Archive - 2012

Saint’s Row the Third: Enter the Dominatrix is Real

2012/05/03
Jerry Paxton
News

AGOURA HILLS, CALIF. May 3, 2012 – The real world may be a lie… but this announcement isn’t. THQ Inc. (NASDAQ: THQI – News) and Volition, Inc.® are proud to announce the development of Saints Row®: The ThirdTM – Enter The Dominatrix™, the groundbreaking standalone expansion to Saints Row: The Third. No longer an April Fool’s dream, the outrageous game concept will be reality this fall. It’s really happening.

Slated for release on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC, for a suggested retail price of $29.99, Saints Row: The Third – Enter The Dominatrix takes the award-winning, over-the-top action of Saints Row: The Third and adds the most requested gameplay features from the Saints Row community: freaking super powers.

“Faster than a speeding cyber jetbike, more powerful than a roided-out Luchadore, able to leap flying aircraft carriers in a single bound… That’s the power you’ll find inside the Dominatrix. Use it for good. Use it for evil. Use it for whatever you want. As always in Saints Row, it’s up to you,” said Danny Bilson, Executive Vice President, Core Game Production, THQ Inc. “With a franchise with more than 11 million units shipped globally, it’s incredibly gratifying to have the flexibility to give Saints Row fans the features they want most.”

He later added, “Freaking super powers.”

The Elder Scrolls Online Revealed

2012/05/03
Jerry Paxton
News

May 3, 2012 (Rockville, MD) – Bethesda Softworks®, a ZeniMax® Media company, today announced The Elder Scrolls® Online, an MMO in development at ZeniMax Online Studios. The Elder Scrolls Online will be the first Elder Scrolls game to allow gamers to explore the legendary Elder Scrolls world with others.

The Elder Scrolls Online is being developed for PC and Mac under the leadership of industry veteran Matt Firor, who has spent the last two decades working in online game development. Details about the game are revealed in an exclusive cover story in Game Informer®’s June issue, which ships to subscribers and newsstands this month.

“We have been working hard to create an online world in which players will be able to experience the epic Elder Scrolls universe with their friends, something fans have long said they wanted,” said Matt Firor, game director of The Elder Scrolls Online. “It will be extremely rewarding finally to unveil what we have been developing the last several years. The entire team is committed to creating the best MMO ever made – and one that is worthy of The Elder Scrolls franchise.”

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim® is the most recent title set in the award-winning Elder Scrolls universe. Skyrim, developed by Bethesda Game Studios, was released in November 2011 and enjoyed worldwide critical and commercial success. Skyrim earned hundreds of ‘Game of the Year’ awards, including top honors at the 2012 Game Developers Choice Awards, the 15th Annual 2012 Interactive Achievement Awards held at the 2012 D.I.C.E. Summit, and at the 2011 Video Game Awards. Internationally, Skyrim shipped over 10 million units within the first month of its release, was the second highest grossing title in the industry last year, and is the fastest selling title in Steam’s history.

The Elder Scrolls Online will be featured on magazine covers across Europe and in online stories in the coming months which will provide gamers with more information about this exciting title.

The Elder Scrolls Online has not yet been rated by the ESRB.

Embiggenable Thumbnails

noobz to Get E3 2012 Premiere

2012/05/02
Jerry Paxton
E3, News

HOLLYWOOD, CA (May 2, 2012) – Today, Wunderkind Pictures announced a June 6, 2012 launch date for the official world premiere of noobz (checkout our on-set report).  The premiere will take place at the Regal Cinema’s LA LIVE Stadium 14 during the world famous Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3).

Written and directed by Blake Freeman, and co-written by Marvin Willson, noobz tells the story of four friends and their outrageous escapades as they journey across America in order to compete in and earn the Cyberbowl video game championship. The comedy stars Jason Mewes (Jay and Silent Bob), Blake Freeman (Gawd Bless America), Moises Arias (Ender’s Game), Matt Shively (True Jackson, VP), Zelda Williams, Casper Van Dien (Starship Troopers) and Jon Gries (Napoleon Dynamite).

In celebration of the upcoming launch, Wunderkind Pictures along with key partners CompuExpert, Gaems, Gamer Grub, GUNNAR Optiks, Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc., MINI, SHARKOON Technologies, The BLVD Hotel & Spa and Xbox, are proud to announce the noobz “Play Like a Champion” sweepstakes on Facebook.  One (1) lucky winner and three (3) friends will earn the most ultimate video game experience ever that includes airfare and four (4) night stay at The Blvd Hotel, four (4) tickets to the world premiere of film, to E3 and the Xbox Media Briefing as well as product from film’s partners.

For more information and rules regarding the noobz “Play Like a Champion” sweepstakes page, please visit http://www.facebook.com/noobzmovie/app_218882378224716.

