Lee also said that more details on “Lair of the Shadow Broker” will arrive in August, but there are a few surprises that won’t be shown to the press or anyone else. You’re going to have to wait until you play the DLC to know what they are. I am hoping for a chance to woo Liara back into my Shepard’s life.

[Source: BioWare forums via Joystiq]

Throughout last week Marvel.com released images of the new Marvel characters that gamers would see for the second LittleBigPlanet Marvel Costume Pack. The 2^nd add-on pack is now available on PSN but if you missed Marvel’s coverage last week, we got all the images for you right here. Marvel Costume Pack 2, as you can see, features Thor, Spider-Man, Elektra, Human Torch and Ghost Rider.

If you missed the first pack you can check out the screens here. Again as a reminder all of these costume packs will be compatible with LBP2. Both packs are available now for $5.99 each pack or individually for $1.99. Stay tuned for more character reveals in the coming weeks.

[Source: Marvel.com]

Following the free DLC Outlaws to The End Co-Op Mission Pack released last month for Red Dead Redemption, Rockstar is planning a series of DLC set to release over the next few months. Announced today there will be four packs hitting Red Dead Redemption starting with the Legends and Killers Pack set to release at the begging of August. Unlike the Outlaws Pack each of the add-on content will cost money but it’s not bad considering what you will be gettinig. The first pack will consist of new map locations and new weapons while the rest of the DLC will include things like new multiplayer mini-games (poker and liars dice), new multiplayer modes, new free roam content, and ZOMBIES.

This is everything that will be included in the upcoming downloadable content:

Legends and Killers Pack (Releasing beginning of August 2010)

New active map locations, characters and more:

• 9 New Multiplayer map locations — more than doubling the amount of territories in the Multiplayer Competitive modes
• 8 New Multiplayer characters— play as characters from Red Dead Revolver
• Introducing a new projectile weapon: the Tomahawk, with corresponding Challenges for single player and multiplayer
• New Achievements/Trophies
• Pricing: $9.99 (PlayStation Network), 800 Microsoft Points (Xbox LIVE)

Liars and Cheats Pack

New Competitive Modes, Multiplayer Mini-games in Free Roam, and more:

• ‘Attack and Defend’ Multiplayer Competitive Mode and Challenges
• New Multiplayer Horse Races complete with mounted combat
• Play as the heroes and villains of Red Dead Redemption as well as 8 additional multiplayer characters
• Multiplayer versions of Liars Dice and Poker from the single-player game
• Introducing a new weapon: the Explosive Rifle, with associated Challenges available in single-player and multiplayer
• New Achievements/Trophies
• Release date TBC
• Pricing: $9.99 (PlayStation Network), 800 Microsoft Points (Xbox LIVE)

Free Roam Pack

Delve deeper into the world of Red Dead Redemption with new Modes, Challenges and Gang Hideouts to discover:

• Additional Free Roam Challenges
• New action areas and defensive placements
• Posse Scoring / Posse Leaderboards
• New ‘anti-griefing’ measures in Free Roam
• Release date and pricing TBC

Undead Nightmare Pack

Ghost towns and cemeteries come alive in a West gone horribly wrong:

• Brand new single player adventure, Challenges and quests
• 8 New Multiplayer Zombie characters
• Additional animals unleashed in the world
• New Dynamic events
• More details to follow…
• Release date TBC
• Pricing: $9.99 (PlayStation Network), 800 Microsoft Points (Xbox LIVE)

There is a ton of content here, even for those who don’t play competitive modes. The price for the free roam content not being announced kind of worries me, because I’m thinking that could mean it will cost more than the other packs. Rockstar will release more details on these upcoming packs as it gets closer to each release.

[Source: rockstargames.com]

Last week Sony announced that Marvel characters would be making their way onto Little Big Planet. Judging from the silhouette image shown there will be around 20 Marvel characters transformed into sackboys and sackgirls. This week Marvel.com has been releasing images of what appears to be the first set of characters available for download on July 6. The first 4 characters revealed include Iron Man, Daredevil, The Thing and Mystique. Check out the first screens of these iconic characters and be sure to check Marvel.com for tomorrow’s reveal of a classic Spider-Man villain, which could be Doc-Ock. [Updated: Added Doc-Ock Screens]

To create a piece of Dance Central DLC, Harmonix has to “engage the choreographer, find the song, license the song, come up with a routine, get them into a [motion capture] suit, shoot all the choreography, integrate the animation, build the filter system, the flash cards, the [voiceover] for ‘Break it Down’” so that it takes more money and time. The game’s launch will probably not have DLC, and it may perhaps not even be weekly.

[Source: Joystiq]

Tracks making their way to Rock Band on June 29:

• Nickelback – “Burn It to the Ground”
• Nickelback – “Figured You Out”
• Nickelback – “Never Again”
• Nickelback – “Photograph”
• Nickelback – “Rockstar”
• Nickelback – “This Afternoon”

Tracks making their way to Rock Band on June 8:

• Deftones – “Cherry Waves”
• Deftones – “Hole in the Earth”
• Deftones – “Minerva”
• Boys Like Girls – “The Great Escape”
• Crown of Thorns – “Rock Ready”

Some of us still aren’t even finished with the single-player and haven’t even touched the multiplayer, but Rockstar is deciding to release Red Dead Redemption’s first DLC this month anyway. Both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 owners will be able to download and play “Outlaws to the End,” a set of six new co-op multiplayer missions, for a cool price of Free.

You can also expect a patch next week for both 360 and PS3 versions next week, as many have reported problems regarding multiplayer and other glitches. Rockstar also urges players to try out other fixes that may solve their connection issues, such as setting your router to a NAT 2 connection type (for PS3 owners). Check out the second press release for more.

The DLC will come with its own set of achievements and trophies as well, in case you really like to show off. Included below are four screenshots from “Outlaws to the End”.

[Source: Rockstar Games Press Releases 1 & 2]

And of course, by roots, I mean 2D gameplay, with nothing but running fast and collecting rings.  Sans the upgraded graphics, this could have easily been released some 15 years ago.

Could this finally be the game that saves Sonic and friends?  Or is it too little too late, seeing as how the younger generation doesn’t have those fond memories of the speedy hedgehog?

I don’t think I quite knew what I was getting into. I mean, it’s right there in the title, so nothing should have come as any surprise to me.  However, I assumed it would be something entirely different that what it actually is. One of the most critiqued portions of Dante’s Inferno was the 6th layer of hell, The Heretics. In the 6th level, Dante is forced to complete a series of trials with set rules and goals before he can proceed to the final layer. It takes a page from the “Challenge of the Titans” and the like from the God of War games. Those, for the most part, are semi-enjoyable and mainly exist as a challenge for fans who want to wring the most out of the game. To actually force players to go through something similar is a bit of a slap in the face. Well, “The Trials of St. Lucia” is exactly that. It’s not a slap in the face because it’s completely optional, but it takes the worst part of the main game and asks you pay an extra ten bucks for it.

Before I get too critical of this, I want to say that I can actually appreciate the framework here. The trials, in essence, are player-made challenges similar to the optional trials of the game as well as the Heretic’s trials. There is a fairly complicated level creator involved that allows for time settings, multiple waves of enemies, traps, power ups, and multiple chambers. Each trial has an in game medal associated with it based on the difficulty, which is determined mathematically by how many monsters are thrown at players and how long it takes. Some trials are meant for 1 person and some for 2, and the ones meant for 2 are played co-op with someone else online.  Players can choose to host a game for another to join, or simply join another person in the same manner.  Creators can dictate whether to give players infinite lives or limited lives or what type of magic they have access to, etc., etc. It’s actually quite impressive just how many options exist for diligent creators and how many options can exist for interested players. There is even an extra character to play with if Dante isn’t quite your flavor, and I have to say I the winged St. Lucia, who bears a similar weapon to Dante and basically matches his skillset aside from the fact that she can fly around with the R2 button, is right up my alley.

The problem with this DLC is that it’s very niche. For anyone who thought the trials in game were boring and monotonous, this is a big no-no. You will have wasted your money because trials are all there are here. There’s no new pre-made levels to wade through in story manner, and you can’t go back and use Lucia in the regular game. But fans of the game, and more importantly fans of the trials themselves, might find an infinite amount of entertainment in this DLC. Theoretically it could provide hundreds more hours of gameplay, if you really like challenging yourself with this type of thing.

To review this is difficult, as you might imagine.  On the one hand, this does not appeal to me at all.  I dig Lucia herself and playing through some trials with her is fairly entertaining, but I wasn’t a huge fan of the trials in the game and only did them to advance and to get trophies.  On the other hand, I actually admire the depth that this DLC offers trial-happy fans of the game, and I think the system in place is good enough to make this work.  I also want to reiterate.  I really like St. Lucia.  I might have paid cash just to see her run through the main game again.  In fact, I want her to be a main character in other games.  She just totally works for me on an aesthetic level, and not just because she’s pretty in a creepy angel way.  It’s also worth mentioning that it proclaims in the DLC itself that she will feature prominently in future installments, which is hopeful.  In the end, I have to give this an average score simply because it appeals to such a narrow audience.  However, let it be known that I do so with praise for the technical merit, and in many ways the spirit, behind the idea.  I’d love to see this type of DLC implemented in all kinds of games.

Doin’ It RIGHT: - Deep level editor that adds tons of replay value. - St. Lucia is all kinds of cool to use. - New trophies to grab.	Doin’ It RONG: - Not for people who dislike trials. - Many trials are player made and will make you hate your fellow man. - Trials are quite repetitive even for trial lovers.
FINAL SCORE: 7 / 10

The listing is just for Xbox users right now, though that’s obviously going to change as DLC always appears on superior systems as well.  It’s priced at 400 Microsoft Points, which is roughly 5 bucks, and slated for May 18th (smart to compete with Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Red Dead Redemption!).  More on this story as it develops.

Do you play Battlefield: Bad Company 2? Are you known to enjoy a carbonated beverage or two? If your answers to the aforementioned questions are both “yes”, then EA has a pretty sweet deal to offer you. For a limited time only, specially marked cans of Dr Pepper will have a promo code that will unlock the Kit Upgrade DLC, a pack that includes four new sets of uniforms, weapon skins, and additional achievements/trophies.

The new uniforms are the collective of a new group called SPECACT, or the Special Activities Group, with members recruited from a variety of hard-hitting special operations teams. Alongside the uniforms are unique camouflaged SPECACT UMP45, MG3, M16A2, and M95 Sniper weapons. Lastly, the pack includes 12 awards and four new achievements/trophies.

Though a PC and PS3 date has not been specified, the Kit Upgrade DLC will be available for Xbox 360 as of today (April 21st, 2010). Europe and the UK will be able to check out the DLC soon, with a charge of 160 MS points per kit or 440 MS points for the whole bundle.

[Source: Press Release]

You’re not seeing things. One of the most exciting additions in The Passing is the survivors from Left 4 Dead 2 meeting up with Francis, Zoey, and the rest of the Left 4 Dead gang in the deep south.  It takes place right after the Dead Center campaign, and will show off the two foursomes meeting up, and possibly teaming up.

“Mutations” is a new game mode that changes weekly with new variants on multiplayer.  These mutations and specific challenges will include things like matches with chainsaws only, or a realistic Versus Mode.  There’s a new zombie class (fallen survivor,) a new M-60 firearm, and you can finally melee the undead with a golf club.  Fore!

PC gamers get the update for free, while it’ll cost Xbox 360 users 560 Microsoft points.  That’s a lot of content in one update.  New guns and melee weapons, the Mutations add-on (which reminds me of the Double EXP Weekends in Halo 3) and cameos from the original Left 4 Dead gang seem like there’s plenty of bang in this first add-on.  Valve is no stranger to keeping their games’ longevity alive with DLC and various updates, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we keep seeing more of this for both Left 4 Dead games.

Who’s ready for some more delicious zombie carnage?

The Stimulus Package comes with 5 new maps but two of them are classic maps from COD4. Crash and Overgrown. Those are arguably two of the most popular maps from COD4 so it was definitely nice to get to play them again. The new maps, Bailout, Salvage and Storm all offer up different strategic elements but unfortunately some of them don’t play out like the developers would have hoped. There are two modes that feature only the new maps. They both consist of random regular and hardcore matches, most of which are objective-based. You would think for an extra $5 they could give us new map modes for only Team Deathmatch, Ground War or Domination. In terms of the occurrence of new maps in the regular game modes I would say they rotate in about 40% of the time and that’s if the maps don’t get vetoed which is happening a lot especially with Overgrown. If you aren’t worried about the rotation or the lack of Stimulus-only modes, here is a quick rundown for each map.

Storm

Storm is set in an industrial yard that features some shipping crates and a lot of mannequins. The rainy environment adds to the aesthetics of the map but doesn’t hinder your vision as much as other rainy maps we’ve seen in the past. This map is easily my favorite with plenty of both indoor and outdoor areas; this is one of the few maps that cater to different play styles. There are long sight lines along the sides of the map and in the middle is a warehouse of sorts which players can run through for close combat fights. Much like most of the MW2 maps there are multiple levels throughout the map to snipe from. Unlike the other maps in the Stimulus Package, camping isn’t as easy on this map. The multiple entrances give players a way to flank the enemy.  Deathmatch and domination work best in this map because of some poor spawn areas with other modes.  The action is more consistent in this map than any of the other Stimulus Package maps which is probably the reason why this map shows up more often.

Salvage

Salvage is yet another snow-covered level and is the smallest of the three maps. It’s set in a junkyard with lots of stone pipes and smashed cars to hide behind. There are different ways to play this map but sniping might be an issue here. Some will run and gun with commando and a shotgun while others will sit back waiting for people to run past the small corridors. Most deathmatch games will consist of two teams camping each other’s spawn point. Almost all the time I find that the team that spawns on the side with the house and the small hill to its right, facing the cement pipes, wins. They have the advantage of being above ground which gives them a great view and the house is situated in a way so people can see enemies that come from multiple areas as opposed to the opposite house which can only see one area. Domination works just the same on this map with the majority of the wins going to that side of the map. This map looks the best out of the three maps but it plays the worst out of the three. There is minimal action with almost everyone camping certain areas and if you were to ever get an AC-130 or a Chopper Gunner enjoy it because there is almost nowhere to hide from those air attacks.

Bailout

Bailout is supposed to be one of the larger maps in the game but it doesn’t play like that at all. The map is set in an apartment complex with blown out walls and even a swimming pool. You can actually go through the entire map by walking through the apartment complex or through some side houses but you probably won’t make it because all of the action will be centered on that. With the close quarters combat inside the apartments there will be explosives aplenty.  I’ve never seen so many grenade launchers, rockets and grenades flying around in any other MW2 map. You can sit back in certain areas to snipe but you better have claymores because there are multiple entrances to each of the best sniping spots. Domination is a great mode for this map, even if one team has a leg up on getting the middle flag. This is because of the many ways you can get around the map so spawn-camping doesn’t occur as often in Bailout. I actually like this map but the fact that most of the action takes place in one small area of the map does ruin the experience. Plus you add the grenade launchers with one man army and the various map glitches to the mix and there will be times where Bailout seems like the worst map in MW2.

Crash and Overgrown

There isn’t much to say about these maps, they look exactly the same as they did in COD4 with Overgrown looking a little brighter. They play almost the same, in fact you can still get on that roof in Overgrown which by my account is an exploit. Crash is still very action packed but if you play domination on that level prepare to get heavily spawnkilled. There are also a crazy amount of people who run around with commando and can be successful because of the many buildings to duck into. Holding down the three story building isn’t as easy with the various perks to make claymores useless but it’s still possible to take people out from the rooftops. Both of the maps do suffer from the new perks. They don’t play like they used to especially Overgrown where snipers have a much easier time with thermal scope. Some matches feel just like COD4 but others don’t feel like it at all and at times you definitely wish you weren’t playing the same maps you played to death two years ago.

In the end the Stimulus Package doesn’t do anything but stimulate the pockets of Activision and Infinity Ward. With the majority of people playing team deatchmatch and hardcore team deathmatch you would think that IW would give us one of those modes dedicated to the DLC. I only enjoy playing Storm on a consistent basis while other maps I’d rather just skip, and they do get skipped quite often. If it would have come with new modes, perks or weapons than I would have a hard time saying it isn’t worth it. The pack just makes Infinity Ward look lazy and not very gamer-friendly compared to Treyarch who gave us a dedicated mode for the DLC and added a whole new zombie level for $10. The game still suffers from all the issues it did before the map pack so don’t expect the DLC to change anything. Connection issues are still prevalent which adds to the frustration when you finally get a DLC map but you get disconnected from the game. With the exception of Storm, the DLC maps don’t add anything to the multiplayer experience; my advice would be to wait for a substantial price drop or to wait for the next overpriced DLC.

Doin’ It RIGHT: - Storm is a great map. - It’s fun to get to play the classic COD4 maps. - Salvage looks really good.	Doin’ It RONG: - Salvage is a terrible map. - Crash and Overgrown don’t play like they used to and look exactly the same. - No dedicated mode for new maps, new maps show up 40% of the time. - Price is too high for only the three new maps.
FINAL SCORE: 5 / 10

Sony and Naughty Dog have recently given out all the details regarding the latest DLC release for the award winning action/adventure title Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. Referred to simply as Siege DLC, this upcoming pack will introduce an all new co-op game mode (named “Siege”, the first of such additional game types), as well as several costumes, trophies, and maps.

In the new Siege mode, players will be tasked with capturing and defending set territories from waves of increasingly-difficult AI opponents. In order to capture a territory, each one of the human-controlled characters have to be inside a designated zone. Once captured, enemies will come from multiple angles attempting to reclaim the area. Players will have to work as a team to ensure they can hold the territory (I presume) until the round timer runs out. Once the round is over, a new territory within the map will be chosen, and the players will again have to capture and defend.

Two new maps are introduced particularly for this new game mode, Highrise and The Museum. Highrise should look pretty familiar to those who remember the single player campaign — it’s the under-developed Nepalese town that was viciously attacked by a chopper attempting to take out Nathan Drake. The Museum was a stage played relatively early in the game, as the setting for Drake’s and Flynn’s daring nighttime robbery.

Six character skins will be released within the DLC pack. Included are Baseball Shirt Drake, Wetsuit Drake, Prakoso, a Dead Explorer, and one glowing and one platinum skeleton, named Glowzor and Platzor respectively. In addition, 11 new trophies have been included for players to unlock. They are:

You Can’t Break Me – Complete all 3 co-op objective maps on Crushing
Under Siege – Finish Wave 10 in 1 Siege game
Speedy – Get 10 First! Medals
I’ll Cover You – Get 50 Defender Medals
Fallen Angel – Get 50 Afterlife Medals
Not So Fast – Get 20 Shut’em Down Medals
Jack of All Trades – Get 15 Triple Threat Medals
You Run, I’ll Shoot – Get 10 Protectorate Medals
Back At Ya – Get 50 Retaliation Medals
Kneel Before Z… – Get 5 Put’em Down Medals
Rock a Rhyme – Get 100 Tricky Medals

The Uncharted 2 Siege DLC should be hitting North American PS3s on April 22nd, 2010. Oddly, a price was not revealed within the press release.

[Source: Press release]