The sequel to one of the years most overlooked mmorpgs for the PS3 will be releasing in Japan on July 8th. This news was revealed in the latest issue of Famitsu where it was also confirmed that your online avatar’s rank and status will carry over into the next game.

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White Knight Chronicles 2 Release Date Revealed

Tons of other details at the official site . Scheduled for late 2010. Wow… This looks amazing and was completely unexpected. I’m guessing that they announced this before E3 to keep their momentum going.

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LittleBigPlanet 2 Trailer

Rockstar is airing a full, 30 minute animated film on the Fox network to promote Red Dead Redemption, using all in-game assets. This is scheduled for May 15, the Sunday before the game’s release. ( source ) Wow, these guys have guts. First, rather than rely on the games press to explain the game to the public, they cut out the middle man and release documentary style trailers directly to the public. Now, a 30 minute animated game-asset-based film? And beyond clever marketing, this game seems to expertly combine pieces of authentic history, storytelling, game mechanics, technology, and virtual tourism into an amazing finished product like nothing else. I haven’t even played this game yet, but if this turns out to be anything less than brilliant, I will be extremely disappointed.

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Fox to Air Red Dead Redemption 30 Minute Film

Adrian Own, assistant director and senior researcher at the Cognition and Brain Sciences unit at Britain’s Medical Research Council, published a new study. From his website : “The results of our brain training study involving 11,000 people will be published in Nature today. The study, conducted in collaboration with the BBC, showed that practice on brain training games doesn’t transfer to other mental skills. In short, brain training does not make you smarter.” Wow. I guess Sudoku wasn’t the culmination of intellectual achievement that everyone had presumed? I’m not a leading neuroscience PhD researcher at a leading research institution like that guy, nor can I get my research published in Nature, but I’ve uncovered a few shockers myself: You know those fancy bottled beverages at the gas station that claim to improve memory, intelligence, stamina, strength, zen, etc? Nope, it’s just colored sugar water. How about those fitness video games such as Wii Fit that help you lose weight and get in shape? Guess what? Squats, deadlifts, pull ups, swimming laps, distance running, bicycling, or team sports actually work a heck of a lot better.

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Lead Scientists Blow the Lid Off Of Brain-Training Games

