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Battlefield: Bad Company 2 360 Demo Goes Live

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 03:58:32 +0000

EA and DICE shot out a release today saying that Xbox 360 gamers can go grab the new downloadable demo of Battlefield: Bad Company 2 right now. PC gamers who pre-order the game will be eligible to use a code to get access to the current beta test that's happening for North American, European and Asian gamers, while PlayStation 3 owners have to wait until February 4th (Europe) and February 11th (North America).

"After the success of the PS3 beta, we're excited to provide gamers -- especially our long-supporting, rabidly passionate PC fans -- with another opportunity to get into the game before release," says Patrick Bach, Senior Producer on Battlefield: Bad Company 2.

"Our fans have been a huge part of the franchise's success and we can't wait for everyone to experience the amazing gameplay and unforgettable Battlefield moments in Battlefield: Bad Company 2."

The demo and beta offer up the chance to play on the Port Valdez map -- a vehicle-focused arena -- which can see up to 24 (console) or 32 (PC) players duke it out.

Bullet penetration never felt so good.

Bryn says: Will's kindly served up a piping-hot PC beta code straight into my inbox, so I'm about to head out and start the download. I'm pretty excited about this game -- I really liked the first Bad Company, and while I sank a lot more time into Modern Warfare, I've got a feeling that Bad Company 2 might just provide a good few hours of online killing. Are you going PC or console?

Assassin's Creed 2: Battle of Forli Review

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 02:01:49 +0000

Assassin's Creed 2 was my favorite game last year, so I was pretty excited to dig into the first downloadable episode. One hour later it was over and I had once again seen all there is to see in the game. The Battle of Forli, the first of two planned expansions, has its moments but they will be over before you know it. Assassin's Creed 2 doesn't allow us to replay story missions, so once you've finished the DLC there's no going back. It's still a very fun game, though, and four dollars isn't going to break the bank. As long as you keep your expectations in check you'll enjoy your return to Renaissance Italy.

The Battle of Forli is set towards the end of Assassin's Creed 2, just after Ezio joins the order of assassins. Remember Caterina Sforza, the woman you met briefly on your way to Venice. She takes center stage here and it's great to spend more time with this strong female character. As the episode opens Forli is under attack and Ezio must help defend Caterina's city and family. The situation becomes even more serious when Ezio realizes the whole attack may have been a distraction in order to get to the Piece of Eden. The story and voice work are still very good, but there are a couple instances of lazy presentation. While the city is under attack, for example, all of the merchants are oblivious to the onslaught and are still happily hawking their wares, trying to get you to stop and shop. Now is not the time to dye my clothes, dude!

Click here to watch the video review.

For the first few missions you'll be escorting Caterina around the city, battling hordes of enemies in order to keep her safe. The second half gets back into the good ol' stealth stuff, which I found to be the stronger part of this episode. There are a couple interesting twists to the story and a few gaps in the main plot are filled in but it ends rather anti-climactically. After finishing a routine mission Rebecca (the Animus operator) tells you the data is corrupted and the fun is over. Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion, I guess.

The Battle of Forli is built out of existing Assassin's Creed II components: that means no new locations, enemies, or weapons. There aren't even new achievements or trophies to earn. It does open a "special mission," however, that grants you access to Da Vinci's flying machine whenever you like. This gives you a second chance at getting that achievement/trophy for kicking a guard while flying. But really, we shouldn't have to pay four bucks to take another crack at an achievement.

Closing Comments
The first expansion for Assassin's Creed II is a little underwhelming, but there is short-lived fun to be had with it. There is only around an hour of gameplay included, but the four dollar price tag is also easy on your wallet. Fans can expect a nice mix of combat and stealth gameplay in The Battle of Forli. While you won't visit any new locations, Caterina Sforza is a strong addition to the cast. This battle may be more of a skirmish, but it's enjoyable while it lasts.

