One of the best things about Call of Duty multiplayer is the killstreak rewards. Getting a set number of kills and being rewarded with greatness such as an attack helicopter, a predator missile, an AC-130 airship, and even a nuke can bring such an amazing amount of fun and excitement to an essentially saturated genre. The latest installment in the Call of Duty series, Black Ops, has just had a leak on a few of it’s killstreaks recently. Oh, and guess what…

…dogs are back!

Call of Duty: Black Ops Killstreak Bonuses

• 3 Kills – Spy Plane
• 3 Kills – RC-XD (RC bomb)
• 4 Kills – Counter Spy Plane
• 4 Kills – SAM Turret
• 5 Kills – Care Package
• 5 Kills – Napalm Strike
• 6 Kills – Sentry Gun
• 6 Kills – Mortar Team
• 7 Kills – Attack Helicopter
• 7 Kills – Valkyrie Rockets
• 8 Kills – Blackbird
• 8 Kills – “Rolling Thunder”
• 9 Kills – Chopper Gunner
• 11 Kills – Attack Dogs
• 11 Kills – Gunship

Don’t lie, a napalm strike sounds pretty f’n cool, don’t ya think? And remember, this isn’t the complete list of things, just a little taster if you will. Let’s hope Treyarch confirms some more stuff in the near future. Sound off below and let us know which killstreak interests you the most.

Source via Joystiq

Be honest with yourself. Its every gamer’s secret fantasy to dismember their so-called ‘friends’ with cordless power tools. Okay maybe not, but that’s not really the point; the point is that we’ve heard some rumors today for the previously announced Dead Space 2 multiplayer. GamerNode reports that in addition to a deathmatch-style mode, where players will control both Necromorphs (\m/) and soldiers, there will be other multiplayer modes announced later.

Additionally, (and most shockingly) pre-ordering through GameStop will net you an exclusive in-game rivet gun but, on the uptick, pre-ordering anywhere will get you Dead Space: Ignition, the motion-comic prequel detailing events leading up to Dead Space 2. So, hit the comments; who’s picking up Dead Space 2? Who can’t wait to eat their friend’s brains as a Necromorph? Who else thinks those Necro-baby-zombie-things are pretty much the scariest thing imaginable?

via Joystiq

Ready to prove you are the absolute  best of the best in Call of Duty? Think you’re up to snuff with the big boys? Treyarch wants you to prove you’re more than talk with Call of Duty: Black Ops and it’s new Wager matches. Use the currency you earn in Black Ops and put it on the line against other players aiming to make you broke-think you can handle the pressure?

There are four wager matches to choose from, all Free-For-All of course, and all are really creative and intriguing. One match, called One in the Chamber, has you spawn with a pistol, one bullet, and three lives; if you kill an enemy you can take their bullet, however, if you miss you are then defenseless. There’s also a gametype called Sticks and Stones, where a tomahawk throw to the back will make you instantly bankrupt!

You can check out a video explaining all four gametypes here, and then head down to the comment bunker and tell us what you think of Black Ops‘ multiplayer. Is it shaping up nicely, or is it more of the same?

Valve’s Gabe Newell has promised at least three “big surprises” in the next 12 months, according to the latest issue of PC Gamer.

Knowing Valve, Newell could have pulled the number “three” out of thin air–maybe it was the number of doughnuts he had for breakfast that morning. Either way, Valve wants to prepare us for a shocking year.

“I can guarantee you people are going to be surprised at stuff we do. That isn’t going to stop any time soon. I’m just laughing because… people will be shocked again,” Newell said. “We have three pretty big surprises in the next 12 months at least.”

So what could the three–at least–surprises from Valve be? My bet is on Half-Life 3, a full-length TF2 movie and a hat DLC pack for Left 4 Dead 2. What do you guys think Valve is cooking up? Make your wishlist in the comments!

Well that didn’t take long…after shutting down the open beta for Final Fantasy XIV on the day it was supposed to launch (as in…yesterday), Square Enix has now announced that the beta is all patched up and will now launch tomorrow, September 2.

