No, no, no, not this again. We’re hearing from sources that the Xbox One will require gamers to be installed on the hard drive before playing is allowed. If for some reason you want to take that new game over to a buddy’s house, you would have to pay a fee to MS just to play it. The game will be tied to one Xbox Live account, no mention yet if it can be unlinked for another account.

Yeah I hate installing games to my PS3. I have a puny 80GB hard drive and it fills up quick with all the mandatory installs. Plus who wants to buy a brand new game, rush home and then wait while 5GB of data is  slowly transferred to their deck? Not I that’s for sure. The Xbox One may have a 500GB drive but that sucker will fill up very fast with games, here’s hoping for TB drives.

What this seems like is Microsoft’s use of the Xbox One against the used games market. Sure EA ditches Online Passes but then someone still has to pay to play used. Stay tuned geeks as more info will eventually emerge.

 

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We finally have an official name for the successor to the Xbox 360 legacy, the Xbox One. Microsoft unveiled the sleek console today during their hour-long press conference in Seattle. The company gave us all a shot of the future and the future looks good.

I’m digging the sexy look of the console, it looks like a modernized companion piece to any living room set up. I wish they would have dropped the piano black finish though, that tends to collect more dust and grime than a matte finish. The new controller is a sexy beast, something that would be imagined for a sci-fi show instead of real life. MS didn’t change the Xbox One controller so much but yet it looks so fresh. They do claim they’ve redesigned the infamous D-pad.

What we know so far about the Xbox One is it has 8GB of RAM, an 8 core custom-built CPU, blu-ray drive, USB 3.0, WiFi Direct, HDMI Kinect 2.0 and happily a 500GB hard drive. No word on if we can swap out bigger drives but I would say it’s a given. Good out of the gate specs for the “future”.

Backwards compatibility is a no go for the Xbox One due to the brand new architecture running the system. The system is powered by three separate operating systems, the new Xbox gaming system, the Windows kernel and a custom-built OS to get those two to play nice. After seeing it run, I’ll gladly lose BC for the features being brought forth. One thing is the deeper integration with the new Kinect sensor. Plop down in front of the One and say “Xbox On” and it instantly starts up for you. Using Kinect to flip channels, switch to different sections of the console was breathtakingly swift.

We didn’t see much of the games slated for the Xbox One which is sad and makes me feel as if Microsoft is forgetting why they’re #1 right now. We got a glimpse of Forza 5, a new game from Remedy called Quantum Breaker and at the end of the show was a big show off of Call of Duty: Ghosts. The trailers looked amazing but no actual game play. We’re told that we will get more of the games at E3. We do know that achievements will transfer over the One.

Launch is a tentative “this year” and no price is yet set. I expect it to drop at $399 personally. We’ll keep digging up the juice for you geeks so stay tuned!

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How much Metal Gear Solid can Konami fit into one package? We’re going to find out with the Metal Gear Solid: The Legacy Collection. Crammed into two blu-ray discs will be the ultimate Metal Gear fan’s  dream line-up: Metal Gear Solid, MGS2, MGS3, MGS4, MGS: Peace Walker, MGS: VR Missions (all HD’d up), the original MSX versions of Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2 and two Ashley Wood digital comics. Also featured will be an expansive 100 page art book covering the 25 years the franchise has been captivating gamers.

The PS3 exclusive set is now officially set to drop on July 9th for $49.99. Quite a bargain when you consider how many Metal Gear games you get and all the trophies you can acquire! Stay tuned as this Metal Gear geek is craving some Legacy.

 

Ultimate Line-Up of Fan Favorites Available in PlayStation®3 Package

Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. today announced METAL GEAR SOLID: THE LEGACY COLLECTION will be available in North America and South America on July 9, 2013.

