Finally, an ‘Aliens’ game that seems to do the property justice: a 4-man squad of Space Marines must survive an overwhelming force of Xenomorphs armed only with their wits and some iconic weaponry (including my personal favorite, the M41A1 Pulse Rifle). This game can’t come out soon enough.
Aliens: Colonial Marines drops Spring, 2012.
Echelon Software’s Black Powder Red Earth V1, which I wrote a review for back in late June, is now available for purchase. Authored by Jon Chang and Kane Smith and illustrated by Josh Taylor, Black Powder Red Earth V1 takes place in near future Basran, a post-Iraq state. It follows the actions of a PMC against, primarily, Iranian-backed groups and agents.
You can buy your copy here.
I love how Activision feels it appropriate to release a video on ziplines at the Call of Duty XP event, considering the majority won’t be attending in the first place. At least they got Jen Taylor (best known for her role as Cortana in the Halo franchise) to voice the safety procedures. The history of ziplines in the CoD series is a nice touch.
Call of Duty XP is an event taking place September 2nd & 3rd in Los Angeles, California. Besides the MW3 multiplayer reveal, there will also be a $1 Million CoD tournament and other live events.
Equal parts funny and violent, this trailer for the upcoming ‘Rezurection’ DLC Pack for CoD: Black Ops shows the work the researchers at the zombie labs undertake to understand and better combat the moon zombie menace. ‘Rezurection’ includes the 4 original World At War zombies maps in addition to ‘Moon’, as well as the zombies soundtrack and a premium zombies dashboard theme. As a nice bonus, if you already have the original maps through the hardened/prestige edition of Black Ops, you get this content pack for free. Score!
‘Rezurection’ drops August 28th on Xbox Live for 1200 Microsoft points ($15)
Gears of War calls it Horde, Halo calls it Firefight, and Treyarch developed CoD games gave it a unique twist by introducing zombies, but whatever you call it ‘Survival Mode’ is a staple of the modern gaming experience, especially in the FPS market. Now, an Infinity Ward developed CoD title is getting the treatment, and they’ve put own unique features to try and make it their own. For starters, you earn cash for kills that can be put towards new weapons, ammunition, perks and airdrops/assists. AI-controlled Delta Squad, anyone? Along with this, later rounds introduce suicide soldiers and dogs, who explode the C4 strapped to their person if they get too close to the player or are killed, and the Juggernauts, characters featured in MW2’s Spec-Ops mode who wore EOD suits, toted LMGs and took a lot of punishment before they finally died.
Besides showing off the features of the new mode, several new weapons and attachments were also revealed, including the red dot sight used in CoD4 along with the MW2 variant (maybe they’ll be selectable based on preference, like the rds/holo/reflex in games past?), another long range scope attachment (or that could just be the Remington RSASS; went by a bit too fast to tell) and several new weapons: if you pause around 0:38-0:40 you’ll notice the USAS 10 (a South Korean made automatic shotgun with a detachable box magazine, featured in Bad Company 2), M16A4 and M60E4 are included in the game. In addition, the Remington ACR is chambered in this game for 6.8 mm Remington SPC instead of 5.56, at least that’s what the in-game name ‘ACR 6.8’ seems to imply.
MW3 drops November 8th, 2011
Possibly the greatest video game commercial song ever, ‘Oh No You Didn’t’ from Mercenaries 2: World In Flames is hilarious in the way that despite its subject matter being about a betrayed mercenary seeking revenge, it’s sung by a quartet backed by piano. It shouldn’t fit, and yet it does, and the result is pure genius.
Coinciding with the release of the 2012 Hot Shots Calendar are these iPhone skins, made by Diablo Skinz. The central theme of the calendar is gaming, as you can see with the above image (protip: Lookit the CoD: Black Ops cover and compare). You can pre-order the calendar itself right now, and the skins will be available on the Hot Shots site September 1st.
