Coming out of sync with the other manufacturer’s release cycle, Nintendo’s Wii U is in the position of depending on ports of existing AAA titles to flesh out its launch lineup. This provides a unique opportunity – however fair it is – to compare the new console’s performance to what the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 versions have to offer, as well as to see what it’s newfangled gadget pad can add for a game that already works fine with the current control paradigm. Unfortunately any comparisons that can be made are really subtle for the most part, but nevertheless allow us the liberty to dig into them a bit in this review, though much of it will be repeated from my earlier take of the 360 game.

Read More

Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. today announced a playable demo for METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE will be available via download on PlayStation Network and Xbox LIVE on January 22.

The free demo will showcase Chapter 1 of the game and introduce Raiden as the central character – a child soldier transformed into a cyborg ninja killing machine, equipped with a high-frequency katana blade and a soul fueled by revenge.

Read More

2K Games and Gearbox Software announced today that Sir Hammerlock’s Big Game Hunt, the third add-on content campaign for Borderlands 2, is available for download today worldwide* on the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system and Windows PC. To date, the critically acclaimed shooter Borderlands 2 has won more than 55 end-of-year awards worldwide, including “Best Shooter” and “Best Multiplayer” at Spike’s 2012 Video Game Awards and “Game of the Year” from G4TV.

Sir Hammerlock’s Big Game Hunt takes place in Aegrus, the uncharted territory deep in the swamps of Pandora and features new appearances by familiar friends like Sir Hammerlock and Claptrap. It also introduces some all-new characters, like Hyperion Scientist Professor Nakayama, who wants nothing more than to derail your hunting trip. With Borderlands 2’s cheeky adventurer as their guide, vault hunters will explore the all-new environments of The Sun Swamps while on memorable quests to collect irresistible new loot and fight devastating new bosses, such as the cave-dwelling beast Thermitage. All the while, up to four friends will cooperatively hunt down new enemies such as the spider-like Two-Legged Drifters, flying Slagged Spores and insane Vampire Witch Doctors – that unleash swarms of blood-thirsty bats. Vault hunters beware: this is sure to be the most dangerous Borderlands hunt yet!

Screenshots:

Trailer:

Read More

Sports games are often an indirect benchmark of hardware nowadays because they tend to be ported to everything under the sun, plus their yearly development cycle typically means we don’t have to wait long for them to come out after a launch. EA Sports meanwhile has been more willing to try out new features than one might expect from such a dominant publisher, and FIFA 13 is no exception. Much like Madden 13 and its embrace of Kinect features, the latest version of EA’s soccer offering aims to use the Wii U gamepad to maximum potential, for both better and worse in some ways, as we’ll find out in this review.

Read More

Trion Worlds premieres a high-intensity trailer showcasing massive co-op for Defiance, the highly anticipated online open-world shooter coming this April on console and PC. Packing in a preview of bad-ass bosses, ultra-modern alien-tech weaponry, insanely large battles, and cool vehicles, the co-op trailer sets the stage for the ultimate gaming experience to enjoy with friends this Spring. Gamers interested in joining the Defiance Advance Mission Beta event (PC only) scheduled for January 18-20 can enlist at the all new www.Defiance.com.

Defiance is set in the dynamic and constantly evolving world of an alien-riddled, terraformed San Francisco Bay Area. Players encounter and face spontaneous Arkfall events and face legions of hostile creatures in a huge open world setting up massive cooperative battles like no other game.

Defiance is scheduled for release in April 2013.

Defiance Co-op Trailer:

Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One was the first experiment in the venture of a multiplayer Ratchet and Clank game. This was a co-op game that allowed 4 players to team up together and play in a Ratchet & Clank platforming adventure. This game was fun though it was found to be lacking since sharing a single screen just made the game too clunky because you had little control over the camera. The experiment continues with yet another multiplayer heavy Ratchet & Clank game with Full Frontal Assault. This is a greater departure than All 4 One as it uses whole new style of play while still maintaining most of the traditional Ratchet & Clank mechanics. Does this experiment work better than the last or is it back to the drawing board when it comes to a multiplayer Ratchet & Clank Full Frontal Assault?

