God of War I & II Coming to PS3

That's right, the God of War Collection is coming this Holiday Season to a PS3 near you. "What about Backwards compatibility?" I hear you say. Not to worry, the God of War Collection will feature both God of War and God of War II on a single Blu-Ray disk. No Backwards Compatibility needed. Plus, they remastered them to run at a smooth 60 fps and both games get an HD boost up to 720p.

If your new to the series and looking to get God of War III when it ships next year, this is the perfect time to get caught up. Or heck, maybe you just want to get caught up again before the release. Either way, this is going to be one heck of a good deal.

The collection will be released this holiday season and retail for ONLY $39.99 for both games! Better put this on your wish list.

Red vs Blue Prepare for ODST

The good folks at Rooster Teeth and prepared an all new Red vs Blue in anticipation of the release of Halo 3: ODST. Good stuff, enjoy...

ODST Firefight Bonus Round Video

Below is a look at the new Firefight mode from the upcoming Halo 3: ODST. In this video we are going to take a look at the 'Bonus Round'. If you survive through a complete set of rounds, you get a 'Bonus Round' where all of the Skulls are turned on and you are asked to survive 60 seconds... good luck!

250gb 'Super' Elite Spotted!

Earlier this week Microsoft reported a price cut for the 360 was coming August 30. The Elite was dropping to $299.00 and the Pro would be priced at $249.00 until they sold out. Well, it seems as if Microsoft has a few more tricks up it's sleeve... The Xbox 360 "Super" Elite.

The "Super" Elite models have started popping up all over the world. First seen on Germany's Amazon site and now more recently spotted in a South African ad. It seems this bundle is the real deal and coming soon.

So what makes this Elite so...well... Super? For starters, it has a beefed up 250gb HDD, comes with 2 Wireless Controller and a Copy of Forza 3.

So far we have only seen the "Super" Elite as a part of the above mentioned bundle. No word yet as to whether or not it will be available as a stand alone SKU or if it will just be a special offer. Pricing ranges from $379.00 to $649.00 (USD) based on region pricing and the current exchange rate.

No word on US availability or official price here state side. But judging that both South Africa and Germany are offering this bundle with a copy of Forza 3, it's a fair bet we'll know something before 10/27/09 (<-- Official F3 Release Date). Stay Tuned for more info as it becomes available.

Modern Warfare 2 Gameplay Footage Leaked

That right! Joystiq reported this morning that never before seen footage was recently leaked from a Game Crazy Employee Conference. The conference had retailers from all over get a first peak at the Single Player Campaign and while the video is short, it is still pretty sweet.

The footage itself was probably shot with a cell phone camera and therefore the quality is pretty bad, but on the other hand, how much Single Player footage have you seen? Plus, it's MW2 so you're gonna watch it anyway. Enjoy...

(UPDATE: New Spec-Ops Footage Added)

DIRT 2 Demo Impressions

For those of you not aware, the DIRT 2 demo recently arrived on the XBL Marketplace as well as the PSN. Today, I am going to take a closer look and give my impressions of this upcoming racer.

Ok, let's start off with a little history. The original DIRT game was a great game but it had its flaws. Most having to do with Multiplayer, or lack there of, which is precisely the reason I never picked it up. Fortunately the guys over at Codemasters seemed to have listened. DIRT 2 will feature a full set of Multiplayer options and allow players to compete on the same track at the same time.

With that tidbit of information in mind I headed over to the Marketplace to check out the all new demo. First off, they didn't seem to break any of the things that made the original DIRT so good. The driving dynamic seem to be pretty much spot on and most importantly the cars are fun to drive. The game has a nice mix between Arcade and Sim racer when it comes to handling. The cars just feel right when you are slinging them around the corners.

In the demo, you get to choose from 2 separate events. The first is a Baja challenge and puts you in a stadium style venue racing neck and neck with 7 other AI driven trucks and buggies. The race starts with a "Land Rush" type of start. Everyone is side by side and jockeying for position as you enter the first few turns. It's a two lap race full of jumps and banked turns. Not all that hard to race the track from a technical stand point, but getting around the pack can prove to be challenging. The only down side to this race was that it seemed to have a bit of a "rubber band AI" thing going on. Not sure if that was the case but a few of the times I was racing it seemed way too easy to catch up after making a mistake. Perhaps higher difficulties will change that in the final game.

