Joystiq

Street Fighter X Tekken inspires another Ono vs. Harada battle

JC Fletcher — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 01:00:00 EST

After an already weird competition at Comic-Con, Street Fighter and Tekken reps Yoshinori Ono and Katsuhiro Harada, joined by fans, faced off in another set of challenges. This time, it was even weirder thanks to added German-ness.

Street Fighter X Tekken inspires another Ono vs. Harada battle originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 31 Aug 2011 01:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Count the punches in an hour's worth of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 footage

Jordan Mallory — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 11:30:00 EST

Capcom Unity has posted an hour's worth of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 gameplay footage showcasing the latest additions to the character roster. That got us thinking: How many punches can you fit into an hour? Hundreds? Thousands? All of them? All of the punches? Let's find out.

Count the punches in an hour's worth of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 footage originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 28 Aug 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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eSports draw record viewership numbers at Gamescom

David Hinkle — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 02:30:00 EST

Last year, 254,000 individuals attended Gamescom. This year that figure grew to 275,000 and amongst those attendees, 223,000 stopped by the ESL (Electronic Sports League) arena to check out competitive gaming live in both StarCraft 2 and League of Legends, as well as several console titles. Perhaps more impressive was the ESL's live feed, which was visited by 500 percent more people than last year.

Turtle Entertainment, the organizer of ESL at Gamescom, is clearly happy with the turnout of what was the first stop on the ESL Pro Series Winter season 2011, Germany's national video game league. "The response of the visitors in our hall was overwhelmingly positive," said Turtle Entertainment's managing director Ralf Reichert. "Gamescom has proven once again that eSports has thousands of enthusiastic followers, not only in the world but also in Germany."

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eSports draw record viewership numbers at Gamescom originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 27 Aug 2011 02:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Get indoctrinated with lots of Dragon's Dogma, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 video

JC Fletcher — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 19:40:00 EST

Capcom-Unity captured 30 minutes of uninterrupted Dragon's Dogma gameplay from Gamescom, controlled by producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi. Even while being interviewed, Kobayashi holds his own in open-field battle scenes and close-quarters combat alike.

Capcom also captured a producer interview-slash-gameplay session for Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, which is even more impressive in its potential for distracting a producer mid-sentence. Check it out after the break.

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Get indoctrinated with lots of Dragon's Dogma, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 video originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 25 Aug 2011 19:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Resistance: Burning Skies preview: One axe, two sticks

Ben Gilbert — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 15:30:00 EST

Resistance: Burning Skies protagonist Tom Riley is having a rough day. He awakes at Ellis Island to find himself alone in a stretcher, an IV still embedded in his forearm, while a massive alien attack wages on all around him. Other than his handy fire axe and helmet, Riley's ill-equipped to take on enemies, nonetheless a swarm of Chimera who are hellbent on recovering their stolen technology from the human resistance.

But this is a game, after all, so I pilot Tom towards the nearest exit -- a planked up doorway which looks ripe for the axing. Success! I couldn't help but notice in my exploration of Resistance: Burning Skies' opening room that the game looks much improved over the series' previous portable spinoff on PSP. Textures are more detailed, colors are more varied, and environmental effects actually exist. While the game is certainly early (Chimeran faces resemble little more than goofy flat paper masks at the moment), it showed a lot of promise. And maybe more importantly, it demonstrated to me that the PlayStation Vita's twin analog sticks are more than sufficient at delivering shooters on the portable.

Gallery: Resistance: Burning Skies (Gamescom 2011)

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Resistance: Burning Skies preview: One axe, two sticks originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 22 Aug 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gaming for the gold: Na'vi take the first International Dota 2 Championships title

Jessica Conditt — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 19:30:00 EST

Pay homage to the kings of the International Dota 2 Championships, Na'vi! These six Ukrainian studs won $1 million over the five-day tournament held at Gamescom, followed by China's Ehome, who landed in second place. The top eight teams competed bravely, so show some respect as follows:

1. Na'vi - $1 million
2. Ehome - $250,000
3. Scythe.SG - $150,000
4. MYM - $80,000
5. (tied) M5, iG - $35,000 each
7. (tied) OK.Nirvana.int, Mith-Trust - $25,000 each

Handing out over $1.5 million to the people who love your game enough to make it a career seems like a wonderful advertising strategy from Valve. Maybe eventually it'll be altered to include people who love Valve's games but have day jobs too. Maybe.

[Thanks, Aibbi!]

Gaming for the gold: Na'vi take the first International Dota 2 Championships title originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 21 Aug 2011 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GoldenEye 007: Reloaded gallery, direct from Gamescom

Jessica Conditt — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 15:30:00 EST

Gamescom isn't done giving us goodies, and today we have a roundup up GoldenEye 007: Reloaded screens for everyone to enjoy -- your mom, dad, cousin Larry and even that squat dude in a bowler hat standing right behind you. Maybe this gallery will wipe that serious, deadly look off his face.

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GoldenEye 007: Reloaded gallery, direct from Gamescom originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 21 Aug 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A fistful of new Shinobi 3DS screens

Jordan Mallory — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 13:30:00 EST

Griptonite's wall crawling, kunai hurling, shuriken throwing ninja action homage Shinobi looked pretty dang good back at E3, and these new screenshots, hot from the Gamescom oven, are making us hungry for more.

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A fistful of new Shinobi 3DS screens originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 21 Aug 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Joystiq Show - Gamescom 2011 Day 4

Jonathan Downin — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 12:30:00 EST

Filed under: Podcasts

It's the final day of Gamescom 2011 and that makes this the final podcast from the show, but don't be sad, the guys are going out with ~~style~~ a bang. Harmonix's John Drake and Eric Pope join-in, and their presence means the show has at least 1000% more apple pie talk than it would otherwise.

Gamescom is a unique beast. It is very different from the big conventions held in the US, and there are plenty of anecdotes here that provide a peek into the European games convention experience. For the full picture, also be sure to catch episodes from Day 0, Day 1 and Day 3.

Note: The audio has a few issues, but with lovely and understanding listeners like yourselves, it shouldn't be an issue.

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Hosts: Alexander Sliwinski (@xandersliwinski), Ben Gilbert (@BigBossBGilbert)
Guest: John Drake (@johntdrake - Harmonix) and Eric Pope (@MrPope - Harmonix)
Producer: Jonathan Downin (@jonathandownin - Game Thing Daily)
Music: "Bust This Bust That" by Professor Kliq

See all show links, and stream the show, after the break.

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The Joystiq Show - Gamescom 2011 Day 4 originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 21 Aug 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gamescom 2011 welcomes 275,000 attendees

Alexander Sliwinski — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 10:30:00 EST

Gamescom: Part Drei was another whopper. The premier European gaming event saw an attendance of 275,000, up 21,000 from last year. Despite no major incidents being reported, things did get a bit uncomfortable for organizers yesterday when the Koelnmesse reached capacity and entrance to the event was "temporarily" suspended.

Gamescom 2012 will take place in Cologne August 15-19. Like our roundups of official and unofficial statistics of the past two years, you'll find our 2011 list after the break.

Continue reading Gamescom 2011 welcomes 275,000 attendees

Gamescom 2011 welcomes 275,000 attendees originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 21 Aug 2011 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PSA: Dota 2 International Championships finals begin (early) Sunday morning

Jessica Conditt — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 00:00:00 EST

The International Dota 2 Championships will crown a victor Sunday, starting at 9 a.m. GMT (5 a.m. EDT), broadcast live via the official tournament site. Teams Ehome and Sythe.SG will battle in the loser's bracket for the chance to face team Na'vi for a $1 million first prize. Even "losers" in the International Championships end up winners in our eyes, with second place earning $250,000, third $150,000, and down all the way through eighth place's $25,000. It's just like T-ball, but more lucrative.

