250GB HDD On Sale Today

In the beginning of the month we posted that Gamestop listed the 250GB HDD for sale as a stand alone item. Just as soon as our post went live the link was taken down, so we all figured that Gamestop was a little trigger happy on information that they weren't suppose to be releasing yet. We all figured that the 250GB HDD was on its way, we just didn't realize how long we would be waiting.

Well Wait no more, or if your ordering from Gamestop a little bit longer. Today Microsoft released their stand alone 250GB HDD for sale at a very affordable (Microsoft style) rate of $129.99 US. As of right now they are on back order from Gamestop but if you like Amazon and deals, then they have what your looking for and under $100!

Very excited to see they are selling this now, as I'm sure everyone is.

Free Avatar BBQ Grill

To celebrate Xbox Live Block Party this year Microsoft is giving away a FREE BBQ Grill Prop for your Avatar. They have sent out reusable codes for all of us to pass along. I dont know how long the code will be good for, so if you want this item snag it up while you can.

Code: 9XBX9-9RCD9-9BCK9-9PRTY-9RCKZ

Hope everyone enjoys there new prop and feel free to share the code with your friends!

Early Dashboard Update For A Repaired 360

A repaired XBOX 360 was accidentally updated to an unreleased dashboard update. Supposedly the new Dashboard update when it's released will update your XBOX 360's dashboard to version 2.0.9195.0. Microsoft is currently trying to locate the early updated console. There is no word as to who took this photo and what new features are included in the update. If the console was already sent back to the customer who sent the console in for repair then Microsoft is at a loss and they will just have to let it go. If this shot was taken by a Microsoft employee, then they have an employee that can't keep his or her mouth shut. The only company that really knows how to keep their mouth's shut about upcoming products (not that this is a new product) is Apple. That comes at a cost though. Apple pays big money to manufactures if they keep their mouths shut till official word is given from Apple them selves about an upcoming product. I don't know what their other tactics are for keeping people quiet about upcoming products but I am sure its very strict. Not too long ago an employee of a Chinese manufacturing plant for Apple had lost a prototype of a new iPhone. The employee committed suicide after being questioned about the lost iPhone. His apartment was illegally searched by employees of the manufacturing plant. Supposedly the employee was also beaten while being questioned about the loss of the new iPhone. You can rest assured that Microsoft will not be beating any of its employees for the repaired console getting a dashboard update early. I am looking forward to hearing more on this upcoming dashboard update and as soon as I hear more I will post it for you.

First Details Of Portal 2 Emerge

Game Informer's April issue had the first details of the highly anticipated sequel to the ground breaking game Portal, by developer Valve. So here they are, for all of your viewing pleasure, the first real and most interesting details of Portal 2.

Portal 2 is set hundreds of years after the original game and sees the return of nasty GlaDOS and female protagonist/test subject, Chell. There's also two-player co-op planned with a pair of humanoid robots controlled by each player. They like to hold hands.

• Portal was a 'trial game' apparently. Size and assets were specifically kept minimal as Valve had no idea it would be as popular as it turned out to be.
  


• Portal was a 'test bed', Portal 2 is a 'full game'.
  


• Portal 2 takes place hundreds of years after the original and so the Aperture Science complex has overgrown and almost looks like a jungle.
  


• GlaDOS returns as the antagonist.
  


• Chell returns as the hero, and we play as her once again.
  


• Those personality orbs you may recall from the last Portal have sectioned off parts of the Aperture labs as their territory and are concerned about the decaying state of the complex.
  


• The original Portal gun thankfully remains unchanged, so will still be the same sleek, crisp white lump of tech we're used to.
  


• There's a new 'paint' mechanic wherein certain liquid substances can be used to cause a reaction. For instance, the demo showed an orange substance on the floor that propelled Chell upwards. Using portals you can chuck these 'paints' through to other areas of the level for puzzle solving.
  


• New reflection cubes will enable you to reflect laser beams for some puzzles.
  


• Physics will now be an integral part of portal puzzle solving. A vent that sucks air in can be combined with a portal to 'suck' from a different location is cited as an example.
  


• The co-op campaign has you play as two bipedal robots that like to hold hands. Fruity.
  


• Co-op will also have a splitscreen option and will reportedly utilise picture-in-picture online to allow you to easily communicate with the other player and combine efforts for puzzle solving. Nice.

Some great news to start getting excited if I do say so myself. Really looking forward to this game and hearing some more news come E3 if not sooner.

