Uncharted 3 Multiplayer Maps Free Today October 29, 2013

In honor of the two year anniversary of the release of Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, Naughty Dog has made ALL of the Uncharted 3 Multiplayer Map Packs, including a brand new Dry Docks Map Pack, free to download from the Playstation Store.  This is a fantastic piece of news as it will get a lot of players who haven’t had the chance to check out Uncharted 3’s multiplayer in a long time to start playing again.

Read all the details about the promotion here on Naughty Dog’s Website.  Now head to the Playstation Store and start downloading!

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception is out now exclusive to the Playstation 3.

Halo: Spartan Assault Coming to Xbox 360 and Xbox One October 29, 2013

Up to this point, Halo: Spartan Assault has been considered by many to be the only Windows 8 exclusive program that could entice people to upgrade.  Today, gamers everywhere not interested in ever upgrading to Windows 8 can breathe a sigh of relief as Microsoft has announced the game is being ported to the Xbox 360 and Xbox One platforms next month.

What is Halo: Spartan Assault?  It is a side story which takes place between the events of Halo 3 and Halo 4 and tells the story of the SPARTAN-IV unit, one of the major supporting characters from 2012’s Halo 4.  Take a look!

The Xbox versions of Halo: Spartan Assault will be redesigned specifically for the Xbox controller’s dual analog sticks.  This should be a much more comfortable control option.  The Xbox versions will also include 2-player cooperative play, the Operation Hydra expansion, and new levels featuring Halo’s most fearsome foe, The Flood.

Hopefully, both of these new versions of the game will have achievements that are compatible with Halo Waypoint.  In fact, there are several achievements in the game that unlock specific Halo Waypoint awards.

Halo: Spartan Assault is coming in December to Xbox 360 and Xbox One.  It is out now on Windows 8-equipped computers, tablets and smartphones.

UPDATE:  While both the Xbox One and Xbox 360 versions of Halo: Spartan Assault will support cooperative play, the game will not support cooperative play across the two platforms.  So unfortunately, anyone who is playing the Xbox One version of the game will only be able to play with Xbox One players, and Xbox 360 players will only be able to play with other Xbox 360 players.

Playstation 4 Day One 1.5 Software Update Announced October 25, 2013

For those of you who complained that the Wii U required a pretty hefty day-one patch to be able to play Wii games, many news organizations are reporting today that Sony is going to offer a Day One Playstation 4 which will unlock most of the console’s announced features.  So before you fire up your games, make sure to fire up the PS4’s Software Update.

The 300 MB patch will be released the day of the console’s launch and can be downloaded online.  It will enable most of the PS4’s features such as remote play, gameplay spectating, facial and voice recognition, and second screen, but also adds a lot of features that the PS3 already can do out of the box.  The patch will enable the PS4’s online multiplayer capabilities, cross game voice party chat, and will also enable the PS3’s Blu-Ray and DVD playback capabilities.

You can read all the details about the system update here on Playstation Blog.

Playstation 4 is launching in North America November 15th, 2013 for a price of $399 US.

Killer Instinct Pin Ultimate Edition Release Moved Up October 23, 2013

I know a lot of people can’t wait for the latest Killer Instinct game to come to the Xbox One at the console’s launch, and in anticipation of that the guys at Penny-Arcade have previously announced they are working on a Killer Instinct retail box exclusively for sale through Microsoft Stores, and they were able to push up the retail game’s release to the same day as the Xbox One’s launch.

Unfortunately, I no longer thinks this boxed game will be a good value.  The retail box will only include a download code for the game content.  No disc will be included, so you’ll still need an internet connection on your Xbox One to download it through Live.  The retail box will not offer any more game content than what you can already purchase with a direct online download.  There aren’t going to be any special behind the scenes videos, soundtracks, or exclusive DLC included with the package, just the two pins and a box with slots for more.

For a twenty dollar premium over a full-priced download of the game you get what amounts to an empty box with two collector’s pins.  Any further pins need to be purchased through the Penny-Arcade website, collected through public events which people may not be able to afford to attend, or sheer luck.  And since the Pin Ultimate Edition is only going to be able to be purchased through the very uncommon Microsoft Stores, it is highly likely that not a lot of players will be able to pick them up.  If the Pin Ultimate game box is going to be as uncommon as Penny-Arcade and Microsoft are making it out to be, who is going to care about collecting these pins at major gaming events?

So it will be coming out sooner, but the question is, is it really worth buying?

Killer Instinct Pin Ultimate Edition is coming November 22nd, 2013 exclusive to the Xbox One and only sold through Microsoft Stores.

