Category: Playstation 3

Mass Effect 2 on PS3 Will Use Introductory Module to Bring Players up to Speed

mass effect 2 ps3One of the biggest features touted for Mass Effect 2 was the ability to import saves from the original game and carry on your story as Shepard. While PC and X-Box 360 gamers world wide were able to enjoy this bonus, PlayStation 3 users are going to have a bit of a handicap going into the sequel due to the first game never making it to their system. BioWare, ever the crafty sorts, have a solution in the form of an introductory module. BioWare founders Dr Ray Muzyka and Dr Greg Zeschuk relieved a little bit about the module in a recent chat with CVG:

“What we’re providing is an introductory module. We haven’t revealed the details of what that is yet, but it’s going to provide a lot of information on both the context and setting of Mass Effect”

So nothing significant at this point, but its good to know that PS3 players won’t be totally in the dark when they step into Mass Effect 2. Hopefully this introductory module will enable gamers to make the big decisions from the first game in a truncated form, instead of having Mass Effect 2 assign them a pre-determined background like it did for the PC and the 360.

There you have it, PlayStation 3 folks, not only do you get all the DLC bundled with the disc when the game hits in January 2011, but you’ll also have an opportunity to catch up with the universe pre-ME2. This is definitely good news, and the more people that get to experience Mass Effect the better. Any PlayStation people excited about this news?

Source: CVG

Duke Nukem Forever Live Video Takes the Piss Out of Gaming

Duke Nukem Forever, shown in its resurgent form at PAX 2010 thanks to Gearbox Software, is finally gaining some momentum and is actually coming to home systems next year. The game has only been shown behind closed doors so far, but plenty of off-screen footage has been taken. This most recent video, taken at the Firstlook gaming convention in Amsterdam, shows that the humor that was prevalent in the series back in the day is still permeating the title. Whether or not people still find this stuff funny is up for debate, but I thought I’d post the video anyways since I know a bunch of you are jonesing hard for this one. The game actually starts going at two minutes in if you want to skip Randy Pitchford’s pontificating.

I’ll admit that the game itself actually looks pretty good, and the fight against the giant alien is pretty intense (who doesn’t use God Mode at demos?), but the attempts at toilet humor just didn’t do it for me. Also, when someone is urinating, can’t you typically see their equipment? Methinks Duke might be compensating. As always, we’d love to know what you guys think about this new video. Do you bet on Duke, or was this video not doing it for you? Are you maybe dreading the inevitable destruction of the world that will prevent this game from ever coming out? Go!

GameStop: Bonus Trade-In Value for Fallout: New Vegas, Call of Duty: Black Ops and Kinect in October

Fallout: New Vegas

Well, today is just the Saturday of deals, isn’t it? In addition to the XBox Live thank you gift Anthony posted about earlier, here’s another one for all of you dudes wondering how many couch cushions you’re going to have to turn over to get the rest of the games on your Fall list: GameStop’s trade in values for October 2010.

The house-that-used-game-sales-built is currently offering an extra 25% trade-in value towards the purchase of Fallout: New Vegas, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Dead Rising 2 and Kirby’s Epic Yarn. I know those are at the top of several people’s “do want” sheets, so you might want to act on the special before October 17th, when it expires. In addition, GameStop is giving an extra 20% for every 3 games handed in. And to top it all of, they’re also rewarding an extra 25% trade-in value for the pre-order of Microsoft’s new motion gaming hardware, XBox Kinect.

So, with all of that potential trade-in credit abounding, do any of you think you’ll be taking advantage of this? Go!

Source: GameStop Trade-Ins

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood Walkthrough Talks War Machines

To me, one of the biggest question marks of the fall season hovers relentlessly around one title in particular: Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood. The follow-up to last year’s critically and commercially successful Assassin’s Creed 2, Brotherhood worries me in part because it is coming so soon, but also because it seems more like an expansion than a proper new sequel, with all of the increased polish that helped benefit the second game from the first.

