Spectral Jester

It's yet another fun-packed week on the Xbox Live Marketplace this week, as a host of brand spanking new games hit the Xbox Live Arcade and an embarassment of downloadable riches rains down like mana from heaven. OK, perhaps that's a bit strong, but it is a rather healthy week on Xbox Live this week. Not only can you snap up two new multiplayer maps for Mass Effect 3 for nothing, but there's also Kinect Rush: Snapshot, a free outfit for FFXIII-2's Serah and the first mission for Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City's forthcoming Spec Ops campaign add-on. On XBLA, you'll find Skullgirls, The Splatters and World Gone Sour tomorrow, with indie darling, Fez bringing up the rear on Friday for 800 Microsoft Points. There's also a demo for Sniper Elite V2 if war is your thing, and discounts on Call of Duty map packs for all you run-'n'-gunners out there. Check out all the content right here: Xbox Live Arcade •Skullgirls - 11-Apr - 1200 MSP •The Splatters - 11-Apr - 800 MSP •World Gone Sour - 11-Apr - 400 MSP •Fez - 13-Apr - 800 MSP Game Add-Ons •Mass Effect 3: Resurgence Multiplayer Expansion - Free •Final Fantasy XIII-2 Serah's Outfit: Style and Steel - Free •Final Fantasy XIII-2 Noel's Outfit: Assassin's Creed - 240 MSP •Final Fantasy XIII-2 Opponent: PuPu - 160 MSP •Final Fantasy XIII-2 Opponent: Gilgamesh - 320 MSP •Saints Row: The Third Nyte Blade Pack - 240 MSP •Saints Row: The Third Special Ops Vehicle Pack - 160 MSP •Black Eyed Peas Experience Dance Pack - 400 MSP •Two Worlds II Defense Pack - 160 MSP •Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City Spec Ops Free Mission 1 - Free •Warriors Orochi 3 Weapon Pack - 160 MSP •Kinect Rush: Snapshot - Free Deal of the Week Call of Duty April 10–16 •Modern Warfare 2 Stimulus Package - 800 MSP (33% off) •Modern Warfare 2 Resurgence Pack - 800 MSP (33% off) •Call of Duty: World at War Map Pack 1 - 400 MSP (50% off) •Call of Duty: World at War Map Pack 1 (Germany Only) - 300 MSP (50% off) •Call of Duty: World at War Map Pack 2 - 400 MSP (50% off) •Call of Duty: World at War Map Pack 2 (Germany Only) - 300 MSP (50% off) •Call of Duty: World at War Map Pack 3 - 400 MSP (50% off) •Call of Duty: World at War Map Pack 3 (Germany Only) - 300 MSP (50% off) •Call of Duty: World at War Map Pack Bundle - 1200 MSP (40% off) •Call of Duty: World at War Map Pack Bundle (Germany Only) - 960 MSP (40% off) •Call of Duty: Black Ops RC-XD - 160 MSP (33% off) •Modern Warfare 3 Recon Drone - 160 MSP (33% off) Demos •Sniper Elite V2 Games on Demand •Kinectimals - 10-Apr •Air Conflicts Secret Wars - 10-Apr •Jurassic Park The Game - 10-Apr Avatar Marketplace •adidas Performance 4 Update - 10-Apr •NHL Update - 10-Apr •Most Wanted - 10-Apr

Kudo Tsunoda has discussed Microsoft's plans for the future of Kinect, pointing to increased input sensitivity, something he hopes will allow players to become "like actors within a narrative." Indeed, the Microsoft spokesman reckons that the motion and voice-controlled device will eventually be able to detect your tone of voice and interpret your stance. "We've done so much work just with software to enhance Kinect's abilities over time," said Tsunoda. "Since it came out, we've been able to do a lot more seated play, let people scan in objects and have the game recreate them. Even Kinect Rush scans in players and turns them into Pixar characters, which is awesome." Looking to the future, Tsunoda continued, "What we're really interested right now is creating experiences that help you develop real world skills that help you in other parts of your life. "We're also looking at how we can make people more like actors within a narrative. I think the work done in Mass Effect 3 has been awesome. We want to get to the stage where not only can Kinect detect what you're saying but also tone of voice and body stance, and work that into the narrative. There are some really compelling experiences to be gained from that." For Tsunoda, Mass Effect 3 is a key example of how far Kinect has come. "One thing that has been great is integrating Kinect into a wider variety of titles and genres," he said. "Mass Effect 3 does a great job of integrating Kinect in a unique way that's different from other titles and in a way that really pays off for its fans. "Another thing about second-generation stuff like Kinect Star Wars was improving the responsiveness, such as when you wield the lightsaber. If you're going to be a Jedi, you want a lightsaber that moves really quickly and smoothly in your hands. A lot of work has been done on that one-to-one action. "But the most important thing is that there's so much variety and so many people doing different things with Kinect, that second generation basically becomes something you couldn't see in launch titles. "It's been great to see how people are using Kinect in ways that we would never have thought of," concluded Tsunoda. "I'm continually surprised by the stuff we see from Kinect's development community on a daily basis. That's what I'm most excited about: how much room there is to invent new things with Kinect."

