We've got 'em, leaked Halo 3 alpha screen grabs

Xbox 360 Fanboy: "It's time to unleash your inner Halo fanboy, because we have some goodies for you. Hot off the screen grab black market, we've received some fresh Halo 3 alpha screenshots for your viewing pleasure. German website Evo-X posted seven un-seen screen grabs of the Halo 3 alpha build. And surprisingly enough, the quality of the shots is pretty good. From these new screens we noticed the HUD has a slight concave effect and can clearly see the new spike grenades situated on the top left. There are also a few shots that showcase a letter/number combination over teammates heads, which is either their login name, some sort of alpha crud, or has something to do with the rumored military rank. Ok, enough reading already! We're proud to present all seven leaked Halo 3 alpha screen grabs after the jump ... but remember guys these are shots of the alpha version."

Link to working images..

ESPN to Host NBA Live Reality Competition Series

1UP.com: "The search for the best NBA Live player starts Sunday, as ESPN revealed today they'll be broadcasting NBA Live: Bring it Home, a six episode reality competition hosted by ESPN.com columnist Scoop Jackson. NBA players Vince Carter, Carmelo Anthony, Baron Davis, Antawn Jamison, Dwyane Wade and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban will also make an appearance.

It's just a bunch of guys picking their nose with a camera over the shoulder, though:

During this one-of-a-kind reality competition, each gamer will compete to advance through the tournament by using home court advantage - the right to play on their own turf, flanked by family and friends. Once on their own home turf, the elimination games begin. After these 2nd rounds, the winners face an even bigger challenge. Each second-round winner must take on the role of NBA LIVE coach to an actual NBA player. Their athletes' success or failure against another athlete determines home court advantage for the semi-final rounds. When it's down to two players, they will compete on the ultimate home court - that of the 2006 NBA Champion Miami Heat, the American Airlines Arena in Miami. The winner will take home $100,000."

Images of Bioshock

Xboxyde: "2K Games released these three images from Bioshock, to be released around June. It was recently confirmed on the official website that the game is single-player only (surprise!), but also that a new in-game trailer will be released in less than a month - we can't wait."

GoW running on a PS3 ... not so much

Xbox 360 Fanboy: "Hey Playstation fans, we know you love our Gears of War, but what's up with the fake YouTube videos? A person by the name of somma12345 posted a video (the one above) 'proving' that he is able to get Gears running on his Playstation 3. He even goes through all the trouble to film behind his TV, film all the connectors, and film his controller during gameplay, but forgets to turn on the lights. Yeah, it's one of those too dark to tell what the hell we're watching videos. In the end we're supposed to settle for a elementary explanation of how he changed a few files around, burned a new disc, and voila! Instant PS3 version of Gears. We're throwing our bullshit flag on this one and warn you somma12345 to never disgrace the Gears name by putting it anywhere near that shiny black box. We're nice though and will cut you some slack, because we understand your pain man ... the world is indeed a lonely place without Gears."

Bungie Weekly Update: How we love thy Cortana

Xbox 360 Fanboy: "This week the employees at Bungie have been battling the dreaded space germs virus, but fear not fanboys because nothing can stop the development of Halo 3. In this week's Bungie Weekly Update Frankie reveals that they've been recording dialog for the game including the voice of Cortana, Jen Taylor. This time around Jen is getting the chance to flex her acting muscles, because Cortana is a little darker and more dramatic in Halo 3. Everyone at Bungie nearly wept during Jen's recording session ... oh how we love you Cortana.

Bungie is also polishing weapon animations and revealed that they are implementing the 'A-hole button'. And what is this A-hole button we speak of? Well, you know those annoying Xbox Live members who refuse to be quiet or say something constructive, right? Well, for Halo 3 Bungie is implementing an easier and quicker way to mute unruly Live members, something we're welcoming with open arms. Frankie also talks about a new Halo 2 playlist, new tshirts, and a new Halo audiobook ... just make the jump and get learned."

Xbox Live Activity for week of 2/5

Xbox Live's Major Nelson: "These lists are based on global unique users connected to Xbox Live. If the Xbox 360 list and the original Xbox list were combined, then Gears of War continues to be the top Xbox Live title.

Xbox 360 Top Live Titles (UU’s)
1 Gears of War
2 Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas
3 Crackdown (Demo)
4 GRAW 2 (Demo)
5 Call Of Duty 3
6 Madden NFL 07
7 Lost Planet
8 NBA STREET (Demo)
9 Oblivion
10 GRAW


Top Arcade Titles (Full Versions)
1 Root Beer Tapper
2 UNO
3 Heavy Weapon
4 Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
5 LUMINES LIVE!
6 Street Fighter II' Hyper Fighting
7 Contra
8 Texas Hold 'em
9 Assault Heroes
10 Geometry Wars Evolved

Original Xbox Top Live Games
1 Halo 2
2 Battlefield 2: MC
3 Madden NFL 07
4 Call of Duty 3
5 Counter-Strike
6 Forza Motorsport
7 Star Wars: Battlfrnt 2
8 Ghost Recon 2
9 Rainbow Six 3 BA
10 PGR 2
"

Forza Motorsport 2: Force Feedback Detailed

TeamXbox: "Forza Motorsport 2: The Complete Racing Simulation
When we set off to create Forza Motorsport 2 on the Xbox 360, we knew we had to up the ante on realism for console racing simulators. To that end, a big part of our next-gen racing experience lies in the use of controller rumble and wheel force feedback to completely immerse the player. Racing in the real world is a multi-sensory experience with drivers relying on a well-integrated stream of visual, auditory, vestibular, and haptic information -- everything from the sound of the wind and tires to the pressure of the brake pedal and engine vibration traveling up through the steering column – to let them know how their car is performing. For the last couple weeks here at Turn 10, we’ve been fine-tuning the force feedback implementation in Forza Motorsport 2 using the Microsoft Wireless Force Feedback Wheel. In the process, I’ve written a whitepaper on why force feedback is so important to the overall racing simulation package. Below are a few abstracts from the article…

* Visual and audio cues are simply not enough to convey reality. Forza Motorsport 2 uses haptic interfaces to reproduce a realistic sensation of driving. Whether you play our game with a rumble-enabled controller or a full racing cockpit with"