Dragon Age : Origins – Golems of Amgarrak DLC Trailer
So far we’ve returned to Ostagar, listened to Leliana’s Song, became the darkspawn and now we’ll return to the Deep Roads in search of Golems. Unlike the the last 2 DLC, you once again get to use your character as you search for the secrets of the Golems.
I can’t get into more details without spoiling it for those who haven’t completed the original game but it’s quite refreshing that we shall once again get to play our characters either after Awakenings or Origins. If not, you can always create a new character but where’s the fun in that?
DLC to be released for the PC, Xbox360, and PS3 on August 10.
I know these updates are coming pretty slow but they’re coming.
The Xbox360 had quite a showing at E3.
Project Natal is now Kinect I knew there was something weird with the name Natal and apparently audiences did not warm up to the name which was announced to the public a year ago. It’s still pretty much the same and will still use the camera peripheral in order to track your movements. There’s no wand or wii mote to help the camera guide you so setting this up will be quite interesting. With that in mind, I’ll assume you can’t play this in a dimly lit room since the cameras need some light in order to track something it sees. The freedom in movement looks interesting with nothing in your hand to accidentally throw at your very expensive LCD TV. The list of games is pretty much the same as you would expect with motion control. You have your usual sports games but the dancing is a new thing for motion control since there is no floor pad. But is this new?
No, Sony had a similar device to this called the Eye Toy which was originally released on the PS2 and had it’s share of motion detection. Nothing new for Kinect other than the response time and the graphics. We’ll just have to wait and see when Kinect comes out in the fall.
Microsoft Kinect for Xbox 360
Kinect Dance Central | E3 trailer XBox 360
There’s a new Xbox design
New XBOX 360 250GB E3 2010 [HD]
The new Xbox finally gets it right. Built in WiFi, 250 GB HD and Kinect ready. All wrapped up in a shiny black box. Doesn’t that remind you of another console?
But for most of us who might be buying this console, we already have one. How on Earth do we transfer all our stuff to the new console. You now can with this hard drive transfer kit for only $15 USD. You’d think they’d at least include it in the box.
Despite all of this the big question remains, has Microsoft fixed their dreaded red ring of death? I for one have gone through at least four consoles. Thankfully fixed by warranty but it’s the first time that a console actually died on me after all my years of gaming. Not to mention that it is the one console that all my friends and I share the same dilemma. It has died on us at least once. It may have the most popular games but it is technically the worst console I have owned. Gone are the days where gaming consoles could take a beating. I try to limit moving the console from one place to another for fear of it getting broken. So have they fixed it? Reports say they have. Only time will tell. It’s available now for $299 USD.
But after all of their announcements, there’s still something missing in my opinion, the handheld. Yes the handheld. I’ve been waiting or clamoring for the Xbox team to come up with a portable gaming device to go up against Nintendo, Sony and of course Apple. It is the once space they haven’t made any inclinations of entering. Is it necessary for them to enter this space? Yes. Handhelds sell. Nintendo has sold more DS units than all the consoles sold by Sony and Microsoft together. I think it’s only a matter of time before they do. Maybe in five years, the same amount of time it took them to fix most of the Xbox 360.
The much anticipated and very much delayed DLC for Dragon Age: Origins has finally been released! I can’t give an opinion on it just yet as I’m playing this game on my PS3 instead of the Xbox. But I’ll be sure to download it and play the minute it’s available.
Sony – GT5 Demo – yes Release date -No – FF13 No exact release date for North America, New demo yes – No LBP or Assassin’s Creed demo for the PSP – Demo and playable MGS: Peace Walker – No dev kit announcement. – No God of War 3 other than the demo will be part of the GOW PS3 bundle pack to be released in the coming weeks. – No release date but more playable demo of White Knight Chronicles
Nintendo – Yes – Wii price cut – No – DS price cut – No Wii Zelda Game – No HD Wii – No new controller – Motion Plus technology not exactly a big thing for Nintendo
Xbox – Still no handheld.
