Mass Effect 3 is a remarkably satisfying conclusion to a beloved trilogy, and a poignant and memorable role-playing action game in its own right.
Score: 9.0 / superb
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Source: http://www.gamespot.com/mass-effect-3/reviews/mass-effect-3-review-6363906/
All flash and no substance: Ninja Gaiden 3 is a shallow action game with little of the series' challenge and depth.
Score: 5.5 / mediocre
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Source: http://www.gamespot.com/ninja-gaiden-3/reviews/ninja-gaiden-3-review-6367332/
Source: http://feeds.gamespy.com/~r/gsfeeds/pc/~3/Vb2oSs3_ldE/1221997p1.html
THQ revamping Dark Millennium to focus on immersive single-player and online multiplayer; 118 employees at Relic and Vigil studios being laid off as a result.
THQ's long-awaited Warhammer 40,000 massively multiplayer online game is no longer going to be massively multiplayer, as the publisher today announced a genre shift to turn Dark Millennium into a single-player game with some online multiplayer features.
"As previously announced, we have been actively looking for a business partner for the game as an MMO," THQ CEO Brian Farrell said in a statement. "However, based on changing market dynamics and the additional investment required to complete the game as an MMO, we believe the right direction for us is to shift the title from an MMO to a premium experience with single and multiplayer gameplay, robust digital content and community features."
The change in focus will cost scores of THQ employees their jobs. The publisher said it is cutting 79 workers from the Austin, Texas-based Vigil Games and another 39 from Vancouver, British Columbia-based Relic Entertainment.
THQ said a release window for the project would be announced at a later date. For more on the game Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium was originally intended to be, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.
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Source: http://uk.gamespot.com/news/warhammer-40k-mmo-no-longer-an-mmo-6368810
Why a new hero and a new era are just the tip of the iceberg.
Assassin's Creed: Revelations was an odd game for longtime fans of the series. Judged by its own merits, the most recent entry in the franchise was a perfectly enjoyable and well-made adventure. But for those who know the series inside and out, Revelations had one persistent flaw that was difficult to ignore: the whole thing just felt too familiar. It was a game that left a lot of fans wondering if Ubisoft's creative momentum had stalled, stirring up quite a bit of concern over Assassin's Creed III in the process. Something tells us that the worrying won't last for much longer.
See, here's the thing about Assassin's Creed III: what we've seen looks terrific. This sequel appears to be the breath of fresh air that fans have been clamoring for in ever-growing numbers. One obvious reason is the brand-new setting and protagonist, with 18th-century New England serving as the backdrop and half-Native American, half-English assassin Connor acting as the main character. While Connor's journeys between Boston and New York have him living through the American Revolution, he's very much an outsider with no horse in this race. It's a really interesting premise, but what has us most excited is that this new setting is more than just a chance to explore a new historical era. Ubisoft has cleverly used the Revolutionary War backdrop as an opportunity to evolve the core strength of the game: player movement.
From the beginning, the series' empowering sense of momentum has been a critical part of its overall success by letting you freely dart across rooftops and perform feats of acrobatic wizardry. But what so many of us loved about leaping across rooftops in those early games failed to evolve in any meaningful way with each subsequent installment. With Assassin's Creed III, however, it looks like that might just change. As Connor, you'll spend a good deal of time stalking your enemies not only on rooftops, but also in the wilderness. He can climb trees, leap across branches, and scale sheer cliff faces one handhold at a time. It's more than just an extension of the city navigation on trees: there's a much more feral look and feel to Connor's forest exploits.
Seeing Connor in motion is impressive, and you really get the sense that controlling him in this world will feel very different from controlling Ezio. Part of that is the revamped animation system; Connor really moves like a new man, not some Revolutionary War version of Ezio. You see it in little details like the way he vaults over low obstacles with a single outstretched arm, or the way he sidesteps tree trunks when jumping from branch to branch. Beyond that, Ubisoft is promising a revamped control system, giving you more control over when you want to scale straight up an obstacle, or simply run over it. It's refreshing to see that Ubisoft has gone into such detail to make sure the sense of movement looks just as different as the world around you.
Connor's journey through this world also requires him to deal with weather effects in a way that Ezio never had to worry about. The story spans a number of years, with chapters set during various seasons. In the wintertime, you might need to stick to the trees because the ground is covered in knee-deep snowfall. It may be fun to see Connor trudging through all that powder like a skier who has lost his skis, but it also means you're in dire straits if a bear happens to sneak up behind you as we saw in our demo. Yet not every type of weather is a reason to worry, as Ubisoft has promised that you'll be able to exploit certain weather effects to your benefit, like using thick fog as a chance to increase your stealth levels during nighttime assassinations.
If you're worried that Assassin's Creed III has basically become Far Cry, don't be: you'll still be spending plenty of time in real, honest-to-goodness cities. According to Ubisoft, Connor will be splitting his time between Boston and New York. We got to see the former in all its British-occupied, pre-war glory. It's a different look from the dense medieval cities of Italy we saw in the Ezio trilogy, with wider streets and more open space to contend with (which Ubisoft can now exploit with up to 2,000 people onscreen at a time). The cities not only look different, but behave differently as well, with opportunities to run through open windows and through people's houses in order to break from your pursuers during a chase scene.
