Joystiq

PlayStation Store gets new demos, trailers

by Justin McElroy { 2 years ago }

If you took advantage of the new price drop on the 80 GB PS3, you'll be happy to hear that you can start putting those luxurious gigs to good use with tons of new content on the PlayStation Store. First off, you've got some new demos for Folklore and Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights and videos for Uncharted, Turok and Devil May Cry 4. In addition to some movie trailers, there's also a new Eye of Judgement-based theme.

As if that weren't enough, the new update also come equipped with value, as the price of David Jaffe's super fun Calling All Cars has been reduced for one week to $4.99. ... Hey, does this mean it actually is in the garage sale bin now?

Big Brother Microsoft is watching ... with portals

by Justin McElroy { 2 years ago }

You may think that the guys handing consumer relations for Microsoft have it easy (discounting, of course, the occasional bout of scarlet unpleasantness). But we're not sure we could handle the kind of scrutiny they put their new employees under. Take this poor sap who was allowed to work from his home ... as long as he'd agree to a portal in his living room.

Selfish as we are, we're less concerned about Nelson Rodriguez's plight than we are about the implications. Think about it for just a moment: Microsoft in bed with Aperture Science? Can that really be good news for anyone?

Joystiq at E For All 2007

by Kevin Kelly { 2 years ago }

So, we came, we saw, and we'll be back for more throughout Friday and the weekend, but the big question you all wanna know is ... will there be an E For All 2008? Signs point to "not very likely." Judging by some of the empty rows of gaming stations we saw, and the fact that it doesn't fill the South Hall at the Los Angeles Convention Center, it's hard to imagine this show being a giant success.

In fact, since it's held in the exact same place that E3 used to be, it's impossible not to compare it to the other shows. In fact it sort of feels like E3 reborn, except that they forgot to send out invites and let people know about it. There were a few busy areas, like the Konami booth which had a line of people all day long waiting to play the MGS4 demo (which was sweet, more on that later), and the Nintendo booth had bleachers set up where people patiently waited to get their hand on Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which was also sweet. If by sweet you mean button-mashy, which we do.

Also popular was Link's Crossbow Training, which we'll be playing tomorrow, and of course, Guitar Hero 3. We also witnessed several people pulling Peter Moore's at the Rock Band trailer, which was an extremely cool setup ... but sort of sparsely attended. Probably due to the fact that no one really wants to hear perfect strangers butchering The Clash's "Should I Stay Or Should I Go."

While there's not a ton of material out there that hasn't already hit the shelves, we did have fun playing around at the EA booth (we still love you, The Orange Box), and Civiization: Revolution is a lot of fun, which we'll be telling you more about soon. For now, the obligatory Guitar Hero III stations, the elaborate Rock Band stages, the ubiquitous cosplay shots and an overdose of Fatal1ty await you in the gallery.

Gallery: E for All 2007

80 GB PS3 price drop active now

by Justin McElroy { 2 years ago }

You have to hand it to Sony: Once they've made their minds up, they like to act fast. For example, you might have thought that they would wait to cut the 80 GB PlayStation 3's price until the 40 GBs were in the wild, but not so. In fact, you can scoop up the only PS3 that can play PS2 games for $500 at your favorite game retailer, even though its little 40 GB brother won't be on the scene until Nov. 2.

Just do us a favor. If you're going to buy a PS3, make sure you're doing it for the right reasons. Make sure you're buying it for Warhawk or Everyday Shooter or high-def movies or any of the many perfectly valid reasons to buy one. But don't buy it out of fear. Don't buy it because you're afraid that when you do want one the system will be even worse, or missing some other key feature that you care about. You're too good for that, and you work too hard for your money to be bullied into spending it. You already know that Sony dropped backwards compatibility to make you buy more PS3 games, you don't need to let your hand be forced. Remember, you're the one with the power. They have to make it compelling for you.

[Thanks, Mike]

See the first Dark Void trailer

by Justin McElroy { 2 years ago }

Apropos of its title, the last time we discussed Dark Void it was shrouded in mystery, but now a trailer has shined light into the void which, while scientifically unsound, is helpful for those trying to make a purchasing decision. It seems that, if this trailer is any indication, the first half of the game will be some boring stuff about gods and then your character will get a jet pack and everything will suddenly be awesome.

OK, so we're trying to keep our cynical composure, but this actually looks pretty cool, doesn't it? Not only are we a fan of the jet pack (we are) but it seems like its pretty integral to the game. Check out the part where the hero is falling while still using ledges as cover, it's sort of like Gears of War meets ... falling. OK, Dark Void you win. You're officially on the radar.

Nega-review: The Orange Box

by Kyle Orland { 2 years ago }

To start with, there's "the horrendous box art, which I'm pretty certain was designed by a select group of mildy-talented fifth graders." (8)

For Half-Life 2 and its episodic add-ons, "the visuals are not as good as they should be." (8) "The graphics don't compare with say BioShock, Gears of War or Halo 3," (6) and the game "suffer[s] from occasional framerate stutters and issues." (1) "There's also some noticeable pop-up." (6) "You'll ... see some chugs at certain points, such as during large chain explosions with equally large numbers of characters onscreen." (1)

"There are mid-level loads that halt the action... often [for] 30 seconds to a full minute. This is especially aggravating when a load comes during a high-speed chase." (8) "Whenever you approach a new area, the game pauses and loads. This feels distinctly last-gen, especially compared with FPS of the moment Halo 3, which seamlessly loads new areas without pause." (6)

As for the game itself, "some sections feel over-long, others just a lonely set of corridors." (3) Your AI teammates "can often get in your way when trying to move about small places [and] the AI often ignores [your] orders or will simply refuse to stay put and let you get through a corridor." (8) "Episode 2 is still linear. ... It's not exactly innovative - there's only one new enemy type and the lone new weapon isn't seen until the finale." (4) "The sense of familiarity can dull the game's appeal to [an] extent." (3)

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Today in Joystiq: October 18, 2007

by Ross Miller { 2 years ago }

From the man who brought you a Big Daddy caretaking a zen garden comes ... Big Daddy skateboarding. Now imagine, if you will, that the skateboarding Big Daddy has just crashed and, though the laws of ragdoll physics, lands in a very relaxed pose on a bench. Keep dreaming and check out the highlights for today:

Joystiquery
Off the Grid: Out of country
Today's sequelier video: Master Chief Sucks At Halo 3
X3F Week in Review: October 12th, 2007 - October 18th, 2007

News
Warhawk, fl0w expanding in December
Sony officially bringing 40GB PS3 to US
Lord of the Rings Online Book 11 brings new raids, player-owned housing
The best thing you'll see today: Portal gun in Half-Life 2
Soldier of Fortune: Payback banned in Austrailia
Sony sells PlayStation 3's Cell to Toshiba
Halo 3 soundtrack is coming and you could be on it
Okami confirmed for Wii, reports Eurogamer & MCV
MGS Portable Ops+ gets dated, no MGS4 PSN demo
Gametap Thursday: Sam & Max are free to kill Abe Lincoln
Tretton financial math: New PS3 + PS2 < Old PS3
Butcher Bay writer Flint Dille penning Sin City game
Hellgate: London demo available now on GameDaily
Punch Out's Little Mac to appear in Smash Bros. Brawl
Sega Superstars Tennis served up in 2008
Xbox 360 Arcade confirmed by MS, short on details
Seth Green heads up Mass Effect cast
GT5 Prologue demo coming Oct 20 in Japan
Guitar Hero III demo disc online, magically works on any 360
Target's $110 Guitar Hero III special edition for PS2
Battlestar Galactica escapes to PC and XBLA next week
Free PC Ouendan/EBA emulator hits public beta

Culture & Community
Reminder: E for All opens its doors today
The Wizard gets reunion screening from Ain't It Cool News
Concept art glued and bound in 'The Art of Midway'
Rat Race isn't all that funny

Battlestar Galactica escapes to PC and XBLA next week

by Alexander Sliwinski { 2 years ago }

Next week Battlestar Galactica, a "3D space shooter played on a 2D plane," makes its way onto PC and Xbox Live Arcade. Based on the popular television show, the game didn't really wow us when we played it back in July, but that's OK because it's meant as a felgercarb "mass appeal" cash-in on BSG fans who've been waiting forever for the final frakin' season to start in January. Thankfully the two-hour BSG special Razor premieres Nov. 24.

The Battlestar Galactica game has 10 single-player missions based on battles from the show. There is also a multiplayer component supporting eight players on XBLA and 16 on PC. Players can choose from four different types of ships on the Cylon or Human sides. The game will cost 800 MS points ($10) on XBLA and $20 on PC, available off XBLA on Oct. 24 and PCs Oct. 23. Now can we please get a real Battlestar Galactica game?

[Via Press Release]

Gallery: Battlestar Galactica (XBLA, PC)

Free PC Ouendan/EBA emulator hits public beta

by Kyle Orland { 2 years ago }

One thing you can count on for any decently successful rhythm game: someone will figure out a way to make a free PC clone. First there was Stepmania for DDR players, then there was Frets on Fire for Guitar Hero shredders and now there's Osu! for Ouendan/Elite Beat Agents fans.

The public beta, available since yesterday, does a remarkable job of capturing the tap-out-the-rhythm gameplay of the DS games, though the dancing cheerleaders have been replaced with static videos for each song. You can build your own levels or download over 100 "beatmaps" of primarily J-Pop songs that were made by testers.

Casual fans beware -- a lot of these fan-designed levels are killer, though there is an easy mode that makes things a little more manageable. Even if you're a master at the DS games, using the mouse takes a little getting used to. Then again, if you have a tablet PC, it's probably just like the DS games. Except, er, bigger.

X3F Week in Review: October 12th, 2007 - October 18th, 2007

by Richard Mitchell { 2 years ago }

It's time yet again for another X3F Week in review. Come with us and reminisce about all the wonderful things that happened in the last seven days. While you're at it, you should really enter our weekly giveaway too. You could win Forza 2. Forza 2. Sounds pretty good, right?

