Splinter Cell: Conviction’s Collector’s Edition which is going to be released in America was originally priced at $80. However today Ubisoft has announced that the collector edition’s price will be dropping $10 to a slightly more affordable price of $70.
While fortunate to buyers, the price drop comes from an unfortunate reason indeed. For the Conviction Collector’s Edition will come in a steel case and includes an art book, comic book, decals, USB drive, and an in-game outfit and weapon. However one item included in this collector’s edition is defective and may contain nothing that is advertised. That item itself is the USB drive.
The USB drive was intended to carry large amounts of development information and small goodies for the computer that is inserted into. However Ubisoft performed a “random sampling” of their collector’s edition and as it turns out, the USB drives are completely blank in most cases. Not every one of them was defective so chances are if you receive a USB drive with the information on it, you have just gotten quite lucky.
Though not all is lost for those who have either pre-ordered the collector’s edition or those who are going to purchase it, because on April 15th Ubisoft is going to release information on how to obtain the missing material on the game’s official website.
This information only involves those who of us in America, as the special editions in other countries are meant to vary slightly. The game itself is due for release in the US on April 13th
I’m glad they at least were able to come out an admit that there was an issue with their product as opposed to releasing it with full knowledge of a problem. Not only that but they have also reduced the pricing of said product making it much the better. Ubisoft has pulled a great PR move here in my opinion. Because now they have not only admitted their mistake they are going to make up for it with a price drop in the special edition as well as providing the missing content at a later date. Who’s looking to pick up Splinter Cell itself? Anyone who pre-ordered worried about whether or not their USB drive will contain any data at all?
Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter is officially coming to XBLA. There is no release date for the XBLA yet, but the Steam version is currently set to release on April 28. If the same thing happens to the second game as it did to the first, you won’t have to expect the game popping up on XBLA until about a month later. The game includes a new deathmatch mode along with co-op, capture the flag and survival modes. Finally, a mode where I don’t actually have to go to the arenas to fight endless hordes. Survival mode, here I come!
If you plan on getting the PC version, Steam is currently offering pre-orders on the game for $2.00 off the price of $20.00. Pre-orders will also get an extra multiplayer and co-op character: Ugh-zan, the boss of The First Encounter. But as I recall it that beast was huge, so we’ll probably get a shrunken version.
Also known as F.3.E.R. The trailer below is a live action trailer, that features Alma, Point Man and Paxton Fettel in all their glory. Alma is back and again pregnant with another baby, while Point Man and Paxton Fettel are planned to be playable in Co-op. By the looks of the trailer, Paxton Fettel will wield his guns and Point Man will have his psychic abilities.
Megaman 10 Publisher: Capcom Developer: Capcom Platforms: Xbox 360 (Reviewed), PlayStation 3, Wii Release Date: March 31st, 2010
Story
“The original 2-D classic Mega Man returns in the all new Mega Man 10! Mega Man 10 continues to bring the series back to its old-school roots, with retro platforming action and classic 8-bit graphics and sound. Rediscover Mega Man with new, classically-inspired boss characters, each with unique weapons and vulnerabilities.
The year is 20XX and Robotenza – the Robot Flu – has spread like wildfire, incapacitating robots everywhere. One month after the outbreak, the situation worsens. Infected robots have gone out of control and have destroyed the city! It’s up to Mega Man to get to the bottom of this viral mystery.” [Via Xbox.com]
Gameplay
Mega Man games are built on the premise of being hard to beat. This game is a visually a classic and is just as hard gameplay wise as one would expect from a Mega Man game. An easy mode has been added; however, which should make the game more enjoyable to first time Mega Man players. Mega Man 10 attempts to bring new players in by taking a different approach to the game. Although there aren’t as many instant kills and there aren’t as many moments of sheer awesomeness, there are still plenty to make the game enjoyable to current Mega Man fans. The gameplay mechanics also remain the same: go through an enemy’s lair, defeat the boss, get the bosses ability, and repeat on another location. In Mega Man 10, the abilities aren’t initially as impressive but as you learn to use them they get better and better. The wheel cutter for instance initially acts as a blade that you launch out and then it follows the wall and hits an enemy that it may come across, but if another use that isn’t initially noticed is the ability to hold the ability and propel yourself up a wall.
There are many abilities to play with, and certain abilities are stronger against certain robots. It is up to you to figure out what kills what. Below is a video of me running through a level having fun with the wide range of abilities.
Mega Man 10 follows the series roots well. The game also includes leaderboards and has replays of the top 100 best times on every level. Challenges are also back, but this time they are located in a much nicer format and are easier to access then those found in Mega Man 9. Overall there is tons of stuff to do that anyone, Mega Man fan or not, can enjoy.
Audio
The 8-bit sounds from this classic will remind anyone who has played 8-bit games of their younger years. Those who haven’t experienced the sounds will hear the game music that the older generation grew up on. There are only a few problems with the soundtrack; however, the main being that it isn’t as catchy as previous Mega Man soundtracks. A few of them are still catchy off the bat, but the rest take time to grow on you. That’s probably a good thing though, since you’ll be on these levels for a while.