Naturally, each city you visit is awash in turmoil considering the whole American Revolution currently going on. Connor is in an interesting position during all of this. Ubisoft is very careful to stress that this isn't some "Woo! America!" type of game. Connor is an outsider: he doesn't identify with his English heritage, and he has taken issue with his Mohawk tribe after they were ravaged by enemies, and the elders refused to retaliate. Long story short: Connor has found a new home with the assassins, looking to eradicate the newfound Templar threat on this side of the Atlantic.
At times you'll see Connor assume the role of the lone wolf on the battlefield, similar to those scenes in Metal Gear Solid 4 where Snake crept through an ongoing war independent of either side. One scene has Connor running downhill through a full-on warzone, dodging cannon balls erupting in clouds of dirt and debris in pursuit of a British officer. It's an interesting form of stealth compared to previous games: rather than blending into a crowd of people, you're trying to blend into a scene of chaos and death, sneaking toward your goal while trying not to die yourself. It sounds a little impractical until you realize it's an awfully effective way to catch your target while he's distracted.
This being an Assassin's Creed game, it's not all watching other people fight: you'll be doing plenty of that yourself. Ubisoft has promised a number of tweaks to the combat system, including dual-wielding weapons, human shields, and even the ability to stab enemies at a dead sprint without breaking stride. There even seems to be a little bit of the most recent Batman games in there, with Connor being able to string up enemies from tree branches to distract the attention of a larger group.
So yes, Connor is a very impressive assassin. His tactics are a little more feral (climbing trees and blending into the wilderness) and a little more guerrilla (those enemies you string up from trees? They can be dead), and moreover, he moves with a distinct style and animation set all his own. We really like what we've seen of Connor the assassin; now we're just wondering about Connor the hero. Ezio was one of those wonderfully memorable protagonists you got to see grow and mature over time. We're hoping Connor will be just as interesting, but in his own distinct way. So far Ubisoft isn't revealing a whole lot about Connor's backstory, so we've got our fingers crossed that we'll be given reasons to care about his role in the story as opposed to, say, Altair from the original game.
All told, Assassin's Creed III looks like the type of sequel that we were hoping for all along. There's a new historical era to explore, a new main character to learn about, and a whole slew of tweaks and outright overhauls to the gameplay that should make this a fresh experience compared to the deja-vu-inspiring Revelations. Naturally, all that comes with the caveat that we've seen only a small slice of this game and haven't had the opportunity to play it for ourselves just yet. So keep an eye out for more Assassin's Creed III coverage coming your way this year. This is definitely a game you'll want to have on your radar.
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Nintendo's angelic adventurer leads a formation full of new releases at retailers, including Ninja Gaiden 3, Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, Armored Core V.
It has been more than 20 years since the last original Kid Icarus game was released. That drought ends this week, as Nintendo's cherubic mascot Pit makes his 3DS debut in Kid Icarus: Uprising on the 3DS. However, Kid Icarus is by no means flying solo on the new release shelves this week, as new installments in the Resident Evil and Ninja Gaiden series lead up a deep slate of notable debuts.
As with previous Kid Icarus games, Uprising sees Pit taking on the evil Medusa, although this new iteration will feature him fighting the forces of evil in the skies as well as on land. Additionally, the game features a multiplayer mode where up to six 3DS owners can take each other on in teams of three. The game will also come bundled with a 3DS stand to let players focus on playing the system without worrying about holding it up.
Pit isn't the only gaming celebrity receiving a new title, as Ryu Hayabusa returns in Ninja Gaiden 3. The latest entry in Team Ninja's action series adds a few new elements to the formula, including competitive and cooperative online multiplayer for up to eight players. The PS3 version of the game will also feature PlayStation Move support, which Team Ninja head Yosuke Hayashi has said is intended to "bring players closer to" Hayabusa.
Capcom has another zombie hunting game on tap for consumers in the form of Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City. Developed by Slant Six, Operation Raccoon City offers a squad-based shooter take on Capcom's seminal survival horror series. The game puts players in control of a half-dozen special commandos employed by The Umbrella Corporation, the sinister pharmaceutical company whose unethical experiments caused the series' rash of zombie outbreaks in the first place.
Another long-running Japanese series returns this week as From Software and Namco Bandai launch Armored Core V. The game maintains the franchise's focus on high-octane mech combat and comprehensive customization options, although this installment features smaller mechs to encourage tactical gameplay. From Software has focused on delivering more content this time around by incorporating new environments and enhancing the game's offline mode. Online modes will also be available, and they'll emphasize large-scale, team-based battles.
For further details, visit GameSpot's New Releases page. The full list of downloadable games on the PlayStation Store, Xbox Live Marketplace, and Wii Shop Channel will be revealed later this week. Release dates are based on retailer listings and are subject to change.
