Posted 7/4/2008 at 11:06 PMBy GamingShogun

Top Stories of the Week
The Day the Earth Stood Still Trailer
FIFA Manager 09 Announced
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Battlefield: Bad Company Review (PS3)
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Hellboy 2 The Golden Army Trailer
Image of Tyrael Pet in World of Warcraft
Don S. Davis Has Passed Away
GameCock Titles to be Released on Steam
Disciples 3 - Renaissance: Legions of the Damned Modeus
Raven Squad Picked up by SouthPeak Games
Combat Arms Enters Open Beta
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GoLive2 Announces Stix Game Controller
Legends of Norrath Living Legacy Contest
Antec Unveils Signature Series PSUs
Bourne Consipiracy Launch on a Cell Phone Near You

(Continue reading 'GamingShogun Week in Review for the Week of June 29th 2008'...)

Posted 7/4/2008 at 11:51 AMBy GamingShogun

The Good: Exceptional sound quality and channel separation. X-Ram if the game supports it.
The Bad: Driver issues, especially in Windows Vista.

Summary: Creative Labs has brought us a PCI-E sound card well worth its dollar value in sheer audio quality and channel separation alone. And did we mention it looks sweet too!?!

(Continue reading 'Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Review'...)

Posted 7/4/2008 at 11:11 AMBy MondoPest

The sequel to the four-year old RTS Perimeter has been announced. Called Perimeter 2: New Earth, this next game in the series is the first of many more episodic additions to the game's storyline. No release date has been set yet, but they did release a gameplay trailer as well.

Official Release:
Four years after release of the critically acclaimed RTS “Perimeter” the developers are ready to announce a sequel of the game. Hundreds years of traveling through time and space are over, but not the actual story. The fate of humanity that has been forced to leave dying Earth and flee to the deadly worlds of the Psychosphere is once again in your hands.

The Exodus, lead by the wise Spirits has been searching for the New Earth. The Harkback has lost faith in Spirits, throw off their rule and decided to head back for the Old Earth, not believing its death. They refused to believe in death of their planet. Both sides took the final step on their way, but the chain has enclosed and mortal enemies entered the same planet face to face.

(Continue reading 'Perimeter 2: New Earth Announced - Gameplay Video'...)

Posted 7/4/2008 at 11:00 AMBy MondoPest

GSC Game World and Deep Silver have released the box art for the upcoming prequel to the popular FPS S.T.A.L.K.E.R. called S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky is set for release on August 29th.

Packshot after the jump!

Official Release:
GSC Game World, computer games developer, its publishing subdivision GSC World Publishing and Deep Silver, the games label of Koch Media, a leading producer and distributor of digital entertainment products, today announce the official box shot for S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky, the long-awaited prelude to S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky is a survival FPS game for PC based on a 'what-if' scenario of the second Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident. The game is created as a warning to mankind against mindless play with technologies. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky is the official prequel to the renowned S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game by the Ukraine-based GSC Game World studio. The game is set in 2011and brings forth the events to have preceded the third cam-paign of Strelok to the Zone center. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky introduces an alternative look onto the events of the original game and offers the player to try himself out as a mercenary s.t.a.l.k.e.r. in search of his own path in the world of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

(Continue reading 'STALKER Clear Sky Box Art Released'...)

Posted 7/4/2008 at 10:55 AMBy MondoPest

This Bungie Day (7/7) will be celebrated by the acclaimed developer, of the Marathon and Halo series, in style as they give out special gamerpics as well as dashboard themes. Also available will be a free new multiplayer map for Halo 3. You will have to download all of these freebies on that special day as that will be the ONLY time they are made available.

Official Release:
July 7, or 7/7, has long been heralded as “Bungie Day” among “Halo” players and fans of the renowned developer. This year, Bungie is celebrating this day with the release of new multiplayer map Cold Storage, as well as new gamer pics and a Bungie Day Xbox 360 dashboard theme, all for free on Xbox LIVE Marketplace. The “Halo 3” Legendary Map Pack will also drop in price to 600 Microsoft points in honor of the occasion.

The tradition of Bungie Day was born in part due to the significance the number 7 has played in all of Bungie’s games over the years, including the “Halo” series (7 Halo rings, Master Chief is Spartan 117, etc.), and each year the developer makes a point to use this date to treat fans to something special – usually new content, a free download or other surprise.

This year marks the best “Bungie Day” yet, as eight million plus “Halo 3” players can now download Cold Storage, a free new multiplayer map inspired by the original map Chill Out found in “Halo: Combat Evolved.” The Cold Storage facility was once a vibrant, active research center on Installation 05. An accidental contamination resulted in an unforeseen outbreak, which compromised the Forerunner center. Now, emptied and silent, watched only by a local caretaker, the abandoned structure serves as a reminder of how something as powerful as science is ultimately beholden to nature.

