MICROSOFT E3:GEARS OF WAR 2 SPOTLIGHT

MICROSOFT E3 ANNOUNCEMENT: XBL AVATARS

Microsoft announced today a new part of the Microsoft Blade and Xbox OS intergration — an Avatar system similar to the Nintendo Wii. The system integrates with a variety of games and is also ready for all games by Rare (and in fact were created by Rare for Microsoft.)

Avatars express your persionality — you can customize hair, clothing and everything else about you. The avatars are fully 3D and are animated in the Blade. This shows up on the user system. You can buy new clothes and other items (including assumedly pay-for-DLC). Avatars are visable right on the frontend and are attached to all user profiles, so your friend list will automatically show the 3D version of your character.

Although Microsoft didn’t announce any new locations for Avatar chat, there was a fly-by sequence shown at E3 that featured an outdoor scenario similar to the Wii Parade area. Microsoft did announce a “Party” area where you can share photos, chat, and do other things online with groups. There are also games (set up as Game Shows) on Xbox Live Primetime that groups can play together.

The system is designed to be very easy to integrate for developers as well as very easy to create for users. The editing system appeared to be incredibly simple to create an avatar (although the face editing system was not shown.) The first game shown for the Avatar system was called Uno Rush, and also a version of 1 versus 100 was shown as part of the Primetime game channel.

Xbox 360’s Avatar system will come with the new Microsoft system update to be released this fall.

-IGN.COM

Banjo Kazooie on XBLA

I used to love this game!

-From IGN.COM

At its E3 press conference, Microsoft announced that Rare’s original Banjo platformer will be released this year for the Xbox Live Arcade. The game will feature slightly upgraded visuals and the long awaited “stop and swap” functionality originally promised at its release more than 10 years ago.

Many will remember that the first Banjo-Kazooie game promised to interact with Banjo-Tooie. That didn’t pan out, but that feature will finally be realized on Xbox 360. By finding specific items in Banjo-Kazooie on Xbox Live Arcade, you will be able to unlock things in Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts.

OFFICIAL ROCK BAND 2 SET LIST

1.	AC/DC	Let There Be Rock	1970s
2.	AFI	Girl’s Gone Grey	2000s
3.	Alanis Morissette	You Oughta Know	1990s
4.	Alice in Chains	Man in the Box	1990s
5.	Allman Brothers	Ramblin’ Man	1970s
6.	Avenged Sevenfold	Almost Easy	2000s
7.	Bad Company	Shooting Star	1970s
8.	Beastie Boys	So Whatcha Want	1990s
9.	Beck	E-Pro	2000s
10.	Bikini Kill	Rebel Girl	1990s
11.	Billy Idol	White Wedding Pt. I	1980s
12.	Blondie	One Way or Another	1970s
13.	Bob Dylan	Tangled Up in Blue	1970s
14.	Bon Jovi	Livin’ on a Prayer	1980s
15.	Cheap Trick	Hello There	1970s
16.	Devo	Uncontrollable Urge	1980s
17.	Dinosaur Jr.	Feel the Pain	1990s
18.	Disturbed	Down with the Sickness	2000s
19.	Dream Theater	Panic Attack	2000s
20.	Duran Duran	Hungry Like the Wolf	1980s
21.	Elvis Costello	Pump It Up	1970s
22.	Fleetwood Mac	Go Your Own Way	1970s
23.	Foo Fighters	Everlong	1990s
24.	Guns N’ Roses	Shackler’s Revenge	2000s
25.	Interpol	PDA	2000s
26.	Jane’s Addiction	Mountain Song	1980s
27.	Jethro Tull	Aqualung	1970s
28.	Jimmy Eat World	The Middle	2000s
29.	Joan Jett	Bad Reputation	1980s
30.	Journey	Anyway You Want It	1970s
31.	Judas Priest	Painkiller	1990s
32.	Kansas	Carry On Wayward Son	1970s
33.	L7	Pretend We’re Dead	1990s
34.	Lacuna Coil	Our Truth	2000s
35.	Linkin Park	One Step Closer	2000s
36.	Lit	My Own Worst Enemy	1990s
37.	Lush	De-Luxe	1990s
38.	Mastodon	Colony of Birchmen	2000s
39.	Megadeth	Peace Sells	1980s
40.	Metallica	Battery	1980s
41.	Mighty Mighty Bosstones	Where’d You Go	1990s
42.	Modest Mouse	Float On	2000s
43.	Motorhead	Ace of Spades	1980s
44.	Nirvana	Drain You	1990s
45.	Norman Greenbaum	Spirit in the Sky	1960s
46.	Panic at the Disco	Nine in the Afternoon	2000s
47.	Paramore	That’s What You Get	2000s
48.	Pearl Jam	Alive	1990s
49.	Presidents of the USA	Lump	1990s
50.	Rage Against the Machine	Testify	1990s
51.	Ratt	Round & Round	1980s
52.	Red Hot Chili Peppers	Give it Away	1990s
53.	Rise Against	Give it All	2000s
54.	Rush	The Trees	1970s
55.	Silversun Pickups	Lazy Eye	2000s
56.	Smashing Pumpkins	Today	1990s
57.	Social Distortion	I Was Wrong	1990s
58.	Sonic Youth	Teenage Riot	1980s
59.	Soundgarden	Spoonman	1990s
60.	Squeeze	Cool for Cats	1970s
61.	Steely Dan	Bodhitsattya	1970s
62.	Steve Miller Band	Rock’n Me	1970s
63.	Survivor	Eye of the Tiger	1980s
64.	System of a Down	Chop Suey	2000s
65.	Talking Heads	Psycho Killer	1970s
66.	Tenacious D	Master Exploder	2000s
67.	Testament	Souls of Black	1990s
68.	The Donnas	New Kid in School	2000s
69.	The Go-Go’s	We Got the Beat	1980s
70.	The Grateful Dead	Alabama Getaway	1980s
71.	The Guess Who	American Woman	1970s
72.	The Muffs	Kids in America	1990s
73.	The Offspring	Come Out & Play (Keep ‘em Separated)	1990s
74.	The Replacements	Alex Chilton	1980s
75.	The Who	Pinball Wizard	1960s
Bonus Tracks
76.	Abnormality	Visions	2000s
77.	Anarchy Club	Get Clean	2000s
78.	Bang Camaro	Night Lies	2000s
79.	Breaking Wheel	Shoulder to the Plow	2000s
80.	The Libyans	Neighborhood	2000s
81.	The Main Drag	A Jagged Gorgeous Winter	2000s
82.	Speck	Conventional Lover	2000s
83.	The Sterns	Supreme Girl	2000s
84.	That Handsome Devil	Rob the Prez-O-Dent	2000s

ON THE 7TH DAY THEY CREATED THE GHOSTBUSTERS VIDEO GAME

I literally want this game right freakin now