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March 2010 - Posts
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Apparently developers and fans were joined by thieves at PAX East in Boston this year. Joystiq has a lengthy report about one Justin D. of Delaware, who is the accused suspect. Apparently this "gentleman" hooked his laptop up to an ethernet cable at the Atomic Games booth (developers of Breach) and was able to download a small portion of the game before he was caught. Follow the link for the full article. 
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If you are a business mogul (or even looking for a new job) the you probably have a Blackberry and a LinkedIn account. If you have both (if not, get both!) then today is your lucky day. LinkedIn has finally released a true mobile app after rumors of it have been swirling around for almost a year. I just started playing with it, but it seems pretty good so far. Think Facebook for Blackberry and you have a good idea of what the app is like. Don't take my word for it though, go get it and let us know if you like it or not. It's available for the Tour, Bold and Curve running OS 4.3 and above. 
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Blu-ray Movie Releases for the Week of March 30, 2010
Here is the full list:
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Sherlock Holmes (Limited-Edition Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy) ~ Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, and Mark Strong
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Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel [Blu-ray] ~ Justin Long
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Collateral [Blu-ray] ~ Tom Cruise, Jamie Foxx, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Debi Mazar
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The Killer [Blu-ray] ~ Yun-Fat Chow, Danny Lee, Sally Yeh, and Kong Chu
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An Education [Blu-ray] ~ Carey Mulligan, et al.
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Verdi: La Traviata Special Edition Blu-Ray - Exclusive Bonus Feature ~ Angela Gheorghiu, Ramon Vargas, Roberto Frontali, and Natascha Petrinsky
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The Baader Meinhof Complex [Blu-ray] ~ Martina Gedeck, Moritz Bleibtreu, Johanna Wokalek, and Bruno Ganz
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I Sell the Dead [Blu-ray] ~ Dominic Monaghan, Ron Perlman, and Larry Fessenden
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Imax: Under the Sea [Blu-ray] ~ Jim Carrey
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The Protector [Blu-ray] ~ Tony Jaa
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Vampyres [Blu-ray] ~ Marianne Morris, Anulka, Murray Brown, and Brian Deacon
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Ouran High School Host Club: The Complete Series [Blu-ray] ~ Caitlin Glass, Vic Mignona, and Luci Christian
All of these new Blu-Ray releases are currently available at 30% off over at Amazon.
Check it out: Amazon - Blu-ray Sale 
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Shank is beautiful 2-D side-scrolling brawler made by Klei Entertainment. This beat em' up is uber-violent and appears that it may be very combo heavy. In the just released trailer (below) you see the main hero (?) switching between weapons on the fly (DMC influence, maybe) dealing out gruesome death after gruesome death. It looks totally awesome! EA has picked up the publishing rights, so expect top notch production on this one. Hit up the comments section and let us know what you think...if you don't, we're gonna send Shank to your house to ask you a few questions.
 
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Check out video one of the most impressive games displayed at PAX called Breach...
Breach is developed by Atomic games and features the Hydrogen engine which features physics based destructible environments. This first person shooter also features duck and cover as well... The most amazing part is that Breach is an Xbox LIVE Arcade title set to only cost $15.
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Welcome to New Releases for the Week!
Check out the full list of new video game releases (USA) for the week of March 29, 2010 on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Sony PSP, Nintendo DS, and PC! As always, release dates are subject to change, slip, slide, and be fairly unpredictable.
 
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There has been talk about the game Secret World for a while now (under a few different names), but until now, only a few stills have been seen around the net. This brand new reveal trailer sheds some, ummm, light on the what to expect from developer Funcom. This MMORPG is looking pretty good and by good I mean action packed and gory!
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One April 2 & 3, Toys R US will be be running a BOGO 1/2 sale on every video game in stock. This is a chance to catch up on all of the big releases that you have been eye balling since you spent all of your X-Mas money. I don't know about you, but I feel a 24 hour bug coming on laaaaaate Thursday night (cough, cough)...can't..make it..to work. 
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Gamefly Top Queued!
During the week of March 26, 2010, God of War III takes the top of the cross-platform Gamefly 'Most Queued' list again! Metro 2033 moves up to the 2nd position, while Battelfield Bad Company 2 slides into third.
