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See the difference with this Sine Mora comparison video

Simon McCann — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 12:11:00 +0000

Digital Reality have revealed a new video for the upcoming diesel-punk shoot 'em up and Xbox LIVE Arcade exclusive, Sine Mora.

The video in question shows players the sort of differences they can expect in gameplay when changing from the 'easy' normal mode to the insane difficulty level.

As you would expect from a difficulty setting called 'insane', you can see just how intense the gameplay can get.

True difficulty is something a good portion of games are missing these days. I can only hope that the insane setting for Sine Mora really is as it says on the tin.

Take a look at the video below and see the comparison for yourselves.

There is no word as yet on a release day, but it will be exclusive to Xbox 360 owners. So rejoice 360 fans!

Sine Mora to be an XBLA exclusive

Simon McCann — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 11:53:00 +0000

Digital Reality Publishing announced today that Sine Mora, its long awaited shoot’em up game based on time manipulation set to revolutionize the genre, will be available exclusively on Xbox LIVE Arcade for the Xbox 360.

And I can't wait!

Co-developed by Grasshopper Manufacture Inc. (Japan) and Digital Reality (Hungary) and published by Microsoft Studios, Sine Mora is diesel-punk shoot 'em up that provides a unique take on the genre, where time is the ultimate factor. Mixing classic shooter sensibilities with next-gen presentation, Sine Mora is a gorgeous shmup that appeals to both hardcore and casual gamers alike. The engrossing Story Mode weaves an over-the-top tale, while the Arcade Mode provides deep, satisfying gameplay to challenge fans of the genre. Sine Mora features over 60 combinations of planes, characters and time manipulation devices to complete every beautifully-crafted stage with scaling difficulty. All of this is set to an epic score of soaring heights, composed by Akira Yamaoka, acclaimed for his works on the Shadows of the Damned and Silent Hill series.

The release date and price for Sine Mora will be announced at a later date.

Kinect takes a step towards the future

Simon McCann — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 12:26:00 +0000

It's Minority Report meets Microsoft - An industry first, today Microsoft will reveal their newly integrated entertainment system bringing gaming, TV and social media together in one unit with advanced voice and motion controls.

A new technological era in live TV in the home is launching in time for Christmas where the user becomes the remote control through voice and gesture control. Only one year on since the launch of the Kinect, this is the most significant update from Microsoft for the Xbox 360. TV, video, movies and music will be instantly searchable, with intelligent Bing voice search, motion-controls and voice functionality – no remotes, no buttons, no worries.

The new software update will create the biggest interactive TV service in the world, with close to 40 leading TV and entertainment providers accessible through the console’s Xbox LIVE online service. These include Sky, Channel 4, Channel 5, BBC, YouTube, MSN, Muzu.tv and many more (see notes to editor for full listings). One console will now bring together all these entertainment platforms, using the most advanced technologies in motion and voice controls.

The FREE dashboard update will be rolled out on 6^th December across 35 countries to a network of 35 million Xbox LIVE members, making watching live TV or on-demand movies, playing video games or listening to music effortless.

Verizon and Microsoft to offer Xbox 360 cable TV service in US

Justin Alderman — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 20:19:00 +0000

Verizon and Microsoft announced today that they have struck a deal allowing U.S. Xbox 360 users to watch live cable TV content using Verizon's high-speed internet service FiOS via a downloadable app on their console.

When it launches next month the service will offer 26 channels and be fully compatible with Kinect's voice and gesture controls.

The downside of the package is that it will run $89.99 per month and require an Xbox Live Gold membership. To ease that pain, new customers who sign up before 21st January 2012 will get 12 months of Xbox Live Gold free and a copy of Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary.

Source: PCmag.com

Pachter: No next-gen Xbox for another 2 years, 2012 rumours are "silly"

Justin Alderman — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 15:16:00 +0000

Speaking to IndustryGamers, Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter called the recent rumours of a 2012 launch for the next Xbox console "silly" and predicts that the company won't release a new system for another two years.

"Those rumors are silly. Microsoft is still selling a ton of Xbox 360s, and they won't replace the existing one until sales begin to slow. I think the rumors are based upon leaks about modifying the current Xbox 360 to allow it to operate Windows 8. I fully expect a new model of Xbox 360 by holiday 2012, but don't think we see a new console altogether from Microsoft until 2014."

Despite Pachter's spotty track record with predicting when new hardware will launch, I'm right with him on this one. Microsoft would be making a huge mistake to launch new hardware in 2012 given the state of the economy and how well the 360 is selling. I'm not confident that they will wait until 2014 (2013 seems a bit more likely to me) but next year is far too soon for anything beyond a mention of having new hardware in development.

New Xbox 360 Dashboard update given release date

Simon McCann — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 14:33:00 +0000

Microsoft's own Major Nelson has posted some exciting news on his blog this morning.

We finally have a date for the release of the brand spanking new Xbox 360 Dashboard.

While I'm sure many of you will likely have been involved in the Xbox LIVE Preview Program, there are far more of us that have yet to see the new Dash in action, myself included.

In this update, you can expect to see the following:

New personal and social features including Cloud Storage for Game Saves and LIVE Profile
Beacons and Facebook Sharing
Enhanced Family Settings
Integrated voice and gesture controls across the dashboard and in apps
Bing voice search (Available this year in the US, UK and CA)

Along with the above new features, 360 owners can expect to see a wealth of brand new content. New, customized applications for television, movies, internet videos, sports and music will begin rolling out from world-leading providers in more than 20 countries.

Major Nelson has confirmed the official release date of this new dashboard for December 6^th and will be available for all regions that have access to Xbox LIVE.

Rumour: Next Xbox To Be Announced This January

Justin Alderman — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 15:35:00 +0000

According to an unnamed source who is "very close" to the company (are there any other kind of unnamed sources?) Microsoft will reveal their successor to the Xbox 360 during CES 2012 this coming January. The reveal is said to not be a "huge announcement" but instead is just "some information on the new console, and some of its capabilities".

Speaking of those abilities, the report claims the system will have a hex-core CPU with 2GB of DDR3 RAM, and a GPU provided by AMD.

While I don't doubt that Microsoft has a new console in the works (they most likely started early development before the Xbox 360 launched) I'd be surprised to hear anything official about it until just prior to E3 2012 at the earliest. The 360 has picked up the sales pace during 2011 and with the Wii U being fully revealed at the next E3 there is no threat of a new console launch to spoil Microsoft's fun until late Summer or Fall next year.

If I was in Microsoft's shoes I'd save my next system reveal to try and disrupt Nintendo during their big Wii U push at E3 this summer. What I would not do is waste it this January when you want consumers who don't own a 360 to pick one up with the gift card that Grandma gave them for Christmas.

Source: VG247

Batman: Arkham City Xbox 360 Games Saves Vanishing

Simon McCann — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 12:58:00 +0000

In an ever-growing forum thread, currently 201 pages, Batman: Arkham City players are reporting a particular problem with the Xbox 360 version of the game - Save game files are simply vanishing!

Sadly, this seems to be happening only with the 360 version of Arkham City.

Some of you may even remember that this exact problem was present in Batman: Arkham Asylum. I was a victim to it myself, losing a save game that was roughly 85% complete. I didn't touch the game for a good month afterwards, not seeing the point in playing if all progress was destined to be lost.

Players are speculating that the cause of this technical issue in Arkham City is the Catwoman DLC pack. Though nothing has as yet been confirmed on this.

Hopefully, for all our sakes, a patch is in development to remedy this issue and players can play through the game without having to worry if all their progress will have been for naught.

Let us know if you've experienced this problem or if you somehow managed to fix it!

Microsoft Finally Allows For Easy Cancellation Of Xbox Live Auto-Renewal

Justin Alderman — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 17:45:00 +0000

The November update to Xbox.com has brought with it the ability to disable the Xbox Live auto-renewal "feature" from the website, instead of the old method of having to make a call to Microsoft's customer service and begging them to stop charging your credit card every year.

This change should prevent people who no longer wished to subscribe to Xbox Live from being renewed for another year, and any bank charges that resulted from Microsoft's attempts to charge old credit cards that their customers failed up update on Xbox Live.

While this is certainly a welcome change, it's also extremely shameful that Microsoft took this long to give their customers control over the renewal of their own accounts.

Source: CVG

Battlefield 3 Still Unable To Dislodge Black Ops On Xbox Live

Justin Alderman — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 19:29:00 +0000

During Battlefield 3's launch week the title failed to surpass either Call of Duty: Black Ops or Modern Warfare 2 on the list of the Top 20 Xbox Live Titles. That changed up a bit last week with BF3 nudging up the chart past Modern Warfare 2 to settle into the number two spot behind Black Ops.

In all likelihood this was EA's last chance to claim the number one spot with Battlefield 3, since Modern Warfare 3's first week of Live activity will be reflected the next time Microsoft's posts their user data.

Full Live Activity chart for the week of October 24th was as follows:

Call of Duty: Black Ops
Battlefield 3
Modern Warfare 2
Gears of War 3
FIFA 12
Halo: Reach
Madden NFL 12
Batman: Arkham City
Forza Motorsport 4
GTA IV
Call of Duty 4
NBA 2K12
FIFA Soccer 11
Halo 3
NHL12
NCAA Football 12
Call of Duty: WaW
Red Dead Redemption
Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood
Dead Island

Source: Major Nelson

Rumour: Next Xbox Will Be Cheaper And Smaller Than 360

Justin Alderman — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 16:27:00 +0000

"MS nerd", a blogger who has posted accurate information on Microsoft in the past, has put up a report claiming that successor to the Xbox 360 will be cheaper, smaller and be based on Windows 9 and the ARM architecture.

MS nerd wrote in the report, "With a heady mix of rumors, tips and speculation, I am now stating that Xbox codename “loop” (the erstwhile XboxTV) will indeed debut a modified Win9 core. It will use a Zune HD-like hardware platform—a “main” processor with multiple dedicated assistive cores for graphics, AI, physics, sound, networking, encryption and sensors. It will be custom designed by Microsoft and two partners based on the ARM architecture. It will be cheaper than the 360, further enabling Kinect adoption. And it will be far smaller than the 360. It will also demonstrate how Windows Phone could possible implement Win9’s dev platform on the lower end."

Having the system be smaller and cheaper is almost a given considering the advances in technology since the Xbox 360 released. Additionally Microsoft has already announced integration between Windows 8 and Xbox Live, so it makes sense for the company to have their next console use some form of Windows 9.

However, keep in mind that this is all a rumour so take it with a grain of salt.

Happy Wars Debut Trailer Released

Simon McCann — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 12:13:00 +0000

Today, Toylogic Inc. released the debut trailer for Happy Wars on Xbox LIVE Marketplace.

Happy Wars is a casual multi-player action game in which a large number of players control comical characters in fun battles.

In Happy Wars, players can use any of 3 types of characters-warrior, mage, or cleric-in a variety of fantasy battlefields including grasslands, a dark world, and the ocean floor. Cooperate with friends to enjoy action on a grand scale, casting magic spells, attacking castles, and so on.

For off-line fun, the player can take on missions in the solo campaign mode.Happy Wars is expected for release by Microsoft Studios in 2012 on the Microsoft Xbox LIVE Arcade service.

The debut trailer shows the real fun experience of Happy Wars, including 15 vs. 15 online play and the spectacular actions of the 3 classes - the warrior, the mage and the cleric, all in HD quality. The trailer was previously shown at Microsoft's booth during Tokyo Game Show 2011.

Early Modern Warfare 3 Players Could Face An Xbox Live Ban

Justin Alderman — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 16:12:00 +0000

Here in the U.S. many gamers manged to grab up an early copy of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 when the retail chain K-Mart decided to break the street date one week early. If you were one of those lucky gamers, and didn't sell your copy on eBay, you might want to think twice before playing it.

Xbox Live director of policy and enforcement Stephen Tolouse received several questions on Twitter from early MW3 owners asking if it was okay to play online to which he first responded by saying “If your copy is legit and obtained legitly, have fun. It's a great game.” However, once Activision got wind of the situation Tolouse later Tweeted “Double-checked with Activision. Mw3 pre-release play not authorized. So please be patient. Playing early may impact your account!”

Honestly I would be shocked if anyone got banned for playing the game early, provided they bought their copy in a legitimate fashion. Activision and Microsoft may throw the ban-hammer threat out there but banning honest paying customers who did nothing wrong would take a lot of balls and be a foolish move to say the least.

Source: MCV

Black Ops and MW2 Beat Battlefield 3 On Xbox Live

Justin Alderman — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 01:59:00 +0000

Microsoft revealed the top titles on Xbox Live for the week of October 24th and as usual Call of Duty: Black Ops and Modern Warfare 2 topped the charts for user activity. Coming in third was Battlefield 3, during its launch week.

Granted the CoD games have much larger user bases, but on the other hand Modern Warfare 2 is two years old with its direct sequel coming out next week. The fact that Battlefield 3 could not knock it down a peg should be a little troubling for EA, since they have long touted it as a CoD killer.

Full Live Activity chart for the week of October 24th was as follows:

Call of Duty: Black Ops
Modern Warfare 2
Battlefield 3
Gears of War 3
FIFA 12
Halo: Reach
Batman: Arkham City
Madden NFL 12
Forza Motorsport 4
GTA IV
Call of Duty 4
NBA 2K12
FIFA Soccer 11
NHL12
Halo 3
Battlefield: Bad Co. 2
Call of Duty: WaW
NCAA Football 12
Dead Island
Red Dead Redemption

Source: Major Nelson

Enslaved: Odyssey to the West Available Now On Xbox Live Games On Demand

Justin Alderman — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 14:03:00 +0000

Namco Bandai has announced that their action adventure title Enslaved: Odyssey to the West is now available for download from Xbox Live games on demand for 29.99€.

Set in an post-apocalyptic America 150 years in the future, Enslaved is a re-telling of the old Chinese novel "Journey to the West". The game has the player take control of "Monkey" who is forced to help "Trip" find her way back to her home after she enslaves him by placing a device to his head.

The game is basically a simple platformer/brawler, however its real appeal is in the game's wonderful story and watching the relationship between the two characters develop as they travel through the world.

Enslaved fell far short of its sales goals when it was released last year, so this is a wonderful opportunity to go back and experience a truly beautiful and touching game.

