As I sat at my desk today minding my own business, I got an instant message from my buddy, and BSR web-designer-guy-thingy, Chris that read, “DUUDE. Bungie did a mass credit reset on idlers. :)”

Hell. Yes.

If you aren’t familiar with the Xbox game Halo: Reach is the fourth installment of the wildly popular Halo series on the Xbox console. In this game as you play through the single-player campaign and battle other players online you earn “Credits” for each match you play. As you earn these credits you “rank up” to higher ranks, unlocking new armor pieces to pimp out your Spartan along the way. Since the release of this game there has been a bit of a problem with “AFK” (Away From Keyboard) players – players who just turn on the game, enter the lobby for online multiplayer matches, and walk away. The game will continue to keep putting them into matches despite the fact that they are doing nothing, and they will be earning credits along the way. Essentially, they are being rewarded to doing nothing but turning their Xbox on and letting it sit there for hours on end, hitting the maximum 60,000 credits you can earn in a single day.

As someone who plays Halo: Reach 3-12 hours per week with Kill-tacular-tron, his brother, and Chris, this can be a bit frustrating. Part of the appeal of the game is to play it and earn your rank as you progress through the game and earn new armor pieces. Sure, this is a small part of the appeal – most of it is just getting online with your friends and having fun trying to destroy the other team of n00bs – but it’s a fun and rewarding way to measure your progression and time spent in the game. These people who “AFK” ruin the experience of the game for those unfortunate enough to be stuck with a team mate who just stands there as a sitting target for the other team, or is of no help in a game of Firefight.

Bungie implemented a Credit Reset and a two-week ban on earning any more credits for every person they deemed to be a chronic “AFK”-er. Meaning the rank that they have spent hours obtaining and then in turn bragging about has been set back to the beginning, their credits are now at a zero balance, and they can’t even start earning more credits for two weeks. Justice. Has. Been. Served.

As soon as I heard this news I immediately rushed over to the official Halo: Reach forums for all the bitching and moaning goodness that was surely there. And it was. You’d be hard-pressed to find a forum for a video game so full of people leaving long-winded explanations as to why this game “sucks” and why they won’t play it any more – despite the fact it apparently took them a few hundred hours of play time to come to this conclusion. Sure enough, with this Credit Reset and temporary credit ban comes a bevvy of crying about how unfair it is even though Bungie has been warning the community this was coming for literally several months now. This credit reset and temporary credit ban is not a one time thing either. Going forward Bungie and/or 343 Studios will be monitoring for “AFK” players and should you fall into that category the same fate will befall you.

I think this is a great move by Bungie, and I’m sure most who play Halo: Reach will agree. The punishment is harsh, letting this group of cheaters know there are consequences for trying to cheat the ranking system, and hopefully the rest of the Halo community who actually play the game will experience far less online matches in which one player or more are non-playing “AFK”-ers.

It’s a new year, which means it’s time for a new Call of Duty game to be released! This years title will be the direct follow up to the wildly popular Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 with Modern Warfare 3.

The game is set to release on November 8 of this year and the story line will pick up directly where the events of the second installment left off – with an all out World War at hand, and America under attack on our own soil.

I enjoy Call of Duty: Black Ops, but I’m excited for the franchise to return to the Modern Warfare setting as it’s been my favorite so far. The single player campaign has an epic story line that I’m excited to see the resolution to, and of course the always fun – but sometimes very frustrating multiplayer aspect. It will be interesting to see what changes developers Seldgehammer Games and Raven Software bring to the table for multiplayer.

I am also surprised to see developer Infinity Ward still attached to this series since it was my understanding that Activision had burned some pretty big bridges with them in the previous games. Perhaps they wanted to see their story through to the end, since they are the developers exclusively for the campaign, not multiplayer. I’m sure Zombietron will know something about this and add his two cents.

In any case, I think the trailer looks epic and I can’t wait to get my hands on this game when it hits shelves later this year!

