Activision Cites Infinity Ward "Insubordination" [Infinity Ward]

Jason West and Vince Zampella, two lead developers at Infinity Ward, met with Activision earlier today . Then they seemed to disappear and “bouncer-types” showed up at the studio. This Activision filing might explain why. “The Company is concluding an internal human resources inquiry into breaches of contract and insubordination by two senior employees at Infinity Ward,” Acitivsion states in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. “This matter is expected to involve the departure of key personnel and litigation. At present, the Company does not expect this matter to have a material impact on the Company.” Activision also adds that it will be releasing another Call of Duty game this year. That game is believed to be developed Treyarch. According to West’s Facebook and Linked In pages, he is currently no longer working for Infinity Ward. SEC Filing [SEC via G4 ]

Read the rest here:
Activision Cites Infinity Ward "Insubordination" [Infinity Ward]

Game Informer Announces its February Cover – Halo: Reach

Game Informer has confirmed that Bungie’s 2010 shooter Halo: Reach will be the magazine’s next cover story, ending speculation on the matter from last week (Fallout: New Vegas); find out what details will be included after the jump.

See the article here:
Game Informer Announces its February Cover – Halo: Reach

The PlayStation Portable Buyer’s Guide [Shopping Gift Guide]

The Playstation Portable got a fun, new little brother this year in the form of the slide-n-go, download-only PSPgo. The PSPgo launched on Oct. 1, kicking off an impressive glut of download-only games on the Playstation Store. It also marked Sony’s promised push for new, triple-A games for the Playstation Portable including MotorStorm, LittleBigPlanet and Assassin’s Creed titles. Take a gander at some of the big games that hit the PSP this year. What titles would you recommend as a gift? Fieldrunners Price: $6.99 Genre : Tower Defense Subject Matter: The popular iPhone Tower Defense game brought to the Playstation Portable. Value: This was one of my favorite downloadable minis when the PSPgo launched. It’s a great port of the original. Buy it for fans of tower defense titles. Read the Full Review G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra Price: $29.99 Rating: Teen Genre : Action Subject Matter: A arcade-style shooter loosely based on the live-action G.I. Joe movie. Value: G.I. Joe is a movie tie-in strangely reminiscent of Konami’s Contra series. One or two players take control of their favorite Joes from the movie and take on Cobra across multiple levels of run-and-gun action. There are a few unlockables catering to fans of the old cartoon series, but other than that this is strictly a movie-lover’s affair. Buy it for : Really, really big fans of the G.I. Joe live-action movie. Read the Full Review Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars Price: $39.99 Rating: Mature Genre: Open world action-adventure Subject Matter: Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars is a 3D, top-down adventure, putting players in the shoes of Huang Lee, a spoiled son of a Chinese gangster. The typical Grand Theft Auto rise to power through sex, drugs, violence and bad driving flows over the course of the game. Value: There’s a lengthy story to be told, with Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars throwing in plenty of side missions and mini-games to keep the player interested. Buy it for: PSP owners looking for a chunky, fun-to-pay adventure. Read the Full Preview Gran Turismo Price: $39.99 Rating: Everyone Genre: Driving Simulation Subject Matter: Gran Turismo offers players over 800 cars to purchase, customize and race on more than 35 tracks in a realistic setting, testing their driving skills with real-world physics. Value: Gran Turismo offers nearly limitless replayability, thanks to the numerous cars, tracks and Driving Challenges stuffed in to the game. Long time Gran Turismo fans may be turned of by the lack of a Career Mode and Leaderboards, but this is a solid pick up and play racer. Buy it for: The car-obsessed portable gamer who prefers a passenger seat in the real-world. Read the Full Review Half-Minute Hero Price: $29.95 Rating: E10+ Genre: Across four mode: Hyper-speed