Guildford, UK. – January 19, 2012 – Award-winning independent game developer Klei Entertainment and EA Partners, a division of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA), today announced that the highly anticipated 2D action brawler, Shank™ 2, will be available on the Xbox LIVE® Arcade and on the PlayStation®Network Europe on February 8, 2012 for 800 Microsoft Points or £7.99.

Set in a pulp fiction world, Shank 2 puts players back in control of their favorite ex-mobster hitman, Shank. Klei has evolved the combat experience with precise controls, new weapons, smarter enemies, and more advanced combo techniques, all set to the backdrop of beautiful 2D art and animation. Players can put Shank’s trusty arsenal of handguns, chainsaws, grenades, plus all-new weapons to use in order to protect those close to him.

Introducing an all-new Survival Mode, gamers can team up with a friend online or locally, working together to take down hordes of goons in an action-packed, arcade-style brawl. Featuring stunning visuals from Klei’s veteran cartoon director, Jeff Agala, Shank 2 raises the bar even higher for 2D brawlers with art and animation that won Klei multiple awards and nominations, including IGF’s Excellence in Visual Arts nomination, and the Canadian Animator of the Year award for Klei’s lead animator, Aaron Bouthillier.

For more information on Shank 2, please visit www.shankgame.com and follow the development team at www.twitter.com/klei and at www.facebook.com/shankgame.

About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) is a global leader in digital interactive entertainment. The Company’s game franchises are offered as both packaged goods products and online services delivered through Internet-connected consoles, personal computers, mobile phones and tablets. EA has more than 100 million registered players and operates in 75 countries.
In fiscal 2011, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $3.6 billion. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, EA is recognized for critically acclaimed, high-quality blockbuster franchises such as The Sims™, Madden NFL, FIFA Soccer, Need for Speed™, Battlefield, and Mass Effect™. More information about EA is available at www.eagames.co.uk/press.

About Klei Entertainment
Founded in 2005, Klei Entertainment is an award-winning game development studio based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Klei has been developing original games since its inception, and has developed and published games for the PC, Mac, Linux, PlayStation®Network and Xbox LIVE® Arcade. To learn more about the Klei team and its latest projects, visit www.kleientertainment.com.

SHANK is a trademark of Klei Entertainment Inc., used under license. The Sims and Need for Speed are trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. Mass Effect is a trademark of EA International (Studio and Publishing) Ltd. John Madden, NFL and FIFA are the property of their respective owners and used with permission. PlayStation is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Xbox, Xbox LIVE and Kinect are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies and used with permission.

Shank 2 Features.

• Multi-Weapon Combat System – With a brand new redesigned weapon system, take on smarter and greater variety of goons and bigger, badder bosses with new weapon combos and new counter moves that let you use enemies’ weapons against them!

• It Takes More than One to Survive – Team up with a friend to put a thrashing on hordes of goons in this all-new and incredibly fun arcade-style co-op survival mode. Teamwork is essential to surviving waves of increasing tenacious enemies!

• Rich Environments – Look for opportunities to bring down ceilings, explode barrels, hurl crates, and explore surroundings to find new in-game unlockables!

• Stunning Visuals – Shank 2 draws you into the action with a stunning visual style that sets a new benchmark in 2D brawlers.

The original game set a new standard for its visual style and Shank 2 raises the bar. Shank 2 expands on the original game’s amazing combat system to redefine the 2D side-scrolling brawler.

Buy Shank 2 on Amazon.

Think about it for a second. You pay a good chunk of money for a video game. You most likely do this for some level of entertainment, but how fun can it be when everything is scripted just like a movie. It may be fun the first time through, but with every additional game play, it becomes more stale, more boring. There are no more surprises. You already know what is behind every corner. You know the twists and turns of every plot line. You know the game inside and out, and you either trade it in for a new linear game that will eventually become boring, or the game sits on your shelve, and starts to collect some dust. If you are inventive, you may use the game disc as a Frisbee, or a coaster, but 9 times out of ten, when you finish the game, you are finished with the game.

