All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

Buried in Bungie's weekly update is a terse confirmation of an unprecedented feature for the series: Campaign matchmaking. Players now will be able to find friends or link up with strangers and fight cooperatively through the game's campaign mode. More »

#kotakuweekends PlayStation Move is a month from release, Yet many are still unsure to properly play it. "Should I use PlayStation Move to hit the furniture?" they're wondering. "Should I hit other people with PlayStation Move?" Let's help them out. More »

Both Left 4 Dead titles will be getting a new DLC pack -- titled "The Sacrifice" -- in the future. Valve's Chet Faliszek announced as much on the latest episode of GameTrailers TV, detailing the DLC's story as an explanation of how the first L4D crew lost a member (during "The Passing") and saying that the content will work across both games. Owners of Left 4 Dead 2 will be able to play as the first game's fearsome foursome and even be able to choose which member of that crew will end up having his or her brains eaten by the horde.

Faliszek also noted that the content will be free -- like usual -- for Steam users, and the series will be arriving on Steam for Mac as well. If that wasn't enough, L4D1's "No Mercy" campaign has been updated for the sequel and will be included with "The Sacrifice" when it ships. Though players will be able to choose which crew member passes in "The Sacrifice," a 150-page, four part digital comic details events leading up to the new DLC will have a more definitive finale which will effect the future content for the series (we can't be more specific without spoiling "The Passing"). Faliszek didn't give a price or a release window on the show, but he did admit that this "is not the end, we're gonna continue going" with future content for the series.

New Ratchet and Resistance revealed, big showings for Gran Turismo and PlayStation Move, and the announcement of Mass Effect coming to PS3 – it’s been another big gamescom for PlayStation fans. So no surprise, this week’s What We Read serves up a (metric) ton of stories from Germany.

And one last reminder, I’m off to Washington DC tonight to share an early hands-on with Move – hope to see you there if you can make it.

The PS.Blog weekly reading list (Week of August 16, 2010)

• Parasite Eve could come to PS3 – VideoGamer.com
• This is the full 83-track Rock Band 3 setlist – Joystiq
• Valkyria Chronicles II Academy Also Trains Students To Use Swords – Siliconera
• Valve: ‘PS3 is incredibly important to us’ – Destructoid
• Journey for PlayStation 3 – Preview – G4tv.com
• Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One Gamescom 2010 Interview – G4tv.com
• Teh Bias: Big heroes – Destructoid
• Video: Innovative Musical Themes Drive SOCOM 4’s Gameplay – GameLife | Wired.com
• Killzone 3 for PlayStation 3 – Multiplayer Preview – G4tv.com
• Square Enix Hits Gamescom with Two Epic PSP Trailers – VGBlogger
• LittleBigPlanet 2 Lets You Make Music (That Makes Levels) – Kotaku
• Mass Effect 3 on PS3 is Probably a Safe Bet – PlayStation LifeStyle
• Gran Turismo 5 speeds off with Gamescom’s top prize – GameSpot
• Scott Pilgrim game soundtrack coming to iTunes next week – Joystiq
• Heroes On The Move Gains Momentum – Kotaku
• Gran Turismo 5 Injects Some RPG Into Your Hardcore Racing Sim – Kotaku
• We Went To Sony’s GamesCom Presser And All We Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt – Kotaku
• gamescom interview: BioWare confirms intro content for ME2 PS3, included DLC, more – VG247
• Gamescom: No More Heroes Will Move on PS3 – PlayStation 3
• Gamescom: Kung-Fu Live Preview – PlayStation 3
• Playing R.U.S.E. With Playstation Move – Kotaku
• I Survived I Will Survive In Singstar Dance – Kotaku
• Sega serves up Virtua Tennis 4 for PS3 – GameSpot
• Tesla car to ‘burn virtual rubber’ in Sony game – San Francisco Business Times
• GDCE 10: Guerilla talks Killzone 3, new IP for Sony – Destructoid
• Cladun: This Is A Release Date – Siliconera
• David Cage opens up about Heavy Rain – GameSpot
• Valkyria Chronicles II Community BLiTZ: Day 1 – New Canvas – SEGA America Blog
• SCEA Releases PlayStation Move ‘Launch Brochure’ – PlayStation LifeStyle
• Flight Control PS3 supports 3D, comes with exclusive map – Destructoid

