A brand new adventure is being released from Namco-Bandai and slated for fall release. Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom teams you with a monster. You must forge an alliance with the beast to take on many enemies and solve puzzles.
Long ago, a once peaceful land has been covered in darkness. The civilization crumbled over night, leading the few survivors to flee to the bordering wastelands. Some of the brave stayed behind, but they could not stop the enemies who rose out of the darkness. Only very few lived despite their bravery to tell the tale. Fast forward 100 years. and a young man is guided to the deserted land by migrating birds. The land slowly beings to awaken and your adventure soon begins.
Features Include
Forge an alliance: Partner with the enigmatic ogre Majin to cooperatively battle the darkness and find creative ways to solve puzzles on a massive scale.
Discover a whole new world: Journey though a mysterious fallen empire bursting with adventure, creatures and challenges. Seamlessly explore a vibrant world rendered in beautiful high definition.
Diverse gameplay: Experience the perfect gameplay mix combining stealth action, problem solving, platform navigation and combat.
Legendary talent: Directed by Yoshiki Okamoto, whose previous games in the Resident Evil and Street Fighter II series have sold millions of copies.
One genre I feel that could always use more titles is the adventure genre and Namco-Bandai and Game Republic seem to be delivering a game that will be sure to capture the attention of many gamers with this enchanting adventure. Majin reminds me a bit of the ICO series and with a pinch of Zelda thrown in from what I’ve seen so far, which is a good thing. Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom Releases for the Xbox 360 and PS3 on November 11 in North America. If a date is dropped for the UK and AU, we will be sure to let you know. Take a look at the traler and screenshots below or check out the official Namo-Bandai website here.
Fans of the Sackboy will be glad to know that Sony has released the date you should expect to be spending your hard earned money to pick up LBP2, and that is November 16th of this year. But that is not all that they revealed today.
Pre-order bonuses are the most popular card that retailers can hold now to influence your purchase and LittleBigPlanet 2 has them in force. Amazon.com will b giving six different costumes out to pre-orders, including Ratchet, Clank, and four different animal costumes; crocodile, cobra, vulture, and mandrill. Best Buy on the other hand will be given the Alien costume from Toy Story 3, and the same animal pack. And Gamestop pre-orders will be getting a Tron Sackboy outfit and the same animal pack as the other two.
However what if you want something special to go along with your dose of the sackboy? How about a $79.99 Collector’s Edition that will include; the game itself, a 7″ Sackboy Plushy, and book ends for your games! and even a ton of DLC for free, which you can see the list below:
Disney / Pixar’s Toy Story 3’s “Aliens” Sackboy Costume
Disney’s TRON: Legacy “Clu” Sackboy Costume
The Muppets’ “The Great Gonzo” Sackboy Costume
PlayStation’s “Ratchet” Sackboy Costume
PlayStation’s “Clank” Sackboy Costume
Even More Animals’ “Crocodile” Sackboy Costume
Even More Animals’ “Vulture” Sackboy Costume
Even More Animals’ “Cobra” Sackboy Costume
Even More Animals’ “Mandrill” Sackboy Costume
PlayStation’s “Jak” Sackboy Costume
PlayStation’s “Daxter” Sackboy Costume
5 exclusive LBP2 PSN Avatars – Lastly, complete your PlayStation experience with a new identity on the PlayStation Network with these new avatars.
This means that if you were to purchase the Collector’s Edition you will be obtaining every bit of Pre-Order DLC including the two special costumes of Jax and Daxter.
Yesterday we saw a Halo: Reach Bundle that was leaked mistakenly by Microsoft on Xbox.com. Today however they have decided to release full details about what this bundle will include. I’m a bit curious if they had to push up their bundle release due to yesterdays mishap. The Halo: Reach Xbox 360 Bundle will cost the expected $399.99 with separate pieces, such as the Controller selling for $59.99, and the headset going for $49.99 American.
The bundle itself will contain a silver halo themed 250 GB Slim Xbox 360. Not only is it designed to look like something from the Halo world, they have even said it will contain custom sound effects from Halo, which I am quite curious to see exactly what they mean with that one. Will it make a special sound when you turn it on? The bundle also comes with two wireless controllers that are also Halo themed; a Halo themed headset, the standard edition of Halo: Reach, and even a download code for “Limited Edition Elite” armor. Plus if you enjoyed the Halo Legends anime, you will be able to have an episode from said anthology.