Multiplayer brought a nice change to video games. It made things more unpredictable. It is impossible to determine your opponents next move in the fast paced world of online video games. This added challenge has breathed new life into what was becoming a stale video game world, but could it possibly get even better? Of course it can!

What about a multiplayer sandbox game? A game that took place in a huge open environment, and you got to enjoy this huge open environment with your friends. Games like Crackdown quickly became huge hits. It was as if video games as a whole just leveled up, but instead of getting a free man, or increasing your health, the world in which we played video games changed and evolved for the better. Now you can play with your friends in a huge open world. You get to make the decisions, and the world around you reacts to those decisions. Could it possibly get any better? Of course it can, but how?

That is where Minecraft comes in. Video gaming as whole just leveled up again, and as a result gamers now get to build the world that they play in. This is huge! This is as incredible as pizza, as good as sliced bread. Minecraft opens the door to a new way to play video games. The only real limit is your imagination.

In Minecraft, you can make anything that you want, and everything is made from blocks. It is almost like playing with Legos, but 100 million times better. Instead of rushing out to the store to purchase every little Lego kit that you can find, you get everything right in the palm of your hand. It is all in a fantastic virtual world that you control. With over 4.5 million purchases, Minecraft has proven that people want creative freedom in their video games.

Minecraft A brave new world!

When you start a new game of Minecraft, you are thrown into a brave new world. An island surrounded by blue water. The blue sky is filled with blocky clouds, and the sun slowly makes its way across the sky. You can do anything that you want, but you should play later, because when darkness falls in Minecraft, you have to survive.

Whoah, wait a minute. Backup. Did you just say, “survive?”

For everything that is good in the world, you can bet there is an equal an opposite bad. So for all the fun that you can have during the day in Minecraft, when it gets dark, monsters will appear. These are hungry monsters who simply want to eat you. You must survive the night, or the darkness. Anywhere in Minecraft where there is darkness, you risk the possibility of being eaten by a creature.

Your first task should be to build a shelter. How do you do that? You have to get some wood. Just walk over to a tree and start hacking away at it. The wood from the tree becomes a wooded block in your inventory. In its raw form, you can’t do anything with it. You are also going to need a source of light for your shelter. Light keeps the dark away, which keeps the monsters away, which helps you to survive!

Minecraft, Let there be light!

How are you going to make light? Think way back in time. What was used for light before electricity?
Fire! Fire make good light. Fire burn! You need to make a torch, but in order to do that, you are going to need some more resources, one of which is coal. How do you get coal? You mine it! With a name like Minecraft, you can only expect to do some mining. You will need to convert your wood blocks down to sticks. You can then attach your coal to the stick to make a torch.

In Minecraft you start with almost nothing, and you have to create everything from scratch. When your health is low, you have to eat to restore it, but in order to eat, you must craft a weapon that will slaughter an animal or two. Do you see the idea yet? You will need to create or craft everything in the game, and in order to craft, you must mine resources. Hence the name Minecraft. All of this happens in a single player game.

Does Minecraft have multiplayer?

What do you think? Of course it does silly! Now you can build, or destroy the world of Minecraft with all of your friends.

Minecraft is a game of where freedom is fundamental. Do what you want, when you want, how you want.

Check out the official website for Minecraft.

Guildford: 21st December 2011: Awarded “Most Anticipated Game of 2012” at the Spike TV VGAs, Mass Effect 3 features gripping musical arrangements directed by returning composers and leading artists in entertainment. The soundtrack sets the captivating tone for hero Commander Shepard’s struggle to take Earth back from an alien race known as the Reapers.

Like previous Mass Effect games, a number of talented composers will play critical roles in the game’s musical development, with direction led by BioWare’s acclaimed audio team.

