UTV Ignition Games, the publisher behind titles like Muramasa: the Demon Blade and Deadly Premonition, has just announced the release date for upcoming action-adventure title El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron. The title will be landing on American Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles on July 26th.  Europeans will be able to get their hands on the title on September 9th.

El Shaddai is inspired by the Book of Enoch – an ancient piece of Jewish religious literature that is not considered apart of the Judeo-Christian canon by most affiliations.  The game looks absolutely beautiful, which is unsurprising as the team is headed up by a team led by Okami and Devil May Cry character designer Takeyasu Sawaki. Be on the lookout for this beauty in a store near you later this summer.

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Duke Nukem Forever demo was made available today for those that pre-ordered the game or had purchased the Game of the Year edition of Borderlands. Above you can find the first of what I hope to be many Limited Looks at games – be it demos, retail, open betas, etc. This 30 minute demo is, well, Duke Nukem. It is honestly exactly what one would expect going into the game – outdated gameplay mechanics but mindless fun nonetheless. Despite taking 12 years of development, Duke Nukem Forever will be released on June 14th for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.

L.A. Noire’s tale is a pretty lengthy one: in fact, it dates back nearly seven years, when it was announced in 2004. The game has been delayed more often than The Ocarina of Time, and has gone through many aesthetic changes to get to where it is today. L.A. Noire’s biggest draw is the new facial motion capture technology, that boasts near perfect representations of actor’s performances, down to the smallest lip quiver.

So, does the technology deliver? Or more importantly, does the game itself justify the wait? Read on to find out. Read more… »

Today table-top games giant Wizards of the Coast released some new details about the up coming sequel Magic: The Gathering Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012. Slated to arrive on June 15 for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3, Duels 2012 features a whole slew of improvements over the previous iteration. These changes include:

• Improved Deck Editing
• Enhanced Co-Op Game Play
• All New Multiplayer Game Mode “Archenemy”
• New Planeswalker Opponents
• New Decks and Puzzle Challenges
• Integration between the digital and paper product offering – Duels players get the first look at cards from the upcoming Magic 2012 Core Set releasing July 15, 2011

It is also said that Duels 2012 will feature “strategic single player campaign game scenarios” as well as “competitive play, robust community features and un-lockable content.” Read more… »

Yes, it’s that time of year again when Activision roll out the first reveal trailer of the next Call of Duty game ready for release in November. This time it’s Modern Warfare 3, and it’s a predictable affair: real-life locations have come under siege, husky soldiers riot through sprawling urban locations guns blazing, and helicopters crash and explode with cinematic bombast. And not to be outdone by Battlefield 3, it too has a falling skyscraper shot straight out of Transformers 3.

The trailer also hints at the game’s globe-trotting locations which includes the likes of Germany, France and England which is a refreshing change from the Middle East.

Set your sights on the first gameplay reveal of Modern Warfare 3 after the jump.

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The Fallout series has taken you all over the United States – and this time, Obsidian is keen to send you to Utah to help Happy Trails Caravan on an expedition to Zion National Park. But it isn’t just any old job: Joshua Graham, the famous Burned Man from New Vegas’ main storyline, is the star of the show.

So, given the expectations, the burning question must be: “it worth paying $10 to meet Joshua Graham?”

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After a long period of downtime due to hacker attacks, Sony has finally managed to start bringing its PlayStation Network services back online. Along with this news, Sony released a short video from company president Kaz Hirai, where he lays out his plan to restore select services in phases. Here’s what will be coming back online:

• Sign in for PlayStation Network and Qriocity services
• Online gameplay across PS3 and PSP
• Friends list
• Chat functionality
• Trophy comparison
• PlayStation Home
• Access to third party services such as Netflix
• Music Unlimited for current subscribers Read more… »

Today publisher Square Enix announced that the Agent 47 will be making he return in the fifth installment of the Hitman series, Hitman: Absolution.

Slated to arrive on the PC, Xbox 360, and PS3, Hitman: Absolution will be developed by franchise creator IO Interactive. The big selling point of Absolution is that it will allow gamers to explore the Hitman universe, something that has been teasing fans of the series for a long time. Read more… »

A few days ago I posted a news story about how Sony royally screwed up and allowed a bunch of hackers access to PSN users’ personal information. Today, Sony finally made some announcements regarding how they plan on making this up to their customers.

First things first, sometime this week Sony plans on restarting some on its online services. Gamers will so be able to log onto their PSN accounts allowing them to changed their passwords, chat with friends, play games online and even use PlayStation Home. Sony has also stated that they have added several layers of data protection and encryption including more firewalls and software monitoring which detects intrusions. Read more… »

Yesterday Sony came clean and admitted that an “external intrusion” (aka hackers) have infeltrated Sony’s servers granting them access to every PSN users’ personal information. So far Sony has admitted that hackers have had access to your name, your address (city, state, and zip), country, E-mail address, birthday, as well as your PSN password and login name. Sony is still trying to determine whether your credit card information is safe.

Obviously this is a very serious issue, and as such I will post Sony’s full statement after the jump. If you’re a PS3 owner, please read through this statement very carefully as it provides some steps you can take to prevent your identity from being stolen. Read more… »

Fearing a tepid reception as a full standalone title, Valve first released Portal with the Orange Box alongside a host of well-established titles at a bargain price. Little did they know that just few short years later that little three-hour long bonus game would be one of the most critically acclaimed and beloved titles in recent history.

Now that they’re back to deliver a full blown sequel, one large question is raised. Does Portal 2 live up to the original, or will we need cake and grief counseling at the conclusion of this review?

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