DC Universe Online Release Date July 25, 2010

Sony Online Entertainment has confirmed the release date of DC Universe Online as November 2nd, 2010.

You can still visit their website if you want to sign up to beta test the game on either the PC or Playstation 3.  You’ll be able to play the game early and help the developers polish their game before its release.  No word on when the beta is expected to launch.

DC Universe Online will launch for PC and PS3.  Playstation Plus is not required.

Expanded Rock Band 3 Tracklist July 25, 2010

Harmonix has announced during Comic-Con 2010 several more songs that will be appearing in Rock Band 3, as well as a few songs that will be appearing in their Kinect enabled game, Dance Central.

Rock Band 3

• “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” (Tears for Fears)
• “Rock Lobster” (The B-52s)
• “Foolin'” (Def Leppard)
• “Beautiful People” (Marilyn Manson)
• “Hey Man, Nice Shot” (Filter)
• “Cold as Ice” (Foreigner)

Dance Central

• “Drop it Like it’s Hot” (Snoop Dogg)
• “Push It” (Salt N’ Pepa)
• “Bust a Move” (Young MC)

I’m really happy about the inclusion of “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” on top of the previously announced list including “The Power of Love”.  Harmonix really knows their 80s hits.

Rock Band 3 will release for Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii on October 26th, 2010.

Dance Central will release November 4th, 2010 for Microsoft Kinect, which requires an Xbox 360.

Halo Reach Will Feature Forge, Special Edition Unboxing July 23, 2010

Bungie has announced the heavily enjoyed mode from Halo 3, the Forge Map editor, will return.  Forge was a major component of Halo 3 when it was released, enabling gamers to edit their own maps, something that had been previously restricted to PC gamers for Halo 1 and hackers in Halo 2.  Since the release of Forge, new gametypes, play styles and map variants are released every day, and Reach will continue that tradition.  Look really close, you’ll see Blood Gulch in there.

Also, take a look at this if you will.  It’s an unboxing of the special editions of the game.  Really high production values on this one, but seriously, I was really hoping for a behind the scenes DVD.  You’ll also catch in this video the just announced Halo Reach Xbox 360 Slim bundle.

Halo Reach will be released September 14th, 2010 exclusive to the Xbox 360.

Dead Rising 2 Prequel Coming August 31st July 22, 2010

Capcom has announced the release date of the next chapter in the Dead Rising storyline, Dead Rising: Case Zero is the prequel game that will bridge the gap between the events of Dead Rising 1 and 2.

You play as Dead Rising 2’s protagonist Chuck Greene, where you will have to fight your way through an infected desert town, at the same time keeping your daughter, who has been infected with the zombie virus, protected and her condition suppressed.

I’m really looking forward to this game.  I make it no secret I was a big fan of the first Dead Rising when it came on the 360 in 2006.  This game will sport a similar real-time system just like the first game had.  You will constantly be checking your watch to monitor your daughter’s condition while you fight off waves of zombies going from place to place.  This should be a very appetizing setup, and we may get to see just how Greene ended up in the casino city.  I’m personally hoping for a cameo by Frank West, the hero of the first game, but that might be too much to hope for, especially given how many ending possibilities the first game had.

Dead Rising: Case Zero will be released August 31st, 2010 for 400ms points only on the Xbox Live Marketplace.

Epic Gives the Power of Life and Death in Gears of War 3 July 22, 2010

And I thought I was stuck in 1997, Epic seems like they’re stuck in 1993, back in the heyday of the invention of 1-900 numbers.  Remember how that went?  Okay I’ll tell you.

In 1993, DC Comics had this brilliant idea with the heyday of interactive premium telephone and 1-900 numbers to set up a poll of the readership to determine the resolution of a cliffhanger.  But with something like this there had to be something major at stake.  Jason Todd, the second person to carry the title of “Robin” was trapped in a building with a bomb left by The Joker.  The bomb went off, and Batman was unable to get there in time.  Did he survive it?  You call one number and he dies, you call another and he lives.  You’ll be charged for each call.

Well what happened?  Because they had to pay for it, the majority of people who really hated Jason Todd called in.  When the final count came down, Jason Todd was going to die and there was nothing DC could do about it.

DC never did anything like that ever again.

In 2010, Epic is letting their fans vote on the life or death of one of their new characters, a new member of the Carmine family.  They will be offering two different avatar t-shirts for sale on Xbox Live Marketplace, one promoting that Carmine lives, and one promoting Carmine’s death.  Whichever shirt sells more will determine if the character will survive Gears of War 3.  All money from the proceeds are going to benefit Child’s Play.

The entire Carmine family has not done well in the Gears of War games, currently they’re at 0-2, with a different member of the family being killed at or around the beginning of each game.

Gears of War 3 is coming April 2011 only for the Xbox 360.

