If you read our round-up posts on E3 last June, you noticed a new way to play video games on your Xbox 360 called Project Natal. Basically, Project Natal allows the player to be the controller, something that PlayStation attempted since the days of the PS2 with PlayStation Eye, but it didn’t pan out too well for them. Today reports were coming out that Microsoft was showing Natal off to some UK game publishers and they let a possible price tag slip. What is the price of this sick looking device? Try an awesome $84, that could possibly go down to $50 as Microsoft is trying to push this to be a must have or “impulse buy” for everyone. Oh, and they also let slip a possible  release date of November of next year.

For a full overview of everything that is the awesome Project Natal, see our post here.

Of course these are just rumors for now (and don’t worry, we’ll keep you updated as soon as we hear more), but what you think of Natal possibly being so cheap when it comes out? If it is, you running out on day one and picking it up? Sound off in the comments.

Info from Joystiq

Not to be confused with Halo.

And, once again, I return to that wonderful gaming platform, the iPhone/iTouch. That’s right readers, another iGame review. This time, I’m talking about Eliminate Pro, the new online 4-player FPS that just came out. Also, its free. Kinda.

First off, what is Eliminate? As previously mentioned, its a iPhone first-person shooter. The quality of the game is way up there – some of the nicest graphics on the iPhone, especially considering that it’s running online with 4 players. There are 5 maps and a total of 6 weapons, 5 of which need to be unlocked, as do a variety of armor types. Weapon and armor attributes, like rate of fire and speed are also upgradable. You play up to four players online, with a matchmaking system based on skill ratings to provide as fair a match as possible. Private games are also available, which is nice for when you want to play some people you actually know. There is also an offline mode, but it’s somewhat limited, allowing you to play against 3 computer opponents, but it doesn’t allow much customization.

Gameplay is awesome – the maps are pretty small, so the action is pretty frantic, and fun. A variety of powerups, including heath regeneration, invisibility, superspeed, damage increase, and the always fun jet pack are scattered around the maps, adding to the chaos. Controls work well, with your left thumb working movement, and right thumb aiming, with tap to fire. Those used to playing console first person shooters should easily adapt.

So, I mentioned before you need to unlock and upgrade things. And you do that through credits, which you earn through playing games online. And thats where the monetary aspect of the game comes it. The game itself, as I said, is free. But unless you have “energy” while playing, you won’t earn any credits, which are used to unlock weapons, armor, and upgrades. You’re given a free energy recharge every four hours for about 3 games or so, but after that, if you want to play AND earn credits to upgrade (you CAN still play for fun), you need to buy energy through the in-app purchasing system. Personally, I can understand why they run the system this way, since its the only way to support the game and keep it free, but I can’t say I’m a fan of the nickel and diming.

However, even without energy, the game is still fun, and that’s what counts in the end. And since it’s well, free, I suppose I can’t really argue against it. Check it out on iTunes here. (Note: iTunes Link)

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is one of the most anticipated titles of the year and the sequel to the critically acclaimed Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, which was one of the launch titles for the PS3. We will be reviewing the single player and multiplayer separately. Read on for the review of the single player and some first thoughts to see if we think this is a game worth getting.

You wake up and look around. Then with a shake you are thrown out from your seat and onto the back of a train hanging off the side of a snowy mountain. Unless you want to die, you are forced to climb up the back of the train to get to terra firma. And this is only the tutorial of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.

To say that Uncharted 2: Among Thieves looks like a movie is an understatement. You feel like you are IN a movie. I haven’t played such seamless integration of game play and cinematics since Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. Speaking of cinematics, they are gorgeous. The graphics in this game could easily be the best graphics in a game this year, and arguably all-time. There were times when I saw stunning vistas of mountains and my jaw dropped. It was like actually being there in Nepal right alongside Nathan Drake.

Onto game play, which is great and fun. The mix of shooting, platforming, and puzzle-solving work together perfectly. The shooting works great– I was able to land headshots on bad guys from 3 rooftops away. The cover system also works fantastically, and one thing Naughty Dog improved on Uncharted was stealth and combat. The stealth is much better and if you love Metal Gear Solid, like me, then these stealth levels will be a treat for you, just like they were for me. The combat also works great as you can go from shooting under cover to beating up a baddie seamlessly.

Three things that made this game stand out were things that make this game so unique was the voice acting, active cinematics, and the camera direction. That’s right, I said the camera direction. It was so incredible the way the camera moved, it really made you feel that you weren’t playing a video game, but instead an action-packed blockbuster movie.

