Archives for
Etrian Odyssey Untold: The Millenium Girl is a friendlier remake
After a rocky and disappointing first year, the 3DS has transformed into a juggernaut of Japanese RPGs, with developer Atlus leading the charge. This year alone, the company will have four first-person RPGs to its name: Etrian Odyssey IV, Soul Hackers, Shin Megami Tensei IV, and the upcoming Etrian ...
Humble Bundle 6 adds Android to PC lineup: Aquaria, Stealth Bastard
Humble Bundle 6 lasts for two weeks and includes PC, Mac, Linux and Android versions of five games for the low, low price of "anything": Aquaria, Fractal, Organ Trail: Director's Cut, Stealth Bastard Deluxe and Pulse. Pulse is the outlier, available for Android only. Pay more than the average ...
'Shadowrun Returns' on July 25
Shadowrun Returns is scheduled to release for PC and tablets on July 25, a slight delay from developer Harebrained Schemes' original release window, which in itself was already a delay. Harebrained has also gone ahead and noted some highlights on its site from backers using the game's editing ...
Ridiculous Fishing creator reeling from Apple Design Award, talks TU
Vlambeer founders Rami Ismail and Jan Willem Nijman didn't think Ridiculous Fishing would win an Apple Design Award. Sure, it was in the running, but it was a long shot, and they had other places to be during the ceremony at WWDC on June 10 (E3, anyone?). Just in case, they asked Ridiculous Fishing ...
Endless Space: Disharmony settles on June 26
Ampltude Studios' Endless Space will launch its first premium expansion, Disharmony, on June 26 through Steam. Publisher Iceberg Interactive will also have an English retail version – key-only box with 16 page artbook – two days later. The expansion is priced at 10 in both $ and € ...
Earth Defense Force 2025 adds another cheesy chapter to D3's bug book
With all of the hubbub about next-gen at this year's E3, Earth Defense Force 2025 stood out as the product of an entirely different generation, one where wildly idiosyncratic Japanese-developed games both delighted and confused gamers willing to take a risk on untested and out-there concepts. ...
Crimson Dragon is Panzer Dragoon with a side of laser-gravy
Grounding Inc's Crimson Dragon already had a lot in common with the Panzer Dragoon series. Given that it was under development by the same core team that worked on Panzer Dragoon, including creator Yukio Futatsugi, the similarities weren't exactly surprising. After trying out the latest ...
GOG.com summer sale: Free Torchlight, Alan Wake series for $4.48 and more
GOG.com, already home to hundreds of ridiculously cheap games, may be going a little bit crazy. The site is currently running a "#NoDRM" summer sale, discounting over 500 games, with most of them down to $5 or less. Then we have the really nutty deals like Alan Wake and Alan Wake's American ...
Steam Greenlight sneaks out six more games, one more app
Steam let six games and one piece of software through its Greenlight service last week during E3, granting each the ability to be distributed on the platform. The greenlit games were Assetto Corsa by Kunos Simulazioni, DreadOut by Digital Happiness, Benjamin Hill's Ether One, GunZ 2: The Second ...
Mad Max not Barlog's rumored project, says Avalanche CEO
Though Mad Max has been a project spanning several years, going through several iterations in that time, Avalanche Studios CEO Christofer Sundberg claims it's not the game that was rumored in 2008. God of War 2 lead Cory Barlog had reportedly gone to Avalanche Studios in 2010 to work on a Mad ...
PlayStation Plus subscription isn't required for auto-updates on PS4
Auto-updates, previously tied to PlayStation Plus on PS3, aren't tied to the paywall on PS4. Speaking to Videogamer at E3, SCEE UK & Ireland MD Fergal Gera also noted "the social features of PS4 and PS4 games sit out of the subscription service." During its E3 conference, Sony quietly ...
Benjamin Rivers' Home spooking up iOS this Thursday, OSX this summer
One-man indie development studio Benjamin Rivers' side-scrolling pixel art horror game Home will be available for iOS devices this Thursday, June 20. The Universal App will cost $2.99 and feature new content, new terrifying environments to explore and updated story elements. Rivers has also ...