Highlights Did you all get your taxes done in time? Anyway, there a few gems this week. If you haven’t gotten it yet, or been on the fence about it, you can pick up Wideout HD (part of the Spring Fever sale) for $9.99 (and a lot of folks here will tell you, it’s definitely worth it (and at 50% off, why not?)). You can also check out a couple demos this week as well, one for Skate 3 and the other for the first episode to season 3 of Sam and Max (titled, the Penal Zone). I’ve gotten the chance to review the whole episode (which also released this week) and you should expect to see a review up in the next few days. You can also pick up Final Fight: Double Impact if you’re into the old side-scrolling beat-em-ups (the game includes classic versions of Final Fight and Magic Sword). As far as add-ons go, as I mentioned earlier this week, the Episodes for GTAIV are out in all regions now. There’s also a few miscellaneous DLC here and there, including the new Escalibur pinball table for Zen Pinball and Fluffer the Cat for PAIN. EU territories should also have more songs for Karaoke Revolution, but other than that, the two places don’t really differ all that much. Also keep in mind, the weekly FirstPlay is available as well. There are some Dynamic Themes as well. The US gets the Mega Man 10 Dynamic Theme 2, while EU gets that, as well as the EyePet Spring, WKC Heartbeat, and Shatter themes. Anything interesting for you this week? US Store United States Sales ► PS3 o Tank Battles ($4.99) o TV Show King ($4.99) o Uno ($4.99) o WipEout HD ($9.99) Price Drop ► Valhalia Knights 2: Battle Stance o $19.99 Demos ► Sam and Max – The Devil’s Playhouse Episode 1: The Penal Zone o 524 MB ► Skate 3 o 920 MB PS3 Games ► Final Fight: Double Impact o $9.99 ► Sam and Max – The Devil’s Playhouse o Season Pass ($34.99) Game Archives ► PSone o XS Junior League Dodgeball ($5.99) minis ► Monopoly o $4.99 ► Sheep Defense (PSP Only o $1.99 ► Sweet Reversi (PSP Only) o $1.99 ► Telegraph Sudoku & Kakuro o $2.99 ► Tonzurakko (PSP Only) o $1.99 PSP Games ► Mimana Iyar Chronicle o $34.99 Add-ons ► Buzz! 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Quiz World (PSP) o Euro Sports Quiz (£3.19/€3.99) o US Sports Quiz ► Dante’s Inferno o Devil Pack (£2.39/€2.99) ► Dead to Rights o Jack Pack o Shadow Pack ► Dragon Ball: Raging Blast o Ultimate Warriors Pack 4 ► Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce o Additional Quests 4 ► GTA IV o The Lost and Damned (£13.99/€17.99) o The Ballad of Gay Tony (£13.99/€17.99) ► Guitar Hero 5 o Singles (£1.59 | €1.99 each) ♪ Give You Hell by All American Rejects ♪ There’s No Other Way by Blur ► Hustle Kings o Basement Crazy Table Pack ► Just Cause 2 o Monster Truck (£0.79/€0.99) ► Karaoke Revolution o Singles (£0.79/€0.99 each) ♪ Alone ♪ Black Hole Sun ♪ Hungry Like The Wolf ♪ Like A Virgin ♪ Midnight Train To Georgia ♪ Put Your Records On ♪ Sweet Caroline ♪ Time Of The Season ♪ Toxic ► LittleBigPlanet (PSP) o The Temples Theme Level Kit (£2.39/€2.99) o The Temples Theme Costume ► Pain o Fluffer the Cat (£0.79/€0.99) ► Rock Band o The Used Pack 01 (£2.49/€3.99 or £0.99 | €1.49 each) ♪ Blood On My Hands ♪ Born To Quit ♪ The Taste Of Ink o Singles (£0.99 | €1.49 each) ♪ All Star by Smash Mouth ♪ Empty Walls by Serj Tankian ♪ Sky Is Over by Serj Tankian ► Zen Pinball o Excalibur Table (£1.59/€1.99) Videos ► DC Universe o Legend Trailer ► Ghost Recon Future Soldier o GRFS Future War Trailer ► Patchwork Heroes o Warship Attack Trailer ► Way of the Samurai 3 o Launch Trailer Avatars Themes Wallpapers ► PS3 Avatars o EyePet – Blue Goalie (£0.20/€0.25) o EyePet – Pet Lying Happy (£0.20/€0.25) o EyePet – Pet With Football (£0.20/€0.25) ► PS3 Dynamic Themes o EyePet Spring Dynamic Theme (£1.59/€1.99) o Mega Man 10 Dynamic Customized Theme 2 (£1.59/€1.99) o Shatter Dynamic Theme (£1.59/€1.99) o White Knight Chronicles Heartbeat Dynamic Theme (£1.59/€1.99) ► PS3 Wallpapers o Dante’s Inferno Dante’s Treachery Wallpaper ► PSP Themes o LittleBigPlanet Theme Japan Store Japan Demos ► Heavy Rain o 1286 MB PS3 Games ► Frogger Returns o ¥700 Game