Okay, before we take this too literal, Monster Hunter 3G was not the highest selling game for the 3DS. It was the third highest seller.

In the craziest turnaround for a system that had been deemed a ‘failed launch’, the 3DS continued to dominate Media Create’s weekly sales chart since holiday. Last week Nintendo’s handheld was clocked moving 240,819 units, a 20% increase over the week prior.

Monster Hunter 3G, which was released on December 10, 2011, has officially crossed the 1 million units sold mark during that week, making it the third 3DS title to do so. To date, Monster Hunter 3G has sold a total of 1,083,853 units, trailing behind the 1,199,285 of Super Mario 3D Land and the 1,317,357 of Mario Kart 7.

Numbers of Nintendo’s latest iteration of the DS have been on a dramatic upsurge starting at last year’s holiday season when various bundles released worldwide for the 3DS including the Mario Kart and Zelda: Ocarina of Time bundles hit shelves and propelled the 3DS into a favorable position among buyers. The 3DS hadn’t started recovering from low performance numbers following the price drops and Nintendo posted a dire profit and loss report for the first half of 2011. Not making the most stellar of sales numbers since it’s launch led to some major decisions being made within the company (including Nintendo head Satoru Iwata taking a voluntary salary pay cut) and Nintendo scrambling to make the 3DS a viable entry in the market.

Following the release of Monster Hunter 3G in Japan (which also received its own 3DS bundle after launch), things really started to move for the 3DS. As a testament to how successful Capcom’s action-RPG truly is, the Monster Hunter series has always been a force to be reckoned with as 3 previous versions of the game on Sony’s PSP sold over 3.5M units combined in Japan and kept the PSP the #1 selling handheld worldwide for nearly 3 years. A fourth title in the series (Monster Hunter 4) has been announced for 3DS and looks to take the game in a new direction with new play mechanics debuting but now, in an interesting turn of events, Sony’s Vita is setting up to get it’s very own Monster Hunter title by the end of the year.

Not to sound bad about this, but it seems that Capcom can ride in to a very sugary romantic rescue with Monster Hunter at the damnedest of times but you won’t catch any of the fans out there complaining about it. It’s going to be very interesting to see whether the Vita, which is seeing the same bit of mediocre sales numbers following launch as the 3DS had, will see a dramatic turn in sales as well. If history is an indicator, I’d say ‘hell yeah!’

As part of the 5 year retrospective of the PS3, it’s only fitting that we have a listing of the top 10 titles that helped the PS3 out along the way. The next 5 years of coming games should prove to be  just as exciting, if not even more…

• #10 — Resident Evil 5 (Capcom)

Chris Redfield, a former STARS member and now part of the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA), is dispatched to Kijuju, Africa to work with Sheva Alomar to apprehend Ricardo Irving before he can sell a bio-organic weapon (BOW) on the black market. Upon arriving, they discover the locals have been converted by parasites into Majini, and that the members of the BSAA’s Alpha team have been killed. Chris and Sheva are rescued by BSAA’s Delta team, whose membership includes Sheva’s mentor Josh Stone. In the data provided by Josh, Chris sees a photograph of Jill Valentine, his old partner, presumed dead after a confrontation with Albert Wesker. Chris, Sheva, and Delta team close in on Irving, but he manages to escape with the help of a hooded figure, leaving behind documents that lead Chris and Sheva to oil fields in the marshlands where Irving’s deal is to occur. They soon discover this was a diversion created by Irving to allow the deal to take place. Chris and Sheva attempt to regroup with Delta team, but at the rendezvous, find the team slaughtered by a BOW; Sheva cannot find Josh among the bodies. Chris refuses to report to headquarters, revealing his determination to learn if Jill is still alive.

The chickens literally come home to roost in the next major story arc for the Resident Evil series. Capcom reunites gamers with fan favorite characters Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine and Albert Wesker and put on a damn good show in the process.

• #9 – Heavy Rain (Quantic Dream|SCE)

Ethan Mars is a father who is trying to save his son from being the next victim, while investigative journalist Madison Paige, FBI profiler Norman Jayden, and private detective Scott Shelby are each trying to track down clues to the Origami Killer’s identity. The player interacts with the game by performing actions highlighted on screen related to motions on the controller, and in some cases, performing a series of quick time events during fast-paced action sequences. The player’s decisions and actions during the game will affect the narrative; the main characters can be killed, and certain actions may lead to different scenes and endings.

Gaming gets a true moviegoer interactive experience from Quantic Dream’s follow up to Indigo Prophecy. Not only do you become Ethan Mars, you also control the fate of not 1, but 5 different characters and get plugged in to one of the best mystery games on any console.

