Playstation Network FULLY returning this Friday

We have all been waiting for the Playstation Network to be fully restored and the wait might be finally over. According to Sony, this Friday June 3rd, PSN and all services will be fully back online. Sony had promised earlier restoration dates but had to postpone services for ongoing maintenance. According to this Kotaku post, Sony announced that PSN will be restored 100% in all places except Japan, Hong Kong, and South Korea ... those regions will have to wait a will longer. 
For the rest of us, PSN will be returning soon with all features including Playstation Store, PSP services, Music Unlimited, Qriocity and third party functionalities. 

"We have been conducting additional testing and further security verification of our commerce functions in order to bring the PlayStation Network completely back online so that our fans can again enjoy the first class entertainment experience they have come to love ... we appreciate the patience and support shown during this time." - Kaz Hirai. 

Hopefully this Friday is the true restoration date so PS3 users can get their services back. Remember to get you free games from Sony's "Welcome Back" program. Stay tune for more.

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Gears of War 3 Official Campaign Trailer

Black Sabbath's "War Pigs" is awesome... in this new Gears of War 3 campaign trailer. Stay tune to BGN for all the latest Gears of War 3 content.

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Modern Warfare 3 Spec Ops Details ...Survival Mode + Kamikaze Dogs..

"Modern Warfare is getting boring, same thing every year"- says gamers ranting on the Internet. In some ways that's true, and Activision's developers are listening and featuring their games with more exciting modes and bonuses. One of Call of Duty's kick ass bonus modes, next to Nazi Zombies, is Modern Warfare's single player / cooperative Spec Ops Mode that was introduced in Modern Warfare 2. According to a post by USA Today's Game Hunters, to keep your interest, Spec Ops mode will be getting major overhauls in this year's Modern Warfare 3.

Modern Warfare 3's Spec Ops Mode will have new features such as a ranking system, online matchmaking, leaderboards, and a survival mode. The Survival Mode is rumored to be similar to Halo's Firefight, Gears of War's Horde Mode and Nazi Zombies ... where you're force to fight off endless hordes of enemies and progress to higher levels. This new mode will be played on the multiplayer maps.

Enemy types in Survival Mode includes juggernauts (from the previous game), attack helicopters, and most excitingly ... kamikaze soldiers and kamikaze dogs. After a few rounds, attack dogs will get tougher with each level and will explode once you shoot them ... same with the kamikaze soldiers. This will definitely make Spec Ops more fun ... in the previous game you didn't have much incentives besides hunting achievements, survival mode and leaderboards will get more players gunning in Spec Ops, and might even steal some of Nazi Zombies thunder. The developers think this will be huge addition which will increase the replay value of Spec Oops and MW3 itself. 

"All that stuff really fleshes out Spec Ops and adds in a lot that we know our fans are going to love, some of the most addictive aspects of Multiplayer ... you definitely have to change up your strategy as the enemy changes up ... obviously how you fight the kamikaze dudes is different from how you fight the normal dudes and how you fight a dog is different from a dude and how you fight juggernauts, they are not only big and armored, so they will just brute force come at you. But they each have their own way of being taken out effectively," says Infinity Ward's Community Manger Robert Bowling.

This is something that every fan will be looking forward to and hoping will make the game better. There's no doubt that this game will be a huge seller, but will these new features help or hurt Modern Warfare...let us know what you think.

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Mortal Kombat's Price Cut to $39.99 on Amazon

If you're not kicking ass because you haven't picked up Mortal Kombat yet, then we have some good news for you. Amazon has cut the price of MK to $39.99 ... so if you wanted to get this game this is a perfect time. We don't know how long this deal will last, but as of this post, it was still available ... for both the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. Don't miss this,  get your copy and save yourself a couple of fazools.

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Duke Nukem Forever is completed ... GOLD...BABY

Its been forever...at least 15 years during which Duke Nukem Forever was being developed. But now the wait is over because the king is coming this June. Gearbox Software announced yesterday that the long awaited game as gone gold and is set to be released on June 10 internationally and June 14 in North America. 2K president Christoph Hartmann said yesterday in the announcement that "today marks an amazing day in the annals of gaming lore, the day where the legend of Duke Nukem Forever is finally complete and it takes that final step towards becoming a reality."... well the fans will thank you, very much. 


