Friday, December 31, 2010

Linkin Park 2010 Wrap Up

2010 has been a great year for me and my band.  Here are some 2010 year-end stats for the LP record books:

We released “A Thousand Suns”, which debuted at #1 in 15 countries.

The album debuted with an amazing contest called “Linkin Park Featuring You” on MySpace where fans were given pieces of our first single before it was released.  They remixed the tracks, and we picked a winner named NoBrain–and included his work on our album.

We got a chance to play in a number of places we’ve never visited before, including the U.A.E. and Israel.

At home in the U.S., our first single, “The Catalyst” was the first #1 debut in the history of the Billboard Rock Songs chart.

“The Catalyst” and “Waiting For The End” both went to #1 on the Alternative radio chart, bringing our career tally to ten #1 songs thus far.

LP won an EMA for “Best Live Act,” and we’re in the running for the upcoming People’s Choice Awards, Japan Gold Disc Awards and German Echo Awards.

We released 8-Bit Rebellion for iPod, iPod Touch, and iPad, which debuted at #1 on the iTunes music app chart.

“A Thousand Suns” went to #1 on Nielsen Soundscan’s Best Selling Rock album of 2010

Chester made an appearance in Saw 3D, which also saw a #1 debut at the box office

We held our first LP Underground Summits, in London and Sydney, which quickly became one of the most memorable experiences for LPU members who attended.

As the year comes to a close, we’ll be crossing 20 million Facebook fans (more than Starbucks, Disney, or McDonalds–but still catching up to Michael Jackson at 26MM!)

Following the earthquake in Haiti, the band organized Download To Donate (downloadtodonate.org) where supporters and fans of over a dozen bands could come to download tracks for free, and donate funds to support relief efforts in Haiti.  This effort is ongoing.

“A Thousand Suns” was a risky album–one that veered off a more predictable path into territory that definitely got fans and non-fans talking.  It’s been fun to see how perceptions and opinions have swelled and changed.  As we move into the next year, we’ll be looking forward to the next leg of the world tour, another single, another video, and whatever else comes next.  A huge “thank you” is due to everyone who has helped make 2010 a successful year for the band.  We appreciate you.

Happy New Year!

Friday, December 24, 2010

Merry Christmas 2010!

Merry Christmas everyone! This year my family and I are going to celebrate Christmas with my grandparents. We always change each year.

I'm excited to see what I will get this year, my brother and I always get many Christmas presents. I've wished for PlayStation Move, and I really hope I will get it. Otherwise I will buy it myself. I always get money because I don't now what to wish for.

This year I've bought all my gifts online. It's good because I don't have to stand in line with all the other stressed Christmas shoppers. I even got them wrap for a small fee.

The weather this year is perfect with a lot of snow, just as I've always wanted! However, it doesn't happen that often that it comes snow for Christmas.

I hope everyone will have a great Christmas!

Merry Christmas!
Wishes
Mattias (24Xero)

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Video Game Awards 2010


What happened at today’s Spike TV Video Game Awards? New game announcements, first look trailers (some with actual gameplay), release dates, and Neil Patrick Harris. Catch up on the most important news right here if you missed anything.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Bethesda Game Studios reveals the sequel to Oblivion, the role-playing game known as Skyrim, via short teaser. The game is also given a release date — November 11, 2011. [HD trailer]

Mass Effect 3
BioWare’s next shooter space opera is formally announced as a battle for Earth and given a release window of Holiday 2011. [HD trailer]

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
Naughty Dog brings back Nathan Drake for another adventure, this one set in the desert and beyond. The PlayStation 3 game also gets a release date of November 1, 2011. [HD trailer]

SSX: Deadly Descents
EA unveils its next SSX, in which video game snowboarders “explore the story of a team who seek to be the first to descend the faces of the most treacherous mountain ranges on the planet.” [HD trailer]

Resistance 3
We get our first peek at gameplay in Resistance 3 and a release date for the PS3 game, September 6, 2011. [HD trailer]

inSane
Director Guillermo del Toro teams up with THQ and Volition Inc for inSane, a horror game that’s quite far off. The teaser trailer definitely looks like a game that won’t hit until 2013. [HD trailer]

Prototype 2
Developer Radical Entertainment officially unveils the next Prototype game. It won’t go head to head with Infamous again, because Prototype 2 won’t be released until 2012. [HD trailer]

Kratos Comes To Mortal Kombat
The God of War joins the fray in a PlayStation 3 exclusive. Kratos wins! [HD trailer]

Batman Arkham City’s New Bad Guy
Dr. Hugo Strange knows Batman’s biggest secret in Arkham City, which delivers a cool new trailer. [HD trailer]

Forza Motorsport 4
The Xbox 360 racing series doesn’t have much to show, with a mostly-live action teaser trailer formally announcing its existence. [HD trailer]

Portal 2
Valve releases a new Portal 2 trailer. It looks like a Pixar movie. [HD trailer]

Thor: The Video Game
Hey, there’s a Thor video game! [HD trailer]

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception uncovered!


