Video Games

Weekend Sales September 2nd

It’s shooter weekend on Steam for the weekend of 9/2/2011, with the entirety of the Call of Duty series on special (excluding MW3 pre-purchases and Black Ops DLCs) to celebrate the Call of Duty XP convention. Speaking of Call of Duty: Black Ops, it’s also free multiplayer weekend on the game, so Black Ops Multiplayer is free (and the Black Ops title is 33% off) and it certainly sounds like time to get your gaming on. Prices range from USD 7.49 (DLCs for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2) to USD 39.99 (Call of Duty: Black Ops).

August Xbox Review Round-Up

The Xbox 360 had some big games drop this month, but also had a special promotion for indie titles as well that showed off some neglected games from smaller developers.  Not to mention the Summer of Arcade event which gave us several surprises in the form of downloadable arcade titles.  Let’s look back at the games our Xbox Department reviewed over the past month.

PS3 Sales and PSN Usage Way Up

It’s been a week of great news for Sony in regards to the
PlayStation 3. Not only have sales increased massively since last month’s price cut, resulting
in a 400% increase in PS3s sold, but PlayStation network accounts have gone up
by 3 million new users since the hacking incident. Managing
Director of Sony Computer Entertainment Australia, Michael Ephraim announced
the sales increase stating: “This new price point really represents fantastic value for money as PlayStation
3 delivers full HD games, Blu-ray capability, plus music, movies, catch-up TV
and more on demand. Australians love not only games, but also the quality
home entertainment PS3 provides.”

PAX Prime 2011: Mass Effect 3 Hands-On

The Penny Arcade Expo takes place twice yearly, in Seattle (PAX Prime) and Boston (PAX East). It’s a celebration of all things nerdy; video games are predominant, but PAX also caters to tabletop gamets, roleplayers, fans of the Penny Arcade webcomic and nerdcore music aficionados. In the words of Jerry “Tycho” Holkins, one of the founders of Penny Arcade, it’s the convention that he and his creative partner Mike “Gabe” Krahulik always wanted to go to.  I was able to get hands-on with a couple of games over at PAX this weekend. One of those was Mass Effect 3.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine Embraces Yet Another New Genre

In the wise words of Four Leaf Tayback from Tropic Thunder, “You must put those boys in the s**t.”  Well ladies and gentlemen, that’s the idea behind THQ and Relic Entertainment’s Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine. 
No longer will you be able to play the role of armchair general from
your comfortable view atop the battlefield, nor will you be able to hide
behind the barrel of a gun.  Instead, in this expansion into yet
another new genre for the “Warhammer 40K” franchise, you will take on
the role of Captain Titus, a Space Marine of the Ultramarines chapter. 

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine: Hands On

Ever since the original Space Hulk video game came out, Warhammer 40k fans have been asking and waiting for a game that truly captures the unparalleled power of playing one of the Emperor’s space marines. Now, finally with the upcoming release of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine, that request looks like it’s finally going to be answered. We’ve tried out the game and are here to give our impressions on what to expect when it comes out on September 6th.

T.E.C. 3001 Review

When attempting to visualize Phoenix Game Studio’s T.E.C. 3001, think Sonic the Hedgehog meets The Terminator. That was my first impression of the game upon starting, and it stayed with me for the entire time.

Why this mash-up, you ask? For starters, the android that you control, called a T.E.C. (Tesla Energy Collector), looks eerily similar to the T-800s from the Terminator series. From the metallic sliver finish of the android to its human form, comparisons to the T-800 can be easily made.