VIA CNET:

It might not be as hotly anticipated as the “Beatles: Rock Band” game, but Microsoft announced at its annual press briefing at the E3 Expo that Facebook and Twitter will be coming to the Xbox Live service.

The press event included short demonstrations of what are effectively Facebook and Twitter clients for the gaming console, aesthetically adapted to the Xbox Live interface.

With the Facebook app, which will be a download from Xbox Live, members will be able to engage in a limited number of features including photo browsing, status updates, and looking at friends’ profile “streams.”

But what’s more important to game developers is the fact that the Facebook Connect standard–which was rolled out first to Web developers, and then to iPhone developers–is coming to the Xbox this fall. This means that players will be able to log in with their Facebook accounts and broadcast their gaming activities on their social-network profiles.

Xbox manufacturer Microsoft made a $240 million investment in Facebook in October 2007. The service now has well over 200 million active users around the world.

Both Facebook products are “penciled in for the fall,” Facebook platform program manager Gareth Davis told CNET News. He said that while there currently aren’t plans to bring Facebook’s virtual currency plans to the Xbox, he implied that it’s not out of the question. “We’re constantly looking at ways of improving the user experience or the developer experience with Facebook credits,” Davis said.

With 2008 coming to a close, it’s easy to forget about all of the excellent games that were released earlier in the year that you have yet to play. This holiday season is packed with games competing for your hard earned cash. Games like Resistance 2, Little Big Planet, Gears of War 2, Left 4 Dead, Dead Space, Valkyria Chronicles, and Prince of Persia are probably some of the latest games that are on gamer’s minds. This holiday rush of games is going to overshadow the majority of excellent games made in 2008, primarily because they are fresh in people’s minds. However, a lot of great games were made in 2008, and shouldn’t be overlooked. Many of the games listed below are on sale for a discounted price to compete with recent games.

Condemned 2: Bloodshot (Playstation 3, Xbox 360)
Condemned 2 is the sequel to Condemned: Criminal Origins, which was an Xbox 360 exclusive. Condemned 2 is unlike many of the first person games released in 2008, because it’s not primarily a shooter. Although you acquire a few guns in the game, most of the combat is done with your fists, or melee weapons such as pipes, and bricks. The combat is rather enjoyable, as well as brutal, the graphics are very nice, the story is well told, and there is a strong horror vibe to the game, so fans of horror should enjoy this game.

Dark Sector (Playstation 3, Xbox 360)
It’s a bit of a mystery as to why this game didn’t receive more attention from gamers. Dark Sector features a very similar control scheme to Gears of War, or Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. You press a button to run to cover, use the analog stick to pop around the corner, etc. The main difference between this game and Gears of War is the glaive. The main character in Dark Sector is a man named Hayden, and his primary weapon is the glaive, which you acquire early in the game. The glaive is like a three-sided boomerang with blades on it. You’re able to throw the glaive at your enemies, cutting off any limbs in your path. You’re even able to control the glaive itself in slow motion as you guide it towards the specific limb of your enemy that you would like to amputate. While the story in Dark Sector isn’t the best told in the world, neither is Gears of War. The action in Dark Sector is very fun, and if you’re a gore hound, Dark Sector certainly won’t disappoint. This is actually one of the cheapest games on this list. It’s being sold for an insulting $19.99 new in many video game stores.

Eternal Sonata (Playstation 3, Xbox 360)
Although Eternal Sonata has been out since 2007 on the Xbox 360, it has recently been ported to the Playstation 3, therefore it qualifies for this list. Eternal Sonata is an action-RPG set in the mind of Frederick Chopin. It features an enjoyable combat system, an interesting story for the most part, and an amazing art style. The graphics are technically well done, but the art style is absolutely gorgeous. If you absolutely despise anime as an art style, then you will hate looking at Eternal Sonata, but if you’re one of the many anime fans out there, there is no better game than Eternal Sonata when it comes to replicating the anime art style. The combat is relatively easy, and there aren’t many side quests to speak of, so it’s a rather short game. Despite this, Eternal Sonata is a worthwhile RPG, and can be found at a discount for the Xbox 360. The Playstation 3 version is still at full price, but it comes with many bonus features such as new characters available for your party.