In the world of video games, licensed movie titles are both a blessing and a curse. For the publishers, they’re almost guaranteed money-makers; for the fans, you get a chance to play along with a movie or character you really enjoy. But, all too often you end up with a half-baked turd with no polish that was rushed out the door to meet a release date coinciding with a movie. Certainly the E.T. video game is a shining example of turdism (considered by many to be the worst video game ever made). Thinking about the time frame, this may be the game that set us all up for the continuing misfires in licensing for the last thirty years. There are a few gems, especially recently, like X-Men Origins: Wolverine. In that case, it was the movie that should have been aborted in favor of the gaming experience. Most recently, Toy Story 3 has received great acclaim as a video game. Meanwhile, SEGA has been exercising their turd shining equipment for games based on both Iron Man films and Thor. Expectations for Captain America: Super Soldier are pretty low.

Then you get licensed games without the timed movie tie-in. These tend to do better, but still have plenty of flops. Batman: Arkham Asylum was mind-blowing. It’s upcoming sequel, Arkham City, has been a big topic in VGQH recently. And it will continue to be as expectations mount leading up to its release in October. But, even without an immediate tie-in, licensed games still manage to suck. 2004’s Superman for Nintendo 64 jumps to mind. As does Silver Surfer from the NES era.

So what’s with the weird editorial? Well, it’s mostly my long winded way of leading up to one of the strangest pieces of gaming news I’ve seen since I started this column. When licensed games are so hit or miss, when is it a good idea to revive a franchise through the use of gaming? More importantly, is it ever a good idea to revive a movie franchise like Child’s Play? According to Alex Tikhman (Co-Founder / Vice President of Publishing for TikGames), “Fans have been asking for a Chucky game for years and, soon, gamers around the world will be able to enjoy highly-entertaining, interactive, downright gory experiences with this brand.” I think it’s more accurate to say that fans asked for a game years ago, not “for years.” The movie series was good once, that first film was downright terrifying. This was clearly a movie that should never be shown to children, but was targeted at them nonetheless. Over the years, the franchise went the way of the ridiculous, as horror films are wont to do. But anyone who first saw Chucky terrorizing Andy when they were still under 14 carries a little trepidation about dolls to this day. The game is being called a “stealth action romp” and is clearly set to be very gory. The announcement leaves me with two questions: Really? and Why now? Hopefully we’ll get some answers when the game releases this fall for consoles and PC.

Speaking of resurrecting old franchises (apologies for the horrible transition), Carmageddon is apparently making a comeback. Why else would the website suddenly be brought back with a countdown timer? Let me save you some calculating time, it’s counting down to June 1st. Obviously no one will know anything until that time, but considering E3 comes about a week later I’d expect some more announcements then. An interesting sidenote to this story is that Square Enix owns the domain name for the website, but are denying any involvement in the game. It appears the IP has been traded off to someone else and anything currently happening with it will be an indie project. If this is a franchise you’ve been longing to see return, I’d suggest you keep an eye on the website. I’ll also recap any news in the June 3rd edition of VGQH.

Sony has recently announced a firm release date for Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One, along with the various preorder incentives. The game will be available on October 18. Fall is starting to fill up fast with great games. Depending on where you preorder, you’ll have your choice of four bonus weapons. Mr. Zurkon, the T-Rex morph, Sheepinator Morph, and Pyro Blaster will be available at GameStop, Amazon, Wal-Mart, and Best Buy, respectively.

Isn’t it just perfect that I have some news about Batman: Arkham City today so I can call back to my editorial intro? One of the first trailers for the game quickly showed the Iceberg Lounge and a leaked set of avatar pics also showed what could be the Penguin. Rocksteady has confirmed to Australia’s Sunday Herald that Oswald Cobblepot is, indeed, in the game. But, according to Dax Ginn, he’s not the Penguin you’re used to seeing. “The way that Penguin has always been portrayed is as quite an aristocratic, well-spoken gentleman who’s got these twisted delusions of grandeur. So we’ve made him a really horrible, nasty piece of work – but still with the delusion of grandeur. He dresses well, but in a poor taste, and we’ve made him this brutish, brutal guy but also keyed into the collection fascination that he’s had through out the years.” One of his famous collections is heavy artillery, meaning you’ll have some strong resistance from his henchmen when you meet them after solving one of the Riddler’s puzzles. Ginn didn’t just talk about Penguin though, he also mentioned Catwoman, “The attitude of this Selena Kyle is closer to that of the late, great Eartha Kitt from the cult 60s TV show: strong, confident, sexy and independent.” Silly me, I honestly thought I couldn’t get more excited for this game.

