Category Archives: books

Rockstar Newswire heralds the imminent arrival of the next issue of the Max Payne 3 comic; Hoboken Blues releases on June 12. the comic mini-series was written by Rockstar’s written by Dan Houser and Remedy’s Sam Lake, and covers events from throughout the franchise’s timeline, including Payne’s past.

Tor Books has announced the next Halo novel, called The Thursday Wars. Written by known Halo author and Gears of War 3 writer Karen Traviss, the book will set up the events around Halo 4, according to 343′s Frank O’Connor.

It’s out on October 2, just over a month before Halo 4 launches worldwide on November 6. Thanks, D’Toid.

The first issue of Max Payne: After the Fall is now available for free online. The comic was written by Rockstar’s Dan Houser in collaboration with Sam Lake of original developer Remedy, and over the three issue arc, will examine Max Payne’s past and touch on events from all three games. You can grab it as a PDF from Rockstar Newswire, or read online through Rockstar or Marvel. You can also visit a shop and hand over currency for a dead tree version, if that’s your thing. Max Payne 3 is due on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on May 15 in the US and May 18 elsewhere, with the PC version following at the end of the month.

Nary a whisper of a new game on the horizon, but you can at least enjoy dark Horse’s upcoming, three-part comic series Dragon Age: Those Who Speak.

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BradyGames announced the Diablo 3 strategy guide in both a Signature and Limited Edition series. Get the goods on each below courtesy of GameFront.

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Lionhead Studios and Random House have announced an agreement to create a “broad line of products set to expand the universe of Fable”, via two novels, multiple digital shorts, a world bible, and a strategy guide.

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In an excerpt pulled from a a new book titled Jacked: The Outlaw Story of Grand Theft Auto, Rockstar co-founder Jamie King as well as Navid Khonsari and Dan Houser reminisce on their experiences working with Hollywood types for Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Apparently, Ray Liotta was rather cool, Jenna Jameson made them nervous, and Burt Reynolds was “a total cock.”

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Dark Horse Comics and EA have announced that those who purchase the digital version of The Art of the Mass Effect Universe will receive a limited code to unlock a Reinforcement Pack containing in-game items to be used on PC or Xbox 360 in the co-op campaign of Mass Effect 3. The Reinforcement Packs contain character boosters and the Collector Assault Rifle. The weapon was given to those who pre-ordered the physical copy through Barnes and Noble. You can order your copy here, and the codes don’t expire until March 31, 2013.

GameTrailers host Geoff Keighley’s confirmed that his next personal project will be The Final Hours of Mass Effect 3.

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I the best traditions of Atlus, a small number of quickdraw pre-orders for Game of Thrones RPG will score a fancy pants bonus.

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BioWare has apologised for and promised to fix the startlingly prevalent errors in the latest Mass Effect tie-in.

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THQ and Random House have announced an original novel set in the Darksiders universe will be published by Del Rey in May. Titled “Darksiders: The Abomination Vault”, it was written by author Ari Marmell and takes place millennia before the events of the first game in the series. Random House will also develop the IP bible for the Darksiders universe. Darksiders II us out this summer on PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.

Those interested in art and who like ordering cool things from Japan, should take a gander at the BLK Limited Edition art book from illustrator huke.

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The latest Mass Effect tie-in novel, Deception, goes on sale on January 31. Although penned by William C. Dietz, it continues the storyline of the previous novels written by Drew Karpyshyn, and focuses on Gillian, Grayson’s Biotic ward. No word on whether David Anderson, the only character to appear prominently in both books and games, makes a return as well. You can read an extract on the BioWare Blog which may answer that. Mass Effect 3 is due in March on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, if that somehow slipped your mind despite being hardcore enough to have read three tie-in novels already.

BioWare and Dark Horse have teamed up again to offer a new Mass Effect comic. This one is called Mass Effect: Homeworlds and includes plenty of commando type James Vega, a new addition to the cast in Mass Effect 3. The comic arrives in April after the third game hits PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in March. Hit up Kotaku for a couple of images.

Photographer Robbie Cooper has been taking pictures of online players and their avatars since 2003, and has compiled the photos into a book called Alter Ego: Avatars and their creators. Gamers in the book include players of City of Heroes, EverQuest, Guild Wars, World of Warcraft, Star Wars Galaxies, Legend of Mir and more. If you’re interested in the book, you can learn more about it over on Flavorwire. A few excerpts can be found over on Business Insider.

Blizzard has announced the hardbound edition of Diablo III: Book of Cain will be released on December 13 for $35.00 in the US. A localized version for other regions will be released on February 7, 2012 internationally.

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Gaming comic and art book publisher Udon has announced two new coffee table titles for Persona 3 and Persona 4, both available for pre-order through the links, and expected sometime after the holidays. Siliconera reports the books feature character designs, rough sketches, backgrounds and interviews with Atlus staff.

Meanwhile, Udon is throwing a sale, offering $40 off both Mega Man Tribute and Street Fighter II Ultimate Edition hardcovers for a limited time only, along with loads more Cyber Monday sales.

Fans of both reading and the compulsive collection or random weapon drops will be delighted to know Tuesday brings a new novel called Borderlands: The Fallen.

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Valve and Dark Horse have announced a hardcover collection of comics based on the worlds of Left 4 Dead, Team Fortress, and Portal. The comic, which contains over two hundred pages of story, is titled: Valve Presents: The Sacrifice and other Steam-Powered Stories, and is to be made available on November 16. You can pre-order it here, and have a look at the cover below.

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