Release date set for Batman: Arkham City

Batman: Arkham City is set to be released for PS3 and Xbox 360 videogame consoles and PC in autumn 2011, according to new details from Warner Bros.

This sequel to the 2009 blockbuster Batman: Arkham Asylum once again pits the Dark Knight against the Joker. But instead of taking place in a grim island prison, this new title introduces players to "Arkham City", a "heavily fortified" zone of Gotham City.

The name of the newly announced game is not a total surprise. Publisher Warner Bros registered a huge amount of new domain names in July. Among the 15 websites were ArkhamCity.com, BatmanArkhamCity.com, and CityOfArkham.com CloseArkhamCity.com.

Anything other than what is detailed above is pure speculation. Developer Rocksteady Studios, who were relatively unknown until the wildly successful release of Arkham Asylum, has kept quiet about the project. But that is to be expected since the game is still just over a year from release.

Restless fans may glean more details from the teaser trailer below, and look for the September issue of Game Informer which features a badly beaten Batman and leather clad Catwoman. Meow, indeed!


Batman Arkham Asylum 2 World Premiere Trailer [HD]

Former NFL players sue EA

Former Bengals running back Tony Davis has filed a class action against EA on behalf of 6,000 retired NFL professionals about the use of the players likenesses in Madden NFL 09, reports IGN.

The plaintiffs claim that EA never compensated for thousands of retired players whose likeness were used to populate the lists for the teams history of the game. The lawsuit alleges that EA "knowingly and intentionally" included statistics, positions, and height and weight of the retired players, but removed the names of players and even their numbers to avoid paying anyone.

"The only significant detail that EA changes from the real-life retired NFL players is their jersey number," the suit reads. "Despite EA's 'scrambling' of the retired NFL players' numbers, the games are designed so that consumers of the Madden NFL video game franchise will have no difficulty identifying who the 'historic' players are."

Furthermore, the suit insists that "EA was fully aware that its use of the retired players’ likenesses was without [authorization] and that a license fee was needed." The claim seeks actual, punitive, and statutory damages.

History is not on the side of plaintiffs. A similar lawsuit against EA in 2008 by Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown was recently dismissed, though Brown is appealing the decision.

The latest game of the franchise, Madden NFL 11 hits stores next week.


Watch the Madden NFL 2011 Debut Trailer [HD]

At long last - StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty is a game of military science fiction real-time video strategy developed by Blizzard Entertainment as a sequel to the award-winning 1998 video game StarCraft. Released July 27, 2010, the game was developed for simultaneous release on Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. Starcraft II will be divided into three parts: the base of the game subtitled Wings of Liberty, and two expansion packs, Heart of the Swarm and Legacy of the Void.

Set in the 26th century in a distant part of the Milky Way, the game is based on three species: the Terrans, humans exiled from Earth, the Zerg, a race of insectoid assimilatory gene, and the Protoss, a species with great psionic power. Wings of Liberty focuses on the Terrans, while the expansions of the Heart of the Swarm and Legacy of the Void will focus on the Zerg and Protoss, respectively. The game takes place four years after the events of StarCraft: Brood War, and follows the adventures of Jim Raynor as he leads a group of insurgents against the autocratic Terran Dominion. The game includes old and new characters and locations from the original game.

Reviews
After its release, StarCraft II was met with a positive reception, with an average score of 96/100 on Metacritic critical, and 95.5% on Game Rankings.

The game was particularly praised keeping the popular RTS gameplay, introducing new features and better story telling. GamesRadar found that "In many ways, StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty StarCraft 2.0 feels like - and that's a good thing," saying it "delivers on all fronts." NZGamer.com said the game was "the best RTS game released in the year and one of the best PC games." Regarding its history, Game Trailers said: "If anything immediately apparent wing of the history of freedom, is that the structure of the series' narrative has evolved far beyond the original sparse intervals-sortie", calling it "a story epic and entertainingly told yarns', while X-Play praised what he considered to be "perfectly in fact - is to integrate the story with the gameplay." Giant Bomb echoed that view while watching the part Hyperion between missions, thinking that he has "more depth of character, pathos, more credible, more twists surprise - I sincerely hoped out of history." Joystiq has been very positive towards improving the multiplayer matchmaking service, calling it "similar to Xbox Live and PSN, which is a welcome change to the Archaic matchmaking Battle.net Blizzard's previous games. John Meyer of Wired praised improved graphics engine, saying that "shows decades of polish" and a "slick new presentation."

Matt Peckham PC World however, that some buyers expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of LAN-based gameplay, the lack of cross-domain game and the campaign being limited to race Terran.

