• Wetsuit Elena (as seen in Chapter One of Drake’s Fortune)
• Heist Chloe (as seen in the Museum in Among Thieves)
• Winter Sully (as seen at the very end of Among Thieves)

Starting today, the new maps from the Modern Warfare 2 Resurgence Package have been intergrated into all of the playlists, which means that two more playlists have popped up. Hardcore Moshpit is made up of every hardcore mode – deathmatch, demolition, capture the flag, headquarters pro, search and destroy, and sabotage.

The other playlist is actually a returning favorite: the capture the flag playlist. So go ahead and capture the fun.

The playlists should be available right now on Xbox Live. PlayStation and Steam users should see the playlists in a week or so.

The wait is almost over. After multiple previews and hands-on at all the conventions earlier this year we finally got all the details on DC Universe Online at this years Comic Con.  So here is a bullet point of all the things you need to know:

Release Date: November 2, 2010: For me it certainly can not come soon enough. After playing the game multiple times I can say this MMO is doing what no other MMO has done well before.

Beta Starts: First Week of August: Now if you sign up for the beta you must understand this,”IT’S NOT HOW THE GAME IS GOING TO TURN OUT!!!” Everybody fails to understand this its not a demo and its not a preview. It’s a chance for the players to give developers feedback on the game and to tell them what you would like to see in the game. If you get into beta just do what your told by the devs and look for bugs for them to fix. Thats what a beta is for. So if you would like to test the game you can sign up for it on their official site: http://www.dcuniverseonline.com/

Platforms: Playstation 3 and PC: In my opinion the game is meant to be played with a controller. Whether you play with a third-party controller on the PC or a PS3 controller you must play with a controller!!!!

Subscription Plan: $15.00: US No announcements have been made regarding international and UK subscription fees.

Trailer: This trailer was made by the people at Blur Studios. The same people who are making the trailer’s for Star Wars: The Old Republic. So you already know this is going to be a epic trailer of epic awesomeness.

EA’s announced a Limited Edition of Medal of Honor which will come with an invitation to the Battlefield 3 Beta.

Battlefield 3, ya say? Well, damn the smart-bombs and full speed ahead, then.

According to the press release, those who own the Limited Edition of MOH will receive an invitation to the Battlefield 3 Beta within 12-months following the release of Medal of Honor.

The Beta offer is contingent on Beta availability, and will be available for a limited time only and the offer expires upon close of Beta events and those participating in it on Xbox Live must be Gold members.

Now, with all that out of the way, let’s get to the Limited Edition details.

The MOH LE features special content out-of-the-box including the MP-7, a weapon utilized by real-world Tier 1 Operators in the field, which is considered a light weight weapon with a high rate of fire with the ability to penetrate body armor. It handles like a pistol, yet allows targets to be engaged like a rifle.

The Limited Edition also includes camouflage, and two shotguns with custom slugs which are ideal for close-range fights.

Medal of Honor launches on October 12 in North America and October 15 in Europe for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.

The PS3 version of the Limited Edition also includes the classic, Medal of Honor Frontline completely remastered in HD just like the regular retail version.

Last year Activision sparked some controversy with what many believed was the most ridiculous Collector’s Edition ever seen for a video game. Priced at around $150, the Modern Warfare 2 Prestige Edition proceeded to sellout quickly — surprising many. As usual, consumers speak with their wallets, so Activision will be bringing back the Prestige Edition for the next Call of Duty title in the franchise.

According to Elder-Geek.com, SKUs have been leaked which indicate that the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops will, as seen with Modern Warfare 2, feature regular, hardened and prestige editions. The SKU numbers are as follows:

Call of Duty: Black Ops Hardened Edition (PS3) – 047875840225
Call of Duty: Black Ops Hardened Edition (360) – 047875840218
Call of Duty: Black Ops Prestige Edition (PS3) – 047875840249
Call of Duty: Black Ops Prestige Edition (360) – 047875840232

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’s Hardened Edition contained the game, an art book and a token to download Call of Duty Classic all in a slick-looking steel enclosure. The Prestige Edition on the other hand included all aforementioned items as well as a pair of custom Modern Warfare 2 night vision goggles that nobody used after trying them on for a few seconds. Maybe this time around Activision will include something useful such as a Zippo lighter or Hello Kitty umbrella instead. Whatever the case, it should be announced soon given the fact that the release date of Black Ops is now only three and a half months away.

