GameStop Buys Majority Stake in Video Game Digital Distributor Jolt Miyamoto: 3D Isn’t Everything Are You A Video Game Junkie With Mad Writing Skills? Write For Ripten NFL Super Bowl Champion Steelers Connect with Soldiers in Iraq for Guitar Hero Competition Emergency Alert System Broadcasts Making Their Way To Video Game Consoles? Modern Warfare 2 Writer Reveals Alien & Undead Storyline That Never Was

In an effort to plan for the future world of digital distribution, video game retail chain, GameStop, purchased a majority interest in U.K. based Jolt. The company distributes gaming news as well as developing and publishing free-to-play license-based titles and browser based MMOs such as Playboy Manager, the Legends of Zork, Trukz, and Utopia Kingdoms. Read more…

The Sci-Fi fans just shed a tear for what could have been. In an interview with GamePro, Modern Warfare 2 scribe, Jesse Stern, admitted that Infinity Ward actually considered a far fetched alien, and even undead, scenario for their latest CoD sequel:

“In the beginning we talked about having things in Modern Warfare 2 like outbreaks, viruses, chemical warfare, and even outlandish things such as aliens and the living dead,”

Guess those “CoD on Mars” rumors back in 2008 had at least a little truth to them. Sci-Fi fans shouldn’t give up hope completely though. News of a third Call of Duty team being hired by Activision leaked a few days ago, which means we may end up gunning down aliens while fighting off zombies in a futuristic CoD title after all.

If you bought Left 4 Dead 2 on the PC, you might be pleased to hear that some modders have figured out a way to import all of the maps from Left 4 Dead into Left 4 Dead 2, playable with the new infected, new survivors, and the baseball bat. It’s a complex process compared to most mods, and it suffers from a few major problems at the time of writing, unfortunately.

The only new weapon that works is the bat, most of the campaigns crash on certain events, and some of the switches don’t work. If you can get past this, however, you’ve got 5 new expertly designed maps to play around with. I’m expecting that at some point someone (possibly even Valve) will create working versions of all of these maps for Left 4 Dead 2, so for now my advice is to keep your game files safe, and admire the work from a distance. I just hope that they patch in Francis as a playable character. I miss him terribly.

If you enjoyed the original Witcher half as much as our own Dan Landis did, you may want to tilt your head a bit and take a look at the sneaky footage captured by a camera wielding ninja at what appears to be a closed session presentation held by developer, CD Projekt RED. Read more…

One day, far into the future, gaming blogs will stop reporting on the PC version of Modern Warfare 2. This is not that day. The PC version has been split open by ‘hackers’ (a term I hate using, as I am not in an ’80s movie) to reveal some hidden game modes, outlined below.

The first gametype – “gtnw” – is Global Thermonuclear War. To play, simply capture the objective: a nuclear bomb. When captured, the bomb detonates…
The second gametype – “oneflag” – is One Flag CTF. To play, capture the flag in the middle and bring it back to your base.
The third gametype – “vip” – is VIP. To play, defend the VIP. Or, if you’re on the other team, kill the VIP.

Read more…

Perhaps I should rephrase that. GameStop wants to put you, as a zombie, into Left 4 Dead 2! Of course, not the game itself. It released today (to critical acclaim, I might add) which means it’s a bit too late to get into the actual game, but with the help of GameStop, you can get edited into a video of the game. Read more…

Last night I posted a rumor about the PC version of Modern Warfare 2 being a console port. Reading through the Digg comments, specifically the complaints directed towards the game and Infinity Ward, I was met with the same immature, aggravating garbage that I’ve been reading for the past month. Read more…

The raging fires of rage surrounding the PC version of Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 are already face-meltingly hot and now the above screenshot, supposedly taken from the PC version of the game, suggests that it’s just a console port. Read more…

There’s “The News”, and then there’s “Duh News” … kind of like “Da Bears” only spelled differently and way less comical. So without further ado, let’s get to it.

Infinity Ward’s Creative Strategist, Robert Bowling, commented on the relationship between their studio and Treyarch (both of which put out Call of Duty games) in a recent GameTrailers’ interview. Host, Geoff Keighley, asked how Infinity Ward felt about another studio developing sequels for a title they created, whether or not they collaborate, and if there was any “rivalry” between the two teams. Here’s what Robert said: Read more…

From Sunday to Sunday, we bring you the new game releases for each week like a UPS driver speeding through a red light for a nooner in the Desperate Housewives section of town.

This week is loaded with games sure to leave you wallet void of everything but sales receipts, gum wrappers, and fake phone numbers from uninterested dating prospects.

Heading off the list would have to be the we can “absolutely” outsell Modern Warfare 2 “New Super Mario Bros. Wii” title for the Nintendo Wii. I’ll have to admit that I was not really into this game at first but having seen a few videos I realized I miss the straight forward “rescue the princes” plot and classic overhead level selection screen. The only problem for me is I’ll have to finally give in and  pick up a Nintendo Wii.

Other notable store shelf additions include Assassin’s Creed II, Left 4 Dead 2, NCAA Basketball 10, Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, and Tony Hawk Ride.

