In an announcement about GameStop's new Call of Duty: Black Ops "Surprize Attack" contest, which will give items like "Fighter Pilot Experiences," ghillie suits, and Jeeps to lucky customers who don't mind the novelty spelling of "surprise," GameStop merchandising SVP Bob McKenzie revealed a surprising statistic about the prospects for Treyarch's upcoming game. "GameStop is tracking to all-time, record reservations on Call of Duty: Black Ops," McKenzie said. "We are ahead of where we were with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 last year, which previously set the industry standard."
The fact that more people have pre-ordered Black Ops at GameStop suggests more pre-orders for the game in general than its predecessor -- and let's not forget, that one came with night vision goggles! As for the contest, find out more about how to enter, and get the smartphone app connected to the promotion here; find the list of prizes after the break.
Who knew that old Nintendo Power issues could be of use to developers today? Apparently, studying the map layouts in old Nintendo Power issues is a great way to learn about level design in today’s day and age. Studying these maps can help new developers learn a sense of flow, and gain a [...]
#nycc
On the eve of New York Comic-Con, Capcom's Seth Killian showed Kotaku the best moves of four of Marvel Vs. Capcom 3's newest brawlers: X-23 and Spider-Man from Marvel, Wesker and Tron from Capcom. Their opponents: some lovely ladies. More »
Guerrilla Games' Killzone The Tres is set to unleash a public beta on October 25, the PlayStation Blog promises. Of course, there's a catch: in order to get in on it, you'll need to be a PlayStation Plus subscriber before the beta rolls out, and download a custom Killzone 3 XMB theme, which'll release on October 19. The first 10,000 to download the theme will get access -- 5,000 from the US, 5,000 from Europe.
You'll also want to keep an eye on your email inbox, because Sony plans to mail out codes on October 25 to the lucky 10,000 who snagged the XMB theme first. To help tide you over, Sony's got a new trailer, which you can check out past the break.
#activision
Silicon Knights, the Canadian studio famous for its work on Too Human, Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain and Eternal Darkness, is the studio behind Activision's recently announced game for Marvel, X-Men Destiny. More »
#clips
While the screenshots from yesterday had me thinking Captain America meets Castle Wolfenstein, the gameplay trailer for Next Level's Captain America: Super Soldier shows off an acrobatic hero that could give the Prince of Persia a run for his money. More »
It must be really, really hard being the brother of the God of War series' surly protagonist, Kratos. Not only was the ash-covered warrior probably a brutal roughhouser in his youth, but his siblings more than likely get pummeled with guilt at family reunions: "Why can't you be more like your brother? He's killed like, twenty gods, you know?" You'll get to suffer these slings and arrows if you pick up Ghost of Sparta, as early, specially-marked copies of the game will include a voucher to download a character skin modeled after Kratos' bro, Deimos, for use in God of War 3.
Deimos, who bears a strong familial resemblance to the titular Ghost of Sparta, isn't just more hirsute than his brother, he also comes with "enhanced combat damage and the ability to receive 4x the amount of Health, Magic and God Orbs," according to PlayStation Blog. The voucher will be available in early copies of the game, in the hardware-bundled Entertainment Pack and for PSP Go users who purchase the title from November 2-9 on the PlayStation Store. Don't miss out on this once-in-a-lifetime experience to play through a God of War game with a full head of lustrous, waxen hair.
Check out a new, extremely bald trailer for God of War: Ghost of Sparta after the jump.
#betawatch
The public beta test for Killzone 3 starts on October 25, and we've got the low-down on how to get in. First step: Pay for PlayStation Plus. More »
Epic dished out some footage of the various new executions in Gears of War 3's updated multiplayer mode. Since you won't get to try out the new murder techniques until next year, we've put together this video to give you a taste. So what are you waiting for?
With oral arguments set to begin on November 2 in the Schwarzenegger v. EMA/ESA Supreme Court case, the ESA, via its Video Game Voters Network (VGVN), is looking to send a message to the proposed law's chief proponent, California senator Leland Yee. As part of a campaign against the anti-game legislation, which the ESA terms "unconstitutional, unwarranted and unnecessary," the VGVN is asking gamers to send their old or broken controllers to Yee.
Additionally, the VGVN asks that gamers inscribe the message "I believe in the First Amendment" onto said controllers (we've illustrated the concept using an old ColecoVision steering wheel; pictured above), hoping Yee will understand that games should be protected as free speech -- and, perhaps more importantly, that game players are voters too. The VGVN adds that game accessories and cables are acceptable as well, making this the perfect time to finally put that GBA-GameCube link cable to good use.
Head over to the VGVN website for more details on how to send off your controllers and join the cause.
While it’s nice to see some new art for the game, it doesn’t seem that these works indicate a revival of the project. This is simply artwork that has been previously unreleased, but dates back to when the title was in production.
Check out more screens from each version in our Flickr set
Alicante, Spain – October 6th, 2010 – Lemon Team is excited to announce that the number one hit game for PC, Mac, and iPhone: Airport Mania: First Flight, is coming to Nintendo DSiWare™ for the Nintendo DSi™ and to WiiWare™ for the Wii™.
Airport Mania: [...]
We told you yesterday about these fans, but now they’re available for you to grab. Better get yours before the supplies run out! Thanks to KnucklesSonic for the heads up!
#namcobandai
If bands like 5 Finger Death Punch, WolfShirt, and Goatwhore get your motor running, then you'll love the soundtrack to Splatterhouse. If not, just look at the new screens and be quiet. More »
The Wii Remote Plus, which almost unimaginably crams MotionPlus tech into a standard-sized Wiimote, has been dated and priced for Japan. The controller will be released on November 11 for ¥3,800 ($46) -- the same price as the normal Wiimote -- and will be available in five colors: white, black, blue, red and pink. A red Nunchuk will be released, as well.
The old Wiimote will ostensibly be phased out, as Nintendo will also begin bundling the Wiimote Plus with Wii systems on the same day. Additionally, Andriasang reports that the Wii Sports Resort bundle, which originally included the MotionPlus attachment, will feature the Wiimote Plus beginning on -- you guessed it -- November 11. The bundle will retail for ¥5,800 ($70).
