Check out the new features and enhancements heading your way.

Microsoft is bringing some early gifts to your Xbox 360. Beginning at 0200 a.m. PST on Dec. 4, the Xbox 360 Fall Dashboard Update will be available for all connected Xbox 360 consoles, bringing an array of new features and enhancements. This free update will be digitally distributed over Xbox LIVE to the more than 8 million Xbox LIVE members worldwide with no disc or hard drive required.  Gamers without an Xbox LIVE account can sign up for the free network by connecting their console to a broadband internet connection. New features and enhancements include:

MORE DOWNLOAD OPTIONS:

* Xbox Originals - With this new service consumers can download-to-own full original Xbox games that were previously only available at retail. The digital shelves will be stocked with classic titles, such as "Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge," "Halo," "Fable," "Fuzion Frenzy," "Psychonauts," and more as the catalogue grows over time, at 1200 Microsoft Points per game.

* Xbox LIVE Arcade Hits - On Xbox LIVE Arcade, the Arcade Hits program kicks off where some of the best selling Xbox LIVE Arcade games will become available at permanently reduced prices, making it easier than ever for everyone to build a library of downloadable games. The first games to become Arcade Hits will be "Bankshot Billiards 2" and "Lumines LIVE," which will be available for 800 Microsoft Points each, and "Marble Blast Ultra," "Small Arms" and "Zuma Deluxe," which will be available for 400 Microsoft Points each.

NEW WAYS TO KEEP UP TO DATE AND CONNECTED:

* Inside Xbox - A new direct feed brings current news straight from Xbox.com into the Xbox LIVE Dashboard providing members an easy, predictable entry point where they can discover what's new in: game releases, events, and Xbox LIVE Marketplace offers.

* Enhanced online profile - Members interested in sharing a few more details about themselves will have the option to go beyond their motto and further personalize their profile with an expanded bio.  The extended bios will be visible to "Friends Only" or the entire Xbox LIVE community.

* Expanded Friends List access - A quick and easy way for gamers to expand their personal community on Xbox LIVE, members will be able to see the Friends Lists of other Xbox LIVE members, boosting their social networking experience on the service.

ENHANCED OVERALL EXPERIENCE AND CONTROL:

* Enhanced Parental Controls - Family Timer, a strong and flexible new addition to the Xbox 360 Family Settings, enables parents to set the amount of time their Xbox 360 can be used on a per-day or per-week basis by their children or other members of the household. Or even adults wanting to reduce their gaming habits.

* New video features - The convenience of full-screen movie previews and enhanced video codec support further expand the options when it comes to the Xbox 360 entertainment experience, supporting Divx and Xvid formats.

* Easy-to-use navigation features - With several noteworthy changes in the Xbox LIVE Dashboard, from the new Game Store button to the Video Store button to enhanced visuals and descriptions in the video library, Xbox LIVE members can find what they want, when they want it.

These features are just some of the new enhancements Xbox 360 owners can expect as part of the Fall Dashboard Update.  On December 4th a list of all the new features and improvements will be posted at: http://www.xbox.com/live.

Giving a low score to the featured game is now a firing offense.

Jeff Gerstmann, Gamespot's former Editor in Chief, is job-hunting after writing an unfavorable review of Kane & Lynch: Dead Men.  He gave it a 6.0 and that didn't sit well with Eidos, who have plastered the site with banners saying what a wonderful game they've published.  Eidos whined to CNet, who owns Gamespot, who employ Jeff Gerstmann.  What does 11 years of service (he started at Gamespot in October 1996) get you if you say mean things about the big advertisers' games?  A pink slip, apparently.

I wish it wasn't this blatant, that there were mitigating factors to his removal, but at this point it's a very cut and dried case of a publicist complaining to the parent corporation, who promptly fire the offending employee's ass for doing the job they assigned to him.  Gamespot is running damage control as best they can, shutting down threads as fast as they pop up, but something as ham-handed and pathetic as this is the stuff of internet flamewar dreams.  There's a good guy (Jeff Gerstmann), a bad guy (CNet), and a huge load of spectators with a very loud voice.

The headline to this article would be cheap, incendiary tabloid crap on any other story.  Here, it's a simple statement of fact.  I didn't have anything against CNet or Gamespot before (that other article was just poking fun), but now I can't imagine any reason I'd bother with them.  The Gamespot editors are being dealt a bad hand, as evidenced by this post (third one down at the time of this writing) in their forums-

"People, don't direct your anger at Gamespot. This is CNet's meddling. Gamespot consists just of the editorial, news, community, and development teams. It's CNet's marketing that puts the ads up. CNet's marketing that complained. CNet is who can fire their EIC."

