My Game Center

The PlayStation 3 version of FIFA 12 sold more copies in Europe from January to September 2011 than any other game, according to GfK sales data extrapolated by Nintendo.

As seen on Gamasutra, the chart, which formed part of Nintendo’s recent bi-annual financial report, sees Wii Sports Resort at two, followed by Pok

The guys in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 3 have awesome pants, so why shouldn’t you? Betabrand has the virtual soldier covered with its new Couch Commando pants.

Made from 100% French-twill cotton, the Couch Commandos are fitted with six big pockets, including two oversized gusseted cargos, and drawstring ankle cinches, making them ideal for storing controllers, your headset or snacks as you game the night away.

Available in Black-Ops Black, Olive Drab, Desert Khaki, and now, an 8-bit inspired camouflage pattern, which uses some of the most iconic characters, including Pac Man and Space Invaders.

You can add a pair of Couch Commando pants to your loadout from $85 to $130 from Betabrand.

Deep Silver’s console and PC title Dead Island has claimed its second week at No.1 in the UKIE Gfk Chart-Track all Formats Top 40.

It does so despite a shortage of copies on the High Street – and some retailers hiking the price to take advantage of the demand. it was the PS3 version that surged, improving its market share on the game from 32 per cent last week to 51 per cent.

There’s little change elsewhere in the Top Five, either, with Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine, Resistance 3, Driver: San Francisco and Deus ex: Human Revolution all duking it out.

Here’s the UK Top 20 for the week ending September 17th in full:

1. Dead Island (Koch Media)2. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine (THQ)3. Resistance 3 (Sony)4. Driver: San Francisco (Ubisoft)5. Deus ex: Human Revolution (Square Enix)6. Zumba Fitness (505 Games)7. LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean (Disney)8. Rugby World Cup (505 Games)9. LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 (Warner)10. Cars 2 (Disney)11. Red Faction: Armageddon (THQ)12. Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo)13. Star Fox 3D (Nintendo)14. EA Sports Active 2 (Warner)15. the Sims 3 (EA)16. Call of Duty: Black Ops (Activision)17. Gran Turismo 5 (Sony)18. Ride of Nightmares (Sega)19. FIFA 11 (EA)20. Just Dance 2 (Ubisoft)

Gears of War 3 was the second most popular game on Xbox Live on the week it launched, topping Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 but failing to unseat the 10-month-old Call of Duty: Black Ops.

The rankings for the week starting September 19 were posted by official Xbox Live spokesperson Major Nelson and track unique users, the raw number of Xbox Live players who have played a given game that week. the ranked list of 20 most-played games on Xbox LIve for that week included four Call of Duty games, as well as sports games, Grand Theft Auto IV and other. Gears of War 3, a new entrant, debuted in the number two position. it had launched on September 20.

The folks at Epic Games have not hid their desire to make Gears an online gaming juggernaut, expanding the series’ competitive and co-op multiplayer options with September’s Gears of War 3. They were successful enough to knock the two-year-old MW2 down a slot. But Black Ops, owned by more millions of people than the Gears of War 3 (we’re talking well over 10 million compared to three million and counting for Gears 3), still reigns.

Black Ops and MW2 have been the top two games as recently as late August and tend to dominate these regular lists posted by Major Nelson.

Black Ops was probably helped during Gears’ launch week not just by its much bigger player base but by its creators’ continued support of new content. the latest multipalyer expansion to that game released just last month, August 23, keeping that game’s online fresh well past the point when most shooters stop getting new stuff for gamers to play with.

People used to compare Call of Duty”s spot on Major Nelson’s chart with the still-strong Halo games and a comparison to the upcoming anti-CoD, Battlefield 3 is guaranteed. But Gears has made its first strike. In this realm it’s the underdog. Can it make it to the top?

LIVE Activity for week of September 19th [Major Nelson]

If you happen to be a huge fan of the Call of Duty series, regardless of whether you game on a console or on the PC, then you might want to mark September 22nd on your computer and black it out, doing nothing but wait for the downloadable content (DLC) to be made available. oh yeah, that’s also when you make sure no one else at home is hogging your Internet connection so that you can get it downloaded to the respective machine in the quickest time possible.

