Today developer EA DICE released a new trailer for the upcoming FPS Battlefield: Bad Company 2.
Focusing on “Battlefield Moments,” the new trailer offers a solid minute of unedited gameplay.
Slated to arrive on March 2, 2010 on the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC, BF:BC2 is a direct sequel to Battlefield: Bad Company. Gamers will be pleased to know that one of the main features in BF:BC2 is an updated destruction engine. Now you can destroy whole buildings, rather than just walls like in BF:BC.
This week’s Release Roundup gives gamers a chance to become familiar with four boys from Liverpool. Of course I’m talking about The Beatles: Rock Band.
Developed by Harmonix for the Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii, The Beatles: Rock Band allows gamers to play though The Beatles timeline. Much like the other Rock Band titles, The Beatles will allow gamers to play guitar, bass, drums, and sing. The game comes with 45 songs from twelve of The Beatles albums, spanning 1962-1969. In addition, there are also six non-album singles that have been included. If that doesn’t sound like enough songs, you have to consider that the full albums of Abbey Road, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, and Rubber Soul will be made available as DLC in the coming months.
Enough about The Beatles. The new games this week are:
Xbox 360
Darkest of Days
DiRT 2
IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey
Mini Ninjas
Qubed (Every Extend Extra Extreme, Lumines Live, Rez HD)
Today Visceral Games announced that the Wii shooter Dead Space: Extraction has gone gold and will arrive on Sept. 29.
In celebration of this news, publisher EA announced that “participating retailers” are offering a pre-order deal. If you pre-order Dead Space: Extraction, you will receive a code that unlock some challenge modes. Without the code, gamers will have to earn these challenge modes by completing in-game challenges.
Dead Space: Extraction is a prequel to the popular horror shooter Dead Space which arrived on the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 in 2008. Extraction is an on-rails shooter that features two player co-op and “an important new heroine to the Dead Space universe.”
Today publisher EA announced that Visceral Games’ literature inspired hack & slash title Dante’s Inferno will arrive in the U.S. on Feb. 9, 2010. Europeans are going to have to wait a few days longer, until the Feb. 12, 2010 release.
The announcement was made during EA’s GamesCom 2009 event. According to Senior producer Justin Lambros, the PS3, Xbox 360 and PSP versions will all arrive on the same date.
For those of you who don’t know, Dante’s Inferno puts gamers in the shoes of Dante, a veteran of the Crusades. You are tasked with journeying though the nine circles of Hell to find Dante’s lost love Beatrice and save her soul from the clutches of Lucifer. According to EA, Dante’s Inferno will have similar gameplay to the popular Sony franchise, God of War.
Today EA Montreal announced that Army of Two: The 40th Day will be arriving on the Xbox 360, PS3, and PSP on Jan. 12, 2010.
The developer also announced a pre-order bonus for those who jump aboard The 40th Day early. When the game ships, one of the four multiplayer modes will be lock to everyone except those who pre-ordered the game. The ‘Extraction’ game mode, which according to EA “Pits a team of four players against a series of unique enemy waves as they move from point to point in the ruined city,” will become unlocked after the first month.
While The 40th Day is still on my list of games to check out, I can’t say I agree with this pre-order “bonus.” If I’m paying $60 for a game, I expect to be able to access all parts of it right off the bat. In all reality I expect the online community to react poorly to this news. Hopefully EA will reconsider their stance on the ‘Extraction’ mode.
Today developer Mythic announced that the eighth expansion for EA’s long running MMORPG Ultima Online will arrive Sept. 8 as a downloadable title.
Dubbed the Stygian Abyss expansion, the add-on brings Gargoyles as a playable race, new enemies, new areas, and the “largest dungeon area ever.”
Gamers have the option of buying the expansion individually for $29.99 or bundled with a 30 days subscription for $39.99. If you want a little sneak peek before dropping the cash, the Retribution server is running an open beta from Aug. 14 through Aug. 23.
In hopes of enticing more gamers to pick up this expansion, Mythic stated that players who buy the Stygian Abyss between Sept. 8 and Sept. 29 will receive “multiple Alteration Tokens to transform current characters into Gargoyles, an exclusive gargoyle craftable pet, and decorative Stygian Abyss mob boss statues.”
This week’s Release Roundup caters to sports fans, in particular football lovers. This is because Madden 10 hits stores Friday, Aug. 14.
Marking the 21st annual installment, Madden 10 comes packed with new features. Football fans will be pleased to see the new “PRO-TAK” system, where new animations change the game by allow up to nine player tackles, the ability to steer tackles, and a more realistic pocket around the QB. Madden 10 also introduces the “Fight for the Fumble” feature, where players will have to pass quicktime events to gain possession of the ball during dog piles. Aside from these new features, Madden 10 also contains a new ratings philosophy, more realistic player momentum, a new injury system, and numerous other improvements.
