According to an email we just got from Blizzard, the World of Warcraft Cataclysm closed beta is now available – and I couldn’t have chosen a more badass header image! Be sure and check your Battle.net accounts to see if you were selected.

For those not in the know, Cataclysm, the third expansion pack for the most successful MMO of all time, is essentially “bringing back” the old world from the original game – but with a twist. Everything is getting a makeover, including old areas and dungeons, so it’s sure to win back a lot of old fans.

Today, Square Enix announced that Final Fantasy XIV is set for a global release on Windows PC on September 30th, with the PS3 version following suit in March 2011. If you’re hankering for some MMO FF beforehand, the Beta phase goes live in the first couple weeks of July.

In addition to the normal release, there will also be a collectors edition, which will grant you access to the game 8 days early (September 22nd, for all of you math geniuses), as well as in-game items and a large amount of exclusives. Read on, good sir (or ma’am)! Read more… »

There has always been a struggle in the realm of portable gaming: how does one make a title that is both easy to pick up and play, and stand beside full-length console titles?  Oftentimes, portable systems are inundated with quick, fairly easy titles that are meant to kill ten or fifteen minutes when on the go.  The portability of the system has bled into the design of its library, in other words.

With Metal Gear Solid:  Peace Walker, this trend is not only broken, but has been turned almost completely on its head.  With serious effort put toward making both a full Metal Gear experience as well as a portable-friendly design, Hideo Kojima has assuredly outdone himself with this newest entry, and possibly changed the way we see portable gaming.

How exactly does this one title stand to change the portable gaming scene?  Read on to find out. Read more… »

This week’s PSN update sees the launch of PlayStation Plus, the new subscription based scheme revealed at this year’s E3 which entitles you to a slew of free goodies, including free games, DLC and minis.

Elsewhere, Fat Princess becomes a trifle more bloated after gorging on a particularly fattening expansion pack and the SEGA special offers continue to dominate.

But that’s not all: all can be revealed after the break.

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Today a few details leaked onto the Web regarding Runic Games’ up coming dungeon crawling MMO based on their smash hit Torchlight.

Currently, Runic Games is planning on having the Torchlight MMO be free-to-play, with funding coming though microtransactions. Also, a main focus of the MMO is to make it feel like a single-player game. Read more… »

Nothing says crazy car action like Gran Turismo or Top Gear.    And in this very latest trailer of the MUCH delayed racing simulator we get treated to some Stig based action.  A year or two ago I would of laid good money we would see the Stig’s face before GT5 ever reached the light of day.

The Red Bull inspired trailer shows Formula 1 driver Sebastian Vettel giving a voice over and his team Red Bull technical chief being consulted on the game by Polyphony Digital’s own Kazunori Yamauchi.
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Kalypso Media USA will be releasing a a sequel called  DarkStar One – Broken Alliance - the publishers who brought us Tropico 3.  In DarkStar One, players will assume the role of Kayron Jarvis, a young and adventurous space traveler who attempts to unravel the secrets behind his legacy.

The game will be presented in full 1080p HD with 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound.  If that doesn’t tickle your fancy, then a release date of July 20 for Xbox 360 owners should.  I forgot to mention, you also get to fight aliens. Read more… »

Oh what a glorious week it has been for the PS3. Last night we received a pretty new firmware update, version 3.40, fresh with PlayStation Plus, a networking feature in the photo gallery, video editor and uploader, rating system for PSN content, and enhanced power saving settings. I don’t know about you, but I don’t update anymore until I know it won’t brick my system. Call me paranoid but my launch day PS3 is my precious.

Anyhow, Sony continues to shower us with gifts today! This week, you can find new PlayStation Plus PSN Store content, a digital version of inFAMOUS, and if that doesn’t feed your hunger for PSN content, perhaps a Fat Princess expansion pack will. If that isn’t enough for you, hit the jump to see what else today’s US PSN Store update has in store for you – literally. Read more… »

Numerous classics of earlier console generations are available with a simple search on Xbox Live Marketplace or its equivalent on other consoles.  Many have found that this is usually a wake-up call for their own nostalgia.  And like everything else, video games age.

Obviously, some games have aged well; others, not so much.  Doom II, classic though it may have been for its era, belongs in the latter category. Read more… »

Allow me to be frank for one moment and say that grand strategy games, like Making History II, are not my forte. Plop me down in front of a classic RTS like StarCraft or Command and Conquer and I can hold my own. Hell, I can even enjoy a game like Sins of a Solar Empire, which features aspects of grand strategy titles.

Maybe my dislike for this genre comes from the presumption that the games tend to be more about managing your economy, politics, and research, rather than crushing your opponents. It may also have something to do with the fact that most grand strategy titles are turn based, which wreaks havoc on my obsessive compulsive nature.

Regardless of my dislike for the genre, I still see the merit of these games. I am in no way saying that grand strategy titles are not fun. In fact, I very much enjoyed some aspects of Making History II, which I will discuss later on.  But, enough of my disclaimers and on with the review.

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It’s fair to say that that my PS3 and Battlefield: Bad Company 2 disc are very well acquainted by now, having spent the better part of three months together. No other game has provided me with such ample amounts of entertainment so far this year, and, as a result, an inhumane number of hours of my insignificant existence have been poured into painstakingly upgrading my online ranking. I also like to think I’m a proficient player, and am very proud of my dedication.

Or at least I was until I recently had a browse over the leaderboards only to discover that, at the time of writing, the world leader of Battlefield: Bad Company 2 has spent over 800 hours to reach the elite top level rank. You have to wonder if they still have a pulse. Read more… »