LEGO Universe Beta Ready To Brick Your Computer [Beta Watch]

NetDevil’s massively-multiplayer LEGO Universe has reached the closed beta testing stage, with invites flooding the inboxes of beta test hopefuls across the country. More

2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa – Captain Your Country Gameplay Video

Captain Your Country is a new multiplayer mode for up to four players locally. This mode takes place in the two years that it takes to qualify for the final World Cup.

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2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa – Captain Your Country Gameplay Video

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Review: Judging A Book By Its Cover Works [Review]

The quartet of military misfits introduced in the original Battlefield: Bad Company are back and taking a backseat to a revamped (and far more exciting) multiplayer mode in Battlefield: Bad Company 2. On the single-player side of things, Marlowe, Sweetwater, Haggard and Sarge find themselves embroiled in a military endeavor that feel way above their level of understanding—appropriately, as the soldiers in B Company are tasked with hunting down a mysterious super-weapon that dates back to World War II. Bad Company 2 does some time jumping, with the game kicking off in Japan during the war, then leaping forward to the modern day, bouncing around from frosty locations like Alaska to the balmier Bolivia and beyond. Along the way, bald bad guys must be stopped, lest freedom and the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders are destroyed by a doomsday device in the hands of a madman. Battlefield: Bad Company 2’s multiplayer has clearly been given more priority—just look at the game’s box art, which favors a prominent Battlefield over Bad Company, the direct opposite of the first entry. Or simply play the game, which may be the best multiplayer offering fans of modern military shooters will get this year, one that outshines its single-player half. Loved The Lighter Side of War: War has changed into something a bit more lighthearted. Sure, there are some serious dramatic moments that veer close to melodrama, but Bad Company 2 retains much of the laid back charm that complemented the action of the first so well. It’s not particularly funny, mind you, despite the game’s efforts to further establish the misfit, goofball nature of the stars of Bad Company, but the often comedic dialogue, occasionally grating, is a more amusing change of pace from the more serious military shooter. Players may feel some disconnect here, between the action of shooting scores of Russians and Bolivians in the face while the Bad Company squad ribs on each other—and mocks the Modern Warfare competition more than once—but it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Hi-Fi Gun Fun: If you like guns and like shootin’ guns, you’re going to love Bad Company 2’s arsenal. On the multiplayer side, that requires some unlocking of advance level weapons. In the campaign, players can expand their weapon selection by picking up collectible guns. That not only scratches the item collection itch, it prods players to experiment with the weapons left behind by your enemies. Bad Company 2’s weapons are modeled beautifully, but it’s the clear, crisp sound and tight feel of each shotgun, assault rifle and handgun that deserves kudos. So… kudos, DICE. Feeling A Little Lost: I like a little mystery and sci-fi in my drama, so Battlefield Bad Company 2’s plot, the hunt for this enigmatic weapon that wails in a deep booming drone, kept me interested. That the mix of jungle, sci-fi and the mystery super-weapon’s impact and aural design reminded me of something I’d see on Lost probably wasn’t an accident. Big Country: Bad Company 2’s multiplayer maps, like the maps seen in previous Battlefield games, are both massive and surprisingly detailed. In the game’s Rush modes, in which players must defend or attack a pair of “M-COM” stations, you’ll understand the impressive scope of Bad Company 2’s battlefields. There is room for players, whether on foot or in tanks or helicopters, to breath, making multiplayer sessions less of a spawn and die affair at the hands of those who have already memorized the maps. I never considered just how much an open area affects my ability to stay alive longer against better players, but BFBC2 makes me a fan of online multiplayer map sprawl. Deconstruction: The totally destructible environment bullet point from the first Battlefield Bad Company returns, only slightly improved, but still grand in its technical marvelousness. Buildings and fences still splinter, crumble and explode at the impact of frequent—very frequent—explosions to great effect, ensuring that players can’t comfortably and reliably find cover behind just any wall. While you may hate DICE for its liberal sprinkling of rocket propelled grenade firing enemies, it’s still some beautiful destruction to behold. Oh, It Has Multiplayer: Bad Company 2 got a big boost in the multiplayer department, expanding the number of multiplayer game types, but focusing on a few key variations on standard death match and base capture/defense. The now standard experience point system, leading to higher ranks and unlockable weapons, specializations and gadgets, is a little more slow moving in Bad Company 2. The multiplayer side of things just has a grand, extended feel to it, emphasizing teamwork, communication and smart tactics that should appeal to first-person shooter fans with a little more patience. Hated Getting Over The Hump: The game’s campaign takes some time to find its groove, venturing into more interesting territory in its second half. The motivations of your company and your enemy aren’t always clear. Frankly, I’m not quite sure where I was and why I was there at times, focusing solely on shooting whoever was between me and that nasty super-weapon. My occasionally annoying squadmates and one overly zany helicopter pilot didn’t help me enjoy being in Preston Marlowe’s shoes. Bad Aim Company: Sweetwater, Haggard, Sarge, I appreciate that you guys are absorbing a few hundred rounds in the name of getting from point A to point B, but is it asking too much for the rest of B Company to pick up a few kills? I’m getting hammered by RPGs over here. Over and over and over and over again. Thanks. If you need to know what Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is all about, judge this book by its cover. It’s more focused on online multiplayer than before—”Defining online warfare” its box art claims—and more Battlefield than last time. The game’s single-player campaign, an explosive romp against an army of rocket wielding grunts that gets better as time goes on, but feels a little too familiar, is best thought of as a primer for the rest of Bad Company 2. The game’s multiplayer suite is a big hunk of finely polished team and squad-based action. Playing as one of the four classes, each with their own unique appeal, or piloting one of the game’s vehicles on these big Battlefield maps is a blast. That’s where you’ll likely spend much of your time, ranking your way up the multiplayer ladder, capturing flags and sprinting to the next M-COM unit. Gamers who may have felt a little burned by the original’s focus on single-player in favor of big, broad Battlefield action likely won’t be disappointed by what Bad Company 2 brings to the series. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 was developed by DICE and published by Electronic Arts for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC on March 2. Retails for $49.99 USD to $59.99 USD. A copy of the game was given to us by the publisher for reviewing purposes. Played single-player campaign to completion and tested all multiplayer modes on Xbox 360. Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ .

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Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Review: Judging A Book By Its Cover Works [Review]

As you guys might know, an 8.8 degree earthquake… [From Comments]

As you guys might know, an 8.8 degree earthquake hit my country (Chile) on Saturday at 3:35 a.m. At that time I was with my GF, we had just finished watching some TBBT episodes and we went to bed at 3:25 approx. We were talking and laughing an then the eartquake struck the house, lights went off, I live in an 8th floor of a 14 story building and the oscillating movement was out of this world. I grabbed my gf and we went under the frame of the door waiting for the quake to stop, in the meantime the background sounds were like a thunderstorm, I could hear all my stuff falling into the floor and on the outside lights all over the sky, caused by electric failures. When it stopped, I took my girlfriend and we went outside, I knocked the door of one of my neighbors to see if she was ok but no one answered, suddendly I felt it was raining! The pool on the last floor collapsed and the water was falling through some of the apartments and the walls of the building. I had internet on my phone for about 5 minutes and it was slow as hell, not enough time to check the news or put a message online to tell everyone I was ok. No phones, no lights, nothing… It was a complete mess. In the morning when the light came the devastation was not as much as one could imagine, some of my things were on the floor but it was nothing terrible, I just lost a cup that smashed into the floor. At the moment I only have electricity, water and cellphone signal. The earth still moves from time to time (6.2 degrees today in the morning) and the cities are slowly recovering. But the destruction path was big, a tsunami hit some cities and the origin of the earthquake was in the Bio-Bio region (500 kms to the south of Santiago, where I live) where the richter scale pointed 9 and where I have some relatives I still haven’t heard a single word of. But this proved something, our structural resilience as a country is amazing considering the energy liberated in the Haiti earthquake was 500 times weaker (seems like the richter scale is a logarithmic function) and the body count is going (sadly) on the 300+ and there aren’t major structural damages. It was a terrible thing to live.

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As you guys might know, an 8.8 degree earthquake… [From Comments]

Killer Whale’s Violent Past Includes Deadly Attack on Ultima-Obsessed Drifter [Ultima]

The killer whale that apparently killed a trainer today in front of a horrified SeaWorld audience was also connected to the death in 1999 of a drifter so obsessed with Ultima Online that he once wandered into Richard Garriott’s home. Daniel Dukes, 27, the son of Columbia, S.C., real estate brokers, drifted into Austin, Texas in the late 90s, compiling an impressive arrest record. The Austin America-Statesman reported at the time that the crimes included “stealing a Barbie doll, briefcase and women’s camisole from a Target store; clocking a fellow patron in the head at Joe’s Generic Blues Bar; and breaking into a home where he was discovered resting in a downstairs bedroom.” But the crime that finally pushed him out of the city and towards his eventual death in Florida, was the strangest of all. During an interview years ago, Garriott, creator of popular computer role-playing game Ultima, told me that it was Dukes who broke into his castle-like home in Austin in the late 90s. It’s a story he tells with the ease of someone one who’s told and retold the tale countless times. Garriott says that the man, who he described as an obsessed Ultima fan, slipped into his fenced property, smashed out a glass door with a rock and headed to the stairs to his bedroom. Frightened, Garriott says he pulled out a gun and told the man to stop. When Dukes didn’t, he fired off a warning shot leaving a bullet hole in the wall. Ignoring the shot, the man walked up to Garriott’s bedroom, stripped and got into bed. That’s where police found him when they responded to Garriott’s 911 call. Eventually, Dukes found his way to Florida, hanging out in the Coconut Grove Hare Krishna Temple. On July 6, 1999, Dukes’ body was discovered draped across the back of Tillikum, the same killer whale who police say killed a trainer today and who in 1991 was blamed for the drowning of one of his trainers in Victoria, British Columbia, according to the Orlando Sentinel. Garriott was traveling today and couldn’t be reached for comment, but in our conversations from a decade ago the game designer speculated that Dukes might have gotten lost in the fantasy world of Ultima that Garriott created and that his journey around the country, and to that killer whale, were part of that fantasy. The original Ultima games included a virtue system that drew from both chivalry and Buddhism. [ Pic ]

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Killer Whale’s Violent Past Includes Deadly Attack on Ultima-Obsessed Drifter [Ultima]

Red Dead Redemption: Into the Wild

Red Dead Redemption (X360) Taking the open world genre from the town to the country.

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Red Dead Redemption: Into the Wild

Sony Registers MotorStorm 3 Web Site [Rumor]

I’m a big fan of the MotorStorm series. So count me among those who take Sony Computer Entertainment Europe’s recent (as in, Friday) registry of a MotorStorm 3 domain as good news, not just a company hedging for future plans. The domain redirects you back to the Official PlayStation web site for the UK (the country selector if you haven’t picked that region.) WHOIS records show it went active on Jan. 19. MotorStorm’s sequels have not been numbered – Pacific Rift was in 2008, Arctic Edge for the PSP and PS2 was last year – so this tells us nothing about the game. But if there’s a game on the way this would roughly follow the two-year cycle for MotorStorm on the PS3. I’ve emailed a Sony contact but I don’t expect them to say much. Update: Comment from SCEA – I know it’s not SCEE, but this is the best I could do: “It’s not uncommon for us to secure the URLs containing the names of our successful IP, and those actions should not be interpreted as an announcement of a new title in a franchise.” MotorStorm 3 Domain Name Registered by Sony Europe [The Gaming Liberty, thanks Shane W.]