Continue reading PSA: Dota 2 International Championships finals begin (early) Sunday morning

PSA: Dota 2 International Championships finals begin (early) Sunday morning originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 21 Aug 2011 00:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dust 514 preview: Contractual murder

Ben Gilbert — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 18:30:00 EST

Here's that Gamescom preview where I tell you how shocked I was about a game I didn't expect to be all about. You've been warned. Still with me? Great. Dust 514, a first-person shooter MMO cross-platform experience from CCP Games, is without a doubt the biggest surprise for me of Gamescom. At the end of a long week of previewing dozens of games, I didn't expect to be blown away by the little hyped game from the Icelandic devs at CCP, but here we are.

As promised, Dust 514 ties the bizarre, often unbelievable world of EVE Online and its reality reflecting politics into an instanced first-person shooter MMO, seamlessly combining both games into a universe ("New Eden") that's been thriving for years now on PC. But CCP did more than offer lofty promises in a preview session I attended earlier today in a private hotel suite near Gamescom -- a team of devs from various CCP offices demonstrated the madness in real-time.

Make no mistake, Dust 514 is no Huxley. It's a very real MMOFPS with very deep economics and political systems tied to EVE Online, and it's already incredibly impressive, even though it's not set to launch until next summer.

Gallery: Dust 514

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Dust 514 preview: Contractual murder originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 20 Aug 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning preview: Reckon the combat is solid

Alexander Sliwinski — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 16:30:00 EST

It's hard not to be skeptical about Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. An RPG, by known strategy developer Big Huge Games, that was rejiggered to fit into Curt Schilling's 38 Studios long-in-development MMO's universe after the developer's acquisition. In our March preview of the game at GDC we said that the developer "might just pull this off." Now, after playing Reckoning at Gamescom, I have to say that Big Huge Games could exceed expectations when the game launches February 7.

During my demo with Reckoning I played as a mage and warrior, the two had distinct animations, but at their core were similar when it came to the rules of combat. Both characters I tried were level 20, so I was dropped right into a high-level character without much training. It wasn't really a problem as the combat system is quite intuitive. If you've played Batman: Arkham Asylum, Bayonetta or Fable, you'll easily pick up the fantastical warfare.

Gallery: Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (7/28/11)

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Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning preview: Reckon the combat is solid originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 20 Aug 2011 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here's how Dust 514's microtransactions work on your PS3

Ben Gilbert — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 13:30:00 EST

When Dust 514 was revealed back in 2009, its Icelandic devs at CCP also explained that it'll be microtransaction-based when it launches sometime next summer. Given that the game is now heading exclusively to Sony's PlayStation 3, I couldn't help but wonder exactly how PlayStation Network would handle microtransaction purchases in the game, not to mention what kind of price point Dust 514 would launch at given its business model.

"You effectively pay what we call a 'cover charge,' we're looking at likely around $20 for the initial download. That download gets you the game client plus a bundle of virtual currency which has the equivalent in-game value of $20. So you're basically getting that bundle of cash that you're using to start the game, and from there if you choose to play for free and just grind, you're welcome to do that. But of course we know a lot of people will convert," a CCP rep explained to me this afternoon. As of now, the plan is to release Dust 514 exclusively via the PlayStation Network.

Additionally, the player-driven marketplace so popular in CCP's other big MMO, EVE Online, will also be made available to Dust 514 folks, giving gamers a chance to build up their virtual empires without the use of their hard-earned spondulicks. "Bought currency items and non-currency items can be freely exchanged between the players," creative director Atli Mar Sveinsson added. To CCP, the free flow of the two marketplaces will keep the user base from splitting into two separate factions. "It avoids the buy/win problem that some microtransaction-based games have."

Like EVE Online, CCP expects some players to never even touch the actual first-person shooter gameplay of Dust 514, and simply spend all their time acting as virtual businesspeople. "I wouldn't be surprised if we get quite a few EVE players that join Dust but actually don't play Dust at all, they're just on the market speculating ... and they never go into a match," the rep added with a laugh. Here we go again!

