Batman Arkham City: Review

As many gamers know the dark knight has had a less than stellar career in the video game market. Thank goodness that didn’t deter Rocksteady Studios from taking on the caped crusader. Having made the unquestioned best Batman game ever, fans where left hungry for Batman’s return. Recent reports around the globe indicate that Bats has been spotted on consoles across the globe. Time to find out if the return to Gotham is worth all the expectations or if Bruce Wayne should hang up the cowl once and for all in our Batman Arkham City review...

The Dark Knight to Rise at Midnight

In case you've been locked away in Arkham itself, you probably already know that Rocksteady games made THE best Batman game EVER (look it up, its true). The follow up to their huge success, Batman Arkham City, will release at retailers at midnight tonight or for the less Arkham enthused, tomorrow morning. According to Metacritic, Game Informer has already given Bats a 10/10 score, but if you needed more motivation to get your crime fight on, have these pretty sweet trailers. Enjoy.

GEARS OF WAR 3 HORDE COMMAND PACK CONFIRMED AND DATED

Just in case you guys missed it earlier this month Epic announced that the first official downloadable content would debut on Xbox live this coming next month. Jump past the break to see if the new COG additions are worth your hard earned Microsoft points.

New Game Releases for Tuesday August 16th ‘11

Video games and duckface don't really have anything in common. However, this chick is kind of cute in a strange way, almost the same way today's video game releases are. However beautiful and complex she may be, El Shaddai and No More Heroes easily beat this chick out ten fold in terms of depth. I mean seriously, this image came up twice under "awkward gamer" search. Three words people, double you tee eff.

Deus Ex: HUman Revolution and why you should care

Not a lot has been mentioned about the newest title coming up from the house of Square Enix. However stealthy it may appear, DEUS EX: HUMAN REVOLUTION will emerge on August 23^rd  and will be rated M for mature. To say people have big expectations of this game would be a colossal understatement. Keep reading to find out if this sneaky cyberthriller is just what you've been waiting for...

Gears of War by Body Count?!?

We all know I love Gears of War. I also think Ice-T is the man, and I 100% rep Body Count. The new Body Count track aptly entitled "Gears of War" I cannot stand behind. In fact, if the song and I were walking down the street and we got jumped for our gold chains, I'd probably shove the song to the ground and run the other way...

....don't look at me that way... I'm not ashamed.

Regardless, have a listen for yourself via G4.

Xbox 360 Games - E3 2012 - Gears of War 3

Graffiti + Gears of War = Sick

OGSlick gives us the skinny on why he needed to piss all over Gears of War 3, and I actually agree with him. Check out the vid below curtesy of RightTriggerx on youtube.




*EDIT: From here on out I'll be trying to use RightTriggerx for youtube videos*

The 3DS is scheduled for a serious price drop

I can't say I didn't see this one coming. Nintendo of America has just announced that it will be dropping the price of it’s newest handheld from $249.99 to $169.99. The new price will take effect on August 12 in retailers Across America. According to President of Nintendo of America Reggie Films-Aim, the $80.00 price reduction is being marketed as an excellent reason to pick one up this holiday. “For anyone who was on the fence about buying a Nintendo 3DS, this is a huge motivation to buy now, we are giving shoppers every incentive to pick up a Nintendo 3DS, from an amazing new price, to a rapid-fire succession of great games.” Rapid-fire succession huh? Sadly to say, the Nintendo 3DS has been plagued by moderate success in the United States. Hopefully this new price point is what the system needs to get flying off the shelves.

Regardless, if you were interested in picking up a 3DS, $169.99 does help sweeten the deal between your wallet and a fancy new piece of tech. However, now you have a good reason to hold out a little longer. I mean seriously, you’ve waited this long, another three weeks won’t kill you…right?

New Game Releases for Tuesday July 26th ‘11

Hey kids, it's that time again, "new game" Tuesday. This week's offerings find themselves more in the way of awkward than anything else. If you've been waiting to play remakes of 80's classics in 3D your in luck. On the other extreme, guy's like the one pictured above have been waiting to either play games where they can cheat on their girlfriend or be their girlfriend... either way it's a win, win I guess.

