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Batman: Arkham City Lockdown App Hits the Market

Joseph Oliveto — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 21:33:09 +0000

Batman: Arkham City is keeping plenty of gamers busy, but if you’re the type of person who wants to fight through the villains of Gotham even when you’re not near a game console, well, there’s an app for that, apparently. According to G4, Batman: Arkham City Lockdown, a new game based on the popular franchise, has been released and can be played on such mobile devices as the iPad, iPhone, and iPod.

While obviously not as impressive as Arkham City, Lockdown still appears to offer impressive entertainment for what seems like it could have been little more than a transparent, poorly-designed cash-in. Visually, it is better than a mobile game has to be, and with some genuinely experienced developers behind the project, it looks like it might actually be worth the price.

Oh yeah, it only costs $5.99. That is pretty tempting, isn’t it?

With all the innovations still being made in mobile gaming technology, we doubt that individual devices like the Nintendo DS are going to go the way of Sega anytime soon. However, it is clear that there’s a lot of potential for game creators to exploit the popularity of apps, and although that might end up hurting some folks in the industry, overall, we think this could be good for gamers. We’re not about to say that anyone with a basic understanding of HTML will be able to create their own games and sell them as apps, but we can’t deny that the wall separating those who make games from those who play them is definitely growing weaker. Lockdown was made by a major studio to make some extra money off a successful title, but if it is popular, it could signal a new era in gaming.

What do you think? Will mobile devices and apps allow novice game designers to bypass working with major developers? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Cyber Monday Roundup: The Best Deals for Gamers

Joseph Oliveto — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 16:41:27 +0000

Cyber Monday, the Internet’s answer to the grand celebration of consumerism that is Black Friday, is upon us, and if you were unwilling to brave the crowds a few days ago but still would like to take advantage of some great deals on games and gaming products, we’ve put together a list of some of the best values out there. Take a look at the offers!

Best Buy has plenty of games on sale, from Gears of War 3 to more kid-friendly titles like LEGO Harry Potter. The best deal, however, is a three-month long Gold Membership for X-Box Live priced at a mere $12.99. [BestBuy.com]
Target is offering up some impressive deals as well. While getting Arkham City for $49.99 might not be the kind of savings worth bragging about, getting a Nintendo Wii Mario Kart bundle for $127.00 is pretty appealing. [Target.com]
Obviously, Gamestop is going to celebrate Cyber Monday. They’ve cut prices on plenty of products, but their best deals are for the X-Box 360 Kinect bundles. [Gamestop.com]
Don’t forget about Amazon. They’ve decided to launch certain deals during different times of the day, so keep an eye on the site and watch for them to hit. [Amazon.com]

There you have it. Gaming is an expensive hobby, but for a brief time, it can be slightly less so thanks to these deals. With everything from consoles to equipment to games on sale, you’ll probably find something you’re looking for.

What other deals are worth looking out for?

Grand Theft Auto V Trailer Review

Joseph Oliveto — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 18:57:36 +0000

Grand Theft Auto V has a lot to live up to. The last installment in this franchise was arguably the best, with a likeable protagonist, a variety of missions, and a huge city for gamers to explore. Having been impressed again and again by these games, we’re all anxiously awaiting the release of the next one while at the same time wondering if it can possible live up to our expectations. We’ve got the trailer below, as well as our take on how it all looks as of now.

It’s not much yet, and if we’re being entirely honest, it doesn’t look all that different from any of the other games, although a few shots suggest that this one might give players a chance to escape the urban landscape every now and then. That could be an interesting change of pace. These game depend primarily on a city setting, but there’s no harm in trying something new for a couple of the missions.

Story-wise, it looks to be another run-of-the-mill crime saga, but no one is expecing Shakespeare when they decide to play a GTA game. We just want an excuse to vicariously live the life of a hardened criminal. If the characters and story work for us, great, but we won’t be too upset if we end up finding the need to skip the cut scenes so we can get to the action.

While it’s reasonable to be disappointed with this trailer, we’re not worried. GTA games rarely look fresh and interesting until we actually get the opportunity to play them. They boast the kind of immersive environment that is only possible to enjoy when you’re exploring it yourself. We’re just waiting for that time to come. Rockstar hasn’t let us down yet. We doubt they will this time.

[Source: Rockstar Games Youtube Channel]

What do you think of that trailer?

Black Friday Roundup: The Best Deals for Gamers

Joseph Oliveto — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 17:04:48 +0000

It’s Black Friday, the day of the year when, having successfully indulged in too much food, we can try to burn off those calories by indulging in too much shopping. Don’t laugh; rushing through those aisles is practically an extreme sport.

