Most Recent: PC

New Releases: Brink, Lego Pirates of the Caribbean, MX vs ATV Alive, More

Posted on May 7, 2011 by John Scalzo

After moving up its launch date up week, Bethesda and Splash Damage are ready to release their parkour-inspired shooter Brink on the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.

If you’d rather travel by sea, then you should know that Disney and Lego Captain Jack Sparrow will release Lego Pirates of the Caribbean on every current system (3DS, DS, PC, PS3, PSP, Wii and Xbox 360) this week. Perhaps wall running and boating aren’t for you. Then you’d be well to know that THQ is bringing their latest off-road racing title, MX vs ATV Alive, to the PS3 and Xbox 360 this week.

Moving on from the “ways to get around” theme, Sega has Virtua Tennis 4 set to be released on the PS3, Wii and Xbox 360 while Deep Silver is bringing Duke Nukem: Critical Mass to the DS. Let’s hope it doesn’t take forever for our next helping of Duke.

Check out the full list of the rest of this week’s new releases after the break. (more…)

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Brink boasts 100 quadrillion unique characters

Posted on May 6, 2011 by John Scalzo

Like our Weekly Warp-Up, that is definitely not a typo.

With Brink‘s release just a few days away, the Bethesda Blog has posted some interesting numbers relating to Splash Damage’s parkour shooter. It seems, that when counting all possible variations, there are over 100 quadrillion (that’s a 100 followed by 15 zeroes) unique characters. That deserves a low whistle.

Here are some more stats, courtesy of Bethesda:

  • Voice Packs: 8
  • Number of ways to die: 45
  • Individual weapon sounds: 4,500
  • Lines of Dialogue: 26,000
  • Minutes of Music: 60
  • Weapon attachment combinations –
    Not counting for Resistance variations or pre-order content:     4,963
  • Unique Security Characters
    • Not counting minor tint variations or body types): 4,530,240
    • Not counting minor tint variations but including body types: 13,590,720
    • Including minor tint variations, but not body types: 15,775,119,360,000,000
    • Including minor tint variations and body types: 47,325,358,080,000,000
  • Unique Resistance Characters
    • Not counting minor tint variations or body types: 4,530,240
    • Not counting minor tint variations but including body types: 13,590,720
    • Including minor tint variations, but not body types: 18,307,441,152,000,000
    • Including minor tint variations and body types: 54,922,323,456,000,000
  • Total Unique Characters: 102,247,681,536,000,000

Brink will be in stores for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 on May 10.

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The Balcony is Closed: Whatever Happened to the Licensed Game?

Posted on May 6, 2011 by John Scalzo

In case there was any doubt, Thor and his mighty hammer have officially opened the 2011 Summer movie season today. What will follow is four months of blockbusters that will be heavy on action and even heavier on reviews comparing their visuals to video games. But as Hollywood and Redmond trade ideas back and forth, the once great institution that is the licensed game has gone by the wayside.

Okay, “once great institution” might be the nostalgia talking, but licensed games were always plentiful, even if they weren’t always good games. We all know the story of Atari practically bankrupting themselves to produce the woefully bad E.T. game for the Atari 2600. And Acclaim’s history of low review scores (and eventual bankruptcy) could be attributed to the company’s string of licensed games.

But titles like GoldenEye and The Chronicles of Riddick prove that a licensed game doesn’t have to be a cheaply made cash-in. They can be classics. Yet their number is decreasing, even as gamemakers have embraced the trappings of Hollywood during the development process. (more…)

Posted in DS, Features, PC, PS3, Top Story, Wii, Xbox 360 |

Assassin’s Creed: Revelations to star Altair, Ezio, Desmond

Posted on May 5, 2011 by John Scalzo

Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed: Revelations reveal is fully unlocked and we finally get a glimpse of what we’ve expected all along: Altair and Ezio, together at last!

Game Informer has also revealed that the game will grace the cover of its June issue. We’ll get the full scoop in a few days, but the Game Informer teaser has already surely got Assassin’s Creed fans on the edge of their seats:

You’ll learn how each of the franchise’s major characters — Altaïr, Ezio, and Desmond — play a part in the story, and how you’ll control each of the three as playable characters. Uncover a brand new part of the world as Ezio travels abroad for the first time to explore the wonders of Constantinople at the height of the Ottoman Empire. Learn about all the new features that set Revelations apart, from a brand new weapon and tool that changes the way you’ll fight and traverse the world, to extensive details on the newly customizable multiplayer game. And what exactly is going on with Desmond after the end of Brotherhood?

Assassin’s Creed: Revelations will be available this November.

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Rage gameplay trailer shows off The Shrouded

Posted on May 5, 2011 by John Scalzo

An awesome new Rage gameplay trailer shows off an assault on bunker belonging to The Shrouded, one of the many clans in the game. Check out the wide variety of weapons and the bombing run by a remote control car. Take that you mutants!

Rage is in development at id Software for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. It’ll be available in stores on September 13.

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Star Wars: The Old Republic may slip into 2012

Posted on May 5, 2011 by John Scalzo

Electronic Arts isn’t sure when they’ll release Star Wars: The Old Republic. That’s the message the company conveyed during their quarterly financial report yesterday.

Eric Brown, EA’s Executive Vice President, confirmed that the publisher currently plans to release the game by the end of 2011, but Frank Gibeau, President of EA Games, would not commit to a release date and cautioned that it could slip to the January 2012 – March 2012 quarter.

So if The Force is with us, we’ll be playing The Old Republic by Christmas. But the Sith may have their revenge on this one.

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Mass Effect 3 delayed into 2012

Posted on May 5, 2011 by John Scalzo

Were you super excited to play Mass Effect 3 this Fall? If so, then the franchise’s Executive Producer at BioWare, Casey Hudson, has some bad news for you. Posting on Facebook, he revealed that the release date for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 game has been pushed back into early 2012:

Mass Effect 3 will be released in the first three months of 2012. The development team is laser focused on making sure Mass Effect 3 is the biggest, boldest and best game in the series, ensuring that it exceeds everyone’s expectations.

To say sorry, EA has released a pair of new images, which you can find after the break. (more…)

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THQ releasing uDraw HD, Saints Row 3 in 2011; Drive-By canceled

Posted on May 5, 2011 by John Scalzo

THQ used their quarterly financial call to reveal a bit more about its 2011-2012 release slate.

For this year, the publisher is readying MX vs. ATV Alive for release this month, Red Faction: Armageddon on June 7, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine for August and UFC Personal Trainer sometime this Summer. Towards the end of the year, THQ plans to release Saints Row: The Third and the next WWE game along with bringing their uDraw GameTablet to the PS3 and Xbox 360.

Speaking of Saints Row, after the call, the publisher told Joystiq that Saints Row: Drive-By (the franchise’s 3DS/PSN/XBLA spinoff) was canceled. Bummer.

But 2012 is looking great for THQ as they revealed that they have several major releases planned including the unannounced UFC Undisputed 2012, Darksiders 2, Tomonobu Itagaki’s Devil’s Third, Metro 2033: Last Light and Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium Online.

Finally, the publisher publicly commented on Nintendo’s next console: “[THQ is] excited about the prospect of new hardware next year and look[s] forward to working on that system.” Got an opinion of which of THQ’s 2012 releases will make the leap to the Wii 2/Project Cafe? Let us know in the comments.

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