Industry veteran Jeff Strain - who worked at Blizzard, founded ArenaNet and served as NCSoft’s president of product development - has created a new studio called Undead Labs.

Strain didn’t come up with that as a matter of coincidence, because his goal is nothing less than the perfect zombie-based MMORPG for home consoles. It’s part of Undead’s mission statement:

Our singular focus is to create the definitive massively multiplayer zombie game (MMOZ) for console gamers. Nothing screams funny quite like wading into a group of rotting zombies with a lawn chair and a box of sharpened #2 pencils, and nothing says fun quite like doing it with your friends, whether online or on your couch.

Strain certainly has the pedigree to pull this off. In an interview with Develop, Strain talks about the untapped potential of MMOs on consoles. Asked about the potential use of motion control in this upcoming title, Strain said the Nintendo Wii doesn’t have the hardware to support it.

With Strain behind it, there’s every reason to expect this ambitious project has a shot at success. There are a ridiculous amount of zombie games out there, as well as zombies added to games such asCall of Duty: World At War. But there is always room for another good one.

Read [Develop] Via [MMO Site] Site [Undead Labs]

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With the holidays getting closer faster than a runaway sleigh, it’s time to start thinking about presents.

It’s really frustrating when you just don’t know what to get for someone but if that someone likes video games, you’re in luck.

If you are shopping for a video games fan, there are different options and stellar games this year, so to make things a little easier, here are a few suggestions based on the most popular categories:

Shooters

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - This is definitely one of the best shooters out there and should be at the top of most gift lists this holiday season. You play as different operatives in elite units around the world in order to stop an international terrorist plot. The game features intense firefights, diverse missions and realistic weapons, as well as the brand new Spec-ops co-op mode. Look no further if you’re shopping for a shooter fan. Rated “Mature” by the ESRB.

Left 4 Dead 2 - Here’s a game for those that have ever seriously considered the Zombie Apocalypse. A four player co-op team, armed with an assortment of guns and melee weapons, is pitted against hordes of zombies in a fight for survival. The game is presented like a movie with a system that changes difficulty on the fly according to the players’ performance. If you want to hone your survival skills, this is the way to go. Rated “Mature” by the ESRB.

Music

DJ Hero - This is a great game for people who like music of all kinds. The turntable-shaped controller allows entry-level players to follow the beats and enjoy the game and more skilled players will encounter a challenge in the higher difficulties. With interesting remixes and some exclusive tunes this is a great game for parties or for those couch DJs out there. Rated “Teen” by the ESRB.

Brutal Legend - For those about to rock, here is your game. This is actually an action title, but the amounts and quality of the musical references in this game make it ideal for any rock and heavy metal fan. You play as Eddie Riggs, a roadie that gets transported to a world created by the Gods of Metal. Eddie must use his battle axe and guitar to save the world and restore it to its glory. With cameos from legends like Ozzy Osbourne and Rob Halford this is one of the best action titles of the season. Rated “Mature” by the ESRB.

RPG

Dragon Age: Origins - Any fan of fantasy stories will be drawn to this title. From the developers of the successful Mass Effect, it mixes elements of magic and swordplay in a world reminiscent of the Lord of the Rings. With different races and classes to choose, players develop their characters in order to become Grey Wardens and battle the Darkspawn. With a branching story affected by the player’s actions and multiple ending this is a perfect choice for the RPG fan. There’s even some downloadable expansion coming for the holidays so you’ll get more mileage out of this great title. Rated “Mature” by the ESRB

Borderlands - This game is a rare breed that could have been included in the “Shooters” category. It mixes elements of First Person Shooters and RPG and blends them for a unique feel that has proven a success. Players take the role of one of four classes: Berserker, Siren, Hunter or Soldier and scavenge the land in search of the legendary Vault. The game offers an amazing number of armor and weapon combinations for loot fans and it has a beautiful cel-shaded visual style that gives it a unique look. Another great option for RPG fans. Rated “Mature” by the ESRB.

Racing

Forza Motorsport 3 - For car buffs, this is the way to go. The game features hundreds of amazingly detailed cars and customization options making it one of the best racing sims out there. It might as well be one of the best looking games on the system with beautiful scenery and realistic locations. The game has different driving assist options like automatic shifting and a line on the road showing the optimal path during turns. This guarantees that players of any skill level will enjoy this title. Rated “Everyone” by the ESRB.

Action

Assassin’s Creed II - This awaited sequel has tons of improvement over its predecessor. Complaints about the first game regarding slow pacing and repetitive gameplay have been addressed making this game a great choice for the holidays. Set in renaissance-era Italy, you play as Ezio, an assassin bent on revenge, while the story revolves around a bigger plot involving an ancient feud between two opposing factions. The game features beautiful animations, an innovative battle system and diverse missions as well as some insights and history about ancient Italy. This is one of the best choices for this holiday season. Rated “Mature” by the ESRB.

Sites [Modern Warfare 2] [Left 4 Dead 2] [DJ Hero] [Brütal Legend] [Dragon Age: Origins] [Borderlands] [Forza Motorsport 3] [Assassin’s Creed II]

Full Story » | Written by Christian Morlotte for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

New Events on Home

Turkey Invasion!

This week for a limited time Home users will gather in Central Plaza and find it overrun with turkeys and a giant bronze turkey in the fountain. Visit the turkey statue to start a new mini-game that unlocks a turkey costume simply by keeping up with the turkey, but be quick because this turkey does sharp turns and can run pretty fast. Check it out:

Live by the Creed!

According to the PlayStation Home blog, along with Thanksgiving Day events is the release of more Assassin’s Creed 2 items for Home. I can’t wait to rock Ezio’s outfit, this outfit will be made available for both male and female avatars, in the blog it mentions the item being released this week but the only new outfits I have found for Assassin’s Creed II are two promotional bundles listed below in the shopping section. For now check out the Assassin’s Creed II videos at the theater and in the PlayStation Network Store if you haven’t tried the game yet. I just finished it myself and I can assure you, that you won’t be disappointed in this game and you will love the outfit.

Steven Seagal Item

For those who missed the chance to unlock the Lawman virtual item last week, there will be another showing of the video December 8, 2009, in Auditorium 8 at the Movie Theater located in Central Plaza. I’m not sure if it will unlock the same police vest or a different item, but its sure worth checking it out if you’re curious about Steven Seagal’s new show on A&E as mentioned the last Sony Home Update. Be sure to visit the theater to check it out and unlock a free virtual item.

Temporary Issues

Many users are still experiencing issues with store bought and unlocked items since the recent update. Home managers and developers are aware of the following issues, and currently working to resolve the problem so please be patient. The items in questions include:

• Namco Bandai Love Seat
• Loot Feature Film Camera on Heavy Duty Tripod
• Post-Apocalyptic Orange, Grey, Yellow and Red Machines
• Saucer Pop Yellow, Blue, Green and Red Chairs
• Fat Princess Throne
• Ghostbusters Bagel
• Ghostbusters Toast
• Club Fight Night Half Chaise Lounge
• Club Fight Night Chaise Lounge
• Club Fight Night Couch

Players who are experiencing issues with items that are not on this list are encouraged to post a message in the Home Support forum on the PlayStation Board.

Shopping Mall

This week at the mall players will notice the Halloween items are now gone. Because the stores now have individual categories and bundle sections, unless listed next to the item in (parenthesis) all items are available for male and female avatars.

Items No Longer Available

• Halloween costumes have been removed from the Costumes Store.
• PSPgo hat is no longer available.

Threads I - located on the first floor of the mall.

Assassin’s Creed II Section

• Assassin’s Creed II Promo Collection Version 2 cost $1.49
Individual Items Include:
• Black Assassin’s Creed II T-Shirt cost 79 cents
• Symbol Version of the Assassin’s Creed II Hat cost 79 cents
• Black Assassin’s Creed II Logo Wristband cost 79 cents

• Assassin’s Creed II Ezio Promo Hoodie Bundle $1.49*
Individual Items Include:
• Assassin’s Creed II Ezio Promo Hood cost 59 cents
• Assassin’s Creed II Ezio Promo Sweater cost 79 cents

*The Ezio Promo Bundle creates a hoodie if worn together.

SingStar Section
*Note all the items except for Dizzee Rascal The Gig Tee T-Shirt that were once sold in the SingStar VIP room are now located in this section.

• Dizzee Rascal “Tongue n cheek” tour jacket cost 99 cents
• Dizzee Rscal “Tongue n cheek” denims with fly pockets cost 99 cents

Threads II - located on the second floor of the mall.

Top Section

• Leather Jacket cost $1.99

Animated Hand Section

• Animated Pulsing Glow Batons in choice of Blue, Green or Orange cost 99 cents each.
• Animated Pulsing Glow Batons in choice of Red or Yellow cost 99 cents each (Male Only)

Costume Shop - located on the second floor of the mall.

Thanksgiving Section

• Pilgrim Hat cost 49 cents (Male Only)
• Pilgrim Headwear cost 49 cents (Female Only)
• Pilgrim Shoes cost 49 cents (Male Only)
• Pilgrim Shoes cost 49 cents (Female Only)
• Pilgrim Top cost 99 cents (Male Only)
• Pilgrim Top cost 99 cents (Female Only)
• Pilgrim Pants cost 99 cents (Male Only)
• Pilgrim Dress cost 99 cents (Female Only)

Furniture I - located on the first floor of the mall.

Ornaments Section

• Turkey ornament cost 99 cents
• Gong cost 99 cents
• Sais cost 99 cents

Site [PlayStation Blog] Site [PlayStation.com]
Image Source: PlayStation Home Blog

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Good news! If you happen to get to Old Navy early enough on Black Friday 2009 and purchase $20 worth of clothes, you can get Lego Rock Band for free. It’s one of two limited, video game related promotions that the store is offering this Black Friday. Pretty surprising move. All Old Navy stores will open at 3am on November 27, 2009.

Keep in mind, you’re only getting the Lego Rock Band game for free. You aren’t getting any free guitars, microphones or drum kits. Still, you get to pick out Lego Rock Band. The adscan on TheBlackFriday.com states that you can only choose from the PS3, Xbox 360 or Wii versions. No free DS game for you! The PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii versions are normally $49.99 each. This promotion will only be available on November 27, 2009 and will be very limited.

The second offer is a free Rock Band guitar controller if you purchase the Rock Band 2 PS2, PS3 or Xbox 360 video game. Once again, not a bad deal. The ad once again states that the offer is very limited.

The Old Navy Gobblepalooza Black Friday site is now open as well. It reports that the stores Black Friday sale will last from November 27-29, 2009, Rock Band will be set up in stores for people to play and there will be a $200 shopping spree to possibly win. Also, if you visit the site you can use the Band Name Generator to create a band name and custom logo.

Image Source: Old Navy Gobblepalooza

Read [TheBlackFriday.com] Also Read [Joystiq] Site [Old Navy Gobblepalooza]

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It looks like Nintendo just can’t lose. Famitsu reported Enterbrain’s DSi LL sales figures for its first two days in stores today. 103,524 DSi LLs were sold between November 21-22, 2009, the systems first two days in Japan. In case you’re scratching your head, the DSi XL is billed as the DSi LL in Japan.

As Andriasang points out, the DSi LL launch wasn’t as impressive as the DSi launch. 170,770 DSis were sold in its first two days on sale in Japan. So the DSi was almost twice as popular. Still, 103,524 units is a pretty respectable number.

As you may recall, Enterbrain reported that 28,725 PSPgos were sold the day the system launched in Japan (November 1, 2009). Even if you decide to be generous and double that in hopes that it sold around 57,000 units in its first two days, that still can’t compare to the DSi LLs first two days on the market.

I guess this means that some gamers really are willing to haul around a larger portable gaming system if it means bigger screens. I’ve gotta admit, I do like the larger, pen-style stylus it comes with. And the wine red color is quite attractive.

