Cheap Microsoft Xbox

It’s come to my attention that not everyone was aware of one of the cooler features of the New Dashboard – the ability to view/purchase content off of LIVE Marketplace from your web-browser!

Head over to marketplace.xbox.com and sign in with your Windows LIVE ID, and away you go – searchable games, videos, themes, and gamerpics.  You can even email the URL of your favorite “Gears of War 2 – Getting Started With Gamerscore” videos around to all your friends and family.

As you add the content to your queue (which now has more than the six slots it used to), then when you turn your Xbox 360 on, your downloads will start!

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Wanting more from Fable II? There’s new Premium content coming your way in mid-December.

First, check out ”Knothold Island”. This quest content features a dying island that needs a hero to bring it back to life. It’s covered in snow with freezing people and it’s up to you to bring back the sun.

Wondering what will happen if you download it but your co-op friend doesn’t? Don’t worry, they can download a special free pack on Marketplace that allows you to play together (without the new content, of course).

Those who download both the free and premium content will get Knight’s boots, Assassin’s Gloves, a “weight loss” potion (no more celery? ORLY?), a collectible silver book and more.

You’ll also be able to check your standings on over 50 new Leaderboards on Lionhead.com.

The new level will be 800 MS Points.

Need more? Check out the premium theme, “Albion” – It will be 250 MS Points.

Check out www.xbox.com/fable2 or www.lionhead.com/fable2 for more info!

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If you are eagerly awaiting the chance to download the free Xbox LIVE Arcade Avatar updates launching soon, there are a few things you should be aware of to ensure you can download them successfully. This information only pertains to Hardwood Hearts, Hardwood Spades, and Bomberman; UNO and Kingdom for Keflings will also support avatars now, but don’t have a special upgrade process.

If you have never downloaded one of these titles, simply find them in Marketplace, and the version you download will come preloaded with Avatar support. Otherwise, if you are already an owner of one of these titles, follow these easy steps to get Avatars working in your game:

1. When you launch the game, accept and download the Title Update that is offered as usual.

2. When the game reloads, you will see a message highlighting the new features that will be added to your game, as well as a pointer on where to go to download. Click the A button to navigate to the download location.

3. Download the game package. For most users, there will be a checkmark next to the full game download option. This is okay, as a re-download of the package is necessary in order to enable the new features.

4. And that’s it! Choose “Play Now” to reload the game and be sure to check out all of the places Avatars can be found throughout your game.

For more information on all of the titles launching with Avatars, check out the new “Avatar Games” channel in Xbox LIVE Arcade.

–Scott Brodie, Producer for XBLA

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When I brought my Xbox 360 home on launch day, I put in Call of Duty 2, and got goosebumps.  This was the Next Generation of gaming, and it grabbed me.

The graphics, the sounds, the controller rumble, LIVE – it wasn’t any one tangible thing about Call of Duty 2 – it sounds cliche, but there was something – some magic, that just entranced me.

There have been a TON of awesome games on the 360, and this holiday has the most amazing lineup I can remember as a gamer.  That said – when I put Call of Duty: World at War into my 360, I had that launch-day tingle.

World War II has been done to death, it’s a crowded gaming season, and then there’s also the elephant in the room in regards to developer preference, but wow – just wow.

The graphics, the cut scenes, the real-life footage, the story (yes, I just said story) and the multiplayer – everything came together in this one.

It’s a busy holiday – and expensive one – but if you can manage to at least RENT CoD:WaW, I bet you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Shoutout to tonyolm for the screenshot.

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This past weekend, I started catching up on all the titles that Fallout 3 had kept me away from. The one I didn’t get around to was Mirror’s Edge. I had heard everything from, “This is how Assassin’s Creed should have been made,” to, “It’s frustrating and made me sick.” Both Chris and Nelson were raving about, though. This morning, I decided I had to stick it in (huh huh) and try it out.

After being greeted with a highly stylized animated intro, I took command of Faith in the tutorial. I learned how to jump, roll, tuck, duck, swing, fight and bust through doors. What? Where’s the shooting? Ohhhhh right – This is not another shooter. You can use guns later on but it’s almost more fun not using it. ::coughachievementcough::  We all love our shooters but this is so right for a change of scenery.

I haven’t gotten very far in the game but I am loving it. I’ll admit, sometimes it can be frustrating because you can’t tell where exactly you’re jumping from since you can’t see your feet. I’ve missed several long jumps due to premature button pressing. However, the overall feeling is just incredible. It’s very intuitive but don’t try and roadie run, it won’t get you very far. I know I’m not the only one who has inadvertently tried that in games other than Gears.

This game also has a really innovative goal finding system. Wondering how to get from one rooftop to the next? Just look for the red colored articles in your world. The city is a wash of whites with the odd primary color decorating billboards and objects so the red sticks out like a beacon. Objects you use range from pipes, to boxes, to wood boards, to pretty much anything. If you get completely lost, you can just press the “B” button to look in the direction of your next checkpoint. This isn’t a run in the park, though. You will be chased and will need to act quickly so mastering the control scheme is imperative.

For graphics nerds out there, they also used the “environmental” text that’s so trendy these days (Think Fringe, Quantum of Solace, etc.). Everything just feels so polished and clean. If you haven’t tried it, go check out the demo on Marketplace. I didn’t have a problem with motion sickness, although I can imagine why it might happen. Eh, just get some meds from your doc or something. (I’d like to hear that conversation!) It’s too interesting a game to pass up on.

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