Video Games

How Can Sony Fix The PSN Debacle?

Now that
extensive measures have been put into place to protect the future
integrity of the network, Sony is readying the online services, at
least partially, to become live again the week of May 1. The rebuilt
infrastructure will sport some heavier security protocols and has
been relocated to a different facility. In order make amends with its
patient and loyal customer and fan base, the company is promoting a
“Welcome Back” program which will give users a chance to access
some premium content for a limited time, for free. While this may be
a nice gesture, most users are stating that it’s simply not enough to
counter the bad—and would like to see a different, more satisfying
approach.

Weekend Sales Thursday May 5th

Do the other nerds pick on you because you haven’t played Mass Effect yet?  If so, you can gain back your geek cred with Steam’s Daily Deal on the Mass Effect franchise.  ME 1 & 2 , along with the ME2 Digital Deluxe Edition are all half price.  Alas, none if the DLC is on sale. 

Mass Effect 3 Delayed

Gamers have been eagerly awaiting the final installment of the Bioware’s Mass Effect trilogy since they beat the played through Mass Effect 2 when it came out in early 2010. When Bioware and EA unveiled the teaser trailer of Mass Effect 3 at last years Spike TV VGA awards show, fans of the games were excited. Not only was the final installment of the Mass Effect trilogy on its way, it was set to be released in less than a year, claiming Winter 2011 as a release window.

Daily Deals Wednesday May 4th

Normally we don’t do a sales report on Wednesdays, but today there’s just so much going on that we had to get them all in one place.  Every other Wednesday Good Old Games has a “GoG Gem Promo” on some neglected classic.  This week it is the Adventure game Syberia, which you can get for $3.99 today and tomorrow. This is a great price on something that anyone with the least bit of curiosity about the Adventure genre should grab.

“Tell Me About The Rabbits, Grom” – Of Orcs and Men Announced

It’s no fun having green skin in the white man’s world.  In Of Orcs and Men you’ll play as an Orc soldier in the elite Bloodjaw legion, defending your fellow monsters from the cruel persecution of those filthy humans and their oppressive Empire of Men.  It’s up to you and your goblin sidekick to defend the Orcan homelands against the humans, by using the combination of Orcish might, and Goblin stealth.

Gears 3 Beta Report: Volume 3

We’re at the
halfway point so far in the Gears 3 beta and hopefully tomorrow will see the
release of some new stuff. In the mean time, it’s time to discuss the maps
currently available and how best to play them to avoid as many brutal deaths as
possible. Let’s get to it.

Checkout:

By far the
most teamwork-orientated map in the beta, there is an insane amount of cover
and corners to hide behind to take advantage of the chainsaw and sawed off.
Don’t get too camp happy though because the digger launcher and sniper are on this map
and they can easily break a camp heavy setup. There are also two sets of
grenades on this map, which is something you should really take note of, and nade
plants don’t seem to be anywhere as common as they are in Gears 2.
That’s
something you can take advantage of; people aren’t anywhere near as
cautious as
they used to be regarding these. The golden rule of this map is teamwork
and if you’re communicating and working well with your team you’re
going to
do well on this map. Rifles are pretty dominant for anyone with a sharp
eye,
too.

Outland Demo Impressions

Recently a new XBLA title piqued my interest as I shuffled through the new releases. Actually, it wasn’t the title so much as the cover: a shadowy figure etched with glowing blue and red runes and wielding a massive sword. Outland has a style that borrows tiny bits from other hit games. While the description in the Marketplace says that Outland is “inspired by Prince of Persia” (and both were produced by Ubisoft), there’s very little similarity between the two games. Both heroes climb ledges and use a sword, I suppose, but then so do Link, Dante and BOTH Assassin’s Creed assassins, and none of those are even remotely similar games. But this game is…different.