Sunday, August 14, 2011
Skyrim Hands-On Impressions
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Doom 3 Source Code Will Be Released This Year
Id Software has always been good about supporting the developer community by releasing the source code for its older games. Now as the release of id's latest title, Rage, approaches, the developer has promised that Doom 3 source code is coming.
Phoronix has this happy piece of news, which comes courtesy of id co-founder John Carmack's keynote at QuakeCon. According to Carmack, the Doom 3 source code will be made public this year, likely shortly following the October release of Rage.
Anyone excited to dig into the code behind this idTech 4 classic?
Filed under: News, PC, Bethesda, Doom, id, doom 3 TweetFollow Us: Twitter Facebook RSS.textbox_comments
Kotick: "You'll Never See Me Acting Again"
Resistance 3 Multiplayer Development Diary
Yesterday, Insomniac celebrated the fact that Resistance was going gold with a new single player trailer. Today, the company released a development diary where the team discusses their inspirations for Resistance 3’s multiplayer.
As mentioned on the company's blog, players who bought specially marked copies of SOCOM 4 now have early access to Resistance 3’s Multiplayer Beta. Game on!
Filed under: News, Sony, PS3, Playstation 3, insomniac, resistance 3, Beta, Sony Computer Entertainment, media, Multiplayer, developer diary Games Mentioned In This Article Resistance 3 PlayStation 3 TweetFollow Us: Twitter Facebook RSS.textbox_comments
Friday, August 12, 2011
Gamers Fight Hunger With Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Marathon
Somalia faces a hunger crisis. The small country off the eastern coast of African receives little rain, which has caused major food shortages. A group of gamers is hoping to fill some hungry Somali bellies by playing Battlefield: Bad Company 2.
Don't Revive Me Bro and Quantic Gaming, in association with Battlefieldo and Battlefield developer DICE's community manager, Daniel Matros, are putting on a Battlefield: Bad Company 2 event this weekend. The group will be playing the game while raising money to supply Somalia with foodstuffs.
Donations are already being accepted through GamersOutreach. Over $2,000 has already been raised, and for every $500 that is donated, a raffle takes place where a variety of cool items from Gunnar Optiks, Astro, and other companies will be given away.
For more information check out First Person Saviors website and its Twitter account.
Weekend Warrior 08/06/11
The weekend is among us! Game Informer staffers share their weekend gaming plans. You should do the same in the comments section!
Reiner: I'm seeing QuakeCon through to the end. So far, this show has been amazing; well worth the trip If you've been considering it. Bethesda has every game on hand, including the first hands on opportunity with The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Today I'm going to play Rage multiplayer, and watch a few tournaments in the BYOC room. Tomorrow I'll be updating the site with game news, and will check in our future-weary Game Informer marathoners.
Bryan Vore: This weekend I am going to be playing the hell out of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion for a Guinness World Record. I’ve never played it before so I’m very excited to finally delve in.
Jeff Cork: Careful readers may notice a trend emerging. This weekend, I’ll be playing my fair share of Grand Theft Auto IV for a Guinness World Record. I’m looking forward to hearing Niko Bellic’s silly accent for the next 40 hours and fielding call after call from my lonely friends and relatives. I CAN’T WAIT TO GO BOWLING!!!
Phil:I’m going to play so much Final Fantasy this weekend. As those who read my essay earlier this week already know, my focus is going to be Final Fantasy XII, but I’ll also be playing Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest, and I’ve got a pile of other PS1 and PS2-era FF games to jump into if I get bored and want to try something else. I hope you’ll join me in this stupid endeavour!
Dan: Mario. That’s it. All weekend . I can’t wait, and it should be a lot better (and easier) than the grueling Smash Bros. marathon. Of course, that’s me saying that before we start. Wait til about 20 hours in and we’ll see how I’m feeling.
