1 vs 100 coming to UK from July 10

Microsoft have finally given a date for the UK beta release of 1 vs 100 (originally via this tweet), Friday July 10 for those with Xbox Live Gold living in the UK or ROI. Check their website here for more details.

UPDATE: Just to clarify, this is more than just a tweet, Microsoft's websites (as shown by their T & C's here which state that the "Beta Season" starts on July 10 in the UK.

Recon Armour up for grabs on Bungie Day

Bungie, developers of Halo 3, have declared on their Weekly Update that the coveted Recon armour permutation will be up for grabs on Bungie Day, the 7th of July on a special Matchmaking playlist which uses community maps, apparently all you have to do is to beat a team of Bungie employees on the Bungie vs The World playlist. However, as Bungie stated, just aerbout everyone who has ever played Halo 3 online will be on that playlist, so the chances of facing a Bungie employee, recognisable by their flaming helmets, are very low.

US/CA Xbox Live Silver Members can play 1 vs 100 this weekend

Those of you without an Xbox Live Gold Account in the US or Canada can play 1 vs 100 live from today (Friday 26th June) to Sunday June 28th for free! Probably a Microsoft plan to entice more Gold subscriptions, but its free so I can't complain (actually, I live in the UK so I can) but for all of you across the pond, enjoy!

No Master Chief in Halo 3:ODST

Bungie's Brian Jarrard, while speaking to Multiplayer, confirmed that Master Chief will not even be making a camoe appearance in the forthcoming game, Halo 3:ODST. This is due to the story arc, which is placed between Halo 2 and Halo 3, forces John-117 to be across the galaxy at the time when the game is set. Shame that, but the SPARTANS should make a return in 2010 with Halo Reach.

Microsoft Release Video Showing Xbox 360's Games on Demand Feature

Joystiq got their hands on a handy video from Microsoft showcasing it's new "Games on Demand" feature for the Xbox 360, which was announced at E3 last week. This new innovation looks pretty good, and games are credited direct to a credit/debit card without the need to buy Microsoft Points. But, a lot of Xbox owners with 20GB hardrives might not be too happy about only able to download a maximum 3 games, if they have nothing on that hard drive already, which seems unlikely.

Another 2 Disc Game - But This is no problem with Halo 3 ODST

The developer Bungie have announced in their weekly update that forthcoming Xbox 360 exclusive, Halo 3: ODST, will ship with two disc. However, unlike Forza Motorsport 3, in which the second disc can be used in the single player story, Halo 3 ODST will feature its campaign and "Firefight" (a new multiplayer mode) on the first disc, and the standard Halo 3 Multiplayer on the second disc, which will feature all of the map packs for Halo 3 (including 3 maps exclusive to Halo 3:ODST), which will save you a lot of Microsoft Points.

Microsoft Announce Project Natal - A Motion Sensitive Camera For Xbox 360

One of the highlights of E3 so far was Project Natal for Xbox 360. This motion sensitive camera seems pretty impressive so far, and my observations is that if it works, it will be brilliant, if not, a flop.