Is your New Xbox Experience getting a little less new? Well have no fear, the summer update is due out on Tuesday! We detailed the updates a few weeks ago and they are about to arrive. The Avatar Marketplace, Netflix parties, and so much more will be available to you after you update your Xbox 360 when the release hits the servers sometime after midnight on the west coast.

Due to the update, Xbox Live will be down tomorrow for a mandatory time of maintenance while the summer update is applied.

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If you’re an avid online gamer who is consistently using Xbox Live, it is very likely that your friends list is near or at the 100 gamertag cap. While there has never been a concrete answer given as to why that number was chosen, there has always been someone who wants it to be higher.

On CheapAssGamer podcast episode #94, Xbox Live Community Manager Major Nelson said that the average was anywhere from twenty-five to thirty, and only a few had their lists maxed out. Therefore raising the number was not a big priority.

There has never been any confirmation that they are working on raising the cap until recently. Read more… »

One of the most anticipated features of the fast-approaching Xbox 360 dashboard update is undoubtedly the “Games on Demand” service.

On “new dashboard launch day” (a catchy name I just made up for August 11, 2009), there will be 24 full Xbox 360 games available for download straight to your hard drive.  Hit the jump to see if your favorites made the cut!

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The whistle is blowing loudly, because the hype train is about to leave the station. The conductor and engineer, Mr. Cliffy B, is on board and ready to bring the Internet, and all of Gears fandom with him.

1 vs 100 Live has provided for some unique perspective into the gaming community, as the host often interviews some of the favorites among the industry. On a recent episode, Cliff Blezinski, had “no comment” about Gears of War 3. It does not exist, remember?

However Cliff did have a few comments to make in the realm of the “what if”.

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Magic: the Gathering is one of those games you hate to love.  At any one given moment you will be loving the game, at the top of the world, destroying all decks that come your way, and then a split second later you will be hating life, rationally contemplating setting fire to your deck and throwing your opponents out the window.

Fans of the game need not worry, the Xbox Live Arcade game Magic: the Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers provides this same great experience.

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Last year, the Xbox Live Summer of Arcade dished out some of the best downloadable titles you could find on the virtual market: Braid, Castle Crashers, and Geometry Wars 2. Each of these titles was a smaller and cheaper game that delivered just as much fun, if not more, than some of the retail titles sitting on the shelves at the time. Well, Microsoft is at it again and their new line up for this year’s summer of arcade is looking to drain those Microsoft points from your account faster than you can say “hadouken!”

Just recently, Microsoft started off their new summer line up with a bang, ‘Splosion Man, and now they are bringing one of the most celebrated fighting games of all time into your living room for a mere 1200 Microsoft points ($15). That’s right, Marvel Vs Capcom 2 (MvsC2) has finally hit our living rooms once again, so put up your Dreamcast, trash that boomerang controller, and get ready for fast paced fighting mayhem! Read more… »

Today 2K Games announced that a downloadable release of NBA 2K10: Draft Combine will arrive in September on the Xbox 360 and PS3.

For 400 Microsoft Points ($5), gamers will be able to create custom characters, run them through drills, and play 5-on-5 scrimmages. The more you play your custom character, the better he gets. When October 6 rolls around and NBA 2K10 hits stores, you will be able to import your custom character into the game.

2K VP Greg Thomas explained, “We’re giving our dedicated NBA 2K fans an incredible opportunity with NBA 2K10: Draft Combine. Gamers will have exclusive access to online content and get to test drive NBA 2K10′s new gameplay features, advanced player progression system and the all-new My Player career mode before the game launches.”

For the official list of features and my personal take, hit the jump. Read more… »

If you were alive during the 80s, you might vaguely remember a line of crude toys called “Madballs“. The product’s popularity was rather short lived, and it spawned an unsuccessful TV show and comic series.

After more than two decades, Playbrain has attempted to resurrect Madballs as an Xbox Live Arcade shooter, which happens to have the worst title in the platform’s history: Madballs in Babo: Invasion. Read on to find out whether or not this incessant creation should be put to rest. Read more… »

It’s hard to imagine that more than twenty years later, developers would still find ways to shed new light on old genres. Twisted Pixel’s new downloadable title, ‘Splosion Man, is a 2.5-D puzzle platformer that manages to give the old “jump” button new tricks while keeping the allure and challenge of our flat brethren intact.

If robust single and multiplayer modes, quirky visuals, and polished gameplay are your thing; get those Microsoft points ready. Read more… »

Today PopCap announced that its grid-based tower defence game Plants vs. Zombies will shamble its way onto Xbox Live Arcade.

Plants vs. Zombies was met with overwhelming enthusiasm and became PopCap’s fastest selling title. If any of you missed it on the PC, be sure to check it out on XBLA. While it may seem like a simple tower defense game at first, PvZ‘s numerous types of zombie slaying plants allows gamers to create their own style of play. For Gamer Limit’s shining review, click here. Read more… »

According to publisher EA, Battlefield 1943 sold a record breaking 600,000 copies on the Xbox 360 and PS3. Considering each game sold brought in $15, that means over $9,000,000 changed hands for this game. Battlefield 1943 is now the fastest selling title on both Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network.

Producer of Battlefield 1943, Gordon Van Dyke stated, “We are honoured by the reception that the game has received so far. Watching and participating in this non-stop multiplayer action has been a real treat for us and we can’t believe how fast our fans reached 43 million kills. We can now truly say that we have set a new standard for what can be done in the downloadable games category and gamers recognize the endless value that Battlefield 1943 provides for just $15.” Read more… »

A recent Twitter post over at the official Battlefield 1943 Twitter stated that the weaponry in the recently released Battlefield 1943 will also carry over to the upcoming Battlefield: Bad Company 2 game.  Woo hoo?

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