Next up was the race in Morocco. This was more of a traditional Rally style race. Each car had a timed start delay and you race down the track from Point A to Point B. The winner here is the man with the best time down the track. Now because you have a timed starting structure, you might actually race the whole race and never see another car. However, if you are doing exceptionally well (or exceptionally poorly) you will run into the other cars racing down the track. This course was much more technically demanding with long uneven straights and hair pin tuns. You really have to step up your game to get a good time and keep you car intact. For me, this was a much better type of race and felt less "arcady" than the stadium race.

Now, how about graphics? The game itself looks amazing! Beautifully recreated rally cars fully detailed inside and out. Full damage models and impressive physics make this game a joy to look at. And the smooth frame rate didn't hurt either. The demo never had a hiccup during time I spent driving around.

This brings us to my final verdict. The gameplay is as fun as ever, the graphics are top notch and the final version will have full Multiplayer options. All this bodes very well for DIRT 2 which is due out September 8, 2009. Overall, I am going to give this game the thumbs up and Pick up a copy as soon as it's released. If it sounds good to you, go check out the demo. I think you'll like it.

Also, stay tuned for the FULL REVIEW of this game Coming Soon.

360 vs PS3 Slim?

This morning Kotaku posted a very interesting new comparison between the new PS3 Slim and the 360 Elite. Below is the breakdown from their comparison...

	PS3 Slim	Xbox 360 Elite
Price	$299	$299
Color	Black	Black
Hard Disk Size	120GB	120GB
USB Ports	2	3
WiFi	Built-In	$99 Add On
Disc Drive	Blu-ray/DVD/CD	DVD/CD
HDMI	Yes, no cable included	Yes, no cable included
Bluetooth	Yes	No
Controllers Included	One	One
Last Generation Backwards Compatibility	No	Partial
Online Play	Free	$50 a year
Dimensions	290 × 65 × 290 mm	310 x 80 x 260 mm
Weight	3.2 kg	3.5 kg

As you can see, on paper the PS3 seems to finally have the upped hand. For the same price, you get Built-In WiFi, a Blu-ray player and Free online service.

Of course, you still have to conceder some of the other facts. The 360's online service Xbox Live is the best online gaming service hands down and the 360 also has exclusive Netflix service. Not to mention, Microsoft could throw a wrench in the whole thing by offering yet another price cut for the 360.

Still, for the price the new PS3 Slim is going to be hard to beat. Sony also has a great looking line of game coming out this year and next. With such titles as God of War 3, The Last Guardian, Uncharter 2 and Heavy Rain, if you've been on the fence about getting one, now may be the time.

Will Halo: Reach be Bungie's Last?

Lars Bakken reported last month that Bungie would be moving on from the Halos Series after the completion of Halo: Reach, which is due out next fall. Personally, while I would love to see them continue to expand the Halo universe, I was glad to hear that they were moving on. Sometimes you need to quite while you're ahead. And it would be nice to give them a chance to come up with something new (something that is rare in todays game industry).

Well, now it looks as if Bakken may have spoken too soon. Bungie's PR director Brian Jarrard wanted to clairify the statement. This is what he had say...

"The clarification is we just don't know at this point. I'm not really able to speculate on what we're going to do after Reach"

So will this be Bungies last Halo, or will the money grabbers get there way? You want some cookies with that Milk?

Forza 3 Details

Yesterday I wrote an article about the upcoming (sooner rather than later) release of GT5. In it we talked about what to expect when the game releases in a few months. Well, fair is fair. Now it's time to look at the competitor, Forza Motorsport 3.

Much like GT5, the announcement of FM3 coming later this year came as a bit of a surprise. Not because we didn't think it was coming, but no one thought it would be ready so quickly. After all it has taken GT5 4+ years to develop. So by my count, FM3 is about 2 years ahead of schedule. But seriously, what can we expect from Forza 3 when it releases in late October? Let's take a look at the details we know so far...

• 400+ cars with more than 10 times the polygon count of the cars in Forza 2.
• Each car is fully detailed inside and out. Thats right, fully detailed interiors and an all new cockpit view for super realistic racing view.
• Full damage models on ALL cars.
• Full range of damage now includes the ability to completely flip the car.
• Each car is also fully tunable and customizable with a more in depth tuning tools and parts. More options then ever before.
• More robust paint system to make your car truly your own.
• Or sell it in the new auction house and get paid for your tricked out cars. (In game money only)
• Over 100 renowned Real World Tracks and Exotic Road Courses from around the globe.
• More than 200 Single Player events and a Solo Career customized for your cars and driving style.
• Top Notch Physics engine makes a return with even more improvements and more advanced AI.
• New features for beginners such as Auto-Braking, Gameplay Rewind and Auto-Tuner make getting into Forza easier than ever and allows new comers to feel right at home.