Celebrating the 25th anniversary of the METAL GEAR SOLID franchise, this PlayStation®3 exclusive package will include METAL GEAR SOLID, METAL GEAR SOLID 2: HD Edition, METAL GEAR SOLID 3: HD Edition (which includes the original MSX versions of METAL GEAR and METAL GEAR 2), METAL GEAR SOLID: Peace Walker HD Edition, METAL GEAR SOLID: VR MISSIONS, METAL GEAR SOLID 4: Trophy Edition and two Ashley Wood digital graphic novels which will be released for the first time in North America.  In addition, the collection will include an all-new 100 page art book highlighting marketing art from across the globe, spanning the profound 25 year history of the esteemed franchise.

The METAL GEAR SOLID series is the seminal work of Hideo Kojima, Japan’s master game creator, and the progenitor of the stealth action game genre. With more than 33 million units sold to date, the METAL GEAR series has become a global phenomenon. The player controls a secret agent from an elite special forces unit who is sent on solo stealth missions through enemy installations, vast jungles, and sometimes even the thick of battle.  Alone and surrounded by the enemy, even a special forces agent will find it tough to come out alive. But that is the secret behind the series’ popularity—the cerebral challenge of figuring out how to avoid combat, and the thrill of sneaking through enemy territory undetected.

METAL GEAR SOLID: THE LEGACY COLLECTION will be available on July 9 for $49.99 for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system.

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If you played video games in the 90′s, you knew there were two mascots fighting for your gaming dollars: Nintendo’s Mario and Sega’s Sonic the Hedgehog. Both starred in awesome games, both had cameos in comics and both, both were damn endearing. Once Sega bowed out of the console market that left Sonic a free agent. Since then, we’ve seen him on the Xbox 360, PS3 and even a Nintendo console or two. That was shocking but the latest from Sega is even more shocking.

Sega and Nintendo have struck a deal to make Nintendo the official home of Sonic! That’s right geeks, long time rivals Mario and Sonic will now permanently live under the same console roof. Sega will still make the games but they will only be on anything Big N, at least for the next three titles.

Back in my childhood gaming I would have never thought, I imagined it, that the foes would become BFFs. Now they can braid each other’s hair, make pies and chase after evil doers together forever. Chalk this one up to the strangest exclusive ever!

SEGA® of America Inc. and SEGA® Europe Ltd. today announced details of an exclusive partnership with Nintendo of America Inc. and Nintendo of Europe GmbH for the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. The new agreement will make Nintendo consoles the number one destination for Sonic gaming over the next three titles.  The first two titles of the deal were announced today via Nintendo Direct, and details of the third Sonic title will be revealed at a later date.

“Sonic the Hedgehog has performed incredibly well on Nintendo platforms and this exclusive partnership is a natural fit for the next evolution of Sonic games” commented Jurgen Post COO SEGA Europe Ltd.  “The Wii U and Nintendo 3DS are ideal platforms to showcase Sonic and we are looking forward to working with Nintendo on these three exciting adventures.”

Sonic the Hedgehog first appeared as a videogame character in June 1991 and instantly became an icon for a generation of gamers.  Defined by his super-fast speed and cool attitude, in the years since he first raced on to videogame consoles Sonic has become a true global phenomenon with over 75 million videogames and smartphone apps sold worldwide. SEGA’s iconic blue blur has also gone on to enjoy incredible success in many licensed areas, such as toys, apparel, comics and animation.

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Holy bloody plastic bags geeks! Rockstar has announced the controversial “murder simulator“, Manhunt,  is now available for purchase on the PSN. Ten bucks will nab you one of gaming’s bloodiest, vicious games to see the light of day. A game where life is a hunt and you’re the prey, where cameras watch your every move and record every brutal kill you make.

I remember getting game on launch day and playing till 3 in the morning, it hooked me. My geek queen of course couldn’t understand my disturbing fascination with it but to each his own, right? My favorite kill object was the plastic bag, sneaking up on a gun wielding nogoodnik and wrapping it around his head was quite exhilarating. I am not a serial killer by the way, just so you know.

