Archive for September 1st, 2010

Playing the slots and generally bad public behavior will get you a lot of points in "Fallout: New Vegas." The post apocalyptic vision of Sin City now has a complete list of Achievements available, and they reveal the presence of a lot of familiar elements, as well as a few ambiguously identified surprises and loads of opportunities to up your Gamescore. If you don't mind potential spoilers, feel free to peruse them after the jump.

The game will host 50 individual Achievements with 1000 potential points available, according to Xbox360Achievements.org. Modding, hacking and general technical ingenuity will be worth many of those points, but getting banned from a casino, gambling and something called a "Ring-A-Ding-Ding" will be necessary to max out your Gamescore. Here's the rundown of the Achievements, along with the points you gain for each action:

• New Kid (10) - Reach 10th level
• Up and Comer (20) - Reach 20th level
• The Boss (30) - Reach 30th level
• Ol' Buddy Ol' Pal (10) - Recruit Any Companion
• The Whole Gang's Here (25) - Recruit all companions
• Crafty (15) - Craft 20 items
• Mod Machine (15) - Install 20 weapon mods
• Walker of the Mojave (10) - Discover 50 locations
• Master of the Mojave (25) - Discover 125 locations
• Globe Trotter (25) - Discover all snow globes
• You Run Barter Town (15) - Sell 10,000 caps worth of goods
• Blast Mastery (15) - Cause 10,000 damage with energy weapons
• Love the Bomb (15) - Cause 10,000 damage with explosives
• Lead Dealer (15) - Cause 10,000 damage with guns
• No Tumbler Fumbler (15) - Pick 25 locks
• Stim-ply Amazing (15) - Heal 10,000 points of damage with stimpaks
• New Vegas Samurai (15) - Cause 10,000 damage with melee weapons
• Jury Rigger (15) - Repair 30 items
• Hack the Mojave (15) - Hack 25 terminals
• Artful Pocketer (15) - Pick 50 pockets
• Outstanding Orator (15) - Make 50 speech challenges
• Desert Survivalist (15) - Heal 10,000 points of damage with food
• Old-Tyme Brawler (15) - Cause 10,000 damage with unarmed weapons
• Know When to Fold Them (10) - Win 3 games of Caravan
• One-Armed Bandit (10) - Play 10 spins of Slots
• Little Wheel (10) - Play 10 spins of Roulette
• Double Down (10) - Play 10 hands of Blackjack
• Caravan Master (30) - Win 30 games of Caravan
• The Courier Who Broke the Bank (30) - Get banned from all of the Strip's casinos
• Hardcore (100) - Play the game from start to finish in Hardcore Mode
• Ain't That a Kick in the Head (10) - Complete Ain't That a Kick in the Head
• They Went That-a-Way (25) - Complete They Went That-a-Way
• Ring-a Ding-Ding (25) - Complete Ring-a-Ding-Ding
• The House Always Wins (30) - Complete The House Always Wins
• For the Republic (30) - Complete For the Republic
• Render Unto Caesar (30) - Complete Render Unto Caesar
• Wild Card (30) - Complete Wild Card
• All or Nothing (15) - Complete All or Nothing
• Veni, Vidi, Vici (15) - Complete Veni, Vidi, Vici
• Eureka! (15) - Complete Eureka!
• No Gods, No Masters (15) - Complete No Gods, No Masters
• Come Fly With Me (20) - Complete Come Fly With Me
• Talent Pool (20) - Complete Talent Pool
• Return to Sender (20) - Complete Return to Sender
• Arizona Killer (20) - Complete Arizona Killer
• You'll Know it When it Happens (20) - Complete You'll Know It When It Happens
• G.I. Blues (20) - Complete G.I. Blues
• That Lucky Old Sun (20) - Complete That Lucky Old Sun
• Volare! (20) - Comple Volare!
• The Legend of the Star (20) - Complete The Legend of the Star

A few of those numbers may appear daunting, but if "New Vegas" plays anywhere near as well as "Fallout 3" did, the time will breeze by. Nothing truly outrageous is catching my eye on here, though figuring out how to aggravate all of the casino owners should prove fun. As for the games therein, novice betters shouldn't be scared, since just showing up to play will get you almost as many points as winning.

Which Achievements are you looking forward to in "New Vegas"? Do you think the experience is going to live up to "Fallout 3"? Share your expectations in the comment section below.