We know that gaming can be an expensive hobby, so we’ve selected some of the best deals out there and put together a list for all of you to take a look at. If any of them are too good to resist, don’t blame us when you get stuck in the mall parking lot for three hours. Anyway, the savings are actually worth it. Take a look. . .

Best Buy, always a popular stop for gamers, hasn’t left us out this year. We’re thrilled to discover that the recently released Batman: Arkham City is available today for a mere $29.99. Other popular titles, like Battlefield 3 and Madden NFL 12 are on sale for the same price. Oh, there’s also a particularly appealing Playstation 3 bundle, a $369.97 value, priced at $199.99. Can’t beat that. [BestBuy.com]
Looking to pick up a Kinect for your X-Box 360? Target has it bundled with three games for $99.00. [Target.com]
Or, if you need an X-Box 369 console, stop by EB Games and grab a 4GB system with wireless controller for $149.99. [EBGames.com]

Well, there you have it. Whether you’re picking up something for someone on your holiday shopping list, or merely buying a few gifts for yourself (we don’t judge), Black Friday is for gamers just as much as it is for everyone else who braves the crowds on this day.

However, if crowds aren’t something you’re willing to put up with, Cyber Monday, the Internet’s response to Baclk Friday, is just a few days away. Check back here to see our roundup of all the best deals you can enjoy, all from the comfort of your own home.

Are the Black Friday deals worth the insanity of actually trying to shop on this day?

]

Walkthrough Roundup: Arkham City

Joseph Oliveto — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 18:55:43 +0000

Arkham City living up to everyone’s expectations so far? Probably. As was to be expected, the reception for this game was extremely positive, with both critics and fans alike declaring that it is a worthy sequel to its now-legendary predecessor.

Of course, much like its predecessor (and unlike most video games based on comic book heroes), it isn’t an easy title to play through quickly, and for those of you who are frustrated with your lack of progress, we’ve compiled some of the best walkthroughs the web has to offer for Arkham City, with our commentary on the pros and cons of each one. Enjoy!

GameFront

GameFront offers an impressively extensive walkthrough, featuring both text and video (although it is a little lacking when it comes to still screencaps). It is logically organized in a series of steps, with a handy table of contents if you’re stuck on one particular part of the game and need some quick tips to help you move on to the next challenge.

Pros: Convenient, easy to read, and accurate.
Cons: The video portion tells us that the Walkthrough has been sponsored by Best Buy. While we’re not knocking coroporate sponsorship–after all, Bruce Wayne doesn’t pay for all his toys with generous donations from citizens like you–we like our game advice to be delivered without a game-selling agenda. (Although, we admit, you wouldn’t have to say much to sell this game to us.)

Gamespot

Gamespot’s walkthrough is full of practical advice for making the gameplay experience as smooth and efficient as possible, particularly regarding the best way to confront certain enemies; they let you know when to brwal, and when to back off. Like Gamefront, it offers us a video-text combo walkthrough, which is helpful. The video is good prep for gameplay, and the text section can be printed out and kept nearby while you’re actually gaming.

Pros: The tips they give make a lot of sense and seem to be the insights of people who understand what gamers want to hear; to some degree, Arkham City is a game of strategy, and the people behind this walkthrough not only acknowledge that, but seem to know what they’re talking about. The tips they offer actually work.
Cons: The organization is unclear. You can’t scan this walkthrough successfully; you feel like you have to read the whole thing, and you might not exactly have time for that. There are innocent [and artificial] lives at stake here, dammit!

TheMediaCows

TheMediaCows have a nice looking series of Arkham City walkthrough videos on their Youtube channel. They’ve obviously put a lot of time into making these, and it shows. However, don’t expect to refer to these quickly in the midst of gameplay; they’re something you need to devote a lot of attention to.

Pros: Detailed, and clearly brought to us by people who get gaming and are dedicated to the culture.
Cons: Perhaps these videos are a little too detailed. We don’t care so much about the cut-scenes when we’re watching a Walkthrough, but they haven’t been edited out.

Cheat Code Central

While there isn’t an extensive walkthrough available from Cheat Code Central just yet, they do currently provide a nice middle ground for gamers who want a little help with the game’s bonuses without having too much information regarding plot and gameplay details revealed. After all, half the fun of playing is learning how to beat the game for yourself.

Pros: Want to know how to unlock the game’s accomplishments? They’ve got the answers you’re looking for.
Cons: Want a detailed walkthrough? Look elsewhere.

