Sony’s “electrifying announcement” revealed?

inFAMOUS

Uncharted 2 :Among Thieves

Yesterday we posted that Sony had a “electrifying announcement” to reveal on 4-27-09. It quickly spread across the net as what it could be from a PS3 price drop to another PS3 exclusive announcement. What Sony was trying to tell us in that teaser was it has to do with the two games in the teaser, inFAMOUS and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.

The announcement does indeed have to do with these two games. Along with our digging up of information and a story over at Kotaku.com today, thanks to a Best Buy pre-order display box of inFAMOUS, stating upon pre-order of inFMOUS, access to  an early demo code to  inFAMOUS  will be granted, plus receive a voucher for the entry to the Uncharted 2: Among Thieves multiplayer beta.

The key word is multiplayer, we all loved the single player in the first installment of Uncharted and is undoubtedly one of the better games for the PS3. Now Naughty Dog and Sony have opened up a new can of worms and this is certainly “electrifying” news. I’m sure when the 27th comes in just a few short days we will know and hear a lot more about this, so check back with us, as we will keep you updated.

Square-Enix, Eidos deal closed.

The deal is finally done. Square-Enix has purchased Eidos for the price of $120 million. Eidos is happy and now Square-Enix can push the western genre. What does this mean for the Tomb Raider franchise?

Eidos is most familiar because of the Tomb Raider series. By far it is Eidos best selling series, selling somewhere around 30 million units since 1996. I don’t doubt the series will stick around, but does this whole change work for the best of the gamers interest? Not just in the Tomb Raider series but the deal as a whole.

Only time will tell how Eidos operates under Square-Enix, but for Square this I personally believe is a good move. As said, they want to push westward and this is a big step towards that goal. Will it all work in favor of… Well that’s to be foreseen.

KZ2 DLC priced and patch 1.24 detailed.

Killzone 2

Not too long ago we heard about Killzone 2’s first set of downloadable content which is two new maps. The only thing we did not hear is how much it would cost. The MP map pack “Steel and Titanium” has a confirmed price now and it seems fair. The Steel and Titanium map pack if you do not know includes two new maps Wasteland Bullet and Vekta Cruiser, and will be available for download April 30, 2009 via the PSN for $5.99.

Now on to the patch 1.24 details. Patch 1.24 adds 3 new ranks to the MP in KZ2. The new ranks will be achieved at 5,000- 10,000- and 100,000 points. The new ranks will not give rewards but give every player something to further strive for. Other features that will be added is a 17-24 player search game filter, an enlarged HUD and radar distance. Probably the most important feature and biggest step towards a party system, is the “join clan member tab” in the join game screen. The point of this is to join clan members more easily when playing in non-clan related games. Oh yeah, the patch also enables for Japan to join in on the fight. Japan will receive their copies and join the community on April 23, 2009. Last but not least the patch enables the DLC support.

Overall the price seems fair for the DLC, and the patches they put out seem to hit home with the community suggestions. So by this time next Thursday we should all be enjoying our new maps, and the game a little more. Be sure to check out the Steel and Titanium map pack trailer for KZ2 above as well.

Magic Ball booster pack review PS3/PSN

If you have not played Magic Ball available from the PSN, your missing out, not only is it fun but it has a new expansion pack. The Wicked Witches episode expansion for Magic Ball is also available via the PSN for $2.99. The expansion comes with 25 new playable levels plus the bonus levels which are for bonus points gathering. It also will add five new trophies you can try and add to your collection. Magic Ball is very fun and addicting. The only game or games I could relate it too is Pong, Breakout and Pinball. You take control of a robotic ship and at the start of a level you will then hit your action button (X) to launch the ball at the destructible objects on the screen. Your ship can move left or right at the bottom of the screen and you keep the ball in play by bouncing it off the ship back towards an object you wish to destroy. You can also pick up weapons to help you clear the stage, like machine guns or cannons, and pick-ups which turn your soccer ball into an iron ball which tears apart anything in its path. The object is to clear the screen of the objects which can range from ships to animals with out letting the ball get past you, which results in death and a lost life. When the level is clear a level ending pick-up will appear and all you gotta do is nab it and the level is clear. The expansion works the same way as the original game as expected just with new levels to experience.

