Iwata Announces Kirby Collection Details

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has finally pulled back the curtain on Kirby's Dream Collection: Special Edition, the upcoming Wii compilation being offered to celebrate the pink puffball's 20th anniversary. We previously knew the name of the game and the fact that it would launch in America this September, but everything else was a question mark.

First up, the lineup of included games. The collection will contain Kirby's Dream Land and Kirby's Dream Land 2 from the Game Boy. Kirby's Adventure from the NES. Kirby's Dream Land 3 and Kirby Super Star from the SNES and, lastly, Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards from the Nintendo 64. Four of these have previously been made available individually as Virtual Console downloads on Wii, but the two Game Boy games will be playable on Wii for the first time through this release.

Kirby's Dream Collection will also contain content drawn from last year's Kirby's Return to Dream Land – the single-player challenge mode from that game is coming back. There will also be a "History of Kirby" gallery in the collection, containing everything from 20 years of concept art to episodes of the Kirby cartoon show.

The physical packaging will be special too, as included in the box alongside the disc will be a separate art book and a soundtrack CD. Japan's Club Nintendo will also be offering new Kirby merchandise like Kirby-shaped pillows and handbags.

All of this information was announced tonight through Japan's Nintendo Direct video, and we expect the upcoming North American video will confirm and clarify the details of this Kirby collection for Western audiences. Stay tuned and we'll update this article when those details arrive.



Source : ign[dot]com

Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault Coming to PS3

Sure, we already knew that the Ratchet & Clank HD Collection was coming to PS3 later this year, but now, Sony has revealed a brand-new Ratchet & Clank game set to come to PlayStation 3.

Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault was announced this morning by Insomniac Games CEO Ted Price. “Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault is a fun-sized Ratchet adventure which will be available for download exclusively on the PlayStation Store. We’ve returned to the series’ classic feel, camera, controls and weapons, while innovating and giving you a whole new way to play. Even better, the addition of online features means you can experience Full Frontal Assault with your friends.”

Full Frontal Assault marks the 11th entry into the Ratchet & Clank series. It’s the fifth Ratchet & Clank game on PlayStation 3 (not counting the HD Collection) and the second downloadable entry that will be available via the PlayStation Network. It’s due out later in 2012.

Source : http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/05/30/ratchet-clank-full-frontal-assault-coming-to-ps3

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Face Off Mode Revealed Ads By Google » Blog Tags Today's Most Popular Videos »

The next Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 DLC, "Content Collection 2," will feature three multiplayer maps, two special ops maps, and a new competitive mode called Face Off.

Face Off Mode

Face Off mode in Modern Warfare 3 is designed for smaller groups of players. According to Michael Condrey, Co-Founder Sledgehammer Games, it provides, "Small maps, custom-created to have sight lines and lay outs to keep you in the action in 1 v 1 or 2 v 2."  In other words, if you have a grudge match that must be decided by a knives-only, no-perks match, this is the mode for you. (I'm looking at you, Donell Tucker.)

According to Mark Rubin, Executive Producer, Infinity Ward,"You don't spend your time running around the map looking for each other. You actually engage pretty quickly. You actually can still have the frantic fun gameplay we're used to with Call of Duty, but with one or two guys."

Content Collection 2 will be released on May 22, but 360 gamers who want to check out Face Off will be able to download two maps ("Erosion" and "Aground") for free on May 15. The Face-Off mode will be released on PC and PlayStation 3 eventually, though no date has been confirmed. Aground is set on a shipwreck off the coast of Scotland while Erosion sees you in Roman ruins while Mount Vesuvius erupts.

New Maps

Two new COD maps,"Getaway" and "Lookout" will be released on May 22 as part of the main DLC Collection 2 release. Getaway takes place in a beachside mansion in Brazil, while Lookout is set in a forward observation post in Afghanistan.

In addition, Modern Warfare 3 DLC Collection 2 will also offer three new standard multiplayer maps. Two maps, Sanctuary and Foundation, have already been released via the Call of Duty Elite service, but a new map, "Oasis", is set on a beach resort in the United Arab Emirates.

Spec-Ops Missions

Two new Spec-Ops mission modes are coming as well. "Ironclad" is set immediately after the Hamburg mission from the single player campaign, with you and your pal making it back to the landing beach after the initial assault, or dying in the attempt. It features asynchronous combat, with one player clearing obstacles while the other engages in basic infantry combat. Then there's a tank section, where one guy drives the tank and the other provided support.

