Microsoft has confirmed that three editions of Halo 3 will be available when the game launches later this year.

First up is the plain old Standard Edition which is comprised of the standalone disc, plus a box and manual we'd wager.

Then there's the Legendary Edition which will be released "in limited quantities", according to a statement. It will come with a collectable Spartan helmet case, Halo 3 storyboard art and two bonus discs.

The first disc will feature exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, including a Making of Halo 3 documentary, plus a look at early game concepts. It will also include an audio-visual calibration tool "never before seen on a videogame", which has been custom designed by the Halo 3 team and will allow you to enjoy high definition footage and optimised audio.

The second disc, which will only be available with the Legendary Edition, will include remastered cinematic material from Halo 2 and Halo: Combat Evovled, complete with developer commentaries.

You'll also get a featurette about a day in the life at Bungie, plus exclusive content from the Machinima artists who created Red vs. Blue and This Spartan Life.

The Limited Edition version of Halo 3 will come in a shiny metal case. Along with the first bonus disc from the Legendary Edition, you'll get a Halo fiction and art book which features a guide to the game's universe and previously unseen material.

Microsoft also confirmed that Halo 3 will arrive in shops this autumn, though they haven't said exactly when yet.

via eurogamer ...

Click on the video player now to witness one of the most cringe-worthy videogame trailers in recent memory.

It features a bunch of fully-grown, ADULT blokes rolling water balloons around home-made obstacle courses. Why? Watch it and find out.

It's almost as bad as those painfully cheesy NES adverts back in the eighties, when people seemingly had no shame.

Those poor actors. It's so bad, we're embarrassed for them. That's one minute and 19 seconds of our lives we'll never get back.

Trailer Here ...

via Games Radar


GamesRadar's female voice steps up to bring the stereotype down

With the launch of Nintendo’s seemingly more ‘girl friendly’ DS and Wii, and gaming award ceremony’s adding categories like Girls’ Choice Award, women picking up a joypad is apparently becoming more mainstream. But what is this obsession with women being a different gaming species?

Despite the acceptance that more women are playing games there’s still a great divide – one where male gamers fit into many categories and women get just one: girl gamer. The girl gamer is often seen as a casual gamer, dipping in and out of sunny, happy titles where any skill needed is thin on the ground; gameplay kept to a minimum.

As a ‘girl’, a gamer and member of the GamesRadar team I’m here to dispel these myths. I may not be one of the PES regulars in our office every lunchtime but I know what I like when it comes to games. Read on to see just why girl gamers don’t exist.


Leave feedback via comments. ...

http://www.xboxyde.com/news_4113_en.html

Journey Into the Darkness With “Castlevania: Symphony of Night” on Xbox Live Arcade

Celebrate more than two decades of the Castlevania franchise by reliving (or experiencing for the first time) one of the series’ most highly regarded games. The legendary 2D side-scrolling action adventure game from Konami Digital Entertainment, “Castlevania: Symphony of Night,” will be available for download on Xbox Live Arcade for Xbox 360 beginning Wednesday, March 21 at 0900 GMT (2 a.m. PDT).

The Castlevania franchise is well known for delivering exceptional quality in all elements that make a great game – story, music, level design, character development, gameplay and controls. In “Castlevania: Symphony of Night,” the 12th iteration of the series, gamers take on the role of Alucard, the half-vampire son of the blood-drinker Dracula, as he ventures into his infamous father’s foreboding castle. Along the way, Alucard must collect items, weapons and armor to defeat the powerful boss monsters that block access to key areas of the castle.

“Castlevania: Symphony of Night” is the first full console classic to appear on Xbox Live Arcade and offers dozens of hours of non-linear action RPG gameplay. “Castlevania: Symphony of Night” will be available worldwide for 800 Microsoft Points and is rated T for Teen (Animated Blood and Violence).

Game Features

* Play the original version of the game or experience it in enhanced mode with improved graphics and modernized audio and sound effects
* New native widescreen and high-definition support
* Earn up to 12 Achievements and 200 Gamerscore points

More information is available at http://www.xbox.com/games/livearcade.

I've got 800 sitting in my account waiting to spend on this.

So thats been
1) Alien Hom.
2) Worms
3) TMNT
4) Castlevania: SOTN

What will be next? :P ...

via xboxyde.com

Journey Into the Darkness With “Castlevania: Symphony of Night” on Xbox Live Arcade

Celebrate more than two decades of the Castlevania franchise by reliving (or experiencing for the first time) one of the series’ most highly regarded games. The legendary 2D side-scrolling action adventure game from Konami Digital Entertainment, “Castlevania: Symphony of Night,” will be available for download on Xbox Live Arcade for Xbox 360 beginning Wednesday, March 21 at 0900 GMT (2 a.m. PDT).

