Game Portal: фебруар 2012

четвртак, 2. фебруар 2012.

Dirt Showdown Adds Destruction Derby, Mario Kart Comparisons, And More

Developer: Codemasters Racing Studio Publisher: Codemasters Genre: Racing Release Date: 2012 more info Subscribe via RSS Buy this game from Dirt Showdown Preview by Phil Kollar on January 27, 2012 at 05:20 PM 3,235 Views

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The Darkness II Gets Torn Up In Executions Trailer

1 Player(s) Developer: Digital Extremes Publisher: 2K Games Genre: Shooter Release Date: 2/7/2012 more info Subscribe via RSS Buy this game from The Darkness II media

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Take-Two Teases MLB 2K 12 With New Trailer

2 Player(s) Developer: Visual Concepts Publisher: 2K Sports Genre: Sports Release Date: 3/8/2012 more info Subscribe via RSS Buy this game from Major League Baseball 2K12 Preview by Matt Helgeson on January 30, 2012 at 04:29 PM 2,135 Views

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Hybrid Gets Summer Release Date And A New Trailer

1 Player(s) Developer: 5th Cell Publisher: Microsoft Genre: Shooter Release Date: 2011 more info Subscribe via RSS Buy this game from Hybrid Preview by Kyle Hilliard on January 31, 2012 at 09:09 AM 1,288 Views

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Dragon's Dogma Now Coming This May

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Saturday Crapshoot: Private Eye

Every week, Richard Cobbett rolls the dice to bring you an obscure slice of gaming history, from lost gems to weapons grade atrocities. This week, who’s in the mood for something… noirishing?

The inevitable sound of smoky jazz echoes down the dark Los Angeles street. Somewhere, a man falls to the ground with an ice-pick in his neck. A damsel puts the finishing touches to her look of mock distress. A crucial clue is picked up off the floor and torn up by a genre-savvy plotter. And in his dark, cramped office, Philip Marlowe waits to be told the lie that’ll pull him into the middle of it all.

Yep. It’s time to head back to the golden age of detectives and take a look at a game that – while no classic by any stretch – deserves better than to languish in its current obscurity.

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Ken Levine interview

This interview first appeared in PC Gamer UK issue 233.

BioShock Infinite is a first-person shooter like its predecessors, but a less lonely one. You play Booker DeWitt, who is trying to escape the flying city of Columbia with a girl named Elizabeth before a terrifying steampunk robot called Songbird catches her. The city is a spectacular airborne flotilla of districts suspended by vast balloons

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The Elder Strolls, Part 8: A Mammoth Decision

In the last entry, Nordrick was faced with a question we’ve all struggled with at one point in our lives: “Should I marry a filthy homeless man?” After a great amount of heated internal debate, hours upon hours of soul-searching, and the thoughtful splitting of many cords of wood, I have finally reached a decision. I’m not going to marry Angrenor Once-Honored.

It all boils down to this: deep inside his thick, ugly head, Nordrick has a dream: a place to call home. Angrenor Once-Honored can give me a lot: companionship, happiness, comfort, a variety of social diseases brought on by unprotected hobosex in an unsanitary public thoroughfare… but he can’t give me a home. And so, I have to turn my back on the one man to ever love me. I’m off to Whiterun.

Before I leave, though, I feel like I should try to do something for poor Angrenor, who walks endlessly through the frigid, snowy streets of Windhelm without a penny to his name or a pair of sleeves to his, uh, arms. I buy some fine clothes and boots at the general store, and drop them in his path, hoping he’ll pick them up. He sees this, and runs over to ask if he can have them. Aw. He’s so nice, you guys! I give him permission and he picks them up, though I’m a little disappointed that he doesn’t actually put them on. I was hoping to leave Windhelm with the image of Angrenor strutting about in some classy duds. Alas.

