December 2011 Archives

Publisher: Sony
Developer: Insomniac Games

Platform: PlayStation 3
Reviewed on PlayStation 3

Humanity has lost. Our efforts to combat the alien Chimeran invasion (chronicled in Resistance: Fall of Man and Resistance 2) has failed. Tiny pockets of humanity continue to try to scratch life out of the cold earth as the Chimera cool the planet to make life more comfortable for their high alien metabolisms. In a last ditch effort, Joseph Capelli must leave his family and their Oklahoma hideout to journey with Dr. Fyodor Malikov to the ruins of New York City to stop the Chimera for all time.

The final downloadable game of the year released through Xbox Live Arcade is Zombies Must Die. Downloadable to the Xbox 360 for 800 points ($10), this is an arcade-style action game in which players craft weapons and complete simple quests involving slaughtering the undead.

Sony has released the final slate of games for the PlayStation Store for 2011. This week's releases include several games remastered for the PlayStation 3 and a classic game released on the original PlayStation. Read on for the full list of titles and more details...

This week's Xbox Live Arcade release is Trine 2, now downloadable to the Xbox 360 through Xbox Live Arcade for 1,200 points ($15). This physics-based puzzle/platformer is the sequel to Trine and once again has a warrior, thief and mage sharing the same corporeal existence as they solve puzzles and battle goblins to cope with a colossal calamity.

Most of this week's releases in the PlayStation Store are games previously released to retail stores now available as downloadable versions, but there are a few newbies, including notable release Trine 2. Read on for the full list and more details on each game...

Effective today, Electronic Arts' stock ticker on the NASDAQ exchange is "EA." Previously the ticker was ERTS, making the new symbol more recognizable and better aligned with Electronic Arts' branding.

Now that Star Wars: The Old Republic is (sort of) here, Star Wars Galaxies has shut down. Since it launched in 2003, Star Wars Galaxies has experienced turmoil, going from an interesting implementation that allowed for unconventional play, to a version that many claimed was "dumbed-down" but finally added space ships. Now, it's closed to make way for Star Wars: The Old Republic. Here's a final producer's letter: "A Thank You to the Star Wars Galaxies Community".

THQ has fired Martin J Good. Good previously served as THQ's Asia Pacific and GLobal Online Publishing business, recently moving to the position of Executive Vice President of Casual Games and Global Online Services, overseeing THQ's Kids, Family and Casual Games business unit. Presumably, THQ needed a fall guy for the recent failure of the uDraw on HD Consoles, and Mr. Good would be it.

Microsoft has released more downloadable games for the Xbox 360 through Xbox Live Arcade, including a crazy cycling game, a classic platformer and plenty of superhero-themed pinball. Read on for the full list and more details...

Sony has released yet more downloadable games for the PlayStation 3 and PSP through the PlayStation Store. This week's releases include downloadable versions of several recently released retail games and a lot of Marvel-themed pinball. Read on for the full list and more details...

Konami's game Doctor Lautrec and the Forgotten Knights for the 3DS is available in stores. This is a puzzle game in a cartoonish adventure-game framework that has players solving puzzles in late 19th-century Paris.

Long ago, PC games came in boxes bigger than your head. Not so long ago, games were released on a discrete date (usually not long after they were something close to code-complete). Now, games release across a gigantic smear of the calendar. Officially, Star Wars: The Old Republic launched on December 20. In truth, this massively multiplayer online game from EA's BioWare studio is already live, with players gradually being introduced over the next seven days. For those who haven't heard of Star Wars: The Old Republic, this persistent online game is set thousands of years before the Star Wars films and has players taking sides with either the Galactic Republic or the Sith Empire. The game is also one of the last hold-outs for the subscription model, charging $15 per month and requiring users to use EA's Origin service.

Turbine, part of Warner Bros., has launched the latest major content update for its massively multiplayer online game The Lord of the Rings Online. "Update 5: The Prince of Rohan" is the first major content expansion since the expansion pack Rise of Isengard and has players aiding Prince Theodred as he battles the forces of Saruman. The update adds five instances that take players through the assault on Saruman's stronghold, culminating in an encounter with Saruman himself.

According to GamersFirst, a retail version of the free-to-play (re-launched) game APB Reloaded is now available in stores in North America. The retail version of this premium multiplayer shooter includes 30 days of "premium" service, 500 G1 Credits, a Cisco Z180 sports car (in-game, of course) and a Magnum ACT-44 handgun for all characters on one account.

UTV Ignition Games has released National Geographic Challenge! for the Xbox 360 and Wii to stores in North America. Developed by Gusto Games, the game has players claiming territory by answering trivia questions. The PlayStation 3 version should be available early next year.

The Island: Castaway 2 from Awem Studio is now downloadable as a PC game. The game has players taking on the role of teenage islander Yati learning tribal secrets, hunting, fishing, farming and talking with other islanders.

THQ isn't particularly happy today. The company announced that it expects net sales for the third quarter to be 25% below its previously announced guidance of $510 to $550 million. In other words, THQ now expects its sales will be $128 to $138 million less than it had hoped. Why? The uDraw GameTablet, recently launched for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 isn't selling well. The version that launched for the Wii sold very well, but (according to president and CEO Brian Farrell) "...initial sales of our uDraw tablet and software on these high-definition platforms have been weaker than expected."

As part of Microsoft's recent Xbox 360 console update, Microsoft updated its terms of service to forbid users from participating in class-action lawsuits and requiring arbitration in the event of legal action. Sony did the same things in September. While reprehensible, essentially taking away consumer's rights to hold large companies responsible for their actions, Microsoft is just doing what every other large company is doing since a recent supreme court ruling. Once the Supreme court decided that it was OK to forbid class-action lawsuits and require arbitration, virtually all large companies are doing so, as it lowers potential future legal costs.