The Castlevania franchise is well known for delivering exceptional quality in all elements that make a great game – story, music, level design, character development, gameplay and controls. In “Castlevania: Symphony of Night,” the 12th iteration of the series, gamers take on the role of Alucard, the half-vampire son of the blood-drinker Dracula, as he ventures into his infamous father’s foreboding castle. Along the way, Alucard must collect items, weapons and armor to defeat the powerful boss monsters that block access to key areas of the castle.

“Castlevania: Symphony of Night” is the first full console classic to appear on Xbox Live Arcade and offers dozens of hours of non-linear action RPG gameplay. “Castlevania: Symphony of Night” will be available worldwide for 800 Microsoft Points and is rated T for Teen (Animated Blood and Violence).

Game Features

* Play the original version of the game or experience it in enhanced mode with improved graphics and modernized audio and sound effects
* New native widescreen and high-definition support
* Earn up to 12 Achievements and 200 Gamerscore points

More information is available at http://www.xbox.com/games/livearcade.

I've got 800 sitting in my account waiting to spend on this.

So thats been
1) Alien Hom.
2) Worms
3) TMNT
4) Castlevania: SOTN

What will be next? :P ...

via gibiz

Yoshi's Island DS has sold over 303,000 units in its first week of sales in Japan, placing it at the top of the charts according to data from Media Create.

The only other new entry in the Japanese top ten is Spike's Kenka Banchou 2: Full Throttle at number four, selling over 42,000 units.

There are two PlayStation 3 titles in the top 50 - Bandai's Gundam Musou at number seven and Sega's Virtua Tennis 3 at number 19. There are no Xbox 360 games in the top 50.

Hardware sales in the region have also dropped this week, with the DS selling 108,631 units and Sony's PSP shifting 56,175 units.

Nintendo has sold 44,495 Wii consoles in the past week, while Sony's PlayStation 3 has sold 32,115 units. The PlayStation 2 has sold 14,585 units, ahead of Microsoft's Xbox 360, which managed 3333 consoles sold.

The Japanese top ten follows, with weekly sales figures:

1. Yoshi's Island DS / 303,114 DS

2. Monster Hunter Portable 2 / 93,099 PSP

3. Layton Kyoujo no Fushigi na Machi / 45,344 DS

4. Kenka Banchou 2: Full Throttle / 42,131 PS2

5. Super Robot Taisen W / 36,310 DS

6. Wii Sports / 35,298 Wii

7. Gundam Musou / 31,145 PS3

8. Dragon Quest Monsters – Joker / 26,452 DS

9. Wii Play / 26,340 Wii

10. Motto Nou o Kitaeru Otona DS Training / 20,716 DS ...

February hardware sales in the US are up by 98 per cent, according to the latest data released by NPD.

Thanks largely to impressive performance from the Nintendo DS and Wii, sales for February 2007 were US $402 million (EUR 301.7m).

Software sales also rose by 28 per cent to US $441 million (EUR 331m), compared to US $345 million (258.9m) during the same period in 2006.

The DS sold 485,000 units during February, while the Wii moved 335,000 units despite Nintendo struggling to maintain a continuous supply of its latest home console.

"We're gratified that the explosive appeal of the Wii, in terms of both new players and new ways to play, has created unprecedented demand, substantially beyond supply," commented Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo in North America.

Sony's PlayStation 3, due in Europe next week, registered disappointing sales figures in comparison. The next-gen home console sold 127,000 units and was outsold by the PlayStation 2 at 295,000 units and the PSP's 176,000 units.

Microsoft's Xbox 360, a console released in November 2005, managed to sell 228,000 units, and even the Game Boy Advance range of handhelds put in a better performance than Sony's next-gen machine, shifting 136,000 units.

Nintendo also enjoyed considerable success in the software sales charts, with the top three sellers all exclusive to the company.

Wii Play sold 371,000 copies, while Diddy Kong Racing for the DS moved 262,000 units and Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess sold 130,000 copies.

Of the US $96 million increase in sales over last year, Nintendo and Microsoft product accounted for US $79 million.

Sales were higher than figures expected from analyst Wedbush Morgan.

"Overall sales were much higher than our US $415 million forecast as next-generation console software sales substantially exceeded our estimates," offered Michael Pachter, senior analyst at the firm.