The roster of composers for Mass Effect 3 includes:

“The magic of BioWare games has always been the emotional power of the story, so music is extremely important to the experience,” said Casey Hudson, Executive Producer of the Mass Effect series. “With Mass Effect 3, we’re taking players on a more personal journey, even though the scope is bigger than ever – an all-out galactic war!  Each composer has played an intricate role in delivering the combination of epic scope and delicate emotion that will make Mass Effect 3 the best game in the series.”

Shop For Mass Effect 3.

FPS Games from iTunes: Get some Rage out!

ID software’s Rage makes its way to the iTunes store complete with brutal deaths, blood splattering graphics and all. Rage HD makes great use of the processing power inside the iPad. The graphics are just gorgeous. The controls are interesting. The entire game is on rails so the freedom to move around where ever you want is not going to happen, but don’t let that stop you from making a mess of the post apocalyptic mutant inhabitants of Rage HD. This one has support for GameCenter, and a few other cool tricks up its sleeves. External displays are fully supported. Hook it up to the big screen TV and watch heads explode in an even better way. For the price, it would be silly not to give Rage HD a try.

FPS Games From iTunes: Modern Combat 3: Fallen Nation

Wipe off the touch screens, and get ready for some massive modern carnage in this one. You will love the way this one looks. It looks and performs so good that it is hard to believe it is playing on a phone. You can shoot down enemies with your iPhone or your iPad because this FPS game is universal. Shoot your way through 13 great missions, and be prepared to spend some fun time with this FPS. One price gets you this game.

FPS Games From iTunes: In Space No One Can Hear You Scream!

In the hit movie Alien that may have been the case, but in Dead Space for the iPhone and the iPad, there will be plenty of screaming. It may be you doing the screaming, or it may be the loads of undead space zombies, either way, Dead Space will keep you wanting to see what is around the next corner. You will be so deeply immersed by the great sounds, and the visuals will draw you right in. There are no rails to ride in this game. You can go where you want to go, but watch out for the dark shadowy places, and sharp corners, because the bad guys love to hide there. Don’t drop your iPad or iPhone when they jump out and scare the living crap out of you. With Dead Space you can bet that it will happen. The price is different for the iPhone and the iPad.

Halo on the iPad? Not going to happen.

There is a game that is very close to it though. N.O.V.A. 2. It has vehicles, great graphics, multiplayer, leader boards, career mode and more. The graphics are gorgeous, and chances are you will be spending quite a bit of time playing this one. The controls are great. They are still not as good as the PC, Xbox or PS3, but they are getting really close. If you liked N.O.V.A. 1 at all, then N.O.V.A. 2 took everything from that game and just made it 100 times better. It won’t be long before more people start playing FPS game like this one on their iPad and iPhones.

FPS Games From iTunes:  Blood, Evil and Zombies! OH MY!

What would the iPad and the iPhone be without a little bit of Call of Duty action thrown in? It is a classic game, and the millions of people that play it on the consoles have proven that fact. Throw in four player co-op, zombies, in game chat, zombies, achievements, zombies, and other bonuses and you get a great game that will occupy hours of your life. Did I mention that it has zombies? Who doesn’t love to shoot zombies?

As more and more people start picking up iPads, and iPhones, the games and Apps are just going to keep getting better and better. If you have not taken the FPS games plunge yet, what the hell are you waiting for? Go blast some zombies! Get some FPS Games!

The Original Xbox

When Microsoft decided that they wanted to enter the console market, the critics all stood up and laughed. They did not think that the software giant had what it takes to succeed in the cutthroat market video game console world, and when the first Xbox was shown to the public, it’s huge size was questioned. The giant black box was packed with more power than the competition.

Do you know how fast the processor in the original Xbox was?

If you answered 700 MHZ then you were right. That is quite a difference from what is out there today, but remember this was ten years ago. This gave Microsoft twice the processing power of the already popular PS2. It also enabled the Xbox to have better visuals and better sound too.

Do you know how much ram the original Xbox had?

