Xbox Live Terms of Service Updated October 12, 2012

If you’re like me and have your Xbox 360 set to automatically sign into your profile and log you into Xbox Live when turning the system on, you’ll probably be pretty puzzled when you’re greeted with a dashboard that was not connected.  That happpened to me this afternoon.  You will probably be even more puzzled when you run a network test and find that the network troubleshooter can connect to Live just fine.

I just want to assure everyone that Xbox Live is not down.  Microsoft has updated the Xbox Live Terms of Service (TOS) and they are currently requiring a manual log in in order for you to view the new TOS and either accept or deny it.  You will not be able to connect to Live without accepting the new TOS.

Vice Presidential Debate Tonight On Xbox Live October 11, 2012

Just a reminder to all of you political animals, the Vice Presidential Debate will be hosted tonight at 9PM EST on Xbox Live.  Xbox Live Rewards Members who watch at least thirty minutes of it tonight (and at least thirty minutes of two other debates) through their Xbox 360s will be eligible for an exclusive Gold Halo 4 Spartan-IV suit of armor for their Xbox Live Avatars.

You can read all the details about the promotion here.

Halo 4 is coming November 6th, 2012 (which is Election Day in the US) exclusive to the Xbox 360.

God of War Ascension E3 2012 Demo Playable With Total Recall Blu-Ray October 10, 2012

It looks like the God of War developers will be taking a page from the history of District 9 and will be releasing the entire E3 demo presentation for God of War Ascension to anyone who picks up the Blu-Ray Disc release of 2012’s Total Recall starring Colin Ferrel.

If you’re interesting in seeing just exactly what I am talking about, here’s what the demo looked like when it was presented at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo.

Total Recall will be released to Blu-Ray Disc December 18th, 2012.  God of War Ascension is coming March 12th, 2013 exclusive to the Playstation 3.  A multiplayer beta is coming to people who picked up the God of War Saga for PS3.

Silent Hill Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios October 10, 2012

If you’re in the Orlando, Florida or Hollywood, California area this month and feel like taking a trip to Silent Hill, Universal Studios has you covered.

Universal Studios is running its yearly Halloween Horror Nights promotion at its parks in the days leading up to Halloween. They have totally redressed the park for night time visitors, adding some scary exhibits and monsters that will be going through the crowds.

Each of the haunted trails they will be featuring has a unique theme. Some are more classic, like a look at the Universal Monster movies, others are more modern, like a trail based on the AMC series The Walking Dead.

But what will probably interest gamers the most is that they are devoting an entire haunted experience to people based off of Silent Hill and it will be in the Hollywood and the Orlando theme parks. Yes, that means we’ll be able to explore Silent Hill for real, at least for a short time.

The people who made this exhibit said they did it as fans of the property. They also said that the inspiration behind it came from all the various incarnations of Silent Hill, so if you’re a fan of the games, or just a fan of the movies, without a doubt you’ll see something you recognize.

The Halloween Horror Nights will be going on up to October 31st. You can check out all the details and ticket information on the Halloween Horror Nights Official Website.

UPDATE:  Here’s the official trailer for the event.

Silent Hill: Book of Memories Launch Trailer October 6, 2012

Straight from Konami’s Gamers Night event in San Francisco, here is the official launch trailer for the next game in the Silent Hill series, Silent Hill: Book of Memories for the Playstation Vita.

From the looks of it, they’re going some place entirely new with this title, even though the art style and atmosphere look very much like a classic Silent Hill game.  It looks like they’re bring all new gameplay capabilities to the series that we haven’t seen before with this game, like the ability to play four-player co-op, and full character customization.  It also looks like they’re tapping into the features of the Vita, like the touch screens.

Silent Hill: Book of Memories is coming October 16th, 2012 exclusive to the Playstation Vita.

Halo 4 Forward Unto Dawn Part 1 Released October 5, 2012

The first part of what may be the closest thing we’ll ever see to a live-action Halo movie has been released today.  Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn is the live-action prequel series to Halo 4.

More episodes to come.  The entire series will be released as a feature-length movie with the Halo 4 Collector’s Edition, and there has been talk that the movie will also get a release on Blu-Ray Disc in December.

Halo 4 is coming November 6th, 2012 exclusive to the Xbox 360.

Halo 4 Flood Mode Detailed October 4, 2012

For the first time ever in a Halo game, the Flood will be playable in multiplayer.  Flood Mode is a new imagining of the invasion gametype, and will pit SPARTAN survivors armed with shotguns and grenades against Flood-infected players armed only with melee attacks.  Like invasion, if a SPARTAN is killed by a Flood-infected player, they will join the Flood, changing their player model and armor effect to more closely match the Flood’s single-player appearance.

The mode will support ten players.  Rounds will last 3:00 or until the final SPARTAN player is killed.

You can read all the details about the gametype, as well as all the new Flood-exclusive multiplayer medals here.

Well, looks like we’ll be fighting the Flood once more.

Halo 4 is coming November 6th, 2012 exclusive to the Xbox 360.  Remember guys, the first episode of Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn will be released tomorrow.

Xbox Live Offering Halo 4 Avatar Armor to Political Debate Viewers September 30, 2012

Interested in getting your hands on some SPARTAN-IV Golden Warrior Armor for your Xbox Live Avatar?  Time to get political.

Microsoft will be streaming four major political debates on Xbox Live in the month of October, and they are promising for the people who watch them, an option to unlock an exclusive Halo 4 avatar award, the Golden Warrior Armor.  The debates will be made up of three debates for the President and one for the Vice President.

You must be an Xbox Live Rewards Member in order to be eligible for the avatar reward.  However, if you are currently a member of Xbox Live, you can register for the Xbox Rewards program for free.  To earn the avatar award you must watch at least three of the four upcoming debates, and at least thirty minutes of each debate in order to be eligible.

If you follow all the instructions and meet the requirements to earn the avatar reward Microsoft will e-mail you with the details to download the armor to your Xbox 360.

The Debates will take place between 9pm and 10:30pm EST on October 3rd, 11th, 16th, and 22nd.  Halo 4 is coming November 6th, 2012.

Dead Space 3 Eudora Gameplay September 28, 2012

Originally teased a few days ago, here is the latest gameplay video for Dead Space 3, uncut.

The footage is from the single-player campaign, and shows what looks to be the early segments of the game, when Issac must make it off the Eudora, a spaceship that was recently attacked.  Things look quite critical for Issac as he scrambles to make it off the ship alone.

Dead Space 3 is coming February 5th, 2013 to the PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

Halo 4 Has Gone Gold September 28, 2012

The Halo Waypoint Twitter Feed has confirmed this morning that Halo 4 has gone gold, over one month in advance of its projected release date.  When a game goes gold, it means that production on it has ended and the game is ready to be shipped for manufacturing.

For those of you who may be interested in seeing just what this new game is bringing to the table, here’s a detailed look at the new weapons that are coming to the game from the Prometheans, Halo’s newest enemy.

Congratulations to 343 Industries on completing the first game in what is going to become the next Halo trilogy!

Halo 4 is coming November 6th, 2012 exclusive to the Xbox 360.