Mortal Kombat: Kenshi DLC trailer

Bored with the roster on Mortal Kombat and in need of a new kombatant to destroy your enemies with? Then you’re wait is nearly over, as Kenshi makes his way into the game on July 5th. Enjoy the trailer.

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FIFA 12 New Commentary Team

Respected broadcaster and former England and Leicester City forward Alan Smith was unveiled today as part of the main English commentary team, replacing Andy Gray for EA Sports FIFA 12. Alan Smith joins long-time commentator Martin Tyler as the primary commentators for this year’s title. New to this year’s version is the addition of a second English commentary team featuring Andy Townsend and Clive Tyldesley. The latter will commentate in cup competitions, though players will have a choice of selecting which commentating team they want to hear in games.

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L.A. Noire review

It’s post World War 2 in the late 1940′s and Los Angelos, the City of Angels, is experiencing the golden era of Hollywood. Glamour, fame and wealth are all to be found in Hollywood, with many moving there to follow their dreams and make it big. But underneath the surface, everything isn’t as dandy as one might think. Crime, corruption and vice are running rampant and rife. This where you come in, a returning war hero, Cole Phelps, now working for the L.A.P.D as a uniformed police officer. Humble beginnings for young Phelps, but you’ll be going places.

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Star Wars Galaxies to close down

This was basically inevitable, but it’s still sad to see. Station.com, Sony Online Entertainment’s MMO platform, just posted a message that, as of June, they would begin turning off support for Star Wars Galaxies. Service runs through December 15th, but they’ll be turning off the game’s purchase availability in September and offering it for free for the three months remaining until 2012 rolls around.

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GTA V development underway?

GameStop is claiming that sources close to Rockstar Games have confirmed to them that development on Grand Theft Auto V –which has yet to be officially announced– is “well under way” to the extent that the development team are now in the process of adding finishing touches with the likes of mini-games being added right now.

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Gaming Laughs: Minecraft Edition

I wasn’t going to share this Minecraft image because it isn’t my work but given that the Duke Nukem Forever Edition was CSI: Miami themed it reminded me of it and I figured I really ought to share it with you guys. I’m currently enraptured with the game myself, (I blame @imovingtarget who has great game-play videos, for this addiction, possibly @notch for making the game also) and plan to make both a comic strip for the game (You know, with my usually crappy drawing, maybe?) as well as review it. But I’ll definitely be holding off on the beta review until version 1.7 comes out.

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Last Stand Wargear Lord General

The last of the six heroes available to play in Last Stand, the Lord General wasn’t included until Dawn of War 2: Retribution. Overall I’d classify him more towards the support hero role and in some senses, along the same vein as the Hive Tyrant. The Lord General’s prowess will largely come from his minions and can be a little underpowered until you unlock the guardsmen (first set of minions) at level 5. He has access to a variety of weaponry, allowing you to better determine his damage dealing capacity. He can opt in for melee, grab a flamer for AoE damage or a sniper rifle that deals high damage to a single target (as well as other weapons)

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Last Stand Wargear Chaos Sorcerer

The Sorcerer is a spellcaster type with a weak normal attack. They are extremely fragile and as such can be a frustrating choice to play until they unlock their teleporting wargear (Warp). In terms of build, they can generally be either a support hero or damage dealing. They have the ability to create orbs that provide benefits to allies, or a friendly doppelgänger of enemies. Their attack spells aren’t something to shirk at either – most of which can cause AoE damage. In terms of weaponry, the sorcerer will either be using a sword (and pistol) or a staff. The staff is ranged so you’ll have to decide how you want to play him, but each provide unique abilities.

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Last Stand Wargear Farseer

The Farseer is a support hero and in my experience seems to be at her most effective when she is using her abilities to buff her allies and debuff enemies. Combat wise, they are agile melee fighters and they possess a few two-handed melee weapons later on in the levels to emphasis this. Her most powerful abilities are probably Confuse and Veil of Tears (mass confuse), which can make enemies slow down or even kill each other. Other essential abilities include Conceal (cloak friendly units) and Group Teleport. A good farseer player is usually the last to fall, as they can kite around the battlefield and are very mobile.

