I will admit that, being under the age of 45, I’ve never been an avid fan of Van Halen. Their brand of sugar coated glam rock goodness served them well in the 1980s, but, while some of their hits have entered my consciousness, the band hasn’t exactly aged well, descending into obscurity in the eyes of the current generation that Guitar Hero caters to. Unless of course you happen to be a hardcore follower of Van Halen, and I rather doubt there are many left anymore, the existence of this game seems somewhat bewildering.

We all know that Guitar Hero has spiralled into unforgivable saturation, and Van Halen marks the third band-centric game in the series to date following Guitar Hero: Aerosmith and Guitar Hero: Metallica. Such greed has caused many players’ love affairs with their plastic instruments to dwindle however, so does Van Halen have the gravitas to keep the franchise afloat?

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[Check out Jeff's second opinion in this updated review!]

With one of the biggest marketing campaigns for a video game in recent history, Heavy Rain arrived under a shadow of uncertainty. Quantic Dream had claimed that their latest title was, without doubt, the most interactive video game ever made. Early reviews, on the other hand, remarked more upon its imperfect execution rather than its ability to entertain.

For such a huge release, and under the expectation that each player’s experience would be entirely different to everyone else, it seemed only fitting that Gamer Limit allowed two writers to review Heavy Rain.

Read on to find out if we have indeed entered a new age of gaming.

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Jason West and Vince Zampella, formerly studio heads of Infinity Ward, are moving forward with a lawsuit against their former employer, Activision. Phil Kollar of Game Informer partnered with Eric Chad, an IP attorney, to get to the bottom of what really happened that fateful day, when security guards were ordered to escort the two developers off the premises. Phil uncovers some pretty disturbing material while skimming the 16 page legal document; some of which essentially infers that Activision, and/or CEO Kotick, were looking for reasons to fire West and Zampella without real cause.

So how can the lead developers of 2009′s biggest shooter be let go for no real reason? My money is on the fact that Kotick didn’t want them to jump ship, and enacted a pre-emptive strike before they started work on a new IP with a different competitor. Read the full article here and decide for yourself. Read more… »

As the IGF looms closer, more and more details are being revealed about the finalists. Today, The EA Partners initiative announced that they’ll be publishing two indie games, both from successful developers. The first is Klei Entertainment’s Shank, and the second is Hothead Games’ Deathspank. Shank is a current IGF finalist in the Visual Art Excellence category.

Both games will be making their way to the Xbox LIVE Arcade and the Playstation Network, with Shank also making its debut on the PC. It’s not surprising that EA wanted to pick up these great games, as Klei Entertainment’s flagship title, Eets! was highly successful on both the PC and the Xbox LIVE arcade.
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The steady stream of DLC flowing from Gearbox HQ to support Borderlands since last October has been noteworthy, and it appears their strategy is working so far. Nearly 6 months after release, the IP is still relevant and getting face time in many a disk tray. With their third installment, The Secret Armory of General Knoxx, they’re hoping to ensure that the game which Pachter claimed was “sent to die” becomes the game that can’t be killed.

In a surprise announcement that is sure to enthrall your degenerate sister, EA have today revealed their plans for yet another Sims expansion pack to empty your wallets once more, all for the sake of some scant pieces of virtual new furniture. Titled as Ambitions, which will mark the second expansion pack for The Sims 3 after World Adventures, this latest installment will focus on your Sims’ career paths, allowing you to directly influence gameplay by guiding your virtual puppets through their daily regimes at work.

Exciting new jobs such as detective work and ghost hunting are planned and the expansion will also apparently feature a new tattoo system to scar your virtual sons with. The Sims 3: Ambitions is scheduled for release this June.

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A rather fetching PSN store update has gone live this week, with a barrage of tasty treats including the anticipated playable demo for Just Cause 2, Resident Evil 5‘s Desperate Escape DLC and a mountain of turgid songs for Karaoke Revolution for your younger nephew.

Hit that jump for a full breakdown of this week’s PSN Store update.

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Whilst the press release states more details are to be made available at the Game Developers Conference later this month, it does at least cover the basics. A new Tomb Raider game is to be released via Digital Download this year, titled Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, to be developer by Crystal Dynamics.

For more details, hit the jump.

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When thinking of top down shooters today, many people turn to the Xbox LIVE Arcade or the Playstation Network to get their fix. There are a great number of these titles available on consoles, but most of them only give a passing nod to the glory days of 8-bit entertainment. BOH is available on neither console, but rather on all three major OSes, and offers retro action you won’t be able to find in any game created in the past 15 years.

The storyline for the game is non-existent, as most 8-bit top down shooters were. Basically, you’re just a guy wandering through various levels in an attempt to make it out alive. Yet, the simplicity of gameplay, the variety of powerups and monsters, and the level of detail and thought that have gone into the game will leave you wanting more before you know it.

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It’s shaping up to be an exciting year for indie games as the Independent Games Festival grows closer. Today added to that excitement when indie developer Playdead announced that their flagship title, Limbo, would be coming to the Xbox LIVE Arcade this summer. The announcement was made by Playdead’s CEO Dino Patti.

Limbo is a current IGF finalist, competing in both the Technical Excellent and Visual art categories. In addition, a playable version of the game will be presented to GDC attendees, so if you’re lucky enough to be heading to San Francisco, you’ll get a sneak peek at this great game.

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The weirdest thing about Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth is that very little of the game relates to being an attorney; instead, it’s all about the investigations. In previous installments, we were already assigned to a case before investigating crime scenes, so we were looking for clues to use in court. Ace Attorney Investigations turns it into mere detective work.

In AAI, players assume the role of Miles Edgeworth – prosecuting attorney and rival of the series’ usual protagonist, Phoenix Wright – to do all the things that Phoenix did in the other games, except not as fun. Aside from Phoenix being a more interesting character, the coolest thing about Miles Edgeworth in the previous games was his sort of enigmatic aura. Unfortunately, no man is ever as interesting as his mystery.

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Resident Evil 5′s newest DLC seeks to flesh out the untold story of just how Jill Valentine escaped the Tricell facility. Of course, she had a little help from her friend, Josh Stone (not to be confused with Joss Stone!).

While Lost in Nightmares served up some old-school survival horror action, Desperate Escape clings to the same intensity of Resident Evil 5, much to the chagrin of slow moving zombie fans. Does Desperate Escape transcend the moniker of “just another typical RE5 mission”? Read on to find out. Read more… »