Daily News - 11th October 2011 - Mass Effect 3 Gets Co-op

Mass Effect 3's Multiplayer rumours Come True!

On a slow news day, Mass Effect 3 comes out on top! As we learn that the rumblings that started last week after an African game store had a leaflet declaring the game had multiplayer, are actually true. Apparently the game's multiplayer will be all co-op, with 4 co-op missions and a campaign "bonus" called Galaxy At War, in which a team of 4 (each player with their own unique class, weapons and abilities) will become a mini strike force, liberating worlds that are key to the war against the Reapers. Doing so will affect the "Galactic Readiness", effectively making it more likely you will receive the best ending to the game (I imagine). Ofcourse, Bioware say it is entirely possible to get the best possible ending to the saga without having to touch the co-op, which is a massive relief. It seems as though the multiplayer won't even have you play as Shepard at all, nor any of the crew of the Normandy, as Bioware had this to say on their official forums:

"In multiplayer, players will create custom characters to fight on different and unique fronts in the war. This will include the ability to play as favorites like Turians, Krogans, Asari and more… each with their own unique set of abilities."

I'll be honest with you here, I'm fucking foaming at the mouth to get my hands on Mass Effect 3. As far as I'm concerned the more ways there are to play that game the better, and if you're telling me I can play as a Mother. Fucking. Krogan... Then I'm gonna need some fresh boxer shorts, because holy FUCK.

This image comes from an Australian magazine cover, one of the first magazines to break the story.

Trailer Round-up - Week of 3rd October 2011 - Modern Warfare 3, Assassin's Creed: Revelations and Dead Rising 2: Off The Record

Trailer Of The week this week is for Dead Rising 2: Off The Record. I mean, that trailer contains a song called "He's Frank" and 2 lyrics, repeated ad-nauseum. It's a Dead Rising game alright.

Dead Rising 2: Off The Record - Frank's Back

Frank West is here to kill zombies and chew bubble gum... and I've never seen him chew bubblegum

WWE All Stars 3D - 2 Generations, 1 Ring

Who doesn't love old-school wrestling promos!

War Of The Worlds - Patrick Stewart In A Park

Looks interesting!

Modern Warfare 3 - "Redemption Trailer"

Ofcourse I had to post this, I think it looks a bit average personally though. We'll find out soon.

Self-Defence Training Camp - Knees To The Face

The most violent game of the year? Just maybe!

Saints Row: The Third - Mascot Juggling

This game knows exactly the direction it's going in. I love it!

Dead Or Alive 5 - Extended Trailer

KO indeed!

Need For Speed: The Run - Gameplay

The cars look good... the faces do not!

Assassin's Creed: Revelations - Ezio Is Old

Right at the bottom. Where it belongs!

Daily News - 8th September 2011 - Warhammer 40k: Space Marine, UFC and Battlefield 3

Warhammer 40k: Space Marine's Free Multiplayer DLC Coming In the Next Few Weeks

Fans of the newest Warhammer game are probably happy enough already (I hear that game is pretty good!) but Relic are piling chocolate sauce on top of the ice-cream sundae and releasing a free DLC that will add basically Horde mode to the game. The DLC will be called "Exterminatus" and will be out on October 25th. It'll feature 2 maps and 4 player co-op, not bad for free!

Billions of orcs getting murdered by you and your friends? Sounds like fun!

UFC Over Xbox Live Is A Thing That's Happening

At E3 it was mentioned at the Microsoft press conference that UFC would be available on the xbox before the end of the year, and we've now got the details. The service will launch on December 1st and comes with plenty of extra feautures, like interactive fight cards, view past results and see the fighters stats. Buying the pay-per-view through the Xbox app will also get you the weigh-ins, preliminary fights and press conferences, and You'll have to buy the events with a credit card, not with Microsoft points. I love me some UFC, but it can get pretty expensive when you don;t have a job. Interesting though!

The interface all looks very flash, I like it!

Battlefield 3's Second Disc Will Have Some Juicy Textures On It!

The console versions looking worse than the PC version is something that's to be expected nowadays, but what's not to be expected is a game maker doing something about it. The content of the 2nd Battlefield 3 disc for the 360 was a bit of a mystery, but now we know that a large chunk of the disc will be dedicated to high-res textures which you can choose to install onto your system. I don't know why you would ever choose not to install the textures but I guess choice is always a good thing.

Maybe now the game will come within reach of the PC? Who knows, looks nice though!

Daily News - 7th September 2011 - Battlefield 3 Beta and Max Payne 3

Battlefield 3 Beta Gets A New Map On PC, With Jets And Shit!

