The staff looked at the entries and chosen the winners of our HOI3: Their Finest Hour contest. Before handing out the prizes, we’d like to thank Monty the wargaming bulldog and Paradox Interactive for making this possible. Read on to learn who won.Read More
October 2012
Bioshock Infinite Shows Off America
Posted on October 21, 2012 by Jason Bassett
BioShock Infinite looks like it’s going to be another beautiful game. With the newest incarnation of the franchise leaving the aqua-metropolis known as Rapture and know going into a completely different direction: an American sky city known as Columbia. The city is known for it’s vast amount of color and it’s one of the most beautiful cities that we have seen in a video game this year. With that said, take a look at a new trailer that recently surfaced. Showing more of the air-city and some of the newer techniques that protagonist Booker DeWitt will be using in the game.
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Need For Speed Kinect Controls In Action
Posted on October 20, 2012 by Les Major
The new Need For Speed: Most Wanted is set to launch from the starting line October 30th and the latest features are looking pretty handy. I havn’t played Mass Effect 3 yet, so I can’t relate to the comparison in the video below but the new kinect additions to NFS sound like something I would use. This is what I expected from the voice controls in kinect.
Basically you’re able to bring up in game menus while racing by just using voice commands. Of course this is just an additional feature and you can do everything the usual manual way, but check out the video below. It’s actually quite neat and quicker than the usual controls.
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Major Lay-offs At Sony Affecting Divisions Worldwide
Posted on October 20, 2012 by Rae Michelle Richards
Sony confirmed via press release last evening that massive lay-offs have hit the company. One of the world’s largest videogame, phone and television manufacturing companies will continue to shed 10,000 workers or 6% of its workforce. According to the release all areas will be affected including online services like the Sony Entertainment Network (formally PSN), Sony Ericson Smartphones and Research and Development.
Sony Japan reported a loss of several billion yen for the fiscal year 2013 and hopes to have things turned around by the time their fiscal year 2014 results are reported sometime next year. These layoffs have been staggered across Sony’s major divisions, the original intent to lay-off 10,000 workers hinted at this past April and August. The next phase of these reductions will take place at Sony’s Tokyo headquarters as the company moves office space to save money this October, as well as a shutdown of the Sony Ericson Partnership.Read More
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Astro Gaming Announces 2013 Refresh
Posted on October 20, 2012 by Jason Bassett
If you’re a pro gamer then you know about the Astro Gaming brand. The headphones that include some of the best sound quality a gamer can ask for. Not to mention, it has a slew of different customizable options that will make Sackboy wet his sack.
Astro Gaming has announced brand new refreshes of their latest headphones and mix amps: ASTRO Gaming A40 Headset and MixAmp Pro!
Some of the new features include:
- New Quick Disconnect Cabling System: Updated version of the ASTRO Quick Disconnect system, offering the same flexibility of using multiple cable types and lengths, but now plugging directly into the headset via a 3.5mm 4-pole jack instead of the oiriginal mid-cable release. This increases reliability and durability while also making it easier to change to preferred cable lengths and update cables as desired.
- Best Sounding ASTRO Headsets Ever: The 2013 Edition ASTRO A40 has re-tuned drivers and enclosures with improved low-end response and less distortion at high volumes making them the most accurate ASTRO headsets ever
Aside from the better sounding headsets, the Quick Disconnect Cabling System will feature a more robust way of traveling around with your headsets. The A40 will allow the user to disconnect cables straight from the headset itself. Having used headsets with similar features, it’s one of those awesome ways to make sure your headsets are neat and tidy.
The Astro Gaming A40 and MixAmp pro is now available and is available at all Best Buy stores and the Astro Gaming website. The headsets are priced at $249.99.
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Borderlands 2 | Review
Posted on October 19, 2012 by Joshua Rust
Pandora. It’s been a few years since we last met … my how you have changed. Gone are the dull browns and bleak backdrops. Vanished is the weak storyline. Gearbox didn’t just rest on their laurels and pump out a sequel that is just like its predecessor. No, Gearbox has taken Borderlands shoved it into a metamorphic pod and created a whole new improved animal. A game that takes everything the original was and turns it into something even more incredible.