While the title may speak for itself, the reality of it is two things. One, yes, the Kane and Lynch 2 demo is out. Two, it has a single player and multiplayer Fragile Alliance demo to enjoy.

Did I say “enjoy”? Whoops… Read on.

What drew me in to the original game was the characters and the prospect of a “Heat” style game where you take down scores and get a little side dish of gritty realism.  Unfortunately, I only played through about half of Kane and Lynch before control issues and sheer boredom forced me to quit that game.

Kane and Lynch 2, on the other hand, at least in demo form, seems really fresh. I played through the single player demo twice, the last time on hard and enjoyed the experience. The game is presented as though you’re watching it through the lens of a camera, or closed-circuit TV, and it adds a bit of visual flair. The flair is definitely needed as the game’s mechanics are decidedly average. Think Army of Two with worse shooting.

The shooting the game is just not done that well. You can’t zoom in with any weapon, forcing you to stay exposed for far too long before getting enough bullets into a bad guy to either get a lucky head shot or finally kill the bugger. It’s not very good.

On the other hand, the sound of the weapons and the ambient sounds of the game are really well done. When you shoot a gun, it is decidedly louder than anything in the game, giving it a real presence and causing firefights to feel a touch more “dangerous” than what you might expect in the game.

Finally, I thought the game looked good. Not great, but good. There’s a  section of the game where, you’re in the middle of a Shanghai street, there are vendors running around and other civilians. You can shoot them, ignore them or take them hostage as you see fit. This is a nice touch and it adds a lot of life to the game.

On the other hand, the multiplayer demo is totally freaking broken. The demo offers a Ranked Match in Fragile Alliance, which gamers may note is the version of the game where you try to collect as much money as possible while watching your back from your friends and enemies while robbing a bank or whatever the scenario is.

The problem? I couldn’t get into a game. Don’t even get me started as to why Eidos/Square Enix/IO would put out a multiplayer demo that wouldn’t allow you to invite your friends (because you can’t invite friends in K&L2’s demo). So, even though other friends in my party were able to connect to a game, on five separate occasions on two different nights, I was unable to connect to ANY game. To add insult to injury, I only had one other person EVER join my game, and that person quit out while waiting.

Seriously, WTF.

Play the single player. It’s fun and is totally worth playing. Screw the multiplayer demo though. It’s broken. Period. Don’t waste your time with it.

Two new maps were served up today over the free (to retail buyers) VIP service for Battlefield: Bad Company 2. VIP Map Pack No. 5 adds White Pass and Nelson Bay, shown in this here trailer.

White Pass supports Rush Mode; Nelson Bay is for Conquest Mode. The content is free to VIP pass holders, which came free with the full purchase of the game. Otherwise, it costs $15, but it gives you all content – such as the four VIP map packs preceding it.

Originally due some time this fall, Zipper Interactive’s SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs is now penciled in for release some time next year. The developer confirmed today that it’s delaying the PlayStation 3 game to give it some extra polish. The developer writes on the official SOCOM site:

Dear SOCOM faithful,

Some of you may have heard through your favorite media outlets that SOCOM 4 is now a 2011 title, and we are writing this letter to you, our community, to confirm that SOCOM 4 is indeed scheduled for release in 2011.

While we’re certainly aware that you’ve been looking forward to playing SOCOM 4 this year, we don’t want to take any shortcuts. Instead, we want to deliver the best and most immersive SOCOM game we possibly can and we’re going to use our extra time to do just that.

Over the coming months, you can expect further updates on our 2011 release, in addition to other gameplay and feature announcements on the official SOCOM 4 blog, which can be found at blog.socom.com.

On behalf of everyone here at Zipper Interactive, we want to thank you for being patient and thank you for sticking with us — it will be worth the wait.