Microsoft Kinect Launches at $149 July 20, 2010

The price for the highly anticipated Xbox 360 peripheral, the Microsoft Kinect has been announced, and it’s $149 US.

Formally known as Project Natal and first premiered at E3 2009, the Kinect is a motion capture camera peripheral, allowing players full body motion capture for gaming input, increasing the functionality of the Xbox 360.

The price is 50 dollars higher than the Playstation Move controller bundle of the Move Controller and Playstation Eye Toy, but gaming reviewers seem to forget that the second part of the Move controller (similar to the Wii’s nunchuck) is an extra 25.

Microsoft Kinect is coming November 4th, 2010.  15 launch titles will come out with the peripheral.  It is only compatable with the Xbox 360.

Rock Band 3 Preorder Incentives Announced July 20, 2010

Harmonix has announced that several retailers are offering goodies to people who preorder Rock Band 3.

GameStop Pre-order* Opportunity:
GameStop shoppers who reserve Rock Band 3 for PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 in advance receive three downloadable Rock Band songs at launch:

• Burning Down the House by Talking Heads
• My Own Summer by Deftones
• Blue Monday by New Order

Amazon Pre-order* Opportunity:
Amazon shoppers who reserve Rock Band 3 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii in advance will receive access to an exclusive in-game guitar. Additionally, for a limited time only, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 owners who pre-order Rock Band 3 in advance on Amazon will receive $10 off a future videogame purchase.

Wal-Mart Pre-order* Opportunity:
Walmart.com shoppers who reserve Rock Band 3 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii in advance will receive a $10 eGift card for a limited time.

Rock Band 3 has really impressed me with all the new gameplay possibilities that it offers, including the keyboard instrument, multi-person vocals, and the pro mode.  By evolving the gameplay with every release they’re really offering their players a lot of incentive to buy the game at full retail price opposed to offering a song pack as DLC.

Rock Band 3 is coming for Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii October 26th, 2010.

DC Universe Online Taking Beta Testers July 20, 2010

Sony Online Entertainment is taking beta testers for the highly anticipated DC Universe Online, where you will be able to fight alongside the superheros of the DC Universe against supervillians and other rogues.

Beta tests are being accepted for both the PS3 and PC version of the game.  You can sign up for the beta here.

The PC version will also get a Collector’s Edition, featuring issue #0 of DC Universe Online: Legends comic book.

Gran Turismo 5 Coming November 2nd, 2010 July 17, 2010

Sony has announced that the most anticipated racer on the Playstation 3 finally has a release date.

This announcement ends one hell of an epic story about the development of the series on this console generation. Gran Turismo 5 has been anticipated since even before the release of the Playstation 3. Before the PS3’s release, there were two GT games in development at Sony, Gran Turismo 5 and Gran Turismo HD. HD was going to be released inexpensively and offer the player extra content in the form of DLC, allowing them to purchase extra cars and tracks. Gran Turismo 5 was expected to be a return to form of the classic series, a full priced game with all the cars and tracks released with the game.

Gran Turismo HD was cancelled before the PS3’s release, and it’s content consisting of one track and a dozen cars was released for free on the Playstation Network to the PS3’s early adopters. It was taken offline some time before the release of the Metal Gear Solid 4 80GB PS3 bundle, although anyone who downloaded a copy of the game before it was taken down is still able to re-download it.

Gran Turismo 5 on the other hand has been in a very long development. To tide gamers over, they actually released Gran Turismo 5 Prologue in 2007 and charged $39.99 for both the disc and downloadable version. It included only a few cars and a few tracks, and the Blu-Ray version contained an exclusive documentary on Gran Turismo.

A Collector’s Edition has also been announced to be released on the same day. It will retail for $99.99 US and will include a scale replica car, a custom key chain, codes for five downloadable cars, a 300 page book, and a numbered certificate of authenticity. More details about it can be found here.

Gran Turismo 5 will be coming November 2nd, 2010 exclusively for the Playstation 3.

Alan Wake DLC Achievements Posted July 16, 2010

The achievements for the first DLC episode of Alan Wake have been posted to Xbox Live.

A Friend in Need – 25G
Special 1: Find someone to help you.

A Friend Indeed – 50G
Special 1: Follow the signal to its conclusion.

Fast and Furious – 25G
Special 1: Make it through the final battle in less than 1 minute and 30 seconds.

Words Will Never Harm You – 25G
Special 1: Trigger all of the furnaces in the basement.

Run-On Sentence – 50G
Special 1: Complete the episode without reloading the game or restarting a checkpoint.

License Revoked – 20G
Special 1: Complete the episode without using a single vehicle.

Tick Tock – 30G
Special 1: Discover 10 hidden alarm clocks.

Cardboard Companions – 25G
Special 1: Discover all of the cardboard standees.

That makes for 9 achievements total and a possible 250 achievement points.

Alan Wake’s first DLC is coming July 22nd for free with included game code, 560ms points otherwise.