Black Ops II action galore this week

December is beginning to fill out a bit with events for gaming. Although tournaments seem to be in short supply this month, there are tons of casual opportunities to play with your fellow gamers and be merry.

Starting off is Mesa bar and grill Monsterland hosting a video game night on Wednesday. The event is 21 and above only, and will include casual play (or possibly a competition) for Black Ops II. The event will kick off at 8 p.m. and go until midnight, check out their Facebook event page for more details.

Continuing the Black Ops II trend will be Fix and Play hosting their tournament for the shooter title on Saturday. The competition will take place at their 83rd Ave. and Camelback location and start at 5 p.m.

Entry fees will likely be the same as their last tournament and cost $5. The grand prize winner will net themselves a $60 gift card to the store for some holiday spending.

IncreaseBlue’s Saboten Con Re-cap

Anime and game lovers alike are back to the daily grind after the exhausting 2012 Saboten Con finished up over the weekend in Glendale. This was the convention’s first dive into its new venue of the Glendale Renaissance Hotel and despite some missteps, it came out victorious over last years’ performance.

The Yamaoka-centric concerts with Mary Elizabeth McGlynn on vocals were an easy highlight of the convention.

Although Saboten Con was more so anime and video game-oriented, thus having a less diverse draw of panels and events than the Phoenix Comicon, the convention definitely made each individual event count with its guests and programming.

The new hotel was a more than welcome change, as the Saboten Con was all but bursting with attendees in its old home of the Hilton Squaw Peak Resort in Phoenix. This allowed the latest Sabo endeavor breathing room to try on new things, some a step in the right direction, while others could use some fine-tuning.

IncreaseBlue’s Saboten Con guide for gamers (2012 ver.)

The wait for the Saboten Con is slowly ticking down as the convention looms ahead jam-packed with events. As always, The Pause Button’s very own IncreaseBlue has created a guide for gamers in attendance to make sure they don’t miss out on any of the awesome programming highlights.

Courtesy Saboten Con.

Ranbats, Rumbles, and Absolute LAN-sanity

Who knew that the break into March would be such a big one? Several local gaming groups this week are hosting tournaments and events of all kinds, and they’re getting a head start on Wednesday.

It seems like many Arizona groups are in on this one including the DEVASTATION crew, Team Hazmat, Arcade-in-a-Box, Digital Dojo, and LAN Speed Games all hosting their own respective events.

JUST ANNOUNCED: Konami’s Akira Yamaoka Coming to Saboten Con 2012

Saboten Con representatives officially announced Monday night that longtime Konami composer Akira Yamaoka would be attending the event in 2012.

Photo courtesy of Saboten Con.

Yamaoka is a composer for the studio most widely known for his compositions featured in the Silent Hill series of video games, most notably Silent Hill 3. His most recent sound work includes the 2011 demon shoot’em up title Shadows of the Damned. Yamaoka will join fellow video game guests Phil LaMarr, the voice of Vamp in the Metal Gear series, and Troy Baker, voice of Vincent in the game Catherine, at the convention.

[UPDATE: Saboten Con officials further announced that Yamaoka, along with Troy Baker and Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, will be putting on a Silent Hill music concert on the Saturday of the event. Your mind blown yet?]

Play N Trade to host national Black Ops tournament

The highly anticipated first-person shooter game Call of Duty: Black Ops will be releasing on November 9th and to celebrate, video game retailer Play N Trade will host a nationwide tournament for a grand prize of $3,000.

Flyer for the tournament. Courtesy of Play N Trade.

Play N Trade is a new and used video game store franchise that specializes in retro games and systems, as well as newer titles and gear. Call of Duty: Black Ops is the latest installment of the highly successful Call of Duty series of military shooter video games.