"Next-generation software sales totalled US $275 million, compared to our US $240 million forecast. The upside was primarily attributable to dramatically higher than expected sales of 360 and Wii games," he said.

"The sales pattern over the last few months had suggested to us that consumers are less concerned about the transition than they have been in prior console cycles. Demand for the PS3 is tracking below our expectations, while demand for the Wii remains strong," added Pachter.

The top three selling titles for each console follow:

Wii

Wii Play (Nintendo)

Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess (Nintendo)

WarioWare: Smooth Moves (Nintendo)

Xbox 360

Crackdown (Microsoft)

Gears of War (Microsoft)

Major League Baseball 2K7 (Take 2)

PlayStation 3

Resistance: Fall of Man (Sony)

Virtua Fighter 5 (Sega)

Major League Baseball 2K7 (Take 2)

DS

Diddy Kong Racing (Nintendo)

New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo)

Mario Kart DS (Nintendo)

PlayStation 2

Guitar Hero 2 (Activision)

Major League Baseball 2K7 (Take 2)

WWE Smackdown Vs RAW 2007 (THQ)

via gibiz ...

The best football manager (soccer for those of you who call american football - football) for the PSP has seen a new release and funily enough my order arrived today also.



Product Features
Updated Data - Player and Club data accurate to August Transfer Window
2 New leagues Conference North and South, and a comprehensive update to player, staff, club, league and confederation data.
Updates to code and data side of competitions and countries that have changed since the January 2006 transfer window.
Technical Match Analysis Tool (Prozone): An under the bonnet reveal of all that the players are doing in the match. Tackles, passes, shots, runs all are viewable with statistical information.
Overhauled Front End Interface: All new skins, with 'Dynamic Side Bar' and 'Menu Shortcut' system ensuring the old and new school fans are catered for.
Staff Feedback with Improved AI: including recommendations for players to transfer list and identification of weaknesses in your squad. Listen to recommendations based on team selection and formation, and your opponents.
Multi Threaded Match Resolver: significant speedups to our already leading technology advantage.
New Game Modes: 8/9 exciting Challenge Modes at club and international level as well as the traditional Champ Man over 15-20 seasons with the option to stop playing after 3 seasons.
Enhanced Transfer System: The transfer system will be updated for Season 06/07 and will feature greater support for the rules of specific countries and their divisions/leagues and improved transfer negotiations.
News and Media: An enhanced news and media system will allow the manager to make press releases and be the focus of media hate campaigns. Greater use of fan, player, manager and pre-match build up categories will further enhance the variety of the news and media.
Expanded Job Information: Now includes a Job Centre where the manager can advertise for a new assistant. Define the job role and contract details and see who applies

Manufacturer's Description
Developed by London-based Beautiful Game Studios (BGS), Championship Manager 2007 is a totally new iteration of the best-selling football management simulation.

Championship Manager 2007 has a completely new look with new skins, menu shortcuts and a dynamic side bar, all ensuring that every gaming taste is catered for. The introduction of an International Management option enables players to manage their country and be a part of the biggest football tournament in the world.

An innovative new Match Analysis Tool is an 'under the bonnet' reveal of statistical information relevant to every player and every game including; goals scored, runs made and shots/passes/tackles made or failed. This offers each manager a true representation of the information on offer to top flight football managers.

Managers will now be able to praise and criticise players in a brand new team talks feature and give individual instructions to players either pre-match or at half time and receive staff feedback on performances. Plus behind the scenes there is also a huge backroom staff of improvements including transfers, negotiations, news, media and pre-match build up along with player and club data accurate up to the closing of the August transfer window, a refined AI system and the introduction of two new leagues: Conference North and South.

Championship Manager 2007 allows you to manage your club to glory, dealing with everything from tactics and training to transfers - everything you would expect a real-life football manager to do without owning a sheepskin coat.

Buy Championship Manager 2007 $41.29 (£20.60) Cheapest Price anywhere. ...

Microsoft Game Studios and Bungie have released a barrage of media showing off the two special editions of Halo 3; Legendary and Collectors Edition.

As previously announced, Legendary Edition will come with a not-quite-full-size Master Chief helmet and two DVDs, while the Collectors edition comes in a tin similar to that of the Halo 2 package of the same name.

While we're sure there are many people out there dieing to get their hands on that plastic helmet we think it's a bit too large (and nerdy) to fit on our games rack, so we're going to go for the classier (and slightly less nerdy) Collectors Edition (or at least asked the nice people at MS to give us one).

Disagree? Sound off in the comments section below and look for more Halo 3 news later on today...

Screens Here ...