Gaming Today |
- Bloomberg Says PSP2 Announcement Next Week, PS Phone Soon After
- Break Made a Flash Game For You To Enjoy
- New DJ Hero 2 Trance Music DLC Is Available Now
- Dragon Age: Origins DLC, EA Content Half Off on Xbox Live
- Spotted: Something Called ‘Gears of War: Exile’
- Ripples in the Pool: The Long-Term Implications of the PS3 Hack
- Contra Box Demos Konami’s Blatant Theft of Cool ’80s Movie Ideas
- Cerberus Network Down for Mass Effect 2 PS3 Players
- Germany Censors Dead Space 2, Delaying It to February
- Square Enix is Going to Inflict Final Fantasy XIII-2 On Us
- Gameloft’s Tease is Sacred Odyssey: Rise of Ayden (VIDEO)
- Fan-Made World of StarCraft Trailer Looks Phenomenal (VIDEO)
- Kongregate Gives Android Gamers 300 Titles Worth of Love
- Conduit 2 Weapons Trailer
- Epic Announces Gears of War Triple Pack for $30
| Bloomberg Says PSP2 Announcement Next Week, PS Phone Soon After Posted: 18 Jan 2011 10:30 PM PST
So Bloomberg is calling the ball: Sony will be announcing the PSP 2 next week and the Playstation Phone (now pretty well considered to be called the Xperia Play) at Mobile World Congress starting Feb. 14 in Barcelona. The business site is citing a pair of unnamed sources saying that SCE is using its event on Jan. 27 in Tokyo to finally drop the new PSP on us — the one that’s supposed to be comparable in power to the Playstation 3. This is stuff we’ve heard before, but now Bloomberg is saying it. Therefore, you should take note again. The press conference next week is also supposed to explain a whole plan for networked entertainment for the PSP 2, which could be extended to the Xperia Play as well, that’ll probably be a whole lot like Sony’s CES 2011 presentation. During that keynote, Sony talked about 3D everything and connected entertainment flying through the air all over your house. Expect that kind of mindset when it comes to the new Playstation Portable. Hopefully we’ll finally be seeing how the supposedly godly new PSP stacks up against Nintendo’s 3DS. Via Engadget.
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| Break Made a Flash Game For You To Enjoy Posted: 18 Jan 2011 09:16 PM PST
Video games, amirite? Game Front’s cousin (Up Up Down Down Down Games) has made one. It’s a flash Facebook game called Storm Ops. It’s about shooting dudes and their evil UAVs and stuff. I actually just played it for 30 minutes even though my f–king head hurts and I’m still way high on Bama’s triumph over Kentucky on the basketball court. Go ahead and play it here.
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| New DJ Hero 2 Trance Music DLC Is Available Now Posted: 18 Jan 2011 06:02 PM PST
Depending on how you spend your weekends, owners of DJ Hero 2 are about to be either really excited or kind of bored. I’ve don’t use the recreational pharmaceuticals notoriously associated with electonric music, but I’ve spent a shocking amount of my life dancing. That of course would be why I love DJ hero, and today, I have another reason – The Trance Anthems Mix Pack drops today, and it includes 3 original mixes of classic trance numbers. 1) "Imagine" by Armin van Buuren Mixed With "Punk" by Ferry Corsten These two very pretty, very LONG songs mashup pretty well, I think. And here’s someone playing at max difficulty. Regardless of your feelings on trance, this is damned impressive gaming. 2) "Not Over" by Paul Oakenfold ft. Ryan Tedder (Remix by FSG) There’s no gameplay footage posted, but here’s the original: Yes, Oakenfold is the biggest douche in electronic music. And One Republic are just terrible, god awful crap for people who don’t like music. But I have to admit this isn’t that bad! And FSG doesn’t suck either, so I’m looking forward to it. "9PM (Till I Come)" by ATB Mixed With "For An Angel" by Paul van Dyk Gameplay footage: I hate myself for admitting this, but I love both of these tracks, and they really work together. As we said – available now. Do what I’m doing tonight and download as soon as you get home.
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| Dragon Age: Origins DLC, EA Content Half Off on Xbox Live Posted: 18 Jan 2011 04:44 PM PST
There’s another big Xbox Live sale going on this week, and this time it’s content from Electronic Arts and includes some things you might actually want to download. Major Nelson has the skinny on his blog, but the gist is that all the Dragon Age: Origins DLC is half off until Jan. 24, along with a handful of other DLC and a few Xbox Live Arcade games as well. There’s some serious savings here on lots of stuff, so take advantage while you can. Here’s the complete list: Dragon Age: Origins:
Other DLC:
XBLA games:
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| Spotted: Something Called ‘Gears of War: Exile’ Posted: 18 Jan 2011 03:53 PM PST
After that almost-a-reveal that was postponed at the last minute, the speculation that there’s some other Gears of War project floating around out there, possibly for Kinect, had hit a wall.
