All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

Halo 2 might be dead and gone on Xbox Live, but its memory will live on in Halo: Reach. IGN reports that remakes of the Midship and Ivory Tower maps -- renamed Zealot and Reflection, respectively -- will be featured in Reach. Reflection is apparently a very faithful remake, right down to the sniper tower elevator (perhaps known to you as The Column of Surprise Death), though IGN notes that the new hologram armor ability makes camping much more difficult. Zealot, meanwhile, retains the overall layout of Midship, but adds a third level that features lower gravity than the rest of the map.

A new map entitled Spire was also revealed for the multiplayer Invasion mode. This time around it features Spartans ransacking the Elites and, as the name implies, they must work their way to the top of a huge tower as each section of the map is unlocked. Check out footage of all three maps after the break, and be sure to tell us what other old-school Halo 1, 2, or 3 maps you'd like to see in Reach.

Map tweaks, bug fixes and more have just made the jump and are headed into action.

#psp Who's that Flying?! is a Playstation minis game described as a side-scrolling shooter meets tower defense (with courtroom drama and intrigue!) doused in sheer awesomeness… AND THEN SET ON FIRE. More »

Famitsu recently pulled the lid off of an upcoming sequel to one of last year's ... well, one of last year's weirdest games ever, Half-Minute Hero. According to Andriasang's translation of the reveal, the game will still place a heavy emphasis on hasty adventuring -- though time will now freeze while the player is on the overworld map, giving him or her plenty of time to explore the game's five RPG scenarios.

A four-player co-op mode, a quest creation tool and an "Infinite" mode which tasks you with toppling the game's biggest bosses in succession are also new additions. The best part? The sequel is titled Hero 30 Second, which should ensure no small amount of confusion amongst future video game historians. According to Famitsu, the game's tentatively dated in Japan for November 4, and is currently 77 percent complete, which is just mind-boggling in its specificity.

Come see what the creators of Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess have up their sleeves.

#trademarks EA files three new trademark registrations for Syndicate, further teasing us with visions of a downloadable online sequel to Bullfrog's classic real-time tactics game. More »

The first three episodes of Zombrex Dead Rising Sun, the movie inspired by Dead Rising and directed by Mega-Man creator Keiji Inafune, is now available on Xbox Live for free. More »

#patch Are you tired of no-good dirty griefers? Unable to recover from your drunken stupor? Do sliding doors attach themselves to your head? Rockstar has just released the Red Dead Redemption title update that will cure these horrific ailments and more. More »

The pickin's are a bit slimmer for this week's European PSN update than we would like, with the Gundemonium Collection and a demo for Modern Warfare 2 highlighting the playable releases. There's also DLC for BioShock 2, ModNation Racers and the third Marvel pack for LittleBigPlanet. Oh, and Tekken 2 gets added to the PSOne Classics storefront, in case you're filled with the kind of rage that can only be remedied by brutalizing a kangaroo.

Choose your platform to view the corresponding release list:
(Note: Continue past the break to view both release lists.)

New collaboration for free-to-play company.

Veteran independent director is third outside board member for casual videogames leader.

#psp Half-Minute Hero, XSeed and Marvelous Entertainment's delightful, experimental Playstation Portable role-playing game, is getting a sequel, according to IGN. More »

Use your whole body to battle evil.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of one of the most critically-acclaimed installments of one of the most popular film franchises of all time – Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. And this Thursday, August 4th, we kick off the celebration with the release of a slew of exclusive Empire Strikes Back content, available only in PlayStation Home.

Plucked straight from the iconic planet of Tatooine, the Cantina – situated in the spaceport town of Mos Eisley – is a rough and tumble intergalactic watering hole that welcomes only the toughest and bravest of souls (no Droids allowed!) From the Figrin D’an and the Modal Nodes house band to Wuher, the resident bartender, the Mos Eisley Cantina is an immersive environment that faithfully recreates one of the most memorable scenes from the Empire Strikes Back. Releasing alongside a score of items – including Chewbacca, C-3PO, and Leia Organa costumes – the Mos Eisley Cantina is available this Thursday via the PlayStation Home navigator.

