Oh, wow. March creeped up on us! This is a great month for fans of PS branded hardware since the 2012 Spring Fever event is just around the corner… and the GCA winners are about to be announced! Remember, you get them at a discount, and PS+ subcribers can get them for 50% off. What are the highlight releases for this week? Mass Effect 3 seems to be popular, baseball fans can decide between MLB 12: The show and Major League Baseball 2K12, and fighting fans will also get Street Fighter X Tekken. Vita contines its release onslaught with Unit 13, MLB 12: The Show and Lego Harry Potter Years 5-7. Full list of releases after the break. PS3 Retail Releases You Can Buy Mass Effect 3 Right Here! You Can Buy MLB 12: The Show (PS3) Right Here! You Can Buy Major League Baseball 2k12 Right Here! You Can Buy Street Fighter X Tekken Right Here! Or You Can Buy The Special Edition! You Can Buy Blades of Time Right Here! You Can Buy Top Gun: Hardlock Right Here! VITA Releases You Can Buy Unit 13 Right Here! You Can Buy MLB 12: The Show Right Here! You Can Buy Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 Right Here! PSN Releases PSP Releases

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Releases for the Week (March 5th-11th)

Just head on over to the Playstation Facebook page and follow the real simple instructions. You “Like” the page and click “Submit” for a free Journey PSN Avatar!!! Enjoy!

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Free PSN Journey Avatar for North American Facebookers!

“Wow that was brutal! I want to kill some terrorists!” That’s what I was thinking when I saw this live at the Spike 2011 VGA. Watch it for yourself, and then wait till 2013 to get your hands on it. BRUTAL!

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VGA 2011: Rainbow Six: Patriots Trailer

