Warner Bros. Interactive have finally announced, what we all wanted to hear, Batman will be returning to a prequel to both Arkham Asylum & City, with Batman: Arkham Origins. The game will focus on a younger, a less sharp Batman and his initial encounters against various supervillains within the Batman & DC lore. Game Informer also says, “Developer WB Montreal is using Rocksteady’s custom modified Unreal engine to create the game.” Although Rocksteady isn’t helming the developing, Warner Bros. has enlisted Eric Holmes, as creative director on the game, and who has also worked on Prototype and Hulk: Ultimate Destruction.

Additionally, Warner Bros. has announced a handheld Arkham game, a spin off, titled Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate. Apparently, the game is styled after Metroid games, and takes place after Origins, on the consoles story. Blackgate is being developed by Armature Studios, who is behind the Metroid Prime Trilogy. Both games will hit shelves October 25th, Arkham Origins on PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U, and PC, and Blackgate on Vita and 3DS.

“The mind of the subject will desperately struggle to create memories where none exist…” – Rosalind Lutece, Barriers to Trans-Dimensional Travel, 1889

Bring us the girl and wipe away the debt. As you soar into the floating city of Columbia for the first time you see exactly where Irrational Games’ ambitions lie; Amongst the clouds with this incredible city. The game manages to achieve all of it’s ambitions and more, with a story the likes of which we haven’t seen since the original Bioshock, varied and new first person gameplay and a stunning, truly realised world for the player to explore. This game does what it’s predecessor did in 2007; it changes and challenges the gameplay and story of this console generation and reinvents them to become a truly incredible experience.

The game world is in almost direct contrast to that of Irrational Games’ original Bioshock, we see a rich and colourful city in the prime of it’s existence  whilst also involving the player in Columbia’s breathtaking descent. Columbia has it’s own set of rules, it is a fully realised world with a vibrant cast of characters that really make the world feel real. People walk around, reacting both to the player and surrounding events, with clever and involving conversations that reflect the world around them. The game is set in alternate reality 1912 and shows off the views and values of an America steeped in religious rule, patriotism and severe xenophobia. The content in game is quite harsh in contrast to the vibrant city and challenges the player to look at society today with reference to the game. Every area of the game feels different and diverse, from the squalid Shantytown to the opulence of the streets above and then into the skies of Columbia aboard the many airships and floating platforms, never ceasing to pull the extraordinary narrative along with each detailed environment.

The streets of Columbia

As the player enters Columbia they are introduced to the basic gameplay elements of Vigors (akin to the original Bioshock’s Plasmids) and the variety of weapons through a carnival, set up as part of the celebrations for Comstock, the game’s antagonist. In your first hour you will experience combat with some basic guns, vigors and the transport method doubling as a melee weapon; the skyhook. The skyhook allows for some incredible firefights and a new mobility unseen in gaming. Just hop aboard a skyline and you can drop behind enemies, into cover or zip around the area quickly all the while returning fire from attackers. The game’s AI is also quite clever, with enemies and “Hard Hitters” (different, more tough enemies such as the handyman and motorized patriots) able to use the skylines and move around like the player. Then the game takes it up a notch, in story, gameplay and emotion with the introduction of Elizabeth.

Elizabeth. This one character serves as the core of the story and gameplay. From the moment you meet her she barely leaves your side, constantly adding to the game. In combat she will help you by finding health, salts and ammo and also cash outside of combat. She also has the ability to open ‘tears’ in the environment, pulling items from other worlds and reality into being in the locale. She also adds real emotion to the gameplay. You begin to rely on her and think about combat situations with her abilities in mind. In the few short absences she has from the player you genuinely miss the character. Her powers and dialogue always make the player feel more invested in the story, her presence never once takes anything away from the experience. Her AI is also incredibly well done, she will explore and interact with the environment, once again bringing areas of the game to life and you will want to sit in one spot and see all the animations and dialogue the developers have crammed into each of the game’s areas.

Elizabeth

I have talked about the story a lot so far, the narrative really pulls the whole experience together. The story crafted by Irrational Games masterfully weaves the setting, values and original story together into a story that will keep the player invested in the game’s fifteen plus hours of gameplay. Without revealing too much, the story centres around the protagonist, Booker Dewitt, tasked with travelling to Columbia to rescue Elizabeth to pay off his gambling debt. The city is ruled by “The Prophet” Comstock, who has kept Elizabeth locked away for years. Bring in the Vox Populi, a resistance movement of the lower classes and racial outcasts, fighting against Comstock’s extremely one sided rule.  The story has the occasional lull in sections, but they always followed by something amazing soon after, only increasing the effect of the succeeding event. Once you dive into the narrative the tale morphs and evolves at a cracking pace up to the jaw dropping finale, where players will be left thinking long after the credits roll.

