The Autobots and Decepticons have been intertwined, battling over control of Cybertron. However, the animosity between the groups is not what it used to be. The focus is now on a bigger, single player campaign.

Starting with the Decepticon attack on a bridge, you can switch between helicopters and jets. You attack targets from a distance using well designed missiles, and then you can switch over to robot form. The switches are virtually seamless.

Then comes Bruticus, the product of 5 Decepticons who have combined and transformed into one serious beast. You can be like Godzilla moving through Tokyo, crushing everything in sight and eliminating bridges and anything else that might stand in your way.

Then we get Jazz. Thanks to his laser whip, he moves very quickly, allowing him to grab ledges and save himself from harm. Considering the accuracy of Decepticon snipers, you will need it. You can avoid headshots and ultimately destroy your enemy if you know how to play the game right.

Finally, you get Optimus Prime. You can electrocute your enemies and turn them into piles of garbage, virtually sludge. He commands a huge autobot named Metroplex and leads him to further destroy the trash you have created. It’s an amazing sight and pretty much seamless. Metroplex works to trash everything in sight, allowing you to maintain and continue your ground attack without interruption.

If you are looking for a new game to play, you only have so many to choose from. The Xbox in all of its forms is changing, and games are changing with it. Some eras are coming to an end while others are just beginning. Either way, this game continues to be popular in a new era of gaming.

Eventually, even the best things have to come to an end. Video games that were once popular may not be quite as popular 5 years from now, and with so much oversaturation in the market, more genres are failing every day.

In the past, we have seen video game genres that decline and then make an amazing comeback. Our tastes change and evolve, and sometimes we come back in a full circle. Here are 5 video game genres in danger of disappearing.

Racing Games

Racing games have been around since a lot of us were kids in the 80’s and 90’s. You race cars, wave runners, boats, or other heavy machinery, and sometimes you even steer with a steering wheel. The trouble is sales have seriously declined in the past few months, leading to a lowered interest in producing these games. Black Rock Studios and Bizarre Creations, two companies that once produced extremely popular racing games, have shut down, leaving gamers grasping for new ideas.

Obviously, these companies did not evolve with the times.

There are some racing games that still pop up. We still love games such as Nintendo’s Mario Kart and Sony’s Gran Turismo. In general terms though, these types of games just don’t get the attention that they used to.

Music Games

Music games had a brief stint of popularity. We danced, we sang, and then we got bored. Maybe these games could have lasted longer, especially with musicians signing onto new projects such as the Aerosmith Guitar Hero and the Beatles edition. We just feel that this particular industry has been vastly oversaturated, and you can only cut the pie so many ways. Sales for just about everybody have been marginal at best.

Adventure Games

There was a time when games such as the Curse of the Monkey Island and Sierra-On-Line were extremely popular. The popularity was relatively short lived, but we loved while it lasted. Most gamers and game makers gave up on this genre of games long ago. We suspect that these games will basically disappear within the next few years, if this genre lasts that long.

Extreme Sports Games

It wasn’t that long ago that games like Tony Hawk Ride were popular. You couldn’t look right or left without seeing something Tony Hawk. The X-Games were on the rise, and every kid in America wanted to be that athlete. Since then, sales have tapered off and even Tony Hawk has lost its initial edge.

Mascot Platform Games

I used to play Sonic the Hedgehog when I was a kid, and it was the shit. Mario was the next best thing, and every year, there was a new character to play with. Donkey Kong was by far one of the best. It seems though that these games have plateaued. Mario is still somewhat strong, but these crazy critters just aren’t what they used to be. Developers don’t want to come up with new ideas, because why invest in a dying plan? It doesn’t make sense. Don’t expect more sequels of games like Crash Bandicoot. You will just have to stick to the older versions. We wouldn’t bet on this genre coming back any time soon.

To some degree, we feel bad for the poor copy editor who let this one slip, but really? Thousands of games have been distributed reading, Resident Evil Revelaitons. We joke about Engrish, and with all of the talk about Apple, Xbox, and other similar products being manufactured in China, this just feeds the fire.

Advance copies have been sent to multiple media conglomerates such as Yahoo! Games, and so far, the word is that this is an unapproved variant of the game’s subtitle. To be fair, the name on the face of the package is correctly spelled, but why didn’t they just copy it over? Was it really that hard?

Capcom acknowledged the problem, stating:

”We apologize for the mistake, which will be corrected for subsequent productions of the game. We are working on a solution to provide affected customers with the correct packaging. Please visit Capcom-Unity for updates.”

