NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Rockstar Games, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), and Team Bondi Pty. Ltd., are proud to announce thatL.A. Noire is now available at retail stores across North America for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft.

“Team Bondi worked hard to stay true to the noir genre,” said Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games. “L.A. Noire blends realistic performances with gritty action and real detective work, throwing players headfirst into the dark heart of Los Angeles.”

L.A. Noire is a crime thriller that is the story of Cole Phelps, a decorated World War II veteran and newly-minted detective in the LAPD. Set amidst the boom of Hollywood’s Golden Age, players must search for clues, interrogate suspects and chase down criminals to solve a series of cases based on real world incidents. As he rises through the ranks of the LAPD, Phelps comes face-to-face with the corrupt heart of Los Angeles: from fallen starlets to double-dealing police officers and the vast reaches of the criminal underworld – and finally, the darkness of his own personal demons.

Read more… »

BURBANK, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment today announced Gotham City Impostors, an original download-only first-personshooter where players battle for control of an unhinged Gotham City overrun by impostors inspired by the DC Comics characters Batman and The Joker. Developed by Monolith Productions, the game will be available in the Xbox LIVE^® Marketplace for the Xbox 360^® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, Windows PC and PlayStation®Network.

“Gotham City Impostors blows apart expectations for superhero games with an exaggerated take on first person shooters, set in a part of the DC Universe players have never seen before,” said Samantha Ryan, Senior Vice President, Production and Development, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. “Monolith is creating a game that turns Gotham City upside down and we think fans are going to have a blast with this creative twist on multiplayer heroism and anti-heroism as they play up the classic rivalry between Batman and The Joker.”

Read more… »

I’ve been working on a cheat sheet of sorts for Dragon Age 2. It contains popular, effective builds for all classes, tips and other useful information about the game. Obviously it’s simply a compilation of information. None of the actual material is mine. Credit goes to the original contributors, particularly the members of the Bioware forums.

You can view it here: http://goo.gl/k5W1j

• I quit WoW again. I know, I know. Been there, done that. I stopped playing mid-February. The subscription expired on March 13. I still like the game but I’m done with it for now. I hope the posts I wrote about it were in some ways useful.

• I’ve been playing Marvel VS Capcom 3 in between my Dragon Age 2 sessions. I still don’t have a third character to fill my main team of X-23 and Tron. I’m not too crazy about X-23’s low health but her combo and OTG are easy so I can’t complain much. With that said, MvC3 has been a humbling experience. I’m learning that I no longer have the execution to pull off the moves of some of the more complex characters. Wolverine’s Drill Claw to Dive Kick then OTG? Yeah, I keep messing that up. He’d be a part of the main team otherwise. I’ve been using him since X-Men VS Street Fighter. The game’s making me wish I had a fightstick.

• I finished Dragon Age 2 by accident last week. Kinda pissed me off, actually. What happened was I was following this guide that listed the good gear from the game. What I failed to realize was that it involved doing a main quest. Long story short, I went to a certain area to turn in a side quest, a place where a main quest was also due for a turn in. When I got there, the storyline sequence started. The ending storyline sequence. Crap. I’m playing it again using a mage.

I managed to get a copy of Final Fantasy XIII two weeks ago and finished it a week later. When it comes to JRPGs, I’m accustomed to grinding characters to absurd levels at some late point in the game before the final boss fight. Doing so makes a supposedly epic encounter easy, even ridiculous at times. I don’t think anyone complains about it at this point because it’s just an accepted part of JRPGs.

Naturally, I was expecting something of the sort the closer I got to FFXIII’s ending. After ten chapters of linear gameplay I found myself in Gran Pulse at chapter 11, with no clue on what to do. The game just opened up to me and I found myself at a loss about the next step to take.

I looked it up online, eventually finding out that I was at the grinding spot that I was looking for. Unfortunately, it was recommended to do the said grinding after finishing the game. Apparently FFXIII offers a lot of postgame activity.

I had a difficult time accepting this. It just didn’t make sense to me to build up characters and then not get the chance to use them against the final boss. Knowing that prevented me from really grinding. I ended up finishing the game using sufficiently leveled characters instead of overpowered ones. It wasn’t what I was used to, not for a JRPG at least. It didn’t feel right.

All this boils down to one thing: I didn’t get what I want.

The thing about video games is that they’re predictable. You follow a set pattern and get expected results. Sometimes it will take hard work, sometimes just dumb luck, but in the end the effort is guaranteed to pay off. When it comes to JRPGs, I like getting to the point where I can overpower any fight the game throws at me. By the time I reached FFXIII’s end, I realized that I didn’t get to do that.

I did what any sensible gamer in my position would do. I started a new game and decided to take the approach I should’ve taken in the first place. This time I’d grind before the final boss. I’m trying my best to get to chapter 11 as quickly as possible.

It all started with Daigo.

Daigo Umehara is one of the best, if not the best Street Fighter player in the world. His rise to fame started with his defeat of Justin Wong in EVO 2004 where he parried all of Chun-Li’s attacks then countered it with one of his own to get the victory. Now that I have Super Street Fighter IV, I’ve been watching videos of his matches on YouTube, trying to learn from them as much as I can.

I inevitably ran into Cross Counter TV and from there got to The Excellent Adventures of Gootecks and Mike Ross, both of which are hosted by the aforementioned professional Street Fighter players. Cross Counter TV covers match analysis, news and recaps, mostly focused on Street Fighter but occasionally branching out to other fighting games as well. What I really enjoy though is Excellent Adventures.

Read more… »

Atlus has been working on a mysterious project called Catherine and it’s due for release in Japan next month. And no one knows a single freaking thing about this game. Just what the hell is it? Well, we’ll know soon. Because the game’s director Katsura Hashino has revealed that a demo of the game will be releasing soon on the Xbox 360 and PS3.

[Source]