Zombie In A Penguin Suit

This is worth the 7 minutes to watch and is really well done.

Steam Halloween Sale

Steam is powering through a Halloween sale going on now. Check it out HERE.  As you can guess, all the games are horror or vaguely Halloween themed.

Some standouts, IMHO are:

F.E.A.R. 3 for $ 29.99
Bioshock 2 for $ 4.99
Borderlands for $ 4.99
Amnesia (which I *HIGHLY* recommend) for $ 4.00
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Bundle for $ 8.74
Dead Space $ 13.59
Zombie Driver for $ 2.50
Silent Hill Homecoming for $ 13.59 (I'm a sucker for Silent Hill games)
Left 4 Dead 2 for $ 6.79
Resident Evil 5 for $ 9.99

And a host of others.  Even if you own some of these already, this is a great time to buy a copy as a gift for a friend who may not.

Graphical Interface On Your Wrist?

Is this a cool concept or useless one?

DC Universe Will Be Free To Play

More and more MMOs are following the Dungeons and Dragons Online and Lord of the Rings Online model and are becoming Free To Play (Now With Microstransactions!) and Sony Online Entertainment's DC Universe will follow suit on November 1, 2011.  I've never played Everquest or its sequel.  Nor have I ever played the mother of all MMOs, World of Warcraft, because of the Pay Per Month or Pay To Play models they incorporated.  I've always understood why those games charged for their games that way, but I never wanted to be a part of it.  Then D&D Online took a bold step and switched from Pay-to-Play to Free-to-Play and the game's popularity and in-game population skyrocketed.  Many other MMOs have also recovered from losses from switching to that model and I'm glad to see that DC Universe is going to as well.  Now's your (free) chance to become a super hero in the DC Universe.  Details about the different account packages available can be found HERE.

FYI City of Heroes, another superhero genre MMO, has also switched from Pay-to-Play to Free-to-Play (details HERE).

Evolution of the Battlefield MiniMap

Battlefield 3 and Johnny Cash

Today is the big release day for Battlefield 3.  In celebration, I bring to you this video of some Battlefield 3 goodness mixed to Johnny Cash's "God's Gonna Cut You Down."

Skyrim Live Action Trailer

Bethesda has released a live action trailer for the upcoming game, Skyrim, the fifth game in the Elder Scrolls series (releases November 11, 2011).

Level 20 Bard

Battlefield 3 Destruction Gameplay

Playstation Network Hack Attempts

Have you received an official email from Sony Online Entertainment in regards to your Playstation Network ID and a possible hack attempt or asking you to change your password?  Check out this important post from Sony's Chief Information Security Offiicer, Phillip Reitinger (original post LINKAGE):


We want to let you know that we have detected attempts on Sony Entertainment Network, PlayStation Network and Sony Online Entertainment (“Networks”) services to test a massive set of sign-in IDs and passwords against our network database. These attempts appear to include a large amount of data obtained from one or more compromised lists from other companies, sites or other sources. In this case, given that the data tested against our network consisted of sign-in ID-password pairs, and that the overwhelming majority of the pairs resulted in failed matching attempts, it is likely the data came from another source and not from our Networks. We have taken steps to mitigate the activity.

Less than one tenth of one percent (0.1%) of our PSN, SEN and SOE audience may have been affected. There were approximately 93,000 accounts globally (PSN/SEN: approximately 60,000 accounts; SOE: approximately 33,000) where the attempts succeeded in verifying those accounts’ valid sign-in IDs and passwords, and we have temporarily locked these accounts. Only a small fraction of these 93,000 accounts showed additional activity prior to being locked. We are currently reviewing those accounts for unauthorized access, and will provide more updates as we have them. Please note, if you have a credit card associated with your account, your credit card number is not at risk. We will work with any users whom we confirm have had unauthorized purchases made to restore amounts in the PSN/SEN or SOE wallet.

As a preventative measure, we are requiring secure password resets for those PSN/SEN accounts that had both a sign-in ID and password match through this attempt. If you are in the small group of PSN/SEN users who may have been affected, you will receive an email from us at the address associated with your account that will prompt you to reset your password.

Similarly, the SOE accounts that were matched have been temporarily turned off. If you are among the small group of affected SOE customers, you will receive an email from us at the address associated with your account that will advise you on next steps in order to validate your account credentials and have your account turned back on.

We want to take this opportunity to remind our consumers about the increasingly common threat of fraudulent activity online, as well as the importance of having a strong password and having a username/password combination that is not associated with other online services or sites. We encourage you to choose unique, hard-to-guess passwords and always look for unusual activity in your account.

