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Mirror’s Edge Demo Comes To PS3, Xbox 360

Mirror's EdgeThe new first person parkour/fps game, Mirror’s Edge, has just come out in demo form on the and .  If you are not familiar with the concept, the game features a first person perspective of scaling buildings and obstacles, much like Prince of Persia, but with a little more realism in the storyline.  You can download now on the Xbox Live Marketplace or PSN Store.


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Call of Duty 4 Beta Ends September 30th

Call of Duty 4

Robert “402” Bowling from Infinity Ward has posted about some upcoming changes to the Call of Duty 4 beta on his blog. The most significant announcement is the closing of the beta on September 30th, but he also revealed that two days prior the level cap, which has been at 16 for a couple of weeks after being lifted from the initial cap of 11, will go up to 25. That gives beta testers only two days to jump from 16 to 25 before the beta closes down in anticipation of the game’s release November 5th.

Part of the post hinted that CoD4 had gone gold, but Bowling refused to come right out and say it, saving the announcement for more official channels. He did say that Infinity Ward had received congratulations from the Sony of America and the Xbox 360 certification team, which leaves little room for doubt that the game is in the final stages before shipping.

The beta has been an excellent marketing tool for Infinity Ward since the strength of the game is quite evident from the limited, multiplayer-only test version. Even though the game is likely gold, the beta continues for developers to continue gathering data for the inevitable title upgrades and expansion packs. The raising of the level cap so close to the end of the beta is, speculatively, due to the launch of a certain multiplayer juggernaut a few days prior.

Read More | Fourzerotwo's Blog

Amazing New Halo 3 Videos

Any gamer with even an inkling of interest in Halo 3 should head over to Gamersyde right away and check out some of that site’s stunning off-screen campaign footage, a sample of which we have posted above.  This video shows off the game’s unique replay feature, which allows you to record and play back entire levels of the single player campaign, as well as multiplayer matches, at your leisure.  Players can then use the footage to analyze their enemy’s defenses, exploit weaknesses, and polish their own skills to a Legendary sheen.  Note how the Bungie representative in the video uses the feature to check up on the exploits of a group of Marines on the other side of the battlefield!  This is awe-inspiring stuff.

Halo 3 hits the Xbox 360 on September 25th, but of course you already knew that.

Read More | Gamersyde

Is BioShock a Perfect Game?

BioShock: 10/10?

The reviews have been coming in for a week now, and they have been phenomenal. Consider that according to GameRankings.com, BioShock is the 4th best game of all time. On Metacritic, has received more perfect 100 scores than even The : Ocarina of Time, usually the game cited as the best of all time. Clearly, ‘s Mature-rated, failed utopia FPS is a critical smash hit.
Perhaps then there is little need for another glowing review of the game. Except this is not a glowing review in the strictest sense, because BioShock is not exactly the masterpiece of perfection indicated by these scores. Instead, BioShock is a wonderful game that happens to draw to light the inadequacies of the way games are typically reviewed and the inherent inconsistencies of how games are judged.

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Bioshock Arrives to High Praise

BioshockBigDaddy

With just a month away, its promotion and hype engines are running at an almost deafening volume. The buzz has been so loud that Bioshock, an and PC shooter set amidst the ruins of a rapidly declining utopia, snuck up on us more or less under the radar. Now that it’s here, though, it looks like a sure winner, featuring a compelling story, unmatched graphics, and a fantastic overall experience.

takes place in the underwater colony known as Rapture. Built as a haven for the best and the brightest members of society, Rapture has become a cesspool of insane former virtuosos who are all hopelessly addicted to a DNA-altering drug called Adam. Apparently not satisfied with their natural gifts, the denizens of Rapture used Adam to supercharge their intellects and multiply their talents. Unfortunately, everyone became dependent on the substance, and if one doesn’t get enough, he loses his mind and his face falls off. Sounds quaint, doesn’t it? As your character explores Rapture, he’ll run across a variety of violent junkies called splicers, as well as enormous armored supersoldiers called Big Daddies. While standard weaponry can hold off splicers, fighting Big Daddies is a strategic affair. Attempting a frontal assault is suicide, so your character needs to get smart and use the supernatural powers granted by Adam to take them down. Yep, you’re using Adam, too. Are you going to end up a hopeless, addicted mess like everyone else? Who knows, but the engrossing storyline has a fair share of twists that could lead you anywhere.

Bioshock hits stores everywhere tomorrow, so be ready. It looks to be one of the season’s best buys.

