Torchlight II is priced and the Embermage is primed

Posted on August 26, 2011 by John Llewellyn Martin

Got a spare $19.99 USD and a love for Torchlight? You’re in luck, because Runic Games has announced that Torchlight II will retail for exactly that much! The announcement was made at the beginning of the Penny Arcade Expo 2011 and was followed by the announcement of a fourth playable class. The Embermage, a class that focuses on magic, will be available alongside the Engineer, Outlander, and Berserker. The different tools each class can utilize should provide hours of varied dungeon-crawling fun. Also at a $19.99 price point, the original Torchlight proved to be a lot of bang for an affordable amount of buck. Here’s to hoping that the sequel, set for release on the PC in 2011, will be just as beefy.

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Daily Scoop: August 26, 2011 – PAX arrives!

Posted on August 26, 2011 by Nicole Kline

PAX Prime has arrived! And sadly, I am still in Philadelphia. Due to financial issues, I had to cancel my trip. But that doesn’t mean we won’t still be writing about everything as it comes out! Keep your eyes here for the latest info as we get it.

Today’s Deal of the Day in video games over at Amazon today is CTA Digital’s Wii Knockout Boxing Gloves for $9.99. It’s (unsurprisingly) compatible with Wii boxing games, including Punch-Out!, Victorious Boxers: Revolution, FaceBreaker: K.O. Party, and Ready 2 Rumble: Revolution.

No video game t-shirts today, but again, today’s shirt.w00t, called “Do Not Pass Go,” made me squee a bit:

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Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News, Wii |

Twisted Metal aims to make yours a bloody Valentine’s in 2012

Posted on August 26, 2011 by John Llewellyn Martin

David Jaffe, Co-Founder of the Eat Sleep Play development studio has posted a video message on the PlayStation.Blog with a very special message for Twisted Metal fans. In the grindhouse-quality video, Jaffe announces that Twisted Metal is currently being polished and will be released on February 14th, 2012. He claims that it is a “very romantic game” and that “nothing is more romantic than blowing your significant other up with a maniacal, demonic ice cream truck.”

Jaffe also announced that they will release a trailer later this week that features the character Dollface and some new gameplay. There is even a teaser for the trailer at the end of the announcement video. Yes, a teaser for a trailer.

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Sega officially laces up Sonic CD for PC, PSN, XBLA, mobile devices

Posted on August 25, 2011 by John Scalzo

A few days after Sonic’s CD adventure was inadvertently revealed by Major Nelson, Sega has officially announced that Sonic CD will be coming to the PC, PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade in late 2011. The game will also be available for mobile platforms including iPhone, iPad, Windows Phone and Android.

Featuring the first appearances of Amy Rose and Metal Sonic, the Sonic CD port will include widescreen graphics, the original Japanese soundtrack, special iOS features, Achievements/Trophies and the same story every Sonic fan knows and loves:

Following the classic story of the original, Sonic CD sees Dr. Eggman plan to cause chaos and take control of the future by stealing Time Stones from the Little Planet. Sonic must speed through levels and travel through time while fending off Eggman’s robots to recover the Time Stones, and save Amy Rose from his mechanical twin, Metal Sonic!

Sonic CD will make its public debut this weekend at PAX Prime. The game (actually, the XBLA version) will be available to play at the Microsoft booth.

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

The Sims Social goes live… while your actual social life dies

Posted on August 25, 2011 by John Llewellyn Martin

The Sims Social, a free-to-play browser game, has just gone live on Facebook and lovingly threatens to fill our news feeds with requests for odd objects and pleas for assistance with room-building. The Sims Studio and Playfish have combined their powers to create a game that has addictive life-simulation gameplay with social gaming aspects.

Players are able to create their Sims in any likeness they desire as well as customize their homes however they see fit, providing they have sufficient funds. After the initial tutorial, players are free to befriend or annoy any neighbors they add. The Sims Social enables users to share anything they do in-game and even request help from others in order to complete a task or build a piece of furniture. With the “replay” option, players will also be able to see what their friends or frenemies were doing in their homes while they were away.

If dressing up your Sim and fung shui-ing their stuff doesn’t satisfy your gamer instincts, The Sims Social provides you with quests and updates in order to keep you going with plenty of activities.

