Game Stooge

Michael Atkinson Steps Down, Aussie Gamers Cheer

• Scribbled on March 22nd, 2010 by Jonah Falcon
• Filed in ESRB/Ratings, Industry News

Ben Croshaw and his fellow Australians are busy cheering as Michael Atkinson is stepping down from his post as South Australian Attorney General. For those of you living under a rock, the controversial pundit was the only block from the Aussie ratings board from implementing an R18+ rating to allow mature videogames to be sold Down Under.

You can check out a summary of Atkinson’s chokehold on videogaming in Australia here.

It’s not just Australian gamers who should be celebrating – some games like Fallout 3 were altered worldwide to enjoy an Australian release.

Now, gamers will have to turn their attention to Switzerland, which is moving to ban “violent video games” which will not only prevent games that are violent against humans but humanoids. So turning the baddies into zombies won’t help. No word if the Swiss will ban violent movies, TV shows or books.

(Thanks, Joystiq.)

Game Room Achievements Revealed

• Scribbled on March 22nd, 2010 by Jonah Falcon
• Filed in Achievements, Casual Gaming, Live for Windows, Microsoft Xbox 360, New Release(s), PC, Retro, Xbox Live Arcade

The Achievements for the upcoming Game Room for Xbox Live Arcade have been posted by MyGamerCard, and unlike most XBLA titles, Game Room has 56 Achievements for 1000 Gamerscore, which is more like a retail title than an XBLA title. In addition, the games are available on Xbox 360 and PC, with crossplatform leaderboards .

Of course, the catch is that each of the 30 games in the Game Room have their own individual costs. To buy a game for both 360 and PC costs 400 MSP. Just for one platform, 240 MSP. Or, you can just plunk down two quarters (40 MSP) to have a one-time play.

Click “Read more…” for the full Achievement list. Click here to see a list of the 30 Game Room titles.

(Thanks, Xboxic.)

Read more…

Crackdown 2: Rocket Tag Gameplay

• Scribbled on March 22nd, 2010 by Jonah Falcon
• Filed in Action, Game Videos, Microsoft Xbox 360

Check out one of Crackdown 2’s multiplayer modes, “Rocket Tag”.

You play tag. With Rockets. What more need be said?

NBA Jam Launch Trailer

• Scribbled on March 22nd, 2010 by Jonah Falcon
• Filed in Game Videos, New Release(s), Nintendo Wii, Sports, WiiWare

The classic NBA Jam is making its way to WiiWare – check out some of the retro b-ball goodness in its launch trailer.

Kane & Lynch 2 Dated August 24

• Scribbled on March 21st, 2010 by Jonah Falcon
• Filed in Microsoft Xbox 360, PC, Release Date(s), Shooter, Sony PlayStation 3

Xboxic is reporting that Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days has been given a release date: August 24. The original, relentlessly grim and downbeat third person shooter was at the center of the Gerstmann/GameSpot fiasco back in the Winter of 2007, where its 6.0 score might or might not have led to a reviewer’s firing.

Introducing a new visual experience inspired by documentary filmmakers and the user-generated era. Players are pulled into the game world, with every move and shift of the camera capturing the mayhem, in an unscripted style. Beyond the stylized look and violent story, Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days delivers all-new multiplayer modes as the highly celebrated Fragile Alliance returns, along with new Undercover Cop, Cops & Robbers and Arcade modes, with each mode raising the stakes of greed, betrayal, and revenge.

The game will be released for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.

POLL RESULTS: Which game are you excited for in March?

• Scribbled on March 21st, 2010 by Jonah Falcon
• Filed in Game Genres, Platforms, Polls

The results of are in the most wanted game for March 2010, and the winner is God of War III, followed closely by Final Fantasy XIII and Battlefield: Bad Company 2.

Let us know what game you’ve been playing lately.

member 

Left 4 Dead 2 “The Passing” To Kill Off a Survivor?