Tim Turi: This weekend I’ll be playing a minimum of 24 hours straight of Resident Evil games. I’ll probably start with my first attempt at a knife-only run in the original Resident Evil. After that I’ll start working through the series chronologically, starting with RE: 0 on GameCube. It’s going to be a long weekend filled with soda, beef jerky, microwave food, and delirium. Wish me luck!
Ben Hanson: I will be spending most of the weekend running the livestream for the Guinness marathon, when I'm not watching one of the six amazing games on display I will be edited footage that I shot at the last marathon for Smash Bros.
Ben Reeves:I know id's annual QuakeCon is going on this weekend, so I'm interested to follow that, but I'll be busy playing Metal Gear for GI's second Guinness attempt. Read more here. Darn Tootn'
That's it for us. What are you playing this weekend?
Filed under: News, Weekend Warrior, staff, community, Reader Discussion, 080611 TweetFollow Us: Twitter Facebook RSS.textbox_comments
Battlefield 3 Won't Skimp On Progression
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Play Some Free Minecraft With The Humble Indie Bundle
Gamers who pick up the Humble Indie Bundle already get five games, but they can also try out Minecraft for free until August 14. Once that date rolls around, though, you'll have to become a paying customer to keep playing.
Considering that the Humble Indie Bundle is a name-your-price promotion to benefit charity, you're already getting a bunch of great games for a great price. But the addition of Minecraft still sweetens the deal a bit more. You can see a trailer for the games in the bundle below.
For those of you who haven't taken the Minecraft plunge yet: Is this going to get you started?
(Thanks to tipster TastedLikeCake)
Filed under: News, charity, minecraft, humble indie bundle TweetFollow Us: Twitter Facebook RSS.textbox_comments
Rumor: PS Vita Launching October 28?
According to the advertisement pictured below (courtesy of IGN), the hardware is set to launch on Friday, October 28 in the UK. That's only three month away, but it would ensure that Sony hits the target release for this holiday season along with giving people plenty of time to buy games before the year ends.
Given the lack of confirmation from Sony (and abundant speculation on the device's release date), I'm going to wait for an official announcement before I believe anything regarding when the Vita will be available.
British Tabloid Blames Dizziness For 3DS Price Cut
Don't blame the line-up of games, sluggish sales, or lack of consumer confidence in 3D. According to British tabloid The Sun, the reason the 3DS saw a price cut this week was the fact it made people dizzy and sick.
"Nintendo is slashing the price of its 3D console by a third - after claims it makes gamers feel dizzy and sick," reads the headline on this article. Of course, later in the story, this line appears: "Industry execs last night said the biggest problem was the games launched for the console simply weren't good enough." But why would anyone believe Industry execs, right?
While some gamers have complained about the handheld's 3D effect, implying that it is the reason behind the price cut is extreme. In fact, The Sun's coverage seems designed mainly to support a previous story, in which it blew user complaints out of proportion.
Okay, so mainstream media frequently messes up when it comes to games. No surprise. This does give me a good idea, though. In the comments below, make up your favorite pretend reasons for the 3DS price cut. Go!
(Source: Destructoid)
Filed under: News, Price Cut, Nintendo, 3ds, handheld, dizzy TweetFollow Us: Twitter Facebook RSS.textbox_comments
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
LittleBigPlanet 2 Getting Toy Story Levels And Costumes
LittleBigPlanet 2 has always had a virtual toybox kind of feel, but it takes a big step closer with the upcoming release of Toy Story-themed levels and costumes.
A look at LBP 2's official site reveals that gamers will be able to download costumes for characters like Buzz and Hamm either separately or as a pack. Additionally, new levels and building components will be available in a separate piece of DLC.
Each downloadable add-on costs $5.99, and should be available this week on August 3.
(Via: Eurogamer)
Filed under: News, Sony, PS3, Playstation 3, Media Molecule, PlayStation, littlebigplanet 2, costume, Toy Story Games Mentioned In This Article LittleBigPlanet 2 PlayStation 3 TweetFollow Us: Twitter Facebook RSS.textbox_comments
Awesome Mass Effect Replica Rifle
Look, you may never be better than Commander Shepard, but at least you can gaze upon this fantastic replica of something from Shepard's Mass Effect 3 arsenal.
