The Passing

Left 4 Dead 2 “ The Passing”

Valve has revealed the first downloadable addition to Left 4 Dead 2, a new episode named “The Passing.” The campaign, set after the events of “Dead Center,” features a meet up between Ellis, Coach, Rochelle, and Nick and Bill, Francis, Zoey and Louis.

“The Passing” has new “uncommon common” infected type, new weapons (One Mele & One firearm) and a new challenge play mode. The new campaign will be survival based and have a versus and scavenge mode as well. There is also an unannounced new mode as well.

The new episode is “set in a small town in rural Georgia,” according to Valve’s release, keeping players in the role of Left 4 Dead 2′s cast “as they meet with the L4D1 characters.” Could “The Passing” offer 4-plus-4 cooperative multiplayer action, or are we just aiming too high?

Left 4 Dead 2′s “The Passing” is scheduled for release in “early spring” for the PC and Xbox 360. Pricing has not yet been announced.

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Game Continues to Set Retail Sell-Through Records

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Jan 13, 2010 – Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) announced today that Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 continues to set sell-through records crossing the $1 billion mark in retail sales worldwide since its launch in November, according to internal Activision estimates.

In its first five days alone, the game sold an estimated $550 million worldwide, outpacing five-day worldwide theatrical box office gross figures for such films as Avatar, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and The Dark Night, according to internal Activision estimates and boxofficemojo.com.

“Call of Duty:Modern Warfare 2 has exceeded our expectations and shattered theatrical box office and video game records,” said Robert Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard. “There are only a handful of entertainment properties that have ever reached the $1 billion mark, which illustrates the power of the Call of Duty franchise and mass appeal of this game.”

Modern Warfare 2 is rated “M” (Mature) by the ESRB for Blood, Drug Reference, Intense Violence and Language. For additional information about the game, visit www.modernwarfare2.com.

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You thought your surround system and large LED TV were amazing, take a look at this configuration. If you are looking for  an incredible racing and driving simulation, you need to think about this setup. Three monitors, one XBOX 360 and a video splitter that duplicates the signal.

* Note not all racing games support this three monitor configuration, some support six monitors.

Does your gaming rig look like this? If so email us a pic and a little background and you could win two new games of your choice from amazon.com

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Xbox 360

It’s been almost 4 years since the birth of the Xbox 360 and there seems to be no signs of its popularity waning. Sales numbers continue to rise and there are hundreds of games for all types of players. But even with the downturn in the economy and the soaring popularity of the 360, there is one question every Xbox 360 owner has asked: When is the next Xbox coming out?

Xbox Next, Xbox 720 or whatever its name will be has been the topic of conjecture for over two years now. However, there have been almost no substantial facts  from Microsoft to give gamers any real idea of what to expect. Almost nothing.

Maybe????

Fact: Sony and Nintendo are already developing new consoles. With this being true, Microsoft would have to be nuts not to have a team already at work on a new system. Sony was the North American leader of the industry until they waited so long to put out the PS3. Xbox 360 had almost two full years without a Sony next generation competitor. There is no way Microsoft will let Sony overtake them again.

Fact: Microsoft wants the Xbox 360 to have an extended lifespan. They have stated that 5 years with the current technology is not a long enough lifespan for the Xbox 360. As a matter of fact, the original Xbox was sold new into 2007 even though production had ended in 2005. Most of the industry expects a new Xbox in 2011 or 2012 which would equate to 6 or 7 years after the initial launch of the 360.

Fact: Xbox 360’s  motion control, Natal, is coming out “soon”. Even though Microsoft has announced that they will not rush the technology until it is ready, they had stated at E3 this past June that they anticipate a launch late in 2009. Natal will undoubtedly be used for the next generation console, but since Microsoft has invested a lot of money to ensure that it works with the 360 they will most likely want at least a year with the 360.

Fact: Microsoft has completed a total processor makeover of the Xbox 360. If you are the poor gamer who has seen the dreaded Red Ring of Death then you know that overheating is a killer of the processor. This prompted Microsoft to not only extend their Xbox 360 warranty from 1 year to 3 years, but they replaced the Xenon processor with the smaller, yet just as powerful, Jasper. This marks a commitment from Microsoft to keep the system on the market for as long as possible to recoup as much money as possible.

The bottom-line: Microsoft is looking into a new Xbox, Natal is going to be the key component, but with the investments that they have recently put into the Xbox 360 we are going to have to wait at least two more years before we see anything. The only new system any us will see from Microsoft over the next year will a Natal included 360. Of course, I could be absolutely wrong.

-Tim Fischer

Managing Editor

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