andPOP - Pop Culture With Substance

More. That’s the key word when discussing Naughty Dog’s PS3 exclusive hit sequel Uncharted: Among Thieves.

He definitely works hard for his money!

They have given us more of everything we loved from Uncharted: Drake’s fortune. More witty commentary, more weapons, more items, more actions, more explosions, more girls, more modes of play, more… well, you get the idea.

Recently, this writer had eye surgery, and as such, I have had a hard time staring at screens for long periods of time while my eyes healed. Let me tell you, this title was so much fun to play and so hard to put down, that I very well could have destined myself blind in the future from eye strain, especially at a time when my eyes are at their weakest.

Normally I would choose my Xbox 360 over the PS3 due to control preference and number of friends online, however, Sony comes out with amazing exclusive titles from time to time that bring me back to the PS3 powerhouse. Titles like Uncharted: Drake’s fortune, Metal Gear Solid 4, Little Big Planet, and now, Uncharted: Among Thieves. READ MORE »

Welcome to GWAR into your home this October with Guitar Hero 5!

No tricks here folks just treats as Guitar Hero rolls out a fine month of DLC for Guitar Hero 5.

It all starts with a Queens Of The Stone Age Pack featuring three tracks from their debut album, with Dave Grohl being featured on Avon you know it’s going to be a blast on drums. The week after that we get three tracks from Billy Squier with “The Stroke” which funny enough was the first Guitar Hero custom ever! Coming up next is Mike Patton’s favourite band Wolfmother featuring three tracks from their forthcoming album  Cosmic Egg. READ MORE »

wait.. that princess sure looks familiar

Let Them Eat Cake!

This has been the year of downloadable games/content.  With tons of gems available and consoles finally becoming more network and online oriented, I challenge you to find anyone who has either a 360 or PS3 (maybe even select Wii owners) who has not splurged on any sort of downloadable game.  With full fledged disc based games now coming to your PSN or Live store (look up Burnout Paradise, Warhawk, or 360 games on demand service) the future is definitely download friendly!
One of these gems that I will review today is Titan Studios, Fat Princess exclusively for the PlayStation Network. It takes aspects of Tower defense and capture the flag/zones and feeds it a big piece of cake.

Gameplay
I will be very upfront about this, Fat Princess is a PSN game designed with online multiplayer in mind. That is not to say the game cannot be enjoyed single player-wise but the actual mechanics make sense and shine online. You have selections from your standard grunt, mage, priest, worker, and scout. Now you are in full control of one person and once you die you are re-spawned. You can get AI buddies to follow you and help you but let me stress this: you’re in control of your character only and offline that means tons of AI NPC s going about their business. These guys are helpful but no way near as if you had your friends by your side.
READ MORE »

Band Hero™ invites music and video game fans of all ages to log onto BandHero.com and immortalize themselves and/or their band within a mosaic tribute to the newest game in the Guitar Hero® family.  Submitted photos will populate the mosaic and enter the individual’s or group’s names into a weekly contest where randomly selected winners will score a Band Hero band kit for the platform of their choice and a Nintendo DS Lite band kit.  Head over to BandHero.com to learn more. READ MORE »

DICE annouced last week that players can now unlock the Time Trail mode in the recently released demo for Mirror’s Edge, available at the PlayStation Store and the Xbox LIVE Marketplace. To unlock the Time Trail mode, players must select Race > Play Time Trail in the main menu of the demo, and then enter a 16 number code.

The Time Trail mode challenges players to find the fastest routes through the city featured in the game. Players can also upload their best times to the Mirror’s Edge online leaderboards for others to compete against.

Mirror’s Edge will ship to retailers in North America on January 13 for the Playstation 3 and Xbix 360 and worldwide on January 16 for the PC

Mirror’s Edge shipped to retailers worldwide on Nov. 11thfor the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3. It will ship to retailers in North America on January 13th and worldwide on January 16th, 2009 for the PC.

On Thursday, 2K Sports announced that a free demo of its new NBA 2K9 is now available for download on the PlayStation Network, and was available on Xbox Live Marketplace on Friday morning. The demo will feature the past NBA season’s finals and play in a four minute quarter as the Los Angeles Lakers or Boston Celtics at the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston, according to a press release from 2K Sports.

NBA 2K9 is rated E for Everyone, and will be available in retail stores on October 7 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 2.

This week, Midway announced the complete cast of character in its upcoming fighter game, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. The game is set for a November release, and will be supported by the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
The character list is as follows:

Mortal Kombat:
Scorpion
Sub-Zero
Sonya
Jax
Shang Tsung
Liu Kang
Raiden
Kitana
Kano
Baraka
Shao Kahn

DC Universe:

Batman
Superman
Catwoman
Green Lantern
The Joker
Shazam
The Flash
Wonder Woman
Deathstroke
Lex Luthor
Darkseid

Arcade-In-A-Box announced this week the release of their latest arcade controller, a combo Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 unit. This new unit allows gamers wide compatibility with consoles of any arcade stick currently on the market without the use of adapters.

The Combo Arcade Controller also features Windows PC capability and 100 per cent backward compatibility with PS2 and PSX games played on the PlayStation 3. The combo also has authentic arcade parts that are identical to those used on traditional arcade machines including Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat and Galaga.

The Arcade-In-A-Box will sell for $219, and a single system arcade panels with similar features and options can be purchased for $119.

Today, EA Sports announced the availability of the demo version of the latest addition to their NHL franchise of hockey games. The new NHL 09 demo is now available on the PlayStation Network, and an Xbox Live demo will follow in early September.

The game features the new “Be A Pro” mode that will have players start in the AHL and work their way up into the NHL, with the ultimate goal of becoming an NHL legend. The new Performance Tracker will rate gamers’ skill in over 60 categories to inform them of exactly what parts of their game needs to be improved. NHL 09 will also introduce the online EA Sports Hockey League, where gamers can create a character online and join a team with friends or scout for players. Finally, the game will also feature the new Defensive Skill Stick, that allows players to use an improved poke check, sweep their stick 360 degrees to block passes, and lift an opponent’s stick when playing defense.

NHL 09 will ship to retailers September 9, and will be supported by the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 platforms.

Today, Activision announced details of its upcoming Rapala’s Fishing Frenzy 2009, slated for a September 2008 release. The game will be supported on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms.

The game will feature realistic simulations of rods and casting maneuvers, and will allow gamers to battle for trophies and catch more than 20 species of fish. Players will be able to compete in 14 Tournament Events and complete various objectives throughout the game. The PlayStation 3’s Sizaxis and Dualshock 3 Controls are utilized to take full advantage of motion sensing and vibration abilities during game play. Rapala’s Fishing Frenzy also allows players to ‘fish’ in over 500,000 acres of authentic fishing locations, such as Clear Lake California, Lake Okeechobee Florida, and the Potomac River in Maryland.