There are a lot of numbers in that headline. But that’s not what I’m reporting on! No, instead, I’m glad to inform you that one of the PC’s best games of 2011 will finally be making its way to the 360 on April 17th, 2012. And it’s not just a simple port.

The Xbox 360 version of CD Projekt Red’s award-winning RPG is going to feature all of the DLC that’s been released for the PC version up to this point, amounting to roughly four hours of playable content and 30 minutes of cut-scenes. You’ll visit new locations, meet new characters, and hear new dialogue with this content.

Additionally, the 360 version features “a cleaner, more navigable inventory system, a new targeting system and an adrenaline meter that allows players to stylishly insta-kill multiple enemies at the tap of a button.” All of this fine-tuning for the console more than makes up for the graphical hit Assassins of Kings will take in my opinion. The developer has said that the 360 version’s graphics will be comparable to the PC version on medium settings.

But it doesn’t end there. CD Projekt Red level artist Marek Ziemak says that “We’re not going to stop our support of the game after launch. We’re launching the Xbox 360 version, but we’ll continue to work on both titles parallel, creating some extra stuff and trying to give some extra stuff to players. We never fire and forget; it’s against our philosophy.” So it sounds like both PC and 360 users can expect even more DLC in the future. No complaints here. I’ll just be quietly counting down to release day now…

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Now with panda support!

Lots of people like to refer to Microsoft’s next console as the Xbox 720. Me? Not so much. I’ve always been partial to “NeXtBox.” It just rolls off the tongue so nicely. But let’s put semantics aside and discuss the deluge of rumors that have been spewing out from all corners of the internet about what, exactly, the NeXtBox will contain.

First up we have some news on just how powerful the NeXtBox will be. According to IGN, “sources close to the project” say that it will have six times the processing power of the Xbox 360. The system’s GPU will be based off of the Radeon HD 6670 which supports fancy things like DirectX 11, multidisplay output, 3D and 1080p HD output. In addition to this graphical information, IGN has tossed out a release date of “late October or early November” of 2013.

Now here come the really crazy details. Kotaku cites “sources” (man, I really need to get me some of them) that say the next Xbox will contain a Blu-Ray drive. Not crazy, you say? Well, here’s the crazy: a “reliable industry source” tells Kotaku that the Xbox 720 will contain some sort of system to prevent the console from playing used games.

Now, let’s just step back for a second and analyze this situation. Who, exactly, would this system benefit? Certainly not consumers. Definitely not Microsoft. And not even publishers.

Consumers would lose a way to play the games they love cheaply; and both Microsoft and publishers would lose out on the very large portion of gamers who buy used games. This might work out in the publishers favor if they were able to get this anti-used games system implemented on all consoles. Then gamers would have no choice but to buy their games new. But they’d also hate the publishers who forced them to do it. So, really, this benefits nobody and is a terribly crazy idea. If this does come true, I could definitely see Sony dedicating a large part of their marketing budget for the Playstation 4 to showing how their system can play used games.

And, of course, the source cited “wasn’t sure how Microsoft intended to implement any anti-used game system in the new machine.”

Want some  more crazy? “I’m also hearing that Microsoft is interested in making a smaller controller for its new console.” What? Just… what? Why? The Xbox 360 controller is nearly perfect. There’s no need to change it. And there’s certainly no need for it to be smaller.

Anyway, here’s something we’ve all been assuming for a while that actually isn’t crazy: the next iteration of the Xbox will have the Kinect sensor built right into it. This would be a new Kinect sensor that features an on board processor that “would enable a new Kinect to more effectively detect users’ motions.”

My takeaway on all of this? We’ll see a new Xbox in Fall 2013 that has Kinect built-in.

The Xbox rumor train doesn’t stop there, folks. InsideMobileApps cites a “source” that says Microsoft will stop using its arbitrary Microsoft Points system and convert all transactions to cold, hard cash. This would affect Windows Phone, and the Zune Marketplace as well as Xbox Live. Any remaining balance at the time of the switch would be converted to your local currency. I’m all for the eradication of all space buck-like currencies, so here’s hoping this one comes true.

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I have to say that the maps shown here look pretty fun; I sort of want to go play some Gears now. The pack is available now, and for $10, you’ll get five new maps to obnoxiously act out your thrashball dreams on. Below are more detailed fly-through videos for three of those new maps.

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Before we move on to how out of touch Microsoft’s marketing people are (oh, there’s a trailer below that will blow your mind), let us first discuss the game featured in the above video–I Am Alive. The title’s development struggles have been well documented and there’s certainly reason for concern when we stop to consider that it shifted developers mid-development and transformed from a full-fledged retail game to a downloadable title. And that gameplay does look a little rough around the edges in the graphical department. But I can honestly say that Ubisoft Shanghai’s take on the post-apocalypse is one of my most anticipated games of the year. It’s just fundamentally different from nearly every other game on the market today, and in this humble writer’s hopes, has the potential to revolutionize video games’ take on the post-apocalypse in a very positive way. So dude: seriously, just buy it.

