If DVD’s seem like too much of a hassle to deal with then Netflix is introducing a new plan for subscribers. Netflix will now be offering streaming service only, meaning no discs to be mailed back and fourth as an option for $7.99. There’s also some bad news to go with the good news. Netflix will also be increasing rates for disc based subscribers by a dollar, which also includes unlimited streaming on your Netflix enabled systems. Apparently the war between Google and Bing is something old, the new war of entertainment will have to be Hulu Plus and Netflix. Two enter! One Leaves! That is unless you’re rich, then you can have your cake and eat it too.
Netflix To Offer New Service
Portal 2 Delayed
Valve has dropped a bomb on us all, with the announcement of Portal 2 being delayed until next April. Now Portal 2 is set to release on April 18, 2011, and is considered to be one of the shortest delayed games that Valve has released, the longest of course being Half Life 3. Seems like everyone’s Xbox 360’s, Playstation 3’s, and PC’s get a little bit of a rest until Portal 2 comes out next year.
Black Ops Sets Records
Black Ops has been out a little over a week and has already broken sales records of the previous Call of Duty game Modern Warfare 2. Within the first five days of release of Call of Duty Black Ops Activision, grossed over $650 Million in sales on both Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. Surpassing the previous record by over $100 million with last years Modern Warfare 2, the Call of Duty franchise has been one of the only games to break records two years in a row on all consoles. Updates and DLC’s are all on the way if not out already, and I’m sure that add-on packs are most likely in development as we speak.
Activision to close or sell Bizarre Creations
Rumor broke earlier this week that the acquired studio Bizarre Creations that developed games like The Club, the Project Gotham Racing series and Blur were to be shut down by Activision. The studio was founded in 1994, and acquired by Activision just over three years ago.
Here is Activision’s statement: “Over the past three years since our purchase of Bizarre Creations, the fundamentals of the racing genre have changed significantly. Although we made a substantial investment in creating a new IP, Blur, it did not find a commercial audience. Bizarre is a very talented team of developers, however, because of the broader economic factors impacting the market, we are exploring our options regarding the future of the studio, including a potential sale of the business.”
This all seems a bit haste and in actuality drives the question if the company should have ever been brought by the publishing giant Activision to begin with. Bizarre Creations will undergo a 90-day period which also serves as a 90-day notice to employees that their company is likely to be closed/sold/downsized/etc. but optimism within the company seems to be high as potential buyers are on the rise.
Losing the company to Activision, which meant the end of them creating one of our favorite franchises the Project Gotham Series but to lose them altogether would be real unfortunate. We’ll have more on the story as it breaks.
[Source: Joystiq]
Review: The UnderGarden
When I first heard the title The UnderGarden I could only think of the twisted possibilities of what kind of gruesome and dark game it could be, but low and behold, it was quite the opposite of what my first thoughts were. Developed by Vitamin-G and published by Atari, The UnderGarden can be a very addictive and a visually stimulating game.
Gameplay is very different, if asked how to describe what it’s like I would have to say it’s sort of a 2D version of Flower with puzzles thrown in, with a small hint of sea monkeys.
In the game you play a type of under water fairy who’s job is to make plants grow by pollinating nearby plant life, something along the likes of a worker bee pollinating flowers. When you pass by planted seedlings/flowers, they bloom into colorful plants and trees that give the desolate surrounding areas life and beauty.
The game sounds simple enough, right? Well thrown in the mix are different puzzles and collectible objects throughout each group of stages that unlock extra costumes for your character. Also to enhance the blooming flowers musicians are scattered throughout the level. Musicians alone trigger a small amount of reaction to the flowers, but if you combine all the musicians together not only do flowers flourish but the music becomes much more enjoyable.
Throughout each level there are obstacles and puzzles that will delay your goal of collecting everything, but you don’t need to worry UnderGarden has no time limits nor lives to be lost. Creation is the game and not destruction. With that said simply sitting back and enjoying the pleasures of exploring and creating doesn’t come easier then this. That’s also a draw back to the game since again there is no real way to die but if you get stuck there are checkpoints to go back to.
Vitamin-G created this game to take a break from all the FPS mayhem and carnage, to give you a game where creation is the main goal. With a $10 DLC price on Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, I would recommend this game if you have young kids or would like a beautifully created game to take a break from all the FPS’s and other fast paced games.
Overall = 7.3
Black Ops Patched on PC
PC gamers finally get a leg up on console gamers, that is besides the better graphics, the way video games were supposed to look originally. PC players found out that the multiplayer had been severely bugged with connection problems, with that said Activision jumped on the problem and distributed their patch through Steam. The new patch includes not just fixes to the choppy, laggy, fail connection attempts, but improved performance for dual and quad core processing computers. Now that the PC patch is out, let’s not all forget about the rest of the Black Ops console family!
Gran Turismo 5 Release Date For Real This Time!
Pigs started flying, Hell froze over, and I’m taking your first born… Wait, no, scratch that last one. Miracles are happening, like the release date of Gran Turismo 5! That’s right you read correctly, Polyphony Digital and Sony are releasing their long awaited masterpiece to the world on November 24. So this year when someone asks you what side dish you want to go with your turkey this year tell them you want a side of Gran Tursimo 5.
Debut Trailer for Rockstar’s L.A. Noire
It’s been long over due but Rockstar Games is finally shedding light onto there L.A. Noire game and are releasing the debut trailer. Developed by Team Bondi in conjunction with Rockstar Games, L.A. Noire is a dark and violent detective thriller set against the backdrop of Los Angeles in the post-war years of the late 1940s, the most corrupt and violent period in the city’s history.
Based on performance capture technology that they claim go beyond traditional methods to render every subtlety and nuance of an actor’s facial expressions and emotions. Rockstar Games say that L.A. Noire will be the first game to truly explore what it means to be a detective, offering players the opportunity to solve crimes through a blend of classic action, clue-finding and interrogation, allowing players to analyze every subtle nuance of an actor’s performance in order to get to the truth.
The game is being developed for the Xbox 360 and PS3 so far. This trailer is made entirely from in-game footage and enjoy!
Kinect HACKED!
Last week’s Kinect launch was a huge succes, but with great success comes people or even companies who wants the secret to success. Adafruit Industries, is one of the many who would care to have that secret of Kinect. Founded by two graduates from MIT, the company has offered at $3,000 reward for any developer to create an open-source driver compatible with the Kinect hardware. Recently, videos of the hack have been posted on NUI forums by AlexP, more information of the hack can be found after the jump.
Xbox 360’s Kinect Unboxing Video
Last week Microsoft launched their control free camera Kinect to the masses. If your wondering what the thing looks like then your in luck. We managed to get one in and did a quick unboxing video of some of the context inside. We’ll be doing reviews for some of their launch titles in the coming weeks so stay tuned to that. For now enjoy the video.