"Final Fantasy XIV" suffered one big delay when it's PlayStation 3 release moved to March 2011. Now, the "FFXIV" open beta test that was scheduled to begin for PC this week has fallen victim to problems as well, and this time Square Enix is pointing the finger at "critical bugs."

"'Final Fantasy XIV' Open Beta Test, which is scheduled to begin at 19:00 (PDT) on Aug. 31, 2010, will be postponed due to a confirmation of critical bugs," an announcement on FFXIV.com explained. "New schedule will be released at a later date."

Surely, this entire situation will be righted once the bugs are squashed, exterminated or otherwise ushered out of "FFXIV" gameplay. However, the technical hiccup will also put a temporary roadblock up in front of anyone who doesn't already have a registration code to join the test.

"Along with the postponement of 'Final Fantasy XIV' Open Beta Test, the issuing of registration code for 'Final Fantasy XIV' Open Beta Test will be postponed as well," the notice stated. "With the download of client software's installer, it will be suspended at 19:00 (PDT) on Aug. 31, 2010."

With the game's early release scheduled for September 22 and the official release one week later on September 30, the developers can't be pleased about this scenario. In the meantime, anxious players can take solace in the fact that all regions are being affected by the bugs, so any sadness they endure will be shared around the world.

Were you looking forward to the "FFXIV" Open Beta Test this week? Did you already manage to get a code? Share your responses in the comment section below.

2K Games didn't include pricing or release date info when they first named their "Jimmy's Vendetta" DLC pack for "Mafia 2." They cleared the air with days to spare this week, though, and 30 new quests' worth of content has been slated to appear on September 7 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.

Over the course of the new quests, players will get to help Jimmy "clean up other people's messes" as they take on Irish and Italian mobsters, according to the press release. Such endeavors may includes assassinations, vehicle chases, and of course shootouts.

The pack will go for $9.99 or 800 Microsoft Points, depending on which platform you buy it for, and with that many new jobs to do, it's not a bad price point. If you also bought "The Betrayal of Jimmy" for $9.99 and felt satisfied with what you got, it's definitely an offer you don't want to refuse.

Hungry online competitors will also want to try out the new leaderboard system that's included. The combos and multipliers will turn the whole game into a kind of Tony Hawk with Tommy guns kind of deal that should add some replay value to areas in the game that you've long since tired of — and by tired I mean whining about far too soon, because this game has only been on the racks for about a week. If you've played through the whole thing and have the entire script memorized, you live life at a speed faster than most mortals.

Have you played "Mafia 2" yet? Do you see yourself investing in new DLC anytime soon? Share your perspectives in the comment section below.

In the grand tradition of giving you free stuff, we're going to give you free stuff. For today's free stuff, we have 5 XBLA codes for "Dead Rising 2: Case Zero," the downloadable prequel to Capcom's "Dead Rising 2."

Getting one these codes is surprisingly easy. All you need to do is re-tweet this post when it appears on the Twitter account of MTV Multiplayer.

We'll select the winners randomly from the list of RTers, with one winner for each code.

Some caveats: You need to be a US/Canadian resident to win, and you need to be following MTV Multiplayer on Twitter, since we'll need to direct message you the code if you're selected.

We'll direct message the winners first thing tomorrow morning, so be sure to check your Twitter in-box for any DMs from us. Good luck!

The Xbox 360 controller is my favorite gaming controller of all time. It's certainly not the most nostalgic, or memorable, but if I had the choice to use only one controller for the rest of my life, it'd be Microsoft's. It's just so dang versatile! That said, it's not perfect. The d-pad has long been an issue, as it's not much more than a mushy wheel that lacks the sort of precision you need for 2D games and fighting titles. People have been complaining since launch about this, and Microsoft's finally stepping up in a big way.

The above controller looks pretty normal, apart from the color, but it's hiding a dark secret. See the cross of the d-pad? If you rotate the d-pad ring 90 degrees to the right, the cross will pop up, leaving you with a familiar, four-point d-pad from days of yore. Rotate it back again and the d-pad sinks back down into its usual spot. You can see the newfangled device in action right here:

It's usually pretty hard to impress me, but the simplistic brilliance of this new d-pad requires that the person/s responsible get about 500 high fives today. They somehow managed to mingle new functionality with the old design, so the new controller won't alienate any veterans. It's pretty damn clever.