• #8 — Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction (Insomniac Games|SCE)

In the midst of working on a hoverbike on the planet Kerwan in Metropolis, Ratchet and Clank receive a desperate call for help from Captain Quark, which they respond to. They find that a large army of robotic commandos have laid a full-scale assault on the capital city, led by Emperor Tachyon, crown prince of the Cragmites. Tachyon reveals that he is after Ratchet, the last Lombax in the galaxy; outnumbered and overpowered, Ratchet and Clank flee. The two decide they must learn more about Tachyon and begin to search the Polaris galaxy for answers. During their investigation, Clank is visited by small robots called the Zoni that only he can see; the Zoni upgrade Clank and tell him that he is special, and that he must help Ratchet make a difficult choice in their current adventure. The duo also acquire the aid of Talwyn Apogee, the daughter of Max Apogee, a famous explorer who collected artifacts from the Lombax culture before he mysteriously disappeared.

Tools of Destruction is single-handedly one of PS3′s most underrated titles. Carrying over the strong legacy established by the PS2 releases in the series, it is still among one of the strongest titles in the PS3 library.

• #7 — Assassin’s Creed II (Ubisoft Montreal|Ubisoft)

Assassin’s Creed II begins immediately after the events of the first game in 2012; Desmond Miles is still trapped by Abstergo Industries (the modern-day face of the Knights Templar) after being forced to use the Animus device to revisit genetic memories of the Assassin Altaïr Ibn-La’Ahad, and has discovered prophetic warnings from Subject 16 (a previous captive) describing the end of the world. He is soon rescued by Lucy Stillman, a mole for the Assassins within Abstergo, who takes him to meet two other Assassins, historian Shaun Hastings and computer expert Rebecca Crane. They request that Desmond use their version of the Animus, the Animus 2.0, to relive memories of another Assassin, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, to train Desmond in the ways of the Assassins through the “Bleeding Effect” of the Animus. During his exposure, Desmond finds himself briefly struck by a puzzling memory of Altaïr and his lover, a former Templar named Maria who became pregnant with his child. It is also revealed that apart from training Desmond as an Assassin, the Assassins also wish to find out more information about the foretold Vault. Desmond also finds various glyphs left by Subject 16 in the Animus, which, when decoded and assembled, form a brief video of a man and woman, “Adam” and “Eve”, running through a futuristic setting called “Eden”. The video ends with the binary for “Eden”.

It’s arguable that sequels are never as good as the originals but with Assassin’s Creed II, it was better. Ubisoft Montreal went back to the drawing board and freed the series from a lot of the tediousness that made a lot of gamers cry out how boring Assassin’s Creed was.

• #6 — Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward|Activision)

Developer Infinity Ward returns with its third full installment in the Call of Duty series with Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Eschewing the traditional WWII setting that has been the hallmark of the series, Call of Duty 4 takes on the more nebulous world of modern warfare. Nazi storm troopers and kamikaze pilots have been replaced by a patchwork group of terrorists and insurgents, and traditional WWII weapons have been jettisoned in favor of more than 70 modern armaments. Though the story is a departure from the previous games, Call of Duty 4 still features intense mission-based first-person shooter gameplay that should be familiar to fans.

The face of war on consoles received a true revision when Infinity Ward stepped up and brought it to the here and now. In the process of doing so, they grabbed the attention of gamers everywhere that hated first-person shooters based on historic battles and looking form something more streamlined, more intuitive, more modern.

• #5 — God of War III (Santa Monica Studio|SCE)

Kratos wants to do one thing: kill Zeus. It’s the only goal that the “Ghost of Sparta” has in the entirety of God of War III, and everything from the epic beginning moments to the final credits serves to make that happen.

This is how it ends! Kratos grew to become a legend in video gaming history and Santa Monica Studio delivers one hell of closing to the series.

• #4 — Gran Turismo 5 (Polyphony Digital|SCE)

To a racing gamer it comes down to one of 2 things: simulation or arcade. If you are of the former group, then you probably bought your PS3 just to get Gran Turismo 5. The game is pure perfection!

• #3 — Little Big Planet (Media Molecule|SCEE)

Little Big Planet is a world full of creations made by the eight Creator Curators. However, the eighth Creator, a rogue Creator called “the Collector” is stealing the other Creators’ creations and not sharing them with the world (sharing is one of the core elements of LittleBigPlanet), and later, the Creators themselves.

Literally the closest thing PS3 has to an actual Super Mario title, Little Big Planet is platforming genius on both a big and small scale. It also introduced the world to Sackboy, the cutest mascot in all of gamedom.

• #2 — Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Naughty Dog|SCE)

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is the story of Nathan Drake, a fortune-hunter with a shady reputation and an even shadier past who is lured back into the treacherous world of thieves and mercenary treasure-seekers. The tenth game by premier Playstation 3 developer Naughty Dog, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves allows players to take control of Drake and embark on a journey that will push him to his physical, emotional and intellectual limits to discover the real truth behind the lost fleet of Marco Polo and the legendary Himalayan valley of Shambhala.

With a tradition for taking the best features from different genres of gaming, Naughty Dog pushed so many boundaries and set the bar so high forUncharted 2, that what you had in you system was one thing: perfection.

