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Interview: Valve's Doug Lombardi


Valve's PR overlord, Doug Lombardi, answered our burning Left 4 Dead 2 questions at a recent event in London. We discuss PS3 development, the new cast and clarify some of the game's features, so read on.

So first thing's first. Where's Half Life 2 Episode 3?

Laughs. Stay tuned! No news on that today.

Worth a try! What's the real deal with PS3 development? At the end of last year you seemed quite up on the idea and then nothing since then.

We're still up on the idea. The thing that we've come to the conclusion on is that we've got to get some PS3 developers at Valve. We always look at everything as if we were customers of our products -- what would we want and what would we expect? If you look at The Orange Box -- PC: 96 on Metacritic, 360: 96 on Metacritic, PS3 like... 84 or something. And then you look at Left 4 Dead, I think it was 89 or 90 on both platforms.

Continued after the break.

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Valve 'up' on idea of PS3 development, waiting to build talented PS3 team

Valve isn't quite as against the idea of developing games for the PS3 as we previously thought. Speaking to Valve's Doug Lombardi at the Left 4 Dead 2 event in London today (look out for the full interview soon), we discovered that the company is still "up on the idea" of developing for the PS3 -- it's just waiting until it has hired some decent PS3 coders. "If you look at The Orange Box -- PC: 96 on Metacritic, 360: 96 on Metacritic, PS3 like... 84 or something. That's not even close to where we are right now with the 360 and PC and the reason is people."

Lombardi went on to say that "we have to get people under our roof who are dedicated, talented PS3 guys and then all bets are off. We can take the same sort of strides and get the quality out of the box and offer the same support post-launch on that platform, as well." Sounds like Valve-developed PS3 games are more a case of "when" than "if," nowadays.

When asked whether Valve is actively seeking to hire PS3 developers, he noted that "Valve is always looking to hire people. So yeah, definitely." Are you a dedicated PS3 coder who wants to make Left 4 Dead 3 for the system? You know what to do. We look forward to seeing your handiwork in late 2010.

PSN Thursday: The Punisher will shock you to your Qore


The American PSN update today isn't quite as interesting as the European one, but it's still got an okay amount of content. Punisher: No Mercy has been released, alongside the latest episode of Qore and the normal amount of DLC. PSP fans can choose from a selection of new games, including Capcom Classics Collection Remixed. There are also some more PS3 and PSP themes and some Rock Band Unplugged DLC.

Choose your platform to view the corresponding release list:



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

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Capcom reveals list of PSP and PS1 games coming to PSN


Capcom is making good on its promise to release a ridiculous amount of PSP and PS1 titles on the PSN and has announced, via the PS Blog, the next batch of games that will be available to (re)purchase. Resident Evil fans won't be disappointed with the rest of the PS1 franchise entries making their way to the PSN, alongside Dino Crisis. PSP fans will also get their hands on seven titles, including two Mega Man games, two Capcom Classics collections, Darkstalkers and Power Stone Collection.

It's a pretty good bunch of games and you can see the full list after the break. Other than Capcom Classics Remixed, which releases in America this week, none of the other games have been dated for any territory, nor even confirmed for European release. We've contacted Capcom Europe to ask, but release dates for the US will be revealed on the PlayStation Blog over time.

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And you thought DJ Hero was expensive in America


Europeans will be paying through the nose -- but pay they will, if past Hero franchise figures are anything to go by -- for the next rhythm game from Activision. ShopTo has told Eurogamer that DJ Hero will retail for a ridiculous £108 in the UK. That's about $178 -- a $50 markup from the already silly US price.

Retailers are doing their best to bring the price down to something a little more reasonable, with ShopTo offering the game for £94.85 and HMV listing a £99.99 price point. Still a bit steep, but we suspect the game will still sell pretty decently. Although, that depends on how much Scratch will be selling for ...