Deadly Premonition PC Release Date October 18, 2013

PC owners hoping for the chance to finally play the cult classic Deadly Premonition have had their wishes granted. The game is officially coming to the PC with entirely new features not seen on any other version of the game currently released.

Directed by Swery65, Deadly Premonition tells the story of Agent Francis York Morgan as he tries to uncover the identity of a serial killer operating in the quiet mountain town of Greenvale.

Deadly Premonition is coming October 29th, 2013 to the PC through Steam. It is already out now on the PS3 and Xbox 360.

Killer Instinct Pin Ultimate Edition Announced October 16, 2013

Those of you who were hoping that Killer Instinct on the Xbox One would get a retail release officially have your wishes granted, but it’ll be coming exclusively to Microsoft Stores.

The Killer Instinct Pin Ultimate Edition will include a full version of the Killer Instinct Xbox One game and a season one pass which will unlock all the characters, costumes and accessories offered for the game before anyone else!  It will also feature a port of the original Killer Instinct arcade game, so you can play the original version on the Xbox One.

But that’s not all.  The Pin Ultimate Edition will also include two Killer Instinct collector’s pins, and spaces for many more that Microsoft has planned to release.  Details are scarce on how these other collector’s pins will get released into the wild, but there are a lot of possibilities including PAX Promotions, tournaments, and giveaways.

You can read all the details on the Killer Instinct Pin Ultimate Edition here.

Killer Instinct Pin Ultimate Edition is coming November 28th, 2013 exclusive to the Xbox One.

Halo 3 Free on Xbox Live Games With Gold October 16, 2013

Xbox Live’s Games With Gold promotion continues in the second half of the month of October.  If you happen to currently be an Xbox Live Gold Subscriber, you are entitled to download a new free game on the first and sixteenth of each month up until the end of the year.  It’s a great promotion in that unlike games offered for free to Playstation Plus users, you won’t lose access to anything you downloaded through Games With Gold if your Xbox Live Gold Membership ever runs out.

Starting today, Halo 3 will be free to download through Xbox Live Games on Demand until the end of the month.  The game has a great single-player campaign, which wraps up the story of the Halo Trilogy and finishes the story left hanging at the end of Halo 2.  It also supports four-player cooperative play through LAN or Xbox Live, and two-player cooperative play through split-screen.  In my opinion, it’s not the best game in the series, but it is a must-play for any Halo fan.

If you happen to be interested in any of the game’s multiplayer map packs, just be aware that only two of the game’s map packs are currently free, the others are on sale for about $4.99 US each.  However, you may not need to download all of these map packs if you don’t want to, as all of the bonus map packs (free and paid) are included on the multiplayer disc of Halo 3 ODST.  So, if you happen to have a copy of Halo 3 ODST already, there’s no reason to purchase any of these map packs.

After this month, we have no idea what will be coming next to the service, but Microsoft has promised it will continue until the end of the year.

The Last of Us Patch 1.05 Notes October 15, 2013

A major update for The Last of Us is on its way, and instead of releasing a simple text blurb about what changes are coming to the PS3-exclusive, Sony has released an entire video detailing all the changes that are coming to the game.

The Last of Us is out now exclusive to the Playstation 3.

Watch_Dogs Delayed to 2014 October 15, 2013

For me personally, there is no more higher anticipated game coming out of UbiSoft than their open world cyberpunk adventure Watch_Dogs.  First announced at E3 2012, the game puts you in the role of a hacker who has complete control over the automated surveillance systems of Chicago.  The game was expected to launch on multiple platforms next month and be a launch title for the future consoles Xbox One and Playstation 4, but now Ubisoft is saying that the game needs to be delayed until 2014 in order to give it much-needed polish.

Perhaps this is all for the best.  November was looking really crowded with no less than two major consoles getting released.  I can think of a lot of players, myself included, who had a lot of reservations about picking up this game on the current consoles with the next ones coming out at around the same time.  The console makers were also doing their best to cry out which version of the game would be the best.  Sony did say they would offer exclusive content for the Playstation 3 and Playstation 4 versions of the games, and on top of that, only the PS4 and Xbox One versions of the game would have Collector’s Editions.

Watch_Dogs is coming to the Xbox One, Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Playstation 4, PC, and Wii U in 2014.

Kingdom Hearts III D23 Expo Gameplay Footage October 15, 2013

Those of you who may be still reeling from the Kingdom Hearts 2.5 HD ReMIX Announcement, brace yourselves.  Disney has released the first official gameplay footage from Kingdom Hearts III since the game was first announced at E3 this year.  It looks to me like Sora, Donald and Goofy will be headed back to fight the heartless again in Twilight Town.

Kingdom Hearts III is coming to the Xbox One and Playstation 4.