Sony today released a new video showing off Smart As, an upcoming game for the PlayStation Vita which helps players challenge their minds with a variety of brain-bending exercised.

Okay, yes—Smart As will probably remind you more than a little of a certain game that a certain other company released for a certain other handheld. Still, Smart As seems like it’ll have a great style and flair to it, and it could be a lot of fun competing with other people around your country as well as around the world.

Mario Serves Up Another Set Of Tennis Love

I think, whenever reviewing a game like Mario Tennis Open, you’re required to start off by making some mention of the wide variety of Mario-branded games Nintendo’s put out over the years. There’s so many, you know! Man, that Mario isn’t just a princess-saving plumber, but he’s also a race-car driver, basketball star, pro golfer, boxing ref, and even a doctor who may or may not have an actual, valid license to practice medicine.

The reality behind that never-ending need to rehash that same comment over and over is simple: Nintendo makes good games. Even if you aren’t a hardcore fan of theirs, it’s an undeniable fact that the company cares about game development and cares about giving their fans good products; that’s been proven time and time again, even when venturing out beyond Nintendo’s core franchises. There’s also another reality: I don’t like Mario. Not as in the game series, or the concept of Mario and what he’s become for Nintendo—I mean, as in the character himself. So, while Nintendo loves to make him the star of everything under the sun—continually feeding his addiction for keeping the rest of the Nintendo roster cowering in his shadow—my enjoyment of games such as Mario Tennis Open comes in spite of their titular star.

That lack of enthusiasm for Nintendo’s mustachioed protagonist makes me happy—but, also, a little surprised—to see how Mii-focused Mario Open Tennis is. Unlike titles such as Mario Kart 7, your Mii is available as a character choice right off the bat—and it isn’t long before you’ll be unlocking new rackets or clothing items for him or her by playing the game’s various modes. There’s a huge amount of content to earn here, but it’s only ever for your Mii. Prefer to play as Mario, Daisy, or Bowser*? Sure, go ahead and do it—just don’t expect to ever use any of those unlockables for them, even if it’s nothing more than the variety of better tennis rackets. Initially, I wondered if this was to keep a certain level of balance to the game by having the Nintendo cast be set in stone in their stats, but from what I could tell, there’s never a way to explicitly ban Miis from being picked in multiplayer. It’s not a game-breaking decision or anything; it’s just a little odd.

What I’d complain more about, really, is the actual act of buying and equipping those new items on your Mii. Stats for each item are shown as pie charts—charts that not only aren’t exact in their presentation of the differences between two items, but also charts integrated into an interface which gives you no option for comparing those differences. Should you buy those stylish new shoes you just unlocked? That’s a question that takes way too much time and hassle to answer.

(*OK, seriously—is Bowser actually a bad guy? Sure, he keeps kidnapping Princess Peach, but at this point, I have to wonder if she isn’t letting herself get taken with how often that’s happened. And even beyond that, how is it that he keeps being invited to play tennis, or basketball, or baseball, or race go-karts, or whatever else he ends up doing with the Mario crew? Are the Mushroom Kingdom’s security forces so utterly useless that they can’t even kick Bowser out of a tennis stadium? And isn’t there any concern that he might kidnap Peach yet again in the middle of a tennis match with her? Does he have to sign some sort of short-term treaty in order to be allowed to play in the tournament? This is all very, very suspicious, if you ask me.)

What about the main attraction, then—the game of tennis presented in Mario Tennis Open? I mean, it’s tennis, you know? Hopefully, I don’t have to explain to you what tennis is, and developer Camelot has enough experience making Mario tennis games at this point that it’d be really hard for them to screw up. So, it’s unsurprising that they didn’t. Controls feel tight and responsive, a variety of courts are presented that offer different combinations of bounce and ball-speed settings, and the 3D effect—while more on the subtle side—really works well for a game like this.

Is it fun, though? Having played a variety of tennis games—both serious and more light-hearted—it can be very hard to make tennis sexy and exciting for those not into the sport. Some see it as little more than two-player Pong; while it kind of is that, it also isn’t. Games like Mario Tennis Open aren’t just about hitting a ball back and forth—they’re also about the mind games, the strategy, and doing things your opponent isn’t expecting. Having a well-rounded arsenal of options for returning the ball may seem like a no-brainer, but it’s here that some tennis games either don’t give enough of those options, or they don’t feel properly perfected. In this regard, Camelot’s done a great job with Mario Tennis Open—the six available shot types all have their place and their uses, and when you get two players who can keep up with each other, matches can provide an intense experience.

Of course, this wouldn’t be a Mario title if it didn’t provide some sort of twist on the tried-and-true elements of the sport it’s based around, and the first of Mario Tennis Open’s major gimmicks is Chance Shots. The game includes six color-coded shot types, and while playing, a color-coded Chance Shot area may appear on the court. If you return the ball from inside of that circle using the shot type of a matching color, you’ll perform a powered-up version of that shot. You perform those shots in one of two ways: either by pressing the appropriate face button (or button combination) or by pressing the color-coded buttons on the touchscreen.

Chance Shots are a way to help give the game a better sense of variety, and they indeed do that. As well, while they may seem to initially throw off the balance of multiplayer matches, they offer the chance to go back to that idea of playing mind games. You don’t have to bust out a powered-up flat shot while standing inside that purple marker—you can instead go against your opponent’s expectations and serve up a completely different type of shot they won’t be ready for.

And yet, even with the added layer that Chance Shots give to Mario Tennis Open’s core gameplay, I kind of wish Camelot had gone even crazier. Other than background themes and minigames (which I’ll get to in a moment), there’s very little Mario (the series) in Mario Tennis Open. As somebody admittedly new to Mario’s adventures in tennis, I wanted to see a bit more fun on display. Why not mushrooms to make me bigger (thus allowing me to cover ground easier), or forcing me to avoid a bouncing turtle shell every now and then? Something to remind me that I’m playing a Mario tennis game, and not just a tennis game with a Mario skin.

Another new 3DS-specific gimmick is Dynamic View. If you hold the 3DS upright, you’ll get a third-person, forced-2D camera that follows your character around more (and allows for more camera control via the 3DS’ gyro sensors). Then, if you tilt your 3DS down to hold it more flat, you’ll go back to 3D and to a more traditional tennis-game camera angle. Dynamic View is—well, weird. Personally, I never found it of value to my play experience, and I preferred turning it off and playing with the standard camera and 3D support. Still, I always prefer having an option versus not having it—so I’m glad that Dynamic View is there for anybody who may find themselves making good use of it.

Single-player in Mario Tennis Open is a relatively small selection of options. You can play in a series of bracket-style tournaments (singles or doubles), you can set up an exhibition game (again, singles or doubles), or you can play one of the included Special Games. Here, you can try your hand at hitting the ball through appearing rings, or rally against a trio of ball-spitting Piranha Plants. The true star, however, is Super Mario Tennis—where the challenge is to play through stages from the classic Super Mario Bros. using your tennis ball to break bricks, collect coins, or stomp Goombas. It’s an exceptional amount of fun, and I wish Mario Tennis Open had featured more enjoyable diversions like this.

The problem with the game’s single-player options are much like actual tennis itself: You feel like there could be more to the experience. The same can even be said for Mario Tennis Open’s multiplayer offerings. Single-cart local multiplayer is thankfully present, and online options are available, but Internet support comes down to little more than the ability to compete in standard matches. There’s no option for getting any sort of online tournaments going, and the strides Nintendo made in Mario Kart 7 in terms of letting players create online communities is completely absent.

As a game for those looking to enjoy the fast-paced action that tennis can provide, Mario Tennis Open is quite satisfying. The problem is, as good as that core is, there just isn’t enough built upon or around it. From any other company, Mario Tennis Open would be an enjoyable and polished attempt; from Nintendo, this feels more phoned in than I’d like to see. There’s very little wrong in what Mario Tennis Open does, and if you want a great tennis game, then you probably won’t be disappointed. Instead, my disappointment comes in what Mario Tennis Open doesn’t do.

SUMMARY: For those looking for a well-crafted, enjoyable tennis game, Mario Tennis Open will leave you satisfied. For those looking for a great Mario tennis game, you’ll probably be left wanting more.

• THE GOOD: Looks good, plays great, and the game’s Mii integration works wonderfully.
• THE BAD: Feels like a student who was happy going for a B- instead of an A+.
• THE UGLY: The adoration Peach gets when Daisy is clearly the superior princess.

SCORE: 7.0

Mario Tennis Open is exclusive to the Nintendo 3DS.

Disney has released a new behind-the-scenes video introduction to Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two, the upcoming Epic Mickey sequel which will be making the jump to HD consoles.

I love the concepts behind Epic Mickey—and I can’t deny the love and attention that went into making both the original game and this new sequel—but there’s still one point I just can’t get past: I don’t like the game’s art style.

I remember the visually amazing and arresting concept art that was crafted for the first Epic Mickey, only to have the game’s graphical style be far tamer in its final game form. I feel the same here—look at the great artwork that is shown during this video, and then compare that to the not-quite-as-unique look of the game itself.

This is one of the things I’d love to most see from the next generation of consoles when they come: The power to easily give games rich, advanced graphical filters, so that a project like Epic Mickey 2 could look like hand drawn artwork come to life.

The world is waiting to hear about the first game from Respawn Entertainment, the development team started by ex-Infinity Ward employees. Unfortunately,a rep for the developer says E3 won’t bring any answers.

Today, Respawn community manager Abbie Heppe had this to say to Joystiq:

“Some of us will be present at E3, but we won’t be showing anything or doing any press related to the game.”

Well, so—there you go. Whatever it is that they’re working on in conjunction with EA, I guess it isn’t quite ready to be revealed yet.

While the game isn’t out yet, Activision has already announced DLC for the upcoming Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD. However, I suspect fans might not be too upset.

Why? Because the DLC will bring in stages from yet another classic Pro Skater game: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3. Here’s the announcement from the official Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD Facebook page:

BIG NEWS: We can confirm that there WILL be downloadable content for THPS HD coming after release, and the first batch will be levels from Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3!! However, the exact levels haven’t been decided yet, so Activision, Robomodo, and Tony Hawk himself want to hear from the fans to help determine the final content. So please, comment below on which levels from THPS3 are your favorite and explain why! The Birdman himself will make the final call on what is ultimately included.

Will the game’s included stages from the first two Pro Skater games be enough for you, or will you also pick up the DLC?

If rumors attached to a new job posting are correct, it looks like Eidos may be hiring staff to work on Deus Ex 4 for next-generation consoles.

Here’s a portion of the job posting that was put up on LinkedIn which gives us some most tasty clues:

New roles with a major Canadian company that is looking to expand it’s team in various areas – semi open-world action adventure title that responds to player choice and interaction: Apply now!

We are working alongside a major game development studio that has multiple teams, multiple projects and a fantastic reputation for creating AAA action/adventure titles on the latest platforms.

They have won multiple awards for their efforts and have developed a number of new IP’s throughout their history that has contributed to ensuring they are one of the best in their class.

Due to this continued success and with the support of a major publisher, they are looking for a number of new hires in an additional studio that is being grown and nurtured in the (ever growing) Quebec games industry community.

The project is based upon an existing IP that is a well known and respected action/adventure title, with elements of choice and stealth within the gameplay. The future iterations of the franchise intend to really take advantage of the new platforms coming in the next two years to provide an experience with unparralled realism, depth and consequence for player action and choice.

superannuation over on Twitter—while linking to that posting—then commented:

“and Eidos Montreal hiring for a Deus Ex 4 ‘for the new platforms coming in the next two years’”

A “semi open-world action adventure title that responds to player choice and interaction” coming from Eidos? That certainly sounds like it could be Deus Ex 4.

Blizzard has confirmed that it is looking into reports of vanishing Diablo III achievements, but assures players that they are not lost.

The developer wrote on the Battle.net forums:

“As you can probably imagine, our servers are currently really busy handling all the new players coming into the game.”

The achievements server in particular is being hammered, which may be why your achievements are not showing up. It is not that they are deleted, but that there is a (very long) delay in retrieving that data.

We are working on it.”

This is just another problem in a long line of issues that have plagued the game since its launch. Apparently most of the major issues have now been fixed—included the server log-in errors—but peoples achievements appear to still be MIA.

Have you had any issues with achievements?

Source: Battle.net

Fashion Forward

Her Universe — the geeky clothing company for women that was started by “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” star Ashley Eckstein — have announced that they’ll unveil their new shirts and other clothes at Disney’s Star Wars Weekends and on their website.

Consisting of new tank tops, t-shirts, and charms, as well as a Princess Leia hoodie, the line is slated to be shown at the Star Wars Weekends that are being held at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando, Florida from May 18 through June 10th, as well as on Her Universe’s website, http://heruniverse.com.

In addition, they’re also unveiling a line of clothes for young girls, including a Jedi onesie, that are being designed by popular “Star Wars” illustrator Katie Cook.

Stand Tall

Warner Home Video have announced that “Wrath Of The Titans” — the sequel to the “Clash Of The Titans” remake starring Sam Worthington as Perseus and Liam Neeson as Zeus — will be released on DVD, a DVD/Blu-ray combo pack, and a 3D DVD/Blu-ray combo pack on June 26.

While the DVD will come with deleted scenes, the two combo packs will also include ten making-of featurettes, picture-in-picture options, and storyboard comparisons, with the 3D version adding a 3D version of the film (obviously).

