Have Your Live Avatar Party Like It’s 2011 December 24, 2010

Microsoft is having a small promotion for New Years for your Xbox Live Avatars.  They’re giving away 2011 party glasses (yes, like those crazy ones you see some people wear at New Year’s parties after a few drinks) for your Xbox Live Avatar.  Just go here and purchase the glasses (they’re free) after signing into your Xbox Live account.  Then, feel free to enjoy them the next time you boot up your console.

Portal 2 Coming April 21st, 2011 December 22, 2010

I honestly don’t know if I can say this is truely a triumph, as I could probably fill up an entire page of this website with all the posts I’ve done up to this point of Portal 2 release date announcements, then delays, then new announcements, then new delays.  Today, EA released this to confirm the new release date.

Here’s the trailer shown at the VGAs:

Portal 2 will launch April 21st, 2011 for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.

Hydrophobia Getting Massive Revamp Tomorrow December 20, 2010

I have been on the fence for a while about whether or not I will be getting the Xbox Live Arcade game Hydrophobia.  I read a lot of the initial previews of the game, and was fascinated by it’s water simulation technology, as well as the gameplay that goes along with it.  It has been on a short list of must-buy premium XBLA games for me, along with Comic Jumper (which I did buy recently and loved) and Costume Quest (which I haven’t been able to afford yet).

Xbox Live Arcade game Hydrophobia was released a few months ago, but tomorrow it will be getting a major patch with a laundry list of fixes.  Take a look at the provided video at what is being changed and updated.

Here are the full patch notes, they’re just too long to post on the site!

To cap it off, it will also get a price reduction from 1200MS points to 800MS points.  Hydrophobia is currently an Xbox Live Arcade exclusive for the Xbox 360.  If you have been on the fence like me about buying it, save a few dollars and don’t buy it until tomorrow!

Infamous to get Six-Issue Comic Series December 20, 2010

Infamous, a hit PS3-exclusive from last year, is getting a six-issue comic series which will bridge the gap between the first and second games.

As a comic book fan, I felt the first Infamous game really succeeded in bringing the graphic art style of a comic book or graphic novel to life, and everything from the art direction to the acting made you believe you were playing a realistic superhero in a realistic world.  We already knew that the protagonist of the first game, Cole, will be starting over in a new city for this next game, on the trail of a new antagonist, the comic series will detail that journey.

Infamous (The Comic) has no release date but it is being published by DC Comics and will have a six-issue run.

Playstation Network App Coming to iPhone and Android December 18, 2010

The EU Playstation blog has broken the news that an official phone app is coming to the Android and iPhone which will offer integration into the Playstation Network.  You’ll be able to check your account status, friends list, and trophies.  It’s also got a pretty great looking interface, which is very similar to the PS3 and PSP appearance.

Currently version 1.0 is only coming to Europe.  Fear not US users, the app is coming to the States as well.  The US will get the app starting with version 1.1, which is going to add support for Playstation.Blog comments.

No release date has been posted.  App requires iOS 4.0 or Android OS 1.6.

UPDATE:  The app will be free.  There are no plans for Blackberry to get support.

Dead Space YouTube Channel Launched December 17, 2010

I’ve been looking like crazy for a while to find a source for all of the official Dead Space trailers on YouTube with very little luck.  Unfortunately while EA has a pretty well maintained YouTube channel which all of their games will usually get premiered on, Dead Space 2 has had no such luck getting trailers hosted on it in a timely manner.

The Dead Space 2 developers have announced today they are launching their own YouTube Channel for Dead Space content.  While it doesn’t have the full collection of trailers yet (and trust me once they do, I’ll be migrating most of the embedded trailers I have here over to it), they did create one very funny video to launch with it.  You see, Issac Clarke is just a normal guy like you and me.  But adjusting to the regular work day is kind of tough for him.

Dead Space 2 is coming for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 January 25th, 2011.

UPDATE:  They did in fact upload a lot of game trailers to the new channel officially, so I changed some of my embeds on some of my older posts to the new videos.  You shouldn’t notice any problems with ones that have been updated, but I did actually post up NEW videos in news articles I previously wrote where I wanted to post a video and just couldn’t because there wasn’t an official one on YouTube that was available.  You can see the new videos here and here.

Uncharted 3 First Gameplay Footage December 17, 2010

Here’s the first footage released of Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception.  Previously this had been shown on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, but this footage is unimpeded by Fallon’s terrible playing of it.  In it we see Nathan Drake and his partner Victor “Sully” Sullivan trying to escape from a Chateau on fire.  I’m having serious Indiana Jones flashbacks with this one (not the bad one).

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception is coming November 1st, 2011 exclusive to the Playstation 3.

Bulletstorm Epic Edition to Include Gears of War 3 Beta December 17, 2010

Everyone knows that Epic is hard at work at making Gears of War 3, but Epic is also working on a game called Bulletstorm, which is a harken back to the prototypical First Person Shooter.

But today, Epic announced that they’re going to offer Bulletstorm players a bit more than just a game, they’re going to offer a chance to play the Gears of War 3 beta, just for buying the Bulletstorm Epic Edition.

Bulletstorm Epic Edition is coming Feb 22nd for $59.99US.  Other features for it include 25,000 experience points, special weapons and armor, and visual upgrades for the game’s leash.  Gears of War 3 is an Xbox 360 exclusive and is coming Fall 2011.

Dead Space Aftermath Release Date December 14, 2010

I’ve been really impressed by the Dead Space IP since it’s release in 2008.  While they released a very impressive game, EA also released other things at around the same time of the game’s release.  An animated comic series was released for free to various sites including Xbox Live Marketplace, Playstation Network, and various PC sites.  It was based upon the Dead Space graphic novel.  But what was also interesting was that they released a companion animated movie, Dead Space Downfall, to DVD and Blu-Ray around the same time, which was not only visually stunning (especially in HD) but set the stage for the events of the first game.

Well, Dead Space 2 is on its way, and a new companion animated movie, called Dead Space Aftermath, is on its way as well.

Dead Space Aftermath is coming January 25th, 2011, for DVD and Blu-Ray Disc (BD).  This is day and date with the release of Dead Space 2.

Dead Rising 2 Case West Release Date December 14, 2010

The next chapter of the Dead Rising storyline is going to be coming to Xbox 360 players.  Frank West, hero of the first Dead Rising game, will join up with Chuck Greene, the hero of the second Dead Rising game, in order to expose the truth of the zombie outbreak.  Dead Rising 2: Case West was announced shortly before the release of Dead Rising 2, but until now a release date or price has not been announced.  Now it has.  I must say, I’m happy to see that Frank is healthy, the true ending of Dead Rising was a bit ambiguous as to his fate.

Dead Rising 2: Case West is coming for 800 MS points on December 27th, 2011.  It will be exclusive to the Xbox 360.