Left 4 Dead DLC announcement soon!

All the controveresy surrounding the rather quick release announcement of Left 4 Dead 2 at E3 has left a lot of L4D fans reeling in frustration and anger. Why?  They believe it is far too soon to be releasing a sequel to Left 4 Dead (PC/X360 only) in just under a year between releases. However, Valve, the developers of the series have stated that they will be supporting the 1st Left 4 Dead as planned with more DLC coming soon in an announcement today. The Valve plan is for both games to run concurrently alongside each other which rarely happens in the Video game industry as people/consumers usally move onto the sequel. According to Valve:

 At a recent press event that took place in London earlier today, Lombardi told us, “We plan to keep supporting Left 4 Dead 1. There will be some announcements coming before summer’s out about what’s coming there, and then we haven’t shown everything that’s in Left 4 Dead 2 yet.” Lombardi added, “I think 8, 9 months from now once everything’s been out for a while and everyone’s had time to see the complete product of Left 4 Dead 2 and see continued support for Left 4 Dead 1, they may sort of see what we were up to and what the method of our madness was there.”

The upcoming DLC will be for both PC and Xbox 360, he confirmed. As for Left 4 Dead 2, you’ll be able to try before you buy with a pre-release demo. “With Left 4 Dead in particular we’ve found that word of mouth really is the strongest thing,” Lombardi told OXM. “With Left 4 Dead 2 we plan do a demo before the game comes out that’ll have multiplayer in it and hopefully we can continue the free weekends with the full game post-launch.”

So, there you have it from the horse’s mouth ( or dead horse!). more L4D1 DLC is coming and it’s free before the sequel, L4D2 very soon, both games will run concurrently with each other. This may in fact work, it may be a dead loss……..(sic)

About Trine:

“In Trine™, players work together to create and use objects to solve challenging physics-based puzzles and defeat dangerous enemies. Set in a kingdom on the verge of chaos, a warrior, a wizard, and a thief are bound by a powerful artifact known as “the Trine”. Together, they must battle the forces of space, energy, and motion to put an end to the reign of the dark sorcerer that rules the kingdom.

Featuring three-player cooperative play, each character has specific talents to invent new solutions to puzzles and original ways to defeat enemies. The Wizard can use magic to create objects and new paths, the Thief can use her agility and accuracy to quickly deal with enemies, and the Warrior unleashes pure destruction everywhere he travels.”

Trine will be coming to PCs in summer 2009. A PlayStation Network (PS3) release is also planned.

Download the demo here

Square Enix Sued for $5 million.

Some news that does put an extremely good games publisher in a good light. Square Enix are currently being sued by an ‘Esther Leong’, a San Farncisco Resident, according to Kotaku, claims that ’lied about or concealed its monthly fees, penalties for late payments, interest, restrictions and other things that should have been fully disclosed at points of purchase” — basically, Square Enix has been “deceptive”.

The court filing reads:

The deceptive advertising, unfair and undisclosed business practices, and concealment concern, among others:

i. Licensing of the online games software disguised as a sale;
ii. Monthly fees (”fees”) to play the online games;
iii. Penalties for late payment of the fees;
iv. Interest charges for late payment of the fees;
v. Charges while the online game account is suspended;
vi. Termination of the right to use the online games for late payment of the fees;
vii. User restrictions and conditions related to the online games;
viii. Termination of game data for payment of the fees.

honestly, I dont know whether this is true or not, having not played FFXI online or that Square Enix were being deceptive but it does appear odd that these regulations were not specified. We only tell from the outcome expecially if its someone aftedr cool million bucks!

Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Adventures Episode 1: Fright of the Bumblebees
Available for Xbox 360, PC
Publisher: Xbox LIVE Arcade
Developer: Telltale Games
Release date: 5/27/09
Rated E for Everyone

Summary from Telltale Games:

“Join Wallace & Gromit in Fright of the Bumblebees, the first of four grand adventures! The inventor and his loyal pooch are faced with a big problem. They need 50 gallons of honey by tonight – far more than their bees can handle! When Wallace’s plans to step up production go horribly awry, it falls to Gromit to fight off the angry swarm. Featuring a brand new story with the same slapstick humour, cinematic visuals, and charm fans of the Wallace & Gromit films have come to love, Fright of the Bumblebees kicks off this four-episode series in cracking style!”