Get ready for this one. It had a massive 64 MB of ram. While it may not seem like much by today’s standards, this was still twice as much power as the PS2.

What was the nickname of the original Xbox controller?

This question will really test your Xbox knowledge. Not many gamers from this era have even held this giant controller in their hands. Because of the huge size, the original Xbox controller was given the nickname of “The Duke.” This giant controller became a fan favorite quite quickly, but internal testing at Microsoft showed that a lot of people could not use the controller because it was just too large to fit in their small hands. You know what they say, “Little hands means little controller.” The Duke was quietly put to rest, despite many avid gamer’s protests. Microsoft was after the entire video game market, not just the 18 and up crowd.

The original Xbox would not have gotten off the ground if it was not for one game. There was one game that was sold with almost every single Xbox. Do you know what game this was?

If you guessed Azurik: Rise of Perathia, then you are not a true Xbox fan. Shame on you! Halo Combat Evolved was the game that everyone wanted. Microsoft knew that they needed a game that would move their new console, and purchasing the game developer Bungie got them Halo, a game that is still a system seller to this date.

Halo Combat Evolved was recently given a fresh coat of paint in a HD remake for the its tenth anniversary. It was listed as one of the best selling games for the week of November 15th 2011 at many video game retailers. Fans still can’t seem to get enough of the legendary Halo.

There was one game for the original Xbox that out sold every other game on the system. Do you know what that game was?

It was not Madden 2002. It was Halo 2.

Something wicked this way comes!

Did you know that the original Xbox did not have Xbox Live. On what date did Microsoft unleash Xbox Live to the world?

It was exactly one year later on November 15th 2002. This is a day that changed the way people played video games forever.

This new service allowed users to choose a gamertag. This would become their online user name. Do you know what the very first gamertag was?

If you answered Bill Gates, you are wrong. The very first gamertag was “E”

Within a few months Xbox Live had around 250,000 subscribers. According to stats released by Microsoft that number has now grown to over 20 million people. Microsoft really hit the nail on the head when it came to the Xbox Live service. By now the Xbox was an actual threat to Sony, and people started to take it much more seriously. Microsoft was making it well known that their video game console was going to be around for a very long time.

Even with the success of the original Xbox selling around 24 million units, Microsoft had bigger and better things on the horizon. The original Xbox was put to rest and discontinued in 2005.

A rush to the finish line.

With rumors flying about the PS3 and the powerful cell processor, Microsoft had to try and beat the competition to the market. On November 22 2005, the Xbox’s replacement was released. The Xbox 360 was greeted by legions of crazy fans who fought over its limited quantities, but the Xbox 360 was a ticking time bomb.

Xbox 360 systems all over the world started failing. What was the nick name for the system failure?

If you guessed happy green lights, then you were wrong. This needed a much more ominous nickname, a name that would reflect the anger of gamers. It was called The Red Ring of Death. Microsoft stepped up to the problem, and announced that they would extend all warranties to a period of three years. Gamers were still sore, but like crazed addicts, they were happy knowing that they would still be able to get their fix.

In a short period of ten years Microsoft has made huge advances with their Xbox brand. The next time you turn on your Xbox, remember that this whole phenomena only started ten short years ago. Happy 10th birthday Xbox!

Just imagine for a moment that you are on a much needed tropical vacation. You are on a beautiful tropical island paradise, and everything is fabulous. You are enjoying the night life, and living it up to the fullest. You party a little too hard one night. You wake up the next morning, and you don’t remember much from the night before, but you know instinctively that something is wrong. Something is dead wrong.

Why does the hotel that you are staying at look like a ghost town? The lights aren’t working, and you get an eerie feeling in the pit of your stomach. There are bags, and luggage scattered around, but no people. Since there are no people around, it would not be a bad thing to look through all of this luggage that is just laying around everywhere. What do you know, there is money in some of the bags, and other personal items as well. Oh look, there are some people, they must be tired because they are laying down. It might be a good idea to go wake them up. They should not be sleeping in the middle of the hallway.