Microsoft Announces Kinect Sensor Holiday Bundle

Justin Alderman — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 19:05:00 +0000

Microsoft announced today that they are prepping a new Kinect Holiday Bundle that includes Fruit Ninja Kinect, The Gunstringer and Kinect Adventures for $149.99. At least that is the bundle breakdown in North America, "individual offers may vary by region".

Provided you are actually interested in owning Kinect, this appears to be a decent deal. How knows? Maybe it will even help push Kinect up over the 10 million sold mark that they have been sitting on since June.

Source: Major Nelson

Microsoft Ships 10m Kinect Units During Its First Year

Justin Alderman — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 13:26:00 +0000

Microsoft's Kinect sensor is officially a year old this week and as part of the celebration the company revealed that the device has hit 10 million units sold life-to-date, which on the surface sounds pretty good.

The biggest problem here is that once you dig into the numbers things look a bit different. Kinect certainly got off to a good start with the company announcing that they had shipped 8 million units last January. That shipment number reached 10 million back in June, and now four months later the company is standing still on that number. On top of that after two months the free Kinect Fun Labs software had only been downloaded by 10% of the user base (1 million downloads).

You can't really call 10 million sold in a year a bust, but looking at the whole picture I would be hard pressed to call it a huge success.

Source: MCV

Activision announce Rapala for Kinect on Xbox 360

Chris Hawke — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 17:31:00 +0000

Activison have revealed a new title set for the Xbox 360's Kinect, which sees you taking on the big blue with your rod. Hang on...

I think I'll leave it at that.

Rapala for Kinect features an arcade style fishing experience controlled completely by a player’s movements with intuitive commands that creates a sport fishing title never before seen on Kinect for Xbox 360. One to four players will compete in exciting contests in a race against the clock. Traveling between fishing hot spots will boil down to fast paced, motor mashing player versus player races. A rapid fire, forty five seconds from cast to catch, ensures fun, quick and intense angling action. Players will drop in and out of the action with barely a pause.

Activision Publishing, Inc. and Rapala, the world’s leading fishing brand, announced today that Rapala® for Kinect will be available this November on Kinect™ for Xbox 360®. Featuring total-body motion controls, players will be able to cast, reel, set the hook and more as though there was an actual fishing rod in their hands.

“Pro-anglers and family gamers will go crazy for the immersive fishing experience presented in a familiar arcade style format,” said David Oxford, Executive Vice President of Activision Publishing. “Rapala for Kinect captures a simple and straightforward aesthetic with an emphasis on play!”

The arcade sheen lends a light heartedness to the sport fishing presentation. Bright, eye catching colors and cel-shaded models are geared towards a realistic and distinct Kinect for Xbox 360 title. Humorous features add replayability and user-generated content such as recording your face to paste it onto one of the game’s boss fish. Additionally, all in-game Rapala branded lures have unique personalities and will communicate with hilariously entertaining jibber jabber. Social connectivity will extend beyond online gameplay with complete Facebook integration to share the best catches with friends.

That game is due out this November with a blindingly obvious E rating.

All Xbox 360's to have a matte finish

Cathal Geoghegan — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 10:31:00 +0000

Microsoft's, Major Nelson, has revealed that all future Xbox 360's will have a matte finish, with the current glossy models being made redundant. Major Nelson has also warned consumers that if they want a glossy console, they will have to purchase it now in order to prevent disappointment.

However, special editions of the Xbox 360 may still have a glossy finish, such as the upcoming Gears of War 3 console.

Rise of Nightmares trailer released

Cathal Geoghegan — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 11:18:00 +0000

The folks over at Sega, have released the latest trailer for "The Rise of Nightmares". The trailer, sees a vulgar grandmother preaching to her grandchildren, that they must kill zombies instead of playing dancing games.

Rise of Nightmares will be launch exclusively on the Kinect for the Xbox 360, this September. Rise of Nightmares will be a survival horror, that sees the player assume the role of a tourist that must save his wife from a mad scientist and an almost endless zombie hoard.

Rod Fergusson reveals special sale, weapon unlocks and boss-killing scoreboard in Gears of War 3

Andrew Whipple III — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 05:40:00 +0000

Earlier today, specifically at 5:30 EST, Executive Producer Rod Fergusson divulged a plethora of information about Gears of War 3 via live stream. Revealing what special perks gamers would receive if they achieved the time-consuming "Veteran Gear" achievement, Mr. Fergusson also let loose some additional information about weapon unlocks and unique events in the coming months. Additionally, he went on to confirm a special digital sale for the first two games.

Watch live video from epicgamesinc on Justin.tv

If you're one of the minority of Gears players who have unlocked the rather daunting "Veteran Gear" achievement, rest assured that Epic Games has your back in the form of some cool in-game rewards for Gears of War 3. "Veteran Gear" requires you reach level 100 as well as winning one match on each of the Snowblind DLC maps. It might sound like much but Mr. Fergusson said that only 2% of the Gears community has earned this achievement. Notable indeed.

To celebrate the people who have obtained it, Epic will bestow upon them all five gold weapons which include the Lancer, Retro-Lancer, Gnasher, Sawed-Off, and Hammerburst. They will also receive a specialized medal and personal title for the completing the deed. Considering that originally Epic was only going to dole out the gold Gnasher as reward for the trouble, this is quite an advancement.

Now for those who can't/won't go through the heinous acts of unlocking that bastard of an achievement, Mr. Fergusson has confirmed that there will be multiple other ways to obtain the same rewards. You know, if that gold and glowy stuff gets you all hot and bothered.

It's kind of neat they're being all nostalgic, but if you have the achievement "Commando" from the very first Gears of War you'll unlock the gold Sawed-Off without a hitch. Also, if you played the beta and successfully completed some of the challenges within it, you'll unlock said gold weapons like the Lancer and Retro-Lancer. If none of those pertain to you then just play Gears of War 3 during its first week of release and you'll net the gold Gnasher.

After saying all that, some of you out there are probably like me and say "I don't care about gold weapons or any of that shaz, give me something worth knowing!" Well, Mr. Fergusson did have some additional things to say, one of them being five special events planned for every weekend up until the release of Gears of War 3. Starting August 20th, each weekend in Gears of War 2 will be filled with events that will not only increase your experience to gain those almighty level 100 wings, but also contain surprises Epic will reveal as the dates come closer (probably something in Horde).

Mr. Fergusson also went on to say that the week of August 23rd would be an important one. Why? Because Gears of War 1 and 2 will be going on a special digital sale for the US, UK, and Canada for only a single week. The discounted price was not revealed, not it's a safe bet to assume that it'll probably be 50% off each game.

All this was nice, but just before the stream ended a couple of prodding questions were answered. The first was about the Gears of War 3 Xbox 360 console, controller, and the special infected skins.

The question: What skins will you get if you buy the console and/or controller?

The answer: Both the console and/or the controller purchase will net you the infected skins. The skins are significant in their animation as they glow and pulse.

The second was about Gears of War 3's Horde 2.0 mode.

The question: Can you kill bosses with the falling scoreboard in the map "Thrashball?"

The answer: Yes, yes you can.

Alright, to make this easy on the eyes here's everything that was revealed in list form!

Gold Gnasher
- Complete the "Veteran Gear" achievement in Gears 2
- Play the first week of retail release

Gold Sawed-Off
- Complete the "Veteran Gear" achievement in Gears 2
- Complete the "Commando" achievement in Gears 1

Gold Lancer
- Complete the "Veteran Gear" achievement in Gears 2
- Completed challenges in the Gears of War 3 Beta

Gold Retro-Lancer
- Complete the "Veteran Gear" achievement in Gears 2
- Completed challenges in the Gears of War 3 Beta

Gold Hammerburst
- Complete the "Veteran Gear" achievement in Gears 2
- Completed challenges in the Gears of War 3 Beta

- "Veteran Gear" nets you a specialized medal, title, and all gold weapons
- August 20th begins five weekends of specialized XP events and such leading up to the release of Gears 3
- August 23rd starts the week of a special digital sale for both Gears of War 1 and 2 (price not yet confirmed)
- Purchase of the Gears of War 3 console OR controller nets you all five infected skins
- The scoreboard in the map "Thrashball" will indeed kill boss creatures in the new Horde mode

Gears of War 3 official live stream to unveil hidden perk tomorrow 5:30 EST

Andrew Whipple III — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 02:32:00 +0000

Tomorrow executive producer of Gears of War 3, Rod Fergusson will be committing to a live stream at precisely 5:30 EST. Besides showing off the title, Mr. Fergusson touts that he will unveil something very, very special for the players who managed to unlock the "Veteran Gear" achievement in Gears of War 2.

GearsViking:
"Tomorrow during my live stream, I will reveal what people with the Veteran Gear achievement in Gears 2 earn in Gears of War 3."

This information was revealed via a tweet by the headman himself. Also, that achievement is no joke.

Veteran Gear
Reach level 100 and win a match on each of the 4 Snowblind Map Pack maps (Public only)

So not only do you have to reach the absolute end of the spectrum as far as levels go, you also must have purchased the Snowblind DLC. Then again, towards the end of the second Gears' term there have been plenty of insane multipliers to increase your ranking. You could also get all of the DLC since it now comes bundled with the Game of the Year Edition.

Regardless, getting more visuals of the game is appealing enough but I'm extremely curious to see what Epic has in store for its most committed Gears fans. Oh and the link for the live stream will be displayed on their Twitter when the time comes.

Rage install to be 22GB

Cathal Geoghegan — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 12:21:00 +0000

id Software's John Carmack, has confirmed at Quakecon, that the Xbox 360 version of Rage, will have an install of 22GB. Carmack also confirmed that there will be no partial install available. Installing the game on your Xbox will improve the load times of the game but will also take up a sizeable chunk of the Xbox's memory, as well as taking a long time to install the game initially.

Rage will be released on the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC this October

New Calibur 11 Trailer - the Xbox 360 case of the future

Chris Hawke — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 15:43:00 +0000

Calibur 11 release a new trailer showing their new Xbox 360 case. What's so special about an Xbox 360 case, you say? This one has claymores.

It's like something ripped from iRobot. Watch out for a Gear of War 3 case to be revealed closer to Gamescom.

The Sun's front page tomorrow is another 'Death By Xbox' headline

Chris Hawke — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 23:25:00 +0000

Yesterday, the tragic story of a young girl who suddenly died after playing Xbox was picked up by The Sun, here. While the article did say the 13-year-old died 'suffering a heart attack while playing on her Xbox', it never explicitly said that gaming caused the death. Tomorrow's front page of the The Sun (UK) is a lot more unambiguous.

'Death By Xbox', screams the headline, making a clear link that playing too much Xbox has lead to a blood-clod that killed Chris, 20. The Sun has an awful reputation when it comes to blaming video games for violent behaviour or even a horrific death, and honestly, this headline isn't very surprising from them.

In any case, it's very saddening to hear of such a heartbreaking loss of life.

Can you become a true knight in The Last Story?

Simon McCann — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 12:59:00 +0000

The Last Story is the latest action-packed RPG to come from Hironobu Sakaguchi, available in Europe exclusively on Wii from February 24^th 2012.

The Last Story features time-honoured RPG gameplay and story elements but also adds modern twists to the traditional RPG formula. Customise your items and character and master the innovative combat system to succeed in this epic new RPG universe.

During The Last Story you take control of Zael and from time to time his partners, a band of mercenaries in search of their fortune. You undertake a series of missions and explore Lazulis Island and its sprawling medieval capital Lazulis City, while trying to help Zael achieve his ultimate goal of leaving his life as a mercenary behind and becoming a true knight.

The Last Story features a high level of customisation for both items and characters appearance. There are two main ways of customising your party’s equipment including visiting blacksmiths to increase their abilities and using dyes to change their colour. By visiting the various blacksmiths who are situated within Lazulis City and within some dungeons you can upgrade your weapons and armour.

Unlike many other RPGs, The Last Story not only features a thrilling single player campaign with an engaging story, but also Online Multiplayer options including Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch and Co-Op modes. Now you can battle against or alongside up to five other RPG fans from across Europe using your own customised character from the Single Player game.

Master the innovative combat system, customise your character and gather items you discover throughout the game, and by utilising new features in The Last Story you will be able to take on the many enemies and bosses that can be found across Lazulis Island. Combat mixes traditional melee, ranged and magic attacks that are often found in RPGs with an innovative cover system and unique magical abilities. You will have to master a mysterious ability called The Gathering to help Zael and his band of mercenaries complete their missions and battle vast bosses by discovering their weak spots, picking a suitable strategy and using team work to bring them down.

Super Pokemon Rumble is out now and 2 exclusive launch day codes are included

Simon McCann — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 12:52:00 +0000

Befriend over 600 Toy Pokémon in the action-packed 3D world of Super Pokémon Rumble, available exclusively on Nintendo 3DS today!

Select and create your own elite team of Toy Pokémon from those you’ve encountered, and prepare for high-octane action in real-time battles with other Toy Pokémon and giant Boss Pokémon!

As a launch day treat, we even have 2 exclusive passwords to unlock 2 special Toy Pokémon in your game. For Victini enter the following password 90827838 and for Pikachu enter 75805216. Keep an eye out as both Toy Pokémon will appear somewhere in your game; when you find and defeat them in battle, they are guaranteed to befriend you. Ensure you talk to Munna in Easterly Town, which is the second town you’ll visit in the game. After entering the correct password, Munna will tell you where to befriend the special Toy Pokémon. Additional exclusive passwords will also be revealed soon.

In Super Pokémon Rumble there’s an epic adventure awaiting you in the towns and wilds of Toyland, with scores of different Toy Pokémon to befriend. As well as single-player mode, you can team up with a friend and take on the challenge together in co-op mode - and there’s also a Nintendo 3DS StreetPass function, which allows you to send your Toy Pokémon Collection into battle against fellow players you pass by in the street!

One in three Wii owners bought Mario Kart Wii

Justin Alderman — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 16:51:00 +0000

Since launching back in April 2008, Mario Kart Wii has sold an amazing 28 million units according to an Wired.com article. That gives the game around a 94% sell through rate, according to Nintendo's latest shipment data, and puts the game in the home of one out of every three Wii console owners.