Wow! It looks like FM3 is ready to fight. With all of these features, this is going to be a tough one to beat. Still, at the very least it should be fun to watch fanboys fight it out over who has the best sim racer. I think I am going to go get some popcorn.

Halo 3: ODST Firefight Mode

Today we are going to take a closer look at Halo 3: ODST and Firefight, the all new co-op game mode. ODST is the newest game set in the Halo universe and is being developed by Bungie, the good folks responsible for creating the legendary series. In ODST you play as an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper, the best of the best in terms of normal human troops. Not as powerful as a Spartan but definitely the next best thing.

Firefight is the ALL NEW co-op mode which pits you and your friends against wave after wave of Covenant troops. Think Horde Mode from Gears of War 2 but there are some differences that make this game mode stand out. First off, let get the basics out of the way.

Firefight supports up to 4-players and you can play via Xbox Live, LAN or Split Screen. Once you get your team together, it's time to start killing Covenant scum!

Here is the breakdown, 5 waves make up 1 round and 3 rounds make up 1 set. So basically you have to survive 15 waves to complete 1 set. Each wave starts out simple and gradually ramps up the difficulty until you are faced with powerful enemies carrying power weapons and in some cases sporting vehicles like the Covenant tank.

And if that wasn't bad enough, with each completed round, the Skull difficulty multipliers start to get turned on. Each Skulls does something different. Some give the enemies better accuracy while another makes you melee to regain health. None of them are your friend and when you start stacking all of the difficulties together you get a real challenge.

Combine the challenging gameplay with 10 different maps and things start looking very promising. Plus I am a sucker for the bonus game modes like Horde and Zombies. All and all Firefight is shaping up to be a great addition to the ODST package. But don't take my word for it. Listen to SGT Johnson...

GT5 Coming in 2009?

Can it be? Are we really gonna see Gran Turismo 5 before the end of the year? For those who don know GT5 will be the newest entry in the GT series and has been in the works FOREVER! Well ever since the release of GT4 over 4 years ago. Almost at the vaporware status, GT5 has been one of those games that never seems to be actually coming out. Highly anticipated and always just out of reach. Well, now it seems that the wait is almost over.

Information from GamesCom in Germany reveals that GT5 is scheduled for release sometime in the 4th Quarter of 2009. The question now, "Is the game ready?"

Are we Ready?

Reports are that the game will feature over 1000 cars! That's right 1000 cars and 20 tracks with over 60 driving variations. Not bad. But here's the catch. Not all of the cars have damage models. Actually, reports indicate that only a few 100 will actually have damage. Personally this seems a little weak to me.

The word on the net is that some car companies refuse to let their cars show damage in game. But this seems like a copout. If that is true, why do all 400+ cars in Forza 3 have damage. Both games will have cars from the same companies (except Porsche which is currently exclusive to Forza 3). So why doesn't Forza seem to have the same problem getting the rights to damage cars? Something is a little fishy here.

It is also worth noting that Forza 3 was recently announced to be releasing at the end of October this year. This surprise announcement came just a few months ago at E3 and I don't think anyone expected Forza 3 to come out so soon.

So my question to you is this... Is Polyphony Digital (Developer of GT5) rushing the game out to compete directly against Forza 3? Granted they have had 4+ years to develop, so "Rush" might not be the right word but from what I am reading, the game doesn't seem finished.

This could be a bad move. Especially with great sims already out (Forza 2) and Forza 3 on the way I hope the good folks at PD don't drop the ball. The GT franchise is well regarded as one of the best Sim Racing series ever made. After such a long development cycle people are looking for something amazing. I hope they don't disappoint.

Gamestop Ads...

Anyone else here notice that the ad agency responsible for the new Gamestop ads have really kicked it up a notch. Most of them using in-game filming techniques similar to those seen in Red vs Blue. The funniest by far is the new Halo:3 ODST ad. If you haven't see it, do yourself a favor and check it out.

