Looking for a present for your mum’s birthday this June? Look no further. Madman and XYZnetworks have announced a new home entertainment partnership, which will see selected titles from the four LifeStyle channels on DVD.
Launching on June 15, the DVD releases will kick off with four releases: property show Selling Houses Australia, gardening show Garden Angels, and two cooking shows, Neil Perry Fresh & Fast and Bills Food. Future releases will include titles such as Moar Gardening (and no, that’s not internet speak for ‘more’, the dude’s last name is Moar) and travel/cooking series Tobie & Matt (Asia & Europe).
We know the mums are going to love this (pre-order the DVDs as a Mothers Day present, maybe?), and being in the good books with the mothers means more games for Christmas! Check these upcoming releases out on the Madman site here.
After just pulling off a wonderful reboot with Yars’ Revenge, Atari is now out to revive another classic from their archives with Centipede Invasion. This 1980 release is now preparing to see new life with a release on both the Nintendo Wii as well as the 3DS. Now if you haven’t played Centipede before, it worked a bit like a shoot-em-up, in which the player had to destroy off every section of the arthropod and prevent it from reaching the ground. In true style, this new title will completely change what we know about the classic version with a brand new story as well as a whole new way to play the game itself.
Developed by Wayforward, this new version puts the player in a setting taking place twelve years after a nuclear war. Taking the role of an orphaned teenager hero named Max, you must now fight off mutated insects and killer centipedes as you trudge through the wasteland with an ally by the name of Maisy and try to grow new life into the rubble by planting seeds which will restore Earth’s resources once and for all.
Atari have also opened up today and elaborated a bit more on the way this re-imagining will actually play out:
Players will be swarmed by mutated spiders, beetles, grubs, caterpillars, moths, and boss insects across the game’s expansive world of seven environments and 40 stages. To defeat these mutant species and restore mankind, players will have to use an array of weaponry –Lightning Orb Gun, Nuke Cannon, Freezethrower, Mine Launcher, and more – as well as power-ups to fight through the invasions.
Like the toadstool of the original Centipede game, each insect has a unique defensive object that it can leave behind, as a ‘special’ variation.. These defensive objects are short-lived combat tools that distract, attack, or block insect assaults during battle.
Additionally, the game allows players to team up with friends to fight off even more bugs with 2 player co-op multiplayer features. Nintendo 3DS players will be able to take advantage of unique StreetPass™ features that enable them to uniquely share content between passingNintendo 3DS users. Centipede: Infestation for Nintendo 3DS will also feature gooey 3D visuals and ad-hoc multiplayer for 2 player co-op.
I have said it time and time again, but Wayforward really have a knack for creating retro-like experiences on current consoles, with the new trailer released today for Centipede Invasion, it looks like this one will go straight to the roots of the shoot-em-up genre and offer a nice, nostalgic arcade feel to the whole control scheme. Centipede Invasion drops for the Nintendo Wii & 3DS this fall and you can check out the brand new trailer for the game below.
Nintendo announced today that they will be adding in a new feature to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D. Besides having the “Master Quest” version which was released a few years after the original Ocarina of Time, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D will have something Nintendo is calling a Boss Challenge feature alongside a Super Guide feature.
The Boss Challenge will unlock after players reach a certain point in the game (said point not mentioned) and will allow you to fight any boss you have fought before a second time. Or you can also face each one in a back to back battle until you either defeat them all or fall in the process.
Now the Super Guide addition to the game will involve Nintendo including tiny videos that offer hints that will help players solve puzzles for first time comers or those who don’t remember how to finish a certain puzzle in a game and want to avoid being frustrated. The Super Guide will be a nice feature but thankfully will be entirely optional for those who want to keep the pure Ocarina of Time experience alive when the title releases on June 19th in the US and June 17th in Europe.
Yay campers! is the first thought that comes to mind after watching the first trailer released to show off the upcoming DLC map pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops. The map pack is titled Escalation and will feature four new multiplayer maps with one zombie map titled Call of the Dead. The zombie map did not see any video time however so if you were here for zombies then you are out of luck.
