Dragon Age 'Return to Ostagar' DLC delayed one day before release

In a terse message on the BioWare forums last night, Community Coordinator Chris Priestly announced that the Dragon Age: Origins "Return to Ostagar" DLC, dated for release today, won't be available as planned.

"We're sorry but the planned Return to Ostagar downloadable content scheduled to launch on January 5th has been delayed for all platforms," the forum post reads. "We will update you as new information becomes available." And then there's a little "devil" emoticon, which seems to be Priestly's forum signature rather than a hint that the post is a joke. The fact that the delay applies to "all platforms" suggests that the content could arrive after the "later in January" release window named for PS3 before.

We expect that BioWare will release more details (as in, some details) about the delay during business hours -- or an official denial, if this turns out to be inaccurate. In either case, we're waiting to see if we're going to be waiting for the DLC.

[Thanks, Theresa]

Tony Hawk bribing Xbox Live's 'Ride' players with friendship

Who wouldn't want to go gallivanting around the globe, bustin' silly skateboarding tricks with icon Tony Hawk? Well, you'll never get to, but you can have the next best thing: Tony Hawk on your Xbox Live friends list. He hit the Twitters last night, trying to drum up some friends to play Tony Hawk Ride with on the Xbox 360. You know, that game with the crazy board Tony would like to see used with more games in the future? Yeah, that one.

There's no telling if it worked or not -- you can't check out Tony's friends list unless you're a friend with him. Still, it's interesting to see Tony take such an active role in trying to market the game. We guess when you invent a peripheral, you get all super passionate about it or something.

[Via Kotaku]

Source and Source - Tony Hawk's Twitter account

New Mass Effect 2 character trailers heap on the sociopathy

Grunt and Thane are just a couple more of the intergalactic psychos you'll be adventuring with in Mass Effect 2 starting January 26. Sure, there are some relatively sane folks like Tali and Miranda Lawson along for the Normandy cruise around the stars, but just on the estrogen front that's balanced by the bra-less anger of Samara and the grrrrrl-rage of Subject Zero.

Can't we just get a Mass Effect 2 character that's big, fuzzy and easily marketable as a plush figure -- that would probably make EA happy. You'll find the clip for the even-less-cuddly-than-Wrex Krogan above and Thane after the break.

Continued →

The Beatles: Rock Band limited edition for Xbox just $200 [update]

If you've got to get the Beatles: Rock Band limited edition into your life, but don't have $250 around to pay for it, you'll be happy with what Amazon has done. In fact, since what Amazon has done is "knock $90 off the price of the Xbox 360 version," it would be hard to imagine anyone being unhappy with it who doesn't work for EA or Amazon. Right now, you can get the Xbox 360 version of The Beatles: Rock Band, with the Beatles replica instruments, for $159.99. The PS3 version is not as dramatically discounted, but is still better than MSRP at $199.99.

If you want wireless instruments and the game, but don't care about the Beatles-esque look of the guitar and drums, you can get the Special Value Edition for $139.99 on either Xbox or PS3 -- or, for wireless drums, a copy of the Rock Band 2 special edition bundled with a copy of Beatles from EA's Rock Band Deals Online for $149.

In conclusion, don't ever pay $250 for Rock Band.

Update: Price has risen to $200 for the Xbox version -- the pitfall of reporting on markdowns. Also, fixed reference to wireless instruments in the Special Value Edition.

[Via Cheap College Gamers]

17 Spartans bust a move at the Philly Mummers Parade

[Image: Kotaku]
Flash mobs are all the rage now, but the above image actually comes from the Philadelphia Mummers Parade this year. Kotaku reader Justin managed to snag video of the choreographed event which, if it were real cyborg human heroes and not a bunch of faux-Spartans, would probably end up costing taxpayers about $814 gajillion -- and that's in today's dollars, not even accounting for 500 years of inflation.

To check out video of the dance routine, head on over to Kotaku.

Now Playing: January 4-10, 2010


It begins: Q1 2010.

Choose your platform to jump to a specific release list:

Last updated: Tuesday, 11:38 AM

Continued →

Deal of the Week: Kingdom for Keflings for $5

While the Xbox Live Deal of the Week is often reserved for ancient, unwanted DLC, this week's deal is worth considering. On sale this week for 400 ($5) -- 50 percent off the regular price -- is NinjaBee's A Kingdom for Keflings. The game tasks your Avatars with building a kingdom for tiny folk known as Keflings. In order to do so, you'll need to gather the proper materials and make sure that the economy keeps thrumming along. As an added bonus, you can play with up to four players on Xbox Live.

Trust us when we say that A Kingdom for Keflings is pretty addictive. Throw in the recently released DLC -- two packs for 160 ($2) each -- and you've got plenty to keep yourself busy for a long time.

Shortcut: Add A Kingdom for Keflings to your 360 download queue [via Xbox.com]

[Via Major Nelson]

Modern Warfare 2 leads UK game sales for 8th straight week

Following another week of tepid new releases (er, were there any releases at all?), and despite a 41-percent drop in sales, Modern Warfare 2 remained atop the UK all-formats sales chart for the week ending January 2. This marked the eighth straight week that Modern Warfare 2 led UK game sales, a feat unequaled since the gritty street sequel, Need for Speed: Underground 2, captured the British imagination five years ago. This week, Bayonetta gets her first shot at taking down the reigning champ.

Additionally, Assassin's Creed II continued its rebound up the week's towering sales list, perched at the number two position, followed by a trio of casual Wii games. FIFA 10 dropped four spots into sixth place as weekly sales of the soccer sim "footie fax" fell 61 percent. Finally, UbiGaga's Just Dance made a fevered surge up to seventh on the chart, with New Super Mario Bros., Mario Kart and Avatar rounding out the top ten. Can we get a "TAROK MAKTO!"?

Source – Call of Duty Ends the Year on a High [GFK Chart-Track]
Source – Latest UK Software Charts [GFK Chart-Track]

EA pulling plug on older sports games' servers

It's a new year, and the hammer must fall once more on the EA games that the company has deemed "unfit" to play. But the server shutdowns (which are traditionally closer to the middle of the year) are earlier than ever this time (beginning February 2), so fans of Facebreaker, Fantasy Football 09, Fight Night Round 3 on PS2, and many other soon-to-be retired online sports games have little time to achieve their last feats of glory.

We've got the full list of server shutdowns -- courtesy of MCV -- after the break. Let us know if you're still playing any of the games getting the axe.

Continued →

Best of the Rest: Chris' picks of 2009

Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition
A high-definition update – with high-quality voice work to boot! – of the adventure gaming classic, Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition represents a sea change in how LucasArts treats its adventure gaming roots. Instead of squirelling them away in a vault while development continues on Star Wars title after Star Wars title, LucasArts is putting them up on Steam, and remastering them for a whole new audience, with the first Monkey Island adventure leading the charge.

Continued →

Best of the Rest: Justin's Picks of 2009

This was hands-down the funniest game released in 2009, and 2009 was a year in which we got a new Tim Schafer game and the return of the Monkey Island series, so that's saying something. If you missed out, please go buy it, it's cheap as can be and a true delight.

Continued →

Best of the Rest: Kevin's Picks of 2009

Halo Wars
Yeah, that's right, Halo Wars. I've already caught enough flak for putting this on my best-of list for 2009 (it's hard to even remember that it came out way back in February), but it deserves to be recognized ... so pay attention once your laughter has died down. Ensemble Studios (RIP) proved that you could bring a real-time strategy game to a console, and still make it enjoyable. Sure, you'll never have 1:1 parity mapping everything a full-sized keyboard offers onto a controller, but this game came close. It's a pity Ensemble closed, since we'll never see any expansion packs or a sequel. The good news is that, since it wasn't received with blaring trumpets and the sounds of cash registers ringing, you can pick this up for under 20 bucks for some good fun.

Continued →

Best of the Rest: Randy's Picks of 2009

Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes
If I had my way ... well, a lot of things would be different. When it came to video games, I'd make sure that everyone -- whether they own a Nintendo DS or not -- had a chance to play Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes. Now, I know, Might and Magic? Isn't that some long-dead RPG franchise that's probably best left in the ground? Well, yes -- but Clash of Heroes is about as far from any of the other games in the series as you can get. At its core, it's a puzzle game -- a combat puzzle game -- developed by Capybara, the same team behind PSN's wonderful Critter Crunch. Take that game's core mechanic, add a load of clever new ones and build a story-driven experience around it and you have one of the finest (not to mention most addicting) DS games ever.

Continued →

PSA: Halo Legends 'Origins Part 1' available today only

Today's the day, folks. The last weekend of a two-month long, mostly bi-weekly Halo Legends release on Xbox Live Marketplace. While you can find the "Making of" version of this week's episode next week, "Origins Part 1" will mark the last free episode of the soon-to-be-released series. And yes, that "Part 1" modifier certainly does indicate a cliffhanger ending -- particularly considering this episode includes information on the barely talked about Forerunners of the Halo franchise. And now, if you'll excuse us, we're off to peep this joint for ourselves.

Best of the Rest: Richard's Picks of 2009

Halo Wars
Say what you will about the game's simplicity, or the brevity of the single-player campaign, but Ensemble Studios absolutely nailed console real-time strategy with Halo Wars. The controls work beautifully, allowing for the kind of granular management required in RTS games, and yet they remain simple enough for almost anyone to get the hang of the game. Add great online multiplayer and it's one tasty proposition.

Frankly, I was so addicted to the Skirmish mode when reviewing the game that it ate into my work hours. Remembering that makes it harder to face the fact that Ensemble was shuttered once work on the game was complete. I can only hope that Robot is given the chance to further the series, or at least work the controls into an entirely new game.

Continued →

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