Giant Bomb

This man would like to take you to space.

Notch hinted not too long ago that his next game would be set in space, an idea that undoubtedly sent minds racing as to what kinds of crazy crap the Minecraft creator might come up with when working within the boundless stretches of the universe at large. Still, I doubt anything was expecting anything quite this specifically bonkers.

0x10c is the name of Notch's next game, a space-faring "hard science fiction" game that puts players in the role of one of many human astronauts from an alternate universe where the space race never ended. As the back story here goes... you know what? Let's just use Notch's own words.

In 1988, a brand new deep sleep cell was released, compatible with all popular 16 bit computers. Unfortunately, it used big endian, whereas the DCPU-16 specifications called for little endian. This led to a severe bug in the included drivers, causing a requested sleep of 0x0000 0000 0000 0001 years to last for 0x0001 0000 0000 0000 years.

It's now the year 281 474 976 712 644 AD, and the first lost people are starting to wake up to a universe on the brink of extinction, with all remote galaxies forever lost to red shift, star formation long since ended, and massive black holes dominating the galaxy.

Get all that? I hope so, because I don't think I'm smart enough to dissect it any further.

Players will control a ship that works via a generator with a fixed wattage. Certain technologies will require a bigger drain on your ship's generator than others. Notch cites the example of a cloaking device, which would require so much power that you'd have to shut down most computer systems and dim the lights just to make it work correctly.

The on-board computer you'll be using is "a fully functioning emulated 16 bit CPU" that you can use to control all your ship's functions. Notch plans to release full specs for the computer soon.

As for actual gameplay, Notch promises everything from lots of engineering and advanced economy systems to full-on combat against AI and rival player ships. You can see the full breadth of what Notch has thus far announced at the official 0x10c website. Similar to Minecraft, Notch plans to release an early version of the game publicly in order to have players help shape the ultimate direction of the final product.

Hey guys, in case you missed our little live announcement, I've embedded it below. Naturally, we had a minor technical issue at the beginning, so skip the first four or five minutes to get to the show!

Pretty crazy, right? This is going to be the thing that allows us to make Giant Bomb bigger and crazier than it's ever been before, and I hope you all stick around with us. Just like Ryan's been saying, it won't be boring. OK, right now we're heading over to GameSpot offices for the first time since 2007. Be sure to check back at 4PM PDT, when we'll be addressing my termination. Finally! The story can be told!

We'll also have a full update on what all this means for premium members very shortly.

(And hey, check out Tested for information about their crazy news!)

Rumors have been kicking around for the last few days about the possibility of Valve taking its currently computer-only Steam service to consoles--specifically, a console of their own. The original report, which came via tech site The Verge, cited various anonymous sources as it spun out the possibility of Valve contracting an outside hardware maker to essentially make a Steam set-top box for home televisions. The device would be less a traditional console than a way for Steam users to browse the Steam service and play their purchased games on the television, should they feel so inclined.

Well, forget about any of that, because apparently it's all lies. Sort of.

Speaking to Kotaku's Stephen Totillo at GDC, Valve's longtime mouthpiece Doug Lombardi put the kibosh on the notion of Valve getting into the console business any time in the foreseeable future, explaining that yes, Valve has been contracting some new hardware from partners, but solely for the purposes of testing the upcoming Steam Big Picture Mode UI system, a new interface designed to let players more easily hook their PCs up to their televisions and play their various Steam games.

"All of that is stuff that we're working on, but it's a long way from Valve shipping any sort of hardware," he said.

Most of the console-centric news seemed focused especially on controller patents and various things related to biometrics, something that Valve has said before that it likes to use when playtesting certain games. Lombardi confirmed that these are all things Valve has worked on in various capacities, including in conjunction with the upcoming Big Picture UI, but that it has nothing to do with a new console that's coming down the pipes from the company.