PSA: Gears of War: Judgment 'Lost Relics' DLC found today
VIP members can access some new maps in Gears of War: Judgment today, available as part of the Lost Relics DLC pack. Headlining the pack is a new mode called Breakthrough, where one side attempts to move a flag from one point to another while the other team tries to stop them. Lost Relics ...
Plants vs. Zombies 2: it's about time we talked freemium vs. premium
PopCap Games is known for making games that appeal to a mass audience, and perhaps none are more so than Plants vs. Zombies. The cute 'n clever tower defense game has connected with players of all ages and origins. A sequel, then, was inevitable, and after an announcement last year we finally got ...
Volition working with modders, will release official Saints Row tools
Up until now, Saints Row: The Third modders have had to rely on community-created tools to make Volition's game even more lively. Jeff Thompson, Volition's studio director of programming, is currently preparing official engine tools to share with the mod community, prominent modder IdolNinja ...
Thief producer: 'We have a single shot'
In late March, Square Enix cited "weak sales" of big console titles to explain its massive restructuring, which saw the dismissal of now-former President Yoichi Wada. Games such as Hitman: Absolution and Tomb Raider were slated to reach over three million units in sales in fiscal 2013, arguably ...
Navigating the Castle of Illusion with a 3D Mickey Mouse
When players look back on the platformers of yore, it's easy to forget one important thing about them: They're tough. Modern platformers allow infinite retries and plentiful checkpoints, but old-school platformers, like Disney's Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse, required precise jumps over ...
Incredipede's Linux version goes free
The adorable picture above is letting you know that Incredipede on Linux is now absolutely free. Incredipede developer Colin Northway says he made the Linux version free "because Linux users are such strong supporters of indie games," and because he enjoys its open source philosophy. Incredipede ...
Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z trailers won't cost you an arm and a leg
Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z stars Yaiba Kamikaze, a ninja killed by primary series star Ryu Hayabusa during a duel. We're not sure how Yaiba came back from the dead, but at least we can see how he died. ...
Watch Brian Provinciano's Retro City Rampage talk from GDC
One of our favorite talks from GDC was Brian Provinciano's session, in which the indie developer discussed bringing his game, Retro City Rampage, to just about every platform known to man. It's a valuable talk for many reasons, giving a clear picture of what it's like working with The Big ...
Alan Wake's American Nightmare drops price to $10 on XBLA
Alan Wake's American Nightmare, the standalone follow-up to the original psychological action thriller, is now 800 Microsoft Points ($10) on the Xbox Live Marketplace. The game was previously 1200 MSP ($15), which continues to be its price on Steam. Developer Remedy has moved on to Quantum ...
Panzer Dragoon creator wants to make Crimson Dragon RPG
If Crimson Dragon is successful, developer Grounding Inc. hopes it will become a franchise, creator Yukio Futatsugi told Joystiq during E3. When asked if he would ever return to role-playing games, Futatsugi told us he'd like to see Crimson Dragon spun out into a full-fledged RPG. Futatsugi is ...
Crytek dips its beautiful toes into iOS waters with 'The Collectibles'
Crytek is building an overhead, tactical action game called The Collectibles for iOS devices, 9 to 5 Mac reports. Crytek demoed The Collectibles at WWDC last week, played with a new, MFi-supported controller, the site says. MFi is Apple's new program that opens up the iOS SDK for game controller ...
Oculus Rift secures $16 million in first round of investor funding
The first round of investor funding for Oculus Rift brought in $16 million, with contributions from Spark Capital, Matrix Partners, Founders Fund and Formation 8, the Oculus team announced today. This funding is separate from the Oculus Rift Kickstarter campaign, which asked for $250,000 and ...
Surgeon Simulator 2013 adds support for Oculus Rift, Razer Hydra
Surgeon Simulator 2013 will soon support the Oculus Rift and Razer Hydra peripherals, adding a new layer of immersion to Bossa Studios' PC medical malpractice sim. In Surgeon Simulator 2013, players attempt vital organ transplants from a first-person perspective using an intentionally awkward ...