Dead Space Extraction box art is terrified and screaming


The guys at Visceral Games have revealed the box art for the upcoming Wiixclusive Dead Space prequel, Dead Space Extraction. This time, there's no sign of Isaac or his iconic space suit. Instead, it consists of a terrified and screaming woman protecting a man from evil space beasties -- an ultimately futile battle if the events of the first game are anything to go by.

We're all for equal opportunities in the space monster-battling workplace, but this terrified and screaming woman is using Isaac's plasma cutter -- is she a space-engineer too? We suppose anything will do when you're terrified and screaming for your life. Try not to look at the artwork too long, you might get the image of that poor woman's face stuck in your head, like we have ...

Obsidian confirms the cancellation of Aliens RPG [Update: Sega agrees]


[Update: And, not with a bang but a whimper, Sega has confirmed the cancellation of Aliens RPG, telling Giant Bomb, "At this point, SEGA has no plans to move forward with the Aliens RPG. The Aliens franchise offers us so much content to choose from that we feel it important to take a step back and carefully consider the type of game we want to release. We plan to continue working with the Aliens franchise and ask fans to be patient and stay tuned for more information about what SEGA has coming out for the Aliens series of games, starting with the upcoming Alien vs. Predator game. We are very excited about and focused on Alien vs. Predator, which promises gamers a fantastic single player game and an equally compelling multiplayer experience. We are confident that it provides all the excitement and fun that the Aliens and Predator fans are looking for!"]

[Original: Finally, Aliens RPG's will it, won't it dance has come to an official, if disappointing, end. We were hoping the many, many rumors of its cancellation would be for naught, but a moderator at the Obsidian forums has confirmed that the project is dead; "unfortunately, it is true that we are no longer working on the game, and we wanted to finally announce that officially to everyone who has been following its development."

Hopefully the same isn't true for Aliens: Colonial Marines, or that would leave Sega with only Aliens vs Predator in development. The Japanese publisher further confirmed the project's termination to GameSpot, saying, "At this point, Sega has no plans to move forward with the Aliens RPG."]

Revenge of the annoying countdowns: Square Enix hints at 'new game'

Yes, another countdown. Don't worry, we hate them as much as you do, but Japanese publishers seem to love them. This time it's Square Enix's turn to announce a new (or, knowing Square Enix, old) game through the medium of time itself. The countdown takes place on a blank canvas with a landscape sketch taking shape in the bottom hand corner, along with the number four. We imagine this will expand to fill the page as the countdown makes its way to zero, which will occur on July 6.

There's also some very faint music, which will probably get louder as the countdown proceeds. It sounds like an old-school MIDI to us, though we, along with our pals Shazam and Midomi, don't recognize it. It could be a remake, but at this point there's not much to go on. Hopefully we'll find out more when the countdown finishes, but nowadays we can't even be certain about that ...

[Thanks, Sean]

PSN Thursday: Droplitz, Mobile Light Force and DLC aplenty


North America wins the prize for Best PSN Update again this week. Droplitz emerges alongside a new PS1 game -- Mobile Light Force -- and some DLC for High Velocity Bowling, LittleBigPlanet and Cuboid. There's also a BIGS 2 demo and PSP fans can grab one of four full games, or some DLC for Rock Band Unplugged.

Choose your platform to view the corresponding release list:



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

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PSP devs given 'opportunity to look at non-gaming applications'


PlayStation's Al De Leon was sneaking around New York with a prototype of the new PSP Go and, when asked about possibility of developers producing non-game applications for the device (and, in turn, other versions of the PSP), stated that content "will mostly be games, but there's an opportunity to look at non-gaming applications." Speaking to CNET, he demonstrated the new device in a video, which you can see after the break.

With rumors pointing to a non-gaming section of the PSP Store set to be revealed at Gamescom Cologne in August, we could be seeing some interesting non-gaming additions to the PSP library soon.

[Via Edge-Online]

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Dungeon Fighter Online beta applications now open

Nexon's bizarre free-to-play MMORPG, Dungeon Fighter Online, mixes Golden Axe style side-scrolling gameplay with 2D cartoon artwork and massively multiplayer persistent RPG elements. You can try it for yourself on your PC by signing up for the closed beta on the official Dungeon Fighter Online website. Sign-ups end on July 6.