TUESDAY, MARCH 20
Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City--X360, PS3--Capcom
Ninja Gaiden 3--X360, PS3--Tecmo Koei
Silent Hill HD--X360, PS3--Konami
Armored Core V--X360, PS3--Namco Bandai
Sumioni: Demon Arts--PS Vita--Xseed Games
Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc HD--PS3--Ubisoft
Kinect Rush: A Disney-Pixar Adventure--X360--Microsoft
Warriors Orochi 3--X360, PS3--Tecmo Koei
Dirt 3: Complete Edition--X360, PS3--Codemasters
Gogo's Crazy Bones--DS--Game Mill
Let's Ride: Best of Breed--DS--THQ
Paws & Claws Pampered Pets Resort--DS--THQ
THURSDAY, MARCH 22
Angry Birds Space--iOS, AND, PC, MAC--Rovio
FRIDAY, MARCH 23
Kid Icarus: Uprising--3DS--Nintendo
Total War: Shogun 2 - Fall of the Samurai--PC--Sega
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Source: http://www.gamespot.com/news/shippin-out-march-18-24-kid-icarus-3ds-6366394
Contenders for the UK's top video game awards revealed; Uncharted 3, Little Big Planet 2 also hotly tipped.
Following on from last week's announcement of the nominees for the ceremony's one publicly voted award, BAFTA today revealed the games up for the rest of this year's British Academy Video Games Awards. Batman: Arkham City and L.A. Noire lead the way with eight nominations each, while Little Big Planet 2 and Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception are nipping at their heels with six nominations.
The teams behind Portal 2 and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim will also be donning tuxedos with high hopes after both games secured five nominations each, as will those responsible for Deus Ex: Human revolution, after seeing their game nominated in four categories. Other multiple nominees were Assassin's Creed: Revelations and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, which both received three nods, Bastion, Battlefield 3, Dance Central 2, Dark Souls, FIFA 12, From Dust, Kinect Sports: Season Two, Monstermind, The Nightjar, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Super Mario 3D Land, and Total War: Shogun 2, which each received two.
Arkham City, FIFA 12, L.A. Noire, Portal 2, Skyrim, and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword will do battle for the big award of the night, the Best Game prize. 2012 will also be the first year that the best performer category will be included, with a number of well-known stars in contention. Aaron Staton, nominated for his portrayal of Cole Phelps in L.A. Noire, is up against Mark Hamill (the Joker in Arkham City), Stephen Fry (the narrator in Little Big Planet 2), Stephen Merchant (Wheatley in Portal 2), and gaming stalwarts Nolan North (Nathan Drake in Uncharted 3) and Togo Igawa (diplomat, advisor, and military general in Shogun 2: Total War).
One existing category that often causes confusion is Best Strategy, this year being contested by Shogun 2, Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars, Football Manager 2012, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Dark Souls, and From Dust. BAFTA defines the strategy category as honouring games "centred around the use of strategic gameplay," rather than simply those that fall into the strategy genre.
The full list of nominations can be found on BAFTA's website.
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Source: http://asia.gamespot.com/news/arkham-city-la-noire-lead-bafta-nominations-6350525
We talked to Excalibur Publishing's managing director, Robert Stallibrass, the man whose audience wants him to make Hairdressing Simulator and even Ice Cream Van Man Simulator.
Last year, Street Cleaning Simulator was a huge hit with the GameSpot community. While we rated it 1.5 and called it "abysmal," users flocked to submit user reviews, taking it to a 9.1 average user score from more than 2,400 votes--making it more popular and higher rated than games such as Dark Souls. While many of these scores were clearly mocking the absurd nature of the game, Excalibur itself has become one of the busiest games publishers around, releasing two to three titles per month, including both Utility Vehicle Simulator and Airport Firefighter Simulator recently. We approached the company's managing director to find out more about the company, its games, and the seemingly unstoppable rise of the Simulator series.
GameSpot UK: Tell us a bit about Excalibur--the games, the company, the history.
Robert Stallibrass: Well, most of the people here, or certainly myself and my co-director, have been in the games industry for about 25 years. Contact Sales, which is the company that holds Excalibur Publishing, is 15 years old on the 24th March, so individuals have been around a long time. We started our life publishing simulation add-ons for Microsoft Flight Simulator and Microsoft Train Simulator under a brand called First Class Simulations and that proved to be very, very popular. Fly a 787, fly an A380, fly from [London] to New York, London airports, etc. Drive a train from London to Brighton, and that sort of thing. Very popular, very successful.
Three years ago, Microsoft pulled the plug on Flight Simulator, and we looked around and said, "we have a formula here where people like simulations." We were lucky, and we happened to be talking to the developers of Farming Simulator. And that is really where our life started under the Excalibur brand, by publishing Farming Simulator. Worldwide, it sold, and you'll laugh, about 1.8 million copies, so that in a way became a formula. We got involved with products like Euro Truck Simulator, which again has sold about half a million copies worldwide, UK Truck Simulator which has sold somewhere in the region of 75,000 copies in the UK alone. So this is not your Modern Warfare, where on day one they sell 5 million copies worldwide--this is a slow, long-term burn of products, and we're still selling Euro Truck, UK Truck and Farming Simulator and some of these have been out for three or four years.
