Most Recent: PC

WoW: Mists of Pandaria emerges from the fog on September 25

Posted on July 25, 2012 by John Scalzo

After months of testing, Blizzard has finally announced a release date for World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria. The MMORPG’s next expansion will be available to purchase in stores and through WorldofWarcraft.com on September 25. In addition to a standard edition priced at $39.99, two special editions of Mists of Pandaria will also be available.

If you plan to download Mists of Pandaria, you’ll have the option of buying the Digital Deluxe Edition for $59.99, which will include the following in-game goodies:

  • World of Warcraft In-Game Mount: Take to the skies of Azeroth astride the mystical Imperial Quilen flying mount.
  • World of Warcraft In-Game Pet: Journey across Pandaria with the Lucky Quilen Cub at your side.
  • StarCraft II Battle.net Portraits: Bring the Horde and Alliance rivalry to the far reaches of the Koprulu sector with exclusive Infested Orc and Night Elf Templar Battle.net portraits.
  • Diablo III Banner Sigil and Accent: Display your status as a hero of Pandaria with the iconic markings of World of Warcraft’s newest playable race, the pandaren.

But if you’re looking to score a physical disc and a box full of swag, you’ll want to look for the Collector’s Edition. The Collector’s Edition, which will retail for $79.99, will include all the in-game items from the Digital Deluxe Edition as well as a few extras that’ll make you say wow:

  • Behind-the-Scenes DVD and Blu-Ray: Learn about the creation of Pandaria with this two-disc set featuring over an hour of commentary, insider interviews, and developer roundtables.
  • Collector’s Edition Soundtrack CD: Experience 20 orchestral pieces from Mists of Pandaria.
  • The Art of Mists of Pandaria Book: Explore this 208-page hardcover tome featuring never-before-seen pieces from the expansion, from early concepts to final 3D renderings.
  • Chen Stormstout Mouse Pad: Equip your desk with this special-edition mouse pad featuring the legendary pandaren brewmaster.
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Quantum Conundrum to receive two DLC packs before Summer’s end

Posted on July 25, 2012 by Andrew Rainnie

Square Enix has announced that Airtight Games’ Quantum Conundrum will be receiving a double dose of DLC by the end of Summer. The first pack, entitled “Desmond’s Debacle,” will explore an entirely new wing of the Quadwrangle mansion with the former butler and “Chief Button Collector” himself. It will launch on Steam on July 31, and two weeks later on the PSN and Xbox Live.

A month later, players will be able to invest in “IKA-aramba!,” with a mission to rescue the titular IKE (Interdimensional Kinetic Entity). In this DLC, players will have to “leap seemingly endless chasms while traveling through a newly discovered wing of Quadwrangle Manor.” How many undiscovered wings does this mansion have? The second pack hits Steam on August 28 and, once again, two weeks later on the PSN and Xbox Live.

Both packs will be available for the rather reasonable price of $2.99 (or 240 Microsoft Points) for PS3 players, Xbox 360 owners, and Steam users.

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Free Penny Arcade 3 DLC to be released in August

Posted on July 23, 2012 by John Scalzo

Today’s Penny Arcade news post from Jerry “Tycho” Holkins dropped a few tantalizing teases about the first (free) DLC expansion for Penny Arcade’s On The Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3.

Zeboyd Games is hard at work on the first piece of DLC, “The Lair of the Seamstress,” and plans are in place to release it next month in close proximity to the Penny Arcade Expo (August 31 – September 2). These are very tentative plans, and things could change, but that’s the current plan.

Holkins also revealed that a second DLC package is in the works, which will reveal the fate of the Player Character from the first two Rainslick episodes. You might want to have a box of tissues handy.

Posted in News, PC, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Borderlands 2 has a 58-hour campaign… and development has been completed

Posted on July 23, 2012 by Andrew Rainnie

Gearbox is certainly giving gamers value for money with the much anticipated sequel to their cel-shaded FPS, Borderlands. In a genre known for its stingy single player campaigns as developers focus on multiplayer, it is heartening to hear what Steve Gibson, Gearbox’s VP of Marketing, had to say about Borderlands 2‘s 58-hour campaign:

“What we like to think about it is, Borderlands is a hobby. Some guide guys just did a playthrough of Borderlands 2 and they reported back to us that it takes 58 hours to play through the campaign – and that’s just one playthrough with one character. So the depth with which people can get into that… Yeah we look at it as a hobby, and that isn’t even counting the new Badass Points system and how that’ll affect every character you do. We want it to feel like you get more for your money, we’re happy for people to pay their money once and feel that they get ongoing value.”

