Mortal Kombat (PlayStation Vita) Announceme Trailer

I missed posting this a while back, but here's the official announcement trailer for Mortal Kombat (PlayStation Vita).

You can check it out here or below, and the game releases this Tuesday, May 1st.




Basically, if this game plays on the PlayStation Vita just as well as it does on consoles, I'll likely pick Sony's new handheld up and get some Kombat on-the-go.

The History of Mortal Kombat - Episode 5

Mortal Kombat Secrets continues their great "The History of Mortal Kombat" series with Episode 5, "Darkness is Calling."

This episode highlights Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero and Mortal Kombat 4.

You can view the episode both here and below.

Fight Anywhere - Mileena Teaser Trailer

Yesterday, a new teaser trailer for the PlayStation Vita version of Mortal Kombat was released.  Entitled "Fight Anywhere - Mileena," the teaser obviously features Kitana's opposite number.

You can view the teaser trailer here or below.




With the launch of the game about a week and a half away, it'll be interesting to see if any other live action trailers are released.

Halo 4 Release Date Announced

Today, 343 Industries revealed the release date for Halo 4. The game will launch on Nov. 6th, 2012, and you can check out the official announcement in their Weekly Bulletin here.

To celebrate, Rooster Teeth has created two Red vs. Blue episodes using Halo 4's engine, and you can view them here, here or below.

StarCraft: Ghost Intro Cinematic

Earlier this week, I stumbled upon the intro cinematic to Blizzard Entertainment's cancelled StarCraft: Ghost, a game that was supposed to be released to the Xbox and PlayStation 2 back around 2005-ish and which is now postponed indefinitely.

I don't recall ever seeing this cinematic before, so you can take a watch here or below.



A nice mix of cheese and nostalgia.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Kinect Support Coming

Bethesda announced today via the Bethesda Blog that Kinect support is coming to their hugely successful RPG, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

Clearly an Xbox 360 exclusive, this upcoming update will allow Kinect owners to actually shout Dragon Shouts as well as use other voice commands to simplify and streamline their experience in the province of Skyrim.

You can check out the full Bethesda Blog post here, and view a video showcasing the Kinect support here or below.



What's also very interesting to note is that this very blog post also confirms that a DLC announcement is on its way, and that said DLC will be an Xbox 360 exclusive for a limited time (and yes it is for a limited time, despite the confusing wording in the official blog post).

Mortal Kombat (PlayStation Vita) Trailer

The full live action trailer for Mortal Kombat (PlayStation Vita), featuring Kitana, is now live.

You can check it out here or below.



Looks cool, and I like the guest appearance at trailer's end. I heard a rumour that there will be a few of these live action trailers, and if so, I hope that hints as to who the next one will feature.

Quake 4 Returning to the Xbox 360

Just saw on the Bethesda Blog that Quake 4 is being re-released for the Xbox 360 on June 19th for a suggested retail price of $19.99 (US).

While I was unaware there was still a demand for the game, I quite enjoyed the PC version (reviewed here) and would recommend it or it's Xbox 360 counterpart to those interested.

You can check out the full Bethesda Blog post here.

Halo 4 Soundtrack Samples and "Composing Worlds" ViDoc

343 Industries has released a new video showcasing some music samples for Halo 4, which you can view/listen to here or below.



A new ViDoc regarding the game's music composition, entitled "Composing Worlds," has also been released, and you can check it out here or below.



The musical score demoed thus far isn't bad, definietely very epic, but honestly, while they kept talking about maintaining that Halo feel it all feels extremely un-Halo like to me. That's not necessarily a bad thing, of course, since it is a new trilogy and completely different story arc.

Mass Effect 3 "Extended Cut," "Resurgence Pack," and Patch Announced

We've got several bits of Mass Effect 3 news to report on.

The first is that BioWare has decided to add to the game's ending via free DLC this summer. Entitled "Extended Cut," the DLC will add additional cinematic sequences and epilogue scenes to Mass Effect 3, and you can read the official press release here and a mini-FAQ here for all the details.

