The B.P.H.P.

Microsoft & Epic Games have announced that Gears of War 3 is currently the highest grossing game this year, accumulating over 3 million copies sold in it's first week of availability.

Gears of War 3 is the complete package, and I'm that number is going to increase over time.





























-Source-

Major Nelson's Blog

Battlefield 3 is just around the corner, and DICE wants your feedback on the game's big multiplayer component. So download the demo, have fun, and send your feedback to battlelog.battlefield.com!



"Join the Battlefield 3 Open Beta! Grab a few friends and jump into the Operation Métro map in Rush mode. Be sure to check out the integrated Battlelog features and share your thoughts on the Open Beta at battlelog.battlefield.com /The BF3 team at DICE"

Link To Content- Battlefield 3 Beta (1.30 GB)

Rockstar Games has announced today that L.A. Noire will be launching on PC, Steam, and OnLive on November 8, 2011 in the US, and in Europe on November 11, 2011.

Dubbed the L.A. Noire complete edition, PC version will include a multi-use code for the Nicholson Electroplating, Reefer Madness, Consul’s Car, Naked City, and A Slip of the Tongue downloadable cases.

The PC version is also announced to feature controller remapping and support for NVIDIA 3D Vision.

Listed below are the System Specifications for the PC version:

System Specifications:
• Operating System: Windows 7 / Windows Vista Service Pack 1 / Windows XP Service Pack 3 / OnLive for PC or Mac
• Processor: Intel Dual Core 2.2GHz to Quad Core 3.2GHz / AMD Dual Core 2.4Ghz to Quad Core 3.2Ghz
• RAM: 2GB to 8GB
• Hard drive space: 16GB
• Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT 512MB to NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 1536MB / Radeon HD 3000 512MB to Radeon HD 6850 1024MB
• Sound Card: 100% DirectX 9 Compatible
• DVD Drive

-Source-

Rockstar Games Newswire

For new XBLA releases this week, there are three distinct new games to check out. There's a new Worms 3D game, MLB Bobbleheads, and the puzzle game that utilizes your music!

Check them out below:




“Worms™: Ultimate Mayhem is the definitive 3D Worms™ game! Load your weapons and experience a whole new dimension in destructive turn-based cartoon action! Taking the game into 3D creates all-new strategic and gameplay possibilities. With over 80 single-player missions and challenges, Xbox LIVE multi-player for up to 4 players, 5 multi-player modes, unprecedented customization of both worms and weapons, and fully destructible environments, it’s bursting with anarchic mayhem. Battle and puzzle your way through all of the missions from both “Worms™ 3D” and “Worms™ 4: Mayhem” – it’s essentially two games in one, and is the ultimate 3D Worms™ collection.”

Link To Trial- Worms: Ultimate Mayhem Trial (832 MB)

Link To Full Game- Worms: Ultimate Mayhem (1200 MSP)




“Knock a curveball out of the ballpark with MLB® Bobblehead Battle! This MLB® bobblehead challenge features all of your favorite teams and players with a unique twist – it’s entirely focused on batting! Create customized fields with various obstacles such as walls and slopes while outsmarting your opponent with a dynamic card system that allows customization of players and more.”

Link To Trial- MLB Bobblehead Battle Trial (481 MB)

Link To Full Game- MLB Bobblehead Battle (800 MSP)




“Mercury is back, all new and in HD! Explore 60 levels of tilting tension, color it, split it and watch the levels pulse to the beat of your own music. Can you attain the top position on the leaderboards and have the world race against your ghost? With the help of the ghost replays shave split seconds off your time and achieve higher scores. Discover the 20 bonus elements and 10 challenges as you explore the world of Mercury Hg.”

Link To Trial- Mercury Hg Trial (173 MB)

Link To Full Game- Mercury Hg (400 MSP)

Resident Evil 4 HD released last week, and now Resident Evil: Code Veronica is available. This Dreamcast classic has been improved a bit like Resident Evil 4 and will also set you back 1600 ($20):



"It has been 3 months since the destruction of Raccoon City. Claire Redfield travels to Europe in search of her brother. Claire infiltrates the Paris laboratory of Umbrella Corporation, but is captured after a heated gun fight. The captured Claire is then sent to Rockfort Island, but shortly after her arrival the island is attacked! Amidst the chaos, a horde of zombies are released! Can Claire escape the horrors of the island?"

Link Content- Resident Evil: Code Veronica X HD (1.83 GB)

Soldiers in the beginning. Brothers 'til the End.


