With the release of the news that Halo ODST will be a 60 dollar title most fans had the reaction "i don't want to pay 60 bucks for an add-on" but here to explain what you will get for your 60 dollars is a Bungies interview with The Seattle Times, lets hope it can live up to it hype and 60 dollar price line.
Seattle Times reports: All sorts of changes are under way inside the dark and mysterious Kirkland bunker where Bungie, the renown game studio, is putting final touches on the next version of "Halo."
For one thing, Bungie is going into a dramatically new direction with "Halo 3: ODST," the latest installment in the blockbuster sci-fi shooting franchise that established Microsoft's Xbox console and has sold more than 27 million copies worldwide. It's also Bungie's first release since the studio became independent of Microsoft in 2007.
"Halo" is the Harry Potter of video games, a staggering success with devoted fans who can't wait for every new edition, so there's a risk in tinkering with the formula.
Apparently fans are pleased with previews they've seen so far. "ODST" remains the most-anticipated game of the year, with 53 percent of gamers in a Nielsen survey planning to buy the $60 title after it goes on sale Sept. 22.
In previous versions of "Halo," an armored supersoldier called Master Chief blasts his way along fixed routes, battling aliens and uncovering a Wagnerian story about giant rings with awesome powers.
"ODST" picks up the story of the supporting cast — orbital drop shock troopers, the "regular" soldiers who fought alongside Master Chief.
For "the kind of story we want to tell — which is a little bit more human story — they seemed like a really great candidate for a hero in the 'Halo' universe," explained Joseph Staten, writer and creative director.
Staten, who studied theater at Northwestern University and military history and political science at the University of Chicago, said the game has more drama and mystery than before.
"As far as the dialogue goes, we were trying to get a bit of hard-boiled, thriller, femme fatale and square-jawed gumshoe — a little touch of that," he said. "That most clearly comes through in the dialogue between Buck, your squad leader, and Veronica, this shadowy naval intelligence officer."
Structural change
The structure of the game is also different, for "Halo." Instead of trudging along a fairly set path, "ODST" begins in a dark and mostly empty city that players can freely explore, an "open world" model popularized by the "Grand Theft Auto" games.
Players who prefer traditional "Halo" can head directly to sites in the city that trigger "flashbacks," putting them into classic "Halo"-style missions fighting aliens and blowing things up. Clues to the mystery come from playing through these missions.
"We're doing a lot of pretty neat things in terms of mixing it up, introducing some non-linearity, some free exploration," Staten said. "This is also a mystery story so there's a lot more clue-finding and mystery-solving than you would normally find in a game of this kind — nothing that strays too far from the fun 'Halo' experience, but we definitely decided to take a little bit of risk and have some fun with this one."
Multiplayer option
Lifelike characters are just one way that "ODST" is more realistic and approachable.
The game also adds a new multiplayer option called Firefight that's designed to be quick and easy for small groups of friends to play on the same console or online. Groups of four cooperatively work through sessions that may last about 30 minutes.
It's an alternative to the more intense, competitive multiplayer sessions that draw about 1 million players per night to the Xbox Live online-game network.
Firefight is also a nod to the real-world demands on players' time, especially now that most original "Halo" fans are well into the parenting years. The average age of video-game players overall is now 35, according to the Entertainment Software Association.
Players like Staten, a 37-year-old father of two.
"To find an hour to play, or five hours a week, that's asking a lot of me," he said. "Firefight, from my point of view, is aimed at guys like me who have families and have lives outside of playing games and work. We love to play games, but we want them to be compatible with our real lives. For Bungie, at least, Firefight is really a nice first step down that path."
While this report holds no real substantial info on the price cut amount and words it in a way that would make you want to list it in the rumor section what the report did give us as an insight of the plans to the 360 and PS3 as far as bundles that they may be offering for the upcoming holidays.
Kotaku reports: Anyone not expecting a price cut on the PlayStation 3 this year? How about the Xbox 360? Well, if Ars Technica's "Mole" is right—and it has been before—both consoles will be cheaper by the fall.
A relatively easy prediction, yes, but Ars' source lays out how it might go down, with the PS3 80GB model becoming more and more scarce. The constant bundling that Sony is doing at U.S. retail outlets will make sure that decrease in supply comes to fruition, about 2 months from now according to the Mole.
But the Xbox 360 retail offerings will also be changing, for the better value. According to the rumored price drop scenario, the Pro version of the Xbox 360 will phased out in favor of making the Elite the standard. Ars hints that another bundle configuration will hit before the holidays to replace the Elite, but doesn't offer specifics.
Does it all sound possible? Definitely. Will we get that PS3 "Slim" and a slightly modified rebrand? That sounds possible too.
