All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

Blizzcon's beginning to develop a reputation for being a breeding ground for unmitigated face rocking. Last year, the show closed out with a performance by known World of Warcraft fanatic Ozzy Osbourne -- this year, the ending ceremonies will receive musical accompaniment from Tenacious D, whom we imagine are familiar with some of Blizzard's titles. We mean, just look at them.

The duo will perform new jams and old favorites during the closing moments of the show on October 23. Of course, the event's been sold out since about fifteen seconds after tickets went on sale, so this news really only pertains to people who were agile enough to grab an entry pass. Or the diehard, presumably independently wealthy people willing to shell out $39.95 to stream the event on DirectTV.

The blue blur dashes to Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network later this week.

This is a first-person shooter in which players assume the role of a young couple attempting to fend off various evil creatures after their car breaks down. Players use pistols, shotguns, and machine guns to kill the cartoonlike enemies (e.g., zombies, skeletons, vampires, evil clowns) that attack with knives or balls of slime. Players must [...]

In writing about the "controversy" surrounding Medal of Honor's multiplayer and the subsequent name change of one faction from "Taliban" to "Opposing Force," we've heard from two sides, primarily -- EA corporate and the Army and Air Force Exchange Service. But we've never heard directly from the folks developing MOH -- Danger Close Games. Earlier this week at an EA event in New York City, we talked with Danger Close marketing director Craig Owens. Owens spoke to why he believes the name change occurred, what it will accomplish, and how internal reactions have been at Danger Close.

In his eyes, it wasn't a result of AAFES-based GameStop stores not carrying Medal of Honor -- as he points out, the change hasn't affected the AAFES' sale embargo of MOH. "The objection was, kind of from an older generation that doesn't understand games, that the soundbyte was 'Play as the Taliban and kill US soldiers,'" though he admitted "There still is, it seems, a group that's still a little bit leery of a game taking place around an active conflict."

Owens further clarified, adding that "Really the big thing was playing as a Taliban killing US troops. So we basically just changed it to 'Opfor' -- which is a term they [the US Armed Forces] use, some of our competitors use -- more out of respect." The AAFES, he contends, didn't factor into the decision whatsoever. He also pointed out that during the beta earlier this year, there were "about 500,000 people playing it, as the Taliban, killing US troops," without a single complaint. He further lamented the nefarious "soundbyte" that lead to the seemingly inevitable controversy, adding "Later that soundbyte kinda caught wind and got taken out of context, really."

Greetings PlayStation.Blog! I’m here with two exciting announcements for PS3 players. First, I’m thrilled to confirm that we’re bringing our new title, Prejudice, to the PS3 in 2011! We’ve been working really hard to take our sci-fi shooter series to new heights; no easy task considering players literally drop into combat from 15,000 feet above the battlefield. Using all of the great feedback from our fans we’ve created a new experience that is guaranteed to blow you away. Here are some new screenshots and our debut announcement trailer:

Prejudice comes with epic multiplayer maps, new game modes and missions, and a huge arsenal of weapons. The all-new single-player campaign follows the story of Captain Alex Corde and the 8th Armored Infantry–known as Section 8 for their willingness to take on extremely dangerous missions. Old hatreds run deep for the enemies of Section 8. A war of prejudice is coming…

Second, we are permanently slashing the price of the original Section 8 on PlayStation Network to just $14.99. The new price takes effect October 12th in North America, giving you lots of time to catch up on the story and practice your multiplayer skills before Prejudice drops onto the PlayStation 3. Not only is this the best price for a new copy of Section 8 on any platform, but the PlayStation Network version also includes three extra multiplayer maps at no additional cost.

To aid your advancement up the multiplayer ranks, we’ve placed a tutorial/strategy video just below. Even if you’re a Section 8 veteran, you’ll still want to watch this.

In addition to the lower price, there’s also a free trial of Section 8 and its 32-person multiplayer available through PlayStation Network, so download your free copy and stay tuned for more information on Prejudice. Until then, catch you in the comments!

