Header Image
Thecus M3800
Review by: John Yan
Thecus makes some good NAS options but how do they fair with their first entry into a NAS with multimedia capabilities READ FULL REVIEW...
PlayStation 3 Wireless Keypad
Review by: Jennifer Yan
Sony has their own peripheral to help chat or type with the controller. John though thinks it needs a lot of work. READ FULL REVIEW...
Harmony Adapter for the PlayStation 3
Review by: John Yan
John can finally control his PS3 with his Harmony One remote. See what he thinks of the Harmony Adapter for the PlayStation 3 READ FULL REVIEW...

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing livestream tonight!

by: Jeremy - - Add a Comment
In just a few short weeks, gamers everywhere will be able to get their hands on NeocoreGames new action-RPG The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing. The game launches on Steam on May 22, 2013 but we want to give you an up close and personal look at the game tonight.

Beginning at 9:00 EST tonight, we’ll be streaming a two hour gameplay session of the game live on Twitch.tv. I am going to build a new character, from scratch and give you some insight on the first couple hours of the game. We’ll be fielding questions in the chat section of the feed as well and will do our best to answer them. Come check it out tonight!

First images of The Wolf Among Us

by: Randy - - Add a Comment
The Wolf Among Us caught my eye (and what big eyes I have, grandma) flipping through the latest Game Informer. Hard to hate on that Vice-City-meets-Blood-Dragon glow of pulpy '80s neon noir. You'd think the big-time resurgence of remixed folklore in movies and TV would get old already--and maybe it has--but this is video games, and this is the developer that put together The Walking Dead, and this makes me have good feels about the state of episodic adventure games.

The Wolf Among Us is based on the Fables comic book series by Bill Willingham. Fables scoops up familiar faces from European folklore (and beyond), like The Big Bad Wolf, the Three Little Pigs, and Pinocchio, and drops them off in a clandestine, rundown community in New York City. These Fables characters, with their powers intact, blend into the general populace as best they can. As well as can be expected, anyway.

The Big Bad Wolf is now Sheriff Bigby Wolf, policing the under-wraps cloister of characters. In The Wolf Among Us, you play Bigby, but you don't look like that huffing and puffing wolf of yore, you look like a huffing and puffing dressed-down long arm of the law. Dress code is a tad more Max Payne than Sam & Max.

Telltale Games blew our house down with these first five images: Bigby handing a beatdown to possibly the lumberjack from Little Red Riding Hood, Bigby taking a smoke break with Colin the Little Pig that built his house of straw, an '80s two-tone Fiero in front of a row of low-rent apartments, Bufkin the flying monkey from Oz in a Fables artifact museum of sorts, and Mr. Toad witnessing a TV that took a wild ride straight down on top of that sick Fiero--also, check out Bigby's shadow.

If Telltale Games puts Kavinsky on the soundtrack I will absolutely die.
 
,



[READ MORE]

EA eschews Online Pass for Fuse?

by: Matt - - Add a Comment
In a move that certainly left me stunned, our review copies of Fuse were given to us without an Online Pass. Thinking this was some kind of horrible joke I looked underneath the help document that told me the manual was included on the disc, checked behind the cover art, even tried entering the serial number from the Microsoft Authenticity label. Imagine my further surprise when the game didn't even prompt me for an Online Pass. 

In all seriousness this is pretty interesting that EA would skip the Online Pass for such a multi-player heavy game. Our upcoming preview will cover some of the online play along with the game's 'Echelon' mode, and early reports are that it looks pretty good. 

Saints Row IV PAX Demo, now for the world to see

by: Nathaniel - - Add a Comment
I gave Saints Row 3 a pass.  Why?  I don't really know because I really enjoyed the first two.  I just wasn't feelin' number 3 for whatever reason.

Perhaps that reason was that I never saw any gameplay footage that was anything like this, just released to the public, PAX East pre-alpha demo footage that shows off Saints Row IV's weaponized dubstep, presidential nut-punches, mechs, super-powers, and aliens.  It makes Saints Row IV look like an amalgam of all my favorite open world titles, and it's set to hit stores on August 20, nearly a full month before GTA V.  I'll be jonesing for some open-world action so hard by that point, I may have little choice but to check out Saints Row IV.  

Watch the trailer and tell me you don't feel the same way.