#gamescom2010 Looks pretty nigh to us, as seen at the Trion Worlds booth during Gamescom. More »

#wiihab Researchers at the University of Maryland and Ohio State University are examining Wii Fit's suitability as "an effective concussion management instrument," in football, where the injury is increasingly a concern. More »

Have you been diligently buying and registering your games via Square Enix Members? The 2009 prizes finally shipped, and we snapped some pics of the Ultimate level gifts. Included in the box is a Square Enix branded iPod Touch, and a medal-enclosed box that includes a soundtrack CD, postcards and a desktop calendar. This is some of the highest-quality swag we've seen given to fans. It certainly makes Club Nintendo pale in comparison. Check it all out in our gallery below.

The 2010 program is currently ongoing. To register, visit the official Members website.

The SpeedGamers are taking on a couple of Ubisoft action platformers this weekend to help raise some money for the oil-stained Gulf of Mexico. They started up on Friday afternoon, and are running a marathon playthrough of both Assassin's Creed and Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands. As usual, you can watch the whole marathon streamed online all weekend long, and the 'Gamers will be raising money for the Gulf Restoration Network, which could probably use a little extra cash after all of the, you know, mess down there.

The marathon will run for three straight days, up until August 24, and as this post is written, they've already raised over $1000, and are currently auctioning off ... the chance to see a guy dressed as a Final Fantasy X character? Listen, those SpeedGamers may be strange folks, but they're doing Altaïr's work over there. Djinn bless 'em.

- GRASS MONKEY POKEMON - Grass-type - knows ‘acrobat’ attack - Gluttony ability Thanks to all that sent this in! - 0.6 m tall - weighs 10.

THQ may be the company publicly pushing the recently announced uDraw tablet controller for the Wii, but a presentation of the new technology at Gamescom this week emphasized just how important Nintendo's support was to the device's creation.

"When we came to [Nintendo] in the beginning with the idea for uDraw, they said 'that's brilliant, let's figure out how to do this,'" THQ director Luis Gigliotti said during a presentation. "It's been an incredible partnership. ... I've been working in game development for 17-plus years and I can honestly say this is one of the smoothest collaborations with a first party I've ever had, just because everybody got it on day one."
Gigliotti specifically pointed out that Nintendo's hardware design expertise was key to transforming the monstrous uDraw prototype (nicknamed "Frankenstein" by the THQ team), into the light, sleek unit shown off at the show. "[The prototype] was a like bunch of lasers and mirrors and loose parts, it was wood and it had brass on it," he recalled. "I said, 'There's no way we can get this to something like this without it costing a fortune.' Nintendo said, 'Don't worry about it. You guys are software developers, we are the kings of hardware. We will figure this out.' And they did, for one reason -- the idea was solid. Everybody knew it was a good idea, so we figured out the rest."

#gamescom There's lots of reasons that GamesCom, with more than 500 exhibitors from 33 countries, is our favorite video game show in the world. More »

#photoshop Last week's shop contest set a record for entries - more than 1,000! The volume made finding 20 worthy finalists a bit of a challenge, but we did. More »

#clips Ubisoft's upcoming air-combat game isn't just about the fancy fixed-wing fighter aircraft. The latest trailer for Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. 2 shows you'll be in charge of helicopters and the massive AC-130 gunship too. The demo's already out on both consoles. More »

We've had plenty of news out of Gamescom this week, but don't forget about that other European games conference that went down recently. GDC Europe, which took place earlier this week also in Cologne, Germany, reports that it experienced record attendance. This was the second year of the conference, and organizers have already announced that the show will be back again next year, the same week of Gamescom on August 15-17, 2011.

