Apocalypso's Atomic Arcade

2010/01/26

TrailerBlazer: Aliens vs. Predator Heritage Trailer

Aliens vs. Predator: Heritage

On The Verge recently, they showed an Aliens vs. Predator dev diary of sorts which showed a lot of in-game footage. But not only was it in-game footage of the latest game by Rebellion, but there was also plenty of footage from 1999’s AvP, which some call “Aliens vs. Predator Classic” or “AvP Classic 2000” (this refers more to the Gold edition).

It was great seeing some of this, because at the time, more than ten years ago, it was considered to be cutting edge stuff, in graphics too. I once read that AvP could be compared to the id Tech 2, or Quake II, engine. I mean, the game featured beheading and dissection of enemies, and stuff, even before Soldier of Fortune came along and made it popular.

But seeing what the new AvP is like (what should we call this? AvP 2010?), graphics, technology, and gameplay wise, it looks as though it’s going to be a worthy addition to this popular series. Even though some say it’s been in development for just over two years, the one guy in the film claims that it was basically coming together, at least in their heads, since the last game (AvP Classic 2000).

By the way, I was reading the other day, that you can get AvP Classic or 2000 or AvP Classic 2000 (you get the idea) from Steam, the digital distribution kings. And it has widescreen support too. So, if you’ve tried getting the game to work on modern systems without much luck (I once read that nVidia was trying to sort out the problem with drivers), then this version should work on XP, Vista, and Windows 7.

2010/01/25

Resurgence in Rickets in the U.K.: Games Blamed

I read this the other day and even talked about it to someone.

It’s been found that rickets, a disease chiefly caused by lack of Vitamin D, is making a comeback in the United Kingdom (England and other places for those of you who don’t know). It’s become increasingly common, and rickets was thought to have all but died out years ago.

Among the things that people do that can lead to rickets is lack of exercise, not getting out in the sun enough, and poor diet. And this can cause bow legs, cancer, and even diabetes.

Sitting inside all the time playing games and watching TV, surfing the internet. These are the things that doctors are saying are to blame. And they may be right. Remember kids, take a break every hour for at least fifteen minutes, go outside, eat your veggies, drink your milk and other stuff, you know. If you’re over 18, then dammit, you should know better by now.

Hell, where I am right now, I could never sit inside all day. It’s way too hot, so I go for a splash in the pool sometimes.

My dad has type 2 diabetes, and I reckon it’s in no small part due to his sitting around all day, and constant eating.

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Source: Industry Gamers

The Sims 3 was the Top Selling PC Game of Last Year

Modern Warfare 2 may have racked up a lot of achievements, and been the all round best selling game of 2009, but as for the PC, it was something a little less violent.

EA says that The Sims 3 was the best selling PC game, retail wise, of 2009, but of course it had about five months more to do it in. The Sims 3 was released in June last year, while MW2 was in November. If it had been different, well, it might have been different.

EA even goes on to claim that The Sims 3 is one of the best selling PC games ever, and that the expansion, World Adventures, is one of the best selling expansions of 2009. And The Sims 3 is also part of another achievement: the sixth year that a Sims title has been a top best selling game. I guess that some of the other years would have been 2000 and 2004 when the prequels were released, respectively.

A lot of blowing-your-own-horn there.

And here I was thinking that nobody really played the game anymore. I do from time to time.

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Source: Big Download

Video Game Deals on Amazon: Resident Evil 5, Army of Two: The 40th Day, Darksiders

There’s some good deals on newish games at the moment on Amazon. On PC there’s Resident Evil 5 which you can save $7.00 on. As for Army of Two: The 40th Day on PS3 and Xbox 360, you can save over $10 on each. Darksiders is nearly $10 off, for Xbox 360.

So, go ahead. The links all go to Amazon, to each game’s detail page where you pick them up and save.

Resident Evil 5 - $36.99 - Save $7.00

PS2

Mercenaries 2: World in Flames - $14.07 - Save $4.42
Flat Out 2 - $15.34 - Save $7.65

PS3

Army of Two: The 40th Day - $44.99 - Save $10.49

360

Army of Two: The 40th Day - $44.99 - Save $12.00
Darksiders - $42.99 - Save $9.78

Astro Boy: The Movie - $19.96 - Save $8.03

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Source: nowinstock.net

2010/01/24

1Up’s Dying to See Deus Ex 3 and Thief 4, Eidos gets Excited

1UP.com had a feature on their site recently titled “The Top Games We're Just Dying to See”, and the two mentioned titles, Deus Ex 3 and Thief 4, were mentioned. Eidos Montréal later tweeted on twitter:

'”1Up: "The top games we're just dying to see." Among them? Deus Ex 3 and Thief 4!”

