Rayman Origins out now, a full retail game?

Rayman Origins is out but for some reason I always thought it was coming out as a downloadable game for PSN and Xbox Live. Never crossed my mind that Ubisoft went retail with a 2D Platformer. These games are rare, so if you're a fan of the genre(like myself) then you should consider this to keep these games alive.

I remember seeing the demo on Game Trailer's live streaming of this year's E3 and was underwhelmed because I thought it was another downloadable game worth 14.99. It being released as a full game got me curious. When I found out it was a full retail game, I started doing research on what else it offers. Tons of collectables, and I mean tons! Is it enough for a game to have its very own disc? For a platformer, yes, what else do you need really? As long as its challenging, easy to maneuver, and have incentive to replay stages, you're set.

Rayman Origins is getting positive reviews thanks to its beautiful art design, four player co-op feature, and solid controls. . You can never go wrong with platformers. Games such as Super Meat Boy, Outland, or even the classic Mario bros. are tons of fun and this should be no exception.

Sadly this might be ignored since it doesn't provide the Full Package(game having online) that every game developer provides nowadays. With a 2D Platformer priced as a full game, it's definitely a hard sell, but kudos for Ubisoft for taking on the risk.

Playing with a friend or family member in Rayman Origins seems to be the way to go, so if you want a casual game where anybody can join in on the fun, this will do. If ever I get this, I'm going to include my 5-year old nephew in on the fun to introduce him to 2D Platformer at its best.

Rayman Origins is out now for the Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii.

Battlefield 3 - Back to Karkand hitting PS3 on Dec 6, Xbox 360 and PC arriving a week later

EA finally gave Back to Karkand a release date, which is really just days away. PS3 Pre-ordered customers with the Limited Edition will finally get their moneys worth when the content hits on Dec 6 with Xbox 360 and PC following a week later.

I ran my battlefield 3 last friday to update my PS3 since I was aware of the 1.2 patch promised by DICE(thanks for the nerf in that damn light attachment btw). When updating I noticed the patch is 758MB. For a game patch? nah, that's Back to Karkand being placed into your system for preparation. When you claim your free expansion pack, most likely you'll be downloading an unlock code that's only a few KB's then bam you have Back to Karkand.

Back to Karkand will feature four Battlefield 2 maps remastered for the Frostbite 2 engine. Also included will be new guns, vehicles and a new game mode called Conquest Assault Mode.  If you don't have a Limited Edition of Battlefield 3(honestly haven't seen a store selling a normal copy), you'll have to cough up $14.99 for the expansion.

Konami's new game Never Dead dated

While I do enjoy a new title coming out, the concept of Never Dead never really caught my interest. A protagonist Demon Hunter that can never die and the ability to lose/grow limbs? A unique concept with a sense of humor I guess. Never Dead will be out on January 31, 2012, and February 3 for Europe.

In Never Dead, you play as Bryce Boltzmann, an immortal demon hunter who teams up with a private investigator named Arcadia to fight off invading demons. Since Bryce can't really die, doesn't mean there's no game over. Bryce can lose his whole body to the point where he is left with just his head. To recover, you'll have to roll the head to retrieve your lost body parts in order to keep fighting, like your playing a mini katamari game . The head is the most important(obviously) and when consumed or crushed, your done. You can also fail if Arcadia has been killed since she's still mortal.

With the concept of protecting Arcadia part of gameplay, it brings interesting options to keep her alive, like literally using Bryce as a meat shield to keep her safe. But it all boils down if they provide us with a smart AI controlling Arcadia. It's a cool concept to add variety to the game but if the AI is doing dumb stuff leaving you with unnecessary deaths, then it becomes more of a chore babysitting Arcadia.

Bryce will have a series of weapons somewhat similar to Devil May Cry(pistols and a sword) but gameplay is nowhere as fast paced and flashy. It's in 3rd person view and the game I can come up with to compare it with is Shadows of the Damned since it might bring more shootouts than going all hack and slash.

To sum it up - Its such a weird game seriously. Never Dead will be out on Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.

[Update]Skyrim 1.2 patch out now for the Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and PC to follow

The next patch for Elder Scrolls: Skyrim is out now on the Playstation 3 with Xbox 360 and PC to follow the next day(Nov 30). This 1.2 patch is aimed to address the big issues especially seen on the Playstation 3. At the same time, the patch also addresses the Xbox 360 version of losing texture detail when installed on your console.

[UPDATE] - When PS3 and 360 version of the game is updated to 1.2, it helps the lag issue from PS3 and fixes the low res textures when installed on your 360, but it seems like it comes with a price. The patch provides game breaking bugs that's even worse of you ask me. Magic resistance seems to be not working anymore and Dragons fly backwards. It's so silly that Bethesda patches never work.

For 360 players, I suggest ignoring the damn patch and just keep playing the game without the installation. With PS3, it's harder to suggest to play without it because of the unplayable lag. Some say it greatly improves the performance but not you have no point in putting magic resistance plus those awesome dragons acting weird. Still need to do testing but I'll continue the game without it, feels safer.

Here's the full patch notes thanks to Bethesda's blog:

UPDATE 1.2 NOTES (all platforms unless specified)

• Improved occasional performance issues resulting from long term play (PlayStation 3)
• Fixed issue where textures would not properly upgrade when installed to drive (Xbox 360)
• Fixed crash on startup when audio is set to sample rate other than 44100Hz (PC)
• Fixed issue where projectiles did not properly fade away
• Fixed occasional issue where a guest would arrive to the player’s wedding dead
• Dragon corpses now clean up properly
• Fixed rare issue where dragons would not attack
• Fixed rare NPC sleeping animation bug
• Fixed rare issue with dead corpses being cleared up prematurely
• Skeleton Key will now work properly if player has no lockpicks in their inventory
• Fixed rare issue with renaming enchanted weapons and armor
• Fixed rare issue with dragons not properly giving souls after death
• ESC button can now be used to exit menus (PC)
• Fixed occasional mouse sensitivity issues (PC)
• General functionality fixes related to remapping buttons and controls (PC)

Testing still needs to be done if this patch actually fixes these issues but thankfully it has arrived. Xbox 360 and PC 1.02 patch is coming tom so can't wait to test if installing it is better now on my 360.

Battlefield 3: Gulf of Oman Trailer

If you got yourself a copy of the Limited Edition of Battlefield 3, then that free expansion pack that was promised inside your copy is coming real soon. Check out the new trailer coming from DICE showing one of the new maps aslo showcasing the added vehicles in the game. Thank god for that harrier type jet.

Back to Karkand will include 4 maps, 10 new weapons, 3 new vehicles, a new game mode called Conquest Assault, and a feature called assignments which is another way to unlock weapons. I believe most Battlefield 3 players have a copy of the limited Edition, but just in case you don't, you'll have to cough up $14.99 to get this expansion pack.

The expansion pack will come sometime in December with the Playstation 3 version getting it first a week earlier.

If you want a more detail about what certain weapons and vehicles are being included, check out the BF3 Blog.