Queue up the Gamefly Top 10 most requested list:
Most Popular Games Cross-Platform:
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Rank |
Title |
Platform(s) |
Category |
Publisher |
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1 |
God of War III |
PS3 |
Action Adventure |
Sony Computer Entertainment |
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2 |
Metro 2033 |
Xbox 360 |
Shooter |
THQ |
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3 |
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 |
PS3, Xbox 360 |
Shooter |
Electronic Arts |
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4 |
Just Cause 2 |
PS3, Xbox 360 |
Action Adventure |
Eidos |
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5 |
Heavy Rain |
PS3 |
Action Adventure |
Sony Computer Entertainment |
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6 |
Final Fantasy XIII |
PS3, Xbox 360 |
RPG |
Square Enix |
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7 |
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Conviction |
Xbox 360 |
Shooter |
Ubisoft |
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8 |
Dante's Inferno |
PS3, Xbox 360, PSP Games |
Action Adventure |
Electronic Arts |
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9 |
Resonance of Fate |
PS3, Xbox 360 |
RPG |
Sega |
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10 |
BioShock 2 |
PS3, Xbox 360 |
Shooter |
Take Two |
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Apparently March 26th-ish should have been posted as the release date for Batman:Arkham Asylum - Game of the Year Edition. Upon looking a little bit closer at the The Arkham Asylum site, it appears that the 26th is the European release date, leaving us stateside gamers playing in the 2D world. Gamestop has May 11th listed as the release date (even though it hasn't been officially announced) and Amazon doesn't even have it listed. Stay tuned, we will post more info as we get it. 
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Microsoft was kind enough to have a live showing of Windows Phone 7 at CTIA today, and on a big screen, no less. This is the first in depth look at MS Office for the new platform. Dig in folks and hit up the comments section.
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When Hideo Kojima announced that the next true episode in the celebrated Metal Gear Solid franchise would be a PSP exclusive, much of the industry was skeptical. People openly questioned how he expected to follow up the masterpiece that was MGS 4 on the uber powerful PS3. Since Peace Walker was announced, Kojima Productions has been very stingy with info. This all changed a couple of days ago when the music video "Koi no Yokushiryoku" (Deterrent of Love) was released. The video features in-game footage and action sequences from the forthcoming game that, if you are like me, make your interest level sky rocket. Watch it and then hit us up in the comments section.
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The HTC HD2 landed on US shores today via T-Mobile. If you are one of
the dwindling number of people that still care about Windows Mobile 6.5
(don't get me wrong, I do) then check the specs below and cough up the
cash! | Operating System |
Windows Mobile 6.5 |
| Processor |
Qualcomm 1GHz Snapdragon |
| Internal Memory |
ROM 1GB;
RAM 576MB |
| Compatibility |
* WiFi: 802.11 b/g
* GPS/AGPS |
| Email |
One Exchange, up to 6 POP/IMAP |
| Dimensions |
122x67x11mm |
| Weight |
157g (with battery) |
| Display |
4.3-inch HD touch-sensitive screen with 480
x 800 WVGA resolution
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| Technology |
GSM: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
WCDMA/HSPA: 1700 MHz (AWS) / 2100 MHz |
| Battery |
1230 mAh
Talk Time: 380 min (GSM)
Standby Time: 490 hours (GSM) (The above are subject to
network and phone usage) |
| Speakerphone |
Built-in microphone, speaker |
| Built in Camera |
5MP, including widescreen capture, digital zoom and 2x
LED Flash |
| Audio/Video |
* Windows Media® Player
* Albums
* Pictures & Videos
* FM Radio
* Audio supported formats:
.aac, .amr, .m4a, .mid, .mp3, .mp4, .qcp, .wav, .wma
* Video supported formats:
.wmv, .asf, .mp4, .3gp, .3g2, .m4v, .avi
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| I/O Interface |
Bluetooth® 2.1 with Enhanced Data Rate, WiFi: 802.11 b/g |
| Expansion |
microSD™ memory card (SD 2.0 compatible) (up to 32GB) |
| Antenna |
Internal Antenna |
| In Box Content |
16GB MicroSD Card
MicroUSB Cable
Travel Charger |
| User Interface |
* HTC Sense user experience
* Capacitive touchscreen with pinch-to-zoom and haptic
capability
* G-Sensor
* Proximity sensor
* 3.5 mm headset jack |
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The guys over at SlashGear posted a lengthy hands on video. Go get some popcorn, then jump right in!
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Seeing as how Hawtwired had a bajillion hits on the Evo 4G post last night, we are going please the people and bring you as much info as we can! Keep checking back here for all the juicy tidbits. Make sure to check out the Evo 4g Developer Site, here's the link.
