Right from the start, the FPS Freek EPICs fit easily on the analog sticks of the controller and are also very easy to take off.  These add-ons make the analog sticks taller and based on my knowledge of physics, this provides better precision when aiming at your enemies.  They do feel a little uncomfortable at first and take some getting used to.  The pads feel quite nice and feel good on my thumbs.  On the pads themselves is what looks to be the trademark Gear of War cog and a skull inside of it.  Overall, the FPS Freek EPIC feels great and looks good too.

They may look good and feel good but did the FPS Freek EPIC change my performance at all?  I’m pretty bad at shooters in general so I really couldn’t tell.  The controller itself felt a lot more comfortable with the add-ons than without.  I felt like I did have more precision when aiming and running around.  I played a few matches in Gears of War 2 and according to my statistics, I did slightly better with the FPS Freek EPICs than without them.

For fun, I also tried out a first person shooter, Call of Duty: Black Ops with the accessory. I think when KontrolFreek said these were designed specifically for third person shooters, they actually were right.  I didn’t feel any improvements when playing a first person shooter.  Probably one of the most important features of the FPS Freek EPIC is that it is tournament legal so even when your competing in MLG or in any competition, these controller add-ons can act as great performance enhancers.

Conclusion: Overall, the FPS Freek EPIC controller add-ons only slightly boosted my performance.  They feel really good and you are guaranteed that your thumbs will not skip off the controller.  The design of it looks great and the add-ons are easy to slip on and off.  The fact that they are tournament legal makes them extremely appealing to competitive gamers.  For $13.99, I’d say it’s probably a little overpriced but for those looking for an easy way to get better precision out of their Xbox 360 controller for third person shooters, look no further than the FPS Freek EPIC.

Special thanks to KontrolFreek for providing us with the KontrolFreek EPIC accessory for review.

In the final trailer for the upcoming hit Gears of War 3 manages to tell the tale of the first two Gears of War games, albeit in a little over two minutes.

If you take the time to watch over the trailer you’ll notice quite a few things from the first two games.

Gears of War 3 releases September 2oth exclusively on Xbox 360.

The Myths & Mavericks pack features new fan-favorite multiplayer characters from the single-player story, as well as new multiplayer locations including Cochinay, Nekoti Rock and Beecher’s Hope, plus new Stronghold games in Armadillo, Tumbleweed, and Chuparosa.

Here’s the official list of Multiplayer Maps & Modes, new additions are bolded.

Cochinay – Gold Rush, Shootout, Gang Shootout, Stronghold

Nekoti Rock – Gold Rush, Shootout, Gang Shootout

El Presidio – Gold Rush, Shootout, Gang Shootout

Plainview – Gold Rush, Shootout, Gang Shootout

Gaptooth Mine – Shootout, Gang Shootout

Pike’s Basin – Shootout, Gang Shootout

Rio Bravo – Shootout, Gang Shootout

Perdido – Hold Your Own, Grab the Bag

Benedict Point – Hold Your Own, Grab the Bag

Beecher’s Hope – Stronghold

Torquemada – Stronghold

Armadillo – Stronghold

Chuparosa – Stronghold

Tumbleweed – Stronghold

New Multiplayer Characters

Landon Ricketts

Vicente DeSanta

Drew MacFarlane

Deputy Eli

Deputy Jonah

Javier Esquella

Nastas

Uncle

You can look for the Myths & Mavericks pack on Xbox Live starting September 14th.

Gears of War 3 is shipping in about 3 months from now, and the games Horde mode that everyone loves is back and better than ever. Today, Microsoft and Epic games presents a tutorial video of what to expect from the Horde mode in Gears of War 3. So what can we expect from the new Horde mode? There seems to be plenty of additions.

Fortifications is looking to be one of the big new features. Broken down on 5 fortification types which include: Barriers, Sentries, Decoy’s, Turret’s and a mech called The Silverback. The more you build the more their effectiveness increases. In order to build you’ll need money. Getting cash is as easy as killing the enemy. Cash can be used for a variety of things: building or repairing fortifications, getting extra ammo, getting more powerful weapons, and even buying yourself back into the fight if you die.