Gallery: Dust 514

Here's how Dust 514's microtransactions work on your PS3 originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 20 Aug 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Joystiq Show - Gamescom 2011 Day 3

Jonathan Downin — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 11:30:00 EST

Filed under: Podcasts

Day 3 is here, and don't you dare go looking for Day 2 -- seriously, there isn't one. It's a special edition of the Gamescom 2011 wrap-up with guests from the development and publishing sides of the fence, as the boys are joined by GRiN co-founder Ulf Andersson and ex-creative director Simon Viklund, both currently of Overkill Software, developer of Payday: The Heist, as well as ex-Capcom director of production Adam Boyes, current head of Beefy Media.

The guys hit the history of GRiN, Ulf and Simon's new studio, Adam's insights into the problems with games publishing, and a host of other rarely discussed issues on the business-end of games. Outside of big reveals and a slew of trailers, inside industry talk is one of the best parts of these big conventions, and we have that covered in spades.

Get the podcast:
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Hosts: Alexander Sliwinski (@xandersliwinski), Ben Gilbert (@BigBossBGilbert)
Guest: Ulf Andersson (Overkill Software), Adam Boyes (@thebooya - Beefy Media) and Simon Viklund (@simonviklund - Overkill Software)
Producer: Jonathan Downin (@jonathandownin - Game Thing Daily)
Music: "Bust This Bust That" by Professor Kliq

Stream the show after the break.

Continue reading The Joystiq Show - Gamescom 2011 Day 3

The Joystiq Show - Gamescom 2011 Day 3 originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 20 Aug 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Battlefield 3 co-op preview: Army of one

Ben Gilbert — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 10:30:00 EST

If EA weren't already inviting so many comparisons between the two, maybe I'd feel guilty about juxtaposing the co-op section of Battlefield 3 that I played with the co-op ("Spec Ops") section of Modern Warfare 3 I played this week at Gamescom. Like MW3, my colleague Alexander and I were given hands-on time with a specific co-op mission in BF3 -- the same one played on-stage during EA's press conference.

Unlike Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games' demo, however, Battlefield 3's co-op section didn't feature any interesting kink in the experience. Moreover, Battlefield 3's co-op section wasn't co-op at all, other than the fact that I was playing it with a buddy. It could've been ripped from any section of the campaign and I'd have been none the wiser. While the Spec Ops mission we played in MW3 was built around the concept of cooperative play, with one player acting as eye in the sky and the other as bomb defuser, the mission in Battlefield 3, well, it wasn't. It was just a campaign mission with two people.

Gallery: Battlefield 3 (Gamescom 2011)

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Battlefield 3 co-op preview: Army of one originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 20 Aug 2011 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PSA: Gamescom hits capacity

Alexander Sliwinski — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 10:00:00 EST

Gamescom, currently taking place in Cologne, Germany, hit capacity earlier this afternoon, with event organizers closing off entrances "temporarily." Representatives for the Koelnmesse told Joystiq that the complex's capacity is 62,000. Reports from attendees state that the lines outside each of the convention center's entrances are currently packed.

If you are attending the show, please stay safe. And for the love of all, please wear deodorant.

[Image Credit: @KyozoKicks]

PSA: Gamescom hits capacity originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 20 Aug 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wappy Dog screens are the wappiest screens you'll see today

JC Fletcher — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 00:00:00 EST

We've seen new media for a lot of games during Gamescom. But what about Wappy Dog, the DS game about interacting with a robot dog? We made it all the way to Friday without seeing any more about the only game that comes with a robot.

Luckily, Activision Publishing finally indulged us with some wappy new screens of the DS game component. You and your battery-powered pal will be able to play a Whack-a-Mole game together, catch falling fruit in a basket, play rock-paper-scissors, shoot ... cannons at sharks ... and then just have a heart-to-cold-robotic-heart.

Gallery: Wappy Dog (Gamescom 2011)

Wappy Dog screens are the wappiest screens you'll see today originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 20 Aug 2011 00:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster preview: A children's game for adults

Ben Gilbert — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 21:30:00 EST

I'll let you in on a little secret about me and Double Fine's next game, Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster -- I played it back at E3, but unfortunately let my preview writeup fall to the wayside as the days after the big show continued. What's more shameful is that it was essentially the best game I played at E3, so I was more than happy to check out a new area at Gamescom and get a second opportunity to speak about it. A chance for redemption, if you will.

