If players are enticed by these features and want to become an Xbox Live member, then there are two accounts to select from, divided into two distinct services, these are the – silver and gold accounts.

Firstly, the silver service is just the free version of the Xbox Live. Using this version, gamers can easily go online and download the video games. In addition to this, gamers are even given the capacity to use your very own voice to talk and meet with other Xbox Live gamers. However, this is all the Xbox Live silver provides customers with. If you’re searching for the best Xbox Live experience,the Xbox Live gold account is what you need to go for.

Lastly, the Xbox Live Gold option has additional functions that make it an awesome way to game onthe internet. Apart from the awesome Xbox Live functions, it will provide the users with a bunch of further add-ons. There’s augmented chat compatability, as well as interaction with many Microsoft products, including messenger and other chat and video programs. The most prominent function of the Xbox Live gold is the method in which your web avatar is displayed to the reast of the community. Each account is allowed to create a distinct ‘motto’ displaying to other gamers online, even linking them to Facebook. In addition, you’re also able to hold a record of your achievements. As you play more and more you gradually forge a rep, and if gamers warm to you they are able to rank you positively, making it much better to avoid interacting with gamers holding bad feedback.

Players can also build a full friends list that will list all your chosen buddies. It will also tell you when any of your friends go online. There’s also a recent player list which will record the last 50 friends that you have played with.

The Xbox Live is as good as the Xbox gaming will get. Not only does it provide you with some great gaming but it will also provide you with the opportunity to share your experiences with other users!

©2010 Gaming and Collectibles News. All Rights Reserved.

Sign up here: http://www.Halo3-Tourney.com/credits

Be sure to buy your pass fast because they will sell out fast!

Buying a team pass will allow you to compete in our halo 3 sponsorship event in which we financially support the dreams of the winners of the tournament to compete at Major League Gaming. This is a once in a lifetime event to become a sponsored team and have a shot at becomming a professional gamer!

For more information:

http://www.halo3-tourney.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5674

Previous Sponsorship Event:

http://www.halo3-tourney.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5556

©2010 Gaming and Collectibles News. All Rights Reserved.

Microsoft seems to be trying to create a Halo-type frenzy by releasing a Resident Evil 5 themed Red Xbox 360 Elite Console to coincide with the launch of the game on Friday 13th March.

If you’re not in the market for a new box, there’s also a Limited Edition Red Wireless Controller on sale now, though I prefer the RE Controller Faceplate – and it’s cheaper.

The release of RE5 seems to have flipped a switch somewhere because there appears to be an almost zombie-like determination to get on the bandwagon. Just a cursory look through Amazon’s catalog for RE5 related items found the following: the Elite Console, Wireless Controller and Controller Faceplate already mentioned; Resident Evil 5 standard edition and the Collector’s Edition; two different sets of Resident Evil faceplate and skinz – one featuring the Logo and the other the Characters; a cloth wall scroll featuring Chris and another featuring Sheva; The Complete Official Guide to Resident Evil 5 and Resident Evil 5 Limited Edition Collector’s Guide: The Complete Official Guide (really); dvds of Resident Evil: Degeneration (2008) and Resident Evil – Extinction – Widescreen Special Edition (2007); and a Canvas Messenger Bag to stuff it all in.

Phew.

©2010 Gaming and Collectibles News. All Rights Reserved.

Here’s a trailer:

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But the joke may turn out to be on them – quite a few people seem to’ve been looking forward to this new twist to an old game. Maybe they’ll have to do it anyway – if they can. Anyway, don’t hold your breath, it’s not going to happen any time soon, if at all.

Story: Gamertell

©2010 Gaming and Collectibles News. All Rights Reserved.

There’ve been persistent rumors that Microsoft is going to bring out a new Slim Xbox in time for Christmas. These have been partially confirmed, according to Seriously Unreal, although it won’t be on sale until the beginning of 2009. Whether this new console will suffer from the RROD problems of its predecessors is unknown.

