According to Far Cry 2’s producer Louis-Pierre Pharand, the single player campaign in the game could last up to 50 hours. While there are games that last that long (and longer), it’s usually role-playing games like Oblivion, not first person shooters like Far Cry 2. I would assume that’s because of the nature of first person shooters; they are usually fast-paced and more frantic, which means everything is a lot more packed and takes more work to create less play time. This is also what many FPS fans expect and enjoy, and a genre that is usually fast-paced could become tedious if stretched over the equivalent of more than two straight days.

However, the wording of Pharand’s claim didn’t seem as confident as many of the other numbers game producers throw around, and instead sounded more like an optimistic guess:

“Just on single alone, gamers can potentially have close to 50 hours of game play”

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Microsoft has released four high resolution (2935 x 1684) screenshots of Gears of War 2, from the level Assault, the same one featured in the previous gameplay video. It’s from Act One, Chapter Three, so it’s pretty early in the game.

It’s really looking amazing though, and the resolution on these screenshots really shows off the graphics and the same attention to details the first game had. From the explosion to the picture of the girl on the vehicle, everything looks beautiful.

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Do you like to save money? Do you think the prices of Xbox 360 games are just too damn high? Do you shop at Target? If you answered yes to these questions… well, just keep reading.

How would you like to get 10 dollars off any 360 game at Target? All you need to do is print out a coupon! Click here to download the PDF.

Keep in mind that at most Target stores, you can find a ton of clearance games at really, really good prices (for example, I’ve seen PGR4 for 14.98 (or 4.98 with coupon) recently).

[Via CheapAssGamer. Big thanks to members skube and grap3fruitman (for cleaning it up into a PDF)]

In its continuing effort to kick E3 while it’s down, Gamecock has announced its “BE-3 Initiative,” to “mock and take full advantage of the E3 Expo (or, since its death, the Media & Business Summit).” In conjunction with this, Grand Champeen of Gamecock Mike Wilson is running for ESA President (see his campaign ad above).

It’s hard to argue with “fun we can believe in,” and I’d vote for him just to get his hair into office (if I actually could).

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Guess what, guys? There’s going to be a Bioshock movie, and the illustrious director of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies is going to be making it. For some, this is pretty exciting news, but I know a certain ninja that probably feels otherwise. Still, considering how strong Bioshock’s narrative was, I think it should adapt quite nicely to film. Said Verbinski, “I think the whole utopia-gone-wrong story that’s cleverly unveiled to players is just brimming with cinematic potential. Of all the games I’ve played, this is one that I felt has a really strong narrative.” Hopefully they decide to make the ending a bit more riveting than it was in the game, though. Moreover, this is supposedly going to be the biggest game-to-movie deal since the now-defunct Halo deal in 2005. Hopefully Bioshock won’t end up in the trash, though.

[via Variety.com]

New Ninja Gaiden II screenshots were released today - but not just a few. No, Microsoft went all out and released more than 40 new screenshots to prepare you for the game’s release on June 3 (June 6 for you European folk).

These screenshots show plenty, from various creatures, enemies and werewolves (and flaming werewolves) to different environment and even boobs. And blood. Lots of blood. If there’s one thing almost all these screenshots have in common, besides featuring Ryu Hayabusa, it’s the extravagant and over-the-top blood spraying and spattering from every slice on every thing that can bleed. It’s surprising some of theses things even have that much blood in them - I would imagine by the time they’d lost as much blood as is seen leaving their bodies, they would be paper-white and entirely lifeless.

But this game obviously isn’t about realism - what would be the fun in that? Extravagant blood and gore has its place, and it seems to fit quite nicely in Ninja Gaiden II.
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The vague release date for the Xbox 360 version of Unreal Tournament 3, which has been on the PS3 and PC since 2007 (with decent reviews) was announced recently as “Summer 2008.” There will also be some Xbox 360 exclusive content: two new characters, five new maps, split screen, and according to Mark Rein’s hints, “something Gears of War 2 related.” Five screenshots of the Xbox 360 version were released as well - so continue on for those (one of which would make a nice desktop background) along with the full press release, filled, as usual, with generic self-fellating quotes.

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With all the attention on Grand Theft Auto IV right now, it’s easy to forget that there are other games with identical similar premises. But the developers of Saints Row 2 have not forgotten, and they’ve just released some new screenshots as well as artwork that details some of the weapons you will have at your disposal to destroy everyone and everything you want (make sure to read the descriptions). Fortunately, while there may not be many screenshots, they are extremely high resolution (except for one) so every detail and point can be scrutinized and examined nice and close. I’ve also included two old screenshots, because their beautiful resolution is enough to merit their inclusion with the new ones.