Arkham City hasn’t been in gamers’ hands for more than a week, and already, we’ve got some goo looking walkthroughs to help us get through the game. Of course, we completely understand if some people would just rather fight it out on their own. The wait for this title has been long, and if another installment in the franchise does get sent our way (cross your fingers), the wait could be even longer.

Savor this experience, gamers. It could be a while before a game this rewarding comes along again.

Readers, do you have any tips of your own? Share them in the comments!

Batman: Arkham City Roundup

Joseph Oliveto — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 15:46:31 +0000

Batman: Arkham City, the long-awaited sequel to Arkham Asylum, finally got its release yesterday, October 18; as a result, don’t be surprised if all your gamer friends disappear off the face of the Earth for a while while they play through this game. While it may be too early to make this call, it’s reasonable to say that it was the most anticipated release of 2011, and if it’s anything like its predecessor, we doubt that fans will be disappointed. So, while you take a break from saving Gotham City, check out or roundup of all things Arkham City.

Gamepro’s “spoiler-free” review is astoundingly positive; if they are to be believed, it’s the best comic book game ever. Somehow, that’s not a surprise. [Gamepro]
Sadly, some gamers have reported missing DLC redemption codes in their copies of the game. Then again, far too often games are released with major glitches, so if this is the worst we have to worry about, well, we’ll be ok. [G4TV]
Gamers are a dedicated bunch, and thus we already have some tips for those who want the experience of fighting through the bad guys to go a little more smoothly. [IGN]
And for those of you who still stick with PC gaming, it looks like you’ll have to wait until November 18 to enjoy Arkham City. From what we hear, it will be well worth the wait. [exophase]

Wednesday is usually our Walkthrough day, but we’ll hold off while we await some more guides for thise game to crop up. Head back here Friday for our roundup of the best Arkham City walkthroughs!

So, what do you think of the game so far? Has it lived up to your expectations?

Steve Jobs: Remembering a Genius

Joseph Oliveto — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 20:05:13 +0000

Steve Jobs passed away yesterday, as most of you probably know. This is significant, because Jobs wasn’t simply a good businessman; he was a creative genius who constantly saw the potential for applications of technology in our day-to-day lives. Although Apple never spent much time exploring the world of video games, it is impossible to pretend that Jobs’s passing means nothing to this industry.

Love it or hate it, it can’t be denied that Apple isn’t merely a part of contemporary culture. It played a hand in creating the culture of modern America. Walk down any city street and count the number of people listening to iPods. Take a glance at a college classroom, and don’t be surprised if you see students taking notes on an iPad. Apple products are part of our cultural iconography, and it took an innovator like Steve Jobs to have that kind of effect.

Even us gamers felt the presence of Apple in our lives. The iPhone, as anyone who has seen one in action knows, is definitely more than just a phone. The abundance of apps available for this product makes it the Swiss Army Pocket Knife of gadgets. While plenty of these serve practical purposes, it’s difficult to argue that there’s much to gain–besides hours upon hours of pure entertainment–from playing Angry Birds.

But, when you think about it, Angry Birds is a great example of how Steve Jobs managed to touch the gaming industry. With interest in computer-programming growing among young students, game-design is no longer exclusie. Enough people with enough talent can put together a game like Angry Birds, and thank to products like the iPhone, people will actually play it. While it’s not quite a revolution in gaming just yet, it could be someday soon.

Apple will probably survive without Steve Jobs, but he should be remembered as someone who looked forward. In an age where innovation isn’t restricted to a select few, there’ll be plenty of people following in his footsteps.

He left a quite a legacy for those hopefuls to live up to.

As a gamer, what does the passing of Steve Jobs mean to you?

Walkthrough Wednesday: “Deus Ex: Human Revolution”

Dan Seitz — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 15:09:36 +0000

It’s the eagerly anticipated game, and a contender for Game of the Year in many circles. But, if you’re not prepared, “Deus Ex” will hand you your head over, and over, AND OVER again. Don’t get mad: get augmented with our overview and our hand-picked best walkthroughs for this awesome game.

Overview

Here’s what you should know going in:

Don’t walk in spoiling for a firefight: you will die. Especially on higher difficulties, charging in guns blazing is really the option of last resort. Enemies can kill you with just a few shots, although at least you can generally return the favor. While you’ll have the ammo to win short firefights and kill your enemies if you can’t avoid or stun them, Deus Ex is stingy with the bullets: you’re going to constantly be balancing the value of taking out enemies with one weapon versus another.
Exploration is a good thing. Every goal in the game is designed to have several different paths in and several strategies that will work, and every mission hub in the game is full of secrets that you may not be able to find unless you poke around and ask questions. Basically, if you see something highlighted, you should check it out. Even just wandering through air vents can cough up useful XP. However, as you get further along in the game, you’ll find that without specific augments certain paths will be closed off to you.
Everything saves: if you kill an enemy in an area, he stays dead and doesn’t respawn. It’s a welcome relief, about halfway through.
While the game is pretty generous with the Praxis Points, what you need to unlock all your augments, it’s not so generous that you’re not going to have to make decisions. Some areas, like improving your hacking, are absolutely crucial; others are useless except in very specific situations.
Hack, hack, hack. Not only does hacking everything you can find give you valuable experience points, meaning you get augments faster, it also offers up useful information: leads on sidequests, passcodes to doors you may not be able to crack, story information…oh, yeah, and lots and lots of jokes. The dev team had fun with this part of the game. Apparently, even in 2027, spam is still a huge problem, and some scams are eternal: when you play the game, you’ll see what we mean
If you hack a security hub, don’t deactivate the cameras without getting the lay of the land. Oh, and if you’re not going for a perfect run, set the robots and turrets to “enemies”; it’ll mean there’s alarm, but it will also solve a lot of problems for you. Plus it’s hilarious.

Must Have Augments

The key thing about augs is this: you don’t absolutely need any particular aug. You’ll be able to finish every side mission and story mission even if you don’t bother to upgrade Adam Jensen at all. That said, it does make life easier, and many augs open up new paths.

Fully level your hacking, complete with robot and turret control. Also fully level your dermal armor: although you should be trying to avoid firefights, sometimes they’re unavoidable. Get your arm strength up to the second level, so you can lift dumpsters and other large objects, as soon as possible, and consider the wall breaking aug as soon as possible as well. Before you leave Detroit, definitely get the ability to fall from any height and land safely: it’ll make several missions about a thousand percent easier.

And, of course, max out your inventory, but be warned: the game throws enough stuff at you that you’ll be making choices about what you keep and what you don’t.

Beyond that, though, none of the augs are absolutely crucial, and some of them are fairly useless. For example, the rebreather aug is useful in the first boss fight, and for solving one or two puzzles, but those can be solved by some other aug as well. EMP hardening is useful in a few situations, but most of those come early on, well before you can uncork that particular trick. The stealth augs can be useful, but they’re frankly not necessary, although turning invisible is a lot of fun.

The worst is “Hacking” Analyze, though. Don’t waste Praxis Points on something the game does for you already.

How about you, readers? Any tips for getting through?

‘Max Payne 3′ Gets a Trailer

Joseph Oliveto — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 19:02:51 +0000

Max Payne, the franchise that brought gamers some badass cinematically-inspired gameplay–and nevermind that predictably abysmal movie, thank you very much–is back for a third installment, with the iconic ex-cop ditching his familiar urban territory in favor of Sao Paolo, Brazil. As we all expected, the trailer offers gamers a lot to look forward to. Take a look to see what we mean. . .

Well, all of the elements that made the previous two films in this franchise so memorable seem to be in play. Noirish narration? Check. Villainous thugs? Check. Plentiful, bloody violence? Oh, for sure.

Of course, it’s not exactly a gameplay trailer, so we can’t be sure that the title will deliver on the promise of this first brief glimpse, but from the looks of it, it is abundantly clear that the good people over at Rockstar haven’t phoned this one in. They’ve made an original and unexpected shift in setting, opting not to rely on what has worked in the past in order to simply cash in on a popular name. With that said, we’ve got certain expectations for a Max Payne game, and thankfully, it looks as though we won’t be let down.

Unfortunately, we won’t be getting the opportunity to kill the crooks by Christmas, as the game is scheduled for a March 2012 release, but that gives all of us plenty of time to return to the previous two installments in the franchise and work our way through them once more. While they may not offer the best replay value out there, they’ve never failed to keep gamers satisfied when they’re in the mood for a gaming experience that combines shameless action with smart, self-aware storytelling.

Source: G4

What are your thoughts on this trailer? Do you think this game will live up to the others in the series?

Tech-Savvy Textbook Savings for Back-to-School

admin — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 16:02:02 +0000

Heading back to school can cost serious cash, especially in the textbook department, but if getting smart before classes start can save you money. Using online and digital tools can target the best deals, and with e-textbooks all the rage, you can lighten your backpack load without emptying your wallet. Here are a few top tech-savvy picks for back-to-school.

SEARCH FOR THE BEST DEAL ON-THE-GO

CampusBooks.com: CampusBooks does the searching so that you don’t have to. The online search site pulls textbook prices from over 40 online vendors, including Amazon and Chegg to show you the best prices. They include the standard new and used books, but also rental and e-books to make sure you get the best deal, and their free iPhone and Android apps make deal-hunting on the go as simple as a barcode scan.

