Grand Theft Auto’s Chinatown Wars is 50% on the iPhone and iPad. That is right. Rockstar is whacking the price down until Monday February 7th. If you are getting the game on iPad, even the High Definition version of the game is 1/2 off.
But why are they doing such a thing? Well, apparently, this is in celebration of the Year of the Rabbit, a Chinese Holiday . The Year of the Rabbit begins on February 3, 2011 and ends on February 22, 2012. If you are born in this time span, you won’t be playing this game (hopefully) and you will have the Zodiac sign of the Rabbit attached to your personhood forever.
Long shrouded in secrecy and mass speculation from fans, EA and DICE have finally released a trailer for the highly anticipated game Battlefield 3. A teaser trailer of sorts, as no actually gameplay footage was shown nonetheless shows off glimpses of what is to come in the next installment of this long running game franchise. Running on the Frostbite 2 engine, Battlefield 3 is tipped to be DICE’s next cutting edge first person shooter experience. Details about the game have yet to be released, but we can expect (judging by the trailer) that Battlefield 3 will continue its trademark multiplayer in a modern setting.
One of the best Tennis players to play the sport will be making a comeback once and for all…at least in Top Spin 4 anyway. 2K Games recently released a new “legends” trailer showing off some of Tennis’ best players that cut for the game’s roster. One of these primed players will include “Vintage Agassi”, who of course is Tennis legend, Andre Agassi. Yes, he will also be sporting his famed mullet. Another player featured in the clip is yet another legend and Australia’s own, Patrick Rafter who will be joining the likes of Boris ‘Boom Boom’ Becker, Michael Chang, Ivan Lendl, Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras and Jim Courier on the courts.
It also should be noted that Vintage Agassi is a bonus for pre-ordering through EB Games in Australia & NZ, so if you want to dawn the ‘do for free, it would be a good idea to go ahead and get your order in soon as the game launches on March 18th. You can check out some of the 80’s tennis greatness in the trailer below.
Codemasters have confirmed that DiRT 3 will be available in the shops from May 24th. When combined with the fact that developers Codemasters are running a focus group soon and have invited people of all ages to come to their headquarters in the UK to test the game out, this release date suggests the game is nearing completion.
It looks to be the most ambitious DiRT game yet, with the introduction of Gymkhana (a special type of skill/trick manouvres) playing a large part in the title, and an attempt to return back to some of the old school Colin McRae roots of the series.
Is anyone going to be pre-ordering this or picking it up on release day? If the series’ background is anything to go by, it could be one of the most complete rally-sims ever.
Art thou preparing for thy newest Sims quest in Medieval times? If you are still reading after that bad attempt at Old English, you should be happy to know that we are getting closer to the release date for The Sims Medieval. Set back in the time of wealthy kings and fierce knights, this newest adventure is a bit different from the standard Sims titles as you now must perform quests and try to bring kingdoms to peace rather than the typical lifestyle seen in other Sims titles.
EA released a new gameplay trailer today showing off the colorful Sim characters that inhabit the game as well as an overview on the main objective of the game, which is to create your kingdom and command your Sims as they partake in adventures in this brand new world. As someone who enjoyed The Urbz, which definitely was a step away from standard Sims fare, I must say I am intrigued by this title and I am getting a bit of a Fable-ish vibe from the this clip (which you can check out below) and if you are looking for something new for the series, this might just be for you as well. March 22nd marks the release date for The Sims Medieval which be available for Windows & Mac OSX.
4 Elements is available now on Nintendo DS, courtesy of Mastertronic and their links with the game’s developers, Playrix Entertainment. It’s a Match-3 puzzle game that has found popularity on the PC, but now this puzzler has been ported to the Nintendo DS, making use of the dual-screens and touch screen interface.
4 Elements sees an ancient kingdom is in peril: evil forces have corrupted the four elements and the waters of the altar of life have run dry. Now the player must unlock the four ancient books of magic, collect 16 mysterious cards and restore balance to this kingdom. Blending Match-3 gameplay with inventive twists and bonuses, it looks to be a solid puzzler – after all, if it wasn’t then it wouldn’t have had an audience on the PC.
A new 2D fighter is in the works from publisher Autumn Games and developer Reverge Labs. The title, SkullGirls, is set to be released “[…]on high-definition home consoles” in 2011.
The team promises a fast-paced 2D fighting game featuring “fierce female warriors” across the “extraordinary Dark Deco world.” The talent behind the game include BlazBlue champion, Mike “Mike Z” Zaimont and the artist Alex Ahad (who’s had artwork appear in Scott Pilgrim and Lava Punch). With those two on the team you can expect a very nice looking fighter with an anime-esque vibe to it, while being highly balanced and competitive gameplay wise.
Autumn Games and Reverge Labs have said the following about game –
“We believe that Skullgirls has the chops to be the next big 2D fighter – it has amazing art, tight gameplay, and a rich and deep backstory,” said Jason Donnell, president and COO, Autumn Games. “Working with the talented group at Reverge Labs is an added bonus, particularly with Mike Z’s expertise in the competitive games arena and Alex Ahad’s phenomenal art style. Together we’re delivering a challenging and competitive – and really fun – game, wrapped in the convenience and easy expandability of DLC on the two leading gaming services.”