However, the occasional bits I see of the game actually keep my hopes up. Take for instance this new mission walkthrough trailer released by Ubisoft, where we get to see Ezio follow and interrogate an engineer of one of Leonardo’s war machines. It seems that a portion of the plot is going to center around Leonardo’s inventions, and we get to see a few of these war machines at the end of the video, including sea vessels and even battle tanks. Assassin’s Creed: Metal Gear?

What are your thoughts on the walkthrough? What is your level of excitement for Brotherhood?

EA Removes Taliban Reference From Medal Of Honor

Bowing to pressure from those wary of disrespecting U.S. soldiers killed by the Taliban, EA has announced that they are removing references to that group from the multiplayer portion of Medal of Honor, due to be released in November. The Taliban will now be referred to as “Opposing Forces”, which is just generic enough to not offend anyone opposed to the change.

Executive Producer Greg Goodrich made no mention of any changes in behavior or gameplay, so it sounds as if it just a cosmetic change and no mention was made of removing references to the Taliban in the campaign, which would likely be a significant undertaking. Still, I can’t help but be disappointed that EA has caved. If video games are going to move forward as a significant art form and a medium, publishers shouldn’t back down if they truly believe in their artistic decision.

One thing I must mention is that it is just a name change. At the end of the day, people are still going to be able to kill U.S. troops in the game, so I am curious to see what the reaction from the “opposing forces” of Medal of Honor will have to say about this.

What do you think about the change? Is EA doing the right thing or should they have stood their ground? Do you think playing as the Taliban in a multiplayer game is disrespectful to fallen soldiers?

Source: Medal of Honor Blog

Welcome to Fall: The Upcoming Games of 2010

Ladies and dudes, the time is here: the fall season of gaming is officially upon us, and all we can do now is paddle as hard we can to keep up with the avalanche of titles falling to our TVs and monitors. Sure, I’m mixing metaphors here a little bit, but the point here is the same: lots of games are coming out, and you no doubt want to play a large share of them. Yes, even though Little Big Planet 2 has been delayed.

Since we’re so nice, we’ve put together an epic list of our 30 most anticipated upcoming games of 2010. You’ll be surprised at just how much is waiting for you. We’ve got everything from RPGs to zombies, DS exclusives and sprawling PC MMOs. Check it out! Continue reading Welcome to Fall: The Upcoming Games of 2010

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Experience the Wealth of Customization Options in Call of Duty: Black Ops

If you’re into online First Person Shooters, you’ve probably come to accept that all of them incorporate some sort of XP progression/unlock system at this point. This fad started gaining steam with Call of Duty 4, and it has been carried over to almost every other shooter since then. Fittingly, Black Ops takes this into the ridiculous territory with the customizations that will be allowed in game. Call of Duty usually avoided having the player customize their in-game avatar, but Black Ops will allow you to give your persona everything from face paint to armor and customized sights for your guns. Seriously, this video borders on ludicrous once the developers start detailing the different kinds of emblems you can emblazon your firearm with. Take a look:

While this is really cool, I think they lost me around the custom red-dot sight part. At some point you’re just adding too much to the investment system, and constantly dangling carrots in front of people gets annoying more often than not. As much as I love Halo: Reach, the poor design of the rank/armor system has really been rankling me (it takes forever to make it past Warrant Officer). Hopefully Black Ops will not suffer the same fate by making more options available faster. So, see anything that catches your fancy? Are you getting sick of shooter with a huge focus on ranks and unlocks?

Outland Trailer Shows the Battle Between Two Worlds, Also Pretty Colors

It’s sort of a running thread around here lately that downloadable titles are owning big full-price titles, something we mentioned on our last podcast. Just to add another bullet point to that argument, I would like to introduce you to Outland, the new side-scrolling platformer from Housemarque, the development studio behind Super Stardust HD. I saw this game running at PAX 2010, and the first thing that immediately caught my attention was the awesome art style. Take a look at the trailer and see for yourself.