By pressing the button below, you are certifying that you are 18 years old or older and you are of age to view the content.
[READ MORE]

Thunder Wolves trailer and screen shot explodeganza

by: Nathaniel - - Add a Comment
Thunder Wolves is now available for pre-order on Steam, which will officially have to be renamed "Smoke" by the time Thunder Wolves gets done with it.  It will be available on Steam on May 15, but 360 and PS3 gamers are going to have to wait.  How long?  Who knows?  If Thunder Wolves knows, Thunder Wolves ain't telling.

If you do pre-order Thunder Wolves on Steam, then be prepared to deal with a 20% discount that means $9.99 is all you'll pay.

To learn more, follow the jump.  Also, you should visit www.mwent.hu/games/thunder-wolves.
 

[READ MORE]

Make your choice: brawns or beauty? [Dragon’s Crown]

by: Jeremy - - Add a Comment
Atlus has a pair of new trailers for the upcoming brawler Dragon’s Crown, and it is looking AWESOME. The videos, which you can find below, show off two more of the game’s numerous character classes: the fighter and the sorceress.

When you pick up the game for either your PS3 or Vita in August, these are only two of your options when you head out into this gorgeous hack and slash adventure. Cooperative play, epic boss battles, and a new adventure every time that you play the game, its all here for your enjoyment.
 
 

Dead Or Alive 5 Ultimate coming soon?

by: Nathan - - Add a Comment
It appears that Dead Or Alive 5 may be getting its own Super Hyper Turbo Alpha EX Plus 2 Arcade Edition 2013 Version update soon as Dead Or Alive 5 Ultimate was announced sometime last week. 

A teaser trailer was shown at a Japanese tournament which you can view below. 

The update for Xbox 360 and PS3 will add Ninja Gaiden's Momoji to the roster, along with a brand new Sky City Tokyo stage. There has been no official announcement yet from Team Ninja but eventhubs.com reports that the game will be getting the exclusive content that was featured in the Playstation Vita version of the game. There don't know if any other content will make it into the update but I assume an official announcement from Team Ninja will come soon.

I love Dead Or Alive 5 so i'm really hoping this is simply an update you can download instead of a whole new game you have to buy. 
 

Nintendo Download for May 9, 2013

by: Jeremy - - Add a Comment
Hey Nintendo fans, you weekly dose of new digital content is readily available on your platform of choice. While our review is still in the works, I am hearing really good things about Mario and Donkey Kong so you might want to check that out if you have a 3DS.
  • Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move for 3DS on eShop
  • Publisher Dream for DSi/3DS on eShop/DSiWare
  • Resident Evil Revelations (demo version) for Wii U on eShop (available May 14)
  • Solomon’s Key for Wii U Virtual Console
  • SpeedX 3D Hyper Edition for 3DS on eShop
  • Xevious for Wii U Virtual Console

Now Loading: Audio Edition for 05/09/2013

by: Jeremy - - Add a Comment
It is Thursday which means it was time(this morning) to check in with Joe Jewett and the Morning Show down at CD102.5 in Columbus. Today we talked a little bit about the new Mario and Donkey Kong game, what Lobo brings to Injustice, and the luscious content hitting Steam tomorrow in the form of Pinball FX2. Plus, we MIGHT have a nice little giveaway in store for listeners next week as you will find out near the end...
 
 

Free DLC inbound for Soul Sacrifice

by: Jeremy - - Add a Comment
In addition to a variety of paid DLC in the works for the excellent Soul Sacrifice, there are at least a trio of free packs headed to game as well. The various packs will be rolled out over the course of month beginning May 28. The free lineup looks like this:
  • May 28: Headless Knight and Starving Ruin Dwellers Pack which includes two new bosses (Dullahan and Behemoth), one new map (Goliath), new Berserker magic, eight new missions, and augmented reality support.
  • June 11: A Drunk and a Chef Pack which includes two new bosses (Dwarf and Ogre) and eight new missions.
  • June 25: The Wild Wheels and Apparition Pack which brings two new bosses (Ouroboros and Wraith), new Angelus magic, and 8 new missions.
There could be more coming in the future as well as some paid DLC that we haven’t heard about yet. The game is already massive and it looks like it is going to get even larger very, very soon.

