Most Recent: Xbox 360

Battle: Los Angeles gets downloadable game

Posted on March 6, 2011 by John Scalzo

Few movies get turned into games nowadays, but Konami has decided to buck that trend and bring a game based on Battle: Los Angeles to the PC, PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade this month. Developed by Saber Interactive, the game will be a first person shooter where players will “fight alongside characters from the film and defend the city of Los Angeles from attacks from unknown forces.”

While the game may be scaled down to fit inside a downloadable package, the action looks and sounds like anything but (just check out the trailer above):

Battle: Los Angeles is a high-end fast and frantic first-person shooter game that will take players through a single player campaign that mirrors the upcoming feature film. Players will assume the role of a Marine fighting against a worldwide alien invasion that has the city of Los Angeles as the major battleground and focal point for the game. Players will battle unique and varied enemies, using an arsenal of weapons throughout the game like an assault rifle, sniper rifle, rocket launcher, frag grenades, and a turret gun as they navigate the streets of Los Angeles avoiding fierce and relentless attacks. Aside from high-caliber fire fighting combat, destructible environments have been included using the Havok Destruction Module, which will allow players to destroy scaffolding structures, vehicles and overpasses to eliminate enemy forces. With unlockable content, trophy support, and 5.1 surround sound, Battle: Los Angeles will pull players deep into the heart of the battle to save mankind.

Battle: Los Angeles opens in theaters on March 11.

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

Call of Juarez: The Cartel trailer rides into town

Posted on March 6, 2011 by John Scalzo

While Techland blew everyone away with their Dead Island trailer a few weeks ago, the developer is also hard at work on Call of Juarez: The Cartel for Ubisoft. The Cartel brings the Call of Juarez series into the present day with a gangland tale of drugs set amidst the franchise’s familar western trappings.

In fact, the game begins with the creation of a posse (including Ben McCall, a descendant of Ray McCall from the original Call of Juarez) that plans to hunt down the drugrunners that are terrorizing the US.

The third Call of Juarez will include three-player co-op throughout a “deep and gritty storyline” that touches down in Los Angeles, Arizona, New Mexico and Juarez. A variety of missions (including punitive raids, witness protection, undercover stings and car chases) will keep things interesting on the dusty trail along with a “twist” to the co-op that Ubisoft plans to reveal soon. If I had to guess, I’d say that’s a very big hint that one of the law enforcement agents will secretly have been working for the cartel the entire time.

But I don’t know for sure. However, I do know that Ubisoft plans to reveal more about the game’s multiplayer modes in the near future and plans to release Call of Juarez: The Cartel this Summer for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.

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

New Releases: Dragon Age II, MLB 11: The Show, MLB 2K11, More

Posted on March 5, 2011 by John Scalzo

One of 2011’s biggest releases will be hitting stores this week. Players will be able to return to the magical land of Thedas as BioWare is bringing Dragon Age II to the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.

If you prefer the smell of peanuts and Crackerjack to the smell of sliced and diced dragon meat, you might want to consider this week’s double play combo of baseball games. 2K Sports will release its multiplatform Major League Baseball 2K11 on the DS, PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii and Xbox 360 while Sony is bringing its PlayStation-exclusive MLB 11: The Show to the PS2, PS3 and PSP.

Also available this week will be the Dynasty Warriors spinoff Warriors: Legends of Troy (PS3, Xbox 360) and a new Sims 3 expansion, The Sims 3: Barnacle Bay (PC).

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

Posted in DS, News, PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360 | Tagged , ,

Gears of War 3 beta begins on April 18 for Bulletstorm owners, April 25 for GoW3 pre-orders

Posted on March 4, 2011 by John Scalzo

Microsoft and Epic Games have finally released the full beta schedule for Gears of War 3.

Buyers of Bulletstorm will gain access to a preview version of the beta on April 18. This sneak peek of the beta will feature Team Deathmatch mode on four new maps (Thrashball, Checkout, Trenches and Old Town). Trenches and Old Town actually earned their place thanks to winning Epic’s Facebook poll that asked gamers which maps they wanted to play in the beta.

On April 25th, the beta expands to include all gamers that pre-ordered GoW3 from GameStop. The pre-order invite comes with every version of the game: Standard ($59.99 USD), Limited ($79.99) or Epic ($149.99). The expanded beta will run through May 15 and include two additional game modes: Capture the Leader and King of the Hill.