Supposedly a great first introduction to the series but there are reported glitches, I guess there will be updates though.

Oh Valve what have you done. You have spurned a community to uprise against you. And by that I am talking about the Steam Group called “L4D2 Boycott” that has been created with over 2000 members already over at the Steam site. They are angry over the announcement of Left 4 Dead 2.

Here are their issues and I quote word for word :

The few people here who defend the decision to make L4D2 seem to not understand what everyone is upset about. I’ve tried to summarise the most common issues I’ve heard people having in hopes that it clears things up:

* Significant content for L4D1 was promised, and never delivered
* Valve put little faith in L4D1 since they almost certainly started working on L4D2 right after release
* The fact that L4D2 is nearly identical to L4D1 will decimate the community for both games
* The announced date is not nearly enough time to polish content or make significant gameplay changes
* The new character designs seem bland and unappealing so far
* L4D2 is too colourful to fit in with L4D1’s visual aesthetic
* The fiddle-based horde music is extremely disliked, though the differently orchestrated music is otherwise welcome
* L4D2’s release will result in a drop in quality and frequency for L4D1 content, even compared to before
* The community has lost faith in Valve’s former reputation for commitment to their games post-release

To add insult to injury, Doug Lombardi has confirmed that “This is a full priced sequel.

Well let’s see what Valve does about this if anything at all.

The Secret World is an upcoming MMO due for release in 2010 by Funcom, developers of Anarchy Online and Age of Conan. The game promises a blend of MMO gaming combined with Alternate Reality Gaming and social networking.

The game takes place in recognisable modern day cities and you start in either New York, London or Seoul. You play a human agent investigating ancient mythologies, urban legends and dark magic cults. You can customise the look of your character at any time, by altering your facial features and clothing.

The game is unique for an MMO as there are no classes or levels. Your human character learns new abilities and advances through the game by the choices of missions that you decide to investigate. You can decide to learn ranged attacks, melee attacks, martial arts and magical attacks. Funcom describe this as choosing your own deck of cards with which to play.

This will lead to an interesting new direction for grouping with other players, as the traditional notion of groups consisting of healer, damage and tanking classes is not applicable. Funcom stress that there will be considerable group-based and solo content based around combat, puzzle solving and adventuring.

So what is the end goal of the game? Funcom are still vague about this, saying only that there is a distinct linear plot to discover which will have a conclusion, but will also leave the possibility of future expansions. The project leader Ragnar Tornquist describes the game as a jigsaw puzzle and the players role is to piece it together.

Crysis 2 is the second game of the planned Crysis trilogy, and EA has just confirmed it’s destined for the PC, Sony PS3 and Xbox 360.

That’s a big step for developer Crytek, as Crysis 2 will be the first game it’s made for consoles, as well as the first being built using its CryENGINE 3 game engine.

There is no release date for the game as of yet but I am sure more details will come during E3.

I can’t wait to play this as I didn’t get to play the first one, it seemed only NASA computers could get the game running.

Capcom has announced it’s E3 2009 lineup of games. Check out the fighters, sequels and new game experiences that await you! Here’s what’s been announced, so far, by Capcom:

Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth
Bionic Commando® (PC)
Dark Void™
Dead Rising 2
Fate
Lost Planet® 2
Marvel vs. Capcom 2
Mega Man® Star Force 3
Monster Hunter Freedom Unite
Resident Evil: Archives
Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles
Spyborgs
Street Fighter IV (PC)
Tatsunoko vs Capcom

From Capcom

A new LEGO Star Wars game is coming out, but it won’t be on gaming systems. The good news is it will be free and the first playable demo is online now. It’s LEGO Star Wars: The Quest for R2-D2 and you can play it now here

About LEGO Star Wars: The Quest for R2-D2, from developer Three Melons:

“It begins when, lost in space, R2-D2 starts emitting a distress call without knowing that his signal contains the blueprints to build a powerful secret starship. Whoever can amplify that signal will get both the droid location and this unique new weapon! Players can choose to join either side of the Clone Wars conflict and fight their way to victory. If you’re wondering if Anakin Skywalker, Obi Wan Kenobi and Count Dooku will be in it, the answer is yes! You’ll also get to show off your light saber skills.