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Features/Highlights
- 4G & 3G device
- Android 2.1 Eclair
- 1GHz Qualcomm® Snapdragon™
- HDMI video output
- 2 cameras (8MB/1.3MB)
- The HTC Sense UI Framework
- Social Networking integration
- 1GB Rom
- SDHC Support of up to 32 gb
- Form Factor: Touchscreen and hardware buttons
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Display
Type: amoled captive multi-touch
Size: 4.3 inches wga
Resolution: 800x480 (WVGA)
HDMI output: YES |
Connectivity
4G: Yes
Wi-Fi: Yes
Bluetooth: Bluetooth 2.1 +EDR
USB: Yes
GPS: Yes
Infrared Port: No |
Hardware/OS
Operating System: Android 2.1 Eclair with HTC Sense
External Memory: MicroSD up to 32GB
ROM: 1GB
Processor: 1GHz Qualcomm® Snapdragon |
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Camera
Megapixels: 8.0
Auto-focus,Flash
Video: HD video
2nd Camera: 1.3 megapixels |
Multimedia
Headset Jack: 3.5mm
Audio Types: AAC, AAC+, AMR-NB, MIDI, MP3, WMA, WMV
Video Types: MPEG4, H.263, H264
Speakerphone: Yes
Messaging: MMS, SMS, Email, Chat, Facebook, Twitter
Browser: XML/HTML |
Developer Resources |
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Nintendo announced that the successor to the ever so popular DS/DSi/DSi XL will be a 3D handheld machine (code named 3DS). Very little info was in the press release; only that it will be released in the fiscal year ending in March 2011, it will be backwards compatible with DS and DSi games and you will not need dorky special glasses in order enjoy all of it's 3D glory. Nintendo has promised to announce more details at this years E3. Nintendo laughs hysterically at apologizes to the 80 gagillion people that just upgraded to the DSi and DSi XL's ;-)
 
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The Palm Pre and Pixi will be making their debut on AT&T's network in the coming months. Hopefully it is not too late for Palm to get off of life support. I picked up a Sprint Pre on launch day and while I was impressed with Web OS, I was not impressed with the cheap build quality, the cramped keyboard, the pathetic poor battery life or the hit or miss cloud sync. I returned it after only a few weeks. I hear that the OTA updates released by Palm have vastly improved it's performance and functionality, but I still think that they should just bite the bullet and let HTC design the handset shell; that would be a drool worthy combo. Palm, are you listening?
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Today Sprint announced the first 4G handset for the US market. Previously known as the HTC Supersonic, Sprint has officially named it the HTC EVO 4G. This thing is an absolute BEAST! It packs a 4.3 in screen, an 8 mp camera (w/flash and 720p recording), a 1.3 mp camera on the front, a 1 GHz Snapdragon processor, 1 GB on board memory, 528 MB of ram, 720p video output, and it comes with an 8 MB micro SD card to boot. I am not an Android man, but this phone may be calling my name. What do you think?
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Blu-ray Movie Releases for the Week of March 23, 2010
Here is the full list:
- The Blind Side (Limited-Edition Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy) ~ Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Kathy Bates, and Quinton Aaron
- Toy Story (Two-Disc Special Edition Blu-ray/DVD Combo w/ Blu-ray Packaging) ~ Tim Allen, Tom Hanks, Annie Potts, and John Ratzenberger
- Toy Story 2 (Two-Disc Special Edition Blu-ray/DVD Combo w/ Blu-ray Packaging) ~ Tim Allen, Tom Hanks, Joan Cusack, and Kelsey Grammer
- Mad Men: Season 3 [Blu-ray] ~ Jon Hamm, Elisabeth Moss, Vincent Kartheiser, and January Jones
- The Men Who Stare At Goats [Blu-ray] ~ George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey, and Jeff Bridges
- Fantastic Mr. Fox (Three-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy) ~ George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Wallace Wolodarsky, and Jason Schwartzman
- Red Cliff International Version - Part I & Part II [Blu-ray] ~ Tony Leung, et al.
- The African Queen [Blu-ray] ~ Katharine Hepburn, et al.
- Brothers [Blu-ray] ~ Jake Gyllenhaal, et al.
- Days of Heaven (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray] ~ Richard Gere, Brooke Adams, Sam Shepard, and Linda Manz
- Yojimbo & Sanjuro (Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray] ~ Toshirô Mifune, Eijirô Tôno, Tatsuya Nakadai, and Yôko Tsukasa
- Bigger Than Life (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray] ~ James Mason, Barbara Rush, and Walter Matthau
- Trinity Blood: Complete Series Box Set [Blu-ray] ~ Colleen Clinkenbeard, Troy Baker, and Carrie Savage
- Free Willy: Escape from Pirate's Cove (Limited-Edition Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy) ~ Bindi Irwin, Beau Bridges, Mike Falkow, and Matthew Dylan Roberts
- Spring 1941 [Blu-ray] ~ Joseph Fiennes
- Phantom Punch [Blu-ray] ~ Ving Rhames, Stacey Dash, Nicholas Turturro, and Bridgette Wilson
- Smokin' Aces: 2-Movie Collection [Blu-ray] ~ Ray Liotta, Ryan Reynolds, and Joseph Ruskin
All of these new Blu-Ray releases are currently available at 30% off over at Amazon.
Check it out: Amazon - Blu-ray Sale
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Welcome to New Releases for the Week!
Highlights this week include Just Cause 2 , MotoGP 09/10 , Red Steel 2 , The Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom , Zhu Zhu Pets: Special Edition with Baby Hamster , and how could we leave out Build-a-Bear Workshop: Welcome to Hugsville .
Check out the full list of new video game releases (USA) for the week of March 22, 2010 on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Sony PSP, Nintendo DS, and PC! As always, release dates are subject to change, slip, slide, and be fairly unpredictable.
