Our friends at Xbox 360 Fanboy are having a ball at the Xbox 360 Spring Showcase, sending word of their hands-on experiences with the console's upcoming lineup. (Update: Now with more Human.) Check out their impressions below:

	Impressions: Ninja Gaiden II It's unapologetically hardcore, and we wouldn't have it any other way.
	Impressions: Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts There is good reason that Rare did not decide to title the game Banjo Threeie. It's something new.
	Impressions: Penny Arcade Adventures On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness. Turns out the game is a meld of Japanese RPG and old-school adventure.

If a picture's worth a thousand words, we'll spare you the copious blabber and lead your eyeballs right to the trailhead (just hop past the break to get started!). Be warned though, the path through Microsoft's Xbox 360 Spring Showcase is a long one (but thankfully smooth and well lit). Be sure to sit a few feet from the screen, rest your eyes between galleries and drink lots of water! Enjoy.

Microsoft and Epic dropped a quartet of Gears of War 2 screenshots today, the first, and taken from the roller coaster-like sequence featured in recent campaign videos ("Act One, Chapter Three: 'Assault,'" to be exact). We also dug through the accompanying fact sheet (actually, credit X3F for the dirty work) and uncovered this single, tasty morsel: "new weapon-specific executions." No specific details yet -- but the nasty fantasies dancing in your head right now are probably close enough.

Curious to see what sort of "trouble" is brewing in Viva Piñata's candy-colored paradise? The six screenshots Microsoft released this morning don't offer many clues (Graveyards? Volcanoes? Evil tiki guys?) but should be enough to whet your appetite if you're eager to get back to Piñata Island.

You got a taste of Too Human this morning with those leaked screenshots, but now we've got the mother lode of media straight from Microsoft's Gamer's Day. There are a few screenshots below and we've got the above video showing off co-op action in the game.

Now that we have an official date and so much more information, we're finding it progressively harder to contain our Too Human excitement. What about you?

There's not much to see of each of the games in Microsoft Gamer's Day 08 video recently posted to the company's Gamerscore Blog, but the clips of Gears of War 2, Too Human, Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise, Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts and Fable 2 will hopefully be enough to keep you sated until today's media onslaught.

Keep your browser here today for tons more 360 news featuring not only these games, but (we'd imagine) a few others.

Microsoft's embargoes are finally up and, well, there's not much we didn't already know. Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise – the sequel to the "sleeper hit" – now has a release date of "September" as well as some new details, including a "Just for Fun" setting that makes it easier to hop right in, a new co-op setting, as well as a unique use of the Xbox Live Vision cam.

VP: TIP incorporates cameras in two unique ways. Looking out: you'll be able to use the Xbox Live Vision camera to take pictures of physical cards (think Eye of Judgment), unlocking new pinatas, building, or abilities (Rare apparently created a moose whose nose gets red only around Christmas time). Looking in: You'll be able to use your own digital camera to take a picture of your creations to share with friends over email, in a forum, wherever. While Microsoft isn't sure if they'll be releasing packs on their own, think of this feature as your own card generator; forget those pricey little packs. Anyone with a Vision Cam can snap a pic of your "card" and unlock it for themselves.

We'll bring you our impressions when we get a look at the game later today.


Read – Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise press release
Read – Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise Preview
Read – NeoGAF VP2 camera info

The end of a decade long journey will finally come on August 19 this year as Too Human finally hits store shelves. Well, we mean, probably. It seems pretty concrete, but we're not ruling anything out with Too Human. We won't believe it's actually been released until we're a good two or three hours into playing the final disc.

So, just how many leaks have sprung from the S.S. Microsoft Gamer's Day '08? Well, let's put it this way: A string quartet has started solemnly playing their final song and a person with priority issues has started rearranging the deck chairs. Yesterday it was Banjo Kazooie 3 and Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise, now, Shacknews has some new screens from Too Human.

They appear to show some co-op gameplay from Denis Dyack's baby, which we imagine we'll be getting an earful of at the event (alongside a boatload of information about some of the other titles). Our anticipation has slacked a bit, what with all the leakage, but we're still dying to know what "Lips" is. Expect to hear more soon.

You've seen the leaked Xbox 360 screenshots of his next awesomely alliterative adventure, but perhaps you weren't quite sure what the bear with a bird in his backpack was doing in any of them. According to numerous online reports (here's one and here's another), Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts sees the eponymous creature exploring "Showdown Town" and collecting parts to assemble all manner of physics-based, LEGO-like vehicles. The game's vehicle editor is said to be accessible at any point, meaning that the last thingamabob you picked up (one of 1,600) might just have a use in, say, a helicopter. Or a hovercraft.

The unconfirmed word (we're just waiting for Microsoft to officially blast out all this info at its Gamer's Day today) confirmed word is that we'll get to be the bear with a bird in a backpack building a bulldozer this November. Be sure to spy the game's debut trailer after the break.

Read -- Official announcement
Read -- Kombo.com
Read -- NeoGAF, who else?
Read -- More on vehicle construction

We've already blown the whistle on several new projects that may be announced at Microsoft's Gamer's Day tomorrow, with "Ninja Blade" and "Lips" being the most nebulous of the bunch. We still don't know what the former is, but 8Bit Joystick has shared a couple of thoughts on the latter matter. The site states that "Lips" is, in fact, the codename for a new Xbox peripheral, and speculates that it could be a voice input device (karaoke microphone?) or some method of in-game voice recognition.

For now, we'll go with, "Hmm, intriguing." Let's hope Microsoft drops the balm tomorrow and fills us in on these ... e-lips ...

[Thanks, Jake]

This is the last Microsoft leak story we have to tell you about (at least for now), but it was too interesting to pass up. When one NeoGAF user discovered the treasure trove of data that confirmed both Scene It? 2 and Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise on a Microsoft press site, they also found listings for "Lips" and "Ninja Blade," presumably titles to be revealed at tomorrow's Microsoft Gamer's Day '08.

So what could they be? That's the beautiful part: We have absolutely no idea. And as you know, when the internet isn't sure about something, the internet makes shit up. It's your Gore-given right, make sure you exercise it in the comments below with some rampant speculation.

Yeesh, the good ship Microsoft has had so many leaks we'll be shocked if it can even stay afloat for tomorrow's Gamer's Day event being held in San Francisco. While doing some pre-briefing site combing, one intrepid NeoGAF user discovered confirmation to sequels for Viva Piñata (sub-titled Trouble in Paradise) and Scene It?. Can you guess which one we're more excited about?

What's more, the NeoGAFfers even dug up some screenshots from the game for you to enjoy. Just do us a favor and look surprised tomorrow. We don't want to hurt Jeff Bell's feelings.

[Via X3F]