(Register for Beta) Ever since I last played Genesis AD, I was hoping to see more sci-fi or futuristic Free to Play MMO release in the English market. However, the wait is a long one until Perfect World Entertainment revealed Blacklight: Retribution some months back. Developed by Zombie Studio using the Unreal 3 Engine and implementing DirectX 11 system, the game is sure to give its competitors, perhaps even the big names like MW3 and BF3 a run for the money.
GameSpot has also uploaded a new demo trailer not long ago, demonstrating the customization available for Blacklight: Retribution. I was told it has been some time since weapons can be customized in a Free to Play MMOFPS, hence there is much anticipation for the game.
Before I forget, Perfect World, the game's publisher, will be at PAX Prime this weekend showcasing the game with playable demos. How I envy the attendees... Mecha orgy fest this coming winter, I can't wait!
To add on, here is an older trailer from a few months back, displaying the DirectX 11 prowess found in the game. Free to Play for the win! More info can be found from my previous posts here (link).
Yeap, those are the characters from Kart Riders. But in China MMO powerhouse, Shanda Games's Crazy Shooting, they have actually exchanged their karts for guns. The game went into Open Beta earlier yesterday, hence I decided to give it a try. There are several modes available, including the Free for All, Team Demolition, Zombie Mode and the monster rush Pirate Mode.
If you look hard enough, I really suck at third person shooters (TPS). I have no idea why, but I managed to lose all the games I was in while recording the game footage. I blame it on the latency. That's all for this post. I hate third person shooters. Period.
(Official site) Razer just revealed its solution to save PC gaming, and that is by introducing the company's first laptop, Razer Blade. The jokes are floating around most gaming forums now, with most stating at the price of USD 2,799, PC gaming is now buried for good given the system's specifications (link)... or something along that line. Just visit your nearest gaming forum and read all the jokes about this product. I mean, really.
If you look closely at that little speck -- or open your favorite image-editing program and zoom, enhance, etc. -- you'll see God of War and Twisted Metal creator David Jaffe delivering PAX Prime's keynote speech. To be honest, I didn't really know what to expect; Jaffe's games never did much for me. But his hour-long talk was surprisingly motivational, despite Jaffe's focus on the fact that many of today's popular games didn't move him as they once did.
Oddly enough, a random viewing of the 1940 Jimmy Stewart film The Shop Around the Corner gave Jaffe an epiphany; he found it amazing that this 70+ year old movie could connect with him, even after decades of massive cultural change. He made it clear that games should have the same staying power -- all while admitting that the God of War series would likely be forgotten over the ages. All in all, a surprisingly humble admission from such a polarizing figure -- and even though he relied a little too heavily on F-bombs, I found it funny that said bombs were being dropped in a theater where The Shop Around the Corner could have originally played.
Two things struck me as odd about Good Old Games' booth on the PAX show floor: one, that they were doing well enough to afford such an elaborate setup (hey, dealing in retro games isn't exactly the most profitable business model), and two, that they hired a kindly old grandma to dispense cookies and perhaps valuable folk wisdom for those that stuck around.
I didn't grab any cookies -- my stomach was currently occupied by a horrible pastry hastily consumed in line for the keynote speech -- but I was pleased to see Good Old Games showing the youth of today that senior citizens can be active members of today's workforce. And if that kindly old woman had any hand in the recent GOG re-released Dungeon Keeper 2, there's an unsolicited shoulder-rub in her future.
While walking the showfloor, I came across this woman waiting to use the bathroom. She spent eighteen hours making holes in each corner of the cards, and then connecting them all. I wonder if she got any papercuts. Wait, those are Pokemon cards, right? Magic: The Gathering cards? Either way, I salute her.
When word made it out recently that VidRhythm was coming to iOS devices, Harmonix was quick to correct those who called it a game. The Rock Band and Dance Central maker wasn't willing to explain exactly what it meant by that, but it's much clearer now.
IGN has word on what VidRhythm is, and it's essentially an app that allows you to easily create a strange sort of music video. It's almost like the iOS app I Am T-Pain that takes your singing and autotunes it. The difference is that VidRhythm throws in video and limits your contributions to very short clips that are then synchronized and put together to make a song.
"Multi-track a capella videos and other kinds of synchronized 'video music' can be really entertaining," explained Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos. "It's a young medium with a ton of potential, and there's been a recent groundswell of creative activity in this area in pop culture. There are a lot of people out there now making video music, and some of the best videos have become big YouTube hits.
Fictional Sony vice president Kevin Butler has revealed on Twitter that he has left his position for a new (also fictional) startup, Economy Flooring.
Butler is a character played by actor Jerry Lambert. He debuted in a commercial for MLB 09: The Show in 2009 and has since appeared in several dozen commercials, most a part of the "It Only Does Everything" ad campaign. Each time he's seen, he has a new job title, typically the vice president of a non-existent department. He's been the VP of "Soiling Oneself in Excitement," "Apologetic Apologies," "Yes We Canada," and the "Director of Rumor Confirmation." He even showed up during Sony's E3 press conference last year much to the delight of those in attendance.
A Twitter account is kept in his name, and it's on there that a pair of unusual tweets were sent out earlier today. The first reads, "A man can only be made VP so many times, KB's off to be PRESIDENT of my uncle's new upstart company." That was followed by another that stated, "Thanks for all the well-wishes. Yes, as president of a flooring company I'll be hiring but please no job apps yet. Commercials? We'll see..."
One of the appeals of the Dead Rising games is having a huge environment to explore that's filled with all sorts of stores and places to visit. One of the things that can get in the way of the fun is the countdown timer that constantly pushes you along to get on with the next mission rather than give you the space to hit golf balls at zombies for 15 minutes straight. While some gamers are still upset that Dead Rising 2: Off the Record even exists in the form that it does, it will be bringing with it a much welcome addition in Sandbox mode.
When playing in this mode, you're free to explore the world without having to worry about a timer, the impending arrival of the military, or that daughter of yours and her need for Zombrex. Challenges scattered around will give you something to do if you don't want to purely walk around aimlessly, and by doing them you'll get money that can be spent at the pawn shop and elsewhere. Examples cited in today's announcement include "vehicle-based challenges" and "zombie massacre challenges." Pictured above is one that has you trying to stick a Servbot mask on as many zombies as possible.
Off the Record is a disc-based expansion of sorts for Dead Rising 2. It brings back the star of the first game, photojournalist Frank West, and adds what sounds like a lot of new content. There's the new amusement park area called Uranus Zone, and new weapons, combo weapons, clothing, food items, vehicles, and bosses, plus a new story.
One thing you can always count on at PAX is the inevitable presence of Pink Gorilla (formerly Pink Godzilla, which changed when Toho or whoever owns Godzilla now took offense of the lawyer variety). A well-known Seattle area game shop, Pink Gorilla specializes in import software and classic rarities; when those two specialties overlap, people like me can't help but salivate at best, walk home impoverished at worst.
This year is no different, and for once -- given the absolutely atrocious exchange rate between the dollar and yen the days -- Pink Gorilla's import markup seems pretty modest. So when you see things like, say, a gem mint copy of the exceedingly rare Recca: Summer Carnival '92 for Famicom...
...and the price is $375, you have to realize that you're looking at an amazingly hard-to-find 8-bit game in better condition than you're ever likely to find it even in Japan. A beaten up copy of this particular game goes for about 25,000 yen over there, which is about $325. It may seem strange to say this about a game that costs nearly four c-notes, but this is a pretty good deal. If you're into sealed, perfectly preserved games, that is. Me, not so much. I like playing them. And the appeal of Recca is definitely in the playing -- it's a masterpiece of 8-bit programming, a blisteringly fast shooter that does things with the NES hardware you never knew were possible. Seems a waste to leave it in the shrink-wrap.
