Click here to view the embedded video.

Call of Duty®: Black Ops II delivers the most groundbreaking and visceral  Call of Duty® experience ever.  Set in the year 2025,  Call of Duty: Black Ops II propels players into global conflict featuring advanced weaponry, robotics, and drone warfare in a new Cold War scenario whose seeds are being sown in today’s headlines.  New graphics technology drives the stunning cinematic action of the single-player campaign’s branching storylines and non-linear missions.

“Hands down, this is the most ambitious  Call of Duty ever,” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing. “We are bringing disruptive innovation to the franchise and we are doing it on several fronts. We’re pushing the boundaries technologically, graphically, and from a narrative and gameplay perspective. At the same time, we need to stay true to the epic realism, authenticity, heart pumping adrenaline, and cinematic action that so many people love and expect from a  Call of Duty  game. Treyarch’s vision for  Call of Duty: Black Ops II will redefine the  Call of Duty franchise for the future-both literally and figuratively.”

“With  Call of Duty: Black Ops II,  the team is crafting an experience that  Call of Duty  fans have never seen before,” said Mark Lamia, Studio Head for Treyarch. “We are challenging assumptions on every front, with the single player campaign, Zombies and multiplayer.  In the campaign, we are creating a thought-provoking story that introduces branching storylines and meaningful choices that impact the narrative.  Running in the multiplayer engine for the first time, Zombies gives players a bigger and more diverse set of gameplay experiences, as well as entirely new ways to wage war with the undead.  And in multiplayer, we’re embracing all skill levels and play styles to give players more ways to engage. With  Call of Duty: Black Ops II, we’re all in and we won’t rest until we’ve launched nothing less than the best  Call of Duty we’ve ever made.”

On November 13th, award-winning developer Treyarch and Activision Publishing, Inc will deploy the sequel to the universally acclaimed  Call of Duty®: Black Ops, which, following its launch in 2010, set the record for the biggest entertainment launch in history.   

For more information, visit  www.callofduty.com/blackops or follow Call of Duty:  Black Ops II on  www.facebook.com/codblackops and on Twitter at #BlackOps2.

Click here to view the embedded video.

2K Games announced on May 9, 2012 that BioShock® Infinite from Irrational Games is now planned to launch worldwide on February 26, 2013.

Ken Levine, Creative Director of Irrational Games, stated, “When we announced the release date of BioShock Infinite in March, we felt pretty good about the timing. Since then, we’ve uncovered opportunities to make Infinite into something even more extraordinary. Therefore, to give our talented team the time they need to deliver the best Infinite possible, we’ve decided to move the game’s release to February.”

BioShock Infinite, developed by Irrational Games, won over 75 editorial awards at E3 2011, including the Game Critics Awards’ Best of Show.

In this first-person shooter, the player assumes the role of former Pinkerton agent Booker DeWitt, who is sent to Columbia to rescue Elizabeth, a young woman imprisoned there since childhood. He develops a relationship with Elizabeth, augmenting his abilities with hers so they may escape from a city literally falling from the sky. DeWitt learns to fight foes in high-speed Sky-Line battles, engage in combat both indoors and amongst the clouds, and harnesses the power of dozens of new weapons and abilities.

Check out the above vid for a detailed look at the world and gameplay of BioShock Infinite.

For more information on  BioShock Infinite please visit  http://www.bioshockinfinite.com.

Deep Silver and Axis Animations, the production company behind the trailer for ”Dead Island”, recently won two prestigious marketing awards for their work on both the trailer and marketing campaign for the award-winning zombie action game.

First prize:

Gold award in the category for “Outstanding Promotional Trailer” at the Game Marketing Summit & Awards by PromaxBDA, the International Association of Entertainment Marketing Professionals.  Deep Silver also outshined other promotional videos for well-known brands.

Second prize:

First place in the “PR & Marketing” category for “Best Use of Social Media” At the MCV AWARDS 2012.

