Posts by icelord75:
Batman: Arkham City’s Online Pass unlocks Catwoman DLC
October 14th, 2011
So far, we’ve seen several of different amounts of content with online passes so far. For the most part, this amount has slowly been increasing, and it’s extremely evident with the upcoming Batman: Arkham City‘s day 1 DLC of Catwoman and her four story missions.
Within each new copy of the game will be a code redeemable over each console’s online service, for 4 missions of the campaign featuring Catwoman, and herself as a playable character in the game’s challenge mode. Those who buy the game pre-owned, however, will need to pay $10 (or 800 Microsoft Points) to purchase the content.
Warner Bros. has also made the assurance that this content isn’t required to complete the game, and that Catwoman does appear in the game without the DLC. Still though, this might be one of the best online pass deals around; not too much content stowed away, yet not too little. The game’s looking big enough that many people might not even be interested in all the missions, let alone ones with a character famous as Catwoman.
Altogether, it certainly makes the act of buying a new copy sound more enticing. Batman: Arkham City will be available for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC this Tuesday, October 18th.
Rockstar Celebrates GTA III’s 10th Anniversary with Mobile Remake and Figurine
October 14th, 2011It’s almost ten years since the mighty Grand Theft Auto 3 came out for the PS2. Since, it’s been the source of a lot of controversy in games, as well as one of the most popular examples of sandbox games. So such a large game deserves a large celebration, and Rockstar is going full out.
For the first of two nice reveals, Rockstar has announced a re-release for the game on a variety of recent iOS and Android devices, full with a warped graphics engine and touch-screen controls. No changes to the game have been announced so far, but will be playable at the upcoming New York Comic-Con and is planned for release this Fall.
The other reveal is much more costly, but still certainly interesting; a 1:6 scale action figure of Claude, the main character from GTA 3. The spiffy figure is being designed by Sideshow Collectibles, and is already available for $149.99 on Rockstar’s online store. If you don’t have the money or feel lucky, Rockstar is also giving away three of them over the Rockstar Games Social Club.
So, a clap for Rockstar and their fun announcement and release. Products like this are far from the worst way to celebrate such an anniversary.
Microsoft Studios acquires indie developer Twisted Pixel
October 12th, 2011
In the growing corporate world, companies are being bought out more than ever. Some of the biggest of recent days have been EA acquiring PopCap Games and Sony acquiring Sucker Punch, but the industry’s newest purchase is of the indie developer Twisted Pixel, who is now in ownership of Microsoft Studios.
Twisted Pixel was founded only in 2006, but has a slew of games since its release. Most memorable of their releases have been the award-winning ‘Splosion Man series, and the recent Kinect-exclusive The Gunstringer.
“It is really exciting for us to solidify our long-standing relationship with Microsoft Studios, who we consider to be the leader in digital distribution and creating new innovations in gaming like Xbox LIVE and Kinect. As part of the family of Microsoft Studios we look forward to bringing even bigger and richer experiences to Xbox and Twisted Pixel fans around the world.” -Michael Wilford, co-founder and chief executive officer of Twisted Pixel
Compared to the other company acquisitions, this actually seems like one that’ll do decently for both parties. Neither seem forced about the purchase, and both parties have plenty of benefits from funding to simply being able to make more games easily. Best wishes to all the workers of Microsoft Studios and Twisted Pixel!
Humble Frozen Synapse Bundle reaches $1 million!
October 12th, 2011
After the huge success of the Humble Indie Bundle a few months ago, the same crew was plenty quick to start its second charity bundle, the Humble Frozen Synapse Bundle, and it’s already showing the effort greatly. Altogether, the sales and titanic donations have totaled to a full $1 million for charity, and is still going strong for another 24 hours or so.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bH7Cooa5zs&w=594&h=332]
The pack itself is a great little game pack, featuring Frozen Synapse, SpaceChem and Trauma, all for a by-donation price. Those who purchase above the average donation will also get an obscene amount more bang for their buck; Trine, Shadowgrounds: Survivor, Shadowgrounds, the game prototype Jack Claw, and a preorder for Splot (currently stil in development).
