Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Gaming Today

Gaming Today

Lego Black Ops (VIDEO)

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 05:56 PM PST

Call of Duty multiplayer is a clusterf–k of nonsense. Some people hate it, but most love it. But when you look at regular ole Black Ops deathmatch through the lense provided by whoever made this amazing Lego video, I think even the old people among us won’t be able to help but smile. Enjoy.


Lego Black Ops – Watch more Game Trailers

Best Handheld Games of 2010

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 05:24 PM PST

Portable technology is getting more and more popular and powerful, and with the rise of sophisticated gaming software for the world’s various smartphones, there’ll soon be fierce competition for your handheld bucks. Whether you like puzzling, platforming, action, or dense JRPG’s, the game industry wasted no time this year trying to get at them. Take a look at our staff picks — we’ll steer you right.

Puzzle Quest 2 & Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker

Ron Whitaker’s Picks

Handheld games are not normally something I spend a lot of time on, but the last couple of years of years have been an exception.  There are a bunch of handheld games worthy of your attention this year, but here are the two that topped my list:

Puzzle Quest 2 (DS)

The first Puzzle Quest won several RPG of the year awards, and the second one is, if anything, better than the first.  The engrossing title features  four classes and four widely-varied playstyles, so you can replay it again and again.  The 'Match 3' puzzle gaming is still one of the best examples of cross-genre merging in the current generation.

Unlike the first game, weapons come into play through new 'action' gems, and you can also use secondary items — such as potions and shields — in combat.  The pacing is still a little slower than some gamers would prefer, but if you're into RPGs or puzzle games, you really can't go wrong with Puzzle Quest 2.

You can also play Puzzle Quest 2 on the XBox 360 or PC (via Steam), but for my money, the DS version is the best, simply because it's a fun game to take on the road.

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (PSP)


Peace Walker will make you glad you own a PSP.  It's a full-fledged entry in the Metal Gear Solid series, and one that no die-hard Snake fan should go without playing.

Picking up the convoluted Metal Gear storyline at the end of MGS 3, Peace Walker gives you a series of tightly-structured missions to accomplish.  It also adorns them with a team-building/enemy-capturing system that actually turns out to be great fun.  All of this ties into your creation of Outer Heaven, which series fans will recall as something Solid Snake destroyed in the first MGS game.

Add in the cooperative play and side missions, and Peace Walker will keep a spot in your portable gaming queue for hours upon end.

Dragon Quest IX: Defender of the Stars and Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3

Shawn Sines’ Picks


I spent hours and hours playing games while traveling this year, so my handheld recommendations are pretty broad. From Dragon Quest 9 to Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 for PSP, there ware no lack of great handheld titles to choose from. DQ9 kept me glued to the DSi even after I'd arrived at my destination more than once. The turn-based combat seemed really well-suited to the handheld, and thanks to the Toriyama characters, I had flashbacks to the last PS2 title.

Persona 3 may not be as well known as DQ 9,  but something about the murder mystery and the plot devices still keep me playing it until late in the night. The portable conversion grabbed me with the new female protagonist and new the storyline, which added some interesting wrinkles to the original protagonist's story.

Super Scribblenauts

Mark Burnham’s Pick


Full review here.

If you’re not at all familiar with the Scribblenauts games, here’s the pitch: you play as Maxwell, this little guy who just hangs out solving puzzles. The puzzles always sound simple, but they seldom are. An example might be something like “make the elephants leave their pen.”

The catch is this. To help you solve these puzzles, you summon objects into the game world, by typing them into existence on a keyboard. Type “dragon,” and a dragon will appear and behave like you’d expect. Type Cthulhu, and the freaking Cthulhu monster will appear. The working dictionary is huge, and you’ll have trouble stumping the game. It’s pretty insane.

In Super Scribblenauts, the main difference is the addition of adjectives to the dictionary. You don’t have to settle for a dragon anymore. You can summon a blue, angry dragon. Or a haunted school. Or a floating tiger. You can even create various “potions,” as in “sleeping potion,” or “poison sword,” and use them to create all sorts of mayhem.

You’ll find many more mature handheld games to choose from in 2010, if that’s your thing. But Super Scribblenauts makes you use your imagination, and brings out the kid in you in truly fun ways.

Infinity Blade

Phil Hornshaw’s Pick

Chair Entertainment's iOS game Infinity Blade is easily the most-hyped thing to hit the App Store in its entire existence. We'd been hearing about it for months — about how spectacular it would look; about how it would prove the power of mobile gaming; about how it would elevate the kinds of games we see on the iPhone and iPad because of the use of Epic's Unreal Engine 3.

Then Infinity Blade launched, and, well, yeah — all those things happened.

