So on the Monday Freeview, we have brought you some examples of free shows or games you’ve been able to get a hold of. Up until this point though we have ignored two very important “free” options in the gaming world. These are the downloadable gaming libraries available to those subscribed to the XBox Live Gold and PlayStation Plus services.

While these services are technically not free, the inclusion of downloadable titles has been added to them as an added value while both primarily serve as a way for gamers to play online for the XBox 360, XBox One and PlayStation 4.

First, let’s take a look at the PlayStation Plus service. Originally a waning service as it wasn’t required for online play, the Instant Game Collection was one of the features that had not been fully exploited. It wasn’t until about two years after the service launched in June of 2010 that they began offering full PlayStation 3 titles to the roster as opposed to mainly retro games or PSN titles.

Yesterday, Activision gave the first detailed glimpse at Onslaught, the first DLC pack for Call of Duty: Ghosts. As has become the standard, the pack will include four regular multiplayer maps, one new weapon and one survival map, this time for the Extinction game mode. As you’ll see in the trailer after the break, the multiplayer levels are more goal oriented than ever before with a “reward” system that looks to really change the dynamic of each individual match.

The most exciting new map has to be Fog. A dark and spooky backwoods map with cabins and a barn, the real excitement comes from the completed field order which turns a player into Michael Meyers. Yes, from Halloween. When you’re Michael, you get armed with an axe… and his signature theme music. When you get close, your victim knows it’s coming and hear it before you take them out.

If you’ve been to McDonald’s recently you may have seen their latest pull tab giveaway is focusing on XBox. While Taco Bell is backing the PlayStation 4, Mickey D’s is going gung ho with Microsoft to push the XBox One, XBox Music, XBox Video and the XBox Live Arcade. Unlike previous giveaways like Monopoly where McDonald’s food items were up for grabs, everything that can be won from this promotion is XBox related. You’ll find the full breakdown of prizes below including the top prizes, XBox Ones with a copy of Forza Motorsport 5.

The one thing that stood out though were the XBox Live Arcade titles. All of them are on the 360. Now I understand the idea is to give people something they are more likely to be able to use like XBox Music, Video or Gold since they can be applied to either the XBox One or 360, but it seemed strange to not give games for the previous gen system and none for the XBox One. It’s true not every game could be redeemed for XBox One yet, especially since these seem to have limited codes, but it feels a little like the early adopters are getting ignored for their fervor to get the system early yet again.

That said, I was able to win the only game from Twisted Pixel Games that I didn’t already own, The Maw. It is currently downloading on my XBox 360 as the XBox One cools down from another busy weekend.

Take a look below at the full list of prizes and chick out One Hot Holiday for more details.

• XBox One & Forza Motorsport 5
• XBox Music Pass & XBox Live Gold 1 Month Membership
• XBox Live Gold 1 Month Membership
• The Maw for XBox 360
• Ms. Splosion Man for XBox 360
• Aqua for XBox 360
• The Wolverine Digital HD movie download
• Episode of a Fox Series: Enlisted, Bones, Raising Hope

The lines were drawn some time ago in this latest generation of the console war. With shots being fired all around since the consoles were officially announced to feature sets and launch titles, things have gotten messy.

And even though we are lucky enough to get review copies of games here on a regular basis, we didn’t get our hands on a freebie for either the XBox One or PlayStation 4. When budget came in to effect, I had to choose which side I’d be backing and since there could be only One… (You see what I did there?)

In the end, it came down to two things. The first is that I have bought both a PlayStation 3 and a Vita but the majority of my collection of games in the last generation were for the XBox 360. More people I knew played multiplayer on XBox 360 so for things like Call of Duty: Ghost and Grand Theft Auto V, that’s where people already were.

And as silly as they might be, I have become an achievement whore over the past 8 years and try as they might, Sony’s trophies don’t have the same effect on me. I cracked over 50,000 in one generation, I need to top it in the next.

Let me start off by saying this is by no means an attack on Sony or the PlayStation 4, so put your flames away. This is just my own opinion on the situation and not meant in any way to talk negatively about the PlayStation 4 and any of its features.

It was announced on Wednesday that Microsoft had changed the DRM features they announced for the XBox One would be removed. Microsoft stated that XBox One owners would now have the ability to play without being logged online every 24 hours or having to worry about the disc being console locked. Immediately, there was a massive outcry saying that it was a huge win for the PlayStation 4.

But that’s not entirely accurate. When you think about it, the huge lead given for the PlayStation 4 announcement happened where it was shown that one console would have these DRM rules while one wouldn’t. As we’ve seen in every race, it’s not over until it’s over.

As we learned already, the XBox One isn’t going to be backwards compatible with XBox 360 games. Personally, I don’t see this as an issue. When I got my XBox 360, I didn’t worry about playing my original XBox games on it. And any of us who were born before the PS2 rose to prominence remember the days when we got our SNES and the only ones who questioned if the NES games would still play on it were our parents. We didn’t care back then.

In an interview with The Verge, Microsoft Xbox Live vice president Marc Whitten said, “The system is based on a different core architecture, so back-compat doesn’t really work from that perspective.” As a result, the content of the XBox Live Arcade on the XBox 360 won’t be able to carry over to the XBox One. Since the XBox One’s hardware configuration won’t support XBox 360 discs, it makes sense that the downloadable content would not be supported as well.

Since we already told you the important facts about the XBox One yesterday, I thought I would take time to let it sink in and then give my reaction to what was announced. Any of you follow me on Twitter saw my initial reactions yesterday, but I wanted to be fair and take a step back before voicing my actual thoughts instead of just hoping for retweets. This isn’t about being a fanboy or ranting, but just my honest reactions to the announcements.