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The Witcher 2 Enhanced Edition trailer shows assassination on ice-bombed boat

Tom Senior at 10:46am January 30 2012 Tweet Comments 40

On Friday CD Projekt announced that everyone’s copy of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings will be upgraded to the Enhanced Edition on April 17. This will add extra areas, like “an underground system of chambers beneath Loc Muine” and “a temperate coniferous forest in the Loc Muine mountains.” There will be new characters to meet, quests to complete and foes to freeze-bomb, and CD Projekt will release a bonus digital map, soundtrack, game guide and manual for good measure.

The trailer above is the new cinematic created for the Enhanced Edition. You only see King Demavend’s severed head in The Witcher 2, but you don’t know that he lost it during an awesome slow-mo action sequence on board a shattering, ice-bombed boat. Good stuff. The Witcher 2 is on sale on GOG for the next week or so.

Tags: boatsassin, CD Projekt RED, ice bombed boats, RPG, The Witcher 2 Enhanced Edition, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

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Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion screenshots show Titan class battleships

Rebellion will be the first standalone expansion for the marvellous 4X space strategy, Sins of a Solar Empire. It’ll split the universe into two factions, loyalists and rebels. You can join one side or the other to gain access to new tech trees and alternative versions of each faction’s most powerful vessels.

The expansion will also add jumbo sized battlecraft called Titans. These monsters will be even bigger than capital ships and will be able to take on enemy fleets single-handedly. They’ll get to dissolve incoming pirate raids with new giant laser beams, prettified by a new lighting engine. See Titans and their pet lasers in action in these new screenshots.

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Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning trailer talks sidequests and world-building

Tom Senior at 11:52am January 30 2012 Tweet Comments 35

Main quests are overrated. You’ll probably get to save the world, perhaps fight a dragon or two along the way and all that jazz. We’ve done that all before. The real treasure lies off the beaten path, in all the extra quests and characters you discover for yourself.

Rubbish sidequests can feel like padding, which makes the whole game world feel insubstantial. Conversely, good sidequests can make a game world feel vast and interesting. We’ll have to wait and see which camp Kingdom’s of Amalur falls into. Will we be killing giant rats in cellars for meagre coin, or vanquishing sky-demons for magical plate-mail? US players will find out on February 7. It’s out on February 10 in Europe.

Tags: 38 Studios, Electronic Arts, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, RPG, sidequests ftw

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Star Wars: The Old Republic players hunt for rumoured white lightsaber crystal

The magenta crystal was one of the most coveted items in Star Wars: The Old Republic, until now. One top level player has been spotted running around the TOR’s planets with a “whitesaber,” sparking a galaxy wide hunt for the white crystal.

The saber’s owner, Catch, posted his discovery on The Old Republic forums with pictures and item stats, and then livestreamed himself running around with the crystal to prove that it exists. So far, he’s kept the methods he used to obtain the crystal a closely guarded secret. The community has been poring over the few clues he’s given and, in some cases, been following him around to see if he’ll let slip any new info. There are several theories, some madder than others.

The white crystals were available in beta as rare drops from one of Aladeraan’s world bosses. Players started by killing him repeatedly to discover if that was still the case, but with no luck. It appears that, unlike the Magenta crystal, the white crystal isn’t available as a schematic. These would let Artificers craft them with the right materials. It looks like a world puzzle instead.

A thread on Reddit has collated other clues which indicated that dead Tauntauns on Hoth could be part of the process. Others think that it might have something to do with the Well Fed Womp Rat on Tattoine. Eye-witness reports claim to have seen Catch and his group killing the Womp Rat to draw out vendors, which they then killed to stack special buffs onto the rat.

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AMD launches Radeon HD7950: Review round up

Fancy getting your hands on AMD’s swanky new Graphics Card Next(GCN) technology but don’t want to spend the small fortune it costs to purchase a Radeon HD7970? Rejoice, then, for today we have been blessed with the second card in this new range, henceforth to be known as the Radeon HD7950.

