Mitch has written a total of 335,654 words on this site.

mitch@gamersushi.com Twitter: @mi7ch Gamertag: Lubeius PSN ID: Lubeius SteamID: Mister_L Origin/EA:Lube182 Currently Playing: PUBG, Rainbow 6: Siege, Assassin's Creed: Origins, Total War: Warhammer 2

Battlefield: Bad Company 2: Vietnam Trailer is a Fortunate Son

I’ve made no secret about my love for Battlefield: Bad Company 2, and on more than one occasion I’ve referred to the multiplayer as the best I’ve ever played. How fortunate for me, then, that after months and months of free maps (hey, most weren’t that great, but they didn’t cost me a dime), Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is a getting a full-fledged expansion with Vietnam. Since I’m a total sucker for anything CCR, this trailer is right up my alley, and maybe it will be for you too.

Apparently this multiplayer add-on is blowing critics out of the water because IGN gave it a 9.5. PC players are getting access to Vietnam on Saturday, three days in advance of the console players. I’m picking this up for sure, but what about you guys? Are you going to run through the jungle?

Rooster Teeth’s Immersion is Back With Side Scroller

I’ve always enjoyed the stuff Rooster Teeth has put out, and their new series Immersion is probably my favorite of the bunch. While I don’t like their machinima as much as a certain series by a different team (raise, please), Rooster Teeth makes an effort to stay fresh and reinvent themselves. In this week’s episode of Immersion, the RT team test how well someone can perform on an obstacle course in 2D vision in the vein of Super Mario Bros.

What did you guys think of this weeks episode?

Time’s Top 10 Games of 2010 Hails Alan Wake

time top ten games 2010Hot off of Eddy’s post about a list (we told you they were coming), I bring to you Time Magazine’s Top 10 games of 2010. Personally, I feel that the list is kind of strange, but I thought I would put it up here to see what kind of reaction you guys have to it. The first thing that I noticed about the list is that Alan Wake, Microsoft’s Lovecraftian exclusive, comes in at number one, beating out other luminaries like Red Dead Redemption and Halo: Reach.

The number two game on the list, something that I’m sure will make Jeff happy, is Rovio’s mobile sensation Angry Birds. On a traditional “game of the year” list, throwing something like Angry Birds on there still looks strange to me, even though I personally love the game. Instead of running through the list one by one, though, I’ll post it for you fellas after the jump. Continue reading Time’s Top 10 Games of 2010 Hails Alan Wake

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception Trailer is All Hot and Bothered

Besides Mass Effect 3, the other eagerly awaited trailer at the Video Game Awards was for Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception. Before the Game of the Year was announced (congrats to Rockstar for that, by the way), we got a quick peek at what sort of peril Nathan Drake will be in come November 1, 2011. The trailer also shows a little snippet of gameplay, something that made it stand out amongst the pre-rendered trailers of the night. Have a look see, I know you want to.

November alone is going to be kind of a ruinous month next year because we’ve got this, The Elder Scrolls 5, possibly Mass Effect 3 and who knows what else dropping. If I give this year an S game wise, I might have to give 2011 an S+. What do you guys think of the Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception trailer? What do you hope Naughty Dog will do with the game?

Mass Effect 3 Trailer Makes Landfall

It was rumored, teased and leaked on the EA Store, but now we have official confirmation of the existence of Mass Effect 3. The teaser trailer shown a while back is actually just a small sample from a much larger, much more grandiose effort. Enough mincing words, though. Have a look:

Not too many details about the actual mechanics right now, but who really cares? It’s Mass Effect 3, it’s real, and it’s coming Holiday 2011. I think I speak for everyone when I say “do want”. What do you guys think?

GamerSushi Asks: Big 2010 Games That You Didn’t Play

2010 games you missed

Father Time is a cruel master, marching forward inexorably without a care for our mortal whims, such as the real and growing concern that there were too many games this year and just not enough time to play them all. True, I’m not really one to talk given how many games I’ve put away since 2010 started with Mass Effect 2, but there were some that I’ve missed. Final Fantasy XIII tops that list, followed by Gran Turismo 5 and a couple downloadable titles like Super Meat Boy and Sonic the Hedgehog 4.

True, some of the games passed me by simply because I was busy playing other ones, but every year there’s always a few that slip through my fingers regardless. Since we had such a banner year release wise, with something new to play almost every month, I was wondering if you guys had any games you missed out on. While it is true that we can always go back and play ones that we forgot, 2011 is quickly coming up and the bevy of games that are going to be available then look tasty indeed.