Even if it was the sort of generic “PERIL OF TWO WORLDS OH NOES” type of story, the graphics are enough to get me anticipating this. Apparently the gameplay is sort of like Ikaruga where you need to switch colors to damage foes or interact with the environment. Blue bullets won’t hurt a blue suit, and vice versa. Consider me psyched for this, at least. Anyone else interested in this game? Are you finding yourself anticipating download titles more and more often?

Red Dead Redemption Undead Nightmare DLC Trailer Confirms Zombie Bears

As tired as I am of the zombie saturation fad that’s going on, I’m a little ashamed to admit that the Red Dead Redemption Undead Nightmare DLC trailer made me want to go find a copy of the game and play it immediately. As the title clearly indicates, this DLC pack adds a new mission, namely that there are zombies in them there hills, and it’s up to John Marston to find the cure and stop them.

Admittedly, this all sounds so ridiculous, but the new trailer nails the execution. The description also hints at zombie animals and confirms zombie bears that will mutilate you, because, why not? For anyone that’s played the game, the idea of an undead cougar sniping me off the top of my Hungarian Horntail horse is both frightening and titillating. While there’s no official release date, we can only assume that the “very soon” text indicates Halloween.

Anyone going to dead eye some zombie hordes when this finally drops?

Beyond Good and Evil HD in 2011, Produces Joy

Beyond Good and Evil

Listen. You guys are going to have to bear with me for a second: Beyond Good and Evil was one of my favorite games of last generation, which I’ve said more times than I can possibly recount. And Ubisoft has just announced that an HD remake of the game is coming in 2011 to PSN and XBLA. Not only is this just an up-converted version of the game, but the character models and textures are being tweaked for the better, so it looks its best when running at 1080p.

Really, beyond just typing “squeeeee” like a lunatic over and over, all I can say is that this news changed my day. Is that a little melodramatic? Possibly. What I know is that Beyond Good and Evil had an excellent story, awesome characters, Zelda-like mechanics and some great design behind it. While there’s no word on a date or a price yet, we do know that this is coming as a downloadable title, so I honestly wouldn’t expect anything extravagant in terms of cost.

So… am I the only person excited about this? Ridicule me or join in on the enthusiasm.

Source – IGN UK

Everything You Wanted to Know In This Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Gameplay Trailer

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow drops next week on October 5th, and if the earliest reviews are any indication, the game could be a darn good one. To prep fans for all the changes and things to expect in this newest iteration of the long beloved series, Konami has released a brand new gameplay trailer that demonstrates how this is no ordinary Castlevania, and how they intend to take the series down a new path.

With Hideo Kojima in charge, I’ve been impressed with some of the cinematic trailers I’ve seen, and this 11 minute dose of gameplay and introductions is something I wish more game studios did with new releases. If you’ve been on the fence about Lords of Shadow, I’d recommend checking it out, as this might tip you one way or the other.

So, who plans on checking this out? What did you think of the trailer?

Demons’s Souls, MAG And More Are Now PS3 Greatest Hits

Mag: Greatest HitsSony’s popular line of Greatest Hits titles just leveled up with some big names being added to the library of lower priced games. The program, started back during the PS1 era, is a really great way to get some slightly older games at half price. Each game is listed at $29.99 and the new games added include:

Not too shabby a list and it’s nice to see Demon’s Souls get a fresh run as some were afraid that copies were becoming scarce. For those of you who need a little more information about these games, click on our reviews section at the top or click on the hyperlinked games in the list above for reviews of Demon’s Souls, Ratchet and the two Call of Duty games. Do any of these games seem worthwhile to you now that the price has been slashed? Did anyone just buy one of these and is now unable to type due to a facepalm being administered? Go!

Source: Playstation Blog

Zombies Return for Call of Duty: Black Ops

nazi zombies black ops
One of the surprise features in Treyarch’s 2008 Call of Duty entry World at War was the inclusion of the four-player co-op mode Nazi Zombies. Fans of CoD were originally dismissive of this offering, but those of us who played it quickly fell in love with the shambling hordes of Third Reich undead. Nazi Zombies featured a scaling difficulty that meant later rounds necessitated a good team working together, otherwise your soft flesh would quickly provide sustenance for the ravening swarm.