Full list of releases broken down by console available below. Let us know what you plan on picking up in the comment section below. We may laugh at you, but we won’t resort to physical abuse or name calling. That’s a promise. Read more…

Remember how your mom always told you to put on a clean pair of drawers every day? Well, it’s because she didn’t want to bear the embarrassment of finding out that her child was found dead wearing soiled underwear. That’s sort of the premise for our latest contest, except we’re dealing with the stuff you wear above your waist.

Ripten has teamed up with Glitch Gaming Gear, exclusive Left 4 Dead 2 apparel makers, to offer our readers a chance to sport some kick ass L4D2 gear. Here’s how the contest will work. Check out the Glitch line of gear and let us know which Glitch shirt you would want the privilege of being found dead in and why. You could win one of the following prizes:

1st Place: Glitch Left 4 Dead 2 Hat, Shirt, & Wristband
2nd Place: Glitch Left 4 Dead 2 Shirt
3rd Place: Glitch Left 4 Dead 2 Wristband

Contest is open to Ripten registered users only, so make sure you register here before leaving your comment below. Winners will be announced this Monday and sent an email to their registered email account. We look forward to reading your responses. Good luck.

The last few seconds of a multiplayer team deathmatch can really suck for the players who are already dead and left with nothing to do but watch and wait. It sucks even more when you’re one of the two players left standing, and you’re facing an inevitable draw because the other bastard is no where to be found.

Well, here’s a pro tip for anyone who finds themselves in the aforementioned predicament … go John Rambo on their ass! That’s right, toss your throwing knife through the air, directly over a roof, and into the back of your opponents head. Don’t believe it’s possible? Watch the last few seconds of the Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer video below. Read more…

Final Fantasy MMO fanatics can officially begin blocking off entire months from their calendar in order to grind one of two newly introduced classes — the Gladiator and Pugilist.

The Gladiator is a sword and shields close range combat specialist capable of following a well timed decapitating sword swipe with the words “ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!” While the Pugilist’s mix of hand-to-hand claw combat and ranged expertise reminds me more of a mix between Street Fighter’s Vega and Lord of the Ring’s Legolas Greenleaf.

The reveal of both characters was accompanied by a slew of images containing high res shots of both classes and several new weapon models to drool over while you calculate statistical upgrade numbers in your head. Read more…

In an interview about Borderlands, the creative director for Gearbox said that a Borderlands 2 seemed like a no-brainer.

“Everyone here loves the franchise, and it seems like the public is really coming back with praise and love. So yeah, if everything makes sense, Borderlands 2 seems like a no-brainer to me.”

That’s what Mike Neumann said in an interview with VG247. He went on to say that it just makes sense to do a sequel, but they’re still working on DLC content for the original and it’s just watercooler talk at this point.

We reported the launch of Blizzard’s World of War Pet Store a few days ago, and it appears now that the Pandaren Monk pet (which runs $10) is sold out.

Only the insanely loyal Blizzard population could conjure up a sold out status for a virtual item. In reality, as the headline states, the virtual sellout is due to a system error on the Blizzard’s side. A buggy Blizzard launch? What has this World of Warcraft come to? Read more…

As you can see in the above video, The video has been removed by Activision due to copyright laws, however the video would have given you visual evidence that someone has already managed to create an Aimbot and wall-hack for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. It’s pretty obvious that dedicated servers are not the cause of hackers, but simply online multiplayer. The fact that these idiots can operate on IWNet is even worse than them being on dedicated servers; there’s no way to kick or ban them from the game. This of course means that if a cheater gets into your game, it’s not going to be very fun.

My advice: get Modern Warfare 2 on the consoles, if you even get it at all. The PC version just isn’t looking very rosy at the moment.

Who needs to be bit by some silly radio-active spider to zip through the air? Peter Parker that’s who! And you want to know who doesn’t? Just Cause 2 protagonist Rico Rodriguez … and Batman (both cool).

Whether you were a fan of the original Just Cause game, or someone who passed it up, you’re going to want to check out the developer video below highlighting the new grappling hook mechanics and all the cool shit you can do with it in-game. Read more…

You may remember that we ran a contest last week to promote the release of two new (well, old) Majesco titles on GoG.com. We received around 40 entries, but unfortunately we only have 15 codes to give away. This of course means that we had to choose between you, bringing our collective heart here at Ripten close to breaking point when we realised that we’d have to let 25 of you down.

The winners are as follows: Read more…

If you’re lucky enough to live next to a Blockbuster that’s throwing a midnight release party for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, you can head on over to check out a pre-release demo starting at 9:00 pm, whether or not you pre-ordered the game. Hit the jump to check out the full list of participating locations. Read more…

The BBC reports that MP Tom Watson has begun a Facebook group in response to politicians’ comments about the civilian scene in Modern Warfare 2. Kieth Vaz, one of the UK’s most vocal anti video-game politicians, is quoted as being “shocked” by the scene in Modern Warfare 2, in a brilliant case of missing the point completely and blatant ignorance of the context. Contrastingly Watson asks gamers in the UK “Are you sick of UK newspapers and (my fellow) politicians beating up on gaming? So am I. The truth is, UK gamers need their own pressure group. I want to help you start one up.”
Read more…