As you approach them, that feeling in your stomach gets worse. You just shrug it off. Maybe it is just all of the partying from the night before, but some small part of you is scared, and you don’t know why. Why are those people just laying there. If the lights were on, you could see them better, but you are not that lucky.

As you get closer to them, you see quite a bit of blood. Your skin crawls, and that feeling in your stomach gets much worse. These people are dead. They have been killed violently, but hey, at least you are on a tropical paradise right?

This is how the zombie slasher Dead Island starts off, and for some odd reason zombie games just never seem to get old. Dead Island is much more than your typical zombie game. The entire game is played from the first person perspective, a fan favorite, and when you are facing a legion of hungry zombies, this is the perfect point of view, unless of course you have a weak stomach.

What is the object of Dead Island?

The object of Dead Island is very simple. You must survive. You start Dead Islandwith nothing, and when you encounter your first group of flesh eaters, you are forced to run for it. This gives the game a spooky, but fun feeling. The story is fed to you in bite sized chunks as you make your way around the island. You find out pretty quickly that for some reason, you are not affected by the zombie bites like everyone else. That is just great isn’t it? Because of this unique trait everyone will want you to do something for them. So much for a nice relaxing vacation.

When you get out of the hotel and meet your first group of non-zombie people, you are pushed into a very large open end world. You can go where ever you want. If you want to go wading in the crystal clear waters, then go right ahead. If you want to walk through all of the corpses on the ground while you admire the palm trees, and scenic mountain views, feel free. Of course as you make your way around the island, you will run into many survivors who need your help. By helping them you will be rewarded with money, weapons, and other much needed items.

What kind of game is Dead Island?

Dead Island is a FPS free roaming zombie slasher, with elements of a traditional role playing game thrown in for fun. As you make your way around the island, there are lots of places and things that you can search. You can search corpses, dead zombies, trash cans, suitcases, and more. You will find a lot of money, which you will need, but you will also find other items that can be combined to make weapons. Some items can be added to weapons to make them much more powerful.

What kind of weapons are there in Dead Island?

That question should be more like, what kind of weapons are not in Dead Island. There are weapons scattered everywhere on the island, and it is a good thing too, because all weapons deteriorate as you use them. They do not last forever. That is when another RPG element comes into play. You can repair your weapons, and make them much stronger.

My first weapon was a wooden boat paddle. Smashing zombies with the paddle was fun, and rewarding. Here is a tip. If you want to prolong the life of your weapon, just throw it at the zombie. Weapons do not deteriorate when thrown. You can carry a whole arsenal of weapons so just start tossing them at the zombies. Pick them up when the zombies are finished.

At first the zombies are slow and simple, just like a zombie should be. You can target specific areas of their body, and if you do enough damage to that area it will fall off. For example, I used my trusty meat cleaver and targeted a zombie’s arm. Whoops, now I am fighting a one armed zombie. I targeted the other arm. Now I am fighting a zombie with no arms that keeps trying to headbutt me. That leaves me only one choice. Aim for the head, and Off with the head! Fun and satisfying.

You can also kick zombies. This can be loads of fun to do if a zombie has fallen to the ground. You can repeatedly kick them over and over until they are no more. They do make some rather interesting sounds while you are kicking them.

The zombies look the part too. They are all island vacationers so there are plenty of bikini clad zombie babes, and zombie dudes in board shorts. It just adds to the fun.

The enemies do become much more challenging as the game progresses. You will also run into humans that want to kill you as well. So much for a nice vacation huh?

Dead Island: Level up to earn perks!

As you finish off zombies, and complete the millions of quests, you will level up just like a traditional role playing game. Every time you level up, you can choose a perk that will improve your game play. The perks all vary. In the beginning of the game you are given a choice of which character you want to play. Each character will have different perks.

