ZeniMax Takes Another Dev

By Mark

ZeniMax, who most recently acquired Tango Gameworks and Shinji Mikami, have now got hold of MachineGames. The studio is packed with the guys from Starbreeze Studios that made the original Chronicles of Riddick. While this isn't technically official, the studio has filed to change their name to ZeniMax Sweden AB so it's looking pretty much like a done deal.

ZeniMax are now looking like a behemoth in the industry what with iD Software, Bethesda, Tango Gameworks and now these guys and more.

Source - http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=273890?cid=OTC-RSS&attr=CVG-General-RSS

Infinity Blade Trailer Blows Lid Off iPhone Games

By Mark

Everyone loves a good iPhone game to waste some time on but rarely (and by rarely I mean never) have they looked this good. Infinity Blade is the first title to come out properly running on the Unreal Engine 3 and developed by a subsidary at Epic called Chair Entertainment.

It looks to be a fully functioning action RPG with skillsets, slashing and fantasy galore but its also stated that it will contain some form of multiplayer content. Check out the trailer below.

Keep Those Clothes on Kinect Owners!

By Mark

This is pretty hilarious. I'm just gonna let the picture say all the words that need to be said here.

Click to enlarge!

Black Ops Live Action Trailer

By Mark

With CoD: Black Ops only a weekend away now comes this live action trailer. It's pretty decent and also features some American famous faces, check it out!

New Free2Play Battlefield Game Announced

By Jonny

Today EA announced a brand new Battlefield title which will be part of the publishers Play4Free line of PC games. The game will will allow up to 32 players to battle it out online as either the United States or Russia all on the PC. The game will be entirely free to download and play like its predecessor Battlefield Heroes.

As with Battlefield Heroes you will probably need to pay to get the better weapons or equipment but sadly there has been no word on this yet. The game is set to launch in Spring 2011 and you can sign up for the closed Beta Here.


Here is the official Trailer

Activison Throws Everything at Call of Duty in 2011

By Jonny

Over the next year CoD players are going to see the largest offering of Digital Content ever for a Call of Duty game as Activision have said that they will be throwing everything they have at the Call of Duty franchise.

"We remain focused on continuing to bring the Call of Duty franchise to new consumers around the world. In 2011, we expect to enter the year with strong momentum from continued sales of Black Ops and the rest of the CoD catalogue," said Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg

"We've added significant resources to the brand and next year we'll offer Call of Duty community our largest line-up of exciting new digital content ever," he added.

I'm guessing plenty more maps for multiplayer and Zombies, maybe even new weapons who knows. Let us know what you would like to see as DLC in the next Call of Duty?

Source - http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=273859

MAG Escalation Update

By Jonny


MAG is receiving a quite significant update today, the team over at Zipper Interactive have released the update entitled Escalation with DLC and special offers to celebrate.

The Escalation update adds brand new game modes along with three new maps and nine new weapons and you can get all this for the handsome price of $7.99 or £6.25.

There's also a bunch of special offers available which you can see the full details for here - Here

Atlus Unveils The Cursed Crusade

By Mark

Atlus has literally just unveiled a new title for 360/PS3/PC. Little is known about it but heres the official site and teaser!



http://www.thecursedcrusade.com/home.html

FFXIV Shakey Launch - Square Enix Want to 'Regain Trust'

By Mark

Head honcho down at Square Enix a certain Yoichi Wada has come out and said that the developer is hard at work to regain trust and belief in the product. Speaking with Andriasang, he said "We're quickly working on reforms. We'd like to put our full power into regaining trust," he then goes on to say: "If we satisfy our users, they will return. On the other hand, once the users say, 'forget this,' there's no turning back. We can only recover our trust so far."

He's right with what he's saying, I just fear that it may be too late as gamers as a general collective are harsh reviewers and once a product is labelled as bad in most cases people are unwilling to return. What do you think?

Source - http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2010/11/04/wada_on_ffxiv/

Shogun 2: Total War Story Trailer

By Mark

Shogun 2 Total War is shaping up to be a pretty sweet looking title and while this trailer doesn't involve gameplay, it does bring you up to speed on a few details worth knowing about the games over arching narrative.

Killzone 3 Beta Footage

By Mark

So! Guerilla Games has had the beta for their upcoming shooter Killzone 3 running for a week or so now for a select batch. We just wanted to show you these gameplay vids from the beta showcasing three maps and these being: - Corinth Highway, Turbine Concourse SE-6 and Frozen Dam. Any of you guys in the beta or stoked for the game?  Come tell us.

First on show is Turbine Concourse SE-6

Then Corinth Highway



And finally Frozen Dam

Dragon Age II - Gameplay

By Mark

Want to see some more gameplay for Dragon Age II? Look no further heres some captured from the Lucca Comics + Games 2010


Update -  Scratch that, EA have taken it down now. Sorry peoples!

Ring Around the Rosie - Dead Space 2

By Mark

Well well well, looks like it's creepy time as EA and Visceral games has released this trailer for the upcoming title Dead Space 2 aptly named "Ring Around the Rosie". Look out for this on the 25th January!