• #1 — Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of The Patriots (Kojima Productions|Konami)

Set in 2014, nine years after the plot of Metal Gear Solid and five years after Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. The world economy relies on continuous war, fought by PMCs, which outnumber government military forces. PMC soldiers are outfitted with nanomachines that enhance their abilities on the battlefield. The control network created through these nanomachines is called Sons of the Patriots (SOP), and Liquid Ocelot is preparing to hijack the system. Snake, meanwhile, is experiencing accelerated aging due to his status as a clone, and has less than a year to live. When his former commanding officer Roy Campbell approaches him with one last mission – to terminate Liquid – Snake accepts and is dropped into the Middle Eastern war zone where Liquid is believed to be hiding.

MGS4 literally sold systems worldwide. Marking the end (!) of the Sons of Big Boss story, we finally get to see how decades of conspiracies and counter-intelligence culminates into a masterpiece that’ll not soon be forgotten.

There’s quite a few more games deserving to be on this list, but we could only list 10. Feel like a game you love should have been on this list? Leave a comment below and let’s talk it over.

Launched in North America on November 17, 2006, the PlayStation 3 hits the 5 year mark today. It doesn’t seem like it’s really been half a decade since people were admittedly shelling out $600 for Sony’s newest entry into the console business but here we have it, the PS3 has proved itself as a solid system and is still picking up steam as it continues with it’s prescribed 10-year plan.

Thinking back on it, the PS3 had one of the slowest and rockiest starts in the industry. The systems were hard to find and the price tag for the console at launch made even the most ambitious of early-adopters pretty shaky. The Xbox 360 was already out the gates and had a yearlong head start (along with an impressive games library behind it) while Nintendo’s newest console (the Wii) was coming out in roughly 2 weeks after the launch of the PlayStation 3 and carried with it a very attractive price tag of $250. You could say there was some very heavy guns aimed its way.

In the five years since launch, Sony and their favored console has seen some of the biggest ups and downs this generation but at the end of the day, no one can say that the PS3 isn’t the sum of it’s parts. Having pioneered Blu-ray and beaten out Microsoft’s HD-DVD, Blu-ray has become a household name and was thrust into the forefront of digital entertainment. PS3 systems showed up everywhere triumphantly beside high-powered television and home entertainment rigs changing how movies (and television) would be watched. A vast catalog of features such as a built-in web browser, multimedia (music/video/photo) services, built-in Wi-Fi and out-the-box HDMI-readiness have helped to make the PS3 what it calls itself — a Computer Entertainment System.

Sony’s high priced demon was a force to be reckoned with, but the company did it at a considerable financial loss after manufacturing costs came into play. It took over 3 years for Sony to start making a profit on each unit sold — happening in early 2010. Hardware revisions helped to get Sony an upper hand as the system to this day has seen 10 different models (6 original and 4 slimline) each featuring less and less features — the biggest hit being the removal of PS2 backwards compatibility. Price cuts happened making the PS3 more appealing to the consumer and with a stellar lineup of first-party exclusives to run alongside regular console releases, entertainment is the name of the game.

The PlayStation Network, which is still free-to-use, keeps getting better and better offering an ever-expanding catalog of diverse gaming and movie options. The PlayStation Store is not the only face of PlayStation Network, as services like Netflix, Hulu Plus, Music and Video Unlimited offer more multimedia options to the system besides just gaming. PSN also loans its services admirably to enhancing the experience with Life with PlayStation (formerly Folding@Home) and the gamer lobby hub PlayStation Home.

With all the triumphs of the PlayStation 3, there have been a few fumbles along the way. Litigation over the patents for PlayStation’s trademark DualShock technology saw the system releasing in 2006 without a rumble controller. The Sixaxis controller (which bore the same shape and simliar design of Sony’s featured controller from the PS1 and PS2 eras) had to stand on its own for almost two years before seeing the reintegration of rumble to the controller. Sixaxis wasn’t a bad feature, but a lot of people were left at a disadvantage behind the fact that they had to manually manipulate the controller for enhancements to their games.

While the PS3 is built a lot sterner than its rival the Xbox 360, Sony would soon have to deal with similar nightmares as a result of product wear and tear when reports started showing up on forums and blogs about the dreaded Y(ellow)L(ight)o(f)D(eath). As with the RRoD, the YLoD basically signalled it’s time to spend more money and either replace your system or call Sony for repair (sometimes at a cost).

PlayStation Network took over 2 years to get a lot of the kinks straightened out and many a consumer felt that even with the service being free, the headaches sometimes didn’t justify all the hype. To make matters worse, PSN would suffer a critical blow to its viability after intrusions to the infrastructure resulted in a serious breach of private and financial information to Sony customers (PSN, Qriocity and SOE) and services on the PSN had to be halted temporarily. Sony managed to bounced back and through use of the Welcome Back Program, were able to not only regain the trust of the consumer, but to also bring in more and more customers.