While you are expanding your Empire Strikes Back experience by visiting the Mos Eisley Cantina in PlayStation Home and picking up the special Star Wars items (available from the LucasArts store in the PlayStation Home Mall), be sure to keep an eye on the posters throughout PlayStation Home’s Central Plaza during the next few weeks for portions of a secret voucher code. The first 10,000 users that assemble and redeem this voucher will receive a highly-limited Empire Strikes Back furniture item for their personal space. This item will only be available to those of you that participate in this ongoing scavenger hunt and will never be made for sale. So be sure to get in-world this Thursday to collect the first portion of this secret code and stay glued to this blog as well as the official PlayStation Facebook and Twitter accounts for more details surrounding future Empire Strikes Back events and content!

We wanted to take this opportunity to congratulate the winners of the ModNation Racers “Snap a Trick” contest, which we announced on this blog a few months back. We were inundated with entries, but have finally whittled it down to the top contestants. So, without further adieu, I ask that you join us in congratulating the following racers: ADRSKYLINE14, DTC_2010, FerrariThugs, kidd94, Mangus_Lorcan, ManiK, QCVic, silentkillerrei, and tbt924. Visit the ModNation Racers space in PlayStation Home this Thursday and check out pics of these guys and gals’ awesome kart tricks (here’s two of our favorite shots, just to whet your appetites)!

Finally, we wanted to draw your attention to a site ran by one of our hardcore PlayStation Home community members, Bandit731, who hosts a truly gorgeous gallery of photos taken in-world at the following site: http://photographyhome.tumblr.com/. Give the link a click when you get a moment and check it out for yourself – this user is very talented.

See you in Home!

There is no possible way we could ever prepare you for the Fable 3 opening cinematic awaiting you just past the break. Imagine the worst series of circumstances that could befall a chicken and you're on the right track. It's both incredibly inspiring and sad, with just a hint of The Little Mermaid tossed in for good measure.

#rpg Joel Haddock is not happy with modern role-playing games made in the West. Great things are missing, he argues, in a smart critique of today's Fallouts and Dragon Ages that we are proud to re-print here. More »

Fresh off the North American release of Sin & Punishment: Star Successor, Treasure is beginning work on another 3D shooting game. If you live in Japan and have strong programming skills, perhaps you could be among the first to find out what it is. By making it!

The news comes from a job listing on Treasure's website, seeking a programmer for a "new project '3D action shooting game.'" In addition, a cryptic image on the front page, advertising the job listing, looks like it might be some kind of hint.

Treasure has made four games in the past that would fit in this genre: the PS2's Silpheed: The Lost Planet, the licensed Dragon Drive: D-Masters Shot on GameCube, and the two Sin & Punishment games. It is, however, a company that usually expresses more interest in original games than sequels, so past games are not necessarily any indication of future plans. Perhaps it's the company's long-awaited Xbox 360 shooter -- although that one was originally meant to be 2D.

Award-winning indie puzzle platformer coming August 23, 2010.

Industry veteran joins Nexon to help streamline global finances.

#pc Torchlight, the surprise Diablo-esque hit of last fall, is getting a sequel this coming spring, according to developer Runic Games. More »

Sony and Polyphony Digital, both bolstered by their newfound ability to set a final (for real!) release date for Gran Turismo 5, have taken the initiative to reveal not one, but two special European editions of the game. The "Signature Edition" somewhat resembles the U.S. "Collector's Edition," and includes a fancy metal case, a miniature SLS AMG 1:43 model car, a USB flash drive, a wallet, entry into a contest to win a Mercedes Benz, vouchers for 11 DLC vehicles, a key fob, an art book, a driving strategy mini-magazine and an extravagant €179.99 price tag. (What are you going to put inside that wallet?)

If your magic, golden goose has failed to produce the fungible assets required to purchase this particular special edition, you might prefer to spring for the €79.99 "Collector's Edition," which includes a slip cover, some art cards, the DLC vouchers, and the driving magazine from the loftier edition. Think of it this way -- if you do decide to go with this less-special special edition, then you could also say it comes with a crisp €100, which is the best bonus ever.