Community Stuff:

Xbox 360 Fancast 038 -- Road Rage
Yaris sucks
X3F Achievements 101: The Way the World Ends
An achievement streak comes to an end
Fanswag Weekly: Forza Motorsport 2
Win Forza 2. Accepting entries until Noon ET Friday

News:

A Famous Master Chief Suit Up for Auction
The perfect accessory for real life corpse humping
Is it the Orange Box? Non, c'est La Boîte Orange!
The tragedy of bilingual packaging
X3F hands-on: Virtua Fighter 5
The best fighting game. There, we said it
Project Offset is making its way to the 360
Off-handedly confirmed by developer, plus new screens
New McFarlane toys include armor variant Chiefs
Halo toys come in more flavors than just Master Chief
Bungie talks Halo 3 EXP boosting
Remember kids, EXP boosting is only for NBA players
Grunt says "Hey demon, the jerk store is out of you"
Video of Halo 3's hidden "Jerk Grunt"

September NPD: Xbox 360 takes the lead, Halo 3 to thank

by Christopher Grant { 2 years ago }

Though August was an unseasonably successful month for video games, we all saw September coming. Despite being released at the tail end of the month, Microsoft's Halo 3 juggernaut walked right up to the reigning NPD champ and rifle-butted it from behind. The Xbox 360 console jumped up two places with sales of over half a million units, nearly twice as many as in August. Total industry sales for the month: a staggering $1.36 billion thanks in large part to the efforts of Mr. Chief; hardware sales alone rose 188% to $418.6 million.

Microsoft Xbox 360: 527.8K (6.8 million total)
Nintendo Wii: 501K (4.5 million total)
Nintendo DS: 495.8K (13.2 million total)
Sony PlayStation 2: 215K (39.3 million total)
Sony PSP: 284.5K (8.6 million total)
Sony PlayStation 3: 119.4K (1.87 million total)

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Rat Race isn't all that funny

by Justin McElroy { 2 years ago }

It's just what we were afraid of. You've been lied to. When you learned of upcoming PSN title Rat Race, you were told it was an episodic comedy/adventure game. The truth, as you can see in this clip and the others after the jump, is that it is an episodic adventure game that contains objects that are supposed to be jokes. Honestly, if there's any justice it won't even be episodic. It'll just be a really short game.

Let's put it this way. It's The Guy Game bad. ... No, it's worse. Rat Race is aspiring to that level. When Rat Race goes home to its four-post canopy bed, it has pictures of The Guy Game hanging on its wall. We're still hopeful for a glimmer of comedy, a smirk even. We just haven't seen it yet.

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Concept art glued and bound in 'The Art of Midway'

by Jason Dobson { 2 years ago }

We'll admit that when approached with the subject of art in video games, Midway is not the first company that comes to mind. Not to say that their games are not art, as we sidestep that land mine and save the explosion for another day, but Midway's titles have never come across as particularly driven by aesthetic style, making us all the more curious as to the contents of Midway's newly released art book, The Art of Midway: Before Pixels and Polygons.

A 160-page collection of concept art for some of Midway's top titles, the book is said to include 200 illustrations covering such games as The Suffering and Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy, to the more recently shipped Stranglehold. And of course you can bet there will be quite a few doodles from the Mortal Kombat franchise as well, with Baraka's toothy grin featured on the book's cover. However, what's more interesting to us are the unpublished works said to be included in the book from Midway artists such as Stephan Martinière, Vince Proce, Ben Olson, and Bruno Werneck. Our coffee table has been looking a bit barren lately, and this book would fit quite nicely next to the sweat ring and stack of back issues of People.

The Wizard gets reunion screening from Ain't It Cool News

by Justin McElroy { 2 years ago }

It's rare that the intersection of film and video game makes for any good news, but this just happens to be one of those odd occasions. The film buffs of Ain't It Cool News are going to be putting together a reunion screening for the greatest video-game-related-yet-not-video-game-based film of all time: The Wizard. In attendance will be big brother Fred Savage, director Todd Holland and the titular wizard, Luke Edwards. Conspicuously absent from the list: Jackey "Lucas" Vinson, who apparently hasn't acted in 15 years. You may remember Vinson from his love of the Power Glove and its plentiful badness.

Tickets to the Dec. 7 show at the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, Texas go on sale on Nov. 5 on their website. If you're in the area and you don't go, well ... we're not sure we can be friends anymore.

Target's $110 Guitar Hero III special edition for PS2

by Alexander Sliwinski { 2 years ago }

This holiday Target stores will stock a special edition of Guitar Hero III for PS2 which includes two specially designed SG wired guitars for $110. Cutting to the chase, this means the extra guitar is $30, saving you $10 off the guitar's normal $40 price. Considering co-op and competition seem to be a focus in this latest Guitar Hero, the bundle doesn't seem like a bad deal for those who don't already have a guitar sitting around. There is no announcement about a Wii, PS3 or Xbox 360 bundle, but each of those systems should have online options to find another player -- with varying degrees of success.

Target is also sponsoring a Guitar Hero competition at E for All this week. We contacted the PR reps for the event and the bundle won't be a prize at the competition. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock hits store shelves on Oct. 28.

[Via Press Release]

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