Microsoft knows that Halo is a system seller. That’s why last year at E3 we saw the TBD titled Halo get a tease. But without knowing when the next Halo would be coming out, they needed to keep the appetite wet for gamers before the hoopla of this year’s E3 kicked in. What better way to do so than open up preorders to the world. If you head to Amazon you can place your preorder on Halo 5: Guardians which is set to ship by end of year 2015 (no doubt, this will be more formally announced with an actual release date at E3 or at least a quarter).

There are two things that stand out about Halo 5: Guardians based off the current cover artwork. The first is the name. Since Halo: Combat Evolved, this is the first proper Halo title to have a suffix attached to it. This leads one to believe it is either because they feel just another number isn’t enough of a differentiator to keep motivating new purchases or these new Guardians are that essential to the plot.

After the recent sad news with layoffs happening at High Moon Studios following the completion of the Deadpool game which is set for June 25th release for the XBox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC, there was a PR blip that went out late yesterday getting into detail with the Deadpool preorder incentives. Obviously, the team behind the Deadpool PR is still working hard at keeping Deadpool at bay when he gets his hands on their press releases.

Below, you’ll be able to check out the list of presale incentives from GameSpot and Amazon for those who are picking up this Marvel merc at the budget price of $49.99. Make sure to check out all the new screens below as well!

intimidated invited Activision Publishing, Inc. and High Moon Studios to make a video game starring Marvel’s most Marvel-ous character, me. And you being a gamer of unquestionable good taste wish to pre-order that game. Well I say bravo – you deserve some awesome rewards for putting your trust in Deadpool.

After longstanding rumors that Half-Life and Team Fortress developer Valve were in the process of developing their own console/gaming rig were debunked finally, the “Steam-Box” is finally available for preorder. Rumors began after Valve was said to be involved with the Xi3 hardware developer.

It was clarified today on an article on IGN.com from a Valve spokesperson, “Valve began some exploratory work with Xi3 last year, but currently has no involvement in any product of theirs.” But luckily for Xi3, the reputation and possibility of Valve entering the hardware market carried over to their Piston console which has been referred to up until its recent reveal as the “Steam-Box”.

It’s impossible to look at the game software and development world and not notice what’s going on with Kickstarter.com. Projects that previously never could have seen the light of day because big time publishers wouldn’t have even placed them on their radar now are empowered by this new system of funding, preordering and further endorsing these in-development properties. Periodically, The Flickcast team will check in on Kickstarter to give you the heads up of some projects we feel deserve your attention that even some of The Flickcast may be helping Kickstart as well.

The first item on our Kickstart watch isn’t a piece of software but a new console in development. Ouya comes with some big promises behind it that look to change the face of home console gaming. It isn’t claiming to be a graphical powerhouse that is going to compete in the same market as the XBox 360 or the PlayStation 3, nor does it claim to have some new gimmicky control like the Wii or Wii U. It promises something that console owners aren’t used to at all.

” It’s time we brought back innovation, experimentation, and creativity to the big screen.” Ouya recognizes that a large chunk of gaming has changed from being a home console experience to the tablet or mobile market and that is where some developers are stuck because of the huge cost of developing for any of the big 3 consoles or the PC. The team behind Ouya refuse to settle for these restrictions and have created an open source engine running on Android technology. This means developers with any kind of budget can create games for the system.

Yesterday we were able to finally confirm the release date as well as the content of the Special Edition of Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Included in that Special Edition will be download codes for two DLC characters, available four weeks after the release of the game.

These two characters are Shuma Gorath and Jill Valentine, both returning from their roles in Marvel vs. Capcom 2. New to the Marvel vs. Capcom 3 fold will be She-Hulk and Mega Man’s Zero.

Players have had few opportunities to play as She-Hulk with the only exception being her appearance in the classic PlayStation Fantastic Four game. Now she will bring her unique brand of powerhouse sexuality and humor to Marvel vs. Capcom 3.

Take a peek at the video below to see Jen Walters kicking butt and looking sassy doing it.

First and foremost, it has finally been revealed that everyone will be getting their hands on Marvel vs. Capcom 3: The Fate of Two Worlds on February 15th, 2011 for the PlayStation 3 and XBox 360

In addition to the standard version of the game releasing, there will not surprisingly be a collector’s edition as well. The Marvel vs. Capcom 3: The Face of Two Worlds Special Edition will include:

• Steelbook case featuring exclusive art work
• Comic/Art book- A 12-page prologue comic, written by Marvel writer Frank Tieri, plus campaign art and a curated selection of fan art.
• 1-month Subscription to Marvel Digital Comics, providing unlimited online access to Marvel content
• 2 Playable DLC Characters – Shuma Gorath and Jill Valentine. Content is available 4 weeks post-launch.

You’ve spent probably hundreds of hours since Halo came out with the original XBox in 2001 fighting as Master Chief against the Covenant and Flood forces and battling your friends online in Halo 2 and 3. And as much as we all love Master Chief, a change of pace doesn’t hurt every now and then.

With the upcoming September 22nd release of Halo 3: ODST, you will be able to step in the shoes of different UNSC soldiers for the first time as you play through the events that take place right before the start of Halo 3 as various Orbital Drop Shock Troopers (ODST’s) in their defense of the city of New Mombasa. Also for the first time for those who preorder the game, you’ll have the opportunity to step in to the shoes of one of the most recognizable supporting characters in the Halo universe in the game’s new Firefight cooperative multiplayer mode, Sergeant Avery Johnson.

Longtime players will recognize Sgt. Johnson as the gruff, trucker mouth, cigar smoking UNSC commander who plays a pivotal role throughout the Halo game franchise, often interacting with Master Chief during missions. Fans of the Halo novel series will also know Sgt. Johnson as the main character of Contact Harvest, where he was one of the characters present for the first contact between the UNSC forces and the Covenant. Obviously, we all know how that turned out.