Of course, ever the talented PR man, Lombardi didn't shut the door on the company ever developing something like what was reported in the Verge story. When asked by Totillo if maybe someday, long beyond this GDC or this year's E3 or whatever other near-future landmarks one might use to announce a new console, Valve maybe, just maybe, might actually decide to produce retail hardware, Lombardi simply replied, "I think that's accurate."

Guys? I'm actually a little confused on this one. Is this a happy ending or a sad ending? I suppose if nothing else, it is an ending, and perhaps that's enough.

Perhaps you're already aware of recent grousing among those sensitive toward the use of women's ludicrously over-sized breasts to promote various video game entertainments in regards to a recent SoulCalibur V advertisement which featured an almost comically brazen close-up of series regular Ivy's gigantic boobs. For those unaware of the just-mentioned advertisement and subsequent outrage, here is the ad in question.

Assuming you are now appropriately outraged because of boobs, I now direct your attention to the other ad publisher Namco Bandai recently posted (then quickly removed) from the game's Facebook page. Perhaps as a direct follow-up to the outcry from those who saw the objectification of the female form as crass and lazy, the publisher then posted the below nightmare fueling image of other series regular Voldo, AKA the weird S&M bendy guy with the knives and the hypnotically transfixing codpiece.

Apparently the translation of the text across Voldo's discolored, fetid-looking stomach reads "curious?" How's that for a Monday morning boner groaner?

In direct response to Namco Bandai's Voldo ad, I simply say "touche." While I do think the blatant Ivy boob-leering in the original ad wasn't in particularly great taste, I can certainly appreciate a company that can look a controversy directly in the eye and thrust out its spiky, disquieting man-crotch as a response.

In direct response to the sure-to-happen influx of comments complaining that this is "not news," I'd like to point out that it's early January and nothing of value is really happening right now. Also, having just returned from vacation, I was just so anxious to get back to writing for you guys that I just up and grabbed for the first heaving man-crotch that crossed my desk. Yes, I know how that sounds, and no, I don't plan to correct it.

Seriously, I missed you guys.

(Thanks to PlayStation: The Official Magazine's Anne Lewis for sending this my way. May your trauma be swiftly forgotten.)

I’m intimately familiar with consumers dealing with Microsoft customer service in order to recover their Xbox Live accounts and, all too often, money taken from them in tandem with the account.

There are few stories as upsetting as what happened to Susan from Texas, who started off 2012 with several hundred dollars--$366.06, to be exact--stolen from her via her Xbox Live account.

She's recounted the situation on her Tumblr the last few days.

Her struggles to make things right have gained the rightful ire of the Internet, and reflect the worst parts of the stories I’ve filed here at Giant Bomb (here, here, here) about the exploitation of Xbox Live users.

“I think it’s fair to say that many people would look at Microsoft as a reliable company and absolutely trust them with their bank details,” she wrote. “What makes them any different than Blizzard or Sony? If this level of trust makes me a fool, than so be it, brand me as one. Just know that you are branding a hell of a lot of people with that marker than you probably know and we are not the ones to blame here.”

Susan had linked her Xbox Live to her bank via PayPal, and not a credit card. Traditionally, credit cards have greater protection for consumers in cases like this.

It’s unclear how someone came to access Susan’s account, as she claims to not be the victim of a traditional phishing scheme (which hinges upon tricking users into visiting familiar looking websites), but what happened after is familiar territory. The individual now in control of her account bought a “Family Gold Pack,” purchased an enormous number of Microsoft Points, transferred said points to new, unknown accounts, and sold these accounts elsewhere.

I’ve mentioned the selling of Xbox Live accounts in previous stories, but I’ll admit to not being aware of how common the practice might actually be, and I’m actively looking into the merits right now. Please contact me with your stories.

The reason Susan’s tale is more heartbreaking than most relates to her frustrating interactions with Microsoft customer service, which consistently gave her the runaround, pointing her in other directions, and putting the onus on her to ensure account was taken care of. I’ve heard this from countless other users.

Amazingly, Susan was even able to message the person who eventually purchased--and used--her account!