With Sony’s vested interest in its current flagship console, the future is starting to look good and it’s definitely a good time to be a gamer — a PS3 gamer. Sony’s commitment to a 10-year strategy for the system means simply, more hard work and devotion for the consumers over the next 5 years. PlayStation Home has already received a facelift and Sony has started working on making PS2 games playable on the non-backwards compatible consoles via the PlayStation 2 Classics on PSN service. Sony has also made a better commitment to 3D and the PS Move which a lot of modern gamers/consumers view as little more than gimmicks.

Standing behind the slogan “It only does everything,” the PS3 is taking the spotlight at being the centerpiece of every living room.

Let’s not even try to mince words here… People are always going to play a game as filler for the upcoming big release they really want. Bayonetta was played while waiting for God of War 3, Vanquish for Call of Duty: Black Ops, Need for Speed: SHIFT for Gran Turismo 5… Was there any real surprise that a giant heap of the millions sold-Battlefield 3 was all as a standby for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3?

When stacked up against Rage, Homefront, Resistance 3, Killzone 3 and Bulletstorm, it’s impossible to argue that Battlefield 3 isn’t one of this year’s best shooters. Battlefield 3 was one of this year’s most highly anticipated releases (besides Modern Warfare 3) and there’s something in it that every shooter fan can love. Ultimately (and unfortunately), shooters these days are all about the multiplayer experience and everyone loves them some multiplayer. That being said, when you have games like Battlefield 3 and Modern Warfare 3, there are some really distinct differences with these two powerhouses. These two games practically have the same audience. So, what’s all the hooplah about then?

The Battlefield series does a smashing job of delivering what can only possibly be described as the real military feel and Battlefield 3 is no exception. Building on what has been established from the original Battlefield: Bad Company and then tweaked and retooled through Bad Company 2, there is a particular style required to play a Battlefield game and especially for online play in the Battlefield universe. Sometimes, just dropping in and spraying bullets everywhere is not the best way to complete objectives. It is the best way, though, to get yourself a high death count…

The next part of this article is not my way of bashing Call of Duty players (because I’m more of a third person shooter man myself), but rather some observations I’ve noticed as I’ve played, observed and browsed countless websites and forums for Battlefield 3. Get ready to do some serious pointing and laughing…

1. They are trying to cover the map completely by foot.

The first thing I said when playing the beta for Battlefield 3 for the first time was, “Holy fuck! This map is huge!” It’s also one of the most common phrases we heard through our headsets Day One. This is a testament to scaling in Battlefield. These maps are no joke and you’d seriously wouldn’t want to be out in a war zone in real life on foot, so you shouldn’t want to be tackling one of BF3‘s online maps that way either. Right? Right…

2. There’s a play mechanic to vehicles a Modern Warfare player hasn’t grasped.

The concept of vehicles in Battlefield isn’t something new. There are a vast  assortment of military vehicles in this game. And they aren’t just there for scenery. Battlefield: Bad Company made vehicular utilization a serious game changer for the series and honestly, while you guys were busy playing Modern Warfare 2, World at War and Black Ops, you missed out on one of the finer points of the series (and quite possibly, the FPS genre).

3. Everything gets destroyed — The mayhem of destructible environments.

From the first time I played Battlefield: Bad Company, I knew I liked the idea of destructible environments. This concept isn’t new. It’s been around since the first Red Faction. This is also a hallmark of real life warfare. Your cover is never inexhaustible. But being a CoD player, this concept is probably as foreign as the Swedish language to a native Japanese person. The environment always changes, therefore your tactics need to change with them. Modern day games thrive on adaptability, thus a modern gamer’s ability to adapt makes him a damn good player.

4. They are trying to stab people from the front instead of behind.

I’m notoriously known as a PS3 gamer (I have all the current consoles) but I learned this lesson playing Halo on the original Xbox. You really wanna shank someone? You better do in the back! The knife is the equivalent of the last resort in a shooter, but thanks to Modern Warfare 2 and Black Ops, people have seemed to become minor living legends through their use of the knife. Let’s be real. In all the war flicks you’ve watched (that aren’t over-the-top Hollywood action films), how long does someone with a knife truly last? Didn’t think so, either…

5. The buddy system may as well be an alien language to them.

Want to know the easiest way to spot a CoD player? See if they know how to share/take ammo or health. 9 times out of 10, a player that’s so busy worried about kills that he can’t get the back of another teammate is usually someone from the Call of Duty side of the house. This isn’t a blatant pointing of the accusatory finger at a selfish player. It’s honestly just someone that doesn’t know that real life combat is all about supporting your squad as opposed to supporting yourself. Stopping to give someone health or ammo as well as stopping to get it could make the difference in winning the mission or checking into a body bag. As Sgt. Slaughter said in G.I. Joe The Movie, “We all go home, or no one goes home.“

6. Tanks = Killing Spree!

It’s almost comical how you’ll see someone make a mad dash for a tank just to blow some stuff up…

7. Using a rocket launcher to kill infantry.

Last time I checked, the classification for heavy incendiary devices such as the rocket-propelled grenade launcher were to be considered anti-tank weapons. Thanks to a phenomenon in Call of Duty that makes heroes out of a single person with limitless supplies of rockets, a subculture has evolved where people are better with RPGs than actual handguns. This is another one that clearly stresses how different the two games are from one another. Blowey-uppey stuff is meant for the big machinery, boys. Remember, “the right tool for the right job.”

