We’ve been hearing and seeing bits and pieces about SouthPeak Games’s upcoming Battle vs. Chess game and its unique additions to classical chess in passing. Today’s promotion from SouthPeak gave us much more specific news about the stuff you’re really interested in, being release date, price, and of course, box art. Battle vs. Chess is releasing for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC on September 28th, and you’ll be able to capture it for $39.99 on consoles, $19.99 on PC. The budget price is a refreshing change, and will justify a long look at this title from the rank and file, as it sounds on the surface at least like there will be a lot of gameplay for the money for you and your mates.

In addition to classic chess, Battle vs. Chess will  include new variations in piece placement such as ‘Madness Placement’ where pieces are randomly placed all across the board and ‘Tactical Placement’ in which pieces are manually placed by the player pre-game, only becoming visible to the opponent once the game starts. Battle vs. Chess will also include over 50 puzzles and scenarios which can be found in a full-featured Campaign Mode and a bonus Puzzle Mode.  Finally, Battle vs. Chess will have several modes which challenge players to throw the traditional strategies of the game out the window and defeat one another in full-on head to head battles in ‘Slasher’ and ‘Duel’ modes.

“Chess is one of the oldest competitive games in the world and has a huge global fan-base. Battle vs. Chess breathes new life and new game-play into a game that has thrilled millions of players over the years.” said SouthPeak Product Manager Jonathan Rosales. “With the innovations that Battle vs. Chess brings to the table, a full-fledged tutorial system for new players and the utilization of both the Fritz 11 chess engine and a corresponding real-world ranking system, Battle vs. Chess is sure to give gamers of all ages and experience new and original challenges.”

Battle vs. Chess is rated T for Teen and will be available September 28th on PS3, Xbox 360, and Windows.

Don’t know exactly where they came from, but a poster on NeoGAF has uncovered a treasure trove of images for Batman: Arkham City. And they look capital A Awesome. What they show is that the developer Rocksteady seems to be preparing more of the same, which is a very, very good thing. These guys nailed what a Batman game should be with Arkham Asylum, and look to be repeating the action and mayhem on a larger scale, this time with Catwoman and Two-Face playing prominent roles.

[View with PicLens]

12►

I don’t remember Borderlands winning a lot of Game of the Year awards (there is at least one according to Wikipedia), but why should that stop 2K and Gearbox from dropping a Game of the Year edition on us? The Borderlands Game of the Year Edition will hit retail on October 12, 2010 for XBox 360, PS3, and PC.

Borderlands is a game that I would definitely call stupid fun. And I mean that in a good way. It was, without a doubt, my favorite way to shoot people in the head in 2009, marrying the rampant item collection of Diablo with four player co-op online play and just the right amount of RPG elements. The only thing it lacked was what we in the industry call “a story”, but that didn’t really get in the way of the fun.

The Borderlands Game of the Year Edition will include the original game, plus all four DLC packages (The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned, Mad Moxxi’s Underdome Riot, The Secret Armory of General Knoxx and the recently announced but not yet released Claptrap’s Robot Revolution.

If I didn’t already own the game, I’d definitely be picking up this edition. But it goes without saying, this one definitely ain’t for the kids.

Disney Interactive Studios have announced not one, but two collector’s editions of their highly anticipated fall releases, TRON: Evolution and Epic Mickey.

The collector’s set for TRON: Evolution, which arrives on December 7 for the PS3 and Xbox 360, will include an exclusive TRON light cycle collective manufactured by Sideshow Collectibles, and feature special packaging.

The Epic Mickey collection will include a five inch collectible Disney Epic Mickey figurine, Wii console skins and a Wiimote faceplate, plus a bonus behind-the-scenes DVD. Which ironically, your Wii can not play.

The battle of setlists continues, as the full and complete tracks list for Activision’s DJ Hero 2. The first game underwhelmed on the sales charts, but amid the myriad of music and rhythm games, there’s definitely an opportunity and a niche for DJ Hero 2. And with a playlist packed with hit artists like 50 Cent and Eminem, and dance club superstars like David Guetta, Dead Maus, and Armand Van Helden, it could be worth checking out, if you want something different in your rhythm gaming.