Deep Silver has published more than 200 games since 2003, including the action role-playing game Sacred 2: Fallen Angel, successful adventures such as the Secret Files series and Lost Horizon, the role-playing game Risen and well-known licenses like the Chernobyl shooter S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky and Prison Break: The Conspiracy, the action adventure based on the popular TV series. Deep Silver has announced more upcoming highlights such as Risen 2, the sequel to the hit RPG, and Sacred 3. For more information please visit www.deepsilver.com

“Dead Island” has gathered a considerable following across all media all over the world since its announcement with a spectacular announcement trailer in February 2011, a trailer that surprised the masses everywhere and became an internet phenomenon. I myself was slack-jawed after watching the trailer, and have been aching to play the game ever since.  Despite a surprising number of people reporting that the game doesn’t live up to the expectation set by the trailer, “Dead Island” still received pretty decent ratings by sites like GameInformer, IGN, and GameSpot.

Activision announced today that PROTOTYPE 2^®, the sequel to Radical Entertainment’s original best-selling game of 2009, will be launched in the UK with the world’s first ever over-18 live outdoor advertisement.

At an iconic west London location at 9:00 p.m. (BST) on Sunday 22^nd April, the live ad will feature actors playing the parts of PROTOTYPE 2’s new protagonist Sgt. James Heller and his nemesis Alex Mercer, as well as Blackwatch military and the disease-ridden Infected.

Recreating action from the game, including a gruesome and bloody confrontation between the Heller and Mercer, the content has been recommended as only suitable for those over the age of 18 due its explicit nature.

“Due to the nature of PROTOTYPE 2’s content, the game has been rated by the BBFC and PEGI as certificate 18.  This live action advertisement reflects the game in its hard-hitting, fantasy nature and whilst we’re excited to bring this new game to our legions of fans, it would be inappropriate for under 18s to view it” commented David Tyler, Activision’s Minneapolis Business Unit EU General Manager.

The five minute long experience will be streamed live on the PROTOTYPE 2’s official Facebook page at www.facebook.com/prototype for those of age unable to experience the action live, offering fans around the world a chance to watch the production unfold.  I’ve checked it out and it’s definitely a very well-made and adrenaline-pumping trailer.

As the PROTOTYPE 2 live ad reaches its crescendo, fans will have the opportunity to vote for one of two endings via the PROTOTYPE 2 Facebook page from 20^th April.  The ending that receives the most votes will feature as part of the grand finale of the advertisement.

I always love these live action trailers for video games, like this one for Portal 2:

Click here to view the embedded video.

To watch the PROTOTYPE 2 live ad stream and vote on the ending, head over to www.facebook.com/prototype.  While there, be sure to join the PROTOTYPE Army – a community of over 453,000 (and growing) fans that receive constant updates from the team at Radical.  To find out more about PROTOTYPE 2, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/radical_ent and check out the game’s official Web site at www.prototypegame.com for the latest trailers, screenshots, special promotions and more!

**********
About PROTOTYPE 2
The sequel to Radical Entertainment’s best-selling open-world action game of 2009, PROTOTYPE 2 takes the unsurpassed carnage of the original PROTOTYPE and continues the experience of becoming the ultimate shape-shifting weapon.  As the game’s all-new infected protagonist, Sgt. James Heller, players will cut a bloody swathe through the post-viral wastelands of New York Zero with unparalleled locomotion, building up a vast genetic arsenal of deadly, biological weapons and abilities as they hunt, kill and consume their way toward the ultimate goal — to kill…Alex…Mercer.

PROTOTYPE 2 will be available for the Xbox 360^® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PlayStation^®3 computer entertainment system on 24^th April 2012, and for Windows^® PC on 24^th July 2012.

Dungeon Blitz- a free-to-play, side-scrolling brawler with light RPG and MMO elements – has been launched by Blue Mammoth Games.  

The start-up’s founders, both with deep experience developing AAA titles for hardcore gamers, set out to create a game that offers players a full featured, multiplayer game challenge, even if they only have a few minutes to play.

Dungeon Blitz combines the fast paced combat of side-scrollers with the character development and customization of RPGs and the social interaction and cooperative combat of MMOs. New players can immediately jump into the action and play a full game session in as little as 10 minutes.