The PSN version of Manhunt has been modified but it isn’t a remake. No trophy support here just a PS2 classic on PSN. I can confirm it is already loaded into the PSN so you can go get your murder on now if you want.

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At long last Electronic Arts has seen the light, they have listened to the scathing fans, they have reached some form of common sense in their corporate minds. The Online Pass a.k.a. Project Ten Dollar is finally being scrapped, no seriously, it’s over. The witch is dead. She can’t get you nor your little dog now.

After 3 ridiculous years of budget minded shoppers getting the shaft on buying used games, EA will no longer shove those stupid little codes inside each new copy of their blockbuster titles. Originally envisioned as ”an effort to package a full menu of online content and services,” otherwise none as “OP Jack the Consumer” the program morphed into a way to cut used games out of the system. Instead “many players didn’t respond to the format.” And rightly so. Some people can’t drop $60 bucks down for every title and either have to wait for a sale (in which a significant time passes and often rendered the Online Pass invalid) or buy used.

“We’ve listened to the feedback and decided to do away with it moving forward.” Say what? You guys listened? I guess being named “The Worst Company in America” will do that to you, just maybe. Although let’s be real here, there are far worse companies here than Electronic Arts. Of course now we have to sit back and wonder how they’re going to gouge us. $70 games? $30 map packs? It boggles the mind!

So what you geeks think? About time or too little too late?

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Cue up the Sarah McLaughlin music and imagine a lonely virtual kitten in need of your assistance. Lost And Found Games are seeking funding for CatLand, an interactive pet app, and have started a Kickstarter campaign. Your donation can save the lives of many virtual cats and will help them find homes on the smartphones they deserve.

Catland is similar to the Tamagotchi‘s that were so popular a few years back. If you are unable to have a pet for any reason, why not have a virtual pet? CatLand also features a check in feature that offers entertainment and a change of scenery for your fake feline friend.

Check out the video below and remember being a cat lady is only crazy if you are found out. Keep your secret safe by being a virtual cat lady with CatLand.

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For the past few years I’ve been meaning to finish 2010′s Metro 2033. I was instantly drawn to the post apocalyptic story driven shooter but have always found the clunkiness of its controls a major deterrent. As Metro 2033 found itself further back in my ever growing backlog of games, the future of its sequel looked as bleak as the post apocalyptic Russian setting that is Metro.

In 2012 it was no secret that THQ, Publisher of the Metro series was in financial trouble. Several games on THQ’s roster faced delays while the iconic publisher of video games tried to come up with a solution to their financial woes while still maintaining a level of commitment to the hard work developers like 4A invested into their games. In the end THQ filed for bankruptcy and their games were auctioned off to the highest bidders. Eventually Metro Last Light ended up at Deep Silver and now is available on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.

Metro Last Light picks up where Metro 2033 left off, if you are new to the series be sure to watch the beginning cutscenes that will fill you in on the story thus far. The Metro universe is inspired by the books of Dmitry Glukhovsky and follows our hero Artyom through the devastation and consequences of a nuclear holocaust in his once beautiful Russia. Artyom is a Ranger and is sent to find the last known remaining “Dark One“. The Dark Ones were the species Artyom chose to call in a missile strike on in Metro 2033 and is therefore responsible for their extinction.

There is dissent amongst Artyom’s fellow survivors as to what is to be done with the last remaining Dark One, who is just a child. Of course, once Artyom finds the lone Dark One, we soon learn that a few other political factions are also on the hunt for the Dark One and have their own agendas as to why. Our hero Artyom has one distinct advantage, he can communicate with the dying race. In doing so Artyom starts to doubt his decision of helping commit genocide against the misunderstood Dark Ones.

Metro Last Light is best described as a shooter / horror-survival hybrid. The nicely paced campaign unfolds with both political upheaval and scary mutants all struggling to control the Metro. The story is very intriguing and well written despite a few weak spots in the plot. It has inspired me to dust off my copy of Metro 2033 and place it at the beginning of my backlog. The Metro world is one I can’t wait to revisit.

