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Price Promotion
The Last Guy, PixelJunk Eden, echochrome (PS3), Novastrike, and Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 are temporarily priced at $4.99. Promotion ends 12/4/08.

Downloadable Games
Brain Challenge ($9.99)
Boost your brain and relieve stress through 25 Visual, Memory, Logic, Math, and Focus mini-games. Choose your favorite coach and get detailed evaluations of your performances in personal training sessions. Compare yourself with other players online and/or offline in 3 delirious multiplayer modes. Thanks to the special Kid Test and Senior Test modes, gather all your friends and family around the game.
ESRB Rated E
File size 220 MB

Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix ($14.99)
The original MMA series is back! SFHD Remix receives a whole new look while improving on the innovative fighting system of the original game. Updated with 1080p HD redrawn art and online support, the game offers a unique experience that appeals to new fans and Street Fighter purists alike.
ESRB Rated T
File size 303 MB

Add-on Game Content
LittleBigPlanet Turkey Head Costume (free)
A seasonal exclusive costume for SackBoy!
File size: 1.04 MB

LittleBigPlanet Chimera SackBoy Costume ($1.99)
A premium costume for SackBoy! From Resistance 2.
File size: 1.04 MB

Guitar Hero World Tour
For all song credits please visit www.guitarhero.com

“Human” by The Killers ($1.99)
“Losing Touch” by The Killers ($1.99)
“Mr. Brightside” by The Killers ($1.99)
The Killers Track Pack ($5.49) - Downloadable Track Pack for Guitar Hero World Tour featuring “Human”, “Losing Touch”, and “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers. Please Note: Many songs are available both as singles and as a part of a Track Pack, so please carefully consider your purchases before downloading.
File sizes: 29 MB - 43 MB (singles), 121 MB (track pack)

Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore 2
Expand your Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore 2 library by purchasing these tracks.

Unfaithful ($1.49)
Are You Happy Now? ($1.49)
Heartbreaker ($1.49)
All My Life ($1.49)
File sizes: 15 MB - 59 MB

Rock Band
Build your Rock Band library by purchasing these song game tracks. For song credits, visit www.RockBand.com.

“Mr. Brightside” - The Killers ($1.99)
“Smile Like You Mean It” - The Killers ($1.99)
“Spaceman” - The Killers ($1.99)
The Killers Pack 01 ($5.49) - this track pack includes all of the above The Killers singles.
“Caprici Di Diablo” - Yngwie Malmsteen ($1.99)
“Damnation Game” - Yngwie Malmsteen ($1.99)
“Red Devil” - Yngwie Malmsteen ($1.99)
Yngwie Malmsteen Pack 01 ($5.49) - this track pack includes all of the above Yngwie Malmsteen singles.
“Pretty Noose” - Soundgarden ($1.99)
“Jesus Christ Pose” - Soundgarden ($1.99)
“Laid to Rest” - Lamb of God ($1.99)
File sizes: 22 MB - 45 MB (singles), 103 MB - 121 MB (track packs)

Game Demos (free)
Dead Space Dismemberment Demo
Download the Dead Space Dismemberment Demo to get a taste of the most intense game experience of the year! As Engineer Isaac Clarke, strategically dismember the Necromorph hordes as you carve a bloody path to survival.File size: 506 MB

Game Videos (free)
Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe Fighting Mechanics Trailer
File size: 190 MB (HD)

Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe Story Mode Preview Trailer
File size: 102 MB (HD)

NBA 2K9 Iguodala Trailer
File size: 25 MB (HD)

NBA 2K9 J In Your Face Trailer
File size: 25 MB (HD)

Prince of Persia - Art Video
File size: 69 MB (HD)

Prince of Persia - Dev Diary 1
File size: 119 MB (HD)

Dew Tour: Orlando - Orlando BMX Highlights
File sizes: 95 MB (HD)

Dew Tour: Orlando - Orlando Skate Thrills
File sizes: 94 MB (HD)

Dew Tour: Orlando - Orlando FMX Recap
File sizes: 91 MB (HD)

Movie and Blu-ray Disc Trailers (free)
Punisher: War Zone
File size: 69 MB (HD)

Lost: The Complete Fourth Season
File size: 105 MB (1080)

PS3 Wallpaper (free)
Prince of Persia Wallpaper (x3)
File sizes: 303 KB - 1.75 MB

Super Street Fighter II HD Turbo Remix Wallpaper
File sizes: 275 KB - 1.25 MB

Game Music (free)
Super Street Fighter II HD Turbo Remix tracks (x5)
File sizes: 3.85 MB - 6.80 MB

PlayStation Store for PSP
Downloadable Games
* PBR Out of the Chute ($14.99) (also downloadable via PS3)

Game Videos (free)
* Everyday Shooter Trailer

Soul Calibur IV
Namco, Namco Bandai
Available on Xbox 360 and Playstation 3

When it comes to fighting games, I know only two modes: Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter and beyond those two games I’ve never wanted to touch another franchise series like Tekken or Virtual Fighter. So it’s always a real learning experience when I have to sit down and learn a whole new fighting game like Super Smash Bros. Brawl or in the case of this week’s review, Soul Calibur IV.

The fifth instalment in Soul series of fighting games that starting in the arcades and on the Playstation console, Soul Calibur IV centers around a mystic demon blade known as the Soul Edge and the warriors that fight to either possess it or destroy it. This series started a whole new genre in fighting games which had character using weapons instead of their bare fists to fight their opponents.

SCIV has a huge roster of fighting characters to choose from which include the Secret Apprentice, Yoda (Xbox 360 version) and Darth Vader (Playstation 3 version), all from Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Each character has a different fighting style and a weapon to choose from which forces each player to adapt their game play styles to each character they choose and each enemy they fight.

Not all the characters come unlocked to play from the beginning though and you will have to earn points to purchase them later on. If you’re not happy with a pre-made character, the character creator allows you to customize a character from their appearance to their moves but you have to purchase each item for your character.

As with most fighting games, I found some characters played better than others so take your time and check out a few different fighting styles before you settle on just one character. Soul Calibur IV has an excellent variety of fighting styles and weapons to choose from so make sure you give each character at least one test drive before you pick the mofo you’re going to destroy the realm with.

The game modes include a story mode which is short and fairly easy to complete but luckily each character has a different ending and a different set of enemies to take down each round which keeps the game interesting. Don’t expect any Star Wars characters to have great story lines though as I found them to so out of place in the Soul Calibur world. Tie in are nice but make them make sense.

There’s a Tower of Lost Souls mode has you fighting through levels of a tower in order to earn rewards and the training mode allows you to train with available characters against enemies with certain settings. There’s no tutorial in the training mode though to actual teach you how to pull off moves, just a list with the available moves and how to complete them. This lack of tutorial reduced me to button mashing for most of the game, so hope you have a friend to teach you the ropes if you don’t learn well on your own.



Two-player fighting is available in both an online and offline mode though I only suggest the highly trained fighters take to the online combat zone or prepare to have your butt promptly handing to you. Soul Calibur fans are amongst the most serious and skilled fighting fans I have ever encountered and I never want to play one again. Online matches on Xbox Live were seamless and I didn’t experience any issues during any of my matches, so expect speedy and quality online play when you jump online.

This is a positively beautiful game and you can’t help but notice the stellar graphics on both the characters and the background environments. Each character features breakable armour, excellent animations and gorgeous body detail. Some of the ladies in the game must be using some double-sided tape to keep their outfits on though because no bondage gear that I’ve ever seen would ever keep your boobs from falling out after 3 rounds of going all Highlander on some guy’s butt.

While the soundtrack is your fairly typical majestic fantasy genre score, it’s the bad English dubbing that will really make you treasure the cut scenes in this game. You do have a choice between the original Japanese voices and the English dubbing but I personally love a bad voice track so I stuck with the American actors. The Star Wars characters were really well done though with no bad dub problems and I was really happy to hear that they were given their proper character voices.

I don’t doubt that fans of this game series have already bought, play and probably unlocked every single item in Soul Calibur IV by now, so I don’t need to state the obvious buy option for them but for every other fighting game fan out there who may not have heard about the Soul series before, I suggest a definite rent to at least swim the waters of a new fighting genre. I don’t expect you to give up your Mortal Kombat or Virtual Fighter but there’s nothing wrong with experimenting once in a while with a new set of bone-crushing fighters. Especially ones that wear bondage gear.

Rating: 7 out of 10
Rent it!

Alienware Area 51 Desktop Computers

If you’re willing to shell out the big bucks for your PC gamer this holiday season, then you can’t go wrong with buying them a customized gaming PC from Alienware. Considered the holy grail of gaming rigs, Alienware has been creating the best in gaming machines since 1996 and has received numerous awards for their products and service.

Alienware laptops and desktops are perfect for the serious gamer as they are customizable from the hard drive to graphics card to even the keyboard and mouse. You can pick out each component for your computer on their user friendly website and the design process is laid out in an easy to navigate menu system that breaks down the additional costs for each item you want to add as well as the overall costs or per month financing costs.
I spent a month testing out my game collection on a custom built Alienware Area 51 desktop computer and I can easily say I will miss this computer when it’s gone. Running on an Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 3.0GHz processor, a NVIDIA nForce 790i Ultra SLI motherboard and a single 2 GB GDDR5 ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 graphics card, this computer blew my little HP Pavilion desktop away for gaming performance with its smooth graphics and quick load times. I ran Call of Duty 4, Hellgate: London and Civilization IV: Colonization on this machine and each game played smoothly without any loading issues or frame rate problems.

The system’s audio was spectacular thanks to the high definition 7.1 performance audio card which pumped out some sweet surround sound on my little four speaker computer set. It was a shame really that I couldn’t hook the computer up to my home theatre system to really get the full experience but cords only stretch so far.

Visually the system case was the real conversation piece with its alien like armour shell and defined ridges. The case actually has lighting installed in the alien logos and along some of the ridges which can be customized by the customer to any colour or the multi-colour Alienware AlienFX lighting system which allows you to customize each part of the case to a different colour at any time. Though I loved the look of the system, the case itself was massively heavy to move around and the design made it too large to fit anywhere on my computer desk.

For the extreme gamers that like to maximize their gaming machines, Alienware provides a choice of gaming peripherals from keyboards to joysticks to ensure you have the right tools to win. I checked out the Logitech G15 Keyboard and G9 Gaming Mouse during my time with the Alienware desktop and found them to be great for customizing your gaming style.

The G9 Gaming Mouse comes with metal weights to change the weight of the mouse, two different grip styles to provide unique textures and grip positions for the mouse, 9 buttons with onboard memory to customize up to 5 different control schemes and instant cursor response with fabulous speed and accuracy.

The G15 Keyboard has a built-in screen that displays information game stats for games like World of Warcraft or Battlefield 2142. The keyboard has backlit keys, 6 programmable g-keys which can be programmed at any time even during your game and it even has media controls for volume and playback.

While I didn’t really see a huge difference with the keyboard as I‘m a pretty simple gamer when it comes to controls, I did find that changing the weight and the grip of my mouse made a huge difference in my control during games like Hellgate: London or Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. My hand wasn’t all over the desk and my movements were more precise.

Another upside for players who love to push their systems long into the wee hours of the morning is the Alienware High-Performance Liquid Cooling System which keeps your over-worked gaming rig from over-heating after playing World of Warcraft for 24 hours straight.

In terms of software, my computer came loaded with Windows Vista which is DirectX 10 ready, a key component to run the newer gaming software these days. The system did come preloaded with all the software to run, but it wasn’t loaded down with a lot of trial programs or anything horrible like that, so don’t worry about having to clean up your system when you get it.

There no mistaking why Alienware is the leader in gaming technology in the current market with their customizable gaming computers, top of the line peripherals and great customer support. Any gamers would be ecstatic to receive an Alienware computer for a present so if you really want to win over someone this holiday season, you simply need to take them over to the official Alienware website, www.alienware.com and let them customize their perfect gaming rig.

I’m still heartbroken I can’t keep my Alienware computer. Do you think they’ll let me visit with it?

Available at Alienware.com.
Area 51 Desktops start at $1,049US.
Buy it!

The new music video for the Mirror's Edge Theme, "Still Alive" By Lisa Miskovsky. I love this song.

If you want to see something cool though, download the theme on your Playstation 3 over the PSN and play it on your system. The cool Earth background really fits the song well.

If you're looking for the perfect gift for the pretty girl gamer in your life this holiday season, then may I suggest some video game themed jewelery pieces custom made by Wicked Orin.

Whether you have a Legend of Zelda lover looking for a triforce necklace (pictured above) or perhaps a Final Fantasy fan looking for a Shinra necklace (below), then Wicked Orin has a bit of everything.


Check out their store for Final Fantasy materia earrings, pendants and bracelets or Kingdom Hearts themed charms and beads.

Ozzy Osbourne is now advertising World of Warcraft. The original Prince of Darkness goes up against the Lich King in this funny little commercial.

Ozzy has been taking an active role in other video games lately like Guitar Hero: World Tour with his excellent motion capture appearance. Good to see old media taking an interest in new media.

NBA 2K9
2K Sports, Visual Concepts
Available for Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC, PS2

The videogame sports season is in full gear again which means it’s time for me to learn how to put down my RPGs and RTSs, and pick up the NHLs, NBAs and NFLs. This week we’re heading back to the hardwood floors to play a little b-ball with NBA 2K9.

2K Sports has consistently held the title of king of NBA games, but with EA bringing a better game year after year, 2K Games had to step up their winning formula this year and remind the gamers why they hold the title for best NBA game franchise.

Hitting the hardwood in single player mode, you find some very solid gameplay that is a noticeable step up from last year’s game in many ways. Offensively, the AI has been much improved and seems to accurately force you to make good shots and run plays on the defence. Defensibly, it takes players speed and size more accurately into account now, so you have think about who you send to cover who on the court or you could end up losing large over and over again.

It was nice to see the player’s speeds were finally fixed, so they were running at a more natural pace this time around. In past games, they always seemed to barrel down the court like they were in a Sonic the Hedgehog game or something. Shooting in post is still a game of hit and miss though and hook shots are always a pain in the neck to make, but these little problems are made up by the great perimeter and midrange offence.

Online play allows you to play some 5 on 5 with each player being controlled by a different gamer online. The living roster feature also allows you to update all the players stats in the game based on how they’re really playing in the NBA that season. Pretty cool, huh?

In the Association 2.0 mode or GM mode, you have the ability to manage the team of your choice as GM, which allows you to pick your roster, manage who will play what position, encourage and inspire your players, and manage all the little details in order to bring home a winning team.

The graphics in this year’s game are fantastic and so realistic that this is probably the best it’s ever been. The crowd looks and reacts just like a real crowd does (drink throwing not included), and the court has that perfect glossy shine to it. The players, though a little ugly in the facial area, did come out looking quite real this year and mimic a real NBA player’s so much you’d think you were watching a game on TV instead of playing a videogame.



The highlight reels which saves all the footage from your gameplay and then splices them together to mimic a real playback montage on TV is pretty neat to watch and never once did I skip pass the replays, just for that reason. The on court animations, both offensive and defensive never repeated enough for you to notice them, but the off court animations need a little more work as they were a little choppy.

The sounds of the game are excellent from the cheering and booing of the crowds to the squeaking of the sneakers across the hardwood floors. Almost like you were there, but remember, no amount of screaming at the TV makes your team stop losing.

All in all, NBA 2K9 proved that it can still blow away anything EA can bring to the table for the NBA franchise and I think all basketball fans will be more than happy with the latest instalment in the franchise. So lace up your sneaker, grab your Gatorade and hit the court for some b-ball with NBA 2K9.

Rating: 8 out of 10
Buy it!