Fable III and Rock Band 3 reviews, Donkey Kong and Dragon Age II previews, Sony and Nintendo earnings reports, and a marathon Kinect session in Now Playing.
The GameSpot office was abuzz with activity this week, which saw reviews of some of the highest-profile games of the year, including Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II and Fable III. There was news aplenty thanks to such events as the shock resignations of Mega Man creator Keiji Inafune and Take-Two CEO Bed Feder. The previews crew got a look at upcoming titles from Nintendo and BioWare, and the video crew had a marathon session of Now Playing featuring Microsoft’s Kinect motion-sensing system.
THE LAST WORD: OCOTBER 25-29
NEW RELEASES
Shippin’ Out Oct. 24-30: Fable III, Force Unleashed II, Rock Band 3
Red Dead Redemption zombies DLC creeps onto XBLA
Rockstar’s Red Dead zombies, Zombie’s Blacklight: Tango Down hit PSN
Bit.Trip Fate shoots up WiiWare
NEWS
It was a busy week at the newsdesk, starting with write-ups from BlizzCon 2010 and ending with earnings from some of the biggest names in gaming, including Sega Sammy, Capcom, and Sony. Sandwiched in the middle was Microsoft’s own stellar earnings report, which revealed that Halo: Reach has generated over $350 million. Nintendo posted a rare loss, thanks to slowing Wii and DS sales and harsh exchange rates. Finally, the PSP Go got a $50 price cut the same week the PlayStation 2 celebrated its 10th anniversary in North America.
Nintendo posts six-month loss, Wii sales near 76 million
Sony posts $385 million quarterly profit, PSP sales down 50%
PSP Go now $200
Keiji Inafune resigns from Capcom
Take-Two CEO resigns, chairman taking over
ZeniMax acquires Shinji Mikami studio
320GB PS3 soon to be sold solo
Capcom’s six-month revs up, profits down
Killzone 3 limited edition packs in replica Helghast mask
First Kinect cost $30,000
PlayStation Rewards announced
Core Kinect games incoming
PS2 celebrates 10 years in North America
46,000 Wii Remotes sold every day in US
Diablo III design disassembled
Blizzard balances Starcraft II
How to play Starcraft II like a pro
Big in Japan Oct. 18-24: Super Mario All-Stars
PREVIEWS
This week, the GameSpot previews team journeyed into the jungles with an extensive look at Donkey Kong Country Returns. The Super Nintendo classic is being reimagined by the same studio that brought people the Metroid Prime series, so hopes are high for this upcoming platformer. The team also ventured into the dark fantasy world of Dragon Age II with a preview focused on the changes made to the rogue class. And finally, be sure to have a look at GameSpot’s hands-on preview of The UnderGarden, an atmospheric 2D side-scroller with echoes of PixelJunk Eden and Flower.
Donkey Kong Country Returns Hands-On – Going Cross-Country
Dragon Age II Updated Hands-On – Spotlighting the Rogue
The UnderGarden Hands-On
REVIEWS
The GameSpot reviews team has had another busy week, not only working on the reviews that you see listed below, but also getting started on reviews for a handful of the 12 Kinect games that are launching next week alongside Microsoft’s new hardware. Those reviews are under embargo until November 4, so apologies in advance for our not being able to deliver our verdicts on them in time for you to factor them into your preorder decisions. Other reviews to watch out for next week include GoldenEye 007, James Bond 007: Blood Stone, and The Fight: Lights Out. But forget about the future; get with the now:
Dragon Ball Z: Tenkaichi Tag Team (PSP)
Review
Fable III (X360) Review
God of War: Ghost of Sparta (PSP)
Review
Just Dance 2 (Wii) Review
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm
2 (PS3, X360) Review
Red Dead
Redemption: Undead Nightmare (PS3, X360) Review
Rock Band 3 (X360) Review
Shaun White Skateboarding (X360)
Review
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II (PS3,
X360) Review
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II (PC)
Review
The Shoot (PS3) Review
The Sims 3 (PS3, X360) Review
Time Crisis: Razing Storm (PS3) Review
TV Superstars (PS3) Review
WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 (PS3, X360) Review
VIDEO
The video team at GameSpot had another awesome week of video reviews. Kevin VanOrd brandished his lightsabers with The Force Unleashed II, Tom McShea jumped into the kingdom of Albion with Fable III, Chris Watters rocked his way through Rock Band 3, and Justin Calvert put the dead back in their grave in the Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare DLC review. GameSpot also talked with Tasha Harris about Costume Quest for an episode of Behind the Games. Today On the Spot featured games like Killzone 3, Section 8: Prejudice, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, Donkey Kong Country Returns, and more! GameSpot also got the Microsoft Kinect for the Xbox 360 and showed off a handful of games during our latest episode of Now Playing.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II Video Review
Fable III Video Review
Rock Band 3 Video Review
Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare Video Review
GameSpot Presents: Now Playing – Microsoft Kinect
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