So looks like something’s in the pipe, but as to what the hell it is, we have no idea (as usual). Epic has refused comment about the image and the name (as usual) and we’re stuck figuring this is probably what we were supposed to hear about last month, which Cliff Bleszinski insisted was not a Kinect Gears title. Here’s hoping he was just, well, lying. I’m still waiting for a good reason to go drop $150 on a new motion controller. Via Eurogamer.
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| Ripples in the Pool: The Long-Term Implications of the PS3 Hack Posted: 18 Jan 2011 02:08 PM PST
By now, every single person on the internet is well aware of the release of the PlayStation 3′s root keys. The guy responsible, George Hotz (aka Geohot), is the same fellow who brought us the jail break for iPhone. “What’s the big deal?” some people might ask. To answer that, it’s necessary for us to first explain what a root key is. At its most basic, a root key is a specific string of characters used to authenticate all PS3 software as being produced by Sony. If a piece of software doesn’t have the root key, your PS3 knows it isn’t legit. The release of this key, the very core of the PS3′s security, is a devastating blow to Sony, and one that could spell the end of the platform as a whole. I can hear the supporters of this guy out there right now, screaming, “This doesn’t even let people run pirated games!” While that may or not be true (I certainly haven’t tested it), no one can argue that this places the tools for pirating, hacking, and all sorts of other nefarious activities into the hands of those who have been longing to do exactly that. As I have said before, it’s like giving a heroin addict a box of needles and a pound of smack and asking him not to use any. It just ain’t gonna happen. Every time a console has had its protection cracked, piracy has been the result.
Yeah, I see you waving your hand. You’re saying that this doesn’t hurt anything, it’s just allowing people to use their consoles however they want, which is part of ownership, right? Sony should never have removed OtherOS, right? Forget for a minute that the only reason it was removed was that people were attempting to use that functionality to bypass the console’s security, and riddle me this, Batman: Which right of ownership allows you to destroy the integrity of Sony’s online service? Reports are pouring in that the PS3 version of Modern Warfare 2 is overrun with hackers and exploiters. Already we’ve seen Robert Bowling of Infinity Ward say that, “Games rely on the security of the encryption on the platforms they’re played on, therefore; updates to the game through patches will not resolve this problem, unless the security exploit itself is resolved on the platform.” Basically, he’s putting it on Sony’s head, and quite rightfully so. No matter what Infinity Ward might do, the PS3 sees these hacks as legitimate software (because they’ve got the proper root key), so it will continue to run them. If you’re playing Modern Warfare 2, you can expect to see folks using aimbots and wallhacks out there. You will likely also see folks altering clan tags, unlocking content, and doing just about anything else they want to. Now, get this: It isn’t just MW2 that’s affected. It’s every single game on the console. Sony has pledged to fix this, but there seems to be general disagreement on whether or not they can close this hole through firmware upgrades.
Furthermore, it’s still up in the air whether or not Sony can permanently remove these lovely folks from PSN. There are hacks out there (we won’t be linking to them) that allow the console’s ID to be changed. While Sony appears to use a whitelist method to validate PSIDs, if an unscrupulous individual gained access to a list of valid PSIDs, he could be virtually unstoppable for Sony, unless they devise an additional check that will block the console’s access. While all of these things are being discussed around the web, there’s one thing no one seems to have thought of yet: the future implications of this action. You see, consoles and videogame systems have been a fairly secure platform to play games on for a while. Sure, there are consoles floating around with mod chips in them, but those historically have been a fairly small number, and they don’t affect anyone other than the console owner. If you torrent an XBox 360 game and play it, you’re stealing from the game developer, but you’re not going online and ruining the game that everyone else actually paid for. Now, Sony is looking at a situation where their flagship console could be rendered all but useless for online play. Speculation is that they would need to issue a recall to replace hardware in every single system. Not only is it a logistics nightmare, but the cost of it would be staggering. More importantly, it might not even be effective. After all, there is a ton of software already out there that is imprinted with the existing root key, and that all has to work, too. You can bet that they are already planning for their next console, and now the security on it is going to be more robust than anything we’ve ever seen. We don’t pretend to have any knowledge of anything Sony is working on, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see copy protections requiring at least regular online authentications of software. Perhaps you’ll have to be connected to the internet to play your console games. Maybe something even worse that I can’t think of right now. Remember, once you get burned, you tend to overprotect against getting burned a second time.