Mediatonic is a small indie games studio based in the UK. Earlier this year we released the PlayStation minis game Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess!.

Today, I’m super excited to reveal the first details of our brand new PlayStation minis title — Who’s That Flying!? This summary from the games writer and producer Jim is a great overview on what you can expect:

You are the mysterious and powerful creature known only as the “Guardian of Earth.” Your steely eye and HYPER-POWERED LASER ARM have kept the citizens of Earth safe for generations (as well as proving a hit with the ladies).

With all your awesome TALENT and FLAIR, surely it would be IMPOSSIBLE for a sudden and devastating invasion of colossal Doom Beasts to descend on your cities and cause havoc without your knowledge? (Even if you were MAYBE showboating for a magazine photo shoot at the time…)

Now, you must not only defend your cities from the ravenous hordes of Doom Beasts, you must defend yourself against accusations of gross incompetence from the Galactic Council of Justice! And this is all BEFORE you can even start to get to the bottom of just who OR what is really behind the attacks…

It’s a side-scrolling shooter meets tower defense (with courtroom drama and intrigue!) doused in sheer awesomeness… AND THEN SET ON FIRE.

At the centre of the game is the Story mode, which follows the hero through 15 levels across six worlds protecting the Earth from the invasion of the Doom Beasts. Like our previous game Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess, the story mode in WTF?! features beautiful animated cut-scenes as you unravel the mysteries of the invasion. In WTF?! these scenes are set in the chambers of the Galactic council with the Guardian of Earth being interviewed on his actions.

The game’s core mechanic is a mixture of side-scrolling shooting and tower defense. As the hero you must prevent a certain number of enemies from escaping into the city in each level in order to save the city from the invasion.

As the ultra-powerful hero you’re both awesome and indestructible, but getting hit will put you out of action for a while — giving your enemies a chance to escape. If you let too many enemies past you, the city will be destroyed and you’ll lose the level.

In addition to the Story mode, the game has four different “infinite” mode levels and a special challenge mode with 25 unique challenges to tackle. We’ve managed to squeeze in a lot of great content.

We’ve finished the game and are currently going through the age-rating process, so at present we’re anticipating a launch in early September. For breaking news on the game as it happens you can follow us on Twitter.

If anyone has any questions I’m happy to answer them — just post them in the comments below!

Sleeper hit Torchlight is set to receive its first sequel next spring. At this rate, the dungeon-crawling digital distribution darling may release its third entry before Diablo 3 even begins to stir from its long development slumber.

The big change this time out for the dungeon crawler will be online co-op. Runic Games notes that the game will feature a free peer-to-peer matchmaking service to "meet new players of a similar level and interest." And this time around, the world will include "expansive" randomized outdoor environments -- don't worry, the dungeons are still there -- along with "random instanced and persistent dungeons." Expect new monsters, weather effects, a new story and LOOT!
Torchlight 2 will be playable at GamesCom later this month in Germany and at PAX Prime (Seattle) in September. The game will "initially" launch as a downloadable title in Spring 2011.

#fable For those who simply cannot wait until they play the game, here's Fable III's cinematic intro sequence. Compulsive chicken-kickers, this one goes out to you. More »

#tomonobuitagaki Tomonobu Itagaki, the cigarette smokin' and hard drinkin' game designer behind Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden, has something to say. He would like to say he's sorry. More »

#art They may be known as Studio Liverpool today, but there once was a time British developers Psygnosis were responsible for the greatest video game covers of all time. More »

#lego Were one game from 2010 selected to be turned into LEGO - and Mass Effect 2 turned down the chance - I'd like to think that Red Dead Redemption would be next in line. More »

Xseed's thirty second RPG returns with an edit mode and improved multiplayer.

#clips As Kotaku has previously posted, Namco Bandai has erected a 1/1 scale Gundam near the company's Gundam figure factory in Shizuoka. More »

#starcraft I've clicked on a lot of Thors in my time with Starcraft II, but I've never heard one talk back to me like this one does at around the 1:00 mark. More »