If you feel like your line up of games in Kinect Sports is feeling a little thin already, then you are in luck because Microsoft has just released a completely free bundle, courtesy of Samsung it seems, today for the XBLM. The DLC pack itself is called the Party Pack and includes a new Challenge feature that will track the scores of your minigames and compare them with your friends, so more or less a leaderboard.
That isn’t all however as the pack will also include six new minigames that are added into the existing sport categories. You can catch all of the minigame add-ons below. You will also be able to play with three new Party Play mascots such as Zippy Zombie, Champion Chicken, and Sportastico. This is a great little add on and considering the fact that it is free, there is no reason to pick it up; even if you don’t have the game yourself. You can download the Party Pack here.
The full description of the add-ons can be seen below:
SuperStriker for Soccer lets you score as many goals as you can and avoid the boots.
Pinvaders for Bowling lets you stop the pins before they reach the hazard zone.
Rapid Runner for Track & Field lets you run the furthest distance before you run out of time.
Target Smash for Table Tennis lets you smash the targets to grab the score.
Fruit Splatter for Volleyball lets you hit the fruits while dodging the bombs.
King of the Ring for Boxing lets you knockout as many opponents as you can.
Also announced was a bit of news for Kinect Joy Ride as that game will too be getting free DLC. On January 4th the Chevrolet Car Pack will be able to be downloaded completely free as long as you take a look at a Chevy ad which will eventually show up on the Xbox Live dashboard. This car pack will add in the Camaro, Corvette and Cruze.
Right now you can head over to the second annual Humble Indie Bundle and pay however much you want to for five of the best indie games of the past years all for charity. That is right you can name your own price, anywhere from $1 to $1000 which somebody has already donated for. The donation amount is entirely up to you, though you should think of the children.
This year those who donate will be able to choose how much of their donation will go to each of the four possible charities. The charities themselves are the developers of the games on the bundle, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Child’s Play Charity, and the Humble Indie Bundle organizers. This means that you can choose to have the entirety of your donation go straight into the Child’s Play fund if you wish.
The games that you will be donating for if you purchase the bundle are Braid, Machinarium, Osmos, Cortex Command, and Revenge of the Titans. All of these titles will be able to run on PC, Mac, and Linux so that means whatever your operating system of choice is, you have no excuse not to take a look. You can view the bundle itself and also buy the bundle at the Humble Indie Bundle’s website.
Last night the co-presidents of Naughty Dog, Evan Wells and Cristophe Balestra appeared on the Jimmy Fallon show to debut the first ever demo footage of Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception. The developers were treated to a bit of Jimmy’s jokes at first which included making some fun of Balestra’s French accent before they actually began to show the game itself being played.
Initially Drake was in the hands of Evan Wells and played through parts of the demo that show both Nathan Drake and Sully trying to escape from a burning and falling apart chateau while there are enemies trying to shoot at them. Evan takes out a few bad guys using melee kills after missing mostly with his gun before handing the controller off to Jimmy, whereas Jimmy nearly dies within seconds of having the controller. The demo footage doesn’t show off very much but it’s good to see an already workable demo for a game with 11 months more of polish to be applied.
When you sign in to Xbox Live or the PSN today for your daily dose of shooting other people in Call of Duty: Black Ops you will find a little patch waiting for be applied to the game. The multiplayer patch v.1.04 has been released for each of the two consoles. Most major fixes of note are the fact that Hardline Pro has been nerfed due to the fact of it no longer working on SAM Turrets, the fact that the Gunship, Valkyrie rockets, and Chopper Gunner are nerfed so that the red diamonds will not appear on newly spawned enemies, and also the addition of better quickscope accuracy.
A full list of the patch features had been discussed previously but just to refresh your memory you can check out the largely similar lists below of the fixes.
Xbox 360 Fixes:
Issues Addressed:
Resolved several issues with parties getting disbanded unexpectedly.
Updated handling for UPnP-enabled routers to improve matchmaking conditions where users had strict or moderate NAT types. Also added in-game communications so that all players are aware of their NAT type in the Player Match party lobby.