You might find yourself constantly sending requests to friends for Cheese, Love, or even Fury. Rome was not built in a day, but your new room could be if three or more of your friends answer the call! Sending out gifts is the perfect way to ensure that you’ll also receive Sims stuff.

Speaking of stuff, real life companies like Dunkin’ Donuts, Dr. Pepper and Toyota have teamed up with Electronic Arts to feature their products in The Sims Social as actual items. These products offer your characters boosts if used and can be gifted to others once per month.

All of these items and activities are waiting for you in The Sims Social. If you’re willing to forego sleep for just a few Simoleons more, check it out on Facebook!

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Fallout: New Vegas antes up Lonesome Road DLC on September 20

Posted on August 25, 2011 by John Llewellyn Martin

Fallout: New Vegas fans who are still looking for excuses to wander the wastes might be glad to know that the fourth (and final) DLC pack, Lonesome Road, will be dropping September 20th on Xbox Live, the PlayStation Network, and Steam.

Lonesome Road will feature a quest in which your character is sent to the Divide, a place riddled with canyons, earthquakes, and hurricanes. The person who sends you into this brochure-worthy locale is a man named Ulysses, the original Courier Six. The Bethesda Blog says, “It’s up to you whether you take the job or not,” but if you’re already paying for the DLC, you might as well accept the quest.

If that wasn’t enough to sate your New Vegas thirst, Bethesda has also announced that two more DLC packs will be released on September 27th: Courier’s Stash and Gun Runners’ Arsenal. Both packs promise to boost your arsenal.

The Courier’s Stash bundles all of the game’s pre-order incentives (the Caravan Pack, Classic Pack, Mercenary Pack and Tribal Pack) together in order to augment your equipment while the Gun Runners’ Arsenal offers a bevy of new weapons, mods, ammo types, and recipes.

With these three DLC packs combined, you should be able to outfit your Courier well enough to make him or her the killing-est damn thing the west ever saw.

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

Daily Scoop: August 25, 2011 – The hurricane approaches!

Posted on August 25, 2011 by Nicole Kline

So we’re having earthquakes these days on the east coast, and next up is a hurricane! Hurricane Irene (which happens to be my middle name) is on her way to rain out everyone’s weekend. Here’s hoping everyone stays safe and dry!

Today’s Deal of the Day in video games over at Amazon today is Sony’s PlayStation Move Heroes for just $19.99. If you’re looking for a game to play with your dust-covered Move controller, this might be a good choice. My opinion? Call me when it’s $9.99.

No video game t-shirts today, but today’s shirt.w00t, called “There is No Escape,” is pretty cute:

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Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News, PS3 |

GameStop removes OnLive coupons from Deus Ex: Human Revolution; Square Enix is cool with it

Posted on August 25, 2011 by John Scalzo

Man, they don’t get much weirder than this.

Square Enix, the publisher of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and OnLive, the cloud gaming company, recently announced a deal that the PC version of the game would include a voucher for free access to the OnLive version. Fast forward to yesterday, and we learn that GameStop executives have directed their exployees to open copies of Deus Ex and remove the OnLive coupon. This move is legally dubious at best.

The new release surgery occured because GameStop has their own game streaming service in the works. “Square Enix packed the competitor’s coupon with our DXHR product without our prior knowledge and we did pull and discard these coupons,” GameStop public relations representative Beth Sharum said.

Following the Internet outcry, GameStop pulled all remaining copies of the PC version of Deus Ex: Human Revolution from store shelves. GameStop planned to return all of these copies of the game to their distributor after an agreement with Square Enix.

But then Square Enix comes out and publicly announces that they’re totally cool with GameStop removing the OnLive coupon from the game’s box:

“As part of Deus Ex: Human Revolution’s boxed offering on PC, Square Enix included a third party coupon. GameStop was not made aware of this inclusion and Square Enix respects the right of GameStop to have final say over the contents of products it sells and to adjust them where they see fit in accordance with their policies.”

This story is just bizarre on all sides. GameStop’s cloud gaming initiative, Spawn Labs, is still a year away. Doing battle with Square Enix by physically opening new copies of a game and removing an advertised addition is borderline criminal. We as gamers should be furious. But then Square Enix gives GameStop their blessing to do as they please with the retail copies!

And all of this is happening around a game where corporations control everything. The irony, she burns.

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