NEWS: Battlefield 3 Open Beta
September 29, 2011 by Craig J Gallagher
Filed under News, featured
Battlefield 3’s open multiplayer beta is now open to all PS3, Xbox360 and PC users. The beta will run till October 10th and with such a limited time window gamers are encouraged to get in quickly.
The Operation Metro map on offer is infantry focused, pitting two teams against one another with on defending and the other attempting to complete several sets of objectives.
NEWS: Gears of War 3 Years Best Selling Title
September 29, 2011 by Craig J Gallagher
Filed under News, featured
Microsoft today announced that Gears of War 3 has sold over three million sales units during it’s first week on sale. They went on to say that the game is this years highest grossing title and has helped push the franchise to over 1 billion dollars in sales worldwide.
Gears of War 3” Soars Past Three Million in First Week Sales, Propels Franchise Beyond $1 Billion
Blockbuster finale to the award-winning trilogy becomes the biggest game of 2011
29th September 2011 — The most anticipated video game of the year arrived last week with the worldwide launch of “Gears of War 3.” Following more than 22,000 midnight madness launch events, Microsoft and Epic Games today announced that the Xbox 360 exclusive sold more than three million copies in its first week since release, cementing “Gears 3” as the biggest game of 2011 and catapulting the franchise beyond one billion dollars in lifetime sales.
In just one week, “Gears 3” has already grossed more than any 2011 video game to date. In addition to topping this year’s sales charts, the “Gears of War” franchise joins the elite ranks of only a select few game franchises to surpass one billion dollars in lifetime sales. Taking the milestone even further, “Gears” now stands as the first Xbox 360-exclusive franchise introduced this console generation to eclipse the billion dollar milestone.
“‘Gears of War’ was the first killer app for Xbox 360, and the series has continued to contribute directly to the overall success of the platform ever since,” said Microsoft Corporate Vice President Phil Spencer. “‘Gears of War 3’ kicked off the biggest holiday in Xbox history with a bang last week, setting the standard for the kinds of amazing, action-packed experiences gamers should expect on Xbox 360 this year.”
Game modes like Beast and Horde 2.0, along with the addition of dedicated servers, has driven more than three million unique users to log onto Xbox LIVE to play “Gears of War 3” since launch. Hailed by critics as a “triumph” 1 and a “masterpiece of exciting gameplay and emotional storytelling,” 2 “Gears of War 3” has already garnered more than 50 perfect review scores and become the highest-rated Xbox 360 exclusive of the year. 3
Developed exclusively for Xbox 360 by Epic Games, “Gears of War 3” is available worldwide in various editions – Standard (€69.99), Limited (€84.99)
NEWS: Skyrim Voice Cast Announced
September 27, 2011 by Craig J Gallagher
Filed under News, featured
With the release of Skyrim growing ever closer Bethesda today annonced that voice cast for the upcoming title. Like previous entries in the series to most apt word to describe the talent assembled is distinguished.
Christopher Plummer, a two-time Emmy Award winner, two-time Tony Award winner and Academy Award nominee, takes on the role of Arngeir, a powerful Greybeard elder. An order of philosopher monks who are masters of the Way of the Voice, the Greybeards live in silent isolation atop Skyrim’s largest mountain.
Academy Award nominee, Max Von Sydow, stars as Esbern, a chronicler and agent of the Blades who has survived in hiding. Long obsessed with the foretold return of the dragon Alduin, the World Eater, Esbern will teach you how to confront this epic evil.
Tony Award winner and three-time Academy Award nominee, Joan Allen, will be making her videogame debut as Delphine, one of the last remaining members of the Blades – an ancient warrior society once sworn to protect the Emperor. Like you, Delphine is trying to unravel the mystery of the dragons’ return.
In addition, iconic actress and singer, Lynda Carter (“Wonder Woman”), voices Gormlaith Golden-Hilt, one of the Nord heroes who overthrew the dragons in ancient times.