I really enjoyed the Rage perk. This perk would allow your character to become invincible for a short period of time, and do massive damage in one form or another.

Can I smash zombies with a friend in Dead Island?

Dead Island does not have your typical death match style multi-player. However it does feature on-line co-op that you can play with your friends. It also has another interesting multi-player feature. You can see where other people are in the game world. If there is a player close to your location, you can instantly play right beside them, even if they are not on your friends list. This is a neat way to play, but it also has some disadvantages. Other players can come into your game world and take things that you might want.

Dead Island Features

Dead Island Hidden Items?

There are some special super weapons hidden through out the island. If you are the type that loves to go out and explore, then you will enjoy finding these super weapons and putting them to good use.

Dead Island is a little glitchy.

Dead Island does appear to have a few bugs in it. Sometimes weapons will disappear. Sometimes way points for your missions will disappear too. Most of the problems can be overlooked, while you are trying to survive.

If you were looking for a nice peaceful vacation sim game, then Dead Island is not the right choice. If you are looking for some zombie killing, role playing fun that takes place on a beautiful tropical island, then Dead Island is your tropical destination get away.

Games that don’t require teamwork are not as much fun without a headset. How else are you going to torment and taunt your opponents? Let’s face it, playing Call of Duty without a headset is pretty lame. It takes half the fun away. Luckily there is a whole line of headsets that were made with Call of Duty in mind.

Which Call of Duty headset is right for you?

First up is the Turtle Beach Call of Duty: MW3 Ear Force Foxtrot.

This is a no frills wired headset that will get you right in the action. Get ready to trash talk with the best of them and keep you team mates up to date with what is happening through your games eyes. This headset is a limited edition. Once it is gone, they will not be making anymore. A must have for any Call of Duty fan.

The price tag might be small but the Turtle Beach: Ear Force Foxtrot is loaded with features.

Here are the exclusive Call of Duty features of this headset:

The headband is embossed with the game’s name.

A cool custom finish that features the Modern Warefare logo.

Exclusive Downloadable multimedia content.

What else can you expect from this headset?

Enjoy amplified audio that enhances gameplay, and lets you hear when someone is sneaking up behind you. A variable bass boost adds more realism to thunderous explosions. A dynamic chat boost will automatically boost the chat volume as the game volume gets louder. USB powered so you don’t need batteries. That’s a big plus. Fits Xbox 360, PS3,PC and Mac. Overall this is a good entry level headset.

Turtle Beach Call of Duty: MW3 Ear Force Bravo Limited Edition Programmable Wireless Universal Gaming Headset

If you want to take things up a notch, then check out the Ear Force Bravo limited edition COD MW3 headset. It offers all of the great features that the Ear Force Foxtrot does, but a whole lot more.

For one, it is wireless. This headset has a fully programmable digital signal processor. With this you can personalize your games with customizable game audio and chat signals. All of the custom presets can be selected anytime you are playing. You will be able to hear all of the great explosions, gun shots and enemy footsteps all while you trash talk and chat with your friends.

Here are some features of the Ear Force Bravo:

Rechargeable battery that lasts for up to 10 hours.

You have the ability to alter the sound of the headphones so that you can target enemy footsteps and stop them in their tracks. Use the sonic silencer to eliminate all the background noises and stay focused on the game and more. The Turtle Beach Ear Force Bravo gets the job done without any wires.

Turtle Beach (TBS-4214-01) Call of Duty: MW3 Ear Force Charlie: Limited Edition Multi-Speaker 5.1 Surround Sound Gaming Headset

If you are a PC gamer then the Ear Force Charlie is for you. These are more than just a set of headphones, the limited edition Ear Force Charlie headset is a fully functional 5.1 surround sound headset. There are eight premium speakers and dual subwoofers that deliver earth shattering realistic sounds that will put you right in the war zone. You will think that bullets are flying over your head, and your instinct will be to duck and take cover when you use these headphones. You have access to all of the controls, and you can fine tune each speaker to fit your style. Get ready to destroy the competition with the limited edition Turtle Beach Ear Force Charlie headset.