News Roundup - 05/08/2013

by: Jeremy - - Add a Comment

Wargame AirLand Battle beta now contains ten on ten multiplayer

by: Russell - - Add a Comment
Players who pre-ordered Wargame AirLand Battle have been enjoying the early access beta for about a week or so now.  This week though, a big surprise is coming in the form of a ten versus ten multiplayer mode, playable now.  This, coupled with the Army Deck system that was made available in the last update, let's players specialize in various aspects of battle to help their team out however they wish.  Those who didn't get in on the beta can pick the game up for PC on May 22nd.  For more info on Wargame AirLand Battle, head over to the game's official website.

[READ MORE]

OUYA's release date gets pushed back three weeks, button defect fixed

by: John - - Add a Comment
Early backer units of the OUYA had a small problem. It seems the buttons on the controller would sometimes get stuck under the faceplate. Oops. 

Well, according to CEO Julie Uhrman, that issue has been rectified and the units that will be in retail outlets won't have that problem as reported by Joystiq. The size of the button holes have been increased slightly to allow for more room and eliminating the chance the button got stuck when pressed. 

Julie says that they will work with those who have received their units on the controllers. Does that mean that those that received the unit would get a new controller at no cost? She only says that customer service will help them out, but let's hope that it's an exchange program so that those folks don't have to pay to get theirs fixed or replaced.

The retail launched has been pushed back three weeks so that more units could be produced. It seems retail has increased demand on the product and in order to do that, they had to push the release date back a few weeks.

[READ MORE]

Time and Eternity screenshots + bonus official trailer

by: Nathaniel - - Add a Comment
Time and Eternity is a new single-player RPG from Nis America that will hit the PS3 exclusively this summer.  It features a beautiful hand-drawn art style and 2D character sprites moving on a 3D background and tells a story of a groom murdered at his wedding and the bride that travels through time to save him, so it's probably pretty funny.  

To learn more, visit www.nisamerica.com and Time and Eternity's official site.
 

PSA: Halo 4- Forward Onto Dawn hits Netflix Instant

by: Jeremy - - Add a Comment
Just a note for you Halo fans out there, or really anyone who likes quality video game-movies: the Halo 4: Forward Onto Dawn film has been added to Netflix’s streaming library. Sure, we have all likely seen it all with its episodic release that built up to the release of Halo 4 last November, but this is the entire film stitched together as it was meant to be seen. Plus, it is available in full HD. Do yourself a favor and check it out. You won’t be sorry...

EA extends FIFA license through the end of 2022

by: Nathaniel - - Add a Comment
There's a lot of talk that goes on about how EA's exclusive rights to produce NFL games is a bad thing, yet no one ever talks about whether or not it's bad for the other football, so I expect that today's news that EA has extended their agreement with FIFA through the end of 2022 will get a rise out of exactly nobody.

It helps that EA's FIFA games seem to be a little more respected in the gaming community than their Madden titles.  Maybe that's because football, as it's called in the rest of the world, has a certain inherent simplicity that lends itself to video games that the bloated beast that is American football just doesn't.  Or maybe it's that FIFA Soccer fans here in America are just happy someone treats soccer with the respect it deserves even if that someone is Electronic Arts.

Whatever the reason, we all now have nine more years of FIFA Soccer titles to look forward to, whether we want them or not. 

To learn more, follow the jump.

  

[READ MORE]

Infinite Crisis closed beta launches today. Joker Character Profile released to celebrate

by: Nathan - - Add a Comment
The DC Universe, free-to-play, MOBA, Infinite Crisis goes into closed beta today, but it isn't too late to sign up. You can still sign up for the beta at the following link www.infinitecrisis.com/en/beta-application

In addition, to celebrate the launch, a new Champion Profile for The Joker has been released. 

A homicidal maniac who terrifies even Gotham's worst criminals, The Joker cavorts into fights blasting opponents with explosive dolls and boxing glove-adorned RPGs. He is the master of turning innocent props into deadly weapons as he employs his contraptions to corral his opponents into a fatal trap.