Microsoft director of policy and enforcement of Xbox Live, Stephen Toulouse, told me over email that his team became aware of Susan’s ordeal last night, and promptly locked her account and a refund should be en route.

I’ve been unable to verify personally with Susan whether the refund has been applied, but in her more recent update, she confirmed the account had been locked.

Toulouse said his team is aware of reselling sites.

“We do look out for them and shut them down where we can,” he said. “The selling of accounts is against our Terms of Use, not to mention the selling of a stolen account is a crime in many places.”

“Both the buyer and the seller of accounts run the risk of a console ban from Xbox Live,” he added.

You can keep tabs on Susan’s ordeal through her Tumblr and Twitter accounts, and if you haven't been keeping up with my coverage of similar issues over the past couple of months, here are some links:

• Microsoft, EA Claim FIFA Isn't Causing Rash of Xbox Live Hacks
• The 25 Days (And Counting) of Waiting to Get Back on Xbox Live
• A Q&A With Stephen “Stepto” Toulouse on Xbox Live Security

Few topics rankle the feathers of the video game enthusiast these days quite like that of pre-order bonus content. Whether it's lamenting the excising of content from a game for the sake of releasing it later as a bonus (or paid DLC), offering unlocks for content that's already on the disc, or tossing so many confusing, bizarre options out there that invariably, everyone is going to end up disappointed, there isn't an awful lot to like about pre-ordering games these days.

One of the more extreme examples of pre-ordering insanity comes from WB Games and developer Rocksteady's upcoming Batman sequel, Arkham City. We've heard over the last few weeks about a variety of different pre-order options coming our way, including everything from various Batman character skins, to Joker-oriented multiplayer maps and even the boy wonder himself. Robin, as a playable character. But between all these different pieces of content, as well as the various retailer exclusivity deals attached to them, figuring out where, how, and why to pre-order has apparently been something of a headache for would-be players.

We know this, because a moderator on the official Arkham City forums actually went to the trouble of creating a pre-ordering guide for anyone trying to figure out where to get the content they want. Yes, that's right: a guide to pre-ordering a game. I'm not completely certain if this is the last sign of the apocalypse before the Horsemen come down and start inflicting plague, pestilence and pre-order bonuses on the screaming, writhing masses, but it certainly looks like it.

The list is especially confusing because different regions have different retailers, and thus the exclusivity deals change depending on which portion of the planet you dwell within. Take a look at this list, and do your best not to go boss-eyed.

ROBIN

• GERMANY -AMAZON
• FRANCE- MICROMANIA
• HOLLAND - GAMEMANIA
• BELGUIM - GAMEMANIA AND SMARTOYS
• ITALY - GAMESTOP
• NORDICS- GAMESTOP
• NORTH AMERICA - BESTBUY
• CANADA - BEST BUY
• AUSTRALIA - JB HIFI
• MEXICO - GAMERUSH

BATMAN 1970S SKIN

• UK- SHOPTONET
• FRANCE- AMAZON
• ITALY- FNAC
• AUSTRALIA - EB GAMES

JOKER DLC MAP (CARNIVAL)

• GERMANY - MEDIA MARKT
• FRANCE - GAME
• HOLLAND AND BELGIUM - FREE RECORD SHOP
• ITALY - MEDIA MARKET
• US - GAMESTOP
• AUSTRALIA - EB GAMES
• CANADA- GAMESTOP

ANIMATED SERIES SKIN

• GERMANY - SATURN
• FRANCE- CASINO
• HOLLAND- BART SMIT
• BELGIUM - FNAC
• ITALY- FELTRINELLI
• AUSTRALIA - JB HIFI

BATMAN BEYOND SKIN

• UK - GAMESTOP
• GERMANY - MULLER GE PLAYART AUSTRIA
• FRANCE- AUCHAN
• HOLLAND- MICROMEDIA
• BELIGUM - HORELEC
• ITALY- OPENGAMES
• AUSTRALIA - GAME
• MEXICO - GAMERS RETAIL