The Battlefield series is finally getting on the customizable weapons bandwagon so prevalent in modern FPS’s (I’d say CoD 4 – onward has a huge part in this) with Battlefield 3. While it’s true that Bad Company 2 did introduce weapons optics and improved handling specializations, the selection was extremely limited when compared to similar games. Now, DICE has introduced a full range of attachments for your weaponry including optics, grips, and barrels, much like in the Medal of Honor reboot’s multiplayer, which they also designed. With this addition, Battlefield 3 is making even greater strides towards FPS of the Year, although as always there is some stiff competition to contend with.
Dimensional Optics, a company that specializes in the development of active and passive 3D eyeware, now offers several of their line of 3ACTIVE™ 3D glasses in two styles of camouflage patterns: Desert and Jungle. Aside from the camouflage design, like all Dimensional Optics 3ACTIVE™ 3D glasses the glasses are lightweight with flexible temples for increased comfort, come with a storage case and cleaning cloth and feature rechargeable batteries. Factor in the relatively low price compared to other active 3D glasses and you have a great choice in 3D eyeware for gamers and military members alike.
Original press release – PR Web
http://www.dimensionaloptics.com/
This article was written by Richard W. Graves, head writer for tacticalfanboy.com
We’ve still got a bit of time before Battlefield 3 is released, and the open beta isn’t accessible until September. With actual gameplay footage being so sparse, how does one sate their curiosity for this highly anticipated sequel? Why, with leaked alpha footage of course! Check it out before it’s taken down. It looks pretty damn amazing.
Take a look at this video for the newly expanded Horde mode for Gears of War 3. With fortifications, objectives, weapons drops, a money system and boss rounds, it looks like a fresh new take on the king of all survival modes.
Gears of War 3 drops September 20th, 2011.
Part mech combat, part tower defense, Trenched is the latest downloadable XBLA title from Double Fine. It takes place in an alternate history shortly after WWI where two radio operators survied the “Broadcast”, a mysterious signal that killed a large segment of the population. As an unexpected consequence both gain incredible intelligence and knowledge of advanced technology. One of the operators, Frank Woodruff, invents mechanized legs while the other, Vladamir Farnsworth, essentially creates television in the form of ‘Monovision’. This somehow drives the later mad, so he creates Monovision robots nicknamed ‘tubes’, and uses them to begin his conquest of the world. In response, Frank’s knowledge goes towards the invention of the ‘Mobile Trench Brigade’, a fighting force comprised of giant, mechanized fighting machines that can also set up stationary defenses.
Sounds cool, right? Well, if you have an Xbox, you’re in luck, because it’s available now.
Arma2, the well-known, highly customizable military simulator program, is now free… if you don’t mind a few missing features. What it does have: free military simulation with accurate battlefield simulation including bullet ballistics and material penetration, a comprehensive range of 300+ weapons, units, and vehicles, multiplayer with 50+ players and hundreds of AI controlled units in large-scale maps, free dedicated server support for Linux and Windows OS users, and mission editors and advanced scripting. What it’s missing: HD graphics, support for user mods (no money, no MultiCam), the story campaign, Operation Arrowhead, and BAF and PMC addons. Basically, it’s not missing much, feature-wise, and the price is right, so I know I’ll give it a shot. It’ll be out sometime this month.
Thank the powers that be! Games these days have had a severe lack of the C96 Mauser. Oh, and the rest of the game looks great as well. Between the crazy floating city, warring factions, ability-altering vigors and nostrums, and tears in the space-time continuum, Bioshock Infinite looks to be a rip-roaring good time when it finally comes out next year. The wait is almost unbearable (for the C96 clone, that is).
Duke Nukem Forever has been out since Tuesday, and though the reviews are extremely diverse, personally I love it. It’s really a game for the long-time fans, and nobody else. Gearbox Software understands this, and as such has created a lot of excellent merchandise, like the Duke Nukem barware. These glasses are available with two different logos, Duke Nukem’s Titty City or Duke’s Whiskey, done in the style of Jack Daniel’s. Also available is the restocked Whiskey shirts, featuring the same logo as the barware.
