Many different video game franchises have come and gone but a few select franchises will remain timeless classics for years to come. One such franchise that has left an everlasting mark on the industry is Valve’s Half-Life. Originally introduce in 1998 the franchise has seen several releases since and is currently on Half-Life 2: Episode Two.t

While you won’t exactly understand the premise of Half-Life 2: Episode Two unless you played the previous games Valve has posted the episodic content for just $1.99 on Steam today. If you’re looking to get down on this deal you better do so fast as it’s only valid until Thursday.

Check out the deal here.

If you’ve checked out pretty much any gaming related publication you’re sure to know that there has been quite a bit of fuss regarding the PS3 jailbreak done by infamous hacker George Hotz, otherwise known as Geohot.

While this jailbreak allows gamers to do things like install Linux on the console it also allows malicious gamers to run pirated software and cheat online. Sony has responded by taking Geohot to court suing him for a whole slew of different claims that we won’t get into here. What we will get into, however, is a recent rumor that says Sony is developing a supposed ‘hack-proof’ PS3.

Unfortunately these rumors stem from anonymous sources so it may just be a shot in the dark but wouldn’t be too farfetched considering Sony’s current stance on the jailbreak.

Now, I’m not much of a hacker but the term ‘hack-proof’ has been thrown around in regards to various devices only to have it hacked not long after. If this rumor is true, they should call it ‘hack-deferring’, if anything.

via destructoid

Nintendo has confirmed that the launch lineup of games in the US will total 18, most of which will retail at $40. Only three of the 18 titles are first party games made by Nintendo, which is a bit lower than the Big N’s usual launch lineup. Either way, here’s the full list of games for the 3DS launch:

• Pilotwings Resort
• Steel Diver
• Nintendogs + Cats
• Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition
• The Sims 3
• Madden NFL Football
• Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 3D
• Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars
• Ridge Racer 3D
• Super Monkey Ball 3D
• Bust-A-Move Universe
• Samurai Warriors: Chronicles
• Asphalt 3D
• Combat of Giants: Dinosaurs 3D
• Rayman 3D
• Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Shadow Wars

The sequel to the best selling and wonderful RPG Dragon Age is now available in sample form on Xbox Live and PlayStation Store. The Dragon Age 2 demo weighs in at almost 2 GB and has a few hours of gameplay content, enough to convince RPG fans that they should get a copy of the game. If anything, you can check out what the whole fuss of Dragon Age is about.

One of the most anticipated games from Capcom is finally here, the third installment in the Marvel vs Capcom fighting franchise, which continues all the fun while adding new characters, some of which we haven’t seen for decades. Of course, the third installment couldn’t come any earlier, as Marvel vs. Capcom 2 was released… way back in 2000. So Capcom has had plenty of time to do this right. But with 10 years of wait comes a lot of expectations, and fortunately, Capcom lives up to most of them.

If you don’t know, Marvel vs. Capcom is a fighting game which includes popular characters from Marvel and from Capcom, pitted against each other, and there’s a real comic book feeling about it, e.g. everything is over the top and nothing is taken too seriously, and we’re happy to report that the third game continues all the fun and the light tone. However, we’re sad to report that Marvel vs. Capcom 3 doesn’t really add much new besides the new playable characters. Another disappointment is that in Marvel vs. Capcom 3 there are 36 playable characters, compared to 56 playable characters in Marvel vs. Capcom 2. Luckily, only a few characters make a reappearance in the third installment (like Spider-man), so most of them are completely new, and most of those, are quite interesting and fun to play.

The gameplay itself is fast paced just like any other fighting game, and you have plenty of moves and combos to dish out, with each character having his specialties, of course. Some of the combos are way over the top and effects are flying everywhere to a point where you’re wondering what’s going on. But in a good way. Just like in the last game, you team consists of three characters that you can switch between, and there’s an option to save your favorite teams. Another thing we loved about Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is that it records stats on almost every front, giving you great detail over everything and making it easy to track one’s progress. Mode wise, there’s a challenge mode and training mode, and that’s about it. There’s no real tournament/campaign, and multiplayer is limited as well. And since you can only unlock 4 additional characters, with the rest available from the get go, it doesn’t give much to fight for in the long run, no pun intended.

Visually, the game has a cartoonish, quasi-cell-shaded look which fits it perfectly, as if the game was taken directly out of a comic book. The sound effects are great as well, while the soundtrack is inspired by 80s Capcom games. Overall, Marvel vs. Capcom 3 will satisfy most of the folks who have been waiting for a long time, but we somehow expected a bit more.

The Good:
Fun, fast paced gameplay
Great visuals
Great variety of characters


The Bad:
Limited amount of modes and variety
Fewer characters than last time

Overall score: 8/10

Geohot has been in the community for quite some time gaining a notorious reputation for being one of the first to jailbreak Apple’s iPhone. However he’s come into the media as of late for infamously jailbreaking the PlayStation 3 and subsequently getting sued by Sony. Not only has this jailbreak allowed gamers to birng back things like the ability to install Linux, but it’s also allowed for some malicious doings such as cheating online and utilizing pirated software.

Not too long ago we told you that Sony would be banning those who jailbroke their system and/or cheated on PSN. This had led Geohot to come forth to comment on all of the cheating stating the following:

“I have never played PS3 online ever. Frankly I’m amazed by the apparent ease with which these cheats were created, security 101, why is the security in the client anyway? I had no idea this would happen, and am in full support of the cheaters being permabanned from PSN.”

A lesson to take away from this? Don’t cheat online as even the guy who gave you the ability to do so doesn’t support it.

Read (Geohot)

Bethesda Softworks has been around for quite some time showing off some of the most innovative RPG titles that fall into their Elder Scrolls series. Now that Oblivion has been on the market for some time, Bethesda is looking towards the future with The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

While we’ve already heard quite a bit about the game, the studio has come forth to share an interesting contest. Apparently, if you have a child who is expected to be born on November 11th, 2011 (11/11/11) of this year and decide to name them Dovahkiin, Bethesda’s own Pete Hines will give you a prize. What exactly this prize is we aren’t sure but Bethesda assures us it will never justify the potential ridicule your child will receive if you so choose to name him/her Dovahkiin.

Seeing how someone will inevitably claim this prize, let’s take a moment now and express our deepest sympathy to the child who shall forever be dubbed Dovahkiin.

via destructoid

Of all the different motion controllers on the market Microsoft Xbox 360 Kinect is arguably the most technol0gically advanced. If you’re not familiar with this device it is basically a 3D camera allowing the gamer to use their whole body as the controller. This is quite different than Nintendo’s idea with the Wii (and later Sony with the PlayStation Move) where you actually need a physical controller in your hand.

While the games currently offered for Kinect are quite innovative, the homebrew software created by hackers for the PC that utilize the Kinect is far more innovative than anything currently available on the market. Unfortunately, to actually develop for the Kinect you need to use some unauthorized methods. Luckily, Microsoft has said in the past that htey will be releasing an official PC SDK for the Kinect that would allow developers to official create software using the technology.

Even better, it was just made known today that Microsoft is looking to release the Kinect for Windows SDK this Spring meaning it will be coming quite soon. This is great news for the homebrew community who have already been developing for the Kinect as it will give them a chance to legitimize their software.

via joystiq

Epic and developer People Can Fly’s upcoming shooter Bulletstorm was always slated to get a demo on the Xbox 360 and PS3, but there was no word on a PC demo. Until now, as Epic’s Mark Rein said on Twitter that the PC demo “won’t make it in time for ship date but should be available shortly after.” Which is great news for PC players who aren’t exactly sure on what to expect from Bulletsorm. Even if the latest videos look pretty sweet.