Read More

This generation started with Call of Duty 2 at the Xbox 360’s launch in 2005. Since then, 7 more iterations of the franchise have arrived on the console and has been one of the consoles largest driving forces. In 2010, Treyarch took the fight of off away from the contemporary and placed it during the cold war with Call of Duty: Black Ops. This title had arguably one of the better storylines in the franchise but fatigue could be felt in the multiplayer. Now two years later, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 has been launched and moves the conflict into the future. Can Treyarch continue the great single-player storyline that the first established while making the multiplayer feel fresh again?

Read More

Fresh on the heels of the biggest entertainment launch of 2012 – Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, and their award-winning development studio Treyarch are kicking-off 2013 with the announcement of Revolution, the first massive Downloadable Content (DLC) Pack for the record-setting game. Since the launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops II, millions of fans have taken-on the game’s ambitious near-future fiction, engaged in over 427 million hours of near-future warfare in non-stop multiplayer action, and survived hordes of Zombies. Set to launch January 29 first, exclusively on Xbox LIVE for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft with other platforms to follow, Revolution delivers an unprecedented level of content, and for the first time in Call of Duty DLC history, a new bonus multiplayer weapon.

“With Black Ops II, the team set out to challenge assumptions about what fans should expect from Call of Duty, and there’s no exception with Revolution,” said Mark Lamia, Treyarch’s Studio Head. “It starts with the massive amount of content that Revolution offers: four distinct multiplayer maps, an entirely new Zombies map and new Zombies mode, and a new bonus weapon. But quantity is just the start – it’s the variety of new gameplay options in Revolution that sets it apart, making it our most compelling DLC offering to date, and a must-play experience for Call of Duty fans.”

Revolution takes players to unexpected new locales the world over. “Downhill” is set in the ski country of the French Alps, where players fight their way down the slopes and through a ski lodge, while avoiding the moving hazards of the mountain’s gondola system. Opponents must dodge the floodwaters in “Hydro” as they contend for dominance of this hydroelectric dam facility in Pakistan, filled with treacherous spillways. “Mirage” pits players in competition amidst the sand dunes of a dilapidated luxury resort in the sandstorm-devastated Gobi Desert, where a range of long-distance and close-quarters combat will mix up the action for all play styles. Finally, “Grind” transports players to the historic birthplace of skateboarding, California’s Venice Beach, where they will battle it out through the ramps and half-pipes of this massive, epic skate park in a multiplayer environment comprised of unique curved architecture requiring players to adapt and learn new ways to take cover. Each map in Revolution delivers a uniquely exhilarating new landscape for tactics and battle.

Preview Trailer:

Read More

NVIDIA today announced Project SHIELD, a gaming portable for open platforms, designed for gamers who yearn to play when, where and how they want.

Created with the philosophy that gaming should be open and flexible, Project SHIELD flawlessly plays both Android and PC titles. As a pure Android device, it gives access to any game on Google Play. And as a wireless receiver and controller, it can stream games from a PC powered by NVIDIA GeForce GTX GPUs, accessing titles on its STEAM game library from anywhere in the home.

Read More

Today, Ubisoft announces the Assassin’s Creed III’s second downloadable content pack, The Battle Hardened, is now available on Microsoft’s Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system and PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system. This downloadable content pack will be available for Windows PC on January 15, 2012.

The Battle Hardened pack extends the Assassin’s Creed III multiplayer experience with new playable characters and maps:

• Three multi-player characters including the influential Governor, the ferocious Highlander and the fearsome Coyote Man

• Three multi-player maps including Charlestown, Fort St-Mathieu and Saint Pierre

Read More