This Week’s Videogame Releases

Looking for a funky puzzle-platformer with lots of half-naked men and women? Of course you are! That’s why you’re excited for the release of Catherine. If you’re longing for classic gaming on your Nintendo 3DS then Pac-Man and Galaga Dimensions will do you right. Normally I don’t include DLC in this weekly, but Dragon Age II Legacy is too awesome not to mention. I’m going to play the hell out of it this week. BioWare rules!

Any of you picking up new games this week?

Katee Sackhoff Voicing Black Cat in Spider-Man: Edge of Time

Marvel.com editorial director Ryan Penagos has revealed that Katee Sackhoff will be voicing Black Cat in the upcoming Spider-Man: Edge of Time. Battlestar Galactica fans will remember Sackhoff as Kara ‘Starbuck’ Thrace. Males will notice that she’s a hottie.

Penagos also posted the first screen of Black Cat. The buxom cat burglar is Spider-Man’s sometimes nemesis and sometimes love interest.

While this post is partially an excuse to research photos of Katee Sackhoff, I’d love to hear what you think about her playing Black Cat in the next Spider-Man game.

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This Week’s Videogame Releases

I usually don’t include downloadable games in this spot, but I’m so psyched for Bastion that I can’t help myself. I’m definitely picking it up this week and hope a bunch of you do too. Other notable released include Call of Juarez: The Cartel, Captain America: Super Soldier, Just Dance Summer Party, and The Smurfs Dance Party (just imagine the graphics!).

Any of you guys and gals picking up new games this week?

Ubisoft’s Uplay Passport = Another $10 “Solution”

Continuing the fight against used-game sales, Ubisoft has added its $9.99 Uplay Passport to the assortment of deterrents on the market. While the publisher has described Uplay Passport in saccharine terms, it’s simply charging gamers additional money for daring to buy used. Here’s more from Gamasutra:

Ubisoft has confirmed the Passport’s existence today, saying the feature will “provide players with access to bonus content, exclusive offers, and online multiplayer play” for “many of Ubisoft’s popular core games,” including Driver: San Francisco.

You can pretty much ignore the “bonus content” and “exclusive offers” drivel. This is just another publisher charging another fee that discourages buying used games.

I know that several of you have railed on EA and THQ for offering “$10 solutions”. How do you feel about Ubisoft’s Uplay Passport? Are you going to shy away from the company’s games? Does it impact your purchasing decision at all? Or are you starting to get numb to the practice and have accepted that this is just the way of the used-game world now?

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Watch My Dungeon Siege III Review (Please)!!!

While I’m continuing to battle the upgrades to the RPad.tv comment system, I’d super appreciate it if you watched my video review for Dungeon Siege III. If you have extra moments, please give the review a thumbs and leave a comment. I’m sifting through the comments now and replying to as many people as I can (mostly because I miss having a comment system that works perfectly). Thanks in advance!

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Fresh Batch of Final Fantasy XIII-2 Screenshots

Square Enix has sent over some new Final Fantasy XIII-2 screens. Most of them are shots of battle sequences, but there are a few images of event scenes too. Some of you will recall that FFXIII-2 was one of my top five games of E3 2011. If you need more background info on the game then check out this preview. So far, my only major issue with the game is that it doesn’t have a Reona Rewis song.

Enjoy the screens and let me know what you think (please)!

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Xbox Live Summer of Arcade Schedule

It’s time for the summer of Bastion!!! Oops, I meant the annual Xbox Live Summer of Arcade. In case you missed it, here’s the schedule for Microsoft’s downloadable summer blockbuster extravaganza. All of the games cost…

It’s time for the summer of Bastion!!! Oops, I meant the annual Xbox Live Summer of Arcade. In case you missed it, here’s the schedule for Microsoft’s downloadable summer blockbuster extravaganza. All of the games cost 1,200 Microsoft Points, save for Fruit Ninja Kinect, which is 800.

Date Title Price (MS Points)
July 20 Bastion 1200
July 27 From Dust 1200
August 3 Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet 1200
August 10 Fruit Ninja Kinect 800
August 17 Toy Soldiers: Cold War 1200

As many of you know, I’m super high on Bastion and can’t wait to play it. I’m not too familiar with the other games (that aren’t Fruit Ninja). Do you have any recommendations? Which Summer of Arcade 2011 games are you planning to pick up?

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This Week’s Videogame Releases

There’s a trio of interesting games out this week. Fighting-game fans will want to pick up Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition to take their Capcom fighter skills to new heights. If fighting giant robots are more to your liking then Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 3 will do you good. Looking for a fitness game that’s more macho? Perhaps UFC Personal Trainer: The Ultimate Fitness System is just what the doctor ordered. Just don’t go all Cheick Kongo on your TV.

Any of you picking up new games this week?

Nokia Shows its First Windows Phone: Codename Sea Ray

In what appears to be a staged “leak”, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop unveiled the company’s first Windows Phone model. Say hello to Sea Ray! Physically, the device is pretty much the same as the beautiful Nokia N9, but with an extra button. Watch the video above for a full presentation — including some Xbox Live avatar goodness — on the Nokia Sea Ray.

On a side note, I hope to be working with Nokia closely in the near feature. Part of it is because the company has really interesting products. Most of it is because I miss Finnish accents and humor. I had so much fun working with Nokia during the N-Gage days. The Finnish sense of humor is awesome.

Read My Dungeon Siege III Review (Please)!

My review of Dungeon Siege III is up at Machinima.com. Please check it out and leave a comment if you have a moment. I enjoyed the single-player mode; it’s a fun, by-the-books action-RPG similar to Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance. The graphics are dated, but I still enjoyed hacking, slashing, and looting. Unfortunately, the game’s multiplayer is a wreck. It uses a limited system that doesn’t allow character importing and exporting. What the hell?!?

Anyway, here’s a clip from the review:

As a single-player game, Dungeon Siege III succeeds as a fun action-RPG. It doesn’t offer anything particularly new, but gamers that enjoy hacking and looting by themselves should have fun. As a multiplayer game, Dungeon Siege III is disappointing. Its inability to import and export characters limits the amount of fun, and the likely level of enthusiasm anyone will want to commit to the mode. Obsidian Entertainment did an acceptable job at advancing the Dungeon Siege franchise, but like the company’s other sequels, it did not take the franchise to new heights.

It’s a good game, but it could have been great.

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