When it comes to the Xbox 360 there is one exclusive that really sets it apart from the rest and that is none other than Halo. Spanning now 4 different titles, the Halo franchise has been attributed to pushing millions of Xbox 360 units and setting several sales records itself in the process.

Now that Halo: Reach has been on the market for a while, Bungie has been hard at work on the game’s first map pack dubbed the Noble Map Pack. Featuring 3 brand new maps and retailing for 800 Microsoft Points, the Noble Map Pack is available today for download.

Not familiar with the latest Reach map pack? Well, you’re in luck as Bungie has come forth to show off 3 videos giving us a walkthrough of the various maps – all of which you can check out after the break.
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The Nintendo Wii is one of the most popular consoles in the world. Much of this fame has been attributed to the fact that the WIi was the first console to bring motion control into the home. However, true Nintendo fanboys know that it is not the gimmicky effect of the Wiimote but instead the library of topnotch titles that make the Wii so great.

In fact, it was just made known that New Super Mario Bros. Wii (the latest Mario Bros. title) has officially set a new Japanese sales record. What sales record, you ask? Well, according to reports New Super Mario Bros. Wii is the first Wii title ever to sell over 4 million units.

Compared to behemoths like Call of Duty: Black Ops, this may not sound like that big of a deal but make note that New Super Marios Bro. Wii is an exclusive and doesn’t exactly appeal to the market that Black Ops does.

Do you have New Super Mario Bros. Wii? If so, what do you think of it?

via andriasang

While Microsoft and Nintendo have happily secured their own exclusives for their respective consoles, Sony is struggling to find their one killer title. However, many have pondered if the Uncharted series is the answer. If you own a PS3 (or have played Uncharted 2) you most definitely know how amazing the series is both graphically and gameplay wise.

However. now that Uncharted 2 has been on store shelves for quite some time, it’s time to begin thinking about Uncharted 3. Well, today, rumors have surfaced from Kotaku that say the newest Uncharted iteration will take place in a desert setting. According to our source, this is the same tipster that let us know there would be an Uncharted 3 trailer during the Spike VGA’s on December 11th.

Would you like it if Uncharted 3 took place in a desert? If not, where would you like it to take place?

via kotaku

EA has launched the closed beta of the free for play Battelfield4Free, an updated Battlefield 2 which offers the same concept of gameplay as Battlefield Heroes. The beta keys are already out, but you can still sign up for the beta here.

The real game will be released early next year, after a closed beta, with an open beta shortly before. We have a beta key and we’ll let ya know how things are. EA hopes to attract some new gamers to the free FPS, as competing games like Quake Live already have. However, Battlefield PLay4Free won’t be powered by the new Frostbite engine, but rather, it’ll be based on the same engine that powered BF2 and BF2142.

Gamers everywhere anxiously soak up every bit of gaming related news they can. However, there is an event once a year that single handily lets us in on more video game related news than anything else. Can you guess what it is? Well, E3 of course.

Happening every year around June, E3 gives gamers all sorts of information about the latest games, hardware and much more. However,  in order to actually consume the information that is let loose during E3 you’re pretty much limited to websites and other publications. While this isn’t a bad thing, it gives you a less hands on feel than watching a video broadcast would.

Luckily, it was jus announced that G4 has just signed a multi-year broadcast deal with E3. This means that until 2013, G4 will be the exclusive broadcaster of E3 where they will provide 24 hour coverage and even streaming content on their website.

via ripten

There is a lot of hype in the video gaming world surrounding motion control with the craze being started by the Nintendo Wii. Following the massive success of the Wii, Microsoft went on to release the Kinect and Sony the Playstation Move – but will either of these new technologies catch on?

Many wondered if the Kinect, in particular, would catch on due to the fact that it does not feature any controller whatsoever instead relying on the user’s entire body. Well, those of you who doubted the Microsoft Kinect can officially put their doubts to rest as irt was made known today that to date, over 2.5 million Kinect sensors have been sold.

This is great news for Microsoft as it will allow their software developers to get Kinect enabled games into the homes of millions. It’s also good for us because we can now look forward to a whole slew of top notch games developed specifically for Kinect.

Have you purchased a Kinect? If not, do you plan on doing so?

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Any Star Wars fan knows that the greatest Star Wars film, and one of the best sci-fi films ever, was The Empire Strikes Back, released in 1980. That film was directed by Irvin Kreshner, who passed away today at the age of 87. He never received his proper credit for making that film, where most thought George Lucas ran the thing. Kreshner also directed Sean Connery as James Bond in Never Say Never Again in 1983, and also made RoboCop 2 in 1990.

R.I.P. Irvin Kreshner, 1923 – 2010.

Nintendo seems to be the big winner on Black Friday, its offerings sure attracted buyers, as over 600,000 Wii consoles were sold on Black Friday, while over 900,000 DS handhelds were sold as well. That’s 1.5 million consoles in a single day. Not bad.

Now we’ll have to wait and see how much Sony and Microsoft sold — they both had some interesting deals to offer, including bundles like the Xbox 360 with Alan Wake and Forza 3 for $299, which was one of the best selling bundles on Black Friday.

According to Reuters, Microsoft is looking to get into the TV business and offer a subscription on several TV channels on its Xbox 360. Reuters says that Microsoft has had meetings with several TV and broadcast companies looking to do a licensing deal. Microsoft has yet to confirm anything, and according to sources, it could take over a year before the deals are finalized and Xbox Live users can get TV. They’ll have to pay extra for it, of course, in addition to the Xbox Live Gold fee.