We have a lot of information for the Darksider II fans out there. First up we have some information about the upcoming novel The Abomination Vault that is set to launch the same time as the much anticipated game is.

Here is a little more about The Abomination Vault.

In DARKSIDERS: THE ABOMINATION VAULT, the Horsemen of the Apocalypse (beings charged with maintaining the Balance between the forces of Heaven and Hell) have uncovered a plot to resurrect ancient weapons of unimaginable power. Death, with the help of his compatriot War, must track down and neutralize the mysterious individuals behind the scheme before the entire universe is plunged into a devastating conflict.

Next up the Darksiders II Community forums are live. So head over to the forums to stay on top of all new information concerning the game. Also you will be able to share your ideas with the Vigil Development Team.

Now for the grand finale. The Darksiders Facebook 100,000 Fan Sweepstakes. And as you can see below there are some awesome prizes you can win by entering the sweepstakes.

That’s all we have Platform Nation and Darksiders II fans, but stay tuned to your favorite gaming website as we will be bringing you more Darksiders II information when we receive it.

This BurgerTime experience evolves the arcade classic and enhances it with a unique 3D rotating environment. Platform Nation’s Rich Montalvo has reviewed the Xbox 360 version of the game and it looks like he really enjoyed it, even if the difficulty drove him insane. Check out his review here. Also another article to check out is this really interesting interview that Rich had with John Greiner, Head of the BurgerTime development studio, Monkeypaw Games.

BurgerTime World Tour hits WiiWare on February 9 and will cost 1000 Wii Points.

It was inevitable, I guess, but in a way that you’d hope it would never happen, sort of like how you keep telling yourself you’re not going to eat the whole pizza, but it’s Friday and you had a rough day and…

Anyways, Battleship, the classic board game from Milton Bradley, has now gone from a movie to a video game. For me, this is one step of extrapolation too far. As far as the entire known universe is concerned, the board game had no discernible plot, characters, or setting aside from a four-sided body of water of indeterminate size that may or may not be hosting a maritime conflict. To make this a movie, this meant applying a thick slab of creativity gravy all over the offering, i.e. putting in aliens.

Now, developer Double Helix Games is concocting an entirely new story to go alongside the movie with the Battleship video game in which you play as demolitions expert Cole Mathis. How his possibly (probably?) victorious actions coincide with those of super alien-fighting duo Taylor Kitsch and Rihanna remains to be seen, but the game itself will feature the “merging of tactical and action elements” where players will “fend off the enemy beachside while ordering attacks against their marine counterpart.”

This sounds like it could be an interesting blend as the press release purports “seamlessly switching” between the two modes of play, but like I said, this is a video game based on a movie, and those don’t necessarily have a good track record, let alone those that are based on a movie that is based on a 80-year-old board game. Look for it on May 15^th for Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii with portable versions from developer Magic Pockets for the 3DS and DS handhelds.

Source: Joystiq

Yesterdays upgrade to the PS3 firmware provides a speed improvement on the web-browser and new Terms of Service. Released on the PS blog today, Sony Network Entertainment VP, Eric Lempel outlined the few changes.

“First off, once you download the new system software, you will be asked to accept a change to our Terms of Service. In an effort for more unity between PlayStation Network (PSN) and other Sony Entertainment Network services, your “PSN Account” will now be named “Sony Entertainment Network Account.” Please note that this change is one in name only and will not change the PSN that you know and love. You’ll still play games online, still have access to the latest downloadable games and add-ons, and still experience a wide variety of movies, sports and music across PSN.
With this system software update (v4.10), we’ll also be updating the PS3 Internet Browser with improved display speed.”

I’m not sure who uses the web-browser on the PS3 for their main browser; but good news, it’s faster and will now display some pages that it previously could not.
The main confusion lies with the changes and unifications going on at Sony right now. To clarify, the account name is all that is changing, NOT the PSN itself. The account and the service are separate.

Here’s my take on this: Up until today there was the PSN “service” with games and movies and content, and to access it a user needed to create a PSN “account” (gamertag associated with an email). As Sony has rolls out more “services” like movies and other media, they desire to have a more unified (and service independent) “account” name. So, yesterday we logged into the PSN “service” with our PSN “account”; but tomorrow we’ll login to the PSN “service” with our SEN “account”.

So, while it is technically true the PSN had a name change it was only the account that changed, and not the beloved PSN.

Source PS Blog

The original Sanctum game was a really fun game, it was a great tower defense game which featured a twist giving you the ability to jump down onto the map and actually take down the enemies yourself. With plenty of different enemy types including tank-like enemies and flying enemies, you have to place your turrets strategically, upgrade them and kick some alien butt.

Not much is known about what Sanctum 2 will be bringing, but you can assume it will be more of the insane tower defense fun that the original featured. I’m glad that it will be available on Xbox Live, PSN and PC as the original was only out on PC which obviously limited the amount of gamers that were exposed to it, which was a shame as the game has some great co-op gameplay too.

Keep your eye out for more Sanctum 2 info on Platform Nation as it comes out.