Addressed issue that prevented the “Load MP by Default” option from saving when other specific option combinations were set.
Prevention of exploit that allowed players to keep custom classes and killstreaks after prestige.
Addressed an issue where Flak Jacket Pro would not always protect against ground fires left by Napalm Strikes.
Prevention of users losing their killstreak reward when switching classes at the start of a new round in round-based game modes.
Addressed an issue where the incorrect perks would appear when spectating another player under certain circumstances.
Added round start explosive delay to China Lake grenade launcher to give it the same round start limitations as other explosives.
Contracts will now reset when the player Prestiges.
Prevention of Valkyrie rocket exploding upon release under rare conditions.
Prevention of Gunship failing to give player full control under rare conditions.
Prevention of an issue where a player will get teleported outside the map boundaries under very specific circumstances.
Additional security measures to enhance detection and banning capabilities.
Gameplay Tuning:
Limit the ability to re-roll supply drops using Hardline Pro to Care Packages only, no other killstreak drops.
Added a negative influencer to all spawn points to decrease the chances of spawning near an enemy. This will further improve spawning protection on top of previous updates.
Additional sound mix tuning for Ninja Pro users – increased ranges and volume of enemy footsteps, and removed player footstep sounds on concrete material types.
Increased headshot multipliers for sniper rifles. Sniper rifles with suppressors equipped will now always be ensured one-shot kill headshots.
Subtle increase in sniper rifle accuracy when scoping in.
Added a render delay to the red diamond player indicators that appear when controlling the Gunship, Valkyrie Rocket and Chopper Gunner. When a player first spawns, this will not appear for a period of time.
Additional minor reductions in knife lunge.
PlayStation 3 Fixes:
Issues Addressed:
Resolved several issues with parties getting disbanded unexpectedly.
Additional measures to prevent the “Transmission error” and other disconnects. This was most likely to occur with large parties where party members had mixed NAT types.
Updated handling for UPnP-enabled routers to improve matchmaking conditions where users had strict or moderate NAT types. Also added in-game communications so that all players are aware of their NAT type in the Player Match party lobby.
Addressed an issue with VOIP icons not appearing when USB headsets were plugged in prior to game launch.
Prevention of exploit that allowed players to keep custom classes and killstreaks after prestige.
Addressed an issue where Flak Jacket Pro would not always protect against ground fires left by Napalm Strikes.
Prevention of users losing their killstreak reward when switching classes at the start of a new round in round-based game modes.
Addressed an issue where the incorrect perks would appear when spectating another player under certain circumstances.
Added round start explosive delay to China Lake grenade launcher to give it the same round start limitations as other explosives.
Contracts will now reset when the player Prestiges.
Prevention of Valkyrie rocket exploding upon release under rare conditions.
Prevention of Gunship failing to give player full control under rare conditions.
Prevention of an issue where a player will get teleported outside the map boundaries under very specific circumstances.
Additional security measures to enhance detection and banning capabilities.
Gameplay Tuning:
Limit the ability to re-roll supply drops using Hardline Pro to Care Packages only, no other killstreak drops.
Added a negative influencer to all spawn points to decrease the chances of spawning near an enemy. This will further improve spawning protection on top of previous updates.
Additional sound mix tuning for Ninja Pro users – increased ranges and volume of enemy footsteps, and removed player footstep sounds on concrete material types.
Increased headshot multipliers for sniper rifles. Sniper rifles with suppressors equipped will now always be ensured one-shot kill headshots.
Subtle increase in sniper rifle accuracy when scoping in.
Added a render delay to the red diamond player indicators that appear when controlling the Gunship, Valkyrie Rocket and Chopper Gunner. When a player first spawns, this will not appear for a period of time.
For the past month or so I was lucky enough to obtain a “golden ticket” and be a beta tester for Zuma Blitz. Now beforehand I knew very little about the game aside from a brief experience or two in the past. That has all changed now as I am catching myself logging into facebook several times a day just to see my froggy friend as I bash the multi-colored balls of joy.
