In its latest press release, Microsoft declared 2007 as its best year so far in terms of games released for its Xbox 360 console. The computing giant took a bow before this year ends knowing that it made a serious statement with the quantity of high-quality titles that its platform’s owners received this calendar year.

High-profile games led by the monumental Halo 3 from Bungie headlined the Xbox 360’s 2007 campaign. Along with Halo 3, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, BioShock and The Orange Box have created the fearsome foursome of the FPS genre.

While pundits may say that shooting games comprise most of the Xbox 360’s best gaming events, other genres were also given their fills. Blue Dragon from Microsoft Game Studios eased some of our RPG cravings. Viva Pi ata: Party Animals provided wholesome fun and Scene It? Lights, Camera, Action gave more casual players something to smile about. Cyber-athletes, meanwhile, were treated to the awesome Madden NFL 08 from EA.

Fighting game and anime fans relished Namco Bandai’s Naruto Rise of a Ninja, while virtual aviators flew high with Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation. In its latest outing, RPG master team Bioware released Mass Effect, one of the most critically-acclaimed games of all time.

We must say that Microsoft put together a crazy flurry of Grade-A gaming fun this year. If you own an Xbox 360, the holidays seem to be a good time to spill that wallet’s contents. Here’s looking forward to a bigger and better 2008.

Even with Guitar Hero III already unleashed on all three consoles (Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii), it seems that RedOctane is still showing the rhythm game’s second iteration love with a new downloadable content pack that’s all about the indies, and it’s available now for the paltry sum of 500 Microsoft Points (US 6.25).

So, what are the tracks that we’ll be able to put our Guitar Hero skills to the test with? Here they are, then, in no particular order:

• State of Massachusetts by the Dropkick Murphys
• You Should Be Ashamed of Myself by The Bled
• Memories of the Grove by Maylene & The Sons of Disaster

Certainly three very good tracks (and challenging ones at that) to rock out on the Xbox 360 version of the game. And as with all downloadable content with Guitar Hero II, the pack also comes with a free trailer that lets you get a sneak peek at the note patterns you’ll have to master.

As for future downloadable content packs, RedOctane’s executive producer Jeff Matsushita reassured fans that the company plans to support the game up until the end of 2007 - so there’s still some time for them to churn out some more releases before they stop doing so. Will we be able to see more Guitar Hero III downloadable packs then? We can only wait to find out.

Xbox 360 owners rejoice! The highly-anticipated Fall Dashboard update for our mean green machines of next-gen joy is right around the corner, with the massive improvement-laden patch coming live this December 4. And to give you a better idea of just what’s going down come that fateful day is this equally-massive list of the new features and improvements, all of which sound too good to be true. So, without further ado, let’s get cracking.

First up on our list of changes is the Xbox LIVE Marketplace. This year’s Fall Dashboard Update sees the arrival of the Xbox Originals download option. For 1200 Microsoft Points, you can download your own favorite original Xbox title and play it on your Xbox 360. Yes, you read that right: you’ll be able to download and play titles like Psychonauts, Halo, Fable and Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex for only a paltry sum of Microsoft Points.

The best part? They’re practically the retail version, with no alterations or cuts. The only difference is that you download them, instead of running over to your favorite videogames store and purchasing a copy for yourself. Add to that the fact that the best-selling downloadable arcade games on Xbox LIVE having permanently-reduced prices, and the Marketplace is definitely looking sweeter and sweeter indeed.

What else we got? Enhancements all around in terms of both online and offline content. Gamers will always be on the pulse of gaming news with a new direct feed that links the Xbox LIVE dashboard to the console’s official website. An enhanced online profile lets your friends (and the whole community should you choose to let it) read and see more about you, the face behind the gamertag. Not to mention an expanded Friends List access, where you can see not only your own list but of other peoples’.

For parents worried about the games their kids are playing, worry no longer, as this year’s dashboard update also enhances Parental Controls on the Xbox 360. Family Timer, for instance, lets you set just for how long your kids can use the Xbox 360, either on a per-day or per-week basis. Sweet, isn’t it?

Here’s more of the new features included in this year’s Fall Update:

• Improved Video Library.
• Improved visuals and descriptions.
• Users can now sort movies and TV Shows in the video library by Title or (Download) Date.
• TV shows can now be grouped by Series .
• Group video and game trailers .
• Art associated with personal video files on a portable device will now be displayed.
• Easier to use media areas and improved metadata .
• Improved source selection for video, picture, and music libraries, making it easier to switch between console/digital camera, computer, portable device or disc.
• New “Suggested Items” link for downloaded movies.

Of course, that’s just a tiny chunk of the iceberg that is the complete features list, so if you want to peruse the entire thing, you’d best head over to the link we’ve supplied below.

Texas-based studio Midway Austin and its creative director Harvey Smith have parted ways days after an incident which saw Smith give the firm a tongue-lashing. Referring to the BlackSite: Area 51 (Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, PC) project, Smith expressed his dismay over how Midway handled its business.

“This project was so f ed up,” Smith said in a recent Wired interview. “With a year to go, the game was disastrously off rails… It went straight from alpha to final.”

