Thursday, March 13

Follow up: Ex- Marine found dead



After being reported missing in February, former marine Eric Hall has been found dead. Apparently, Hall stopped his motorcycle to smoke a cigarette, which caused a brushfire Hall attempted to escape from by crawling into a nearby culvert, where the ex marine then died of smoke inhalation. The body was then pushed upstream about 60ft, where Hall's corpse was found.



Hall suffered from hallucinations and flashbacks from his time spent in Iraq, where he witnessed his best friend being decapitated by an exploding bomb. Survived by his parents and brother, Eric Hall will be missed.

Source




-Ryizzel


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Sega and Obsidian's RPG Love-Baby

A "modern day espionage RPG" is what it's being described as by Sega whom, together with Obsidian (parent of Neverwinter Nights) are bringing us Alpha Protocol for the 360, Ps3, and the PC.

Feargus Urquhart, CEO of Obsidian says “Alpha Protocol blends Obsidian’s knack for intricate stories, engrossing characters, and significant character advancement with fast-paced modern combat."

The press release tells us the following.


"Loyalty carries a price and no one knows this more than agent Michael Thorton. A talented young agent cast out by his government, Thorton is the only one with the information needed to stop an impending international catastrophe. To do so means he must cut himself off from the very people he is sworn to protect. As players determine how to accomplish different objectives, the decisions made and actions taken in each mission will ultimately transform the type of secret agent Michael Thorton will become. Every choice the player makes as Michael Thorton will carry consequences for his future and the fate of the world."


Alpha Protocol is said to have a third-person real time gameplay much like Mass Effect, and should be coming to us by Spring of '09. Hopefully with more information and screens as well.




-Undrallio


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Two Free DLC Announcements.


This one's a quickie just to let you all know about two of newest Downloadable Contents coming to both the PSN and Xbox Live.

First of all there's Guitar Hero 3; jump on the PSN or Xbox Live today and grab the FREE 3 song track pack featuring the hits "Famous for Nothing", "Flannigan's Ball", and "Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya" by the Dropkick Murphy's, just in time for Saint Pattie's Day.

Then secondly there's an announcement for a big DLC for Burnout Paradise. What's known about this one is we'll be getting a new set of islands, and possibly a new vehicle, and it's free so Burnout users...don't pass this one up.





-Undrallio


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Wednesday, March 12

Motorstorm 2 On It's Way

The sequel to one of the best racing games on the Playstation 3 (Not too much competition however...) has been confirmed and announced with some details about it already and it should be coming in Fall of this year. Check out what the original article has to say after the break (and my prediction at the very end of it all).

MotorStorm returns this autumn on PLAYSTATION 3. Prepare for the next installment of the world’s most brutal off-road racing festival:

* A brand new location: experience the grandeur, diversity and unpredictability of a remote Pacific island
* 16 new diverse multi-route tracks hosting MotorStorm’s unique mixture of vehicles
* The aggressive monster truck now joins your garage
* Split-Screen Multiplayer racing
* compete with up to four buddies on the same screen

It’s the best selling PLAYSTATION 3 title to date and now, it’s time to take to the starting grid again as the MotorStorm festival heads to the tropics.

The first MotorStorm wowed critics and gamers alike with its heady formula of brutal, unpredictable off-road racing, festival vibes and stunning Monument Valley desert scenery. This new outing takes you to a solitary tropical paradise in the Pacific Ocean, ready for a whole new take on no-holds-barred racing action through thick swamps, dense jungle, towering peaks and steaming volcanoes.

Not just pretty backdrops to the action, these environments take centre stage in challenging players with everything in Mother Nature’s arsenal. Thick mud, tangled undergrowth, swift flowing rivers, choking volcanic clouds and searing lava pools all test the drivers to their limits and beyond.

Using the power of PLAYSTATION Network, 16 players can race head-to-head online and, for the first time in the series, racers can hit the gas in four-player split-screen mode. All of the vehicle classes from the first MotorStorm are here again: ATVs, rally cars, buggies, motorbikes, race trucks, mudpluggers and Big Rigs – as well as the newly arrived monster trucks that climb, sprint and roll over any other vehicle in their way.

