To match the upcoming release of Kinect for the Xbox 360, Microsoft’s controller-less gaming, the Xbox Live website has been given a complete face lift, bringing it into the age of Kinect. The new, clean, design is a massive improvement on what they had in the past, which had been becoming increasingly clunky. I for one believe this should have happened a long time ago. The new site features Microsoft’s Silverlight, which is sort of MS’s answer to Flash or HTML 5, it allows them to create rich graphical experiences for the user. The way they’ve used in on the new site allows you to view your most recently active Xbox Live friends, along with how many are online, how…

We all knew it was coming, the first Halo: Reach map pack has been announced today by Bungie. The map pack, named as the Noble Map Pack, will be released on November 30th and brings with it the first Xbox Live achievements update, adding an extra 250 points for all you point hores out there, bringing the grand total up to 1250. Alongside the points increase, the map pack also brings with it 3 new online multiplayer maps for gamers to enjoy: Tempest – an 8-16 player map set in around an abandoned facility situated on the shoreline. Anchor 9 – set in a UNSC controlled orbital dry-dock, this is a cosy 2-8 player map. Breakpoint – another 8-16 player…

After yet another year on year drop in sales for the biggest game retailer in the UK, GAME Group have announced for the second time this year that they will be closing down some of their stores over the next 3 years. GAME Group, which owns both GAME and GameStation stores, currently own 635 stores across the UK, even after closing 15 stores earlier this year. Over the next 3 years, the gaming retailer plans to shut down another 85 of their stores across the UK. A lot of gamers won’t be effected by this change massively as GAME Group are trying to cut down on their overlapping stores, for example, where there is a GameStation and a GAME store…

When it comes to installing a game to your Xbox 360 hard drive, it’s always a bit hit and miss as to whether it will actually speed up the game, or just slow it down. For example, many gamers found that installing Halo 3 to their consoles actually slowed the load times down. So with the release of Halo: Reach, is it safe to install or not? Well, Examiner.com have conducted some tests and they’ve found that installing the game onto your hard drive will save you valuable seconds when it comes to load times, giving you more time to shoot and less time staring at a dark screen. The tests found that when loading a standard mission on an…

Bungie have released a complete version of their “Deliver Hope” live-action trailer which features an epic battle. It looks like Bungie are once again trying to wet our appetites prior to their latest Halo game release next week, and my appetite is soaking. It’s a real shame that they never released a Halo move as if it was up to the same quality as the “Deliver Hope” trailer, I would be absolutely blown away. Unfortunately for the time being us gamers will have to settle for the awesome looking Halo: Reach which is being released on September 14th (next Tuesday). Enjoy.

Microsoft have announced today, via Major Nelson, that the prices for the Xbox Live service will be going up on 1st November 2010.  The price updates are going to take effect in the United States, United Kingdom, Mexico and Canada. The biggest rises go to the United States where all their subscriptions are being increased. The one month subscription will go from $7.99 to $9.99, the 3 month subscription will go from $19.99 to $24.99. The biggest rise comes to the annual subscription which is increasing by $10, making the new price (as of November 1st) $59.99. The United Kingdom, Mexico and Canada have got off pretty lightly, only the 1 month subscription price will be increasing. In the United…

Since gaming has been pretty bleak this summer with the only highlight of my gaming calendar in July and early August being Lego Harry Potter: Year 1 -4, I think it was time to look ahead and report on what games to watch out for on the run up to Christmas 2010. From the looks of the upcoming games you’ll see below, 2010 is very much a year of the sequels. I personally don’t have a problem with this, as long as it was a good game to begin with and they don’t screw it up, I’m perfectly happy playing a second or even third generation of a game. That aside, I’ll begin. Mafia 2 I’m eagerly awaiting my copy…

Being named by the developers as “the end”, CodeMasters look to end their rally trilogy with a massive, and muddy, bang with the release of Dirt 3 in 2011. Just this week a brand new trailer was released for the game which shows off the wide range of areas and weather conditions gamers will be able to race around in the new year. The original Dirt game, which was released back in the summer of 2007, was targeted at more classic rally. However, many Dirt fans were disappointed with the second game in the franchise as the game was based largely around the X-Games and Monster Energy drink. In a hope to please all audiences, Dirt 3 will try and…

The new Halo Reach campaign trailer was released the other day and is entitled “The Battle Begins” and when I learnt of this when sitting in my little office space I couldn’t wait to get back on the Xbox and have a look at it! I will confess to being very disappointed by what I was playing when it came to Halo: ODST but Reach is looking fantastic. I played the Reach Beta from the second it was released here in the UK and despite what I thought was going to be another disappointment I was amazed at what the guys at Bungie had done. This is going to be one of the biggest releases of the year if not…

Since it’s release back in April, the iPad has become massively popular. Selling more than 3 million units by the end of June, along with the release of the iPhone 4, the iPad has rocketed Apple’s profits. Ever since the day of release, more and more games have been released for the iPad, both new games and old classics from the iPhone which have been revamped for the larger screen. If you were just like me and couldn’t decide which games to buy first with your hard earned cash, below are some of the best games that you can buy for the iPad right now. I should point out that the majority of these are paid games, however, they are…