The action begins this Saturday, Aug. 22, in Redmond, Washington when Xbox LIVE’s Major Nelson and Bungie kick off the nationwide “Halo 3: ODST” GameStop Tour outside the Redmond Town Center GameStop (17128 Redmond Way, Redmond, WA). The “Halo 3: ODST” Transport Vehicle deploys at noon and will remain active until 8:00 p.m.
Fans in each city of the tour will have the opportunity to experience the all new Firefight multiplayer mode in “Halo 3: ODST” and score “Halo” swag for proving their skills (all participants must be age 17 or older).
Built from a modified M820A2 expandable truck, the “Halo 3: ODST” Transport Vehicle provides a fully customized mobile gaming experience. Measuring 27 feet long and 14 feet wide when fully expanded, and weighing a beefy 13 tons, the “Halo 3: ODST” Transport Vehicle is a “Halo” party on wheels, outfitted with eight Xbox 360 console rigs featuring “Halo 3: ODST.”
A list of cities and tour dates is below*:
City
Seattle (Redmond, WA)
Portland (Hillsboro, OR)
San Francisco (Union City, CA)
San Jose (Antioch, CA)
Los Angeles (Pasadena, CA)
San Diego, CA
Las Vegas (Henderson, NV)
Phoenix (Avondale, AZ)
Dallas (Southlake, TX)
Austin (Cedar Park, TX)
Houston (Tomball, TX)
Memphis, TN
Nashville (Murfreesboro, TN)
Indianapolis, IN
Chicago, IL
Detroit (Shelby Township, MI)
Cleveland (N. Olmstead, OH)
Pittsburgh, PA
Philadelphia (Fairless Hills, PA)
Wash., DC (Woodbridge, VA)
Baltimore (Owings Mills, MD)
New York (North Babylon, NY)
Location
Redmond Town Center
Tanasbourne Town Center
Union Landing
Center At Slatten Ranch
Hastings Village
Carmel Mt. Ranch
Whitney Ranch
Gateway Pavilion
Shops of Southlake
Lakeline Plaza
Spring Cypress Wal-Mart Center
Marketplace at Wolfcreek
College Central Shopping Center
Target 31 Shopping Center
The Brickyard Shopping Center
Shelby Town Center
Great Northern Plaza South
North Hills Village
Fairless Hills Towne Center
Smoketown Station
Garrison Forest Plaza
Sunset Plaza
For the most up to date list of tour cities, times and locations, visit http://www.gamestop.com/halo
To follow along with developments from the “Halo 3: ODST” GameStop Tour and to keep abreast of the latest “Halo” news, follow the Halo Waypoint Twitter @HaloWaypoint or by searching for tweets tagged with the #ODSTTour hashtag. You can also learn more by visiting the Halo Waypoint Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/HaloWaypoint, including news about future promotions and developments on the road to the “Halo 3: ODST” launch.
The “Halo” franchise is an entertainment phenomenon, with more than 27 million units sold worldwide. “Halo 3” redefined multiplayer gaming through the power of Xbox LIVE and boasts more than one billion online multiplayer games played to date, and remains one of the most popular games played on Xbox LIVE with an average of one million daily players.
Back to school comes early this year as “Halo 3: ODST” invades college campuses later this summer. Students will get to join in all the action and play the new co-op mode Firefight at select universities around the country. More details will be available soon via the Halo Waypoint Twitter and Facebook page, so keep an eye on them for details!
“Halo 3: ODST” will have a suggested retail price of $59.99 USD and the Collector’s Pack available at GameStop (which includes an exclusive, laser etched “Halo 3: ODST” Wireless Controller) will have a suggested retail price of $99.99 USD. “Halo 3: ODST” launches on Sept. 22. and is rated “M” for Mature by the ESRB.
The next Xbox 360 update is only just around the corner and we know Microsoft Studios are launching their new Xbox 360 "Games on Demand" service and some other cool updates but we haven't seen a full list of titles and features available until now.. Check out the full list below.
Less than a week from today, the Xbox LIVE summer update will arrive to more than 20 million Xbox LIVE members and with it will come the next evolution of connected entertainment on Xbox 360. Get ready to meet the many new faces of your Xbox 360; whether it’s new Avatar clothing and awards from Adidas or “Splosion Man”, or even a private home cinema, Xbox LIVE has something for you.
