Is it the last? My guess is yes. WAW had 3 map packs. This is #3 for Black Ops. Anyway, enjoy.

Well, I don’t know what to think about this game. I have some thoughts, but I’m more curious to hear what you guys think. Sound off!

Kind of funny. Samuel L. Jackson

Funnier. Charlie Sheen.

and also…
Pee-Wee Herman
Obama
Vin Diesel
Arnold Schwarzeneggar

Pretty bland.

O M F G. I was all ready to hate this game, for introducing zombies into a game that has nothing to do with horror – and then I saw this. It doesn’t get much more over the top than this.

For those who don’t know, the Ryu Ga Gotoku series (called Yakuza in the West), is not about zombies. It is hardly about guns. It is largely about hand to hand combat, a developed story, sometimes emotional, sometimes campy, vast, detailed environments, and more side quests and mini-games than you can shake a stick at.

That’s why this is.. so.. wrong. So wrong, and yet so right. I just don’t know what to think, but the combat seems like the right kind of intensity, and they wisely crammed in tons of geeky elements from the other games, including host clubs, recreational sport plazas, gambling, etc. Dibs on the kyabajo with the M-16!! The combination redefines “camp value”. This is one to watch.

http://kotaku.com/5649139/call-of-duty-black-ops-welcomes-back-nazi-zombie-hordes

Going back to September 8th, before Tokyo Game Show 2010, we had an article about the forthcoming Vietnam add-on to Bad Company 2. Since then, there’s been frequent discussion of it, and people generally seem excited. I can tell you, as someone who was at a very impressionable age – when TV networks and movie companies started capitalizing on a retro Vietnam-war themed trend, putting out several television shows, several movies, and revisiting the politics and culture of the 60s – I am very excited. Here’s a trailer:

And now, some gameplay:

Flash forward, and today we have another story, from someone who attended TGS 2010 and experienced some first hand action, with several screens worth passing on:

The Vietnam expansion pack is the U.S. Marines versus the North Vietnamese army. It includes 4 new maps and brings 15 new Vietnam-era weapons like the M79, 6 new vehicles like the UH-1 Huey, forty-nine different 1960s-era tunes (Fortunate Son!) and new Achievements and Trophies.

I can’t wait to play as VC.

Changing gears, has anyone seen a Resident Evil movie? I have. Once. It wasn’t good, but I’m considering going again, and there’s only one good reason. Her name is Milla. Apparently the next one due out is entirely 3D. Yawn. Well, the film was apparently shot with the same tech as Avatar.

Speaking of zombie movies, here’s a curveball. German filmmaker Uwe Boll is making a Nazi zombie film, and it is in fact, based on the video game. It’s apparently called, BloodRayne: The Third Reich. Appropriately bad. Additionally, he made another WWII movie putting the evil back in the holocaust. It’s called Auschwitz, and instead of portraying a “nice Nazi collaborator” as in Schindler’s List, it reminds us what the holocaust was really about: the brutal extermination of 6 million Jews. Yikes. Feel good hit of the year, clearly.

Speaking of Axis powers, there was an insignificant article about a new Gundam themed phone that was released in Japan (of course), further evidence that Japan is desperately clinging on to old cash cows, while the West overtakes the once innovation powerhouse with its own smartphones and popular video games. Will America or Europe begin producing top-notch animes too? I’m not saying that Gundam isn’t cool. You gotta love big, boldly designed robots, but seriously, do you want a smartphone like the iPhone or HTC, or do you want a flip phone that looks like a toy? Obviously, these paid celebrities prefer the Gundam phone.

Of course, only Japan could pull of fan service like this, and you gotta love them for it.

Further proof that Japan’s innovation is suffering, Sega has apparently introduced zombies to Shinjuku-inspired Kumurocho, in the upcoming Yakuza: Of The End.

As much as I enjoy fighting hordes of zombies, this is just so wrong, and so cheapens the Ryu Ga Gotoku brand, that I don’t know what to think. On one hand, I think the series has been aging, and generally seems to be rehashing the same game, so it’s good that they would pull a hair-brained stunt like this. On the other hand, if they are trying to cash in on the West’s fascination with zombie action, I’d say they are about a couple years too late. Let’s see. Off of the top of my head: Resident Evil, Left 4 Dead, Siren, Call of Duty: Nazi Zombies, Burn Zombie Burn, Zombie Apocalypse, Dead Rising, Dead Nation, and even Red Dead Redemption will be getting in on the act (which I am admittedly excited about actually). Does Dead Space 2 count? Now, witness this spectacle.

Look, the Ryu Ga Gotoku (Yakuza) series is relatively serious, tells a pretty good story for a game, is really steeped in urban myth and reality, and on its own, stands as a time-tested contender to games like Grand Theft Auto. So this is just weird. I’ll reserve judgment a little while longer.

Also from the land of the rising sun, PlayStation of course. It was recently PlayStation’s 15th birthday. Here are some info graphics.

I was just playing Uncharted 2 tonight (on Crushing), and realizing again just how far we’ve come. A well deserved slow clap for Sony.

Let’s celebrate with some Kevin Butler.

Personally, I think the fictional VP is a gold mine in advertising for Sony’s PlayStation brand. Check out the other CMs here.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled coverage of war games, more war games, and even still more war games… sheeesh!!

Medal of Honor is a game that I think we can easily describe as the love child of Call of Duty and Bad Company. Unholy in its Coke & Pepsi carnal union, but beautiful to behold. I don’t really need yet another war game, BUT it sounds like Medal of Honor has the polish and intensity of COD, with the amazing DICE-made game engine of BC. Behold.

How about something alternative and life affirming. I have no experience with them, but PS2 titles Ico and Shadow of the Colossus are being re-released in HD for PS3. Better yet, the next game in the series, The Last Guardian, is looking pretty great and a welcome oasis from whizzing bullets. Lots of screens here.

Speaking of games of a gentler, more beautiful variety, Ni No Kuni is shaping up to be a show stopper. As a Studio Ghibli fan, I am very, very interesting in this. The important thing to remember here is that as you adventure, all the cellshaded, hand-drawn graphics are being rendered in 3D in realtime.

Here is another video showing pure gameplay, and it looks really gorgeous. I think this is a phenomenal achievement. I don’t have any RPGs right now, so this may be the one I pick up. Speaking of Japanese RPGs and animes, there is THIS wacky game on the horizon, called Catherine:

It looks like Mario turned 25 on the 13th of September, 2010. Is that the only Nintendo news of this digest? You know, I’ve been thinking about it. Frankly, Nintendo Wii is great, if you are playing in the same room with friends. There is a handful of games that work online, but matchmaking with your friends, and establishing voice chat is circuitous and depends on gear. It’s a shame. Maybe they’ll get up to speed and bring us an HD system that is just as competent online as Xbox and PS3. Nintendo is actually doing a good job with their online store. It’s a pity that the system itself is limited to storing downloads on flash cards.

Actually, one of the great things about the Wii Shopping Channel is that they have a lot of games, old and new, and have a bunch of titles from Japan that we can buy with American duckets. It turns out that Sony in its typical slow-to-the-party fashion is going to begin selling Japanese downloadable games to the Western audience directly through PSN, which Ken and I will appreciate. Although, they probably won’t all be made available, it could represent some DLC that we can get without having a Japanese credit card. Great. More chances to spend. Did I mention there’s a lot going on right now?

ANYWAY, Nintendo still makes the most accessible, tightly designed games with a universal sense of child-like innocence. Happy birthday to Mario, their figurehead.

Now to something else quite life-affirming. Mafia 2, a game well worth your downloading and trying the demo, has set a Guinness record for F-bombs in a game, beating out the previous record holder with 200 utterances. I wonder how it competes with any of the well-known mafia flicks from Hollywood. The record-breaking is generously compiled here for your convenience.

And with that, I end this blog digest.

Details here.

Full specs at Kotaku.

It came out recently that Emily Rose, the voice talent of spunky Elena Fisher, in Uncharted 2, is in Los Angeles, doing voice-work for Uncharted. It was then confirmed shortly after that the work is for Uncharted 2 downloadable content.

If she’s recording new voice work, I’m 99% sure that this means more co-op missions with full cinematics are in the pipeline, since additional maps or character skins wouldn’t require the voice work. It’s looking promising that we’ll see some additions to the meager 3 co-op missions, coming soon. Although, I feel Naughty Dog sort of lost the momentum, as I haven’t seen any new DLC for around 6 months. As Elena Fisher is my character of choice when playing online, I have to say, “better late than never”. Uncharted 2 is still one of the best games around.

Apparently, there are some insane amusement rides at the top of some very tall buildings in Las Vegas. This Japanese “danger hunter” visits and learns what it’s like to clean one such ride, overhanging a building, 280 meters above the ground.

Japanese lesson:
adj. 怖い (kowai) – scary

All the pictures are here.

My interests are renewed — if only we could hope for more zombies.

As a bonus, screenplay writer for Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, David S. Goyer, will be adding his mark to the game.

“Oldman, Harris and Goyer are considered some of Hollywood’s finest talents and they perfectly complement Call of Duty: Black Ops’ ambitious and immersive single player experience,” Studio Head of Treyarch Mark Lamia said in an official release. “Their contributions have helped us to push the boundaries of our story telling and character development far beyond anything we have ever attempted before in the franchise.”

Details here.

Ken mentioned there was a new mysterious system update with unapparent consequence. It is likely that the system update was a quick response to this: users have managed to pwn a PS3 with the terminal app on a Palm Pre. This allows the jailbroken PS3 user to backup games onto an external or internal hard-drive. You know what that means.

Not that I was raring to jailbreak my PS3, what with my recent trouble transferring my data from my old 80gb drive to my new 320gb drive (yet unused (Ò _ Ó ) ), but I’m kind of wishing I hadn’t updated my system with the recent update. I’m not 100% sure this update stopped the jailbreak, but they did mention that it enhanced some “security features”.

As a bonus, someone uses a Texas Instruments calculator to do the same thing.

So, the anticipated Metroid: Other M is getting a deluxe package in Japan, with a suggestive strip-down of the now saucier main heroine, Samus. Click through for the full show.

I had to re-post this from Kotaku. If you haven’t heard about this upcoming Wii-exclusive, now is the time to get excited. What? You’re too old for Mickey? Please. Before the juggernaut that is Mario, there was Mickey. Check out the new, very Tim Burton-inspired cinematic opening to Epic Mickey, which is seems to reinvigorate the franchise with the darkness and drama of Fantasia.

Hoggy is a cute puzzle-platformer which is reminiscent of Kirby or Paper Mario. It’s fun and currently available in the iTunes App Store for free. Recommended!

New edition of BC2 out, including all the DLC, the VIP content, Onslaught mode, and a complimentary copy of Battlefield 1943, which despite it’s few maps, is a fun game to play.

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2010/09/02/out-now-on-ps3-battlefield-bad-company-2-ultimate-edition/

Sorry, no easy access embedding, but it’s a 103 second series of clips from games of yore up to today.

http://kotaku.com/5625054/the-history-of-headshots-gamings-favorite-act-of-unreal-violence

This game is arriving on Tuesday, August 24th, for PS3. The premise of the game is “old-school side-scrolling beat ‘em up”, but the hand-drawn, cartoon style is relatively new. I can’t say if I’ll rush to download it, but it would put some variety on tap. Here’s some additional information that discusses the long, bloody, chain-attacks that you can perform:

http://kotaku.com/5565292/shank-hands+on-a-long-chain-of-dead-fools

Now are you interested?