Currently, over 2,000 packaged and downloadable games are available for Nintendo DS devices; both of these systems come preloaded with software such as Flipnote Studio, the Nintendo DSi Camera and Nintendo DSi Sound. The XL version also includes pre-installed games like Brain Age Express: Arts & Letters, Brain Age Express: Math and Photo Clock.

Also on May 20, the new purple 3DS will be available. Nintendo hopes to take advantage of shoppers purchasing gifts for Father’s Day, graduations, and the start of the summer travel season.

Will you buy a DSi? Or a purple 3DS? Let us know in the comments.

Ken Levine, creative director of Irrational Games, said, “When we announced the release date of BioShock Infinite in March, we felt pretty good about the timing. Since then, we’ve uncovered opportunities to make Infinite into something even more extraordinary. Therefore, to give our talented team the time they need to deliver the best Infinite possible, we’ve decided to move the game’s release to February.”

Originally planned for October 2012, the title from Irrational Games is an intelligent first-person shooter that allows player to take on the role of Pinkerton agent Booker DeWitt. He’s sent to the flying city of Columbia to rescue a young girl who has been imprisoned there. The game is expected to utilize Sky-Line battles, sky combat and plenty of new weapons and abilities.

For more information on the game, visit www.bioshockinfinite.com.

How do you feel about the delay? Was this one of your most anticipated games of 2012?

The game will be set in the year 2025, during a global conflict with advanced weaponry, robotics and drone warfare in a Cold War scenario. A press release from Activision says the game will feature new graphics technology to drive “the stunning cinematic action of the single-player campaign’s branching storylines and non-linear missions.”

CEO of Activision Publishing Eric Hirshberg said, “Hands down, this is the most ambitious Call of Duty ever. We are bringing disruptive innovation to the franchise and we are doing it on several fronts. We’re pushing the boundaries technologically, graphically, and from a narrative and gameplay perspective. At the same time, we need to stay true to the epic realism, authenticity, heart-pumping adrenaline, and cinematic action that so many people love and expect from a Call of Duty game. Treyarch’s vision for Call of Duty: Black Ops II will redefine the Call of Duty franchise for the future – both literally and figuratively.

Studio Head Mark Lamia of Treyarch confirmed that Zombies will run on the multiplayer engine for the first time. He also noted that all skill levels and play styles will be accommodated in multiplayer, while in the campaign players will be able to make meaningful choices that impact gameplay. “With Call of Duty: Black Ops II, the team is crafting an experience that Call of Duty fans have never seen before,” Lamia said. “We are challenging assumptions on every front, with the single-player campaign, Zombies and multiplayer.”

Call of Duty: Black Ops was released in 2010 to high acclaim and remains one of the industry’s best selling games. Check out the announcement trailer on our DayMark News Youtube.com site:

 Will you purchase the game? Do you love CoD? What’s your take on the first BlOps? Let us know in the comments.

In a recent message to EVE players, the company detailed the free stuff available to fans of the MMO starting May 4 – two days before the nine-year birthday of EVE Online.The offer will be live through June 4 and players will use a redemption process to pick out their gift and give them to their favorite character.

The message from CCP said: “Here’s all the options. In their own special way, they each celebrate changes that just came in the Escalation to Inferno patch.

• Fire All Lasers (with Dignity) – Omen and Maller (Cruisers) + Medium Energy Turret and Amarr Cruisers (Skill Books)
• Duty, Honor, State (and Missiles) – Caracal and Moa (Cruisers) + Assault Missiles, Medium Hybrid Turret, Heavy Missiles, Caldari Cruiser (Skill Books)
• Deadly Elegance (Drones Extra) – Vexor and Thorax (Cruisers) + Medium Hybrid Turret and Gallente Cruisers (Skill Books)
• Heavy Iron (Rusted) – Stabber and Rupture (Cruisers) + Assault Missiles, Medium Projectile Turret, Heavy Missiles, Minmatar Cruiser (Skill Books)
• Plug and Play - Full set of +2 Attribute Implants (Limited Ocular Filter Beta, Limited Neural Boost Beta…etc…)
• Refine Your Skills - Memory Augmentation Standard and Cybernetic Subprocessor Standard (Implants) + Scrapmetal, Ice and all other ore Processing (Skillbooks)
• Drill Bits - 10x each ore mining crystal I’s (10x Arkonor Mining Crystal I, 10x Bistot Mining Crystal I…etc…10 x Veldspar Mining Crystal I)
• A Paxist Treasure - Pax Ammaria – Collector’s Item”

Eligible pilots who don’t get around to selecting one of these options will receive a default gift at the end of the offer – the Plug and Play set.

