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Dead Island Riptide Rigor Mortis Edition Unveiled

Continuing the tradition of “if it’s a game, it must have a collector’s edition”, Deep Silver revealed the Dead Island Riptide Rigor Mortis Edition. Housed in a handy replica suitcase complete with travel stickers from around the world, the collector’s edition will come with the game (duh), a zombie hula bobble figurine, key with Dead Island keychain, and bottle opener that looks like a severed zombie arm.

All of this will cost you $79.99, so be very sure of how much you love bobble figures and fake keys that open nothing before you spend the extra 20 bucks.

[amazon_link id=”B00886WO7A” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Dead Island Riptide[/amazon_link] releases on April 23rd.

January 10, 2013
Aliens: Colonial Marines Alien Hive Video

Gearbox has released another video in their ‘Concept to Game’ series for [amazon_link id=”B005THAX6K” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Aliens: Colonial Marines[/amazon_link]. This short video shows off the art for the alien hive which is located in the engineering room of the U.S.S. Sulaco. The art then transforms into the final in-game product giving off the very creepy vibe that this game needs.

Aliens: Colonial Marines releases on February 12th on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC with a Wii U release coming later in the year.

January 10, 2013
Amazon AutoRip Gives You Free MP3’s Of Your CD Library Since 1998.

Amazon has just added a literal ton to my cloud player. Today they have announced their new service called AutoRip. The basics of it are that for every CD you buy on Amazon.com you will have a free MP3 copy sent instantly to your Amazon Cloud Player. This means that while waiting on your CD you can listen to an MP3 version of the album instantly and then transfer it to any of the Apple or Android phones or tablets you happen to own.

The real big deal of this new service is that Amazon has decided to reward longtime customers and give them MP3 versions of albums they have bought since the beginning of Amazon Music way back in 1998 for free. So for people, like me, that have had Amazon accounts for quite a while (2002 for me), you will now have every CD you have bought delivered to your cloud player for no charge. This is a great bit of fan service that amazon did not have yo do but I am very thankful they did. Go check out Amazon.com/AutoRip to see exactly how the service will work.

January 10, 2013
Shadow of the Colossus Film Has A New Writer, Still A Video Game Movie

[amazon_link id=”B002I0J5FG” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Shadow of the Colossus[/amazon_link] is one of those games, like Journey, that is squarely in the forefront of the “games as art” argument, so I still have mixed feelings about if a movie based on the property should be made. As we all know most video game movies are, shall we say, less than stellar (except for the first [amazon_link id=”B004MA1K1W” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Mortal Kombat[/amazon_link], you know it’s still awesome). I can only imagine basing a movie on Shadow of the Colossus may be like asking a five year old with watercolors to copy Starry Night.

If there is a small glimmer of hope it is that the director, Josh Trank, has made a pretty good movie (Chronicle) and now they have gotten Seth Lochhead to write a new script. Lochhead had previously written the movie [amazon_link id=”B005CMSDKA” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Hanna[/amazon_link], about the girl from The Lovely Bones being trained as a bada** assassin by her dad, Nero from Star Trek. Now whether he can convey the emotions that the game did remains to be seen and that is a big part of if this will be successful or not.

Now I want to watch Mortal Kombat again.

January 10, 2013
New Nyko Wii U Accessories Impress At CES

Nyko showed off some new [amazon_link id=”B009AGXH64″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Wii U[/amazon_link] accessories at the CES show this week and they look to be very good additions for any Wii U owner.

Above you see the Pro Commander controller which is their answer to Nintendo’s Pro Controller butthere is one big difference in that Nyko has staggered the sticks on the controller so now it is almost the perfect twin of an Xbox 360 controller. It is wireless and will hold a 25 hour charge with the battery which is well below the 80 hours that Nintendo’s controller carries. The real selling point should be the $34.99 price point which is $15 dollars cheaper than Nintendo.

Below is the Charge Station U, a dock that charges your Gamepad but also has two charging spots for Wii controllers as well as rechargeable battery packs for each. The Charge Station will also cost $34.99.

Finally, the UBoost may be the most needed accessory for Wii U owners who play for extended periods of time and need more than a few hours charge from their Gamepad. It will double the Gamepad’s battery life and also comes with a kickstand for when you sit your Gamepad down or for TV viewing. It will come in white or black and only retail for $19.99, which sounds completely reasonable.

We all know Nintendo systems are the king of peripherals but these new items from Nyko appear to be more useful than fluff.

