Luke Plunkett

Vagrant Story Dated For (PAL) PlayStation Store Release

Last month, we received the uplifting news that Square’s classic Vagrant Story was on its way to the PAL PlayStation Store. Thing is, back then, it didn’t have a release date. It does now! And that date is Tuesday, December 22, which we guess must also be the day Europe’s PlayStation Store is update next…

FFXIII Home Goodies Arrive, Aren’t Quite “Free”

Like we said, there’s now some Final Fantasy XIII gear available in the Japanese version of PlayStation Home. Thing is, it isn’t as free as first believed/hoped. The only thing that’s free is a personal space, and that’s only free until January 14, after which it’ll cost ¥600. Everything else, from chairs to rugs to…

Quake Wars Goes Online, Learns Korean

Splash Damage have announced today that Korean developers Dragonfly are working on an online-only version of Quake Wars, called…Quake Wars Online. It’s moving into beta as we converse, with 100,000 spots available, but since those spots are Korea-only, that information is presented only as information, not a recommendation. Still, you’d expect the final game to…

Aliens vs Predator Not Entirely Banned From Australian Consoles

Sega’s Aliens vs Predator may have been effectively “banned” in Australia, but Sega are still plugging away, with a trailer released this morning on the Australian PlayStation Store. Hilarity ensues. Not for the contents of the trailer, mind you, but for the MA15+ rating the trailer carries, and veritable baggage train of rating warnings along…

TF2’s War Ends With New Item, New Maps

And just like that, the war is over. The Soldiers, victorious, the Demomen, less so. The saying decrees that the victors get the spoils, and since the Soldiers won, their spoils are on the way. Spoils which come in the form of the final update to the game’s characters for the week. Since the Soldiers…

Sun Rises, We Have More Mass Effect 2 Screens

Wondering why there’s been so much Mass Effect 2 media lately? The game is out next month. These January games have a habit of sneaking up on you like that.

Splinter Cell Conviction Goes All Riggs & Murtaugh

There are two kinds of co-op. The kind where you play through the whole game together, and the kind where you play custom missions together. Splinter Cell: Conviction is one of the latter, and this is how it works. New Footage of Splinter Cell: Conviction Co-Op Emerges [1UP]

TF2 Update Brings New Weapons, Achievements

Team Fortress 2’s “War” update draws near it’s conclusion with a bang today, both the Demoman and Soldier getting new items, new weapons and new achievements. As expected, the Soldier gets a pickaxe (which deals more damage the less health you have) and a banner, which can inspire his fellow troops. The Demoman, meanwhile, gets…

Stocking Stuffers: Despairing Video Game Poetry

Regular listeners of British podcast OneLifeLeft will be intimately familiar with the work of Craig “The Rage” McLelland. Since most of you don’t listen, though, I feel compelled to point out his new book of poetry. Video game poetry. His poetry is bleak, but not bleak in a way that makes you feel empty. Bleak…

Final Fantasy XIV Is Going To Take On WoW

Over the years, many games have tried to take on Blizzard’s World of Warcraft directly. Try and stand toe-to-toe with the MMO giant. And all of them have failed. That’s not going to stop Square Enix boss Yoichi “Imperial Hot” Wada from taking a crack, though. Asked by Develop what he thought Final Fantasy XIV’s…

Microsoft: Hardcore Games “Sell Themselves”

It’s been a constant criticism of both Xbox consoles: that Microsoft can only sell shooters to the hardcore gaming market. So what does it say about Microsoft’s marketing power when the company admits those games “sell themselves”? In an interview with GI.biz, Microsoft’s David Dennis has said that marketing games towards a casual audience –…

Korea Also Gets That Custom FFXIII PlayStation 3 Console

The delicate cherry blossom of the hardware world, the “Lightning Edition” of the PlayStation 3, is out today in Japan. Know where else it’s being released? Korea. It’ll be the exact same deal as the Japanese edition – custom console, controller, copy of Final Fantasy XIII – only, for Koreans. It’ll be out on January…

Get The Gran Turismo 5 Demo A Little Early

While, at time of writing, the Gran Turismo 5 demo is unavailable in the US or PAL territories, it is currently available from the Japanese PlayStation Store. And is 100% “import” friendly. If you’ve figured out how to create a Japanese account (here’s a guide if you haven’t), you can get the demo right now,…

Square Enix Ship Nearly Two Million Copies Of FFXIII

On Tuesday, Square Enix were expecting to ship around one million copies of Final Fantasy XIII to retailers in Japan, ready for the game’s launch. Today, on launch day, the actual number is higher. Square Enix boss Yoichi Wada, His Imperial Hotness, has issued a release today stating that number of units shipped was actually…

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Trailer Blows Up The Panama Canal

Publishers, marketing teams, know this: showing us cinematics where cool stuff happens is all well and good, but a trailer is much more exciting when it shows gameplay footage of cool stuff happening. Click to view

Let’s Play Final Fantasy XIII’s Battle Tutorial

Today, you’ll be one of two people. One that is sick to the gills of Final Fantasy XIII, or one that cannot get enough. If you’re the latter, this is for you. Enjoy, as Mr. Tim Rogers – who has rested after his arduous start to the day – takes you on a guided tour…

TF2’s Propaganda Contest Winners Will Delight & Amaze

Well, this is a surprise. Those entrants in Team Fortress 2’s propaganda competition we posted the other day? While good, they’ve got nothing on the eventual winners, which aren’t just good. They’re so much better than good. Valve have picked the three winners from a field of over 11,000 entries, each of which will receive…

Final Fantasy VIII Coming To The PlayStation Store

It’s Final Fantasy day here today, the latest piece of news concerning Square Enix‘s flagship franchise coming in the form of a PlayStation Store re-release. In an email sent out to PlayStation email subscribers, Sony announce in the “coming soon” section that Final Fantasy VIII will be turning up on the PlayStation Store. I’m interested…

PlayStation Life, Now With Actual Gaming Content

PlayStation Life, the PS3’s global news service, is a neat screensaver, but its gaming applications have been somewhat limited to date. Something that may change with the addition of game trailers to the service. The new “PlayStation Network Game Trailers Channel” (catchy!) has recently gone live, and allows you to both stream a whole bunch…

Explore The End Of The World With Post Script

Post Script is a mod for Half-Life 2 which is kind of like Fallout, only without the mutants. The Road, only without a whiny kid. I Am Legend, without vampires. You get the idea. It’s a five-part game that is more “episodic narrative” than shooter. In fact, it doesn’t look like you shoot anything, ever.…