Delivered to you on Blu-ray Disc, expect a rich festival of off road racing, along with a host of game modes and rewards. It’s brutal, dangerous, relentless, and unpredictable and more than a game - MotorStorm is way of life so stay tuned, the festival is back this autumn and promises to be larger than ever before.



Alright, here's my sum-up of what we know about Motorstorm 2. It is the same game but with slightly prettier graphics, offline multiplayer, and some nice tweaks and small add-ons here and there.

The first MotorStorm game was fun, crazy, and explosive. Literally. But I feel that the obsessive fans from the first game wont be enough to make the second one a huge selling game as well. I also think that the only reason the first one sold so well was because of the fact it was packaged directly with the 80 gig Ps3 in the first place.

Now with games like Burnout Paradise, Grand Turismo 5, and all the other racing sequels that come out every year or two are on their way, MotorStorm wont have much of a chance here. Though there's always the chance that my gut instinct is 100% wrong and MotorStorm 2 will go multi-platinum and win awards upon awards.




-Undrallio


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Iron Chef For the DS and Wii


Do you like food but you're too lazy to get off the couch and make something? Do you also like video games? Well aside from you being a huge stereotype you're about to become incredibly happy with Destineer's announcement of an Iron Chef game coming solely to the Nintendo DS and Wii consoles.

Iron Chef America: Supreme Cuisine will be developed by Black Lantern Studios and will be based off the famous television show Iron Chef. The game will also feature the host, Mark Dacascos' voice and looks, along with other talents yet to be announced.

"If the early buzz surrounding the game is any indication, then fans of the show and Nintendo owners are as excited as we are to be developing Iron Chef America: Supreme Cuisine," said Paul Rinde, CEO of Destineer. "With their innovative control dynamics, Wii and DS are the ideal system for the inaugural Iron Chef video game and believe the ultimate 'secret ingredient' to these games will be family fun."


Jean Sagendorph the Licensing Director of United Media adds in "Iron Chef America possesses all of the attributes for a successful video game: fast paced action, intense competition and a unique gamesmanship that is the hallmark of Kitchen Stadium. We are excited to partner with Destineer in a sure-fire recipe for success - Iron Chef America: Supreme Cuisine."

As the player you get to furiously cook the best dish in an attempt to defeat your challengers in this test of speed, skill, and ingenuity. I wonder if they'll include Wi-Fi compatibility for the DS version, and online for the Wii. I bet that this game would be great online, heck it'd even be fun with 2-player action.

Bragging about being a better cook than your mother would be a dream for us people whom lack that certain flair in the kitchen.




-Undrallio


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Apollo Justice Review



Hey folks, I'm finally going to review a game, but more importantly, I'm going to review the latest game in my favorite court room drama, Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney. As the first game in the series exclusive to the DS, I have high hopes and expectations for this game, lets see if Capcom got it right after the break.



Back in 05, the first AA game hit store shelves in the US. Originally going by the title Gyakuten Saiban in Japan, all the games had been developed specifically for the GBA. Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney however, has been developed from the ground up with the DS in mind. Along with all the old features, such as exploring areas and pressing witnesses, a whole slew of new features have been added features have been added(some of were in the last case of the first game) which take advantage of the DS's Touch screen.

This game follows Apollo Justice, a rookie defense attorney fresh off the BAR, who vaguely resembles Phoenix Wright. Among the other new characters introduced, None of them are as likable as the ones from previous games. Fret not however, you will see some old faces from the series such as, Ema Skye, Winston Payne and the Judge.

While Phoenix Wright may have had his Megatama, which allowed him to tell when people were hiding things from him, Apollo has his own supernatural trinket in the form of a bracelet that allows him to sense when people are lying to him. During testimony Apollo can use an action called "perceive", that zooms in on the witness while slowing down their testimony so you can find their tension or "nervous ticks". This makes for a fun but sometimes frustrating addition for the game, if you can't find the tick.

Making a return from the final case of the first game is the forensic investigation gameplay that takes advantage of the DS's touch screen. Players can now analyze evidence in 3D, dust for fingerprints, spray for traces of blood and make plaster molds of footprints. These new features are a welcome deviation from the game's sometimes linear gameplay.

