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New Releases: Killzone 3, Bulletstorm, De Blob 2, More

Posted on February 19, 2011 by John Scalzo

Two pairs of heavyweights in their respective genres go head-to-head in this week’s new releases.

First up, we have the launch two major first person shooters… Sony’s continued fight against the Helghast in Killzone 3 (PS3) versus Epic Games’ latest fragfest, Bulletstorm (PC, PS3, Xbox 360). Don’t forget, the Xbox 360 version of Bulletstorm comes in an “Epic Edition” that inlcudes a few in-game goodies and access to the Gears of War 3 beta.

The next fight is a little less high profile (and both games come from the same publisher), but in a battle between handheld RPGs… Atlus is bringing Radiant Historia to the DS and also bringing Ys I & II Chronicles to the PSP.

Standing alone is THQ’s De Blob 2 (DS, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360), which would probably be a unique title at any time of the year.

The full list of the rest of this week’s new releases can be found after the break. (more…)

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

January 2011 NPD report: We all just got served

Posted on February 18, 2011 by Mike Gutierrez

I always considered sales to be the lowest possible form of gaming conversation, but with NPD eliminating numbers from their public reports, it’s more like a pure representation of what the popular trends are in gaming.

And that trend is dance. Four games in the software top ten for January were dance games: Just Dance 2 (#2), Zumba Fitness (#5), Dance Central (#8), and Michael Jackson: The Experience (#9). While peripheral rocking may be on the way out, the music genre as a whole is alive and well, in fact you could argue that the dance games of today are the new band games of yesteryear, grossing exorbitant revenue and achieving a massive base. However, it signals that our medium of interactive entertainment is being taken over by genres we would not traditionally call video games and titles that simply don’t appeal to us. As the Japanese say, “it can’t be helped,” and I guess it’s a good thing overall if cores games are still financially healthy.

And indeed they are. Dead Space 2 (#3), Little Big Planet 2 (#4), and DC Universe Online (#10) made their debut in the top ten the same month as launching. Michael Jordan’s tongue-lashing exploits in NBA 2K11 (#6) returned, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood (#7) snuck around and Call of Duty: Black Ops claimed the top spot, nearly three months after launch. This figure is augmented as all platforms are combined into one figure, so I can’t comment on how much that Nintendo DS port contributed.

Also absent are console figures, but that didn’t stop Microsoft from their customary spin installment. While both the PS3 and Xbox 360 are performing better than this time last year, Microsoft revealed 381,000 units sold, proclaiming the 360 as “the leading game console in 2011,” a statement which is pretentious after only January, unsubstantiated without any regional qualifier, and probably wrong considering the Nintendo DS is very much a game console, regardless of what Aaron Greenberg wishes you believed.

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

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood leads BAFTA noms with seven

Posted on February 16, 2011 by John Scalzo

Somebody alert the world, a Brotherhood of assassins has infiltrated the British Academy Video Games Awards. Ubisoft’s stealthy sequel, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, garnered seven nominations, more than any other game, including one for Best Game.

Other big honorees from this year’s Video Games Awards include Call of Duty: Black Ops, Heavy Rain (six nominations apiece) and Mass Effect 2 (four nominations).

Awarded annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), the winners of this year’s Video Games Awards will announced in a ceremony on March 16.

The full list of every nominee and every award up for grabs can be found after the break. (more…)

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

A Eulogy For Guitar Hero: The Day the (Plastic) Music Died

Posted on February 14, 2011 by Adam Woolcott

A wise man once said that it’s far better to burn out than fade away. Apparently Activision agreed with the sentiment, as after a bit more than five years of rapid-fire releases, the company has shuttered the Guitar Hero franchise. Just 40 months ago the music gaming business was at its absolute peak – Guitar Hero III sold roughly 2.45 bazillion copies across a half-dozen platforms – but now the series is in complete shambles, what with the latest installment releasing with the authority of a farting ant. This legendary tumble from grace is no doubt why the company canceled the forthcoming Guitar Hero 7 and put the entire series on hold, perhaps permanently. Rather than harp on all that went wrong and led to its untimely demise, let’s discuss what went right – and what the future may hold if Activision dares to bring the music back. (more…)

Posted in DS, Features, Mobile, PS2, PS3, PSP, Top Story, Wii, Xbox 360 | Tagged , ,

New Releases: Marvel vs Capcom 3, Dragon Quest VI, Hyperdimension Neptunia, More

Posted on February 12, 2011 by John Scalzo

This week it’s all about RPGs, except for the return of a favorite fighting franchise…

The Marvel and Capcom universes will be colliding in a battle for one-on-one fighting supremacy again with the release of Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds this week for the PS3 and Xbox 360.

