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Watchmen DLC adds Moore to LittleBigPlanet

by Andrew Yoon { Sep 28th 2009 at 7:00AM }

It's been a while since the release of the last high-profile LittleBigPlanet DLC. DC's going to rectify that with its upcoming costume and sticker pack, inspired by the classic graphic novel Watchmen. As commenters on Media Molecule's official blog pointed out, it appears that Dr. Manhattan is missing from the pack -- but that might make sense considering the character's penchant for walking around naked with his bits showing. That doesn't sound appropriate for a kid-friendly game!

Of course, somehow a Sackboy version of Rorschach is, though ...

X3F TV -- XBLA in Brief: Watchmen 2, NBA 2K10 Draft Combine, Invincible Tiger

by Richard Mitchell { Aug 27th 2009 at 5:45PM }

The Summer of Arcade is finally over and, in a seeming effort to console us all, Microsoft has released not one, but three new games onto XBLA. We've got two beat-em-ups and one basketball game this week, in the form of Watchmen: The End is Nigh Part 2, Invincible Tiger and NBA 2K10 Draft Combine (we'll let you guess which categories those each belong to).

NBA 2K10 Draft Combine (400

/ $5) is probably the most interesting of the bunch, as it lets you create a player that you can later import into the retail version of NBA 2K10 when it releases later this year. Meanwhile, Invincible Tiger (1200

/ $15) is a unique brawler inspired by old kung fu movies and Watchmen ... well, Watchmen 2 (1200

/ $15) is exactly like the first one. Whether or not that's a good thing, we leave to you.

Check out the latest XBLA in Brief and get a taste of what each game has to offer.

Download the trial version of NBA 2K10 Draft Combine
Download the trial version of Watchmen: The End is Nigh Part 2
Download the trial version of Invincible Tiger

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Interview: Watchmen: The End is Nigh producer Andy Abramovici

by Kevin Kelly { Aug 5th 2009 at 8:01PM }

We didn't exactly love Watchmen: The End is Nigh, Part 1 when it came out earlier this year, and now there's a sequel. Although it was always planned to be a two-parter in order to avoid the shoehorn effort of rushing a movie/game adaptation into development, how do you handle building the second half of a game that got raked across the coals by critics on its first outing?

We spoke with Warner Bros Interactive producer Andy Abramovici about both halves of the game, the retail packages, and if we might ever see an actual Watchmen RPG, or indeed any other game at all. Watchmen purists and PS3 owners out there might want to pick up Watchmen: The End Is Nigh The Ultimate Experience to get the director's cut and both halves of the game. Read on for the interview, which does not include first-hand descriptions of WBIE employees reading our review and cursing our name.

Gallery: Watchmen: The End is Night, Part 2

Continued →

Wait, what? Watchmen game-plus-movie hybrid Blu-ray comes on two discs

by Jem Alexander { Jul 22nd 2009 at 1:00AM }

In February it was revealed that Sony was working on making game-plus-movie hybrid Blu-ray discs. A great idea that appeals to something movie-goers and gamers share -- an inherent laziness. The first game to feature this was to be Warner Bros' comic book masterpiece, Watchmen, which includes the downloadable game Watchmen: The End Is Nigh on the disc.

Well, on a disc, at least. The game and the movie are on separate discs which sort of renders the entire process pointless. Whoops! Still, at least you get the game and the director's cut for for $50. Plus, now you can throw away your copy of The End Is Nigh once you realize how bad it is, without parting with your copy of the movie. Still, bit of an epic fail all around, really.

Watchmen sequel and retail pack dated, priced and still (likely) boring

by Alexander Sliwinski { Jul 7th 2009 at 5:15PM }

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has put its Watchmen: The End is Nigh release plan cards on the virtual table of scheduling.

Watchmen: The End is Nigh The Complete Experience: Watchmen: The End is Nigh Parts 1 and 2 for PS3 + movie (Director's Cut with 25 extra minutes) on July 21 with MSRP of $50.
Watchmen: The End is Nigh Parts 1 and 2 on single disc for Xbox 360 on July 21 for $30.
Watchmen: The End is Nigh Part 2 available July 29 on PC for $15. The title will hit PSN and XBLM on July 30 and August 26, respectively, for $15 (1200).