Video Games | FUNNY Gamestop ODST Commercial

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

It's especially good if you've actually played through Halo 1, 2 and 3. Which of course the target audience of this ad has. They know who Sgt. Johnson is and what he did. Mad respect indeed.

Also note worthy is the ad for Batman Arkham Asylum, which features the new skeleton bonus level.

I don't know about you, but I would consider buying from Gamestop after seeing these ads. Of course the exclusive bonus material is really what I'm after, but still. I find the ads to be quite good. Defiantly a step up from the older ads which used some sort of completely fake game that somewhat resembles the evil love child of Gears of War and WoW.

It's almost too bad to watch. Almost...

Dual Wield in Modern Warfare 2

Big news of the day. Not sure if you knew this, but there is a game coming out in November called Modern Warfare 2.

Ok, so you are probably already aware that MW2 is coming out 11/10/09 and is poised to be one of the biggest selling video games of all time. Combine the already massive anticipation with the push back of almost every other game and you get what will be THE GAME to have this holiday season.

And as the days grow closer, more details squeak out. Today, we got to see the existance of Dual Wielding pistols! Desert Eagles to be exact (or Deagles as they are commonly referred). This information comes to us via the GameCrazy Convention where community manager FourZeroTwo was presenting a portion of the single player demo. Here is an excerpt from the Modern Warfare forums. Sounds good to me!

"Akimbo is NOT the perk in the new MP trailer this week.

I was presenting a singleplayer mission at the GameCrazy show this morning on stage and happened to walk over a body that had Akimbo (dual wield side arm), therefore the icon for the weapon popped up on screen and the room went crazy with chants demanding I pick it up and use it.

So I did.

Happened to be dual Deagles. Now to calm some initial fears of "OMG! Overpowered!". Akimbo is limited and balanced, just like EVERYTHING in the game. It's limited to sidearms, harder to aim than standard and you can't go ADS (aim down sights) since you have a weapon in each hand; Among other balancing techniques, so don't freak out before you see it in action.

It's cool."

I'll be back with more information as it becomes available.

Beyond Good and Evil 2 - Delayed

Without a doubt Beyond Good and Evil was one of the best games of the last generation. A truly great game that almost no one played. It was quirky, funny, smart and one of the most original titles to come out of the PS2 era.

Well, last year a teaser trailer was released and fans everywhere rejoiced. Mostly because despite how good the game was, it did not do well in the sales department and no one expected a sequel. (A problem many original IP's face.)

Then the following video was "leaked" featuring what appears to being game footage of a chase scene. This made people even more excited. And why not? The footage looks amazing!

Seeming to borrow heavily from Assassin's Creed, the movement seems fluid and dynamic with seamless transitions between moves. All wrapped up in a BG&E package. Looks fantastic!

But unfortunately, there is bad news here. According to a tweet by Gamesyde's Colin Solal Cardo the game appears to be on hold. "I got confirmation at Cologne's Gamescom that Beyond Good & Evil 2 is on hold for now. No idea if it's def or temporary but it sucks."

It sucks indeed. So the question remains, is the game on hold or doomed to vaporware. Perhaps this will become the next Duke Nukem Forever. I suppose time will tell. What are your thoughts?

Forza 2 Review

This is a copy of the first Video Game review I ever attempted (June 2007). I know it's out of date now but I wanted to share. It was originally written for a Clan News site so the review is written with an emphasis on how well it might work for clan competition. New video game reviews are on the way. For now, enjoy...

FORZA 2 Review

Forza 2. Perhaps the most anticipated racer of the year is here and its big. As the first true sim racer for the 360, anticipation and expectations are high and Forza 2 delivers. Developer Turn 10 has put a great deal of time and effort into the cars and physics for Forza 2 and it has paid off. The physics of this game are second to none and are what really makes Forza 2 the great racer is it. Forza 2 is all about cars and that is part of what makes Forza 2 shine. The cars and their physics are truly the stars of this game and make for a tremendous amount of fun and depth. Each car has a very unique feel. As you go from class to class and car to car, every experience is completely unique. The game it's self runs at a very smooth 60fps which despite a few jaggies makes the game look very good. Behind all of that lies the real power, the physics engine which run at 360fps. That's right 360fps! So not only is the game smooth, there are calculations going on that you will never see making for a physics engine that essentially handles calculations and makes adjustments in real time. All of this means you get a racer that is as real as it can be.

