The B.P.H.P.

Survive The Undead Movement in the town of Still Creek














Before we uncover the truth in Dead Rising 2 on September 28th, Capcom and Blue Castle games have given Xbox 360 users a chance to understand the motives of Chuck Greene, and why he eventually winds up in Fortune City. When Chuck makes a simple stop for gas, he unfortunately gets his truck stolen, losing his personal items which includes the last of the Zombrex, a medication that must be administered every 12 hours to suppress the infection of those bitten like his daughter, or else the person will become just another walking dead. Chuck has half a day to find Zombrex, otherwise his little girl Katey will meet her premature end.



Dead Rising 2: Case Zero has about a 2 hour story arc that sets up some elements that will be more explored in the full sequel, but fans of the franchise like myself will be more than willing to jump back in after viewing the initial credits screen. As with the original Dead Rising, there are multiple endings to find, a few secrets sprinkled in, and a small taste of the weaponry we will use to take out the zombies in less than a month.

The gameplay formula of Dead Rising remains intact here, with a set of story cases to complete moves to learn, but with Case Zero and Dead Rising two, combo cards are being added to formula. These cards introduce a system that allows you to combine certain objects together for a more satisfying and rewarding kill, as well as offer more PP, prestige points used to level up Chuck Greene. You’ve no doubt seen the trailers with the Paddle-Saw, which is in Case Zero and extremely fun to use, but there are plenty of others that are just as great.





Leveling up still unlocks new skills to use, and with the max you can reach being 5 in Case Zero, you’re only given a small sample of what’s to come.

For only 400 Microsoft Points ($5), you’ll be getting hours of zombie killing entertainment with a nice set up story to the main event this September, and a chance to prepare early since your stats can be transferred over, giving you a nice edge against the undead. Case Zero overall does a great job of introducing the characters and new elements coming to the full release of Dead Rising 2, and a nice way to make the wait a little bit more bearable.












Developer- Blue Castle Games

Publisher- Capcom

I write these Reviews on Giantbomb because their system for writing and importing pictures is fun and easy. All pictures for my reviews are courtesy of the Giantbomb users that upload them. Giantbomb

Platinum Games upcoming action shooter Vanquish has a playable demo to check out today, as well as 2K Marin's Bioshock II dlc titled "Minerva's Den". Check out more details below:

"Boost into the ultra-fast and frenetic third-person-action-shooter, Vanquish. Boost from cover point to cover point blasting robot enemies with your transforming weapon pod. Use the high-tech Augmented Reaction Suit to amplify your senses to a critical state and get the drop on your opponents, thrashing before they ever knew what hit them. If enemies get too close, punch, kick and pummel them into scrap. See what the "action" in third-person-action-shooter is really all about. VANQUISH OFFICIAL DEMO - VELOCITY ATTACK is set in the landing bay of the Providence Space Colony in a desperate fight to gain control of the facility. But the enemy has more in store as the massive Argus robot emerges to dominate the battlefield."

Link To Demo- VANQUISH (467 MB)









"Minerva's Den offers a brand-new, self-contained BioShock story, presenting a side of Rapture you've never seen before. Seek out the tools you'll need to unlock new goals and spaces in the order you choose. Face Rapture's full range of opposition as you increase in power---a new challenge is always right around the corner. Expand your combat abilities with the experimental Ion Laser and chaotic Gravity Well Plasmid, unique to Minerva's Den. Face off against the new Lancer Big Daddy, the most advanced Protector that Rapture ever produced. Explore every shadowy corner of Minerva's Den, unraveling the mysterious past of The Thinker's inventor, and the dark secrets hidden within the unfeeling, omniscient machine he created."

Link To Content- Minerva's Den (800 MSP/ 1 GB)

Dead Rising 2 Case Zero is finally here, well at least for everyone expect Japan gamers at the moment which sucks.

400 MPS grants you access to A story that will set up things for the full Dead Rising 2 experience in September.

"Set two years after the Willamette incident and three years before Dead Rising 2, Dead Rising® 2: Case Zero introduces main protagonist and former motocross champion Chuck Greene providing a link between the original game and the events that await players in the gambling paradise of Fortune City."

Link To Trial- Dead Rising 2: Case 0 Trial (825 MB)

Link To Full Game- Dead Rising 2: Case 0 (400 MSP)

The 2009 RPG/FPS Hit Borderlands will be getting the Game of The Year Treatment this October. For $60, players can grab the game alongside all three currently released DLC packs, as well as the upcoming Claptrap focused pack.

The multiplayer focued Arcade game Monday Night Combat is a great game, and Uber Entertainment has announced a title update to further improve the game, while also discussing DLC plans.

Improvements will be towards each class, UI issues, gameplay, and network combatibility.

