All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

There's a thought that's been lodged in our mind ever since we saw Christopher Nolan's psychological action-heist blockbuster, Inception: "Man, all these layers of unreality would make for a pretty great video game." Now, we're not sure if that idea came to us naturally, or if it was smooshed in there by a small crew of impossibly attractive heroes, but we don't seem to be the only ones who had it -- Nolan recently voiced his desire to turn the film's universe into a video game during a Rome press conference.

"[What] we are looking at doing is developing a videogame based on the world of the film, which has all kinds of ideas that you can't fit into a feature film," Nolan explained. "That's something we've been talking about and are looking at doing long term, in a couple of years." That sounds promising, but we feel compelled to inform Mr. Nolan that Tim Schafer and Double Fine beat him to the punch, like, five years ago.

Still, the film's impressive take at the box office ($753 million so far) might give an interactive follow-up a large, interested audience. Oh, and the fact that a game wouldn't be pressured into launching alongside a movie (this one would be years late!) would be the source of more ... optimism than usual.

Hi all – Here’s this week’s PlayStation Store digital comics update.

Dragon Age is back with issue #3 today! After a family tragedy, Gleam and her two brothers go on the road to find the killers and attract some very, very unwanted demonic attention. The suitably epic story should please all fans of fantasy, particularly fans of the Dragon Age game: created with the support of the BioWare team, this comic adaptation allows them to delve deeper into the Dragon Age world and its intricate history and dynamics – with all new stories! Read more from Aaron Johnston, the series’ co-writer, and his love for the Dragon Age world here.

The weekly Silent Hill comic tradition continues with Silent Hill: The Grinning Man. In this stand-alone story we meet State Trooper Robert Tower, who has patrolled eerie Silent Hill for ten years while managing never to see its demonic inhabitants. As you can guess his luck is about to change… with the arrival of the gun-slinging double-barrelled terror Grinning Man. Illustrated by Nick Skatal (Hyde, Containment) and penned by Silent Hill favorite Scott Ciencin.

We also have an oldie but goodie series starting this week: the master of mutants himself in his first solo series, Wolverine (1982). Written by comic legends Chris Claremont and Frank Miller, Wolverine (1982) brings you the usual Logan mayhem, intrigue, and even romance! Issues #1 and #2 see Wolverine travelling to Japan to join the master of ninjas and to hook up with the infamous ronin Yukio.

DC Comics bring us many cool comics this week (see the list below), but today we focus on the quirky and popular series Victorian Undead. “Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth”, said Sherlock Holmes. So what will he make of a Biblical proportion zombie plague, slowly destroying Victorian London? Follow his investigation and admire his zombie-dodging skills in this fast-paced mini series, of which issue #4 is out today.

And finally we’re pleased to announce the Transformers: Spotlight series continues with Blurr and Jazz! Blurr is faced with a decision that could change the face of Cybertron (and not for the best), and Jazz gets tracked by the Predacons, in a situation that goes from bad to hopeless. These are the 21st and 22nd installments of the expansive Spotlight series, so check out the other issues to find your other favorite characters.

Don’t forget to check out our free comics section, where you will find new additions Dual #1 and Supertron #1… and many more! In the meantime, here is the full list of releases:

Here’s the full list and as always head to www.playstationcomics.com for more info or to view our full catalog and pricing.

• 2000AD Prog # 1698
• Batman #655 & #656
• Blood Hunter # 3
• Bone # 5
• DMZ # 23
• Dragon Age # 3
• Dual # 1
• Ex Machina # 10
• Fables # 25
• Growing Up Enchanted # 4
• Hulk (2008) #1 – #4
• I Rule The Night # 2
• Jonah Hex # 23
• Justice League: Generation Lost # 10
• Planetary # 12
• Raising Amy # 5
• RASL # 5
• Sandman # 2
• Silent Hill: The Grinning Man # 1
• Sonic Universe #11 & #12
• Starcraft # 5
• Superduck # 17
• Superman/Batman # 29
• Supertron # 1
• Transformers: Nefarious # 6
• Transformers: Spotlight #21 & #22
• The Travels of Marco Polo or the Milione #3 & #4
• Victorian Undead # 4
• Welcome To Tranquility # 4
• Witch & Wizard # 3
• Wolverine (1982) #1 & #2
• Y: The Last Man # 8

Already tired of the mundane "shoot aliens" game in Halo: Reach? Thanks to this video from Achievement Hunter, you can move onto "Reach Racer," a two-Warthog racing game buried in Reach. Accessing it is as simple as getting two players to certain spots in ONI: Sword Base. Find out exactly how it works after the break.