With over 300 cars available there is something for everyone. While it may not have every car ever made it does have a great selection that should make the child in all of us smile.

Pretty cars and physics are great but this game has got so much more going on under the hood. And speaking of under the hood, Forza 2 has that in spades as well. This game has by far the most in-depth tuning system I have ever seen. Everything is adjustable from the tire pressure to the down force to every major engine part. This game gives you the ability to fully tune almost every car in the game. It's not the best looking racer we've seen but the depth of the game more than makes up for that.

The ability to tune the cars to your needs and requirements allows for a truly unique gaming experience especially when to take into account the online portion of the game. Not only do you get to race with real people over Xbox live, you get to put your skills and your own specifically tuned car to the ultimate test. I have found myself spending hours upon hours tuning my cars to get the most out of the specific class I am racing. Classes are broken down into the following ratings: D-class, C-class, B-class, A-class, S-class, U-class then R1, R2, R3 and R4 racing classes. Each car you make has a specific number rating which determine what class the car is rated. When tuning your car it is obviously a good idea to try to get the car to the top of its respective class. You'll find people tuning cars to get every bit out of a specific class in order to have the "best" car in that class. However, as mentioned earlier, each car has it's own unique feel and abilities so having a car tuned to 850 (A-Class) will not guarantee a victory over a car rated at 837. Driving styles and personal ability still have a lot to do with winning but the rating and class system create a very addictive mini game and add a lot of life to the online racing portion of this game.

Tuning isn't the end of it either. Let's not forget about Paint. Paint you say? Yes Paint. After you tune that car can you just leave it looking stock? Not a chance and Forza 2 delivers there as well featuring a very robust and customizable paint program. Everything from the simple stamps to manufacturers decals to putting together a very complex and detailed custom logo can be achieved. Some of the process can take a while but the end result is a specifically tuned and painted car that is truly one of a kind! The paint program can also allow for the creation of a unique clan logo allowing your clan to have similarly styled cars and custom logos. Nothing like showing up for a clan match to find your opponents show up in all black and green rides with the Clan Logo featured prominently. Can you say i-n-t-i-m-i-d-a-t-i-o-n. Sure I knew you could!

The online portion of this game is also very robust. The online games fall into the following categories: Exhibition, Tournament and Career. Each game is then fully customizable to almost any restriction. You can set up game for almost anything. C-class cars only, HP range of 150-250, No damage, Simulation Damage, Cosmetic damage, 1 lap, 75 laps, No assist, Full assist... the list goes on and on. This allows you to always keep thing interesting and fresh every time you race. Maybe you want to race that course again but this time in an A-class, no problem. It would also allow you to set up matches specifically for each clans requirements or preferences. This makes forendless possibilities on the competitive side. Imagine challenging a clan to an A-class race on tracks A,B and C. Then after that is all said and done, make a new challenge for D-class on track X,Y and Z. Both races would be completely different and would likely net Very Different results. The possibilities are truly endless.

Exhibition games are mostly as they sound. They are just for fun games. No penalty to just go online and race. If you win you win and if you lose you lose. This is a great place to start and usually the first place people go when they first try an online race. It is also a great place to go with a few friends to check out some rides. Maybe you want to show your friends something on your car besides your tail lights? Photos are good and the photo mode in this game is awesome allowing you to take still and action shots of your car. But sometimes you want to see it in motion, test its limits or just mass around. An exhibition race is a great place to do that.

Tournaments are just what they seem. A series of races to determine the winner on a group of tracks. This is all business, no joking around here. You better bring your A game and put in a consistent performance if you want to take home the gold.

And finally we have Career. My personal favorite. A bit of a mix between the two. It is serious racing but it is also a lot of fun. Tracks and restrictions can be changed on the fly and people can come and go as they please. Plus each match is worth money which you can use in your offline career! The more money, the more cars you can tune out and more cars is always good. So why not race online competitively and make some bank? Why Not indeed.

All in all this is a great game in general and even better when you take it online. The possibilities for competitive play and clan matches are almost endless. Each member with it's own unique set up and car. Great cars, Unbelievable Physics, Miles and Miles of Customization and a Great mix of tracks put this game at the top of the Racing Sim list.

Graphics: 8.5
Sound: 9.0
Gameplay: 9.5
Replay value: 9.0
Multiplayer: 9.0
Clan: 9.0

Overall: 8.9 out of 10 (Not an average)