This N7 Rifle was commissioned by BioWare for Comic-Con 2011, and Harrison Krix over at Volpin Props put it together in about 14 days. I have no idea how much something like this would cost, but I'm sure its out of my price range.
You can see the finished product below, but I highly recommend checking out the Volpin Props site to see the whole process chronicled from start to finish.
(Source: Volpin Props)
(Via: Destructoid)
Breath Of Fire 4 Sets PSN Ablaze In August
Most gamers know big-name RPGs like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. If you move down a few tiers in prominence, you'll hit Capcom's old-school Breath of Fire series. Breath of Fire was a hit among hardcore genre fans, and they'll have the chance to revisit the fourth entry when it hits August 16.
Chiming in on a thread over at Capcom-Unity, Capcom senior VP Christian Svensson confirmed the game's impending release, saying: "I'm told BOF4 (for the US anyway) will launch August 16th on PSN... to celebrate, there will also be BOF PSN avatars for sale that day too."
August 16 will be a busy day for JRPG fans! In addition to Breath of Fire 4, that's also the day that El Shaddai hits stores.
(Source: Capcom-Unity)
(Via: Joystiq)
.textbox_comments
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Legacy Offers Plenty Of New Story For Dragon Age II Faithful
While it doesn't address issues fans might have with the gameplay, Legacy is a solid new chapter in the story of Hawke, the Champion of Kirkwall.
Dragon Age II met with a mixed reaction from BioWare enthusiasts. Dramatic changes to the combat system, the repeated use of environment templates, and an unfocused narrative were just some of the criticisms leveled at the game when it released earlier this year. Other fans rejoiced at the opportunity to return to the vibrant fantasy world of Thedas alongside a new hero.
The first major story DLC for Dragon Age II doesn't aim to alter any of those perceptions, and your enjoyment of the new Legacy pack is dependent on your opinion of the source game. Presuming you found something to love about BioWare's latest fantasy excursion, this new adventure should make for a pleasant afternoon's diversion.
The 3-4 hour playthrough of Legacy has a lot of new adventures, monsters, and treasure to explore. You can play the new content by heading to your home base and activating a statue that begins the opening sequence. The story will jump to a new location outside of the city, where we learn that attacks against the city have prompted Hawke to head out into a mysterious part of the wilderness to track the source. The dungeon that follows, which is the entirety of the Legacy story, is a fun delve into new locations not seen in the original game. Extensive new voice work by the original actors gives life to the experience. New armor and item pick-ups are a welcome sight. New dungeon layouts and a few small puzzles inject variety. There's even a couple of new monsters in the mix.
You can choose which characters to bring along for the ride. Happily, one of the options for me was selecting Bethany, Hawke's sister. If your hero still has the other sibling, Carver, he'll be involved instead. Both characters are unplayable in the latter part of the main game, so bringing them back in at a higher level is a fun twist. Other party characters have some interesting development. For instance, if Varric is in the party, you'll finally get some explanation of the origins of his beloved crossbow, Bianca.
Nintendo Drops Profit Forecast
Due to a disappointing first quarter, Nintendo has lowered its forecast for the current fiscal year – including a drop in expected net profit from 110 billion yen ($1.4 billion) to 20 billion yen ($260 million).
Both Wii and Nintendo DS sales are down as compared to the same period last year by 49 and 54 percent, respectively. The 3DS, meanwhile, sold 710,000 units worldwide in the past three months (ending on June 30). In response, Nintendo has dropped the price of the 3DS from $249.99 to $169.99. Nintendo also reports that it sold 4.5 million units of software worldwide over the same period.
The company is still turning a profit, but you have to wonder if shareholders are angry given that the forecast is dropping that much. Or are they encouraged by the price cut and by having the Wii U on the horizon?