The setting of post apocalyptic Russia is one of great tragic beauty. 4A’s eye for detail and use of light and darkness gives the feel that the most important character of the game is the Metro itself. I found myself adjusting my eyes to adapt to the dark of the underground tunnels and cringing while wiping the imaginary cobwebs away as if my video game surroundings were my reality. Turning off a light will help you hide from human A.I. but will impede your ability to navigate around the Metro and might also catch you off guard from creatures of the dark.

Gameplay was incredibly smooth and much improved from the first Metro. Controls felt natural and were easy to learn, my biggest complaint would have to be the A.I.. Often I could sneak up on a group of 2 or 3 video game enemies and stab all of them in a very un-stealthy fashion without being detected. Non human or mutant enemies were a different story and were much more relentless in their pursuit of Artyom.

Weapons and ammo are plentiful in Metro Last Light as not only were they lying all around, human A.I. almost always had some on them that you could scavenge from their dead corpses. Above ground movement requires the use of a gas mask for survival but once again filters to extend your clean breathing were fairly abundant.

Metro Last Light’s gameplay while still challenging at times is easier than I remember its predecessor to be. Most of my in-game deaths resulted from my own stupidity or lack of paying attention. One other issue I had with the game was a few of the automatic checkpoints were inconveniently located, like the time I kept respawning with very little air left on my filter, no replacements in sight, and a great deal of travel left to get to my destination. However, on the subject of checkpoints, kudos for them being frequent especially in long battles or boss fights, unlike some current games I know. That’s right, God Of War Ascension and Crysis 3 I’m talking about you!

I played the game on a PC running it at the ultimate settings and if you have a powerful gaming rig, I recommend doing the same. The graphics of Metro Last Light are stunning and despite its devastated Russian setting, it’s quite beautiful. If you are playing it on a PC with an AMD video card, be sure to turn PHYSX off in the settings. I played a few hours without incident before I experienced any problems with the graphics. I didn’t notice any more issues after turning PHYSX off and the game looked just as amazing with it off as it did on. Also, if you turn PHYSX off mid gameplay you will have to quit to your desktop and restart the game before the setting will change.

I experienced a few minor glitches with the A.I. and for whatever reason during the last battle my weapons would not fire at times, despite having a full magazine. I also had issues with the night vision goggles and never once got them to work.  Overall though, my experience with Metro Last Light was very enjoyable. I’d give it an 8 out of 10. In a year where Tomb Raider and Bioshock Infinite have raised the bar on video games, I’d say that is quite impressive.

A very special thank you goes out to the amazing PR department at Deep Silver for supplying me with a review copy of Metro Last Light as well as advice on optimal settings for my PC.

Metro Last Light was developed by 4A Games and published by Deep Silver. The game is now available on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.

 

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Let’s be honest, Google has been wicked awesome at the amount of storage they offer us for free. 5 GB to split among GMail, Google Drive and Google+ pics is pretty damn fair compared to the paltry 2 GB Dropbox serves its free users. Google clearly wants to stay waaaaaaaay ahead of the competition as they just tripled the amount of available cloud storage.

15 GB of cloud love is slowly rolling out for all of us that rely on the Google train. What’s even better is you can decide if you want an even split or if you want more space devoted to Google+. Maybe you don’t use Drive that much, you can just adjust the settings so you have more room for your cat photos in G+. Google Apps users are also seeing a bump up – from 25 GB to 30 GB.

Don’t forget, you can also purchase more space if you tend to be a storage hog. $5 a month will score you a 100 GB online storage shed while a Weasly measly 10 smackers a month can rent out a reception hall sized 200 GB.

Makes you wonder way, mere days before Google I/O, they pumped up the storage. Do they have some shenanigans ready for the annual developers conference? Stay tuned geeks, we’ll find out!