This will be the last DLC for Call of Duty: Black Ops, and Rezurrection will arrive on both the PC and PS3 on September 22nd, which of course, those who have been enjoying it prior are Xbox 360 owners. Love busting zombies and sending them back to where they came from? You won’t go wrong with this DLC that comprises of nothing but one zombie level after another. In fact, four of the five maps included with the add-on were already available in World at War and the Hardened Edition of Black Ops, so basically you’re getting only one brand new map – the “Moon” map.

Is that alone worth forking out $14.99 for? Ah well, as a consolation, I guess getting a Zombies soundtrack and a Moon theme (if you’re rocking to a PS3) ain’t too shabby after all.

Call of Duty: Black Ops is getting (what I would suspect to be) its final installment of DLC.  the awesome zombie map pack, "Resurrection" goes live on the PlayStation 3 and PC today.  the DLC will cost $15 bucks, but gamers who bought the Hardened and Prestige editions of CoD:BO can download it for free.  the DLC features the new Moon map, as well as four re-masterd classic zombie maps.  you can check out our impressions of it here.  It's got zombies, space, and dual laser blasters.  what more could you want?  to celebrate the launch of this DLC Treyarch is having a Double XP weekend.  Time to prestige.

call of Duty: Black Ops feature two player local co-op, six player online co-op, and combo co-op (split screen with online players).  the Zombies mode features two player local co-op, four player online co-op, and combo co-op.

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Back when I reviewed Call of Duty: Black Ops, I mentioned that it looks, feels and plays quite a bit like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 in its multiplayer offering.

At the time, I noted that the fact that Black Ops is a whole lot like MW2 isn’t necessarily a deal-breaker. In fact, Treyarch’s latest edition in the series does a pretty solid job of working with the Modern Warfare formula — things like killstreaks, deathstreaks and the points-based leveling system present in those games — and adapting it into something new. Namely, in Black Ops, rather than just unlocking new things as you progress through multiplayer and level up, you actually can use the points you accumulate to purchase the items and perks you prefer. This allows for customization and strategy rather than just new junk to master every few levels.

However, fundamentally, Black Ops is more a roster update in the style of a yearly sports title like Madden than it is a fresh game, and with call of Duty updates coming once a year for the last half-decade, it was my opinion that the next entry into the CoD series would need to be a more substantial update than just another yearly tweak to be worth the $60 refresh fee. After getting some hands-on time with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, it’s time for some analysis — is MW3 just a yearly refresh, or an update worthy of the full retail price (at least as far as multiplayer is concerned)?

To answer that question, I delved back into the last four years of call of Duty titles, with special emphasis on Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare series. Black Ops is thrown in there for good measure, although I skipped World at War because it’s the one call of Duty title I never spent significant time with.

The Similarities

The first Modern Warfare title introduced quite a few cool new additions to CoD multiplayer — specifically, killstreaks like air strikes, the entire weapon-unlocking leveling system, weapons challenges and the like. all of it was stuff that made the Modern Warfare series what it is today: (let’s face it) the premiere console multiplayer experience. There’s a reason there’s a gajillion people playing the Modern Warfare games, including the original, three four years on — there’s a lot to do, and the games are well-made.

The differences between Modern Warfare 1 and 2 are pretty minimal. MW1 heavily favors snipers, whereas MW2 fixes that (somewhat) with its map design. Both games feature unlockable weapons and leveling, and there are more guns, perks and killstreaks in the second Modern Warfare than the first. Overall, though, the two games are largely identical — MW2 is just a better take on MW1 by most accounts. It’s a substantial improvement, but it’s also an incremental update, bolstered by additional multiplayer modes and maps.