So what games got by you and why? Any you regret missing, or any you passed up on purpose? Go!

Cypress Hill Singer Sues Rockstar Because They Stole His Image for San Andreas

san andreas lawsuitI guess some lawsuits belong under the “better late than never” category, at least according to Cypress Hill backup singer Michael “Shagg” Washington who is just getting around to taking Rockstar Games to court for allegedly stealing his image for 2004’s Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

Mr. Washington, who says he only recently found out about the game’s existence this past July thanks to his nephew, bases his lawsuit on the claim that Rockstar interviewed him on various topics relating to his youth such as gang life and riding bicycles with said gang (yes, really). Mr. Washington was told, after he was “allowed” to leave, that if Rockstar decided to use his likeness in the game, he would be notified and compensated.

Somehow the nearly six year old game managed to escape Mr. Washinton’s notice despite the fact that he recalls being questioned by Rockstar for thematic elements used in San Andreas. Furthermore, he believes that the character CJ is entierly based on him, and he’s looking to be reimbursed to the tune of twenty-five percent of the games total sales-approximately two hundred and fifty million dollars.

This isn’t exactly life-changing news, but I thought it was humorous enough to share with you guys. What is with the recent trend of celebrities suing video games years after they come out for frivolous reasons? Probably because they’re running out of money and video games look ripe for the picking. If you’ve got any thoughts, feel free to leave them in the comments below.

Source – IGN

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception Revealed for 2011

uncharted 3

In the grand Internet tradition of revealing things days in advance of when we’re supposed to find out, Sony and Naughty Dog have popped the cork on the official reveal of Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception before the first legitimate trailer goes up Saturday on Spike’s Video Game Awards show.

In a post on the Official PlayStation blog, Arne Meyer, Naughty Dog’s Community Strategist, dropped some knowledge about the upcoming Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception. Like the previous game, globe hopping will be a main attraction but most of the plot centers around the search for a so-called “Atlantis of the Sands”. The game will pull inspiration from many sources, but Lawrence of Arabia is once that’s getting touted a lot. Players will also get to explore the relationship between Drake and his long-time partner and mentor Victor Sullivan, which is good news if you’re into some potential stubble-on-mustache action.

Also returning are the co-op and multiplayer modes that made their debut in Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, but this time around they’ll be a bit more robust. Single player also includes some new gameplay mechanics like being able to go toe-to-toe with multiple enemies. Naughty Dog also mentioned that Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception will be available in high-definition stereoscopic 3D so you can have a little motion sickness with your platforming.

Not much else has been revealed aside from the potential release date of late 2011, but I expect that Saturday will uncover more about Drake’s third adventure. So, are you guys excited about the return of Nathan Drake? What do you want from Uncharted 3? Go!

Source and image – Official PlayStation blog

Rooster Teeth Plays Horse With Halo: Reach

Rooster Teeth is back once again, this time showing us the amazing versatility of Halo: Reach. Forge mode, for those of you unfamiliar with the game, is a level editor of sorts, allowing you to tweak weapon layouts and add pieces of geometry to maps. While you can’t change the base layout of the level, you can add little additions to it, like ramps off of cliffs and floating platforms in the middle of nowhere. This functionality forms the basis of the video that RT put together, which combines Halo: Reach’s malleability with the old fashioned game Horse.

The hosts say it a couple of times in the video, but this just shows the amazing versatility of a game that ostensibly shipped as just a First-Person-Shooter. The fact that you can put away your guns and play home-made games of your own devising within minutes speaks volumes for Bungie’s design.

GamerSushi Asks: Who’s Playing Cataclysm?

world of warcraft cataclysm

Last night, the evil dragon aspect Deathwing burst from the core of Azeroth, forever changing the face of the world that millions of people have been adventuring across for the past six years. After journeying to Outland and then to the frozen wasteland of Northrend, adventurers are called back to the main continents of the World of Warcraft to see how the Cataclysm has changed the planet.

As we all know, World of Warcraft: Cataclysm brings some big changes to “vanilla WoW”, as the base game is also known. The landscape, which had remained mostly static for the game’s lifetime, has been radically altered by an apocalyptic event. While the expansion does add a bunch of things under the hood, increases the level cap to 85 and re-tools a bunch of quests, this virtual face-lift is the most noticeable aspect of the the changes WoW has undergone.