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Last Stand Wargear Hive Tyrant

The Hive Tyrant seems to be one of the less popular choices in Last Stand. Like the Space Marine, they also slip nicely into the tank role though I would perhaps be hesitant to label them as such in a cut and dry manner. Their weaponry is all two handed, meaning you will be either melee or ranged (Space Marines and others do get a melee/ranged combo though they ((Or me)) rarely use the pistol of that combo). You’ll want them in the thick of combat if they are melee, imposing their bulk on the battlefield. The Hive Tyrant also has the ability to summon minions to help out and this is where their focus lies. A lot of their wargear grants traits to their minions so if you’re not bringing any you’ll probably find yourself not performing at optimal levels. The big negative for the massive Hive Tyrant is it’s speed. Most of the carapace armour lowers it’s already slow speed by 14%, meaning they aren’t very mobile. Apart from charge they lack any wargear that gets them around the battlefield and to safety (Such as jump packs or teleporting). I think for that reason, this is why they aren’t too popular, it’s a hard choice to play because of it.

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Last stand Wargear Space Marine

Ahh, the humble Space Marine, unyielding servant to the God Emperor of Mankind. This is the hero that I have the most familiarity with – to sum up the Space Marine in a word? The tank. The Space Marine has a good selection of wargear to emphasise that role, with various regen or health bonuses. They can also equip wargear that lets them taunt the enemy, forcing them to attack the Space Marine, or another which causes lesser enemies to flee when used. In the higher up levels, you’ll get an amazing dreadnought to equip, and in terms of combat, you can go either ranged or melee. Another useful item the Space Marine can get is the Jump Pack, which gives them more mobility to get around the arena. Most of the Space Marine’s weaponry is aimed at single target stuff and non-counting abilities (Plasma gun giving hellfire grenade), the only weapon they have that’ll give you decent AoE ability is the Plasma cannon – not something I would recommend taking unless you are playing with an Eldar who has group teleport equipped.

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Last Stand Wargear Mekboy

The Mekboy is an interesting hero, largely due to some of the wargear he can acquire as you level him up. They are pretty fragile so you’ll want them to be out of the thick of the fighting for the most part. Right from level 1, you’ll get wargear aimed at ranged combat as well as a basic teleporting ability to keep your Mekboy out of harm’s way. They possess a couple varieties of mines that can be placed, good for when you’re camping on section of the map to keep those melee enemies away. They have good AoE potential too, unlocking the Roks wargear that allows them to call down an orbital bombardment at a specified location (With giant rocks).

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Xbox 360's Minecraft port developer announced

One of the biggest pieces of news out of E3, at least as far as the Microsoft Press conference was concerned, was that hit indie game Minecraft would be coming to the Xbox 360 and would have Kinect controls. Original Minecraft developer Markus “Notch” Persson has revealed the studio who will be handling the conversation and that it might be an XBLA title. Scotland’s 4J Studios (who handled the PS3 port of Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion) will be working on the Minecraft port that will be coming out before the end of the year.

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Gaming Laughs: Duke Nukem Forever edition

It’s been a while since I’ve done a new edition of Gaming Lols, so I present the Duke Nukem Forever edition. For those that have been living under a rock, the game is receiving a lot of negative press about how bad it is (I can’t promise this is any better). So combine that with my love of David Caruso’s talent for one liners in CSI: Miami and you get…

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Call of Duty Black Ops Annihilation New Map Pack

Ready for a new DLC map pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops? Too bad if you’re not, as Treyarch have announced the third map pack, Call of Duty: Black Op Annihilation. Like the previous two map packs, Annihilation will add four new multiplayer maps and a new zombie level. It’ll launch world wide for Xbox Live on the 28th of June.

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Hacker attacks continue as Minecraft, Eve Online and The Escapist are targeted

In an ever increasing amount of hacker attacks against video game companies and websites, both the Escapist Magazine’s website and the Eve Online servers have gone down recently.

