[Thanks, xenocidic]
BioShock's new (and secret) achievement
[Thanks, xenocidic]
McFarlane Steel Spartan exclusive to GameStop
Continuing his iron grip on the Halo 3 action figure market, Toddy McFarlane (we call him Toddy, because we're tight) announced a new GameStop exclusive Steel CQB Spartan action figure. The Steel CQB figure (viewable in the gallery below) will be released alongside Series 1 sometime March 2008 and like we said, it'll only be available at GameStop stores.Another factoid we found interesting was that the figure will come with removable shoulder pads, chest plate and helmet all of which will be interchangeable with other Halo 3 figures. It's an interesting concept and something we haven't heard about, but we know we'll be buying all the variants to build a figure to look like our multiplayer Spartan. Kind of like a Build-A-Spartan Workshop ... or not.
[Thanks, TMD]
Mad Catz joystick clearance priced at Best Buy
XBLA buffs, if you're in the market for the old-school Mad Catz branded Retro Arcade Stick then make a stop at your local Best Buy (and possibly Future Shop) today.X3F reader Bryan sent us a tip telling us that the Mad Catz Retro Arcade Stick is being super clearance priced at Best Buy and picked his up for $9.99. We made a quick trip down to our BB to confirm the discount pricing and found the Arcade Stick clearanced to $14.99. Still not a bad deal seeing that the peripheral retails for $40 and it comes bundled with three XBLA games (Frogger, Timepilot and AstroPop). Your mileage may very, but if you've been somewhat interested in this peripheral or the Arcade games, then make your way to Best Buy and shop the clearance aisle. Saving cash, it's the fanboy way.
[Thanks, Bryan Thumme]
Halo 3 bugs, DLC and matchmaking updates
A new Halo 3 matchmaking "hopper" update will be rolling out sometime in the next few days with changes a plenty. The most notable being Lone Wolves getting a swords gametype, oddball frequency being reduced and games increasing to six players. Also, Team Slayer will be getting Guardian and Valhalla maps, Social Doubles has been removed and a new eight player max social Rocket Race has been added (X3F Live memories ...)
Other than matchmaking changes, Bungie says they're looking into the Halo 3 melee problems, screenshot uploads being slow and armor permutation unlock bugs, all of which are hella' annoying. Bungie also officially revealed the new Bungie.net Heatmaps feature and says they consider it to be in the "beta" stage and will tweak it accordingly. Finally, we've been promised more concrete and less code-namage Halo 3 DLC details in the weeks ahead, so keep your ears perked up for that. Bungie has spoken, get your Weekly Update fix after the jump.
Mass Effect trailer highlights tough choices
Help choose Call of Duty 4 artwork for free theme
The Club tutorial talks speed, precision, style
It will be interesting to see how The Club fares against the more story-driven shooters on the market.
OXM online relaunches Monday
After being saddled with a dastardly "under construction" message over a year, the Official Xbox Magazine website is finally set to launch on Monday, November 12. The website will come with all the features you've come to expect from similar sites, including blogs, web-only content, contests, and info on upcoming issues of the magazine and what to expect on the demo discs. It's been a long time coming; here's hoping the folks at OXM can turn the website into a worthwhile resource. This reminds us though, what happened to OXM Digital, the content that was planned for XBLM? Perhaps we should look into that.
Anywho, the information was revealed by OXM's Dan Amrich in a cipher he posted on the Xbox.com forums. You can find said post and the following brouhaha by clicking the "read" link below.
[Via nukoda]
Seether Game with Fame next Thursday
More Game with Fame will be going down next Thursday when Seether jumps online to kick some bum in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. From 9:00PM through midnight eastern on November 15th, Seether members Shaun Morgan (SeetherShaun) , Dale Stewart (SeetherDale), and John Humphrey (SeetherJohn) will be online playing CoD4. Send them a friend request or two (or three), be online next week and maybe you'll be lucky enough to play against them and discuss music. We're sure they'll be up for anything.Rock Band factoids galore
Multiplayer has posted a list of nine factoids about Rock Band that you might not know. Actually, the facts aren't all specifically about Rock Band, but they all have a little something to do with Harmonix at the very least. Maybe you wanted to know what it's like for the company to collaborate with MTV and EA, or perhaps you'd be interested in seeing how Rock Band mitigates lag while playing online. Perhaps the thought of more peripherals (like keyboards or cowbells) in future iterations of Rock Band tickles your fancy. Our favorite bit of info is learning about the Harmonix practice area in the basement where the various musicians at the company can practice playing real music.