In addition to the new map, players will be able to download 7 exclusive new gamerpics and a Bungie Day dashboard theme for free on Xbox LIVE Marketplace. Fans will need to be sure they download these on 7/7, because they will be available for one day only.

(Continue reading 'Bungie Day Plans Announced'...)

Posted 7/3/2008 at 1:50 PMBy MondoPest

Accepting entries from June 30th to July 23rd, SOE has announced the Legends of Norrath Living Legacy contest. Entrants must be EverQuest or EverQuest II players and submit a photo  of themselves dressed as an EQ or EQII character to be eligible. Two winners will be selected to have their likenesses immortalized on a Legends of Norrath trading card. They will also get flown out to Las Vegas to participate in the SOE Fan Faire.

Official Contest Rules and Details.

(Continue reading 'Legends of Norrath Living Legacy Contest'...)

Posted 7/3/2008 at 11:09 AMBy boothby

Lucky gamers who went to the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational in Paris recently were not only treated to the announcement of Diablo 3, but also got some really cool swag. The best, imho, was the in-game World of Warcraft pet . This time around it is a mini-version of Tyrael from the Diablo series. Check out his mini-awesomeness (image via MMO Champion):

(Continue reading 'Image of Tyrael Pet in World of Warcraft'...)

Posted 7/3/2008 at 10:33 AMBy MondoPest

When I heard they were remaking The Day the Earth Stood Still, I almost lost control of my bodily functions. With the literal raping of our classics that Hollywood is doing these days with countless remakes and 're-imaginings', I was hoping it would never be touched. I was wrong, and you now will see Keanu Reeves as the visitor from outer space who lands on Earth to serve us all with a warning.

Only thing is that this time around, Klaatu brings with him warning that we humans are destroying ourselves by killing our planet...Like we don't already know that!?! I think the original's Klaatu would have bitch-slapped the new Klaatu. In the original 1951 film, Klaatu lands on our world to warn us that unless we end work on an atomic-powered spacecraft we will be destroyed because we are too violent and still fight too much amongst ourselves to be let into the interstellar neighborhood. Apparently, the filmmakers of the new version felt this message was no longer timely...Yeah... So here you go:

(Continue reading 'The Day the Earth Stood Still Trailer'...)

Posted 7/3/2008 at 9:38 AMBy MondoPest

Rockstar Games has pushed back their upcoming racer, Midnight Club: Los Angeles, to October 7th for North America and October 10th for Europe. They are also releasing the PSP title Midnight Club: L.A. Remix simultaneously. Midnight Club: Los Angeles promises an open-world where players are free to roam and explore as they like.

Official Release:
Rockstar Games, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO) today announced a new release date for the fourth installment of its critically-acclaimed and genre-defining Midnight Club franchise, Midnight Club: Los Angeles. Set for release on October 7th in North America and October 10th in Europe and developed by series creator Rockstar San Diego, Midnight Club: Los Angeles will give gamers the unprecedented freedom to race through a hyper-realistic LA.

Also scheduled for release simultaneously, Midnight Club: LA Remix for the PSP® system will provide another incredible portable racing experience. Developed by Rockstar London, the game will take full advantage of the hardware to deliver the unrivaled sense of speed and style that the best-selling Midnight Club series is known for.

(Continue reading 'Midnight Club Los Angeles Pushed Back'...)

Posted 7/3/2008 at 9:18 AMBy GamingShogun

With E3 just around the corner, I am sure we will be treated with some good Gears of War 2 footage soon enough. However, in the meantime, a few new screenshots have been released. Just from these alone, it is clear that the graphics have increased in overall quality.

Check it out after the break!

(Continue reading 'Latest Gears of War 2 Screenshots'...)

Posted 7/3/2008 at 9:10 AMBy MondoPest

SouthPeak Games has announced it is going to distribute Raven Squad (developed by Atomic Motion) this fall. Raven Squad is a combination FPS and RTS game game which promises engaging gameplay and storyline.

Screenshots after the break!

Official Release:
SouthPeak Games today announced that it will distribute Raven Squad: Operation Hidden Dagger for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft® and Windows PC this Autumn. Published by Evolved Games, Raven Squad is set in the near future. The game is a unique blending of real-time strategy and first-person shooter genres.

Developed by Atomic Motion, Raven Squad puts players in control of two groups of mercenary squads who crash land behind enemy lines in the Amazonian jungles. It will require tactical planning and a liberal amount of brute force to escape to safety. Each of the eight squad members possesses distinctive skills and weaponry that the player will have to use wisely to progress through the game's story driven objectives. Raven Squad sets itself apart by allowing players to switch freely between real-time strategy and first-person shooter gameplay. Only by mastering both of these modes of play, and becoming adept at switching between the two, will players make it out of the jungle alive.

(Continue reading 'Raven Squad Picked up by SouthPeak Games'...)