A lot of that's down to reviews--to use Street Cleaning Simulator as an example, a lot of people laughed at that, but actually it's a hell of a good product, and I think slowly people are coming round to the fact that not everything in life is "drive a car fast, kill everybody, or roll a tank through London and shoot the daylights out of buildings." There is a whole market of people who actually want to do something a bit more casual, and that's really where our market is.
GSUK: Presumably physical retail is important to Excalibur?
RS: Physical retail is absolutely essential. We get fantastic support from people like Game and PC World, and a number of specialist independent retailers across the country. We also have great support in Europe from key retailers like GameStop and MediaMart, in Germany, Scandinavia and Italy. And also, we do great business in South Africa, Australia, even the Middle East, so without retail we wouldn't have a business.
GSUK: So does what's happening to Game worry you a little bit?
RS: I tell you what worries me--a business that is turning over £900m and made a paltry loss of £18m is being absolutely taken to the cleaners. You look at other industries and there are people out there losing hundreds of millions of pounds. You look at the banks--look at the money the banks have lost! People shore them up. I'm not saying Game should be shored up, but look at it--£18m loss on £900m turnover--they probably spent that on paperclips and pens! I think the whole thing has been blown out of proportion, and I also think that some of the publishers should be shot who are not supporting Game. They have made a fortune out of Game over the years, and the tables have turned and they've gone, "Ooh, I'm not going to support you now!" I think it's pathetic.
GSUK: How many people do you employ, and how many teams are working on games at any given time?
RS: We've got a very small in-house development team. In total we are getting products from something like eight developers across the world.
GSUK: Based on the number and frequency of releases, you're one of the most prolific publishers around at the moment. Do you think other publishers could learn from that?
RS: The market for simulations is as wide as your imagination. We get people saying, "Have you done Hairdressing Simulator, have you done Ice Cream Van Man Simulator?" Some of these are extreme, but yeah, we are putting out two, maybe three products a month, but equally we are being very weary about quality. I think one of your colleagues may say, "Well, yes Robert--we've reviewed one or two of your products which aren't very good." Well, yes, that happens from time to time, but that's just the way we are.
There's three elements. Hard work, luck, and common sense. I think that's all we do--I don't think there's any great formula to it. I think some publishers lack one or all three of those elements. We just get on with it.
GSUK: It seems as though there's some similarity between your games and some social games out there--are you focussed on continuing to charge for your games in future?
RS: Yes, we definitely are, and yet you're quite right--there is a crossover. You look at something like Farmville, for example, which I think at the last count had 65 million players at any one time, and Farming Simulator has to some extent ridden on the back of that success as well.
GSUK: How important is the media to Excalibur? How important are both critic reviews and user reviews?
RS: I think the problem is, some of our games are a bit odd and they get into the hands of people who don't necessarily want to play simulation games. We do get a slating from time to time, both in the media and from users, and we have people complain about the products. On the other side, we have people who buy from us regularly who say, "Actually, your products are great for that type of market." The media is very, very important for us, because we do not have the advertising budget of the larger publishers out there, or the marketing budget. A lot of our sales are driven by good reviews, and at the end of the day, it's the consumers that really decide if our products are good or bad. We do watch quite closely what they're saying about our products, and where they we try not to make that error again. Feedback for us is very important too.
GSUK: We gave Street Cleaning Simulator a very bad review, and when that happens, it sometimes results in an angry phone call from the publisher. It didn't in the case of Excalibur.
RS: [Laughs] We're a bit more laid back--we put our products out, and if people don't like it, they don't like it. As long as people have valid criticism for our products, that's absolutely fine. In fact, Street Cleaning Simulator went viral, and we had over 80,000 hits on our site about it in the first week.
GSUK: Would you say that there's any real competition in your market?
RS: Yep, we have one or two people who do stand alone simulations--the Mastertronic Group under their Just Sims label do one or two budget simulations, there's one or two other people out there as well who do simulations. Some of the competition is very good, and it's great to see competition because it grows the market. It keeps us on our toes, and we wish them all success. We want the simulations market to grow.
GSUK: What's your most popular franchise?
RS: Farming Simulator is by far and away our most popular, and we've been very much labelled as a one-product company. But we also have Euro Truck Simulator, Bus Simulator 2...
GSUK: Street Cleaning Simulator must have done well?
RS: Street Cleaning simulator just did OK. Because it was a bit of a quirky one, I don't think anybody quite took it too seriously until some of the reviews. We've got a number of other products that did a lot better.
GSUK: Is there one country or region where Excalibur's games do particularly well?
RS: I always laugh about this, but our partner in Italy buys more than anybody else. And I don't know if they use them as doorstops, whether they eat them, put them in their pita bread, or mix them in with their pasta, but the Italians absolutely love our products. I mean, an astronomical amount of business compared to the UK. Germany's very strong as well.
GSUK: What's next for Excalibur--what's the plan for 2012 and beyond?
RS: Our next key product is a title called Circus World, which is coming out in July, which is our first title that we've developed in-house. It's very much simulation and management--you run a circus and grow it, and you have to make sure the acts do well, and you sell hot dogs, and you make money, and that's been in development for three years.
GSUK: When you say it's in-house, where is it physically being developed?