Lost Odyssey (Xbox 360)
Lost Odyssey has to be one of the most under rated games of the year. It’s a classic turn based, Japanese RPG. The story of Lost Odyssey is a rather interesting one. It starts off great, and lulls a bit at the end, but overall it’s very engaging. The characters suffer from some RPG standards such as having a quiet tough guy, a comedian, the big breasted woman, the annoying kids, etc, but if you give the game time, the characters are actually well developed over the course of the journey. As stated above, the combat is strictly turn based. If you don’t like taking turns with your enemies in JRPGs, then you won’t like Lost Odyssey. However, if turn based combat is your thing, there isn’t much to dislike. Character, and enemy design is top notch, and the graphics as a whole are impressive. There are many side quests in this game, so if you’re the hardcore type, expect to play upwards of 80 hours. Lost Odyssey is an excellent JRPG, and it’s a pity that it didn’t get the attention it deserved.

Sega Superstars Tennis (Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Playstation 2, Wii)
As the name bluntly points out, Sega Superstars Tennis is all about various Sega characters playing tennis, as well as participating in tennis themed mini games. It features a respectable amount of characters to choose from: ranging from the beloved Sonic to the lesser known Beat from Jet Grind Radio. While the tennis itself is enjoyable for a while, it’s the mini games that really make the game. All of the mini games are inspired by classic Sega games. For example, instead of killing zombies with a gun in the House of the Dead mini game, you repel them back to the grave with tennis balls. This may sound lame, but it’s not. It’s a good time. The Puyo Pop mini game is worth the purchase alone. In addition, there is a lot of multiplayer fun to have with this game.

Silent Hill: Homecoming (Playstation 3, Xbox 360)
When Silent Hill fans heard that Team Silent wasn`t developing Silent Hill: Homecoming, expectations for the game dropped dramatically. It was met with generally positive reviews from critics, with most scores ranging from a 6 out of 10, all the way up to a 9 out of 10. The main problem for fans of the series with Silent Hill: Homecoming is that it shares more in common with the theatrical film than the previous games in the series. For those that enjoyed the film, this may not be a problem. Much like the film, the game focuses on a cult. It`s obvious that Silent Hill: Homecoming was based off of the film in many ways, because many of the effects such as transitioning between the foggy Silent Hill, and the hellish Silent Hill look as though they were ripped straight from the film. The combat system is entirely different than it was in previous games. You are able to dodge, and perform finishers. This may be a bit of a turn off for long time fans, but others may find the new combat system to be a breath of fresh air. The graphics are above average, and the enemy and boss design, are particularly impressive. It may not be the best survivor horror ever made, but it’s certainly worth a play through for fans of the genre.

Click Here For more Best of Everything 2008

As 2008 draws to a close, the increasingly dire economy is dominating headlines in virtually every industry…including games. Just today, PlayStation 3-maker Sony announced it was cutting 16,000 jobs–8,000 of them permanent, the 8,000 other temporary. Just hours later, Electronic Arts lowered its guidance for the year and confirmed it would be further cutting its payroll and canceling several unspecified future projects.

That said, one small bright spot of game-industry news has emerged. Microsoft has confirmed that Gears of War 2, Epic Games’ highly-rated follow-up to GameSpot’s 2006 Game of the Year, sold over 3 million copies in the four weeks after its November release. Since Gears of War took 10 weeks to go triple platinum, that means its sequel is selling at more than twice its forbear’s pace. The original game went on to sell over 5.5 million copies worldwide on the Xbox 360 and, to a much lesser extent, the PC. (The PC version was released a year after the 360 original launched.)

Unlike the first game, Gears of War 2 will remain exclusive to Microsoft’s console, with Epic design director Cliff Bleszinski saying there will never be a PC port. Set six months after the original, the sequel once again follows Marcus Fenix, the gruff leader of the elite Delta Squad as they continue to battle the ghoulish subterranean race known as the Locust. This time around, Fenix and his comrades take the fight further underground and learn more about their enemies’ horrific origins.

Depending on your affinity for live-action Nickelodeon shows, the Rock Band DLC offerings from earlier this week probably won’t go down in history as appealing to a very broad range of faux rockers. Fortunately, next week’s batch of songs are just around the corner, and they’re of a much more mainstream persuasion than the Naked Brothers Band and iCarly soundtracks.

The previously announced No Doubt compilation is scheduled to hit Xbox Live next Tuesday, and the PlayStation Store on Thursday. Including 13 tracks from the band’s The Singles: 1992-2003 album, the total package will cost $19.99 (1600 Microsoft points), while individual songs will run the standard $1.99 (160 Microsoft points). The entire listing of next week’s tracks includes:

• “Just a Girl”
• “It?s My Life”
• “Hey Baby”
• “Bathwater”
• “Sunday Morning”
• “Hella Good”
• “Underneath It All”
• “Excuse Me Mr.”
• “Running”
• “Spiderwebs”
• “Simple Kind of Life”
• “Don?t Speak”
• “Ex-Girlfriend”

Younger gamers might roll their eyes at the thought of a ska band fronted by the woman responsible for such atrocities as “Hollaback Girl”, but those of us who came of age in the ’90s tend to have much fonder memories of No Doubt. Even the biggest Gwen Stefani detractors would have a hard time denying how relentlessly catchy some of this stuff is. Go ahead and try going the rest of the week without humming the chorus to “Sunday Morning” at least once.

