Halo Wars Midnight Launch

With the upcoming release of Halo Wars in the United States we see that Gamestop will be coming out with a midnight launch event. It appears as though this is purely for the game. Unlike other special releases, it doesn’t sound as though there will be any sort of freebies given out to those of us standing outside their doors at midnight.

Personally, this game will be stuffed on the shelves yet in the morning and I can personally wait on this one. My minds still not made up as to whether I’ll buy this. If you are hardcore into the storyline I think it’s something you should invest in eventually. I missed Halo 1, skipped the mission videos of Halo 2 (just played, so missed most of the story line), and then I beat Halo 3 with watching the videos.

My conclusion is, if you really enjoy this type of game from the demo that we all got to play, or you are really into the story line and want to be in the know, then this game might be worth purchasing. Real time strategy games just aren’t my fancy.

Xbox 360 Tops Wii in Japan

The Xbox 360 has finally topped the Wii in weekly unit sales. This is only the second time the Xbox 360 has topped the Wii in the Japan sales charts, and it’s just about time. The Xbox 360 sold 25,000 consoles from February 16th through February 22nd. This is nearly 10,000 units more than the Wii and Playstation 3, both of which sold in the 16,000’s.

While this is partly due to the exclusive games that are released for the Xbox 360 or soon to be, it’s great to see Microsoft back up top. I’m personally rooting for my system because I like it, and because the success of Microsoft means that more money is coming into the American economy.

Mythic Maps Released

Well for those of you who are interested enough in the Halo Wars game to buy the Limited Edition version now have a code for the newest Halo 3 maps. Personally, I think Bungie or Microsoft, whoever is calling the shots now, took this a step too far. Even for those of us buying Halo Wars, making us spend an extra $20+ just to get the new Halo 3 maps is a bit ridiculous.

Anyways, until the codes get down to about $20 a piece on Ebay, I’m going to hold off. I’m wondering how you guys like the new maps. Are any of them a really good play such as Guardian and The Pitt? I’m hoping there is at least one new map that we can start throwing into the mix without wanting to veto. Comment with your first impressions of the maps.

PSP 4000 to Have Sliding Screen

Rumors have it that the new Playstation Portable will feature a sliding screen much like those in some of the newer cell phones that are coming out. It’s not going to be as new as you may have been hoping for. It’s not going to be getting that much more powerful, it’s not going to be getting any sort of touch screen, and it’s not going to get any better control handling as I’d have liked.

None the less, they are upgrading it. If you haven’t bought a PSP yet then this would be the one to wait for. Once the 4000 comes out you can either get the 3000 for a lot less, or you can buy the brand new one complete with sliding screen. What kind of changes do you think the PSP needed?

More New Guitar Hero World Tour Songs

Well it seems as though the intense competition between Rock Band, Guitar Hero, and the few other copy cats is continuing to heat up. It’s all about the songs, and of course, the need for new songs means downloading. The first company to figure out they will get more game sales is the company that realizes they need to offer these for free. I do realize they have to pay the record companies, but the amount is above and beyond what is fair.

Anyways, Wings is coming to Guitar Hero World tour and they are starting it off with three songs. 160 Microsoft Points for one song, and 440 Microsoft Points for them all. Here are the songs they are releasing. Check the Marketplace for the downloads.

• “Jet”
• “Hi,Hi,Hi”
• “Junior’s Farm”

Mirror’s Edge DLC

Good news for you Mirror’s Edge fans! They are coming out with some downloadable content for the game. I regret to inform you that it’s no different than other games, it’s going to run you $10, be it Microsoft Points or Cash on PSN.

Yet another example of a video game company double charging us. They hit us with the original game, and then add more content that probably would have been on the game in the first place had they not been able to get an extra $10 out of us down the line. I personally think unless you love this game, you could probably go without this DLC.

Mythic Maps Preview

If you are excited for the new Halo 3 maps to come out, you’re not alone. I’m guessing you haven’t seen much more than the Bungie pictures though. I was surprised to learn that some people already have the maps and are playing them as we speak. I thought they weren’t available until Halo Wars came out on March 3rd. I was wrong.

Some people got them early. Whether this means they used a Halo Wars code they weren’t supposed to have, whether Halo Wars released early in another country, or this was some special offer to a select few. Whatever the case, here is some sample gameplay I found on youtube.

Xbox 720 3D Technology

It’s being reported that Microsoft is in the works of securing the purchase of 3DV. 3DV is an Israeli company that focuses on 3D technology. One of their larger innovations is the developement of something they call ZCam. This is very similar to the camera Sony uses; however, it is a much better quality and way more accurate due to it’s method of gathering information.

The buyout will cost $35,000,000, but could be a wise move. While I’m not a fan of Microsoft sending this kind of money to another country instead of reinvesting it here, this could be just the move they need. The Nintendo Wii has been dominating the consoles lately. Now that a new Xbox is definitely in the works, probably closer to the planning stage than the hardware, but it’s a good sign.

Valve to Update Team Fortress Scout Abilities

Valve is going to be upgrading the techniques of the different classes in Team Fortress. They are announcing the updates day by day, which is a bit slow for my taste. If they want to build anticipation for it why not release all the new techniques at once so that we can get excited. Anyways, the first of the new techniques was announced today.

Today, they announced that the scouts bat will have a new special ability. It will be able to hit baseballs at other players. If hit by a baseball the player will be temporarily stunned for you. Whether this means they will be stunned long enough for you to switch weapons or not is the main question. Apparently, the further away from you that they are when the ball finally hits them will determine how long your enemy is going to be stunned. This leads me to believe that if you snipe them from some distance away that you will probably have time to switch to your gun to shoot them. The only bad thing is that you won’t be able to double jump when you have this bat equiped.

Check out my blog for more updates to the game. All of the updates should be taking place on February 24th. Who knows what this could do to the pricing of the game. To be safe, I’d suggest downloading it now if you haven’t already. It’s a good game, and I’m considering putting it on my computer as the Xbox 360 version doesn’t appear as though it will have these updates anytime soon.

Free Thursday Music

I have never heard of the band Thursday, but the Microsoft pulls through again. They have brought us five songs, from three of their new albums, to the Xbox Live Marketplace. The even better news is that they are free to download! I’m excited to see what this could mean for the music industry. If they have success with the downloads and an increase in music sales, who knows what this could mean. More artists would be looking to put their music in the Marketplace for free downloads. Websites would start popping up offering the same idea.

If you were curious as to which songs they are going to be releasing for free, here is the list of the five songs. Enjoy the downloads.

• Resuscitation of a Dead Man
• Counting 5-4-3-2-1-
• For the Workforce, Drowning
• Signals Over the Air
• War All the Time