Halo 3 = Fistfulls of Ca$h

It looks like Microsoft has something new to brag about. Halo 3's first day sales numbers came back very impressive, the official word from MS: "Halo 3 has officially become the biggest entertainment launch in history, garnering an estimated $170 million in sales in the United States alone in the first 24 hours. The Xbox 360 title beat previous records set by blockbuster theatrical releases like "Spider-man 3" and novels such as "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." Not too shabby for the crew at Bungie for the swan song to a franchise that will surely live on in the gaming history books. I haven't picked it up yet myself, but my Magic 8 Ball has assured that it "seems likely" that I will have it by the weekend. Kudos all around MS and Bungie.

Viva Pinata Couple on Myspace

Did you think the Jacksonville, FL couples engagement was sweet? You know the one where they guy asked his lady to marry him by using the game Viva Pinata. Now you can visit them on Myspace and join their friends list.

The myspace page includes videos of the different local and cable shows that covered the story. There are also links to a bunch of blogs that reported the story, including our own, and the couples gamer tags. Now Andy and Dave can have the battle of the wits online through Halo 3 campaign meta game.

Halo 3 Inspires Crime Spree

Not only is Halo 3's impending release inspiring fanboy frenzy, it is also inspiring a crime spree across the country. For the past few days, reports have been coming in from all over the country about people breaking into stores in order to get their hands on Halo 3.

I went to a local Game Force today and noticed the front window had been replaced by a board. As I made idle chit chat with the girl at the counter, I asked if they were ready for Halo 3.

She became agitated and explained that they had been broken into twice in the last three days, primarily for Halo 3. The thieves also took other games(including the cheap version of The Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth I was trying to buy) along with Halo 3.

Gamestops have also been a target by thieves elsewhere in the country along with some other stores. Of course, as of this posting there are only about two and a half hours until Halo 3's release at midnight so hopefully the crime spree can come to an end and the killing of the Covenant can begin.

CoD 4 Beta Coming to an End

All good things must come to an end... like the Call of Duty 4 beta. The last day of the beta will be September 30th when most people will already be busy with Halo 3. But it's not all bad news from Infinity Ward.

Before the beta ends, the level cap will be increased from rank 16 to rank 25. This level cap increase will take place September 28th.

With the new ranks, players will be able to experience a few new perks like Martyrdom(you drop a live grenade whenever you get killed. Good against stabbers), Sleight of Hand(you reload your gun faster) and Claymore x2.

At the higher levels, players will also have access to three new weapons: the G3 assault rifle, the M60E4 machine gun and the Dragunov sniper rifle.

It's Party Time!!

Well my friends the wait is over. No.. not for Halo 3, but the next best multiplayer experience just to the left of Halo 3. That's right the Viva Piñata Party Animals demo has hit the XBLM today. So get to downloading all you hopeless romantics, I hear that these sort of games can be a terrific aphrodisiac for the ladies, sometimes even suckering them into marriage proposals (it's worked before).

A Look at CoD 4 Achievements

The list of Call of Duty 4 achievements have been released. I like to look at the lists in order to see if there's anything unusual. Just a quick scan because I don't want to spoil anything in the actual game. But I found the CoD 4 achievement list very interesting.

After playing the beta for weeks, I expected a lot of multiplayer achievements. Maybe achieving a certain rank or number of kills... Possibly killing so many people with Last Stand or shooting down so many enemy helicopters... The possibility for achievements in the multiplayer portion of the game alone are astounding.

So imagine my surprise when I looked through the achievements and counted how many seem to be multiplayer... zero.

That's right. It looks like all 37 achievements are achieved in the single player campaign alone. Which normally I would like because I do much better on the single player achievements than the multiplayer, but it just seems weird since multiplayer is such a big part of CoD 4. I guess this will cut down on players boosting with other people(Josh...).

Wifi Brawling

Nintendo's daily update on their Smash Bros. website was a big one today... confirmation of online battles. Details straight from the page ahead...

