Microsoft is proud to announce that 3 of their console’s greatest titles are going to get the Platinum Hits treatment, and I’m sure you’d agree with their decision.

Those titles in question are none other than Street Fighter IV, Left 4 Dead and Grand Theft Auto IV in addition to Saints Row 2 and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.

With the Platinum Hits comes lowered prices with Joystiq reporting they will be lowered to right around $29.99.

via joystiq

The list includes a full 10 games but a few ones to take note of are BioShock and Saints Row 2 seeing  as they are relatively new titles priced at just $5. Below is the full list of games:

The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena


BioShock


Sid Meier’s Pirates!


Saint’s Row 2


STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl


Frontlines: Fuel of War


Thief: Deadly Shadows


Serious Sam Gold


Max Payne 2


MLB 2K9

via direct2drive

Saints Row 2 was released all the way back in October but as a way of saying thanks for purchasing the game, THQ and Volition have released a free DLC pack currently exclusive to the Xbox 360.

Entitled The Unkut Pack, this pack will add all sorts of new character customization items from T-shirts and tanktops to watchets and tattoos. Below is the official description:

Pimp out your personality with over 60 brand new customization items including Unkut watches, necklaces, bracelets, T-shirts, tank tops, hoodies and camisoles. Change it up with a preppy polo, or dress it down with some jeans at Sloppy Seconds. Ink-up your character with 16 all new tattoo options.

As for a PS3 and PC version? Well there’s no word on when or even if those versions will drop but we’ll keep you updated.

The content will now be released on Thursday, April 23.

Dubbed “Ultor Exposed”, the pack is the first of three planned content releases for the zany open-world game. It adds a Tera Patrick-themed mission arc, six new vehicles, four multiplayer maps and a competitive co-op mode. The pack will cost 800 Microsoft points ($10) once released.

No PC version was mentioned.

Dubbed “Ultor Exposed”, the DLC will add a mission arc where an Ultor microbiologist – played by adult entertainment actress Tera Patrick – joins the Third Street Saints to expose the evil megacorporation.

It also adds four multiplayer maps – two each for the Strong Arm and Gangster Brawl modes – and six new vehicles. There’s also a new competitive co-op mode that rewards destruction with cash. Additionally, there are new outfits and hairstyles.

The content is due out April 16 and will set you back 800 points ($10).

If you were anything like me when you first laid hands on a copy of Saints Row, you enjoyed it, but found that it was a little bit lacking somehow.  So that having been said, you’ll definitely be happy to hear that Saints Row 2 has solved that problem.

Saints Row 2 represents a massive leap forward in sequels, which by itself is somewhat amazing.  It’s kept all the fun from the original, all the ease of use and all the fun drives and all the gunplay, and added a whole host of new and interesting things to do in Stilwater.  Like what, you ask?  Well, I’ll fill you in on that particular point in a minute…but first, the plot.

It’s five years after you blew up the yacht in Saints Row, and you’ve woken up in a prison hospital ward.  Stilwater has changed a lot in five years, and you’ll discover just how much when you finally break out of prison.  Yes, of COURSE your first task is to break out of prison.  From there, you’ll spring former cohort Johnny Gat off Death Row, reassemble the currently defunct Third Street Saints and re-take Stilwater from the Brotherhood, the Ronin, and the Sons of Samedi as well as the shadowy Ultor Corporation.

See what I mean?  Bigger.  Much, MUCH, bigger—one whole faction bigger, to start with.  Plus, you’ll get a panoply of new and fun activities to take part in on the side.  You’ll get to pose as one of Stilwater’s finest to help the show Fuzz (clearly a parody of Cops, in case you wondered) get its episode count finished.  You’ll get to take control of a septic truck and spew loads of human sewage on a collection of targets.  You’ll even get to suit up in a flame suit and drive a four-wheeler through a series of challenges.  They call that one “Trail Blazing”.  How awesome is that?

That’s not a rhetorical question, either.  I know EXACTLY how awesome it is, and it’s pretty awesome, especially since the flame suit blows up cars on contact.  You get extra time for doing that.  You’ll get a wide array of vehicles to drive around Stilwater, too—it’s not just cars and trucks any more.  One mission requires you to handle a tow truck.  You’ll get mopeds and motorcycles, and even get to spend some time in a helicopter.