The Avengers Official Trailer

Here is the official premier trailer for The Avengers (release date: May 4, 2012).

Gran Turismo 5 Spec 2.0 Update Details

Taken from the official site HERE

A new update has been released for Gran Turismo 5. The main contents of the update are as follows:
[Major Changes and New Features]

• Standard Cars now given simplified cockpit views - The over 800 standard cars included in the game are now given simplified cockpit views. You can change your view using the SELECT button when racing, to change your display to the exciting cockpit view.

*Unlike the cockpit view of premium cars, the simplified cockpit is shown in a dark silhouette, and the gauges used for the car will be standard in-game instruments.

• New Opening Movie - A new opening movie is now available from "Gran Turismo TV". When you download this movie, it will replace the current opening movie. The previous version will be viewable within Gran Turismo TV.
• Addition of the weather change menu - On some tracks with weather changes, it is now possible for the user to set time and weather changes from the Quick Menu in both the Arcade Mode, and "Practice" of the GT Mode. Also, you can make more detailed time and weather changes while editing in the course maker and in the online lounge.
• Multiple car settings/save feature - We’ve added a setting sheet feature that allows you to save multiple car settings. From the [Setting Sheet] on the lower right of the screen, you can check the current settings. You can switch between 3 settings A, B, and C, allowing you to change between your personal settings easily according to the type of race and your objectives.
• Added 11 NASCAR cars

The newest NASCAR 2011 models have been added to the car dealerships. The added cars are the following:
Toyota 2011 Denny Hamlin #11 FedEx TOYOTA CAMRY '11
Chevrolet 2011 Tony Stewart #14 Office Depot CHEVROLET IMPALA '11
Toyota 2011 Kyle Busch #18 M&M'SR TOYOTA CAMRY '11
Toyota 2011 Joey Logano #20 The Home Depot TOYOTA CAMRY '11
Chevrolet 2011 Jeff Gordon #24 Drive to End Hunger CHEVROLET IMPALA '11
Chevrolet 2011 Juan Montoya #42 Target CHEVROLET IMPALA '11
Ford 2011 AJ Allmendinger #43 Best Buy FORD FUSION '11
Chevrolet 2011 Jimmie Johnson #48 Lowe's CHEVROLET IMPALA '11
Toyota 2011 Brian Vickers #83 Red Bull TOYOTA CAMRY '11
Chevrolet 2011 Dale Earnhardt Jr. #88 AMP Energy/National Guard CHEVROLET IMPALA '11
Ford 2011 Carl Edwards #99 Aflac FORD FUSION '11

• Added the Nissan GT-R N24 Schulze Motor Sports - The Nisssan GT-R N24 Schulze Motor Sports has been added to the car dealer. This is the car entered in the 2011 Nurburgring 24 hour race by Schulze Motorsports of Germany, and is the very car in which Kazunori Yamauchi drove and achieved a class victory.
• Avatar now usable in Photo Travel - An Avatar ON/OFF feature has been added to Photo Travel. Now you can photograph your avatar together with your car. You can turn the driver avatar ON/OFF by pressing the △ button while positioning the car.
• Replay Fast Forward/Rewind -All replay videos recorded after the 2.0 update will have [Forward] [Rewind] buttons. You can now easily search for the scene you are looking for and play back a certain section whenever you want to, adding even more fun to the photo mode.
• Improved Online Lounge - [Car Restrictions] has been added in the regulations. You can now limit participants to specific categories such as "NASCAR" and "Super GT". Also, there are now more cars that can be used in shuffle races, and a new "Shuffle Base" setting allows you to set the performance level of cars allocated to each player. For details, please see Top screen - [Manual] - [Online Race] - [Event Settings] and the "Regulation Settings".
• Additional features to Remote Racing - A "Graph Display" has been added to the remote race screen in GT My Home of granturismo.com, where you can enjoy B-Spec racing. This allows you to visually see the changes in positions in each lap. A time difference display for each car in the race has also been added.
• New Photo Stage Added - The "Indy: NASCAR Pit Stop" stage has been added to photo travel. We invite you to come see and capture the energy of NASCAR's famous pit stops.
• Addition of the Consecutive Login Bonus - When a user logs in consecutively, a bonus will now be applied to experience and race rewards. It will increase to 110% in the 1st day, 130% in the 2nd day, 150% in the 3rd day, 170% in the 4th, to a maximum of 200% in the 5th day. This will apply to all events both online and offline, so logging in every day will make the game progress faster.
• DLC (Downloadable Content) Compatibility - A [Downloadable Content] button has been added to the lower right of the top screen. Here you can install content purchased from the PlayStation®Store. Please refer to the product information page of gran-turismo.com for details regarding downloadable content.

