Free Groundhog Day Costume

If you missed it last year, you can get it again this year for free from the PlayStation Store.  The Groundhog Day Costume for Little Big Planet will be available starting Thursday Jan 28 2010 and will be available for one week only.

New Wii Classic Controller Pro Coming April 2010

For those of you like me who have played Mario for hours on end, you know that the sideways Wii remote can really dig into the insides of your palms and is very uncomfortable for extended hours of play.  While for casual gamers this is okay, for hardcore gamers it is a huge downfall to the Wii remote. 

Starting in April 2010, you can buy this new Wii Classic Controller Pro for $19.99 USD in white or black.  While only previously available in Japan (and wow was I jealous when I originally spotted this last year and found out I couldn't have one), will now be headed to the States.  The Classic Controller Pro will plug in directly to the Wii Remote Controller and it will work for more than 450 Wii, WiiWare and Virtual Console titles.

Third Borderlands DLC Increases Level Cap

Gearbox Level Designer Jason Reiss recently said in a post on Borderlands developer Gearbox's forums, "Guess what, level cap increase anyone? Got it and it's awesome.  Hopefully we can get a full announcement out to you guys soon but, man is this the biggest DLC we have made."  Full details of the third piece of DLC have yet to be officially announced but it is clearly in the works and coming out shortly.  Reiss also mentions updates to the game itself, "...we are working really hard right now on both the update (that solves a bunch of issues) and the DLC."

Modern Warfare 2 DLC Exclusive

Microsoft has recently told Eurogamer "We have a 30-day timed exclusive on the Modern Warfare content packs."  The first Modern Warre 2 DLC will be exclusive to the XBOX 360 for 30 days, it will then be available on other platforms.  The DLC starts arriving Spring 2010 but not exact dates have been yet announced.

Halo 3 Mythic Map Pack 2 For Sale Feb 2 2010

For those of you that live in a shoe and aren't die hard Halo fans, the Mythic Map Pack containing Citadel, Heretic and Longshore will be available for purchase online starting Feb 2 2010 for 800 MS Points.  Most of us got this map pack free with purchase of Halo 3: ODST back in September, now it will be available to all.

Uncharted 3 Confirmed by Nolan North

Nolan North, a major voice actor for many major video games, recently confirmed the existence of a third Uncharted.  North explained in an interview to GamePro that 2010 will be a big year for him, particularly because of his roles in sequels to Uncharted 2 and Assassin's Creed 2. 

Doesn't come as any major surprise considering Uncharted 2 received Game of the Year for 2009 among other awards and nominations.

Play Halo 3 and Help Haiti

Bungie.net is now working with the American Red Cross to help raise money to help disaster victims of the recent earthquake in Haiti.  You can help by buying anything in the Bungie Store through the end of Feb 2010 and  100% of profits will be donated directly to the American Red Cross, they are even offering an exclusive limited edition Be a Hero t-shirt (see right). 

You can also play Halo 3 or Halo 3 ODST online in a custom or matchmaking game next Wednesday Jan 20 2010 at 12:01 AM PST through Thursday Jan 21 2010 at 11:59 PM PST.  For every thousand heroes wearing a special emblem during this time Bungie will make a $100 donation to the American Red Cross for Haiti relief efforts, up to a maximum of $77,000 USD.  To edit your emblem and be a hero,

• From the main menu, press START
• Select SETTINGS / APPEARANCE
• Select EMBLEM
• Select "Hearts" ICON, "Circle" BACKGROUND
• Back out to the APPEARENCES menu and select COLORS
• Set EMBLEM PRIMARY color to RED, set EMBLEM SECONDARY to WHITE

P.B. Winterbottom just another Braid?

2K Play has announced the highly anticipated title, The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom will be available for the XBOX Live Arcade on Feb 17 2010 for 800 Microsoft Pointss. 

Many are speculating that this is just another time bending, 2D sidescrolling adventure not unlike Braid (another XBOX Live Arcade game) however, this is much more.  P.B. Winterbottom is on a quest to steel pies in a silent firm-inspired black and white world.  After initially eating his first Chronoberry pie, he attains the ability to bend time and space and has the ability to clone himself.  While it's gameplays main premise is based around time bending, you must solve puzzles to get from point A to point B including launching yourself through cannons, changing time and cloning yourself all while experiencing the magnificant story that is presented like an old silent film, including subtitles.  If you enjoyed Braid, chances are you will enjoy P.B. Winterbottom, but for different reasons. 

Mass Effect 2 launching with DLC?

According to Norweigan paper DagBlaget reports that BioWare, the developers of Mass Effect 2, will be releasing DLC on launch day or shortly thereafter.  This DLC is rumored to include armor, weapons, a new planet and a new ally. 