BATMAN YEAR ONE SKIN

• GERMANY - EXPERT
• FRANCE - FNAC
• BELGIUM - DREAMLAND COLRUYT
• ITALY- BLOCKBUSTER

BATMAN EARTH ONE SKIN

• GERMANY- GAMESTOP
• FRANCE- JEUX VIDEO & CO
• HOLLAND- GAMEWORLD
• BELGIUM- BEMS
• ITALY - CIDIVERTE
• AUSTRALIA - JB HIFI

US

• AMAZON - $10 Amazon credit and Arkham City Comic (print version of the 5 digital comics)
• WALMART- $ 10 egift card

Congratulations. If you managed to get through all of that and make it to the other side unscathed, you get your baby brother back and David Bowie will sing you a nice ballad.

The worst part of all of this? It isn't even the complete list. Several territories and retailers aren't even finalized yet, meaning that more layers of obfuscation will be added to the process before we even get within punching distance of playing this game. We've reached out to WB Games for any info as to whether these pieces of content will become paid DLC in the foreseeable future or not, but as of yet have not received a response. I'll update this story if they get back to us.

(Thanks to whatisdelicious for sending this in!)

Whenever I have a conversation with someone about Atlus and the games the notoriously niche publisher puts out, the conversation always devolves into some permutation of, "Yeah, but how do they make money?" For as great as many of Atlus' titles are, the company almost exclusively deals in oddball Japanese role-playing nonsense that treads pretty far off the beaten (mostly beaten by Square Enix) path of games that American audiences acknowledge the existence of, let alone actively want to play.

After reading today's news that Catherine, the Q*Bert-meets-anime/mumblecore game Atlus mostly recently brought to American audiences, sold 200,000 units in its first week of retail. Now, to be fair, this information comes from Atlus' Twitter feed, and specifically from a picture of a cake. In celebration of the milestone, this cake had the sales numbers emblazoned in icing for all to see.

Unfortunately, as we all know, cakes are by far the most unreliable of all desert treats, known for providing consistently apocryphal information and constantly double-dealing for the pursuit of their own nefarious gains. Perhaps if this information had come on some manner of pie, or spelled out in chocolate chip cookies, then we could rely upon it. But a cake? They're like the Robert Ford of deserts.

Seriously though, whatever you may have taken away from the experience of Catherine, it's always good to see games outside the mainstream norm of "shoot that guy" and "stab that dude" find success. Given the massive retail disappointments that were Child of Eden and Shadows of the Damned, this does at least give us some hope that Japanese weirdness can still succeed in America. Especially if there's marketing for it.

For the thousands of people far too embarrassed to admit they're still playing Duke Nukem Forever online, and the baker's dozen still clinging to Homefront's multiplayer suite as a mother cradles a sickly child not long for this world, there is great news: you're getting more multiplayer maps.

THQ announced yesterday afternoon that Homefront would be receiving a new pack, rather obviously titled "The Rock." Yes, this is the inevitable Alcatraz DLC that most assumed would be coming since everyone discovered there was a level set in San Francisco. Anyone who has seen Michael Bay's identically-titled magnum opus knows that a game set in San Francisco without a sequence featuring people fighting it out on the city's abandoned island prison is simply incomplete. It's like setting a similarly apocalyptic game in New York and not featuring the Statue of Liberty in some state of disrepair or destruction as an all-too-obvious symbol of America's once prosperous status now in ruin. That's like Visual Metaphor 101, people.

The Rock map pack will feature two new maps, Alcatraz and Bridge (the latter likely a version of Homefront's final single player level, featuring the other distinct San Francisco landmark everyone always blows up, the Golden Gate Bridge), as well as two additions to the Team Deathmatch mode in older maps Overpass and Waterway. The pack will go for $5, and will initially debut July 28th (hey, that's tomorrow!) on Xbox Live exclusively, with PSN and PC releases to eventually follow.

