Daily Scoop: August 4, 2011 – Thursday’s here, woo!

Posted on August 4, 2011 by Nicole Kline

It’s Thursday! And Ryan Littlefield and I have off tomorrow! Which means we are going to be playing a crapload of Borderlands. Want to join us? Leave a comment and tell us your PSN name and we’ll add you to the mix! We’re level 27, and we’re running around Earl’s Scrapyard, I think. Come on and take a riiiiiiiiiiiiiide!

Anyway, Amazon’s Deal of the Day in video games today is none other than Sega’s Valkyria Chronicles II for the PSP. It’s 50% off at $19.99 today, and that really is a great deal. This strategy RPG is not just a pretty face – it’s also got a great and complex battle system and a fantastic story. Add in there that you can play with a friend and the potential is almost limitless!

No game related t-shirts, but today’s shirt.w00t is extra cute:

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Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News, PS3, PSP |

F.E.A.R. 3 Review: Being Scared Was Never This Fun

Posted on August 4, 2011 by Nicole Kline

F.E.A.R. 3 is the latest installment in the F.E.A.R. series, which stands for First Encounter Assault Recon – although it doesn’t really seem like anyone cares what it stands for anymore, seeing as that hasn’t really been relevant since the first game. While not helmed by the original developers – Day 1 Studios has taken over for Monolith Productions – the latest in the popular horror franchise still has the same spirit as the two original games.

The most interesting addition to the family gameplay is co-op – players can either play the campaign alone as Point Man and unlock his brother, Paxton Fettel, as they go through each chapter, or they can play the game cooperatively with a friend either online or from their couch. Couch co-op has never been so fun – or so terrifying. The main fear I had was that Day 1 Studios wouldn’t be able to deliver, but I’m happy to announce that they’ve given birth to something… well, something more beautiful than what’s about to come out of Alma Wade, for certain.

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

PlayStation Vita won’t be released until 2012 in US, Europe

Posted on August 4, 2011 by John Scalzo

Uh oh. Sony has always been pretty coy when it came to the PlayStation Vita’s release date. Kaz Hirai, Sony’s Executive Vice President, would always use weasel words like “we plan” and “we hope” when referring to the handheld’s proposed 2011 release date. It looks like that was very intentional.

Today, Hirai confirmed that the Vita won’t be released in North America or Europe until 2012. But the new PlayStation portable will be released in Japan by the end of the year.

By the time the Vita makes it to America, the 3DS will have a yearlong headstart on its rival. However, Hirai said that Sony has no plans to lower the system’s $249 (Wi-Fi model)/$299 (3G model) price.

“We packed so much into the device and made it very affordable. There is no need to lower the price just because somebody else that happens to be in the video game business decided that they were going to lower their price,” the executive told reporters.

[Source: Associated Press]

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Mario’s Picross added to 3DS eShop

Posted on August 4, 2011 by John Scalzo

Nintendo has performed their weekly update of the 3DS eShop, the Wii Shop Channel and the DSiWare Shop. Here’s what you can download on your favorite Nintendo system today:

Nintendo 3DS eShop
Mario’s Picross – Help Mario unlock the mystery of Picross. The secrets lie in the numeric codes at the top and on the left side of each window. Decipher these numbers and uncover hidden pictures.

Nintendo DSiWare
B Team – Episode 2: Ice & Venom – Multiple weapons, upgradeable equipment, challenging boss battles and destructible environments bring this action-packed shooter to life.
Go Fetch! 2
Play & Learn Spanish

WiiWare
Monochrome Racing – Screeching tires, the smell of burned rubber, the rush of adrenaline, enemies left in the dust – immerse yourself in a mysterious monochrome world where color is your fuel.

More information on all of these games can be found in the weekly Nintendo Download newsletter.

Posted in 3DS, DS, News, Wii |

Blizzard wants to release Diablo III in 2011, won’t commit to a release date

Posted on August 4, 2011 by John Scalzo

Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime took the stage during Activision’s quarterly financial briefing to talk a little more about the developer’s big upcoming game, Diablo III. There’s been a ton of speculation about D3’s release date and Morhaime stoked the fires a little bit by revealing he wants to release the game in 2011. However, he was quick to point out that Diablo III still doesn’t have an official release date:

“Diablo III is still on track to go into external beta testing later this quarter. And we are still working hard to ship the game before the end of the year. However, we’re not ready to commit to a release date at this time.”

After all the hints that the real release date would be sometime in 2012, it would be amazing if Blizzard could get Diablo III out in 2011. But then I remember the rules of being a kid and whenever the adults said “we’ll see” it always meant “no.”

Prove me wrong, Blizzard, prove me wrong.

Posted in News, PC | Tagged

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 coming to Wii

Posted on August 4, 2011 by John Scalzo

Activision has used their quarterly financial report to reveal that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is coming to the Wii this November in addition to the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. Eric Hirshberg, the CEO of Activision Publishing, had this to say about the announcement:

“We’re pleased to have recently confirmed that we will release a Modern Warfare 3 Wii SKU this year so as not to leave any of our community out of the excitement.”

No other details concerning the Wii version of Modern Warfare 3 were revealed, but the previous Call of Duty games are considered some of the premiere shooters on the Wii, so I expect Activision to continue that trend with Modern Warfare 3.

Posted in News, Wii | Tagged

Attend Call of Duty XP, get CoD Modern Warfare 3 for free

Posted on August 3, 2011 by John Scalzo

If you balked at the $150 price tag Activision put on a ticket to the Call of Duty XP expo, perhaps this will change your mind. In addition to admittance to the show, your ticket can be used to obtain a free copy of the Hardened Edition of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 when it’s released on November 8. Between a free copy of MW3 and donating every cent of the Call of Duty XP ticket price to charity, Activision has officially moved their corporate karma one tick closer to the “Not Evil” side.

According to Joystiq, there will be plenty of other perks for Call of Duty XP attendees as well. Those that buy a ticket to the September 2-3 show will receive a sneak peek at a Call of Duty comedy series created by Jason Bateman and Will Arnett’s production company Dumbdumb. This series is being produced as a bonus for Call of Duty Elite members in addition to a “Modern Warfare-inspired live-action short” by We Can Pretend, the production company behind the awesome “Find Makarov” film.

Yup, definitely not evil.

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

CoD Black Ops Resurrection Pack coming August 23

Posted on August 3, 2011 by John Scalzo

Activision has revealed that the fourth (and likely final) Call of Duty: Black Ops map pack will be available for the Xbox 360 on August 23. The pack will be known as “Resurrection” (or possibly “Rezurrection”) and, as you may have guessed, will focus heavily on everyone’s favorite brain eaters.

The Resurrection Map Pack will resurrect the four Call of Duty: World at War Zombies Mode maps (“Nacht der Untoten,” “Verruckt,” “Shi No Numa” and “Der Riese”) in Black Ops. If you recall, these maps were included in the Hardened and Prestige editions of the game as a bonus download. So to sweeten the pot, Activision is including a fifth map, “Moon,” along with a 20-song soundtrack and an Xbox 360 theme. And yes, “Moon” features zommmmbbbbiieeeesssss innnnnnn spaaaaacccceeeee.

Like all other CODBLOPS packs, Resurrection will be available to download for 1200 Microsoft Points ($15), but Hardened and Prestige edition owners will receive the fifth map for free.

Oh, and if history is any guide, Resurrection will be coming to the PC and PS3 a month later on September 23.

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