“It’s been incredible to have all these actors together,” said Todd Howard, Game Director. “When you start a project, you always make your wish-list of actors, and to actually hear them in the game, it’s amazing. We can’t wait for everyone to experience it.”
Skyrim’s cast also includes
· Michael Hogan (“Battlestar Galactica”), who plays Imperial General Tullius, in charge of crushing the Stormcloak rebellion.
· Vladimir Kulich (“The 13th Warrior,” “Smoking Aces”) portrays Hogan’s nemesis Ulfric Stormcloak, Jarl of Windhelm and charismatic leader of the Stormcloaks, who aims to make Skyrim independent of the Empire.
· Claudia Christian (“Babylon 5”) joins the cast as Legate Rikke, General Tullius’s chief lieutenant, a loyal Imperial officer as well as a Nord who firmly believes Skyrim must remain part of the Empire.
· Diane Louise Salinger (“Carnivale”), Renee Victor (“Weeds”), and Saturday Night Live-alum George Coe (“Transformers: Dark of the Moon”) round out the star-studded cast of more than 70 different voice actors delivering over 60,000 lines of dialogue.
Skyrim will be in-stores November 11th on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC and is promising to be one of the years essential titles.
NEWS: BioWare Opens in Ireland
September 26, 2011 by Craig J Gallagher
Filed under News, featured
BioWare the developers behind the critically acclaimed Dragon Age and BioWare will create a further 200 jobs in Ireland in preparation for the launch of Star Wars: The Old Republic on December 22 bring the total employed to 400. EA AND BIOWARE INAUGURATE CUSTOMER SERVICE CENTER IN GALWAY, IRELAND With Support From Irish Government, BioWare Creates 200 New Jobs An Taoiseach, Mr. Enda Kenny T.D. Officiates Opening Day Galway, Ireland – September 26, 2011– BioWare™, a label of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS), today announced the opening of a state-of-the-art customer service center in Galway, Ireland. The new facility, BioWare’s first outside of North America, will provide 24/7 support for Star Wars™: The Old Republic™, the award-winning story-driven massively multiplayer online game from BioWare and LucasArts. BioWare Ireland is recruiting another 200 jobs in preparation for one of the biggest game launches of the year. Star Wars: The Old Republic will be released in North America on December 20, 2011 and in Europe on December 22, 2011. “MMO launches are complex, and we are determined to set a new standard for a high quality, stable, smooth launch for our fans. Our new BioWare facility and team in Galway is critical to ensuring we deliver on that goal,” said Dr. Ray Muzyka, EA Senior Vice President and General Manager of the BioWare Label. Added Dr. Greg Zeschuk, EA Vice President and General Manager of the BioWare MMO Business Unit, “It’s exciting to bring the Galway community into the BioWare family in support of this high-priority launch. This project wouldn’t have been possible without the strong support from the Irish government and the strong local mix of technology infrastructure and recruitment opportunities.” Commenting on the announcement, Taoiseach Enda Kenny TD, said, “I very much welcome EA and BioWare’s decision to locate its customer service centre here in Galway and the additional 200 jobs announced today. The Programme for Government highlights the digital game industry as a particular priority area for growth and the presence here of EA, one of the world’s leading interactive games companies, will help enhance our status as a centre for the digital media sector.” Welcoming the announcement, IDA Ireland CEO Barry O’Leary, said, “The scale of EA’s customer service centre in Galway is a clear endorsement of the skills base in the West of Ireland.” In addition to the BioWare facility in Galway, EA has a presence in Dublin, Ireland following its recent acquisition of PopCap. BioWare will continue to maintain its studio locations in Edmonton, Montreal, Fairfax (Virginia), Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Austin (Texas). For recruitment opportunities in Galway, please visit: www.bioware.com/careers. For more information about Star Wars: The Old Republic, pre-order details and special editions, please visit www.StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com/preorder .
NEWS: Diablo 3 will Launch in 2012
September 23, 2011 by Craig J Gallagher
Filed under News, featured
Blizzard president Mike Morhaime annoucned today that Diable 3 would not be lainchign as many hopoed this year but rather wont’t be with us till 2012. “While this news might not be a complete surprise, I know that many of you were hopeful that Diablo III would ship this year.”
Had the game been released this year it would have marked one of the rare occasions when a Blizzard title may actually have met its estimated release date.
The developers are usingthe extra time to fine tune the game and ensure that when it launches they will have the best possible title. Blizzard have extended the beta and extra invites have been allocated.
NEWS: Infamous 2: Festival of Blood Dated and Getting Move Update
September 16, 2011 by Craig J Gallagher
Filed under News, featured
While announcing it’s upcoming Winter line up of Move titles there was some rather interesting news in the form that Infamous 2 will be receiving an update to make it compatible with the Move. The update will be available October 25th alongside the release of the Infamous 2 DLC Festival of Blood.
Other titles for the Move will include Medieval Moves, Carnival Island, and EyePet and Friends. All of which will be available in November.
NEWS: Portal Free Till Sept 20.
September 16, 2011 by Craig J Gallagher
Filed under News, featured
Valve are presently offering gamers its truly unique and brilliant first person puzzler Portal for free until the 20th of September. Supposedly inspired to do so by the manner in which schools are using the game to teach mathematics.
For those gamers who have yet to experience what is one of this generations defining games now is the time. Just click the link and enjoy.
VIDEO: Max Payne 3 Trailer
September 14, 2011 by Craig J Gallagher
Filed under Videos, featured
HArd to believe but it’s been over 10 years since Max Payne first appeared. The game was a landmark in FPS, overnight creating a new standard in gaming with it’s gritty visuals and noir infused story. It’s most lasting contribution to gaming was the highly stylistic bullet time which allowed gamers to slow down time.
Now at long last we finally have a look at the third entry in the highly successful franchise and it looks to be every bit as explosive and trend setting as the original.
Max Payne 3 will be available on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC in March 2012.
WIN: Driver: San Francisco
September 14, 2011 by Craig J Gallagher
Filed under News, featured
Ubisoft have released Driver: San Francisco on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. Thanks to the publisher, we have one copy on Xbox 360 and another on PS3 to give away. To enter, email win@gamestoaster.com answering the question:
Driver: San Francisco sets the return of which undercover police officer?
The winner will be selected this coming Friday. Please include the answer, your name and address, and what format you want the game on.
Competition rules: Staff, contributors, writers, reviewers, or employees of this website, its partners or of any companies and/or organizations that are involved with the competition, or their families, may not enter. We (this site, and any companies and/or organizations involved) reserve the right to cancel without notice any competitions if deemed necessary. Entrants must be residents of Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland. Entrants must give us a valid email address, winners will only be notified by email, and asked for a delivery address — the winners names and general location (ie County, or city) will be also published. Winners will have four working days to reply to our email, after such time a new winner will be selected. No cash alternative is offered for these prizes. In some competitions, we reserved the right to extend the duration of a competition and/or withholding prizes in the case of poor response or an inferior quality of entries, and multiple entries may be disregarded. The closing date will sometimes be on the page of which the competition is on; entries will only be accepted at our decision after such date. The Editors decision is final.
NEWS: Dead Island DLC Coming Soon
September 10, 2011 by Craig J Gallagher
Filed under News, featured
It’s been a difficult week for Dead Island, which began with the steam version being unplayable, a massive launch day patch which was required in order to fix a slew of issues and lets not forget the controversy regarding a sexist slur which was discovered in a line of code. There’s also the reviews which have been far from glowing. A memorable debut for sure but not for any of the right reasons.
There is still hope, with the announcement of the DLC pack The Bloodbath Arena which will add four maps and plenty more waves of the undead which will be released at the end of the month.