G. Only the Crimson Alliance page notes a developer, Certain Affinity, which is corroborated by the game's Brazilian classification. Likewise a rating for Fusion: Genesis has also shown up in Brazil, where both titles are listed for Xbox Live Arcade. Kinect Me remains the most mysterious of the mystery titles and could perhaps feature some connection to the kinect.me promotional site (pictured above) that's been live since last summer. A source tells Siliconera to expect an E3 announcement of "Kinect Fun Lab," which the site surmises could be a working title for Kinect Me -- both names are at least sufficiently generic-sounding to be one and the same game. Additionally, Brazil has classified two more Xbox Live Arcade titles, Fruit Ninja Kinect and Hole in the Wall (from Ludia), supporting previous ratings of the pair of pending releases.
Gears of War 3 beta attracted 1.29 million testers
The cogs did their part, as 1.29 million fans enlisted in the recent Gears of War 3 multiplayer beta and pre-ordered the game in hordes. In all, Epic gathered 249 years worth of match-time data from players spanning 145 countries during the four-week public testing phase, which wrapped up this past Sunday. And it was all up and running, for the first time, on dedicated servers. (Oorah!) While neither Microsoft nor Epic specified how many beta testers got in early through their "Epic Edition" copies of Bulletstorm, the pair was quite pleased to announce that Gears of War 3 has surpassed one million pre-orders (the other ticket into the beta) -- and we're still four months away from the game's September 20 launch. That's got to be some kind of record, right? Uh-huh. Gears 3 now holds the distinguished honor of being "the fastest pre-ordered Xbox exclusive title to reach this milestone in the history of the platform." (*Golf clap*) Pore over some more beta stats after the break.
