Alan Wake on PC in 2012

Remedy Games is getting ready to launch Alan Wake on Steam this February -- the developer's first self-published title -- with a hefty FAQ session on its forum. Steam's Alan Wake will not be available on Mac, won't use Games for Windows Live and won't have a demo. It will use Steamworks, support keyboard and Xbox 360 controller input, and will include 'The Signal' and 'The Writer' DLC packs with the game.

Alan Wake on Steam can support stereoscopic 3D through NVISION 3D, although it is performance-intensive, Remedy warns. For normal gameplay, the expected system requirements are fairly standard.

Remedy says it is "still finalizing the optimizations and graphics scalability, so some details can still change," but these are the minimum specs for Alan Wake on PC:

• OS: Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7
• PROCESSOR: A dual core processor is required:
• AMD: Athlon X2 2.8GHz
• Intel: Core 2 Duo 2GHz
• MEMORY: 2 GB
• HARD DRIVE: 8 GB
• VIDEO CARD: DirectX 10 compatible or later with 512MB RAM
• AMD: ATI Radeon 3650, 4450, 5550, 6450 or higher (per series)
• NVIDIA: GeForce 8600GT, 9500GT, GT120, GT430, GT520 (per series)
• SOUND CARD: DirectX 9.0c compatible
• INPUT: Mouse and keyboard, Xbox360 controller also supported

For max settings, Remedy suggests the following:

"For a solid performance, Remedy recommends a modern quad-core CPU and a graphics card with around 2000 in 3DMark Graphics Score as seen here. For max settings and high resolutions, a top of the line graphics card and CPU is needed."

Video Game Awards 2011

At tonight's Video Game Awards, Sony and Spike finally quit teasing us and formally announced The Last of Us, the next game from Uncharted developers Naughty Dog. Set in an America ravaged by a horrifying fungal infection that has left a few survivors in a desperate struggle for survival.

The trailer indicates a very Uncharted-looking bunch of people running from some very 28 Days Later looking infected. The Last of Us is due exclusively for the PlayStation 3 in 2012.

Konami's Metal Gear Solid: Rising is now Platinum Game's Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. Raiden, apparently channeling his unstoppable child soldier roots, has gone fully cyborg ninja in order to hack, slash and grotesquely dismember every single thing that exists.

Before this year's Spike TV Video Game Awards properly started, the event's pre-show debuted a live-action, non-gameplay trailer for Tekken Tag Tournament 2. Aside from being well choreographed and remarkably stylish, the trailer offers little insight into the title other than the fact that it will be coming to unknown consoles sometime during the 2012 holiday season.

Winners of the 2011 Spike Video Game Awards

GAME OF THE YEAR

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

STUDIO OF THE YEAR

Bethesda Game Studios

CHARACTER OF THE YEAR

The Joker – Batman: Arkham City

VIDEO GAME HALL OF FAME AWARD

"The Legend of Zelda"

GAMER GOD AWARD

Blizzard Entertainment

BEST XBOX 360 GAME

Batman: Arkham City

BEST PLAYSTATION 3 GAME

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

BEST Wii GAME

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

BEST PC GAME

Portal 2

BEST HANDHELD/MOBILE GAME

Super Mario 3D Land

BEST SHOOTER

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

BEST ACTION ADVENTURE GAME

Batman: Arkham City

BEST RPG

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

BEST MULTI-PLAYER

Portal 2

BEST INDIVIDUAL SPORTS GAME

Fight Night Champion

BEST TEAM SPORTS GAME

NBA 2K12

BEST DRIVING GAME

Forza Motorsport 4

BEST FIGHTING GAME

Mortal Kombat

BEST MOTION GAME

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

BEST INDEPENDENT GAME

Minecraft

BEST ADAPTED VIDEO GAME

Batman: Arkham City

BEST SONG IN A GAME

"Build that Wall" (Zia's Theme) by Darren Korb – Bastion

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Bastion

BEST GRAPHICS

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A HUMAN MALE

Stephen Merchant as Wheatley – Portal 2

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A HUMAN FEMALE

Ellen McLain as GLaDOS – Portal 2

BEST DOWNLOADABLE GAME

Bastion

BEST DLC

Portal 2 Peer Review

MOST ANTICIPATED GAME

Mass Effect 3

GAMETRAILERS.COM TRAILER OF THE YEAR

Assassin's Creed: Revelations – E3 2011 Trailer

EA SPORTS NFL BLITZ DIGITAL COVER ATHLETE

Ray Rice

LP Underground 11 is here!

