Also, any  iTunes reviewers are eligible to to win a $50 online gift certificate for PSN/Xbox Live/Steam/etc. bucks, among other prizes. To enter, simply email our feedback account with your iTunes account name, and we’ll randomly draw three winners next week. Past reviewers are also eligible. Best of luck!

Relevant Links:

Video Game Orchestra Covers Bastion‘s “Build That Wall”

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.

Talk about something that is awesome to do. Our good friends over at GamersOutreach.org gave me the heads up about this amazing Gears of War 3 tournament that they are holding. One where you can not only walk away with some awesome prizes, but one were you can also help the Wounded Warriors Amputee Softball Team, and the Gamers Outreach’s Fun for our Troops initiative, which sends video game care packages to troops overseas.

What are the prizes you might ask? Well, they are:
1st Place Tritton 7.1 Surround Sound Gears of War 3 Headset
2nd Place Tritton Gears of War 3 Throat Communicator
3rd Place Gears of War 3 Baseball Cap

Now get yourself on over to GamersOutreach.org for all the details and get yourself involved in an awesome cause to help our military Veterans.

Well, it’s been a week now since Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has been out and we have great news. Elite is finally working! Ok, well it kind of is. One of the new features that Modern Warfare 3 has are the group feature, a feature that is similar to clans in a way, but you aren’t limited to a single group. There’s the group career, leaderboards, and a comment section where you can converse with other people in the same group.

I’m filling you in on all this though because I want you in our group! We need your help to grow our Platform Nation military might! I just set the group up and right now we have 3 people in there, myself and two of the hosts of the Video Game Jocks podcast, the self proclaimed, Best looking podcast on the internet! Their stats are putting me to shame too!

Anyways, you should do yourself and us a favor and come join our group! There will be some prizes in the upcoming weeks where you wil be able to win some sweet items, and we will setting up some online gaming nights with the group as well. Hope to see you all there, there’s going to be some fun times had by everyone in the group soon!

Update: Just a heads up, if that direct link to the group doesn’t work, you can find our group at #PlatformNation from the Elite website.

Specially marked Dr.Pepper bottles include a code that lets you unlock one of seven prizes. Including 5 dog tags, a multiplayer skin, and a PS3 Home Avatar. Redeem codes here to get your exclusive wares and make other players even more jealous when you kill them.

For those averse to carbonated beverages, Dr.Pepper will let you get one of the downloads for free, though it will require signing up for another account you don’t want.

Source: Shacknews.com

You may remember a few months back when Platform Nation joined the Summer of Raptr giveaway. There was some great prizes up for grabs, but for one lucky follower of Platform Nation on Raptr there was a great prize pack available for the taking, the NOX Specialist Gaming/Mobile Headset and the NOX Negotiator Universal Gaming Audio Adapter. So who won? The lucky Platform Nation Raptr follower GeneXus won the NOX Audio Bundle.

Congratulations GeneXus, and thanks for following Platform Nation! For a full list of all the winners from the Summer of Raptr Giveaway visit their forums.

Be sure to follow your favorite gaming website Platform Nation on Raptr as well as Twitter and be sure to like us on Facebook.

Have you ever wanted to make your way to your favorite comic book cover? Well if you are heading to New York Comic Con October 13th-16th I suggest you make your way to the Dark Horse Comics Green Screen Booth and they give you a 4 x 6 inch photograph of yourself featured on the cover of one of the following awesome comics:

*Hellboy
*Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel & Faith
*Star Wars
*Mass Effect
*Avatar: The Last Airbender
*Axe Cop

But wait there is more information you may be interested before you take a look at the schedule as Dark Horse is looking for cosplayers for their booth.

Call for cosplayers! We’re looking for cosplayers to hang out at the booth and get their photo taken at the green screen in exchange for special schwag and prizes! Do you have a great costume for one of our green screens? E-mail us at volunteer@darkhorse.com before Wednesday, October 12, at 5 p.m.

