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Gaming news round-up - The Vietnam edition
By Johan Keyter 22 October 2010 | Categories: newsGood morning Vietnam!
Good news on the way for Battlefield Bad Company 2 players, EA has finally revealed the price for its Vietnam based multiplayer expansion pack at $15 (about R103) or alternatively for 1200 Microsoft points.
The expansion pack adds four new maps, including the rice fields of the Phu Bai Valley, the battered Hill 136 as well as the city of Hanoi to the already rich Bad Company 2 multiplayer experience.
The thing we're most excited about though is the new vehicles and amazing 60's era soundtrack. Some of the new vehicles will include the M48 Patton tank as well as the infamous Huey helicopter. Authentic Vietnam War radio chatter will add to the dialogue while eight radio channels with nearly 50 tracks add to the flavour.
We can't wait to relive our Apocalypse Now fantasies when the expansion pack releases sometime this December for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.
Play games, make money
Valve's multiplayer class based first person shooter, Team Fortress 2, recently launched a new system called ‘Mann-conomy’ which lets members of the community create new models for weapons, hats and accessories in the game.
Valve liked a couple of members' additions so much that it decided to send them some royalty checks, and quite hefty ones at that.
Five members of the TF2 community were sent royalty checks to the tune of $47 000 courtesy of the friendly folks over at Valve. The company said two of the members had to fly to Seattle in person to pick up their checks since it was larger than PayPal's maximum deposit size.
BlizzCon 2010 kicking off
This weekend the Anaheim Convention Centre in California will host Blizzard's annual fan festival, BlizzCon 2010, where the company shares all the latest news regarding the world's of Warcraft, Starcraft and Diablo.
Competitive gaming tournaments will also be held sporting the world's best Starcraft and Warcraft talent, and it will also be the first BlizzCon event to host a Starcraft II contest.
Comedian Jay Mohr will be hosting the Friday night's costume and dance contest and on Saturday night Jack Black and Kyle Gass (Tenacious D) will rock the halls of the event with an explosive musical performance.
We'll be keeping an eye on the events over the weekend, so expect an update on all the latest news from Blizzard on Monday. Perhaps even, dare we say it, a mention as to the release date for Diablo III.
Super effective sales
Surprising news from Japan as the recently released Pokemon Black and White games for the Nintendo DS is still at the top spot in the country's sales rankings, even beating out new Wii arrival, Kirby's Epic Yarn.
The games have now sold nearly 4.2 million copies, more than one each for the entire population of New Zealand, proving that Pokemon's popularity, at least in Japan, is far from over.
The game will be coming to Western audiences during the first quarter of 2011.
Peter Molyneux's slice of humble pie
Legendary game developer, Peter Molyneux, creator of the upcoming Fable III might be one of the most successful developers in the industry, but that doesn't stop him from showing a little humility.
When Fable III launches for the Xbox 360 on the 29th of October, you'd think that Molyneux would be one of the people not running to the store for a copy, he made the game after all, he should have access to unlimited free copies. But no, come the 29th Molyneux will be getting on a bus and going to the nearest retail outlet to buy a common version of the game for himself.
He revealed this in a recent interview with MCV, saying, “I always do the same thing. I always go into a shop, buy my retail copy and go back and play the game.” He says he does this because it's the first time he'll be playing through the game (which he probably knows by heart) without a check list full of things that needs to be worked on, while at the same time thinking about new design aspects going forward.
He also stated in the interview that, “I've made a lot of games, but never a great game.” We'd like to argue with that Mr. Molyneux, looking back at greats such as Dungeon Keeper, Black & White and Populous we'd say he's made plenty of great games.
Nintendo 3DS just can't come soon enough
Nintendo's upcoming 3D handheld gaming platform, the Nintendo 3DS, has already been dissected and inspected from all sides, revealing its specs and a couple of upcoming games for the system.
This week we came across an announcement trailer that will make any Nintendo fan squeal in delight as the company announced one of its greatest game crossovers yet. Coming to the Nintendo 3DS next year will be none other than the puzzling mastermind Professor Layton himself, being joined by the DS's ultimate legal champion, Phoenix Wright, in the same game.
Yes, the two DS heroes will be squaring off in Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright on the Nintendo 3DS sometime next year. Check out this gorgeous trailer for the game, showcasing stunning animation sequences as well as an intriguing new storyline. We can't wait.
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