Posts

So here’s a thing: Disney Interactive and TT Games have announcedLEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Gametoday. The game, which will follow the adventures of Jack Sparrow and others from the movies will hit shelves alongside the May 2011 release of the upcomingPirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tidesfilm. The title will feature characters and scenarios from the first three films, as well as the upcomingOn Stranger Tides. LEGO Pirates of the Caribbeanwill be available for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, PC, and Nintendo DS....

Atari has finally announcedTest Drive Unlimited 2, the long-rumored sequel to Eden Games’ 2006 open world racer. Despite Atari and Eden saying the game is a step forward, everything they’re currently telling us about it sounds an awful lot like the original. That means a persistent online playing environment that blends both the single-player and multiplayer experiences. The sequel will also bring vehicle damage, weather effects, and day and night cycles....

BAFTA will be setting up two game designer workshopsfor young people at the Eurogamer Expo in London this year, presumably in an effort to keep them from drinking in parks and breaking into shops (that is what young people do these days, right?). On September 23rd, kids from the south of England will be invited to the workshop, where game development staff from Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft will teach them more about the industry....

A 400-paged novel, simply calledBattlefield 3, will see release this year according toAmazonandBarnes & Noble. The book is listing as being written by the upcoming game’s executive producer Patrick Bach, along with Andy McNab. McNab (a pseudonym) is a former Special Air Service operative, and best known for writing both fiction and non-fiction military novels. Both retailers are listing the book for an October 25 release, the same day the game of the same name hits PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360....

Last December Activisionhad trademarked“Blur.” We jokingly speculated it was forGuitar Hero: Blur. You, being smarter, put together that it was Bizarre’s new racing game. You were right. According to the latest issue ofFrench magazineJoypad,Bluris the upcoming Activision-published, Bizarre racing title that’s likely to be revealed at this year’s E3. Details are scarce, but fast cars, fancy locations, and car damage is confirmed. But there’s a catch — unlikeProject Gotham Racingin which cars would get damaged by other vehicles or poor driving,Blurwill feature weapons....

Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences president Joseph Olin hassingled out Blu-rayas yet another difference maker that may eventually lose its edge, going the way of the third party exclusive. While stating that the format still has some short-term advantages, in the long run it won’t matter. “I look at Blu-ray being the obvious short-term differentiator, but if everything goes to digital download — and over time, it will — then the Blu-ray device no longer has the same competitive advantage, or the benefit is not as strong as the feature is,” stated Olin....

Here’s a new TV commercial for Activision’sBlur. I’ve mostly been hyped forBlurbecause of theMario Kartinspiration — it’s basically a “grown up” racing game with power-ups — but the makers of this commercial have rather mercilessly mocked Nintendo’s highly regarded racing franchise, implying that it’s boring and for children. The ad features a cute character in a thinly veiled parody ofMario Kart, looking on atBlurin envy while he’s stuck with his bright and cuddly cartoon cars....

Gearbox Software has just sent over the cover ofPC Gamer, whereBorderlandsis going to be enjoying a blowout of new information, especially regarding the dramatic shift in art style that was one of yesterday’shottest topics. According to Gearbox, the cover image is from an in-game screenshot. Go look at it. Yes, that’s supposed to bein-game. Now you’re able to see why they didn’t want to just call it “cel-shading.” If what Gearbox tells us is true, then we are potentially looking at one of the most beautiful games this generation....

Capcom was nice enough to invite me and Hamza out to the bars last week in honor ofDead Rising 2’supcoming release. They rented a bus to shuttle us around and everything. Normally, we’d try to make an informative video about the game, but they didn’t have the game on display. So instead, we had a grand ol’ time and I got a bunch of gross stuff stuck to my face....

The virtual shelves inWorld of Warcraft‘s online Pet Store are about to get just a tad more crowded with digital friends. And the cool thing is, your real-world shelf can be adorned with these little beasties as well. In a recent post on the officialWOWWeb site, Blizzard revealed two more animals are slated to hit the Pet Store in the near future: the Wind Rider Cub and the Gryphon Hatchling. Players who purchase these will also receive a plush, stuffed version of their newly-purchased pet....

Whoa.Call of Dutymultiplayer is popular. Like, Robosapien in 2004 popular. Today, Activision announced thatCall of Duty: World at Wardownloadable content ‘Map Pack 1‘ was purchased over one million times the weekend of its debut. I can’t do the math — division is way out of my league — but I’m pretty sure Activision made a ton of money. The content was released over PlayStation Network and Xbox Live on March 19 for ten bucks (or 800 Moon Dollars)....

Zen Studios has announced that it’s adding Captain America to itsMarvel Pinballroster. The table is inspired by Ed Brubaker’sCaptain American 65th Anniversary Special, and will have you knocking a silver ball around. You know, pinball. But in all seriousness, I’m psyched about this; the table is looking great. Zen has done a stellar job with its table designs for bothMarvel Pinballand itsPinball FXgame for Xbox Live Arcade. Can’t wait to have Conrad Zimmerman trample my scores on this new one…...

This might be the biggest savings Amazon has had in their daily videogame deals yet. Of course, when you start with a $300 accessory product, you really need to make a discount deep to turn heads. Today only, you can pick up one of these Mad Catz Fender Stratocastor replica guitar controllers for Xbox 360 at a staggering $99. They’re wireless, wooden and sexy. I’ve not used one myself and am in no position today to spend a hundred smackers on a controller but I do wish I was....