The new controller also has muted face button colors (for a more adult look, I suppose), and improved trigger design, which I can't really comment on, since I haven't had the chance to try it out.

Now for the bad news, it ain't cheap. You'll only be able to buy the controller packed in with the Play and Charge kit, and that'll run you $65 when it drops on November 9. Ironic timing given that the controller-free Kinect is launching one week before that in North America.

Thoughts on the new controller design? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter.

The first "Dead Rising" featured an unexpected game element which could occupy your time when you weren't rescuing survivors or blasting the heads off zombies. Frank West, that game's hero, was a journalist (who covered wars), so he had his camera with him at all times. Taking pictures of zombies in wacky situations resulted in bonus experience points and gave players a non-violent outlet as a nice change of pace.

"Dead Rising 2" doesn't star a journalist. Chuck Greene is a former motocross champion and is a handy mechanic. These skills replace the camera in "Dead Rising 2," as Chuck is able to combine two seemingly incongruous items and make them into something awesome. Duct tape is truly the gift that keeps on giving.

A recent preview build released to members of the press allowed me to experience Day 1 and Day 2 of gameplay in "Dead Rising 2," and I chose to spend my time mixing everything I could get my hands on. I broke out the list of more than 45 combo weapons into multiple categories, which you can peruse below.

Note: If you just downloaded "Dead Rising 2: Case Zero," the Xbox Live-exclusive prequel to the game, you should know that the vast majority of combo weapons in the main game don't work in "Case Zero." I've broken out the list of which combo weapons you can create in "Case Zero," but know that the full game has many, many more.

CASE ZERO COMBO WEAPONS

MELEE COMBO WEAPONS

RANGED COMBO WEAPONS

EXPLOSIVE COMBO WEAPONS

MISCELLANEOUS COMBO WEAPONS

NEXT

Beating out every other title that Gearbox Software put out in late 2009 and 2010, "Borderlands" has received "Game of the Year" honors from their developers, who plan to celebrate their success by including all four DLC packages and a new map in one monster GotY edition this October. You will in turn be able to share their joy by purchasing "Borderlands" Game of the Year Edition.

"'Borderlands' Game of the Year Edition announced!" a Gearbox representative wrote on their official Twitter account. "Game + all FOUR DLCs and bonus map for 360, PS3, and PC. Available in October!"

If you haven't been paying attention to the "Borderlands" DLC roll-out in 2010, those four packs include "The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned," "Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot," "The Secret Armory of General Knoxx" "Claptrap's New Robot Revolution."

The bundle will be priced at $59.99 for consoles and $49.99 for PC, according to a report on Kotaku. As for the bonus map, Gearbox hasn't said much more about the addition beyond it being "awesome," which is appropriate, given that this game earned the distinction of being "Game of the Year."

This will be one mighty haul of DLC when it ships, so if you rented "Borderlands" at some point, liked what you played, but didn't finish before returning your disc, this GotY box wants to be your friend. And there are only so many award-winning friends in this world that you can buy for $59.99.

Would you vote for "Borderlands" for "Game of the Year"? Do you think you'll pick up the all-DLC-inclusive edition? Share your perspectives in the comment section below.

Microsoft's Summer of Arcade 2010 initiative was a huge success, and it seems the publisher will be bringing the same idea to the fall with Game Feast, featuring four high-end XBLA titles. Three of the titles are currently unknown, but I can speak to the fourth title, "Super Meat Boy," a game which I've been anticipating for a long, long while. The insanely hard, insanely inappropriate, insanely awesome 2D platformer is coming to XBLA on October 20 for 1200 MS points (or $15).

One of the members of Team Meat, Edmund McMillen, was kind enough to send over this rad poster, promoting the release as part of Game Feast. It makes you wonder whether Microsoft was just searching for a game that would work well with their food metaphor?

We should be hearing more from Microsoft later today regarding the remaining three games on the Game Feast docket. If I were a betting man, I'd say "Hydrophobia" is one of them, given that it's one of the more high profile downloadable titles in the works right now.

As for "Super Meat Boy," if you're not familiar, you should do yourself a favor and check out the original Flash version. The game is a throwback to the classic Marios, albiet much more difficult and sexually charged. If an animate hunk of meat could be sexually charged, that is. "Super Meat Boy" is the direct follow-up and features HD graphics, throwback levels (with NES-style visuals) and a bunch of unlockable characters, including Tim from "Braid" and the Alien Hominid from "Alien Hominid."