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Aliens: Colonial Marines piano sonata trailer in Xeno major
It's been over 25 years since Aliens taught us to nuke the site from orbit. As we all know, it's the only way to be sure. Clearly, the soldiers of Aliens: Colonial Marines didn't receive the memo.
Borderlands 2 nears 6 million shipped, on course to be 2K's best seller
Borderlands 2 is sneaking up on the 6 million mark for units shipped, and well on the way to exploding 2K Games' sales records. Speaking in yesterday's financials call, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said the rambunctious shooter was the company's biggest earner in terms of digital sales across the fiscal year."Building on its extraordinary launch in September, Borderlands 2 continues to expand its audience and remains on pace to become the highest-selling title in 2K's history," said Zelnick. "It has also been the largest contributor to our digitally delivered revenue this year, driven both by strong sales of full game downloads, and high attach rates for the title's add-on content, especially the Borderlands 2 Season Pass."The Gearbox-developed sequel had shipped over 5 million back in October 2012. While shipments aren't the same as sales, it's worth noting the original Borderlands sold 4.5 million copies as of August 2011.
New Borderlands 2 fashions in Domination, Madness and Supremacy styles
Borderlands 2's vault hunters now have additional downloadable skins to put on in their quest for better loot. Each class now has a Domination, Madness or Supremacy themed outfit, available for $0.99 / 80 Microsoft Points apiece. The 15 skins are not included as part of the $30 Borderlands 2 'Season Pass.'What you do get with the Borderlands 2 Season Pass is the recently released Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt. The Seasons Pass will include one more piece of DLC to conclude the four announced packs. Then we place our bets on a "game of the year" edition for this holiday that'll include Borderlands 2 plus all DLC.
Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt DLC review: Dapper downer
Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt is the latest add-on campaign for Borderlands 2, developed by Triptych Games. Whisking players away to the savage lands of Aegrus, Sir Hammerlock wishes to engage in exotic game hunting but, much to no one's surprise, things don't go according to plan.Actual game hunting and general mustachioed antics take a backseat to the machinations of the evil doctor Nakayama, who's trying to create a clone of Borderlands 2 villain Handsome Jack aboard his massive downed ship. The DLC takes place after the campaign, with enemies around level 30 and up. With a local tribe of psychos under Nakayama's mind control, there isn't much big game hunting going on at all.In fact, dashed expectations is the underlying theme of Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt. The DLC spends a lot of time building tension for a conflict with Nakayama which resolves itself in an unsatisfying, anti-climactic event that comes off as more insulting than humorous. When it's finally time to take on Nakayama, players are given the proverbial shaft and then the credits roll.%Gallery-173865%
Aliens: Colonial Marines reaches Wii U in Q1
Aliens: Colonial Marines, scheduled for February 12 on other platforms, now has a launch window of calendar Q1 for Wii U. Before the sun rises on the day of fools, you may dine on the blood of xenomorphs. It's the holistic way of handling an upset stomach.%Gallery-173092%
PSA: Borderlands 2's 'Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt' DLC begins today
Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt is tallying-ho to Borderlands 2 today for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. It's already reached XBLM, and will make its way to PlayStation Network and Steam later today. The third of the four announced DLC campaigns is free for Season Pass holders, but otherwise sets you back 800 MSP on XBLM, or $9.99 on PSN and Steam. If you're getting Big Game Hunt on PSN in Europe or Oceania, you'll have to wait one more day as it's scheduled there for tomorrow, Jan. 16.As for when the fourth DLC campaign is due, Gearbox is still sticking to the 'by June 2013' line. That's despite the first three arriving within three months of the game's release, and there being a further five months until June. Ergo, the key word there is by.
Borderlands 2 PC patch kills Deathtrap bugs, more
The PC version of Borderlands 2 has received its monthly update. Among the addressed items are a miscalculation of gun damage when Gunzerking, and shotguns ignoring buffs from stats, abilities and gear. Mechromancers need not suffer their stalwart companion Deathtrap randomly healing enemy shields anymore, "even though it was hilarious," Gearbox says.Gearbox president Randy Pitchford wrote a related post in the forums, thanking fans and asking for patience while the team continues to work on Borderlands 2. He also says "awesome" a lot.You can find the notes from this month's patch just after the break or through the source link below.
Borderlands 2 DLC retail pack listed by Australian ratings board
Borderlands 2 downloadable content could soon be wrecking its way to retail shelves, going by a recently rated pack containing 'Captain Scarlett and her Pirate's Booty' and 'Mr Torgue's Campaign of Carnage.' The game's first two DLC campaigns are included in a 'Borderlands 2 Expansion Pack' rated for retail by the Australian Classification Board.The original Borderlands got the same treatment for its first two DLC packs, but not for the latter couple, for whatever reason. Given there are four DLC campaigns already planned we'd be surprised and more than a little confused if this wasn't the first of two retail packs to arrive in European and North American stores. Either way, we've reached out to developer Gearbox Software for more details.
Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt DLC sets off for Borderlands 2 Jan. 15
Last week, PS3 game files outed the third DLC campaign for Borderlands 2, Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt. Today Gearbox announced the DLC will launch on January 15 (January 16 on PS3 in Europe) for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.Season Pass holders get this latest DLC pack for free, the third of a proposed four, while everyone else needs to fork over 800 MS Points ($10). Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt teams the Vault Hunters up with Pandora's most dignified huntsman, but the expedition quickly goes awry thanks to the interference of a new, unknown enemy – a villain out to restore the legacy of Handsome Jack.%Gallery-173865%
Borderlands 2 web series features Claptrap as a rodent-murdering samurai
The undoubted highlight in this second episode of Claptrap's new web series comes when the depraved unicycle robot is forced to turn to a career in Japanese advertising. It reminded us of good times.
Surviving the Xenomorph offensive in Aliens: Colonial Marines
The stranded squad of space marines makes hasty preparations amid the flickering lights of a ruined former colony's command center. A scrounged sentry turret sits idle in a corner of the room, slowly scanning for signs of non-human life. Raging storms outside mask the sounds of creatures scuttling through air ducts, but the ever-present rhythmic beeping of motion trackers fill the air with ferocious frequency as the alien menace approaches.Murky shapes take form as they leap into the light, slick, inky-black creatures with pronounced ridges lining their bodies. A shotgun burst drops the first attacker in an instant, its inert body slumping to the floor as a burst of acid blood sprays over a nearby squaddie.Gearbox Software is a studio of many talents, but the developer's biggest success on Aliens: Colonial Marines may well end up being how accurately it's managed to nail the feel of the famous sci-fi series. This is vital, as anyone who has seen the movies can understand. There's nothing in the science fiction genre quite like the franchise's Xenomorphs, a race of highly aggressive and agile beings with acid for blood and the ability to reproduce through something akin to a cross-species infection. Xenomorphs in Aliens: Colonial Marines slide through the environment with the same sort of ease that they do in the movies, as we learned during a recent hands-on demo of the game's campaign. An unseen network of air ducts connects every room and corridor, so any alien that slips out of sight will eventually emerge elsewhere. Probably behind you.%Gallery-173092%
Aliens: Colonial Marines fight the horde in 'survivor mode'
Aliens: Colonial Marines is giving a little taste of its "survivor mode" today, a multiplayer variant which finds four marines holding their ground until the last person is standing. There's several different xenomorph varieties to check out in the trailer. Colonial Marines is scheduled to drop February 12, 2013.
Borderlands 2's Torgue DLC out on 360 now, PS3 and PC today
Mr Torgue's Campaign of Carnage is butchering Xbox 360, PS3, and PC today, with the second Borderlands 2 expansion already rampaging across the Xbox Live Marketplace. Should the latest initiates to Mr. Torgue want in, it'll cost 800 MSP or $9.99.If Mr Torgue's Campaign hasn't won you over yet, you can always check out our hands-on impressions of the expansion, as well as the brand new launch trailer above.%Gallery-171080%
Borderlands 2 on Mac Nov. 20
Borderlands 2, which has already shipped 5 million copies on other platforms, will become available for Mac players on November 20. Porting duties will be handled by Aspyr, purveyor of many major Mac ports.The Mac version will support the same drop-in/drop-out features found elsewhere, so the Apple crowd won't be left out of some of the best co-op action of the year.%Gallery-161206%
Borderlands 2 updated to prevent sabotage exploit on Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 version of Borderlands 2 was updated today to "prevent data loss" from an exploit caused by a third-party program.The exploit reportedly could wipe progress or delete characters entirely. At the time, publisher 2K Games and developer Gearbox Software provided a workaround to avoid the exploit.The Gearbox Software update log noted today: "Added security to prevent data loss tied to malicious violations of the Xbox Live Code of Conduct through an unsupported third-party program."And that should be that. Happy vault hunting!
Borderlands' Claptrap returns for second season of web series
With a new Borderlands game comes a new season of web shorts featuring Claptrap, the series' roguish, deeply insane automaton. In this opening episode, Claptrap gives us the lowdown on making Borderlands 2.
The Art of Borderlands 2 up for preorder on Amazon
The Art of Borderlands 2 is, as you might expect, a hardcover art book that celebrates the look and design of Gearbox's latest gun-grabbing first-person shooter. It's available for preorder right now from Amazon.com, for a discounted price of $25.00, down from the usual cost of $40.00.If you can't get enough of Pandora and its combat-prone inhabitants, this should help. The book features over 200 pages of concept and production art, along with insight and commentary from the developers on how it all got put together.The book is set for a publication date of November 5, so there's plenty of time to grab this one and get it wrapped and under the tree for your local gun nut before the holidays.
Portabliss: Borderlands Legends (iOS)
This is Portabliss, a column about downloadable games that can be played on the go. Somewhere, at any given moment, I imagine the team at Gearbox is popping champagne and fiercely patting each other on the back after striking gold with Borderlands 2. Not only is the game a commercial success, but it's also a critical darling (read our review, for example!) – a far cry from the developer's previous major release.After loads of DLC and the inevitable three-quel, where can Gearbox go to capitalize on the money train that is Borderlands? A jaunt over to Apple's explosive iOS platform sounds like a good fit, and publisher 2K Games along with developer 2K China have done just that. The idea of playing the "mini-game" version of Borderlands didn't interest me right away, but Borderlands Legends turns out to be a perfect fit for the series and brings the franchise full circle to one of its biggest comparative franchises, Diablo.%Gallery-169067%
Gearbox releasing special Halloween skin SHIFT codes today for Borderlands 2
Gearbox is spooking things up today by releasing special SHIFT codes for Borderlands 2. The codes will unlock Halloween-themed character customization skins, including the above buzzy little number for Maya.The giveaway kicks offs at 11AM ET (8AM Pacific, 3PM British) on Gearbox's Twitter and Borderlands' Facebook pages, and codes will be active until November 5 at 0.55AM ET. For extra fun, dress up like the skin you win when you go Halloween-ing tonight. Even though people won't get it, you'll definitely look super cool*.*Joystiq offers no guarantee of your cosmetic coolness
Borderlands 2 has shipped 5M units to date, XCOM a 'critical and commercial success'
Gearbox Software's Borderlands 2 has shipped 5 million units to date, Take-Two interactive announced this morning in its second quarter financials. The company also noted that XCOM: Enemy Unknown is "proving to be a critical and commercial success." Both games are remarked as having "strong digital sales.""Take-Two's second quarter revenue and earnings exceeded our outlook, driven by the breakout success of 2K's Borderlands 2 and robust demand for our catalog and digitally delivered offerings," noted Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick. "Moreover, with Grand Theft Auto 5 slated for spring 2013, we are poised to generate substantial revenue and earnings growth in fiscal year 2014."Both Borderlands 2 and XCOM: Enemy Unknown currently hold near 90 Metacritic ratings.
