Gaming Mojo

With last day of February upon as, we have really hit the stride in 2010 with past releases. But the 3rd month of the New Year, March 2010 is proving to be a promising month once again. With 9 expected new titles on the main four consoles, plus more content to be delved into handheld, expansion, DLC’s and console cross over’s. Let’s check out the view.

March 3rd:

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (PC, Xbox360, PS3)

Major League Baseball 2K10 (PC, Xbox360, PS3)

MBL 10 The Show (PS3)

March 9th:

Final Fantasy XIII (Xbox360, PS3)

Yakuza 3 (PS3)

March 16th:

Command & Conquer 4 (PC)

God of War 3 (PS3)

March 23rd:

Red Steel (Wii)

Just Cause 2 (360, PS3, PC)

Bad Company 2, FF XIII and God of War 3 the clear favourites for gamers this months, with prediction that God of War 3, the highly anticipated title to continue the series will take March’s most successful game. But also rejoice for PC fans as the 16th holds great promise, not only to release the new Command & Conquer, but to finally have the opportunity to take the creed to the PC, Assassins Creed will finally be released on the PC, as a fellow PC gamer this is very exciting indeed.

Indeed this year has yet to disappoint gamers, to success the mass release of grand titles at the end of 2009, 2010 has risen right from the very start and still has yet to dip. The future of gaming never looks bleak.

A post on the official Mass Effect 2 website delivers word of the new Hammerhead assault vehicle coming our way via the new Firewalker DLC pack coming to the Cerberus Network in late March.

Description of new content:

Free to all Cerberus Network members, the Firewalker pack includes 5 all new missions featuring the Hammerhead. Hovering over the battlefield at up to 120 kilometeres per hour, the Hammerhead also boasts a guided missile system ensuring accuracy even during aggressive maneuvering.

In addition, BioWare stated that ME fans can look forward to a new heavy weapon available to all Cerberus Network members very soon, although there were no details given about exactly what or when we’ll see it. Further news shall be posted asap.

EA announced today that brand new Army of Two: The 40th Day DLC is on its way to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The new content is entitled “Chapters of Deceit” and comes complete with two new campaign maps set in Shanghai where, “players stumble upon information that could lead to ending the invasion by Jonah and his 40th Day Imitative army.” The DLC will arrive April 1  and will run PS3 owners $9.99 and 360 owners a paltry 800 Microsoft Points.

This information on this DLC is vague at the moment, will keep you posted, but unless it extends the campaign from its short 7-8 hrs playthrough i doubt this i’ll be worth the money unless you love the Army of Two games and/or the multiplayer.

Terrible news to report today. Capcom announced today that COO Mark Beaumont suddenly died yesterday morning. It is thought that he had a heart attack but Capcom is staying mum for now.

Mark was in his late 50’s and had been with Capcom since 2005. He was a 28-year veteran of video game publishing.

Here is a statement from Capcom:

Our COO and dear friend, Mark Beaumont, passed away this morning. This sudden loss has left us with deep sadness. Our hearts go out to his family and loved ones. We will remember him for his humor, passion and commitment to Capcom and our industry. He was a great leader and visionary and his spirit will carry on in everything that we do. Please join us in memory of Mark.

My thoughts and prayers go out to his friends amd family.

Xbox 360 owners will be the first to get their hands on the latest bit of DLC for Gearbox Software’s Borderlands as The Secret Armory of General Knoxx will apparently be released today via Xbox Live for 800 MS Points. This according to TeamXbox.com, who also bring word that the content is then expected to go live for both PC and PS3 this Thursday, February 25, for $9.99.

As Borderlands fans no doubt already know, the promising General Knoxx DLC ups the game’s level cap and includes new areas, enemies, weapons and more.

Really looking forward to this release, haven’t played the game since Zombie Island DLC came about, still got to get Mad Moxxi, but with the news of level cap increase, this will be a must, something to get me back to pandora and killing some skags

Here are the details on Batman: The Brave and the Bold the Videogame, from Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment:
“Batman: The Brave and the Bold the Videogame fully immerses fans into the vivid animated world of the successful TV series where kids can play as Batman or together with family and friends in two-player co-op mode. Players can choose from iconic characters ROBIN, GREEN LANTERN, BLUE BEETLE, along with drop-in heroes such as AQUAMAN to help solve puzzles and fight foes.

It’s interesting to know that the Wii and Ds get their own release and will have crossover connectivity whichwill enable an unlocking of a playable BAT-MITE for both game platforms.

Visit the official website of Batman: The Brave and the Bold the Videogame at www.BraveandtheBoldVideogame.com for more details on the game.

2K Games announced today a post-launch downloadable content plan for the game, meant to extend and enhances the single and multiplayer portions of the latest journey to Rapture.