Now if you are now clueless by this new addiction I am speaking of, it is none other than Zuma Blitz. Zuma Blitz takes the classic game of Zuma and gives you one minute to get the highest score possible by smashing balls with a frog that spits them out on the board. Each week the board changes as well as your scores. You can also compete against all of your friends to get the highest score of the week to earn a medal as well, so there is plenty of reason to come back.
Features Include:
Weekly tournaments and leader boards, with new game levels introduced each week
An “experience points” system to unlock additional power-ups and capabilities
Time extenders, score multipliers and other powerful in-game accelerants
“Hot Frog” speed mode for massive, section-clearing super shots
Additional information on the in-game performances and status of your Facebook friends, such as medals won, achievements earned at various point thresholds and experience level
Earning lives and more mojo as well as addition playtime (which is awarded by leveling up) is a rewarding experience for Zuma Blitz and I can easily say this is my favorite Facebook game as of now, a title which was previously held by PopCap’s other Facebook game, Bejeweled Blitz. So without me rambling on about how great the game is, try it out yourself by clicking HERE. It’s completely free as well so get on it!
Game Name:Bejeweled 3 Platform(s): PC Publisher(s):PopCap Developer(s):PopCap Genre(s): Puzzle Release Date: December 7, 2010 Price: $19.99 (US)
For nearly a decade, Bejeweled and it’s many incarnations and spin-offs have kept us distracted from our work with it’s addictive yet simple swap-3 gameplay. Bejeweled 3 is the third in installment of the series which as a whole has already sold over 50 million copies, a number that is still growing as you are reading this. Bejeweled 3 brings new modes as well as a nice coat of HD shine to the gems we all know and love while providing a sometimes hectic yet relaxing experience yet again. So how does this new title do? Here is my review for Bejeweled 3.
Modes & Gameplay
I know Bejeweled has received many different entries into the series such as Bejeweled Blitz and Twist over the past few years, but Bejeweled 3 returns to the series roots with the old-fashioned swap 3 gameplay we all know and love. Now that doesn’t mean that Bejeweled 3 doesn’t bring anything new to the table as I assure you there is plenty to discover in this game that will feed your gem bashing fix for eternity if you let it. So let’s start breaking down these modes, shall we?
Classic Mode
Ah yes, Classic Bejeweled. This comes as advertised and is just the classic game of Bejeweled wrapped up in this pretty new package. Swap-3 gems, create combos and try to rack up a high score to precede to the next level, gain a high score and start over when you are out of moves. I think most of you know the drill. Simplicity at it’s finest. I honestly am lucky I was able to finally able to pull myself away from this mode to try the others in the game if that shows you how addictive Bejeweled really is.
Zen Mode
One of the best things about Bejeweled is how relaxing the gameplay can be, and of course the people at PopCap know this and created an even better Zen Mode which may be one of the best features in the game. Zen Mode takes the classic formula for Bejeweled and uses different settings to create a complete atmospheric experience which can work wonders on the nerves.
All settings are optional and can be adjusted to best fit how you want to feel or what can best make you relax. Your grid’s background will fill up and down providing a visual on how deep to breathe as you play as well as music and ambient noses which can also be turned on and off. Some sounds include things like rainy leaves, sounds of waves crashing on a beach and crickets chirping just to name a few. As well as the sounds and music, an option is also available for encouraging text to appear which are more like messages of motivation. It is quite a nice feeling and a boost of self-confidence to have these mixed into the experience so that was just another great addition.
If you haven’t been bought yet by this mode, the most interesting feature to the Zen Mode experience are binaural beats which if you have headphones on can trigger parts of the brain and relieve stress. I found it interesting that a warning was given before I tried these out, but they actually do seem to work and can really put you in a relaxing trance but I imagine results may vary for everyone. For a puzzle game to actually have all this in just one mode made Zen Mode alone worth the price of admission as I found it somewhat therapeutic to play with all of these elements turned on.
