Wednesday, April 29, 2009

XBLA Wednesday | Sorry! Virtual On and Banjo-Tooie

One, two, technically three XBLA releases today

We say Technically, because we believe that Sorry! is in it's own category, under the Hasbro Family Game Night, however if you're a fan of board games, you can't go wrong with a classic, non-trivia based, purely the luck of the roll, game like Sorry!

As far as non-board games, Xbox is proud to offer the classic N64 sequel to Banjo-Kazooie, cleverly entitled, Banjo-Tooie. (Though, why it's not "Twoie" is beyond me)

There's also the the release of Virtual On, the re-release of the Dreamcast game that captured our hearts! Actually, I never played that one, but Dom has and he is hoping to put a review up of it if we get a chance.

It doesn't appear that you can purchase through Amazon yet, so check out the links to download directly from the marketplace below...and as always, you can demo the game for free - then decide.

Sorry! (800 points)
Banjo-Tooie (1200 points)
Virtual On (1200 points)

Konami cans Fallujah!



Yesterday was a sad day for developer Atomic Games as Konami decided to cancel the title, Six Days in Fallujah.

Games have always been under scrutiny, especially when it comes to having a Mature rating, but is seems Fallujah war shooter has been cancelled due to public backlash in the form of email, phone call, and bad publicity.



Six Days in Fallujah has been in development since 2005, and with the amount of work already put in, lets hope Atomic Games does not throw in the towl so easily.

At this time they would like to complete the game, but there is still uncertainty to this game's fate.

Adventure goes old school with Holmes vs The Ripper

That's right, I said it, Frogware Studios and Focus Home Interactive is publishing the adventure crime solver taking gamers back to London, 1888.

In this trailer, Holmes and Watson are reunited to investigate murders by the legendary Jack the Ripper.If that does not peak your interest, there is atrociously mutilated prostitutes and one bad ass serial killer. It is your job as Sherlock Holmes to investigate the murders and make the hardcore streets of London safe again.



Sherlock Holmes vs. Jack the Ripper will be released to PC gamers in May of 2009, while XBox 360 are will get a release date of end of year, 2009.

Marvel Vs Capcom 2 Takes us for a ride

Confirmation! Not like we were not expecting it with all the hints from Capcom in previous interviews and the obvious tu4ar.com site. However i was glued to the countdown page until time was up just to confirm the expected.

Capcom has redeemed itself in my eyes, and given comic fans and fighter fans alike something to rave about, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 for
the PSN and XBLA.Some details provided to their fans is that there will not be a full HD remix, but will have graphical filters, and for those feeling nostalgic...the filters are optional.



The release is slated for Summer 2009, but those few PS3 gamers should be getting a demo of this crossover fighter this week, most likely Thursday,bastards! Also, all 56 character are expected to be unlocked from the beginning, not so sure how I feel about that decision.

How to make a stand out zombie game? Add more zombies!



Most of us have played at least the demo of Dead Rising, while it was innovative in some aspects, I did have my gripes. However, Capcom revealed last week at Captivate09 the the game was being built on a new engine, built specifically for this game.

With the games new engine, seven thousand zombies can be onscreen at the same time. Sounds like someone is trying to over compensate. The weapon capabilities have also increased, and who can complain about that? As seen in the trailer, you can throw on a moose head and charge through a crowd of zombies or even throw multiple chainsaws on a stick. Epic win! Check the trailer for glimpse of what to expect.



Now for the next addition to the sequel...Multiplayer! It has not been released as to what multiplayer gameplay we will be expecting from the sequel, but we do know you can play multiplayer.

Time to go play the original and hope we get a demo to hold us over until launch.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

This week in game releases | Wolverine Edition


So the staff of Mashbuttons and Electricmustache attended the X-Men Origins: Wolverine Premier last night in Tempe, Arizona so we've got our feral senses primed and ready to play the game. This week sees the release of the Movie-to-Game adaptation on all systems under the sun. Oh, there's some other games releasing this week too, Velvet Assassin looks really fun, the rest...not so much.

Keep checking back for updates on X-Men and Velvet Assassin, as we plan to have some reviews up for you shortly.

