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PC | Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening Review

gamer — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 01:58:32 +0000

This expansion pack isn't as extraordinary as the original Dragon Age, but it's still immensely entertaining.

Score: 8.0 / great

Get the full article at GameSpot

"PC | Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening Review" was posted by Kevin VanOrd on Tue, 16 Mar 2010 18:58:32 -0700

PC | Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II – Chaos Rising Review

gamer — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 01:45:23 +0000

This excellent stand-alone expansion brings some much-needed Chaos to Dawn of War II.

Score: 8.5 / great

Get the full article at GameSpot

"PC | Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II - Chaos Rising Review" was posted by Daniel Shannon on Tue, 16 Mar 2010 18:45:23 -0700

Xbox 360 | Scrap Metal Review

gamer — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 01:32:55 +0000

This top-down racer offers both thrills and frills, but it gets some of the basics wrong.

Score: 6.5 / fair

Get the full article at GameSpot

"Xbox 360 | Scrap Metal Review" was posted by Justin Calvert on Tue, 16 Mar 2010 18:32:55 -0700

Wii | Calling Review

gamer — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 01:03:47 +0000

Ripping off every Japanese horror trick in the book doesn't make this poor attempt at survival horror any scarier.

Score: 3.5 / bad

Get the full article at GameSpot

"Wii | Calling Review" was posted by Nathan Meunier on Tue, 16 Mar 2010 18:03:47 -0700

Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep Awakens On PSP This Summer

gamer — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 22:30:00 +0000

Square Enix has announced that PlayStation Portable owners will have a chance to experience the epic prequel to Square Enix’s popular Kingdom Hearts series when Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep releases this summer. The RPG will feature an improved battle system, four multiplayer modes and new worlds, including the Dwarf Woodlands from Snow White and Deep Space from Lilo & Stitch. The story will be split among the three main characters (Terra, Ventus and Aqua), and will require players to play through multiple times to get the full picture. I remember being intrigued by the original Kingdom Hearts, but I never got around to playing it, or any of the subsequent sequels, so I’m not really up on how the franchise is doing at this point. So if you’re a dedicated Kingdom Hearts player, please fill me in, because I likes the learnin’. Should the need arise, feel free to E-Mail me your suggestions, tips, and/or personal philosophies, or follow me on Twitter.

GameFly’s Top Ten Video Game Rentals Of The Week

gamer — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 22:19:00 +0000

Video game rental firm Gamefly.com's list of the most-wanted games of the week gives us a view into the hidden desires of gamers all over the country. Here are the most requested games for the week ending 3/15/10 Most Popular Games Cross-Platform: Rank Title Platform(s) Category Publisher God of War III PS3 Action Adventure Sony Computer Entertainment Battlefield: Bad Company 2 PS3, Xbox 360 Shooter Electronic Arts Final Fantasy XIII PS3, Xbox 360 RPG Square Enix Just Cause 2 PS3, Xbox 360 Action Adventure Eidos Metro 2033 Xbox 360 Shooter THQ Heavy Rain PS3 Action Adventure Sony Computer Entertainment Dante's Inferno PS3, Xbox 360, PSP Games Action Adventure Electronic Arts Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Conviction Xbox 360 Shooter Ubisoft BioShock 2 PS3, Xbox 360 Shooter Take Two Aliens vs. Predator PS3, Xbox 360 Shooter Sega Click the "Read More" tag to check out console-by-console lists. Read More?

Launch Primer: God of War III

gamer — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 22:04:00 +0000

Ever find yourself in a situation where all of your friends are talking about the latest and greatest game, and you can't contribute to the conversation because you haven't been paying attention? Solve that problem with our Launch Primers: everything you need to know (except the spoilers) about a game that's about to be released. God of War III PlayStation 3 MSRP: $59.99 ESRB Rating: Mature All God of War III Content Videos | Previews | Screenshot Galleries | News Stories What kind of game is it? God of War III is the final chapter (but not necessarily final game) of a mythological revenge story featuring Kratos, the son of Zeus, battling against his father and the gods of Mt. Olympus. It is also a 3D action game where things die. A lot. Who's the developer? Sony's Santa Monica studio is where God of War was born. The first two games were directed by David Jaffe and Cory Barlog, respectively, who have both since moved on to new opportunities -- though they've both had some sort of input or consultation on the story's finale. The third game is directed by Stig Asmussen. Read More?

Brutal Legend Designer Tim Schafer Pitches A Comedy Genre For Games

gamer — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 22:02:00 +0000

All of the games Tim Schafer has worked on can be categorized as games in an established genre, laced with comedic elements. Brutal Legend is an action-adventure with a hilarious storyline and characters. Psychonauts is a platformer that makes you (if you're sane, anyway) laugh out loud. Could a comedy genre exist in video games, a genre whose sole intent was to make you laugh? Schafer pitched this idea during a panel discussing humor in video games at GDC last week. "I think it's useful to have genres," he said. "Sometimes you feel like watching a comedy movie -- you know in some ways it's going to be funny. Sometimes I cynically think that the games business is like any other business and it's very imitative and if there was just a huge, blockbuster game that was known as a comedy, then there'd all of a sudden there's be tons and tons of them." The problem, he pointed out, was that because there's no benchmark for the industry to look towards, no publisher can justify spending a massive budget on a genre that hasn't been established. "No one sits down at a meeting," he said, with the sarcasm we've come to expect from Schafer, "saying 'how can we mitigate risk on this new title we're spending millions of dollars on?' and [then says] 'a new comedy game, because those are always huge!'" No one else on the panel agreed with Schafer's hopes for a comedy genre. Both Overlord writer Rhianna Pratchett and Telltale Games writer Sean Vanaman viewed comedy as a writer's tool. "I don't think comedy games is a genre or should be a genre," said Pratchett. "I think comedy is just a very broad tool in writing." Schafer countered by arguing games are missing out on an audience who might like to pick up a game just to laugh, rather than the current structure, which is a game with the added color of humor. Have something to share? Sitting on a news tip? E-mail me. You can also follow me on Twitter.

Cheat! Modern Warfare 2 Breach and Clear On Veteran

gamer — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 21:45:00 +0000

Assuming you ain’t too proud to run away from danger in the name of success, then you’ll definitely want to check out X-Play’s latest Cheat! segment. In this installment, Kristin Adams explains how to clear the Spec Ops challenge Breach and Clear on Veteran in Modern Warfare 2 without suffering too many head wounds. Apparently, there are two very important rules if you find yourself in a prison shower: don’t drop the soap and don’t stop running until you fall through the giant hole in the floor at the end of the level. Good to know. Watch Larger Version | Watch HD Version

Answers We Want From The Next Episode Of Lost: “Recon”

gamer — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 21:27:00 +0000

Is it possible for the writers of Lost to top last week's episode, "Dr. Linus"? I'm happy to watch them try, as we prepare for yet another episode of our favorite sci-fi mind-bender, Lost. I managed to remain completely unspoiled for last week's monumental episode for several days, as I was traversing through San Francisco and covering the Game Developers Conference. When I finally sat down and watch "Dr. Linus" with Andrew Pfister, I could only muster this: WIDMORE!!!!!!!!!!!! Ahem. But let's focus our attention on last week before predictions for tonight's Lost episode, "Recon." Read More?