The full game will consist of fifteen levels to be released throughout the year, which will include an asynchronous multiplayer option and a few other special features.

Well you are a Big Daddy in this one, although I think most of you knew that This game takes place about 10 years after the events from the first game.

As you can see the little sisters are back. Sigh…those glowing eyes are so irresistable. I did not harm a single little sister in the last game and I don’t think I will in this one.

Remember the splicers? They are bigger and better in this one. They will be formidable opponents. I am getting creeped out already just writing this.

There have been improvements to lighting and sound and even the ocean floor has changed expect to see other misshapen things when you go for your underwater constitutionals.

Looks like Peter Molyneux has once again refused to confirm or deny the existence of a PC port for Fable II.

Lionhead studios were asked earlier this year if there was going to be a port and this is what they said:

“We’re not working on a PC version of Fable II,” said a Lionhead employee. “If this changes we’ll make sure you know about it.”

I will take a “no comment” over a no at any point in my life. What about you?

Okay football fans Konami is promising that this installment is going to be better than the others they have put out. There are many improvements and I will share with you some of them.

The AI of both adversaries and referees has been tweaked in order to give gamers a bigger challenge and to keep the game balanced at all times. Visually the game is said to be improved with new life-like animations added to the players of the teams and also to the venues where the matches will take place.

Also, the team at Konami has successfully secured the Europa League License (the former UEFA Cup competition), adding it to the license for the UEFA Champions League competition. More details about these features will be announced soon by the development team at the Japanese company. Look forward to the game in autumn on the PC, the PlayStation 3, the PlayStation 2, the Xbox 360, the PSP and mobile phones.

Be aware of a supposed fake email from WoW I am including it as received:

Greetings,

“We have a short but important announcement that we wanted to share with our players. World of Warcraft is currently an operation of Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (USA), but starting April 14, 2009, the game operator will be Blizzard Entertainment’s central European entity, Blizzard Entertainment S.A.S. (France), and will be referred to as such in the game’s Terms of Use going forward. Our European office has been an essential part of our global operations since before the launch of World of Warcraft, and this update better reflects its role within our organization, as well as our continued commitment to our European players.

This is an administrative change — your World of Warcraft game experience will not be impacted. If for any reason you do not agree to this change you may terminate your account with effect from March 31, 2009 by accessing the cancellation feature in the account management page at https:donotusethislinkoryoumayberippedoff.com
Note that your continued use of the World of Warcraft service indicates that you agree to the change.

We’re looking forward to continuing to enhance your World of Warcraft gaming experience in the year ahead, and as always, we wish you happy continued adventures in Azeroth!

The World of Warcraft Team”

This is assumed to be fake by the World of Warcraft experts who claim that the page is off and the web page source code reveals very little. While they apologise if they have caused people to panic, they also just want those who spend hours playing the game to be safe.

Thanks to the fantastical age of technological wizardry and workarounds you can now play your Wii titles in 720p. Yes Wii fans it’s true, you don’t have to be stuck in 420p anymore.

I am including to videos for you too see what the games will look like if you try this yourself, but remember you need to own the games themselves, as acquiring them through any other nefarious means is very much illegal.

Don’t forget to click the HD button so you can get the real effect of what it will look like compared to the lower quality.

The Hunter Avalanche Studios (the creators of Just Cause) is promising to give you one of the most realistic simulation of buck hunting ever designed. With a few different game features from social networking to online play, The Hunter provides a sandbox island where patience and careful planning win out over run and gun play.

The game has just been realeased in Open Beta, utilizing the same “login to play” system alongside ID Software (Quake Live) and EA (Battlefield Heroes). You can play it for free right now, you only have to download a file of about 400mb and make an account. The birds flying in random patterns and the deer sniffing the air and scratching themselves is just the start of the fantasic graphics you will notice.

Download here

This game was slated for PC release only is now being ported the the Xbox 360. Sherlock Homles against Jack the Ripper who was never caught mind you, should call for an interesting game. But I have a feeling that Sherlock Holmes will get the job done.

