Most Recent: PS3

Uncharted 3 going for the multiplayer throne, new details are overwhelming

Posted on April 18, 2011 by Mike Gutierrez

Uncharted 2 had a strong multiplayer offering, but it didn’t feature the same map count, mode diversity, or depth of customization that some of the more established online juggernauts entail. Naughty Dog is looking to take it to the next level with their second bite at the apple, with tons of new features for Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception. These will include sprinting in multiplayer, tag team deathmatch, free for all, and being able to kick your enemies off of a ledge.

But there’s even more. As Community Manager Arne Meyer gushed in the PlayStation Blog, there will be a ton of customizations, from character skins to usable weapon upgrades, like scopes and bigger clips. There are new Boosters as well, though they’ve included the favorites from the second game, too. There’s also an in-game reward system, an underdog option called Power Play, Late Join which will help keep matches full, ties to social media, and multiplayer co-op – though they couldn’t say much about that, and I’m more interested in the single-player co-op options, which is something the fans have been clamoring for.

You’ll be able to witness the glory in a multiplayer beta for InFamous 2 purchasers and PlayStation Plus subscribers that opens on June 28. Check the video above for these features in action with some epic, jaw-dropping moments, and hit the jump for a full interview (courtesy of GamerLive.tv) with Naughty Dog’s Co-President, Christophe Balestra.

I don’t know if I can wait until 11/1/11 for this game to be released. (more…)

Posted in News, PS3 | Tagged

Zipper entices you to buy new copies with “SOCOM Pro”

Posted on April 18, 2011 by Mike Gutierrez

We’ve seen publishers struggle against the second-hand market of used games with numerous programs and initiatives, from Online Pass to Project Ten Dollar. Sony and Zipper are taking a page out of EA’s book with the announcement of SOCOM Pro with all new copies of SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs.

This Pro version will give all purchasers of new copies a PlayStation Network redemption code. Redeeming it gives you access to the SOCOM Pro custom game types, many of which you may be familiar with if you participated in the beta. The four modes initially available will include “Community Day Classic,” “Last Defense Run ‘n Gun,” “SCRUM,” and “Sniper Alley.” Players will also get a little extra firepower in their arsenal, with the classic M-16 and AK-47 both available for use in the game.

Zipper has teased future additions for the service, which include “exclusive multiplayer maps, various co-op additions, dedicated leaderboards, and lots more.” If you don’t buy a new copy of the game, you can purchase SOCOM Pro for $14.99 from the PlayStation Store, but not until April 26.

I’m usually for “Project Ten Dollar”-ish programs, mostly because I almost exclusively buy new games; I just hope this doesn’t dilute the potential for custom lobbies or divide the community too much. We’ll see the effects of this when SOCOM 4 launches on the PlayStation 3 tomorrow.

Posted in News, PS3 | Tagged

Daily Scoop: April 18, 2011 – Almost Portal 2 time!

Posted on April 18, 2011 by Nicole Kline

Portal 2 is coming out tomorrow!!! Holy crap! It’s been such a crazy long wait that it snuck up on me. It probably put a portal behind me and jumped through it and now it’s going to drop a companion cube on my head! Noooooo!!

Ahem. Excuse me. There are some good deals going on today – Amazon’s having what they’re calling Easter Savings in Video Games, which sounds sort of not all that politically correct. I mean, where are the Passover savings? I don’t judge, either way. The sale is one of those buy one, get one 50% off ones, and includes Lego Harry Potter and a bunch of other stuff. As for today’s Amazon Deal of the Day in video games, they’ve got a smorgasbord of Atlus games. Radiant Historia is $27.99, Demon’s Souls (with soundtrack!) is $15, and 3D Dot Game Heroes is $13.40. Don’t miss these awesome deals – these are games worth buying immediately if you don’t already own them.

No game-related t-shirts today, I’m afraid. I think the Internet wore itself out with the four t-shirts I posted about Saturday and Sunday. But I’m going to have a hard time not purchasing this one from Tee Fury:

Shiny!

Posted in Daily Scoop, DS, Etcetera, News, PS3 |

PlayStation 3: Over 50 million served

Posted on April 16, 2011 by Mike Gutierrez

Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. has announced that the PlayStation 3 has reached a milestone in sales, pushing over 50 million consoles since it launched in 2006. As Microsoft made a similar announcement just this past January, this means that the PS3 has accomplished the same feat almost a full year faster than the Xbox 360.

Sony released a number of statistics along with the announcement: over 8 million PlayStation Move units have been sold (the same number Microsoft claimed for Kinect in January) and over 75 million PlayStation Network accounts have been registered across 59 countries.

With Blu-Ray support, free online multiplayer, and a solid exclusive lineup year in and year out, it’s no wonder why the PS3 has been such a hit. Since launching with a lofty price tag, the media has constantly derided the console for not being as successful as the 360, an assumption made rather confusing in light of this recent news.

