The Last Of Us Gets Two Collector Editions

Survival Edition

Sony has announced yesterday that their upcoming post apocalyptic game, The Last of Us, will be getting two different special editions - the Survival Edition and the Post-Pandemic Edition. Both packages come with some pretty cool stuff.

The Survival Edition will cost you $79.99 and includes:

• The Art of The Last of Us
• The Last of Us: American Dreams #1 comic
• Steelbook game case
• Sights & Sounds DLC Pack
• Naughty Dog Sticker Sheet

The Post-Pandemic Edition will be more expensive with a $159.99 price tag, but it will include:

• 12 inch premium statue by Project Triforce
• Steelbook edition of the game
• The Last of Us: American Dreams #1 comic
• Survival DLC Pack
• Sights & Sounds DLC Pack
• Naughty Dog Sticker Sheet

Note that the Post-Pandemic Edition does not include the art book that is in the Survival Edition. Also, the Post-Pandemic Edition is limited and only purchasable at GameStop.

Post-Pandemic Edition

The Last of Us will be out on the PlayStation 3 on May 7, 2013.

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HumbleBundle, 5 dollars for 7 games.

Another great deal is available at humblebundle.com, a deal made for you and for charity. HumbleBundle is known for giving you some great games for some incredible prices so for about 5 bucks or so you can get some triple A games to add to your collection.  Don't worry though, you have 13 days to think about adding these games to your library.


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Nintendo Announces Wii Mini For Canada

The Wii has a new look as Nintendo has announced today that they will be releasing a new Wii model that is smaller in size and smaller in price.

The Wii Mini will only be released in Canada with no sight of releasing it in other countries in the future. The newly designed console is red and black and comes with a red Wii-mote and Nunchuck.

Nintendo will be releasing the Wii Mini just in time for the holidays as it will be out on December 7 for $99.99.

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SMITE Beta Key

Ever wanted to get in on playing a game in Beta? Well right now if you act fast you can. SMITE, a new and upcoming third-person multiplayer arena styled game is allowing only a few thousand people to get a chance to claim a Beta key. The game is inspired by Dota, so if you are a fan you might want to give it a try. Head on over to the smite website for more info on the game, and head on over here for that key.

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Tomb Raider Collector's Edition Revealed

Collector Edition junkies should be glad to hear that Square Enix has revealed the Tomb Raider Collector's Edition for North America, which comes with:

• 8" Play Arts Kai Lara Croft Figurine
• 15" x 19" Double Sided Island Map and Poster
• 5" x 7" Lithograph
• 3 Iron-On Badges
• Weapon Pack DLC
• 10 Track Score
• Survival Tin

The cost of this Collector's Edition will be $99 and will be out on March 5, 2013 for the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. 

There is also a European Collector's Edition as well with a few differences. The European Survival Collector's Edition includes:

• Art Book
• 15 x 19" Double Sided Island Map and Poster
• Waterproof Survival Pouch
• CD Soundtrack
• Weapon Pack DLC
• Exclusive Survival Edition Packaging

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Echo's Revenge: The Ultimate Game Review

What would you do if the biggest and baddest boss from your favorite video game was real and it went after you and your friends? In Echo's Revenge: The Ultimate Game, two brothers Reggie and Jeremy encounters the same dilemma as they run away from their abusive home.

The Ultimate Game is the first book of the Echo's Revenge series written by Hart Getzen that follows two brothers Reggie (Age 14) and Jeremy (Age 11) on a journey they will never forget. Both brothers are hardcore fans of the fictional game, Echo's Revenge; Reggie is considered one of the "Master Gamers" of Echo's Revenge. Life isn't just a video game, every one tells Reggie and Jeremy, but they both will find out that it just might be. Both brothers live with an abusive step-dad and an absent minded mother who is ignorant on what goes on in her household, Reggie and Jeremy finally have gotten tired of their step-dad's beatings and decides to run away to a happier life with their biological father. During their journey the brothers find out that something is kidnapping Echo's Revenge players and that they are next.

When it comes to book, I am extremely picky; the majority of my book are mainly Star Wars ones with a few that I haven't finished because they failed to hold my interest, but The Ultimate Game was able to hold my interest and led me wanting to finish the book. Since this book is a young adult book, there will be a younger demographic, which are preteens to teens, so the dialogue is going to be more appealing to younger kids which is something that is not really much for me. The dialogue for The Ultimate Game reminds me of shows and movies that are aimed for kids and families in the sense that I cannot imagine people actually talking that like, especially in a given situation. At other times though, the dialogue and actions of Reggie and Jeremy reminds me of what older teens would be saying and doing, instead of a 14 and 11 year old.

I can get over the dialogue though, the book is aimed at a younger audience than me and that is how other forms of media are it it, so it is what it is. One thing that bothered me though, what the lack of detail for certain parts. For example, we don't know what kind of game Echo's Revenge is. All we know is that it is an online game where you have an arsenal of RPGs and EMPs to take down ECHO, who is the big bad boss in Echo's Revenge. Even though it is not entirely necessary to know what the world in Echo's Revenge is like, it still would be nice. One important lack of detail though, was what Echo looked like. The best description we got of him is that he is a kidnapping evil boss that has a face of an alien reptile with green menacing eyes and razor sharp teeth that grind mechanically. He also is a machine that wears some sort of armor that is covered in scales that allows him to go invisible with the ability to shape shift into non-complex items. He also has claws and retractable arm with hydraulic fluid that spews out of it. I can kind of imagine some sort of machine at first, but once reptile was thrown in, I had a rough time imagining what ECHO looked like; everything else was pretty well detailed though, the settings and characters were easy enough to visualize.

The book is a straight forward book with an easy to read style that leaves no questions unanswered, except those that were purposely left unanswered. I'm not going to spoil anything, but this is one thing I really liked about the book - it left me wanting more. Getzen alludes nicely to what happened to the fate of one of the characters along with what we will be expecting in the sequel to The Ultimate Game, which is Echo's Revenge: The Other Side.

To me, I see two different topics in The Ultimate Game: video games and running away from your problems, and in all honesty, I preferred the latter than the former. A few of the characters that Reggie and Jeremy meet along their travels were great, each character doesn't just help the brothers get to their dad's house, they also help them by giving them advice on life. Most of the characters were great support charactesr to Reggie and Jeremy, they helped them by giving them advice that deals with things such as loyalty  their step-dad's abusiveness, having no regrets in life and so on. The advice that Reggie receives reoccurs throughout the book as he thinks back on what has happened so far in his travels.

Overall Echo's Revenge: The Ultimate Game was a pretty solid book that takes you on a journey of two brothers running from their troubled home where they find out that the main boss from their favorite video game is made real and is coming after them and their friends. There is a lack of detail in the book, but it makes it up with a great set of supporting characters and the fact that it leaves you wanting more with the sequel. If you want a book that is quick to read with a hint of mystery, then you might want to check out Echo's Revenge: The Ultimate Game today.

Echo's Revenge: The Ultimate Game - 8/10

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Good-Bye Friend Codes

You know those pesky Friend Codes that Nintendo had? Well sometime in the near future no one will remember them anymore as Nintendo has confirmed that they will be replacing the current system with a "more user-friendly Account ID system" for the Wii U.  This Account ID system will be linked with your Nintendo Network ID.

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Borderland's First Expansion Coming This Tuesday

If you've already beaten Borderlands 2 and maxed out your character then get ready to put the disc back into your console because Gearbox is releasing it's very first campaign expansion next week, titled: Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate's Booty.

The Expansion pack has an indefinite Pirate theme to it and will add new features a new HUB world dubbed Oasis, new enemy archetypes, a whole new vehicle in the form of a hovering motorboat and an unknown form of currency called seraph crystals; and this is only what was Gearbox revealed so far, there could be much more including a new rarity color for itmes, new heads and skins, and even increasing the level cap.

Captain Scarlett will be available this Tuesday on October 16th for $9.99 (800 MS points) or free if you purchased the Season Pass. Be prepared to find lots of booty in this DLC.

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Get your Hands on the Mechromancer today!

Gearbox has promised us a brand new class to play as this October: Gaige the Mechromancer. While she was originally planned to be released on the 18th Randy Pitchford of Gearbox tweeted earlier yesterday that the Mechromancer will be available to download Today. Noone's exactly sure why they've pushed up the date but I'm not complaining, I did get her for free after all. Those who didn't pre-order Borderlands 2 will still have to purchase her for $10.00 (800 MS points) unfortunately.

If you're still unsure about dowloading Gaige, you can check out her skill tree on the Borderlands 2 Website and customize it anyway you want.

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Free Pokémon In Pokémon Black & Blue Gotta Free 'Em All

Have you ever felt like Pokémon was a cruel game and wished you could liberate them all? Well now you and PETA have something in common. Now you can "Free 'Em All" in PETA's newest parody game Pokémon Black & Blue Gotta Free 'Em All.

In Pokémon Black & Blue Gotta Free 'Em All, you play as the beloved Pikachu as you fight trainers such as Cheren and Professor Juniper in order to liberate all your Pokémon friends from the evil clutches of humans.

As a reward for beating trainers and freeing Pokémon, PETA threw in some videos of animals being beaten and tortured.

So far there is no word from Nintendo or Game Freak on this matter. Last November PETA made a flash game attacking Mario; they claimed it was a joke though.

If you want to play the game, just head over here.

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Even More New Animal Crossing 3ds Info

More Info for Animal Crossing 3ds was released today on Nintendo Direct. The video show cases tons of new details that are installed in this new game.

Basic/Mayor Info:

- Flowers will sparkle depending off if they’ve been watered.
- Can design roads - they added the character for ‘road’. There’s a camping ground, sometimes there’ll be campers - villagers who don’t live in your village.
- help out your in-game friends with purchasing decisions
- When you sit in the mayor’s seat, Shizue will come up and talk to you.
- Once you’ve decided what to build, go with Shizue to decide where. Then they’ll show you what it will look like. Donations from villagers begin.
- Don’t have to go back to mayor’s office once building is placed.
- Donations can be made by you, visitors, and villagers.

New Item/Shops:

- New item: megaphone. Can say a villagers names to get their attention by speaking their name into the 3DS microphone.
- The tanooki brothers will take turns each day to service the shop.
- Halloween goods sold because it’s October.
- shoe store offers up boots/shoes for sale.
- 2nd floor is the museum shop. The four doors lead to special exhibitions. You can set the special exhibitions yourself. Hawaiian Expo, Sushi expo.
- Tanooki Housing Real Estate. Buy parts for your houses outside.
- Can decide if you want to increase room numbers and where (1st flow left, right, 2nd floor etc)
- Dr. Shrunk started a comedy club, Club 444. Can watch his comedy shows. He has spoken dialogue during this. Can decide your reaction.
- Take photos of your expression with good timing for best result in the photo booth. Many reactions/emotions to collect.

Designs/Customization:

- design/sell your own items, which can eventually change during the process
- much larger selection of colors this time around when designing
- Can turn designs into QR codes.
- Model Homes now. People met through Street pass. These are the people she’s street passed with. Sometimes they will give you things, like ice-creams, balloons, and pin wheels.
- Up to 48 houses in three block, 16 homes per block.
- Can see with the map where the houses are using people’s names.
- take picture via photobooth, bottom screen displays the picture you’ll take.
- visit a massage parlor that helps to relax you and put you into a dream stage
- Allows you to see how other people have set up their towns. When you have an internet connection, if someone you’ve street passed with has a Village number, (can search by name too) you can go into a new shop and visit their village. You can do stuff like cut trees and get fruit, but it doesn’t affect their village.
- You can alter the look of City Hall, too.

Music/Sound:

- early morning music is calm, dawn the music is more upbeat, afternoon is more pleasant-sounding music, nighttime the music has more base, late night music gets mysterious
- K. K. Slider, Saturday night live performances at the new Shisho’s Club 444. Now for a new song. Dr. Shrunk is dancing to the beat!
- DJ K.K. (K.K. Slider under a different name) performs on nights other than Saturday at the comedy club. ‘House Nights’ Includes NES Nights. ‘Famicon Nights’.
- Can listen to the music on audio players in your house, and there are many new KK songs.

Wireless Interactions:

- explore a town alongside other people
- travel via boat to an island and enjoy a song at the same time
- First time you’re at the island, you recieve swimming gear. While wearing it, you can dive/swim.
- grab items from the bottom of the sea
- collect rare bugs as well
 Can trade medals got in mini games on the island to trade for the goods in the souvenir shop.
- Games are focused on Co-op.
- Tortimer appears as the Tour Guide, explains the games
- Each person has to search for their own type of fruits; mangoes, persimmons, etc.
- The faster you are the more medals you get.
- Can pick up fruits and drop them for other players in easier locations.
- There is a ‘Hammer’ game, where you hit the tiny electric car.
The official Animal Crossing twitter can be found here, it will announce new info and characters. I will do my best to share this info as I translate it.

Game features:
Local and Wifi Play for 2 to 4 players, Features 1 save file utilizes StreetPass and SpotPass.

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Review: Darksiders II

War, rider of the red horse, has been falsely accused of pre-emtively triggering the Apocalypse and has been imprisoned and only his brother can save him. His name is Death, the oldest and strongest of the four Horsemen, and you take control of the pale rider in this outstanding sequel, Darksiders II.

The Good
- Amazing Level Design
- Death is a really well written character
- Challenging puzzles and combat
- Environments look stunning 
- Great RPG and Loot System

The Bad
- Story feels disconnected from gameplay
- Not as long as I hoped it to be
- Horseback riding could have more to it

The Ugly
- Last Boss was disappointingly too easy
- Some enemies are really, REALLY ugly

Story
The game's story takes place during the event's of the first Darksiders, as War is imprisoned by the Charred Council, Death investigates the premature Apocalypse to prove his brother's innocence by finding a way to restore Humanity. And the key to clearing War's name is found at the well of souls. The story itself is very well written, while nothing too compelling, it feels disjointed from the gameplay as you feel like the missions are just fetch quests and dungeon crawlers rather than progress.

One thing that I enjoyed most from the story was Death. Playing as the horseman was an awesome experience, but Death was much more than just a badass; behind the cold callousness in his voice, Death has proven to be very caring, concerned about the well being of his brother War and even showing remorse for his own race that he slayed, the Nephilim. After him and his siblings were ordered to slay their own race, Death has secretly kept the souls of his fallen kin away from the council's Knowledge, hoping he could bring them back. Halfway through the game, he discovers that he can use the well of Souls to bring back his race, at the cost of losing the Human race forever and Death struggles to decide who to save. And while he hid it from other people, his body language proved that he was fighting within himself to make the right choice, which is good for a character that can't emote with a mask over his face.

While the gameplay didn't drive the story as well as it should, it was still an entertaining experience that had a satisfying ending, not as epic as the conclusion in the first game, but still was a good way to conclude Death's Story, at least until we see him again in the third Darksiders.

Story: B-

Graphics
While the character and enemy models are well detailed and animated, its the environments that truly steal the spotlight. You'll be visiting many varied worlds including the Lush open fields of the Maker's Forgelands and Samael's "Majestic" Fortress in the Shadow's Edge, home of the Demonic Legion. Each world has beautiful and detailed architecture that fit into the levels motif and will awestruck you at first sight.

Death: "Someone give me my camera!"

Aside from the gorgeous view, Death can be equipped with a variety of Armor Pieces to help suit your play-style. You can dress him up in a plethora of shrouds to give him a rouge-ish look or set him up with a set of heavy armor made completely of bone.

He has a bigger wardrobe than your girlfriend.

Graphics: A

Sound
Darksiders II has a very well composed sound track, containing a plethora of music for when you are fighting bosses, facing a challenging puzzle or just exploring a dungeon, each track matches the occasion. Sometimes when you are exploring a dungeon you'll hear the ambient noises echo through the halls, a nice touch of eeriness to add suspense.

Sound effects are fitting, realistic and very gory when you start slicing the limbs off your enemies. Voice acting is very well done, however some characters use the same actor and they use the same voice for two different characters. Death has a brilliant harsh and rasp in his voice that fits the pale rider perfectly and always has a calm yet sarcastic tone to his voice.

Sound: B

Gameplay
Darksiders 2 may be considered an adventure game, but it features so many elements of other genres, calling it just an adventure game seems insulting. The game has massive open worlds with tons of secrets in each corner, challenging puzzles and platform sections and an RPG style loot and level up system that is mixed perfectly into one thrilling experience.

Death's Skill Tree...of death.

With each new world you discover you unlock a new ability that Death can use in combat and puzzles. For example, one of the first abilities you gain is the Death Grip, a magical ability that lets Death grapple orbs to do acrobatic leaps and pull enemies towards him, leaving them on the ground for Death to finish them off.

Death can also level up to unlock and upgrade his special combat moves from defeating enemies and beating quests. The skill tree splits off into two groups; Harbinger that Focuses on physical attacks and Necromancy that focuses on summoning creatures to fight with you or boosting your resistance. The combat system is much more advanced than the first game's. Death can now choose to use different secondary items from either heavy, slower weapons like axes and maces that do massive damage or small fast weapons like claws or gauntlets that let you barrage enemies with a flurry of attacks. And if you're in a tight situation you can summon Death's Reaper form, which lets him do massive damage while being near invincible against his foes.

Baby don't fear the Reaper.

Darksiders II is also a very difficult game as well. For those who want a challenge, the game feature's tough enemies, bosses and really difficult puzzles and secrets for people who want their skills pushed to the limit. Also after beating the game the first time unlocks the Nightmare difficulty level which makes the game as hard as hard can be.

My biggest complaint about the gameplay is that Horseback riding could have had much more to it than a form of transportation, especially when he didn't feel like he was moving that fast in the first place. Even though you mostly spend most of the games exploring dungeons and cave's it would've been better if they had some levels focusing on riding despair and gave him more acrobatic move's like his master, especially when games like Legend of Zelda and Assassin's Creed had amazing horse riding gameplay. Other than this small short sight, Darksiders II has fantastic gameplay that trumps the first one.

My kingdom for a faster horse.

Gameplay: A-

Replay
Sadly Darksiders II is not that long of a game. It took me about 24 hours to complete while doing most of the sidequests, but the game features a new game + where you can start a new file where you can keep your current gear and skills while facing enemies on the same level as you. While it won't make the game any longer, it's fun to start over with all your cool armor and weapons and starting on Apocalyptic difficulty. As short as the game was, it's still fun enough to go back to it again and again.

Replay: C-

Darksiders II manages to enhance on every aspect from the first game and then some with it's new RPG and loot system while still keeping the feeling of a real adventure game and you'll spend lots of time solving extra puzzles and searching every nook and cranny for collectibles, If you loved the first Darksiders this sequel is a must have and if you never picked up on the series, this game is still welcoming to new players with the way it eases onto the difficulty, making it a great game for seasoned vet's and newcomers alike.

Darksiders II: B+

All who oppose him shall know "Death."

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Review: Minecraft Xbox 360 Edition

Only a few years ago Minecraft became an instant hit with it's simplistic yet entirely unique gameplay and stuck the world by storm. So Mojang decided to make a full release of the game on the Xbox Live Arcade, but does it stack up to the PC version?

Right now I would have to say No, while the game still plays the same as the PC version, the 360 edition is seriously lacking the amount of content that you can only get on your computer. The Xbox 360 edition only gives you the basic item's right now like crafting items, tools and basic weapons like the sword and bow and there are even a limited amount of Mobs you see in the game too, only the spiders, zombies and creepers are present in this game (not including the ones you see in the nether).
But luckily this problem is only temporary, with several title updates players can get more tools and features, infact the next update will give Xbox 360 players Creative Mode, which gives the player unlimited resources to create gigantic and advanced constructs with ease.

Another problem is that the release of skin's for the 360 version seems redundant since PC players can mod and create their own custom skins for free. While it was nice of Mojang to give us some flair for our avatar I wouldn't buy skins since I can get my own on the PC for free. Speaking of Mod's, those who play it on the PC version can download texture mods that can make the game look really good because let's face it, even with the simplistic design Minecraft is not that pretty of a game.

If there is one thing the 360 version has over the PC's, is it's multiplayer set-up, It is much easier to join games with your friends on Xbox live since you only need a couple settings to make your game available only to your Xbox Live friends, and one of the things that makes this game fantastic is how fun thing can get with friends whether your building a gigantic castle of just goofing off.

While the 360 version doesn't compare to the PC version, it definitely has it's quirks that still keeps it midly entertaining, although I find myself only playing it with friends from now on whenever I start it up.

Total Score: C+

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