Ending a month of speculation, Microsoft announced pricing Tuesday for Kinect, its innovative gamepad-less motion control system for the Xbox 360, and it’ll go on sale this fall for — are you ready? — $149.99.

The news might have come as more of a surprise if the price hadn’t been widely advertised on a number of retail websites over the last few months. Including Microsoft’s. Oops.

Nevertheless, there were still some (small) surprises in Microsoft’s announcement. Kinect games will retail at $49.99, instead of the $59.99 more typical of Xbox 360 releases — and the basic Kinect unit will come bundled with multiplayer outdoor game Kinect Adventures.

Microsoft also took the wraps off a new Xbox 360 model, which’ll fill a gap in its range left after the retirement of the old-style Xbox Arcade. The new unit will match the design of the new “slim” Xbox 360 announced in June, but will come with 4 GB of internal storage instead of a hard drive, and a matt black finish. It’ll set you back $200 — $100 cheaper than the hard drive-equipped model. Expect to be showing up in stores next month.

But if you’re in the market for a new Xbox, and you’re curious about this Kinect business, we’d suggest not taking the plunge just yet. Instead, hold out for fall, when Microsoft will release a bundle that includes the just-announced 4 GB Xbox 360, together with the Kinect hardware and Kinect Adventures, for $299, a $50 saving on buying the kit individually. And while $150 seems rather steep for an unproven control system, we can see that bundle turning up under plenty of trees this holiday season.

Some of the most intense moments of BioShock 2 had the Proto-Daddy defending a Little Sister as she sucked precious ADAM from one of Rapture’s many corpses. They were great fun, especially when integrated organically into the story. Never one to pass up exploiting something that’s working well, 2K has announced that it’ll turn those moments into “Protector Trials” DLC, six new single-player maps that are “based on favorite locales from BioShock 2” (so, new-ish?). In addition to the Little Sister-defending action, you’ll get seven new Achievements or Trophies.

2K also claims another forthcoming add-on will “expand the narrative” of BioShock 2 — but let’s get the shooting monsters thing out of the way first. Protector Trials will be available on Xbox Live Marketplace (for 400 MS Points) and PlayStation Store (for $4.99) on August 3.

When Kinect was unveiled as Project Natal during last year’s E3 and Tokyo Game Show it looked like the sort of controller that would be used for a wider variety of games.

Up on stage, Microsoft showed off not only a bunch of casual games for the motion-controller, but also innovative titles like Milo, which has you interacting with a human child. Later that year, at the Tokyo Game Show, a panel of famed Japanese developers talked about all of the big games they could make for the device.

But at this year’s E3 the games shown for Kinect all seem to be geared for casual gamers and Lionhead’s charming child, Milo, was no where to be seen. What happened?

Project Milo is still in the works, according to Microsoft.

“Project Milo is something that is in ongoing development at Lionhead Studios,” according to a Microsoft statement. “Lionhead has always been a center of innovation and will continue to deliver against that charter.”

And what about hardcore gaming with Kinect?

“With “Halo: Reach,” “Gears of War 3″ and “Call of Duty: Black Ops,” this is the biggest year for core games on Xbox 360,” according to Microsoft. “In addition to these controller-based games, Kinect is a new way to play, using your full body and voice. We believe gamers will also enjoy games, sports, movies and music – all hands free. Beyond these experiences, we will continue to evolve our platform, just as we’ve done with Xbox LIVE. What you’re seeing today is just the beginning.”

Evolving gameplay doesn’t exactly sound like the Project Natal of 2009. Why didn’t Microsoft implement Kinect controls for Halo: Reach or Gears of War 3?

“At Xbox, we’re developing controller-based games for the core and Kinect titles that appeal to everyone,” according to a Microsoft statement. “And just as we’ve done with Xbox LIVE, we will continue to evolve our platform and work with the industry’s most creative minds to create new games and entertainment. What you’re seeing today is just the beginning.”

For now Microsoft is only saying that Kinect will have “more than 15 games” available this November for the launch of the controller. They also confirm that Kinect will not be backwards compatible with any already released Xbox 360 games.

Want more Bad Company 2? Today’s your day to get more Battlefield-style action with the four-player “Onslaught” cooperative mode, which is shipping on time for at least one of the console’s it was promised for today.

