One handed 360 controller redux

That crazy Ben Heckendorn is at it again. No he's not shoving an Xbox 360 into an even tinier laptop (360book Air, anyone?), but instead making some refinements to his one-handed controller. The new controller is much smaller, and also a little bit easier on the eyes than his previous model. With the right stick on the top, and face buttons, triggers, and bumpers on the bottom, it's got everything you need for some one handed fragging. The right stick, in case you're wondering, is meant to be placed on a leg or available surface, thus manipulating the stick by moving the controller itself. Pretty ingenious if you ask us. Don't go crazy trying to procure one for yourself though, as it wasn't intended for mass consumption. Ben's other one handed controller, called the Access, on the other hand, is soon to be made available to the masses.

Ikaruga achievements revealed

Oh, Ikaruga. What can we say about you that we haven't said in the past? We've dropped rumor after rumor in the wake of your pending announcement. Lamented about the wait for your upcoming HD upgrade. We've even been teased by advertisements while we awaited your arrival. Today the teasing continues as your achievements have been revealed. From simple scenarios like beating bosses to unimaginable feats like completing your campaign on one continue - your achievements are no joke. Well Ikaruga, it seems we know everything about you that we can. So would you please hurry up and release already? These 800 MS Points are burning a hole in our pockets!

Forza 2 March Car Pack is ready for download

Just an informative reminder to our Forza Motorsport 2 racing fanboys (though, we doubt one is really needed), the March Car Pack is available for download off the Xbox Live Marketplace right this very moment.

As you probably know, The March Car Pack costs a medium 400 Microsoft points and includes thirteen new cars for your racing pleasure. And since we know how much Forza 2 fanboys love their vehicles, we've added new car pack photos into their own gallery below for you to gush over. Thank us later. If you have an extra 400 points laying around, we advise supporting Turn 10 and all the hard work they've put into Forza 2 and its abundant DLC. Happy downloading race fans!

GRID screens and box art skid online

Race Driver: Grid is the latest installment in the TOCA Race Car series developed and published by Codemasters. Running on the same engine that powered Dirt, Race Driver: Grid is set in an urban environment where street racing has taken over the underground circuit.

Underground street racing? We're surprised no one thought of this idea for a video game a long time ago. They should really look into making a movie or something. Well, at least these 20 screens look good.

Exclusive H3 McFarlane ODST figure at EE

If your goal is to collect the entire line of Halo 3 McFarlane action figures then good old Toddy McFarlane is forcing you to make an action figure purchase over at Entertainment Earth (EE).

Just announced is a brand new (and somewhat limited) EE exclusive Halo 3 yellow ODST action figure that's (surprise!) only available for purchase online at EE. This exclusive figure will be shipping sometime later this October, but can be pre-ordered online for $14.99. Truth be told, it isn't a bad looking "toy", but we'd be a little more impressed if this exclusive EE Spartan was rockin' the Recon ... or a flaming helmet.

Fable 2 gets not one, but three XBLA games

After the revelation that there would be an Xbox Live Arcade game that attached to Fable 2, Peter Molyneux has now confirmed on Major Nelson's podcast that there will actually be three Xbox Live Arcade games that tie into Fable 2. For those that missed out on the news at GDC, these XBLA games will allow players to rack up gold (or, as we learned in our own interview with Peter, debt) in Fable 2. The two newly announced games are called Wizard's Tower and Mage Dice. Both games are developed by Carbonated Games (UNO) as was Keystone, the game announced during GDC. Pricing and release dates for the games have not been confirmed, though we suspect at least one will be available before Fable 2 releases.

Haze madness continues, PS3 exclusive "for now"

The Haze exclusivity circus got itself a new act today. After representatives at a Play.com event were shouting to the hills that Haze would forever remain a PS3 exclusive title, CVG contacted Ubisoft for comment. Ubisoft responded that Haze will remain a PS3 exclusive "for now." In other words, the timed exclusive theory is gaining more ground. We can't help but once again be reminded of the ridiculous back and forth regarding Assassin's Creed exclusivity. We all know how that turned out, and it's looking like Haze is headed in the same direction. Frankly, it's getting out of hand. Hence, Picard facepalm.

Call of Duty 4 GOTY edition releasing in April

For those who still have yet to jump into the modern warfare battlefield, then we advise holding off on a Call of Duty 4 purchase for another month, because a new SKU will be hitting retail shelves soon.

Yesterday, Activision announced that they'll be releasing a Call of Duty 4 Game of the Year edition which will feature updated box art as well as an Xbox Live redemption token to download this Spring's upcoming multiplayer map DLC for free. A redemption token worth 800 Microsoft points. Acti didn't mention a firm release date for this special GOTY edition or if it'll be released on any other gaming platforms. And we hope it doesn't. We're greedy fanboys who want everything for ourselves.

Next stop for Guitar Hero: The Beatles?

Help! We need somebody! Help! No, seriously folks, Martin N. "Marty" Bandier of Sony / ATV Music Publishing has officially stated that a version of Guitar Hero dedicated to The Beatles is something the company would "like to pursue." Now, we never intended to jump all over the "why isn't this on Rock Band?" bandwagon. Some music really makes more sense on Guitar Hero, but The Beatles? That just screams Rock Band. Of course, we understand why Mr. Bandier might fancy Guitar Hero over Rock Band. We imagine it's money. That's what he wants (that's what he wants). A lot of money. But just imagine all the people that could play on Rock Band (we wonder if you can). With any luck, Mr. Kite Bandier and Harmonix can work it out and come together. We just hope they don't make it bad. In the meantime, we'll just have to let it be and hope they don't let us down.

Price cut spurs 40% increase in UK Xbox 360 sales

Last week's European Xbox 360 price cut looks to have been a huge success with retailers seeing hardware fly off shelves in greater numbers over the weekend. 40% more 360 sales to be exact. Chart-Track's 40% increase in 360 sales estimate is great news for team Redmond, but the increase in sales doesn't equate to continued success seeing that the that it could potentially be the result of the Easter holiday. So, we'll have to keep an eye on European 360 sales in the weeks to come to verify its success. All said, Europe is happy to see a 360 price cut, retailers are happy to see a 360 price cut and Microsoft is happy to see a 360 price cut, because their sales have increased. Now only if they'd share the price cut love with us in good old North America ... mmm?