Archives ► PSone (¥600) o Arcade Hits: Wolf Fang o ARTDINK Best Choice Kowloon’s Gate o Hamster Club-i o Hashiriya: Ookami Tachi no Densetsu o Hoshi no Mahoroba o Kyuu Ten Kai o Simple 1500 Series Vol. 28 The Dungeon RPG (¥300) o Simple 1500 Series Vol. 33 The Table Tennis (¥300) o Simple 1500 Series Vol. 39 The Mahjong 2 (¥300) o Simple 1500 Series Vol. 40 The Shogi 2 (¥300) o Zero Divide PSP Games ► Earth Saver Plus o ¥500 ► Katekyoo Hitman Reborn! Kizuna no Tag Battle o ¥4200 ► Kentoushi Gladiator Begins o ¥3990 ► Simple 2500 Series Portable!! Vol. 13: The Akuma Hunters – Exorsister o ¥2000 ► Susume! Mamore! Tatakae! o ¥500 Add-ons ► Dante’s Inferno o Devil Pack (¥300) ► Dragon Ball Raging Blast o Strongest Warriors Pack 4 ► Dynasty Warriors 6 Empires (PSP) o Original Color Set 7 ► Fist of the North Star Musou o Raoh Comic Costume (¥300) ► LittleBigPlanet (PSP) o The Temple Costume o The Temple Level Kit (¥300) ► Kentoushi Gladiator Begins (PSP) o Add-ons (x2 | ¥100 each) ► Phantasy Star Portable 2 (PSP) o Add-on Costumes (x4 | ¥300 each) o Add-on Weapons (x4 | ¥200 each) ► Valkryia Chronicle 2 (PSP) o Add-on Mission (¥100) Videos ► Brink o Trailer #1 ► PSN Store o Monthly Lots of Change Campaign Video Avatars Themes Wallpapers ► PS3 Dynamic Themes o Mega Man 10 Dynamic Theme #2 (¥200) ► PS3 Themes o AngelLoveOnline Theme Vol 17 ► PS3 Wallpapers o Moeru Mahjong Moejong Wallpaper 5 ► PSP Themes o Hanayaka Nari, Waga Ichizoku – Theme ► PSP Wallpapers o Moeru Mahjong Moejong Wallpaper 5 The Japanese PlayStation Store updates throughout the week at 8:15 pm PST Hong Kong Store Hong Kong Add-ons ► LittleBigPlanet (PSP – English | Chinese | Korean Ver) o The Temple Costume o The Temple Level Kit (HK$ 23.00) ► MLB 10 The Show (English Ver.) o 6 Classic MLB Stadiums (HK$ 78.00) o Road to the Show Training Points (HK$ 8.00) o Franchise Funds Increase (HK$ 8.00) The Hong Kong PlayStation Store updates throughout the week. Video Store Updates on Fridays Video Store Update (US) FREE NEW ARRIVAL o Danger Coast l Season 1 – Episode 1 HD MOVIE NEW ARRIVALS o Borderland o Wayne’s World o Predator o Tenderness o The Slammin ‘ Salmon o Beethoven: The Big Break (The Reel Story) o Confetti o Curious George 2: Follow the Monkey o Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas o Evening o Lego: The Adventures of Clutch Powers o R.L Stine’s Mostly Ghostly o The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything: A Veggie Tales Movie o Wild Child o Angel Wars: The Messenger o Mortal Kombat MOVIE NEW ARRIVALS o Borderland o Defendor o Tenderness o The Daisy Chain o The Slammin ‘ Salmon o Beethoven: The Big Break (The Reel Story) o Confetti o Curious George 2: Follow the Monkey o Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas o Evening o Lego: The Adventures of Clutch Powers o R.L Stine’s Mostly Ghostly o The Order (aka The Sin Eater) o The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything: A Veggie Tales Movie o Wild Child o Wayne’s World o Mortal Kombat o Pixar Short: Geri’s Game o Predator o Gas HD TV NEW ARRIVALS o Late Night with Jimmy Fallon | Season 1 – Highlights: 4/5/10 – 4/9/10 Episode # 23 o Saturday Night Live | Season 35 – Tina Fey – April 10, 2010 Episode # 18 o American Dad l Season 5 – Cops & Roger Episode # 14 o Breaking Bad | Season 3 – Green Light Episode # 4 o The Cleveland Show | Season 1 – Gone with the Wind Episode # 17 o Family Guy | Season 8 – April in Quahog Episode # 16 o Legend of the Seeker | Season 2 – Desecrated Episode # 16 o Til Death | Season 4 – Smart Phone Episode # 28 o The Simpsons | Season 21 – American History X-Cellent Episode # 17 o Victorious l Season 1 – The Bird Scene Episode # 2 o 24 | Season 8 – Day 8: 8:00am-9:00am Episode # 17 o Damages | Season 3 – You Were His Little Monkey Episode # 12 o Gossip Girl | Season 3 – The Unblairable Lightness of Being Episode # 18 o House | Season 6 – Lockdown Episode # 17 o How I Met Your Mother | Season 5 – Zoo or False Episode # 19 o Trauma | Season 1 – Frequent Fliers Episode # 16 o Justified l Season 1 – The Lord of War and Thunder Episode # 5 o