Monthly Archives: May 2009

id Software released Hidden Fortress this week, the first of six maps for Quake Live, and next on the list is Siberia.

Scheduled to land May 26, this is map two with four more to come in as many weeks.

Siberia is a capture the flag event designed for between 6 to 12 players and like the name suggests, it’s rather snowy.

More information is available through the link.

Via BigDownload.

Valve has released a patch fixing several things that occurred during the Sniper vs. Spy update for Team Fortress 2.

Here’s the list:

• Fixed Ambassador not using hit boxes to trace against players. It now works like all other bullet-firing weapons in the game
• Fixed Ambassador shooting through gates
• Fixed Ambassador not critting during the round win period
• Fixed control point not being named correctly on Arena Sawmill
• Fixed cloaked Spies being able to taunt attack
• Fixed Spy feign death not being reflected in scoreboard
• Fixed Jarate effect on DX8 machines
• Fixed rare crash in Spy “A Cut Above” achievement
• Fixed the backpack icon appearing over the “Could not connect to Steam” message in the client inventory
• Fixed German localization string for respawning players showing %1

More details are over on Steam.

While you are there, don’t forget it’s free to play all weekend long and is 50 percent off should you decide to purchase it.

Thanks, LA Examiner.

Sure it’s cute – it has LEGOs in it doing all sorts of LEGO stuff.

Best part is you get to see all the space, castle and pirate toy lines from your youth battle it out together or against opponents.

Just like you did with your hands and imaginations way back when.

There’s a press release announcing the trailer posted with it after the break, courtesy of D’Toid.

It’s out for DS June 9.

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Ubisoft has yet to announce a release date for Splinter Cell: Conviction, but that hasn’t stopped GoGamer and GameStop from listing it for a June launch.

Over on both retail sites, the Tom Clancy tactical action game is listed as coming out June 30 for both PC and Xbox 360.

Sometimes these dates are an estimate, other times they know more than we do.

We’ll see once E3 hits or the official announcement comes out. Whichever happens first.

Nintendo will release the Metroid Prime Trilogy on August 24 just in time for Metroid Prime 3 Corruption’s two year anniversary.

The trilogy contains Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2:  Echoes from GameCube reworked with full widescreen 480p support and, of course, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.

North Americans can expect to pay $49.99 when it lands on shelves.

IGN has the full scoop along with a hands-on through here.

On May 28, SingStar will get an decent sized update and a Queen track pack. Hooray for that.

Loads of stuff in there from the obvious pop stuff to more eclectic offerings like Korn’s “Freak on a Leash”. Nice to see the Depeche Mode boys in there though.

• Bill Withers – Lean on Me
• Blacknuss – Last Night a DJ Saved My Life
• Brad Paisley – Online
• Britney Spears – Sometimes
• Damien Leith – Night of My Life
• Depeche Mode – I Feel You
• Don McLean – Vincent (Starry, Starry Night)
• Evanescence – Good Enough
• Evanescence – My Immortal
• FACT – A Fact of Life
• Golden Earring – Twilight Zone
• Good Charlotte – I Don’t Want to be In Love (Dance Floor Anthem)
• Gorillaz – Feel Good Inc.
• Gorillaz – Dirty Harry
• Hooverphonic – You Hurt Me
• Korn – Freak on a Leash
• Lisa Stansfield – All Around the World
• Lostprophets – A Town Called Hypocrisy
• Phoenix – Everything is Everything

Ultimate Queen song pack: You’re My Best Friend, Somebody to Love, Tie Your Mother Down, Fat Bottomed Girls, I’m In Love With My Car.

Thanks, Nextgamer.

Details from the July issue of OXM leaked onto the net, this morning and it’s full of Mass Effect 2 information along with some DLC talk for the first Mass Effect.

It is suggested that you take most of this as rumor until the new issue is released, but E3 will have already happened by then, so when it comes out, more than likely we will already know all of this.

As far as DLC for the original Mass Effect, that is not too much of a shocker because more gameplay for the title was was promised back in February. It will, however, be the last bit of anything until the sequel comes out.

“We are definitely working on a substantial new DLC,” said BioWare to OXM. “We’re finishing it up and making sure that it’s going to be really good, and then we’ll announce it, probably pretty [soon].

“That’ll be the last thing between Mass Effect 1 and 2 in terms of content.”

However, most of the article in the mag talks about what will be shown by BioWare at E3 regarding Mass Effect 2.

Apparently this entails whether Shepard is really dead, the new transit system, exploration of new worlds, who you will play, and more information on Thane.

More is posted after the break.

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Bethesda has said that it did not actively seek out Bill Clinton to play the president in Fallout 3.

Variety decided to give the developers a shout regarding yesterday’s news that Blindlight had courted the former US president for the RPG.

In response, Bethesda’s VP told the site that it never requested him in the first place.

“Before they would pitch us on someone like Clinton, they may first go ask if he would do something like that,”said  Pete Hines.

“In no way, shape or form, did we say President Clinton is who we want for this role or [tell Blindlight to] go chase him.”

Most firms like Blindlight who specialize in voice actors for videogames and other media, tend to brainstorm on who would be perfect for the roll, put the word out, make requests, and then offer up a list of those interested in the role.

Lev Chapelsky, the general manager of Blindlight, was still pleased with the response from Clinton’s agents – even if the answer was no.

“We appreciated that frankness and candor – you don’t get that kind of candor from Creative Artists Agency, frankly,” he told Edge. “If the answer’s no, they don’t return your call for six months.”

Thanks, GamePolitics.