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call of duty elite: 2 million beta signups

Despite all the negative comments out there on the internet about Activision’s Call of Duty elite service that was announced several weeks ago, the number of people who have signed up for the beta suggests that there are a large amount of people either interested or just plain curious about what the service will offer.

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Minecraft surpassed 2.5 million sales

The indie phenomenon Minecraft has surpassed 2.5 million sales, according to a tweet by the game’s creator.

“2.5 million sales! That’s as much as Diablo 1 and FarCry, according to Wikipedia,” writes Markus Persson.

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Hackers continue attacks on Game Industry

Unless you’ve been living under a rock the last few months, you’ll be well aware of how hackers intruded Sony’s network and brought down PSN, Sony Online Entertainment and other services, making away with credit card details and generally being a nuisance for Sony. It seems as if it’s started a trend of attacks against the game industry, with rumours of Nintendo having been hacked prior to E3 2011. The latest comes as the Epic Games website was revealed to have been hacked. Members of the site were informed via email.

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Bastion Trailer and news

Bastion is an action role playing game developed by SuperGiant Games and it is the independent studio’s first game. The game’s visual style is inspired by anime and is pleasantly easy on the eye. The narrative takes the style of a dynamic voice-over and the main character will remain silent. Bastion is the last hope for a world destroyed by “The Calamity”, can you save them? Bastion will release this year as part of the summer of arcade on Xbox Live.

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Skyward Sword trailer and news E3 2011

Ever since rumours of the new Nintendo console surfaced, many Zelda fans feared that the Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword would be delayed for release on the new console instead of the Wii. Eiji Aonuma who has overseen the Zelda franchise since Ocarine of Time, has confirmed that Skyward Sword will not be delayed for the Wii U because it has been designed specifically around the motion plus experience.

Check out the trailer

Nintendo Wii U details and opinion

The new Nintendo console, officially named the Wii U is certainly dividing the gaming community in terms of opinions on the console myself included. Nintendo fans are naturally, quick to term the console awesome while some fan boys of other consoles are quick to judge themselves. The rest of us are somewhere in between. I’m personally sceptical but curious about the new console never the less.

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Pani's favourites from E3 2011

Pani's favourites from E3 2011

Star Wars: The Old Republic Eternity Vault

Star Wars: The Old Republic Eternity Vault

Star Wars: The Old Republic Intro Cinematic

This will be the intro cinematic for Star Wars: The Old Republic and boy oh boy does it look gorgeous. It depicts the Sith Empire’s first act, the reclaiming of their home-world Korriban in a surprise attack. It also displays several of the class types; Jedi, Sith, smugglers and troopers all visible. If the Star Wars movies themselves were ever to get a remake, George Lucas should take a good look at the guys behind this intro and many of Star Wars: The Old Republic’s cut scenes revealed thus far as they are undoubtedly masters of this and could do Star Wars the justice it deserves!

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Space Marine Gameplay - Bullet time E3 2011

Warhammer 40k: Space Marine was on display like so many other games as expected at E3 2011 and although we’ve seen a fair bit of chainsword Ork slaughtering, this was our first taste of some varied gameplay showing off one feature in particular, bullet time. We also catch a glimpse of the chainsword, bolter and plasma gun in action – staples of any respected Space Marine’s arsenal of Ork slaughtering weapons. The hordes of Orks the Ultramarine has to face at the start look rather bland and same same (getting really technical there) but there’s plenty of blood being spilt to forgive it. At least in this instance.

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Battlefield 3 Multiplayer trailer

The trailer is only short so it’s hard to discern just how Battlefield 3′s multiplayer will stack up to the competition but what is showed is mouthwatering. In the on going war between EA and Activision for the First Person Shooter crown, EA fired a broadside strike by announcing the Dice title would include free multiplayer stat tracking and similar services to Call of Duty Elite.