Pleasant surprises of the show: Sony – Playable MGS: Peace Walker PSP – Playable Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep PSP – Tekken 6 on the PSP – Yakuza 4 PS3 – Lunar: Silver Star Harmony PSP – Final Fantasy Agito XIII PSP – Parasite Eve: The 3rd Birthday PSP – Final Fantasy Versus XIII PS3 – Persona 3 Portable PSP – Sony Wand device to be released in Spring 2010
Nintendo – 4th! (Yes I did say 4th) Professor Layton game DS – Final Fantasy Gaiden: Warriors of Light DS – Phantasy Star Zero DS – Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers – Okamiden DS
Xbox 360 – Forza Motorsport 3 – Nier Gestalt (Square-Enix action game) – Alan Wake – MGS 4 using Natal controllers
Multiplatform – Resonance of Fate
From the list above I was surprised at the number of Square-Enix games that were shown. No sign of anything they acquired from Eidos yet. Maybe next year in the GDC. Sony showed a lot of games especially on the PSP. Nintendo was also focused on it’s own handheld as well. I only mentioned those that caught my eye. So the Bayonetta, Dead Rising 2, Lost Planet 2, Crackdown 2, Assassin’s Creed, I have a tendency to ignore since those games are covered to death by other gaming sites/ blogs and I don’t play them.
There was also Sony’s display of hardware including a 250 GB limited edition FF XIII PS3 bundle and a peek of all the accessories to be released for the PSP Go.
All in all this year was a pretty good show with nice surprises even if overall attendance was down by 10k.
I’m not a big fighting game fan. I only get into it casually when the need arises. I skipped the whole Virtual Fighter series when it came out and everyone was flocking to the arcades. There were a few instances I went to the arcade. There was one time in college where we spent the whole afternoon just playing Darkstalkers.
Darkstalkers
I had no idea what I was playing or what buttons I was pressing but as long as I was having fun I don’t see anything wrong with that. I got myself a Dreamcast shortly before it died due to Shenmue but the office favorite was Soul Calibur. Also an office favorite was Tekken 3 on the PS One which everyone thoroughly enjoyed. I do mean everyone.
We would wait for hours for our turn on the machines at work so what better way to get through the day with a few rounds of Tekken or Soul Calibur. Marvel vd. Capcom wasn’t that popular among the casual gamers. But Soul Calibur was so popular that we weren’t playing anything else in the office. After that era was gone, so was my interest in fighting games.
The only thrill I got from fighting games was the high you would get when fighting another person side by side and not over the network. There was some pleasure derived from button mashing whatever button that was under my fingers and seeing amazing combos come into play.
These pictures sure are pretty and remind me of those old arcades and the fun I had back then. It seems only prudent for me to buy the control sticks if I buy the game.
Unless you’re living under a rock, Tuesday marks the day when Grand Theft Auto 4 is released for the PS3 and the Xbox 360. It’s a game of anarchy and scandal. It’s been blamed for numerous violent actions and lawsuits. (Hot coffee anyone?)
But unlike the rest of the gaming world which has held it’s breath in anticipation of this game, I however am not. While my brother and my friends have pre-ordered the game months in advance. I couldn’t see the point. Yes it had a pretty interesting storyline voiced by Hollywood actors which put many games to shame. But it just doesn’t talk to me. I do enjoy blowing the brains out of fellow digital players online but taking the life of crime is not me.
Nevertheless I am a minority in the grand scheme of gaming who love this sort of thing. Why else would they make a fourth version if not to make lots of $$$$?
Anyway let’s see how the game progresses. But in anycase, it will beat any other media released this week. Not even Iron Man and Madonna can stop Niko.
After all the hype and all the talk about Halo 3 did it deliver? It’s a shooter, it finishes the “Halo” story and not wanting to spoil the game it simply does as advertised. But how does it hold up?