If you can't wait till June 10 or 14 to get your hands on the Duke, then download the demo, which is scheduled for June 3rd for all "First Access" members...those who bought Borderlands: Game of the Year Edition or those who pre-order Duke Nukem Forever. Hopefully the Playstation Store will be back up by then for you to get the demo. 


On its release, the game will come in the standard edition and the Balls of Steel Edition for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. Its been almost fifteen years of work, so this should result in an amazing game...we'll see soon.

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The Playstation Store STILL Down....BUT returning soon.

For those of you waiting for the Playstation Store's return... you will have to wait a little longer. Contrary to last weeks report claiming that the Playstation Store will return May 24th, Sony announced yesterday that the online store is still down and maintenance is being conducted. WHAT A BUMMER...but they announced some good news today saying that the maintenance has been completed and the store will be back up before the end of the month...HOPEFULLY. 


According to the report on the Playstation Blog, the "PlayStation Store's still targeting restoration of all services by the end of this month....the Store will not be publishing today."
Once the store returns users will be able to access the freebies from Sony's Welcome Back appreciation program. So keep your patients for another week. 

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Modern Warfare 3 Gameplay Reveal Trailer

Check the new gameplay reveal trailer for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

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Playstation "Welcome Back" Program FREEBIES (North America)

Playstation Network is slowly getting fully restored after being down for almost 4 weeks. For your patients and loyalty to the service in the time of outage, Sony has compiled a list of games and services as a thanks. You will be able to access all these freebies once PSN is fully restored, according to Sony.
Below you will find all the freebies you will be able to chose from in North America (US and Canada). UK and South America, visit Playstation UK and Playstation Latin America. Details about other regions are not yet released.
According to the post on Playstation US blog, all PlayStation Network customers can select two PS3 games from the following list. The games will be available for 30 days shortly after PlayStation Store is restored and can be kept forever.

• Dead Nation
• inFAMOUS
• LittleBigPlanet
• Super Stardust HD
• Wipeout HD + Fury

For PSP owners, you will be eligible to download two PSP games from the following list. The games will be available for 30 days shortly after PlayStation Store is restored and can be kept forever.

• LittleBigPlanet (PSP)
• ModNation Racers
• Pursuit Force
• Killzone Liberation

• A selection of “On Us” rental movie titles will be available to PlayStation Network customers over one weekend, where Video Service is available. Those titles will be announced soon.
• 30 days free PlayStation Plus membership for non PlayStation Plus subscribers.
• Existing PlayStation Plus subscribers will receive an additional 60 days of free subscription.
• Existing Music Unlimited Premium Trial subscription members will receive an additional 30 days of free premium subscription.
• Additional 30 days + time lost for existing members of Music Unlimited Premium/Basic subscription free of charge for existing Premium/Basic members.
• To welcome users Home, PlayStation Home will be offering 100 free virtual items. Additional free content will be released soon, including the next addition to the Home Mansion personal space, and Ooblag’s Alien Casino, an exclusive game.

Once PSN is up and running full time, you will be able to access all these and choose what you want. Stay tune to BGN to learn more.

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L.A. Noire Causing Console Overheating and Freezing

It was announce earlier today by Rockstar Games that L.A. Noire was causing overheating and freezing on the Playstation 3. According to joystiq, Rockstar said they "received a very small number of customer support questions about PS3's overheating or shutting down while playing L.A. Noire." This issue was thought to be due to the PS3's recent firmware 3.61 update... this claim was then later retracted after Rockstar and Sony investigated the issue and concluded that it was neither L.A. Noire nor the firmware update causing the problem.
Rockstar also got reports from costumers saying that their Xbox 360s are freezing while playing L.A. Noire. This issue is still being investigated and we will report on more as information become available.

In the mean time, Rockstar said to contact technical support if you are faced with such problems. They also recommend clearing your system's cache.

Here is what to do if you are crashing or freezing in L.A. Noire: [From the joystiq post].

1. Delete your L.A. Noire Game Data (not save data) from the PS3 Game Data Utility. If on 360, clear the 360 cache. 

2. Create a new temporary PS3 user to ensure that new save files are created. If on 360, create an offline Silver Gamertag.

3. Launch the game and try again. If you are on PS3, try playing while signed out of PSN.

4. Check your disc for scratches, dust, dirt, or other damage. Clean if necessary.

5. Check other game discs in your PS3/360 to see if issues are occurring in other games, suggesting a potential console problem.

