Hans Zimmer contributed to Crysis 2 score

Posted on March 17, 2011 by John Scalzo

Electronic Arts and Crytek have revealed that Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer lent a hand with the Crysis 2 score. Zimmer collaborated with existing composers Borislav Slavov and Tilman Sillescu to create an “intense and dramatic” score.

“I was drawn to Crysis 2 because of Crytek’s passion for the project and the world they created,” Zimmer said. “And I am very happy with the outcome of our collaboration.”

An alien invasion in the year 2023 seems right up Zimmer’s alley after his amazing work on Gladiator, The Dark Knight and last year’s Inception. Moviegoers will next be able to hear his work in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

The complete Crysis 2 soundtrack will be available to download from iTunes, Amazon and other digital retailers on March 22nd (the same day the game hits the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360), but fans can preview the first track, “Intro,” at SoundCloud.

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Mass Effect 2 named Best Game at 2011 BAFTAs

Posted on March 16, 2011 by John Scalzo

The final Game of the Year awards ceremony for 2010 releases, the BAFTA Games Awards, have been handed out in London and BioWare’s Mass Effect 2 has been named “Best Game.”

But aside from its big win, Mass Effect 2 was shut out during the rest of the show. Instead, Quantic Dream’s Heavy Rain took home the most trophies, three, for “Original Music,” “Story” and “Technical Innovation.” Heavy Rain’s heavy hand on the podium also resulted in a shutout for Call of Duty: Black Ops, which was nominated in an astounding six categories. Though, Treyarch’s shooter did capture the “GAME Award of 2010,” which is the only BAFTA award voted on by the public.

The other special award, the “BAFTA Ones to Watch Award,” was presented out to That Game Studio’s Twang.

Hit the jump for the complete list of winners.

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Battlefield 3 “Fault Line” trailer series continues

Posted on March 16, 2011 by John Scalzo

Last time, DICE took us to a bad part of town in their “Fault Line” series of gameplay trailers for Battlefield 3. This time, the developer pulls out the sniper rifles for a lesson in “Good Effect on Target” and two and a half more minutes of awesome gameplay footage.

Battlefield 3 will be released for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 this Fall. Part III of the “Fault Line” series will be available on the Battlefield Blog, YouTube and everywhere online videos are sold viewed.

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Bastion Hands-On Preview: Narrating Gaming’s Future

Posted on March 16, 2011 by Mike Gutierrez

Bastion is the first title from Supergiant Games, a small studio consisting of about “six dudes”. The game is poised to be the next downloadable smash hit with its endearing art style, familiar mechanics, and novel use of narration. The team has gone from the big developer culture of EA to a more independent setting, and so far the response from fans has been sensational. We got to play the demo of Bastion and talk with Creative Director Greg Kasavin at this year’s PAX East.

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A study in fanboyism: Crytek calls out IGN

Posted on March 16, 2011 by Mike Gutierrez

I can’t say I’m surprised by IGN. After all, this is a site that has its top editors cranking out articles about how Xbox 360 exclusives in one year are better than PS3 exclusives in another year. However, this time they may have bitten off more than they can chew. IGN has boldly claimed that the 360 version of Crysis 2 is “clearly outperforming” the PS3 counterpart. CVG has disagreed after playing nearly all of the game, calling any difference “negligible.” Jeff Rubenstein of the PlayStation Blog posted today his interview where he put the matter to Executive Producer Nathan Camarillo, who responded thusly:

I’ve gone on the record saying that if you stick PS3 and 360 side by side I would challenge anyone to find any meaningful difference. I don’t see it at all.

I understand IGN probably just wanted to get a couple cheap hits by playing the console card, but they should have realized they were dealing with a developer’s integrity here. Hopefully we’ll get to the truth of these comparisons when Crysis 2 finally hits stores next week on March 22 for PC, Xbox 360, and PS3.

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Daily Scoop: March 16, 2011 – BOGO, baby

Posted on March 16, 2011 by Nicole Kline

Ah, humpday. So far from each weekend, yet with so much promise and potential. If we can just get over you, we’ll be at Thursday, which is one day closer to the weekend, and then it’s Friday, and nothing can hold us back!

Speaking of nothing holding us back, Amazon’s having their Buy One, Get One 50% off sale again. There’s not much, but some of what’s there is actually pretty good, so it’s worth at least a glance. Also, you can take a trip to Hogwart’s with today’s Amazon Deal of the Day in video games is Warner Bros’ LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4. They’ve got it for sale on three platforms – it’s $24.99 down from $49.99 on the Wii, $29.99 down from $39.99 on the Xbox, and $19.99 down from $29.99 on the DS.

Not much in t-shirt land today, but seeing the Portal 2 demo this weekend has me chomping at the bit for this awesome hoody at ThinkGeek:

It says [TEST CANDIDATE] on the back. Do want.

Posted in Daily Scoop |

Silent Hill: Revelation cast includes Silent Hill stars

Posted on March 16, 2011 by John Scalzo

They stayed quiet about it through the original announcement, but Davis Films has revealed that three castmembers from the original Silent Hill will return in Silent Hill: Revelation.

With filming now underway in Toronto, Sean Bean, Radha Mitchell and Deborah Kara Unger have all returned to reprise their roles in the sequel.

Director Michael J. Bassett said: “It wouldn’t be the same without some of the original Silent Hill cast. Sean, Radha and Deborah’s return will certainly thrill fans of the franchise and compliment Revelation stars Adelaide [Clemons] and Kit [Harrington].”

Silent Hill: Revelation is based on 2003’s Silent Hill 3, including Heather Mason’s (Clemons) discovery that she’s not who she thinks she is and her search for her missing father. Davis Films has released a still of Clemons and Mitchell from the set, which you can view by the link below.

Click here to view a larger version of the Silent Hill: Revelation still.

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Doodle Jump hopping to XBLA, iPad

Posted on March 16, 2011 by John Scalzo

It seems like ages ago, but before a flock of Angry Birds took over the App Store, Lima Sky’s Doodle Jump ruled the roost. Today, the mobile game is celebrating a big milestone and jumping to new destinations.

First things first, Lima Sky has proudly announced that ten million copies of Doodle Jump have been downloaded in the two years since its release. Just goes to show you that an addictive game can suck in a lot of buyers if the price is right.

But iPhone and Android owners will soon have to share Doodle Jump with their iPad and Xbox 360-owning friends. Set for release sometime in 2011, the iPad version of the game will include brand new content while the Xbox 360 version will be released through the Xbox Live Arcade (naturally) and include Kinect support.

But don’t worry iPhone fans, the iPhone version of Doodle Jump will receive a free multiplayer update “very soon.”

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