The game play is still fun and just as addicting in the expansion. In the Wicked Witches episode expansion you will bounce your ball and create destruction in 25 witch themed levels. The levels relate a lot to the Naughty Knights episode, with the addition of some new characters, some new scenery, and new level layouts.  I appreciate the length of the game with all the levels but less levels and more differently themed episodes may have made it more enjoyable.  No new weapons or pick ups were brought into the expansion but the levels did not really involve any new or more tough objects to avoid or destroy either.

The replay value is great. The expansion adds more levels to enjoy and the best part is you can take it on-line and join in a co-op or competitive match. The only thing is I never got to experience the on-line  MP because I could never find any one to play with or against. That’s a huge disappointment but does not really take away from the new levels you get to experience in the single player. Plus you can still play with a friend locally as well. Anytime a game like this gets an expansion the replay value gets better for the obvious reason that there is more to play.

Overall: 8.5

The good- The expansion is good and adds some length to the original. New level lay outs and characters to experience in the game play. It is worth the $2.99 price if you’re a fan of Magic Ball.

The bad- Does not really bring anything new in terms of game play. Since it is only one episode  it may be a little short, but it is just an expansion.  I’m still a little disappointed that even with the release of the expansion it has not gotten many people to play on-line.

New Fallout title announced

Fallout 3

With recent news of a TV show and/or movie adaptation and the success of Fallout 3, we could only assume that Bethesda was working on producing another Fallout title. Well Bethesda has announced a new title, Fallout: New Vegas and it will be available next year on the PS3, xbox360, and PC.

Bethesda vice-president of PR and marketing, Pete Hines announced the new title at an event show showing off there 2009 third party line-up and it was more than a surprise announcement. Fallout: New Vegas will not be a sequel to Fallout 3 but will be an RPG and bring the same experience. The new title will not be developed by Bethesda either. The game will be developed by Obsidian Entertainment, who was behind Neverwinter Nights II and the expansions.

As said a new title was bound to be announced. Obviously a lot sooner than thought but that is a good thing. Upon the announcement nothing else about the game has been released. So until we get some more information, we should see the game some time next year.

Fallout hitting the big screen and our home tv’s?

Fallout 3

Fallout 3 was a huge success and a great game. With that success comes new ideas and what that means is we may see a t.v. and/or movie adaptation of the Fallout series. Bethesda/Zenimax has recently applied for a Fallout trademark for both a television program and a motion picture.

Well we all know how turning games into movies has turned out in the past. On the other hand the Fallout series has a good base to start a t.v. show on. Obviously we can’t even speculate how it will turn out and what key factors they may implement but it could be interesting.

Now because it is trademarked does not necessarily mean we will be watching a t.v. show on Wednesday nights based on one of our favorite video games, but I believe it is one of a few games that may actually work on t.v. Bethesda has plenty to get the series and/or movie up and going with help of there parent company Zenimax media. So what would be stopping them from doing this? Well maybe the failure rate of past, but obviously there is interest in it to file a trademark, so we will have to see how it works out.

Party System coming to KZ2?

KillZone 2

Twitter is apparently the place developers are going to post their ideas and thoughts. It’s obvious why, if you have followers your word gets around rather quickly. A member of Guerilla Games posted or “tweeted”, “We’re investigating various possibilities for implementing a party system.”

KZ2 could use a party system, and I think along with a second set of DLC this would go quite nicely. It is rather hard unless you or a friend has created a room, to find them right away. With all the rooms being full or not ending up on the same team, it can get rather frustrating. It’s hard to make a great game greater but with little things like this, the game possibly could get much more enjoyable.