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Assassin's Creed Revelations E3 Demo

Assassin’s Creed Revelations is part of a trilogy within a trilogy. With the original, Assassin’s Creed 2 and presumably an Assassin’s Creed 3 in the future making up the overall trilogy arch, while 2, Brotherhood and Revelations will round out the trilogy within a trilogy. A mission in the middle part of Assassin’s Creed Revelations was demo’d during E3 and it shows off a new bomb type as well as the hook blade. We also get a decent look at the city that spans two continents (Constantinople, Asia and Europe for those playing at home) and what it will have to offer. Ezio now in fifties (by the looks of it) still fights and navigates the terrain with a spring in his step, while looking good at the same time.

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Trials Evolution to hit XBLA

One of the big ones for Xbox Live and in particular arcade titles, was the announcement of Trials Evolution, a sequel to Trials HD which has sold over two million copies to date.

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Forza Motorsport 4 E3 2011 Trailer

Forza Motorsport series is Microsoft’s answer to the Playstation exclusive Gran Turismo series and it has been getting better and better with each iteration. Forza Motorsport 4 will have kinect features such as voice and headtracking as well as the quintessential graphics and handling improvements. All new community enhancements are perhaps the biggest talking point with car clubs, rivals and 16 player races. It will also feature 80+ manufacturers, monthly expansions and the new career mode is called World Tour and will take players all across the globe in a variety of tracks, conditions and cars. Forza Motorsport 4 is slotted for an October 11th release this year.

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Halo Combat Evolved Anniversary

It’s been 10 years since the very first Halo title was released. Yes, that’s right, it’s the ten year anniversary of Halo Combat Evolved. Halo fans are in for a treat in what will be 343 Industries first game release, as the Halo Combat Evolved anniversary edition will be a completely remastered experience. From the campaign, to the graphics, co-op over Xbox Live and 7 of the best multiplayer maps, Halo Combat Evolved Anniversary promises a lot and will be out this November the 15th.

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Sony PS Vita showcased; pricing announced

Sony’s new handheld, which was codenamed NGP or PSP 2 (take your pick) was officially announced during Sony’s press conference at E3 2011. Named the PS Vita, Sony appear to have learned a lesson with it’s pricing with two different models available at the following prices; $249/$299 (US), 249/299 euros in Europe and for Japan, 24480/29480 Yen. The cheaper PS Vita model will include Wifi ability, while the more expensive one will have 3G functionality.

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FIFA 12 Trailer

FIFA 12 Trailer

Microsoft E3 keynote rundown

Microsoft’s E3 press conference started with a bang and finished on a high note but what about in between? Kinect was definitely the theme of the day and not entirely unexpected as we’re only one year removed from it’s release. The good news is, if you own a Kinect than you have very exciting times ahead of you. If not, you might be a little disappointed by the Xbox offering.

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kinect star wars gameplay demo

Kinect Star Wars was a title I had seen a lot of people hoping for good things from, as the potential for awesomeness was definitely there. I got chills down my spine (as I usually do) when I heard the ever-present Star Wars theme play and I was hoping for something exciting myself. Unfortunately from the moment the tester activated his lightsaber by saying “Lightsaber on” it was a big red mark. My thoughts can be summed up in four words, “Right idea, wrong execution”.

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Dance Central 2 E3 2011 Demo

At Microsoft’s press conference, Kinect was very much the main theme all throughout and the sequel to Dance Central, Dance Central 2 was no exception. I’m not normally interested in dancing games but even this one piqued my interest – gone are the days of dance pads it seems. Full Kinect support, new music and dance moves – I think this might just have been the best Kinect showing at the Microsoft press conference in my opinion. Not to mention those game developers can dance!

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Tomb Raider reboot

The Tomb Raider series appears to be getting a reboot, as this gameplay demo at Microsoft’s E3 press conference suggests. Lara Croft appears much younger and the accompanying trailer suggests she is heading out for her first real adventure when she is ship wrecked on an island. A new control feature called “Survival instincts” allows Lara to highlight important objects she needs to escape. The game looks very good visually from the demo but the control mechanisms look a little clunky.

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Fable The Journey

Looking for more Fable action? Peter Molyneux unveiled Fable The Journey at E3 during the Microsoft press conference. If you remember way back, Peter Molyneux announced that although they wanted Kinect features in Fable 3, it wasn’t possible but there would be a Fable title “soon” with it. So this is Lionhead Studio’s attempt. Basically it is a Kinect-on-rails experience in similar veins to the Harry Potter Kinect game. The big question is have devs learnt anything from that train wreck or will Fable The Journey suffer like Harry Potter did?

