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Battlefield 3 follows Call of Duty into war zone of paid subscriptions

Posted on June 5, 2012 by Andrew Rainnie

Following in the murky footstep of Activision’s Call of Duty Elite service, EA has announced a similar subscription service for their FPS, Battlefield 3, entitled Battlefield 3 Premium.

Priced at $49.99, Battlefield Premium carries the same price as its Elite competition. In return, players will receive five expansion packs; essentially it is five “Project Ten Dollars” shoved together. Battlefield 3 Premium subscribers will also have access to “a host of exclusive in-game items including the ACB-90 knife, a set of Premium dog tags, and soldier and weapon camos – all complemented by unique Battlelog features, Double XP weekends, and other exclusive events and videos.”

EA Games Executive Vice President Patrick Soderlund claims that gamers will save $25 buying in bulk rather than buying the DLC packs individually, and that those who subscribed would receive new updates two weeks before normal players.

While the move is unsurprising, one cannot help but feel this is the road to Hell, paved with good intentions. Perhaps it is a question of lack of originality. Star Wars: The Old Republic was criticised for being too much like rival MMO World of Warcraft, while this new move sees Battlefield 3 merely following in Call of Duty’s footsteps. And when a game and subscription package costs over $100, players are more likely to only pick one.

And I can’t help but feel that EA is looking to gouge their players with little charges for any sort of perceived “extra.” But maybe it’s just me.

[Source: Reuters]

Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Lord of the Rings is next franchise to get Lego treatment

Posted on June 5, 2012 by Andrew Rainnie

After Lego Star Wars, Lego Indiana Jones, Lego Harry Potter and Lego Batman, the Lego Group, along with Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment and TT Games, have announced the rather clumsily worded Lego The Lord of the Rings.

Surely they should have taken the definitive article out of the title? Regardless, the new game will encompass all three films from the trilogy, and will be released for all current consoles, including the 3DS, PS Vita, DS, PC, Wii, PS3, and Xbox 360. In a break from the traditional “Lego Something” format, the game will also feature voiced dialogue.

Tom Stone, Managing Director at TT Games, expressed the company’s enthusiasm for the game: “We are huge aficionados of The Lord of the Rings franchise and are incredibly excited to put our special Lego family-friendly touch on this classic fantasy adventure. We’ve taken what fans are familiar with and love about The Lord of the Rings films and combined it with the playful Lego style, which makes the story and gameplay accessible to gamers of all ages.”

Perhaps it is just me, but it is hard to get excited about yet another Lego transformation of a licensed film series. What’s next? Lego Fast and the Furious? Or maybe a move into TV with Lego Game of Thrones and Lego Sex and the City? The toy brick company has a number of original franchises, such as the Lego Hero Factory or Bionicle, the latter made into a mediocre game by Argonaut and EA and therefore in need of a decent reboot. I find I am much more excited by the upcoming Lego City Stories for Wii U.

Nevertheless, cutesy brick versions of Gandalf, Frodo and Legolas will be winging their way to you in the Fall.

Posted in 3DS, DS, News, PC, PS3, Vita, Wii, Xbox 360 | Tagged ,

Sony @ E3 12: The Last of Us is brutal and gritty

Posted on June 4, 2012 by Nicole Kline

Naughty Dog was on hand to show the first gameplay demo for The Last of Us, which feels like a grown-up version of Uncharted. Not that Uncharted isn’t grown up, but The Last of Us can be downright brutal. The realistic fight scene stretched over several rooms, starting with the main characters trying to stealth, but then being forced into battle.

Your pint-sized companion jumps in at just the right moment to distract one of your assailants, helping you to take him out. She also jumps on top of another enemy and stabs him in the back. You then wrap it up by shooting him in the face with his own shotgun.

Like I said – it’s brutal. I couldn’t see Nathan Drake being quite so cold-hearted, no matter how many dudes he’s tossed over cliffs.

Posted in News, PS3 | Tagged ,

Sony @ E3 12: God of War: Ascension has a new release date

Posted on June 4, 2012 by Nicole Kline

There’s really not much new about God of War: Ascension (except for the multiplayer, of course). Well, there is a new ability where you can put things back together, but that’s about the only thing. OK, that is pretty rad. But really, it’s just another God of War game. Why isn’t the Sony Santa Monica team working on a new IP? Or at least a new mythology?

Either way, the game still looks awesome, regardless of how many times we’ve seen Kratos pull a dude’s head off. God of War: Ascension will smash your PlayStation 3 on March 12, 2013.

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Sony @ E3 12: Wonderbook is a new AR for your living room

Posted on June 4, 2012 by Nicole Kline

Dust off your PlayStation Eye: Sony announced Wonderbook, an interesting augment reality experience for your living room. Andrew House came onstage to announce this strange and innovative new product. It’s a physical book that has AR capability, and it actually looks pretty darn neat. Moonbot Studios is working on the first Wonderbook, Diggs Nghtcrawler, inspired by film noir.

House also announced that J.K. Rowling will be working with Sony. The first book will be called Wonderbook: Book of Spells. Sony will be developing a relationship with Pottermore, Rowling’s massive online presence.

Sony then went on to demo Wonderbook right then and there. The crowd seemed very quiet – either surprised at being, well, surprised, or simply unsure about the product in general. At least, that’s how I was feeling. The demo itself was a little buggy – one of the spellcasters couldn’t quite get her spell to work perfectly. All in all, this seems like some pretty good stuff aimed at kids… and rabid Harry Potter fans.

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Sony @ E3 12: Far Cry 3 will have four-player co-op

Posted on June 4, 2012 by Nicole Kline

Dan Hay has been a busy man today. He came out on stage at the Sony press conference to announce that the team at Ubisoft wasn’t just working on one Farcry game, but rather they were working on two. He then dropped a bomb on the crowd: Far Cry 3 will have four-player co-op. There’s a dedicated four-player campaign, and, of course, a map editor.

It looks beautiful in co-op, but I’m confused. At its heart, the Farcry games are based around isolationism and paranoia. While you did have your buddies in Far Cry 2, there was really no one you could trust. How are they going to overcome an environment they’ve worked so hard to build and maintain?

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Sony @ E3 12: Assassin’s Creed III lets you captain a ship… seriously

Posted on June 4, 2012 by Nicole Kline

Although I’ve already seen a lot of Assassin’s Creed III today, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Ubisoft had more surprises in store for us. You can captain your own ship, which is as awesome as it sounds. You are in control of navigation and weaponry, sailing into the high seas and attacking other ships. The weather is generative, so at any moment, a storm can break out, and with it heaving seas.

But there’s more. Once you cripple another ship, you can board them and begin melee combat. I know you’re here assassin!

Jack Tretton then came out to announce the exclusivity: there’ll be a new PlayStation 3 hardware bundle with a console, the game, and exclusive DLC for the game.

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Sony @ E3 12: CoD: Black Ops Declassified, Assassin’s Creed: Liberation coming to Vita

Posted on June 4, 2012 by Nicole Kline

All the muscle of a first-person shooter will be coming to a handheld with this Fall with Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified. Not only that, but Assassin’s Creed: Liberation will also be coming to the Vita as well. Activision and Ubisoft have been busy little bees.

Assassin’s Creed: Liberation will have a female assassin (whoa!), and the game can be linked with Assassin’s Creed III for exclusive downloadable content. The game will be out on October 30th, and there will be a white Vita bundle coming out as well.

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