Overall the game is an amazing experience. Irrational Games have done an amazing job of bringing the world of Columbia to life. The story, gameplay and above all the work that went into Elizabeth help this game to exceed all expectations and in turn reinvent the FPS genre amongst it’s many more stale counterparts. The game is incredible in scope and story, well worthy of any gamers time, earning it’s well deserved place amongst some of the finest games of the generation.

In my mind, this game deserves no other score than, Go and Buy it NOW!

One of the hottest games available at the moment is League of Legends. It’s fan base is at an international level and has millions of people logging onto their computers to play it everyday. So understandably, there will be several companies looking to ride the coat tails of their success. This brings us to Infinite Crisis.

Infinite Crisis is an upcoming Free To Play MOBA (Massive Online Battle Arena) game from Turbine and WB Games. The realm of this game features characters from the DC Universe. It appears that you will be able to play as your favorite superheroes and villains from several different worlds or earths per-say. The main story aspect is straight from the series known as Crisis on Infinite Earths. This give players the opportunity to interact with your favorites such as Batman, Superman and The Flash. Battle/team up with characters that are similar but different depending on which earth they come from.

If you seem to be remotely interested, luckily they are holding a closed beta which you can sign-up for by going to infinitecrisis.com. Once there, just register to gain access to the beta. Based on lotto, players will be randomly selected to participate in the beta. The game is scheduled for release sometime in 2013, so be patient and get excited.

One of the latest Kickstarter games comes from one of gaming’s most venerable legends: Richard Garriott de Cayeux, better known as Lord British.

Today, the man behind the Ultima series, an RPG series dating from the 1970s which broadly influenced RPG design in North America, Japan, and Europe, launched a Kickstarter for a project currently known as Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues. It is not an Ultima title, strictly speaking, since Electronic Arts holds the copyright to the Ultima series and Garriott is no longer involved with EA. Portalarium, Lord British’s current development studio, has set a goal to raise US $1,000,000 within 30 days on Kickstarter. As of this writing, 6,344 backers had raised a total of US$344,837, after one day. The game’s primary platform is the PC, although Portalarium has also expressed interest in making it playable on mobile platforms.

The game will be an episodic fantasy RPG with 3-D graphics, however, the developers promise that within the fantasy world, you will not be limited to cracking skulls and racking up loot, as the game will eschew the traditional class system. A robust crafting system, inspired by Minecraft according to Garriott de Cayeux’s video feed, is planned.  The game is described as a multiplayer RPG with a persistent world in which your friends can join you, but is not an MMORPG as it is traditionally understood by most gamers.

As with most Kickstarters, larger pledges earn larger rewards. Smaller pledges earn beta access and digital copies, larger pledges earn physical trinkets and cameos in the game, and the truly dedicated ($10,000!) will be treated to a tour of Britannia Manor, Garriott’s home in Austin, Texas with Garriott himself, and an ultra-rare physical copy of Garriott’s first RPG, Akalabeth.

The estimated release date, according to the game’s Kickstarter page, is October 2014.

Red 5 Studios is kicking off Firefall‘s first public beta test this Friday, Jan 25, giving everyone a chance to jump in and play the upcoming MMOFPS for 48 hours. If you haven’t heard of the game, Firefall is an upcoming free-to-play MMO shooter set in a sci-fi universe 200 years in the future. The game features a polished PvP combat system perfect for competitions and an open world design.

It’s the days after Christmas. You have gift cards abundant and games coming out for all girls and boys. But what can you get? With all the choices lying ahead?

Have no fear, with all the bundles abound, waiting to be found, I got the ones with the most “extra” kick aside from the gaming bit (Sorry for my cheesiness).

Tomb Raider Collector’s Edition 

First and foremost, I love Tomb Raider, so I had to list it first. It doesn’t have the best content, but I believe it has the most bang for your buck. It includes:

• A realistically rendered Play Arts Kai Lara Croft figurine approximately 8 inches tall
• Weapon pack DLC
• 3 iron-on experience shield badges
• Tomb Raider soundtrack with 10 songs
• An Endurance survival tin made to look like it was recovered from the shipwreck
• 5″ X 7″ Lithographic print
• A double sided poster with an island map and the box art
• Access to the Tomb Raider Scavenger Hunt to participate in challenges for prizes and more

I simply love the Lara Croft figure, it’s so detailed and perfectly muddy not getting it would kill me. I hope the DLC weapons are exclusives to these game copies with the collector’s edition to get my money’s worth, and the CD is a nice touch (I legally download all my music).