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Minecraft to Xbox 360

Minecraft to Xbox 360

Gears of War 3 campaign showcased

Gears of War 3 campaign showcased

Voice commands and Youtube to Xbox Live

Voice commands and Youtube to Xbox Live

Four Ea Sports titles to feature kinect support as well as Mass Effect 3

Four Ea Sports titles to feature kinect support as well as Mass Effect 3

Modern Warfare 3 - Demo

Microsoft’s E3 Press conference started off with a bang as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was put on display. Previously unseen level called Hunter Killer on show, with player in control of what appear to Navy Seals. First half of the level is completely underwater, starting in a New York Subway.

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Halo 4 is 'Dawn of New Trilogy'

Microsoft closed its press conference at E3 with the first glimpse of Halo 4 — well, first if you ignore the accidental leak on Xbox.com earlier today.

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Call of Duty Elite - What you get

Been wanting to know what you’ll be getting for free as part of the recently announced Call of Duty Elite service? Then look no further. Activision have released a chart that details just what non-subscribers will be getting as part of Call of Duty Elite when it releases alongside Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

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Is it wrong that I enjoy being a Galactic Despot?

I like space. I like the idea of exploring alien worlds, colonizing them, and expanding an empire. I love the idea of large space battles between opposing empires. I love the idea of researching and developing new technology (or stealing it from rivals who already possess it). I love making treaties, trade pacts, and diplomatic exchanges with other alien empires. Lastly I love turn based strategy games that have a well balanced formula for combat (which is why I am not a big fan of Civilization). For all these reasons and more I can’t describe, I love Master of Orion.

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Star Wars: The Old Republic - Build your character now

If you’ve been waiting to see how each class will come together on Star Wars: The Old Republic as you level, then your wait is over. The revised advanced class page lets you explore the options that will be available to you.

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Modern Warfare 3 reveal trailer

Modern Warfare 3 reveal trailer

Escalation for PS3

PS3 users were expecting the latest Call of Duty: Black ops DLC, the Escalation map pack a little sooner but it has reportedly been put off due to all the troubles with the PSstore since the Playstation network came back up. Activision and Treyarch have set a concrete date of 10th June for the PS3 community to be able to get their hands on Hotel, Convoy, Zoo, Stockpile and the latest Zombies action in Call of the Dead. The map pack is now available for PC users via steam.

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Free Pokedex App for eShop on Nintendo 3DS

For Nintendo 3DS and Pokemon fans, details have been revealed on the Pokedex app for the forthcoming eShop addition to Nintendo’s latest handheld console. This free application allows you to view a gargantuan number of Pokémon in 3D and will be free for consumers to download when the eShop launches in the United States, June 6th and in Europe, June 7th. Nintendo UK issued a press release detailing exactly what you’ll be able to do with the Pokedex application.

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PlayStation Store Online, but no Welcome Back bundle yet.

At long last, the PlayStation Store has been brought back online. It had been inaccessible since the PlayStation Network was taken down on April 20. Not only is it back, but it’s also been updated with a great deal of content — tons of downloadable games (among them Back to the Future Episode 3 and Sega Rally Online Arcade), demos (including MotorStorm Apocalypse), DLC, and more.

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Skyrim takes over the Figueroa hotel

Skyrim takes over the Figueroa hotel

EB games Expo publisher exhibitions

The staff behind the EB Games Expo 2011 have revealed a list of publishers that will be exhibiting content in October. What content they will be showing is yet to be revealed at this time. See below for a list of the publishers.

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Microsoft "branding" Xbox 360 as entertainment system

Microsoft will soon begin ramping up their focus on the development of the Xbox 360 as an entertainment platform, rather than just something used for games. It has become apparent to the company that 40 percent of the console’s use is directed at “non-game” activity, and so the tech juggernaut will be announcing plans to assist in building up their gaming platform as an entertainment brand.

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