The Buzz

Starting November 1, gamers using Xbox Live Gold will be paying more for the online service. The price of Gold in the U.S. is going from $7.99 a month to $9.99 a month. Three-month buys will go from $19.99 to $24.99, and if you buy your Xbox Live by the year, you’ll be paying $59.99 instead of $49.99 annually.

“Since launching Xbox Live in 2002 we have continually added more content and entertainment experiences for our members, while keeping the price the same. We’re confident that when the new pricing takes effect, an Xbox Live Gold membership will continue to offer the best value in the industry,” Posts Major Nelson on Xbox Live’s official blog, before reminding you to re-up your subscription now, to avoid the new, higher rates.

Gamescom is like the European version of E3 hosted in Germany. So major game publishers/companies come to show of or announce games they have been work on. Well enough of that.

At the Konami press conference, they revealed that No More Heroes: Heroes’ Paradise, the official sequel No More Heroes and No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle for Wii, will be heading on PlayStation 3 supporting PlayStation Move.

If you or anyone you know planning on getting a Playstation3 slim anytime soon, you could stop and wait a little while long. Sony announced they are releasing two new versions of the console. The 160GB version, will be replacing the current 120GB PS3 with the same price of $299.99.  The 320GB version will come bundled with Playstation Move, PS Eye camera, a copy of Sport Champion and demo game disc  all retail together for $399.99.

Insomniac Games took the stage during Sony’s press conference to announce two new titles. One being the long-anticipated sequel to a sequel, Resistance 3. Looks like the Chimera are back. An the other title Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One. This will the first game in the series  that will feature four player co-op.  Players can choose and play as Ratchet, Clank, Capt. Quark and Dr. Nefarious. Players can drop-in and out  on online or offline. It will be coming out Fall of 2011

BioWare annouced  Mass Effect 2 will soon be available to play on PS3, and Microsoft responded  by saying the original Mass Effect will remain exclusive to Xbox, making Xbox 360 the only place to get the full Mass Effect experience.

BioWare has also declared a release date for their other great RPG  sequel, Dragon Age 2. It is slated for March 8, 2011. Your new protagonist is a human champion named Hawke. While you can pick your character’s class, gender and can still customize how he or she looks, you can’t choose a different class.

Many release dates have been slowly announced. Some are listed below

Nintendo

The wait is over. I didn’t know I was waiting but the popular Sci-Fi RPG sequel, Mass Effect 2 will be released for the Playstation 3 on January 2011.

BioWare CEO Ray Muzyka made the announcement today at Gamescom in Germany during Electronic Arts’ press conference. This version contains the full Mass Effect 2 game and “hours of bonus content,” though it is unclear at this time what that bonus content is.

More info will be provided as they come

Remedy Entertainment announced Alan Wake all the way back in 2005 during the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo. Since then it’s popped on and off of people’s radars at sparing intervals, and now that it’s finally been released, it seems as if Duke Nukem Forever should be only just around the corner. It can then only be described as fortunate that with such a long development period, Alan Wake has turned out to be a compelling and rewarding title to experience.

Having written multiple bestselling novels, Alan Wake has spent the last two years suffering through a severe case of writer’s block. With his mind stumped for ideas, he and his wife Alice head to the small logging town of Bright Falls. After setting up their cabin, things take a turn for the worse as Wake finds himself waking up after a car crash, with no recollection of how he got there. He’s missing a week of his life, Alice has mysteriously gone missing and members of the town have turned into shadow axe wielding maniacs, controlled by malevolent darkness intent on stopping Wake and his efforts to find Alice.

Alan Wake is not an open world game. What you do have though is a linear game that for the most part, gives you quite a bit of breathing room to explore. The game is structured like a TV show/novel in episodic fashion with recaps at the beginning of each episode. This serves as a great formula as the game become more story driven and allowing gamers to play through an episode take a break, pick it up again and still have an idea of what’s going on in the story.

