News

The PlayStation 3 version of science fiction role-playing game Mass Effect 2 will include an interactive comic designed to introduce newcomers to the series.

“While I can’t release all the details about this yet, what I can tell you is that we want to create a stunning visual experience that not only tells the core story elements of Mass Effect 1, but also is fully interactive allowing you to be faced with some of the major choices which will have consequences your [sic] Mass Effect universe,” producer Jesse Houston confirmed on BioWare’s forum.

Does this mean Mass Effect 1 will never release for the PS3?

Read more…

Gran Turismo creator Kaz Yamauchi reckons the long-awaited fifth game in the series – still without an official release date – was restricted by the capacity of the PlayStation 3.

Don’t be shocked – the Polyphony boss reckons every PlayStation he has worked on has “restricted” him, including the PS3.

“Software has to be created under the restriction of the hardware,” he told the latest issue of Esquire UK (via CVG).

Read more…

A big week in releases as Activision sets loose the next instalment in its mega Call of Duty franchise with the Treyarch-developed Black Ops.

Just 12 months after Activision released Infinity Ward’s hugely successful Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, the publisher is gearing up for yet another massive launch bearing the Call of Duty prefix. The Treyarch-developed Call of Duty: Black Ops comes to the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, DS, and PC this Tuesday and already has some analysts predicting it could sell well beyond 18 million units globally.

Black Ops coming to a store shelf near you this Tuesday.

Black Ops’ single-player campaign will follow a group of US commandos undertaking various high-risk covert operations in various Cold War conflicts, including the Vietnam War and Russia. The game features a star-studded voice-acting cast and a soundtrack composed by Buffy the Vampire Slayer‘s Sean Murray, and it will also see the return of the much-loved zombie mode from Call of Duty: World at War.

Also this week, Konami is releasing the moderately received Wii version of Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 that utilises a purpose-built control scheme, as well as the return of last year’s My Team mode and two-player head-to-head online matches. The game is out today.

Rounding out the week are more Wii versions, including EA’s The Sims 3, Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X. 2, and NBA 2K 11. Also launching this week are Sonic Colours on the Wii and DS as well as ultimate edition packs for Dragon Age: Origins and Battlefield: Bad Company 2.

To find out what else is out this week, check out the list below:

November 8, 2010
Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 (Wii)

November 9, 2010
Call of Duty: Black Ops (PS3, 360, Wii, DS, PC)

November 10, 2010
Sesame Street: Elmo’s A-to-Zoo Adventure (Wii, DS, PC)
Sesame Street: Cookie’s Counting Carnival (Wii, DS, PC)

November 11, 2010
The Fight: Lights Out (PS3)
Time Crisis: Razing Storm (PS3)
Sonic Colors (Wii, DS )

Saw II: Flesh & Blood (360, PS3)

NBA 2K11 (Wii)

Monopoly Streets (360)
Tom Clancy’s HAWX 2 (Wii, PC)
Create (360, PS3, Wii)
Battle vs. Chess (360, PS3, PC)
SingStar Dance (PS3)
The Sims 3 (Wii)
Dragon Age: Origins Ultimate Edition (360, PS3, PC)
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Ultimate Edition (360, PS3)

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

A big week in releases as Activision sets loose the next instalment in its mega Call of Duty franchise with the Treyarch-developed Black Ops.

Just 12 months after Activision released Infinity Ward’s hugely successful Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, the publisher is gearing up for yet another massive launch bearing the Call of Duty prefix. The Treyarch-developed Call of Duty: Black Ops comes to the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, DS, and PC this Tuesday and already has some analysts predicting it could sell well beyond 18 million units globally.

Black Ops coming to a store shelf near you this Tuesday.

Black Ops’ single-player campaign will follow a group of US commandos undertaking various high-risk covert operations in various Cold War conflicts, including the Vietnam War and Russia. The game features a star-studded voice-acting cast and a soundtrack composed by Buffy the Vampire Slayer‘s Sean Murray, and it will also see the return of the much-loved zombie mode from Call of Duty: World at War.

Also this week, Konami is releasing the moderately received Wii version of Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 that utilises a purpose-built control scheme, as well as the return of last year’s My Team mode and two-player head-to-head online matches. The game is out today.

Rounding out the week are more Wii versions, including EA’s The Sims 3, Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X. 2, and NBA 2K 11. Also launching this week are Sonic Colours on the Wii and DS as well as ultimate edition packs for Dragon Age: Origins and Battlefield: Bad Company 2.