Now for the schedule for you to take a look at:

Thursday, October 13
4:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m.—Hellboy

Friday, October 14
10:00 a.m.–2:30 p.m.—Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel & Faith
2:30 p.m.–7:00 p.m.—Star Wars

Saturday, October 15
10:00 a.m.–1:30 p.m.—Mass Effect
1:30 p.m.–5:00 p.m.—Avatar: The Last Airbender
5:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m.—Axe Cop

Sunday, October 16
10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.—Hellboy
2:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m.—Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel & Faith

If you have your own props be sure to bring them along, as Dark Horse will not supply props for your picture.

So Platform Nation community heading to NYCC 2011, what cover will you be appearing on?

Starting October 1^st, if you go into a Subway restaurant and purchase an Uncharted 30oz drink, you will get a code that grants you access to the multiplayer beta until November 1^st. This feels a bit weird to me, but actually comes with some nice bonuses and the chance to win trips and other prizes.

Any progress you make such as ranks, unlocks, and the like, you will keep once the full game releases. This includes promotion-specific bonuses like Naughty Dog guns, Subway gear (ugh), and boosters. The best one, obviously, is a taunt, but I’ll let you discover that through this video they put out.

The full game will release November 1st of this year as a PS3 exclusive.

via PlayStation Blog

What’s up Platform Nation Community! We just wanted to remind you of the Summer of Raptr/Platform Nation promotion going on right now and ending tomorrow August 31st.  Also don’t forget to check out how you can double your chances to win not only the awesome prizes below but other great prizes such as a Wii U or even the PlayStation Vita.

Here are the great prizes you could win from Platform Nation and The Summer of Raptr Giveaway:

Follow Platform Nation

Yes, Platform Nation Community, it is true; your favorite gaming and podcast website has joined in on the Summer of Raptr Giveaway, and we know you are already following us on our Raptr wall (if not head over there now), so be sure to leave a comment below for your entry.

Follow us for a chance to win:

- (1) NOX Specialist Gaming/Mobile Headset – ($80 value)

- (1) NOX Negotiator Universal Gaming Audio Adapter ($60 value)

Now who wouldn’t want to win those NOX Products!

Be sure to enter the contest by following the Platform Nation Wall on Raptr.  Also be sure to leave us some feedback (not needed to enter the giveaway) letting us know what you think of some of the great news, podcasts and giveaways.

Don’t go just yet, as we have one more contest to tell you about.  In addition, Raptr is running another mini-contest called Side Quest Promo, where they ar giving away certain prizes like PAX swag and gaming gear for following certain topics. So be sure to check that contest out as well.

Good Luck to all the entries and thank you to Raptr for allowing Platform Nation to be part of the Summer of Raptr!

And win an iPad 2!?! We are going to be giving away an iPad 2 later on this week and I wanted to give you guys the heads up about this awesome giveaway. First off, it’s all being done with the help of the Vonage Time to Call app, they are supplying the awesome prizes. I’ve downloaded the app myself, it’s nice and it might just be the best way to make international calls. I’ll have more on this later though, as there will be a review up on Platform Nation tomorrow. Oh, and if you download the app right now, they are also throwing in 15 minutes of free calling time so you can try out Vonage Time to Call for free.

The Time To Call app is free to download, and you can use to place fifteen-minute calls to 100 countries from US$0.99 to US$1.99; more than 90 additional countries can be called for flat rates. You do not have to be a Vonage service subscriber. Because  of its easy payment through iTunes, there’s no hassle with mobile operator accounts, credit cards, cash payments or going to a store to purchase calling cards.

Now are you ready for some more good news? Not only can you win an iPad 2 from us, but you have the chance to win one over on several other sites too. We are all in the loop in this special giveaway where all of us are giving away several iPads a day for almost the whole month of August! Check out callsfromsmartphone.com to see all of the other giveaways and be sure to enter them all for your maximum chance of walking away with an iPad 2 32GB version!