And both games are very similar to Black Ops, which borrows heavily from the formula. more unlockable weapons and similar (although slightly tweaked for the cold War setting) killstreaks and deathstreaks. Most of the fundamentally similar multiplayer gametypes are there. at their heart, all three games feel really, really similar: the controls are the same, the weapons are basically the same, and without the peripheral changes about how you play, the actual gameplay is largely unchanged. In part, this brings familiarity to the series, which is crucial — but it also means that if you only play Team Deathmatch, for example, you’re paying quite a lot for a fresh set of challenges.

Hit Page 2 for Modern Warfare 3′s similarities to its predecessors.

Epic Games’ trilogy capper joined by Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2, Kirby Mass Attack at retail; Black Ops: Rezurrection comes to PS3, PC.

Gears of War 3 marks the end of Epic Games’ current story arc starring Marcus Fenix and his merry band of cogs, and early reviews indicate the trilogy is going out with a bang. however, Epic’s sci-fi shooter isn’t marching to the front lines alone, as the third week of September also marks the arrival of two DS exclusives from Nintendo as well as a stockpile of downloadable fair.

As for Gears of War 3, the game begins with the last human city having been obliterated and series hero Marcus Fenix trying to protect the remaining humans from the Locust horde, as well as from the newer, deadlier foe, the mutating Lambent. the game is available in a standard ($60), Limited ($80), and Epic ($150) edition, and a $30 season pass for four upcoming add-on packs is also available.

On to Nintendo’s platforms, Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 plays out much like other games in the Square Enix-owned franchise, where turn-based battles offer players the option to fight or flee. more than 300 different monsters are available in Joker 2, though about 50 can be gained only through the correct merging of two other species.

The turn-based role-playing game will be accompanied by Kirby: Mass Attack. Biilled as a side-scrolling real-time strategy game, Kirby: Mass Attack challenges players with guiding an amassed army of Kirbys to safety. Gamers can complement their purchase of the pink puffball’s latest outing by picking up a new $170 metallic rose DSi XL, which hits store shelves on Sunday.

Switching to the downloadable sector, Bethesda Softworks will be releasing Lonesome Road as a free add-on for Fallout: New Vegas. the week also sees the release of the PlayStation 3 and PC version of the Call of Duty: Black Ops’ Rezurrection map pack, which is already available for the Xbox 360 edition of the game.

Also this week, EA will be releasing Burnout Crash through Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network. A top-down take on the Burnout series’ signature crash mode, the game sports three modes across six locations and boasts 18 crash junctions. Additionally, Burnout Crash supports the Autolog feature, an online social infrastructure that was first introduced in Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit and lets players measure their performance against their friends.

Capcom has a pair of Resident Evil HD remakes en route for XBLA and the PSN this month, the first of which debuts this week. Resident Evil 4 HD signifies the first time the critically acclaimed installment in Capcom’s long-running survival horror series releases for Microsoft’s and Sony’s high-def platforms.

For further details on the week’s games, visit GameSpot’s New Releases page. the full list of downloadable games on the PlayStation Store, Xbox Live Marketplace, and Wii Shop Channel will be revealed later this week. Release dates are based on retailer listings and are subject to change.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 18Metallic Rose DSi XL hardware

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2–DS–NintendoKirby Mass Attack–DS–Nintendo Time of Fury–PC–Slitherine

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20Barbie: Jet, Set & Style!–WII, DS–THQBrunswick Pro Bowling–3DS–CraveBurnout Crash!–PS3–EA Casino Chaos with Las Vegas Players Collection–PC–THQ Challenge me: Word Puzzles–DS–O-Games Cubixx HD–PS3–Laughing Jackal Drakensang: Complete Saga–PC–ValuSoft Emily the Strange: Strangerous–DS–Tri SynergyF1 2011–X360, PS3–THQ Fallout: New Vegas – Lonesome Road–X360, PS3, PC–Bethesda Softworks Frogger 3D–3DS–Konami Gears of War 3–X360–MicrosoftHarvest Moon: the tale of Two Towns–DS–Natsume Jewel Time Deluxe–DS–O-GamesPinball Hall of Fame: the Williams Collection–3DS–Crave Resident Evil 4 HD–X360, PS3–Capcom Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 2 – Innocent Sin–PSP–AtlusSupremacy MMA–X360, PS3–505 Games

