News Headlines

For next to nothing — $9.99 and €9.99 — PC gamers can download Fort Zombie just in time for Halloween.  From Vancouver, BC developer Kerberos Productions, Fort Zombie is a RPG/action summed up thusly:

“Assemble your party from the survivors you can find. Equip them and send them out to find weapons, ammo and food, to help with the survival effort. Seek out military and emergency vehicles, the best sources for hardware and vital ammunition. Select from an assortment of handguns, shotguns, rifles and assault-weapons or pick-up an ever reliable fire-axe. Then shoot, swing and bash your way through an endless sea of undead.”

And here’s the launch video:

Like there weren’t already a massive list of games to play, Rockstar throws a heavyweight onto the list when it announced today that GTA: The Ballad of Gay Tony is now available on Xbox Live Marketplace and GTA: Episodes is available at retail. For details, see below:

…Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony is now available for download exclusively from the Xbox LIVE Marketplace (for 1600 MS Points) and at retail stores everywhere as part of Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City (retailing for $39.99 / £34.99 / €45) for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. For the first time ever, players are invited to experience The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony, two complete games, together on a single disc as Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City. The disc-based offering does not require Internet connectivity or a copy of Grand Theft Auto IV.

“We’re thrilled to share the final chapter of thisepic Liberty City tale,” said Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games.“The team at Rockstar North has exceeded every expectation with TheBallad of Gay Tony, creating an explosive conclusion to the Grand Theft Auto IV saga.”

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Playstation 2 has been around for 9 years and today’s announcement is the reason we should all hate math.  I won’t deny that the Playstation 2 represents a lot of entertainment, especially for its current price of $99.00CAN and a back catalog of upwards of  10,000 games, but isn’t it kind of depressing when Sony releases information like this:

“….one in every three U.S. households own a PlayStation 2 system and nearly 140 million people around the world can attest to its great entertainment value, making it one of the world’s most popular video game systems.  The PlayStation 2 system is responsible for pushing the envelope by introducing popular franchises like God of War, Gran Turismo, Ratchet & Clank and METAL GEAR SOLID, which are continuing to make their way into the hands of new gamers – young and old.  One such franchise, SOCOM, took clear advantage of online game play and connectivity via the PlayStation 2 system.  As a result, the SOCOM franchise has become one of the most played of all time, with over 530 million online hours logged since the debut of SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs in 2002.  This equates to an incredible 60,000 years of online play.“

60,000 years of online play!?!  And that’s just for one title on one platform!  It makes me ponder what world socio-economic problems could have been solved, how many marriages could have been saved, and just how many sunsets we’ve all missed because we were playing games. So, while Sony is celebrating — and the company should, it’s a big milestone — I’m wondering what I’ve missed.

Sony announced this morning that Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time (PS3) is now available at retail.  With only a few hours of play time under my belt, I’m impressed so far with the action, the weapons, and the humor.  Watch for our full review early next week! Until then here’s a clip and some info:

“We’re excited to finally answer the questions that fans have had about Ratchet and Clank’s origins ever since we began the Ratchet & Clank Future series on the PS3,” said Brian Allgeier, creative director, Insomniac Games.  “We wanted to give something back to our dedicated fan base, so we developed the story with them in mind, bringing back some old favorite characters, such as Dr. Nefarious, one of the franchise’s most beloved villians, as well as introducing new characters that reveal more about Ratchet and Clank’s pasts.”

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I wish more companies held events like this to celebrate their accomplishments. Not only does it promote the game, it creates some excitement among genre fans anticipating a game’s release.

BioWare and Electronic Arts are hosting an international competition to mark the November 3, 2009 release of Dragon Age: Origins, which features “ten teams of four players each [that] will live, fight and explore [Dragon Age: Origins Wardens’ Quest] as the drama unfolds in their 24 hour quest to claim the grand prize. Each winning team member will receive $12,500. Official rules can be found at http://www.wardensquest.com”

The competition gets underway in two days — October 28, 2009 — at the Debating Chamber at County Hall in London, England and feature some LARPing. Here are few more details:

There will be ten participating teams representing their countries: the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Netherlands and Belgium, Spain, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Hungary, Poland and a specially selected team comprised of the most loyal BioWare fans from around the world. The competition will take place in the Debating Chamber at County Hall in London, England. This space will provide a grandiose setting for the competitors to play the game, discuss strategy and battle for the grand prize as teams are eliminated throughout the day.  Around the chamber, screens will be used to display leader board stats and show highlights. BioWare staff and costumed actors will further enhance the environment, theatrics and dramatics of the day.