The Badass system Gibson refers to Achievement-esque tokens that the player will receive for performing certain tasks or feats. These can then be cashed in to improve character stats across the board, so if you start the game with a new character class, your Badass ranking will carry over.

Considering the original game took 30-40 hours to complete depending on how many side-quests you chose to do, it looks as if Gearbox has cooked us up quite the psycho stormbrew. The company has announced that the game has been sent for certification, which means it is fully finished, locked, and loaded. The team is now hard at work on post-launch content, including the new playable character, The Mecromancer. The new female cyborg character DLC will be released 60 to 90 days after the game launches, and will be free to members of the Borderlands Premiere Club i.e. those who place a pre-order of the game.

[Source: GamerZines, Gearboxity]

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Square Enix leashes eclectic voice cast for Sleeping Dogs

Posted on July 18, 2012 by John Scalzo

When Square Enix and developer United Front Games were putting together the Sleeping Dogs cast, they pulled out all the stops. According to the publisher, the game brings together the “finest vocal talent from modern Hollywood movies [and Asian cinema].” I don’t see Mark Hamill listed among the cast, so that’s not entirely accurate, but they certainly cast a wide net in assembling the Sleeping Dogs cast.

Will Yun Lee (Die Another Day) will star as Wei Shen, “an officer sent deep undercover into one of Hong Kong’s most feared Triad gangs.” He will be joined by Tom Wilkinson (as Police Inspector Pendrew, his supervising officer) and Edison Chen (as Jackie Ma, a low level thug) in this undercover operation. Their main target is Winston Chu (played by Parry Shen), a lieutenants in the Sun On Yee gang.

During the course of Shen’s undercover duties, he’ll run into an absolutely astounding group of actors including Emma Stone (The Amazing Spider-Man, Zombieland), Robin Shou (Liu Kang from Mortal Kombat), Lucy Liu (Charlie’s Angels), Yunjin Kim (Sun from Lost) and Kelly Hu (Lady Deathstrike from X2). Terence Yin, James Hong, and Tzi-Ma will round out the cast.

Sleeping Dogs will be available for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 on August 14.

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The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Dawnguard Review: Skyrim, Bloody Skyrim

Posted on July 17, 2012 by Adam Woolcott

It’s been roughly seven months since The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim hit store shelves, and chances are most players of the game have not seen everything there is to offer in it. However, that’s not stopping Bethesda from plopping the very first “expansion” into our laps… and no, it’s not horse armor related this time. Dubbed Dawnguard, this content adds a new wrinkle to the overall plight of Skyrim and puts even more of an emphasis on one of the more popular aspects of the franchise: the supernatural. (more…)

Posted in PC, Reviews, Top Story, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Wreck-It Ralph joins Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed as guest driver

Posted on July 17, 2012 by Andrew Rainnie

Sega has announced that the titular star of Disney’s upcoming movie Wreck-It Ralph will join NASCAR driver Danica Patrick as a guest racer in the upcoming Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed.

Masanao Maeda, Chairman and Chief Content Officer for Sega of America, was bursting with enthusiasm when the newest addition to the racing roster was made public: “Wreck-It Ralph will make a great addition to our stellar cast in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. Disney has created a unique film experience that will appeal to gamers of all ages, and our video game collaboration will give fans the opportunity to interact with their character on the small screen as well.”

Wreck-It Ralph‘s director Rich Moore was also over the moon about the character’s inclusion in Sega’s racer: “To have Wreck-It Ralph included in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed is a dream come true. The film pays homage to the video games I loved as a kid, including Sonic the Hedgehog in a special cameo, so being able to see Wreck-It Ralph in a real video game alongside Sonic and other iconic Sega characters is unbelievably exciting for me and should be a treat for fans!”

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed will launch in November for Xbox 360, PC, PS3, Vita, 3DS and Wii U. Wreck-It Ralph debuts in cinemas that same month, along with a Wii and 3DS game of the same name.

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EA confirms Battlefield 4 beta included with Medal of Honor: Warfighter Limited Edition

Posted on July 17, 2012 by John Scalzo

The Battlefield 4 beta is real. After last week’s Origin leak, EA has confirmed that beta access to Battlefield 4 will be included with every PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 copy of the Medal of Honor: Warfighter Limited Edition.

The Battlefield 4 beta will be available in Fall 2013. A release date for the full game wasn’t announced, but Battlefield 3 launched a month after its beta. So expect a similar schedule for Battlefield 4.

“Though Battlefield and Medal of Honor Warfighter each offer players a completely unique experience, they are united by their underlying technology base – Frostbite. These are two of the hottest shooters, coming together to deliver a one-two punch of action, intensity and shooter entertainment,” said Frank Gibeau, President of EA Labels.

Medal of Honor: Warfighter will be available in stores on October 23.

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