Law & Order: Criminal Intent l Season 9 – Broad Channel Episode # 3 o Lost | Season 6 – Everybody Loves Hugo Episode # 12 o V | Season 1 – John May Episode # 8 o Human Target | Season 1 – Christopher chance Episode # 12 o In Plain Sight l Season 3 – Coma Chameleon Episode # 3 o The Ultimate Fighter l Season 11 – A Lotta Heart Episode # 3 TV NEW ARRIVALS o Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood | Season 1 – Created Feelings Episode # 9 o Late Night with Jimmy Fallon | Season 1 – Highlights: 4/5/10 – 4/9/10 Episode # 23 o Saturday Night Live | Season 35 – Tina Fey – April 10, 2010 Episode # 18 o Xtreme 4X4 l Season 2010 – Budget TJ Jeep Part II Episode # 8 o American Dad l Season 5 – Cops & Roger Episode # 14 o Aqua Teen Hunger Force | Season 8 – Multiple Meat Episode # 8 o Bakugan | Season 8 – Volt’s Revolt Episode # 7 o Breaking Bad | Season 3 – Green Light Episode # 4 o The Cleveland Show | Season 1 – Gone with the Wind Episode # 17 o Family Guy | Season 8 – April in Quahog Episode # 16 o GT Bonus Round | Season 4 – Marketing Mayhem Part 2 Episode # 14 o Hoarding: Buried Alive | Season 1 – Family Secrets Episode # 5 o Legend of the Seeker | Season 2 – Desecrated Episode # 16 o Til Death | Season 4 – Smart Phone Episode # 28 o The Simpsons | Season 21 – American History X-Cellent Episode # 17 o Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! | Season 5 – Stuntmen Episode # 7 o Victorious l Season 1 – The Bird Scene Episode # 2 o Danger Coast l Season 1 – Episode 1 Episode # 1 o 24 | Season 8 – Day 8: 8:00am-9:00am Episode # 17 o Castle l Season 2 – The late Shaft Episode # 20 o Damages | Season 3 – You Were His Little Monkey Episode # 12 o Gossip Girl | Season 3 – The Unblairable Lightness of Being Episode # 18 o House | Season 6 – Lockdown Episode # 17 o How I Met Your Mother | Season 5 – Zoo or False Episode # 19 o Intervention | Season 7 – Ashley Episode # 14 o NBA Games of the Year | 2009-2010 – Oklahoma City vs Utah 4/6/2010 Episode # 25 o Real NBA | Season 2 – Down to the Wire Episode # 20 o Rules of Engagement | Season 4 Indian Giver 7 o Trauma | Season 1 – Frequent Fliers Episode # 16 o True Life | 2010 – I Have NF Episode # 11 o Two and a Half Men | Season 7 – Keith Moon is Vomiting in His Grave Episode # 19 o TNA Wrestling | 2010 – TNA Wrestling 4/12/2010 Episode # 15 o Deadliest Catch l Season 6 – Slow Burn Episode # 1 o Glee l Season 1 – Hell-O Episode # 14 o Glenn Martin, DDS | Season 1 – Roller Derby Episode # 17 o Justified l Season 1 – The Lord of War and Thunder Episode # 5 o Law & Order: Criminal Intent l Season 9 – Broad Channel Episode # 3 o Lost | Season 6 – Everybody Loves Hugo Episode # 12 o Naruto Shippuden Uncut | Season 1, Vol. 3 – Return of the Kazekage Episode # 32 o Parenthood | Season 1 – What’s Goin’ On Down There? Episode # 7 o V | Season 1 – John May Episode # 8 o The Venture Bros. l Season 1 – A Very Venture Christmas Episode # 14 o Destination Truth | Season 3 – Ghosts of Petra/The Lizard man Episode # 14 o Gangland | Season 4 – Sex, Money, Murder Episode # 35 o Ghost Hunters | Season 6 – Ghosts in the Attic Episode # 7 o Human Target | Season 1 – Christopher chance Episode # 12 o In Plain Sight l Season 3 – Coma Chameleon Episode # 3 o Modern Family | Season 1 – Benched Episode # 20 o Real World Road Rules Challenge | Fresh Meat 2 – Meating of the Minds Episode # 2 o Top Chef Masters | Season 2 – It’s My Party Episode # 2 o Ugly Americans | Season 1 – Treegasm Episode # 5 o The Ultimate Fighter l Season 11 – A Lotta Heart Episode # 3 o X-Play | 2010 – Episode 10: X-Play Weekly 4/14/10 Episode # 10 o Build it Bigger l Season 4 Rio de Janeiro’s Power Island Project Episode # 2 o The First 48 | Season 10 – In Harm’s Way/Jealous Rage Episode # 12 o Iron Man Extremis – Extremis Part 1 Episode # 1 o Degrassi: The Next Generation l Season 9 – Heart Like Mine pt.2 Episode # 11 o Important Things with Demetri Martin | Season 2 – Control Episode # 10 o The Sarah Silverman Program | Season 3 – Wowschwitz Episode # 10 The video store update will be made available on Fridays Store Update Source