RS: We took a decision some years ago that we wanted to have our own small development team, and when I say small, I mean four or five people. It's a team that we fund, that we look after, that we advise, that we work with to develop products for us, so it's as good as our team. It's based in the UK, but it's spread about. We have a central person who looks after it all and we outsource some of the functions like the music and the graphics.
GSUK: That's quite a common independent development model. Would you say you have an indie approach to making games?
RS: I really hope so, because I think there's a lot of creativity in independents, and I also think that the tried and tested franchise model--versions four, five, six and seven, are great, and I understand why some of the big publishers do it, but actually it's a bit boring.
We have another title that's due out later this year called Zoo Park Simulator, and we have two other key products coming from outside--Euro Truck Simulator 2, which has been a highly anticipated product, and gosh, should I be telling you this? Yeah, I'll tell you this. You're the only person that knows this. There will be another version of Farming Simulator coming out September/October, which will be a completely new version, a complete rewrite of the code, so it won't just be a rehash. We've planned for console versions, but they probably won't happen till next year.
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EA titles claim half of top 10, four of top five spots; Resident Evil spin-off settles for second place.
Although Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City defied the critics, it's FIFA Street that enjoys a second week in the top spot.
Despite receiving mostly negative reviews, Capcom's Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City has debuted in the UK charts at number two. Three years since Resident Evil 5's release, Raccoon City offers players the chance to see the events of the series from a new, if flawed, angle. However, it wasn't enough to beat EA's FIFA Street, which remains at number one.
This week EA titles represent five of the top 10, with Mass Effect 3, FIFA 12 and SSX at third, fourth, and fifth. Battlefield 3's trio of BAFTA awards has helped launch the title back into the top 10 at number eight.
Other new releases include Kid Icarus: Uprising for the 3DS at seven, Shogun 2 Total War: Fall of the Samurai at 17, and Ninja Gaiden 3 at 19.
UK All-Formats Chart for the Week Ending 24 March 2012
1. FIFA Street - EA
2. Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City - Capcom
3. Mass Effect 3 - EA
4. FIFA 12 - EA
5. SSX - EA
6. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 - Activision Blizzard
7. Kid Icarus: Uprising - Nintendo
8. Battlefield 3 - EA
9. F1 2011 - Codemasters
10.Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games - Sega
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Source: http://www.gamespot.com/news/fifa-street-fends-off-raccoon-city-on-uk-chart-6368079
Tiger Woods 13 still presents a decent golf game, but there isn't much new here, and many added features like Kinect support come with problems.
Score: 6.5 / fair
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Source: http://uk.gamespot.com/tiger-woods-pga-tour-13/reviews/tiger-woods-pga-tour-13-review-6368837/
Guild Wars 2 does things so well it can steal away hours of your time in a colorful, loot-filled flash. With phenomenal questing and combat design, Guild Wars 2 is poised to enthrall countless gamers -- even those of you unacquainted with MMOs. One of the first choices you make when crafting a chara...
Source: http://feeds.ign.com/~r/ignfeeds/pc/~3/7XSwAZzxtZI/1221967p1.html
Swedish company filings show popular sandbox construction game a big moneymaker in first 15 months; studio considering Minecraft TV show.
Minecraft may have been born of humble origins, but the game is proving lucrative for developer Mojang. New Swedish financial filings grabbed by the Financial Times show that Mojang's construction game has recorded $80 million (540 million Swedish krona) in revenue since October 2010.
To date, Minecraft has seen in excess of 25 million downloads, with more than 5 million users purchasing the game. Such popularity has drawn the attention of Hollywood, Mojang chief executive Carl Manneh told the site.
"We've been approached by a number of high-profile Hollywood producers and asked to do TV shows," Manneh said. "We may do that. It's hard when you don't have any experience and someone comes to throw these ideas around. We have so much to focus on with just the game development and growing the business. But if the right idea comes along and the right people that we'd want to work with, we'd say why not?"
In addition, Manneh said Napster cofounder and former Facebook president Sean Parker took an interest in Mojang and Minecraft, taking the studio on a trip to London in his private jet in hopes of landing a business deal.
Mojang rejected Parker's offer, with Manneh commenting, "Generally we didn't want to raise capital at the time and we still don't."
Minecraft is continuing to expand. An Xbox Live Arcade version developed by 4J Studios is scheduled to debut on May 9. The game will launch without Kinect support, which will be added in via a postrelease patch.
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Source: http://www.gamespot.com/news/mojang-notches-80-million-from-minecraft-6368080
Source: http://reviews.teamxbox.com/xbox-360/1973/Trine-2/p1/
Source: http://feeds.gamespy.com/~r/gsfeeds/pc/~3/oZpXnN1S_gA/1221916p1.html
If you're looking to go for a swing with humor, style, and old-school charm, Hook Champ is the way to go.
Score: 7.5 / good
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Source: http://www.gamespot.com/hook-champ/reviews/hook-champ-review-6262611/
Naughty Dog leads the pack with 12 nominations for AIAS-organized honors, joins Portal 2, Skyrim, Batman: Arkham City, and Zelda: Skyward Sword as Game of the Year candidates.
