This weekend, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 will be celebrating the release of the Content Collection 2 DLC to the Xbox LIVE Marketplace, as well as Memorial Day weekend in the United States. To celebrate, Double XP will be turned on for everyone for the entire weekend.

We’re been fortunate enough to get a few DLC codes to giveaway, and will be giving away 5 codes in total this weekend for the Content Collection 2 DLC for Modern Warfare 3. To enter, we’ll be allowing comments here on the site, Facebook comments (which also appear below) and Twitter RT’s or tweets that have the #MW3Sync hashtag.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Content Collection #2 offers seven all-new pieces of content that includes:

• Getaway: This former white-sand vacation spot, boasting exotic aquaria and surfside infinity pools, is now a Face Off map and a haven for ruthless run-and-gun violence.

• Lookout: A perilous warren of chokepoints and tight corridors, the second Face Off map drops your one- or two-man teams into a forward observation base carved into a war-torn mountainside.

• Sanctuary: Destroy the opposition—and the ornate relics of an ancient monastic order—in the towering sandstone cloister of central Greece’s Sanctuary. SMGs, assault rifles and shotguns will make short work of both.

• Foundation: Choose your rules of engagement in this decommissioned cement factory in the heart of South Korea, perfectly constructed for both sniping and run-and-gun combat.

• Oasis: Once a postcard-worthy holiday spot, now a paradise for a different sort of traveler—the ones who’ve traded fanny packs for combat fatigues. Pick your combat lanes carefully atop this ancient stone fortress turned five star resort.

• Kill Switch: Armed with an EMP, you and a squad mate must neutralize a Russian carrier deep within enemy territory. This Special Ops Mission tasks one team member on the ground, fighting through hostiles on your way to the detonation site, while the other must maintain vital cover from behind a sniper scope.

• Iron Clad: For the first time, take the wheel of an Abrams-class tank with full escort. Breach and clear and exfiltrate from behind enemy lines in Hamburg in this all-new Special Ops mission.

Simply tell us which map you are most looking forward to playing, or tell us your weekend plans! Either entry will count, and we will randomly pick winners throughout the extended weekend. Best of luck to everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Last year, Microsoft offered a great deal for students, where those who purchased a new PC at $699.99 or higher would receive a 4 GB Xbox 360 console for free. Due to the success of the program, Microsoft has announced that they are again offering the same deal this year for students buying a new PC.

Starting May 20^th in the U.S., students who buy a qualifying Windows PC worth $699 or more at participating retailers can get a 4GB Xbox 360 console for free, just like last year! Starting May 18^th in Canada, students who buy a Windows PC worth $599 or more can also get a 4GB Xbox 360 console for free!

Participating retailers in the US include Best Buy, Dell.com, Fry’s Electronics, HPDirect.com, Microsoft Stores, and NewEgg.com. In Canada, they include Best Buy, Dell.ca, Future Shop, Staples and The Source.

Please note that participating retailers and terms and conditions may change over the course of the promotion.

To take advantage of this offer or more information, check with participating retailers mentioned above. Students or their parents must provide valid student identification as defined by the participating retailer.

Let us know if you plan to take advantage of this offer, or if you run into any problems.

[Via Windows Experience Blog]

With November 6, 2012 fast approaching, Microsoft today has announced new Limited and Special Edition’s of Halo 4. Along with the information, we also got the first tidbit of multiplayer news, describing ‘Halo Infinity Multiplayer.’ The new mode is a separate storyline that coincides with the Halo 4 campaign, and is entitled ‘Spartan Ops.’

More information that was released today:

Halo Infinity Multiplayer

The hub of the Halo 4 multiplayer experience is the UNSC Infinity – the largest starship in the UNSC fleet that serves as the center of your Spartan career. Here you’ll build your custom Spartan-IV supersoldier, and progress your multiplayer career across all Halo 4 competitive and cooperative game modes. Surrounded by the sights, sounds and crew of the biggest vessel in the UNSC fleet, your multiplayer experience will be embedded in the fiction of Halo like never before, where your progress and game choices affect your appearance, arsenal, and role on the battlefield.

• Spartan Ops. The story of the UNSC Infinity intersects with the Halo 4 campaign, then continues on in a brand-new, story-driven experience known as Spartan Ops. A first of its kind and exciting new addition to the Halo franchise,Spartan Ops is an episodic adventure that blends immersive storytelling, high-quality cinematics, and action-packed gameplay to deliver an unprecedented serialized experience.