To find out what else is out this week, check out the list below:

November 8, 2010
Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 (Wii)

November 9, 2010
Call of Duty: Black Ops (PS3, 360, Wii, DS, PC)

November 10, 2010
Sesame Street: Elmo’s A-to-Zoo Adventure (Wii, DS, PC)
Sesame Street: Cookie’s Counting Carnival (Wii, DS, PC)

November 11, 2010
The Fight: Lights Out (PS3)
Time Crisis: Razing Storm (PS3)
Sonic Colors (Wii, DS )

Saw II: Flesh & Blood (360, PS3)

NBA 2K11 (Wii)

Monopoly Streets (360)
Tom Clancy’s HAWX 2 (Wii, PC)
Create (360, PS3, Wii)
Battle vs. Chess (360, PS3, PC)
SingStar Dance (PS3)
The Sims 3 (Wii)
Dragon Age: Origins Ultimate Edition (360, PS3, PC)
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Ultimate Edition (360, PS3)

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

Hey, IO Interactive. I have a question for you. If a good and trusted friend were hosting a dinner party, and they were trying out a new recipe, but it turned out shit, would you be happy to go round a few weeks later so that they could have another go? Maybe. They’re your friend after all. But what if several weeks later they tweaked and fiddled with the seasoning and garnish and improved it ever so slightly, but it still remained ultimately shit? Wouldn’t you ask them to drop it for the next party and go back to the tasty tasty food they made the first time you went around?

How about if it became increasingly apparent, during your trips to the kitchen to aquire more booze, that they had all the necessary ingredients for the good stuff already in stock ? And that they’d been recently been leafing through the recipe? Wouldn’t you start to become frustrated with your friend?

HEY, IO INTERACTIVE. STOP DICKING AROUND WITH KANE & LYNCH AND ADMIT YOU’RE MAKING HITMAN 5. …

Commentary piece: GameSpot AU’s Laura Parker looks at why the Federal Government is stalling a decision on an adult classification for video games.

Get the full article at GameSpot

New release slate championed by Treyarch’s hotly hyped Cold War-era shooter; Nintendo’s new controller, Mario Anniversary bundles, PlayStation Move-exclusive The Fight: Lights Out round out the week.

One year ago this week Activision released Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, the critically and financially successful shooter from Infinity Ward. Now it’s Treyarch’s turn. The developer’s greatly hyped Call of Duty: Black Ops comes to the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, DS, and PC on Tuesday. Analysts believe it could sell upwards of 18 million units, behind a huge preorder run.

Black Ops storms to retail on Tuesday.

Black Ops features a star-studded voice acting cast, a soundtrack composed by Sean Murray of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and will be available in three distinct editions ranging in price from $60 to $150. The Cold War-era shooter will also sport a Zombie mode, a fan-favorite component made famous by Treyarch’s Call of Duty: World at War.

Nintendo ushers in a new wave of control this week with the Wii Remote Plus. The Wii Remote Plus will debut on November 7 and will be sold in all-new Wii hardware packages and bundles. It will also be sold separately beginning on that date for $39.99. The Wii Remote Plus combines the original Wii Remote with the MotionPlus add-on.

Nintendo also will release two new Mario anniversary systems this week. The new Wii package–in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of Super Mario Bros.–will include a red system, copies of New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Wii Sports, a Wii Remote Plus, and everything else normally associated with the system. It will debut at $200 and will be a limited edition.

Also being released on November 7 will be a new $180 DSi XL bundle. Similar to the Wii package, the DSi XL bundle is also a limited edition and is colored red in honor of the 25th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. This package will include a DSi XL with three themed graphics on its face, a copy of Mario Kart DS, and three preinstalled titles: Brain Age Express: Arts & Letters, Brain Age Express: Math, and Photo Clock.

Making its way to shelves on the same day is FlingSmash, Nintendo’s latest controller/software pairing. The new SKU bundles a Wii Remote Plus with a copy of the game. According to Nintendo, FlingSmash “combines the hands-on fun of tennis with the nonstop action and instant gratification of pinball.” Nintendo employed a similar tactic with Wii Play when the company included a Wii Remote with the title. That game went on to become the best-selling game of all time in the United States. The FlingSmash bundle will retail for $49.99.

The new red Wii bundle.

Also releasing this week is The Fight: Lights Out. A PlayStation Move exclusive, the title lets players fight in the dark and gritty underground with Sony’s new motion controllers, which have shipped more than a million units since releasing on September 17.

Those looking to the past for new fun can pick up The Sly Collection this week for the PlayStation 3. The bundle includes all three PlayStation 2 Sly games: Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus, Sly 2: Band of Thieves, and Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves.

Besides having remastered HD graphics, The Sly Collection will boast 3D visuals–provided the player has a television that supports 3D. It will also support Sony’s PlayStation Move motion-sensing system, which hit the US market in September. In addition, the collection will have full trophy support, with remastering duties of the Sucker Punch-developed originals being handled by Sanzaru Games.