4/28 - Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce - (PSP)
4/29 - Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Endless Frontier - (DS)
4/30 - Velvet Assassin - (Xbox 360, PC)
5/1 - X-Men Origins: Wolverine - (PS3, Xbox 360, PC, PSP, DS, PS2, Wii)

Monday, April 27, 2009

What What WHAT!!! 1 vs 100 Free for Live Gold Members


So I posted this 1 vs 100 trailer on Youtube a few days ago, in hopes that it would spur great interest in this game. Well today we've learned that 1 vs 100 will be free for Gold Members, (not the Austin Power villain, or maybe him).

Originally scheduled for release as the start of the XBL Primetime Channel, we're still waiting for an official release date, but this looks promising as a fun socially interactive experiment where you have the chance to compete against others for a shot at ACTUAL prizes! Heck, 10 points to Microsoft for the potential innovation here, and 10 more for making it free!





Check out the official game-site on Xbox.com

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Plants vs Zombies on your lawn!

PopCap has done it again, providing another time consuming brain melting game. The announcement originally surfaced on April fool's day with the ridiculously catchy music video for "Zombies on Your Lawn", which was actually no joke at all.





Plants vs. Zombies is a tower defense game scheduled for release on May 5. Steam users are able to pre order the game in order to get a free copy of Heavy Weapon Deluxe to tide them over until the release.

Though I really know absolutely nothing about the game and after truly disliking the last tower defense game, I am still strangely intrigued due to the trailer theme song. Damn you PopCap, you have done it again!

Red Faction: Guerrilla demo hits XBox Live!

Go on Xbox live or PSN, whatever you flavor and start downloading Red Faction: Guerrilla. Why? Because we say so, and the fact that you can roam the sandbox environment which is Mars, destroying virtually anything you want, and the only other demo for download that came out today was a UFC game, I care too little about to remember the title.





The only downsides are no bird hammer, yet, and no multiplayer in the demo. Patience, you birdfuckers. Red Faction: Guerrilla is due to hit store shelves on June 2nd for the XBox 360, PC, and the Playstation 3.

What's open world racing without GPS?

Codemasters has provided us with a new video of their in game GPS that navigates the players through the large sandbox environment on the fly. With a five thousand square mile world, this feature will will ease the amount of frustration of trying to navigate to the next checkpoint without having to repeatedly look at a map to try and manual navigate the way to your next destination.

The GPS system is an on screen arrow guiding the driver from checkpoint to the finish line. The route is calculated in real time dynamically from vehicle position, while also pinpointing your rival's locations. It is not mandatory to take the advice of the GPS system to be the most efficient route to take, drivers are free to make the decision take risks, and fully enjoy what the terrain has to offer.

Check out Fuel-Game.com for an interactive view to each of the upcoming game's 19 regions along with the varying vehicles classes, online options, and available events.





FUEL is scheduled to bring gamers to their multi terrain racing world on May 26th via PC, Playstation 3, and XBox 360.

The Joker playable on PS3 edition of Batman: Arkham Asylum


So the exclusivity minions over at Sony actually showed up to work this week. They've been able to nab an exclusive character for the PS3 upon release. What character do you say? None other than the formidable Joker. That's right, upon release, PS3 owners will be able to download a free playable Joker to play in the challenge maps found in the game. More info will be available in the June Playstation: The official magazine.

Is this a precedent? Should Xbox 360 owners expect an equally exciting exclusive character to play in the challenge maps as well? My sources are mum for the moment, but at the current rate of news coming out almost daily on this game, if there is one, we're sure to learn about it soon.

If not, does this sway you one way or the other if you own both consoles? Leave some comments and let us know the general consensus here.

We forgot Arcade Wednesday! | For Shame!


So Wednesday past with deals galore, but for some reason, all the wheeling and dealing had us flustered , and caused our cheeks to go all read, augmenting our memories and sense of time. All that means is we simply forgot (or never got around to, yeah that's it) to post the latest XBLA title, Lode Runner.

Coming in at 1200 800 1200 Microsoft points, you too can enjoy the all-new Lode Runner! Featuring 3D graphics, over 200 levels, multiplayer and even a level editor so you can create your own...levels.