“We’re aiming to create a new take on fighting games, drawing on our own experience as competitive gamers to combine the best elements of classic fighters into something with intense action, an engaging story and the most advanced 2D fighting engine ever created,” said Richard Wyckoff, CEO, Reverge Labs. “Autumn Games is quickly making a name for itself in the industry as a publisher of fresh and exciting games and a true partner to independent game developers, and they were the ideal choice for us to partner with on Skullgirls.”
Looking at the artwork and website of the game, it looks like it will be quite interesting, both artistically and in both story and gameplay.
Pockie Ninja publisher, NGames, has recently revealed the features of the browser based MMO fighter based on popular anime titles.
The game promises to deliver over 100 popular characters featured in mainstream anime titles such as Bleach and Naruto and pits them against each other in fast-paced and action-packed online player versus player battles.
The title is currently in pre-closed beta according to the official website.
The game has many features, such as “Multiple Synthesis”, an “Exploration System”, multiple “Character Outfits”, a “Skill System”, some kind of “World Tournament” and a “National League”.
To quote the press release –
Multiple Synthesis
Pockie Ninja players will be able to combine any three items they own for completely unexpected results. This innovative Multiple Synthesis feature allows for thousands of synthetic options, resulting in endless fun for anybody willing to experiment with the weird and wonderful options on offer.
Exploration System
In Pockie Ninja, battles aren’t just confined to the wilderness. Players will be able to use a fantastic exploration system that utilises ‘exploration maps’ – a diverse selection of maps to explore – each coming with its own unique accomplishment mode that creates events on the fly, even if the map has already been repeatedly searched! Furthermore, as the player’s exploration level increases they will be able to get their hands on amazing special rewards.
Character Outfits
Even ninjas need to dress to impress, but the hundreds of different, well-designed outfits found in Pockie Ninja aren’t just for looks. Outfits offer new attributes, skills and equipment, providing a robust list of class options for players to choose from. The way of the ninja will be done your way.
Skill System
Pockie Ninja boasts a huge and diverse skill system, guaranteed to impress those looking for a varied combat experience.
Tap into the elements with the Earth, Fire, Water, Wind and Lightening Releases, or master ancient techniques such as Healing, Illusionary, Body and Sealing. Each of the skills not only look incredible visually, but with careful tactical thinking can be combined to unlock a variety of combat modes, such as ones that emphasize attack, defence or counter-attack.
To become a true master of the battlefield, you must learn the best way to utilise your skills to devastating effect.
World Tournament
Do you think you have what it takes to become the best ninja in the world? The World Tournament will let players test their abilities against others and fight their way up the rankings. Beginning with a top 16 ranking system, players will battle to get to the top 8 with hopes of making it to the final 4, onwards to the semi-finals and, finally, the grand final.
The action will be tense and the competition heated as only the strongest will survive the events. Not only can players compete in the World Tournament, they can also bet on every battle to win lavish rewards.
National League
Pockie Ninja ranks players by their accumulated score, assigning them to a special National League that only their rank can compete in.
Fighters are organised into C, B, A and S-ranks, depending on their overall score. The most elite players who win the S-rank league are eligible to qualify for the tough-as-nails W-rank Championship, pitting the best of the best in deadly, heart-pounding combat to see who comes out victorious. Each team contest in the National League offers a unique trophy that can be synthesised for generous rewards.
This game could be very interesting to pick up and play. As a browser-based MMO it’s likely to be free to try out, so fans of popular anime series’ should take a look.
Microsoft’s search engine, Bing, is now sticking it’s foot in the door on casual gaming. The website is launching over 40 titles which are all free-to-play by simply typing the name of the title in the search bar and hitting enter. The titles to kick start this are not crappy pc flash games either, with games like Plants vs Zombies, Bejeweled 3, and a many other popular titles are in this mix.
Bing spokesperson, Tamsin Todd commented, “Since Bing’s inception, games have been a popular search term with our users. Allowing our users to get to their favourite games in quickest possible time, playing the games right through the search results page, we’re excited to make these great casual games available on Bing.”
Bing is also offering users to login to their Facebook or Microsoft accounts and share and send high scores with friends.
Now, get ready for some linkage as this list packs quite a punch:
And there you have it. Yet another reason to not get anything done is now available and with this impressive line-up right off the bat, I think I may now have a new homepage..(no hard feelings google).
Now plenty of people have heard about the fact that moving your Xbox 360 while playing a game can equal a destroyed game disc. But what happens if you play with your Xbox 360 standing upright and your dog happens to come over and knock it down? Then you are like Ashley here who had just sat down to play her beloved Dead Space 2 only to have her dog knock down her 360 and cause it to completely destroy the disc.
After her game loss she went to Twitter to express how horrible it was and let her sadness out. But this cloud has a silver lining because someone at EA saw what happened in Ashley’s tweets and decided to ask for her address. After replying and not knowing what to expect, she heard her doorbell ring yesterday and found a package outside her door. Now when she opened this package she found the above contents inside. She found a sketch of Isaac scolding a dog, but even better than that she found a brand new copy of the game that had been signed by the staff of Visceral Games. Talk about fan appreciation.
