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It appears video game players are definitely looking forward to Battlefield: Bad Company 2.

Publisher Electronic Arts says a demo of the first-person shooter is on pace to become their fastest downloaded demo on record, crossing the 2 million mark in five days.

The demo on Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network showcases the game’s multiplayer mode, and requires players to work as a team to either defend or take over a base. The vehicle-friendly demo map, Port Valdez, features 12-on-12 matches.

EA also says a similar beta for the PC has “met great success,” according to a press release. The game is slated for release on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on March 2.

Source ~ USA Today

G4 - Last night, Infinity Ward and Activision invited members of the press out to a sound stage in Hollywood to play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer for the first time. The developers are adding so much to the game that it’s initially staggering, but after a few rounds, you realize that this is a totally different theater of war than Call of Duty 4 and it’s time to figure out the differences.

There are some major game changers in effect for MW2 and Infinity Ward seems to have taken player feedback to heart. Secondary weapons now include pistols, machine pistols, shotguns, and launchers. No longer will players have to give up their precious primary weapon slot to field a shotgun or lose a perk to grab a rocket launcher. The change also gives a lot of versatility to snipers giving them the option of grabbing a fully-automatic pistol or shotgun for close range conflict.

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GoGamer is my favorite online websites to purchase games as they’ve always been dependable, timely, and have great prices. Black Friday + GoGamer = win as you will see below:

GoGamer Black Friday Deals

PC Games
Ultima Online 9th Anniversary Collection $42.90
Sacred 2 Collector’s Edition $42.90
Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 $33.90
Left 4 Dead $34.90
Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning $32.90
Spore $34.90
Fallout 3 $30.00
FarCry 2 (I) $29.90
X3: Terran Conflict (I) $29.90
Guild Wars Trilogy $29.90
X-Plane 9 $27.90
FIFA Soccer 2009 $24.90
Crysis Warhead $21.90
Stalker: Clear Sky $19.90
World of Warcraft Battlechest $19.90 (Limit 10 per customer) (Friday and Saturday Only)
Mercenaries 2 $17.90
Spiderman Web of Shadows $14.90
Unreal Tournament 3 $9.90
Final Fantasy XI: Wings of the Goddess $9.90
Lineage 2: 4th Anniversary Edition $9.90
Alone in the Dark $5.90
F.E.A.R. Director’s Edition $5.00
Empire Earth III $4.90
The Sims: Pet Story $3.90
Soldier of Fortune Payback $3.90
Prey $3.90
Lord of the Rings Online Limited Edition $2.90
SpiderMan: Friend or Foe $2.90
Just Cause $2.90
Stanglehold $2.90
Battlestations: Midway $2.90
BlackSite Area 51 $1.90
Thrillville $1.00

PC Accessories
Zboard MERC Stealth Gaming Keyboard $44.90
Microsoft SideWinder Precision Racing Wheel $41.90
TekNmotion PulseWave/Pulsar PC Gaming Headphones $34.90
Razer Piranha Gaming Headset $34.90
Razer Diamondback 3G Gaming Mouse Flaming Red $29.90
Microsoft Reclusa Gaming Keyboard $29.90
Saitek Aviator Joystick $29.90
Microsoft Wireless Keyboard Optical Desktop Pro $22.90
TekNmotion 4 Piece CD/DVD Storage Case Combo $19.90
Saitek Eclipse Keyboard Red $19.90
Razer Mantis Speed Gaming Mouse Mat $12.90
Microsoft Digital l-Media Pro Keyboard $9.90
TekNmotion Yapster Headphones Black $7.90
Microsoft LifeCam VX-1000 $7.90
Saitek PP26 Cyborg Rumble Pad $7.90
TekNmotion 48 CD/DVD Wallet Black On Black $1.00

Mac
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare $33.90
The Sims 2 $29.90
Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 $29.90
World of Warcraft Battlechest $19.90 (Limit 10 per customer) (Friday and Saturday Only)

Xbox 360
Fallout 3 $49.90
Gears of War 2 $49.90
Call of Duty: World at War (I) $45.90
GTA IV Special Edition $44.90
Guitar Hero: World Tour (I) $42.90
FarCry 2 $37.90
GTA IV $34.90
Legendary $24.90
Fracture (I) $14.90
Frontlines Fuel of War $9.90
Blazing Angels for Xbox 360 $9.90