– 2Pac feat. Dr. Dre and Roger Troutman – “California Love Remix”
– 50 Cent – “In Da Club”
– Adamski – “Killer”
– Afrika Bambaataa and The Soul Sonic Force – “Planet Rock”
– Armand Van Helden – “I Want Your Soul”
– A-Trak – “Say Whoa”
– B.o.B feat. Bruno Mars – “Nothin’ On You”
– Basement Jaxx – “Where’s Your Head At”
– BlakRoc feat. Pharoahe Monch & RZA – “Dollaz & Sense”
– Busta Rhymes – “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See”
– Calvin Harris – “I’m Not Alone”
– Chamillionaire – “Ridin’”
– Chic – “Good Times”
– Chic – “Le Freak”
– Clinton Sparks, DJ Class, & Jermaine Dupri – “Favorite DJ”
– Daft Punk – “Human After All”
– Damian Marley – “Welcome To Jamrock”
– David Guetta & Chris Willis – “Love Is Gone”
– David Guetta feat. Kid Cudi – “Memories”
– David Guetta vs. The Egg – “Love Don’t Let Me Go (Walking Away)”
– Deadmau5 – “Ghosts N Stuff”
– Deadmau5 & Kaskade – “I Remember”
– Deee-Lite – “Groove Is In The Heart”
– Dillinja and Skibadee – “Twist ‘Em Out”
– Dizzee Rascal & Armand Van Helden – “Bonkers”
– DJ Qbert – “Super Battle Breaks”
– DJ Shadow – “Midnight In A Perfect World”
– DJ Shadow feat. Q-Tip and Lateef The Truth Speaker – “Enuff (DJ Fresh Remix)”
– Donna Summer – “Bad Girls”
– Edwin Starr – “War”
– Eminem – “Not Afraid”
– Estelle feat. Kanye West – “American Boy”
– Flo Rida – “Low”
– Flo Rida feat. Will.I.Am – “In The Ayer”
– Gorillaz feat. Mos Def & Bobby Womack – “Stylo”
– Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five feat. Melle Mel & Duke Bootee – “The Message”
– Harold Faltermeyer – “Axel F”
– House Of Pain – “Jump Around”
– Iyaz – “Replay”
– Janet Jackson – “Nasty”
– Justice – “D.A.N.C.E.”
– Justice – “Waters Of Nazareth”
– Kanye West – “Heartless”
– Kanye West – “Love Lockdown”
– Kaskade & Deadmau5 – “Move For Me”
– Kelis – “Acapella (David Guetta Extended Mix)”
– Kool & The Gang – “Jungle Boogie”
– Lady Gaga – “Lovegame”
– Lady Gaga – “Bad Romance”
– Lady Gaga feat. Colby O’Donis – “Just Dance”
– Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz feat. Ying Yang Twins – “Get Low”
– Lil’ Wayne – “Go DJ”
– Lil’ Wayne feat. Static Major – “Lollipop”
– LL Cool J – “I Can’t Live Without My Radio”
– M.I.A. – “Galang”
– M|A|R|R|S – “Pump Up The Volume”
– Major Lazer feat. VYBZ Kartel – “Pon De Floor”
– Malcolm McLaren – “Buffalo Gals”
– Metallica – “The Day That Never Comes”
– Missy Elliott – “Get Ur Freak On”
– MSTRKRFT feat. N.O.R.E. – “Bounce”
– Nas feat. Keri Hilson – “Hero”
– Naughty By Nature – “O.P.P.”
– Nelly – “Hot In Herre”
– New Boyz – “You’re A Jerk”
– New Order – “Blue Monday”
– Newcleus – “Jam On It”
– Nightcrawlers – “Push The Feeling On (MK Mix 95)”
– Orbital – “The Box”
– Pirate Soundsystem – “Bashy Bashy”
– Pitbull – “I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)”
– Pussycat Dolls feat. Busta Rhymes – “Don’t Cha”
– Rihanna – “Pon De Replay”
– Rihanna – “Rude Boy”
– Robin S – “Show Me Love (Stonebridge Radio Edit)”
– Salt N Pepa – “Push It”
– Sam Cooke – “Chain Gang”
– Sam Sparro – “B&G” a/k/a “Black & Gold”
– Sean Paul – “Infiltrate”
– Sean Paul – “Get Busy”
– Snoop Dogg – “Who Am I (What’s My Name)?”
– Snow – “Informer”
– Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em – “Crank That (Soulja Boy)”
– Sparfunk & D-Code – “Apocalypse”
– Stevie Wonder – “Superstition”
– Talib Kweli – “Get By”
– The Chemical Brothers – “Leave Home”
– The Chemical Brothers feat. Q-Tip – “Galvanize”
– The Crystal Method – “Busy Child (Still Busy After All These Years Remix)”
– The Jackson 5 – “ABC”
– The Notorious B.I.G. feat. Mase & Diddy – “Mo’ Money, Mo’ Problems”
– The Prodigy – “Omen”
– The Prodigy – “Firestarter”
– Tiesto – “Speed Rail”
– Tiesto & Sneaky Sound System – “I Will Be Here”
– Tiesto vs Diplo – “Come On”
– Tiga – “You Gonna Want Me”
– Timbaland feat. Drake – “Say Something”
– Timbaland feat. Keri Hilson & D.O.E. – “The Way I Are”
– Tweet feat. Missy Elliott – “Oops (Oh My)”
– Walter Murphy – “A Fifth Of Beethoven”
– Warren G feat. Nate Dogg – “Regulate”
– Wayne Smith – “Under Mi Sleng Teng”
– Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Heads Will Roll (A-Trak Remix )”
– Young Jeezy feat. Kanye West – “Put On”