The DVD will retail for $28.98, the DVD/BD combo will be $35.99, while the 3D DVD/BD combo will be $44.95.

Boogie Chillen

MVD Entertainment have announced that they’ll release a live DVD of blues legend John Lee Hooker performing in Gardner, Massachusetts on June 19.

Recorded July 6, 1974, “Cook With The Hook” has Hooker performing such songs as “It Serves You Right To Suffer,” “Boom Boom,” and “Whiskey & Women.”

The DVD will retail for $16.95.

343 Industries has revealed the Halo 4 Limited Edition, featuring bonus multiplayer DLC and access to the game’s secondary campaign for free.

The Limited Edition is available to pre-order now and retails at $99.99. It includes the following:

War Games Map Pack Access

The competitive multiplayer modes of Halo 4 are known as War Games. The Limited Edition includes access to nine maps—three future competitive multiplayer map packs, each including three locations—available for download post-launch on Xbox LIVE. Yes, you read that correctly—you get nine maps in the form of future DLC with the purchase of the Halo 4 Limited Edition. Score!

Specializations

Everyone will have access to select Specializations, but those that purchase the Halo 4 Limited Edition will receive the ability to unlock six Specializations early, which will be available at launch on Xbox LIVE. You can use them—one at a time—to achieve higher ranks in your Spartan career. In addition to gaining access to new ranks, Specializations unlock new customization options. We’ll be releasing more information about Specializations at E3, so expect additional details about this particular feature then.

UNSC Infinity Briefing Packet

The UNSC Infinity Briefing Packet includes a Spartan armor customization schematic, information about UNSC weapons, an introduction to the massive ship UNSC Infinity, and insight into what it means to be one of humanity’s finest warriors: The Spartan-IVs. Story lovers will especially enjoy this in-fiction offering that provides a glimpse into the indoctrination of Spartans aboard the Infinity.

Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn Special Edition

The Special Edition of Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn is a 90-minute extended version of the live-action digital series which will take fans back to the terrifying beginning of the Human/Covenant war, when the Master Chief inspired a young cadet who would eventually become a leader aboard the UNSC’s greatest vessel ever: the UNSC Infinity.

Digital content also includes in-fiction bonus content that expands the characters and stories of Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn, special featurette Bringing Gaming into Reality, and a behind the scenes look at the making of Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn.

Bonus digital content through Xbox LIVE

The Limited Edition includes the following bonus digital content through Xbox LIVE: unique in-game Spartan-IV armor skin, unique in-game weapon skin for the Assault Rifle, an exclusive in-game emblem, Xbox LIVE Avatar prop, and Xbox LIVE Avatar Spartan IV armor set.

If you’re planning on purchasing Halo 4 then we suggest you go for this Limited Edition as the content is definitely worth the extra money. The extra multiplayer boost will give you a nice jump on the opposition and you get access to future maps for free.

Is it worth the extra money? Share your thoughts below. 

EA has released several new screenshots and art pieces for Crysis 3. As expected they are ridiculously beautiful and are obviously taken on a high-end PC.

Battlefield: Bad Company 3 and Mirror’s Edge 2 have both turned up on various LinkedIn profiles, suggesting that they may both be currently in development at DICE.

One user, Michael Joseph C., claims that he “provided video game prototype, design and demo feedback on various AAA titles including the Battlefield: Bad Company 3, Dead Space 2, Devil May Cry 5 and other unannounced titles”, between 2009 and 2011.

An ex-EA software engineer states that he worked on Mirror’s Edge 2 between July and August 2009, implementing “the wandering of crowd system within the Unreal 3 engine.” A second ex-employee implemented “new gadgets and interactive features” into Mirror’s Edge 2, including “leaderboards” and a “mini-game embedded into the story”.

Neither game has been officially announced, however both EA and DICE have stated on several occasions that they would love to bring the Mirror’s Edge series back. With no recent listings to go on it’s hard to know whether the projects have been postponed, cancelled or are still in development. Maybe EA will shed some light on one of them at E3, but that’s wishful thinking.

Do you fancy a return to the troop of Bad Company or free-running on rooftops again?

Via: Gamerzines

John 117 – more affectionately known as Master Chief – has always been the main focal point of the Halo universe. However, a new hero is set to enter the fray in Halo 4.

The latest issue of Official Xbox Magazine reveals that a new hero will be playable in the game, but Master Chief remains the main focal point of the story. At some point during the campaign the Chief will encounter the UNSC Infinity, the largest ship in the human fleet.  A new game mode called UNSC Infinity is available in the game’s main menu and selecting it begins a sub-campaign where you will control Spartan-IV aboard the Infinity.

Each week a new CGI episode will be released featuring five co-op missions for you to complete. The mode is free for all that purchase the game new, however buy a used copy and you’ll have to stump up the extra cash for access. A brief description of Spartan-IV can be found below:

“Your Spartan-IV will be a persistent character you take into all battles on board the Infinity, co-op, team, and free-for-all.  Spartan-on-Spartan battles have been moved into the Infinity’s Combat Deck, where a war-games simulator is used for training.  And the improvements you make to him (or her) won’t just be cosmetic.  Following the trends established in Halo: Reach, your Spartan will unlock game-altering combat options.”

It appears that 343 is trying to expand your multiplayer character’s reach and identity by giving you your own campaign. This will certainly breath life into the characters that players create to take into the online world of Halo.

How do you feel about the introduction of a new hero? Does Spartan-IV peak your interest? Share your thoughts below.

Final Fantasy legend Tetsuya Nomura has made a few comments regarding a remake of Final Fantasy VII, and also shared an interesting piece of information about the original.

Speaking in the latest issue of Famitsu Nomura stated that the new Final Fantasy titles must overcome the older games and break away. We’re not sure if we agree with this fact considering how much people loved the old games and seem to hate the new direction.

When asked about a remake he replied, “There are a lot of people who want a remake of Final Fantasy VII. However, new titles take precedence. We work our hardest to make something that might be even better than Final Fantasy VII.”

Finally he revealed an interesting tidbit regarding the opening sequence to Final Fantasy VII: “At first Yuffie was planned to be an outlaw. There were going to be wanted posters in the street of the opener, one for each of the people you’d become friends with.”

Fans will never accept the newest games as being anywhere near as good as the originals because they lack soul. They simply look like churned out RPGs that are using the Final Fantasy name. Sure they play fairly well and have a half-decent story, but they fail to bestow a sense of importance in the player. Something that the older titles did incredibly well.

Should a remake take precedence over newer titles? Share your thoughts below.

The next DLC pack for Mass Effect 3 will be known as Rebellion, according to a recent leak on Sony’s Hong Kong website.

This will be the second DLC pack for the game following last month’s Resurgence pack. The now removed listing for the DLC revealed that it will include two new maps, three new weapons and six character classes. The pack will introduce the Vorcha race, available in the Soldier or Sentinel class, the Phoenix Adapt and Vanguard along with Quarian Engineer and Infiltrator classes.

The two new maps will be Firebase Jade set in a jungle reservoir and Firebase Goddess set on the Asari homeworld of Thessia. No release date or price was mentioned in the listing. It would be nice if this DLC was also offered for free like the Resurgence pack, but we’re not holding our breath.

What do you think of the new additions?

Source: Sony Asia

BioWare has announced that the next Star Wars: The Old Republic free trial event will be happening this weekend.

The trial will begin May 17 and run until May 21, and only those who haven’t taken part in previous events will be eligible to join. As with previous weekends there is a level cap of 15 on players, and only the starting worlds and the fleet will be accessible. All characters will be saved should you wish to subscribe and continue playing.

Ubisoft has released the official launch trailer for Ghost: Recon Future Solider, featuring all of the usual high-octane explosions and gunfire that you would expect.

The game is scheduled to release May 22 on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and June 12 on PC.

Will you be picking this one up or passing it by?

Sega has released the official launch trailer for the long awaited Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2.

The game is available now on Xbox Live, PSN and PC priced at 1200 Microsoft Points or $14.99. The trailer gives you a quick look at the flying mechanics that Tails and Sonic can utilize, along with a glimpse at the bonus Metal Sonic episode.

Have you purchased the little blue hedgehog’s latest outing?

38 Studios financial worries seem to be getting more desperate as the developer has reportedly missed its latest loan payment of $1.125 million.

The latest payment should have been made to the state of Rhode Island on May 1, and by missing it the studio has effectively defaulted on their $75 million loan. Rhode Island’s Economic Development Corporation has called an emergency meeting to discuss ”an unexpected occurrence that requires immediate action to protect the public regarding the 38 Studios financing.”

If the studio was to fully default on the loan it would cost Rhode Island taxpayers $112.6 million. Of the $75 million loan, $49.8 million has been paid to the studio so far. The studio is currently working on a Kingdoms of Amalur MMO which was originally set to release before 2013, it’s unclear what stage development is at and 38 Studios has yet to make an official statement regarding the issues.

Source: WPRI

Naughty Dog has released a new trailer for its PlayStation 3 exclusive, The Last of Us, featuring a very subtle redesign to main character Ellie.

The latest video sees Joel and Ellie encounter an apparently wounded survivor while on the road. Turns out he’s not as injured as he’s making out. Those with eagle eyes may have noticed some slight changes to Ellie’s character model from earlier screenshots and footage. Her freckles are gone and she now has a slightly different shaped nose.

Creative director Neil Druckmann told IGN that the changes were made to make Ellie look more like her mo-cap artist Ashley Johnson.

“After delving further into the game’s narrative over the past few months, we decided to modify Ellie’s model to better reflect Ashley’s personality, and also resemble a slightly younger teen more fitting to the story,” Druckmann explained. “We’re happy with the final result shown in the cinematic we have released today, and hope the fans like her too.”

Actually, we think these small changes make her appear a lot older than she originally did, which probably fits better with her personality. Freckles say young to us, what can we say. Either way, the character, and this game, look amazing! Every new piece of footage we see from this game raises our excitement levels even higher, we seriously can’t wait until 2013.

Do you like the new look Ellie? Share your thoughts below.

A pretty awesome animated trailer for Pokemon Black/White 2 has appeared online, featuring a lot of heavy guitar riffs.

If you’re not excited for the game after watching this trailer then you either have no soul or you just don’t like Pokemon, in which case why are you even watching it? It’s incredibly well done and there’s even subtitles – via YouTube’s magic caption button – for those of you who can’t understand Japanese.

Blizzard was forced to perform emergency maintenance on its Diablo III servers yesterday in order to fix the many log-in and connection issues that players have been having since the game’s launch.

After the game’s launch, Blizzard’s servers crumbled under the weight of millions of people attempting to all log-in, taking the game offline for several hours. After finally getting things up and running players were greeted with error messages of connection issues, with the publisher saying it was working on server stability.

The following message was posted on the Diablo III Facebook page:

“Diablo III is now available for play. We will be continuing to monitor the servers for any additional issues. If you are experiencing errors, please visit the Technical Support Forum or the Bug Report Forum for additional information.”

So it appears that everything is now back to normal and fans can finally enjoy playing Diablo III – us included. The question is, do you plan to rush through and complete your first playthrough on normal, or savor the moment and take your time?

Volition has mentioned in the past that it has many ideas for the next Saints Row, and it appears that work is already underway on the title.

The LinkedIn profile of lead prop and weapon artist David Payne, states that both Saints Row 4 and a project for Xbox Live Arcade are both currently in development. Saints Row 4 is listed for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. Given the roaring success of Saints Row: The Third it’s no surprise that THQ has ordered a fourth game from the developers. Hopefully it will be just as amazing as the last one.

Don’t expect any details in the near future as the team is currently working on a new expansion for Saints Row: The Third titled Enter the Dominatrix, due out this Fall. We really hope that the series continues to go from strength to strength, it’s about time that Grand Theft Auto had some serious competition.

What would you like to see added to a fourth game?

Source: Superannuation

EGMNOW readers, it’s time to Make Your Point!

We want to know what you like and don’t like about EGMNOW—and we’re willing to give you a random shot at winning one of five bribes to find out! We have devised a survey to pry loose your inner-most feelings about our website, be they warm and fuzzy, or dark and dangerous. If you choose to accept this challenge, it should only take you about five minutes to complete, and for your time, you will be automatically entered into our drawing for a chance to win one of five $50.00 point cards for your favorite game system!

That’s right—you give us five minutes, and we’ll give you a chance to win one of five $50.00 point cards for you favorite game system! That’s $50.00 on Wii! Or $50.00 on PSN! Or $50.00 on Steam! Or 4000 Microsoft Points! (We love money in Micorsoft-land; the exchange rate makes us feel so rich.)

The survey will only be available until midnight on Monday, May 21, so don’t wait to enter! CLICK HERE to start answering questions!

Winners will be notified by e-mail and winning names will be posted here, for all to envy. You can read our full contest rules here. Good luck, and thanks for Making Your Point with EGMNOW!

A group of users over on the GTA Forums may have stumbled upon a very interesting list of information hidden among the on-disc files for Max Payne 3—a rundown of vehicles that could potentially be in Grand Theft Auto V.

First of all, credit goes to Fantaseb/Twisted89, zzcool, and blasternl over on gtaforums.com for discovering and compiling this information.

So, it seems a vehicles.ide file on the Max Payne 3 disc may indeed be giving us a look at what we could expect from vehicles in GTA V. The list of vehicles in the file is far longer than what Max Payne 3 features, and the information is presented in a file format said to be identical to vehicle files for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Why would such a file be present on Max Payne 3? Both games are being crafted using Rockstar’s RAGE engine, and it makes total sense that vehicle models for Max Payne 3 could be used in Grand Theft Auto V (and vise versa).