Tekken Bowl on IOS Scores a Nostalgic Spare

Original fans of the Playstation 2 will remember that one of the three launch titles for Sony's "then-gen" system was Tekken Tag Tournament. Another throwback to that day and age was the lovable Tekken Bowling mini game that was also included with the title. It comes as a nice surprise to find that over the weekend Namco Bandai pulled on our nostalgic heartstrings by releasing Tekken Bowl on the Apple IOS marketplace. Keep reading to find out if Tekken Bowl scores a turkey or ends up destined for the mobile gaming gutter.

Gears of War 3 Retro Lancer back up for pre-order

Just a quick heads up to all the Gears heads out there. This weekend Gamestop reopened the listing for the Gears of War 3 Retro Lancer. The hulking replica Cog issue armament will set you back $99.99. Seriously though, what's a hundred bucks when confronted up against the Locust horde? The replica is set to launch alongside the game this September. Enthusiasts would be wise to get down to their local Gamestop to reserve themselves a lancer as there's no telling when the cut off could be. For anyone wondering exactly how big this bad boy is, here's our buddy BluisTheFett sporting said lancer at the Gears booth during ComicCon. C'mon guys, you can't NOT look like a bad ass holding this thing. 

Available exclusively at Gamestop (The Lancer not Blue)

Star Wars Old Republic is now within Firing Range

The Jedi train was in full motion today. First, the announcement of the Kinect Star Wars Xbox 360 bundle, and earlier today local Retailers began taking reservations for Star Wars Old Republic Online. Early emails from Gamestop informed me of the ability to force push your way into either the regular or collectors edition, which are both slated for first quarter 2012. The limited edition of the game will come with the standard metal case, the standard soundtrack, an actual map, the Journal of Master Gnost-Dural, an in game collectors edition store and a statue of Dath Malgus. On top of all the sweet Star Wars swag, early reservies (if that's not a word, it is now) will be given a code to download the game a week early along with a crystal that enables player to switch their light saber color. So what are you waiting for? Grab your wookie, get in your falcon, and fly yourself down to your local Gamestop to ensure yourself a piece of the Star Wars pie before it's too late. 

Star Wars and Xbox Fans have now become one with the Force

Comic-Con has always been a place where all sorts of tech/comic nerds (and I use that lovingly as I fall into both categories) can get together and rant for hours endlessly over who shot first, Greedo or Han. Knowing this, Microsoft found it only appropriate to unveil their Star Wars Kinect Xbox 360 bundle at this event. The limited edition system will come packed with Kinect Star wars, a 320g hard drive, an R2D2 themed console, a gold C3PO controller, and to top it all off, the console will make R2D2 themed sounds. Also ensuring that your special edition system is dressed to impress, Microsoft took a note from the house of Apple products and fashioned the Kinect sensor in white. So have no fear padawan, you won't have to search a galaxy far, far away to get a hold of this system will be in a Gamestop near you this fall.

Halo Anniversary Pre-Order bonuses Revealed

Thanks to a tweet yesterday by some guy named Larry Hyrb/MajorNelson, we now know what goodies will be available for pre-ordering Halo Anniversary this fall. Oh, you didn't know about Halo Anniversary at all? Well. Uhm... this is awkward... Jump past the break and I'll fill you in.

New Game Releases for Tuesday July 16th ‘11

Never mind the games that are coming out today. Isn't this just the cutest little gamer cat you've ever seen? He doesn't care about litter boxes, mice, or smurfs (just like us). Little gamer cat doesn't even mind playing bad games; he just wants the chance to play. Ok little gamer cat, go and be happy with today's new releases. If however, you absolutely must play something new today, at least let it be Captain America because you can always blame that on the movie hype.

A Gamers Perspective on Alice: Madness Returns

Article by Bryan "The Wolf" Brennan


This game... where to begin. Amazing. Outstanding. Creative. Disturbing. Immersive. Massive. Alice: The Madness Returns in my opinion is one of the best games I've ever played. For those who don't know, this particular "brand" of Alice in Wonderland is nothing like the Disney movie. It shares more in common with the book then the animated film. But enough about Disney, lets get back to the game itself. There are six chapters and with the exception of Chapter six, can take hours to play. If you want to take the time to look around and figure things out, you can spend even more time looking down the rabbit hole. 