Nobody called me out on this yet, so I figured I would before anyone had the chance. I blame the bad source I used. 😛
Anyway, Black Ops Content Pack 3, titled Annihilation, will be released June 28th exclusively on Xbox Live (for a month, or so). It features 4 new MP maps and a new Zombie Map, and will cost $15. Fans are rejoicing, haters are hating, and I’m still left going ‘meh’. After seeing that Zombie footage, I think I’ll skip it, and instead let the Youtube masses discover every secret for me.
For Call of Duty: Black Ops, this situation seems oddly familiar: info in the form of an ad is leaked that details the name of the new content pack and the titles of the maps featured within. The only difference with last time is A) the image is out of focus, and B) the title of the zombie map is unknown, due to said lack of focus. What we do know is the pack is titled ‘Retaliation’ and features 4 brand new MP maps: Hangar 18, Hazard, Drive-In, and Silo. According to the user on the Black Ops form who posted the image, the pack will be released June 28th. This, like the other packs, will be exclusive to Xbox Live for a limited period.
I’ll get it, but only to see where they could possibly take Zombies next. How can they top playing as Freddy Kruger, Machete, Buffy, and Merle Dixon?
Brothers in Arms is a series by Gearbox Software that takes place during WWII. It was unique for a FPS in that actual strategy was needed to win battles. Having AI controlled members of your squad lay suppressive fire on the enemy while you used an overhead map to plan and execute flanking maneuvers was often the key to victory. At least, that was the old BiA games. This one looks to be going the route of Inglourious Basterds, trading historical accuracy for crazy characters, violent action, and a fair share of comedy. We can only wait and see until next year to find if Gearbox jumped the shark with their latest attempt at WWII interactivity.
I covered GunSmith already from its appearance at the E3 Microsoft conference, but a quick reminder paired with the official announcement video couldn’t hurt. GunSmith still gives you total control over customizing every aspect of the weapons in your arsenal from the furniture to the internals using voice and movement commands. Various keywords act as shortcuts that allow you to skip directly to certain attachment options or even auto-create a firearm based on what your mission requirements are. There’s also an in-mode firing range where you can test your newly-constructed weapon, all controlled using the Kinect sensor. Although there’s no announcement on whether the Kinect sensor will have a purpose in Ghost Recon: Future Soldier outside GunSmith, this is a nice exclusive bonus for those with Xbox 360s.
By now, Charlie Sheen’s epic [drug and booze fueled] rants about how incredible he is are far from current events. Still, they match up perfectly with online gameplay from Black Ops, since it’s not uncommon to hear trash talk of this magnitude from the various randoms met in open lobbies. Awesomely funny stuff.
E3 is happening right now, so it’s only expected that a lot of new video game information would be coming out, but this is something I couldn’t have foreseen in a million years. 505 Games is publishing Blackwater, which will take place in a fictional North African town. As a Blackwater operative, you and your team will battle two Warlords’ factions in “an intense, cinematic shooter experience” for the safety of the town. The game is being produced with consultation from Blackwater founder Erik Prince and former Blackwater members, who are ensuring “… accuracy of moves, gestures, and gameplay.” In addition, the game will also feature a selection of officially-licensed weaponry. To be honest, 505 Games isn’t the most… high profile publisher, so I’m not expecting anything amazing. Plus, with all the bad vibes associated with the Blackwater name, I’m surprised anyone would even want to develop a game based on it.