Linkin Park has launched the 11th edition of their fan club LP Underground. They have changed the entire website with many new features that the fans have helped shape thanks to all feedback from last year. The LPU has gotten a brand new members-only online community, an exclusive merchandise package and additional benefits, including LPU members' request for early admission into Linkin Park shows.

And the annual LPU CD will also be available for all the members to hear. You can buy the new LPU11 music on both digital and physical format. The LPU11 CD is filled with unreleased demos from Hybrid Theory to A Thousand Suns. Some of the songs on this CD are early versions of familiar songs, such as the “In The End” demo. Other songs on this CD never made it on a Linkin Park album and remained unfinished and in a raw form. All the songs represent the journey it takes to create an album as a whole.

The LPU11 $60 Annual Membership includes:

-A brand new website and online community EXCLUSIVELY for LPU members

-Membership package including a t-shirt, membership laminate and lanyard, LPU flag, and an earplug case and earplugs

-FREE worldwide shipping for LPU11 Annual merchandise packages

-New benefits including early entry to Linkin Park shows and downloads of LPU-TV episodes

-All existing benefits are still included such as access to meet & greets, presale tickets and invitations to LPU Summits, exclusive downloads and more

To celebrate the launch of LPU11, when you purchase the $60 LPU11 Annual membership package during the next 11 days (until Friday, November 25), you can add on the physical LPU11 CD for just $1.11 with FREE shipping. Just select the Annual Membership + LPU11 CD option in the dropdown on the purchase page.

CURRENT LPUX MEMBERS: Your LPU account is active until 1 year after you joined. Your LPU Password has been temporarily set to match your email address. Please login to your account and reset your password by going to "Manage Account", then clicking to "Account Settings". You may now specify your desired password.

If you already have an account on a different site that is powered by ground(ctrl), your password will be your usual password to login.

Linkin Park Underground Eleven (track listing)

01. "YO" (MTM Demo)

02. "Slip" (1998 Unreleased Hybrid Theory Demo)

03. "Soundtrack" (Meteora Demo)

04. "In The End" (Demo)

05. "Program" (Meteora Demo)

06. "Bang Three" (What I’ve Done Original Demo)

07. "Robot Boy" (Test Mix, Optional Vocal Take)

08. "Broken Foot" (Meteora Demo)

09. "Esaul" (A Place For My Head Demo)

10. "Blue" (1998 Unreleased Hybrid Theory Demo)

To learn more, visit LPUnderground.com.

Grand Theft Auto V debut trailer

The trailer for Grand Theft Auto V is finally here! I noticed a lot of familiar environments in the trailer, but all centered around Vinewood, a stand-in for Los Angeles. We're definitely getting back into some of the places we visited in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

Our hero is a dad who says he's trying to be a good guy, but, well, it's a Grand Theft Auto game, so you can guess how well that works out. There are also a lot of images of financial ruin, so we're guessing the current economic crisis is going to play a big role.

Watch the debut trailer for Grand Theft Auto V below.

Grand Theft Auto V is officially announced!

Rockstar Games has finally announced the long rumored Grand Theft Auto V on it's official site. It was just a matter of time before they announced this. We weren't given any news about the next installment in this very popular franchise. 

However, we got a first look at the new Grand Theft Auto V (Five) logo. And at the bottom of Rockstar Games' site is a text that says, "Trailer 11.02.11." 

So it's safe to say that on November 2nd, we will get to see where the next game will take place. Many believe that it will take place in San Andreas? However, in the end, it doesn't matter because it will be amazing wherever it will be.

This is very exciting news to me because I've loved the Grand Theft Auto franchise ever since the first game. And I loved it even more when it turned into the 3D third-person shooter we all love today. I'm going to buy Grand Theft Auto V on the release date, just like I did with Grand Theft Auto IV.

Syndicate officially announced!

EA and Starbreeze Studios' remake of PC gaming classic Syndicate has been one of the industry's worst-kept secrets. First unveiled as "Project Redlime," copyright filings fingered the actual product over a year ago. And this morning, after leaking details of the game on its own Origin service over the weekend, EA and Starbreeze are finally ready to "reveal" Syndicate to the world.