Through a weekly series of cinematic episodes on Xbox LIVE, Spartan Ops will tell the continuing story of the UNSC Infinity, following the events of Halo 4. These episodes will center on the UNSC Infinity leaders and crew, and a new team of Spartans – Majestic Squad. These cinematic episodes will provide the backdrop for the weekly Spartan Ops gameplay missions. Playable in single-player or cooperatively (with up to three friends), explore the corners of Requiem in these objective-based missions, and help uncover the secrets of the mysterious Forerunner world.

A massive-scale adventure that builds off the Halo 4 story, access to Spartan Ops is included with Halo 4 at no additional charge – effectively delivering two campaign experiences in one game.

• War Games. The competitive multiplayer modes of “Halo 4,” known as War Games, take place on the combat deck of the UNSC Infinity and revive the visceral and immersive experiences that “Halo” multiplayer is famous for. Halo 4 introduces fresh, immersive new game modes and strategies to help you progress your Spartan-IV career, while also delivering an experience that’s still distinctly and uniquely Halo.”More details on all the modes of War Games will be released at a later time.

• Total Combat Freedom and Player Progression. Halo 4 features a vastly expanded suite of new multiplayer modes, weapons, vehicles, armor abilities, a new loadout and player progression system, and a new armor modification system that introduces gameplay-enhancing customizations for the first time in a Halo game. These advancements can be used in both Spartan Ops and certain War Games matchmaking playlists, empowering player choice, vastly expanding their creative options, and make the experience deeper for core fans and more approachable for newcomers.

The “Halo 4” player progression system goes beyond simple aesthetic upgrades, encouraging players to invest time and effort to create a Spartan that looks andplays the way they want. Players can earn and activate combat enhancements called “Specializations” based on the style of play they engage in, from stealth to all-out assault, and everything in between.

Halo 4 Limited Edition

Available for preorder today, the Halo 4 Limited Edition maximizes your multiplayer experience and puts you in the boots of a Spartan-IV aboard the UNSC Infinity – the hub of your “Halo” multiplayer career.

Available for $99.99, the Halo 4 Limited Edition includes:

• War Games Map Pack Access – The Limited Edition includes access to nine maps – three future competitive multiplayer map packs, each including three locations, available for download post-launch on Xbox LIVE. (A detailed release schedule for the map packs will be announced at a later time)

• Specializations – Receive early access to six Specializations, available at launch on Xbox LIVE, to achieve higher ranks in your Spartan career. In addition to gaining access to new ranks, Specializations unlock new customization options. Purchasers of the “Halo 4” Limited Edition will get access on launch day, while others will have to wait as Specializations are released over time.

• The Limited Edition also contains the UNSC Infinity Briefing Packet, which includes an armor customization schematic, a blueprint of the massive ship itself, and insight into what it means to be one of humanity’s finest warriors: the Spartan-IVs.

• Bonus digital content through Xbox LIVE:

o   Unique in-game Spartan-IV armor skin

o   Unique in-game weapon skin for the Assault Rifle

o   An exclusive in-game emblem

o   Xbox LIVE Avatar prop

o   Xbox LIVE Avatar Spartan-IV armor set

• Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn” Special Edition

An extended 90-minute version of the live-action digital series that will bring the Halo universe to life as you’ve never seen it, and provide an enthralling backstory leading up to the events of “Halo 4.”

• Halo 4 Limited Edition also includes the following exclusive videos:
• Bonus in-fiction content expanding the characters and stories of Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn
• Special Featurette: Bringing Gaming into Reality
• Making of Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn

See larger image Halo 4 Limited Edition (Video Game) List Price: $99.99 USD New From: $99.99 In Stock This title will be released on November 6, 2012.

SEGA today announced the launch of Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode II and it will be releasing tomorrow on the XBLA. This new entry in the Sonic 4 storyline has the iconic blue hedgehog taking on two legendary rivals with the help of one of his oldest friends, Miles “Tails” Prower. The game will be available tomorrow on Xbox LIVE Arcade for the Xbox 360 for 1,200 points (or $14.99).

“Sonic 4 Episode II is very special because we’ve integrated community feedback into the game,” said Haruki Satomi, Senior Vice President of Digital Business at SEGA of America. “We have some of the most loyal and dedicated fans and I hope they enjoy this next chapter in the Sonic 4 saga.”

Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode II also offers players who have purchased Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I the exclusive chance to experience Episode Metal, a special unlockable story available to anyone who owns both titles on the same platform. Lead one of our hero’s greatest foes, Metal Sonic, across four reworked Acts from Episode I to learn more about how he survived the events at the end of Sonic CD.

More information regarding each DLC is below:

“Snow’s Story: Perpetual Battlefield”:

Snow is engaged in battles at the Coliseum after being separated from his fiancée, Serah. The episode also features a battle against the “Arbiter of Time,” who has been watching events unfold at the Coliseum. Snow should pose a difficult challenge to players and will allow them to end the Coliseum battles on a high note, and ultimately unlock Snow as a party member.

[Snow's Story] – 320 MSPoints (or $3.99)

“Lightning’s Story: Requiem of the Goddess”:

This DLC reveals the arduous battle between Lightning and Caius not shown in the main game. Players will be able to adjust the difficulty level and play as Lightning, who uses special abilities available only in this episode. Players will also be able to unlock the FINAL FANTASY XIII-2 version of Lightning as a party member. Because the episode includes important information relating to the overall storyline of FINAL FANTASY XIII-2, players are encouraged to complete the game prior to playing through this new content.

[Lightning's Story] – 400 MSPoints (or $4.99)

Additionally, new costumes are also now available to purchase.

The original Witcher came out on PC way back in 2007, and was universally praised for being a deep, rich RPG with a great story and, perhaps more controversially, very adult tone. The developer, CDProjektRed, initially planned on releasing the Enhanced Edition of the original Witcher game to the 360, but that plan eventually fell through due to numerous issues with porting the engine and financial difficulty within the company. Eventually they decided to abandon work on the original game’s port, and now nearly a year after it’s initial release on the PC, The Witcher 2: Enhanced Edition has finally seen the light of day on the Xbox 360.

The game is based on the cult classic The Witcher novels and short stories by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, and follows the story of Geralt of Rivia, a Witcher who suffers from amnesia and offers help to many along the way as he tries to restore his lost memory and find out what happened to him in his past. The game opens with Geralt of Rivia being interrogated in a prison about his role in the death of King Foltest. From there, the game takes you on an epic journey through swamps, caverns, undead battlefields and more to help you to clear Geralt of Rivia’s name, find the King’s murderer, and finally restore Geralt’s memory.

Combat in The Witcher 2 is based on a real time engine that requires players to attack and defend strategically and to study enemy attack movements. Geralt is very seldomly attacked by lone enemies, so knowing when to parry and counter is key, as well as keeping moving to prevent enemies from attacking from all sides. Geralt carries two swords; a steel sword for human enemies, and a silver Witcher sword for fighting all of the various beastly and ghoulish enemies. Geralt also has numerous other tricks for taking out foes, including laying traps, throwing projectile weapons such as knives and daggers, and Witcher signs that allow him to do anything from flinging a ball of fire at foes, to knocking a group of enemies away with a force push, to even taking over the mind of an enemy, causing them to aid Geralt in the fight.

If managing all of these combat techniques sounds difficult, that’s because it is. The Witcher 2, at it’s core, is a very PC game, and that sort of deep, serious gameplay isn’t something you see on consoles very often, forcing players into a very steep learning curve that may turn some players off. After a few hours of play, however, you should get a hang of the combat and how it works enough that you will begin to slice and blast through groups of enemies near effortlessly, and you get a feeling of bad ass-ness that never seems to subside no matter how many waves of enemies you fight through.

Geralt also has the ability to craft potions and traps to aid him on his journey. While meditating, Geralt can drink the potions he creates, which will do any number of ability modifications to help Geralt, but they come at a price. Potions contain toxicity that would be deadly to a normal person, but Witcher’s are easily able to resist the toxins to a point, drinking too much potions may kill Geralt, so the player has to be very aware of what they’re doing at all times to balance Geralt’s potions and his toxicity level.

Something else of note for those of you unaware is that The Witcher 2 is a very adult game. Their is full on female nudity within the first 5 minutes of the game, and Geralt isn’t the kind of man to shy away from sexual activity. A lot of the dialogue and story in the game features a lot of obscenities and graphic situations that gamers may not be used to coming from a console game. The Witcher 2 feels like the Game of Thrones of the fantasy RPG world; it’s unwavering in it’s use of violence and sex to progress the story, but at it’s core has a deep rewarding story and a plethora of fantastic characters that you will begin to feel very attached to as you continue on Geralt’s quest.

