July 9, 2011
Mass Effect 3 to be an Origin Exclusive
We now know that Mass Effect 3 will be an origin exclusive on the PC along with The Old Republicand will not be available on any of the other DD platforms such as Steam, Direct2Drive and Impulse. This will most likely be one in several upcoming exclusives to the Origin platform. Other title that are expected to be Origin exclusives are Battlefield 3, Crysis 3 and any future AAA title releases that will come from EA. Mass Effect 3 will of course be available on PS3 and Xbox 360 for those of you who do not wish to play on the PC. What do you PC guys think about Mass Effect 3 being Origin exclusive? Will this be bad for business? Good or bad?
July 7, 2011
Thought of the Week: Despite reception we hold on.….
Time for this week’s thought that has been bouncing around my head for two weeks since the Mirror’s Edge and lack of creativity topic; are there games that were either met with mixed reviews or panned by critics that you still hold dear or diligently hope for a sequel? Advent Rising is mine. I love this game and will defend it till the day I die (not to be overly dramatic). It had a story that sucked you in, a unique visual style and one of my favorite soundtracks of all time; but it was plagued by bugs and a shoddy frame rate, and the “flick” system didn’t work as advertised but what game is perfect? This is another game that sits in the categories of “best game no one played” and “creative game that gets buried amongst the tideRead more…
June 28, 2011
Crysis 2 DX11 Patch Released and Comparison
Today Crytec released it’s long awaited DX11 patch for Crysis II. The DX11 content, high res textures, and updated visuals have been a source of much debate within the PC and even console communities. PC gamers argue that the content should of been released with the game instead of waiting several months after it’s release to be put out. Many PC gamers claim that the DX11 patch is to little to late and that by “alienating” their core audience, the PC community, that they have lost the following that they might of otherwise had. Regardless of where you stand on the matter the DX11 patch is available for you to download here and it is a free download to those who have purchased the game. There are several different content packs that you can download depending on what you want. EachRead more…
June 27, 2011
Sound The Alarm
Hey guys I have a friend who also has a nerd site. His name is Adam and he does up the geekness over at http://stashow.net/. Sound The Alarm brings you news in gaming and other fun things as well. They also do weekly podcasts chatting about anything going on in gaming, sports, or random stuff around the house. They just hit the 25th episode mark so gratz to them. So give them a checking out and tell them AceOfNades sent ya. Oh and be nice.
June 27, 2011
Supreme Court Rules In Favor of Video Game Industry
In a milestone event today, the Supreme Court ruled today against the Violent Video Game law presented by California law makers. “Like protected books, plays, and movies, communicate ideas through familiar literary devices and features distinctive to the medium. And ‘the basic principles of freedom of speech … do not vary’ with a new and different communication medium,” said the court. “This country has no tradition of specially restricting children’s access to depictions of violence. And California’s claim that ‘interactive’ video games present special problems, in that the player participates in the violent action on screen and determines its out- come, is unpersuasive.” This is landmark event in that it sets a precedent for any future entertainment industry laws. This ruling protects video games under first amendment rights thus extending them the protecting that the Literature, Music and Video industryRead more…
June 26, 2011
Subscriptions VS Microtransactions
With advancements in gaming come new ways for the industry to get our money. However with EA giving way to the “online pass” codes trend we see gaming heading in a new direction. Now we see free to play, pay to play, and all thats in between popping up all over. Subscriptions — Ahh the familiar feelings. Pay for a month? Three months? A year? Two years? Hopefully this game lasts that long. Subscription based games rode the MMO wagon to become a standard for a lot of games and gaming services. I am sure the first guy to see a pay to play game said, “Ha! That will never work.” Now that same guy does his best to scrape together enough money to get another month of WoW access like a crackhead getting his fix. Success in theRead more…
June 16, 2011
Crysis 2 Gone From Steam
Steam recently removed Crysis 2 from it’s online store. This is rather suprising considering that Crysis 2 is one of it’s top selling titles. The game was apparently removed a few days ago when some steam users who frequent the site realized that it was no longer available for sale. EA released a statement saying ” It’s unfortunate that Steam has removed Crysis II from their service. This was not an EA decision or the result of any action by EA. Steam has imposed a set of business terms for developers hoping to sell content on that service — many of which are not imposed by other online game services. Unfortunately, Crytek has an agreement with another download service which violates the new rules from Steam and resulted in its expulsion of Crysis II from Steam. Crysis II continues toRead more…
June 6, 2011
E3 2011 — Sony
Well Day one of E3 is in the books and it ended with Sony. Now Sony had a ton of pressure to be great this year due to the PSN hack. Well lets just say I think they hit a homerun. They had to step it up and they did just that. After the apologies and thanks for support here’s what they gave us: Uncharted 3 — Beta June 28 — Full game Nov 1 — We got a look at Uncharted 3 which looked amazing. The gameplay had Drake sneaking around a cruise ship during a terrible storm. As you navigate the ship you and object around you continuously sway with the choppy seas out side. Eventually the ship gets a hole and starts flooding and then all of the sudden the ship rolls onto its side adding a whole newRead more…
June 6, 2011
E3 2011 – Microsoft- All things Halo
What would E3 be wit out the franchise that created the Xbox? We know Bungie departed the series with Reach and the reins would be handed over to 343 Industries, which is ran by former Bungie member Frank O’Connor. During Microsoft’s press briefing not one, but two Halo games were announced; making the screaming fan boy inside me cry tears of joy. Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary is just what we expected and has been waiting for. The game is the original Xbox hit with a shiny new coat of paint with online co-op and multiplayer. I was able to catch the interview Spike/Gametrailers had with Frank O’Connor. From what I gathered the game is essentially the Xbox game down to its core. There has been no tweaking of level design, or how the game plays; it was just a graphicalRead more…
June 6, 2011
E3 2011 – Microsoft- Tomb Raider
Crystal Dynamics came out on to Microsoft’s stage to present their new reimagining of Tomb Raider. This is vastly different than we have seen her last in TR: Underworld. Lara is 21 and just beginning her adventures, the tone is much darker and gritty to the point during the demo Lara pulled out a piece out metal out of a wound like a pro; albeit much whining and moaning. The game play they showed looked like a mix of classic Tomb Raider and Uncharted. There were scripted playable sequences that looked very reminiscent of Uncharted 2. Not to say that Lara’s new makeover is a bad thing and all they did was copy and pasted from Naughty Dogs opus, there were some original ideas amongst the demo. Using Lara’s “survivor skills” you can locate things in the environments to useRead more…