What began in 2006 as a fight for humanity, ends in 2011 as a fight to survive. Marcus Fenix and the rest of Delta Squad find themselves in the middle of a free-for-all between the Locust and the new mutating Lambent as they begin attacking anything in their way. The few remaining Gears are scattered throughout the land, and are losing soldiers every day. Marcus receives news from a surprising source on a way to stop both the Lambent & Locust, and he once again leads Delta Squad out to save what's left.

The conclusion to Epic's Gears of War Trilogy is one of the best games of the year, and in my opinion, the best Gears of War game to date.





$59.99 is still tough to swallow these days, but Gears of War 3 offers a complete package of content, with more coming in the few months to keep the experience going. Initially you have Campaign, which can be played with three others and features an Arcade mode, Versus mode that includes Dedicated Servers for all of the multiplayer matches which offers smooth and nearly lag-less games, the return of Horde mode dubbed 'Horde 2.0', and the all-new Beast mode, which features you taking on Stranded and Cogs as you play the Locust Horde. Gears 3 will keep you busy with it's robust content.

With Campaign, the story picks up about a year after the concluding events of Gears of War 2. If you want a quick refresher, or have never played the first two games, Epic has included a 'Previously on Gears' clip that quickly catches you up to speed with the gist of main points.

The Campaign took me about 10 hours with about 70% of that original run going solo, only having a co-op buddies pop in towards end when we were at the same area of the campaign. It's full of great moments and small touches of emotion that really make the story stand out from it's two predecessors.

Arcade mode allows you to play through the campaign mode with scores attached with each person, so you're competing for the best score while still working together. Mutators are a new addition to the game, and besides being available in Horde, you can use them in Arcade mode. These include effects like Super Reload, which once a perfect reload is achieved, doubles your clip size, and increases the damage you deal out with each shot. Others are just for fun like the Big Head mode, while some make the game more challenging including a Mutator that requires you to perform a perfect active reload in order to reload your gun.

Gears of War 3's Campaign is great, and with Arcade mode and co-op, it really begs to played again and again.




Hardcore Gears of War fans will also be happy with the changes made to Gears 3 multiplayer, while novice and new fans will be able to enjoy it without getting overwhelmed by the many Gears 1 & 2 players picking up the game. If you've never played a Gears game, there is a Casual mode for multiplayer that helps you get accustomed to the cover-based combat and weapons, as well as being able to play with friends and bots to practice for matchmaking.

No matter if you're Hardcore or not, everyone will appreciate that Gears of War 3 utilizes Dedicated Servers to prevent any type of Host advantage, while also reducing lag and connection drops. It's an awesome addition, and one I hope will be required for major online capable titles.

Experience this time around seems to be increased as well so it shouldn't be too hard to earn your wings. Besides increasing the experience no matter what you do in Gears 3 you'll be able to earn experience, even when playing campaign or playing with bots albeit it won't be as much as you'll get from regular multiplayer.

Multiplayer is a big component here, and one that definitively does not disappoint.



Lastly, but not least, are the survival modes Beast & Horde.

The Changes made to Horde really allow you to dig in on an level. Before the round even begins, you must pick an area of the map to start as your command post. Earning money each round can be used to upgrade that command post, and even set up other posts around the levels. In Horde, the money earned can be used to buy ammo, set up barriers to slow down the enemies, build turrets, and hopefully dispatch a Silverback, which will set you back 12,500 worth of Horde currency. Another new feature is that every 10th wave will feature a boss enemy that will really put your survival skills to the test. Horde is still my favorite mode, and will get even better with the planned DLC coming out for it.

Beast could be simply explained as the opposite of Horde, but there is a bit more to it. You'll start out being able to choose only between the butcher, tickers, wretch, and drone, but over time and money earned, you'll be able to unlock the Boomers, and even the Berserker. With Horde you'll building barriers to stop the enemies, but in Beast you'll be trying to tear them. Strategy comes into play here when only a few locust can actually tear down fortifications, which encourages players to go in with a team that takes different roles. While Horde is 50 waves, Beast is only 12, so there is a time limit for each round that forces you to kill the humans as fast you can. You'll get time with each kill, but it's not enough to relax with, so you'll be always on the move in Beast.



This is probably one of my longest reviews, but that's because there's so much to this game. The visuals are fantastic and push the Unreal Engine 3 to it's edge, while the controls are tighter and offer new options for players to check out.

Gears of War 3 was developed by Epic Games, and this game earns the title of being Epic.