Wait, another puzzle game? Seriously? It’s not that I hate puzzle games as I actually love them but ANOTHER one is not what the doctor ordered for my entertai… oh, wait, Chiptune music as the foundation (+MIDI extra bells and whistling whistles that whistle) to a great soundtrack for the game ( where can we get it? Ah, thanks! Be sure to pay at least $5 (or MORE )for this great soundtrack!), which adds a great atmosphere all around? Old school polished pixels (remember 3D Dot Game Heroes?) that change into very good looking HD textures when approached? Challenging but fun levels that actually make you think in order to solve them? Hey everyone, a new puzzle game got released on PSN and it’s awesome! In Puzzle Dimension you’re in control of a small spherical whatchamacallit that moves around each level trying to find the solution to all of mankinds problems, the meaning of life or flowers, whichever is closer to it. Since flowers are available on each level, then collecting flowers is what your final goal should be! Once you collect all the flowers in a level you’ll be able to open up the portal that takes you to the next one in this 100 level puzzle game. Tutorial will help you understand how the game works. This iso ne of the few games where actually completing the tutorial is a must as every new element is presented to you one step at a time so you can start your flower hunting session with all that new (and needed) knowledge . Before going on I have to say something that is VERY important to all puzzle gamers out there: There is NO time limit set in place as a deadline for completing a level (thaaaaaaaaaaank yoooouuuu Doctor Entertainment!) so you’re free to reaaaaally think for a while on what the proper course of action should in order for you to make it to the exit in one piece. Game looks great, music is all kinds of awesome… but, how does it control? * You move around with the left analog stick (as is usually the case in 99.9% of all PS3 games) and can also jump in any direction (as long as it’s up, down, left or right) by holding the X button and moving the left analog stick in the direction you want to jump. You only skip over one block and land on the one right after it so take that into consideration. * Right analog stick is used to move the camera around for a better view of the level (rotated by 90° each time) and after the camera moves you should stop as you risk moving in the wrong direction from the change in perspective. * The Triangle button makes you enter camera mode which allows you to move the camera around the whole level to get an idea of what you’re up against and how to approach it. * L2 and R2 help you look above and below you, respectively. Move up a small incline? The whole level rotates with you as well. If you’re on a platform and move towards another one that is just below and over the edge.. you will FALL on top! What happens if there isn’t another platform? Bye bye! Icons on the upper right side of the screen let you know how many flowers are in a set level (grey until you start collecting them), how many you’ve collected (wow, look how they shine!) and what your current score and multiplier are at the moment. Once you complete a level you’ll be shown what your current score is while playing AND what is your current best score for it. There are four “themes” to choose from in the game that change the background for the levels and the style used for all block types. Collecting more flowers unlocks new themes for you to use as only one is available from the start. You should definitely change the theme once you unlock a new one as it does make a difference The more of the level that you “unpixelate” the more points you get. Do that fast and you’ll rack up a multiplier (which goes down slowly if you’re not doing this quick enough) that will allow you to increase your total score. Unpixelate ALL blocks in the level and you’ll get a bonus! Also, Unpixelating all of the blocks in all of the levels will give you a trophy. A GOLD trophy! When you’ve unpixelated all blocks in a level it will have a green circle in the center. If not, the circle will be white. What are the block types available? Here’s a list for easy reference: Regular Blocks: Name says it all. They have no added