A cryptic teaser hinting at the “next Metal Gear” has appeared on the Kojima Productions website, but quite what it means is anyone’s guess. The website page shows a mathematical sum, with two alert symbols equalling what looks like a power symbol. Not much to go on you might think, but the symbols are in green and the power symbol bears more than a passing resemblance to the Xbox 360 ring, albeit with a smaller alert symbol at the top. Could it mean Metal Gear Solid 4 is finally coming to Xbox 360? We certainly hope so, but similarly it could also mean something completely different.

A recent article from digital spy (via videogaming247) cites a study from The Diffusion Group (TDG) estimating that “190 million households worldwide will own a next-generation console by 2012.” Of those 190 million households, TDG believes 110 million next-generation consoles will be signed up for Xbox Live, the PlayStation Network, or Nintendo’s Wii Online. Of course, these figures could change if industry sales numbers surpass expectations in 2009, 2010, and/or 2011 like they did in 2006 and 2007.

SOURCE: 1Up.com

Coming off a strong Black Friday performance where Microsoft claims the Xbox 360 trounced the PlayStation 3 by a three-to-one sales margin, Microsoft’s vice president of strategy and business development, Shane Kim, has told Reuters that Microsoft is “cautiously optimistic” about holiday sales. This comes during a year where the industry is expected to grow 20% according to Kim. But next year is where the real concern lies, as it’s impossible to predict what impact the economic recession will have.

Regarding 2008′s growth, Kim said “people are not projecting that kind of growth” for 2009. “Who knows, maybe flat performance will be considered a remarkable achievement. It’s difficult to predict the future.”

As a result, Kim says that Microsoft is preparing for “tough times,” adding, “A big objective for us is to deliver most entertainment value for the dollar.”

If one thing is for sure, though, it’s that there won’t be any shortage of big games to keep an eye on in 2009.

You be the judge on what’s the better game?

Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system kicked off the holidays with record- breaking console sales on one of the biggest shopping weekends of the year in the U.S. Retailers reported Xbox 360 console sales over the Black Friday weekend were on pace to beat previous years, outselling the PlayStation 3 by a three-to-one ratio and estimating a 25 percent increase from Xbox 360 Black Friday sales figures from 2007.

Strong game sales rounded out a historic Black Friday for Xbox 360, with record-paced software sales continuing for key Microsoft titles, such as Gears of War 2, Fable II, and Lips. Xbox 360 continues to have the highest game attach rate of any console at 8.1 games per console.

Wanna know what’s good and what’s not? Quibian Salazar-Moreno has what you need to get by for the holiday season:

Prince of Persia (Xbox 360, PS3) – The long-awaited much-hyped Prince of Persia game for the new generation of consoles is finally here. The game has an entire new look, new gameplay, and new characters and so far the results have been pretty good. This is a must have game for this year.

Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories (PS2) – The original Chain of Memories, a direct sequel to Kingdom of Hearts, was released in 2004 for Gameboy Advance. This PS2 version was updated with 3D battles using the same graphics as the original Kingdom Hearts game. There’s also new cut scenes, new battles, voice acting and the “Reaction Command” function.

My Fitness Coach h (Wii) – Capitalizing on the popularity of Wii Fit, My Fitness Coach is a personal virtual trainer that offers more than 500 exercises for flexibility, cardio fitness, strength training and more. You also get to create an exercise calendar with goals along with picking out your favorite kind of music.

Destroy All Humans! Path of The Furon (Xbox 360) – This is the fourth game in the Destroy All Humans! Series and takes place in the 1970’s. You play as an alien named Crypto who is trying to harvest DNA from the humans. There’s five new open worlds to explore plus new weapons and new alien powers.

Wanna know what else is hot? Check out the rest of the releases by clicking here.

At the SEMA show in Las Vegas, EA announced the first-ever Need for Speed Live festival, which will both act as a international competition and a chance to celebrate car culture. The event will be hosted next summer at the Brands Hatch Circuit near London, England.

The event will run a full weekend, and will include various types of entertainment, music, car shows and video games – assumed to be EA specific titles.