#blizzard Blizzard couldn't possibly top the live Ozzy Osbourne concert that closed out BlizzCon 2009, but a concert by Jack Black and Kyle Glass of Tenacious D comes pretty damn close. More »

AGOURA HILLS, Calif. - October 11, 2010 - THQ Inc. (NASDAQ: THQI) today announced the final addition to its cover Superstars lineup for WWE® SmackDown® vs. Raw® 2011, the upcoming release from the distinguished simulation-based cornerstone of the company’s WWE videogame portfolio. Renowned WWE Superstars Rey Mysterio®, Triple H® and Undertaker® will be featured [...]

#ravensoftware The developer behind Singularity, Wolfenstein and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance was hit with layoffs today, according to sources familiar with the Raven Software. More »

11th October 2010 – Super Mario Bros. has been with us for 25 fun-filled years and, to celebrate, Nintendo is unveiling two limited edition red bundles. First up is the New Super Mario Bros. Nintendo DSi XL Special Edition Pack available across Europe from 22nd October 2010 which includes a red Nintendo DSi XL branded [...]

Game's composer reportedly let slip new game.

UK-based adventure game publisher Lace Mamba Global has announced another unfortunate "slippage" of Gray Matter. As developer WizarBox and co-publisher dtp entertainment work to get the hard-to-handle contents of Jane Jensen's game in order, Lace Mamba has "no alternative but to delay the release until the chosen date," according to an announcement. (Prior to today's delay, the game was scheduled for release this month.)

The latest chosen date for both the PC and Xbox 360 versions? February 25, 2011 in the UK (which, by the standard retail calendar, would put Gray Matter in North America on February 22.) "[W]e now know for certain that the date we have is the date Gray Matter will be available," declared Lace Mamba's Jason Codd, perhaps jinxing the project again.

"[D]ue to the tight time frames, and the need for more polishing of the game we had no alternative but to make a quick decision and delay the product until February," Codd explained. "This will give the development team more time in ensuring that the game measures up to the standards that have been set" -- now, are those the original 2004 standards, or ...?

Play Dead Space Ignition to unlock special gear and weapons in Dead Space 2.

All it takes is a preorder.

Fantage launches new pet game, Wild Rumble.

#sequel With last week's Castlevania: Lords of Shadow pulling in pretty solid reviews, the composer of the game's score outs a sequel already under construction at developer MercurySteam. More »

First week purchasers receive new Allies bonus content.

Many were called, few were chosen.

Nearly four years after announcing that the Xbox 360 would support Microsoft's IPTV Mediaroom platform, and nine months after demoing AT&T's U-verse service running on the gaming console, AT&T has just announced "the Oct. 15 launch of U-verse TV on Xbox 360 for U-verse customers." Want to watch the U-verse service in your gaming dungeon, but don't have an extra receiver? Since the service requires an existing TV box in the household, that's about the only scenario (bedroom maybe?) we can imagine this being useful. If you do sign up, you get the undeniably cool benefit of being able to "receive chat and game invitations from friends through Xbox Live while watching live TV." Or you could wait until early next year and snag Hulu Plus.

Not so fast! In order to get U-verse on your Xbox 360, you'll need to first figure out what kind of customer you are. New customers will need to order the $99 Xbox kit (which doesn't include an Xbox ... in fact, we're not sure what it includes) when subscribing to the service. A U-verse "technician" will load the software onto your Xbox during installation of the service. If you're already a subscriber, Engadget reports that you'll need to buy the $99 kit and shell out $55 for "installation." Again, that installation is loading software on your internet-connected game console.

So it's not as impressive as it sounded in 2007, sure. But who knew we'd have streaming Netflix and Hulu in the future?AT&T finally dates U-verse on Xbox 360, coming Friday

Blockbuster action-adventure role-playing videogame features original music score composed by BAFTA nominee Russell Shaw.

Pro Evo fails to boot EA's footie game from the top spot.

#wellplayed Working on a massively multiplayer online computer game seems akin to mining for gold. More »

Halo: Cryptum, the first Halo novel in a planned trilogy exploring the Forerunners, will be published in January 2011. Announced in April of 2009, the novel will be written by acclaimed, hard science fiction author Greg Bear, who is best known for his novels Eon, Darwin's Radio and The Forge of God.

Bear's trilogy will be the first major work to take on the story of the Forerunners, the species responsible for the Halos and controlled galactic genocide. An unabridged audio book will also be available at the same time as the novel, so go ahead and play Reach while your ears read the book. The full cover of Halo: Cryptum can be found after the break.