While I’ve manage to avoid being sucked back into the hype, I know there’s a couple users here (like SK Beans and my friend The Nage) who are busy flying around Azeroth grinding out levels until they reach 85. Amazingly, someone has already reached the level cap for Cataclysm, so no pressure. If you’re playing Cataclysm, what are your impressions? Does it breath new life back into the World of Warcraft? What do you want to see from future expansions?

Game Informer Unearths Details About the New Lara Croft

game informer tomb raider

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light was my biggest surprise of 2010 by a large margin. The previous Lara Croft games haven’t been all that great (I’m being kind, here), so I wasn’t honestly expecting much from a top-down Diablo clone with guns. Once the Great Mustachioed One (also known as Nick) started raving about it, I decided to give it a try. The formula, a mash-up of Resident Evil 5 and Diablo, was a refreshing change from my normal video game fair and it was also a blast to play in co-op.

Since Lara Croft had once again found purchase amongst gamers, many of us began to wonder what was going to happen with the future of the franchise. There were rumors of a reboot of the age-old series flying around, and it seemed like Guardian of Light was meant to tide us over rather than serve as the foundation for a new chapter in the Lara Croft saga. So what do Square Enix and Crystal Dynamic have planned for the heroine?

Continue reading Game Informer Unearths Details About the New Lara Croft

Dorkly Celebrates Health Item Brawls

One gaming related thing that I miss are the side-scrolling beat-em-up arcade games of my youth, the ones based off my favorite cartoons like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The one aspect of that that I don’t miss, however, is the inevitable fight that would ensue whenever a healing item popped up on screen. Even if I was only playing with one other person, we would eventually come to blows. Etiquette is the person with the lowest health gets the item, but we all know it’s survival of the fittest. Dorkly brings back our four favorite Turtles for a trip down memory lane.

Rooster Teeth’s Immersion Episode 2 Shows the Effects of Online Gaming Distractions

Way, way back in the Before-Times (April, to be precise), we posted a video depicting the folks over at Rooster Teeth making a car with a camera rig to simulate the driving in Grant Theft Auto. As it happens, this video was the pilot episode for Immersion, a series where the RT crew explores various video game tropes in real life. The second episode of Immersion just came out, and it features some guest stars doing what online gamers do best: life-destroying trash talk. But when the target is a real solider, what’s the effect? Have a watch and be advised: this is NSFW due to the massive amounts of potty-mouth.

Pretty funny, no? I think this is a really cool idea for an ongoing series, and I’m looking forward to what they’ll have in the future. What do you guys want to see them cover?

Xbox LIVE November Activity Shows Call of Duty Domination

xbl activity list cod4

We all know that most Xbox LIVE users are all about Call of Duty, but I don’t think any of us could have fathomed how deep their collective addiction goes. Since 2007, we have had four, count them four, Call of Duty titles, and they all are being played enough over LIVE to take up a spot each on the Xbox LIVE activity list for the week of November 22.

The Call of Duty game with the lowest placing is the original Modern Warfare at number thirteen. Holding the top two spots are Modern Warfare 2 and the recently released Black Ops. Halo: Reach stays steady at number three, while its predecessor, Halo 3, amazingly comes in above Call of Duty 4 in seventh place. Hit the jump for the full list: Continue reading Xbox LIVE November Activity Shows Call of Duty Domination

Dead Rising 2: Case: West Trailer Knows Its Way Around a Zombie or Two

I love me some Dead Rising 2, so I’m looking forward to the game’s upcoming downloadable epilogue Case: West starring the man, the myth, the legend, Frank West of the original Dead Rising. While Dead Rising 2 focused on Chuck Greene’s prodigious skills with duct tape, Case: West will see the return of the photography element that was so important in the first game. The DLC will be co-op enabled, so you and a buddy can pile-drive zombies to your heart’s content. Capcom just released the gameplay trailer for this bad boy, so have a watch:

This Xbox 360 exclusive will hit sometime in December, so keep that wallet ready. Who here is going back into Dead Rising 2 for some zombie slaying action?

Rumor: Halo: Combat Evolved Remake in 2011?

halo combat evolved remakeDespite the fact that Microsoft has said that they’re not looking at HD remakes, it’s hard to deny the fact that a Halo: Combat Evolved re-release with updated graphics would move a crazy amount of copies.

According to CVG, who pulled the information from UK magazine Games Master, 343 Industries is hard at work on a revival of Halo: Combat Evolved using the Halo: Reach engine. According to “industry chatter” cited by the magazine, the game would hit on Halo: CE’s tenth anniversary in November of 2011 with a true sequel to Halo 3 following up in 2012.

