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‘Dragon Age: Awakenings’ Awakes

Submitted by Scott Tortorice on Wed, 03/17/2010 - 20:55

Needless to say, I have yet to even mine a tenth of all that Dragon Age: Origins offers. There’s just too much to do and experience, especially in the character creation department! So, while everyone is now busily playing Awakenings, the first expansion for Bioware’s RPG epic, I am busily working my way through the base game as I try to catch up with everyone else. Sometimes you can have too much of a good thing.

But for those of you who successfully glued yourself in front of your computer and experienced everything Ferelden had to offer, you are probably quite happy with the latest expansion that seems to offer quite a bit of new content:

Battle vs Chess Announced

Submitted by Scott Tortorice on Mon, 03/15/2010 - 21:47

Anybody who knows me knows that I am a dedicated chess player for a whole host of reasons that I have explored in my blog. There is just something…unique about the Royal Game. It possesses an elegance that has often been shabbily imitated by other strategy games, but has yet to be successfully duplicated. Strategy, tactics and the classic battle of wits, all in a convenient package that can be played anywhere. What more could you want?

You could want some skull-splitting mayhem! Chess may be many things, but it is most definitely not an action game. Of course, that hasn’t stopped some past computerized incarnations from trying to inject a little action, most notably Interplay’s successful Battle Chess from many years past. Unfortunately, most titles that have attempted to merge the thoughtfulness of chess with some spirited action have failed because they simply could not please both the chess and action gamer. Hence, the dearth of such titles.

Biology Battle Coming to the PC

Submitted by Scott Tortorice on Fri, 03/12/2010 - 20:43

Meridian4 (http://www.meridian4.com) has announced that it has signed a digital publishing agreement with The Games Company (http://www.the-games-company.com) to digitally publish their PC version of their XBLA hit game, Biology Battle.

“Biology Battle is an excellent title and performed extremely well on XBLA. We are very optimistic to create a similar impact on the other platforms together with our new partner Meridian4 and are very excited to add Biology Battle as one of the key titles in our upcoming line up for its release in second quarter of 2010!” said Christian Sauerteig, Director Marketing & Sales at The Games Company.

“We are delighted to be working with The Games Company on Biology Battle. The game was an instant hit with us and we know everyone will enjoy it on the PC. This game is the definition of adrenaline-packed action; the game will have you twitching for hours.” said Andy Sher, CEO at Meridian4.

Metro 2033 Goes Gold

Submitted by Scott Tortorice on Fri, 03/05/2010 - 22:32

When I first learned about Metro 2033, I was excited. In the fashion of Stalker, Metro 2033 seemed to be a dark, post-apocalyptic shooter with the potential for lots of frights and fights. But then I learned it’s a strictly on-the-rails shooter….

Don’t get me wrong, scripted shooters can be a lot of fun, but they rarely engage me like a game built around an open sandbox world as found in Stalker. When everything occurs in a pre-scripted sequence…well, where’s the thrill in that? Yeah, I know – the devs have said that they favored a scripted shooter because it allows them to tell a better story. That may well be so, but if I want a story, I’ll just read the novel that Metro 2033 is based upon (which I am planning to do – kudos to THQ for getting the novel published once again). But when it comes to gaming, I am much more interested in telling my own story.

Anyway, those of you who can’t wait to take a crack at this shooter will be happy to know that the game went gold today:

Activision Reveals New Plans for Call of Duty Franchise

Submitted by Scott Tortorice on Wed, 03/03/2010 - 21:31

Activision today announced new strategic plans for the Call of Duty franchise, one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time.

The plans include the formation of a dedicated business unit that will bring together its various new brand initiatives with focused, dedicated resources around the world. The company intends to expand the Call of Duty brand with the same focus seen in its Blizzard® Entertainment business unit. This will include a focus on high-margin digital online content and further the brand as the leading action entertainment franchise in new geographies, new genres and with new digital business models.

"2010 will be another important year for the Call of Duty franchise," stated Mike Griffith, President and CEO of Activision Publishing. "In addition to continued catalog sales, new downloadable content from Infinity Ward and a new Call of Duty release, we are excited about the opportunity to bring the franchise to new geographies, genres and players."

Blacklight: Tango Down Announced

Submitted by Scott Tortorice on Wed, 03/03/2010 - 21:15

Generally speaking, when you get a press release from a game company that calls themselves “Zombie Studios”, it is usually a good idea to take a closer look. With that in mind....

Zombie Studios has announced that they are developing a game called Blacklight: Tango Down, a “near-future first person shooter that will offer AAA-quality military shooter action in a downloadable package.”

I’ve got to tell ya, after seeing this video I am more than a little curious. Check it out:

My Own Burn Notice

Submitted by Scott Tortorice on Fri, 02/26/2010 - 21:28

One of 2010’s most intriguing games is Obsidian Entertainment’s Alpha Protocol. This game will put the player in the no-squeak shoes of a modern day spy who must stop an “international catastrophe” from occurring. Similar to USA Network’s excellent Burn Notice (if you’re not watching it, what are you waiting for?!? Sheesh!), the player must go rogue and work the international espionage system to get the answers he needs and stop the nefarious plot before it is too late. Promising a nice dose of role playing, along with plenty of action enhanced by all the cool gadgets and weaponry that goes with spycraft, Alpha Protocol sort of reminds me of the espionage equivalent of Mass Effect.

I am really looking forward to this game. I haven’t played a good spy game since…well Spy vs. Spy back on the 8-bit machines. When you stop and think about it, it’s a clear shame because espionage would seem to be a natural setting for conflict-based gaming. Even on the Atari 800XL, there was nothing as sweet as laying a deviously clever trap for the black spy (I always played the good spy) and laughing with joy when it was sprung with all its malice.

2K Games Announces Extensive DLC for BioShock 2

Submitted by Scott Tortorice on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 21:05

2K Games announced today an aggressive post-launch downloadable content plan for BioShock 2 that extends and enhances the single and multiplayer experiences by adding more glimpses into the award-winning world of Rapture. Downloadable content will be made available soon, beginning with the Sinclair Solutions Test Pack, available this March from the Xbox LIVE Marketplace for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and Games for Windows–LIVE for 400 Microsoft Points and from the PlayStation Network for £3.19. Future expansions into the world of BioShock 2 are slated to arrive over the coming months and will continue to expand on the stories of the denizens of Rapture.

“The fans who waited in the snow, rain and cold for the midnight launch of BioShock 2 have spoken and their message is that Rapture still has many fascinating stories to tell,” said Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K. “Downloadable content is a key part of our efforts to continue to entice the fans that have made 2K a household name - we intend to deliver single and multiplayer content that respects and expands upon one of the greatest fictional worlds ever created.”

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