Sonic Generations Hands-On Preview: The Last 20 Years Has Been a Loop-the-Loop

Posted on June 28, 2011 by Ryan Littlefield

Sega has officially decided that Sonic’s 20th anniversary needs a little commemoration, and what better way to celebrate than introduce Sonic Generations, a 2D/3D variable game honoring the hedgehog’s past and recent achievements? That was the intention, anyway. The initial trailer for this game has once again involved many gamers in “The Sonic Cycle,” the ailment that falls over classic fans of the Genesis series, causing initial excitement followed by disappointing suicide threats. It seems that 2011 is no different from any other year with a Sonic release, because The Sonic Cycle is at an all-time high if the finished product is anything like the demo (though a disclaimer states that it may not be).

Press Start to Continue →

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

IGDA to investigate Team Bondi working conditions on L.A. Noire

Posted on June 28, 2011 by Mike Gutierrez

We just reported today on the various sources claiming Team Bondi developers suffered under harsh circumstances while working on L.A. Noire. Today, the International Game Developers Association is soliciting any and all information from developers and family members about the experience on the work, negative or positive.

“Certainly reports of 12-hour a day, lengthy crunch time, if true, are absolutely unacceptable and harmful to the individuals involved, the final product, and the industry as a whole,” said Brian Robbins, Chair of the IGDA’s Board of Directors.

You can send any information to qol@igda.org.

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

BioShock Infinite wins big, Vita edges out Wii U in E3 Game Critics Awards

Posted on June 28, 2011 by Mike Gutierrez

The results are in for the Game Critics Awards’ Best of E3 2011. BioShock Infinite came away the clear winner, with a victory in every category it was nominated for, for a total of four wins. This comes at the expense of Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, which tied with BioShock for most nominations, but came away with a big zero. Battlefield 3 and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim managed to grab two awards a piece, and the PlayStation Vita knocks out the Nintendo’s Wii U to take best hardware.

Head over to the official site for a full list of winners and quick facts.

Posted in News, PC, PS3, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360 | Tagged , , ,

Daily Scoop: June 28, 2011 – Uncharted 3 Beta time!

Posted on June 28, 2011 by Nicole Kline

The day has finally arrived: the Uncharted 3 beta will be available for download in just a few short hours! I’m personally freaking out. The Uncharted 2 beta completely destroyed my life when it came out, so I’m eagerly anticipating having my life trashed once again. Sleep? Who needs it! Check out Mike “The G Spot” Gutierrez’s news post about it for more details.

What else? Well, Amazon’s Deal of the Day in video games is Blizzard’s World of Warcraft: Cataclysm for the PC, on sale today for $19.99. If you’ve been waiting for this expansion, I’d definitely say that 50% off is a good deal!

No game-related t-shirts today, but the cleverness at Tee Fury made me chuckle:

Tee hee!

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

Vesperia Community Manager retracts statement that Microsoft “paid for exclusivity”

Posted on June 28, 2011 by Mike Gutierrez

Despite having a PS3 version in Japan, many fans have wondered why Tales of Vesperia is still Xbox 360-only in Europe and North America. Namco Bandai Community Manager Charlotte Toci explained on her Facebook page back in April, “Microsoft paid for the exclusivity, the same way as Sony paid for having Heavy Rain only on PS3. It’s just one way the business works, sadly.” It would appear someone got upset about this, as Toci has issued the following apology:

A few months ago I replied to a fan who asked me why Tales of Vesperia wasn’t localized in Europe on my Facebook page. I replied that it was because of a Microsoft exclusivity, thinking that that was the reason why, even though I didn’t have any official information on that.

I was wrong to do so, and sadly my reply was relayed on many websites, thus sharing a false information to fans around the web.

I would like to send my sincere apologies to all the Tales Series fans I have wrongly informed, and Microsoft & Namco Bandai for any damage that might have been caused with this.

I know hindsight is 20/20, but it seems to me Namco Bandai could have saved a lot of trouble if they just released their games on the platforms they actually belong on in the first place.

Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged

NPD report shows Xbox 360 leading online gaming

Posted on June 28, 2011 by Mike Gutierrez

A new NPD report looks at the many different trends in gaming, from motion control to 3D. One of the most interesting areas, however, is online-enabled games. In this category, the Xbox 360 is seen selling more than double the amount of online-enabled games as the PlayStation 3, and considerably more than that of the Wii, from 2006 to 2010. Microsoft’s newest console also garners most of the sales for online digital points cards, selling almost four times as many as the PS3 did in 2010.

For a full breakdown of the stats and more information on how motion control and 3D have done, head over to Gamasutra.

Posted in News, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360 |

Crysis 2 Map Editor Pack coming Wednesday, Ultra Upgrade available now

Posted on June 28, 2011 by Mike Gutierrez

If you’ve been dying to one-up Crytek at their own game by creating some of the best maps for Crysis 2 (or just Counter-Strike recreations), now’s your chance. Tomorrow, PC players can download the Map Editor Pack at My Crysis for free. This builds off of the Ultra Upgrade, available now, which brings DirectX 11 support, sporting “higher quality visuals and features including tessellation, water rendering improvements, high quality HDR motion blur, and many other special effects and higher quality texture formats with the optional high res texture pack.”

If you’re a PC fan looking to dive into this new content, you probably don’t want to read our review of the console version of Crysis 2.

Posted in News, PC | Tagged

Kenshi brings his telekinesis to Mortal Kombat

Posted on June 28, 2011 by Mike Gutierrez

We knew Kenshi would be joining the Kombatants in the latest, and potentially greatest, iteration of Mortal Kombat, we just didn’t know how beast he would be. Despite not being in the original trilogy, Kenshi can still hang with the rest of them, as he does some pretty unpleasant things to Johnny Cage in the video above.

You can pick him up July 5 on Xbox Live Marketplace and the PlayStation Store for $4.99.

Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged