New Alpha Protocol trailer declassified, box art is Bourne again

Emerging from "deep cover" (a euphemism for plastic surgery in Eastern Europe), where it received "tweaks," Alpha Protocol is ready to shake its money maker and get everyone interested in it again with a new trailer and screenshots. Not only that, but the game's box art has also received a facelift, adding several more guns to what was only a two pistol cover before.

Alpha Protocol is set to prevent war in the States on June 1, with layovers in Australia and Europe on May 27 and 28, respectively.

New Alpha Protocol trailer declassified, box art is Bourne again originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Lost Planet 2's Wesker no longer a GameStop exclusive

You knew about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, but now you can add "shooting bugs with Albert Wesker's giant handgun" to the list of inalienable rights. Capcom has just announced that, due to fan upheaval, Wesker as a playable character in Lost Planet 2 will be a bonus for everyone who buys the game, rather than for just those that pre-order at GameStop, as was previously announced.

It's not as if early birds are out of luck though. Pre-ordering at GameStop will now net you two multiplayer maps, "Helix" and "Back to the Island." The update from Capcom doesn't say as much, but we'd assume these maps will also be available for purchase as DLC, either on release day or soon after.

Lost Planet 2's Wesker no longer a GameStop exclusive originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 25 Feb 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Lunar: Silver Star Story Harmony trailer turns back the clock

The game once called "not just the best Sega CD RPG ever, but one of the best on any Sega system" has eventually moved to almost all of the systems, as Lunar: The Silver Star has been remade and re-released on the Sega Saturn, the PlayStation, the PC, and even the GBA. And now here it comes again on the PSP as Lunar: Silver Star Harmony. This time around, the graphics have been given a complete makeover, and cutscenes have been added in, along with new voicework and music as well. Although going by the video above, XSEED might not have even bothered -- the new anime style turns a console RPG relic into something that looks like Ranma ½.

But the gameplay is still there, and the story is a good one. Lunar: Silver Star Harmony should be out in stores on March 2nd, available both for $29.99 and as a limited edition for $39.99.

Lunar: Silver Star Story Harmony trailer turns back the clock originally appeared on Joystiq Playstation on Thu, 25 Feb 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Super Street Fighter IV pre-order bonuses include costumes for your fighters, your phone, and yourself

Capcom is sweetening the deal for Super Street Fighter IV in both the US and Europe with some ridiculous pre-order bonuses. In the US, a timed exclusive download pack will be available from Amazon and Best Buy, featuring "Super Classic Costumes" for Dhalsim, Fei Long, Blanka, Gen, and Guile. Fei Long has a Kato (of The Green Hornet fame) costume! Blanka has a Dan costume! Insanity! Pre-ordering from GameStop will get you a set of ... thumb covers with Street Fighter characters on them. For thumb wrestling. The game will be out April 27 in North America.

In Europe, where Super Street Fighter IV will be released on April 30, the choice is even tougher. Capcom has yet to reveal which retailers offer which bonuses, but the choice of items is between the Super Classic Costumes pack, some iPhone covers bearing World Warriors' faces, or t-shirts that look like Street Fighter costumes. You can see all the choices in our gallery.

Super Street Fighter IV pre-order bonuses include costumes for your fighters, your phone, and yourself originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 25 Feb 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

European PSN releases for February 25

There's new content for both PS platforms in the latest PSN Euro update, ranging from an unimaginably beefy demo for Darksiders, W!Games' strategy title Greed Corp, the The Secret Armory of General Knoxx expansion for Borderlands, the totally free third installment of Blue Toad Murder Files and a PSP demo for The Eye Of Judgment Legends. Check out the full list of releases after the jump!

Choose your platform to view the corresponding release list:

(Note: Continue past the break to view both release lists.)

Continue reading European PSN releases for February 25

European PSN releases for February 25 originally appeared on Joystiq Playstation on Thu, 25 Feb 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 getting two DLC maps on day one, more coming in March

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 will unlock two multiplayer maps on launch day, free to players that input a "VIP code" included with new copies of the game (think: "Project Ten Dollar"). VIPs will also gain free access to a second map pack, which developer DICE will airdrop later in March. If you purchase the game second-hand, you can access the VIP code separately via the in-game store (think: $15). We can already see a repeat of the Mass Effect 2 account confusion coming from five klicks away, so make sure your affairs are in order before you redeem the code.

BC2 Senior Producer Patrick Bach claims, "These first two map packs are just the beginning. We're planning ongoing support for the community by always keeping the experience fresh and ensuring the best possible gameplay experience." This is where Battlefield 1943 fans wipe the tears from their faces as they march toward a more modern battlefield.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 getting two DLC maps on day one, more coming in March originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 25 Feb 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Watch: Dead or Alive: Paradise bubbles trailer

It's got creepy voyeurism (qjnet/psp/esrb-pulls-down-dead-or-alive-paradise-game-summary.html), it's kinky, and it's portable. Eyebrows are not the only things that Dead or Alive: Paradise gets up, and it's eyeing a March release for the PSP. It's got a lot of

Mega64: Heavy Rain makes you cry (a lot)

Whether it's through its potent pixel combinations or the fact that the game regularly gives you purple nurples (not really ... we hope), Heavy Rain is bound to make you cry. Don't believe us? Well, would you believe the talented and scholarly chaps at Mega64? Yeah, we thought so!