role-playing game / hyper-speed scrolling shoot-em-up / hyper-speed real-time strategy game / hyper-speed top-down dungeon-crawler Subject Matter: A winning send-up to the genres and technology of 16-bit Japanese-made games, there’s actually a lengthy adventure here that spans eras and tells the comedic/dramatic tale of heroes who repeatedly face the challenge of saving the world in 30 seconds. Value: High, as the game offers short-session bites of play that combine into a lengthy adventure that has none of the brevity suggested by the game’s title. Buy it for: RPG fans, fans of the Super Nintendo era, and fans who are looking for something original and smart on the PSP. Read the Full Review LocoRoco Midnight Carnival Price: $14.99 Rating: Everyone Genre : Platformer Subject Matter: The LocoRocos are up past their bedtime and rolling and bouncing their way through a Halloween carnival-style levels. Value: The stages might be short, but they are hard . A more satisfying (and less stressful) gaming experience was found in some of the mini-games. Buy it for : Gamers looking for a challenge who get music stuck in their heads easily. Read the Full Review MotorStorm: Arctic Edge Price: $39.99 Rating: Teen Genre : Racing Subject Matter: MotorStorm: Arctic Edge is an over-the-top, semi-open world off-road racer. Buy it for : fans of arcade race games who spend a bit of time commuting or can’t afford a Playstation 3. Value: With 12 maps, two directions to race them on, multiple courses and vehicle types, MotorStorm Arctic Edge is packed with content. Online play rounds out the experience giving you a chance to test your skills against five other players at a time. Read the Full Review PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe Price: $19.99 Rating: Teen Genre : Tower defense Subject Matter: Classic tower defense mechanics and gameplay mixed with delicious PixelJunk aesthetics. Buy it for : fans of the original Playstation 3 title, tower defense games or developer Q Games. Value: Featuring new maps, enemies and towers, this is worth the cash. Read the Full preview PSPgo Price: $249 Rating: NA Genre: Hardware Subject Matter: Sony’s latest portable platform ditches the need for a UMD drive and instead gives you a 16GB harddrive and the ability to download all of the games directly to the system. Value: At $249, the portable platform is quite pricey, coming in at the cost of several home consoles. Buy it for: anyone interested in being able to load up their portable with movies, TV shows, pictures, music and games without having to carry a single disc around with them. Read the Full Review PSPgo Traveler Case Price: $19.99 Rating: NA Genre: NA Subject Matter: This fauxe leather case protects and beautifies your PSPgo. Value: For just under $20, this is a heck of a deal. Buy it for: PSPgo owners looking to protect or upgrade the look of their portable. Read the Full Review Rock Band Unplugged> /strong> Price: $19.99 Rating: Teen Genre: Rhythm game Subject Matter: Harmonix’ insanely popular Rock Band on the go. Value: For just under $20 you get a full-fledged World Tour and about 40 tracks. You also get the ability to download new tracks to your PSP. Buy it for: fans of rhythm games, Rock Band and good music. Read the Full Review Shin Megami Tensei: Persona Price: $39.99 Rating: Teen Genre : RPG Subject Matter: A remake of the original Persona for the PlayStation. Value: A more faithful translation of the original Japanese Persona has never been seen in North America, making Persona PSP the definitive first entry in a series that’s been enjoying increased popularity these past few years. Buy it for : Any Japanese RPG fan. Read the Full Review Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron Price: $29.99 Rating: Teen Genre : Adventure Subject Matter: You are X-2, a Jedi clone out to help the Rebels take down the Empire and stop your brother X-1 before it’s too late. Value: Elite Squadron mixes gameplay, story and clips from the Star Wars films as it tells the story of X-2. The real replay value comes with the game’s online multiplayer. Buy it for : Star Wars fans or those looking for a PSP multiplayer experience. Read the Full Review

Visit link:
The PlayStation Portable Buyer’s Guide [Shopping Gift Guide]

The iPhone Gamer’s Gift Guide [Shopping Gift Guide]

It’s been an amazing year for the iPhone and gaming. Not only have a slew of new, blockbuster titles come out for the emerging platform, Apple finally realized that maybe they should wake up and start touting the gaming benefits of their smartphone and media player. This is by no means all of the iPhone and iPod Touch games we reviewed this year, but it’s a quick look at some of the more memorable ones. Don’t forget, just because they’re download only, doesn’t mean you can’t present a list with the iTunes card you give someone. Any we missed? Any you would suggest for a friend? Asphalt 5 Price: $6.99 Rating: N/A Genre : Racing Subject Matter: Gameloft brings Burnout’s adrenaline-amping crashes and Ridge Racer’s wind-in-your-hair thrills to the iPhone with Asphalt 5. Value: A strong competitor to the PSP’s racing games, Asphalt 5 offers three modes-quick race, career, local and online multi-player, 33 cars, 12 tracks, vehicle customization, and unlockable stat-boosting babes. Buy it for : Gamers ready to go vroom. Read the Full Review Command & Conquer: Red Alert Price: $9.99 Rating: N/A Genre : Real Time Strategy Subject Matter: EA brings its over-the-top real-time strategy series to the iPhone, allowing on-the-go gamers to wage war wherever they please. Value: While things like C&C’s cheesy cinematics didn’t make the leap to the iPhone, the platform’s touch screen display is ideal for RTS style gaming. Buy it for : RTS players looking for a mobile strategy game. Read the Full Review Doom Resurrection Price: $6.99 Rating: N/A Genre: First-person touchscreen shooter Subject Matter: Loosely based on Doom 3, Resurrection is an impressive port of the demonic sci-fi FPS that’s easily controlled with the iPhone’s accelerometer. Value: As iPhone games go, Doom Resurrection is priced almost right, offering a solid campaign, but not much more. Buy it for: budding space marines who enjoy killing hellspawn between phone calls. Read the Full Review Dungeon Hunter Price: $6.99 Rating: 9+ Genre: Diablo-esque action. Subject Matter: Dungeon Hunter has gamers play as a fallen prince back from the dead to save the kingdom from his evil wife. Plenty of dungeon crawling, loot gathering and virtual button-mashing in this game. Value: A single play-through of the game can take 25 hours, and there are three character classes to play with. This is probably the best value you’ll find on the iPhone or iPod Touch. Buy it for: fans of adventure games like Diablo and light role-playing titles. Read the Full Review Madden NFL Price: $9.99 Genre: Sports Subject Matter: EA Sports delivers its bestselling Madden franchise to the iPhone for the first time. Value: Fully licensed, with all of the teams, players and game modes from the console version of the definitive NFL video game title. Buy it for: A great stocking stuffer for any football fan with an iPhone or iPod Touch. Read the Full Review Metal Gear Solid Touch Price: $0.99 to $9.99 Rating: N/A Genre: Third-person touchscreen shooter Subject Matter: Metal Gear Solid Touch brings 20 stages lifted from Metal Gear Solid 4 but focuses more on arcade-style touchscreen shooting than the stealth gameplay that Solid Snake is famous for. Value: Depending on how much you pay (the game was marked down to 99 cents recently) MGS Touch offers a decent amount of replayability and cool items to unlock. Buy it for: the serious as a heart attack Metal Gear fan who doesn’t have access to a PlayStation. Read the Full Review NBA Live Price: $9.99 Genre: Sports Subject Matter: The NBA goes mobile in EA Sports’ first port of its popular pro basketball simulation. Value: All teams, all players, plus season, playoffs, and pick-up-and-play modes, with customizable rosters. Buy it for: Any hoophead with a gadget fixation will love having a full basketball sim in his or her pocket. Read the Full Review Resident Evil 4 Mobile Edition Price: $6.99 Rating: 9+ Genre: Shooter Subject Matter: Resident Evil 4 Mobile Edition is a screen-tapping, stop-and-pop, suspense shooter. Value: With a dozen settings and two dozen timed stages, this iPhone title is worth the money. Buy it for: Resident Evil fans, shooter fans, anyone interested in gaming on their phone or Touch. Read the Full Review Rock Band Price: $9.99 Rating: N/A Genre : Music Subject Matter: It’s Rock Band. It’s on the iPhone. Yeah! Value: Packed with 20 tracks, Rock Band has a set list that boasts the likes of Foo Fighters, the Pixies and Joan Jett. Players can jam on all four instruments. Multiplayer supports up to four. Buy it for : Music game lovers on the go. Read the Full Review Rolando 2 Price: $4.99 Rating: 4+ Genre: A charming side-scrolling puzzler. Subject Matter: This sequel to last-year’s must-have iPhone game, Rolando 2 introduces more story, character development and challenges. Value: This is the first time Luke has ever played an iPhone that felt truly substantial. Buy it for: fans of LocoRoco, Rolando or cute, cleverly-crafted puzzle games.. Read the Full Review Space Invaders Infinity Gene Price: $4.99 Rating: 4+ Genre: Shoot em up Subject Matter: Space Invaders Infinity Gene is a re-imagining of 70s classic arcade game Space Invaders. Value: One of the most played games on my iPhone, Space Invaders Infinity Gene offers you 19 levels with a number of interesting new weapons. But almost more importantly, the game can create levels on the fly designed around music played from your iPhone or iPod Touch’s music library. Buy it for: fans of Space Invaders, fans of shoot-em ups, fans of fun. Read the Full Review Star Defense Price: $.99 Rating: 9+ Genre: Tower defense Subject Matter: Defend a planet outpost from an amazingly orderly bunch of aliens walking there way along the paths that lead from landing port to your base. Value: It’s just a buck, and it’s a ton of fun. Buy it for: Fans of tower defense and globes. Read the Full Review Streets of Rage Price: $4.99 Rating: 12+ Genre: Genesis brawling side-scroller Subject Matter: This is a straight-up emulation of the Sega classic for the Genesis with chop-socky music and over-the-top tiny graphics. Value: Not much of a deal here even at $5. It’s a straight, troubled port. Buy it for: With a bad framerate and problematic controls, only hardcore fans of the game and nostalgia freaks should get this. Read the Full Review Waterways Price: $.99 Rating: 4+ Genre: Puzzler Subject Matter: Winner of the 2008 Japan GameGam Competition, Waterways is a puzzle game with cows, ducks and water. Value: For a penny shy of a dollar you can’t go wrong with this portable game. Buy it for: Puzzle enthusiasts who want a some brain teasing on the go. Read the Full Review Zenonia Price: $2.99 Rating: 9+ Genre: Adventure role-playing game. Subject Matter: Zenonia follows a young man named Regret as he searches for answers to the mystery surrounding his birth after the sudden death of the man who raised him. Value: With about 20 hours worth of play and the ability to choose good and evil paths, this is a no brainer. Buy it for: fans of The Legend of Zelda. Read the Full Review