Nazi Zombies quickly gained in popularity throughout World at War’s life-span, with Treyarch adding new maps and even a mythology behind the game. Now that the Call of Duty off-team is up to bat again, they’re putting Nazi Zombies into Black Ops, but tuning it up for the upcoming release. Studio head Mark Lamia gave this little snippet in regards to the return of the walking dead:

“Zombies have been such a hit with our community that we were committed to bringing brand new zombie experiences to Call of Duty: Black Ops. We’ve taken extra special care to retain the essential ingredients of our Zombie game, and have also crafted a nice surprise for the fans.”

There’s nothing else beyond that, but one can only imagine what Nazi Zombies (or Communist Zombies?) is going to look like after two years in development. There have been a lot of changes to Call of Duty since then, so one can only suppose that the mode will change to compensate. I know that my purchase of Black Ops hinged on a Zombie mode, but what about you guys? Ready to kill some whiskey deltas? When more details unfold, we will be sure to include them. If you’re the kind of person who likes a good teasing, Call of Duty: Black Ops site GKNOVA6 has what you’re looking for.

Source – CVG

Enslaved Goes Behind the Scenes With a New Video

Enslaved: Odyssey to the West is a new game coming out from Ninja Theory, best known for the PS3 launch title Heavenly Sword. I’m not sure if we’ve ever posted about Enslaved on the site, so I’m going to do a quick recap for those who are unfamiliar with this game. Taking place 150 years in the future, the game follows two of the few remaining humans as they attempt to find their way home through a decimated North America past the various combat mechs that still plague the land. Sort of a different spin on the old post-apocalyptic yarn, and it borrows some design elements from the show Life After People, if I remember correctly. Check out the new behind the scenes video for Enslaved: Odyssey to the West which also stars Gollum himself, Andy Serkis!

It’s kind of a shame that I haven’t been following this game more closely, because it looks very intriguing. The game is actually coming out on October 5, so it’s hitting right at that perfect time before Call of Duty: Black Ops and Fallout: New Vegas dominate the market. Anyone here thinking of picking this up? Also, I want my title to be “Chief Creative Ninja”.

The Sound and Fury of Fallout: New Vegas

Fallout’s biggest hook, at least for me, is the technology, envisioned as an extension of the 1950’s wistful imaginings of the future. All the computers are big, bulky and full of vacuum tubes, and the guns fire iridescent blobs of green plasma. It’s got a sort of innocent charm the belies the often brutal nature of post-apocalyptic survival, and the team at Obsidian is kicking the technology up a notch for New Vegas. While the game has the typical range of conventional weaponry, new types of energy guns will be included, like the Recharge Rifle, which replenishes its internal battery instead of requiring ammo. Pretty neat, if you ask me. Take a look at the most recent New Vegas Developer Diary for some other changes, including a look at the game’s sound design:

I tried the grenade machine gun during my hands on time with New Vegas at PAX 2010, and it is just as fun as it sounds. I also like they way Obsidian is taking the desert environment into account with distance being factored into how you will perceive sound. Despite some reservation on this title due to the fact that it is in the hands of Obsidian (no offense, but they don’t exactly have a stellar track record), New Vegas is shaping up nicely. Any opinions on the weapons and the auditory goodness in New Vegas? What system will you play it on? Fallout: New Vegas will be out October 19, 2010.

El Shaddai’s Breathtaking Visuals Are Heavenly

El Shaddai, a 3rd person action game from the creator of Devil May Cry and Okami, was announced at this year’s E3, but it has been largely overlooked. That may not be the case after you see this trailer, which was shown at TGS last and showcases the game’s fluid combat and unique art style.