Team work is also a part of the gears series, and now you can share and exchange weapons, and even cash. Completing certain objectives will also get you more weapons and cash for you and your squad. One other nice addition, every 10th wave is a boss wave.

Gears of War 3 ships September 20th for the Xbox 360.

The King is back, baby! Duke Nukem, the self proclaimed King is back; And he’s better than ever… Or is he?

THE FACT SHEET

RELEASE DATE: June 14th, 2011
PUBLISHER: 2K Games
DEVELOPER: 3D Realms
ESRB RATING: “M” for Mature
GENRE: First-Person Shooter

Product Overview:

Did the Alien bastards not learn their lesson the first time? Duke has been on hiatus for some time now, kicking back and franchising himself on the fame he gained from savin g Earth from the first invasion. The Aliens have returned to Earth yet again, messing up Duke’s sweet routine of dirty leisure habits. The Alien invaders are stealing Earth’s women, especially the hot ones! And they drank Duke’s beer. This-Won’t-Stand. As Duke battles his way through waves of aliens, the once beautiful gambling haven and Duke Nukem franchise chains are crumbling before his eyes. Time to bring the pain.

Duke Nukem returns to kick alien butt, indulge in his infamous vices and save the world, again.

Duke Nukem is one of the biggest and most recognizable brands in gaming history. Irreverent, UN-PC, and uber-Macho, Duke Nukem is the perfect antidote to the overdose of today’s clichéd gaming archetypes. The game’s cocktail of alien invasion, busty babes, bawdy comedy and big guns never gets old. The highly anticipated Duke Nukem Forever is a celebration of what video games are really about: an out loud good time. The game is huge, with hours and hours of over-the-top single player action, and a range of bodacious multiplayer modes like Duke Match, Capture the Babe and Hail to the king, players can rest assured knowing that the fun will last.

Product Benefits:

• Ego, and Then Some – Step into the shoes of Duke Nukem, the steroidal one-man army who never fails and always gets the babes.
• Bust-a-Gut – Duke pulls no punches. He does and says the things you are thinking. Duke’s constant stream of hilarious one-liners throughout the game will h ave gamers rolling.
• World Interactivity – Spend as much time as you wa nt shooting hoops, lifting weights, playing pinball, pool, air hockey, and slots.
• Scale and Variety – This game has it all — packed with explosive FPS action, outlandish settings, vehicle driving, and puzzle solving — gamers will never tire of the endless fun.
• Multiplayer Like No Other – Duke re-envisions classic modes of play in his own hilarious and humiliating way. Shrink your opponent and squash him with your foot. Freeze and shatter him. Attach explosives to his back. Roll a pipe bomb between.

Duke Nukem Forever isn’t a game that can be easily reviewed by one person. It’s a game full of boobs, half naked woman, jokes making fun of homosexuals, celebrity humor, and other immature things. Within the first hour of Duke Nukem Forever you’ll fight a one eyed monster, receive a blowjob from two twins, drive a toy race car, twice and even pick up a turd (Yes, a human turd.)

Duke Nukem is a game that feels like it’s from the year 2000, and it should. Duke Nukem Forever went through development hell ever since it was first imagined. It originally was supposed to be released in 1999 but later pushed back to 2003 and then 2008. Duke Nukem quickly became synonymous with vaporware – the term given the games that are never canceled outright, but have no finish line in sight.

The game is an old-aged first person shooter that tries too hard to be a platforming/puzzle adventure games. Throughout much of Duke’s game you’ll be solving puzzles, trying to figure out where to go in a toy car, doing fetch-quests, and completing stupid side missions to boost your Ego. Ego is the DNF equivalent of a modern day health bar and it’s increased by doing trivial things around the world such as dunking a basket, lifting weights, playing air hockey, and even admiring yourself in a mirror.