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I’m happy to announce that MEGATONik is NOT dead, and that we’re just all being lazy. I’m also excited to announce that we will be a part of the brand new Xbox 360 Community Scavenger Hunt that will begin on April 21, 2008, 12PM EST.

This is a chance for you to win stuff, so I suggest you hit the jump for the full press release to fill yourself in on this exciting news.

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If the above picture (spotted on Digg) is to be believed, someone has gotten a copy of Grand Theft Auto IV ahead of its scheduled April 29 release. It was rumored that someone had a copy in March when a video showed the case and intro, but 1UP believed it was fake.

There is also more reliable proof someone has GTA IV already, since Powderblue Kes’ 360voice.com blog shows that he played it April 9 after 28 days with nothing played. As is usual when a game suddenly appears early, there are plenty of questions; did Powderblue Kes take a picture of his disc, or are there multiple copies out there? Did they (or he or she) get it for review, or because they work at Rockstar, or because a store sold it early, or by more nefarious means? How long until someone who has it leaks it to the internet? And how did the Xbox 360 pictured get that mustache?

A while back it was announced that the Japanese hack-and-slash game OneeChanbara was being made into a movie, and now we have a brief trailer (embedded above). It may not show much, just some dark shots of the decidedly hot protagonist tilting her hat, doing expressive dance in a field, and staring at the camera, but it’s only a teaser after all.

While video game movies are notorious for just sucking in general, this one has potential. First, there’s no Uwe Boll in sight; and second, the game’s plot seems simple enough that it can’t be ruined by scriptwriters who think they know better than the people who created the game. Which brings us to where the real potential lies: the game is about a Japanese cowgirl who runs around in a bikini gorily killing zombies and other creatures with her katana.
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Yesterday morning I woke up and drove the two hours to Austin, TX, to attend Gamecock’s 2nd annual Expo For Interactive Entertainment, Independent and Original, or EIEIO. EIEIO showcased all 9 of the games they are currently publishing, some of them playable and some only being shown off by the developers. Last year EIEIO was held in Santa Monica, California, at the same time as E3, but this year was moved to Austin, where Gamecock’s main offices are located. Hit the jump to find out exactly what happened at EIEIO 2008.

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Ubisoft just started a contest where you can win a trip to Vegas, among other less glamourous and safer prizes. The Grand Prize is a three day/two night trip to Las Vegas with airfare and hotels covered. While they at least had the decency to give you a hotel room to take hookers to, their expenses are not covered and all the money you inevitably gamble away will come from your own pocket. Fortunately, however, once you’ve lost your house, money, dignity, and whatever else you once had, you’ll at least have an Xbox 360 Elite and a copy of Rainbow Six Vegas 2 Limited Edition to go back to since those are included in the Grand Prize.

The Runner Up gets a 1TB Maxtor OneTouch 4 Plus, and I’m not sure how it relates to Rainbow Six Vegas 2 but you can’t complain about an extra terabyte to store everything from porn to the illegal copy of Rainbow Six Vegas 2 you’ll probably download if you don’t win it in this contest. Ubisoft values the hard drive at $400, but Newegg.com will sell it to you for under $300.

There is one Grand Prize as well as one Runner Up, and 10 Additional Winners will get the Limited Edition of Rainbow Six Vegas 2.

Entries are accepted until 11:59pm PST March 31st, 2008, and the winner will be chosen on one of the worst days they could picked, April 1st.

A study by Nottingham Trent University revealed that over half of the males who play MMOs play as female characters, and nearly three-quarters of females play as male characters. 70% of the females polled said they played as males, because they didn’t want guys to know that they had breasts and vaginas and because they seemed to get treated better. Chief researcher Zaheer Hussain explains:

It seems that women gender swap for a variety of reasons, such as to avoid unsolicited male approaches on their female characters, or because they felt male characters were treated better by other males during the course of the game

By that logic, it seems male MMO players enjoy “male approaches on their female characters” and like to be treated bad, because 54% play as females. That, and looking at a hot pixelated night elf follow your commands for 8 hours straight is a lot easier on the eyes than watching a virtual man do the same.

Will Arnett of Arrested Development fame was on Late Night with Conan O’Brien a few days ago, and he started talking about Call of Duty 4. Whether you’re a fan of Call of Duty 4, Arrested Development, or both (or neither, but in that case you’re missing out on not only one of the best games of 2007 but one of the funniest shows ever), you should be able to appreciate the short clip.

Still, no matter what you think of it, there’s one things we should all be able to agree on: “Call of Duty 4 is not gonna play itself.” Will Arnett speaks the truth, and fortunately, Call of Duty 4 certainly seems to get around.

[Via IAMfourzerotwo]