And the voice acting is another thing that makes this game feel like a movie. The characters talk to each to other during fights with things that give you the feeling that these characters have known each other a long time and it gives them a backstory. The little quips and comebacks that the characters fired at each other while taking on a helicopter were funny and seemed right out of a blockbuster movie.

Lastly, what’s active cinematics you ask? Here’s an example: You are in a tall building which just got hit by a rocket and is crumbling down towards the ground with you in it. Instead of the game cutting to a cinematic, you are in full control of Nathan Drake and having that control, you have him jump to an adjacent building for safety. Instead of what would usually be cinematics, you play instead.

By itself, the single-player of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is truly an incredible experience. Add a truly addicting multiplayer and co-op, and you have a possible game of the year in your hands.  Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is a must-own if you have a PS3 and if you don’t have one, go get one, because this is an incredible game. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves gets a much deserved 5/5.

A well deserved 5

A couple of weeks ago we wrote a little preview post on EA’s upcoming successor to their hit Need for Speed racing franchise: Need for Speed Shift. Over the past couple weeks,  we got a chance to review the game, and as far as adding this racing game to your holiday wish list, we gotta say– one of the best racing games we’ve ever played. It really is a great racing game. Read on for a full review.

Graphics

This is where Need for Speed really shines. The graphics– on everything from the sick cars (we’re talking BMW’s, Ashton Martin’s, Lamborghini’s etc.) to the actually driving and looks of the tracks and other cars as you drive– is absolutely amazing. It really looks that great and is one of the best features of the game.

Gameplay

This is another fantastic part of the game. Using a racing wheel –not required (regular Xbox 360 controller works too, though not as well in my opinion) but I highly recommend for better control and overall experience–really replicates the true driver feel, the new cockpit view is fantastic (as are the other views too), and the new “Dynamic Crash” system was also put to good use here. Overall, a great racing experience.

Furthermore there’s the new Driver Profile. Kinda like Madden IQ in my opinion, giving you tougher races as you progress through the game, it really was well done and a fun incentive to play: the better, more aggressive/precise  your driving (such as bumping other riders by forcing them out of your way, staying along the green line in front of you and making smooth turns), the more points you get and the faster you increase your Driver Level.

There also is a Career mode, which I found to be just OK. It definitely was fun, but it left a lot to be desired such as more control on the driver, being able to do more things like control sponsorships etc. Overall though, the Career Mode was pretty solid, allowing you to build a nice amount of tricked-out cars to race.

Now here is my biggest gripe with Need for Speed– the load times. This was just annoying. 2 (very long feeling) minutes every time for a race to load is way to much in my opinion, and really hurt the experience. The game still played well once loaded, but still, the wait times are too much.

Wrap-Up

In the end, this is still a great racing game, and one of the best racing games we’ve ever played. From a strict racing point of view, it provides a great experience that with a racing wheel, really gives off a driving in the car experience. Whether you’re a big racing junkie or just someone look for a cool, fun game to play this holiday season, we really recommend Need for Speed Shift.

If it weren’t for the long wait times, and other minor issues like a simple career mode, we would give Need for Speed Shift a perfect 5 out of 5. But even taking those into account, we still really love EA’s next version of this hit series, are going to give it a Very Good 4 out of 5 rating.

We give Need for Speed Shift a very good 4 out of 5 rating.

So there’s our review and we wanna know your thoughts. If you have this game, you like it? Also, what kinda of games are looking to get this holiday season, be it racing or another type? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Need for Speed Shift is out now for the Xbox 360, PS3, PC, and PSP and you can order it now from EA’s site here.

The DSi XL

Well this pretty much came out of left field. Nintendo has announced the next version of the DS called the DSi XL (or DS LL for Japan). The new DS is said to be coming later this year to Japan and early next year for Europe and the US (which sadly is like what happened with the first DSi when it was first announced last year).

We got the info on the DSi XL, so let’s take a look and see what this does and how it differs from the DS Lite and DSi.

Ok, so the first thing you’ll notice is that compared to the DS Lite and DSi, this thing is huge. Nintendo has bumped up the screen size of both the top and bottom DS screens a full one inch to a 4.2 inch screen. And from the looks of it, Nintendo didn’t make this any thicker, which is definitely pretty awesome. The stylus also has been made bigger, much bigger actually since the first DS stylus’s. Check out this comparison pic of the DSi and the DSi XL from Nintendo Japan’s site.

Check out the size difference between the DSi and DSi XL– clearly you can see the DSi XL is much, MUCH bigger. (Pic from Joystiq)

We don’t yet know any other info like price or actual release for the US (or even all the differences in the two models beyond size). Don’t worry, we’ll make sure to keep you up to date on all the latest info.

