Need for Speed: The Run Announced

Ready to feel the Need again?

EA's long running and recently re-booted (into two different games) series is being readied for yet another release this Fall- it's been dubbed The Run:

The hottest blockbuster this holiday is a game that takes players on a heart-pounding cross-country race from San Francisco to New York. Launching on November 15, Need for Speed The Run lures players into an underground world of illicit, high-stakes racing. The heat is on – and it isn’t just the fuzz who are after you.

 Full release after the jump-

Zenonia 3 Available Now on the App Store

Gamevil has just released the third entry in their popular iOS series of RPG's, Zenonia 3: The Midguard Story. The game promises over a hundred quests and a new helper system:

In ZENONIA 3, players will guide Chael through a fateful journey in search for his destiny and the truth about his mysterious father, Regret. The vast realm of Midgard spans well over 200 maps and a hundred quests, from fiery depths to the open skies populated by creatures and legendary monsters. Four distinct melee and ranged character classes each have 13 active skills and 9 passive skills in addition to combos, and the introduction of a new Fairy helper-system adds another layer of leveling strategy. Streamlined inventory and item management lets players focus on the action. Also, 48 new Game Center achievements and in-game titles give special stat boosts and a new Execution Room Mode allows for single or asynchronous co-op play for loot, in addition to the returning online PvP arena.

More screens after the break-

Madden 12 Has a Cover Boy

And it is Peyton Hillis:

“Our fans have responded in record-setting fashion to honor Peyton Hillis, and we’re extremely pleased to welcome him into an exclusive fraternity of NFL players to appear on the cover of the Madden NFL franchise,” said Anthony Stevenson, Senior Product Manager of EA SPORTS. “This year’s cover voting campaign with ESPN has sparked incredible debate and conversation amongst fans and NFL players, which is a testament to the interest in and anticipation for Madden NFL each year.  The amount of support that Hillis generated nationally and within his home market of Cleveland was truly impressive. ”

Dog lovers rejoyce, full release (with actual details about the game) after the jump-

Xbox LIVE Service Alert

Not quite on the level of what's happened to Sony, but hot on the heels of that mess comes news that's disturbing nonetheless.

From Xbox.com:

Users may experience difficulties with the following services:

• Users may receive potential phishing attempts via title specific messaging while playing Modern Warfare 2.

We are aware of the problem and are working to resolve the issue. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your patience

 Here's to hoping that it's just a coincidence...

Jurassic Park Delayed Until Fall for PC/Mac

Telltale Games' new take on the classic Jurassic Park franchise has been hotly anticipated by fans, and now it looks as though they'll have to wait a bit longer to go back to the Lost World. Till the Fall to be exact.

The release of the adventure title has been pushed back to coincide with the launch of the console (Xbox/PS3) versions. Why?

We see a ton of potential in the game's exciting mechanics and style and feel we can take what we already have in place to an even more thrilling level, so we've decided to continue work on the game and launch the PC/Mac version of Jurassic Park: The Game to coincide with the our multiplatform release in fall 2011.

It's disappointing, sure, but if the game can get even better (it already looks like a winner) then it does make sense. Besides, if you were really hot for it and pre-ordered- you're gonna be compensated- full refund and a free game sound good?

Read the full post here.

CoD Zombies Gets Some Big Name Talent

The whole zombie add-on thing for Call of Duty started out innocent enough but just look at it now-

“Our latest zombie creation, Call of the Dead, is unreal!” says Mark Lamia, Studio Head of Treyarch. “We set out to create an exciting new zombie experience for fans of the genre that takes Zombies to an insane new level .”

Just what kind of "new level"?

famed horror and action stars Robert Englund, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Michael Rooker and Danny Trejo have joined the cast of Call of Duty®: Black Ops Escalation’s zombie level, Call of the Dead. 

So... how soon until we see a horror CoD spin off? Any bets?

Full release post jump-

Sony Responds to PSN Outage and Just What Was Stolen

Not a whole lot of good news from Sony today about the continuing outage of the Playstation Network.