And it’s not just about the new, either.  The respect system is back in play, and you’ll get also get the steadily advancing hatred meters too, telling you just how much each faction currently wants you dead on the hoods of their many, many cars.  Basically, just about everything you may have loved from Saints Row is back in Saints Row 2, plus a whole bunch of other stuff that you never imagined you’d get the chance to love.

Two words: Chainsaw.  Flamethrower.  Oh yeah…that’s plenty to love.

But it’s not all joy around here—I had some oddly buggy moments in Saints Row 2, including objectives that wouldn’t seem to be met despite the fact that I was doing them right, and one moment in which a flood of infinite enemies kept charging at me while I was trying to finish a mission.  I’d been snuck up on several times, and I really don’t like blasting someone with a rocket launcher just to have the FBI drive a van into my lower back.  It spoils the atavistic thrill.

But still, there’s a LOT to like about Saints Row 2, and if you’re any kind of fan of action shooters, you’ll probably like this one just as much as I did.

An unfortunate delay held PC gamers back from purchasing Saints Row 2 online yesterday, but the issue has since been resolved, and the game is now available for purchase on Steam and Direct2Drive for $39.99. THQ has also announced that the title will be reaching European shores on January 23, 2009 and Australia on February 5, 2009.

In related news, sites are reporting that the port has some performance issues, even on a pretty decent rig. Just to be on the safe side, here are the system requirements. You might want to stick to the console version for now.

Read (Saints Row Community Blog)

Having recently played the game on the Xbox 360, I’m looking forward to the delayed PC port of Saint’s Row 2. There are many of you who might be waiting on what DRM is included – there’s good news for you: the PC port will use Valve’s Steam for its copy protection, going by a forum post by Volition community manager.

“We’re trying to use a very low impact DRM here, since we’ve seen some of the headaches faced by other major game releases in recent months,” said the manager.

The game is due out January 6, 2009 in retail stores as well as on Steam. Volition also announced the minimum and recommended requirements for the game, which are as expected. Hit the jump for the info.

Minimum Requirements:
Windows XP / Vista
2.0 GHz Dual-Core Processor (Intel Core 2 Duo or AMD Athlon X2)
1 GB Available System Memory
15 GB Available Hard Drive Space
128 MB 3D Video Card w/Shader Model 3.0 Support (Nvidia GeForce 7600 / ATI Radeon X1300)
DirectX Compatible Display Capable of 640×480 16-bit Color Resolution
DirectX 9.0c Compatible 16-bit Sound Card
Broadband Connection for Internet Multiplayer

Recommended Requirements:
Windows XP / Vista
3.2 GHz Dual-Core Processor (Intel Core 2 Duo or AMD Athlon X2)
2 GB Available System Memory
256 MB 3D Video Card with Shader Model 3.0 Support (Nvidia GeForce 8800 / ATI Radeon HD3850)
DirectX Compatible Display Capable of 1024×768 in 32-bit Color
DirectX 9.0c Compatible 16-bit Sound Card
Recommended System Requirements Required for 2-12 Player Multiplayer or Co-Op

"There is no official word on the PC ship date other than that it doesn’t ship today," a THQ representative told Shacknews

The PC version of the game was announced earlier this year, though no release date was provided, though it was expected to launch alongside the console editions.

THQ has released yet another ridiculously corny trailer for Saints Row 2. Uncle Garry is back and this time he gives the run down on one of the games unqiue features: taunting. Check it out.

Saints Row 2 is undergoing development at Volition, Inc. and will be released for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and PC on October 14th. Stay tuned.

You forgot about that game Rockstar released not too long ago, right? Ok, good, now watch this.

Above is a rather theatrical trailer for Saints Row 2 detailing really, what the game is all about, Saints vs Sons of Samedi in their epic battle to control the underground drug world. Blood, drugs, babes, and gun fights ensue.

Saints Row 2 will be released for the Xbox 360, and Playstation 3 on October 14th with a PC version coming at a later date.

The main reason, he indicates, is that the use of motion controls would stir up potential controversy. “With games like ours you get much more controversy when you add motion controls like you saw with Manhunt 2,” he said. “We have weapons like chainsaws, satchel charges, stuff like that. I can definitely see people having a problem and outcry towards that because it does actually feel like you’re using weapons that way.”

Sutton also stated that the console lacks the graphical fidelity found in both PS3 and Xbox 360, making the developer less interested in the system.

“At Volition we’re really about pushing really good graphics and with the Wii you just feel like you’re playing on an older console,” he said. “We’re definitely focused on the Xbox 360 and PS3.”