Level up is back with our final column before Christmas and with a load of news to pass along…which is a good thing because new releases of any interest continue to be non-existent. There’s news on the first download content for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, as well as a Skylanders online game that the kids are going to love.Thanks for joining us and have a Merry Christmas!
First DLC for Call of Duty Modern Warfare…but only for Xbox!
The first batch of downloadable content for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 will be available in about a month's time, but only for Call of Duty Elite subscribers on Xbox 360 at first. Microsoft's exclusivity deal on Call of Duty DLC continues and will allow Elite subscribers on Xbox Live to be the very first ones to receive the new downloadable content. PlayStation 3 will have to wait a bit longer. No official word on what the DLC will be and also unclear is how long of a wait there will be for non-Elite subscribers, a group that represents the majority of players on 360 and PS3.
Skyrim tops Ten Million units sold!
ZeniMax Media Inc. today announced that 10 million units of Bethesda Softworks’ The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim have been shipped for the Xbox 360, PS3 computer and PC, representing approximately $650 million in retail sales since its release on November 11.
Skyrim has already garnered over two dozen ‘Game of the Year’ awards from major outlets worldwide, including winning the top honor of Game of the Year at the 2011 Video Game Awards which are voted on by a panel of editors from the industry’s most respected magazines and websites….Now, lets just fix those lag issues with all that profit!
Class action lawsuit filed against Sony over new Terms of Service
Now how’s this for irony… A Terms of Service clause seeking to prevent PlayStation 3 owners from suing Sony or entering into a class action lawsuit against the company HAS resulted in a class action lawsuit against Sony. The lawsuit was filed against Sony in Northern California in late November. This was done by a man on behalf of PS3 owners who bought a PS3 and signed up for PSN before September, when the updated version of the Terms of Service were released.
Embedded in the fine print that these things consist of was a clause that would prevent console owners from being a part of a class action lawsuit against Sony. Sony's interest in doing this is understandable as it's trying to safeguard itself against losing money in a potential lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges unfair business practices as PS3 owners have to either forfeit their rights or their access to PSN. It's also pointed out that the clause was buried in the Terms of Service, which were not made readily available online, and that the only means for opting out of that clause is to mail a physical letter within 30 days of agreeing to the ToS. Stay tuned!
Transformers: Fall of Cybertron behind-the-scenes trailer
Now that the cinematic trailer for Transformers: Fall of Cybertron has been released, check out the team at High Moon studios created the trailer with this behind-the-scenes trailer:
Ubisoft releases Ancestors DLC pack for Assassin’s Creed Revelation
Ubisoft has released The Ancestors Character Pack, all-new downloadable content for Assassin’s Creed Revelations for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Windows PC. The Ancestors Character Pack is available for download at the suggested price of 320 Microsoft Points on Xbox LIVE and $3.99 on PlayStation Network and Windows PC.
The Ancestors Character pack extends the Assassin’s Creed Revelations experience with features that include:
New multiplayer characters: the swashbuckling Privateer, the devious siren Corsair, the battle-tested Brigand and the bloodthirsty Gladiator
Personalized taunts, weapons and stylized assassination moves
New Achievements and Trophies to earn
Multiplayer customization items
The Nightmare Before Christmas Comes to Disney Universe
Christmas gets a little creepy when Jack Skellington and company descend into the Disney Universe! The new “Nightmare Before Christmas” level is now available exclusively for Xbox LIVE and the PlayStation Network, and allows players to suit up as Jack Skellington, Sally, Oogie Boogie, Doctor Finklestein or even the Mayor of Halloween Town and bring along a bit of spooky holiday cheer!
New DLC for Duke Nukem Forever!
The Doctor Who Cloned Me, a brand new downloadable expansion pack for Duke Nukem Forever that includes a wealth of single- and multi-player content,is now available for $9.99 via PlayStation Network and 800 Microsoft Points via Xbox LIVE.
The Doctor Who Cloned Me is bursting with hours of the over-the-top Duke goodness that fans love. Deep in the heart of Area 51, Dr. Proton has been hatching his maniacal plan. Fueled by new ego boosts, Duke is ready to take on evil clones, alien queens and anything else that comes his way in order to save the world and his babes! This full, new single-player campaign includes brand new weapons, all-new enemy types and bosses, more Achievements/Trophies and many more interactive items within the world.