Developer- Epic Games, Inc
Publisher- Microsoft Studios
Release Date- September 20th, 2011
Price- $59.99 MSRP

-Image Sources-

Giantbomb

Xbox.com

This week for new releases on Xbox Live features the return of Burnout with Burnout Crash, as well as a new platforming-action game called Rotastic. Both games will set you back 800 MSP:


"Criterion Games brings back the much loved Crash Mode in the latest installment of the multi award winning Burnout franchise! Party with your friends in the all new Kinect Rush Hour Party for up to 14 players. Go on the wildest Road Trip of your life; causing huge pile-ups, blowing up buildings and unleashing disastrous Super Features! Play 3 all new game modes, across 6 themed areas: - Stop traffic escaping and trigger crazy special features in Road Trip! - Go wild against the clock in Rush Hour! - Practise your precision crashing skills in Pile-Up! Use Autolog to compete with your friends high scores and Challenge your friends to one-on-one battles with all new Autolog Challenges."

Link To Trial- Burnout Crash! Trial (1.05 GB)

Link To Full Game- Burnout Crash! (800 MSP)



"Rotastic is an addictive 2D arcade game, offering accessible, innovative and original gameplay, as well as a huge dose of fun, without taking itself too seriously. Behind very simple swinging mechanics hides a deep gameplay with numerous possibilities to challenge your reflexes, ingenuity, and skills! Collect items, escape deadly traps, send your opponents flying to their doom, smash bricks, execute aerial acrobatics, burst chickens to dust and feathers, or top the fastest speedruns! The solo campaign spreading across 7 worlds and nearly 70 levels offers hours of fun, with a wide range of gameplay to value replayability! Pit your skills against your friends and the players from around the world by beating the best scores for every one of each level! Rotastic offers local battle mode, for up to 4 players to either race for item collecting, or tried-and-true deathmatch. Multiplayer is intense and full of fun! "

Link To Trial- Rotastic Trial (206 MB)

Link To Full Game- Rotastic (800 MSP)

Gears of War 3 is finally available, but I've been just as excited for Resident Evil 4 HD and The Lonesome Road DLC for Fallout: New Vegas, which are now available. RE4 HD takes the classic Gamecube game and gives it the additions found in the Wii & PS2 versions, and Lonesome Road is set to shed some light on the Courier who refused to delivery the Platinum Chip.

Resident Evil 4 HD will cost 1600 MSP ($20, or Only $10 if you're a PSN+ member), and Lonesome Road will cost 800 MSP ($10). Check out more below!

"The Games on Demand version supports English. Six years after the destruction of Raccoon City, Leon Kennedy, now an agent with the US Secret Service, is sent on a rescue mission in Europe. His target is Ashley Graham, the president's daughter. Leon locates a man in a remote house in the mountains and inquires about Ashley's whereabouts, but receives no answer. Suddenly, the man turns and attempts to strike Leon! Visions of the horror of Raccoon City flood Leon's mind as he realizes his nightmare has not yet ended."

Link To Content- Resident Evil 4 HD ($20/ 3.59 GB)


"In Lonesome Road you are contacted by the original Courier Six. He promises to answer why he refused to deliver the Platinum Chip--but only if you make one last journey into the canyons of the Divide. Bring all your gear and weapons but leave your companions behind...this is one road you must walk alone."

Link To Content- Lonesome Road ($10/ 451 MB)

"Still haunted by the memories of his traumatic past, Max begins a new life working private security protecting a wealthy industrialist and his family in Sao Paulo, Brazil. When gangs target the family under his protection, Max is forced to fight to save his clients and clear his name, in a bid to, once and for all, rid himself of the demons that have tortured him for far too long."

Coming March 2012!

-Source-

Rockstar Games

Today in the Halo bulletin from Halo Waypoint, details were given on the Title Update coming to Reach, as well as the announcement of a new map for Anniversary based off of Halo 2's Headlong map. The revamped Headlong will be called Breakneck.

For Title Update News, the Update will go out on September 21st, but you won't notice anything new until October 4th when the Beta Hoppers will be placed. The Hoppers will include playlist based on the changes to the Blooming effects of the Reticle, and later on the return of the Halo 1 magnum.

-Source-

Halo Waypoint

Below are a few screens of the map in action:

The fourth game add-on pack for Fallout: New Vegas is coming next week for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC and Obsidian have released a trailer for the content:




"In Lonesome Road you are contacted by the original Courier Six, a man by the name of Ulysses who refused to deliver the Platinum Chip at the start of Fallout: New Vegas. Ulysses promises the answer as to why he didn’t take the job, but only if you make one last journey into the hurricane-swept canyons of the Divide, a landscape torn apart by earthquakes and violent storms. It’s up to you whether you take the job or not."

