We are in a golden age…

These past couple of years have brought use some of the most memorable titles in the history of gaming. Bioshock, Gears of War, and Call of Duty 4 to name a few, and with other awesome features such as achievements, online-gaming, and downloadable content, there has been no better time to be a gamer then right now. What still amazes me, however, is the quality of these games: Games that will immerse us into epic storylines. Games that will push our hardware to the limit, and games that will try new things to help keep gaming fresh. With so many good games to choose from, it’s hard to comprehend why everyone on earth doesn’t game. What I do understand though, is that the golden age hasn’t stopped, and there is no end in sight. This holiday will be one of the greatest ever for us gamers (especially 360 ones), and we here at TGR are going to give you some insight on what 360 gamers can expect throughout the rest of this year.



Reason 1: New Xbox Experience

One of the exciting things we all saw at E3 2008 was the New Xbox Experience. Microsoft first showed off the snazzy new dashboard at their press conference. At first glance, the creepy Mii-ish creatures caught our attention and we all had a bad feeling about where Microsoft was going. But then they showed us all the new features that would be coming with the new dashboard, anticipation mode begun. We’ll be getting party chat, we’ll be playing games off our hard drive, and we’ll even be able to take a part in Xbox Live primetime which feature game shows like 1 vs. 100 in which you can win real prizes. While the new ‘Avatars’ look like copies of Nintendo’s Miis, it still is looking like a cool feature to have, they’ll be appearing in some of our XBLA titles and will feature tons of different options that will keep your Avatar different from someone else’s. We have just barely scratched the surface here and the New Xbox Experience is looking like a welcome addition to our Xbox 360s.

Reason 2: Gears of War 2

The sequel that we’ve all been waiting for: Gears 2 is arguably the biggest game coming out this year, and it’s exclusive to us 360 gamers. The first game was a smash hit, receiving Game of the Year awards from several different magazines and sites. What’s more is Gears of War 2 will be bigger and better. Cliff Bleszinski (or Cliffy B) has promised us a more dramatic focus on the story line, epic battles, and updated graphics. New features such as chain saw duels, all the new ‘curb-stomp’ options and updated multiplayer will keep the game fresh and on top of that, we’ll also be getting some new weapons and a number of new, scarier enemies. No 360 gamer can pass up on this, with a release date of November 7th, Gears of War 2 couldn’t come soon enough.