We also get a look at Joker's abilities including... 
  • Sadist - Gains passive. Power damage and power life steal. Effect doubled if an enemy or ally dies near Joker
  • Mr Punchy - Launches a punching glove rocket. Heroes struck are stunned for a short duration. 
  • Surprise - Throws a box that explodes, then unleashes four small snapping teeth that chases opponents, dealing more power damage and slowing. 
  • Vanish - Flashes Joker to a target location, leaving behind a dummy bag. The dummy explodes after 4 seconds or after being destroyed.
  • Last Laugh - Joker's Ultimate. Trap doll pops to deal AOE damage and leaves behind a poison gas cloud. Enemies in crowd are stunned. 
You can expect the following characters in the game with many more coming in the future. 
  • Nightmare Batman
  • Doomsday
  • Flash
  • Gaslight Batman
  • Gaslight Catwoman
  • Gaslight Joker
  • Green Lantern
  • Poison Ivy
  • Shazam
  • Joker
  • Wonder Woman
  • Zatanna

I am not that familiar with DC Comics Superheros and Villains but it looks like they are going all out in terms of character design. Of course you have the traditional Superhero attires, but then I go to the main website and I see Transformer Wonder Woman and... some weird, post apocalyptic, dual chainsaw wielding Wonder Woman. She looks like a character you would see in the Borderlands universe. 
 

Kingdom Hearts HD gets a date and pre-order goodies

by: Jeremy - - Add a Comment
One of the games that I am SUPER excited for this year is the PlayStation 3 release of Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX. The original game is one of my all time favorites and I can’t wait to replay it with a fresh coat of paint, plus the various sequels included in the pack. Sony has announced both a solid release date for the title and a batch of pre-order goodies for those willing to reserve the title at participating retailers.

The game will launch on September 10, 2013. Some retailers will be offering an exclusive, limited edition artbook highlighting the evolution of the franchise and its characters. We’re talking about early sketches, character renders, and even finalized art pieces that were cut from the final versions of the game.

How about a new Humble Bundle? Sounds (Double) Fine to me!

by: Jeremy - - Add a Comment
The title says it all: its time for a new Humble Bundle. The indie-based charity program has launched yet another offering that should make fans of fun incredibly happy. Say hello to the Humble Double Fine Bundle! It is as straight forward as usual: Pay what you want. Support charity. Get some great, cross platform, DRM free games.

The current offering includes the following titles: As usual, paying more than the average will net you an additional title, which happens to be Brutal Legend in this case. However, that isn’t all! The Humble Bundle is adopting the concept of Kickstarter stretch-goals in a way, offering additional bonuses for donations exceeding certain amounts. Donating more than $35 will net you everything mentioned above as well as full back access to the Kickstarter project Broken Age, formerly known as Double Fine Adventure. Donating $70 or more will get you that, plus everything mentioned above, and a free Double Fine t-shirt.

You know that there are going to be additional titles add as this particular campaign marches on. What do you think that those could include?
 
 

News Roundup - 05/07/2013

by: Jeremy - - Add a Comment

Exercise your Presidential powers in Saints Row IV

by: John - - Add a Comment
If you thought Saint's Row The Third was over the top, think again as Saint's Row IV looks to take it even further. You, as the President of the United States, have super powers and you aren't afraid to use them. This new trailer takes a look at some of the  things you can do such as fly, levitate objects, toss vehicles around, and smash through objects.

Aliens are attacking 'Murica and it's up to you to stop them. You can see some of the few alien types in the trailer with the requisite showing of a boss alien to battle. And you're going to take them all down in style as the trailer also shows some of the custom outfits available. 

Saint's Row IV will be out August 20 for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.
 