PS3
Frag FX Controller $44.90
Fallout 3 $42.90

Wii
Nintendo Wii Super Bundle $499.95 (Limit 1 per Household, Quantities Limited)
Guitar Hero: World Tour for Wii $35.90
Alvin & The Chipmunks for Wii $9.90 (Limit 1 per customer)

DS
Guitar Hero: On Tour $34.90

PS2
Eye ToyKinetic w/Camera $19.90
Tomb Raider Anniversary $12.90
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith $14.90
Alone in the Dark $6.90

Gamecube
Nintendo GameCube Bundle $79.95

After months of financial statement teases and the initial reveal in an issue of Game Informer, Activision has officially released the first details of Guitar Hero 4, now known as Guitar Hero: World Tour. The game will be available this Fall on the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360. The same development teams that created Guitar Hero III are back on board with the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions being developed by Neversoft, while Vicarious Visions is creating the Wii version and Budcat is bringing it to the PS2.

Guitar Hero: World Tour looks to be the beginning of a completely era for the Guitar Hero series. As was revealed by Game Informer, World Tour will feature a drumkit and microphone along with the Music Studio track editor and an eight-player Battle of the Bands mode. Any song created in the Music Studio can be shared with other gamers through the game’s online database GHTunes.

Other gameplay options will include a four-player “full band” mode (that can be played both online and locally) and singleplayer Career mode that can be played with any instrument. ..

Activision is saying that World Tour will feature the largest number of tracks in a music game ever. As of now, four bands have been confirmed to have a place in World Tour: Van Halen, Linkin Park, The Eagles and Sublime. And all of the songs will be master tracks; there will be no covers on Guitar Hero: World Tour. The game will also offer “significantly more localized downloadable music than ever before on all of the next-generation consoles.” So while it’s vaguely worded, it sounds like downloadable tracks are coming to the Wii as well as the PS3 and Xbox 360.

Finally, Activision has announced that the guitar controller will once again be redesigned, this time becoming “slick” and “more responsive.”

Source

In a single word, bitchin’.

Owen MacLeod, born in Gaul over 2000 years ago, was the son of a tribal chieftain whose village was crushed by the Roman Empire. MacLeod was sent in chains to the gladiatorial arena in Pompeii where he faced what he imagined to be a short life of battle. However, it was in the Coliseum where he was killed, only to miraculously recover and begin a new life as an Immortal. Fighting through centuries against other Immortals in legendary battles ending in death by beheading, MacLeod now faces a mysterious and almost all-powerful Immortal who is hunting him down in New York City. With his mentor, Methos, guiding him, MacLeod learns that the only way to destroy this ultimate nemesis, is to search out the three fragments of a mysterious stone that when pieced together, yields unlimited power to the Immortal who possesses it.

“Eidos is excited to present the classic Highlander franchise for the next generation of video gamers,” said Robert A. Lindsey, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Eidos Inc. “Gamers will get the chance to explore the powers and abilities that only being an Immortal has to offer. Highlander boasts an incredible level of graphical quality and gameplay capabilities such as an advanced sword fighting combat system and destructible environments.”

“For the first time, Highlander comes to fans in a new medium that allows players to dive into the Immortal universe,” said Peter Davis of Davis-Panzer Productions. “The interactive experience permits players to gain a completely different perspective of the mythos, and experience the powers and advantages of immortality through the eyes of a MacLeod.”

Highlander enables gamers to exploit the powers of immortality and manipulate situations that death would normally prevent. MacLeod can use his body as a conduit for electricity or fire, impale himself with enemy weapons to disarm them, and survive long falls from buildings to escape enemy attacks. Additionally, the life force of an Immortal is so strong, that his body naturally heals wounds at an advanced speed and prevents him from aging.

With an advanced combat system, gamers will master a variety of Highlander swords including the Claymore, Katana, and Twin Gladius. Players fight against powerful enemies in intense melee combat, utilizing skills and techniques acquired throughout the centuries.

Combining exciting swordplay with the Quickening powers of an Immortal, MacLeod unleashes fast and devastating attacks on mortal hunters and other Immortals. When MacLeod beheads an Immortal, he experiences the Quickening and absorbs all of that Immortal’s knowledge and strength. With each Quickening, players will upgrade their Quickening Technique and acquire new powers.