 There you have it. I have nothing but respect for the Call of Duty franchise and wish continued success to the brand. As I write this article, it has already been announced that a new CoD game is already on the table. I’m not using this as a tool to mock Modern Warfare gamers because you guys contribute 2 things considerable to the gaming community — longevity and competition. To all the Battlefield players out there, now that Modern Warfare 3 is out, here’s to taking back your game!

TRANSFORMERS UNIVERSE TO SHOW FIRST TASTE OF GAME VISUALS AND OFFER FANS A CHANCE TO NAME SOME IN-GAME TRANSFORMERS CHARACTERS AT NEW YORK COMIC CON

JAGEX TO OFFER FANS THE CHANCE TO VOTE FOR THE NAME OF TWO IN-GAME CLASSES, SHOWCASE CONCEPT ART AND SHOW FIRST LOOK GAME VISUALS

CAMBRIDGE, UK, October 13, 2011- Jagex Games Studio, one of the largest independent games developers and publishers in the world, and makers of the upcoming TRANSFORMERS UNIVERSE MMO, today announced their exciting plans for New York’s Comic-Con; which runs from Thursday October 13 to Sunday October 16

Visitors who pass through the enclosed stand will also be some of the first to view footage showing what the browser based MMO will look like, experience the graphical style and direction and be able to see firsthand how the Jagex development team is working with Hasbro to create the look and feel of the game through live concept art and animation demonstrations.

In addition to the activity on the show floor, members of the TRANSFORMERS UNIVERSE development team will be taking part in the following panel sessions at the show:

Date: Friday, October 14
Time: 7:45 pm – 8:45 pm
Location: 1A24

On October 11th, the highly anticipated Dragon Age: Redemption will premiere on Machinima, the world’s largest video game and entertainment network (YouTube.com/Machinima). This six episode web series, presented at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, has been generating non-stop buzz and excitement.

Starring Felicia Day, creator of the web series, “The Guild”, this series follows Tallis, an Elvish assassin, who gets a last chance at redemption when she is sent to capture a rogue Qunari mage intent on wreaking havoc on the world.

This was the message GameStop practically put out to vendors following a recent incident that’s been heavily blogged and tweeted about the past week. The retailer was caught removing coupons from the PC version of Deus Ex: Human Revolution that would have given purchasers a free copy of the OnLive version of the game. The practice basically rendered the product tampered with because content meant to be included with purchase was taken away from customers that had (in a lot of cases) already paid for the games. What makes the act even more appalling is that the games were continued to be sold as brand new at the retail price. Never at any time was customers informed that the copies they were going home with had contents removed from them. After word had gotten out about the maneuver, GameStop pulled the title from shelves to send back to Square Enix. The immediate fallout was almost epic in scale.

Customers had a right to be furious. Developer Eidos Montreal had a right to be furious. Publisher Square Enix definitely should have been furious. Square Enix, surprisingly enough, wasn’t as put off as everyone would have remotely expected.

Issuing a statement following the incident, Square Enix stated, “As part of Deus Ex: Human Revolution‘s boxed offering on PC, Square Enix included a third-party coupon. GameStop was not made aware of this inclusion and Square Enix respects the right of GameStop to have final say over the contents of products it sells and to adjust them where they see fit in accordance with their policies. Square Enix invites gamers who want to purchase the PC version of Deus Ex: Human Revolution without additional coupons to buy the game at any one of over 4,000 GameStop stores in North America or purchase a digital download copy online from gamestop.com.”

With Square Enix offering more of an apology to GameStop as opposed to the customers purchasing Deus Ex, the whole situation has almost been rendered moot. But there is something to be gained out of all of this. In a poor use of judgement from the retailer, GameStop has actually GIVEN EXTRA PUBLICITY to both OnLive and Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

It’s more than a pretty safe bet that people were still in the dark about OnLive up until now. As a cloud-based gaming platform that’s designed to offer a new alternative to platform gaming, OnLive launched June of 2010. Partnered with over 50 publishers with more than 100 games available to play over the service, OnLive can be accessed on PC and Mac, Android smartphones and tablets, the iPad and also internet enabled TV’s and devices.

GameStop had recently started their own venture into game streaming after acquiring Spawn Labs, another game streaming specialist. Though there has yet to be any turn out from this acquisition, GameStop has obviously felt enough pressure from OnLive and the partnership with Eidos Interactive to resort to a bullying tactic.

The retailer recently issued an apology for the situation with Deus Ex and OnLive and has even offered customers special use of their Buy 2, Get 1 Free sale as well as a $50 GameStop gift card to anyone who had already made purchase of the PC edition of Deux Ex. An email sent out from Gamestop explained, “We want to earn back your trust and confidence in the GameStop experience. Please bring in this email and your store receipt or order confirmation from GameStop.com and present it to a Game Advisor.” Unfortunately for GameStop, following the company’s peculiar way of handling their business, OnLive is now poised to take on a better role in the gaming industry.

