As you put the finishing touches on your latest laborious LittleBigPlanet masterpiece, you make a startling realization -- something is missing. Your homebrewed LittleBigLocale is missing its keystone; without this necessary component, your hours of work will have been for naught. The component is, of course, a statue of Horace Horsecollar and his bovine betrothed, Clarabelle Cow.
While the previous sentence likely only made sense to people who watched cartoons in the 1930s, the following will probably be clearer -- according to the latest revolution of Electronic Gaming Monthly's rumor mill, LittleBigPlanet DLC is set to include non-sony property, such as characters from Disney franchises and 3rd-party PlayStation titles. We're not sure in what capacity these properties could be included in Media Molecule's uber-customizable platformer, but we're certainly excited about the prospective existence of SackBaloo.
EGM's rumor-mongering editor amalgamation Quartermann has some info on another Capcom franchise that may get an update. Apparently Strider could be the next classic character to get a Bionic Commando upgrade, with the Q-mann saying that it could take on Devil May Cry-style gameplay.
The other tidbit is that Metal Gear Solid guru Hideo Kojima may be working on a first-person shooter. Allegedly Kojima has been to FPS studios Infinity Ward (Call of Duty 4) and Guerrilla Games (Killzone 2) for reasons unknown. Maybe he's just trying to learn how to make a proper better multiplayer experience?
Maybe it's just because we're nerds for gaming journalism dirt, but we can't get enough of Sore Thumbs, a blog run by former EGMers Dan Hsu and Crispin Boyer. Now that both have moved on from the mag, they're spinning tales about the glory days of gaming journalism, often with shocking results.
In the newest entry, for example, Hsu delves into the Ubisoft/Ziff Davis blackballing and how it, in a sense, played a part in his resignation. It's all fascinating stuff that's both unflinchingly honest and essential reading for informed consumers of game media.
Of all of the people who make crap up on the internet, the enigmatic EGM rumormonger Quartermann seems to be the most accurate. This could be because Quartermann is just an amalgamation of different EGM editors and they hear some fairly juicy stuff in their day-to-day, like (for example) the rumor that the same Rockstar team that made The Warriors is busy toiling on Max Payne 3, presumably to cash in on the upcoming movie.
With original devs Remedy hard at work on Alan Wake and Rockstar Toronto not working on anything that we know of, it would seem to add up. In a more nebulous vein, Quartermann also says that Rockstar North, the team behind GTA IV, is hard at work on a PS3 exclusive. You'll know if this rumor is ever confirmed, however, when you see PS3 fanboys with an otherworldly glow and floating a few inches off the ground as a choir of angels sings in the background. Also, 360 fanboys will start throwing themselves off buildings, Happening-style.
In an "epic"-ally long video with a lot of talking and not enough gameplay footage, 1Up's Dan Hsu interviews Epic's Cliff Bleszinski (no more CliffyB, remember?) about Gears of War 2's multiplayer. Bleszinski discusses various aspects of GoW 2's online chainsodomy, from god-mode animations, to hostage taking, to the new version of the Gridlock map. Although not confirming the final count, he also says about 10 multiplayer maps will ship with the game. Check it all out in the video after the break.
The fine bunch of gaming journos at Electronic Gaming Monthly have themselves quite a cover this month. It's covered in Helghast, and that can only mean one thing: oodles of Killzone 2 coverage.
The game hasn't been seen for over a month now, and, even then, it was a lot of what we'd already seen in video form ... only playable. With E3 just around the corner, EGM is taking the wraps off more of the game, promising to divulge "everything you need to know about PS3's killer app." More killer than Metal Gear Solid 4? We're all ears eyes!
Flipping through our copy of the July issue of EGM we were surprised to see that the editors passed up a coveted pre-release review of Metal Gear Solid 4 for ... a roundtable discussion? Turns out there's a pretty significant explanation. Here's what EGM has to say verbatim (emphasis ours):
"Metal Gear Solid 4 will hit store shelves shortly after this issue of EGM lands in your hot little hands. And four EGM editors -- Matt Leone, Jeremy Parish, Andrew Pfister, and Shane Bettenhausen -- have already invested plenty of time in the game. So why don't we have a full review in this issue? Simply put: We weren't happy with the limitations Konami wanted to impose on our comments, and rather than publish compromised reviews in the interest of being the first to rate the game, we'd rather wait until next issue, where we can be completely open and thorough with our thoughts. In the meantime, our MGS4 vets sat down for an informal chat about the game (and remember -- [once the limitations are lifted] you can find the full review on 1UP.com!)."
The latest EGM magazine features one final cover story by outgoing editor Dan Hsu, but boy does he go out with style. The main act is a rather detailed preview of Gears of War 2 with quite a bit of new details about the game. You will now be able to take pictures during the game and upload them to a website for sharing and voting.
Also noticed during their playtime was an Epic dev "watching a video," which is perhaps a hint at saved films. Other hinted features include 4-player co-op and AI bots for multiplayer. Our friends at X3F have some more details, including new weapons and what to do if you find yourself knocked down or stumble upon a downed enemy. The latest EGM, with GoW2 on the cover, should be on newsstands already.
When Red Storm creative director Christian Allen (of Ghost Recon fame) joined Bungie last year, we speculated that he'd be working on a Halo-themed squad game. Lending further credence to our mutagenically induced prescience, EGM's Quartermann rumor column reports that Bungie's first game post-Microsoft will be a third-person Halo prequel "chronicling early skirmishes between the ODST troops and the Covenant" (read: no Master Chief). They're not sure if this is the same as Peter Jackson's mysterious Halo project, though it would appear that they're hiring a team specifically for that. EGM says that Microsoft will be ready to reveal all once the hype-train for Gears of War 2 has come to a halt.