May NPD: 3DS steals top console spot
The Nintendo 3DS finally edged out the Xbox 360 in May 2013 as the best selling console across hardware and portables, according to the NPD's monthly report on the retail sector. In what the NPD claims was a slow month overall, the 3DS landed three different games on the top 10 (including ...
The Cave drops in on iOS this summer
The Cave, Double Fine's latest adventure game, is heading to iOS, Touchgen reports, citing a hands-on preview at E3 last week. Sega published The Cave on PC, Mac, Linux, Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii U in January, but clearly that's not enough, and the game is due out this summer on iOS. The Cave on iOS ...
Brad Muir on building trust with Double Fine's Massive Chalice
Double Fine is using a second (and already successful) Kickstarter to produce "Massive Chalice," an ambitious turn-based strategy game that hinges on the lineage of your kingdom. Project lead Brad Muir is candid about the early delta between the game's promises – allowing you to produce and ...
New CD Projekt Red studio to focus on 'smaller' games
The Witcher series developer CD Projekt Red is opening a new office in Kraków, Poland, according to a recent job posting at the company's website. Managing director Adam Badowski confirmed with Gamasutra that the new 20-person studio will head up a smaller project while CD Projekt Red's ...
Now Playing: June 17-23, 2013
Jump into the ultimate retro-style meta RPG experience this week with The Knights of Pen and Paper +1 Edition... Choose your platform to jump to a specific release list: ...
State of Decay MMO sequel, Class4, in limbo at Microsoft
State of Decay developer Undead Labs can't begin working on its follow-up game, an MMO called Class4, until it agrees with Microsoft on a series of terms about future technology, support and goals, Undead's community director Sanya Weathers told Eurogamer. Microsoft owns the IP for Class4, ...
Dota 2 to launch before August 7, ahead of The International
Dota 2 is due to launch this summer in its full form throughout North America and Europe, Valve's VP of Marketing Doug Lombardi tells Gamespot. It will hit before this year's The International championship, which runs August 7 - 11 at Benaroya Hall in Seattle, Washington. This is the third ...
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy 13 hosts a party of one
No development process has been as interesting to watch than the multi-game pile-up known as Final Fantasy 13. It's not that these RPGs have been of poor quality, per se; they just represent the totality of Square Enix's resource mismanagement during the first HD generation of consoles. So it ...
PS Plus freebies this week: Saints Row: The Third, Gods Eater Burst
When the PlayStation Store updates tomorrow, both Saints Row: The Third and Gods Eater Burst will be available as free downloads. Saints Row is a PS3 game, while Gods Eater Burst initially launched on PSP but is also compatible with PS Vita. Last week at E3, Sony detailed plans for PlayStation ...
PS4 PlanetSide 2, DC Universe Online will not require PlayStation Plus
The free-to-play MMOs DC Universe Online and PlanetSide 2 will not require a PlayStation Plus subscription to play when they hit the PS4 later this year, publisher Sony Online Entertainment confirmed with Polygon during E3 last week. Sony announced during E3 that a PlayStation Plus membership is ...
State of Decay sells over half a million copies, update being re-patched
State of Decay has sold over half a million copies since launching on Xbox Live Arcade on June 5. This makes the Undead Labs developed game the fastest selling original title ever on Xbox Live Arcade, according to Microsoft. But everything isn't headshots and restful nights with State of Decay, ...
Xbox boss says $500 Xbox One is 'over-delivering on value,' name-drops Halo 5
The $500 price tag for the Xbox One elicited audible gasps during Microsoft's E3 press conference. Speaking to Bloomberg, Xbox head Don Mattrick defended the hefty price, saying that Microsoft is "over-delivering on value" with the Xbox One. "It's a lower number than some of the analysts had ...
Co-opinion: Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (E3 2013)
This is Co-Opinion, where two Joystiq editors play a game and discuss their experience. .portal-left { padding: 10px; background: #CCC; margin: 20px 0; min-height: 85px; } .portal-right { padding: 10px; margin: 20px 0; min-height: 85px; } .portal-right img { padding-left: 5px; } .portal-left img { ...
