Medal of Honor Warfighter, Killzone HD, Unfinished Swan, more added to PS Store

Posted on October 24, 2012 by John Scalzo

Another strong week of PlayStation Store additions is upon us.

This week, the PS3 Full Games section is now home to EA’s Medal of Honor: Warfighter and 2K’s The Darkness II.

On the PSN side of things, there’s the artistic surrealism of The Unfinished Swan and the gray and brown post-apocalypticism of Killzone HD.

Vita gamers will get a chance to try out several new games this week, but Street Fighter X Tekken leads the pack.

And finally, the PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale beta is now open for all. It’ll be accessible for PS3 and Vita players until Tuesday, October 30 at midnight (Pacific Time).

As always, more information on all of this week’s new releases can be found after the break. The PlayStation Blog also has a complete rundown of this week’s new game add-ons, demos, and videos.

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Posted in News, PS3, Vita | Tagged , ,

Wii U demo stations now available at Target; pre-order program begins

Posted on October 24, 2012 by John Scalzo

Did you miss out on pre-ordering a Wii U from GameStop back in September? Well, good news! Target has announced plans to open their Wii U pre-order program this week, but you better hurry, “because quantities are limited.”

According to the announcement, Wii U pre-orders can be placed “at your local Target store,” so those hoping to snag a Wii U without leaving their house are likely out of luck.

The retailer has also revealed that over 1,000 Wii U demo stations have been set up at Target stores across the country. So if you haven’t tried out Nintendo’s next console yet, now’s your chance.

So, as is the theme of this news post, you better hurry!

Posted in News, Wii U |

Here’s an 18-minute Fuse “Progress Update” hosted by Insomniac’s Ted Price

Posted on October 24, 2012 by Nicole Kline

From what Ted Price shows off in this video, Insomniac Games has been hard at work on Fuse. They give some background on the four main characters – Dalton Brooks, Izzy Sinclair, Jacob Kimble, and Naya Deveraux – as well as go into detail about the primary and secondary functions of their main weapons.

If you can last through the whole 18 minutes, you’ll get a lot of in-depth information on the progress, including information about the skill trees, an interesting concept called “Lethal Teamwork” in which you can build up points off of your teammates, and “Leap,” which allows you to switch which character you’re playing at any time – even mid-battle.

But there’s more to Fuse than just a pretty face. Price said the campaign is “heavily story driven with plenty of twists and turns to keep our players engaged.” This sounds awesome, but I’m still put off a bit by the massive change in art style that occurred with the game. I’m hoping the story is as compelling as some others Insomniac has put out.

Fuse is scheduled to be released in March 2013 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged

First official Borderlands Legends details emerge from the vault

Posted on October 23, 2012 by Andrew Rainnie

Already blown everything up in Borderlands 2? Found all the hidden references, all the homages to TV shows, and heard every dirty, dazzling line the sequel can throw at you? Are you eager for more blood splatter on the dust of Pandora? Then Borderlands Legends is the mobile/tablet game for you.

Featuring the original lineup of character from Borderlands (who are NPCs in the sequel), the new title takes the first person shooter and warps it into a top-down squadron-based shooter where you control the gun-toting quartet of Roland, Mordecai, Brick, and the fiery Lillith. Each character will have a mini-skill tree similar to the console games, and they can be tooled to the teeth thanks to the omni-presence of Marcus and his vending machines. As it is top-down, players will now be able to use cover to plan their attacks through the hordes of rakk, bandits, spiderants, and other Pandorian scum.

Like Claptrap, the game is annoying only for iOS devices ($4.99 for iOS, $6.99 for iPad), with no word on an Android or Windows 8 version. But with Borderlands Legends’ iOS release scheduled for October 31, we probably won’t have to wait long.

