Episode 33: Back to the Sequel

Well, the big talk this week is all about a game I have mixed feelings about... Halo 4. I have mixed feelings because I feel like Halo: Reach was treated more like a filler than a new game. I guess it has been about 2 years but that feels like a quick turnaround. Of course, my opinion is jaded by the fact that I have yet to finish ANY Halo game in single player so I don't get bored with it as fast as someone who plays for the story. Anyway, on to the news.

First up, pre-orders have started for the official Halo 4 Console Bundle that comes with exclusive DLC, custom controllers, and plays custom sounds when you open the tray or turn it on. Looks pretty badass I must admit.



Also, the first trailer for Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn hit the web recently. It's a live-action web series that premieres on Oct. 5th.



As for games that release this week, there's only two: Heroes of Ruin coming to Nintendo DS. It's an RPG where you play as a team of mercenaries fighting monsters.



The only other new game out there is an interesting PC game called The Race For The White House where you build a candidate and campaign to be elected President of the USA.



It's not a new game but there is new DLC for Mass Effect 3 available today called Earth that includes 3 new maps and some other goodies.

A trailer for Deadpool: The Game has hit the web. You play as the anti-hero Deadpool in this one. Game hits stores sometime next year but looks pretty awesome.



Also, new trailers for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 and Assassin's Creed III: Liberation (the VITA version) hit the web this week.





Another reason I want to play Star Wars: The Old Republic is coming. HK-51 (the smartass assassin droid from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic) is coming!



Angry Birds, Angry Birds Seasons, and Angry Birds Rio are getting bundled and will be coming to Xbox360, PS3, and 3DS this fall/winter.

Switching gears a bit, Deus Ex: Human Revolution is getting the movie treatment. Also, two of the writers from the Saw franchise are re-writing the script for a God of War movie. No release date has been set for either movie.

And that about does it for this week, not a ton of new stuff this week but plenty to look forward to in late 2012. Until next time, get out there and get your game on!

Episode 32: Geek Ink

It makes me sad to type it but my gaming heitus continues. Summer is just too damn busy BUT I am going to try and squeeze in some Diablo 3 this weekend... hopefully. Anyways, let's get to the new stuff!

NCAA Football 13 is coming to Xbox360 and PS3 this week. Like every year, basically the same game with a few updates. This time they decided to leave the gameplay and add "Sights and Sounds" which adds pre-game traditions. Heisman Challenge will allow you to play as a past Heisman winner on ANY team.

Ice Age: Continental Drift - Arctic Games makes its way to Xbox360, Wii, DS, and 3DS. I usually trash video game adaptations of movies but this one is more of a collection of mini-games like Glacier Hopping and Coconut Slingshot so it should be pretty entertaining! Xbox version requires Kinect.

The only original game coming this week is Quantum Conundrum for Xbox360 and PS3. You play as a boy who's uncle's house has been altered by insane experiments and must solve physics puzzles to survive.

In other gaming news, Michael Fassbender (X-Men: First Class, Prometheus) will star as Desmond in the upcoming Assassin's Creed MOVIE!

(Michael Fassbender)

They are still looking for a director and writer for the project. The legendary Paul McCartney recently tweeted a picture of himself working with the creators of Halo on music for a game that hasn't been announced yet.

Another Walking Dead game is on the way. It'll be a shooter centered around Daryl and his brother Merle before they met up with Rick in Atlanta. 

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron will be coming August 21st. Here's the trailer:

R&B singer Sean Kingston got a very awesome, very geeky Super Mario Bros. half sleeve tattoo recently.

And there you have it, lots of big releases slated to be coming our way in the 2nd half of 2012 so plenty to look forward to. As always, I'll post a list below of upcoming releases. Until next time, get out there and get your game on!

Episode 31: Moment of Silence

As you know, tomorrow is the 4th of July. Not surprisingly, there are no big games coming out this week. BUT there is some gaming news to share.

Jason Bateman and Will Arnett are working on a pair of shows for Call of Duty Elite TV. One will feature the pair doing voice-over smack talk during gameplay, the other will be an animated series.

Expendables 2 is getting the movie-to-video-game treatment. You'll get to play as Sylvester Stallone, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, or Terry Crews. No official release date but the movie hits theaters August 17th.

Halo 4 has released some info on the new "Spartan Ops" mode. Content will be released piece by piece and players will get a new set of 5 missions each week for 10 weeks. Game hits stores Nov. 6th.

The makers of Angry Birds have a new game called Amazing Alex where you build Rube Goldberg machines and send them to friends.