Read [Famitsu (Japanese)] Via [Andriasang] Also Read [Gamertell]

Full Story » | Written by Jenni Lada for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Black Friday is a good way to take care of your friends and family, but perhaps not so good for internet buddies. After all, you may just be fellow guild members in an MMO, or close enough to want to give a gift, but not actually buy it and mail it out. If you and your online friends play one of Nexon’s free-to-play MMOs, then you’re covered.

Nexon has just announced that the cash shops for Combat Arms, Dungeon Fighter Online, MapleStory and Mabinogi will all have sufficient discounts and sales in each shop. Each games’ cash shop sale will be different though.

Combat Arms will have a Black Friday sale running from November 27-29, 2009. Grenades and some other weapons will be discounted, and there will be a few special bundle sales that will allow players to pick up more in-game weapons and armor than usual for a fraction of the price.

Dungeon Fighter Online‘s Black Friday sale begins tomorrow, November 25, 2009, and lasts until December 1, 2009. Since it is the newest Nexon game, its only appropriate that a Beginner’s Package bundle, filled with potions, life tokens and storage, will be one of the sale items. Avatar Tokens, which give you a random avatar item, will also be on sale.

MapleStory will be running an online sale from Black Friday, November 27, 2009, until Cyber Monday, November 30, 2009. Each day different items will be on sale for a limited time. The sales will run from 8am-11am PST, 11am-2pm PST and 2pm-5pm PST from Friday to Sunday, and on Monday will run from 8am-11am PST and 11am-2pm PST. Be sure to be at the cash shop during those periods of time, as the items discounted will be limited.

Mabinogi will be having a very low key sale running from November 26-30, 2009. Many of the in-game cash shop items will be discounted. You’ll have to log into the game on one of those days and check out the sales for yourself.

Image Source: Nexon

Read [Gamers Daily News] Also Read [Anime News Network] Site [Nexon]

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Thanksgiving 2009 will definitely be a day when Tekken 6 players give thanks. November 26, 2009 just happens to be the date Namco Bandai has chosen to release a patch for both the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game. This downloadable update will primarily fix and improve the online multiplayer portions of the game.

The online mode fixes are varied and essential. There are now better search priorities, to make sure you fight someone with a similar rank and connection speed. Also, when you play against an online opponent, the data transmission has been improved so you aren’t sitting around enjoying the lag. Those signal strength bars won’t just be for decoration anymore, and will correctly report connection strength and speed. Finally, you’ll be able to check that signal strength before a match begins and cancel the match if you see your opponent has an atrocious connection. Hopefully, these fixes will help prevent any problems before they pop up.

The other improvement relates to general gameplay. This Tekken 6 patch also makes the game respond to the buttons you push and command you put in than it did before, ensuring you’ll have no problem starting combos or pulling off special moves.

I don’t own a PS3 or Xbox 360, so those who do will have to enlighten me. Do all fighting games with online portions have these kinds of issues? I still remember the King of Fighters XII fiasco and patches. Now you hear that Tekken 6 experienced some similar issues.

Read [Gaming Age] Also Read [Siliconera] Also Read [PS3 Attitude]

Full Story » | Written by Jenni Lada for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

The holidays are coming a little early this year for fans of brawler games.

The playable Bayonetta demo will be available for download on December 3, 2009, on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network. The full Bayonetta game will be available January 5, 2010, for the Xbox 360 and the PS3. It is rated “Mature” by the ESRB for blood, gore and partial nudity.

Bayonetta tells the story of a witch who is one of the last members of a dying order. After awaking from a 500-year nap, she finds herself being hunted down by hosts of angels. Fortunately for her, this really isn’t as much of an overkill as it sounds.

Bayonetta has an arsenal of deadly moves under her, well, hair. As strange as it sounds, Bayonetta can use her hair in performing devastating magical attacks against her foes.

She also uses different kinds of firearms as well as guns attached to her stilettos to fend off opponents. The game has a similar style to the Devil May Cry franchise which is little surprise since the game’s director, Hideki Kamiya, created Devil May Cry.

I’m a big fan of the Devil May Cry games. I really like that smooth fighting style and the overall look of the series. If Bayonetta stays close to that formula it should be a good game. It is already out in Japan and it has already gotten excellent reviews from different Japanese publications.

Read [Kotaku] Also Read [Joystiq] Site [Bayonetta]

Full Story » | Written by Christian Morlotte for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Ubisoft’s highly-regarded medieval sequel has sold 1.6 million (worldwide) in just one week, according to a news item over at 1Up. The numbers represent a staggering 32% increase in sales from the first game (released in 2007 to lukewarm reception).

From the post:

“That’s 32% more than the first-week sales of the original, which retains the record for fastest selling new intellectual property. But with better reviews, better buzz, and a franchise already built, this new edition is toppling its predecessor and likely making Ubisoft investors happy.”

Its actually great news, considering how awesome the game is - if you haven’t checked it out yet, be sure to put it on your holiday wish list and “accidentally” drop it near a loved one. Its an incredible blend of action and fascinating, intricate world design - and it lives up to the promise hinted at by the first game. If anything deserves big success this season, its AC II. The same goes for New Super Mario Bros. Wii, but hey - that’s a post for another day.

Read [1Up] Read [gamertell]

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Datel, manufacturer of the Max Memory card that is one of the “unauthorized” memory units Microsoft recently locked out of use with the Xbox 360 console, is taking the company to court.

A federal court in San Francisco is now charged with the task of determining whether the memory card lockout is within Microsoft’s rights or constitutes unfair business practices.

Since the wheels of justice don’t always turn swiftly, I would still refrain from buying any Max Memory cards for a while. Even if Microsoft were to lose here, I’m sure an appeal would be forthcoming.

Money is not exactly an object for Microsoft, so they could theoretically keep this tied up in court until the next console generation.

Read [Joystiq] Also Read [Gamertell]

Full Story » | Written by Brian Allen for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Bloodrayne was a once promising game franchise featuring a sexy vampire heroine who kills Nazis. How could that be anything but cool? Well, now Bloodrayne is infamous for two really horrible Uwe Boll movies based on the character.

There’s no kind of Uwe Boll movie other than really horrible, unfortunately. The German director best known for excruciatingly bad game-to-film adaptations confirmed he is working on a third Bloodrayne installment.

Boll told Dread Central the third film will be called Bloodrayne 3: Warhammer and that Kristanna Loken, who starred in the first film, is returning. Also, Bloodrayne is going back to her gaming roots as the film is set during World War II.

That gives me a little hope.

OK, it really doesn’t. It just makes me weep for Loken’s movie career. I thought she made a decent Terminator but like everything else he touches, Boll just ruined Bloodrayne for me.

The film is scheduled to start shooting in January 2010, which should put it straight to DVD a couple of months after that and basic cable (lookin’ at you, SyFy) by this time next year.

Read [Dread Central]  Also Read [Kotaku]

Full Story » | Written by Brian Allen for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

If you haven’t picked up a DSi yet, now is your chance for a great deal.

Starting this Friday, November 27, 2009 (presumably lasting through the holidays), you can purchase a Metallic Blue or White Nintendo DSi systems that come pre-installed with more than $20 in software value at various retailers.

If you are looking for fun action games with Mario and friends, then Metallic Blue is your bundle. However, if you are looking for challenges and brain builders, then go with the White bundle.

All the games (based on the bundle) are installed directly into the system so there is no need to switch out game cartridges. You also have full access to tons of other games and apps on the Nintendo DSi Shop. Owners with wireless broadband Internet access can exchange Nintendo DSi Points for the various titles and wirelessly download them directly to their Nintendo DSi systems.

You can buy these Nintendo Point Cards online or from various retail locations including Game Stop and Best Buy.

Prices vary based on store and holiday deals and supplies are limited so don’t hesitate. Head to your nearest retail store to pick up these awesome bundles.

Here is a detailed breakdown of what comes with each bundle:

Metallic Blue:

• Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again: Save Pauline from the huge ape with help from Mario and the mini Mario’s.
• Dr. Mario Express: Put on your lab coat and wipe out all the viruses in this classic Mario puzzle game.
• WarioWare: Snapped!: Use the built in camera to snap a pic of yourself, and you’re put right into the action of these intense mini games.
• Mario Calculator: Pretty self explanatory.
• Mario Clock: Choose from analog or digital, and set the clock yourself or let is use the internal clock in your DSi

White:

• Brain Age Express: Arts & Letters: Test your reading and spelling skills, and play a little piano.
• Brain Age Express: Sudoku: Play everyone’s favorite puzzle game with your touch screen.
• Brain Age Express: Math: Test and improve your math skills with fun games.
• Clubhouse Games Express: Card Classics: Play Blackjack and Five Card Draw, among others, and test your card skills and abilities.
• Photo Clock: Look at all your photos while keeping track of the time.

Site [Nintendo DS] Read [Go Nintendo]

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University of Texas Assistant Professor Jorge Pena has finished a study on the way game avatars affect a player’s in-game actions and he believes a bad avatar = bad actions.

In a study earning coverage in the Austin American Statesman, Pena did two separate experiments.

In the game Jedi Knight II, the experiment randomly assigned white or black robes to gamers. Experiment number two gave them roles as either Klu Klux Klan members or physicians. A control group got transparent avatars. Pena said those cast with “negative” avatars exhibited anti social and aggressive behaviors in both team building exercises and when asked to describe ambiguous pictures.

“What’s interesting here is not only did using the avatar in the dark uniform affect a negative attitude and point to individual problems, but also showed less group cohesion.”

According to Pena, the effects on study participants were automatic and for the most part, unconscious. The Statesman piece also looks at the relationship between gamers who play on opposing sides of conflicts in games including World of Warcraft. In some cases, the fictional battle between the Horde and the Alliance leads to real animosities between players.

I think some of this is because of the largely anonymous nature of playing games online. It is a lot easier to be completely rude to someone you will likely never meet in person.

I’m shuddering at the prospect that Jack Thompson already has a copy of this study.

Read [Austin American Statesman]

Full Story » | Written by Brian Allen for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

EA Sports has revealed some of the madness that will ensue in its Madden Arcade downloadable title coming to PlayStation Network and Xbox Live this week.

This downloadable title comes to PSN November 24, 2009 and XBLA November 25, 2009.  It costs $14.99 on PSN or 1200 Microsoft Points on XBLA.

Teams will have the opportunity to receive powerups - called Game Changers - before every play and can choose to use them right then or save them for later.

Here’s the list and some of these are game changing indeed. Flip-Flop looks to be the biggest momentum shifter of them all.

• Entourage – Bring in the reinforcements as Entourage sends the rest of your linemen into the game to help out for a play. (The game is five-on-five, so this is huge.)
• Triple Threat – Disguise which receiver you’re throwing the ball by sending out two other decoys with the Power Ball game changer.
• Bonus Play – Give yourself an additional down to help get in the end zone and earn some much deserved points with Bonus Play.
• Make it, Take it - If you’re good enough to score when you trigger Make It, Take It, the ball is yours to keep on the next possession.
• Turbo – The Turbo game changer will send players in fast forward by giving them an extra speed burst.
• Molasses – Game too fast for you? Use Molasses to take down the action on the field to a less frantic pace.
• Fumbilitis – Turn your opponent’s into butter fingers as they’ll have a difficult time holding on to the ball with Fumbilitis.
• It’s Alive – Make any pass a scramble for the ball as its Alive will turn any incomplete pass into a live ball.
• Frostbite – Put the freeze on one opposing player from moving by using the game changer Frostbite.
• Fast Pass – Fast Pass gives the power to a QB to throw the ultimate bulleted pass.
• Flying Blind – Sabotage your opponent by using Flying Blind to turn off their passing icons.
• Flip Flop – Jealous of your opponents score? Flip Flop will nicely borrow the score and never give it back.
• Dud – Hey, they can’t all be winners.

Read [Pasta Padre]

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Good news importers, Mushihimesama Futari Ver 1.5 comes out November 26, 2009. The Xbox 360 game Mushihimesama Futari Ver 1.5 is not only Cave’s latest bullet hell shoot ‘em up and sequel to Mushihime-sama, it’s also region-free. That means that you can play it, no matter what region your Xbox 360 is.

