Sony's Big Announcement : PS2 Drops to $99.

"In February, Activision executives publicly expressed their doubts about the PlayStation 2. Speaking with analysts following yet another record earnings report, the company said that their continued support of the nine-year-old console would be contingent on Sony cutting its price.

Just over one month later, Activision and potential PS2 owners looking for frugal recession-era entertainment saw their wishes granted. Beginning on April 1, Sony is cutting the price of the PS2 in the US and Canada to $99/C$99. That's a $30 discount from the previous price point of the console, which was set at $129.99 back in 2006, two years after a dramatically thinner "Slimline" form factor was introduced."

Source: www.gamespot.com

Personally this doesn't affect me. I was hoping that the price of the PS3 would be dropped. I guess I will just keep having to wait.

Checkpoint Reached: Now on iTunes!

It finally happened!

Checkpoint Reached has podcast feed available on iTunes for all to subscribe to. You can now be up to date with our weekly Wednesday podcasts right on your iTunes. 

There are two ways you can access the podcast from iTunes. You can simply search "Checkpoint Reached" in the iTunes Store search bar, or you can just click right here.

Enjoy!

BioWare talks Minor Mass Effect 2 Details

The sequel to 2007's Mass Effect has been shrouded in secrecy ever since the first game released and was met with high reviews and overblown controversy. A few weeks ago BioWare released a trailer announcing the second game in the what is planned to be a trilogy of Mass Effect games. This trailer teases the demise of the character you play as in the first game, but BioWare still remains addiment about keeping your first Mass Effect save and how it will effect the overall game in Mass effect 2. "We've said two things. Everything we've said in the past about keeping your saves, that's all true. Everything you've seen in the teaser is all true. What does that mean?"Said Ray Muzyka of BioWare. What does this mean in terms of what Mass Effect 2 will be about?

We don't know, but until then there are always these pretty concept pieces in the meantime.

Source: IGN.com

Blizzard hiring for unannounced fifth project, might use new IP

"Blizzard has a quite a bit on its lavish, diamond-encrusted plate -- between Diablo III, Starcraft II, yet another expansion to World of Warcraft and a mysterious "next-gen MMO," you'd think it would be hesitant about taking on new projects. However, the company recently published a "Help Wanted" ad searching for two up-and-coming developers. The employment opportunity wasn't filed under the site's "Next-Gen MMO" category -- rather, it can be found under the infinitely titillating "Unannounced Project" section.

Even the most spot-on industry soothsayers haven't been able to predict what the project will be, though Blizzard COO Paul Sams has repeatedly stated the company's interest in starting up an entirely new franchise. The game is apparently temporarily running on the World of Warcraft engine until the aforementioned new hires can create an interface of their own -- an interface that hopefully won't include karts, and the inevitable racing of those karts."

[Via Joystiq.com]

Well, all I can say is that I hope it is as good as their other IPs have been.

Square-Enix buyout of Eidos approved

"The Square Enix purchase of Eidos will go through, as 85% of the Eidos shareholders voted in favor (big surprise there) of their new overlords at a recent court hearing and passed the motion of acquisition at the EGM afterward. It is estimated that Square Enix will take over operating duties some time in late April, when it's assumed all of Eidos' shares will be delisted.

We imagine Square Enix's first order of business will be to start work on Final Fantasy X3: Lara's Shadow, in which Yuna, Rikku, and Lara work together to solve a mystery surrounding a sunken ship. Also, they try to find Tidus again."

[Via Joystiq.com]

Checkpoint Reached Episode 2: Resident Evil 5 Edition

This week on Checkpoint Reached we discuss Resident Evil 5 in a non-spoiler discussion, and dive into flOwer. We will discuss RE5's co op nuances in depth as well as share our own experiences. If you are on the fence about purchasing this game tune in and find out the valuable information you will need to know.

Cast this week: Ray Hartmeyer, Eli Kineg, and Special Guest Tomas Rodriguez.

Runtime: 30:19

Song Names in order of appearance: "Thruster", "Untameable fire", "Last stop"

Side note: Next week's show will be available on the iTunes music store for download.

Download Now

Checkpoint Reached Episode 2 Later Tonight.

We are covering Capcom™'s most recent blockbuster hit Resident Evil 5, As well as discussing That Game Company™'s PSN title flOwer. We give a quick rundown of RE5 mechanics as well as a mini review; no spoilers so if you were still on the fence about this game, tune in.

Checkpoint Reached Introduction.

As stated in our pilot post on here we mentioned doing a lot of our content in the form of podcasts. This is our introductory podcast so leave whatever feedback you can. Its horrible, so listen at your own risk.

Download now.

The dust is clearing

Preparations for our blog have pretty much ended. In a few days we will launch with our first podcast, and a better layout. So stay tuned folks.

Pardon Our Dust Part II

Well things are going smoothly over here in our basement Checkpoint Reached Headquarters. We are working on an official logo and site layout which should be up in the next week or so. Our first podcast is recorded and it is an awkward excellent introduction to who we are, and how some of us think of games. We are working on a few angles to get the blog off the ground and to steal acquire readers from other sections of the interwebs. This, is the start of something pretty cool.

Pardon our dust

Welcome to Checkpoint Reached, a new type of gaming blog. If you've unwittingly stumbled onto this wierd place - pull up a chair and stay a while. While you're here, you will occasionally be treated to the following:

1.Gut Reactions to major events in the world of videogames
2.RetroSpecitives on gaming history
3.Reactions to whatever we're playing at the moment
4.Cocaine

In addition, we'll be massaging your ears with the calm sounds of our weekly podcasts, the Checkpoint Reached podcast.