Of more immediate concern, for anyone considering picking up DiRT 3 today, the DLC announcement may be your deciding factor. Two car packs, “Mud and Guts” and “Power and Glory” are coming, as well as two track packs, “Monte Carlo” and “X Games Asia.” Each pack will come with an additional four achievements/trophies (16 total). Release dates and prices have not been announced.

If that’s not enough DLC news for you, then you might be interested in the free pack coming for Dead Space 2. The “Outbreak Map Pack” comes with two additional multiplayer maps, The Academy and The Concourse. You can get the pack on May 31st from XBox or June 3rd on PSN.

If that last sentence has you scratching your head, considering the PlayStation Store is still down, this next bit is for you. Sony’s plan is for the store to be operational again starting today. Content will be updated twice a week starting from the first week it was down and releasing in order until they catch up to the current schedule. Select items may be released ahead of schedule on a case by case basis.

For Sony stockholders, this can’t come too soon. According to a recent announcement, the hack that saw Sony shut down service for about a month, followed by an additional hack of Sony Online Entertainment, is costing the company over 14 billion yen (just over $171million USD). This is especially devastating to the company in the same fiscal year where they will see a 17 billion yen loss from the recent natural disasters in Japan. The combined setbacks, along with other financial issues, have changed Sony’s predicted 70 billion yen this year to a possible loss of 260 billion. Nonetheless, they are predicting a return to profitability in fiscal 2012.

One thing that could help the company in its troubled financial times is the recent announcement of PSP Remastered. This initiative will take popular PSP titles, turn them into HD (maybe even 3D) and bring them to the handheld’s big brother, PS3. While the remastered games are not planned to include any trophy support, your save game can be transferred between your home console and your portable device. That means your Ghost of Sparta game you’d been playing in your basement won’t need to sit on hold while you take your vacation. Just transfer your save and you’ll be kiling gods on the plane just like you were at home. While the announcement has currently only been made for Japan, it’s clearly expected this will move to the US as well.

That seems to be the news for today. I’ll be checking the PS Store this afternoon as I still want to get “The Arrival” for Mass Effect 2. Check back Friday for another quick update on all your gaming news.

Multiplatform:
Dirt 3
Kung Fu Panda 2

Nintendo Wii:
Nascar 2011 The Game (already available on other consoles)

Nintendo DS and/or 3DS:
Dead or Alive Dimensions
Paws and Claws Pampered Pets 2

I’m sure most of those are fun for someone. But game publishers aren’t stupid. Assuming it’s not overheating your console, you’re probably still playing L.A. Noire. Next week is looking pretty slim too, but be prepared for some serious super hero action come June.

I have little reason to think anyone is actually reading this since most of the regular readers are probably still busy with L.A. Noire. But for those that are stealing a few minutes of work time to catch up on your gaming news, I’ve got a few sweet bits for you:

Speaking of LA Noire, this game is HOT! Hotter than CJ’s coffee? Probably not, but still hot enough to overheat your console. The problem isn’t widespread, but for some reason the game is causing many consoles to overheat during regular process. I’ve seen at least one report from a user that said he couldn’t even get through the introduction; many others are reporting freeze ups after 10-60 minutes of play time. It seems the recent 3.61 firmware update from Sony was initially blamed for the overheating, but that was incorrect. The problem has occurred on old and new versions of the PS3 and XBox 360. Rockstar has released details about a workaround that involves deleting your game data, but not your save data. If you’re having the problem, check what Rockstar has to say. Hopefully a permanent solution will be available soon. They better get it fixed before their first DLC, the “Nicholson Electroplating” arson case, releases on June 21st. Releasing DLC for broken game is a surefire to lose money and fans.

We’ve yet to see an official roster for the upcoming Street Fighter x Tekken from Capcom, but a partial list is slowly being compiled from screenshots and teasers. The two most recent reveals are Cammy and Sagat. The one-eyed kickboxer was recently exposed in a snapshot that captured part of the character select screen. The other “confirmed” characters for now are Chun Li, Guile, Ken, and Ryu from Street Fighter, and Abel, Bob, Kazuya, King, Marduk, and Nina from the Tekken franchise.

This is a good time for fans of fighting games, as there have also been a few details released about Soul Calibur V. The next game in the popular franchise is set 17 years after the previous title. In addition to the main character, Patroklos (son of Sophitia), there will be at least 25 other fighters. The online mode is getting a major overhaul, though none of the changes have been specified.