All the money will be going straight to Child’s Play Charity and Electronic Frontier Foundation, and already has recieved gifts reaching over $1000 from major supporters, including Minecraft creator Markus “Notch” Persson who donated a full $2000. It’s a great bundle and more than certainly a good cause, so feel free to check out their site at www.humblebundle.com for more info.
Forza Motorsport 4 Launches with its Day 1 DLC
October 11th, 2011
Forza Motorsport 4 has finally revved up today, launching in North America with the rest of the world due to get it soon. The reviews are already shooting highly positive, especially thanks to the obscene library of features and cars. However, its size is already growing larger with the release of its Day 1 DLC, the American Muscle Car pack.
The mighty pack is available through Xbox LIVE for either 560 Microsoft points, or as part of the $30 Season Pass that provides the consumer with all the game’s DLC throughout the year. Within this first bit of content is seven vintage muscle cars;
1964 Ford Fairlane Thunderbolt
1965 Pontiac GTO
1966 Chevrolet Nova SS
1967 Dodge Cornet W023
1968 Dodge Dart HEMI Super Stock
1968 Pontiac Firebird
1969 Shelby GT500 428CJ
1970 Buick GSX
1970 Dodge Cornet Super Bee
1971 Plymouth GTX 426 Hemi
Also available is a small bit of free DLC, an in-game 2012 BMW M5 sedan, taking up a hefty 370MB of space. Chances are that it’s built perfectly for the game’s AutoVista garage feature, so be sure to make some space if you want to poke at this slick machine.
So if you’ve picked up the game today, or plan to anytime soon, be sure to check out all the DLC up and have plenty of fun with it. Forza Motorsport 4 is available for Xbox 360 in North America now, and will be coming to EU, AU, and Japanese markets by October 20th.
Mass Effect 3 gets 4-player co-op and Galaxy at War feature!
October 11th, 2011
People already know that Mass Effect 3 is planned to be big, but today it more truly grew with the announcements of 4-player co-op missions and an online feature for the single-player campaign called Galaxy of War. Both of these will mark the first appearance of any multiplayer interaction in the Mass Effect series, and from the sound of things it’ll be a good first leap.
First off is the co-op missions, playable over Xbox LIVE, the PSN, and PC internet. Players can create their own custom character and join a Special Forces squad with others to help eliminate enemy control around the galaxy. The characters will each be separate from Commander Shepard, and have multiple races and specialties to choose from and combine with other players. The co-op missions will also directly impact the events of each player’s single-player campaign, as apposed to it being provided like some last-second multiplayer mode.
The other major multiplayer feature will be Galaxy of War, a feature tied directly with the single-player campaign, best described in BioWare’s announcement post on the BioWare forums.
“The key to saving the galaxy is the “Galactic Readiness” level, measured by Commander Shepard’s ability to apply every possible asset – people, weapons, resources, armies, fleets – in the final battle against the Reapers. Players can impact their game’s Galactic Readiness level in multiple ways via the Mass Effect 3: Galaxy at War system, including multiplayer. Other platforms and interfaces will be announced in the coming months.” - BioWare’s announcement post
To top it all off, BioWare has also promised that the multiplayer modes will be completely optional, and the game’s still built to play perfectly fine in single-player. However, a multiplayer mode like this certainly seems plenty exciting for the series. You can read the whole annoucnement post and FAQ here. Mass Effect 3 is set to release for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC on March 6th, 2012.
Foo Fighters to perform at Blizzcon 2012!
October 4th, 2011
Game conventions are getting bigger and bigger as time goes on, especially in terms of music. Most recently, attendants at Call of Duty XP were entertained by rap titan Kanye West and Irish punk band Dropkick Murphys. However, Blizzcon stands as one of the biggest branches between music and game conventions, seperately featuring Ozzy Osbourne and Tenacious D. However, this year hits another divine Blizzcon concert, starring the Foo Fighters.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQ04WbgI9rg&w=594&h=433]
The Foo Fighters will be closing the con with their concert at the last night of the convention. Opening for them (and playing throughout the rest of the show) will be Blizzard’s beloved metal group Level 80 Elite Tauren Chieftain. The show’ll be available to anybody attending the show, and also to people who purchase the Blizzcon Online Ticket to watch the show via their computer and Direct TV.