Before we get to the list, let’s make a few things clear:

1. This list is in no way official.
2. This list is a compilation of the list that Fantaseb/Twisted89, zzcool, and blasternl put together combined with additional information from a longer-format list that then hit the GTA forums.
3. Not all of the additional vehicle information I pulled from that list may be potentially relevant to GTA V.
4. It would be super sweet if I could drive a train in GTA V.
5. This list is in no way official. Seriously. Have fun speculating over if these will actually be in GTA V or not, but for now, consider this simply a huge, huge rumor. And even if it is a real list that has relation to GTA V, there’s absolutely nothing stating at this point that these vehicles will for sure be in the game, or that additional vehicles won’t be added as well.

Anyhow. here’s the compiled list.

Cars/Trucks/Etc.

• apc
• bobsleigh
• benson
• biff
• bobcat
• boxville
• buccaneer
• burrito
• brzbus
• casco
• cadge
• car_brzhatchplc
• car_brzsedanplc
• car_brzhatchjnk
• car_brzsedanjnk
• carga
• cavalcade
• cognoscenti
• cs2000
• chavos
• dukes
• dune
• feroci
• flatty
• forklift
• futo
• furzen
• fxt
• gant
• hauler
• minivan
• mule
• infernus
• patriot
• phantom
• prairie
• police
• railmu
• rancher
• rhino
• schafter
• seinove
• skimobile
• snowplough
• taxi
• trash
• vanpony
• willard
• winky

Bikes

• enduro
• faggio2
• jz125
• spike
• z75

Helicopters + Planes

• androm
• annhil
• annihilator
• autogyro
• bchopper
• bentham
• cuban800
• dodo
• fighter
• heli_cp
• heli_cs
• heli_luxury
• heli_rebel
• heli_tfe
• heli_ufe
• heli_vcpf
• hind
• maverick
• maverick
• napalm
• ph_heli
• scamp

Boats

• bassboy
• bayer
• boat_chase
• boaters
• botsab
• chika
• contbo
• dinghy
• drug_boat
• edsboat
• fishboat_a
• fishboat_b
• fishboat_c
• fishboat_d
• fisher
• gunboat
• marquis
• mini_boat
• mini_orig
• p_mi_botfsh
• ph_boat_l
• ph_boat_s
• reefer
• sabs_boat
• skivvy
• small_gb
• smug
• sporto
• squalo
• tinny
• tropic
• tug
• whaler
• woody
• woody2

Trains

• cablecar
• chairlift
• lighty
• monorail
• monorail2
• monorail3
• subway_hi
• subway_lo
• train_carg
• train_int
• trainf_carg
• trainr_carg

From THQ’s financial call today comes two pretty big pieces of news: The South Park RPG has been delayed, and the company may no longer be publishing the upcoming game from legendary Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive creator Tomonobu Itagaki.

First up is South Park: The Stick of Truth, which will now slip from late 2012 to the first quarter of 2013. The good part? That means it’ll be less likely to get lost in the flood of games coming out near the end of this year. The bad part? It’s joining an ever-growing list of games that are doing that exact same thing, meaning it might instead get lost in the flood of games that have now also jumped to early 2013.

Then we’ve got Itagaki’s next project Devil’s Third. THQ’s president and CEO Brian Farrell said about the game, “The profitability profile for Devil’s Third no longer met our internal threshold and we are currently in discussions with third parties regarding the future of this title.”

Unfortunately, the “Japanese developer + Western publisher” team-ups haven’t exactly been setting the world on fire lately, so I can’t say that I’m surprised that THQ might be getting cold feet. Right now, they company isn’t really in a position to take huge risks, so an unknown property like Devil’s Third probably isn’t in their best interests.

Street Fighter X Tekken didn’t quite live up to the sales expectations that developer Capcom had for it, and the company was clear in what it saw as the culprit: Dispicable, disgusting cannibalism.

Here’s the statement Capcom made during a financial Q&A in response to a question asking how their fourth-quarter releases had faired compared to those of the previous fiscal year:

Sales of “Street Fighter X Tekken” have fallen short of our plan. We believe one of causes is cannibalism because of the large number of other games in this genre that were launched within a short time.

Oh, wait, they don’t mean like people-eating-people type of cannibalism; they mean like other videogame offerings taking away marketshare from Street Fighter X Tekken. I guess, you know, that makes a bit more sense.

All joking aside, it’s an interesting statement to make—and blame I’m not sure is completely warranted. When you take the multiple versions of Street Fighter IV, two retail releases for Marvel vs. Capcom 3, and now Street Fighter X Tekken, Capcom has really been pumping out the fighting games at a pretty fast pace as of late. Maybe players are just getting a little overwhelmed? You also have the fact that fans were very mixed about the game’s Gems system, and the backlash that has occurred to some degree over the DLC plans for future Street Fighter X Tekken characters.

The fighting game genre found itself falling out of favor once—it can happen again. For the good of the genre, and the industry as a whole, I’d love to see Capcom tale a slower, more methodical approach to its future fighting game releases.

As of today, a new list of PSP and Minis releases can now be downloaded and played on the PlayStation Vita. Here’s the list of those games—along with a list of other titles that’ll be getting supported soon.

The Vita’s support for older games has really been a bit of a mess if you ask me. The system launched with a wide variety of PSP titles simply not offered for downloading via the Vita’s PlayStation Store—and yet, some of those same games were playable if you transferred the PSP game to your Vita from your PS3. And what about PS1 support? Still nowhere to be seen.

Anyhow, first up, here’s what PS Vita owners can now download (or re-download) to their system via PSN:

PSP Titles

• Cho Aniki Zero (Aksys Games Localization, Inc.)
• Strikers 1945 Plus (PM Studios, Inc.)
• Tom Clancy’S Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2 (UbiSoft, Inc.)
• Tom Clancy’S Rainbow Six: Vegas (UbiSoft, Inc.)
• Valhalla Knights 2: Battle Stance (XSEED JKS, Inc.)
• Ys: I & II Chronicles Digital (XSEED JKS, Inc.)

PSP minis

• Aero Racer (Halfbrick Studios)
• Age Of Zombies (Halfbrick Studios)
• Blast Off (Halfbrick Studios)
• Dynogems (StormBasic)
• Echoes (Halfbrick Studios)
• Me Monstar: Hear Me Roar (Cohort Studios)
• Vempire (Impressionware Srl)

As well, here’s a list of titles Sony says will soon be supported on the Vita. The lack of Phantasy Star Online 2—as well as its strange disappearance from the PlayStation Store completely—still frustrates me.

PSP Titles

• 3D Twist & Match (Sanuk Games)
• Aedis Eclipse: Generation Of Chaos Legacy (NIS America, Inc.)
• Bejeweled 2 (Sony Online Entertainment LLC)
• Beta Bloc (D3 Publisher of America)
• Brain Challenge (Gameloft)
• Dead Head Fred (D3 Publisher of America)
• Field Commander (Sony Online Entertainment LLC)
• Gods Eater Burst (D3 Publisher of America)
• Groovin’ Blocks (Sony Online Entertainment LLC)
• King Of Pool (Nordcurrent UAB)
• Luxor: Pharaoh’S Challenge Umd Legacy (Mumbo Jumbo)
• Major League Baseball 2K10 (2KGames)
• Mercury Meltdown (Ignition Entertainment)
• Mx Vs Atv Untamed (THQ, Inc.)
• Peggle (Sony Online Entertainment LLC)
• Prehistoric Isle (SNK PLAYMORE CORPORATION)
• Puzzle Quest: Challenge Of The Warlords (D3 Publisher of America)
• Reel Fishing: The Great Outdoors Legacy (Natsume, Inc.)
• Split Second (Disney Interactive Studios)
• Super Pocket Tennis (D3 Publisher of America)
• The Red Star (XS Games, LLC)
• Unbound Saga (Vogster Entertainment, LLC)
• Undead Knights Digital (Tecmo Koei America Corporation)
• Uno (Gameloft)
• Untold Legends: Brotherhood Of The Blade (Sony Online Entertainment LLC)
• Untold Legends: The Warrior’S Code French (Sony Online Entertainment LLC)
• Work Time Fun (D3 Publisher of America)
• WWE All Stars (THQ, Inc.)
• WWE Smackdown Vs. Raw 2010 (THQ, Inc.)

PSP minis

• 5 In 1 Solitaire (Digital Leisure)
• Alien Zombie Death (PomPom Games)
• Arcade Air Hockey & Bowling (Icon Games)
• Babel: The King Of The Blocks (StormBasic)
• Bashi Blocks (Icon Games)
• Bermuda Triangle (SNK PLAYMORE CORPORATION)
• Breakquest (Beatshapers)
• Bubble Trubble (Creat Studios)
• Card Shark (Laughing Jackal Ltd)
• Carnivores: Ice Age (Beatshapers)
• Cohort Chess (Cohort Studios)
• Doodle Fit (Gamelion)
• Doodle Pool (Big Head Games)
• Duael Invaders (Laughing Jackal Ltd)
• Enigmo (Beatshapers)
• Family Games (Icon Games)
• Farm Frenzy (Alawar Entertainment, Inc.)
• Fighting Fantasy: The Warlock Of Firetop Mountain (Laughing Jackal Ltd)
• Fly Fu (Invictus Games LTD.)
• Galcon Labs (Beatshapers)
• Gamocracy One : Legend Of Robot (AYEWARE / Bearded Ladies Consulting)
• Gold Medalist (SNK PLAYMORE CORPORATION)
• Guerrilla War (SNK PLAYMORE CORPORATION)
• Hal 21 (SNK PLAYMORE CORPORATION)
• Hero Of Sparta (Gameloft)
• Hysteria Project 2 (Sanuk Games)
• Ikari Warriors (SNK PLAYMORE CORPORATION)
• Ikari Warriors Ii: Victory Road (SNK PLAYMORE CORPORATION)
• Jelly Pops (PomPom Games)
• Karimogi (StormBasic)
• Labyrinth (Bigben Interactive, S.A.)
• Let’S Golf (Gameloft)
• Marvin’S Maze (SNK PLAYMORE CORPORATION)
• Mecho Wars (Creat Studios)
• Omg-Z! (Laughing Jackal Ltd)
• One Epic Game (Grip Digital)
• Ozma Wars (SNK PLAYMORE CORPORATION)
• P.O.W. – Prisoners Of War (SNK PLAYMORE CORPORATION)
• Pipe Madness (AYEWARE / Bearded Ladies Consulting)
• Pix N Love Rush (Sanuk Games)
• Psycho Soldier (SNK PLAYMORE CORPORATION)
• Red Bull X-Fighters (Xendex)
• Rumble Trucks (Playerthree Ltd)
• Street Smart (SNK PLAYMORE CORPORATION)
• The 2D Adventures Of Rotating Octopus Character (Dakko Dakko Ltd.)
• The Impossible Game (Grip Digital)
• The Marbians (Nordisk Film Distribution A/S)
• Twin Blades (Sanuk Games)
• Vanguard Ii (SNK PLAYMORE CORPORATION)
• Wackylands Boss (Creat Studios)
• Yetisports (Xendex)
• Zombie Racers (Big Head Games)

From today until May 22nd, a large list of Ubisoft-published games are on sale via the PlayStation Store. Here’s the full list of games and sale prices.

Anything from this list you’re going to pick up? Let us know in the comments below!

• From Dust – PlayStation Plus price $7.34; Sale price $10.49
• Outland – PlayStation Plus price $4.89; Sale price $6.99
• Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes – PlayStation Plus price $7.34; Sale price $10.49
• Beyond Good & Evil HD – PlayStation Plus price $4.89; Sale price $6.99
• Scott Pilgrim – PlayStation Plus price $4.89; Sale price $6.99
• Prince of Persia Classic – PlayStation Plus price $4.89; Sale price $6.99
• Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood – PlayStation Plus price $14.69; Sale price $20.99
• Assassin’s Creed 2 – PlayStation Plus price $13.99; Sale price $9.79
• Assassin’s Creed – PlayStation Plus price $13.99; Sale price $9.79
• Far Cry 2 – PlayStation Plus price $13.99; Sale price $9.79
• Call of Juarez 2 – PlayStation Plus price $13.99; Sale price $9.79
• Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands – PlayStation Plus price $13.99; Sale price $9.79
• Prince of Persia (2008) – PlayStation Plus price $13.99; Sale price $9.79
• Prince of Persia Classic Trilogy HD – PlayStation Plus price $19.59; Sale price $27.99
• Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time – PlayStation Plus price $7.34; Sale price $10.49
• Prince of Persia: Warrior Within – PlayStation Plus price $7.34; Sale price $10.49
• Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones – PlayStation Plus price $7.34; Sale price $10.49
• Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood – Da Vinci Disappearance DLC – PlayStation Plus price $4.89; Sale price $6.99
• Assassin’s Creed 2 – Battle of Forli DLC – PlayStation Plus price $1.95; Sale price $2.79
• Assassin’s Creed 2 – Bonfire of Vanities DLC – PlayStation Plus price $3.42; Sale price $4.89
• Far Cry 2 – Fortunes Pack DLC – PlayStation Plus price $2.44; Sale price $3.49
• Call of Juarez 2 – Old West Map Pack DLC – PlayStation Plus price $4.89; Sale price $6.99
• Prince of Persia (2008) – Epilogue DLC – PlayStation Plus price $4.89; Sale price $6.99
• Scott Pilgrim – Knives Chau Add-On Pack DLC – PlayStation Plus price $0.97; Sale price $1.39
• Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlines (PSP) – PlayStation Plus price $9.79; Sale price $13.99
• Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood Complete Edition (includes Da Vinci Disappearance, Animus Project Update 1, Animus Project Update 2 and Copernicus Conspiracy Missions) – PlayStation Plus price $14.99; Sale price $24.99
• Far Cry 2 Complete Edition (includes Fortune Pack) – PlayStation Plus price $11.99; Sale price $19.99
• Prince of Persia (2008) Complete Edition (includes Epilogue) – PlayStation Plus price $11.99; Sale price $19.99
• Scott Pilgrim Complete Edition (includes Knives Chau Add-On Pack) – PlayStation Plus price $4.79; Sale price $7.99
• Call of Juarez 2 Complete Edition (includes Old West Map Pack) – PlayStation Plus price $11.99; Sale price $19.99

In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, players can control an elite military operative group known as Delta Force. The problem? That name conflicts with the trademark for a series of games from developer NovaLogic.