As a freshly issued press release puts it:

We would like to take this opportunity to provide an update regarding FINAL FANTASY XIV Open Beta Test, which was announced to be postponed on Aug. 31, 2010.

Starting on Sep. 2, 2010 at 02:00 (GMT), acquisition of registration code required for FINAL FANTASY XIV Open Beta Test will become available on “FINAL FANTASY XIV Open Beta Test Application Site.” For more details, please refer to “FINAL FANTASY XIV Open Beta Test Application Site.

At this point, we’re thinking a link to said website is in order so, uh, here ya go…

Happy beta testing and be sure to let your fellow gamers know what you think about Final Fantasy XIV below!

If you were hoping to hop into the open beta for Final Fantasy XIV, which was supposed to launch today, well, you’ll just have to hold out a little bit longer. A post on the game’s official website brings word that the beta is being postponed due to a confirmation of “critical bugs” and that a new timeline for release will be issued at a later date.

In addition, Square Enix has decided to cease issuing registration codes for said beta until things get worked out.

That’s all for now, but we’ll of course keep you posted as we learn more.

2K Games announced today the September 7, 2010 release date for Jimmy’s Vendetta, the second downloadable game add-on for the recently released Mafia II. The content will deliver arcade-style gameplay with more than 30 new quests and leaderboard rankings. Jimmy’s Vendetta will be available for players worldwide PSN, XBLMP, and Windows PC for $9.99/800 Microsoft Points.

Here’s an official description:

Jimmy’s Vendetta takes players into an alternate perspective of the mob through the eyes of Jimmy, the guy the other guys call when they need to finish the job. Players will get their hands dirty helping Jimmy clean up other people’s messes as they deal with the Italian and Irish mobsters that reside in Empire Bay. As players progress, a slew of new quests are unlocked, including assassination and timed vehicle pursuits ending in dramatic shootouts and explosive car chases. Execute with deadly head shots or charged explosives, and rack up points for precision-timed vehicular power slides, lofty jumps, and supercharged velocity. Multipliers and combos add bonus points to overall scores that will be immediately posted to thenew online leaderboard system, providing extensive re-playability as players work to rise to the top of the ranks.

So, who here plans on picking this DLC up? Let your fellow “family” know below…

If, for some reason, you have yet to delve into the world of Pandora in 2009’s sleeper hit shooter Borderlands, then now you have a great time to finally pack your bags. Launching on October 12 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC, the Borderlands Game of the Year Edition comes packed with the original game along with all four downloadable content packs – the fourth of which has yet to be released.  Additionally, the GOTY edition includes a foldout map of theBorderlands world, in case you get lost.

Official word from GearBox Software’s Twitter:

Borderlands Game of the Year Edition announced! Game + all FOUR DLCs and bonus map for 360, PS3, and PC. Available in October!

The air fare, er, I mean admission price will run you the standard $59.99 which is great considering the play-per-dollar value you are getting. Will those of you who’ve yet to go loot hunting consider doing so now? Head down to the comment section below and tell us, and multiple comments will cost you $50 each – y’know, for safety reasons..

Source

By Jess Conditt

Few things are a given to the hardcore gaming community today: there is such a thing as too many exclusives, if they build it we can hack it, the cake is a lie, and we don’t want to play all of our games through motion control consoles. Strangely, the main corporations providing us with the tools for gaming–Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo–don’t fully agree with our standards, and there is little we can do about it. We can not trump supply and demand, stock exchanges and Capitalism. Kinect and Move, for example, have people who don’t care about gaming buzzing across the business boards, meaning Microsoft and Sony are doing something right for someone else in a world where video games are more profit than they are art. The hype in these sectors for the new generation of motion controlled gaming only highlights that which we should have predicted, and our own sad naivety. Basically:

We shouldn’t be surprised by this.
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Empowering the EBA Community with a voice to collaboratively review the industry’s hottest titles, the EpicBattleAxe.com uREVIEW (about) delivers real insight from real gamers about The GOOD, The BAD, and The UGLY pertaining to the biggest games in the world. This is the EpicBattleAxe.com uREVIEW for Mafia II. Let’s get started:
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