Microsoft to Give Away Free Xbox with PC Purchase

Forget the console wars. Microsoft is giving free Xbox 360 4GB consoles to students who purchase a Windows 7-based PC. Beginning May 22, students who purchase a new Windows 7-based PC starting at $699 from participating retailers will receive a free Xbox 360 console.

“A hot new Windows 7-based PC with a free Xbox 360 is the ultimate productivity, social and entertainment package for students,” says Kathleen Hall, general manager of Windows Marketing at Microsoft. “In one shot, with this great offer, Microsoft is giving students everything they need for a successful new school year.”

The promotion runs all summer long and will conclude on September 3. Students must use an .edu email address when purchasing said PC through one of the participating retails such as Dell, HP, Best Buy, or Microsoft Store. You can also show your Student ID if you choose to buy a new PC from a brick-and-mortar store.

Valve is Giving Away Portal 2 DLC this Summer

When downloadable content first began to become prevalent, it was called paid downloadable content. However, the ratio of paid versus free content was so lopsided that the P in the naming scheme was dropped to just DLC.

Valve, in their pattern to go against the grain, is releasing extra content for Portal 2 for free. The downloadable update will be simply titled, Portal 2 DLC #1. Details so far include new test chambers, leaderboards, a challenge mode for single and multi-player modes and more.

Microsoft has been resistant to allow Valve to distribute free content for the Xbox 360 (such is the case of no console updates for Team Fortress 2 after the release of The Orange Box). Normally Valve releases their downloadable content for free for the PC, but Portal 2 DLC #1 will be free for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC this summer, for science.

Battlefield 3: Episode II - Good Effect On Target

EA and DICE released the next trailer in their Fault Line series for Battlefield 3. In the video, a team crosses a rooftop to take out a sniper in the building across. Rather than deal with the sniper conventionally, the team uses a shoulder-mounted rocket launcher, showing off the extent of destructible environments with the Frostbite 2 engine. Part three of the Fault Line series will be released on March 30. Battlefield 3 will be available this fall for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

Battlefield 3 at GDC

Remember the trailer that EA and DICE released last week, showing off the first bits of gameplay for Battlefield 3? It was apparently only a short teaser to their presence at this year’s Game Developer Conference in San Francisco, Ca. At an event last night held off-site from the main conference, EA showed off some of their games releasing later this year, including Alice: Madness Returns, Shadows of the Damned, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, Crysis 2, Gatling Gears, and Battlefield 3. A new trailer was shown titled Fault Line Episode 1: Bad Part of Town, extending the gameplay we saw in the teaser trailer into a much more coherent and cinematic format, allowing the power of the new Frostbite 2 engine to shine through. DICE is setting Battlefield 3 up to be the Crysis of this generation, meaning, it will be first game to really show what is capable in the next generation of computing power. "If you don't have the right tech, you can't build the right experience," DICE executive producer Patrick Bach said. Check out PC Gamer’s first impressions of the game’s demo at GDC and Joystiq’s article on “Balancing Realism in Frostbite 2.” The follow-up trailer Fault Line will be released on March 16. Battlefield 3 will be available this fall for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

Catherine is Coming to US

Just a week after Altus announced no plans for a North American release of its upcoming game, Catherine, a press release revealed today that the game is in fact headed to US shores. Altus, the creators of the Persona series, describe the game as, “an unprecedented exploration of the pleasures and horrors of love.” The game follows Vincent, whose girlfriend Katherine is asking him for a committed relationship. After a night of drinking, Vincent wakes up in bed next to a beautiful blonde named Catherine. Unaware of what happened the night before, Vincent’s fears about commitment and fidelity take shape in his dreams as “horribly disfigured monsters,” and sheep men. Vincent must maneuver his way through block puzzles as he makes heavy moral decisions that could affect his future. The game will feature four different game modes, The Horrors of Love (time trials), Between a Rock and a Soft Place (story), The Nightmare of Your Dreams (theater), and Escape With or From a Friend (co-op). Atlus says Catherine will be coming to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 this summer, but Amazon has it listed for release on July 26.

Battlefield 3 Declares War

Developer DICE and publisher EA are making their mark on the first-person shooter genre with Battlefield 3. Their first step in this goal was today’s release of the first gameplay trailer for the game. The trailer, as seen above, might be confused for a cinematic but DICE and EA said that the action seen in the trailer is gameplay footage. If you blinked and missed something, check out the screenshots from the trailer.

