Most Recent: Xbox 360

Dead Island shambles into stores September 6; Comic-Con panel includes zombie experts

Posted on July 13, 2011 by John Scalzo

After months of teasing, Deep Silver has finally announced an official release date for Dead Island. The first person zombie game will be available for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 on September 6.

To help celebrate the game’s pending release, Deep Silver plans to hold a master class at Comic-Con to explore “society’s fascination with the Zombie genre as a whole, and demonstrate how creative talent are harnessing medical science to define and explore horror entertainment in more realistic (and therefore more frightening and engaging) ways.” The panelists represent some of the foremost experts in the field of zombology and will surely provide a lively (so to speak) discussion:

  • Max Brooks, universal zombie expert and author of The Zombie Survival Guide, World War Z and The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks
  • Haris Orkin, writer of the anticipated video game, Dead Island
  • Steve Schlozman, M.D., author of The Zombie Autopsies and assistant professor of psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
  • Bradley Voytek, Ph.D., Post-doctoral Fellow: Neuroscience, University of California, San Francisco
  • Andrew Groen, freelance journalist and editor of GamePro Magazine’s “Real Science” column
  • Bruce Geryk, M.D., Resident Physician, Department of Neurosurgery, University of North Carolina Hospitals

The panel, titled “The Science of Zombies,” will be held at the San Diego Convention Center – Room 8 on July 22 at 7:30 PM.

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

Catherine Hands-On Preview: Move Over, Freddy – There’s A New Nightmare in Town

Posted on July 13, 2011 by Nicole Kline

Japanese company Atlus is no stranger to both developing and publishing unusual games – they are, after all, the creators of the Persona series. Their latest game, Catherine, has been dubbed an infidelity simulator, and fits right into their niche of the weird and wonderful. Even after everything we’ve written about Catherine, I still wasn’t sure what to expect from the demo. I tried not to have high expectations, but even as elevated as they were, I was definitely not disappointed with what the demo had to offer. (more…)

Posted in Previews, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged

EA buys PopCap for $750 million

Posted on July 13, 2011 by John Scalzo

PopCap Games, the casual gaming powerhouse behind such franchises as Bejeweled, Plants vs Zombies and Zuma, has been acquired by Electronic Arts for $750 million ($650 million in cash and $100 million in shares of EA common stock). PopCap had recently been mulling a public IPO, but it looks like EA swooped in and made a better deal.

“We picked EA because they have recast their culture around making great digital games,” said David Roberts, CEO of PopCap. “By working with EA, we’ll scale our games and services to deliver more social, mobile, casual fun to an even bigger, global audience.”

Executives on EA’s end also sound thrilled with the PopCap purchase.

“EA and PopCap are a compelling combination,” said EA CEO John Riccitiello. “PopCap’s great studio talent and powerful IP add to EA’s momentum and accelerate our drive towards a $1 billion digital business. EA’s global studio and publishing network will help PopCap rapidly expand their business to more digital devices, more countries, and more channels.”

I hope the marriage between PopCap and EA works out for the best. Now, can I have a sequel to Heavy Weapon?

Posted in 3DS, DS, News, PC, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360 |

Deus Ex “Conspiracy” trailer has more to it than it’s letting on

Posted on July 13, 2011 by Mike Gutierrez

In our exclusive interview with the Game Director of Deus Ex, Jean-Francois Dugas let us know how important it was for the team to create a plot where the player is always guessing at who to trust and what’s really going on. In addition the same great visuals and sound we’ve gotten from past trailers, the latest Deus Ex: Human Revolution piece captures that there’s some really shady stuff going on.

We’ll all get a chance to figure out exactly what that is when Deus Ex relases for the PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 on August 23.

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

XBLA Tomorrow: Ms. Splosion Man, Warhammer 40000 Kill Team, Boulder Dash-XL

Posted on July 12, 2011 by John Scalzo

In the final week before Summer of Arcade, Microsoft comes through with another trio of interesting Xbox Live Arcade releases.

This week, the XBLA will see the return of Twisted Pixel Games and their gender-swapping sequel, Ms. Splosion Man. Don’t let the yellow bow fool you, Ms. Splosion Man is just as explosive as her predecessor and she’s packin’ a new multiplayer mode as well.

Also available is Warhammer 40,000: Kill Team, a third person shooter that ties in with THQ’s disc-based Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine, which is scheduled for release later this Summer.

Finally, there’s Boulder Dash-XL, an XBLA update to the classic puzzler.

More information on all three games (which have been priced at 800 Microsoft Points ($10) each) is available after the break. (more…)

Posted in News, Xbox 360 | Tagged ,

King of Fighters XIII gets October release date, new trailer

Posted on July 12, 2011 by John Scalzo

Atlus has unveiled a new gameplay trailer for The King of Fighters XIII and narrowed down the game’s release date from Fall 2011 to sometime in October.

The console port of KoF XIII will add a variety of new features and modes not found in the arcade original. Atlus plans to release more details on this new content at a later date, but they did announced that Billy Kane, a fan favorite from the Fatal Fury franchise, will be a part of KoF XIII’s roster.

Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged

NetherRealm pours it on with Rain gameplay trailer

Posted on July 12, 2011 by John Scalzo

Rain and his water-based repertoire of special attacks will be coming to Mortal Kombat on July 19. Available to download for 400 Microsoft Points on the Xbox 360 and $5 on the PS3, the purple one is still rocking the “around the world” roundhouse kick, which instantly makes him the awesomest character available in the game. Which you can check out in the trailer above.

With Rain’s release that only leaves the “unannounced new entrant” as the final piece of Mortal Kombat’s Summer DLC slate. Anybody want to take any guesses as to who it’ll be? Or could it be a truly new character? Hopefully, we’ll find out soon.

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New Batman: Arkham City Riddler trailer is kinda disturbing

Posted on July 11, 2011 by Mike Gutierrez

We heard a few months back that the Riddler would be making an appearance in the upcoming Batman: Arkham City, but we had no clue how dark his portrayal was going to be. The video above captures a more disturbed vision of Edward Nigma, as well as some really brutal traps and machines. Batman: Arkham City releases for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 on October 18.

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