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RuneScape throwing the Queen a royal celebration on June 2nd
Royalty is coming to RuneScape on June 2nd, as Jagex is celebrating the Queen of England's Diamond Jubilee (that's 60 years on the throne, if you're wondering). Players in the game will be invited to join in a massive block party that will include sampling British cuisine, solving clues, petting the Queen's Corgis, and collecting numerous treasures scattered throughout the Royal city of Varrock. There's even a giant Queen Black Dragon to be defeated, but be warned: She's one of the toughest mobs in the game. This celebration is partially in response to the honor (honour) that the Queen gave the studio in April of this year, as Jagex was granted the Queen's Award for Innovation in Enterprise. "We thought it was only appropriate to return our appreciation and admiration by immortalising the Queen's monumental 60-year achievement by providing an online platform for hundreds of millions of people around the world to come together," said CEO Mark Gerhard. "Friends and family will share in the fun and celebrations of this very special day celebrating her Diamond Jubilee, by hosting what may be the first, but certainly will be the world's largest, virtual street party." If you're wondering if the Queen will be there, well, Jagex did extend an invitation. You can watch the Jubilee Celebration trailer after the jump. [Source: Jagex press release]
Nexon changes everything about MapleStory in one Big Bang!
When darkness has covered the world, whom do you call? When everything you have seen on Victoria Island has been changed, is there a hero to save it? When the Black Mage unleashes his evil on the unsuspecting innocents, can he ever be defeated? Will the balance of power be shifted back to good? Will you, the greatest hero, stand up against the destruction and chaos? What are we talking about? Well, it is Nexon's side-scrolling, free-to-play MMO MapleStory, of course. Continuing a five-year tradition of constantly giving players new content, the developers will literally change everything you know about the world of MapleStory this winter in the game's newest story arc, Big Bang. In addition to crafting the new plot, the developers have seen fit to it to better the user interface, game resolution, and graphical textures. On top of that, players should expect a higher experience curve, updated maps, and brand-new character classes. Begin your new adventure by clicking after the break. We have stolen a glimpse of the exciting upgrades with a video trailer of Big Bang. Maybe you can be the one to save Maple World!
Sony giving away PlayStation Move for block parties, along with completely wild freebies
Looking for a free PlayStation Move setup and a bunch of useless schwag? Too bad you didn't sign up for Sony's Ultimate Block Party. In the vein of the hilarious Windows 7 and TiVo promo giveaways of yesteryear, PlayStation's thrown a virtual bash that actually requires a modicum of interaction to properly enjoy this time. As this isn't a retail Move package, there's no traditional unboxing to be had, but soon-to-be-host Phil does show off a demo disk (with eight titles and uproarious setup guide) that we pray will be included in the final kit. Other than that, the promo box includes your standard array of party supplies -- PlayStation Move cocktail napkins, Sports Champions mini-frisbees, plastic soda can handles, and the gift that keeps on giving: a bag of Kevin Butler button badges. Because real boxers don't do Tupperware. Spot all the goodies at our source link.
Xbox Live Deal of the Week: Fallout 3 DLC
This week's Xbox Live deal ain't too shabby, if you haven't got yourself a copy of Fallout 3: GOTY Edition or already downloaded all of the game's DLC onto your hard drive. Each of the five episodes continuing the adventures of our strong, silent hero (or villain, if you prefer to play the meanie) are half-off this week, just as anticipated. That means the whole lot (usually setting back would-be Wasteland travelers $50 total) can be yours for $25 up until March 29 -- or 400 ($5) each. War never changes, but the cost of doing battle just got a bit cheaper. Shortcut: Add Fallout 3's Operation Anchorage DLC to your Xbox 360 download queue [Xbox.com] Shortcut: Add Fallout 3's The Pitt DLC to your Xbox 360 download queue [Xbox.com] Shortcut: Add Fallout 3's Broken Steel DLC to your Xbox 360 download queue [Xbox.com] Shortcut: Add Fallout 3's Point Lookout DLC to your Xbox 360 download queue [Xbox.com] Shortcut: Add Fallout 3's Mothership Zeta DLC to your Xbox 360 download queue [Xbox.com]
This Wednesday: Perfect Dark KLOBBers XBLA
That's "This Wednesday," like, this Wednesday -- today. Sorry we waited so long to bring you this regular installment of "This Wednesday," it's just that we kind of figured this particular release would be a little hard to forget. But for those of you not paying attention, here it is: FPS classic Perfect Dark arrives on Xbox Live today for 800 ($10). If you're on the fence, check out our full review of the game. Now, if you'll excuse us, we're going to go buy some Surge and Tato Skins off eBay and hit Felicity for some King of the Bathroom. %Gallery-70692%
This Wednesday: Toy Soldiers storms XBLA
This week Toy Soldiers kicks off Microsoft's month-long XBLA Block Party. While a tower defense game at its core, the game adds a small twist to the genre, allowing players to take control over individual towers and units. In other words, if you think your sniper tower is focusing on the wrong units, you can snap into first-person control and do something about it. Toy Soldiers lands this Wednesday on XBLA for 1200 ($15). In the meantime, be sure to check out our impressions of the title back from TGS.
Xbox Live Arcade Block Party games, Game Room dated
March is going to be a pretty intense month for XBLA releases. So intense, in fact, that it's all being bundled under one promotional moniker: Block Party. Microsoft recently announced specific dates and prices for each of the games therein, and boy oh boy, has its saved the best for ... um, next-to-last. We already knew March 3 would see the release of Toy Soldiers for 1200 ($15). On March 10, we'll get our hands on Slick Entertainment's brutal racer, Scrap Metal, for 1200 ($15). On March 17, we'll be stocking up on supplies, boarding up the doors and windows, and enjoying Perfect Dark, available for 800 ($10). Things will come to a crescendo on March 24, when the Game Room hub will be released at no charge. The platform's games will run you 400 ($5) for a PC and 360-friendly version, 240 ($3) for just the 360 version, or 40 ($.50) for a single play.
X10: A perfect storm of Perfect Dark media
It's been a crazy 48 hours, thanks to all of the news coming out of X10. Attendees were greeted with various playable demos, a box full of mullets and, in the case of this post, the above trailer and gallery full of screenshots for Rare's upcoming XBLA port of Perfect Dark. Featuring graphics of up to 1080p and small grey alien sidekicks named Elvis, it's one of the more high-profile games coming to Xbox Live Arcade as part of the Block Party promotion. %Gallery-85318%
Have a Wario Party with Rabbids at Amazon
If you've been denying yourself the opportunity to play Balance Board games from a hilarious seated position for budgetary reasons, today's Amazon "15 Days, 15 Deals" special will appeal to you. The retailer has discounted a few Wii games including Raving Rabbids TV Party. Also among the reduced-price games: Wario Land: Shake It! for $40. It may not be playable with one's bum, but it certainly shares juvenile humor with Ubisoft's silly minigame collection.Decent price drops are also available for the Perfect Shot and Ben 10 Alien Force. And, uh, Game Party 2 and Block Party, just in case you need something to be angry about.%Gallery-26293%%Gallery-23883%
SOE announces extra holiday XP in EQ2, block party for July 26th
The official SOE boards are abuzz with two small pieces of big news. Last weekend was an extra XP opportunity for players of EverQuest 2, but a lot of people missed out. "Why didn't you offer that over the holiday weekend?", it was asked. Players asked, and the devs answered, so this weekend is going to be a bonux extra XP weekend for the adventurers of Norrath. Make sure to jump in-game and check it out.Also from the boards: the official Sony Online Entertainment Block Party is slated to occur during Comic-Con. This will be the company's third annual meet-and-greet, and if the last few years have been any indication it will be hot as heck and fun as hell. There's a shuttle that goes directly from Comic-Con to SOE's HQ, so players have no excuses if they're in the area and want to attend. The Block Party will be on from 4-8pm on Saturday the 26th of July. Full details are available in the post. Have fun, and don't forget to tell em' Massively says hi!
GDC08: You're at the PlayStation Block Party
Sony's PlayStation party at GDC08 was one of the most exclusive parties to get into. Just ask MTV's Stephen Totilo, the GameTrailers crew, and the entire team at Insomniac Games. (None of these people were invited, supposedly.)As we described earlier, "There are hula-hoop girls with really short shorts; there's a breakdancing crew getting boogaloo on the dance floor; there's a DJ mashing up 70's throwbacks; there's a barber shop upstairs (no, seriously, they're actually cutting hair)." If you didn't believe us, try watching this video: it'll be like you're there! Enjoy this, uh, VIP access to the show.Download an HD version (for your PS3) from my Vimeo page.
