Most Recent: Xbox 360

F.E.A.R. 3 Review: Being Scared Was Never This Fun

Posted on August 4, 2011 by Nicole Kline

F.E.A.R. 3 is the latest installment in the F.E.A.R. series, which stands for First Encounter Assault Recon – although it doesn’t really seem like anyone cares what it stands for anymore, seeing as that hasn’t really been relevant since the first game. While not helmed by the original developers – Day 1 Studios has taken over for Monolith Productions – the latest in the popular horror franchise still has the same spirit as the two original games.

The most interesting addition to the family gameplay is co-op – players can either play the campaign alone as Point Man and unlock his brother, Paxton Fettel, as they go through each chapter, or they can play the game cooperatively with a friend either online or from their couch. Couch co-op has never been so fun – or so terrifying. The main fear I had was that Day 1 Studios wouldn’t be able to deliver, but I’m happy to announce that they’ve given birth to something… well, something more beautiful than what’s about to come out of Alma Wade, for certain. (more…)

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

Attend Call of Duty XP, get CoD Modern Warfare 3 for free

Posted on August 3, 2011 by John Scalzo

If you balked at the $150 price tag Activision put on a ticket to the Call of Duty XP expo, perhaps this will change your mind. In addition to admittance to the show, your ticket can be used to obtain a free copy of the Hardened Edition of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 when it’s released on November 8. Between a free copy of MW3 and donating every cent of the Call of Duty XP ticket price to charity, Activision has officially moved their corporate karma one tick closer to the “Not Evil” side.

According to Joystiq, there will be plenty of other perks for Call of Duty XP attendees as well. Those that buy a ticket to the September 2-3 show will receive a sneak peek at a Call of Duty comedy series created by Jason Bateman and Will Arnett’s production company Dumbdumb. This series is being produced as a bonus for Call of Duty Elite members in addition to a “Modern Warfare-inspired live-action short” by We Can Pretend, the production company behind the awesome “Find Makarov” film.

Yup, definitely not evil.

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

CoD Black Ops Resurrection Pack coming August 23

Posted on August 3, 2011 by John Scalzo

Activision has revealed that the fourth (and likely final) Call of Duty: Black Ops map pack will be available for the Xbox 360 on August 23. The pack will be known as “Resurrection” (or possibly “Rezurrection”) and, as you may have guessed, will focus heavily on everyone’s favorite brain eaters.

The Resurrection Map Pack will resurrect the four Call of Duty: World at War Zombies Mode maps (“Nacht der Untoten,” “Verruckt,” “Shi No Numa” and “Der Riese”) in Black Ops. If you recall, these maps were included in the Hardened and Prestige editions of the game as a bonus download. So to sweeten the pot, Activision is including a fifth map, “Moon,” along with a 20-song soundtrack and an Xbox 360 theme. And yes, “Moon” features zommmmbbbbiieeeesssss innnnnnn spaaaaacccceeeee.

Like all other CODBLOPS packs, Resurrection will be available to download for 1200 Microsoft Points ($15), but Hardened and Prestige edition owners will receive the fifth map for free.

Oh, and if history is any guide, Resurrection will be coming to the PC and PS3 a month later on September 23.

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

Shadows of the Damned Review: An Overshadowed Gem… Packed to the Rim with Dirty Jokes

Posted on August 3, 2011 by Chris Urie

Suda 51 has a tentative grasp on reality at the best of times. The stark-raving mastermind behind Killer 7 and No More Heroes would like to invite you along for a trip into the underworld with his friends: a Mexican demon hunter named Garcia F***ing Hotspur and his disembodied skull sidekick named Johnson. Shadows of the Damned is the most grounded Suda 51 has ever been. Is that a bad thing? Certainly not. Grounded for him means marking save points with a defecating demon named One-Eyed Willy and assuming you know that goats are a protective light source. Like I said… grounded. (more…)

Posted in PS3, Reviews, Top Story, Xbox 360 | Tagged

XBLA Today: Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet

Posted on August 3, 2011 by John Scalzo

The Summer of Arcade continues to light up this dreary season with new Xbox Live Arcade games, but this week’s release is a bit on the somber side.

The almost monochromatic Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet from Fuel Cell Games drops players into the driver’s seat of a spaceship that needs to explore the titular planet. Some early reports even describe it as “Metroid, if Samus never left her ship.”

So if you want to get insane and twisted, you can download Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet for 1200 Microsoft Points ($15) now.

Posted in News, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Borderlands 2 announced, playable at Gamescom 2011, PAX Prime

Posted on August 3, 2011 by Nicole Kline

Well, that didn’t take long. Just after all the leaks and rumors about Borderlands 2, 2K Games and Gearbox Software officially announced that the sequel is in development. It will be coming to the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 sometime in fiscal year 2013 (after April 2012) and is going to have “all-new characters, skills, environments, enemies, weapons and equipment, which come together in an ambitiously crafted story.” Taking place on Pandora once again, it will not only feature new characters, but new character classes.

All of this information and more can be found in the latest Game Informer. Good thing I just re-upped my subscription! The game will be playable at both Gamescom 2011 (from August 17 – August 21) and PAX Prime (Booth #3417 from August 26 – August 28).

This comes on the heels of something I said just last night to Ryan Littlefield as we were blasting our way through Earl’s Scrapyard. Ryan said that he saw the GOTY edition in the clearance bin, and I replied, “Well obviously it’s because they’re making the second game.” DING! We have a winner! Now excuse me while I go change my pants.

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

Lord of the Rings: War in the North goes forth into stores on November 1

Posted on August 3, 2011 by John Scalzo

Even though most online retailers still list an August 24 release date for The Lord of the Rings: War in the North, WB Games has officially announced that the game will be available in North American store shelves on November 1. Australian gamers will get it a day later on November 2 and the game will be available in Europe later in the week on November 4.

While this delay means gamers won’t be able to lead their fellowship into battle anytime soon, it does give them more time to save up for the absolutely insane War in the North Collector’s Edition, which will also be available on November 1.

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

EA Sports Season Ticket now available

Posted on August 2, 2011 by John Scalzo

Leave it to Electronic Arts to take the “online pass” idea to places you never thought it would go. Today, the publisher launched the EA Sports Season Ticket, a new service that’ll provide “premium benefits” in five EA Sports titles (Madden NFL 12, NHL 12, FIFA Soccer 12, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 and NCAA Football 13).

The Season Ticket carries an annual fee of $24.99 on the PlayStation Store (or 2000 Microsoft Points on Xbox Live), subscribers will receive four benefits: the chance to download an EA Sports title three days before the retail disc version is available for sale, a 20-percent discount on in-game DLC, premium web content and membership recognition (a small icon next to your username in the game).

So after EA separates you from your $25, you’ll have access to discounts, a snazzy icon for your PSN username/Gamertag and web content like the premium Creation Center packs for FIFA Soccer 12. According to EA, “these packs provide a deeper set of customization tools and abilities within Creation Center to build your own teams and tournaments.”

But the real meat of the program appears to be the ability to download an EA Sports game three days before the regular folks who have to wait for the disc version. But buyer beware, according to EA, the downloadable version of the game will cease to work after the disc version is available in stores.

Come on EA, what is the point of that?

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