At this point, it looks like whoever was behind the assault did a lot more than steal a few downloadable games as was previously reported. Sony is now reporting that personal data of all types (basically anything that you 'told' the PSN) has been stolen. There's no apparent evidence that credit card info was compromised but as Sony themselves state, "we cannot rule out the possibility".

Bottom line? Be careful:

For your security, we encourage you to be especially aware of email, telephone, and postal mail scams that ask for personal or sensitive information. Sony will not contact you in any way, including by email, asking for your credit card number, social security number or other personally identifiable information. If you are asked for this information, you can be confident Sony is not the entity asking.

The Playstation company is finally taking some steps to keep it's users informed, and that's nice to see, but this should have come right at the beginning of the hack and not over a week after. Calming fears and controlling the level of backlash is one thing, keeping important info from your subscribers is quite another.

Sloppy business Sony.

Mass Effect 3 Screenshots Anyone?

A pair of screens for your ogling pleasure-

Sonic Generations is Old School Bliss

Looking very much 'in the mold' of Sonic 4, the upcoming celebration of all things Sonic the Hedgehog- Sonic Generations, is looking nothing short of gorgeous.

 Sort of has the feel of a 'New Super Mario Bros.' doesn't it?

New nook Color Firmware Out Now

The latest firmware release for the Barnes & Noble ereader du jour, the nook color, is available for your downloading pleasure right this very minute.

What's new? Apps baby! Support for "Apps, games, music, and more!", as well as "Full featured email & fun social features", aaaand "Enhanced web with video" Woooo!

The very small catch is that you have to jack in to your PC or Mac to update your nook- the software package won't be available for application directly from your reader for an indeterminate (but short) time period. No word on just why that would be the case but so it be- for now at least.

More as we get it-

Barnes & Noble

Nintendo Download -- 'Airport Mania!' edition

Not too much on the plate this week for Nintendo downloaders. Airport Mania: First Flight sounds like it might be a fun little aside, but other than that- slim pickins friends.


Just hang on a little longer and you'll be playing Mario Land, 3DS style.

PSN is Down, Unclear When it will Return

Is the hacker group 'Anonymous' responsible for the now two day old shutdown of the Playstation Network? What was, at first, publicly skirted by electronics giant and PSPappa Sony has now all but been officially confirmed- a statement has been issued that the PSN is down due to an "external Intrusion".

So it's an attack then? If you're out of the loop, a group of hackers calling themselves Anonymous took offense to Sony's treatment of George 'GeoHot' Hotz (He's the guy that was in a bit of legal trouble with the company for modding consoles- long story short, they settled) and swore a bloody oath of vengeance. Maybe this is it then?

Nothing's been heard about it, but it does look likely. And while Sony patches things up (and tries to keep things as quiet as possible)- we're all without online multiplayer. There's even word that some downloaded titles won't work, even if they have no networked components.

Strange stuff, more as we get it-

Xbox LIVE Wrapup -- 'Section 8' edition

The sequel to the sorta 'meh' FPS, Section 8, hits LIVE this week. Section 8: Prejudice may not be the most anticipated of Arcade releases, but it's a chunky one nonetheless. S8:P comes loaded with a "5 hour single player campaign" as well as 32 player online battles.

There are also some pretty decent sales this week as Peggle, Plants vs Zombies, and ilomilo are all on the cheap.

*note- this edition of the wrap is seriously late- so if you want any of this stuff... you best hustle.

Final Fantasy III Released for iPad

 Now available for your iOS powered device of choice is the classic Square RPG, Final Fantasy III. The game features enhanced graphics and refined touch controls customized for the iPad.

FF3 is available now on the App store for the wallet crunching price of $16.99. Ow.

Release after the break-

This Supaboy Has Nothing to do With Superman

Peripheral maker Hyperkin already produces portable units that run all kinds of classic software. There's a Genesis, there's an NES... and now there's a Super NES.