Infinity Blade is the game you turn on and show your friends when they ask you why you were dumb enough to shackle yourself to an AT&T contract for two years just to have Apple's overexposed iPhone. It's the game you hand over to naysayers who think that mobile gaming is somehow less important or less pure than console or PC gaming (hint: it's not). It's the game you point to when you want to show people that mobile devices and their apps are going to change the way we think about video games.

The game itself is great, but not the greatest. It can be more repetitive and short-lived than similar games on the platform, even though iPhone games are almost by definition repetitive and short-lived. But Infinity Blade feels like the real deal, like the kind of high-budget, high-concept games you'd get on other platforms. And it is pretty damn fun to play, on top of being absolutely gorgeous.

Infinity Blade is one of the games this year that deserved to be fawned over by everyone who has been talking about it all this time. If you own an iPhone, you owe it to yourself to check this game out — it's very likely the shape of things to come.

Mortal Kombat Has a Release Month

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 04:16 PM PST

Looks like you’ve only got four more months between now and you being able to rip out Kratos’ spine, because Warner announced today that the game will be out in April 2011.

They also announced the obligatory verious editions of the game you’ll be able to buy and the just-as-obligatory pre-order bonuses. I will copy and past this part of the press release, because I am lazy, not legend.

“Details of three different editions of Mortal Kombat:

  • The Standard Edition featuring the award-winning Mortal Kombat game.
  • The Kollector's Edition featuring the award-winning Mortal Kombat game, Sub-Zero and Scorpion figurines, a collectible art book, downloadable content that includes an exclusive Mortal Kombat Klassic costume skin and avatar costumes.
  • The Tournament Edition featuring the award-winning Mortal Kombat game, a portable fight stick, and downloadable content that includes an exclusive Mortal Kombat Klassic costume skin and avatar costumes. The number of tournament editions is very limited with only 20,000 copies available in North America.

Players will be able to pre-order any of the above at North American retailers as of today. Specific pre-order programs include:

  • Gamestop:  Customers who pre-order their copy of Mortal Kombat at Gamestop will get exclusive access to the Klassic Scorpion Playable Character Skin and the original Scorpion Fatality.
  • Best Buy:  Customers who pre-order their copy of Mortal Kombat at Best Buy will get exclusive access to the Klassic Sub-Zero Playable Character Skin and the original Sub-Zero Fatality.
  • Amazon: Customers who pre-order their copy of Mortal Kombat on Amazon.com will get exclusive access to the Klassic Reptile Playable Character Skin and the original Reptile Fatality.”

As you’ll remember, of course, Kratos is in the PS3 version of the game (trailer).

Dead Rising 2′s Case West Smashes Skulls After Christmas

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 03:58 PM PST

The Dead Rising 2 epilogue called Case West will be bring Frank West back into your living rooms on December 27, Capcom said today in an amusingly brief press release.

On top of that, though, Capcom says the standalone game, which is exclusive to the Xbox 360, will run you 800 Microsoft points. Cool. I guess I can go with that, even though I have a thing against playing Japanese games on the 360 (I played Dead Rising 2 on PS3).

Oh, and the rundown: “Chuck is joined by Dead Rising's very own Frank West as the two infiltrate the Phenotrans Facility in an attempt to uncover the company's murky dealings.”

Forza 4, Officially, Will Support Kinect (Box Art Inside)

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 03:49 PM PST

This always seemed like a bad idea, but there’s nothing I can do about it now, as Microsoft has made it official that Forza 4 will be Kinect-able.

This is actually huge news. Right now, the biggest question mark in regards to Kinect is whether or not it can be used on “real” games, i.e. the kind of games the hardcore demographic likes. So far, there are no Kinect games that give us much insight into the answer to that question. Forza 4, though, (which was publicly revealed for the first time Saturday) will be a very important benchmark for the new accessory, and it will likely determine whether or not the hardcore crowd keeps scoffing at Kinect.

I guess we’ll find out in about a year. In the meantime, here is what Microsoft’s PR folks tell me is Forza 4′s box art. I’m skeptical.

Four New Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Videos

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 03:35 PM PST

We have a collection of four new Marvel vs. Capcom 3 videos for you to download and check out. Check out the links below.

Marvel vs. Capcom 3 ‘C. Viper’ Trailer
This trailer features just over a minute of gameplay footage focusing on C. Viper.

Marvel vs. Capcom 3 ‘The Hand Hideout’ Trailer
This trailer features just over three minutes of gameplay footage that takes place at The Hand Hideout.

Marvel vs. Capcom 3 ‘Storm’ Trailer
This trailer features just over a minute of gameplay footage focusing on Storm.