No need to scan that headline twice and make sure you read it right – UNCHARTED 3 is real. This morning, Entertainment Weekly revealed the next chapter in the critically-acclaimed, top-selling UNCHARTED franchise – UNCHARTED 3: Drake’s Deception.

UNCHARTED 3: Drake’s Deception continues to evolve all of the core principles we laid out for the UNCHARTED franchise, most important of which is creating an unmatched and extremely compelling interactive cinematic experience. In addition to having a compelling story and authentic characters that all of our fans can relate to as key facets to creating this type of experience, we push ourselves and the capability of the PlayStation hardware through constantly refined gameplay mechanics and technology innovation. Our dedication to creating the best interactive cinematic experience can be seen in our last two games – UNCHARTED: Drake’s Fortune and UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves. We’re especially honored and humbled that both titles have been so successful, selling nearly 8 million units combined and earning more industry awards and accolades than we can keep track of. We’ve set the bar very high for us to outdo the past successes of our previous UNCHARTED games. We’re looking forward to taking on this challenge to top ourselves and create a truly unforgettable interactive cinematic experience that everyone can enjoy.

So, if you’re wondering what UNCHARTED 3: Drake’s Deception has in store for you, we wanted to share some early details.

UNCHARTED 3: Drake’s Deception features the return of famed fortune hunter Nathan Drake and follows him through a gripping, action-packed storyline that will take you all over the world. In his search for the fabled “Atlantis of the Sands,” Nathan Drake and longtime friend and mentor Victor Sullivan set off on a daring trek into the heart of the Arabian Desert. But when terrible secrets of this lost city are uncovered, their journey becomes a desperate bid for survival that will force Drake to confront his deepest fears.

Throughout UNCHARTED 3, you’ll be taken to spectacular new locations around the globe that will showcase all of the work we’ve taken on to take acclaimed physics, particle and visual effects to a new level.

Competitive and co-op multiplayer will return as a key ingredient to the UNCHARTED 3 package, where all of the new features we have planned will combine with our signature single-player cinematic gameplay to create a unique action-adventure multiplayer experience that can only be found in the UNCHARTED universe.

Oh, and there’s one more thing – UNCHARTED 3: Drake’s Deception fully supports high-resolution Stereoscopic 3D.

We’re looking forward to exploring it all with you in the months to come. Be sure to hit up your local newsstand tomorrow and pick up a copy of the December 17 issue of Entertainment Weekly – you’ll find a ton of additional details on UNCHARTED 3 and the new art shown above in glorious, full color print. Enjoy!

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Rage HD (iPhone) review


What, has Id Software's new video game been leaked a year before the release!? No, but you will get a great preview on your iPhone.

John Carmack is a genius. What he does with his programming is nothing you can teach or even force out. He has a very rare talent whom few have. We have seen the results of it ever since Id Software became famous with Doom, revolutionized multiplayer with Quake and won every German game award for "Most Polygons" with the third game about the horrors of hell. Now, he intends to change the mobile market.

I read an interview with Carmack a few years ago where he described the happiness of finding his way back to his code roots, siting alone with a project and let your fingers do the magic with very limited basis. He also said that it would be very difficult to do a good shooter for mobile phones but with Rage HD he surprises everyone, probably also himself.

Rage HD is a full blown gaming experience and with classic Id-style, they push the technology without mercy. The nameless and always silent main character moves by himself, leaving you to control the sight which is done at the absolute best way I've ever experienced on the platform. To tilt the phone and let the gyro do the work sounds like a bad solution in advance, but once you get started, it feels very natural. It's also possible to control the sight by dragging your finger, which works great as well. In the corners of the screen, you will find buttons to shoot, reload and switch weapons. Simple but very effective.

With that information, you're ready to participate in the show Mutant Bash TV. The game is based on that show, and each track is a new episode. At launch, there're three levels: an apartment complex, a madhouse and a bunker. I wouldn't be surprised if more is released in a future update. On paper, the content may seem slim but since you are looking for high scores and reviews rather than to clear the tracks, although that in itself can be a challenge at first, it will last for a very long time.

Points can be scored, not surprisingly, by shooting the mutants that will crawl and jump out of all possible places. There're bags to pick, ammunition to collect and stationary targets to hit so you can count on that you will be busy from the start. During my first play-through I didn't do much more than shoot mutants. The entire process is on time so if you want to end up at the top charts you need to hit everything at a very fast rate. It simply smells Id and it's a taste I'll never get tired of.