Back in the day, a portable SNES would have been heaven sent. Oh how all those car trips would have been soothed by the woop, woop of squished Goomba's- Even now though, has the dream really lost any luster of it's luster?


Even with a billion different emulators (all of them imperfect) and re-printings up the wazoo for the various portables and virtual consoles, the original carts still hold a special place in an old school gamers heart. That's just what the SupaBoy promises- and then some:

The SupaBoy will play original SNES cartridges on a built-in 3.5” LCD screen and is designed to emulate an original SNES controller including a D-pad and buttons on the front as well as right and left shoulder buttons. Hyperkin has even included two front loading ports that are compatible with full-size SNES controllers and video/audio out, allowing up to two players to play the SupaBoy on a regular TV screen. How supa’ cool is that!

Pretty supa actually- now to find that copy of Zombies Ate my Neighbors. It's around here someplace...

Read on for the full release, more as we get it-

PSN Update -- 'Red Johnson' edition

Really... Red Johnson... we're not making this up. You play as a PI named Red Johnson. And apparently being a private dick (*ahem) is tough in Metropolis, the crime capital of the world. How it's that filthy with bad guys is a mystery- Superman on vacation or something?

Other than that... awkwardly named title (which is available to PSPlus subscribers only), the PSN plays host to PSOne Classics Dino Crisis 2 and Threads of Fate, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Arcania Heart 3, and a bunch of sales and other assorted digital sundries.

...Red Johnson!

Kmart Brings the Deals

This is a big week for game releases with Portal 2, Mortal Kombat, and SOCOM 4 all launching. If you're not really into stretching your wallet to the limit over the next few weeks (there's a lot of triple A to be had), you might want to take retailer Kmart up on the latest of their amazing video game deals.

If you purchase (this week only) $40 in gaming software, you'll receive a coupon good for $15. If you go a lil' higher and spend $120 or more in games- you get the $15 and an additional $45. That's a cool sixty bones to put towards another game (or two) some time in the next 30 days.

But wait- there's more! If one of those games happens to be either Mortal Kombat or Portal 2, you also get $10 off of a 1600 point Microsoft card or PSN card at time of purchase. If you buy both games, you get ten bucks off a pair of cards.

Good stuff all around. Oh, one last thing, you need to be a Shop Your Way Rewards card holder to participate- it's Kmart's store rewards point card. Yes, it's free.

Read more about this specific deal here, and keep up with Kmart's deals in general here. Good stuff.

New Saint's Row The Third Screens are Gangsterrific!

Saint's Row has really cut out a nice little niche for itself with fans. Although it draws many a comparison to Grand Theft Auto, SR on a whole is much more comedic than Rockstar's classic series ever was. And it's built up a nice little fan following of players who can appreciate for that.

But it's status as a cult stand-in has been elevated to 'hit' levels with the success of Saint's Row 2- and now with SR3, publisher THQ is looking to capitalize on a GTA-less year. So far, it looks like the beleaguered pub might just have a hit on it's hands.

Screens after the jump-

Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Detailed on 3DS

So OoT is coming this June, that's not all that far away. By now everybody out there should have seen that the graphics are looking ship shape- but what about the game itself? Is this the same title that you remember playing into the wee hours on your mighty N64?

Nintendo has the answers-

Nintendo Download -- 'My Little Mega Man' edition

A true classic hits the Virtual Console today in the form of Mega Man X. The first game in the 'X' series, it's probably the best remembered one too.

Other than the Blue Bomber though, there ain't much- unless you're into babysitting. Because if you are- wow is it your lucky day.

Review: Pilotwings Resort (3DS)

Pilotwings is an odd title. As a sequel, you'd expect to see many of the elements from the previous games carried over to this outing with some added stuff thrown in to make everything seem 'new'. But the thing about PW is that pretty much anything would seem new since there has only ever been two other games to bear the name- and they came out in 1991 and 1996, respectively. (a third title was canned late in development for the Gamecube)

So with that kind of time gap between sequels, it would stand to reason that Pilotwings Resort for the 3DS is a brand new game- so... is it?

