All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

#dlc The Facebook page for Split/Second promises three packs of new cars - one of them free - later this month, and a "major DLC pack" that includes a new environment in September. More »

This week’s The Drop delivers a variety of options for all your gaming needs. Apparently, there’s a big NFL licensed game dropping this week — I’m sure you may of heard of it. The PlayStation Network has an offer you can’t refuse, a PlayStation fan favorite kart racer returns this week as a PSOne Classic, and finally — you take on the world, when a comic book series transforms into a side-scrolling beat-em up brawler.

I think I hear our very own Jeff Rubenstein chanting “Fly Eagles, Fly” outside our office window. Hit the jump and catch up on this week’s new releases, as I run out and join Jeff’s one-man wave in the parking lot.

PlayStation 3

Madden NFL 11 — Twenty-Two years in the making, Madden NFL 11 promises to deliver a list of new features and improvements, according to the EA Tiburon team. They promise an authentic approach to situational game planning, one play at a time with GameFlow. Also, faster game times, a new locomotion animation system, a new audible system, and a brand new kick meter, just to name a few. EA Tiburon is determined to deliver a genuine NFL experience with Madden NFL 11. But, let’s not forget my personal favorite; official NFL team fights songs — hear that? “Miami Dolphins #1!”

PlayStation Network

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game — Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim series turns its comic-book pages into a side-scrolling beat’em up, coinciding with this summer’s Scott Pilgrim vs. the World film. Play as Scott Pilgrim, Ramona Flowers, Stephen Stills or Kim Pine and defeat Ramona’s seven evil exes. There’s also a demo you can download for sneak peek.

Mafia II Demo — The sequel to Mafia: The City of Lost Heavens; Mafia II, is nearly upon us (read our impression on the exclusive PlayStation 3 DLC, The Betreyal of Jimmy,) 2K Games is giving you early access to Empire Bay when the demo drops this week.

PSOne Classics

Crash Team Racing — When classic kart racers are brought up, PlayStation fans think Crash Team Racing. The 1999 ragtag team racer returns as a PSOne Classic title this week. Race against the Nitrous Oxide villains by using fifteen Crash-series characters to save their planet from disaster.

PlayStation Portable

Madden NFL 11 — Take Madden NFL 11 with you wherever you go this football season. Gus Johnson and Cris Collinsworth call the action on the field as you fight for fumbles, design your own plays and rock out like an NFL star, all packaged on your PSP. Don’t have a PlayStation Portable? We have you covered when we unveiled a new Madden NFL PSP bundle earlier this week.

#clips As just mentioned in TWiG, Monday Night Combat arrives on Xbox Live Arcade this Wednesday. This developer's diary gives a 14-minute look at gameplay, all of it under the Support class, who brings plenty of neat toys to the game. More »

#twig The second Tuesday in August has always been Madden's, and EA Sports' NFL behemoth will release with midnight parties. But on Wednesday, don't overlook downloadable contenders Monday Night Combat on XBLA and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World on PSN. More »

The latest trailer for Mafia 2 showcases some of the reasons we had such a great time playing it last month: attention to detail. Specifically, 2K Czech team members explain in the clip how the game engine powering the title goes a long way in making the world feel alive. NPCs wait for traffic signals, react naturally when you interact with them (for instance, smashing head-on into their automobile will elicit lots of shouting), and objects in the environment respond accordingly as well.

Though we might argue that main character Vito Scaletta probably doesn't need to mow down that totally innocent phone booth (as seen in the video after the break), the action does its job of impressing upon us the physicality of Empire Bay. We'll get another chance to try out the game this coming Tuesday when the demo hits, and will get the full retail release just two weeks later on the 24th.

#screengrab As seen on *crag*YeahAlbuquerque's tumblr, via Hawtness. And thanks for the porn, Thorax! More »

#crime A married mom of three discovered the surest way into a 15-year-old's pants is with video games. After lavishing two teens with consoles and gifts and getting sex over two years, Stacy's mom now has it going on behind bars. More »

According to Amazon France listings spotted by The Sixth Axis, both Splinter Cell and Prince of Persia franchises could be getting Blu-ray treatment in the coming months. Unfortunately, other than a 39.95 Euro ($54) price tag and a November 2 release date, neither listing provides any real detail on what the trilogies might contain.

If Ubisoft so chooses, however, the trilogies could reflect the God of War Collection released last year, with upgraded, HD graphics -- perhaps add online multiplayer to the older Splinter Cell titles? We just don't know. Rumors have also been swirling for quite some time that Team Ico is perhaps hard at work on something similar for its first two titles, though no European Amazon listings have popped up to bolster that possibility ... yet. As far as we can tell, either there's a lot of wishful rumoring going on, or Sony could be starting a trend with HD-ifications of God of War and Sly Cooper that will extend to other franchises.