In the video we see the Hotel, Convoy, Zoo and Stockpile map shown off and detailed by the developers at Treyarch. The Zoo map is unfortunately in a completely derelict zoo so there aren’t any animals around to spice things up, of course there is a monorail you can walk across and be shot immediately. Catch the trailer after the break and the map pack itself when it releases on May 3rd for 1200 MSP. The map pack is a timed exclusive by Microsoft so don’t expect a PS3 or PC release until at least a month from now.
It seems that the final nail in the PSP Go’s coffin has been nailed in today. Andriasang has translated a post at a Japanese tech website and has found that PSP Go production has been stopped. You can find the (badly translated by google) website here. The problem is that there have been a number of instances that have shown that the PSP Go will be ending soon, including Amazon‘s listing for the PSP Go saying that the handheld has been discontinued by the manufacturer.
The PSP Go has struggled to see mainstream acceptance ever since it was first released. The reliance on purely digital downloads of games with no physical support seems to have been the downfall of the handheld. Sony has yet to say whether or not this is true but chances are that it will end up being so. Either way we have contacted Sony in an effort to shine some light on the subject.
In case you were growing a bit tired with your Kinect Sports activities you will soon be able to download a whole new addition of content that will not only provide new game modes but also new things for you to compete against. Titled the Kinect Sports: Calorie Challenge the add-on will be released on April 29th and will cost 320 Microsoft Points. Along with the new additions to the game there will be 250 more achievements added and 2 avatar awards.
The Calorie Challenge Mode will keep track of how many calorie’s you burn supposedly and how long you’ve worked out for. A variety of new foods will show up in the game as mascots to represent each goal you will have to work towards to burn off. For example the Peppy Pizza will take 302 calories while the Blazing Banana only takes 92 calories. Seems interesting at least.
Square Enix had previously announced that people will be able to buy a special edition of Deux Ex that they were calling the Augmented Edition. But now they have announced the existence of a new edition of Deus Ex though this one has the standard name of being a Collector’s Edition. This Collector’s Edition will only be available to select European countries, Australia and New Zealand however so anyone in the US is out of luck.
The Collector’s Edition will contain much of what was already announced to be releasing with the Augmented Edition you will be receiving a DVD with 44 minutes of making of footage, a stop motion comic and an animated storyboard. Alongside that is a 40 page art book and all of the DLC that you could receive from pre-ordering the title anywhere. This includes the Explosive Mission Pack, Automatic Unlocking Device, M-28 Utility Remote-Detonated Explosive Device (UR-DED), Linebacker G-87 multiple shot grenade launcher, Huntsman Silverback Double-Barrel Shotgun and SERSR Longsword Whisperhead silenced sniper rifle. Also you will receive 10,000 in-game credits to buy or upgrade your weapons.
Now the interesting addition to this edition is the Adam Jensen action figure which certainly would be a nice addition to anyone’s shelf. The current listing for this Collector’s Edition is at 100 Euros, placing it 30 Euros above the price tag of the Augmented Edition.
With just a couple of days to go before the release of Mortal Kombat on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in the UK, we thought it was only right to remind you of the game’s 21st April release date in the UK, disclosing a few more details about what you can expect if you do pick it up, courtesy of publishers Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.
“All of us at NetherRealm studios could not be more excited that players can finally get their hands on our all new Mortal Kombat game,” said Ed Boon, Creative Director, NetherRealm Studios. “Our goal was to deliver the Mortal Kombat game that the fans have been demanding and feel we’ve delivered that and then some!”
The game has a number of new modes and the story will incorporate elements of older games in a re-imagination of the original story. There will also be platform-specific features like PlayStation 3 owners being able to take on the powerful role of Kratos from the God of War series.
In the all-new King of the Hill mode players the chance to actively cheer on their character in the theatre, with those with the Xbox 360 version able to use their own Xbox LIVE Avatar to represent them as they cheer, throw tomatoes, and boo the fighters competing. PlayStation 3 gamers will be able to choose their favourite Mortal Kombat avatars to represent them in the theatre.
Will anyone be picking this up on launch day in the UK? Or if you live in the US, have you picked it up already?
Today Ubisoft announced that they would be doing a crossover between two of their most popular series with some new downloadable content for Just Dance 2. Instead of the usual standard tracks though, the Rabbids will be heading an invasion on the popular Wii dance title. The reasoning behind this odd combination is that 2011 marks the 5th year since the Rabbids launched as a franchise and of course went on to make quite a franchise for themselves with many popular follow-ups and sequels, so now it is time for the lovable white mascots to party and dance the night away.