Microsoft: Xbox One games are $60
Xbox One will not see an increase in games pricing. New Xbox One games will cost $60 each, Microsoft has told GameSpot, continuing the pricing model established with the Xbox 360. As for the competition, Sony's Jack Tretton has stated that pricing on PS4 games will range between $.99 and $60. ...
Hometown Story hopes to recapture that Harvest Moon magic
The Natsume booth feels more than a little out of place amid the murder and mayhem that defines the E3 show floor experience. For those weary of the pulsing music, constant explosions and gruff voice-overs blasting from every ear-level speaker in sight, Natsume's display of gentle, colorful games ...
Report: IO Interactive cancels projects, loses half of staff to layoffs
Hitman series developer IO Interactive has cut its staff by almost 50 percent after a recent round of layoffs, the studio announced in a statement released to Develop. Speaking to Develop, a spokesperson for IO Interactive confirmed that the company has canceled many of its current projects in ...
Awesomenauts boxed collector's edition headed to UK
Awesomenauts is getting physical in the UK. Merge Games is giving the PC version the collector's edition treatment, tossing in a handful of goodies with a boxed version of Ronimo's excellent 2D MOBA. The collector's edition includes the Awesomenauts soundtrack, the Costume Party DLC pack, a sticker ...
Beyonce settles lawsuit with Gate Five over Starpower: Beyonce
Pop star Beyonce Knowles and development studio Gate Five have settled a years-long legal battle over a proposed game called Starpower: Beyonce. Gate Five's lawyer Peter Gallagher told the New York Post the two sides settled "amicably," though he added "I can't discuss the terms of the settlement, ...
EA: Dead Space team working on something new, series not dead
Despite being "an important IP to EA," there is no new Dead Space game in development; instead, Visceral Games is working on something else right now. "Is that team working on a Dead Space game today? No they're not," EA executive vice president Patrick Soderlund told Eurogamer at E3 last week. ...
Superman defends Tamriel in Skyrim at the Movies
The problem with movies is that none of them take place in Skyrim. This is Skyrim at the Movies, a take on the classic tale of Superman created by animation outfit Tyrannicon with Chris Hardwick playing the Man of Steel himself. ...
Antichamber trips the Oculus Rift
Indie hit Antichamber is already a mind-bending monster, but now add some Oculus Rift and you've got a "trapped on the holodeck" episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. That's what computer science student Vaecon has done in this VR conversion of the game. "It's interesting seeing that ...
Commander, XCOM: Enemy Unknown is on iOS June 20
XCOM: Enemy Unknown will be available on iOS devices this Thursday, June 20, for $19.99. Commanders of the XCOM Project will now have mobile access across iPad 2+, iPhone 4S+ and fifth generation iPod touch devices. The iOS XCOM is a the PC experience with the exception of the head-to-head ...
The Last of Us is the first in UK
The Last of Us represented several accomplishments during its first week of sale in the UK, where it took the number one spot on the region's sales chart. According to Chart Track, the game is the first Sony exclusive to take the top spot since Uncharted: Golden Abyss on Vita in early 2012. It's ...
Stiq Figures, June 3 - 9: Ocarina of Time edition
Welcome to Stiq Figures, where the sales data is after the break and the posts don't matter. Now that another E3 is in the bag, we're taking some time this week on Stiq Figures to look back at a trailer for a game shown off at E3 1997 by Nintendo. That game is The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of ...
Lewis Black pokes at the Kinect on The Daily Show
Comedian Lewis Black took to his "Back in Black" segment on Comedy Central's The Daily Show to discuss what he sees as growing privacy concerns related to Microsoft's Xbox One. Black specifically pokes fun at the expected improvements to the Kinect's detection capabilities. Privacy concerns ...