It’s also notable for another important reason. As Cave told Kotaku, the company made Mushihimesama Futari Ver 1.5 region-free to test the waters, so to speak. If there’s a large import response to the game, then it could mean more Cave region-free games and North American versions of previous Cave shooters like Espgaluda II or Death Smiles. Siliconera helpfully pointed out that the menus are in English, which makes importing even easier.

The Xbox 360 version includes the 1.5 version of Mushihimesama Futari, as well as all previous versions. The game follows the story of the search for a lost prince named Aki, who went into Reco’s forest to stop monstrous insects from preying on his people. Aki never returned, and now his brother Palm goes to find out what happened.

Aside from the standard $68 version of the game, there was also a slightly more expensive limited edition version that came with an Xbox 360 faceplate and a comemorative phone card. But good luck finding one of those. They’re sold out practically everywhere. If you have the extra cash though, the Mushihimesama Futari Ver 1.5 Hori arcade stick is still available at online stores for around $159.

Read [Siliconera] Also Read [Kotaku] Site [Cave (Japanese)] Product Page [Full Story » | Written by Jenni Lada for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

If you’re looking for a way to get into the holiday season for free, then it could be time to check out the Playrix website. As Casual Friday readers may know, Playrix is famous for its series of match-3/aquarium building Fishdom series of games. Just in time for the holidays, Playrix has announced that browser-based, demo versions of Fishdom: Harvest Splash and Fishdom: Frosty Splash are now online.

It’s really easy to start playing. Just click one of the links above to get to the Thanksgiving-themed Fishdom: Harvest Splash or the Christmas-themed Fishdom: Frosty Splash. Wait for the game to load up in your browser, and then use your mouse to start playing. Both games have brief tutorials to help you learn what you’re doing.

Think of them as demos. Each game has 24 levels and does allow you to build up an aquarium. However, the full games have more levels, over 100 different decorations, multiple game modes and the ability to turn your aquarium into a screensaver for your computer.

The full versions of both Fishdom: Harvest Splash and Fishdom: Frosty Splash are on sale at the official Playrix site for $9.98, 50% off the normal $19.95 price. Harvest Splash is on sale until November 30, 2009 and Frosty Splash is on sale until December 31, 2009.

Read [GamersHell.com] Also Read [] Site [Playrix]

Full Story » | Written by Jenni Lada for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Maybe those Japanese dating simulation games are dangerous after all. Konami’s Love Plus DS dating sim has seen unprecedented popularity and creepy devotion since it launched, and it’s only getting worse. An unidentified man has married his copy of the game.

On November 22, 2009, a man went to Guam. Once he arrived, he married Nene Anegasaki, one of the three possible virtual girlfriend characters in Love Plus. Since then, the man has announced a wedding reception in Japan, no word yet on when that will take place, and NicoNico Douga showed the video of the wedding ceremony.

I know, I’m thinking “publicity stunt” too. But part of me is shuddering and thinking this whole affair is real. After all, some people bought multiple copies of Love Plus to get all the preorder items, and others take their DS and Love Plus girlfriends on real dates.

Love Plus is a dating simulation released by Konami on September 3, 2009. It’s rated Cero C, for ages 15 and older. It is unique as it is a real-time dating simulation, meaning that each day something different can happen. There are only three chaseable girls, Nene, Rinko Kobayakawa and Manaka Takane. If you play every day, the girl you decide to go after will eventually become your girlfriend.

Read [Gizmodo.jp (Japanese)] Via [Tiny Cartridge] Also Read [Siliconera]

Full Story » | Written by Jenni Lada for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

This is a big week for Wii owners. Huge. The kind of week where you better upgrade to firmware 4.2, even if you’re worried about it bricking your Wii. The WiiWare and Virtual Console games are worth it.

If you’re only going to download from one category today, Virtual Console is your best bet. The SNES game Super Mario Kart and the NES game A Boy and His Blob: Trouble on Blobolonia both make their debut today.

If you’re a DSi owner, there’s a lot more Electroplankton for you. Once again, familiar electroplankton from the original DS game have all new names, so be sure to check the information on each to make sure you’re getting the one you want.

Gamertell’s Nintendo Download picks for the week are: Super Mario Kart (VC), A Boy and His Blob: Trouble on Blobolonia (VC), BIT.TRIP VOID (WiiWare), Harvest Moon: My Little Shop (WiiWare).

WiiWare

BIT.TRIP VOID
Price: 600 Nintendo Points / $6
Publisher: Aksys
Genre: Shooter / Arcade
ESRB Rating: “Everyone”
Players: 1-4
Description: Like the previous BIT.TRIP games, there’s a focus on sound and simplicity. Collect dots with the black hole void to successfully continue and win in this entry.

Harvest Moon: My Little Shop
Price: 1,200 Nintendo Points / $12
Publisher: Natsume
Genre: Simulation / Mini-game Collection
ESRB Rating: “Everyone”
Players: 1
Description: You get to take over your grandparents’ farm and shop in Clover Town, and hopefully help restore the village’s prosperity with hard work. The items you create at your farm can be made into valuable products and sold at your shop. Additional dlc may be added later on, since the Japanese version had additional content.

Little Tournament Over Yonder
Price: 800 Nintendo Points / $8
Publisher: Gevo Entertainment
Genre: Real-Time Strategy
ESRB Rating: “Everyone” for Mild Cartoon Violence
Players: 1-2
Description: Decide to be a Prince or Princess and take part in multiple tournaments to prove your worth. You create a team of great warriors and help them become the best, then set out to show your strength.

Learning with the PooYoos: Episode 1
Price: 500 Nintendo Points / $5
Publisher: Lexis Numerique
Genre: Edutainment
ESRB Rating: “Early Childhood”
Players: 1
Description: The first WiiWare Early Childhood game is designed to help kids between the ages of 3-6 learn their letters, numbers, colors, shapes and more with a group of adorable animals.

Virtual Console

A Boy and His Blob: Trouble on Blobolonia
Price: 500 Nintendo Points / $5
Originally Appeared On: NES
Publisher: Majesco
Genre: Action
ESRB Rating: “Everyone”
Players: 1
Description: A boy from Earth and his friend, an alien Blob from the planet Blobolonia, must work together to find their way to Blobolonia and save it from an evil emperor. The blob can transform when fed jellybeans by the boy, with specific jellybeans being able to turn it into important items. Personally, I didn’t do to well when I played it back on the NES and just used to feed the blob endless jellybeans for fun.

Super Mario Kart
Price: 800 Nintendo Points / $8
Originally Appeared On: SNES
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Racing
ESRB Rating: “Everyone”
Players: 1-2
Description: The very first Mario Kart game. There are standard races, multiplaer races, a battle mode, 8 racers and over 15 tracks.

DSiWare

Castle of Magic
Price: 500 Nintendo Points / $5
Publisher: Gameloft
Genre: Platformer
ESRB Rating: “Everyone” for Mild Cartoon Violence
Players: 1
Description: You must reach the magician Nefastax to save your friend, but first you have to journey through tons of treacherous levels. In order to succeed, you’ll need to use the DSi camera to transform your character into helpful forms that will allow him to save the day.

Electroplankton Lumiloop
Price: 200 Nintendo Points / $2
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Other
ESRB Rating: “Everyone”
Players: 1
Description: 5 donut shaped Electroplankton that make different noises when you spin them.

Electroplankton Luminarrow
Price: 200 Nintendo Points / $2
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Other
ESRB Rating: “Everyone”
Players: 1
Description: These were called Luminaria in the original DS game. There are four Luminarrows on a grid with arrows. You can change the arrows position and direction, then send off the Luminarrows. They’ll follow the path determined by the arrows and make noise.
Electroplankton Marine-Crystals
Price: 200 Nintendo Points / $2
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Other
ESRB Rating: “Everyone”
Players: 1
Description: These were called Marine-Snow in the original game. There are 35 of them, and tapping them or drawing lines across them on the touch screen will cause them to react and make noise.

Electroplankton Sun-Animalcule
Price: 200 Nintendo Points / $2
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Other
ESRB Rating: “Everyone”
Players: 1
Description: You place Sun-Animalcule eggs on the touch screen, then watch and listen as they grow. As they pass through different stages of life, they make different noises and sounds.

Electroplankton Varvoice
Price: 200 Nintendo Points / $2
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Other
ESRB Rating: “Everyone”
Players: 1
Description: This was known as Volvoice in the original game. You choose a shape for the Varvoice, then tap it to record a brief snippet of sound. It will then play the sound back in a loop, with different effects based on the shape you chose.
myNotebook: Blue
Price: 200 Nintendo Points / $2
Publisher: Nnooo
Genre: Application
ESRB Rating: N/A, I’d say everyone since it’s just a notepad application
Players: 1
Description: A notepad application for your DS.

Site [Nintendo]

Full Story » | Written by Jenni Lada for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Electronic Arts’ upcoming game, Dante’s Inferno, is using an unlikely ally in its latest publicity stunt. Instead of going with the Xbox or the PlayStation, they are using a Church’s game and unique game system. Well, sort of.

In a controversial move, the latest game trailer is “hidden” in a web page promoting a video game console called Mass: We Pray. This imaginary console comes with stools and cross shaped controllers that look like WiiMotes and supposedly simulates the experience of attending mass. When any of the links in the page are clicked, the page changes to the latest trailer for Dante’s Inferno.

Dante’s Inferno is a re-imagining of the first part of Dante Alighieri’s classic poem, The Divine Comedy. The game focuses on the journey the author takes through the nine circles of hell accompanied by the poet Virgil. It pictures Dante as a knight who has to battle his way through hell to rescue his beloved Beatrice from Lucifer.

Dante’s Inferno will be available on February 9, 2010, for Xbox 360, PS3 and PSP

Promotion for the game has focused on different sins which are explored throughout the game. This latest stunt was focused on heresy. When the web page changes from the Mass: We Pray version, text appears explaining that mass without an ordained priest amounts to heresy and whoever does this is condemned to the sixth circle of Hell.

Even though the relation with church may sound odd for a hell-based game, the original material is firmly rooted on the teachings of the Christian church and serves as an allegory for the punishments reserved for each of the sins.

I read the first part of the poem a while back and I really liked it. It painted an impressive scene of each circle and helped establish a mythology for all references to Hell. If the game can convey these images it should at least be visually stunning.

Read [G4TV] Also read [Gamepro] Site [Dante’s Inferno] Site [Mass: We Pray]

Full Story » | Written by Christian Morlotte for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

The Apple App Store gaming update is Gamertell’s weekly look at the previous week’s Apple App Store game releases. We cover them all - good and not so good - in their respective categories with a breakdown of the great games and the free games right where you want ‘em, at the top and in your face. The list is available every Monday, right as you are about to start that long work week.

It’s hard to believe it but it’s true - this is Thanksgiving week here in North America and with it comes the biggest and sometimes most brutal shopping day of the year: Black Friday. Odds are, if you are going to brave the frothing consumer hordes this Friday, you are going to be lining up early and thus, need something to help pass the time. We’ve got just the thing for you right here with this week’s App Store releases. This week’s most notable include Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader 2010, Spooky Spirit, Ninja Assassin, and Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies.

P.S.A: Remember folks, if you are going out, be civilized and more over, be safe. Odds are, that $30 bucks of your item of choice isn’t worth a hospital bill to go with it.

What’s Free

iShoot Turkey
“Play the game of iShootTurkey by OrientMaple! The game iShootTurkey will surely give you a lot of fun! Look at all turkeys flying around the screen, and how exciting it will be to shoot all of them down to the ground! Moreover, with 3D model, the turkey looks so vivid and lovely and fantastic. I’m sure you’ll addict to it! Come on! And check out how many turkeys you can shoot!”