But every other major release will be much more enticing to RPG fans everywhere including Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation on the DS. Once Dragon Quest VI makes its way into stores on the 14th, it’ll mark the final game in the franchise’s main series to make its way across the Pacific. It just took a little over 15 years.

And speaking RPGs that are hard to find in America, Square Enix is bringing Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together to the PSP this week. Tactics Ogre has always been hard to come by in collector’s circles, so this new version means that everyone who wants to play it will finally get the chance to.

Also available this week is Hyperdimension Neptunia for the PS3. The game tells the story of the console war as if it were a typical Japanese RPG. Oh yeah, and a nearly naked girl representing “Sega” is the hero. Man, how can you not love NIS America?

Finally, Frictional’s Amnesia: The Dark Descent, which was originally released in 2010, will receive a retail release this week.

The full list of the rest of this week’s new releases can be found after the break. (more…)

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

AIAS names Mass Effect 2 their Game of the Year

Posted on February 11, 2011 by John Scalzo

BioWare’s Mass Effect 2 walked away with Game of the Year honors at the Interactive Achievement Awards last night.

The game, which was just recently released on the PS3 after its PC and Xbox 360 debut last year, was given the award by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. This is the Academy’s 14th year handing out the IAAs and Mass Effect 2 beat out Call of Duty: Black Ops, God of War III, Red Dead Redemption and Angry Birds to win the prize.

But among the honorees, only Black Ops went home empty-handed. Angry Birds was named Casual Game of the Year, God of War III won Outstanding Achievement in Animation and Red Dead Redemption galloped away with five awards.

You can watch the entire ceremony at G4tv.com/DICE2011 or you can see the full list of winners after the break. (more…)

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Activision reveals new Family Guy game, X-Men: First Class, “unprecedented” new universe

Posted on February 10, 2011 by John Scalzo

Activision was very busy during their quarterly financial briefing yesterday. In addition to canceling Guitar Hero 7 and True Crime: Hong Kong, the company revealed a few details about their 2011 (and beyond) schedule.

New Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg did most of talking. He began by reiterating that Call of Duty 8 is on track for a 2011 release and officially announced a free-to-play Call of Duty game for China, which will be released in 2012.

Continuing with the Call of Duty theme, Hirshberg revealed that a new Activision in-house studio, Beachhead, will be creating an “all-new digital platform for the Call of Duty franchise.” The system sounds very similar to Halo Waypoint and promises to “support in-game integration and bring online experiences and console play together.”

Activision also has a slew of licensed games in development for 2011 including three never-before-announced games: Family Guy, X-Men: First Class and Wipeout 2.

A Family Guy game was released by 2K Games to tepid reviews in 2006. X-Men: First Class will likely launch alongside the film in June with the Silicon Knights-developed X-Men: Destiny still on track for a late 2011 release. And for those confused about Wipeout 2, it’s not the futuristic racing franchise, but a second game based on ABC’s obstacle course game show.

Several previously announced 2011 games, including Transformers: Dark of the Moon, a new Spider-Man game, more Cabela’s Hunting titles and a new Bakugan game were also discussed.

Bungie’s New Universe was briefly mentioned, but only to confirm that it won’t launch until 2012 at the earliest.

Finally, Hirshberg announced that Activision will be unveiling “an all-new gaming universes that brings together the worlds of toys, video games and online play.” in two days at the New York Toy Fair. Activision will release the game based on this new universe in the second half of 2011 and calls the franchise an “unprecedented” merging of different media.

Wow. We’ll likely learn more about a lot of these titles at E3.

Posted in 3DS, DS, Mobile, News, PC, PS3, PSP, Vita, Wii, Xbox 360 | Tagged , , ,

Bionic Commando: Rearmed 2, Assassin’s Creed II lead PlayStation Store update

Posted on February 1, 2011 by John Scalzo

Sony has performed their weekly update of the PlayStation Store with lots of new games and lots of discounts for PlayStation Plus subscribers.

Those new games include a downloadable edition of Assassin’s Creed II: Deluxe Edition (which features all of the DLC) and Capcom’s platforming sequel Bionic Commando: Rearmed 2. Also available this week is Atari’s puzzler The UnderGarden and Tales From Space: About A Blob, another puzzler (and just for Plus users for now).

Mega Man 2 is this week’s lone addition to the PSone Classic Imports section.

The PSP Store will receive a trio of games this week, one-on-one fighter Samurai Showdown and minis versions of Wackylands Boss and the excellent Pac-Man Championship Edition.

More information on all of these games can be found after the break with a full rundown of this week’s downloadables at the PlayStation.Blog. (more…)

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