Banned Xbox One accounts will retain access to purchased games
Users banned on Xbox One will not lose access to the games they've purchased, Director of Programming Larry Hyrb (Major Nelson, colloquially) told Reddit Games during an E3 video interview. This became a popular question following an Xbox Support Twitter answer from June 13 that read, "If ...
DayZ creator considering PS4, Xbox One after PC, has an early favorite
Dean Hall is focused on launching the PC version of his zombie-infested baby, DayZ, but he's talked with both Sony and Microsoft about the PS4 and Xbox One, too. Nothing's set in stone, but Hall "absolutely" likes Sony's approach to indies; he's turned off by Microsoft's ban on self-publishing and ...
Antichamber half-off on Steam today, soundtrack now available
Antichamber is on sale for $10 on Steam for today only. If you are only interested in hearing Antichamber, the soundtrack for the game is now available on BandCamp for $6, as well as a four-track "Meditation Walk" ambient album by Antichamber Sound Designer Robin Arnott for $4. The soundtrack, ...
Crowdfund Bookie, June 9 - 15: Pixel Press, Tek Recon, Energy Hook
The Crowdfund Bookie crunches data from select successful Kickstarter and Indiegogo campaigns that ended during the week and produces pretty charts for you to look at. This week in crowdfunding, the Kickstarter campaigns for Pixel Press, Spintires, Tek Recon, Energy Hook, Paranormal: The Town and ...
Total War: Rome 2 is a 'completely reworked vision' from The Creative Assembly
Rome: Total War is one of those games that a certain, very dedicated audience loves, while the rest of the gaming world is left outside admiring the craft but not quite understanding the dedication. The first Rome: Total War was critically acclaimed and spawned a line of expansions and updates, ...
Weekly Webcomic Wrapup is wrapping up E3
We did it, readers. We survived E3 2013. While we still have plenty of leftover goodies from the week to deliver to you (our content ovens have been pre-heating all day), now seems like as good a time as ever to reflect on the news from the week. The EA, Ubisoft, Microsoft and Sony press ...
Nyko keeps your second screen experience close at hand
There are always a lot of buzzwords and phrases at E3. One of the big ones at this year's show was the "second screen experience," using phones and tablets to enhance a game in one way or another. Whether it's through Microsoft's SmartGlass or Sony's PlayStation app, it seems that one screen just ...
Seen@E3: The Evil Within's terrifying blockhead
Pyramids don't have a monopoly on terrifying head shapes, at least not if The Evil Within has anything to say about it. You might be wondering what's inside this fellow's safe-head. We got as close as we dared to take a few pictures and, frankly, we're not sure we want to know. ...
Retro-Bit's wireless N64 controllers are just smashing
Everyone was talking about the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Wii U during E3 this year, but the highlight of the Innex booth wanted nothing to do with these newfangled gadgets. I'm talking about Retro-Bit's Wireless Hypermode controllers for the N64. I got a chance to try out one of these ...
Amazon sale on 3DS games: Fire Emblem: Awakening, Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers and more
Whew! E3, huh? Right? Y'all remember when that guy said that stuff, and then all the things happened? What a crazy week! We don't know about you, but we're feeling like it might be time to unwind from this week's insanity by catching up on our gaming backlogs while we wait for all these ...
Next-gen FIFA 14 trailer is Messi
This trailer for FIFA Soccer 14 from E3 shows stars of the sport interspersed with early clips from the game on Xbox One. While the next-gen, Ignite engine-powered versions of the game don't have a release date, the game will roll to Xbox 360, PS3 and PC on September 24. ...
WRUP: E3 2013 - The year Sony dropped the mic
Sony was undoubtedly the belle of the ball at this year's E3. The PlayStation 4 manufacturer captured the conversation after its press conference and could have easily concluded it with President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment of America Jack Tretton dropping a mic on stage. The hoots ...
Mad Catz's Android console now just 'MOJO,' pulls games straight from Google Play
Mad Catz's recently announced Project MOJO Android micro-console (now just "MOJO") was on-hand at the hardware manufacturer's open-air booth in the middle of E3's West Hall. We learned a great deal more about the device's proprietary publishing ecosystem, or rather its lack of one. Unlike the ...