DLC will be released in three packs, with the first one being FREE when it does arrive.

Check out the full list of fixes on Uber Entertainment's site, and if you're going to Pax, check out these items you can pick up from their below!









Source- Uber Entertainment

Today Microsoft has announced starting Nov. 1st this year, Xbox Live will be getting a price increase, stopping all rumors about a price drop for the near future. Check out the U.S prices below, and the full list on Major Nelson's blog.

US-Current

1M Gold: $7.99

3M Gold: $19.99

12M Gold: $49.99

Starting Nov 1, 2010

1M Gold: $9.99

3M Gold: $24.99

12M Gold: $59.99

This week's for Xbox Live has an alien theme to it with some discounts on the following titles.



"The original Galaga captivated players all over the world, and now... it's back! But this isn't just a boring remake! Featuring table-turning game dynamics, super-slick visuals and mind-blowingly vast waves of enemies, this is the definitive version!"

Link To Deal- Galaga Legions (400 MSP/98 MB)










"Better get ready for some action! The 'breed' are back and must be stopped! Choose to go it alone or buddy up with a friend offline or online and take fight to the enemy in this fast-paced action horror set in a foreboding world of dread and terror. You will have to kick fear into touch if you are to fight your way through this myriad of challenges in order to complete this seat-of-the-pants adventure...Just remember to release the safety catch!"

Link To Deal- Alien Breed Episode I (400 MSP/425 MB)









"Bring a whole new dimension to the action and excitement of ALIENS vs PREDATOR with four all-new online maps."

Link To Deal- AvP Swarm Map Pack (400 MSP/348 MB)












"In the land of Zenozoik, the city of Halstedom is ruled by a powerful clan, one which Ghat has betrayed by killing Father-Mother, the clan's leader. As Ghat, you'll have to face your brothers and sisters, insane anarchists and other enemies, in order to escape in this unique first-person puncher. The bare-knuckled brawl to reach the truth has just begun."

Link To Deal- Zeno Clash UE (800 MSP/2 GB)

A Decade of Crime, Wealth, and Revelations awaits you in Mafia II














Arriving in Empire Bay with his family as a child, Vito Scaletta grows up and finds that a normal life is not going to get him where he wants to be, so he teams with his best friend Joey “Joe” Barbaro and together they commit petty crimes. One night of stealing goods, Vito and Joe get spotted by cops, and attempt to escape. Joe is able to get away, but Vito is seen and gets arrested. Offered one chance to avoid jail time by joining the army, Vito accepts and leaves to fight in the war while Joe continues down the path of crime. The friends are split for a while, but soon reunite and begin their journey through the crime underworld together.



Mafia II tells the story of man seeking fortune and respect in the ever expanding city of Empire Bay. As with the first game, the world that Mafia II takes place in is simply just a set piece; a beautiful stage to observe the violence that will occur throughout the game. There are no side-missions to speak and you always know what you need to accomplish next, but this is what makes the Mafia games so great. You’re thrown right into the center of the story from the very start, and once you begin, there is no looking back.




If you take away the excellent narrative of Vito’s life, Mafia II could be described as a standard but enjoyable third person action game set in an open-world with minimal distractions from story missions. Almost every chapter in the game begins in your apartment or house, and then you drive to a destination partaking in shoot-outs, stealing items, or completing hits for the many associates you will meet in order to get one step closer to the top. A cover system allows you to avoid the hail of bullets that will come your way, which is pretty necessary since Vito can’t take that many before going down.

When you don’t have to engage into heated firefights, a simple fighting mechanic is used for fun one on one encounters, an element that improves a bit later in the game when you have to let your fist do the talking.

Driving feels solid in the game and includes many classic cars that do a great job of simulating how cars from the 40’s and 50’s would feel. They’re not as slow as you would think, and a most can even be tuned a bit at repair shops to help you avoid the police presence a bit easier.




Speaking of police, they appear to be a nice element to the game, but be careful how you get around in Empire Bay since they will stop you for major traffic violations including speeding, crashing into other cars or their own, which will make them pursue you. If you get caught by police you have two options: Pay a fine or resist arrest. This small touch is a nice change from other games where your only option is usually just to flee. When you’re cruising around the city, people seem to behave pretty normally. They’ll greet others, pass out papers, and even a few will speak to you. Once you pull out weapons though, they’ll get out of your way and seek the nearest officer for help.




The story will last you about 10 or so hours depending on the difficulty, and once you’re done you can finish off some of the last achievements you may have missed since most are pretty easy to obtain.

Overall Mafia II provides an immersive story with an excellent cast of characters that will keep you engaged until the end. If you enjoy a good crime game, you will definitely enjoy Mafia II.











