Microsoft has announced details and pricing for Halo 4‘s War Games Pass. This $24.99 subscription gives gamers three upcoming Halo 4 map packs at a discounted price. Fans will receive the Crimson Map Pack, Majestic Map Pack, and Castle Map Pack  in December 2012, February 2013, and April 2013, respectively. Here are additional details from Microsoft’s Major Nelson:

Retailing for $24.99 USD (2,000 Microsoft Points), the “Halo 4″ War Games Map Pass confirms your access to three War Games map packs as they become available in December, February

… more

It’s a big week for Xbox 360 racing fans with the release of Forza Horizon, the latest installment in Microsoft’s venerable driving-game series. If shooting is more your bag then Medal of Honor: Warfighter should keep you happy. PlayStation Vita owners have a pair of new titles for great gaming on the go: Street Fighter X Tekken and Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz. Lastly, The Unfinished Swan is available for all PlayStation Network members this week. I really, really hope some of you guys and gals give this … more

The full version of Halo 4 has leaked and opportunistic people are selling Xbox 360s — with the game preloaded — on CraigsList. Kotaku’s Evan Narcisse did some honest-to-goodness (and high-quality) journalism on the matter. He interviewed some of the sellers and found a wide variety of justifications. None of them were very good. Disappointingly, though not surprisingly, these sellers will surely find customers.

Let’s be honest. I’m sure that most of us have pirated a song or a movie at some point. While it’s a bad practice, one of … more

Microsoft has started rolling out the Fall 2012 Xbox 360 dashboard update. The revision carries a number of new features. One anticipated feature that won’t be included is SmartGlass integration, which will be available when Windows 8 launches on October 26, 2012. As for what you can experience today, here’s the laundry list from Major Nelson:

Refreshed Xbox 360 Dashboard. We’ve updated the UI with a few things, including an updated layout with more tiles, a combined TV & Movies channel and, in the US, a Sports destination.

… more

[Update: 9:01AM PT] Have you amassed a large YouTube following and earned some sweet ad dollars by posting clips of your dazzling Halo runs? If so then prepare to have your revenue stream shut off because it seems that Microsoft isn’t down with having people profit from posting clips of its games. Digital Trends has found a clause in the company’s updated “game content usage rules” that restricts gamers from earning money from posting videos of Microsoft games. Check it out:

Microsoft grants you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable

… more

Did you watch last night’s presidential debate through Xbox Live? If you’re a Halo fan then you should have, because you’ll have the chance to win the Halo 4 warrior armor avatar. In a clever marketing ploy, Microsoft is giving away the avatar to one of its most popular games to Xbox Live members that watch three out of the four debates through Xbox Live’s election 2012 hub. It’s a cool way to get young people interested in the election.

The offer is available to Xbox Live Gold members only. … more

A trio of interesting games hits store shelves this week. Leading the way is Resident Evil 6, which has been met with mixed reviews. Some critics are loving the game while others are kind of “meh” on it. It’s almost time for NBA basketball! To help you get ready for some NBA action, which by the way is fantastic, is NBA 2K13. The PlayStation Vita gets the next installment of one of the most underrated and under-appreciated games this console generation in New Little King’s Story. Hopefully … more

It’s a pretty loaded week for videogames! Fans of fighting and scantily-clad women will want to pick up Dead or Alive 5. If football is more your thing then FIFA 13 — available on pretty much every platform known to man — will do you good. Pro Evolution Soccer 13 doesn’t have the broad availability of its competitor, but many football fans I know think its the better series. Do you love birds and hate pigs? If so then Angry Birds Trilogy should be right up your alley. A … more