"We are excited to finally reveal what we've been working on the past couple years," Starbreeze CEO Mikael Nermark told a press release. "It's been a great experience working with EA, and an amazing opportunity for us to use our expertise in the first person shooter and action genres to bring back, and reignite, the signature action/espionage gameplay of Syndicate."

In Syndicate, you play "Miles Kilo, Eurocorp's latest prototype agent," tasked with navigating a "Machiavellian world run without government oversight with many syndicates vying for total dominance of their local market place," set in the year 2069. Helping you navigate that complex web of intrigue: GUNS!

"Our goal with Syndicate is to provide a challenging action shooter for today's gamers as well as fans of the original," says EA Partners' Jeff Gamon. But if you're worried you won't have enough guns, Syndicate offers "a separate and deep 4-player co-op mode featuring missions from the original cult classic." And while it may have taken EA and Starbreeze some time to officially announce the project, it isn't wasting time in getting it into our hands; Syndicate is expected to be released in "early 2012" for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC.

Max Payne 3 coming in March 2012

Rockstar Games finally announced some news today about their upcoming video game Max Payne 3. We haven't heard much about this delayed game except for some few pictures and news that it's still coming. 

You can read a post from Rockstar Games official site below. They've also released two new pictures from the game and the box art.

Today, we're proud to announce that Max Payne 3 - the new dark, gritty action experience that continues the tale of former New York City detective Max Payne and is sure to satisfy both newcomers and veterans to the historic franchise alike - is expected to launch on the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in March 2012 in North America and Europe.

Still haunted by the memories of his traumatic past, Max begins a new life working private security protecting a wealthy industrialist and his family in Sao Paulo, Brazil. When gangs target the family under his protection, Max is forced to fight to save his clients and clear his name, in a bid to, once and for all, rid himself of the demons that have tortured him for far too long.

A true cross-studio collaboration between Rockstar Games’ global development teams that picks up from where series creator Remedy Entertainment's Max Payne 2 left off, Max Payne 3 utilizes cutting edge technology for a seamless, cinematic action experience, incorporating the latest advances in Natural Motion physics as well as a brand new iteration of the Rockstar Advanced Game Engine, resulting in highly-refined gameplay with an extensive range of realistic weaponry, an intelligent cover system and sophisticated Bullet-Time mechanics.

In addition to an expansive single-player campaign, Max Payne 3 will also be the first entry in the series to introduce a thorough and engrossing multiplayer experience. In a unique twist, Max Payne 3 multiplayer delivers a compelling experience that dynamically alters maps and mode progression for all players in a match. Along with traditional multiplayer modes, Max Payne 3 will also include a deep reward and leveling system, persistent clans and multiple strategic load-out options.

Stay tuned for much more news very soon and check out a pair of brand new screenshots from Max Payne 3 below.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive coming to PlayStation 3

It's now official that a new Counter-Strike game is coming in early 2012. Counter-Strike: Global Offense will be releasing on the PC (Steam), PlayStation 3 (PSN), and Xbox 360 (XBLA). Valve says the game, which is being developed by Hidden Path Entertainment, expands on the game's original action.

"Counter-Strike took the gaming industry by surprise when the unlikely mod became the most-played online PC action game in the world almost immediately after its release in August 1999," said Doug Lombardi, VP of marketing at Valve. "For the past 12 years, it has continued to be one of the most-played games in the world, headline competitive gaming tournaments and selling over 25 million units worldwide across the franchise. CS: GO promises to expand on CS' award-winning gameplay and deliver it to gamers on the PC as well as the next-gen consoles and the Mac."

A version of the game was ported to the Xbox in 2003, but it's historically been a PC franchise. It should be interesting to see how console audiences who grew up with Call of Duty respond to the game.

Counter-Strike remains one of the preeminent competitive shooters around, even more than a decade since its release. If you go to any major eSporting event, you're bound to see the game in action. Elements of the game have even transcended the virtual world. While it remains popular, fans have been asking about a sequel for years now. And Valve has been dodging the subject for nearly as long.

The rumor about a new Counter-Strike game started when a post on eSports site ESEA had broken down some of the details, which was purportedly from pro players and others who recently visited Valve's offices to give feedback on the upcoming game's development. The game was supposedly called Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and it could be released as early as the first quarter of next year. It's said to be running on an updated version of Valve's Source engine, and it focuses on 5 on 5 gameplay. There are also obvious additions such as new guns, maps, and grenades.

