HEADLINES

• Diablo III is all about the player to player auction house!
• Bastion coming to PC on August 16
• PlayStation Network PLAY is (a lot) like Summer of Arcade; starts later this month
• Twisted Metal pushed to ‘early 2012′ worldwide
• Minecraft hits 3 million paid users
• Doom 3 source code going free after Rage launch
• PlayStation Vita coming to US, Europe in early 2012

SOUNDBYTE ME

• BiTBOTiZED by Videogame Orchestra (Free)
• In BiTBOTiZED, Videogame Orchestra have taken some of their favourite tracks from the 20th century and re-imagined them as if played and sung by old games consoles and computers. Rather than simple, innocent themes of love, these tracks are now bursting with 8-bit sounds and technological innuendo!
• Bastion Original Soundtrack ($10 Dollars, and totally worth it!)

DONE DEAL!

• Steam: QuakeCon Pack – (86% Off – $69.99)
• Direct2Drive: Bulletstorm – (60% Off – $11.95)
• GOG: All ‘Heroes of Might & Magic’ and ‘Might & Magic’ games up to 50% off this weekend only

OLD SCHOOLS

• Arcade: Robotron: 2084
• “Robotron: 2084 (also referred to as Robotron) is an arcade video game developed by Vid Kidz and released by Williams Electronics in 1982. It is a shooting game that features two-dimensional (2D) graphics. The game is set in the year 2084, in a fictional world where robots have turned against humans. The aim is to defeat endless waves of robots, rescue surviving humans, and earn as many points as possible. The designers, Eugene Jarvis and Larry DeMar, drew inspiration from other popular media: Nineteen Eighty-Four and Berzerk. A two joystick control scheme was developed to provide the player with more precise controls, and enemies with different behaviors were added to make the game challenging. Jarvis and DeMar designed the game to instill panic in players by presenting them with conflicting goals and having on-screen projectiles coming from multiple directions. Robotron: 2084 was critically and commercially successful. Praise among critics focused on the game’s intense action and control scheme. The game is frequently listed as one of Jarvis’s best contributions to the video game industry. Robotron: 2084 arcade cabinets have since become a sought-after collector’s item. It was ported to numerous platforms, inspired the development of other games, and followed by sequels.”

• PC: Rise of the Triad
• “Rise of the Triad: Dark War (abbreviated as ROTT) is a first-person shooter video game that was first released on February 17, 1995 and developed by Apogee Software (now known as 3D Realms). The members of the development team involved referred to themselves as “The Developers of Incredible Power”. The player can choose one of five different characters to play as, each bearing unique attributes such as height, speed, and endurance. A team of special operatives, known as the H.U.N.T. (High-risk United Nations Task-force), is sent to San Nicolas Island to investigate deadly cult activity taking place in an ancient monastery. Their boat, the only way back, is destroyed by patrols, and the team soon learns that the cult plans to systematically destroy nearby Los Angeles. The operatives, now unable to return whence they came, are then left to fight their way into the monastery on the island, and eventually put a stop to the cult’s activities.”
• “Rise of the Triad was initially, during its early stages of development, meant to serve as the sequel to Wolfenstein 3D, titled Wolfenstein 3D II: Rise of the Triad. The presence of the MP40 sub machinegun and the outfits worn by the enemies allude to Nazi Germany and imply the original aforementioned intent for the development of ROTT (citation needed).”

• Console: NES Hockey
• “Ice Hockey (アイスホッケー?) is a 1988 video game published and developed by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System video game console, based on the sport of the same name. It was released in Japan, and was later released in North America and in some PAL regions. It was originally released for the Family Computer Disk System, It was later re-released for the Wii’s Virtual Console service in Japan, North America, and some PAL regions. Ice Hockey is based on the sport of the same name, with the objective of the game being to get more points than the opposing player by hitting round, black pucks into the opposing goal with a hockey stick. The play and mechanics of Ice Hockey are mostly similar to that of ice hockey in real life. The objective for both team is to hit a black puck with a hockey stick that each player carries into the opponent’s goal. Teams are made up of five players including the goaltender, as opposed to six in real life. Players wear ice skates, which are used to skate across the icy arena. Each game is made up of three periods, with the victory going to the player who has the most points at the end of the game. At the beginning, two opposing players from each team face off in the middle of the rink. There are three kinds of players – the first is fast, weak, and feeble, but is good at the face-off; the second is average in all qualities, and the third is slow and poor at the face-off, but very powerful, both in body checking and shooting strength. The arena is similarly designed to a real-world ice hockey arena. The arena is coated in ice, with a goal on either side of the arena. There are a variety of marked areas, including the goal line that the puck must cross to score, the attacking/defending zone which is situated closely to each goal, the face-off spot, the neutral spot, and others. Each side of the arena has exactly the same design. If two opposing players fight for the puck for a certain amount of time, other players join into the fight, resulting in the player from the losing team in the fight to be put in the penalty box for a period of time.”

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HEADLINES
3DS PRICE DROP IS HUGE!
169.99. Do we all get one now?

Current owners get some free stuff. Hurray?

SOUNDBYTE ME

Tomb Raider Underworld Deluxe Edition Soundtrack (Freeee)

DONE DEAL!

It’s Humble Bundle time again (pay what you want for DRM free games)
Crysis 2 33% off at Amazon
Civ V $11.98 at Greenman gaming
Steam: Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines (75% off – $4.99)
Steam: Dino D-Day – (50% off – $4.99)
Direct2Drive : STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl (75% Off – $4.99)
GoG: Enclave $2.99 (50% off)

Old Schools

Arcade: Swimmer (otherwise known as, “brian versus the first log!”)
“Swimmer is an arcade game developed in 1982 by Tehkan (now known as Tecmo) and published by Centuri. The comic gameplay involves swimming up a river while avoiding logs and various marine life. The player collects fruit to score points and power up to knock enemies out. Players could swim from side to side to avoid obstacles, or press a button to dive under them. The aim of the game is to swim until the character reaches the treasure island.