Dragon Age Legends Unveiled

By Mark

EA has just unveiled a new Facebook title called 'Dragon Age Legends', it will be set in the world of the original game and DA2 and plans to utilise the strengths of the Facebook platform in terms of tactics and co-op play.

In addition to this, by playing through Legends it will enable you to unlock exclusive additional content for Dragon Age 2 and Mark Spenner (General Manager of EA 2D) said "Dragon Age Legends will deliver a deep, sophisticated experience, and we will continue to delight gamers by adding new features and content far into the future."

I don't know how you feel about this but titles like this don't strike with me at all and the fact that additional content can be gained is somewhat more irking. What do you guys think? This a good thing or bad thing, come and let us know.

Source - http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=273455

Get Mindjacked in January

By Mark

Alllllrighty, to kick things off today we bring you word that Mindjack, the shooter from Square Enix will be released on the 18th January 2011 on Xbox 360/PS3.

The game could be pretty interesting, it's set in 2031 and its 'unique factor' is that you play as a Mind Hacker able to take control of enemies. To get a feel for it check out the announcement trailer from this years E3.

Source - http://uk.gamespot.com/news/6283455.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=newstop&tag=newstop%3Btitle%3B4

Gran Turismo 5 Gone Gold

By Mark

Well. Who'da thunk it. Gran Turismo 5 has actually gone gold after countless and honestly what feels like countless delays and push backs. In an interview at SEMA with Kazunori Yamauchi the guys at Jalopknik got him to say "The discs are being stamped as we speak." Wow!

Borderlands Level Cap Raise Live

By Mark

'Sup peoples, this is more of just a reminder more than actual news. Just letting you folks know that Borderlands new patch that raises the level cap to 58 and potentially more for owners of the DLC is indeed live. Head on down to the Gearbox Forums for the full list of changes.

Catherine Narrative Details

By Mark

Catherine. A game that's narrative seemed a little hazy until just recently when the official site for the game was updated. The people over at Adriasang have been awesome enough to translate said details for those of us who are a little lacking in our understanding of Japanese.

What we already knew about the narrative was that it was heavily focused on the leading lady 'Catherine' and the nightmares that seem to be the baggage you get when you 'get to know her'. This has now been confirmed as the story sets off with police investigations claiming that young men are being found deceased with an expression of immense fear on their faces. 

Rumour has it that if you begin to be afflicted be nightmares you must wake up immediately otherwise a rather grisly end appears to be in store for you. We learn that our would be hero 'Vincent' is with is girlfriend of five years 'Katherine' who brings about the idea of marriage to him, causing our protagonist to freeze at the idea; it's at this point where the other 'Catherine' arrives and introduces herself. Events transpire and it ends up that he takes her home and sleeps with her.

Now, here's where it gets interesting. After this has occured Vincent begins to experience nightmares himself and unfortuneately this is where our details stop. Leaving us with the knowledge that Vincent begins to have the dreams that apparently cause terrifying death, it's all rather interesting and the game looks to have a distinctive feel to it. We'll definitely update the instant we catch anything of more being revealed. What do you think? Does the premise sound good to you, do you want it? Let us know.

Source - http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2010/11/02/catherine_story_and_voice/

Games of November

By Jonny

Here's a quick rundown of the games out this month and oh boy is there a lot of them.

November 2

Pokepark: Pikachu’s Adventure
Platform: Wii

God of War: Ghost of Sparta
Platform: PSP

GoldenEye 007 (November 5th in EU)
Platform: Wii

James Bond 007: Blood Stone (November 5th in EU)
Platform: 360, PS3, PC, DS

Ys: Oath in Felghana
Platform: PSP

Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2
Platform: 360, PS3

Eyepet
Platform: PSP

Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage
Platform: 360, PS3


November 4

Launch day for Kinect
Platform: 360

Dance Central (Requires Kinect)
Platform: 360


November 9

FlingSmash (November 19th in EU)
Platform: Wii

Knights in the Nightmare
Platform: PSP

Call of Duty: Black Ops
Platform: 360, PS3, PC, DS

The Fight: Lights Out
Platform: PS3


November 16

The Sly Collection
Platform: PS3

NBA Jam
Platform: 360, PS3

Mario vs Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem
Platform: DS

Create
Platform: 360, PS3, Wii, PC

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1: The Videogame (November 19th in EU)
Platform: 360, ps3, wii, DS

Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood (November 19th in EU)
Platform: 360, PS3, PC

Marvel Superhero Squad: The Infinity Gauntlet
Platform: 360, PS3, Wii, DS

Sonic Colors
Platform: Wii, DS (November 12th in EU)

DanceDanceRevolution
Platform: PS3, Wii

Naruto Shippuden: Dragon Blade Chronicles
Platform: Wii

Apache Air Assault
Platform: 360, PS3

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (November 19th in EU)
Platform: 360, PS3, Wii, PC

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon
Platform: Wii


November 18

Deca Sports Freedom (Requires Kinect)
Platform: 360

Game Party: In Motion (Requires Kinect)
Platform: 360


November 21

Donkey Kong Country Returns (December 3rd in EU)
Platform: Wii

Raving Rabbids Travel in Time (November 11th in EU)
Platform: Wii


November 23

Splatterhouse (November 26th - December in EU)
Platform: 360, PS3

Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom
Platform: 360, PS3

Michael Jackson: The Experience
Platform: 360, PS3, Wii, DS, PSP


November 30

Disney Epic Mickey (November 25th in EU)
Platform: Wii

Nail’d (February 2011 in EU)
Platform: 360, PS3, PC

Well there you have it folks that's all the games out in November, well at least for North America anyway. This is one hefty month for games with quite a lot of stand out titles, let us know what your getting this month?