The level design is one of DNF’s many faults. The campaign’s missions seem severely disjointed and seem as though the developers simply took a gaggle of ideas and through them in a hat, then picked out of random from it. For example; One scene from the campaign has you adventuring through “Duke’s Titty City,” the Duke themed strip club. Once done there, Duke wakes up inside a helicopter over the top of the city. That made about as much sense to me as being able to get healthier by looking in the mirror, but that’s just me.

The controls and graphics of Duke Nukem Forever also leaves much to be desired. The aiming is poorly done, often leaving the enemy or area out of focus or even non-rendered completely. The controls are very stiff, aiming down sights is non-existent, you simply zoom towards the side of the gun. The sprint is somehow unlimited, the fist-to-fist combat is horrible to control, the list goes on and on.

The game’s multiplayer (although being the best part of the game), leaves much to be desired. There are four game modes to pick from: Duke Match, Team Duke Match, Hail to the King, and Capture the Babe (which mirrors the normal Deathmatch), Team Deathmatch, King of the Hill, and Capture the Flag.

All four multiplayer modes feel largely the same in a sense; It all comes down to a deathmatch style game that feels extremely similar to Valve’s Team Fortress 2 with the winner being whoever happens to grab the Devastator Rocket Launcher that is placed on every single map. The ranking structure is very similar to Halo. As you rank up you’ll unlock new hats, shirts, and names for your Duke as well as unlocking new items in “My Digs.” Duke Nukem’s mansion is where you’ll unlock multiple paintings, statues, and various woman to prance around and ogle.

Conclusion:
Duke Nukem Forever had the potential to be a truly amazing game – had it been released back in 2003. As it stands now, Duke Nukem Forever simply looks like a immature homophobes excuse for a porno. One good thing can be said about Duke Nukem Forever: It manages to capture the great feel of Valve’s Team Fortress 2 for PC and bring it to console. Duke Nukem Forever certainly isn’t worth $60, and depending on your only capabilities it may not even be worth the $30 it sells for now. All in all; Duke Nukem Forever is a poor excuse for a game; especially by today’s standards.

Single Player: 3/10 | Multi-Player: 6/10

Special thanks to 2K Games for providing us with a copy of the game for review.

Before E3 got started, Konami revealed that they would be releasing a MGS collection, one of the games included in that is MGS: Peace Walker. Konami got a chance to show off a 6 minute demonstration of Peace Walker. The game looks pretty good for a game that was made for the PSP.

The MGS collection comes out this November for the Xbox 360.

The collectors edition has been revealed at E3 and will retail for $80. You’ll be getting the following from the Mass Effect 3 N7 Edition:

• Hardcover art book
• Comic book
• Lithograph of the Normandy
• N7 patch
• Digital soundtrack
• Normandy prop for your 360 avatar
• A ton of in-game content

[via kotaku]

The trailer offers a glimpse into the story of Mass Effect 3. With Mass Effect 3, it brings an end to this epic trilogy. Sheppard is Earth’s last hope, the war on Earth begins March 6, 2012 for the Xbox 360.

FarCry 3 was shown and announced today from Ubisoft. The demonstration features the main character in the game Jason Brody, a man stranded on a tropical island. The environment that was demoed is a beautiful landscape with great looking foliage. Like its predecessor, Far Cry 3 will be built with the Dunia engine, the Ubisoft-owned tech based on CryEngine 2.

Development on Far Cry 3 is led by Ubisoft Montréal with the support of Ubisoft Shanghai and Massive Entertainment.

“Far Cry 3 brings something new and unexpected, while still building upon the foundations of excellence that are inherent to the Far Cry brand,” said Dan Hay, producer at Ubisoft Montréal.

“Whether you’re already a fan of the Far Cry series or jumping into the franchise for the very first time, you’re going to be blown away by the gritty story and epic adventure we’re going to deliver.”

Far Cry launches in 2012 for the Xbox360.

The Pre-E3 stuff keeps coming as Bethesda today has revealed a gameplay trailer of Rage almost 8 minutes in length. In this trailer we get to see the mission called The Well. Fallout fans will be pleased with what they see in Rage. The presentation is grim and dark, but the graphics and the id Tech 5 engine powering the game puts it ahead of the competition.