The hardest choice was picking which character to start out with because all four look so great. Maya, the Siren, is a great choice because of her team health regeneration. She also is the Borderlands equivalent of a battle mage. Able to freeze her enemies in the air while you and your friends unleash upon the helpless victim. Salvador, is probably my least favorite. Not to say he isn’t useful, his Gunzerking can wipe out a mass crowd of enemies. He just wasn’t my playstyle. Zer0 & Axton are amazing in their own right as well. Axton can upgrade to rockets on his turrent (or even have two turrets out at the same time). He’s a great crowd controller and an all around balanced character. As for Zer0, his melee can be amazing if you can stay alive long enough to use it. He’s great at sniping enemies, especially if you take the right skill tree upgrades.
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Mass Effect 4 Will Be ‘Shepard’-less
Posted on October 19, 2012 by Joshua Rust
That’s right everyone – Shepard will not make it to Mass Effect 4 (or the equivalent name to the next game). In a recent interview, art and design producer Fabrice Condominas from BioWare Montreal, told VG247:
“There is one thing we are absolutely sure of – there will be no more Shepard, and the trilogy is over.
“This is really our starting point. Now the Mass Effect universe is vast, and very, very rich. So at this point in time, we don’t even know what kind of time frame we’re going to be in. All we’re doing is more gathering ideas from the teams.
“So first, we don’t want to make ‘Shepard 2′, or Mass Effect 4 with like, ‘oh there’s no more Shepard but you’re a soldier in the universe’. So this will be a very, very different context for sure, and nothing has been decided on the rest.”
Personally, I’d like to see you be able to choose the race you want to start with. Then have the story cater around the race you have chosen through dialogue and the storyline. For instance if you were a Krogan and you had to go to the Salarian’s for help, you might have to do extra things to convince them to help you – or vice versa. Or you could just kill them all and take what you wanted…after all, when will a Krogan ever ask a Salarian for help?
But that was just an example of how Bioware could open up the missions to a whole new complexity. What are your thoughts?
bioware Bioware Montreal Commander Shepard Electronic Arts Fabrice Condominas Mass Effect Mass Effect 4
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Mugen Souls Is Shipping Out To Retailers
Posted on October 19, 2012 by Les Major
It seems like there may have been a slow down with Canadian orders since both EBGames.ca and Amazon.ca still list Mugen Souls as unavailable or on pre-order, but the latest NIS game is finding its way into the hands of gamers! We’ve heard news of a production issue that slowed down the process but thankfully it looks like everything is cleared up now.
Some reviews havn’t been sparkling for the game, however if you’re a hardcore NIS fan like myself I’m sure you’ll hardly notice as you grind through the game and enjoy it’s storyline. I still have yet to get my copy but I do plan to review the game as soon as possible from an NIS fanboy perspective. That’s not to say I’m biased, just that I enjoy their content and have a history of playing many of their titles.
Be sure to check out our other Mugen Souls Articles and decide for yourself. To me this one looks like another classic, in a new direction that works. I guess I’ll see as I write the Broken Joysticks review in the coming weeks.
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Halo 4’s Beautiful Launch Trailer
Posted on October 19, 2012 by Les Major
The Halo series has had it’s share of live action wonderment before, Produced by David Fincher and directed by Tim Miller this launch trailer for Halo 4 continues that trend. Mr Miller is the visual effects creative supervisor behind Scott Pilgrim and is the director of the new Deadpool movie.
A nice touch of the launch video is that it never shows Master Chief’s face and cleverly obscures it the entire time.
Are you excited? November 6th is fast approaching!
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Is ‘Haunts’ Kickstarter’s First Failed Game?
Posted on October 19, 2012 by Rae Michelle Richards
There’s been a lot of buzz about Kickstarter lately. With several big name projects popping up including names like Doublefine, Ron Gilbert and others. It was only a matter of time before one of these projects went belly up and it appears Haunt, by Mob Rules Games is the first such causality.
A turn based title with horror elements, Haunts aimed to allow players take the role of either average humans exploring a haunted house or the monsters who resided inside. The game would have featured a distinct black, white and red visual style, not unlike the pallet used in games like Madworld.