Do you like action figures and cartoons from the 1980s? Of course you do, you’re reading Big Shiny Robot! According to Jasper Koning of Ronimo Games, they’re making Awesomenauts just for you: “If MOBA [multiplayer online battle arena] games and classic animated series were to have a baby, this would be it!” If you’ve got 16 bit nostalgia and want to check out some 2D battle platforming as a jet pack monkey, keep your eyes on E3 for more information on this upcoming game for PSN and XBLA.

Sefton Hill of Rocksteady recently mentioned that the planned game time on Batman: Arkham City is around 40 hours. According to Hill, “It takes over 25 hours to complete the main stories in Batman: Arkham City. To keep players engaged for this length of time, not only do the characters and the story need to progress, but the core mechanics of the game they are playing need to change and adapt as well.” Apparently the main story will run about 25 hours with “around 15 hours of story that’s off the main path.” Forty hours of Batman seems about 200 hours too little, but I’ll take what I can get.

The latest in Sony’s PSN nightmare turned out not to be as bad as first thought, but still bad enough for some seriously negative PR and further headaches for the company and its users. There was apparently an exploit with the url that allowed people to change the passwords of other accounts on the website. Despite the early reports, this was not an actual hack. A flaw in the program isn’t really any better for users, but at least it wasn’t further malicious behavior from criminals. Sony is still suggesting that users log on through their PS3 and change passwords as soon as possible. Internet password changes will be available once again when they restore the site (which may have already happened by now).

If you’ve already changed your password and have been back to playing online games, your biggest question about the topic now is probably the same as mine. When is the PlayStation Store back online? In a recent memo to publishing partners, Sony has announced a plan to have the digital marketplace back online by May 24th, assuming it’s ready from a technical perspective. But you won’t see a content update of the entire month’s catalog all at once. Instead, the planned content for April 26th will be up immediately, with another update on the 27th including the content originally scheduled for May 3rd. Sony will continue to update twice a week until they are back on schedule. Releases that are already big on 360, such as the Honest Hearts DLC may be jumped ahead. Any schedule changes will be handled on a “case by case basis.” It is assumed that the “Welcome Back” package will be available as soon as the service is relaunched. That’s assuming you aren’t one of the “very small percentage” of users who have cancelled their account since service was resumed over the weekend.

Platinum Games’ upcoming multiplayer brawler, Anarchy Reigns, was recently delayed. This doesn’t look like the bad kind of delay though. The game was set for fall 2011, but was pushed into first quarter 2012. The delay isn’t overly long, and comes far enough in advance, that it’s probably not of the “hurry up and polish the turd” variety. It looks like they just aren’t on schedule. Delays like this are common and seem to be a byproduct of the information age, where the public is in on many long range plans that are subject to change.

For a game coming sooner, rather than later, id and Bethesda’s Rage is on many minds as the next big FPS. To encourage preorder sales they are offering an upgrade to the Anarchy Edition at no charge for those ordering the game before release. What does that commitment get you? Just better versions of the basics really: melee weapon, shotgun, armor, and an additional vehicle. It may not be glamorous, but if you’re buying it anyway, get a little something extra for yourself.

Have you been playing the LEGO games? You’re missing out if you haven’t. I’ve made no secret about being an adult fan of this “kids” series. Which means I’m now looking beyond the recent release of LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean and on towards “late 2011” when TT Games and Warner Bros. Interactive release the next chapter, LEGO HarryPotter Years 5-7. The first LEGO Harry Potter was one of my favorites in the series so I’m definitely excited for the follow up. And the release window makes it sounds like a perfect Christmas gift.

If you enjoy the Dragon Age series from Bioware, you’ll love (Senior Director of Creative Development, BioWare Edmonton & Montreal) Alistair McNally’s recent tweet: “I’m looking for exceptional environment artists to join me at #BioWare Edmonton, Canada to work on #DragonAge3 #gamejobs #jobs #3D #artists.” [Emphasis added by me.] A third game in the series was obvious, but now it’s confirmed.

