(Click to Enlarge!)

The crane shot is there just for how bizarre it looked. Cell shaded Halo anyone?

Halo 3 Multiplayer Footage & Screenshots 12:45 pm - Andrew Burnes - Consoles: Xbox 360 (15 comments)
15 minutes of footage from the beta:

For further Halo 3 beta overkill, go here.

Forza 2 Movie 12:14 pm - Andrew Burnes - Consoles: Xbox 360 (6 comments)
If you like cars and racing, and come to Germany, go drive around the Nürburgring. It's awesome.

Related images and info here.

Overlord Movie 12:03 pm - Andrew Burnes - Games: Action / Strategy (3 comments)
A brief but humorous Overlord clip:

FlatOut Ultimate Carnage Trailer 09:34 am - Andrew Burnes - Consoles: Xbox 360 (5 comments)

Crackdown DLC Nuking Save Files 09:20 am - Andrew Burnes - Consoles: Xbox 360 (2 comments)
When your downloadable content destroys save game files you must surely realise that the QA department requires an overhaul:

We are aware that the recently released "Crackdown" DLC is causing some gamers to experience a reset of their saved games when they engage in co-op play. The team is working extremely hard to identify the issue and has provided steps to avoid the problem.

Simply follow these instructions:

1. Sign-in to Xbox Live
2. Start Crackdown and receive new Title Update (if you haven't already)
3. Begin a Single Player Campaign game
4. Once loaded, press Start and choose "Quit"
5. Reboot Crackdown (soft reboot or hard reboot of console)

By following the steps above, this will ensure that your Crackdown experience will be trouble-free. You will then be able to enjoy the new title update features, the "Free-For-All" DLC pack, as well as all the goodies found in the "Getting' Busy Bonus Pack".

A permanent solution will be released with the game's next Title Update, which will be available in the very near future. NOTE: Unfortunately these steps will not restore an old saved file. There is no workaround for this. If this changes, we will post additional information in these forums in the future. We sympathize with those who may have lost their saved files. This was an unforeseen incident and the team has worked diligently to find a solution in the shortest amount of time possible.

Army of Two Screenshots 01:55 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Consoles: PS3 (22 comments)
Five new screenshots of Army of Two, the upcoming co-op shooter from EA for the PS3 and 360:

(Click to Enlarge!)

Blacksite: Area 51 Screens; Demo On Live 07:46 am - Andrew Burnes - Games: Action (18 comments)
Xbox 360 users get a demo, PC users get 10 screenshots:

Crytek Kiev Creating New Title 07:39 am - Andrew Burnes - Games: General News (10 comments)
Crytek's support studio has been beefed up and is now working on a new title:

"Our Kiev studio has been recruiting and growing for the past year and a half. The highly talented team there has undergone an intensive training period, and in that time they have made an invaluable contribution to our production in Frankfurt" said Faruk Yerli, Managing Director of Crytek.

"Now that our CryENGINE 2 middleware has reached the point of maturity where it can be used to support both different types and styles of games, and run on multiple platforms, we thought it was the optimum time to begin work on a new project based on our own new and original intellectual property, and elevate the Kiev operation to full studio status."

Cry Gaia = The Secret World 01:05 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: MMOG (8 comments)
If you were messing around with the Cry Gaia puzzle the other day, you might be interested to know that FunCom has officially announced a new MMORPG called "The Secret World".

From the creators of 'Age of Conan', 'Anarchy Online', 'The Longest Journey' and 'Dreamfall' comes a brave new massively multiplayer online role-playing game for the PC and Xbox 360. Taking place on our earth, in our times, 'The Secret World' (TSW) is inspired by history and mythology, modern conspiracy theories and ancient mysteries.

For there really is a world within ours, a secret world, where magic exists, monsters roam and ancient forces are fighting for the dominance of earth. It is a world of legendary stories, ageless conflicts and powerful cabals. In this world, even modern cities hide secrets. In this world, players can take part in the greatest conspiracies of our age, and battle the forces of darkness across the world and throughout time.

"We started envisioning this contemporary online world more than ten years ago, and as the years passed the ideas grew and improved," said Ragnar Tørnquist, Producer and Director on 'The Secret World'. "We always wanted a different kind of online world, something scary and contemporary, something deeper and closer to our reality. Our goal now is to create a detailed world where players feel empowered and part of something big, something mystical and epic."

"We believe there are millions of gamers out there who want to explore something beyond traditional fantasy and sci-fi games," said Trond Arne Aas, CEO of Funcom. "'The Secret World' is just that - a fantastic new setting that will fuel the imagination of online gamers, and keep players busy for years. We have a golden opportunity to bring something fresh and exciting to the genre, and we firmly believe the game is an ideal extension of Funcom's MMO portfolio."

'The Secret World' has been in development since last summer and the game is in a playable state. It is produced at the Funcom studios in Oslo and Beijing. A release date is not being announced at this point, but players are already getting involved in the fast-growing community. Through a complex web-based mystery launched on May 6th, players are being led to a series of websites, including www.DarkDaysAreComing.com, where - after solving a puzzle - concept art from the game is being unveiled.

Halo 3 Multiplayer Footage 01:00 am - Andrew Burnes - Consoles: Xbox 360 (90 comments)
Here's a Bungie-approved multiplayer video from the guy who designed Vista's Start Menu:

Hardware & Tech Nuggets 12:30 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - hardware: General News (0 comments)

Boards

• Biostar TF7050-M2 GeForce 7050PV Motherboard - PCStats

  Cases
  

• Lian Li PC-A08 Case - Overclockers Online
• Xclio 188A Gaming Case - Tweaknews

  Cooling
  

• Thermalright HR-03a VGA cooler - ChileHardware
• Thermaltake MaxOrb CPU Cooler - Hardware Secrets

  Power Supply
  

• CyberPower CP1500AVRLCD 1500VA 900W - Hardware Logic
• Nexus NX-8060 80PLUS Modular Silent 600W - Tweaknews
• Nox Urano 600W - Hard-H20
• SilverStone Olympia 1000W - Overclockers Online
• Ultra Products X-Finity 800W - PCApex

  Video
  

• GIGABYTE GeForce 8600GTS 256MB Silentpipe III - BootDaily

RPG Vault Goodness 12:29 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: Role-Playing (0 comments)

Pirates of the Burning Sea Captain's Log #10
Producer John Tynes takes us through a boarding action in Flying Lab's swashbuckling massively multiplayer game - Includes six exclusive 1280x974 screenshots

Game Reviews 12:19 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: General News (0 comments)

PC

• ArmA: Combat Operations - PC.IGN - 7.3/10
• ArmA: Combat Operations - GameSpot - 7/10
• Lord of the Rings Online - GameSpot - 8.3/10
• Runaway 2: The Dream of the Turtle - Boomtown - 6/10

  360
  

• CNC3 - Pro-G - 8/10
• Spiderman 3 - Killer Betties - 3/5

In Other News... 12:14 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - In-House: In Other News... (28 comments)
TGIF!

Today's question:

What games (including demos) did you play last week?