The Texas company also shows tremendous confidence when they release Rage first on mobile phones, we're after all one year away from seeing their first major game in 14 years.

Overall: Rage HD is a must have for all that wants to play an awesome FPS on their iDevices. With great controls and impressive graphics make this one of the best games on the iPhone.

Review: Rage HD (iPhone) XXXX [4/5].

Friday, November 12, 2010

LP Underground X: Demos CD Track Listing

The track list of LPUX has surfaced the Internet. The CD was sold at the LPU Summit in London, so it's just a matter of time before it leaks.

Last years LPU CD was very good, I gave it five out five "X" (read my review here). I think this years CD is going to be even better. All the tracks look interesting except the "What I've Done" remix, but hopefully it's a different remix from the one we've already heard.

You can see the entire track listing below.

LP Underground X: Demos

01. "Unfortunate" (Unreleased Demo 2002)
02. "What We Don't Know" (
Unreleased Demo 2007)
03. "Oh No" (Points of Authority Demo)
04. "I Have Not Begun" (
Unreleased Demo 2009)
05. "Pale" (
Unreleased Demo 2006)
06. "Pretend To Be" (
Unreleased Demo 2008)
07. "Divided" (
Unreleased Demo 2005)
08. "What I've Done" (M.Shinoda Remix)
09. "Coal" (
Unreleased Demo 1997)
10. "Halo" (
Unreleased Demo 2002)

Thursday, November 11, 2010

New L.A. Noire trailer released


Rockstar has finally released a new trailer of L.A. Noire. The first trailer, which looked pre-rendered, was released 2006 and contained very few colors. This time it's in-game footage and contains bright colors. It also shows the most realistic facial animations since Heavy Rain.

L.A. Noire will be released Spring 2011. We will hopefully receive more information before that. This video game is a must-have because I know it's going to be awesome! Another "masterpiece" to my PlayStation 3 collection.

Watch the new trailer below!

Friday, November 5, 2010

Linkin Park Underground X launches

Year ten of Linkin Park Underground launches today. There will be a few differences this year. Be sure to check the new LPU site for further details. You can read the post from the LPU headquarters below.

We’re excited to announce that starting today, you will be able to active your LPUX membership pre-order or transfer your LPU9 membership. Please be on the lookout for an email from Linkin Park with the subject “Redeem Your LPUX Membership NOW” which includes a unique code you will use to activate membership to LPUX. It is your responsibility to redeem this code IMMEDIATELY to continue your current subscription.

This is the first part of the LPUX roll out where you will ONLY be activating your membership or transferring your LPU9 membership over. LPUX community features, downloads, merch and more will be rolling out in the coming weeks.

The main focus of LPUX is all about giving you more (and better) Linkin Park experiences than ever before. As part of LPUX, we have already given you the opportunity to attend special events like the laser light show featuring a Q&A with Linkin Park, access to LP’s VMA’s performance, the New York City release show, the EMA’s, 2010 LP tour presales, and the upcoming LPU Summit. We’ve also opened up the LPU meet & greets at shows to include even more fans and all 6 members of Linkin Park.

We hope you’re as excited as we are about LPUX. The main goal is to give you the opportunity to take part in exciting experiences you can’t get anywhere else. Thanks for your continued support and patience through this transition. Join LPUX today.

-LPUHQ

P.S. If you do not receive an email with your unique code (make sure to check your spam/junk folders) by Friday, November 5 or have any issues redeeming, please submit a support ticket at https://app.topspin.net/account/help_public.

"With this, the 10th edition of the Linkin Park Underground, we commit to you a renewed, re-energized version of the LPU experience. This is no longer a fan club; this is a membership to our inner circle."

-MIKE SHINODA

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Happy Halloween! [Update!]

Happy Halloween everyone! I like this holiday very much even though we don't celebrate on October 31 here in Sweden. Our holiday, All Saints Day, is next week. However, I like to celebrate Halloween myself by watching horror movies and play scary video games. And I'm going to do the same thing next week. It's two weeks of "horror" for me.

What I like about Halloween and autumn is the warm, cozy, happy and mystical feelings I get during this period. It's a special atmosphere just like during Christmas. And all these feelings get stronger when I watch a really scary movie.

Today, I'm going to watch the remake of A Nightmare On Elm Street on Blu-ray. Another movie I'm going to see is Monsters, it seems like a good scary movie. I'm going to play Left 4 Dead 2 because it's a great game that's very scary and gives me adrenaline. I don't have many scary video games to PlayStation 3. I think Resident Evil 5 is the only one, and I'm tired of that game. I have just bought BioShock 2 to PS3, and it's a little scary but maybe the most important thing is that it has a great atmosphere.