I’ll end this weeks Quick Hits update with a new toy/tool you can get, beginning on May 26th. You’ll need to sign a new two year voice and data deal with Verizon (starting around $70) to pick up the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play for $200. This is what Sony announced in February as the “PlayStation Phone.” The device runs the Android 2.3 software and will come preloaded with seven games: Asphalt 6: Adrenaline, Bruce Lee Dragon Warrior, Crash Bandicoot, Madden NFL 11, The Sims 3, Star Battalion, and Tetris. Over 50 games will be available for download at launch, with plenty more to follow. With a PSP style interface under the sliding screen and a touch screen, this is clearly going to be the best “gaming phone” on the market. But it also has plenty of other benefits, including a 5mp camera and a VGA camera. You’ll also be able to turn it into a mobile hotspot supporting up to five other wireless devices. Looks good, except the Verizon part….

By now, you guys all know that a lot of the robots here at BSR! are huge pinball fanatics. We’ve previously reviewed Zen Studios Mars table for Pinball FX2 on the Xbox, and we had generally positive things to say about it. Today, the guys at Zen released the newest addition to Marvel Pinball… Fantastic Four! Will it hold up to the criticisms of HyperZord and Shaz-Bot? Well, you’ll just have to read on, won’t you?

Shaz-Bot: I got my first taste of the FF table when we spotlighted the trailer last month. I mentioned then that I thought that Marvel’s First Family should have been honored with a table from the beginning, but from what I’ve played so far, I can forgive the extra time, because it has resulted it a highly polished and enjoyable experience.

HyperZord: When I first started playing Pinball FX 2 I was surprised at how bad at pinball I was. All of my scores were nearly 30 times lower then Shaz-Bot and I couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong. But then about 3 weeks ago I looked up some pointers online and started to really explore each of the different tables and within about a half hour at each table I started to figure out how to play and suddenly I became really good at the game. So if you think you’re not very good at pinball this game is still for you because it just takes a little bit of patience before the fun comes rolling out.

Shaz-Bot: For starters, let me tell everyone something, this table is not for beginners.If you go in, flippers blazing, you shouldn’t expect to get far. It behooves you to read the table rules so you can get a general idea of how to play the table properly. Trust me, you’ll have a much more pleasant time if you do.

When reviewing a licensed game like this, not only do you have to review how good the game is, but how well the license is represented. It’s was obvious with the previous Marvel tables that Zen Studios knows their stuff when it comes to Marvel lore, but FF takes the cake. Each member of the foursome has comic-accurate dialog and mannerisms. Ben and Johnny even bicker at each other!

HyperZord: I actually disagree with Shaz-Bot about the beginning, I sorta went in flippers blazing trying to figure out things as I went along and within about half an hour I hit 42 Million. It’s a nice morale booster since there are some really good quick shots to make you a bunch of points. I’m less into Fantastic Four lore then Shaz-Bot so I’m glad he covered it, but I will say all of the Marvel tables have had more of an appeal to me simply because I do know the characters and so The Fantastic Four are a nice fit.

Shaz-Bot: There is so much to do on this table, it’s amazing! Each member of the FF has their own ramp and a goal tied into each of them. You can get the Thing to toss your ball around and eventually earn a multiball that is anywhere from 2-4 balls based on your skill. With the Human Torch, you can literally set the ball on fire and eventully trigger his own multiball. Mr. Fantastic has the ability to activate the Negative Zone ball saver, and the Invisible Woman has out lane savers as well as a skillshot that can be controller by you or the computer once you spell INVISIBLE. The coolest hidden bit is when you take on the role of H.E.R.B.I.E. and have to defend the Baxter Building from a Skrull invasion using a mini-playfield that actually emerges from the building.

HyperZord: I had no idea who H.E.R.B.I.E. was when I pulled off that mini game the first time so I was a little confused but it got me to look up more about the Fantastic Four and look up things I didn’t know about. One of the things which did improve my game was getting better at multi-balls and this game actually has three multi-balls, the two Shaz-Bot mentioned and one involving Doctor Doom as well. But the cool thing is that you can use the multi-balls to further and stack other mutli-balls, what I mean is when doing one you can trigger another while playing it. It’s really cool.