A new patch for Command & Conquer 3: Kane’s Wrath Worldbuilder is now available from WorthDownloading.com, which incorporates fixes for the tile feedback and terrain painting mode, as well as preventing a crash when creating a new map.

If you haven’t got your copy of Kane’s Wrath yet, it’s currently in stock at Amazon.

©2010 Gaming and Collectibles News. All Rights Reserved.

So, what can we expect? There’s a RTS in the works from Ensemble Studios, due for release some time in the first half of next year. They were also working on a Halo MMO, but this has been canceled by Microsoft, who intend closing the studio after the release of the RTS – which came as a shock to Bruce Shelley and the rest of the staff at Ensemble, as you might expect.

Meanwhile new achievements have been added to Halo 3 on XBL, including three “Vidmaster Challenges” which carry no extra points – but will eventually lead to a “pay-off… a pot of gold at the end of the Vidmaster rainbow and it is something you will want,” according to Bungie. There’s now a total of 79 Achievements, many of which lead to new maps and skulls, but Bungie’s not letting on what the details are for now.

Macfarlane is releasing more figures and collectibles, some are due to arrive in November, and a further batch next June. Pictured is an 18 inch (50cm) Master Chief action figure, which isn’t in stock yet. Entertainment Earth have a big range, and are offering $15 off any order of $99 or more if you click through from here and enter the code 4503080 at the checkout.

©2010 Gaming and Collectibles News. All Rights Reserved.

It’s reported that EA keeps moving back the release date of Dead Space in Europe. First it was the end of October, then the 24th, and now the news is that it’s coming out on the 14th, although the site still says the 24th. Whatever, it still means you can get hold of a copy in time to freak yourself out totally on Halloween, if staying in and playing games is your preferred holiday activity.

There’s a special site at NoKnownSurvivors.com with some preview material if you click through to “Dream,” but I got bored after 3 rotating views of the same scene with nothing new apart from a few sound effects… ymmv.

Activision have announced a beta release of the new COD game, World at War in October. The full game is due for release on 11 November. If you’d like to get in on the beta, go over to the Call of Duty site.

In other news, XBL is offering “Extended play downloads” until the end of October, mostly at good savings, on content for Guitar Hero 3, Forza Motorsport 2, Oblivion, Mass Effect and Lost Odyssey.

©2010 Gaming and Collectibles News. All Rights Reserved.

Halo is definitely in the news this week, starting with Bungie desperately backpedalling to quash rumors that AI ‘bots were to be added to Halo 3. As this is a finished product, it seemed pretty unlikely anyway. They’re not saying anything about future incarnations, though…

Which may be just as well, since Halo 3 has been knocked off the top spot on XBL for the second week running by COD4.

But the most interesting rumor concerns Halo 4, which is rumored to be under development by Gearbox, creators of Brothers in Arms. According to Joystiq… who heard it from OXM… who have been doing a bit of undercover work at Gearbox… who aren’t saying anything one way or the other, apart from studio chief Pitchford’s comment, “When you find out what this is, you’ll likely agree that I can’t oversell this one.”

Whatever Gearbox are working on, it appears that it’s destined for the next Xbox, aka Xbox 720 – even though Microsoft have said within the last 6 months that there is no next Xbox planned – which given their track record makes it almost definite that one is on the way.

©2010 Gaming and Collectibles News. All Rights Reserved.

The Halo trilogy, The Flood, First Strike and The Fall of Reach are in stock now at Amazon as a boxed set priced at $16.30 right now (usual price $23.97).

The series has 114 reviews, averaging at 4.5 stars, which is pretty good. According to Chris Lee Mullins, “Eric Nylund does a great job of injecting some humanity into the Spartans (yes, there’s more than one) and some drama and strategy into fight scenes with the Covenent[sic].” He reckons it’s an impressive “fleshing out” of a wonderful game series. So if you’ve been wondering about something in the game, it’s definitely worth taking a look.

Halo, Books 1-3 (The Flood; First Strike; The Fall of Reach)

©2010 Gaming and Collectibles News. All Rights Reserved.

