It’s no secret that the Xbox 360 hardware hasn’t been the most stable out there, in fact, it’s quite crappy, with an estimated “official” failure rate between 30 and 40 percent. But it seems that the rate is even larger in the UK, where CNet recently did a poll which revealed that a whopping 60% of the consoles have failed at one point or another. While it’s not a scientific study, it’s still surprising, especially considering that GameInformer did a similar study in the US, where over 50% of the users reported console malfunctions.

Turn10 has released the first Fora 3 DLC, and completely free. While it’s not the biggest release ever — only includes three cars — it’s still great to know that they’ll offer stuff for free.

The DLC includes 3 “custom and fully-tuned” variants of the 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe, and is available now for download to all Xbox Live Gold members.

Well, this isn’t surprising at all; Gearbox, developers of Borderlands, claim that Borderlands is the fastest selling new IP of 2009, which is no surprise, as it’s probably the most known new IP of 2009, not to talk about the most anticipated one. The only other notable new IP was Prototype, and, completely unsurprisingly, both games are looking to get sequels in the near future.

Prepare to get all nostalgic, as you can see above, Left 4 Dead, they way it would have been if it was released 20 years ago on NES. The creator of the game plans to release this little gem for free later this year.

Please Digg this story!

Hollywood usually takes most of the slack when it comes to criticism for lack of originality, but in fact, the video game industry is even worse at creating original content, it’s a world dominated by franchises of every kind, from sports to action games, publishers and developers are usually taking the easy and safe way: sequels. And spin offs. And remakes. Etc.

We’ve compiled a list of top 10 original games that are scheduled for release for 2010 — and it was quite a challenge: out of the 130 games confirmed for 2010 by major publishers and developers, we found 19 that were original. Just 19.

10: Brink (Spring 2010)

Brink, an FPS developed by Splash Damage and published by Bethesda, centers around a two sides: Resistance and Security, and is a team based multiplayer shooter much like Quake Wars, which was also developed by Splash Damage. It looks promising as a multiplayer game, as it’s story based, much like Quake Wars, where one battle takes place over several maps, with a story connecting everything together.

9: Alpha Protocol (Spring 2010)

Alpha Protocol, developed by Obsidian Entertainment — developers of Star Wars: KOTOR 2 and Neverwinter Nights 2 — is a third person action RPG where the player assumes the role of Michael Thorton, a CIA agent who’s been betrayed and must not only fight his way through enemies, but also uncover the conspiracy that set him up.

8: Singularity (Q2 2010)

While time travel is a known concept in games, albeit underused, it’s still something that is difficult to fit in wiht the overall storyline, and the time feature never seems to be used properly. In Singularity, the player will have control over a TMD (Time Manipulation Device), a “weapon” which will be used to solve puzzles, for instance, if a door is locked, instead of looking for the key, you use the TMD and speed up time for the lock only, which will rust, and voila, door opened! Or use it on an enemy and watch him turn into a skeleton. The concept certainly seems intriguing, and offers some truly original puzzles.

7: Dante’s Inferno (February 9, 2010)

Dante’s Inferno has already caused a lot of controversy, from the fake E3 2009 protest, to gameplay elements where players can slay children. The gritty, hell based game is loosely based on the actual Inferno by Dante in The Divine Comedy, and the player assumes the role of Dante, who has to fight his way though monsters and demons in the 9 circles of hell, and decide whether he’ll be good and spare some (like children) or go reckless. It definitely looks as one of the darkest games of 2010.

6: MAG (January 26, 2010)

MAG (Massive Action Game) is a PS3 online FPS multiplayer who’s main feature is a massive 256 player online matches, with 128 players per team, divided into 8-player squads, 4 squads into a platoon, and 4 platoons into a company. With 256 players on the map, MAG is set to deliver some of the most intense and frantic combat yet, and will offer detailed stats and rankings, where higher ranked players will be able to command the battle and give orders to individual squads and platoons.

5: LA Noire (Q3 2010)

LA Noire, an open ended adventure game set in a recreated 1940s Los Angeles, which players can freely roam around, and chose to solve a number of murders around the city. The game has a great feeling of classic noir films based in LA, like LA Confidential, The Maltese Falcon and Chinatown, and draws inspiration from such works as well.