As far as we’re concerned, this may be a collector’s item in the future. It’s bad, but we would also hope that this is a once in a lifetime blunder. It’s possible that one day, people will be paying thousands for a memory of this joke along with other big game releases such as the game that misnamed their game, Lynyrd Skynrd. Really?

Is this typo really serious enough to justify a company recall designed to replace faulty covers? Sure it’s embarrassing, but somehow we think that Xbox will get past this…..eventually.

Apparently the Chinese just don’t handle payment and other often union related disputes the way the rest of us do. According to reports, employees threatened to throw themselves off the roof of the factory, recorded in Record China and Want China Times.

Employees officially requested a raise on January 2, and frankly, maybe they deserved a raise. However, employees were told to quit with compensation or keep their jobs and just settle for no raise. Most ended up quitting and did not actually get the promised compensation, which ruffled some serious feathers, even among the Chinese, who generally seem to put up with a lot from their government. Maybe that’s just the breaking point.

Microsoft did not officially confirm or deny any of this, and the official spokesperson refused to confirm whether or not this particular location even manufactured Xboxes at all. They generally do not list products by manufacturing location.

A Microsoft representative has been quoted as saying,

”Microsoft takes working conditions in the factories that manufacture its products very seriously, and we are currently investigating this issue. We have a stringent Vendor Code of Conduct that spells out our expectations, and we monitor working conditions closely on an ongoing basis and address issues as they emerge. Microsoft is committed to the fair treatment and safety of workers employed by our vendors, and to ensuring conformance with Microsoft policy.”

Foxconn Technology Group is currently the world’s largest electronics manufacturer and has built products for Apple, Dell, and HP among others. This is the company that actually produces the iPhone. As far as records go, 17 Foxconn workers have committed suicide in the past 5 years alone. We wouldn’t consider those numbers to be great. Sources say:

”Workers always have excessive and forced overtime in order to gain a higher wage. Workers are exposed to dust from construction site and shop floor without adequate protection. Even worse, they are threatened by potential harm of occupational diseases in various departments. Additionally, military-styled management is still in practice, characterized by ‘military training’ for new workers.”

Is this the kind of company and the kind of standards Microsoft, Apple, and other technology based companies expect?

He turned to digital forensics, because having never done any of this before, he had no idea how to search the device for information. However, the case was that the suspect may have taped himself having sex with a 14 year old on the Xbox 360, which you can do these days.

The Xbox was in the bedroom at the time and had a webcam attached to it. All of the webcams on his computer were in different rooms, meaning they probably did not tape the incident. Not everybody knows that the 360 has evolved to provide this option, but obviously technology is just not what it used to be.

This state trooper is certainly not the only one. An increasing number of police and other authorities are actually using consoles like the 360 to look for evidence in various types of crimes. Investigators can track anything from cell phones to game consoles. In fact, some have used PS3’s, Nintendo DS, iPods, and even a Zune in one case before.

Not all agencies have been able to find incriminating data using these methods or consoles. However, considering consoles can be recovered even after being stolen because of the connected live accounts, all of this is not such a bad thing.

So far, investigators are working on even including Xbox 360’s in undercover operations and other stings. Who knows what the future will truly hold.

1. Gears of War 3
Some of us were a little late catching up with this one, who really wants to pay full price if you don’t have to. However, others were willing to pay full price to get this earlier. This may not be the same as past games, obviously. However, the third edition of GoW has garnered quite a bit of excitement, even beating out old favorites such as Halo for example.

The hiccups and problems have been eliminated, and this is a more perfected option.

2. Iron Brigade/Trenched
Previously known as Trenched, Iron Brigade used to have so much lag that you couldn’t really get into the game. It therefore had a really bad name, which is why they changed that name. However, under Iron Brigade, this particular product has become extremely popular, and to tell the complete truth, Iron Brigade has it all.

3. The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile
Introduced by Ska Studios, this is a kind of Indie game that has really come a long way. Vampire Smile has followed Dead Samurai, and we are definitely impressed. This game is responsive, balanced, and allows you to punish enemies. What more could a gamer really want?

4. Forza 4
An upgrade of Forza 3, this particular game has new introductions, and makers have literally eliminated many of the problems that we saw before. This particular game has new graphics, which are quite stunning actually, and it has a brilliant paint editor and auction house.

