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Bungie WILL NOT Pull Out The Ban Stick For People Playing Halo 3 Early

Oops .. A British retailer Argos has begun selling copies of Bungie’s Halo 3, a full week before the title’s official release date, reports MCV. Well don’t feel too jealous as according to unconfirmed internet reports they’re about to get a hefty Xbox Live ban.

The gaming industry website has received photo evidence of receipts from consumers who have bought the game from the chain. The Argos website states that anyone who pre-orders the game will be able to collect it from stores on ‘Wed 19 September – Thu 20 September.’

According to an assortment of reports Microsoft will ban anyone found playing Halo3 before the official release date next week - even if you’re offline when they play it. Your Xbox will magically know you’ve been playing it or not. You would not want to face the same judgment as this gamer.

**Update**

The few consumers who managed to get their hands on a copy of Halo 3 a week early today can rejoice – because Microsoft has confirmed to MCV that it has no plans to ban them from Xbox Live.

Play The Spider-Man: Friend Or Foe Demo for the 360 Get a Cheat Code

The Spider-Man: Friend or Foe Xbox 360 demo is now available for download on Xbox Live Marketplace. Gamers can play as Spider-Man and villains-turned-allies Green Goblin or Venom in the Tokyo Rooftops level, as well as a boss battle with Doc Ock in the Tokyo Secret Labs level. Players will be rewarded with an unlockable  cheat code for the game. What’s more, the game will offer Xbox Live fans 1000 achievement points, via 12 in-game achievements. Spidey fanatics can visit the newly posted game page on Xbox Live or go to Xbox360Achievements.org to find out what the achievements are.

BioShock Highest Ranked Console Game Of This Year

2K Games, announced today that BioShock, secured the position of all-time top ranked Xbox 360 game and the year’s highest ranked game across all console platforms on Metacritic.com, the popular site that aggregates review scores from the leading video game publications and websites. In addition, the title has set a new record on Xbox LIVE as the fastest downloaded demo to ever reach the 1 million mark.

While many games receive high praise for a specific feature, BioShock’s rave reception revolves around all of its key components. This includes the unique art deco design, the eerie ambiance of its full orchestra score and the 40’s era soundtrack, the interactive quality of the environments, dripping and flood-rushing water effects that have set a new standard for realism, a deep and engaging story line, and gameplay that involves moral choices, an array of options for surmounting obstacles and adversaries, and a power-up component that involves biologically altering your character.

With an overall review score of 96 (out of 100) based on more than 50 different critical reviews, the Xbox 360 version of BioShock has earned “Universal Acclaim” status on Metacritic. Among the leading video game enthusiast outlets that awarded one or more versions of BioShock with a perfect score are Game Informer, 1UP, Games Radar, GameSpy, GamePro, Yahoo! Games, Games Daily, and Electronic Gaming Monthly.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Beta For UK

Activision, announced today that Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare multiplayer beta will launch via Xbox LIVE in the UK and Ireland on Friday 7th September. Users can visit www.cod4beta.co.uk for details on how to obtain their token and the opportunity to experience some of the maps and modes available in multiplayer before the game hits store shelves on November 9th

The beta will enable players to experience the most advanced and powerful arsenal of modern day firepower in customizable multiplayer battles from the world’s most treacherous hotspots. Players will be able to customize their experiences by utilizing new features including create-a-class, player-ranking and the new perk system. Gamers will also be able to ease seamlessly into multiplayer matchmaking with the party system or even join games in-progress. New recruits will enlist for battle across a series of action-packed maps and dynamic game modes to test their mettle in the ultimate multiplayer gameplay arena.

TimeShift Demo Today on Xbox Live

Sierra Entertainment, a division of Vivendi Games, announced today that the demo for TimeShift will be available via Xbox LIVE download today.

Developed by Saber Interactive, and published by Sierra Entertainment, TimeShift is a first-person shooter (FPS) videogame that allows players to master the flow of time, to become the ultimate weapon in war-torn environments. Armed with the experimental time-manipulating Beta Suit and a huge arsenal of weaponry and vehicles, players have the ability to slow, stop and reverse the flow of time, allowing them to control several aspects of each battle sequence. Intuitive time controls give the player the ultimate advantage in avoiding attacks, correcting mistakes and outsmarting the enemy.

With a comprehensive online 16-player multiplayer mode, featuring time grenades, 14 different maps and over 40 different features, TimeShift gears itself to the players’ unique style of gameplay by allowing matches to be completely customisable. Players can battle it out in a tight, well-balanced multiplayer experience that implements several aspects of the time-manipulating gameplay element found in the single-player campaign.

One New Xbox 360 Accessory You can’t Live Without

The Xbox 360 Messenger Kit available Sept. 4, which includes a Chatpad and Xbox 360 for an estimated retail price of $30.00, allows users to easily chat with friends or family on Xbox LIVE and Windows-based PCs. The automatically backlit Chatpad quickly connects to any Xbox 360 controller and can be easily controlled with simple thumb strokes so users can simultaneously chat and play games with ease.