6. Try your L.A. Noire disc in a different console or try a different L.A. Noire disc in your console to determine with certainty whether the issue could be with the disc or console, rather than the software.

7. If your console is overheating, try moving it to a more ventilated area or contact Sony/Microsoft for further console troubleshooting.

To clear your Xbox 360 cache, follow these instructions here. Stay tune to BGN for more on this development. 

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Playstation Store to Return Tuesday, May 24.

Last week Sony announced that their Playstation Network was back online with the completion of the first restoration phase. That restoration brought back online gaming and Qriocity features along with third party functionalities such as Hulu and Netflix. At the time of the announcement, the Playstation Store's restoration was still incomplete and we were told to stay tuned for further news on its return. 
Sony announced today that the Playstation Store will return next Tuesday, May 24, according to an article posted by Gamasutra. According to the post, Sony sent notifications to its partners about schedule publishing dates of content that was unavailable during the PSN outage. The report from Sony suggest that the PSN Store will be updated twice per week...on the usually Tuesdays, and on Fridays for the next two weeks in order to make up for the unpublished content of May and late April.

"We thank you for your patience as we work to resume service of the PlayStation Store," PSN Content Manager Jack Osorno. 

On Tuesday, May 24th, when the store reopens, Sony plans to distribute materials that were supposed to be released on April 26. On Friday the 27th, more content will be distributed...those that were originally scheduled for May 3. On May 31 and June 3, the rest of the unreleased material will be pushed out along with the regular schedule releases. At that point, the store will be caught up and will return to their normal distributing schedule...Tuesdays. 


Sony plans to rearrange any backed up content that is deemed urgent. Such content includes DLC and expansions that have already been release for other platforms. Jack Osorno stated that "if there are concerns, we are willing to consider adjusting the release date of your content on this schedule, adjustments will be made on a case by case basis."


The relaunch of the PSN Store is one of the final steps to get the Playstation Network fully back online. Costumers will be happy to know that Sony plans to giveaway selected free content as part of their "Welcome Back" program and will be able to grab those freebies next tuesday when the store is back up. 


Hopefully PSN can be fully restored soon so costumers can enjoy their services. Stay tune to BGN for more.

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Gears of War 3 Pre-order Hits 1 Million!

A Million Sold, Gears of War 3 will be epic ...

There's no doubt that the first two Gears of War titles were massive sellers ... moving millions and millions of copies worldwide. With the release of Gears of War 3 the final game in the series, this selling milestone will again be huge.

According to GameSpot, Microsoft claimed that Gears 3 already top 1 million in pre-oders, making it the faster pre-oder for any Xbox 360 exclusive content. This is no surprise following the huge response in the Gears of War 3 multiplayer beta which ran from April 18 to May 15. The beta attracted millions of testers ... 1.29 million to be exact, according to Epic. They announced that 145 countries participated in the beta, racking in 11 million matches... a time span of 249 years.

This beta was released a month ago after Gears 3 was delayed from April to September 20, 2011. This gave them time to get valuable feedback from the community and to deliver a better experience than was originally planned.

Gears of War 3 is set to be released on September 20 of this year, available in three different versions: standard, Limited and Epic. Check out our post on the different editions for more details.

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Gears Of War 3 Epic and Limited Editions

Limited and Epic Editions announced for Gears of War 3 ...

If you are a Gears of War fan like me you must be really pumped for the launch of Gears of War 3. This will be the final game in the Trilogy, and you have to admit it was an epic experience.
It was announced yesterday what the Epic and Limited Editions will contain...according to Joystiq, ....

The Limited Edition contains an Octus award box with an Octus service medal. It is a 1:1 match in size and weight. The cog shaped medal is made of zinc-alloy. The medal was given to Adam Fenix for his work on the hammer of dawn. The medal is 77 mm (3 in.) x 10 mm (0.4 in. Also when you order the limited edition Adam Fenix is an unlockable multiplayer character. On the Octus service medal there is a unique Xbox LIVE code that unlocks Adam Fenix. In the limited edition there is a cog flag. Adam Fenix's last will and testament is included in the limited edition along with the initial Hammer of Dawn schematic, and other Fenix family mementos. The limited Edition is $79.99 (US).