Don’t get too excited: it’s still not what you’d call a cheap card. Retail prices have been set at

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Mass Effect 3 trailer introduces all-star voice cast

Tom Senior at 03:15pm January 31 2012 Tweet Comments 0

Freddy Prinze Jr will be playing new squadmate, Vega, in Mass Effect 3, triggering panic attacks among those who remember his role in the Wing Commander movie. It’s okay, he’s been in Frazier, Friends, Boston Legal and 24 since then. He joins second newcomer, Jessica Chobot, who plays reporter Diana Allers.

The voice cast video above is worth watching to see how closely the cast resemble their in-game counterparts. Vega is essentially Freddy Prinze’s face transpanted onto a hulking frame, Joker looks as close to Seth Green as ever and The Illusive Man is like a young, bionic Martin Sheen, or “Mr. President” to West Wing fans.

The cast will feature a few more familiar voices. Tricia Helfer returns as the Normandy’s AI, Yvonne Strahovski reprises her role as Miranda. Carrie-Anne Moss is Aria T’Loak and Lance Henriksen is Admiral Steve Hackett. See Mass Effect 3 characters old and new in the fresh batch of screenshots below.

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Star Wars: The Old Republic white lightsaber acquired through exploit, will be added officially in future

Yesterday we highlighted a big hunt in Star Wars: The Old Republic for a vaunted white crystal. One player had been showing off a silver saber, and dropping cryptic hints as to how it was acquired. It’s time to call off the search. Bioware have responded to say that the crystal was gained through a complex exploit, and isn’t yet officially part of the game.

“CatchDeathwalker did not obtain the white crystal through legitimate means in the game. Right now, we’re removing the crystal from his possession,” reads a post on the Star Wars: The Old Republic forums. A separate comment later in the thread elaborates. “This was not an ‘easy exploit’,” Bioware say “and not something the average player might ‘stumble upon’.”

“Right now, it is not possible to legitimately obtain a White Lightsaber Crystal in the game through any gameplay method. In the future, it will be possible to legitimately obtain. When that day comes, we’ll let you know so you can go about obtaining the crystal for your characters.”

So the white crystal WILL be a high level reward to be added in a future update, which makes sense. White crystals were available as a world boss drop in beta, and the whitesaber model clearly exists, it just isn’t available just yet. The hunt for the while crystal has turned out to be a bit of a Bantha chase, but players have still found some weird things out there in the wilds of Hoth and Tatooine. The curious clues involving carefully placed Tauntauns and the Queen of Sands may be part of a different puzzle entirely.

Tags: Bioware, Electronic Arts, MMORPG, Star Wars: The Old Republic, white crystal, Whitesaber, wild bantha chase

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Capcom Announces Ace Attorney 5, Brings 1-3 To iOS

He may not be Capcom's biggest name, but Ace Attorney fans will be happy to know that Capcom is working on another entry in it's goofy law adventure series. And those who haven't played the games can finally jump in with HD re-releases of the first three Ace Atrorney games on iOS.

It's a little surprising, but it's Ace Attorney's 10th anniversary in Japan. In honor of his birthday, the publisher announced that it is working on Ace Attorney 5, releasing the logo for the game (below).

During an event in Japan, Capcom also announced some news regarding the upcoming Professor Layton Vs. Ace Attorney title for 3DS -- basically that the animated cutscenes are being produced by the animation studio Bones, and the game is due sometime this year. So, you know, that's news.

If that wasn't enough, Capcom release some screens for the HD versions of the first three Ace Attorneys which will be released on iOS later this year. Check out the screens over at Famitsu.

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среда, 1. фебруар 2012.

FPS Multiplayer Record Set At 999 Simultaneous Combatants

Software developer MuchDifferent set a Guinness-sanctioned world record over the weekend, setting up an online FPS session that supported nearly 1,000 simultaneous players.

The one-off stunt was a demonstration of the company's Pikkotekk technology, which was the backbone of the experiment. At its peak, 999 players faced off as either human or machine combatants in a massive battle. The video below it shows it off in action. It may not have been the prettiest gaming event over the weekend (by a long shot), but it was a pretty neat milestone.