effects on your trajectory and are the ones that populate most of the levels. Cracked Blocks: Can only be passed over once. They’re usually an important part of a puzzle and need to be used properly to complete it but in most of them they exist for the sole purpose of allowing you to get used to them for the advanced levels. Do remember that Cracked Blocks also give you points which is especially important for the “Replay” trophy. Ice Blocks: When you travel over them you’ll continue to move in the same direction and won’t stop until you hit a non-ice one. Great help for when you’ve found the solution and want to do a quick replay as they help keep you moving non-stop. Sand Blocks: These you’ll hate in the last two clusters. When you move over a Sand Block you’ll stop on a dime and won’t be able to move out of it unless you jump (golf, huh?). Easy at first but they WILL make you have to restart several puzzles because you didn’t plan accordingly. Springs Blocks: Bounce away! You’ll jump over two blocks and land on the third one with the help of this block. Be careful as you’ll jump in the same direction that you were moving before hitting them and with a limited playing field that could mean you’ll land in nothing at all. Swith Blocks: They make blocks appear in pre-designated spaces (you can identify them since you’ll se a white outline were one could be placed) or switch on/off the Spike Blocks that threaten your existence. Speaking of which… Spike Blocks: Touch them and you’re dead. It’s that simple. They can be deactivated by touching a Swith Block but they could instead be activated at another spot so look before you move, bounce, jump, fall or leap in any direction. BBQ Blocks: Even MORE annoying than Sand Blocks! At first you think it’s just a harmless grill-equiped Block so you politely make your way across it… and then the flames are ignited! Touching it again will destroy you so you must be extra careful as they’re placed near switches, springs or chasms you must cross to complete a level and it’s a one way street that ruins your perfect runs in a hearth beat. Stereoscopic 3D is available for this game and while I didn’t have a chance to try it I can easily imagine how it would definitely be of great help in judging distances, jumps and spotting all the different block types from far away. You pick a cluster (more are opened as you collect more and more flowers) and then one of the ten puzzles available on each one. All puzzles inside the cluster start out as a small variation on the first puzzle and it’s main element (hinted at in the name of the cluster) but constantly grow until you’re dealing with a huge puzzle on top, ANOTHER one on the bottom of the board AND one or two more sections to the side which forces you to calculate how gravity can be your friend when treated right. Cluster Eight is called Revisited… which makes sense since it does it’s name justice. You’ll be tasked with solving ten puzzles based on others from the first seven clusters but with new block types placed all around which changes your approach and really helps understand how much you’ve learned so far. Puzzle games on the PSN Store are a dime a dozen nowadays so when a new one is made available on the service it BETTER not be of the “match 3″ or “make a square with the blocks before the beat is dropped!” variety. Puzzle Dimension does things differently and, while it IS a puzzle game, brings new elements to the table that make it a worthwhile purchase for your collection. Before you go, here’s a special extra for all fellow trophy hunters out there: Puzzle Dimension Trophy Guide over at PS3trophies.org! Review Pros Cons Great music that really fits with the game’s genre Pixels, just like in the old days… oh, wait, now it’s super high res textures in HD! 100 levels total. Less than 10 cents per level! Not much really Rating 96% Published by Doctor Entertainment AB Developed by Doctor Entertainment AB Cost – $9.99 Available on PSN Other Information Disclaimer – A copy of the game was supplied by the publisher for this review. – Completed all 100 levels and obtained all trophies (and oh what a fun ride it was!) – Total amount of time played: 27 hours. Want to get this game? Then you can: Buy a $20 PSN Card! Buy a $50 PSN Card!

