Steve Jobs, founder of Apple, has died

Posted on October 5, 2011 by John Scalzo

Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, and the co-creator of the arcade classic Breakout, has died. Jobs, who was 56, is survived by his wife Laurene and four children.

Jobs was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2004 and received a liver transplant in 2009. He took a medical leave of absence from Apple in January and resigned as CEO on August 24. The company announced the iPhone 4S, their first major product launch without Jobs at the helm, yesterday.

Apple is encouraging the public to send thoughts, memories and condolences of Jobs to rememberingsteve@apple.com along with releasing the following statement:

Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.

Posted in Mobile, News |

Yakuza: Of the End officially coming to US in March 2012 as Yakuza: Dead Souls

Posted on October 5, 2011 by John Scalzo

I don’t know why Sega ever considered not bringing the zombie-riffic Yakuza: Of the End to America, but today the publisher finally announced the game’s North American release as Yakuza: Dead Souls.

Exclusively available for the PS3, Yakuza: Dead Souls will feature dangerous gangsters that can kill nine times before you hit the ground versus reanimated corpses who are already dead. However will they win? Bringing guns to the series for the first time (and bolting a minigun to the arm of one of the largest Yakuza) might be a good start:

Yakuza: Dead Souls is set in the infamous red light district of Tokyo, which is under attack from hordes of zombies. Players will not only face armies of the undead and incredibly powerful mutants, but a treacherous Japanese underworld that is just as merciless. Playing through the eyes of four of the most infamous characters of the series, witness allegiances shift quickly and the line between friend and foe lost. If you thought zombies were bad… meet the Yakuza!

The western release of Yakuza: Dead Souls will include the complete game as well as all of the downloadable content released in Japan and a new minigame, Pachislot. It’ll also star everyone’s favorite Yakuza member, Kazuma Kiryu.

Posted in News, PS3 | Tagged

XBLA Today: Crysis, NBA Jam, Orcs Must Die!, Space Channel 5 Part 2, Sega Bass Fishing

Posted on October 5, 2011 by John Scalzo

Yesterday’s PlayStation Store update was chock full of big new releases and today’s Xbox Live Arcade update is nearly as large.

Leading things off again is the en fuego NBA Jam: On Fire Edition. The downloadable basketball game has been priced at 1200 Microsoft Points ($15), the same price as the XBLA-exclusive Orcs Must Die!, a tower defense game from Robot Entertainment.

Also available this week are a pair of Dreamcast ports for 800 Microsoft Points ($10) each: the self-explanatory Sega Bass Fishing and the rhythmic button-pressing of Space Channel 5: Part 2. Ooh-la-la!

Also available this week is the XBLA version of Crysis, which has officially been cataloged in the Games on Demand section of the XBL Marketplace. You can get your graphically-intensive alien invasion on for a price of $19.99.

More details on all of this week’s new releases can be found at Major Nelson’s blog.

Posted in News, Xbox 360 | Tagged , ,

Daily Scoop: October 5, 2011 – 24 hours is not enough

Posted on October 5, 2011 by Nicole Kline

Wow. I know it’s October and everything, but I’m still not sure how I got to be so busy! My calendar has gotten jam packed with games, talks, deadlines, conferences, conventions, expos, and, you know. LIFE, man. I need a few extra hours in the day, or maybe an extra day on the weekend, or could we just, I don’t know, shift the work week around and work four days and take off three days? We need to change this up!

Let’s see, what deals do we have today? Just one – Amazon’s Deal of the Day in video games, which is Activision’s Tony Hawk: Shred Bundle, on sale today for $19.99 for the PlayStation 3. With the tagline “Get on board and go big!” how could this be a bad idea?

There’s nothing in today’s t-shirts, but yesterday’s shirt.w00t was awesome:

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Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News |

Mysterious Sony video is just the start of a new ad campaign

Posted on October 5, 2011 by John Scalzo

Well that was a disappointment. Sony has released the extended version of their mysterious “Long Live Play” video and it looks like it’s just the first in a new series of ads celebrating us, the gamers.

After stepping through the door, the three soldiers are greeted by a horde of PlayStation mascots. Nathan Drake is talking to Lightning. Sweet Tooth is playing chess with Sackboy. Cole MacGrath, Solid Snake, Agent 47, Isaac Clarke, Ezio, Kratos, a Little Sister, Joe Mauer, a Chimera and quite a few more are milling around as well. And in the end, they all celebrate the one man who carries them through their darkest hour. Some dude named Michael.

It’s a neat commercial, but teasing an ad campaign as “something special” is just disappointing.

Posted in News, PS3 |

Crysis, Chrono Trigger, NBA Jam, PS2 Classics, kitchen sink added to PS Store

Posted on October 5, 2011 by John Scalzo

That’s right, Sony has added the freakin’ kitchen sink to the PlayStation Store this week. OK, not an actual kitchen sink, but there are so many amazing new releases your Internet connection may not be able to handle all the awesome.

They are, in no particular order…

  • Crysis – Crytek’s first person shooter that set a new standard for game graphics on the PC is finally available to download on the PS3.
  • NBA Jam: On Fire Edition – Everything that made last year’s NBA Jam reboot a hoot has been crammed into this downloadable version.
  • Eufloria – This week’s Only On PSN offering, Eufloria is “an addictive game of space exploration, strategy and conquest, plant growth and bio mechanical evolution!”
  • Sega Bass Fishing and Space Channel 5 Part 2 – Two Dreamcast classics remade for the PS3.
  • Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition and Shift 2: Unleashed – Two PS3 games that have been made available for PSN consumption.
  • PS2 Classics (Maximo: Ghosts to Glory, God Hand, GrimGrimoire, Odin Sphere, Ring of Red) – As promised, this quintet of PS2 classics is now available to download from the PSN. They don’t include spiffier graphics or Trophy support, but they’re all classics in every sense of the word.

Also available this week is the PSone Classic Chrono Trigger, the first DLC for Portal 2 (“Peer Review,” which is completely free), and a downloadable version of FIFA Soccer 12 for the PSP.

Wow. Your wallet weeps. Or at least, it should. More details on all of this week’s new releases and game add-ons can be found at the PlayStation.Blog.

Posted in News, PS3, PSP | Tagged , , ,

Resident Evil Revelations lumbers into stores on February 7

Posted on October 5, 2011 by John Scalzo

Instead of shambling slowly like a rotting corpse should, it looks like Resident Evil Revelations will be lumbering into stores at a quicker pace than expected. Previously said to be released in “Spring 2012,” Capcom has announced that the second Resident Evil episode on the 3DS will instead be released on February 7, 2012.

In addition to the release date, the announcement included a first look at the box art and details on a GameStop pre-order bonus. Players who purchase Revelations from the game chain will receive an RE-themed 3DS protective case. The case will include a special rendition of the game’s eyeball logo that disappears in the sun. That’s right, this one is meant to be played in the dark.

If you’re interested in a closer look at the protective case, hit up the Capcom-Unity blog.

Posted in 3DS, News | Tagged

Driver: San Francisco Review: Playing Mind Games

Posted on October 4, 2011 by Adam Woolcott

It would be very easy to dismiss Driver: San Francisco as yet another failed attempt to revive a franchise that really hasn’t meant much to gaming since the days of the original PlayStation. Some might even say that making a new Driver game is a complete waste of time and resources, considering how tarnished the brand is. However, doing so might actually be a disservice to anyone who’s a fan of unique, open world driving games. If anything, Driver: SF does something that very few games do in the year 2011… it actually wants to be a video game.

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