Sony Reports $191 Million Loss For Quarter
Amid lowered year-upon-year PlayStation 3 and in the shadow of the natural disasters that have hit Japan, Sony is reporting a 15.5 billion yen ($191 million) net loss for the first quarter.
Sony blames the earthquake in March, although it noted that the recovery is going faster than expected. Still, a drop on year-on-year PS3 sales can't help matters either, as the system sold 1.8 million units for the first quarter as compared to 2.4 million in the previous year's period. The company says that it still expects to sell more PS3s when the year comes to a close; predicting 15 million in sales.
Other areas had better news: PS3 software sales were up slightly to 26.1 million from 24.8 million units, and even with the Vita breathing down its neck, PSP sales were up from 1.2 million to 1.8 million.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Update Coming To ESPN Xbox 360 App This August
King Of Fighters XIII Receives Four-Disc Soundtrack Pre-Order Bonus
Atlus is pretty well-regarded for having great pre-order incentives and special editions, but they're going crazy with their offer for King of Fighters XIII pre-orders.
Fans who pre-order at participating retailers will receive a giant four-disc King of Fighters soundtrack collection. These discs will collect musc from the series nearly 20-year history, and it will be available to consumers simply by pre-ordering the game. You're not even paying extra money for a special edition! That's a heck of a deal for fans of this niche fighting game franchise.
Atlus also revealed a full list of the game's modes, which mostly look as you'd expect: story, online versus, mission mode, tutorial, and more. The game will be shown off this weekend at the Evo fighting tournament.
Filed under: News, Xbox 360, PS3, Playstation 3, Atlus, 360, king of fighters, King of Fighters XIII Games Mentioned In This Article King of Fighters XII Xbox 360 King of Fighters XII PlayStation 3 TweetFollow Us: Twitter Facebook RSS.textbox_comments
Report: Samsung Manufacturing PlayStation Vita Chips
The makers of the iPhone and 3DS chipsets are apparently pitching in with the Vita hardware too.
Though Sony built its own chipsets for the PlayStation 3 and PSP, the company is looking for some outside help for the Vita. According to the The Semiconductor Industry News, Samsung is developing the quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 chip for Sony's new handheld. The chip is being built using the 45 nanometer process, which has become popular in recent years due to its low electrica leakage. Other devices using semiconductors made via this technological process include the PlayStation 3 Slim, Xbox 360 S, iPhone, and 3DS.
The decision to bring on Samsung was likely fueled by Sony's wish to keep the development costs down; developing your own chipset is expensive. These savings may come in handy considering that after yesterday's 3DS price drop the Vita will cost $80 more than its competition when it launches this holiday season. If the Vita is met with resistance by consumers, Sony may need to drop the price earlier than it wants.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Spider-Man Trailer Simulated With Mirror's Edge
Replay: Ecco The Dolphin
Dolphins may be amongst the world's most majestic creatures, but classic Sega Genesis title Ecco the Dolphin is far from a majestic gaming experience. Watch as resident Sega expert Tim Turi struggles to defeat this game's bizarre final boss on this week's episode of Replay.
I'm also joined this week by Dan Ryckert and Andrew Reiner, who get excited for a shocking Replay Roulette that fans of the Tail of the Sun Super Replay must see to believe. All in all, it's an episode of Replay that's as weird as they come, so enjoy it.
New to Replay? Long-time fan but haven't caught up on the classics? You can find every previous episode of the show on our Replay hub for your viewing pleasure.
Also, if you want to read more about the strange ending to Ecco the Dolphin, check out Tim's blog post from way back in 2009.
Filed under: Feature, replay TweetFollow Us: Twitter Facebook RSS.textbox_comments
Report: Crytek's New IP Is A Shooter
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Play Spider-Pinball, Win Microsoft Points
Mario Does Some First-Person Platforming
We all know and love Mario and his 2D roots, but what if you could play the original NES game from a brand new perspective?