The graphics in Apollo Justice have also been greatly improved upon. Though most of the artwork seems to be reused, everything seems to have a bit more detailed. This is also the first game in the series to use CGI animations, which helps to immerse players into the game.

Apollo Justice is a great addition to this strong franchise, I just hope the developer can keep cranking out more AA games of this quality.

Graphics 8/10
Sounds 8/10
Gameplay 7/10
Story 8/10

Overall 8/10




-Ryizzel


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Tuesday, March 11

Tremulous



Today, while abusing the StumbleUpon button on my FF browser, I came across a pretty cool game called Tremulous.

In Tremulous, players have the choice of playing two races, humans and aliens. Basically, the object of the game is to build structures such as spawn points and med stations, which are vital to your team's success. The goal of the game is to stop the opposing team from spawning by destroying their spawn points.


Tremulous official site



The only real complaint I have about this game is that...I suck at it. My average life span has to be about 30 seconds before I get mauled by some huge alien.

Sigh...Oh well...




-Ryizzel


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Bioshock 2 No Longer A Fantasy For Little Sisters



It's official, Take Two has announced that their studio, 2K Marin is developing Bioshock 2. It's slated for a release near the end of 2009. Which seems like a pretty long time, but heck it'll be fun seeing what they come up with from now till then.

After the original Bioshock sold millions and introduced an in depth story into what could have just been yet another shooter 2K Marin was formed by a group of developers from the studio that made the first Bioshock, 2K Boston.

All I can say is freaking awesome, this is great news.



-Undrallio


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360 Exclusive, Guilty Gear 2: Overture


Aksys Games announced today that Guilty Gear 2: Overture will be exclusive to the Xbox 360 and should be hitting by Fall '08.

What once was a one-on-one fighting game is now set to be a tactical action game where you have to worry about your team as a whole and utilize them to your best advantage, so as not to get your crap blown in.

Michael Mazanares, the Project Leader of Guilty Gears 2 had this to say, "Guilty Gear 2: Overture retains a lot of elements that the fighting games are known for, so it's cool to see how familiar moves like the Gun Flame make the transition to 3D, Except now though, you're facing off against an entire army instead of just one character. You'll lose badly if you think you're a one-man army, so you definitely have to remember that you have your own army to command."

The following features are what we know for sure so far, looks fairly promising if you ask me.

* Tactical Melee Action: Take part in battle alongside your servants and destroy your enemies
* More than 50 Servants at Your Disposal: Engage in dynamic battles by balancing resources and deploying troops to turn the tide of battle
* Dual Language: Experience the thrilling continuation of the Guilty Gear saga with fully voiced dialogue
* Multiplayer Deathmatch: Team battle or Free-for-all, test your mettle on Xbox Live with up to four players
* Refined Mechanics:Enjoy new items, skills, tweaks, and additional modes not seen in the original import




-Undrallio

source


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Striking Soon On PSN

An independent game developer by the name of Tiki Games has a new arcade shooter for the Playstation 3 and to be released over the PSN, Novastrike. With the release of Novastrike Tiki Games claims to bring innovation to the classic top down shooter genre.

Along with constant updates and additions to keep gameplay fresh they offer no-rail free-roaming flight in game. We should be seeing Novastrike soon, sometime in early '08. Read about all of the features and watch the debut trailer after the break.

NOVASTRIKE is scheduled for release via the PLAYSTATION Network in early 2008.

NOVASTRIKE Features:

*Seven expansive challenging stages driven by objective-based goals

*Free-roaming flight: there aren't any rails here, so players can fly in any direction

*Progressive weapon acquisition and upgrade system: as the player collects weapon drops from enemy ships the weapons themselves become available to the Scythe -- there are nine base weapon systems, each with three subsequent upgrade levels

*Air and ground targets: two separate weapon systems allow the player to combat both air and ground opponents

*Multi-sectioned enemies where individual components can be destroyed; for example, carriers have hangars that launch fighters -- these hangars can be destroyed independently of destroying the Carrier, preventing the Carrier from launching additional fighters

*Multitude of enemies and environments: players combat enemy fighters, bombers, kamikazes, aces, carriers, and destroyers, all leading to an end-boss fight

*You're not alone: friendly fighters, bombers, and destroyers will aid you in your efforts to vanquish the Draelus invasion

*DualShock 3 support

*Continuing support: Tiki Games will be developing additional content for NOVASTRIKE throughout 2008








-Undrallio

source


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Monday, March 10

Hitman Movie to Hit DVD and Blu-Ray On Tuesday


The movie based off of IO Interactive's Hitman series is to be coming to store shelves on Tuesday and fans of the games are going to have their chloroform and fiber wire ready to get it at all costs.

