I have fond memories of playing the first Serious Sam game. Humor elements like that of Duke Nukem, plus huge hordes of enemies in a gorgeously rendered setting made for a great time. Recently, the Serious Sam games were given the HD makeover, and this weekend, each game is on sale for a whopping 75% off! That's a really... er... serious savings! Definitely worth picking up if you are a fan of fun.
It's time once again for the E3 rumor mill to start churning up some great stuff before the show. This year the big buzz is around the new Nintendo console (code named "Project Cafe" for now, but also referred to as WiiHD and Wii2), as some preliminary specs (or rumors of specs) have begun to surface. The new system itself has been confirmed by Nintendo, shooting for a 2012 launch, but the rest is all bits and pieces found from various sources. Here's what we're hearing so far.
Operation Flashpoint: Red River is almost upon us. Okay, if you're in Europe it's already here. Nuts to you! In this latest developer diary the good folks at Codemasters discuss the new command wheel used for giving orders, the graphical details of bombs and getting shot, and a host of other things. They manage to do all this while sitting in some sort of dilapidated warehouse. Man, I thought my work space was bad. The game is supposed to be an incredibly realistic military shooter, which is just a fancy way to say that bullets killify everything real good.
It always makes me proud to be a gamer when the "new game" scene gets its hands on a solid game. Not a puzzle game, not a score-based game, not a mindless shooter, but a game with story, machines, and flesh and blood. Binary Domain looks to encourage the use of flesh and blood on the Xbox 360 or PS3, as the machines have taken over - and their intentions aren't so pure after they're granted an ego and emotions. The machines in Binary Domain started off as simple workers, but became a formidable enemy as they take on more and more human traits.
Ubisoft is sending Ghost Recon: Future Soldier in to compete with other shooter games on the market, but they're making a tactical decision to delay its release and wait for the Battle of the Holiday Shooters to create a soft target.
Treasure’s growing catalogue of XBLA games increased by one last week with the release of Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury. Fun levels, but nothing that ties them together; a leaderboard that doesn’t feel too competitive, Bangai-O is more bi-polar than the Ikaruga ship. Even the co-op feels a bit divided…
Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D will be out in a little over a month, and we've got the fake news broadcast to prove it. This latest video blends live action anchors with footage from the game, and is worth watching to the end. Look closely and you can see Wesker get a two-fer with a double-barreled sawed-off. Yippie.
Many of you probably noticed an update for Brink when you first began the game. Splash Damage took care of a host of minor problems on all three versions. They also make it clear that they "have teams at Splash Damage and Bethesda dedicated full time to resolving any issues you discover." You can leave your witty remarks about paying $60 to be a game tester, or the wisdom of launching an unfinished game, down in the comments section. I will most likely agree with you, even though I really enjoy Brink. I gave it a 4 out of 5 for our Co-Op Review, having a decidedly different experience than some other critics.
Magicka's sales have been strong enough to conjure up a sequel. In a recent interview with Joystiq.com, publisher Paradox Interactive dished the dirt on the game's sales numbers. Magicka "sold over 30,000 copies in the first 24 hours" of it's release. The five dollar "Vietnam" expansion pack, which moved the game setting from a fantasy realm to the Vietnam war (Seriously!) has reportedly sold "well over 100,000" units. This comes as no surprise to us. We really liked the game, giving it a 4.5 out of 5 in our Co-Op Review.
Our This Week in Co-Op series has run since almost the site's beginning and during that times we've seen it evolve through a few different styles and subjects. The next batch of articles we decided to do an "assignment" - play co-op with public players and report back on how it goes. The online gaming public gets a bad rap - especially when you play with "randoms." Whether its potty mouths, verbal abuse, or incesant singing - there always seems to be something not so nice. I decided to give Portal 2 a spin via Xbox Live to see just what the great wheel o random would turn up.
I fear the day Civilization World launches on Facebook. As if the Civ games aren't already enough of a time sink, now Firaxis and Sid Meier plan to make it accessible just about anywhere and everywhere. In an interview with CNN, "The Sid" as I like to call him, discusses the upcoming Facebook title which plans to launch this summer on the social networking service. What's on tap for fans of the series? How about cooperative gameplay.
Battlefield 3 looks like it will top previous titles in the Battlefield series, what with destructible maps and a co-op campaign... But wait - what's this? From the shadows appeareth the arch-nemesis!