First off, the name has to be addressed. I like the fact that Microsoft didn’t go with calling the console just “XBox” again and at least the “One” differentiates it. I call my current console the “360” in conversation and I don’t doubt that I’ll end up calling the XBox One just the “XBox,” but it was at least better than Apple’s iPad, iPad 2 and then “new iPad.” And let’s be honest, the name isn’t what sells a system as the Wii proved since every gamer ripped that name to shreds.

Also, thank you to Microsoft for showing the system. They needed to do something to separate themselves from Sony and the PlayStation 4 and rather than continue the pissing contest that is going to reach E3, they just showed what it looked like. Much like the name, the overall look of the system isn’t going to make or break the sale of a console (again take a look at the Wii). I was happy to see most of the design on the controller remained and was happy to see the D-Pad had been changed as it is especially reviled by fighting gamers.

Hooray for Blu-Ray. Although that means my HD-DVD is now officially in the same category as Betamax and Laserdisc.

I appreciate Skype being on the XBox One and integrated with the “Snap” feature, but I feel like I’ll never use it. The last thing I want when watching TV or a movie is to have someone talking to me. Maybe if I was a sports guy and wanted to talk trash during a game with my friend across the country during a basketball game, I’d be down. But if I am watching The Walking Dead, don’t you dare try calling me during the show.

During an event today at its Redmond, WA campus, Microsoft announced the brand new Xbox console everyone had been waiting for. Dubbed “XBox One” the new console features a host of internal and external improvement, enhancements and new features/content including 8GB of RAM, a 500 GB internal HD, USB 3.0, 802.11n Wi-Fi, a Blu-ray drive and three operating systems: The standard Xbox OS, the kernel of Windows 8 for web applications and a third platform that connects the two together.

Microsoft has also completely redesigned its Kinect sensor to better respond to users’ voices and gestures and has overhauled its Xbox Live experience, which is now supported by 300,000 servers, or 20 times the number of servers that currently power Xbox Live. That’s a lot of servers.

Microsoft also said during the event that it will launch 15 exclusive games on the Xbox One, 8 of which are new titles. The major one reveled was, of course, a brand new Call of Duty game called: Call of Duty: Ghosts.

In somewhat of an ominous email I, and probably nearly every Xbox Live member, received today from Microsoft, a date has been announced for the folks at Redmond to reveal their next generation gaming console. A day past 3 months after Sony held their presentation for the Playstation 4, M$ will lay it out for everyone on May 21st at 1pm EDT/10am PDT.

Rumors have flowed a plenty about what the next Xbox (720? Durango? Fandango?) will feature, from features like an updated or even built in Kinect sensor, HDMI passthrough letting it act like a cable box, whether or not it will support Blu-Ray media, to screams that it won’t be able to play used games.

Hopefully most, if not all, the rumors out there will be answered during the presentation, and maybe we’ll even see what the damn system will look like (unlike the Playstation 4, which we’re still waiting on…).

Watch the announcement live May 21, 1pm EDT/10am PDT on Xbox Live, Xbox.com or Spike TV.

There is no hope for the human race. I am now certain of it. Pizza Hut, purveyor of fine cuisine like the “Crazy Cheese Crust” Pizza and the P’Zone, have taken their internet ordering talents to Xbox Live, allowing users to order from their local restaurant and have it delivered straight to their door.

By eliminating the middleman of using another device like a laptop or tablet or, gosh, even a cell phone, Pizza Hut puts people in control of nearly each aspect of ordering from their menu directly from the new app released today. Orders can be placed for pizzas, wings, pastas, and the always popular sides ‘n more option.

There’s even a tab listed with the special deals being offered at the time of order. Customers can even choose between delivery or pickup, and can offer to pay through the app with a credit card or pay with cash at time of delivery.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II is addicting. Between the standard competitive multiplayer and the Zombie mode, thousands of lifetimes of game hours have already been played online. Now while the game doesn’t exactly go into a slump over time after its release, there is definitely a renewed spike in gameplay with the release of new maps.

Things may have been a little different last year with the early access that Elite members received in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 but with Call of Duty: Black Ops II Season Pass holders and the general public gaining access to the new maps at the same time, expect servers to fill up and social lives to diminish. But how do you help salvage social relationships with friends, family, work and significant others? Activision says it’s time to call in a Replacer.

In the video below, you’ll check out the real benefit of taking on a Replacer. For those moments that you don’t really need to be there for like putting together furniture or the first few annoying hours of labor, a Replacer is the ideal substitute.

With the next generation of gaming’s announcement looming over E3 2013 after both Microsoft and Sony were silent during this year’s expo, the focus has changed for game’s of this year’s E3 being innovators in their own right. While game’s like Scribblenauts Unlimited promise to give players more creative options in the way they solve puzzles, other titles like Defiance promise to span across different forms of media in a truly unique scenario.

Way back in the Star Wars Galaxies MMO, players would experience player events which promised an impact on the future story of the game based upon how the playerbase performed. If more Rebels completed a mission, they would earn more benefits for their factions in the coming months. Defiance looks to take the roots of this premise and expand it in a way never before seen.

Defiance is going to be an MMOTPS (Massive Multiplayer Online Third Person Shooter). This isn’t the first time an MMO shooter has been attempted as Planetside came out years ago and had a relative degree of success, enough that Planetside 2 is on its way. Unlike Planetside, Defiance will take place on earth and include PvE (player vs. environment) gameplay and not just straight PvP. But that’s not the defining feature that looks to set Defiance apart. In addition to being a game produced by Trion Worlds and coming to XBox 360, PlayStation 3 and the PC, it will concurrently launch with a series for SyFy TV.