When “Nexus Tower opens its doors soon, tons of new content is being released for all players to explore and enjoy. This will include new characters, weapons, Faction-specific pets, and over 50 new missions, as well as access to the new LEGO Universe Vault system for safe-keeping extra models and gear. Nexus Tower will (also) be the main social center of the Universe, with existing and future content accessible from portals within the hub. You can blast off from Nexus Tower’s Launchpad to game worlds far and wide – Nimbus Station, Crux Prime, LEGO Club, Starbase 3001 and beyond! Beginning soon, players can fly to Nexus Tower from the Race Place launch pad in Nimbus Station.”
Plus, there is ton more LEGO-fied fun coming to Lego Universe. Check it:
* New Daily Missions – Embark on 20+ new Daily Missions available from the Faction Reps!
* New Rockets – Blastoff in a new ride inspired by Nexus Tower, the Nexus Talon Dropship or the famous Venture Koi!
* Faction pets – Players can complete furry new quests to obtain their special Faction pet.
* Commendation Vendor – Have you sold or deleted some of your Mission and Achievement Rewards, but now you’d like them back? No problem, just visit Admiral Honor Accolade in the Sentinel vendor area in Nexus Tower. He has lost and forgotten treasures in stock now!
* New Items Galore – Other vendors throughout Nexus Tower sell amazing new items and gear. Use the Foreman’s Radio to drop a piano on your enemies, or the Man Eating Plant to gobble them up! And when you really want to pound on the Maelstrom, we’ve got two words for you: Mole Whacker!
* New Reward Models – Build on your Property with the new Construction Set, Office Set and an even larger selection from the Micro City Set!
* Upgraded Launch Pads! Launch pads have been reconfigured to select the first rocket in players’ Backpacks.
* Multi-Missions! Some mission givers will now offer more than one mission at once. Accept as many or as few as you like!
Learn more at LegoUniverse.com and check out the new trailer below. If you have checked out the new stuff, let us know how cool it is! 🙂 I am off to play with some LEGO now. WOOHOO!
You know what game I am shocked about that is coming out this year? MW3. Yup, MW3, or Modern Warfare 3, or rather Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3.
No seriously, we haven’t heard anything about the next one, and then BOOM!:
LEAK<TRAILER< STATEMENT< ANNOUNCEMENT<AD ON HULU!
OMG I WANT IT!
Despite all that, its quite hard to deny that it will be amazing to find out what happens to Soap, the other dude and the Russian dude. Plus, the Call of Duty series has set a benchmark in the shooter genre, and I will most likely be playing it come November 8, 2011. Whats that? Yup, 11/8/11. BANG!
And now, statement time:
“Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is by far the most epic Call of Duty experience yet. The teams at Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games have worked tirelessly to create for the Call of Duty player a scale that is unimaginable with a level of polish and creativity that will push the genre forward,” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing, Inc. “The passion and energy of our developers is reflected in everything about the title. From the innovative gameplay, to the cinematic intensity, to the most advanced multiplayer ever, Modern Warfare 3 will raise the bar for this already incredible franchise.”
Honest Hearts DLC Publisher: Bethesda Softworks Developer: Obsidian Entertainment Versions: Xbox 360 (reviewed), PC, PlayStation 3 (forthcoming) Release Date: May 17, 2011 Price: 800 MSP ($10) – Buy Now!
Overview:
Fallout: New Vegas was released back in October of 2010 and since then only one DLC pack was released. Now in the last few weeks three DLC packs were announced to be released for the next three months. The first of these DLC packages is Honest Hearts, and with it comes the story of a legend that many of us have heard about in our journeys through the Mojave wasteland. The legend of The Burned Man, still alive somewhere in the wasteland. Besides the legend in the flesh, does Honest Hearts have enough going for it to justify your time?
Story:
Rumors and legend of a burned man run rampant across the Mojave wasteland. Caesar’s Legate from the original attack on Hoover Dam was burned alive due to his failure to take over the dam from the NCR. But the rumors say that this man did not die that day, but he still is alive somewhere in the wastes.