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 I know that it is only Q1, but I have to say that this is shaping up to be the BEST YEAR EVER in gaming. Usually, Q1 is a barren wasteland that is devoid of any games worth your attention. But this year, in no small thanks to Modern Warfare 2, a lot of really great titles were held until after the Christmas season. We are barely through month three and the list of big games released so far are mind blowing; God of War III, BioShock 2, Mass Effect 2, Dark Siders, Heavy Rain, Final Fantasy XIII, Bayonetta...need I go on? If you think that this is a fluke brought by publisher's fearing MW2, then think again. By the end of Q2 we will see Super Mario Galaxy 2, Red Steel 2, Just Cause 2, Crackdown 2, Splinter and Cell Conviction. Hopefully this is a sign that publisher's are waking up to the fact that gaming is a year round form of entertainment. Man, it's a good time to be a gamer.
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I avoided the Kratos Sex Therapy video as long as I could, but what can I say, it's LOL funny!
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So, I didn't really feel that an exploit was something that HAWTwired readers wanted on thier news feed, but Carlos talked me into it, so blame him if you want someone to blame.
In Chapter Seven, in the city of Palumpolom, at one point you reach Hope's house. Shorltly after, the militray attacks, and you're engaged into some battles within the domicile. The house is basically shaped like a loop, and inside are two enemy groups, two item chests, a Save Point, and an Activation Point.
The enemy groups both regularly drop Incentive Chips, a component item that has a selling value of 2,500 gil (I got the drop roughly 3 out of 5 battles). Kill the enemies, run the loop, and the enemies will respawn as soon as you break line-of-sight with their spawn point. Kill them again, bag Incentive Chips, and repeat. The scene doesn't end until you use the Activation Point, so as long as you just don't click "Okay" there, you can farm it until you're tired of it.
You can use the shops at the Save Point and sell the Incentive Chips for a buttload of cred (not metric buttload, because this is America), and turn that money around to buy components to upgrade your weapons and accessories to max level. I only spent a half-hour farming, and I had enough money to upgrade all of my battle party's accessories to Star Level, as well as gaining some good levels on my weapons. I'm sure someone out there has patience enough to farm out the loop until their entire inventory is starred-out, so have fun. 
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"Mark the calendars now! April 2nd - 5th marks the first Double XP weekend on for worldwide. New Maps + Double XP = No sleep." That is a tweet from Robert Bowling of Infinty Ward. Considering all of the turmoil that Infinity Ward has been involved in as of late, it is really nice to get some good news from the camp that brought us Modern Warfare 2. No word on whether or not PS3 owners will get this digital blessing, but stay tuned, hawtwired is on it. 
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Ok, I have seen a lot of off the wall game concepts, but developer A2M has definately gone off the deep end with Naughty Bear (in a good way). Naughty Bear is about a sociopathic teddy bear that goes on a killing spree because he was not invited to a birthday party thrown by his fellow teddy bears. No, really. Your ultimate goal is to terrorize the other bears and create pure havoc on the Island of Perfection. I am not sure what else I can say besides that this game can't come soon enough.
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Sprint has FINALLY released their carrier specific version of Windows Mobile 6.5 upgrade for the HTC Touch Pro 2. Now that everyone is moving on to Windows Phone 7, it may not matter to most. It supposed to fix a few bugs and improve the user experience over all. I am about to upgrade right now, so I will post my impressions asap.
 
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BBleaks.com is reporting that it has received a leaked screen shot of the upcoming Blackberry OS 6.0 from a VERY reliable source. While we all know that the Balckberry is waaaaay over due for an OS overhaul, make sure to take this with a grain of salt and not get too excited...ok now get excited! 
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If you are a fan of games like Ico or The Last Guardian (and who isn't?) you will want to watch the trailer for Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom:The Fallen Realm. The release of this Japanese developed game here in the states was previously in question, but now that Namco Bandai has committed to the West we can all rejoice! The trailer shows off both a mix of combat and the bond that the games hero shares with his mystical magical super cool creature buddy. Enjoy :-)
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Or...don't. We have the link to the "secret" site you're linked to after obtaining the elusive Platinum trophy for God of War 3 right here. No need to go all masochist on us if you don't want to.
What do you guys think of the site? Rain drops be fallin' and a funky-looking symbol is stapled to the upper right-hand corner. Sources indicate that it may be of Greek origin. Lambda, say you?
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So, Joystiq got the scoop earlier today that the Xbox 360 will allow gamers to use, by now ubiquitous, USB memory sticks to use for saving games, installs, etc.
All good, right? Well, it may sound great but Microsoft will be limiting the storage capacity via USB sticks to 32GB max. That means that: no matter what size USB drive you use, you may only use up to 16GB for storage...per device connected. Still, it's nice to see Microsoft loosening up a bit on the HDD front but, as Joystiq pointed out, this is mostly a move to rid themselves of their tiny Memory Units not towards giving the consumer purchasing freedom over their proprietary hard drives.
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Gamefly Top Queued!