Expect to see the this bundle being available the same exact day as Halo: Reach’s release date, which is September 14th.
Linus Åkesson took his friend’s old electronic organ, messed around with some workings inside of it (or some other awesome haxxor things to get it to sound like that) and came out with this beautiful masterpiece.
Check out the video below where Åkesson shows off his “Chipophone”. It is difficult to tell what he is saying sometimes, but the music is awesome! Music is the universal language anyway!
If you purchased a new copy of Alan Wake, don’t forget to check your game case for a token card to download this first Add-on for free.
Story
“The Signal” DLC picks up where the game left off. An inability to give away any spoilers prevents me from going any more in-depth than that. Simply put, if you thought that was the ending of the game you were extremely mistaken. If you have beaten the game you will understand what I am about to talk about a lot better than those who haven’t even played the game.
In the DLC you will delve deep into Alan’s Subconscious and battle the dark forces that are still trying to gain strength. Alan is lost within his own mind and the risk of losing it, but luckily Thomas Zane is there to help you. Since you are within Alan’s Subconscious the boundaries of reality are able to be pushed and truly create a psychological experience. Alan Wake is a game that is heavily based in the story aspect, and this addition to the story is a great experience.
Gameplay
There aren’t technically any new gameplay mechanics since it is just a continuation of the story within the game. A few of the newer elements that were introduced at the end of chapter six are implemented a lot more in this new chapter. Since this is technically counted as the seventh chapter, it is considered to be harder than the sixth chapter. Since there is an added difficulty to this chapter there are a huge amount of enemies to dispatch of. There is also a boss battle at the end which is quite interesting, but you will have to check him out for yourself.
There aren’t any new areas to explore in the chapter however, since the entire chapter is built off of your memories. You will regularly switch locations as your train of thought shifts, but the actual locations are based off of places you have already been. While this keeps you from seeing anything new, you do explore new locations in those areas and get around differently. Memories throughout the chapter will reveal even more backstory as you progress through the levels.
Achievements
The achievements in “The Signal” DLC fall extremely closely to the rest of the achievements in Alan Wake. There are 10 alarm clocks and 6 cardboard cutouts to get as you explore the chapter. The other 6 achievements require you to do miscellaneous tasks throughout the chapter. Most of them aren’t hard at all; “Run-On sentence” may take a few tries and I’d Suggest Saving all your Flare Gun ammo for the “Fast and Furious” Achievement.
The Achievement List is:
A Friend in Need – 25 – Special 1: Find someone to help you.
A Friend Indeed – 50 – Special 1: Follow the signal to its conclusion.
Fast and Furious – 25 – Special 1: Make it through the final battle in less than 1 minute and 30 seconds.
Words Will Never Harm You – 25 – Special 1: Trigger all of the furnaces in the basement.
Run-On Sentence – 50 – Special 1: Complete the episode without reloading the game or restarting a checkpoint.
License Revoked – 20 – Special 1: Complete the episode without using a single vehicle.
Cardboard Companions – 25 – Special 1: Discover all of the cardboard standees.
Overview
“The Signal” DLC is a great addition to the Alan Wake World. This mind blowing DLC truly creates a psychological setting which is both mind blowing and humorous at the same time. The DLC is a nice extension to Alan Wake that is only a little shorter than the other chapters. There are a lot more enemies, and the chapter even uses of a few mechanics that were only barely used right at the end of chapter six. Certain moments in this DLC actually made me wish I could turn my light off for the first time. “The Signal” DLC is a nice addition that is cheap and even free for everyone who bought Alan Wake new. Relive the fun you had during Alan Wake with this additional chapter that delves into Alan’s subconscious.
I give Alan Wake’s “The Signal” DLC
Mafia II is all the talk these days, but the game really deserves it. The wait was really long, but we are getting closer and closer to the game’s release.
2K Games shared some interesting news today for everyone who’s curious about the digital versions of the game on the PC. We already talked about the Digital Deluxe Edition in some other posts, but now let’s detail it.
