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EA teases us with ‘First Look’ at Madden NFL 12
The show must go on. Lockouts can’t stop EA’s Madden NFL series as the latest entry is set to be released under every platform under the sun this August as usual. Today we get the first teaser trailer for Madden NFL 12, with those titillating menus, classic gameplay, and that sweet HD grass you just want to rip up and smell.
ANYWAY, don’t forget you can win your very own copy of Madden NFL 12 by making your own bracket for the cover athlete, and we strongly suggest joining the Warp Zoned group in EA’s bracket challenge.
Aaron Rodgers, Philip Rivers are top seeds in Madden NFL 12 bracket
It’s 4 PM and, as promised, EA Sports and ESPN have unveiled the bracket for the Madden NFL 12 Cover Vote. You can vote for the winners of the 16 initial matchups now at ESPN.com or fill out your own bracket using the Madden NFL Bracket Facebook bracket.
The five-week long tournament will choose the Madden NFL 12 curse victim cover athlete on April 27 with a new round commencing every week. Each team is represented in the bracket and the #1 seeds went to Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay Packers) and Philip Rivers (San Diego Chargers). However, some of the choices are just baffling:
The Denver Broncos selection is Tim Tebow, who spent most of the season as the third-string quarterback. Tom Brady and Wes Welker of the New England Patriots were passed over for running back Danny Woodhead. No player from the Seattle Seahawks was deemed worthy with EA choosing The 12th Man instead.
You can click on the bracket to get a larger picture of the matchups and remember to vote early and vote daily for your favorites.
EA applies bracketology to Madden NFL 12 cover athlete
Did Marquette kill your Final Four bracket yesterday? Or maybe it was Florida State. Or maybe, like President Obama, your bracket is still relatively pristine.
Whatever your bracket looks like, EA Sports is giving gamers a second chance to prove their bracket prowess with the Madden NFL 12 Bracket Challenge. EA has selected 32 players (one from each team) to compete in a single elimination tournament to determine the cover athlete of Madden NFL 12. That’s right, the recipient of the curse is on us now.
EA will reveal the full bracket on ESPN’s “SportsNation” today at 4 PM (Eastern Time) today. But they did say that Super Bowl XLV MVP Aaron Rodgers, Madden NFL 11 cover athlete Drew Brees (who won a three-way fan vote), Madden NFL 2004 cover athlete Michael Vick, Maurice Jones-Drew, Adrian Peterson and Julius Peppers are among the finalists.
Madden fans can create their own bracket by using the Madden NFL Bracket application on Facebook. The winners of each matchup will be chosen through daily voting at ESPN.com/maddenvote.
The top two bracketologists will win the Grand Prize of $2,000 and two tickets to Super Bowl XLVI. Eight 1st Place winners will receive four tickets to an NFL game of their choice. “Group Winners” will receive a copy of Madden NFL 12 when it’s released in August.
We’ll be back with the full bracket later today.
New Releases: 3DS, Crysis 2, Lego Star Wars III, More
The wait for Nintendo’s handheld is almost over as the Nintendo 3DS arrives in stores this week. Available in both Cosmo Black and the awesomely two-tone Aqua Blue, the system will be available on Sunday, March 27 along with a launch lineup of 18 titles.
However, if you prefer to do your gaming on a big screen, one of the biggest first person shooters of the year, Crysis 2, will be released for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. More aliens can be had in the latest Lego Star Wars, which is also available this week. Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars will be coming to the 3DS, DS, PC, PS3, PSP, Wii and Xbox 360.
Other new releases this week include Square Enix’s Dissidia 012: Final Fantasy (PSP), Sony’s Ratchet, Jak and Sly crossover PlayStation Move Heroes (PS3) and the medieval people management of The Sims Medieval (PC)
The full list of the rest of this week’s new releases can be found after the break. (more…)
The 2010-2011 Video Game Awards Season
Beginning with the Spike TV Video Game Awards in early December and culminating with last night’s BAFTA Games Awards, the 2010-2011 “video game awards season” has come to a close. And after four months of awards, acceptance speeches and arguments, we have a clearer picture of what really were the best games of the year.