Lonesome Road will be available next week for 800 MSP ($10)

-Source-

Bethblog

Square Enix has announced that PS2 classic Final Fantasy X will be making it's way to the PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 3. The re-release will feature the same game as before with an HD visual upgrade.

While Final Fantasy VII may never be remade, Final Fantasy X is still worth replaying, so I guess we'll have to wait and see how it plays when it releases sometime next year.


-Source-

Kotaku

This week for Xbox Live Arcade releases features the release of the highly anticipated Radiant Silvergun, as well as the PSP mini's hit game Red Bull X-Fighters, and the Racing action game Renegade Ops:


Check out more on these games below:





"Radiant Silvergun, restored by Treasure, is now available! The shoot ‘em up gameplay that made this a legend remains unchanged, but a hidden "Ikaruga-style" shooting mode gives everyone something new. Previously only available in Japan, Radiant Silvergun on Xbox LIVE Arcade also provides leaderboards, co-op play locally or over Xbox LIVE, downloadable replays, and improved visuals making it the version to own. Download Radiant Silvergun now!"

Link To Trial- Radiant Silvergun Trial (613 MB)

Link To Full Game- Radiant Silvergun (1200 MSP)




"In Renegade Ops you must defeat Inferno, a madman intent on global domination. Destroy enemies across a range of stunning environments using a wide variety of vehicles. Players have the choice to fight alone in single player mode, team up offline with two-player split screen or join the dynamic 4-player online co-op experience. Blast your way through enemy lines by working together, or compete for achievements as you and your friends aim to top the online leader boards."

Link To Trial- Renegade Ops Trial (2 GB)

Link To Full Game- Renegade Ops (1200 MSP)




"(MC 10) With Red Bull X-Fighters, gamers can now experience the thrill and excitement of the best Freestyle Motocross riders in the world! The game puts you, the player, on centre stage of the Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour. Take your bike, launch from huge ramps and pull off truly stunning and jaw-dropping tricks while up to 40 feet in the air. Do you have what it takes to wow the crowd and pull out all stops in the attempt to finish as overall champion? Don’t crash or it will ruin your run."

Link To Trial- Red Bull X-Fighters Trial (219 MB)

Link To Full Game- Red Bull X-Fighters (800 MSP)

Welcome to Banoi. You'll love your neighbors...


Dead Island breaths a bit of new life into the popular Zombie-game franchise by offering up plenty of exploration, intense combat, and seamless co-op that will keep you engaged for hours on end. The vacation from hell may be scary, but boy is it a lot of fun!



If Dead Island first caught your attention with it's reversing trailer a few months back, then we're in the same boat. As the months up to launch passed, details given on the game emphasized three elements: Exploration, Character Progression, and Co-op. With many Zombie games out there touching on least one or two of those elements, Dead Island attempts all three. After playing the game to completion, I can safely say that it was pretty successful.

For exploration, the Island of Banoi is full of many varied locales that feature plenty of survivors in need that you can aid. There are 72 unique locations throughout the game, and most are tied to the main quests, so you'll get a chance to explore them all at different times during the game. Most Zombie games take place during the night, Dead Island is bright and beautiful most of the time. This creates a stark contrast compared to other games when playing, and something the make Dead Island so unique. The exploration is pretty fun, and you'll have four characters to choose from while there.



First up is Xian Mei, an undercover police officer who specializes in Sharp Weapons, Logan Carter, an ex-star quarterback of an Texas football team who is made for throwing projectiles, Purna, the bodyguard of the Island's riches tourist who excels in weaponry, and Sam B, the rapper whose hit song still gets him small gigs. Sam B is best used when wielding blunt objects. No matter who you choose, each character can level up through experience gained from killing zombies, and completing quests or challenges. The progression feels similar to Borderlands since you gain one point per level, which can then be used to increase your character's skills. The game also features hit points that pop up onscreen, so you can see how much increasing your skill does when upgrading your moves.

What Dead Island also brings to the table is a more visceral way to take on the undead. It feels more Chronicles of Riddick than Left 4 Dead or Dead Rising in the sense that you can utilize your hands and feet, while also looking out for blunt, sharp, or special weapons tailored to the character you choose to play as. Guns are rare in the beginning, but later on you'll find plenty.