Read the official press release below.

VALVE ANNOUNCES COUNTER-STRIKE: GLOBAL OFFENSIVE (CS: GO)

Next Gen Console, PC, and Mac Release Targeted for Early 2012

August 13, 2011 - Valve, creators of best-selling game franchises (such as Counter-Strike, Half-Life, Left 4 Dead, Portal, and Team Fortress) and leading technologies (such as Steam and Source), today announced Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO).

Targeted for release via Playstation Network, Xbox Live Arcade, and Steam (for PC and Mac) in early 2012, CS: GO will expand upon the team-based action gameplay that it pioneered when it was launched exactly 12 years ago (CS beta 1, August 1999).

CS: GO features new maps, characters, and weapons and delivers updated versions of the classic CS content (de_dust, etc.). In addition, CS: GO will introduce new gameplay modes, matchmaking, leader boards, and more.

"Counter-Strike took the gaming industry by surprise when the unlikely MOD became the most played online PC action game in the world almost immediately after its release in August 1999," said Doug Lombard, VP of Marketing at Valve. "For the past 12 years, it has continued to be one of the most-played games in the world, headline competitive gaming tournaments and selling over 25 million units worldwide across the franchise. CS: GO promises to expand on CS' award-winning gameplay and deliver it to gamers on the PC as well as the next gen consoles and the Mac."

CS: GO is being developed by Valve in cooperation with Seattle-based Hidden Path Entertainment. The title is targeted for release in early 2012 and will be playable at this year's PAX Prime and London Games Festival.

For more information, please visit http://store.steampowered.com/app/1800/

Family Guy Online announced!

Fox has announced that Family Guy Online, a Family Guy MMO, is in the works. The free-to-play browser game will feature fully 3D graphics, a quest-based gameplay style and tons of crazy humor that has made Family Guy one of the most popular cartoons in the history of television. The open beta launches later this year, but you can build your character right here, on the Family Guy Online official site.

"We're going to deliver the essence of the show," said Gary Rosenfeld of Fox, "The development team includes two writers from the show, because we know that Family Guy has to be funny... I think we'll definitely attract core gamers, and we'll also attract a more casual gamer who's a fan of the show." 

The game features class-based gameplay, with different classes patterned after well-known characters from the TV-show. You won't be able to play as Peter Griffin, but you will be able to play as an oblivious slob who's like Peter Griffin. According to the game's creators, the Peter-type class will function like a tank in a traditional MMO, and the rest of the family's characteristics will be represented as well. "Stewie, for instance, is small and really good with gadgets, so he probably takes a lot of damage and likes to dish it out from afar with his smart weapons," said Ian Verchere of developer Roadhouse.

The game is built on the Unity engine, and aims to hit the sweetspot between a core game like Halo and casual games like Farmville. "It's a difficult balance," Verchere said. "We're really happy with how the Unity Engine makes the game accessible to basically anyone with an online connection but also delivers a good quality graphical experience."

As for the most important question about a Family Guy MMO, "Will players fight a giant chicken?", the people behind the game are tight-lipped, but said, "Players will have to check in to find out."

Payday: The Heist announced for PS3 & PC

It seems that the folks at Overkill Software are fans of The Dark Knight, because their newly-announced Payday: The Heist greatly resembles The Joker's bank robbery from the film. We're not sure if clown masks are a necessity, but this squad-based team shooter will have you picking classes, robbing banks, and taking hostages.

Here are some features, as outlined by Sony:

• Six High-Intensity Heists: Whether you're blowing the roof off a building to extract a safe via helicopter or emptying the vault at the First World Bank, these action-packed heists will have players on edge and always checking their six.
• Interactive Co-op Gameplay: Whether AI or live, your crew of four must operate as one to bring get the "big score." Sharing extra ammo and med kits, helping regen wounded partners, guarding key positions, taking civilian hostages or cracking through various security measures - it's all for one and one for all.
• Endless Replayability: Dynamic environments, adaptive enemy behavior,shifting entry points, FBI agents repelling down on ropes through the skylights, SWAT teams crashing through the windows and special units crawling through the ventilation shafts makes each play-through of every heist a unique fight.
• Massive Character Progression Tree: Players choose a specialty - assault, sharpshooter or support - to gain weapons and equipment that fit their preferred form of violence. Unlock trip mines, silenced pistols, machine guns and much, much more.
• Shout Out Button: Players need to be vocal and shout commands and directions to the co-op crew, as well as hostages and the police if they want to survive to spend their cut of the take.
• Hostage Trading: Hostages can be a lifeline. If anyone in the crew is taken into custody, trade hostages to get crew members back and increase the odds of completing your objectives.
• PlayStation® or PC: For keyboard and mouse marksman, as well as handheld controller snipers, PAYDAY is the uber-FPS for a high intensity shooter fix.
• More DLC: Additional heists, weapons and equipment means PAYDAY - a digitally distributed AAA quality title for less than half the price of a retail game - is total OVERKILL.

Hopefully we'll get our hands on the game at E3 next week. In the meantime, check out the trailer below.

Konami Reveals HD Collections

In what's sure to be good news for Konami fans, the company announced in its pre-E3 press video that it will be releasing revamped HD collections of some of its most storied franchises: Metal Gear Solid, Zone of the Enders, and Silent Hill.

The Metal Gear collection features Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker.

The Zone of the Enders package will feature Zone of the Enders and Zone of the Enders 2.

The Silent Hill collection will include Silent Hill 2 and 3.

All the games included in these packs will receive full HD upgrades, including new art, textures, and sound. Also, achievements and trophies are being added. For Peace Walker, you'll be able to transfer your saves between the console and handheld version. These collections will be available for both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

The Metal Gear Solid HD collection will be out this November, with Zone of the Enders to follow in 2012. No specific date was given for the Silent Hill HD collection.

Call of Duty: MW3 debut trailer!

You have been waiting for it to land for weeks, and after an entirety of anticipation it seems, we can finally bring you the very first gameplay trailer for Modern Warfare 3, Infinity Ward and Activision’s latest Call of Duty title which will land later on this year.

The trailer is pretty awesome too, just as expected. It picks up where the teaser trailers left off, only this time we see some actual gameplay and of course, the first look at the quality of graphics that will be featured in the new game.

And we’re pleasantly surprised – the game looks really good. We’re not quite sure if the graphics top Battlefield 3 just yet, but it’s clear that the guys at Infinity Ward have come up with a game that looks graphically superior to Modern Warfare 2.

The trailer itself shows off gameplay from the four countries mentioned in the teaser trailers, these are America, England, France and Germany. We have to say that we’re pretty blown away by the underground scene in London, that looks like a lot of fun and the graphics look amazing.

Watch the trailer below and see if you are impressed by what you have seen or not. Is Modern Warfare 3 now a day one purchase for you or not? The trailer also confirms that the game will release on November 8th, 2011.

Hitman: Absolution officially announced!

Agent 47 is preparing another hit, in a game that developer IO Interactive says will mark a new chapter in the series. Publisher SquareEnix has just released a teaser trailer, emphasis on the "teaser," which shows little but what we can assume is Agent 47 affixing a silencer to a pistol and a snake curling around a gun. The title of the game, Hitman: Absolution, been floating around the Internet for a while, after reports of a trademark filing from SquareEnix surfaced and a teaser image (which appears in the trailer below) was used in a viral marketing campaign.

However, the accompanying press release seems to suggest that this will be a fundamentally different experience than previous games in the series.

Game director Tore Blystad is quoted as saying, “For the first time we are taking Agent 47 on a personal journey which allows us to explore other parts of the Hitman fantasy. This is both a familiar and yet significantly different experience from other Hitman games; something our silent assassins will relish, as will all those new to the Hitman world.”

This is echoed later in the release, which states "Hitman: Absolution combines much-loved classic gameplay with completely new features never seen before in the Hitman franchise."

The game is running on IO's proprietary Glacier 2 engine, and will be shown to the public at this year's E3 convention. Hitman: Absolution will be released for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC.

Linkin Park's 4th single is "Iridescent"

Linkin Park has officially announced their next single from A Thousand Suns after many speculations and rumors. The fourth single will be "Iridescent" and it's one of my favorite songs from A Thousand Suns.

