inFAMOUS 2 Release Details Announced February 28, 2011
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Sony has just e-mailed an enormous amount of details over the release of the upcoming PS3-exclusive game, inFAMOUS 2.
The game will release in two editions, a standard edition and a collector’s edition dubbed the “Hero” Edition. It will include a 8.5″ limited-edition Statue of Cole, a replica sling pack (which Cole wears in the game), a mini comic made by DC, and a game soundtrack. The Hero Edition will MSRP at $99.99 US.
There will be a ton of DLC offerings for the game at release, and you can get it for free depending on which retailer you order from.
Amazon.com orders will be given 24k Gold Amp Weapons
Best Buy customers will get a code for a playable Kessler skin, the villian of the first inFAMOUS game.
Gamestop customers will get the Lightning Hook power, which will allow you to pull enemies and ammo off rooftops.
Finally, Walmart preorders will include the electrocution grenade power, which shocks nearby enemies with arcing electicty and holds them a few seconds before detonation.
You can read more details about the pre-order content here.
inFAMOUS 2 will release June 7th, 2011 exclusive to the PS3.
Official 2K Games Videos from Duke Nukem Forever Event February 25, 2011
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Upset you missed the Duke Nukem Forever Vegas event? Well, 2K Games has posted up their footage of the event, which shows some content that hadn’t been seen before.
To cap it all off, here’s a short interview with Jon St. John, the voice of Duke Nukem (and Doug Huggem), who was at the event and answered a few questions that everyone wants to know.
Duke Nukem Forever launches May 3rd, 2011 for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.
How to Host an Awesome LAN Party February 24, 2011
Posted by Maniac in Site Videos.add a comment
LAN Parties used to be the staple of social gaming. You get a bunch of friends old and new together at a venue (usually someone”s house) and you network them together to play against each other. Over the years, some of the LAN parties I’ve held were among the best times of my life.
Want to host a LAN party but don’t know what you should do? Well, I’ve hosted plenty of them over the years, and I have a lot of experience on what works, and what doesn’t. Here’s some tips on how to host a kick-ass LAN party.
This is the first video I’ve done for the site with voice over narration, and the first I’ve posted made up entirely of still images. Enjoy!
(Sorry, I took the video down to modify it).
Gears of War 3 Release Date Announced February 23, 2011
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When the first Gears of War game was released, I couldn’t play it. Not because I couldn’t get a copy, but because I didn’t have an Xbox 360. At that time, 66% of Xbox 360s started breaking for no reason and mine was part of that statistic. Also at the time, Microsoft refused to acknowledge they made a defective product and you had to pay for repairs and shipping out of your own pocket.
I was in the middle of waiting for a working 360 when Gears of War released. My friend Twitch (who you’ll be hearing more from later) was in the market for a new HDTV at the time and the TV store he was working at assured him he was more than welcome to test how his 360 played on the TVs. On the day Gears of War released, we went together to get a chance to play the game on the most expensive big screens at the time.
When we plugged into the home theater room and broadcasted our Gears of War session to the premium big screens, I think we ended up selling a few TVs. An elderly couple interested in a big screen DLP was relieved the images on it were from our game and wasn’t real. They told us they thought they were looking at the Iraq war.
Gears of War 3 will launch September 20th, 2011 exclusive to the Xbox 360.
Dead Space 2 Severed Coming March 1st February 23, 2011
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The first major single player campaign DLC for Dead Space 2 finally has a release date.
As previously reported, the game stars two of the main characters from the PS3/Wii rail-shooter Dead Space Extraction (Gabe Weller and Lexine) and you’ll be able to play as Gabe in this single player campaign. You can also expect some familiar enemies from Dead Space that weren’t in Dead Space 2, like the twitch necromorph, to make an appearance..
I’m plenty excited to play this expansion. The story in Dead Space Extraction was very well fleshed out and because of that the tension was much higher. The four main characters, as well as the secondary characters, were all well written, and their voice actors’ performances capped this off (and it sounds like they’re returning). I want to play this just to find out what happened to the old gang.
Dead Space 2 Severed is coming March 1st, 2011 for the Xbox 360 and the PS3 (March 2nd Internationally). It will cost $6.99 US or 560 MS points. You will need a copy of Dead Space 2 to play.
YouTube Changes February 23, 2011
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For those of you who have wondered why I didn’t post any content yesterday, especially after what I promised on the twitter feed yesterday, you can blame YouTube for that.
They give and they take away it seems. I had an account which in December was granted the capabilities to post videos in excess of 15 minutes. Yesterday, when I tried to upload the first part of the series I had scheduled this week (a video of 22 minutes in length), it was rejected due to length. It seems my ability to post videos of any length was quietly taken away from me by YouTube. I have to this point posted videos in excess of 30 minutes over the past two months which are still active, so why can I no longer post videos of a reasonable length anymore?