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Sony Registers MotorStorm 3 Web Site [Rumor]

ESRB Leaks Tecmo Bowl Throwback [Tecmo Bowl]

There have been rumors that Tecmo is bringing Tecmo Bowl to the PSN and Xbox LIVE Arcade with Tecmo Bowl Throwback. If you believe the ESRB, those rumors could be true. The Entertainment Software Rating Board has a listing for Tecmo Bowl Throwback for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Here is the listing: This is a top-down arcade-style football game in which players compete against teams around the country to become the “Tecmo Bowl Champion.” Some of the football highlights are depicted in animated cutscenes (with better graphics); a few non-football highlights depict cheerleaders wearing low-cut tops while dancing. And a jumbotron screen displays a 2D swimsuit model with some exposed cleavage. So not only football but a football game with exposed cleavage on a jumbotron. Sound about right. Tecmo Bowl Throwback [ESRB via Siliconera ]

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ESRB Leaks Tecmo Bowl Throwback [Tecmo Bowl]

Dante’s Inferno’s Japanese Marketing Includes a Racial Twist [Ea]

“Look how EA is promoting its game Dante’s Inferno in Japan,” a tipster wrote. If only it was that simple. The gentleman in the Dante outfit is named…Dante. Dante Carver , actually. EA Japan roping in Dante Carver, a well known TV “talent”, to appear at this promotional event for Dante’s Inferno is quite clever. In Japan, television commercials are a big deal. You can tell how popular a celebrity is by the number and types of commercials they appear in. So take fashion model Yuri Ebihara. A few years back she was in ads constantly. Now, she seems to have vanished. So whether it be popstar Takuya Kimura or actress Yukie Nakama, celebrities stay in the public eye by selling products. There is even a magazine in Japan devoted to covering commercials. While Carver appeared at this Dante’s Inferno event and even in a Konami stage show at last year’s Tokyo Game Show, this kind of work is small potatoes for him. His big break came in 2006 when he began appearing in a series of ads for mobile phone carrier SoftBank. The series of ads to promote SoftBank’s “White Plan” discount. As game translator and author Matt Alt points out, “white” is a word all Japanese know and it has pure connotations. The ads have been running for years and center around “The White Family”. There’s the mother (played by elegant actress wife of Earthbound creator Shigesato Itoi, Kanako Higuchi), the daughter (played by extremely popular actress Aya Ueto), the older brother (played by the previously mentioned Carver) and the father (played by a white dog). Carver is the yosougai (unforeseen) element in the ad. In Japan, the ads have been a hit. And recently, American film director Quentin Tarantino appeared as the kooky uncle . Tarantino’s appearance got me thinking — subconsciously, maybe, about one of the most controversial films about American racism during the 1980s. A film that was viewed as being so risky, that it was shelved by the studio Paramount Pictures. That film was White Dog . White Dog, released in 1982 in France where director Samuel Fuller was adored by critics and filmmakers, told the story of a white dog that had been trained by its master to attack black people. Scored by Ennio Morricone and co-written by Curtis Hanson (L.A. Confidential), White Dog was director Samuel Fuller’s look at how racism is breed. But before the film was even released, the buzz was that White Dog was racist. Paramount blinked and then refused to release the picture in the U.S. The irony being of course that White Dog is not a racist film. Samuel Fuller was one of Hollywood’s most progressive directors, unafraid of tackling everything from war to prostitution to, yes, racism in the US. Before coming to Hollywood, Fuller had worked as a crime reporter, a political cartoonist and even landed at D-Day as part of the U.S. infantry. Tarantino was and still is a great admirer of Fuller’s films, and during the late 1990s when I was working for Tarantino’s distribution company, I saw a 35mm print of White Dog, one of the rare times the film had been screened for the American public. It’s no accident Fuller picked a dog for his film. Dogs and African-Americans have a long, checkered history. Dogs were used to track escaped slaves. Fire hoses were sprayed at and doges were sicced on blacks during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. This imagery exists. Fuller used a white dog as an obvious metaphor to show how racism is taught. And yet, here in Japan, we have The White Family, consisting of a white dog father and a black son. Of course, the breeds are totally different — the movie has a white German Shepherd, while the SoftBank ads have a white Hokkaido Ken. Does this mean the producers of the SoftBank ad were aware of this? Of course, not. This film, while a significant entry into Fuller’s filmography because it marks the last Hollywood film he did, is certainly not a major film in Japan. (It did get a release there in 1990.) Most likely, the producers, the stars and even Carver himself are oblivious to White Dog — and that is fine. However, I would be surprised if Tarantino did not make the connection between the ad and White Dog in his mind at least, even if it is a superficial connection. The connection exits, though while it may be interesting to point out, it is tenuous at best. These White Family ads are actually a breath of fresh air. Even though, the idea of a white dog having a black son might not fly in the US, the series of ads are welcomed in Japan. Here’s why: While the White Family clearly does not look like a normal family, they act like a normal family. Carver’s brother character is just a regular brother-type character. The ads do not bring up his nationality or color, and he does not play up the kooky foreigner angle that dominates so much of Japanese mass media. He’s just a normal guy! (With a dog father.) Just like White Dog before it, these White Family ads examine race — though the SoftBank ads do not directly deal with racism. Instead, by indirectly commenting on racism, the ads shine a light to stereotyping elsewhere in the country’s media. As American-born Japanese TV talent Dave Spector once pointed out, the Japanese often view foreigners on TV as like a panda bear. They’re cute and interesting and fun to throw marshmallows at, but that’s about it. Carver’s character in the White Family is a baby step beyond that. For those who are interested, the White Family ads with English subtitles can be viewed here . [ Pic , Pic , Pic , Pic ]

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Dante’s Inferno’s Japanese Marketing Includes a Racial Twist [Ea]

PlayStation Store Update: That’s Nice [North America]

If you like to dabble, this week’s North American PlayStation Store update is for you, with five new PlayStation 3 demos to download and enjoy and at least one new game. And if you own a PSP, things get even better, with the addition of two new titles, one an After Burner game, the other an Armored Core game. But it’s the Aliens vs. Predator and Battlefield: Bad Company 2 demos that my put a strain on the PlayStation Network this evening, both available for download. Don’t forget Tecmo’s Fret Nice, the only PSN platformer that features guitar controller support, also available in demo and full game form. The full list, after this. Games & Demos for PlayStation 3 Fret Nice ($14.99) Aliens vs. Predator demo Battlefield: Bad Company 2 multiplayer demo Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce demo Fret Nice demo Tank Battles demo Games & Demos for PSP After Burner: Black Falcon ($15.99) Armored Core: Silent Line ($14.99) Add-ons & Expansions White Knight Chronicles International Edition Makeover Ticket ($4.99) Dragon Ball: Raging Blast Revived Warriors Pack (free) MX vs ATV Reflex Track Pack 2 DLC ($4.99) Guitar Hero 5 tracks “Kings And Queens” by 30 Seconds to Mars ($1.99) “From Yesterday” by 30 Seconds to Mars ($1.99) “Attack” by 30 Seconds to Mars ($1.99) 30 Seconds to Mars Track Pack ($5.49) – “Attack”, “From Yesterday”, and “Kings and Queens” by 30 Seconds to Mars. Rock Band tracks “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy” by Kenny Chesney ($1.99) “On the Road Again” by Willie Nelson ($1.99) “Swing” by Trace Adkins ($1.99) “Me and My Gang” by Rascal Flatts ($1.99) “Suds in the Bucket” by Sara Evans ($1.99) “Gone” by Montgomery Gentry ($1.99) Gone Country Track Pack 3 ($9.99) – “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy” by Kenny Chesney, “Swing” by Trace Adkins, “Me and My Gang” by Rascal Flatts, “On the Road Again” by Willie Nelson, “Suds in the Bucket” by Sara Evans, and “Gone” by Montgomery Gentry. Game Videos Pulse 2/4 Edition Army of Two: The 40th Day Co-op Office Sniper trailer Army of Two: The 40th Day Launch trailer Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Single Player trailer Dark Void HD trailer FIFA Soccer 10: Ultimate Team trailer FIFA Soccer 10: New User trailer Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing Vehicles & Tracks Network trailer SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo 3 Multiplayer trailer Themes & Wallpapers White Knight Chronicles International Edition Dynamic Theme 1 ($2.99) Star Trek Dynamic Theme ($2.99) Bad Business Theme 2 ($1.99) Azmodeus Dark Angels Premium Theme 3 ($1.99) A Sexy Valentine Theme ($1.99) Infected Theme ($1.49) NBA Unrivaled wallpaper

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PlayStation Store Update: That’s Nice [North America]

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