SimCity's 3.0 patch due this week

by: John - - Add a Comment
EA is launching a new patch this week for SimCity dubbed 3.0. The time between 2.0 and 3.0 is a lot quicker this time around than release and 2.0, but let's see if this one will fix some issues and not introduce new ones. History says no, but they have to start getting it corrected sooner or later, right? The patch includes: 
  • New: Added more Hotel models to increase hotel variety. 
  • Traffic: Updated routing system to improve traffic. Routing system now understands more information about u-turns, required vehicle stops, and vehicle behavior on certain road types. This should make traffic smarter. 
  • Traffic: Commercial and industrial buildings stagger their work shifts to start throughout commute hours instead of at the top of the hour. This should reduce traffic. 
  • Traffic: Fixes one issue where a car won't move causing traffic to back up behind it. 
  • Traffic: Vehicles can now make right turns on Red. This should improve some cases of traffic. 
  • Traffic: Trading polish that will improve regional traffic when one city has a lot of jobs and its neighboring city has a lot of workers. 
  • Air Pollution: Fixed more issues where cities that placed air polluting buildings received large amounts of air pollution from unknown sources. 
  • Service Vehicles: Fix for disappearing service vehicles on cities that whose vehicles had disappeared before update 2.
  • School Buses: Fix for issue where school buses were getting stuck at neighbor's city or arcology. 
  • Audio: Tuned audio on French Police Station. 
  • Trading: Fixed issue where fire services were not trading consistently between Brakeman's Folly and Twain in Whitewater Valley. 
  • Trading: Sewage trading: Sewage will now take a more direct route to regional sewage plant instead of throughout the city. 
  • Trading: Made gifting more reliable. 
  • Ferry Terminal: Ferry Terminal can now send its sewage to the output pipe and treatment plant. 
  • RCI Tuning: Fixed issue where sims going to a park via transit would sometimes lose their money or happiness on the way home. 
  • RCI Tuning: Bulldozing abandoned or rubble buildings will now prevent new developments for 6-12 hours. 
  • RCI Tuning: Less Happiness is taken from wealth 2 and 3 buildings when rent is due when no money is present. 
  • RCI Tuning: Fix for issue some users experienced where buildings would stay abandoned because moving trucks would not be able to move in. 
  • Trees: Trees now last longer, but also do not eliminate as much ground pollution. 
  • Radiation: Radiation causes less ground pollution than previously. 
  • Transit: Changed thought bubble suggestion to add more trains to deal with crowded passenger trains to suggest that you add more train stations. 
  • Transit: Improvements to lights to make rail look better at night. 
  • Transit: Streetcar stops can now be placed directly on standalone streetcar tracks, and passengers can walk along the tracks to them. 
  • Transit: Tuned the chance buses or streetcars will go to high-traffic stops first as a minor traffic improvement. 
  • Roads: University pedestrian paths can now cross streets. 
  • Manufacturing Trucks: Fixed issue some users experienced where manufacturing trucks left the city and were lost permanently. 
  • Delivery Trucks: Fixed issue where some users would experience a loss of resources is their delivery trucks returned to garages without proper storage. 
  • Sports Parks: Tuned the amount of skateboarders and neighborhood athletes at the sports parks. 
  • Data Layers: Zones are now visible in heavy data layers. 
  • Edit Mode: Added more valid snap points in edit mode. This improvement is most noticeable on Parks. 
  • Buildings: Addressed some cases where buildings would stack on one another. 

Diablo III patch 1.08 brings down real money auction house because of gold duping

by: John - - Add a Comment
Blizzard released patch 1.08 today for Diablo III, but there was an unintended consequence. It seems that a bug in the real money auction house resulted in people's ability to dupe their gold just by cancelling auctions. Yeah, this exploit got abused pretty fast and pretty hard.

The auction house is down now, but the damage has been done. So what's Blizzard to do? Should they roll back all the game data to before the patch? That might just be what they have to do, but that's going to punish those that worked legitimately to increase their wealth and equipment. 

I haven't logged into the game in a while, but I usually do after a new patch with some friends to check out what's new and to do some runs. Perhaps it's a good thing we didn't go through it this time around as I'd hate to have lost anything I acquired should Blizzard decide to roll back. 

We'll update the situation once we hear how Blizzard is going to resolve this.

Dark Horse sells out of Dragon Age: The World of Thedas art book

by: Travis - - Add a Comment
Dark Horse Comics and BioWare have announced that recently-released art book Dragon Age: The World of Thedas Volume 1 has completely sold out of copies and will now receive a reprinting of more copies for eager fans. Pre-orders are now available for the reprinting which is scheduled to release on July 10. The World of Thedas is a must for Dragon Age fans as it covers nearly every aspect of the series ranging from regions and religions to monsters and magic.

Two new images from Battlefield 4 released

by: Chuck - - Add a Comment
Here are two new screenshots from the single player portion of Battlefield 4 which show off what we already know, the game is going to be really,really pretty.   If the screenshots don't convince you be sure to check out the trailer that EA released for the game at GDC this year.

The screenshots don't show however if they game will have a decent single player campaign.  The two guys in the screenshots could be having a deep conversation on the meaning of war and why it's sometimes a necessary evil or they could be spouting the usual level of brotacular crap that plagued the last game.  We probably won't know more until E3 next month but until then feel free to speculate in the comments about what the soldiers below are talking about.