 With a steady change of scenery, enemies and characters, the gameplay and story never really get dull. There's always something to fight or a puzzle to solve. It never really loses momentum. Now don't get me wrong, it is a hack and slash with some puzzle solving thrown in and a vast world to explore, but that never makes the experience feel hollow. I simply could not get enough of this game. By the way, if you're a score whore, the achievements are relatively simple too.
Also for an additional $10 or 800 Microsoft points you can purchase the original game, which has six achievements attached to it. 

Now for the breakdown.

Graphics: Amazing. It can be a little choppy at certain points, but overall the visual spectacle of it all is simply mind blowing.

Gameplay: Fantastic. There's never a dull moment. Wonderland always has something to fight or a puzzle to solve.

Story: An immersive story in an immersive world with some plot twists thrown in.

Re-play value: I played it twice but wanted to keep going.

Difficulty: I played through on normal but if you're an achievement junkie like me you'll want to beat it on Nightmare as well (which I did). Play through on normal first and collect as many Teeth as you can, then you'll have all your weapons upgraded fully by chapter five. Finally, play a new game on Nightmare and your upgraded weapons will carry over, essentially making Nightmare as easy as normal. Trust me, you won't get tired of it after the first play-through. Your only problem may be finding you way back through the looking glass.

Tags: GameTrailers.com, Alice: Madness Returns - E3 2011: Launch Trailer HD, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

The King of the Iron Fist Tournament goes to the big screen for a night

Most hardcore gamers know what Tekken is. For those that don't, it's a fighting game franchise developed by Namco that dates back to the original Playstation and even further back to the legend of arcade cabinets. The games are fast paced, reverse heavy, customizable and have a huge following in Japan. What most hardcore gamers don't know, is that this month an animated Tekken movie will debut in the United States for a single night. Jump past the break to see if the King of the Iron Fist Tournament can break into the big screen...

Your Netflix Bus Pass is about to Expire

Like most of you on the planet I've graduated from the prehistoric era of DVD rentals of brick and mortar safe houses, to the elegant yet less involved movie streaming and "snail mail" version of movie watching. I mean, let's face it, I'm a busy person just like you. I don't have time to drive, pick out movies, watch them AND return them. Jesus, I'm an American after all. I need me time. Knowing this is how most Americans choose to rent their movies the popular subscription service known as Netflix has chosen to redesign it's pricing policy. Continue reading to find out how not to get hosed...

What are you playing: New Releases for Tuesday July 12th

Today marks the release of NCAA College Football 12. A game Gandalf here clearly has no interest in. Thats not to say he can't summon his gryphon and fly on down to his local retailer on a quest for some loot. Go ahead man, scoop up some party members with an airship and see what epic epicness awaits you at GameStopopia or Walamarthara or... ok you get it. Now you do one.

Nintendo DS
Harry Potter: Deathly Hollows 2

Nintendo Wii 
Harry Potter: Deathly Hollows 2
UFC Trainer

PC
Elder Scrolls Oblivion Fifth Anniversary Edition
Harry Potter: Deathly Hollows 2

Playstation 3
Elder Scrolls Oblivion Fifth Anniversary Edition
Harry Potter: Deathly Hollows 2
NCAA College Football 12

Xbox 360

Elder Scrolls Oblivion Fifth Anniversary Edition
Harry Potter: Deathly Hollows 2

NCAA College Football 12

Gears of War 3 Pre-Order Bonuses

I know, I know, you're tired of me talking about Gears 3. I get it. Unfortunately for you, I'm not stopping anytime soon. As long as there are things you should know about, my fingers will keep typing things for you to read about; your welcome. Now without any further delay, the Gears of War 3 reserve premiums...

FANVID: Call of Duty Black Ops Quick Scope

For those of you out there enjoying your killstreaks in Call of Duty Black Ops I have a special, user submitted video to share with you. This video came in over the weekend via Xbox LIVE Gamertag iFATALFLAWW.  Skip forward to enjoy a little morning montage with your coffee...

What are you playing: New Releases for Tuesday July 5th.

