Tech Olive

Epic Vid of the Week is a weekly series that showcases an awesome video that we or our readers discover. Some you may have seen before and others you may have not. If you’ve discovered any videos that are worthy of an Epic Vid of the Week title, let us know!

We all know unboxings can be quite informative as far as knowing what’s inside the packaging of a potential purchase you’ll make, but sometimes they’re just hilarious to watch. This time, an extremely intelligent PS3 gamer had the opportunity to unbox the hardened edition of Call of Duty: Black Ops. Sit back and enjoy.

The action-packed zombie racer from Exor, Zombie Driver, is 50-percent off as a part of Steam’s Midweek Madness. Right now you can get the game for only $4.99 until Thursday.

[Steam Page]

Today we were greeted by the first gameplay trailer of the upcoming zombie-dispatching indie title Dead Meets Lead, which shows us just over a minute of zombie carnage. Unfortunately, the footage gives us a feeling that the game will be a bit repetitive and monotonous, but we’re hoping some hands-on time with the game can change that when it releases next year.

“Dead Meets Lead is a fast paced, zombie-slaying, action PC game set to be released in 2011. The game is centered around an 18th century character known as ‘The Captain,’ who is on a mission to obliterate evil from a zombie-infested island in the Caribbean.”

Hit the break for some undead abuse.

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I Could Eat is a feature that showcases a scrumptious snack or drink that we think other geeks and gamers “could eat” (in other words, would greatly enjoy). If you have any snacks or drinks that you think are worthy of an I Could Eat shout out, let us know!

“You’ll spoil your dinner!” Mom cries from the kitchen as I bolt up the stairs to my room, a fresh cache of contraband tucked away in my arms. Seriously? Spoil my dinner? A) This is my dinner and B) This concept of “dinner” was already spoiled when we decided it was gonna be something other than ordering pizza.

Anyway, follow the break to…to enter our Apple iPad giveaway! [Editor Note: Wait, what? You can't lie to the readers to get more page clicks.]

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We knew Super Meat Boy would be coming to the PC at the end of November, but now developer Team Meat has finally set a release date for the uber-challenging arcade-like title. November 30th will see the release of Super Meat Boy on Steam. The game will be priced at $15, but anyone who pre-orders through Steam will only have to pay $10. Plus, Steam users will also get an exclusive character for use in the game; the headcrab from the Half-Life series. For those that are planning to get the non-Steam PC version, you’ll get an exclusive character as well; a Goo Ball from World of Goo.

Pre-orders will begin on November 23rd.

[SMB Blog]

If you were hoping to play Ubisoft‘s upcoming Driver: San Francisco and Ghost Recon Future Soldier by early next year, it looks like you’ll have to wait a little longer — maybe even much longer. Ubisoft mentioned in their massive 25-page financial press release that both games will be pushed into Ubisoft’s 2012 fiscal year (seen on page 13). This means that both games are now expected to release sometime between April 1st, 2011 and March 31st, 2012. Ubisoft did not say why both of these titles were delayed.

[Press Release PDF via Joystiq]

We’ve heard in the past that Microsoft wants to put more focus on PC gaming, and this is proof that they’re at least trying a bit. Microsoft has launched their completely revamped Games for Windows website, which is now a web-based store — called Games For Windows Marketplace — where you can purchase and download PC games. The websites contains both Games For Windows titles, as well as non-Games For Windows titles. On top of this, Microsoft also released an update to the Games For Windows Live client. To celebrate the relaunch, there are plenty of games currently on sale, such as Osmos at 75-percent off and Grand Theft Auto IV, which is 40-percent off.

[Games For Windows]

Yep, you read that title correctly. Someone lovingly hand-knitted a pair of socks in theme of the fantastic indie game, VVVVVV. By bidding on these socks, Terry Cavanagh (creator of VVVVVV) has promised a free copy of his game to anyone and everyone that bids on the auction and, if that’s not enough, 100% of the auction’s ending price will be donated to Child’s Play. So there’s no reason not to place your bid now! Except maybe that the auction is currently at $9,500.00 USD (after 374 bidders) at time of writing. A free game, awesome socks, and a massive tax write-off? What’s to lose?

[eBay Auction]

The Bargain Bin is a weekly feature that helps out gamers in the tough economy. How does it help? Once a week, it offers a great and cheap game ($10 or less) to keep you going until your next paycheck.

Remember that little game we told you about earlier this month that promised a relaxing zen experience coupled with physics-based puzzle gameplay and bundled with cute and appealing visuals? It released last week for $9.99. I think you know where this is going.

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Image Credit: Shivz Photography

I’m just going to throw this out there right now: We’re piss broke. Sure, we get “free” stuff from companies every now and then, and get a few ad dollars here and there that pay for the domain name and hosting, but it’s hardly enough to justify the time we spend writing and working on Tech Olive. We’re definitely not making a living off of blogging. So why are we even blogging if we’re not really making a lot of money from it? Because we simply love doing it.

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