Gamers looking to bundle up this week can pick up the ESA Game Pack. Bearing the Entertainment Software Association’s logo, the $30 PS3 pack bundles copies of Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, and Tomb Raider: Underworld.

Rounding out the week is the Wii version of the decently received Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X. 2 and Knights in the Nightmare for PSP. Those who purchase the latter will score a free digital copy of another Atlus PSP RPG remake, Yggdra Union. The game will be available to those who pick up Knights in the Nightmare from retailers or download it through the PlayStation Network.

For further details on the week’s games, visit GameSpot’s New Release page. The full list of downloadable games on the PlayStation Store, Xbox Live Marketplace, and Wii Shop Channel will be revealed later this week. Release dates are based on retailer listings and are subject to change.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 7
FlingSmash–Wii–Nintendo
Wii Remote Plus
Nintendo DSi XL Anniversary bundle
Nintendo Wii Anniversary bundle

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 8
Gods vs. Humans–Wii–Zallag
Nickelodeon Fit–Wii–2K Games
Noah’s Ark–DS–SouthPeak Games

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9
Beyblade: Metal Fusion–DS–Hudson Entertainment
Call of Duty: Black Ops–DS, Wii, X360, PS3, PC–Activision
Challenge Me: Brain Puzzles 2–DS, PC, Wii–O Games
Crime Lab: Body of Evidence–DS–City Interactive
ESA Game Pack–PS3–SCEA
Family Feud Decades–Wii–Ubisoft
Hasbro Family Game Night 1 & 2 Bundle–Wii–Electronic Arts
Just Dance Kids–Wii–Ubisoft
Karaoke Revolution Glee–Wii–Konami
Knights in the Nightmare–PSP–Atlus
Majesty 2: Battles of Ardania–PC–Paradox Interactive
Minute to Win It–Wii–Zoo Games
Monster Jam: Path of Destruction–X360, PS3, Wii, DS, PSP–Activision
MySims Collections–Wii–Electronic Arts
Reload: Target Down–Wii–Mastiff
Remington Super Slam Hunting Africa–Wii–Mastiff
Remington Super Slam Hunting North America–Wii–Jack of All Games
Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer–DS, Wii–Crave
Rune Factory 3: A Fantasy Harvest Moon–DS–Natsume
SingStar Dance–PS3–SCEA
Style Lab Fashion Design–DS–Ubisoft
The Fight: Lights Out–PS3–SCEA
The Sly Collection–PS3–SCEA
Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X. 2–Wii–Ubisoft

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 10
Chevrolet Camaro: Wild Ride–Wii–CokeM Interactive
Guwange–X360–Cave
Hidden Mysteries: Salem Witch Trials–DS–GameMill Publishing
Zhu Zhu Pets: Kung Zhu–DS–Activision

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Kinect’s launch week brought with it a bevy of reviews, previews, news headlines, and video offerings.

This week something strange was afoot at the GameSpot offices. Inside preview rooms and even in cubicles editors were dancing with abandon, throwing virtual bowling balls, and petting imaginary tiger cubs.

Kinect in the wild.

Don’t worry, readers–staffers here weren’t experiencing a mass hallucination. This week saw the debut of Kinect, the motion-sensing system which plucked players off of their posteriors and instead had them flailing their limbs like tasered news anchors.

GameSpot covered the peripheral’s debut from all angles, including reviews of Dance Central, Kinect Sports, and Kinectimals. Find out more in the full Kinect coverage below.

THE LAST WORD: November 1-5

NEW RELEASES
Shippin’ Out Oct. 31-Nov. 6: Kinect, God of War: Ghost of Sparta, GoldenEye, James Bond: Blood Stone
God of War Collection, Ghost of Sparta crush PSN
Street Slam dunks Virtual Console

FEATURES
Curious about Microsoft’s new motion control system, Kinect? The GameSpot editors share some of their initial thoughts about the system, its games, and how it works in our Gut Reactions feature. We also give a breakdown of the setup process for the camera that includes details on ideal lighting as well as how far you should be standing from the camera for optimal tracking conditions.

Gut Reactions: Kinect

Konnecting with Kinect

NEWS
Earningspalooza continued at the GameSpot Newsdesk this week, with the latest financials from THQ, EA, Activision Blizzard, Konami, Namco Bandai, and Square Enix. Other notable headlines included the launch of the fall Xbox 360 update, which brought editable Netflix queues, ESPN channels, Kinect connectivity, and more to Microsoft’s console. Polyphony Digital head Kazunori Yamauchi said that Gran Turismo 5 has finally gone gold–and that work on Gran Turismo 6 is already underway. Then there was the not-so-small matter of the PSP2’s existence being confirmed by a loose-lipped EA executive and NBA Elite 11 being canceled outright.

