Plants vs. Zombies 2 Coming 2013

Prepare your lawn mowers, get your sunflowers planted, because the zombie waves are coming for your brains...again. PopCap's success Plants vs Zombies has announced a sequel will be arriving in Spring 2013.  PopCap isn't giving much details but expect new features, seeds, settings and situations.

Platform announcements have not yet been made but assuming it is anything like the first one, it will release on every platform known to man.

Rage: The Scorchers, July 14th DLC?

The Scorchers - Potential DLC for Rage

A PEGI rating, the European video game content rating system, was filed a week ago for Rage: The Scorchers listing ZeniMax and Bethesda as European publishers in the filing.  No formal announcements have been made from Bethesda or id but it can't be far behind.  The rating also had a date attached to the content, Jul 14 2012 for PC, XBOX 360 and PS3.

The Scorchers are one of the six bandit clans in Rage, and the only one that didn't make it into the full game. There are even screen shots of them, as shown above, and they would make a perfect DLC - and it's about damn time for some DLC for this game if you ask me.

Harley Quinn's Revenge

Harley Quinn's Revenge, DLC for Batman: Arkham City, has been announced and is going to be available on the XBOX Live Marketplace and PlayStation Network on May 30 2012, no pricing yet.  It will also be packed into the Game of the Year edition of Batman: Arkham City.

What can you expect?  Not much details have been released but I think it is safe to say, Harley is grieving but don't expect her to mope around, she's pissed and will no doubt have a few tricks up her sleeve.

Harley Quinn's Revenge (Batman: Arkham City)

Little Big Planet Karting in 2012

Sony has formally announced it's newest collaboration project from developers United Front Games (ModNation Racers) and Media Molecule (Little Big Planet), Little Big Planet Karting.  Karting will follow they "Play. Create. Share." motto that has been such a huge success for the Little Big Planet franchise, allowing players to create their own tracks, make game rules and weapons, customize their sackboy, karts, track scenery, etc. and then share it all over the PlayStation Network. The game will also feature objective-based missions, boss battles, mini-games and obviously competitive and cooperative races.

No word on an official date as of yet, but it will be in 2012. Watch the announce trailer below.

Kingdoms of Amalur DLC & Mini Review

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

EA has announced the first piece of DLC for Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning which will be out on Mar 20 2012 for XBOX360, PlayStation, Origin and Steam (prices not yet announced).  The new DLC titled, 'Legend of Dead Kel' is expected to be "gigantic", adding an entirely new continent, Gallows End, to the already massive game including new enemies, dungeons, items, player housing and tons of exploring.  Let's take a look;

• New Questline of Epic Proportions: The Legend of Dead Kel is only part of the story of Gallows End. It intertwines with side quests, dungeons and entertaining new characters.
• New Enemies, Dungeons & Loot: Multiple new enemies, enemy variants, a new dungeon type (Dverga Fastings), three new twists of Fate, eight new armor sets, eight new shields and 18 new unique weapons.
• Massive Stash: New player housing, Gravehal Keep is a massive estate with multiple buildings, side quests, back stories and perks. Possible upgrades as well.
• Explore your Heart Out: The DLC offers 15% additional land to traverse and explore in the already massive world. 

MINI REVIEW: If you have yet to experience KOA: Reckoning, I highly recommend it! It feels like a combination of Fable and Dragon Age Origins with the styling of Kameo paired with amazing environments and music straight from a major motion picture.  The story can be a bit weak and points but there is so much to be done, so much to explore and so much loot to be had it will keep you glued to the game for days! I am already 60 hours in and feel as if I am maybe about 1/2 way through (note: I am pursuing all side quests and exploring every dungeon, building and open world area because I love loot).

Borderlands 2 dated, 'Doomsday' Trailer

Borderlands 2 release date has been announced, Sept 18 2012 for North America and Sept 21 2012 internationally for PC, XBOX 360 and PlayStation 3.



Gearbox also announced they will be offering access to a Premier Club for those who pre-order from participating retailers.  Included with the pre-order Premier Club comes the Gearbox Gun Pack, a Golden Key and the Vault Hunter's Relic.  The skinny on each: the gun pack includes a collection of unique guns to help the player get started in Pandora.  The golden key unlocks a rare item in the Golden Sanctuary Loot Chest.  The Relic in an in-game item that boosts players' gear hunting fortune.