It's an amazing but common accomplishment for The Big N who regularly bucks the video industry trend by having their titles sell steadily for years after they are released.

Resident Evil: Revelations & Circle Pad Pro set for January 2012 release

Simon McCann — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 12:15:00 +0000

Prepare for a survival horror experience when Resident Evil: Revelations launches exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS system across Europe on 27^th January 2012.

Developed by Capcom specifically to take advantage of the Nintendo 3DS features, Resident Evil: Revelations will be available to players across Europe as a stand alone game and as a special limited edition bundle which also includes the new Circle Pad Pro accessory. Get ready for Resident Evil: Revelations to deliver a true return to classic Resident Evil survival horror gameplay.

Set in 2005, Resident Evil: Revelations uncovers truths from the Resident Evil storyline between Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 5 and is packed with terrifying moments that deliver a constant fear of the unknown through an intense canon storyline which is full of depth.

Intertwining story themes work together to build a brand new narrative with new locations and characters bringing intrigue and suspense around every corner. Series favourite characters from previous Resident Evil games return including Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield plus new BSAA members and head of the BSAA Clive R. O’Brian and mysterious agent Raymond Vester

Jill Valentine and BSAA partner Parker Luciani have been sent to search for Chris Redfield, whose last known GPS data positions him as being onboard a supposedly abandoned cruise ship. Danger hides around every corner as you explore the confined space of the ship and face a menacing new enemies and virus; the T-Abyss.

Resident Evil: Revelations heralds the return of classic Resident Evil game play. In Campaign Mode you can investigate a range of different locations including the dark cramped spaces of a cruise ship and some treacherous snow covered mountains. With limited ammo and weapons, you fight off the infected enemies that lurk around every corner.

The brand new Raid Mode offers a different kind of Resident Evil gameplay experience, separate to the main campaign story, in either solo or co-op play. Compete in single player or two player co-op as Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield on a variety of missions to defeat enemies. Earn points for the enemies you attack and select from a range of upgrades to improve your weapon’s performance as well as levelling up your character. Both Campaign Mode and Raid Mode will provide players with a rich experience full of depth that will keep players continually engrossed in the game

Built from the ground up specifically to make the best use of the Nintendo 3DS capabilities, players can now add a fourth control scheme to their Nintendo 3DS gameplay experience with the new Circle Pad Pro accessory which attached to the Nintendo 3DS system. Use specific button combinations for more effective or expert play, or as a traditional “twin-stick shooter”. You can also make use of the Touch Screen to solve puzzles, switch between weapons more easily and check out the labyrinthine map.

Experience this intense survival horror which is only available on your Nintendo 3DS system when Resident Evil: Revelations launches across Europe on 27^th January 2012 as a stand alone game and as a limited edition bundle which includes a copy of the game and the new Circle Pad Pro accessory.

Nintendo prepping 2012 casual push for 3DS

Justin Alderman — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 21:07:00 +0000

Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime recently told the AOL games blog that the company is planning to expand their 3DS strategy to attract "more casual consumers" and plans to show off several titles aimed at that market around E3 2012.

“My expectation is that, come E3, I think we'll be showcasing a range of different titles that, for a more casual consumer, they'll see reasons to jump on board with the Nintendo 3DS."

“For all of the success we've had with DS, 50m units here in the US, content with a bit more of an edge from key third party publishers really never came to the platform. So, one of the first things that will differentiate the 3DS is that we are getting that type of content. And probably the best example of that is the Resident Evil game that will come out next year from Capcom. Beautiful game, and if you love Resident Evil, it's everything that you want."

“In terms of other genres, absolutely we will continue to push the envelope with new, unique, differentiated experiences that you can only get on the Nintendo 3DS and that widen the consumer demographic."

“So, will there be content to appeal to consumers 50 plus the way Brain Age did? Absolutely. Will there be content that's going to appeal to women the way we are able to do with the DS? Absolutely. I can't go into the details of what exactly those titles will be, but stay tuned. There is information that we'll be sharing prior to E3, plus a lot of information at E3 as well.”

The main problem with marketing to the casual consumer now with the 3DS is that this is the group that has moved on from dedicated handheld systems and is perfectly happy with their iOS/Android phones. I'm not sure that is a group that can ever be convinced to purchase a new dedicated gaming handheld system.

On a side note, it's a little scary to think that we have already seen Nintendo's big 3DS push to bring in core gamers. Don't get me wrong, there are a handful of really quality core games for the system (or ones that are coming soon) but I was not under the impression that Nintendo was really trying hard to capture the core gamer with their first year efforts on the 3DS.

25% Of Kids Want A 3DS For Christmas

Justin Alderman — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 21:09:00 +0000

Nielsen has published their kids' holiday wish list for 2011 and topping the video game system list is the 3DS with 25% of kids aged 6-12 saying they want Nintendo's latest handheld. However this bit of good news for The Big N is tempered by the fact that 44% of those same kids are also asking for an iPad (which I can confirm is a desired gift by a certain 7-year-old in my house who is going to be disappointed very Christmas morning).

Further down on the video game side of the list is Microsoft's Kinect (23%), followed by the gold old DS (22%) and the PS3 (17%). Tied for last place, even below the Wii at 11%, is Sony's PlayStation Move and PSP with only 10% of kids hoping to see either one under their Christmas tree.

Check out the full list down below and Nielsen's full report here.

Source: GoNintendo

3DS On Track To Surpass First-Year DS Sales In U.S.

Justin Alderman — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 03:26:00 +0000

During the first year the Nintendo DS sold 2.37 million units in the U.S., with half of those sales occurring during the first Holiday shopping season. As of the end of October 2011 Nintendo has sold 1.65 million 3DS systems in the U.S., meaning if the 3DS follows the same Holiday sales pattern that the DS did Nintendo's new handheld will easily surpass first year DS sales.

To make sure Nintendo will hit that goal they have prepared a two punch combo of Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 for release this Holiday season.

My guess is that Nintendo's plumber will work his video game magic once again and not only give the 3DS a great end to its first year but also continue to push hardware sales well into 2012.

Full press release below:

NINTENDO 3DS POISED TO SURPASS FIRST-YEAR SALES OF NINTENDO DS

In its eighth month on the market, the Nintendo 3DS™ system crossed 1.65 million units sold in the U.S., according to the NPD Group, which tracks video game sales in the United States. This milestone puts the platform on track to surpass the first-year total of Nintendo DS™, the best-selling game platform in U.S. history.

The Nintendo DS system sold 2.37 million units in its first 12 months (November 2004-October 2005), with approximately 50 percent of those sales occurring in the holiday time frame. With its first holiday season and the launches of the Super Mario 3D Land™ and Mario Kart™ 7 games on the horizon, Nintendo 3DS is poised to eclipse that number and establish a new benchmark for hand-held gaming launches in the United States.

"With a massive lineup of software on the way and the first-year sales record of Nintendo DS in its sights, Nintendo 3DS enters its first holiday season with a full head of steam," said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of Sales & Marketing.

Other Nintendo news from the month includes:
• Nintendo sold more than 675,000 combined hardware units in October. This includes more than 250,000 units of Nintendo 3DS, nearly 250,000 Wii™ systems and nearly 180,000 units of the Nintendo DS family of systems.

• For the year, Nintendo has sold a combined 7 million hardware units and more than 55 million units of software have been sold for Nintendo platforms. Both of these numbers should increase with the Nov. 20 launch of The Legend of Zelda™: Skyward Sword for Wii.

• Both Wii, up 8 percent year over year, and Nintendo DS, up 23 percent over the previous month, demonstrated strong momentum heading into their respective sixth and eighth holiday seasons. In total, the two platforms have sold more than 87 million combined hardware units and more than 540 million combined units of software in the United States.

505 Games' Cooking Mama Franchise Sales Hit 12m Units

Justin Alderman — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 17:07:00 +0000

505 Games announced today that the Cooking Mama franchise has sold 12 million units across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Australia since it first launched on the DS back in 2006, a feat that would surely make even the hard to please Mama happy.

Europe accounts for 3.5 million of the global sales, with the bulk of that (2 million copies) in the hands of UK gamers. A breakdown of sales in the other territories that 505 Games' handles was not provided.

Since the original Cooking Mama debuted in 2006 the brand has expanded to include non-cooking titles like; Gardening Mama, Cooking Mama World: Hobbies & Fun (a crafting game), and Babysitting Mama.

Next up for Mama is the release of Cooking Mama 4 on the 3DS and Cooking Mama World: Outdoor Adventures on Nintendo DS. Both games are scheduled to launch on November 25th.

Nintendo Planning New Zelda Title For 3DS

Justin Alderman — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 15:52:00 +0000

Long time Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma recently confirmed that the company is planning to release a new Legend of Zelda title on the 3DS that will be less like previous DS Zelda games and more like a console version.

“We are already preparing a new game, a game in the series for the Nintendo 3DS, but don’t think that it is a direct sequel to the Zelda titles released on DS. We are talking about a new game, but it takes much of what has been done on previous consoles.”

Aonuma also mentioned that they are "considering" the idea of releasing a Zelda: Majora's Mask remake but right now it doesn't "feel right" to launch another Zelda remake right after Ocarina of Time 3D.

Developing a new Zelda for the 3DS is a much superior idea than pulling out another remake. The system needs as much new original software as Nintendo can pump out right now.

With that said in a year or two playing through an updated Majora's Mask seems like a very nice idea indeed.

Source: IGN

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword - Origins Trailer

Justin Alderman — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 19:08:00 +0000

Speaking as a long time Zelda fan, I've had some trouble getting excited for the release of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Fortunately Nintendo has stepped up to help fix that over the last few months with some incredible videos, including the "Origins" trailer which was released today.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword launches for the Wii on November 20th. Check out the new trailer down below, and make sure to let us know in the comments if you are ready to jump on the Zelda hype train.

Iwata Never Intended Wii To Be A "Casual" System

Justin Alderman — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 15:26:00 +0000

Speaking at an investor Q&A session, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata revealed that it was never the company's intention to have the Wii marketed only to "casual" gamers. Iwata claims that their attempts to make games for both new and "core" gamers were misunderstood by consumers and left the impression that the console was a "casual" system.

"There was a misunderstanding that Nintendo was dedicated to such games at some stage of the lifespans of the Wii and the Nintendo DS. We have made efforts to develop video games that are in tune with various consumer tastes; however, we have not been able to gain adequate consumer understanding regarding our intentions, while in the common perception there are no or few core users playing Nintendo platforms, which is not the case."

"Every avid game player was once a beginner, or in other words, there are no born advanced player. Unless we create a flow from beginner to expert by offering an entrance for beginners and the processes for a beginner to become an intermediate user and from an intermediate to an advanced player, the video game industry will gradually shrink."

Creating software to bring new players in and turn them into "core" gamers is an important goal in order to expand the market, but the unfortunate result of that plan was that the best selling third-party games on the Wii ended up being of the "casual" type. Unfairly (because there are several great "core" games on the system) this has left Nintendo with a "kiddy" image.

It's possible for the company to turn that around with the Wii U, but it will require them to market the system in a completely different way than they way they did with the Wii and I'm not convinced that they are prepared to do that.

Source: IGN

Resident Evil: Revelations Will Cost $10 More Than Normal 3DS Games

Justin Alderman — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 14:09:00 +0000

When Resident Evil: Revelations launches on February 7, 2012 in North America (January 27th in the UK) the game will carry a $50 MSRP, putting it $10 higher than other 3DS titles. Capcom explained to Kotaku that the reason for the higher price tag is because all the awesomeness packed into the game required a larger cartridge.

"Resident Evil Revelations is an all new Resident Evil title with over 20 hours of gameplay, and cutscenes beautifully rendered in fear-inducing 3D. A true console experience on a handheld device, Resident Evil Revelations is an epic title that offers both a single-player campaign for that classic survival horror gaming experience, and an additional RAID mode that can be played cooperatively or single player. To handle all of that data Resident Evil Revelations requires a 4GB cartridge, resulting in a higher price point." - Capcom spokesperson

Considering that the game is said to be a return to true survival horror for the franchise, I don't have a problem paying the extra scratch. However, Capcom really needs to knock it out of the park to justify the higher price tag.

Speak up in the comments down below and let us know how you guys feel about a $50 3DS game, and if you think Resident Evil: Revelations will be worth the extra cost.

Iwata: No Additional 3DS Price Drops, Some Software Intentionally Delayed Until 2012

Justin Alderman — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 14:33:00 +0000

Speaking at an investor Q&A session last week, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata revealed that the company has no plans in the near future to cut the price of the Nintendo 3DS and they are intentionally not releasing some software for the system this year to avoid their already "dense" Holiday lineup.

"[We are] not anticipating a situation where we must expand the hardware by generating a large loss on the sales of the hardware... During the fiscal year ending March 2013, we are expecting the profitability of Nintendo 3DS hardware to improve significantly..."

"Video games need to stay fresh, so it is not practical for us to put them on hold for too long, but we think that some of them may be held for a certain amount of time so that there will be a short interval between when they are completed and when they are launched... [the 3DS release schedule is] so dense that, if we added any more software, the total sales would not increase. Accordingly, we have intentionally delayed the launch of some software titles to early next year."

Iwata did not mention which specific titles were delayed, but the move is a smart one for the company to make. One of the major problems that the 3DS has had during its short life is a lack of compelling software. The release of Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 should go a long way towards fixing that problem for the rest of 2011. Anything else that Nintendo is holding back will help smooth out any blank spots in their 2012 release schedule.

Source: Gamasutra

WWE All Stars 3DS trailer released

Alex Wozniak — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 19:11:00 +0000

THQ have released a new trailer for the 3DS version of their wrestling title WWE All Stars. Check out the trailer below.

The trailer shows lots of burly men in spandex grappling with one another, and at times glowing in a strange golden manner. I'm not sure if it is an entirely accurate representation of wrestling, but then I've never been the biggest fan so I could very well be mistaken.

WWE All Stars is due for release on the 3DS on 25th November 2011, and features 2 new game modes and all the DLC characters from the console versions.

Metal Gear Solid 3D, trailer released

Cathal Geoghegan — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 15:24:00 +0000

A trailer for the upcoming 3DS game, Metal Gear Solid 3D: Snake Eater, has been released. Metal Gear Solid 3D: Snake Eater will be released later this year.