For the week of March 15, 2010, God of War III takes the top of the cross-platform Gamefly 'Most Queued' list. Battlefield Bad Company 2 slips to number 2, while Final Fantasy XIII slides into third.
Queue up the Gamefly Top 10 most requested list:
Most Popular Games Cross-Platform:
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Rank |
Title |
Platform(s) |
Category |
Publisher |
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1 |
God of War III |
PS3 |
Action Adventure |
Sony Computer Entertainment |
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2 |
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 |
PS3, Xbox 360 |
Shooter |
Electronic Arts |
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3 |
Final Fantasy XIII |
PS3, Xbox 360 |
RPG |
Square Enix |
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4 |
Just Cause 2 |
PS3, Xbox 360 |
Action Adventure |
Eidos |
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5 |
Metro 2033 |
Xbox 360 |
Shooter |
THQ |
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6 |
Heavy Rain |
PS3 |
Action Adventure |
Sony Computer Entertainment |
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7 |
Dante's Inferno |
PS3, Xbox 360, PSP Games |
Action Adventure |
Electronic Arts |
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8 |
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Conviction |
Xbox 360 |
Shooter |
Ubisoft |
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9 |
BioShock 2 |
PS3, Xbox 360 |
Shooter |
Take Two |
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10 |
Aliens vs. Predator |
PS3, Xbox 360 |
Shooter |
Sega |
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Joystiq did us the huge disservice favor of posting this trailer of Power Gig:Rise of the Sixstring. It is sooo ridiculously lame that you have to like it. It shows no gameplay at all, but you do see a guy stop playing the game, plug the guitar "controller" into an amp and proceed to rock out. The jury is still out on this one. 
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If you have not seen the Hakan Reveal Trailer for Super Street Fighter IV , then you have not had your good laugh for the week. This trailer is zany and unorthodox, but oddly, it made me want the game. I really wasn't interested in what I considered a quick franchise upgrade, but seeing the originality of this new character has me very curious about the rest of the cast additions. Take a peek and let us know if you agree..."Looks like it's time to OIL UP!"
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 Engadget Mobile posted a video today of a game called The Harvest that was running on a Windows 7 Phone prototype. The graphics looked incredibly detailed and the frame rate was silky smooth. Pay close attention to the first "super jump" and you will see the fine texture details when the landscape crumbles. Who said Microsoft wasn't getting into the handheld gaming market?
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The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Sprint is set to unveil it's first 4G handset next week at CTIA. This handset has been sneaking around the internet for weeks, and is called the HTC Supersonic. It's a beast of an Android OS phone. It has a 4.3" screen that is begging for some finger action! Just think the HTC HD2, except minus WM6. Now breathe... 
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First T-Mobile, then Verizon, then ATT, now pulling up the rear is Sprint. The Google Nexus One, perhaps the most powerful Android phone in the US market, has been announced for the country's best priced carrier. Unfortunately, this is yet another phone that does not have the capability to ride the magic 4G carpet that Sprint offers. Pricing and availability are yet to be determined. So far, google has chosen not to sell this handset in brick and mortar locations (it's only available through the Google store) and it looks like that may not change for Sprint customers.
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Highlights this week include God of War III, Dragon Age: Origins- Awakening, Metro 2033, Perfect Dark (XBLA), Infinite Space and Command & Conquer 4.
Check out the full list of new video game releases (USA) for the week of March 15, 2010 on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Sony PSP, Nintendo DS, and PC! As always, release dates are subject to change; they can slip, they can slide, and can be fairly unpredictable.
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 Every time a new Final Fantasy releases, the clones are soon to follow. From production values to straight ripping the latest landmark's combat system, Square Enix has been there to pave the way. And, this time, with Final Fantasy XIII it looks to be no different.
Role-playing traditionalists would be quick to point out: "But, well...it plays itself!" and "Where, Square, might your overworld be?!"
Quibbles that, while valid in certain respects, become only apparent when you sit down with FFXIII and decide to dissect every piece and fiber of its existence. In a lot of ways the game lays down the ground work for a more accessible RPG.
Essential in a post-Mass Effect 2 world where the fun is in the mechanics of playing the game, not in finding the perfect sword/magic combo/whatever to defeat Chaos. Or his antagonist follow-ups.
While Western RPGs have been liberal with changes to their presentation and mechanics, it's surprising that a Japanese company would play with the tried-and-true format they've been employing for the last 20 years.
Sure, every iteration of the Final Fantasy franchise has had a new combat system to play with, but none let you "Auto-battle" your way through it. FFXIII sets up actions in the most effective way to take down your foes...and you can mash on "X" through all of them.
The combat boils down to -- mostly -- staggering your enemy, managing your health, and changing your party's offensive/defensive formation, or "Paradigms," according to how the battle unfolds.
Action games? Shoot, manage health, and adapt to the dynamic of the battlefield.