The Witcher 3 DRM-free on PC; 'gamer-friendly' solution sought on consoles
The Witcher series of action role-playing games is reaching further than ever before, with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt launching simultaneously on PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 in 2014. The new consoles have been mired in discussion over DRM (digital rights management) recently, with Microsoft ...
Rain: Boy meets invisible girl
The concept at the heart of Rain is magical. Looking out his window, a boy witness a seemingly invisible girl, her silhouette revealed by the rain as she ran splashing through the night. She was followed by another invisible entity outlined by the rain, a ferocious bipedal monster, which was ...
3D Realms sues Gearbox over unpaid Duke Nukem royalties, Gearbox responds
3D Realms has filed suit against Gearbox Software, claiming unpaid royalties for the 2011 multiplatform release of Duke Nukem Forever. Gearbox took over and resumed development of Duke Nukem Forever in 2009, eventually completing the project that 3D Realms had spent nearly 15 years developing. ...
E3 2013 wrap-up with Joystiq and Engadget
E3 2013 is officially at an end. There was a lot to take in, so join Joystiq Reviews Editor Richard Mitchell and Engadget Senior Associate Editor Ben Gilbert as they do their best to encapsulate everything that went down this year. They talk about the showings from Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo, ...
Mad Catz Tournament Edition 2 FightStick for Xbox One is customizable, out this fall
Mad Catz has a brand-spankin-new arcade stick to go along with Microsoft's brand-spankin-new Xbox One: the Tournament Edition 2 FightStick. At first glance, it may look like nothing more than a slightly flashier version of the existing models, but beyond the fact that it comes equipped with the ...
Sherlock Holmes Crimes and Punishments' new mechanic inspired by BBC show
Sherlock Holmes Crimes and Punishments is a departure from Frogwares' previous investigation game, The Testament of Sherlock Holmes, in a number of ways. Crimes and Punishments aims to put players inside the mind of the world's greatest detective, to see the world as he sees it and deliberate the ...
EA: Wii U's lack of Madden, FIFA a 'rational' business decision
Nintendo's Wii U is struggling in sales and support. During an interview this week at E3 with Charlie Scibetta, Nintendo of America's head of corporate communications, we noted that the Wii U's lack of Madden this year puts it in the company of Sega's ill-fated Dreamcast. EA currently has no games ...
Harmonix's Fantasia: Music Evolved is made of pure magic
I can name the exact moment that I fell in love with Harmonix's latest game, Fantasia: Music Evolved, at this year's E3. Periodically throughout the game, you're presented with an on-screen globe, and you can wave your hand over it to create a tune. The science of how it works isn't exactly clear ...
OlliOlli funded by Sony, but Roll7 retains rights
A single demo station for OlliOlli, a minimalist side-scrolling skateboarder with surprisingly deep systems at its core, was tucked in the corner of PlayStation's massive presence in E3's West Hall. The PS Vita game melds arcade-style gameplay with just a tinge of true skateboarding physics – ...
Fantasia: Music Evolved ties back to legacy with 'Night on Bald Mountain'
Harmonix's Fantasia: Music Evolved will include "Night on Bald Mountain," one of the most iconic segments from Disney's 1940 classic Fantasia. "It's one of the first songs we're announcing from the heritage of the Disney Fantasia film, bringing some of that music into the track list that runs ...
Super Smash Bros: What happens when Kirby eats Mega Man is 'classified'
Super Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai may have been forthcoming about the new Super Smash Bros' lack of cross-platform play, but when it came to the really important information, he was still pretty cagey. For example, what could be more important than finding out what happens when Kirby eats ...
Hotline Miami 2 is in demand, we heard it through these great Vines
Hotline Miami 2 made a surprise appearance at E3, tucked away in an Airstream trailer provided by publisher Devolver Digital. We saw it, but we're not allowed to talk about it until next week. It's getting plenty of attention on its own already – the official Hotline Miami Twitter account ...