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Puzzle Dimension Review

Lock and load, come get some!!!! Aliens have stolen all the hot chicks, particularly Duke’s twin playthings….Oh and they drank his beer, now its time to kick some ass. Sadly this game with all its major hype released to some poor reviews, I think it got only one or two favorable reviews, but the rest were..well dismal. This caused 2K Games’ PR firm, The Redner Group, to lash out at the gaming press on their twitter account that caused 2K to drop the firm due to the comments made, which threatened to withhold future review titles to the press. Yikes! But on to the goods, the game! So as I mentioned, this game was released to some very abysmal review scores, and has been the butt of many jokes and subject to some major ridicule. The game picks up 12 years after the events of Duke Nukem 3D, which have made him world famous and the object of much desire! The game starts out in a kind of tutorial mode where you get oriented with the game controls and a few weapons….Now I’m going to drop a bit of a spoiler here, well it’s not really a spoiler, more of a heads up, you are in a locker room and you start the game by urinating (yes I’m serious) after exploring the room there are bathroom stalls, open one of these and you can grab a chocolate log out of the toilet for a trophy…yes you grab poop and get a trophy. For some people this will set the tone for the rest of the game. Duke Nukem Forever is your typical Duke style game, over the top action, crude one liners….and of course gratuitous nudity, and LOTS of it. There is a lot here that reminds me of how awesome Duke Nukem 3D was all those years ago, namely the fast paced action packed single player campaign, then there are some of the tried and true weapons like dukes pistol, shotgun, and missile launcher. Now don’t expect any form of reality in this game, the guns have next to no recoil, and are crazy powerful, effective tools for killing women stealing beer drinking a**hole aliens. There was one thing I found interesting, there was a decent amount of puzzles, yeah puzzles, not really duke’s style if you ask me. But it did give the game a refreshing breath of change, so it wasn’t all bad. I found the level design to be really crisp and vibrant, although the level progression is pretty much linear, there really is no room for exploration like we have in other shooters of the day. That’s not saying that there is no room to deviate from your objectives, you can look at things and go into other rooms but in today’s standards its pretty lacking in the extra goodies department. Controls in the game are so-so, not the greatest, but not the worst. I’ve read that people find the controls too jumpy, especially in the aiming department, for me I found aiming and shooting to be just fine, for me the movement seemed a bit off. Duke seems to glide rather than walk or run, and the jumping seems a little over responsive. There is some parts of the game where the bad and good controls mix, to form an entertaining mess of awesomeness is the driving. Your first driving experience is early on in the game when you drive a remote control buggy, woo fun times, then there is typical Duke fashion, the monster truck driving, whoa boy, talk about epic lol. At times its hard to control, but once you get it down, wow, lots of fun, and some HUGE jumps! Weapons and items in the game are pretty typical, with a few exceptions, some of the more over top weapons are the Ripper (or chaingun) and the devastator. The Ripper is a big gun that fires a million and one bullets and is great for groups of enemies. The Devastator, my favorite weapon in all of the game, this weapon is a twin launcher that fires small rockets at a dizzying rate of fire, they call it the devastator for a reason! Then you have your typical handguns, sniper rifles and shotguns, along with a mix explosives ranging from laser trip mines to pipe bombs. There are few items in the game, most noteably is the beer, drinking this increases Duke’s damage dealt but gives you the ‘drunk’ effect by blurring the screen, then you have the steroids. These increase your melee atack damage quite a bit, but lower your “Ego”, Ego is your health….fitting lol There is a multiplayer mode in the game but the few times I tried it I couldn’t get into a game for some reason. But there are 8 modes and an experience system, that I think is only good for purchasing things for your MP avatar. I’ve read mixed reviews about the multiplayer, but for me Duke is not a multiplayer game, its a long and awesome singleplayer experience. Amidst all the negative press, the poor reception and the constant complaints about how crude the game is, there is one glaring, outstanding thing that has been done right, and that’s Jon St. John is yet again the voice for Duke, who adds an immeasurable amount of personality to the king. He’s done the voice since Duke Nukem 3D and has been the one thing that people across the board have agreed that was done right. Overall for me this was a no brainer purchase, I have played duke since the days of DOS, for you young kids, DOS is an operating system us old farts used in the stone age. I’ve played nearly every version of Duke Nukem and I knew what to expect going into this game, for me I enjoyed this game. I think it got some bad press because the “Duke style” had been long forgotten. Forgotten was Dukes rude and crude behavior, long forgotten was the play style of Duke and what he stands for, in the past almost 9 years since our last serious duke game, and the almost 15 years since the best Duke game ever a lot has been forgotten about the worlds most famous hero. With the bleeding heart liberals of today trying to tear down the gaming industry and to try and take away the rights of developers to freely develop their art, things have changed. I think this was not only a good game but also a step forward in recognising video games as an art form and to be protected by the freedom laws we all enjoy. So in closing Duke Nukem Forever isn’t as good as it should be since it has been in development for 14 years. But, if you are rude and crude die hard Duke fan like myself, I say go pick this up, its definitely a game worthy of your game collection. If you are a gaming fan, who doesn’t mind some nudity and dirty language paired with over the top gameplay, wait till this game gets a price adjustment to $39.99. If you are easily offended….stay away….FAARR away, oh and also don’t let the kids see this *Whispers* Let them play it, but keep it from the wife, I won’t tell *Whispers* Review Pros Cons Jon St. John as the voice of Duke Over the top, edge of your seat action Fantastic graphics True to Duke gameplay Controls can be ‘sluggish’ Some people find the humor offensive Not the game it could have been, for all the development time it had Rating 55%