Sincerely,

The SOCOM 4 Team

The PlayStation Move supporting shooter will avoid confrontations with fall’s other big shooters, which includes Medal of Honor, Call of Duty: Black Ops and the Xbox 360-only Halo: Reach.

On the recent Zipline Episode 13, Zipper announced that there would be faction specific weaponry in Socom 4, which caused a bit of a community uproar after the hassles it caused in Confrontation. Since some people preferred different faction specific guns, Confrontation forced most clans to create an excessive amount of rosters. Recently, Jeremy Dunham made a post on the forums clarifying the issue of faction specific weapons. He stated that in multiplayer mode “your weapons depend on what side you’re on for that match,” leading to the conclusion that side switching will not be in the game.

If true, this is a massive plus for Socom 4, as it means that Zipper have recognized the experiment conducted by Slant Six was a failure. Switching sides mid match really threw off any possibility of getting into a groove. In previous Zipper Interactive Socom games, everyone who played got that feeling of being in a rhythm – battling the same guy, at the same spot, for 11 rounds. Socom: Confrontation totally ruined that by making it so just as you found a groove, you switched sides and had to struggle to find it again. Of course this is all speculation, but indications are positive.

To see all the details on how the faction specific weapons will work, as well as some information on unlockables, check out Jeremy Dunham’s full post below:

To clarify how it works:

——————–
Jeremy Dunham
Sr. Community Manager, Zipper Interactive

Infinity Ward’s Robert Bowling recently answered some fan questions on Twitter, detailing the next couple of fixes for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

In regards to the One Man Army complaints, he stated that “we’ve been testing and experimenting with multiple OMA tweaks looking for the best solution.” He later added, “we’re testing what should be the final tweak to OMA. If that goes through, I’ll post when to expect an update.”

As for the rock glitch on Fuel, he wrote the following: “No ETA on it, but I’m hoping to know soon and yes, the Rock on Fuel will be included in those updates.”

The Capture the Flag Only playlist will also be making a return: “Yes. No ETA on when, it should make a return in the next playlist update.” Infinity Ward is also looking to add more hardcore modes: “Theres a good chance of it, but still testing. Some hopefully no bugs arise from it and we should see a good number of HC modes.”

Don’t expect anything to be done soon with the Spinning Skull Emblems, however, as Infinity Ward is concentrating on the patches and playlists updates first: “No news, they’ve been sidetracked with testing patch and playlist updates, which took priority.”

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was released on November 10, 2009, for the PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.

Naughty Dog’s detailed Update 1.09 for Uncharted 2, set to go live tonight in the UK.

The patch, mostly for the game’s multiplayer, will include the following:

• Changes made to multiplayer character skin system to allow for voices to be included with future skins
• Made changes to character game mechanics to prevent players from using exploits
• Fixed ability for players to “super throw” the treasure in Plunder matches
• Cash awarded per kill in Elimination has been increased to $750 per kill
• Enabled the ability for Naughty Dog to easily alter the amount of cash earned for individual Medals on a playlist or gametype basis and per-kill

A Liveupdate update will also be released by ND that will update how cash rewards in objective-based games are awarded. For those that fall under that update, these are the kill-based rewards that have been updated:

• Tip Off – $1,000
• Captured – $4,000
• That’s Embarrassing – $10,000
• Protectorate – $2,000
• No Cigar – $2,000
• Drop It – $1,000
• None Shall Pass – $5,000
• Expansionist – $5,000

The update goes live at 10am PST (6pm BST) today.

EA combats Activision’s inclusion of a soulful song from Eminem’s new album in Call of Duty: Black Ops with the inclusion of a soulful song from Linkin Park’s new album in Medal of Honor.

Is there some unwritten rule that big-name first-person shooter releases must contain a new song from musical artists I stopped caring about long ago? If so, might I suggest Nickelback for Ubisoft’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier?

As Activision did with Eminem, EA is doing with the modern Medal of Honor, tapping Linkin Park to provide a tune from their upcoming album for the game. The album is A Thousand Suns, and the song is “The Catalyst.” You can listen to a little of it in the video below.

See? It’s very soulful and deep, even though it sounds like a lot of the other deep and soulful songs released over the past decade.