There's still strategy in FFXIII but it is boiled down to its most essential functions. Not to mention that most non-event battles are optional. Grinding? For. The. Lose.
Further down the changing route, Square Enix strips away a sense of "downtime" with the lack of sleepy town hubs. RPG fans treat this as a hindrance on the game and its "kind," but I contend that when the action is as constant as it is in FFXIII, the break comes in saving and shutting off.
I understand you want a break during your hours-long stretches of playing the game, but there comes a time to breath and step away, no? As wrong as I may be in the minds of some RPG fans, I appreciated the brisk pace FFXIII took me through its linear world-saving trek.
Now, the combat and pacing I can defend in regards to FFXIII. The story, on the other hand, is typical of what you can expect from Final Fantasy.
"I told you, didn't I? Moms are tough."
Shortly after, the mom in question meets her untimely demise. Very tough, indeed.
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Last time, as part of our Semi-Regular Game Giveaways(tm), we presented you the God of War 3 demo pre-Sony-giving-it-away-via-PSN-and-ruining-the-high-importance-of-our-own-raffle.
This time around, we're giving away a Blur beta code (Xbox 360). How to win? Simply follow @HawtWired and RT any of the feed's tweets. We'll randomly select an RT'ing follower Sunday night promptly in time for the winner to start the week right.
Good luck!
[Update] Originally, we received one multiplayer beta code to give away for Blur, but! As luck would have it, we have 3 more codes to give out. Four in total. Keep those RTs coming!
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The peripheral formerly speculated as "Gem" or "Arc" was today officially unveiled as "PlayStation Move." There was no clear indication of price except that it would be under $100.
From my years of experience following consumer unveils and "target price points," a $99 price for Sony's entry into motion gaming seems likely.
During today's GDC press conference, Sony presented the possibility of three different configurations for Move purchasers this fall: standalone, bundled with PlayStation Eye, and included as a part of a future PS3 bundle.
An official release date and launch lineup should be forthcoming when E3 rolls around in June.
[Pic via Morgan Webb's Twitter feed.]
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What is the world coming to? First, Street Fighter IV is officially announced for touch portables then Namco decides to throw in their hat into the ring with Tekken now rumored to take the iPhone plunge, according to PocketGamer.
Patrick and I just got the news right before we taped tomorrow's GDP (GamerDeals Podcast) and were not completely convinced of a fighter with no physical inputs.
What do you guys think? Down to touch-fight at work during breaks? 
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Portal 2 , as a full-fledged retail product, was officially announced by Valve last week and today we have more juicy rumoring about the game.
Co-op gaming is interesting enough but Shacknews is also thinking it may include a level painting hook.
Reason? The latest issue of Game Informer, with Portal 2 on the cover, made mention of "using special paint that gives unique physical properties to surfaces (eg rocket jumping, speed bursts, etc)," commented Shacknews forum member Masem.
Sounds very similar to what the DigiPen team behind Tag: The Power of Paint was working on...
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Welcome to New Releases for the Week!
Highlights this week include Final Fantasy XIII, Yakuza 3 , Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition , BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger , Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War II: Chaos Rising , and Assassins Creed II .
Check out the full list of new video game releases (USA) for the week of March 8, 2010 on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Sony PSP, Nintendo DS, and PC! As always, release dates are subject to change, slip, slide, and be fairly unpredictable.
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Yeah, yeah. When the I N T E R N E T refers to portable touch gaming, they say "iPhone gaming," but I figured the iPod Touch does pretty much the same thing and deserves some attention after putting up with excessive amounts of neglect. Plus! Matches the title you read above.
Ah, but I digress. The above image popped up recently on teaser site Sam's New Mission that points directly to Apple headquarter's location.
Any ideas on what would make a good touch-based Splinter Cell game? Shout outs are welcome below.
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Gamefly Top Queued!
For the week of March 3, 2010, Heavy Rain remains at the top of the cross-platform Gamefly 'Most Queued' list. Battlefield Bad Company 2 tops the Xbox 360 list, while New Super Mario Bros. remains on top for the Nintendo Wii.