Apparently, Capcom was planning on officially announcing Lost Planet 3 later today, but the debut trailer has managed to prematurely leak on YouTube ahead of the embargo. In the video, you'll see that Lost Planet 3 is eschewing the exotic balmy jungles and scorching deserts of Lost Planet 2, to return to the snowy tundra of the first game, albeit without slow protagonist Wayne this time. In the CGI trailer you'll also encounter Lost Planet's thermal energy spewing Akrid once again, as LP3's beardy new hero uncovers a buried mech, just the right size for tackling some of the larger Akrid lurking out in the icy wilderness. Development duties have been handed to Legendary and Turning Point: Fall of Liberty developer Spark Unlimited, with Lost Planet 3 scheduled to launch sometime in 2013.

The Mass Effect 3 patch hits today, bringing a whole range of bug fixes, Bioware has announced. Most importantly, however, the update fixes a problem that prevented players from importing character faces from Mass Effect 1 through Mass Effect 2 and into Mass Effect 3. It's a bit late for most, obviously. But hey, better late than never. Check out the full patch notes below: Fixed issues when in some cases Shepard's customized facial features from ME1/ME2 may not be properly imported to ME3. Fixed an issue when quickly and repeatedly selecting to Resume a Save could result in Player Level reset and a potential locking of powers. Fixed an issue when selecting Multiplayer in the Main Menu while under a poor network connection could result in an unresponsive state. Fixed a potential crash while accessing an in-game terminal from Eden Prime level. Fixed an issue when attempting to login while Server is down. It would display a Server Down message and accepting the Server Shutdown message would shut down the game. Fixed a potential memory crash while loading a Quick Save of a custom FemShep. Fixed an issue when restarting missions and acquiring an above max amount of weapon mods results in displayed debug text on-screen. Fixed an issue when an unresponsive game state could occur during transition after the Conduit level.

Majority of the fan base? Reach has been in the top 5 played games week on week since its release in 2010 Fact. Why are the minority scared of change? If Halo 4 stays the same as Halo 2 & 3, it will die as a franchise, it needs to evolve. There will be things we don't like in H4 and there will be things we love in H4. Its all a learning process, and if they adapt ideas from COD so be it, Black Ops & MW3 have been in the top 2 since release so there is something there in the games that keeps people playing.

unfortunately there is nothing you can do. It is easier and quicker to earn credits with an offline account, I have one at inheritor. When your Reach profile hits live the max rank you carry over is sergeant.

Good news for Xbox LIVE Gold members and Netflix subscribers. Next time you access the app through Xbox LIVE, you’ll enjoy the following new features: Skip Forward/Skip Back allows you to move through movies quickly and between TV episodes easily. And with Kinect, just use your voice or the wave of your hand to activate this function. Zoom function lets you enlarge letterboxed video content to full screen. Better color contrast makes content more vivid and black levels darker. Single sign on with cloud profile makes it easier to access your Netflix account on another Xbox, wherever you are. Also, for all members in Canada, Latin America, the UK and Ireland, you can now share TV shows and movies and discover what your friends are watching and rating too. Just connect your Netflix account to Facebook and you’re set

Rumoured to be a Gears of War Kinect spin-off, Gears of War: Exile has been officially cancelled, meaning that Gears of War 3 might be the last we see of the franchise for some time. Talking to Gamespot, Cliff Bleszinski revealed that the title has been shelved, remaining tight-lipped regarding any information on the mysterious Gears side project. "Gears of War: Exile was an unannounced game that I can't give any details about that has since been cancelled," Bleszinski declared. Epic Games had been toying with the idea of Kinect integration for Gears of War, but Bleszinski confirmed that the studio would want to dedicate an entire Gears title to the motion device to do it justice. It had been speculated that Gears of War: Exile was that very game. Not any more though, clearly

Award done ZB

All above awards given

Mrs Jester has liked, well done guys a very impressive page.

I can't wait for this to come out, I love the Assassins Creed series. It certainly needed refreshing as the last one wasn't the best.

I think I'll close this as a bit pointless

forgot to add and a member who always makes me laugh when online. for that sir, you get the funny guy award

Director, congrats, and yes you are a friend, it is a pleasure to have met you

The Halo award can be given by any moderator

I got this as a rental from Lovefilm so didnt get the opportunity to play online. however did like the campaign, the graphics and gameplay were 10/10 stunning, it wasnt just a case of running forward and blasting everything in your way, you actually had to think about placement and strategy.