Actually, scratch that. Our favorite bit of info is a thinly veiled jab at Guitar Hero III and Neversoft. Co-founder Eran Egozy notes that Harmonix encourages its employees to play music because otherwise they would "just be fakers." He adds, "it's the combination of us being musicians and videogame makers that really makes us have that special quality. It's kind of pervasive throughout the entire company. We wouldn't bother trying to make skateboarding games." Ouch.
Hit the "read" link for the full list of factoids.
[Via Joystiq]
Oops: Tesco accidentally sells 360s for £33
"One Xbox 360, please."
"Very good, sir. That will be £33."
This is the conversation we imagined ourselves having with a Tesco employee on our imaginary trip to jolly old England. It could have happened too, as Tesco recently (and accidentally) listed a killer Xbox 360 bundle for the low, low price of £33.24 (~$70 US). The offer included an Xbox 360 with wireless controller, Viva Piñata, and Forza Motorsport 2. It was, in short, a hell of a deal. From the looks of things, someone neglected to add a zero to the bundle's price, which should have been ten times larger.
As one might expect, the mistake has since been rectified, though not before customers managed to place orders at the discounted price. One customer had payment accepted for thirty-nine orders, though they have yet to be delivered. Apparently it is illegal for a company to change the price of a product once payment has already been accepted. The Tesco website, however, states that if a mistake in price is made, the company is not obliged to abide by the mistaken price so long as the customer is contacted prior to the item being shipped. We get the feeling there will be lots of disappointed bargain hunters out there.
Til death do us part: A Halo 3 marriage proposal
In news that'll either make your cry or chuckle we have ourselves the very first Halo 3 marriage proposal! Hooray! Gamertag Moviesign popped the ultimate question to his girlfriend whose unique gamertag is furtive penguin in a custom Halo 3 forge map. Upon inviting her in, Moviesign told her to follow him to a secret area where he places an energy sword. Upon arriving to the secret location, furtive penguin discovered her man's handy work where he wrote "will you marry me?" with random weapons. She said yes, he said okay and a wedding will go down sometime in the near future. Congrats to both of them on their commitment to being lifelong partners and their obsessive love of Halo 3. We expect a party invite when the date is set.[Thanks, to everyone who sent this in]
Video: Assassin's Creed launch trailer
If you watched South Park the other night this trailer isn't anything new to you, but for those who weren't watching the children from Colorado then hunker down and get your view on. Embedded above is one artistically done and both visually and auditorally enjoyable Assassin's Creed launch trailer. It'll get you excited and it'll make you want to stab someone. But don't, because Altair doesn't support stabbing people unless they're marked men. Anyway, enjoy the new Assassin's trailer.
360 outsells PS3 in Japan (for one week)
We agree with out kinfolk at Joystiq that it's probably time to start packing some supplies and head for your nearest bomb shelter. Why? Because the Xbox 360 outsold the Playstation 3 in Japan last week. We'll just give you a moment to let that soak in.
Got it?
Good. Yes, the impossible has happened, but it's not quite as grandiose as one might think. The Xbox 360 managed to sell 17,673 units compared to the Playstation 3's 17,434, a mere 239 units apart. Still, in a country dominated by Sony and Nintendo, it's bound to be a momentous occasion for Microsoft, especially given that the week prior saw only 3,718 360s sold. The reason for the nearly 500% increase was the release of Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation, which landed at number two in Japanese software sales (Super Mario Galaxy was number one). So, the message for Microsoft in Japan is clear: start making more games about jets!
[Via Joystiq]
Relax, free golf resort download for Tiger Woods 08