Read More | GamePro

Call of Duty 4 Multiplayer Looking Fresh and Innovative

CoD4

With , series creator Infinity Ward is determined to change a lot of things. Aside from the obvious temporal leap forward from World War II to the present, the game is set to provide us with a pretty unique multiplayer offering. Imagine a game that offers a variety of character and equipment upgrades as you gain combat experience. Sounds like an , doesn’t it? In fact, what we have here is a unique blend of shooter and RPG elements that gives players the chance to create a custom supersoldier as they improve.

Although Call of Duty 4 is still a shooter like many others, its multiplayer modes are slated to include a bevy of opportunites to earn skill points. These points may be earned via straight kills, assists, or headshots, as well as by more unorthodox means such as by killing a foe through a wall or even taking a dive off a building. These points will lead to promotions through the military ranks and the availability of new weapons, more powerful ammo, or unique tactical advantages. For example, you may be able to automatically drop a live grenade at your feet whenever you’re killed. In order to keep players from getting too powerful, some of the more devastating upgrades will feature drawbacks designed to level the field somewhat. This level of customization looks like an exciting new direction for the genre that should allow each player to build a character suited to his or her own style. Combined with a variety of new maps and gameplay modes, Call of Duty 4 could be a winner with tons of variety. We can expect a playable beta version later this month, and the game itself is scheduled for a November release. Keep an eye out for it!

Read More | Gamespot

Halo 3 Pre-orders Top One Million, Merchandising Blitz Begins

Halo 3 Burger King

won’t be out until September 25th, but the hype machine is already well in gear.  Microsoft has just announced that pre-sale numbers for ‘s upcoming behemoth have already exceeded one million copies.  Chris Di Cesare, Microsoft’s director of creative marketing, says, “This September, Halo 3 will push video game entertainment into the forefront of mainstream culture.”

And he’s not kidding.  Microsoft is backing up its big gun by way of some big merchandising deals with major brands.  For starters, Pepsi is releasing a Halo-branded version of Mountain Dew, called Mountain Dew Game Fuel.  7-11 is getting in on the action with Halo-themed Slurpee cups, as well as a Doritos promotion.  Not wanting to be left out in the cold, Burger King will be doing its own in-store promotions, Pontiac is launching a Halo 3- themed contest, and Comcast will offer its subscribers all kinds of downloadable Halo goodies.  Phew! A marketing campaign of this depth and scope is truly unprecedented in the gaming industry.

Read More | Next Generation

Xbox Live Arcade 8/1: Marathon: Durandal And Spyglass Board Games

Spyglass Board Games Xbox Live Arcade

Marathon: Durandal and Spyglass Board Games are now available on the Xbox Live Arcade, as previously announced. Marathon is an old-school FPS originally developed by Bungie, the guys behind Halo. While you may not have had a chance to play it before – or even hear of it – it’s a game that introduced many mechanics into the FPS genre that have been taken for granted for years now, like dual wielding. The game will run you 800 Microsoft Points, or $10. If you liked Doom, be sure to give Marathon a shot.

Spyglass Board Games is a compilation of four very popular classic board games: chess, checkers, mancala, and reversi. Given its cheap price (400 points; $5) and Vision Camera support, it’s definitely something worth picking up if you enjoy any of the included games.

Check after the break for more details on both games.

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E3 2007: Preview: Fallout 3 Details And Impressions

Fallout 3 teaser poster

Here’s a quick rundown of what we learned from Bethesda‘s demonstration of Fallout 3.

Story: Post-apocalyptic teen ventures out of underground vault in which he’s been born and raised to find his dad and his fate in new-post nuclear world. Mutants, animals and humans hate you.

Setting: Washington DC, both downtown and outskirts.

Look: It’s Bethesda. Of course it looks good - for a post apocalyptic world. Very cool mix of art deco and post-modern ‘50s kitsch.

More after the break.

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E3 2007: Check Out The Vehicles In This Unreal Tournament 3 Gameplay Video

I’m a huge, huge fan of Unreal Tournament – I have been ever since the original was released on PCs nearly a decade ago. It’s about time we got a true sequel, as opposed to the incremental upgrade of Unreal Tournament 2004 (it’s been what, nearly five years since the true sequel in UT 2003?). The gameplay footage above focuses on vehicles quite a bit, but you can tell that this is still the same fast-paced, crazy shooter that made the original game so special. I can’t wait for some next-gen Instagib.


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