Download of the Day: Halo 2 for XP or Vista

Halo 2 is the sequel to the highly successful and critically acclaimed Halo®: Combat Evolved. In Halo 2, the saga continues as Master Chief—a genetically enhanced super-soldier—is the only thing standing between the relentless Covenant and the destruction of all humankind.

Blood and Gore
Violence
Language
Partial Nudity

THIS DOWNLOAD IS RELEASED BY TORRENT! Get a Bit Torrent Client to download it. I recommend UTorrent. (www.utorrent.com)

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PS3 Backward Compatability???

The issue of backwards compatibility on the Sony PlayStation 3 has calmed down a bit over the past few months, but just when you thought we've all let go of that, some buzz from Germany brings it back to life.

Near as we can figure from the rough translation of the report from German sire Ingame, they were able to talk to a Sony supplier about the matter. The supplier apparently tipped them off that 40GB PS3s will be backwards compatible with PlayStation 2 games courtesy of a firmware update this October.

According to Ingame, the supplier even joked that he has to get rid of his 60GB PS3 stock before 40GB PS3s get BC. It appears that the older version of the console is in hot demand over in Europe because of their added functionality.

Take this one with a grain of salt, people. There's really no way of debunking or confirming it at the moment. We'll give you more updates soon

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PSP Firmware 4.00 Feature LEAKAGE!!!

We don't have a specific date for it yet, but according to Eric Lempel, Director of PlayStation Network Operations, the PSP's official firmware 4.00 update "will be released soon." How soon? We can only hope.

What can we expect from FW 4.00? According to Lempel, the upgrade will have a new Google Internet Search feature, accessible straight from the XMB. It uses Google's algorithms so it will return the exact same results as www.google.com.

The feature returns a search history recall of 20 items. Of course, you'll need to be connected to the Internet via a wireless access point or Wi-Fi hotspot before you can actually Google something.

Another feature inlcuded in Firmware 4.00 is the ability to speed up or slow down the playback speed of videos stored on the unit's Memory Stick. All you need to do for this is to press up or down while playing the video.

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Microsoft / Gaywood Ban Incident

The gamer blog Kotaku is reporting on a really weird story involving Microsoft and a decision that is, shall we say, hard to believe. Microsoft reportedly banned the Gamertag of a gentleman using his legal name, Richard Gaywood. Apparently, the man's actual name violates Microsoft policies on politically correct and clean Gamertags.

Microsoft's Xbox terms of use policy says a user cannot ...

"-Create a Gamertag or use text other profile fields that may offend other members. This includes comments that look, sound like, stand for, hint at, abbreviate, or insinuate any of the following: profane words/phrases, sexually explicit language, sexual innuendo, hate speech (including but not limited to racial, ethnic, or religious slurs), illegal drugs/controlled substances, or illegal activities."

The Kotaku blog contacted Microsoft to ask what, exactly, is wrong with RichardGaywood, especially since it includes a real surname. Microsoft's story is that someone saw it and complained about it. (Wow, who are these people that not only have time to game, they also have time to stop gaming and write a complaint to Microsoft over another's Gamertag? Those folks need to find a few more hobbies.) Microsoft had previously banned the Gamertag "TheGAYERGamer" because, Kotaku reports, Microsoft's Stephen Toulouse said "... it would be hard for me to defend to a parent of a young child who saw it that the name did not contain content of a sexual nature."

Should point out that while this story on Kotaku seems legit -- as it quotes Microsoft's policy and a Microsoft spokesperson -- it is an oddity. When it comes to homophobia, Seattle isn't Wyoming. But even so, do people -- even children -- really need Microsoft to protect them from a surname like Gaywood? Let's face it, the only ones who could see the so-called sexual reference in that word are not all that innocent.

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