Developer- 2K Czech

Publisher- 2K Games

I write these Reviews on Giantbomb because their system for writing and importing pictures is fun and easy. All pictures for my reviews are courtesy of the Giantbomb users that upload them. Giantbomb

Rockstar has announced that September 21st will mark the release of the next Red Dead Redemption DLC. Titled the "Liars and Cheats Pack", this download will focus on expanding the Free Roam multiplayer and will also add new competitive modes to play.



The Liars and Cheats Pack will contain the previously announced Free Roam pack, alongside:

-Online multiplayer of the Poker and Liars' Dice Games

-Multiplayer Horse Races with mounted combat. -the explosive rifle, a new destructive weapon for single-player and multiplayer,

-7 new gang hideouts,

-4 new hunting grounds new hunting grounds

-A new stronghold competitive multiplayer mode

-15 additional multiplayer characters from the Red Dead Redemption storyline are being made available as multiplayer characters, and more all-new Achievements and Trophies.



The Liars and Cheats pack will be out on September 21st for 360 and PS3 for $10.

Source-Rockstar Games (Facebook)

The Popular Anime Fighting game series Naruto Shippuden has been pretty successful on PS3, and will soon be coming to Xbox 360. Check out this newly released demo and see how it plays on the 360:



"The NARUTO Ultimate Ninja series has sold over 6.5 million copies worldwide. We present a demo for the latest game in this hit series, NARUTO Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2. Our concept is to combine video games and animation. The previous title in the series stretched the limited animation style popularized by Japanese anime to its limits. This game stretches it even further, successfully establishing a new standard in real-time CG animation. It's a cinemagraphic experience like none other, in which the player finds themselves controlling the action in an anime all their own. This demo includes the entire boss battle with Kakashi. We hope players will enjoy it."

Link To Demo- Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 (296 MB)

The Summer of Arcade may be over, but there are plenty of great games still coming out every Wednesday, including today's release of Shank and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Both give you some cool beat-em-up action, and both support co-op as well. Shank will run you 1200 MSP and Scott Pilgrim will cost 800 MSP. Check out more below:


"Shank is a 2D cinematic brawler inspired by classic beat 'em ups and graphic novels. Embark on a tale of revenge using chainsaws, dual pistols, knives and more. Play in the storymode or cooperatively with a friend in the backstory!"

Link To Trial- Shank Trial (2 GB)

Link To Full Game- Shank (1200 MSP)













"Scott Pilgrim is a lovable loser and the best fighter in the province. He is in love with Ramona Flowers. But she has baggage! To get the girl, Scott must defeat the League of Ramona’s evil exes. Be prepared for some serious action... - Team-up with up to 3 of your friends as SCOTT, RAMONA, STEPHEN and KIM, each with their own signature moves and attacks."

Link To Trial- Scott Pilgrim vs. The World Trial (166 MB)

Link To Full Game- Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (800 MSP)

As gamers we have experienced our fair share of open-world games featuring characters involved in criminal activities, and Mafia II is no different. What is different with this game so far is the flow of the story, and how it presents an open city to you. You are pretty much hopping from mission to mission, with minimal distractions, but since story seems to be the driving point in Mafia II, things are a bit more restrictive than other games. This does seem like a downer at first, but once you get into the story, the aspect of the game begins to matter a bit less.



Combat so far seems good, with a simple cover mechanic to protect Vito from a hail of bullets that will come your way, and there is a nice arsenal of weapons for you to use against enemies that will make them think twice about getting into a firefight with you.

The coolest thing I like about the game so far would probably be the characters. They have some great lines, and all sound pretty authentic to the times and ethnicity of the characters.

I've read that the game will take about 10 or so hours to complete, so I hope to have a review up in the near future.

Fall is always a great time to be a gamer, and Mafia II is proving to be a great unofficial start to the blockbuster titles coming out this season.

Crackdown 2 had some avatar awards descriping Toy Box, so we kinda knew this was coming, but now it has been officially announced and sounds like a lot of fun.

Toy Box will be the first Game Add-on Crackdown 2 and will feature free and premium content which will cost 560 MSP. to keep the guns blazing and the bodies flying long after you rid Pacific City of crime and injustice.



Keys to City returns and will be the free piece of content, alongside a new ability: The Thruster.

Reach Level 6 on all Agent skills, and you will be rewarded with the Thruster Ability, which is "like having jetpacks for your boots", and allows you to fly instead of just gliding with the Wingsuit.

Vehicle Tag will also be included with the free pack, a mode where eight Agents can compete in arenas and battle it out in a brutal version of tag.

For those that pluck down the points, you will get all the free content alongside two new vehicles, five new weapons and gadgets, two avatar awards, and 10 more achievments to go after, and 8 new agency colors to choose from.

Look out for this content soon!

