Joystiq

PSN Tuesday: Turkey Thursday 2009 edition

by Alexander Sliwinski { 21 minutes ago }

Thanks to Turkey Day this Thursday, the PSN update is going live a couple days early. Gobble up the savings as several PSN titles are priced perfectly for tryptophan overdose relaxation. Check out the full PSN update after the break to find more things to do while avoiding family obligations this weekend.

Choose your platform to view the corresponding release list:

(Note: Continue past the break to view both release lists.)

Continued →

LucasArts whipping up online co-op patch for Lego Indy 2

by Randy Nelson { 38 minutes ago }

Soon, friends who see that you're playing Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues on Xbox Live or PlayStation Network won't need to sit idol-y by -- they'll be able to join in. LucasArts has tweeted that it's working on a patch that will bring online co-op play to the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the latest Lego game on the block.

What's more, the publisher has also confirmed that the patch will let players collaborate in the game's level editor, tweeting, "In LIJ2's new co-op, you'll be able to join others as they build and play their levels." As for timing, LucasArts says to "give it a few weeks" before the update is transported by submarine from Cairo to ~~a secret island base~~ Microsoft and Sony's servers.

Rumor: OPM teases Dead Space reveal in December

by Ludwig Kietzmann { 59 minutes ago }

Considering the artwork depicted on the "next month" page of November's Official PlayStation Magazine, it requires only the slightest of hops to reach the conclusion that a new Dead Space announcement is lurking just around the corner. Allegedly snapped by GOONL!NE (as in the connectivity instruction, not the lineup of criminals), the artwork features a grotesque, tentacled creature viewed through what appears to be the iconic toaster visor of Dead Space protagonist Isaac Clarke. The site confidently suggests that the creature itself is derived from the original game's concept art.

Now's the time to strategically remember several job listings, which mentioned a Dead Space follow-up, along with EA CEO John Riccitiello's recently expressed desire to have EA focus on more profitable, safer games. What could be safer than an isolated spaceship sending out a distress call?

The November issue of Official PlayStation Magazine is on sale ~~behind youuuuu~~ in the UK right now.

[Via CVG]

Dell severs $20 off Left 4 Dead 2 PC price

by Richard Mitchell { 1 hour ago }

Yes, Dell, maker of PCs and occasional gaming deals, is now selling the PC version of Left 4 Dead 2 at a drastically reduced price. The company has marked down the game from $49.99 to a mere $29.99. That's twenty whole dollars, which is probably the same price Valve will charge on Steam precisely ten minutes after you buy it from Dell. But hey, it's a deal right now and it's hard to argue with that. Or is it?

[Thanks, Eric!]

Spend your scratch on New DJ Hero DLC

by Randy Nelson { 1 hour ago }

A DLC three-pack of tracks by French DJ David Guetta is available today for DJ Hero across PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii. The original works "When Love Takes Over" featuring Kelly Rowland, "Sexy Chick" featuring Akon, and "On The Dancefloor" featuring will.i.am and apl.de.ap make up the mash-up pack, which goes for 640

($8) and $7.99 on Xbox Live Marketplace and PlayStation Store, respectively (the tracks are not offered for purchase separately). Each track is sold separately for Wii at 300 Wii Points ($3) apiece.

Also out today for Wii are the two tracks from last month's Extended Mix Pack 01: "All Of Me" by 50 Cent featuring Mary J. Blige vs. "Radio Ga Ga" by Queen, and "DARE" by Gorillaz vs. "Can't Truss It" performed by Public Enemy. Those will set living room DJs back 300 Wii Points, as well.

The knowledge that your DJ Hero controller is a million times cooler than the Tony Hawk Ride board is, as always, priceless.

Sony replaces faulty Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines download

by Ludwig Kietzmann { 1 hour ago }

"Yes, there was an issue with the original download," a Sony Europe spokesperson has told Eurogamer. Said issue, which rendered PAL digital copies of Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines dead on arrival, was rectified by replacing the PSP file on the European PlayStation store -- though this came at a cost to those who had already been greeted by the defective copy's never-ending loading screen. According to the spokesperson, "It was pulled from the store and we are issuing replacement codes for those people who purchased the content before 12PM GMT on November 20."

Developed by Griptonite Games, Bloodlines follows the protagonist of 2007's Assassin's Creed, complete with 3D free-running and an Altair native control scheme.

Square Enix doing CG cinematics for Deus Ex 3, interested in Thief 4

by David Hinkle { 2 hours ago }

"Deus Ex 3 is going to be the first project which will be a concrete product of joint effort between Square Enix and Eidos," said Stephane D'Astous, general manager of Eidos Montreal. Not to be confused with that other first collaboration between the two, the devs in Tokyo will take care of any CGI cutscenes in the upcoming threequel, while D'Astrous confirmed to Edge that the duty of putting together enticing trailers and the game's intro cinematic will also fall on the CGI-smiths at Square Enix.

D'Astrous says Square Enix was excited to contribute, also expressing interest in Thfourteeneff. It should provide a nice change of scenery for Square Enix, though we're sure it'll find a spot to squeeze in a silver-haired, effeminate hero or three.