Quest Mode
In a first for the series, we now have a quest mode. Quest mode takes mini-games which are all played in a standard swap-3 fashion and has 8 challenges you can perform to gather gems to complete a relic. Once you complete the relic, you simply move on to the next as you perform certain tasks such as making combos break until reaching the bottom of the level to find gold, defusing a set number of bombs by breaking the correct color in a set number of time, and many more that seem to increase in difficulty as you move on.
One thing about quest mode is that there is around 40 different variations of these mini-games to try and each have a unique feel which keeps things feeling fresh and exciting the whole way through. The content in this mode is probably the largest in a Bejeweled game to date and requires a lot of careful thinking and strategy to finish, but having a relic become complete is a very rewarding experience to all of this which really makes this feel like the most memorable mode in any Bejeweled game to date.
Lightning Mode
Lightning Mode can best be compared to Bejeweled Blitz, except add in ten times more intensity. You have a set amount of time to rack up a high score while earning time bonuses which are set up in the board. The main thing that makes this challenging is that there a few time bonuses laid out and many times it can be quite a heated wait for the proper gem to drop down do break one of these said gems. To me, this was where my main addiction with Bejeweled 3 really took place as it may be time based, but it is easy to get lost in Lightning mode for hours just trying to stay alive long enough to topple your next high score.
Unlockable Modes
If the main four modes were not enough, Bejeweled 3 also features four more unlockable modes as well. If you think unlockable or bonus modes means less of a game, you would be wrong there. These four modes can be found mixed up in quest mode, but they all stood out strongly enough that the option to play them individually is great.
Poker mode is one of the first I unlocked while playing. This mode is simple to understand for the most part, as all you need to do is knock out a certain type of gem in a poker style pattern. For instance, two red breaks and three yellow make a full house. As time goes on, a skull will cover one of these possible hands, limiting you to the remaining four combinations and of course those all go as well so the goal is to get as many of the best “hands” as possible to obtain enough points to break the skull and continue to rack up points.
Next up is the very challenging Ice Storm. You must be quick on the trigger for this and make combos to stop the water from reaching the top. If the water does make it’s way to the top of the screen it will begin to freeze and just like that, your game is over and you must try again. This mode really comes down to strategy like others in the game, but it was fun attempting the whole time and each time I lost I had an itch to go back in for more punishment every time.
Butterfly mode puts gem-style Butterflies that slowly climb their way up the screen throughout each turn on the board. The only problem is an evil spider is at the top and you must match the color of the butterfly with nearby gems and ensure that the butterflies make it off the map safely. The last mode to talk about is the Diamond Mine mode which turns the map into soil which you must blast away by clearing gems to reveal gold and other treasures.
It is honestly crazy thinking about all the content and variations of gameplay that went into Bejeweled 3. There is so much to do and discover as you move through the game that the phrase “replay value” should not even be a issue for even the casual puzzle fan. For completionists out there with goals, there are also tons of badges to achieve to add in even more of a reward for trying everything.
Graphics & Audio
When I first turned on Bejeweled 3, I was like “oh, this looks the same”. First impressions can be deceiving though as Bejeweled 3 has a completely stunning presentation as you start to play the actual game. If you have a higher-end video card, you can even add to the visual eye-candy with Ultimate mode which was made for a 1920 x 2000 resolution. Add in some of the amazing level transfer animations and smooth as ever gem-clearing madness and this is the must beautiful puzzler the PC has seen.
The music in Bejeweled games has always been something I have never payed much attention to as I am usually so busy getting lost in clearing gems I don’t even think about the tunes. This time around seemed a bit different though as the music was actually quite memorable. Zen mode also provided some high quality sounds as I mentioned so sound in general seemed to have gotten the game kind of overhaul that the graphics received which made the game that much better in the end..well..since there is no end I guess I would mean til the end of my last session.