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Duke Nukem Forever Review, Got balls of steel?

Wow, that was a mouth-full! You can now sign-up at infamousthegame.com for a chance to gain access to the inFAMOUS 2 User Generated Content (UGC) Beta. You have until March 21st at 2pm Pacific to sign-up. Then, “the best of these missions will be handpicked by Sucker Punch to auto-populate into every user’s game world on or near the launch day of inFAMOUS 2.” You can find out more on the official PS3blog site here .

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inFAMOUS 2 Limited Release User Generated Content (UGC) Beta Details

Robot Entertainment is an independent developer that formed from the ashes of Ensemble Studios, which had closed down a couple years ago. If you haven’t been a gamer outside of Sony’s consoles, Ensemble was the developer behind the very popular, Microsoft-owned RTS franchise of Age of Empires (as well as Halo Wars). None of their games had made it to Sony’s consoles (unless you count the Japanese, Konami-published version of AoEII: The Age of Kings in the early days of PS2), until now. The team invited us to their development studio in Plano, Texas last week to show us, which was referred to at the time, ‘Game 2.0′. Apart from them finishing up on the beautiful AoE: Online (which was once going to be numbered as the 4th installment of the franchise), their main goal at this time is to get their first Intellectual Property, as Robot Entertainment, out in gamers’ hands to enjoy. The game they showed us is simply called Orcs Must Die! With a name, a trailer (which we posted yesterday ), and some hands-on time with the game (3 levels, in fact), this is what I think of it (I will start by saying that the trailer does not do the game justice). Basically, the premise is that your hero must stop waves of orcs from busting through defenses you set up to reach a rift at the end of the level. It’s not entirely a tower defense game, though it does share a lot of similarities. Instead, OMD! Is a third person action strategy title. Now, personally, I haven’t been huge on strategy games (though I can see myself getting into them very easily), but there is something about this game that really, really has me wanting more, because the game is tons of fun. To start, the art direction is very fantasy-based (as is suggested by the name as well), and had a very ‘World of Warcraft’ look to some of it (in fact, upon first looking at the trailer, from what little of WoW I have tried, the levels did have a similar look in my opinion), but a lot more polished and much higher resolution textures (there have been new shaders added since, and are reflected in the new screenshots). It does fit the game nicely, though, so I can’t complain. Robot Entertainment doesn’t currently have their own sound department, so that’s been outsourced, but the music when the hoard is approaching, and the sound of traps going off, etc fits in pretty well. Outside of the ambient noises you hear, there is also some humorous character dialogue with your hero (and his cheesy one-liners) and the enemies, which can often get a good laugh out of you. With that said, Robot isn’t stopping there with the humor. The entire goal of the game is to have plenty of humorous elements, and a lot of that even extends to the gameplay (more on that in a few). Some of the traps you set will, essentially, dismember the orcs into a mess of or giblets (which look like giant, green hams on the larger Ogre enemies). Rolling body parts will also leave a trail of blood, so you can make a pretty good-sized mess if you happen to rip these guys up at the top of a stairwell. Even some of the animations can garner a chuckle. Catch an orc on fire? He’ll grab his ass and run like it hurts (think Looney Tune-style). There have been a couple instances where some of the AI would lock up and not do what it’s supposed to, but, according to Robot, that has already been rectified on a newer build. Overall, though, the game is definitely shaping up to be rather polished on that front. Of course, the look, the sounds, and the animations of the game are important, but it’s nothing if it doesn’t have the gameplay to back it up. Luckily, this game seems to have enough to make you want to continue to play for long sessions, and then go back to play levels you’ve already beaten. From what we’ve played, there are 3 enemy types so far. You have the standard Warrior orcs (which there is the most of), the archer orcs, the runners (which are faster, but their only goal is to reach the rift, so they won’t go after you) and the ogres (which are much larger and take a lot more to destroy). There will be more variety in the final version, though. In order to stop the hoards of orcs, you have the ability to use both traps and magic spells. Although what we got to play was pretty limited, there was still a good variety of different items to use (in fact, you will unlock a new spell/trap after each level in the final game). The kinds of traps we got to try out on our hands-on time included a springboard, spikes that pop out of either the wall or the ground, a giant swinging mace, spinning blades that slice up the orcs on a wall, and an Indiana Jones-style trap that shoots arrows out of the wall. Each trap has a visible trigger zone (when you set the trap), which causes them to engage. Some traps are effective outside of the trigger zone; the launching arrow trap, for instance, will shoot arrows across the entire map, assuming nothing gets in the way. Personally, I think the most useful trap to use would have to be the tar pit, which slows the hoard down, allowing more time for the traps to take care of business (as each trap, save for those like the tar pit and swinging mace, have a variable reset time). None of the traps will affect you, though, so you can walk through them without any problems. One of the really cool things you can do is set up traps to work with other traps (which is easy to do, as they’re placed in a grid basically). Example? On the last level we played, the Tower, you can set up a springboard to launch enemies into the lava pit (the much larger Ogres are unaffected by that trap, though). You can also get pretty creative. Mount a blade trap on the wall and have the springboard launch the orcs at that, cutting them up into pieces before they hit the ground. Except for the runners and archers, you can also get orcs to follow you into traps, for great satisfaction. There are world traps within the level as well. In the Tower, there are a couple chandeliers over the area the orcs initially walk through, as well as spiked logs that can roll down the stairs and take out multiple