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If you’ve blown threw the single-player campaign ofF.E.A.R. 2and are already tired of the multiplayer, today’sfree“Toy Soldiers” download pack might be for you. Available now (or soon, depending on when you’re reading this) on Xbox LIVE Marketplace, PlayStation Network and PC download portals, the pack contains three maps unlike any found on theF.E.A.R. 2disc. Monolith has really gone a little crazy with these three, too — a pinball machine, a hospital lab, and a sandbox....

More often than not, modern videogames aren’t really aboutchoices. Yeah, we’ve got branching storylines and local agency, but in pretty much every game there is always a “good” or “best” ending which players will, more often than not, strive for. It’s typically possible to geteverythingyou want in a game without ever sacrificing anything significant. We gain XP and we level up, but we’re seldom forced to make narrative and gameplay decisions which permanently affect our characters for the rest of the game....

I remember when the Western anime craze really started to boom in the late 90s. Not only did media distributors start licensing every single Japanese property under the sun, distinctly Western properties began to demonstrate greater and greater Japanese influences. It started when shows likeDexter’s Laboratorywould incorporate speed lines, giant robot battles, and kaiju monsters. Eventually, there wasTeen Titanson television andMarvel Mangaversein comics, which tried to more directly emulate Japanese art and animation....

Russell Williams, CEO of Flying Lab Software (Pirates of the Burning Sea), recently sat down with me to talk about his future console game and the reason why MMO developers have such a hard time getting their games onto the Xbox 360 and PlayStation platforms. Williams deduced that the issue is all contained within the quick-paced “mindset” of hardware manufacturers and the astoundingly large royalty payments that are expected from them....

I don’t think this App is very good. It’s kind of bland, and the puzzles aren’t really compelling at all. This is, however, the best free App going. I don’t think you should even download it. I pledged that I would never use “Lite” versions of paid Apps, and that you’d only get the best full freebie I could find. Unfortunately, it means a game likeMinimeventually becomes my salvation. I have failed you all, despite my noble intent....

What’s that?Galactic Civilizations II, one of my favorite turn-based strategy games in recent years, is getting even more content? What wonderful news to wake up to on a Monday morning. The new add-on for the futuristic space-based strategy game is subtitledEndless Universe, and, unlike previous expansionsDark AvatarandTwilight of the Arnor, will not require the original game to play, acting a sort of stand alone title. It will also come bundled with the aforementioned previous two expansions, if you happened to miss out on them....

Mortal Kombat, a game with legendary fighters whose stories span many years. Of all the cool characters in the series, the last bosses of the games were rarely my favorites. Instead, it was these two not-so-mini-bosses that I loved watching kids lose to in arcades over and over and over again. So. It’s a simple question. Two legs, and four arms. Or two arms, and four legs. Who would win, and why?...

Take thisfor what you will, but according to GameStop COO Dan DeMatteo, Nintendo intentionally held back on their Wii distribution because apparently the company already made the bank they wanted to (see, money > customer). Additionally, DeMatteo claims that April will prove to be a beautiful month for Wii hunters on the prowl. “I don’t think [Wii supply] going to be an issue going forward, and—it’s just my opinion—I think [Nintendo] intentionally dried up their supply because they made their numbers for the year,” said DeMatteo in a Q&A session during GameStop’s quarterly conference call....

If Sony is doing one thing right when it comes to gimmicky peripherals, it’s camera-based games.Eye of JudgmentandEyepetare two very interesting, unique little titles and help set the PS3 apart. The PSP, however, is not planning to be left out, with its own version ofEoJand this brand new title,Invizimals. As you can see,Invizimalsworks on a similar principal toEyepet, using the PSP’s camera peripheral to superimpose digital creatures over real-world images. Unlike Eyepet, however,Invizimals‘ focus is on combat....

During his session entitled “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap: Design Lessons Learned from ROCK BAND,” Harmonix’s Dan Teasdale dropped a bit of information about an upcomingRock Band 2update. According to the designer, user feedback indicated that some players wanted an option to view information on highest stars achieved in the game per song. With that in mind, gamers should expect a game update in the future. “Just like we did withRock Band 1‘s ‘World Tour’ rebalance,” he said, “we’re going to add a way to do this, not just in Rock Band 2, but in our future titles....

Usually I struggle to find something new and original to say when I present a fresh batch of assets, but this time I don’t need to say much other than OGRE-MOUNTED DUELS! Yes, these new screens forGolden Axe: Beast Ridershow off some OGRE-MOUNTED DUELING! It’s like regular dueling, but there is a fcking ogre and you are on its cnting back! Ace potatoes! Okay, soBeast Riderstill hasn’t totally grabbed me by the bollocks and demanded my attention, but if done right, I can foresee the mounted combat being considerably epic....

When the originalKillzonewas announced and the hype was growing to ridiculous levels, one specific term seemed to regularly pop up in the gaming press — “HaloKiller.” Since then, the franchise has been unable to shake the image of being Sony’s answer to Microsoft’s premier series, and that’s not an image developer Guerrilla Games has been keen to propogate. “We generally don’t mind [comparisons], as I can think of worse franchises to be compared to than [HaloorCall of Duty],” explains GG managing director Herman Hulst in the latestGame Informer....

While this trailer doesn’t show any actual gameplay fromGuitar Hero IV, it does reveal quite a bit about the upcoming digital jam session. For one, as we all knew, it will add drums and vocals to the mix. As Activision put it in the trailer, it’s “TheGuitar Heroexperience … reinvented.” Adding vocals and drums? What a brilliant, new idea. We are shown the new “most realistic drums” in action, and if my eyes don’t deceive me, the guitars look slightly larger and more “authentic....