Control Issues: The Worst in Controller Peripherals

Well this is my first post at Monstervine and I’d like to thank Will for the opportunity to write here, however lacking an actually game to review I’m going to have a nice rant concerning the shocking level of controller peripherals that have either been on the market or are even still for sale in these enlightened times. I have a feeling that I’ll earn the ire of some retro gaming fans for one of the items on this list, but that doesn’t change how truly terrible it was. Also I’d like to mention at this point that I have nothing against Nintendo, but they do have a somewhat turbulent history when it comes to this sort of thing.

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Medal of Honor Beta Impressions

After sniping, headshotting and knifing other online opponents to death, I can finally surmise that Medal of Honor’s multiplayer was pretty fun.

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E3 10: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Preview

There were quite a few Castlevania titles that were being considered for development when Hideo Kojima pitched his idea for Castlevania: Lords of Shadows. Luckily, Konami decided to use his idea, and Lords of Shadow was born.

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E3 10: The Force Unleashed Preview

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, released two years ago, was received with mixed critical reception. However LucasArts seems to be taking what the players said very seriously, so we can be assured that they will greatly expand and improve upon its predecessor.

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E3 Liveblogs – We Have Them

E3 is basically around the corner and for the first time in MonsterVine history, we will be in attendance at the event. However, not everyone gets to go so our online team will be holding the fort down at MonsterVine HQ to bring you breaking news coverage and present liveblogs of the big three press conferences. They are listed below:

Microsoft Media Briefing – Monday, June 14 at 10:00 am PST, 1:00pm EST, 6:00 pm BST
Natal will be a focus this time around with a fully blown reveal and numerous third-party publishers announcing their projects in addition to a slew of first-party development by Rare and Lionhead Studios. There will still be a good focus on first-party games such as Gears of War 3, Fable 3, and Halo: Reach but what suprises will be in store? Well our newest staff member Malik Faldiga will tell you!

Nintendo Presentation – Tuesday, June 15 at 9:00 am PST, 12:00 pm EST, 5:00 pm BST
With Craig and Will going to see Cammie Dunaway inarguably make a fool out of herself for another consecutive year, Sarah will be liveblogging the Nintendo conference and bring you the epic tears that will be shed around the world during the Zelda Wii reveal. We will have information and launch titles on Nintendo’s handheld successor, 3DS. And expect the occassional “livetweets” from Will of the antics that will surely ensue (most likely when we find out the mindblowing features of the Wii Vitality Sensor) from this two-hour presser.

Sony Media Briefing – Tuesday, June 15 at 12:00 pm PST, 3:00 pm EST, 8:00 pm BST
Following up, our last but surely not least Sony will be showcasing Playstation Move and the first-party lineup including Gran Turismo 5, Killzone 3, Resistance 3, Infamous 2, Motorstorm: Apocalypse, and LittleBigPlanet 2. Yet, that may not be all as we are due for another appearance of The Last Guardian, Agent, and perhaps even an appearance of Final Fantasy Versus XIII. Gyuri and Malik are tag-teaming up for this one so look forward to it.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Announced

World at War developer Treyarch has announced that the newest entry in the Call of Duty franchise is titled Black Ops and will be released on November 9, 2010, ahead of its revelation on GameTrailers TV tonight.

While the announcement gives no details on the game, speculation of Treyarch’s next Call of Duty title would take place in the Vietnam War era. Expect for a simultaneous launch on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC platforms given the series history.

According to Game.co.uk, Black Ops will see the birth of the Elite Special Forces and will engage in off-the-record missions using unconventional weaponry. Locales include Cuba, the Arctic, and the jungles of Vietnam.

Treyarch’s Call of Duty To Premiere on Gametrailers TV Friday

The next iteration of the Call of Duty series will be developed by Treyarch and is set in stone to be revealed this Friday, April 30 on Spike TV’s GameTrailers TV which premieres 12:40 AM EST.

Despite the ongoing legality between Activision and former members of Infinity Ward, Treyarch’s game is unaffected and will be due for release this fall.

Speculation and prior evidence points the game taking place during the Vietnam war era but no other details are known at this point.

Modern Warfare 2 Blocks Xbox Live Party Chat

Infinity Ward is exercising its own sphere of autonomy from Microsoft’s Xbox Live service as it will block the Party Chat feature while playing Modern Warfare 2.

The developer cites players abusing the Party Chat system in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare to tell teammates where enemies were when they were dead. Now players who are in Party Chat will booting up a multiplayer game of Modern Warfare 2 will be treated with a welcoming message below telling you to switch to game chat. Image after the jump. … Continue Reading