Overall
It is really hard to re-invent a puzzle game. Most sequels for puzzlers either go so far away from the original concept that the game feels completely different or just flat-out awkward. Bejeweled 3 is not one of those titles though as it stays true to the original formula the whole way through while creating a huge smorgasbord of new and original gameplay. From fast-paced intense matches to innovative ways to actually relax a players experience and plenty of customization, each user can find the mode that truly clicks with them. Content is also not an issue as it feels as if there are games inside of games inside of games in Bejeweled 3 that create endless ways to play. Of course the icing on the gem shaped cake is that experience feels complete and well thought out, making this one of the best puzzle games to come along in years.
Dungeon Hunter 2 Genre: Action / RPG
Publisher: Gameloft
Developer: Gameloft
Released: 9 December
Price: (AU)$8.99 (US) $6.99 BUY NOW
The long awaited sequel to Gameloft’s hack and slash Diablo style RPG : Dungeon Hunter. Dungeon Hunter 2 has finally arrived on the Apple iPhone. The story takes place 25 years after the events of the first Dungeon Hunter. You take on the role of one of the Immortal king’s twin sons and embark on a journey that has you escaping from prison and then traveling across the realm of Gothicus to save everything that needs to be saved and to restore peace to these cursed lands.
Dungeon Hunter 2 has received quite a few updates from the original release – for starters Gameloft have ramped up the graphical aspect of the game. Taking advantage of the iPhone 4 retina display, images appear vibrant, sharper and much more detailed, take for example the first level (Prison Break) the ground looks absolutely stunning making you feel guilty that you’re walking around with those dirty boots on messing up the place. Along with that the lighting effects when casting spells have vastly improved from the original. You also start off with your little lightening fairy Celest who can hurl lightning bolts at enemies which also look quite impressive when called to aid in battle. One thing missing which I thought would of made it into the sequel was voice acting. Unfortunately all the dialong in the game appears in text boxes and no one speaks, personally that was one thing I would of loved to see to draw you even deeper into the story.
Your main character has also undergone a fairly decent transformation not just graphically but also in terms of character progression within the game. This time around you can level up your character up to level 100 compared to only level 50 in the original game. Unfortunately no new classes have been introduced into the game. The same three classes are still available which are : The Mighty Warrior, Rouge and Mage. What Gameloft have added to spice up player choices is a specialization class within the main class once you reach level 12. Take for example the Rouge once you reach level 12 you have the option to branch off and choose between taking the path of an archer or a Death Walker. With whatever decision you make unlocking a new set of skills to allocate points to making you stronger and more deadlier as you progress further into the game. ( A total of 16 skills are available to each character – 8 for main class and 8 for specialty class both with 4 active and 4 passive skills to choose from)
The Warrior has the option to move into and become a Berzerker or a holy Crusader, Being a Berzerker allows him to pull off powerful offensive manoeuvres or you take the path of the Crusader where you’ll be granted a fine mix of both offensive and defensive style abilities. Last but not least the Mage who always starts off as the weakest but if used wisely can be one of the most deadliest characters in the game will have the ability to branch off into an illusionist or ShadowMancer. Great thing about these classes and new subclasses is that it provides players with a lot of replayability as they can try out what each of the subclasses are like combined with the 16 available skills to choose from.
There are a total of approx. 400 items such as weapons, armour, shields, rings, helmets, boots etc. If you’re familiar with the original Dungeon Hunter – picking up loot from killing enemies works pretty much the same way. After you kill a monster or two they will drop random loot, simply walking over it will automatically collect the items and very briefly display the name of what you’ve just picked up on the screen (this I’ve found a little annoying as most of the time you can’t read what you’ve picked up as it disappears too quickly and therefore are forced to go into the menu system and waste time going through what you’ve just collected) most of the time it will be sent straight to transmute (the ability to convert useless and unwanted items into gold for a little less rather than dragging it back to town and selling it merchants for approx. 10-15% more) queue, but on the off occasion rare items will appear which have magical abilities associated to them. These items have magical properties that increase one or more of your character’s attributes. The colour of each item indicates the number of magical properties the item has. For example items white labelled items have no magical properties, Green have 1, Blue have 2, Purple have 3 and Gold have 4. By the end of the game you should be gunning for a character equipped with a whole set of Gold items.