Monster Hunter: Tri G trailer released

Cathal Geoghegan — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 11:57:00 +0000

The folks over at Capcom have released a trailer for their upcoming Monster Hunter game, Tri G. Monster Hunter: Tri G will be a port of the Wii version of the game that was released last year. The 3DS version will also require Nintendo's new game pad attachment.

Monster Hunter Tri is available for the Wii now, with the 3DS version being released this December.

Thanks Edge

GameInformer's October cover is Zelda: Skyward Sword

Chris Hawke — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 19:09:00 +0000

GameInformer have revealed the next game to adorn their magazine; The Legend Of Zelda: Skyward Sword.

The magazine will have 14-pages of retrospective nostalgia, complete with personal musing from the staff, and a 10-page blowout of Skyward Sword news. Expect details on game mechanics, interviews with series creator Eiji Aonuma, and a whole lot more. It may not have the punch of the Borderlands 2 reveal, but Nintendo fans have something new to get excited about. Finally.

You can see GameInformer's own article here. Below is also a fullscreen image of the entire cover art;

Those of you in Europe can look forward to a pretty awesome bundle when the game lands on Wii on November 18th.

Shareholders want Nintendo to develop games for phones and tablets

Cathal Geoghegan — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 13:33:00 +0000

As Nintendo's share value falls, many of it's investors are demanding that Nintendo branch out and develop games for mobile phones and tablets. Nintendo's shares are currently at a six year low, and many shareholders beleive that this is due to the release of the 3DS as well as the increasing popularity of gaming on phones and tablets.

This may not happen however, as Nintendo President, Satoru Iwata, has stated that Nintendo will never make games for other platforms, as long as he is in charge. Iwata is following this to the detriment of his company it seems. Early this year, the price of Nintendo shares started to increase, when it was announced that a Pokemon game for mobile phones was in development. When Nintendo announced this was not the case, shares began to fall again.

Nintendo's shareholders may be right it seems. Many other game companies are branching out into mobile devices to huge success. Last month EA purchased the casual games company, Popcap, for over $1 billion and it is reported that Zynga, the facebook gaming giant, is worth over $7 billion. Without a doubt, gaming on mobile phones and tablets seems to be the way forward, only the future will tell if Nintendo realises this.

Thanks Bloomberg

'Scribblenauts Remix' domain registered, new game on the way?

Chris Hawke — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 18:17:00 +0000

Yet another superannuation scoop may have blown the lid off a brand new Scribblenauts game entitled Remix.

If memory serves you well, you'll remember that Scribblenauts was a cute and innovative DS game that let you type in almost any word to help solve puzzles. A new domain has been registered by Warner Bros:

Scribblenautsremix.com

Registrant:
Domain Name Administrator
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
4000 Warner Blvd.
Burbank CA 91522
US

It's hardly surprising, but it's very welcome news.

Nintendo apologises to 3DS owners

Cathal Geoghegan — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 13:17:00 +0000

Nintendo CEO, Satoru Iwata has issued a public apology to Nintendo 3DS owners. The apology follows the world wide price cut in the 3DS, only a few months after its initial release.

The price cut which will come into effect from the 11th of August, will see the retail price of the 3DS fall from $249.99 to $169.99.

Iwata's apology, translated by GiantBomb follows.

To Those Customers Who Bought A Nintendo 3DS Before The Price Change

Greetings, everyone. This is Satoru Iwata from Nintendo.

Thank you very much for purchasing a Nintendo 3DS.

We have just announced a price drop for the Nintendo 3DS system effective on August 11 [August 12 in North America].

In the past, there have been price drops for video game systems some time after their release in order to broaden the user base further. However, never before has Nintendo chosen to issue such a dramatic price drop less than 6 months after a system release.

We are all too keenly aware that those of you who supported us by purchasing the 3DS in the beginning may feel betrayed and criticize this decision.

This unprecedented timing for a price cut is because the situation has changed greatly since we originally launched the 3DS. We decided it was necessary to take this drastic step in order to ensure that large numbers of users will continue to enjoy the 3DS in the future.

If the software creators and those on the retail side are not confident that the Nintendo 3DS is a worthy successor to the DS and will achieve a similarly broad (user) base, it will be impossible for the 3DS to gain popularity, acquire a wide range of software, and eventually create the product cycle necessary for everyone to be satisfied with the system.

Those customers who purchased the 3DS at the very beginning are extremely important to us. We know that there is nothing we can do to completely make up for the feeling that you are being punished for buying the system early. Still, we would like to offer the following as a sign of our appreciation to you.

We feel a strong responsibility to develop the 3DS as a platform — to ensure that, in the end, everyone is satisfied; we will make every effort to do so.

Additionally, we know everyone is waiting for Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7. They are scheduled for release in November and December, respectively, so we ask for your patience until then.

Thank you again, and we look forward to your continued support.

Thanks Giantbomb

Warner Bros. Montreal working on the Wii U port of Batman: Arkham City

Chris Hawke — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 21:20:00 +0000

Superannuation has once again found some information on a CV; this time, pertaining to Batman swooping in on the Wii U. A Senior Programmer for Warner Bros. Montreal lists his work porting Rocksteady's latest superhero romp to Nintendo's new console.

Here's the resume:

Senior programmer
Warner Bros. Games Montreal

Public Company; Entertainment industry

May 2011 – Present (3 months)

Getting Batman Arkham City on the Wii U.

It's good to see WB keeping the development in-house, rather than letting another company scrabble together a Wii U version while they focus on PS3, Xbox and PC. With any luck, we can expect the same level of quality across the board.

Amazon suspends the shipment of 3DS consoles

Cathal Geoghegan — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 11:31:00 +0000

MCVUK, has reported that Amazon has removed Nintendo's latest hand-held device, the 3DS from their site.

Amazon's response:

“While this item is available from other marketplace sellers on this page, it is not currently offered by Amazon.com because customers have told us there may be something wrong with our inventory of the item, the way we are shipping it, or the way it's described here.

“We’re working to fix the problem as quickly as possible.”

As of the time of writing, the 3DS is still unavailable on the site. Nintendo has yet to comment on the issue.

Pokemon Rumble Blast to be released outside Japan

Cathal Geoghegan — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 09:35:00 +0000

It has been confirmed that Polemon Rumble Blast for the 3DS, will be released in North America this October. Pokemon Rumble Blast will be the first Pokemon game available for the 3DS and it will differ greatly to previous Pokemon games. Rumble Blast will put player against waves of toy Pokemon that can be collected, reaching a maximum at 600 toy Pokemon.

Rumble Blast will also include co-operative play and it will utilise Street Pass, to allow the player to battle other players they meet through their journeys.

Thanks Nintendo Universe

Rockstar working on new handheld game, features 'complex hand-to-hand systems'

Alex Wozniak — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 17:46:00 +0000

Rockstar are known for their secrecy. Rumour has it that the blinds in Rockstar North's Edinburgh office are permanently shut to prevent anyone peeking in from the overlooking Calton Hill, and they keep any games they have in development under strict lock and key. We're just glad that's not the same for trademarks. Whilst Grand Theft Auto V is reported to be 'well under development' and Agent is in multiplatform limbo, Rockstar surely have more titles on the way, right? Short answer: most likely. And SystemLink can exclusively reveal some details on a possible new game.

A former employee at Rockstar Leeds, the studio behind Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, has left some intriguing information regarding a Nintendo DS title that they worked on whilst at the company.

Clearly visible is the fact the employee worked on "an unannounced DS title set in a full 3D open world", which featured "various AI Systems including a complex hand to hand combat system". Whilst Chinatown Wars did feature a '3D open world'', there was no hint of a complex hand to hand combat system.

The above, from another Rockstar Leeds employee, shows a title featuring 2D and 3D art, as you would expect lots of on a handheld title, is still in production.

So, what is this mysterious title? The case may be this is a portable game to tie in with another release or series, similar to the various Grand Theft Auto handheld spinoffs; however, we can't tell whether this is a Nintendo DS exclusive or whether Rockstar Leeds just worked on that specific platform for a multiplatform game. Another possibility (which we hope isn't true) is that the game is no longer under development, given that the employee finished his time at Rockstar Leeds working on L.A. Noire. Nevertheless, since the other employee is still working on a similar game, it's likely the project is ongoing. It should be noted, though, that the second resume doesn't give a platform. It would be odd for Rockstar to develop for DS but not 3DS; since work was already done on gameplay mechanics and an open world, it is perfectly possible that the game has now shifted onto the newer 3DS platform.

Seeing how so many of Rockstar's games feature open world AI, it's very hard to tell which IP this may belong to, if it is indeed part of an already established series. Remember that some New England job listings point ever so slightly towards a Bully 2. However; a complex hand-to-hand system is something we don't see much of in Rockstar's games. Got any ideas? Leave them in the comments below.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 trailer released

Cathal Geoghegan — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 12:34:00 +0000

EA has released the final trailer, for the DS version, of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. The game, which will be released on the 15 July, will conclude the Harry Potter series, which has been going for over 10 years.

The game will also be available on the PS3, Xbox 360, PC and Wii.

Anniversary event reveals new Resident Evil 6 details

Simon McCann — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:01:00 +0000

The internet has been ablaze with speculation for all week and was finally put out of it's misery with an official reveal trailer for Resident Evil 6.

As a part of the 15th anniversary of the Resident Evil franchise, an event was help in Japan which saw Executive producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi, producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi and director Eiichiro Sasaki take to the stage to divulge some interesting information about the new title.

The three gentlemen seemed very happy to be making the announcements and starting off by telling the amassed crowd that they (Capcom) had been working on Resident Evil 6 for a few years now completely in secret.

Resident Evil 6 boasts the series largest staff count with a figure of around 150 people, but Hirabayashi noted that when you add in overseas staff and other contributing parties, it comes to over 600.

Kobayashi said that the game is being made to be the "ultimate horror entertainment." He mentioned two key concepts:

The fear that lies ahead (like maybe something will jump out at you when you turn the corner, and so-forth)
Everything is overwhelming -- the scale, the story, the feeling of being there.

Without giving away any secrets, Kobayashi also mentioned that zombies have finally returned to the game and that there will be many secrets surrounding them in the game.

Although zombies will be a bigger focus in terms of what players will be fighting most often they will not be the only things in the game wanting to kill you. He shared an image of the Javo creature but didn't offer any specific details about the creature. Though he did tease that it's very existence will have even greater consequences than the zombies themselves.

It was mentioned that gamers will be able to play as both Chris and Leon. Kobayasho also revealed there will be a third male lead character in the game but did not share any details about him other than an image (seen at the very top of this post).

The game will start out in America with the President about to make an official statement about bioterror and the Raccoon City incident. If you have seen the trailer, you'll know what happens next. The president himself is turned into a zombie following a bioterror attack.

Leon is at the side of the President when he is about to make his statement when the attack, and change, occurs. Escaping, he partners with a girl named Helen Harper, who was on security detail, and the two end up traveling together.

Meanwhile, Chris is working a bioterror case in China. His and Leon's stories will progress simultaneously. The China side of the game's story will take place primarily in one particular city.

Kobayashi and producer Masachiko Kawata took the stage to introduce Resident Evil Revelations, debuting a new story heavy trailer that will be posted to the game's official site later.

Following a live demonstration of Raid Mode by the game's director and assistant producer, Kawata revealed one bit of new Revelations info: Raid Mode has four unlockable rare weapons.

Attendees at the event were lucky enough to play a demo of Resident Evil Revelations a week ahead of it's release.

Kobayashi detailed a weekly manga, Resident Evil themed sunglasses from Recs, Resident Evil apparel, and other goods.

In closing, Kobayashi promised a variety of additional developments leading up to March.

Bethesda reveal new Fallout: New Vegas Ultimate Edition

Simon McCann — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 12:20:00 +0000

Good news everyone! Bethesda have revealed a new trailer concerning an 'Ultimate' edition of their fantastic title, Fallout: New Vegas.

The complete package looks set to save consumers a bundle in terms of DLC and will also feature the latest cache of unique weapons, ammo types and recipes from the most recent add-on packs.

This complete package, which includes the full version of Fallout: New Vegas as well as the Dead Money, Honest Hearts, Old World Blues and Lonesome Road add-on packs, allows you to experience everything that New Vegas has to offer.

To sweeten the deal even more, gamers will also receive the latest cache of unique weapons, ammo types and recipes from the most recent add-on packs Courier's Stash and Gun Runners Arsenal.

Fallout: New Vegas Ultimate Edition will be available in retail stores across North America on February 7^th 2012 and throughout Europe on February 10^th for the the PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.

An in-depth look at the Darksiders 2 protagonist, Death

Simon McCann — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 11:58:00 +0000

THQ have released a new video for the upcoming Darksiders sequel, Darksiders 2.

Darksiders 2 will remove the focus from the previous game's protagonist, War, and place the next of the Four Horseman of The Apocolyspe firmly in the limelight. Say hello to your new hero, Death!

Death is all set to be the new protagonist in the upcoming sequal and he looks like he truly enjoys dishing out a healthy dose of killing bad guys. I guess we can safely assume why he has the name he does.

Take a look at the video below and see how Death and Darksiders 2 is shaping up.

The more I see of Darksiders 2, the more eager I am for that all important release date announcement. So far, all we know is that it will be released on the PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.

Capcom officially announces Resident Evil 6 with trailer, release date

Casey Shaunessy — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 22:12:00 +0000

For the past few days, the worst kept secret in gaming has been the impending announcement of Capcom's Resident Evil 6. Well now, that announcement is upon us with a brand spanking new trailer and release date.

Since Tuesday, scores of news sites have pointed to No Hope Left, a viral campaign that was eventually outed by the promotion's advertising company as being paid for by Capcom. The site featured pictures of graffiti from locations around the world, all saying "No Hope Left" and a video of a Chinese woman crying to a loved one over video chat. The date/time of 2:00PM PST on 19 January was displayed repeatedly.

Today, just after the designated time, the site updated with a link to the Resident Evil official YouTube channel with a new trailer for six different regions. The video above is the UK version, but click here if you'd like to see it in the locale of your choice.

