Daily Scoop: June 17, 2011 – Yay comics!

Posted on June 17, 2011 by Nicole Kline

Yay! It’s here! In an hour I’ll be at the Wizard World Comic Con, drinking in all the sights I’ve grown to love over the years. If you hear I’ve been arrested, it’s most likely because I’ve finally confessed my undying love to Bruce Campbell… or I caught sight of Brian Herbert and tackled him and chastised him on his horrible writing. Either way, send me letters in jail!

Not much in the way of deals, I’m afraid. Amazon’s Deal of the Day in video games is Hori’s HD LCD Monitor 3 for the PlayStation 3. It looks nice and sharp, but even at the sale price of $189.99, it’s still pretty expensive.

No video game shirts today, but I’m a sucker for this origami dinosaur shirt that’s today’s Qwertee:

It’s dino-tastic!

Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News |

Complete list of all Redbox games; nationwide rentals begin today

Posted on June 17, 2011 by John Scalzo

The time has arrived, video game rentals are now available at Redbox machines across the country. Beginning today, gamers will be able to rent a variety of PS3, Wii and Xbox 360 titles for $2 a day. After 30 days (and $60 in total rental fees), the game will be yours to keep.

Users can visit Redbox.com/games to browse a list of games available at their local kiosks as well as reserve a game for pickup right from the website. The initial inventory includes 38 different titles which run the gamut from family friendly shovelware to the latest hardcore games, such as Duke Nukem Forever, Infamous 2 and Red Faction: Armageddon. Multi-disc games will not be available at Redbox kiosks, so the PS3 version of L.A. Noire made the cut while the Xbox 360 version did not.

You can view the complete list of games available to rent from Redbox after the break.

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Posted in News, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360 |

Sega exec hints at HD Sonic on Wii U

Posted on June 16, 2011 by John Scalzo

A week ago, Sega’s Executive Vice President of Marketing told GameSpot that Sonic Generations wouldn’t be coming to the Wii U. This was surely disappointing news for many Sonic fans.

Thankfully, Mike Hayes, the President of Sega West has some good news to balance it out. Talking to GamesIndustry.biz, he revealed that the company plans to bring a high definition Sonic game to the Wii U, possibly in time for the system’s launch:

“That controller is absolutely brilliant and we have to think of innovative ways to use it. We’re doing high definition Sonics, we’re doing obviously Aliens: Colonial Marines, so you can bring them across, and that’s relatively low cost, which is good news.”

So it’s not Sonic Generations, but it’s HD and it’ll be ready for release in about a year… maybe. Figuring out what’s going on with the Wii U is hard.

Posted in News, Wii U |

El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron Hands-On Preview: A Biblical Tale You Want to Play

Posted on June 16, 2011 by Nicole Kline

Published and developed by Ignition Entertainment, El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron is an action game inspired by the apocryphal Book of Enoch. The player – as Enoch – tries to prevent the fallen angels from bringing the flood. A biblical tale may not sound like an exciting premise for a video game, but if you add in gameplay like Devil May Cry, the art style of Okami, and a modern-day take on the characters (Lucifel contacts God on a cell phone, and Enoch’s only wearing a pair of designer jeans under his armor), you’ve got a recipe for the sleeper hit of the summer.

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Posted in Previews, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Daily Scoop: June 16, 2011 – Wizard World Comic Con!

Posted on June 16, 2011 by Nicole Kline

Tomorrow begins one of my favorite weekends of the year – Philadelphia’s Wizard World Comic Con! I’ve been attending it for 10 years now, and it’s a blast. This year they’ll have Bruce Campbell, Sean Patrick Flannery, Norman Reedus, and Adam Baldwin, along with a slew of other actors, comic book creators, and people dressed up in crazy costumes. If you’re in the area, come over to the convention center and check out all the fun!

The deals today are slim – Amazon’s Deal of the Day in video games is Namco’s Active Life: Explorer With Mat for the Wii. It’s $23.99 down from $29.99 and describes the mat itself as a “specially-designed mat is bundled with the game so you can jump straight into the action.” OOH. FUN.

In other news, Ript‘s “Kent” is absolutely amazing:

Wow. Give me the Batman version of that and I’m all over it.

Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News |

Activision unveils Annihilation map pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops

Posted on June 16, 2011 by John Scalzo

Confirming everything from yesterday’s leak, Activision has announced that the third map pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops will be available to download from the Xbox Live Marketplace on June 28. As always, the pack will be priced at 1200 Microsoft Points ($15).

The CoD: Black Ops Annihilation Map Pack will consist of four multiplayer maps (Hangar 18, Drive-In, Silo and Hazard) and a new “Zombies experience” known as Shangri-La.

“Shangri-La [is] an exotic and mysterious map filled with deadly traps, dark secrets and innovative gameplay that will challenge even the most daring zombie hunters,” said Treyarch Studio Head, Mark Lamia.

If you plan on picking up the map pack, you might also want to know Activision plans to pair it with a Double XP Weekend beginning Friday, July 1.

The Annihilation Map Pack will also be released for the PC and PS3 at a later date.

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

Nintendo Download: Donkey Kong ’94, Mega Man V

Posted on June 16, 2011 by John Scalzo

Nintendo has pushed out the first Thursday update of their weekly Nintendo Download with another Game Boy re-release, a mega Virtual Console update and a bevy of DSiWare titles.

Donkey Kong was originally released on the Game Boy back in 1994 and was the first major sequel to the arcade classic. It’s available this week on the 3DS eShop. Also this week, the Wii’s Virtual Console continues its dash through the Mega Man catalog with the addition of Mega Man V.

Five other games were added to the various download services today and you can read more about them at Nintendo’s official site:

All DSiWare games are also available on the 3DS eShop.

Posted in 3DS, DS, News, Wii |

Late Night With Jimmy Fallon credits go 8-bit

Posted on June 16, 2011 by John Scalzo

It’s Video Game Week on “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” and the geeky television host has given his opening credits a demake that pays homage to the classic “cut scenes” found in 8-bit mainstays like the Mega Man series and Ninja Gaiden.

I admit, I was one of the people who groaned when Fallon was given Conan O’Brien’s chair, but the man has proven himself to be a good host and a great ambassador for gaming. Way to go Jimmy and have fun during the rest of Video Game Week, which has featured some of 2011’s biggest titles, including Gears of War 3 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

Posted in Etcetera, News |