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21Burnout Crash!–X360–EARotastic–X360–Focus Home InteractiveWorms Ultimate Mayhem–PC–Team 17

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 Aya and the Cubes of Light–WII–Object Vision Software break Tactics–DS–AgetecCall of Duty: Black Ops – Rezurrection–PS3, PC–Activision Hector: Badge of Carnage – Episode 3: Beyond Reasonable Doom–PC–Telltale Games

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23Railworks 3: Train Simulator 2012–PC–RailSimulator.com

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

By Adam Najberg Insomniac GamesImage from Resistance 3

On paper, Resistance 3 has all the hallmarks of a colossal flop – a sequel of a sequel with a “way-out-there” storyline that lacks a protagonist after our hero died at the end of the last game. Instead, I found it one of the best games I’ve played this year.

I had very low expectations for Resistance 3, developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony for the PlayStation 3. I’ve played tons of first-person shooters this year and figured this game, which went on sale Tuesday, would fall somewhere in the middle of the pack. It’s not the best – that honor goes to call of Duty: Black Ops – but Resistance 3 definitely runs a close second.

My misgivings appeared well-founded when I loaded up Resistance 3. one caveat is if you expect to dive right into the game, hold the horses. First thing my PS3 wanted to do was a system update, which took about five minutes and required a restart of the console. Then, when the game finally loaded, there was a comic book-like open. Knowing the game was set in the 1950’s, I actually preferred it to the faux, overly pretentious cinematic opens on so many games. Then, though, the PS3 wanted to install the game, which took another 10 minutes. Finally, I was off and running.

The plot, despite involving aliens, weird weapons and an alternate version of 1950’s U.S. history, is pretty straightforward. for those unfamiliar with the Resistance series, the Reader’s Digest version is the game takes place on an earth occupied by the Chimera, an alien race that infects and kills humans through a virus. in the original 2006 game that started this trilogy, Resistance: Fall of Man, Sergeant Nathan Hale didn’t die from the disease, but instead became part Chimera – tougher and stronger than the rest of us and with gold eyes. he tries, and fails, to stop the Chimera via military resistance in that game and the 2008 sequel. at the end of the game, Corporal Joseph Capelli shoots Sergeant Hale, but instead of getting court-martialed or keelhauled, he gets a dishonorable discharge and, three years later, his own game.

Capelli is the “hero” of Resistance 3, looking to link up with other human survivors and head to new York City for a big night on the town – in this case, what Insomniac Games describes as “one last desperate attempt to stop the extinction of the human race.” Supposedly, he can do that by hooking up with Dr. Fyodor Malikov, who found special blood in Nathan Hale’s dead body that could cure infected humans. But this game is really about killing lots of weird aliens with steampunk weapons that mostly look 1950-ish but with strangely advanced and futuristic Chimeran twists to them. more on that later.

Be prepared: Resistance 3 is very hard, even at the lowest setting. It may take you half the night to figure out how to take out the arachnid-like metal Stalker with your bullseye weapon and some shield-lowering electro-magnetic pulse grenades, and I won’t offer you any spoilers. But as you get the feel of the game, pay some attention to your surroundings. The game designers sure have. They’ve captured amazing amounts of detail, everything from 1950’s style milk cans in the kitchen, to grass and weeds poking up through the floorboards of abandoned buildings, shadows and even footfalls and breathing that don’t sound fake. Characters in Oklahoma are a bit over-the-top rustic, but maybe that’s just what Oklahomans are really like.

Developers were also smart to scale down the massive battlefields of the previous game. It was often hard to figure out who you were fighting and where. in this game, there’s a much tighter focus, which lets you get a bead on the aliens without a lot of distracting collateral action.

Black Ops players: If the controls feels very familiar, it’s because they are, whether intentionally or not, quite similar to what you’re used to.

