Most Recent: News

XBLA Today: Amy, Choplifter HD

Posted on January 11, 2012 by John Scalzo

One of today’s Xbox Live Arcade additions should be familiar to anyone who checked out the PlayStation Network update yesterday. While another will debut on the XBLA today before making its way to that other download service next week.

Choplifter HD (which is also available on the PSN) can now be downloaded from the XBLA for 1200 Micorsoft Points ($15). The game, which is an HD remake of an Atari 2600 classic, puts players in the shoes of a rescue pilot:

In Choplifter HD, players take on the role of an up and coming rescue pilot asked to join the elite, international helicopter rescue team. Pilots will be trained to command a variety of helicopters with offensive capabilities including missiles and mini-guns, as well as a very vocal co-pilot. Combining reality with elements of fantasy, the more than 30 rescue missions will range from captured military prisoner extraction to saving survivors of viral outbreaks.

Meanwhile, Amy (which will give PS3 owners some undead deja vu next week) is now available to download from the XBLA for 800 Microsoft Points ($10):

The city is infected! Walking corpses sniff the air, flaring out anything still alive. There is only one thing keeping you from running for your life. A special little girl holds your hand… You’re not going anywhere without her. Amy offers you a tense, innovative and immersive experience in survival horror gaming. Play two original characters who alone are desperately fragile, but united become a force capable of confronting the denizens of a living hell. Get ready to become infected.

Posted in News, Xbox 360 | Tagged ,

MGS: Snake Eater 3D streaks into stores on February 21

Posted on January 11, 2012 by John Scalzo

Naked Snake returns for his first ever 3DS adventure, Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D, on February 21.

More or less a straight port, the 3DS remake of Metal Gear Solid 3 features an exclusive “camouflage photography system” that will allow players to create their own camo patterns for Snake. Using the 3DS’ camera, these patterns can also be taken from real world pictures.

In other words, how long do you think it’ll be before Naked Snake becomes, quite literally, a naked Snake?

Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D will also support the upcoming 3DS Circle Pad Pro. The add-on’s second stick will be used to assist players with targeting the minions of Cobra Unit.

Posted in 3DS, News | Tagged

Sony’s Kaz Hirai denies PS4 announcement at E3 2012

Posted on January 11, 2012 by John Scalzo

Round and round we go, where the rumor carousel stops, only Kaz Hirai knows. The Sony Computer Entertainment Chairman took to the stage at CES and shot down all the “PS4 at E3 2012” rumors in one fell swoop.

Once again citing the “ten-year life cycle” that the PS3 was designed with, Hirai hints that the PS3 isn’t going anywhere for a long, long time:

“[W]e are not making any announcements at E3,” Hirai said. “I’ve always said a 10-year life cycle for PS3, and there is no reason to go away from that.”

Oh well. It’s looking more and more likely that the Wii U will be the only next generation console to make an appearance at this year’s E3.

[Source: Wall Street Journal]

Posted in News, PS4 | Tagged

Final Fantasy Origins, Choplifter HD added to PlayStation Store

Posted on January 11, 2012 by John Scalzo

The first two chapters of the Final Fantasy saga were added to the PlayStation Network yesterday. With the addition of Final Fantasy Origins to the PSone Classics line, Square Enix has also ensured that all nine PSone games in the franchise are now available to download from the store. Speaking of Final Fantasy, a Final Fantasy XIII-2 demo was also made available to download yesterday.

Also available this week is Choplifter HD, “a classic arcade adventure, reimagined in stunning HD!” Players will be able to pilot their chopper through frantic war zones while rescuing survivors and raining down destruction.

Here’s what else you can grab from the PlayStation Store this week:

PSN Games

Crazy Machines Elements ($9.99)
Hundreds of totally wacky chain reactions are just waiting to be created! Experience the latest chapter in the international, multi award-winning Crazy Machines series: “Elements”. This time with next gen visuals!

PS3 Full Games

Sports Champions ($29.99)
Sports Champions will let you and your friends physically engage in an array of competitive sporting activities as you go head to head in six events. With the easy to use PlayStation Move motion controller, anyone can crush, spike and smoke the competition in the ultimate sports showdown.