The trailer description reads:

It has been ten years since the incident at Raccoon City and the President of the United States has decided to reveal the truth behind what took place. Raccoon City survivor and personal friend of the President, Leon S. Kennedy, arrives to find the President transformed beyond recognition by a bioterrorist attack. Leon is forced to make the hardest decision he has ever made.

At the same, Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance Member, Chris Redfield arrives in China, itself under threat of a bioterrorist attack.

The trailer also gives the release date of RE6 as 20 November.

What are your thoughts? Are you excited for a new Resident Evil game or is this turning into too many RE games in one year?

Delve into the online world of SSX in this producer video

Simon McCann — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:03:00 +0000

With the official release date getting nearer and nearer, EA have released another new video that shows eager fans what to expect from the reboot of SSX.

This time around, EA are revealing some of the online features for the game.

Join the Creative Director of the game, Todd Batty, as he talks about the features gamers can expect to see when taking SSX online in this first of two parts video series..

Rumour: New Grand Theft Auto V information/trailer coming next month

Chris Hawke — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:18:00 +0000

Rockstar like their secrets, so when they released the first trailer for Grand Theft Auto V back in November 2011, pretty much everyone expected there to be total silence for a good millennium - after all, remember Agent? Of course you don't, because for all you know, it's just a neat logo that had a nice flashy reveal. So, imagine our surprise when one Rockstar fan claims an e-mail from the company could give a hint as to when new GTA V information will seep from the internet pipes - and all in the midst of the Max Payne Media Train (I really should copyright that).

Obviously, it's spurious. Obviously, it's a rumour. Obviously, this is the hopeful optimism of the rapacious fans - but there is some solid evidence propping it all up. Exhibit A: a response from Rockstar to fan mirmihir's e-mail;

Nothing of note here, right? Look closer, and you'll notice the e-mail says 'month' - possibly indicating that we'll be seeing more of that Los Santos 'magic' in February.

Of course - it could well be a typo. Some fans have been quick to point that out over on these forums, where a debate rages, but others have noted that the Superbowl XLVI (2012) paralyses America on the 5th February, and what better place to reveal a new trailer than on the biggest televisual event of the year? It was three months from the release of GTA IV's first trailer (29th March 2007) to the second (28th June 2007); it would be three months from 2nd November 2012 to early February 2012.

You can look at it either way - with a console cycle on its way out, and Rockstar having a catalog of possible unannounced titles (Red Dead sequel, Midnight Club, Agent) to keep us occupied, it makes sense that new GTA V info would come thick and fast. Then again, with Max Payne 3 just around the corner and the fact Agent could pop up with a new trailer at literally any point, Rockstar have no need to rush. Dear reader; what are your thoughts?

Does new Darksiders II developer diary indicate no WiiU summer launch?

Casey Shaunessy — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:00:00 +0000

A developer diary, posted to the official Darksiders YouTube channel, seems to confirm that we will be seeing the second iteration of Vigil's four horsemen series this summer, but looks like it isn't speaking for the WiiU version. Is the game no longer a launch title for Nintendo's new system or is the WiiU not coming until Autumn/Winter?

The video, posted below, is a collage of scenes from last month's Death Lives trailer mixed with developer commentary on the game's new protagonist, Death. Equally as interesting, though, is the absence of any identifying marker that would indicate the Summer release window is for the WiiU version as well. At the end of the clip, there are logos for the 360, PS3 and PC platforms, but nothing to show that this planned WiiU launch title will be out this Summer as well.

What are your thoughts? Do you think we'll be seeing the WiiU this Summer or is it more likely Nintendo will follow in the Wii's footsteps and aim for mid-November?

Irrational Games announces '1999 Mode' in BioShock Infinite

Simon McCann — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:49:00 +0000

Do you long for the days when games demanded that bit more from the player? Then we may just have some good news for you!

2K Games announced today that BioShock Infinite from Irrational Games will feature a new form of play- the 1999 Mode, designed to challenge players in a variety of ways – each requiring substantial commitment and skill development.

1999 Mode is a way of playing designed for gamers who long for the days of games that demanded more of the player. It will include tweaks and features that BioShock fans will not experience in a standard play-through of BioShock Infinite, no matter the difficulty level.

Ken Levine, Creative Director of Irrational Games, said,

“We want to give our oldest and most committed fans an option to go back to our roots. “In 1999 Mode, gamers face more of the permanent consequences of their gameplay decisions. In BioShock Infinite, gamers will have to sweat out the results of their actions. In addition, 1999 Mode will demand that players pick specializations, and focus on them.

“I’m an old school gamer. We wanted to make sure we were taking into account the play styles of gamers like me. So we went straight to the horse’s mouth by asking them, on our website, a series of questions about how they play our games. 94.6 percent of respondents indicated that upgrade choices enhanced their BioShock gameplay experience; however, 56.8 percent indicated that being required to make permanent decisions about their character would have made the game even better.”

In addition to these permanent decisions, 1999 Mode will feature demanding weapon, power, and health management. The mode also takes a much harder stand on player respawning, sending the gamer directly to a “Game Over” screen if he or she lacks the resources to be brought back to life. It’s not for the faint of heart.

Ex-hitman Shank looking to return in February

Simon McCann — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 11:54:00 +0000

We have some fantastic news for those of you that love a bit of 2D brawling action.

Award-winning independent game developer Klei Entertainment and EA Partners, today announced that the highly anticipated 2D action brawler, Shank 2, will be available on the Xbox LIVE Arcade and on the PlayStation Network Europe on February 8^th, 2012 for 800 Microsoft Points or €9.99.

Set in a pulp fiction world, Shank 2 puts players back in control of their favorite ex-mobster hitman, Shank. Klei has evolved the combat experience with precise controls, new weapons, smarter enemies, and more advanced combo techniques, all set to the backdrop of beautiful 2D art and animation. Players can put Shank’s trusty arsenal of handguns, chainsaws, grenades, plus all-new weapons to use in order to protect those close to him.

Introducing an all-new Survival Mode, gamers can team up with a friend online or locally, working together to take down hordes of goons in an action-packed, arcade-style brawl. Featuring stunning visuals from Klei’s veteran cartoon director, Jeff Agala, Shank 2 raises the bar even higher for 2D brawlers with art and animation that won Klei multiple awards and nominations, including IGF’s Excellence in Visual Arts nomination, and the Canadian Animator of the Year award for Klei’s lead animator, Aaron Bouthillier.

Having loved the first one immensely, I can't wait to jump into Shank's shoes once more.

New Max Payne 3 video, Targeting and Weaponry, coming tomorrow (Noon EST)

Chris Hawke — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 20:32:00 +0000

Rockstar have revealed that the next Max Payne 3 video is coming tomorrow at Noon Eastern time. The video, the second in their 'Design and Technology' series, will show players how Max handles a gun, how he gets those headshots, and more importantly - bloody deaths in Bullet Time!

Rockstar tweeted:

The next #MaxPayne3 Design and Technology video, focusing on targeting and weaponry, debuts tomorrow at noon Eastern

You can watch the video, when it's up, here. Until then, tide yourself over with more bald badassery (it's a word. I think).

SSX Uber Monday features Zoe Payne this week

Simon McCann — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 15:56:00 +0000

Each week, EA are releasing small feature clips showcasing the signature uber moves of each boarder that will be in the upcoming snowboarding franchise reboot, SSX.

This week, it was Zoe Payne's turn.

Is she related in any way to the gun-toting chap by the name of Max? Only she knows. If she is, we certainly know where she gets her badassness (yes I made that up) from.

This short clip show viewers her signature technique known as the 'Pommel Me'. Check it out below.

SSX will be released for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms on February 28^th in North America and for those of us in Europe, we'll have to wait until March 2^nd.

Syndicate 4-player co-op demo coming this month

Simon McCann — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:22:00 +0000

EA have announced that the demo to the highly anticipated re-imagining of the 1993 cult classic, Syndicate, will be released on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 later this month.

As I'm sure you an tell from the image above and the title, it's going to be a 4-player co-op demo. So find some friends, fast!

In 2069 the world is divided into regions controlled by three mega-corporations known as Syndicates. Starting the end of Januarywith the release of the four-player Syndicate co-op demo, gamers have the power to create their own Syndicate to take down the competition. Some takeovers will be more hostile than others. The co-op missions tell the story of a new Syndicate on the rise, Wulf Western.

As agents of Wulf Western, gamers must dominate their rivals – Cayman Global, Aspari and Eurocorp – by acquiring their technology and headhunting their senior executives. Just like in the single player campaign, at the frontline of this war are the Agents, the Syndicates’ bio-engineered and chip-augmented enforcers. Through the DART6 bio-chip technology implanted in their heads, they can breach anything in the wired world – enemies, weapons, even the environment – making them the most efficient and deadly technological weapons in the world.

The Syndicate co-op demo will feature one of the nine missions in the game, all of which can be played with up to four players and many of which have been reimagined from the original hit game. In this mission called Western Europe, gamers must team up and infiltrate Cayman Global, assassinate Colonel Enrico Gabron, steal his technology blueprints and force his people back across the Atlantic. The odds of success look promising with Cayman Global badly weakened after their war against Eurocorp, but it won’t come easy.

The game will be available on February 21^st, 2012 in North America and February 24^th, 2012 in Europe for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC.

Max Payne 3 release moved back to May

Simon McCann — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:55:00 +0000

Rockstar and it's parent company, Take-Two, have confirmed today that Max Payne 3 will be delayed until May of this year to ensure that the game is of the highest quality.

I guess we'll all have to wait just that little bit longer for the title we've been waiting for.

Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Take-Two, said:

"We do not take changes to our release schedule lightly, and this short delay will ensure that Max Payne 3 delivers the highest quality, groundbreaking entertainment experience that is expected from our Company."

With the change in release date, the publisher is moving the game into the next fiscal year and will now be expected to report a loss for the year 2012. This doesn't trouble Zelnick too much though.

"Max Payne 3 promises to be one of our most exciting releases to date, and we are confident that consumers will once again be amazed by Rockstar's ability to take interactive entertainment to another level.

With Max Payne 3 now slated for May, our robust lineup of upcoming releases for fiscal 2013 is even stronger, including BioShock Infinite, Borderlands 2, Spec Ops: The Line, XCOM, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, and other titles yet to be announced for release that year.

Fiscal 2013 is poised to be one of our best years ever, with anticipated substantial revenue growth and Non-GAAP Net Income of over $2.00 per share. We are well positioned to deliver growth and profitability over the long term."

Rockstar are expected to release a few details of their own about the delay later today. In this humble writers opinion, this small delay to ensure the quality of the game should indeed be worth it. I've never been disappointed with a Max Payne game yet and I expect the third iteration to follow that trend.

Deep Silver reveal new 'Ryder White' Dead Island DLC

Simon McCann — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:08:00 +0000

Deep Silver today announced the upcoming release of a brand new story DLC for the award-winning game Dead Island.

This DLC offers a unique new perspective into the incidents in the main story of Dead Island: This time the player will get the chance to play as Ryder White, the antagonist of the main game; learn more about his motivations and why, from his point of view, he did what he had to do. This fresh take on the Dead Island story shows Ryder White both as a military man and a loving husband.

The DLC stars Ryder White as a newly playable character and offers a single player campaign with several hours of story content with twists and turns that will shed new light on the game’s happenings. Two blueprints and weapons will further expand the already impressive arsenal of Dead Island.

The DLC will be available on February 01^st, 2012 for the PlayStation 3, the Xbox 360 and Windows PC. It will be available for 800 Microsoft points on Xbox LIVE Marketplace or for £7.99 on PSN and Steam.

Pre-order Catherine and get two fantastic Valentines items

Simon McCann — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:37:00 +0000

Deep Silver today announced that an exclusive artbook and a soundtrack CD will be available for anyone that decides to preorder the action-adventure/puzzle mix Catherine that will be released on February 10^th, 2012.

The artwork featured in the booklet is not available anywhere else, the same applies to the music tracks from the game that the limited CD will contain.

These preorder items will be available through a special retail partner in each of the territories that the game will be published by Deep Silver in Europe, with GAME being the retail partner for the UK.

Catherine will be released by Deep Silver in Europe in a limited “Stray Sheep Edition” (containing the Rave-T-Shirt that Vincent wears in the game, two Stray Sheep bar-themed coasters, a Catherine poster that is exclusively available in this edition, all served in a pizza delivery box from the Stray Sheep Bar as packaging) and as a standard edition. The “Stray Sheep Edition” of Catherine will have a price of EUR 69,99, the standard edition will be available for EUR 59,99.

Catherine will be released in PAL territories for the PlayStation 3, and the Xbox 360 on February 10^th. Catherine will feature localized text in French, Italian, German and Spanish.

Several new screenshots from Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations

Simon McCann — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 13:21:00 +0000

Those lovely guys over at Namco Bandai have released some even lovelier screenshots from the upcoming fighting game, Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations.

The game may not be out until next year, but it certainly doesn't stop us from viewing these shots with eager anticipation.

The nine shots below, taken directly from the game, show various new abilities that players will eventually get to have fun with. These abilities include using the various forms Naruto can take on when utilizing the energy he takes from the Kyuubi (9-Tailed Demon Fox) that is held within his body and, not to be outdone by his rival, we will also get to see Sasuke using Susano'o, which serves as both a defensive ability and an offensive ability.

Rather than my nergasm over the details, take a look at the shots below and tell us what you think of them.

The latest Skullgirl, Valentine, revealed

Simon McCann — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 13:43:00 +0000

Autumn Games have released several new screenshots and a bit of artwork of the latest Skull girl, Valentine, that will appear in the upcoming title, Skullgirls. Never guessed that title did you?

With a team led by renowned fighting game champion Mike “Mike Z” Zaimont and artist Alex Ahad, whose work has appeared in many publications, including Scott Pilgrim and Lava Punch, you can already assume the game is going to be hit.

Valentine is the only survivor of the Last Hope, a group of special Anti-Skullgirl Lab operatives. Before meeting their end at the hands of the Skullgirl, the Last Hope worked for the mysterious Lab Zero and performed duties ranging from reconnaissance and sabotage to advanced research.

Now Valentine dutifully serves the Skullgirl, carrying out her will from the shadows. She keeps to herself, so much of her true nature and personality are unknown.