Pumpkin Murderer
“Since day before Halloween, pumpkins and ghosts are destroying a village. A girl, who stand alone to fight back to them, You are now required to control a girl to fight back to pumpkins and ghosts for recover a village from messed. Every time when you attack an enemy, they will divide by two or more to reduce. There is limited to be reducing after attack them and at the end they will finally eliminated. We now asked you to stand alone to fight back to them until they destroyed before they attack you. When ghosts are dead, they might leave a special item that you can use. Here now, a village’s destiny will be base on how you fight against to pumpkins and ghosts.”

Robot Football
“Click “How To Play” in the top right-hand corner of the main menu. In Robot Football you don’t just call the plays, you design them! Every 40 seconds you program your robots to run, block, pass, intercept, and steal the ball - while your opponent does the same! Once you’ve entered your plays, sit back and watch as both teams carry out their programming simultaneously. It’s a battle of strategy and wits - do you have what it takes to out-think your opponent and score the touchdown?”

Word Chain
Word Chain is a fast fun game of connecting two words together. It’s a race against the clock as you solve puzzle after puzzle to connect the chains. Post your high scores and earn achievements through openFeint!”

What’s New

Action

Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies: Price: $9.99
“Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies brings the classic Call of Duty: World at War zombie-slaying game mode to the iPhone™ and iPod® Touch. Featuring the original zombie map “Nacht der Untoten” (Night of the undead), fight to survive in the barricaded bunker where it all began - and you can bring along your friends to help push back the endless waves of attacking zombies.”

Star Wars Trenchrun: Price: $4.99
“Your mission: Use the Force to overthrow the evil Galactic Empire as they attempt to destroy the small rebel base on the jungle moon of Yavin 4. As part of the Rebel Allianceʼs Red Squadron, you dogfight with TIE fighters above the Death Starʼs surface before heading into a trench where you are inundated by cannon fire. Dodge obstacles and stay out of Darth Vaderʼs sights as he tries to gun you down before you have the chance to fire your proton torpedoes into the thermal exhaust port the size of a womp rat. If successful, a direct hit will cause a chain reaction that destroys the Death Star, thus saving the Rebel base from impending doom.”

Castle Frenzy: Price: $1.99
“Feed the dark elves to the hydra, make warlocks explode against the fortress, drop a giant troll on a goblin squad, smash elves to the ground, shake away skeletons, throw boars in the air, and use magical spells to petrify, freeze or burn threatening invaders!”

Chuck Norris: Bring on the Pain!: Price: $1.99
“Step into the boots of America’s toughest man in the first Chuck Norris game available for your iPhone and iPod touch. A brilliantly outlandish scenario sets you, Chuck Norris, in the Cambodian jungle to release prisoners of war held hostage by a rogue army of Communist soldiers. Inspired by old-school arcade games, Chuck Norris features the enjoyable and simple ingredients of a traditional beat’em up spiced up with crazy combos, exciting mini-games and totally destructible environments. The crowning touch is the ability to use your iPhone to take a picture of anyone you like (or dislike) and beat them up in the game! This is a Chuck-Norris-approved stress relief method!”

Adventure

Ninja Assassin: Price: $4.99
“Welcome to the chaotic hack n’ slash world of Raizo, one of the deadliest assassins in the world. Armed with a deadly chain-blade, duel-katanas and shurikens, battle your way through wave after wave of enemies by simply swiping your finger across the screen, thus severing limbs, removing heads, and even slicing bodies in two. Be sure to hide in the shadows, waiting for the perfect opportunity to engage countless enemies and overwhelming bosses through 12 harrowing levels, leading to the ultimate confrontation!”

Surviving High School: Price: $2.99
“Now experience high-school the way YOU want! Become a jock or a nerd, a popular kid or an outsider… Change the story with each decision you make. But remember, some choices are wiser than others… With multiple people to date, tons of quiz questions, and secret scenes, the story can bend any way you choose… Play more than once, and see how the story could turn out different! Just like a good TV show, “tune in” each week for all-new episodes at NO ADDITIONAL COST! Each show airs for seven days, and then it’s replaced with a new one. Look below to see what’s NOW AIRING this week! Your choices twist and turn your story in different directions. Easy and intuitive touch- control action sucks you right into the mix. Comic-style graphics, funny dialogue, and mini-games increase the overall awesomeness of your experience at Centerscore High. Get even more stories when you purchase EPISODES ON DEMAND. Go back to school whenever you want with…never-before-seen & upcoming episodes – even catch episodes you missed!”

Ravensword: The Fallen King: Price: $6.99
“Enter the world of Ravensword: The Fallen King; a massive, sandbox-style adventure for the iPhone and iPod touch. Combining 3D action with RPG elements, Ravensword features rich and interactive environments that bring you a gaming experience unlike anything you’ve seen on the iPhone platform. Take on quests to earn money and experience. Wield powerful weapons and magical runes. Battle fearsome enemies such as Orcs, Trolls, Ogres and Demons. Test your skills with a variety of games and side quests.”

Alicia Darkstone: Price: $0.99
“Alicia arrives at her friends house and finds his room completely devastated. What happened there?
Who might have done this? Where’s Alicia’s friend – Matthew? While conducting investigation you’ll find answers to this questions, but every answer will bring out new mysteries. Alchemy, betrayal, corruption, perils and many more – all of this awaits you in “Alicia Darkstone: The mysterious abduction”!”

Arcade

Virus Expansion: Price: $0.99
“The goal is to have the majority of your color chips on the board by moving your chips. If you want to play more stages buy full version.”

Turkey Hunt Thanksgiving Dinner: Price: $0.99
“It is the Day before Thanksgiving and you just found out that fifty three of your closest friends are coming to your house for a big Thanksgiving dinner because you are master chef (Pier la Goo)”.
On the big day you accidentally leave the back door of the kitchen open and your precious dinner turkeys wander in.Turkey Hunt is a fun little game where you are scrambling to make Thanksgiving Dinner in time. As the chef, your job is to take the running cartoon turkeys and make them into a ready to serve Thanksgiving dish. There are other items that you need to prepare such as pumpkin pie. Turkey Hunt Thanksgiving Dinner is a classic arcade style game were you have to prepare all the turkeys before the time runs out. As the rounds increase so does the speed and difficulty of the game.”

Go Go Robot: Price: $1.99
“Your robot is now stepping into the test laboratory, you’ll have help it to survive at all costs, even when the robot has only its head left scrambling on the ground! But you are not alone, variety of supplies will come to help you and so sometimes you can even fight back!”

Spooky Spirits: Price: $1.99
“Spooky Spirits: Puzzle Drop!! is the new improved version of our popular falling block puzzle game! The game introduces a new twist on the falling block and match-2 formula and comes with three different game modes — including a clever and relaxed puzzle mode and a panic mode (for those of you who enjoy more fast-paced action). Two wacky spirit wardens, Becky & Tim, fell asleep on their watch allowing all the Spookies to escape! Spookies is really only a different word for naughty ghosts. You must help Becky & Tim to stop the Spookies from haunting innocent humans or else they will lose their jobs!”

Board

Duality: Price: $0.99
“The goal of Duality is simple: Navigate the blue orb through the maze and onto the blue target. However, the blue orb is bound to the red orb, so the two always move in unison. As a result, if either orb is blocked in a given direction, it’s not possible to move in that direction. To unblock areas of the board, navigate the orbs against force fields, which change the distance between the two orbs and open up new paths through the maze.”

Christmas Solitaire: Price: $0.99
“lassic Solitaire (sometimes known as Klondike or Patience) with 21 different festive Christmas themes and music!”

Card

NOTHING

Casino

Virtual Horse Racing 3D Lite
“Virtual Horse Racing 3D is the most realistic 3D horse racing game on iPhone and iPod Touch. It’s easy, exciting, fun, and highly addictive. Challenge yourself and see how much you can win! This game is for everyone. Even if you’ve never placed a bet before in your life!”

Poker Dash: Price: $0.99
“Pokerdash is combined with the strategy and fun of Poker with the simplicity of solitaire along with elements of classic puzzle games. The idea is to build the best poker hands possible by placing cards in any one of three hands. If your points for each round match or beat the target you will advance to the next round. The better the poker hands the more points you will be awarded. Sound simple? Pokerdash is a highly addictive challenging game of skill that will provide many hours of fun! How high can you get? Will you become the World Champion on the Timed leaderboard? Poker’s a day to learn and a lifetime to master.”

Dice

Nextwave Multimedia’s Snakes and Ladders: Price: $0.99
“Roll up your sleeves, and start enjoying the timeless Indian classic board game – Snakes and Ladders! Throw the dice, and help the frog reach the target. Ladders will speed up your journey to the target, while snakes will keep you from reaching it. Get, set, and start rolling the dice!!!”

Educational

OrderUp
“This game has five levels. The cards will be generated randomly each time. Cards should be arranged in an ascending order of number or fractions shown.”

Vertex: Price: $0.99
“In this puzzle game for all ages you have to color each point of the web so that no two points of the same color are connected by a line. Sounds simple? With 700 difficulty levels to choose from it can be as simple or as challenging as you like.”

Geometry Tree: Price: $1.99
“This educational game helps 4 year old kids or older to distinguish geometric shapes in an easy and happy way. While playing with figures your kid will develop a solving problem ability, distinguishing behavior pattern and improving the observation and concentration ability. On the second level you need to press the correct figure of the tree in the same sequence they appear, producing a very nice melody. The use of colors makes it easier for kids to identify the figures and follow the correct order. You and your kid will learn short melodies that can be practiced in real instruments due to the fact that the game uses real musical notes which makes it fun for all ages.”

Extraterrestrial Civilization : Price: $0.99
“Now the secrets of the Drake equation and get your own conclusions. The history behind it, the initial estimations and the famous estimations. You can also get your own estimation by using the parameters, one by one. All this accompanied by cool graphics and music that will make you dive into deep space.”

Family

Bubble Factory: Price: $2.99
Welcome to the factory! Bubble Factory is a fast action and puzzle game where your goal is to collect the bubbles while keeping them safe from bubble traps. Use gravity and your fingers to move and blow the bubbles into the collectors while keeping them safe by destroying the traps. Listen to a full set of sound effects and music or mute the in-game music and play along to your own collection. There are 25 levels of bubble collecting fun and 5 challenges to test your bubble collecting abilities for hours of play! Compare your best scores with your friends using the local score storage.”

Soccer Heading: Price: $0.99
“Wii Fit Balance Game. Did you ever want to play the Soccer Heading game on the GO. Now you can on your iphone or itouch. Balance Games: Get into the action with fun, balanced-based games like SOCCER HEADING.”

Harry Potter: Spells: Price: $4.99
“You are officially invited to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Once enrolled, receive the wand destined for you before being Sorted into one of the four houses by the Sorting Hat. Then using specific hand gestures for each of the 14 spells, practice, practice, practice before experiencing the ultimate contest - DUELLING! Compete against the computer or challenge a fellow classmate to a real-time duel – player versus player, casting spells from one device to the other. Earn valuable house points for your house while learning, practicing and duelling. Visit the house points section to see your official stats and global ranking - in your specific house or in all of Hogwarts. Finally, share it with the rest of the world by posting it to your Facebook page via Facebook Connect.”

Brain Party: Price: $0.99
“Looking for a great way to keep your brain in shape? Brain Party is a puzzle-solving, brain-stretching game that comes with over 30 minigames designed to push your brain to its limits, testing memory, logic, mathematics, reactions and more. Brain Party is split into two main modes: test mode gives you five random games to measure your general brain power, whereas practise mode lets you play your favourite games as often as you want. As you play, more minigames are unlocked and Brain Party automatically tracks your test results so you can monitor your progress over time. If you do really well, you can unlock secret games and a whole new game mode designed to keep you playing and enjoying your favourite games even longer.”

Pocket Farm Lite
“Pocket Farm is the farming game you have all been waiting for on the iPhone! You’ve probably heard about the farming phenomenon on Facebook and wished you could play it anywhere. Now you can build your farms wherever you go! Pocket Farm is a casual sandbox game that let’s you build farms at your own pace and sell your harvest in a fun mini-game.”