The Caspian Border map that was featured in that amazing trailer I've posted a few times is now available to PC players of the Battlefield 3 Beta. The map will be available all weekend to help them stress test it with 64 players online at once. Now I absolutely hate mouse and keyboard controls for shooting games, but I'm gonna have to put that aside and get my ass on the Beta this weekend. Here's a gentle reminder of the map in question.

Max Payne 3 Screenshots Arrive

For me, Max Payne holds no weight. It's not because I didn't like it or hated it, it's because I never played it. I know people who did though and I'm sure Max Payne 3 has them excited. Some fresh screenshots have come in today, most are of a bald guy walking around so I've just taken the 5 that have some have action in. Take a look and enjoy!

Daily News - 5th and 6th September 2011 - Duke Nukem Forever DLC and Neverwinter

Duke Nukem Forever Getting Multiplayer DLC... For Some Reason

If there's one thing Duke Nukem Forever was missing, it was more multiplayer maps and reduced load times... okay, sarcasm aside, reduced load times would actually have made that game miles better. Gearbox are releasing the "Hail to the Icons Pack" next week which will add a few new multiplayer maps, modes and weapons and cost 800 Microsoft points (or just under £7) unless you bought into the Duke Nukem First Access Club, which you didn't. Because you're not an idiot. The consoles versions are also getting patched to include the reduced loading time I mentioned before, and the 360 version is also getting "improved texture streaming". There's never been a better time to own Duke Nukem Forever! (technically)

Looks fun right?!? If you guessed no, you win!

Neverwinter Will Now Be A Free-To-Play MMO

Neverwinter was announced in August last year as a Dungeons and Dragons based RPG with some multiplayer, but Cryptic Studios (Star Trek Online, Champions Online) have decided to keep the game in-line with the business plan they're used to and make it free-to-play from the start. The most exciting part about this F2P MMO is that Cryptic say none of the content will be subscriber only, which is cool but begs the question, why subscribe? We'll find out when the game launches next year.

I actually think only good things can come from the recent explosion of free-to-play MMOs. I love 'em!

Daily News - 4th September 2011 - Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer and The End Of Assassin's Creed

Mass Effect 3 Looks Extremely Likely To Have Multiplayer

A while back speculation started about a multiplayer Mass Effect game after a joblisting for a 'Multiplayer programmer (Mass Effect Franchise)' popped up online, infact, tonnes of people thought the original teaser image for Mass Effect 3 was actually for a multiplayer shooter set in the Mass Effect universe. While it's been a long time since then, fresh evidence seemed to point to a multiplayer mode in Mass Effect today when a leaflet for the game turned up for a South African retailer listing, amongst other bonuses inside the collector's edition, an "online multiplayer pass". It's possible it's just a loose translation for the Cerberus Network activation code, a feature which was also in Mass Effect 2, but I think it's more than probable we'll be effecting mass around our enemies over the intenet some time in the future.

Intergalactic badass Shepard looking to "pwn" some "noobs" in the near future

Desmond's Assassin's Creed Story Will End In 2012

Desmond, the main dude in the Assassin's Creed games, isn't gonna be around forever, although I'm sure Assassin's Creed fans already pretty much knew that, as it's laid out in the fiction of the game, but Alexandre Amacio, the Creative Lead for Assassin's Creed: Revelations confirmed it today:

"In Assassin's Creed we set up a timeline with this whole end of the world plot of December 2012. That's fast approaching, and the story we have to tell, we obviously need to do it before we arrive at that point. It would be stupid of us to be centering a game on a semi-reality and then have that conclusion happen after that date in real life. Assassin's Creed is all about cycles - we have the Ezio cycle and the Altair cycle, and both of those are set to conclude in Revelations and we have the Desmond cycle, which is set to end on December 2012. There's many cycles within the brand - that's the whole point. History is our playground."

So there you go Desmond fan. All good thing things come to an end, and so do all bad things. Either way, Desmond's toast.

very few images of him not looking terrible... this one also terrible, but whatever

Trailer Round-Up - 26th September 2011 - Assassin's Creed: Revelations, The Darkness 2 and I Am Alive

Trailer Of The Week is I Am Alive. I really like the concept of the game, and the execution seems to fit in with that perfectly. It's a really good trailer.

I Am Alive - Gameplay Teaser

Looks pretty darn interesting!

The Binding Of Isaac - Launch Trailer

I loved Super Meat Boy, so I feel obliged to post this.

