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Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 3D will be 3DS launch game

Posted on February 10, 2011 by John Scalzo

Konami has announced that Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 3D will launch alongside the 3DS hardware in March. The game will actually corner kick its way into stores on March 25, two days ahead of Nintendo’s new handheld.

Konami promises to give “real depth” to the game of soccer on the 3DS with a unique new view of the field:

PES 2011 3D puts you at the heart of every pass, through-ball and shot, with its unique ‘Player’ camera shadowing the user’s every movement, right in the middle of the unfolding match. Thus, players can see their team mates making runs in the channels and moving into space, meaning PES 2011 3D makes the player an integral part of a successful team. Using the 3D capabilities of the Nintendo 3DS, the camera views also allow the user to visually ascertain how far away a team mate is, allowing for more instinctive long passes and dynamic movement.

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Activision reveals new Family Guy game, X-Men: First Class, “unprecedented” new universe

Posted on February 10, 2011 by John Scalzo

Activision was very busy during their quarterly financial briefing yesterday. In addition to canceling Guitar Hero 7 and True Crime: Hong Kong, the company revealed a few details about their 2011 (and beyond) schedule.

New Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg did most of talking. He began by reiterating that Call of Duty 8 is on track for a 2011 release and officially announced a free-to-play Call of Duty game for China, which will be released in 2012.

Continuing with the Call of Duty theme, Hirshberg revealed that a new Activision in-house studio, Beachhead, will be creating an “all-new digital platform for the Call of Duty franchise.” The system sounds very similar to Halo Waypoint and promises to “support in-game integration and bring online experiences and console play together.”

Activision also has a slew of licensed games in development for 2011 including three never-before-announced games: Family Guy, X-Men: First Class and Wipeout 2.

A Family Guy game was released by 2K Games to tepid reviews in 2006. X-Men: First Class will likely launch alongside the film in June with the Silicon Knights-developed X-Men: Destiny still on track for a late 2011 release. And for those confused about Wipeout 2, it’s not the futuristic racing franchise, but a second game based on ABC’s obstacle course game show.

Several previously announced 2011 games, including Transformers: Dark of the Moon, a new Spider-Man game, more Cabela’s Hunting titles and a new Bakugan game were also discussed.

Bungie’s New Universe was briefly mentioned, but only to confirm that it won’t launch until 2012 at the earliest.

Finally, Hirshberg announced that Activision will be unveiling “an all-new gaming universes that brings together the worlds of toys, video games and online play.” in two days at the New York Toy Fair. Activision will release the game based on this new universe in the second half of 2011 and calls the franchise an “unprecedented” merging of different media.

Wow. We’ll likely learn more about a lot of these titles at E3.

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

Activision cancels Guitar Hero 7, True Crime: Hong Kong

Posted on February 10, 2011 by John Scalzo

For the first time since the franchise launched in 2005, a new Guitar Hero game will not be released this year.

This news comes out of Activision’s quarterly financial briefing, where the publisher has revealed that it has disbanded its Guitar Hero business division and canceled the Vicarious Visions-developed Guitar Hero 7.

True Crime: Hong Kong, the United Front-developed reboot of Activision’s answer to Grand Theft Auto, has also been given the axe. Eric Hirshberg cut right to the point when explaining the reason behind the cancellation when he said “[True Crime: Hong Kong] just wasn’t going to be good enough.”

While not a cancellation, COO Thomas Tippl also revealed that the Tony Hawk series will also be taking 2011 off.

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

Black Ops DLC makes its First Strike on PS3 March 3

Posted on February 10, 2011 by Mike Gutierrez

If you’re a fan of Call of Duty: Black Ops, but not a fan of paying subscriptions in order to access content on discs you’ve already paid full price for, you’re in luck! Treyarch’s Community Mananger Josh Olin announced on the PlayStation Blog (despite great hostility from the PlayStation Nation) that the first map pack for Black Operations entitled ‘First Strike’ will be available on the PlayStation Store on March 3 for $14.99 (PC gamers will see it by the end of March). The game includes four new multiplayer maps – Berlin Wall, Discovery, Kowloon, and Stadium, the last of which also plays host for a brand new Zombies experience in Ascension. Presumably Steam will have a similar release date and pricing.