The Witcher 2′s steep learning curve, traditional PC aesthetics, and severely adult story may turn a lot of console gamers off, but if you put the time and effort into learning all that the Witcher offers, you will be rewarded with one of the best looking and playing games available on the 360 to date. After all the missteps they took in trying to port the original Witcher to 360, CDProjektRed have proven themselves more than capable of producing a console game that not only compares as well to it’s PC original, it’s legitimately better in every respect. If you’re looking for a new incredibly deep RPG to throw away 60+ hours of your life into, The Witcher 2 is probably the best possible choice to make.

See larger image The Witcher 2: Assassins Of Kings Enhanced Edition (Video Game) List Price: $59.99 USD New From: $48.00 In Stock Used from: $36.99 In Stock Release date April 17, 2012.

Fans of the popular PC game Minecraft can celebrate, because the release day has finally arrived. Yes, Mojang’s Minecraft is now available on the XBLA for 1,600 MSPoints (or $20.00).

Yes, this is a bit pricier than most XBLA titles, but rumor has it that Mojang has free DLC updates planned (hopefully to bring the XBLA version up-t0-date with the PC version). Either way, the game runs great, and supports up to 8 players at once in a said game.

I originally intended to have a full review this morning for the newest Minecraft iteration. However, if you have played Minecraft on the PC before, you might understand that this is a daunting task for the Minecraft newbie such as myself. Little did I know what I was in store for.

For those unfamiliar, when you begin a game of Minecraft, you start off in a new world that has been automatically generated for you. Each world is unique and different, and requires you to explore to learn more about the land that you’ll be settling. If I could offer any advice for the new player, which I had to quickly learn by myself, it would be to explore, explore, explore!

I originally started my campaign on the Normal difficulty, and had no idea what my ‘goal’ was. In fact, that is one of the best and equally worst parts of the game. You have no goals aside from what you want to do.

For my first few hours, I dug a hole. Literally, nothing but digging directly down into the ground, with no light, no tools, and as I would discover later, no way out. Which brings me to my next point of advice – always have an escape  route. With no map, or compass, or any stairs / ladders to escape, you’ll be stuck. Luckily, I found a hidden chamber with water and lava, and would discover that my character was indeed  not fireproof.

My first death, and to my luck, an automatic respawn to land!

With Minecraft now available, you’ll need to discover your favorite way to play! Download the trial if you aren’t sure, but I can easily say that I have been addicted for the past week, and with today’s release, you can discover why!

[Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition Trial]

We have bad news for those who were impatiently awaiting the next chapter in BioShock, as we have been told this morning that the upcoming BioShock Infinite has been delayed until February 26, 2013. While this means that we won’t be able to enjoy the game this year, it also means that we can expect a more complete, polished game and have something to look forward to in the beginning of 2013.

A full copy of the letter that Ken Levine sent out is included below:

A MESSAGE FROM KEN LEVINE

When we announced the release date of BioShock Infinite in March, we felt pretty good about the timing.

Since then, we’ve come to realize that some specific tweaks and improvements will make Infinite into something even more extraordinary. Therefore, to give our talented team the time they need, we’ve decided to move the game’s release to February 26, 2013. We wanted to let our loyal (and very patient!) fans know this as soon as possible.

I won’t kid you: BioShock Infinite is a very big game, and we’re doing things that no one has ever done in a first-person shooter. We had a similar experience with the original BioShock, which was delayed several months as our original ship date drew near. Why? Because the Big Daddies weren’t the Big Daddies you’ve since come to know and love. Because Andrew Ryan’s golf club didn’t have exactly the right swing. Because Rapture needed one more coat of grimy Art Deco.

The same principle now applies to BioShock Infinite.

What does this mean for you? It means a bit more waiting, but more importantly, it means an even better BioShock Infinite. The great can be made greater, and we owe it to both ourselves and to you, our fans, to take this opportunity. Irrational Games is one of those rare developers lucky enough to ask the people who sign the checks: “Hey, can we have a few more of those checks?”

We are also going to hold off on showing BioShock Infinite at the big events of the summer, like E3 and Gamescom. That way, the next time you see our game, it will be essentially the product we intend to put in the box. Preparing for these events takes time away from development, time we’re going to use instead to get the best version of Infinite into your hands in February.

The release of NCAA Football 13 is right around the corner, and will be releasing on July 10, 2012. For those who love football games, and love to save money are in luck.