Valve’s posted up a page explaining the new Team Fortress 2 item drop system, as provided in the game’s last update.

There’s also first details of upcoming features planned for the new functionality, such as item trading.

Get steamy through the link.

The PS3 leaderboards for Bionic Commando are now live on PS3.

No issues were reported with the Xbox 360 version, but apparently there was some sort of glitch with the one on PS3.

Don’t worry though, all is fixed, and right as rain again.

More over on Capcom Unity.

NecroVisioN has passed classification in Australia, and can now be sold in the country.

Farm 51 and 1C’s army/demon shooter had to undergo some changes to receive the MA15+ rating, like changing blood spray to gray dust, but those looking forward to the FPS can now at least purchase it.

Whether it will be as gory as you like, is another matter entirely.

More over on GamePolitics.

The free multiplayer shooter America’s Army 3 is going into Beta and FilePlanet has the keys.

No exact details regarding the Beta are given, but keys are on a first come, first serve basis.

If you are a subscriber to the site and want in on it, go get one.

XSEED Games officially announced JU-ON: The Grudge today, and it’s scheduled for release in the US sometime in October.

Previously known to us as Feel, the Wii game is being toted as a “haunted house simulator” where instant scares are given priority over all other game aspects.

Using the Wii Remote as a flashlight, players explore haunted areas like an abandoned warehouse, a hospital, and a mannequin factory – proceeding forward even after being frightened and running away.

A second player can even take hold of another Wii Remote and push buttons to make in-game events happen immediately to the original player.

Choose that second player wisely then, we suggest.

Press release is posted below.
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Capcom’s just confirmed that the PSone title Resident Evil: Directors Cut will launch on PSN May 28.

It’ll cost a piffling $10. It’s a bargain.

Get full details through the link.

American PS Movie Store users get HD movies Body of Evidence, The Corsican Brothers, Outlander and others this week.

HD TV shows are scarcer than usual and consist of Prison Break, American Dad, Breaking Bad, Rescue Me, and a few more.

The full list of HD offerings is listed below, and the full thing is over on the US PS Blog.

HD Movies

• Body of Evidence
• Cheech & Chong’s The Corsican Brothers
• Fanboys
• Fiddler On The Roof
• Grindhouse: Planet Terror
• Hotel For Dogs
• Jeepers Creepers
• Legally Blondes
• Outlander
• The Presidio
• The Uninvited

HD TV Shows

• 24 – Season 7
• 4th and Long – Season 1
• American Dad – Season 4
• Breaking Bad – Season 2
• How I Met Your Mother – Season 4
• Law & Order: Criminal Intent – Season 8
• Law & Order: Special Victims Unit – Season 10
• My Own Worst Enemy – Season 1
• Prison Break – Season 4
• Rescue Me – Season 5
• Rules of Engagement – Season 3

If women wearing very little clothing and wielding swords is your thing, a demo for X-Blades is now available on Xbox Live.

It’s been out since February, so we’ve no idea why the demo has just gone live.

More details are through the link.

Thanks, Major.

The trailer was released earlier, and now DICE and EA have handed out some screenshots for Battlefield: Bad Company 2.

There’s four of ‘em, and you can have a look over on Kotaku.

It’s expected sometime this year for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.

EA interviewed tennis legend John McEnroe in a mailer sent out to the press, and while it does indeed advertise Grand Slam Tennis, there are a few interesting tidbits in it.

For one, this is John McEnroe’s first appearance in a videogame, and he seems rather excited about it.

“I’m pretty excited to be with some of the younger guys and how we match up,” he said. “I’ve waited a long time—50 years young—so I’ll see how I match up against the Nadals and the Federers; probably not real well but maybe this will help my chances.”

Best part was when he was asked why he wanted his famous 70′s ‘fro to be his look for the game. He responded like most athletes would looking back on their prime.

“Can you blame me? It was a magical time though I’m probably biased since it was the time I was playing. But the late 70s into the mid-80s especially was a great time in tennis, it seemed to be exploding in popularity. We did do things a little differently, a lot of characters out there. I think you’ll see even me with my shorts a little shorter than the other players. We had some wild looking hair and the headbands.

“People remember that and I look back on it fondly, not every hair style but there’s a couple others that I could live with. The most famous of the matches, particularly that Borg match in ’80 Wimbledon, the way he looked in his outfit and my puffy hair look, it’s probably more appropriate I would say to have that one.”

You can read the full thing over on GoNintendo.

New videos for Gears of War 2′s latest bit of DLC, All Fronts, popped up this afternoon.

The Memorial map is the focus of both videos, with the first one giving you an idea of the layout while the second one shows off the versus and Horde multiplayer modes.

Each one is posted after the break, courtesy of GameTrailers.

The All Fronts Collection lands on July 28.
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The Kojima teaser site has the internet all in a tizzy, and with rumors of the next Metal Gear flying around, a new one for Lords of Shadow has been added to it.

Kombo is reporting that the next PSW magazine, due on stands June 18, shows a silhouette of the main character in Kojima’s next game.

However, the site says it’s not the same game associated with the teaser we have all been eying so closely.

A NeoGAFer has found evidence to support that the game on the cover of PSW is possibly Lords of Shadow, and as we all know, it’s being published by Komani, overseen by Kojima, and developed by another company.

All that being said, Kombo suggests – like us – to take all this as rumor and speculation until more is revealed.

Technically, PSW’s magazine cover isn’t lying, but you can see by the furor it’s causing on forums around the net how easy it is to jump to conclusions.

Pass the aspirin, please.