You’ve really got to love the whole casual gaming concept. It’s given us some titles that are, incongruously, more fun than the equivalents in the massive console market. That’s hard to believe, I know, but when you try some of these you’ll really be amazed.
For instance, swing on out to Armor Games and try a little title called The Last Stand 2. Fairly new, it was only available to play back in the latter half of 2008, and is a simple “move the arrow over the zombie and click until there isn’t a zombie there any more” game. There are two parts to the game, which is an interesting mix. First, there’s a strategy element in which you’re given twelve hours to “do stuff”. The stuff in question includes repairing barricades that repel zombies and keep them from eating you, searching for the various weapons you can use in-game, and looking for survivors who will allow you to repair more barricade in less time and will also use the weapons you find. Second, the actual gameplay, which is point and blast away until the zombies run out.
Being able to use various weapons is surprisingly fun, and having the strategy element forces you to do more than just blast zombies mindlessly. It’s a game that will simultaneous stretch your mind and relax it, giving you all the fun of a shooter and all the brain-stretching goodness of a strategy sim.
As casual games go, The Last Stand 2 is a clear winner.
Looking to secure your title as the best Street Fighter IV player early on? Well then you better hop on Game Crazy’s latest offering which is a tournament featuring the game.
Allowing for an unlimited number of participants, no sign-up fee, and a $500 first place prize, so how can you go wrong? Well, the tournaments single elimination one-on-one, so if you lose you’re out.
20 Game Crazy’s across the country will be holding identical tournaments which will kick off on Feburary 20th, 3 days after the games North American release. Looking for one near you? Joystiq has provided a list of the 20 stores holding contests which you can view after the break.
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It’s seems like Rock Band will no longer be rock exclusive, not when Snoop’s around anyhow. Buzz circulating the interest has confirmed that along with recieiving a new variet show on MTV, an undetermined number of Snoop Dogg’s hits will be added to Rock Band‘s extensive catalog via DLC. Sounds cool.
But how exactly will hip-hop translate into a, well, Rock Band? Who knows but I’m sure some aspiring MCs out there would like to take a shot at spittin’ some of Snoops rhymes.
Read (Kotaku)
Activision has recently updated the official Call of Duty: World at War site with news of a new map pack set to hit this March. Included in the pack are 4 all new levels, one of which is a zombie level that we heard of earlier today.
The four maps will be entitled: Nightfire, Station, Knee deep, and Verrückt (which is the zombie map). Upon reading the following description, taken from the game’s official website, Perks-a-cola really caught my eye; A perk vending machine of sorts? Fine in my book given a zombie infestation!
More on the levels below:
Nightfire
In “Nightfire,” players take to the streets of a war-ravaged Berlin with only the flames of the burning city to expose the enemy.
Station
“Station” offers a bombed out underground train station littered with hidden passageways and destroyed subway cars.
Knee Deep
“Knee Deep” takes place on the island of Peleliu in a once tranquil village turned chaotic Japanese command center.
Verrückt (Zombie Asylum)
The fan favorite 4-player co-op Nazi Zombies Bonus Mode returns with “Verrückt,” a terrifying Zombie asylum featuring more weapons, perks via the addition of Perks-a-Cola machines, electroshock defenses and the endless zombie horde.
Unfortunately there are no date specifics or hints to how much the pack will cost, bummer.
Call the kids, EA has recently announced that MySims Party has officially been slated for a March release date. If you didn’t know, included in MySims Party is a whole slew of minigames which most defenitely take advantage of the DS’ and Wii’s intuitive controls.
Again, EA’s MySims Party will be out this month for both the Nintendo DS and Wii.
Read (Joystiq)
Today, SEGA has come forth and announced that a new game, based in the Aliens vs. Predators universe, is in the works. The developers behind the new AVP title will be independent game studio Rebellion, whom you may remember to have worked on the hugely popular PC game Aliens versus Predator.
“The innovative new AvP game presents an exciting opportunity for us,” says CEO of SEGA West, Naoya Tsurumi, “It represents a fantastic addition to our growing Aliens franchise and the reinvention of one of gaming’s most cherished iconic titles. By adjusting the release of our other Aliens titles to accommodate it, SEGA will ensure that every title lives up to the high expectations of Aliens and AvP fans.”
SEGA hasn’t said anymore in terms of an official name, time frame of release, or platform the game will be on, but they assure us more information is on the way.
Press release after the break.
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The latest victim of the global recession, Sega has announced that it is soliciting applications for 560 employees, about 18% of its workforce, to retire by the end of its fiscal year on March 31, 2009.
Having “failed to swiftly respond to sharp changes in the business conditions,” Sega expects to save roughly $55.1 million on labor costs across its next fiscal year if everything goes to plan. However, the company will close or sell 110 amusement facilities and reduce its research and development costs by about 20%.
Sega currently expects to post a net loss of $236.9 million for the fiscal year, instead of its previously expected $55.1 million profit. It means that the company’s expectations are down by more than 500%, a staggering amount for anyone to bear.
All this is due to weaker-than-expected Japanese game sales and the weak Yen-Dollar exchange rates.
Best known for its work on multiplayer games, Threewave Software is being reported to be working on the multiplayer component for the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of Ghostbusters.
“At Threewave we’re working on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of multiplayer,” said Threewave product manager Stephane Morichere-Matte.
The company declined to offer details on the multiplayer modes. I would like to point out that the game, at one point, was said to include a cooperative multiplayer mode among other standard multiplayer offerings. Publisher Atari plans on revealing the modes at an event next month.
Threewave is founded by veterans of the Threewave CTF mod for Quake, one of the earliest examples of CTF gameplay in a shooter.
Ubisoft today announced that a PS3 demo of Tom Clancy’s HAWX will be released on February 12; a day after the Xbox 360 demo will be available. A PC demo is expected two weeks later, though.
All versions of the demo will offer two missions, three planes and four-player online cooperative support.
Additionally, Ubisoft confirmed that the PC version of the game will be released one week after the console editions, which are due March 6. This move is similar to what the company took with Prince of Persia and Shaun White Snowboarding, both of which saw their PC releases delayed a week after the console versions.
Stardock today announced that the first expansion to Sins of a Solar Empire has been delayed once again to February 25. This is due to the incorporation of beta feedback.
“The additional time will allow for Ironclad’s development team to incorporate feedback to date and allow for another round of beta testing,” said the company.
Ironclad’s Blair Fraser added: “It’s of paramount importance to everyone that what we’re releasing is the best and most robust content we can.”
Dubbed “Entrenchment”, the expansion will add defense platforms to each race, among other things. It is available for pre-order on Impulse, Stardock’s digital distribution platform, for $9.95.
