College Humor reveals the 'Video Game Bosses' Lament'

We have to give it to College Humor, they know how to hold up a satirical mirror to video game conventions and culture. Whether to show the horror inflicted upon The Sims or the pervasive nature of l33t speak.

What's interesting about College Humor's latest video, "The Video Game Bosses' Lament," is that the site created a retort for the problems management had with the help two years ago. In "Bowser's Minions," from mid-2008, it's the hired help who have the last laugh. Anyway, if you want to hear management's issues, check it out after the break. But we side with the lackeys on this one.

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Tron: Legacy tests your games knowledge with Arcade Aid

Disney's upcoming sequel, Tron: Legacy, has been in full-on viral marketing mode via the Flynn Lives site for a bit now. Usually, we don't care about those kinds of things, but when something as awesome as Arcade Aid is attached, we just have to post it up for you guys. It's a pretty simple premise: spot all of the gaming references in a huge image and name them. Easy, right?

No way, dude. It's pretty tough to nail down all 56 references -- obviously, we got 'em all, because we're bloggers and it's our job to know these things. But, we thought it would be interesting to see you guys take a stab at it. It's not because we need help on a couple and we're hoping you'll solve 'em. Nope, not at all.

So bust out the brain lube and warm up that gray matter, then hit up the link above.

[Via geeksugar]

Super Giant Games: New studio of former Command & Conquer vets

A new company debuting at GDC 2010, Super Giant Games is largely comprised of ex-EA LA members -- you know, the guys and gals who made those Command & Conquer games you like so much. The new studio's project is something for "digital platforms," destined for a 2011 release. Sadly, there's no more info to go on right now.

The studio is on-hand at GDC with said title, so we've contacted them to try and schedule a visit.

[Via Big Download]

Naughty Dog wants to half-tuck Uncharted into the PSP

Naughty Dog's co-president Evan Wells is definitely interested in having people tuck Nathan Drake -- either halfway or all the way -- into their pockets and visit the world of Uncharted whenever they want to. He feels that there are a lot of stories to tell in that world, and that the PSP would be the perfect platform for it. Just imagine Uncharted: Sully's Adventure where you can wheel and deal in the black market, or Uncharted: Elena on Assignment where you're chasing a dangerous news story. Scoop!

"I think it would be fantastic to see the game (move) onto a handheld system," Wells told us. "Each one of the episodes is sort of like a standalone thing and I think we could do that pretty easily. If we can find a partner to work with, I'd love to do that ... we definitely wouldn't do it ourselves. We're trying to just focus on the PS3 technology and platform right now." He added, laughing, "But, if we can't find a partner, then maybe we're going to have to find a budget ourselves."

Laugh if you will, Wells. You're just toying with our heartstrings is all. We'd love to see Nathan Drake on our PSP. Make it happen. We have Ready at Dawn's phone number if you need it.

The Last Story's first concept art

The first details about Mistwalker's mysterious Wii RPG The Last Story have been released, in the form of a blog entry on Nintendo's Last Story site. The game takes place on Ruri Island, which, as home to a necessary harbor, has become a wealthy and important city. The affluent island is run by "Lord Arganon," a power-hungry ruler who is well-versed in magic. If we had to guess, we'd say he's going to be the villain.

We still have yet to see real screens or footage of The Last Story, but the blog entry includes concept art of the island, which is quite lovely.

[Via VG247; All Games Beta]

Impressions: Deus Ex: Human Revolution

During the Game Developers Conference, Eidos Montreal Art director Jonathan Jacques-Belletete revealed that Deus Ex 3 has been officially renamed Deus Ex: Human Revolution. If the name sounds familiar, it's because Square-Enix actually trademarked it last month. The title accurately reflects the game's story, which takes place before the events of the original Deus Ex. According to Jacques-Belletete, the world in Human Revolution is on the cusp of a "transhuman revolution," the beginning on mankind's first real foray into cybernetics. As such, the Eidos Montreal team came up with a very unique visual style for the game, taking the common aesthetics of cyberpunk and blending them with those of the European Renaissance -- think Shakespeare meets Blade Runner.