The menu system hasn’t changed very much from the original making it very easy to navigate through the stats, inventory, skill, fairy, quest tabs without any problems. Newcomers might find it a little daunting at first due to so many different things you can choose from. A welcomed and much sort after feature that is needed in every RPG is the introduction of the game world map. Dungeon Hunter 2 is approx. 5 times bigger than the original allowing you to run off in any direction to explore, kill monsters, visit more areas and complete more side quests. The map will be a great friend to have with you as you embark on this grand adventure.
One of the biggest draw cards in Dungeon Hunter 2 is the addition of the four player online, wireless or Bluetooth multiplayer co-op. Playing online you can invite your friends through Gameloft Live or via Game Center (which is shown in the video review below )
In Multiplayer you can choose to do one of two things: you can either host the game, which allows you to begin from any section of the main quest that you have already reached and invite your friends to help you, or join their game while they pick the quest to do. What I discovered while playing is that you will be bringing in your own character from your single player adventure into the online game. This will allow you to gain experience and collect loot that you will then be able to take back with you and use in your own single player adventure. Luckily the online loot system works very well. Anything dropped from kills is given to each character, so there is no need to run around trying to steal drops since you will only get what has been allocated to you. I’ve also discovered that there’s no level restriction when joining an online party. Gameloft has not implementing such a rule that will allow for example players with only a 5 level difference to party up together (eg highest level character in group is level 15 meaning you must be min level 10 to join in).. Anyone too low will not be allowed to join till they are within level range. This will ensure that lower level characters don’t level boost and gain large amounts of XP and good weapons in a small matter of time. But that isn’t the case. One of the online games I joined last night had a Level 70 Crusaider running around destroying everything and all I did was sit back and gain the XP and loot. Good for some – bad for other.
One major thing that stunted my role-playing experience was that while playing online on either Gameloft Live or Game Center the action was a little hectic and laggy (even with a fairly decent wireless connection). Everyone would be running off in all directions, quests popped up very quickly, and even movies and storylines were being skipped. Another thing is that if you complete a chapter or area online (let’s say for example the first prison break chapter) it will reflect within your singleplayer game and count as already being completed when you try to play the game solo again. The weird thing is that if you make your way back into this chapter that you just completed in multiplayer while in your solo campaign, it will trigger cut scenes and even allow you to play the level again from the very beginning.
Gameloft have done an amazing job with enhanced graphics and also with opening up the game and allowing more freedom to explore without having to be cooped up in a linear world that was the original Dungeon Hunter. Gameplay hasn’t changed (but as the old saying goes – if it ain’t broke don’t fix it) and lack of voice acting was a little bit of a letdown. If you’re a true fan of the action RPG – hack and slash style games Dungeon Hunter 2 looks like the best option and a must buy for your iPhone. Download this and enjoy It on your own or with friends over the Christmas break.
If your trying to find that perfect title for either yourself or a friend this Christmas season, it shouldn’t be too hard as many American retailers such as Best Buy, GameStop, and Toys R Us have marked down some popular titles and to make it easy for you, you can check out some of the highlights below.
Toys-R-Us
Buy both Red Dead Redemption and Undead Nightmare get $30 off (Wednesday, December 15th ONLY)
At a list price of $59.99 for Red Dead and $29.99 on Undead Nightmare (For both PS3 & 360), this is a great way to get both for the price of RDR alone if you have yet to pick up the main title.
Besides a $20 discount on Tony Hawk’s Shred, this pretty much wraps up the Toys-R-Us deals.