With the exception of guns, the objects you use to fight with will all eventually degrade, so you'll need to repair and upgrade pretty consistently to keep the damage to the zombies flowing. As you upgrade, you'll find that repairing costs will increase, so picking and choosing your primary arsenal to repair will be critical as money in isn't easy to come by. There's stuff everywhere to sell, but you'll still need to repair wisely in order to be a step ahead of the infected.



Co-op play in Dead Island allows you to play with three other players as you traverse Banoi. In order to keep the story from being spoiled for you, restrictions have been placed to ensure players on Chapter 3 can't join someone who is ahead of the game, say on Chapter 6 or something. The person on Chapter 6 could join the Ch. 3 game though, helping out the player with his or her quests. The game seems to scale a bit when playing co-op, but it was not really noticeable when I played.

Players can also trade with one another, so if you're wanting to get rid of your items you longer need or just want to swap items, you're able to prompt a trade request. Online play work smoothly, and it was a bit more free than other games that restrict your limits of distance in co-op games.



Dead Island isn't perfect however. No game is, but Dead Island has some issues that could have been fixed with a bit more polish. Character animations are not up to standards sometimes, and are more noticeable when playing with others. When I saw my co-op partners jump, their character only appeared to lift off the ground with both knees, and punches looked pretty weird too. There were also times where animations would stutter, and my character would freeze forcing me to restart to a previous checkpoint.




Negative issues aside, Dead Island is a great game for Zombie or action fans. It took me about 22 hours to complete, and that was mostly completing the main quests, and with about 5 hours of playing around in co-op. You could sink some serious time in with the game, and even more when playing with friends.

Overall, Dead Island is worth picking up in my opinion, and you should check it out if you want a new way to take on the undead.








Developer- Techland

Publisher- Deep Silver

Pictures for my reviews are courtesy of the Giantbomb users that upload them as well as images from xbox.com. Giantbomb Xbox.com

The Gears of War 2 25XP event began yesterday and will be going on until September 19th, the day before the launch of Gears of War 3. If you want to play some horde, you'll be facing off against tons of Tickers. It's been awesome playing Gears 2, but I'm ready for next week!

Whether you like to go for the kill in a high-tech flying machine, or go for the goal, today's new Xbox Live demos allow you to do both. Check them out below!

"Take to the skies at supersonic speeds in the ACE COMBAT ASSAULT HORIZON playable demo. Containing two missions (fighter jet & attack helicopter), you will experience steel carnage destruction and intense visceral dogfights as well as the entirely new low-altitude action-packed ground combat."

Link To Demo- ACE COMBAT ASSAULT HORIZON (405 MB)


"Winner of 20 “Best Sports Game of E3” awards, including the prestigious E3 Game Critics award, FIFA 12 brings to the pitch the game-changing new Player Impact Engine. Add to this the Revolutionary gameplay innovations including Precision Dribbling, Tactical Defending and ProPlayer Inteligence making FIFA 12 deeper and more engaging."

Link To Demo- FIFA 12 (1.42 GB)

On October 14th, Rockstar Games will be releasing a Game of the Year Edition of their western hit which will include the original game as well as the Undead Nightmare pack will all of the current DLC available.

The pack will also include all of the pre-order bonues, as well as today's free Myths and Mavericks pack.

Look for it next month for $49.99


























"The Myths and Mavericks Bonus Pack offers another expansion to the world of Red Dead Redemption multiplayer. Battle your enemies in 11 new map areas including the snowy mountains of Cochinay, the army stronghold of El Presidio and the mining camp in Gaptooth Breach. Play as additional multiplayer characters from the single-player story: Landon Ricketts, Drew MacFarlane, Uncle, Javier Escuella, Captain Vincente De Santa, Deputy Eli, Deputy Jonah and Nastas. Also works with the standalone Undead Nightmare disc."

Link To Content- Myths and Mavericks Bonus Pack (Free/ 42 MB)


-Source-

Rockstar Games Newswire

Rockstar games has announced that the original Max Payne will be released for mobile devices this fall.

The set of confirmed features for this version includes connectivity and support from the Rockstar Social Club, full support of the device's HD screens and is promised to contain the same features as the PC version.

With Max Payne 3 coming next year, this will be a great way for mobile gamers to start from the beginning with Max.

-Source-

Rockstar Games Newswire

Confirmed on Gametrailers TV yesterday, EA will be bringing the Original Crysis to both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation as a downloadable title. This version of Crysis will be revamped with new Nanosuit abilities, as well as the ability to play the game in stereoscopic 3D. Now you'll no longer need a beefy gaming rig to play!

Crysis for XBLA and PSN will be arriving sometime in October, and will cost $20.

-Source-
Xbox360achievements.org