The Epic Edition is $149.99 (US). It contains a Marcus Fenix statue. It was designed by Epic Games Art Director Chris Perna and expertly crafted by the artisans at Triforce. The statue is 285 mm (11.2 in) high, 225 mm (8.9 in) in diameter,and it weighs 1.7 kg (3.7 lb). The Epic edition also has a 96 page book that includes interviews, photos, concept artwork and more. It is written by Tom Bissell. The book gives readers an behind the scenes glimpse into one of the greatest sagas in video game history. The infected weapons pack is included in the epic edition. It has custom multiplayer skins for the game's five starting weapons. The five starting weapons are the Lancer, Retro Lancer, Hammerburst, Sawed-off Shotgun, and Gnasher Shotgun. The epic edition includes all the contents of the limited edition.

Gears of War 3 is set to be released this fall. Is this worth the extra money or will you just buy the regular Gears of War 3 edition?

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Mass Effect 3 Will Bring "Gay Romance" Option for Shepard

Mass Effect now supports same-sex options ...

It seems as if the Mass Effect series is catching up to today's lifestyles by giving you the freedom to choose who you want to snuggle with. Casey Hudson, Mass Effect Executive Producer announced via his twitter yesterday that in the next installment of the series, Mass Effect 3, players will have the option to choose who Commander Shepard may have relations with ... meaning ... players can now choose to be in a relationship with other male characters.

Hudson twitted that he is...

 "Happy to confirm [that Mass Effect 3] supports wider options for love interests incl. same-sex for m&f chars, reactive to how you interact w/them in-game."

Previous games allowed for male/female and female/female relationships. Let us know what you think about this?

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Duke Nukem Forever Demo Coming June 3rd

Pre-orders gets to play with the Duke ...

For those of you in the Duke Nukem Forever "First Access Club" (people who purchased Borderlands: Game of the Year edition), and those who have pre-ordered Duke Nukem Forever, there is some good news for you. 

2K Games and Gearbox Software stated today in this Duke Nukem Forever Demo Announcement, that those first access members will be getting the Duke Nukem Forever Demo on June 3rd. It was not clear which platforms will be getting the demo, we will have to wait until June 3rd to find out or until further announcement. 

Duke Nukem Forever...after much delay...is scheduled for release June 10th internationally and June 14th in North America on the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC. Stay tune to BGN for gameplay footage of the demo upon release.

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Ghost Recon: Future Soldier Delayed ... AGAIN

Future Soldier being pushed back to 2012 ...

After being delayed last May with a promise of a spring 2011 release, Ubisoft's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier is now being delayed again...for a Q1 2012 release. According to this joystiq article, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot, stated that the reason for yet another delay is the same reason for last years delay...

"We want first to assure the best quality possible," Guillemot explained in a moment of déjà vu, "as well as to avoid the very crowded Christmas landscape in the shooter genre." 

Hopefully these delays will make for a more complete well polished game. However, a lot of people will lose interest if this continues. Are you still excited for this game?

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Playstation Network Back Online

Sony's PlayStation Network back online after malicious attacks ...

After more than three weeks of been disabled due to outside interference by hackers, Sony's Playstation 3's Gaming Network is being restored. Sony announced yesterday that a critical phase of the restoration is now completed and as a result, the main features of the network are back online.

According to Sony, the restoration will begin in the Americas, Europe, New Zealand, and the Middle East. Restoration in Asian countries will be announced at a later date. PSN and Qriocity Services that will be returning in this phase will include features such as online multiplayer, chat functionalities, Netflix, Vudu, Hulu, and MLB.tv. The Playstation Store however will still be offline for now.

The restoration will also come with a mandatory firmware update, 3.61, which will require all users to change their passwords.

Sony's vice president, Hazuo Hirai, apologizes for the delay saying...

"I'd like to send my sincere regret for the inconvenience this incident has caused you, and want to thank you all for the kind patience you've shown as we worked through the restoration process. I can't thank you enough for your patience and support during this time. We know even the most loyal customers have been frustrated by this process and are anxious to use their Sony products and services again. We are taking aggressive action at all levels to address the concerns that were raised by this incident, and are making consumer data protection a full-time, company wide commitment."

For those of you following the PSN outage, you know of the efforts being made to satisfy its users. Sony announced last two weeks that as apart of their "Welcome Back" program, they will be giving their users free content as an apology for the delay. PS3 users that were non-Playstation Plus subscribers will be getting a free month of Playstation Plus service. Users who were subscribers before the outage will get an additional 30 days of service for free. In addition, Sony will provide some downloadable content for free. Music Unlimited users will also be getting 30 days of free service.

