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Fan Outrage Brings the Nuketown 2025 Map Back to Call of Duty: Black Ops II Multiplayer
After suddenly pulling a popular pre-order multiplayer map from Black Ops II online play yesterday, Activision added it back to a new playlist called Chaos Moshpit. Game design director David Vonderhaar from dev studio Treyarch—who delivered the bad news—made it seem possible that the map could come back in a tweet late yesterday: That was…
By Evan Narcisse Published November 20, 2012 -
Activision Suddenly Pulls Nuketown 2025 Map from Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 Multiplayer
Earlier this month, Activision announced that it would let people who pre-ordered the publisher’s latest FPS mega-hit play on a re-imagined version of the popular Nuketown multiplayer map. That part of the promotion turned out to be true. But that access to the special battleground appears to have been suddenly revoked. The sudden bad news…
By Evan Narcisse Published November 19, 2012 -
Yes, the Wii’s Going Away But It Did Pretty Good Things For Mickey Mouse and Warren Spector
Epic Mickey was supposed to be one of the games that pumped new life into the Wii. The 2010 creation carried big expectations with it, namely that the Wii exclusive would be the third-party creation that showed how outside parties could make games as compelling as releases from Nintendo’s internal studios. Things didn’t work out…
By Evan Narcisse Published November 19, 2012 -
Wing Commander’s Spiritual Sequel Sets a New $5.7 Million Video Game Crowdfunding Record
Want proof that people want to soar through the cosmos in video games again? The people who’ve helped Chris Roberts’ upcoming space sim Star Citizen smash through more than $5.7 million of crowdfunding pledges are giving doubters all the evidence they might need. That’s more than any other video game project has raised via crowdfunding.…
By Evan Narcisse Published November 19, 2012 -
These Xbox 360 Black Friday Deals Include A Fancy White Console, an Exclusive Skylanders Figure and More
Sony isn’t the only hardware manufacturer trying to pry open your turkey-addled wallet next week. Microsoft will be partnering up with various retail outlets to offer their game console bundles with hot new games in a variety of configurations. The news comes from Xbox exec Larry “Major Nelson” Hyrb: Walmart will offer an exclusive special…
By Evan Narcisse Published November 16, 2012 -
$200 Gets You These Black Friday Bundles for the Vita and PS3
Black Friday is coming. With that sales-pocalypse in mind, Sony’s just announced a bunch of hardware + software bundles to entice consumers to pick up their home console and handheld. Most of the deals will include games exclusive to Sony hardware— the exception being a Lego Batman bundle for Vita—as well as a PlayStation Plus…
By Evan Narcisse Published November 16, 2012 -
Watch as This Cool Heart Monitor Hack Makes “Call Me Maybe” Sound Even More Ridiculous
Look, at this point, the only thing that Carly Rae Jepsen’s ubiquitous pop hit is good for is experimentation. And, whether you love or hate “Call Me Maybe,” you’ve got to admire what programmer Ryan Challinor—who works at Dance Central and Rock Band developer Harmonix—does to the song. Taking a heart rate monitor connected to…
By Evan Narcisse Published November 16, 2012 -
Next Year, Gabe Newell Becomes a Video Game Hall of Famer
John Carmack’s in there. Will Wright’s in there, too. So are Tim Sweeney, Peter Molyneux and Shigeru Miyamoto. And now Gabe Newell will be joining all of those video game luminaries in the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame According to the AIAS, the Hall of Fame Award goes to “game creators…
By Evan Narcisse Published November 15, 2012 -
The Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation Soundtrack Is A Stealthy Success
Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation , the new portable entry in Ubisoft’s popular historical adventure series, offers up a few genuine surprises. It’s impressive how well Ubisoft managed to cram a fully-packed Assassin’s world onto the handheld PSVita, and players might be surprised at the myriad ways that historical tropes from the African-American experience show up…
By Evan Narcisse Published November 15, 2012 -
EsportsWhat’s Wrong With League of Legends?