Announced on the Kickstarter page, president Rick Dakan announced that not only had the entire $25,000 raised on Kickstarter been spent but the game’s programmers had moved on other projects, including one fellow who is now employed by google. Dakan offered to allow the programming staff to coninute to work on the game in their spare time but both declined.Read More
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The Heroes Who Made Quest For Glory Need U
Posted on October 19, 2012 by Les Major
Not to be confused with all the recent U puns for the Wii-U, the creators of Quest for Glory are back looking to make a new PC game with some hardcore fans and some of the folks from Jolly Rover, MacGuffin’s Curse, and Emerald City Confidential! Unlike most Lori and Corey Cole adventure games, this one focuses on a named “hero” Shawn O’Conner. He’s an thief who ends up getting caught in his thieves guild initiation. It’s either jail or reform school for Shawn, so he chooses to be sent off to Hero-U! The play style sounds a bit different too, check out the page below for full details!
Where you come in is the development team is funding this project on kickstarter! To no surprise the money is flowing in by the thousands and for $20 you can secure yourself a copy of the digital download version. That and you get access to the games production forums so you can give your feedback as well!
Join in and see all the details on Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption’s Kickstarter Page and check out the games official blog at Hero-U.Net
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New Sleeping Dogs DLC Coming This Halloween
Posted on October 19, 2012 by Les Major
Nightmare in North Point is Sleeping Dogs first DLC with a story campaign. Not only is it coming out October 30th just in time for Halloween, but it’s style is absolutely beautiful! The trailer has a wonderful feel of a Chinese horror movie and this really looks like a worthwhile addition to the game. Take a look! No price has been released yet it seems.
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Steam Sales This Weekend Let No Sleeping Dogs Lie
Posted on October 19, 2012 by Les Major
Undercover drama Sleeping Dogs is 50% off on steam this weekend for $24.99! From the creators of the True Crime series this open world action game takes you to Hong Kong. For half price this looks like a fantastic deal. I’ve been eager to check out Wei Shen’s story and it looks like a great time to join in.
Payday: The Heist is also on sale for 75% off at $4.99. This team co-op game focuses on fending off the cops as you try to make a daring bank robbery. It’s also a free play weekend for Payday so if you want to see what the gameplay is like before you commit, it’s available until 1pm Sunday PDT.
I can’t help but feel there’s a theme here. Both games are on sale till 10am Monday PDT.
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A Sneaky Nintendo Counterfeiter Is Facing Jail Time
Posted on October 19, 2012 by Seung Lee
Just in case you thought Nintendo wasn’t doing anything about piracy, here’s some proof: A UK man was charged with selling counterfeit Nintendo games. 41-year-old Justin Success Brooks was finally brought down by an investigation conducted by Nintendo and UK Interactive Entertainment. From 2009 to 2011, Brooks managed to make about 600,000 Euros (or $962,000), by selling several DS, DSi, and Wii games.
So, we have two counts of fraudulent trading, two counts of supplying an article to use in fraud, two counts of unauthorized possession of goods bearing a trademark, and one count of unauthorized use of a trademark. Brooks has already pled guilty to every charge, and he’s currently awaiting his punishment, on November 9, while on bail. I’m thinking the lesson here is to stay in school, and take up an actual job. Why risk being caught, and losing all of the money you made (plus jail time), when you can make money legitimately and feel proud?
Check out the Croydon Guardian for the full scoop.
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Anarchy Reigns gets Western Date and price cut
Posted on October 19, 2012 by Jeff Wade
Platinum Games’ arena brawler/semi Madworld sequel Anarchy Reigns was originally set for a release this summer, before a last minute delay by publisher SEGA pushed it in to 2013. Now, the game is finally set to enter the ring early next year and will come with a budget price.
The studio announced today via Twitter that the open world fighter will hit American markets on January 8 at a reduced $29.99 price point. Europe will get it a few days latter on January 11 at a similarly reduced price point.
Platinum Games has expressed frustration in the past about the international release of Anarcy Reigns. Originally released in July in Japan, localization and devolpment was already completed and full English text and voice acting is included on that version of the game.
Anarchy Reigns was the last title in SEGA’s publishing deal with Platinum, and the complications with its release caused some concern about the health of the studio. Considering the incresasingly rosy relationship with the studio and Nintendo on Wii-U projects The Wonderful 101 and Bayonneta 2 as well as Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima stating that he would only do a sequel to the action spin off Metal Gear Rising Revengance with the team at Platinum offer some peace of mind for fans of the action developer.
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