Enslaved: Odyssey to the West is definitely one of my favorite games of the year, but not entirely because it is one of the best. I fell in love with the game before even playing it, and while I did find some reasons to be disappointed in it, I thought it was great. The environment, the story, and the characters were all phenomenal, but the gameplay wasn’t always as fun as it could have been.

The game’s first DLC, Pigsy’s Perfect 10, does something rather remarkable, changing the basic gameplay in such a drastic way as to be almost an entirely new game. Replacing the main game’s melee-centric combat with slow, methodical sniping, the content provides a surprising amount of difficulty — and quite a lot of fun.

Read more… »

Back in the day when I was still wearing braces,  getting in trouble for skate boarding in the school yard and was death afraid of girls (who at the time stood at least a head taller than me) my favourite multiplayer game was…well, I guess it was Goldeneye. That was the first, and unfortunately only, FPS that I was able to whoop everyone and there brother at.

My second favourite multiplayer game back then was…Super Smash Bros. Dammit. Well, a game I really liked was Mario Party 2 and it’s out out this week on Virtual Console. Hit the jump for more info on that and this week’s other releases.

Read more… »

It’s Wednesday, which of course means it’s time to unwrap another Store update. This week sees a new batch of downloadable games including Prince of Persia Warrior: Within and Two Thrones and the glorified tech-demo that is Sackboy’s Prehistoric Moves, along with some fresh DLC for Dj Hero 2, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II.

Check out this week’s PSN update in full after the break.

Read more… »

While I was at PAX earlier this year I had the great opportunity to sit in on a panel about the Humble Indie Bundle, a promotion that went on back in May that gave consumers the opportunity to net World of Goo, Aquaria, Gish, Lugaru, Samorost 2, and Penumbra: Overture for as little as a penny. The promotion managed to raise over a $1 million within a week, of which nearly $325,000 went to charity.

If this is the first you’re hearing of “the Bundle” and you’re feeling a little bummed, don’t fret. A second pay-what-you-want bundle of five new games launched today. Hit the jump for more information on the Humble Indie Bundle 2 and how you can get your hands on a package including titles like Braid and Machinarium for as little as $0.01.

Read more… »

From the makers of Zombie Tycoon and Young Thor comes … A Space Shooter for Two Bucks! This PlayStation minis title is making its way to PS3 and PSP via the PlayStation Network for the low, low price of – yes, that’s right, $1.99. For PlayStation Plus subscribers the title will be absolutely free when the game launches next week.

The game is pretty much what you would expect, which is entirely fine by me. The PlayStation Network really could use some more good shmups. So if you could use a little more alien blasting in your life, be on the lookout for A Space Shooter for Two Bucks! on December 21^st.

[Via PlayStation Blog]

This week, another PS2 classic joins the list of titles hitting Sony’s Black Box O’Blu Ray in glorious high-definition visuals. The second title of the Sands of Time trilogy, Price of Persia: Warrior Within, hit the PlayStation Network today complete with HD and 3D visuals for your downloading pleasure. Now, both Price of Persia: Warrior Within HD and Price of Persia: Sands of Time HD are available via the PlayStation Store for a paltry $14.99.

[Via PlayStation Blog]

You may already be familiar with this week’s big title if you have an iPhone. However, now Wii owners have the opportunity to enjoy Different Cloth’s lilt line.  lilt line is “an award-winning rhythm racing game with a dubstep soundtrack and a visual aesthetic that will confound your senses and rock your soul.” lilt line makes its way to the Wii-Ware service  as Gaijin Games’, the developer behind the Bit.Trip series, first attempt at publishing. Lacking a touch screen, lilt line‘s Wii release reportedly features similar controls to those of Bit.Trip Beat.

I had the opportunity to speak with Gaijin Games CEO Alex Neuse  in Los Angeles during E3. He seemed excited, but a little nervous about lilt line and Gaijin Games’ first foray into the publishing world. Do these guys a favour and try out lilt line. A free demo version is available via Wii-Ware for a limited time, so you really have no excuse not to at least try this sweet rhythm-racer out.

Hit the jump for the rest of this week’s releases.
Read more… »

You know I hate to admit it but every now and then Twitter comes in handy. Take today for instance: had I continued to resist signing up for Twitter (like I had for the longest time) I wouldn’t have known about Tripwire Interactive’s upcoming event for Killing Floor (one of my favorite games).

According to Tripwire’s tweet, the developer will be hosting a special Christmas themed event for its Horde Mode shooter. Dubbed “The Killing Floor Twisted Christmas” this special event will feature Christmas themed monsters, a new “Santa’s Evil Lair” map, thirteen new achievements and an unlockable “the Baddest Santa” character. Read more… »

A packed PSN update is inbound this week, including the anticipated releases of Alien Breed 2: Assault and Kung-Fu Live for PS Eye.

Elsewhere, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light gets an expansion, along with some DLC for Medal of Honor and Street Fighter IV.

This week’s PSN update can be read in full after the break.

Read more… »

The most exciting title hitting Nintendo’s downloadable services this week is Fluidity. I had an opportunity to play this title while at PAX. It’s a fun, physics-based puzzle platformer and it’s definitely worth a look. The game puts you in control of a flow of water, and rotating the Wii remote will rotate the scenery and will allow you to navigate the water through the mazes which make up the title’s levels.

A demo of the game is also available on Wii-Ware…so you have no excuse to try this title out.

The rest of this week’s titles await you after the break.

Read more… »

Today Capcom revealed that the first batch of DLC for its ever popular, duct taped fueled zombie kill-a-thon, Dead Rising 2 will hit sometime this December. Bringing back the protagonist from the original Dead Rising, Dead Rising 2: Case West sees Frank West team up with Chuck Green to get to investigate the pharmaceutical company Phenotrans.

In terms of gameplay, Case West will allow two-player co-op. If you happen to be friendless, like myself, the AI will control one of the player. Read more… »

It’s the announcement Battlefield: Bad Company 2 veterans have been waiting for: the release dates of the recently announced Vip Map Pack 7 and Vietnam expansion revealed back at E3 in June.

Vip Map Pack 7, which contains four new maps including fan favourite Oasis from the original Bad Company, will be available December 1st (that’s tomorrow), and should provide the perfect excuse to get back into the excellent multiplayer action of Bad Company 2.

Vietnam on the other hand (which features four new Vietnam maps along with a host of new weapons and vehicles) will deploy on December 21st for the consoles and December 18 for PC on Steam EA’s online store, retailing for $14.99/£9.99 or 1200 Microsoft points.

Read more… »