Atlus and Frozenbyte have released Trine 2 as a download for the PC through Valve's Steam service. This sequel to Trine will be released through Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network later this year. Trine 2 is another side-scrolling platformer in which three heroes do battle and solve physics-based puzzles to combat evil magic.

This week's downloadable game through Xbox Live Arcade is Apples to Apples, published by THQ and developed by ImaginEngine. Based on the physical party game in which players make various "Apples to Apples" (or not) comparisons, this game can be downloaded to the Xbox 360 for 800 points ($10).

Nintendo has launched the long-promised update for the 3DS. Despite arriving somewhat late, 3DS owners can now record up to 10 minutes of 3D video using the 3DS cameras. The update also improves the 3DS functionality of the Nintendo eShop and activates "Nintendo Zone" the ability to download things like previews and coupons and special hotspot locations.

Sony has released several more downloadable games through the PlayStation Store. This week's offerings are mostly games previously released to retail, now available as downloads, including a blocky version of Harry Potter's adventures and the second game concerning itself with Dragons and Kirkwall. Read on for the full list and more details...

Matrix Games, together with Slitherine and Wastelands Interactive, has released Time of Fury as a downloadable game for the PC. Time of Fury spans the entire European theater of World War II, giving players five campaigns spanning 1939 to 1944 (and two additional, smaller campaigns designed for multiplayer matches) to experience as detailed, turn-based strategy.

Majesco's game Face Racers for the 3DS is available in stores in North America. This kart racing game allows players to use the 3DS cameras to customize your kart and racer. It also supports standard controls and gyroscopic controls using the entire 3DS as a controller (making it hard to use the fixed-focal length 3D effect).

Ubisoft has released The Adventures of Tintin: The Game to stores in North America. Based on the film The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn (in turn based on the Belgian comic), the game is now available for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, PC and 3DS. It has players taking on the role of various characters from the film, platforming, fighting and exploring either alone or cooperatively.

As Sony Online Entertainment previously announced, EverQuest II is finally going all-in with free-to-play, converting all of EverQuest II to a free-to-play game with premium subscriptions available. As of today, the massively multiplayer online game is officially "free-to-play."

Microsoft is in the process of rolling out its fall Xbox 360 update, including the second major user interface overhaul since the system launched. This update does, primarily, two things. The update adds better voice control functionality and aims to add a slew of new video content providers. Read on to learn why we just don't care...

Majesco's game Nano Assault for the 3DS is available in stores in North America. This shooter from Shin'en Multimedia features 32 stages in which players defend humanity on the cellular level from the Nanostray Virus, a mission that is undertaken in full 3D.

Nintendo's game Fortune Street for the Wii is now available in stores. This electronic board game features Mario and his friends competing against characters from the Dragon Quest franchise (including a Slime) to emerge triumphant in a competition between four players (local or on the internet). This is the ninth Itadaki Street game, but the first time one has been released in North America. It features 15 boards based on Mushroom Kingdom and Dragon Quest locations and is a cutthroat game bearing a passing resemblance to Monopoly.

by Kyle Ackerman

Maybe you were as astonished as I was to learn the revered (and ancient) X-COM series is returning as a first-person shooter and that Electronic Arts is bringing back Syndicate – also as a first-person shooter. Or maybe your first game was Halo ODST and you can't see why anyone would want anything more than an assault rifle, an energy sword and a low ping. If you played X-COM when it was still called UFO Defense, you probably also remember when a PC's power was measured in gerbil flywheels, when DRM involved cardboard wheels and you had to input unit commands using a telegraph key. If you remember that, you might be offended, but you'll still play the game.

I'll play X-COM, because it's... well... X-COM. Others will play it because they get to shoot aliens, and don't much care what it's called. I'll be crying into my vodka gimlet playing Syndicate's multiplayer while some middle-schooler headshots me from across the map and takes a victorious sip from his juice box. It's the same reason we're all going to see Asteroids if it really comes out as a film. Anyone who's dropped a quarter into one of the old Atari machines knows there's no plot, but we remember the name and want to see what happens.

That's why publishers have announced a slew of new shooters based on classic franchises:

Nintendo's game Mario Kart 7 for the 3DS is now available in stores in North America. This latest installment in the Mario Kart kart racing franchise presents races in 3D against the AI or other players using the 3DS wireless connection.

CompuExpert has released the Cideko Air Keyboard Conqueror to stores. This wireless controller is compatible with both the PC and PlayStation 3, and includes a small keyboard, gyro mouse, and customizable gamepad. The device charges using its mini-USB port.

Electronic Arts announced that it has acquired KlickNation for an undisclosed sum. KlickNation develops free-to-play role-playing games on social platforms. Based in Sacramento, California, KlickNation will be subsumed under EA's BioWare label and will become part of BioWare San Francisco (as a new unit called BioWare Social). To preserve the balance of matter in the universe, FI can only assume that somewhere else, EA has created a business unit known as BioWare Anti-Social.

OGPlanet has officially launched its persistent online game SD Gundam Capsule Fighter Online. The game takes the form of a third-person shooter, with players able to (eventually, or through cash purchase) use one of 350 units from the Gundam universe to compete in player-vs.-player combat with up to 12 participants.

TopWare Interactive has released its game NyxQuest: Kindred Spirits for the PC and Mac, previously released on mobile and console platforms, this platformer features a winged girl named Nyx, setting out to rescue her mortal friend Icarus. The game is in retail stores in Europe or can be purchased as a download.

Majesco's game Jaws: Ultimate Predator is in stores for the Wii and 3DS, allowing players to take on the role of the famous shark of the Jaws films as it performs brutal underwater attacks.