We don’t know if these are all the Avatar Awards you can unlock in Gears of War 3 but here are some of them at least.  One is a shirt that says “For the Horde”, which I think is pretty obvious what you have to play to unlock that, it is obtained when you unlock the “Welcome to the Horde” achievement.  The other two are a Locust Drone Mask and a Marcus doo-rag.  The mask is unlocked when you get the “Welcome to the Beast Mode” achievement and the doo-rag will unlock from beating the game.  Don’t forget about all Gears Giveaway Month.  The game is out on September 20th for the Xbox 360.

Source

The news just keeps pouring out of Gamescom, so much that I going to have to learn German by next years event.  But here are games that are set to hit the Windows 7 Phone soon.  No dates were announces but IonBall EX was released today, August 17th for $2.99.  In addition there will now be DLC for some games and even Avatar Awards

• Chickens Can’t Fly (Amused Sloth – Action): Join the ranks of our scientists and see what chickens are capable of! Conduct experiments throughout four Laboratories and when you’re confident of your skill, try the Survival mode or take part in the Global Weekly Challenge. Similar to unlocking Achievements, players will be able to unlock Avatar items. These items will automatically appear in their Avatar Closet and can then be worn to show off their gaming accomplishments.
• Toy Soldiers: Boot Camp (Signal Studios – Action): Wage war on a tiny scale in “Toy Soldiers Boot Camp” which brings the fun and addictive shooting gallery mini-games from “Toy Soldiers: Cold War” to your Windows Phone. Additionally, earn bragging rights in “Cold War” on Xbox 360 through an integrated mobile leaderboard.
• Kinectimals (Frontier Studios – Simulation): Coming this fall, “Kinectimals” for Windows Phone takes all the fun of the hit, Kinect launch title “Kinectimals” beyond the living room.  Players can care for and bond with their favorite pet cat or bear cub by feeding, petting, playing and nurturing them on-the-go from their Windows Phone.
• Beards & Beaks: Cave Area DLC (Microsoft Game Studios – Strategy): Gnome Town, an idyllic place of gnome mellow … suddenly overrun with murders of crows so audacious that even Hitchcock would take refuge behind a toadstool. Who knew the two could get so down and dirty in a turf war that knows no bounds? Fifteen challenging new levels lie ahead in the “Cave Area” Add-on Content. A new gnome ally and enemies await.
• Bug Village (Glu Mobile – Simulation): This is Bug Village – a tiny town where you build and nurture a colony of active ants and busy bees! Construct homes to attract playful bugs and direct them to the garden, where they can gather resources to expand your village. Feed your bugs to keep them energized and healthy. Add cute decorations and flowers to make the colony buzz with excitement! Small is beautiful in “Bug Village”!
• Gravity Guy (Miniclip – Action): In a world where gravity laws were broken, a brave guy was held captive for defying the rules. Not happy, he decided to escape. Your job: guide him through a world of impossible mazes, flipping gravity at will.
• Farm Frenzy 2 (Alaware Entertainment – Simulation): If you think the big city is crazy, wait until you get a load of country life. Manage a wild and wacky farm by growing grass, feeding chickens, collecting eggs and taking your produce to market.
• Orbital (Bitforge – Puzzle): An addictive puzzle game that challenges you to destroy as many orbs as possible.
• Burn the Rope (Big Blue Bubble – Puzzle): Burn as much rope as you can in this challenging puzzle game. The catch? Fire only burns upwards. So you’ll have to madly tilt and turn your phone to keep the flame alive.
• Fight Game: Rivals (Khaeon Studios – Fighting): Become the king of kings among tournament fighters around the world. Enter different tournaments on distinct locations, earn credits and unlock devastating attacks and skills.
• IonBall EX (IronSun Studios – Action): A modern twist on a classic Breakout-style game, all delivered in a unique steampunk style.
• MUSH (Angry Mango – Puzzle/Platformer): This puzzle platformer (and Windows Phone exclusive) gives you control over how your character feels. Change their emotions by drawing smiles and sad faces, and by rotating or shaking the phone.

Indie games mostly from developer GameHouse:

• Collapse! (GameHouse – Strategy): GameHouse’s very first PC game comes to Windows Phone. It’s a match-three puzzler in which a stack of blocks rises from the bottom of the screen. Players frantically tap groups of three of more colored blocks in order to eliminate them. Customizable characters, multiple gameplay modes, and bosses make for a full-featured package.
• Delicious! (GameHouse – Strategy): Like GameHouse’s Sally’s Salon Luxury Edition, Delicious! is a time management game. Players control Emily as she serves customers at a variety of food venues. Each location features unique minigames, keeping the gameplay fresh and tasty.
• TextTwist 2 (GameHouse – Card and Board): A word jumble game in which gamers receive a selection of letters and try to find all possible words that those letters can spell.
• Cake Mania: Main Street (GameHouse – Strategy): A time management game with four totally distinct locations: a bakery, a flower shop, a fast food joint, and a sushi house. Wacky problem customers like vampires and pirates keep the pressure on.
• NCIS: The Game from the TV Show (GameHouse – Adventure): Help the cast of the popular crime drama solve several different cases by completing various minigames.

Source

Microsoft are running tests in an effort to improve Xbox Live and are giving you a chance to be a lab rat.  You can sign up to take part in the ‘Xbox Live Lab Tests’ which will leave you unable to participate in Xbox LIVE activities including gaming, watching movies or downloading music, while running Xbox LIVE Labs, oh yeah and your Internet connectivity might just slow down. All this for a few Avatar items including a lab coat, brain helmet, and crazy mad scientist hair. Sorry but that is not enough for me to basically put my Xbox 360 in a dormant state.

Xbox LIVE Labs is only available to residents of the United States and will run from March 10th though March 27th. There is a bunch of games coming out during that time span, including Homefront and Crysis 2. If you want to participate in it, sign into Xbox LIVE and head over to the community channel where you’ll see the Xbox LIVE Labs panel. Click on it to download the testing app and then load it up to get your avatar stuff while you cannot do anything on your Xbox but I hear you can stop it and go back.

Source

Xbox Avatar Awards

Playstation 3 Avatars

Rockstar wants you to get back to Red Dead Redemption as they are having an XP challenge for who can meet the total XP set first; Xbox 360 or Playstation 3.  Right now it is tied up.  Attaning the amount of XP need will unlock the Gentleman’s Attire/Ladies Attire and a Crimson Posse T-shirt for your Xbox Avatar or PS Home Avatar.  You can view each consoles progress here and here is what Rockstar has to say about the event:

– Jorge’s Helmet – Earn a Killtacular in multiplayer Matchmaking.

– Carter’s Helmet – Clear a Campaign mission on Legendary without dying.

– Emile’s Helmet – Earn a Bulltrue medal in either multiplayer or Firefight Matchmaking.

– Kat’s Helmet – Avenge a teammate’s death in multiplayer Matchmaking.

– Jun’s Helmet – Kill 100 enemies in a row without dying in either Campaign or Firefight.

Halo Reach for the Xbox 360 worldwide on Tuesday 14th September.

Source