This game looks sweet, and I’m excited to see this coming out this summer!

Bastion is an action RPG title, where the player takes control of Kid, who is tasked to construct a safe haven and build a new world after the old world literally collapsed from a great Calamity. Ok, perhaps it’s not the most original idea, but a great RPG can be found not in the main idea of the story but how it unfolds.

Story aside though, the first thing we noticed is how sweet the game looks. It looks pretty. And from the trailer, the game looks to flow smoothly too. And some of the features on this game look sweet. I’ve been craving for a good RPG to play on our current consoles, and this looks to be high on the list right now. Enjoy the trailer and features list!

FYI: For those of you that keep track and are interested, Bastion won seven awards and nine nominations coming out of E3, including Best Downloadable Game, Best Original Game, and Game of Show.

Features List:

• Reactive narrator – Bastion introduces a one-of-a-kind reactive narration system, which gradually reveals a rich back story as the narrator reacts to the player’s actions, allowing for the player to have a truly personalized gameplay experience. The game features thousands of lines of narration. No player will be able to hear it all the first time through the game.

• Lush, hand-painted world – Bastion is presented in a  high-definition, richly-detailed painterly art style, which enhances the fantastical world design and immerses players in the unique setting and atmosphere.

• Nimble, active combat – The game offers exciting, highly responsive moment-to-moment action that rewards player skill and experimentation, allowing players to develop their own unique fighting styles by mixing and matching from a large variety of customizable weapons, each with their own special moves and mechanics.

• Frequent gameplay-customizing choice – Bastion features many customizable elements including an array of weapons and upgrades as well as a special system that allows players to raise game difficulty in exchange for greater rewards.

• Grand adventure – This is a full-length experience offering 8 to 10 hours of fully narrated gameplay. Once players finish the journey, they unlock a “New Game Plus” mode, which introduces additional content and new ways to play.

In November, Microsoft will be offering Xbox owners a great deal: an Xbox LIVE Gold Family Pack. Simply put, Microsoft is offering four individual Xbox LIVE Gold membership for the prices of two!

Now from what we understand, there will be one primary account member that will be able to purchase and dispense Microsoft Points to the rest.

An Xbox LIVE Gold Family Pack Includes:

• Up to four individual Xbox LIVE Gold memberships for the price of two.
• Family Center – a single, easy to use, destination for Family Settings and account management, accessible on the Xbox dashboard and on Xbox.com.
• The primary account member has the ability to purchase and dispense Microsoft Points to other Xbox LIVE Gold Family Pack members.
• Activity monitoring reports viewable on Xbox.com to help encourage discussions about safer more balanced gaming and entertainment habits.
• Simplified billing that applies all purchase charges to the primary account holder’s billing account and the ability to authorise purchases, helping to manage the family’s entertainment budget.
• Exclusive family content and discounts.
• Those already a Gold member can easily upgrade to Family Pack.

Don’t Press X brings you something interesting. There news feed was really funny, so I’m just gonna quote it here:

“Rock A Block can not be explained, you can not be told what it is, you can only experience rock a block… Early previews of Rock a block have shown it to defy categorization. The xbox indie channel submission page crashed when all the genres this game fits into where ticked.”

You gotta admit this is intriguing.

So from what we can tell, this game is a fusion of puzzle, racing, and platform. It definitely has puzzle elements like matching colored cubes together, as well as platform and racing elements such as speed and intensity. It’s probably easiest if you take a look at the how to play trailer beneath. It looks interesting enough. We’ll see if it lives up to the intrigue the above statement piques.

So, as you may have guessed from the updates, we’re back from Vegas!… and by Vegas I mean CES. This was by far the biggest expo I have every attended! But this was definitely geared toward a broader audience of consumer electronics, rather than having a specific niche, like gaming.

Anyhoo, the first thing we did upon arriving at the LVCC (Las Vegas Convention Center) was to get some lunch. After that, we headed into the Center Hall where we were greeted by a huge exhibit by none other than Microsoft. At the exhibit we got two demos, one for the new Zune HD video library, and the Game Room App for the Xbox360.

With Xbox LIVE, Facebook, and Twitter, the X360 definitely has the upperhand in online-social gaming. The Game Room is yet another online-social gaming App to add to the list, and an exciting one at that.

