Batman: Arkham City VGA Trailer December 14, 2010

The newest trailer for the highly anticipated sequel to Batman: Arkham Asylum has found it’s way onto the internet after it’s VGA debut.  We get a good look at what can possibly be the main baddie for this game, and what his motivations are.  Hugo Strange, a famous staple of Batman’s rogue’s gallery, is seen for the first time, and as he did in the comics, he knows Batman’s secret identity.

Batman: Arkham City is coming Fall 2011 to Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception Announcment Trailer December 12, 2010

It’s coming.  Uncharted 3: Drake’s Decption, the next installment of the major PS3-exclusive franchise, is in development.  As you can see from this initial full trailer, Drake’s going to the Arabian Desert this time for his next epic treasure-hunting journey.  We also see the return of his partner and mentor since the first game, “Sully” Sullivan, although no other series characters make an appearance in this initial trailer as Drake searches for the famous “Atlantis of the Sands”.

The first game offered a dramatic simulation of water.  The second game revolutionized the simulation of snow.  This game looks to do the same to sand.  Gameplay is expected to be shown on the Jimmy Kimmel show on the 13th of December.

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

Dead Rising Mobile on iPhone December 10, 2010

The Apple App store has just gotten a new game to show off it’s platform, a version of the very first Dead Rising game has been released for the iPhone.  In the game, you play as Frank West, a journalist who must survive in a mall infested with Zombies.  Everything you get your hands on can become a weapon, and anything laying around can be eaten for health.  The fun twist is you can contact friends to revive you using Facebook and Twitter.  It also offers integration with Apple’s Game Center.

Dead Rising Mobile is only compatible with iPhone 3GS and later models, and iPod Touch models 3rd Generation and later.  It is not compatible with the iPad.

Dead Space 2 Sprawl Trailer December 9, 2010

To promote the December 21st release of the demo, EA has released a new trailer for Dead Space 2.  It showcases The Sprawl, the enviroment Dead Space 2 will take place in.  It’s great to see these enviroments rendered in game, as a lot of what I’m seeing here looks very familiar to the animated segments in the PSN and XBLA game Dead Space Ignition, the train system in paticular.

Dead Space 2 is coming Jan 25th, 2011 for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.  Pre-orders are entitled to a free download of Dead Space Ignition on PS3 or Xbox 360.  Dead Space Ignition is normally $4.99US or 400 MS points.

Back to the Future (The Game) Premiere Trailer December 9, 2010

Telltale Games has released the first trailer their upcoming episodic series of Back to the Future games.

If you had told me this was the trailer to Back to the Future Part IV I would have believed you in a second.

Back to the Future: The Game will start releasing episodes this month for PC, PS3, Mac and iPad.

Uncharted 3 Information Teased December 9, 2010

Uncharted, arguably the biggest series in the PS3’s lineup since the release of Uncharted 2, has gotten a bit of press recently for the rumors that a third game of the series will premiere later this month.

Original reports had it that Uncharted 3 would premiere at the Spike Video Game awards show, and the latest musings is that the game will also get a showing on the Jimmy Fallon Show on the 13th of December.  Why game developers would actually contribute to the VGAs after the farce it’s proven to be year after year is beyond my comprehension (I’ll probably write-up an article about that at some point, but I assure you I’m not alone in my opinion, and if you watched one of these shows you’ll likely share that opinion) but what surprises me further is why they wouldn’t wait for an actual major gaming event to premiere the game, like E3, PAX or TGS.

The latest information was posted (of all places) by Entertainment Weekly, which has the game’s official title as Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception.  The game will follow series hero Nathan Drake and partner Victor “Sully” Sullivan as he searches the Arabian Desert for the fabled Atlantis of the Sands.

All of this has been confirmed by the Playstation Blog.  Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception is coming next year exclusive to the PS3.  The game will natively support stereoscopic 3D.

UPDATE:  Here’s the teaser trailer straight from Sony!

Dead Space 2 Demo December 21st December 8, 2010

The original Dead Space was another one of the sleeper hits of EA’s 2008, alongside their other new property Mirror’s Edge.  It was next-generation scary.  It spit in the face of previous space themed horror games.  You were an engineer operating alone, you weren’t a space marine.  Headshots were useless, the monsters had to be dismembered to be killed.  The graphics were beautiful and horrifying at the same time.

EA is giving an early Christmas present to gamers who own Xbox 360s and PS3s.  A demo of the game, which promises to include the Chruch of Unitology level demoed at E3 this year, has been announced to arrive before Christmas, five weeks before the release of the full version of the game.

Dead Space 2’s demo will be released for Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 on December 21st in the US and December 22nd in Europe through Xbox Live Marketplace or Playstation Network Store.

Dead Space 2 will be released Jan 25th, 2011 for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.  A Collector’s Edition is coming for the Xbox 360 and PS3.

Playstation Rewards Listed December 7, 2010

Sony has e-mailed their initial Playstation Rewards users the first list of activities to advance themselves in the program.

Some of the activies on the list include downloading an episode of Pulse in HD, Rent or buy a movie on Playstation Store, Visit the Central Plaza in Playstation Home.

However, another new activity, use of a Playstation Move game, was posted but which games were supported were not listed in the FAQ yet.

Playstation 3 Firmware 3.55 Released December 7, 2010

A required update for the Playstation 3 (PS3) has been released to the console for download using the Playstation’s Software Update feature.  Firmware version 3.55 is required for use of the Playstation Network.

No features were detailed in the release notes, however this is expected to break Playstations which have been homebrew modified.

Rock Band Reloaded Launched on iPhone December 2, 2010

A sequel to Rock Band has been released for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch.  It is called Rock Band Reloaded.  The major addition to Reloaded over the original Rock Band iPhone game has to be full support for vocals over microphone, a feature that was suprisingly not in the first Rock Band iPhone game.  The game also features 2-player Co-Op on one iPad.

Track list is as follows:

• 3 Doors Down “Kryptonite”
• Alice in Chains “Your Decision”
• Beastie Boys “So What’Cha Want”
• Billy Idol “White Wedding”
• Drowning Pool “Bodies”
• Duran Duran “Hungry Like the Wolf”
• Evenescence “Call Me When You’re Sober”
• Megadeth “Peace Sells”
• NIN “The Perfect Drug”
• Nirvana “In Bloom”
• No Doubt “Hella Good”
• Pat Benatar “Heartbreaker”
• Seether “Remedy”
• Steve Miller Band “Rockn’ Me”
• Vampire Weekend “A-Punk”

There are also extra tracks that can be downloaded through the Rock Band in-game store.  Some of the track packs are free.

Rock Band Reloaded is $4.99 US and you can buy it on the Apple App Store.