All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

I’m pleased to share some exciting news involving our crafty, stitched-together character we all know and love – that’s right, I’m talking about the one and only Sackboy. Today, we are officially announcing that our cloth friend and all of his fellow Sack-people will be back for a completely new adventure in LittleBigPlanet 2, which will be released later this year for PS3!

LittleBigPlanet established the Play, Create, Share creative gaming genre and we can’t thank the fans and critics enough for the praise and support we’ve received. The game continues to grow and evolve, helped by countless players around the globe. In fact, the sharing nature of the game has become so embraced, it has attracted fans to publish more than two million levels to the PlayStation Network since the award-winning game was released!

To show you what you can expect from LittleBigPlanet 2, here’s an exclusive look at our spanking new trailer:

So, what can you expect from LittleBigPlanet 2?

First of all, it’s developed by Media Molecule, the extremely talented team that brought you the first game, so you know you’re going to get a special experience. LittleBigPlanet 2 will provide a whole new collection of tools and rules for fans to Play, Create, and Share, including an evolved approach to control and customization that has never been seen before.

LittleBigPlanet has always empowered users to create their own levels by utilizing the same tools as the development team. Now in LittleBigPlanet 2, we’ve upped the ante, giving players the ability to not only make better levels, but completely new games – think top-down racing games, multiplayer shooters, flying side-scrollers, RPGs, etc. The possibilities are really endless.

LBP2 will also have a loads of new features, including revamped graphics, a fresh storyline, added accessories and equipment for Sackboy, and much, much more – trust me I’m only scratching the surface here!

It's slim pickings this week on the Nintendo Channel. Aside from the TV spot for Picross 3D above, there's only a handful of info videos for this week's downloads and a video of people reminiscing about Pokemon. There aren't even any new DS demos to check out. Come on, Nintendo -- throw us a bone! Preferably a DS demo-shaped bone ...

Head past the break for the full list of this week's content.

#wii For the Wii owner that demands an authentic Dragon Quest Battle Road Victory arcade experience at home, controller maker Hori offers this elaborate and very expensive... thing. More »

click to enlarge
Bizarre Creations is known for its racing expertise, honed in the great Project Gotham Racing series, and their latest title, Blur, is no exception. The arcade sensibilities of Bizarre's own Geometry Wars and the underrated (I said it!) The Club add a few new colors to the mix, but the driving is as solid as ever -- as you'll know if you've been playing the multiplayer beta.
The real key to Blur, though, is the much-discussed social features. Bizarre has more or less perfected console racing over all of its past iterations, and so when we were invited to Activision HQ last week to check out Blur's single-player components, the focus wasn't so much on the how of racing, but the why.

In addition to getting Remote Play support, Sony's VAIO computers will be able to act as a virtual keyboard for your PS3 system. The "Remote Keyboard" feature can be used in PlayStation Home and games that support the PlayStation keyboard. It may not be as portable as the official PS3 wireless keypad, but it should be far more comfortable. Although, we have some concerns over the questionable key mapping (image after the break).

Software support for PS3 connectivity is currently only available on the P series of VAIO laptops. If you can brave the Japanese website, and would like to try it out, download the software here.

[Thanks, Copland!]

Hello there! I’m Jordan Thomas, creative director of BioShock 2, returning with another PlayStation.Blog post to offer a few thoughts about the Rapture Metro downloadable content pack and the free Kill ‘em Kindly downloadable mode that we’re releasing simultaneously tomorrow, May 11th, 2010.

So, both of these DLC offerings are multiplayer-focused. The Rapture Metro Pack contains a rank increase to 50 and, when you reach it, you’ll win the opportunity to begin anew with Rebirth mode. This resets you to Rank 1 with a Golden Bunny Mask, and a prestigious indicator next to your name to taunt lesser organisms. But wait — there’s more!

If you make it all the way to 50 again, you secure the coveted Golden Bucket, which basically tells the world that you’re so damn good you don’t have to care.

More meatily, the Rapture Metro Pack contains six new playable locations from Rapture’s history, many of them offering a distinctly different tactical focus than the original set we shipped with in BioShock 2. Design lessons from the live release of the shipping maps have been taken heavily into account with these babies.