For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, here’s the gist: The game room is a new app for Xbox LIVE where you can create a virtual arcade, with virtual replicas of arcade classics from the 70s, 80s and 90s. These virtual consoles play exactly like the originals, and the arcade unit itself has all of the original cabinet designs, down to the decals.

The Game Room comes initially packed with 30 games for you to try out. You will then have the ability to purchase games through the Game Room with your Microsoft Points, allowing you to fill up your virtual arcade with more arcade units. These arcade games are playable both through your Xbox and through Windows Live. The games will be available for 240 Microsoft Points ($3) for one screen (either the X360 or Windows), and 400 Microsoft Points ($5) for multiple screens (playable on either media).

This virtual arcade creates a whole new arena in which to socialize and compete with your friends. First and foremost, friends will be able to visit each others’ Game Rooms. Everybody will have one free trial on arcade games they find in a friend’s Game Room. If your friend happens to own that arcade game, they can play on that machine and attempt to beat your high score. Once you enter the Game Room, each machine will have either a green or red banner on top of it, indicating the current top high score; green means you own it, and red means someone else owns it. Naturally, leaderboards will also be available, with both a world and friends filter. There will also be replays available to watch, so you can see how the top scorer achieved their spot on the leaderboard.

And of course, what would Xbox gaming be without Achievements? From what we’ve heard, there will be a total of 99 achievements available, for the Game Room as a whole. There are also awards available both inside the Game Room, like little 8-bit icons that run around the Game Room, and avatar awards such as special baseball caps.

All in all, the Game Room app looks pretty awesome. With new games scheduled to come out on a weekly basis, this app is sure to provide hours of old-school, arcade style challenges from the comfort of your own home. The Xbox LIVE Game Room is scheduled to be available sometime in late March.

I’m sure at one point or another you’ve seen the “Rate my” websites. I think the first one I ever saw was Hotornot.com. I remember thinking this is kinda mean. I mean, you’re rating another human being just on appearance… but it’s also fun and addicting. Now there are rate my sites for everything, ranging from rate my girlfriend, to one of my favorites, rate my poo. And now, ladies and gentlemen, you can take this to your consoles, with Rate My Avatar, an application for Xbox LIVE.

For a measly sum of 80 Microsoft Points (U.S. $1), you can put your very own avatar on the market for others to judge rate and shoot for the prestigious “Hall of Fame”… cool…I guess? But to be honest it is kind of cool to be able to look through other people’s avatars. Who knows, this might be a great hit in Xbox LIVE community. What do you think?

Xbox LIVE Gold subscribers get the chance to play the co-op demo for Lost Planet 2, starting on August 19^th. They’ll be facing the G-Type Salamander Akrid boss in online, and the gameplay will support upto four players co-op. Capcom claims that the scale of this boss fight will be greater than expects. I guess sometimes, it plays to be a Xbox LIVE Gold subscriber.

Here are the features of Lost Planet 2:

• 4-player co-op action: Team up to battle the giant Akrid in explosive 4 player co-operative play. Teamwork is the player’s key to victory as the team is dependent on each other to succeed and survive.

• Single-player game evolves based on players decisions and actions

• Deep level of character customization: Players will have hundreds of different ways to customize their look to truly help them define their character on the battlefield both on- and offline. Certain weapons can also be customized to suit individual player style.

• Beautiful massive environments: Capcom’s advanced graphics engine, MT Framework 2.0, will bring the game to life with the next step in 3D fidelity and performance.

• Massive scale of enemies: Players skill on the battlefield and work as a team will be tested like never before against the giant Akrid. Players will utilize teamwork tactics, new weapons and a variety of vital suits (VS) to fight these larger-than-life bosses.

• Rewards System- Players will receive rewards for assisting teammates and contributing to the team’s success

• Multiplayer modes and online ranking system

• Exciting new VS features- Based on fan feedback, the team has implemented an unbelievable variety of Vital Suits and new ways to combat VS overall . The new VS sytem will have a powerful impact on the way the player takes to the war zone in Lost Planet 2

Not too worry, silver members; you still get to play the demo, but you’ll have to wait until August 26^th.