You'd be crying too if you got to your local video game retailer too looking for something new and interesting to play today. You can definitely tell it's summer by the lack of quality games to play. For all of the loyal enthusiasts' you got Earth Defense Force a couple days early so good for you. For everybody else, enjoy both Resistance one and two... only for a lot cheaper than you paid the first time. Sigh, its ok Peach, let it out, we understand.

Playstation 3
Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon (early weekend release)
Resistance Fall of Man (Double pack)

XBOX 360
Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon (early weekend release)

Uncle Sam Doesn't know Jack

Sorry about the late post but I was busy being American today. However, if you'd like to test your knowledge of all things commercial... er... American, then don't forget to pop in your copy of You Don't Know Jack to unlock the Turncoat achievement. Because you know, nothing say's un-American like sitting on your couch staring at the boob tube.

Oh Gears, Original Gangster.

It's no secret by now to anyone that the legendary rapper Ice-T has been at the forefront of the celebrity hype train for Gears of War 3. It's not even big news that he's actually going to be in the game itself as a stranded named Aaron Griffin. What is news, is this video showing exactly how how Ice-T runs things on Serra. Hmmm... apparently Ice-T lied to us when he told us he wasn't a Superhero in '91. Enjoy.  

Gears of war 3 Horde Mode 2.0 is a gross understatement.

Many a time you'll pick up a sequel to one of your favorite gaming franchises and expect that the designers tweak the game enough to make it feel fresh and new while still retaining the charm that got you into that relationship to begin with. I'd love to tell you that the folks over at Epic games did just that for Gears of War's upgraded Horde mode...but I'd be lying. What they've actually done is given you a reason to fall in love with Gears of War all over again. Read past the break to find out about all the wonderful ways you'll be able to rip Locust hearts out...

What are you playing: New Releases for Tuesday June 28th

Need something new to play? Have no fear new release day is here. This week is slim pickins' but what do you want from me, every week can't be gold. If you can't find any solace in these titles, at least you'll have Transformers Dark of the Moon to keep you occupied this weekend.

3DS
Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D

Playstation 3
Call of Duty Black Ops (Bundled with the First Strike map pack)
Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3
Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition
UFC Trainer

XBOX 360

Call of Duty Black Ops (Bundled with the First Strike map pack)
Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3

Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition

UFC Trainer (Kinect Required)

Who ordered the Tall Bloody Mary, hold the Nazi's and Heavy on the Vampire Vixen?

According to Majesco and Wayforward studios that's exactly what some of us will be drinking down this summer when the Nazi killing vampire vixen known as Bloodrayne makes her Next-Gen debut on the Playstation network and XBOX Live Arcade with Bloodrayne Betrayal. Keep reading to see if this reboot (and the puns) are worth sinking your fangs into.

Video games contributing to the Medical Field?

Recently, an article in the July issue of OXM (Official Xbox Magazine) states that those crafty Canadians are using the Kinect sensor to perform surgeries in Sunnybrook hospital in Toronto. According to the article in the Winnington Free Press, a Doctor by the name of Calvin Law spearheaded the implementation process. With his aid surgeons have succeeded using Kinect to call up medical documents mid surgery, thus cutting out the need to leave the operating room or scrub in after reviewing a patients medical records. This new method is said to even be cutting down the time in surgery by an hour in most cases.  I don't know about you guys but personally I'm proud that video gaming has been able to contributed to something as profound as surgery. Now, if Dr. Law could only help me figure out if the plural form is pronounced moose or meese.

Source: OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE

What's in a name anyway?

So, due to unforeseen circumstances I'm going to change the name of this blog. I am however, open to suggestions. Let me know if you have any clever ideas on what you'd like it to be called. Give me a great idea for a name and I'll give you a chance to post up some of your own rantings. 

New Game Releases for Tuesday June 21, ‘11

Who's excited to play new games? This guy right here. Today's batch of new releases are sponsored in part by the letters N, L, and J. Enjoy.