True we have not gotten co-op, but GG has been all ears addressing what seems to be any complaint. They have backed up the game with an awesome MP that they intend to build on with the upcoming “Steel and Titanium” map pack that will be released on April 30, 2009 via the Playstation network. Word is a second set of dlc is in the works as well. So if you have something to say chances are they are listening or already working on it. We will be looking for any and all information pertaining to what could be an awesome update to the MP in KZ2

Editor from Game Informer confirms GTA V?

As if anybody thought Rock Star was not working on Grand Theft Auto V anyways, but it appears the cat may be out of the bag early thanks to a Game Informer Editor. According to Andrew Reiner who is the editor for Game Informer posted a “tweet” on twitter and it had this to say.

“Rockstar was just in the Game Informer office. I can’t tell you what they showed me, but it might have been Grand Theft Auto V.”

Speculation could stir the words in many ways but it’s pretty blunt what he was trying to say. A lot of things could have happened in that office from an unnamed trailer to screen shots. Reiner could very well be mistaken or even misleading all of us, but the likes of that are low considering GTA is very unmistakable.

Rock Star has most likely begun GTA V and if not I don’t know what they are waiting for. I’m sure we will see something at E3 2009. So as the internet explodes with this news, we will be on the look out for any other news that comes out of this.

Konami’s new zombie killer: Zombie Apocalypse

Konami's Zombie Apocalypse

It seems killing zombies can never get old. From COD World at Wars: Nazi Zombie mode to Resident Evil 5 to the Playstation Networks Burn Zombie Burn we have killed  a lot of zombies as of late. The zombie onslaught continues with Konami’s announcement of Zombie Apocalypse which will be available via the PSN and XBLA sometime in the second quarter of this year.

Zombie Apocalypse’s object is to reign down destruction on zombie hordes with 11 different weapons from assault rifles to a teddy bear stuffed with explosives. Obviously not stuffed with the same stuff that makes them cute and cuddly let alone child friendly. None the less if it saves my life and I can use it to destroy some zombies, I’ll roll with it. In the game you will try and survive “55 days of battles across seven different environments”, and upon completing the mission can continue to fight against the apocalypse with seven additional un-lockable modes. The best part is you can do all this with up to four friends on-line or locally. The environment is your friend as well, while using it to destroy enemies might be the difference between saving your life or becoming one of the infected.

As long as zombies keep coming we’ll keep killing. That seems to be the trend anyways. This game looks promising and for a fraction of the cost, as a down-loadable title this looks like it may be yet another zombie shooter worth having. We will let you know when a solid release date arrives so stay updated with us.

inFAMOUS will not release in June!

inFAMOUS

If you’re like me and have been waiting for inFAMOUS and have been watching its every move listen up because inFAMOUS has a new release date, and it is not in June. Now before you get angry and start throwing things or what have you please read on… It will actually be released on May 26, which is ahead of its previous scheduled release. Sucker Punch is finishing up the development and Sony announced the May release date. Good news? Yes.

Along with this announcement and beginning today are some pre-order incentives. At the following locations you will get something special and different from each location with your pre-order of inFAMOUS.

• Gamestop- by pre-ordering at gamestop you get an exclusive power called “Gigawatt Blades Super Power” which is unmatched in power by an other melee weapon in the game. Use it sparingly though as it will drain your other powers. (pictured below)

• Amazon.com- will offer you a Reaper Gang members costume for you avatar in Playstation Home.

• Game Crazy- will be offering early demo access to the game. (Best Buy is apparently offering this as well.)

Please note that the game will be available for download for everyone via the Playstation network on May 21, five days before release. Sony also says more surprises will be on the way in the next few weeks. To check out the article for yourself you can check out the official playstation blog. Congrats to Sucker Punch for working so hard on this game to actually get it to us sooner than expected as well. Should make a lot of people happy. There is plenty of incentive to pre-order the game at any one of the locations.  So which incentive piece will you choose? Let us know and why.

inFAMOUS "Gigawatt Blade Power"