Lloyd Hannesson

We are back, after a short unplanned hiatus we are here to bring you everything that’s good in gaming.. or at least the stuff that happened in the last week. In this episode we talk about Black Ops 2, a non infinite delay, consoles as a service and more! We hope you enjoy the show, be sure to tell a friend or 3 and check out the forums!

Audio

Video

none for this episode…

Show Notes

What We Are Playing

• Kinect: Adventures and Star Wars (XBOX360), Mass Effect 2 (PS3), Fez (XBOX360), Tower of Fortune (iOS)
• Jeff Ward: Sniper Elite V2 (XBOX360), The Walking Dead (XBLA), Fez (XBOX360)

News

• Black Ops 2 Officially Announced
• Bioshock Infinite DELAYED
• Angry Birds hits 1 BILLION downloads!
• $99 XBoxen?
• Kevin Periera leaves G4

Contact Info

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Email: vgpodcasts@gmail.com

We have a blast from the past for you this week as I’m joined by none other than Anthony Catanzaro himself! In this news heavy episode of the Touch of Gaming we talk about NOVA 3, Minecraft, iCade, Eliminate and Pizza! Was agreat show, hope you all enjoy it!

We also are running a contest in the VGPodcasts forums, so get over there and start posting!

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Audio

Video

Show Notes

What We’ve Been Playing

• Lloyd Hannesson: Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Ascension, Spellsword, Ballistic SE, Escape from Age of Monsters
• Anthony Catanzaro: Infinity Project II, Smash Cops

News

• Gameloft announces N.O.V.A. 3
• Minecraft Pocket Edition finally allows you to craft
• Pour one out: Eliminate has been eliminated
• Ion announces release date and price for iCade Core and mobile
• Domino’s Pizza Hero could get you a job
• Angry Birds Space sees 50m downloads in 35 days
• Brydge on Kickstarter

Reviews!

• DevilDark: The Fallen Kingdom – $0.99 – 3/5
• Madcoaster – $0.99 – 5/5

Contact Info

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In this news heavy episode of the Nintendo Pulse podcast we have some actual real honest to goodness Wii U info, kind of. There was a leak of a pre-release commercial for the Wii U game Rayman Legends that we dissect. Also in this episode we talk about new 3DS colours, Nintendo losing money, a new game announcement, and the final release of a long lost Wii title. Enjoy!

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Audio

Video

Show Notes

What We Are Playing

• Lloyd Hannesson: Mass Effect 2, Fez
• Edgar Furse: Dance Central 2

Notable Releases

• Nothing of note…

News

• HUGE Rayman Legends Wii U Leak
• Street Pass Dongle?
• Walmart lists Wii U at $350
• Nintendo Lost money in the quarter for the first time ever
• 3DS sold under cost
• Nintendo announces that 3DS retail titles will be coming to eShop
• Midnight Purple 3DS coming on May 20th
• Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing Transformed announced
• New Play Control! Pikmin 2 coming to the US on the Wii… after a year wait

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Here is a short gameplay shot from Ballistic SE the great dual stick shooter by Radiangames. Destroy waves of orbs in this Geometry Wars-esque twitch shooter.

It’s episode #007 of the TDoG podcast, and we are glad that you joined us! In this episode Jeff and I talk about all things Kickstarter, COD rumours, FREE games and Trials Evolution! We hope you enjoy it, please leave us your feedback and checkout the forums!

Audio

Video

Show Notes

What We Are Playing

• Lloyd Hannesson: Mass Effect 2 (PS3), Skyrim (PS3)
• Jeff Ward: Ghost Recon: Future Soldier Beta (XBOX360), Trials Evolution (XBLA)

News

• Trials Evolution has the highest grossing day in Xbox live history?
• S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2 officially cancelled
• Leisure Suit Larry gets funded
• Shadowrun hits ~1.5 million
• Republique by Camoflaj doesn’t look to be popular
• Our thoughts on Kickstarter?
• FPS Russia Video
• Tacitus Website
• Not Black Ops 2, but Eclipse? (Solar Eclipse happening on the probable release date of the next COD)
• Sony continues to give a way a pile of games in May

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In this episode of the iOS Pulse podcast I give you my review of the awesome top down shooter Robokill (iPhone, iPad) ★★★★ by Wandake. I really enjoyed this title. There is a lot of gameplay for your money, and the amount of loot being dropped kept me coming back. If you check it out, be sure to let us know what you thought of it!

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Video

Contact Info

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Email: vgpodcasts@gmail.com
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Edgar and I get together to talk about all things Nintendo. This week we have a lot of interesting news to talk about that came form the Nintendo Direct show out of Japan. Gems like New Super Mario Bros. 2 coming in August, and the existence of a Kirby 20th Anniversary edition coming to the Wii! Almost seems weird to have big announcements like that just before e3… must mean that e3 will be huge for Nintendo! We hope anyways…

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Audio

Video

Show Notes

What We Are Playing

• Lloyd Hannesson: Skylanders, Kid Icarus: Uprising
• Edgar Furse: Dance Central 2

Notable Releases

• Nothing of note…

News

• New 3DS firmware out TODAY – Folders for your apps, new eShop app redesign
• New Super Mario Bros. 2 coming in August! 3DS title.
• Kirby 20th Anniversary edition coming to the Wii
• Pokedex 3D update coming, along with a Pokemon AR game (not free)
• Animal Crossing will be coming out in the Fall in Japan, no NA dates yet
• Not huge, but Nintendo sent out a puzzle piece for Mario Tennis Open – comes out May 20th in NA
• More Wii U dev kit leaks.. ugh
• Crysis 3 not coming to Wii U
• Nintendo creates a Kid Icarus Techniques video
• Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion gameplay shown off

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For the first episode of the iOS Pulse podcast for this week, Jared brings you his review of Spice Bandits ★★★★, a tower defence game by Chillingo. This is a FREE app that has in-app purchases for upgrades.

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Video

Contact Info

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This week Cara joins me for her first video podcast! In this week’s ToG we talk about new games coming out like Marvel vs. Capcom 2 and great updates for games that we already love. Did someone say iCade support for Midway Arcade? YES PLEASE! We also review Madcoaster and DevilDark: The Fallen Kingdom. Enjoy the show!

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Audio

Video

Show Notes

What We’ve Been Playing

• Lloyd Hannesson: DevilDark, Robokill, Madcoaster, Crow, Kitten Sanctuary
• Cara Hannesson: Temple Run, Draw Something, Madcoaster, Kitten Santuary

News

• Marvel vs. Capcom 2 hits next week
• Plants vs. Zombies gets a huge update
• Fox Trot iPad books being self published by Bill Amend

Reviews!

• DevilDark: The Fallen Kingdom – $0.99 – 3/5
• Madcoaster – $0.99 – 5/5

Contact Info

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Email: vgpodcasts@gmail.com

We are back with the world’s favorite gaming podcast*! In this week’s episode we talk about my new iPad 3, Sony’s got problemz, A new Super Mario game, CODBLOPs 2 and MORE! Hope you dig it, sorry that there will be no video for this episode due to some technical issues. This will be corrected for next episode! Have a great week!

*May not actually be the world’s favorite.

Audio

Video

None for this episode. Tech issues… yay!

Show Notes

What We Are Playing

• Lloyd Hannesson: iPad 3, Robokill + Robokill 2 (iOS), Midway Arcade (iOS)
• Jeff Ward: Clear Vision (iOS), MLB The Show 12, RTTS Mode (PSVita)

News

• Miyamoto confirms Super Mario Bros. 4 for Wii U
• Half Life 2: Episode 3? Nope. Just trollin.
• PS Vita getting some freebies
• Is this the poster for Black Ops 2?
• God of War IV is leaked
• Midgard in Minecraft
• Video Games Live announces Canada 2012 tour

Contact Info

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Email: vgpodcasts@gmail.com

For your second Pulse of the week I bring you my review of EA’s top down driving mayhem game, Burnout Crash ★★★★. Also we are trying something new with the Pulse, that is a video version of the podcast. We are working through some technical issues, but framerate and picture quality aside, what do you all thing of the video version? Please let us know in the comments!

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Audio

Video

Contact Info

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Email: vgpodcasts@gmail.com
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In this sleep deprived episode of the Nintendo Pulse podcast Edgar joins me to talk about all of the latest Nintendo rumours. E3 can’t come fast enough so we can bite into some meaty news again. Enjoy!

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Audio

Video

Show Notes

What We Are Playing

• Lloyd Hannesson: Skylanders, Kid Icarus: Uprising
• Edgar Furse: Dance Central 2

Notable Releases

• Nothing of note…

News

• Wii U Rumours continue
• Wii U Name change
• Miyamoto leaks that a Mario game is in dev for Wii U (*gasp*)
• New Mario game to be shown at E3 along with a new Pikmen
• Nintendo registers SuperMario4.com
• Vita sales down, Nintendo back to their domination game
• 3DS accounts for 65% of Japan’s sales
• Some 3DS retail titles switching to eShop
• Rumour: Nintendo working on a 3Ds headset
• Maybe the best Kickstarter EVER?

Contact Info

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Email: vgpodcasts@gmail.com

We are back with iOS Pulse #23, yes I realize I intro’d the show as 22.. chalk that one up to being rusty In this episode Jared brings you his review of Path Pix ★★★★, a cool little puzzler!

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Video

None for this episode!

Contact Info

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Email: vgpodcasts@gmail.com
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We have another great show for you guys this week! Loads of news to talk about, I guess the run up to E3 isn’t as dry this year! In this episode we talk Mass Effect 3, Kickstarter, Modern Warfare and even manage to sneak in some Skylanders talk (well *I* manage to sneak it in). Thanks to all that have subscribed. Be sure to tell 14 friends so we can continue to bring these to you!

Let us know what you think of the show!

Audio

Video

Show Notes

What We Are Playing

• Lloyd Hannesson: Burnout Crash (iOS), DevilDark (iOS), Skylanders (PS3)
• Jeff Ward: Modern Warfare 3 (XBOX360), Sniper Elite V2 (XBOX360)

News

• Resident Evil 6 has a $1000 premium edition!
• Skyrim adds in Kinect support on the 360!
• Peter Molyneux explains why he left Lionhead and Microsoft
• Sega/Capcom and Bandai Namco partner up for Project X Zone
• Better Business Bureau says Bioware DID falsely advertise Mass Effect 3
• Republique Kickstarting it’s way to iOS
• California GameStops now have to put DLC Warning stickers on games
• Square-Enix Radio

Contact Info

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Email: vgpodcasts@gmail.com

We had to battle the tech support demons to finally get this episode out to you guys. That’ll learn me to rip apart the recording studio before a show.. stupid stupid stupid… Anyways sorry for the delay, we hope you dig the show!

Let us know what you think of the show!

Audio

Video

Show Notes

What We Are Playing

• Lloyd Hannesson: Street Food Tycoon (iOS), Draw Something (iOS)
• Jeff Ward: Journey (PS3), Minecraft (Mac/PC), BrowserQuest (Browser)

News

• Capcom sees virtually no difference in offering DLC as downloads after the fact, or including it on the disk and locking it away
• Battlefield 3 DLC essentially lets you pay your way to the top.
• RockBand Blitz is announced and takes the instruments back out of the Music Game genre.
• Mass Effect 3 Extended Cut DLC – Free download sometime this summer.
• Microsoft releases a like on chromed 360 controllers, just begging for your greasy hands
• Video Games in Britain being blamed for kids being more and more aggressive.

Contact Info

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It’s a slow news week here on the Nintendo Pulse podcast, so we make the most of what we have. Send in your emails and voice messages so we have at least that to talk about next week! Looks like devs and publishers are in a pre-E3 lockdown! Time to scramble the infiltrators I guess!

Audio

Show Notes

What We Are Playing

• Lloyd Hannesson: Kid Icarus: Revelations
• Edgar Furse: Dance Central 2

Notable Releases

• Mutant Mudds Demo on eShop

News

• Wii U release date rumoured in leak
• This month’s games from Club Nintendo: You, Me, And The Cubes (Wii) – 200, Excitebike World Rally (Wii) – 200, Metal Torrent (3DS) – 150
• UK 3DS Photo Contest
• Epic Mickey Power of Illusion is a sequel of sorts to Castle of Illusion. 2D platformer
• Rhythm Thief & the Emperor’s Treasure
• Another sweet Special edition 3DS – Kingdom Hearts 10th anniversary

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Jared is here this episode to bring you his review of Princess Punt ★★, a Angry Birds physics like RPG title with HEAVY IAP. Neither of use seemed to like it, but wanted to let you know so that you wouldn’t waste your time! Enjoy the episode

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Audio

Video

None for this episode!

Contact Info

Call and leave a voicemail! (505) VGPODCAsts
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Email: vgpodcasts@gmail.com
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We have a great show for you this week! Jared joins me to talk about the iOS game scene. We have news of some great franchises coming to the iOS platform, huge sales, and review Hunters 2 ★★★★★, Skylanders Cloud Patrol ★★★★★, and Rune Raiders ★★★★★!

Get your FREE audio book from Audible! audibletrial.com/vgpod!

Audio

Video

Show Notes

What We’ve Been Playing

• Lloyd Hannesson: Skylanders Cloud Patrol, Simpsons: Tapped Out, Draw Something
• Jared Schulz: Rune Raiders, Hunters 2, Dragonvale, Hero Academy, Mage Gauntlet

News

• Hero academy to get another update with new team The Tribe
• OMGPop sells to Zynga for 180Mil!!
• Angry Birds Space downloaded more than 10M times in 3 days
• Phantasy Star Online coming to iOS
• Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition

Reviews!

• JOINT-REVIEW: Hunters 2 – $4.99 – 5/5
• LLOYD: Skylanders Cloud Patrol – $0.99 – 5/5
• JARED: Rune Raiders – $0.99 – 5/5

Contact Info

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Email: vgpodcasts@gmail.com

We have a great show for you this week! First up we talk about some great games that we’ve been playing, namely Journey (PS3), Kid Icarus: Uprising (3DS), Skylanders Cloud Patrol (iOS) and Angry Birds Space (iOS). If that wasn’t enough we then have a PILE of news to yammer on about, covering a One Console future, used games killing us all, new PS console and CUPCAKES! Hope you enjoy it

Let us know what you think of the show!

Audio

Video

Show Notes

What We Are Playing

• Lloyd Hannesson: Journey (PS3), Kid Icarus: Uprising (3DS), Skylanders Cloud Patrol (iOS)
• Jeff Ward: Angry Birds Space (iOS), MLB The Show 12 (PSVita)

News

• New Playstation, code named Orbis rumoured to hit next holiday
• Robert Bowling, Infinity Ward Activision Community Manager resigned on Tuesday
• Dennis Dyack offers up used games as the downfall of the industry
• US Military is attempting to hack foreign game consoles to steal user information.
• Want to play a MMO on every browser you own? BrowserQuest a HTML 5 MMO hits the net
• BioWare fans send 400 cupcakes to the BioWare HQ in Edmonton, to illustrate their frustration with Mass Effect 3’s controversial ending.

Contact Info

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Kid Icarus: Uprising is finally out on the Nintendo 3DS, and we are here to tell you all about it! We also bring you news on Epic Mickey, Wii U and more!

Audio

Video

Show Notes

What We Are Playing

• Lloyd Hannesson: Kid Icarus: Revelations, Crush3D
• Edgar Furse: Dance Central 2

Notable Releases

• nada!

News

• Epic Mickey 2
• Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion for 3DS in next Nintendo Power
• Leaked? Wii Nunchuk prototypes for Epic Mickey
• Darksiders II launch title for Wii U
• Eternal Darkness
• Nintendo World Report is posting up a full Kid Icarus AR Card guide
• Sale Alert: Best Buy is still selling Kid Icarus: Uprising for $29.99, go get it

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To start off your week we have a Special Edition of the Touch of Gaming Podcast for you. Joining us today we have Ben and Laurent from Rodeo Games, creators of the awesome turn based strategy games Hunters and Hunters 2. Thanks go out to Ben and Laurent for joining us, stay tuned for our review of the game in the next episode!

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For the last episode of the week here on VGPodcasts.com, I bring you my review of a little known title named Angry Birds Space ★★★★★, you may not have heard of it. Joking aside, I loved this in space physics puzzler, it’s just the coat of paint that the franchise needed. Do you own this game, if so let us know what you think!

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We are back with Episode 2 of your favorite gaming podcast (well, OURS), These Dudes on Games! In this episode Jeff and I talk about all things Mass Effect 3, Skyrim, Cabela’s and even manage to sneak in some Disney’s Cars talk.. yeah.. we went there. We hope you are digging the show, please send in your questions for next week’s show! And a huge shout out goes to I2eflux for having our first question!

Let us know what you think of the show!

Audio

Video

Show Notes

What We Are Playing

• Lloyd Hannesson: Crush3D (3DS), Flight Control Rocket (iOS), Cars AppMates (iOS), Mass Effect Infiltrator (iOS)
• Jeff Ward: Skyrim (XBOX360) – Resident Evil: Opertation Racoon City (XBOX360) – Cabela’s Shadows of Katmai (XBOX360)

News

• Jeff Gertsmann & Giantbomb news.
• NeoGeo X Confirmed! – rumoured £500 price is INSANE
• eBay seller, is selling entire video game collection for $35,000
• The Walking Dead details and platforms announced!
• Bioware might change the ending to Mass Effect 3

Quick Hits:

• Get your own Portal Turret!
• No New Xbox at E3
• Draw Something sells to Zynga

Contact Info

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Email: vgpodcasts@gmail.com

This week we bring you all the latest news on the Wii U, NPD sales, million selling games and more!

Audio

Show Notes

What We Are Playing

• Lloyd Hannesson: Crush 3D, Resident Evil: Revelations
• Edgar Furse: Mario Kart 7, Find Mii 2

Notable Releases

• Kid Icarus Uprising – Friday March 23rd – 3DS
• Mario Party 9 – March 11th – Wii

News

• WHAAAAAA!? Kid Icarus doesn’t REALLY use the CirclePad Pro?
• FREE Kid Icarus AR Cards from Club Nintendo
• Crazy Wii U rumour or leak
• Mark Rein Likes Wii U ? http://www.gamezone.com/products/wii-u/news/wii-u-will-shock-us-at-e3-2012
• Feb 2012 NPDs
• Super Mario Galaxy is the 9th Wii title to hit 5 Milion sales
• Sprit Camera
• Nintendo Produced a Spirit Camera Short
• Mutant Mudds eShop Demo on the way

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Jared is here to bring you his review of the physics puzzler, Snoticles ★★★★.

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And we are back with another Touch of Gaming podcast! In this episode Cara joins me to talk about what games she is playing. Also in this episode we review Off the Leash ★★★★ and Midway Arcade ★★★★★! Enjoy the show and we’ll talk to you guys on Monday with the next iOS Pulse!

Get your FREE audio book from Audible! audibletrial.com/vgpod!

Audio

Video

None for this episode!

Show Notes

What We’ve Been Playing

• Lloyd Hannesson: CodeRunner, The Simpsons: Tapped Out, Mass Effect Infiltrator, Mass Effect 3 Datapad
• Cara Hannesson: TTR, Word with Friends, Hero Academy, Order Up! & Magic Piano

News

• iPad 3
• Rovio enlists NASA to advertise Angry Birds Space – March 22nd
• EA Kills Battlefield 3: Aftershock

Reviews!

• JOINT-REVIEW: Off the Leash – Free – 4/5
• LLOYD: Midway Arcade – $0.99 – 5/5

Contact Info

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Welcome to the birth of a new show! These Dudes on Games is our new general gaming podcast here on the network. I’m joined by my new co-host Jeff Ward, and we run down the week’s gaming news. We are shooting to cover 3ish items a show, and episodes will range from 20-60 minutes. We hope you dig it, and we know.. the name is strange. To be honest I just wanted to call the show TDoG

So enjoy your preview of the new show, head on over to the These Dudes on Games landing page to subscribe. iTunes links coming soon. And don’t worry, this will be the last episode that we are pushing out on all of the feeds.

Let us know what you think of the show!

Audio

Show Notes

What We Are Playing

• Lloyd Hannesson: Mass Effect Infiltrator (iPad), Robokill 2 (iPad)
• Jeff Ward: Mass Effect 3 (XBOX360) – MLB12 The Show (PSVita) – Unit13 (PSVita)

News

• Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Elite Premium content drop.
• Schafer’s Kickstarter killed it
• Tim Sweeny the Console Generation has legs

Quick Hits:

• Resident Evil: Chronicles HD Collection coming to PS3
• Baldur’s Gate Project homepage teasing something
• Phil Harrison joins Microsoft?

Contact Info

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In this episode of the iOS Pulse podcast, Justin Watts joins us and gives his review of Whale Trail ★★★★★, a great one button flying game by ustwo Studio Ltd. That about wraps up the iOS Pulse shows for this week, stay tuned for the Touch of Gaming episode 101 this Friday!

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Sorry for the delay guys, my mixer blew up and had me scrambling for a replacement. I have a temp solution in place and will work on something more permanent in the next few weeks. Thanks for being patient! In this episode of the iOS Pulse I give you my review of The Bard’s Tale ★★★★, a port of the awesome action RPG originally released in 2004! I loved this gae when it first came out, and it plays great on my iPad. All 15 hours of it!

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That’s right folks, the sequel to Call of Duty: Black Ops has been announced.

Despite an IP block on the UK’s Call of Duty site to screen out the rest of the world, reports are rolling in about what is on the webpage. For sure there is a YouTube trailer, which is private making it unwatchable for now. You can see some sort of metropolis being attacked, proving the rumors that Black Ops 2 will take place during a 21st Century Cold War.

The following is apparently the only text on the UK website currently:

“Pushing the boundaries of what fans have come to expect from the record-setting entertainment franchise, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 propels players into a near future, 21st Century Cold War, where technology and weapons have converged to create a new generation of warfare. Pre-order today.”

Black Ops 2 has been scheduled for a release on November 13, 2012.

Proving that you can’t keep a good sequel down, Gameloft today announced that the sequel to the hit iOS first person shooter N.O.V.A. was coming back to the platform. Sadly no dates were announced, but if past announcements are anything to go on I would expect it within the month. I’m actually surprised that N.O.V.A. 3 took this long to come out, Gameloft seems to have slowed their release schedule down quite a bit.

Waterfield, one of the best case manufacturers I have come across is now selling cases for Nintendo’s 3DS.  They have three choices: the 3DS Case (pictured), the 3DS Suede Jacket (a soft pouch with an optional pocket) and the 3DS Travel Case (holds 3DS, dock, charger and more).

Prices start at $11 for the Suede Jacket and top out at $58 for the Travel Case with optional shoulder strap.  The Travel Case and Suede Jacket are available now and they are taking pre-orders for the 3DS Case, which will ship on 4/22/11.

Colourful! It’s the one word I would use to describe de Blob 2 above all others. Everything about the game revolves around being artistic with your palette and spreading the vibrancy to anything in your vicinity. As with its Wii exclusive predecessor, Blob must bring the colour back to the world by bouncing across buildings like a paint covered Space Hopper. Does the sequel take this basic idea to new heights?

If the original game taught us anything, it was that a well conceived art style can do wonders for player’s first thoughts on a game. de Blob attracted a lot of press attention due to its joyous use of bright tones, and the cutesy stylings of the main characters. Reminiscent of PSOne era platformers, the game’s light-hearted nature made it one of the Wii games to really look forward to in 2008. Cut to 2011, following disappointing sales of the game, and we have a sequel appearing on all 3 platforms in order to improve profit. That cutesy feel is even more prominent on PS3, the colour coming to life even more in HD. As such, the first time you boot up de Blob 2 will undoubtedly be a happy moment. Just like games such as LittleBigPlanet which draw a player in with a cutesy art style though, de Blob has a lot more to give than just looks.

The gameplay in de Blob 2 much resembles that of the original game, albeit with the Wii Remote functionality replaced in some respects by the Playstation Move. You must paint yourself various colours in order to pass on that colour to your environment which is now stark white. It’s a mix of Okami, and colouring by numbers, the various buildings in your vicinity requiring specific colours to complete your missions. Each area will have different combinations of paint available for you to use, mixing the basic primary colours together is vital for completing later challenges for instance.

The platforming element of de Blob appears when you have to traverse the buildings you’re trying to paint, wall running and jumping between surfaces becoming two specific moves vital as you progress. Outside of this, the game incorporates 2D sections when you go underground into the sewers, where you must hit colour specific switches and navigate elevators. It’s never extremely clever, but the platforming in de Blob 2 is always enjoyable.

On the surface, de Blob 2 may seem extremely linear, but it takes a novel approach with its mission structure. You enter each world and have a single linear mission to complete, each section activated by rolling onto Red glowing checkpoints. You have a time limit to complete this, but the time is extremely generous, upwards of 30 minutes usually, meaning you have time to do everything else that you can get up to in that world. You can paint every single building for instance, or for collecting the entire myriad of collectibles the developers have incorporated into the game. Most of these are pretty meaningless, though the light bulb ones do let you upgrade your attributes, sort of Levelling up Blob. It adds an extra dimension to what would otherwise be a disappointingly straightforward title.

de Blob 2 is definitely a worthy sequel to the original game, the only problem I have is that its very one note once you get to grips with the format. As fun as colouring the world can be, and no matter how many twists the developers add in, it never really goes anywhere. de Blob 2 is a fun game, but when comparing it to other Colour the world (Okami) and platform (LittleBigPlanet) titles, it never really stands out from the crowd.

[Rating: 3.5/5]

Game Of The Year. The title has weight.

It is the first day of a new year and with the passing of 2010 it is time to anoint a single, solitary champion of the year in gaming. It takes a lot to stand out amongst what have been a banner year for good games. There are contenders aplenty and several that stand out as things of beauty and art…  But only one can be left standing.

What criteria shall we judge it on?

Value for money? Which games takes your $60 and gives you the absolute last penny? A subjective point at best, something like Farmville eats millions of man-hours but none of us would consider that a contender for game of the year.

No – the standard for this year should be art. Which game has advanced the cause of video-games-as-art more than any other. Which one will make Roger Ebert eat his words?

Read on for the contenders and winner.

Halo: Reach (360)

To be honest, the game most played in our consoles has been Halo: Reach. The multiplayer inside it is a thing of beauty and almost perfectly balanced. Almost every game is fun for everyone, regardless of who’s on top or on bottom.

The story eclipses just about every other game in the franchise and the campaign is far more interesting and thought-out than the previous entry, ODST. Everything inside the box, from the campaign to Forge to Multiplayer to Theater to Firefight… the game has something for almost every play style.

If this award were given for dollar value, Reach would certainly walk away with the crown but there’s a lack of polish around the corners and fundamentally, few playing Reach weren’t going to be inserting the disc on launch day.

For that, it doesn’t win… can’t win.

Call of Duty: Black Ops (360, PS3, PC)

The game that took our hearts away with visuals is Treyarch and Activision’s next entry in the Call of Duty franchise held nothing back. A punishingly difficult and immersive campaign created a compulsion to complete it. The wide open and fantastically well-created multiplayer added longevity to the game.

How pretty it looked though… Moments looked like scenes ripped directly from a blockbuster movie. The game clearly pushed the graphical limits of today’s machines, console and PC alike.

Alas, it wasn’t really all that fun. No kind of matchmaking made multiplayer punishing and fruitless as people just picking up the game and using basic weapons were pitted against merciless sharpshooters with expensive, highly accurate, man-stopping weapons.

Most disappointing of all, Black Ops wasn’t innovative. It was a change of setting from Modern Warfare 2 and World at War but little else. While it might have made a great movie, it’s certainly not Game of the Year material.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii)

Nintendo has been doing a couple of things great for a very long time and Mario games are one of those things. Super Mario 64 is still considered to be one of the greatest platform games of all time and the fat plumber’s SNES outings are what got an entire generation into gaming.

The game oozed creativity and for a Wii game was astoundingly pretty. It’s no surprise Nintendo works its underpowered pony better than any other developer and it shows. Interest and beautiful game mechanics make perfect use of the Wii’s control system. It is almost art.

So why is this game so far down the list? The game described above could equally well describe the original Super Mario Galaxy and for that, Galaxy 2 can only come so far. The original Galaxy was fantastic game and Super Mario Galaxy 2 mainly stands upon its shoulders.

For that, it really can’t win. Nintendo may one day try something truly innovative again, but until then – they’re not taking home any Game of the Year Trophy.

Mass Effect 2

Mass Effect‘s franchise may well win for franchise of the millennium if things keep up. The plot is well put together and the gameplay improves from game to game. The visuals get upped to just above par with each installment and alternate media tie-ins are done better than almost any other game.

Back in 2005, GlyphX and Majesco tried to create an epic sci-fi trilogy for history, a Star Wars or Ender’s Game for video games. They even hired Ender’s writer Orson Scott Card to write the games. The game flopped, utterly failed an any plans to complete the franchise vanished overnight.

The cool thing is that the Mass Effect trilogy might be just that – A Star Wars for video games. Succeeding where others have failed is what developer BioWare does. Overall the trilogy is pure art and beauty, but standing alone, the second installment feels like it’s filling shoes too big for its daddy, but has outgrown its hand-me downs.

And the winner is….

Red Dead Redemption (360, PS3)

The first time RockStar tried to make a wild west game was mostly a failure. Red Dead Revolver was a game that filled a small niche and was picked up by a few interested parties, despite good reviews.

Red Dead Redemption was a risk. The 360 launched with GUN, a game that attempted to be Grand Theft Old West and fell flat on its face, showing its previous-gen roots and disappointing pretty much everyone who played it, though the story was quite good.

The story of revenge and justice RockStar crafted was beyond reproach. The world John Marston created is both beautiful and filling. New Austin is huge and despite vast tracts of open air and a real desolate feel at times the world never feels empty. It’s populated with real, honest characters that all feel genuine and well thought out.

Multiplayer is a nice tack-on that wiles away the time swiftly and with huge levels of fun. If you haven’t played this game yet, you have zero reason not to. It pulls you in and doesn’t let you go until you’re done.

John Marston’s saga is pure cinema. The control scheme is perfect. The visuals are polished and pretty for a game that handedly uses two different consoles with almost no effect. It’s art style is beyond top-notch, balancing pure style with realistic flare. It has absolutely no unforgivable flaw. It has top-notch production, almost perfect voice-acting. It’s difficultly curve is fascinatingly balanced.

Red Dead Redemption is the natural progression from GTA IV. It is almost art. Played with direction and purpose, it would suck in even the stodgy Roger Ebert. It will make a gamer of many non-gamers.

Red Dead Redemption is Nukoda’s 2010 Game of the Year.

Welcome to the current generation of consoles. Now you can put away that PS2 you’ve been lovingly keeping alive all these years and start gaming for real. Nowadays, it’s rare not to have a couple of games in your stocking, especially if your loved ones are any kid of coordinated but that doesn’t mean they’re worth playing…

Maybe you’ve just updated your old console with a fancy new slim version of the 360 or PS3 or just added to your existing collection – whatever the reason, there are some games you need to play.

So what should you hope you got? What should be your first exchange tomorrow morning?

Read on for more.

Halo: Reach (360) – Bungie/Microsoft Game Studios

If you own an Xbox, you are obligated to own a Halo game. Master Chief may not make an appearance in this prequel, but the gameplay is better and the story more engaging than any of the core trilogy despite some narrative pitfalls.

The multiplayer is what you buy the game for and ultimately what you stay for. If you have any relatives over, ages 8-35, chances are they’ll leap at the opportunity to play shoot each other on-screen.

God of War III (PS3) – Sony Computer Entertainment

Kratos’ final installment (maybe?) is done. Finished. Equal parts street-brawler, hack-n-slash, adventure game and puzzle platformer, the God of War games are always held up as pristine examples of what Sony’s console can do.

It is an excessively pretty game, easily showing off the graphical prowess of Sony’s multi-core system. They’re also a blast to play and the third installment is no exception. It is an extremely, extremely mature game and should not be played by minors or those with weak constitutions.

Violence, nudity and language all feature heavily. Both this game and Halo: Reach share M-ratings, but this one truly deserves it.

If the women in your family are not allowed to wear pants, this game is probably not for you.

Kirby’s Epic Yarn (Wii) – Nintendo

Kirby and Mario are both staples for Nintendo and both had new games appear on shelves this year. Epic Yarn makes Mario’s previous two outings stand out as stale and stagnant. The bright and fun platformer may not break any barriers in the graphics department but more than makes up for it with it’s fun, simple attitude that harkens back to the old days of gaming.

For a game so old-school, it feels brilliantly innovative.

The story mode levels are a bit too easy but it’s hardly a game for hardcore gamers. It’s one of the year’s only stand-out entries on the Wii, now lagging behind the Xbox 360 in sales.

Kids will love it and older members of the family will enjoy the relaxing zen of it all, though it’s not without challenge.

Red Dead Redemption (360, PS3) – Rockstar

A good contender for game of the year by any standard, the sprawling, massive land of New Austin (read: Texas) awaits you in this adventure game from Rockstar studios. Red Dead is essentially Grand Theft Auto set in the old West.

The 360 launched with a game called Gun that tried desperately to be what Red Dead Redemption IS. Those of you who waited in line for 360s or who got one for Christmas back in 2005… Forget that game and pick up this one if you haven’t already.

What’s not to love? Though it lags in places, the narrative pace is cinematic and the visuals are stunning. If there were a case to be made that video games can be held to the same level of art as films, this would be a prime contender.

If you do not own it, this is a must-add. It’s fairly priced now as well and the zombie DLC is a blast as well.

There are a huge number of other games you could use today, including some awesome XBLA and PSN games like Sonic the Hedgehog 4 and Braid, as well as all of the old virtual console titles for the Wii.

With all those downloadable titles and the suggestions above, there’s no way you’ll be bored while you’re waiting for the turkey to roast. 2010 was a great year for games and it’s your present to yourself to enjoy them.

Got any other suggestions, leave them in the comments below!

So you’ve opened that new present you’ve been waiting for all year – a brand new shiny (or perhaps, hand-me-down) iPod touch, iPhone or iPad. No doubt your loved ones scrimped and saved and pooled their money for this revolutionary and/or magical device.

Now what to put on it?

If you’ve got an iPad, Virgin Media’s Project Magazine is a must have. All iPods touch and iPhone NEED Facebook… What about GAMES?

Whether you’re using your own hard earned money or that iTunes gift card your least favorite cousin sent, your choices are many and all purchases are final – we’ve  put together a quick list to give you a good starting point.

Read on for the advice!

Rage/Rage HD – id Software

Rage is a showcase of what kind of graphical prowess the iOS devices can throw forth. Sure Epic’s Infinity Blade is slightly prettier but it had a full team of guys working day and night for months to create it.

Rage for the iOS devices (Rage for 3G and 3G S, Rage HD for iPhone 4 and iPad) was made basically on a whim by John Carmack and polished by a handful of guys over the course of a week or so before release. It’s a testament to id Software’s ingenuity and a brave new direction for the company. And it’s pretty, oh so pretty.

Angry Birds - Rovio

Everyone has it. Everyone else has already beaten it. The game is a simple tower defense game with an addicting difficulty curve and fun, eye-catching graphics. It’s a nice way to wile away your time. With the new Mighty Eagle in-game purchase insta-win button, it can even relieve all that stress it’s been creating for you!

There’s even a festive, seasons version with snow and holiday things.

Fruit Ninja – Halfbrick

Fruits fly across the screen and you swipe your finger to cut it. Simple right? Think again. Fruit Ninja is amazingly addictive and has several different modes and challenges, as well as multi-player.

It’s an easy way to relax with something simple in Zen Mode but switch over to classic or Arcade and you will curse yourself for not looking closely enough or swiping just too far. It’s a brilliant little game. Kids love it, too.

Words with Friends/Words with Friends HD - NewToy Inc.

Addictive, spare time, turn-by-turn scrabble. All your friends have it, why not prove once and for all that your vocabulary is bigger than theirs? The folks at NewToy have created one of the most per

sistent Apps on the App Store because it’s so simple, and has changed little. Everyone knows how to play, everyone can play. The HD version is exclusive to the iPad.

Warning: Do not play with loved ones.

Plants Versus Zombies - PopCap Studios

Skip the iPhone version, which is scrunched and hard to aim. The iPad is what this game, originally a flash-based browser game, was created for. It’s a bizarre premise: horrifically mutated plants shoot things at hordes of approaching zombies, but it’s maddeningly addictive.

On the nice, big, beautiful screen of the iPad the entire game pops. The best we can liken it to is playing with a cartoon. It’s on the expensive side, but the challenges, sense of humor and addicting gameplay make it well worth it. Every family iPad should have it, and “professional” ones too! (Admit it… You’re going to play games!)

Enjoy your holidays – be careful and don’t let your new toys consume your focus. If you have any stories or other suggestions be sure to leave them in the comments!

Telltale Games’ episodic video game version of ‘Back to the Future’ for PC and Mac finally has a release date of December 22 according to the developer’s blog.

Telltale has gone for a more cartoonish look for these games and it look to be a fresh, interesting take on the series after it first premiered 25 years ago. Telltale Games is best known for employing many talented former LucasArts employees and the most recent set of Sam and Max games.

If you purchase the BTTF game direct from Telltale you also get a free DVD when the series of games ends. Preordering will also donate a dollar to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research and a free copy of Puzzle Agent, also from Telltale Games.