Today in Gaming

The Worst Game in the World

Fox News posted an article yesterday asking, “Is Bulletstorm the Worst Video Game in the World?” They quoted several psychologists talking about the game’s violence and its effect on younger audiences, even though clinical studies have been inconclusive. One psychologist was even quoted as saying, “The increase in rapes can be attributed in large part to the playing out of [sexual] scenes in video games.” However, according to the National Crime Victimization Survey, the per-capita victimization rate of rape has declined from about 2.4 per 1000 people in 1980 to about 0.4 per 1000 people, a decline of about 85%. Beyond the fact that their statements are false, Rock, Paper, Shotgun reached out to the three psychologists for follow-up statements, but only heard back from one. Billy Pidgeon, a video game analyst with M2 Research, was quoted as saying, “Games without sufficient quality of gameplay -- games that include highly objectionable violent or sexual content -- often pump up the level of this kind of content to gain media attention. This tactic typically fails, as can be seen in the poor sales performance of titles such as BMX XXX and Postal,” but that’s only about a quarter of what was actually said, check out the rest here. Bulletstorm follows all of the ESRB’s guidelines for both gameplay and marketing and to be labeled as worst game in the world by Fox will only help in its promotion. Keep up the good work Electronic Arts, Epic Games, and People Can Fly. Bulletstorm will be available for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC on February 22.

Battlefield 3 Officially Announced

In case you missed it, Battlefield 3 was officially revealed last Friday as Game Informer’s March cover. Battlefield 3 is the third proper release in the Battlefield series that started in 2002 with Battlefield 1942, and its sequel Battlefield 2, released in 2005.

Black Dahlia Salvation

Yesterday Rockstar Games released a new trailer for their upcoming game, L.A. Noire. The trailer, which originally leaked last Friday, teases the plot for the Team Bondi developed game. Set in 1940s Los Angeles, you play as a Detective Cole Phelps (voiced and acted by Mad Men actor Aaron Staton) trying to solve a case of a serial killer targeting young women, leaving behind clues and messages. Think of it as mixing L.A. Confidential and Red Dead Redemption. As suggested by the title, the game’s atmosphere and environments play heavily on the look of film noir, using low-key lighting, crime, and ambiguity. The game also features a unique facial animation system and boasts the ability to decipher the truth from lies from facial cues. L.A. Noire is set to release on May 17 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Your Mom Medium Disapproves of Dead Space 2

Electronic Arts started a new ad campaign over the weekend for their upcoming release, Dead Space 2. The ads use the idea that “a mom’s disapproval has always been an accurate barometer of is cool.” Based on this notion, EA recruited over 200 moms for focus testing of Dead Space 2. Obviously EA knew that Dead Space 2 is not the type of game a mom would be interested in, or enjoy. Below is a behind-the-scenes view of what took place, and the results.

Beyond Good & Evil HD Coming to PSN and XBLA in 2011

Ubisoft announced today they are in the process of remastering the Michel Ancel adventure game Beyond Good & Evil. The game originally was released in 2003 on Gamecube, Xbox, PlayStation 2, and PC. The remaster, titled Beyond Good & Evil HD, is tentatively scheduled for a 2011 release as a downloadable game on the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade. Ubisoft said the new version will run at 1080p resolution and feature updated character models, high-res textures, and a remastered soundtrack, along with the inclusion of Trophies and Achievements.

Beyond Good & Evil was well received when it was originally released, garnering critical acclaim and awards. However, it was not a commercial success. It was released in time for the 2003 holiday season but quickly saw its price cut due to poor sales. Ubisoft did not put much marketing behind the game, and its odd premise didn’t lend itself to heavy advertising.

I’ve never played Beyond Good & Evil, but I’ve heard from many that it is one of their top games of all time, and that it stands shoulder-to-shoulder next other great games like Psychonauts, so now might be a great time to play. Gameplay is decribed as Zelda-ish during the Zelda 64 age. It currently is available on Steam for PC and playable in higher resolutions but I’ve heard controls are wonky, not customizable, and that it feels like a clumsy port.

During the Ubidays 2008 conference it was announced that work begun on Beyond Good & Evil 2. Although currently in development, there is no word on when it will be released. No news about a release date after more than 2 years of development lends itself to vaporware, but we all saw how that turned out with Duke Nukem Forever.