I finally joined the current generation and bought an Xbox 360 this past weekend. Now I can sit at the grownups’ table and do stuff like this:

Can a sidebar widget be far behind?

“Going forward,” expect lots of impressions of years old games that are no longer relevant and poorly edited Halo 3 videos. On the Internet! The DORK Club innovates again.

Metal Arms: Glitch in the System and Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory will be the latest games available to download and play on the Xbox 360 as part of Microsoft’s Xbox Originals initiative on April 21st. As always, the games will cost 1200 Microsoft Points ($15).

Metal Arms: Glitch in the System is the critically praised, commercially underwhelming title developed by Swingin’ Ape Studios before they were acquired by Blizzard Entertainment in 2005 to finish Nihilistic’s work on Starcraft: Ghost. As we all know, development on Ghost is currently “indefinitely postponed.”

Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory is the third game in the Splinter Cell franchise, most notable for introducing a cooperative multiplayer mode vector_black tried unsuccessfully to convince me to play.

Coming to Xbox Originals: Splinter Cell:CT and Metal Arms [Major Nelson]

MTV Multiplayer has gotten their hands on a sketch of a Wiimote-like motion controller for the Xbox 360 (pictured) from a developer working on the project. Their source claims work on the motion controller began last summer, and development kits for the new controller have already been distributed to key developers.

Rareware is purportedly helming the project, but “has had trouble hitting its deadlines.”

Microsoft wants the controller to offer the same features and functionality as Nintendo’s Wiimote, allowing publishers to more easily port their Wii titles to the Xbox 360. In order to further court the ever-expanding casual gaming audience, MTV Multiplayer’s source also states that Rare has “fleshed out Microsoft’s take on Nintendo’s Mii avatar concept,” with Microsoft’s Miis designed “to be associated with any game that incorporates the controller and create a standard ‘look’ for the games.”

Microsoft has long been trying to tap into the casual gaming audience through initiatives like XNA and XBLA, Scene It? Lights, Camera, Action, which includes its own “casual-friendly” controller, and the Core and Arcade versions of the console itself, which are geared specifically towards casual gamers. A motion controller, then, seems like the next logical step in Microsoft’s continued effort to break off a piece of Nintendo’s pie.

Despite the lovely Microsoft Paint image of the new controller supplied by MTV Multiplayer’s source and confirmation from other unnamed developers that an Xbox 360 motion controller is indeed in the works, I’m going to remain skeptical for now. I don’t even want to imagine “create 2,000 Miis” achievements.

Source: This Is A Sketch Of Microsoft’s Wii Remote Imitator [MTV Multiplayer]

Never one to shy away from making money through special edition consoles and gimmicky peripherals, today Microsoft announced two new limited edition versions of the Xbox 360 as well as two new peripherals for the console.

The Xbox Live Board Game offers the ultimate casual 360 experience, allowing you to play against up to seven other players and unlock achievements by correctly answering trivia questions. The game requires an Xbox 360 to play, as the board itself connects to the console via a USB connection.

The new Xbox 360 Wireless Helmet allows you to experience any of the 360’s many first-person shooters like never before and features “AirFlow temperature control” to keep things nice and comfortable.

Microsoft also plans on bringing out Recon and Vintage versions of their console. The Recon Xbox 360 is “rugged, portable, and battery-powered,” and presumably less susceptible to those nasty red rings of death. The Vintage Xbox 360 is Microsoft’s attempt to bring the nostalgic, old school gamer into the Xbox fold, and features wood paneling in pine, maple, or oak finish and a retro USB joystick.

All four new products should be on store shelves this spring.

Additional images:

New For Spring [Xbox.com]

Today Bungie revealed the third and final map in the Halo 3 Legendary Map Pack due April 15. Titled Blackout, the map is a remake of Halo 2’s Lockout that substitutes a UNSC Antarctic weather station for the original Forerunner installation.

Unlike Avalanche, which is a reimagining of Combat Evolved’s Sidewinder, Blackout sticks much more closely to its inspiration. “We tried to keep it as close to Halo 2 as possible,” said Bungie’s Dan Miller. In fact, aside the from the obvious visual differences, Bungie assures us that the level’s layout is identical, with only the introduction of Halo 3’s equipment and altered jumping physics differentiating it from the original.

Of course, Bungie plans on watching “the community Forge it up” along with everybody else.

Legendary Map: Blackout [Bungie]