I haven't posted in a while because I haven't felt like writing. However, I have posted on Twitter everyday. It's fast and easy. I have three Linkin Park reviews that I want to publish, but I haven't had the "strength" to do it. I hope they will come up soon. They're going to be published under the September and October period. I will "cheat" a little.

I hope that everyone has a great Halloween, because I certainly have.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Haters & Believers: A Thousand Suns Release

"Hey guys. I’ve been getting some questions about my thoughts about the album release, so I thought that I’d try to answer them here.

To start, a quick review: about a year and a half ago, we made a conscious decision to take our music in a new direction. We predicted the album’s release would be incendiary; the new direction would be welcomed by some, and fervently resisted by others. Looking back, I wanted to address both factions.

Let’s get the simple part out of the way. To the fans who like the new album: thanks for your support. There are some of you that have been with us for a long time, and are thrilled about the new sound. There are others who weren’t sure of the new album at first, but have given it a chance, and are now reaping its rewards. And there are others who have never been fans of Linkin Park, but are interested in the band for the first time with A Thousand Suns. We’re happy to have all of you on board, and we appreciate your support.

A friend of mine told me a story from his childhood: when he was a little kid, his dad, who never had any facial hair, left for a trip and came home with a beard. His son took one look at him and ran away, demanding, “what happened to my real dad?”
So let’s talk about “haters.”

Not surprisingly, the sound of the new album (and the absence of heavy guitars and Chester’s screaming vocals) seemed to upset some folks. As I write this, the most popular iTunes (US) review of A Thousand Suns is by Janxrod, who gives the album one star and asks “What happened to the real Linkin Park?”

A knee-jerk reaction might be to assume that people who dislike ATS simply love heavy metal and hate alternative / electronic music. I don’t need to tell you that the internet is a sad breeding ground for filthy-mouthed negativity. But, in their defense, many of the “one-star reviewers” are not brainless cynics who talk shit because they’re bored. They’re real fans who were expecting to walk into a movie theatre to see “A Clockwork Orange,” and they got “2001: A Space Odyssey.” I don’t like the idea that all these folks are all lumped together as “haters.”

I’m a curious guy, so I did some research about Janxrod. Although 8/10 of his favorite albums include heavier stuff like Disturbed, Shinedown, and Dethklok…he also likes Daft Punk. He’s not opposed to electronic music. So what bothers Janxrod so much about A Thousand Suns?

One reason is that, according to his page, “They write songs about how pissed off they are at their old fans, telling them to go f*** themselves. That’s not mature, that’s just disrespectful.”

Know what? I agree. That’s a bad message. The problem is: it’s not really our message.

The other guys and I have said many things in the past, not all of it thoughtful or respectful (sorry, we’re human too). But under it all, here’s where we’re really at: If you don’t like this album right now, that’s your choice and it’s truly OK with us. But we stand behind the work we put into it, and we think it’ll be a rewarding listen if you decide to give it a chance. Our door is open.

Lastly, I need to address a comment I occasionally see (and have seen every time we put an album out)–that the band has “sold out.” As far as I know, “selling out” means compromising the integrity of your band/music in exchange for money or popularity. Since inception, A Thousand Suns was designed to go against the grain, built with an understanding that it would likely polarize and challenge the fan base at first. This is the opposite of a “sell out” album; don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Do the math: if money and popularity was the goal, we would have made Hybrid Theory again.

Furthermore, outside our studio walls, the climate for music is different. According to Nielsen SoundScan, of the 97,751 albums released in 2009, only 12 of them sold more than one million units last year. People everywhere buy it by the song, not by the album. To stand behind what many people call a “concept album”–asking the fan to listen to the whole thing rather than a couple songs–is unquestionably a big a request. Some people want to color that request as a “marketing tactic,” that we are asking people to buy the whole thing instead of a couple songs. If that was the case, we’d be the worst marketers ever. Clearly, a collection of 12 “hit singles” is a better reason to buy a whole album than a concept record. The singles sell an album. A concept album requires a leap of faith. The whole argument is wholly illogical.

So why did we make such a big change? “What happened to the real Linkin Park?” We’re still here. We look and sound different, but the intention behind the music is the same as it has been since day one: in the studio, we are constantly in search of new sounds that excite and inspire us. And hearing that our album debuted at #1 in 15 countries gave us all a massive feeling of gratitude, but if being in this band has taught me anything in the past decade, it’s that you can’t base your happiness on things that are out of your control.

The truth is, we’re believers that good, honest art will triumph at the end of the day. Real success isn’t about sales, numbers, and chart position. It’s about a connection with a dedicated fan base and a chance to introduce people to a sound that we can call our own.