The question originally seems very cut and dry. “Delta Force” is the name of a military group, so even if NovaLogic is using it for their games, Activision should be in the clear for using it in Call of Duty as well, right?

Well—as reported by the Courthouse News Service, NovaLogic notes in their federal complaint that there is no actual military division called Delta Force.

“There is no unit of the U.S. Army called Delta Force. There is a branch of the Army’s Special Operations known as 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment Delta (’1st SF-ODD’). The U.S. Army officially denies that any unit called Delta Force exists and does not claim ownership to either the Delta Force name or the logo. Although there is much lore surrounding special operation units, only because of the ‘Delta Force’ series does the general public identify the logo with any ancillary existing military unit.”

NovaLogic’s complaint goes on to state that Activision knowingly infringed on the company’s trademarks, including their Delta Force logo. (In the above image, you can see NovaLogic’s logo for Delta Force on the left, and the logo used in Modern Warfare 3 for the Delta Force on the right.)

“Despite Activision’s irrefutable knowledge of NovaLogic’s superior trademark rights, Activision created knockoff marks that are nearly identical [to] NovaLogic’s design and word marks. Activision then shamelessly inserted these infringing marks throughout its competing first person military adventure video games.”

But! Let’s throw things back in Activision’s favor now, however. In 1983, Retired Colonel Charles Alvin Beckwith wrote the book Delta Force: The Army’s Elite Counterterroist Unit. Beckwith is credited with creating the real-life Delta Force, and along with that, his book—on its front cover—prominently featured the same unofficial Delta Force logo that NovaLogic used for their games.

Part of the reason that NovaLogic may have been granted the trademarks that they were is because we’re dealing with what is essentially a secret military organization. If the government says that Delta Force doesn’t exist, then you can make up a Delta Force, right? Except, that you’re making up something that does exist—just in secret. But since it’s secret—well, you get the idea.

Given that this is a complex legal case—made even more complex due to the fact that we’re dealing with secret military teams—it’s hard to make a definitive statement in terms of which side I’d fall on in this lawsuit. However, personally, it’s hard to fault Activision or Infinity Ward in all of this. Sure, specific names or insignias may not be officially or publicly recognized by the U.S. Army, but it’s easy to believe the real-life connection that seems to be there. If Activision were releasing a game such as Call of Duty: Delta Force, I could absolutely see where NovaLogic would have a valid argument. Including a group known as Delta Force as part of the game, on the other hand, is a move I see as being totally justifiable.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments below!

Diablo III set a pre-order record at Blizzard last night before the game officially launched with more than two million copies pre-ordered.

Over 8000 midnight launch events were held by retailers to mark the game’s release. ”This launch is a culmination of many years of hard work by our development team, and many years of passionate, dedicated support from gamers around the world,” said Blizzard CEO and co-founder Mike Morhaime.

“We’re grateful for the enthusiasm of our players, and for the help of our beta testers in getting the game ready for release. Now that Diablo 3 is live, we hope everyone’s ready to have a hellishly good time slaying demons and collecting loot in Sanctuary.”

However, things have been far from plain sailing over the last few hours. First the servers crumbled under the weight of users trying to log-in and then players discovered a game breaking bug involving the Templar companion. In other news, someone has already managed to complete the game in under 13 hours.

Nintendo has released an update for Mario Kart 7 which removes shortcut exploits from three tracks.

The exploits in question are on the Wuhu Island Loop, Wuhu Mountain Loop and GBA Bowser Castle 1 courses. You will have to visit the eShop to download the update. Anyone who doesn’t update their game will not be able to compete in online races.

A Tail of Two Games

He is one of gaming’s most beloved mascots, but in recent years, the spiky speedster that is Sonic the Hedgehog has had trouble even getting out of the starting gates due to a difficult transition into the 3D realm. But, with games like Sonic Generations and the first episode of Sonic the Hedgehog 4, we’ve come to realize that Sonic’s natural environment may just be that of a classic side-scrolling platformer. So, when SEGA announced they were finally releasing the second episode for Sonic 4, many fans, myself included, could not wait to see if Sonic could hit the trifecta.

Unfortunately, where Sonic succeeded in his previous two side-scrolling forays, Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II is held back by one key factor: Sonic’s ever-irritating sidekick, Tails. And it’s not that I mind Tails’ presence in the game, but more that SEGA felt the need to force Sonic to share the spotlight with his sidekick. In fact, the game almost feels more like a Tails game than it does a continuation of a Sonic adventure. Many of the puzzles, obstacles, and even boss battles require you to team-up with Tails in order to navigate the branching pathways of the four new acts presented to us. Whether grabbing Sonic and briefly flying with him to scale a particularly steep cliff or a special double-spin attack that lets you barrel over nearly everything in your path, the emphasis on Tails is ever-present and quite off-putting if you’re an old-school fan.

Another down point is that even though the controls have been tweaked and it is nice that Sonic feels a lot smoother than in Episode I, with the Tails team-up maneuvers, it feels like you’re fighting your joystick a lot of the time when flying or rolling in the double-spin. Just another aspect of the game that is taken down a notch due to Tails’ overbearing presence.

There are some positives to this game as well though. The audio/visual aspect of the game is absolutely top-notch. From racing down rickety roller coasters, to working your way through a Robotnik Oil Refinery, or sliding down snow-covered slopes, the level design is diverse and no two areas really look the same. The music, specially tailored to sound like the 16-bit tunes of old, are simple, but catchy, successfully reminding us of Sonic’s past exploits.

There are even some positives to Tails. Since they make you drag the fox around anyway, as he continues being flattened, forked, and flambéed as he gets left behind constantly when just being controlled by the computer, the least SEGA was able to do was insert both local and online 2-player co-op. Playing with a friend as Tails is still difficult depending on your communication skills, but at least it’s a lot more entertaining when you can yell at your friend for dropping you instead of the computer.

The game also offers a fair amount of replayability with the time trials feature where you can upload your times to an online leaderboard, and there are always those seven Chaos Emeralds to collect. As a nice additional bonus, if you purchased Sonic 4: Episode I, once you beat Episode II, you can unlock an additional act where you can play as Metal Sonic and learn just how it was that he came back as he traces a unique path through levels from the first few Sonic games. These levels were particularly fun as it gives fans a chance to revisit some classic locales as well as you don’t have to deal with an irritating sidekick most of the time.

All in all, this game does a decent job of finishing off the Sonic 4 story and does offer enough platforming and old-school elements that should please hardcore fans enough that they can look past many of the game’s shortcomings. It is efforts like this though that remind us why so many people consider Tails a nuisance as him hogging the spotlight for this game really forced a lot of the game play to take a step back from what fans expect and appreciate from an old-school Sonic adventure.

SUMMARY:  The controls took a surprising step back and there were too many puzzles that required Tails’ assistance for my liking. If you can get past these though, there is a solid Sonic adventure here at its core that’s worth taking a look at for long-time fans.

• THE GOOD: Classic Sonic style action in bright and colorful new locales
• THE BAD: Tails-centric obstacles and puzzles
• THE UGLY: A.I. Tails still constantly getting killed just like in Sonic 2

SCORE: 6.5

Sonic 4: Episode II is available on XBLA (Xbox 360), PSN (PS3) and PC. Primary version reviewed was on XBLA (Xbox 360).  

A Blood-Stained Bullet Straight Through Hell

If you look at the Wikipedia article talking about the shoot ‘em up genre, you’ll find this entry for a specific sub-genre known as “bullet hell”:

“Bullet hell” (danmaku, literally “barrage” or “bullet curtain”) is a shoot ‘em up in which the entire screen is often almost completely filled with enemy bullets. This type is also known as “curtain fire”, “manic shooters” or “maniac shooters”. This style of game originated in the mid-1990s, and is an offshoot of scrolling shooters.

What I find funny about that entry is just how casually it talks about the bullet hell genre. Oh yeah, it’s that style of shoot ‘em up where the developer throws so many bullets on screen at once that your brain locks up from overload. No big deal, really.

If you’re already completely lost, then this is going to be one heck of a ride.

When I was young, games like Akai Katana were simply called shooters. Space Invaders, Galaga, Asteroids, things like that were shooters—antagonists of some sort were on screen, and you pressed a button over and over to shoot them until they were dead. Simple.

At some point, a new breed of games came along that greedily stole the “shooter” title, and what once used to go by that name became known as the “shoot ‘em up”. Something else happened along the way, however: The games evolved into a totally different beast. They went from the for-everyone fair of the arcade titles I listed above, to a bit more serious—yet still accessible—games like R-Type, Gradius, or Sky Kid, to games like what we have today—hardcore, maniac, tough-as-nails battles for survival.

Except, even the hardcore just weren’t finding them hardcore enough. So, now we have the bullet hell shooter—where your screen can literally become a maze of enemy bullets, and survival is sometimes less about killing everything and more about keeping yourself alive.

In the interest of full disclose, I’m not one of those hardcore experts at bullet hell shoot ‘em ups. Heck, I didn’t even get seriously into them until last year, when I finally jumped in with an imported copy of Do Don Pachi Resurrection. That isn’t to say that I hadn’t previously played either your typical shoot ‘em up nor those of the bullet hell variety: From Deathsmiles also on the Xbox 360, to more competitive-type stuff like Star Solider R on WiiWare, to classic games like Gaiares on the Genesis, to modern stylish takes on the genre like Space Invaders Infinity Gene, I’ve played plenty of genre offerings. However, it was Do Don Pachi where I decided I really wanted to see if I could get good at a shoot ‘em up, bullet hell or otherwise—versus simply playing it.

There’s a huge difference between those two—playing and mastering—and that’s one of the first things you’re reminded when venturing into Akai Katana. If you go into it simply with the mindset of beating it, you’ll find yourself easily doing so with a bit of persistence (and a lot of mashing the continue button). That isn’t the aim of every new release from bullet hell masters Cave, and that’s not why a game like Akai Katana exists.

Mastery means getting into Akai Katana’s core gameplay elements—and like any good Cave shoot ‘em up, they’re interesting, deep, and seemingly impossible to understand by a mortal human being at first. I think this is one of the biggest elements that keeps a lot of players away from the bullet hell genre: That initial steep learning curve, and the fear that there’s just far too much to comprehend and remember. As somebody who’s been there before, let me tell you this: Don’t let that stop you from giving the genre a go. When I sat down with Do Don Pachi, and forced myself to really learn its ins and outs, it ended up reminding me quite a bit of Street Fighter IV. Yes, that initial intimidation level is indeed there—but you start to learn the game, piece by piece, and step by step Soon, you’ll find that those things which at first seemed impossible to master are now almost second nature.

Akai Katana’s trademark gameplay elements center around two ideas: Item collection, and proper use of your Phantom mode.

Let’s start simple. Each of the three plane choices you have have two basic modes: Defense and Attack. Defense comes from either not touching the shot button, or by only firing off shots via quick taps of the button. Attack mode, meanwhile, produces a bigger and more powerful barrage of firepower by holding the shot button down.

Energy items can be obtained in one of two ways: By either killing an enemy up close via Defense mode, or by killing an enemy via the shots coming from your partner Option. If you’re in Defense mode, energy will automatically be collected by your plane; if you’re in Attack mode, your Option can collect that energy, but it won’t be absorbed. While your Option still has that collected energy, if enemy bullets travel through those energy items, they’ll get bigger. The bigger the energy item, the more energy you’ll get from them when finally absorbed.

So far, so good?

That collected energy is used to lengthen the time you can exist in Phantom mode. When Phantom mode is engaged, your plane and your Option merge together, summoning a powerful floating warrior. When the Phantom is in Defense mode, they’re invincible—enemy bullets will bounce right off of them. When in Attack mode, their laser blasts are extremely powerful—but one hit from enemy fire, and you’ll instantly be kicked out of Phantom mode.

Phantom mode is where things get especially interesting, as those bounced bullets don’t always go away; some  fly off in an arc, soon returning in your direction. Should you bounce the bullets yet again back near an enemy, and then kill that enemy with those bullets in close proximity, the bullets turn into score-boosting gold.