So this little incident will have some far-reaching repercussions. Don’t think that Microsoft isn’t watching this closely while they scramble in their security department to make sure it doesn’t happen to them as well. It seems small, but this sort of incident could shape the next generation of consoles. Scary, huh? Let’s hope it’s not as bad as all that. Let’s hope that Sony can close up the security holes generated by this devastating hack. If not, let’s at least agree that when the PlayStation 4 with Gestapo-like security is released, we won’t complain to Sony about it. Instead, we can send all the complaint emails to Mr. Hotz. After all, he worked hard to earn them.
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| Contra Box Demos Konami’s Blatant Theft of Cool ’80s Movie Ideas Posted: 18 Jan 2011 01:48 PM PST
Reddit sure knows how to be entertaining. Check out this graphic that was posted demonstrating Konami‘s brilliance in making Contra appeal to everyone who ever watched a sci-fi movie from 1982 to 1989. Not the first cover to steal a good idea from somebody else, though: there was the Deadliest Catch box that tries desperately to make crabs as exciting as fighting Nazis, for example. And at least Contra didn’t lift the entire concept of a game directly from another game, slap it on the iPhone, and then not apologize for it.
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| Cerberus Network Down for Mass Effect 2 PS3 Players Posted: 18 Jan 2011 01:34 PM PST
Mass Effect 2 hit Playstation 3 today, but it’s not all there: the Cerberus Network, ME2′s in-game news feed and download service, isn’t functional on Sony’s console. Both Electronic Arts and Sony are aware of and working on the issue even now, though, and they expect to have it resolved within a day or two. It seems the problem is with the Cerberus Network code that comes packaged with the game. Users trying to input the code in order to get linked into the network are finding that it doesn’t work. EA has issued a customer support notice, but there’s no official comment or update as to what the actual problem is or what’s being done to fix it. In all likelihood, this was just something that got botched or overlooked as Mass Effect 2 was getting finished up — but wouldn’t it suck if this was all GeoHot’s fault with that damn root key, and ME2 was ruined already just like Call of Duty 4 and Modern Warfare 2? Can you tell I’m a little bitter that the Playstation 3 version of ME2 is far and away better than the Xbox 360 version? Via VG247.
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| Germany Censors Dead Space 2, Delaying It to February Posted: 18 Jan 2011 01:10 PM PST
German players won’t see Dead Space 2 until February because the German government isn’t happy about the possibility of accidentally shooting human players when you mean to shoot monsters. So Visceral Games and Electronic Arts are basically being censored — since shooting formerly human monsters is fine, but accidentally shooting teammates is not, according to the country’s officials. Apparently, the change is pretty minimal. Single-player and multiplayer content remain unchanged, but the friendly fire option in the game’s multiplayer mode is not allowed. Allow me not to make the very obvious comment about history, violence, shooting humans accidentally or otherwise, and the total lack of video games before 1945. Via Destructoid.
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| Square Enix is Going to Inflict Final Fantasy XIII-2 On Us Posted: 18 Jan 2011 12:40 PM PST
OK, so Final Fantasy XIII was popular for some reason. It sold a lot of copies. I don’t understand why that was the case, but it is, and because of that I should not be surprised it’s getting a direct sequel. But I somehow am. Maybe it’s because playing Final Fantasy XIII made me feel like I was locked in a dark basement by a psychotic murderer who tortured me for weeks on end and was just about to put an end to me when I somehow managed to escape. Since that encounter, I don’t sleep much, and on the rare occasions when I do find solace in the embrace of the sandman I without fail wait up shaking and covered in sweat. Square Enix’s announcement today, then, that Final Fantasy XIII-2 exists and that they’re planning to release it next winter makes me feel like I just received a threatening letter from my former captor. He’s telling me that he’s been watching me, and that he’ll be coming for me one day. OK, so what’s up with this game? Sorry, no details yet aside from that Lightning is back and that the battle system will be tweaked. And, like I said in the last graf, it’ll be coming for you next winter. It’ll be on the Xbox 360 and the PS3. That’s all we know. I think I’m gonna cry now. Here’s a screenshot of Lightning wearing something fancy but still showing off some thigh. Silver lining?
Oh, god, I just remembered that Final Fantasy XIII Versus is also a thing. S–t.
