Video Games

Halo 4 Details Likely on February 29

Dying for more Halo 4 details? Fans might not have that much longer to wait, as it appears that Microsoft will be showcasing the game at their Xbox 360 Spring Showcase event on Feb. 29 in San Francisco. A post on Twitter took a screenshot from the Finnish magazine Pelaaja showing Halo 4 to make an appearance at the event. The line reads “Halo 4 and other new products on display.” Halo 4 is still set for release this year, so more details about it should be appearing any day now. As always, Microsoft and 343 Industries have not commented.

Law and Order: Legacies Chapters 1-3 Review

Telltale Games has done very well for themselves lately. First they made releasing games in episodes a legitimate endeavor, then they went and snatched up a bunch of licenses perfect for point and click adventure gaming such as; Jurassic Park, Back to the Future and Sam & Max. Now they’ve moved into the crime solver gaming space with Law & Order: Legacies, which is not only available on PC, but also on Mac and iPad.

Jak and Daxter Collection to Distribute Games Digitally in Separate Pieces

Regardless of my opinions on the state of HD Remakes, the fact remains that this Tuesday (the 7^th), the newest HD Collection pack will release in the form of the Jak and Daxter Collection.  This seems to make sense, as the Jak and Daxter series is fairly highly regarded, and there is a high likelihood that stores will sell a lot of copies. 

But the interesting part to me comes in the way that they have decided to distribute the game.  As per usual, there will be a disc out in stores that one can buy for $39.99 that includes Jak 1, 2, and 3, but there is also going to be a digital distribution that will make it so that you can download any and all of the three games separately, which means that if you didn’t care for the third but really enjoyed the first two, you can download the first two onto your console and completely bypass the disc.

MLB 12 The Show Introduces new Pitching and Batting Controls

MLB The Show, arguably the best baseball game, brings two new gameplay wrinkles to MLB 12.  Zone Analog Batting combines the Zone Batting mechanic with Analog Batting to provide, what San Diego Studio’s believes, the most realistic batting simulation available.  Zone Analog Batting allows the batter to swing with the right stick and choose their hitting location with the right.  Timing is key in giving yourself ample time to read the pitch and select your hitting zone.  Poor timing and plate coverage will drastically affect the quality of contact on the ball, assuming you didn’t whiff, leading to pop flies, ground balls and easy outs for the defense.

PlayStation 4: What Sony Needs to win the Next Console Generation

Sony’s next console may very well be 2 or more years away but as rumors are starting to swirl about Microsoft’s new console I thought it would be an ideal time to ponder what Sony needs to do in order to prevent the type of lackluster start that mired the PS3.  The PS3 has struggled to recoup the ground it lost to the XBox360 with its year late start and six hundred dollar price tag.  The XBox360 has dominated in North America and, even though the PS3 has been making quite the comeback, sold ridiculous numbers just this winter holiday season.  Sony then has a few lessons to learn on and since they are being extremely tight lipped on Playstation 4 details, this article is merely speculating on what I think would help Sony succeed. 

New York Video Game Critics Circle Pats Self On The Back

Video game journalism is having a bad week in terms of ethics.  Days ago it was announced that G4 and IGN host Jessica Chobot was secretly in the cast ofMass Effect 3 even while she was reporting on the game. Last night Harold Goldberg the founder of the NY Video Game Critics Circle was presented with an award from his own organization for Best Video Game Book, beating out authors like Neal Stephenson and Jane McGonigal.

Quarrel Review

Quarrel takes two simple game variants and smashes them together in a manner that is not only fun, but addicting. The main idea behind Quarrel is to take the “Divide and Conquer” scheme of Risk and put it together with Scrabble or what others may know as Words With Friends. The idea is so well put together that it seems ludicrous that it has not been around until now.