Ace Combat: Assault Horizon - Tokyo DLC Trailer

I don't care about Ace Combat, but this looks cool

Assassin's Creed: Revelations - Extended Story Trailer

Assassin's Creed fans are terrible people.

Shank 2 - Announcement Trailer

I never played the first Shank, but I always regretted it

Fez - Another Extended Screenshot

So serene, so calm, so peaceful.... So give it to me!

Saint's Row: The Third - Professor Genki's Super Ethical Reality Climax

Seizure warning. For reals. Fun warning also. But that seizure warning is real. Seizures!

The Darkness 2 - What Is The Darkness?

I meant to play the original a few months back but other stuff got in the way, I might just do it now though.

Daily News - 29th and 30th September 2011 - Battlefield 3 Beta, Physchonauts and Fez

Battlefield 3 Beta Is In Full Swing! Don't Miss Out!

Despite a few server issues, the Battlefield 3 Open Beta has kicked off, and kicked off old school. Operation Metro is the only map available right now, and you need to download Origin to play the PC version (which launches from a browser...) but I've been playing it today and so far I've been really enjoying it. There are no vehicles in the beta, which is disappointing, but you can level up and unlock new weapons which is fun. Definitely, if you're even remotely interested in playing the game then get the beta... although, to be honest, you probably already have.

Join me in gay Paris, won't you?

Psychonauts Is Coming To Mac, And Gets Steam Achievements

If you own Psychonauts on Steam you may have noticed the game get an update. Well, the update adds some Steam Achievements and cloud saves. Also, apparently the game's final stage has been made more difficult, for some reason. If you own a Mac Doublefine still have you covered though, because the game is getting ported there along with an IOS App where you can view all the game's Memory Vaults along with some audio commentary! Bet you Psychonauts fans didn't see this coming today! What a treat!

I own the game, I've just never played it. My bad.

Fez Release Moved Back To Early 2012

:(

But it won't happy fast enough!

Daily News - 27th and 28th September 2011 - City Of Heroes For Free and a Game For £1!

City Of Heroes Going Free-To-Play

Joining such illustrious superhero-based MMOs as DC Universe: Online and Champions Online, City Of Heroes is diving headfirst into what some (myself included) would consider an over-saturated genre... even though it only has 2 other competitors. So many games are going free-to-play now that I feel like you guys know the usual restrictions on a free membership, though just incase, here's a link to the restrictions.

I dunno what's going on in this screenshot... but I'll find out soon!

OnLive Wants You To Buy A Game... For £1!

OnLive, the service that lets you stream games from a server miles away (nullifying the need for a decent graphics card or a gaming rig) has recently launched for us UK'ers, and as a special offer, we get our first game for just a single pound! Now I've not tried the service for myself but to be honest, for £1 you might aswell just give it a go, especially if you've not played the newest Deus Ex, or Borderlands, or Just Cause 2. all great games, all available for the lowly sum of just £1! Hopefully you guys will give it a try, though pick carefully! You only get 1!

OnLive - First Game For £1

£1 for Just Cause 2 is amazing value

Daily News - 26th September 2011 - Old Republic, Dead Island and Crysis

Star Wars: The Old Republic Will Come Out This Year... Just

I don't personally see the point in this, but Bioware have revealed the long-awaited release date of Star Wars: The Old Republic, and it will be with us on December 22nd. 3 days before Christmas! Isn't that great news? No, I don't think so either. I can't really fathom the logic that goes into releasing a game a week before the year ends. The game will have a pretty typical subscription fee (about £15 a month) with discounts available if you pay for a few months in advance. It's not exciting but it's news!

That's alotta Sith!

Dead Island Film Rights Acquired

Since that initial trailer there has been somewhat of a bidding war in Hollywood for the rights to making a film based on it. Well yesterday Lionsgate, who have such horror films as Saw and Hostel under their belt, emerged the victors of the battle for the rights to the film, with Lionsgate's Joe Drake stating that:

“Like the hundreds of journalists and millions of fans who were so passionate and vocal about the Dead Island trailer, we too were awestruck. This is exactly the type of property we’re looking to adapt at Lionsgate: it’s sophisticated, edgy, and a true elevation of a genre that we know and love. It also has built in brand recognition around the world, and franchise potential.”

So there we go, expect a terrible film called Dead Island some time in the future!

Crysis Comes To Consoles In 2 Weeks!

The legendary PC powerhouse Crysis is totally coming to a home console near you on October 4th (Provided you own a PS3 or Xbox360)! You'll be able to get the game for 1600 Microsoft Points, which comes to about £15.

Will it look as good on consoles? I guess... no.