Microsoft's new media disc arrived today...

And it's...quite plain.

About two weeks ago Microsoft asked Xbox Live users to sign up for a "preview" of a new possible media disc. The supposed "new" media disc is essentially a DVD but able to carry at least 1GB more data on it. Most of the folks who signed up were promised a full copy of Halo:Reach. While I was thinking i was going to get a full copy of the game(case and everything) what I ended up with this evening was...well it was this.

Yes this is actually the full retail version of Halo: Reach. However, the new update for the dashboard(and media disc) is on this same disc as well. As you can see from the picture Microsoft is stressing that NO ONE use this disc except for the sole owner. Otherwise, your xbox system may end up without xbox live for a bit. According to reports from Kotaku.com some users are getting their updates digitally without the Halo: Reach disc. I'll be bringing updates to what the disc contains(and what it changes) within the next day or two.

Saint's Row: The Third

Back in 2005 when the Xbox360 was released, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas still had a chokehold on the sandbox game department. Until 2006 when THQ and Voilition released Saint's Row, a sandbox GTA styled game that didn't exactly copy GTA but essentially made a name for itself. It was an appetizer for what was to come with GTAIV. Then, in 2008 THQ came back with Saint's Row 2. Bigger and better SR2 contained a crazier storyline to accompany ridiculous fun gameplay and completely unrealistic scenarios. Later this year, Voilition plans to continue that trend with Saint's Row: The Third as a poster from the forum NeoGaf has given us details.

• Saints Row 3 starts with a bungled heist that sees the majority of the gang jailed. This raises the ire of a new gang, the Syndicate, which holds you and your closest allies prisoner on a jet. The gang wants to squeeze a percentage of the Saints' monthly profits, which of course leads to a fight and causes your character to jump out of the jet. That's how the Saints roll. 
• Johnny Gat and Shaundi, two of your major allies from Saints Row 2, will be returning as accomplices.
• Weapons can now be upgraded. For example, you can fit sniper scopes and under-barrel grenade launchers to the assault rifle. 
• Another character is Oleg, an eight-foot-tall monster of a man that can toss cars around. The Syndicate attempts to clone him, but science goes wrong and creates a bunch of dumb copies. These will show up as new enemy types in the game.
• A new RC gun lets you shoot an electronic bug that can control vehicles remotely. You will be able to upgrade it to control tanks and air transport.
• Three new gangs: Morning Star, which model themselves after masked wrestlers. The Deckers, computer nerds into money laundering and security. STAG, a government-sanctioned group designed to destroy other gangs.
• Missions can be completed in multiple ways. For instance, you could blow up an important skyscraper, or take the building over. Another example if stealing a Morning Star boat full of prostitutes -- you can sell the boat back to the gang, or keep it and pimp the girls yourself for profit. 
• A traditional leveling system has been included this time. Your Respect gauge now works like experience points. You'll rank up with increased respect, and kit out your character with new perks and weapons. Player choice will be paramount. 
• Cars can be upgraded with more features this time. Various aesthetic and performance tweaks will be offered, such as durable bumpers, extra speed, oversized spoilers and colored underglows. More costume options for the player character are, of course, available. Confirmed costumes include space suits, cowboys/cowgirls, cheerleaders, mexican wrestlers, superheroes, pirates, ninjas, and furries.
• New weapons include a giant dildo and tactical airstrikes. That is the most extreme spectrum I've seen.
• Every single weapon has included a specific animation for nut shots. With a pistol, you'll drop to a knee and whip the gun into the fruits. With a bazooka, you'll take a full golf swing at the tender portions. 
• The button for sprinting has been dubbed the AWESOME button because, in contextual situations, it will make your character do cool things. For example, if you sprint to a car, you'll do a missile dropkick through the window to hijack cars more efficiently. 
• Confirmed Activity side-missions include: Professor Genki's Super Ethical Reality Climax, a Japanese game show full of dangerous stunts and, I'm sure, plenty of charming racism. Tank Mayhem, in which you use a tank to destroy specific high value targets. Guardian Angel, where you must drive carefully around town with a tiger in the back of your car. 
• As earlier stated, online multiplayer has been killed off, but the co-op remains intact.

  

Surprise Ninja Gaiden 3 teaser!!

We haven't heard much from Ninja Gaiden 3 since the teaser image that was revealed back at E3 but today, Team Ninja decided to give us a lovely 30 second video showcasing the in game engine. The trailer shows lots of blood filling the screen as Ryu Hyabusa seems to have stabbed the viewer. Also, if you notice you'll see that somethin weird is up with Ryu's arm, a sign of what to expect from the story maybe? More info will be revealed at this year's E3 so keep an ear out!

Vagrant Story graces us with it's presence...

PS3 owners get a VERY special treat today as the psone classic Vagrant Story gets a digital release on the PSN. Considered as quite possibly the best RPG on the PS1(if not one of the top 3 games), and one of the best games to come from the now gone Squaresoft players will enjoy hours upon hours of gameplay. At the price of $5.99 I don't see why anyone wouldn't pick this up.

Atlus's Catherine coming to the states.

Atlus recently got a lot of fans riled up when they announced they had 'no plans' to bring their sultry multi-platform title Catherine to the states. Gamestop recently had an advertisement on their website claiming the title would be out in summer. Of course that was taken down quickly. However people started to get emails from atlus themselves(and their own website Catherinethegame.com) with an image of both platforms covers saying "summer 2011", doesn't get more obvious than that. Well, other then amazon.com saying July 26th is the release date.

Hail to the King baby...

Now there there is a release date for Duke Nukem: Forever people have now moved on to the next big question. What will borderlands developer Gearbox do for a inevitable special edition?? Wonder no more as the lid has been blown off of the "Balls of Steel" edition of the macho man's adventures. Included in the crazy special edition are:

• A collectible bust of the greatest man ever
• Numbered certificate of authenticity
• A whopping 100-page hardcover book titled: The History, Legacy & Legend: Duke Nukem Forever art from the Vault
• Duke Nukem Postcards
• Radioactive emblem sticker
• Duke Nukem Comic
• Poker Chips
• Radioactive Emblem dice

$99 will net you all of this and the game. Honestly not a bad price, I wonder if the guy who reserved this back in 2000 and kept the receipt will get anything special...

Sony's Xperia Playstation phone officially announced.

Today the Xperia phone from playstation was finally revealed along with all of the details surrounding it. The android based smartphone will be hitting this March on Verizon wireless services. According to sony the phone will release with over 50 games, 5.0 megapixel camera, and a huge 4-inch touch screen display. Other features include:

PlayStation Certified gaming experience
The latest version of the Android platform (Gingerbread version 2.3)
60fps play-back enabled through the Snapdragon 1Ghz processor, optimized with enhanced graphical processor unit the Adreno 205
Dedicated gaming controls for real console quality game play, D-Pad, recognizable Playstation buttons, left/right shoulder keys and two analog touch inputs for joystick action


Xperia is also said to include a "Legendary" PS1 title along with pre-loaded games such as The Sims 3, Tetris, and Bruce Lee.