Another rumor started when a splash page, at linkinpark.com, showed a moon and when you clicked it "Iridescent" started to play, and a picture came up showing something that looked like a Transformers logo. Given that Linkin Park has had songs on the last two Transformers movies, this suggests that they would be on the upcoming movie as well.

And the day after the official news came that "Iridescent" will be a single for upcoming Transformers: Dark of the Moon movie. Mike posted on his blog that they're shooting a music video directed by Joe Hahn. However, they will use a shortened version of the song that will fit the movie better. I've listened to the remix but I like the original version better.

Read what Mike had to say about this below.

"A few months ago, I got on the phone with Michael Bay, who wanted to discuss the possibility of our band continuing our run with songs paired with the Transformers films. We (he, his team, and our band) all have enjoyed working together on the past two, and he wanted to discuss the ideas we might have for Transformers 3: Dark Of The Moon. In particular, one song came up immediately. Ever since we started playing Iridescent live, the song has been a fan favorite at the show.

For the film, there’s a new, slightly shorter version of the song, which is floating around the internet now. We’ll be shooting a video for the song tomorrow, directed by Joe Hahn."

Mortal Kombat: Legacy Premieres April 12, 2011

Warner Bros. Digital Distribution and Machinima.com today announced they have signed an agreement to premiere and distribute the highly anticipated “Mortal Kombat: Legacy” live action digital series produced by Warner Premiere. Directed by Kevin Tancharoen (“Fame”), and starring Jeri Ryan (“Star Trek: Voyager”) as “Sonya Blade,” Michael Jai White (“The Dark Knight”) as “Major Jackson ‘Jax’ Briggs” and Darren Shahlavi (“300”) as “Kano,” this series will take gamers deep into the history of the warriors they know and love. 

The first action-packed episode of “Mortal Kombat: Legacy” will debut April 12 exclusively on Machinima, the dominant entertainment network for videogamers on YouTube (www.youtube.com/machinima). Fans from around the world will be able to watch and engage with the entire “Mortal Kombat: Legacy” series through Machinima’s YouTube channel. 

"With over 500 million monthly video views and 50 million monthly viewers, Machinima has the world’s most highly-engaged gaming audience, which makes this agreement with Warner Bros. such a great fit," said Allen DeBevoise, Chairman and CEO of Machinima, Inc. "Mortal Kombat is an epic franchise with a rich story and characters, we’re truly excited to bring 'Mortal Kombat: Legacy' to our community. With our global scale and reach, we can now drive greater engagement and viewership than anyone for entertainment properties that fit our young, male-centric demo. Kevin’s new incarnation of the Mortal Kombat franchise is precisely the type of world-class, high-octane action content that our audience will love.” 

Kevin Tancharoen who directed and produced the popular, unofficial “Mortal Kombat: Rebirth” fan short, is bringing the same immersive directing style to this live-action digital series. “Machinima is the perfect entertainment destination to premiere the series,” said Kevin Tancharoen, Director, Producer and co-writer of “Mortal Kombat: Legacy.” “They have a massive audience of gamers from around the world. We worked very closely with NetherRealm Studios and Ed Boon, and we’re now putting the finishing touches on the episodes. I’m confident we’ve stayed true to the Mortal Kombat lore and am hoping the fans will be blown away by what they see.” 

Also on April 12, in a lead up to the series premiere, Machinima will host Kevin Tancharoen and cast from the series in a special live event. Details will be announced on Machinima.com soon. 

Written by Kevin Tancharoen , Aaron Helbing and Todd Helbing, “Mortal Kombat: Legacy” is an anthology of nine live action shorts, and brings to life the motivation behind each character’s participation in the Mortal Kombat tournament. Each episode will provide never-before-revealed insights into characters featured in the upcoming videogame as well as the game’s universe. 

The latest iteration of the award-winning videogame, “Mortal Kombat," marks a triumphant return to the series’ mature presentation and a reinvention of its classic 2D fighting mechanic. Driven by an all new graphics engine, the fan favorite Fatality is back and presented in more gory detail than ever before. In addition, “Mortal Kombat” introduces a number of new game-play features including tag team and a deep story mode. “Mortal Kombat” is being developed by NetherRealm Studios, led by “Mortal Kombat” creator and creative director Ed Boon.

Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City first details!

Rumors have been floating around for quite some time about Slant Six, former developer of SOCOM, working on a brand new Resident Evil title. Today, we're here to officially validate those rumors along with giving you the very first detail on the upcoming title.