3DS
Petz Fantasy 3D

DS
Cars 2

Playstation 3
Cars 2
Dungeon Siege 3
F.E.A.R. 3
Shadows of the Damned

PC
Dungeon Siege 3

Wii

Cars 2

F.E.A.R. 3

XBOX 360
Cars 2
Dungeon Siege 3
F.E.A.R. 3
Shadows of the Damned

The Call of Duty: Black Ops money train just keeps on rollin'

Ok guys I wouldn't even be writing this article if it weren't for the fact that there's an apparent division within the gaming community over the next batch of Call of Duty: Black Ops DLC. Apparently Treyarch and Activision are releasing one last multiplayer map pack to capitalize on the Black Ops money train before the monumental release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 finally puts the game to rest. Keep reading after the jump to see why you should or shouldn't be willing to fork over another $15.00 to the corporate video game machine.

Wii U or We You? Geeze Nintendo what hell man?!

Now that all the E3 buzz has come and gone I'd like to take a second to sift through the bizarre creation that is Nintendo's new next-next-gen console the Wii U. Skip past the jump to see exactly wtf this thing is all about.

New Game Releases for Tuesday June 14th ‘11

For all of you looking for something new to play, here is the list of game titles releasing today. Some great. Some not. All new. Enjoy.

3DS

Cubic Ninja

PC

Alice: Madness Returns

Duke Nukem Forever

Playstation 3

Alice: Madness Returns

Days of Thunder & Blu-ray movie
Duke Nukem Forever
Record of the Agarest War: Zero

Top Gun Hybrid  & Blu-ray movie

Xbox 360

Alice: Madness Returns

Child Of Eden           (Kinect compatible)

Duke Nukem Forever
Record of the Agarest War: Zero

Wipeout In the Zone (Kinect compatible)

UPDATE:  
Due to some strange and unforeseen scheduling nonsense, Transformers: Dark of the Moon was released a day early today. Also, the Wii and both DS and 3DS versions were released as well. 

El Shaddai - Ascension Of The Metatron: Hands on

Saying the name of Ignition Entertainments new game out loud may leave you feeling like your invoking some sort of Cthulhu type demon but that is the exact opposite of what is happening in El Sahaddai.  Continue reading after the break to see if El Shaddai can succeed in mixing religion and video games...

Gears 3 + E3 = Happy Cog Soldiers

I'm not gonna waste any time jabbering on endlessly like Deadpool on a meth high, just skip past the jump for a Cog sized helping of Gears of War 3 tasty goodness.

Top 10 Video Game Ninjas

Ninjas and video games go together like milk and cereal, like rap music and jail time, like Xbox 360's and red rings (ok, maybe now that well.) Ninjas were video game zombies before developers realized the walking dead made for an endless supply of bad guys. In celebration of everything ninjas have done for video games throughout the years, I've complied a top 10 list of the very best the ninja arts have to offer. Follow me into the shadows to see more...

Remember Kinect, me neither but Child of Eden does.

Almost one full year ago the Kinect hype train was going full speed, titles like Star Wars Kinect and Codename D had everyone a buzz with excitement. It seemed that gaming as a whole was on the cusp of emerging into something both exciting and new, but somewhere along it's path the evolutionary controller lost momentum and slowed to an almost dead crawl. After almost 7 months, we are getting our first glimpse of a solid new IP since the launch titles debuted, Child of Eden.

Covert Operations? Yeah, right.

How does a video game franchise based on covert-ops get leaked all over the internet?

Autobots have descended upon us

Say the phrase "Robots in Disguise" to any male from the age of 15 to 35 and they will most likely respond to you with a single word.

Take two potions and call me in the morning

Ok people, for reasons I will not disclose, my girlfriend had a REALLY bad day today. I mean, make you want to punch a puppy bad, (no it wasn't due to her monthly guys) this was a genuine bad day. The one thing she had been looking forward to was going out to see Rusko tonight, and when we found out that the venue sold out before it even opened you can imagine how upset she was. We decided that her leaving the house would be a horrible idea, as the stars had already aligned to ensure that she’d get mugged, in a car accident, or thrown in jail. Naturally, me being the sensitive and caring boyfriend that I am, I told her that tonight we could play any video game she wanted out of our library. (I know, I'm the best boyfriend ever. right?) With her it’s always Katamari Damacy for PS2 or Resident Evil 5 on the XBOX 360. Tonight she opted for the bubbly infected over the King of the Cosmos. Something interesting happened just before we were about to start. She received an invite to play with an old friend over XBOX Live. After a bit of coaxing I convinced her to give it a go, as she never gets a chance to play with her friends online. (I had games to alphabetize and wires to rubber band anyway.)