If you do plan to watch the video, be warned that the chat contains profanity. You didn't think they could round up 999 online FPS players without that happening now, did you?

Guinness will be confirming the event over the next few days. Look for it in next year's Guinness World Records Gamer Edition if everything checks out.

Email the author Jeff Cork, or follow on Twitter, Google

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Nintendo Celebrates Valentine's Day With 3DS

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Madden Predicts The Super Bowl

Everyone's excited to see how the Giants and Pats second Super Bowl meeting since 2008 goes, but EA Sports says it already knows the answer.

According to the sim using Madden NFL 12, the Giants beat the Patriots 27-24, with Lawrence Tynes kicking a game-winning 40-yard field goal as time expires.

Both Giants QB Eli Manning (two TDs and one INT) and Pats' Tom Brady (three TDs and one INT) had big days, with Manning winning the MVP award.

Check out the video recap below.

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North American PSN Boss Exits Sony

Panico first started at Sony Computer Entertainment in 1994. She was named Senior Director of PlayStation Network in February 2007. In a statement sent to VentureBeat, Sony said, "“We can confirm Susan has left SCEA. We thank her for her considerable contribution to our business and wish her every success in the future.”

There's no word yet on where Panico is going or who will replace her at Sony.

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First Screenshot Of The Amazing Spider-Man Game

Activision has released the first in-game screenshot of The Amazing Spider-Man video game, due out later this year. Check it out below!

Developer Beenox is returning to the open-world, web-slinging gameplay we've all come to know and love. The game is based in New York City, shortly after the events of the upcoming film.

The publisher hasn't revealed a release date quite yet. You can go check out the debut trailer for the game from late last year right here.

Email the author Jim Reilly, or follow on Twitter, and Game Informer.

Filed under: News, Activision, beenox, The Amazing Spider-Man, Screenshot Screenshots
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[Update]: THQ Comments On Recent Layoff Rumor

: THQ has responded to a recent rumor that it has laid off staff in its Australia office, as well as there being trouble in Japan.

A THQ representative told us that the layoffs in Australia are related to the staff moves that the company outlined last week. Furthermore, the Japan office will not be closing, as there will still be staff at the Japanese location, and the Australia office will still handle THQ's business relationships in the region.

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Microsoft Attempting To Acquire Domain Name Of Fake Halo 4 Beta Site

The Halo 4 publisher recently filed a complaint to the National Arbitration Forum to acquire the domain Halo4beta.net, which had been posing as a Halo 4 Beta registration site.

343 Industries David Ellis had already warned fans via his Twitter account that the site was fake. In response the domain was taken down by its owner -- and still comes up as "suspended" today. However, Microsoft's new filing -- if successful -- would give the company ownership of the domain. Microsoft had already taken similar action to buy the domain Halo4.com for an undisclosed sum of money.

It is not known if the fraudulent Halo 4 beta site was being used for fraud or "phishing" purposes.

News tip and story via: Fusible.com

Email the author Matt Helgeson, or follow on Twitter, and Game Informer.

Filed under: News, Microsoft, Beta, 343 Industries, Multiplayer, fraud, website, fake, registration, Halo 4, site .textbox_comments

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EverQuest Going Free-To-Play

The list of MMO titles going free-to-play continues to grow. Sony Online Entertainment announced the original EverQuest is now going free-to-play this March.

"With the move to free-to-play, players will continue to enjoy the EQ experience they know and love, only now they have the power to choose a model that caters to their play style," SOE said. "Through the new free-to-play model, players will have the options of non-recurring vs. recurring subscriptions, Free vs. Silver memberships, item unlockers, and many more."

As part of this move, all players receive a "Welcome Pack" containing brand-new items. Additional details about all the changes to the game can be found in a blog post by EverQuest producer Thom Terrazas and a new FAQ.

