Recap of the Last Month

Sorry I've been out of the game for a little while now, but here I am once again. The gaming world did not stop while I was away, however, so here's a quick recap of the most notable events:

Ex-Infinity Ward bosses found Respawn Entertainment; IW bleeds employees

The legally-entangled ousted heads of the Call of Duty/Modern Warfare creator have announced their new studio, entitled Respawn and having nothing set in stone aside from a publishing deal with EA Partners that will allow them to own their own IP. Since the announcement, lead staff at Infinity Ward have been leaving the company on a daily basis with most, if not all, joining Jason West and Vince Zampella's new studio.

Gears of War 3 Wrapping Delta Squad's Story in April 2011

First rumored, then leaked on the Xbox 360 dashboard, then finally revealed following a Jimmy Fallon debut, Cliff Bleszinki has revealed that Epic Games' third chapter in their stop-and-pop blockbuster will be dropping April 5, 2011, with four-player co-op and plenty of breathing room between Halo Reach's release. All we have right now is a teaser trailer, but expect a full showing at E3.

Nintendo announces its next handheld, the 3DS, sans goofy eyewear

After 6 years on the market and becoming the best-selling game system of all time, the DS is going to finally be succeeded this fall. The new handheld is promised to have 3D capability without needing 3D glasses. Rumors suggest an accelerometer may be built in as well and that the screens will be adjacent. As of now, though, the only concrete details besides the extra dimension is backwards compatibility with the existing DS catalog. The lid will be pulled back at E3 in June.

360 Adds USB Flash Drive Support, Nixes Memory Units

Microsoft has updated the Xbox 360 firmware to be able to use USB storage options for game data and downloads. The 360 now supports up to a maximum of 16GB external storage and up to 2 devices to be used at the same time. This also replaces the function of the over-priced memory unit and allows gamers who like to travel with their profiles much more space.

Perfect Dark XBLA Impressions

This Xbox Live Arcade port is now THE definitive version of the game. It sports the same great gameplay (which suprisingly stands up pretty well against time and shows that it was far ahead of its own), retouched gun and character models, 1080p widescreen and a silky smooth 60fps. Throw in online multiplayer and it's a total blast; ironically (or maybe not), the gem of it all is still splitscreen play.

Note: Still having issues with pictures, sorry!