Aliens vs Predator DLC Next Week

SEGA announced today that they will be releasing their first batch of DLC next week for their recently released Aliens vs. Predator.

The Swarm Map Pack will contain 2 maps for all competitive game types and 2 new Survivor maps. These maps were previously only available to those that purchased the Special Edition of the game. The Swarm Map Pack will include the Docks and Machine maps for competitive play and the Outpost and Hive maps for the Survivor mode.

The “Swarm Map Pack” will be available on March 18th for €5.99/ £4.79/ 560 Microsoft Points.

Not much good news here for those of us that purchased the Special Edition of the game. Hopefully they will keep supporting this great game with upcoming DLC that will be new for all of us.

Microsoft To Announce Full Natal Line-up At E3 2010

"We're going to have some great stuff," says Mindy Mount, Microsoft's Chief Financial Officer of Entertainment & Devices while she talks about Project Natal; The upcoming motion controller camera for the Xbox 360 and its game line-up that is due to be announced at this years E3.

About 70 percent of game publishers are now supporting Natal from Bethesda, Square Enix and EA. Even big titles such as Fable III are planning to boast Natal motion features.

Mount continued with saying "As a history, Microsoft works very strong with third-party developers, so we're hoping that we're going to get some great titles from that,". "You'll be able to see more news about that this summer at E3. We'll show you the full line-up."

Project Natal is rumoured for release towards the tail end of the year. We still sadly don't know the official name of Project Natal, we are hoping to find out at this years E3 as well.

Valve Officially Announce Portal 2

Just a few days ago Valve officially announced that Portal 2 is on its way, with GameStop listing the title as a fully priced retail version with a release date of October 26th 2010.

Game Informer also has Portal 2 as their cover story for the upcoming April issue too, noting that the "12-page cover story gives you the first details on Portal 2's new gameplay mechanics, storyline, and some surprising new twists."

According to Valve, Portal 2 will becoming this "holiday season" and their are rumours circulating that the game may even feature co-op.

There is little else to say about the game so far. We will have to look forward to the Game Informer article that's on its way. Still hungry for more cake? I know I am!

BioShock 2 'Sinclair Solutions Test Pack' DLC Dated

Announced last week, BioShock 2's first DLC pack entitled 'Sinclair Solutions Test Pack' has been given a March 11th release date, bringing with it a host of multiplayer content listed below:

• Rank Increase to level 50 with Rank Rewards
  
• New playable characters Louie McGraff and Oscar Calraca
  
• 20 new trials (some only available after a player achieves a rank of 41 or higher)
  
• A third weapon upgrade for each weapon
  
• Five additional masks (some only available after a player achieves a rank of 41 or higher)
  

The 'Sinclair Solutions Test Pack' will set you back 400 Microsoft Points.

Take 2 CEO Says "We'll continue to support the title..." (Boarderlands)

Earlier tonight Take Two had its first fiscal quarter results conference call and we know what that means, right? More news!

In the conference call Take Two CEO, Ben Feder, continued to glorify and praise the Borderlands' sales and impressive DLC. Well good news for Take 2 means good news for for gamers right? Well according to Feder, yes...

"We'll continue to support the title with more add-on content," the CEO said.

Fans of the game, and its already 3 full DLC add-ons will be very happy to hear this news.

I still have yet to play this game and the more and more good news I read about it, the more I want to check it out! I'm wondering though for all of us that haven't picked this great game up yet, if waiting for the GoTY edition would be the best bet. Getting the game at a lower cost and all of the DLC included.

Splinter Cell: Conviction Super Elite Bundle

A few days ago Microsoft announced that Splinter Cell: Conviction will be getting a Special Edition Console bundle as seems to be standard now for pretty much every high profile new release.

Previously, we've seen Mass Effect 2, Modern Warfare 2 and even Final Fantasy XIII getting the Super Elite Bundles. Conviction's console bundle contents will be no different with a 250GB HDD, two wireless controllers and a standard copy of the game itself.

The Xbox 360 Splinter Cell: Conviction Special Edition Bundle will be available in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, retailing for $399 when it releases in mid-April.

Many of you with already good working consoles looking to get a little bit more space might be happy to know that earlier today, Gamestop had listed on their site the 250gig HDD for sale, seprately, for a very low price of $129.99. But as I went back to check agian, it seems that the page was taken down and just goes to a default bad URL for Gamestop.
So things were looking brighter there for a few minutes. We will have to keep our fingers crossed for when they do finaly release the HDD for sale on its own.

Anyways heres a nice fancy picture of the Splinter Cell: Conviction Bundle :)