5. The Gunstringer
Personally, not such a big fan of the old westerns. However, Gunstringer has really taken the lead, creating a charming story and a rich tapestry of new age technology and older graphic techniques. There is somewhat of a garage developer charm behind this particular game. What can we say.

According to some sources, Don Coyner will not actually be leading the charge in the development of the new Xbox 720. He will have nothing to do with the brand and design, instead being replaced by one Emma Williams. Microsoft has not officially confirmed or denied any of this, and they have not released any real information about Coyner and the Xbox in general.

Of course, this might be a letdown for some, but on the other hand, we could see this change bringing about a new perspective and therefore new developments. You might get something completely unexpected. Coyner has been with Microsoft starting with the Nintendo in 1995, and he started the Xbox revolution.

So far, rumors suggest that the Xbox 720 may be released in late 2013. So we’ve still got a ways to go. This particular rumor actually comes from someone within the ranks of Xbox. Some have said that you should expect this new Xbox before September of 2012, but that seems to be more unlikely every day.

The Xbox 360 has actually had its best sales records yet, which might lead some to believe that Microsoft may want to juice it for all it’s worth before creating another Xbox to compete with this particular model.

What can you expect when a new model finally comes out? Maybe you will get a built in Kinect, maybe you will get a backward compatibility with previous models of Xbox. However, there are many possibilities, and we really have no way of telling what may

This contract now has a few clause that requires you to sign away your right to sue the company for any reason related to Xbox live. Should something unexpected to happen to your Xbox or the Xbox Live service, you are on your own.

The gist is to protect Microsoft from frivolous suits. However, we have our doubts, the contract would also protect Microsoft from legitimate suits with real potential issues. You cannot enter into any class action suit. So why all the red tape?

Because Microsoft has been sued before. The company is no stranger to consumer lawsuits in relation to the Xbox 360, and the “red ring of death” was one of the most famous problems. The “red ring of death” killed thousands of Xboxes, and Microsoft had to extend the warranty and replace a lot of consoles. Our question would be, why not take the extra time to just make the program right the first time around?

Sony actually preempted them, writing a similar clause in the Playstation Network terms of service to prevent class action lawsuits. However, even though consumers are technically signing, Sony has still faced legal challenges to that program.

Electronic Arts has also already taken steps to prevent lawsuits with the “no sue” clause in their terms of service.

We find this kind of policy to be absolutely reasonable. It’s not hard to see why companies are doing what they are doing. A lot of us would do the same thing were we in their position. However, we do think that this kind of method discourages better technology, better innovations, and company responsibility.

Via a development source, Eurogamer reports that a new and improved Kinect is being designed and developed specifically to red lips, which would be an impressive feature, if of course it could read regular lip movements. Of course, we did hear about the Kinect also reading lips in the future, which didn’t end up panning out, but we still hope for the best.

According to the latest reports, this new Kinect will be able to recognize individual voices, which would also be a substantial improvement. According to the secret developer, it will even be able to detect which direction the player is facing and the player’s emotions based on facial expressions and movements as well as the volume and pitch of the player’s voice.

Of course, other reports have stated that the game console’s accuracy is limited and it may not be nearly as comprehensive as we might hope for. However, even small improvements may blow away eager consumers who are looking for the biggest and latest innovations in the Xbox.

Hopeful critics state that this new Xbox 360 may be released as early as 2012 while others suggest that it may not be until 2014 that we see this particular model. According to Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter, the rumors about 2012 are “silly”, stating “I think the rumors are based upon leaks about modifying the current Xbox 360 to allow it to operate Windows 8.”

He further adds, “I fully expect a new model of Xbox 360 by holiday 2012, but don’t think we’ll see a new console altogether from Microsoft until 2014.”

I can also guarantee that stores will only keep limited supply and not order too much. So you should get in early if you are serious about getting this affordable Xbox 360 deal.

In addition, Kinect sensors will be sold for $99.99 when they are usually sold at $149 between November 24 and November 28. Again, these may sell out fast, so it is best if you actually go in early even though you have a few days according to reports.

Microsoft has marked down games such as Gears of War 3 and Forza Motorsport 4 to $29.99 instead of the usual $49.99. Promotions are being run, it’s just a matter of finding the ones that you actually want. Either way, some great deals are coming out for the gamer, including the limited time deal on the Xbox 360.

If you get in early enough, you could easily get an Xbox and make a little money by reselling it if you already have one, or you could simply get a great deal on an optimal system that is new, not refurbished like you usually find with deals like this, but of course this is Black Friday we’re talking about.