Being the huge Harry Potter geek that I am, I am obligated to mention the fact that Xbox 360 Kinect will be featured in the upcoming Deathly Hallows video game.

via destructoid.com

Actors James and Oliver Phelps (Fred and George Weasely from the Harry Potter films) came on stage for a live demonstration of the game’s “Challenge” mode, which will utilized the motion-sensing camera. The Phelps’ took on the roles of Harry and Ron as they fought off death eaters and snatchers using magic spells, activated with hand gestures. It was hard to get a sense of how spell types were activated, but pointing at the screen appeared to fire off a melee attack; pushing out both hands at once seemed to push back enemies.

Now i haven’t bought an EA Harry Potter game since Chamber of Secrets. They just didn’t deliver for me. But Deathly Hallows does look pretty epic. Voldemort is taking over and Harry is on the hunt for Horcruxes. The walls of Hogwarts are no longer there to protect him. That’s what makes this game different. The bright and happy scenes are replaced with dark colors and cold backgrounds.

While the Kinect feature is a cool add on it’s defiantly not worthy of the whole game. From the videos I’ve seen of it, I feel like it would get old fast. But still it’s something worth having in the game as a separate game mode. I mean who doesn’t want to pretend they are a wizard trying to protect the world from Death Eaters?

Ahh yes another amusing weekend playing COD:WAW. I haven’t ranted about modded rapid fire controllers in a while so here we go. First of all, don’t you have something better to spend your (your mom’s) money on? These controllers will set you back over $100 depending on where you buy it.

If you genuinely suck at the game save your (you mom’s) money! Not even cheating with a modded controller will save you from a seasoned COD player. Spray your M1A1 Carbine all you want you’ll still get one well placed bullet to the head with my Mosin Nagant.

Modded controllers are for people with no skill and 10 year olds. Usually it’s the two together. Play fair and stop ruining the game for everyone else.

There you have it folks the first Special Edition console using the new 360. Very fitting that it should be a Halo title. And holy crap it looks freakin awesome!

As for the specs… via kotaku.com

The bundle will be available on Sept. 14, when Halo: Reach also launches. It will cost $399. It includes the standard Xbox 360 S configuration inside the Limited Edition, UNSC-stamped silver housing, the two silver controllers, and the game.

To add to awesomeness there are also Halo-ish sounds accompanying the console according to Xbox LIVE’s Major Nelson.

So if you love Halo and want the full on Halo Reach experience, you might want to start saving up those pretty pennies.

The official price for Xbox 360′s motion control peripheral was released yesterday. Kinect, as expected, will set gamers back $150 and will include the launch title Kinect Adventures.

For those new to the Xbox 360 party there will be a $299 console bundle on the release of the sensor. The bundle will include the redesigned 360, Kinect, and Kinect Adventures. The console will not include a 250GB hard drive but will include 4GB of internal memory.

According to IGN.com the sans-hard drive console will not have the shiny finish of the more expensive version but will include the other features such as the built in WiFi.

Also if you haven’t heard, the new Kinect games will be packaged in purple cases.

For those of you out there who have no need for a 250GB hard drive but would love to get your hands on the new Xbox 360 it looks like there’s something on the way for you.

A listing on Amazon Germany was spotted by ign.com for a 4GB Xbox360 Arcade. The memory will most likely be in the form of a usb stick. Very few details are included in this listing but the console will run you $199 and could be released as soon as the end of this Summer.

Looks like Walmart wants in on all the excitement surrounding the November release of Xbox 360 Kinect. Until July 23rd Walmart is offering a a pre-order bundle for Kinect. It includes Kinect, a $30 eGift card for Walmart.com, and your choice of one Kinect launch title. The bundle will run you $199 asuming Microsoft is going to stick with the $150 price tag.

Via msnbc.com

Microsoft has not officially announced the price of its forthcoming motion-control device known as Kinect, but according to their own store it’s likely to run $150.

So it may not be official but it’s looking like gamers will be shelling out big bucks for Kinect. I shouldn’t be surprised but I am a little bit. As cool as Kinect looks (to me at least) the hardcore gamers are just not interested. Hardcore gamers are a staple for the Xbox 360. A price like that will push any thoughts of buying it right out the window.

As for new buyers to the 360 it might prove too expensive for a console, Kinect, and games. Unless they have an amazing bundle around Christmas time. Personally, I would have rather seen the price closer to the $100 mark but I’m still going to buy it.

So MS you’re not fooling anyone. We all expect that to be the actual price. So just get it over with and make it official so you can be bombarded with complaints from people who will buy it anyway.

It seems that Microsoft has given the new Xbox 360 some brains. As stated in my previous post, there is no more Red Ring of Death(RROD) but that doesn’t mean this console won’t make you see red.

Pics via engadget.com

Looks like we’ll have a red dot to warn us it’s time to put up the shades and expose our pale skin to the sunlight. Although this will be highly annoying if it happens in the middle of a game it is relatively preferable to the death of your console.

That of course doesn’t mean it won’t break. There is just a new error system that I am sure we will create a funny name for in the future.

What this basically means is that you just literally won’t see any red lights. But the hope is that the new systems will have the lowest failure rates of all the past 360 systems. Makes sense since they’ve had a ton of time to work on it since the first 360 generation in 2005.

So gamers if your current system is making you see red, I suggest picking up the new system if you have the cash.

With E3 2010 in full swing, twitter feeds everywhere have been crowded with updates. But they’ve also been flooded with fanboys/fangirls hating on other consoles and companies.

News Flash people! We all love gaming!!! PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PC and everything in between, we all enjoy video games. This business of console wars and who has the better platform is childish. To each his/her own. Which console you choose to play on is your own business and as long as you’re having fun, nothing else should matter.

So do me and so many others a favor this E3, respect other gamers who play on other platforms. No console is perfect and every single one has flaws. Stop the console wars.