Queue up the complete Gamefly Top 10 most requested lists:
Most Popular Games Cross-Platform:
|
Rank |
Title |
Platform(s) |
Category |
Publisher |
|
1 |
Heavy Rain |
PS3 |
Action Adventure |
Sony Computer Entertainment |
|
2 |
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 |
PS3, Xbox 360 |
Shooter |
Electronic Arts |
|
3 |
Dante's Inferno |
PS3, Xbox 360, PSP Games |
Action Adventure |
Electronic Arts |
|
4 |
God of War III |
PS3 |
Action Adventure |
Sony Computer Entertainment |
|
5 |
Aliens vs. Predator |
PS3, Xbox 360 |
Shooter |
Sega |
|
6 |
BioShock 2 |
PS3, Xbox 360 |
Shooter |
Take Two |
|
7 |
Mass Effect 2 |
Xbox 360 |
RPG |
Electronic Arts |
|
8 |
Final Fantasy XIII |
PS3, Xbox 360 |
RPG |
Square Enix |
|
9 |
MAG |
PS3 |
Shooter |
Sony Computer Entertainment |
|
10 |
MLB '10: The Show |
PS3, PSP Games, PS2 |
Sports |
Sony Computer Entertainment |
Xbox 360 Most Popular Games:
|
Rank |
Title |
Category |
Publisher |
|
1 |
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 |
Shooter |
Electronic Arts |
|
2 |
Dante's Inferno |
Action Adventure |
Electronic Arts |
|
3 |
Aliens vs. Predator |
Shooter |
Sega |
|
4 |
BioShock 2 |
Shooter |
Take Two |
|
5 |
Mass Effect 2 |
RPG |
Electronic Arts |
|
6 |
Final Fantasy XIII |
RPG |
Square Enix |
|
7 |
Army of Two: The 40th Day |
Shooter |
Electronic Arts |
|
8 |
Metro 2033 |
Shooter |
THQ |
|
9 |
Major League Baseball 2K10 |
Sports |
Take Two |
|
10 |
Borderlands |
Shooter |
Take Two |
PlayStation 3 Most Popular Games:
|
Rank |
Title |
Category |
Publisher |
|
1 |
Heavy Rain |
Action Adventure |
Sony Computer Entertainment |
|
2 |
God of War III |
Action Adventure |
Sony Computer Entertainment |
|
3 |
Dante's Inferno Divine Edition |
Action Adventure |
Electronic Arts |
|
4 |
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 |
Shooter |
Electronic Arts |
|
5 |
MAG |
Shooter |
Sony Computer Entertainment |
|
6 |
Final Fantasy XIII |
RPG |
Square Enix |
|
7 |
BioShock 2 |
Shooter |
Take Two |
|
8 |
MLB '10: The Show |
Sports |
Sony Computer Entertainment |
|
9 |
Aliens vs. Predator |
Shooter |
Sega |
|
10 |
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves |
Action Adventure |
Sony Computer Entertainment |
Nintendo Wii Most Popular Games:
|
Rank |
Title |
Category |
Publisher |
|
1 |
New Super Mario Bros. Wii |
Action Adventure |
Nintendo |
|
2 |
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games |
Sports |
Sega |
|
3 |
Alice in Wonderland |
Kids/Family |
Disney Interactive |
|
4 |
Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing |
Racing |
Sega |
|
5 |
Wii Sports Resort |
Sports |
Nintendo |
|
6 |
Spongebob Boating Bash |
Kids/Family |
THQ |
|
7 |
Just Dance |
Arcade/Puzzle |
Ubisoft |
|
8 |
Endless Ocean: Blue World |
Strategy/Sim |
Nintendo |
|
9 |
Super Mario Galaxy |
Action Adventure |
Nintendo |
|
10 |
Super Mario Galaxy 2 |
Action Adventure |
Nintendo | 
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Phew, that's a long game title! I know how much you guys love your GamerDeals, so I'm sending a quick blurb out your way to let you know that the latest Assassin's Creed 2 iPhone game is free for 48 hours.
Here's the AppStore link. Remember to clear up some space on your iPhone and download it before the deal goes void and the price goes up to non-free territory on Wednesday. $2.99? Eww.
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And we thought the scares of the Y2K bug were behind us! Apparently, our fancy next-gen George Foreman grills are susceptible (????) to the same world-ending system errors. From 4pm Sunday to 4pm earlier today, the PlayStation Network took a nosedive. What happened?
"We are aware that the internal clock functionality in the PS3 units other than the slim model, recognized the year 2010 as a leap year. Having the internal clock date change from February 29 to March 1 (both GMT), we have verified that the symptoms are now resolved and that users are able to use their PS3 normally," said Senior Director of Corporate Communications & Social Media for SCEA, Patrick Seybold, on the company's blog.
So "leap year" bug, eh? Sounds like the SYSTEM'S plan to take over the world was foiled once again! You can listen in on more of our thoughts on tomorrow's GDP (GamerDeals Podcast).
[Pic Source]
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Short version: This year's I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB13S 1N IT!!!1
Long version: Shoot 1UP is on the fast track to be this year's best shmup, which is both a boisterous claim since it's only March, and an unusual claim as its an Xbox Independent release.
Shoot 1UP comes to us from Mommy's Best Games, the team behind last year's superb but criminally overlooked Weapon of Choice, and the pedigree is apparent. The genre evolving innovations that Weapon of Choice brought to side-scrolling shooters have definite echoes in top-down shooter sibling Shoot 1UP.
The main concept behind Shoot 1UP is that while most shmups take your extra lives and put them into storage, Shoot 1UP says, "Hell with it, put them all in play at once". The result is that rather than piloting a single ship, you pilot a phalanx of ships. Besides just adjusting your position on the screen, you can also adjust the tightness and looseness of your phalanx using either the trigger or shoulder buttons, which adds a whole new layer to the strategy.