Deus Ex: Human Revolution Footage

By Mark

This video has hit youtube of the PS3 version of the game in action. It's a pretty lengthy video but it does give insight to some of the games features and how gameplay can pan out if you choose to play the way the demo shows. I'm sure I'm not the only one hugely looking forward to this title so to see anything is better than nothing right? 

Tell us what you think in the comments!

Quick look at Crackdown 2's Deluge DLC

By Jonny

Crackdown 2 is getting a second helping of DLC the 'Deluge' add-on and based off the video this seems like Crackdowns version of a Horde style mode. If you want a reason to put Crackdown 2 back in again then this may be it, check out the trailer and see what you think.

New Donkey Kong Trailer

By Mark

I'm sure I'm not the only one awaiting this title for Wii as it looks pretty damn sweet but while we wait have a looksee at this trailer!

Crytek UK considering new TimeSplitters game

By Jonny

Time to Split

Possible good news folks, the guys at Crytek UK are considering making a new TimeSplitters game. The team of Crytek UK which is primarily composed of the people from free radical, the original makers of Timesplitters say that if there is enough interest then this could definitely happen.

They are currently in talks with publishers to see if they are interested and there has been word that some of them are, so its now down to us now as consumers to show that we are interested and make the publishers believe that this will sell.

Tango Gameworks Creepy Creepy Art

By Mark

Remember ZeniMax aquiring Shinji Mikami and Tango Gameworks? Well the studio is now creating something for them to publish and these eerie images have been released. As to what they are, what they mean, what they could even slightly possibly be about is a mystery to me. But hey, they're still pretty cool right? What are your interpretations? Let us know!

Majin And The Forsaken Kingdom - Demo Impressions

By Mark

Prior to seeing the demo hit on Xbox Live not so long ago I have to say, that I hadn't even heard of this game before. It sounded pretty interesting though so I gave it a download and am now here to share the experience with you and will try to keep it brief.

The demo kicks off with a nicely styled cutscene of sorts, you could liken it to that of a comic come to life and it's definitely a nice way of telling the narrative between gameplay segments. The opening scene itself entails what I would imagine to be the opening of the game detailing that a young man named Tepeu has found himself helping a large creature called the 'Majin' escape from some form of dungeon. 

Once this is over you now gain control of our would be hero Tepeu and are introduced to the games basic mechanics such as movement, attack, evade and how to control the Majin itself. This is all standard stuff and to be honest it handles pretty well as you face two enemies to get the hang of combat. The visuals ingame are also commendable, they aren't mindblowing but they do a good job of showing off the style it has and are pleasing to the eye.

Over the course of the demo you must help the Majin escape from this dungeon and it displays the type of gameplay you can expect throughout, which is hacking and slashing through some enemies, using spells and cooperating with the Majin  to complete puzzles, be it making him open doors or crouch down to allow you to get to higher places and what not. It's not groundbreaking stuff but as long as they are imaginitive in the design throughout the game it should be fun to play.

A few other gameplay mechanics displayed are the 'friendship' system between Tepeu and the Majin, this builds as you collect blue orbs and would seemingly play into the narrative as it looks like the two will be building a strong friendship over the course of their journey. Another aspect is related to combat and thats the coop attack system, as you attack enemies near the Majin you build a small meter that allows for more powerful attacks to be executed with the B button.

It's also here that I'd like to mention the voice acting, while the performances themselves might not be fantastic by any stretch of the imagination, you can't help but like it. It's hard to explain in any other way than to say that the game oozes a certain 'charm' and it works in its favour greatly. The over arching narrative also seems to be at the very least interesting so the game on the whole is shaping up to be a pretty good looking title.

Of course this is all based on the demo and you may not agree with me at all! So I would advise checking out the demo yourself on Xbox Live or the PSN, Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom is due to hit on the 26th November so there's plenty of time yet. Here, have a trailer!

MK Scorpion Trailer

By Jonny

Check out this new gameplay trailer for one of Mortal Kombat's most famous characters 'Scorpion'. Also look out for the new X-ray moves, they hurt my insides.

Black Ops Launch Trailer

By Mark

Now only 8 days away the launch trailer for CoD: Black Ops is here, you guys excited?

New Dash Update Out

By Mark

Just a quick note to say that the new 360 dash update is indeed live, so get downloading folks.

That means new voice chat codec, ESPN for America, Zune Music and a much sleeker look on the whole!

Enslaved: - Pigsy's Perfect 10 Trailer

By Mark

Happy Halloween folks! Lets start todays postings off with this little trailer for the upcoming DLC for Ninja Theory's Enslaved.