All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

Relive "Zelda for adults" in high-def.

#giveaway As the holidays loom in the ever decreasing distance and the world economy continues to wallow in the dumpster, we thought it might be a great idea to start giving some stuff away to you, our readers. More »

Eric Chahi, designer of the action-adventure classic Out of This World and Ubisoft's upcoming downloadable god game From Dust, has told Joystiq that sales of his latest creation will determine if it receives additional modes and content. "For the first release, it will be a solo experience," Chahi told us, explaining that, "We plan to have a major release where we can enhance the experience by adding an editor and a multiplayer mode, if the success is there."

"Xbox Live Arcade, PSN and Steam are good for us because we can offer the solo experience priced around 15 Euros or so," he added. "Then if it works we can enhance it in those ways I mentioned."

Chahi confirmed that he has "many ideas" for how to expand From Dust, and that multiplayer and others already exist in some stage of development. It's good to know we weren't alone in thinking there's nothing wrong with a volcanic eruption or tsunami between friends. Chahi's latest game hits in 2011.

Prepare for battle.

Take a look at the cars of NASCAR 2011.

Leading the charge of what Ubisoft is calling "companion games," Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy will launch on Facebook tomorrow, October 1. The strategy title, described as being similar to Mafia Wars, will "unlock extra content" in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, which hits on November 16, in addition to providing a way to gain bonus XP in the console game.

On the flipside, playing Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood will "unlock up to 25 exclusive missions" in the Facebook game, as well as experience and in-game currency. It's what Ubisoft is calling a "virtuous cycle." Hey -- isn't that what Big Boss went on in Snake Eater? Oh. Guess not.

Ubisoft announced at its 2010 Digital Day event yesterday that DLC is inbound for Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game in November to coincide with the film's release on DVD and Blu-ray. The content will include a new playable character, Knives Chau, along with two new modes, a free-for-all arena battle with weapons (a sort of "lite" version of Super Smash Bros.) and dodgeball. The asking price will be $1.99 on PSN (160 Microsoft Points on XBLM).

At the same time, a patch will be issued to address difficulty balancing (making "average joe" a little more forgiving), squash several bugs and introduce drop-in/drop-out co-op. The latter will be for offline play only; when asked, Ubisoft said there are no plans to incorporate online multiplayer into the game, nor any further DLC for this stellar beat-'em-up.

Players can transfer their Drift City accounts from Ijji.com and check out all the high-octane updates to the popular driving MMORPG.

Colonists can fly, float and speed in the vehicles they have always wanted.

#controlissues Datel's completely unauthorized TurboFire2 wireless Xbox 360 controller not only directly connects to the Xbox 360 without a dongle, you can connect it to your PC to apply "custom controller enhancements." Microsoft should sue! Oh wait. More »

PC multiplayer Open Beta available for download starting October 1.

See Monkey Ball on the 3DS.

It would seem that DmC: Devil May Cry is really going the distance with the reboot concept -- to the point that Ninja Theory's upcoming stab at the series will employ a completely different game engine than DMC4. The developer confirmed on its forums that Dante's next adventure will be powered by Epic's Unreal Engine and not Capcom's go-to multiplatform development suite, MT Framework; which has powered many of Capcom's premier titles this console generation, including the last DMC game.

To date, only internal Capcom studios have created games with MT Framework, but the company has said it's willing to share with external studios. Earlier this year, Capcom published its first Unreal Engine 3 game in Airtight Games' Dark Void.

[Thanks, original fred]

Put on your hard hat and join the Demolition Company.

Freeze Tag's successful Mystery Series debuts its second title showcasing the critically acclaimed novel by Wilkie Collins - The Woman in White.

#polyglot Fact: Many of the most important moments in my life have been marked by Antonio Carlos Jobim's wonderful song, The Girl from Ipanema. That song seems to drift through my best moments. More »

MMO company to be acquired.

Get your name in the game.

Hello delicious humans! We appreciated the positive response to our last entry at PlayStation.Blog about Tales from Space: About a Blob. Since then, we’ve been working hard on the game’s levels, bosses and powers.