Marvel vs. Capcom 3 ‘Daily Bugle’ Trailer
This trailer features just over three minutes of gameplay footage taking place at the Daily Bugle.

Unbound Saga ‘Between the Panel’ Episode 3

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 03:24 PM PST

This is Episode 3 of Vogster’s ‘Between the Panels’ for Unbound Saga. In Episode 3 Rick is not afraid to show his seething wrath as he talks about the one who makes his life a living hell: The Maker. You can download this video here or watch it below.

Amazon Offers Large Incentives on New Game Consoles

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 02:12 PM PST

It’s no secret that it’s not so easy to find an Xbox 360 right now. Currently, Amazon does have the 4gb 360 Kinect bundle in stock, but that probably won’t last long. That Amazon can’t keep the 360 in stock is both good and bad for them. It means they’re making bank, but it also means they’ve got to sell other gaming stuff to maximize their money-making potential right now. In order to do so, they’re offering mad incentives on the PS3 and the Wii.

What they’ve got on tap right now, does Amazon, is a $75 gift card if you buy a PS3 and a $50 gift card if you buy a Wii. That’s worth one brand new game for each console, but you can use the cards on whatever you want, because unlike most Amazon credit you get for buying stuff, this money is not limited to the games section. Pretty nice.

Note: You get the gift card only for the 160gb PS3 that does not come with Ratchet and Clank Future: a Crack in Time and Singstar Dance.

VGA 2010: SSX – Deadly Descents Trailer

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 01:30 PM PST

EA has released a new trailer for SSX: Deadly Descents. This trailer was released during the 2010 VGAs and contains just over a minute of cinematic footage. You can download this video here or watch it below.

X-Men: Destiny Trailer

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 01:10 PM PST

Activision has released a new trailer for X-Men: Destiny. The all-new original video game casts players as new mutant recruits in a rich, branching storyline that features a deep element of choice and gives players ultimate control of their destiny. You can download this video here or watch it below.

WoW: Cataclysm is now the Fastest-Selling PC Game Ever

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 10:47 AM PST

This past Tuesday, Blizzard released the latest expansion for the game the defines the MMORPG market, World of Warcraft. With something along the lines of 12 million subscribers, you kinda knew this was going to be a big deal. As it turns out, it was a record-setting big deal.

Blizzard announced today that in the first 24 hours at retail, Cataclysm sold more than 3.3 million copies. That number means that Cataclysm is now the fastest selling PC game of all time.

While it’s a great accomplishment, it is kind of bittersweet for Blizzard, since they broke the record that they set in 2008 with the release of Wrath of the Lich King.

If you haven’t grabbed a copy of Cataclysm yet (and obviously some of you haven’t, since 12 million > 3.3 million), maybe you’d enjoy seeing our 4-part review of some of the new content.

VGA 2010: Mortal Kombat Kratos Reveal Extended Trailer

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 10:05 AM PST

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment today releases a special extended trailer for the award-winning and iconic fighting game Mortal Kombat, featuring the playable warrior Kratos from the renowned God of War series. You can download this video here or watch it below.

Bloodline Champions The Blood Priest Trailer

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 09:09 AM PST

Funcom and Stunlock Studios have released a world first video for the upcoming player vs. player online arena game ‘Bloodline Champions’, offering a unique glimpse into the tactics and strategies involved in playing the Blood Priest bloodline. You can download this video here or watch it below.

VGA 2010: Prototype 2 Trailer

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 08:58 AM PST

PROTOTYPE 2′s first official trailer was revealed as a world premiere during this past weekend’s Spike TV Video Game Awards 2010 show, where fans of the shape-shifting open-world action franchise got their first glimpse into Sgt. James Heller, and why he is going to destroy PROTOTYPE’s original anti-hero, Alex Mercer. You can download this video here or watch it below.

Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim to be Built on Brand New Engine, Details in Next Game Informer

Posted: 13 Dec 2010 08:47 AM PST

The excitement caused by the long-awaited announcement of a new Elder Scrolls game was tempered by our fear that it would be built on the Gamebryo engine.

Not to worry, says Bethesda Community Manager Nick Breckon. In a tweet sent out last night, he said,

It’s a new graphics/gameplay engine built internally. We’ll have more details down the road.

So that’s good news. Here’s some more: Game Informer magazine will be revealing more details in their February issue. Here’s BethBlog’s tweet on that:

Skyrim will be revealed in an exclusive cover story in @gameinformer Feb issue, going to subscribers in early Jan.

If you haven’t gotten your GameStop Rewards card, this might just make it worthwhile.

Anyone else already saving their pennies for 2011? Skyrim will be coming on PC, PS3, and XBox 360 on November 11, 2011.
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