PS3 Call of Duty: MW3 Ear Force Delta: Limited Edition Programmable Wireless Gaming Headset with 7.1 Surround Sound

This is the best headset there is period. You will not find another headset on the market that has this many great features. You get a comfortable headset, and Dolby Digital surround sound, but not with some wimpy 5.1 audio, you get a massive 7.1 surround sound speaker system. To top it all off, every single bit of crystal clear audio is delivered wirelessly to your headset. No messy cables to get tangled, or trip over. You get CD quality sound that puts you in the game. You will not miss a single sound, bullet, or footstep.

Here are some more great features of the Ear Force Delta:

Custom MW3 audio presets.

Custom MW3 voice prompts.

Pre-loaded with custom audio presets made just for Call of Duty 3, or download free software that lets you tweak and make your own presets. Load them all into one of the 18 slots for quick and easy access.

Choose from 5.1 or 7.1 digital surround sound, and hone in on every sound in the game.

Dual Bluetooth lets you listen to music, answer the phone, or chat while you are gaming.

Disguise your voice with built in voice morphing.

All of these great features come packed in a military style equipment case.

If you are looking for a great way to enhance your Call of Duty Modern Warefare 3 experience, then you have got to use a good headset. This list of limited edition COD headsets offers something for everyone regardless of their budget. Quit playing your games without a headset. Step into the future, and stay one step ahead of the competition with one of these limited edition Call of Duty Modern Warefare 3 headsets.

The Island of Banoi: If you’ve been dreaming about paradise, we know a place where you can make those dreams come true. The Island of Banoi. Just off the coast of Papua New Guinea, located South of the Equator and just north of Australia. Until very recently much of the island was wild and primitive and totally untouched by the modern world. Even though the capital, Moresby, was founded by Australian settlers in 1895, many places deep in the interior still have never been seen by western eyes. Banoi’s lush tropical beauty offers many natural wonders: from verdant rain forests to mountain highlands to virginal white sand beaches. Take a diving tour and experience the wonder of coral reefs teaming with life. Hike the mountain highlands or explore Banoi’s extensive network of mysterious caves.

Along the way you will encounter all manner of rare birds, butterflies, fish, reptiles, and mammals, including the great apes of the Banoi highlands. It’s a sportsman’s paradise with world-class rock climbing, fishing, hunting, sailing, and kayaking. Or if that sounds too taxing, find yourself a private beach, splash in the waves and soak up the sun. Meet the friendly people of Banoi. They are proud of their rich cultural heritage. The indigenous art is world renowned and unbelievably varied, reflecting the many local tribes with their own myths, legends and language. Come see what Heaven on Earth looks like. Come to beautiful Banoi. The pearl in the necklace of the Oceania Archipelago.

Dead Island Gameplay Highlights

• In keeping with an atmosphere of desperation and survival by any means, Dead Island focuses on serious, first-person action gameplay with a close-quarter, immersive melee focus.
• Dead Island’s seamless 4 player co-op multiplayer seeks to provide the most immersive multiplayer experience to date. Players can drop in and out of each other’s games at any time with no loss of progress as well as the ability to continue on alone or with others.
• With thousands of weapons in-game to collect, from simple wooden bats to fire-axes to heavy rifles, Dead Island is a collector’s dream. This in combination with Dead
• Island’s weapon customization system will enable the player to craft the ultimate weapon to ensure their survival.
• The ability to enhance and develop your character using RPG-like elements including an XP/leveling system and un-lockable skill trees put the power in your hands to create and play a unique protagonist.
• Dead Island’s damage system gives an unprecedented visual detail of the effects of each attack on enemies pushing the boundaries of visualized gore.