Going through a wave of enemies from all angles? Widen your formation, and the swath of destruction you cut will widen as the ships spread apart. Flying brazenly into bullet hell? Tighten the formation for more precise navigation through the gauntlet.
Another nice touch that plays with the phalanx’s tightness is bonus scoring. Most enemies drop bonus points that you have to swoop in and collect to receive the score bonus, and the value of the bonuses increase depending on how wide your formation is spread. Essentially, more guts, more glory.
Your phalanx has a couple more neat tricks up its sleeve, as holding down the attack button can cause the ships to combine their fire into an intense Plasma Auger for tough enemies and screen filling bosses, and taking a second to give your shooting finger a break will give you a short range 360-degree burst surrounding each ship for a nice defensive weapon.
Three difficulty levels and a "Score Trek" mode allow for the masochistic game play of your choice. If there's any shortcoming to the game, its firstly that the backgrounds are highly repetitive (something you'll only notice during the short breathers) and secondly that the game itself is rather short. But in-game Achievements and co-op extend the game play and more than make up for these minor faults, and at the $1 price point a game only a fifth as fun and engaging would still be worth the money.
Grade: A- 
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On today's episode of "You've Wasted Eight Years of Your Life", we focus on the Phoenix Online Studios. Phoenix Online Studios (I’m on their side, so don’t expect me to use the acronym “POS“) has spent the last eight years toiling on a fan-made love-labored sequel to King's Quest 8 called "The Silver Lining".
A lot can happen in eight years. Originally, when Phoenix began The Silver Lining, the King's Quest properties were owned by Vivendi, who took them over from Sierra. Today, though, the Sierra library is owned by the game industries own Oceania, Activision.
Videndi actually had given Phoenix Online Studios permission to run with The Silver Lining, granting them a non-commercial license for it, something Phoenix was planning to run with when they launched The Silver Lining as a episodic release this Spring.
Then, in a move that perhaps doesn't pull as many heartstrings as Squenix killing the fan-made Chrono Trigger sequel a few months ago, but one much more insidious, the enchanted sword fell. Activision's legal team (which I can only assume is referred to as the unfortunately catchy "Actilegal") has apparently reneged that decision and issued Phoenix a cease and desist order on The Silver Lining, going so far as forcing The Silver Lining's forums to be taken down.
Let's pause there for a second, and reflect. Activision literally removed The Silver Lining from gaming. Tell me that's not a metaphor coming to life.
This comes on the heels of the gaming community's favorite carrion crawler, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick (Bo-Kot on the streets) announcing during his keynote at DICE that Activision is going to take pains to work more closely and cooperative with its licensees. Which, judging by how they handled Red Octane, means they'll co-opt The Silver Lining, farm it out to another developer, complain when it doesn't change the industry as they expect, kill the whole studio, and say they should have gone with Phoenix to begin with.
On a side note, I’m disappointed that no one caught on that Bo-Kot did NOT deliver a real keynote at DICE. His “business casual” and message of peace and love was obviously a performance piece meant to satire Steve Jobbs. My personal favorite part was when he explained he started out as "just a developer". Historical note: Hitler started out as "just a painter". Moving on...
Personally, I'm hoping that Phoenix Online Studios can find a way to strip The Silver Lining of its King's Quest heritage enough to dodge copyright restrictions and release it. And I hope it sells a ton, when it does. I'll personally buy and give away several copies if they can manage to do so, in fact, if for no reason other than to stick it to an biased and inefficient copyright system.
But that’s a gripe for another day.
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1 Million Dollars...
2K just announced the details of their MLB 2K10 1 Million Dollar Perfect Game Challenge:
2K Sports announced today that they will give away an unprecedented cash prize in the amount of $1,000,000 to the first person who throws a verified perfect game in Major League Baseball 2K10, the next iteration of the popular Major League Baseball 2K series, prior to May 2, 2010. The special contest, available for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft through the Xbox LIVE online entertainment network and PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system through the PlayStation Network*, illustrates 2K Sports' dedication to delivering vastly improved gameplay and pitching mechanics this season in Major League Baseball 2K10.
Developed by Visual Concepts, a 2K Sports studio, Major League Baseball 2K10 is rated E for Everyone by the ESRB and will be available on March 2, 2010 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 system, PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system, PSP (PlayStation Portable) system, Wii system, Nintendo DS and Windows PC. For more information about Major League Baseball 2K10, please visit www.2ksports.com/games/mlb2k10.
MLB 2K10 releases Tuesday, March 2, 2010. 
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Welcome to New Releases for the Week!
Highlights this week include Battlefield Bad Company 2, MLB10 The Show, MLB 2K10, Lunar Silver Star Harmony and Supreme Commander 2.
Check out the full list of new video game releases (USA) for the week of March 1, 2010 on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Sony PSP, Nintendo DS, and PC! As always, release dates are subject to change, slip, slide, and be fairly unpredictable.
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