June 28, 2012 | Broken Joysticks

Top 5 Games Under $20: XBOX 360

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Andrew Minott

At least once a week, I get someone at work or a friend or relative coming to me with “hey, I just got a 360, what games should I get?” Generally, that’s a tough question to answer because everyone’s taste is different, especially for people who aren’t heavily involved in the gaming culture already. Some people like this, some people like that, some people can’t stand either of them. For that reason, I usually shy away from suggesting a brand new release, as $60 is a lot to plunk down on something that isn’t a sure bet (or very near to one).

So, in my brain, I keep a short list of games that can easily be acquired on a budget and are ones that I can be fairly confident that people will find a good entertainment value for the price. This is, of course, not an exhaustive list of every good game that has come out since 2007 since there are hundreds upon hundreds to choose from, these are just the ones I think everyone should at least be aware of.Read More

dead space dragon age origins fable 2 halo odst star wars the force unleashed

Microsoft

New Persona 4: Arena Arcade Mode Screenshots

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Rae Michelle Richards

Atlus’ Persona 4: Arena media assault continues with a new batch of colorful screenshots showcasing the games arcade mode. I’m not really sure what more can be said about the game, as it seems like were writing about it almost daily.

Check out the screenshots for yourself after the jump in our handy dandy gallery. We’ll have more on Persona 4: Arena when it becomes available on August 7 in North America.

[Prototype] Developer No More

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Rae Michelle Richards

Radical Entertainment, the Vancouver-based developers behind [Prototype], [Prototype 2] as well as last generation’s Hulk Ultimate Destruction and The Simpsons: Hit and Run have close their doors Activision confirmed today.

News of the closure spread around social media rather quickly with former members of the studio breaking the news over twitter. Oddly, updates to the companies’ Facebook and Twitter accounts happened mere hours before the closure was announced, suggesting that this closure came about rather quickly.

Activision, the parent company of radical entertainment, issued a statement regarding the closure.Read More

Activision Closure Layoffs prototype 2

Guild Wars 2 Launches August 28th

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Kirk Williford

After spending over 5 years in development, ArenaNet announced today what fans have been waiting for: Guild Wars 2 will be on shelves August 28th, 2012. The MMORPG takes place 250 years after the original Guild Wars and integrates traditional pay-to-play elements with unique combat systems and world events, all for the low monthly price of $0.

Those who preorder the game will have full access to the world starting Saturday, August 25th. Check out the new teaser, and Get Ready:

[youtube id=”t-CB0hheQRg” width=”600″ height=”350″]

ArenaNet Guild Wars 2 MMO NCSoft

Metal Gear Solid Rising & Lords of Shadow 2 Playable At GamesCom

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Rae Michelle Richards

Two of Konami’s biggest games for 2012 and 2013 will be playable by the public for the first time at Germany’s GamesCom in August. Fans of Hideo Kojima’s Metal Gear Solid franchise will get their first taste of Raiden’s blade with a playable demo of next spring’s Metal Gear Solid Risisng: Revengeance. For those in attendance looking for something a little less blood-soaked and a little more macabre there’s always Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Mirror of Fate for the Nintendo 3DS.

Gamescom 12 will run in Colonge Germany from August 15th through the 18th. While we won’t be at the show itself, if any big announcements are made we will be sure to bring them to you.

Castlevania Konami Metal Gear Solid

Microsoft

Blizzard Fixes ‘Act I’ Glitch For New Diablo Players

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Rae Michelle Richards

Last week we reported that Blizzard had implemented several restrictions on new purchasers of Diablo III. Some of these restrictions were intentional, such as the inability to create private games or use the real money auction house, and some of them were the result of a glitch found after the restrictions were put into place.

Players who buy Diablo III digitally will no longer be subject to the level 13 or be restricted to the first act of the game. They would will however not be able to access public games, the auction house or trader received items for up to 72 hours. This allows Blizzard to verify the credit card information used to purchase the game and helps prevent gold farming and credit fraud.Read More

Blizzard Diablo III

PC

SEGA Closes Multiple European and Australian Offices

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Rae Michelle Richards

The house that Sonic built certainly seen better days. The embattled publisher had already closed some operations in North America, and now they’re following suit with closures in Australia and Europe, which will affect an unknown number of employees. Just like the previous closures SEGA has stated that they will be shifting focus in Europe and Australia towards profitable franchises in digitally delivered content.

SEGA has partnered Koch Media to assist with the publishing of physical goods (ie. packaged retail games) in Switzerland Austria and France, they will however continue to publish physical games in Australia.

We wish everyone affected by the closures all the best, and we hope to hear soon whether some of Sega’s key 2013 titles, like Phantasy Star Online 2 or the next Yakuza title will be affected.

Closure Lost Jobs Sega

Microsoft