But that still doesn't change the fact that this taints the entire site.  Gaming journalism is already filled with enough dodgy crap soiling its reputation, we really don't need events like this making it even more obvious how little integrity has to do with anything that might generate ad revenue for the big sites.  I'm not asking for lily-white ivory tower purity, just a little hint that maybe they're there for something more than being a big advertising outlet for whatever product is being spewed forth from the industry's gaping maw.

This blog article should be recognized as the sole opinion of the editor and does not necessarily reflect GotNext's official position on the subject.

The best Asteroids clone ever is free.

Asteroids hasn't aged well over the years, despite repeated re-releases.  The idea is sound and the original will always be a classic, but each new execution feels a little too unadventurous to be all that interesting.  Fortunately, Asteroids has clones, and that's where Spheres of Chaos comes in.

Spheres of Chaos is basically the best version of Asteroids ever made.  It came out several years ago as shareware, but just recently went through a price-drop to free.  More than just a trippy psychedelic clone, it's got a huge variety of enemies and hazards to fear, not to mention power-ups to exploit, all of which combine to turn each level into a free-form challenge that requires both fast reflexes and careful planning to defeat.  Each enemy also has its own musical sound effect when destroyed, and the combination of insane amounts of color and slightly chaotic but still ambient sound combines with the hectic action to become both soothing and tense at the same time.

For those not into visual overload, it's worth nothing that the trippy graphic effects can be turned off completely, or enhanced beyond all possible reason for those wanting to know just how many colors at once can squeeze into a pair of eyeballs.  Oddly enough, my high score was gotten while experimenting with the Liquid graphics setting.  I honestly have no idea how.

If free excellence isn't good enough news, the game's creator, Iain McLeod, has announced a sequel.  Spheres of Chaos 2008 is on the way, although there's no target month yet, and hopefully won't be renamed Spheres of Chaos 2009.  There's also a little note hiding all the way at the bottom of the front page of the web site asking if anyone is interested in helping with an Live Arcade port.  I'd love to play this on my tv, so if anyone's listening, drop Iain a line.  

Spheres of Chaos is available on PC, Linux, PS2 Linux, and even Risc OS.  Check it out, it will make your life better.

Enter and win. That is, if you're randomly selected!

It's been awhile since we've hosted a humble little giveaway, but lo and behold - we've emerged with a special treat for DS owners. By now, many of you have heard about THQ's Drawn to Life (and if you haven't, might we suggest you read up on the reviews? Ours will be coming up this week). We'll just get right down to it. Send in your full name and along with a valid email address to be entered in our random drawing which should be addressed to contests@got-next.com with the subject header entitled: Drawn to Life Contest. Two weeks from now, we'll select (3) names from the pool of entries. That's right… 3 lucky winners will receive a personal copy of this slick DS game. The rules are really simple:

Family members of the GotNext site are ineligible to enter.

You must be live in the United States or Canada.

Only one entry per person.

Entries received after Dec. 7 11:59 EST will no longer be accepted. Winners will be announced on the GotNext blog (that's here by the way) on Dec. 10 and directly contacted via email. At that point, the selected winners have 48 hours to respond or their selected entry will be considered forfeit and new winners from the remaining pool will be chosen.

GotNext reserves the right to alter or suspend the contest at any time. (Right now, we can't really think of any reasons to, but this is just written here to cover our butts y'know?)

That said, good luck everyone! 

Apparently, doing a halfway-decent cover version is grounds for a cheap money-grab.

The Romantics licensed their song "What I Like About You" for a cover version in Guitar Hero Rocks the 80's, but apparently something went wrong somewhere along the way.  Wavegroup Sound, who have made all the cover versions of the songs in the Guitar Hero series, did their usual job of mimicking the sound of the original, and The Romantics feel that it "has infringed the group's right to its own image and likeness."

There's no issue here about whether or not Activision and Wavegroup Sound, both named in the lawsuit, acquired proper licensing for performing the cover version.  The paperwork is there and signed, and the respective companies were perfectly within their rights to include the song they paid for in the game.  At issue is how close the Wavegroup Sound version is to the original.  No, I don't get it either, but maybe this quote from The Romantics's attorney Troy Horton in the USA Today article can clear things up-  "We're all for good commerce. We just want to share in it."