Most Recent: PS3

PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale officially announced… aren’t you shocked?

Posted on April 27, 2012 by John Scalzo

People throw around the phrase “worst kept secret in gaming” a lot. EA just used it when their Crysis 3 reveal was accidentally leaked a day early by their own Origin store. But if you’re looking for a true example of the “worst kept secret” phenomenon, then look no further than PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale for the PS3.

Officially announced last night, PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale is a Smash Bros.-like mashup where characters from Sony’s long history in video games get together to fight. The game, which is being developed by SuperBot, will include Kratos, Sweet Tooth, PaRappa, Fat Princess, Colonel Radec, Sly Cooper, and many more. And like Nintendo did with later editions of Smash Bros., Sony is in talks with third party developers to bring their characters into the Battle Royale.

PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale will include a ton of different modes for your punching preference including an Arcade Mode, online multiplayer, local multiplayer, team battles, Practice Mode, Special Event Battles created by SuperBot, and a Combat Trials mode similar to Mortal Kombat‘s Challenge Tower.

PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale currently doesn’t have a release date, but in the months to come I’m sure we’ll learn all about a number of characters that are virtual shoe-ins to appear in Battle Royale such as Nathan Drake, Cole McGrath, Ratchet and Clank, Jak and Daxter, the Buzz! host (who makes a brief appearance in the trailer above), and Sackboy. I bet Ico and Wander just might make the final cut as well.

Who do you want to see in PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale?

Posted in News, PS3 | Tagged

Powers Boothe, Shannyn Sossamon added to Hitman: Absolution cast

Posted on April 26, 2012 by John Scalzo

Square Enix has announced that Powers Boothe (probably best known for his turn as Vice President Daniels in “24”) and Shannyn Sossamon (best known for naming her child Audio Science A Knight’s Tale) have agreed to lend their voices to Hitman: Absolution.

Boothe will play Benjamin Travis, a new handler for the International Contract Agency (ICA). His backstory is explored in the trailer above with imagery by comic artist Ben Oliver. Sossamon will voice a character named Jade that is currently a bit of a mystery, but it’s likely she’s a sassy brunette who doesn’t take any guff from anybody. That’s right, I said guff.

Hitman: Absolution will be released for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 later this year.

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

Calvin Johnson is your Madden NFL 13 cover athlete

Posted on April 25, 2012 by John Scalzo

The votes have been counted and we have a winner… Calvin Johnson, wide receiver for the Detroit Lions, will be the Madden NFL 13 cover athlete.

Johnson, also known as “Megatron” to friends, fans, and well wishers, beat out Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton in the final round. A total of 651,790 votes were cast and Johnson came out on top with 52%, an almost razor-thin margin of victory. Nearly 20 million votes were cast throughout the entire tournament.

Johnson is the first player from the Lions to appear on the Madden cover since a shadowy image of Barry Sanders was inserted behind John Madden himself for Madden NFL 2000. Sanders retirement a month earlier and subsequent appearance on the cover is cited by some as the impetus of the “Madden Curse.”

Will Calvin Johnson be able to avoid the curse? Everybody hopes so, but after years of trying, Starscream did eventually manage to kill Megatron. So you never know.

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

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 has been C.A.N.C.E.L.E.D.

Posted on April 25, 2012 by John Scalzo

Back in December, there were rumblings that S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 had succumbed to cancellation. But developer GSC Game World shrugged off the rumors saying, “We will do our best to continue.”

Today, it looks like their continue clock ran down to zero.

In a sudden turn of events, GSC Game World has closed its doors and the remaining team members have formed a new development studio, Vostok Games. The team wanted to continue their work on S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, however, the owners of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. brand refused to sell, resulting in the game’s official cancellation.

But the team at Vostok isn’t wasting any time and have jumped right into their next project, a Free-To-Play MMOFPS titled Survarium.

Survarium is scheduled for a late 2013 release and, if the official website is anything to go by, the game is shaping up to be a spiritual successor to S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360 |

The Walking Dead, Battlefield 3, Skype for Vita, a lot more added to PS Store

Posted on April 24, 2012 by John Scalzo

Welcome to this week’s massive PlayStation Store update!

First up is The Walking Dead: A New Day, the first episode the Walking Dead episodic game series. PS3 players can buy the first episode today for $4.99 or the Season Pass (which includes all five episodes) for $19.99. Also available today is a trio of PopCap PSN releases (Bejeweled 3, Feeding Frenzy 2: Shipwreck Showdown, and Zuma) and the Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds “Complete Collection,” which includes all previously released DLC.

Full PS3 games available this week include EA DICE’s Battlefield 3, rhythm game Grease Dance, and action RPG The Cursed Crusade.

PS3 owners can also now find another PS2 Classic (Red Faction), two PSone Classics (Darkstalkers 3, Future Cop L.A.P.D.), and a Dragon’s Dogma demo on the PlayStation Store.

And if you own a Vita, you can add the Skype app to your handheld for free today.

More information on all of these games can be found after the break. And a complete list of this week’s game add-ons can be found at the PlayStation Blog. (more…)

Posted in News, PS3, Vita | Tagged , ,

First Crysis 3 gameplay trailer hunted down

Posted on April 24, 2012 by John Scalzo

Crysis 3 is still at least a year away, but the gameplay trailer that Crytek and EA have unveiled today is just astounding. Watch as Prophet traverses the “urban jungle” that is the New York Liberty Dome and watch as he lays waste to a squadron of alien scum with his awesome compound bow.

Crysis 3 will be available for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 sometime in 2013.

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

Pro Evolution Soccer 2013 announced with a ton of new features

Posted on April 24, 2012 by John Scalzo

Konami has announced Pro Evolution Soccer 2013, the latest game in their yearly soccer simulation franchise. If history holds, it’ll be released sometime in October.

Konami and PES Productions plan to pack the pitch with a wide variety of gameplay enhancements when it ships for the PS3 and Xbox 360 later this year. The developers plan to focus most of their energy on four specific points:

1. PES FullControl (PES FC)
The term PES FullControl describes several new and improved features that give you even more control about the players and the ball in PES 2013.

2. Player ID
Player ID focuses on the individual elements and movements that each player boasts.

3. ProActive AI
ProActive AI unites the control and realism, with players that will respond and find space as befits those at the top of their game.

4. Better connectivity and atmosphere
PES 2013 will also boast better connectivity and atmosphere.

More details on all of these gameplay enhancements can be found at Konmai’s PES 2013 blog.

Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged

More clues point to next Call of Duty game being Black Ops 2

Posted on April 24, 2012 by John Scalzo

As if the entire world wasn’t already convinced that Call of Duty 9 is actually Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, Activision has planted a few hints within the redesigned CallofDuty.com.

The source code for the Call of Duty 9 splash page reveals the following trademark notice, which directly cites Black Ops, and no other game in the series:

2012 Activision Publishing, Inc. Activision and Call of Duty are registered trademarks and Black Ops is a trademark of Activision Publishing, Inc. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners.

And if you click “Continue To Full Site,” the trademark notice changes to only mention Call of Duty and the Modern Warfare series. Curious thing, that.

But if you want even more proof, check this out. The loading screen of the site includes morse code that, when translated, spells out “Black Ops Two.”

So yeah, I’d say Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 is as good as official.

[Source: MP1st]

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