A trailer was also released for this new Just Dance 2 DLC which shows a Rabbid slowly jamming out and approaching a television with another Rabbid acting as the in-game sprite for the dancer on the game. It really isn’t clear on just what kind of DLC this will be at the moment though as it could just be the Rabbid model replacing the dancer or simply music from the Rabbids’ series being used. Thankfully, it won’t be too long wait to find out though, as this update will be available for download as of tomorrow for any Wii owner with a copy of Just Dance 2. Check out the trailer for yourself below and we will update you once more is revealed on just what the actual content will being in this Rabbid-filled download.
With last week’s official launch of the Global Link, the competitive spirit is in the air yet again for Pokémon fans everywhere and now those worthy will be able to put their star players to good use with the upcoming 2011 Pokémon Video Game Championships. The Pokémon Company International released some new details for the events which will be hitting Europe and the U.S. starting in May and wrapping up this August.
Here is a complete rundown on what you need to know if you are an interested trainer wanting to participate:
The 2011 Pokémon Video Game National Championships kicks off in Europe on June 4 in Birmingham, UK before heading to Italy for the first time ever, Spain, France and finally Germany. The top eight finalists in each division from each of the five European locations will earn guaranteed competitor slots at the 2011 Pokémon World Championships. In addition to invitations to the World Championships in San Diego, top finishers in Europe and in the U.S. will receive travel allowances, special medals and Pokémon prizes.
The 2011 Pokémon Video Game Championship Series kicks off in the U.S. on May 14th in Seattle, Washington, before making five more stops in major cities across the country. At each location, the top 16 players from each division will earn invitations to compete at the 2011 Pokémon U.S. National Championships July 8th-10th in Indianapolis, Indiana. Players at the National Championships will battle to secure a top eight finish over the weekend, and in return, receive a guaranteed competitor slot at the 2011 Pokémon World Championships.
“We’re looking forward to a fun, competitive Pokémon Video Game Championships Series this year,” said J.C. Smith, director of Consumer Marketing for The Pokémon Company International. “The excitement generated from the recent launch of the Pokémon Black Version and Pokémon White Version video games will make for a memorable and intriguing tournament season.”
For Europe, 2011 brings an increase in the overall number of competitor slots, along with a new age division and revised age brackets. The divisions now separate into three age categories: Junior (players born in 2000 or later), Senior (players born in 1996, 1997, 1998, or 1999), and Masters (players born in 1995 or earlier). Competitor slots have been increased this year to 256 for the Junior division, 256 for the Senior division, and 512 for the Masters division. All are based on a first come, first served basis. Players competing in Europe will need to play the European versions of Pokémon Black Version or Pokémon White Version video games, and can only use Pokémon from the Unova Pokédex to battle (from No. 001–148, and No.151).
Official Dates are as follows:
Europe
June 4th, Birmingham, United Kingdom— National Exhibition Centre, Hall 8
June 11th, Rome, Italy— Fiera Roma, Hall 12, Ingresso Nord
June 18th, Madrid, Spain— IFEMA, Hall 1, Feria de Madrid
June 25th, Paris, France— Espace Grande Arche, Parvis de La Défense
July 2nd , Cologne, Germany— EXPO XXI Köln GmbH, Gladbacher Wall 5
U.S.A.
May 14th, Seattle, WA— Washington State Convention Center, Hall 4B
May 21st, San Jose, CA — San Jose Convention Center, Exhibit Hall 2
May 28th, Dallas, TX— Arlington Convention Center, Grand Hall
June 4th, Atlanta, GA— Gwinnett Center, Hall A and B
June 11th, Washington, D.C.— Dulles Expo Center, South Hall
June 18th, Newark, NJ— Meadowlands Exposition Center
The official Championships will wrap up in San Diego, CA from August 12th-14th.
After all these years, it is great to see the Championships still running and if any Pokémon players out there are reading this, now is your chance to test your training skills and get in on some of the awesome prizes while your at it. For more information about the 2011 Pokémon Video Game Championships, check out the official site at www.pokemon.co.uk.