Dungeon Blitz’s combat system is extremely easy to learn with simple point-and-click controls; no tedious menu driven combat here. Players unleash physical and arcane abilities while actively moving and dodging enemy attacks in real time. Players can also join together to combine abilities from different classes to create even more powerful attacks.

Players choose from three classes, each with their own play styles:

• Paladin (stalwart strength)
• Rogue (swift, deadly attacks)
• Mage (mastery of the elements)

Players upgrade their abilities, gain new powers and take on greater challenges through leveling up, collecting loot and crafting.

While the game can be played solo, Dungeon Blitz really shines when friends gather to party. Gamers can quickly team with other random players or use the in-game communication and guild features to easily organize a few spare minutes of play with buddies.

“Talking with friends, we realized there are tons of guys like us who used to be hardcore MMO players but just don’t have the time anymore. Our goal was to create a fun, light, but still challenging title that would let us get together with friends as well as get an online fix — but to do it in bite-sized chunks,” Lincoln Hamilton, Founder, Blue Mammoth Games, explains. “By taking advantage of the browser environment, we’ve created a new twist on side-scrollers with a mash up of the best features from brawlers, RPGs and MMOs.”

Dungeon Blitz is set at the crossroads between the mundane Human World and the mystical Sleeping Lands. The free-to-play game features optional micro transactions that can be used to purchase in-game items and boosts.

As a non-fan of MMOs, but a huge fan of side-scrollers, I’m excited to dive in and see if I can jump on the MMO bandwagon and experience a bit of what my other MMO friends are raging about.  The trailer definitely piqued my interest.

Dungeon Blitz is now available at http://www.dungeonblitz.com.

Swing Through and Explore Manhattan in the Next Web Slingin’ Spider-Man^TM Video Game from Activision^® and Marvel.

An all-new Spider-Man is poised to bring the action back to New York City as Activision Publishing and Marvel Entertainment announce The Amazing Spider-Man™ video game, planned to launch summer 2012 tied to Sony Picture Entertainment’s upcoming feature film of the same name.  Created as an epilogue story occurring entirely after the events of the movie, the game features the return of free-roaming web-slinging all over the city and evolutionary improvements to navigation and combat, as the newly anointed Spider-Man is plunged into an all-new storyline charged with protecting Manhattan from a variety of criminals.
The Amazing Spider-Man is in development at veteran game studio Beenox, and features an original narrative crafted by Hollywood writer Seamus Kevin Fahey ( episodes of Spartacus: Gods of the Arena and the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica) that continues young Peter Parker’s adventures following the events of the new film.  Using the game’s new Web Rush mechanic allows players to pull off a vast array of moves never before possible.  With a story that takes players through many areas all over (and under) Manhattan, fans will feel what it’s truly like to be a Super Hero, as they experience the cinematic adrenaline rush of web-swinging through the city and fighting crime using Spider-Man’s spectacular acrobatic moves and attacks.

Watch the trailer here: http://www.TheAmazingSpiderManGame.com.

Adventure Game Studio (AGS), the same engine behind retro-styled adventures like Gemini Rue and the Blackwell mysteries,  is putting on its first ever indie game “bake sale” for the sole purpose of raising money for an awesome charity, Child’s Play.  Child’s Play is a great organization/charity that helps give sick kids the chance to play video games.

The AGS Bake Sale Bundle consists of 14 unique and individual games showcasing the different styles of each author as well as the diversity of the AGS engine, as these aren’t all just “adventure” games.  It consists of a wide variety of games across a few different genres.  Here’s a sampling of the indie games included in the “bake sale bundle:

• 9 Months In: a traditional adventure game about a pregnant woman in prison trying to clear her name before her child is born.
• Indiana Rodent and the Raiders of the Lost Cheese: the biggest, most ambitious platform game ever made with AGS (quite an accomplishment considering the engine wasn’t created with Mario-style platforming in mind!)
• Escape The Barn: a classic “escape the room” puzzle game, suitable for all ages.
• RAM Ghost: an adorable virtual house simulator in the style of Little Computer People. Adopt an abandoned, unloved bit of code floating in the endless sea of information and tend to it in the hopes that it will one day grow up to be a proper program.
• Abner The Amazing: a fantasy adventure in which a boastful knight and his sidekick must find out who stole all the colors and left the world a grainy black and white.
• Zombie Attack: a top-down retro arcade shooter that has you battling waves of monsters, accumulating power-ups, gathering weapons, and unlocking new characters – all in a desperate attempt to stop the forces of evil from taking over the earth.

