Browser Based Game of the Week: Inselkampf.com

Inselkampf, or "Island Struggle" in German, is a browser based game where you start with one island in the middle of an ocean and you work your way up until you've realized how much of your life you've wasted growing your empire. It's a unique, fun, and simple game that could use some good polishing and some problems fixed but it's nice to play to pass time.


Link: Inselkampf.com

Call of Duty: World at War Map Pack 1

March 19th, 4 new maps will be released for Call of Duty: World at War for the Xbox 360 and PS3. Three of the maps, "Station", "Nightfire", and "Knee Deep", will be for regular multiplayer, and the fourth map, "Verrückt" or "Zombie Asylum" will be another Nazi Zombies map. Treyarch has also stated PC content is also on the way, but revealed no other details.

"Station":
Details: Blown apart underground train station
Size: Medium
"Nightfire":
Details: Bombed and burning, takes place at night during the Battle of Berlin
Size: Medium to large

"Knee Deep":
Details: Japanese command center on the island of Peleliu.
Size: Large

"Verrückt":
Details: Nazi Zombies map based off of the "Asylum" level. Adds weapons, perks and electroshock defenses.
Size: Small to medium

Source

New DLC and update for Gears of War 2 is coming!

Gears of War Title Update 3 and the "Snowblind Map Pack" will be arriving March 24th and March 31st, respectively.

Title Update 3:

• New ranking system based on experience
• Bots will replace disconnected players
• Region preference for matchmaking
• Standby detection improved
• More playlist options
• Nine new achievements worth a total of 250 points
• Some exploit and glitches fixed
• A more balanced game

For the complete list of patch notes, click here

"Snowblind Map Pack":

• "Grind Yard: a massive industrial complex with low bunkers and high sniping positions."
• "Under Hill: which takes players through snowbound tunnels and beyond."
• "Courtyard: a wide-open battle royale."
• "Fuel Depot: back with a blast of winter courtesy of Mother Nature."

Gears of War 2 Site

Halo 3: November Matchmaking Update

General Matchmaking

+Instances of September update maps (Boundless, Pit Stop, Sand Tarp and Epilogue) and their default counterparts are shuffled around and removed in some instances to remove some of the redundancies.

Social
+Social Slayer – Team Snipers and Team Shotty Snipers removed.

Ranked
+Team Slayer – Team Snipers and Team Shotty Snipers removed.
+Team Objective – Weighting for Multi Flag BR’s increased.
+Team Doubles – Anvil removed. The Pit replaced by Pit Stop in all variants.
+Squad Battle – Weighting on Heavy Sandtrap and Heavy Valhalla slightly reduced. Heavy Standoff removed.

DLC
+DLC FFA – Haunted Manor replaced with Infected Manor.

Hardcore
+Added Team Snipers – Ranked 4v4 playlist. Sniper Rifle spawns (no secondary weapons) on maps forged with Beam Rifles. Shotty Snipers present with a lower weighting.

Double EXP Weekends (Listed in order)
+Team Flag (Formerly known as 4th of July)
+Grifball
+Legendary Brawl
+Turkey Day*

7 on the 7th
+November’s 7 on the 7th will feature FFA gametypes on Blackout.

*Turkey Day
+Four days of tenuously Thanksgiving-themed FFA gametypes for 9 players:

Turkey Day Gametypes
+Wishbone Brawl: Score points by beating down other players with the oddball. 10 points to win.
+Black Friday: More slugs than hugs. Players spawn with Plasma Pistols and score points by beating down or assassinating other players. 25 points to win.
+Turkey Carvers: Those turkeys won’t slice themselves. Team Swords, point leader moves slowly (‘cause he ate too much). 25 points to win.
+Turkey Fiesta: It’s a party! Random primary and secondary weapons. Point leader is fat and slow, but we still love him. 25 points to win.
+Tryptophan: The day the turkeys… Returned. Infection. Turkeys move quickly. Last Pilgrim Standing can run pretty fast. Most kills after 4 rounds wins.

LittleBigPlanet Launch Delayed

PS3's next great game, LittleBigPlanet has been delayed one week due to a religious conflict. In a forum, a Muslim user noticed two quotes that are in the Quran, are being used in the game in a music track called "Swinging Safari." The user respectably asked for the two passages be removed, stating that it is offensive to blend pop music with a holy book. Sony has pulled LBP from store shelves, and said it'll be released October 27th, 2008.

Bioshock 2 Trailer

With 2K Boston's recent release of Bioshock for the PS3, they included a trailer for Bioshock 2: Sea of Dreams. Here it is:

Portal: Still Alive

Released last year with the Orange Box, Portal received praise from gamers. It was challenging, humorous, and all together an enjoyable experience. Now, Valve will be releasing Portal: Still Alive, which will include the original Portal game and 14 additional challenging maps, 6 test chamber maps, and 12 new achievements.

Portal: Still Alive will be downloadable via Xbox Live for less than $20. Valve announced it in an interview with IGN for IGN's 45th Three Red Lights Podcast, that each map/achievement will cost roughly a $1 each, so expect P:SA to cost $12-15.

The additional maps won't be a continuation of the story, they're only puzzle maps. It'll be about 600MB, and will also feature online leaderboards.

Portal: Still Alive will release October 22nd, 2008, available to the US and Australia on the Xbox Live Marketplace.