The real question has to be asked: Was what GameStop did even legal?

While there is no clear cut answer to the legality of the maneuver, it can be said that GameStop violated a few codes of ethics.

They violated the ethics of customer service when they removed bonus content from product without informing anyone (consumer and publisher alike) that it had taken place and then continuing to sell the product as new. There’s nothing saying that anything you buy from any of the 4000 plus stores GameStop owns is new when there’s now knowledge that the company will at any time open product and tamper with it before it gets into your hands.

They violated the ethics of honoring the sale of merchandise to the vendors by tampering with the product. Though it can be said that any company can refuse the right to carry and sell a product or service, the habit of altering materials and continuing to sell for continued profit, unbeknownst consumer and vendor alike, is a breach of common business practice. Basically put: What else have they done to product before it hits the shelves and salesfloors?

GameStop also violated their own code of ethics when they continued to sell opened and tampered product to customers as new. GameStop has proudly stood behind the policy that they will not sell used product as new, but in the case of PC games, any product that has been opened cannot be resold at all — especially at the full retail price. When a product’s legitimacy has come into question, GameStop has always used policy to either put an unopened product in your hands or directed you to the nearest store that can provide you with it. The actions mentioned earlier in this article spells out that at any time, when the company wants to keep its bottom line intact, it will THROW OUT ITS OWN RULE BOOK.

GameStop is already trying to make amends to its customer base for their actions, but you have to wonder what they’re doing for Square Enix and Eidos Montreal — if anything at all. The damage has already been done, but with so many other companies out there already learning from GameStop’s triumphs and tragedies and incorporating them into new practices for their own businesses, only time will tell whether this was a stumbling block for GameStop or the first signs of a crumbing empire for the retail chain.

Another year, and another E3 is behind us. There were all sorts of announcements and premieres, and in light of all the issues plaguing certain developers and other companies, this was the time to “show n’ prove”. Will WiiU be everything Nintendo hopes it will be? Can Sony rebound from the PSN fiasco and subsequent hacks? And what’s the deal with all this new Kinect shit, XBox?!?

PCS Villain, Colt 45 running across the bay

Recently, Sony Online Entertainment brought PopCultureShock to tour the SOE Studio in Austin, Texas where they’ve put a tremendous effort in creating the much-anticipated DC Universe Online game. After a tour of the office and a debriefing of the game’s inception, creative process, and breakdown of the main elements of the game, I got to spend a few hours exploring the game in Beta, and what follows are my first impressions of the game. Click on images to enlarge

Harley Quinn guards the Joker Suit

DCU Online is not a pure MMO, at least not in what longtime MMO-ers are used to; it’s more of a hybrid of a few game types mixed together. There’s a little real-time strategy, a little bit of RPG, and all of it is encompassed in this MMO world. It’s heavy on the combat and logistically so because DCU Online is getting a simultaneous launch on the PS3 and PCs. Because of the amount of combat that’s involved, I found the PS3 Dualshock controller to be much more natural when dishing out combos and making changes on the fly. I played on a PC, but played with a Dualshock controller after quickly ditching the keyboard route.

Custom Make it Your Own

For those that don’t know, DCU Online has always been about a custom hero that you bring to the table. One of the early misconceptions is that you’d be able to play the classic DCU heroes and villains for an entire campaign, but not so. It’s possible to play a few dozen of them in alert missions, and you can tailor make your character to look like and act like your favorites, but it’s better to make it your own, no? Well you have that choice, regardless. You create a character that exists in the DCU, and you choose to be male or female; design your build and stature including both the look and abilities/powers; and live out the fantasy of a hero or villain. Those choosing the heroic path get to pick one of DC’s classic Trinity: Superman, Batman or Wonder Woman as their mentor, while those who decide the villainous route get to choose from their arch enemies in Lex Luthor, Joker, or Circe.

One of Gotham's finest getting the beat down, or with the red flashing, is it me who is getting beat down?

The name I chose for my super villain was Colt 45. (The creative juices were flowing a little slow that day and I’ll blame it on traveling eastward.) It’s so easy to make a character with the powers you always wanted as a kid, and so I did. I had to go for super speed (I love the Flash and ran track) and had to have sorcery powers because I wanted to see the visuals of comic book magic. Besides super speed, flight and acrobatics are the additional choices in terms of traveling. Given my limited time with the game, the ability to cover a large amount of area in a short time was a luxury I considered heavily.

Other core powers include: gadgets, fire, ice, nature, and mental while even more staple powers can be unlocked and added to your utility belt. You can pick your personality, which you can see in your character’s saunter or posture when you leave your character idle (I chose flirty), fighting style (martial arts), and then the costume. I knew that I could have spent hours just on costumes so I patterned my look after Deathstroke, and then tweaked the colors. You can pick the color for each piece of the costume or you can pick from several three-color palettes that can be helpful in shortcutting this part of the creation. In the end Colt 45 looked a little more early 90’s comics than I ever intended but I think gamers and comic fans alike, are going to love making multiple characters. After about 25 minutes of creating my character, I just wanted to jump into the action but it’s easy to spend an eternity in character creation.