In a surprising but completely pleasant turn of events, Ghost Recon: Future Soldier is one of the few games I’ve seen so far that really makes good use of Microsoft’s Kinect peripheral for Xbox 360. To be specific, Future Soldier has a Gunsmith feature that fully interacts with Kinect, through both movement and voice commands. It allows you to completely customize any weapon in your arsenal from optics to the furniture to the internals to suit your in-game needs. Besides this, you can also actively test you combinations via a virtual firing range, using motion controls to move your character and fire your weapon. Come Future Soldier’s release, it looks like my Kinect sensor will finally have a purpose besides collecting dust.
Yes, we all knew this was coming.
It’s time to play a really great drinking game callled ‘Spot The Inaccuracies’! It’s quite simple really: watch the vid, and every time you spot something inaccurate (compared to reality) with this demo of MW3, take a shot of your favorite brain-killing alcohol! The best part is it doesn’t take the entire vid to get drunk off your ass, just every damn firearm featured. To be a bit easier on all those involved, let’s ignore how painfully unlikely a Russian invasion would be, and just stick with stuff like:
– Why is Delta doing this mission? An operation like this would most likely be handled by DEVGRU.
– Why are Delta operatives using the MP5? They stopped using that years ago! The HK416 called, it’s feeling unappreciated.
– Are those dummkopfs at Infinity Ward, and Sledgehammer Games, still calling the AKS-74U the AK-74U? The later doesn’t exist! It’s just one more letter, dammit! Fix that ****! Also, it’s a carbine, not an SMG, so take 2 shots.
– Speaking of which, why are the Russians using P90s?
– Whatever else you can find. Might be a wee bit inebriated by this point…
Basically, they crapped on the guns again. Big surprise. Even without a full weapons list I already have enough ammunition to complain until release day. Still, there’s a good 6 months or so before the game is released. Maybe we’ll see some unexpected changes, but I highly doubt it. I still be buying this game, though. For all its faults, MW3 looks like a decent source of mindless action.
Modern Warfare 3 drops November 8th, 2011 for all major consoles and PC.
If you own an iOS device (iPod touch, iPhone, or iPad) then over 25 phrases from the ultimate alien ass-kicker himself are at your command, via the official Duke Nukem Forever Soundboard. Although one of the most definitive Duke quotes of all time, “It’s time to kick ass and chew bubblegum, and I’m all out of gum”, isn’t a part of this official soundboard from 2K Games and Gearbox, other notable quotes like “Hail to the king, baby” and “I’ve got balls of steel” are in full use, along with many brand new to DNF. The very best thing about this app, however, is its absolutely free, so go on and download it ASAP. Plus, as with most soundboards, you get an unintended source of constant hilarity: using it for telephone conversations, laughing in the background while whomever is on the receiving end is continuously confused at the strange responses you offer through Duke’s voice, although I don’t actually condone that sort of activity.
Duke Nukem First Access Club members really do get all the best perks.
First, The exclusive DNF demo was up for grabs just hours ago. After getting my code, I anxiously awaited for the hefty 1.53 GB file to download to my Xbox. What followed was a brief but satisfying tribute to those old school ‘Build engine’ FPS, full of fast-paced action, awesome one-liners, fun weapons, and crude humor; in other words, an extremely deserving sequel to Duke Nukem 3D. My favorite loading screen help message was something along the lines of ‘Grabbing a turd from a toilet won’t decrease your Ego, even though we really wanted it to’, and the first weapon you get a hold of, the Devestator, has a 69 missile capacity. Remember, crude humor.
Another awesome perk for being a part of the FAC is getting the first multiplayer add-on pack for free. First Access Club members who register their codes before 11:59 PM (time zone not given) on June 9th in Europe and June 14th in the USA will later receive a code to get the first Premium multiplayer add-on pack for DNF, tentatively priced at $9.99, or 800 Microsoft points. Although the contents of said pack aren’t reveled yet, likely bonuses include new maps and/or accessories for your in-game Duke MP avatar. I guess it pays to be loyal, especially for a game 12 years in the making.
Duke Nukem Forever drops June 10th in Europe and June 14th in the USA.