The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences today released its full list of nominees for the Interactive Achievement Awards, with Naughty Dog's PlayStation 3-exclusive Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception leading the pack of 2011 games with a dozen nominations across 11 categories, including Game of the Year. The remaining candidates for the top IAA honor include Portal 2, Batman: Arkham City, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
Uncharted 3's 12 nominations tops the nine nods put up by last year's IAA darling Red Dead Redemption, but the territory isn't quite uncharted. In 2010, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves garnered 15 nominations, winning 10 categories, including Game of the Year.
The next most frequently nominated game was Portal 2 with 10 nods, followed by L.A. Noire with nine. The only other games that made the cut in more than three categories were Battlefield 3, Batman: Arkham Asylum, and Skyrim, with six nominations each.
As for the publishers, Electronic Arts topped the list, collecting 21 nominations spread across 14 games. Uncharted 3 pushed Sony into the second place (18 nominations between five games), while Microsoft managed to take the bronze with 13 nominations for 11 games.
The 15th annual Interactive Achievement Awards will be presented Thursday, February 9 at the D.I.C.E. Summit in Las Vegas. GameSpot will be live streaming the event, with comedian Jay Mohr once again hosting the ceremony. A complete list of categories and nominees follows below.
Game of the Year
Batman: Arkham City--Rocksteady Studios
Portal 2--Valve
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim--Bethesda Game Studios
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword--Nintendo
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception--Naughty Dog
Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition
L.A. Noire--Team Bondi
Little Big Planet 2--Media Molecule
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception--Naughty Dog
InFamous 2--Sucker Punch
Portal 2--Valve
Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design
Battlefield 3--DICE
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3--Infinity Ward/Sledgehammer Games
L.A. Noire--Team Bondi
Need for Speed: The Run--EA Black Box
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception--Naughty Dog
Outstanding Achievement in Story
Bastion--Supergiant Games
L.A. Noire--Team Bondi
Portal 2--Valve
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim--Bethesda Game Studios
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception--Naughty Dog
Outstanding Character Performance
Deus Ex: Human Revolution (Adam Jensen)--Eidos Montreal
L.A. Noire (Cole Phelps)--Team Bondi
Portal 2 (Wheatley)--Valve
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (Nathan Drake)--Naughty Dog
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (Victor Sullivan)--Naughty Dog
Downloadable Game of the Year
Bastion--Supergiant Games
Drawn: Trail of Shadows--Big Fish Games
Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet--Fuel Cell
Ms. Splosion Man--Twisted Pixel Games
Orcs Must Die!--Robot Entertainment
Casual Game of the Year
Fruit Ninja Kinect--Halfbrick Studios
Tiny Wings--Andreas Illiger
Jetpack Joyride--Halfbrick Studios
Monsters Ate My Condo--Adult Swim/PikPok
Where's My Water?--Creature Feep
Social Networking Game of the Year
Army Attack--Digital Chocolate
CastleVille--Zynga
Gardens of Time--Playdom
The Sims Social--Playfish
Triple Town--Spry Fox
Role-Playing/Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year
Dark Souls--From Software
Deus Ex: Human Revolution--Eidos Montreal
Star Wars: The Old Republic--BioWare Austin
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim--Bethesda Game Studios
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings--CD Projekt
Outstanding Innovation in Gaming
Bastion--Supergiant Games
L.A. Noire--Team Bondi
Portal 2--Valve
Skylanders Spyro's Adventure--Toys for Bob
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim--Bethesda Game Studios
Sports Game of the Year
FIFA 12--EA Canada
Madden NFL 12--Tiburon
MLB 11: The Show--SCE San Diego
NBA 2K12--Visual Concepts
NBA Jam: On Fire Edition--Firemint
Racing Game of the Year
Forza Motorsport 4--Turn 10 Studios
Mario Kart 7--Nintendo
Real Racing 2 HD--Firemint
Fighting Game of the Year
Fight Night Champion--EA Canada
King of Fighters XIII--SNK Playmore
Mortal Kombat--NetherRealm Studios
Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition--Capcom
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3--Capcom
Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year
Iron Brigade--Double Fine
Orcs Must Die!--Robot Entertainment
Total War: Shogun 2--The Creative Assembly
Toy Soldiers: Cold War--Signal Studios
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II - Retribution--Relic Entertainment
Family Game of the Year
Dance Central 2--Harmonix
Just Dance 3--Ubisoft Paris
Kinect Disneyland Adventure--Frontier Developments
Little Big Planet 2--Media Molecule
Skylanders Spyro's Adventure--Toys for Bob
Mobile Game of the Year
Contre Jour--Chillingo
Dead Space--EA Mobile
Infinity Blade II--Chair Entertainment
Tentacles--Press Play
The Dark Meadow--Phosphor Games Studio
Handheld Game of the Year
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective--Capcom
Kirby Mass Attack--Hal Laboratory
Mario Kart 7--Nintendo
Professor Layton and the Last Specter--Level 5
Super Mario 3D Land--Nintendo
Adventure Game of the Year
Batman: Arkham City--Rocksteady Studios
L.A. Noire--Team Bondi
Portal 2--Valve
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword--Nintendo
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception--Naughty Dog
Outstanding Achievement in Online Game Play
Battlefield 3--DICE
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3--Infinity Ward/Sledgehammer Games
Gears of War 3--Epic Games
Little Big Planet 2--Media Molecule
Star Wars: The Old Republic--BioWare Austin
Outstanding Achievement in Connectivity
