Starcraft 2 Might Have Pre-Paid Game Time...

I'm sure that many of you are aware that a new Starcraft 2 Beta patch came out earlier today. This new patch brought some new balance changes, a Battle.net revamp, and of course tons of bugs. While playing some 2v2 with a friend I was experiencing lots of lag, and so I decided to re-log, however, a funny thing happened. Upon entering my account info I was greeted with this message:

Now I know that Blizzard has said that Starcraft 2 is going to free to play as long as you have an internet connect, but pop-up is leading me to believe there's more to it.
This could mean a premium service that could launch right along a free to play version, something that Blizzard is currently trying with they're World of Warcraft Acution House App for the iPhone/iPod Touch.

Indie Review: VVVVVV

I have recently finished up an indie title called "VVVVVV"(the letter V six times), and I can't think of enough fantastic things to say about it! To begin, I'd have to explain that I've always had a soft spot in my heart for "indie" games which has gone as far as me contemplating to buy an Xbox 360 for just the "Indie market place". However, even though I've played so many different "indie" games, its not often that I come across one as fun, addictive, and all around genius as "VVVVVV".

"VVVVVV", like most "indie" games, has one very neat game mechanic that is extremely well tuned in order to allow the player to manipulate it various ways. In "VVVVVV" that mechanic is the ability to flip your character upside down, I'd say its like flipping gravity but your character is the only one affected by it, so take that as you will. The main idea behind it all is that you're on a space ship which has gone through some crazy time portal, and all the ships crew members have been scattered across space waiting to saved by you, the ships captain.
Ultimately, "VVVVVV" plays out like a platformer, but there's some pretty distinct differences, the main one being that you can't jump. For every ledge or gap you come across you have to "flip gravity" and attempt to get across your obstacle that way. This starts to get extremely difficult when a majority of the surface starts to become covered with spikes, cleverly shaped as V's. Each level in "VVVVVV" is contained in a large open-world type of space, which allows for the player to play any particular level in any given order. The music in "VVVVVV" was also some of the best I've heard in an "indie" game in a long long time (I even ended up buying the soundtrack entitled "PPPPPP"). With all of this put together, the fantastic gameplay, the great music, and the game's clever jokes. "VVVVVV" is defiantly on my list of favorite "indie" games of all
time.

If you'd like to experience this epic adventure for yourself, you can play the free demo here, or if you want to be super awesome, you can buy the full game at http://thelettervsixtim.es/ and its only $15 (come on, all the cool kids are doing it). All of the proceeds go directly to the amazingly talented developer Terry Cavanagh. Lastly if you're like me and you cant get enough of the 8-bit musical goodness, you should buy the soundtrack here for only $4.

Dead Space 2 Trailer Revealed

Woohoo! As many of you know, Dead Space is one of my favorite 3rd person horror games, and I've been looking forward to Dead Space 2 ever since it was first announced. Today Visceral Games and EA released the first full trailer for Dead Space 2, and let me tell you, it looks pretty cool!

Although this trailer really doesn't show any gameplay, I can't help but get excited for more necromorph stomping. The one thing I'm not to certain about however, is if Isaac will keep his "Joe every-man" personality. The new suit is defiantly making him look more like a military trooper, rather than a space engineer.

Bungie Signs A 10-Year Partnership With Activision

Stop, breath, and read that headline again. Yup, it says 'Bungie Signs A 10-Year Partnership With Activision". Bungie has written an open letter to ensure their fans that Bungie is still...well you know...Bungie.

 "Today, we’re poised to open a new chapter in Bungie’s history—one that begins with a partnership between Bungie and Activision and ends where we always knew it would, with World Domination. Our Next Big Thing now has a concrete path, leading from our studio to the platforms of our choosing. The business formalities are behind us. Our Constitution remains unchanged. We are still Bungie, still independent, and now we are free to bring our stories to an ever bigger audience...Once the smoke clears, all the pieces will finally be in place for Step 7. Don’t worry, though. We won’t let World Domination go to our heads. We’re gonna keep making kick ass games on our own terms, and since you’ve been so supportive throughout the years, we’d love to bring you along for the ride."
It's crazy to think that this is the same studio who fought so hard to get out Microsoft's contract a couple years ago is now in a new, although totally different, contract with Activision. All irony aside, once you really take it all in, it's not all that crazy. A studio as big and successful and Bungie was going to end up somewhere, and hey, Activision sure is "somewhere".

Source: G4

Another Live Action Halo Trailer In The Bag

It's that time again folks, another live action commercial for the latest Halo game.

If you feel like this trailer is missing something, don't worry, the "full" commercial will be available for Xbox Live Gold subscribers tomorrow.

Split/Second Blows More Stuff Up

I really can't enough of these Split/Second trailers, so when Disney Interactive released a new one yesterday, I just had to make a post about it.
This trailer show's the game's standard mix of fast cars, explosions, and...a power plant...

Doesn't that look fun? Well if you have an Xbox 360 and want to give a try yourself, the demo is out now. Let me know what you think of the demo, and how it stands up to the game's awesome trailers.

Sims 3 Heading Over To Consoles This Fall

Last years best-selling PC franchise is heading over to consoles later this year. The game will becoming to the Wii, PS3, Xbox 360, and the Ds, all of which are scheduled for a fall release.
 Skimming through EA's press release tells us that The Sims 3 for consoles will include all-new features make it easier than ever to mess with life as players can unlock the ultimate “Karma Powers” for instant control and unleash them on their Sims. Players can help their Sim “get lucky,” bless them with “instant beauty” or be deviant and curse them with an “epic fail.”

Now this isn't the first Sims game to make it onto consoles, but it defiantly seems like this is going to be one of the most complete "Sim experiences". Keeping with The Sim's casual appeal, the Xbox 360 and PS3 version will come with a "single-use serial code" that will allow gamers to share achievements with friends through Facebook.