All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

EA Sports updates its Wii MotionPlus capable golf title with new controls and features. Here's a first look.

EA Sports' "Season Opener" event at GDC contained one major announcement for the developer's bevy of franchises: EA Sports Active will receive the sequel treatment this Fall with EA Sports Active 2.0 (working title), an updated version of the exergame for the PS3, Wii, iPhone and iPod Touch platforms. The console versions of the game will come equipped with two motion sensors and a heart rate monitor the player can strap to their arms and legs.

User information in this new game can be shared over an online social network, allowing fellow players to keep track of how frequently you've been skipping out on your demanding workout regimen. EA Vancouver is reprising its role as developer for the title. We'll let you know when we hear more about 2.0 -- like, for instance, why the game is apparently skipping out on launching on the 360.

Flip's Twisted World is a rare third party game that sets to do something original for the Wii. Yet strangely, it's gone almost completely unnoticed. While platformers are a dime a dozen, Flip's gravity-twisting gameplay offers a unique spin (get it?) that deserves a look. The "gimmick" at the heart of Flip's Twisted World is the player's ability to "flip" the world at whim, turning floors into walls, ceilings into floors, and more.

Majesco has released a dev diary for Flip's Twisted World that better explains its gameplay. It's easy to make comparisons to Super Mario Galaxy, but that's not really a bad thing, is it? Flip's Twisted World comes out on Wii this April.

The first tidbits of what to expect from this year's game.

New downloadable content coming from giants of rap.

We didn't see it in action, but EA has our attention.

Capcom has revealed the final new character for Super Street Fighter IV, and he's ... well, he's a giant dude covered in oil. Like, Hakan actually oils himself up before each round. This has the aesthetic effect of being extraordinarily off-putting, and the functional effect of allowing him to slide across the stage as if it were the Crocodile Mile. And since he's a grappling-type character, you get these really great squishing noises whenever he grabs another character.

See Hakan in action after the break, courtesy of IGN, and just try to imagine the design process behind this guy. Suddenly a green guy who can generate electricity sounds pretty low-key.

[Via PS3Attitude, thanks, Vallanthaz!]

Ready to frustrate yourself forever? Learn the game of Go. It's an ancient Chinese game that's over four thousand years old, and games can last up to 16 hours in tournaments. Sounds just perfect for an adaptation into the frenetic world of video games, right?! Well, your wish is granted. The Path of Go or How We Came Up With A Proprietary Name For The Public Domain Game of Go is being developed in-house by Microsoft at the likewise excitingly named Microsoft Research Cambridge division.

We played the game briefly at GDC, and it's actually very robust. It includes a tutorial where your avatar has some faux back and forth dialogue with an ancient Go master, in which he really does teach you the game. I tried reading an old instruction manual for a set of Go I found at a thrift shop once, and was so confused by terms like "ko" and proper stone placement that I just re-thrifted the set. Now, I'm ready to take on Russell Crowe in A Beautiful Mind and kick his ass.

Additionally, the game features single player or two player both locally and through Xbox Live, multiple backgrounds, and full 3D environments where you can control the camera. There's also an actual story mode in here, where you learn the nuances of the game in "beat the situation" scenarios while heading down a path. The ... wait for it ... Path of Go.

Want to decorate your virtual home with a knife-wielding monster, or an elusive sentient cactus? Of course you do. And for you, Square Enix is offering a selection of Final Fantasy XIII items for PlayStation Home starting this Thursday.

"Items to collect," the press release reads, "include a sofa, table, chair, shelves, planter set, Cactuar and Tonberry figures, and stuffed animals." You can see some of the goods with which you can festoon your nonexistent digs above. Square Enix didn't price any of them, but it ranges from 100 to 200 yen (around $1-2) each in Japan. It's a small price to pay for your very own Tonberry.

Watch the title screens for HeartGold and SoulSilver, cause you can't play it yet.

#gdc10 Pink-haired bounty-hunting cat-girl Kit Ballard is the star of Blade Kitten, a PlayStation Network platformer that's less furry than its 2D/3D platformer predecessors Crash Bandicoot and Klonoa, but very promising given the mental comparisons I made while playing the game. More »

Get ready to work those thighs this holiday

“Otenami Haiken to Ikouka” by Inushi Man, this would be a great idea. I’m just hoping Layton makes it into the next Smash Bros.. game. I don’t think it’s that much of a stretch!

I’m thinking that being able to zap people with electricity would be a pretty good side-effect of being mutated. I could think of quite a few good ways to use that power. I might end up in a jail for a few weeks, but it’d be worth it!

We know absolutely nothing about this game. No idea of the platforms it will hit, no word on the name, and no reference as to when it will be officially announced . Still, with all those uncertainties, we can see a quick glimpse of the game. Hit up the video below to check [...]

This year's Game Developers Conference has two new tracks for the new kids in town: the Social & Online Games Summit and the iPhone Games Summit. Facebook's Gareth Davis delivered the keynote for the former this morning, titled "How Friends Change Everything." With 400 million users, 200 million of whom are playing games on the service, it's pretty hard to argue with Facebook's bona fides as a seriously huge gaming platform. With components like Facebook Connect, we're even seeing Facebook functionality penetrate the historically isolated game consoles, like Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and even DSi.

While Microsoft trumpets the largely dubious distinction of being the "largest social network on television," it doesn't compare favorably to what most of us consider to be a real "social network." Outside of the Facebook integration, adding friends on Xbox Live is a largely manual process; one obfuscated by aliases instead of real names, the basic litmus test of a social network. Indeed, Davis thinks "real identities" are a major component to Facebook's gaming magic. Playing against real people is "much more compelling than playing against SharkBoy69," says Davis. When it comes to real identity in games, Davis says we're just "scratching the surface."