Ok, maybe it’s not a keytar proper, but it can function as a keytar, and that’s all I need to know. Harmonix’s upcoming Rock Band 3 has it, and I want to rock it out, 80′s style. See mom? Those piano lessons weren’t a complete waste of money after all.

This past week has seen track lists leaked and released for pretty much every major rhythm platform, so of course we have new tracks for Harmonix’s upcoming Kinect title Dance Central. As Jeff and I noted several times during our E3 coverage, Dance Central is the game that should sell the Kinect (if anything will). It’s fun, and significantly better than anything Microsoft put forward.

It’s been a few years since I’ve been anything remotely close to “in” the dance scene, but I actually do recognize some of these tracks. Score one for the dad!

• Basement Jaxx – “Rendez-Vu”
• Nelly Furtado – “Maneater”
• Benny Benassi – “Satisfaction”
• Nina Sky – “Move Ya Body”
• Cascada – “Evacuate the Dancefloor”
• Pitbull – “I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)
• Fannypack – “Hey Mami”
• Rihanna – “Pon de Replay”
• Kool & The Gang – “Jungle Boogie”
• Technotronic – “Pump Up the Jam”
• Kylie Minogue – “Can’t Get You Out of My Head”

Previously announced Dance Central tracks are listed below:

• Beastie Boys – “Body Movin’ (Fatboy Slim Remix)”
• No Doubt – “Hella Good”
• Bell Biv DeVoe – “Poison”
• Salt-N-Pepa – “Push It”
• Lady Gaga – “Poker Face”
• Snoop Dogg/Pharrell – “Drop It Like It’s Hot”
• Lipps Inc – “Funkytown”
• Young MC – “Bust A Move”
• M.I.A. – “Galang ‘05”

It’s one thing to address an information leak for your upcoming game with a terse “No comment” and some marketing jibber jabber. That’s been done a million times. It’s a whole other thing to post a 2 minute video rebuttal from the GamesCom floor. Which is what three folks from Harmonix did when addressing earlier leaks of the Rock Band 3 setlist. Nice of them to squash the rumours in a nice, direct, almost personal way. Of course, scrolling through what appears to be the actual setlist from the game itself (while wearing a sweet pimp hat, no less) takes things to a whole new level of awesomeness.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I’m a little disappointed that there’s no Keane in this setlist now that we have the keyboards added in. There’s a DLC suggestion for you, Harmonix, free of charge. Still, some of the other tracks look sweet enough to make up for this glaring oversight. Here’s the list of tracks gleaned from the video that you’ll be able to play when Rock Band 3 releases on October 26th:

• Amy Winehouse – “Rehab”
• Anthrax – “Caught in a Mosh”
• At the Drive-In – “One Armed Scissor”
• Avenged Sevenfold – “Beast And The Harlot”
• The B-52s – “Rock Lobster”
• The Beach Boys – “Good Vibrations” (Live)
• Big Country – “In a Big Country”
• Blondie – “Heart of Glass”
• Bob Marley & The Wailers – “Get Up, Stand Up”
• The Bronx – “False Alarm”
• Chicago – “25 or 6 to 4″
• The Cure – “Just Like Heaven”
• David Bowie – “Space Oddity”
• Deep Purple – “Smoke on the Water”
• Def Leppard – “Foolin’”
• Devo – “Whip It”
• Dio – “Rainbow in the Dark”
• Dire Straits – “Walk of Life”
• The Doobie Brothers – “China Grove”
• The Doors – “Break On Through (To the Other Side)”
• Dover – “King George”
• Echo & the Bunnymen – “The Killing Moon”
• Elton John – “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting”
• Faith No More – “Midlife Crisis”
• Filter – “Hey Man, Nice Shot”
• The Flaming Lips – “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1″
• Foreigner – “Cold as Ice”
• Golden Earring – “Radar Love”
• HIM – “Killing Loneliness”
• Huey Lewis and the News – “The Power of Love”
• Hypernova – “Viva La Resistance”
• Ida Maria – “Oh My God”
• INXS – “Need You Tonight”
• The J. Geils Band – “Centerfold”
• James Brown – “I Got You (I Feel Good)”
• Jane’s Addiction – “Been Caught Stealing”
• The Jimi Hendrix Experience ˆ”Crosstown Traffic”
• Joan Jett and the Blackhearts – “I Love Rock ‘n Roll”
• John Lennon – “Imagine”
• Juanes – “Me Enamora”
• Lynyrd Skynyrd – “Free Bird”
• Maná – “Oye Mi Amor”
• Marilyn Manson – “The Beautiful People”
• Metric – “Combat Baby”
• The Muffs – “Outer Space”
• Night Ranger – “Sister Christian”
• Ozzy Osbourne – “Crazy Train”
• Paramore – “Misery Business”
• Phish – “Llama”
• Phoenix – “Lasso”
• The Police – “Don’t Stand So Close to Me”
• Poni Hoax – “Antibodies”
• Pretty Girls Make Graves – “Something Bigger, Something Brighter”
• Primus – “Jerry Was a Race Car Driver”
• Queen – “Bohemian Rhapsody”
• Queens of the Stone Age – “No One Knows”
• Rammstein – “Du Hast”
• Ramones – “I Wanna Be Sedated”
• Raveonettes – “Last Dance”
• Rilo Kiley – “Portions for Foxes”
• Riverboat Gamblers – “Don’t Bury Me… I’m Still Not Dead”
• Roxette – “The Look”
• Slipknot – “Before I Forget”
• Smash Mouth – “Walkin’ on the Sun”
• The Smiths – “Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One Before”
• The Sounds – “Living in America”
• Spacehog – “In the Meantime”
• Steve Miller Band – “Fly Like an Eagle”
• Stone Temple Pilots – “Plush”
• Swingin’ Utters – “This Bastard’s Life”
• T. Rex – “20th Century Boy”
• Tears for Fears – “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”
• Tegan and Sara – “The Con”
• Them Crooked Vultures – “Dead End Friends”
• Tokio Hotel – “Humanoid”
• Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers – “I Need to Know”
• The Vines – “Get Free”
• War – “Low Rider”
• Warren Zevon – “Werewolves of London”
• The White Stripes – “The Hardest Button to Button”
• Whitesnake – “Here I Go Again”
• The Who – “I Can See for Miles”
• Yes – “Roundabout”

[Via Joystiq]

The full set list for Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock is out, and guess what? It’s full of rock. A good mix of current artists and classic rock staples, and seems like it’ll fit the Warriors of Rock theme. One quick observation, not really much there for female players who want female-led bands. Though there are a lot of Getty Lee vocals.

Moreso, I’m interested to see the new Guitar Hero guitars, with its one piece neck and swappable side pieces.

