Author - Jerry Paxton

Need for Speed: The Run Demo Release Date

2011/10/05
Jerry Paxton
News

Electronic Arts has announced that the demo for its upcoming racer, Need for Speed: The Run, will be available for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on October 18th and run through November 1st, 2011. Checkout the full press release below for more information!

Official Press Release

REDWOOD SHORES, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)--Do you have what it takes to beat your friends in a high-speed race from the Golden Gate to the Empire State? Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) today announced that gamers will get a chance to test their mettle in an action-packed demo for Need for Speed The Run beginning October 18. Using the Need for Speed franchise’s signature Autolog feature*, gamers will compete to see who will come out on top and who will be left in the dust as they race through the Desert Hills of California and Independence Pass of Colorado.

In the Need for Speed The Run demo, players will have access to two high-powered supercars including the Lamborghini Gallardo LP550-2 Valentino Balboni. The second car, the 2012 Porsche 911 Carrera S, will be unlocked when gamers refer a friend to download the demo, giving them one of first opportunities to get behind the wheel of this 400HP luxury ride. The Need for Speed The Run demo will be available on Xbox LIVE® Marketplace worldwide and the PlayStation®Network in North America from October 18th to November 1st, and available on the PlayStation Network in Europe from October 19th to November 1st.

Need for Speed The Run takes gamers on a heart-pounding, high-stakes race that will have them surrounded by a constant feeling of danger. The heat is on and lethal action unfolds as gamers take on the role of Jack Rourke and battle 200 of the world’s most notorious racers for a $25M cash prize. Weaving through dense urban traffic, rocketing down icy mountain passes and navigating narrow canyons at breakneck speeds, gamers will be challenged in this illicit race for their life. Powered by Frostbite™ 2, Black Box makes its return and takes the action racing genre to new heights with stunning visuals and car physics that hug the road at insanely fast speeds. In Need for Speed The Run, the cars are hot, the racing is intense and the story will have players at the edge of their seat, delivering this holiday’s hottest action racing game.

Developed by Black Box, an EA studio, Need for Speed The Run will be available November 15, 2011 in North America and November 17, 2011 in Europe for the Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, PC, Wii™ and Nintendo 3DS™. For more information on Need for Speed, visit http://www.needforspeed.com or become a fan on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/needforspeed and follow us on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/needforspeed.

* Available in the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC and Nintendo 3DS versions only

Mortal Kombat Klassic Fight Stick Includes Game Code

2011/10/05
Jerry Paxton
News

PDP has announced that its limited-edition Mortal Kombat Klassic Fight Stick will include a free game code to download the Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection, which features the first three Mortal Kombat games. See the full press release below for more information!

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

LOS ANGELES, CA – October 4, 2011 – Performance Designed Products LLC (“PDP”), a worldwide leader in the video game accessory market, today announced the Mortal Kombat Klassic Fight Stick for both the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. Available now at various retail locations as well as through PDP’s website, the Mortal Kombat Klassic Fight Stick carries a suggested retail price of $129.99 and also includes a redeemable code for the Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection, a digital compilation of the first three Mortal Kombat games.

PDP and NetherRealm Studios have collaborated to produce the Mortal Kombat Klassic Fight Stick, which features exclusive custom artwork. It has been designed as an homage to the classic Mortal Kombat arcade cabinet and its ergonomic button layout has been updated with additional design and technological touches to create the ideal joystick for serious console players. The Mortal Kombat Klassic Fight Stick is the perfect controller to complement the fighting action in both of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment’s recent releases – Mortal Kombat and the Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection.

The inner workings of the Mortal Kombat Klassic Fight Stick are composed of high quality arcade parts from Suzo Happ, including upgraded and updated “cherry” microswitches. The underside of the Mortal Kombat Fight Stick is lined with velvet-wrapped memory foam for the comfort of players who hold the stick on their lap, while rubberized feet at the bottom corners will prevent the stick from sliding when placed on a table or similar surface.

Every Mortal Kombat Klassic Fight Stick comes with a code that allows Kombatants to instantly download Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection from either Xbox LIVE Arcade or the PlayStation Network. Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection brings together the original Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2 and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 in one exciting, spine-snapping digital release. Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection will offer fans the chance to play through the games in their original arcade state and rediscover all their favorite characters, fatalities and environments as well as relive some of the franchise’s most memorable secrets. In addition, this new collection will feature online play, leaderboards, achievements and trophies.

To purchase a limited-edition Mortal Kombat Klassic Fight Stick, visit http://www.pdp.com

Lonesome Road Review (with Gun Runner’s and Courier’s Stash DLC)

2011/10/05
Jerry Paxton
News, Reviews

Here we are folks. I hope you’ve enjoyed your journey through the Mojave Wasteland because it’s about to draw to a close. Last month, Bethesda released the last batch of New Vegas DLC content and we here at Gaming Shogun have braved the treacherous path down the “Long 15” to bring you our thoughts. So sit back, grab a Nuka Cola, and get ready because war… War never changes.

Lonesome Road brings our courier’s journey full circle back to where he began, in The Divide. Your courier receives a message beckoning a dangerous journey. One full of answers and challenges. After all, being the plucky bastard you are, a bullet to the face couldn’t keep you down so you pack up and head out in search of Ulysses, the original Courier Six.

The first thing you’ll notice upon booting up Lonesome Road is that this truly feels like a deleted scene from the game proper. Unlike the previous three outings, you are not treated to a special introductory cut scene. Instead, you are dropped straight into the action. Similar to previous DLC content, companions are not welcome here but you are encouraged to bring along any and all equipment you can carry. You’re going to need it after all.