Just a few weeks before Halo 3, Bioshock came out then followed by Orange Box, Mass Effect, Assassin’s Creed and Unreal Tournament. The Xbox platform is not as empty as when Halo and Halo 2 came out for the original Xbox. The gameplay is basically the same but not as impressive as the other shooters available for the platform. The story of course is another matter entirely.
If you want to jump into a shooter and start playing without any thinking then this game is for you. But if you’re new to the series and haven’t played the last two, you will be lost. And I do mean lost. There is no recap of the last game, there is no in game movie that would explain why are you where you are and why you are fighting. I myself have only played the first game (on a mac no less) and skipped Halo 2 for Metal Gear Solid 3 that year and I didn’t want to spend money on a console that only had a handful games I wanted to play so now I’m playing Halo 2 just to catch up with the story. Halo was the first shooter that I played which I didn’t need cheat codes to beat. It does involve a lot of trial and error in some parts but nothing that a Spartan can’t handle. So I would recommend it to people who bought the game because they heard it was good.
The multiplayer is something else. It has co-op campaign and various player vs. player offerings. The matchmaking controls need a little bit more tweaking since it will not be easy for new players to jump into the game. You could be faced with some kid who has played the game since Halo 2 and here you are just discovering the game. So it’s a little bit steep for new players to get into. The co-op experience is something that I hope is fixed or will be fixed. There was just so much lag. But using the same network my friend and I played Gears of War co-op just fine. So I guess that Halo is not so forgiving about slow networks.
Halo is the shooter for the casual gamers. It’s simple enough for anyone new to the game to pick up and get started. But the the multiplayer is not for the noob.
After all the hype and all the talk about Halo 3 did it deliver? It’s a shooter, it finishes the “Halo” story and not wanting to spoil the game it simply does as advertised. But how does it hold up?
Just a few weeks before Halo 3, Bioshock came out then followed by Orange Box, Mass Effect, Assassin’s Creed and Unreal Tournament. The Xbox platform is not as empty as when Halo and Halo 2 came out for the original Xbox. The gameplay is basically the same but not as impressive as the other shooters available for the platform. The story of course is another matter entirely.
If you want to jump into a shooter and start playing without any thinking then this game is for you. But if you’re new to the series and haven’t played the last two, you will be lost. And I do mean lost. There is no recap of the last game, there is no in game movie that would explain why are you where you are and why you are fighting. I myself have only played the first game (on a mac no less) and skipped Halo 2 for Metal Gear Solid 3 that year and I didn’t want to spend money on a console that only had a handful games I wanted to play so now I’m playing Halo 2 just to catch up with the story. Halo was the first shooter that I played which I didn’t need cheat codes to beat. It does involve a lot of trial and error in some parts but nothing that a Spartan can’t handle. So I would recommend it to people who bought the game because they heard it was good.
The multiplayer is something else. It has co-op campaign and various player vs. player offerings. The matchmaking controls need a little bit more tweaking since it will not be easy for new players to jump into the game. You could be faced with some kid who has played the game since Halo 2 and here you are just discovering the game. So it’s a little bit steep for new players to get into. The co-op experience is something that I hope is fixed or will be fixed. There was just so much lag. But using the same network my friend and I played Gears of War co-op just fine. So I guess that Halo is not so forgiving about slow networks.
Halo is the shooter for the casual gamers. It’s simple enough for anyone new to the game to pick up and get started. But the the multiplayer is not for the noob.
This is just so late. This should have been with the Elite that came out nine months ago. It’s like an unwanted child that was aborted at the last minute before they made the delivery. It might have made a difference where HD-DVD is at the moment. Yes, I know that the HD wars is far from over but the amount of money that I’ve spent on my Xbox 360 to get it into HD is probably the same amount that I would have spent to get a PS3.
And what does this do to all of us early adopters? Well we just got screwed over by Microsoft. At least I haven’t bought anything non-game related at the Xbox Marketplace only to discover that I can’t transfer any of it to a Zune (if I ever owned one). Let’s see how this pans out this Holiday. Maybe at the same time they would finally fix all those overheating 3RL errors.
Procrastinating in the Heat 