The troupe's latest contribution posits that Heavy Rain is so sad, you won't even crack a smile if you go to Disneyland after playing it. Certainly, one must keep in mind that this is simply one man's experience, but it doesn't necessarily rule out Heavy Rain as a tear-inducing descent into a bottomless well of sadness. Figure out the case of The Crying Amusement Park Attendee for yourself by watching the video past the break.

Continue reading Mega64: Heavy Rain makes you cry (a lot)

Mega64: Heavy Rain makes you cry (a lot) originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 23:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Just Cause 2 plays chicken in second 'Anatomy of a Stunt' trailer

If Just Cause 2's previous trailers have taught us anything, it's that the second game in Eidos' "do crazy sh##" series will absolutely relish in the lengths to which it enables you to live out its mission statement.

As evidenced once more in the second "Anatomy of a Stunt" trailer, wherein the game's main character mounts a speeding fire engine and takes on an aircraft, the game certainly seems to be jam-packed with the kind of insanity we like from our games (ask Red Faction Guerrilla!). Just wait until the trailers introduce a shark into that equation -- and the shark's on fire! But hey, you gotta save something for March 23 when the game comes out, right?

Just Cause 2 plays chicken in second 'Anatomy of a Stunt' trailer originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Borderlands kicks it up a Knoxx with third content pack's launch trailer

Alongside today's release of The Secret Armory of General Knoxx DLC for Borderlands (on the Xbox 360, at least -- it's this Thursday for PC and PlayStation 3), Gearbox Software has unveiled a new trailer touting the many new features of its third content pack. As you can likely guess, a multitude of guns, creatures, dudes, and the destruction thereof, makes up the majority of what you see above -- there's also some pulse-pounding music to go right alongside that, if you're so inclined.

With a raised level cap and a lack of arena-based combat (at least as far as we know), General Knoxx could very well be the most enticing content add-on to date for Borderlands. And that's exactly why we're standing near a couch when reviewing it, hoping to be knoxx'd off our feet. (Sorry, there was no getting around that one.) We'll let you know in a few.

Borderlands kicks it up a Knoxx with third content pack's launch trailer originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow producer striving for platform parity

Fanboys will likely never agree on whether or not a 3D gameworld is appropriate for the Castlevania franchise. But if Castlevania: Lords of Shadow producer Dave Cox is to be believed, there won't be any forum bloodshed over which version, the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 one, looks and runs better.

Cox told VG247 that the PS3 was chosen as the lead platform solely because that was the best way for developer Mercury Steam to make both versions of the game identical, though he understands the risk, admitting, "If you develop for Xbox 360 and port to PS3, or indeed vice versa, you can end up with a game that is great on one but lousy on another."

Even if Lords of Shadow isn't up for any GOTYs, perhaps a Nobel Peace Prize could be in Mercury Steam's future? The NPPOTY, if you will.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow producer striving for platform parity originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Fallout: New Vegas plot details surface from USA Today

Aside from a cursory description of the game's premise on its official website, we've heard very little about Fallout: New Vegas. Today, friends, that changes, with a USA Today feature that reveals the game's protagonist as a shot and left-to-die package delivery boy who finds himself in Sin City "and the surrounding area" in 2280. "You were a courier, and you were obviously carrying something that somebody wanted," Bethesda Softworks' Pete Hines says of the player's character. "Part of the story is finding out what you had and what they took."

Hines additionally insists New Vegas will "feel" far different from 2008's Fallout 3 through one key aspect: the setting. "Vegas is up and running. It is not a ghost town. It still exists and thrives. There are casinos, and you can go down onto the Strip. It will have a very different feel from that standpoint."

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Hines also notes that the New Vegas will "take you hundreds of hours to explore every nook and cranny" -- not unlike the 2008 iteration of the Fallout franchise. We'd be straight lying if we said we weren't unbelievably ready to invest that time in more of the Fallout universe this fall, even after all of last year's DLC.

Fallout: New Vegas plot details surface from USA Today originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 17:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

PSN EU Digital Comics Store update 02/18

Quite a heavy batch for the European Digital Comics Store this week. Got the free Cage of Insomnia issue last week? The second is available now. Tank Girl also has something new, her odd adventures getting...odder. There's

More minis get mini-priced

Good news. If those minis come at a price a little too big for the mini-punch they pack, then take a look back at the European PlayStation Store and find that the mini-priced collection has gotten a

Swag Sunday: The DICE bag o' swag

Believe us, dear reader -- there's nothing we'd like more than to have brought you with us to Las Vegas for this year's DICE, but you must understand that the airfare was simply too much to bear. We've got the next best thing though (outside of our weeklong coverage, of course): the full bag of swag handed over to us upon entry!