See you on tour, where we’ll be playing songs from “Hybrid Theory” through “A Thousand Suns.” Fans of every era are welcome."

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

"Waiting For The End" new Linkin Park single

Linkin Park's second single from A Thousand Suns will be "Waiting For The End", and will be released October 5th on iTunes, and October 29th as a physical single. It will also feature the "Does It Offend You, Yeah?" remix of "The Catalyst".

I think that this song is pretty good, not great. I would personally love to see "Burning In The Skies" as a single some day. It's one of my favorite songs on A Thousand Suns. It will be interesting to see how the music video will look like. I really loved the video for "The Catalyst".

The single cover for "Waiting For The End" is very cool, I love all the art from A Thousand Suns. When I looked through the booklet and saw the art and the photos, I thought that many of the pictures would make a great cover, both for singles and the album.

You can see the single cover of "Waiting For The End" below.


Sunday, September 19, 2010

Sony at Tokyo Game Show 2010


This article comes directly from the VG247 site. There were a few great announcements, and I think the ICO and Shadow Of The Colossus collection remastered in HD was the best.

Sony used its Tokyo Game Show press conference today to put dates on both The Last Guardian and the Japanese version of Gran Turismo 5.

Sony kicked off its show with some sales figures, saying that PS3 has now sold 38 million hardware units and 310 million games, before making brief presentations on PSP and Move.

A barrage of Move games was shown, including Start the Party, The Shoot, Sports Champions, Tumble, TV Superstars, The Fight, Heroes on the Move, High Velocity Bowling, Echochrome II, Tiger Woods, Resident Evil 5, Virtua Tennis 4, Time Crisis, Killzone 3, LittleBigPlanet 2 and Ape Escape.

In total, 13 companies are making 35 games for Move, the firm said. Move is to release on October 21 with the marketing slogan “Let’s Play, Move”.

Moving on to 3D, Everybody’s Golf was shown, as was a 3D version of FFXIV. There was no new date on the PS3 SKU other than March next year.

The E3 MGS: Rising trailer was also shown in 3D, as was footage of Disaster 4: Summer Memories and Polyphony’s GT5.

The GT5 stuff focused mainly on the showroom images we saw at gamescom, with a splash of in-game racing mixed with replay video. It was very short.

Sony then announced that Firmware 3.5 would hit PS3 with 3D Blu-ray support on September 21.

Moving onto hardware, Sony said a 320Gb PS3 would release in Japan on October 21.

A special Monster Hunter-themed PSP is to release alongside the third game on December 1. It’s got a bespoke XMB and built-in speakers that look like the Isle Mark from the game.

Square Enix then took to the stage to show some games. The company showed a trailer for PSP sequel The 3rd Birthday, but refused to allow it to be seen on the conference’s live video stream. Good stuff.

The horror ships on December 22 in Japan.

An International Edition of Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep was then shown to the crowd, but not the stream; it’s called Birth by Sleep Final Mix and it’s out in January.

Dissidia 2 was shown, the trailer including FFXIII’s Lightning and FFIV’s Kain. Again, no one saw this unless they were in the audience. Square gave the game an official name of Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy.

Level 5 then took to the stage and showed a very Japanese-looking anime title for PSP, before moving on to Ni No Kuni on PS3, a Studio Ghibill collaborative RPG project with Level 5. The chances of you ever playing this if you’re not Japanese are pretty slim.

It’s a cartoon RPG with real-time battles. A small dog thing was seen battling a funny elephant. It’s out next year. Watch the demo on Kotaku.

Capcom’s Keiji Inafune came on to talk about two games. The Asura’s Wrath trailer we saw in the publisher’s conference yesterday was shown – but, again, blocked on the stream.

The second title was Ninja Theory’s DMC. Again, it was the same trailer we saw yesterday. Again, it was blocked for all those outside the audience.

Inafune said there was no “taboo” in working on DMC; Capcom and Ninja Theory will do whatever’s needed to make it work.

Konami came out next with Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. The game was described as a “rebirth” for the series. New footage showed acting, climbing, a love interest, snow scenes, a chap with horns and bosses. Tons of new characters were seen, as was a giant gollum boss at the end. Good stuff.

It’s out on December 16 in Japan. A Collector’s Edition was shown, but it looks as though this is a Japan-only thing.

Get all the screens here. Here’s the trailer:


Sega’s Toshihiro Nagoshi came out on stage with two dolly birds to talk about Yakuza: Of the End. A trailer was shown with a hostage woman tied to a chair and Tokyo chock full of zombies, as previously reported.

The cast of the last game was shown working together in undead-killing action, with one dude having a mini-gun built into his arm. Looked like co-op might be on the cards: the four characters, all tooled up, were shown standing side-by-side at the end of the video.

