Microsoft just held a snazzy, press-only Xbox 360 event in San Francisco and there were plenty of exciting announcements that anyone with an Xbox 360 should be looking forward to. I'm here to bring you all the massive announcements from the show, straight after the jump.

Halo: Reach beta starts May 3rd

The next installment in the insanely popular Halo series may not be due for release until the holiday season, but Bungie have fulfilled a promise by granting all current Halo 3: ODST owners access to the multiplayer beta of Halo: Reach when it starts on May 3rd. It's already being billed by Bungie as 'the definitive Halo title', and gamers will be able to see what all the fuss is about come May.


Alan Wakes up on May 21st

Sorry for the god-awful pun, but I'm sure you can forgive me after I give you the news that the long-awaited Alan Wake from Remedy is due for release in Europe on May 21st. It's also been confirmed for a May 18th release in the US, and has been given a surprising 'T for Teen' rating over there. Nice to see a horror game relying on genuine scares rather than cheap blood and gore.


Dead Rising 2 hits September 3rd with exclusive Xbox DLC

Dead Rising was a rather awesome game so colour me excited for the sequel. Capcom confirmed at X10 that Dead Rising 2 is due out on September 3rd for us Europeans. Xbox 360 players get an extra special treat in the form of an exclusive piece of DLC prior to the game's launch which links together the story from the original game and the sequel


Find Lost Planet 2 on May 18th

Capcom's other big sequel for 2010 will be in stores very soon, as the Japanese company has confirmed a worldwide May 18th release for Lost Planet 2. They also announced that Xbox 360 owners would get exclusive playable characters in the form of Albert Wesker from Resident Evil 5 and Marcus Fenix and Dom Santiago from Gears of War. Expect more huge bosses, incredible graphics and 4 player co-op goodness.


Become king in Fable III this Christmas

The third entry in one of my favourite game series' will hit stores in time for Christmas, according to Lionhead chief Peter Molyneux. Fable III was arguably the star of X10 in terms of gameplay and features. The game is all about power as you attempt to gain followers, overthrow the king and then take the throne for yourself. Prepare for plenty of tough moral choices, a new touch mechanic and possible Natal support - Molyneux didn't rule it out. Colour me excited.


Splinter Cell Conviction emerges from the shadows on April 16th

The much-delayed Splinter Cell Conviction has finally been given a solid release date, and we UK gamers will be able to get our hands on Sam Fisher's latest adventure on April 16th. I've been very excited about this since its E3 2009 showcase at the Microsoft press conference, so I'll be looking out for this when it hits stores.


Perfect Dark comes to Xbox LIVE Arcade in March

Rare's much loved N64 classic shooter, Perfect Dark, will be coming to Xbox LIVE Arcade this March as part of the Xbox LIVE House Party. The game features brand new graphics with 1080p support, and runs at a blazing 60fps. Most excitingly, it also features Xbox LIVE for both co-op and competitive play.


Never send a man to do a toy's job in Toy Soldiers on March 3rd

This ambitious RTS/Tower-Defense/Third Person Shooter hybrid, in which you command armies of little toy soldiers, will be hitting Xbox LIVE Arcade on March 3rd to kick off the Xbox LIVE House Party. It's like a cute version of Call of Duty and Company of Heroes rolled into one.


Go back to the arcades this March with Xbox LIVE Game Room

Microsoft also announced a March release date for Xbox LIVE Game Room. This new downloadable application will allow gamers to build their own virtual arcade and set it up with hundreds of classic arcade games from the likes of Konami and Atari. Games can be bought to own, or hired out for a single play. The feature - which is slightly akin to PlayStation Home - will support Xbox 360 Achievements, Xbox 360 Avatars and LIVE Leaderboards.

Keep an eye on Gamer's Guide to Life.com for all the latest from Microsoft's X10 event.

Tom

Labels: 360, Alan Wake, Dead Rising 2, Fable 3, Game Room, Halo Reach, Lost Planet 2, News, Perfect Dark, Splinter Cell, Tom Acres, Toy Soldiers, X10, XBLA, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE

Peter Molyneux made a big announcement at Gamescon in Cologne yesterday: one that will no doubt lead to a year of high hopes in the game community. Fable 3 is on its way to our living rooms, and should be here sometime in 2010.

I can see it now, new waves of excitement over simulations of dogs realistically looking sadly at pub windows while their masters realistically get rejected by barmaids who could realistically be riddled with STDs in a realistically-designed fantasy environment.

I'm wary of the third Fable installment. The way Molyneux hyped up the last two, only to see them both fall short, fuels my wariness. Every week or so for years our good friend Peter would dazzle gamers with tales of distant lands composed of non-linear storylines where you could rob a bank as a thief, save a princess as a knight, or get gingivitis as a barbarian. But both games fell short of his promises. Molyneux promised filet mignon the size of Mars, and gave us hamburger.

Here's what Pete had to say about his next crack at Fable: “The third child is always the problem child. The third game of any series tends to be a bit of a lull. We want people to expect the unexpected.

“Fable 3 will be new, fresh and different. I think there’s something fundamentally wrong with RPGs like Fable. The mechanics have been around since the ‘80s. I’m going to take that foundation and throw it away.”

"I want players to feel and experience what it’s like to be a ruler."

That could be fun. I have no idea what it entails, and the idea isn't really new to the fantasy genre specifically, but don't think I've played an RPG where I started off as a big kahuna and worked my way down to plebiaity.

Here's to hoping Peter's good for his word this time. There's a first time for everything.

Greg

Labels: Fable 3, Gamescom 09, Greg Mengel