  --  A Perfect Circle - "The Outsider"
  --  Aerosmith - "Cryin'"
  --  AFI - "Dancing Through Sunday"
  --  Alice Cooper - "No More Mr. Nice Guy"
  --  Alter Bridge - "Ties That Bind"
  --  Anberlin - "The Feel Good Drag"
  --  Anthrax - "Indians"
  --  Arch Enemy - "Nemesis"
  --  Atreyu - "Ravenous"
  --  Avenged Sevenfold - "Bat Country"
  --  Bad Brains - "Re-Ignition (Live)"
  --  Band Of Skulls - "I Know What I Am"
  --  Black Sabbath - "Children Of The Grave"
  --  Blind Melon - "Tones Of Home"
  --  Blue Oyster Cult - "Burnin' For You"
  --  Bush - "Machinehead"
  --  Buzzcocks - "What Do I Get?"
  --  Children Of Bodom - "If You Want Peace... Prepare For War"
  --  Creedence Clearwater Revival - "Fortunate Son"
  --  The Cure - "Fascination Street"
  --  Deep Purple - "Burn"
  --  Def Leppard - "Pour Some Sugar On Me (Live)"
  --  Dethklok - "Bloodlines"
  --  The Dillinger Escape Plan - "Setting Fire To Sleeping Giants"
  --  Dire Straits - "Money For Nothing"
  --  DragonForce - "Fury of the Storm"
  --  Drowning Pool - "Bodies"
  --  Edgar Winter- "Free Ride"
  --  Fall Out Boy - "Dance, Dance"
  --  Five Finger Death Punch - "Hard To See"
  --  Flyleaf - "Again"
  --  Foo Fighters - "No Way Back"
  --  Foreigner - "Feels Like The First Time"
  --  George Thorogood and The Destroyers - "Move It On Over (Live)"
  --  The Hives - "Tick Tick Boom"
  --  Interpol - "Slow Hands"
  --  Jane's Addiction - "Been Caught Stealing"
  --  Jethro Tull - "Aqualung"
  --  John 5 - "Black Widow Of La Porte"
  --  KISS - "Love Gun"
  --  Linkin Park - "Bleed It Out"
  --  Lynyrd Skynyrd - "Call Me The Breeze (Live)"
  --  Megadeth - "Sudden Death"
  --  Megadeth - "Holy Wars... The Punishment Due"
  --  Megadeth - "This Day We Fight!"
  --  Metallica & Ozzy Osbourne - "Paranoid (Live)"
  --  Muse - "Uprising"
  --  My Chemical Romance - "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)"
  --  Neil Young - "Rockin' In The Free World"
  --  Nickelback - "How You Remind Me"
  --  Night Ranger - "(You Can Still) Rock In America"
  --  Nine Inch Nails - "Wish"
  --  The Offspring - "Self Esteem"
  --  Orianthi - "Suffocated"
  --  Pantera - "I'm Broken"
  --  Phoenix - "Lasso"
  --  Poison - "Unskinny Bop"
  --  Queen - "Bohemian Rhapsody"
  --  Queensryche - "Jet City Woman"
  --  Rammstein - "Waidmanns Heil"
  --  The Ramones - "Theme From Spiderman"
  --  Red Rider - "Lunatic Fringe"
  --  R.E.M. - "Losing My Religion"
  --  Rise Against - "Savior"
  --  The Rolling Stones - "Stray Cat Blues"
  --  The Runaways - "Cherry Bomb"
  --  Rush - "2112 Pt. 1 - Overture"
  --  Rush - "2112 Pt. 2 - The Temples Of Syrinx"
  --  Rush - "2112 Pt. 3 - Discovery"
  --  Rush - "2112 Pt. 4 - Presentation"
  --  Rush - "2112 Pt. 5 - Oracle: The Dream"
  --  Rush - "2112 Pt. 6 - Soliloquy"
  --  Rush - "2112 Pt. 7 - Grand Finale"
  --  RX Bandits - "It's Only Another Parsec..."
  --  Silversun Pickups - "There's No Secrets This Year"
  --  Slash featuring Ian Astbury - "Ghost"
  --  Slayer - "Chemical Warfare"
  --  Slipknot - "Psychosocial"
  --  Snot - "Deadfall"
  --  Soundgarden - "Black Rain"
  --  Steve Vai - "Speeding" (Vault Version)
  --  Stone Temple Pilots - "Interstate Love Song"
  --  Strung Out - "Calling"
  --  Styx - "Renegade"
  --  Sum 41 - "Motivation"
  --  Tesla - "Modern Day Cowboy"
  --  Them Crooked Vultures - "Scumbag Blues"
  --  Third Eye Blind - "Graduate"
  --  Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - "Listen To Her Heart"
  --  Twisted Sister - "We're Not Gonna Take It"
  --  The Vines - "Get Free"
  --  The White Stripes - "Seven Nation Army"
  --  ZZ Top - "Sharp Dressed Man (Live)"