It’s detailed and pretty awesome, like most stuff produced by Kotobukiya, showing Master Chief standing on the field of battle, the bubble shield dissipating as he gets ready to enter the fray. Not many of these will be made available. This is one not to be missed. Click for more info.

©2010 Gaming and Collectibles News. All Rights Reserved.

Ok, you can stop panicking, it’s only an option, in the parental controls. How long it will take before someone finds a way round it I don’t know – probably not that long, but you have to give them credit for trying to protect little Johnny from himself, I suppose (or not, depending on your point of view).

There’s a limited edition coming out on 7 November both in the US and the UK, with some extra goodies. Get your pre-order in now, if you want to be certain of getting your hands on it. You can get the US version here and the UK version here. Whether there’s any difference between the two isn’t clear.

©2010 Gaming and Collectibles News. All Rights Reserved.

Great t shirt! (US only ):)

Bungie is settling into life without Microsoft with excitement (and a little “healthy” terror), according to Damian Isla, Bungie’s lead AI programmer. In an interview with James Lee, he discussed the view from the Bungie studio as “a really interesting learning experience”, now support, HR and PR are entirely up to themselves.

Damian revealed that Bungie has “a bunch of projects” in the works, “not all of them are Halo”. Apparently, the Bungie boys and girls have been playing Call of Duty 4 in off-duty moments. “Call of Duty 4 is a great game,” he said, “and a lot of our guys play it and play it multiplayer all the time. We have a lot to learn from their success too, they did some very innovative things to keep people going and their experience-rewards system was something that we paid a lot of attention to.

“I think it’s a great game and single player obviously is fantastic as well, they did a hell of a job with their set pieces, of scripting certain moments that they were really sure the player was going to actually see and experience first hand. The way that they use those moments to craft the player experience I think was very successful and something, again, where I think Halo has a lot to learn from.

“I think in a lot of ways Call of Duty 4 and Halo have two, almost fundamentally different, ways of making a game. [but] part of the reason why it is difficult to script sequences is because the AI never co-operates, or physics doesn’t co-operate… Simulation, I think, adds replayability, it adds depth to the game, but it also makes scripting much more difficult and it means designers have a much harder time of bullet-proofing their scripts.”

He went on to say that the team were working on trying to bring scripting and AI together. “We want to have the deep simulation and we want to have also the fantastic presentation.”

Meanwhile, Microsoft is advertising for a new Halo creative director to ”define and drive a vision that takes a beloved IP and delivers a new and innovative experience.” Whoever it is will need to understand corporate gobbledygook as well!

©2010 Gaming and Collectibles News. All Rights Reserved.

There’s a pretty comprehensive selection of action figures in Series 2, all of them packed in blister packs, as shown, and complete with accessories appropriate to the particular figure. Price is $13.99, and they are set to fly off the shelves, so get your order in while there are still stocks left.

Figures available include: Master Chief himself of course, Brute Stalker, ODST (Orbital Drop Shock Trooper), Drone, Arbiter (shown in the picture), Red CQB Spartan Soldier, Spartan Soldier White EVA Armor, Tan Spartan Soldier Scout and Olive Spartan Soldier EOD. There’s also a set of 12 individually packaged Halo 3 Series 2 action figures, including all of the above, plus a couple of others unspecified atm.

I’m guessing the Master Chief figures in particular are going to be in high demand and you will need to be one of the first to order, to be sure of getting what you want. Don’t miss your chance.

©2010 Gaming and Collectibles News. All Rights Reserved.

Fans of Gears of War will want to get this hot off the truck Gears of War action figure set from Entertainment Earth right away.

From one of the biggest hits on the Xbox 360, these articulated figures come individually packaged with weapons and details taken straight from the game. Each is ready to shoot at his enemies (which might make them even angrier because, as toys, their firearms don’t actually have the ability to frag anybody). This set contains all 4 characters for $64.99.

Entertainment Earth operates a 90-day no hassle return service in case you decide you don’t want them after all… not that that is very likely.

Update: A film adaptation of Gears of War is in the works, to be directed by Len Wiseman, who directed “Live Free or Die Hard” and scripted by Chris Morgan, who wrote the screenplays for “Wanted” and “The Fast and the Furious 4.”