Ars Technica gave the game an overall verdict of "Buy" and especially praised the single player campaign as "Fun as hell." They were also very impressed with the game modding tools that allow users to create their own content and distribute it to other fans. The two "Ugly" problems they identified with the game were the lack of LAN play and the decision to divide the regions. They suggest that these decisions were influenced by Activision, not the game designers at Blizzard and feel this will turn many people off the game and make things difficult for people who have international friends. In a separate article Ars Technica StarCraft II vigorously supported a reaction against the large customer designed to give the game a rating of 1 star on Amazon.com. They argue in favor of Blizzard against accusations that he was "not a complete game, because only the Terran campaign was launched, but they suggest that customer complaints about lack of LAN play and cross-region were legitimate.

Video Games Trade-In

Last week, I went to the local used game store to unload some old games I wasn't likely to play again. Long story short, I ended up keeping my games, because they didn't have anything I was interested in.

Lucky for me (and you too if you have any old games you're looking to trade in) Amazon has just beta launched Amazon Video Games Trade-In - a new service that allows the trade in of used games for an Amazon Gift Card.

The video game trade-in process is easy. Go to Amazon Video Games Trade-In and find the games you want to trade in among the 1,500+ titles. Once you find your game, print off a pre-paid label (no cost to you), drop it in the mail, and you're done. Since games are received and checked by the dealer, an Amazon Gift Card will be deposited into your Amazon account. You can use your Amazon Gift Card for the purchase of millions of eligible items at Amazon.

As a bonus to try Amazon's new trade in program for the first two weeks of the beta, they are offering 10% discount on future purchase of any game or accessory in Amazon's video games store.

PlayNC 60 Day Game Time Card

I was going to write a post about the latest update to City of Heroes when I stumbled across this little item. It's a pre-paid card for 60 days of game time for these great games from PlayNC.

City of Heroes is a new kind of massive online multiplayer game. If you always wanted to defend your city from evildoers as a mighty hero, now is your chance. Choose your power, join a team and go to tremendous online role-playing action. You also have to watch your Fame meters - the largest is its reputation, more prizes and awards you receive. Team up with other players online, to form new superhero groups and take down the criminals more effectively.

City of Villains is the standalone sequel to critically acclaimed MMORPG City of Heroes. Using an amazing variety of new skills, abilities and customization options, players can now experience sinister game of the other side of the mask. With diabolical craft and guile, players forge new super-powered villain characters in an attempt to dominate the world. Heroes and authorities of Paragon City will do everything in their power to thwart these evil plans of destruction. It will take a supreme effort for true domination.

Lineage is a medieval setting of fantasy. The hero, a member of the real line, the heads of their homeland - the Kingdom of Aden - with your tutor knights, determined to avenge the death of his father and regain his kingdom. The game is based on the comic scene Lineage by Shin Il-sook, but the story has been expanded over the years, focusing first on the development of the promises given to the prince or princess of their choice, and now the rebellion that King is planning a suitor with dark elves. The game is full of detail and great care is taken to leave the game in the medieval feel intact.

Lineage II: The Chaotic Throne is an immersive and dramatic fantasy world known for its unique political and economic systems. Engage in regular castle sieges, exciting monster encounters, and epic clan vs. clan warfare. You'll need tenacity, cunning and strategy to survive! Lineage II offers the world's elite MMO players a hardcore Player vs. Player experience.

Lineage The Blood Pledge is an Epic Sci-Fi RPG. Explore lush forest planets, volcanic moons and exotic alien civilizations. Face off against powerful xenophobe soldiers, armored and mechaoids vicious predators. Use a wide range of weapons and unique magical alien powers to help the Allied Free Sentients (AFS) in his desperate fight against extinction. Tabula Rasa combines a vast, persistent game world & ongoing storyline w / a fast-paced action, resulting in a surprising new approach to the design of multi-player online games. Richard Garriott presents and epic sci-fi RPG - Tabula Rasa Tabula Rasa combines a vast, persistent game world with the ongoing storyline and fast paced action, resulting in several games for the fast paced battle! Face off against powerful xenophobe soldiers, armored mechanoids, and vicious Use Mystical "Logos" language and powers to seize power of the cosmos for healing and attack in both PVP and PVE play styles.

Dungeon Runners
- Something moves in the dark. An odor wafts above the earth hot dank depths. Nails scratch against limestone, dripping water echoes off cavern walls, ancient chains rattle in stagnant air?. What is the mysterious depths below? Dungeon Runners is an online role-playing game. As a brave hero, you'll explore dangerous dungeons, battle ferocious monsters and discover incredible weapons, artifacts and loot. Choose to play as Fighter, Mage or Ranger in a realm of terror, magic and adventure. Unlock powerful new skills as you gain experience in their journey into the unknown. Whether fighting evil hordes as a lone warrior or group with online friends to carve a path of destruction through your foe, Dungeon Runners will kill your deepest dungeon-crawling thirst. Dungeon Runners is continually expanding to include new maps, new monsters, new powers and new features.

CoH and CoV can be played under the same account, but if you play (or want to) any of these other games, then you really can't beat this deal for under $30.