[Source: Entertainment Weekly ]

Posted in Mobile, News | Tagged

Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Review: The Buddy System Scuffle

Posted on October 23, 2012 by Mike Ryan

We are currently in the midst of a fighting game renaissance. From the arcade cabinets in the days of yore, to the couches of the 1990s, and finally to the heated tournaments today, the genre has evolved from a casual experience to an almost chess-like battle of the intellects. Dedicated fighters spend months perfecting their move sets and combos, and study their opponents’ battles to look for any hints of weaknesses. Tournaments such as EVO are held every year, where the best players take home thousands of dollars in cash and prizes. It’s become a full-blown extravaganza.

Learning a fighting game nowadays take time and persistence. Sure, you can button-mash and win a few fights here and there; but in order to be the best, you need to learn the intricacies. One must have a detailed knowledge of hit boxes, cancels, and the like in order to get the most out of your character. This is where Tekken Tag Tournament 2 excels: not just as a fighting game, but as a game worthy of your time and commitment. Because the first time you successfully pull off a combo into a bound into a tag assault into another combo, you’ll earn yourself a well-deserved feeling of satisfaction.

And that’s just a fraction of what this game offers.

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

Apple officially announces iPad Mini

Posted on October 23, 2012 by John Scalzo

After all the endless speculation (I swear, it feels like I’ve been hearing about it since last year), Apple officially announced the iPad Mini at a media event today.

Clocking in at 7.9 diagonal inches, Apple is touting the tablet as “Every inch an iPad,” even though they’ve lopped off a little over two inches from the device. That said, the iPad Mini will run every iOS app, even those designed exclusively for the iPad. It’s spec sheet promises a 10-hour battery life, 5 MP camera, access to Siri, and support for the new Lightning connector. The Mini is also, obviously, the thinnest and lightest iPad yet.

The iPad Mini will be available on November 2 (pre-orders begin this Friday, October 26) in either black or white. Six different hardware configurations will be available, including:

  • $329 – 16GB Wi-Fi
  • $429 – 32GB Wi-Fi
  • $459 – 16GB Wi-Fi + Cellular
  • $529 – 64GB Wi-Fi
  • $559 – 32GB Wi-Fi + Cellular
  • $659 – 64GB Wi-Fi + Cellular

A complete rundown of the iPad Mini’s specs and a comparison between the three iPad models can be found at Apple.com.

Posted in Mobile, News |

Daily Scoop: October 23, 2012 – The war on sleep

Posted on October 23, 2012 by Nicole Kline

I’ve been having a rough time of it lately. For some reason, no matter how much or little sleep I get, I’ve been exhausted. Sure, it could be all the things I’m doing, or my insanely vivid dreams, or the change in seasons. But the problem is that I don’t know what it is, or how to counter it. So today I decided that instead of being miserably tired and dragging all day, I was just going to power through it. So, take that, exhaustion! I am just going to ignore you. That may turn me into a narcoleptic, but whatever. Bring it on.

Let’s see, what are the deals today? Well, Thinkgeek is having a ludicrous sale, with some items up to 75% off! There are lots of Portal and Portal 2 items on sale, including Portal Turret LED Flashlight w/ Sound (20% off) and the Portal Weighted Companion Cube Plush (33% off). There’s other game-related stuff, too, like this Minecraft Creeper Shirt, Super Mario Yahtzee, and oh my gosh Quarriors is 50% off at $24.99!! Holy crap! BUY IT!! Right now!!

My head just exploded.

Also sorely tempting my wallet today are all these t-shirts:

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Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News |

Drake, Cole, Sackboy battle Kratos in PlayStation All-Stars live action trailer

Posted on October 23, 2012 by Mike Ryan

Today, Sony officially released a full-length live action trailer for PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale. Taking a cue from their critically-acclaimed “Michael” commercial, the ad features Sony mascots Kratos, Sackboy, Cole McGrath, and Nathan Drake duking it out in a dark alley. You got to hand it to the folks at Sony’s marketing department; they definitely know their stuff. Enjoy the show.

PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale hits shelves on November 20th.

Posted in News, PS3, Vita | Tagged