Hitting this winter, gamers will be able to get their hands on Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The Official Xbox Magazine have the official cover story this month, and while we'll list a few details, you'll have to pick up their May issue to find out everything!

• The game takes place in 1998, a time where Resident Evil fans already know what's set to take place. The title lets you enjoy the series from a new perspective, as the men and women who are technically responsible for it all.
• Rather than continuing the zombie slaying antics of BSAA agents, you're taken back to the original outbreak "that underscored both Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis."
• The game doesn't require any crazy amounts of knowledge of the past titles or characters involved in the series. The title opens up to a "quartet of new faces". Essentially, you're playing as members of the official Umbrella Security Services squad.
• Operation Raccoon City is a team-based shooter allowing four members of the USS team to destroy all evidence of the ongoing outbreak. Along with slaying the zombies, you're looking to "kill pretty much every survivor possible".
• The gameplay is described as "dirty", and the series will feel much darker than it has up to this point.
• The game features three factions that Capcom has stated make up a "three-corner conflict". The other two factions are the US Spec Ops, who are there to repel the USS, and the "bio-organic weapon monsters (BOWs) created by Umbrella.
• The USS team is made up of the following characters: Vector, Beltway, Bertha, and Spectre. Depending on which character you choose, the responsibilities that you're asked to do within your team will variate.
• Hunk, first seen in Resident Evil 2 as a hidden character, is the inspiration behind the USS team.
• "Whichever team you play on, you'll be facing Umbrella-created horrors in between skirmishes with each other".
• Zombies in the game can sense you in three different manners: sight, sound, and smell.
• A situation is described in the game where Vector cloaks himself to stir up previously slumbering zombies to use against the Special Ops military foes.
• Quite a few scenarios in the game aren't "all about headshots". A quote in the article states, "It's about shooting the other soldiers - manipulating the, making them bleed."
• The game will take you through a number of familiar areas if you're a Resident Evil junkie who remembers your journey to Raccoon City.
• Operation Raccoon City, depending on how you play the game, will give you the option to "change the history of Resident Evil". Not only will you have the chance to meet and interact with various characters from the series, but you'll even have the opportunity to kill them.
• One of th mottos repeated to OXM throughout the demo was "Kill Leon". It's also stated that if you choose to represent in the game as the Special Ops team, that you'd more than likely have the goal of trying to save Leon S. Kennedy.
• Slant Six or Capcom won't reveal if any other characters will be playable in the title just yet, but it'd make sense to see quite a few big cameos.
• The title will still see players relying on collecting herbs to heal from any attacks you may suffer. You won't need to hoard any herbs, but they'll still benefit you to collect them throughout the game.
• "This is not a one-versus-one game where you've got one clip full of ammo and zombies on you. If you've ever thought of those times in an RE game when you thought, 'I'd wish I had a big gun', that's what this game is. It's not fair to give people big guns, then take all the ammo away."
• One of the pictures in the article showcases a zombie being used as a "meatshield".
• Operation Raccoon City allows players to earn XP for kills, with these points helping you survive the onslaught, and to help to encourage you to anihilate everything in your path.
• The XP will allow you to earn new abilities, such as Vector's cloaking skill, and new weapons.
• Tyrants will most definitely be included in the title.

There's a ton of details listed above, but there's even more listed in the May 2011 issue of the Official Xbox Magazine. Don't forget to be on the lookout for the issue to hit store shelves to get even more details on Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City!

vParticle+ (iPhone) review

vParticle+ is a modern day version of the classic game Labyrinth. This game is about controlling a bunch of particles through a maze of different kinds of traps. You have to get every single particle to safety into a box, marked with an E, before you can finish the level.

You control the particles with the accelerometer on your iPhone. The particles behave very realistic and precise thanks to the custom-built physics engine. You can also change the sensitivity and calibrate the control so that the particles behave more the way you want.

There are 220 different levels and 5 level types. Some levels are easy and some are really hard. It can become frustrating sometimes but overall the games difficulty has a great variety. And most levels have checkpoints, depending on the difficulty, so you don't have to start from the beginning. If your particles get smashed by moving blocks or other kinds of traps, that specific particle will either start from the beginning or from the nearest checkpoint.