Toy Story 3: The Video Game ($19.99)
In the Toy Story 3: The Video Game help Buzz, Woody, and the rest of the toys ensure no toy gets left behind. Dive into all new heroic adventures in Story Mode or let your imagination run wild in the exciting new open world of Toy Box Mode.

And for a full rundown of all the new game add-ons and demos available this week, head over to the PlayStation Blog.

Posted in News, PS3 | Tagged

Modern Warfare 3 Content Season trailer hints at single-player expansion

Posted on January 11, 2012 by John Scalzo

Are you ready to go behind-the-scenes of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Content Season, specificially the new maps, “Liberation” and “Piazza?” Then you’re in luck, as Infinity Ward has released a video detailing all of the work the team is putting into the first of 20 content drops they have planned for Modern Warfare 3 in 2012.

Most interesting of all is the fact that Robert Bowling, Community Manager at Infinity Ward, strongly hinted that the team is planning at least one expansion to the single-player campaign when he summed up the new content that’ll be available for Modern Warfare 3: “Awesome multiplayer, new Spec Ops missions, extensions to the story, new game modes that we can add…”

The last (and so far, only) time a Call of Duty game received a single-player expansion was 2004’s Call of Duty: United Offensive.

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

Nine months of CoD Modern Warfare 3 DLC announced

Posted on January 10, 2012 by John Scalzo

You knew they were coming, and now, Activision has announced the details of the first two downloadable maps for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

Scheduled to drop January 24 for Xbox 360-owning Call of Duty Elite subscribers, “Liberation” and “Piazza” will bring the war to Central Park and a serene Italian villa. In “Liberation,” players will find “a vast, militarized landscape, ripe for long-range sniper and LMG fire, with mounted turrets on either end that lend power to anyone brave enough to expose themselves in exchange for deadly firepower.” Meanwhile, “Piazza” is considered “the idyllic Italian getaway that is anything but, where tight corners and branching pathways pose great risk at every turn.”

Call of Duty Elite users will also receive a variety of content drops throughout 2012. At least once per month, Activision plans to unleash a new piece of content on the CoD Elite community. In addition to the maps, another piece of content will launch in mid-February with two more scheduled for March. All told, at least 20 pieces of DLC will be released for Modern Warfare 3 between now and September.

All of the CoD Elite content drops will be available first for Xbox 360 owners with PC and PS3 subscribers getting them “at a later time.”

But speaking of March, that’s how long non-Call of Duty Elite subscribers will have to wait to get their hands on these maps, when the first “Modern Warfare 3 Content Collection” will be made available for download.

That’s the sound of Activision selling many more CoD Elite subscriptions. Dismissed!

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

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 tees off on March 27

Posted on January 10, 2012 by John Scalzo

Are you ready to tee off in 2012? EA Sports has announced that Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 will be released for the PS3 and Xbox 360 on March 27 (sorry Wii owners).

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 will Kinect/Move support, 22 professional golfers (including Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler, and Bubba Watson), 16 courses, and “Total Swing Control.” According to EA Sports, Tiger Woods 13 will feature the “most significant leap forward in swing mechanics in over a decade.”

In addition to enhanced controller controls and brand new motion control, Tiger Woods 13 will include several new modes. In “Tiger’s Golf Legacy,” players will be able to relive Tiger’s career on the links from his child prodigy days all the way up to the present. And with “Online Country Clubs,” players will be able to create their own exclusive country club and compete with their friends online.

Finally, players looking for an extended golf outing will be able to purchase The Masters Collector’s Edition for $69.99. It’ll include five additional courses, the Augusta National’s Tournament Practice Facility and Par 3 Course, an authentic Green Jacket Presentation, and “a chance to explore the hallowed grounds like never before.”

Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Silent Hill HD Collection will now scare gamers in March

Posted on January 10, 2012 by John Scalzo

Konami has informed Game Informer that the Silent Hill HD Collection won’t be available in stores on January 24 as previously announced.

The compilation package, which contains Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill 3, will instead be released sometime in March. This new release date will actually push the HD Collection into competition with Silent Hill: Downpour, which also has a March release date.

That’s a lot of Silent Hill for PS3 and Xbox 360 gamers to handle.

Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged