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Celebrate Mana Bar’s First Birthday

Michael Irving
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mana-bar-11

This weekend, Mana Bar – Brisbane’s unique video game cocktail bar – will reach the first checkpoint in the game of business; celebrating one year of operation. And it did so without an instruction manual, or even a tutorial level.

On Sunday 20th March, Mana Bar will celebrate its first birthday with a public event, featuring gaming competitions, special guests in attendance and prizes awarded every twenty minutes to those willing to dress up.

“The Mana Bar proves that gaming transcends the usual geek stereotype, and allows people from all walks of life to socialise in a new and unique way,” says co-founder Guy “Yug” Blomberg. The bar offers visitors the chance to play current video games with friends and like-minded strangers, in a friendly, modern atmosphere.

The response to the unique venue has been overwhelmingly positive, to the extent that the business is expanding across Australia, with a Melbourne venue set to open within months, and further locations nationally and internationally to follow.

If you’re in the Brisbane area – or are willing to travel – pop in this Sunday between 6pm and midnight to join the celebrations.

For more details, visit http://brisbane.manabar.com.au/events/1-year-anniversary, or for info on the upcoming Melbourne Mana Bar, check out our interview with Yug.

New Lego Star Wars III trailers!

J. Bradshaw
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ZOMG!  Lego Star Wars III is almost upon us. In fact, on March 22, 2o11, we will finally be able to play through the new worlds of the Star Wars universe  that have taken their cue from the animated TV show on Cartoon Network.  If your in the mood for a laugh, check out the new commercials for the game.

How does a clone trooper feel when he really needs to go?  Find out here.

Or, check out the more drama filled trailer below!  Whichever one you choose, you can be sure that the game will feature the same great charm as these videos.

Hasbro & Jagex announce a Transformers MMO

J. Bradshaw
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What will you be doing in 2012?  Hasbro and Jagex Limited would like you to be playing their new game: a Transformers MMO.  This game will be released in North America, Latin America, Europe, New Zealand and Australia.

“Hasbro’s decision to align with Jagex speaks to the quality of their award-winning development and publishing team that boasts an outstanding track record of delivering  innovative and fun online games capable of reaching millions of gamers across the globe,” said Mark Blecher, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Digital Gaming and Media at Hasbro.  “We are extremely excited to create a dream team that combines TRANSFORMERS brand stewards with Jagex development experts to deliver an epic TRANSFORMERS gaming experience to fans in 2012.”

“TRANSFORMERS is one of the most iconic brands in the world and we are delighted to team up with Hasbro in order to bring our shared vision to reality,” said Mark Gerhard, CEO at Jagex Games Studio. “There is a huge appetite for an online TRANSFORMERS game and we will utilize every bit of our development and publishing expertise to deliver a dynamic and action-packed game that TRANSFORMERS fans will find irresistible.”

No word yet on how the game will function, like how the payment system will be implemented.  But, Jagex Limited is the developer behind the free to play Runescape, so hopefully that is an indicator of things to come. 🙂

 

This Week on The Xbox 360 (3-14-11)

Dylan Radcliffe
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This Week on The Xbox 360 (3-14-11)

Happy Pi Day!

I hope everyone enjoyed your math and your PI!

Now enjoy the video, and then check out what is coming to Xbox Live this week.

[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jG7vhMMXagQ[/pro-player]
This week sees the finally of the Xbox Live House party with the release of Full House Poker. Grab your poker chips, get your game face on and pick it up on Wednesday March 16th, for 800 Microsoft Points.

The deal of the week sees green, as it seems the committee seems to have searched through all the possible items to put on sale and selected ones that had to do with green, luck, and the Irish.

 

Check out what is coming to retail in each specific market.

North America

  • Homefront
  • Top Spin 4

Asia

  • Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening

Australia

  • Homefront
  • Major League Baseball 2K11
  • Top Spin 4
  • MotoGP 10/11

Europe

  • Homefront
  • ArcaniA: Gothic 4
  • Top Spin 4
  • Warriors: Legends of Troy
  • MotoGP 10/11

 

Well, that is probably not everything; but it surely is a large list. Of course, as always there is probably DLC I am forgetting or one game that is going to pop up on the radar (I’m looking at you Battle: Los Angeles!)

 

WWE All Stars Demo Hits the PSN & Xbox Live Next Week…

Dustin Spencer
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WWE All Stars Demo Hits the PSN & Xbox Live Next Week…

We are just two weeks away from the official release for THQ’s WWE All Stars, and today the company announced that a demo would be making it’s way to both the PS3 & 360 next week on March 23rd. This demo will include two playable superstars, The Ultimate Warrior & Rey Mysterio, which are two fantastic options to go with. The demo will also fully utilize the game’s class system, with Warrior being a ‘Brawler’ and Rey Mysterio being of the ‘acrobat’ class.

This demo will also feature a multi-player as well but it has been confirmed to be offline only, much like the Smackdown series’ demos we typically have seen in the past. This arcadey, larger than life persona this title has taken on certainly has me interested, and with the release coming for just about every system out there (except the DS), I certainly hope it performs as good as it looks.

Plants vs Zombies invade the DSiWare…

Dustin Spencer
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If you have been holding on to those DSiWare points and looking for the perfect time to splurge, there is no better day than today as Plants vs Zombies has now officially hit the DSiWare. This version brings the same addictive madness we recently seen hit the DS last month and at just 800 points. I am guessing this is a lighter version of the game, as PopCap’s DSiWare release of Bookworm just included “Classic” mode, but either way, the core product is well worth the money spent in this case.

Those who already have the DS version can also look to the other DSiWare releases today, Agtec’s Rabi Lady and 5 in 1 Mahjong. I think the only question now is just what platforms are left for these plants and zombies to invade. Perfect time for a sequel in my opinion, so hopefully that wish will be granted soon (looking at you PopCap ;)).

Konami Temporarily Suspends Metal Gear Online Servers…

Dustin Spencer
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Just days after Square made the announcement that they would be suspending the Final Fantasy XIV & XI servers to conserve power due to the earthquake, Konami has come forth with their own announcement on their Facebook page today that they would be doing the same for Metal Gear Online.

Here is the announcement that was posted earlier today:

Hi METAL GEAR SOLID fans.  As you may already be aware, a 8.9 earthquake struck Japan over the weekend. Due to these unfortunate events, we have chosen to suspend the METAL GEAR ONLINE service until future notice.  Please note that this does not mean we are shutting down the MGO Service for good. We are just temporarily suspending the service as the team in Japan is conserving power to help the rebuilding efforts of the country.  We will post another message on the Official MGO website at: http://www.konami.jp/mgo/us/hd/ when we have an estimate for when service will be restored.  We thank you for your concern and we thank you for your patience and understanding in this matter.

Seems like the right thing to do and I hope MGO players understand the downtime. As Konami stated, service will resume eventually and they will be posting the estimated return date on their website, so if you are an MGO user, be sure to stay tuned for that. With Square and Konami’s recent announcements, that leaves the question of just what other Japanese servers will be pulled next and what other Japanese video game property this disaster will effect next. We will be sure to keep you updated as more news comes in.

Prey 2 announced for 2012 release

Travis Bruno
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When someone mentions the game Prey it brings a lot of things to mind but one of those is the fact it was one of the first games that came out on the Xbox 360 when it released. It was originally released by 2K games but back in 2009 Zenimax (Bethesda’s parent company) happened to acquire the rights to Prey and since then they have decided to run with the game and have Bethesda work on Prey 2.

Today Bethesda has officially announced Prey 2 to arrive some point in 2012 and will be coming to the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. The game will retain its original developers Human Head Studios and will be using id Software’s id tech engine. Other than that there has been not much information given besides the fact that more details will be coming in the Official Xbox Magazine and Sony Magazine in May. So although there isn’t much information now it is certainly good to see such and old, but great, FPS coming back with a sequel.

LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars – New unlockable character!

Kelly Teng
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With just two weeks to go until Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars comes out, LucasArts has given fans yet another unlockable character in the game.

Bounty hunter Boba Fett has been announced as the latest unlockable to grace this upcoming and anticipated title. Known as the galaxy’s most feared warrior when it comes to bounty, players will be quick to utilise his skills in game. If you just can’t wait to play Boba Fett on March 31st though, there’s a way to quench your Star Wars thirst now: on the official website for the game, players can play as their favourite Star Wars characters, solve puzzles with other people, and learn more about the latest game and its new features.

Boba Fett can be unlocked on the website by visiting the official site here, and hitting the Enter key on the keyboard and then inputting the password, SARLACCFOOD. The website also has brand new screenshots showing vehicles in the game.

The Witcher 2 to be DRM-free only on GOG.com

Chris Cerami
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While many readers may be familiar with Good Old Games as a provider of retro and classic PC games, they will also be distributing a more modern RPG this spring. The Witcher 2, sequel to CD Projekt Red’s 2007 RPG, will be released on several digital distribution platforms on May 17th. GOG however will be the only distributor to be offering the game completely free of DRM.

While this is standard operating procedure for GOG.com, it is surprising to see a new release getting the DRM-free treatment. Previously, the online service has provided older titles, patched for compatibility with modern computers, at affordable prices. If sales of The Witcher 2 prove to be profitable, its possible that we could see more new PC games being released sans DRM via the online service.

Those looking forward to The Witcher 2 can preorder the game now at Good Old Games.

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