The wonderful team over at Kontrol Freek, recently gave us a chance to test out their new products FPS and Speed Freek. While we’ve had a solid month to test out their products we’ve given each of them a solid 25 hours plus for each, so we know how well each of them works. I’m going to take this chance here to thank all of Kontrol Freek now for giving us this chance to review their products. Now on to the review!
To start the review we will first explain a bit of background information. If you are on the 360-Hq homepage click read more to check out the full review!
An Xbox 360 press release has dropped announcing the XBOX 360 Wireless Microphone for use with most 360 vocal games, big shocker for the Rock Band fans out there is that there is no word on when or if it will ever work with the Rock Band games.
Official Press Release: "Get ready aspiring music stars, the biggest music event is taking place in the best hot spot ever – your living room! Now you can take the stage solo, or join your friends like true rock stars or power duets, free from the clutter of wires. Grab your friends and get ready to croon along to the best songs on your favorite Xbox 360 music games with the new Xbox 360 Wireless Microphone. Belt out your vocals while playing games like “Lips,” “Guitar Hero Metallica,” “Rock Band 2”* and “Disney Sing It: High School Musical 3: Senior Year” as well as new blockbusters available this holiday, including “Lips: Number One Hits” and “The Beatles: Rock Band.”
Whether you want to jam to today’s biggest hits or revive Beatlemania, the Xbox 360 Wireless Microphone will bring out your best performance with high-quality voice reproduction technology and stylish interactive motion sensors and lights. Available this fall, the Xbox 360 Wireless Microphone will have an estimated retail price of $49.99 (U.S.).
Don't you just love it when Microsoft turns around and hooks you up with a deal that you want, sure they could cut you a deal on one of the crap games like Small Arms but instead they are handing out SuperStreetFighter2THD at half price in this deal of the week.
SuperStreetFighter2THD
Single Player, Xbox LIVE Multiplayer 1-2, Local Multiplayer 1-2, HD (High Definition). The original MMA series is back! Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix receives a whole new look while improving on the innovative fighting system of the original game. Updated with 1080p HD redrawn art and widescreen support, the game offers a unique experience that appeals to new fans and Street Fighter® purists alike. There are no refunds for this item. For more information, see www.xbox.com/Live/accounts.
Developer: Backbone Entertainment
Publisher: Xbox LIVE Arcade
Genre: Classics
Game Rating: T (Teen)
Violence
Mild Blood
Mild Suggestive Themes
If you have played any of the 360 Avatar games and wondered what will be next for them or what all kinds of games they might come up with then you might find that the options are limited as shown in this list of rules sent out to all the XNA Creators.
Player interacts with their avatar as if it’s a separate character
A player’s avatar does not have an autonomous personality or instinct. The avatar is under the control of the owning player. It can have idle animations and can respond appropriately to game events but it should not interact with the user as if it is separate from the player, try to get the player’s attention in an annoying manner
Violence which causes blood, gore, dismemberment, decapitation, maiming, or mutilation
Cartoon violence is allowed. Violence is allowed as long as there is no blood, gore, dismemberment, decapitation, maiming, or mutilation. An example of allowable injuries includes injuries that might befall an avatar in a sporting event such as American football. Avatars can die temporarily to depict failure.
Player’s avatar talks
The player’s avatar should not have their own voice. They are allowed to make individual sounds, such as laughing and crying but otherwise cannot use a voice
Acts of sexual innuendo or mildly explicit sexual descriptions or images or sexual posturing
Sexual acts or terminology cannot be insinuated or enacted
Excretes obscene bodily fluids or substances
No sexual or bodily fluids or substances can come from the avatar
Glamorized criminal act
Criminal activities need to be relevant to the story and are presented unfavorably
Acts of an aggressive or threatening manner
Gratuitous insults, bullying, intimidation or otherwise violent or emotional abuse of a position of power are not allowed. Avatars may leave innocents or bystanders slightly injured, but not dead.
Vulgar or profane act
Game-controlled avatars cannot use profane, racist, or discriminatory language, nor can they make obscene gestures.
Use of controlled substances
An avatar is not allowed to hold, be seen around or partake in any controlled substances or paraphernalia including, but not limited to, alcohol, tobacco and drugs
Replace Avatar features
The features of an avatar cannot be hidden or in obscured and cannot be replaced with alternative items. Items such as, but not limited to, masks, hats and alternative clothing, are not allowed
Avatars proportions are not modified
The proportions of an Avatar cannot be modified form their original settings. An Avatar can be resized as long as the proportions don’t change
So it looks like my idea of nude avatars in a bar brawl fight club style game with decapitations and sex filled cut scenes wont be out any time soon, to bad aint it.
HQ Network: 10,052 | 
Guests: 5781 |
Members: 0
