Originally slated for a release in January of 2012, it seems that the next installment to the snowboarding franchise SSX, titled SSX, isn’t going to be making it in time to catch the fresh snow dude. It is going to be a few weeks late as EA’s official website for the title dropped the title back a few weeks to February 14th without giving much reason as to why.
It seems that Valentine’s Day is going to be a popular one for video game releases, and this one is just perfect for the snowboarder in your life that just can’t spend a minute away from the snow, even in the dog days of summer.
If you’ve read my review for Batman: Arkham City then you will know that the Riddler has outdone himself in regards to the amount of challenges and trophies that he has scattered around the prison city. There are tons of trophies scattered around everywhere and most of them have complicated solutions to obtaining them.
However it appears that someone has your best interests at heart, and it is your iOS device. A new app for iOS has been released and is available on the app store for $2.99 that lists the locations of every collectible in the game, a map of every area in the game and an interactive collectible tracking system. Sounds like quite a cheat sheet doesn’t it? Just make sure the Riddler doesn’t find out about this. You can pick up the app here.
Kontrolfreek has just announced it’s holiday lineup of controller accessories in the form of three First Person Shooter variations, all aimed at enhancing the experience and precision while playing games such as Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 3.
The FPS Freek SNIPR, FPS Freek ELITE and FPS Freek CQC have been labelled as the “Perfect Arsenal” of accessories for playing shooters, with the Sniper available for purchase now and the other two being released in November.
The FPS Freek SNIPR brings a convex, laser-etched crosshair design, arming players with maximum grip surface available to efficiently take down enemies with precision during every engagement. It costs only $13.99 and is designed as a tribute to Battlefield 3.
The FPS Freek ELITE gives players an advantage when undertaking missions, for example taking control of Delta Force Operatives in MW3. The ELITE even features a Delta Force insignia with the credo “Swift, Silent, Deadly” and will be released on the 1st of November.
The CQC accessory is unsurprisingly dedicated to “Close Quarter Combat” for FPS titles. The lower “rise” of the CQC increases accuracy and comfort for both melee and weapon attacks when fighting enemies in close proximity. You can also mix and match the accessories to find your perfect combination. The CQC will be out November 15 for $9.99.
“Given the extraordinary success of our previous shooter-inspired products, adding this depth and breadth to our lineup will undoubtedly provide FPS gamers with additional benefits this season” said Ashish Mistry, KontrolFreek president and CEO. “Gamers will be truly blown away by the added maneuverability and comfort that these new products, and especially CQC, will give them.”
Last week it was announced that FUNimation and NicoNico would be creating a joint venture known as Funico, and a large number of shows were announced to be licensed by the group so they could provide streams of the titles online for free through the NicoNico service.
Unfortunately it was announced earlier this week by NicoNico on their blog that they would have to delay three shows to “a later date.” The three series, C³, Maken-Ki! and The Future Diary were originally meant to begin streaming on Wednesday but currently no longer have a set stream date. Each of these three shows have already begun airing in Japan and have already aired their third episode, which begs the question as to whether all already aired episodes will be available at once when the streaming begins.
Football Manager 2012 is now available for purchase via Steam and various retailers. The game boasts over 800 new features with updated statistics and over 50 playable leagues.
The FM12 match engine also fully supports 3D NVIDIA Vision technology to add to the realism when you’re playing.
“3D Vision adds an extra level of immersion and excitement to Football Manager 2012. Using NVIDIA’s stereoscopic 3D technology, gamers will truly get the feeling of being pitch-side as their team goes for greatness! This is a great example of a developer using 3D to genuinely enhance the gameplay experience.” said Phil Eisler, 3D Vision General Manager at NVIDIA.
The PSP version will be out on the 28th of October with the iOS version still to be announced at a later date. Don’t forget to check out our review of FM12 here in case you missed it.
It seems that Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment will be helping out CD Projekt RED in North America by publishing The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings in North America when it is released next year. The company will be providing sales and marketing resources for the title in North America.
Adam Kiciński, the president of CD Projekt RED had this to say regarding the deal with Warner Bros.:”We are sure that this partnership with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, with its strong position in the entertainment sector and particularly in the video and games distribution market in North America, will help us to achieve even bigger success in the most important market for Xbox 360 games”
While Warner Bros. will take over the publishing duties of Witcher 2 in North America, THQ will continue for PAL territories, while Atari and Namco Bandai hold the publishing rights for the PC version in North America and PAL respectively. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a game with as many publishers as this.
It appears that Nintendo finally decided that being able to play your game over actual Wi-Fi and connecting to people around the world would be beneficial to a game, I’m looking at you Star Fox 64. Nintendo revealed today that Mario Kart 7 on the Nintendo 3DS will have wireless connectivity features that use both Wi-Fi and the 3DS’ StreetPass capabilities.
Players can race online or offline with 8 people at upwards of 60 FPS framerate. Also players can create what Nintendo is calling “communities” to create groups of players that you can race against. The StreetPass mechanic will allow you to collect data from other player’s in the form of win/loss records, coin data and even ghost data to allow you to race against their character in a ghost race. To top all of this off, players can also download a Mario Kart Channel to the 3DS to act as a center for everything Mario Kart 7 related.
We’ve already heard about how Diablo III will be free at launch if you subscribe to the annual pass for World of Warcraft. But what about those who just want to play Diablo III when the game is released? Well earlier today at BlizzCon the company revealed that they will be releasing what they call the “ultimate Diablo III experience.”
This ultimate experience will be in the form of a currently unpriced Collector’s Edition. It will include everything you see above, including a Collector’s Edition soundtrack, Art of Diablo III artbook, Behind-the-scenes DVD/Blu-ray, a Diablo Skull and 4GB USB Soulstone, as well as some in-game content in the form of Diablo III aesthetic artifacts, a WoW pet named Fetish Shaman and Starcraft II Battle.net portraits. Anyone want to guess how much this will cost upon release?
Microsoft is pushing forth the concept of playful learning. This innovative concept provides an experience for children to learn while connecting family at the same time. Microsoft is joining forces with Sesame Workshop, National Geographic, and Disney to create a new wave of games for the Kinect.
In spring 2012, we are to expect this new wave to come to fruition along with a joining of family values. The Kinect is a perfect platform to bring kids and adults together while offering learning moments and life-like interactions. Some titles to keep an eye out for are as follows: Kinect Sesame Street TV, Kinect Nat Geo TV, Project Columbia, and Rush.
Even though I am not a parent, I firmly believe that parents should be proactive in their children’s gaming. Many games are not suitable for younger children, and some parents may not fully understand the responsibility of buying game consoles. If you are curious about ESRB Ratings or tools to understand games, please check out GetGameSmart.com.
Whether or not you own an Xbox 360 Kinect, the possibilities for educational and family connections are becoming more prevalent. If you feel disconnected from your little gamer, there are ways to re-Kinect. Check out Xbox’s updates for “Kinect for Kids” to see the latest games and fact sheets.
Blizzard may have just announced their Annual Pass for World of Warcraft but they have already thrown another bone to people who were on the fence about subscribing to the service. Blizzard has just announced that anyone who uses the World of Warcraft Annual Pass will receive a free copy of the upcoming title Diablo III with apparently “no strings attached.”
This news comes from Blizzcon 2011 as Blizzard President Mike Morhaime was giving a presentation on stage PC Gamer says. This is a huge bonus to people who already would probably subscribe to the service without any other motivation than making sure they can play WoW all year long without any interruptions. Stay tuned for more news from the conference following soon.