Check it out, we hope to have a review up soon, and you can even purchase it on Amazon by clicking here Lode Runner [Online Game Code]

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

New Batman Arkham Asylum gameplay footage | Not for real! (Update)






***UPDATE: unfortunately the video is no longer available, we'll try to get it again, and put it up for you all***

The official name of this video is "Batman: Arkham Asylum Intensive Treatment Demo" and while that's a mouthful, I like to simply call it "4 minutes of ass-kicking"

Though it's another video of the Challenge Rooms, (we're still really excited to see some of the single-player campaign gameplay) this gives you a chance to see how the action-brawling aspect of the game will work. In the previous video (seen here) they showed off the stealth skills so it's nice to get a glimpse from those of us who like a rough-'n-tumble smack'em'up. Check it out, June is right around the corner, and the Batman Hype-train is running at full-steam. All Aboard!

Flock on sale at Amazon for only $10!!! | Deals

It must be Deal-Wednesday, because over at Amazon RIGHT NOW you can get Flock [Online Game Code] for the XBLA for only $10. That's $5 cheaper than the 1200 MS Points that you can download from the XBLA Marketplace directly! This is exactly what I was hoping would come out of the XBLA on Amazon deal...good form, good form!

Check out our review on the game, now it's definitely worth the price

Atari listens, provides Race Pro update to race fans



Atari and SimBin has used the comments and feedback provided on their official Race Pro forum, and implemented a number of fixes within a title update to both multiplayer and single player gameplay.



Race Pro is a racing sim that was released in February, and being a die hard Forza 2 fan, looks like this may very well be my next racing title to pick up.

The fixes that the title update address are as listed below for those that currently have or looking to pick up:

MULTIPLAYER UPDATE

-Fixed bug causing the game to crash when 12 players have joined and left a multiplayer game

-Disallow connections to host if they are not waiting for players.

-Fixed the ”fast forward” / speed bug currently generating some unrealistic race times in leaderboards.

-Fixed problem with lap times being reported to the wrong leaderboard when moving on to the next track in multiplayer.

-Fixed problem of a player joining during session activation causing the client to get stuck in the loading screen.

-Fixed issue when creating a session with downloaded car and inviting a player that doesn’t have the car

-Fixed name of tracks on servers list when players do several sessions in a row

-Fixed incorrect race length value seen in game list screen

-Fixed transparent car that appears after un-pausing in multiplayer qualification

-Fixed the incorrect message that appears when attempting to access multiplayer without a gamer profile signed–in and if selecting Multiplayer with an offline gamer profile

-Set default host option of qualification to NO in multiplayer for players that have never hosted a game in Race Pro before

-New messages: Display some session info in-game so players can recognize where in the game they are

-New messages: Add a specific multiplayer loading tip showing 50% of loading time in player match only.

GENERAL UPDATE

-Fixed performance drop while driving over curb

-Improved deformation of cars

-Fixed hot seat start position problems

-Removed dangerous driving dialogues when entering loading screen

-Fixed crash when the player tries to enter the end pit driving backwards and wants to restart the race after the losing message

-Fixed some localization bugs

-Locked F3000 car #12 and unlocked the Corvette C5R since there is no contract for it in Career mode

-Fixed validation for replay files to allow replay files saved between year 2000 and 2099

-Fixed sound bug making Doppler effect of other cars sound corrupt in swing cam

-Fixed force feedback detection for wheels and slightly improved strength of force

-Adjusted the Seat Leon Extreme Tryout time

-Fixed sound bug making the rev sounds on some cars not transition smoothly (including Mini Cooper and BMW M3 GTR)

-Fixed sound bug with the force calculation of picking the correct collision sound

Battlestations: Pacific Demo Incoming


Announced today via an announcement, is the official Battlestations: Pacific single-player demo. Premiering on April 30th, a mere 7 days away, on both the XBOX 360 and PC, featuring an intense sea and air mission from the US campaign (Divine Winds of Leyte) and two multiplayer modes (Island Capture and Siege) to play in the single-player Skirmish Mode.

There's also something down here at the bottom, about an exclusive Gamespot demo page, so not really sure if you'll only be able to download the demo from this page, but you should definitely check it out regardless.

