Alan Wake DLC Episode 2 Achievements Posted October 10, 2010

The achievements for Alan Wake’s next and final DLC, “The Writer” have been posted on Xbox Live.

1. Ding! 5G Special 2: Complete the elevator ride.
2. Kill Your Darlings 50G Special 2: Defeat the final obstacle between you and your goal.
3. Go Gentle Into That Good Light 25G Special 2: Make it through the approach to the lighthouse without firing a weapon.
4. No Punctuation 50G Special 2: Complete the episode without reloading the game or restarting a checkpoint.
5. Iron Will 25G Special 2: Survive the final encounter without being seriously hurt.
6. Whirlwind 20G Special 2: Make your way past the tornado in under 60 seconds.
7. Licensed Properties 30G Special 2: Discover 10 Night Springs video games.
8. Creative Space 25G Special 2: Discover the secret area.
9. Heartbreaker 20G Special 2: Have some poison poured in your ear.

“The Writer” will be released on October 12th, 2010 for 560MS points on the Xbox Live Marketplace.  Alan Wake, an Xbox 360 exclusive, is required.

Dead Rising Coming to iPhone October 7, 2010

Can’t get enough zombies in a mall?  Want to actually be able to fight zombies in a mall while you’re at a mall waiting for someone else to do their shopping?  I know I do.  Dead Rising (the first) will be getting a handheld release and it will be just for the Apple iPhone.

The iPhone Version of Dead Rising will follow the story of the first game, where you play Frank West trapped in a mall waiting for the government to come in and kill everything.  There will not be any escort missions or photography, instead the game will just devote itself to providing you the best way to make the undead dead again, which is seriously everyone’s favorite part about Dead Rising.

You will also be able to get revives from friends in the form of Twitter and Facebook.  If your friend logs in to save you, you can resume, if not, you will be a zombie in their game.

Reminds me a lot of my (still) favorite PSP Game, Infected, where you would be able to infect a losing player’s game with your avatar, forcing them to play against waves of you in the infected levels.

Currently it doesn’t look like this will be compatible with iPhone 3G, but final release specs have not been posted, nor has a price, but the game is expected later this year.

Dead Rising 2 Pre-Order Goodies Coming to Xbox Marketplace and Playstation Network October 7, 2010

This should be good news to anyone who picked up Dead Rising 2 without preorder, or who didn’t preorder the High Stakes edition at the Capcom store because they liked the Zombrex Edition better.

The four downloadable costumes will be made available on Xbox Live Marketplace and Playstation Network each week starting on the 12th of October.  More than aesthetically pleasing, the costumes do grant you extra skills and abilities.

October 12:  Psychopath Theme Pack. Originally only in the Dead Rising 2 High Stakes Edition.  Chuck gets to wear a hockey mask and arms him with a chainsaw, cleavers, and more.

October 19: Soldier of Fortune Theme Pack.  Chuck gets a Rambo outfit and a special spray attack with automatic weapons.

October 26: Sports Theme Pack.  Previously a Best Buy Pre-Order Exclusive. Chuck gets increased damage with sports-themed weapons, while introducing new weapons like the basketball, which bounces when thrown, taking out multiple zombies at once.

November 2:  Ninja Theme Pack.   Originally a GameStop Pre-Order Incentive.  Chuck will also get increased damage with throwing weapons and swords, with some new moves and a faster throwing rate adding a little extra ninja to the pack.

No word yet on pricing.

Gears of War 3 Will Have a Multiplayer Beta Test October 7, 2010

With the extra five months of development time added to Gears of War 3, Epic announced during a press event that there is now enough time in the development schedule to have a multiplayer beta test of the game.  No details yet on what you’ll have to do to get into the beta, but this is likely good news to a lot of people who didn’t like the netcode on Gears of War 2.

Gears of War 3 is also expected to have dedicated server support, which should eliminate host advantages Gears of War games have had since the very beginning.

Gears of War 3 is coming exclusive to the Xbox 360 in 2011.

Borderlands GOTY Edition to Include Duke Nukem Forever Demo October 5, 2010

In a huge surprise, 2K Games and Gearbox have announced that the Game of the Year Edition of Gearbox favorite Borderlands will not only include all of the Borderlands DLC as previously reported but also a download code for access to an early demo of Duke Nukem Forever, as well as other Duke related goodies.

Borderlands Game of the Year Edition will be released October 12th, 2010 (something no one else reporting on this would mention) for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.  The Duke Nukem Forever Demo will be accessed through an included download code at a later date.

Storytelling in Epic Mickey October 4, 2010

A new developer diary on Disney’s Epic Mickey has been released.  Narrated by game director Warren Specter, he talks about the origins of the game’s story and gives some behind the scenes information as well as some new gameplay footage.

Disney’s Epic Mickey is coming exclusive to the Wii.

GameStop Activates Rewards Service October 4, 2010

It appears that GameStop has gone ahead with their own rewards program, called PowerUp Rewards.  I have talked about the service in the past, but it looks like the rewards have gotten better since it was first announced, and its still free.  Since the service is considered BETA, it is not in all areas yet, but you can enter your e-mail address and zip code to be notified when it does come into your area.

You get a 500 point bonus just for activating, which is kind of nice.

Gears of War 3 Delayed October 1, 2010

The highly anticipated Xbox 360 exclusive game Gears of War 3 will not see a release in April 2011 as originally announced.

The game has been delayed five months, the new release date is expected to be October 2011. They claim this is purely a marketing decision, and I must admit this is likely. The first quarter of 2011 is packed with releases. In fact, more major releases are coming in that quarter than what is coming out this holiday season. This is unheard of, holidays is always the busiest season (just ask EA about 2008).

Beyond Good and Evil Coming to XBLA and PSN in HD October 1, 2010

The fan-favorite yet commercially disappointing game of last generation, Beyond Good and Evil is getting a re-release on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 as a downloadable game in High Definition.

I must admit I’ve heard great things about this game but never had the chance to play it. I have a ton of friends who have been waiting a long time for the sequel to this game, which has been promised for a while.

No release date or price has been confirmed.