CCP also promises that the 10-year anniversary celebration in 2013 will be even better. “Like any good capsuleer corporation, we’ve got some plans and machinations in motion behind the scenes…” ended the message from the EVE Online Development Team.

Among these is the next big expansion for the multiplayer behemoth, EVE Online: Inferno, which is expected May 22.

Visit EVE Online here to redeem your anniversary gift.

Do you play EVE Online? Which gift will you choose? Sound off in the comments below.

This episodic game in five parts lets players take on the role of Lee Everett, a convicted murderer who finds a chance for redemption in a new world populated by zombies. They’ll get to choose their path as they meet familiar characters and visit locations from the world.
The first episode, called “A New Day,” sells for $4.99 on PSN and will be available for 400 MS Points on Xbox LIVE. On PC and Mac, players may purchase a season pass to obtain all five episodes for $24.99. The Walking Dead will also be released for Apple’s iOS platform later in the summer.

Here’s a story trailer for “A New Day”:

Will you pick it up? Let us know in the comments below.

The upgrade for Skyrim will utilize Kinect’s voice control capabilities, allowing players to use special vocal powers called Dragon Shouts. It will also let them arm weapons, activate spells and order companions about. Players can voice commands to jump to cities on the map and sort their inventory by weight, value or name. In all, around 200 voice commands will be available.

Kinect capability has been on the boards for Bethesda for some time; the studio says it began working on the project shortly after Skyrim’s November release. Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations Pete Hines told cnn.com that developers wished to add something substantial to the game that did not exist when Skyrim was originally released.

The functionality will be available for English, French, Italian, German, and Spanish gamers. The English version will be first, with other languages not far behind.

Skyrim is an epic RPG in which the gamer is a warrior who discovers he has the blood and soul of a dragon. In this open-world style role-playing game, players can ignore the main storyline in favor of side quests and challenges. The 2011 title is considered to be one of the biggest releases of last year.

Sources: cnn.com, gamedynamo.com

Think this is a good update for Skyrim? Let us know in the comments!

Kotaku’s source reveals a few key points: firstly, the successor to the PlayStation 3 may be named Orbis. It’s still unclear whether this is a code name or a final name, although the existence of a website named orbis.scedev.net seems to hint at the latter – especially since the PS Vita had a site similarly named before was officially announced. Secondly, the system is expected to be out in time for the holiday season in 2013. Kotaku’s source says that select companies have been receiving development kits since the beginning of the year.

The new Orbis is rumored to not be backwards compatible with the PS3. The Sony source also said that games will be Blu-ray or downloadable only. As expected, thanks to industry outrage about profits from used games not getting back to developers and publishers, the system will not allow used games to work; purchasing the disc will lock the game to a single PlayStation Network account. If a buyer purchases a used game, he or she will only have access to limited content and must pay a fee to access the entire game. And gamers must have both a PSN account and Internet connectability to be able to play any game; it’s unclear whether gamers must have a paid PSN account or the free version.

The rumored specs of this new console are AMD x64 CPU and AMD Southern Islands GPU. The GPU would allow the new Sony system to display a resolution of up to 4096 x 2160, a number beyond what current high-definition TVs offer. The Orbis is also said to be able to play 3D games in 1080p, which is true HD and beyond the capabilities of the PS3.

Whatever the truth is, it looks to be an interesting next go-round with Sony!

Source: Kotaku

Are you looking forward to the next generation of console gaming? Will you put the PS Orbis on your Christmas list next year? Let us know in the comments!

