Mass Effect 2 was a huge critical and commercial success when it was first released in January of this year, and EA have now confirmed to IGN that Mass Effect 2 will definitely be coming to the PlayStation 3, with a release date of January 18, 2011 in the US, and January 21 for Europe.
I installed Cataclysm with the expectation (Mostly based on previews and the already introduced interface and gameplay changes) that what I was getting into wasn’t exactly going to be an inspired work of art. Instead, it seems that Activision-Blizzard is heading down the path of least resistance, aiming to satisfy the most common denominator while weakening two of the greatest elements that made the vanilla so great: exploration and teamwork. Sure, lip service is paid to lore and the new zones are given a flashier face, but it’s clear that these sentiments are a façade for a hollow processor of souls that strain to escape them and return to the safe zone of their maximum levels and min/maxing number crunching. While Cataclysm adds a tremendous amount of new areas and material, it is all merely derivative and simplified: in other words, instead of stoking the imagination (although the new instances buck the trend), the game mostly personifies boredom.
I installed Cataclysm with several expectations, mostly based on previews and the already introduced interface and gameplay changes, that what I was getting into wasn’t exactly going to be an inspired work of art. Instead, it seems that Activision-Blizzard is heading down the path of least resistance, aiming to satisfy the most common denominator while weakening two of the greatest elements that made the vanilla so great: exploration and teamwork. Sure, lip service is paid to lore and the new zones are given a flashier face, but it’s clear that these sentiments are a façade for a hollow processor of souls that strain to escape them and return to the safe zone of their maximum levels and min/maxing number crunching. While Cataclysm adds a tremendous amount of new areas and material, it is all merely derivative and simplified: in other words, instead of stoking the imagination (although the new instances buck the trend), the game mostly personifies boredom.
After a year of anticipation, the next entry in Sony’s stellar Uncharted series has finally been unearthed thanks to a surprising source. Entertainment Weekly has reported that the third game in the franchise, subtitled Drake’s Deception, will be released exclusively for the PS3 in 2011. While details are still scarce, it has been revealed that the campaign will draw heavy influence from classic adventure stories such as Lawrence of Arabia, and will see Drake and original partner-in-crime Sully platforming and shooting across the Arabian Peninsula and the Rub’ al Khali Desert. Additionally, it has been revealed that Drake will now have the ability to take on more than one enemy at a time in melee combat, although the specifics of this system are still in question. We will have to wait until the Spike Video Game Awards on Saturday, December 11th to see the first trailer and find out more.
We’re in our second month of nonstop game sales online, and there’s still plenty of time to grab a gift for your gamer pals online (Or stock up on enough games to get you through to next year’s Black Friday sale). In addition to all of the usual weekend sales, many stores and distributors are holding Daily Deals too, so let’s take a look at what’s available today, and over the weekend.
Tripwire Interactive, the makers of the online zombie slaughterfest Killing Floor are holding a special Christmas event, and you’re invited to attend the festivities from December 14th through January 4th. Aside from giving players a new “Evil Santa” level to celebrate in, all of the normal zombies and cyborgs in the game will be replaced with festive Christmas-themed creature, including the traditional “Nutpound” just like you remember from your childhood holidays cowering under your bed.
The classic Russian puzzle game Tetris will be making its long-overdue debut on the PS3 later this year courtesy of EA. This newest iteration of the classic appears to place a large emphasis on multiplayer, both of the competitive and cooperative varieties. On the competitive front, you will have the typical versus modes and the like, including a bevy of new power-ups, but one of the more interesting additions looks to be the new Shared mode. Although specifics have not been revealed, this new mode looks to have two players dropping Tetriminos on the same board simultaneously. PS3 owners and geometry aficionados can look forward to purchasing Tetris for the 80th time later this month.
Sony and SNK will be handing out the holiday gifts early this year in the form of a cluster of classic NEO-GEO games. A handful of the retro classics will be released on December 21st, with more to follow at a later date. At $8.99 per game, they might not be the most affordable retro games, but the convenience of the PSN download format sure beats emulating the games or paying a hundred bucks for one on eBay.