Running down a building

No matter what combination you choose, each campaign starts off in Braniac’s ship where you have to escape out of. Here you’ll get a tutorial and get your feet wet while coming to grips with the controls. Once you exit, you get brought to one of two worlds. All villains and techies go to Gotham. Everyone else is sent to Metropolis to start. Shown here are both images from Gotham, Metropolis and the Legion of Doom and you’ll get a taste of some of the massive worlds created by the design team.

The Dashboard

In Gotham or Metropolis, your mentor will list out your goals to the bottom right of the screen; your map is in the upper right corner; your customized utility and abilities “belt” lies at the bottom center while the health and magic/powers bar is at the familiar upper left. None of the Heads Up Display is overwhelming or covers up the action, just make sure you’re playing with a widscreen set.

A different view of running on water; up close and behind

Feeling the Need, the Need for Speed

I loved playing with a character with super speed. The blur and lightning visuals in combination with the sounds of the Speed Force were awesome as seen in the screen caps. Being able to run up and down buildings was a trip. Camera movement and angles were fluid and it gives you unlimited access to Gotham City and Metropolis. Because I just had to, I ran across the Metropolis Bay, and when I stopped in the middle, I plopped right in and began treading water.

This is not an endorsement for the super speed route for travel powers. When creating my villain, I was torn on choosing flight or super speed. While it’s possible to unlock flight, you just don’t command it like you do if it is one of your main abilities. In speaking with the other journalists, the acrobatics route is apparently a lot of fun too and very intuitive. After about three straight hours of super speed though I can tell you, I had to take a break for my eyes. I was a bit too enthusiastic travelling and fighting in super speed mode, but luckily it’s very simple to toggle that on or off.

The sorcery powers added another level to the combat not normally seen in comic book console games. I could levitate detectives in the distance and knock them out in the middle of the air before they could set their feet down. I could cast spells and make Gotham City Police Department’s finest think they’re on fire. More time would have unlocked even cooler skills for sure.

One of the more exciting parts of the game is leveling up. Whenever I got a notification of a level up or an item grab, I’d race to see what exactly I could add to my fighting or grow my powers tree. The more combos you unlock and learn, the quicker you can get through battles.

When you level up, you get a chance to upgrade your fighting abilities, or your superpower. Also any items you pick up along the way or buy are added to your costume or arsenal on the fly. Because it’s an MMO, I was repeatedly reminded that there is no pause button, so if you want to make a change you can fly up to the top of a building and make the necessary changes.

Another suit in the Legion of Doom to unlock guarded by Mr. Freeze

The Verdict So Far

Essentially, you’re playing to get through 30 levels, the current cap, which amounts to roughly 40 hours of play. My propensity to explore everything would probably extend that period of time. But then the fun really begins because you can then enter the PvP mode where you get to interact with other players. Each month new missions and new worlds are being added to the game, potentially making the game as endless as your favorite monthly comics. There are battle suits (from actual stories) to unlock and use, several skill challenges and missions where you’ll need to team up with others online. For instance, we were shown an Alert Mission that transports you to Smallville where you take on Doomsday and fight beside the Justice League.

Gameplay is extremely smooth. There’s no jerking or staggering in battles, even when there’s as many as 15-20 characters on the screen. I also found no glaring glitches or noticeable areas where the game feels underdeveloped or needing more. The game is so close to completion and understandably, the delays have hurt the buzz, but it’s only because they are taking the time to put the detail that will overwhelm the most ardent DC Comics fan and gamer.

Voice acting for instance is one of the finishing touches needed to complete the game. Kevin Conroy is recording for Batman and Mark Hamill reprises his familiar role as The Joker. Other voices include Summer Glau (Supergirl), Adam Baldwin (Superman), James Marsters (Lex Luthor), Michelle Forbes (Circe), Diedrich Bader (Solomon Grundy), Gina Torres (Wonder Woman), Powers Boothe (Gorilla Grodd), Dwight Schultz (Flash-Barry Allen), Wil Wheaton (Robin-Tim Drake), Tony Todd (Darkseid, Kevin Michael Richardson (Clayface) and Robert Patrick (Hawkman).

The streets of Gotham City

In trying to describe the experience, I’ll compare it to other games I’ve played. The combat is reminiscent of God of War or Batman: Arkham Asylum only with no cut sequences or stoppage of play; just fast, live, and seamless action. It can be intense, relentless, and button-mashing will be mandatory. The mentorship missions remind me of Grand Theft Auto, where you slowly gain skills and experience as you rise through the ranks of becoming a villain, or by doing accumulative acts of heroism. Bribing rookie GCPD cops or strapping bombs to their squad cars may not appeal to everyone, but that’s why you can put a stop to Gorilla Grodd and his apes.