Between all the other festivities of Blizzcon, the Foo Fighters are certainly going to be a divine standout. Blizzcon will be occuring on October 21st and 22nd, and Online Tickets are available now at http://us.battle.net/blizzcon/en/live-stream/
Crystal Dynamics making a Tomb Raider art show for series 15th anniversary!
October 4th, 2011Nearly everybody in the world knows who Lara Croft is. The character first came out almost 15 years ago, and has since become one of the biggest animated sex symbols in history, and nearly the biggest one in gaming. With Crystal Dynamics’ upcoming re-boot of the series, they certainly have a lot of pressure, but they’re already on the road to doing justice with the series through an art show to celebrate her quinceanera*.
Every 3-4 days (October 7th, 10th, 14th, 17th, 21st, and 24th), Crystal Dynamics will be posting a small gallery of art pieces on their own 15-year celebration site. The pieces will be drawn by the current artists on the game, and several old graphic and comic artists for the character. It’s already started strong with their first artist, Andy Parker, the first Tomb Raider comic artist. He’s since done comic work for Uncanny X-Men and Superman, as well as concept art for the Thor and the upcoming Avengers movie.
“This is the perfect opportunity to celebrate Tomb Raider’s history by looking at Lara’s promising future. We can’t wait to share each artist’s unique interpretation of what it means to be Lara Croft.”
Crystal Dynamics global brand director Karl Stewart
There’s been a lot of bad games and outsider distress caused by this character, but the innocent and so-far spectacular art is certainly a good way to bring her out. Be sure to check back for their art throughout the month at their celebration website (http://hiptic.com/tombraider15).
*Quinceanera; Spanish celebration for a girl’s 15th birthday.
First Gears of War 3 add-on coming November 1st!
October 4th, 2011
With Gears of War 3 having sold 3 million units, there’s a lot of pressure for Microsoft Studios and Epic Games to deliver well with the game’s DLC. Well, their first shot to impress us with the announcement of the first add-on for the game, the Horde Command Pack, coming this November for 800 Microsoft Points (10 dollars in human money).
The add-on is only a multiplayer affair, but boasts plenty of content for the versus and Beast game modes. The biggest additions will be three new maps; Blood Drive (an outdoor medical plaza), Rustlung (an old Navy battleship), and Azura (a jungle-covered island). Also available for players will be 3 new characters (Onyx Guard, Big Rig Dizzy, and Bernie), four new fortification upgrades, and two new weapon skins. To top it off, the pack will also feature achievements worth 250 Gamerscore.
Altogether, it’s a pretty good collection of stuff for ten dollars. We still could use some single-player gameplay, but this is definitely good enough content for only a month after the game’s release. The Gears of War 3: Horde Command Pack will be coming to Xbox LIVE on November 1st.
Sony launching “Only on PSN” promotion tomorrow
October 4th, 2011
Possibly inspired by Microsoft’s popular Summer of XBLA, Sony’s announced that they’ll be rolling their own online sale event over the PSN, titled Only on PSN. Starting tomorrow, several games are going to be released, and several sales are going to be placed on PSN exclusives.
At least two new releases are planned to come per-week, each of themfairly strong titles and ranging from $9.99 to $14.99. PlayStation Plus subscribers will save a little more, with 20 percent off all the major releases and 10 extra dollars to spend in the marketplace if they spend at least $60 during October.
October 4th: Eufloria and Rochard
October 11th: Sideway: New York
October 13th: Sodium Collection
October 18th: Okabu and RocketBirds (pictured above)
October 25th: Infamous 2: Festival of Blood and PixelJunk Sidescroller
Also on October 4th will be the re-releases of the cult games God Hand, GrimGrimoire, Maximo: Ghosts to Glory, Odin Sphere, and Ring of Red.