In 2005, Swimmer was released exclusively on the Xbox, as part of the Tecmo Classic Arcade collection.”

PC: Hard Hat Mack

“Hard Hat Mack is a 1983 Apple II game developed by Michael Abbot and Matthew Alexander. It was the first game published by Electronic Arts. It was later ported to the Amstrad CPC, Atari 8-bit, Commodore 64, Coleco Adam and as a PC Booter.

Overview
Hard Hat Mack was similar to Nintendo’s remarkably successful Donkey Kong game of the previous year, with more gameplay variety and faster action. The player guides a construction worker through a series of goals, making use of open paths, springboards, conveyor belts, and elevators, taking care not to run out of time. Assuming the role of the titular Hard Hat Mack, the player has three lives.
Level One (building framework). The goal is to replace four holes in the floor, and capture a moving jackhammer to secure the plates. At the same time, the player must avoid getting hit by bolts thrown from above, being tagged by a vandal and OSHA representative who circulate through the building, and falling off the edge of the building.
Level Two (construction site). The player guides Hard Hat Mack through a four-level construction site with the goal of collecting five lunchboxes. An OSHA representative blocks the final hurdle, requiring a carefully timed jump.
Level Three (factory). The player collects five boxes and drops each one into a processor. An OSHA representative moves back and forth near one of the boxes, requiring a very careful jump.
At the completion of a round, the game cycles anew with faster gameplay.”

Console: Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel’s Castle (Collecovision)

“Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel’s Castle is a video game in which the player must brave a series of obstacles to rescue Smurfette from Gargamel’s castle. An Intellivision version was planned but never developed or released.[citation needed]

Gargamel has kidnapped Smurfette. As a Smurf, the player has to walk from the Smurf village through a forest and a cave on the way to Gargamel’s castle, where Smurfette awaits rescue. The player has an energy bar that slowly depletes over time. Each side-scrolling screen presents various obstacles that the player must precisely jump over (e.g. fences, stalagmites) or land upon (e.g. ledges). Failure to execute any jump results in instant death. Higher difficulty levels introduce flying bats and spiders that the player must also avoid.

The ColecoVision version of Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel’s Castle contains an Easter egg (or programming error). Upon reaching Smurfette’s screen, the player can return to the previous screen. Just before the screen changes, it will appear as though the top of Smurfette’s dress comes off, making her appear topless.[4] Two of the background music tracks are Simple Gifts and the first movement of Ludwig Van Beethoven’s 6th Symphony, the “”Pastoral”".[citation needed]

The Coleco Vision version was mentioned in The Big Bang Theory season 4, episode 17, “”The Toast Derivation”" (February 24, 2011)”

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And we are BACK!

SOUNDBYTE ME

Solar 2 (Free Soundtrack)

DONE DEAL!

Steam : Zeno Clash – $3.75 (75% off) or City Of Heroes: Going Rogue – $9.99 (67% off)

Direct2Drive : Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood – $19.95 (50% off)

Trapped Dead, 20% off at Steam till July 22nd

Gamers Gate R.U.S.E.: The Art of Deception $7.49 (75% Off)

ODD MOD

Star Wars Conquest (Mount and Blade)

There are three factions in the game: Galactic Empire, Rebel Alliance, and the Hutt Cartel. Each faction includes over 12 different troops (Jedi, Sith, Stormtroopers, Commando’s, Scout Troopers, Rebel Pilots, Skiff Guards, etc) and the mercenaries in the game have been switched to various aliens like Wookiees, Gamorreans, Twileks, Rodians, Trandoshans, and others. All textures for the user interface and in towns/castles/villages have been switched and the map has been switched to a space texture with planets. The Training and Quick Battles have been modified and the Custom Battle Mod and other functionality have also been integrated. Scene editing is in progress and many of the major planets have been modified.

NEW RELEASES

Captain America: Super Soldier (PS3, 360, Wii & DS)
Call of Juarez: The Cartel (PS3 & 360)
Fallout: New Vegas – Old World Blues (PS3, 360 & PC)
Supreme Ruler: Cold War (PC)
Bastion (360 Arcade)
The Smurfs: Dance Party (Wii)

OLD SCHOOL

Golden Axe (arcade)
“Golden Axe is a side-scrolling beat ‘em up and hack & slash arcade video game released in 1989 by Sega for the System 16-B arcade hardware. It is the first game in the Golden Axe series.
Makoto Uchida was the primary developer of the game and also was responsible for the creation of Altered Beast, a similar game. Several ports of the game were created, most notably for the Mega Drive/Genesis and Master System.

The game takes place in the fictional land of Yuria, a Conan the Barbarian-style high fantasy medieval world. An evil entity known as Death Adder has captured the King and his daughter, and holds them captive in their castle. He also finds the Golden Axe, the magical emblem of Yuria, and threatens to destroy both the axe and the royal family unless the people of Yuria accept him as their ruler. Three Warriors set out on a quest to rescue Yuria and avenge their losses at the hands of Death Adder. The first is a battle axe-wielding dwarf, Gilius Thunderhead, from the mines of Wolud, whose twin brother was killed by the soldiers of Death Adder. Another is a male barbarian, Ax Battler, wielding a two handed broadsword looking for revenge for the murder of his mother. The last is a long-sword-wielding Tyris Flare, an amazon, whose parents were both killed by Death Adder.

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