Downloadable content will be made available soon, beginning with the Sinclair Solutions Test Pack, available this March from the Xbox LIVE Marketplace and Games for Windows LIVE for 400 Microsoft Points and from the PlayStationNetwork for $5/£3.19. Future expansions into the world of BioShock 2 are slated to arrive over the coming months and will continue to expand on the stories of the denizens of Rapture.

First images from the DLC have also been released and are available here.

The fans who waited in the snow, rain and cold for the midnight launch of BioShock 2 have spoken and their message is that Rapture still has many fascinating stories to tell,” said Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K. “Downloadable content is a key part of our efforts to continue to entice the fans that have made 2K a household name – we intend to deliver single and multiplayer content that respects and expands upon one of the greatest fictional worlds ever created.

Sinclair Solutions Test Pack, the first of several planned DLC, contains a number of customization features that will allow players to further their character’s development in BioShock 2’s multiplayer modes and provide a deeper multiplayer experience, it includes:

• Rank Increase to level 50 with Rank Rewards
• New playable characters Louie McGraff and Oscar Calraca
• 20 new trials*
• A third weapon upgrade for each weapon
• Five additional masks*
*Some items are only available after a player achieves a rank of 41 or higher.

In the coming months, 2K Games will also be publishing downloadable extensions of the single player experience that provide new insight into the world of Rapture. These packages will include more narrative, new tools and new challenges that extend the lore and fiction of the failed Utopia under the sea. Personally i don’t think the new DLC will improve the multiplayer experience at all, it’ll still be something that players will pick up for a few hours then go to an old favourite.

2K Games has announced that Sid Meier’s Civilization V is currently in development  for PC. Civilization V looks to revived version of the classic turn-based strategy genre with an all-new engine built from the ground-up for the latest installment. In the game, first images of which are viewable here, players will be introduced to an entirely new combat system, deeper diplomatic interactions and a cavalcade of expanded features that aim to deliver a fully immersive experience for players on their quest to become the “greatest ruler the world has ever known.”

“Sid Meier’s Civilization franchise has been recognized as one of the greatest PC game franchises of all time with millions of units sold worldwide,” said Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K. “Civilization V takes the franchise further by offering players a more immersive experience with deeper strategies; heightened tactical combat; vast, realistic landscapes to explore, battle over and claim as their own; and an in-game community hub where Civ fans can share content and compete against each other without leaving the game. This marks a new era that will forever change the franchise responsible for sleep deprivation and reduced productivity for nearly two decades.”

The official description of the game:

Civilization V takes this definitive strategy game series in new directions with the introduction of hexagon tiles allowing for deeper strategy, more realistic gameplay and stunning organic landscapes for players to explore as they expand their empire. The brand new engine orchestrates a spectacular visual experience that brings players closer to the Civ experience than ever, featuring fully animated leaders interacting with players from a screen-filling diplomatic scene and speaking in their native language for the first time. Wars between empires feel massive as armies dominate the landscape, and combat is more exciting and intense than ever before. The addition of ranged bombardment allows players to fire weapons from behind the front lines, challenging players to develop clever new strategies to guarantee victory on the battlefield. In addition to the new gameplay features debuting in Civilization V, an extensive suite of community, modding and multiplayer elements will also make an appearance.

“Each new version of Civilization presents exciting challenges for our team,” said Sid Meier, director of creative development at Firaxis Games. “Thankfully, ideas on how to bring new and fun experiences to Civ players never seem to stop flowing. From fully animated leaders and realistic landscapes, new combat tactics, expanded diplomacy and shared mods, we’re excited for players to see the new vision our team at Firaxis has brought to the series.”

In addition to Civilization V, there’s currently development on a Sid Meier’s Civilization Network, a Civilization game for Facebook. With Sid Meier leading design, Civilization Network will offer yet another option for world domination to both the casual gamer and the biggest fans of the series.

For more information on Sid Meier’s Civilization V, check out www.civilization.com. To find out more about Sid Meier’s Civilization Network visit www.facebook.com/civnetwork.

Bungie has said that it regrets leaving out matchmaking in Halo 3: ODST’s Firefight mode.

Community boss Brian Jarrard said that in the end, the studio didn’t have proper time to include it and admits that this may be one of the reasons ODST is not as popular as other Halo games.

I regret not being able to go back and make Firefight in ODST work and have match-making,” he told the site. “I think we would have loved to have done that.“We’ve heard it from the fans, we’ve heard it from the press. It’s definitely something we’d have loved to be able to do but we didn’t have the scope on the project. We didn’t have the time.

“We accomplished a tremendous amount, but that’s probably the reason ODST isn’t being played as much right now as we’d like. It has had a shorter lifecycle than any of the Halo titles before.

“But Reach is our big chance to make up for some of those things.

I really didn’t like the game to be honest, I thought it was going to be really good and instead it was really blah. I am counting on Reach to be the end all be all of the series.