Deals Valid from 12/19 to 12/25 PS3 & 360
Vanquish- $39.99
Fable 3- $39.99
Halo Reach- $39.99
Borderlands GOTY- $39.99
Enslaved: Odyssey To the West- $29.99
Shaun White Skateboarding- $29.99
Lost Planet 2- $9.99
Wii
Sonic Colors- $39.99
Wipeout- $29.99
Along with all versions of the Tony Hawk’s Shred & DJ Hero 2 Bundles being $54.99, these deals look very tempting and with Lost Planet 2 having such a huge drop, now would be the time to grab a copy when these prices go live as $9.99 is a steal.
DS
Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light – $19.99
Sonic Colors- $19.99
Atari Greatest Hits- $19.99
Harvest Moon: Grand Bazaar- $19.99
Rooms: The Main Building- $9.99
Puzzle Chronicles- $9.99
Wii
Sonic Colors- $39.99
Zumba Fitness- $29.99
Xbox 360
Zumba Fitness- $39.99
Halo Reach- $49.99
Fable 3- $39.99
Dragon Ball Raging Blast 2- $49.99
Splatterhouse- $49.99
WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2011- $49.99
PS3
Dragon Ball Raging Blast 2- $49.99
Splatterhouse- $49.99
WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2011- $49.99
Zumba Fitness- $39.99
Bundles (All Systems)
Tony Hawk Shred – $49.99
DJ Hero 2 Bundle $49.99
And that wraps up the highlights for now! If you see anything on this list, make sure you grab it while the price is right. Like most retailer Christmas wars, the winners are usually the gamers out there. If any further deals come forward, we will be sure to let you know!
It is finals this week for college and since there aren’t really any retail games coming out, then there won’t be much to distract you from that last minute studying. For those of you who aren’t cramming those last few formulas in your head for the math final, there are some XBLA titles that might interest you as well as a few casual games on sale for the Deal of the Week.
This week there are three games coming to the Xbox Live Arcade. Path of Go is an ancient Chinese game thats over four-thousand years old, but it is now coming to this era and on the XBLA for 400 Microsoft Points. Plus it has Avatar Support.
Next we have a title that many of you are probably looking forward too: X-Men Arcade. This game brings the classic cabinet game back to life on XBLA for a small one time fee 800 Microsoft Points (much cheaper than those many quarters you used to spend on it).
Also Quake Arena Arcade, is making its rounds this week and I don’t really think there is much explaining required. Quake Arena Arcade will be out for 1200 Microsoft Points this week as well.
Finally, this week’s Deal of the Week is a series of puzzle games that will help you sharpen your brain power for that test that you are probably procrastinating on. Well, with these puzzle games there is no need to study! Just play and sharpen your mind and leave your final grade purely to luck. (Capsule Computers is not responsible for the grade you receive because you were playing video games rather than studying)
Apparently people are still doing digital crack, who would have thought? I assumed because I stopped playing everyone would follow suit, oh well…. suckers! Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today announced that World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, the third expansion for the critically acclaimed massively multiplayer online role-playing game, sold through more than 3.3 million copies as of its first 24 hours of release. Surprise, Suprise! Blizzard is taking over a small part of the world, and its expansion has become the fast selling PC title of all time, yet again. This record beats previous expansion Wrath of the Lich Kings 2.8 million set in 2008.
It seems the best way to beat records is to release in as many locations as possible, all at the same time. The expansion released simultaneously in the USA, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Europe, Russia, Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand on December 7. Two days later it was available in Asian regions. Over 10,000 stores around the world had midnight launches for the hardcore, blizzard also hosted official launch events where around 15,000 players attended in the US, Canada, France, Germany, Russia, Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain, the UK, and the region of Taiwan.
“We had to bring Azeroth to the brink of destruction in Cataclysm, but the result was our best expansion yet,” Co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment said, commenting on the games much needed overhaul, to keep players from leaving the 6 year old game. “We want to thank all of our new, existing, and returning players throughout the world for their incredible enthusiasm and support, and we look forward to hearing what they think about all the new content.”
Prior to launch, WoW’s subscription base had grown to more than 12 million players globally, further strengthening Blizzard’s hold on the minds and hearts of the young, old and whatever else. To be honest, these sorts of sales were expected; blizzard certainly proved they know their community.
