CoD Black Ops Escalation map pack coming to PS3 on June 10; available on PC today

Posted on June 3, 2011 by John Scalzo

PC owners who want to escalate their Call of Duty: Black Ops experience will be pleased to know that Activision has released the second Black Ops map pack, Escalation, today. The pack will be priced at $15 and includes four maps: “Zoo,” “Convoy,” “Hotel” and “Stockpile.”

I’ve used this paragraph before, but here goes again… Also available in the Escalation pack is the awesome “Call of the Dead” (check out the trailer above), an expanded Zombies map that stars Sarah Michelle Gellar, Danny “Machete” Trejo, Robert Englund and the Godfather of all Zombies himself, George Romero.

PS3 owners won’t have much longer as Activision also announced that the Escalation map pack would be added to the newly reopened PlayStation Store on June 10. It’ll be paired with a Double XP Weekend that starts on the 10th and ends on Sunday, June 12.

Posted in News, PC | Tagged

PSN “Welcome Back” content now available

Posted on June 3, 2011 by John Scalzo

After fully restoring the PlayStation Store on June 1st, the only thing left for Sony to put the PlayStation Network outage completely behind them is their promised “Welcome Back” program. Yes, after 45 days, the PSN debacle is finally over.

Today, the program was put into affect and gamers will be able to obtain all of their “Welcome Back” items including:

  • Two PlayStation 3 Games From this List:
    Dead Nation
    inFAMOUS
    LittleBigPlanet
    Super Stardust HD
    Wipeout HD + Fury

  • Two PSP Games From this List:
    LittleBigPlanet
    ModNation Racers
    Pursuit Force
    Killzone Liberation

  • PSN users will receive 100 virtual items for free in PlayStation Home.
  • A selection of “On Us” movie rentals this weekend only, where video services are available.
  • For PlayStation Plus subscribers, an additional 60 days of subscription time. Non-PlayStation Plus subscribers will receive a free 30-day subscription to try out the “free games and discounts” service.
  • Finally, Music Unlimited Premium subscribers will receive an additional 30 days of subscription time plus days lost due to the outage.
Posted in News, PS3, PSP | Tagged

Dungeon Siege III Hands-On Preview: Swords, Sorcery… and Star Wars?

Posted on June 3, 2011 by John Scalzo

The PC gaming world last saw an entry in the Dungeon Siege series back in 2005 when Dungeon Siege II was released. Since then, the rights to the franchise have bounced from publisher to publisher, finally landing on Square Enix’s doorstep. The Japanese megapublisher enlisted Obsidian Entertainment to developer Dungeon Siege III and made their mission for the game very clear: to introduce the series to a console audience while crafting an awesome action RPG experience.

Press Start to Continue →

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

Nikkei confirms touch screen for Wii 2 controller

Posted on June 3, 2011 by John Scalzo

Holy massive leak Batman! The Nikkei, a leading Japanese newspaper, has posted a report concerning Nintendo’s Wii 2 controller, confirming most of the rumors we’ve been hearing for weeks.

Helpfully translated by Andriasang, the report confirms that the controller will include a six-inch touch screen that will feature customizable controls for each game. The controller will also include a camera and a rechargable battery.

Those details are all well and good, but the most amazing thing to come out of this report is the news that the controller can be operated on its own as a standalone handheld game machine. The report closed with a tentative “Q3/Q4 2012” release date for the system.

It all sounds pretty legit, but we’ll find out if this latest “confirmation” for the Wii 2 is real when Nintendo holds their E3 Press Conference on Tuesday, June 7.

Posted in News, Wii U |

Spider-Man: Edge of Time trailer is intense

Posted on June 3, 2011 by Nicole Kline

The Spider-Man: Edge of Time trailer is pretty epic, with intense battles (including one with Anti-Venom), backflips, and a soundtrack that could be from Inception. Perhaps this game will help answer the age-old question: how do I shot web?

Spider-Man: Edge of Time will be available this Fall and will be on display at next week’s E3 Expo.

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Darksiders II trailer is killer

Posted on June 3, 2011 by Nicole Kline

The Darksiders II trailer is here, and now THQ is going to have you playing as the second horseman of the apocalypse: good old Death. It’s coming in 2012, which gives you plenty of time to go back to your old save in the first game and finish it up.

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

Daily Scoop: June 3, 2011 – It’s Friday, I’m in love

Posted on June 3, 2011 by Nicole Kline

… in love with video games, I mean! I’m off today for a wedding, and I should be getting ready, but instead I’m sitting here working on some articles and trying not to play Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness all day long. Seeing as how I still haven’t started getting ready, I would say that I am failing.

But hey, at least we’ve got Amazon’s Deal of the Day in video games, which is Square Enix’s Bust-a-Move Universe for the Nintendo 3DS. This might be the first 3DS game I’ve seen as a daily deal! It’s $17.99 down from $29.99, and promises to be “a whole universe of fun,” allowing you to “clear dozens of challenging levels as you explore an entire universe filled with puzzle fun.” Doesn’t that just sound charming? Oh yeah, and this game is part of the buy one DS game, get one 50% off I mentioned yesterday. So you can add deals to deals!

No good shirts today for gamers, but I’m trying to stop myself from buying this amazing Steampunk Seahorse t-shirt over at Ript:

I’m playing BioShock 2 right now, and seeing this floating around outside of Rapture would be pretty righteous.

Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News |

Star Trek game announced, details at E3

Posted on June 3, 2011 by Mike Gutierrez

Since the success of J.J. Abrams’ take on Star Trek, there’s been a couple game outings utilizing the license, but nothing like this.

Paramount Digital Entertainment has announced the co-op, action adventure Star Trek, featuring an original, stand-alone story. God of War writer and BAFTA award winner Marianne Krawczyk has teamed up with Bob Orci and Alex Kurtzman, writers and producers of the current Star Trek films, to tell a new story of Spock and Kirk, working together “to stop a legendary enemy race bent on conquering the galaxy.” The game is under development at Digital Extremes, known for the Unreal series and the upcoming The Darkness II, with an offering that “challenges the boundaries of co-op gameplay.”

With bold claims and enticing promises, Star Trek will release on PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 in Summer 2012. Paramount will unveil more details about the game at next week’s E3 Expo.

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