The snobbier segments of the game community love to decry the Spike TV Video Game Awards as an embarrassment and not representative of the feelings of “real” gamers. Typically, the show’s world premiere trailers overshadow the actual awards themselves. But the event is spearheaded by Geoff Keighley of GameTrailers TV and the winners are voted on by a well-respected contingent of game journalists, so I guess it could be worse.
That said, this year’s Spike TV Video Game Awards “Game of the Year” was awarded to Rockstar’s epic western Red Dead Redemption. Keighley and company spread the love as the remaining major awards all went to other games: “Best PC Game” StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty; “Best PS3 Game” God of War III; “Best Wii Game” Super Mario Galaxy 2; “Best Xbox 360 Game” Halo: Reach; “Best Handheld Game” God of War: Ghost of Sparta; and “Best Downloadable Game” Costume Quest.
If Spike TV’s annual awards attempt to reach the mainstream, Time Magazine‘s top ten is the polar opposite, reaching into corners of the gaming world that are often ignored. This year’s selections are no different, including Alan Wake being awarded the #1 spot with iOS phenomenon Angry Birds at #2. The rest of the list was pretty typical, but the lack of Alan Wake’s spiritual twin, Heavy Rain, was the baffling part. Also, Limbo received its first love of the year-end awards with a sixth-place selection. (more…)
WWE All-Stars screens show off game modes
THQ has released a dozen new screenshots showcasing the many modes of WWE All-Stars. The arcade brawler will include classic modes like 1 on 1 and Steel Cage Match along with Triple Threat, Fatal 4 Way, Tornado Tag, Elimination, Extreme Rules and Handicap Matches. You can check out all twelve screens after the break.
WWE All-Stars will be available for the PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii and Xbox 360 on March 29. (more…)
Crysis 2 demo, Hard Corps: Uprising, Parasite Eve on PlayStation Store this week
A PlayStation.Blog weekly feature, “The Drop,” has given us a sneak peek at what games will be available to download tomorrow from the PlayStation Store.
While not a full game, the biggest addition to this week’s PSN update is the PS3 version of the Crysis 2 multiplayer demo. Another huge demo available this week is Mortal Kombat. The sample was made available to download for PlayStation Plus users last week, but now every PS3 owner will have a chance to test out the Mature-rated fighter. Finally, a demo of the minigame crossover PlayStation Move Heroes is also in the works for the Tuesday update.
If you’re more interested in full games, you can find three in this week’s PSN update. PS3 owners will be able to download the Contra prequel Hard Corps: Uprising along with the “building and brawling mash up” Slam Bolt Scrappers. And PSone Classics collectors will be thrilled to learn that Parasite Eve will be added to the service this week ahead of The 3rd Birthday‘s March 29 release.
And speaking of PSP games, this week’s PlayStation Store update sees the release of five of them: Shooter Gods Eater Burst, RPG Jikandia: The Timeless Land, sports sim Major League Baseball 2K11, puzzle racer Vertigo and the fighting game Dissidia 012 Prologus: Final Fantasy.
Posted in News, PS3, PSP
Tagged Crysis 2, Dissidia 012 Prologus: Final Fantasy, Hard Corps: Uprising, Parasite Eve
New Releases: Homefront, Okamiden, Yakuza 4, More
The Spring thaw is doing more than raising the mercury in your thermometer, it’s also bringing more big games to stores.
This week, THQ’s Red Dawn-inspired war game, Homefront, will be released on the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. In fact, Red Dawn director John Milius was heavily involved in the creator of Homefront’s storyline.
Other big name releases this week fall into a few well known franchises:
- Capcom will release Okamiden, pint-sized spinoff of Okami, for the DS
- Sega brings Kazuma Kiryu back to America (but keeps the game’s Japanese sensibilities intact) in Yakuza 4 (PS3).
- Andre Agassi serves up his first video game appearance in over 15 years in Top Spin 4 (PS3, Wii, Xbox 360).
- And finally, Sega will release Total War: Shogun 2 on the PC.
The full list of the rest of this week’s new releases can be found after the break. (more…)