The second Spec Ops mission, titled Killswitch, plays out in an all-new area set in a Russian dockyard.

For a look at the new mode and new maps, check out this video:

Source : http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/723637/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-3-face-off-mode-revealed/

Reconsidering Mindjack, Or Why Playing Smaller Multiplayer Games Is Awesome, Even If You Suck Ads By Google » Blog Tags Today's Most Popular Videos »

While the great masses of other gamers may be into Call of Duty or Halo, I’ve been happily rocking Mindjack with a small, but dedicated collection of online scrubs, losers, and miscreants. I love it, and I’m not ashamed to admit it.

I stumbled into Square Enix’s third-person action game while researching a column about dead multiplayer arenas. The one-star game has become sort of a joke around G4’s offices, and I was hoping to find an occasional straggler still logging in to this backwoods of the multiplayer world and ask: “Why the hell are you playing this terrible game?” But when I actually gave Mindjack a fair look, I ended up liking it a lot.

Instead of strolling into a virtual ghost town or an unplayable crap-fest, I chanced into a small, but relatively dedicated community of players and a game that is quirky, weird and sort of great.

I don’t disagree with much of G4’s review of the game. There are huge problems with Mindjack– rough edges, inexplicable design decisions, terrible single-player campaign, and uncomfortably amateurish moments – but overall, it’s a little like punk rock. The musical form is really basic, and it’s played inexpertly, so at first, all you notice are the mistakes, but after you develop a taste for the style, you start to love the rough edges themselves.

The main hook/gimmick of Mindjack is the ability to change into a cyber-ghost (or something) at will and “hack” into other character’s bodies. In single-player, you can switch to a nearby pawn and flank enemies or even take over turrets and monkeys. This mechanic quickly becomes repetitive in the single-player campaign, but the option of jumping into someone else’s campaign is awesome in multiplayer. Think of it like Demon Souls if it were a sci-fi shooter designed by gifted amateurs and enthusiastic 12 year-olds.

Crappiness aside, the joy of jumping into someone else’s campaign and either helping them by jumping into a co-op game, or bedeviling them by taking on the enemies’ AI and shooting them in the face can’t be denied.

Other than floating around like a ghost, Mindjack is a very basic third-person shooter, like a gimped-out version of Gears of War. The controls and response is a little clunky, but serviceable, the cover system usually works, and you can take a lot of damage without dying (or, rather, being forced to vacate your body and take over another one – there’s no real death in the game). All of which makes it perfect for a beginner or someone who isn’t “serious” about multiplayer. Mindjack even offers a rudimentary perk system, so you can earn extra damage, armor or other help through the game.

The game’s very lack of perfect tuning and polish make it great for people who just want to have a little stupid fun and run around shooting people -- no “serious” multiplayer fan will be caught dead playing this instead of Gears 3. Because there aren’t many “veteran” players online, you’re generally only pitted against people who, frankly, kind of suck. But, I suck too, so we’re like one big sucky family.

The steady stream of low-rent newcomers means that you can basically have fun, get a little better, and not get totally owned every five seconds by someone who has devoted his entire life to playing a video game. And if you lose, who cares? It’s Mindjack for god’s sake. It’s impossible to embarrass yourself further. You’ve already surrendered any gamer cred by being there in the first place, what difference is being a bullet-sponge for a few minutes going to make?

Plus entering someone else’s single player campaign feels like griefing, even though it’s officially sanctioned and part of the game. There’s nothing sweeter than changing upon someone else involved in a boss battle and having the ability to take over the AI on the NPC and make things even more difficult [Insert Evil Laugh Here]. The single-player AI sucks so bad, you can justify your pseudo-griefing by imagining you’re actually making the game more fun for the campaigner.

I like to think some of my opponents forgot to turn off the option that lets other people enter their game, and the lower population means it’s truly a surprise when I show up and start shooting them. Like they’re wondering why the AI just changed so significantly and game went from annoying-but-easy to very difficult in seconds. I’ve even received a profanity-laden message from a gamer who warned me to stay out of his game unless I wanted to play co-op. I consider that a victory.

Mindjack is also cheap. You can pick it up used on Amazon for like 6 bucks. So hopefully, I’ll see some of your guys soon. I’m usually Mindjackin’ it after 9 PST on weeknights. There are not many people online, so I’m sure we’ll run across each other. I’m the guy with the high level and extra perks – a medium size fish in a very, very small pond.


Source : http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/723592/reconsidering-mindjack-or-why-playing-smaller-multiplayer-games-is-awesome-even-if-you-suck/