Personally, I’m a sucker for anything that looks like something I’ve never seen before and this fits that bill perfectly. The game’s story is based on The Book of Enoch and the game follows Enoch on a quest to find seven fallen angels in order to prevent a flood which will wipe out mankind. So I hope you dig that Hallelujah-choir because I get the feeling you will be hearing a lot of it. It’s being published and developed by Ignition, who most recently gave us the watercolor world of Muramasa for the Wii. No release date has been announced yet.

So what do you think? Is this something you would be interested in? We always complain about drab games showing brown in HD, but this game steers far clear of that. Would you be willing to give it a shot?

The First 15 Minutes of Dead Rising 2

One of my favorite games this generation is Dead Rising, the zombie-outbreak in a mall title by Capcom. Dead Rising is famous amongst gamers for its obtuse gameplay style and outdated save system, but I loved the freedom of running around in a dress drinking milkshakes and dying my hair. Oh, and killing zombies too, I guess. Despite the fact that we’re reaching the saturation point with the walking dead, I’m still looking forward to Dead Rising 2, and to celebrate its upcoming release, some kind soul has decided to post the first fifteen minutes of the zombie-slaying sequel up on YouTube for all of us to enjoy. Kick back, relax, and enjoy the opening of Dead Rising 2:

It looks a lot like the original, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. Dead Rising, for all its faults, has a lot of notions associated with it, and it looks like the new developers, Blue Castle Games, nailed the feeling of the first. One thing that might irk me is the amount of load screens, but what are you going to do? So, any thoughts on Dead Rising 2? Are you reserving your judgment, or is this fifteen minute glimpse enough for you to go off of? The game is out next Tuesday in North America and this Friday in Europe.

GamerSushi Asks: FPS Control Schemes

While I love playing shooters on both consoles and PC these days, one thing I miss from my more hardcore PC gaming days is the ability for full control customization via the keyboard. It was nice to map any feature to any button, and really helped you tailor your style of play in a unique way.

Tonight, while playing another bout of Halo: Reach, Nick randomly freaked out because his controller was set differently than he normally had it. So, as a result, he asked all of us whether we played shooters inverted or non-inverted. I thought I’d bring that question here.

For me, I used to always play inverted on controllers, non-inverted on a mouse. Eventually some weird switch flipped in my brain and now I play exclusively non-inverted. I’m not really sure how this happened, but it occurred during a playthrough of Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. I was forever changed, apparently.

What about you guys? How do you play? Go!

How do you play FPS games?

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The Grand Theft Auto 5 Wish List

Grand Theft Auto IV

Just a few months ago, if you had said the words “Grand Theft Auto” to me, I might have done a terrible Niko Bellic impersonation or laughed in your face, spouting all the predictable things I’ve come to repeat about GTA 4 and what a let down it was for me. Granted, that would have been before Red Dead Redemption, which has renewed my interest in Rockstar games, and given me hope for the inevitable Grand Theft Auto 5.

The lovable dudes over at GamesRadar have put together a bit of a wish list for Grand Theft Auto 5, plotting out all the things they’re dying to see. As is the case with their other wish lists, I really like some of the stuff they mentioned, particularly the bits about the driving, more wide open spaces and a new time period. I know I constantly get mocked for this, but I just want a GTA that takes place in the future. Call me crazy.

What do you guys think of this wish list, and what would you put on yours?

Source – GamesRadar

GamerSushi Asks: Tired of Zombies?

Dead Rising 2

Zombies. They’re everywhere. Swarming, gnawing, gnashing, brain chomping and being generally ugly while they do it. Not only do they ravage the earth like locusts in fiction, they are rending our gaming landscape littered with their undead bodies. Seriously. No matter where you look in video games these days, there will be a zombie horde doing something unseemly, constructed out of pixels and dismembering other pixelated bodies.

While I am generally eager to play Dead Rising 2, which releases next week, I kind of wonder if I’m zombied out on video games these days. If a game is not about zombies, it will inevitably have a mode that is about zombies of some kind. Sure, fighting the horde is fun, but when are we going to move past this? Next generation?

Anyway, I thought I’d throw the question to you guys: are you zombied out? Are you excited to play Dead Rising 2? What are your favorite zombies in video games? Go!