Info from Kotaku

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is one of the most anticipated titles of the year and the sequel to the critically acclaimed Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, which was one of the launch titles for the PS3. We will be reviewing the single player and multiplayer separately. Read on for the review of the multiplayer and some first thoughts to see if we think this is a game worth getting.

And I answer, WOW. That’s the word I kept repeating while playing the multiplayer of Uncharted. It’s that good. There were times where my jaw literally dropped from what I was seeing on the screen. Tanks, helicopters shooting machine gun fire at me, all while I’m taking cover from 5 opponents shooting at me. You would think with so many things happening, there must be some problems like lag or the graphics might suffer. Never while I was playing did I see any lag whatsoever, and the environments were absolutely stunning. Whether I was in the freezing mountains of the Himalayas or in a sacred temple with varying heights, the graphics were outstanding. Also, the different ways you can play this game is great. You can sneak up behind a person and take him or out, or you can climb up to a sniper point and snipe all your opponents.

There are many modes for you to play, such as team deathmatch, plunder– Uncharted’s take on Capture the Flag – but most impressively for the multiplayer version, co-op multiplayer. Since Naughty Dog, the game’s publisher, didn’t want to include a split screen co-op, they included a co-op where you can join your friends online and all play certain levels from the game together, as a single team against the computer. The coolest part of it is that all the features from the single player are available, such as scaling walls to reach a specific room in a building. And while the environment is the same as in single player, the enemies are far more numerous and can come from anywhere and everywhere. Communication is a must here, so be prepared to talk when playing unless you want an early death. This also serves a real good warm-up for novices who aren’t quite ready to join deathmatches but want to later on.

Another cool game mode is Survival mode, taken from Gears of War’s horde mode. You and a couple of friends essentially have to fight wave after wave of bad guys, who get harder with each wave. Oh, and a little thing for all you Call of Duty fans out there, you can buy perks which give you special abilities like reloading faster.

Overall, the multiplayer is so well done and polished it could have been sold by itself. If you are a lover of multiplayer games or just a plain gamer then you must own this game. If you’re not much of a multiplayer fan, or just want to play the single player, stay tuned for our full review of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves next week.

Pix from IGN.com

The new PS3 with  250 GB hard drive

You honestly didn’t think Sony would just let the PS3 stay behind the Xbox 360 in hard drive space now did you?

A few days ago we wrote about how Microsoft is making a special edition Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 version of the Xbox 360 with a 250 GB hard drive. Now, Sony has upped the PS3 to that same 250 GB. This should be great news for those looking for a new PS3 and for those that use the PS3 as a media center as now you got a heck of a lot more room for your pix, music, videos and PlayStation Network game downloads.

Features and looks are otherwise are the same as the recently announced 120 GB PS3, and it will be available for $350 ($50 less than the CoD 360 bundle– though you don’t get CoD included here, and only $50 more than the 120 GB PS3), when it comes out next month on November 3rd.

Info and pix from Sony.

Over the last couple of weeks you may have seen some sick new ads for the upcoming next version of the hit, Need for Speed franchise– Need for Speed: Shift. The new game looks to continue the series’ awesome reputation for racing games, while adding some sick new things to raise the bar. So what’s new? Read on to find out!

The first and most important aspect of a racing game is the experience and the realistic feel.

Need for Speed: Shift– made by EA Games together with Slightly Mad Studios– definitely looks to bring that to your living room here, with improved graphics, both to cars and the tracks, which look amazing. But that’s not all. The new True Driver’s Experience is designed to really make you feel that you are driving that Ashton Martin. providing a cockpit view and “three dimensional HUD (heads up display)”, designed to mimic that of a drivers head in the cockpit; those crashes should look pretty real to say the least. Also, depending on your speed, the camera will zoom in and out of cockpit and car view to give you a better view of the track.

Oh, and don’t get me started on crashes. The new Dynamic Crash effect further enhances the realism and the “feeling” of an actual crash, and will look insane!

The Cockpit View in NFS: Shift

There also is the new Driver Profile. The Driver Profile follows your driving evolution from event to event, recording your driving style (are you more for just speed or best control?), your success in races, and any profile points and badges you win. All of this comes together and customizes the game experience to be at your level. Think of it as similar to Madden IQ in the Madden NFL games: your profile is relevant everywhere, whether when playing in career mode or online.

EA also gives you the ability to completely customize your ride. Want an upgrade under the hood or in the leather seating? Customize here to fit your style.