The video below, posted on YouTube user 525Leomas' channel, gives you a taste of a few early Super Mario Bros. levels in first-person. It's just a project, not an actual game, so don't get your hopes up. Still, very cool!
(Via: Reddit)
.textbox_comments
Adorable Or Terrifying? 4-Year-Old Pretends To Be An Assassin
I'm going to vote for "adorable." In this video, a young girl dons a white hoodie and scrambles around her kitchen, Assassin's Creed-style. She even does a leap of faith!
Found on the channel of YouTube user Satlanizm, the video speaks for itself. Give it watch below.
Just think: In only 13 more years, she'll be able to play the games she's reenacting!
(Source: YouTube)
Filed under: News, video, assassin's creed, adorable or terrifying?, The Littlest Assassin TweetFollow Us: Twitter Facebook RSS.textbox_comments
Friday, August 5, 2011
Rumor: Timesplitters 4 Announcement Coming Soon
Why I Picked Mario For My Guinness Record
After our Smash Bros. Guinness Record was beaten by two hours at E3, I decided we had to immediately get to work at obtaining another record. Guinness representatives were at the show, so I started discussing the idea of setting multiple world records simultaneously. It's been a couple months since the initial conversation, and we're ready to set six Guinness World Records over the weekend of August 6-7.
My record will be a new category: "Longest Video Games Marathon Playing Mario Games." This includes anything with Mario in the title, so his wealth of sports games, party games, and kart-racing games will all be options for my marathon. However, my plan is to mostly stick to the main series. (side note: click here for my top ten Mario games of all time)
I've beaten every core Mario game (most of them several times), and I've always shot for 100%. I finished all 96 stages in Super Mario World, beat Super Mario Bros. 3 more times than I can count (once as a Super Replay), and collected every star and shine in Sunshine and the Galaxy games. However, one achievement I've never completed is collecting all 120 stars in Super Mario 64.
Because of that, Mario's 3D debut will be the first game I focus on. I want to get every star, and I'm not entirely sure how long it'll take me. I have to play these games for at least 24 hours to get into the record book, and I imagine my N64 attempt will take up a good chunk of that time. If I need a break, I have Super Mario Bros. 1-3, Super Mario World, Yoshi's Island, Sunshine, Galaxy 1 and 2, the Mario Karts, the Mario Partys, the Mario sports games, and even Super Mario RPG as options. However, I'd imagine the large majority of my time will be spent with Mario 64 and possibly some time with the 2D games.
I'm really looking forward to this attempt, even moreso than the infamous Smash Bros. ordeal. With that attempt, we were confined to one game that got very repetitive over time. This time, I have a collection of some of the best games of all time that I can switch between at will. Hitting the minimum 24-hour mark shouldn't be a problem, and I wouldn't be surprised if I feel like going several hours past. We'll see how things pan out this weekend.
Filed under: News, Mario, Game Informer, World record, guinness record Games Mentioned In This Article New Super Mario Bros. Wii Nintendo Wii Super Mario Galaxy 2 Nintendo Wii Super Mario All-Stars: Limited Edition Nintendo Wii New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis Nintendo Wii TweetFollow Us: Twitter Facebook RSS.textbox_comments
Nintendo Working To Support DLC
Thursday, August 4, 2011
SF IV: Arcade Edition Is Not Balanced, But It Will Be
NBA Jam Designer Seeking Two Million Downloads
NBA Jam is making the jump from retail to downloadable with this fall's "On Fire Edition," and designer Trey Smith hopes that this will mean a big surge in interest in the game.
Speaking to Kotaku, Smith said that he'd like two million potential players to download the free demo version of NBA Jam: On Fire Edition. He didn't give a specific number of full game purchases he wants after people get the demo, but for now he's focusing on people getting the game and trying it out, even in a free form.
With NBA Jam: On Fire Edition hitting both Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network this fall, two million doesn't seem totally absurd. Anyone else planning to give it a shot?