If it sounds like a weird mix, it is. It was no easy task for the development team either, with Jacques-Belletete noting that it took well over a year to finally strike the right balance. But employing the talents of well-known artists Jim Murray and Thierry "Barontieri" Doizon, they managed to come up with an aesthetic that really works. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures of the concept art and pre-rendered characters we saw, so you'll have to take our word for it.

As for the game itself, there aren't many new details. The development team, which started as only a handful of people in 2007, has ballooned to over 130. Human Revolution runs on a proprietary engine and is played from a first-person perspective, though it pops into third-person for certain attacks and taking cover. Only a tiny sliver of actual gameplay was shown during the panel, including a few environments and a conversation between two characters. The environments in particular were impressive, especially the apartment of the main character, Adam Jensen.

Further details, like the release date and planned platforms, remain under wraps for the time being. One thing, however, is certain: We're definitely ready to see more.

PSN Thursday: Mega Man 10, some BioShock 2 'Sinclair Solutions'

The Blue Bomber -- who is inconveniently red in the pic above -- returns in the retro-centric Mega Man 10. Those who returned to Rapture with BioShock 2 can also pick up the "Sinclair Solutions Test Pack" for $5. There's also the fourth episode of The Tester -- how's that going? Oh yeah, for those with an interest in baseball (it's a game played with a stick), there's a demo for MLB 10: The Show. For those with a PSP, it's another solid comic book update. Check out the full PSN update after the break.

Choose your platform to view the corresponding release list:

(Note: Continue past the break to view both release lists.)

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Joystiq live at the IGF/GDC Awards 2010

We're seated at the annual Independent Games Festival / Game Developers Choice event in San Francisco, absorbing the din of dedicated developers celebrating their craft. It's about to begin!

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Disney: Split/Second coming to PC retail and digital distribution (plus: new GDC trailers!)


Earlier today, we noticed a report over on That Video Game Blog that stated Black Rock's upcoming racer, Split/Second, would only be available on the PC as "a limited online release." Turns out, that isn't the case, as a Disney spokesperson has confirmed to Joystiq that the game will be available on the PC both via retail and digital distribution on May 18, alongside its console cousins.

When questioned about which digital distribution services the game would release on, Disney couldn't say. So, as a peace offering, we were given a pair of new trailers: the first you can see above this chunk of text, while you'll need to click past the break for the other. We know, we push you guys too hard!

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GDC: MySpace making a push into games, hoping it'll be as popular as music

While we've yet to meet those amongst you reppin' Farmville and swearing allegiance to Facebook, we worry that today's announcement of MySpace making a stronger push into the casual gaming market may stir those folks from their dismal, musty resting places. Alongside a revamped and relaunched gaming section on the site (the "MySpace Games Gallery"), co-president Mike Jones told GamesIndustry.biz that the company plans on pushing into the gaming world in the same way it's pushed into the music world. "Just as they use MySpace to discover and listen to music, I want them to use MySpace to discover and play games," he said in an interview this week.

One of the ways that Jones plans on implementing the new initiative is by making game suggestions to new users at the same time the site normally suggests music a new user might like. "We're making sure that when users sign up to MySpace, on the first screen after sign-up they have recommendations, which include games and bands -- at the same time ... that's getting the user initially seeded with the content." Unfortunately, though, Jones didn't say a peep about games that go a bit deeper than the standard Mafia Wars fare we've come to expect from social networks and their free-to-play games.

PlayStation Move requires 1-2 MB of system memory

Sony's GDC panel "Introducing the PlayStation Motion Controller was exactly that: An introduction to the newly named Move peripheral. David Coombes, Kirk Bender and Anton Mikhailov showcased a number of impressive tech demos, many of which demonstrated the Move's incredible precision and low latency. One of the most impressive demos showcased full body tracking using an on-screen body puppet, not unlike one of Project Natal's tech demos.