Source- Major Nelson's blog

Held off on Bad Company 2 when it came out? Well now is the time to get in on the action as Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Ultimate Edition has been displayed on Amazon for 59.99. According to the description, The Ultimate Edition will include Squad Mode, the 1-4 Player Co-operative Mode recently released, and 4 maps from the DLC with the additional achievements to unlock.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Ultimate Edition is set to come out on August 31st.

Source- Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Ultimate Edition

DeathSpank came out July 13, 2010, but the next game in the series will be out September 21 on the PlayStation Network and September 22 on XBLA. As explained on Giantbomb though, the game is not a direct sequel, which explains why it isn't titled DeathSpank 2.

Fans can expect more humor from the game, a new co-op character to play as (still offline co-op though), and a bigger world to interact in.

No price was announced yet, but the first game was 1200 MSP, so I would say to have at least that much ready if you plan on continuing the adventure of DeathSpank.

Monday Night Combat is a multiplayer focused game that features two modes of play and a great cast of classes to control. Both modes of play allow you to level up and earn money, which is used to purchase call signs and custom slots that enable you to choose the perks you want for your favorite classes.

Blitz is a cooperative mode that supports four players taking on waves of enemy robots as they attempt to destroy your Money Ball, a golden objective that you must prevent the other team from reaching when playing Crossfire. This mode at first seemed like Horde mode, but there is an extra layer of game-play when you have to upgrade your turrets to better defend the money ball against the increasing waves and strength of the enemies.



Crossfire is the competitive mode in the game where players battle it out to destroy the enemies Money Ball, while escorting your team’s robots to the enemies Money Ball so they can take down its defenses for your team to finish it off. The levels are nicely designed, but there is only a few as of right now, so maps can become very familiar pretty quickly.

Both modes feature the Mascot, a character who comes in at certain times and dishes out money when shoot him, giving you a nice boost of cash to upgrade your defenses.



Each team has access to all the classes available: the Assault, a well balanced class that comes equipped with an assault rifle and mines, the Sniper who wields…you guessed it a sniper rifle, the Assassin, a class with high melee damage and cloaking ability, the Support, a class who can heal teammates and create his own personal turret, the Tank, who can play a defensive role and protect other teammates, and the Gunner class who comes with a mini-gun to rip apart the enemy players and bots. All these classes seem to be well balanced, although great players who dominate with a certain class can still tear new players apart.



The visual look of the game may remind you of Team Fortress, as characters and environments look nice and cartoon-like with over the top animations to boot. It may not be original looking, but it still looks nice and fits the style of the game.

Overall this is a fun and balanced multiplayer game for Xbox Live Arcade, with support from the developer and community could be played online for quite some time.










Developer- Uber Entertainment

Publisher- Microsoft

I write these Reviews on Giantbomb because their system for writing and importing pictures is fun and easy. All pictures for my reviews are courtesy of the Giantbomb users that upload them. Giantbomb

Alan Wake is a best-selling author who is in need of a break. After completing his series of popular books, he suffers from writer’s block. Wanting to help him clear his head, his wife Alice convinces him to take a vacation to a small town called Bright Falls where they can relax from the big city life, and get Wake back on the writing path. Once they get to Bright Falls, things make a turn for the worse…




This long awaited game from Remedy, creators of the Max Payne series, is heavy on the story element and is told is an episodic form with a nice flow to it, and even contains cliffhangers towards the end of each episode to get you ready for the next. Once you begin to play Alan Wake, it will immerse you from start to finish.

In the game you will have a nice arsenal of guns that would even make Max Payne a little jealous, but none is more important than light. To fend off the dark presence in the game, you must first utilize light against your enemies. The basic form will be the flashlight, but later in the game you can arm yourself with better tools like flare guns, flash bangs, and more improved versions of the flashlights that will become essential to taking out the bigger threats. Even if you run out of tools to utilize, never give up because light is always nearby for you to use.



It may have taken a while to release, but Alan Wake’s visuals fit right in the graphical powerhouses of today. The light and shadows look great of course, but all the characters you will come across look just as cool, and the environment is just icing on the cake. The wilderness areas look amazing, especially when they react realistically to wind.

Sound in this game is just as impressive. I’ve never heard of Matthew Porretta, but his voice really captures the role of Alan Wake perfectly. His performance shines when he narrates throughout the game to the player, and really pulls you into the story further, really making you feel as if you’re playing an interactive book.



Sales wise, this game was overlooked by the Rockstar Juggernaut Red Dead Redemption, but Alan Wake is just as great a game to play. It may have taken Remedy four years to release, but like with many great games, it was worth the wait.








Developer- Remedy

Publisher- Microsoft Games Studio

I write these Reviews on Giantbomb because their system for writing and importing pictures is fun and easy. All pictures for my reviews are courtesy of the Giantbomb users that upload them. Giantbomb