The story of Honest Hearts starts the same as previous DLC missions have; the discovery of a radio transmission. The discovery comes instantaneously as you begin your game. It is worth noting that this is not end game content and will require you to have a non-completed save file to access the content, otherwise you will need to start over from scratch.
After you track the radio transmission to its source you will find yourself working for the Happy Trails Caravan Company. They need some additional help because things have been rough in Zion lately and they could always use another gun. After you leave the Mojave Wasteland things quickly go wrong as they usually do. Being a caravan in the wasteland must be the most dangerous profession there is.
After an incident occurs you find yourself the sole survivor of the caravan team and with no way to get back home you must trust the local tribes or do things your own way and make your way out of the Zion National Park. The three tribes that are occupying Zion are the Dead Horses, The Sorrows and the White Legs. The White Legs have connections to Caesar’s Legion however and are out for blood.
The main attraction here is obviously Joshua Graham himself, the Burned Man. Shortly after beginning your journey you will encounter this man and he needs your help. The Dead Horses and The Sorrows have been under attack by the brutal White Legs and you are the only one who can help sway the events unfolding for these tribes.
Joshua Graham is a very interesting character. He is a man full of righteous vengeance and can be quick to take the most violent route possible. But there is much more to this man who used to follow a way of peace. The bandages that Joshua wears can be seen as a metaphor for the layers that have hid his personality and transformed him into what he is today.
The storyline itself may not be as long as some may prefer but it is actually quite revealing in regards to how the player would handle such a unique situation. There are a few different choices one can take to quell the violence though two mirror each other exactly up until the end and a handful of side quests to help pad out length but players may still find themselves finishing Honest Hearts a bit to quickly for their liking.
Graphics:
Players will find themselves a bit awestruck the first time that they look around themselves after they make it into Zion National park. This is because the environment is very amazing to look at. Zion National Park may still have some devastation to it but it also is a beautiful place to see. The textures are good looking on the rocks and there is only a small amount of pop to them. For the most part the smaller details are also a huge plus as there are a number of cave painting-like artworks scrawled across the cliffs in places. Plus there are actually fish in the water!
Despite having a very impressive looking environment, there really isn’t a whole lot of new enemies or NPCs here. Besides the various tribes’ different appearances and Joshua Graham himself, we have seen everything there is to see before as far as humanoids go. There is a new enemy this time around, or should I say an old friend. The Yao Guai return and have seen a minor graphical upgrade but unfortunately remain more or less the same beasts you will remember from Fallout 3.
Audio:
Now there really isn’t a whole lot of new voicework to speak of, and barely any music as your radio is disabled when you enter Zion, but something that does deserve a mention is the voice of The Burned Man. The voice actor that they matched with this man does a magnificent job delivering the emotional impact that The Burned Man is meant to drive home.
Gameplay:
Before you agree to go along with the Happy Trails Caravan Company you must lighten your load. Players are only allowed to carry 75 lbs. of equipment with them which is limiting but not as bad as Dead Money which stripped you of everything you wore. Players are also unable to bring along their companions meaning you will need to go alone.
Zion doesn’t contain any game changing mechanics like Dead Money did. You are able to venture anywhere you choose to right from the start though a companion you pick up shortly after entering will try to nudge you the right way. There are plenty of places to explore in Zion, including a number of different caves and abandoned campgrounds. Exploration is even rewarded as reaching high points on the map with a specific companion will reveal nearby locations on your Pip-Boy.
A variety of new healing and crafting items are available, focusing on the fact that the tribes in Zion have had to survive off of what is growing around them in Zion. This includes Datura roots and their byproducts. Besides healing items however you will also be given a couple of new weapons, including the Yao Guai gauntlet, .45 auto machine gun and pistol, tomahawks and war clubs and even a few unique weapons. This means that you will find yourself taking more than a few things back to the Mojave wasteland after your done with Zion.
Thankfully it isn’t a one way trip like in past games. After the player finishes the main storyline in Zion they are able to return as many times as they wish. Of course the quests will not reactivate but it is a good way to gather some more of the unique items found only in Zion to take back with you.
