Microsoft Studios acquires Twisted Pixel

"Today we announce that Twisted Pixel is joining the Microsoft Studios Family." [Major Nelson]

"It's about damn time!" [me]

"What took them so long?!" [me]

Two quotes from yours truly upon hearing the news, minus the occasional expletive of course. I have been waiting for this day since 'Splosion Man and after so much time had passed, I never expected such a thing to happen anymore. I don't know where this acquisition will take Twisted Pixel creatively, but I hope it's simply a way of taking away any financial concerns, allowing full creative control and freedom. And if I had any say in their next project, I'd love to see a big budget sequel to The Maw.

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Review: Toy Soldiers: Cold War (XBLA)

When the Summer of Arcade '11 titles were announced, I was least excited for Toy Soldiers: Cold War—yes, Fruit Ninja Kinect grabbed me more than Cold War. Despite loving the original, I just couldn't find that same love when looking at the sequel. Then I played the game and everything changed—I remembered why I loved the original and found more to love in Cold War. To put it in rather simplistic terms, Cold War is the "G.I. Joe" to the original's "Army Men." What I mean with that comparison is while the original was very plain and somewhat serious stylistically, Cold War increases the action and adds an over-the-top sense of humour.

Action is expanded thanks to more vehicles and all-new attack barrages, including the player-controlled "Commando" barrage. Attack barrages are powerful weapons earned from killing key enemies and include such common attacks as bombing runs, artillery strikes, and the always-popular A-130 gunship. The less common "Commando" barrage puts you in control of an 80's-esque action star—think Stallone and Lundgren—and allows you to kick ass while enjoying some cheesy dialogue. Another new addition is the ability to rewind to a previous enemy wave if you feel as if you could have done things better, but I personally never ended up using the feature.

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E3 2011 Infallible Predictions

I have never said anything truer than this: No matter how unlikely and/or ridiculous these predictions are, they are all more likely than the "Rapture" ever was, unless your Rapture was listening to Blondie.

• Irrational Games decides to take BioShock Infinite back to Rapture.
• Nintendo pulls a Sega and turns into a software-only company.
• Sega pulls their hand out of your ass and announces the Dreamcast 2, releasing Fall '11.
• Along with the Dreamcast 2, Sega announces Shenmue 3 as a launch title.
• Microsoft says goodbye to the 360 and Kinect and just buys every public park. They then tell everyone to go outside an "play."
• Sony renames the NGP the PlayStation 4 and announces the PlayStation 5.
• Apple announces a console. They call it the Banana and steal that old boomerang controller, which is shaped rather close to a banana.
• 3D is out. 4D is in. Wait, 4D is now out and 3D is back in. Never mind, back to 2D, so say we all.
• Final Fantasy VII HD Definitive Remix Edition of Stop Crying About Aerith is announced and Square Enix decides to change the story by saving Aerith and killing Tifa.
• GameStop buys McDonalds and institutes a used marketplace for Fries, McNuggets, and Big Macs.
• Metal Gear Solid 5 is announced as a 67 hour long quick time event.
• Nintendo buys Running With Scissors and replaces The Dude with Mario in Postal 3.
• I am one hundred percent correct on all prediction none of the time, every time.

Get 400MS points... by spending over 53 million dollars

Microsoft is currently running a promotion to get 400MS points free with the purchase of two qualifying XBLA titles between December 1, 2010 12:01 AM EST and December 20, 2010 11:59 PM EST. To qualify for this offer, one must download the Hot Arcade Offer Gamer Picture Pack; simple enough right?

If you answered yes, you would be dead wrong (at least at the moment). When I attempted to download the picture pack, I was met with a download that somehow cost -1MS points. I thought, "well, I guess I'll be getting a free point out of this," but I was met with an even bigger surprise. After pressing 'Confirm Download,' I received a message stating my Microsoft Points balance was too low and that the required balance was 4294967295MS points. No, that is not a misprint and yes, that is over  53 million real life dollars. Obviously this is a mistake that is going to be fixed soon and no one will ever mistakenly pay the 'Required Balance,' but it doesn't stop it from being pretty damn funny.

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5 Reasons to Thank Xbox

The original Xbox launched on November 15, 2001. The system has not seen a new release in almost two years, but Xbox Live continued to thrive and Halo 2 players acted as if next-gen never happened. All things must come to an end and now, Xbox Live support for Xbox and Xbox originals is officially dead and the system is barely more than a paperweight. This is not a moment of sadness, but a moment to look back at what the Xbox did for gaming. So, in no particular order, I give you five reasons to thank the Xbox.

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