‘Dead Space’ and ‘Modern Combat 2: Black Pegasus’ available for free on Samsung App store

Continuing their tradition to offer free apps and games, the Samsung App store has not one but two games this time to give away. The first one is the popular Dead Space, a futuristic survival horror game, which recently arrived on the Android Market. The game is otherwise sold for $6.99 but you can have it for free on the Samsung App store.

Another free game is Modern Combat 2: Black Pegasus, a war-based shooter, which is currently being sold at a discount for $0.99 on the Android Market but for Samsung smartphone owners it is completely free.

If you’re into gaming and have a Samsung Android smartphone, then go to the Samsung App store right now to see if the games are available for free in your region.

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Game4u rolls out Christmas offer

This Christmas, Game4U is getting into the spirit of things as they’ve recently announced an offer by which customers visiting a Game4U store stand to win an action figure or a free game of their choice. And yes, this translates to newer titles like Batman: Arkham City, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Battlefield 3 and so on.

The store where your dreams could come true

All you have to do is head on over to the nearest Game4u Store, fill up a form, add a game/figure to your wishlist and make sure you’ve not been a bad boy/girl. If you can’t hop on over to their store, you can fill up the same form on their Facebook page as well. This promotion will end by the 25th of December, when the winners will be announced via a lucky draw.

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Action = Game of the Year 2011

And the best Action game this year is...

Now that the year’s fast moving towards its end, we’ve come to the part where we honour the best of the best. We’ve categorized this year’s awards by genre and kicking off the festivities today is everyone’s favourite, the Action genre.  And the nominees are...  Gears of War 3 (Xbox360) Marcus Fenix and his Gears go out with a bang The third and final leg of Marcus Fenix’s journey may have been a tad predictable (as is with all sequels), but, it was an explosive end to the Gears of war trilogy. While gameplay largely stayed the same as previous iterations, Epic bumped up the production values, beefed up the visuals and dialed the set-pieces to 11. It was without a doubt, a violent, bloody and an unapologetic conclusion to one of the Xbox360’s most beloved first party titles.  Batman: Arkham City (Xbox360 PS3 PC) The Dark Knight brings his A game this year Arkham Asylum was a superb action game that managed to capture the essence of what it was to be the world’s greatest detective. With Arkham City, developer Rocksteady expanded on that mentality greatly with a quasi open-world structure, improved gameplay mechanics and enough super villains to give any serious fan a tent in his pants. Best licensed superhero game? We certainly seemed to think so.  inFamous 2 (PS3) Superheroes love their pensive poses inFamous  was a rather enjoyable game that allowed players to step into the boots of a supercharged courier, as he dished out justice by the kilowatts. inFamous 2 expanded upon its predecessor in every way with a brand new setting along with new and improved gameplay mechanics making it one of the most fun open world games, this year. The game’s also enjoying a rather long life span, thanks to the user generated content, courtesy of the game’s map editor.  Dead Space 2 (Xbox360 PS3 PC) Isaac Clarke, your life really sucks Few games can tread the fine line between action and horror and Dead Space 2 definitely tops that list. Moving out of the claustrophobic confines of the USG Ishimura, Dead Space 2 dragged players to a brand new setting, one that allowed developer, Visceral to incorporate some new gameplay elements, new weapons, newer enemies and breath-taking set pieces. The game even introduced a new multiplayer mode that really wasn’t all that bad.  Uncharted 3 (PS3) A day in the life of Nathan Drake I personally wasn’t too happy with Uncharted 3’s control scheme or the incessant spamming of grenades, but there’s no doubt about the fact that no one does cinematic action better than Naughty Dog. From an entire level that takes place aboard a ship on a turbulent sea to an intense mid-air fight aboard a plane that’s about to crash, this game fully immersed players into the deadly, yet thoroughly entertaining life of treasure hunter, Nathan Drake.