MW3 DLC, Free Tokens and New Apps

The first Modern Warefare 3 DLC will be kicking off the "content season" in January (rumor has is, XBOX360 users will have the new DLC available in the XBOX Live Marketplace on Jan 24 2012, with PS3/PC following 30 days later). With Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer Games and Raven Software all chipping in on the new DLC, it is sure to make a splash however, beyond knowing the first map is called Park, specific details are still yet to be announced.

'Park', one of the new maps revealed for the Jan 2012 DLC

Happy Holidays from Call of Duty ELITE!  If you got this email in your inbox this past weekend, that means you were one of the lucky ones to sign up and pay for your ELITE subscription early.  As a holiday treat, Beachhead Studio and the Call of Duty ELITE team have given each of us a free Prestige Token and 2 hours of double XP.  These bonuses were automatically applied to your gamer tag and will appear next time you log in to Modern Warefare 3.

Coming in Jan 2012, iOS and Android will now have access to the Call of Duty ELITE app on mobile devices.  The app lets you track your challenges, check your stats and change load outs in addition to other cool features.

AC Revelations DLC Pack 1 & 2

Two new DLC packs will be available before Feb 2012

Assassin's Creed Revelations has been out for less than a month, and already they will be releasing their first DLC on Dec 12 2011 and another DLC on Jan 24 2012.  I have only just opened my game and completed the first DNA sequence (been too busy shooting things in MW3), so this comes surprisingly early and I have to wonder, when developers release DLC this quickly, it seems to me it comes out of greed and probably should have been included with the full game.

The first DLC, The Ancestors Character Pack, includes four new playable characters for multiplayer mode.  Privateer, Corsaid, Brigand and Gladiator, each character has their own unique assassination moves, weapons and taunts. Price will be $3.99 for PlayStation 3 or 320 MS Points for XBOX 360, available Dec 13 2011.

The second DLC, The Mediterranean Traveler Map Pack, which has gotten an early reveal by GameStop, will include six new multiplayer maps. Siena, Jerusalem, Dyers, San Donato, Firenze and the Imperial District of Constantinople.  The estimated release date is Jan 24 2012, but this could change and price is yet to be announced.

Arkham City DLC set for Dec 20

Iceberg Lounge location will be included as a challenge map, The Iceberg

According to Batman Arkham City's official Twitter page, new challenge maps will be released as DLC on Dec 20 2012, just in time for Christmas.

The DLC will include three new maps, Batcave, Joker's Carnival and The Iceberg.  These maps may sound familiar since all three maps were available as pre-order bonuses from various retailers (for instance I received the Joker's Carnival Challenge Pack for pre-ordering with GameStop).  Curious to see how they price this considering many of us would be paying for a map we already own.

What is 'Founder' Status?

Are you a Founder? You can still get it through the Hardened Edition.

Been wondering how other players are getting those green skull Elite titles in Modern Warefare 3? You need 'Founder' status, and unfortunately, it is not something you can just sign up for now.  If you signed up for COD Elite prior to Nov 30 2011 you would also receive a free bonus, 'Founder' status, which includes bonus content, clan XP and other goodies.  If you have not yet picked up a copy of Modern Warefare 3 or simply want to be a 'Founder', there is some good news for you.  You can still get 'Founder' status by purchasing the Hardened Edition, which comes with the appropriate code to receive your status.

Here is what is included with 'Founder' status;

• Exclusive title in Modern Warefare 3: a green skull Elite
• Exclusive emblem in Modern Warefare 3: a silver skull
• 500 clan XP: join a clan and give them a boost to level up the clan faster
• Exclusive weapon camo in Modern Warefare 3: Winter for all guns
• Private discussion group in Elite Connect
• Green skull icon and background for your COD Elite profile page
• Exclusive competitions & prizes that only Founders can enter

'Back to Karkand' to PS3 Early

Got the Limited Edition? Get 'Back to Karkand' for free!

