Amazon deals for Final Fantasy XIII

Amazon has two deals that will really tickle the fancy of some anxious Final Fantasy fans.

Anyone who pre-orders Final Fantasy XIII will get a $10 credit on any future purchase and a PDF containing pages from the official strategy guide.

   

Good Morning, Final Fantasy!

Good morning readers!

Announcement: This week will be Final Fantasy week due to the release of the latest title in the giant series this Tuesday.

Expect a review of Final Fantasy XIII by Monday.

Halo Reach Trailer Makes Master Chief it's Bitch

Two Spartans Fist Fight in Halo Reach Multiplayer Teaser. 

Anyone who purchased Halo: ODST new have received access to the Halo Reach miltiplayer beta. 

The beta looks amazing and is a twist to past Halo games and many new elements have been added to the mix. 

Some of the big surprises in the trailer are hand-to-hand combat, barrel rolling, surprise attacks, and jet packs. All these elements add a new bit of strategy to the first person shooter. 

Batman enters 3D

Square Enix has announced that they will be releasing a Game of The Year edition of Batman: Arkham Asylum with new content and 3-D capabilities.

The game will be packed with six new challenge maps and "TriOviz 3D" support.

Released with the content is a pair of 3D glasses to enhance your experience as the Dark Knight.

For all the achievement whores out there, no need to fret because there is a whole new set of achievements to obtain.

Batman: Arkham Asylum GoTY edition has been set for a March release in Europe. No release date for North America has been confirmed. 

Update: Batman Arkham Asylum GoTY will not be released in North America as confirmed by Joystiq. It will, however, be released in Europe, Asia and Australia.     

Mass Effect Action Figures Preview

Four action figures from the Mass Effect 2 universe including

the default Commander Shepard

Tali

Thane

Grunt

Photos provided by Kotaku. 

Why do you play games?

I was looking at a feature article on Kotaku about the reason gamers game every day of their lives and it got me thinking about why I play video games and I would also like to have you readers think about why you play your Fallouts and your Call of Duties.

Family is a big part of why I play video games today. I’ve been playing games ever since I was a little boy. My cousin introduced me to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and the Sega Genesis and it was a match made in video game heaven. I played Super Mario World and Sonic and I couldn't stop after those two experiences. . 

Video games take me out of my reality and place me into someone else’s life with someone else’s take on other subjects that I would of either wise never thought about or never of had a clear opinion about. I enjoy my life greatly, but I would like to get the other side of a story and video games are the platform that supports that desire. Video games have gone from being time wasters (which they still are in most cases) to interactive stories. Mass Effect is a great example of a game that is an experience told through mostly conversation I can control.       

I also play games because they help pass the time by between classes. Plain and simple.

Final Fantasy 1 & 2 release on iPhone and iPod Touch

The first two titles in the Final Fantasy saga have been released on the iPhone and iPod Touch. 

It has all of the extras that were released with the Gameboy advance versions which include The Soul f Chaos pack and The Labyrinth of Time as well as the five extra dungeons, the Soul of Rebirth and Arcane Labyrinth pack in Final Fantasy II  

This is great release right before Final Fantasy XIII's release. It makes me think about more RPG games on the iPod Touch like this one. 

When I owned an iPod Touch, I spent most of my time with it listening to music and more importantly, playing games. I hadn't seen any sign of a grand RPG likes Final Fantasy 1 & 2. I saw not one turn based RPG and it made me sad. 

I could never picture an RPG with the grandness of Square Enix's famous title. Luckily today, I can.