We've previously said and shown all we need to about the quality of this downloadable movie tie-in title. The "make it expensive" trick won't work this time, like it did with Part 1. If there's a burning desire to purchase a downloadable title in your heart, there are plenty of better games on both systems to drop coin on.

Gallery: Watchmen: The End is Nigh

PSA: Watchmen: The End is Nigh is coming to the PC

by Ben Gilbert { May 22nd 2009 at 9:15PM }

Yesterday, and for seemingly no particular reason, Warner Bros. told GameSpot of its decision to not distribute the second episode of Watchmen: The End is Nigh on PC. Today, when asked for comment, a WB representative told Joystiq, "It is actually coming to PC. What we told GameSpot yesterday, as of yesterday, was what we knew."

Whoops! These things do happen though -- the question now is whether or not the publisher is doing the public a disservice by continuing to release poorly made games based on the classic Warner property. But that's a question you'll have to ask yourself. And maybe Justin.

Gallery: Watchmen: The End is Nigh

Watchmen: The End is Nigh Blu-ray to combine game and film

by Andrew Yoon { May 21st 2009 at 3:00PM }

We reported last night that the two episodic Watchmen games were going to be compiled onto a retail disc. However, we've now learned that PS3 owners will be able to get the game in one very awesome Blu-ray hybrid package.

Watchmen: The End is Nigh The Complete Experience is one of the first Blu-ray discs to offer a video game and movie in a single package. (The special edition of Stranglehold on PS3 included a copy of Hard Boiled.) Not only will the package include the Director's Cut of the Watchmen film, it will also include The End is Nigh Parts 1 and 2. The two-disc set will feature exclusive artwork and packaging.

The End is Nigh didn't get the best reviews, but we're encouraged by this news. This is an excellent step for the format to take -- one we hope other publishers will copy in the future. Bundling a game and film for one low price is certainly an attractive offer. Imagine: Batman: Arkham Asylum with HD episodes of the Batman animated series, or the upcoming Transformers game with the first film? There are a lot of possibilities here.

Watchmen: The End is Nigh coming to retail disc

by Alexander Sliwinski { May 21st 2009 at 9:30AM }

Both chapters of downloadable title Watchmen: ~~Please Make it End~~ The End is Nigh will be available on a retail disc around the time the movie makes its way to DVD/Blu-ray on July 21. 1UP confirmed the information with Deadline Games director Søren Lund at the Nordic Game Conference yesterday. A press release with the full details should be made available today.

Reviews for the The End is Nigh weren't exactly glowing (a la blue dongs), but perhaps having the two Nigh episodes together on one disc will reveal the undiscovered brilliance of the simplistic beat-em-up.

Gallery: Watchmen: The End is Nigh

Watch the Director's Cut of Watchmen on Blu-ray

by Andrew Yoon { May 13th 2009 at 1:00PM }

Click to see in Blu-ray high-def.

The Watchmen are coming to Blu-ray on July 28th. The only version of the film offered on the Blu-ray disc will be the Director's Cut, which adds 28 minutes to the film's already lengthy run time. In addition to a new 190 minute cut, the Blu-ray version of Watchmen will also include a number of Blu-ray exclusive special features, such as "Maximum Movie Mode" which allows viewers to watch the movie with split-screen on-camera commentary. Two features will also be exclusive to the Blu-ray release: "Real Super Heroes, Real Vigilantes" and "Mechanics: Technologies of a Fantastic World."

Whether or not you loved or hated the film, we're glad to see Warner Bros. add more exclusive content to its BD releases. For fans of the film, the opportunity to see about half an hour more of Dr. Manhattan in 1080p is sure to be a treat.

Trophies: Watchmen: The End is Nigh Part 2

by Andrew Yoon { Mar 23rd 2009 at 3:59PM }

The End is Nigh ... again. Nite Owl and Rorschach return in the next episode of the Watchmen episodic adventure.

