Microsoft invites their Call of Duty: World at War players to celebrate the 4th of July on Xbox Live. From July 3 to July 6 all Xbox Live gold members will receive double XP when playing the game. This offer is valid worldwide, so no one has to feel left out. In addition, Map Pack 2 maps will be made available on July 3 through a playlist update, which will integrate the new maps into the rotations.

So if you’ve got some free time before your 4th of July parties, or even during your 4th of July parties, log on in to Xbox Live and launch CoD. Double XP is a pretty sweet deal. Thanks, Microsoft!

Via | Ripten

Image: Activision

If you’ve managed to play through all of your games over the weekend and are searching for some fresh titles to add to your collection, look no further. This week sees quite a few decent games added to the shelves, and if you managed not to blow all your cash on last week’s releases, then you’re probably in luck.

June 30 -

• Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood - Xbox 360, PS3
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - Xbox 360, PS3, PSP, Wii, DS, PC
• Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs - Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, DS, PC
• Mega Man Star Force 3: Red Joker - Nintendo DS
• Steambot Chronicles: Battle Tournament - PSP

July 1 -

Marvel vs. Capcom 2 - Xbox 360

July 2 -

• Infernal: Hell’s Vengeance - Xbox 360

Via | QJ

Image: Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood // Ubisoft

The folks over at Joystiq did some investigative work and can confirm that the upcoming game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled is coming on July 22. Unfortunately for us PS3 owners, the release is going to be exclusive to those lucky Xbox 360 owners.

The exclusivity period, however, is timed and will not last forever. So if you’re a PS3 owner and have been looking forward to some turtle power, don’t dismay: your time will come.

Via | Joystiq

Image: Ubisoft

If you’ve been putting off any pending activities or chores because you can’t tear yourselve away from your Xbox 360 long enough to do them, Microsoft is gonna help motivate you into real world productivity. On June 16, starting at 12:01AM PST, the servers are shutting off and will remain shut off for “up to 24 hours.” That’s a whole day with no Xbox Live. Oh noes. Start working on those to-do lists.

The maintenance doesn’t seem to be bringing any goodies with it. They’ll probably be tweaking things here and there to prepare for the incoming goodies that are headed our way in the near future.

Don’t despair, though. You can still play offline during this time.

Via | 1Up

It’s time for Xbox 360 owners to pick up their mics and start warming up their vocal cords. Lips, Microsoft’s copycat answer to PlayStation’s SingStar has a new volume coming our way in October. Sure, the game didn’t really wow the crowds the first time around, but Microsoft isn’t one to drop the mic and give up. And the song list for the Number One Hits volume doesn’t look bad at all.

So while you shouldn’t hold your breath on any new features, you can at least count on the following songs to sing along to:

• Viva La Vida - Coldplay
• Disturbia - Rihanna
• U Can’t Touch This - MC Hammer
• More Than Words - Extreme
• Apologize - Timbaland feat. OneRepublic
• Karma Chameleon - Culture Club
• Oh, Pretty Woman - Roy Orbison
• Ready, Set, Go - Tokio Hotel
• I Heard It Through the Grapevine - Marvin Gaye

So there you have it. That’s not the full songlist yet, but it’s a good start. Are you excited about Lips?

Via | Siliconera

Image: Microsoft

Any Sonic fans that haven’t checked out the Xbox Live Marketplace today should head on over and log on in. The latest Sonic Unleased DLC is now available: Apotos & Shamar Adventure Pack. The pack comes in at 795 MB and will cost you 250 MS Points. But it will also bring you five more daytime and four more nighttime stages. On top of which, you also get six new missions. Seems like a reasonable price for some extra Sonic fun.

What are you waiting for? On to the downloading!

Via | Examiner

Image: Sega

Good news for you Tom Clancy fans out there. Ubisoft has announced that the DLC pack for Tom Clancy’s HAWX U.S. Eagles game is now available for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. As of today, you can log on in and download yourself a copy. For you Xbox 360 owners, the pack will set you back 400 Microsoft Points, which amounts to $4.99 for PS3 owners.

The U.S. Eagles pack brings you a new selection of aircrafts - both futuristic and veteran - and includes the following:

• F-4 Phantom II
• Blackbird
• F-111 Aardvark tactical striker
• A-12 Avenger stealth bomber prototype
• the Peak Eagle

Love some simulated flying? This is probably the pack to pick up.

Via | Game Infowire

Image: Ubisoft

Bethesda isn’t having a smooth time of things with its DLC releases. “The Pitt,” which was the last Fallout 3 DLC released gave many users a lot of trouble. Enough that Bethesda was forced to re-issue an updated version. The latest DLC, “Broken Steel,” which came out today, seems to be heading down the same dark road of failure.

In the forums, players are reporting that the installation isn’t working. The download process works fine, but files are popping up a disturbing error message during the installation process:

“Not a cryptographic message or the cryptographic message is not formatted correctly. (Exception from HRESULT: 0×8009200D).”

Bethesda says the team is aware of the problem and are looking into it. So expect a fix sometime soon.

Via | Joystiq

Image: Bethesda

Outrun Online Arcade has now been released for the Xbox 360. The Europe PlayStation 3 version will be available tomorrow. So be sure to log into your Xbox Live and PSN accounts and pick up a copy.

Price tag on the Xbox 360: 800 Microsoft Points

Here’s a gameplay video for your enjoyment. This looks like a blast! And will surely be worth the investment.

Looking forward to getting my PS3 copy tomorrow.

Via | CVG

Image: Sega

Konami is betting on the fact that people occasionally like to trade in their controllers for microphones and belt out some tunes. Usually while under the influence of alcohol or good old fashioned peer pressure.

Konami’s next addition to the wonderful world of karaoke-style gaming is titled Karaoke Revolution. You might be familiar with this game under a couple of other titles: SingStar (my personal favorite) and Lips (Microsoft’s version). But it looks like Konami has been taking some notes.

Karaoke Revolution takes SingStar and Lips and aims to improve upon them with the following features:

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