And the winner is... Batman: Arkham City (Xbox360 PS3 PC) Even though the PC port of this game was a complete mess, Batman definitely brought his ‘A’ game, this year. Expanding upon gameplay aspects that made millions fall in love with Arkham Asylum, Arkham City was a treat to everyone from serious Batman fans to action gamers in love with open world games. Arkham City was designed from the ground up to reflect the danger, dirt and corruption populating every street and it did so with much visual aplomb. It also offered players a plethora of diverse side activates to indulge in, while they made their way to the game’s antagonist, Dr. Hugo Strange.  The Winner! Besides the Dark Knight, gamers also got a chance to traverse the length and breadth of the game world as Catwoman. She was significantly weaker than Batman, but she brought her own set of feline and acrobatic moves to the table that made her segments an utter blast. We really hope she gets a spin-off real soon.  As you can see, Batman: Arkham City offers plenty of bang for your buck and is a shining example of licensing done right.

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The Last Of Us officially announced

At Spike’s VGA awards held last weekend, Sony blew the covers off their latest exclusive called, 'The Last Of Us' developed by none other than Naughty Dog, themselves. The story, much like Will Smith’s movie, I am Legend takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where a deadly plague has wiped out civilization, mutating the survivors into zombie-like creatures. Who will you play as You play as one of two characters, Ellie, a spunky American teenager or Joel, a hardened survivor as they try and survive every day by scavenging ammunition and supplies. According to Naughty Dog, the game will blend survival horror with their bombastic brand of action to create a "genre defining experience".  Even though a post-apocalyptic scenario has been done to death a million times by now in video games, it’ll be interesting to see Naughty Dog’s take on the matter. The game has not been given a release date, yet but, don’t expect it before 2013. In the meantime, check out the very first trailer embedded above.

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Battlefield 3 DLC out today

Battlefield 3’s Back to Karkand map pack is finally out today for the Xbox360 and the PC, after being available to PS3 owners for nearly a week. In case your memory’s a bit rusty, this map pack includes three visually upgraded Battlefield 2 maps - Strike at Karkand, Wake Island, Gulf of Oman and Sharqi Peninsula. It also includes five new dog tags, five new achievements/trophies, three new vehicles (DPV, BTR-90, F-35B STOVL jet fighter), 10 new weapons and persistent unlocks. See you on the battlefield The weapons in this DLC will be unlocked through something called Assignments, specific actions you’ll have to complete to unlock corresponding weapons. In case you pre-ordered Battlefield 3, like the rest of us, you’ll get this DLC free. If not, it can be yours for just $14.99.

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Dirt Showdown announced

Dirt has become Codemasters’ yearly racing franchise, so hearing about a new Dirt game being announced for 2012 is no surprise. What is surprising, though is that Codemasters have ditched the Rally form of gameplay in favour of something way more arcady and destructive. Time to get DIRT-y once again According to their official Facebook page, Dirt Showdown will be built on three pillars of gameplay - Hoonigan, Demolition Derby and Race. While the last two modes are fairly self-explanatory, Hoonigan is a brand new mode where players will have to pull off tricks and stunts after being unleashed in a “Joyride compound”.

Dirt fans need not stress, though; this is just a temporary detour from the series. Codemasters is still on the ball for a Dirt 4 whenever that happens. Dirt Showdown, on the other hand will be out for the Xbox360, PS3 and PC by March 2012.

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Call of Duty: MW3 shatters $1 Million revenue history in a month

The eight installment in the Call of Duty franchise, Modern Warfare 3 (MW3) has crossed the magical $1 billion mark in sales on December 12, since it launched about a month ago. The title grossed more than $775 million, globally in the first five days alone and surpassed its predecessor (Call of Duty: Black Ops) by 7 percent in its first month sales. One of the main reasons for this success is the big fan following behind the franchise.

A milestone for Activision

Going strong for over eight years now with no signs of slowing down, the series may not have gotten more innovative with every installment (the same goes for MW3), but it has always been enjoyable. Unlike the Need for Speed franchise, which sadly has gone down the pooper, since Most Wanted, this series has always offered action-packed, guns blazing gameplay that doesn’t tend to disappoint for most fans. 
Activision’s Call of Duty Elite is also one of the fastest growing online services available today. There are currently over 6 million new players registered, since November 8, 2011. This includes over a million paid subscribers, which according to them, eclipse the likes of Netflix, Hulu Plus and Xbox LIVE who didn’t have a these many subscribers, until a year after launch. So, have you ordered your copy already?