Then, finally, ICO and Shadow of the Colossus were shown on PS3. There was no date other than “coming soon” after a short trailer.

Get all the shots here. Here’s the trailer:



Once the footage ended, Ueda stepped up to the microphone. New Last Guardian footage was shown, with the cat dragon thing scratching around and the little dude climbing up his leg to reach higher platforms. In one part, cat dragon picked up the little dude in his mouth and lifted him up. In another, the little dude was throwing barrels into its mouth.

Get all the screens here. Here’s the trailer:



The game was confirmed for a “holiday 2011″ ship.

Namco followed Ueda, showing Gundam Musou 3 and Ace Combat Assault Horizon, the former to release in December. Ace Combat didn’t get a date.

From Software was next, showing something called Project Dark. The stream was completely blocked for this: we didn’t even see the guy speaking.

It’s aimed at Demon’s Souls fans, and, according to reports, was very much “dark fantasy”. It’s out next year in Japan and it’s a PS3 exclusive.

GT5 was next with yet another trailer, this one showing the Top Gear test track, Rome, rallying and more.

The date is November 3 for Japan.

Kazunori came out to talk. He showed the game’s My Home section, including details on how to access messages, logs, mail, photo album, gifts a friends list and more. You’ll be able to access the game’s My Home section from the internet.

Another video was shown, including night racing in the wet and dry. The night stuff looked incredible, to be honest.

He then showed X1 Prototype, a car that isn’t concerned with racing regulations. it was black. It was fast. It wasn’t on the screen for very long. It’s in the game, obviously.

And on it went. Koei Tecmo came out next, showing off a video compilation of the last ten years’ worth of Dynasty Warriors games before announcing Dynasty Warriors 6 as a PS3 exclusive. More info will be released next month.

Friday, September 3, 2010

Duke Nukem Forever coming 2011 on PlayStation 3

I can't believe it's finally happening! Duke Nukem Forever is being released in 2011! And the best part is that it's coming to PlayStation 3, it has always been a PC game, so I'm very happy! When the game was "canceled" last year I was very sad, and when the rumors started that it might still be released, but by another developer, I thought that this is the only chance for it to be released on PS3. 

I will buy Duke Nukem Forever on the release day, even if it will get bad reviews (I don't think it will), and play the single and multiplayer campaign and feel nostalgia. I think the multiplayer will be bad ass! This is awesome news! I'm really looking forward to this game. I have since 1997.

Below is an atricle from Joystiq.

Duke Nukem Forever coming '2011' on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 & PC, courtesy of Gearbox


It's finally, really, actually ... maybe going to happen at this point. The rumors are true: Gearbox Software and 2K Games have taken on the Herculean task of completing and releasing 3D Realms' unfinished Duke Nukem Forever. The project was officially unveiled today at PAX during a livestreamed  presentation at the 2K Games booth and announced for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. "It's coming out in 2011," Gearbox president Randy Pitchford said during the presentation. (Of course, we're skeptical about any release date associated with this particular title.)

Gearbox began finishing Duke Nukem Forever in late 2009, according to The Wall Street Journal. "Clearly the game hadn't been finished at 3D Realms but a lot of content had been created," Pitchford told WSJ.

"We're in the polishing phase now. This is a game where we can not make a promise we can not fulfill," Pitchford added. "We need to get past the shock and awe, and then we can go to all the retailers and first parties and work out a launch plan."

Duke Nukem Forever is a sequel to Duke Nukem 3D and will feature both a single-player campaign and multiplayer. "Aliens come and say they're going to be our friends, and Duke knows this isn't going to work out," Pitchford revealed of the plot. "Duke once again is in the pivotal spot and it's up to him to save the world."

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

MTV calls A Thousand Suns “Linkin Park’s ‘Kid A’”

Mike posted an article from MTV were they talk about Linkin Park's new album A Thousand Suns. They had great things to say about the album, and I agree to what they are saying because I know it's true.

Read the post below, it comes straight from Mike's blog.

“According to legend, in August of 2000, a group of clearly terrified Capitol Records executives were outfitted with headphones, loaded into a series of unmarked vans and driven down the Pacific Coast Highway, where they listened to Radiohead’s Kid A for the first time. It was an inspired — not to mention particularly apt — premiere for the album, and though the whole thing is rather apocryphal, it certainly made for nice copy at the time.