Battlefield Developer DICE has announced that the first wave of DLC for Battlefield 3 'Back to Karkand' will launch for the PlayStation 3, 7 days before the XBOX360 and PC which will arrive Dec 13 2011.

'Back to Karkand' includes four new maps, three new vehicles, 10 new weapons and an all-new assignment system.  If you picked up the Limited Edition this content is included at no extra cost, otherwise expect to shell out $15 USD.

Call of Duty Elite Fix - 2 Weeks Out

Call of Duty Elite has had an awful launch, on occasion (if lucky), you can get it to at least launch and use some of it's very basic features.  At other times, good luck getting it to load.  But according to the publisher, a fix should be here within two weeks time.

VP of Production Daniel Suarez mentioned in a recent Game Informer interview, "Our goal is to have [Elite] up and running at 99 percent, in terms of features and stability, in the next two weeks."  He also compared Elite's issues with trying to find a space to park at a football game.

SSX Delayed till Feb 14 2012

SSX was expected to hit store shelves in January 2012 but has now been delayed.  It will launch in the US on Feb 14 2012 with a UK release expected for the 17.

Ratchet & Clank All 4 One Trailer

Available in stores now!

Borderlands 2 Official

Game Informer's latest issue, covers Borderlands 2

Very quickly after the rumors circulated around a potential Borderlands 2, the developer Gearbox has made the sequel official.  The game will launch during Take-Two's fiscal year 2013, which begins on Apr 01 2012.

"Combining invention and evolution, Borderlands 2 features all-new characters, skills, environments, enemies, weapons and equipment, which come together in an ambitiously crafted story... Players will reveal secrets, and escalate mysteries of the Borderlands universe as they adventure across the unexplored, new areas of Pandora." 

Gamescom in Germany will release a first look later this month (Aug 17 - 21 2011), and even more will be announced at PAX Prime (Aug 26 - 28 2011).  For now, the latest issue of Game Informer has exclusive first looks at the new title.

Borderlands 2 in 2012?

The sequel to Gearbox's 2009 Borderlands, an artistic styled RPG set on a planet called Pandora, a loot-laden land (also full of lots of bad guys and crazy bad guys), is rumored to be scheduled for a 2012 release.

According to a Eurogamer source, the game is deep in development as we speak and folks from Gearbox have constantly expressed an interest in continuing the franchise (THANK YOU because this has got to be one of my personal favorite games), not to mention the 3 million + copies sold.

Formal announcements are expected soon, perhaps at Gamescom?

Dragon Age II DLC "Legacy" out July 26th

EA and BioWare have announced their first DLC for Dragon Age II, "Legacy", will be launching on PC, Mac, XBOX360 and PS3 on Jul 26 2011 for $9.99 or 800 Microsoft Points.

The expansion, which can be accessed at anytime during the campaign, leads our hero Hawke outside the walls of Kirkwall and into an ancient Grey Warden prison as well as several other mystery locations.  The DLC takes you on an adventure to reveal the truth about the Hawke lineage and battle new darkspawn, including the most powerful darkspawn of them all.

Catwoman Playable in Arkham City

It is official, Catwoman will be available as a playable character in the upcoming Batman: Arkham City.  Catwoman has her own sets of unique combat moves and perhaps some cat-like stealth.  Watch the Catwoman Trailer now and see her moves in action.

Take a look at a few of the screenshots.

Batman: Arkham City hits North America on Oct 18 2011 for XBOX360, PS3 and PC.

Assassin's Creed Revelations, Coming Nov 2011

The fourth game of the Assassin's Creed series has now been officially scheduled for a hopeful Nov 2011 release date for PC, XBOX360 and PS3.  Assassin's Creed Revelations is seen as the finale to the story followng Ezio and will take players on a journey to Constantinople, the heart of the Ottoman Empire where the Templars are once again causing troubles.

Batman: Arkham City set for Oct 18 2011

Batman: Arkham City, the follow-up to 2009's hit Batman: Arkham Asylum, is scheduled to release Oct 18 2011 for US residents.  If you are in Australia, the 19th and for Europe, the 21st. Rocksteady, the games developers, have said that Arkham City is five times bigger than Arkham Asylum but continues to deliver the same amazing game play we have come to love from Asylum.