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Game of The Year 2011 - 1st person shooting

The best shooter this year is...

Now that we’re done with Action genre, it’s time to move onto first person shooters. And the nominees are: Crysis 2 (Xbox360 PS3 PC) Explore New York, Crysis 2 style Crysis 2 ditched its predecessor’s island setting in favour of a more urban one with New York City. Granted the game was a lot smaller in size, but this change in direction allowed developer Crytek to craft one of the most beautiful game worlds, out there. The AI populating this game world was unfortunately dumb as hell, but that didn’t make kicking butt in an augmented Nano suit any less fun.  Battlefield 3 (Xbox360 PS3 PC) Time to get your battle on After all the trailers and the trash talk, DICE and EA finally managed to deliver a superior military shooter experience this year. Sure, the single player campaign felt a bit contrived, but you never really play a Battlefield game for its story; you play it for its addictive, persistent multiplayer that delivered the goods in spades. And it really helps that all this is neatly wrapped up in a very technically impressive package.  Portal 2 (Xbox360 PS3 PC) Oh there you are Even though Portal 2 was not exactly a shooter, it was one of the most entertaining puzzle games played from a first person perspective. Picking up directly from where the sequel left off, Portal 2 amped up the puzzles, introduced a ton of new gameplay elements and even added in a stand-alone, co-operative play into the mix. We were a bit skeptical about how co-op would work in the Portal universe, but rest assured, it’s the cleverest implementation we’ve seen till date. Bulletstorm (Xbox360 PS3 PC) My foot, your butt Bulletstorm was an ode to old school first person shooters developed by none other than People can Fly, the guys behind the original Painkiller. The game was juvenile, crude and a bit low on the whole story front, but it made up for that in leaps and bounds with explosive, balls-to-the-wall gameplay. And even though the game never made a huge dent at sales, it still has a special place in our hearts. Killzone 3 (PS3) Killing in the name of The Killzone franchise is associated with gorgeous visuals, heart pounding action, large scale battles and intense multiplayer and in that respect, Killzone 3 did not disappoint. Also helping matters was the fact that Guerrilla Games tweaked the game’s control scheme, so it didn’t feel like you were controlling a 1200 pound guerrilla (yes that’s a pun not a typo), anymore.  And the winner is... Battlefield 3 (Xbox360 PS3 PC) If you’re a fan of modern day military shooters, Battlefield 3 is your best bet, this year. The single player campaign may have been a tad dull and predictable, but DICE more than made up for that with a highly addictive multiplayer component we’re playing till date. Unlike other online shooters that penalize players for lacking razor sharp reflexes, Battlefield 3 allows newcomers to ease into the game by offering them support roles as well. If running around the battlefield dishing out ammunition or health doesn’t seem like an exciting prospect, grab a chopper and rain down hell fire on ground targets or command a jet and become a force to be reckoned with. The undoubted winner Battlefield 3 also gets our unanimous approval for being the most technical sound shooter out there. DICE’s Frostbite 2 engine brings fire fights to life in a very gorgeous way with some phenomenal lighting effects and texture work, while the game’s sound, simply put is the best in the business.