Skullgirls will be released in 2012 for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles.

Will you be Catherine's valentine next year?

Simon McCann — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 13:29:00 +0000

Deep Silver today announced a February 10^th, 2012 release date for the action-adventure/puzzle mix Catherine.

The perfect point in time for a rendezvous with either the game’s eponymous seductress Catherine or the protagonist Vincent’s long-time girlfriend Katherine – it’s the player’s choice!

Both the limited Stray Sheep Edition (containing the Rave-T-Shirt that Vincent wears in the game, two Stray Sheep bar-themed coasters, a Catherine poster that is exclusively available in this edition, all served in a pizza delivery box from the Stray Sheep Bar as packaging) and the standard edition will be released in Europe on this date. The Stray Sheep Edition of Catherine will have a price of £54.99, the standard edition will be available for £49.99.

Catherine will be released in PAL territories for the PlayStation 3, and the Xbox 360. Catherine will feature localised text in French, Italian, German and Spanish.

2K Games announces new vendettas co-op experience for The Darkness II

Simon McCann — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 12:56:00 +0000

2K Games announced today that The Darkness II will feature Vendettas, a fast-paced, violent and narrative co-op experience that takes place parallel to the single-player story. Playable for up to four friends, Vendettas lets consumers choose one of four characters - all with their own unique Darkness weapon - and begin their dangerous and bloody journey.

Designed as a team-focused, mission based experience, Vendettas explores the crucial role each character plays in Jackie Estacado's campaign to defeat the Brotherhood.

Interwoven into key points of Jackie's single-player narrative, Vendettas expands the universe of The Darkness II by branching off into unique, parallel missions, while connecting thematically to the core single-player story arc. Four players can collectively immerse themselves in the lore of The Darkness II, and explore a variety of environments not found in the main story. Adding to the destruction and mayhem, Vendettas will also feature a new Hit List mode, which allows players to repeat their favorite campaign moments or wreak havoc in brand new scenarios.

Vendettas will also offer varied, intuitive combat with multidimensional scenarios for the four characters. Each individual possesses unique combat styles that will help shoot, smash and disembowel enemies in the most brutal and diverse ways. Designed to pick-up-and-play, gamers have their choice among the following wielders of dark power:

Inugami: Wielding the mythical Kusanagi samurai sword rumored to have killed ten thousand innocents, Inugami is a dark and mentally unstable character with revenge-driven motives against The Brotherhood and their allies for the slaughter of his entire family. He can also use a swarm of miniature demons to attack and immobilize his enemies.
Shoshanna: Shoshanna is an ultra-efficient agent for Mossad, the Israeli Intelligence Agency, who was sent to New York to combat a spike in Brotherhood activity. Her obedience and devotion to her superiors makes her a perfect operative, and she harbors a passion for hunting and destroying evil in the world as part of her legacy. Shoshanna wields the Arm of the Night, a powerful weapon fueled with Dark essence and the power to fire multiple rounds of gunfire at one time.
Jimmy Wilson: A product of inner-city Glasgow, Scotland, and a notorious alcoholic, Jimmy believes The Brotherhood is simply another form of the Hated English that persecuted his family in the past, and he travels to New York to torment them to the fullest extent. He wields the Dark Axe, and has the ability to summon Darklings that he commonly refers to as "Little Jimmys".
J.P. DuMond: A former doctor from New Orleans, DuMond is burdened with guilt for using a form of Louisiana Voodoo to heal his patients. The use of dark magic drew the attention of The Brotherhood, an organization which J.P. is now forced to combat in order to halt their pursuit of evil relics. J.P. wields the Midnight Stick and can pull enemies into an anatomy-crushing vortex when he tosses his Box of Tricks - a black metal box filled with dark power - into an open area.

The Darkness II is the sequel to the million unit-selling 2007 title, The Darkness, and brings a unique new combat mechanic through Quad-Wielding, which will allow players to slash, grab, and throw objects and enemies with two Demon Arms while simultaneously firing two weapons. The game is layered with thematic elements of dark versus light, steeped in deep and twisted storytelling, and maintains the stylistic violence visualized through a hand-painted graphic noir technique, true to its comic book origins.

The Darkness II will be available for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Windows PC on February 7^th, 2012 in North America and February 10^th, 2012 internationally.

The latest Awesomenaut, Yuri, revealed

Simon McCann — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 14:22:00 +0000

Today, dtp entertainment and Ronimo Games reveal the latest Awesomenauts Character: Yuri, the crazy and sadistic space monkey.

Once part of the soviet space program, Yuri was a monkey, experimentally shot into space during the 1960's cold war spacerace. Mysteriously, monitoring soviet scientists suddenly lost track of monkey Yuri's spacecraft.

Puzzled by its sudden disappearance, Soviet space-command wondered what had become of their beloved test-pet Yuri. Little did they know that Yuri's spacecraft had entered a warpfield anomaly and was transported hundreds of years into the future!

Also, the warpfields radiation boosted Yuri's mind to superintelligent levels. The new, more intelligent, mad and slightly sadistic Yuri quickly grasped the situation and modified his broken rocket into an equally mad timetraveling supercomputer jetpack.

With the jetpack translating everything Yuri says and does, enemies are never quite sure who is in control, the mad scientist monkey, or the computer it created?

Awesomenauts is set to hit the Xbox LIVE Arcade and Platstion Network in February 2012.

Of Orcs and Men teaser trailer

Simon McCann — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 12:41:00 +0000

Of Orcs and Men - This grand role-playing game, jointly realized by Cyanide (Concept and Production) and Spiders (Realization and Development) for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC, today showed more of its unique universe and its two heroes through a minute of dynamic video.

This video is the opportunity to discover more of this roleplaying game endowed with a strong identity and unique ambiance, and its two heroes: a powerful Orc, and a Goblin, hunted down by the soldiers of the Empire of Men simply because of their skin colour.

Now wanted by the Empire, they are determined to lead their mission to success: assassinate the one who, alone, is responsible for the great war which ravages the Orcs and the Goblins... the Emperor of Men himself. An epic quest awaits our two heroes, which will bring them across the whole Empire and beyond; the video of today is a foretaste of all that awaits you!

Take arms, and lead the rebellion of Orcs and Goblins in when the game is released in 2012!

Game of Thrones gets European publisher

Simon McCann — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:30:00 +0000

Focus Home Interactive and Cyanide Studio have announced, with fresh images, the publishing agreement for the role-playing game Game of Thrones in Europe, on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC.

Game of Thrones is a big role playing game based on the famous series of novels by George R.R. Martin, which has already sold over 15 million units around the world, and which HBO has recently adapted into a critically-praised TV series.

This is the most ambitious project of Cyanide Studio. Developed on Unreal Engine 3 and written under the supervision of George R.R. Martin, Game of Thrones will allow fans of the series, and more generally adepts of role-playing games, to live an exceptional adventure in one of the most finely-worked universe from the medieval fantasy literature.

"Cyanide realized a truly admirable work on Game of Thrones. The game is faithful to the unique ambiance found in George R.R. Martin's novels"

declares Cédric Lagarrigue, CEO of Focus Home Interactive.

"The narration, the artistic direction, the pace of the game and its realization make it one of the most exciting role-playing games to come in 2012."

Along the 30 hours of gameplay offered by Game of Thrones, play as Mors, sworn brother of the Night's Watch, and Alester, a Red Priest in search of redemption who is back to Westeros after a long exile. The Hand of King Robert Baratheon has just passed away, and these two charismatic heroes will find themselves dragged in a grand quest that will lead them through familiar and gorgeous places of Westeros, such like the Wall and its region, or the famous King’s Landing. In this grand adventure, they will meet famous faces: Queen Cersei, Varys the Spider or Jeor Mormont, the Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch faithfully reproduced from the TV series.

In Game of Thrones, you will choose the class of your characters, find your fighting style, reach a good balance between your strengths and weaknesses, and get ready for epic battles! Find, buy or loot new equipment and weapons to fit your approach of the fights, and gain experience to improve your skills or learn new ones. Slow the time down during battle to analyze the situation and choose your next moves. In game of thrones, political skills can be as lethal as a sharpen sword, so never underestimate the power of a silver tongue to solve a critical situation!

While the game will soon be unveiled more to media and the public through video trailers, in-depth presentations and numerous screenshots, discover today 4 exclusive images of the game, unveiling a bit more the heroes and the ambiance of this exceptional role-playing game, planned for release early 2012 on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.

Battlefield 3: Back to Karkand expansion dated

Simon McCann — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 14:31:00 +0000

DICE today announced that Battlefield 3: Back to Karkand, the first digital expansion pack for the critically acclaimed Battlefield 3, will be available December 6^th for download on the PlayStation Network and December 13^th on Xbox LIVE Marketplace and the PC.

Building on the biggest launch in EA history, Battlefield 3: Back to Karkand is a full-feature digital expansion pack giving gamers more of the explosive multiplayer and gameplay that has won over 60 industry awards and continues to delight gamers across the globe.

Utilizing the power of Frostbite 2, the Back to Karkand expansion pack remasters four of the most popular Battlefield multiplayer maps in the franchise’s history all with enhanced levels of destruction, including Strike at Karkand, Wake Island, Gulf of Oman and Sharqi Peninsula. In addition to these four new maps , Battlefield 3: Back to Karkand marks the return of the classic Conquest Assault mode from Battlefield 2.

A twist on the beloved Conquest mode, Conquest Assault starts one team in command of all control points on the map while the opposing team must assault and take the flags over in order to stop their tickets from bleeding down to zero. Battlefield 3: Back to Karkand also features three new vehicles, ten newweapons, five new dog tags, five new achievements/trophies and an added layer of persistence where players complete assignments to unlock items and earn rewards.

Patrick Soderlund, Executive Vice President of the EA Games Label said,

“Free for those that pre-ordered or purchased the Limited Edition of Battlefield 3, Back to Karkand is another way for us to say thanks to our fans and show our continued support for the game. The launch of Battlefield 3 was only the beginning as we vow to keep the game alive with additional content and gameplay improvements in the months ahead. We’re excited to recreate and share some new Battlefield moments on these beloved maps that only Battlefield games can provide.”

Available exclusively for one week on the PlayStation Network, Battlefield 3: Back to Karkand will be available December 6^th at no extra charge for those that pre-ordered/purchased the limited edition or for £11.99. The expansion pack will be available on December 13^th for £11.99 on PC at Origin.com or for 1200 MS points on Xbox LIVE Marketplace.

Konami confirm February release date for NeverDead

Simon McCann — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 15:31:00 +0000

Konami Digital Entertainment will release its demonic action title NeverDead for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on February 3^rd, 2012, the publisher has confirmed.

The brainchild of Shinta Nojiri, and co-developed with Rebellion Software, NeverDead stars an immortal hero called Bryce Boltzmann who, alongside his partner Arcadia, works for an agency tasked with dealing with demonic incursions. As demons from the dawn of time emerge on present-day Earth, so Bryce – armed with an arsenal of guns and a Butterfly-Blade – and the gun-toting Arcadia must locate and destroy the hostile invaders. As the malformed adversaries appear, the heavily-armed Bryce must protect his sidekick and work together to kill them all.

However, as the monsters get larger and more vicious, the side-effect of Bryce’s immortality is revealed. For, as the player is attacked by the various miscreants, Bryce can be torn limb from limb, but can simply reattach the parts to his body. Even when all limbs have been removed, Bryce can roll around as a head, looking to reattach his lost parts. He can even use his amputated body parts as weapons, throwing arms into clusters of monsters, and still firing the attached gun, or lobbing his head into seemingly impossible areas, to gain access to new parts of the map.

Shinta Nojiri, creator of NeverDead for Konami Digital Entertainment, explains,

“For NeverDead, we‘ve gone all out to change the approach the player takes in battle. Losing a limb is a mere inconvenience and Bryce’s physical skills allow a wealth of ways to take out the enemy – from close-range combat, to throwing limbs into clusters of monsters and shooting them remotely! This adds a level of humour to the game that brings the world-weary main character to life, while players can revel in game worlds that can are fully interactive and eminently destructible.”

Konami has also confirmed that NeverDead will also be the focus of DLC elements and add-ons, further details for which will follow soon.

In the meantime, you may enjoy these numerous screenshots from the game to keep you happy until February.

Stray Sheep Edition of Catherine to be available at launch

Simon McCann — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 15:09:00 +0000

Deep Silver today announced that a limited edition for the sexy action-adventure/puzzle mix Catherine will be available at the game’s release in February 2012.

The Stray Sheep Edition is named after the Stray Sheep Bar where Vincent, the game’s protagonist, spends most of his time after work and interacts with his lifelong friends, seeking advice for how to solve the dilemma he’s currently embroiled in. Should he continue the affair he’s having with the seductress Catherine, or abandon the sexy newcomer to deepen his relationship with his girlfriend Catherine?

This limited edition offers the following extras:

An exclusive T-Shirt that is a replica of the Rave-T-Shirt that Vincent wears in the game
Two Stray Sheep bar-themed coasters
A seductive Catherine poster that is exclusively available in this deluxe edition
A pizza delivery box from the Stray Sheep Bar that serves as the packaging for all the extra items found in the European deluxe edition

“We wanted to offer Europe's Catherine fans something special and unique, something that was not available before. And with a very competitive price point for the Deluxe edition, we ensure that it’s an extremely attractive proposition - just like Catherine herself.”

says Peter Brolly, brand manager at Deep Silver.

The Stray Sheep Edition of Catherine will have a price of £54.99, the standard edition will be available for £44,99.

Catherine will be released in February 2012 in PAL territories for the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360.

Just who is the mystery girl in DmC?

Simon McCann — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 13:20:00 +0000

The forums for the latest iteration of the Devil May Cry series are alight with theories and conspiracies but one eagle-eyed forum-goer, Asmodaius, has raised what could be a very important question;

"Just who is this mysterious girl in a trailer for DmC?"

Asmodaius has a simple question, one that may not be fully answered for quite some time. Let's take a look at the girl in question shall we?

Quite conveniently, she wears a hood. Not only stopping us from seeing her face, but also, one must assume, helping her hide her face when she really needs to. Such as from demonic cameras.