Amazon has placed a rare pre-order incentive for the game, offering the game for the low price of $44.99. Amazon normally offers a free $10 or $20 video game credit after buying the game for the full $60, but NCAA Football 13 has the low price immediately, and comes with the Amazon Exclusive Nike Pro Combat Uniforms.

Some more information on the Uniforms:

Pre-order NCAA Football 13 and receive the Amazon exclusive Nike Pro Combat downloadable premium uniforms for Army, University of Georgia, Oklahoma State, Oregon and Michigan State. Nike Pro Combat uniforms are Born of Tradition, Built for Speed. We will send you the code to access this bonus content via email within two days of your order shipment. Offer valid when shipped and sold by Amazon.com.

See larger image NCAA Football 13 (Video Game) List Price: Price Not Listed New From: Check Amazon For Pricing In Stock This title will be released on July 10, 2012.

The Walking Dead is a franchise that just seems blossom within every medium it touches, albeit in that rotting sort of way fans of the comic and television series have come to love. Whether you adore Robert Kirkman’s black and white graphic opus, the AMC phenomenon, or even just zombie related content in general, you’ll definitely find something worthwhile in the newest adaptation designed by those clever developers over at Telltale Games (brains behind recent virtual successes Sam and Max and Back to the Future). With its dread-filled atmosphere, complex characterizations and difficult choices, The Walking Dead effectively showcases how capable a video game adaptation can be at capturing that elusive essence which makes its base material so great.

The premise of this series appears at first glance to be a simple one; a viral outbreak hits an unsuspecting populace and within weeks the entire world is overrun by the newly undead. Governments quickly topple, the military is annihilated, and citizens are forced to strike out on their own if they hope to somehow survive the zombie onslaught. But, is survival truly preferable to suddenly being at the bottom of a newly corpse riddled food chain? Sure, at the outset this is a zombie survival story, but at its core The Walking Dead is about people forced into a horrible situation and sometimes doing equally horrible things to survive. The Telltale Games title follows the exploits of an entirely new protagonist, named Lee Everett, who is being transferred to a jail outside of Atlanta when the zombie outbreak hits his police transport; literally. Over the course of this first installment Lee will have to escape the wreckage of his car, come to terms with hordes of “Walkers”, save a young girl from her zombified babysitter, make new friends with skeptical survivors and more. There’s a lot of content to be had, and numerous ways to go about living to see another horror filled day within The Walking Dead.

Gameplay is a mix of point-and-click adventuring, dynamic conversations, and white-knuckled “action” segments. Sometimes all of these are melded into truly fantastic set pieces so visceral that upon completion I felt fairly breathless. World traversal is simple enough with an effective camera and decent system to offer players options to either look, talk, or interact with the environment or other characters. When things get tense and combat rears its ugly head things can get a bit confusing at first, but I chalked this up to a realistic response to suddenly finding oneself in a zombie apocalypse. The panic and frustration I felt trying to load and shoot a shotgun made things more visceral and more real. Once you get used to the button combos and the targeting system, things become a bit more comfortable but because everything in the game is time sensitive, you’ll have seconds to land the perfect hit before you’re devoured which adds a gorgeous sense of terror to every encounter.

The atmosphere and general ambiance of the world are on par with what I’ve come to expect from other versions of The Walking Dead thanks primarily to the art style and the writing. Utilizing an inked/comic art style coupled with a muted color scheme and horrific imagery that builds some nice creeping dread. Level designs remain authentic to the books with places like the Hershel farm and the Georgia woods while new locales, normally mundane streets, shops, and buildings turned terrifying in light of the apocalypse, reek of fear and desperation. All around the design for this game is spot on. Emotional voice acting, minimal use of musical cues, and gore riddled sound (not to mention visual) effects means that events play out like an above average episode of the series.

The Walking Dead will be released in episodic increments, totaling five by August, and this format really lends itself well to the tense and uncertain nature of this series. By the end of this episode I was hankering for the next, especially considering the promise that decisions and actions you take will have visible consequences down the line. Already, I’ve seen a few of my decisions come back to either bite me in the ass or save my bacon, but I can only imagine how the bigger choices will resonate once I find myself in some truly sticky situations further down the line. With a low low price of 400 MS Points, buying this title is a no brainer. With such a high replay value, compelling characters and tense gameplay, you can be sure that I’ll be cranking away this throughout the entirety of this first virtual season of The Walking Dead.