#3d
If James Cameron, Nintendo and Sony have anything to say about it, 3D is the future not just of movies, but of gaming as well. I wonder, though, if they'd read the safety guidelines before getting so carried away. More »
#halo
A few years ago, Microsoft-owned Ensemble Studios, the team behind Age of Empires, was working on a Halo massively-multiplayer online game, code-named Titan. That project ended up a bust, and was cancelled by Microsoft. Here's why. More »
#screengrab
...just as much as Evil Dead: Hail to the King and A Fistful of Boomstick shouldn't have. Sadly just a fan art mock up, as seen on @armyoftrolls Twitter feed. An alternate animated GIF version, also for the fantasizing. More »
If you're wondering why Capcom sought the Canadian influence of new developer Blue Castle Games for Dead Rising 2, producer Shinsaku Ohara has a bit of insight. He told CVG that Capcom "wanted to do it better for a Western audience this time," saying that Dead Rising "was built in a very Japanese style."
Too Japanese, in fact, according to Ohara. Now, with the help of Blue Castle, Capcom is creating something that is "much closer to feeling like a Western game," in a collaborative process that is resulting in "crazier" ideas than before. Like duct-taping weapons together, or a zombie game show. We're crossing our fingers in the vain hope that the Servbots weren't singled out as "too Japanese" to find their way into Dead Rising 2.
Speaking to Eurogamer as part of a look back at the development of Halo 2, several Bungie staffers shared some revealing thoughts on the game's development. The end of development "crunch" was particularly difficult, with Chris Butcher noting that he would show up for work early and leave after 11pm "seven days a week, for months and months." He added that, while crunch time at Bungie has improved significantly, "The crunch on Halo 2 was, 'Oh my god, we're f***ed. We're all going to die."
The stress stemmed from a solid release date, which would see the game released just prior to the last major holiday season for the original Xbox. Still, Butcher said he prefers a deadline to the Blizzard / Valve "when it's done" philosophy. "The problem with 'when it's done' is that it would never have been done," said Butcher. He elaborated that the team was cutting features from Halo 2 within four months of the deadline.
Concerning the ambition of the original scope of the project, Butcher offers an interesting anecdote. "There's a famous drawing that someone did on a whiteboard in the team's space that shows a plane on fire trying to land on a runway, and people are jettisoning cargo crates out the back of the plane in order to try and get it on the runway," Said Butcher, adding, "Every crate has the name of a feature we had to cut .... In the end, we ran out of room on the whiteboard for all the crates."
Be sure to read Eurogamer's full piece, which covers plenty of other topics, including the reaction to the Arbiter and, of course, Halo 2's infamous cliffhanger ending.
#rumor
Nintendo's foray into bringing 3D gaming to the masses without the need to wear glasses may have a new hardware ally in Hitachi. The electronics manufacturer unveiled details of its new 3D-simulating display today, a potential Nintendo 3DS hardware contender. More »
Many more people should have picked up Kirby Canvas Curse….many, many more. This is one of Kirby’s best games, and it’s not even a traditional outing for the cream-puff. This sucker still shows us what the DS is capable, and more developers need to play it to learn that fact!
#coroporatewelfare
The bunch that brought you 2008 dud Too Human is now on the public dole, getting a $4 million gummint check the studio says will help it build its next AAA-game. More »
#metalgearsolid
The man in charge of all things Metal Gear, Hideo Kojima, is fully embroiled in wrapping up Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker for its summertime release on the PSP. But Kojima's mind has apparently begun to wander to his "next title." More »
#infinityward
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare developer Infinity Ward is a little bit smaller today, as one more longtime employee has left the embattled studio, officially a trend. Veteran programmer Jon Shiring has parted ways with the home of Modern Warfare. More »
#harmonix
Point of clarification: The tracklist for Green Day: Rock Band revealed this weekend included six songs labeled "DLC." These have always been available for Rock Band 2. A producer says there won't be any additional tracks released for this game. More »
While Sony's handheld is currently experiencing a bit of a software drought, the summer months should treat fans a bit better, with the release of games like Fat Princess, ModNation Racers, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Valkyria Chronicles 2 and Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep. Should these games still not satiate your handheld appetite, it appears Sony is planning on releasing at least 15 PSP games in the imminent future.
A recent update to the ESRB database showcases a number of games coming from Sony Computer Entertainment America, including Finger Connection, Homerun Hitters, Love Cupid, Busy Sweets Factory, Charge! Tank Squad!, Music Quiz, One Two Boat Racing, Pile Up Bakery, Pinball Duel, Quiz Animania, Ramen Heaven, Sheep Defense, Shogi, Sweet Reversi, and Tonzurakko. Most (if not all) of these games appear to be downloadable efforts, considering the simplistic quality of their descriptions; however, these games are unlikely to be part of PlayStation Minis, as they are rated exclusively for PSP. (Minis can be played on both the PSP and PS3.)
We're currently reaching out to Sony to see if we can find out more about these games, pricing and release schedule. Perhaps these will get a bit more pre-release attention than Pinball Heroes?
Here's something you haven't seen on The Tester, Sony's PSN-exclusive reality series: winning contestant Will Powers (aka Cyrus) receiving a novelty $5,000 check. We had a chance to chat with the next PlayStation game tester, who talked about his aspirations and why he decided to pursue such a difficult challenge for an entry-level job in the games industry.
Joystiq: What was life like at The Tester behind the scenes, when the cameras weren't rolling?
Will Powers: When we were awake, they were always rolling. It's just a matter of what made it into the final cut or not. Essentially, the dynamic of the house, everyone was really competitive. They set us up with a couple of PlayStation 3 systems and multiplayer games, and an air hockey table. It didn't matter what we were doing. We were always competing at something, which was kind of ironic. When we had down time from actual challenges within the competition, we were still competing.
#xbox360
The cooperative multiplayer mode in Fable II may not have been the role-playing game's highest point—it arrived late and had some notable limitations—but developer Lionhead Studios is giving birth to less compromised sequel, including the ability to get "intimate" online. More »
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