This is just a simple—yes, I’m being serious when I say “simple” there—rundown of the basics of Akai Katana’s original arcade mode. The game becomes not only a test of your reactionary skills, but also your quick wit, as you have to balance when to use which mode either for survival or for taking a chance at getting a higher score. It’s a series of concepts that I understand, yet haven’t come close to fully mastering. Those concepts also make Akai Katana feel both like a tried-and-true Cave shoot ‘em up, and unlike the rest of the Cave games you may already have in your library (or, at least, may have tried before).

Then, of course, all of this gets complicated even more by the fact that this Xbox 360 release of Akai Katana comes packed with two other flavors of the game—Slash Mode and Climax Mode—each of which mixes up the rules while also adding in some new elements. None of these three mode options are so totally different as to break the feel of the game, but each does stand out on its own enough to really provide a great sense of variety and content in regards to the overall package.

All of this is just scratching the surface of what Akai Katana is. Simple in theory, complicated in practice, and visually intimidating—it is a perfect representation of the genre it calls home. When taking a look at both Cave’s roster of games, and the bullet hell family as a whole, Akai Katana is a great new chapter that will provide shoot ‘em up fans with a fresh set of challenges to conquer.

Yet what about those who aren’t bullet hell experts, but want to give the games a go? Personally, I’m more a fan of vertical-scrolling shoot ‘em ups; still,  horizontal-scrolling offerings like Akai Katana may feel a bit more familiar to those more used to many of the simpler shooters from gaming’s past. As well, I think the theme here is a bit more Western-friendly than other offerings from Cave—instead of strange fantasy situations or flying robot girls, most of the game is based around a so-ridiculous-it’s-cool world of more traditional weapons of world war.

So, Akai Katana is a great choice for both longtime pros and those just getting their feet wet. Just don’t let its daunting persona keep you away—while Akai Katana is certainly another case of sink-or-swim, it’s quite a lot of fun once you’re no longer thrashing about wildly from fear of drowning.

SUMMARY:  Yes, even us mortal humans can play and enjoy bullet hell shoot ‘em ups—and for those wanting to try such games, Akai Katana can have just as much to offer us as it does hardcore fans of the genre.

• THE GOOD: Great level of challenge, polish, and gameplay options centered around a fun theme
• THE BAD: Akai Katana‘s stages and overall length felt shorter that some of Cave’s other offerings
• THE UGLY: The seizures your brain can have when first trying to decipher bullet hell shot patterns

SCORE: 8.0

Akai Katana is available exclusively on the Xbox 360.

It appears that Superman is indeed real and is currently residing in Battlefield 3, however he seems to picked up the far more conventional knife as his weapon of choice.

All that’s missing from this video is the Superman theme – which is apparently coming according to the uploader. The perfect moment where you hear, “here’s your ammo,” and then he’s gone, knife to the back. Players pull off some astounding things in Battlefield 3, and this is certainly another to add to the pile. Not only does a knife make you run faster (if you’ve never played Counter-Strike you probably won’t understand) it also lets you fly.

Who’d have thought it, less than 24 hours after the game launched someone has already completed Diablo III.

Level 32 Barbarian Yoshichan posted his final statistics on NeoGAF after completing the game in 12 hours and 29 minutes on Normal difficulty. ”Frenzy baba with lots and lots of mobility and defensive skills – 415 dps unbuffed, ~700 dps buffed,” he wrote.

The game has four difficulty levels Normal, Nightmare, Hell and Inferno – Blizzard believes that only a handful of people will ever complete the game on the final difficulty – and an extra Hardcore option is also available, where if you die, your character, regardless of level, dies forever.

“All right guys, wish me all good luck in nightmare!” he posted. “Going for it asap. It’s actually starting to get warm in the bunker now that I think about it,” he added. We wish him the best of luck. He’s going to need it.

How long do you think it will take you to complete the game?

Source: NeoGAF

Content Collection #2 for Modern Warfare 3 is now live for Xbox 360 Elite subscribers, featuring a new game mode, multiplayer maps and Spec Ops missions.

The DLC features four new multiplayer maps specifically designed for the new Face-off game mode. This mode offers one-on-one or two-on-two close quarters combat. One new multiplayer map, known as Oasis, is also included alongside the Spec Ops missions Kill Switch and Iron Clad.

Two of the Face-Off maps, Aground and Erosion, will be available to non-Elite members completely free today also. The Content Collection will launch May 22 for non-Elite subscribers. More details on the Content Collection can be found here.

Are you happy with the amount of content included this time? Does the Face-off mode even interest you? Share your thoughts below.

Diablo III has been out for less than 24 hours and already players have encountered a game breaking bug that boots players out of the game and then prevents them from logging back in.

Basically if you decide to trade a shield to your Templar follower the game kicks you out and then displays a 3006 error message whenever you try to log back in, freezing you out of the game. According to the Battle.net forums the bug appears to be linked to the Demon Hunter class.

Blizzard has said that they are currently investigating the issue and has recommend that you do not trade any equipment to the Templar companion until you get the pop up saying that they are officially your companion. Bugs like this are common in just released games, we’re sure that Blizzard will find a fix as quickly as possible and push it live.

Have you encountered this bug? Let us know your experience in the comments below.

Source: Battle.net

Nintendo has released a new batch of screenshots for Pokemon Black/White 2, featuring everyone’s favorite Rock Pokemon specialist Brock.

This latest entry into the Pokemon series sees the return of several familiar faces, including Brock, the leader of Team Rocket Giovanni – and Ash’s old rival – and self proclaimed Pokemon Master – Gary Oak. Who doesn’t get excited over a new major Pokemon game? Only those who never enjoyed the original games and TV series, that’s who. Once the ‘Gotta Catch Em’ All’ bug hits you it’s all you can think about.

Check out what’s coming to the PlayStation Store for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita this week.

Sonic fans rejoice as Episode 2 has finally arrived. There’s a lot of excitement surrounding this latest Sonic game after the Steam leak a few weeks ago, with those lucky enough to play having plenty of good things to say about it. If you’re still not convinced then be sure to download the demo and give it a try.

Another game worth checking out is Red Faction 2 – the PlayStation 2 classic – I had hours of fun with friends when this game first came out, and it’s worth checking out if you never got a chance to play it just for the destruction features. Sadly for Vita owners, this week is pretty baron.

PlayStation 3 Content

Demos

•  Pixeljunk 4am
•  Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2
•  Rock of Ages

PSN Games

•  Pixeljunk 4am
•  Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2
•  JAM Live Music Arcade
•  Rock of Ages

PS3 Games

•  Prototype 2
•  GoldenEye 007 Reloaded

PS2 Classics

•  Red Faction 2

PSOne Classics

•  Myst

Downloadable Content

•  LittleBigPlanet – Men in Black Costumes
• Asura’s Wrath – Lost Episode 2: The Strongest Vs. The Angriest

Play Station Vita Content

Downloadable Content

• Reality Fighters DLC - Soccer Pack

Let us know what you will you be downloading this week?

Zenimax Online has dropped a few new details regarding the Daggerfall Covenant in The Elder Scrolls Online.

This faction is made up of Bretons, Orcs and Redguards, and are located in the provinces of High Rock and Hammerfall. The Daggerfall are represented by a Lion.

“There is a lot of historical friction between the redguards and the bretons,” said game director Matt Firor to GameInformer. “There have been a lot of little wars between them, and there has been as much internal fighting in High Rock as there has been with external provinces, but it’s a much more settled area and a little more peaceful. The Bretons have given the orcs their own homeland within their territory, and all three races like and respect each other.”

“This faction is a lot more democratic than the others,” he added. The game is set to be fully voiced and will release at some point during 2013.

Source: GameInformer

GameStop has officially announced its collaboration with Valve to sell Steam Wallet cards in stores across the U.S.

The cards are available from today and come in denominations of $20 and $50, which is redeemed via a code printed on the back. ”This gives even more options to customers now that they can put money in their Steam Wallet using cash, gift cards or trade credits through our convenient neighborhood locations,” said GameStop’s GM of digital distribution, Steve Nix.

“Offering Steam Wallet codes at GameStop extends more options and convenience to gamers around to the world,” added Valve’s Jason Holtman.

It’s been a long time coming, but those worried about putting their details online can finally download games via Steam. This will open up a nice chunk of new customers for both GameStop and Valve, and should really have been implemented sooner.

Is this a good idea? Will you buy one?

Codemasters Racing has released a new trailer for DiRT Showdown which takes a look at the Showdown Tour – the game’s career mode.

In Showdown’s career mode, players will head to Miami, San Francisco, London, Tokyo and a number of other locations as they rip through 50 plus events set in varying weather and lighting conditions. If you’re looking to move away from solid simulation racers and have some fun, then DiRT is the one for you.

Treyarch’s studio head Mark Lamia has dismissed the need for a new engine for graphical improvements in Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.

Lamia claims that despite the game running on the same engine as 2005′s Modern Warfare, significant advances have been made to its core to allow for major improvements, without the need for a new engine.

“People always ask me, ‘Is this a new engine?’ I liken it to people who live in an older house that has been remodeled. Just because you’re remodeling the house and it will look new or it will have a new kitchen, you don’t tear out the foundation, or break out some of the framing,” said Lamia. ”Engines, each time they get touched, they change. The creators alter them; they don’t modify what they don’t need to, and then they alter what they need to. You can’t make a competitive product if you’re not upgrading that engine along the way.”

“I think what people are asking for is for us to push. They want us to make a better-looking game,” he added. ”We asked ourselves that very same question – we wanted to advance the graphics. I think the questions are valid. The answer may not need to be an entirely new engine, but you might need to do an entire overhaul of your entire lighting system.”

Basically what Lamia is trying to say is that it may appear to be the Modern Warfare engine on the surface, but underneath so many systems have been upgraded and added that only the shell is still recognizable. We don’t expect either Treyarch or Infinity Ward to go with a new engine until the next-generation of consoles launches. If other games – such as Battlefield – keeps advancing in graphics then they will have no choice, as the series already looks dated compared to Battlefield 3.

Does Call of Duty need a new engine? Or are you perfectly happy with how the game looks? Share your thoughts below.

Source: One of Swords

The Witcher 2 developer CD Projekt is currently looking for staff to work on two new RPGs currently in development at the studio.

The first is an ”RPG in a dark fantasy world” – which could easily be The Witcher 3 – and the second is an ”RPG in a brand new setting.” According to CD “both are story-driven RPG games for mature players.” The second RPG mentioned – the one in a new setting – is based on an ”entirely new and different IP,” adding more weight to the first being a third Witcher title.

“We’re looking for people who would rather work on an entirely new and different IP – a vast RPG for which we want to assemble the best possible staff,” reads a blog post on their official site. ”And hell, no matter if it’s with guns or swords, we’re just having a good time here.”

Talk about dropping hints. It appears that the developer is working on a fantasy RPG that is more than likely The Witcher 3 and a second game that has a modern setting and uses guns. Now this second one we’re definitely interested in hearing more about.

The question is would you buy a third game in the series? What should be changed or added? Share your thoughts below.

Source: CDP

Rockstar has announced that the Classic Multiplayer DLC pack available with the Special Edition of Max Payne 3 will be released as post-launch DLC.

This is good news for those of you that missed out on the Special Edition, as now you can access these classic characters - for a price. A list of available characters can be found here.

This raises the age old question of whether special editions are worth the extra money. The idea is that you pay extra and get something that nobody else has, but if everyone can buy the content after launch then it becomes meaningless. The flip side is that everybody should get equal access to in-game content, which is a more than valid argument. Maybe the solution is to stop giving in-game items and only offer physical goods with special editions, then fans would actually feel like they are getting exclusive content for the extra money they spent at launch.

Should content be made available to everyone? What should be included in special editions of games?

Blizzard is currently urging players to show patience as it rushes to fix servers after the launch of Diablo III last night.

So many players attempted to activate their copies online that it caused a major slow down and eventually repeated error messages preventing players from logging in and playing. The error message even started to trend on Twitter.

Blizzard released the following statement:

“Please note that due to a high volume of traffic, login and character creation may be slower than normal. If you’re unable to login to the game or create characters, please wait and try again. We’ve temporarily taken our Battle.net websites offline and launched more servers to accomodate for the traffic. We hope to resolve these issues as soon as possible and appreciate your patience.”

If you were under any illusion that Diablo III isn’t a big deal, then this should certainly change your mind. Not even the mighty Blizzard managed to prepare for the battering its servers received. Everything should be back to full working order by the time you all log-in after work/school today.

Did you manage to get on and play last night?

A short time ago, some Xbox Live members began receiving one of 32 pieces of the official Halo 4 box art. The puzzle has been solved—and here is the full image. Those pieces were compiled and put together by spawn031 over on the NeoGAF message forums.

What do you think? I’ve got to say—this may easily be the best Halo cover art of the entire series. Compared to previous covers, it has a far more dramatic, epic feel to it. Especially since, obviously, Halo 4 will be about the intense battle between Master Chief and Unicron.

Let us know your feelings on the cover art in the comments below!

Today, Capcom America’s corporate officer and senior vice-president Christian Svensson made a public statement concerning the company’s future plans for on-disc DLC.

Obviously, this statement comes in the wake of the criticism Capcom received from fans for its handling of on-disc DLC content surrounding Street Fighter X Tekken.

Here’s Svensson’s posting on the Capcom Unity blog:

Hey guys,

We’ve been getting several questions, here and elsewhere about the future of on-disc DLC.

We would like to assure you that we have been listening to your comments and as such have begun the process of re-evaluating how such additional game content is delivered in the future. As this process has only just commenced in the past month or so, there will be some titles, where development began some time ago and that are scheduled for release in the coming months, for which we are unable to make changes to the way some of their post release content is delivered.