I only mention that because in August of 2010, a clearly relaxed Warner Bros. publicist sat me down in her office and allowed me one of the first listens to Linkin Park’s A Thousand Suns. There were no headphones or unmarked vans or winding, windswept vistas — budgetary cuts, one can only assume — just an iced coffee and a notepad, which was sort of a shame, because if ever there was an album that deserves the Radiohead treatment, it’s this one. Since, as you’ll probably discover in the coming weeks, A Thousand Suns is most definitely Linkin Park’s Kid A…completely different from the band’s previous efforts that it will almost certainly stand as the line of demarcation between everything that came before and everything that will come after…”

A big thank you to James Montgomery for the flattering (and ballsy) piece.  Read the whole article here.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Linkin Park's "The Catalyst" Video: Kiss The Past Goodbye

Linkin Park  are probably one of the 10 biggest rock acts on the planet. I mention this mostly because: A) It's true, and B) It makes everything they've done post-Hybrid Theory (their big breakout album) all the more admirable.

They have never been afraid to push the envelope and try new things. This is easy to do if you are a band that has nothing to lose, but in LP's case, it borders on insanity. Their albums are the kinds of things labels schedule their financial quarters around. They're tent poles (or life preservers) meant to keep things from sagging too low or sinking too deep. The danger of alienating their fanbase is very real, and the results could be catastrophic.

Still, with each successive album, Linkin Park push even further into the void, and, in the process, they leave their nü-metal roots in the dust. At this point, they're barely the same band they were back in 2000, and any similarities they still share with their Hybrid past will almost certainly be erased with their upcoming A Thousand Suns, an album they've gone to great lengths to christen as a bold new direction for the group, public opinion be damned.

We finally got to see the first fruits of that reinvention with the murky, mercurial video for "The Catalyst." Directed once again by band DJ Joseph Hahn, it's an ominous, elemental thing, full of smoke and unseen flames, charred earth and rising tides. It may very well be a chilling, post-apocalyptic preview of mankind's future, or it might just be a really cool, really art-y video, the kind that big, important rock bands tend to make (and at this point, LP are most certainly both of those things). It's really up to you to decide. Though, really, it works either way.

But mostly, "The Catalyst" serves as a preview of what fans can expect on A Thousand Suns, which is basically what bassist Dave "Phoenix" Farrell told MTV News earlier this month. "There are certainly dark, trying times ahead," the band seems to be saying. "Get ready."

And to that point, it's telling that Linkin Park are barely even in the video — or, more specifically, when they are, they're shrouded in smoke or submerged in water. You can infer from that what you'd like, but I see it as the band letting fans know that they practically died to make this album, that they went through hell and high water to bring it to fruition. It may be subliminal, but it's definitely there. And it's why I admire Linkin Park as much as I do.

So if you loved Linkin Park for their rapping or their angry outbursts or even their Gundam obsession, you're probably going to be a bit disappointed with "The Catalyst," not to mention A Thousand Suns. But that's really the point, isn't it? Great bands push themselves, great bands are unafraid to fail. And, dare I say it, with both their new video and their new album, Linkin Park may very well have become a great band.

What did you think of "The Catalyst" video? Share your reviews in the comments!

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Sony at GamesCom 2010


Sony unveiled a few unannounced games this year at GamesCom in Cologne, Germany, and showcased some of their upcoming titles like Killzone 3 and Motorstorm: Apocalypse in full stererscopic 3D.

Cramped into the eWerk theatre in the Mullheim district of Cologne, a massive crowd of games journalists eagerly waited to see what Sony would show off at this year's GamesCom. Here are some of the highlights of their press conference.

  • A LittleBigPlanet 2 trailer highlighted some of the ways players will be able to not only create their own levels in the upcoming sequel, but design their own fully-fledged games. This includes utilizing connectible stages, so player-designed games can go beyond the “Go from A to B” formula of the previous title.
  • The company announced new bundles for their PS3 system, including Move packages. You can read more about that here.
  • Each person attending the conference was given (err, rented) a pair of 3D glasses for one presentation, which highlighted many of the upcoming and currently supported 3D games Sony has to offer. By far the most impressive was Motorstorm: Apocalypse, due to the speed and visceral nature of the racing series. Especially awesome was the amount of destruction going on in each track; like Split/Second, the world is literally coming apart at the seams while players race through it--very cool.
  • Greg Goodrich of EA once again took the stage to show off more Medal of Honor, only this time he called upon the skills of Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park, who wrote a song for the game. The stage the pair showed off was called Gunfighters, and took place inside a helicopter equipped with enough firepower to take out a small middle eastern village, which is exactly what Shinoda did. Many enemies equipped with RPGs didn't make the mission a cakewalk, but they eventually made it through. It seems the devs have put a bit more polish on the game since the last time we saw it, as the framerate was much less choppy this time around.
  • In what was easily the shortest gameplay segment of the press conference, the crowd was shown an extremely brief Killzone 3 MP segment, though aside from watching players score points by getting kills, it was hard to take away much from the video, other than making us want to get our hands on the game even more.
  • Insomniac Games' Ted Price took the stage to reveal what one of the newer branches of the studio was been up to, which turned out to be Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One. The four-player co-op game relies on teamwork between players just as New Super Mario Bros. Wii did, though the teamwork aspect becomes more complex in the three-dimensional arena. A boss fight towards the end of the demo showed how teamwork is integral in All 4 One, as players needed to launch their buddies into the air to activate switches which would cause huge structures to collapse onto the towering boss creature.
  • Ted Price didn't leave the stage without one last bit of news: Resistance 3 is under development. He debuted a live-action trailer which showed survivors making their way towards New York on a train. The grim scenery on the way included countless massacred corpses and homes ransacked by the Chimera forces. Upon entering a tunnel, the survivors came under attack by a ferocious group of Chimera, and the trailer faded to black under a “Resistance 3” logo. Exciting stuff, but show us some gameplay!