Gamers such as myself don't hold complaints to DLC but I feel like if DLC is being released that close to the launch date, why wasn't it included in the games original purchase price? 

BioWare has said they are taking DLC very seriously with ME2 and worked in plans to offer DLC during the development process, allowing them to release new content regularly.

XBOX January Marketplace Schedule

Microsoft announced their upcoming plans for the XBOX Live Marketplace for the month of January 2010.  This is something Microsoft has not done in the past but I sure hope they continue to.  Especially with the 'Deals of the Week' because it could save us all a lot of money if the game we want to buy comes on sale soon, I know I would wait for the 50% off price tag.

Deal of the Week

• Jan 18 : Battleship in Hasbro Family Game Night, 400 MS (reg. 800 MS)
• Jan 25 : Portal Still Alive, 800 MS (reg. 1200 MS)

Avatar Marketplace

• Jan 14 : Burton gear and Darksiders outfits
• Jan 21 : International attire, MX vs ATV Reflex, University Style Outfits

Dragon Age : Origins' Return to Ostagar Pulled from XBOX Live

Dragon Age : Origins' Return to Ostagar DLC released on XBOX Live yesterday has been pulled from Live due to compatibility issues with a recently released title update for the game.  Issues are currently being resolved.  Here is the official statement;

“This morning a title update on the Xbox 360 for Dragon Age: Origins was made available in preparation for the release of Return to Ostagar. This title update introduced a previously undetected issue that causes specialization classes to not work correctly in Dragon Age: Origins,” Community Manager Chris Priestly explains. “We are removing Return to Ostagar from Xbox Live until the issue is resolved and are recommending that you do not download the title update. If you have already performed the update, we apologize for this and are working hard to ensure a fix is available as soon as possible.”

There was no mention regarding if and/or how this afffects the DLC on the PlayStation 3 and PC versions.

LBP Moderation Policy Update

As of late, many levels have been moderated on Little Big Planet which leaves many wondering, why?  And why all of a sudden?  The past couple weeks there has been a change in the moderation policy and it specifically states that all levels must comply with the original 7+ rating (PEGI standards).  Sam_Protagonist from Little Big Workshop has made a post explaining the details behind the changes.

"As many of you have already noticed there have been some unusual levels of moderation activity lately, and subsequent to the recent change in moderation policy there are some additional issues with the moderation system at present that we’re working to resolve.
To begin this overview of how moderation works and what you can do to avoid your level being blocked here’s how the system is designed to operate : When a “Good Grief” report is filed through the game the level in question, its comments and associated screenshots are placed into a queue to be checked over by the moderation teams at SCE. These teams are located around the world and the moderation queue is checked around the clock to ensure that levels which should be removed from visibility are dealt with as quickly as possible. It is a common misconception that issuing a Good Grief report automatically blocks a level from being viewed, and this is not the case. The only time a level becomes unavailable is when it has been blocked by a moderator..." continue story

10 Pages of Halo: Reach in Feb 2010 GameInformer

GameInformer revealed their February 2010 issue's cover today showing a group of Spartan soldiers, one with a very interesting new skull helmet.  This issue will hold the first details of Bungie's 2010 Halo: Reach and promises to deliver 10 pages worth of information, art and screenshots.  Halo: Reach is scheduled for a Fall 2010 release and those that have purchased Halo 3: ODST will have access to the beta (date yet to be announced).

BioShock 2 TV Spot

For those of you like me that think TV is evil and refuse to sit through endless commercials.  Here is the new BioShock 2 TV spot that is now airing.  BioShock 2 releases Feb 09 2010.

Fable III will indeed be a Project Natal enabled RPG

There is also mention that Fable III will indeed be a Project Natal enabled RPG.  So there they go, shoving that down our throats.  Personally, I am not a fan of any motion sensing technology, I often think it detracts from the gameplay.  They did say "Fable III will be controller based, for sure" but will also include the Project Natal technology.

Lionhead's Sam Van Tilburgh posted on his Twitter account says that for the first time at an unnamed event next month they will be showing two Fable III videos, he is currently writing the storyboard summaries for them now.  Fable III is expected to be released Holiday 2010. 

Left 4 Dead 2 Free Weekend for XBOX Live Silver Members

If you are one of the few people who don't have a Gold XBOX Live membership, good news.  Starting at 5:00 PM GMT Jan 15 2010 through 5:00 PM GMT Jan 18 2010 you can play Left 4 Dead 2 on XBOX Live co-op and multiplayer.  Go get your zombie killing on while you can and upgrade to a gold membership while you are at it.