• Scribbled on March 21st, 2010 by Jonah Falcon
• Filed in Microsoft Xbox 360, PC, Rumor Mill, Shooter, Steam, Xbox Live Marketplace

Valve may be killing off a survivor” in the upcoming “The Passing” campaign for Left 4 Dead 2. The Passing is best known for the pairing of the four survivors from the original game with the survivors from the sequel.

The news sheds some light on the name of the DLC, The Passing, and comes with the chapters tagline, Nobody Survives Forever. While Chet doesn’t allude to which member of the team will not be making further appearances, he does state that the content coming to L4D2 will be followed by DLC for the original Left 4 Dead, that will fill in the blanks. There’s also reportedly a comic that will play out the story, further filling in the back-story to the events.

The smart money is on Bill dying. The crusty Vietnam vet looks like a heroic sacrifice waiting to happen.

PAX East ‘10: Puzzle Quest 2 Debut

• Scribbled on March 20th, 2010 by Jonah Falcon
• Filed in Microsoft Xbox 360, Nintendo DS, PAX, Press Release, Puzzle, RPG, Xbox Live Arcade

D3 has announced they will be showing off the sequel to one of the most popular puzzle/RPGs in the last few years, Puzzle Quest 2, at PAX East.

Fans of the game will be able to engage in some offline games with the developer Infinite Interactive.

Fans that come to Booth #605 during the show will have the opportunity to participate in a match-3 scavenger hunt with other show attendees to earn special prizes (while supplies last).

Are you excited for Puzzle Quest 2? GameStooge will have a full hands-on preview of the game.

Check out the Facebook page, and click “Read more…” for the full presser.

Read more…

Bad Company 2 Sells 2.3M In 2 Weeks

• Scribbled on March 20th, 2010 by Jonah Falcon
• Filed in Microsoft Xbox 360, NPD, PC, Press Release, Shooter, Sony PlayStation 3

Electronic Arts has issued a press release announcing that they had sold 2.3M copies of Battlefield: Bad Company 2 across all platforms in two weeks.

Along with the standard bragging, EA released some interesting numbers about the game’s usage:

• 81B points have been earned in online multiplayer sessions
• 43M weapons and gadgets have been unlocked in online multiplayer
• Over 6M video views on YouTube
• 2.9M hours have been spent playing online in the last 24 hours alone
• 230K peak-concurrent-users (PCUs)
• Over 44k Twitter fans (most out of any EA title)

EA did not release the breakdowns per platform, so one will have to wait for the NPDs in a month to learn what they were. Bad Company 2 was released for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.

Click “Read more…” for the full press release.

Read more…

APB Calling For Beta Testers

• Scribbled on March 19th, 2010 by Jonah Falcon
• Filed in Action, MMO, PC, Press Release

RealTime Worlds has sent out a press release inviting gamers to beta test their upcoming cops-and-robbers open world MMO A.P.B., which is basically an MMO version of Grand Theft Auto.

Incorporating frantic third-person action into a persistent online multiplayer world, APB will offer a whole new perspective on MMO gaming: this is ‘Mass Mayhem Online’. Those fortunate enough to gain access to the closed beta will be able to experience the near limitless customisation and brutal urban combat APB has to offer.

Prospective gangbangers can apply here.

Click “Read more…” for part 2 of the video and the full presser.

Read more…

Epic World of Warcraft Hotkey Fail

• Scribbled on March 19th, 2010 by Jonah Falcon
• Filed in Humor, MMO, Mac, PC, WTF

Someone complaining that doing a hotey to alt-F4 seems to crash World of Warcraft resulted in an epic face palm from a mod. Now, while Kwakmeister may just be making a joke, it’s still hilarious.

Microsoft to Support USB Mass Storage?

• Scribbled on March 19th, 2010 by Jordan Lund
• Filed in Editorial Content, Firmware, Hardware Peripherals, Microsoft Xbox 360, Rumor Mill, WTF

Joystiq has uncovered evidence that Microsoft’s Spring Xbox 360 update will enable the use of USB mass storage, for downloaded demos, game saves, Xbox Live Arcade games and copying game discs to the external device.