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| Gameloft’s Tease is Sacred Odyssey: Rise of Ayden (VIDEO) Posted: 18 Jan 2011 12:10 PM PST
Gameloft has revealed its new iPhone game, and kind of like we thought before, it looks to be an action-RPG in the vein of The Legend of Zelda. We saw the game teased a week or so back on Facebook, and speculation was rampant. The trailer’s embedded below so you can take a look yourself, but in general, it looks pretty stellar. We know almost nothing about the game yet, except that it’s due out next month for iDevices. My own analysis makes the game look a little less Ocarina of Time and a little more like the recent Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. Check the gauntlet on main character’s left hand, the glowing horse and that magic punching ability — those are all a whole lot like the most recent Castlevania title. Mercifully, though, Sacred Odyssey doesn’t look to include any of Castlevania’s platforming — from the trailer, it doesn’t look like you can jump at all. You do ride horses and possibly airships, though.
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| Fan-Made World of StarCraft Trailer Looks Phenomenal (VIDEO) Posted: 18 Jan 2011 11:40 AM PST
Take a look at what a Starcraft and World of Warcraft fan made using Blizzard’s available assets and a little bit of brilliance. Ryan Winzen is behind the mashup, which he says is still in the pre-alpha stages and is more of a proof of concept at this point. There’s a lot more information on the World of Starcraft forum, but what we know right now is that there’s no release date for any kind of completed game, and that the 25-year-old Winzen isn’t affiliated with Blizzard. According to Winzen, the trailer below shows what he’s working on, which utilizes the World of Warcraft engine and a bunch of other assets that Blizzard has made available to players on their various editor programs. He’s showing off the Ghost class mostly in the video, which he says on the Youtube page isn’t complete yet. I don’t see any Zerg in this trailer (bummer), but there are a ton of huge, angry Protoss that look like they just escaped from TRON.
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| Kongregate Gives Android Gamers 300 Titles Worth of Love Posted: 18 Jan 2011 11:19 AM PST
Free-to-play Flash game site Kongregate has just dropped a service for Android devices that’ll bring more than 300 games to the sorely under-populated platform. Unlike the iPhone and iPad, Android is a bit lacking in users’ ability to track down quality games. Kongregate’s new service hopes to make the discovery part of the process a little easier, in addition to converting a ton of its site’s simple Flash games to a format that works on Android 2.2 Froyo. Some of the games will be downloaded with the app and available for offline play, but for the most part, it sounds like you’ll need an Internet connection of some kind to play Kongregate Arcade. On the plus side, you can integrate your existing Kongregate account to keep track of all scores and any badges you earn when playing — so if you’ve got Kongregate friends, you can spend some time squashing their scores whenever you’ve got a free moment. One more cool thing: this should single Kongregate’s start with making Android-specific games rather than just converting its existing Flash games to touchscreen capability. Sounds awesome. Via Joystiq.
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| Posted: 18 Jan 2011 11:15 AM PST
It is really cool to see new first-person games coming out that include some imaginative weaponry. I miss those old days of Unreal and Quake where the guns were just crazy fun, AKA ‘The Ripper.’
Cross your fingers that Conduit 2 will fill this sad void in my soul. This new trailer highlights some of the incredible weapons players will have at their disposal in the game, including: the Hive Cannon, which shoots a swarm of insects that explode on contact; the Aegis Device, which allows players to use their enemies own ammo against them; and the AR-C Eclipse, a gun that can render its user completely invisible. You can download this video here or watch it below.
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| Epic Announces Gears of War Triple Pack for $30 Posted: 18 Jan 2011 10:51 AM PST
Remember when GameStop accidentally listed Gears of War Ultimate on its website last week? Epic just got around to announcing it — except now it’s called the Gears of War Triple Pack. Everything we figured would be in the big Gears pack is, in fact, included. The new package combines Gears of War and Gears of War 2, plus all the map packs and DLC that’s been released for both games. It’ll run at $29.99, which is the price point we expected from the GameStop listing, and is due out on Feb. 15. According to the press release, you can expect 61 campaign chapters and 38 multiplayer maps, plus all the Gears achievements to date for a total of 3,000 Gamerscore. A few multiplayer maps aren’t included in the package — specifically, five maps from the Gears Multiplayer Map Pack 1 and the Hidden Fronts pack for Gears 2 — but they are free to download on Xbox Live. Also, as noted before, there’s no Gears of War 3 beta access packaged with the Triple Pack. You’ll still need to snag a special edition Bulletstorm copy to get in on that.
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