Microsoft Announced Game Room

Microsoft announced today that they will be launching Game Room, a customizable retro games area that will be available on both XBOX Live and Games for Windows Live.  Watch the trailer below for a more in depth explanation but basically, the new service will launch with 30 games in Spring 2010 with weekly releases thereafter.  Games can be purchased in one of three ways - 40 Microsoft Points for a single playtime (think tokens like old arcades use), 240 Microsoft Points for a platform-specific buy (XBOX360 or PC) and 400 Microsoft Points for a cross-platform buy (users can play on both XBOX360 and PC).

PlayStation Store Updates Jan 07 2010

Ubisoft Game Sale

• Cellfactor Psychokinetic Wars (sale $4.99 USD, reg. $9.99)
• Prince of Persia Classic (sale $4.99 USD, reg. $9.99)
• TMNT: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled (sale $4.99 USD, reg. $9.99)

Qore

• Qore Episode 20: January 2010 ($2.99 USD): Includes Dante's Inferno, Heavy Rain, Bayonetta amd BioShock 2
• Qore Annual Subscription 2010 ($24.99 USD)

Downloadable Games, Free Demos and DLC

• Matt Hazard: Blood Bath & Beyond ($14.99 USD)
• Matt Hazard: Blood Bath & Beyond Demo
• Dark Void Demo
• PAIN Mae Ryder Character ($0.99 USD)
• Borderlands: Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot DLC ($9.99 USD)
• Dragon Ball: Raging Blast Androis Pack (Free)
• MX vs. ATV Reflex Track Pack 1 ($4.99 USD)

Naughty Dog Not Interested in Motion Controlled Uncharted

"We really don't have any interest in using the motion control to do a third-person action game," Uncharted developer Naughty Dog's co-president Evan Wells told G4 recently.  With Sony launching their new PlayStation 3 motion controls this year, they no doubt would like to see them pushed into their "top dawg" games including the "assured" Uncharted 3 by Naughty Dog.  Personally, I am excited to hear that the developers at Naughty Dog has said no since the motion controls for PS3 games often seem to be an after thought in the development process and tend to be the least fun parts of the games.  Wells continued to say "If we were going to make a motion controller game, I think we'd want to tackle it from the bottom up and make sure that we were designing the game around the motion control, the way the best Wii games are designed."  I couldn't agree with Wells more.

Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening DLC Coming Mar 16 2010

The first DLC is now official for Dragon Age: Origins, titled Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening.  The expansion pack lets you use your existing character or play as a new Grey Warden in a new area called Amaranthine. In Amaranthine,  the true motivations of the darkspawn can be discovered. In the DLC, an increased level cap, new spells and abilities will all be included.

BioWare will release Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening on Mar 16 2010 for $39.99 for PC, XBOX 360 and PlayStation 3.

Mad Moxxi's Underdome First Review

The new DLC for Borderlands, Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot is now available for 800 Microsoft Points on XBOX Live.  But is it really worth the cost and what is included in the DLC?  We have taken a first look for you.

The Underdome consists of three new Riot Mode arenas (similar to Halo 3: ODST Firefight and Gears of Wars Horde Mode) where you battle 5 waves of different bad guys, with the 5th wave being a boss battle, in a series of 5 rounds.  After you complete the only mission available on the bounty board which is to successfully survive the 5 rounds of each arena, a red velvet curtain pulls back to reveal three new fast travels.  These fast travels take you to the same arenas you just played however, it is now 5 waves in a series of 20 rounds.  I have only completed one of the 20 round arenas, The Gully, and I played the first 15 waves solo before being joined by teammates to help me finish.  The downside of the 20 round arenas is they take FOREVER.  Playing mostly by myself it took around 6 hours to complete and if you die you start back an entire round (which is better than starting over like in the smaller 5 round arenas).  If you don't like battling endless waves of enemies, I would not suggest buying this DLC.

The Underdome DLC also consists of three new vending machines when you first fast travel there, a weapons, ammo and health vending machine.  One of the new items available from the weapons vending machine is Bank Upgrades which go up to level 10 and level 10 will cost you $9,999,999 and give you 42 bank slots.  What are bank slots you ask?  There is now a claptrap who stands behind a counter maning the 'Bank' where you can store your crap or take your crap.  You automatically have 12 bank slots to store any items you don't want to sell but don't want to haul around with you either.  At any time you can take your items back or deposit new ones however, you can only do this from the Underdome which means, if you are in someone elses game and they don't have the Underdome DLC, forget about showing them that cool gun you have stored in the bank.

Overall, very succcessful DLC and well worth the 800 Microsoft Points.  I would say the replay value of Mad Moxxi's is more so than the first DLC, The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned but it is hard to compare the two since they offer two totally different gameplay experiences.