Now hold on a minute there, before you get all excited and go off going “WHO NEEDS the 250 GB hard drive?” there’s a big catch you need to know about:

It doesn’t matter how big the USB drive is that you connect, the system will only see the first 16 GB of it.

What this appears to be is an attempt to get rid of memory cards, not proprietary hard drives. Although, granted, 16 GB is still better than what you’re left with after the system partition chews up 7 GB worth of the stock 20 GB hard drive, it’s still an insult to artificially limit what a user can access.

In the end this is an incredibly stupid move from Microsoft. Yes, yes, I realize that it would kill the sales of their ridiculously priced hard drive attachments, but really, that’s the whole point isn’t it? “We’re sorry, we realized our hard drive prices are out of line with reality, here, use whatever you want…” In an era when 1 TB USB drives are less than $100 there’s no excuse to artificially limit them to 16 GB… except for profit and anti-piracy.

NBA 2K10 PC Patch 1.1 Now Available

• Scribbled on March 19th, 2010 by Jonah Falcon
• Filed in PC, Patches, Sports

Bluesnews is reporting that a patch for the PC version of NBA 2K10 is now available. The patch was announced a month ago to fix online issues.

The 2K Sports Website now offers a patch to update the PC edition of NBA 2K10 to version 1.1. There are no patch notes or details available for the new version, but this is apparently for the US edition of the basketball simulation, and a patch for the European edition is to follow. The download is mirrored on AtomicGamer, The Patches Scrolls, and WorthPlaying.

No word on a patch for the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 versions; has anyone had a new update on the console version? Let us know.

Halo Reach Features Upgraded Matchmaking

• Scribbled on March 19th, 2010 by Jonah Falcon
• Filed in Microsoft Xbox 360, Shooter

Shacknews has a huge laundry list of improvements to Halo: Reach’s user inferface and matchmaking, some of which harken to Halo 2, while others are new, needed refinements.

Among the updates include Active Rosters, which allow gamers to see in-game the friends currently playing Halo: Reach, obviating the need to use the Xbox button to check their friends list, and Queue Joining will allow players to automatically join friends’ games once a slot opens up.

The matchmaking is also smarter. Players can first rank their preferences and gameplay type in the areas of Teamwork (Team Player vs. Lone Wolf), Motivation (Winning vs. Having Fun), Chattiness (Chatty vs. Quiet), and Tone (Polite vs. Rowdy). From there, the game will use that info and the group you’re with to find matches best for you. Players who enjoyed their pickup games with some strangers can maintain the roster for subsequent games.

The Halo hardcore will have Arena matches as well, intended for the serious gamer who knows how to play, which is aided by a new Rating System that will factor in both kill assists and the kill/death ratio; players that kill the most but also die the most won’t be as highly rated. The Arena will be treated as a sports league complete with “seasons” and divisions, labeled Onyx, Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Steel.

Let us know how hot you are for May 3, 2010 now, the date that the Halo: Reach multiplayer beta begins.

GTA IV Episodes Delayed Til April 13

• Scribbled on March 19th, 2010 by Jonah Falcon
• Filed in Action, Live for Windows, PC, PlayStation Network, Release Date(s), Sony PlayStation 3

Those of you waiting to purchase Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City for the PC and PlayStation 3 will have to wait, as the release, which had been scheduled for March 10, has been delayed to April 13 in North America and April 16 everywhere else.

Rockstar’s official statement said the delay was “due to a last-minute game submission request from Sony Computer Entertainment Europe to edit some of the in-game Liberty City radio station, television and internet content.”

“Unfortunately, with each round of changes comes fully re-testing the game and a full re-submission to PlayStation. This is the nature of the game submission process. Believe us, if we could expedite the turnaround any sooner – we would. We are dying to get this game in the hands of fans who’ve waited for it for so long in the first place,” the developer explained, via its website.

Subsequently, Rockstar Social Club multiplayer sessions on PSN and Games for Windows Live and other events will also be held back until April 16 and 17.