XBLA Today: Apples To Apples

Posted on December 7, 2011 by John Scalzo

With the Xbox 360 Dashboard update finally sorted out, the popular board game Apples To Apples makes it way to the Xbox Live Arcade today:

Party-style fun is ripe for the picking as Apples To Apples the video game comes to Xbox Live Arcade! This game of hilarious comparisons is as simple as comparing “apples to apples” – just select the red card you think is most like the green card played by the judge. If the judge picks your card, you win the round. And everyone gets a chance to be the judge! Play online with up to 5 friends in Classic Mode or two variant modes – Baked Apples and Crab Apples! Choose from 26 hilarious Apple Avatars, enjoy environments like Space Apples and Carnival Apples, and collect Golden Apple Cards that mix up the game! Bursting with over 1000 red and green cards, Apples To Apples the video game provides endless hours of unpredictable, over-the-top fun!

Apples To Apples is available to download for 800 Microsoft Points ($10).

Posted in News, Xbox 360 |

Final Fantasy VI, Dragon Age II, more added to PS Store

Posted on December 7, 2011 by John Scalzo

Square Enix continues their classic RPG bombardment of the PlayStation Store with the addition of Final Fantasy VI to the PSone Classics lineup. Considered by many gamers (who obviously have never played Earthbound) to be the greatest RPG of all time, it’s now available to download for $9.99.

A trio of other games rounds out this week’s PlayStation Store update:

PSN Games
Wanted Corp ($9.99)
Play as a pair of intergalactic bounty hunters in this cooperative action-shooter to capture escaped intergalactic convicts who put up a big stinkin’ fight. Partake in pretty sweet destruction and defeat countless creatures in the name of makin’ fat wads of cash. environments.

PS3 Full Games
Dragon Age II ($29.99)
Embark on an all-new adventure in the Dragon Age saga. You are Hawke, one of the few who escaped the destruction of your homeland. Now, forced to fight for survival, you must gather the deadliest of allies, amass fame and fortune, and seal your place in history.

Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit ($29.99)
Multi-award winning including AIAS Best Racing Game & BAFTA Best Multiplayer Game. Blistering speeds, brutal busts and heart-stopping getaways are connected via Need for Speed Autolog, connecting friends for epic multiplayer events.

Finally, PSP owners will be able to download Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 on their portable PlayStation handhelds this week.

For more information on all of these games and a complete look at this week’s new game add-ons (including the Resistance 3 “Brutality Pack” and the Battlefield 3 “Back to Karkand” pack), head over to the PlayStation.Blog.

Posted in News, PS3, PSP | Tagged , ,

Xbox 360 Dashboard update is live

Posted on December 6, 2011 by John Scalzo

After a day-long delay, Major Nelson has given the word, today’s Dashboard update for the Xbox 360 is now live:

Sorry for the dash launch delay. Good news: first set of customers will be getting the Xbox LIVE update within the next few hours.

Happy downloading folks!

Posted in News, Xbox 360 |

Resistance 3 Review: It Won’t Be Hard to Resist This Game

Posted on December 6, 2011 by Nicole Kline

Insomniac Games had a lot to live up to with the newest entry in the Resistance series. The ending of Resistance 2 was so devastating, so powerful, so moving, that it was impossible for me to predict what was going to come next. I imagined some sort of intense space opera moving from there, possibly where humans went out into space, searching the rift that was created at the end of the second game. I created whole storylines in my head, many of which involved Hale somehow still being alive. But what I didn’t imagine was the utter and complete disappointment that would be Resistance 3.

Press Start to Continue →

Posted in PS3, Reviews, Top Story | Tagged

Grand Theft Auto III goes mobile next week

Posted on December 6, 2011 by John Scalzo

So you’re on the lam for a crime you most definitely did commit, and you need something to pass the time. Why not check out the December 15 release of Grand Theft Auto III: 10 Year Anniversary Edition on Android and iOS devices?

Available for the low, low price of $4.99 (some might say its a steal), the mobile version of GTA3 will be supported by the following devices at launch:

Apple iOS Devices: iPad 1 & 2, iPhone 4 & 4S, iPod Touch 4th Generation
Android Phones: HTC Rezound, LG Optimus 2x, Motorola Atrix 4G, Motorola Droid X2, Motorola Photon 4G, Samsung Galaxy R, T-Mobile G2x
Android Tablets: Acer Iconia, Asus Eee Pad Transformer, Dell Streak 7, LG Optimus Pad, Motorola Xoom, Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 and 10.1, Sony Tablet S, Toshiba Thrive

Five bucks? Like GTA3’s protagonist, I’m speechless.

Posted in Mobile, News | Tagged

2012 IGF Awards add XBLA Prize

Posted on December 6, 2011 by John Scalzo

The organizers of the Independent Games Festival have announced that they’ve partnered with Microsoft to create the XBLA Prize.

The prize is open to any entrant in the Main Competition or the Student Showcase. And the IGF entrant who wins the XBLA Prize will receive a “guaranteed first-party publishing deal to release the selected title on Microsoft’s Live-enabled platforms, including the Xbox Live Arcade, Windows Phone, and Windows.” Funding to complete the title will also be offered to the winning development team.

Microsoft’s Ted Woolsey, Head of First Party Publishing for XBLA, said, “Playing a role in empowering creative, independent developers, and then delivering the fruits of their labor to a wide fan base on Xbox 360, Windows Phone and soon Windows 8 is an amazingly rewarding job for me and the publishing teams at Microsoft Studios. We can’t wait to see what will come next!”

The 2012 IGF Awards will be handed out during next year’s Game Developers Conference in San Francisco on March 7th, 2012. The complete list of entrants for next year’s IGF Awards can be found here.

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

Xbox 360 Dashboard update is MIA

Posted on December 6, 2011 by John Scalzo

Somebody alert Chuck Norris! The Fall 2011 Dashboard update for the Xbox 360 is missing in action. The update, which should have been available this morning, has been “slightly delayed” by a mysterious problem.

Thankfully, Microsoft’s Major Nelson has been documenting the process on his Twitter feed, though it doesn’t look like we’re any closer to figuring it out:

FYI: The timing for Xbox 360 dashboard update has been slightly delayed. I’ll have a status update later today

Thanks again for your patience. I won’t have additional details until later today. The moment I have new information, I’ll share it w/ you

I’ll share additional details when I have more to share. Until then, thanks for you patience.

We are still working to get the release out. Stay tuned, we’ll have an update this afternoon (PT) on when it will begin rolling out.

No new information to report yet. My earlier update is still the most current

Posted in News, Xbox 360 |

Epic Games to unveil something “fresh” at Spike TV VGAs

Posted on December 5, 2011 by John Scalzo

With the Gears of War series coming to an epic close, Epic Games’ Design Director, Cliff Bleszinski, has confirmed that the developer will unveil their next project at the Spike TV Video Game Awards. CliffyB was cagey, but it sounds like his team at Epic’s North Carolina headquarters will be launching a new property not connected to any of their existing franchises.

Quouth CliffyB: “We have something new in store for you. It’s an entirely fresh and new experience.”

The Spike TV Video Game Awards will air this Saturday, December 10, at 8 PM.

Posted in News | Tagged