It isn’t the most dramatic online sale, but it’s part of what looks like a very strong month for the PSN. The Only on PSN promotion will begin tomorrow.
Activision opens doors for a second Indie game competition
October 4th, 2011
Winner of Activision's last Independent Games Competition, Dstroyd
Back in July, Activision announced the winners to its year-long Independent Games Competition, a contest where small developers could submit games for the chance at a $175,000 prize, and a publishing deal. After only announcing the contest’s winners in July (Dstroyed and runner-up Rigonauts: Broadside), Activision’s decided to roll out a second contest, just as big and generous.
Just like the last competition, games of any variety can be entered into the contest. After the submissions are closed, the games will be judged by a jury at IndieCade, where a winner and runner-up will be decided. Activision will then give the winner and runner-up $175,000 and $75,000. In return, Activision will have the right to publish the winning games if they choose to.
“This competition underscores Activision’s commitment to fostering creativity in the independent development community. Many of us began our career as indies, so we are proud to offer this kind of support and encouragement to a couple of the industry’s young visionaries” -Dave Stohl, Activision executive president of studios
Slim as the chances of winning are, it certainly seems like a great thing for any little developer to work towards. Official rules will be available later at www.activision.com/independentgamescompetition, and the submissions close on December 31st, 2011.
I Am Alive officially coming this Winter!!
September 30th, 2011
There’s been ridiculous amounts of buzz around I Am Alive for the past few months. Forgetting its good-looking original concept, the game’s stayed pretty deep in the shadows while its IP got traded to Ubisoft from developer Darkworks. Well thanks to Ubisoft Shanghai, the game’s finally been announced to officially be coming out, with the hope to release it this Winter over the PSN and XBLA. To top off the happy announcement, Ubisoft even gave out a pretty little announcement trailer.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGLvganLayE]
For those that don’t know, I Am Alive follows the story of a man’s exploration and survival in his home city of Haventon, after a titanic earthquake and toxic gases have destroyed the entire place. Players must travel the disaster zone to find their character’s lost wife and daughter, find food and water, and deal with other survivors through combat, conversation, and even intimidation. Boasting a huge environment and intelligent AI, it’s got the eyes of a lot of critics already, especially with an additional promise of a strong story.
“We know people have been waiting for this game to arrive, and we believe it’s going to be worth the wait. I Am Alive presents a unique take on the postapocalyptic, survival genre by creating more complex and emotional situations for the player. Xbox LIVE Arcade and PlayStation Network are the perfect platforms to leverage the mature and challenging experiences of the game.” - Lucile Bousquet, Marketing and Communication Director at Ubisoft Canada
Many are already looking forward to it, but to know for certain that it’s coming makes for an awesome bit of knowledge. I Am Alive will be coming to PSN and XBLA this winter.
First Gears of War 3 DLC not to feature Original Cast
September 29th, 2011
With the mighty Gears of War 3 out at last, many of the big questions are what’s next for the series. Well, like most games, the answer will be DLC, but this game’s first DLC will make a fairly bigger jump than most. According to a NeoGAF post from the Gears designer, Cliff Bleszenski, the add-on will have no appearance of the game’s original characters (Marcus, Dom, Cole and Baird). The DLC has also been announced NOT to retell any of the Gears of War graphic novels, and instead be a completely original plot.
What and who we WILL be getting isn’t completely certain. Currently the only expected characters are Barrick from Gears of War: Hollow. For now, the plot, content, and other characters are a mystery, but expect to wait a while before any news comes along. It’s only been a week since release, after all, we’ve got plenty of time and reason to be patient.
Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures available for free over DSi and 3DS E-Shop!
