Full Roster for Mortal Kombat X Includes 29 Characters

Photo Courtesy of BreathCast

Mortal Kombat is, arguably, one of the most well-known game franchises in the entire world. The original Mortal Kombat started as an arcade game from the Chicago studio of Midway Games back in 1992 and brought plenty of controversy with it thanks to its realistic looking fighters, harsh combat and, of course, the extremely graphic fatalities. Parents across the country were horrified and kids and gamers were on cloud 9.

It's been 23 years since the first game came out and now, under the leadership of NetherRealm Studios, the franchise is adding its newest title, Mortal Kombat X. Mortal Kombat X (or Mortal Kombat 10) is technically the 20th game to be released with under the Mortal Kombat brand but gets its name from being the 10th game in the standard Mortal Kombat series.

The game has been hyped up a lot lately, mainly due to the fact that there was a lot of speculation as to which characters would be appearing as playable fighters in the game. Over the years Mortal Kombat has expanded its list of characters to include over 70 kombatants, so narrowing that list down to the handful that would appear in the latest game couldn't have been easy and, naturally, every hopes that their favorite character would make the list. It's like peewee football tryouts, you're just hoping you make the team. 

Well with the game set to be released in less than 2 weeks NetherRealm has finally confirmed a total of 29 characters that will be rounding out the full roster. This roster is highly unique as it adds some of the most well-known and loved characters from the series with characters that are unique to this specific game. In addition to that, this game adds characters that exist in the Mortal Kombat universe but haven't actually been in any games yet.

Photo Courtesy of IGN

Oh, and remember the cool DLC characters that came with the previous Mortal Kombat game from 2011? The ones that included Kratos from God of War and Freddy Kreuger from A Nightmare on Elm Street? Well NetherRealm has done the same thing with this game. NetherRealm has announced 5 DLC characters that will make their way to the game. The first is fan favorite Goro, who will initially be released as a pre-order bonus but will be available as paid DLC in the future. Then there's the Kombat Pack which adds fan favorite characters Tanya and Tremor and unique characters Jason Voorhees from the Friday the 13th film series and the Predator alien from the Predator mythos. 

This brings the final fighter tally to a whopping 29 playable characters! To top it all off, each character has three unique fighting styles to choose from, meaning if you're a perfectionist and you want to master it all you will have an astounding 87 different fighting styles to master. I'll give you a moment to process that.......good? This is definitely the biggest Mortal Kombat game to be released and from the looks of it hardcore Mortal Kombat fans won't be disappointed. 

Here's a full list of all 29 characters:

• Tanya
• Predator
• Tremor
• Sonya Blade
• Liu Kang
• Jason Voorees
• Jacqueline Briggs (daughter of Jackson Briggs)
• Takashi Takeda (son of Kenshi)
• Kung Jin (son of Kung Lao)
• Cassie Cage (daughter of Sonya Blade and Johnny Cage)
• Goro
• Mileena
• Ermac
• Scorpion
• Sub-Zero
• D'Vorah
• Kotal Kahn
• Ferra/Torr
• Raiden
• Kano
• Reptile
• Kenshi
• Kung Lao
• Quan Chi
• Jackson "Jax" Briggs
• Kitana
• Erron Black
• Shinnok
• Johnny Cage

As you can see the most beloved characters, like Scorpion, Raiden, Sub-Zero and Johnny Cage are still on the list. What's interesting is the inclusion of the children of characters, like Cassie Cage. These characters play into the storyline of the game as Raiden has come to these characters to carry on saving Earth Realm, much in the same way he did their parents. There are still some rumored characters that people are hoping for, including Sindel, Kabal, Baraka, Nightwolf, Stryker, Cyrax, Smoke, Rain, Fujin and Bo Rai Cho. Some of these characters, like Bo Rai Cho, were spotted in trailers advertising the storyline of the game so while some of these characters may actually be in the game their roles may be restricted to NPCs.

This game is definitely high on the list for many gamers, whether they be hardcore Mortal Kombat fans that have played all the games since the original or casual gamers that like the style and prefer to dabble and have fun with friends. However you associate with the game, Mortal Kombat X is sure to be the best in the series. Mortal Kombat X is rated M for Mature and will be released on the Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC on April 14 and the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on June 2. 

Is Virtual Reality The Next Step In Gaming Technology?

As many of us gamers are well aware of, graphics are getting exceedingly better as our game systems progress. Remember when we saw Crash Bandicoot for the first time and though "Holy crap! This looks awesome!". Then we saw "Mercenaries" or some other PS2 game and thought the same thing. Then came the PS3's graphics. We saw "Resistance: Fall of Man" and thought "Sweet mother of yes, this is incredible!". "The Last Of Us" came out towards the end of the PS3's life cycle and everyone drooled at how incredible it looked. Around this time, we started seeing a few new "devices" that might take their place next to our game consoles. Tech such as the Oculus Rift VR headset. That takes us now to the PS4 and we all can see that the graphics are getting scarily close to photorealism, and I'm pretty stoked on that.

Graphics will continue to get better and more fluid as time goes and technology advances, but with that advancement in gaming tech, a question arises: Are we going to see VR headsets coming to our current gen consoles?

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Will PlayStation 4 Bring VR To Consoles

We've seen a few different immersive techniques performed by our boys at Sony Entertainment. Remember the EyeToy? Not many people took a hold of it, but the few that did started to play with their first versions of augmented reality games. Now the new PS Eye for the PS4 is able to give you the same thing while incorporating the use of the new Dualshock 4 controller. Everything from the touchpad, to the vibrating motors in the controller are used in conjunction of the Eye to make the augmented reality a bit more believable. That being said, they're now also developing something a bit different with their own VR headset, codenamed Project Morpheus. There isn't too much detail on the project as of yet, but it will be used for "social screen" gaming. Essentially, it will work with companion apps so that whatever the person wearing the headset sees, so too will the people running the app see. Should the person be playing in a haunted house scenario, the everyone will be able to see what's inside.

The Oculus Rift

If you've not heard about the Oculus Rift as of yet, you may be living under a rock. They're still very much in development, but definitely towards the later stages. Instead of being used mainly for console gaming, this company is going for more mobile gaming (possibly due to the company being bought by social network Facebook). They're still sending out DK's to specific developers but also have DK's ready for just about any publisher or developer who wants to take it for a spin. They've made heavy improvements to their older model. They're now making an Oculus Home and Oculus Cinema to go along with the new device. Oculus Home will be a place to download and start new VR content, much like the PS3 Xross Media Bar. Oculus Cinema is basically a movie theater for your face where you can watch whichever 2D or 3D movies you have stored.

SEE ALSO: Samsung Is Working On Wi-Fi That Is Faster Than You Even Thought Possible

Is It Practical?

The thought of having VR gaming is nothing short of titillating. The idea of being able to place a headset on your noggin, and physically turning your head to look around in the game world would be a truly incredible, almost scary, experience. The only problem is that with today's technology, we are still a bit behind in what we could actually accomplish. To say that we are ready for VR technology for our gaming consoles might be a stretch. Technologically wise, we're not there...yet. In our gaming hearts and minds, we've been ready since we've seen them shown on cartoons and movies that showcase them. It still might be a while till we see games through a headset instead of a TV Screen though.

Needless to say, I think we will be seeing photo-realistic graphics before we see VR headset technology. There is just a lot more to take into consideration when dealing with VR technology, especially since they cater to the physical motion of the user. We're a lot closer to "movie-quality" graphics than we are VR gaming. It's sad but true.

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TMNT Video Game For Xbox Kinect Has Been Confirmed, And It Is FREE!

Everyone loves the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Everyone also knows about the new movie that is coming out in August. Paramount Pictures is the company behind the brand new TMNT movie, and they have officially confirmed that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Training Lair is a real game, and it's actually coming out soon.

Paramount Pictures announced that they are partnering with Microsoft and that they have developed the game for the Xbox Kinect. The game is going to be using images and designs from the new movie coming out, and it will probably be the coolest thing ever. Can you imagine standing in front of your TV and literally becoming a Ninja Turtle? I guarantee there are going to be millions of 30 year old dudes who will wait for their wives to leave the house so they can call off work, that will have to go out and replace their TVs because they accidentally karate kicked it over and broke it.

The new game is a part of the marketing strategy for the movie. It is going to be free for a LIMITED TIME starting on July 22nd. So be sure to download it that day to make sure you get it.

There were a lot of rumors floating around the internet about this game before its existence was confirmed. There were even pictures, screenshots, and box art showing up on xboxacheivements.com. This made everyone think that it was going to be an Activision game, but as it turns out, Activision isn't even involved with the game at all.

Other pictures show some pretty neat action scenes. One of the first ones to pop up showed a guy playing the game, and he was karate chopping across the screen to slice things like a Ninja. Judging from of that, it could be like a Fruit Ninja type of game, just way cooler and you would actually use your body to do the moves. Either way, it's going to be a blast. Who wouldn't like to be a Ninja Turtle? The 8 year old in me is having a happy heart attack right now.

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An Oculus Competitor That Works On Xbox One, Playstation 4, And PC

Almost 8 years ago, we were shown a virtual reality headset for the Xbox 360, but it never came out. Now, after Facebook purchased the top company in the VR world, it has finally come back.

True Player Gear has made a virtual reality headset the looks a lot like the Oculus one. It straps to your head, gives you a 1080p OLED display, you get the idea. The crazy thing though, is that this one device will work with the Xbox One, Playstation 4, Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC, and even MAC according to the company. This is huge news, and a big potential slap in the face to Facebook if it takes off.

This new device from True Player Gear is setting the bar in my opinion. It has some major differences than the devices being made by other companies. A few examples would be the face that you can use it with more than one platform (by a LOT), it supports older games that weren't even intended for virtual reality, the head-mounted display has its own lenses so that players can adjust the focus, meaning that they won't have to use their glasses or contacts while playing any of the games. That alone is a huge selling point that I'm surprised these other companies haven't thought of.

There are also two cameras so that users can see what's actually around them in the outside world at any given time. These cameras will also be used for future augmented reality games that the company will be putting out themselves. As if all of these awesome features weren't good enough, it even has it's own built in processor so that the console or PC doesn't have to take on the extra load. What else could you honestly ask for? Everything a 90's kid ever dreamed the 2000's would be like is finally here.

In case you were wondering, This device does not yet have a set in stone name, price, or release date yet. But this should all be announced soon. I'll keep you updated.

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Be Proud to be a Gamer! - PlayStation's Epic Commercial

This commercial makes me proud to be a gamer.

Big Multiplayer Update Hitting Uncharted 3

The PlayStation Blog has just announced that Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, the third installment in the incredibly popular franchise for the PlayStation 3, will be receiving a huge update to its multiplayer system by the end of this month. The patch, which is known as patch 1.11, is only bringing changes to the multiplayer aspect of the game, which means if you are still playing the numerous different multiplayer modes in Naughty Dog's popular game then you may find something in this patch to like.

What many players that are familiar with the multiplayer aspect of the game will be happy to see is that The Lab is back. The Lab was a part of Uncharted 2's multiplayer. Essentially it is a playlist of game types that the designers of the game believe focus on being fun as opposed to competitive. In accordance with this mindset, patch 1.11 brings in a brand new map that only allows players to use the T-Bolt and Pistole weapons. It's a lot like the game play modes in Gears of War 3 that incorporate weapons like the Cluckshot, which was essentially the Boomshot but fired exploding chickens instead of rockets. 

Patch 1.11 also adds another new game mode called Elimination, as well as a whole host of Custom Game "Advanced Settings". These settings allow you to host a private game and tweak every aspect of it to fit your every desire. You can change starting weapons, respawn times, pickups, boosters, kickbacks and whatever else you want to change. This feature is great for parties and playing with a group of friends as it allows you to create totally outrageous games or serious competitions. 

In addition to all this new stuff, patch 1.11 also addresses small fixes and adjustments. One new addition is the fact that leaving a game or disconnecting or turning off your PS3 mid-game will attribute that game as a loss on your record, obviously to deter things like rage quitting. Game modes Plunder and Team Objective will no longer affect your permanent stats and the maps The Airstrip and London have had their intros removed, allowing you to jump into the action a lot faster. Finally, the Long Range medal has been tweaked so that you now only need to get 3 headshots at 50 meters instead of 3 headshots at 70 meters. 

If you're still playing Uncharted 3's multiplayer then you have something to look forward to in the coming weeks. Personally, I can't wait to see the hardcore players react to the changes. Hardcore players always seem to get really mad when developers change their game. Regardless, patch 1.11 drops sometime this month, so hit the comments below when it does and tell us what you think about the changes. 

Source: IGN - Massive Multiplayer Update Coming to Uncharted 3

The PlayStation Blog - UNCHARTED 3 Patch 1.11 Notes: The Lab Returns, Elimination Mode and more

How to Turn the Background Music Off On Your PS Vita

Do you own PlayStation’s new handheld console the PS Vita? Are you incredibly annoyed with the background music blasting out of its speakers? It is kind of ridiculous how loud the device is. According to PCMag, it's “mind-numbing noise at its worst and hideous elevator music at its best.”

However, there is a way to turn off the incredibly loud music. If it's driving you insane…literally, here’s what you should do:

1. Turn on the PS Vita.
2. Tap Settings and then Start.
3. Scroll down to Sound & Display and tap it.
4. Uncheck System Music and exit the Settings menu.

Sony launched the PlayStation Vita on February 22 in North America. With the device the company was able to bring “console-quality gaming” to a portable device.

As of February 26, Sony announced that 1.2 million units had been sold. Now, it’s important to keep in mind that the device had been available in Japan for over a month at that point. Still, those sales numbers are great.

The device also has a fantastic list of games available for users to play including BlazBlue Continuum Shift Extend, FIFA Soccer 12, Gravity Rush, Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational, Lumines: Electronic Symphony, Rayman Origins, Uncharted: Golden Abyss and Wipeout 2048.

If you're looking for a handheld device, the PS Vita should definitely be a device that you consider.

Sources: PCMag - How To Turn Off The PS Vita's Horrible Background Music, PCMag - The 10 Best PS Vita Games and Engadget - Sony updates PS Vita sales figures: 'over 1.2 million units worldwide', 2 million in software

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Kaz Hirai Squashes Rumors of a PlayStation 4 Reveal at E3 2012

E3, otherwise known as the Electronic Entertainment Expo, is the world's largest convention for video games, consoles and gaming technology and the 2012 event is right around the corner. Last year's E3 saw a few very nice announcements, like Halo 4 and the PS Vita, but the big thing everybody is going to be looking for this year is the next generation of consoles. It's been seven years since we've had a new console debut for any of the top names in the business and many people believe that E3 2012 will show us the "PlayStation 4", "Xbox 720" and whatever boring piece of motion-controlled crap Nintendo decides to pollute the industry with, or will it?

Gaming website MCV launched a story not too long ago rumoring that the PlayStation 4 would see its world premiere on the stage at E3 2012. However, ever since that story dropped, there have been an exorbitant amount of contradictory stories, including one from gaming analyst Michael Pachter, who stated, "there's zero chance of a tease from Sony for PlayStation 4 at E3." But if Pachter's thoughts weren't enough to convince you, maybe news from Sony itself will.

Sony has officially declared that the PlayStation 4 will not premiere at this year's E3 convention. Sony's Kaz Hirai spoke with a roundtable of reporters at CES this week, as the Wall Street Journal reports, and answered a question about the PlayStation 4 debuting at the show set to take place this summer. Hirai stated, "Andy [House] is absolutely right in that we are not making any announcement at E3. I've always said a 10-year life cycle for PS3, and there is no reason to go away with that."

If Hirai and Sony seriously commit to the 10-year life cycle, that means we won't see the PlayStation 4 for another four years in 2016. With this report it seems pretty official that the PS4 won't be popping up its head at E3 anytime soon. However, that still leaves a serious opening for Microsoft and Nintendo to debut new consoles. The only real threat to Sony would be if Microsoft unveiled the Xbox 720 (or whatever they decide to call it) at this year's E3. Getting that big of a jump on the competition could completely obliterate Sony while nobody is really threatened by anything Nintendo could release.

I, for one, am not too hip to the idea of a new console anytime soon. I am deeply in love with my Xbox 360 and I see no real reason to upgrade at the moment. I feel like both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 both have a lot left to offer the gaming community so waiting another four years for a new console is fine by me. What do you think? Are you disappointed in Kaz Hirai's announcement? Do you think it's time for another console war? Sound off in the comment section and tell me what you think.

Source: IGN - Sony Executive Says No PlayStation 4 at E3 2012

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PS Vita Games Announced

Rumors about a successor to the PlayStation Portable began swirling around back in July of 2009, and one year later the Wall Street Journal announced that Sony did indeed have a new portable device in the works that shared “characteristics of game machines, e-book readers and netbook computers.” However, it was not until January 27, 2011 at a “PlayStation Meeting ” held in Japan that the president of Sony Computer Entertainment Kazuo Hirai officially announced what they called at that time the Next Generation Portable (NPG). Since then, details about the PlayStation Vita have slowly been rolling out, and on Saturday, December 17 the device was released in Japan.

Although the PS Vita will not be available in the United States until Wednesday, February 22 (or Wednesday, February 15 if gamers purchase the pre-order bundle), Sony recently released the list of game titles that will be available for purchase the day of the device’s release.

There will be 26 game titles that will be available including: Army Corps of Hell, Escape Plan, Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational, Little Deviants, ModNation Racers: Road Trip, Uncharted: Golden Abyss, and wipEout 2048. Launch titles from Sony's third-party partners will include FIFA Soccer, Lumines Electronic Symphony, Touch My Katamari, Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3, Michael Jackson: The Experience, Plants vs. Zombies, and Virtua Tennis 4: World Tour Edition.

Sony has said that the pricing of the software for the device will cost you anywhere from $9.99 to $49.99. All of the games for the PS Vita will either be available by purchasing a PS Vita game card from gaming retail stores or digitally on the PlayStation Network. It is important for gamers to note that there will be some games that will be offered exclusively on the PlayStation Network and will not be found in stores.

The Wi-Fi-powered version of the device will be available for gamers for $249.99 and the 3G/Wi-Fi version will cost $299.99. There is also a bundle that is available that includes a 3G/Wi-Fi PS Vita, a limited edition case for the device, a 4GB PS Vita memory card and the Little Deviants game. It is currently available for preorder for $349.99.

As mentioned above, the device was already released in Japan. It had a very solid start, but it wasn’t anything record-setting. In the first weekend, Sony sold around 325,000 devices. Just to give you something to compare that to, the Nintendo 3DS sold 371,000 units in the very first 48 hours, and we all know how that ended up doing…not very well. We’ll just have to see how things go for the PS Vita. It seems like a solid handheld that is more practical and useful than the 3DS, so hopefully it will not share the same fate.

Sources: PCMag - Sony Details U.S. PlayStation Vita Launch Titles and PCWorld - Sony Releases PlayStation Vita Bug Fix Before U.S. Launch

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Should You Consider the New PSN User Agreement Before Just Clicking Yes?

When you come across a user agreement, do you read the entire agreement or scroll down the agreement, click “I agree” and move right on to your music, video game or website without a second thought? I think that’s what most people tend to do. Who has the time to read through every single user agreement that you encounter? Well, if you are a Sony user and you come across the updated agreement that they are releasing, you may want to take a second to read over it.

The Sony PlayStation Network updated its terms of service on September 15. The update was intended to ban class-action lawsuits against Sony.

"Any dispute resolution proceedings, whether in arbitration or court, will be conducted only on an individual basis and not in a class or representative action or as a named or unnamed member in a class, consolidated, representative, or private attorney general action unless you and [Sony] agree to do so in writing," states the updated terms.

Users have the ability to opt out of these new terms of service if they wish to, but they must do so in writing within 30 days of the day that they accepted the agreement. Users that wish to opt out of the agreement must send in their name, address, PSN account number, and a statement that clearly lets Sony know that they do not wish to resolve any issues with Sony via arbitration. All of this information must be sent to 6080 Center Dr., 10th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90045.

Some Sony users will not even realize that they are clicking away their right to a class-action suit. Maybe some users don’t care, but it is definitely something that PSN users should be aware of.

According to TechDirt, these agreements where users agree to not sue a company are pretty darn common, but the blog says that “it is debatable how enforceable some of these clauses are.” The blog goes on to say that “the terms also bar participating in class action lawsuits, which seems much more questionable.”

"Where Sony gets ridiculous is in claiming that this change 'is designed to benefit both the consumer and the company by ensuring that there is adequate time and procedures to resolve disputes.' That makes me think of a two syllable word whose first four letters are bull," TechDirt wrote. "Come on. At this point, everyone knows that binding arbitration between a company and a consumer wildly favors companies."

Gamasutra, however, argued that the update "really seems to be more a case of the collective gaming public getting riled up over something that has little, if any, consequence for them."

These new terms are a result of several class-action suits that Sony is currently dealing with concerning the breach of the PlayStation Network earlier this year. In April there was a suit filed that claimed Sony failed to protect, encrypt and secure its customer information. The suit is looking for compensation for the data loss and the time that the PlayStation Network was down.

Lesson to be learned: before you just click okay on the next user agreement that you come across, it might be a good idea to at least scan the document and see what it is that you are agreeing to.

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Sony Exec Describes PlayStation Network Outage as "A Great Experience"

On Wednesday, July 13 Tim Schaaff, the president of Sony Network Entertainment, was discussing the PlayStation Network outage that lasted four weeks. During the chat, he proceeded to describe the outage as a “great experience.” Sound crazy to you? Well, here is his justification for the comment.

On Wednesday Schaaff sat down with the executive editor of VentureBeat Dylan Tweney for a chat at the MobileBeat conference in San Francisco. They discussed a variety of things, but Tweney received surprising answers to his questions concerning how Sony has been able to recover from the outage of its Network.

"We're back online, everything's live again around the world, and the amazing thing through all of this is that the customers have all come back, and network performance is better than ever, sales are better than ever, and we've been very, very pleasantly surprised by the experience," Schaaff said. "And we're in a place where we're really looking forward again to what's next, what's new, and how we can keep growing the network. It's a pretty crazy event that we went through but we survived, and we're back strong, and ready to go."

During the discussion, Schaaff confirmed that more than 77 million PlayStation Network accounts were without service for a total of six weeks. He also said that the outage cost Sony close to $171 million plus the complete frustration of millions of Playstation Network customers.

"It's dramatic but the lesson we learned from this process is that there are some crazy things going on in the world right now, and in the beginning we were very concerned that we were the focal point for this attack, and it was all about Sony, and what was Sony doing," Schaaff said. “But over time, the company learned that a wide variety of sites had been hit, including government institutions and other companies.”

He went on to say that he believes that Sony has learned some valuable lessons from the outage.

"I think for people running network businesses, it's not just about improving your security, because I've never talked to a security expert who said, 'As long you do the following three things you'll be fine, because hackers won't get you…', the question is how do you build your life so you're able to cope with those things," Schaaff said.

He concluded saying, "It's been a great experience.”

Tweney seemed to be as confused as you and I most likely are about this statement. "A great experience?" he asked. "A great experience," Schaaff answered. "I would not like to do it again. One time was enough. Great learning experience."

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PlayStation Store Back Online

Sony announced on the evening of Wednesday, June 1st that the Sony PlayStation Store is back online! After being down for more than a month, this is big news for PlayStation owners.

According to a blog post, Sony promised that when the store got back online there would be a “huge lineup” of new downloadable games, demos, add-on content, themes, avatars and videos, and they have definitely followed through with their promises. Sony added full game trials, free games and DLC, free avatars and even more discounts.

"The PlayStation Store is back online,” said Sony, “and thank you, everyone, for your patience."

Now unfortunately, Sony’s promised “Welcome Back” package is not live yet. Last month, the company promised all of their users access to free games, movie rentals and virtual items. This was an attempt to make up for the fact that they were without service after the huge Sony PlayStation Network hack. On Wednesday Sony said that the offer "is currently in the final stages of testing and will be available to download soon; we'll be sure to let you know when."

On Thursday, June 2 Sony is releasing the next PlayStation Store and PlayStation Plus updates. Sony also said that they will be releasing some “special” releases right before the start of the E3 gaming conference in L.A.

For users who were PlayStation Plus subscribers, Sony says that they will receive access to full game trials of both “Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2” and “Dante’s Inferno.” There will also be almost another dozen featured games and DLC that will be free for PlayStation Plus subscribers and range from $2.99 to $9.99 for all other PlayStation users. For a full list check out Sony’s blog.

Meanwhile, while Sony can celebrate that the PlayStation Store is back online, they still have to deal with discussing the hack with the U.S. Congress. The House Energy and Commerce Committee said on Wednesday that they will be conducting a “thorough review” of the data security and electronic privacy issues that Sony has encountered during this hack.

“In this digital age we must all remain vigilant against the dangers lurking online," said Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Fred Upton (R-MI). "Illegal hacking has become one of the fastest growing crimes worldwide. As cyber-attacks become more frequent, our first step must be to strengthen data security to ensure protection of information that consumers choose to have collected and stored. Only when basic data security is addressed can we move forward to address the more complex questions about individual privacy in the digital era."

Most of the criticism that Congress has about the Sony hack is the reaction that the company had. Many members of Congress questioned why Sony took so long to notify its customers about the hack, and of course, Sony defended itself and its actions.

"On Friday, April 22nd we notified PlayStation Network customers via a post on the PlayStation Blog that an intrusion had occurred," Tim Schaaff, president of Sony Network Entertainment International, said. "That blog, by the way, has been rated one of the top-twenty most influential on the Internet, right behind the White House's blog. It has a highly visible and deeply engaging relationship with our customers and is one of the best, fastest and most direct means of communicating with them."

He continued saying that if you issue "vague or speculative statements before you have specific and reliable information—you either confuse and panic people, without giving them useful facts, or you bombard them with so many announcements that they become background noise."

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L.A. Noire

L.A. Noire is Rockstar's next leap in the realm of open world gaming with help from Team Bondi. Rockstar is known in the gaming world for primarily one thing, incredible open world story-telling. The company's last two projects, Grand Theft Auto IV and Red Dead Redemption, were massive breakthroughs in the genre that brought immense, open world environments together with gripping storylines and truly engaging and wonderful characters. However, despite all the similarities to these two games, L.A. Noire takes a slightly different approach. No longer are you a vigilante who is free to do pretty much whatever he wants. No, this time you are an L.A. police officer, hell bent on making the streets of the city safe.

L.A. Noire places you in the shoes of Cole Phelps, a WWII veteran and Rookie beat cop for the LAPD. The story takes place, if you didn't gather it from the title and everything said up until this point, in Los Angeles in the 1940s. Your job as Phelps is to investigate crimes and work your way from lowly beat cop to top notch detective. In order to do that, however, you will need to have all of your wits about you as you investigate crime scenes, look for clues, follow leads, interrogate suspects and ultimately make an arrest, you had just better hope that it's the right one.



The style of this game is unlike anything I have ever played before and that is all thanks to a little piece of technology called MotionScan. Every actor in the game was recorded using 32 surrounding cameras in order to capture every single facial expression from every angle. This is where L.A. Noire really shines. These are seriously the most realistic faces seen in a video game to date, but they are more than just something pretty to look at, they are also crucial to you in solving cases.

Cases in L.A. Noire are multi-level, in a manner of speaking. You start off by investigating the crime scene and looking for clues. Then you follow up on any leads you may have, look for more clues, interrogate suspects and ultimately make your decision of "Who dunnit?". These core gameplay mechanics are very smooth and intuitive and are also very easy to pick up.



Music, reminiscent of those old 40s and 50s beat street crime dramas, plays in the background when you enter the crime scene. You are then notified when you are near a clue in two ways: an audible chime happens in the game and the controller vibrates slightly. You pick up the interesting object and inspect it by rotating the left stick all around. If you find something interesting, then you can hit A to examine the object further. Use the left stick to move your hand from object to object and press A to pick it up and examine it. After you are done, anything of note is automatically updated to your notebook.

Your notebook has everything you need to make your way in L.A. Noire. It gives you all the clues you have found, all the people and places of interest, and all the questions you should ask each person. It is also a vital tool in interrogations as well. You select questions to ask suspects or witnesses from your notebook and then make an assumption based on the character's response. You can choose to believe what the character says, doubt it, or flat out call the person a liar, though you better have some hard evidence for the latter.

To determine which response to pick, you have to pay attention to inflections in the character's voice and changes in facial expressions. The changes are made extremely noticeable thanks to the MotionScan technology.



Each successful interrogation and closed case grants you experience. Experience allows you to unlock things like new suits and intuition points. Intuition points are like little "Help Me" tokens. You can use one to do a plethora of things to help you during a case. Having trouble finding all the clues? Just use an intuition point and all the clues will be highlighted on your radar. Can't determine if a suspect is lying or not? Use an intuition point to either remove an accusation (i.e. Truth, Doubt, Lie) or to poll the community on which answer they think is best. Think of it as a lifeline from Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Removing an accusation is like using the 50-50 and Asking the Community is like Asking the Audience.

What would a cop drama be without combat? Nothing, I say! But, thankfully, L.A. Noire has that too. Combat in L.A. Noire is very satisfying. You will engage in everything from high speed pursuits on foot or in a car, dramatic shootouts with criminals and gangsters and hand-to-hand brawls with feisty suspects. Shooting is made easy thanks to an auto-lock feature and you don't have to stand there and get shot. Quickly duck into cover by running up to it and hitting LB. You can then move from cover to cover or pop up to take down the bad guys.

On foot pursuits are heart pounding and extremely satisfying. The music and quips from your character, mixed with the realistic interactions from the environment and your foe make for some truly pulse-pounding chases. The same goes for high speed pursuits. Take the wheel and try to tail-whip the criminal or get close enough for your partner to shoot out the tires. The one gripe I have about the combat is that the cover system can be a bit difficult at times, especially when your suspect takes off. Hopping in and out of cover could be smoother but it is an extremely minor flaw.

Graphically this game is stunning. The open world 1940s Los Angeles is a truly breathtaking environment and one heck of a game location. Lighting is very well done and the physics engine gives the game a very real feel. Rockstar isn't known for having the best graphics around so expect some pixelation here and there but nothing to get your knickers in a twist about.



What I like most is the presentation. When you transition from case to case, you are greeted with a cut scene that plays off of the old 40s and 50s cop drama, gum shoe films which gives L.A. Noire a very cinematic feel. Couple that with the incredible soundtrack, stellar voice acting and disturbingly realistic character models and you ave a recipe for awesome.

If you are not a patient person, then L.A. Noire probably isn't for you. However, if you love open world games, gripping storylines, intense characters and an all around incredible gaming experience, then this is one game you will not want to miss. L.A. Noire brings so many new things to the table that they will undoubtedly affect gaming in the future. L.A. Noire is definitely kicking off the summer gaming season with one helluva bang.

L.A. Noire is out now for the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3.

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GDC Unveils the Villain of Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

While I am no fan of the PS3, the system does have one very very good game going for it and that is the Uncharted series. Both Uncharted: Drake's Fortune and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves were some of the most sold games for this generation of consoles and the third one is one of the most anticipated games of the 2011 holiday season.

One of the biggest things that people are wondering about is where the story will go from the first two games and, most importantly, who the main villain is going to be to antagonize Drake in his third trip to the PS3. GDC was lucky enough to have some playable demos available for the game and it was clear in the first few minutes that Naughty Dog was not going to hold anything back.

The GDC reveal of Uncharted 3 most likely set in stone anything you were wondering about concerning what the new game would contain. This game, like its two predecessors, is set to give you a truly enticing and riveting experience with intense action similar to the previous games and storytelling to rival Bioware. But GDC did something else for gamers by introducing them, for the first time, to the game's main villain.

The new cutscene shown at GDC introduces gamers to Katherine Marlowe, an aging British woman and head of the 400-year-old cabal associated with the Queen Elizabeth and Drake's relative Sir Francis Drake. The outset of the cutscene has Drake and Sully thrown into an alley in England where Marlowe's henchmen rough them up to the point that they are adequately subdued enough for Marlowe herself to show up.

Sure Drake has gotten himself into some pretty sticky situations before, but Naughty Dog promises that Marlowe is a real threat and the biggest one to Drake yet. While she may seem like a fiery old woman who just wants to get her hands on some treasure, she is still not someone to be taken lightly. She has some pretty rough lackies and is even capable, and willing, to do some of the dirty work herself as seen in the cutscene. Marlowe seems to favor psychological taunts as opposed to physical ones and even steals the ring Drake wears around his neck, the same ring that was important in the first game and is sure to be important in this one.

That is about all that was revealed about Marlowe at GDC, but the event did show off some other things that gamers will find interesting. The game will be running in 3D if you have a TV capable of doing so. The effects looked really smooth in 3D but it probably isn't worth buying a 3D if you don't already have one. A lot of people, however, were very interested in Katherine Marlowe and her role in the plot. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception looks to be one helluva game and the PS3's best title for the 2011 holiday season.

Source: IGN - The Villain of Uncharted 3

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