Xbox 360 fall dashboard update goes live

Sony executive hints at gaming phone

Bejeweled 3 shimmering on Dec. 7

PS3 getting exclusive Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood DLC

BlizzCon attendee to appear in Cataclysm

250GB Xbox 360 holiday bundle packs in Alan Wake, Forza 3

Microsoft explains Xbox Live price hike

US Supreme Court appears split on California game law

Namco Bandai cuts 90 jobs in US – Report

NBA Elite 11 canceled

EA posts loss, Medal of Honor sells 2 million

PSP2’s existence confirmed – Report

Kinect has problems recognizing dark-skinned users

Okamiden stylizing DS March 15

Microsoft ups Kinect estimate to 5 million

THQ posts $47 million loss

Starcraft II sells 3M, Activision Blizzard reports $51M profit

Call of Duty FPS confirmed for late 2011

Konami profits surge 73% on slightly higher sales

Gran Turismo 5 release date “soon,” GT6 already in development

ZeniMax buys Starbreeze founder’s new studio – Report

Square Enix six-month earnings falter

Namco Bandai trims first-half losses

PREVIEWS
The week in previews was dominated by an EA Studio Showcase in London, where the GameSpot UK office saw several upcoming games from the Redwood Shores-based publisher. On the list were new looks at Medal of Honor’s upcoming DLC, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Vietnam, Crysis 2 Multiplayer, and Star Wars: The Old Republic. And toward the end of the week once the team was done with all those EA stories, the UK office also had a look at Test Drive Unlimited 2.

Test Drive Unlimited 2 Hands-On

Medal of Honor Clean Sweep and Hot Zone DLC Hands-On

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Vietnam Hands-On

Crysis 2 Updated Multiplayer Hands-On

Star Wars: The Old Republic Impressions: Warzones and Crafting

REVIEWS
November is always a busy and exciting month for the reviews team, and this one is no exception. Call
of Duty: Black Ops is coming next week, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood and Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit aren’t far off, and this week Microsoft’s new Kinect hardware arrived on store shelves alongside around a dozen launch titles. Reviews for a handful of those Kinect games are already up on the site, and the team is working hard to get the rest covered as soon as possible. Expect several of those to hit next week, and be sure to check out any of this week’s reviews that you might have missed:

Bloody Good Time (X360) Review

Dance Central (X360) Review

Dead Space Ignition (PS3, X360) Review

GoldenEye 007 (Wii) Review

Haunted House (X360) Review

Invizimals (PSP) Review

James Bond 007: Blood Stone (PC, PS3,
X360) Review

Kinectimals (X360) Review

Kinect Sports (X360) Review

Lucha Libre AAA: Heroes del Ring (PS3,
X360) Review

Pinball FX 2 (X360) Review

Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 (Wii) Review

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II (Wii)
Review

The Fight: Lights Out (PS3) Review

VIDEO
The Microsoft Kinect for Xbox 360 was released this week, and the GameSpot Live team worked hard to bring the latest video reviews. Justin Calvert took a stab at Kinect Sports, Kevin VanOrd got cuddly with Kinectimals and Chris Watters got jiggy with it in Dance Central. GameSpot also brought a double dose of Bond with James Bond 007: Blood Stone, and GoldenEye 007 for the Wii. Today On The Spot featured games like Dead Space 2, Fallout: New Vegas, The Fight: Lights Out and more! Rounding out this weeks coverage, we had a Now Playing episode featuring Call of Duty: Black Ops Multiplayer.

Kinect Sports Video Review

Kinectimals Video Review

Dance Central Video Review

GoldenEye 007 Video Review

James Bond 007: Blood Stone Video Review

GameSpot Presents: Now Playing – Call of Duty: Black Ops

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At one time we’ve all done it, or seen it done. We’ve stood in front of the class and delivered a report on a book we’ve never read. Rarely was it ever successful, and even when it was, we all knew the report would have been better had we actually read the damn book. Yet Hollywood has been doing the same thing for years according to Paul Anderson, director of Resident Evil: Afterlife… …

Above: EA’s mystery Battlefield title will be a free-to-play shooter

Earlier this week, the executive producer for the Battlefield franchise revealed plans to announce a new Battlefield title this Friday. Well, it’s Friday - and it turns out that the new title is Battlefield Play4Free, a free-to-play PC shooter scheduled to launch in Spring 2011. Check out the first trailer inside… …