This game supports Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. If you connect your Wii to the Internet, you can enjoy linked battles with distant people!
But because this form of communication is greatly affected by the distance between you and your opponent, your brawls may not run smoothly if you’re really far apart—like, for instance, if you’re connecting between Japan and America.
The more distant you are, the worse your connection becomes, and the slower it feels. I apologize, but I hope you understand.
There are two primary connection methods. The names of these methods are "With Friends" and "With Anyone." The menus and structures of each method are pretty different.
With Friends
Wii friends who have registered one another’s names can play together freely.
If you’re registered as friends, you can check each other’s status. If a friend is online and you earn his or her consent, you can enter a battle.
You can even send short messages during brawls!
These short messages are entered in advance, and you send them by taunting. There are four messages for the four directions on the + Control Pad: Up, down, left and right.
With friends, you can brawl any way you like. And there are other modes besides just free-for-alls.
With Anyone
You can also battle with people you don’t know who are looking for brawls. The most important point here is that you will not know each other’s names.
If you think of your opponent as a simple scarecrow, any psychological barriers may melt away.
Your opponent will not know your name or any information about you, and neither of you can send short messages. There will also be no battle records kept for this mode, so whether you win or lose, it doesn’t matter. Just sit back and play.
Now, while you’re waiting for a match to start, you can kill time with a little practice on Sandbag.
We’re planning a number of services that make use of Wi-Fi, but we’ll reveal them gradually with the other modes. Enjoy

Nintendo.com Forums Say Bye Bye

If you frequent the Nintendo.com forums you'll get a special message from the big N that they are overhauling their site, but the forums have been taken down and may not return.

"Nintendo is working on a major overhaul to Nintendo.com to support the continued success of Nintendo DS and Wii. As we prepare for this huge site update, Nintendo must unfortunately close the Nintendo NSider Forums message boards indefinitely beginning Sept. 17, 2007."

Is this another case of Nintendo not showing love for the hardcore gamer? Are they tuning the site to be more presentable to the casual crowd? No one knows, but this is definitely a strange move to redesign a site. I've heard of sites locking the forums, but to completely delete them is a little extreme.

If you are a hardcore Nintendo fan, be sure to take this opportunity to start your own forums as there is a large group of gamers looking for a home. Hell, Nintendo recommends it. This could be a good moneymaker for some fan out there.

What Happened to Xbox Rewards?

Anyone remember Xbox Rewards? It was the program where you gained so much gamerscore in order to complete challenges and then received real life rewards. However, there haven't been any new challenges since the first one which started lasted from February until April.

I thought it was a great idea. It was real world incentives to gain gamer points. (For those who aren't already obsessed with them. I am seeking help...) You gain points, you get free stuff. Who doesn't like that?

However, after the first challenge sponsored by Old Spice(which seemed like a poor sponsor for a gaming challenge), there haven't been any more challenges.

What's the deal? Was it a one shot affair? I know they had a lot of problems with people registering and everything with their website crashing and such, but a lot of people are already registered so it shouldn't be as much of an issue.

Come on, Microsoft! We need more challenges!

Just please don't make the reward something like Fusion Frenzy 2 again...

Call of Duty 4 Countdown

XYBA Podcast Ep 13

Lucky episode 13 is up and live. Join Andy, Charlie, Grant, and Josh as ramble on about games.

00:00 - Intro Music by Grant
00:10 - Introductions with your host Josh and his sub host Charlie, Grant, and Andy (he survived by default)
00:33 - Games We Be Playin :|: Bioshock, Guitar Hero II, Just Cause, GTA San Andreas, crap load of game demos
15:27 - Gaming News :|: A bunch of Halo news
32:15 - Roundtable Discussion :|: Game Elements that we would like to see removed and what should replace it.
44:50 - Games Are Looking Forward To :|: Dimensium The Ward, Halo 3, Borderlands, Kane and Lynch, Army of Two, GTAIV, Manhunt 2, and Mass Effect
50:15 - Grants back. I thought he died.
53:55 - Rants about the grief we get about our podcast. People hate us.
1:05:38 - Shoutouts and outro music

Download XYBA Podcast Ep 13

Jacksonville, FL Makes the Gaming News

Jacksonville, FL(our home base) made the gaming news again today so I had to post about it. Even though it's pretty gay.

A Jacksonville, FL man bought his girlfriend an Xbox 360 and Viva Pinata with the simple plan of getting her addicted to the game and therefore the system. It worked, and she loved the game.

So then he decides to propose to her and does it by sending her a diamond his miner dug up with a note asking him to marry her. They were playing in the same room on two different systems. She thought he was joking, but then he pulled out a real diamond ring and asked her to marry him. She said yes.

Boo! Why is this the news from here in the news? Why not something cool? Like free games or systems or anything that personally gratifies me. That's the kind of news I like.