Nexon will announce the dates of the beta at a later time. Meanwhile, feel free to read up on the various classes or Massively's hands-on impressions of the game from E3.

[Via Big Download]

Take-Two: Agent is about espionage, set in the '70s


Agent will be "a game about espionage, set in the 1970s" and will be "very, very different" from Grand Theft Auto, according to Take-Two's CEO, Ben Feder, in an interview with Eurogamer. Yeah, it's not much, but at least it's more than a name. He goes on to discuss the success of GTA IV and Chinatown Wars, and gives his refreshing take on the role of censorship in the video game industry.

Feder also discussed exclusivity in the industry today, calling them "relationship and contractual matters," where much information is left undisclosed. With regards to the PS3 exclusivity of Agent, Feder says the company "won't disclose anything beyond what we've already said." Though he does go on to say that "it's important for us to be with Sony, and it's important for Sony, I think, to be with us." As for whether the GTA IV DLC packs will come to the PS3? "We don't talk about that, unfortunately."

The Last Guardian trailer analyzed in depth


What are gamers, if not obsessive? It's the reason collector's editions and gotta-catch-em-all games like Pokemon exist. Another example of our obsessive nature? Overanalysis. Eurogamer's Digital Foundry has picked apart Team Ico's The Last Guardian trailer in an effort to determine whether the footage was taken in-game or not. The video rundown (which you can view on Eurogamer) is certainly interesting, particularly to those with some knowledge of 3D artistry. Even if not, at least it's an excuse to watch the trailer again.

The final say: Digital Foundry just doesn't know whether all the footage is in-game or not, as "some scenes appear to have anti-aliasing, while others have none at all. Some scenes are confirmed 720p, while others -- due to the compression of the video asset -- are much more difficult to discern." Tricksy. We'll no doubt find out once we see more of the game in action. Which will be soon, right? Please?

Uncharted 2 crowned Best of E3 in Game Critics Awards

The winners of the annual Best of E3 Game Critics Awards have been announced, with Uncharted 2 taking home the gold as "Best of Show." Not only that, but the game was also awarded "Best Console Game" and "Best Action/Adventure Game," taking the lead with three wins. Check out the trailer above (yes, again) for a good indication of why Uncharted 2 was handed the grand prize.

Meanwhile, Scribblenauts also got the recognition it deserved, coming in second with two awards for "Best Original Game" and "Best Handheld Game." No other games received multiple awards, though Valve recaptured the "Best Online Multiplayer" award with Left 4 Dead 2 a year after its predecessor did the same in 2008. While EA's Brütal Legend is nowhere to be seen in the list of winners, EA did take home more wins than any other publisher (three, if you're curious). And while the PS3-exclusive Uncharted 2 took top honors, from a console perspective the Xbox 360 edged out the PS3 by a single win, at eight versus seven.

Check out the full list of winners after the break and, for more granular stats, check out the breakdowns at the Game Critics Awards website.

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Rumor: Command & Conquer 4 could feature persistent RPG mechanics


Well? How about it? If this online survey -- conducted by British marketing firm 2CV -- is to be believed, the next Command & Conquer game could feature "innovative" RPG features, as well as co-operative multiplayer. The survey goes on to suggest that the RPG features will be persistent throughout your entire C&C4 career, with experience points accumulating constantly over successive games, allowing you to unlock new "units, powers and upgrades."

The survey also mentions taking control of "the first ever mobile base in RTS games" (guess they didn't play Warcraft 3, then,) as well as a class system, co-op gameplay and 5-v-5 multiplayer. Basically, it sounds like an MMO. Is that what you want from the next Command & Conquer? Be sure to let EA know.

Of course, none of these features are confirmed and any number of them could be shelved between now and the game actually being announced. Check out the second screenshot after the break for the full list of potential features.

[Thanks Jake!]

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Joystiq Features





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