YouTube shines a Light on Green Lantern Gameplay Footage

Rise of the Manhunters is looking a lot like a God of War-alike. Which isn't really a bad thing if you think about it... and if WB Games actually pulls it off. After all, Dante's Inferno borrowed a lot and even Castlevania took it's share of ideas from the classic GoW series, and they both did pretty well for themselves.

Wii 2 to be Shown at e3?

More than a few sites are reporting what originally began on CVG- that Nintendo has a big announcement lined up for this year's e3 conference in June. Namely, that the Wii 2 (or Super Wii, or Ultra NES, or whatever...) is coming in 2012.

According to the above (and now a second CVG piece) the alleged console will have "full HD visuals and graphical capabilities beyond Sony and Microsoft's current hardware". And that's not the half of it, the controller supposedly houses an HD screen (no word on whether it's touchy yet), can actually become a Wii sensor bar for backwards compatibility purposes, and has a front facing camera. 


It might seem like a belated April fools joke at first, but remember that just a short time ago Microsoft began hiring for hardware development- and Nintendo's own Reggie Fils-Aime was commenting on future consoles (in respect to 3D support, or lack there of) just a few weeks ago.


Pretty safe to assume that Nintendo's e3 conference just became a hot ticket?

Streets of Rage 2 Comes to iPhone

SoR2 is bringing the hurt back to the iPhone. The beat em up sequel is available now for the somewhat reasonable price of $2.99 American.

So go get your bandanna and acid-wash's and make with the punching, wait a sec... is this the one with the boxing kangaroo?

Dead Rising 2: Off the Record Detailed

Get ready to see Dead Rising 2's Fortune City through a new set of eyes, because Frank West is back.

This fall, Frank's part in Dead Rising 2 get a lot bigger when the original title get re-envisioned with the man who's covered wars in the protagonist role. It'll be interesting to see how the story changes and what kind of surprises Capcom has in store for fans of the series.

Screens of Mr.West in a leotard post jump-

Xbox LIVE Wrapup -- 'Yar's revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold' edition

Seriously cold- been a while Yar. If that is your real name... ahem...

The remake of the classic Atari title, Yar's Revenge, debuts this week along side a double helping of map packs with Bulletstorm and Call of Duty: Black Ops (or as the cool kids call it- COD:BlOps) There's a few sales this week that might be of interest as well-

PSN Update -- 'Is it a Bulletstorm or a Killzone?' edition

Which ever recently released FPS is your fave, the PSN hold a map pack for you this week. There's also the (finally available) Shadow Mode for Marvel vs Capcom 3, some great new downloadables with Dungeon Hunter: Alliance and Might & Magic Clash of Heroes, and maybe the greatest piece of DLC ever- hailing from Memphis, Tennessee... The Honky Tonk Man comes to WWE All Stars! And he's free!

Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City Detailed

The upcoming Operation Raccoon City takes Resident Evil all the way back to September of 1998 and the ultra-popular RE2 for a side-story starring the Umbrella Security Service. The featured squad is sent in to the zombified city to wipe out any evidence leading back to the fictional pharmaceutical giant.

A true squad based, third-person shooter, RE:ORC will be a first for the series in both the way it plays and the fact that you'll pretty much be playing as the bad guys. It's also shaping up to be a real stunner- good to see the original RE bestiary back on the screen isn't it?

Click through for more shots and a feature list-

Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition Coming Soon

Ready to buy another copy of Street Fighter IV?

Hot on the heels of the excellent 3DS version, Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition is coming home. If you haven't kept track of anything in an arcade since 1986, SSF4AE (whew!) has a total of 39 characters- adding Yun, Yang, Evil Ryu, and (a newbie) Oni to the roster.

Apparently porting was a fairly simple task, as the game is expected to hit PS3's, Xbox 360's, and PC's this summer, possibly as early as June.