Achievements
The achievements in Mega Man 10 are easier to complete then those found in Mega Man 9, but they are still quite difficult. The main focus is patience, and easy mode. Easy mode will help you greatly in unlocking all of these achievements, except “superhero” which will require lots and lots of patience. Save after every level and reload a previous file if you have to, in order to get the achievements “tenacious”, “invincible”, and definitely “Mr. Perfect”.
The Achievement List is:
WHOMP WILY! – 5 – Clear the game once.
BLUE BOMBER – 10 – Clear the game in under an hour.
SUPERHERO – 10 – Clear the game on HARD.
HARD ROCK – 20 – Make it to a boss room without getting damaged.
HEADBANGING – 20 – Defeat the 8 bosses without your helmet on.
DESTROYER – 20 – Defeat 1000 enemies.
WORLD WARRIOR – 5 – Defeat one of every type of enemy.
TRUSTY SIDEARM – 20 – Defeat the 8 bosses with just your default weapon.
NO COFFEE BREAK – 10 – Clear the game without using any energy, mystery, or weapon tanks.
TENACIOUS – 20 – Clear the game without continuing.
INVINCIBLE – 30 – Clear the game without dying.
MR.PERFECT – 30 – Clear the game without getting damaged.
Overview
With an added “Easy” mode, Mega Man 10 is trying to reach out to non Mega Man players while still retaining the memorable Mega Man game feel. The soundtrack and weapons take longer to warm up to, but unlike earlier variations of Mega Man, Mega Man 10 has a much more enjoyable replay. With a large replay value, you could spend hours beating it on harder difficulties, going for the insanely difficult achievements, go for better times on the leaderboards, or even work towards getting a gold medal on all the challenges.
Pros
An additional “Easy” difficulty enables a larger audience to enjoy the game.
This game maintains all the classic audio that will remind you of the 8-bit gaming days.
Challenges and leaderboards for added replay value.
Cons
In a new era, many people don’t like 8 bit graphics
Although hard, it can be beaten in under an hour.
The side bars are bright on some TVs and many people complain about them.
Optional
The difficulty of the game may turn away a few people, but it is a Mega Man game, so what did you expect?
If you didn’t notice, Conduit 2 no longer carries the “The” in front of it. Producer Jason Olson has recently devulged that they are removing “The” from the name.
On another note, Olson also revealed that perks will be in the multiplayer and stated, “If I wanted to be a medic, for example, I’d probably pick Reverse Damage (Shooting allies heals them), Field Medicine (Doubles revive times), and Robot Legs (Unlimited sprint) among my perks. If I wanted to be a tank, I’d pick Heavy Armor (Damage reduction at a cost to movement speed), Ammo Belt (Two extra magazines), and Improved Bullet Damage.”
Bet you didn’t see it coming! The video game Saw is getting a sequel. What can you expect though? There are 6 Saw movies (not to mention a 7th one being made; if you’ve seen the 6th you’ll know what I’m talking about), might as well make 6 Saw games to go along with them.
Japanese RPG developer Compile Heart has put into works quite an interesting RPG. Mostly because the world in which the game takes place in is called Geimugyokai which literally translates into Game Industry. Geimugyokai itself is split into four different continents and each one is governed by a different goddess. The four worlds are Platetume, Rinbox (360), Lasdition (PS3), Ruwii (Wii) and the four goddesses are Purple Heart(Neptune), Green Heart(360), Black Heart(PS3), and White Heart(Wii).
Not only that but video game companies will also have their own special characters, and I can’t wait to see exactly who will be represented and how they will be treated depending on their relation to the game makers. There will also be a monster-rancher type feature included, as you will be able to summon guardian angels from other video games or from pictures inside the PS3 photo album.
The only person who I don’t recognize is Platetume. Being as her color designation is purple it could be a reference to either Sega Saturn or another type of console from the past.
The game is slated for release in Japan this Summer, though an exact release date is not set. With the way the game is set up it’d be pretty interesting to see if this also made the journey to the USA. Who thinks this is a unique concept with the way they are mimicking the real world counterparts of console rivalries.
After the April 6th update a small feature has gone mostly unnoticed until now, and they are for more convenient than before. Being sold in bundles of 400 increments which mirrors the prices of all normally priced arcade titles.
Before the update Microsoft Points were sold in bundles of inconvenient 500 points in the United States. Meaning to even purchase a 1200 point game, you would be required to purchase 1500 points unless you bought a points card directly from a store.
Honestly this is great news because it made for lots of wasted points and money to have purchased points in such a manner. Now though there won’t be any excess points wasted on a theme here or there just to go back to zero.
The PlayStation 3 Slim is quickly boosting Sony’s reputation in the gaming industry in terms of availability to the public and pricing. Like most hardcore gaming consoles, you can’t really take it on the road.. or so we thought.
The Japanese gaming hardware company, Hori, has come up with a fantastic way to bring your Sony PlayStation 3 on the road. Hori has recently announced that it plans to release an HD monitor that comes with an attachment that encases the PlayStation 3 Slim and allows users to play console games on the display. The monitor is an 11.6 inch screen, has in-built speakers and can fold over the PlayStation 3 console for easy portability. The only downside is that you would need to have an AC outlet in your car, or wherever you are to power up the console.
Hori has told us that they plan to release this accessory on the 27th of May in Japan for around $260 US. The monitor supports both PAL and NTSC, which means PS3 consoles around the world will be compatible.