With Castlevania: Lords of Shadow only two weeks from launch, we spoke with producer David Cox about rebuilding the franchise for a modern audience. How did developer MercurySteam look to overcome the failures of past 3D iterations of the franchise? And what role did Kojima Productions play in the creation of this new Castlevania? Cox reveals how Kojima urged him to redesign a once "barbarian" Gabriel and how the game was nearly canceled a year into development in our conversation below.

Joystiq: How did poor critical reception of past 3D Castlevania games influence perceptions of this project? How did you pitch this game to senior Konami management?

David Cox: I think there was always a desire to make the game 3D. I think people thought that in order to attract a mainstream audience, it had to be a 3D game. I personally love 2D games, but the fact is the market for 2D games is tiny. Most people want to play a 3D action adventure game with impressive visuals, etc. etc.

I think for us, one of the things we found in hindsight is that the previous games tried to emulate the 2D games -- basically: turn the 2D games into 3D. We felt that wasn't the way to go. We felt the way to go was to boil down Castlevania to its core tenants, and create a 3D game from there. Sure, it's a brave decision, but we needed to be brave, and we needed to have the freedom to do what we wanted to make.

MySims Sky Heroes may be a cutesy E-rated air combat game, but that doesn't mean a cameo by USG Ishimura survivor Isaac Clarke is out of the question. Like a modern-day Joe Camel, kid Clarke appeals to the developing, malleable gray matter of children playing MySims, building brand-awareness of M-rated franchise Dead Space.

Don't worry, the video after the break is innocent enough, but Clarke saving cats it about as ridiculous as Kratos playing golf ... oh, bad analogy.

Is this the last major DS push before 3DS?

Is this the last major DS push before 3DS?

Is this the last major DS push before 3DS?

#clips Meet Rambi, the rideable, sleepy-eyed rhinoceros who doesn't mind stepping on a few thorns in the name of giving Donkey Kong a ride in Donkey Kong Country Returns for the Wii. More »

A portion of the NintendoLife review: It’s disappointing that Plok didn’t sell well, because it was, and still is, one of the best platformers without a well-known character out there. Even Shigeru Miyamoto supposedly loves the game. Its only real disappointing aspect is the lack of a save feature or password system, requiring you to beat [...]

Is this the last major DS push before 3DS?

The App Store has been good for mobile publisher Gameloft, as the company announced it's sold over 20 million games through the digital distribution network. The company claims that of the 47 iPhone and iPad games it launched this year, 42 reached the top five grossing list on the store, with 25 hitting number one. The publisher has released 100 games since the App Store launched in July of 2008.

Although Gameloft didn't translate those unit figures into dollars (or Euros, as would be the case with the French company), the company's financials have shown significant increases over the past couple years. In July, it reported an 11 percent rise in sales during the first half of 2010 compared to the prior year, and a whopping 113 percent increase on the App Store in the second quarter. So, yeah, Apple's been very good to Gameloft.

#haloreach Those who preordered Halo: Reach from GameStop got a code for a nifty suit of armor. This code was, technically, free. Some guy's been selling them on eBay, for close to and even more than the game's retail price. More »

It's the most wonderful time of the year.

Quit your job, abandon your family, and get ready for all of these titles.

Find out why fall is once again the best time of the year.

Looky what dropped into my inbox this morning? A new trailer confirming Rambi as a playable character! Impressions from my hands-on demo coming soon.

#hollywood Turning the solitary world of PlayStation 2 classic Shadow of the Colossus into a movie, as some people are attempting to do, is a tricky prospect. How to turn a series of 16 battles against giant furry foes into a two-hour film? More »

Millions of gamers around the globe are counting down the days until Capcom’s zombie apocalypse action title known as Dead Rising 2 releases for the PlayStation 3. And if you count yourself amongst the legions of players that simply can’t wait another moment to gear up as Chuck Greene and begin hacking and slashing their way through waves of undead adversaries, you can log into PlayStation Home this Thursday, September 23rd and get a taste of the Dead Rising 2 experience. Head to the PlayStation Home Mall to pick up the hilarious Dead Rising 2 costumes (for both the guys and the gals) and load up on iconic weapons from this highly-anticipated game (Knife Boxing Gloves? Check! Paddlesaw? Check!).

After you’ve added the Dead Rising 2 items to your collection, be sure to shoot on over the Estates store to pick up the newest addition in our line of luxury personal spaces – the Lake House. This spacious, extravagant, and modern waterfront estate comes complete with awe-inspiring views and is arguably the hottest space on the proverbial block for hosting your next party. Check it out for yourself in this quick fly-through video we made for you.