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PlayStation Store Global Update for 04/15/10

It’s been said many times that Blizzard is comfortable with Frost being the dual wielding tree for Death Knights from now on, to give a different flavor to the tree and to distinguish it from the other 2 trees. But we know that is wasn’t always that way as evidenced by the many Frost specced tanks back in the day wielding two-handed weapons. Eventually dual wielding became more and more accepted for Frost and then Blizzard added the Threat of Thassarian talent to really support it. The small problem with dual wielding one handed weapons was that it never had any strength on them, a stat that was most desirable for Death Knights. Some of them had just attack power while some had agility and attack power but never strength. Basically they were making use of weapons that were intended more for hunters or even rogues. This is going to change in the Cataclysm expansion, according to Ghostcrawler. Finally Blizzard is going to make dps one handers with Strength on them to fill this need for Death Knights. This is especially important because of the stats changes in the expansion. Right now Death Knights are making do because of the attack power on these weapons but that’s going down the drain in the expansion. Since Death Knights, along with Warriors and Paladins, will get their attack power from Strength this is really needed. This brings me to another related issue. It seems to me that when the new stats system gets rolled in, these current dual wielding Death Knights could be screwed until they get new weapons with Strength on them. Logic suggests that with the new stats system, these weapons could be useless to Death Knights. The attack power that Death Knights want from these weapons will be gone and since they’re really hunter weapons, that attack power could turn into Agility instead of Strength. Unless they some flat attack power on these weapons just like they’re keeping some flat spell power on caster weapons, there’s really going to be a problem. Post from: WOW Obsessed