September 29th, 2011
While in its current 25th anniversary, the Legend of Zelda series has become busier than ever this year. One of the littler announcements within this buzz was the plan for a DSi and 3DS re-release of Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary, which didn’t have too much light shown on its contents. Well today, this release has finally come to the E-Shop, stunningly for free and packing much more than you’d expect.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBYtjiei5uA&w=594&h=332]
The game is essentially a re-make of the multiplayer mode packaged with the GBA version of Link to the Past. Through multiplayer, 2-4 people can join in on the Capcom/Nintendo adventure to rescue the princess and save the world. This anniversary edition also features a singleplayer mode, where players control two Links at the same time. New to this version are also new stages based off of other Zelda titles, and another challenging mode called “The Heroes Trial”.
All of this is free and available now over the DSi and 3DS E-Shop, but will also be removed from the E-Store on February 20th, 2012. Be sure to check it out quickly while you can.
Sony reveals Teaser for unknown October Announcement
September 26th, 2011Sony’s got a lot of stuff their plate right now. Between the Vita’s Japan release and their ongoing pursuits with Move and their 3DTVs, you’d think they’d be busy enough already. This added to the tiny surprise of a new and extremely vague trailer on the Playstation Youtube channel, put up this morning. The trailer’s pretty short, but is filled with references to PlayStation exclusive franchises nearly every few seconds (including Twisted Metal, Metal Gear Solid, and Resistance).
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBuK3EcY6vk]
The most interesting part of the trailer stands that it’s only the announcement for another announcement, yet done with so much effort. It’s fair to assume it’s a sign of something good coming, though it’s hard to be certain what it’ll be. To use that many references to Sony-exclusive software is leading a lot of speculation to a new version of the PS3, or an EU/NA release date for the PS Vita. Considering it isn’t region locked, I can’t imagine it being too difficult for them to release it at the same time worldwide.
Whatever it is though, we won’t have to wait long to find out, since the announcement’s coming on October 5th. With any luck, it’ll be worth all the curiosity it’s provided.
League of Legends suddenly releases new Dominion game mode
September 26th, 2011
League of Legends‘ biggest flaw has been its lack of maps and game modes. While the game’s still good and beyond popular, Riot Games has yet to do much about this issue since the game’s release. Today that changes with the game’s giant new patch, Dominion, featuring a tiny list of big new content.
The major addition of Dominion is the new game mode of the same name. Dominion Mode plays like a control point game, similar to many online FPS and strategy games. Unlike the game’s classic mode, it’s far more fast-paced and easy to jump into, certainly a great and necessary addition for the MOBA game. Unfortunately, the new mode only has one map with it, and it’s still somewhat bug-ridden, but it’s definitely one of the biggest advancements in the game since its release. Also in the background of the expansion are several minor patches for the other game mode, characters and items, in their attempts to perfect the game’s quality and balance.
The servers might be pretty hectic right now, but League of Legends: Dominion is free and live now for PC, and probably worth giving a shot even if you haven’t tried the game yet. You can download the full version from the game’s website at na.leagueoflegends.com.
Rage on the 360 Inspires Hard Drive Rage!
September 26th, 2011
It turns out that “ridiculous” barely describes the size of id Software’s upcoming Rage. In an interview with Eurogamer, id creative director Tim Willits has told that the Xbox 360 version of the game will come with three full disks of content. The first two of these will consist of the single-player mode, featuring its lengthy campaign and titanic open world, while the third exclusively contains the multiplayer mode.
Meanwhile, the PS3 version is actually much better off; there, the game only takes up 8GB of HD space on only one disk blu-ray disk. Willits even showed appreciation to Sony for giving them so much ease with making the console’s version.
“What is nice about the PS3 platform is that it’s just one platform. Everyone has one Blu-ray drive, one hard drive, it’s all the same”. - Tim Willits, id Creative Director
Willits did say that you’re able to delete the first half of the game when you’re finished it, saving a fair amount of room on the hard drive. However, even if you’re economical, you’ll still need about 22GB of free space. If you’re getting Rage for the Xbox 360, you’d better and start clearing some space and get a book to read while it installs.