The cities and environments are immersive and overwhelming at first glance. You can go to the Daily Planet, or Metropolis Stadium. The Batcave has the penny, the T-Rex, the Batmobile and a bunch of bats flying around. Comic readers will geek out interacting with artifacts and places that they’ve only read about. One thing I really enjoyed about DCU Online was that the learning curve was small but still presented a challenge. I felt I could come in, drop an hour or two whenever I wanted and not feel like I had to put in several hours at a time on each campaign to feel some sense of accomplishment.

A penthouse view of the Metropolis Bay.

Hardcore gamers may wonder how much they’ll enjoy this game, and I can’t answer that based on what it is each person is expecting out of the game. There’s plenty to see and do, that much I do know. What I can do is let you know what my perspective is on MMO’s, games and comics and how DCU Online fits in with that.

I came in with an open mind and a broad gaming experience, skepticism on paying a monthly fee for a game, and a long love and knowledge of comics. Though I am a console gamer and spend countless hours on my PS3, no MMO has made this comics fan take the plunge so far. I was not just thoroughly entertained with DCU Online; I’m brainstorming ways to shift my monthly disposable income around to accommodate playing this game in the winter. The DC Universe is a world I’m familiar with, unlike World of Warcraft or Everquest. I invest in a portion of the DCU each week in the comics I buy and that’s truly what the draw is for me with DCU Online: the characters, the universe and the license. The fact that the game delivers on multiple fronts is a bonus in my mind.

Hopefully my impressions keep the anticipation high for those waiting for DCU Online, which is now scheduled for early 2011 release. But if this wasn’t enough, throughout November and December we’re going to continue covering the game through to the release date. Check back here for screen shots and videos, an exclusive interview with DCU Online Senior Producer, Wes Yanagi, and a detailed tour of the SOE Austin Studios. We enjoyed what we learned at DC University and think comic fans and gamers alike may want to consider enrolling when Spring Semester arrives.

A glimpse of the massive Metropolis. In the distant skies is one of Braniac's ships

For Xbox 360 players, Dante’s Inferno is being called the God of War alternative for good reason. See if Dante’s hellish adventure will satiate your desire for demon slaying and gratuitous nudity. Can this holy warrior give the God-slaying Kratos a run for his money?

You might be surprised. We certainly were. Quarter Up!

After an eternity, the Apocalypse is almost here! It’ll officially be here when Joe Mad finishes something (…oops, did I say that?). Anyways, a third trailer premiered @ E3, but still no release date.

The game looks good, but with Kratos coming out again in 2010, we’ll see who the REAL God of War is.

Yesterday Sony officially revealed “The Last Guardian”, the long awaited sequel to “Shadow of Colossus”. Team Ico’s newest offering looks fantastic, and there’s a giant Griffon, rat, dragon, thingy. If we had to guess, it’s likely, a colossus.

Currently, Sony hasn’t committed to a release date. In the meantime, enjoy the moving pictures:

Kojima-san popped up yet again @ E3, this time at SCEA’s conference to announce Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker for the PSP. It seems that this entry in the series will be a return to the more traditional Metal Gear Solid gameplay, and may be following Solid Snake instead of Big Boss.

In other news: The Cleveland Show has already been picked up for a second season.

From Dwayne McDuffie's blog w/headline "The New Justice League?" Art by Ed Benes.

VOTE NOW IN THE 2009 GLYPHS FAN AWARD FOR BEST COMIC!

Black Lightning Year One #6 (of 6)

Stormwatch PHD #20

Supergirl #39. Pencils by Igle.

Teen Titans Spotlight: Cyborg TP

Gold Digger: Maidens of Twilight #2 (of 4). Written by Perry.

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Also notable:

Witchblade #125

Ultimate X-Men #100

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More on the Resident Evil 5 controversy: An anthropologist stated that it definitely was not racist. But can he really be considered an expert on the subject?

Character designs from The Princess and the Frog.

Rosario Dawson still insists that filming on Sin City 2 will start this year.

The film version of Bernardin & Freeman’s Monster Attack Network is in the works.

A website in Egypt writes about the recent Vertigo graphic novel Cairo.

All the hip kids in Africa read Korean comics.

“Now cultural and media experts have weighed in as ‘Resident Evil 5,’ the game previewed in the trailer two years ago, rolls out on U.S. shelves this Friday. And their opinion suggests that video game players should not worry so much.

“In fact, the survival horror game may actually focus needed attention on issues of race and how the United States and other industrialized nations view the developing world.”

Also: The First Fan makes his manga debut, along with some other notable political figures.

In just a few hours, before the movie even hits US silver screens, Quantum of Solace will release on consoles. Below is a video trailer of some of the steps Activision took to bring Bond to life in the videogame.

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And as an added treat for the fellas, we’ve also added a trailer of Bond Girl Olga Kurylenko adapting to her videogame role. You know we had to do it.

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Mortal Kombat Vs. DCU hits retail shelves on November 16.

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