Read more here:
The iPhone Gamer’s Gift Guide [Shopping Gift Guide]

The Daily Quest: Roadhouse | World Of Warcraft Meet

We here at WoW.com are on a Daily Quest to bring you interesting, informative and entertaining WoW-related links from around the blogosphere. Roadhouse. Big Hit Box has a brand new look. Roadhouse. Gray Matter looks at Moonkin Basics: …

Go here to see the original:
The Daily Quest: Roadhouse | World Of Warcraft Meet

Modern Warfare 2 Gets Dedicated PC Servers (Well, Sort Of) [Clips]

So Infinity Ward ditched dedicated servers for the PC version of Modern Warfare 2 , eh? It’s of little consequence, as it hasn’t taken hackers long to enable a workaround, bringing the feature back. And here it is, in action. Whether it’s actually better than IW’s present solution is another matter, but really, that was never the point here. No, the point was just to show IW’s decision could be reversed, and that point has been made.

Read this article:
Modern Warfare 2 Gets Dedicated PC Servers (Well, Sort Of) [Clips]

Silent Hill: Shattered Memories Scares Up 2010 Release In Europe [Konami]

The mystery of Silent Hill : Shattered Memories’ release date in North America is still unsolved, with no word from Konami on what appears to be a delay for the Wii, PS2 and PSP game. At least Europe has a date… And that date is someday in February of 2010, according to an update on the matter from Eurogamer . Since Konami hasn’t responded to requests for clarification, we’ll mentally prepare ourselves for the psychological impact of a similar release time frame. Silent Hill: Shattered Memories for Feb [Eurogamer]

Follow this link:
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories Scares Up 2010 Release In Europe [Konami]