Very disturbing accusations are being hurled from the Bungie camp this morning, as the developer takes aim at Inifinty Ward.

“Modern Warfare 2 is just like an idea we’ve been kicking around for some time,” said Bungie’s Jeff Needler.  “For years we’ve been talking about releasing something awesome that innovates upon a franchise without just recycling the same character models, weapons, vehicles, and graphical assets.  It’s obvious that corporate espionage has occurred here.” (more…)

Not wanting to mess with a formula people seem to love, Infinity Ward announced today that it’s first pack of single player story add-on DLC for Modern Warfare 2 will be very familiar in composition to gamers who already loved the campaign presented with the retail game disc. (more…)

Platform Reviewed: PC (Also available on Xbox 360)

I’m going to say this straight up front, right now: I was not a big fan of Left 4 Dead.  I enjoyed it for about two weeks and then barely played it again.  For me, the game was just too arcade-like.  It never felt cohesive; hopping from one scene to another.  The missions themselves were also a failing in my opinion, never really deviating beyond the “Point A to Point B” formula.  And the weapon selection was – quite frankly – laughable.

I hold nothing against any person that enjoyed Left4Dead, however.  At it’s core, it was a chaotic co-op game that the player could enjoy with their friends.  That was never enough for me, but I understand why others would be content with it.

When Valve announced Left4Dead 2 at E3 earlier this year the community went into a frenzy.  The claim was that this game could not possibly hold enough new content to justify it having its own release…not when DLC is a viable option in this day and age.

Find out if Left4Dead 2 truly is a sequel to the popular co-op zombie shooter, or whether it falls short of a retail price tag- after the jump.

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Okay, I’m not exactly sure what I was thinking.  I’ve got Modern Warfare 2, Assassin’s Creed 2, Dragon’s Age: Origins and Left4Dead 2, all rented from my local video store.  And what do I go out and do?  Drop $15 on a Xbox Live title.

Now that’s not just any XBLA title.  Gyromancer is the bastard child of a one-night stand between Square Enix and Popcap, and is their attempt at a Puzzle Quest clone.  Having conquered both Puzzle Quest and Puzzle Quest: Galatrix, I was ready to get my RPG/puzzle game on, and this just seemed to make sense for a purchase.  I mean, hearing that it was a mix of collecting a stable of creatures like Pokemon and using them in a PQ-style puzzler?  I was too intrigued to wait, or even download the demo.

So, was it worth putting off all these triple A titles so I could review it for you clowns?  Hit me after the jump and find out!

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Activision Blizzard certainly doesn’t dillydally. As expected, the publisher and developer is already touting the massive success of Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. A mere day after launch, the company issued a press release declaring it “the biggest launch in history across all forms of entertainment.” Bold words, but they are backed by astonishing figures.

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It was a moment of extreme satisfaction; the cap to a short, yet mentally taxing journey. An accomplishment that one tends to gloat over, raising a fist while proclaiming: “Fuck yes, I won the day.” Despite my trials, I persevered, and emerged stronger as a result.

For some, Braid is an artistic gem, offering gorgeous, stylized visuals and an equally impressive score. I certainly won’t provide a counterargument. However, to me, the challenges make the experience.

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Episode 76 of the Blu Show is here! Rothbart, PacmanPolarbear, and Frawlz are back and having a funky good time talking about Modern Warfare 2, multiplatform titles having problems on PS3 but not other platforms, Borderlands, Gold PS3s, watches, roomahs, and a lot more!

We appreciate you guys taking time out of your day every week to list to our show. For your convenience, you can simply download the MP3 by clicking HERE or if you’re one of those “set it and forget it” types, you can subscribe via iTunes, RSS, or Zune and stay in “real time.”

If you do use iTunes, we’d love to hear what you think about our show. A great way to show your support is by leaving us feedback on iTunes. Remember, you can also email us at any time at PlaystationPodcast@SarcasticGamer.com! You can also call and leave us a voicemail at 1-805-8SGBLUE (regular long distance charges apply.)

No longer simply a battleground over exclusive content and third-party support, the console war now plays host to an inane slap fight for multimedia features, many of which – excluding Netflix of course – have no business on game systems. Consider Facebook, already dated for Microsoft’s Xbox 360, and reportedly – credit to Scrawlfx – coming to the XrossMediaBar. If true, it could come across as an overt “me too” move by Sony, though the publisher and developer must perceive that it will add value to its Blu-powered box, possibly attracting new clients in the process. According to those clever and often humorous commercials, “it only does everything.”

To me though, it’s just more clutter for the XMB, and yet another feature that I’ll ignore.

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I’ve been hosting the Sarcastic Gamer PlayStation Podcast along with Frawlz and PacmanPolarbear for well over a year now, so it should come as no surprise that I really like the PlayStation platform.  When we started the show, we had to put up with a large amount of legitimate “crap” over things like inferior multiplatform titles, fewer exclusives, inferior online offering, etc.  The list was substantial and I don’t think we’ve ever tried to hide that fact on our show.  Over the course of late 2008 and 2009 things really took a turn for the better in PlayStation-land.  But lately, that same sour taste has returned… and it tastes… like sh*t! (more…)

Electronic Arts’ promotional blitz for Dante’s Inferno continues with a look at the sixth circle of hell: Heresy. It’s Satan’s backyard, according to lead designer Steve Desilets, who proclaims: “You’re now in the sh**.” As you’ll see, it is indeed quite brutal, and certainly not for children, South Australian Attorney General Michael Atkinson, or the International Nanny Association. The INA previously decried the Bad Nanny Achievement/Trophy, claiming that it could “promote violence toward children.” Keep in mind though, the game is set in hell, and Dante won’t be dealing with defenseless babes. They’ll be swinging crescent-shaped blade arms, as you’ll see in the video.

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Remember the “Summer of Arcade” over at Xbox Live?  Games like Shadow Complex and Trials HD and Splosion Man? And then…poof…nothing?  XBLA started dropping games like Inferno Pool and Bubble Bobble Neo?

Amidst the flurry of games fleeing 4th quarter to get away from Modern Warfare 2 and Left 4 Dead 2, a little gem totally flew under the radar for me and just hit me in the back of the head like a boomerang.  I’m sure everyone focused on November 10th is certainly not paying attention to XBLA, so it would be easy to miss!

XBLA is about to get busy again with the November 18th release of Gyromancer, a Puzzle Quest-y roleplaying game-puzzle hybrid cooked up by…Square Enix and Popcap?    Pretty good chance while you clowns are busy shooting each other in the face in MW2, I’m going be playing through Gyromancer.

You have to see it to believe it, so I’ve put the trailer in after the jump!

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Forza 3 is out, and it is brilliant. So, here I am trying my best to pull everything together for a racing league, and I’m having trouble figuring out how to tell you about all that we are trying to do. Hmmmm.

Well, If I were asking Doc to do a parody video about the Sarcastic Gamer Racing League, it might go something like this…

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Welcome to the reintegration of an arguably ancient SG feature, Review of the Reviews. In this feature, we essentially take on Metacritic at their own game, but rather than summarizing every review into a score, we use words. Words are better, right? Better than numbers? I mean, what was the last binary play you went to see versus the last literary one?

Words > Numbers. Come, read some words with me.

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