After yesterday I am really, REALLY sick of the sight of chocolate so for me Candy

Testing 123

That will be because its the 343i Community Fan Forum. A place to hang out, meet friends, and have fun

Absolutely Brillaint

With the next issue of Game Informer promising a ton of Halo 4 details, an industrious soul posting over on NeoGAF has spewed forth all of the latest information in a handy list of bulletpoints. Customisable weapons, returning characters like Cortana, the year Halo 4 is set and much more is revealed in the rather exhaustive list. So, strap yourself in, grab yourself a brew and then prepare to digest all of the salient Halo 4 details your eyes can handle. There's a lot of stuff here, including info not only on the game's single-player campaign but also its multiplayer modes. Take a look: Halo 4 is set in 2557 - four years, seven months and ten days since the FUD was split into two and the finale of the events of Halo 3. True native 720p with FXAA New HUD, features subtle paralla movement during athetic actions and additional visual cues indicating that you are actually wearing a helmet. Chief, Cortana and other characters animated with the assistance of motion capture. Cortana impending rampancy will be a critical theme as will be exploring Master Chief as a person. Cortana has chosen a new visual identity whilst the Chief has been sleeping. The Covenant, at least Elites and Grunts, return but are not the primary enemy. The FUD eventually crash lands on Requiem, a planet enclosed in a massive Dyson Shell. A new faction from Reqium is introduced. Like the Covenant they will have unique and different enemy types, weapons and equipment. "If anything, they're kind of elevated in terms of their intelligence and complexity relative to the Covenant." Huge, alive environments - a piece of concept art depicts a floating air squid in a jungle setting. The skybox is filled with massive pillars reaching down from above and the surrounding view is painted by the inside of the Dyson Shell. Game is split between Campaign and Infinity - the new term of the entire multiplayer experience seperate from the Camapign. Multiplier directly and in-directly ties into the Campaign. Multiplayer features Spartan IV's - adult volenteers taken from the the best of special ops soliders, equippe with a new version of the Mjolnir armour (lightweight variation) and deployed onboard the UNSC Infinity. The UNSC Infinity is the largest ship the UNSC has ever created. Over three kilmetres long, it was designed with cutting edge technology and features some additional technological enhancements provided by the study of Forerunner technology - including faster and more accurate slipspace travel. The UNSC is deployed on a top scret mission into deep space but will cross paths with the Master Chief during the campaign. The Spartan IV's onboard train in the Infinity's "combat deck" (think holodeck or Danger room). The deck and simulate any known environment and plays host the the multiplayer games players are familar with. Firefight is absent and it is stated that there are no plans for it to return. New Co-Op mode called Spartan Ops for up to four players in online Campaign-esque missions. Spartan OPs introduces new movies sequences and missions on a weekly basis which tells the story of the UNSC Infinity's mission and battles the new Spartan IV's face. Spartan Op missions are objective based and feature new content, events and locations each week. Spartan Ops missions also reward Spartan Points and feature selectable difficulty levels like Campaign. Spartan Ops missions are not DLC, they are included in the overall Halo 4 package but it is unclear if the content is available on the disc or must be downloaded separately. Weapons in the overal sandbox include Assault Rifle, Battle Rifle, DMR, Assault Carbine, Covenant Carbine, Shotgun, Rocket Launcher, Sniper Rifle, Magnum and Plasma Pistol. There are numerous unrevealed, new weapons. Multiplayer Details: Loadouts are composed of a primary and secondary weapon, a grenade type, armour ability and modifications. It is unclear how the modification system works or what things it modifies or how. Returning Armour Abilities include Hologram, Jet-Pack and Camo. A new ability to see through walls was shown and Sprint is now a baseline ability all players will have access to at all times. FFA Variant, Regicide. Lead slayer is "King" - each of the King;s kills raises his "bounty". The bounty is claimed by whomever kills the King. In Team Slayer (not confirmed for other gametypes), players can respawn instantly after death if they choose. Additionally, power weapons are introduced into a game on a random timer and appear at random drop points on the map. Medals are turning including new medals for "revenge kills" and for causing a distraction.

Awesome job Azaxx, remember this we mods are only here because of you the members, keep on posting, and remember this is only the beginning

Biggles? You telling me I've been reading your drivel 2000 times, Wow how time flys when your having fun. Seriously though you my friend are a legend, and I look forward to you overtaking my good self. Keep it up, fly the flag for us Brits. Biggles the Legend continues....

moved to annoucements to attract more attention