All Topics older than one year ago

Almost two years late, and following a publisher change and multiple delays, Obsidian’s South Park: The Stick Of Truth is finally out this week. (Today in the States, Australia tomorrow, and Europe on Friday, because, sigh.) But has it been worth the wait? As ever, it’s complicated. Here’s wot I think:

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As you’ve probably read by now, cumulative PS4 sales have now surpassed six million units worldwide following the successful launch in Japan just over a week ago. It’s truly humbling to see the rate at which gamers across the globe are choosing PS4 as their next gen console of choice. Even more exciting is what happens when gamers power up their PS4s. In the United States, more than 90% of PS4s are online, enabling gamers to connect, compete and share their greatness with friends and fellow gamers.

There have now been more than 3.6 million live broadcasts, and more than 56 million spectate sessions on PS4 through Twitch and Ustream. In fact, since January 1st, PS4 gamers account for 20% of daily broadcasters on Twitch. PS4 owners are also embracing the Share button on the DUALSHOCK 4 Wireless Controller, with more than 100 million shares captured as fans show friends their latest achievements on Facebook and Twitter.

And soon, you’ll be able to share your greatness in new ways. Developers are beginning to take advantage of PS4’s new interactive live broadcasting gaming features, integrating modes that allow broadcasted gameplay to become interactive for spectators. Even as a viewer, you can now influence livestreamed gameplay.

For example, Dead Nation: Apocalypse Edition features a built in Broadcast+ mode where you can stream your gameplay while viewers on the PS4 or a web browser influence positive and negative effects during gameplay. More social feedback is on the way too, with Dynasty Warriors 8 Xtreme Legends in March and Daylight in April.

We love the enthusiasm that all of you have had for the PS4 since launch, and we can’t wait to share more great games, experiences and features with you soon. Greatness awaits!

South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone get deeply involved with The Stick of Truth, resulting a great RPG that's riotously funny.

Trey Parker and Matt Stone lampoon and honor the RPG genre with great (and hilarious) success.

Rhianna Pratchett is best known around these parts as someone who writes video games, but what does that actually entail? It sure is different to sitting down and writing, say, a screenplay, or novel.Read more...

Trion's MMORTS-turned-MOBA is as good as cancelled.

Even if you've never played it, you've probably heard of Asheron's Call. A pioneering MMORPG, it's been around for over 15 years now. And while it'll still be around for a few more to come, AC's developers have announced that they're ceasing work on the game.Read more...

Top-down images of Titanfall’s maps emerge, highlighting several key landmarks on each.

Check out the official site here
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So, the new Thief kinda sucks . Shame, but then, this isn't a feature about AI programming, or level design. It's about art, and the art for the game was great.Read more...

Brad braves poisonous swamps and really dirty looking water, I mean, just filthy stuff... all in the service of collecting those souls.

Hey, Pecking Order! It's been a while. So let's ease in with a ranking that's very dear to my heart.Read more...

Every day, in addition to The Daily Fix, we list off the day's biggest stories in this simple and easy to read format.

Most stories coming out of Double Fine are the type to make you smile , but here's one to make you shake your fist like a cranky old-timer. Read more...

Jerry’s Place VR brings the iconic set to life with Oculus Rift.

A portion of a Siliconera interview with Renegade Kid's Jools Watsham...

S: Cult County is a horror game, judging by the few screenshots you’ve released of it. How is that game going to differ from Moon?

JW: Cult County is a full-on survival horror experience. It doesn’t hold back in terms of mature content, and very much aims to disturb and scare the players whereas Moon Chronicles is more of a dark Star Trek or Battlestar Galactica.

S: When you say Cult County is a “survival horror experience,” do you mean it’s going to be a game along the same lines as Dementium, or are you aiming for a different style of game this time around?

JW: Yes, more along the lines of Dementium but with a stronger emphasis on story and characters.

S: Developing first-person games for the Nintendo 3DS is helping you stand out. Do you feel the need to branch out into more genres as more and more developers put platformers out on 3DS, or are you going to continue making those as well? Treasurenauts is expected this year, but I know Mutant Mudds 2 is on hold.

JW: We branch out into genres that excite us. It is definitely a very pleasant fact that Moon Chronicles will be the first true FPS for the 3DS, which is certainly a big coup for us. But, we will continue to develop platformers because we enjoy making them and feel that there is much more to explore in that genre.

The difference between Mutant Mudds and Treasurenauts is relatively large in terms of gameplay experience. Mutant Mudds 2 is on hold only because we want to finish developing Treasurenauts before we focus 100% on it. Mutant Mudds 2 is still coming and will have a lot of new and exciting content to offer the genre.

S: Since you were inspired by the Metroid series while making Moon, have you considered a 2D platformer that’s inspired by Metroid, or do you think something with an interconnected world like that is a little too large in scope for the time being?

JW: Yes, I have always found the Metroid approach to 2D platformers very interesting and would love to develop something in that vein someday. Maybe even something in the Moon Chronicles story-line!?

Placed after the jump to avoid spoilers...

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New owners of 3D Realms “not too worried” about Gearbox lawsuit.

Development on End of Nations has officially stopped. Trion Worlds first halted the game in late 2013, recently telling Video Gamer it is "currently focusing the company's energy and creativity on Rift, Defiance, Trove, ArcheAge, and some new projects that we will be revealing soon."

The game's website no longer resolves to any landing page and the last posts on its Facebook and Twitter pages were from August 2013, right around the time Trion Worlds shuttered its San Diego studio. At the time, the publisher opted to move development of End of Nations, along with that of Defiance and ArcheAge, to its Redwood City studio. It also named Scott Hartsman CEO of the company, who left his former role as COO of Trion Worlds in January 2013. [Image: Trion Worlds]

And there's not an expensive cinematic sequence in sight.Read more...

If the seven games debuting on PSN this month at discounted rates don't spice up Sony's Spring Fever sale enough for your liking, the sale will also include sales on four different franchises. Games and DLC in the Call of Duty, Need for Speed, BioShock and Grand Theft Auto series are on sale at varying points in March for all PSN users.

The sale spans five games in the Need for Speed series, each down to $9.99 ($5 for PS Plus subscribers) tomorrow through March 10. Those games include Need for Speed: Most Wanted on both PS3 and Vita, Hot Pursuit on PS3, The Run on PS3 and Carbon on PSP and Vita. The Call of Duty series continues on March 11 through March 17 and features a variety of game and DLC bundles for Modern Warfare, Modern Warfare 2, Modern Warfare 3, Black Ops and Black Ops 2. Both Black Ops games can be purchased together for $69.99 ($62.99 on PS Plus) as well as all three Modern Warfare games for $64.99 ($58.49 for PS Plus members).

Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto series rolls in next on March 18 with sales lasting through March 24. The sale knocks GTA 5 down to $39.99, GTA 4 to $5.99 ($4.79 on PS Plus) as well as a handful of other PS3 and PSP games in the series ranging from $5.99 each ($4.79 for PS Plus) to $2.99 each ($2.39 on PS Plus). Lastly, the first two games in the BioShock series will also be $9.99 ($5 for PS Plus members) March 25 through March 31. Those games are joined by BioShock Infinite's Burial at Sea Episode 1 DLC for $10.40 ($7.34 on PS Plus) as well as Columbia's Finest Pack and Clash in the Clouds for $3.49 each ($2.44 on PS Plus). [Image: Rockstar Games]

YouTuber RedKeyMon is back with more crazy GTA motorcycle stunts. One in particular stands out — landing his motorcycle on a moving plane. Read more...

Dark Souls is in everything now. In this cool piece over at Kill Screen, author Chris Breault talks to a handful of game developers about how From Software's seminal action-RPG has infected and influenced their games.Read more...

The developer outlined a list of problems it has fixed, as well as a list of problems it is still investigating.

Sony has announced that Fez will be available on PS4, PS3 and PS Vita from March 25 in North America and March 26 in Europe.

A Reddit AMA with Valve boss Gabe Newell, scheduled for today, never actually went down. It's instead happening tomorrow at 2pm Pacific Time. Read more...

I considered Marshmallow Peeps the pinnacle of the pure sugar delivery snack pack, a pure and simple delight that could not be improved upon. Sour Watermelon Peeps have proven me wrong — there is another. Read more...