In Dragon Age: Origins, players take the role of a Grey Warden, one of the last of an ancient order of guardians.  Now, as a rising evil threatens to destroy all life, it is up to players to unite the shattered lands and slay the corrupted dragon known as the Archdemon.  To restore peace, players must make ruthless decisions and be willing to sacrifice their friends and loved ones for the greater good of mankind.

There will be ten participating teams representing their countries: the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Netherlands and Belgium, Spain, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Hungary, Poland and a specially selected team comprised of the most loyal BioWare fans from around the world. The competition will take place in the Debating Chamber at County Hall in London, England. This space will provide a grandiose setting for the competitors to play the game, discuss strategy and battle for the grand prize as teams are eliminated throughout the day.  Around the chamber, screens will be used to display leader board stats and show highlights. BioWare staff and costumed actors will further enhance the environment, theatrics and dramatics of the day.
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It was announced today that Dragon Age: Origins, BioWare’s anticipated role-playing game, has officially gone gold and will hit retail November 3, 2009 for PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.  We’ll soon see if the extensive wait was worth it! Also of note, is the release of the BioWare Social Network launching with the Dragon Age: Origins “Character Creator where players can create and customize a player character on the PC and then upload their character data and avatar to the BioWare Social Network before Dragon Age: Origins launches. ”

Origins will be available on all three platforms with several packs of downloadable content (DLC) including The Stone Prisoner, the Blood Dragon Armor and Warden’s Keep; each further enriching the gameplay experience.

“We’re excited to confirm that all three versions of Dragon Age: Origins will be available to fans on November 3 in North America,” said Ray Muzyka, Group General Manager, RPG/MMO Group of EA, and Co-Founder, BioWare. “The Dragon Age: Origins development team was able to polish the PlayStation 3 version to our high standard of quality and we are ready to deliver the richest and deepest role-playing fantasy experience across all three platforms.”

In anticipation of the game, players can begin their Dragon Age: Origins experience early by joining the BioWare Social Network — a destination to share in-game screenshots, review game data and share story information. Players can also download the free* to download Character Creator where players can create and customize a player character on the PC and then upload their character data and avatar to the BioWare Social Network before Dragon Age: Origins launches. The Dragon Age: Origins Character Creator will provide players with the tools to create a character with a nearly endless amount of options.  Players can download the character creator and get more information on the BioWare Social Network by clicking here.

In Dragon Age: Origins, players take the role of a Grey Warden, one of the last of an ancient order of guardians. Now, as a rising evil threatens to destroy all life, it is up to players to unite the shattered lands and slay the corrupted dragon known as the Archdemon.  To restore peace, players must make ruthless decisions and be willing to sacrifice their friends and loved ones for the greater good of mankind.

Origins will be available on all three platforms with several packs of downloadable content (DLC) including The Stone Prisoner, the Blood Dragon Armor and Warden’s Keep; each further enriching the gameplay experience.

“We’re excited to confirm that all three versions of Dragon Age: Origins will be available to fans on November 3 in North America,” said Ray Muzyka, Group General Manager, RPG/MMO Group of EA, and Co-Founder, BioWare. “The Dragon Age: Origins development team was able to polish the PlayStation 3 version to our high standard of quality and we are ready to deliver the richest and deepest role-playing fantasy experience across all three platforms.”

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Today it was announced that tickets for PAX East 2010 (in Boston, MA) are now on sale for early bird prices as follows:

Friday Only: $25 (Save $5)
Saturday Only: $25 (Save $5)
Sunday Only: $25 (Save $5)
3 Day Pass: $45 (Save $5)

The 3-Day pass is the way to go on this obviously — just get it done before December 31, 2009 when the early bird prices disappear. “At the door” prices are significantly more so plan ahead! Register here.

It’s really easy to tell what time of year it is just by the pile of games hitting shelves lately.  Here’s your update for today, Tuesday, October 20, 2009:

• Borderlands (360, PS3; PC coming October 26)
• FIFA 10 (360, PS3)
• Astro Boy:  The Video Game (Wii, PS2, PSP, DS)
• Lips: Number One Hits (360)
• Tropico 3 (PC)
• Grand Theft Auto: China Town Wars (PSP)
• MotorStorm Arctic Edge (PS2)
• Charm Girls Club (DS)
• Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo (Wii)

If there’s one thing that Peter Moore is good at it’s quotable quotes.  The “burning platform” as he calls disc-based media referred to in the headline is pretty awesome but the fact he follows it up with “do you stay on the platform and face certain death, or do you jump into the water and face probable death? Most of you would choose probable death.”