Buttons and sticks are not only easy to use, but there’s also an actual paper manual inside the disc box. not terribly environmentally friendly, but far more-useful in the heat of the game when you want to know how to alt-fire than having to stop the action, go to the main menu and look up “alt-fire” in your digital manual.

I wasn’t particularly interested in learning more about the alternate historical timeline in this game, but if you are, look around for and pick up journals that are scattered throughout the campaign that offer what Sony describes as “haunting backstories.”

Gameplay, itself, is riveting. not since the days of Command & Conquer have I been so reluctant to put down my controller. getting killed just made me more-determined to find a new strategy or test out a new theory to complete a campaign. Bullets and laser beams fly fast and furious, sapping your strength, something you’ll notice via a dipping health meter. If that’s not enough, you’ll see increasing drops and spatters of blood on your heads-up display the more you get hit.

Even when you’re facing over a dozen enemies, you never feel overwhelmed. Enemies don’t blindly charge you or surround you all at once. I don’t know how the artificial intelligence engine is programmed, but it’s done in such a way that you always have a shot at blasting an alien and finding cover before you take on the next one.

There’s no over-the-top explosions or other special effects, and this game never overreaches. It isn’t as intense as Black Ops, which is a bit hindered by its overt reality and violence against other humans. Somewhat subsconsciously, violence in Resistance 3 is mitigated by the fact that your enemies are aliens from another planet. at the same time, Resistance 3, with its Earth setting, keeps one foot firmly in reality. and aliens in the game are often humanoid in appearance, as opposed to the blobby aliens of Halo and other first-person shooters like Duke Nukem.

Weapons are probably the coolest part of this game. each one has a primary function and a secondary detonation function. The auger is back, letting you plow holes in walls, but when you use the alt-fire secondary detonation, your bullets exit on the other side even faster and stronger than when they entered. There’s also the Magnum and Bullseye, the Marksman and Carbine. new to the game is a bio-mist gun that lets you infect the enemy and a homemade shrapnel grenade that sprays metal nails, along with the EMP grenade. as the game proceeds, you can upgrade your weapons, making them stronger.

Unlike the Rockstar games, there’s no free play in Resistance 3. you can’t embark on your own storyline or frag your friends for fun. one slight disappointment was the animation. The voices and sound-effects of this game are dead-on. But the characters are kind of creepy, empty-eyed shells in a Polar Express kind of way. Everyone’s teeth seems to be grey for some reason. Characters don’t look or move realistically in animated sequences, though they look and act just fine when you’re fighting in a campaign or deathmatch.

There are several multiplayer modes, including the deathmatches you expect in a game like this. you can work with someone else in cooperative mode, whether they’re in the same room or online. Up to 16 players can engage in multiplayer matches.

Resistance 3 supports the PlayStation move, but I wasn’t that impressed with it. you need the precision of the stick controller to be really effective. There’s also 3D support, but I don’t have a 3D television. The game includes an online pass activation code for the PlayStation Network, giving you free and unlimited access to online and multiplayer games.

The suggested retail price for Resistance 3 is $59.99, and it’s worth every penny. Resistance 3 is definitely one of the most-engaging shooters you’ll play in 2011.

Anyone who hasn’t been living under a rock has seen the latest hacker attacks in the news. Sony was hit hard on more than one occasion knocking its PlayStation Network service offline for over a month. The hackers stole potentially sensitive information from thousands of PSN users in the process as well. what does this mean for the loyal gamers who refrained from trading in their PS3 for Xbox 360s during this time? The Welcome back Program. Sony answered this allegiance with a set of complementary downloads and memberships to various services such as its music service Qriocity and its premium gaming service PlayStation plus.

PS3 owners can select 2 titles from the following list:

Dead Nation
InFAMOUS
LittleBigPlanet
Super Stardust HD
Wipeout HD + Fury

I personally have tested out Dead Nation, Infamous, LittleBigPlanet, and Super Stardust HD, all of which are great options for free download.

