Here's a quick pic from Sony's press conference. (Thanks to Morgan Webb's Twitter)

<---- This guy (me)

  is down with

  This guy (Cliffy B) ---->

This post is going to be used for nothing more than "tooting my own horn," so please enjoy.

Does anyone remember this post that I made regarding the brand new Halo: Reach trailer that came out earlier this week? Well, in the very last portion I wrote, and yes I am quoting myself,

"I feel like this game looks like a sequel to the original 'Tribes' title from about 12 years ago on the PC."

Well, I guess that Cliffy B (of Epic Games, Gears of War, etc, etc, etc) must be reading my blog, because after I posted that at 9am on March the 3rd, Cliffy B sent out the following tweet at 2:30pm the same day:

"Is Halo: Reach evolving into a new version of Tribes? discuss."

Should I feel ripped off? Naw, I'm just kidding. It just made me feel good for the brief moment that I thought that someone important actually read my blog.

If you don't believe me, you can read Cliffy B's tweet as proof.

See, I wasn't lying, it really happened!

Alright, horn tooting done...

I'm not even going to chat on and on about these, we all know they look gorgeous. EA posted these just today, so I pass them on to you...

Gallery:

I'm not kidding...

As seen here

Those who know me well know that along with my video game habits, I also am a closet (not anymore) anime freak. Ghost in the Shell is one of those anime that has stood the test of time and more. The original anime movie, released in 1995, was one of the primary influences behind a film everyone knows and almost everyone loves - The Matrix. 

According to Anime News Network (ANN), in a recent Q&A after a screening of the film Shutter Island (which she wrote the screenplay for), Laeta Kalogridis is mere weeks away from handing over a draft of GitS. Kalogridis actually has a pretty good recent record, as mentioned before, she wrote the screenplay for Shutter Island, she also served as Executive Producer for that film as well as a tiny film by James Cameron (as if there are any of those), Avatar. She also worked on a draft of Battle Angel Alita, a film based off of a Manga series, that James Cameron has said he will be making for the past 10 years.

Now the downside...

The film rights are with DreamWorks, and Steven Spielberg is expected to direct the film. It has been mentioned, and is now pretty much a known fact, that the film will also be in 3D.

Does anyone have any feelings about this like I do? I thought at first that this would be good news, but by the end, I was totally disappointed. I don't know how you're supposed to make a GitS movie without guns, I mean, what are they gonna fire? Walkie-talkies? And 3D? I'm done with that shit already.

I guess that the only news that I have left is that the film is supposed to take place in Hong Kong, so maybe we won't have to deal with Sandra Bullock as Kusanagi, Vin Diesel as Batau, and Jon Hamm as Togusa. Ugh...

Umm, there's a new video for the Halo: Reach beta that I just stumbled across. I hope I'm not late on this, but it showcases a few things that will be included in the Halo: Reach beta (and final game hopefully as well). To mention some of the items that were listed, it looks like some of the newly added features are:

• Loadouts
• Jetpacks
• Assassinations
• "Invasion" mode
• "Headhunter" mode
• "Spartans vs. Elites" battles
• "The Arena" mode

I doubt anyone actually read this far, because let's be honest, there's a Halo video above all of this text.What's sad to me is that I feel like this game looks like a sequel to the original 'Tribes' title from about 12 years ago on the PC. (Not the crappy games that game out about 7 years ago...).

Microsoft has is officially launching the Block Party today, and it all begins with the title 'Toy Soldiers' on XBLA. 'Toy Soldiers' is a WWI based strategy-action game that takes place in the landscapes set on a board game. I actually think this looks pretty cool, maybe like a mix of Battlefield 1942 and Risk, but you will have to decide whether this sounds like a good mash-up, or like total garbage. I left some screens below because I wasn't updating the site when these originally came out, and I feel like the look of the game may be what helps sell it. 'Toy Soldiers' is available today, will set you back 1200 ($15 USD), and begins the little Block Party special that we reported to you all about 2 weeks ago.

Gallery:

These auctions are getting stupid, first there was the mom who sold an entire collection that included a sealed copy of this title (sold for $13,105 when all was said and done), then there was the individual listing that went up about a week later (sold for $41,300), and now there's this one that hit $800,200. Actually, as I was typing this I realized that the item has been re-listed, likely because of the sheer volume of joke bids that there must be. Here's the re-listing, which at the time of writing of this article is at a measly $6,200.

Let me know if you bid and win.