Smith noted that Midway went ahead with shipping and sale without the necessary tests to ensure BlackSite: Area 51’s quality. He even complained of how limited resources were for the development effort. “Everyone was forced to share tech. It took eight months to get one thing working,” he adds.

Smith’s departure was confirmed by Midway Austin studio head Denise Fulton. She refused to give any comments about the resignation but revealed that Smith was technically still a Midway employee when he made his feelings public.

Buy: [ Blacksite: Area 51 (PC) ]

Buy: [ Blacksite: Area 51 (PS3) ]

Buy: [ Blacksite: Area 51 (Xbox 360) ]

Here’s a bit of news that should please BioShock fans on both the PC and the Microsoft Xbox 360. 2K Games has announced that they’ll be making a new patch and downloadable content available for both platforms next week to add some fun while fixing old bugs.

The new DLC is said to carry some new Plasmids as well as a way to disable Vita-Chambers if the game is becoming too easy for you. This should make for a more hardcore experience than ever.

The patch will solve some bugs yet to be specified by 2K Games. The only thing clear right now is that it should address the widescreen display bug that has caused an outcry across the internet after the PC version launched.

No specific date has been mentioned, so we’ll just have to keep an eye out for this one next week. Keep it with us to find out how Bioshock fares with these technical gifts.

Buy: [Bioshock (Games for Windows)]
Buy: [Bioshock (Xbox 360)]

In case you haven’t heard, the Xbox 360 Dashboard will be getting a major overhaul on December 4. So what’s in store for your console? GameVideos.com gives us the details, including a Live demonstration (pun intended).

Here are some of the major highlights you might be interested in. First the dashboard is getting a facelift with a more stylistic, streamlined design. The new look integrates an “XBM-esque” menu.

Also, there is now support for mpeg-4 formats, so your Xbox 360 can now play DivX and XVid files on 1080p. Microsoft doesn’t guarantee that it will support all formats though. Your Xbox Live Profile will also be getting “friends of friends” support.

Find out more details in the video:

Irrational Games split into two after the completion of Bioshock, introducing the 2K Boston and 2K Australia studios. Now it looks like a new studio, called 2K Marin, is being set up in the Bay Area.

According to a cached job listing in Gamasutra, the new studio will comprise of some of the people who created Bioshock (the updated site no longer contains the passage) and is currently looking for a lead animator with 8 years of experience.

The deleted passage goes (as revealed by Google cache): “Some of the people who created the award-winning Bioshock are starting up a new studio in the Bay Area called 2K Marin.”

However, it’s still a mystery why the company chose to split up into so many studios in the first place. The first thought that comes to mind is that the different studios will be covering the different consoles and handhelds, but we’ll have to wait and find out more.

On the flipside, 2K Boston is still looking for artists for its next project for the Xbox 360 and PC. The job listing adds experience with the PlayStation 3 and the Unreal Engine as a plus. Hints of a new installment to the world of Bioshock?

How badly do you want an Xbox 360? Apparently even criminals want one so badly that the promise of a free console was enough for them to risk their freedom and come out of hiding.

By promising a free Xbox 360 console and other prizes, the El Paso police and U.S. Marshals managed to round up 115 people with criminal charges. The police even managed to collect US 25,686 in outstanding traffic fines. The police commented that not even going directly to a person’s house to make the arrest was as effective.

The criminals were rounded up as they came to claim their prizes. The people who were arrested had warrants served that included drug charges, illegal entry charges and other violent crimes.

Lionhead Studios head Peter Molyneux revealed during a LiveText interview with Eurogamer today that Fable 2, the highly anticipated follow-up to the Xbox title Fable, will be released in “late 2008.”

Molyneux declined to give out any specifics regarding the game’s release date. When pressed, he added that the game could be out “when the leaves have a slight brownish tinge - but are still on the trees”.

Apart from Fable 2, Molyneux revealed that Lionhead is also working on a title that’s “kind of a hybrid of Dimitri” which could possibly be “Project X”, one of Lionhead’s as yet unannounced projects. Molyneux seems pretty hyped about this particular project, saying that it “is absolutely great, revolutionary and ambitious!”

Molyneux also expressed an interest in developing simulation and God games for the Nintendo DS handheld console. He said he would love to do a DS version of Dungeon Keeper, if only Electronic Arts would give him the rights back.

Now that Tomb Raider: Anniversary is already on shelves (the Wii version’s heading to Europe soon), a recent trademark filing by Eidos Interactive seems to shed at least some light on Lara Croft’s next adventure.

According to Trademork, Eidos has recently filed to protect the trademark Tomb Raider Underworld, which is rumored to be the eighth title in the franchise. SCi Entertainment has already said that a new Tomb Raider title is coming sometime next year.

Speculation as to what the eighth Tomb Raider title will be all about seems to center around the Mayan Calendar belief that 2012 will be the end of time. The game is speculated to be set during the five final days of the Mayan Calendar called Wayeb, a time when the borders between the mortal realm and the Underworld become blurred.

Tomb Raider: Anniversary (Xbox 360, PlayStation Portable, Wii, PC) developer Crystal Dynamics seems to be the developer currently connected to the eighth installment, which has also been referred to as a continuation of Tomb Raider: Legend.