View Trophy List | Visit Trophy Portal

Continued →

Watchmen: The End is Nigh provides more of the same in Part II

by Andrew Yoon { Mar 13th 2009 at 3:26PM }

Poor reviews won't stop the episodic Watchmen game. The End is Nigh: Part II has been rated by the ESRB, and it looks as though the next installment won't stray far from the first. For those that have played the first episode, that's not a good thing.

According to the ratings board, Rorschach and Nite Owl return in the second episode, dashing our hopes of playing as other characters in the Watchmen universe. Once again, Rorschach and Nite Owl will take advantage of rudimentary brawling skills to take down "bikers, gang members, and thugs." The setting of the second episode seems a bit raunchier than the first, with players tracking down "a villain who has molested an actress appearing in a pornography film." Players will then have to enter a strip club that contains caged dancers, peep-show booths and porno playing in the background. Hot stuff?

We're hoping that, in spite of the ESRB rating, the next episode of Watchmen takes its time to come out. Who knows? With a bit more development time, the developers might be able to churn out a more solid product. If not, can they at least drop the price?

Microsoft 'wrestled' with Watchmen XBLA size exception

by Richard Mitchell { Mar 9th 2009 at 5:30PM }

Following the debut of Watchmen: The End is Nigh on Xbox Live Arcade, Ars Technica spoke to Microsoft regarding the game's size. The title clocks in at over 1.2 gigabytes, making it the largest Xbox Live Arcade title to date. Honestly, the size restriction on XBLA -- originally 50MB -- seems to change so much that we're beginning to lose track. Still, even with games regularly hitting the service at over 300MB, 1.2 gigs is pushing it.

So, what pushed Watchmen over the edge? We imagine being tied into the release of the film had something to do with it, not to mention that a refusal by Microsoft would have made the game exclusive to the Playstation 3. Ars Technica reports that Microsoft "wrestled" with the decision to make an exception, but eventually allowed it in order to "ensure the best customer experience and optimize overall gameplay."

If 1.2 gigs is indicative of the overall quality of Watchmen, the next game had better be twice as big.

X3F TV -- XBLA in Brief: Watchmen: The End is Nigh

by Richard Mitchell { Mar 4th 2009 at 6:00PM }

If you haven't already read Joystiq's review of Watchmen: The End is Nigh, you really should. If you have read it and you still have the masochistic desire to learn more, allow us to direct you to the latest installment of XBLA in Brief. Unfortunately, the game just isn't all that great. Of course, we expect that from licensed games, and we might even be willing to forgive it, but the $20 price tag makes The End is Nigh difficult to recommend. Don't take our word for it, though. Give the video a watch and see what you think.

Download the trial version of Watchmen: The End is Nigh

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Joystiq Review: Watchmen: The End Is Nigh

by Justin McElroy { Mar 4th 2009 at 12:15PM }

Before we get to the review in earnest, I'd like to address the die-hard Watchmen fans, the ones who fall asleep with their nose in the book every night and who are positive that the upcoming film will be incapable of capturing the book's dark yet occasionally cheerful nihilism. Watchmen: The End Is Nigh is everything you fear from an adaptation, and anyone who tells you differently is not and has never been your friend. Run far, far away.

... OK, with those nerdlingers gone, let's talk about Watchmen: TEIN's merits as a game, shall we?

Gallery: Watchmen: The End is Nigh

Continued →

Watchmen available now from the European PSN Store

by Jem Alexander { Mar 4th 2009 at 9:30AM }

Checked the PSN Store today? Of course not, why would you? It's Wednesday. Perhaps as a sign that the End truly is nigh, the European PSN Store has updated today (a Wednesday, in case you forgot) with the first episode of Watchmen: The End is Nigh. There's no telling whether this was mistakenly released a day early, or whether it was placed on the Store on purpose. At the time of writing the American Store has had no such update.

If you're not sure about whether to grab the game, you can try out the demo first, though it does weigh in at a pretty hefty 1.2GB. If you enjoy that chunk of gameplay, you can upgrade to the full game for £12.99/€14.99. We're not sure if the offline-only co-op brawler is worth that sort of money (that's four copies of Noby Noby Boy!) but it might do a good job of getting you in the mood for the movie which releases this Friday.

[Thanks, Mads]