EA and DICE have deployed the new update to PlayStation 3 owners in North America, with owners of that version in Europe getting the update on the 23rd. In Xbox 360 owner angering news, DICE appears to have let that date slip just a little bit, noting that Onslaught will be coming to Battlefield: Bad Company 2 for owners of Microsoft’s console “in the very near future.” That apparent tardiness has not been met kindly by the Xbox 360 side at the official Battlefield site.

PC gamer may get their Onslaught on too. DICE is “investigating the possibility.”

Onslaught, whenever it arrives for you, will cost $9.99/€8.99/£6.99 on PlayStation Network or 800 Microsoft Points on Xbox Live Marketplace.

Players looking for a Harry Potter-esque game for PlayStation Move which isn’t Harry Potter will be pleased to hear of The Workshop’s latest game announced for the peripheral: Sorcery. Players will have access to a variety of magic spells (each of which change the color of the Move’s spherical tip), which they use to fight through a world of violent goblins, fairies and other mythical creatures. Players choose their spells, then, using the Move, fling them at enemies. Players will also have access to environment-changing spells, such as one that mends broken objects.

The Dead Space 2 presentation during Sony’s E3 press conference brought with it a fairly pleasant surprise — the PS3 version of the game will come with a port of the Wii rail-shooter, Dead Space: Extraction, now with PlayStation Move support. We’re not sure what kinds of upgrades the game’s visuals will be subjected to, but this might just influence our decision when it comes time to decide which platform to purchase the spacey sequel upon.

Finally.

A Gran Turismo 5 trailer shown during Sony’s E3 press conference ended with a fairly definitive end to the years of speculation, doubt and delays, displaying a November 2 release date for the game. At least, we think this is the final release date. We’ve been hurt so many times before.

Even though things have changed for Capcom’s sequel, Dead Rising 2 — new developer in Blue Castle Games, new protagonist in Chuck Greene and a new venue that swaps out the tried-and-true mall setting for the glitz and glamor of Las Vegas — it felt very familiar. From the largely unchanged controls to the helpful security guard passing you updates on your walkie talkie (thankfully, this time around the text is actually legible) on to the survivor escort system, Dead Rising 2 is a sequel in the most literal sense.
But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The formula still works — you find a room filled with zombies and you kill them (again), extracting juicy PP (the game’s experience point system for character development) and cash money from each encounter, the latter of which you can use to gamble. Nothing helps one escape the mental stress of fighting for your life like dropping a Benny on the slots, you know.

The controls and the sandbox mission structure (three in-game days to survive again!) haven’t changed at all, but Blue Castle saw fit to eliminate the picture-taking system, adding a weapon creation system in its stead. By combining random objects found around the casino, players can create powerful, unique tools to dispatch the undead. Like, combining a car battery and a rake — the equivalent of a bug zapper for zombies. Then there’s the drill bucket, which is literally a bucket with some drills sticking in it. Basically, It’s the world’s most deadly hat.

Another big change over the first game is the graphics. Dead Rising 2 is a beautiful game,, relying far less on gimmicky motion blur and depth of field effects to get the job done than the first game. The textures really pop (watching Chuck slowly get covered in more and more zombie blood is intense) and the environments are far more expansive and filled with plenty more items to interact with this time around. Then there’s the staggering amount of zombies on-screen at once with far less repeating character models, for sure — to witness Dead Rising 2 is to witness a damn pretty game. Note: that quarter-second slowdown when killing a zombie from the first game was nowhere to be seen in the sequel.

Ultimately, Dead Rising 2‘s fun comes from the same places it did in the first game. It’s still a treat to goof around with all of the weird weapons and dress Chuck up in silly outfits. But the most fun is inventing weapons on the workbench. There’s a great pleasure derived from not only seeing a wacky weapon combo on paper, but an even greater pleasure in creating and using said wacky weapon. The idea of knives duct-taped to boxing gloves is great in its own right, but you really can’t beat punching a zombie in the face with them.

Dead Rising 2 shambles to Xbox 360 and PS3 on August 31.

Mario Sports Mix, an arcade-style medley of sports games starring Mario and his friends, will be coming to the Wii in 2011.

A trailer shown at Nintendo’s E3 press conference showed Mario, Donkey Kong and others playing hockey, volleyball, dodgeball and basketball in a lively, cartoonish style.

Already pencilled in for Japan, Wii Party is coming to North America.

The game features a slew of social, party-type games — 13 different party modes in all. There is a game board island and a balance boat game, among many others. It will be out this holiday season in North America.