Limited Time 4 Xbox LIVE Arcade Games Price Drop

Celebrate this weekend by downloading four Arcade favourites for half the price! For the 48 hour period beginning at 12:00 a.m. on Sunday 2nd September and continuing until 11: 59 p.m. on Monday 3rd September the following Xbox LIVE Arcade games will be available for half their usual price:

· “Small Arms” – 400 Microsoft Points (normally 800 Microsoft Points)
Easy to pick up but hard to put down, “Small Arms” is a frantic multiplayer action game with the feel of an arcade shooter.

· “Zuma Deluxe”– 400 Microsoft Points (normally 800 Microsoft Points)
Explore more than 20 realms in Adventure mode and put your skills to the test in this fast-paced puzzle game.

· “Gauntlet” – 200 Microsoft Points (normally 400 Microsoft Points)
The original dungeon crawler lets four adventurers explore and fight together as a warrior, valkyrie, wizard, and elf.

· “Dig Dug” – 200 Microsoft Points (normally 400 Microsoft Points)
Experience the fast-paced action of this quarter-cruncher from 1982 as you take control of Dig Dug himself and vanquish Pookas and Fygars.

Medal of Honor Airborne Operation LIVE Jump Weekend

Electronic Arts Inc. today announced Operation LIVE Jump, a special Xbox LIVE* launch weekend for Medal of Honor Airborne beginning on September 7, 2007. The weekend activities, exclusively for Xbox 360 gamers, include a Xbox LIVE Leaderboard tournament to see who has the best skills, a 72-hour ‘Play & Win Sweepstakes’ where every hour a winner is awarded a special prize, a multiplayer showdown where you can play against the developers of Medal of Honor Airborne, and more!

Build up your skills today! Prepare to parachute into battle by downloading the game demo now available on Xbox LIVE Marketplace. Join the 82nd Airborne on their first combat mission in WWII and jump from a C-47 into Operation Husky, a joint allied operation on the island of Sicily.

Registration is now open and will end at 11:59pm (ET) on September 9, 2007. Terms, conditions, and official rules can be found at here.

Halo 3 Goes Gold .. mmm Duh

The wait is almost over. “Halo 3,” the final chapter in the groundbreaking “Halo” trilogy and one of the most anticipated game releases of 2007, has been sent to manufacturing.

Three years in the making by renowned developer Bungie Studios, “Halo 3” is now finished and will begin its journey to store shelves around the world in less than four weeks. “Halo 3,” which has already set new records as the fastest preordered game in history, has exceeded one million presales in North America alone. The title is set to shatter day-one entertainment sales records when it is released worldwide beginning Tuesday, Sept. 25.

“This is a huge milestone for us and a big cause for celebration at Bungie and Microsoft Game Studios,” said Harold Ryan, Studio Head at Bungie Studios. “This is the game we’ve always wanted to make and certainly the best game our studio has developed. We can’t wait for gamers to get their hands on it on Sept. 25.”

Created by legendary developer Bungie Studios and exclusive to the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system, “Halo 3” will set a new standard for interactive storytelling and social gaming by engaging consumers worldwide in Master Chief’s epic battle to save humankind. In November 2004, the world’s view of video games changed forever with the release of “Halo 2,” which generated a record-setting $125 million (U.S.) in sales within the first 24 hours and changed the way people think about interactive entertainment. Three years later, it remains the most-played game on Microsoft’s Xbox LIVE online gaming and entertainment network, with nearly 1 billion hours of online gaming logged to date.

EA SPORTS $10,000 Craftsman NASCAR Challenge

Electronic Arts today announced the start of the 2007 EA SPORTS Challenge Series which kicked off July 26 with the EA SPORTS Craftsman NASCAR Challenge in Indianapolis. The EA SPORTS Challenge Series is a series of gaming competitions taking place across North America over the next six months.

The competition is scheduled to hit 11 cities overall, giving players from across the country a chance to compete for bragging rights, cash and other prizes. Future stops along the 2007 EA SPORTS Craftsman NASCAR Challenge include: St. Louis, Mo.; Richmond, Va.; Loudon, N.H.; Dover, Del.; Talladega, Ala.; Charlotte, N.C.; Martinsville, Va.; Atlanta, Ga. The ‘In-Store’ Tournaments will be hosted at designated Sears and Kmart retail stores in each city. All Tournament play will be conducted using NASCAR 08 on the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system.

“The authenticity of the NASCAR experience is what makes gamers and NASCAR fans alike so competitive when playing NASCAR 08 and now we can deliver an official competitive environment for the best NASCAR 08 players out there,” said Brian Movalson, EA SPORTS Marketing Director. “At our first two stops at Kmart and Sears stores in Indianapolis and Nashville we had eager competitors lined up out the door and enthusiasm for both the game and the upcoming races was palpable.”

“This unique partnership between Craftsman and EA SPORTS is allowing us to bring Craftsman’s NASCAR relationship with NASCAR fans to a gaming audience that is rapidly growing as well,” said Scott Howard, Manager, Sponsorship, for Sears Holdings. “We’re looking forward to bringing these exciting events to the store level at Sears and Kmart stores and to extending this partnership nationally through Xbox Live.”

The ‘In-Store’ Qualifying Rounds competitions will be held over the course of three days in each city on the published Tournament schedule. Players emerging from the Qualifying Rounds with the fastest recorded lap times will advance to the Semi-Finals to compete for a trip to Florida and the Homestead-Miami Speedway and a chance at the $10,000 Grand Prize on November 18, 2007.