Music

Fretboard Warrior: Price: $3.99
“Like the popular version of Fretboard Warrior for PC and Fretboard Warrior lite version, Fretboard Warrior is a tool designed to help guitar student to memorize the fretboard. In addition, Fretboard Warrior allows the user to choose between 2 types of game. By STRING and by POSITION. You can choose on which string and position you want to play. This way the user can focus on the portion of the Fretboard he has difficulties with.”

Touch Tone Hero: Price $1.99
“Tired of playing tunes on your cell phone for your friends, only to accidentally dial up the Chinese Embassy? Well, no more! With Touch Tone Hero, you can rock your proverbial socks off without fear of starting an international incident. Play over 24 included songs or discover your own in the aptly named Free Play mode. Compete for the high score and achieve legendary status amongst a group of your friends. Do you have what it takes to become a rock star? Of course not, that’s why you’re playing music on a phone.”

Big Brain Of Fire: Price: $2.99
“Rock your iPhone with Big Brain Of Fire! Big Brain Of Fire is a totally different approach on music games, where you can play whatever you want on real drums, real guitar’s fret, and even
a whole octave of rocking vocal! Every instrument has its own, unique control scheme and highest quality, real sound which will give you an impression of being a real rock star. Big Brain Of Fire includes a classic tour mode with awesome rock songs, in which you can practice your skills and gather points. Complete the tour mode to unlock jam session, where you can free style anywhere you want! Gather 3 friends and make your own pieces of rock, play them together and have a rocking fun!”

ReverSing Battle: Price; $1.99
“ReverSing Battle is unusual two-player game with an addictive gameplay. The firs player record and reverse his singing and the second one should guess that song, employing application features. There are no similar app on App Store that’s why you’ll definitely like it.”

Alley Cats
“Meow the night away in Alley Cat style, With seven cool cats that are sure to make you smile . Alley Cats features 3 cat-tastic modes. Re-create and practice making your favorite songs with a chorus of Alley Cats in “Free Style” mode. Use “Record Mode” , to save your Alley Cat masterpieces to play back later or share with friends. Then there’s the challenging “Catsentration”, try to follow the 7 cool cats and repeat everything they do. It’s not easy; but if you have a good ear, a good eye, a great memory and a love for cats you may be able to match the raucous the Alley Cats make.”

Puzzle

MimeMory: Price: $0.99
“MimeMory is a memory-style game where the main objective is to reproduce an image shown at the beginning of each stage. Within the game, the player is required to select provided options (in the form of images slices) in order to replicate the previously displayed image/answer. A limited number of cheats are available to help the player complete the stages. The game features two playing modes: Normal and Challenge. The Normal mode contains 12 stages, each of which may apply a different time limit and allow a unique set of Cheats. The game is over if the time limit has been reached in any of the stages or if all the stages are completed. In the Challenge mode, the player is equipped with a pre-defined set of Cheats to play through an indefinite series of stages within a given time limit.”

Foodoku - AddictingGames: Price: $0.99
Foodoku is an exciting and funny new variant of the classic Sudoku game where you have to solve puzzles full of cute little creatures. Like in a classic Sudoku game you have to fill the empty places of a puzzle with the missing creatures. Every row must contain one of each creature. So must every column, as must every 3x3 square. Foodoku contains four different difficulty levels, 100 puzzles and 5 different creature sets that make the game more challenging and entertaining. You can pause the game at any time to continue later without loosing your game progress. Train your brain with a daily dose of “Foodoku”.”

Cell Jumper: Price: $0.99
Know how use the knight on a chess board? Want to train yourself to spot jump squares super fast? Jump into the shoes of a certain hungry horsie and push your pattern recognition skills to their limits! Race against the clock to eat every deliciously placed carrot on the board before time runs out. Did I mention horses love carrots? Well, they do… At least they do now. Each new level brings more difficult puzzles with even more tasty carrots and an oh-so-precious increase in time. How long can you last? Perhaps you should play Cell Jumper right now to find out!”

Tower of the Sorcerer: Price: $0.99
“Tower of the Sorcerer is a cross between a puzzle game and an RPG. The story is saving the princess who was locked in the magic tower, it is the such story as you have heard the other day. But the fact is that this story isn’t related to this game at all. Why? You will know the reason when you play this game. As the contents of this is RPG, there is the side like a puzzle. Please play this without hurry combining with training of brain. To save the princess you must go up the floors. You fight the bad guys and get keys to open doors. You have a health meter and you can gold coins and experince to increase defensive power, offensive power, and health. The levels are not randomly generated so the game will be the same every time you play.”

The Watcher: Price: $1.99
“If you’ve ever played Geoff Crammond’s classic game “The Sentinel” then you will be right at home with The Watcher! The Watcher is a real-time 3D puzzle game in which you must stealthily move to the top of a landscape and absorb all the evil eyes looking for you. If a watcher spots you then it will sap your energy - lose too much and it’s game over!”

Bear Paw
“Introducing Bear Paw a simple and challenging, and beautiful game. Watch the gravity and stunning particle effects light up the iPhones screen as stars and comets collide. The game is an intriguing game based on a barnes-hut gravity simulation of stars. The goal of the game is to place your space ship on the screen and set it off on a path avoiding the stars and collecting the comets. With every comet you collect a score multiplier is applied to increase the rate at which your score increases. Do you go for the comets or play it safe and avoid the stars… The dilemma is yours.”

Racing

The Reindeer Games: Price: $0.99
“Choose your reindeer in this exciting event: the chimney slalom! You see one of the biggest problems for the reindeer is zipping between all those chimneys out there.”

Egg&Spoon: Price: $0.99
“Have fun, race your friends and get some good exercise by playing the age old Egg and Spoon race through your IPhone or IPod Touch. Your IPhone/ IPod touch is your spoon and your egg, just tilt it to make sure that the egg stays on the spoon. Tilt it too much as your running and the egg will probably fall off. You can play the game in two modes, one called “One drop and your out” and the other called “Pause and play on”. With “One drop and your out”, if you drop your egg your out of the race, so the person who gets to the finishing line without dropping their egg is the winner. With “Pause and play on”, if you drop your egg you are not out of the race, you can pick it up and then continue on. To pick up your egg, you must hold your IPhone/ IPod Touch steady for a number of seconds until the egg reappears and then you can continue. If you move during this ‘pick up time’ (i.e cheat), then it takes longer for the egg to come back, so don’t even bother. In the settings part of the game you can indicate how many seconds you must pause for before the egg comes back. You can play many variations of the game against your friends. If you have only one IPhone/ IPod Touch with the game, then you can run your races individually and then whoever has the fastest time wins. Or even better, if your friends also have the game then you can race against each other.”

Role Playing

SolarStrike: Price: $0.99
“SolarStrike is a challenging space shooter multi-touch arcade with RPG elements. You are a pilot of a spaceship on a rescue mission and you are forced to fight an unknown force in asteroid fields, space platforms, unknown alien bases. No game overs! Infinite continues and level restarts, but the levels are not so easy and would be interesting even for very skilled players.”

Simulation

I Love Traffic: Price: $0.99
“Ready to make traffic flow? Take on the roads as you direct traffic through congested intersections and save drivers from utter peril. Feed cars, trucks, and ambulances through dangerous intersections and conquer the road from a different angle. Bring on the challenge from the original Flash game, now on your iPhone and iPod Touch!”

Safari Sunrise: Price: $1.99
“Play Multimedia’s Casino slot games on your iPhone and iPod Touch!Safari Sunrise is a 5-reel, 30-line game and features a Free Spin bonus that players won’t be able to stop playing! When three Bonus Symbols land scattered on reels 1, 3, and 5 the bonus is triggered and players are prompted to touch the screen to determine the number of free spins awarded and the bonus multiplier. Then the action begins! When three scattered bonus symbols land again during the free spin round, 8 more spins will be awarded. What makes Safari Sunrise unique/different? The level of detail in the art and the player interaction when determining the number of spins, the extra wild symbol, and the multiplier for the free spin bonus.”

Di-Fi: Price: $1.99
“Let’s carry your favorite 3D figures on iPhone and iPod touch!! You can customize the characters by a touch panel. They are not only fully-zoomable illustrations, but also you can find the exact camera angle. The characters hold 5 poses, and change them shaking the phone.”

Sports

NOTHING

Strategy

FluffyFarm: Price: $0.99
“From the creators of the top selling game Medieval comes Fluffy Farm. Fluffy Farm is a line-drawing game that will have your fingers flicking like mad! Enjoy 2 distinct game modes - Farm Mode & Time Challenge – as you eat a variety of mushrooms to grow your Fluffs and collect items to meet your goals before time runs out! Simply drag your finger on the screen to direct your Fluffs around - the controls couldn’t be more simple. Be careful that they don’t run into each other though….when Fluffs cross paths one of them gets eaten! Challenge yourself with this unique game as you try to manage a growing number of Fluffs at the same time. How many can you control at once? Feeling competitive? Your high-scores are tracked online so you can be certain you’re the king of the hill. Start farming today!”

Cheeky Chimps: Price: $0.99
“Let’s help the monkey get more banana. Move the monkey Icon to catch banana. There will be different surprise banana and some extra items too. those items will help or stop you getting more banana. Relax and enjoy the well designed levels! This game has been carefully crafted to be Fun for any age. Enjoy this easy-to-control game that utilizes the accelerometer inside your iphone. have some fun.”

Trivia

ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5TH GRADER? 2010: Price: $2.99
“Go To The Head Of The Class. Based on the hit show, ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5TH GRADER?™ 2010 features all the charm, humor and deceptively difficult questions that make the television show a household name. In the game, players are asked a series of up to eleven questions ranging from subjects like U.S. history, math or social studies. Perform well, and you can work you way to the $1 million question. Choke and you’ll be forced to utter the unenviable phrase “I am not smarter than a 5th grader.”

Xmas Crackers: Price: $1.99
“Christmas is a time of festive fun and of course Xmas Crackers! This Christmas swap those traditional throw away crackers for a cracker with a difference…that’s right this application turns your iPhone and iPod Touch into a Xmas Cracker! Download this festive Application to instantly convert your device into a Xmas Cracker, with all the usual goodies inside.”

Numeric Memory: Price: $0.99
“Blow your mind memorizing the numbers in this game that will make your head explode. The numbers appear on the screen for 1 second. When they disappear click on them in the right order, from the lowest to the highest . The difficulty increases with each level.”

Word

Scanline
“Scanline is an easy-to-learn, difficult-to-master lateral thinking puzzle game that asks players to identify letters, numbers, shapes and symbols as they scroll behind a single pixel high viewing area. Players must interpret the moving pattern they are able to see and visualize the complete object. 100 levels of increasing difficulty provide a quick learning curve at the beginning and a challenge for players who make it to the higher levels.”

iPhone/iPod Touch Links

Appletell: [Intellivision Lives! on your iPhone; interview with Keith Robinson] [Macintosh/iPhone software update roundup - November 20, 2009] [Free Apps roundup for November 20th, 2009]

Full Story » | Written by Kris Rosado for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

The second episode in Halo Legends, the new series of animated shorts based on the Halo universe, debuted last Saturday, November 21st on Xbox Live. These episodes will be appearing on selected Saturdays on Halo Waypoint - Live’s new channel for all things related to the Halo universe -  and will be available for a period of 24 hours.

The new episode is called The Duel and it explores the world of the Sangheili - the Elites in Halo - as well some of their traditions and culture. It takes place on Sanghellion, the planet of origin of the Elites where we can see how they had a culture reminiscent of feudal Japan, with a strong emphasis on honor and social classes.

The short has a beautiful visual style that makes every frame look like a watercolor painting. The story is presented in a non-linear fashion, with flashbacks that intermingle with the main thread. Although this is already getting some criticism on the internets I found it a very interesting way to change the pacing of the story and if you put a little attention on what’s going on the screen, the plot is easy to follow. Throughout the story we find out a little more about the origin of the title of The Arbiter and how it became what we know today.