Warren Spector gave the keynote at the conference this year, and while next year's keynote speaker hasn't yet been announced, we're putting our vote in for Ubisoft Creative Director Jason VanderBerge and his trusty cane. That's a show we'd pay to see live again.

The story of the creepy Pokemon hack has already spawned a work-in-progress fan-made game. While we wait for that to be wrapped up, we can at least enjoy a homebrew visual novel! Now you get the creepy story, music and visuals to give you some unforgettable nightmares for the rest of your life! Details [...]

#gamescom2010 It's dangerous to go to Gamescom alone. Take a friend.. and make them dress like a second Link or a Solid Snake or a Troll, Orc or Night Elf from World of Warcraft. More »

#soundtracks It's not exactly the Rock Band 3 tracklist reveal, but Mafia II's period-piece bonafides aren't limited to the set direction and costumes. More »

Monday Night Combat is fun. We're sure you love it, but how much do you love it? Do you love it enough to become an official MNC mascot? Well, with one of these official Monday Night Combat mascot starter kits, you can! Just enter this giveaway for a chance to win one of two kits loaded with goodies, including an MNC baseball cap, bacon-flavored treats (salt, popcorn and ... lip balm?), chocolate coins, a 4GB flash drive, a Pitgirl poster and a Pitgirl statue. And, because we're so nice, we'll throw in a code for the actual game too!

To enter this giveaway

• Leave a comment telling us which Monday Night Combat character class best describes you: Assault, Gunner, Sniper, Support, Assassin or Tank.
• You must be 13 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec).
• Limit 1 entry per person.
• This entry period ends at 5:00PM ET on Sunday, August 22.
• At that time, we'll randomly select 2 winners to each receive one Monday Night Combat mascot starter kit (ARV $50) and one redemption code for Monday Night Combat (ARV $15). [Code requires an Xbox Live account to redeem.]
• For a list of complete rules, click here.

What is Joyswag? Since we don't keep the games and merchandise we receive for review or promotional purposes, it becomes "Joyswag," which is passed along to our readers. Please note that Joyswag may be in "used" condition.

For more info on our policy, click here.

#stickjockey Any get-together with my grad-school friends always involves a gantlet of getting my ass kicked at beer pong, then darts, bowling, pool, and finally rock-paper-scissors. All for chugs. It's definitely a competitive multiplayer experience, one with no ragequitting. More »

#gallery Every year Gamescom hosts a computer design contest that draw some of the best case mods I've ever seen to the annual German game convention. More »

Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions is like a Costco-size sample platter of four different Spidey universes, but Beenox Creative Director Thomas Wilson wouldn't mind focusing on just one of the wall crawlers for a game. During Gamescom the developer told us that if he could, he would want to focus on Noir or 2099 spidey, but immediately followed it up by saying, "That's not up to us to decide. We're looking with Activision at what's next."

"They're interesting, they're different, they're new," Wilson told us on why he'd choose the lesser-known dimensions. He continued, "I think it would definitely be something interesting." Pssst, Activision -- we agree.

#wat Hide the women and children, Japanese beatboxer Hikakin is once again at large. Following up his Super Mario beatbox from June, this time he delivers a not-quite-virtuoso performance of Ken beating Dhalism in Street Fighter. More »

#gamescom2010 A strong focus on Assassin's Creed Brotherhood's multiplayer has left many details of the single-player campaign hiding in the shadows, until now. More »

#ratings David DeMartini - Metacritic score predictor extraordinaire - is at it again, confidently telling Eurogamer Crysis 2 is going return 90 ratings, upland territory that all publishers crave for big games but few acknowledge so boldly before release. More »

#uk It sounds like a U.N. relief program for starving gamers, but it's not. The U.K. supermarket chain Tesco has expanded a pilot used-games trade-in to 60 stores. Store credit can be used for anything, food included. More »