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Top 10 awesome things to do in Skyrim

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is all sorts of awesome. It’s also a very vast game that offers players a ridiculous amount of content. This can be a bit daunting to newcomers so if you find yourself flummoxed with all the game has to offer, ease into it with this initiation guide of sorts.  Explore Probably the best game world ever made Yes, this one is painfully obvious but I actually know a few people who’re just burning through the plot to finish the game. This isn’t Call of Duty people; exploration is the name of the game here and if you just stick to the plot, you’re missing out on what really makes this game so special.  Join a guild Guilds FTW! The best way to experience the plethora of content Skyrim has to offer would be to align yourself with a guild ASAP. If you have a thing for magic or the dark arts, join the Mages College. If you prefer assassinating people for money, The Dark Brotherhood beckons. On the other hand, if you’re a fan of stealthy gameplay, the Thieves guild is more up your alley. Best of all, you can undertake missions from pretty much every guild at the same time. Doing so makes you visit some pretty exotic places, get access to sweet armour and inherit a wealth of powers you wouldn’t otherwise. Become a werewolf Slap their faces off Ok this is kind of a spoiler so if you’re real anal about these kind of things, skip right ahead. While questing with the Champions guild you’ll be bestowed the gift of Lycanthropy which basically allows you to mutate into a badass werewolf. This will increase your melee damage, allow you to sprint as fast as animals and wolves in the wilderness will no longer attack you. Your werewolf blood will also allow you to resist all diseases so it’s really a win win situation. Also fighting a dragon in your werewolf avatar is one of the coolest gaming moments ever. Still if for some reason you wish to give up this gift (or as some call it, a curse), the final quest in the Champions story line will allow you to do so.  Craft badass armour Work Work Once you kill and loot a dragon, you’ll find yourself in possession of dragon bones and scales. No, these are not decorative items you can adorn your living room; they are in fact pieces of armour that can be crafted to make one bitching Dragon Armour suit. Of course you need really high smithing skills to do so but trust us, it’s worth the effort.  Pick a fight with a Giant Yeah I'm talking to you Fighting with dragons is one thing but there’s something special about picking a fight with a dude thrice your size. Normally giants roam the country side with their faithful mammoths and are pretty harmless but if you pick a fight with them, you best be packing some real heat since they are insanely powerful capable of killing you with one blow. Of course, the bigger they are, the harder they fall bestowing you with some XP, gold and a bunch of other stuff you can loot off their dead bodies.  Make a giant fight a dragon Winner fights with me So you’ve fought a giant and you’ve fought a dragon but now it’s time for you to let these tanks take each other on. This will obviously only be possible if a dragon attacks you while you’re close to a giant camp. As the dragon starts attacking you, run toward the closest giant and the dragon by default will start attacking him as well. Then, move out from the hot zone for a few seconds and watch them tear each other to shreds. By the time the battle ends, one of them will emerge victorious with very less health. That’s when you of course make your move. Why fight hard when you can fight clever right?   Become Sam Fisher Sam fisher would be proud Roaming around Skyrim bashing people’s faces in is fine and all but sneaking up to slit someone’s throat from behind is a very rewarding experience as well. And let’s say you’re not into heavily stealth based characters, the game’s flexible enough to allow your 200 pound mammoth Redguard to adopt the ways of the Shadow as well. Work on his/her sneaking kills along with his/her bow and arrow skills and you can become a deadly archer who can take down enemies in a single shot. Shout stuff off cliffs Fly away If you play the first two or three story based missions you’ll be required to go visit the Greybeards up in High Hrothgar. They’ll give you a few quests after which they bestow upon you a fully upgraded shout. Press down the shout key for a few seconds to charge it up and unleash it on anyone in your path and watch in glee as your Unrelenting Force sends them flying back. And yeah, if they just happen to be precariously perched next to the edge of the cliff, even better.  Pimp your crib Home sweet home Every major city in Skyrim allows players to purchase a house, that is once you perform a few favours for the Jarl in charge (no, not those kind of favours). Once you purchase the property, you can meet the Jarl’s advisor to pimp it out with armour racks, weapons racks, book stands and lots more. In some cases (especially in Whiterun), your house comes with a lovely companion who will loyally serve you in battle and more. Ahem.  Make the undead fight for you Why hello there There are certain spells in this game that allow players to resurrect the dead for a few seconds. Once that’s done, the undead will fight for you till they perish or your enemy dies. And even if your character isn’t heavily inclined toward magic, you can find (or buy) certain staffs that allow you to do so as well. It’s really heart warming to see the wolf you just slaughtered to come back from the grave and fight for you.

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