The neon graphics are really nice and very sharp thanks to the full Retina display support. You can also change the theme anytime during gameplay, which is nice. And at every restart a new random theme will be generated. vParticle+ runs at 60 frames per second, and it really shows because the game runs very smoothly.

This game feels very futuristic and so does the music. The soundtrack is electronica based and matches the feel of the game. But if you don't like it, you can always use the iPod feature to play your own music.

Overall: vParticle+ is a fun and challenging labyrinth puzzle game that will keep you busy for hours. With awesome graphics, fantastic particle physics and many different kinds of levels makes this game a must have on your iPhone 4.

Review: vParticle+ (iPhone) XXXX [4/5].

GDC 2011 (PS3 news)

I've gathered news about what Sony revealed at this years GDC. There weren't any big surprises this year but at least a few new interesting details about upcoming PlayStation 3 exclusive games. And some news about Sony's new handheld device NGP.

inFamous 2 "Play, Create, Share"

And just like that, inFamous 2 joins Sony's "Play, Create, Share" suite of games by allowing players to make their own missions. Developer Sucker Punch unveiled the surprising new feature at GDC. Using the new creation tool, you'll be able to create "any" kind of mission. Creators have "access to the same set of characters, creatures and props" that the designers have.

A "limited" public beta will be available in April. Details on how to get in will be announced on the game's official website in two weeks, on March 14th.

Resistance 3 multiplayer details

Insomniac Games has dropped the first details on the multiplayer component in Resistance 3, and those hoping the developer would reach MAG levels of simultaneous combatants after the 60-player Resistance 2 should probably be seated. Rather than escalate, the game's online offering will be more intimate, maxing out at 16 players -- eight on eight in any mode.

The dev says the move is about making the competitive experience more "personal" -- not for any technical reasons. After playing a few matches at tonight's preview event, we found the sole map being demoed, a prison in the Republic of Chad (all the multiplayer stages are set outside the US), nicely sized for the player count. Admittedly, the action was considerably tame compared to the massive battles of the previous game in the series.

Insomniac revealed -- and we tried -- some active and passive multiplayer abilities, the former represented by health/ammo drops and an electrified shield; the latter are always-active "stat buffs," such as making yourself more accurate when shooting while running. The final element we saw was the Berserk, which is rewarded for kill streaks and made our Chimeran character temporarily invisible.

Objective-based modes are to be revealed later, giving us hope that the developer has some fresh ideas lined up for them.

PlayStation 3 stats

During the PlayStation Network Analysis panel at GDC, SCEA digital distribution manager Pierre Gravereau provided some platform stats to attendees, revealing worldwide sales of 47.9 million PS3 consoles. More than 80 percent of consoles are connected to the internet and have spawned 70 million PSN accounts.

Gravereau boasted about the success of PSN in 2010, saying traffic to the PlayStation Store increased by 60 percent compared to the previous year and Sony subsequently saw a 70 percent spike in revenue. Even without exact hard figures, it's quite a dramatic upstick.

NGP at GDC 11

This slide, shown during Sony's Next Generation Portable GDC panel, shed some light on NGP's still-mysterious storage details. Unlike the experimental PSP Go, the NGP doesn't sport any internal storage. Things like save data and patches will be stored on the actual game cards themselves which, notably, will be offered in both 2GB and 4GB varieties, with 5 to 10 percent of the storage allocated to the aforementioned data. On a 2GB card, that leaves 1.8GB to 1.9GB for game data; on a 4GB card, that leaves 3.6GB to 3.8GB.

That puts the NGP's game media storage size between that of the PSP's, whose UMD discs range from 900MB to 1.8GB, and the PS3's, whose Blu-ray discs hold up to 50GB, though "many PS3 games" (i.e., multiplatform titles) remain around 9GB, thanks to the Xbox 360's DVD-ROM size limitation. Of course, this leaves the NGP with far more storage per game than a "10MB phone game."

But that's not all! As previously suggested, the NGP has another storage option, simply called "removable memory" in this presentation. "Cards will be large to support a variety of downloaded content," the slide says. This includes games available over PlayStation Network; and, thankfully, Sony says it's implementing a "single submission for both formats" to streamline the process of getting games approved for both card-based and downloadable releases.

We're hopeful this streamlined process obviates current embarassments like the continued absence of high-profile games in the PSN catalog of PSP titles, which has crippled the appeal of Sony's PSP Go handheld.