IGN Ratings for Assassin's Creed II: Battle of Forli (X360)

Rating	Description
out of 10	click here for ratings guide
7.0	Presentation Assassin's Creed II plot holes are filled in. The voice acting and story are still very good, but not everyone in town realizes the city is under attack.
8.0	Graphics Looks just like Assassin's Creed II, but there seems to be more pop-up this time around.
9.0	Sound Same high quality of music and voice work.
8.0	Gameplay A standard Assassin's Creed mix of combat and stealth gameplay. It's still a lot of fun -- while it lasts.
5.0	Lasting Appeal Around an hour of gameplay. And since you can't replay story missions, once it's over it's over.
7.4 Decent	OVERALL (out of 10 / not an average)

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Tatsunoko vs. Capcom FightStick Review

Sat, 23 Jan 2010 01:08:24 +0000

January 22, 2010 - After months of waiting, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom is finally arriving in North America for the Nintendo Wii. The game pits Japanese anime characters from Tatsunoko Production against those from Capcom's largest franchises, including Street Fighter, Mega Man, and even Dead Rising. To accompany the game's release, Mad Catz has produced the first fighting game peripheral for Wii, the Tatsunoko vs. Capcom FightStick.

The Tatsunoko vs. Capcom FightStick retains the same core design of the original FightStick design for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 save for a few notable exceptions. Firstly and most recognizably, the Tatsunoko vs. Capcom FightStick features original art produced in collaboration with Tatsunoko Production, Capcom, and Mad Catz. The art on the top panel now comes in a matte finish, unlike the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 variations which are glossy. Outside of the art, however, the aesthetic remains largely unchanged. Regardless of whether you pick up the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, or the new Wii FightStick, the casing, joystick, and control interface are all white, and only a few of the buttons have now been made blue to match the Wii color scheme.

As the first FightStick from Mad Catz to be made exclusively for the Wii, the Tatsunoko vs. Capcom FightStick has a few inherently exclusive features; primarily that it utilizes a dongle system and the button designations are labeled differently to match the Wii controller designations. Mad Catz has also beefed up the weight of the FightStick design, adding some extra weight to the device. According to Mad Catz, the internal components have been revised but still incorporate the genuine Sanwa components of the original design. Like the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 variants, the Wii FightStick incorporates a turbo function that can be assigned to any of the fighting buttons and the joystick can be designated the same functionality of the right thumbstick, left thumbstick, and D-pad. Similarly, the lock switch remains a standard feature, which disables the home button, and for the first time, the start and select buttons on the back panel of the stick.

Watch as we unbox the Tatsunoko vs. Capcom FightStick.

While the wireless connectivity will remain exclusive to the Wii FightStick, the weightier components and expanded functionality of the locking mechanism will be implemented in new productions of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 FightSticks.

Performance-wise, the Tatsunoko vs. Capcom FightStick is on par with the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions. The buttons sturdy and responsive, but the joystick is a little stiffer than the FightStick's big-ticket sibling, the Tournament Edition FightStick. As a genuine Sanwa joystick, the control mechanism is a traditional 4-way mechanism, unlike western sticks which use an 8-way system. The 4-way design will appease fighting game purists, but will take a little getting used to for newcomers.

When we first heard about the Tatsunoko vs. Capcom's wireless dongle system, latency was obviously a huge concern. Fortunately, because the system taps into the Wiimote's Bluetooth communications, we experienced absolutely no lag during use. Like any other Wii add-on, having to have a Wiimote dangling from a cord is less than ideal. Nevertheless, the Tatsunoko vs. Capcom FightStick is intended for lap or table use and in most cases you won't even notice the Wiimote laying off to the side. Our other big concern about the dongle system was that it would be a sizable drain to the Wiimote's battery, but surprisingly, battery life seemed largely unaffected. Outside of the LED indicators for turbo mode, the FightStick only sends enough current through the controller to detect button depressions and joystick motion, as a result, battery life shortened by less than an hour during prolonged use.

Overall, the Tatsunoko vs. Capcom FightStick is a solid Wii fighting game peripheral. The stick takes a slight price jump from its Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 counterparts, but that is undoubtedly due to the improved components and wireless networking. The Tatsunoko vs. Capcom FightStick is available now at Mad Catz's online store and will be available in stores nationwide next week.