And that about wraps it up for this week. I've still been too busy to get some good gaming in but the next few weekends look ripe for the gaming so hopefully that'll change soon. Until next time, get out there and get your game on!

Release Date	Title	Consoles
July 10th	"NCAA Football 13"	Xbox360 and PS3
July 10th	"Quantum Conundrum"	PS3
July 10th	"Ice Age: Continental Drit"	Xbox 360, Wii, DS, and 3DS
July 17th	"Heroes of Ruin"	3DS
July 31st	"Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance"	3DS
July 31st	"Risen 2: Dark Waters Special Edition"	Xbox360 and PS3

Episode 30: More Game For Less!

Sadly my streak of not playing has continued. Been busy but that will change soon. Anyway, let's not waste time and dive into the new stuff.

First big release of the week is another movie turned video game, The Amazing Spider-Man coming to PS3, Xbox360, Wii, DS, and 3DS. This picks up right AFTER the events of the movie and you'll face Spider-Man classics like Rhino, Scorpion, and Lizard. If you pre-order from Amazon you'll unlock the ability to play as Spider-Man creator, Stan Lee!

The only other big release this week is Spec Ops: The Line for Xbox360, PS3, and PC. You play as a spec ops captain who must search the ruins of Dubai after it's buried by a sandstorm for a founding member of Delta Force.

2 big DLC's coming our way this week. First up, the Dawnguard DLC for Skyrim hits Xbox360 this week (it will come to PS3 and PC in 30 days). This DLC adds vampires to the mix and you can choose to be a vampire or fight them as part of the Dawnguard vampire hunters. If you go vampire, you'll actually be able TO FLY! Costs $20 and adds about 10 hours of gameplay.

Also available via DLC this week is Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut for FREE! This is the extended ending fans have been asking for.

In other gaming news, THQ has signed on to make games for the Lingerie Football League. Nintendo's 3DS XL will hit stores in August with a much larger screen and redesigned case. Details are slim at this point but rumor is you may be able to earn prizes (like Microsoft points) thru your Xbox 360 achievements starting this fall. There is an Assassin's Creed mobile game in development. And lastly, Aubrey Plaza from Parks and Recreation did a commercial for World of Warcraft that was too edgy for TV. Pretty damn hiliarous though.

And that about wraps things up for this week. I've still got some storyline to finish up in Skyrim before grabbing the new DLC so I need to get working on that. Plus, I still haven't played Gears of War 3 since I got my new controller and headset so I want to get that on my schedule as well. We'll see how the week goes. Until next time, get out there and get your game on!

Episode 29: Braves, Bats, and Balls

Sadly, my gaming streak has run dry for a bit. I've been staying so busy with work and birthday festivities that I haven't played ANYTHING in a week or more. I don't count apps on my phone as "gaming" but next week I should have time to dive back in.

First on the list of new games this week is Brave: The Video Game coming to Xbox360, PS3, Wii, Vita, 3DS, and DS. This is based off the movie (and I NEVER have high hopes for a movie video game). The archery mini-game is Kinect and Playstation Move compatible.



The only other mass release this week is LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes coming to Xbox360, PS3, Wii, Vita, 3DS, and DS. Superman, Wonder Woman, and The Green Lantern join the caped crusader and Robin to face off against Lex Luthor and The Joker. As with all LEGO games, everything is in LEGO style animation.



Coming to DS this week is Pokemon Conquest. This game takes Pokemon to a new place with a play system similar to that of  Final Fantasy Tactics. Your Pokemon strengthen as your bond with them grows as well.



Last of the new stuff, Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor comes to Xbox360 Kinect. You control your guns with the controller but you can body gestures to start your engine and interact with your tank crew.



In other gaming news, the Diablo 3 real money auction house is live. Thus far it will cost you around $3000 (that's real money) to outfit your character in the best gear available. Also, the Xbox Live app for iPhone and iPad now lets you play movies, start games, and launch apps from your console via your smart phone.

And that about does it, I won't be gaming much this weekend as I'll be in California for a radio conference but I'll be back next week with more gaming goodies. Until then, get out there and get your game on!

Episode 28: Cheerleaders & Chainsaws

In case you missed it, E3 was last week and had some HUGE news. Click here to check out a full recap of what went down.

Also, in my world of gaming, Diablo 3 has still been my only gaming vice. I have been dying to play some Gears of War 3 with my new controller and headset but haven't been able to get the gang online at the same time. Maybe this week. Anyway, let's dive into the new releases this week.

First up, my favorite game title in recent history: Lollipop Chainsaw coming to Xbox360 and PS3. You play as a cheerleader who takes on a zombie horde with a chainsaw (all while carrying the still-living severed head of her boyfriend). It plays like a better developed Duke Nukem and looks like the old school Grindhouse style horror movies from what the trailer shows.

Next up, get dirty with DiRT Showdown on Xbox360 and PS3. This is the 4th in the DiRT series featuring a racing tour, demolition mode, trick mode, and multiplayer mini games.

Lastly this week, Gravity Rush lands on VITA this week. You play as a girl named Kat who finds a cat that gives her the power to control gravity which she uses to defend her home city from monsters.

Also in the world of gaming, Angry Birds is coming to consoles with an updated HD version. Kinect has a new game on the way called NBA Baller Beats which plays like the dance games but you use a real basketball to keep the beat and in harder modes work in crossovers and pump fakes. Could actually be a useful tool for learning ball control and dribbling. Here's a trailer:

Nintendo's announcement of the Wii U was probably the biggest of E3 this year. I think it's going to be another flop (possibly worse than Wii or Gamecube) but here's the hard data if you're interested:

And that does it, a few new games, some fun stuff on the way, and all you need to know about the Wii U. Until next week, get out there and get your game on!

Release Date	Title	Consoles
June 18th	"Pokemon Conquest"	DS
June 19th	"Brave: The Video Game"	Xbox360, PS3, Wii, Vita, 3DS, DS
June 19th	"LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes"	Xbox360, PS3, Wii, Vita, 3DS, DS
June 19th	"Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor"	Xbox360
June 26th	"The Amazing Spider-Man"	Xbox360, PS3, Wii, 3DS
June 26th	"Spec Ops: The Line"	Xbox360, PS3, PC
June 26th	"Guild Wars 2"	PC
July 10th	"NCAA Football 13"	Xbox360 and PS3

Episode 27: E3 Madness!

If you haven't heard the Electronic Entertainment Expo (or E3) is going on this week and that means TONS of new games and toys, but we'll get to that in a minute. As for myself, still been rocking nothing but Diablo 3. I finished Normal on my Witch Doctor (Deekae) and started a Monk (Burl) to play offline so I can pay more attention to the storyline.


Before we dive into E3, here's what's coming this week. First up, Madagascar 3: The Video Game lands on Xbox360, PS3, Wii, DS, and 3DS (just in time for the movie's release this weekend). You play as the main characters from the movie trying to escape a circus in Europe.

The only other new release this week is Inversion coming to Xbox360 and PS3. In this game you are in pursuit of the mysterious Lutadore and certain parts of the city change the direction of gravity. Destructible environments also play a big role.

Now, let's dive into E3! Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 released 5 minutes of gameplay video and announced Xbox360 will continue to get first dibs on DLC. They also announced Call of Duty: Black Ops Classified which will be a Vita exclusive. Speaking of Vita, Assassin's Creed III: Liberation was announced. It will be set in the 18th century and will contain the first FEMALE assassin in the series.

In software news, Microsoft announced an app for Xbox360 called SmartGlass that will allow you to connect your smart phone or tablet to your Xbox360. PS3 announced an app called Wonderbook that will be used to read special digital books. Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling is writing the first called Book of Spells that will let you cast spells with the Playstation Move while reading.

Now to the fun stuff, NEW GAME TRAILERS! I'll list them all at the bottom but my Top 5 are Avengers: Battle for Earth, South Park, Halo 4, Devil May Cry, and Forza: Horizon. (Posted below in order)

Other trailers that were released include Splinter Cell: Blacklist, Medal of Honor: Warfighter, Dead Space 3, Dance Central 3, Sound Shapes, Hawken, and Watch Dogs (which apparently stole the show on Monday). If you want to keep up with the rest of the excitement at E3, watch more trailers and release announcements, and more: CLICK HERE TO GET THE FULL SCOOP!

And that does it, lots and LOTS of new stuff coming, E3 madness this week, and more Diablo 3 in my personal gaming future. Until next time, get out there and get your game on!

Release Date	Title	Consoles
June 12th	"Gravity Rush"	Vita
June 12th	"DiRT Showdown"	Xbox360 and PS3
June 12th	"Lollipop Chainsaw"	Xbox360 and PS3
June 18th	"Pokemon Conquest"	DS
June 19th	"Brave: The Video Game"	Xbox360, PS3, Wii, Vita, 3DS, DS
June 19th	"LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes"	Xbox360, PS3, Wii, Vita, 3DS, DS
June 19th	"Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor"	Xbox360
June 26th	"The Amazing Spider-Man"	Xbox360, PS3, Wii, 3DS
June 26th	"Spec Ops: The Line"	Xbox360, PS3, PC
June 26th	"Guild Wars 2"	PC