Nacht der Untoten. Verruckt. Shi No Numa. Der Riese. These names strike terror in the hearts of anyone that dared venture into the undead playgrounds of Call of Duty: World at War. The zombie story started there. It ends on the Moon.
Due out on August 23 for the Xbox 360, theRezurrection donwloadable content pack forCall of Duty: Black Ops combines remastered versions of those four classic zombie packs with a new one called Moon, for obvious reasons. Forget about heading to a remote island to escape the undead hordes; they're spaceborn now, and there's no escape. Expect high-tech weapons, bizarre new weapons, and one hell of a challenge.
The five maps are packaged with an enhanced Zombies Soundtrack featuring three never-before-purchasable tracks and a special Xbox 360 Moon theme, all for the low, low price of 1,200 Microsoft points.
What's that you say? You've already gotten those four maps with the Hardened or Prestige editions of Black Ops? Well fine then, you get Rezurrection for free.
I'm sure the PC and PlayStation 3 players will get a similar deal whenever the content comes their way.
Post-apocalyptic shooter Borderlands is getting a sequel. It's called Borderlands 2.
Currently in development, the title is being created by Gearbox Software, who developed the first title (above). Like the previous title, the game is slated for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.
"Combining invention and evolution,Borderlands 2 features all-new characters, skills, environments, enemies, weapons and equipment, which come together in an ambitiously crafted story," said publisher 2K Games in an official statement. "Players will reveal secrets, and escalate mysteries of the Borderlands universe as they adventure across the unexplored new areas of Pandora."
Borderlands 2 is scheduled to be released between April 2012 and spring 2013. More information about the game can be found in the latest issue of Game Informer.
Chris Staniforth was standing outside of a jobs center, awaiting an interview, when he dropped a pack of chewing gum. When he reached to pick it up, he began to spasm. In moments, he was dead.
Actual cause of death: pulmonary embolism as a result of deep vein thrombosis. Proximate cause of death: Playing his Xbox 360.
That's the reasoning of the coroner and the parents of Staniforth, a Sheffield, England 20-year-old who was like most guys his age, especially in his enjoyment of video games. The problem is that he'd game for incredibly long periods, up to 12 hours, without getting up to take a stretch.
"Kids all over the country are playing these games for long periods," his dad told The Sun. "they don't realise it could kill them."
The Sun showed remarkable restraint in reporting this tragedy without hacking Staniforth's cell phone. It did, however, diagnose him as a video game addict in the headline and second paragraph. For his part, Staniforth's father says he does not blame video games, consoles or their makers for his son's death.
But he has launched a campaign to raise awareness about the risks of deep vein thrombosis associated with gaming for hours on end. Microsoft, reached for comment by The Sun, said it recommends periodic breaks from gaming "to exercise as well as make time for other pursuits." Good advice.
A disastrous last quarter in terms of sales has sent Nintendo's share prices through the floor. If you own Nintendo shares, sorry! But hey, even if you do, it could be worse; spare a thought for former president Hiroshi Yamauchi. He just lost $500,000,000 in one day.
It's not like he'll be out on the street; Yamauchi, who used to be Japan's richest man, is so rich he can take a $500 million hit in his overall wealth and still rise to greet the day.
But boy, losing $500,000,000 in a single day has gotta hurt. I lost $2 down the side of my driver's seat last week and went through half a box of tissues!
Yamauchi ran Nintendo for over 50 years, and also used to own the Seattle Mariners baseball team.
The Wii U is Nintendo's new console. You might be excited about it. You might not be. But what do Famitsu readers think?
Famitsu is Japan's biggest gaming mag, and its polls provide insights into what readers are thinking. So what are Famitsu readers thinking? Here are the results, via 1Up:
•38.3 percent said they had a good impression of the Wii U after E3
•33.7 percent said they did not have a good impression
•28 percent were undecided
Many liked the console's potential, but 22.5 percent didn't like the console's name, and others thought the Wii U seemed like a minor Wii upgrade.
Developers were more excited about the console, with Resident Evil 5 producer Jun Takeuchi,Dead or Alive creator Tomonobu Itagaki, Yakuza designer Toshihiro Nagoshi, Resident Evildesigner Shinji Mikami, and Professor Layton developer Akihiro Hino all expressed interest in the machine. Many of them, however, seemed to be taking a watch-and-see attitude towards the console.
"We can think about new ports of games like Professor Layton which use the touch pen," Hino told Famitsu (via 1Up), "but I'd also like to think of new possibilities for games you can enjoy at home."
Having developers on board is important. Having good third party titles from non Nintendo studios is important. But talk is cheap, and developing new games isn't.
At E3, BioShock designer Ken Levin appeared in a Wii U promo reel, but later said his studio currently had "no plans" for Wii U titles.