Shaz-Bot: I think the game really starts to shine when you activate the game modes. One you shoot a ball into the Baxter Building and then the mission hole you have a choice of 5 missions. One for each member of the FF and one with Dr. Doom. With the Thing, you have to fend off an army of Doombots. I probably enjoy this mode the most, just for the delightful *ting* the Doombots make when you hit them with the ball. The Torch’s mode is very fun as well, you have to continually hit the orbits/spinners to increase his Nova Flame to 1 million degrees. If you manage this, the screen is illuminated (due the Torch burning so brightly) for 20 seconds. During that time, everything you do has a 40X multipler, so you can really rack up the points. Dr. Doom and the Invisible Woman’s missions are similar due to the fact that Doom is attacking the Baxter Building in both of them. With Sue, you must hit the appropriatte ramps to add forcefields to fend off Doom’s attack. With Doom’s mode, you have to use his own power against him before the Baxter Building is utterly destroyed! Mr. Fantastic’s mode has you helping him build components in his lab by hitting his extended hands with the pinball. If you can manage to conquer all of these modes, there is a hidden 6th mission where you have to stop Galactus, and yes, the Ultimate Nullifier is involved.

HyperZord: I’m not nearly as far as Shaz-Bot as the only mission I’ve successfully completed has been The Thing’s which can get you a quick 12 million really fast. I actually did get Human Torches’ up to his super nova and right before I could get any more points I lost the ball.

Shaz-Bot: As much as I love playing this game, there are two things I have a problem with. Thankfully, they don’t affect the actual gameplay at all. I am not fond of the music used for the table. It seems much too epic and grandiose for the FF. I know that may sound off, seeing as this is a group that tackles 7 dimensions before breakfast, it just didn’t gel with me. The other thing I wasn’t terribly fond of was the table art itself. Don’t get my wrong, the 3D models of the FF and Doom are great, I love the attention to detail like the ends of the rails looking like Kirby’s “flying bathtubs”, but the actual art on the playfield looks off to me. Reed is too young, the Torch is has hard to distinguish features, the Thing is OK, but Sue has such an elongated torso that you’d think she temporarily gained Mr. Fantastic’s stretching power! Also, the Mole Man is present on the playfield art, but doesn’t seem to be represented in the gameplay at all.

HyperZord: My biggest problem is the same problem I have with most of the tables where the third achievement is basically impossible to get. You have to have the perfect game to get it and achievements are the bane of my game playing because I want to earn them so bad.

Shaz-Bot: To close, despite the (admittedly small) issues I have with it, Marvel Pinball: Fantastic Four has almost overtaken Spider-Man as my favorite Zen table of all time, and it is definitely worth your time and money, whether you like pinall, Marvel, the Fantastic Four or all three!

HyperZord: So far I’d actually put it in third place behind Secrets of the Deep and Pasha but still among how many tables they have to get third so quickly is a big accomplishment.

Marvel Pinball: Fantastic Four retails for 240 Microsoft Points and when it appears on the PSN, it’ll be $2.99. Codes were given to the staff by the developer for review purposes.

Stay tuned for an upcoming contest for your own XBOX code.

Capcom and Level 5 released an official trailer and announcement in Japan last October that a Professor Layton vs. Ace Attorney game would be coming out for the Nintendo 3DS sometime in 2011 in Japan. I’m bringing this to your attention now for a couple of reasons. One: We still don’t have a U.S. release date and Two: because Capcom thinks they needs to weigh interest before they consider releasing it here.

Weigh interest? These are arguably two of the most successful series of games to be featured on the Nintendo DS! The fact that they are coming together in a new game about a Witch Hunt, a Mysterious Book, and a girl who seeks to prove her innocence is amazing and should be extremely well received by fans of both Layton and Attorney. We are sure to see more of the ever-popular puzzles and trials that are abundant in the two series, and it would be really interesting to see how these two dynamic characters will interact with one another.

Catch the official trailer here. The cut-scene footage is stunning and the story looks phenomenal:

I for one would definitely buy this game if it got a U.S. release date. It looks like it’s going to be fantastic!

To give support for a U.S. Release Date: write to Capcom here. The Capcom Unity blog is the official blog of Capcom and is monitored by Capcom of America staff.

For more geek news from Japan, and around the world, stay surfing on BSR!

I was hankerin’ to play some Fallout today and so I was delighted when I got on and found that the newest DLC Honest Hearts was uploaded two days ago. I quickly purchased it and was ready to give it a go and then review it once I was done. Trouble is, I didn’t expect to review it this quickly.

Once installed you get a radio signal telling you to go to the Northern passage which is one of the most northern parts of the map and you’re told you’ll be joining a caravan headed to New Canaan. Being from Utah I was really excited for this chapter of the DLC because it was going to take place in Utah and since I’ve grown up here in Utah I was excited for Bethesda to get locations right as they’ve done so well in every other state they’ve been to. They did a great job and got the towering sandstone walls and spires dead on, Zions is a unique place and they got the look right.