enemies at once, creating a huge mess of orc pieces (these kinds of traps are especially helpful against the ogres). I saw someone take out three of the ogres at once using the spiked log (you just have to shoot an arrow at the trap to set it off), for instance. Some levels also have some stationary weapons, but they aren’t as powerful and are more useful as a last resort. If you can manage to kill an orc using more than one device, you also get combos on those kills. Launch an orc over the lava and have an archer set up, who manages to shoot him in the air before he hits said lava? X3 Combo. The points you get are basically cash, so the higher the combos, the more cash you have to spend on traps (so yeah, you don’t have limitless funds, so spend the points wisely). The nice thing about the game is, after every 3rd or 4th wave of enemies, you get a break that allows you to remove traps that aren’t effective (and you get full value of said trap back), or move them to another spot, as well as going through the level and setting up new traps. You can’t reset world traps, though, so use those wisely. You can also set up new traps on the fly while the waves are advancing as well, but from what I tried, you can’t remove the traps until you get another one of those mid-level breaks. At least with the breaks, you can start the advancement of the hoard at your discretion (by the push of a button), so you will have plenty of time to prepare. Now, I think I covered the main bits of the gameplay, but, just a heads up, the arrows and spells do deplete your magic bar (I can’t remember what it was officially called), but it does regenerate over a short period of time. You also have a sword you can use, but if you’re being overwhelmed with enemies, it becomes pretty useless. You can, eventually, take out an ogre with it, but it takes a while. They’re quite useful against the runners, though, since they won’t go after you; just swing away! If you happen to die, you will respawn. I don’t think there’s a limit to the number of lives you have, but you do lose money/points for dieing, so you won’t be able to lay as many traps. The levels we played were also linear, so there is only one path for the orcs to follow. Some levels will have teleportation doors you can walk through to take you to other parts of a level quickly, too. When you get to the harder levels in the game, the AI of the orcs is less predictable, and you will also have to cover multiple paths and protect multiple rifts, which will, undoubtedly, add to the challenge. Unfortunately, at this time, we had to play it on a PC, as they’re still trying to figure out a good controller interface that will allow you to select traps on the fly (the screens in the article are also from said version, but it should look about the same across all platforms). The PC version’s traps are numbered, so they’re pretty easy to select. On the controller, since there are less buttons, Robot has to figure out a way to intuitively apply those controls. A lot of ideas have already been thrown around (such as holding down shoulder buttons to bring up a menu, etc), but they did say that they may have to redesign the UI because of it. With that said, this is definitely a title you will want to keep your eyes on. I’ve probably played the Tower level three or 4 times, trying different trap setups and just messing around (that particular level takes between 12 and 15 minutes to play). That level has eight waves of enemies (and is one of the middle levels), and has the largest variety of them that I’ve played (it even has a wave of enemies that includes three ogres). I can’t wait to see what other traps will be in the game, and from my understanding, when you unlock different weapons and traps, you can go back and play older levels with the new toys. One of the things I hope to see is an endless mode, with an unlimited number of waves, just to see how long you can last. Another popular suggestion was a co-op mode, but Robot has stated that their main goal is to get the single player experience out of the way first, instead of taking more time to add to the game’s release date, but didn’t rule out a possible update some time after release (they plan on supporting the title long after release, so anything is possible). Also, personally, I think this game would be great on the NGP/PSP2. Use the front touch screen to select weapon/trap instead of looking through menus, etc. The dual analog stick setup will make aiming the placement easier, of course, but the touchscreen would make selection of items that much easier. I think it’s a perfect fit; hopefully the game will be successful enough to be ported to the handheld as a launch title. Anyway, keep in mind, as I mentioned in the trailer post yesterday, this is a downloadable title. In fact, Robot plans on doing smaller titles for the foreseeable future, as they no longer want to work on 3 year projects (this one has been in development for about 6 months now, and releases this summer) Currently, there is no publisher for it, but Robot Entertainment is weighing its options. Self-publishing, according to Patrick Hudson (the CEO), is a possibility on Steam and Sony’s own PSN (since they’re way more open), but said that Microsoft would usually only allow titles to be self-published if it were exclusive to XBLA, so, in order to reach that audience, they may have to go through a larger publishing firm (such as EA or THQ, etc). Either way, I can’t wait to see more of this game, as well as any future projects they have planned! If you happen to be going to PAX East next month, be sure to check the game out over there! They’ll be at booth 761. Swag Giveaway! Upon arrival at my hotel, Robot Entertainment left a goodie bag in my room. Since I likely won’t use any of these, I figured I’d send them all out to you guys on a first come, first serve basis. They knew I was a big guy (as I told them), but they underestimated my size, so I also have a t-shirt to give as well! Here are the prizes, as pictured above: Size 3XL Robot Entertainment T-Shirt Robot Sticker Book Robot Entertainment Pins (2 winners) Hat Can/Bottle Holder As I said, this is first come/first serve, so PM me (go to My Account at the top, drop down to Messages, click on compose, and put JimmyMagnum in the “Send to” field) which prize you want, and which order you would prefer (from top choice to last choice), in case someone else picked your top choices first. I will list winners as soon as the prizes have been accounted for, and will, then, contact you on your next steps! Special thanks to Steven Artlip from Platform*Nation and, especially, Robot Entertainment for the hospitality and the chance to cover this!