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

24Xero's Blog 1 year anniversary

My blog turns one years old today, August 17, 2010! I can't believe it's been a year, since I started this blog. I think it has been a fun experience, even though I don't have many followers, I hope that some people have read my blog posts. However, I do this mostly for myself, it's like a journal or a diary, it's the same thing with Twitter. I also think that this helps me get better in English and to write as well. This blog is also a part of my interests, I like playing video games and when I've finished them, I'll write a review. I post news of what's happening with Linkin Park or whatever I feel like writing about.

Sometimes it's difficult to know what to write about, or I just don't feel like posting anything. When I don't post on my blog, I feel that it's easier to post things on Twitter. I do that more often than post stuff on my blog, and I just write what's on my mind at the time. However, sometimes I want to write more than 140 letters, like now. I've tired to write at least one post per month on "24Xero's Blog". I sometime "cheat" with the posts, I change the post date, but I don't remember which posts I've changed when I think back. For example, this post is written July 2nd, 2010.

Hopefully, I will stop pushing everything into the future, I've planned to upload my "What I've Done" remix to YouTube again, I've hopefully done it by now! A lot of covers and some remixes are on my computer as unfinished projects, all those things are one of many interests that I love to do and devote myself to. I have to get a grip of myself!

I've also tried to make money on the Internet, I've bought a course I believe in. I have to see where it leads, hopefully it will work. Filling out paid survey is one of the things I've tired, but the money you get from that is very little. Other things that have crossed my mind are gambling on roulette or even Poker, I have to learn to play first. However, you can lose more than you make most of the times, and you can get a gambling problem, I have enough problems as it is.

A year has passed since I started blogging, and I will keep writing and post here on my blog for another year, see you next year when I celebrate the 2 year anniversary of 24Xero's Blog.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

RAGE out September 15, 2011



id Software took the stage with RAGE at QuakeCon this afternoon in Texas, and we had planned to liveblog the presentation for you, but id requested the presentation not be live streamed.
The game’s out on September 13 and 15, 2011 in the US and Europe, respectively, per creative director Tim Willits.
I pulled some highlights from Kotaku’s liveblog. Get all the best stuff below.
  • id had three platforms and screens on stage for RAGE to represent and show the game on each of the three platforms – PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.
  • The game looks very Mad Max before Mel Gibson went insane.
  • The town of Wellspring was shown for the first time.
  • John Goodman is a voice actor in the game – he who did Roseanne, etc.
  • Matt Hooper, one of the game’s designers, showed some vehicles.
  • Four-wheelers and buggies were shown, as well as vehicle combat some with rocket launchers.
  • There will be mini-games. One is called Tombstones, which showed characters holograms on a board and whichever character gets to teh middle first is the winner. The characters have guns.
  • There are racing competitions where you can earn money to spruce up or improve your vehicle.
  • There are no large cutscenes in the game, as id feels it should come from within the game itself via the action, locations, scenery, and dialogue.
  • You can electrocute enemies; a water level was shown where this combat took place.
  • The game has three tactical options: you can use turrets, RC bomb cars, or go in like Rambo by peppering bullets everywhere if you prefer. Screens will turn red when you are wounded.
  • An area with a dam was shown, where you need to go get vehicle parts and your first buggy. It is inhabited by the Wasted Clan who are not too friendly, apparently, as one fella is in a vehicle firing a machine gun at you.
  • You can also fight in melee style – fist-a-cuffs if you will.
  • Creative director Tim Willits showed his favorite area, the Dead City, which is a modern day ruined metropolis. In it, enemies have rocket launchers and some are as big in size as anything Team Ico could dream up.
  • Some loading issues were noted on the consoles, and the Xbox 360 version even crashed – but all those issues will be fixed before release.