Battlefield 3--DICE
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3--Infinity Ward/Sledgehammer Games
Dragon Age II--BioWare Edmonton
Portal 2--Valve
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception--Naughty Dog
Action Game of the Year
Battlefield 3--DICE
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3--Infinity Ward/Sledgehammer Games
Dead Space 2--Visceral Games
Gears of War 3--Epic Games
Saints Row: The Third--Volition
Outstanding Achievement in Animation
Assassin's Creed: Revelations--Ubisoft Montreal
Batman: Arkham City--Rocksteady Studios
L.A. Noire--Team Bondi
Rayman Origins--UbiArt Montpellier
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception--Naughty Dog
Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction
Batman: Arkham City--Rocksteady Studios
Battlefield 3--DICE
Portal 2--Valve
Rayman Origins--UbiArt Montpellier
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception--Naughty Dog
Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering
Batman: Arkham City--Rocksteady Studios
Crysis 2--Crytek GmbH
L.A. Noire--Team Bondi
Rage--id Software
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception--Naughty Dog
Outstanding Achievement in Game Play Engineering
Batman: Arkham City--Rocksteady Studios
Portal 2--Valve
Skylanders Spyro's Adventure--Toys for Bob
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim--Bethesda Game Studios
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword--Nintendo
Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction
Batman: Arkham City--Rocksteady Studios
L.A. Noire--Team Bondi
Portal 2--Valve
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim--Bethesda Game Studios
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception--Naughty Dog
[CORRECTION]: This story originally referred to the Outstanding Achievement in Connectivity category as Outstanding Achievement in Online Game Play. We regret the error.
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Source: http://www.gamespot.com/news/uncharted-3-gets-a-dozen-interactive-achievement-award-nods-6348535
How does Darksiders II play? What's up with misleading video game trailers? What will GAME going into administration actually mean? Find out on this episode of Crosshairs!
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Here's a new "making of" behind-the-scenes video for Transformers: Fall of Cybertron.
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Short new release slate led by EA Sports' latest golfing sim; final Gears of War 3 DLC, Warriors Orochi 3, and Rayman Origins PC also out.
Real-world golfer Tiger Woods recorded his first victory in 923 days just yesterday, and gamers can help the athlete continue that momentum this week inside Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13. EA Sports' golfing sim leads a sparse new release list that also includes the final Gears of War 3 downloadable content, Warriors Orochi for the Xbox 360, and the PC version of Rayman Origins.
Teeing up this week is Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. It's a big year for the franchise, as EA Sports has designed what it calls the "most comprehensive swing mechanic revamp in over a decade" for the new game.
On top of adding new swing controls, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 will include a new Tiger's Golf Legacy component. This game mode lets players re-create significant events of Tiger Woods' career, beginning during his childhood and chronicling his rise to becoming the world's top golfer.
Also out this week is the final wave of downloadable content for Epic Games' Gears of War 3. The Forces of Nature content drops on Tuesday and bundles three new multiplayer maps (Aftermath, Artillery, and Cove), as well as remade versions of Jacinto and Raven Down.
Owners of the $30 Gears of War Season Pass will receive the content for free, and those without a pass can expect to pay 800 Microsoft points, or $10, for the content. On top of the new maps, the Forces of Nature DLC includes four new character models, five weapon skins ready to use immediately, and two unlockable weapon skins.
Hack-and-slash fans can grab Warriors Orochi 3 this week for the Xbox 360. The game meshes heroes from the Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors franchises in a new story, which also features characters from Ninja Gaiden, Warriors: Legends of Troy, Bladestorm, Trinity: Souls of Zill O'll, and Dead or Alive.
Rayman Origins bounces to another platform this week. Already available for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, and PlayStation Vita, the 2D side-scroller platformer from Michel Ancel hits PC on Thursday.
Gamers may also get their hands on Ridge Racer Unbounded this week. Earlier this month, publisher Namco Bandai delayed Bugbear Entertainment's racing game from March 6 to "later in 2012," but Amazon and GameStop listings show the game will ship on March 30.
For further details, visit GameSpot's New Releases page. The full list of downloadable games on the PlayStation Store, Xbox Live Marketplace, and Wii Shop Channel will be revealed later this week. Release dates are based on retailer listings and are subject to change.
TUESDAY, MARCH 27
Capcom Digital Collection--X360--Capcom
Closure--PS3--Eyebrow Interactive
Gears of War 3: Forces of Nature--X360--Microsoft Game Studios
Ridge Racer Unbounded--X360, PS3--Namco Bandai
Supremacy MMA: Unrestricted--PS Vita--505 Games
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13--X360, PC, PS3--EA Sports
Tropico 4: Modern Times--PC--Kalypso
Warriors Orochi 3--X360--Tecmo Koei
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 28
Wrecked: Revenge Revisited--X360--505 Games
THURSDAY, MARCH 29
Rayman Origins--PC--Ubisoft
FRIDAY, MARCH 30
Ridge Racer Unbounded--PS3, X360, PC--Namco Bandai
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Source: http://www.gamespot.com/news/shippin-out-march-25-31-tiger-woods-pga-tour-13-6367767
EA titles claim half of top 10, four of top five spots; Resident Evil spin-off settles for second place.