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Orcs Must Die! Hands-On Preview and Swag Giveaway!

Preview Part 1 This is my official preview of an officially terrible game. I don’t know where to to start with the unoriginal idea concept itself or the monotone and washed out color palettes. Now if you happened to be living under a rock and missed my “you”ll pay for the whole seat, but you’ll only need the edge!” live twitter posting the other night, you’ll know that even then I thought the gameplay was a carbon copy of Killzone. Now mix in other games like Mirrors Edge, Infamous, Call of Duty and give a “space astronaut” kind of feel – BAM – you’ve got Crysis 2. Now granted I was only able to play for about an hour and what I did play, didn’t jump out and excite me in any way shape or form. And even if it did, I certainly wouldn’t tell you. Crysis 2 multiplayer is designed around team based gameplay between two factions – the C.E.L.L and the Marines and includes six gameplay modes and 12 maps set across recognizable locations in New York City. Apparently derived from a PC version of the original game, they should’ve left it on that platform. “Team Instant Action is Crytek’s version of deathmatch.  The mode pits two teams against each other as they kill as many opponents as possible to earn higher ranks.” Team Instant Action? Really? Couldn’t you just call it deathmatch and stop trying to pretend you’re on the forefront of original gaming? This video game was a great idea. When it was done the first time. When it was called “Halo”. I played multiplayer “instant action” amongst other colleagues that night and I didn’t notice a hint of “wow” or anybody actually talking to anyone about the game. The high point of the evening is when Veronica Belmont walked in and was going to do a “Qore” style piece on the game and suddenly realized that the development company had completely catered to XBOX – she actually posed with a PS3 controller to make it seem feasible whilst someone behind her actually played the game during the segment. Preview Part 2 I don’t think I’ve ever been insulted as a gamer before, but this game comes close to it. To top it all off, they declined me an interview – twice. I even tried to get an interview with “one of” the creative directors and he said I should talk to the PR lady who seemed to be running the show. Which i did – twice. So even if I wanted to ask them about the game or the facets I was concerned with – I couldn’t. I even tried to get redeem codes for the PS3 demo version – DENIED. I never played such a one dimensional attempt at a video game, although a few come to mind, I’m not going to even try to waste your time to even try to justify it by any means. You’ll have to try it out for yourself and make your own decision. All in all, it’s sad that companies will sell out to highest bidder, and in the end, the work suffers. I think the fact the demo is already out on XBOX and PlayStation folks have to wait until March 25th – is a blessing in disguise. That happens with a lot of money hungry companies who don’t put out a quality title because they want to make a quality product; it’s because they’re too tired from swimming around in Bill Gates’ money vault. There may be some people that actually enjoy mindless entertainment like this horrid title and don’t wish for anything more in life. Then again, I could be wrong. I’ve been known to make mistakes from time to time. Between you and me, I would expect to see this in the bargain bin real soon, so don’t waste your money. Did I mention I thought this game stinks? It stinks. UPDATE: Since writing this: In a statement printed on its website, Crysis 2 developer Crytek says it’s aware of issues regarding the Xbox Live-exclusive multiplayer demo, and is “working to resolve” them “as quickly as possible.” Known issues include sudden disconnects from servers and, for some, constant console freezing when first joining or concluding matches. Surprised? I’m not. Press Release Official Press for the game: EA AND CRYTEK ANNOUNCE  CRYSIS 2 MULTIPLAYER DEMO Xbox 360 Exclusive Demo Gives Gamers an Early Look at One of the Most Anticipated First Person Shooters of 2011 REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – January 21, 2011 – Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) and award-winning developer Crytek GmbH, today announced the  Crysis 2 Multiplayer Demo. Starting January 25, the multiplayer demo will be available exclusively on the Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system for Xbox Live Gold Members and will allow them to experience the unparalleled gameplay variety offered by the franchise’s signature Nanosuit in a multiplayer setting. In 2010,  Crysis 2 was honored with over a dozen awards from critics around the world, in recognition of its intense, addictive and stunning multiplayer. Crysis 2 multiplayer catapults players into a war-torn Manhattan where two teams fight to the death; each using the powers of the Nanosuit to be fast, be strong and be invisible. Maps will be set across Crytek’s stunning recreation of New York City, presenting players with vertical gameplay that allows them to strategize, attack and defend from above and below. “ Crysis 2 offers a fresh, new take on multiplayer – one that will stand out and establish the game as a top contender in the first person shooter genre,” said Cevat Yerli, CEO of Crytek. “The Nanosuit gives gamers a sense of power they have yet to experience in any other shooter and having New York City as a backdrop will present a different type of playground with even more possibilities.” The  Crysis 2 Multiplayer Demo will feature the “ Skyline” map , and two game modes; “ Team Instant Action” and “ Crash Site” . “ Team Instant Action” pits two teams against each other as they kill as many opponents as possible to earn higher ranks. In “ Crash Site ”, players will battle for control of alien drop pods, earning points by guarding their pods and keeping enemies at bay . Developed by Crytek UK, Crytek’s specialist multiplayer studio,  Crysis 2 multiplayer will include six gameplay modes and 12 maps set across recognizable locations in New York City.  Throughout the campaign, players can earn up to 50 multiplayer ranks and a variety of different upgrades to their weapons and their Nanosuit. To learn more information on the  Crysis 2 Multiplayer Demo, please visit  http://crysis.ea.com/demo . Gamers who pre-order  Crysis 2 will receive a copy of the  Limited Edition of the game which includes bonuses such as a camouflage skinned SCAR assault rifle and early access to the Holo Decoy attachment, a weapon attachment that projects a moving holographic mirror of the player*.  Platinum Dog Tags displaying a player’s multiplayer rank and stats will also be available with the Limited Edition along with a Bonus XP award which can be used to boost a player’s rank*.

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Crysis 2 is Actually Quite a Crisis of a Game.

Ghostbusters fans rejoice. According to Atari, and their Ghostbusters the Video Game Facebook page , the new Ghostbusters: Sanctum Of Slime will be available to download from the PlayStation store on March 23rd. It looks like it will be a 4 person co-op game for sure. Can’t wait for this one!

