You can see the usual Xbox 360 box art banner above. Say goodbye, dear readers, because Microsoft is preparing to replace it. With what? you ask.

Behold! This is the dawn of a new era, of a bold new direction, of oh let’s face it this is kind of lame. But there you have it, folks. If you check out the Amazon pages for Kane and Lynch 2 or Mafia II you can see the new banner in action (although the latter game only shows the new art on the Collector’s Edition for some strange reason). Let us know what you think.

According to the keyboard-clacking monkeys at Kotaku, the Dreamcast classic Sonic Adventure may be coming to Xbox Live Arcade in the near future. A port of the game that some consider to be the last decent Sonic title popped up on the gaming press incarnation of XBL on PartnerNet, but was promptly removed when word began to spread. Sega remains silent on the issue.

What say you? I’m not afraid to drag out my Dreamcast and fire up Sonic Adventure whenever I’m in the mood, so this news doesn’t light any fires in my mind. You readers, however, might be jumping for joy at this news for all I know. If so, looks like Microsoft and Sega are about to hook you up. If not, well, there’s always Modern Warfare 2 to keep you busy.

You folks will no doubt think that is Captain Obvious’ Article Title of the Day when you check out the latest gameplay trailer for the Xbox 360 exclusive, is-it-ever-coming-out mystery/thriller game Alan Wake.

Not much to see here, but at least developer Remedy Games isn’t holding out anymore. The use of light in particular is very well done, and I for one can’t wait to see more. The story is said to be of a Twin Peaks sort (i.e. creepy and weird), following a writer and many strange occurrences in a small town. I wish writers’ lives were really so intriguing.

Man, I’m really reaching for stories…

So Square Enix released images of the Xbox 360 and PS3 box art for Final Fantasy XIII, out soon in Japan and coming in Spring 2010 for North American and European folks. I only included the PlayStation 3 version because both are identical, except the console names at the top.

Also: who among us owning both a PS3 and Xbox 360 will buy the latter version? Seriously.

Yeah, I know—that’s the PAL version of the game. I’m sure we’ve got a few readers for whom this is relevant. Besides, the NTSC incarnation will look the same. I promise. Kinda underwhelming though, isn’t it?

It appears EA hasn’t learned anything from it’s past mistakes.  Why they think that giving people an advantage in a game for pre-ordering it is just beyond me.  How about some cool NVGs like Modern Warfare 2 or a gift certificate for all the money we have spent on ridiculous EA DLC that we don’t need.  It’s just stupid, EA. Get a clue.

The Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Limited Edition delivers six special customizations early to give players a day one advantage in multiplayer matches. Four vehicle warfare unlocks will immediately enhance the Battlefield: Bad Company 2 best-in-class online vehicle warfare experience, delivering extra firepower, radar, and armor for the vehicles. Additionally, the tracer dart attaches to any enemy vehicle and allows RPG-toting teammates to track, lock on, and destroy their adversary. Seasoned veterans of Battlefield 1943™ will be able to immediately re-acquaint themselves with two classic and highly powerful weapons, the M1A1 submachine gun and the M1911 pistol.

Perhaps you’ve seen the leaked Modern Warfare 2 clip displaying a guy gunning down the opposition using a third-person view; perhaps not. Everybody and their cousin speculated about the video’s authenticity. Well folks, we now have confirmation: yes, multiplayer in Modern Warfare 2 will feature an optional third-person view.

Please note that this view will not be available in single player. Also, the third-person view will only be available in private multiplayer matches, and it can’t be toggled on and off. In a third-person private match, everyone must use the view so nobody has an unfair advantage.

Do any of you actually want to play in third-person? Seems to me that if people want a third-person shooter then they’ll play a third-person shooter. Like, I don’t know… SOCOM, maybe? Call me crazy. But if this news excites you, don’t let me rain on your parade—relish it.

I enter a buttload of contests on any given month but I never win anything; yet every time I sign up for the Xbox Live Update Preview, I’m accepted. Go figure. The newest update, coming next month to everyone who doesn’t get into the preview, brings Twitter and Facebook to all Xbox Live users, and Last.fm for Gold subscribers. The update also changes the Video Marketplace a bit, re-branding it with Zune logos, adding Zune Social connections, and throwing in a bit more content for good measure.

To give you a better idea of how each new addition works, I’m going to give each one its own section and go into as much detail as possible. If reading isn’t your thing, feel free to check out the demonstration videos on Kotaku. I hear that Stephen Totilo guy has a lovely voice. (more…)

**EDIT**

Because a few people were offended by the language in the Left 4 Dead 2 trailer I posted—which is kind of silly considering how ridiculously gory it was—I took it down. Never let it be said I’m not a man of compromise. I will however leave a link to the video here. The original warning still applies: salty language and gruesome violence abounds.

And remember: Left 4 Dead 2 hits store shelves on November 17, available in Xbox 360 and PC flavors. Buy it. I command you.

Okay, so despite the fact that you play as an agent for the devil…well no…not despite, the game is pretty much garbage.

The only possible good thing that I can muster to say for this game is that the graphics are decent and it plays like Dead To Rights. Anything else and I am at a loss for words.

Hell’s Vengeance immerses you into this world that you should feel like you should know about, they don’t do much for introductions or story telling.  You are set up by a friend and people are trying to kill you.  Once you escape those people, the devil hires you to work for him.  He gives you some powers and tells you to “stay away from the light”.  The voice acting is horrifying by the way.

It’s possible that this game was the first game developed by whomever created this catastrophe, and if it was my guess is that they don’t have an original bone in their bodies nor have they ever played any other video game…ever.  I wanna meet the guy who said “hey let’s use the Air Force logo upside down as the symbol for the sacred monks”, yeah play the game and you’ll understand.

There isn’t anything redeeming about the game or memorable for that matter, and to top it all off, the save system is terrible.  I played the game for a few hours only to find out that at each checkpoint it’s not saving the game, and if I quit out of the game without selecting save, I have to start over…completely over.

This game is by far a pass, and quite possibly a sacrilegious abomination, please find something else to do with your time like pray for forgiveness that you played this game.

Before you read my review, please answer these questions:

#1: Do you like to rock and/or roll?

#2: Do you have a deep and abiding love of The Metal™?

#3: Do you like games that experiment with established genres (even with mixed results)?

#4: Do you enjoy a liberal dose of humor injected into your games?

#5: Do you heart Tim Schafer?

If you answered “yes” to any of the preceding questions, you’ll probably dig the heck out of Mr. Schafer and Double Fine’s latest metal-infused creation, Brütal Legend. If they all scored a “no,” go ahead and stop reading. I don’t like wasting anybody’s time.

For those that remain: Brütal Legend is an adventure/real-time strategy hybrid with a wicked sense of humor, metal-inspired fantasy trappings, and Jack Black starring as protagonist Eddie Riggs. Eddie is a roadie who is transported to another world in which everything—and I really mean everything—is inspired by heavy metal. Imagine a world where every environment (and the people and creatures that inhabit them) resembles the cover art for a metal band’s album: that’s the setting for Brütal Legend. (more…)