Most Recent: PC

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning Hands-On Preview: The Elder Fable of War Effect

Imagine, if you will, that there was an action RPG that incorporated elements from games such as God of War, Fable, The Elder Scrolls series, Dragon Age, and Mass Effect. Now imagine that the development of this game involved Ken Rolston, the lead designer of The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, the lore of fantasy writer R.A. Salvatore, and the art of Todd McFarlane, creator of Spawn. Well, imagine no longer! Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is on its way and is ready to drown you in an amalgam of role-playing goodness. (more…)

Posted in PC, Previews, PS3, Top Story, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Spring release for Aliens: Colonial Marines nuked from orbit

Apologies for the headline, but it was the only way to be sure you’d read this update on the release date for Aliens: Colonial Marines as the oft-delayed squad shooter has been delayed by Sega again.

Speaking to Game Informer, the publisher has confirmed that the delay was due to a desire to make sure the game is as polished as a Xenomorph’s head.

OK, not really, but Sega (and developer Gearbox Software) did cite a need for more development time as the primary reason for the delay:

Aliens: Colonial Marines is a process of creativity and invention and those don’t necessarily follow the structure of an assembly line. While setting clear goals, deadlines and predictions is helpful, they are often subjective. We don’t want to sacrifice the creative process just for the sake of following a blue print. We prefer to have the creative discovery shape that blue print because our goal is to make a great game, and we are prioritizing this goal over the previously targeted date.

Aliens: Colonial Marines will now be available in the Fall for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. A Wii U version will also be available sometime this Fall or whenever it is Nintendo’s new console will launch.

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

European publisher Rising Star Games opens a US office

Rising Star Games will be expanding beyond Europe in the coming days as they’ve announced the opening of a North American office. The publisher specializes in localizing quirky Japanese games, and mostly has that market to themselves in Europe. By jumping in to the American game market, they’ll now be competing against several established players in that space such as XSEED, Atlus, NIS America, and Aksys Games.

But as they say, more competition is always a good thing.

Rising Star plans to make a splash with their first North American release this Spring when the company will bring Cave’s Akai Katana to the Xbox 360 in both Europe and North America.

The publisher also plans to delve into downloadable games for the first time with the launch of their Rising Star Games Digital label. The digital group will work on bringing “the most engaging video games” to the Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, Steam, the Android Marketplace and the iTunes App Store.

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

THQ drops kid’s licensed games after Saints Row 3 ships 3.8 million

After struggling financially in 2011, THQ has announced a new focus for their game development divisions. From this point forward, the company will focus solely on “core games” by moving away from kid’s licensed games. THQ has published dozens of Nickelodeon-branded games over the years and, until 2010, published and developed games based on Pixar’s films.

This decision was likely spurred on by the huge sales of Saints Row: The Third, which has shipped 3.8 million copies since its release in November.

“THQ will be a more streamlined organization focused only on our strongest franchises. The success of Saints Row: The Third is an example of what our revised strategy and focus can achieve,” said Brian Farrell, THQ’s President and CEO.

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

Complete CoD Modern Warfare 3 DLC schedule detailed

Activision has unleashed the complete schedule for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3‘s DLC Content Season. Over the next nine months, Modern Warfare 3 players will receive over 20 pieces of downloadable content. And of course, Xbox 360-owning Elite users will have access to the content first.

So without further adieu, here’s what CoD soldiers can expect and when they can expect to play it:

  • January: “Liberation” map, “Piazza” map
  • February: one map
  • March: one map, two missions
  • April: two maps
  • May: one map, one mission
  • June: one map, one mission, one mode
  • July: two maps
  • August: one map, one mission, one mode
  • September: one map, one mission

As always, non-Elite subscribers will find out when they can download this DLC… soon.

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

QuakeCon 2012 rumbles into Dallas August 2-5

Are you ready to throw down in the world’s biggest BYOC (Bring-Your-Own-Computer) LAN party? If so, listen up, as id Software, and parent company Bethesda Softworks, have announced the dates for this year’s QuakeCon.

QuakeCon 2012 will be held at the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas, Texas from August 2-5. As always, admission will be free, so be nice to all the volunteers at the event.

In addition to the BYOC LAN party, Bethesda Softworks will offer the first chance anywhere for gamers to get their hands on upcoming titles, and leading technology companies will be on hand to demonstrate their latest hardware and software. All three days of QuakeCon will also include a ton of contests, live entertainment, announcements, panel discussions, and parties.

Sounds like fun! And maybe id will re-announce the supposedly unannounced (but actually already announced) Doom 4.

Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360 |

First Modern Warfare 3 maps available for CoD Elite users; Let Rob Riggle show them to you

“Liberation” and “Piazza,” the first maps from the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Content Season are now available for Xbox 360-owning CoD Elite subscribers. But rather than release a standard launch trailer full of quick cuts and complimentary language, Activision and Infinity Ward went one better by recruiting funnyman Rob Riggle, formerly of “The Daily Show,” to show us around the new maps.

But the best part is that Riggle is a real-life Lieutenant Colonel in the Marines. So he probably just barged into the Activision offices and threatened to beat up Bobby Kotick until he got the job. In my head, that’s exactly what happened.

Release details for PC, PS3, and non-Elite using Xbox 360 gamers for “Liberation” and “Piazza” will be available soon, hopefully with more Rob Riggle commentary.

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

Daily Scoop: January 24, 2012 – All-day Gold Box Event!

Wee! Amazon’s got an all-day Video Game Gold Box Event for us! Here’s the dilly, yo:

6 AM PST/9 AM EST: Bring your eyepatch and sword for this exciting DS adventure – It’s Lego Pirates of the Carribbean for Nintendo DS for just $14.99!

8 AM PST/11 AM EST: A multiplayer Dance-Fitness game for Wii that gives players a great full body workout in a fun dance class environment!

11 AM PST/2 PM EST: Enjoy the biggest game release of all time
Our guess… Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, duh!

3 PM PST/6 PM EST: Enjoy this Wii fitness game with your entire family!

6 PM PST/9 PM EST: Rock out with your own guitar.
Our guess… Rocksmith

8 PM PST/11 PM EST: “I Gotta Feeling”… this game will make you move.
Our guess… The Black Eyed Peas Experience

And their Deal of the Day all day is Dead Island, which you can get today only for $25 on the PS3 and Xbox 360. Whew. Scoop ’em up!

Today’s gamer t-shirt is sure to make Dr. Who fans happy: (more…)

Posted in 3DS, Daily Scoop, DS, Etcetera, News, PC, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360 |