Duke Nukem's new multiplayer DLC is coming a bit further down the road--thus far, all we have is a nebulous "fall" release date--but this offering does include a decent amount of content. In addition to four brand-new maps that parody other giants of the game industry (see if you can pick out what they're parodying in the descriptions below, as the subtlety of the comedy here was far too clever for my meager brain), Duke will also be getting a bunch of hats. Yes, hats. One of the maps, 2Forts1Bridge, features a bunch of hats, possibly as a method of parodying something in particular. Clearly, this makes up for the game's infantile sense of humor, dated mechanics, and mean-spiritedly misogynistic attitude. I know I'm swayed!

Here's 2K's full descriptions of the new maps, as well as the newly included "freeze tag mode."

• Freeze Tag provides some of the most fun team gameplay in Duke Nukem Forever. Players cooperate to freeze and shatter their opponents in succession for huge point streaks and combos. See who can hold on to the babe the longest in Hot Potato and play free-for-all Duke style in Hail to the King.
• Call of Duke: Duke engages in modern combat in a war-torn city. Foes don’t stand a chance against the Duke when he spams the map with the N00b T00b.
• Sandpit: Players take the role of mini-Duke in a giant sandbox with two bases at either end made out of children’s toys. This map features Sticky Grenades.
• Inferno: Time machine engage! Duke does combat in a hellish landscape of lava and teleporters. Who turned on the 16-bit graphics, and more importantly, where did this DFG come from?
• 2Forts1Bridge: Hats? Duke doesn’t need no stinking hats. Give him a minigun and he’ll beat off all comers.

Just a quick reminder that someone was paid to write those lines. Probably actual money, too.

During TNT, we had to enable the two-day temporary access to Mortal Kombat's multiplayer. With the PlayStation Store still down, if you didn't register your "Kombat Pass" prior to the great PSN crash of 2011, you're screwed.

Fortunately, Warner Bros. and NetherRealm Studios have heard your cries. The companies announced on Facebook that the Kombat Pass is being temporarily waived.

"Due to the recent PSN outage," reads the statement, at nearly celebratory likes, "Mortal Kombat for PS3 will now be playable online without need for the Kombat Pass. This is a temporary solution that will only be available while Playstation Store is unavailable. Once PlayStation Store is back up, users will be able to enter the Kombat Pass code included with Mortal Kombat or purchase a Kombat Pass for $9.99."

Sony's told developers the PlayStation Store should be back next week, so it's rather nice of everyone involved with Mortal Kombat to cut PlayStation players a break while Sony irons out the last kinks.

I'd also like to point out the incredible restraint it took to not drop random k's around this article.

Starhawk has been rumored for ages now, with several E3s having come and gone without nary a mention of its existence. No longer. Unlike Modern Warfare 3, Sony was able to officially announce their project, basically a sci-fi Warhawk, and being developed at LightBox Interactive for next year.

Unlike Warhawk, Starhawk is not a multiplayer-only experience, with Sony and LightBox promising a "full-fledged" single-player mode. At one point, Warhawk was going to have a campaign (remember the teaser?) but development stumbles found that on the wayside, in favor of emphasizing multiplayer.

Some of the original rumors about Starhawk suggested players would be quickly transitioning between land and space-based battles, but the press release points towards more grounded confrontations, while calling in reinforcements from a drop ship in the sky. The battle environment itself is dynamic, with the ability to drop buildings, vehicles and weapons in real-time. LightBox is calling this Build & Battle.

There are plenty of options, both offline and online, too. Up to 32 players can fight simultaneously, with up to four-player online and offline co-op, and even though most games have ditched the feature, Starhawk will include split-screen. As one of the few still using split-screen, thank you, LightBox.

I wonder when we might learn more about Starhawk? Oh yeah, that E3 thing.

In case you missed it, Nintendo representatives brought a train of pretty ladies to our office on Tuesday to make a show of the delivery of our very first Nintendo 3DS. It's the Cosmo Black version, to be specific. After failing to lock any of Nintendo's hired help in the dungeon that lurks in the back of our bar, we tore into the system to quickly look at its menus and features. You can relive the magic in this video... 
 

I promise.