You can see the full list of bundled games on the AGS Bake Sale website: http://www.agsbakesale.com (note: all games are PC only).

The Bake Sale bundle has “pay what you want” pricing, with one small caveat: a minimum of $1.50 is required to cover payment processing. Beyond this, any money donated goes straight to Child’s Play to give sick kids a bit of gaming cheer. The developers themselves aren’t making a cent – they’ve pitched in their time, their talents, and their bandwidth to raise some money for a really good cause.

This bake sale runs from Jan 20, 2012 – Feb 29, 2012.  So what are you waiting for?  Donate now to give some sick kids the chance to run around Gotham City, experience the power of a Dragonborn, solve puzzles in Aperture Science’s labs, etc.  The distraction will only help their healing process!  http://www.agsbakesale.com

That was like, 3 months ago, right?

Yes it was.
And yes, we’re uploading those pictures today. Why? Well..
Your dogs attacked our server physically, and ate all of our hard drives.

Don’t believe us? Okay then. Here’s the “truth”:
We thought we’ve lost all of the photos taken that day from that particular memory card.

So then we prayed to anime Goddess, and on its 100th day, she finally answered and decided to let us find that particular memory card, so we could restore Akicon 2011 photos!

ああっ女神さまっ!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures.
And while at it, say “Thank you” to arisa, our newest addition to the event coverage team.

Capcom has partnered with the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) for the release of Street Fighter X Tekken in the UK.

CALM was set up to reduce the high suicide rate amongst men under 35, currently the single biggest killer of young men in the UK. Men are three times more at risk of suicide than young women – in 2010 75% of suicides were men. Since CALM’s launch in Merseyside in 2000, suicide numbers in young men in the Merseyside area have fallen by a massive 55%, and now having opened an office in London, the charity has expanded its operations UK wide. CALMzone Coordinator, Simon Howes said of the partnership:

“…CALM is delighted to be working with the team behind Street Fighter X Tekken. Our partnership shows how the gaming industry can work for social good; it enables positive messages and innovative campaigns like CALM to engage with massive audiences in a dynamic way that could literally save lives.”

Capcom will be holding two eBay charity auctions to raise money on behalf of CALM; the first will see 30 exclusive character prints signed by the legendary games producers Ono-san (Street Fighter) and Harada-san (Tekken) being auctioned off.

The second auction will see a very limited number of tickets to the Street Fighter X Tekken Grand Final event. The highest bidders will be joining a private media launch for the game in central London.

100% of funds raised by each auction will be donated to CALM.
http://www.thecalmzone.net
Talk to CALM
The helpline is open 5pm-midnight on Sat, Sun, Mon and Tues, every week of the year. Call 0808 802 5858 within London – or if you’re outside London call 0800 585858. It’s free, confidential and anonymous.

“Uhhgggguuhh?”

I mumble like a new born zombie. As I look at my clock and turn off the alarm, it reads 8:30 and I think to myself, “Why so early? It’s freaking Saturday. . . Ohh yeah, it’s the Portland Retro Gaming Expo today!” As soon as I realize this, I’m up, running around trying to get ready. LOL, now it’s on like Donkey Kong!

I’ve participated in many other gaming conventions before, but never a retro gaming event, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect. As I rode the local Light Rail towards downtown, I could hear the anticipated excitement of fellow gamers going to the same event. 35 minutes later I finally reach my destination and to my surprise I see a Geo Metro remodeled as a Ghostbusters mobile! That’s when I knew this wasn’t an ordinary event.