Not only is the song appearing in the game, it’ll also be featured in a full-length music video directed by Linkin Park’s Joe Hahn. The video will appear on the Medal of Honor website on August 1, one day before it hits the radio and iTunes.

Medal of Honor will be on store shelves on October 12. Linkin Park’s A Thousand Suns will be in stores on September 14.

If you consider yourself the type of person who likes getting new video game features for free, then our next MAG patch — version 1.07, due in early August — is definitely something for you.

Yes friends, in just over a week from now, players will be treated to a number of features that you’ve been asking us for all summer in addition to a few surprises. Like what, you ask? Like these:

• A new “Happy Hour” Double XP bonus that’s applied to the first hour of any player’s gameplay session in a 24-hour period.
• Suppression will join Sabotage as a “Faction Neutral” gameplay mode, allowing any PMC to battle each other on any Suppression map.
• Faster download and patching code that allows us to update MAG with more content and bigger file sizes in a speedier way.
• Redesigned versions of the Flores Basin (Raven) and Alyeska Terminus (Valor) Domination maps that include new obstacles and repaired exploits.
• New lighting effects for more attractive and realistic environments.
• Various fixes to address bugs or glitches to improve MAG’s overall performance.

Of course, there are a number of other additions and fixes coming with MAG v1.07, but the points listed above should whet your appetites while you wait for the full list of changes closer to the update.

This week we feature a special guest as Inadub prepares to try and Test the waters:

• Sam “Doc” Castanon III from Season One of the Tester tells how it is
• Prize Packs prepare to ship
• Sit Rep
• and so much more…

Hi everyone, the next PlayStation 3 (PS3) system software update is coming soon. Firmware update 3.41 will add recommendations for games and videos on PlayStation Store. When you’re browsing through the details of a particular title, you’ll see a new “You May Like” section on the right-hand side. This section lists additional items based on the purchases of other PlayStation Network members who have purchased the item you’re currently looking at.

You can then click on this section to zoom in on the list and scroll the recommended titles.

This feature is a great way to discover new games that you may not know about, and it’s another step toward making the shopping experience easier and better for you all — similar to the five-star ratings feature we added in the last firmware update. Please note that while the 3.41 update will be released shortly, the recommendations feature on PlayStation Store is slated to go live by the end of July.

There have been a number of questions surrounding how the flow of content will work with PlayStation Plus for subscribers and what they’ll be able to keep if they do not resubscribe to the service after their one year membership expires. Though the service has been detailed in great measures, what people will keep and lose hasn’t been made all that clear. Finally, a clear and concise answer has been given to this issue.

Sony’s Jeff Rubenstein has clarified everything with the following statement on the official PlayStation blog: “Free add-ons expire if your subscription ends.

Add-ons you pay for (even if you pay at a discount) are yours to keep for good. The same thing is true for games- free ones expire if you don’t renew your subscription. Anything you pay for – even at a discount – is yours forever. Themes and avatars that are free, stay free for good.

There may be instances where a downloadable game is free and the add-on is priced at a discount. In this case, if your subscription ends, you would still have access to the DLC, but would need to re-purchase the game in order to use the add-on.”

Anything you buy at a discounted price will be yours forever, while anything that Sony gave to you for free while a ‘Plus’ member will be taken away. Are you a PlayStation Plus subscriber and do you feel the service has been a worthwhile investment?

It’s been rumoured for months that Call of Duty: World at War’s ‘Nazi Zombies’ mode may be making a comeback for Black Ops, but this could be the strongest hint yet that we’ll be seeing a revival of the mode in this year’s game.

According to IMDB, actor Shaun Paul Piccinino is ‘rumoured’ to be reprising his role as a ‘Zombie’ in Call of Duty: Black Ops, the same role he played in 2008′s World at War.

Could Zombies be getting a resurrection for this year’s game? We wouldn’t bet against it.

Of course, this isn’t the first hint that Nazi Zombies could be returning for this year’s game.

Treyarch boss Mark Lamia has previously suggested that the popular Zombies mode may be making an appearance in Black Ops when he told OPM back in May that “we really like the Zombie Mode,” and that “we listen to the fanbase”.