Overall:
Honest Hearts is exactly what the fans of Fallout: New Vegas should be waiting for. The map itself is wide open and allows players to go wherever they please right from the beginning which reinforces the whole exploration aspect of the title. It is unfortunate however that no new enemies were introduced minus the Yao Guai and that the story itself can be completed in around 5 hours with all routes explored. At least with the ability to return to Zion when you finish the story you are given an infinite amount of time to venture around and explore every canyon and cliff face.
Konami has only had a few things to say about Otomedius Excellent being localized in the United States. Besides a trailer for the title and a few screenshots the poor game has barely been acknowledged by the company despite being something of a niche release in the first place, but a release supposedly coming out soon.
But at least the gaming retailers themselves are leaking information out. Siliconera has found that Gamestop has updated their listing of the game to a $50 collector’s edition package. Unfortunately the listing doesn’t go into further details about what the special edition will include and we have contacted Konami in the hopes of finding out more. It is interesting to note that Amazon is showing the title at only $30 for the regular edition.
The most recent bullet hell title that was released to retailers in the US was Deathsmiles and that too contained a special edition which contained an Xbox 360 faceplate if you decided to purchase it. Hopefully we’ll learn more from Konami within the next few days.
The Shin Megami Tensei series is one that has done surprisingly well in the US marketplace considering it is hard for JRPGs to usually obtain a foot hold in the market. And it seems Atlus USA is going to be rewarding fans for their devotion to the series by bringing over the PlayStation Portable version of Persona 2 Innocent Sin. The title was released in Japan last month and now US residents will be getting the title in the Fall.
This news comes from the creation of the game’s official website by Atlus and with it also comes a whole slew of additional content such as the boxart you can see to the right, the screenshots released below as well as the opening movie for the game. The website itself says that you can also pre-order the title now but unfortunately you cannot at the moment. Amazon does however list a release date of September 20th which can only be taken as potential at the moment.
I hope that Atlus is prepared to sell a lot of these titles because the Shin Megami Tensei series is perhaps the second most popular JRPG franchise short of Final Fantasy in the United States and it would be a large disappointment to fans if they ended up selling out. Mostly due to the fact that the original Persona 2 on the PlayStation never was localized, meaning this will be the first time that players will get their hands on an official translation of the title.
Earlier we reported that the PlayStation Network was down for scheduled maintenance this time around and there had been some hope that the PlayStation Store would be returning when it went live. This hope was bolstered by the fact that a letter released last week to publishers said it would be online today. Instead however it will not be returning according to Sony’s James Gallagher.
Responding to fan criticism on the PlayStation Blog Gallagher stated Sony’s new potential release date as “by the end of May.” Meaning he was told to be as vague as possible. So unfortunately the PlayStation Store will still be down for the upcoming few days but at least everyone can still play online at the moment. Oh wait… well tomorrow you can.
Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment today revealed that Middle-earth will be coming to E3 – or at least a Lord of the Rings-themed lounge will be.
There will be daily concerts and cocktail events in the South Hall Lobby Atrium each evening, featuring the music of their upcoming 2011 game, The Lord of the Rings: War in the North.
During the expo from June 7th to 9th, all show attendees will be invited to visit a Middle-earth themed lounge in the South Hall Lobby Atrium, where complimentary Wi-Fi access will be available to visitors. As show floor activity winds down in the evenings, the lounge will become the venue for a VIP cocktail party and concert, as the space transforms into a merry-making shindig, with music and drink. Award-winning composer Inon Zur will conduct vocalists and a 40-piece live orchestra performing selections from the original score of The Lord of the Rings: War in the North.
E3 attendees that visit the WBIE Booth (South Hall, #2401) and participate in a demo of The Lord of the Rings: War in the North will receive a wrist band, granting them entrance to these nightly concert and cocktail receptions.
The concert schedule is as follows, and for anyone lucky enough to go to E3, it should be worth checking out:
Daily from Tuesday, June 7th – Thursday, June 9th
Tuesday & Wednesday: 5:30pm – 7:00pm
Thursday: 4:30pm – 6pm
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has released a new Nintendo 3DS trailer for Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters, the video game. It will be available 10 June, 2011 on Xbox 360, Wii, PlayStation 3, Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo DS.