Let me give you the nickel tour:

Pauper’s Drop: The Hooverville-like shanty which sprang up during the construction of the Atlantic Express. With long sightlines and open courtyards at the center, the Drop opens up opportunities for honest-to-gosh sniping in a way that our release maps weren’t as focused around.

Dionysus Park: The single best example of the gleaming, Utopia-in-peril setting of the BioShock Multiplayer experience, Dionysus Park is an art gallery owned by Sofia Lamb. It appeared in the BioShock 2 single player component as a filth-encrusted, recently flooded garden of goop. But here in 1959, all that pain and decay have been peeled away, and it can be enjoyed in its original, golden splendor. Territory and security control feature prominently in the park’s tactical terrain.

Fontaine Fisheries: A key location from the original BioShock, the Fisheries were home to Fontaine and his gangland allies. It’s symmetrical in nature, with the icy freezers as the center of conflict. You’ll battle through dock areas, salt ponds, and more as you make shady new friends and then gut them like fish.

Fighting McDonagh’s: This is a zoomed-in, intimate look at one of the Fisheries’ most famous locations. The Fighting McDonagh’s tavern was the favored watering hole of the city’s underclass, who took the frustration of their broken utopian dreams out on each other in sponsored boxing matches. It’s dense and highly interconnected, serving up plenty of chances for a close-range ambush.

Smuggler’s Hideout: This cavernous, once-secret location was where Fontaine’s smuggling operation docked a private submarine and moved contraband into Rapture, daring Andrew Ryan to stop the people getting what they wanted. The bulk of it favors long range skirmishing, but it has a number of back routes and semi-secret tunnels to help you sneak up on snipers and ventilate ‘em.

Siren Alley: Shaped like a big, sexy donut, Siren Alley was the red-light district in Rapture. The looping path means it’s easy to find the action, and the footbridges and overlooks allow you to snipe from higher ground. Shortcuts through the interior flophouses give you a chance to bushwhack someone whether they take the high road or the low.

The Rapture Metro Pack also challenges you to earn three new Trophies, because hey — you’re going to want something to show Rapture who’s top dog.

Finally, let’s talk about the free Kill ‘em Kindly mode. This melee-only game is all about stalking the dripping halls with a golf club and looking for prey — and then bludgeoning all & sundry to death. You might also offer a pithy quip of some kind, espousing your personal philosophy to the sub-human lump of gristle who had the temerity to face you on the field of battle. It’s entirely up to you.

It’s kind of a playable in-joke for BioShock fans. I probably don’t need to explain why.

Did I mention that it’s free? Have fun!

#easports Publisher EA is extending its "Project Ten Dollar" scheme to make buying used copies of EA Sports games a bad idea. Don't expect to play your EA Sports games online without the "Online Pass" included in new copies. More »

#retail Three months after its kiosk partner bellied up, ending Walmart's first foray into used game returns, the retail behemoth is climbing back in the ring with another provider, and will offer more than just used discs. More »

Nintendo's viral-esque series of Super Mario Galaxy 2 promotional videos continues with a brief look at an odd flying minigame. In this racing segment, Mario woo-hoos through a course as he holds onto the legs of a "Fluzzard." The challenge, of course, is to win the race against a bunch of birds who aren't weighted down by husky plumbers.

Perhaps this particular Fluzzard flies faster, though, boosted by the assurance that its talents are useful to Mario. There are really only two fates for animals in the Mario universe, after all. If you can't be used as a vehicle in some way (like Yoshi, who is born wearing a saddle), you are doomed to being stomped to death. See the trailer after the break.

Filed under: Podcasts So, our iTunes feed is having a bit of a problem. You know it. We know it. We're working on it. With that out of the way, it's time for another episode of the Xbox 360 Fancast. This week, we talk about new Assassin's Creed, adorable father-and-daughter gaming habits and ... Voltron? Yup. Download it.

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (MP3).
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[RSS MP3] Add the Xbox 360 Fanboy Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically.
[MP3] Download the MP3 directly.

Hosts: Richard Mitchell (SenseiRAM, @senseiram), Alexander Sliwinski (Sli Xander, @xandersliwinski), and Dave Hinkle (KnifefightYaDad, @davehinkle)

Music: Intro/Outro: "Electromooq" by Uma Floresta. Break: "Ghost Pressure" by Wolf Parade.