Call of Duty: Black Ops launches on November 9th on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC and Wii.

Michael Pachter has said online multiplayer will become subscription based as publishers looks for ways to make more money out of the consumer.

Speaking on the latest episode of his GameTrailers show Pach Attacks, the Wedbush Morgan analyst said companies such as EA will begin to charge players a monthly fee to play online.

“I think EA will migrate to an online subscription model, so instead of paying $10 for an online pass, I think EA will charge $5 or $10 a month which will give the player the ability to play any of the companies sports games online.”

Pachter then went on to say even if a subscription model does come into play, it won’t affect the profits of EA Sports games.

“You know I think they will be fine if 1-2 million do that [pay for subscription] and they will be fine if other 10-20 million people who play EA Sports games keep buying new games,” said Pachter.

“The moral of the story is game and used game purchasers just have to accept online multiplayer is going subscription. Publishers just can’t afford to give this stuff away for free, its cannibalising new game sales and used game sales.”

Activision is already planning to charge for Modern Warfare 2 according to the analyst, something that was thought to be coming via a leaked video during the week.

Call of Duty developers Infinity Ward and Treyarch debunked the rumour, though

“The idea you can buy Call of Duty and play online forever for free is crazy.. Activision is going to charge for it,” Pachter said firmly.

Recently on the HipHopGamerShow there was talks about Tekken 7 new gameplay, new graphics and more. Well not exactly Tekken 7 but this is even better Street Fighter X Tekken is a instant classic and after seeing this gameplay, the industry will officially realize that the Fighting Genre is back in full effect.

Thanks Capcom and Namco now click the video below for some amazing footage

Today there was certainly a stir due to a little rumor which happened to emerge about the upcoming super-hero MMO DC Universe Online heading to PC and PlayStation 3 this November which DualShockers has confirmed to be false. In the seeking of truth to this story even more information was uncovered pertaining to PSN+ and DCUO which the gaming world may be interested to know. Not only was the original source wrong, but the truth is almost the complete opposite.

As an online service known for providing discounts to PSN gamers, it is perhaps surprising to note that DC Universe Online will not receive any such discount offer for PSN+ subscribers. The game will indeed cost $14.99 a month to play on the PlayStation 3 as well as PC in addition to the initial purchase cost of buying the game itself. Players will not receive any special treatment for subscribing to PSN+. This has been directly confirmed by Sony Online Entertainment to DualShockers. We want to know from you, the reader, if whether or not this makes it a dealbreaker on whether to pass on DCUO or pick it up? Let us know in the comments section.

Just for the record, when we say discount, we’re referring to the subscription, not micro-transactions or DLC. Nothing has been said about that YET.

If you saw that 30-second teaser on Thursday and wondered what the heck was going on with Batman’s costume and Superman’s lack of a shave, this six-minute video setting up DC Universe Online’s story should answer a lot of questions.

Jeremy Dunham, senior community manager for Zipper Interactive, has announced over on the US PS Blog the developer has added Faction Neutral to the Sabotage maps in MAG.

Faction Neutral went live on Thursday, and what this means is if you’ve wanted to play “against the Valor PMC as a member of the competing Raven Industries on a map that belonged to the third faction, SVER”, you can now do so.

All you have to do is log into the game, select Sabotage as the game mode with your PMC choice and then let loose.

If you’ve not played MAG in a while, are a fan, and have been worried about any altering of support to the servers – no worry needed. Ken Inagaku, staff producer at SCEA said there are still a number of log-ins each day.

“MAG continues to record a strong and steady number of player account logins each day and boasts a robust community that has up to this date logged 1.27 billion kills and a total of 1.11 million games played,” Inagaku told Kotaku.

“SCEA and Zipper are fully committed to supporting MAG indefinitely.

“Since launch, MAG has received seven patches that have been a direct result of community feedback. We continue to listen to our players and implement new features on a consistent basis [like] Sabotage maps going faction-neutral. Community support goes beyond new content and features with our Double XP and “Play with Zipper” events.