Filed under: News, Xbox 360, EA, Electronic Arts, PS3, Playstation 3, PSN, XBLA, Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, 360, Impulse, NBA Jam, NBA Jam: On Fire Edition, On Fire Edition Games Mentioned In This Article NBA Jam Nintendo Wii NBA Jam: On Fire Edition Xbox 360 NBA Jam: On Fire Edition PlayStation 3 TweetFollow Us: Twitter Facebook RSS.textbox_comments
Wow That Was Quick: 3DS Drops To $169.99
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Capcom's Financial Woes
Get A Piece Of The Rock With WWE 12 Preorder
Free Soundtrack For Persona 2: Innocent Sin's Early Adopters
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Supremacy MMA To Wreck Faces On Vita
Fighting games don't traditionally find much of a home on portable systems, but that's about to change at least a little. Today 505 Games and Kung Fu Factory announced that Supremacy MMA is going to be making its way onto the PlayStation Vita this year.
“Supremacy MMA takes MMA where it’s never gone before, with unprecedented brutality and arcade speed, and now it’s headed for another new frontier as the sole MMA game to go to handheld in 2011,” says Ian Howe, President, 505 Games, North America. “The arcade-styled gameplay is perfectly suited for quick handheld sessions, and the game looks amazing on Sony’s hot new tech.”
The game is a blend of arcade action and authenticity, balanced to prevent five-second knockouts in favor of longer, more intense bouts. Fighters include Jens Pulver, Felice Herrig, and Michele Guiterrez.
Look for the Vita version of Supremacy MMA this holiday. The Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game are due out Sept. 20.
Filed under: News, mma, 505 games, kung fu factory, supremacy mma TweetFollow Us: Twitter Facebook RSS.textbox_comments
Mysterious MMO Project To Be Announced At Gamescom
Forget everything you know about Carbine Studios! Wait, you don't know anything about Carbine Studios? Oh, this will be easy then. Carbine Studios has been working on a top-secret MMO for the past four years now, and the studio and publisher NCsoft have announced that it will be revealed at Gamescom on August 17.
Aside from the art above, there's not much to go on at this point. Executive producer Jeremy Gaffney is vague about the project, though he does make a few bold claims. "
Moby Jones Enjoys Snowboarding, And We Have Proof
Monday, August 1, 2011
THQ Moving Away From Red Faction Franchise
THQ has reported the results for its fiscal first quarter 2012, ending on June 20, 2011, and Brian Farrell, THQ's CEO and president, calls it disappointing. Worst of all, Farrell says the company is moving on from the Red Faction franchise after the last two games were too "niche" in their sales.
"We are disappointed in our first quarter financial performance," said Farrell. "Sales of Red Faction: Armageddon and our licensed kids titles were below our expectations, and the late release of UFC Personal Trainer also adversely impacted the quarter.”
"Given that
Nielsen: Half Of Netflix Streaming Is On Game Consoles
It looks as though Netflix has successfully infiltrated game consoles, according to a recent survey from the Nielsen Company. According to the data, one half of Netflix's streaming-video consumers access that video content through their Wii, PS3, or Xbox 360. That's in stark contrast to rival Hulu, which is accessed on consoles by a relatively measly 11 percent of the time.
In terms of the content viewed, Hulu is overwhelmingly used to watch its TV show offerings, while Netflix users tend to watch more movies through the service. Interestingly enough, the Wii is by far the most popular console option for Netflix, with 25 percent of users streaming video on the device compared with the PS3 at 13 percent and the Xbox 360 at 12 percent
On the Hulu front, Microsoft lags behind the Wii and PS3, with two percent of consumers using the console for Hulu, as opposed to the three percent that the other two have attracted. That's in spite of the fact that Hulu isn't even officially supported on the Wii.
The survey was conducted on March 2011, and it should be interesting to see how these numbers change in the future. Will more consumers use smartphones to stream video as the devices become more ubiquitous, or do their necessarily small screens prohibit anything other than a tiny fragment of viewers? And will the upcoming Wii U's dedicated HD screen make it a favorite?