Alan’s primary enemy is the darkness which embodies all of his enemies. Generally, if it’s daytime, you’re safe as safe can be. At night however, the ghouls come out. In order to properly combat these foes, you’ll need to first melt away that darkness through various means of light, then blast away at them with your standard firearms. The primary tool to do this is a flashlight that you’re rarely without, but you’ll also get to use spotlights, shop lights, and street lights as a method to deter your enemies. Flashbangs, flares, and flare guns are also present and provide some nice crowd control for those sticky situations. While it doesn’t really evolve much, the combination of darkness melting and gunplay is entertaining enough that it holds up fairly well throughout the game. The driving seems pretty solid when the game calls for it or when you have the option to, resulting in you mowing down those same pain inflicting enemies with glee. One problem with the driving system was the way the camera would somewhat whiplash back to the center.

Interspersed between Alan’s nights hikes are daylight sequences in Bright Falls. Daytime in Bright Falls reveals a rustic Pacific Northwestern town that has been exquisitely detailed and constructed.  It’s in these sequences that you feel the greatest weight of Remedy’s development period. Every towns-person and character is distinct and feels alive, their personalities all painted with a careful brush. It’s extremely immersive, unlike like say Oblivion’s town’s people with the same 5 faces and the same 4 voice actors. Rose, the Tor brothers, Barry. All of them have their own heart and soul in the story

In-game, the graphics are beautiful and solid. A brilliant soundtrack gives an ambient feel throughout every level within Alan Wake. The voice acting is also nice. The developers make the best use of motion blur and focus. The use of dark and light is almost perfect and the atmosphere is even enhanced by swirling, mist-like darkness that envelopes the world throughout the game. However the quality of the cinematic movies is erratic from start to finish. Lips fail to sync with dialogue and characters fall in and out of low resolution textures. It’s almost as if Remedy forgot to go back and touch up older cut scenes to ensure proper continuity. The lighting is so mesmerizing in Alan Wake it practically becomes a character in itself. The way it represents not only the spark of inspiration but also as a safe zone against “the taken” creates a profound sense of comfort in the gamer whenever they encounter pools of light.

The game should take most players about ten to twelve hours to complete their first playthrough, not exactly a long time but at the same time it doesn’t overstay its welcome. As far as replayability goes, Alan Wake has collectibles like Coffee Thermos, Manuscript, TVs & radio and hidden supply chest scattered throughout the level. An unlockable Nightmare difficulty upon completing the game which contains a small portion of exclusive manuscript collectibles to be discovered. There is no multiplayer, which is understandable as trying to incorporate the unique combat into a competitive setting would probably not work

Remedy said they spent so long developing Alan Wake because they wanted it to be as perfect as possible. While it may not reach the realms of perfection, it’s still a stunning title that’s almost worth the long wait. The Finnish developers have built a believable universe surrounded by a strong narrative, impressive storytelling techniques and enjoyable combat with a unique twist. It has its flaws with repetition, linearity and some poor presentational issues, but this is a world ripe for a sequel to improve upon every single aspect. It might take another five years, but you can guarantee it will probably be worth it.

I don’t know about the rest of y’all but I’m mad hype about DJ Hero 2 which is coming out this October.  Even though the songs havent been released yet but the artists featured will pleased Hip-Hop heads and the Pop lovers, with some of the returning artists featuring new songs heres a list of the newcomers.  If I didnt mention in my past article this one will feature party mode which supports the mic, so heres the list

(*newcomers)