It’s really a shame to see hardware troubles like this for only one console, especially one as populated as the 360. In the end though, it’s only a true nightmare if the game’s quality isn’t worth the time and space for installation. Here’s hoping that it WILL be worthwhile when it releases for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC in early October.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Rezurrection DLC arrives on PC and PS3!
September 22nd, 2011
About a month ago, Activision released the Rezurrection DLC pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops on Xbox 360, ending in generally decent reviews. Today, owners of the PC and PS3 versions will be able to finally bash more zombies at their leisure as the DLC has now been released for both platforms.
Rezurrection features a total five maps, with four of them being remastered zombie maps from previous CoD games (Nacht der Üntoten, Verrückt, Shi No Numa, and Der Riese). The fifth is the specially made Moon level, which includes a massive play area, several different types of zombies, and many new weapons. Additional to the in-game content, players will be given the Zombies mode soundtrack, including the Moon level theme Nightmare (written by Avenged Sevenfold).
Owners of the four classic maps through the Hardened and Prestige editions will be able to download the rest of the content for free, while the rest of the public will have to purchase the content for $15 over the PSN or your PC. If think you have an ill to shoot the undead, the Rezurrection pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops is available now.
Forza Motorsport 4 to sport a Season Pass and demo
September 22nd, 2011
With the upcoming Forza Motorsport 4 will be ridiculous amounts of cars to race with. Over 80 manufacturers are planned now, as well as countless ways to customize your own vehicle. Today, it’s been announced that there’ll be even more cars to come, for the entire game’s lifespan.
Forza 4 has been revealed to have a giant piece of DLC called the Season Pass. Owners of the Season Pass will instantly six future downloadable car packs when they’re released between November 2011 to April 2012, totaling to about 60 cars by the end. The cost of these will be a gate price of 2400 Microsoft points (or $30), which is about 30% cheaper than the cars would be separately. Additionally, players will receive a American Muscle Car pack as a bonus, featuring 10 vehicles.
-1965 Pontiac GTO
-1968 Pontiac Firebird
-1970 Buick GSX
-1970 Dodge Cornet Super Bee
-1966 Chevrolet Nova SS
-1969 Shelby GT500 428CJ
-1971 Plymouth GTX 426 Hemi
-1967 Dodge Cornet W023
-1968 Dodge Dart HEMI Super Stock
-1964 Ford Fairlane Thunderbolt
Also in the Forza 4 news is the announcement of a demo coming to Xbox LIVE. No details for the demo have come yet, but it’ll be arriving on October 3rd for Gold members and October 7th for everyone else. People who want to grab the game before its release might also consider pre-ordering the game, which will provide players with a 5-vehicle “Launch Car Pack”.
-1965 Ford Mustang GT Coupe
-2011 Koenigsegg Agera
-1997 Lexus SC300
-2011 RUF RGT-8
-2011 Tesla Roadster Sport
With the decent Season Pass DLC plan, the game’s certainly looking impressive in quantity. Forza Motorsport 4 will becoming exclusively to Xbox 360 on October 11th in North America, 13th in Australia, 14th in Europe, and 20th in Japan.
NBA 2K12 Demo Available Now!
September 21st, 2011
2K Sports yesterday announced the arrival of an NBA 2K12 demo, available for free over both Xbox LIVE and the PSN. On one hand, it might be a little unnecessary when you consider how most people that’ll buy NBA 2K12 are already decided whether they will or won’t. Nonetheless, a new thing for demo-savy gamers to try is never a bad thing.
The demo’s pretty short and simple, but does the job well. Players will be allowed to relive one quarter of the NBA 2011 finals, as either the Miami Heat or Dallas Mavericks. The demo will include most of the on-court features of the game, but still is limited to local play and only the one sample game. Besides, it probably doesn’t need more than one quarter of gameplay to show the basics of what NBA 2K12 has to offer.
NBA 2K12‘s demo is available now for PS3 and Xbox 360. The full game will be released on October 4th for PSP, PS3, PC, Wii, Xbox 360, and PS2.