And no, Shane, just because you sent me a box full of ducks on Viva Pinata does not mean I'll marry you...

Tony Hawk Demo...

As virtual skateboarding fans were forced to wait a few more days for EA's skate to reach store shelves, a demo for the new Tony Hawk game called "Proving Ground" hit the xbox marketplace. I downloaded it last night; My full impressions as Josh would say "after the jump."

Graphics - Garbage. Gameplay - Boring. (On a side note, if you want me to have fun with your crappy game, or want me to enjoy the demo so I'd buy your crappy game, let me use a character that has at least some stats. I would say this is a real example of how a demo can hurt a game, because anyone who's played "skate" and still wants to buy this is crazy.

Farewell FASA

It's official. FASA Studios has closed its doors and all its workers have moved on.

The rumors have been circulating for months, but today the announcement was made that FASA Studios has dissolved. FASA Studios was purchased by Microsoft back in 2004. About half of the FASA Studios workers have been assigned new positions within Microsoft.

FASA has been around since 1980, originally being a publishing house in Chicago of pen and paper roleplaying games like Battletech, Shadowrun, Star Trek RPG and Earthdawn. They were also early computer game creaters, responsible for the MechWarrior series and later the Crimson Skies series.

There will still be Community Manager and Technical Support Manager on the job to help those still playing Shadowrun for the PC and Xbox 360, but everyone else is gone.

The announcement was made on the Shadowrun forums. The news apparently hasn't hit FASA studio's homepage where they still have six job openings...

Should I Be Worried?

I turned on my 360 last night and as I'm reaching for my guitar to play Guitar Hero, I realize I haven't heard or seen anything on my tv yet. I looked to make sure my system was on and that's when I saw it... the 3 red rings. I turned it off and back on and it worked, but is this the beginning of the end for me again?

Preview: Timeshift

This game has been in the works for a LONG time. So long in fact that I had written it off as dead. Most of the stories you find about it are from 2005 or 2006, still listing it as a Spring 2006 release. Well, Timeshift is finally coming out on October 30th. And the demo has been on the Xbox Live Marketplace for a couple weeks or so.

I finally downloaded the demo tonight and played it through. The concept of the game is somebody has invented time travel. They've gone back in time and created some kind of paradox or messed up history. You are equipped with a suit which can freeze, slow or reverse time. You are trying to put right what once went wrong.

I can see why they had problems properly developing the game. Total control over time seems like it would make the game too easy and not engaging. However, they seemed to have reached a decent medium with it. You have limited reserves for controlling time. These reserves replenish themselves over time. Freezing time drains the reserves faster than slowing time. Freezing time also makes you move a lot slower.

So yes, you can freeze time, take an enemy's gun and shoot him in the face with it, but you won't be doing it often and you'll have to be close to him before you freeze time or you'll never reach him before time reaches normal again. Slowing time is the most frequent use of the time control suit.

Manipulating time is relatively easy with a simple push of the bumper. The game automatically picks the time manipulation it thinks you should use(usually slowing time). However, you can manually pick the time manipulation by holding the bumper and selecting one of the three.

The weapons I got to play with in the demo were a machine gun, a shotgun and an explosive crossbow as well as some grenades. The demo let me understand the game mechanics, but I don't feel like it really told me much about the story. I didn't feel very immersed. I know I was fighting some soldiers and there were other soldiers fighting on my side, but that was about it.

There were some destructible environments. Some of the walls can be shot through or destroyed. Your character has a radar system which is helpful for figuring out where the enemy is and who the friendlies are.

The game felt kinda like Half-Life 2 to me. I might check it out when it comes out, but it's not on my "Must Have It" list.

The Halo Leaks Have Begun

Looks like the leaks have begun, so I will be getting off the Halo 3 boat until Sept 25th. No spoilers after the jump.

There were several copies of a PAL version of Halo 3 being sold on eBay that are being "confirmed" as real. 2 of the Halo 3 copies have been removed. Forums are saying that you could e-mail the seller for proof and the seller would e-mail you some images from the first cut scenes. HBO said they would shut down the forums to prevent any spoilers from getting out, but they are still up and running.

Apparently the eBay sellers are also posting links to Halo 3 spoilers. I will avoid the forums, even though the forum ninjas are on full alert. I imagine they won't be able to stop the Halo 3 storm that will be taking place in the next 2 weeks. I should probably put in my time off request. Master Chief dies at the end, but not before traveling back in time to stop the Covies.