Infinity Ward community manager Robert Bowling has pointed us toward a new self-help website filled with good news: new maps are coming to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on March 30th. While the powers that be at Activision might have ousted the creators of the game, they haven't affected the delivery of eagerly awaited new maps.

People afflicted with mapathy, your cure is on the way. PS3 owners ... well, you'll have to suffer a bit longer. Have you spoken to your FAMAS-ist about a prescription?

[Thanks, Legion!]

The last new combatant in Super Street Fighter IV is revealed.

Not like we thought it slipped your mind, but if you’re in the San Francisco Bay area tomorrow, you’re invited to come celebrate the launch of God of War III!

And if you have the means to get here, do it – we have a history of treating our fans to extremely good times. And tomorrow is no exception as you’ll have many chances to win great PlayStation games and prizes, get autographs from members of the development team, create your own God of War III box, and much more. So whatever the means – train, plane, car, bike, rollerblades, horse, camel – get here tomorrow! There’s only one God of War III event and we don’t want you to miss it (In all seriousness, if you arrive on a camel, you’re getting something incredibly cool).

Check out our initial post for all the fine details, but here’s a quick recap. We’ve got a couple HUNDRED tickets for our very special community (that’s you!) to get you in to the amazing and mega-exclusive God of War III event, where you’ll get to go hands-on with the final version of God of War III, enjoy some epic food and hospitality, and watch a still-secret-but-guaranteed-to-be-super-awesome band perform.

And all you need to do is show up. But we HIGHLY recommend arriving early. The hands-on event doesn’t start until 7pm – so we’re setting up a community-only pre-event party that goes on all day. What does that entail? Free food from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m, awesome schwag giveaways and raffles, free wi-fi (In the words of Triumph, “For you to Tweet on!”), the chance to put yourself on the God of War III box, autographs and more! So if you haven’t already signed up, RSVP on our Facebook Page!

Important Details:

• The hands-on event goes from 7-10pm on Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at the SF Concourse Exhibition Center. The pre-party meet-up begins at noon (you’ll see our tent in venue’s parking lot). Directions here. Don’t even think of strolling up at 6.30pm – you ain’t getting in!
• Keep in mind that you must be 21 or older to get into evening hands-on event, but anyone 18+ (or with their parent/guardian) can come to the all-day meetup. ID *will* be checked!
• Parking is rough in the area, so try to take BART or Caltrain – both very close to venue.
• Once you’re in, you’re in — no ins and outs (don’t worry, we will have bathrooms). Unless of course you don’t want to stick around for the amazingly awesome hands-on event at 7pm. Then you’re free to leave at will…but you’re making a HUGE mistake!
• You must RSVP via this Facebook event invite
• Be sure to leave your replica Blades of Chaos at home
• You might wanna think about bringing your PSP ;-)

The End Begins at GDC…

"I'm Commander Shepard, and this is my favorite store on the Citadel." - English

"Jestem dowódcą Shepard, a to jest mój ulubiony sklep na cytadeli." - Polish (machine translation)

In a GDC 2010 session entitled "Localizing Large RPGs," which forms part of an ongoing localization summit, BioWare localization project manager Ryan Warden eloquently explored the revered developer's process of adapting a huge, dialogue-driven game like Mass Effect 2 for alternative markets and languages. It may surprise you to learn that BioWare's processes are significantly more elegant than hiring an army of workers to copy and paste lines of text into Google Translate.

With 450,000 words and 30,000 lines of voice-over in the English version, Mass Effect 2 demanded an active approach in its translation to eight languages, including Russian, Czech and Spanish. "Trying to manage this scope is almost unfathomable," said Warden. "For BioWare titles, we don't have the luxury of waiting for the title to be fully complete before starting localization."

The concurrent process was designed to provide as much information and context to translators as possible, allowing them to focus on the job without having to request further information for each new conversation. BioWare compiled a complete localization kit, complete with a pronunciation guide (that's crow-guhn, not kroggin!), an IP glossary, a collection of translator Q&A documents and an extensive character database. "Any time that a translator spends time asking questions and waiting for feedback ... that's wasted time," Warden added. The goal, he said, was to "eliminate any doubt in the confidence of the translator."

The previously announced Jalopnik DLC for Forza Motorsport 3 is now available on Xbox Live Marketplace. The pack includes 10 cars, which were chosen by the editors of Jalopnik.com, and include "some of the most coveted 2009 and 2010 models." The pack contains the following cars:

• 2008 Mazda Furai
• 2010 Jaguar #33 Jaguar RSR XKR GT
• 2009 Ford #40 Robertson Racing Ford GT Mk7
• 2010 Aston Martin V12 Vantage
• 2010 Porsche 911 Sport Classic
• 1992 Bugatti EB110 SS
• 2011 BMW Motorsport Z4 sDrive35is
• 2010 Audi TT RS Coupe
• 2010 Aston Martin Rapide
• 2010 Honda Mugen Civic Type-R 3D

The car pack costs 400 ($5), but you can also grab a sample -- the 2010 Honda Mugen Civic Type-R 3D -- for free. Head over to the Forza Motorsport website for more info on each car.

Shortcut: Add the Jalopnik Car Pack to your Xbox 360 download queue [Via Xbox.com]
Shortcut: Add the Jalopnik Sample Car to your Xbox 360 download queue [Via Xbox.com]

Everything we know about Civilization V.