“But when does it come out!?!” you ask. Well, friend, the unfortunate truth is that none of the games in Microsoft’s House Party 2012 have been given firm release dates yet, but if we go by last year’s standards, then late February seems like a good starting point. I would also wager that the house Bill Gates built has some sort of timed exclusivity on I Am Alive if it’s being included in this promotion.

But as you’ll see in the video below, it isn’t much of a party with only one guest. That’s why Microsoft has also invited Alan Wake’s American Nightmare, Warp, and Nexuiz to do what video games to best and boogie down to terrible music in drug-free raves.

Wait…that’s not what video games do best? That’s not even what video gamers do best? But how could Microsoft’s demographic research be wrong? How?

Alan Wake’s American Nightmare, I Am Alive part of XBLA’s ‘House Party 2012′ [Joystiq]

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Will it be as cool as that alternate ending to Carmine’s epic saga? Probably not. But $10 will net you “five new maps, four character skins and ‘Re-up,’ the Gears version of Call of Duty‘s ‘Prestige.’ Here, it allows players to rank through level 100 multiple times for ‘exclusive emblems and weapon skins.’” Good times, no?

Gears of War 3 adds ‘Fenix Rising’ map pack on Jan. 17 [Joystiq]

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“The middle of the first quarter of 2012,” specifically. And if the video below is any indication, then the core gameplay should be a lot more fun than its predecessor.

“Fight till Dawn” is a standard survival mode that sees you shooting for a high score, and it’s not even multiplayer, but that doesn’t take away from the excitement of so many new enemy types. At its heart, Alan Wake is a Third-Person Shooter, and Remedy seems to have learned from their mistakes in the series’ initial title with this new emphasis on combat variety. Of course, they’re still failing to innovate with the franchise’s signature aesthetic, but maybe American Nightmare‘s campaign has some intensely crafted set-pieces that use light in interesting ways and Remedy simply doesn’t want to spoil them. Either way, it looks like Mr. Wake is finally improving the gameplay mechanics that go with his foreboding writing.

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Looks very… Alan Wake-ey.

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That there game seen above is Ryse, a First-Person Brawler designed by Crytek to take advantage of the unique control scheme offered by Kinect. Revaled at E3 2011, it was originally slated for release on the Xbox 360, but if the LinkedIn profile of a former Crytek level designer is any indication, then Ryse has been pushed to “X-Box Next Gen.”

Now I’m not going to pretend I have any interest in a gorier version of Wii Sports Resort‘s fencing mini-game, but given the traditional simplicity of Kinect games, I’m going to speculate that the 360′s hardware specs (or lack there of) aren’t the reason for the apparent shift in platform. And even if Crytek only began development on Ryse this year (the employee’s profile lists employment dates of January 2011-July 2011), I can’t possibly see work on such a title lasting longer than two years. Realistically, development probably started before Ms. Morgan came on board and personally, I can’t see an on-rails experience taking longer than a year and a half to make. So what does all this mean?

The past year has seen rumor after rumor saying that Microsoft is prepping their next console for a Holiday 2012 launch, or possibly a 2013 launch. If a game as simple as Ryse has been pushed back to a next gen release, then I’d say that this is more evidence of an impending Nextbox. But that’s just this humble observer’s opinion.

Also, the profile suggests that Crytek is working on a “tablet title exclusive to Crytek and expanding the franchise to include new genre of video game.” If this is true, it has yet to be officially announced.

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It’s like Epic has a little man hidden inside my mind, listening for all my awesome ideas like A GUN THAT SHOOTS KRYLL. But it’s less of a gun and more of a summon creature spell that RAAM casts with his magics. Locusts have those, right? Well they must, because the only explanation for kryll in daylight is a powerful protection spell.

As fiction-bending as the mechanic seems to be, I have to say that “RAAM’s Shadow” looks pretty cool. It does seem as though you’ll be restricted to one kind of environment for the entire mission, but at least that environment is completely new. And anything that fills in the back-story of Emergence Day is A-okay in my book…my book of magical Gears lore!

Look for Gears 3‘s latest DLC expansion on December 13th for $15, or $0 if you’ve already invested in the DLC Season Pass.

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Just wanted to remind everybody that the remake of one of the greatest Shooters of all time is releasing next Tuesday. Is it just me, or does it seem like Microsoft has devoted like $100 total to this game’s marketing campaign?

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