*The release of the DLC is planned for 18th October, 2011.

• Official Support for the G25/G27 Racing Wheels - The Logitech G25 Racing Wheel and G27 Racing Wheel are now officially supported. You can now change button assignments for various racing controls on these wheels.

[Other Improvements]

• User interface improvement
• Quick Menu can now be accessed while the race is loading.
• It is now possible to save and resume endurance races.
• Two NASCAR cars selectable in Arcade Mode have been changed from the 2010 models to 2011 models.
• In the Arcade Settings of [Options], AI Car Characteristics settings has been added. You can now change the aggressiveness of the AI against you in Arcade races.
• Some effects of Traction Control have been adjusted. When the TCS level is set to 1, it will not come into effect as much especially in tight corners on dirt tracks.
• Surface Water and Tire Load Indicator displays have been added to the race screen. The Tire Load Indicator can be set from the Quick Options menu that is displayed during the race (when the game is paused using the START button), or the standard Options menu.
• The option to Create Thumbnails for All Cars has been added to the context menu of the Garage. This will update the thumbnails of all cars in the garage.
• Experience gained in online races have been increased by 60%, and rewards have been increased by 66%.
• You can now change the Slipstream Strength settings in the lounge.
• In the Lounge and in [Option] - [General] - [Arcade], it is now possible to turn Visible Damage ON or OFF.
• Drivetrain settings has been added to the regulation settings in the Lounge.
• A setting to prohibit "Tuning" of cars has been added to the regulations settings in the Lounge.
• Adjusted the driving speed of formula cars in banks, and auto-drive when coming onto straights.
• Added a button to [Reset Playlist to Original Settings] under the settings menus of [Menu BGM], [Race BGM] and [Slideshow BGM].
• Personal BGM can now also be set in [Slideshow BGM]
• A new brand "AMG" has been added to the MUSEUM.

[Correction of Known Issues]

• Corrected an issue where the "Torque Sensing Center Differential" installed on a Lancer Evolution X was not functioning.
• Fixed an issue where you could participate in the Intermediate/Tarmac Rally of the Gran Turismo Rally in a Ferrari F1 by using the power limiter.
• Fixed an issue where the Controller Steering Sensitivity was not applied correctly.
• Fixed an issue where there was a server connection problem in certain network environments.
• Fixed an issue where auto-drive would make braking mistakes.
• Fixed an issue where the system would misjudge whether deceleration happens in time when making pit stops in the rain.

[To Check Your Current Version]
To check the version of your software, press the "Manual" button at the bottom of the main menu screen. The version number will be located on the upper left of the index page.
If the number starts with Ver. 2.00, you are playing the latest version of the game.
If not, please press the PS button and exit the game. The game will be updated automatically when you restart it with your PS3™ system connected to the internet.

Battlefield 3 beta Crawling Glitch

Here is an example of a glitch that has been seen on more than a few occasions in the Beta build for Battlefield 3




And here is an example of that very same glitch in real life.

Interactive Trailer for Orcs Must Die!

The developers of the upcoming Orcs Must Die! (releases October 5 for XBox Live Arcade and October 12 for PC), Robot Entertainment, have released an interactive trailer on YouTube. I never thought a first person perspective for a tower defense game would work, but this has me thinking otherwise. That's right: I really said it's going to be an FPS Tower Defense game.

Anyway, they shot something like 60 different videos just to make up all the possible choices for the impressive trailer. Check out Part One below.

Exclusive Battlefield 3 In-Game Jet Footage

Believe me: you're going to want to watch this.

PS3's Long Live Play "Michael" Ad

If you'll remember THIS POST then you'll know Sony was going to do a follow up... and here it is:



As a love letter to gamers, Sony has absolutely nailed it.  This ad was deep fried in kickass and drizzled with awesome sauce.  They even went so far as to get all of the original voice actors to do their respective characters (Nolan North for Drake, David Hayter for Solid Snake, Roger Craig Smith for Ezio, etc) and inserted a metric shit ton of delicious gaming references.  See below for what some other folks on the internets have discovered (if some of the pics are tough to see below, make sure you click to embiggen).

Captain America & Thor

Shot taken while filming The Avengers (releases May, 2012) of Thor and Captain America.

World's Greatest Travelling Band