Highlander uses the Unreal Engine 3 licensed from Epic Games, Inc. and goes to battle later this year for Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION 3 system, and Games for Windows.

Highlander: The Game Website

Sony is certainly hoping many people believe that it’s now a good less-risky decision for not only gamers to purchase the Sony Playstation 3 but also home DVD movie watchers who may or may not also be casual gamers. If Blu-Ray has won the new movie format war, or is winning, or likely to either win or permanently share the spotlight then maybe plopping down $550 or so for a Playstation 3 starter bundle that also plays the high-quality next-generation DVD format may be worthwhile since the Blu-Ray players, alone, already cost as much as the Playstation 3 starter bundle, if not more. If one is strongly considering moving to a newer format player then, with much of the recent news, it’s hard to find a reason to not consider a Playstation 3 since you get the player as well as a pretty powerful gaming system.

Warner announced on Jan. 4 that it would release only high-definition Blu-ray movies starting July, ending its support for the rival HD DVD format. Winning Warner’s backing was a coup for the Blu-ray camp, which counts Sony, Samsung Electronics, Matsushita Electric Industrial (MC), and dozens of other consumer-electronics makers among its members. Warner has the industry’s most extensive offering of movies and consistently churns out blockbusters. With five out of seven major studios now on-board, Blu-ray has the upper hand—perhaps decisively—in the struggle over the next-generation DVD standard.

Nikko Citigroup’s Kota Ezawa estimates the games division will lose $1.4 billion this fiscal year, following last year’s $2.1 billion loss. And while he doesn’t expect the business to be prosperous until late 2009, Ezawa applauds Sony’s efforts to shrink the PS3’s chips and tweak its design. Already such changes have cut the cost per machine to around $400 now, from above $800 just before it went on sale in November, 2006, he says. (The PS3 with an 80-gigabyte hard-disk drive retails in the U.S. or about $499.) “We think the biggest factor here is that simplification has become possible through a reduction in the parts count, leading to a reduction in costs,” Ezawa wrote in a Dec. 27 report.

That, of course, will be good both for Sony as well as the consumer.

Source

Here’s a new one: One Consumerist reader’s PlayStation 3 croaked, so he sent it in for warranty service since it was still under its coverage period. A week later, he was told he would not be receiving a replacement. The reason? It had too much dust in it.

This tale gets stranger as you read it. First he’s told his console wasn’t covered because he didn’t have a receipt. (It had been a gift.) Finally, he was told that while it was eligible for coverage, the technicians had peeked inside, taken pictures, and found it simply too dusty to merit coverage under the warranty. He requested the pictures to see for himself. Sony said no, not without a subpoena. (Outraged, he noted that if he were to open the case and taken the same pictures, he would have voided the warranty himself.)

Cleaning vents and keeping electronics as dust free as possible is certainly good advice. Whether or not that’s the “real” reason for his warranty woes… With Sony, who knows? The press just seems to get worse and worse for these people.

Full Story and Source

FIFA, EA and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe have announced that the new season of FIFA Interative World Cup will have Sony as a new partner for the tournament and participants around the world will compete using EA Sports FIFA 08 on the Playstation 3.

The FIWC 2008 kicks off in early October 2007 and will finish with the Grand Final in Berlin’s Sony Centre in May 2008. The players can compete at one of more than 20 qualifiying events in over 25 countries.

“To be associated with the world’s leading games publisher, EA, and one of the most respected organizations in the world, FIFA, is very exciting for us,” said Simon Rutter, VP Sales & Marketing for SCEE. “With the added realism that PS3 brings to FIFA 08, we have every belief that now is the time to truly make an impact with the FIFA Interactive World Cup, We’re looking forward to PS3 fans helping to make the tournament every bit as iconic for gamers as the real FIFA World Cup is for football fans.”

Source

id Software announced on Friday it’s next game, “Rage”. The new game will be released for PC, Xbox 360, and Playstation 3 game consoles.

“It’s a bit of a classic story and you are the outsider who comes in and tries to turn the tide in favor of good,” id Chief Executive Todd Hollenshead said in an interview.

The game was showcased at this year’s QuakeCon by John Carmack. No release date has been announced. The main idea of the game is players will fight an oppressive government in a post-apocalyptic world. Foreshadowing?

Source