Free Halo: Reach Beta Key Contest

I received an extra beta code from Microsoft as part of the "decommissioning of the XBox LIVE V1 service" and I have no need for it, so I'm hosting a contest. In order to enter, all you have to do is post a comment with your EMail address or some other way of contacting you. I will randomly pick a winner on Saturday and they will receive the beta code. Good luck to everyone who enters!

** The contest has ended and the code has been given away. **

Master Chief's New Album Confirmed for Fall 2010

"Experience Master Chief like never before. Featuring over 100 songs written and performed by Master Chief."

Goodbye, Halo 2

As most avid XBox players should know at this point, Microsoft is cutting off support for original XBox games. Unfortunately, this includes Halo 2.

I can't be the only one who gets nostalgic when I fire up Halo 2 with some friends. Not only is it the first game many of us played on XBox Live, but it's the best selling original XBox game of all time with a whopping eight million copies sold. The only game to even draw near this number was Halo: Combat Evolved with five million copies sold.
While many of us are saying goodbye to one of our favorite games, the rest of us will be preparing for the new features Microsoft plans to add now that original XBox games are no longer limiting the capabilities of XBox Live.
If you really want to keep playing Halo 2, be sure to buy the Games for Windows version. This version is for PC and continues to have full XBox Live capabilities as well as achievements!

Splinter Cell Update Causes XBoxs to Freeze

It looks like Ubisoft is encountering even more problems with their newest game, Splinter Cell: Conviction. The latest game in the Tom Clancy series has received quite a bit of praise and acquired over 9,000 (closer to 300,000) preorders before it's release today. The demo that was released back in March and can be downloaded on the XBox Live marketplace.
It appears that an XBox Live update released at the game's launch is causing players' XBoxs to freeze during the single player campaign. Because Microsoft does not allow gamers to sign into XBox Live without downloading title updates, many Tom Clancy enthusiasts have been stuck playing offline.
Ubisoft has addressed this problem for the time being by removing the update from XBox Live. They made this statement on their forum:
“We are currently investigating a freezing issue seen in the title update that was released for Splinter Cell: Conviction on the Xbox 360 this morning. This issue only happens after installing the update and we have asked Microsoft to remove the update for the time being until we can determine the cause and fix the issue. If you have installed the update please remove it and play through the impacted mission again.”