Gadgets and Video Games

2K Games has announced that expansions for BioShock 2 are “slated to arrive over the coming months,” expanding both the single-player and multiplayer facets of the game. The custodians of Rapture have yet to reveal what’s in store for the single-player campaign, but have offered details on the first new multiplayer add-on: the Sinclair Solutions Test Pack. Available “soon” for 400 ($5) on Xbox Live and $4.99 on PSN, the pack will include: Rank Increase to level 50 with Rank Rewards New playable characters Louie McGraff and Oscar Calraca 20 new trials (some only available after a player achieves a rank of 41 or higher) A third weapon upgrade for each weapon Five additional masks (some only available after a player achieves a rank of 41 or higher) We just hope 2K Games takes care of those freezing issues before luring us back to the Circus of Values. Bioshock 2 DLC kicks off with ‘Sinclair Solutions Test Pack’ originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 12:00:00 EST

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Bioshock 2 DLC kicks off with ‘Sinclair Solutions Test Pack’

Today’s lone Xbox Live Arcade release is Chime , the not-for-profit project from Zoe Mode and OneBigGame . 60 percent of proceeds from the 400 ($5) game will go to Save the Children and Starlight Children’s Foundation , so consider it a surprisingly entertaining chance to stop being such a selfish jerk . If you’re looking for a pre-purchase glimpse, check out the trailer above or download the demo on Xbox Live.

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This Wednesday: Chime for charity on XBLA

If you’ve been sitting around, staring at the ceiling and wondering what you’re going to do this weekend, you may be interested in the GoG.com weekend deal. It’s a bundle of three Cyan Worlds games, all for under $14 — a 25-percent savings. You’ll get Myst: Masterpiece Edition , Riven: The Sequel to Myst and The Manhole: Masterpiece Edition . All three games recently arrived on the DRM-free service, ready to show you just how out of shape your brain’s logic center and not-getting-lost-in- Myst ’s-maze cortex are. The sale lasts until Monday, January 25 at 11:59PM ET.

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GoG weekend sale: Myst, Riven and The Manhole for $14

Be honest — regardless of which of the Great Console War’s factions you side with, you’re either going to purchase MAG or Mass Effect 2 at some point next week. While you’re doing so, Toys R Us will be running a pretty sweet promotion: purchases one of those games and also grab Valkyria Chronicles on PS3 for just $20 . Now, we realize the 360 diehards out there will have little use for this game.

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Valkyria for $20 with MAG or ME2 purchase at Toys R Us, other games on clearance

For those of you interested in wrasslin’ on the subway, THQ has a new option that won’t result in jail time or pepper spray. The publisher announced that WWE Smackdown vs. Raw is available now on the App Store for $4.99.

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THQ puts the Smackdown on iPhone

Sony heard you liked games, so it put an MMO in your Home so you could socially game while you socially game. The company just announced the launch of Sodium One (yeah, we don’t know either), a self-contained social MMO space within PlayStation Home . By taking the Teleporter installed in the Central Plaza, Home users can receive in-game objectives from an AI called “VICKIE.” Said objectives then task the player with playing various minigames, including “objective-based meta-games, full arcade-style games and community events.” The first game accessible in the space: Salt Shooter , a game in which players use tanks to shoot robots. Only five levels of this minigame are available for free, with more levels and items unlockable through microtransactions. Sony is giving away 1,050 free Salt Shooter unlocks to early Sodium One adopters, so be sure to go check that out soon if you’re interested

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Sony launches a salt on Home with ‘Sodium One’ social gaming space

Opening its rationalization with the arguable statement that Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare 2 has “something intelligent to say about contemporary military conflicts,” Time Magazine’s “Top 10 Games” of 2009 list recently declared the title its “Game of the Year.” MW2 was closely followed by Batman: Arkham Asylum and DJ Hero , while the recent Uncharted 2 and Assassin’s Creed 2 fell to the bottom of the list. The seemingly annual Flash/iPhone game choice this year turned out to be Geo Defense Swarm , while Link’s latest adventure sat out the ubiquitous DS spot — a spot filled by Scribblenauts , it would seem. As always, Joystiq will have our own Game of the Year awards going live just after the new year, so be sure to keep it locked ! TIME declares Modern Warfare 2 top game of 2009 originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 09 Dec 2009 22:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read

BioWare has launched a browser-based game on Facebook that benefits charity … and gamers looking to save some scratch on the PC version of Dragon Age: Origins . Called Gift of the Yeti , it’s a simple yet surprisingly fun arcade-style dash to deliver presents …

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BioWare’s Facebook game gives to charity, takes $10 off Dragon Age for PC

One day after the ship date of its DS game Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes , the newest project from Critter Crunch developer Capy has been somewhat revealed: a collaboration with artist Craig “Superbrothers” Adams and singer Jim Guthrie, called Superbrothers Sword & Sworcery EP . We aren’t sure exactly what this is: the description on the site describes it in terms like “a brave experiment in I/O cinema” and “a crude videogame haiku about life, love & death.” It appears to be for the iPhone platform, and the “EP” in the title suggests a short-form experience. Whatever it is, we desperately want to know more, as you will after you watch the teaser after the break.

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Capy’s latest: Sword & Sworcery EP, a ‘brave experiment in I/O cinema’

Mother of pearl! We thought it was safe to assume that Shanghai-based MMO operator The9 would lose a chunk of its revenue after handing the license for World of Warcraft over to competing company NetEase. By “a chunk” we, of course, meant”a fraction.” Not “almost all revenue,” which according to the company’s Q3 2009 financial report , is how much it lost year-over-year after passing off the rights to run WoW . To put it numerically, The9’s revenues dropped 94 percent from the same quarter last year. A hit that big must have left a sizable dent in the ol’ pocketbook — however, we’re guessing the company’s board members take some small, spiteful satisfaction from the tribulations the game has brought to its new operators.

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The9 posts 94 percent drop in Q3 revenues after losing WoW