Archive - April 2011

THQ Announces Warhammer 40k License Extension

THQ has announced that they have extended their exclusive license of Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40k IP, which includes all video game and social platforms. THQ recently released the expansion to Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War II, called Retribution.

“The complex, futuristic war-torn universe created by Games Workshop equipped THQ’s award-winning development teams with the material to create one of the most loved PC franchises – Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War,” said Brian Farrell, THQ President and CEO. “Our envisioning of the Warhammer 40,000 universe will continue to grow with top quality games across all platforms, including the upcoming launches of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine and Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium Online.”

“The impressive translation of the Warhammer 40,000 universe from the tabletop to the video game space by THQ certainly highlights the potential of our most successful intellectual property in the right hands,” said Mark Wells, Games Workshop CEO. “We know that the depth of the storylines, characters and imagery of the Warhammer 40,000 universe positions the IP to excel across many media platforms – and extending our agreement with THQ will help ensure that Warhammer 40,000 maintains a strong and growing presence in the video game space.”

THQ will be bringing at least two new Warhammer 40k games this year – Warhammer 40k: Space Marine and Warhammer 40k: Dark Millenium Online.

Gears of War 3 Beta Schedule Released

Gears of War 3 Trenches Map

EPIC Games has released the official beta test schedule for their upcoming Gears of War 3 beta program. The program begins on April 18th with team deathmatch and wraps up on May 15th. Gears of War 3 is due out on the Xbox 360 platform on September 20th, 2011.

As we near the full Gears 3 beta release on April 25th, many fans are curious what maps and game types will be unlocked and when. See our full schedule below and let us know what you’re most looking forward to in the comments!

April 18th – April 24th:  TDM on Thrashball and Checkout.
April 25th – May 1st: TDM and KOTH on Thrashball, Checkout, Trenches and Old Town.
May 2nd –  May 8th:  TDM, KOTH, and CTL on Thrashball, Checkout, Trenches, and Old Town.
May 9th –  May 15th:  TDM, KOTH, and CTL on Thrashball, Checkout, Trenches, and Old Town.

LINK: Official Beta Schedule

Twisted Metal “Broken” Trailer

Sony and Eat Sleep Play have released a crazy new trailer for the next Twisted Metal game mixing some live action and in-game footage.  The next installment of the Twisted Metal series will feature a single player campaign and the same ole car crushing multiplayer fun.  Check out the trailer below and the game when it hits store shelves on October 4th, 2011 for the PS3.

PlayStation Network Outage Continues

Sony has been steadily updating its official PlayStation Blog with news on the rebuilding of its PlayStation Network online services after a brutal attack last week that some say even resulted in large amounts of customer information being compromised. What is definitely known is that this outage has left many games, such as SOE’s DC Universe Online, unplayable as well as even halted the distribution of Infamous 2 beta codes.

Latest PlayStation Blog Update

PSN Update
+ Posted by Patrick Seybold // Sr. Director, Corporate Communications & Social Media

I know you are waiting for additional information on when PlayStation Network and Qriocity services will be online. Unfortunately, I don’t have an update or timeframe to share at this point in time.

As we previously noted, this is a time intensive process and we’re working to get them back online quickly. We’ll keep you updated with information as it becomes available. We once again thank you for your patience

You can checkout more as Sony releases it over at the official PlayStation Blog.

Author Looks at The Zombie Autopsies

CNN reports on a new book titled “The Zombie Autopsies” which takes a look at how the much-talked about zombie apocalypse could actually happen. Written by child psychiatrist Dr. Steven Schlozman, who holds a position at the Harvard Medical School as well as the Massachusetts General Hospital/McLean Program in Child Psychiatry, the book takes a look at what would be needed for a virus to turn normal human beings into devourers of flesh.

What a zombie virus would do to the brain

So maybe you’ve seen “Night of the Living Dead,” read “World War Z,” or can’t wait for the return of the AMC show “The Walking Dead,” but you probably don’t know what differentiates the brains of humans and zombies.

First things first: How does the zombie disease infect its victims? Many stories in the genre talk about biting, but Schlozman’s novel imagines a deliberately engineered virus whose particles can travel in the air and remain potent enough to jump from one person to another in a single sneeze.

Dr. Schlozman will be on a CNN Twitter chat session from 12:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, April 26. Tweet your questions to @cnnhealth and follow along at #cnnzombies.

Gatling Gears Debut Trailer Released

Vanguard Entertainment and Electronic Arts have released the debut trailer for their upcoming isometric, mech-actioner, Gatling Gears. Gatling Gears is due out on May 11th for the Xbox LIVE Arcade, PlayStation Network, and Windows PC platforms.

Section 8: Prejudice Offers Dedicated Servers to Xbox 360 Players

TimeGate Studios has announced that it is partnering with GameServers.com to begin dedicated servers to Xbox 360 players of their newly-released online shooter, Section 8: Prejudice. Starting today, players can rent dedicated servers that will allow up to 32 player matches to take place on them.

“We’re excited to provide this feature to the Xbox 360 community,” said Adel Chaveleh, President of TimeGate Studios. “Players who rent dedicated servers from GameServers can customize their server so they can play with their clans and friends how and when they want. It’s all about giving more control to the player. Our partnership with GameServers helps us provide a quality service for Xbox gamers never seen before, and we’re proud to reveal this feature for Section 8: Prejudice in a manner that makes setup and management of a dedicated server a no-brainer.”

You can order your own dedicated server over at GamerServers official website.

Nintendo Confirms Next Console To Debut At E3 2011

Nintendo  confirmed today that the follow up to their Wii console will make it’s debut at the 2011 E3 Expo in June.  The console is rumored as being developed under the code name “Project Cafe” and is said to be a much more powerful console than the Wii.  News sites around the web have rumored that the new console will have a new type of controller that includes an LCD screen that will interact with the console in some way.

Nintendo had the following to say in a written statement.

“We will show a playable model of the new system and announce more specifications at the E3 Expo, which will be held from June 7-9, 2011, in Los Angeles”

Stay tuned to our 2011 E3 Expo coverage for more news as it breaks on the new console.

FEAR 3 Story Arc Trailer

File this under ‘while we were out’ as we missed it during our two week long hiatus, but we wanted to catch up a bit by showing you the recent story arc trailer for Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment’s upcoming horror-shooter, FEAR 3. Due out on May 24th, FEAR 3 picks up after the events of FEAR 2 by putting players into the boots of the Alma-spawned ‘Fettel Bros’. You can checkout the story arc trailer below! Read More

Yar’s Revenge Out Now on PC

Atari has sent word that the re-make of their arcade classic, Yar’s Revenge, is now out on the Windows PC platform. The game puts players in the role of a former Yar on a mission to stop the evil Qotile Empire. The game is available for $9.99 at Atari’s official website.

PC Launch Trailer