As a reminder, Battlestations: Pacific is set to release on May 12th (pre-order here) in North America. And be sure to check out our youtube page for the latest videos.

QUICK! Amazon XBLA deals!!!

In a surprising move today, Amazon has created the following deal for you, our dear readers. Actually, it's for anyone, don't kid yourself, but what we are bringing to the table is the news! Without us, you wouldn't have known about this deal...maybe...okay, you may have seen it elsewhere...but still. Click our link!

So here's the deal:
Buy an Xbox Live 4000 Points Card for $50 (usual price) and you will receive a $10 promotional credit to use on their new Xbox Live Store.

Alternatively, you can buy the 1600 point card ($20) and get $5 promotional credit for their Xbox Live Store

Go...FUN!

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Flock! XBLA | Review (Updated with Game Deal)


***Update: As of this writing, you can get Flock [Online Game Code] on Amazon for only $10, a $5 savings over the 1200 microsoft point equivalent on the marketplace.***

Flock! is a game I approached with great trepidation. At first, the very though of herding sheep, cows and other barnyard animals with a UFO, had me giddy with glee. When the game finally did come out, I never got around to picking it up, just had the demo. Playing through that first, I initially wanted to review the game based purely off a demo. Well that's a gaming review 'no-no', so I quickly decided if the game's going to be judged, it has to be judged on it's full merits.

It was shortly after that my team came through with a review code of Flock! I had to shake the initial feeling the demo left with me, not that it was a bad game in any way, I just sorta rushed through the demo due to lack of time. Now I've finally sat down with the final game, and I have been quite pleasantly surprised even more than I thought I could be. It's not perfect, in fact far from it, but the cartoony, patchwork graphics, the light-hearted feel, the unique gameplay and the fact that it's loaded with over 50 levels to begin with, and a robust level-editor that you earn "pieces" along the way to build your own levels, puts this XBLA (and for full disclosure, PSN and PC) release as a shiny gem amongst other shiny gems.

As previously mentioned, as you progress from level to level, trying to rank in the Gold, Silver or Bronze metal bonuses, you earn more tools and assets in which you can use with the level editor. This way of earning what you can use is most recently reminiscent of Little Big Planet, where you can go through each level, gathering stickers, parts, etc to build your own levels. Like LBP as well, you can share your custom created landscapes with others! It's fostering a community that will keep your game being played for months and hopefully years to come!

Though the game is simplistic in nature, it suffers a bit in the control department. Not necessarily a fault of the game, but the learning curve is a bit higher than one would expect, as you learn the different behaviors of the sheep, bulls, and chickens. It can be a frustrating experience when you think you have them heading in the right direction and the next thing you know, they're caught up on something or you've inadvertantly pushed them in the wrong direction. But you SWEAR you were behind them. It's this occasional frustration that will likely have your throwing your controller at the wall. I wonder, how would this game hold up on the Wii? Dare I say the control of the Wii-mote might lend itself to more precise UFO grazing? Ah, but then I'd have to get a Wii to play.

Check out the Official game trailer!




Bottom Line (7 out of 10). A quirky game, filled with unique puzzles and patch-work environments, all wrapped up with a full level-editor gives this new title something for most. That being said, you'll probably decide whether you like it based purely off the demo, and I urge you to not let that be your deciding factor, as the play-curve is much more natural with the full game.

WTF is tu4ar.com?!?!?!? Could it be?!?!?!?



Could it be that we are getting closer to an announcement for Marvel Vs. Capcom 2? As much as I am tired of all the rumors and speculation, this does may a lot of sense and am really trying to keep myself from being let down like Capcom has left me a lot recently.

Previously, we have been told Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 may be coming to Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, along with seeing that the game was recently rated by the ESRB, and the achievements list being released, and now.....tu4ar.com.

What is it? We are not sure, but the site has a countdown timer counting down a possible announcement for Captivate09, a large number 2 similar to the 2 in the title of Marvel Vs. Capcom 2, and tu4ar could very well be the abbreviation for the theme song, take you for a ride.