Flower, Comet Crash & other PSN titles half-price this week

by Griffin McElroy { 2 hours ago }

It seems the PlayStation Store got a little jealous of the brick-and-mortar retailers who were offering discounts during this week of ~~Black Friday~~ Thanksgiving. Beginning with today's specially-dated Tuesday PSN update, a handful of downloadable PS3 titles will be offered for half-price until December 2. Here's a list of the encheapened games, and their temporarily slimmed-down prices:

Bomberman Ultra – $4.99
Comet Crash – $4.99
Flower – $4.99
Invincible Tiger: The Legend of Han Tao – $7.49
The Last Guy – $4.99
Prince of Persia Classic – $4.99
Smash Cars – $7.49

'Mercs Inc' officially announced, developed by EALA

by Ludwig Kietzmann { 3 hours ago }

This morning's leaked footage, purported to belong to a new multiplayer-capable Mercenaries game called "Mercs Inc," just barely beat EA's official announcement of the (working) title to our front page. In development at EA Los Angeles, the latest toy in the destructive sandbox is paraded underneath the Pandemic banner, held aloft by the "core creative team" that survived the physical studio's recent closure. No target platforms have been announced.

According to EA senior VP and group GM, Nick Earl, the swift announcement "demonstrates our continued commitment to Pandemic's rich catalog of intellectual properties." As the press release innocently points out, "Mercs Inc will also be the first Pandemic game" to be released after this December's The Saboteur, the last Pandemic game. Oh, the previous one, we mean.

Just Cause 2 grapples onto March 23 release date

by Griffin McElroy { 3 hours ago }

A recent Square Enix press release has dropped some rather unfortunate news in our laps: Just Cause 2 won't be hitting North American store shelves until March 23, 2010 (or March 26 for Europe, Australia and the Middle East). That's quite a ways past the title's original Q3 2009 launch date -- in fact, that's two whole Qs later than we initially hoped.

Oh, well. It's difficult for us to get in a huff about the game's distant launch date. See, as soon as we feel the huff approaching, we simply watch a bit of Just Cause 2's grapple-and-parachute-centric gameplay, and then we feel inexplicably soothed to our very core.

Gallery: Just Cause 2

Borderlands' Zombie Island DLC trailer has us in stitches

by Griffin McElroy { 4 hours ago }

Are you enjoying the zombie-massacring action presented in Left 4 Dead 2, but wish the game had more ... panache? The upcoming DLC pack for Borderlands, titled The Zombie Island of Doctor Ned, might just offer the stylish undead action you crave. Check out the trailer after the break to see what we mean. Spoiler alert: In the video, zombie faces get punched into gooey paste, Were-Skags get euthanized, and birds get flipped. It's probably not suitable for the faint of heart.

The walking corpse-infested landmass is downloadable today on 360 and PS3 for 800

/$9.99.

DSi XL's Japanese launch is also pretty big

by JC Fletcher { 4 hours ago }

[Image Source]

Like Honeycomb cereal, the DSi XL (LL in Japan) is big, yeah yeah yeah. And according to Enterbrain data, its launch sales weren't small, no no no. The super-sized handheld sold 103,524 units in its first two days on sale. Its immediate predecessor, the regular-sized DSi, moved about 170,000 units at its launch, and its most recent competitor, the PSP Go, only sold 28,000 on its Japanese launch day. Clearly, Sony should have made the PSP bigger instead of smaller. The DS Lite, whose launch predated the DS craze that ... it helped cause, sold 68,438 in its launch week.

Either the strategy of making a DS aimed at families and older gamers is working, or there's a large contingent of Japanese gamers who feel compelled to buy every new DS. Actually, it's probably a little of both.

[Via Andriasang]

Hands-on: Spawn HD-720 brings your games to you

by Justin McElroy { 5 hours ago }

Now that's it's The Future, we've grown increasingly intolerant of being tied down to any specific location, even when it comes to console gaming. When you can talk on your phone and watch movies on the go, who wants to be tethered to their couches as they explore a post-apocalyptic wasteland? Nobody, that's who.

The Spawn HD-720 from Spawn Labs is designed to fulfill that promise of futuristic mobility by taking console video games and (in technical terms) squishing them inside your computer. We recently went hands-on with "Slingbox for games" to see if the future had truly arrived.

Gallery: Spawn Labs HD-720

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Confirmed for Black Friday: Old Navy giving Lego Rock Band with $20 clothing purchase

by Griffin McElroy { 5 hours ago }

We hope you've been putting off purchasing that that new fleece jacket you've had your eye on, because Old Navy will be running one hell of a video game deal this coming Black Friday. As suggested by a supposedly leaked circular earlier this month, anyone who spends $20 on the store's merchandise will receive Lego Rock Band for free on the platform of their choice.

The rumored deal was recently confirmed by a television spot (which unfortunately has yet to find its way online). We contacted a handful of locations in Texas, Ohio and Illinois, all of which said the offer would be valid at their stores. However, both the advertisement and the store representatives we spoke to mentioned that copies of the game will be "extremely limited," so we suggest getting to your nearest store as close to its 3 a.m. opening time as your tryptophan-infused body will permit.

Help the Desert Bus for Hope at 2 p.m. EST and win terrible games

by Justin McElroy { 6 hours ago }

Today at 2 p.m. EST, Joystiq's own preternatually handsome Justin McElroy will be visiting the brave men and women of the Desert Bus for Hope, and you should tune in! For starters, you'll get to watch former people who have been turned into little more than husks by extended exposure to one of the worst games ever draw strength from the timeless good looks and boundless compassion of Mr. McElroy. But, almost just as importantly, you'll also have a shot of winning a box of terrible games.

The Desert Bus team will select one person who donates here between 2 and 3 p.m. at random, and we'll send that unlucky SOB a box full of unpleasant games and other random swag. It's better than nothing but just barely. Besides, you're helping sick kids while treating your ears to a heaping dollop of everyone's favorite Thanksgiving treat: Justin McElroy. isn't that enough for you?