Pinball Hall of Fame: The WIlliams Collection Rolls Onto PS3, 360

In the “It’s about time!” department: Crave has announced that Farsight Studios latest collection of classic pinball tables (in handy digital form), Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection is now available at retail. If you’re looking at that cover art and wondering “What’s pinball?”, well… that’s exactly WHY you need to spend the $40 on this one. Me, I grew up playing pinball (back in 1972, Gottlieb’s ‘Batter Up!’ was my introduction to the silver ball) and I was a big fan of FarSight’s PHOF: The Gottlieb Collection from a few years back, so this new set of silver ball oldies should be a real treat.

Anyway, here’s a bit of the press release:

“The Pinball Hall of Fame franchise was built on delivering the highest level of authenticity to the most discerning pinball players,” said Betsi Gijanto, executive vice president, Crave Entertainment. “With three brand new Williams tables, leaderboards, the 4-player multi-play option and high-definition graphics, Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection for Xbox 360 and PlayStation3 upholds that standard while providing gamers with everything they’d expect on the latest game systems. Value-priced at $39.99, Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection is destined to become a classic in many gamers’ libraries.”

True to the franchise, Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection, developed by FarSight Studios, offers 13 Classic Williams tables from the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s, including three new tables: Medieval Madness™, The Tales of the Arabian Nights™ and No Good Gophers™. In addition, the award-winning franchise is marking its debut on Xbox 360 and PlayStation3 with online leaderboards and trophies, multi-player for up to four players and HD Compatibility (1080i and 1080p). The game also features expanded table goals and bonus features throughout.
Rated “E10+,” (Everyone 10+) by the ESRB, Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection is now available at major retailers nationwide for a suggested retail price of $39.99

– go buy a copy already!

Natsume’s Animal Kingdom: Wildlife Expedition Now In Stores


Natsume really wants to grab your photo safari gaming dollar, that’s for sure. First, Afrika gets announced as gold status for the PS3 and now, Wii owners get their own exclusive snapshot adventure with Animal Kingdom: Wildlife Expedition, which should be in stores as you’re reading this. This is a pretty smart move by the publisher, as this type of niche game seems to find wider appeal among all types of gamers and by having two similar but different games on two different (and not necessarily competing) platforms, gamers with either console will have their simulated safari without having to fork out cash for a new system.

Of course, folks like me with every console will have to end up buying BOTH games, but hey, it’s good news for Natsume, right? A little press release action and screenshots are below the jump.

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Review: The Beatles: Rock Band

Platform: PS3/Xbox 360/Nintendo Wii

Developer: Harmonix Music Systems

Publisher: Electronic Arts

# of Players 1 – 6 (Online: 2 – 6)

Rating: T (Teen)

Official Site

Score: A

You don’t need to be a die-hard Beatles fan, hardcore Rock Band groupie or even a blazing fast Guitar Hero to appreciate The Beatles: Rock Band. Harmonix has come up with a supremely accessible Magical Mystery Tour through some of the best of the Fab Four’s catalog and thanks to the stellar presentation, this is one Ticket to Ride that will leave you Feeling Fine up to Eight Days a Week. If you’re a Rock Band fan looking for the game to be a big step forward, you may find Something lacking. The experience isn’t quite the Revolution you’re probably expecting, but after A Hard Day’s Night of rocking, you’ll find the game has its ways of making you Twist and Shout ’til the cows come home.

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Update: Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising Challenge!

I hate these darn coded messages. Either I get a rock thrown through a window here, a message-toting pigeon pooping on my windowsill or a big headache after someone conks me on the head and i wake up afterward with top-secret game info taped to my forehead.

Anyway, this latest dispatch came in from Codemasters. Yes, it was in code, and as I’m no master, I had to have some kid down the hall translate this. Cost me five bucks and when he found out I write a game blog, I almost went deaf listening to his whining for cheats and tips and such on games i don’t even play. Darn kids…

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