Next up, the "Resurgence Pack," a Multiplayer DLC add-on, will be released on April 10th for free, and will include several new maps, character classes, and weapons. You can check out the trailer here or below and read the official blog post which details all the content right here.



Lastly, a patch for the game will be released on April 9th for PC owners and April 10th for console owners. Full details on what issues the patch will address can be found here.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Patch Now Available on All Platforms, CollegeHumour Sketch "Skyrim Hoarders"

The official 1.5 Title Update for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is now available on all platforms, and you can read up on the full details here.

To celebrate, I'll leave you with a CollegeHumour sketch entitled "Skyrim Hoarders," and it's the exact reason why I'm about 92 hours into the game and have yet to really accomplish anything.

Mortal Kombat "Fight Anywhere - Kitana" Teaser Trailer

The official trailer for Mortal Kombat (PlayStation Vita) is coming, and NetherRealm Studios is tiding us over with a teaser trailer featuring a live-action Kitana. Entitled "Fight Anywhere - Kitana," the teaser trailer can be viewed here or below.

Google - Project Glass

So what're your thoughts on the above? Personally, while the concept certainly looks cool I think this would simply be going too far (again) with the whole concept of social networking and media.

You can read more details over at YouTube here, or on the official Project Glass page here.

Mortal Kombat (PlayStation Vita) Launch Date Announced

The PlayStation Vita version of Mortal Kombat will be released on May 1st according to the official press release from the Mortal Kombat Facebook page. Why they would reveal this on just the Facebook page and not the official website is beyond me, but that's how they role.

I'm very curious to see how well the title will translate to handheld, as you all know how much I love the game and I have been impressed by what I've seen thus far.

Well, a month to go to find out if it's a solid port or a dud, and you can read the official announcement here.

Google Maps 8-bit for NES

Google is a company that needs no introduction, and the ability to search Google Maps is invaluable to any who've tried the service. Google Maps works wonderfully on computers, various smartphones, and tablets, and now, Google is bringing their handy tool to one of the best selling computer systems of all time: The Nintendo Entertainment System.

To clarify, Google has released a video demonstration of their new product, Google Maps 8-bit which you can view here or below.



April Fools!

BioShock Infinite "Heavy Hitters Part 4: Siren" ViDoc

In the final installment of the "Heavy Hitters" series, Irrational Games reveals the Siren, a creepy enemy in BioShock Infinite who's able to bring back dead enemies to torment you once more.

You can check out the ViDoc here or below.

Mass Effect 3: Take Earth Back Trailer (FemShep Version)

This was released a few weeks back and I completely missed it. EA and BioWare have re-released the "Take Earth Back" trailer for Mass Effect 3, swapping in the female version of Shepard.

You can check the trailer out here or below.

My Kung Fu is Stronger

This past Friday evening, I earned the single most insane Achievement that I have ever earned. At 9:11 pm eastern time, I earned "My Kung Fu is Stronger" in Mortal Kombat (2011), which is awarded for mastering all twenty seven kombatants in the core game (DLC kombatants do not count).

In order to master a kombatant, you need to do the following:

- Win 100 matches
- Perform 100 Fatalities
- Successfully land 150 X-Ray moves
- Spill 10,000 pints of blood
- Play with that kombatant for 24 hours, real time

This is a huge time commitment and takes a lot of grinding simply for one kombatant let alone twenty seven, and suffice it to say I've been working on this for about eleven months now and actively pursuing it for a little over a year.

Thankfully, most everything you do counts towards mastery, so playing through Story Mode, the Challenge Tower, online matches, Test Your Luck, and a ridiculous amount of Arcade Ladder was the way to go.

Like most Achievements, there are ways to expedite things, thankfully. You can play a lot of Arcade Ladder on any difficulty to rack up wins, Fatalities, and blood spilt, and you can make things go a bit faster by changing the settings to one round instead of the standard two round matches. Obviously playing on Beginner would have been the fastest, but I wanted a reasonably fun challenge so I always played on Medium or Hard.