Click on for a whole mess o screens-

Resistance 3 Gets a Fresh Batch of Screens

The chimera have won the war and the human race is on the brink of collapse in this fall's Resistance 3. As the third game in the series, R3 will be the capper to resistance trilogy. It'll also feature a brand new hero- Joseph Capelli.

The storyline sounds great, the graphics are pretty slick too-  click through the break for screens and a presser. Resistance 3 launches for the PS3 on September 6th-

Sony NGP Reconfirmed for 2011 Launch?

According to industry website MCV, Lazard Capital Markets (an investment firm), is reporting that they attended a Sony sponsored 'analyst day' where SCEA confirmed that it's upcoming portable will make US release this year.

This is in contrast to what has recently been widely guessed to be a delay for the console because of the devastating earthquakes in Japan. Even Sony's own Jack Tretton hinted to as much just last week.

If the NGP is to make it's 2011 debut as originally intended though, it's great news for Sony. With Nintendo's new 3DS already out and selling at an incredible rate, the Playstation company can't afford to get too far behind here in the early going.

One thing that was also noted from the conference was that the European and UK releases could not be assured for this year. If that's the case then that means the console would likely have a pair of launches. One for the US/Japan and then another (likely in spring of 2012) for Europe.

On a separate note, although there was no word on the progress- a few triple A games were shown off too: namely Uncharted, Socom 4, Twisted Metal, Resistance 3 and Infamous 2. Those numbers at the end of the titles are pretty conspicuous aren't they?

Some serious ports coming for the PSP's successor? Looks like it.

New Details and Screens for Street Fighter X Tekken

Next year's Street Fighter x Tekken is already looking like it's going to be one sharp fighter. At yesterday's Captivate conference, publisher Capcom outlined a few of the modes that we can expect to see as well as some more of the sure to be chunky roster.

There's also a few screenshots, not that you'd be interested in those-

New Neverdead Screens Rise from the Grave

Remember Bryce Boltzman? He's the undead demon slayer from last fall's Neverdead announcement. We haven't heard anything since then from publisher Konami- but lo and behold, today dawns and here's some new screenshots.

Bryce Boltzman? Seriously?

Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time Box Art Released

In all it's glory-

Drool now, play June 19th.

The Testament of Sherlock Holms Deducing this Fall

Fans of consulting detective Sherlock Holms have another adventure to look forward to this fall with The Testament of Sherlock Holms.

1898, London. All the evidence of police investigation points at Sherlock Holmes as the main suspect in a case involving theft, fraud and double-crossings. Unable to prove his own innocence, Holmes is rapidly losing London’s trust as doubt spreads through the city like wildfire. Even Doctor Watson's faith in his friend begins to waver, as the famous detective flees Scotland Yard and raises further suspicion; prowling around at night, destruction of evidence... would Holmes go so far as to commit murder?

Unlike last year's Holms vs Jack the Ripper, this new game is built from the ground up as a console experience (but still will be available for the PC) and as such has a third-person view and more controller friendly, um, controls. But even with it's shortcomings, Ripper was an enjoyable, adventurous romp through a Holmsian version of actual events- we'll takethe magnifier to this one as soon as we hear more.

Full release after the break-

Review: Super Street Fighter 4 (3DS)

It's pretty rare, but once in a great while a portable game comes along that looks just as good as it's home console cousins, plays just as fantastic, includes more content, and is just so much fun in general that you actually forget about said console cousins.

Okay, actually that never happens- BUT -SSF4 3D Edition for the 3DS comes painfully close.

Nintendo Download -- 'That Ink is Flowing!' edition

Ever wanted to run your own tattoo shop? Sure we all do... but how to get started? It's just soooo daunting! But no more! Friends let me tell you about Art of Ink for DSiWare.

This amazing piece of software will simulate a real, honest to goodness, tattoo parlor! You play an aspiring tattoo DaVinci who, through hard inkin', can rise through the ranks and... own your own place!

Actually... it sounds kinda fun.