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Ghostbusters: Sanctum Of Slime to hit PSN March 23rd

Two Worlds 2 will be available in stores on Tuesday January 25th, but you can win it here before you can even buy it, compliments of SouthPeak Games and PS3blog.net. This contest is open to the world, but the game will be a NA copy. Hit the jump to enter and see more details on this amazing looking game that is getting rave reviews from around the world!! Contest To win this Exciting game, you must first be a member of PS3Blog.net. You can register here . This next part is a little different, so pay good attention!!! You will need to donate 100 points to ‘ Lottery2 ‘. You get 100 points alone for just joining PS3Blog.net! For all the ways to earn points, click here . You may enter a total of once per day, until the contest is over. To donate, just click our shiny new “Enter Contest Button” below, and donate your 100 points. If that doesn’t work for you for some reason, just make sure to donate to ‘ Lottery2 ‘ by clicking on your points above and typing in Lottery2. Be sure to come back everyday and enter again. I will randomly pick a winner on Sunday, January 23th about 5PM Pac time, so u have up to 10 chances to enter. Good Luck!! Game Details “Two Worlds II” offers a perfect RP symbiosis of sheer atmosphere and dazzling technology. A complex quest system with an exciting main story that leads you through the world of Antaloor, plus lots of secondary scenarios with their associated quest stories ensure that the followers of the main story AND the adventurous souls who love the danger of exploring unknown regions will ALL get their money’s worth and more! The many quests and video sequences, drenched in sheer atmosphere, drive the story mercilessly onwards. The sequences include ingame and render videos, all seamlessly integrated into the actual gameplay. Completely redesigned AI and Balancing standards, experienced authors, the flexible combat system and the fabulously intuitive management of magic are further guarantees of game enjoyment, for RPG professionals and newcomers to the genre. The realistic behavior of the NPCs and other opponents in the game world is the key to sophisticated way-finding parameters, an ingenious communications network between NPCs and a continuous comparison of game data. The player has many ways of getting to wherever he wants to go, like walking, running, sprinting, riding, swimming, sailing and teleporting. As far as combat is concerned, there’s a clever and artistic system of attack and defense moves available – all realistically integrated into the game by means of Motion Sensing. Active parrying, variable attack tactics with different hit results, and the reaction of the opponent to the selected strategy all ensure that every combat scenario becomes an unforgettable, individual experience. And the comprehensive magic system is also unbelievably flexible, thanks to the DEMONSTM technology. Players can use a complex card system to create almost as many spells as they want from the five mana sources of Air, Water, Earth, Fire and Dark Magic. An imposing particle system also ensures that the magic effects are implemented in spectacular fashion. And the same applies to Alchemy – thanks to the PAPAKTM method, players can brew unique potions for their experiments, using a huge spectrum of substances ranging from plants to minerals and animal ingredients. Flexibility is also the key word in the design possibilities for weapons and armament items during gameplay. The technical foundation behind this feature is the newly created CRAFTTM tool. Thanks to this system, the player can break down almost any item into its basic materials like steel, wood and leather. These materials can then be used in turn to upgrade other items. Artistic-minded players can even buy paints and design their own individual armor and weapons. Then there are magical runes and artifacts which can be incorporated into weapons and items of armor. The combination of these three basic types of customization will give players an almost endless range of possibilities for creating their own equipment designs! Then we have the GRACE engine, especially developed for “Two Worlds II”. In combination with the extremely flexible MoSens Cap system, it enables an almost unimaginable freedom of movement when the hero is walking, running, fighting and interacting with his environment. “Two Worlds II” is graphically superb, thanks to the powerful engine, which is packed full of technological highlights like an unlimited number of dynamic light sources, 24 bit HDR post-processing and Real Eye Adaptation. It will drastically reduce loading times, improve general game performance, and enable full gameplay with only moderate hardware requirements. FEATURES -A flexible combat system with variable attack moves, parrying and special tricks -State-of-the-art technology, thanks to a powerful GRACETM engine and special tools -Lots of mini-games for breaking up gameplay -Intuitive user interface for the DEMONSTM Magic system and the PAPAKTM Alchemy system -Mercenaries and magically-created beings accompany the player -Complex object management with movable and usable items -Special CRAFTTM tool enables the individual configuration of armor and weapons -Many Boss opponents, including special combat strategies and unique rewards -Flexible MoSens system guarantees realistic everyday and combat movements -Various ways of moving, like walking, running, sprinting, riding, swimming, sailing and teleporting -Captivating background story with numerous cutscenes -Extensive Multiplayer part including building/setup simulation Source and for tons more info see http://www.twoworlds2.com Game Trailers

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Win a Copy of Two Worlds 2 from PS3Blog.net!