This time around the game will feature a new playable character. Players can control either Mickey himself, or Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (Walt Disney’s first cartoon star) as they team up for another adventure in Wasteland. Epic Mickey will also offer co-op play, for those who want to be social – the game will include a drop-in, drop-out feature.  In multi-player mode, Mickey will still control the paintbrush and thinner like in the first Epic Mickey, and Oswald will work a remote control which commands electricity.  Single-player mode gamers will become Mickey, accompanied by Oswald as an AI character.  Another difference for Epic Mickey 2 will be that the characters are no longer silent. Not only will the characters talk, they’ll also sing, thanks to some original music created just for this game.

The game announcement came from Disney UK; the title is being developed by game industry veteran Warren Spector and Disney’s Interactive’s Junction Point studio. While an actual release date for the game has yet to be announced, Disney says that Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two will come out in fall 2012, possibly around the holidays.  But whether someone has a Wii, Xbox 360, or PS3, they will be able to play the newest Disney game.
Will you pick up Epic Mickey 2? Let us know in the comments!

Alongside this shocking reveal, a DLC pack for Final Fantasy XIII-2 containing the kooky Final Fantasy veterans Ultros and Typhon was unveiled. The cantankerous comedians will be added to the infamous Colosseum. Upon defeat, they will be playable in the victor’s party.

The packs will be available for the Xbox 360 and PS3 on March 27 – for Japanese customers only. No announcement has been made about a possible U.S. release date for the packs.

Although many fan boys are jumping for joy, more recent comers to the series probably are not familiar with these two. Ultros, a.k.a. Orthos, is an evil carnivorous cephalopod. The giant purple pervert originally appeared in Final Fantasy VI (III in America), and has since made cameos in multiple Final Fantasy titles.

The FFXIII-2 rendering follows his original form – as opposed to his Flan-like form in FFXIII. Ultros is funny, persistent, and a legend in the Final Fantasy world.

Ultros is deadlier than a bull in red room. Laugh at his cheesy jokes or be prepared to fight!

Typhon, a.k.a. Chupon, Ultro’s partner in crime, is a unique wind element creature with two faces. Often, Ultros hires the taciturn Typhon to aid him in battle. He flies despite the absence of wings, and his infamous snort skill blows the competition away – literally. Like Ultros, Typhon has appeared in numerous Final Fantasy games. He is a worthy adversary and not be taken lightly.

Typhon's terrifying typhoons talk trouble!

Hopefully, this will not be the last time BioWare and Square collaborate on a game. Are you playing FFVIII-2? Let us know in the comments!

Source: Famitsu, Kotaku

Now the game will not only be free to play, but other choices will be offered to suit the needs of players.  They can utilize recurring vs. non-recurring subscriptions and Free, Silver ($5.00 USD), and Gold ($14.99 USD/month) memberships.

Also, to celebrate the milestone SOE is giving its fans several in-game activities and game updates.  Here they are, as quoted from the Sony’s press release:

• “Lucky 13 – Players can now embark on anniversary missions and quests, surrounded by anniversary décor in the “Plane of Knowledge,” that follows a special 13th anniversary theme:
• Players can experience 13 new quests
• A spectacular mission as some of the iconic villains of EverQuest
• A Raid to stop a familiar foe from gaining ultimate power.
• And over 40 events from past anniversaries
• Hero’s Journey – A book to guide players through a series of achievements from level one to level 85. Utilizing and improving upon content that is already in the game, characters may begin this journey at any level.
• Improved Navigation – An added zone guide, this window is a quick way to look up zones in the game by level, zone connections, and other data about the zone.
• Zoning Path Finder – The zone path finder generates a path between any chosen zone and any other zone in the world. Additionally, zone connections have been added to the Find window.
• Improved Find Tracking – Find tracking is now visible in the map window. Players will be able to see your ‘find wisp’ in the map window and it will auto center on the path and zoom in and out so you can see the whole path.
• Maps – Improvements to the maps have been made to elevate players’ adventures. Maps now support custom map directories, have added map label searching, the ability to right click on any point on the map to attempt to bring up a visible path to it.”

So if you have been waiting to play EverQuest but not wanting to pay the fees, here is your chance. Check out this video, which came out to help promote the new free-to-play status of the game:

Do you play EverQuest? What do you think of the changes? Let us know in the comments!