Today Electronic Arts announced that Need for Speed Nitro will hit stores Nov. 17.
Need for Speed Nitro, developed by EA Montreal, gives gamers a racing game with a focus on arcade-style action. Developed for the Wii and DS, Nitro will feature “varied track designs, deep controls, and intuitive drift and nitro mechanics.”
Senior producer Joe Booth stated, “We wanted to fuse together attitude with car culture and the best of arcade racing, to create a new and unique racing experience.”
Hopefully Nitro will be the racing game that knocks Mario Kart out of my Wii.
Today Visceral Games announced that it has teamed up with DC Comics/WildStorm to produce a comic book based on the upcoming Dante’s Inferno game.
Penned by Christos Gage, the six book mini-series will feature art by Diego Latorre, most famous for his work in Hulk: Broken Worlds. I’m assuming that the comic will either give back story to Dante’s experiences in the crusades or it will be a retelling of the game and focus on Dante’s journey though Hell.
The Dante’s Inferno comic will make its debut at Comic-Con, which is running from July 23-26. As more details arrive, you can be sure I’ll post them here on The Wire.
This Saturday Electronic Arts will be hosting a panel, organized by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, discussing the topic of homophobia in videogame culture.
Microsoft, EA, Linden Labs, GayGamer.net and the Entertainment Software Association all are sending representatives. Some of the topics to be discussed include: “how to provide safe spaces for LGBT people online, how to ensure the best policies are in place to prevent virtual attacks against LGBT people and how to educate the users of online communities about the effects of homophobia.”
This event is being held at EA’s Redwood City, California headquarters.It is open to the public and will be running from 11am-1pm.
Word hit the Internet today that UFC President Dana White is in an all out feud with Electronic Arts. According to White, “EA doesn’t give a [expletive] about mixed martial arts. They made that very clear.”
This whole ordeal started when EA announced a new mixed martial arts game right after THQ’s UFC 2009 Undisputed became a breakout hit. White discussed how he tried to pitch a UFC game to EA a few years ago. He said, “They wouldn’t even take a meeting because mixed martial arts disgusted them. This wasn’t a real sport. Boy, they got over that real quick, didn’t they?”
White continued, “We put our asses on the line, THQ and the UFC, to make a video-game deal in the worst economy in the world. We go out there and do this thing, and it’s successful, and now [expletive] EA Sports wants to do a video game. Really? That’s not what you told us a year-and-a-half ago.”
Today EA announced that it will be releasing a patch for Fight Night Round 4 that will add button controls. This update is slated to arrive sometime in Sept.
Dean Richards, EA senior producer, stated “We strongly believe that the refined Total Punch Control is the most intuitive way to throw punches in Fight Night Round 4, but we also want fans of the franchise to have an option.”
It’s always nice to see a company listening to its fans. Hopefully EA will continue to give its fans what they want.
This week’s Release Roundup gives gamers a chance to become familiar with four boys from Liverpool. Of course I’m talking about The Beatles: Rock Band.
Today Visceral Games announced that the Wii shooter Dead Space: Extraction has gone gold and will arrive on Sept. 29.
Today publisher EA announced that Visceral Games’ literature inspired hack & slash title Dante’s Inferno will arrive in the U.S. on Feb. 9, 2010. Europeans are going to have to wait a few days longer, until the Feb. 12, 2010 release.
Today EA Montreal announced that Army of Two: The 40th Day will be arriving on the Xbox 360, PS3, and PSP on Jan. 12, 2010.
Today developer Mythic announced that the eighth expansion for EA’s long running MMORPG Ultima Online will arrive Sept. 8 as a downloadable title.
This week’s Release Roundup caters to sports fans, in particular football lovers. This is because Madden 10 hits stores Friday, Aug. 14.
Today Electronic Arts announced that Need for Speed Nitro will hit stores Nov. 17.
Today Visceral Games announced that it has teamed up with DC Comics/WildStorm to produce a comic book based on the upcoming Dante’s Inferno game.
This Saturday Electronic Arts will be hosting a panel, organized by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, discussing the topic of homophobia in videogame culture.
Word hit the Internet today that UFC President Dana White is in an all out feud with Electronic Arts. According to White, “EA doesn’t give a [expletive] about mixed martial arts. They made that very clear.”
Today EA announced that it will be releasing a patch for Fight Night Round 4 that will add button controls. This update is slated to arrive sometime in Sept.