The Duel was directed by Mamoru Oshii, the acclaimed director of the anime classic Ghost in the Shell. In contrast to the first episode, The Babysitter, this short is mostly based around action sequences, which could be expected with Oshii on the helm.

The Duel will be available along with other short films on the Halo Legends Blu-ray and DVD on February 9, 2010.

Read [Kotaku] Also read [Blast Magazine] Site [Halo Legends]

Full Story » | Written by Christian Morlotte for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

What? Video game sales are down? That hasn’t stopped Texas-based GameStop from posting big profits.

The Dallas Morning News reports that the retailer pulled in $1.83 billion for the quarter ending October 31, 2009. That was an 8.3% increase over the same period in 2008.

Those are impressive numbers in a 2009 that has been down overall for the game industry. The DMN article also notes that GameStop is preparing for digital downloads to become a bigger portion of overall game sales, hiring two executives to work on that issue and improve online sales.

DMN‘s Victor Godinez talked with GameStop Chief Operating Officer Paul Raines, who doesn’t sound that worried about digital downloads:

“Consumers don’t pay the same amount for digital product as they do for boxed. I don’t know that there’s more profit to be made in a downloadable world than in a boxed one.”

The future is still a great unknown for the video game industry but GameStop is currently doing just fine. The retailer also has the 2009 holiday season ahead, filled with blockbusters including Uncharted 2,  Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and New Super Mario Bros. Wii.

Read [Dallas Morning News] Also Read [Gamertell]

Full Story » | Written by Brian Allen for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Amazon’s next gaming deal as the site counts down to Black Friday is all about the music. If you’ve been waiting for prices to drop on some of Activision’s music rhythm games including Band Hero, Guitar Hero 5 or DJ Hero, Amazon is the place you want to go.

Starting November 21, 2009, until 11:59 p.m. Pacific time next Thursday (November 27, 2009) Amazon is offering a $40 store credit when you purchase either DJ Hero, Band Hero, Band Hero Super Bundle or Guitar Hero 5 at regular price.

Two business days after your order ships you will receive an e-mail confirming the $40 credit has been applied to your Amazon account.

Note that you must purchase the bundles from Amazon and not an Amazon Marketplace store in order to qualify for this offer.

Each game is available for PS2, PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii consoles.

Purchase [Amazon]

Full Story » | Written by Jeremy Hill for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

The January 2010 issue of Japanese gaming magazine B’s Log is sure to bring big smiles to fans of Konami’s popular dating simulation game Tokimeki Memorial Girl’s Side (TMGS).

Gracing the cover of this month’s current issue was one of the new characters coupled with the official title of the new addition scheduled for a tentative 2010 release on the Nintendo DS.

Tokimeki Memorial Girl’s Side 3rd Story takes place seven years after the events of the first TMGS game at Habataki Gakuen. This new chapter in the series promises new locations, gameplay, delectable date-ables (of course) and even a new main character sporting a new hairstyle and school uniform. The main character will still have a sidekick who serves as a barometer for your crushes’ affection as well as important statistics, but no additional details have been released yet.

So far, only 3 character have been introduced: Ruka Sakurai, Arashi Fujiyama, and Tamao Konno.

Here are some stats and a short description for each of these fine young men:

Ruka Sakurai

• Birthdate: July 7
• Astrological Sign: Cancer
• Blood Type: O
• Height: 178cm
• Weight: 64kg

A first year high school student at Habataki Gakuen, he has a friendly atmosphere which has won him popularity among the girls of the school. However, sometimes, he’s also capable of having a sharp tongue. He often seems aloof and sometimes wears an expression of loneliness.

Arashi Fujiyama

• Birthdate: September 8
• Astrological Sign: Virgo
• Blood Type: AB
• Height: 177cm
• Weight: 70kg

Arashi is a first year student at Habataki Gakuen and described as an honest and good young Japanese who whenever he has free time, can be found practicing Judo. When you speak with him, you can’t help but feel fresh and lively.

Tamao Konno

• Birthdate: January 19
• Astrological Sign: Sagittarius
• Blood Type: O
• Height: 181cm
• Weight: 65kg

Tamao is the younger brother of Tamami Konno (one of the main character’s rivals/friends from the first TMGS), and is the bookworm of the bunch. Unlike the main character, he’s a second year high school student and is also the student council president. He’s described as a reliable person who’s peaceful smile rarely ever fades.

Site [Tokimeki Memorial Girl’s Side] Read [Gamertell] And [Gamertell]

Full Story » | Written by Janine Dong for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

If you were looking for individuals with fast reaction times, tons of coordination experience the ability to think quickly in random situations look no further than the Xbox Live community. Playing games online with other humans is one of the best places to use your wits to outsmart and outmaneuver the opposition. Xbox Live is teeming with individuals with potential to become real life agents and this is why a government intelligence organization named GCHQ (Government Communications Headquarters) will use Live to recruit.

GCHQ is a British intelligence agency located in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire (England), that partners with MI5 and MI6 agencies to protect the UK’s security interests.

GCHQ will run ads for six weeks on Xbox Live’s dashboard as well as within games including Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Assassin’s Creed 2 and Left 4 Dead 2.

After clicking on the ads gamers will be able to download gamer pictures, themes and videos in addition to information that will help them learn more about GCHQ.

Caroline Waterfield, a press officer for GCHQ, explained in an official statement what tasks the GCHQ hope to accomplish and why the agency chose Xbox Live as a recruiting tool:

“As well as tackling ‘traditional threats’ GCHQ’s work is also about helping government departments, such as the Ministry of Defence, to protect their information and communication systems.

This means we can offer excellent training and careers for people with specialist technical skills. However, the fact remains that many potential candidates remain unaware of GCHQ and what we do. Using video on Xbox Live helps carry our message to the right people in a creative and innovative manner.”

Read [Guardian] Also Read [This is Gloucestershire] Also Read [Gamertell]

Photo Credit: GCHQ

Full Story » | Written by Jeremy Hill for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Sony recently began rebranding the PS3 as the console that “does everything” in an effort to drive up sales following the release of the PS3 Slim.

While not a purely true statement, Sony is looking to bring new gaming experiences to the PS3 before any other console. According to the Associated Press Sony demonstrated a multi-tier strategy during a conference with investors from its headquarters in Tokyo Thursday (November 19, 2009) that outlined its plans to deliver 3D gaming to all PS3 consoles.

Slides from the presentation reveal that all PS3 consoles are capable of displaying 3D games through a firmware update.

Getting the full experience from 3D gaming isn’t as simple as a software update. Gamers will need to purchase televisions that are 3D ready in order to take advantage of this new feature.

It’s all reminiscent PS3’s launch when the reality was (and still is) that HDTVs are required to witness the full graphical fidelity of PS3 games and Blu-ray discs. Perhaps only a handful of games will be produced with 3D graphics being a central selling point until 3D HDTVs become more commonplace.

Until then Sony has other plans to make the PS3 profitable by March 2011.

Although the PlayStation Network has always had the advantage of being free, Sony is looking into the possibility of subscription services to increase its revenue stream. Additional features that might be bundled with the subscriptions were not mentioned.

Sony also plans to release non-game development kits the second quarter of 2010. This could usher in new services that could very well go along with Sony’s premium subscription plans.

Finally, Sony wants to create what its calling “Sony Online Service” which will connect most of its hardware to the PlayStation Network. By using a single user ID, consumers will be able to access content from their PS3, PSP, PC, television, EBook and MP3 player.

This all sounds very promising on paper but only time will tell whether Sony will make good on these plans in a reasonable amount of time.

Read [Examiner] Also Read [Guardian]

Full Story » | Written by Jeremy Hill for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Remember that Walmart Black Friday 2009 ad scan Gamertell reported on back on Wednesday, November 18, 2009. It was a legitimate ad scan. I can say that with some confidence, because I just picked up the Sunday, November 22, 2009 issue of the Chicago Tribune and the Walmart Black Friday ad was in it. In a funny turn of events, the scanned in ad that made its debut online this past week actually looks better than the real thing. Must have been a printing error.

The actual Walmart Black Friday 2009 ad is identical to the scanned in ad that appeared on many Black Friday websites and such. So if you don’t subscribe to a paper or feel like going out to purchase the Sunday edition, you can just visit a website like TheBlackFriday.com and see the whole thing.

As you may recall, this year’s ad includes incredible sale items like a $98 DS Lite, $50 copies of the PS3 or Xbox 360 Rock Band Special Edition bundles, and many other great system bundles and game deals. Check out Gamertell’s report on the leaked ad to see all of the applicable video game deals.

So, anyone think they’re going to brave the crowds and head to Walmart for one of the store’s sale items this year?

Read [Gamertell] Also Read [TheBlackFriday.com]

Full Story » | Written by Jenni Lada for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Gamers who want to get a sample of what Microsoft’s Xbox Live service has to offer can get a glimpse this weekend for free. During this weekend (Friday, November 20, 2009, through Monday, November 23, 2009), Xbox Live Gold membership will be free to anyone with a Silver account.

The Xbox Live service comes in two flavors. The Gold membership offers the meat of online interaction, which is multiplayer gaming. It also offers services such as Twitter, Facebook and Netflix downloads. The Gold membership costs $50 USD a year. The Silver membership doesn’t offer online gaming. It only allows basic online interaction such as gamer profiles and Avatars.

Registering for a Silver account is free, so basically anyone with an Xbox and an Internet connection can get the Gold membership at least during this weekend.

In my opinion, the best part about some games is online multiplayer so, for anyone who hasn’t experienced this part of gaming, this is a great opportunity to get on board. According to Microsoft, this promotion will be offered again on certain weekends to give people a chance to sample the Gold membership.

Gamers in Europe will get a longer trial starting on Wednesday, November 25 and ending on Monday, November 30.

Read [PC World] Also read [Gamasutra] Website [Xbox Live]

Full Story » | Written by Christian Morlotte for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Guess what? Time for a pre-Black Friday Best Buy sale! In your local Sunday paper today, there should be a pretty impressive Best Buy ad. It is a 12 page circular filled with all sorts of sales and deals. They aren’t as impressive as the Black Friday 2009 sales the store will be offering, but there’s still some pretty good stuff.

If you turn to the second age, you’ll see Best Buy’s main video game promotion during the sale that will last from November 22-25, 2009. There are 33 Wii games and accessories on the second page. They’re all normal price, but if you buy one, you get a $5 Best Buy gift card. If you buy two, you get a $20 gift card.

Here’s a list of the applicable games and accessories for that promotion. Keep in mind, they’re all full price. So unless you’re planning to get two and get the $20 gift card, you’re probably better off waiting until Black Friday.

Wii games

• Backyard Football 10 - $29.99
• Carnival Games - $29.99
• Deca Sports 2 - $29.99
• Medieval Games - $29.99
• A Boy and his Blob - $39.99
• Disney’s The Princess and the Frog - $39.99
• Food Network: Cook or be Cooked - $39.99
• Hasbro Family Game Night 2 - $39.99
• Jillian Michaels Fitness Ultimatum 2010 - $39.99
• Just Dance - $39.99
• Marvel Super Hero Squad - $39.99
• We Cheer 2 - $39.99
• World of Zoo - $39.99
• Bakugan Battle Brawlers - $49.99
• Cabela’s Big Game Hunter 2010 - $49.99
• Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter - $49.99
• Lego Rock Band - $49.99
• Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games - $49.99
• Metroid Prime Trilogy - $49.99
• Need for Speed Nitro - $49.99
• Planet 51 - $49.99
• Punch Out - $49.99
• Rabbids Go Home: A Comedy Adventure - $49.99
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes - $49.99
• Super Mario Galaxy - $49.99
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 - $49.99
• Toy Story Mania - $49.99
• Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party 3 with dance mat - $69.99
• Tony Hawk Ride with skateboard controller - $119.99

Wii peripherals

• Gamecube Wireless Controller (required to play Gamecube games on your Wii) - $19.99
• Wii 8’ Component Cable - $24.99
• Induction Charger for Wii Remotes - $34.99
• Wii Starter Kit - $39.99

There are also a few other PC and Mac sale items in the ad. Here there are, conveniently listed all at once for your viewing pleasure:

• Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Game of the Year Edition (PC) - $29.99
• The Sims 3 (PC, Mac) - $29.99
• Spore (PC, Mac) - $29.99
• World of Warcraft Battle Chest (PC, Mac) - $29.99
• Empire: Total War (PC) - $39.99
• Fallout 3 (PC) - $39.99

The last video game sale promotion in the ad is really only good if you’re looking to purchase a Wii. If you buy a $199.99 Wii and the $99.99 Wii Fit Plus, you get a $25 Best Buy gift card. Not all that earth shattering, but I suppose its still something. Especially if you want to buy a Wii this year and not go out on Black Friday 2009.

