All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION: Guitar Hero® Van Halen® brings to life the flamboyance, virtuosity and unadulterated fun that has made Van Halen one of the most successful and popular rock and roll acts of the past 30 years. Along with 19 larger than life musical artists, including Queens of the Stone Age, Weezer, The Offspring, Blink-182 and Queen, [...]

The revolution continues as Rico Rodriguez fights for the freedom of southeast Asia's best kept secret.

So here's a mixed blessing for PS3-playing twin-stick shooter fans: Assault Heroes is coming to PSN, as announced by Konami today. It's exciting, because Assault Heroes is pretty darn good, but it's also weird, as the direct port of the XBLA game is practically a retro release at this point. Heck, the sequel was on XBLA a year and a half ago! We're not sure why Konami didn't decide to release a bundle of both titles or something, but at least you've got until 2010 to decide if you're going to meet them halfway on this.

The snippet below comes from latest Nintendo Week feature, starting at the 9:30 mark… (referring to next week’s show) We’ll check out some of our favorite titles from 2009, including some smashing Virtual Console titles. Direct link here Seems like a subtle hint if you ask me. Thanks to ArakniD for the heads up!

Nintendo is changing up their retail displays just a bit, in the hopes of attracting even more attention to their games. It looks like ease is the name of the game, as these new kiosks feature touch-screens and cameras. The touch screen use is obvious, but it’s the camera that really interests me. [...]

If you're a PS3 owner with an inkling of an interest in first-person shooters, you've probably tried the Battlefield: Bad Company 2 beta, featuring a revamped Rush game mode. Everyone else, well, you're missing out on some great fun -- but March and the release of the retail game isn't that far off. I've wanted to play more of the game's multiplayer component ever since getting into the beta, and I recently got that chance at EA's Redwood Shores, California headquarters. The occasion: the unveiling of a new game mode, squad deathmatch. Four squads of four members each (4-vs-4-vs-4-vs-4) square off to see which team can reach the kill limit first, which sounds straightforward enough until you consider the dense foliage of the new jungle map on which we played.

Tackle the colossal bosses of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers.

Furry Legends will be sent for Nintendo certification in first quarter of 2010, anticipated for release a couple weeks later. We are very eager to release our first game on the WiiWare service, and we would like to see it on the market just as soon as our loyal fans do. Since this is [...]

Sample an assortment of the many mini-games included with Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers.

The game sheds the traditional Final Fantasy mold for something more refreshing, but does the new combat system hold the experience back? Find out with the official GameTrailers Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers review.

In a recent interview with CVG, BioWare producer Adrien Cho assured that the plan isn't to jettison Mass Effect 2 into the deep, dark retail space without some form of continued support. According to Cho, some of the core development team has already moved on to creating DLC for the game, which could range from new items, including weapons and armor, to side quests that might even build "up to full expansion packs." Cho added that the team has more flexibility to create DLC for the sequel than it did for the first game, explaining that add-on content "was always on our radar from day one." It sounds like BioWare has big plans for Mass Effect 2 DLC. That is, it sounds like the plans are a bit more sophisticated than the original Mass Effect's DLC strategy: "release completely broken, partially inaccessible DLC without telling anybody about its existence."

Vigil Games on the genesis of War in the first part of our video interview.

Quantic Dream's Heavy Rain just got heavier, both in content and in physical package size. Sony revealed the nature of the DLC we just heard about: downloadable episodes for the anticipated non-Dragon's Lair adventure. The first episode is an expanded version of the "bonus" taxidermist scene shown in 2008, will be available "after the launch of Heavy Rain early next year." More downloadable episodes will be revealed later. Sony also announced a special edition of the game for Europe, which will give you a chance to get the Taxidermist episode day-and-date with the game. The limited-edition box will include the Episode, along with a downloadable soundtrack and XMB theme, and a cool "rain-effect" slipcase (see it in full after the break) . This way, you'll have a very nice package to decorate your shelf with after you've played through the game once. Sony didn't mention a date, so we'll just stick to our best guess of February 26.

Rare's bear and backpacked bird make their debut in this latest Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing trailer. The Banjo-Kazooie team tear up the track big-truck style -- mainly because they're in a big friggin' truck. The trailer also takes care to remind us Avatars will be playable in the Xbox 360 version of the game -- but, really, who cares? Banjo and Kazooie are in a big friggin' truck!

Gearbox's Randy Pitchford made a pretty bold claim when he said that the new Borderlands DLC, "Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot," would comprise more than just new levels, but an entirely new mode as well. After an hour or so spent battling it out in Moxxi's tournament, we're happy to report that, though it doesn't feel like a brand new game, it provides a welcome shake-up of the main story's quest-based structure. Read on to see if Mad Moxxi's going to be worth your ten bucks when it arrives on Dec. 28 on Xbox 360 and Jan. 7 on PS3.

Splinter Cell: Conviction turns the tables on the opposition and allows you to use the shadows to become the hunter.

A producer overview of how to play Squad Deathmatch on a new map in this team-based FPS.

It pays to have friends in DICE's next entry to the hallowed series.

Beverly Hills ... that's where I want to be (gimme, gimme), living in -- wait, not really. Next week's holiday Rock Band Weekly update has some catchiness, but it's short on cheer. There's a new track pack from Weezer, featuring two songs from the band's latest album, Raditude. There's also songs from Limp Bizkit, The Offspring and Yellowcard. One last reminder: Rock Band Unplugged DLC is on hiatus until further notice. Check out pricing and track details for the console releases after the break.

Who won what and when!

Fielding a question on today's quarterly investors call regarding the performance of Grand Theft Auto 4's DLC double-header and the accompanying retail bundle - The Lost and Damned, The Ballad of Gay Tony, and Episodes from Liberty City, respectively - Take-Two CEO Ben Feder admits, "Both we and Microsoft believed there was a big market for GTA 4 episodic content and some factors affected their performance." Calling the two companies' relationship "a historic, strategic partnership" - remember this? - and calling the episodes themselves "profitable contributors to the company," Feder nevertheless offered some insight into what his company could have done to make them even more profitable. "Both were released significantly after the launch of the core unit," Feder says, referring to the April 2008 launch of Grand Theft Auto 4. "And therefore weren't able to leverage GTA 4's initial marketing campaign and initial launch fervor." With The Lost and Damned coming out in February of this year, some 10 months after GTA 4's initial release, and The Ballad of Gay Tony this past October, 18 months after the initial release, we'd have to agree that timing played an issue; the GTA 4 hype machine had worn off.

Who won what and when!

Who won what and when!

Sega has announced its victory in the fight over whether or not Australians will get to (legally) play Aliens vs. Predator. According to a statement given to Kotaku, Sega has successfully appealed the OFLC's decision to refuse classification to the FPS and has secured the game a rating of MA-15+, which has yet to be reflected in the OFLC database. "We are particularly proud that the game will be released in its original entirety, with no content altered or removed whatsoever," Sega Australia general manager Darren Macbeth told Kotaku. "This is a big win for Australian gamers. We applaud the Classification Review Board on making a decision that clearly considers the context of the game, and is in line with the modern expectations of reasonable Australians". We now urge our Australian friends not to do anything that might appear even the least bit inspired by this game. If you see a ravenous, monstrous alien, let it go unblasted.

Who won what and when!