The trailer gives viewers a sneak peek at the action of Hal Jordan’s epic adventure in the world of Green Lantern with a handheld experience of the game on the Nintendo 3DS. Obviously, it is a 2D trailer of a 3D game, but it still works well at giving a feel for the game.
In Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters, you play as Hal Jordan, a gifted pilot and the first human Green Lantern. Players create an arsenal of ring constructs and take flight in outer space and beyond to restore intergalactic order. Players will use the Power Ring to build an array of weapons from green energy to defeat the Manhunters – an evil android race bent on destroying the Green Lantern Corps.
Yu-Gi-Oh! 5DS World Championship 2011 – Over The Nexus
Devloper:Konami Publisher:Konami System:Nintendo DS Price:$27.50 US(BUY)– Seriously, you don’t want to be paying local price for this. DS games are region free (though 3DS games aren’t 🙁 ). Genre: Card Games/ RPG
Overview
Yu-Gi-Oh! 5DS World Championship 2011 – Over The Nexus is a digital trading card game for the Nintendo DS handheld. The game follows a player created protagonist in a story that involves several recognisable main characters from the television show and takes place in related but fully recognisable areas. The title is strangely addictive, I kept finding myself putting off this review for a few minutes longer while I was dueling in the background. So let’s get into it, shall we (before I start another duel).
Story
The game takes place in what seems to be arc involving those white-robed dudes in the anime (the ~100 episode range, not quite sure where that arc ends though). Without being spoilery, the game does involve the animes arc into the games story, but changes it up a bit, just like how 2009 changed up the whole Signer thing… but not in exactly the same way.
The main character is an older-teen (from appearance) who lives in Crash Town, which is a Cowboy Western style town, and due to circumstance and player input, leaves to live in the city and becomes a great duelist. Of course, the story is a bit more than that, with kidnappings, threats, dangers, thievery and friendships all taking a large part of the adventure being told.
With the game being made the way it is, it makes it difficult to accurately gauge the length of the story. What I mean by that is that each chapter seems to be made up of events that have a few forced duels in them and each duel can take anywhere from 5 mins to a really long time to complete, depending on how good your deck is. And of course, the strength of your deck is almost completely reliant on how lucky you are with the cards you receive from a booster whenever you buy a pack of cards (using in game money of course). My best estimate on story time is probably 4 or 5 hours which can be spaced further by potentially exceedingly long duels. This games story could easily be burned through by a lucky or incredibly skillful player, but someone unlucky or not quite as skilled will probably take a little bit longer to complete it.
As the story progresses, the areas that you can explore will increase in quantity, but you are only able to back track through the game after reaching a certain point. While it’s not really annoying, and not quite un-understandable, I found it a little odd. But it does make sense, especially when you consider the distance between locations.
Gameplay
This game plays similarly to any other 3rd person quasi-birdseye view RPG, in that the control pad moves you around and you use the buttons to do an action that corresponds with that button. Of course, this changed when you’re in a duel though, as you can use the touch screen to select options on the duel field as well as activate cards and the like. The touchscreen can also be used to move and select objects and options within the game.
During your adventure, you will come across many characters that you will need to interact with to further the story. It is quite easy to tell who these characters are as they stand out quite a bit from the rest of the characters in the game. They will usually require you to collect something from another character or location and usually also duel you at the end of the errand. You will find that this is almost the case for every chapter in the game.
As the game progresses, you will be able to access the card store within any zone of the game. I found it strange that they were not available immediately, considering you can just switch to the game menu and buy the cards from there at any point in the game. Personally though, I used the in-game shops for cards as an immersion thing. You can use any card that you’ve acquired during deck construction, which is also available in the game menu, and only if that card is not a part of the restricted card list.
The game includes an epic amount of cards, which I guess to be a large majority, if not all, of the cards that have been released in real life to date. These cards are assembled into a deck for you to use in duels and the decks must follow a certain format of 40+ cards with no more than 3 of each card.