So there you have it– all the info on the new Need for Speed: Shift. The demo of the new game is out now on the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live for you to try out for yourself, and the game is out now for the Xbox 360, PS3, PSP, and PC. You can learn more from the NFS official site here, and order it here.

One of the big downsides to owning an Xbox 360 is the serious lack of built-in WiFi, and the fact that it’ll cost you usually at least $70 to be able to connect to the awesome Xbox Live using your WiFi network. While we don’t know if Microsoft has any plans to change that part of the 360 anytime soon, GameStop has posted online a new Wireless N WiFi adapter for the 360 for $100 coming November 3rd.

The big news here is that the Xbox 360 will be the first to use the latest high speed WiFi networks that are becoming more and more common everyday (wireless N is much faster and has a much better range than the older wireless G and B networks, and pretty much anywhere you look for a new WiFi router you’ll most likely find wireless N for a not too expensive price. I personally can’t wait for this; I currently use wireless N in my own house, and can’t play Xbox Live because the WiFi adapter can’t pick it up). This would also be the first of the next-gen systems to be able to use the next gen wireless N.

Unfortunately, Microsoft wants to again charge $100 out of the gate to get in on this, something I don’t know why they’re doing– especially because the Wii and PS3 still do have WiFi built in. Hopefully someone at Microsoft decides to make the smart move and drop this to a more reasonable number, because as much as I (and I’m sure any hardcore Xbox Live gamer) would wanna get this– there’s no way I’m willing to give Microsoft another $100 for it. You can pre-order it now from GameStop.

In other Xbox 360 news, anyone looking for a new 360 may wanna listen up here. Microsoft, along with Activision presumably, are planning a really sick 360 bundle to launch with the upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. How sick you may ask? For $400, you’ll be getting an Xbox 360 with a sick Call of Duty paint job, the video game itself, 2 black wireless controllers, and…. a 250 GB hard drive! Yeah, that’s right, 250 GB! It’s a pretty solid deal in my opinion (mainly for the 250GB hard drive, and the amount of games you could possibly save on that hard drive), and you can expect this to come out with Modern Warfare 2 on November 10th. You can also pre-order it now on Amazon.

Info from Joystiq and Engadget

Leaked Best Buy memo (Pic from Engadget)

So first Sony introduced the new PS3 Slim and cut the PS3 price down to $299. Then a couple of days later Microsoft came out and made the long rumored price cut on the Xbox 360 Elite, bringing that also down to $299. Nintendo meanwhile, as we all know, has been a little too quiet when it came to making a price cut on the Wii. And who could blame them– Wii’s are great and have been selling through the roof since it first came out a couple years back (think about it– remember last year holiday time– know of anywhere you could find a Wii in a store?).

Well, if you’ve been waiting on getting a new video game system to replace that old Xbox or looking to move to the next gen from your PS2, then listen up as the Wii just got to be a whole lot better option. Why? Because starting this Sunday, September 27th, look for the Wii to be priced at the amazing price of $199.99. Yes, $199.99!

That’s the same price as the Xbox 360 Arcade, and should definitely help Nintendo move a lot more Wii’s come holiday time. Of course, now, as mentioned in the title, comes the tougher part if you are looking for a new system– if price is a major factor (and let’s be honest here– $100 between a Wii and PS3 Slim or Xbox 360 Elite is real money– especially when your gonna wanna go get more controllers, accessories and games…).

I personally love my Xbox 360 which I’ve had for about 2 years. Yes, it broke down once with that cursed “red ring of death” (where your Xbox just dies and you need to send back to Microsoft to replace– a process that left me Xbox-less for about 2 months. Though the new Xbox 360’s don’t seem to be getting this problem as much, and mine has been running great since I got it fixed early last year), and playing games like NBA 2k9, Halo, and Madden in HD is amazing, and something you can’t do on a Wii.

The PS3 also though looks great and adds in things like built in WiFi (add on for the 360, though built into the Wii), Blu-Ray, and the free Playstation Network online gaming– while Xbox Live costs $50 a year, though Live does give off a much better experience in my opinion. And then of course you got this low priced Wii– with those great Wiimotes and fun gameplay, as well as a free web browser (like the PS3), WiFi, and free online play.

It’s definitely gonna be interesting, and we wanna know what you think is the best system to buy this year (taking into account that come next year the Xbox 360 will have Project Natal and the PS3 will have 3D and motion controls of it’s own). So….. vote in our cool little poll here and feel free to drop off your questions or thoughts on which system you’ll get/like to get in the comments.