YouTube did not provide any explanation to why they took away my 15+ minute ability. My account is in good standing and has not been blocked. Nor did I post too many videos in excess of that time duration while I could.
Regardless, the fact I’m currently limited to 15 minute videos again will severely impact video uploads, and some series like “So, What Happened?” will have to be re-examined.
I wish I had better news to report, but I was planning an entire series this week which was already shot and partially edited (which I worked on with a new site contributor), and because of this it will have to be trashed.
Happy 25th Birthday Zelda and Link February 21, 2011
Posted by Maniac in Game News.1 comment so far
Today is the 25th Anniversary of the release of the classic game The Legend of Zelda for the Famicom in Japan. It was of course also released in English the US for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). Created by Game God Myamoto, who’s contributions to gaming are unquestionable. Twenty-five years later, The Legend of Zelda and its protagonist Link are still a staple of the Nintendo platforms, with releases on all the modern Nintendo platforms and the gurantee that more will be coming in the future.
Given this auspicious event, I decided to post up some of my favorite Legend of Zelda related videos and articles, which I have seen over the years. First up is a facinating video done by (of all people) James “The Angry Video Game Nerd” Rolfe, where he took a look at the Zelda Timeline, and where each game’s place came in a coherant sequence of events. He didn’t provide a definite list (Nintendo hasn’t even done that) but he does try the best he can and it’s a really well done and enjoyable video.
1UP is also doing a pretty impressive series of ten articles today. These articles range everything between the history of the series, the worst in-game items, the best covers of the iconic theme song, even the commericals.
It also turned out that there were a series of Zelda games that people in the US had never heard about. Between 1995 and 2000, the SNES (Super Famicom) had an optional download service similar to the Sega Channel service in the US, except that this service was provided through satelite. Roo from Clan of the Gray Wolf did a great video detailing this service and the exclusive Zelda games that were streamed through it and only seen in Japan.
If you missed out on them back in the day, you can get most of the classic games in the Legend of Zelda series on the Wii Virtual Console. There are still current games for both the Nintendo Wii and DS like Twilight Princess and more are promised both for the Wii and the DS’s successor.
Happy Birthday Link! You’ve done well.
Jurassic Park The Game Teaser Trailer February 20, 2011
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Telltale Games has posted up the initial trailer for the highly anticipated Jurassic Park game.
Finally, I always wondered what the heck happened to that shaving cream can!
This is NOT the style of game that Telltale has made before. This is not a cartoonish style, this is a high definition realistic look which works much better for Jurassic Park. According to initial previews and promises the gameplay is, while its going to be an adventure game, looking to be more along the lines of Heavy Rain than Sam and Max.
Jurassic Park The Game is coming in April 2011. Platforms have not been totally finalized, but its currently expected to come to PC and Mac.
Bioshock 2 EVE Hypo Light-Up Replica Review February 20, 2011
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In a first for gameXcess.net, Maniac does a game related product review. I take a look at the replica EVE Light-Up Hypo seen in Bioshock and Bioshock 2 and gives his review of it. I got it free with a case of Bawls a while ago and never opened it up. So I crack it open and use it on camera for you guys to enjoy.
Enjoy the first video shot in VERTICAL WIDESCREEN! Your smartphone will appreciate it.
On a side note I might now actually have superpowers.
Batman City of Scars Fanfilm Re-Released, Arkham Asylum’s Influence Found February 19, 2011
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When I was working as a teacher, I did a segment about how the same archtypes of stories will continually find themselves into new literature centuries after they were first created. Batman, oddly enough, is one of those kinds of archtypes.
I have been fortunate enough to be good friends with independant filmmaker Aaron Scheonke, who, along with his father, run the production company Bat in the Sun. They are known for their graphic novel inspired style, which can be seen in many of their hit Batman fanfilms like Batman Legends, Batman: Dark Justice and of course, Patient J.
Just by looking over their filmography over the past seven years, you can see the heaviest influence to them was the original comic source material. It was that same source material which influenced 2009’s Batman: Arkham Asylum game and it’s upcoming sequel, Batman: Arkham City.
A year after the release of Batman: Arkham Asylum, Bat in the Sun released their first 30+ minute Batman fanfilm in over five years, and now they’re finally able to bring it to YouTube, so I can link you to it. City of Scars was released last year, and went viral almost immediately getting around 500,000 views in its first few days of release. Just like other Bat in the Sun productions, they weren’t borrowing from what the previous movies were doing, they were defining Batman in their own way.
If anyone played Batman: Arkham Asylum and wished that they could see a Batman movie that was more like it, a more psychological and stylistic film with deep characters and a suspenseful story, you should give City of Scars a look. It’ll defintly hold over those who are still waiting anxiously for Arkham City’s release!
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