Although Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City defied the critics, it's FIFA Street that enjoys a second week in the top spot.
Despite receiving mostly negative reviews, Capcom's Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City has debuted in the UK charts at number two. Three years since Resident Evil 5's release, Raccoon City offers players the chance to see the events of the series from a new, if flawed, angle. However, it wasn't enough to beat EA's FIFA Street, which remains at number one.
This week EA titles represent five of the top 10, with Mass Effect 3, FIFA 12 and SSX at third, fourth, and fifth. Battlefield 3's trio of BAFTA awards has helped launch the title back into the top 10 at number eight.
Other new releases include Kid Icarus: Uprising for the 3DS at seven, Shogun 2 Total War: Fall of the Samurai at 17, and Ninja Gaiden 3 at 19.
UK All-Formats Chart for the Week Ending 24 March 2012
1. FIFA Street - EA
2. Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City - Capcom
3. Mass Effect 3 - EA
4. FIFA 12 - EA
5. SSX - EA
6. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 - Activision Blizzard
7. Kid Icarus: Uprising - Nintendo
8. Battlefield 3 - EA
9. F1 2011 - Codemasters
10.Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games - Sega
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Source: http://uk.gamespot.com/news/fifa-street-fends-off-raccoon-city-on-uk-chart-6368079
Source: http://reviews.teamxbox.com/xbox-360/1985/Mass-Effect-3/p1/
The title sums up Shoot Many Robots, a kill-crazed co-op shooting spree that offers a lot of action for just $10.
Score: 7.5 / good
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Source: http://www.gamespot.com/shoot-many-robots/reviews/shoot-many-robots-review-6366667/
In this Driving trailer for Sleeping Dogs, Wei Shen participates in high-speed gun battles, illegal racing, and hijacking vehicles.
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Source: http://www.gamespot.com/sleeping-dogs/videos/driving-sleeping-dogs-trailer-6368624/
Street Fighter favorites take on Capcom's latest creation in May add-on packs; April plays host to additional DLC drops, including four-episode epilogue for $7.
Ryu and Akuma have never been shy about crossovers, and the pair will be capping off Capcom's downloadable content for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 action beat-'em-up Asura's Wrath.
Capcom today detailed its remaining slate of Asura's Wrath DLC, culminating in May with a pair of add-ons that will pit Asura first against Ryu and then against Akuma in bare-handed (but many-armed) combat. The Ryu battle will arrive May 9, with Akuma's DLC debut set for May 16. Each pack will cost $2 (160 Microsoft points).
Before those matchups take place, Asura has a handful of optional adventures to punch his way through. This week and next, Capcom is launching half-step episodes for $2 (160 Microsoft points) that fill in gaps between chapters from the base game. The meatiest of the content arrives April 24, with a four-episode epilogue for the game that Capcom is using to "continue the story of Asura's Wrath and reveal an extra twist." Set after the events of the base game, the bundle will cost $7 (560 Microsoft points).
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Source: http://www.gamespot.com/news/ryu-akuma-headline-asuras-wrath-dlc-6368263
Co-op RPG shooter Shoot Many Robots is out for PC on 6th April, confirms Ubisoft...
Source: http://feeds.ign.com/~r/ignfeeds/pc/~3/eBulXMN1KtA/1221803p1.html
Like a little run with your gun? Introducing the heavy-hitting assault class in Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Online.
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Overhaul Games bringing Enhanced Edition of RPG to Apple's tablet computer this summer alongside PC version; no word on Baldur's Gate II coming to iTunes.
Gamers will be able to play the Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition on a train, in a car, or lying out on a hammock. Developer Overhaul Games has announced that the new version of the 1998 role-playing game will be available on iTunes for the iPad.
Due out this summer, Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition runs on an updated version of the Infinity Engine and will include the Tales of the Sword Coast expansion pack. In addition, Overhaul Games is adding never-before-seen content to the game, including a "new adventure" and party member.
Overhaul did not mention whether Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition will also ship for the iPad, and as of press time, the developer had not responded to GameSpot's request for comment. That game is currently targeted to arrive sometime after the first drops this summer.
In addition to being released for the iPad, the enhanced editions of Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate II will arrive for the PC. Writing on Twitter, Overhaul creative director Trent Oster said, "We're adding iPad as a platform, we're 100 percent supporting the PC."
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Source: http://www.gamespot.com/news/baldurs-gate-ee-hitting-ipads-6367578
Street Fighter X Tekken is fun for a wide range of players while still offering the complexity serious fighting fans have come to expect.
Score: 8.5 / great
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Source: http://www.gamespot.com/street-fighter-x-tekken/reviews/street-fighter-x-tekken-review-6363972/