I also got excited when the first person you meet starts telling you the story of Joshua Graham or “The Burned Man”, the old second in command of Caesar’s army who has had such good story telling done. The man was insistent that you don’t talk to anyone about him and I thought there was going to be a good amount of mystery, that is I thought that up until 2 minutes in you meet him and he’s just a normal guy that you interact with the rest of the story.

Here’s my biggest problem, the first DLC took me somewhere between 9-10 hours to play and I do want to play through it again because I know I missed things. This one literally took me 2 minutes under 3 hours and I finished pretty much everything. I didn’t explore about two caves and that’s it. I got all of the achievements super quick and there was little to no challenge. I do think however that this would be better done at about level 10 but as I was level 35 as most people will be when they first play this one I’m sure they’ll find it to be incredibly easy as well.

On the good side there were two mini boss fights which were actually pretty fun, also the level cap has been raised to 40 and you can go back to this map after completing it however you are stuck there until the end of it’s story. The other good thing is that Bethesda has announced that the third and fourth DLC will be coming out in June and July and they seem to be leading up to the one in July.

Any hardcore fan that just can’t wait should get it but if I were not that hardcore I’d wait until they all come out before getting this one. It like all the rest are 800 Microsoft points on the XBOX. If you are a lower level and don’t have a lot of the best weapons and armor I’d say give it a try. But with the other two coming out within the next two months for most people I’d say wait for all of them and then start over from the beginning.

The big news from the weekend is that some PSN services have been rebooted. Users will need to perform a firmware update on their PS3 then change their password. From there, you’ll be able to sync all those single-player trophies you earned in the last three weeks. Next, boot up your favoprite online shooter because your multiplayer fix is back. I saw at least one of my friends jump right into to Portal 2 to sync up with his Steam account and finally get some co-op going. My first stop was the store to pick up “The Arrival” for Mass Effect 2. Frankly, I wasn’t concerned about giving Sony my credit card information again. Alas, the store is not back yet. Makes sense since that’s the area of attack with the highest sensitivity. Oh well, just a little longer. At least I can still entertain myself with Peggle Parties.

Of course, with the story of Sony’s awaited recovery from an external intrusion comes yet another hacking tale. This time, it’s Square Enix. While they don’t keep users’ credit card information, they did have about 25,000 email addresses that were stolen along with 350 employee resumes. The email addresses were from customers who subscribed to updates regarding upcoming games. The hackers apparently accessed the eidosmontreal.com site as well as the official sites for Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Tomb Raider. For those that signed up with their email address, be very wary. Don’t click on any links or download any data from the emails that appear to be from Square Enix. Malicious code is your biggest vulnerability at this point. If you’re one of the 350 employees that just had their entire work history and contact information jacked… good luck. Sign up for identity theft insurance. Just for the record: Hackers – you are assholes!

Now, since you read VGQH to read about games, not assholes ruining games, let’s get to the good stuff:

In what may be a response to the aforementioned hacking of the site, Square Enix has begun a Facebook marketing gimmick for Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Now, instead of having to sign up for email updates you can just “like” the game on Facebook. You should also encourage your friends to do so. The more “likes” the more cool stuff they’ll unlock for fans to see. Art, wallpapers, screen shots, videos, etc. will all be up for grabs as the “like” counter keeps rolling higher.

Brink came out last week to favorable reviews. The downside on it has been significant lag in online modes for some players. Bethesda has announced a patch is in the works to fix the problem. In the meantime, they’ve made some tweaks to match size and other elements in their matchmaking service to reduce lag. To thank the fans for their patience and cooperation, they’ve decided to release the first piece of downloadable content at no charge. The DLC, featuring additional maps and other “new content” will be available next month.

In other DLC news, LA Noire‘s first pack has been leaked by Best Buy. The game went on sale at midnight and the first 16 people at the Best Buy stores received a code for a free download of the game’s first planned DLC, the “Nicholson Electroplating Arson Case.” No word on when the DLC will be available, but I’m sure it was a sweet bonus for those that got the code.