While this is all speculation, CVG points out that this release schedule would fit with 343’s plan to release a new Halo game every year a la Call of Duty or Assassin’s Creed.

Tag this as the most vaguest of rumors for now, faithful readers, because the only actual Microsoft big-wig quoted is UK Xbox manager Stephen McGill who thinks a current-generation Combat Evolved would be a “good idea”.

What do you guys think of this possibility? Will it happen, or is a Halo: CE remake just a pipe dream?

Source – CVG

Review: Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood

assassins creed brotherhood review

There’s a special spot in gamer hell reserved for sequels with a quick turnaround. Left 4 Dead 2, Halo 3: ODST and in some cases, Call of Duty, have all received stick for coming out “too soon”, according to the Internet. So it is with Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, which was announced before the dust on Assassin’s Creed 2 had even settled.

Coming out such a short time after its predecessor, and tacking on a seemingly unnecessary multiplayer mode, Brotherhood fit the bill for the quick “cash-in” built to capitalize on the good will of AC2. Slowly, though, perception of the title began turning around as media came out revealing that the multiplayer wasn’t a shoddy tack-on and the single player campaign was going to add interesting new mechanics. Critical reception is very, very positive, but what’s the GamerSushi stance?
Continue reading Review: Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood Sales Talk Leads to Confirmation of a 2011 Title

assassins creed 2011 sequel

Here we go again, being all psychic with our podcasts. During The GamerSushi Show Episode 11, we got into a discussion regarding the one-year gap between Assassin’s Creed 2 and Brotherhood (which I can confirm is awesome) and the possibility that Ubisoft is looking at the historical murder-simulator as a potential Call of Duty emulator. Turns out that this is exactly what the France-based developer has planned.

In a chat with European news site MCV, Ubisoft’s EMEA markerting and sales chief Geoffroy Sardin confirmed that 2011 will bestow upon us another “big game” in the Assassin’s Creed franchise. Book-ending this reveal is the little tidbit that Brotherhood was the fastest selling title in Europe for Ubisoft, and the series has cracked a total of 20 million titles moved, so very impressive for the franchise that most people weren’t too fond of at the outset.

While the sales figures are remarkable, what about that new game? Mr. Sardin dropped this little line near the end of the interview: Continue reading Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood Sales Talk Leads to Confirmation of a 2011 Title

Dead Space 2 Trailer Shows the Evolution of Isaac Clarke

Dead Space is kind of a cult hit amongst gamers along with Mirror’s Edge, the two sort of forming the spearhead of the “new EA” movement. While the games didn’t do gangbusters either commercially or critically, there are legions of fans knocking down doors demanding sequels, so I guess EA did something right. I myself enjoyed a bit of Dead Space, even though it stopped being scary for me about twenty minutes in. My other gripe was Isaac Clarke, the mute handyman that I took control of. His design was bad-ass, but the lack of a voice bugged me, especially during the later hours when he was still busting his ass to fix a broken ship crawling with scythe-limbed zombies with nary a complaint. One of the major changes for Dead Space 2 is to give old Isaac a voice, and his evolution as a character is detailed in this trailer:

Dead Space 2 is hitting shelves and download services January 25, 2011. It’s one of the two games I didn’t have a chance to get a peek at during PAX 2010, so I’m definitely intrigued. Is Dead Space 2 on your list?

GamerSushi Asks: Your Favorite Achievements/Trophies

dead rising zombie genocider

It’s no big secret that both Eddy and I are kind of Achievement hounds (although I never rented TMNT for a quick 1000 Gamerscore. Just saying.). Throughout my long and illustrious hunt for those precious e-peen points, I’ve come across a few that have stuck in my mind as either being particularly rewarding or memorable.

The original Dead Rising has, for me, pound for pound some of the best Achievements of any Xbox 360 game. I know that some of you will argue the point, but Zombie Genocider took me a good four hours to do and gave me the sweet, sweet reward of the Mega Blaster for my troubles. For time invested versus payout, that one ranks pretty high. Other good ones were the Monument to All Your Sins from Halo: Reach and Mile High Club from Call of Duty 4. I mean, that one was a total pain in the ass, but I count myself amongst a small, elite group of total sadists for getting that.

What about you guys? Any Achievements or Trophies out there that you’re proud of? Any that you’re not too thrilled about obtaining? Go! Oh by the way, commenting is an Achievement!