 
If you want to take your personal space into the 22nd century, our friends over at Lockwood are offering you a full-on teleportation device that you can place at will in the personal space(s) of your choice. With the Sodium Telepad, you can zap yourself hither and thither with ease. Pick up this next generation relocation device come this Thursday from the Sodium store.
 







 

AlphabeTees fans will be stoked to learn that new additions to this wildly-popular social trivia game will be released later this week. The CalculaTees expansion pack includes numbers from 0-9 (plus a decimal point) and will add more options for the ongoing AlphabeTees/CalculaTees contests where PlayStation Home users and their friends answer daily trivia by spelling out the answer with their clothing, taking a group photo, and then uploading directly to the AlphabeTees competition entry portal (located under the Central Plaza Jumbotron). The winning entry is then shown on the Central Plaza Jumbotron screen the following day. You can grab the CalculaTees expansion pack this Thursday, September 23rd from the Threads store (just look under the VeeMee tile).

In other news, the PlayStation Home Theater will be hosting a behind-the-scenes/making-of Heavy Rain video starting this Thursday. Visit this screen to watch this awesome video and unlock a special Heavy Rain reward. When you’re done, head to the Costumes store in the PlayStation Home Mall and load up on our new, all-original costumes (the male and female 8-bit costumes are personal favourites).

See you in Home!

There's one thing I'm sure of about Mega Man Universe: I want to like it. For one thing, it's a Mega Man game! I like it when those are good. For another, the concept of making your own Mega Man stages and playing them with cobbled-together heroes or other Capcom characters is a total slam dunk. I'm just ... not really sure about anything else.

The major hook for Universe is that you can build your own avatar out of various Mega Man, boss, and other character parts (Capcom wouldn't say exactly how you got them). The demo build included multiple premade Mega Mans, including one in the style of Keiji Inafune's drawings and one resembling the style of the dopey space ranger from the Mega Man box art. Each one has different attributes in terms of health, speed, jumping ability, etc. You can further augment these abilities by changing parts.

Autumn's a big part of the gaming year. Check out which Wii titles you should be watching.

What sort of DS titles should you be saving your pennies for this Autumn?

Our friends at Nintendo wanted us to kick off the party a bit early, which is why they sent over a Wii Party press kit today. Check out all the goodies inside! function getVideo() { var so = new SWFObject("http://cdn.springboard.gorillanation.com/storage/xplayer/yo033.swf", "mplayer", "420", "340", "8", "#000000"); so.addParam("wmode","transparent"); so.addParam("swliveconnect", "true"); so.addParam("allowscriptaccess", "always"); so.addParam("allowfullscreen", "true"); so.addVariable("pid", "goni001"); so.addVariable("siteId", "485"); so.addVariable("videoId", "198391"); so.addVariable("autostart", "false"); so.addVariable("file", "http://cms.springboard.gorillanation.com/xml_feeds_advanced/index/485/3/198391/"); so.addVariable("pageUrl", document.location); so.write("flashcontent_485_goni001_single_198391"); } getVideo(); You can also [...]

#clips How do you update one of the most beloved multiplayer console shooter experiences without ruining it completely? The devs at Eurocom show us how it's done in this behind-the-scenes video. More »

When Codemasters releases Dirt 3 next year, it'll arrive with a new type of event to participate in: Gymkhana. Gymkhana is a solo event in which drivers have a starting line and finish line, with a whole lot of obstacles to navigate and complex maneuvers to memorize in-between. By "complex maneuvers," we're taking backwards driving, drifting though figure eights and, in the case of the video after the break, doing doughnuts around someone riding a Segway. Yeah.

In fact, the star of the video, WRC driving ace Ken Block, is working with Codemasters as a consultant on Dirt 3, as he did previously for Dirt 2. After watching the frankly incredible video of him in action at L'Autodrome in France, we couldn't imagine anyone being better suited to advise the developer on how to recreate this stuff in-game.

Just in case Codemasters is reading this, here's what we're thinking for the Dirt 3 pre-order / collector's edition bonus: a ride with Block on a real Gymkhana run. Make it happen!

Can you spot the difference? Hit the jump to see what all the fuss is about. Europe first, North America second… Looks like Nintendo thinks some cleavage is okay, but clearly the original cover was showing too much…right?!

#podcast If you don't want the plot of last year's Bionic Commando spoiled for you, do bail out of the latest Kotaku Talk Radio at the halfway point. Otherwise, you may now listen to an hour of Civ/Halo/Bionic-Commando/DMC chatter. More »