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Strength based DPS 1h weapons in Cataclysm

We’ve seen existing classes get applied to new races when they allowed Draenei Shamans and Blood Elf Paladins in The Burning Crusade expansion and we’ve also seen existing races get a new class with Death Knights for Wrath of the Lich King. We’ve all had to wait until the expansion came out to access them so it really isn’t a shock that the new race/class combinations announced before won’t be available before the Cataclysm expansion comes out , according to the Developer Chat on Twitter the other day. class character creation Of course you can argue that in those previous examples there was a new race or a new class involved while save for the Goblins and the Worgen, these are existing races and existing classes. So yes, if Blizzard wanted to, they could allow us access to the new race/class combinations like Troll Druid or Dwarf Shaman right now because there’s no new race or class involved. I think the most important thing about waiting for the expansion to allow access to these new combinations is setting up the right structure to make them feel like they not only belong but that the experience would be great. When trying to make sense of the new combinations and how they fit with the lore, there’s talk about Dwarf Shamans making sense because of the Wildhammer Tribe and Troll Druids making sense because of the Horde friendly Shatterspear Tribe and speculation that their proximity to Moonglade allowed them to learn how to be Druids. I remember when Cataclysm was announced there was a theme that the new race/class combos are a result of seeking other ways to defeat the new threat. So there really isn’t much point to seeking the help of these allies and resorting to alternative methods (like Tauren wielding the Light aka Tauren paladins) before the Cataclysm happens. In the Developer Chat in Twitter, they also made mention of making some changes to the starting zones. We already heard about what’s going to happen to the Trolls and the Gnomes in the next minor patch and that’s just a prelude to what’s happening in the expansion. It’s a better idea to hold off on the new combinations so that players could get the most out of these new changes to the starter zones rather than allowing them now and having less players appreciate the changes in the expansion. Post from: WOW Obsessed

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Wait for Xpac for new race/class combos

We know that in patch 3.3.3, honor gain from completing Battlegrounds objectives is being increased. The patch notes also mention that experience gain while doing Battlegrounds will be decreased as a result of this change. You might be thinking that this is a bad thing especially if you’re the type who likes to level up by doing Battlegrounds more than questing. If you think that you’ll hate the next minor patch because of this decrease in experience gain, you actually won’t. This is all a misunderstanding! According to CM Zarhym , they needed to make the change because of how experience in Battlegrounds works. Experience gain comes from completing these objectives. An increase in honor gain from these objectives would yield more experience that what what intended. This why they needed to make the change to decrease experience gain, giving a net effect of no change for experience gain but more honor! Post from: WOW Obsessed

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Patch 3.3.3 BG XP reduction explained

In the recent update to the patch notes for patch 3.3.3, we saw an entry that said that the damage to the Druid spell Starfall, the Balance talent, will be increased significantly. Of course because of the nature of the spell it’s a bit hard to say straight up that the damage was increased by X%. Instead of saying so, Ghostcrawler offered some figures that every theorycrafter would love to have when making their assessment on this change. The short of it is that it’s supposed to be a really significant boost in damage. Main shot Base points 432 -> 562 Coefficient 0.21 -> 0.37 Splash damage Base points 77 -> 100 Coefficient 0.12 -> 0.13 In one post he explained that the coefficients will be 37% (up from 4.8%) for the main star and 13% (up from 1.2%) for the AE damage. An increase for both aspects of the spell, but especially for the main shot,should be a welcome change no matter how people feel about the utility of the spell. As I always say, a buff is a buff is a buff and no one should complain about that. Post from: WOW Obsessed

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More details on Starfall buff

The patch 3.3.3 notes have been out for a few days already and we’ve all seen the entry about the Dungeon Finder being necessary to do the encounters for the Seasonal Bosses like the Direbrew Boss or the Headless Horseman. By itself you can already see that this change will make it easier to find people for these encounters. We’ve just ended the Love is in the Air holiday so you probably know how goofy things looked being able to use the Dungeon Finder for heroics but had to go the old fashioned way of spamming channels looking for people for the SFK Apothacaries encounter. CM Zarhym offers a little more explanation about this patch note entry because it was giving rise to a few more questions and speculations. According to him, the bosses will not be there unless you use the Dungeon Finder so you won’t see the Headless Horseman in the Scarlet Monastery Graveyard during Hallow’s Eve unless you use the Dungeon Finder. Using the Dungeon Finder will teleport you to the area where you’re supposed to fight the boss. Daily boss summons are a thing of the past when the patch comes. You’ll be able to fight these bosses as many times as you want to have endless chance to win the regular loot like the trinkets and rings. Holiday loot troves similar to the loot bag at the end of H-Oculus will drop once per day per players and has a chance to contain the special rare holiday items like the Horseman’s Reins. Post from: WOW Obsessed

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Seasonal bosses and the Dungeon Finder