Non-gaming: Birthday boy!

Whoah 19 already! That was a year? It went quickly. So, I thought you might be interested to know what I got, and I got some pretty sweet stuff really. Here goes:

Black Nintendo DS console, Mario DS carry case, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, Mario Kart DS, Animal Crossing: Wild World, Assassins Creed, Tomb Raider Anniversary, God of War, Shawn of the Dead DVD, Bruce Almighty DVD, Spiderman choccies, and money...phew! :)

Not very varied but a lot of games, which is no bad thing- and I haven't bought many games at all this year.

As for the website, I must admit it looks a little neglected right now [pause: arwww.] Rest assured that new life will soon be breathed into it, with a re-design and perhaps a new url. I'll keep you posted.

Update: I'm still here!

You will no doubt be wondering- 'where the hell are the new articles?' Well unfortunately I have been incredibly busy in recent weeks and have simply not managed to keep the site constantly updated as normal. That is not to say however that I have had my attention diverted and I do plan to upload the backlog of articles this week and normal service shall also resume. No worries!

News: Bungie and Microsoft to split?

Are Bungie and Microsoft officially ending their long running partnership? Rumours are gaining real momentum on the Internet that this could be the case. It seems hard to believe doesn't it, though if the rumours are to be believed- Bungie wants to move on from Halo and Microsoft want them to simply continue with the AAA franchise. Another rumour is claiming that Bungie will indeed leave MS, though allowing MS first refusal to publish it's future titles.

The slight problem with this is that Microsoft in fact actually owns the studio, so the only way that a split could occur is if Microsoft agreed to sell it. It seems unlikely, but stranger things have happened. The other slight oddity with these rumours is that if you've now finished Halo 3, you will know why it would be strange for Bungie to jump ship. Oh, and just in case you were wondering, Microsoft fully owns Halo- so there's absolutely no possibility of seeing any Halo games on any other system.

Both Microsoft and Bungie are yet to comment.

News: Finish the fight!

Halo 3 hit store shelves across the UK and Europe today and sales have apparently gone through the roof! In the US, where the game launched yesterday, the game has already racked up sales of USD 170 million! The game has also been received by highly favourable reviews, receiving a 9.5 from IGN and Gamespot, and a 10 from Eurogamer. The reviews average currently stands at 95.3% after 32 filed reviews. Anyway, I'm back off to play! More on Halo 3 soon.

Xbox Live Arcade Wednesday: Update

Both Sega's all-time classic masterpiece Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Eidos' Geon are now available for you to add to your arcade collection. Sonic 2 is downloadable for a price of just 400 MSP and is an absolute must- any old Sega fans will tell you exactly the truth about this game, that it is truly one of the best games ever created. Geon can be yours for 800 MSP.

News: Halo 3- Believe

With Halo 3 now just 9 days away, Microsoft have started their advertising campaign with 2 new trailers entitled 'Believe.' The first trailer can be downloaded from Xbox Live Marketplace at just 10 MB. The second, and longer, trailer can be viewed right here and will be shown on television for the first time tomorrow evening between the Champions League football action on ITV1.

Microsoft are believed to have spent over USD 10 million on advertising for Halo 3, but as the game is expected to make more money on it's first day on sale than any other previously released video game or film on it's opening weekend, I'm sure they aren't too concerned about it.

Halo 3 will be released here in the UK (and Europe) on September 26th, with those lucky lot in the US-of-A getting it a day earlier.

News: Ninja Gaiden II announced!

Listen up Ninja Dogs/Lesser Ninjas/Greater Ninjas/Head Ninjas/Master Ninjas- Tecmo have officially unveiled the sequel to one of the greatest (and toughest) games of all time- Ninja Gaiden II. The game was announced at Microsoft's pre-TGS (Tokyo game show) through a fairly short teaser trailer. No release date was announced, nor were any further details- all we know is that Ninja Gaiden II is coming and it's coming on Xbox 360! The trailer is now available to download from Xbox Live Marketplace.

News: Latest news...

The Gears of War 'Hidden Fronts' multiplayer map pack is now available to download for free

A new in-game demonstration of Ensemble Studios' (Age of Empires) Halo Wars can be downloaded from Xbox Live Marketplace

Both Midway's Cyberball 2072 (400 MSP) and SNK Playmore's Fatal Fury Special (400 MSP) were released on Xbox Live Arcade