January 9, 2013
The Walking Dead Midseason Poster

The wait is almost over. February 10th sees the return of The Walking Dead. Will Daryl and Merle make it out of Woodbury alive? Can Michonne gain Rick’s trust? How awesome is it to finally have Tyreese? Will Andrea stop being a massive, moronic bi***?

Check out the new poster for the show’s return with The Governor’s new look thanks to Michonne’s handiness with fish tank glass.

January 9, 2013
Target To Begin Price Matching, Too Late For My 3DS

In an effort to win back gaming customers lost to the likes of Best Buy and Amazon, Target has announced that they will begin price matching other retailers and even their own website, Target.com, in stores. According to the new policy, if you find a price within seven days of your purchase from a retailer’s print ad or online site then Target will match the price.

“Guests can confidently shop at Target every day for the best value in retail. We know that our guests often compare prices online. With our new Price Match Policy and the additional five percent savings guests receive when they use their REDcard, Target provides an unbeatable value,” said Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel.

So where do I need to go to get back the 30 dollars from last year I lost because Target would not match their own online price?

January 9, 2013
Why Should Tomb Raider Be A Must Buy?

March 5th is almost here and with that will see the rebirth of video game icon Lara Croft. Crystal Dynamics has been hard at work putting the finishing touches on [amazon_link id=”B004FS8LYK” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Tomb Raider[/amazon_link] which sees Lara crash land on a tropical island and serves as her first adventure as we see the events that begin to shape the hardened character we know from previous installments.

The developer has been good to show off a lot of the process in making the game through a series of videos titled The Final Hours of Tomb Raider. They have been coming out every few months with the fourth installment being released this week. Hosted by Zachary Levi, (Chuck, Thor: The Dark World) the series focuses on many aspects of the development process including the motion capture process and the emotional tole the role has taken on actress Camilla Ludington. The second video shows the makers as they bring the game to the public for the first time in playable form at last year’s San Diego Comic Con. Next, you get a listen to how the game’s score came together complete with the fabrication of a brand new “instrument” made just for the unique sounds you will hear in the soundtrack.

A big announcement came when the fourth video in the series released this week with the addition of multiplayer for the first time ever in the Tomb Raider series. It is being developed by a completely separate team at Eidos Montreal. Please don’t think that this is just some tacked on multiplayer element. Teams will be using every bit of the terrain that is available including climbing walls with Lara’s climbing tool as well as being able to set booby traps for your opponents like fake ammunition crates that explode and snare traps. Zachary Levi is even a playable character so you can fulfill all of your Chuck video game fantasies (or is that just me?).

Catch up on the series below and we will keep you filled in with more [amazon_link id=”B004FSE52C” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Tomb Raider[/amazon_link] as March 5th draws near.

January 9, 2013
Marvel Super Heroes Get A Lego Game Of Their Own

Lego’s reach is indeed very, very long. Warner Bros. Games has announced that the Marvel superheroes will be starring in their own video game. Traveller’s Tales will be handling the game as usual. They have already developed the Lego games for Star Wars, Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean and Batman (including the amazing Lego Batman 2).

The game will see the Marvel heroes teaming up to try and defeat the evil team of Loki and Galactus, who kind of likes to destroy worlds. There will be over 100 playable characters in the game including the likes of Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, Wolverine, Spider-Man, Deadpool, the Fantastic Four and even the Guardians of the Galaxy (movie hype begins here).

[amazon_link id=”B006ZPAYGE” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Lego Batman 2[/amazon_link] was one of the most fun games I played last year so I can not contain my Lego excitement at the chance of playing as Marvel characters.

Lego Marvel Super Heroes will release this fall on every home and handheld console imaginable.

January 8, 2013
Valve’s Steam Box Is Real, Codenamed ‘Piston’

Hey, remember how the rumor mill has been talking about Valve developing a supposed “Steam Box” for like three years? Here you go.

Guess we can chalk one up for the rumor mill.

Hardware maker Xi3 teamed with Valve and showed off a very early version of the Piston to CES. It will come with up to 1TB of storage and will be able to upgrade the CPU and RAM as well as have component updates. It will perform beyond the upcoming next generation consoles and is only about the size of a grapefruit.

No pricing was revealed but this is most likely where the differences with home consoles will be seen. Valve could just want this to be an extension of their PC market but if this is competitively priced, could they take a small chunk out of the Sony/Microsoft/Nintendo pie?

January 8, 2013