LIGHTEN THE LOAD WITH E-BOOKS

Amazon Kindle Textbook Rental: Amazon’s new service combines the best of both worlds: rental and e-books. The offerings are limited at the moment, but odds are, if you find your book listed, it’s going to be the best price around. Don’t have a Kindle? No problem. You can download and read your books on your computer, smartphone, or even iPad. Kindle Textbook Rental also lets you choose your rental period, be that a quick 30 day cram session or a whole semester.

Kno: Have an iPad? Get Kno. This e-reader application has over 70,000 textbooks available, and is chock-full of smart features. Share thoughts and notes with friends instantly, check out chapter previews, and take notes and highlight. There’s also a 15-day money-back guarantee, so no sweat if students need to drop or change classes.

Inkling: Another great iPad app, Inkling’s textbook availability is limited at the moment, but growing, and the ones that are available are chock-full of interactive elements. Puzzles and mini-quizzes are worked right into the chapters, and you can search the web for information while still within the app. Inkling also lets you purchase individual chapters for a few dollars each, and many are free.

OPEN-SOURCE, OPEN-MIND

Flat World Knowledge: Flat World Knowledge offers free textbooks. Yes, free. The enterprising new company offers “open-source textbooks,” and a unique opportunity for both students and educators. Educators get the chance to customize textbooks, making them unique to their course. Students then can get a free electronic version of the textbook, or opt to pay a bit more to download or get a print copy. It’s the ultimate in customized options–as long as your school is on board!

Xplana.com: Xplana is more about the whole educational process than just textbooks. The site a heavy arsenal of over 250 thousand free notes, tools, videos and articles, including open-source textbooks. The site also lets you collaborate on group projects or with your friends while using the resources. It also has iPhone and Android apps for easy mobile access.

AFRAID OF COMMITMENT? TRY RENTAL

Chegg: Chegg has dominated the textbook rental market recently, and for good reason: it’s super easy to use. Chegg lets students rent their print textbooks for the semester, and at the end, students just print a label, pop the book in a box, and off it goes. For those still in love with print textbooks, but not the end of the semester sell-back process, Chegg is the way to go.

Written by guest writer Corianda Dimes

Next-Gen Console Wars Begins with Wii price drop on Monday, Thanks Target

Rothtana Ouch — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 23:31:44 +0000

With a near official confirmation of a next-generation Nintendo console looming, more evidence is mounting to a new console format war with a price cut to the original Wii system due this Monday on May 15. The price cut will drop the price of the original Wii from $199.99 to $169.99, which is pretty close to what we’ve been hearing about previously. It will also make the way for Nintendo’s next system. The blurry cam comes from an internal source at Target.

Courtesy of GenGame, we can see that the price cut is for a “Black Wii console with Motion Plus Controller,” over at Joystiq they are speculating that it could simply be a clearance of an old product. Yet, only the newer Wii consoles packs in a Wii Motion Plus Controller as standard feature.

The older Wii console bundles do not have the Motion Plus Controller packed in. System wars do not begin at the next generation but through price drops for the current one. When system manufacturers look to launch a new product, their current lineup receives price slashing.

What do you think? Is a hot new piece of Nintendo hardware making you salivate at what Next-Gen will be like?

Next Nintendo Console Packs Greater Graphical Power than PS3 and Xbox 360, Debuts at E3 this June (0)

Grand Theft Auto 5 Coming in January 2012?

Joseph Oliveto — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 20:41:17 +0000

The Grand Theft Auto franchise continues to impress us, and with the last major release arguably the strongest the franchise has ever seen, well, needless to say we are anxiously awaiting any bit of news about a possible fifth game in the series.

So, while it’s not like Rockstar has come out with a big revelation about the next GTA, Computer and Video Games does report that GameStop Germany lists the release date as January 15, 2012.

That may be far from the kind of official news that we’d like to hear, but by this point, we’ll take what we can get. After all, if the game is already this far in the works–and there is some evidence to believe that is the case–Rockstar would probably hold off until E3 to give us a major announcement.

In the meantime, we have their upcoming L.A. Noire to look forward to, which should satisfying our longing for sandbox style crime gaming.

However, there is simply no replacement for the GTA franchise, and while there have been a few imitators over the years, no one has come close to striking that perfect balance of fun, humor, and unforgiving violence that has made these games classics (and angered more than a few less-than-insightful pundits). Rockstar has yet to fail us with the franchise, and we’re longing to see where they take the series next.

Do you think a fifth Grand Theft Auto can top the fourth one?

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