During the beta, players will be able to unlock a host of bonus features as well as exclusive content available in the full version of the game that releases on September 20. Hit the jump for the full list of unlockables. (more…)

Posted in News, Xbox 360 | Tagged ,

Extended Prototype 2 trailer adds in some dev commentary

Posted on March 4, 2011 by Mike Gutierrez

GDC is ending today (but PAX is coming up!) and Radical Entertainment released an extended clip of the announcement trailer for Prototype 2. It’s mostly the same stuff we saw at the VGAs, but the most notable part is the developer commentary. It’s almost kind of depressing, where one of the lead designers proclaims how he’s not making the game for himself, he’s making this game for three, four, five million people and wants to know how to make it for them.

I guess the sentiment’s appropriate for GDC, since everyone there is asking the same question, but I would hate to play in an industry where that’s how game developers go about their job. In fact, the team in the Killzone 3 special features stated that it’s a culmination of all the cool ideas they personally wished were in games, and that turned out pretty well. We’ll have to see how the different approaches work out for each studio with the incoming NPD report for February and when Prototype 2 ships sometime in 2012.

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

Mortal Kombat introduces the Challenge Tower, wants you to cry

Posted on March 3, 2011 by Mike Gutierrez

The newest feature revealed by NetherRealm Studios for the upcoming Mortal Kombat is the Challenge Tower. We could make a news post detailing all the insane scenarios shown and described in the trailer above (Test Your Might, Test Your Sight, etc), but you really should just see it for yourself. My favorite is when Mileena offers Scorpion a Teddy Bear, which he refuses. Frustrated at how long she spent making it, the two have no choice but to battle it out.

Mortal Kombat will be available for the PS3 and Xbox 360 on April 19, with a PlayStation Plus-exclusive demo planned for March 8.

Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Mortal Kombat demo coming to PlayStation Plus next Tuesday

Posted on March 3, 2011 by Mike Gutierrez

Sony’s been trying really hard to get you to jump in on their subscription-based service PlayStation Plus, and today they deliver another enticing offer in that effort. Mortal Kombat will arrive on the PlayStation Store next Tuesday, March 8 for Plus subscribers only. Regular PSN users will get a chance to download it a week later. The game will be compatible with Automatic Download, so make sure you turn the feature on so your PS3 can achieve sentience and download it on its own.

The demo features Sub-Zero, Johnny Cage, Mileena, and Sub-Zero as they battle it out on two ultra-vintage stages: The Pit and The Living Forest. You can get in on these fights with both single player and one-on-one Versus modes. And, of course, Fatalities and the new X-Ray Mode are included. Finally, for all you affluent technophiles, yes, the demo will support 3D.

The PlayStation Blog invites players to experience the joy of over-gory Fatalities, which it calls “once-controversial.” I’m not so sure about that. Seeing Kung Lao pull his victims legs-first towards his spinning razor hat to be dissected like some horrible biology experiment is an image I simply can’t get out of my head. Maybe listening to the iconic theatrical theme song of the series will help me stay sane until Mortal Kombat releases for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on April 19. I hope.

WB Games has said that the Mortal Kombat demo will be released on the Xbox Live Marketplace at a later date.

Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Red Dead Redemption, Minecraft clean up at GDC Awards

Posted on March 3, 2011 by John Scalzo

The Game Developers Conference continues to roll on in San Francisco, and the game industry honored their own last night with the 11th annual Game Developers Choice Awards.

Red Dead Redemption was the most honored game of the night, winning the Game of the Year award as well as Best Game Design, Best Technology and Best Audio. The developers at Rockstar San Diego had to share the spotlight with Mojang’s Minecraft, which won three awards: Best Debut Game, Innovation Award and Best Downloadable Game.

Three other games were winners at last night’s GDC Awards: BioWare’s Mass Effect 2 for Best Writing, ZeptoLab’s Cut the Rope for Best Handheld Game, and Playdead’s Limbo for Best Visual Arts.

Three special awards were also handed out. The man behind the Fable franchise , Peter Molyneux, won the Lifetime Achievement Award. Another big name among RPG producers, Yu Suzuki, won the Pioneer Award. Maybe this’ll give him the clout he needs to create the long-rumored Shenmue III.

Finally, the Ambassador Award was given to Tim Brengle and Ian MacKenzie, two early organizers of the Game Developers Conference.

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