For additional information about noobz, please visit http://noobzmovie.com.

Official Black Ops 2 Press Announcement

2012/05/02
Jerry Paxton
News

Santa Monica, CA – May 2, 2012 – Call of Duty®: Black Ops II delivers the most groundbreaking and visceral Call of Duty® experience ever.   Set in the year 2025, Call of Duty: Black Ops II propels players into global conflict featuring advanced weaponry, robotics, and drone warfare in a new Cold War scenario whose seeds are being sown in today’s headlines.  New graphics technology drives the stunning cinematic action of the single-player campaign’s branching storylines and non-linear missions.

“Hands down, this is the most ambitious Call of Duty ever,” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing. “We are bringing disruptive innovation to the franchise and we are doing it on several fronts. We’re pushing the boundaries technologically, graphically, and from a narrative and gameplay perspective. At the same time, we need to stay true to the epic realism, authenticity, heart pumping adrenaline, and cinematic action that so many people love and expect from a Call of Duty game. Treyarch’s vision for Call of Duty: Black Ops II will redefine the Call of Duty franchise for the future–both literally and figuratively:

“With Call of Duty: Black Ops II, the team is crafting an experience that Call of Duty fans have never seen before,” said Mark Lamia, Studio Head for Treyarch. “We are challenging assumptions on every front, with the single player campaign, Zombies and multiplayer.  In the campaign, we are creating a thought-provoking story that introduces branching storylines and meaningful choices that impact the narrative. Running in the multiplayer engine for the first time, Zombies gives players a bigger and more diverse set of gameplay experiences, as well as entirely new ways to wage war with the undead. And in multiplayer, we’re embracing all skill levels and play styles to give players more ways to engage. With Call of Duty: Black Ops II, we’re all in and we won’t rest until we’ve launched nothing less than the best Call of Duty we’ve ever made.”

On November 13th award-winning developer Treyarch and Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI), will deploy the sequel to the universally acclaimed Call of Duty®: Black Ops, which following its launch in 2010 set the record for the biggest entertainment launch in history.  Call of Duty: Black Ops II has not yet been rated.  For more information, visit www.callofduty.com/blackops or follow Call of Duty: Black Ops II on www.facebook.com/codblackops and on Twitter at #BlackOps2.

About Treyarch
Treyarch is an industry-leading game developer, wholly owned by Activision Publishing, Inc. whose previous game Call of Duty: Black Ops set an entertainment launch opening record upon its release in 2010 and continues to be one of the best-selling games of all time, according to NPD and GfK Chart-Track.

About Activision Publishing, Inc.
Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products.

Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, Russia, Japan, South Korea, China and the region of Taiwan. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company’s website, www.activision.com.

Catapult Revealed from MechWarrior Online

2012/05/02
Jerry Paxton
News

Piranha Games has released the first in-game images of the Catapult indirect-fire mech from its upcoming MechWarrior Online. Enjoy!

Screenshots

Deadly30 Review (PC)

2012/05/02
News, Reviews

Another day and another game drops with a trip to the Zombie Apocalypse. This time the developers behind budget title Wasteland Angel have released a side scrolling tower defense style game called “Deadly 30”. The game is an independently produced title and taking a quick look at it can be quite deceiving. Let’s jump into the zombie horde and take a look at what we thought of the game.

What We Thought Was Cool

Day Turns Into Night:
The point of Deadly 30 is simple, you need to survive for 30 days without being destroyed by the zombie horde. The game starts you off as a solider who is all alone in a world full of destruction. As you move your way through the screens you come across an abandoned two story building filled with corpses. A quick search yields a generator and now you have your base camp. So like anyone hoping to survive the outbreak you need to defend this safe house. Deadly 30 has a unique day-night cycle that allows you to do a few different things. During the day, you can go to either the left or the right to explore different areas on the map. This is your time to scavenger for supplies before the sun sets and all hell breaks loose. As you move from screen to screen, you come across scraps of metal. Metal is used as a a currency in Deadly 30 and can yield a number of upgraded weapons from the in-menu shop. You can also purchase things like health packs and upgrades for your safe house with the scrap metal you find. Sometimes you will come across destroyed vehicles that will yield a larger amount of metal for your stockpile. The last day time experience you will have is coming across other survivors. Survivors will allow you to not only use unique weapons but you will also be able to switch to them when you are close to running out of life. This is a true game changer and they come with a little bit of story that makes a little platformer into a unique experience.