SOE previously announced that EverQuest II and DC Universe Online were going free-to-play.

Email the author Jim Reilly, or follow on Twitter, and Game Informer.

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Sony Likely To Be Last To Unveil Next-Gen System

In an interview with a French website, a Sony executive suggested that the company is in no hurry to announce the next PlayStation.

When asked about the company's next-gen plans in an interview with Le Point, Sony France's Philippe Cardon commented, "It's true that there are a lot of rumors, but I can't tell you anything. The Wii is under time pressure because it's in decline. As far as we're concerned, we're under a lot less pressure. We were the last to release the PS3, we will probably be the last to announce something."

Nintendo's Wii U is slated to release sometime this year, and it's widely speculated that Micrsoft is going to announce a new version of the Xbox at E3 2012.

Via: Eurogamer

Email the author Matt Helgeson, or follow on Twitter, and Game Informer.

Filed under: News, Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, Playstation 3, e3, PlayStation, 2012, playstation 4, wii U .textbox_comments

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38 Studios Defends Reckoning Online Pass

Brandon commented on Phil Kollar's post about A Look At The Effects Of World Of Warcraft Addiction. Home Platforms Nintendo Wii Nintendo DS PlayStation 3 PC PSP Xbox 360 3DS Wii U PlayStation Vita All News Reviews Previews Explore Features Guides Site Activity Editor Blogs Podcasts Review Archive The Vault Site Help Take Part Blogs Forums Guides Contests Groups Polls Newsletter Sign-up Magazine Read Current Issue Subscribe Contact Customer Service Review Archive Cover Gallery Hubs XCOMSouth ParkRainbow 6The GI ShowReplayGamer CultureReiner & PhilThe Quick 15Spoiled!RSS FeedsImpulseRespec RadioMore... Home News

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Rock Band Dev Tackling PSN, XBLA, Facebook

The next game from the creators of Rock Band appears to be a download-only title for consoles and Facebook.

First spotted by superannuation, the resume for game designer Brian Chan lists an unannounced project from Harmonix is currently in development for Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, and Facebook.

John Drake, director of communications & brand management at Harmonix, released a statement saying, “As we've stated before, our studio is growing and hard at work on a variety of titles. In a storied Harmonix tradition, our designers start working on those games before they're publicly announced. We're excited to confirm more information soon, probably via a LinkedIn update or something - we haven't decided.”

Harmonix was purchased from Viacom by investment firm Columbus Nova, LLC. in December 2010. The studio has since released Vidrhythm on the App Store and Dance Central 1 and 2 for Xbox 360 Kinect.

Email the author Jim Reilly, or follow on Twitter, and Game Informer.

Filed under: News, harmonix, Dance Central, VidRhythm .textbox_comments

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SSX's Online Pass Doesn't Sound Too Bad

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The Next Xbox Will Not Be Released In 2012

While not ruling out the possibility that a new Xbox console could be revealed at E3, a French Microsoft executive stated that the company will not release new hardware in 2012.

When asked to respond to rumors that a new Microsoft console was going to be unveiled at E3, Microsoft France marketing director Cedrick Delmas said, "We're in an industry that talks a lot, that likes telling stories. I am not convinced that things will happen this year. The Xbox 360's cycle is not over at all. The proof is that we haven't price cut this year. Afterward, what will happen at E3, it's still too early to say. What's certain is that there will be nothing new in 2012. If we wanted to counter Nintendo, we would have to be in a position to release something immediately, and that is not at all the case."

He continued, "We're not here to counter Nintendo and they're not here to fight the other manufacturers. Nintendo has put itself in a different cycle, it's going forward to its own rhythm, with success as we have seen with the Wii, and now it's their turn to present their innovation."

This seems to suggest that -- like Sony -- Microsoft is biding its time in regards to the next generation of consoles.

Source: Le Point via Eurogamer

Email the author Matt Helgeson, or follow on Twitter, and Game Informer.