As we can see from the following image, she seems to be able to take on a non-corporeal form to be able to communicate with Dante when he is pulled into Limbo, the alternate version of his world that enable the demons to attack.

From the video, that I'll link towards the end of the post, we are shown that she's 'not safe' in whatever form she has taken, assumedly from the demons currently about to attack Dante.

This just raises another question; just what is she?

In this ghostly form, while it is apparent that her hood is still up, she seems to be sporting a bald head. Think Natalie Portman in V for Vendetta. Obviously, this is still a video that shows a game that is incomplete so maybe her hair is yet to be finalized and put into the game properly. Still, it makes you wonder.

Looking at what she is wearing, in her normal, supposedly human, form, she seems to be a bit on the punkish side of fashion. Short shorts, hoodie, knee-length socks underneath her (almost) knee-length boots. Asmodaius puts it, think Assassin's Creed meets Tomb Raider. An apt comparison in my view.

Nothing quite concrete on here just yet, as you can tell. We do however hear Dante refer to her as K/Cat.

As is customary with games, we can expect more and more information about the game and it's characters in the run up to release. For now though DmC fans, we'll just have to remain with that one foot in the dark.

Feel free to share any theories you may have in the comments below. I like a good tin foil hat session!

PopCap looking for help with possible Facebook casino game

Casey Shaunessy — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 23:51:00 +0000

PopCap Games, developers of the incredibly popular Plants vs. Zombies and Bejeweled are looking for some bodies who can help them go up against the likes of Zynga on the battleground that is Facebook.

On PopCap's Dublin job listing page, there are a number of postings from Lead Engineer to Senior Analyst that seem to confirm earlier speculation that the casual gaming company is looking to enter the growing Facebook casino game market.

Last year, PopCap put up a new Facebook page for a game titled Lucky Gem Casino with an information page that simply read:

Thanks for visiting! PopCap Casino is the future home of some amazing, casino-style social games from PopCap, the worldwide leader in casual gaming.

There have only a handful of posts on the page, mainly two separate polls asking for Facebook users' favourite type of casino game and, when slot machines was the clear winner, another that asked what their favorite slot machine strategy is.

With these new job postings, are you hopeful about a new, possibly better, online casino game? What are some awesome ways they could use their current slate of games to get a leg up on their competitors?

Hitman community gets a flashy new website

Chris Hawke — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 20:24:00 +0000

Like bald people? You're in luck. Not only will Rockstar bring you Max Payne 3 so you can see how the Brazilian sun gleams off of a Max's hairless skull, Square Exis are throwing Hitman: Absolution out there to show that you don't have to have a Metal Gear Mullet to be good at stealth. Now, fans of Agent 47 have a new hang out - The Barcode Society.

Ben Batemen, Community Manager, tweeted:

Blog post going up on @SQUARE_ENIX_EU tomorrow, but basically @Hitman fans should check out the new community website

You can see the website here, and it's all sorts of lovely. Dedicated to all things Hitman, The Barcode Society is run by IO Interactive to give Hitman fans a single place to get information about their favourite assassin. The Barcode Society Blog will give quick access to the latest Hitman news and behind-the-scenes access to the developers, insights into the processes that lie behind the development of AAA games and on top of that the site will feature cool assets, exclusive competitions and other goodies that you can’t find anywhere else. Start making friends - before garotting them in their sleep.

Red 5 Studios launch League For Gamers in protest of anti-industry legislation

Simon McCann — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 15:01:00 +0000

Red 5 Studios today announced the League For Gamers (LFG), an organization with the lifelong mission of promoting games in a positive way, spreading the passion of gaming and protecting gaming interests in politics.

Red 5 will shut down Firefall and its website on January 18^th in a 24 hour show of solidarity, encouraging gamers, developers and all industry supporters to join LFG and stand together against misguided and overbearing legislative initiatives such as SOPA, (Stop Online Privacy Act), and PIPA, (Protect IP), in order to perpetuate and continue industry growth.

The League For Gamers was founded on January 14th, 2012 by Red 5 Studios and its CEO, Mark Kern, through a $50,000 pledge. It was established as a true alternative to the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) and its subsidiary organization, the Video Game Voter’s Network (VGVN).

“The VGVN and the ESA claim to represent gamers and developers, but they have turned their backs on them by supporting and funding legislation such as SOPA and PIPA,”

said Mark Kern.

“Developers such as Red 5 Studios and other game makers no longer have an organization to represent their true position on this kind of destructive legislation. LFG’s first action will be to petition the ESA to withdraw their support from PIPA, which still looms large in the Senate.”

While it was announced on Monday that SOPA has been “shelved” – for the time being – its sister bill PIPA is still an immediate threat to the gaming industry and online freedom. The Senate is scheduled to vote on PIPA January 24th, leaving one week for gamers and developers to add their support and get the attention of representatives.

Interested parties can join LFG and its ESA petition at the following link: League For Gamers

Bioware talk about Mass Effect movie, their views on the future of RPGs

Chris Hawke — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 18:45:00 +0000

RabidWalker of the Official Playstation Forums UK had a chit-chat with the co-founders of Bioware, Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk, about pretty much everything, ranging from their past lives as medical doctors to the upcoming Mass Effect film, of which very little is known. We've pulled some of the highlights below for you to absorb.

You can't talk to the figureheads of a place like Bioware and not talk about the future they envisage. Rabid asked if the two have a vision going forward for RPGs in terms of technology, story, and so forth;

Ray: The vision for us is a broadening of the genre, you see a lot of other genres incorporating features of RPGs, in turn RPGs are incorporating a lot of features from other genres. More action elements there different ways to tell stories, have characters interact for adventure games, shooters and that’s exciting to us. The features of RPGs blend across genres, and its actually making a lot of other games more engaging. In the same way we can make RPGs more engaging and accessible to different audiences by incorporating features that are popular from different genres, and introduce RPGs to new fans that way. But we want to bring our core fans with us on that journey, so it’s not always easy to get a balance that does both but we’re striving to do that.

And, of course, no interview would be complete without a little foray into the world of Hollywood. How's that secretive Mass Effect movie coming along?

Rabid: Do you guys have any info or inkling about what’s going on with the Mass Effect movie?

Ray: Yes!

(Brief pause in the room followed by nervous laughter -and tumbleweed!)

Fair enough!

Greg: Indeed

Ray: It’s going to be cool

Greg: It’s ticking along

Ray: Yep, it will be cool, anytime we extend our products we look for a great partner with the same passion that we do, and we’re lucky we found some.

'Ticking along' is probably the most they'll give away at this point. You can read the whole, very interesting interview over here - I highly recommend you do. In the mean time - here, have a trailer.

Retailer GAME deny becoming the latest victim of hackers

Simon McCann — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:46:00 +0000

GAME, one of the UK's largest retailers for video games, consoles and video game accessories, was thought to have become the latest casualty in the ongoing attack of internet hackers.

Hackers seemingly managed to get the email addresses, passwords and other information data of consumers and have posted the detailed online.

Anna-Marie Mason, a spokesperson for the retailer, has told Spong.com that the website was NOT hacked and that the details the hackers have given were actually fake.

Anna-Marie said;

"We have thoroughly investigated the hacking claims made today by the website Pastebin, and can confirm that they are entirely false. The published email addresses are not registered users of GAME.co.uk, and there has been no breach of our database security.

"At GAME we guard our customers' details very carefully. We would like to assure all our customers that their details are well protected, and advise anyone who has any questions to contact our customer services team via the website, our Facebook page or Twitter account."

In this humble writers opinion, change that password now! You can never be too sure and it always pays to be on the safe side of things.

The perfect Christmas gift set for any gamer

Simon McCann — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 12:21:00 +0000

I'm a huge gamer. Everyone I know knows it and heck, even you guys should know it since I'm dishing out gaming news here on SystemLink. As a gamer, I tend to get new games gifted to me on Christmas and birthdays and this year is likely to be no different.

During my daily internet roaming for the latest news to give you guys, I came upon the greatest Christmas gift I've seen in a long time!

With shapes that are familiar to anyone who has ever played a video game, these fantastic acrylic ornaments salute some of the very best gaming systems to date. The set includes eight ornaments ranging from the late, great Nintendo 64 up to the current generation consoles such as the Xbox 360. The image above shows all the ornaments in the set and you can get them here.

The set is priced at $30 (roughly £20) and ships to pretty much anywhere in the world.

Best be quick though, I doubt stock will last very long!

Will Dragon Age be getting multiplayer aspects?

Simon McCann — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 12:32:00 +0000

Industry insiders, they know everything you want to know and more. On this occasion, an apparent insider has spoken about the possibility of Dragon Age getting a multiplayer component and also saying that it is being built using the same engine that was used to develop Battlefield 3, the Frostbite 2.0 engine, and that it already looks amazing.

The insider told Kotaku that there will be arena based, co-op PvE elements and competitive player vs. player battles. While it is not actually confirmed as yet whether it will be Dragon Age 3 or a separate, stand-alone title, I think this could be a rather interesting direction for Dragon Age to take. It was also mentioned that players might be able to play as actual dragons. Imagining all this being done with the Frostbite 2.0 engine kinda makes me all tingly on the inside.

With multiplayer confirmed for Bioware and EA's upcoming threequel, Mass Effect 3, it would be hard not to consider that a future Dragon Age title wouldn't also see some of the multiplayer love.

The real question is though: Do you want to see Dragon Age have multiplayer modes incorporated?

Skyrim becomes the first Western game to get a perfect score from Famitsu

Justin Alderman — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 21:15:00 +0000

Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu has awarded a perfect 40/40 review score to Bethesda's The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, making it only the 17th title to ever enjoy such an honor and the first ever to come from a Western developer.

This perfect Famitsu score puts it just above several other Western games that received a 39/40 from the magazine including; Grand Theft Auto IV, Red Dead Redemption, Modern Warfare 2 and 3, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Gears of War 3, LA Noire, and FIFA 12.

By any measure this is an amazing accomplishment for Skyrim, even more so when you consider that this perfect score comes from a country where Japanese RPG's are king.

Source: CVG

Smithsonian asking for images to show the Art of Video Games

Chris Hawke — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 17:52:00 +0000

The Smithsonian American Art Museum are currently calling for gamers to submit images for their 'Art of Video Games' exhibition, which opens March 2012. From cosplay to cut-outs, the museum want everything they can get to show the true art of gaming. So, if there were ever a reason to craft a Metal Gear totally out of metal - this would be it.

In their words:

The Art of Video Games exhibition (opening March 16, 2012) will explore how game designers combine visual effects with narrative, audio, and player interaction to create immersive and meaningful experiences.

To celebrate this ground-breaking exhibition, we are looking for photographs that show how video games can inspire creativity! These might include images of video-game-inspired drawings, paintings, sculptures, jewellery, clothing, events, graphics, food, wallpaper... anything, really! We're particularly interested in seeing creative and crazy costumes inspired by your favorite game characters.

You can see the full press release here. They also have a Flickr for uploading the latest and creates expect a whole bunch of Scouts, Sackboys, and Donkey Kong on a church. Yeah.

Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 Un-Ultimate contest video

Simon McCann — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 14:02:00 +0000

To celebrate the launch of Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3, a game crammed with epic battles that were decades in the making, Capcom asked fans to do the exact opposite - act out the least-exciting, most un-ultimate scraps they could come up with.

The best entries could win one of several prizes, including an Xbox 360 and copy of the game. Capcom now have the winners, plus a video honoring their decidedly non-epic services...

Did you enter the competition? Did you see yourself in the video?
Let us know!

Rumour: Microsoft licensing Kinect tech to Sony for TVs

Justin Alderman — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 16:53:00 +0000

The Daily is reporting that sources "familiar with the subject" have told them that Microsoft is in the "early stages of licensing" its Kinect sensor technology to television manufacturers Vizio and Sony.

It's speculated that the Kinect TVs would work by networking with a local PC running Windows, which would allow for gesture and voice control over the TV.

The basic rumour seems reasonable enough, except I very much doubt that Sony would be interested in licensing Kinect from Microsoft. Doing so would seem to undermine their own efforts in the PlayStation business by giving anyone who purchases a "Kinect TV" strong incentive to also pick up Microsoft's consoles.

Source: The Daily

Valve: Piracy is a service problem, not a pricing problem

Justin Alderman — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 16:22:00 +0000

Speaking in an interview with The Cambridge Student Online, Valve boss Gabe Newell stated that software piracy is a "non-issue" for their studio because they understand that piracy has little to do with price of the game and is actually a result of poor service on the part of the developer/publisher.

"We think there is a fundamental misconception about piracy. Piracy is almost always a service problem and not a pricing problem. For example, if a pirate offers a product anywhere in the world, 24/7, purchasable from the convenience of your personal computer, and the legal provider says the product is region-locked, will come to your country three months after the U.S. release and can only be purchased at a brick and mortar store, then the pirate's service is more valuable."

"Most DRM solutions diminish the value of the product by either directly restricting a customer's use or by creating uncertainty... Our goal is to create greater service value than pirates, and this has been successful enough for us that piracy is basically a non-issue for our company."

This is in direct contrast to how most of the industry views software piracy, and it also explains why publishers have seen a rise in piracy while at the same time they are using more and more restrictive DRM. At some point DRM can become intrusive enough that it actually hurts paying customers, who then see a service benefit by using pirated software.

Source: GameSpy

More VGA announcements coming next week

Chris Hawke — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 17:03:00 +0000

With the VGAs a forenight away, Geoff Keighley is taking to Twitter to set the hype train in motion, teasing more announcements next week.

In the following tweet, he wrote:

Exactly two weeks until 2011 VGAs. More announcements coming next week.

Expect thinly veiled teasers for teasers (Mirror's Edge 2, anyone) and echoed whispers about Chinese people. Y'know - 'Chinese whispers', that game I never really played as a kid. That's what happened, right? Wait, why are you all looking at me like that?

Writer hints at Dante's Inferno sequel

Justin Alderman — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 18:06:00 +0000

Nothing has been officially confirmed but Supererogatory has found some hints that Visceral Studios and Electronic Arts may have a sequel to Dante's Inferno in the works.

The source of the rumour comes from the official bio page for Joshua Rubin, a writer who worked on Assassin's Creed 2, who lists that he is "the sole writer for a Major Unannounced Sequel from Visceral Studios at EA Games." Rubin does not list what the sequel is but there is a "hint" link that leads clickers to a Dante's Inferno trailer.