Mafia II Digital Deluxe Edition will feature digital versions of the content from Mafia II Collector’s Edition. They are as follow:
• Made Man Pack: Free access to in-game downloadable pack that lets you get behind the wheel of two different luxury automobiles. In addition, Vito will look the part with two new “made man” suits, including a vintage tux.
• Digital Art Book: Players get to know Empire Bay with a photo album-style Digital Art Book that takes fans through the artistic design process of the game.
• Orchestral Soundtrack: Immerse yourself in a symphonic masterpiece with the Mafia II score recorded by the Prague FILMHarmonic Orchestra.
• Digital Map of Empire Bay: Get familiar with the neighborhoods and own the streets with the Digital Map depicting the 10 square miles of Empire Bay and all the hangout spots.
Everyone who pre-order either digital versions (“Standard” or the “Digital Deluxe Edition”) will receive the original award-winning Mafia game for free, and available for download instantly after pre-ordering Mafia II.
Mafia II pre-order is already available on selected digital retailers, like Direct2Drive and Steam. The game features full Steam integration, you can read more about this in our other article posted this week.
Last may we published the first batch of games from Sega’s Mega Drive Classics line for the PC. Today Sega of America and Sega of Europe confirmed a new batch of Mega Drive classic games coming soon to the PCs.
This next batch include favorites such as Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle, Dr Robotnick’s Mean Bean Machine, Eternal Champions, Ecco, Jr, Bonanza Brothers, Kid Chameleon, Ristar, Sonic Spinball and many more.
“This is another stunning selection of Genesis classics – we’re happy to be bringing back more of these great memories our fans are asking for,” said Haruki Satomi, Vice President Digital Business at SEGA of America. “By bringing these 16-bit titles back for the first time to PC as downloads, SEGA once again shows how to make timeless masterpieces accessible to anyone at anytime”
All these classics will be available via digital partners in the following days with pricing from $2.99.
Despite his few appearances in the overall storyline of Star Wars, Boba Fett has always had a very large following among fans of the franchise. And those fans will be receiving a treat in the upcoming sequel to Force Unleashed. This is because today Lucas Arts has revealed that he will be showing up in the game, and will apparently be a new enemy you will face as Star Killer.
Another interesting note, what are those creatures next to Darth Vader? And what was that giant robotic leg connected to? We shall see as time progresses, or we may have to wait even longer until the game arrives on every major console on October 26th of this year.
There was a temporary listing placed on Xbox.com earlier today that was quite the mistake as it was removed immediately upon notice. Of course once something has been seen on the internet it can not be unseen. And their mistake has now leaked a potential bundle for the slim 360 with a version called the Halo Reach Bundle. The bundle itself will expect to sell for $399.00 American, but it was removed shortly after posting.
Same with a listing for the controller that will be coming with the exclusive bundle, which will be selling for $60 individually. It is very interesting looking with Halo Reach branding, and a property of UNSC logo, with little designs which could pass for a Spartan’s armor.
The good old people at HaloReachTips.net were able to snag a screenshot of the bundle itself, so it isn’t all just smoke and mirrors. Would you spend this much money on the bundle itself? Or would you prefer the game only?
Capcom’s Dead Rising 2 is set to release later this year, and with the prequel releasing a couple of months before, fans will be pleased to know it will come cheap. 400 MSP will get you the entire prequel, Dead Rising 2: Case Zero.
Case Zero will act as an introduction to the series new main protagonist Chuck Greene and will give fans a sneak peak at what they can expect with the much anticipated sequel. Set two years after Dead Rising and three before Dead Rising 2, players will take Control of Chuck as he tries to save his infected daughter, Katey, in the zombie infested town of Still Creek. It will also introduce players to their new roll of duct tape so they can combine weapons to take on the hoard of zombies. Combos will also add to prestige points to level your character up. As well as the new level-up system, you can earn alternate costumes and “Combo Cards” as you battle the undead. Yes, you can carry all of this over to Dead Rising 2 which makes this an even better value.
Bringing such a huge prequel to the XBLA and charging only about 5 bucks is a great deal. Hopefully more developers will take this great idea from Capcom and run with it. (Though I’m not holding my breath on that one.)
Dead Rising 2: Case Zero comes to the Xbox Live Arcade on August 31st. Dead Rising 2 drops in North America on September 28th, Japan on September 30th and throughout European and Australian territories on October 1st.