4: Rage (Q4 2010)

It’s been a while since Id Software has made an original game — actually, the last original game Id Software made was Quake, back in 1996. Id finally shows something new with Rage, a fusion between a first person shooter and a racing game set in a post-apocalyptic Mad Max styled world. It’s built with the all new Id Tech 5 engine, and shows very promising visuals, to say the least.

3: Heavy Rain (Q2 2010)

Heavy Rain has been on the radar since it was originally showcased at E3 2006, and will be released almost four years later, in Q2 2010. The gorgeous looking game centers around a serial killer known as “The Origami Killer”, and players assume roles of different characters who try and solve the murders. It’s one of the most stylish and atmospheric games to come out in 2010.

2: Alan Wake (Q2 2010)

What Heavy Rain is for the PS3, Alan Wake is for the Xbox 360. Developed by Remedy, Alan Wake is a psychological thriller inspired by the likes of Twin Peaks and Stephen King novels, where players assume the role of Alan Wake, a writer who seeks refuge at a quiet place where he can write his next novel (much like Stephen Kings “Misery“). However, when his wife vanishes, it’s up to him to get her back.

1: APB (March 2010)

APB is not only the most original MMO game to his the stores in 2010, it’s also the most original game overall. It’s the classic cops vs. robbers gameplay, but on a massive scale, with endless customizations and options, tons of missions and weapons. Created by David Jones, the original creator for GTA, APB is hailed as everything he wanted to do wince he made GTA, and while originally trying to pitch and sell APB to Rockstar as GTA Online, it’s good that APB is on its own now, we need a great, original game. And an MMO that’s not fantasy based.

It’s no surprise that Modern Warfare 2‘s launch was anything less than a huge success considering the game was pre-ordered over 4.5 million times but VGCHartz has rounded up some preliminary week one data and the results are quite outstanding.

It seems that all together, the game has sold close to 9.4 million copies across the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC raking in an astounding $600 million for Activision. Now let’s just wait until the holiday season comes and goes and we’re sure to be seeing some ridiculous numbers.

I think it’s safe to say we will be seeing Modern Warfare 3, 4, 5 etc because I mean, it is Activision, after all.

For those of you who actually pay for Xbox Live got access to the Left 4 Dead 2 demo earlier this month but Silver members were left in the dark. Luckily, the demo has been unlocked today for Silver members and is available for download at your leisure.

Of course, if you just want the real game you’ll have to wait until November 17th, wait, that’s tomorrow, did you get your pre-order in?

I don’t know about you guys but my favorite mode in Call of Duty: World at War is none other than Nazi Zombies. Sure, the other modes are cool but there’s nothing like being locked in a room with a never ending supply of zombies to destroy. However, the only problem with this is that only PS3, Xbox 360 or PC gamers could get down on the fun.

Today, Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies has hit the App Store for the iPhone and iPod touch allowing for the zombie slaying game play we’ve all come to know and love on a handheld platform. The gave will allow for 4 player WiFi or 2 player Bluetooth multiplayer gameplay with Achievements, Leaderboards and future support for DLC.

All of this can be yours for just $9.99, what are you waiting for?

via joystiq

On this day, five years ago, one of the most critically acclaimed games was released: the sequel to Half Life, Half Life 2. The game was originally delayed for a year or so, after the source code was leaked and much of the game had to be rewritten. Since then, we’ve seen two expansions and a ton of mods. Half Life 2: Episode 3 is slated for release in 2010, with Half Life 3 coming in late 2012. Coolvibe has a great collection of early Half Life 2 concept art, worth checking out.

Ghost, the guy with the cool mask (see above), is one of the many characters in the game with a cool name and deep British accent. According to rumors, developer Infinity Ward is now considering a spin-off game based on the character — there’s already a comic book based on “Ghost”.

The news was broken by Craig Fairbrass, the guy who does the voice for Ghost, saying that there are talks about a “little game about Ghost”. Which might just mean a DLC only title sometime in the future. You never know. Especially considering how far Activision is willing to go to milk every penny out of their titles.