I love visual metaphors like this but, hey, Mr. Moore, why so much doom and gloom? Things change but that doesn’t mean it’s all about death! It doesn’t help much when he refers to digital distribution as a “cloud”, which any chest-beating English major will point at as a reference to Heaven. More death or the promise of better things in the next life? You can read that however you want. Here’s the full brief from GamesIndsutry.biz:

EA Sports president Peter Moore has compared the traditional videogames sales model to a sinking ship.

“The core business model of videogames is a burning platform,” said Moore, speaking at the 5th annual PLAY Digital Media Conference.

“Look at the platform we’re on, it’s a burning platform,” said Moore. “As a concept, do you stay on the platform and face certain death, or do you jump into the water and face probable death? Most of you would choose probable death, so you start moving towards a hybrid model of digital distribution.”

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The official Brodeo Reunion posters were exclusive to those that attended the panel at PAX but now you too can own this piece of CGW/GFW Radio “The Brodeo” memorabilia at the very reasonable price of $5.00(US).

Created by EGM contributor Bill Mudron, this poster features the cartoon likenesses of Jeff Green, Sean Molloy, Robert Ashley, Ryan Scott, and Shawn Elliott, all flanked by twin cudgels.

All profits will be donated to Penny Arcade’s Child’s Play Charity.

http://brodeo.storenvy.com/products

Thanks to Ben Cuzza for arranging this!

There were rumors of this floating around for the last couple of weeks but today Sony confirmed that a 250GB Playstation 3 is on the way and will hit retail in North America Tuesday, November 3, 2009 for $349.99CND*, which will no doubt annoy those that bought a “slim” Playstation 3 back on September 1, 2009, which ships with a 120GB hard drive.

* US and CND prices are the same. The Loonie is almost at par with the US dollar.

In what could possibly be the coolest contest giveaway, Capcom has teamed up with Tesla Motors Company to give away a Tesla Roadster. (The same kind of car EA big-wig John Richetello drives.)  It’s a promotion tied to the January 2010 release of Dark Void (PC, PS3, 360), which features a video game version of Nikola Tesla, hence the tie-in.  Normally I wouldn’t promote such a giveaway because it’s limited to residents of the U.S., but the Tesla Roadster is too cool to ignore:

tesla roadster

The Dark Void Tesla Roadster Giveaway is the first time that Tesla Motors has partnered with another company to give away a Roadster, the record-setting electric sports car that’s faster than a Porsche 911 Turbo and greener than a Toyota Prius. To celebrate the launch of the sweepstakes and promote Capcom’s highly anticipated action-adventure game, Dark Void, Capcom held a test drive event Monday that allowed the media and San Francisco Bay Area members of Capcom-Unity.com to experience both the car and the game.
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Ubisoft has announced that the company has acquired TrackMania developer, Nadeo, for an undisclosed amount. It’s definitely good news for Nadeo!

“The acquisition of Nadeo is an important step in our expansion within the on-line gaming sector”, said Yves Guillemot, Chief Executive Officer of Ubisoft. “Through Nadeo, Ubisoft will gain an expert team, one of the best on-line technologies around as well as a flagship multiplayer game that enjoys an unrivalled reputation among a loyal and committed community. We are excited about the idea of introducing TrackMania® to an ever-wider audience and sharing the expertise of Nadeo’s teams with our Group’s other developers”.

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Racing fans have been waiting for this official announcement for a long time.

Today, SCEA announced that Gran Turismo is now available for PSP!  A quick synopsis:

Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. (SCEA) today announced the North American release of Gran Turismo®exclusively for the PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system, representing the first time the Gran Turismo® franchise has raced onto the portable platform.  Developed from start to finish by the award-winning studio Polyphony Digital Inc (PDI), which has shipped more than 52 million units worldwide from the Gran Turismo series, Gran Turismo,built for optimal performance on a portable platform, delivers its signature realism and high quality of design.

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Rather than have many, many separate news entries, we’ll just lump all of today’s releases here:

• The Wizard of OZ: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road (DS) from XSEED
• Motorstorm: Arctic Edge (PSP) from SCEA
• Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga (Wii) from XSEED
• DECA Sports 2 (Wii) from Hudson Entertainment
• Beaterator (PSP) from Rockstar
• Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (DS) from Square Enix