• With an open-world setting, Banoi is filled to the brim with things to do and objectives to tackle, allowing a fresh way to advance both the characters and story

Get Dead Island

The moment you step outside you are treated to the beauty of Rage. Rage is easily the best looking game on the Xbox 360 to date. The surrounding landscapes are so breathtaking that at times they can be distracting. There were several instances where I stopped playing, and just admired the landscape that surrounded me. Everything looks so crisp and clear.

Rage manages to look extremely beautiful and run at a solid 60 FPS. This is something that you don’t notice at first. The controls and the reactions of the character on screen are so smooth and fluid. Step back down to a 30FPS game like Halo Reach, and you will be in for a huge letdown. It is like stepping back in time to the original Xbox. Other games will seem clunky, and the graphics won’t seem as good. The visuals and smooth controls of Rage will spoil you. It will make it difficult to go back and play some older games that are just not as smooth.

The character animations in the game are some of the best that you will see in a console game, but the characters seem to lack character. They look great, but they are not very memorable.

Rage does have some texture issues. A lot of the textures look really bad if you get up close and personal, but unless you are staring at a wall or the ground, you will not notice.

Rage does not offer anything really new to the video game world, but everything that it does, it does better than most games out there.

What is Rage?

It is hard to classify what type of game Rage is. At its heart it is a FPS, but the developer has added so much more. It is really two solid games in one. You get one of the best FPS games to date, and an excellent off road driving adventure all packed into one great game.

The FPS portions of Rage are just plain awesome. Every single gun feels real. They feel powerful. They sound powerful, and it all translates back to you. You really feel like you are shooting these weapons. It adds a great sense of realism to the game. How will you destroy the enemies in Rage? Will you use your pistol, a shotgun, an AK47, a futuristic machine gun, a sniper rifle, a crossbow, or a rocket launcher?

Enemies take damage where you shoot them. Aim for a right arm and watch as the whole right side of their body recoils from the bullets. This makes using your guns even more fun.

Each weapon also has a great choice of ammo. You can equip your crossbow with dynamite bolts that make a huge satisfying mess when they explode. Shoot an enemy in the leg, and watch them flail around until the dynamite turns them into a pink mist. Nice! There are also mind control bolts that allow you to briefly control the enemy. When you are done controlling them, the explode! If you want to experience some of the other awesome ammo in Rage, you will have to play it yourself.

You also have the ability to build things from scraps that you find through out the waste land. Each and every item you build is just bad ass. One of the first items you get is called a wingstick. It is a three bladed boomerang that will decapitate an enemy, and then come flying back to your side. There is something really satisfying about throwing a wingstick at a fast approaching enemy and watching it lodge itself in its forehead.

You can also build turrets, but one of the best things that you can build is your very own sentry bot. These things are great. Unleash one into a room full of enemies, and watch it as it shoots them down, sneaks up on the ones who are hiding, and delivers a fatal blow to their head with its spikey feet. Once all of the enemies are cleared from an area, your sentry bot will come right back to your side like a faithful mechanical dog. The two of you together can quickly clear out an entire area.

The enemies in Rage are quite impressive too. They never seem to react the same way to you, and every type of enemy is completely different. They will climb the walls, the ceiling, roll out of the way, and more to avoid your gunfire.

The world in Rage is huge, and it requires a car to get around. The driving is great. You can get different vehicles, add weapons, mods, and everything else you can think of. They are many driving missions. These driving missions are much more than filler. They are a blast. Once you start getting some of the better cars that are equipped with homing rockets, driving gets even more fun.

Rage does offer online multiplayer, but it is different. The online component of Rage features vehicular combat. It is fun, but not quite as fun as the traditional death match type gameplay. The lack of this type of multiplayer will most likely have most gamers sweeping Rage under the carpet.
Rage does lack one crucial thing. The storyline is weak. It seems to fall apart towards the end of the game which might catch you off guard. Despite the weak story, and lack of the traditional multiplayer deathmatch type gameplay, Rage is still a great game that any FPS fan should experience.