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XBLM offers up LOTR: Conquest multiplayer demo
Fresh from the developer oven and onto the Xbox Live Marketplace serving platter is a new Lord of the Rings: Conquest demo. Best part, it's an online enabled multiplayer demo, joy! Other than the multiplayer knowledge, we're uncertain about the demo specifics other than the fact that it's a 1GB download. So, feel free to add it to your queue and give the LOTR: Conquest demo a try. All the cool kids are doing it.
Mercs 2 Blow it Up Again DLC available for free
Releasing a day earlier than expected is new Mercenaries 2: World in Flames downloadable content. Available for 0 Microsoft points (that mean it's free), you can own your very own Blow it Up Again DLC and be the talk of town. The 377MB download adds four new missions to the mix along with some patriotic characters. The bigger question remains ... will it be grenades or TNT?
Mercenaries 2 is ready to Blow It Up Again
Because they're aware your interest in Mercenaries 2: World in Flames has probably dwindled, EA and Pandemic Studios are set to release a new bundle of Blow It Up Again content pack joy. It's destructive DLC. This expansion content is scheduled for release on Tuesday, December 16th and will be 100% FREE throughout the rest of the year. Included will be four additional game modes as well as a few "patriotic characters" to wreak havoc with. Per the Blow It Up Again teaser trailer, we're moderately impressed, because it looks so darn boom-riffic! [Via TeamXbox, Thanks Lightsout565]
Fanswag: Destroy All Humans bobbles [update]
Update: This giveaway has completed and big congrats to ttocs, monkeyninja, Major Suckage, Xerone, and Ben for their bobbly win! This week, Crypto crash landed on the Xbox 360 in Destroy All Humans: Path of the Furon and to celebrate, we're giving away a handful of Crypto'riffic "Wacky Wobbler Bobble-Heads". You know, because everybody needs a Wacky Wobbler. Simply comment below to enter the giveaway. Also, big thanks to the Destroy All Humans crew for donating the bobblehead goods and to learn more about Path of the Furon (and win some prizes) hit up CryptoEnhance.com. We all know Crypto loves to use wacky weapons to destroy humans, but what would your ultimate human destroying weapon be? Leave a comment on this post telling us what zany weapon you'd use to wreak havoc. You may leave one comment per calendar day, eastern time. Posters of multiple comments during the same day will be disqualified. We'll accept entries until 10:00PM eastern Wednesday, December 3rd. You must be at least 18 years old to enter. This giveaway is open only to residents of the U.S. and Canada (excluding Quebec). On Thursday, we'll pick five winners via a random drawing. Five grand prize winners will receive a Destroy All Humans: Path of the Furon bobblehead worth $15. Complete giveaway rules can be found here.
Shipping this week: Scaling, scailing edition
With week after week of nothing but big releases (and a short breather last week) it looks like it's finally time to round out the big holiday gaming schedule. The biggest release this week is, without a shadow of a doubt, Prince of Persia. After the Prince took a questionable turn to the Dark Side (which followed his jaunt to the Emo Side), Ubisoft decided the entire series needed a refresh and the result is available this week. Here's hoping the Prince manages to scale those obstacles with panache and aplomb rather than falling to his death with all the grace of a stone. Here are all of this week's releases: Prince of Persia Destroy All Humans! Path Of The Furon The Tale of Despereaux [Via Joystiq]
New Destroy All Humans: PoTF trailer
We tried to get around it. We really did but, honestly, there's only one thing we can say about the new Destroy All Humans: Path of the Furon trailer (embedded after the break). That thing is this: The game features some kind of rainbow gun. We can't really discern if the gun actually fires rainbows or rather a much more sinister projectile that leaves rainbows in its wake. We're inclined to think it's the latter, given the ultimate goal of the game (which seems obvious, considering the title). There are other powers and weapons featured in the trailer but, come on, it's a rainbow gun. What more could you need?
Destroy All Humans! PS3 still coming to Europe
THQ has informed Eurogamer that the PlayStation 3 version of earthling annihilation sim Destroy All Humans! Path of the Furon, isn't quite as canceled we were lead to believe. It's still on track for a European release, joining its Xbox 360 sibling on shelves next year, February 13th. Is that enough time to sort out those "development issues?" A spokesperson for the publisher explained: "Due to the game being shipped earlier in North America on 2nd December a decision was made to proceed exclusively with the Xbox 360 format in that market." If you were to ask us, we'd say the European strategy for releasing outside the holiday period and on twice as many platforms seems like the smarter one. If you were to ask us.
Path of the Furon canceled on PS3, becomes a 360 exclusive
Shacknews reports that THQ's upcoming (and cow probing) Destroy All Humans: Path of the Furon has been canceled on the Playstation 3 citing "development issues" as being the main reason. Though, THQ is still commited to releasing the Xbox 360 version the first week of December, making Path of the Furon a 360 exclusive. Maybe not an A+ blockbuster exclusive, but it's an exclusive none the less. Enjoy the latest game trailer as a makeshift exclusivity celebration.
THQ refuses to Destroy All Humans! on PS3
The PS3 version of Destroy All Humans! Path of the Furon has been mysteriously canceled a week before its release. Originally scheduled for December 1st, the game will now ship exclusively on Xbox 360. According to THQ, "development issues" have been blamed for this cancellation. Perhaps those "issues" involved forgetting to actually start development of the PS3 version. Or perhaps THQ just didn't care. Or maybe it's because THQ fired everyone that might've even worked on a PS3 version. Regardless, we doubt many of you are feeling the loss. [Via NeoGAF]
Destroying all humans begins this December
THQ and Sandblast just revealed that Destroy All Humans: Path of the Furon will make its way to retailers the week of December 1st. We're sure your copy is already secured with a pre-order. Path of the Furon will be the first Destroy All Humans title to grace the Xbox 360 and will feature fully destructible environments, multiplayer support and co-op. Maybe its reception will be warmer than the original's lukewarm reviews and maybe Crypto will finally realize that probing cows does absolutely nothing for his human species research.
EA: 'There will be a Mercenaries 3'
EA boss John Riccitielo is the latest company bigwig talking up more sequels, just as his publishing megalith struck gold with Dead Space, one of the best original titles it's had in years. This time it's Mercenaries, which Riccitielo confirmed will see a third installment developed by series creator Pandemic. "There will be a Mercenaries 3," Riccitielo said during an investor call, adding, "and, if I have anything to do with it, there will be a Mercenaries 10." With nearly two million copies sold worldwide, a sequel to the open-world action game was a given ... but another seven beyond that? Mattias will be 'jacking other residents' wheelchairs at the mercenary retirement home by that point.
LOTR: Conquest attacks in January
The Shacknews folks are reporting that Pandemic Studios' Lord of the Rings: Conquest - a game dedicated to re-creating epic LOTR battles sans Elijah Wood - will be landing on retail shelves next January 13th. And from the factual deets we've already been given, LOTR: Conquest doesn't sound half bad ... possibly even good. We believe in you Pandemic, so do us proud!
Mercenaries 2 'Total Payback' update is M.I.A.
Mercenaries 2: World in Flames fanboys who were excited to get their hands on the new Total Payback title update will, sadly, be dissapointed. Pandemic Studios has yet to release the new update, which was supposed to release on October 13th. The Mercenaries 2 forums are abuzz with angry gamers, so much so that forum moderators have been deleting threads that make mention of the Total Paypack update being delayed. We aren't sure what Pandemic's reason is for the delay or when it'll finally be released, but we've contacted them for comment and will update when we hear back.[Thanks, Chris]
Mercenaries 2 receives Total Payback on Oct. 13th
Mercenaries 2: World in Flames will be receiving it's first ever title update on Monday, October 13th with the release of a "Total Payback" update that's aimed at connecting gamers from around the world, adding more variety and enabling cheaters to, well ... cheat. The Total Payback update will add an additional six characters to the Mercenaries 2 mix, give players the ability to enter cheats and (this one's a biggie) enable cross-region support of Xbox Live multiplayer. Huzzah! Again, this is an update, meaning it'll be applied instantly and for free come October 13th.Also, Pandemic revealed that they'll be releasing the first set of Mercs 2 downloadable content sometime this November. So, keep an eye out for that.[Thanks, Fox]
Mercenaries 2 demo now on Xbox Live
So, are we posting about a demo for Mercenaries 2 (that just arrived on Xbox Live) solely so we can have an excuse to share "Oh No You Didn't," which somehow, mysteriously, has eluded our grasp for weeks? Possibly. We hope you can forgive us. If you came here for actual demo information rather than hilarious song stylings, you should know that it only pays out 20 minutes of fun before it shuts the whole operation down and kicks you to the dashboard. If you're looking for a really meaty taste, you may want to turn to renting.
XBLM receives new human-destroying, intellivision-like Xbox Originals
Per last week's announcement, two new exclamation point loving Xbox Originals just released to the XBLM and both are patiently awaiting your 1200 Microsoft point purchase. The new achievement-less titles (that NEVER gets old), Destroy All Humans! and Intellivision Lives!, can be found under the "New Releases" section of the Marketplace. If you can't decide which title to buy, maybe you can opt to pickup both OR (as we suggest) ignore them completely. But maybe that's being a bit harsh?
Mercenaries 2 demo NOT on the Marketplace
Last night, Pandemic sent word to the internets informing everyone that the promised Mercenaries 2: World in Flames demo was released to the Xbox Live Marketplace for download. And even though they sent word, it doesn't mean it's true, because it simply isn't there. We're sure the Mercenaries 2 demo will eventually make its way to the XBLM (probably sooner than later), but right this moment we aren't seeing it. Keep your mercenary eyes peeled and your mercenary ears perked ...[Thanks, Rob]
Destroy All Humans! Intellivision Lives! New Xbox Originals Sept. 15!
It's high time for some real talk about Xbox Originals. Specifically, who's choosing what makes the cut? Not that Destroy all Humans! or Intellivision Lives! are bad games by any means. It's just that, when you think of a service that could be offering the best, exclusive games from a system's previous generation on the current one via the interwebs, you'd hope they'd be more ... original and memorable. As it stands, we're getting a complete mish-mash of revered and forgettable moments from the annuls of the original Xbox. How about some Panzer Dragoon Orta or Star Wars: Republic Commando before the likes of Kabuki Warriors? Ahem. Ranting aside, both Destroy All Humans! and Intellivision Lives! hit the Xbox Live Marketplace on September 15 for 1200 ($15) each. We'd love to hear which Xbox games you would have join the ranks of the Xbox Originals in comments.
Destroy All Humans! and Intellivision Lives! to become Xbox Originals
Holy exclamation points! Microsoft just announced that both Destroy All Humans! and Intellivision Lives! are set to become Xbox Originals, releasing next Monday, September 15th. Exclamation point! As is customary with all Xbox Originals, both titles will release to the Xbox Live Marketplace for 1200 Microsoft points apiece and require some hard drive gigage. For those who aren't familiar with either title, Intellivision Lives! is a collection of over 60 old-old-school Intellivision games while Pandemic's Destroy All Humans! is all about doing alien related activities like probing humans and flying around the city in a UFO wreaking havoc. (!!!)
Mercs 2 gas giveaway causes 'chaos' in London
While a similar publicity stunt in LA went off with relatively little drama, it appears the Mercenaries 2 petrol giveaway in London was "irresponsible and dangerous," according to local residents. The BBC reports that traffic was gridlocked as drivers waited to get their £40-worth ($70) of gratis gas. The promotion started at 6:30AM and ran until police apparently shut it down. Local residents were quite upset about the traffic and honking the stunt caused in their neighborhood. Lynne Featherstone, MP for the district, stated that while a lucky few got free gas, "hundreds of residents have faced misery." She's demanding an apology. We're sure that EA is real sorry about all the free publicity and we're positive those people with tanks full of free gas are even more sympathetic. [Thanks to all who sent this in.]