Timothy Olyphant plays the lead role in this one as Agent 47 and the whole script is loosely based off of the video game series. Sadly the movie didn't really deliver, but to hardcore fans (like myself) it's still worth watching simply because it's freaking Hitman, man.

However I wont lie, the movie is fairly skippable if you're looking for more than a decent action movie, go see Live Free and Die Hard starring a different bald headed killing freak.



-Undrallio


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Sunday, March 9

Week 2 of the March Game Releases

Already the first week of March has come and gone and lots of gamers are still being absorbed into Army Of Two that came out last week, but now they may have to put it on the shelf for a while now that Super Smash Bros Brawl is out. Other games of note are Condemned 2 and the new Wild ARMs game for those of you whom aren't Brawling addicts.

I've made some changes to how the weekly line-up will be set up. Instead of me summarizing each game, there will only be a list of games for their corresponding and a screen/video for the pick of the week. Sorry guys, it's just far too time consuming to do it the other way.

Nintendo DS

Winning Eleven 2008 - March 11th, 2008 - Soccer Sim
Nanostray 2 - March 11th, 2008 - Shoot Em Up
Insecticide - March 11th, 2008 - Sci-Fi Action/Adventure


B&W Pick of the Week:

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates - March 11th, 2008








PC

XIII Century: Death or Glory - March 12th, 2008 - Historic RTS
Seven Kingdoms: Conquest - March 11th, 2008 - Historic RTS
Sudden Strike 3: Arms for Victory - March 10th, 2008 - Historic RTS
Lost Empire: Immortals - March 11th, 2008 - Sci-Fi TBS



B&W Pick of the Week:

Sam and Max Episode 204 - March 13th, 2008









Playstation 2

Buzz! The Hollywood Quiz - March 11th, 2008 - Trivia
Buzz! Junior: RoboJam - March 11th, 2008 - Trivia
Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 - March 11th, 2008 - Sports



B&W Pick of the Week:

Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters - March 11th, 2008







Playstation 3


B&W Pick of the Week:

Condemned 2: Bloodshot







Playstation Portable

World Championship Cards - March 11th, 2008 - Cards
Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 - March 11th, 2008 - Sports
FlatOut: Head On - March 11th, 2008 - Arcade Driving Sim


B&W Pick of the Week:

Wild ARMs Crossfire - March 11th, 2008








Nintendo Wii

House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return - March 11th, 2008 - Action Shooter


B&W Pick of the Week:


Super Smash Bros. Brawl - March 9th, 2008








Xbox 360

Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 - March 11th, 2008 - Sports


B&W Pick of the Week:

Condemned 2: Bloodshot




(note, this is a different trailer than the one I chose for Ps3)






-Undrallio


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Parent outaged by nude pictures on XBL!



Breaking news! Incompetent parent's children see nude pictures on "X-box" live!

Last Thursday, a woman only known as Jennifer, reported that her two children had been exposed to nude pictures while playing a game on "X-box" Live. As any good parent would, Jennifer immediately turned off the system and phoned "X-box" Live. Apparently the evil haven for sexual predators told her there was "nothing they could do about it."

Gasp, shock and awe, "X-box" I'm surprised at you! Anyone with half a brain knows you can block gamertags, report them for abuse and set up parental controls, which not only limit access online for children, but also prevent them from playing games with M ratings.



First off, since when can you send pictures via XBL? I know I haven't used the service in a while but, I'm not entirely sure that feature even exists. Secondly, I doubt Support actually told her there was "nothing they could do about it." Support most likely told her about all the actions she could take, but she just hung up, outraged by someone telling to get off her lazy ass and do some parenting.

How dare they!



source



-Ryizzel


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