Dead Nation
A birds-eye-view, dual-stick zombie shooter by Housemarque has a similar look and feel to the Dead Ops Arcade mini game in call of Duty: Black Ops. The game is split-screen and online co-op compatible which is a great addition since every PSN user will have an opportunity to download this game and friends will most likely collaborate for a collective experience. Dead Nation allows for character upgrades, a multitude of levels, and numerous guns to tear through the hordes of brainless corpses.

Presentation: Nothing special aesthetically, successfully develops a spooky atmosphere. Unfortunately, standard characters and a typical zombie thriller plot detract from the overall quality of the game.

Graphics: Varied environments are detailed and fun. at times too many zombies on screen can be difficult to see.

Sound: Blood splattering, gunshots, and hungry zombies, what more sound effects could you want? SFX are what you would expect, action packed moments bring about the best music this game has to offer.

Gameplay: Fighting crowds of zombies with a wide assortment of weapons is entertaining. Differentiation in zombie types is appreciated and controls are simple to pick up.

Gaming Precision gives Dead Nation a 7/10

Infamous
What a perfect time for Sony to release Sucker Punch’s open world, comic book inspired game then right as the sequel is released. For those who missed the first one, the Welcome back program has your back. The ability to be famous or infamous, friend or foe, is a refreshing element often under explored in free roam games. plus, a souped up, electric powered protagonist (Cole McGrath) adds to the kickass.ness of the game.

Presentation: Large environments to explore at your leisure, stylish cut scenes and an amazing finale. however, I felt as if the city as a whole often blended together and did not stand out. The plot followed a very predictable pattern.

Graphics: The graphics are solid not spectacular. The electricity looks fantastic and the karma effects on Cole’s appearance are a nice touch.

Sound: Not very memorable. Cole’s shoes squeak incessantly which bothered me throughout the whole game.

Gameplay: Variety of skills and moves for Cole to perform. Tons of side missions and collectables add too long playtime. Sometimes too many enemies onscreen will make you feel overwhelmed and being shot constantly from the rooftops can be frustrating.

Gaming Precision gives Infamous an 8/10

LittleBigPlanet
By far one of the most creative games I’ve ever played. it gives players the complete freedom to create just about anything you could imagine. A large community adds to the positive experience of the game with new user-created content being added all the time, especially now that the Welcome back program has brought new life into LittleBigPlanet.

Presentation: Adorable graphics add to the whimsical nature of this side-scrolling adventure. Sack boy is as customizable as the game itself allowing for a personal touch. Nothing of this nature or caliber has ever been done as successfully as LittleBigPlanet.

Graphics: Its graphics are unique, colorful, and very appealing. The visuals are very impressive.

Sound: one word, perfect. The game incorporates music into levels in practically every way. Sound effects are appropriate and humorous. I’ve even heard some of my favorite video game themes on community levels.

Gameplay: Variety defines this game in every way. The controls could be tweaked slightly as sometimes I felt as if Sack boy was controlling himself.

Gaming Precision gives LittleBigPlanet a 9.5/10

Super Stardust HD
Ever play the old arcade game Asteroids? Well this is its older brother on steroids. Super Stardust HD is a quick paced, arcade shooter where you control a spaceship and blast just about anything that moves. it has a very interesting look which combines 2D functionality with 3D visuals but they function very well together. The game boasts numerous weapons including the Gold Melter, Ice Spitter, and Rock Crusher all which can be swapped with the press of a button. and the co-op capabilities make for one crazy fun ride.

Presentation: The game is pretty simple. your goal is to destroy rocks, get points, and not get hit. there could also be more options available.

Graphics: The visuals are pretty stunning. The bright colors and sheer amount of stuff going on is impressive. Lasers and explosions of all different shapes and sizes will fill the screen and overwhelm you.in a good way. Except for the occasional lag.

Sound: The music changes at each level but it’s not overwhelmingly noticeable. The music fits the situation but is not memorable.

Gameplay: The gameplay is great. The manic shooting and addicting nature make this a game you will want to replay often.

Gaming Precision gives Super Stardust HD an 8.5/10

Hopefully this will help you decide which game on the Welcome back Program is right for you. Please post with comments and suggestions