Halo 3 Midnight Launches

Apparently 88 Best Buy stores are going to be holding midnight launch events for Halo 3.

According to Kotaku, there will be "additional freebies to go along with your purchases. New SKUs show that promotional materials will be a Halo 3 Inflatable Chair and a mysterious "Official Launch Kit" the contents of which are currently unknown."
And, oddly enough, there is a local tie for XYBAers to their story. They go on to say "if you live in the Jacksonville, FLA area, our buddy Bobby the Best Buy Guy invites you down to the store on Atlantic Blvd. for what is promised to be the best of the best of Halo 3 midnight events with plenty of fun and excitement to keep you going in what's sure to be a long wait in line." So does Josh cancel his 7-11 preorder and head over to Best Buy for this or what.

skate for 360 delayed...

...for two days. So the game should now be in stores on Friday September 14th instead of Wednesday September 12th.

No real reason has been given for the delay, but so far fans have taken the news well. The announcement was made on the EA skate forums, and everyone seemed very mature about it. Shocking. No word on if this will affect ship dates in other countries, but I'm guessing it won't.

It is only a two day delay, and that's not bad at all. Now Eric has two more days to scrounge up the cash for the game. All that dancing on the monorail station for quarters is bound to pay off!

Rock Band 360 and Wires

This is bad news for Josh, but apparently the 360 bundle for Rock Band will only ship with a wired guitar.

People that want to go wireless will have to buy a separate guitar. That's according to Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos in a recent podcast. All of the guitars for the PS3 will be wireless. The reason... apparently Microsoft charges too much for licensing for their wireless technology. So the question is will Josh still opt for the bundle, or buy a bunch of separate parts? As a side note, I'm really digging the guitar model, way better than the one coming with Guitar Hero 3.

16 Players on Mario Kart Wii?

I thought this was some cool news a couple days ago when it was announced that Mario Kart Wii would allow 16 players online. Apparently the source, the Official Nintendo Magazine in the UK, was not saying there will be 16 players on Mario Kart Wii now.

What they meant was that they speculated that it would have 16 players online. Sounds like someone has been stealing my writing style over in the UK. Rest assure Mario Kart fans, that the trailer the journalist did see "clearly showed" 12 players online, which is a good amount of players.

If it is true that there will be 16 players online, I feel that Halo 3 should at least bump their players to 20. Now Mario Kart can have the tagline "With as many players as Halo 3 online."

No Crackdown 2?

At least not for the foreseeable future. Sadly, Realtime Worlds is not hard at work on a sequel to one of the most enjoyable sandbox games in a while. Microsoft would like Crackdown 2, but Realtime Worlds is currently too busy with other projects.

Crackdown sold over 1.5 million copies. Many credit the Halo 3 beta keys included with the game, but the game won over many fans with its go anywhere, become a crazy super agent style of play.

Its downloadable content packs sold over 700,000 units proving that it wasn't just a Halo 3 Beta key for many gamers. Fans have just assumed that a sequel would be on the way. After all, the ending of Crackdown kinda demands it.

But Realtime Worlds is busy working on APB and another unnamed project. APB is a cops and robbers MMO where players worry about customizable characters and vehicles. And the unnamed project is due in stores in 2009.

So yes, Realtime Worlds is busy. But all hope is not lost. It just might be delayed...

Call of Duty 4 Beta Cap Raising

Starting tomorrow at 10 am PST/1 pm EST, you will be able to raise up to Rank 16 in the Call of Duty 4 Beta. I know that most people capped out at 11 a while ago and it's becoming rare to see anyone lower than Rank 11.

The new higher ranks will unlock more perks and weapons for beta testers to enjoy. The perks Clan Tag and Bomb Squad will now be accessible as well as new weapons like the Mini-Uzi and the Colt .45.

Infinity Ward plans on upping the cap a few more times during the beta to test more of the perks and guns. I think Matyrdom is unlocked at Rank 17! That's where you drop a live grenade every time you are killed. Not very good against snipers, but for those pesky stabbers...

Manhunt 2, Where are you?

So, a friend of mine walks into my office today. He owns a Wii and asked if I knew what was going on with Manhunt 2. I didn't so I looked it up. While this may be old news to some, Manhunt 2 is back on its way to your murderous hands!

