In this preview of Left 4 Dead 2, some brand new details about the game have been revealed, including some new infected types and more details about the Swamp level. First of all, the level-specific infected, known as ‘common-uncommons’, for the swamp have been revealed. We already knew about the ones with fire-proof suits on, but the swamp level has ‘mud men’, who run quickly on all fours through the swamp, making them difficult to spot.

A new special infected is the ‘Spitter’, who provides a more long-range option for the infected. He spits out an attack (unspecified at this point, probably gob) that damages those who stand in it. The attck isn#t fantastically powerful but can hinder a team who stay in the area of effect too long. Finally, the preview mentions adrenaline and ammo packs (which replace pills and first aid kits). The adrenaline packs allow you to run past zombies without them slowing you down, as well as removing restrictions on your melee attack. Sounds good to me, although removing health packs seems a little odd. I trust Valve, though. They know what they’re doing.

EA and Crytek announced today that Crysis 2 will be coming to Xbox 360, PS3, and of course the PC. No release date or additional info was announced, but since Crysis was actually a great game hidden under hype about graphical prowess, I’m looking forward to this. Console fans should rejoice too, since the game is damn sure to be fantastic looking. Get your HDMI TV and cable ready for this one, folks. You’ll thank me when Crysis 2 comes out.

The Magna Carta is a pretty important historical document.  It’s also a Japanese RPG.  A sequel is being released for the Xbox 360 and still has me asking the question.  What does this game have to do with the Magna Carta? Read more…

LEGO Rock Band has been officially announced today, after plenty of internet rumours and speculation. The game will ship in “Holiday 2009″ for PS3, Xbox 360, Wii and DS. Harmonix and TT Games will be working together for all versions of the game, and Rock Band Unplugged developer Backbone Entertainment will join in the fun for the DS version. Hit the jump for a little more info and a few confirmed tracks (The Final Countdown is in there).
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Harmonix and PDP have announced that they will be shipping a kick pedal and double bass pedal adaptor pack for $24.99. The pedal is compatible with all iterations of Rock Band (every console), as well as Guitar Hero: Metallica and Guitar Hero: World Tour.

This is great for those who are either really good at the drums, or those who like to be frustrated by even greater difficulty. It’s a good deal considering that you might have had to shell out for a new drum kit to play the Expert+ mode in GH:Metallica. Oh, and don’t forget, folks, Guitar Hero:Metallica has the Zungre Seal of Approval™.

Destructoid reports that Valve have confirmed the release date, April 21, for the free Left 4 Dead ‘Survival pack’ we reported on last month. The pack will contain the other two maps, Dead Air and Death Toll, for versus mode, as well as the new “Survival” mode in which you aim to survive the hordes for as long as possible. It’s coming for both 360 and PC, free on both, so nobody has an excuse to not get it- there will even be a special version of the game released at retail with the extra content for those of you who don’t already have the game.

Star Ocean 4 released on the Xbox 360 in Japan has hit the list of one of the best selling games for the system in Japan.  Sitting high with Blue Dragon and Tales of Vespia.  It seems as though Japanese RPG’s are the way to 360 sales in Japan.

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Report from Famitsu that the sequel to Dynasty Warriors Gundam, cleverly titled Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2 or Gundam Musou 2 in Japan is getting five new scenarios to download on February 12th.  One is even themed!

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Take part God of War, part Shinobi, and part Ninja Gaiden and you get the soon to be released game in Japan Ninja Blade. Read more…

Shacknews reports that Fallout 3’s first downloadable content pack will be available on 27 January. Operation: Anchorage (the name of the pack) will allow players to liberate Anchorage from China, and you can play in the snow it will take about 4-5 hours to complete. The pack costs 800 MS points on 360 and PC, and nothing on the PS3. Seems like a good deal, but when you factor in that Microsoft’s exclusivity arrangement, your $0 will get you nothing. Still no love for PS3 owners, I suppose. The next packs are coming in February and March, if you’re not a snow fan.

[Update] Patch details after the jump, comes with free PC download link.

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I know that when my 360 hits me it’s only because I provoked it.

These stories are getting a bit stale, aren’t they?  Not stale enough, apparently, or maybe it’s just not important for Microsoft to fix their shit.  You see, my latest Xbox 360 is dead.  I purchased a new Arcade version in January after my then current 360 was assassinated.  I’ve been using it since then until it started freezing, at which time I moved it to the other television and used it solely for movie-watching.  Less than eight months later, it does nothing but blink red and laugh at me. Read more…

It’s kind of hard to argue with the popular belief that the console versions of TF2 are massively inferior to the PC one. They don’t have 32 player matches, they’ve got awful controls, there’s barely any community to speak of, it used to be obscenely laggy, and they’ve never gotten any of the cool (and free) updates the PC version has, like Achievements and new weapons for the Medic and Pyro, and most recently the Heavy.

Well, maybe things will get better when Valve releases a massive update to the 360 version of TF2 later this year. Read more…

I’ve been playing Bionic Commando Rearmed on the 360, and let me tell you, even with the relatively superior (emphasis on relatively) d-pad on the wired controller, it is a serious pain: when I crouch I get spun around, when I want to fire my grappling hook diagonally it fires forward – we all remember how horrible Street Fighter II Hyper Fighting was? Yeah, it’s still just as bad.

So it comes with great, great relief and welcome that reports from the Leipzig show floor are coming of a new, redesigned 360 controller with an improved d-pad. The rest of the controller seems to be look the same, but the d-pad has been re-engineered to have eight-way input (hello shoryukens), and in general just feels smoother, more responsive, more tactile – better in every way. Read more…

For dedicated achievement whores who are strapped for cash but don’t want to sell their entire game collection, there’s a new option-– sell the time you spend playing them. Read more…

In a recent opinion poll, 74.7% of the PlayStation 3 owners surveyed considered Xbox Live to be the online service with the best feature set when compared to PlayStation Network and WiiConnect24.  In addition, 71.4% of the people that actually own an Xbox 360 feel as though Xbox Live is worth the subscription fee. Read more…

Major Nelson let loose on his latest podcast that the upcoming Dashboard update for the Xbox 360 will be entirely optional.  Well, you’ll most likely still have to download it, but you can continue to use the old blades system and even forgo the new Miis Avatars and stick with your Gamerpic.  Oh, and you can do it all in game. Read more…

After moving houses just a few short days ago, and with no internet to speak of, I was settling down to a nice relaxing week away from the daily buzz of the net to get some quality time with Beijing 2008, which Sega kindly sent me to review. However, it appears Microsoft had other plans. Read on for my full review of System Error – E 74. Read more…

I know I forgot to colour in Estonia and Greece. You get the idea.

The Xbox 360 has now passed the landmark sales figure of 5 million units sold across Europe, a figure reached by the PS3 nearly 2 months ago. Regardless, Microsoft insist they are ahead in sales.
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With just a few short weeks until E3 ’08, it looks like Microsoft has another trick up its sleeve.  Spurred from a few snapped photos of a K-Mart add for July 6th, it would appear that Microsoft is planning on dropping the Xbox 360 Pro Bundle from $349.99 to $299.99. Read more…

Hand painted by Maritza Torres, this Xbox 360 Elite has possibly the coolest paint job I’ve seen in a long while. Read more…