· 2Pac
· 50 Cent
· Adamski*
· Afrika Bambaataa & The Soul Sonic Force*
· Armand Van Helden*
· A-Trak*
· B.o.B.*
· Basement Jaxx*
· BlakRoc*
· Bobby Womack*
· Bruno Mars*
· Busta Rhymes*
· Calvin Harris*
· Chamillionaire*
· Chic*
· Chris Willis*
· Clinton Sparks*
· Colby O’Donis*
· Daft Punk
· Damian Marley*
· David Guetta
· Deadmau5*
· Deee-Lite* (not trilled on this one)
· Dillinja*
· Diplo*
· Dizzee Rascal
· DJ Shadow
· Donna Summer*
· Dr. Dre*
· Drake*
· Edwin Starr*
· Eminem
· Estelle*
· Flo Rida*
· Gorillaz
· Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five*(personal Favorite)
· Harold Faltermeyer*
· House Of Pain*
· Iyaz*
· Jackson 5
· Janet Jackson*
· Justice
· Kanye West*
· Kaskade*
· Kelis*
· Keri Hilson*(for Grim)
· Kid Cudi
· Kool & The Gang*
· Lady Gaga*
· Lil Jon*
· Lil Wayne*
· LL Cool J*
· M.I.A.
· M|A|R|R|S*
· Major Lazer*
· Malcolm McLaren*
· Mase*
· Melle Mel & Duke Bootee*
· Metallica*(one word: EPIC)
· Missy Elliott*
· Mos Def
· MSTRKRFT*
· N.O.R.E.*
· Nas*
· Nate Dogg*
· Naughty By Nature*
· Nelly*
· New Boyz*(<_<)
· New Order*
· Newcleus*
· Nightcrawlers*
· Orbital*
· Pharoahe Monch*
· Pirate Soundsystem*
· Pitbull*
· Puff Daddy*
· Pussycat Dolls*
· Rihanna
· Robin S*.
· RZA*
· Salt N Pepa*
· Sam Cooke*
· Sam Sparro*
· Sean Paul*
· Skibadee*
· Sneaky Sound System*
· Snoop Dogg*
· Snow*
· Soulja Boy Tell Em*(GAG)
· Sparfunk & D-Code*
· Static Major*
· Stevie Wonder*
· Talib Kweli*
· The Chemical Brothers*
· The Crystal Method*
· The Egg*
· The Notorious B.I.G.*
· The Prodigy*
· Tiësto
· Tiga*
· Timbaland*
· Tweet*
· Walter Murphy*
· Warren G*
· Wayne Smith*
· Will.I.Am*
· Yeah Yeah Yeahs*
· Young Jeezy*(for the trade)

The playlist is going to be epic with DLC to boot please believe I will cop this so if wanna battle let me (Capn) or just get a party started.

BioWare has confirmed that Dragon Age 2 is in the works for an early 2011 release. This is a sequel to last year’s hit fantasy action role-playing game Dragon Age: Origins.Unlike the first game where you have multiple races and class. You will have just only one.

“Dragon Age 2 thrusts players into the role of Hawke, a penniless refugee who rises to power to become the single most important character in the world of Dragon Age. Known to be a survivor of the Blight and the Champion of Kirkwall, the legend around Hawke’s rise to power is shrouded in myth and rumor. Featuring an all-new story spanning 10 years, players will help tell that tale by making tough moral choices, gathering the deadliest of allies, amassing fame and fortune, and sealing their place in history. The way you play will write the story of how the world is changed forever.”

From the creative developer team behind Heavenly Sword, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West is the next title in production. It is a third person action-adventure game based on an ancient chinese tale, where the main character was a monkey. The monkey is reincarnated as Monkey, a powerful, agile man. By his side is Trip, a tech savvy, sheltered woman that resembles Nariko from Heavy Sword.

The story is that it is 150 years in the future in a war-torn world, the human race is near the brink of extinction due to the mericiless robot drones that either enslave or kill. The survivor live in close group on the far reaches of the land. Monkey and Trip are captured on a slave ship and quick attempt to escape. This is where Trip realize her only hope on making it home is by utilizing Monkey’s raw strenght. She reprogram a slave headband to enslave and link Monkey to her, so if either one dies the other will die as well

This is a single player adventure which focus on working together. You gain full control over Monkey and AI controlled Trip by using a radial menu. There are simple commands like take cover, follow, creating a distraction and as you progress you get more command like the ability to heal you or scan enemies. Monkey is equipped with a plasma staff that he uses to perform melee attacks, blocks and range attacks. Being full of raw power Monkey can do special take-down maneuvers to annihilate his foes.

From looking at the demo it looks brilliant. Even though it takes place in a post apocalyptic world, its bright and lavish and appealing as buildings are covered in plant life. The character have a realistic feel and look. Facial expression are rendered really well. In the end there is a major emphasis on storytelling and emotion,  where it makes you want to continue and find out what happens next.

It will be released later this year on PS3 and Xbox360.

During Konami’s press event they announced a game entitled NeverDead. This will be a third person action game and just from the name you could guess what it could be about. Our protagonist, Bryce has a never say die atitude and ability. Displayed in the demo trailer, even if he is dismembered he can put himself back together. Beat that Humpy Dumpy.

It is an interesting choice to use this unique healing mechanic. Bryce will be slicing and shooting his way through a demonic creature infested world. This gives it a Devil May Cry-ish ambience. Although it’s still in production will be available for Xbox360 and PS3.