Posted in News, PS3 |

New Releases: Portal 2, Mortal Kombat, SOCOM 4, More

Posted on April 16, 2011 by John Scalzo

It’s finally here. All month long we’ve been building up to one of the biggest release weeks ever and it’s finally here.

Starting things off is Valve’s full-priced sequel to Portal, Portal 2. Coming to the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360, the game will include co-op play for the first time and a greatly expanded single-player campaign.

Next up is a franchise that needs no introduction, Mortal Kombat is back. The reboot takes the series back to the birth of the MK saga and gives PS3 and Xbox 360 owners their latest 2D fighter fix. And speaking of long-running franchises, Sony and developer Zipper Interactive are finally bring SOCOM to the PS3 for real with SOCOM 4: US Navy SEALs.

Believe it or not, these three are just the beginning.

Sega is bringing High Voltage’s first person shooter Conduit 2 to the Wii. Square Enix is continuing to plug their huge franchises on the PSP with Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection. And Ubisoft is rewinding the clock to bring Prince of Persia Trilogy to the PS3 in stunning high definition.

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

Posted in DS, News, PC, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360 | Tagged , ,

Duke Nukem conquers comic books this July

Posted on April 16, 2011 by John Scalzo

Do you really need to drop a deuce and you’re all out of reading material? Well, Duke Nukem is coming to the rescue (even if you’re not a hot babe).

The star of Duke Nukem Forever will headline IDW Publishing’s newest comic book series, Duke Nukem: Glorious Bastard, starting in July. The series will be written by Tom Waltz (The A-Team: Shotgun Wedding) and IDW promises it’ll include “all the game’s trademark humor and over-the-top violence.”

It’s currently unknown if feces flinging will make it into the comic book as a representation of the game’s “trademark humor.”

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

LittleBigPlanet reaches four million levels

Posted on April 15, 2011 by Bret Morace

SCEA PR Manager, Eric Levine, annonced today on the Playstation.Blog that LittleBigPlanet and LittleBigPlanet 2 has had more than four million levels shared by players. To make this number feel more real to the players he explained that, “If you played LBP straight for 12 hours a day and only played each level for 5 minutes, it would take you more than 78 years to play through all of them.”

Media Molecule also released a thank you to players:

“For us the most exciting thing has always been seeing what the community does with a LittleBigPlanet game when they get their hands on the new features and tools. We’re constantly delighted – and amazed – by their ingenuity and creativity, and it’s so inspiring to see the level of affection that exists for LittleBigPlanet amongst fans around the world.”

Also announced was the return of LittleBigPlanet Contraption Challenge and new downloadable costumes from Tron: Evoultion that will be released on April 26th for $2.99. Levine also showed one of the two costumes coming from the Killzone 3 Minipack coming in May.

Posted in News, PS3 | Tagged

L.A. Noire is mature – no, we mean REALLY mature

Posted on April 15, 2011 by Nicole Kline

We all knew L.A. Noire was going to be gritty, but I didn’t realize just how gritty Rockstar was going to get. Cole Phelps, the detective searching for a serial killer, is going to have a lot to deal with as he goes up through the ranks at the police station. According to the ESRB rating information, this is what you have to look forward to:

  • Realistic shootouts, which are “highlighted by gunfire, cries of pain, and blood spirts that stain injured characters and the surrounding environments”
  • Violent cutscenes, including one with “a character being beaten with a crowbar (off screen)—large spurts of blood are depicted in the foreground”
  • Some crime scenes in which you investigate “badly beaten or mutilated corpses” and you have the ability to “examine victims’ bodies close-up, surveying various bruises and bloody cuts for evidence—a few female corpses are depicted fully nude with fleeting images of pubic hair”
  • Investigations involving sexual assaults, in which “details are often conveyed in clinical terms through dialogue or on-screen text (e.g., ‘He’s some kind of sex fiend,’ ‘Woman’s briefs torn at seams, forcibly removed,’ and ‘Head trauma . . . external bruising to genitals.’)”
  • And, perhaps the strangest of the lot: “In one cutscene, there is an implication that a character is engaged in a sexual relationship with a teenager (e.g., ‘You take love where you can find it as you get older, Jack’/That has nothing to do with love . . .’)”

Damn. This is going to make Heavy Rain look like Kirby’s Epic Yarn. Oh, there are also scenes with drugs, and, um, “Language such as ‘f**k,’ ‘sh*t,’ ‘c*nt,’ ‘n**ger,’ and ‘sp*c’ can be heard in the dialogue.” If your stomach is strong enough for you to listen to the Warp Zoned podcast, then you should be safe.

L.A. Noire hits stores on May 17th for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Get your sleuthing skills ready.

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