Today in Joystiq: July 11, 2008

by Ross Miller { Jul 11th 2008 at 11:59PM }

Part of this year's Into the Pixel collection is a sketch from "Half Life EP3" (wonder what that could be), coming to Xbox 360, PC and PlayStation 3. We're not exactly surprised to learn there's concept art for Episode 3, but it's still nice to a glimpse. We're still not betting on a surprise E3 performance. Check out the highlights for today:

Joystiquery
BigDownload plays conference-wide PC bingo
DS Fanboy Lite: July 5 - July 11
Joystiq Podcast 057 - Girls or vacations edition
Nintendo E3 2008 press conference: Let's play bingo
This Week in Review is preparing for the storm
WRUP: One million polygons per second edition

News
Mainstream jumps on Xbox 360 price cut bandwagon
505 Games sinks its teeth into new DS Buffy game
Major features cut from Warhammer Online
Sega announces console-specific RTS in Stormrise
Midway launches online arcade, digital storefront
Don't be sad, but a Far Cry 2 demo isn't happening
Variety: Microsoft to show 'singing game' at E3 (read: Lips)
We just noticed: Rhythm Tengoku Gold coming to Japan July 31
Sony CFO: PS3 'plan is to not reduce the price'
Flagship Studios confirms layoffs, extent unknown
Ion reveals $299.99 price for premium Rock Band drums
MTV Games finds Konami's Rock Band lawsuit 'surprising'

Rumors & Speculation
Rumor: Motus Games' Darwin is Xbox 360's motion controller
Rumor: Animal Crossing, Punch-Out!! Wii being revealed at E3
Rumor: Xbox 360's 'Lips' microphone, box art leaked

Culture & Community
Bethesda to host post-apocalyptic film festival in August

Tags: dailyrecap, half-life, half-life-2, half-life-2-episode-3, hl2, hl2ep3, into-the-pixel

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

fred @ Jul 12th 2008 12:24AM

Obviously a code name for the new pokemon game

j.howlett @ Jul 12th 2008 2:56AM

head crab i choose you! use latch!

colin @ Jul 12th 2008 3:35AM

spoiler alert!

this unnamed gentleman is holding a crowbar

Jakka @ Jul 12th 2008 6:41AM

So this is all we get after eight months of waiting? Way to go Valve! Maybe Ep3 will be out before 2015.

Lord Bowser @ Jul 12th 2008 7:26AM

Half Life is overrated so your speculated 2015 wouldn't be that big a loss.

I was going to say how you're a troll, trying to start a flamewar, but everybody else has done this before me and it never worked.Let's try a different approach then.

If Half-Life is an overrated p.o.s. then what in your opinion is a good not-overrated shooter?

fred @ Jul 12th 2008 10:01AM

@Lord Bowser

You... you're just TRYING to be hated now aren't you?

Lord Bowser @ Jul 12th 2008 10:16AM

Look at my face: there are no good FPS games. The genre is stale and not even sage can save it.

I'm not here to argue, I just want to state my opinion and leave.

Lord Bowser @ Jul 12th 2008 10:17AM

Look at my face: there are no good FPS games. The genre is stale and not even sage can save it.

I'm not here to argue, I just want to state my opinion and leave.

Lord Bowser @ Jul 12th 2008 10:23AM

Dear God, Joystiq fix this crippled website before the entire community migrates elsewhere.

tc @ Jul 12th 2008 11:02AM

you have a point Jakka, this troll is quite stubborn. But luckily, it seems Lord Bowser is very capable of defeating his own inane arguments if we just give him enough time!

ChooChooCharlie @ Jul 12th 2008 11:04AM

@Lord Bowser

You didn't answer the question. You just shit on the FPS genre. You said that the genre has become stale, which I agree with, but since it has become stale, that must mean that it wasn't before. And for you to make such a general statement as "there are no good FPS games," you must have played all of them at some point.

So, please, like Jakka asked, name a shooter from before the genre went stale that was good and not overrated. I mean, you must know of one, since you've obviously played all of them. It's fine that you have your own opinions. You should at least try to defend them though.

Lord Bowser @ Jul 12th 2008 11:31AM

Garcian Smith,

Please don't twist my words. I never used the word "became". The genre has always been in a state of tedium, right from its birth on Wolfenstein. So, yeah.