For fans: Xbox 360 Fancast Facebook group

Bringing law and order back to the Wild West isn't for the faint of heart.

EA just announced the next step of its "Project Ten Dollar" initiative, one that's likely to affect a lot of people much more deeply than the allure of some extra DLC. Starting with Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11, out June 8, EA Sports games for PS3 and Xbox 360 will include a title-specific "Online Pass" that enables access to "online services, features, and bonus content." If the code has already been redeemed (i.e. if you bought the game used) additional Online Passes will be available for (you guessed it!) ten dollars. Each game will include a seven-day free trial.

The online services under the Online Pass vary by game, but an EA rep told us they can include basic online multiplayer, as well as group/league features, roster and playbook updates, downloads of user-created content (like Photo Game Faces) and tournament support.

We'd think GameStop would be most upset about this plan, given that it's basically the destination for trade-ins of last year's sports games toward the new model, but CEO Dan DeMatteo offers a cheerful quote in the announcement. "GameStop is excited to partner with such a forward-thinking publisher as Electronic Arts," DeMatteo said. "This relationship allows us to capitalize on our investments to market and sell downloadable content online, as well as through our network of stores worldwide."

#screebngrab Once every year the resort town of Cannes, France is transformed into a mecca of motion picture advertising, including this first look at marketing for the Kane & Lynch movie. As Twittered by Empire magazine. More »

I don’t think friend codes have anything to do with the battle with Apple specifically, but Nintendo surely has to fix this issue if they want to continue forward in the online gaming world. This is one of Nintendo’s biggest stumbling blocks when it comes to online play. Open up online for third [...]

Even for someone like me who hasn’t played Pokemon in awhile, I remember how damn annoying Zubats are. The things are everywhere once you hit a cave, and you’ll fight tons of them whether you want to or not. It’s part of the Pokemon experience that we wouldn’t mind seeing less of!

One of the strangest Minis we've ever seen.

High Moon Studios takes breaks down multiplayer characters in Transformers: War for Cybertron into four distinct classes represented by four different vehicle types. Are you a car, truck, tank, or plane? More »

Easily one of the strangest Minis ever made.

EA tackles used game sales with new one-time only code.

What does a video game producer do? Well, the brutally honest Jason Kim from id's RAGE summed it up for us. "I'm just a producer; I don't make anything that actually shows up in the game." So there you have it! Okay, we're kidding (slightly). It's a producer's task on a game to make sure everything is running smoothly, that schedules are being met, budgets being adhered to, all so that one day the game can end up on your system of choice. That's no small task.

Kim has been working on RAGE at id for the past several years, and has seen the project move from EA, to being an internally developed project at id, and now on to Bethesda. He's definitely enthusiastic about the project (and the word megatexture), and you can read on beyond the break for the full interview with him were he talks about the game, and why a lot of developers seem to be using the post-apocalyptic realm as a backdrop.

#teaser Join Ubisoft as they give rise to a new era, with a countdown website showing off fans, claws, and other implements of destruction that will likely appear in Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, masquerading as a website for Templar front Abstergo Enterprises. More »

#deaths Painter Frank Frazetta, best known for his striking fantasy work with characters like Conan the Barbarian, Vampirella and the original Death Dealer, died today at the age of 82. More »

As promised, Ubisoft has started its marketing efforts for Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. An e-mail from the game's Abstergo Industries barely attempts to extend the fiction into reality, linking to a Flash-filled Ubisoft promotional website. Presumably, the teaser site provides insight into some of the weapons that may be used in the sequel's new multiplayer component, including an axe, fan, syringe, dagger and claw. (Solve the puzzle on the website to unveil yet another weapon: the switch blade.)

Some concept art (placed after the break) is buried in the site, possibly offering a clue as to how the story of Brotherhood will unfold. We're pretty certain these are rows of Animus machines waiting to be activated, but perhaps you can provide your own conspiracy theories.

#clips Imageepoch's Arc Rise Fantasia is coming to the Wii in June courtesy of Ignition Entertainment, who's passed along this exclusive look at the characters and environments of the turn-based role-playing game. More »

Two additional DLC packs coming as well.

#column My current least favorite part of the modern video game is when it tells me to stop having fun for a few minutes so I can think about something. More »