Whether this is true or not, my calendar is now marked and I will try to keep telling myself everything will be okay if in fact it is not a countdown to my favorite fighting game that I have not been able to really enjoy since the Dreamcast was cool. If it is an announcement for MVC 2, then Capcom better not make us wait as long as we did for Street Fighter 2 HD Uber Turbo Hyper Fast Remix HD Cool Fighting Game.

This may just make up for the Street Fighter 4 and Resident Evil 5 DLC debacle. Now just need to wait five days, twenty two hours, thirty two minutes, and forty five seconds to go.

You got motion plus in my Tiger Woods!



Wii owners have been waiting for the Wii Motion Plus, from when it was first announced last year in hopes to alleviate the current frustrating motion sensing at times to also potentially reduce the chances of damaging to personal belongings by renegade remotes.

Well EA has come to the rescue, that's right I said EA. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2010 will be available on June 16th in bundle form which would include the long awaited add on. While no word on the price of the bundle, this may very well lead me to use my annual Tiger Woods game funds from the 360 to the Wii version.

Now I just need to find another game bundle worth buying for some Motion Plus multiplayer party fun.

If you are STILL not sold on this game, get this...FRISBIE GOLF!!!

Whose up for Left 4 Dead, Survivor Mode?



The long awaited Left 4 Dead DLC is available now for free download. The pack includes two new multiplayer maps and survivor mode, similar to horde mode from Gears 2 but better because it isn't Gears 2.

The DLC is just over a hundred megs, so after a quick download you will be right back to where you were before just with some added scenery and gameplay.

I know I will be firing this up tonight, so if you want to play some coop horde...I mean survivor, or try the new multiplayer maps, look for gamertag dsalido81 and shoot me a request.

Also keep an eye out for the number of other game add-ons coming out this month for Street Fighter 4, Saint's Row 2, and Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X.

Brutal Legend gets a fall tour!

It is with equal parts professional courtesy, and girlish excitement that we bring to you the news of the release of one of the rocking-est, most metal of upcoming games (not "highly anticipated"), Brutal Legend. Tim Schafer's latest opus, involving a Eddie Riggs, (voiced and modeled after funnyman Jack Black) the "ultimate roadie" who after a stage accident, awakens "in a world that looks very strange yet oddly familiar, a world where every Heavy Metal album cover and lyric Eddie knows has come to life, and where the evil emperor Doviculus and his demon army, The Tainted Coil, have enslaved the last remaining humans."

Sounds RIGHTEOUS right, brother? (see what i did there, The Righteous Brothers, anyhow)

After signing a death treaty and contract that had to be notarized in 7 states and 3 languages, we are able to tell you that on Rocktober 13th (not a typo), you'll get to play this legendary game! In the meantime, however, feel free to check out the newly revamped official website and if you are of the twitterin' persuasion...you can follow the tinyest of daily minutaue from the Double Fine team.

Check out our YouTubes!

We've been busy as of late, uploading a ton of videos to our youtube page. You should check it out, you say, and then you do. See, all you need to do is point your browser to http://www.youtube.com/user/3fiddy and you can see all the videos we currently have.

But wait, there's more!

We'll be uploading new, breaking videos as they are received specifically for you, our beloved audience! There has to be at least 10 of you by now, right? RIGHT? (*cricket) - Alright, just kidding...you should definitely check it out at your earliest convenience, that is, we wouldn't want to inconvenience you.


Some game deals for the week | Shameless Plugging


Hey you guys and gals out there in internet vapor-land. Your local Best Buy is running a decent-but-not-the-greatest of all sales now. It's really a matter of the games. You can get $10 off instantly a few high-profile titles if you haven't already picked these up.

Halo Wars
Gears of War 2
Fable 2
Fallout 3 (Xbox 360 and PS3 versions)

Great selection of games, with about a 16% discount, if you do the math. Not bad, but again, not terribly great either, but we already told you that.

Enjoy!

Monday, April 20, 2009

Bankruptcy just weeks before Sacred 2 release



Ascaron Entertainment, developer of the soon to be released on console, Sacred 2, filed for bankruptcy. Sacred 2 has spent four years in the making and after a number of delays, the developer announces bankruptcy. This does not mean that us console owners will not get a chance to play this action RPG, their are a number of companies looking to take over the title for money stricken Ascaron.