 

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Once more into the breach my fellow geeks! We have zombies monsters to slay! After Dead Island dropped in 2011, zombie killing fans were left wanting more, much more. Well here we are, stuck in another island hell hole fighting off hordes of undead monstrosities and were we given the sequel we needed, the sequel we deserved?

Dead Island: Riptide is a psuedo-sequel to Dead Island. You could call it an expansion pack pretty much, a huge expansion at that. The same four heroes from the first are back with a new immune survivor in the mix. The game starts off exactly after the end of the first, with our motley crew escaping the infested Banoi. The gang ends up on a ship in the ocean where they find more hardship. Abducted, they become the focus of experiment after experiment. As with all things science, an outbreak occurs and the ship crashes. Not back on Banoi thankfully but an all new section of the cluster, Palanai.

More…

Palanai is its own creature, separate from Banoi but yet strikingly familiar. It’s a lush tropical paradise but so was Banoi and I believe that’s what starts the downfall of the game. Riptide feels much like its predecessor in every way, the good with the bad. Every thing that was wrong with the original is still wrong in Riptide. We’re talking the poor, stuttering frame rate, the stilted “I got a load in my pants” walk of your chosen avatar, the clipped sound and horribly repetitive fetch quests. It’s almost like Techland didn’t listen to anything the fans said and kept on with business as usual. And they brought along some new glitches to irritate fans.

 

Did you rely on the quest marker to lead you to the next destination, to help you bypass the throngs of brain hungry foes? Yeah, you can forget that bad boy in Riptide – it’s fundamentally broken. It works when it wants to, which isn’t very often mind you. Routinely you will become over run and murdered by the Left 4 Dead type hordes, by the constantly respawning zombies, by the ninja-like wretches that will appear behind you. It is pure frustration on an epic scale. Something I never encountered in DI but are present everywhere are insta-killing enemies. They throw one tiny knife and full health bar or not, BAM! you’re dead. Utter rubbish.

Not all is bad in Riptide, there are some improvements to be found, some additions to make it stand out. Something I thoroughly enjoyed was the hub defense for the various hideouts the gang holes up in. The zombies will swarm in from a scattering of weak spots in an attempt to swallow up the survivors. Each time I played, I had a blast laying down traps, rushing to a friend’s aid and cutting off little pieces of the horde. That brings up another new and fun item, mines and bombs. It’s delicious fun to drop a mine and watch some schmuck walk into it, set it off and then burn down to the ground. Fun, fun!

Beyond the usual quests, the team now has a set of fetch quests to achieve. Grabbing x number of whatever and bringing them back to a survivor grants newer weapons, cheaper prices at stores and more helpful friends during the hub defense. I handed off 4 blankets to one guy and next thing I knew, he was wielding a monstrous, multi-edged zombie slicer instead of his puny bat.

Techland introduced a few new monsters to the core set. The biggest pain is the Screamer, a monster that..screams. The scream is so deafening that your hero is instantly incapacitated by it, usually knocked to the ground. The Wrestler is a slow and deadly hulk of a monster that can kill in one blow. Also new to the game is the Dead Zones. Dead Zones are chock full of monsters as well as a boss monster. You got to be good and you got to be tough to clear the zone, which includes killing the tough as nails boss. It’s worth it though as Dead Zones usually have something rare for you tucked away in them.

I’m not here to say Riptide is utter trash because it’s not. It does have some serious issues that were never fixed from the first game and it has some new issues that impact gameplay but if you can look past them you’ll find a competent zombie slasher with real potential. There is plenty of real fun to be had in crafting new weapons and busting monster skulls with them. Each kill is a satisfying kill, especially when you’re surrounded by more ready to die – again.

I give Dead Island: Riptide a 6 out of 10 and would gladly bump that up if they can issue a patch to fix some of the technical problems. Hopefully Techland goes ahead with a full-blown sequel and fixes the complaints.

Many thanks to out pals at Deep Silver for the Xbox 360 review copy! May I never hear “I gotta find another way in” again!

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