I went back to CoDBlOps on the PS3 recently and found nearly all of the network issues to be fixed; I’m not really sure why the naysayers on the PlayStation Blog are claiming it’s a broken game. Many of them make a good point, though: will this DLC even be relevant, considering it’s coming out mere days after Killzone 3 launches? Feel free to let us know in the comments or just check out the screenshots after the break. (more…)

Posted in News, PC, PS3 | Tagged

Tetris to take walls and tabletops by storm this year

Posted on February 10, 2011 by Ryan Littlefield

With a slew of newly-announced merchandise, Tetris promises not to leave their long-time players feeling burned out. This year, Techno Source will be releasing Tetris Link, a tabletop strategy game where players must link Tetriminos while preventing their opponents from doing so. The game is intended for two to four players, and is estimated to retail around $25.

In addition, Blue Planet Software will be releasing a card game (Wait….?) version of Tetris, simply called Tetris: The Card Game. Soon to follow are both a dice game, and a single player strategy game.

Another interesting announcement entailed the release of Tetris Premium Wall Graphics, which comes as no surprise – with all the videos of Tetris being played on buildings, why would it be?

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Daily Scoop: February 10, 2011 – I’m so vain

Posted on February 10, 2011 by Nicole Kline

It’s Thursday morning, and what am I doing? I’m listening to the most recent episode of the Warp Zoned Podcast again, because it is really funny. Give it a listen! You won’t be disappointed. Unless you don’t like hearing us talk about peanut butter and jelly.

Today’s Amazon Deal of the Day in video games is Atari’s Freddi Fish ABC Under the Sea for the DS. It’s $14.99 down from $19.99, and it’s perfect for kids ages 3-5, according to the cover – which also says it’s “Parent Approved.” Well, that’s a relief!

Also, Atlus is having a huge PSN sale, so you should get on that as soon as possible. I am most likely going to buy Hexyz Force, because I’ve wanted that game since before it came out. But I am already playing so many games, and I own so many games, and I’m trying not to get ridiculous here, people.

Speaking of which, this shirt is ridiculously awesome:

It’s Droid Berg. It’s…Android + Zoidberg. It’s already been purchased. Damn you, Tee Fury! *shakes fist*

Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News |

Atlus having a Super-Mega-Ultra 50% off sale on the PlayStation Network

Posted on February 9, 2011 by Nicole Kline

I’m actually not even sure if I should be telling you this, seeing as I’m one of the Atlus Faithful, but I’m going to risk it just to get the word out about Atlus having another huge 50% off digital sale. Brand new to the sale this time around are Knights in the Nightmare at $14.99 and Yggdra Union at $7.49. Shin Megami Tensei: Persona and SMT: Persona 3 Portable are both just $19.99, which is pretty serious business. Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble is also $19.99, as is Class of Heroes. Crimson Gem Saga and Hexyz Force are at $14.99 each, and Hammerin’ Hero is just $9.99. Coming in at $7.49 is Riviera: The Promised Land, R-Type Command, and Steambot Chronicles Battle Tournament. Droplitz is the cheapest one at just $4.99.

This is a great sale, and I’ll be frank – I don’t know how I’m going to resist picking up Hexyz Force. I resisted through one sale, but for them to have another so soon? That’s just pure cruelty. The sale ends on February 15, so maybe I can ignore the PlayStation Store until then.

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Halo 5, Project Gotham Racing spotted in the wild

Posted on February 9, 2011 by Mike Gutierrez

Ok, this is legitimately weird. Apparently Eurogamer caught a “Channel 4” news report with Jonathan Cluts from Microsoft interacting with “hidden Kinect-like technology to change the appearance of a wall” at the company’s secret home of the future, Microsoft Home. Navigating through icons on the wall, he selected “Grandma’s Room.” What was more notable was that granny’s quarters were sandwiched between Project Gotham Racing and Halo 5, as pictured left. Other than displaying “Inside Halo 5” underneath the Icon, that’s all there really was mentioned of the games.

Microsoft Home is known as a showcase for future consumer products, and I think it’s safe to say everyone expects another Project Gotham Racing and certainly another Halo to be in development. While this is the first we’re hearing of the sequel to Halo: Reach (the now-presumed “Halo 4” in spirit), there have been strong indications that the original Halo: Combat Evolved will be remade this year. Some have speculated Bizarre Creations will return to Microsoft to work on PGR, but nothing has been heard of the studio since their parent company Activision recommended them for closure.

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