Sacred 2 is due out on May 12th, 2009 as an action RPG most comparable to Diablo 2. With no other games out similar to this on the console, it is a title that many are looking forward and still anticipating through the number of announced delays.



Like most PC dungeon crawlers, the player is able to take one of six character classes and progress through a story leveling up, learning spells, and all that we have seen over the past two decades, the twist however is bringing it to console with the online capabilities we are used to without the keyboard and mouse.



Should we be through the end of the delays, you can expect to see Sacred 2 on shelves May 12th. Cross your fingers, hold your breath, do a rain dance, etc. for a buyer to purchase and support the servers to fully enjoy this online.

Who you gonna call? Xbox, Wii, both?



Call it a guilty pleasure, but I love seeing anything Ghostbusters in the subject line of e-mails from Atari. I wake up this morning and see the debut trailer for the Ghostbusters: The Video Game for the Wii.

Even though I have a Wii, the only game that has been in it for the past four months is Boom Blox, with the exception to House of the Dead: Overkill for a brief couple of weeks, this trailer may bring me back to the hours of enjoyment that I haven't had since Super Mario Galaxy.

After seeing this trailer for the Wii Ghostbusters game, I am torn as to whether this will be played on my Wii or the 360...decisions, decisions, decisions. Both?

This week in game releases | Yawn-edition


Possible Spoiler Alert - But this week in game releases is a snorefest! Unless you want some shovelware to whore our your consoles, just to play something, ANYTHING this week. My advice, play ET on the Atari 2600, as it's *better than anything coming out this week.

*Unless you like crappy games

4/20 - ExciteBots: Trick Racing - (Wii)
4/23 - Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2 - (Xbox 360, PS3, PS2)

Harley Quinn Character Vignette | Batman: Arkham Asylum


Another Day, Another Vignette (ADAV) - Today we bring to you, the "now-not-exclusive" video showcasing the most recently revealed villain the Dark Knight will be facing in his upcoming game; Harley Quinn.

Harley Quinn

REAL NAME: Dr. Harleen Quinzel
OCCUPATION: Professional criminal
BASE OF OPERATIONS: Gotham City
EYES: Blue
HAIR: Blonde
HEIGHT: 5 ft 7 in
WEIGHT: 140 lbs
FIRST APPEARANCE: Batman: Harley Quinn #1 (October 1999)

You may be getting tired of seeing Batman updates, but think about it this way, there's only a few more months before it's release, so it has to end soon, right? RIGHT? Ah, who cares, we can't wait to play this game!




Also be sure to check out all our coverage of Batman: Arkham Asylum in our previous posts.
Bane Character Vignette
Extended Gameplay walk-through
First gameplay walk-through

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Fez - Unveiling and Release Date (window)

Now this certainly looks fun guys. Guys? Where'd ya go? No, this isn't a re-make of Echochrome from the PSN/PSP, though one would be hard pressed to say they didn't take some of the gameplay cues from them.

Embedded here, you'll find the latest trailer for Fez, the game that's "not quite sure what dimension it wants to live in"

Of course the official description of the game is "Gomez is a 2D man on a voyage of discovery into the mysterious 3rd dimension". I like mine better, Polytron you may use it.

Anyhow, check it out, it looks pretty trippy. Unfortunately, it's not been confirmed which platforms this will come to...that makes me sad :(


Miniature Replica Soldier!





The new FREE multiplayer maps pack is available now for you to download! The toy soldiers map pack brings the online gameplay to new supersized worlds.

The excitement is not the actual DLC, but more so with the uber-cool metal song promoting the content. So, for those of you that still have F.E.A.R. 2 and did not trade it in, why not download and try it out.

Unfortunately, the hair metal song is not provided with the content upon download.

Yet another Assassin's Creed 2 teaser | Tortuous

Here we are, barely a week after Ubisoft released their site for the upcoming "the-crusades-were-bad-ass" game, Assassin's Creed 2, and we have another non-gameplay-showing trailer. I just think you should watch it. Nothing more to say really yet - as details are still quite scant.




Thanks to www.computerandvideogames.com for the hosting

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Bane Character Vignette | Batman: Arkham Asylum


Batman: Arkham Asylum is our Pirate story!

Since it seems that alot of the news we've been focusing on lately is of the new Batman game, it's with great reason. First, it looks kick ass, and second, we keep getting updates from Rocksteady, Eidos and Warner! (keep 'em coming, guys!)

Today we bring you a vignette of a recently revealed foe for Batman; Bane. Now, fans of the comic will no doubt know the name, but for those of you who don't, here's a brief rundown.

BANE
REAL NAME: Unknown
OCCUPATION: Professional criminal
BASE OF OPERATIONS: Gotham City
EYES: Brown (when on Venom: Green)
HAIR: Brown
HEIGHT: 5 ft 6 in (when on Venom: 6 ft 8 in)
WEIGHT: 140 lb (when on Venom: 350 lb)
FIRST APPEARANCE: Batman: Vengeance of Bane #1 (January , 1993)





Imprisoned from birth to serve his dead father’s sentence, Bane was raised inside the horrific environs of a Santa Prisca prison. Finding solace in smuggled book and meditation, he developed incredible powers of concentration. When he was subjected to military experiments with the experimental steroid Venom, his iron-forged will helped him survive when other test subjects had died and he manage to escape. Determined to prove his worth, he sought out Batman and broke the Dark Knight’s spine. But Batman recovered and managed to best Bane, cutting off the precious Venom supply that transforms Bane into a superhuman.

Check out the awesome new trailer! (available in HD at youtube.com)


XBLA Wednesday | OutRun Online Arcade

So you're at your local Peter Piper Pizza and you hear the familiar call of the 8-player Sega classic, OutRun. You grab a few of your good buddies, all plop in a couple of tokens, and go head-to-head-to-head (you get the idea) in an 8-way race to the death! Well, really everyone lives, the winner just gets a free race and all the tickets to trade in for awesome prizes!

You want to replicate this truly mesmerizing arcade experience at home? Now you can with SEGA's OutRun Online Arcade! With Xbox Live, you can experience multiplayer-gameplay racing 10 Ferraris on 15 challenging courses. Do the math, and that's 150 possible racing combinations and permutations!

Download the game with your points - 800 of them. And check out the screens below

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Fallout 3: The Pitt | Review

So here it is, a scant week or so after release, (latest release) of Bethesda's Wastelandic Opus - Fallout 3: The Pitt. I've come to, and am still mildly walking around in the bowels of the steel giants and the molten metal industrial playground expansion of the game.

Okay, so Fallout 3 needs no introduction. If it does, you aren't playing "The Pitt", so we'll just roll right into the review.

In reality, it's a sizeable chunk of more missions, and a branching storyline from the main quest. Unlike "Operation: Anchorage", you play as your character from the game, with the stats, equipment and your own knowledge of the game rules. I would recommend one of two paths if you're thinking of starting off playing the Pitt.

For those who've already completed the game or are at least, at level 20. If you've reached this level, chances are you've b-lined it for the end, since you can't level-up anymore, you're not getting any further experience points for your quests. If this is you, and it likely is, you should wait until the third piece of DLC (Broken Steel) comes out sometime later in April as it will effectively lift the level cap from 20 to 30, and add more perks. This will give most of you all a reason to play the game again, and discover more areas.


The same is true of The Pitt - while taken as it's own set of missions, set in the legendary city of Pittsburgh (duh) - the missions are fun, even if they are a bit more of the same. But that's not always a bad thing - I just wished I could have gotten some experience points along the way.

Now, for those of you who haven't reached level 20, play this now! The story-heavy missions will ultimately lead you to a decision, on weather to side with Werhner or Ashur. One has "the cure" the other wants you to steal "the cure". I put "the cure" in quotes, because, we'll you'll see

Bottom Line: (8.5 out of 10) You can't fault The Pitt for being a victim of a level cap, so you have to view it for what it is, and what it is, is an incredible extension of an already expansive world. Just adding a few more missions, characters, and locales to an already outstanding game. And at the very least, keep the fans satiated until Broken Steel releases. Good Job Bethesda!