Body tracking is made possible by combining the Move and PS3's head tracking capability. According to the presentation, the PS3 can also detect faces, going so far as to identify individuals through face contour and feature detection. The software will be able to recognize gender, age, smiles and when eyes open and close.

Coombes explained that all the calculations necessary to handle image processing are done by the Cell CPU, which apparently excels at the doing floating point calculations. The raw data can be processed incredibly quickly by the PS3, taking "under a frame" to translate to a game experience. And while Mikhailov didn't reveal how much of the CPU's overall power the Move controller requires, he did reveal that the memory demands are truly "insignificant" -- 1-2 MB of system memory.

Unreal Engine 3 coming to Palm WebOS soon

The iPhone isn't the only touch-controlled mobile platform to get a baffling port of Unreal Engine 3. Palm announced that a version of UE3 on WebOS -- that's what the Palm Pre uses -- is on display at GDC. According to the announcement, licensed Unreal Engine developers will soon gain the ability to create games for the mobile platform, using both UE3 and Palm's new Plug-in Development Kit.

The more mobile platforms support Unreal, the more cost-effective it will be to develop games for them using the technology. After all, once you've got an Unreal iPhone game, you now have the basis for a WebOS game too.

[Thanks, Sean!]

THQ's Bilson: Research and focus testing will 'usually destroy' creativity

During an interview at the 2010 Game Developers Conference, THQ executive VP of Core Games Danny Bilson told Joystiq that market research creates "bland" titles, citing it is not a process his group is willing to utilize for future development. "We don't do research to find out what people want to play. If you need to do that kind of research you must not be playing games yourself," Bilson said, noting that research and overusing focus tests can "misguide creative forces."

According to Bilson, his core group at THQ is ruled by creating "excellent" titles. Put simply, Bilson says he will not ship a game if it's not "really good" -- noting that doing otherwise will make it impossible for him to "sleep at night." As an example of this process, Bilson noted his decision to push Darksiders from a 2009 release into the early-2010 calendar in order to ensure the game was of high quality. (Darksiders currently holds an average Metacritic rating of 83.)

"Inspiration comes from one place and research and focus testing will usually destroy it. It will usually create 'bland' and create something for everyone and really nothing for anyone," he said, praising the idea that publishers should not ship a game until it's ready. "If my teams make really good games, in the long run, that's what people relate to. They're not buying advertising, they're not buying Wall Street nonsense. They're buying what's on that disc."

Sam and Max penetrate 'The Penal Zone' April 15 on PC, Mac, PS3

The dog-gone long title of Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse - Episode 1: The Penal Zone will hop upon the internets for digital distribution on April 15. The first episode of the duo's third season of freelance police work will be available on PC, Mac -- and PS3, quelle surprise.

Pre-orders for the whole season on PC and Mac are currently available on Telltale's site for $35, which also comes with an episode from Strong Bad, Wallace & Gromit or a previous Sam & Max season for free. "Pre-orders on PlayStation Network coming soon."

Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes trailer offers taste of high-def wizardry


Following up yesterday's announcement that Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes is getting an HD facelift and coming to Xbox Live and PSN, Ubisoft has revealed the first teaser trailer for the game. Amidst all of the quoted accolades and plumes of smoke are some actual tidbits of gameplay.

In short: this looks purty.

Joystiq Features



Featured Galleries (view all)

Sam & Max: Devil's Playhouse
Dragon Age: Origins- Awakening (GDC 2010)
Fable 3 (GDC 2010)
Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes (Xbox Live & PSN)
2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa (Wii)
2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa (PS3/Xbox 360)
The Last Story (Wii)
Aliens vs Predator in Home
Green Day: Rock Band

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