“For over 14 years, Need for Speed has been at the forefront of automotive culture and this Live race event brings the spirit of Need for Speed games to life with all of the energy, adrenaline and sexiness that the franchise represents,” said Rod Chong, Creative Director for Need for Speed Live. “Need for Speed Live will definitely push each driver and their cars to the limit as they contend with dramatic elevation changes and harrowing fourth-gear 100 mph drifts.”

The competition will draw some of the world’s top drifters and time-attack drivers to compete live. At this point competitors from Europe, North America and Japan are expected.

So, if you are a car enthusiast, and are thinking that forking out the dough for a trip over the pond is warranted, check out the official site for more event information.

CBC News is reporting that Rudder, whose credits include Splinter Cell, Jagged Alliance 2 and Prince of Persia: Warrior Within, was having dinner when his hotel came under attack. Rudder was hit by three bullets.

According to Synchronicity Foundation vice president Bobbie Garvey, “Rudder was taken to the hospital. He did have surgery [that was] very successful. He was in intensive care for a little while, but he is very stable and he is healing at the moment.”

Rudder was in India with two dozen other people as part of a Synchonicity spiritual retreat. Best wishes to him and his family on a speedy recovery.

Has 50 crossed the wrong people? Or have the wrong people crossed 50?

Prince of Persia will be in stores on December 2nd.

5. Lips – While Lips looks and plays like most karaoke titles, the difference comes with the music. Not only are there songs from Beyonce and Alicia Keys to Queen and The Police, the game also lets you connect your iPod or Zune and sing to your own library of music.

4. Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts – Hardcore Banjo-Kazooie fans may be disappointed with Nuts & Bolts because it’s more of a driving platform game than a pure platform title like previous games, but it’s still a solid experience. The graphics are colorful and you have the ability to customize vehicles including cars, submarines, planes and boats. Newcomers to Banjo-Kazooie will have a good time.

3. Fable II – It’s a great action role playing game with a decent story and so many intricacies woven throughout. You raise a hero from child to adulthood as he tries to get revenge but meanwhile you can have him get married, have children, get a job, buy property and help with characters with their troubles. Or you can just be a loner with your dog and terrorize people from village to village.

Be sure to check out more from Quibian Salazar-Moreno’s top two picks at The Examiner!

Attention, attention, attention! Anyone with the skills and the stomach to take on Disturbing Tha Peace’s own Ludacris will have their chance to put their swag to the test on November 17th via Xbox Live.

Rapper-slash-actor Ludacris will put on the pads and head to the field to play Madden NFL 2009 with Xbox Live Gold card carrying members.

For those interested in playing, send a friend request to Luda’s gamertag – which is GWF Ludacris – and be online half an hour before the session kicks off at 3:00pm EST. “I call myself the MVP of rap,” Luda states via press release, “and when you put everything together in rap, as far as lyrics, visuals, record sales, personality, conceptual songs, I feel like I’m the summation of it all. I feel like there’s nothing I can’t do.” Bold words from the man who’s album, Theater of the Mind, is also being claimed to be a classic by the Atlanta rapper.

With appearances in 2008′s Max Payne and Rock ‘n Rolla, Ludacris looks to keep his winning streak the same as his recording sales in the rap game – unparalleled. Fans and foes alike have a chance to earn some big bragging rights.

Boasting more than 95 tracks set within 25 square miles of a beautifully captured, mountainous desert terrain, you’ll get behind the wheel of this growing California alternative to the droll NASCAR racing that your grandpa loves so much. Edge of Control will feature nine different vehicle classes, most of which are authentic for the annual 300-mile Baja 1000 race (that really takes place this November in Baja, California!).

Racing the Baja bug, unlimited VW, 4×4 class, open wheel, mini truck, class 1, trophy trucks and a “bonus” class, the point that this game doesn’t feature bikes or quads, doesn’t take away from the overall variety that Baja brings to the table. But what is uniquely intricate about this game is the 411 part upgrades, giving the trucks their own comprehensive vehicle options.

As you hit the road hard, you can see all the parts of the car doing their thing – from the shocks to the nuances on the dashboard in first-person view… but all we’re looking forward to is getting behind that wheel. The Baja picks up well, using a clutch button to rev up the engine allows your car to move fluidity with no hiccups. But make a mistake and the realistic damage settings are brutal.

The bad side to Baja: Edge of Control is that it takes a little while getting used to manueverability and breaking. The e-brake you have to learn how to time when going around sharp turns. With mounds and ramps that are large enough to throw you  up into the air, Baja tends to punish rather than reward you for getting big air.

A healthy AI sees drivers cutting you off and making moves like any driver would, but as the racing world continues to expand and grow, Baja: Edge of Control remains cool.