Basically nothing official to hang your hat on, but considering the source it seems likely that this is one video game rumour that will bare fruit.

Source: Joystiq

New Max Payne 3 Special Edition artwork should be your new desktop wallpaper

Chris Hawke — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 17:36:00 +0000

And if it isn't, you seriously need to think about what sort of a life you're leading. You're really going to turn down a huge wallpaper of a weapon-wielding younger Karl Marx while a gang member and a hooker tower over raining Sao Paulo? Like, really?

Hey. It's your funeral.

You can get all the sizes here.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 trailer re-created with... LEGO!

Simon McCann — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 13:20:00 +0000

I really can't be more impressed with this. The entire trailer for Activision's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has been recreated with nothing but blocks of LEGO.

This is simply talent at work.

Kooberz, the man behind this monstrously ingenious video, is know for creating LEGO videos based on video games. His previous videos include a Starcraft 2 remake and a truly impressive capture the flag Halo match.

With thanks to Machinima for the video, there is nothing left but to enjoy this work of stop motion art.

Rumour: Dante's Inferno/Army of Two sequels in the works, despite EA's claims

Chris Hawke — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 21:10:00 +0000

UPDATE: There's also this tweet in regard to the Army of 2/3 debate. Hmm indeed.

Super-spy Supernnuation has dug up a whole lot more secret treasure recently, and claims that Dante's Inferno and Army of Two will be coming back for seconds. Or (despite our slightly clumsy title) in Army of Two's case, thirds. Army of 2.3? Wait, we're confused...

Superannuation has done what he does best, and sleuthed his way to a juicy conclusion. The long and short of it;

For those who don't like subtlety or the clicking of links: A Dante's Inferno sequel was/is in development, despite EA's claims to contrary.

That seems to be a reference to these two links: the first of which is someone working as the 'Sole writer for an unannounced new AAA game', while the other is a Joystiq article entitled 'Visceral Games' Zach Mumbach on Visceral's development culture, autonomy within EA' that seems to strongly hint the idea of a Dante sequel. There's also a whiff here, reading "Joshua was the sole writer for a Major Unannounced Sequel from Visceral … Games". Visceral previously denied any plans for a Dante 2. As 'The Super' (we're on first name terms) notes himself:

Assuming it wasn't cancelled, I suppose a VGA reveal for that is entirely possible, given that the first game was revealed there.

True that. It was a unique little IP, and it's hard to imagine EA leaving something like that on a cold, Spartan mountainside to die.

However, there also seems to be another tweet thrown in:

And EALA is/was working on a new Army of Two game, as was rumored yesterday.

Oh. Alright then. This claim is in connection with this resume, which has the teasing little snippet "Site Leader for EALA (Danger Close Games/ Army of Two and Victory Studios)".

Do you think there's any truth in these reports? Would you yearn to see Dante return, or are you not too interested in a game featuring casual boob and devil babies? Ha! As if.

Trion Worlds expands to bolster it's EU management

Simon McCann — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 16:21:00 +0000

Trion Worlds, creator of the hit MMORPG, RIFT, today announced several new appointments to its European management teams.

The new members to the Trion Worlds team will be aiming to bolster the EU Marketing, Commerce, Brand, PR and Community Teams.

Jeff Pabst joins Trion as European Commerce Director after leaving his post as Microsoft’s Head of International Product Management & Strategy for Xbox. Simon Bull, former European Marketing Director at EA, will serve as Senior Brand Director for End of Nations and Third Party Publishing. Jonathan Goddard joins Trion as Head of European PR after four years as EA Games’ Senior International PR Manager, most recently holding the role of Global PR & Marketing Manager at leading Polish publisher City Interactive.

Additionally, former Lead Game Master at Ubisoft Paris Franck Vacher comes on board as French Community Manager for End of Nations, while Lee Sritharan departs EA and joins the Trion EU team as FP&A/Business Intelligence Director. Kevin Taylor moves up from his product and PR support role to take responsibility for Rift marketing in Europe as European Product Manager.

John Burns, Trion Worlds’ Senior Vice President and General Manager, Europe, said:

“As Trion endeavours to drive its European business forward, it's vital we attract the best talent in the industry. Building on Rift’s successful launch and ensuring our other projects generate the buzz they richly deserve are our key priorities and I'm delighted we are forging the right team to achieve these goals.”

Activision correct Modern Warfare 3 Xbox LIVE figures

Simon McCann — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 12:34:00 +0000

Activision announced today that the previously released tally of 3.3 million simultaneous users of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 on Xbox LIVE on November 8^th was reported in error.

The correct figure is 1.4 million simultaneous users. As previously stated, more than 3.3 million unique gamers played Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 in one day on November 8^th.

The most stunning shots of Skyrim you'll ever see

Chris Hawke — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 20:32:00 +0000

Skyrim is chock-full of breathtaking views, stunning vistas and bone-chilling dragons; just a quick saunter around the snow-capped mountains or lush tundras can produce hundreds of memorable little moments. But one man isn't content with experiencing this all on his own. He wants you to share the the wonders of Skyrim, too.

I often shamelessly link to Dead End Thrills, and I'm not going to apologise now. His 182-photo strong Flickr set is something that has to be seen to believe - a mix of wonderful organic screenshots and some staged stills to show just how amazing Skyrim is. You can see them all here, but below are a handful that stood out for us.

Look on, ye mighty, and despair...

Rockstar Mentions Bully 2

Justin Alderman — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 19:44:00 +0000

Speaking to Gamasutra about why the studio felt the time was right to bring Max Payne back Rockstar Games' Dan Houser mentioned a Bully sequel and said that they "might" come back to it sometime in the future.

Specifically Houser said "...we like to take a little bit of time at the end of a game before starting a sequel... we knew that we didn't want to start doing the Bully sequel instantly at that second with those guys -- even though it is a property that, like Max, we adore and might come back to in the future. There was just no impetus to do that then. So we said, "You can do Max, and then we will see what we can do with Bully." So it was really waiting for the slot to open up and the group to open up to at least start work on it."

From the sounds of it Bully 2 is most defiantly not in development right now, but at least it's something that the studio has not forgotten about. For fans of that PS2 era classic (myself included) that's more than enough to put a smile on our faces.

600K Call of Duty Elite Memberships Sold At GameStop

Justin Alderman — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 14:39:00 +0000

During GameStop's earnings call this week the company revealed that thanks to strong sales of Call of Duty Elite memberships at their stores their digital sales business is expect to pass $450 million during their current fiscal year.

GameStop president Tony Bartel, said "In the case of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, we worked closely with Activision, Sony and Microsoft to pre-order and deliver nearly 600,000 instances of the Modern Warfare Elite DLC to date. This places the launch of Elite as one of our top 10 launches of the year so far... We've found that consumer demand for downloadable content is very strong at the point of launch... Based on our research we know that one half of the DLC we sell is to customers that have never purchased DLC before."

Late last year I attended a lecture given by Tony Bartel in which he detailed some of the company's plans to sell digital goods through their stores via things like point cards. At the time I was skeptical of how successful that would be, considering how easy it is for consumers to simply make those purchases using their credit cards. This was prior to the PSN hack earlier this year, which I think has opened the eyes of many gamers who now prefer to keep their credit card numbers out of the hands of Microsoft (and certainly Sony) and have turned to point cards to make those purchases. This 600K in CoD Elite sales seems to back that theory up, and more importantly it proves that Bartel has thus far been successful with his plan to make sure GameStop is relevant in the digital sales space.

Source: Gamasutra

GOG.com to Take on Steam and Origin

Simon McCann — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 16:31:00 +0000

Since launching the Good Old Games website it 2008, Polish company CD Projekt has constantly championed the, slightly older, classic game.

This year they reached a hugely impressive milestone when the website recorded it's 6 millionth unique game download and yet, the service is set to grow even larger next year to take on the likes of Valve's Steam service and EA's Origin.

The one thing I've always loved about GOG.com, even more so than the selection of truly classic games, is that all title are DRM-free. This means that whatever I download, I get to keep, no questions asked.

Come 2012, GOG is set to widen it's variety to newer games following the success of having The Witcher 2 available.

Guillaume Rambourg managing director said,

"Traditionally, GOG.com has looked for great classics that are three years old or older. We will continue to add classic games, of course, but we are actively working to sign newer titles now. Of course, these new titles will have to come at a new, higher price point, but our key focus will always be on the same core values that have made GOG.com great so far: completely DRM-free games, flat prices everywhere in the world, and extra content and goodies for our fantastic customers."

By the end of 2012, Rambourg expects there to be more than 400 titles available.

He continued,

"Finally, we want to work closely with ambitious developers and independent publishers who feel a kinship with that 'good old spirit' that GOG.com embodies. Thanks to the commercial success of The Witcher 2 on GOG.com, more and more people realize that our values are universal. They are coming to GOG and asking if we can carry their titles. We've made GOG.com the destination for classic PC games, but now is the time to take this to the next level and emerge as the best alternative digital distribution platform for all PC games."

With all titles being DRM-free, it's going to be hard not to choose newer titles from GOG.com as opposed to games that can't run without Steam.

Modern Warfare 3 Breaks Five-Day Entertainment Record, Tops Xbox Live User Charts

Justin Alderman — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 14:08:00 +0000

Activision announced this morning that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has broken the five-day worldwide sell-though record with more $775 million in sales. This tops last year's Black Ops which hit $650 million and 2009's Modern Warfare 2 which topped out at $550 million during its first five days. Exact unit sales were not provided but Activision noted that in North America Modern Warfare 3 was the best-selling video game launch of all time at Amazon.com, Best Buy, GameStop, Target and Walmart. Even more impressive is that the Call of Duty franchise has now exceeded $6 billion in worldwide sales.

In addition to setting sales records, Modern Warfare 3 set new records on Xbox Live with over 3.3 million unique gamers logging 7.0 million hours of multiplayer on launch day (up 19% over last year's Black Ops). Looking at the user charts for the week of November 7th Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 topped the chart, knocking Black Ops to the number 2 spot and pushing Battlefield 3 and Modern Warfare 2 into the number 3 and 4 slots respectively. Full Xbox Live activity chart for the week of November 7th was as follows:

1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
2. Call of Duty: Black Ops
3. Battlefield 3
4. Modern Warfare 2
5. Gears of War 3
6. FIFA 12
7. Skyrim
8. Halo: Reach
9. Madden NFL 12
10. GTA IV
11. Batman: Arkham City
12. Forza Motorsport 4
13. NBA 2K12
14. Call of Duty 4
15. FIFA Soccer 11
16. Halo 3
17. NHL12
18. NCAA Football 12
19. Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood
20. Call of Duty: WaW
Source: Major Nelson

On the PlayStation Network MW3 set a new franchise record for the number of simultaneous online gamers on launch day.

Regardless of where you stand on the Call of Duty franchise these are impressive numbers that reach far beyond anything else the video game industry has to offer.

Full press release below:

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Nov. 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI), announced today that Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 3 has shattered theatrical box office, book and video game sales records for five-day worldwide sell-through in dollars. The game established an all-new five-day worldwide sell-through record of more than $775 million, exceeding the record of $650 million set a year ago by Activision's Call of Duty: Black Ops and $550 million two years ago for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare® 2, according to Charttrack and retail customer sell-through information..

"With $775 million of sales of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 in its first five days, Call of Duty has become the first entertainment property in history to set five-day launch records for three consecutive years across all forms of entertainment," said Robert Kotick, CEO, Activision Blizzard. "Life-to-date retail sales for the Call of Duty franchise have exceeded $6 billion worldwide, which makes Call of Duty one of the most valuable entertainment properties in the world. We expect continued sales momentum, as reviews and audience enthusiasm suggest that this is the best Call of Duty game that we have ever made. Online play for Modern Warfare 3 is at record levels and we continue to see high online play for both Call of Duty: Black Ops and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, which ranked as the #2 and #4 top-played Xbox LIVE games for the week of November 7, according to Major Nelson."

"As I have said all year, we have been singluarly focused on making a spectacular game for our fans, and nothing else. Our incredible teams at Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games have done just that," said Eric Hirshberg, CEO, Activision Publishing. "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 continues to thrill core gaming enthusiasts as well as draw new people into the medium, which is not an easy balancing act. But it takes more than a great game. I would also like to thank our incredible team for the pulling off the launch of the year, as well as our retail partners around the world. But most of all, I want to thank our fans. They are our toughest critics, and our biggest supporters, and none of this would be possible without them."

In addition to beating all previous first-and five-day theatrical box office, book and video game sell-through records, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 set two new records on Xbox® LIVE™.

According to Microsoft:

More than 7.0 million multiplayer hours were logged playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 by the end of launch day, November 8, a 19% increase over last year's 5.9 million multiplayer hours logged playing Call of Duty: Black Ops last year's launch day.
More than 3.3 million unique gamers played Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 in one day on November 8 up from 2.6 million unique gamers for Call of Duty: Black Ops.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 set a new record for concurrent players on Xbox LIVE with 3.3 million simultaneous users on November 8.

"The Call of Duty franchise returned to Xbox 360 this year with another record-breaking launch. More than 7 million multiplayer hours were played on Modern Warfare 3 on day-one of launch on Xbox 360," said Don Mattrick, president of the interactive entertainment business at Microsoft. "And with the exclusive first access to new multiplayer content, we're proud Xbox 360 is home to the largest and most engaged Call of Duty community."

The game also set a new franchise mark for the number of simultaneous online gamers playing Call of Duty on PlayStation® Network on its first day, and was the best-selling video game launch of all time in North America on Amazon.com and at Best Buy, GameStop, Target and Walmart.

"In just over a week, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has been hugely successful on PlayStation 3, and continues to drive millions of gamers globally to PlayStation Network with its unprecedented and engaging online multiplayer experience," said Jack Tretton, President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment of America (SCEA). "The Call of Duty franchise is one of the biggest entertainment brands on the planet, delivering gameplay experiences like no other which is why we're also excited to bring the Call of Duty franchise to our highly-anticipated next generation portable, PlayStation Vita, where we expect fans will continue their dedication to the most amazing Call of Duty experiences whether in the home or on the go."