Manhunt 2 has been re-rated at M for Mature which means it will be available in the United States. The United Kingdom still has a ban emplaced on Manhunt 2, though. And also, if you want an unedited version, rumor has it that the Netherlands will be selling the original Manhunt 2 version.

Now, some watchdog groups are complaining and protesting, claiming that Manhunt 2 still deserves an AO rating and should not be released. So far, though, it looks like Manhunt 2 will hit American shelves on Halloween: October 31st.

It seems to me that all this hype about Manhunt 2 will probably help sales. From everything I heard, the original Manhunt wasn't that great of a game so without all this fuss about Manhunt 2, most people might have passed it by. But now you can get a game that was so violent it was once banned in the US and is still banned in the UK! That's what every kid wants for Christmas!

Dead Rising 2 Rumor

A few whispers are hitting the nets about the sequel to a game I love: Dead Rising. Rumors say that Dead Rising 2 might make an appearance at TGS(Tokyo Game Show) which will be held September 20th-23rd. Rumors also say it may not be an Xbox 360 exclusive.

Now there's already fanboys flaming each other over the exclusive issue. Personally, I don't care about it being exclusive. I just want to play it. If Capcom makes it available to more than one console(which they've been talking about being non-exclusive in general for months), that just makes sense because they can make more money. Remember the truth: it's always about money.

For some reason, with this rumor, another one seems to follow it. That Capcom will be releasing Lost Planet on the PS3 as well. Why is this rumor so popular? It could be true, but that wouldn't change the fact that Lost Planet sucks!

September Game Releases

Welcome to fall. The kids are back in school and need games to distract them from their homework. Most dates are provided by Gamestop. I hear there's some anticipated game coming out this month, but the name escapes me. Some game for the 360...

 

DS Titles
September 4
* Garfield: Nightmares
* Worms: Open Warfare 2
September 10
* DK Jungle Climber
* Drawn to Life
* Zoey 101: Field Trip Fiasco
September 11
* 7 Wonders
* Fullmetal Alchemist: Trading Card Game
* Jam Sessions
* Master Jin Jin's IQ Challenge
* Pet Luv Spa & Resort Tycoon
* Spelling Challenges and More!
September 17
* AniMates
* Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights
September 18
* Backyard Basketball
* Digimon World: Dawn
* Digimon World: Dusk
* My Sims Wi-Fi
* Namco Museum DS
* Nancy Drew
* Original Frisbee Disc Sports
* Pokemon Pocket Pokedex Vol. 2
* Sonic Rush Adventure
* Super Collapse 3
September 25
* Animal Genius
* Race Driver: Create & Race

PC Titles
September 3
* AnaCapri: The Dream
* Da Vinci's Secret
* Mission: Combat Force
* Panzer Killer
* Seven Kingdoms Conquest
September 4
* I Love Kittens
* I Love Puppies
* Left Behind: Eternal Forces Expansion Pack
* Medal of Honor: Airborne
* Pirate's Revenge
* Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened
* Star Wars: Empire at War Gold Pack
* The Sims 2: Bon Voyage
* The Sims 2: Limited Edition Bundle
September 7
* Hearts of Iron Anthology
September 10
* Ducati World Championship
* Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Game of the Year Edition
* Galactic Assault: Prisoner of Power
September 11
* Aircraft Power Pack II
* Democracy
* NHL 08
September 17
* 30,000 Games
* Big Buck Hunter
* Experiment 112
* History Channel: Battle of Rome
* Quest Pack
September 18
* Blazing Angels 2: Secret Missions
* Stranglehold
* World in Conflict
September 24
* Burger Island
* Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts
* Fritz Chess 10
* Ghost Hunters: Haunting of Majesty
* Hour of Victory
* Rubik's Cube Challenge
* Tarr Chronicles
September 25
* Agatha Christie: Double Murder Combo
* Age of Empires III: Gold
* Brain Spa
* Cabela's Big Game Hunter 2008
* CSI 4: Hard Evidence
* Dora the Explorer: Candyland
* Ghost in the Sheet
* Go Diego Go: Safari Rescue
* Heroes of Might & Magic V: Tribes Expansion Pack
* Settlers: Rise of an Empire
* World of Warcraft Battlechest
September 27
* Mystery of Shark Island