In the EVE VR cockpit: CCP's space dogfighting demo for Oculus Rift
As I strapped into my faux-fighter, thanks to to CCP's EVE VR Oculus Rift demo, nothing could've prepared me for the large-scale space battle to come. Controlling my ship was surprisingly easy with the Xbox 360 controller. The shoulder buttons handle yaw, but the left analog stick was ...
Joe Danger, Joe Danger 2 ride onto PC June 24
Joe Danger and Joe Danger 2: The Movie are bracing for impact with Steam on June 24, developer Hello Games told us. As for prices, Hello Games is keeping them under its helmet for now. Both tricksters will feature mouse and keyboard support, be compatible with Big Picture Mode, include ghost ...
The faces of Fox Engine in Pro Evolution Soccer 2014
You could argue that EA Sports' FIFA series has a stranglehold on the simulation soccer game genre. The publisher locked up the FIFA license for many years to come, making it the only company with access to a number of real-life teams that other publishers such as Konami can't get its hands on. ...
The (Resident) Evil Within
Shinji Mikami's creative influence on The Evil Within is immediately apparent. Mechanically, my brief hands-off E3 demo had a lot in common with Mikami's survival horror milestone, Resident Evil 4. The over-the-shoulder camera, slow pacing and pulse-quickening enemies were all there. That The ...
Nordic Games explains who the f they are, plans for THQ assets
Nordic Games spent $4.9 million to acquire THQ's back catalog in April, but has yet to reveal any concrete plans for the intellectual properties, although it certainly knows what you'd like to see. And, with any luck, will announce some plans by Gamescom. "We want to carefully select which ...
DCUO and PlanetSide 2 devs deal with good and bad on PS4 ports
Sony Online Entertainment doesn't have any new games at this year's E3 conference. But the developers behind DC Universe Online and PlanetSide 2 are hard at work anyway, and not just because they're running two live MMOs. Both games, which currently run on the PC (for both) or the PS3 (for DCUO) ...
Reconstructing crimes in Batman: Arkham Origins
Warner Bros. Montreal is bringing a new side-mission distraction to Batman: Arkham Origins that will pique the interests of those who've enjoyed the forensic focus of Rocksteady's games. At E3 I put on my detective cowl to try out the new "Crime Reconstruction" mechanic. It began, as it so ...
Shadow Warrior's new magic system twists a straight shooter
Shadow Warrior from Hard Reset developer Flying Wild Hog isn't a remake – it's a new game, with a new Lo Wang. For starters, Wang is able to use magic after he befriends a masked spirit. With magic, Wang can heal himself and attack his enemies from afar, throwing out blasts from his hands ...
Seen@E3: Capcom's DuckTales singing booth
Capcom sure seems to enjoy when people sing the DuckTales theme song, as its E3 section features an enclosed glass booth for that sole purpose. We took a quick video when passing by of one gentleman exercising his vocal chords to the enjoyment of viewers behind him. Listen closely for the ...
Ultima Forever reduces most freemium prices after Canadian beta
Ultima Forever, being made by EA for iOS platforms, has received some major tweaks to its freemium currency prices. The RPG has been available in Canada as a beta for a while now, and producer Carrie Gouskos says the biggest change – besides performance adjustments – has been to the ...
Seen@E3: Xbox One E3 signage defaced
This image of a defaced Xbox One advertisement was spotted at LA's JW Marriott hotel by CAG's own CheapyD, who promptly posted it to Twitter for us all to see. ...
E3 2013 grows again to 48,200 attendees, E3 2014 scheduled for June 10-12
The Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) broke the eardrums of 48,200 attendees this year, a 2,500 increase from the prior year. The Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the trade group that organizes the annual Los Angeles meet-up, estimates the show brought the city $40 million in revenue. ...
Zod revealed as next Injustice DLC character
The heroes and villains of the DC Universe will soon kneel before Zod, as the perennial Superman villain has been revealed as Injustice: Gods Among Us' next DLC character. The announcement was made during the latest installment of Conan O'Brien's Clueless Gamer series, wherein Conan loses to a ...