Derek Yu, an indie developer who recently discussed his affection for Metroid games, is showing off the Xbox Live Arcade version of his cult hit Spelunky at this year's PAX. It's a brilliant little game that deftly combines two of the most damnably difficult classic game concepts imaginable -- Tim Martin's Spelunker and the entire roguelike RPG sub-genre -- to create a cool randomized action game that's as hard to beat as it is adorable. Yu himself was buried behind a small throng of fans eager to try out the new multiplayer features that are being added to the Live port of the game. Like The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, Spelunky's multiplayer seems to walk a delicate line between cooperation and competition, as players need to work together to overcome the game's ruthless difficulty while still working to come out on top. It appears the different characters available for multiplayer can be swapped in to replace the default spelunker hero in the solo game as well.
Yu is also selling a set of eight Spelunky miniatures, which -- as you can clearly see in these quick snapshots -- are completely adorable. I came to PAX this year determined not to buy anything, but these are putting my steel resolve to the test. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to squeeze through the masses surrounding Yu in order to inquire to about a release date for the game, but by all indications it's still TBA. On the plus side, the PAX demo makes it plain to see that all this time is being put to good use.
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LucasArts and Bioware have released a new developer-led walkthrough of the Eternity Vault. Watch as a group of players work their way towards the prison gates in the opening section.
In the latest Wizard101 Producer's Letter, Leah "Professor Falmea" Ruben likens creating a new game world (like the recently released "Wysteria") to making lasagna: All the steps have to be followed in the right order or the recipe is a disaster. The comparisons are hilarious and, for our money, right on the mark.
Square Enix and Akama have revealed the latest Wakfu class, the Pandawa, during this weekend's PAX convention in Seattle. Pandawas are front line fighters who prefer to keep it up close and personal. Folks visiting PAX will be able to get a hands on look at the Pandawa.
Turbine and the Dungeons & Dragons Online team have sent out several new screenshots from Update 11. The screens feature the Black Dragon, as well as House Cannith. Check them all out in our Dungeons & Dragons Online screenshot gallery.
Turbine and the Lord of the Rings Online team have released a new developer diary featuring Dunland which will make its appearance in the upcoming Return to Isengard expansion set to go live at the end of September. Check out the video below and the screens in our Lord of the Rings Online screenshot gallery.
The Age of Conan Unchained site has been updated with new information about the upcoming Savage Coast of Turan adventure pack. Turan is slated to be released on September 8th. Turan's early access bonus pack will be available for 2,000 Funcom points which includes an additional level 50 character option, and additional character slot, and a week of early access to the Adventure pack. It can also be purchased for 1,300 Funcom points with no early access.
Runic Games has announced the final playable class for Torchlight II. The Embermage will be making her appearance on the official Torchlight II page later today. In addition, Runic announced that Torchlight II will retail for only $19.99!
Dubstep videos have seen an increased amount of views this year. One of most recent popular dubstep videos is from Corridor Digital called 'Dubstep Guns'. The guns look similar to the ones in Ghost Busters.
Runic Games, Inc. ("Runic Games"), a specialized developer of PC-based interactive entertainment software in the United States, made two announcements this morning in conjunction with the Penny Arcade Expo 2011, beginning today in Seattle.
WildStar, a new online game developed by NCsoft's Carbine Studios, made its appearance at this year's Gamescom. When I first checked out the debut cinematic trailer of WildStar from Gamescom, I was more interested in this MMO.
ArenaNet released more PvE content at Gamescom 2011 as they had promised, but in my opinion they merely continued the epic style of Guild Wars 2 (short for GW2 below) and they still attached more importance to PvP.
If you have been tired of DotA, LOL, HON, and other Defense of the Ancients and Multiplayer Online Battle Arena games, but still love this genre, perhaps you can check out this one, Super Monday Night Combat.
Red Blood, a 3D multi-targeting action MMORPG under development by South Korea-based Gorilla Banana released a new promo trailer on its official site today. From the delicate graphics and smooth controls shown in the trailer, it seems the game is really worth waiting.
ARGO, a sci-fi MMORPG developed and published by South Korea-based Mgame, released its autumn version today. "Ropolis' Institute", a high-level and extremely hard instance, was launched in the game.
Victory: The Age of Racing, a fast paced realistic 'Formula One' style racing MMO published by GamersFirs, is now in closed beta test. The most 'unique' and 'defining' aspect of Victory: The Age of Racing is its incredible car customization options. Players can customize their cars in nearly infinite different ways.
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