As the sun sets via the in-game graphic it is time to defend your house. Night time brings out the zombie horde and boy are you going to need to make sure you can defend yourself. It’s time to make sure you are stocked up on weapons and ammo as running out will surely end the game quickly for you. It’s important to protect that generator by any means necessary. This could be by building a barricade with your currency or just attacking everything in sight. Keep in mind though, a safe house without defenses will fall very quickly. You have a limited amount of ammo and your melee knife is just not going to cut it. That generator blows and your game is over my friend. The fighting is simple as the controls are the same as day time. You can go left or right to battle the slowly shambling corpses. I bet this sounds like a piece of cake right? Deadly 30 has a unique system where as the days go on the zombies become even bigger bad asses and you better be prepared.

You Get A Lot For Five Bucks:
The casual gamer just looking at Deadly 30 would think that this five dollar title would be a simple platformer. The replay factor in Deadly 30 allows the player to pick up and play whenever they want. I found myself just wanting to kill some zombies for a few minutes when I had time and the game was there waiting for me. If you want to get deep in the experience you can sit for a few hours and play. Replay factor on a budget title is a must and Deadly 30 does it all right.

What We Thought Was Not Cool

Nothing at all! Deadly 30 has no negatives to it and is a great little budget title. The development team put this out on their own and deserves some love from the gaming community.

Final Thoughts

With an obvious small budget the team behind Deadly 30 did a great job. I hope this game gets released for mobile devices as it would be a fantastic addition to my Ipad gaming. While the Zombie genre is crowded, Deadly 30 offers a unique twist on some side-scrolling fun. Shogunites, shamble your way to the computer and pick this one up for some corpse shooting action.

Max Payne 3 Official Soundtrack Announced

2012/05/02
Jerry Paxton
News

Rockstar Games has announced new details regarding the release of the official soundtrack to Max Payne 3. Checkout the release below for more information.

From Rockstar Games

We are proud to announce that the Max Payne 3 Official Soundtrack will be available digitally on May 23rd. Composed and recorded by LA-based band HEALTH, the soundtrack features the song “TEARS” which is due for release as a single on iTunes on May 15th, coinciding with the game’s console launch.

“Working on the soundtrack to Max Payne 3 was a great experience,” said John Famiglietti of HEALTH. “Rockstar gave us the freedom to bring our own sound to Max’s dark story, and we’re really proud of the results.”

HEALTH’s unique blend of rock, powerful drums and electronic soundscapes lends itself perfectly to the score for the game. Taking influences from Brazil, Max’s native New York and the themes of the original games, HEALTH have put together a fantastic soundtrack that perfectly embodies the tone and the atmosphere of Max Payne 3. Distinctive arrangements unique to each level accompany Max on his journey through the game’s locations, perfectly framing the game’s epic action sequences and the dark and gritty story.

“By using a band instead of a traditional composer, we’ve created a soundtrack that sounds completely unique,” said Ivan Pavlovich, Rockstar soundtrack supervisor. “HEALTH have created hundreds of hours of amazing music for the game’s score, and distilled it into a devastatingly moody and atmospheric soundtrack album.

Excerpts from “TEARS” can be heard in the new Max Payne 3 TV spot and you can hear more of what the band have to say about the game in their exclusive Q&A with Pitchfork.

The Max Payne 3 soundtrack will also feature a new and exclusive track from São-Paulo-based Brazilian hip-hop artist, Emicida.

DJ mixes heard during Max Payne 3’s Nightclub chapter were compiled and mixed by Brooklyn based DJ collective Trouble & Bass, and will be available free as a digital download following the game’s release.

Spike TV and GameTrailers Teaming Up to Cover E3

2012/05/02
Jerry Paxton
E3, News

New York, NY and Los Angeles, CA – May 1, 2012 – Spike TV and GameTrailers will team up this summer to deliver extensive multi-platform coverage of the 2012 Electronic Entertainment Expo with “E3 All Access Live.” The live special will provide gamers with over 40 gaming exclusives and special guest interviews with more than 17 hours of coverage across multiple platforms. Spike’s and GameTrailers’ 2011 live E3 multi-platform special was the number one destination for E3 coverage last year*, garnering more than 10 million combined online and on-air viewers, and was also the largest live streaming event in Viacom history.

Considered to be the ultimate event in the video game industry, the 2012 Electronic Entertainment Expo runs June 5-7, 2012 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. “E3 All Access Live” will kick-off its multi-platform and multi-channel coverage on Spike TV, in HD, from Los Angeles one day before the event is open to the public on Monday, June 4 (Noon-5:30pm ET/ 9:00am-2:30pm PT) and a wrap-up special that night at 10:00-11:00pm ET / 7:00-8:00pm PT. Spike TV will telecast five more live hours on Tuesday, June 5 (Noon-5:00pm ET/ 9:00am-2:00pm PT). The live special will also be supported through additional digital pre and post shows as well as through online simulcasts.

For the first time ever, Spike will partner with sister Viacom Media Networks, such as MTV2; MTVU; VH1; Tr3s: Música y Más and others to provide additional programming coverage.