When we think of great gaming experiences that are long overdue for a revival, only one name comes to mind. No, not RocketKnight Adventures (good call though) ... it's Splatterhouse. If we've said it once, we've said it a thousand times: storytelling in games needs an injection of creativity! So what better property to invest our trust in than Namco Bandai's Splatterhouse? It's got it all: an evil mansion (the titular Splatterhouse, naturally); a Friday the 13th-style hockey mask ... err, "terror mask"; and a unique protagonist named Rick Taylor fighting gross, puss-filled baddies in a supernaturally enhanced quest to save his girlfriend.
With that said, we're sure you'll relish the news – literally bursting through the cover of next month's EGM – that Splatterhouse has had an ancient Mayan sacrificial mask strapped to its corpse and been resurrected for "next-gen" consoles, on a mission to retrieve money straight out of our wallets. But really, Splatterhouse?
We can still fondly recall those afternoons during our formative years when, while returning from school, we would notice a rolled-up, plastic sheathed bundle of gaming journalism joy poking out of our mailbox. We're sure it's an occasion that most of you can warm-heartedly remember as well, whether your poison was Nintendo Power or Electronic Gaming Monthly. Unfortunately, in a recent interview with the mighty Ombudsman, 1UP's Simon Cox spoke about the closing of Games For Windows magazine, and how EGM (as well as print gaming journalism as a whole) may have an expiration date.
Cox explained that "dollars and eyes," particularly the beady, sunken eyes of PC gamers, are continually moving away from print media and towards internet publications, stripping the ink-and-papers of their subscribers, advertisers and, eventually, life. Cox remarked that while EGM still has a great deal of spunk, and is supported by a body of loyal readers, it too will eventually be crushed by the incipient, grim claw of new media. The fact that you're reading this right now may support his claim -- have your gaming news consuming habits changed over the past few years?
[Update: 2:20PM: Shoe has posted a blog about the move, noting that his departure is "my own decision; I'm not being forced out or laid off or anything like that." Hsu writes that he plans to take "some much-needed time off" before considering future career moves.]
[Update 2:17PM: Ziff Davis Vice President for Editorial Simon Cox has written a blog post on the departure, noting that the move will be effective Friday, April 25.]
Ziff Davis announced today that Dan "Shoe" Hsu, former editor-in-chief of Electronic Gaming Monthly, will be leaving Ziff Davis "to pursue personal interests." Site Director Sam Kennedy will be taking over Hsu's current role as Editorial Director of 1UP Networks.
The abrupt departure, which comes after an 11-year career with the video game news publisher, follows a Tuesday announcement that Ziff Davis Games For Windows magazine would be going to an online-only format effective immediately. It's not immediately known what Hsu plans to do next. Kennedy will also maintain his current role as editor-in-chief of the online gaming news portal.
Hsu started working for Ziff Davis in April 1996. He briefly wrote for start-up Gamers.com from April 2000 - 2001 before returning to Ziff Davis and becoming editor-in-chief of Electronic Gaming Monthly. Hsu was promoted to editorial director last year, when former Editorial Director John Davison left Ziff Davis to start parents gaming guide What They Play.
In the April issue of EGM, Jerry Bonner, one of the first full-time raters for the ESRB, tells his side of what's going on behind the ESRB's iron curtain. Bonner says he rated 700 games during this six-month stint and has some suggestions he believes could help the organization. He recommends things like dropping the "Adults Only" and creating a "Teen 16" rating, actually letting raters play the games instead of watching videos submitted by the publisher, and for the organization to be less secretive. One of Bonner's great reveals is that the ESRB rates sequels based on "parity," meaning whatever the game's predecessor received is what the sequel will receive.
ESRB president Patricia Vance doesn't take the criticism lightly and retorts that Bonner's information has "misleading statements, factual inaccuracies, and misrepresentations." She goes on to say that the organization does not "arbitrarily" change ratings, nor does it give blanket ratings to franchises. The ESRB's secrecy is apparently in the interest of national security "integrity and trustworthiness of the ratings system." All we can say is if people didn't have to sign an NDA to get a job with the ESRB -- they will now!
Ziff Davis Media, publishers of EGM, Games for Windows Magazine, and 1UP.com, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection today, in an effort to get their house in order and pay off some of that $390 million in debt they were sitting on last August. What does this all mean? If approved by a court, Ziff will restructure to lighten its debt load ("a total of $400 million") and, theoretically, all of your video gaming properties should continue on with business as usual (we expect to hear as much from one of the 1UP guys in time). Jason Young, CEO of Ziff Davis Media, framed it this way: "Today's restructuring agreement goes a long way towards resolving the burdens of a debt load and capital structure established seven years ago, during a leveraged buyout of the company." More on this as we hear it.
LucasArts isn't the only developer with a proclivity to "hit the bricks", it seems -- according to the latest issue of EGM, Bungie is currently working on a heretofore unannounced project in conjunction with Lego. The brainchild of this unholy union is -- as you've probably already guessed -- Lego Halo. Set to follow the entire storyline of the Halo trilogy, and featuring gameplay similar to the other gamesin the Legocrossover genre (with just a dash of traditional FPS fare mixed in), this chimera is sure to sell like hotcakes to fans of Master Chief and construction toys both -- if it actually existed, that is.
As many of our loyal tipsters (as well as one of our sister sites) didn't realize, this exclusive preview ran in the April edition of EGM -- the same edition which is infamous for its history of April Fools' skullduggery. Sorry to break your naïve heart, if you didn't see this coming -- but the only way you're going to get your hot little hands on Lego Halo is if you order it from a parallel universe. Would you mind picking up a copy of Mushroom Kingdom Hearts for us while you're over there?