Additionally, The Doctor Who Cloned Me adds four new multiplayer maps to the mix:
Sky-High: The alien-infested corporate offices of Pooty, Inc. near the center of Las Vegas . This map includes three indoor floors taken over by the aliens and two rooftops, jump pads, stairwells, and building-to-building combat.
Command: EDF command center with an imprisoned BattleLord at its core! A two-level map featuring winding stairs, straightaway corridors, and jump pads.
Drop Zone: Rooftop of Duke’s Lady Killer Casino featuring indoor and outdoor combat and stairwells for platforming, an EDF dropship on landing pad, and a bottomless pit.
Biohazard: Fight in the Breston Plant Nuclear Power facilities and compete across multiple floors in locker rooms, restrooms with showers, control rooms, and the nuclear waste storage room.
Activision launches Skylanders Spyro's Universe
Skylanders Spyro's Adventure adds yet another imaginative dimension to kids' social play with the beta launch of Skylanders Spyro's Universe, a vast virtual world for kids to engage with Skylanders characters and their fellow players. Activision Publishing, Inc., pulled back the curtain on this dramatic expansion of the franchise, further bolstering the variety and value of one of the most innovative and platform-inclusive digital playgrounds ever devised.
"We conceived Skylanders as a unique, multi-platform experience from the beginning, simultaneously grand in scope yet incredibly easy for kids to embrace," said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing. "You can play with friends in the real world or on consoles, Nintendo 3DS, Mac or PC, and now on the web in Skylanders Spyro's Universe. If there's a screen where kids play, we want the Skylanders to come to life there. This also further enhances the play options of every Skylander character."
Found online at universe.skylanders.com, Skylanders Spyro's Universe is a fantasy realm of floating islands designed to encourage world-building, exploration and friendly competition. Kids can craft and customize their own Skylands, play mini-games like Sheep Shot, Sky Defense and Castle Assault, rendezvous with friends and investigate Skylands far and wide, or manage their toy collection and earn achievements. Players who already own the game or figures can input the code supplied with each interaction figure, or use the Portal of Power™ to bring them to life inside the universe. Those who don't can join the fun simply by creating a free online account. Eon, the helpful Skylanders guide, will provide new visitors with a digital starter kit and an array of new adventures to discover over time.
Sony Announces Sorcery coming Spring 2012
PlayStation brings the world of magic and wizardry to life with Sorcery, the newest addition to the PlayStation Move motion controller software line-up.
The Nightmare Queen has broken the ancient pact with mankind and threatens to cover the land in eternal night. As a young sorcerer’s apprentice, it is up to the player to master the arcane arts and fight back the foul creatures of this magical realm. Sorcery puts the power in the players’ hands using the PlayStation Move motion controller and letting them conjure and command powerful magic as they brave the dark world of the Faerie Kingdoms.
On their journey, players will encounter a multitude of enemies, solve ingenious puzzles, learn powerful spells, and craft strange potions with the in-game alchemy system. With over eight spells that can be used in various combinations and countless items to discover and collect, Sorcery immerses players in a unique fantasy adventure like never before.
Features:
A REAL MAGIC WAND – Use the PlayStation Move motion controller as your magic wand. Cast extraordinary magic spells, brew enchanted elixirs, solve ingenious puzzles, and defeat the forces of darkness!
UNIQUE COMBO SYSTEM – The gesture-based casting system lets you chain together basic spells into powerful combos. Freeze and shatter your enemies, electrocute them with lightning called down from the heavens, or
incinerate them in a lethal firestorm!
DEVELOP YOUR CHARACTER – Collect magic items, learn new spells, and concoct upgrade potions, to turn your humble apprentice into an unstoppable magic force!