Read [Gamertell]

Full Story » | Written by Jenni Lada for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

This week’s first downloadable feature is actually an application and not a game. AdHoc Party is available free at the PlayStation Network store as an application that will allow PlayStation Portable owners to play their PSP games online through their PlayStation 3. A program that was released in Japan last year that connects the PSP to the internet using the PlayStation Network instead of standing within close range of another player just to challenge them. You can now connect to them in much the same way you connect to multi-player games on your PS3. How does this program work? Check out this introduction video by Sony:

The next downloadable feature is Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlines for $39.99 for the PSP. Follow Altair from the holy land into Cyprus trailing the Templar’s to their newest conquest and assassinate them. A direct sequel to the original Assassin’s Creed and a prequel to Assassin’s Creed II, in fact players who own Assassin’s Creed II can connect the PSP to their PS3 to unlock and transfer health and weapon upgrades from the PS3 game to the PSP game to aid in your missions. Check out Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlines:

Price Drops

• Uno (PS3/Now $7.99)

Here is what else is new:

Downloadable Games

• Echoes (PSP/$2.99)
• D-CUBE Planet (PSP/$3.99)
• Circles (PSP/$3.99)
• PSOne Classic: Resident Evil 2 (PS3/$5.99)
• PSOne Classic: Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver (PS3/$5.99)
• Peggle (PS3/$9.99)

Free Demos:

• Smash Cars Demo (PS3/Free)
• PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe Demo (PSP/Free)
• LittleBigPlanet PSP Demo (PSP/Free)
• Promethus Demo (PSP/Free)

Bonus Game Content:

• Way of the Samurai 3 Accessories (PS3/Free)
• High Velocity Bowling: Techno Modern Ball Pack (PS3/99 cents)
• High Velocity Bowling: Psychedelic 60’s Ball Pack (PS3/99 cents)
• PAIN: Flavor Flav (PS3/$1.99)
• Peggle Nights (PS3/$4.99)

Guitar Hero 5 Pack:

• KISS Track Pack (PS3/$5.49)
Individual Tracks:
• “Lick It Up” by KISS (PS3/$1.99)
• “Modern Day Delilah” by KISS (PS3/$1.99)
• “I Was Made For Lovin’ You” by KISS (PS3/$1.99)

Rock Band Pack:

• AFI Pack 01 (PS3/$8.49)
Individual Tracks:
• “Beautiful Thieves” by AFI (PS3/$1.99)
• “End Transmission” by AFI (PS3/$1.99)
• “Love Like Winter” by AFI (PS3/$1.99)
• “Medicate” by AFI (PS3/$1.99)
• “The Leaving Song, Pt 2″ by AFI (PS3/$1.99)

Individual Song Tracks

• “Walk Like An Egyptian” by The Bangles (PS3/$1.99)

Rock Band Unplugged bonus content:

• “California Über Alles” by Dead Kennedys (PSP/$1.99)
• “You’re No Rock ‘n’ Roll Fun” by Sleater-Kinney (PSP/$1.99)

The Beatles Rock Band Pack:

• Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Album) (PS3/$13.49)
Individual Tracks:
• “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)” by The Beatles (PS3/$1.99)
• “Within You Without You” by The Beatles (PS3/$1.99)
• “When I’m Sixty-Four” by The Beatles (PS3/$1.99)
• “She’s Leaving Home” by The Beatles (PS3/$1.99)
• “Lovely Rita” by The Beatles (PS3/$1.99)
• “Fixing A Hole” by The Beatles (PS3/$1.99)
• “Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite!” by The Beatles (PS3/$1.99)
• “A Day In The Life” by The Beatles (PS3/$1.99)

Free Game Videos:

• Pulse 11/19 Edition (PS3/Free)
• Pain: Flavor Flav Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier Launch Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Uncharted 2: Among Thieves 15 sec Accolade TV Spot (PS3/Free)
• FIFA Soccer 10: Director’s Cut Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Madden NFL Arcade Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Flag Runner Trailer (PS3/Free)
• NBA 2K10 TV Commercial (PS3/Free)
• Assassin’s Creed II Arsenal Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Assassin’s Creed II TGS Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Assassin’s Creed II Dev Diary 3 (PS3/Free)
• Assassin’s Creed II GP Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Critter Crunch “Feeding Time” Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Army Of Two: 40th Day Extraction Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Peggle Trailer (PS3/Free)

Wallpapers and Themes:

• Peggle Theme (PS3/Free)
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Wallpaper (x5) (PS3/Free)
• Topatoi Wallpaper (PS3/Free)
• Peggle Wallpaper (PS3/Free)
• DJ Max Fever Wallpaper (x4) (PSP/Free)
• Armored Core 3 Wallpaper (x2) (PSP/Free)
• Armored Core 3 Portable Theme (PSP/Free)
• Celtic Maidens PSP Theme 3 (PSP/$1.49)
• Celtic Maidens PSP Theme 4 (PSP/$1.49)
• Celtic Maidens 2 Premium Plus Theme (PS3/$1.99)

Read [PlayStation Store Blog] Site [PlayStation]

Full Story » | Written by Lucy Newman for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Haven’t caught all of the Gamertell news this week?  Here’s your chance to catch up on this week’s top 10 articles!

• Black Friday 2009: Meijer sale ad has been leaked
  “Meijer’s 2009 Black Friday ad is now online and it’s pretty good in terms of game deals. Specifically, there isn’t much, but the doorbusters are quite impressive if you don’t already own a console or handheld system. I mean,…” MORE »
• Black Friday 2009: Walmart’s video game sale items revealed
  “The ad that perhaps every Black Friday 2009 shopper has been waiting for has been leaked onto the internet. Walmart’s 2009 Black Friday ad has been scanned in and is ready for your critical perusal. From what I’ve…” MORE »
• Black Friday 2009: Toys R Us video game sales
  “Next up for leaked Black Friday 2009 ads, Toys R Us! Yes, the ad is out and, if you’re going to be buying toys this holiday season, you’ll find some deals that will make you very…” MORE »
• Toys R Us sale going on November 20-21, 2009
  “Just checked my mailbox and lo and behold, there’s a new Toys R Us sales flier. The latest sale runs from Friday, November 20, 2009 until Saturday, November 21, 2009. It looks like Toys R Us is…” MORE »
• NASA hoping to recruit new talent with Astronaut: Moon, Mars and Beyond
  “In an effort to attract new and younger talent to its ranks, NASA has come up with a new strategy: Using video games to give people a chance to get a glimpse of outer space.  NASA believes that there are…” MORE »
• Advertorial: Binverse, the next evolution In downloads
  “Experience what it’s like to download at unlimited speeds from a massive collection of over 800 Terabytes of user uploads. You’ll max out your Internet connection downloading a file in minutes that would take hours using other technologies.  Binverse utilizes 256-bit…” MORE »
• Xbox Live update includes new features, Facebook and Twitter account access
  “This Tuesday (November 17, 2009) Microsoft unleashed a new update for it’s Xbox 360 system.  The new update includes the ability to use a bigger screen, a clearer picture and accessibility from the comfort of your living…” MORE »
• Deal of the Day: Buy a PSPgo via Amazon, get $50 PlayStation Network credit
  “So you were thinking about buying a PSPgo but couldn’t quite swallow the $250 it costs to own one? That’s well understood these days and we could use an uplifting deal every now and then. Amazon has…” MORE »
• Black Friday 2009: Toys R Us holds pre-Black Friday game sales, allows layaway for consoles and more
  “It’s a hectic time of year for consumers. There are pre-Black Friday sales. Thanksgiving Day sales, Black Friday sales and post-Black Friday sales. Thankfully, you’ll get a brief break for a few weeks in December, before the after Christmas and…” MORE »
• Konami selling its iPhone, iPod Touch games for 99 cents each
  “Black Friday deals are always exciting to look at and fantasize about. Getting up and bearing the weather and crowds is a whole new can of worms though. For now lets take the digital approach…” MORE »

Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

On a typical Sunday, November 15, 2009 afternoon, a teenager in Buffalo Grove, Illinois decided that he wasn’t about to just take his Xbox ban lightly. After a 15 year old boy had been told by his parents that part of his punishment for misbehaving to have his Xbox taken away, he resorted to desperate measures. He called 911.

He didn’t actually stay on the line, but he did call. Police then went to the scene, to make sure that everything was in order. It was then that the teenager pleaded his case to the police, asking if his parents had a legal right to confisgate his property for his wrongdoing.

Of course, the officers told the teenager that his parents were within their rights. They then advised him to listen to is parents and left the scene. No charges were filed against the teenager for his unwarranted call to 911. It was not revealed what the teenager did to cause his parents to deny him his Xbox, or whether it was an Xbox or Xbox 360 system.

If the kid thought he was in trouble before, imagine the kind of punishment his parents will have in store now that he called 911 for a frivolous reason and wasted the Buffalo Grove police officers’ time. If I’d ever pulled anything like that when I was a kid and my parents took away my Game Boy or NES, I probably wouldn’t see my system for a year!

Read [Buffalo Grove Countryside] Also Read [Chicago Tribune] Also Read [Daily Herald]

Full Story » | Written by Jenni Lada for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Most of the movies made from video game adaptations up to date have been less than stellar productions (thanks Uwe Boll), to say the least.

From Street Fighterto Doom , every one has strayed far from the original material and ended up a mess. Only the Resident Evil franchise has barely escaped that destiny - thanks to Milla Jovovich’s hotness - but, in general, video game movies have been epic failures.

Now there is some light shining on video game fans with the news that Brad Pitt’s production company, Plan B Entertainment, is making its debut on games-to-film adaptations with Capcom’s upcoming action title Dark Void. Plan B has secured the movie rights for the game and there is even some speculation that Brad Pitt might star in it.

Dark Void tells the story of a pilot named William Grey who encounters trouble on a flight and ends up crashing in the Bermuda Triangle. After wakeing he realizes he is stranded in a parallel world inhabited by aliens with plans to take over the Earth. With alien technology and the help of other humans trapped in this world William tries to stop the aliens and escape.

Plan B Entertainment is behind movies including Troy, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and The Departed. Also, Brad Pitt is a serious and successful actor and I doubt he would agree to putting out a mediocre movie so I think we are safe to expect a good adaptation on this one.

Dark Void will be released on January 2010 for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. It is rated “Teen” for animated blood and violence by the ESRB.

Read [Movieweb] Also read [IGN]

Full Story » | Written by Christian Morlotte for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Capcom has announced that new downloadable content will be released for Resident Evil 5 for the Xbox 360 and PS3 next year (2010). Also, a “Gold Edition” of the full game and downloadable content will be available March 2010.

That DLC includes two new episodes, new costumes and a new game mode called “Mercenaries’ Reunion” featuring eight new playable characters and weapon load outs.

Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition will be $49.99 on both 360 and PS3. The PS3’s additional content will be on the disc and the 360 version will be released with a token to download the content via Xbox Live.

