Gamertell

Gamers, the holiday season is upon us. And while we’re all ogling the amazing games (it is the prime time for big releases, after all) and scoping out the big sales, it certainly doesn’t hurt to give back. Child’s Play (run by the guys at the Penny Arcade) is a charity that purchases games, toys and books for children in hospitals who could use a little cheer. This year, the charity has expanded to several countries, and there are currently 70 partner hospitals - you can choose to give to any one you’d like (should you want to help local kids, for example), or simply send some cash to the whole organization.

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There are just too many easy Star Trek jokes (“Phasers set to stun!” “Warp speed!” “Beam me up!”) - so, I promise I’ll stay away for the remainder of this post. Trekkers and MMO fans, here’s what you need to know - Star Trek Online has finally received it’s official release date. The game will be available on February 5th in North America, just in time for a particularly exciting Valentine’s day. Are you ready for a little klingon-on-vulcan action? I so am!

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Are you enjoying Brutal Legend, the most awesome heavy-metal fantasy action/RTS to ever grace the gaming landscape? Yes? Well, you’ll be happy to know that you’ll soon be able to “test your mettle” (groan) against the guys who actually built the game. This wednesday, October 28th, 2009, from 5-9 PM Pacific time, you can play the multiplayer battles with Double Fine’s er, finest.

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It’s that time of year again - the leaves are turning, the candy aisles in your local grocery store are blossoming, and everyone’s thoughts start turning toward the macabre - it’s almost Halloween! The folks at Harmonix are getting into the spirit as well, releasing tracks for Rock Band with a distinctly spooky flavor: three from shock rocker-turned horror director Rob Zombie and five from Wolfmother. Also announced for next week’s downloading pleasure were songs from Liz Phair and Morningwood, with tracks from Steely Dan and Sonic Youth coming to the unplugged PSP edition.

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That’s right, vampire fans. True Blood, HBO’s awesome vampire-meets-southern gothic TV series is in the running for a videogame adaptation. According to 1Up, HBO has filed “a trademark registration for the property in relation to games with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.” For “television receivers or with video or computer monitors, video games, computer games, game programs, video game discs, video game cartridges, video game CD-ROMs, video game cassettes, handheld video game devices, games, online games and electronic games.” Whew.

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It’s a particularly retro-fantastic week on Nintendo’s downloadable game services, with more toy-based titles and neon colors than you can shake an arcade joystick at. Since Nintendo opted not to put out its usual press release (usually with some inane attempt to eke out a “theme” from a disparate collection of games, I’m going to give it to you straight:

On WiiWare, we have Spaceball: Revolution (800 points) and Gameloft’s Texas Hold’em Poker (600 points), the first being a puzzler and the second being - you guessed it - a poker game. There’s also the goofy looking Mart Racer (a kart racer, go figure) that will set you back 800 Wii points.

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onLive, the new service that will allow gamers to play now-gen games on any computer or TV set using streaming technology, is about to get a whole lot more real. The public beta begins now - so if you’re interested, sign up (and do so quickly) at the site and get ready to get your game on.

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Just a little while after I posted my review of Batman‘s latest adventure, I came upon this little gem. It seems that the game (which we reviewed very favorably) has set a Guiness World record for “Most Critically Acclaimed Superhero Game Ever”. Wow - you can’t make this stuff up.

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Title: Batman: Arkham Asylum
Price: $59.99
System(s): Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Release Date: August 25, 2009
Publisher (Developer): Rocksteady (Warner Bros. Interactive/DC Comics)
ESRB Rating: Teen
Pros: Amazing atmosphere, great gameplay flow, awesome Batman trappings.
Cons: Combat is arguably too simplistic
Overall Score: Two thumbs up; 92/100; A;  * * * * 1/2

Batman: Arkham Asylum came out of left field (at least, for me) and completely blew me away. It’s the very best game to feature The Dark Knight himself, with gameplay that fully captures all of the B-man’s best abilities and throws the player into one of the coolest, creepiest and most story-rich environments this side of BioShock.

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Happy Batman day, readers! Yes, I’m officially declaring it so, as one of the very best Batman games ever to grace consoles (at least, based on my preliminary playtime) has launched today. Given the media blitz (videos and press releases out the wazoo!) and positive reviews, I think it’s going to be a hit - and rightfully so.

Let’s start at the logical beginning. I got home from work today to find my brand spanking new copy waiting for me. After a brief moment of checking out the box art, I tore right in and popped the disc into my 360. The game begins with a ridiculously kick-ass cutscene/sequence, wherein you (as Batman) drag the Joker back to Arkham Asylum, where, of course, all hell begins to break loose.

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