But you're right about one thing: I have played many FPS before. I was once a glutton on this genre, but I sort of grew out of it. I mean, how many long drawn out corridors can a Bowser take? It came to a point where I was no longer having fun; a fundamental element within me was simply wanted to shoot stuff. But I couldn't work out why. Why had I a need to destroy? Then it came to, as Stuart Mill would put it: I was becoming a product of my environment. These is a genre fuelled by testosterone and coca cola. It's built for the redundant class; you could even say it was rather base. (Is Benny reading?)

Anyway, I've played shooters and enjoyed them in the past. The last great FPS was Duke Nukem 3D on the N64. THat was a cool game because that was clearly a parody on the dunderheadedness of the whole pursuit. That was ten years ago, when I was twelve.

fred @ Jul 12th 2008 11:51AM

HEY GUYS YOU ARE ALL BASE PROLES FUCK FUCK IM SO SUPERIOR LET ME FAP OVER HOW SUPERIOR I AM
OH GOD, ME!
ME! ME!
OH YES, ME!

This is exactly how you sound to some people, Bowser.

Lord Bowser @ Jul 12th 2008 12:02PM

Fred, I never attacked you, so why do you attack me? I never swore; never used slander; was never insulting. So why stoop down to base attacks? Come on, Fred, your mother must have raised you better than this. Go buy her a present and think about what you're doing.

ChooChooCharlie @ Jul 12th 2008 12:09PM

Thank you for answering the question.

I wasn't trying to twist your words by the way. I used "became" because something can't be "stale" right out of the gate. Although, I guess a game's mechanics could become stale over the course of a playthrough. Wolfenstein, as you mentioned, is a good example of that. It's basically the same situation in every room, but with a different number / placement of enemies/treasures/ammo.

I liked Wolfenstein, but I have to admit that it is pretty repetitive. Then again, though, what game isn't? Basically, every game in every genre is a single mechanic repeated over and over in a set number of hours. I guess it just comes down to what you enjoy repeating.

Donald @ Jul 12th 2008 12:51PM

I kind of agree with Bowser (although he's being a total dick about it.)

Instead of bashing the genre I'll say I don't care for it, I have played some Halo and Orange Box and had some fun, but the genre is just not for me.

And that's how you state an opinion, instead of saying that the whole genre is horrible. I'll say the genre can be good, it's just not my favorite.

Mode~7 @ Jul 12th 2008 12:56PM

How anyone using a Nintendo related avatar can call anything stale and keep a straight face is beyond me, it really is. Are you honestly gonna tell me that Twilight Princess was anything other than a remake of a 10 year old game with tacked on motion controls?

Before anyone attacks me as being some kind of anti-nintendo fanboy please take my word for it that this is not the case. I've owned and loved every Nintendo system including the Wii but it just can't be denied that Nintendo is as guilty as anyone for falling back on tried and true play mechanics.

Every videogame genre has it's conventions just as every movie or musical genre has it's conventions. Accusing FPS's of being a collection of "long drawn out corridors" is no different from saying that Mario Galaxy is a collection of platforms. Both statements are true but ultimately, miss the point entirely.

Lord Bowser @ Jul 12th 2008 1:12PM

I don't play Zelda games and, aside from Brawl, I have no Nintendo developed games for my Wii. +1 for beautiful assumption, though.

Conventions are one thing, relying on tedium for the "big payoff" is another. The big payoff is around 12 years late; it's never going to come. You can only shoot so many people in the face until you realise how trite your actions are.

heh @ Jul 12th 2008 1:18PM

Because compared to the PC, the Wii's large amounts of minigames aren't tedious?

Seriously here, you are not only the most boring troll I've ever seen, but you're a horrible one at that. Your consistant bawwwing and bitching make you look like a fggt and the fact that you're doin' it wrong half the time doesn't really aid in the situation.

BTW, "The genre is stale and not even sage can save it." Sage never did anything, silly sausage, so just gtfo and an hero already.

Lord Bowser @ Jul 12th 2008 1:24PM

Dude, I'm not troll. I'm compassionate about video games. There's a big difference.

Anyone who shouts troll should be perma-banned, in my opinion.

Mode~7 @ Jul 12th 2008 1:48PM

The thing is, people enjoy shooting people in the face. You call it tedium, I call it highly entertaining. It's called having an opinion, and it takes a special kind of arrogance to assume your subjective opinion is better, or more correct than anyone else's.