A password-protected site for Killzone 3's beta just went up and doesn't appear to be letting any riffraff in. No more details than that, but it probably means one is on the way soon. Thanks to commenter TERROR-HORROR for the tip. More »

#xbla Insiders noted that Monday Night Combat had yet to send out review codes, giving rise to bad-news theories about the game's release. All that's going on, says Uber Entertainment, is some post-release support pre-release. More »

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Black Rock Studios clearly hopes you're still racing around its latest livery-based outing, Split/Second, as the developer plans on releasing three DLC packs "in the next couple of weeks," as well as a fourth in September. The first three packs will consist of new cars, the pack coming next month is said to be "major" and will come packed with an entirely new environment (we're hoping that means new powerplays as well).

No pricing has been offered for any of the packs, but the game's Facebook page (where all of this was announced) says that the third DLC pack will be free "as a way of saying thanks to our awesome community," and will contain a "special edition vehicle based on the original classic Ryback Cyclone." Solid dates for release weren't given either, and nothing's showing up on XBLM or PSN just yet, but we do have this one screenshot above from the second DLC pack of a "High Octane Supercar." Don't say we never gave you nothin'!

#pc Triple-A games have standards, you know, and Civilization V has made its clear. Not just anything can run 400 turns of this game. So check 'em out to see if your PC measures up when the game hits Sept. 21. More »

#activision Tony Hawk: Shred will put your Tony Hawk: Ride skateboard controller to use, once again, later this year, letting players skateboard and snowboard while balancing on pricey plastic peripherals. This is what Tony Hawk: Shred will look like. More »

#tshirts Meat Bun, your friendly neighborhood awesome T-shirt maker, is offering the Kotaku-tan tees this week for half off. You still get the whole shirt! [Meat Bun] More »

#kotakuweekends A week ago Friday I reviewed the Madden NFL Doritos - in summary, Nacho Stadium Good; Barbecued Tailgater bad. Most everyone thinks Frito-Lay could have done a better job with the flavors. Let's give them some tips! More »

[Image credit: Wikimedia] From August 8 through August 14, Kmart is offering lowered -- and some dramatically lowered -- pricing on Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360 (the older, less svelte models) and Sony PSP. As this is an inventory clearance sale, we're not looking at discounts on PSP Gos and brand new black Wiis, so much as the original Wii with Wii Sports going for $149.99 (normally $200) and PSP "Entertainment Packs" (think Hannah Montana's purple PSP) going for $129.99 (normally $200).

Remaining inventories of Xbox 360 Arcade systems will be discounted as low as $129.99 (normally $150), and 250GB Elite models will drop to $199.99 (normally $250). If you can find an FFXIII, Splinter Cell: Conviction, or Modern Warfare 2 "Super Elite" bundle, they'll be going for $279.99 (normally $350). We'd like to apologize in advance to all the Kmart employees about to receive a flood of customer service calls.

A lot of… interesting stories this week. What else can you call it when the our own Kevin Butler receives an apology from an entire island nation? I suspect the news will become more on-point as we get closer to Gamescom and PAX (we’re planning something fun for the latter), and as major titles start to hit stores (like Madden NFL 11 this week).

We’ll have the rest of this week’s physical and digital releases when Rey drops by later today. In the meantime, let us know if you read anything interesting this week by linking in the comments below.

The PS.Blog weekly reading list (Week of August 2, 2010)

• PS3, PSP Surge in Japan – IGN
• DJ Max Portable 3 Turns The Tables With Triple-Track Remixing – Kotaku
• The Sly Collection: The Comic-Con 2010 Interview – G4tv.com
• Heavy Rain Move Edition patch coming ‘pre-Xmas,’ free if you own the game – Joystiq
• Kinect vs. Move: The motion controller hands-on deathmatch – GamesRadar
• Gravity Crash Portable Review for PSP – GameSpot
• Sony’s trojan horse for 3D and Move: games you already own – ars technica
• UFC Undisputed hits portable PSP octagon this fall – Destructoid
• AC Brotherhood PS3 Multiplayer Beta Detailed – GameInformer.com
• Sony Starts New PSP Ads – IncGamers
• News: PS3 software sales up 40% year-on-year – ComputerAndVideoGames.com
• Interview: Under Siege (Seed Studios) – iWaggle3D
• Dead Nation on PlayStation 3 Hands-On Impressions – PushSquare.com
• Dead Nation Hands-on – PlayStation Universe
• Oregon Trail: The Movie has given us dysentery – Joystiq
• Kevin Butler Gets a Gift Basket of Sorry from New Zealand – Kotaku
• Top Gun locks onto Aug. 17 PSN release – Joystiq

I guess this reference could be for something other than Dragon Quest VI, but if not the game, what could it be for? For our intents and purposes, we’ll just say that it’s about the game!

- coming from Candella Software and Saga Wonderworks - real-world sports car racer - arcade-racing style - no real cars or licenses - San Francisco, Yosemite National Park, London, Mount Kilmanjaro, Egypt, Switzerland and more - locations were scanned in order to present unrivaled realism - create a harem of Cargasm girls by racing - share your accomplishments over Facebook and other [...]