According to Capcom’s press release, the first new episode, titled “Lost in Nightmares,” places BSAA agent Chris Redfield and his partner Jill Valentine in an investigation of Ozwell E. Spencer’s hideaway.

Spencer, the evil mastermind and co-founder of Umbrella Corporation, has something bad hidden in his basement. I’m betting whatever Spencer’s hiding does not involve insider trading and that Chris and Jill are going to terminate whatever’s down there with vengeance, shotguns and cut scenes. That episode hits the US and Europe February 17, 2010, along with the new costumes for Chris and Sheva.

Kill those creatures quickly because the next episode (title TBA) is slated for March 3, 2010, for 360 and March 4, 2010, on PS3.

Or, if you haven’t purchased the game and just want to wait it out, the Gold Edition comes to the US March 9, 2010, and Europe March 12, 2010.

Read [Capcom Unity] Also Read [Push Square]

Full Story » | Written by Brian Allen for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

There isn’t a day that goes by that doesn’t find someone trying to draw a link between video game violence and real world criminal behavior.

But where it is usually Grand Theft Auto, or some similarly violent game sparking the controversy, this time MMO World of Warcraft has been tied to a school shooting attempt.

The TimesOnline reports that a 13-year-old male student in France apparently planned to shoot his teachers for giving him poor grades.

The potential tragedy was averted when his parents noticed he had left early for school and posted a blog that said November 17, 2009, would be “the last day of his life.” The parents alerted police and, when the child reached Catholic private secondary school Saint Esprit College, police had already blocked the front gate. The boy panicked and dumped his father’s shotgun and 25 cartridges into a nearby field.

His father later found him at an Internet cafe. Under as much scrutiny as the case itself is the news coverage, with nearly every media outlet that covered the story playing up the news that the boy enjoyed playing WOW, with TimesOnline referring to it as a “violent online game.”

WOW‘s fantasy setting is legendary for sucking up hours upon hours of players’ time but lumping it in the same category as GTA seems a bit of a stretch. Rather than wonder what effect the game may have had, here’s a better question: How does a 13-year-old boy manage to wake up, go get his father’s shotgun and ammo, then head off to school with them as easily as he might pack a sack lunch?

Read [Times Online] Also Read [The Mirror UK]

Full Story » | Written by Brian Allen for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

The Black Friday ad for Gamestop has been leaked and it has some pretty nice deals.

It’s disappointing that some of the Nintendo DS games including Mario Kart DS and New Super Mario Bros. are still selling for $35. Since that’s how much those games usually sell for, why would they even be present in a black Friday circular?

Odd advertising aside, there are still some specials worth checking out. For example you could buy a 120GB PS3 Slim with LittleBigPlanet GOTY Edition and God of War Collection for $299. If the Xbox 360 is more your flavor Gamestop is selling a Xbox 360 Elite with Pure, Lego Batman and a choice between Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Spider-Man: Web of Shadows for $299.

Many other popular games such as Guitar Hero 5, Left 4 Dead 2, Tekken 6 and Batman: Arkham Asylum have been discounted to $39.99. Other recently released games such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Assassin’s Creed 2 retain their $60 price tag. At least Gamestop guarantees those games will be in stock.

Doorbuster deals are good from 6 a.m. to 11a.m. on November 27, 2007. The other items on sale should be good while supplies last.

Here’s a list of the most noteworthy items:

Door Busters

• 120GB PS3 Slim w/ LittleBigPlanet GOTY and God of War Collection - $299.99
• Xbox 360 Elite w/ Pure, Lego Batman, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare or Spider-Man: Web of Shadows - $299.99
• Batman: Arkham Asylum (PS3, 360) - $39.99
• Call of Duty: World at War (PS3, 360) - $39.99
• Dead Space Extraction (Wii) - $19.99
• Wii Sports Resort with extra Wii MotionPlus - $49.99

PS3

• Tekken 6 -$39.99 (1 day only)
• Prototype - $29.99
• Guitar Hero 5 (game only) - $39.99
• Borderlands - $49.99 (3 days only)
• GTA IV - $19.99 (3 days only)

Nintendo

• Metallica Blue Nintendo DSi Bundle w/ Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini’s March Again, WarioWare Snapped, Dr. Mario Express, Mario Clock and Mario Calculator - $169.99
• White Nintendo DSi w/ Clubhouse Games Express Card Classics, Brain Age Express: Arts & Letters, Brain Age Express: Sodoku, Brain Age Express: Math, and Photo Clock - $169.99
• Wii/DSi 2GB SD Memory Card - $7.49
• Wii/DSi 4GB SDHC Memory Card - $14.99

Xbox 360

• Tekken 6 - $39.99 (1 day only)
• The Beatles: Rock Band - $49.99
• Left 4 Dead 2 - $39.99
• Need for Speed Shift - $39.99
• Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood - $19.99
• Prototype - $29.99
• Borderlands - $49.99
• Guitar Hero 5 - $39.99 (game only)
• Halo 3: ODST - $39.99
• Forza Motorsport 3 - $39.99

PC

• Left 4 Dead 2 - $29.99
• Guild Wars Trilogy - $24.99

Read [Black Friday Ads] Also Read [Gamertell]

Full Story » | Written by Jeremy Hill for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

This week is filled with announcements. First,RealArcade and GameHouse have joined forces. So now there’s just GameHouse. If you have a RealArcade account, don’t worry. It’s been transferred over to GameHouse and you can still use it.

Second, Cute Knight Kingdom and Gyromancer are out! Both are highly anticipated games. One’s a Princess Maker style simulation from independent developer Hanako Games, the other is a puzzle RPG collaboration between Square Enix and PopCap. Gamertell even reviewed Cute Knight Kingdom yesterday.

Third, there were more than just four or five hidden object games released this week! Still no new Mac games, but plenty of new PC games making their debut!

This week’s best bets are: Cute Knight Kingdom (PC), Gyromancer (PC, Xbox Live Arcade) and Delicious: Emily’s Holiday Season (PC)

Murder She Wrote
Genre: Puzzle (Hidden Object)
Availability: Big Fish Games, Harmonic Flow
Retail Price: $6.99
Platform: Windows XP and Vista
Premise: “Has there been a murder?” Sorry, after watching Craig Ferguson for years, I couldn’t resist. There has indeed been a murder, and in this hidden object game based on Murder, She Wrote, you help Jessica Fletcher solve it.
Demo Available: Yes

Cake Shop 2
Genre: Simulation (Time Management)
Availability: Big Fish Games, Harmonic Flow
Retail Price: $6.99
Platform: Windows XP and Vista
Premise: Run a roadside cafe that specializes in tasty cakes and try to become a success.
Demo Available: Yes

Cute Knight Kingdom
Genre: Simulation / RPG
Availability: Hanako Games, Harmonic Flow, Amaranth Games
Retail Price: $19.95
Platform: Windows 2000, XP, Vista and 7
Premise: The sequel to Hanako Games’ insanely popular and successful Cute Knight is now available! If you liked the Princess Maker games and Spirited Heart, you’ll love the Cute Knight series. You help an orphan girl make her way through life, helping her decide what jobs to take, what classes to attend, whether to search dungeons or not, who to make friends with and so on. Depend on how her life goes, she’ll get one of many endings, maybe get married and perhaps even find out who she really is.
Demo Available: Yes

Asguaard
Genre: RPG
Availability: Aldorlea Games
Retail Price: $28.99
Platform: Windows PC (The site doesn’t give specific system requirements - test the demo to see.)
Premise: Asguaard is a relatively peaceful fantasy world. The only thing is, the Pandora Box has been opened and plagues are starting to overwhelm their world. The Asguaard fairies decide there is only one thing to do, summon a creature with something they don’t have to their world so it can be saved. Now a human has come to Asguaard, and will be tasked with saving it.
Demo Available: Yes

The Time Machine: Trapped in Time
Genre: Puzzle (Hidden Object)
Availability: Harmonic Flow
Retail Price: $9.99
Platform: Windows 2000, XP and Vista
Premise: Professor Einwin created a time machine and used it. Unfortunately, he wasn’t very careful when he did. He tampered with the past, with dire results. He destroyed the time machine, after seeing what he did. Now you must find the pieces, rebuild it and fix his mistakes.
Demo Available: Yes

Gyromancer
Genre: Puzzle RPG
Availability: Steam
Retail Price: $14.99 / 1200 Microsoft Points
Platform: Windows Vista and XP, Xbox 360
Premise: Help Rivel and Laska get through puzzle stages based on Bejeweled Twist as he searches through Aldemona Wood to try and track down his bounty, Qraist.
Demo Available: Yes

Escape the Museum 2
Genre: Puzzle (Hidden Object)
Availability: Big Fish Games
Retail Price: $6.99
Platform: Windows XP and Vista
Premise: An earthquake has hit, separating David from his family. He must find a way to get back to his wife and daughter safely.
Demo Available: Yes

Delicious: Emily’s Holiday Season
Genre: Simulation (Time Management)
Availability: GameHouse, Harmonic Flow, Reflexive Arcade
Retail Price: $9.99
Platform: Windows 2000, XP, Vista and 7
Premise: Emily has been hired to work at a lodge, planning parties and catering. She also gets to spend time with family, choose one of two men to become her boyfriend and take part in winter activities and games.
Demo Available: Yes

Natalie Brooks: Mystery at Hillcrest High
Genre: Puzzle (Hidden Object)
Availability: Alawar Entertainment
Retail Price: $9.95
Platform: Windows PC
Premise: The Black Cat Gamg are planning a massive heist, and its up to Natalie to find out what they’re up toand prevent it from happening by searching for hidden objects and playing minigames.
Demo Available: Yes

Editor’s Note: Due to so many casual games sites offering game plans or preferred member prices, which can cause a game to have multiple price-points, the games’ average retail prices is mentioned in Casual Friday.

Site [Big Fish Games] Site [PlayFirst] Site [GameHouse] Site [eGames] Site [Alawar Games] Site [Amazon] Site [Reflexive Arcade] Site [Harmonic Flow]

Full Story » | Written by Jenni Lada for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

The sequel to 2007’s amazing underwater shooter is coming up soon - making its debut on February 9, 2009. Fans looking for the ultimate package on day one can spring for the Special Edition, which will reportedly include the game, the game’s soundtrack and an art book, along with a vinyl LP of the original BioShock soundtrack and three sweet-looking posters done up in the “Rapture propaganda” style. The package will run you $99.99 for the Xbox 360 or PS3 version, and $89.99 for the PC iteration.

It looks like 2K Marin is avoiding the Big Daddy figurines (some of which famously shipped broken with the original game’s Special Edition), but it looks like a nice collection either way. The music alone (especially the OST on vinyl!) is intriguing, and the posters are definitely drool-worthy.

The game itself is looking good - it probably won’t be quite the revolutionary experience that the first was, but I know I’m excited to visit Rapture again.

Read [1up]

Full Story » | Written by Danielle Riendeau for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

While its great that Atlus is going to bring the Wii rogue-like RPG Shiren the Wanderer, it isn’t all good news. The Japanese version of the game was compatible with the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, allowing people to download dungeon content, rescue other players, take part in versus multiplayer and trade items. Sadly, the North American release isn’t going to have all of that. It will have the downloadable dungeon included right away when you buy the game, but the other online options aren’t going to be available when the game comes out February 9, 2010.

The Wii version of Shiren the Wanderer is the third game in the series. In this adventure, Shiren gets the key to the Karakuri Mansion, and sets off to discover the truth behind a story that says a princess sleeps inside. The game also has multiple difficulty levels, extra dungeons and quests to play after the main storyline has been completed. You even have people journeying through the dungeons with Shiren, and you can either trust the game’s judgement or control your other party members.

While the loss of the online features is quite sad, at least we’re actually getting the game in North America. It isn’t a total loss, we’re still getting the downloadable content included on the disc. Besides, the Wii can always use more RPGs.

Read [GoNintendo] Site [Shiren the Wanderer]

Full Story » | Written by Jenni Lada for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »