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Warhawk screenshot PlayStation 3

It was just a few days ago that Electronic Gaming Monthly reviewers found themselves in the predicament of not knowing exactly how to score Warhawk, due to the fact that we didn’t know how much the game would cost. Sure, there is the $60 retail version which comes with a Bluetooth headset, but Sony has long touted Warhawk as a premiere downloadable game from the PlayStation Store. Well, we now know the price of the digital version of the game will run you $40, which is, to my knowledge, more expensive than any downloadable game on Xbox 360, Wii or PlayStation 3 to date.

With this knowledge now in hand, which version of the game are you planning to pick up?


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Steam id Super Pack

It’s great enough to see the rumors come true of id’s games getting up on Steam – after all, id is the company that was behind Doom, Quake, Wolfenstein and Commander Keen(!), among others. Many of these classic games (from Doom and Wolfenstein on up to Doom 3 and Quake III)  are now available for purchase on Steam. Or, if you’re into super-awesome-sweet deals, you can buy the id Super Pack and get all of the id games on Steam for $62.95 (for a limited time, then the price will bump up to $69.95). That includes a ton of content, to say the least, which would otherwise cost $213.90 to pick it all up on Steam individually.

The list of id content on Steam and in the Super Deal includes:

  • Commander Keen
  • DOOM 3
  • DOOM 3 Resurrection of Evil
  • DOOM II
  • Final DOOM
  • Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders
  • HeXen
  • HeXen II
  • HeXen: Deathkings of the Dark Citadel
  • Master Levels for Doom II
  • QUAKE
  • QUAKE II
  • QUAKE II Mission Pack: Ground Zero
  • QUAKE II Mission Pack: The Reckoning
  • Quake III Arena
  • QUAKE III: Team Arena
  • QUAKE Mission Pack 1: Scourge of Armagon
  • QUAKE Mission Pack 2: Dissolution of Eternity
  • Return to Castle Wolfenstein
  • Spear of Destiny
  • Ultimate DOOM
  • Wolfenstein 3D

Pulling the plug EA online game servers

People always ask, “Why buy the newest Madden game? They’re all the same.” Well, here’s one very cut-and-dry reason you can use to explain: because, eventually, these game’s servers get taken down. EA is planning to take down 42 games’ servers on September 1 (although many of these are the same game across multiple platforms), and an additional seven on November 1. This isn’t a new trend, as there’s a sizable list of servers for EA games that have gone offline over time.

Apparently there really is a reason to pick up that newest Madden.

September 1, 2007 Online Service Shutdown

  • Arena Football for PlayStation 2
  • Arena Football for Xbox
  • FIFA Soccer 06 for Xbox 360
  • FIFA Soccer 06 for PC
  • FIFA06 for PC
  • FIFA Soccer 06 for PlayStation 2
  • FIFA Soccer 06 for PlayStation Portable
  • FIFA Soccer 06 for Xbox
  • FIFA World Cup 2006 for PC
  • FIFA World Cup 2006 for PlayStation 2
  • FIFA World Cup 2006 for PlayStation Portable
  • FIFA World Cup 2006 for Xbox
  • Fight Night Round 3 for PlayStation Portable
  • Fight Night Round 3 for Xbox

Check out the full list of September and November shutdowns after the break.

Click to continue reading EA Shutting Down Servers For Madden 06, NBA Live 06, And More


Latest Gear Live Videos

Warhawk PlayStation 3Warhawk is set for release later this month in two forms; retail and as a downloadable game from the PlayStation Store. The retail package will include a Bluetooth headset and will go for $59.99 – but they’ve flat-out refused to make any comment pertaining to the pricing of the downloadable version. When contacted by 1UP, Sony continued refusing any attempt to discover what the price might be.

“No news yet on the pricing of Warhawk for download. I would recommend you keep your eye on our blog for an announcement soon,” said SCEA Senior Director of Corporate Comm. Dave Karraker. “Response to date from those in the Warhawk beta has been outstanding, so we think it will do very well. We will be pricing it to match what we are delivering in terms of graphics, gameplay, fun-factor and repeat playability, which we think is quite high.”

It’s an interesting situation, as Electronic Gaming Monthly is in the process of reviewing the game, but they’ve been unable to get any word on the price of the game – which will, understandably so, affect the review score of the game.

Sony won’t tell us the pricing plans are, and as a result, EGM reviewers have been forced to include caveats in their write ups. Lead reviewer (and former OPM editor) Joe Rybicki actually placed a note in his review to EGM Reviews Editor Greg Ford that his score should be dropped a whole point if the price was announced above $30, and the other reviewers have expressed concern over how they should judge the game.

“What I don’t understand is why Sony can’t give us a price when it seems like internally they have one ready. The game is done, our reviewers have been playing it, and each one has asked about the price, which we certainly take into consideration in our reviews,” says Ford. “Because of the lead time for a print publication, we’re forced to go to print with a caveat in our review addressing this issue. Not ideal, and it seems unnecessary. It’s too bad because otherwise, the company has been great getting us the review code, setting up multiplayer play sessions, and providing assets to go along with the review…just no price, which for some consumers is what matters most.”

Read More | 1UP

Blast Factor PlayStation Network

The $4.99 expansion for the PlayStation Network’s Blast Factor has been released today, alongside several free demos and trailers. It’s nothing too exciting, but if you’ve been contemplating picking up a copy of Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 or The Darkness, you’ll want to give the demos a shot before you drop your hard-earned money.

  • Blast Factor: Advanced Research expansion ($4.99)
  • Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 demo (free)
  • The Darkness demo (free)
  • Michael Clayton movie trailer (free)
  • Get Smart movie trailer (free)
  • The Game Plan movie trailer (free)

Lair boxartOver on the official PlayStation blog, Ryan Hamlyn has announced that Factor 5’s PS3 exclusive, Lair, has been delayed in the US. Originally planned to come out on August 14, Lair will now hit store shelves on September 4. Hamlyn claimed it was due to an extra step in the QA testing process – so it probably isn’t in response to the poor review scores the game received in EGM, which have created quite a buzz around the Internet.


Dynamite Headdy Sega Genesis boxartWhile the Xbox Live Arcade is set to get the classic Marathon, Virtual Console’s additions this week include Star Soldier (vertical shooter; NES, 500 Wii points), Dynamite Headdy (platformer; Genesis, 800 points) and Drop Off (puzzle; TurboGrafx16, 600 points) – all pretty old titles. This is really a hardcore retro week, apparently.

All three are now available. Check after the break for more details.

Click to continue reading Virtual Console 7/30: Star Soldier, Dynamite Headdy, And Drop Off


Super Contra XBLA

As we reported yesterday, Xbox Live Arcade has given us two games again this week: Super Contra and Wing Commander Arena. Unfortunately, it’s the arcade port of Super Contra, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s, well, Super Contra. Definitely worth the 400 Microsoft Points if you’re a fan. If you’re a newbie to Contra and try out the game only to see you’re awful at the game, don’t worry – most people are.

Wing Commander Arena is a bit of a mixed bag. Because unlike Super Contra, which is the old game you remember, this is not Wing Commander. But, it does feature 16-player Xbox Live multiplayer, which is a first in an Arcade game. At 800 Microsoft Points it might be a bit of a stretch, but if you’re looking for a fun multiplayer 2D shooter, Arena just about fits the bill.

Click to continue reading Xbox Live Arcade 7/25: Re-Remember How Bad You Are At Contra


At the 20th anniversary celebration for Metal Gear Solid, Hideo Kojima presented a 15-minute long demonstration of the upcoming PS3 exclusive(?) Metal Gear Solid 4. It’s all real time, and actually being played – and considering the game won’t be out until early next year, there’s still time left for Konami to make it look even better.

Dare I say it? Gears of War, eat your heart out.

Check out the HD version of the trailer here.


Wing Commander Arena

Two games will hit Xbox Live Arcade tomorrow, both of which are classics, in a way. The first is Super Contra, something I’ve been waiting a long time for, since the original Contra release was the coin-op arcade version, as opposed to the superior NES one. But Super Contra was arguable the pinnacle of the series, and with online co-op and achievements, you better pick it up.

The other title is a bit of mixed bag. Wing Commander Arena is the rebirth of the classic Wing Commander franchise, which was phenomenal back in the day (and remains such in the hearts of many). Arena is going in a different direction, and despite what you might expect after seeing screenshots from the game, it’s in fact not 3D – you can’t move up or down; only horizontally. So even though you’re in space you’re confined to a single plane. Lame. On the plus-side, Arena is the first Arcade game to feature 16-player Xbox Live multiplayer, so that might justify an 800 Microsoft Point purchase.

Click to continue reading Xbox Live Arcade Wednesday Serves Up Another Double Header


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