One such title is Dragon’s Dogma, where the decision to include some additional (but not all planned additional) game content for the game on disc was made at the beginning of the game’s development cycle as at the time this was determined to be the most efficient way of ensuring certain content was made available. Owners of Dragon’s Dogma will be able to further their gameplay experience with the release of additional quests, weapons and other items in the months following the game going on sale.

Dragon’s Dogma’s post-launch content will extend the lifespan of a title that already offers around 30-40 hours of gameplay by following the main story thread, but if a player was to complete all the side quests Dragon’s Dogma ships with, that increases to around 100 hours. Players will also be able to add to the stock of 100s of weapons and 1,000s of customization options to create not only their ideally equipped, but also their most elaborately designed character.

Just wanted people to know in advance the whys, wherefores and where we’re going in the future. You are being heard. Thanks.

Not only did I review Street Fighter X Tekken for EGM, but I’m also an active player (and fan) of the game. So, unlike some arguments where I can only speak from the sidelines, I actually have personal experience and opinion to draw upon here.

While I know some disagree, I had no problem with the DLC characters being on the Street Fighter X Tekken disc. For one, the roster we got stock with the game is already huge—you just can’t argue otherwise. At the same time, the unfortunate reality of the current videogame market is one where getting all players free updates isn’t always possible. When those twelve new characters hit the game, everybody has to have them in some capacity—otherwise, players who own those new fighters can’t ever play against those who don’t.

Given that fact, I’ve got to tell you—I’d much rather have those DLC characters already on my disc versus taking up hard drive space on my console.

Where I think the problem came in was how Capcom handled the situation. We didn’t know about those characters, but then we did with the announcement of the Vita version, but then we didn’t know for sure that they were coming to the console version, but then that announcement was made. If you’re going to include DLC content on a disc, you need to be clear about what’s on there, and why you’re doing so. Had Capcom explained to players right from the start the situation with those characters, people might not have felt so annoyed with the company’s methods.

Of course, you also have the other argument—that DLC should be content that is created after a game’s release, not before it. When you already know you’re going to make additional items for a game before that game is even on store shelves, it just feels like you’re trying to sell us a full game in bits and pieces. Where is the line between when we have “enough” content in a game, and a company is okay to play additional options right from the start, and when those options should only come at a later time?

And, let’s be honest here—Capcom isn’t going to just stop making DLC. If they suddenly got rid of all on-disc DLC, you’d just be downloading it later. So, the battle we should be waging here is one about giving consumers more information and warning about what a game’s content plans are.

What are your thoughts on all of this? Should Capcom totally ditch on-disc DLC, or are there positive benefits to using such a strategy wisely?

Earlier in the month, we brought you the trailer for Ghost Recon: Alpha, a 25-minute live-action short film that Ubisoft put together to serve as a prequel for the upcoming Ghost Recon: Future Soldier.

Now, you can watch the entirety of Ghost Recon: Alpha—right from the comfort of this very webpage!

And when you’re done, let me know what you thought of it in the comments below. Do you like extra promotional stuff like this for games to help build up their story lines? Or do these types of projects feel like a waste to you?

Instakill, one hit kill, headshot, stealth kill—whatever the form they may take in your favorite game, some of the most well-known instakills are pitted against one another in this video from CorridorDigital.

There’s only one kill in this video that I don’t recognize—the guy (and gun) who takes out James Bond. If you know the answer to that one, let me know in the comments below! (Along with, of course, also letting me know what you thought of the video.)

There’s been a lot of rumors lately about the next generation of consoles potentially blocking the ability to play used, but at least one high-ranking Sony official is against the idea.

On GT.TV’s Bonus Round, industry analyst Michael Pachter recalled a conversation he had recently with Sony Computer Entertainment of America president Jack Tretton, where he asked Tretton specifically about the topic of blocking used games:

“[Tretton] said, ‘for the record, I’m totally opposed to blocking used games. I think it’s great for the consumer that they can buy those. We haver a customer that buys our console late in the cycle, pays less, is looking for value priced games, and I think it would be anti-consumer for us to do that’.”

Pachter noted that Tretton clarified that that opinion was one that he personally had, and that exec in the Japanese division of Sony Computer Entertainment might disagree.

Here’s a big question: If the PlayStation 4 allows you to play used games, but the next Xbox blocks used games, would that affect which of the next-generation consoles you plan to purchase?

EA are set to unveil Battlefield Premium, a rival to Activision’s subscription service Call of Duty: Elite, at E3 next month according to a new report.

The reveal is expect to be made June 4 during EA’s press conference. ”Battlefield Premium will land you a number of content drops with unique in-game items not available anywhere else,” according to Battlefieldo. ”First out is the one-of-a-kind Premium knife and black dog tag, plus a set of soldier camos, weapon camos, dog tags and Assignments that will make sure you stand out and get more personalization options.”

No further details were offered. The Elite subscription service is the final thing that Activision has over EA. The Battlelog is currently a free service and we expect it to stay that way, there’s no way EA would jeopardize that. It appears that it will offer more cosmetic options to allow players to stand out. It’s a nice idea, that we’re sure fans will welcome with open arms as long as it doesn’t start to fragment the community in anyway similar to how Elite has.

Do you like the idea of a premium service? What types of items should be offered?

Source: Battlefieldo

The Hong Kong division of PlayStation has posted up a video look at Requiem of the Goddess, the next piece of DLC coming to Final Fantasy XIII-2 this week.

If you’re in North America and Japan, you’ll be getting Goddess tomorrow. For those of you over in Europe, you’ll be receiving it on Wednesday.

This new DLC episode will center around the battle between Lighting and Caius—and, according to Japanese gaming publication Famitsu, it’ll feature some slight changes in terms of combat style.

The pricing for Requiem of the Goddess should be 400 MS Points.

If you’re looking forward to playing the roll of a buxom blonde cheerleader as she hacks apart zombies with a chainsaw, then good news—Amazon has Lollipop Chainsaw up for pre-order for a discounted price.

While I’m not sure how long the price will last for, Amazon has both the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game up for pre-order for $44.99—$15 below the standard $59.99 price tag.

As well, pre-ordering at that price will also get you the Amazon-specific “Rockabilly” bonus outfit (as seen below).

The highly anticipated Tomb Raider reboot has sadly been delayed until 2013, Crystal Dynamics has announced.

In a message posted on the official Eidos message board, Crystal Dynamics Head of Studio Darrell Gallagher has confirmed that the game won’t see a release this year.

“Our priority now is to make sure we fully deliver the very highest quality game. In order to do this, we have decided to move the game’s release date by a few months, from Fall 2012 to the first quarter of 2013.”

“We’re doing things that are completely new to Tomb Raider in this game and the additional development time will allow us to put the finishing touches into the game and polish it to a level that you deserve.”

Well this has certainly started the week off on a downer. We still haven’t recovered from the Bioshock delay and now we get this news. It appears that the move has been made to give the development team polishing time – the game can’t afford to be a let down if Crystal hope to create a new lease on life for the franchise. At lease we can all save some money in quarter four now.

Are you saddened by this news? Share your thoughts below.

Source: Eidos

The success of the Xbox 360 has come due to a wide variety of great games, ease of development for programmers, and robust online services. It also happened because Sony screwed up, says one former boss of Microsoft’s Xbox division.

Speaking at a Northwest Entrepreneur Network event in Seattle, Robbie Bach—former president of Microsoft’s Entertainment & Devices Division—said that Sony’s mis-steps with the PS3 were part of what helped Microsoft’s Xbox 360 gain as much marketshare as it has.

“Some of the success of Xbox was due to the fact that Sony did some really not so smart things,” Bach stated. “They mismanaged their 70 percent market share. It’s a long conversation. The transition to PlayStation 3 was really, really bad. And really hard. They mismanaged their partners, they mismanaged their cost structure. They made their next platform so complicated that developers couldn’t develop for it.”

It really is interesting to look back at where Sony and Microsoft were at the point of the launch of the current generation of consoles. The original Xbox sold only a fraction of what the PlayStation 2 sold—and the PS2, to this day, sits as one of the two best-selling pieces of game hardware of all time. (Nintendo’s DS has been locked in a race with the PS2 for the crown.)

Sony ruled the home console market, and that rule was theirs to lose. Unfortunately, there seems to be another rule of sorts in the world of videogames: Whoever gets to the top inevitably lets that success go to their head. It happened to Atari, it happened to Nintendo, and with the PS3, it happened to Sony. The console was complicated, hard to program for, and cost $200 more than an Xbox 360.

Sony’s hubris when it came to the expected success of the PlayStation 3 can be summed up in these two classic quotes:

“We want consumers to think to themselves ‘I will work more hours to buy one.’ We want people to feel that they want it, irrespective of anything else.” – Ken Kutaragi, former chairman and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment

“We have built up a certain brand equity over time since the launch of PlayStation in 1995 and PS2 in 2000 that the first five million are going to buy it, whatever it is, even [if] it didn’t have games.” – David Reeves, former CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe

At this point, the PlayStation 3 has found great success, and could in fact end up outselling the Xbox 360 worldwide once this console generation is over. However, almost nobody believed that the Xbox 360 would be as fierce and successful of a rival to the PS3 as it has become—including, I’d guess, Microsoft themselves.

And, of course—some would say that Microsoft has also been letting its success with the Xbox 360 go to its head, given some of the decisions the company has been making lately. Hopefully they can avoid the curse of ego winning out over common sense after the success they’ve been able to achieve this generation.

Sega has announced the official release date and price of Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

The downloadable game will be available June 5, priced at 1200 Microsoft Points on XBLA and $14.99 on PSN. Charcter Customization DLC will also be released the same day for all 19 of the game’s characters. Each character’s pack will set you back 400 Microsoft Points or $4.99.

If you want to grab packs for every character, and fancy saving a bit of money, you can buy the packs in two collections – one with nine character’s worth of content, the other 10 – for 1200 MSP each or $14.99.

While $30 may sound like a lot for just character customization, it’s a lot less than the $95 for buying them all separately, so at least there’s that.

In case you don’t actually know what Final Showdown is, it’s a full overhaul of Virtua Fighter 5′s original game’s mechanics, balance and animations, plus new fighters, game modes and arenas.

Worth downloading?

Atari has clarified that developer Eden Games is not closing down, and support for Test Drive Unlimited 2 will continue.

“We want to make it clear that the studio has not closed and that we will continue to support the console and PC games of Eden Games, notably Test Drive Unlimited 2,” an Atari statement reads. The rumors began after Atari mentioned in its earnings report that the studio was undergoing divestment – basically the opposite of investment and generally means that the studio is being prepared for sale.

The publisher has since said that the divestment process fits in with the company strategy of “exploiting our popular intellectual property library on mobile devices [and online and licensing].” Does this mean that the Unlimited franchise could move to mobile devices or become a web game? The full statement reads:

“Our earnings statement contained a report about the divestment of Eden Games. We want to make it clear that the studio has not closed and that we will continue to support the console and PC games of Eden Games, notably Test Drive Unlimited 2, while this process is under way. The divestment is in line with our previously stated strategy of exploiting our popular intellectual property library on mobile devices, where he have seen strong initial success, and via online games and licensing.”

Source: Eurogamer

A gamer who goes by the name of “Hzrd” is going to attempt to break the Guinness World Record for longest gaming marathon tomorrow, May 15, by playing Diablo III for 120 hours.

He only (only!?!) needs 109 hours to break the record, but wants to pump in another 11 hours to ensure that nobody else beats his attempt. A careful plan has been laid out including diet – which apparently revolves around consuming more energy than he will use – and staving off deep-vein thrombosis.

Hzrd isn’t just doing this for the glory, he is aiming to help The Sophie Lancaster Foundation – a charity set up to prevent prejudice and intolerance towards people from alternative subcultures. Sophie Lancaster and her boyfriend were attacked by a gang of teens while walking through their local park in Lancashire, England back in 2007. She fell into a coma and later passed away in hospital. The police believe the attack may have been due to the couple wearing Gothic fashion and being part of the Goth subculture. So if you’re going to be tuning in to the stream be sure to donate.

You can watch the whole 120 hours streamed live right here and offer your support in the chat room throughout the event.

Source: TGN (Video)

Epic CEO Tim Sweeney has claimed that next-generation consoles need to be drastically more powerful if they are to succeed.

“The thing that separates consoles from FarmVille is the fact that consoles define the high-end gaming experience,” he told Gamasutra. “When you look for the best graphics available in the whole game industry today, you look at Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and those games are the best out there, bar none.”

“And so the big opportunities for future consoles is to bring that to an entirely new level by delivering a dramatic increase in raw computing power.”

“We measure that in floating-point operations per second, and now we talk about teraflops – trillions of floating-point operations per second. What we want is as many teraflops as is economically possible to deliver to consumers, because that enables us to create the best quality experience as possible, and that will drive people to buy a new machine,” Sweeney added.

He also believes that insane graphics power will be needed in order to convince PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 owners to trade-up: ”To do that you need awesome games that provide a level of graphical fidelity that people have just not seen or even imagined previously.”

Everybody has been saying for at least the last year that the next-generation of consoles needs to be something special if it’s to succeed. We’re all hoping, praying and wishing that Microsoft and Sony will deliver something out of this world. Nobody outside of top developers and Microsoft employees know what to expect from these mystical machines, but if it’s not good enough it could signal a massive drop in console gamers.

