Most Recent: Articles

Rockstar head honchos re-sign with Take-Two

Posted on May 25, 2011 by John Scalzo

Sam Houser, Dan Houser and Leslie Benzies, the brain trust behind Rockstar Games’ creative success, have agreed to renew their employment contracts with Take-Two Interactive. According to Take-Two, the deal featured “substantially similar economic terms” to their current contract.

This is great news for Take-Two as Rockstar has released an unprecendented string of critically acclaimed and bestselling titles over the last few years. And with L.A. Noire practically redefining what a video game can be, locking them up for a sequel was a smart thing to do.

Rockstar Games currently has several titles in development including Max Payne 3 and the PS3-exclusive Agent. Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has also very strongly implied that the developer will release Grand Theft Auto V in 2012.

Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360 |

BlizzCon 2011 tickets go on sale tomorrow

Posted on May 24, 2011 by Mark Casino

BlizzCon, Blizzard’s premiere convention, will be taking place in the Anaheim Convention Center from October 21-22. This second batch of tickets will go on sale on May 25 at 7 PM Pacific Time (the initial batch sold out quickly on May 21st). Take note that these tickets get Zerg rushed pretty fast so you best be ready to purchase them at a moment’s notice.

If you miss out on tomorrow, your only other chance at securing a ticket is by purchasing a benefit dinner ticket. All proceeds of this benefit dinner will go to the Children’s Hospital of Orange County. During this dinner, guests will have the opportunity to chat it up with Blizzard developers, executives, and other higher-ups. These tickets will go on sale on Saturday, May 28 at 10 AM Pacific Time and this includes BlizzCon admission.

Normal tickets cost $175 while the benefit dinner tickets cost $500. Blizzard did say that they are working on a completely new MMO. Thus, this year’s Blizzcon may showcase that new MMO… Which will probably be released in 2020.

In order to garner these tickets, head on over to the BlizzCon site.

Posted in News, PC |

Take-Two CEO hints at Grand Theft Auto V in 2012

Posted on May 24, 2011 by John Scalzo

He probably didn’t mean to, but Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick just confirmed that Grand Theft Auto V will ship sometime between April 1, 2012 and March 31, 2013.

During the company’s quarterly financial briefing, the executive had this to say: “While it is still very early to discuss fiscal 2013, we have a very strong pipeline of titles in development and currently expect to achieve substantial earnings growth, including Non-GAAP earnings per share in excess of $2.00.”

This bit of Wall Street speak may not have the words “grand”, “theft” or “auto” anywhere in it, but the earnings per share number speaks volumes. You see, the last time Take-Two could claim earnings per share in excess of $2.00 was back in 2008, right after the release of Grand Theft Auto IV.

You can play games with journalists, but you don’t mess with the SEC. Consider GTA5 in 2012 as good as confirmed.

Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Yakuza 4 Review: Our Powers Combined, We Are Captain Kamurocho!

Posted on May 24, 2011 by Adam Woolcott

The Yakuza franchise has always struggled for respect in the West. Despite being extremely popular in its native Japan, none of the games have made much of a dent outside its borders – but at the same time the series has built a small, dedicated following. After the painful “will it or won’t it” with Yakuza 3, Sega made sure to avoid the same situation by quickly confirming that, yes, Yakuza 4 was getting localized.

Though it still requires a modicum of knowledge in the lore of Yakuza, this fourth entry is, in many ways, a re-introduction to the characters and universe. While the game doesn’t have any revolutionary changes to the formula – not a surprise considering there have been four releases in five years – some of the design choices make Yakuza 4 seem like a new starting point for future entries in the series. As long as you’re not completely worn out by the familiar formula, this is another great entry into a seriously underappreciated franchise. (more…)

Posted in PS3, Reviews, Top Story | Tagged

EA unveils E3 2011 lineup; includes multiple unannounced projects

Posted on May 24, 2011 by John Scalzo

Electronic Arts has caught the E3 fever and the only cure is an hour-long show on Spike TV!

Geoff Keighley of GameTrailers TV will host “Gamechangers: EA 2011 Preview,” a live broadcast of EA’s 2011 E3 press conference. The photogenic game journalist will be joined by EA CEO John Riccitiello and several of the publisher’s development teams to unveil their E3 lineup:

  • Experience an explosive, never-before-seen demo of Battlefield 3
  • Travel across the galaxy for a look at Commander Shepard’s final voyage in Mass Effect 3
  • Hit the pitch for a first look at FIFA Soccer 12
  • Discover what’s new in Madden NFL 12
  • Shred the mountains in the world premiere look at SSX
  • Experience the high-speed thrills of Need For Speed: The Run
  • Star Wars: The Old Republic and multiple “unannounced projects” will also be revealed during the broadcast

Gamechangers will air live on Spike TV on Monday, June 6 at 3:30 PM (Eastern Time).

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Sony’s E3 2011 showcase to include at least four surprises

Posted on May 24, 2011 by John Scalzo

Sony has launched their official E3 2011 website with the tagline “It Just Keeps Getting Better.” While most people expect Sony to be in damage control mode at this year’s expo, the console-maker does have a pretty stellar lineup of stuff planned for the big show:

  • The Next Generation Portable (NGP)
  • Infamous 2 (PS3)
  • Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One (PS3)
  • Resistance 3
  • Twisted Metal (PS3)
  • Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception (PS3)

Sony also plans to surprise gamers with at least four additional announcements. We can only speculate what they might be but the publisher has plenty of other games in the pipeline including the recently announced Starhawk, The Last Guardian, the Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection and Sly 4.

It could be all of them. It could be none of them. We’ll find out for sure on Monday, June 6.

Posted in News, PS3, Vita | Tagged , , , , ,

Daily Scoop: May 24, 2011 – As you wish

Posted on May 24, 2011 by Nicole Kline

There’s good news out there for all you Persona fans – Persona 2: Innocent Sin is finally coming to the USA! Woo! It’ll be out this fall. At least the PlayStation Store should be up by then, amirite????

Today’s Amazon Deal of the Day in video games today is Ubisoft’s Raving Rabbids Travel in Time for the Wii. It’s $9.99 down from $19.99, and takes you “from a Cowboy to a Pirate and Pocahontas,” allowing you to “unlock and pimp your bunnies with over 30 historical costumes, each with unique and hilarious mimics.” Righteous!

The most amazing t-shirt ever is over at shirt.w00t today:

It’s called “Poison.” Ha! Inconceivable!

Posted in Daily Scoop |

Finally! Scorpion vs Sub-Zero in episode 7 of Mortal Kombat: Legacy

Posted on May 24, 2011 by John Scalzo

It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for: Scorpion versus Sub-Zero in Kevin Tancharoen’s Mortal Kombat: Legacy.

Ian Anthony Dale returns as Hanzo Hasashi in this two-part vignette that’ll be concluded next week. Also be on the lookout for Quan Chi and another appearance by Shang Tsung.

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