PS2 Titles
September 4
* Naruto Uzumaki Chronicles 2
* Resident Evil: The Essentials
September 10
* Dot.Hack G.U. Vol 3 Redemption
* NHL 2K8
September 11
* Guilty Gear XX Accent Core
* NHL 08
September 17
* Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights
September 18
* Digimon World: Data Squad
* Growlanser: Heritage of War Special Edition
* Honda: SBk-07 Superbike
* SingStar 80's
* SingStar Amped
* Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror
* Warriors Orochi
September 24
* Bratz: The Movie
* Jackass: The Game
* World Champion Paintball
September 25
* Cabela's Trophy Bucks
* CSI 3 Dimension of Murder
* Dance Dance Revolution: SuperNova 2
* Hot Wheels Beat That
* Soul Nomad
* World Series of Poker 2008
September 26
* Backyard Football 2008

PS3 Titles
September 10
* NHL 2K8
September 11
* DiRT
* NHL 08
September 12
* Heavenly Sword
September 17
* Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights
* Stranglehold
* Stuntman: Ignition
September 18
* Blazing Angels 2: Secret Missions
September 24
* Skate
September 25
* World Series of Poker 2008

PSP Titles
September 4
* Worms: Open Warfare 2
September 17
* Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights
September 18
* Coded Arms Contagion
* Super Collapse! 3
* Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Tag Force 2
September 24
* Jackass: The Game
September 25
* Hot PXL
* World Series of Poker 2008

Wii Titles
September 5
* Pool Party
September 18
* Cosmic Family
* Fishing Master
* Mercury Meltdown: Revolution
* My Sims
September 25
* Balls of Fury
* Dance Dance Revolution: Hottest Party Bundle
* Dewy's Adventure
* Dragon Blade: Wrath of Fire
* Hot Wheels Beat That
September 26
* Backyard Football

Xbox 360 Titles
September 4
* Medal of Honor: Airborne
September 5
* Stranglehold
September 10
* Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Game of the Year Edition
* NHL 2K8
September 11
* Fatal Inertia
* Kengo: Legend of the 9
* NHL 08
* SKATE
September 17
* Eternal Sonata
* Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights
September 18
* Blazing Angels 2: Secret Missions
* Warriors Orochi
September 25
* America's Army: True Soldiers
* Cabela's Trophy Bucks
* CSI Hard Evidence
* Halo 3
* Hot Wheels Beat That
* World Series of Poker: Battle

Google Does Games

Okay maybe not games per se, but a game. An easter egg has been found in the latest version of Google Earth that allows users to play a flight simulator inside of Google Earth.

To activate the game, press Ctrl+Alt+A. You'll be asked to chose between a F16 or SR22 and the airport you would like to depart from. I'm not a flight sims kind of gamer, but I thought this was a pretty cool find from Google Earth community. From this Youtube video though it does look like it might be hard, but if you have joysticks those will work with it. Google does provide the proper keyboard guide as well.

XYBA Podcast Ep 12

Episode 12 is out and is full of video gaming goodness. We have 2 special guest, Santana and Marco, and Eric makes a return. This is a longy, but goody. Goody's a word.

00:00 - Intro music by Grant
00:18 - Introductions :|: Andy, Josh, Eric, with Guest Santana and Marco
01:10 - Games we're playing :|: Bioshock (Eric beat it), Call of Duty 4 Beta, Skate Demo, Metroid Prime 3, Animal Crossing, Metal Gear 1 & 2, Final Fantasy Tactics, Hitman 2, and GTA San Andreas
15:54 - Bioshock talk :|: It's Awesome
24:39 - Gaming News :|: PS3 sales up 200%, Games Gone Gold, Joust the movie, Haze only on PS3, and more and Halo 3
41:00 - We discover that Marco is Italian
44:05 - Roundtable Discusson :|: Pregrame Hype and does it hurt a game or help a game
48:32 - We get back on the pregame discussion topic
52:55 - We talk about Metroid here
57:00 - Games we're looking forward to :|: Jam Sessions Bundle Pack, Mass Effect, Metal Gear 4, Little Big Planet, Skate, Team Fortress 2, Halo 3, Fallout 3, Splinter Cell, Call of Duty 4, and GTA IV
1:10:37 - Rants :|: Marco goes off on Sqaure about Final Fantasy, Josh hates crappy search tools on forums
1:16:30 - Shoutouts

Download XYBA Podcast Ep 12