A LUSH AND VARIED WORLD – Explore five unique realms, each with their own enemies and challenges. Descend into the kingdom of the dead to battle the Banshee and the Restless Dead warriors, venture into the endless stair where vicious bogies are wreaking havoc, brave the faerie forest, raid the Slumbering Palace to free Lord Fey, the Faerie King, and much more! Check out the trailer:
Twisted Metal Mr. Grimm Trailer Released
Twisted Metal will be reborn in February 2012 for the Playstation 3 and as we countdown the days to street date check out the new Mr. Grimm trailer as the iconic figure returns for another ride:
REVIEWS
Need for Speed: The Run (EA) Rated T PS3
Need for Speed: The Run combines racing action with a thrilling storyline to make this one of the most enjoyable NFS titles to date. The San Francsico to New York road rally is more than just a race for money and fame…for main character Jack Rourke it’s also a race for his very life. Jack has gotten in trouble with an organized crime group and owes them a lot of money. No longer willing to wait on payment, the crime bosses want him dead. Jack finds salvation in the 3000 mile race. If he can win, he will get more than enough cash to pay off his debt. But Jack has a lot of obstacles to overcome. First off he has to beat over 200 other drivers to win the race. Next up, law enforcement in every city from San Francisco to New York is looking to bust every driver taking part in the race. Finally, for some reason the criminal organization does not want him to complete the race which is kind of stupid since they’d be getting their money back but who am I to question the mob. The police will setup roadblocks to try and stop you and while they don’t pose much of a threat its still fun to beat their roadblocks.
First off, NFS: The Run is a great looking game. The scenery that you travel on takes you from the big cities to treacherous mountain roads, to the glitz of Las Vegas and even my native Detroit. There are over 300 km of track, three times more than Hot Pursuit, making it the biggest Need For Speed game yet. The game is built on DICE’s Frostbite 2 gaming engine and is the first non-shooter to use the famed engine. This makes for some different game mechanics than seen in previous NFS games. It is squarely in the middle of being an arcade racer and a racing sim and it does a great job of hitting a happy medium. While a lot of racing games tend to over steer and slide with the slightest turn of the wheel, NFS: The Run tends to under steer, allowing you a little more control, especially in taking sharp turns. You can virtually hug the wall but you do have to allow for greater braking/slowdown distance. It’s a system that will take come getting used to but there’s so much road to tackle (over 3 times more than Hot Pursuit) that you’ll have a lot of road on which to practice. The cars choices feature an eclectic mix of exotic foreign and domestic muscle cars including The Ford Shelby GT500, Chevy Camaro Zl1, 2.Lamborghini Aventador, Porsche 911 GT2, 12.BMW M3 E30 Sport Evolution, and the 14.Ford Taurus Police Interceptor, to name a few. The cars can be altered with performance upgrades and visual upgrades, such as paint colors and body kits. There will be cosmetic body kits known as Style Pack kits and Aero Pack kits, which will affect aerodynamics as well as performance.
Now Jack can change cars and often will need to depend upon the next leg of his journey. Muscle cars are great for straightaways but not often best for roads that twist and turn where a better handling car is a must. Fortunately you can change out cars at gas stations you find along the way. Different challenges await you in your race. Some objectives have you needing to beat the clock and get to a point within a certain timeframe. Others require you to pass a certain number of opponents on a leg of the race. Meeting your objectives results in earning Experience Points which can be used for unlocking other vehicles and racing events. The game also has a rewind option to allow the player to restart an event to the last checkpoint if they wreck their vehicle or missed an objective.
One of the things that drew some criticism when the game was first showed off was the quick-time events featured in the game which are essentially out-of-the car sequences that are supposed to forward the story. They don’t really do what they are intended and quite frankly are annoying, especially due to longer than average load times, but these are a relatively small part of the overall game. More annoying is that you can’t replay events without having to re-do entire stages including the infernal quicktime events and cutscenes with their excessive load times. Need for Speed: The Run also features a multiplayer mode that lets you compete in online matches with up to 16 players. There’s a good variety of online race types including Exotic Sprint and Muscle Car Battles which are exactly what they sound like. And of course you can keep track of all your stats with the leader boards.
Need for Speed: The Run has some great gameplay and I love the actual racing sections. Mixing in a story is a great idea but it simply wasn’t pulled off that well. The main characters of Jack and Sam fall a little flat and the quick-time events and cutscenes drag the action to a grinding halt more than they add to the experience. Grade B
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Damm X-Box...COD is on both system, stop trying to get things first dammit...