League of Legends is a beast. An unassailable success that every other games developer or publisher is trying to figure out. Based on hours of play, it’s the most played video game in the world, notching upwards of 1 billion hours logged every month. Millions of people jump online every day to battle it out…
By Evan Narcisse Published November 15, 2012 -
Skyrim’s Dragonborn DLC Will Bring Players Back to Morrowind, Sort Of
Thanks to last week’s trailer, we already know that the next DLC for Bethesda’s hit action/RPG will be pitting players against the first humanoid to wield dragon powers. And now we know where Dragonborn‘s battles will be happening. New screenshots and details from the publisher reveal that your Dovahkiin will indeed be making a rumored…
By Evan Narcisse Published November 15, 2012 -
This Week’s Nintendo Download Holds Epic, Myst-ifying Monster ShooterDawgs
Thanksgiving is next week. That means you’ll need some games to ignore your family with play when everyone’s in their turkey coma. This week’s offerings include a portable version of Epic Mickey (hey, when’s Oswald getting his own game?!), classic puzzler Myst and a game about dogs working on construction sites. You think they all…
By Evan Narcisse Published November 15, 2012 -
Here’s the Best Way to Travel in Halo 4’s Mongoose
Pity the lowly Mongoose. It’s outshadowed by the flying vehicles in Halo 4. And it’s not even the coolest ground transportation in the game, either. This humble ATV is what you use when nothing better is available. But Achievement Hunters found a way to make the Mongoose one of the more exciting travel options in…
By Evan Narcisse Published November 14, 2012 -
Stevie Wonder’s “Skeletons” Is a Perfect Song for Grand Theft Auto V
The tune you hear in the newest teaser for Grand Theft Auto Vis not one of those Stevie Wonder songs that everyone knows like “My Cherie Amour.” It’s not a song-of-its-moment like “Jungle Fever” either. But “Skeletons” is an ideal match for the newest glimpse of Rockstar’s next big game. Just glance at the lyrics:…
By Evan Narcisse Published November 14, 2012 -
This iPad Game Convinced Me to Be Friends With an Electric Cockroach
I’m not fraidy-scared of bugs. Unlike some childhood friends or past significant others, there’s never been any terrified bolting at the sight of, say, caterpillars or giant moths. I don’t love them either. Instead, I’ve always been fascinated by insect behavior. So I’m kind of glad that Help Volty lets me manipulate bug movements without…
By Evan Narcisse Published November 14, 2012 -
Here’s the Second, All-New Trailer for Grand Theft Auto V
Fans everywhere have absorbed all the tidbits about Grand Theft Auto V ‘s multiple protagonists, its size and cultural aspirations. But none of that is a substitute for seeing the game in action so here’s the latest teaser for Grand Theft Auto V. What are you seeing in this trailer? Share the things that make…
By Evan Narcisse Published November 14, 2012 -
The Witcher’s Creator Doesn’t Play Video Games
You may not know the name Andrzej Sapkowski but you’re probably acquainted with his most famous creation. Sapkowski is the writer responsible for creating Geralt of Rivia, who gamers knows as the star of The Witcher franchise developed by CD Project Red. Those releases have been great games but Sapkowski himself wouldn’t know. He doesn’t…
By Evan Narcisse Published November 14, 2012 -
Three Comics That Have Unexpected Visitors This Week
If you’re here in the Panel Discussion programming block, you might be a lapsed comics reader, trying to find a way back to the JLA Satellite. Or you might someone killing time until you pick up your weekly Wednesday pull list. Or maybe you’ve said goodbye to dozens of longboxes to embrace the promise of…
By Evan Narcisse Published November 13, 2012 -
Call of Duty: Black Ops II Has a Mighty Marvel Comics Easter Egg
Black Ops II is all about the consequences of unmanned war machines running amok under a hostile power. So the last thing you might be expecting to find is a certain Thunder God’s magical weapon as an easter egg. But Mjolnir—the war hammer wielded by Thor—is exactly what GameFront found in Black Ops II, tucked…
By Evan Narcisse Published November 13, 2012 -
The Batman Comics Sequence You Think Best Sums Up the Dark Knight
Batman knows on how to put on a freakin’ show when he wants to. And he’s polite, too. Whenever my brain randomly moves to thoughts of Batman, this is the series of panels that comes to mine. It’s a page from Batman #405, part of the Batman Year One storyline. This 1987 arc contained Frank…
By Evan Narcisse Published November 13, 2012
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