“Future DLC [is] coming this summer, including Clan Wars, more faction-neutral maps, additional character slots, the ability for all three factions to wage war in one map, and much more.

“Stay tuned for additional announcements as we continue to expand the Shadow War.”

So, there you have it. Faction Neutral, loads of people are still playing, more goodies are on the way.

Good to hear. Sounds like a great time to start playing again if you haven’t.

When people think of the PlayStation brand and the many series that have best represented it over the years, Twisted Metal is one of the first to come to mind. The series revolutionized multiplayer mayhem with its absolute car destruction, over the top characters, and deadly attacks. There have been a total of 9 other titles in the the Twisted Metal universe, that is until David Jaffe, the creator of the Twisted Metal franchise, finally revealed the 10th Twisted Metal title in the series at E3 this past June. We got to try the freshly announced Twisted Metal at E3, but when will gamers get to try it out?

In a recent interview with 1up.com, Twisted Metal and God of War creator, David Jaffe was asked if there would be a multiplayer beta before the game’s 2011 release. To which he replied:

I don’t know. I mean, certainly we’re going to do a beta for such a multiplayer and online-heavy game, but in terms of if it’s going to be a public beta, or if it’s going to be more of a semi-private beta, which is more… Eat Sleep Play, Sony, some members of the press, or some hardcore fans. There’s a great website called Twisted Metal Alliance — those guys are the hardest of the hardcore Twisted Metal players. We’re definitely going to want to get them in if we can get their opinions. But in terms of if it’s pure public or a bit of the semi-private, that’s still to be determined.

Given the fact that Twisted Metal fans have been waiting since the launch of the PlayStation 3 for a true next generation release in the series, a multiplayer beta for Twisted Metal would be much sought after.

Street Fighter IV producer Yoshinori Ono had his “Street Fighter IV and Beyond” panel interrupted by Tekken producer Katsuhiro Harada, with the rival fighting game makers joining together to announce a collaboration, Street Fighter X Tekken.

Street Fighter X Tekken was introduced with a teaser trailer featuring Street Fighter’s Ryu facing down Tekken’s Jin in a pre-rendered sneak peek featuring Street Fighter IV’s sketchy, inky visual style. The game, pronounced “Street Fighter cross Tekken” will be coming to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Following the announcement, Ono surprised the crowd by holding up a Blu-ray disc with a copy of the game then provided attendees with a playable demo.

Street Fighter X Tekken appears to play like Street Fighter IV, locked onto a 2D plane, with both Tekken and Street Fighter characters performing EX-style super moves. The match started off with Ryu versus Jin Kazama, but Ono and Harada tagged in two more characters, Chun-li and Nina Williams.

Harada followed that playable match with an announcement of his own, confirming that Tekken X Street Fighter is also in development at Namco.

FPS games just aren’t realistic enough. Thankfully, CTA Digital — maker of fine products, like the Wii football accessory — have come up with a rather elegant solution: a replica plastic rifle, with a trigger and built-in speaker to support the controller’s three sound effects!

The controller features every button on a standard DualShock controller, making it compatible with games other than Call of Duty or Battlefield. Imagine playing the latest Shrek game the way it was meant to be played — behind the scope of a rifle.

The controller is available for pre-order on Amazon for $64.99, and is expected to release on August 2nd.

SCEA’s announced an November 16 release for LittleBigPlanet 2, as well as confirming a collector’s edition for the game.

The Media Molecule DIY title was previously down for just November.

The collector’s edition, which will be “limited” according to SCEA, will feature:

• A copy of LBP2
• 7′ Sackboy plushie
• LBP game ends – “keep your PS3 games in a tidy, organized and ‘Sack-ured” within these unique bookends”
• A massive bootload of pre-order DLC, including:
  Toy Story 3 Aliens costume
  Tron: Legacy Clu costume
  Muppets Great Gonzo costume
  Ratchet costume
  Clank costume
  Even More Animals costumes: Crocodile, Vulture, Cobra, Mandrill
• And two costumes exclusive to the CE:
  Jak costume
  Daxter costume
• Five LBP2 avatars for PSN

The set will set you back $79.99. Seems worth it in our book.

Thanks, US PS Blog.

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