It’s been ten years since Deus Ex, the first, and last good game in the series according to many, and it’s also been ten years since Thief II: The Metal Age, arguably the best game in that series. So, a lot of people, including me, are looking forward to those.

I was just reading the rest of Eidos Montréal’s tweets, and saw that they are helping with the relief efforts in Haiti.

“Eidos Montréal is assisting with the relief effort in Haiti”

I wonder how many other game development studios have chipped in?

Video Games Coming Out This Week, 01/24 – 01/30, 2010: Mass Effect 2

AAA’s Pick of the Week: Mass Effect 2

So, the drought is over, but I knew that anyway. This week is when one of the year’s biggest titles, according to many, will be released: Mass Effect 2. It might be too early to call it the game of the year, but I’m sure it will at least be called the game of the month. Mass Effect 2 will be released on the 26th for PC and Xbox 360. You can choose between the standard game, the collector’s edition, or even the Digital Deluxe Edition, which is for download only. This looks like it has quite a few bonus pieces, so it might be worth checking out.

For PS3 owners, there’s MAG or Massive Action Game, of which the main selling point is that up to 256 players can take part in a session. Apart from that though, it looks like any other Battlefield or Modern Warfare game, but I guess we’ll see.

Other games of interest include TNA iMPACT!: Cross the Line - a wrestling game, but it’s not a WWE title! No, it’s based on their main competitor: TNA or Total Non-Stop Action.

As usual, the links go to game detail pages at Amazon, Direct2Drive, et cetera, where you can pick up your game of choice.

Blood Bowl
Horrible Histories: Ruthless Romans
Hotel Giant 2
Mass Effect 2
Mass Effect 2 Collector's Edition
Mass Effect 2 Digital Deluxe Edition (Available at Direct2Drive)

Mass Effect 2 Digital Deluxe Edition with Prima Guide (Available at Direct2Drive)

The Legend of Vraz
The Lost Cases of Sherlock Holmes, Vol. 2 (Digital - Legacy Games)

Xbox 360

Blood Bowl
Mass Effect 2
Mass Effect 2 Collector's Edition

PlayStation 3

MAG

PSP

Shadow of Destiny
TNA iMPACT!: Cross the Line

Nintendo Wii

"Aha! I Found It!" Hidden Object Game (WiiWare)
bittos+ (WiiWare)
Fast Food Panic
Horrible Histories: Ruthless Romans
Marines: Modern Urban Combat
Monsteca Corral
No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle
Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All Stars

Nintendo DS

Horrible Histories: Ruthless Romans
Imagine: Party Planner
Legend of Kay
Number Battle
Personal Fitness Men
Personal Fitness Women
Playmobil Knights

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Sources: Shacknews - Gamespot

Apocalypse Then: AAA’s One Year Anniversary

That’s right. Today marks one year since AAA, this blog, was started. It was Saturday, the 24th of January, 2009.

I’m still trying to figure out what the hell it is. It’s like a blog about video games, entertainment, and other stuff that interests me. Basically anything to do with entertainment of the virtual sort has some place on here. I’m constantly coming up with new types of posts, and widgets and stuff to add to the blog, and some of them are just plain crazy – hence the term random madness (or magic), but they hopefully entertain and inform, or just get some sort of reaction from whoever comes across it.

Some of the information on here is news that’s going around, and original posts that have been taken out of my demented mind (like Keen Dreams). It’s just about putting what’s in my mind on the internet. I’ve started other blogs as well, and plan on starting more this year. I’ve joined Facebook, Twitter, and the game-less madness that is Digg, but AAA was my first blog on the internet, apart from my two HubPages profiles that have been up for a while. They were my part of my first presence on the internet, and they will celebrate their two year anniversaries later on in the year. As I’ve read time and time again: hubs are not blogs!

So, as for the next year and beyond, I hope to convey more of the latest big interesting news stories, rumours, and original stuff that somehow ties in with my love of video games, movies, music, TV, and more.

And if you don’t like, I’ve only got two words for ya!

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