Movie night on Xbox LIVE
Browse, select and jump right into your favourite movies from the top genres: comedy, action, horror…even a tear-jerking chick flick. There are hundreds to choose from, with many in HD.
Avatars are people too!
Now thanks to Avatar Marketplace the options for customising your avatar are endless. With an ever-expanding selection of stores, full of premium outfits and accessories from your favourite games and fashion brands, you can express yourself through your Avatar like never before. Your Avatar’s one-stop-shop will launch with a growing collection from the top names in fashion and gaming including:
Top Brands: Adidas, Quiksilver, Roxy, Tokidoki
Unique Fashions: Steampunk, Recessionista
Your Favourite Games: “BioShock 2,” “Halo 3,” “Halo 3: ODST,” “Gears of War 2,” “Fable II,” “The Secret of Monkey Island SE,” “Splinter: Cell Conviction,” “Star Wars Clone Wars: Republic Heroes”
You can also earn special Avatar clothes and items just by playing your favourite games, starting with a hot logo t-shirt from “Splosion Man,” the hit Xbox LIVE Arcade title that kicked-off off the 2nd annual Summer of Arcade. And to keep your Avatars from getting bored, we’re giving them fun new props to play with; everything from a basketball to pompoms, even a mobile phone…just try to stick with nights and weekends.
Games on Demand marks the introduction of digitally distributed full Xbox 360 games: the titles you want, when you want them, straight to your Xbox 360 at the push of a button. You’ll also have the option to easily purchase Games on Demand titles directly via credit card.
There will be no less then 24 games available for digital distribution in the US and another 24 games available for EU using the "Games on Demand" Service . The dashboard update is set for release this Tuesday August 11th, 2009.
No more hide and seek
Now you can view, find and arrange your content on Xbox LIVE the way you want. Want to send a specific friend a message? Sort your friends list by Gamertag, status and even activity, so you can easily find the friends you want. There are also new options for viewing your Achievements and progress, improved matchmaking support and more.
Best of all, you can now rate every single piece of content on Xbox LIVE Games Marketplace using a five star system. Support your favourite XBLA game with a five star rating, or find the top-rated titles in the newly-updated Indie Games Marketplace – it’s never been easier to find the best and most beloved game content on Xbox LIVE.
Just the beginning…
The Xbox LIVE summer update brings all new ways to play games, and connect with friends or friendly rivals anywhere in the world. It’s another step toward realising the Xbox 360 promise of entertainment for everyone, and another reason why Xbox LIVE is hands down the best entertainment value in your living room. But this is just the beginning…
Coming soon, we’re bringing a whole new wave of partnerships and custom features straight to your Xbox 360 – instant on 1080p streaming video with 5.1 audio from Zune, personalised digital radio stations from Last.fm, and the biggest forces in social networking: Facebook and Twitter.
In the meantime, have fun with your Avatar, or download that classic Xbox 360 game you’ve been meaning to pick up. Sit back, relax and enjoy and stay tuned for the next evolution in connected entertainment, courtesy of Xbox LIVE.
As always for all the latest xbox 360 info and updates be sure to check back to 360-HQ or install our new fancy toolbar which will link you with all the latest xbox 360 content we have on offer including: screenshots, trailers & videos, cheats, achievements, news, tutorials, hardware reviews and much much more.
We have some footage of the soon to be released HALO: ODST game here at the HQ that contains a bit of information on the game itself as well as the story line, so with no further delays here is the promised video from MSNBC.com in it's entirety.
You can expect to see HALO: ODST out for the XBOX 360 and on store shelves September 22.
The guys from OzBoxLive have announced a brand new game night which will be raising funds for the Australian Royal Children's Hospital. Check out the details below for more info.
Xperience XBOX @ Friday, July 17, 2009 from 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM (GMT+1000)
Melbourne, Victoria
Come in and experience some of the best XBOX 360 games with an evening of modern, multiplayer, and online XBOX 360 games, such as Guitar Hero: World Tour, Halo 3, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Street Fighter IV, and Sacred 2. There’ll also be giveaways and opportunities to win major prizes*, including an XBOX 360 & games pack. All funds raised on the night will be going to benefit the Royal Children’s Hospital. So engage with XBOX 360 gaming and help others at the same time! Presented in association with OzBoxLive.
Experimedia
Location: State Library of Victoria
Price: FREE [Bookings required] *$5 payable per ticket for the prize raffle
Bookings Online (via Eventbrite): xperiencexbox.eventbrite.com
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."
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!
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