There have been a couple of stories running around about possible love interests in Mass Effect 3. For those that haven’t played the series yet, it is possible to form romantic relationships with certain characters. Who you court depends on your Commander Shepard’s gender, as well as your conversation choices and other decisions. In Mass Effect 1, it was even possible to have your love interest killed. Since I picked up the series with second game, not having the first one available on PS3, I made the first romantic decision through the in-game comic. Of the two females willing (my character is male), I chose Liara. But, I also chose to have Ashley live when I had to pick between two crew members. So there may still be some tension down that avenue. Of course, Liara was off doing her psycho spy routine in Mass Effect 2 and was not available for some interspecies banging. Turns out she’d also picked up with another mate the second she thought I was dead so I didn’t feel bad about my heavy flirtation with Miranda (who ultimately got really mad at me so I got down with Jack, the obvious Asajj Ventress rip-off,  instead). While I thought Liara and I had worked it out during “The Lair of the Shadow Broker,” it may still turn out to be a problem in the third installment according to Casey Hudson, Producer. Your decision to pursue, or not pursue, a different lover in the second game will have consequences in the finale. I imagine there will be additional consequences if you hooked up with Ashley/Kaiden and then let them die. It’s also not impossible for your second lover to die, though the choice is not as inherent in the game. Then again, with the possibility of more new love interests in the upcoming game, you may just get yourself a Lothario achievement and who cares about the emotional damage to NPCs. The idea of save transfers is entertaining enough that I’m now considering a female playthrough of ME2 just to see how differently I can make things go.

Meanwhile, if you can’t wait for Arkham City, you’ll be glad to know you’ll have a chance to rock your Bat-Mojo a little sooner. Recently announced is Gotham City Impostors for PSN, XBLA, and PC. I’m not sure how this is going to work, but it’s apparently a Batman first person shooter. Players can build their own custom Bat(wo)man or Joker. Then you go online and pwn other user created heroes and villains. According to Samantha Ryan, Senior Vice President of Production and Development for Warner Bros. Interactive, “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. 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.” No date or price has been set. I’m still stuck on Batman in a first person SHOOTER. That just feels wrong.

Another game with high anticipation levels (twenty years or so worth) is Duke Nukem Forever. it hasn’t been delayed again (yet). In fact, you’ll be getting a chance to play it early on June 3rd. Well, if you’ve preordered it or bought the Borderlands GotY edition that is. Members of this “First Access” club will be the only ones to get the early look at how well or poorly the action hero has aged. Everyone else will have to wait until it hits retail on June 14th.

Finally, now that you’ve got your PSN back, you may be wondering about the promised “Welcome Back” program. As mentioned before, the Store is not up yet, but once it is, Sony hasn’t forgotten. As promised, you’ll get a free 30 day subscription to PS+ (or a 60 day extension to your current subscription), 30 days added on to your Music Unlimited trial if it was interrupted (or an extra 30 days plus time lost for paid members), up to 100 free items in Home, and two free games from a specific selection. The games promotion will only be available for 30 days after the store is turned back on. While regional limitations will apply, the games you can expect to choose from are:

• Dead Nation
• Hustle Kings
• inFAMOUS
• Little Big Planet
• Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty
• Super Stardust HD
• Wipeout HD + Fury

Maybe not the absolute best selection, but there are some gems. If you’ve missed out on Little Big Planet or inFAMOUS, this is a good opportunity for a pair of great games. Also, in North America, the video store will have a selection of free movie rentals available on a weekend to be determined.

Looks like that does it for this week’s early edition. Check back Friday for more gaming goodness. If you cna pull yourself away from LA Noire long enough, I’d love for someone to explain the implications of a Scottish Batman with a Harpoon gun.

Multiplatform:
L.A. Noire

XBox 360:
The First Templar

Nintendo DS and 3DS:
SpongeBob Squigglepants
Cake Mania: Main Street

So, L.A. Noire. Is it a question of whether any other companies are making good games? Of course not. It’s simply savviness on behalf of those other companies to know they shouldn’t go toe to toe with this one. I think the worst that’s going to happen with this game is that it doesn’t live up to the hype – but still kicks ass. Rockstar and Team Bondi have put a lot of effort into taking this game to new territory. If it ends not being as groundbreaking as we expect, but is still good, then they win. If it is a new way to see gaming, but isn’t as fun as we had hoped, they still win. Is it possible the game won’t be very innovative and not be fun either? I suppose, but I doubt it.