Each duel in the game follows the format of the real life card game, which is similar, but slightly different, to the ruleset used by the characters in the show that this game is based on. At the beginning of a duel, each player begins with 8000 Life Points, which it is the goal of the player to decrease their opponents to 0 in order to win. This can be done in a few ways, but is always doe by using cards within a players turn. A lot of cards have effects that are only trigger-able in certain situations, and using these kinds of cards to your advantage is the best way to win in the game.
During a Duel you can select cards using the touch screen, or by using the control pad. It’s a little more realistic if you use the touch pad, but ultimately it’s more of a personal choice than anything.
The last aspect of dueling is a couple of variations on the rules, such as tag-duels and turbo duels. These duels follow the same basic premise as a regular duel, only a tag-duel lets you team up with an AI opponent, or another human in online play, and turbo duels replace spell cards with turbo spell cards, that require you to use speed-counters to activate. Both variants are quite fun to play, it’s only too bad that they aren’t available for every duel.
One thing that I found displeasing in this title is that while it includes duel runners, it only allows you to race on them, rather than race *and* duel. They get to do both in the show, so why not in the game? While the turbo duels do take place on the duel runner in a story sense, while actually dueling there is no indication that this is the case at all.
Visuals
Visually the game is quite simple, at least while in a menu or in a duel. While it’s possible to get lost in the menu sometimes, it’s hard to argue that it is designed simply. I think that the basic 2D display in a duel is also much easier to work with and easier on the graphics unit of the DS handheld.
This does not mean that there is no 3D in the game though. The entire adventuring aspect of the game is generated in 3D, so that includes characters, duel runners and backgrounds. The 3D is of course, basic modelling and textures as the DS system probably couldn’t handle too many of them at the same time. There is also some 3D in duels, mainly when a specific monster is summoned onto the field.
While the game is aesthetically simple, it is well done and easy to use, so it’s kind of difficult to complain about really. Even the character art is really well done, good job developers.
The one main problem however, is the reuse of assets from previous games. I think an entire town or two was lifted from World Championship 2009 or 2010, but it kind of makes sense continuity wise, considering the characters of the show aren’t just going to move out for some inexplicable reason. That’s my one complaint and it’s really quite minor.
Audio
First duel theme you will hear in the story portion of this game is western style theme with a technoey kind of beat. IT IS FREAKING AWESOME! I’m not sure if I should really write much else on the topic, because I really loved the background music of the game. Even the non-cowboy duel theme is great.
There isn’t really too much to say on the topic of audio, it’s all done really quite well and even the background music in towns and other areas are of an enjoyable quality. The sound effects are great, and aren’t too long or too short. Everything is just right.
Overall
Yu-Gi-Oh! 5DS World Championship 2011 – Over The Nexus is an amazing game. The art, the audio and the duels are all the real standouts in the game. With plenty of things to find and unlock, as well as some references to previous series, it is incredibly entertaining. This game is definitely for any fan of the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise as well as anyone who likes trading card games and an online competitive environment in general. I can’t seem to put this game down!
Vaporware no more! Gaming’s most legendary hero makes his triumphant return this June
2K Games and Gearbox Software have just announce that Duke Nukem Forever, one of the most anticipated entertainment properties of all time, has “GONE GOLD” and will be available at retailers on June 10, 2011 internationally and on June 14, 2011 in North America. The road to gold was paved over the course of 15 years and its legendary path climaxes on the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Windows PC. Gamers who pre-order the title from select outlets will ensure that they are among the first to experience this legendary piece of gaming history when the demo launches on June 3, 2011 for all platforms, exclusively for Duke Nukem First Access Club Members. (Check out our first access code give away here)
Duke Nukem Forever WAS the game that everyone thought to be unshipppable, and now here we are only a few short weeks away before its finally released. Soon we can all sit on the couch chewing bubble gum and kicking some alien a$$. I hope you’ve pre-ordered your copy of Duke Nukem Forever. I’ve personally got “BALLS OF STEEL” errmm, I mean I’ve pre-ordered the Duke Nukem Forever “Balls Of Steel” Edition. If you want to do the same click on the links below and secure your limited edition copy of 12 years in the making for only $99USD (xbox & ps3) and $89 for PC