If you aren’t aware of what Fallout: New Vegas is, then I don’t know what rock you have been living under. If you aren’t aware of what you get in the Ultimate Edition then I suppose that’s understandable. In the Ultimate Edition you get access to all four of the DLC add-on packs for the game. This includes Dead Money, Honest Hearts, Old World Blues and Lonesome Road. All four of these packs put together raise the level cap of the game to 50! You’ll even get access to the pre-order bonuses originally available at the game’s launch, Courier’s Stash and Gun Runners Arsenal.

Fallout: New Vegas Ultimate Edition is available in stores now for North American gamers, and nearer the end of the month for UK gamers.

Most gamers feel that DLC, at times, could have been implemented in the games without making them DLC. Others feel DLC are a blessing to continue the life cycle of a beloved game.  Personally, I have no reaction either way.

Notable games released so far with Season passes include:  Saints Row: The Third, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, and Gears of War 3 just to name a few.  Mass Effect 3, releasing in March this year, is rumored to include a season pass.

So as a community of gamers, what do you think?  Is it better to bundle DLC, prices ranging, and try to come off cheap or fight off huge DLC packages.  I’ve never actually purchased DLC that wasn’t included free for pre-ordering a game or some kind of promotion, but I can definitely see both sides of the argument.  Bundling allows me the option, if I choose, to not make a life altering decision between eating that day or buying Microsoft/PSN points.  I can just hop on and get to downloading.

On the other half, it does seem like an easy cop-out for developers at times to release huge DLC outside of additional maps or add-ons.  Characters that could have been included probably should have, so why pay for that. With that being said, we’re the consumers, those that will determine whether this will become a new industry standard. Let your voice be heard and chime in on this debate that is destined to be discussed. As gamers, we have a voice somewhere, so why not use it before we’re muted by “Well why didn’t you speak up?”

Space is the place. Starhawk, the spiritual successor to Warhawk, has entered public beta. Sony has announced that all preorders at GameStop are automatically updated to the Limited Edition. The store-exclusive bundle (which, in all honesty, would likely be available to other users at a cost) runs the standard price of $60.

Sony has confirmed a list of special content exclusive to the Limited Edition.

Starhawk Limited Edition Contents

• Maw of Despair Outcast Pack: Includes the Maw of Despair Co-op Map and Shade Warrior MP Skin
  This challenging co-op mission takes place deep beneath the planet’s surface in a particularly dangerous Rift mine. The Maw of Despair is home to the oldest Outcast tribe, the Shade Warriors. The heart of each Shade Warrior blazes with pure Rift energy, granting them extra toughness and combat ability. The firefights you’ll encounter in the Maw of Despair co-op mission will push your shooting skills to the edge!
• Echo Scrapyard Rifter Pack: Includes the Scrapyard Homeworld and Huxley Ardin MP Skin
  An exclusive player Homeworld, the Echo Scrapyard features Huxley’s mechanics shop and junkyard — known throughout the Frontier as the best place in the Frontier for Rifters to get spare parts for their Razorbacks and Sidewinders. And in the canyon basin below, Huxley’s shop is a network of roads and trails for players to hone their own Razorback 4×4 and Sidewinder Jetbike driving skills.
• Starhawk Concept Art PS3 Theme: Decorate your PS3 with the amazing concept art that help bring the Starhawk Universe to life. Only available through the Starhawk Limited Edition.
• Copy of the Original Warhawk (PSone): Download and play the title that started it all!
• Official Starhawk Soundtrack: Christopher Lennertz’s sweeping original score available as a PSN download.

Are you going to go to GameStop for this title? I remember playing Warhawk as a test of the original PlayStation, but only picked up the modern Warhawk title for the bundled bluetooth headset.

Source: Sony

Both the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita will have a system software update that will introduce a new Terms of Service.  Users have to accept before they can gain access to SEN.  Your Playstation ID, email, and password will not be changed.  Uncharacteristically, the PSP will stay under the PSN moniker.

Sony is in the process of email all users of PSN services of the upcoming update.  With all of the troubles Sony experienced in the last year, I think a fresh start is befitting.  Whether the name change is the correct way or not is yet to be seen, but you have to start somewhere right?  Maybe a chance of us getting news on whether or not a party system in the upcoming PS4 Sony? *Cough* I didn’t just say that out loud, but..Really Sony, a little news?  Hey, a gamer can try right?

After a rough week for Game Group Plc the inevitable has happened and GAME has confirmed job losses at its Basingstoke headquarters.

A total of 46 roles roughly 10% of the workforce at the head office in Basingstoke have been cut. A spokesperon for GAME said:

“The proposed restructure will result in around 46 fewer roles at our central support centre in Basingstoke..Our proposed new structure will change the way that we operate and will enable us to be significantly more efficient in our relationships with suppliers and customers.

Amongst the layoffs,  there is a also a corporate restructure with several people taking new positions within the company. Former commercial strategy director Tricia Brennan became chief commercial officer, while the new channel director is the former managing director Tom Devine. The man who was in charge of the recent relaunch of www.game.co.uk Dave Hughes will leave the company in March.

GAME recently dodged a bullet after it was able to renegotiate credit agreements with major lenders and publishers allowing for it to get stock of the newest titles. However as rumoured it is selling it’s overseas business as has set a deadline of this Friday for companies to make an offer.

Source: DigitalSpy, MCV