I don't make a habit of posting video's for other video gaming site's programs, but this is going to be one hell of an episode of GT TV. Not only will there be information on the new Mass Effect 2 DLC, there will also be some brand new information on a Sony sequel. From what I have seen or heard over the past 2 months or so, we should hear about one of these titles: 

• Motorstorm - a new domain was registered about 2 weeks ago.
• Resistance 3 - there have been sightings of a billboard for the game in L.A.
• Twisted Metal: Black 2 - At a press conference, a Sony Exec (when prompted by an audience member screaming "Twisted Metal" repeatedly) said, "Soon [expletive]…eight months? Nine months?"

I think we're still a little too early to see a Killzone 3, Infamous 2, or Uncharted 3. I'm betting on the Twisted Metal theory though.

Wow, the past 2 days have been pretty eventful! I missed when the story broke, so now I will be playing a little "catch up" for the night.

As it turns out, Activision has decided that they are upset with the two highest ranking executives at Infinity Ward has accused them of breach of contract and insubordination. It seems that both Jason West and Vince Zampella have been relieved of their duties, and the future of the 'Call of Duty" franchise has now been pre-planned by Activision with some very notable changes.

First, here is the verbiage from an SEC filing from Activision where a suit is being prepared against the two individuals at Infinity Ward.

The Company is concluding an internal human resources inquiry into breaches of contract and insubordination by two senior employees at Infinity Ward. This matter is expected to involve the departure of key personnel and litigation.

So that is that part.

-----

A source close to both Activision and Infinity Ward also reported to Kotaku that the 2009 contract between the two companies only allowed IW to make Call of Duty games set in the modern era. It was highly speculated that IW's next version of the Modern Warfare extension would be a futuristic shooter, which may very well break that agreement.

-----

The CoD that will be released in 2011 will no longer be helmed by IW as the past would indicate. It is currently unknown which development studio will handle the 2011 CoD release.

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That's about what I have right now, or all that I feel is really important enough to report on. Activision is really starting to seem a bit like the new old EA.

Heavy Rain takes place in a nameless east coast US city where a kidnapper/killer has quickly become the most terrorizing figure of the community. The ‘Origami Killer’ – as the killer is known, leaves both an origami figure and an orchid with each of his victim’s bodies. The killers’ newest victim is Shaun Mars, a boy with only a few days to left live. Heavy Rain places you in control of four different characters, each independently investigating the case of the ‘Origami Killer’ for their own personal reasons.

Please continue to the full review...

Click to read more ...

It looks like BioWare is finally going to deliver the Mako replacement that we have been waiting for in Mass Effect 2.  In late March, BioWare will deliver the "Firewalker" pack, which will feature 5 new missions that will use the Hammerhead - a heavy assault hover vehicle that can reach speeds of up to 120 kilometers per hour. The Hammerhead also features a guided missile system that will no doubt help when cruising around the environment trying to take down enemies.

The add-on will be free to current Cerberus Network members.

Who can argue with free downloadables for what is already considered a Game of the Year candidate for 2010 for many reviewers (including this one). 

You can click the above image to view a larger size.

[via BioWare's Mass Effect 2 Cerberus Network page]

While you may not always think that Rockstar likes to throw some love at the ladies, the new 'Red Dead Redemption' trailer that was released earlier today tries to show us otherwise. The video, titled "The Women: Sinners, Saints, and Survivors" shows that Rockstar will be including women in the narrative pretty heavily this time around. Any thoughts?

I never thought I would be reporting on a GameCube story, but here goes! Nintendo is an old company, but it appears that they are never too old to have fun with really random things. For this story we have to take you back to Nintendo's previous offering - the GameCube. While it was never the frontrunner on the sales charts last generation, it did have its fun games (mainly Metroid and maybe Super Mario Sunshine, I have never been a Zelda fan). Even though there wasn't that much to play on the GameCube, Nintendo did "hide" a little secret in the main menu screen, but it was thing that could easily be missed. Don't miss this post though, it's pretty incredible!

Here is the main menu music from the GameCube:

Here is the Famicom system BIOS Startup music:

Yeah, that's the same, right? Mm-hmm. Well, what if you speed up the GameCube's main menu music, say, to 25x the original speed?

Pretty freaking cool, right? I thought so.

[NeoGAF]

Fable III is really only about 9 months away from release. Fortunately, that means that we can start getting preview screens now. The first image is a look at Bowerstone and was released last week. The second image, released last night, shows us an evil character dragging a commoner away. Is there anyone out there NOT buying this title?

Gallery:

[via Fable III Facebook Fan Page]