Vendor Marketplace
I guess the Portland Retro Gaming Expo started out primarily as a collector-focused convention, which would explain the insane number of merchants there. There were sooooooo many vendors with all sorts of things for sale that I didn’t even know existed; from 70’s gamer consoles to Nintendo cartridge shaped soap! Being a fighting game fanatic, some of my favorite unusual items I found were a Street Fighter 2 styled rock’em sock’em game and some Guile’s SONIC BOOM energy drinks!

Even though most of the vendors had something unique to offer, 2 really stood out. The first was the Game Trader booth. Owned and operated by Danny Kim, a very cool guy to hang out with, the Game Trader booth had lots of retro and new merchandise to offer. As soon as you walk up to it you can see all the variety he has to offer thanks to his orderly, clean, inventory.  The Game Trader booth also had a large staff, so transactions went quickly and smoothly with great customer service, but that’s not the best part! Danny and his crew didn’t come off as people trying to make a quick buck. They were really down to earth and just had FUN with everyone!

The second booth was Pink Gorilla. Not only did they have their own selection of rare retro and new games, but they also had various gaming and anime related items, such as T-shirts, talking key chains, toys, hats, and plushies! Everything was also very well presented and priced for your convenience. So all in all, if you’re looking for rare hard to find items or just like shopping for cool and unusual things then the Portland Retro Gaming Expo definitely has you covered!

Tournaments
Games are not really fun unless there is a decent challenge and some good competition! So naturally there had to be some tournaments going on. PRGE’s featured tournaments included Nintendo World Championship, Pac Man Jr., Capcom Bowling, Madden Football 94 and last but not least Street Fighter 2 Turbo! Hosted by Portland’s Best Bout Gaming, the Street Fighter 2 Turbo tournament was definitely a huge hit! I wanted to sign up for it, but I had arrived at the expo too late on account of my indecisiveness about  what to wear. Yup, I was trying to look stylish for all the Lora Croft and Samus wannabe’s! Anyways, I’m about 25 mins late to the PRGE so I figured I was still going to be able to get to sign up, WRONG! All the slots were taken and the line was wrapping around the convention! Apparently everyone wanted to show off their fighting skills and have a chance to win an enormous trophy and the bragging rights that come with it. I even recall a 10 year old girl salivating at the chance to SHORYUKEN any rival she came across. I was surprised she even knew what this game was. It was twice her age, and she knew how to pull off a Dragon Punch; uber insane! Although I wasn’t able to compete, I was ecstatic to see the fighting game community coming out strong like a Chuck Norris kick to the face. It was really fun watching the matches and seeing old veterans and the young new generation of fans bonding and enjoying the con in a challenge of fisticuffs.

Retro Gaming & Sick D.J.’s
The selection of retro games was overwhelming! PRGE had tons of consoles and games to choose from. Ataris, Nintendos, Commodores, and Segas galore! They even had a ton of real arcade cabinets and pinball machines! I spent a lot of time playing Dragons Lair 2: Time warp. I love this game, but I found my skills are not quite as sharp as they used to be; I died a lot! Thank God this game was free. I could only imagine how many quarters this game ate when it first came out. The graphics are really well animated and the game play is fun and hilarious as you try to control the main characters reflexes though quick time events. I also played a lot of Karate Champ with a friend of mine; I saw Jean-Claude Van Damme playing this in his movie Blood Sport and after years of waiting, I finally got to try it out! Oh, the time we had.

The other game I really enjoyed was the pinball machines. I don’t know about you, but there’s something so alluring and captivating about those machines that I can’t step away from. Other people must have felt the same way because the lines were kind of long. The Superman Machine seemed to be the people’s choice; I know it was mine!

To top it all off, for the 1st time ever, PRGE featured live D.J.s. They played various BBoy and 80’s hits like “The Life of the Party”, “Super Bad”, “It’s Just Begun” and so on. Not only did the convention goers get to indulge themselves in awesome moments of gaming but they also got a sweet soundtrack to go with it! You see, little things like that make PRGE such a delight!

Overall, such a great weekend it was. Every time spent was worth the anticipation; as a gaming fan there was something to love about PRGE around every corner! Before I finish this article, I would like to thank all of the PRGE staff and personal friend “Blackstormy” for great photos. Hopefully we get to participate again next year!