Most Recent: Xbox 360

Noob Saibot teleports into Mortal Kombat

Posted on February 15, 2011 by John Scalzo

John Tobias may have left NetherRealm Studios more than a decade ago (when it was still known as Midway), but his namesake ninja still lives on. Although Noob Saibot is an undead ninja, so I guess it’s not really that surprising.

After being bypassed in Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe, Noob will make his PS3/Xbox 360 debut in the upcoming Mortal Kombat reboot, which will be released April 19th alongside a whole mess of other Mortal Kombat media. You can check out a Noob Saibot-centric trailer, where he performs a bone-crushing finisher on Jade (and smacks around the previously unseen Sindel), right here:

Posted in News, PS3, 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 , ,

Halo: Reach Defiant Map Pack announced

Posted on February 14, 2011 by John Scalzo

Prepare to return to the Reach this March as Microsoft has announced the Defiant Map Pack for Halo: Reach. Certain Affinity (who have also created map packs for CoD: World at War and CoD: Black Ops) collaborated with 343 Industries on the development of the pack.

The pack will be available to download for 800 Microsoft Points ($10) once its released and it’ll contain three new maps. Condemned takes place on a giant space station, Highlands is located inside a top secret military base and Unearthed takes the action belowground to an abandoned mine.

You can check out the excellent Defiant Map Pack trailer above or you can read more about the maps after the break. (more…)

Posted in News, 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 , , ,

Activision cancels Guitar Hero 7, True Crime: Hong Kong

Posted on February 10, 2011 by John Scalzo

For the first time since the franchise launched in 2005, a new Guitar Hero game will not be released this year.

This news comes out of Activision’s quarterly financial briefing, where the publisher has revealed that it has disbanded its Guitar Hero business division and canceled the Vicarious Visions-developed Guitar Hero 7.

True Crime: Hong Kong, the United Front-developed reboot of Activision’s answer to Grand Theft Auto, has also been given the axe. Eric Hirshberg cut right to the point when explaining the reason behind the cancellation when he said “[True Crime: Hong Kong] just wasn’t going to be good enough.”

While not a cancellation, COO Thomas Tippl also revealed that the Tony Hawk series will also be taking 2011 off.

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

Halo 5, Project Gotham Racing spotted in the wild

Posted on February 9, 2011 by Mike Gutierrez

Ok, this is legitimately weird. Apparently Eurogamer caught a “Channel 4” news report with Jonathan Cluts from Microsoft interacting with “hidden Kinect-like technology to change the appearance of a wall” at the company’s secret home of the future, Microsoft Home. Navigating through icons on the wall, he selected “Grandma’s Room.” What was more notable was that granny’s quarters were sandwiched between Project Gotham Racing and Halo 5, as pictured left. Other than displaying “Inside Halo 5” underneath the Icon, that’s all there really was mentioned of the games.

Microsoft Home is known as a showcase for future consumer products, and I think it’s safe to say everyone expects another Project Gotham Racing and certainly another Halo to be in development. While this is the first we’re hearing of the sequel to Halo: Reach (the now-presumed “Halo 4” in spirit), there have been strong indications that the original Halo: Combat Evolved will be remade this year. Some have speculated Bizarre Creations will return to Microsoft to work on PGR, but nothing has been heard of the studio since their parent company Activision recommended them for closure.

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