Duke Nukem: Critical Mass Trailer

No, not Duke Forever, Critical Mass. You know, that DS and PSP game that was kind of on again off again for a while there? Well, it's coming out on the 19th of April and now developer Deep Silver has released a little trailer:

The Hidden Announced for 3DS

Well it looks like at least one game will make use of the 3DS' Augmented Reality features. The Hidden, by Majesco, will be debuting this October for the handheld and actually sounds promising-

As a member of the elite G.E.I.S.T. squad, Ghostly Entity Investigation and Strike Team, you must work with your team to track, capture, shoot and eliminate evil spirits, including fast-moving  Kamikazes and Tanks, solid phantoms armed with claws.  Explore different real-world locations to find and destroy new ghosts.  Battle and defeat powerful entities using a full arsenal of high tech tools and upgradeable weapons, including the Plasmatic Disruptor, Ectoplasm Sensor and Spectral Shield. Navigate through tunnels to access a hidden dimension and collect power-ups to fight off dangerous threats.  You will also use the Circle Pad and Nintendo 3DS gyroscope control to shoot and destroy ghosts, while keeping a log of your otherworldly discoveries made at previously visited places using the Location History feature. 

Different specters hidden in different locations sounds like a neat idea, maybe a little like Pokemon? Gotta bust 'em all!

Full release in the netherealm (post break)-

Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters Takes Shape on Consoles

Do any of you feel a little deja vu at all?

Either way, Green Lantern movie tie-in, Rise of the Manhunters, is looking pretty darn good on PS3 and Xbox 360.Now, we've admittedly been fooled by the Iron Man's and Hulk's of the world in the past, but publisher Warner Bros. has already proven that they can stand behind a great superhero title (Batman: Arkham Asylum), so let's give them the benefit of the doubt... for now.

Although, this has the added ailment of being both a movie and comic book tie-in. But it looks really pretty! Click through for more green thought-forms-

Xbox LIVE Wrapup -- 'Needs More Stacking' edition

Stacking, the Russian stacking doll adventure from developer Double Fine, gets an expansion this week with the release of The Lost Hobo King.  Red Faction: Battlegrounds also arrives to whet your appetite for Armageddon, and Bad Company 2 brings the deals in what's otherwise a pretty light on the offerings week.

Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters Takes Shape for 3DS

The 3DS version of Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters looks like it's got a less movie, more comic book vibe- a style that's setting it apart from it's console cousins.

PSN Update -- 'Battlegrounds' Edition

As in Red Faction: Battlegrounds- The long running series of first/third person action games becomes a downloadable multiplayer blastathon in it's latest incarnation. This little appetizer for (the soon to be available) Red Faction: Armageddon should more than hold fans over until that full fledged sequel drops.

As for as other releases, this is actually a pretty slim week on the network. The SOCOM 4 demo is out- but as far as anything else that's interesting, that's it really. Disappointing since PSN updates have been really good as of late.

Get back on the stick Sony!

The Nintendo Download -- 'Super Bonk' edition

The aptly named Super Bonk of Super Nintendo fame makes it's Virtual Console appearance this week. Bonk, of course, is best known as the semi-mascot of the niche Turbografx-16 console. Here on the SNES though, he's super.

Other titles this week include a baseball management sim, a fishing game, and an interesting sounding dungeon crawling RPG.

Review: LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars (3DS)

There are a lot of LEGO games out there. Indiana Jones, Batman, LEGO Universe, Rock Band... but LEGO Star Wars just seems to have something special. Not all that long ago, I was ready to write off the LEGO mini-genre as it seemed like it's time had come and 'stale' might have been an understatement.



But then along came A New Hope a new hope- The Clone Wars.

Dungeon Siege III Unveils Katerina

What gives Katerina her monster bashin' power? Is it the magic guns or the thigh-highs and heels?

Review: Trapped Dead

Headup Games' Trapped Dead is a lot of things- it's a zombie game, it's an adventure game, it's an RTS... it features some of the most revolting 'eating' sound effects I've ever heard...

Read on for the full review-