When it comes time to milk X-Rays, you can use a second Controller and play a local two round Tag Match with Kombat Kode 466-466, granting infinite Super Metre; simply spam away for a bit and you'll get your 150 X-Rays.

The longest part of the process is the 24 hour time requirement per kombatant, and the best way to milk this is to simply go into Tag Team practice and walk away. The time spent in Practice Mode counts, so provided you're willing to leave your console on for a long time, this'll do it.

So of course, the question is since this took so much time and grinding, why did I do it? Well, there are a few reasons. The first is a lot of people go for one crazy Achievement at least once in their life (the "Seriously" Achievements from the Gears of War franchise is a great example of this), and for a time I was seriously considering going for "Hard to the Core" in Dead Space 2, but the simple truth is I don't have the time for a play session of the length that that Achievement would require. The fact that I could do "My Kung Fu is Stronger" over time and in short bursts made it a natural crazy-Achievement choice.

The second and most important reason is that I truly love the game, my love for the franchise has been rekindled with this title, and I really wanted to try my hand at all the kombatants simply for nostalgia's sake. Though this was some of the most insane grinding I've ever done, I really enjoyed myself, and it's a testament to NetherRealm Studios that I never got overly bored while pursuing this Achievement.

So, now I can give Mortal Kombat (2011) a break for a bit, but I love the game so much that I'm certainly going to come back to it, at least to give the Story Mode one more whirl. I can't see myself going for an Achievement like this with any other game again, but I can proudly say I earned this one and had a blast doing it.

The Walking Dead Season 2 Review

Not only was The Walking Dead so successful, but the show that was supposed to be a single season and a simple six episodes was not only renewed but doubled in length.

Season 2 begins right where the original season left off, with the group on the road trying to find a safe haven to head to. Now, for a dramatic series like The Walking Dead, story and plot is everything so I don't want to go into too many details, however the tension between Rick (Andrew Lincoln), Shane (Jon Bernthal), and Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) is still present and other characters get far better developed while some others kind of take a back seat. Suffice it to say that the group does come across a new safe haven in a rather unfortunate way, a remote farm stead, and the bulk of the thirteen episodes occur here. This also allows some much needed new characters to be added to the mix.

Getting right to the meat of things, the second season of The Walking Dead is a mixed bag. It starts off somewhat middle-ground and then gets very weak, picks up, really drops off, and then finishes with a bang. Seriously, the final three episodes of the season are the strongest the show has seen since the series premiere itself, but getting there was a bit frustrating. The problem was really inconsistent writing, and while it's clear they're trying to better develop some characters, it often doesn't work out so well. So many of the survivors make a ridiculous amount of stupid decisions it has you wondering how they could possibly have survived for so long in the first place. I also found it funny how several episodes were so character focused, in both good and bad ways, that they'd occasionally have to throw in a random zombie just to remind us that the series is actually about a zombie apocalypse.

Overall the season wasn't horrible, but there were definitely several points that stretched my patience and in many instances, really, a whole lot of nothing happened. In truth, the entire season could have been compressed into about six or so episodes, the first half could certainly have been covered in about three episodes.

Thankfully though, as I mentioned, it ends on a high note with some surprising deaths, character developments, and a more promising nod back to the comics. I'm quite excited now for season 3 to see where exactly the show goes and to see how the group dynamics will further change and evolve, because the show we started with at the beginning of the season is quite different than what we end with.

As a buddy of mine said: "&$*@'s about to get real."

BioShock Infinite "Heavy Hitters Part 3: Boys of Silence" ViDoc

Irrational Games has released their third ViDoc in their "Heavy Hitters" series for BioShock Infinite. This one focuses on the Boys of Silence, enemies that somewhat function like walking security cameras.

You can check the video out here or below.