IGN's Ratings for Tatsunoko vs. Capcom Arcade FightStick

Rating	Description
out of 10
8	Performance Responsive with no evidence of latency issues.
9	Build Quality Stronger, sturdier, and as responsive as the original FightSticks.
9	Features A fully-featured fighting stick with seamless wireless networking, turbo mode, locking mechanism, and more.
8	Value A slight price hike over the original model is justified by the improved components.
9	OVERALL (out of 10 / not an average)

Kingdom Hearts, PSP Top Japan

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 07:55:56 +0000

Nintendo showed its typical dominance of the Japanese marked towards the end of 2009. But Sony jumped back into top as 2010 kicked off thanks to Square Enix and Kingdom Hearts.

Released on January 9 in a special Saturday release, Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep topped Media Create's weekly sales charts for the week spanning January 4 through January 10 with nearly half a million units sold. DS's 358/2 Days, in comparison, managed 295,000 units in its first week early last year.

Here's the full top 10 software chart for the week:

1. Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep (Square Enix, PSP): 446,000
2. New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Nintendo, Wii): 159,000 (2,867,000)
3. Friend Collection (Nintendo, DS): 94,000 (2,596,000)
4. Wii Fit Plus (Nintendo, Wii): 54,000 (1,474,000)
5. Zelda Spirit Tracks (Nintendo, DS): 49,000 (466,000)
6. Final Fantasy XIII (Square Enix, PS3): 42,000 (1,844,000)
7. Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver (Pokemon, DS): 37,000 (3,577,000)
8. Inazuma Eleven 2 (Level-5, DS): 37,000 (1,013,000)
9. Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo, Wii): 33,000 (1,669,000)
10. Phantasy Star Portable 2 (Sega, PSP): 27,000 (533,000)

Most hardware saw a big post year-end drop off. PSP avoided this thanks to Kingdom Hearts. Square Enix released a special PSP-3000 bundle for the game, but Media Create did not provide specific sales figures for this.

Here's the full hardware chart for the week. Last week's sales are in parentheses.

PSP 145,682 (132,911)
Wii 76,772 (163,855)
PS3 61,591 (114,368)
DSi: 50,178 (92,461)
DSi LL: 45,221 (70,643)
DS Lite: 10,067 (17,388)
Xbox 360: 5,461 (6,878)
PS2: 3,092 (4,023)
PSP go: 2,841 (3,903)

Nintendo Crushes December 2009's Competition

Sat, 16 Jan 2010 08:38:07 +0000

NPD's hardware and software sales for the month of December 2009 have landed on our desktops and one thing's for sure -- Nintendo cleaned up. In case you were wondering what last-minute gifts everyone on the planet was buying at the tail end of last year, here's how sales panned out:

December 2009 Hardware Sales

Nintendo Wii: 3.81 million

Nintendo DS: 3.31 million

PlayStation 3: 1.36 million

Xbox 360: 1.31 million

PSP: 654,700

PlayStation 2: 333,200

December 2009 Software Sales

New Super Mario Bros. (Wii): 2.82 million

Wii Fit Plus (Wii): 2.41 million

Wii Sports Resort w/Motion Plus (Wii): 1.79 million

CoD Modern Warfare 2 (360): 1.62 million

CoD Modern Warfare 2 (PS3): 1.12 million

Wii Play w/Remote (Wii): 1.01 million

Mario Kart w/Wheel (Wii): 936,100

Assassin's Creed 2 (360): 783,100

Left 4 Dead 2 (360): 728,500

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story (DS): 656,700

The Unusual Suspects.

It looks as though Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime is infallible. Whichever way you slice it, Nintendo made an absolute killing last month.

Bryn says: I was unsure about Reggie's New Super Mario Bros. Wii sales claims, but boy, was I wrong. To sell over seven million pieces of hardware in one month is pretty phenomenal -- and I thought everyone already owned a Wii and a DS! I'm looking forward to getting a new DSi XL this March, so I'm wondering how well that will sell. Gratz to Nintendo.