The PC version, developed by Frogwares Studio, hits Europe in May and will release in North America sometime in the summer. No word as of yet for the Xbox 360 date.

I might give this one a go.

The First Saints Row left its audience with a cliffhanger that had even the most hardcore gamer on the edge of their seat. Saints Row 2 picks up where the first one left off, and this time you can fully customize your character. You can pick what their faces look like, what kind of clothes they wear, and even their voice! Saints Row 2 also has the addition of some new weapons. Early on in the game you have a chance to grab some pepper spray, which when sprayed at anyone makes them double over and gag for a brief period. The style of game play in Saints Row 2 is pretty much the same as in the first one; you do a mission, and then have to do mini missions to fill up your experience bar and then complete more missions. It feels a little bit like a “grinding” leveling game, where you have to constantly work to get the amazing cut scenes, but each mini mission provides it’s own entertainment value, whether it is racing a favorite car of yours, or activation the hydraulics in a monster truck, and flying over rocks and rival gangs. The cut scenes and characters in Saints Row 2 have been drastically improved, expressions are amazingly detailed, and the characters look like real people; and each character acts the same whether they are in the cut scene or in the passenger side of your car, shooting at police or rival gang members. Saints Row 2 also includes online multiplayer; only in this multiplayer, you actually see the person you are playing with, and they can help you do missions and get experience. Saints Row 2 provides a feeling that your character really is a hardcore gangster, who no one can best, and although some parts are difficult, in the end it is worth it, when cops come flooding into your streets, and you’ve got two pistols in your hand and a neighborhood full of people willing to defend you, you feel like you truly are the badass man in town.

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Mirror’s Edge Getting Time Trial Map Pack DLC in Jan, 2009.

Faith Sporting a Gun and nice Handbag.

According to Kotaku and various other News sites the wonderful athletic Mirrir’s Edge will be getting a specialised DLC in the form of Time Trials Map Packs in January for Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC. The DLC Map Pack will contain seven new maps for your ‘running enjoyment’.

According to Kotaku ‘The freedom of movement and control in first person has been the most popular aspect of Mirror’s Edge so we decided to distil these down to their purest form for this map pack,” says Owen O’Brien, Senior Producer, DICE. “We deliberately chose a more abstract aesthetic that is still within our distinctive art style and then focused on flow and gameplay to create an experience and challenge very different from the main game.’ The PC version of this game is due for release on the 13th Jan, 2009 in North America and 16th Jan, 2009, in Europe.

According to Kotaku, ‘ Players will be challenged to achieve the fastest times possible on nine races across seven all-new and totally redesigned Time Trial maps. No guns, no cops, and no city: this is true aesthetics, agility and flow that will challenge any runner. This special DLC pack will be available for $10 USD or 800 Microsoft points. As an added bonus, all PLAYSTATION 3 Mirror’s Edge fans will be able to download an additional map for free.

“The freedom of movement and control in first person has been the most popular aspect of Mirror’s Edge so we decided to distil these down to their purest form for this map pack,” says Owen O’Brien, Senior Producer, DICE. “We deliberately chose a more abstract aesthetic that is still within our distinctive art style and then focused on flow and gameplay to create an experience and challenge very different from the main game.”

Mirror’s Edge has been awarded various awards for Best Original Game at E3 in July 2008, Best Action Game at E3 this year by IGN and Best Xbox 360 game at GC Developers Conference in Leipzip this year. The title is also on temporary sale for this week in UK GAME Stores for £24.99 so I smnapped up a copy as I been awating a price reduction. I will do a full review soon but I haveonly played the Prologue so afr and can asssure you that this game deserves the praise it is getting at the moment although this is not reflected in sales unfortunately.

Article: Skidpro

Game Rating: 9/10

Source: http://kotaku.com/5101853/mirrors-edge-getting-time-trial-map-pack-in-january

The IGN verdict is in and Prince of Persia passes their review test with flying colours gaining a very respectable 9.3/10 from their reviewers.

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Over at JJ Games they’ve posted up the pictures below of video gaming pumpkins/Jack-o-Lanterns and just in time for Halloween!

There are some crazy pumpkin designs here and I still have my pumpkin to carve so I’m getting some good ideas too:

8 Bit Mario

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