“Disney made a great movie out of a theme park ride, and somebody is sooner or later going to make a great one out of a video game,” Cliff Bleszinski, the “Gears” design director at Epic said. “Having someone like Len really helps the odds. I think we’re going to create something special here.”

©2010 Gaming and Collectibles News. All Rights Reserved.

“In no way would I say that Halo, or what we know of Halo today, is the peak of what’s possible. Far from it,” Shane Kim, Microsoft’s new corporate vp in charge of strategy and business development said. “I believe that we’re going to have just as big of a year… Maybe we don’t have a particular exclusive that’s as big as Halo 3, but I do think that Gears 2 and Fable 2 will be really big hits.”

Big dreams, given that when Halo 3 was launched it generated $300 million in just the first week. Let’s see if his optimism fades as he settles in to his new job. In the meantime, he says the chances of a massive hit to top Halo are, “really good. …looking into the early concepts and prototypes to come, I think it lines up against any competitive lineup that I see out there.”

©2010 Gaming and Collectibles News. All Rights Reserved.

Grand Theft Auto IV comes out on Tuesday, but Amazon are taking pre-orders now on both regular and special editions. I had a look, and saw a console bundle, and there’s a themed console and prolly other stuff as well.

To order from Amazon.com, you can get them here: Grand Theft Auto IV, Grand Theft Auto IV Special Edition and you can also get Brady Games’ guide here: Grand Theft Auto IV Signature Series Guide (Brady Games). For Amazon.co.uk users, use the following links: Grand Theft Auto IV (Xbox 360), Grand Theft Auto IV: Special Edition (Xbox 360) and the guide, “Grand Theft Auto 4″: Signature Series Guide (Brady Games). If you want to see what other GTA IV stuff is on offer, go here: GTA IV stuff at Amazon.com, or for UK readers here: GTA IV stuff at Amazon.co.uk.

There are loads of people waiting for this game to come out, so get your order in now, so you don’t have to wait for the next batch to arrive.

©2010 Gaming and Collectibles News. All Rights Reserved.

The Wii console sold more units in the year to March 2008 than both Xbox 360 and PS3 combined. Industry analyst Daniel Ernst of Hudson Square Research said the same pattern is likely to be repeated this year as well.

In Japan, sales of Xbox 360 are in freefall, most likely a reaction to the ongoing saga of the red ring of death, still running at 16%, despite all Microsoft’s reported efforts to fix it. In fact, the Xbox was ranked bottom of the list of all handheld and console products sold in the region.

Even though sales have been weak, they are likely to be hit further by a reported shortage of available units in the US, as reported in a previous post.

Perhaps Microsoft can console themselves with one bright spark: 50% of US console users who play games online use the Xbox 360, against 18% for Wii and 18% for PS2. But I guess they knew that already.

©2010 Gaming and Collectibles News. All Rights Reserved.

Halo3-Tourney has announced a tournament on May 17th with a prize of $500. It’s a 4v4 event, and by my reckoning, that gives you just over a month to get a team together and your gaming skills honed for the challenge. More details on the Facebook events page or the Halo3-Tourney site.

Halo3-Tourney is a newish site, set up by a Facebook friend. Its whole focus is on Halo 3 tournaments, some for fun, some for prizes. They aim to attract players of all abilities.

There are a couple of other money events before the big one in May, for smaller prizes; on 26 April there’s a 1v1 with a price of $125 for the top 3 players, and on May 10 a 2v2 for $200.

©2010 Gaming and Collectibles News. All Rights Reserved.

Check out Halo3-Tourney.com for weekly tournaments, forums, and montages.

Halo 3 Tourneys hosts live tournaments every week, focusing mainly on Halo 3, although other games are planned for the future. The games are split into 4 different sectors: 4v4, Novice, Semi-Professional, and Professional so don’t be shy if your skills aren’t the best, as you will have the chance to improve along the way.

©2010 Gaming and Collectibles News. All Rights Reserved.