Are you looking for better graphics,new ways to play or something else from next-generation consoles?

Source: Gamasutra

Not quite sure if you want to take the plunge and purchase Diablo III? Well the Starter Edition should help you decide.

A Starter Edition of the game will be available to download from Battle.net for the next 30 days, but there’s a catch. The download will only be accessible via a Guest Pass, these can only be obtained from boxed copies of the game. So you had better hope that one of your friends plans on buying it.

It contains roughly the same content as the beta did, allowing you to play up to Act 1 and level a character up to 13. You will only be able to use the matchmaking feature with other Starter Edition players and the Real-Money Auction House will be unavailable. If you have a mate who has been bugging you to get the game, then ask him/her to throw you over a code and you can try it out before sacrificing any money.

The new line of Halo 4 action figures has revealed two new enemies that will appear in the game, the Crawler and the Watcher.

The images are quite small, and no details about the enemies are given – bar their names – so it’s hard to know what they will do. By the looks of it, the Crawler will be a quick-paced, attack dog kind of enemy that will no doubt charge at you and try to catch you off guard. The Watcher looks like the kind of enemy that will either hover just out of reach taking shots at you or call in reinforcements after spotting you.

What are your thoughts on these new enemies?

Source: AllGamesBeta

The Battlefield 3 friends are back to get your week off to a good start. This time vehicle spawning is the issue of the day.

We’ve all been there, you spawn in a vehicle and the driver has no clue what he’s doing or where he’s going. This usually leads to a lot of anger and shouting – even some name calling. The moral of the video is be smart, drive safe and don’t be a douche. We won’t spoil the ending for you.

Have you ever encountered drivers like this? Share your stories below.

Source: Machinima

Last weekend PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 Battlefield 3 fans got to enjoy some double XP goodness, PC fans were not so lucky. But never fear, because DICE is here to put things straight.

The PC double XP event has been moved back to May 26 after a delay this weekend. This means that players can enjoy a full weekend just like their console counterparts. DICE wrote on the official BF3 Facebook page:

“Our apologies for the delay of your 2x XP event. In order to give you a full weekend as planned, we will now be rescheduling the PC 2x XP weekend to May 26-27.”

Naughty Dog plans to release a major update for Uncharted 3 by the end of this month, bringing a ton of new multiplayer content to the game.

The patch signals the return of the Elimination and Lab modes – experimental game types only available for a limited time each – that were present in Uncharted 2, a new advanced settings menu allowing multiplayer tweaks, and a number of balance and stability improvements for multiplayer.

Now you could read a boring list of patch changes, or you could watch the video below where Lead Multiplayer Designer Robert Cogburn and Game Director Justin Richmond detail everything that will be added to the game using sounds and moving pictures.

Are you happy to see the return of multiplayer labs?

If you’ve enjoyed destroying people using the infinite combo glitch in Street Fighter X Tekken, your fun is about to end.

Capcom has announced that the fix is coming later this week on May 16. The patch will remove all infinite combos and fix a few other glitches regarding certain character moves. The fix was desperately needed as it was basically making the online unplayable. Comeing up against someone using this glitch meant an instant loss.

Hopefully Capcom hasn’t lost too many players in the time it’s taken to fix this.

Have you been hit by the glitch?

Blizzard and Valve have finally reached an agreement regarding the trademark battle circling around the DOTA (Dawn of the Ancients) name. Blizzard has definitely ended the loser.

DOTA was a popular fan mode for Blizzard’s Warcraft III. In 2010 Valve hired one of the mod’s creators and announced it had begun work on DOTA 2, of course Blizzard wasn’t pleased and announced its own sequel Blizzard DOTA.

A settlement has been reached by the two parties regarding the use of the DOTA name. Valve is allowed to continue using the DOTA name commercially for DOTA 2, while Blizzard will retain non-commercial use of the name for its community. Blizzard must also rename its upcoming Blizzard DOTA game to Blizzard All-Stars.

Blizzard’s Rob Pardo said: ”Both Blizzard and Valve recognize that, at the end of the day, players just want to be able to play the games they’re looking forward to, so we’re happy to come to an agreement that helps both of us stay focused on that.”

“As part of this agreement, we’re going to be changing the name of Blizzard DOTA to Blizzard All-Stars, which ultimately better reflects the design of our game. We look forward to going into more detail on that at a later date.”

Valve boss Gabe Newell added: “We’re pleased that we could come to an agreement with Blizzard without drawing things out in a way that would benefit no one. We both want to focus on the things our fans care about, creating and shipping great games for our communities.”

It’s good to see that an amicable agreement has been reached by the two parties. It’s sad that Blizzard – who’s game was originally modded – lost the rights to the name, however most fans recognize DOTA 2 as the real sequel, so it’s only right that Valve get to keep the name. At lease everyone can now concentrate on their respected games instead of this battle.

Are you glad that DOTA 2 got to keep its name?

Square-Enix has returned to profitability for the year ending March 31, thanks to sales of Final fantasy XIII-2 and Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

The publisher posted a profit of 6.1 billion yen ($76 million), a serious improvement of the 12.6 billion ($160 million) yen loss last year. Its overall revenue came in at 127.9 billion yen ($1.6 billion). This good performance was credited to sales of FFXIII-2, Deus Ex and mobile games.

It’s good to see Square-Enix back on top, however some serious work is still needed to win fans back – especially with the Final Fantasy series. Although XIII-2 sold reasonably well, the team needs to get back to basics with the franchise, in order to win over those disillusioned by the two most recent entries.

What do Square-Enix need to do in order to improve the franchise?

The next Mass Effect 3 N7 Weekend Operation is here, as Operation Silencer tasks players with aiding an all-out extermination effort against Reaper banshees.

The allied goal? Simple: Kill 3,000,000 banshees. Squad goal? Survive until a full extraction on any map against any enemy on gold difficulty.

Here’s a full introduction to this week’s N7 Weekend Operation, straight from BioWare:

Cerberus defectors have verified key intel on Reaper banshees to help provide us a vulnerability to exploit. Banshees are created from a specific kind of asari that cannot be replaced quickly, so we are diverting forces to focus on an all-out banshee extermination effort.

This task is an onerous one, and many of you are right to dread contact with these particular foes, but rest assured that we are prepared to reinforce your battalion with reserves. The vorcha want in, and as soon as they complete combined-arms training with our technically-skilled personnel, we will let them loose.

It’s time to make our enemies scream.

Operation Silencer kicks off tonight (Friday, May 11th) at 6pm Pacific, and runs until Monday, May 14th, at 5pm Pacific. Mass Effect 3 players on the PC, Xbox 360, and PS3 can all join in—however, PS3 owners will not see the Operation Silencer promotional screen when playing. Don’t fears PS3 owners: If you participate, you will be rewarded.

As always though, if you do want to participate, you’ll need to have the “Upload Gameplay Feedback” setting to “On” in order to get credit for doing so.

For the upcoming HD re-release of the cult classic Dreamcast game Jet Set Radio, Sega held a contest for fans to submit their own graffiti tags to be used in-game.

For the original Dreamcast version of Jet Set Radio, players could actually connect to the internet and download image files to be used as custom graffiti tags. For the HD re-release, that option unfortunately won’t be present.

While the new version of Jet Set Radio will provide an editor for making custom tags, Sega also wanted to do a little extra something to both thank fans of the game as well as add to the variety of graffiti tags offered. Thus, this contest was born.

The video below shows off the winning entries that will become a part of the finished game. You can then click on the source link below the video to see the all 1,200 submissions Sega received.

Hi-Rez Studios has announced the Summer of Tribes tournament, where over $30,000 in cash and prizes will be awarded to the best players in a series of Tribes: Ascend tournaments.

Kicking off tomorrow and running until August, the Summer of Tribes tournament series will be broadcast live over the internet, where anybody can watch as players take their shot at showing off their skills. Hi-Rez Studios is working with a number of partners for the support and streaming of the tournament, including North American Star League (NASL), Electronic Sports League (ESL), Cyber Sports Network (CSN), European Game Series (EGS), Curse Networks and FPS General.

“Given that we just released Tribes: Ascend mid April, we’re pleased with how quickly the e-Sports community is growing,” Hi-Rez Studios COO Todd Harris said in the announcement of the Summer of Tribes tournament. “Our team believes that Tribes can be a premier spectator event and we’re thrilled to have partners who share this vision and support the community with great broadcast content as well as prizing.”

Finals for the first event in the Summer of Tribes tournament will run tomorrow (May 12th) on cyber-sports.net. While Hi-Rez Studios is looking to use TwitchTV for the streaming of key tournament events, the next update for Tribes:Ascend will bring integrated live viewing of featured games.

Tired of lagging behind the levels of your friends? Just want the chance to earn some extra XP from your elite killing skills? Then you’re in luck, as a bonus XP weekend hits Battlefield 3.

For tomorrow and Sunday (May 12th & 13th), all Battlefield 3 players on all three platforms will earn double XP across all ranked servers and matches. The bonus XP will be received at the conclusion of each match under the “Additional Points” section—so if you want your 2x XP, be sure to be a good player and don’t quit matches early!

In this latest behind the scenes look from THQ and Vigil Games, we get a look at the making of the story of Darksiders II—and where the inspirations for the game’s plot came from.

Rockstar has detailed the arcade modes that will be included in Max Payne 3 when it launches next week.

“Max Payne 3′s Arcade Modes bring intense bonus shootout challenges to the single-player game experience,” the publisher says. ”In addition to the thrill of besting your own top scores (and the scores of all your Friends and Crew members at the new Social Club), high scores also reward you exclusive multiplayer avatars and XP benefits.”

The two modes:

• Score Attack - After you’ve completed any single-player level, you’ll be able to replay it in Score Attack mode, where you gun for the highest score possible – acquiring points for each shot that hits its mark and each adversary you vanquish
• New York Minute - This fan-favorite bonus mode from Max Payne and Max Payne 2 returns as a frantic battle that puts one minute on the clock and awards you with additional time for each enemy that you kill

These arcade modes sound like the perfect way to waste some time after completing the game’s single-player. The added bonus of XP and avatar goodies will certainly keep people interested in the modes. Players love a chance to show off, and that’s exactly what these modes deliver.

Will you be spending any time with these modes?

Some new footage from Beyond Good and Evil 2 has squirmed its way online.

Nearly two minutes of footage taken from the game’s engine has leaked, showing a tour round a dusty urban street. According to Unseen64, the footage is from 2009 when the project was originally put on hold by Ubisoft.

According to creator Michel Ancel the game is currently in active development, but don’t hold your breath for a release this generation. It’s a good thing that the game is being developed for the next-generation, most fans would rather see the best version possible rather than a rushed job for the current-gen.

Source: Unseen64

Hundreds of thousands of people have already pre-purchased Guild Wars 2, according to ArenaNet.

Anyone who pre-purchases the game will get full access to all beta weekends on the run up to launch, three days of early access and a Hero’s Band in-game item. The first of these events occurred the last weekend of April.

“The other week we hosted our first Beta Weekend Event,” wrote ArenaNet co-founder Mike O’Brien on the developer’s blog. “When hundreds of thousands of players who pre-purchased Guild Wars 2 got their first chance to play the game.”

“This was a huge milestone for ArenaNet; with no NDAs and no press embargoes, the beta version of Guild Wars 2 would have to stand on its own before the full force of the Internet.”

“I think it’s safe to say,” he added, “that the response was overwhelming in more ways than one.”

We’re not quite sure exactly how many copies this vague statement equates to, but we’re sure it’s more than 200,000 – given the use of a plural. This bodes well for the team considering that an official release date for the game hasn’t even been announced.

Did you pre-purchase?

Source: ArenaNet

Valve has announced the details of this years International Dota 2 Championships. This year sees a brand new venue for teams to do battle in.

The tournament is moving from Cologne, Germany to Seattle, WA, right on Valve’s doorstep. Last year the tournament took place at Gamescom and offered a $1 million grand prize.

This year it will be held between August 31 and September 2 in the Benaroya Hall as part of PAX Prime. It will be broadcast on the Internet in several languages for free. Dota 2 teams DK (China) and defending champions Na’Vi (Ukraine) have already been invited to take part. More information will be revealed in the coming weeks.

YouTube user “BrySi” has put together this pretty impressive Battlefield 3 rap, and before you start rolling your eyes give it a listen.

The rap itself is set to Eminem ‘s “Sing for the Moment” and features a slight Battlefield addiction that some of you may relate to. If you have a spare five minutes then give it a listen and get your weekend off to a good start.

“I’m a Noob Killer! Noob Killer!”

Source: Machinima

Capcom has announced its intention to bring the ridiculously high priced Resident Evil 6 Premium Edition to the U.S., but only if people want it.

A poll is currently available over on Capcom-Unity asking if you would buy this edition. If enough people say yes then it will be made available. This special edition contains Leon Kennedy’s leather jacket, a copy of the game and four tablet covers.

If you ask us, it’s a crazy amount of money to throw down for a game. Sure you get a nice leather jacket, but there’s no indication of the quality and who pays $1300 for a jacket anyway? Only people with way too much money will even consider this.

Are you willing to throw down the money?

Funcom has announced that over one million players have signed up to take part in the upcoming beta tests for The Secret World.

“Shattering our previous beta records gives us great hope for The Secret World’s launch and its future,” says Funcom SVP of sales & marketing, Morten Larssen. “Combining this positive number with the excellent feedback we have received from both beta testers and the press that have played the game, make us very optimistic for a successful launch of The Secret World.”