Ulysses has a grudge and killing you is the cure. As you journey through The Divide, a bomb carved canyon and graveyard to the old world, you’ll not only find answers but a gauntlet full of dangerous foes. Armies of ghouls, multiple Deathclaws, and an all new and especially dangerous pack hunter known as a Tunneler are all waiting to spill your blood. You will find new weapons to dispatch them with, such as a shoulder mounted machine gun, but I often times found myself relying more on some of the overpowered weapons from previous content, such as Father Elijah’s LAER.

If you find yourself getting lonely, fear not! ED-E is here! Kind of. Early on you meet a new ED-E with a story more touching than many of the companions encountered earlier in the game. He also serves a very important purpose as your main point of communication with Ulysses throughout your trek.

Overall, the content provides a straight line to the big show itself, confronting Ulysses. Lonesome Road is light on the side quests, important loot, or quirky diversions of previous content (I’m looking at you, Honest Hearts drug trip.) Instead, Lonesome Road seems built more t mesh with the main quest of New Vegas, filling in important blanks in your story and offering the chance to directly affect things back in the Mojave Wasteland itself.

Like previous DLC, Lonesome Road raises the level cap by five and adds some interesting new perks, such as resetting your Karma or increasing EXP earned. Lonesome Road offers a more personal story, but is nowhere near the entertainment value of Old World Blues. With it’s short length However, I can highly recommend it for anybody looking to flesh out the story.

Also recently released are the Gun Runner’s Arsenal and Courier’s Stash DLC packs. These don’t add any new content, but do offer many new weapons. Gun Runner’s Arsenal introduces a Cold War of sorts that leads to all sorts of fancy new toys to play with, such as over the top min nuke launchers and pistols to chew through some of your surplus ammo. Gun Runner’s also adds more than forty new weapon mods allowing you to create the Punisher-worthy arsenal of your dreams. Courier’s Stash simply adds all the pre-order starting gear you may have missed and did nothing more for me than spam my inventory, save for a Vault 13 Canteen which automatically replenishes HP. Pick up Gun Runner’s Arsenal for about four bucks, and save your hard earned two dollars and forget about Courier’s Stash.

Screenshots

The Baconing (XBLA) – Review

2011/10/05
Jerry Paxton
News, Reviews

Do you like Bacon? Do you like thongs? Do you like video games? If you do, by all accounts, you should absolutely love The Baconing, the latest title in the XBLA and PSN DeathSpank trilogy of games. Does this game live up to the standards set by the original or should it be left to burn eternally in the Great Bacon Fires? Gaming Shogun has embedded a reporter deep within Spanktopia to answer that question for you in our review.

In Hothead Game’s The Baconing, DeathSpank, the titular hero of… um… DeathSpank, finds himself bored and dons all six of the mighty Thongs of Virtue, the titular thongs of… you get it. This unleashes the powerful AntiSpank, the polar opposite of DeathSpank, causing havoc across all of peaceful Spanktopia.

Just like DeathSpank and The Thongs of Virtue, The Baconing is a rather straightforward action RPG. Playing from an overhead view, much like Diablo and Gauntlet, you are tasked with killing lots of enemies, raiding them of all their loot, and killing more enemies.

The Baconing is a basic, run of the mill loot grinder in its gameplay. Four weapons are equipped to your face buttons and you mash away in an effort to destroy all in your path. Respawn points are set as outhouses in the game so death is never much more than an inconvenience of traveling back to where you were killed. Murder murder murder… Kill everything and kill it often. Get awesome stuff. The gameplay begins and ends there.

The real fun in The Baconing, as with the other two titles in the series, is found in the game’s presentation and writing. The game world seems to roll out from beneath you, as though someone tore out images from a picture book and attached them to a spool. Areas transition seamlessly from one to another, from haunted ghost town to computer world to Vegas strip, and e game really pushes the creativity to be found in the constraints sometimes found within file sizes of downloadable titles.

The humor in this game is spot on, if you’re a fan of non-sequiturs and rambling nonsense. The sense of humor on display is far wackier than anything you’ll find on the market today. From backing up castle sewage to waging genocide for racist aliens, there are no quests quite like what you’ll find in The Baconing… Unless you’ve played the previous two games.

If you’ve played either DeathSpank or The Thongs of Virtue, there’s not much to attract you to this title. It’s all more of the same, which is fine if you’re a hardcore fan or someone new to the series. Outside of that, there’s no real new features or gameplay mechanics to draw older players back to the series. It’s a good way to spend your ten bucks, but if you’ve already played a DeathSpank game I see no real reason to shell out more money for a repeat experience.

Images

The Darkness II: Limited Edition Pre-Order Incentives

2011/10/04
Jerry Paxton
News

2K Games has announced the set of pre-order bonus items for its upcoming The Darkness II: Limited Edition, which is due out on February 7th of 2012.

The Darkness II Limited Edition includes:

  • Alternate darkling outfit: “Crazy Abdul”
  • Two character ability upgrades:
    • Gourmet Hearts: provides bonus for eating hearts
    • Relic Hunter: locates collectible items in the world
  • Custom illustration by Marc Silvestri
  • Free digital download of The Darkness Origins Volume 1 and Volume 2 comics

Victoria II: A House Divided Expansion Announced

2011/10/04
Jerry Paxton
News

Paradox Interactive has announced A House Divided, an upcoming expansion for their strategy epic, Victoria II. A House Divided takes place during the time period of the American Civil War and will allow players to command both sides of that conflict as well as the rest of the represented nations in the game. In order to explain a bit about this new expansion, Paradox has announced a developer diary, which you can checkout over at their official website.