In practice, this means a Modern Warfare 2 throat communicator, a Street Fighter IV fightpad, a seasonally appropriate Rock Band Network hoodie, a Rayman Raving Rabbids-themed Wiimote charger and ... some other stuff! All you have to do is tell us below in the comments what you thought was the most interesting story to come out of DICE 2010. 24 hours starts now!

• Leave a comment what you thought was the most interesting story to come out of DICE 2010.
• You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec, in part because of our feelings on The Quiet Revolution).
• Limit 1 entry per person per day.
• This entry period ends at 6:01PM ET on Monday, February 22.
• At that time, we'll randomly select one winner to receive one Modern Warfare 2 throat communicator (ARV $29.99), one Street Fighter IV fightpad (ARV $39.99), one Rock Band Network hoodie (ARV $10), and one Rayman Raving Rabbids-themed Wiimote charger (ARV $29.99).
• For a list of complete rules, click here.

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What is Joyswag? Since we don't keep the games and merchandise we receive for review or promotional purposes, it becomes "Joyswag," which is passed along to our readers. Please note that Joyswag may be in "used" condition. For more info on our policy, click here.

Swag Sunday: The DICE bag o' swag originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 21 Feb 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

God Eater coming to North America in Q3 2010

Yes folks, God Eater, Namco Bandai's portable cooperative monster hunting game is coming to North American later this year.

Star Wars: Force Unleashed Hoth DLC out on PSN, coming to Xbox Feb. 23

Looking to get a little more mileage out of your copy of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed before the sequel arrives? As we knew from yesterday's PSN update, PS3 owners can now download the Hoth mission which came bundled with the "Ultimate Sith Edition" re-release of the game -- however, 360 owners will be able to follow suit on Tuesday, February 23. The DLC is going for $9.99 on the PSN, leading us to assume it'll cost Xbox Live Marketplace browsers a cool 800.

The mission on Hoth follows the events of the Tatooine sidequest, and tasks the Secret Apprentice with shutting down the Rebellion and squaring off against Luke Skywalker. Remember, these extra missions are non-canonical -- meaning the fate of the aforementioned frostbitten Force-wielder is up in the air.

Star Wars: Force Unleashed Hoth DLC out on PSN, coming to Xbox Feb. 23 originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 19 Feb 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Rock Band Weekly: HIM, Marilyn Manson, The Police

Last week, the Rock Band Store got a few healthy slices of Americana with tracks from Otis Redding and the Brian Setzer Orchestra. This week's offerings are much more foreign -- there's a three-pack from Finnish rock band HIM, a song from Britain's One Night Only, a track from The Police, and a song from Marilyn Manson, whom we all know actually descends from an extinct alien race whose name our human tongues could never hope to pronounce.

Click past the jump for the full list of new additions!

Continue reading Rock Band Weekly: HIM, Marilyn Manson, The Police

Rock Band Weekly: HIM, Marilyn Manson, The Police originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 19 Feb 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Vicious Engine 2 adds Wii, PS2 and PSP

[smilingsquid]

Vicious Cycle today announced that the second iteration of its Vicious Engine is getting set to ... viciously tear apart the innards of the Wii, PlayStation 2 and PSP. Wait, that doesn't sound very nice at all! What we mean to say is that the engine that brought you Matt Hazard: Blood Bath and Beyond for XBLA is heading to ... okay, that's not helping too much either. Anyway, for the past year, Vicious Engine 2 has been available for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, but today's news announces the game creation tools' ubiquity across pretty much everything else.

Vicious Cycle will be next showing off the engine for the aforementioned consoles at GDC next month, where game industry folks and journalists will get a chance to see it in action. With any luck, they won't be deterred by the "Vicious Cycle" signs surrounding the booth.

Vicious Engine 2 adds Wii, PS2 and PSP originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 19 Feb 2010 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

PSP homebrew game - APokalySP

Do you want some more PSP homebrew games? Well here comes APokalySP, an action-pack homebrew game made by coder caux, in which you assume the role of a hero trying to survive the hordes of zombies closing

Meet the yakuza in new Yakuza 3 trailer

The latest trailer for Yakuza 3 (after the break) purportedly introduces the characters in the upcoming PS3 crime drama, but unless you're already familiar with the series, it's going to be a bunch of incomprehensible Japanese names, listed by affiliation with incomprehensibly-named crime families. However, if you take it as a few minutes of badasses glowering (and taking care of children) and slapping dudes, it's pretty entertaining.

If you're in Europe, you can step into Kazuma Kiryu's shoes right now with the demo. With any luck, North America will be able to join you in those increasingly crowded shoes later today.

Continue reading Meet the yakuza in new Yakuza 3 trailer

Meet the yakuza in new Yakuza 3 trailer originally appeared on Joystiq Playstation on Thu, 18 Feb 2010 14:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.