The first beta test begins today, May 11, and runs until May 14. During this first test players can play as the Templar faction starting out in London. Everyone who pre-orders the game gets instant access to every beta test leading up to the game’s launch on June 19 – more content will be added with each test weekend. With Guild Wars 2 still lacking a release date, and The Old Republic being a few months old, The Secret World has a good unchallenged run at its June 19 release. Hopefully this will help the game establish itself.

Did you sign up for the beta?

Square-Enix has released a new trailer for Sleeping Dogs, detailing the game’s combat system.

It appears to be similar to previous games in the series, however now the fighting takes on a movie sequence style of camera work – close up shots and slow-mo are used in abundance.

Also, the training system makes a return in Sleeping Dogs, heading to the gym allows you to improve your skills and learn new moves.

Finally, several weapons have been added to the game allowing for gruesome finishers – such as pinning someone to a meat hook and burning their face off. The game is shaping up pretty nicely, original fans should be pleased that the core systems remain largely unchanged and new fans will hopefully be attracted to the fast-paced open-world action.

Are you a fan of cinematic fighting sequences or do you prefer the camera to remains still?

Activision has released the first trailer for its upcoming movie tie-in Men in Black: Alien Crisis.

It appears to be another of those movie tie-ins that will simply go nowhere, a few people will buy it because of Men in Black III, and then it will fade into obscurity. It’s sad that publishers don’t use films to create fantastic games. The Men in Black franchise has such potential.

GameStop stores across the U.S. will start selling Steam voucher cards starting next week, according to a recent report.

A source has told Kotaku that the store will begin selling the vouchers starting May 15, opening up Steam purchases to players that don’t wish to put their credit card details into the service. The source supplied the picture found below and states that the deal is a bitter sweet one, as it is not the ideal way for either firm to do business.

The major positive – if this rumor turns out to be true –  is that it opens up Steam gaming to a whole new section of gamers. Since various firms started getting hacked, many are worried about putting their credit card details online. It worked for Apple, so it makes sense for Steam to head down this route also.

Source: Kotaku

Capcom has sent over one last trailer to feast your eyes on before Dragon’s Dogma officially launches.

This game is going to sell incredibly well for one very important reason – it comes with early access to the Resident Evil 6 demo. An awful lot of RE fans will buy the game just to get access to this demo. That’s not taking anything away from the game itself, it looks amazing. A combination of Demon Souls and Skyrim melded together to forum one super RPG.

Capcom has pulled a clever marketing stunt and raised the awareness of this game ten fold. Hopefully some of those who pick it up just for the demo will give it a try and actually find that they like it. Expect Dragon’s Dogma to top the charts on release.

You can check out some footage of one of the game’s insane bosses – the mighty Ur-Dragon – here.

Are you going to buy the game just for the Resident Evil demo?

Warner Bros. has released a new trailer for the upcoming Batman: Arkham City Harley Quinn’s Revenge DLC.

The DLC features more than two hours of fresh gameplay and will be available to download from May 29 on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. No price has yet been announced, however it will come free with the Arkham City Game of the Year Edition – also set to release on May 29.

“The Harley Quinn’s Revenge mission sends players back into Arkham City to face their final challenge as they interchange between playing as both Batman and Robin,” says the publisher. With this being the final piece of DLC for the game, what will the Rocksteady team do next? Will they start work on another Batman game or do they move onto a different IP entirely? We’d love to see the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles make a come back.

What do you think is next for Rocksteady?

Ubisoft has announced the first paid DLC for Ghost Recon: Future Soldier before the game has even released.

If you hadn’t already guessed, the Arctic Strike DLC pack takes you to the Arctic - who’d have thought it. It includes,  ”additional multiplayer maps, a new multiplayer mode, a new Guerrilla Mode co-op map and six additional weapons,” according to Ubisoft.

The DLC will be available on July 3 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and will set you back 800 Microsoft Points or $9.99. Announcing DLC before game has even launched appears to be the norm lately. Fans love extra content, but being told about more money you will be spending before you’ve even bought the game can leave a sour taste.

Should DLC be announced before a game’s release? Share your thoughts below.

The Verge, who have managed to find themselves a pretty useful Microsoft mole, is reporting that the platform holder is set to bring full web browsing capabilities to the console. The browser will be designed for use with Kinect allowing for voice and motion control.

One thing the Xbox 360 has lacked since launch is the ability to browse the Internet. Both Sony and Nintendo have bestowed an Internet browser to their consoles, however Microsoft has been lagging behind. If you want to extend the life of your console then new features is the way to do it, so it really wouldn’t be surprising to see such a little - but highly requested – thing like this added.

Would you surf the web on your Xbox 360?

Source: The Verge

Max Payne 3 will finally be hitting store shelves next Tuesday—and right before its release, Rockstar has let loose this one final trailer for the game.

I’ve got to tell you—this trailer helped get me pumped for the game. I’ve been curious about it this entire time, but this is one of those “let’s make it feel like a movie” trailers that just seems to have done the job. Shamefully, I’ve never played the first two Max Payne titles—I wonder if I’ll be okay going into Max Payne 3 given that.

It wasn’t long ago that Trials Evolution broke the record for highest single-day sales on Xbox Live Arcade. Now, that record has been shattered yet again—by Minecraft.

So, yeah—I put up my review of the game yesterday, and I wasn’t exactly pleased with how the XBLA version of Minecraft turned out. Doesn’t seem like many people agreed with me, however—Minecraft XBLA now has the best first-day sales in the history of the service, eclipsing even Trials Evolution.

Two record-breaking releases for XBLA in the span of two weeks. Crazy.

If you’re a faithful player of Battlefield 3, you may have noticed something happening this week: Official EA and DICE multiplayer servers seem to be vanishing.

Do a check for online multiplayer games for the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of Battlefield 3, and you’ll see that official servers have all but disappeared. Instead, multiplayer is now relying on private servers—which players can rent from EA for $30 a month.

It isn’t hard to come to a possible conclusion: EA has seen a lot of money coming in from the private server rental, so they see the ability to save money by no longer running official servers.

In fact, a few days ago on Reddit, there was an “Ask Me Anything” session with DICE community manager Daniel Matros, and he made some very interesting comments that relate to all of this:

Why are there no official DICE servers anymore? Now all that is around are the rented servers.
There is only so much physical space and digital space where you can have servers. The community requested an RSP programme and we delivered.

Is the removal of the Dice/EA servers permanent? The Rent-a-Servers all suck and have ridiculous settings.
Everything in the wonderful world of Battlefield is dynamic

On Twitter today, member Ryan Flower asked the official Battlefield account where the DICE PS3 servers went, and he got this response:

“We’re currently looking into this, thanks for your patience! ^AS”

So, the question is this: Is this an internal error that has taken down the servers, or has EA indeed made the decision to pull them in favor of player-supported servers? If that’s the case, is it really a good idea to have no official servers to compliment the player servers?

What do you think about all of this? Let us know in the comments below.

For the promotion of the upcoming game by master adventure creator Ron Gilbert—and to serve as an invite to the press to see more of the title—Double Fine sent us a puzzle about the game. As in, literally a puzzle.

While it’s just a tease of what the game will be, we do get a few clues from Gilbert’s personal blog.

“I’m so excited. This is an idea that has been in my head for a long long long time. It predates Maniac Mansion and Monkey Island. It’s a game that needed to be made.”

“Well, I’m happy to officially confirm that the game has both an old carnival ticket booth and a ceiling mounted laser cannon in it. I don’t want to reveal any spoilers, but one of them is going to hurt like hell.”

Bethesda has announced the official release date of its upcoming assassination title Dishonored.

Bethesda Softworks president Vlatko Andonov said: “We are pleased that Dishonored has captured people’s attention. We are looking forward to sharing lots more information about the game leading up to its launch in October, and having a hands-on build of Dishonored in our booth at E3!”

The game will be available October 9 in the U.S. and October 12 in Europe on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Ubisoft has announced The Avengers: Battle for Earth for Xbox 360 and Wii U.

The game is being developed by Ubisoft Quebec and is due for release some time after the Wii U launches. Battle for Earth is a motion control game based on the Secret Invasion story line, not the one in the recent film. It revolves around Captain America, Iron Man, the Hulk and Thor as they battle the genetically modified alien race, the Skrull. Around 20 Marvel characters are set to appear in the game.

“We are excited to team up with Marvel Entertainment to bring some of the most iconic comic book characters from the Marvel line-up to life in motion-gaming,” said Ubisoft U.S. sales and marketing boss Tony Key. “Fans of the Marvel universe and superhero games are going to love the extensive combinations of characters, motion-controlled moves and competitive gameplay.”

We’re glad to see an Avengers game coming, even if it won’t arrive until after the current fervor for the franchise dies down a bit. Still, with two movies featuring Avengers characters scheduled for 2013 — Iron Man 3 and Thor 2 — and one for 2014 — Captain America 2 — there should still be plenty of buzz to move the game, assuming it’s any good. The Batman: Arkham series has proved good games can be made from comic book licenses. Remember that Ubisoft — The Worlds Mightiest Heroes demand nothing less.

More details will be shared at E3 next month.

Square-Enix has announced the official release date of Hitman: Absolution and its pre-order downloadable spin-off.

The game will launch worldwide November 20, while the pre-order exclusive bonus Hitman: Sniper Challenge is available to download from May 15 on Xbox Live and PSN, and August 1 via Steam.

“Agent 47 is the best in the business so it seemed appropriate to create the best pre-order reward possible for our fans,” said Jon Brooke, brand director of the Hitman franchise. “Hitman: Sniper Challenge is a way of thanking customers and giving them a taste of Agent 47′s skills from the moment they pre-order the game.”

That’s a pretty sweet pre-order deal, what makes it even better is the ability to get your Hitman fix months before the game actually launches. Don’t expect amazing things from the title, but it will certainly keep you occupied for a fair few hours. That said, the final shot in the trailer below makes us want this game right now.

Did you pre-order? Will you after seeing this?

John Beiswenger, the author suing Ubisoft for allegedly infringing his novel Link with the Assassin’s Creed franchise, has defended his lawsuit against angry fans.

His lawyer, Kelley Keller, has told Eurogamer that her client is legally obliged to protect his copyright and will continue with the suit despite a recent spate of angry Amazon reviews posted about his novel.

“We understand that many gamers are upset about the litigation and potential for delay in the release of the next Assassin’s Creed video game, and as a result of that anger have been posting negative comments on Amazon – and other forums – about our client and his novel Link,” said Keller. ”However, copyright laws exist to protect authors and creators from others who copy or create works that are, under the law, substantially similar; failure to enforce copyright laws renders them meaningless.”

“The Amazon ‘bombing,’ storm of negative comments, and threats to our client have no bearing on the appropriateness, merits, or outcome of this suit. They have no material effect on the legal claims.”

The lawsuit claims that Ubisoft knowingly stole story ideas from his novel and is demanding $5.25 million in damages. More details about the actual lawsuit can be found here.

When asked to defend the insane amount of damages requested she replied: ”Copyright holders are entitled to statutory damages as set forth in the complaint. Calculations are set forth therein. The law is very clear on damage amounts.”

You have to love how innovative video game fans can be, they actually took the time time to write quite cohesive and well thought out reviews that at the same time manage to bash the author. He has learnt a valuable lesson, never annoy a group of passionate gaming fans – especially when it’s a franchise as big as Assassin’s Creed. If he’d have brought the lawsuit forward when the first game came out then it would have been more credible, but waiting this long just makes it look petty.

Does he have a case or should he quit now?

Source: Eurogamer

LEGO Lord of the Rings construction sets launch later this year. Early versions sent to toy reviewers carry both the LEGO video game developer Traveller’s Tales and publisher Warner Bro’s logos on the boxes. A listing for the video game also appeared on retailer Shopto’s website – it has since been removed – carrying an October 26 release date.

So we have a toy line and the Hobbit film due to release later this year, would this not be the perfect time to release a video game as well? This is no coincidence. Expect an official announcement from Warner Bros. in the near future. Editor Marc Camron sums up his excitement for the game in two simple words, “LEGO Legolas!”

Are you excited about LotR finally making the jump to Lego?

Source: MCV

In every FPS luck will come in to play at some point, even in Battlefield 3. A fortunate spawn, a couple of missed bullets, it all adds up. For YouTube user “Run3viperz” this is no different, expect that hisluck allowed him to destroy a jet that was all the way across the map while aiming for a chopper.

Sure it was all luck – he even admits that – but it doesn’t make it any less cool. Everybody got a good laugh out of it, except the guy who was killed. He didn’t find it very funny at all.

Let us know some of your lucky moments in the comments below.

Was Irrational’s decision to move Bioshock Infinite back to 2013 forced by a move to add multiplayer? A new job listing by the company certainly makes us suspicious.

Supperannuation has spotted an opening for a network programmer on the Bioshock team. Irrational is looking for someone who has  ”shipped at least one commercial network-connected game title, preferably on a console,” and “previous experience developing network backend support on a multi-console title with support for matchmaking, stat tracking and analysis, in-game push updates, etc.”

It seems odd to be looking for a person to fill this role if the game doesn’t have any network features. Of course it could be for a future project, but why bother hiring someone now when all of the team are busy working on Infinite? It has previously been stated that multiplayer would only be added if the team could some up with something different and exciting. Maybe they found that special spark.

Source: Gamasutra