Lollipop Chainsaw gets Evil Dead crossover and release date

Grasshopper Manufacture and Suda 51’s upcoming action brawler, Lollipop Chainsaw, is getting a host of pre-order bonus incentives. At the moment, US gamers can pick from five different outfits for Juliet depending on which store they pre-order from. Considering our local retailers have also begun offering pre-order incentives, it’s likely we’ll be seeing these options in South Africa as well. If not then it’s practically a given that all five outfits will become DLC a few months after the game releases.

One of the outfits is a homage to Ash Williams, the main character from Sam Raimi’s series of cult horror films The Evil Dead and Army of Darkness. It’s odd how instantly recognisable the outfit is. It also makes complete sense considering their shared subject matter.

Other outfits, according to the press release, include a “Pinup” style, “Goth Girl” and “Foxy Funk” seventies style. On top of the pre-order incentive news, it’s been revealed that Jimmy Urine from the band Mindless Self Indulgence will be composing all of the boss battle music and providing the voice over for Zed, one of the punk rock zombie lords. Hit the jump for a trailer loaded with all these announcements.

Posted by Miklós Szecsei Feb 03, 2012

0 Comments

“It’s Payne!” and his amazing gunplay

Back in November last year, Rockstar released the first episode of a five-part series detailing the technology behind upcoming balletic shooter, Max Payne 3. That was MONTHS ago! Fortunately we’ve got another one right here to help fix that icky feeling stemming from the announcement of a delay to the game’s release date.

In this Design and Technology episode, we get to peak at the “Targeting and Weapons” of the game. As can be expected, there are more muzzle-flashes and whizzing bullets than an average day in Syria.

They’ve really gone into meticulous detail insofar as physics and shifting body weight is concerne; Max even compensates his movement and weight distribution depending on the size of the gun he’s holding. Yeah, obsessive doesn’t even begin to describe Rockstar’s focus on how this game’s going to look and feel. Hit the jump for more shooty shooty bang bang than is probably healthy.

Posted by Miklós Szecsei Jan 19, 2012

0 Comments

Ok I am Alive… I’m listening

The last time we looked at some footage of Ubisoft’s download only survival game, I Am Alive, I said I was cautiously optimistic. Now that a second trailer for the game has come out, I’m willing to remove the “cautiously” part and replace it with “totally”. Yes, “totally” will do nicely – I am totally optimistic about this one now.

The trailer focuses on the combat elements of the game, which appear to be somewhat understated. Killing is a last resort as you make your way through the remains of the earthquake-stricken city. I like the fact that you’re being asked to think about things before you pull the trigger, and how you can bluff your way out of a fight. It makes sense considering the predicament everyone finds themselves in during this game.

That and there’s a hunting bow, which means I’m going to run around shooting arrows at people’s knees until I’m the only adventurer left amongst the rubble. Yeah, you thought that joke was old now, didn’t you? Bet you didn’t see that one coming. I’ll let myself out.

Posted by Miklós Szecsei Jan 19, 2012

0 Comments

Meet the guy you need to kill in Lollipop Chainsaw

Suda 51 and Grasshopper Manufacture’s upcoming zombie brawler, Lollipop Chainsaw, stars Juliet Starling: a zombie-slaying cheerleader from San Romero High School. In case you haven’t figured it out by now, the game is somewhat tongue-in-cheek.

Not much is known about the finer plot details, but suffice it to say there’s a zombie outbreak and it’s up to Juliet to sort it out. Luckily for us, publisher Warner Bros. Interactive has released a new trailer for the game. This trailer introduces the game’s main antagonist Swan, a “Goth Geek Bastard” who thinks the world is past its sell-by date.

The trailer has some NSFW language so turn your volume down before hitting play. Anybody else craving a Fizz Pop right about now?

Posted by Miklós Szecsei Jan 13, 2012

0 Comments

Dreadnoughts coming to purge the unclean?

Here’s some good news for fans of THQ’s third-person action game Space Marine. Developer Relic tweeted the above screenshot saying that they have a “big metal surprise coming to @SpaceMarine in January”.

Whether or not we’ll get to play as a Dreadnought or just have them as AI teammates is not certain; at this time all we have to go on is that one tweet and screenshot. In an ideal world we’ll get some single-player DLC in which you play as a Dreadnought ripping through waves of Chaos Marine bastards; at least then we won’t have to hear Orks shouting “Space Marines!” every three seconds… because we’d be a Dreadnought, and there wouldn’t be any Orks. Ideal!