Price: $99.99

Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm Collector’s Edition

Starcraft is an MMO with its own fanbase, so I listed it mainly so Starcraft fans can assess if the collector’s edition is worth the extra money. All of the great additional merch that comes with the game seems reasonable to me, especially with the extras for other Blizzard MMOs you might play.

• A behind the scenes DVD and Blu Ray 2 disc set
• Heart of the Swarm Art Book
• Collector’s Edition Soundtrack
• Zerg Rush mouse pad
• Exclusive in-game content

The in game content includes a Torrasque Ultradisk and portaits in Starcraft II, pet banneling in World of Warcraft, and blade wings and a banner sigil in Diablo III.

Price: $79.99

Aliens: Colonial Marines Collector’s Edition

I don’t have much hope for this game except for the fact it’s made by Sega, but because this list is about the extra and not the game itself, it earns a spot. This game has some very good extra content.

• Resin Powerloader figurine in a limited edition Xeno Hive box
• USCM Dossier, iron-on badges, and graduation certificate
• Recruitment card
• LV-426 Recon photo
• USS Sephora schematic
• Mission brief

But this is just physical extras. The exclusive in-game content includes:

• Four playable movie characters
• Extra game level
• Additional Marines character customization features
• Exclusive multiplayer weapons
• Sonic Electronic Ball Breakers
• Phase Plasma Rifle
• Ripley’s flamethrower
• USCM Academy firing range

Price: $99.99

Bioshock Infinite Premium Edition

This bundle definitely comes with awesome stuff.

• Collectible mini edition of The Art of Bioshock Infinite
• Exclusive digital soundtrack
• Murder of Crow keychain
• Handyman figurine
• Lithographic print of propaganda

It also comes with a gear pack that gives three exclusive power ups in the game.

• Bull rush: Sprints become melee strikes and can knock down enemies
• Extra! Extra!: Audio logs give “Silver Eagles”
• Betrayer: In the PC game causes possessed enemies to explode once you kill them. In the PS3 you get Bioshock Infinite themes. The XBox 360 players get Booker and Elizabeth avatar costumes.

There is a way more costly bundle that costs $70 more. What’s the difference? It comes with a Songbird statue. You must really really want that figure to spend so much money for the Ultimate Songbird Edition of the game.

Price: $79.99

God of War: Ascension Collector’s Edition

The God of War franchise has outdone itself with this beautiful pre-order which includes:

• An exclusive 8 inch Kratos statue
• Premium Steelbook case
• Digital game soundtrack
• Multiplayer Double XP unlock
• PS3 Dynamic theme and PSN Avatar pack
• A pass for all future DLC

The last perk seems very promising.  Especially since I don’t like always paying for future DLC.

Price: $79.99

This is the best of the best I’ve gathered so far. I hope as the year reveals more new games to try out, they come out with more tempting bundles like these.

Hey, remember when we reviewed Bust-N-Rush? Of course you do! Well we have good news for anyone that was intrigued by the game, but not quite sold on it: Bust-N-Rush can now be had for only $4.99. You’re basically losing money by not buying it.

Perhaps you were fine with the price, but only buy games through Steam? Well there’s more good news! Bust-N-Rush has joined Steam Greenlight. Head on over to their page now and give them a vote. Pretty please?

Originally posted on Nerdy But Flirty

A Mass Effect trilogy set was announced by BioWare yesterday that will include all three epic games for the low price of 59.99! The Trilogy set will release in early November for the Xbox 360 and PC.

A PlayStation 3 version will be announced at a later date and, yes, it will include the first Mass Effect. I wonder how much Electronic Arts paid Microsoft for the rights? This is great news for PlayStation users who have not yet played the first game, which is a quintessential piece in the Mass Effect universe. Will you save Kaidan or Ashley? Will you kill Wrex? Save the Rachni Queen? These choices are available in the interactive comic, but the consequences have much more meaning when you experience them first hand, of course.

