Game Informer Digital Edition Free Until May 30th

Absolutely nothing fits as well or smells as good as FREE.  Game Informer is offering the June issue of their newly redesigned digital magazine for free until May 30, 2011.  All they ask is they you let them know what you think of the new layout.

From exclusive content to interactive pages, the new Game Informer Digital magazine is all about an easy reading experience as it is created to be native to your computer screen and take advantage of all the things a computer-based digital edition can offer. Like any project however, we managed to make the product before we had all the bells and whistles in place. So if you are interested in getting a Game Informer Digital subscription you will need to visit your local GameStop until we can make digital subscriptions available online.

So there you go.  To get your free issue just click here. (Note: It requires an Internet connection to view)

Source Game Informer

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Score The Free Portal 2 Soundtrack And Ringtones

So, if you are hopelessly addicted to the testing chambers of Portal 2 and feel the need to “Portalize” more of your life – this is for you.  I’m sure there are disclaimers and waivers a plenty in regards to subliminal content – so download at your own risk.

Whether you’re a mega-science corporation with decades of test experience, or a young start-up liberating your first test subject from non-testing with a chloroform-soaked rag, Aperture guarantees results. Wake up your test subject, open the chamber door, and press play—let Aperture’s patent-pending rhythmic compliance enhancers do the rest.

If that’s not enough – Aperture has snipped out some of the most recognizable parts of the soundtrack in order to create attention getting ringtones.  Let everyone know you have been tested and download the soundtrack, volume one of Songs To Test By, right here.

Source Kotaku

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Full House Poker Review(XBLA)

Game Review: Full House Poker (XBLA)
Release: March 16, 2011
Genre: Card and Board Games
Developer: Microsoft Game Studios
Available Platforms: Xbox 360, Windows Phone 7
Players: 1 (30 Online)
MSRP: 800 MS Points ($10 US)
ESRB Rating: T (Teen) – Simulated Gambling
Website: Microsoft Xbox Live Arcade

Take all the excitement of Texas Hold ‘Em Poker, blend it into the Xbox 360 world of Avatars, add over 150 in-game unlockable rewards and a TV style game show and you get Full House Poker.  Anyone who has ever played on any of the popular online poker sites or has attended a poker tournament will feel right at home here.  Everything that you would expect to find is here, and so much more.

In Full House Poker you earn experience for each hand played. If you make a smart fold – you get extra experience points for that.  If you go all in and win – extra points.  Win a showdown – more points.  Show an opponent how it’s done (Schooled!) – more points.  These experience points add up to promote your Avatar experience level and unlock tons of in-game items like venues, poker table custom felt tops, custom poker chairs for your venue and decorative card decks to play with.  Also as you level up, in-game pro’s can be challenged and taken down to earn even more experience.  These in-game pros are not licensed versions of the famous poker players that you see on TV; instead they are fictional pros that have preset skill levels.  Once you reach the save experience level as them, you can try to take them down in a one on one shootout.

The wide spectrum of commonly used poker rules are all here and nearly all configurable. Games can be either “normal rules” using fixed blinds and allowing players to come and go as they please and re-buy into the game once busted or “tournament rules” with no re-buy and blinds that increase over time.  Want to split the pot between the high and low hands?  You can do that too.  Other than custom configuring the blinds, I couldn’t find anything that I couldn’t change to my liking.

The basic controls for playing poker are so well implemented that the controller just disappears and it feels like you are at the table playing poker.  The advanced controls that allow you to emote via your avatar (timid bets, fold aggressively, etc.) really make the game come to life.  There are even chip tricks such as chip shuffling that are earned with experience and fill the time while waiting for other players.  Want a specific view of the table?  Complete camera controls let you pan the camera up, down and around the table to get the view you like.  Your avatar can even be made to look at a specific other player to check out their chip count and poker stats – but everyone at the table will know you are looking at them.  All of this allows you to broadcast the actions you want others at the table to see – just like you would when sitting at a real poker table.

As if this isn’t enough for a $10 game (in the age of $15 XBLA games), there is also a regularly scheduled “TV Game Show” called Texas Heat. The game is 30 minutes long and in the spirit of the canceled 1 vs. 100, you compete against thousands of other players to get the most chips and experience, earning in-game rewards along the way.

While very few of the rewards can be used on your avatar outside of Full House Poker, they are mainly used to get your poker style on for the game.  Personally I want the Dog Heads so my friends and I can reproduce the famous painting of “Dogs Playing Poker”.

For the anti-social – everything outside of Texas Heat is available in the single player side of the game. The AI for the “house players” is very acceptable and keeps the game fun, even in the large 30 person tournaments.

Having played a lot of poker, in person and online, I thought I could find much here not to my liking.  Other than not being able to configure the blinds; I am at a loss for complaints.

I’m all in – Full House Poker is the bomb.  This is a must for poker players and fans alike and gets my highest recommendation.

• Priced Right – Great Value
• Huge Multiplayer Ability
• Tons of In-Game Swag
• Highly Configurable Game Rules

Final Score: 10 out of 10

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Lode Runner 25th Anniversary Edition Review (XBLA)

Game Review: Lode Runner 25th Anniversary Edition (XBLA)
Release: April 22, 2009
Genre: Action Platformer
Developer: Tozai Games
Available Platforms: Xbox Live Arcade
Players: 1 to 4
MSRP: 800 MS Points ($9.99)
ESRB Rating: E for Everyone
Website: www.tozaigames.com/loderunner

In Lode Runner you navigate a 2D maze avoiding enemies and collecting gold. Enemies can be trapped for a short time by digging a hole for them to fall into. It’s a simple set of rules but it has kept Lode Runner popular in all of its inceptions since 1984. This 25th Anniversary Edition has been completely remade from the ground up for Xbox Live Arcade with high resolution 3D graphics and several new game modes – and in March 2011 the price was permanently lowered from 1200 MS points to 800 MS points.

There are several ways to play this remade Lode Runner, so let’s go over each of them separately beginning with the single player modes.

Practice Mode: This is a small collection of simple levels to serve as a primer. It’s here that you learn how to navigate, blast holes in the ground, and collect gold. New terrain types such as avalanche blocks, stalactites and teleports and hidden enemies that appear from blasted blocks give this old game a fresh feel.

Journey Mode: This is a long sequence of levels that represent your journey. The levels get increasingly more difficult and with more enemies as you progress through . This mode plays just like the classic Lode Runner that everyone is familiar with. Be warned though, with all the new additions to the game, this mode is tougher that ever.

Hang On Mode: This is simply a survival mode where you try to stay alive and collect as much gold as possible.

Puzzle Mode: My favorite of all the modes is the Puzzle Mode. There is a collection of 50 mind bending puzzles to solve with the simple goal of getting the gold and getting out. The puzzles are devious and rewarding to solve without enemies trying to hunt you down and kill you.

My Levels: Here is where you play levels created by you with the built-in level editor or levels you have downloaded from the XBL community. The level editor is pure bliss to use and allows great looking levels to be created and revised quickly and easily. However, I was disappointed to find nobody sharing their levels at any time I was playing.

The Multi-Player modes range from local 4 player coop to a last man standing free for all. Of course you can also play with your friends over XBL if you can catch them online. This, again, was somewhat disappointing as I could never find anyone playing online while I was.

My favorite part of this remake is definitely the Puzzle Mode, but I’m partial to puzzles and other cerebral gymnastics over the “die and try again” gaming found in the Journey Mode. It’s amazing just how much content is crammed into this game when taking in all the modes of play and the vast number of levels and puzzles. Plus there is new downloadable content available to add even more puzzles and coop Journey Mode levels.

The one thing that is really lacking is the community side of Lode Runner. In order to get user made levels from others, they have to be online and create a lobby to share their levels at the same time you are looking for them. This limits exchanges to pre-arranged meetings rather than building a common repository for all players to access. With the level editor being one of the shining jewels of this game, the un-inspired method of sharing user creations will keep the online community around Lode Runner from flourishing.

The Journey Mode is far more challenging than the original Lode Runner to the point it sometimes becomes tedious and frustrating. If you are looking to relive days of past by playing this remake, you may be disappointed in this part of the game. While the graphics are beautifully done, something in the gameplay has been lost. Fortunately there are so many ways to play this version of Lode Runner that there is sure to be something here for everyone.

The bottom line is that even though I found the main Journey Mode to be frustrating I really enjoyed the puzzle mode and playing in the level editor. The price has been permanently lowered to 800 MS points and the DLC is priced very reasonably. The already released “Skill Pack” adds 50 new puzzle levels and new “Hang-on” survival levels for only 160 MS points. On April 13th the “Journey Pack” will be released for only 240 MS points adding a coop journey adventure.

With this much variety in a game, there is bound to be something that each person does not like, but that shouldn’t take away from all the things that are here to enjoy. My hope is that the online community around Lode Runner will grow so I can play everyone else’s puzzle creations.

• Challenging and Enjoyable Puzzles
• Expansive and Affordable New DLC
• Full Featured Level Editor
• Aggressive New Pricing
• Frustrating Journey Mode
• Absent Online Community

Final Score: 8 out of 10

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Score The Free Portal 2 Soundtrack and Ringtones

So, if you are hopelessly addicted to the testing chambers of Portal 2 and feel the need to “Portalize” more of your life – this is for you.  I’m sure there are disclaimers and waivers a plenty in regards to subliminal content – so download at your own risk.

Whether you’re a mega-science corporation with decades of test experience, or a young start-up liberating your first test subject from non-testing with a chloroform-soaked rag, Aperture guarantees results. Wake up your test subject, open the chamber door, and press play—let Aperture’s patent-pending rhythmic compliance enhancers do the rest.

If that’s not enough – Aperture has snipped out some of the most recognizable parts of the soundtrack in order to create attention getting ringtones.  Let everyone know you have been tested and download the soundtrack, volume one of Songs To Test By, right here.

Via: Kotaku

Continue to complete article on Platform Nation