Filed under: News, Xbox 360, Microsoft, e3, 2012, hardware, consoles, xbox 720, next generation .textbox_comments

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A Look At The Effects Of World Of Warcraft Addiction

Brandon commented on Phil Kollar's post about . Home PC Nintendo Wii Nintendo DS PlayStation 3 PC PSP Xbox 360 3DS Wii U PlayStation Vita All News Reviews Previews Explore Features Guides Site Activity Editor Blogs Podcasts Review Archive The Vault Site Help Take Part Blogs Forums Guides Contests Groups Polls Newsletter Sign-up Magazine Read Current Issue Subscribe Contact Customer Service Review Archive Cover Gallery Hubs XCOMSouth ParkRainbow 6The GI ShowReplayGamer CultureReiner & PhilThe Quick 15Spoiled!RSS FeedsImpulseRespec RadioMore... Home News

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THQ Faces NASDAQ Delisting

The past few weeks haven't been kind to publisher THQ. The company has been besieged with layoffs, structural reorganization, and persistent rumors that its future is on shaky ground. Now it's facing the possibility that its sagging stock could be delisted on the NASDAQ exchange. After trading below the minimum $1 for 30 days, THQ faces an ultimatum from NASDAQ: its common stock has to trade above $.99 a share for 10 consecutive days over the next 180 days, or it will be delisted.

The disappointing sales of the company's uDraw drawing tablet and other licensed titles has made THQ reevaluate its overall strategy. One way that the publisher thinks it can succeed is by focusing more on core games, including Saints Row. THQ recently announced that the latest installment in the series, Saints Row: The Third, shipped 3.8 million units worldwide.

“THQ will be a more streamlined organization focused only on our strongest franchises,” said Brian Farrell, president and CEO of THQ. “The success of Saints Row: The Third is an example of what our revised strategy and focus can achieve."

One thing's for certain in this uncertain period: THQ's third-quarter 2012 investor call is going to be interesting this Thursday.

Email the author Jeff Cork, or follow on Twitter, Google

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Darksiders Set To Invade The Literary World

One of the perks about being the embodiment of death or war is that time doesn't have the same meaning for you as it does for lowly mortals. While novelizations based on other IP may dabble with the events just before the games start, Del Rey's upcoming book Darksiders: The Abomination Vault, is going back a bit farther. We're talking thousands of years back, in fact.

Random House and THQ revealed the book today, which follows Death and War on the hunt for ancient weapons and the mysterious forces who would use them to start a massive conflict. It's being written by Ari Marmell, and it's due out this May.

Prediction: The book will contain more synonyms for "giant hammer" and "scythe" than you thought were possible.

Email the author Jeff Cork, or follow on Twitter, Google

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NetherRealm's Ed Boon Talks About The Future

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Prototype 2 Pre-Order Offers 55 Pieces Of Content

In what is becoming a cool, increasing trend amongst publishers across the industry, Activision and developer Radical Entertainment are offering a free special edition of Prototype 2 that's packed with cool content.

Prototype 2's Radnet Edition is a limited offering for anybody who pre-orders the game at participating retailers before April 24.

The edition unlocks 55 pieces of varied content in weekly waves from April 24th through June 7. These include everything from events, friend vs. friend challenges, weekly themed rewards, bonus mutations for protagonist James Heller (usable in the main story mode), behind-the-scenes videos, and more. Weekly rewards are won by scoring a bronze medal in that week's event and a minimum threshold score in the challenges. Participate in all of the weekly events and challenges and you'll win what Activision is calling "the ultimate shape-shifting prize," which will be unveiled in March.

The free content also differs based on whether you get the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 version of the game. Xbox 360 owners will get five free Avatar items, while PS3 owners get five exclusive animated themes.

For more on the Radnet Edition, check out this FAQ courtesy of Radical Entertainment.

For more on the game (which comes out on April 24 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC), take a look at this previous trailer for the title.

Email the author Matthew Kato, or follow on Twitter, and Game Informer.

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