Some of details from the information page:

• Over 75 hours of story content, plus Mass Effect 3’s critically acclaimed multiplayer mode.
• Create and customize your own character with his or her appearance and skills, then play your Commander Shepard through all three Mass Effect games.
• Experience an amazingly rich and detailed universe where your decisions have profound consequences on the action and the outcome.

[Source: Mass Effect Trilogy -- November 6th 2012]

Novus Aeterno is a MMORTS game that takes place in outer space. Although I’m not an RTS player myself, I often watch my friends play and bemoan my lack of ability to multi-task well enough enough to play. I was still interested in checking out Novus Aeterno because it looked, for lack of a better term, pretty.

Story

The story of Novus Aeterno begins within the aftermath of a catastrophic destruction of the main five empires that had dominated the galaxy. The Verunas, Azsendi, Acaean, Cauldron Born, and our own Human civilizations reached a high point in domination over their portions of the galaxy. The old empires are now no more and the galaxy is without any stable authority. The player can now enter the scene and determine the course of events between the conflict of various factions and the persistent outcome of further events.

As I waited for our meeting to start, I noticed two young ladies waiting at the edge of the stage. I heard one of them exclaim “Ooh I saw this game I can’t wait to play it!” Intrigued, I followed Nick Nieuwoudt, CEO and lead designer, to the podium to check out the game.

Gameplay

Being a space-lover and an RPG fan, the concept of space ships and their crews almost being like a character in an RPG was very interesting to me. When you first create a ship (after mining ore and creating parts etc.) that ship will originally have a low level crew. Eventually, as you build up your skills, the ship will receive a more veteran crew, and you will be able to create better, if more expensive, parts for the ships. Along with the basic stats, the different races also have different traits.

You have to be really mindful about what your planet is used for because you have limited space. Is this a mining planet or full of factories or more balanced?

Another fun aspect is the fact that you are pretty much constantly in danger of being attacked by someone. How you position your ships and the strategies of flanking, etc. will dramatically affect the outcome of this battle. I watched Nieuwoudt utterly destroy someone else’s fleet. He also showed me a cool tactic, blowing up big ships to damage the surrounding ships in the fleet.

Nieuwoudt emphasized that he really just made the game that he and his friends wanted to play. Strategy and tactics take the forefront, along with the ability to play with 30,000 other players in the same galaxy. There are over 10,000 galaxies available at one time, a pretty exciting aspect for an explorer like me. The game will have no match making and competition between players and natural threats can happen anywhere within the massive scale of the galaxy that will be connected with no loading screens. The entire galaxy of Novus Aeterno will exist on a single global network provided by Taitale’s unique server architecture. Players will be able to play with every other player on the network.

Characters

I asked Neiwoudt if there were any females in the game. He answered with an enthusiastic yes.

Treasure Hunter Concept Art

“Why can’t women be admirals in the military?” asked Neiwoudt. He went on to say that he wanted to create women that were really strong and not the stereotypical female characters. As you can see from the concept art, he made good on his ideals. I love these women and female races. Neiwoudt’s personal favorite is the Cauldron Born.

Cauldron Born Concept Art

The races themselves sounded very intrigueing, with aliens that actually looked alien, including a race of crystal-trees thingies!

My Opinion

Based on the preview, I would say this is definitely a game to watch out for. This labor of love is smart and sharp and I’m really looking forward to giving it a try.

Huntress, Concept Art, Novus Aeterno

Weapons Officer Concept Art

Female Consul Concept Art

First appeared on NerdyButFlirty.com

On August 2nd, the Maxis Label of Electronic Arts announced the newest expansion for The Sims 3, Seasons.

The expansion will introduce new activities for every seasons. Dramatic weather effects will awe seasoned players, with blooming flowers, fresh spring rain, the changing of leaves, and blistery snowstorms. For the first time, Sims will be able to swim in the ocean, not merely visit and look at the waves while enjoying a picnic. Also, per usual for Sims games, new food, fashion, and décor items will be introduced to change up your Sim’s household.

 “Since the launch of The Sims 3, Seasons has been one of the most highly-requested themes by our players. The seasonal changes in this game offer incredible realism, simulating nature in a way that is unprecedented for The Sims.”

Those who pre-order the expansion pack will be upgraded to the Limited Edition, which includes a new venue, the Ice Lounge community lot, and will come with twelve exclusive new objects.

The Sims 3 Seasons expansion pack will be available worldwide November 2012 for PC/Mac.

In addition, The Sims 3 Supernatural will be coming to PC/Mac September 4, 2012.