IndieCade at E3: That Dragon, Cancer
That Dragon, Cancer is a poetic, emotionally intense story of love in the face of death, blended beautifully into a point-and-click adventure game. It tells a true tale, unfortunately, of developer Ryan Green's family life – his 4-year-old son, Joel, has cancer, and he's currently ...
Grand Theft Auto 5 unbuckles E3 screens
Grand Theft Auto 5 is not at E3, but that isn't going to stop this September's guaranteed blockbuster from putting out some screenshots to remind you of its existence during this week. ...
Call of Duty: Ghosts built with 'cinema quality' art assets
We had the opportunity to chat with Call of Duty: Ghosts Executive Producer Mark Rubin during E3, but instead of asking how many guns the latest installment has, we decided to focus on tech and art. Rubin explains how the next-gen console architectures being so close to PCs will likely help ...
PlayStation 4 incompatible with PS3 Mad Catz Tournament Edition FightSticks
Mad Catz's extensive line of PlayStation 3 Tournament Edition FightSticks will not function with Sony's new PlayStation 4, Joystiq confirmed today with Mad Catz senior product development manager Richard Neville. "Playstation 4 will require a whole new set of peripherals," Neville said. ...
No cross-platform play for Smash Bros on 3DS and Wii U
The Wii U and 3DS versions of the new Super Smash Bros. will not feature cross-platform play, director of Sora Ltd. Masahiro Sakurai tells Joystiq. Since each version of the game has completely different stages, cross-platform play wouldn't work, he told us through an interpreter. Each version will ...
Returning to simpler days with Disgaea D2
Nearly ten years ago, a quirky little game called Disgaea: Hour of Darkness put developer Nippon Ichi on the map for lovers of Japanese RPGs – the ones from America, anyway. This quirky strategy RPG combined Final Fantasy Tactics with a Tim Burton-inspired aesthetic, and just as the genre ...
New hybrid figures jump into the Skylanders: Swap Force toybox
When you're tasked with previewing the latest and greatest in kid stuff, it's hard to not feel at least the slightest bit jealous. In my day, our molded lumps of China-manufactured plastics rarely interacted with technology in any meaningful way, and we liked it just fine. Even so, if you ...
IndieCade at E3: 7 Grand Steps
A group of alligators are stalking one area of the PC roundtable at IndieCade's E3 expo. They're tiny and plastic, and they're all over the laptop for 7 Grand Steps: What Ancients Begat, the first chapter in a new series from longtime indie developer Keith Nemitz, known as Mousechief. I ...
Achievements, unlocked: Microsoft details Xbox One's 'challenge' system
Microsoft's Cierra McDonald has outlined plans for the Xbox One's overhauled achievements system, detailing new in-game "challenges" that promote community collaboration. Xbox One challenges are time-limited tasks displayed alongside achievements in a player's profile. Unlike achievements, ...
Sony's 'Best of 2012' E3 sale now live on PlayStation Network
In an effort to tide players over until the games shown at this year's E3 are ready to be released, Sony has kicked off a sale for a handful of last year's best-reviewed games on the PlayStation Network. Through next week, PSN users can take advantage of steep price drops for a selection of PS3 ...
Runner 2 Vita release window narrowed to 'between mid-July and mid-August'
The PlayStation Vita version of Gaijin Games' Runner 2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien will block, spring, slide and/or jump its way onto PlayStation Network sometime between mid-July and mid-August, Gaijin Games designer Danny Johnson told us during this week's E3 in Los Angeles. "At least ...
Command & Conquer being developed 'as a live service'
Victory Games' Command & Conquer, built on EA and DICE's Frostbite engine, is launching as a free-to-play game later this year through Origin. Tim Morten, development director, says that while Command & Conquer will require an internet connection, it makes for a more nimble game that can ...
Featured Stories
Earth Defense Force 2025 adds another cheesy chapter to D3's bug book
Posted on Jun 18th 2013 2:00PM
The Joystiq Podcast
Super Joystiq Podcast Special: E3 2013 Day 2
Latest episode: Thursday, June 13th, 2013