Space Marine wasn’t a bad experience insofar as action games go; you can check out our review here. It certainly wasn’t going to win any Game of the Year awards, but it was definitely worth a playthrough especially for fans of the Warhammer 40K universe. We’ll update you as soon as Relic and THQ reveal more about this possible Dreadnought DLC.

Source: Game Informer

Posted by Miklós Szecsei Dec 28, 2011

0 Comments

New American Nightmare details dragged from the shadows

Remedy’s upcoming Xbox Live Arcade outing for the Alan Wake series started life as a competitive test area for the dev team. Some of the criticisms that their first game received included a lack of enemy variety and far too many confined, wooded environments (wait, people complained about the woods in Alan Wake?). As a result, Remedy created wide-open “killing fields” that they then used to test the new enemy types.

The testing rapidly turned into an in-house competition among the developers. A few days later they realised they’d actually created a game. And so Alan Wake’s American Nightmare was born from the pile of criticism levelled at Remedy.

American Nightmare will be more action and exploration oriented than before. Whereas the first Alan Wake game focused more on narrative than on action, American Nightmare will focus more on the action. That’s not to say that there’s no story to be found; developer Remedy has confirmed that there’s at least five hours of story binding the new survival mode together.

Posted by Miklós Szecsei Dec 20, 2011

0 Comments

Yep, Alan Wake is heading to PC

I think it was what, yesterday or something that we mentioned rumours circulating about Remedy’s Alan Wake finally heading to PC? Well turns out said rumours were totally correct, which makes sense seeing as they were based on an unearthing of Alan Wake mentions on the Steam Content System Record Viewer… thing. I still have no idea what that system does, but man it sounds cool.

So yes, good news then! After two years of waiting, the glorious master race will finally get to play Alan Wake. If you were one of the many understandably irate and scorned PC gamers who shunned all coverage of Alan Wake back when it first released, you might have missed NAG’s review. It’s here if you’re interested.

The best part about all of this news is that both lots of DLC will be included for free in the PC version. Consider it a “sorry we kept you waiting for two years” consolation prize. Each lot of DLC adds a good two hours to the already twelve to fifteen hour game. No actual release date or final price has been confirmed, but we’re guessing the PC version will hit Steam more or less around the same time as Alan Wake: American Nightmare hits Xbox Live.

Source: Joystiq

Posted by Miklós Szecsei Dec 15, 2011

0 Comments

Multiplayer sounds fantastic in Max Payne 3

IGN has put together a piece detailing the multiplayer component of Rockstar’s upcoming Max Payne 3. When one thinks Max Payne they think storyline and, more importantly, Bullet Time. Neither of those are exactly great fits for traditional multiplayer modes. Rockstar knows this, and so they’re developing something fresh and something that fits within the ethos of the Max Payne franchise.

The centre piece for the game’s multiplayer is called Gang Wars. Simply put, Gang Wars is an objective based multiplayer mode for two teams of rival gangs; nothing too different there. What happens in proceeding rounds, however, is where things start to become interesting.

In order to try and weave a narrative into the multiplayer component, the objectives for each team alter depending on the events from the previous round. For example: the entire match might start off as a botched drug deal between the two gangs; you might be tasked with collecting duffle bags of cash or drugs and ferrying them to safe points on your side of the map. While this happens your gang could be winning map territory, or losing it. Either way, the events of this first round dictate the objectives you’ll be given (delivered via a comic book style narrated by Max) for the second.

Posted by Miklós Szecsei Dec 15, 2011

2 Comments

Review: Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One

As someone who prefers to play games solo most of the time, I always get a little bit annoyed when a developer makes a new game in one of my favourite single-player franchises multiplayer focused. Recently, it happened again with Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One, but I’m such a fan of the titular furball and his robotic companion that I was willing to give it try anyway.

Posted by Matthew Vice Dec 01, 2011

0 Comments

Review: Saints Row: The Third

Okay, I’ll just come right out and admit it. I’m not a fan of the Saints Row franchise. The previous two games didn’t exactly blow me away. They seemed cheap compared to the Grand Theft Auto series and even in Saints Row 2, the control system felt clunky and outdated. They had attitude and there was some fun to be had there, but the lack of polish made it hard to enjoy.

With that track record, I wasn’t expecting much from Saints Row: The Third, despite the hype surrounding it. I was even planning to let it pass me by entirely – which, in hindsight, I’m glad I didn’t do. Yes, I was wrong, and Saints Row: The Third managed to exceed my limited and unfair expectations. It’s really, really good.