via Eurogamer


Bungie has said the Halo 3 Legendary Map Pack will go Live on 15th April.

It will cost 800 Points (GBP 6.80 / EUR 9.60) and contain three maps: Ghost Town, Avalanche, and an unannounced level.

Avalanche is the latest to be detailed, and is a "reimagination" of the original Halo map Sidewinder.

It still has the same U-shape of old, but has lost its ladders and changed the focus from deep interior portions in favour of more snowy fun outside in vehicles, which should all look suitably wintery.

The Bungie team thinks CTF works the best on it, and you can read the rest of their comments on the official website.

Remember, this special Easter weekend hopper sees the return of Team SWAT from Halo 2. That means no shields and no radar, but extra health. This will run from tomorrow until Sunday and treat you to double experience. ...

via Joystiq


The Nintendo Wii will be nearing its second birthday before there's any chance you'll see it routinely clogging up retail shelves. At least that's the determination of mega-retailer Gamestop, which predicted in a recent investors conference call that the Wii "won't meet demand for the next two quarters."

While the Xbox 360 and DS have seen increased production to make up for temporary holiday shortages, Gamestop COO Dan DeMatteo said the seemingly endless lack of Wii supply looks likely to continue for at least another six months. DeMatteo also predicted shortages for the surging PSP, as well as price drops for the PS2 ($30), and PS3 and Xbox 360 ($50 each) sometime this year. For the Wii, though, it seems like a price increase is the only way they're going to be able to stay on the shelves. Not that Nintendo would ever do that. Would they? (Note: No, they wouldn't) ...

via IGN

SEGA of America, Inc. today shipped SEGA Superstars Tennis to stores in North America. Featuring several of the most recognized SEGA video game characters smashing it up on the most outrageously designed tennis environments, SEGA Superstars Tennis is now available on the PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system, PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system, the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system, the Wii home video game system and Nintendo DS.

Developed by Sumo Digital, makers of Virtua Tennis 3, SEGA Superstars Tennis combines responsive, pick-up-and-play controls with fantastic tennis action to deliver an exhilarating and entertaining experience. Each of the 16 SEGA characters has their specialty in speed, power, control, spin, and all-around ability, as well their own unique Superstar power. Each Superstar power pays tribute to the unique characteristics of each character; from Sonic The Hedgehog's Super Sonic transformation, the trail of banana peels left by AiAi from Super Monkey Ball and even the dancing power of Amigo's floating maracas from Samba De Amigo, players will be captivated by the over-the-top atmosphere experienced in SEGA Superstars Tennis.

All this exciting tennis action is played out on over-the-top tennis courts inspired by a host of different SEGA worlds. These include Green Hill Zone from Sonic The Hedgehog, Advanced Arena from Super Monkey Ball and many more. Each of these theme park-like tennis venues exudes energetic charm and marvelous style that will delight gamers of all ages.

In addition to the fun-filled experience, SEGA Superstars Tennis features a host of unlockable content ranging from archives of classic SEGA soundtrack music and addicting mini-games that take tennis to new hilarious levels. Whether it's smashing tennis balls into a horde of hungry zombies in the House of the Dead-inspired Curien Mansion or hitting groundstrokes to help guide "ChuChu" mice in Chu Chu Rocket, up to four players can compete in these comical mini-games. Hidden features will be revealed as players complete different tournament and mission games in the "Planet Superstars" mode.

SEGA Superstars Tennis is rated E10+ (Everyone 10 and older) by the ESRB and is priced at $49.99 for the Xbox 360, the PlayStation 3 system and Wii, $39.99 for the PlayStation 2, and $29.99 for Nintendo DS. ...

via Joystiq


Mega-chain Best Buy is sending $50 gift cards to customers who bought HD DVD players or attachments from its US stores prior to Feb. 23 (coincidentally, for our readership, the date Microsoft declared the format dead to the company). CNN reports most customers won't have to do a thing to receive the card as they'll be identified through the Reward Zone program, service plans or online purchases. If you're a customer who won't be identified in this manner, just grab a receipt (you do keep those, right?) or provide your credit card info to the company for proof of purchase. Gift cards will be sent out by May 1.

Circuit City provided a similar deal earlier this month to recent HD DVD adopters by allowing them to return the product if it had been purchased within 90 days. Both Best Buy and Circuit City's online trade-in programs (run by the same company) will allow you to unload your player beginning March 21. Before anyone thinks they're being witty, only HD DVD players can be returned for store credit, you're not getting $50 per movie disc purchased. Although this format war was in no way these retailer's fault, it's very nice to see them taking care of customers left out in the cold. ...

via Eurogamer


Lionhead boss Peter Molyneux has revealed there will be a total of three Xbox Live Arcade games that will let you earn money for use in Fable 2.

He unveiled the first of these, Keystone, at GDC in February, and uncovered plans for two more in the recent Major Nelson podcast.

"The idea is this: Carbonated Games, part of Microsoft, have made some great casual games, Arcade titles. They have got three titles, one called Keystone, one called Wizard's Tower and one called Mage Dice," said Molyneux.

These "semi-gambling" games will reward you with Fable gold if you win. When Fable 2 eventually comes out (sometime this autumn), you will be able to use your accrued funds in game.

"If you do a good job, you can be a millionaire before the game starts," promised Molyneux. You can then use your piles of gold to buy virtually anything in Fable 2 (on top of weapons and armour and traditional fare).

Anything from dungeons to castles to shops are up for grabs, and splashing out on them will unlock side-quests to explore. As for houses, well, take your pick.

"You can buy every house. There's the city of Bowstone; all the houses that you can get to you can buy," added Molyneux.

"If you buy all of those houses you're known as the Mayor of Bowstone. If you end up buying everything in the region you are known as the King of Bowstone. And if you buy everything in the land of Albion you are known as the Emperor of Albion."

Not all of you will get that far, suggested Molyneux, although he expects at least "a few" of you to make the effort.

But beware, spending too much time worrying about your bank balance will alter your appearance and have you looking a bit like Bill Gates, he joked. "Every choice has a consequence," he reminded us.

Molyneux went on to detail the three major ways Fable 2 will distinguish itself from the original: by adding a sense of emotional drama using mechanics such as the dog and family relationships; by adding a "much, much better" combat system that is both simple and deep; and by adding jump-in co-operative play.

One thing he didn't mention at GDC recently was the Breadcrumb Trail feature. This is a sort of personal GPS that leads you to your quest destination. Interestingly your dog will try to pull you off this straight and narrow and lead you to side-quests.

This is the same dog that will leap on floored opponents, love you without question, and act as a warning mechanism. "Dogs in films always know that aliens are aliens," added Molyneux, suggesting that this will be a feature put to use in the main story.

Another thing to note about co-op is that it will cast the person joining your world as a henchman, but it will be based on statistics from their saved game if it detects one. Then, when they leave your world, they will take all the gold and experience they have earned with them; you take your character around with you, effectively.

Peter Molyneux was also keen to point out that his team prints out and shares what the community has been saying fairly regularly. Hi Peter! Invisibility over laser-eyes, still?

And, in case you were wondering, Peter has an unnatural hatred of chickens because his mum used to leave him in a pram near a chicken ranch, so his first words were clucks.

"Chicken cruelty is always featured highly in my games," cackled Molyneux. ...

From the official website:

Just had a talk with [thUg] 3 hours ago and he already had his hands on tileset number one. He should be done with fixing and cleaning by this weekend. We are all excited!

As soon as the sound fx are comming in and the clouds were fixed as well, we will present an updated video of World 1. ...

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