As a part of the learning experience, Sony will be beefing up their security systems. PS3 users will be exited to hear of the restoration and to be able to enjoy their services with new security updates and maintenance at Sony. Stay tune to BGN for more on the PSN restoration and to learn when they will be fully back online, which should be before the end of the month.

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Modern Warfare 3 Revealed...with 3 Teaser Trailers.

Modern Warfare 3 coming this fall; details leaked ...

Activision today released 3 teaser trailers for Modern Warfare 3 confirming rumors of a Fall 2011 release. The game was highly rumored to be coming out on November 8, 2011 after large details of the entire game was leaked and posted by Kotaku. The gaming blog posted the following well-detailed articles about MW3. 


[WARNING: They contain SPOILERS]:

"Where You'll Go, How You'll Kill, and Who Will Die in Modern Warfare 3", Modern Warfare 3 Multiplayer Features Battles in Brooklyn, Clash in Mogadishu" and "The Modern Warfare 3 Files: Exclusive First Details on the Biggest Game of 2011."


According to the Kotaku posts, MW3 will pick up where MW2 left off, which will follow an attack on the United States by Russia. This assault will usher in the beginning of World War III, which will take MW3's task force rangers to some of the biggest cities around the world, including New York City, Paris, London, Dubai, and Mogadishu. 


Details also emerge on the single player missions and characters. I wont spoil any of it for you, so if you want more details, check out the Kotaku post above. The game will feature a comprehensive multiplayer as expected, but also a Spec Ops Mode, which will be survival and mission based. 


None of the details were however confirmed by Activision nor any of the developers. Infinity Ward's community manager Robert Bowling, on the other hand, shed some light on the leaked data via his twitter saying "

"A lot of hype & a lot of leaked info on #MW3, some still accurate, some not. To avoid spoiling the experience, I'd wait for the real reveal,"

As of now, no more official details as been released, except for the following teaser trailers, namely:
America, England, France, Germany.

Stay tune to BGN for all the updates regarding Modern Warfare 3.

Will this be 2011's biggest FPS, or will Battlefield 3 take its thunder? Let us know what you think on these details.

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Assassin's Creed: Revelations Official Announced

Next Assassin's Creed title coming this November ...

Ubisoft today announced that the next title in its Assassin's Creed franchise will be release this November. Assassin's Creed Revelations will follow Ezio through Middle East's Constantinople as he battles the mysteries of the Templars, following in the footsteps of Altair (the first Assassin's Creed protagonist).

This fourth installment will follow Ezio in his final chapters as well as expanding on the multiplayer mode introduced in last years Assassin's Creed Brotherhood. Multiplayer upgrades is said to include new modes, maps and characters.

Assassin's Creed Revelations will be released on the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and PC this November. Stay tune for more on ACR as more details will be released at this June's E3.

Is it too soon for another Assassin's Creed game? Let us know.

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Wii Get Price Cut, Now $149.99 + Free Mario Kart.

Amazon discounts the Nintendo Wii

Nintendo announced today that its Wii video game system will be getting a price cut soon. Starting May 15, the Wii will be selling for $149.99, instead of its current selling price of $170 to $200. The new price will be for either the black or white system, and will be bundled with Mario Cart Wii, and a Wii remote and nunchuck attachment. According to IGN, 

"Nintendo will also introduce a new 'Nintendo Selects' collection of Wii titles for $19.99, which includes: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Animal Crossing: City Folk, Mario Super Sluggers and Wii Sports."

If you are shopping for a Wii system, this would be a great deal. Black or white model with one of their best selling games, Mario Kart, and Wii accessories - FREE!!

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Mass Effect 3 Delayed Until Early 2012

Mass Effect 3 being pushed back to 2012 ...

One of the biggest games that was set for release in Q4 of this year has been delayed. It was announced today that the follow-up to BioWare's massively successful Mass Effect 2 will be schedule for another release date. In a statement via its official facebook page, Casey Hudson, Executive Producer of the Mass Effect series, stated that Mass Effect 3 will be delayed until Q1 of 2012: 

"Mass Effect 3 will be released in the first three months of 2012. The development team is laser focused on making sure Mass Effect 3 is the biggest, boldest and best game in the series, ensuring that it exceeds everyone’s expectations."

Mass Effect 3 will be released on the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and PC in early 2012. Can you guys wait till 2012?

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