Now the really interesting part is that I got to witness social gaming from an outside perspective. She and her friend had a really nice time interacting with each other. They talked about what was new in their lives, old boyfriends that sucked, school, work, and even got a little bit of a competitive banter going between them. I was surprised to see that even though she'd been in a really bad mood for most of the day, after an hour of gaming with a friend she was all smiles again (coincidentally it was also cute seeing her rock a Turtle Beach headset). I've heard about people coming home and unwinding with a video game after a long day but it was never really my thing. However, to witness it first-hand I have to testify to the relaxing power of gaming. Resident Evil 5, with its awful techno multiplier soundtrack, somehow managed to put her mind at ease, even if only for a little while. Will her problems be there later? Of course, but it’s nice to see that after a night of gaming with her buddy she’s in a better mood.

Moral of the story: Sometimes a little gaming co-op can be just what the doctor/wizard/oracle ordered to get your hearts back in order. Remember, sometimes you need to just sit back and enjoy the pixels.

Ninten-Doh is at it again...

First, let me start by stating that Nintendo gets the award for best video game company...of 1989. Like many of you, I have fond memories of my NES as a child. Although Nintendo has been a driving force in the video game industry, it is also it's own worst enemy.  Recently Nintendo confirmed that it would be dropping the price of Wii again to $150 on May 15th.  While this seems of no great consequence, it shows how desperate the company is becoming to try and push systems. The Wii, already being the cheapest of the 3 major home consoles, will now come bundled with Mario Kart as an added incentive... you know, in case you haven't played it for the 9 thousandth time.

Folk's I've said it before and I'll say it again just in case you guys missed it the first time: NINTENDO IS DROWNING.   For many years now, Nintendo has been guilty of many crimes against its core audience and they're starting to feel the long-term effects.  Don't get me wrong I'm all for innovation; (i.e. motion gaming) however, Nintendo has been putting out the same game formula for far too long.

Observe and embrace:

Nintendo 64 = Insert Mario title, Zelda, Mario-Kart, Mario Party, Starfox.
Nintendo Gamecube =Insert Mario title, Zelda, Mario-Kart, Mario Party, Metroid, Kirby, Smash Bros.
Nintendo DS = Insert Mario title, Zelda, Mario-Kart, Mario Party,Metroid, Kirby, Nintendogs.
Nintendo Wii = Insert Mario title, Zelda, Mario-Kart, Mario Party,Metroid, Kirby, Super, Smash Bros.
Nintendo 3DS = Insert Mario title (coming soon), Zelda (coming soon) Mario-Kart (coming soon), Nintendogs, Starfox(coming soon).

Same hero, new console. 

....I think your starting to get the picture, I'm not even going to go into the Gameboy.

If it isn't bad enough that Nintendo keeps basically selling you the same game every year, they now have perfected some ridiculous scientific formula to make its audience by a new handheld almost yearly as well.  See DS original, DS Lite, DSI, DSI XL, 3DS.

Don't worry, these will be outdated by the time you finish this article.

Couple all of this with the fact that they single handedly brought back the shovel-ware of the 80's and that 3rd party development is still on the fence about how they feel about the 3DS and Nintendo's future console's as a whole, and Nintendo as a company has a shaky foundation at best.

Now that they've announced that a new home console will debut in 2012, don't be surprised if any and all of the aforementioned titles find they're way back onto a "new" console, all while costing you the same $50 bucks.

Finally, let me just give Nintendo a quick suggestion to help (because why stop giving my opinion now):

Put out an HD system that has a solid multiplayer platform (no more of this friend code nonsense), remake (not recode) the majority of your untapped 80's classic's that made your library the definite console to have, and stop catering to the "family friendly" audience and allow for more mature rated games (this will greatly improve 3rd party development and will help to not alienate the "hardcore" gamers).

I personally refuse to do a barrel roll and let Nintendo burglar my wallet until any of these things begin to happen. However, once it does, Nintendo can make the check out to "Infinitecontinue" for all the wonderful financial advise.