If you don’t already know, in Tales from Space: About a Blob you take on the role of a tiny space blob that lands on Earth. What’s special about this particular creature is that he can eat anything smaller than him, which in turn allows him to grow. As the blob grows he can eat larger and larger objects. The player’s goal is to find their way through all the levels and eventually eat the world.

We recently came back from the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) where lots of people got a chance to play the game for the first time. The feedback was great, and we were extremely happy to see friends and couples have so much fun playing together in co-op. In Tales from Space: About a Blob, two players can play simultaneously and interact by climbing or jumping off one another. Although the goal is for the blobs to work together, players can choose to attack or push each other around if they want, and can compete to see which player is better at destroying the world. Around the office, people usually ping-pong back and forth between working together to solve puzzles, then messing each other up near obstacles or enemies.

Many people asked us which platforms the game will be coming out on. At that time we couldn’t really say, but we’re finally able to announce that Tales from Space: About a Blob is part of the SCEA Pub Fund program. This means Tales from Space: About a Blob will be a PSN exclusive.

DrinkBox Studios is a small independent company. When we started two years ago we three founders opened a bank account, pooled a little money, and hoped for the best. We’re still in our early days, and there’s no safety net. While it’s great to be able to control your own destiny, it can also be terrifying to look into the future and wonder how you’re going to keep the lights on.

Unlike most publishing deals, the SCEA Pub Fund lets us keep ownership of our game. It has provided us with invaluable input and feedback from Sony. Best of all it has let us plan for the future with confidence.

We’re extremely grateful for all the support from Sony, and we’re excited to finally be closing in on the end of the project.

Right now we expect the game to be available early in the new year, and DLC is planned to follow some time shortly thereafter. Over the next few months we’ll release more details about the levels, power-ups, and bosses in the game. If you’re interested, we invite you to follow the game on our development blog at http://www.aboutablob.com/.

Thanks for reading!

Those fish aren't going to hook themselves.

Over the past 24 hours, select members of the gaming industry peanut gallery have sounded off on Nintendo's recently announced launch plans for the 3DS. Many in the investment community balked at the high price and later-than-expected launch window, including Lazard Capital Markets' Colin Sebastian, who worries "shipment quantities to the U.S. next spring might be more constrained than originally anticipated." MF Global FXA Securities' Jay Defibaugh explained that those two qualms, combined with the devices apparent lack of 3G support, made the announcement a "worst-case scenario."

Though many analysts appear to share these concerns, EEDAR, which expects the handheld to come to the US in March 2011 at $249 to $299, disagrees. "The higher price point allows Nintendo to incorporate new features such as 3D movies, camera, and game support," EEDAR noted in a report received by Joystiq yesterday, later adding, "a 2010 Holiday launch would severely impact both the quantity and quality of titles that could be made available by November 2010."

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter predicts that the market will bear the relatively high price of the handheld, though he expects the cost to drop to $250 when it arrives in the U.S.. For more of Pachter's predictions for Nintendo's western 3DS launch plans, check out our interview with the outspoken analyst.

Bunnies and flowers for everyone.

SEGA announces Super Monkey Ball series in the third dimension.

#doublefineproductions When news hit that Ron Gilbert and Tim Schafer were working together again at the same studio, all thoughts seemed to shift to Monkey Island. More »

Unite the kingdom with these screens.

Kratos returns...

Get to the chopper.

Ultimate Collection offers exclusive content from BBC show.

The rumors are true. Activision is now publishing NASCAR games, after EA's abandonment of the racing license. As if to rub it in, the first Eutechnyx-developed racer has been named NASCAR The Game 2011. As in "the only game." ESPN revealed that Activision is acting as a distributor for the title, and the licensing deal is between NASCAR and Eutechnyx directly.

"[NASCAR] really got excited about this because this isn't some big publisher using some anonymous external developer," Eutechnyx's North American EVP Ed Martin told ESPN. "We are out there with these guys. We are working with not only NASCAR, but the drivers and the R&D center and the engine builders and everyone is really excited about the fact that we are right there with them. Eutechnyx owns the license, we're developing the game, and it's a dynamic partnership with Activision. They've been great to work with."

NASCAR The Game 2011 will be in stores in February 2011, for Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii.

#rumor While the public still does not know what the official release date will be for World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, online retailer Amazon indicated over night that the anticipated game expansion will be released in January. More »