Funcom went and finally bought an ounce or two of common sense. The long-running MMO, Age of Conan is getting a slight makeover as a free-to-play MMO and Funcom will be opening up the game to wider audience when AoC relaunches this summer as Age of Conan: Unrated. Also, one of the most highly anticipated games we never hear anything about is supposedly making a premier demo debut at this year’s E3…that’s right, Aliens: Colonial Marines will supposedly be playable at this year’s E3, and there’s nothing wrong with that. While PSN and SOE’s services may be restored the sad news is that the PlayStation Store is still missing in action, with a vague return date set in Sony’s sights. These stories and more in this May 28th, 2011 edition of the Gaming Blend Weekly Recap.
Sunday
APB Reloaded Open Beta Moved To May 23rd. If you were wondering why the OB was a week late, this is why.
XBLAs Most Wanted: Metal Gear Solid One of the few games that showcased that video games can be mature gets on XBLA Fan’s most wanted list.
PSN and SOE Hack Cost Sony $171 Million. That would be a “Yikes” and a “Yousers” for any normal person but that’s petty change for Sony.
L.A. Noire Title Update 1.00 Released. New patch, more updated content, better gameplay. That’s what that means.
Monday
Battlefield 3 Physical Warfare Limited Edition Announced. If you’re in the UK then you have a chance to pre-order a nifty collection of goodies for Battlefield 3.
2K Games Announces MMO Based On Long Running Franchise. Sid Meier maybe? Dungeon Siege? Bioshock perhaps?
Impale Your Friends With Gears of War 3 Retro Lancer Replica. Ah, the niceties of a collector’s edition…it’s too bad it can’t actually impale things…or can it?
Free RIFT Character Transfers Coming Soon. From one server to the next…now you and your friends can go rifting together.
Tuesday
FragFX Shark 360 Available For Xbox 360 In August. Splitfish has heard your pleas and they have responded with greatness. Prepare to frag like you’ve never fragged before.
STeelSeries Medal of Honor Headsets Coming Soon To Xbox 360, PC. To beat the best you have to hear them coming around the corner first. Listen, respond, engage. Check out how this awesome headset will help with that.
Spike TV Airing Live Broadcast of EA’s E3 2011 Gamechanger. Something Xbox 720 related, perhaps? Tune in to find out.
PSN Down for maintenance; PlayStation Store Not Returning. There’s still some security issues that Sony wants to get sorted first.
Free-to-Play Ghost Recon Online Announced. This is pretty big news right here…sort of. Anyway, hopefully Ubisoft can differentiate this game from the 1001 other F2P shooters out there.
Duke Nukem Forever Goes Gold. The Duke goes gold and it means he’ll be hitting platinum numbers oon.
Halo Reach Demo Released; Full Game Now Cheaper. Yeah, because a demo arriving a year after the game releases makes all the sense in the world.
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Gameplay Trailers Confirms Release Date. Too bad it doesn’t confirm a new engine.
PSP Limited Edition Entertainment Pack Brings MLB 11 And Gran Turismo Together. Sounds like a pretty good combo if you’re a sports fan.
Call of Duty Black Ops PS3 Bundle Reports For Duty Next Week. The game, some DLC and some additional goodies all for a not-so-budget price.
Hitchhiker Guide To The Galaxy Game Announcement Celebrates Towel Day. I have no idea how a game like this will be played but click the link to find out.
Video Games Finally Proven To Cause Gamers TO Get Violent. Well it was just a matter of time.
Age of Conan Going Free-to-Play. Nice. All the nudity you could possibly ask for in a F2P game…Funcom will make millions.
Thursday
Get Forza Motorsport 4 Bonus Cars By Playing Forza 3 or Pre-Ordering.
Ubisoft Reveals E3 2011 Line-Up. Everything from Ezio to YourShape.
Shinobi Coming Exclusively To Nintendo 3DS. The side-scroller will make its debut on the 3DS this fall.
Bloodrayne Betrayal Debut Trailer Channels Shank. Who knew vampires and convicts seeking revenge would have so much in common?
Angels Online Expansion Adds Seven Angelic Maps. New maps are never a bad thing…especially when they contain dinosaurs!
Friday
Resistance 3 Pre-Order Unlocks Air Fuel Grenades, Nathan Hale. The guy that died in the second game is playable in the third game.
Tomb Raider Reboot Trailer Due Next Week. The “grittier” take on Tomb Raider gets its first trailer next week.
Hulk Hogan Main Event Coming To Kinect This Fall. This guy will never retire will he? I guess not.
Futuremark Studios Teases Three Games For Multiple Platforms. They came from outer space…well, two of the games anyway.
House of the Dead Overkill Extended Cut Announced For PS3. More gore, more guts and more guns, all in HD.
Rumor: Aliens Colonial Marines Set To Premier At E3 2011. Sources say this could be legit and if it is then I’m excited.
PS3 Wireless Stereo Headset Announced. Sony jumps on the gaming accessories bandwagon with their own first-party wireless headset.
Saturday
Rumor: Sony Watering Down NGP To Make It Cheaper. Less equals less. Well, that’s how Sony sees it anyway.
infamous Trophies Earn You infamous 2 Rewards. Playing one game to earn goodies in another? It’s like going to work and coming home and being rewarded for it…with cookies.
Modern Warfare 3 Introduces Co-Op Survival Mode. Because it’s not cooperative survival until you’re doing it in modern warfare.
Splinter Cell HD Trilogy Delayed Again. Poor Sam, he’s always getting held up for some reason.
StarCraft II Heart Swarm Trailer Teases Kerrigan’s Return. Catch it before it goes away…Blizzard didn’t want this trailer escaping so soon.
Hothead Announces The Baconing. It’s like the Quickening but there’s bacon involved. A little electricity from a decapitated foe and it’s not just bacon…it’s fried bacon.
That wraps up this edition of the Gaming Blend Weekly Recap. You can check out a new trailer for Monster Hunter Freedom 3 HD for the PSP and PS3 below. Enjoy.
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