Luckily, nothing has changed, and Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster remains a magical experience two months later.

Gallery: Sesame Street: Once upon a Monster (Gamescom 2011)

Continue reading Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster preview: A children's game for adults

Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster preview: A children's game for adults originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 19 Aug 2011 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Awesomenauts preview: Looking pretty awesome

Alexander Sliwinski — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 20:00:00 EST

There's a reason Awesomenauts is called Awesomenauts, and not Goodenoughnauts. The 2D online battle arena game by Ronimo Games (Swords & Soldiers) was one of the surprise delights of Gamescom 2011. The title features a style of gameplay that's becoming familiar with the mainstream rise of games like League of Legends and Dota 2, but is a more arcade-style experience that is reminiscent of Monday Night Combat or Super Smash Bros.

Expected to launch on XBLA and PSN, all the game's matches are 3v3 and allow for every combination of couch and online co-op. Players have a home base, with two turrets (towers) to protect in each lane of the several available maps available in the game. Most maps include two lanes and a fog of war "jungle" area where teammates are can pick up extra cash, bonuses and health packs.

Gallery: Awesomenauts (5/18/11)

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Awesomenauts preview: Looking pretty awesome originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 19 Aug 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Asura's Wrath preview: Drunken boxing on the moon

Ben Gilbert — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 18:30:00 EST

We saw Capcom's bizarre CyberConnect2-developed action game Asura's Wrath back at E3, and JC wrote up an excellent preview at the time. Walking into the Gamescom presentation of a previously unseen part of the game, I was reticent to write up yet another preview just a scant few months later, but that feeling quickly vacated my brain and was replaced with pure, unadulterated madness -- madness that I'd be remiss not to share.

If you're not already sold on Asura's Wrath, here's why you should be: you fight a dude on the moon. Oh, is that not exciting enough? Would it be better if you knew the dude you fight is a god? Oh, and he's also obsessed with battle, constantly going on about how he "lives for it" and ... pffft, whatever, Asura's not listening. He's too busy being furious and punching that dude in the face with one of his six arms.

You'll excuse my lack of tact, but I came out of the presentation grinning like a child, ready to evangelize the uniquely bizarre experience that is Asura's Wrath.

Gallery: Asura's Wrath (Gamescom 2011)

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Asura's Wrath preview: Drunken boxing on the moon originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 19 Aug 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Sims Social officially launches on Facebook

JC Fletcher — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 18:00:00 EST

EA "officially" launched The Sims Social on Facebook yesterday, but it's been in open beta since August 9. That enabled EA to achieve the seemingly impossible task of having almost 5 million "monthly active users" listed on the game's release date. Nice trick!

In addition to that achievement, EA is launching its creepy, creepy game bolstered by a Gamescom award. The shadowy cabal of "independent experts" awarded The Sims Social with its "best browser game" award. We suppose there wasn't a "best browser game with which to proposition your Facebook friends" award.

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The Sims Social officially launches on Facebook originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 19 Aug 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Warner Bros media roundup: Mr. Freeze, impostors, Orcs and monsters

Jessica Conditt — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 16:30:00 EST

Warner Bros Interactive went gritty at Gamescom this year with new screens from Batman: Arkham City, Gotham City Impostors, Lord of the Rings: War in the North and, most gruesome of all, Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster. We still can't believe they're marketing those fluffy, brightly colored puppets to children. The humanity, WB. Check out all the WB galleries from Gamescom right here -- if you dare.

Continue reading Warner Bros media roundup: Mr. Freeze, impostors, Orcs and monsters

Warner Bros media roundup: Mr. Freeze, impostors, Orcs and monsters originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 19 Aug 2011 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Housemarque bringing Furmins to iOS this autumn

Ludwig Kietzmann — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 16:00:00 EST

Having dabbled with space rocks, zombies and tribalistic warriors, Housemarque is now crafting Furmins, a game that features that most popular of portable-game species: the adorable, fuzzy critter that would have gone extinct in about five minutes had it existed on Earth.

The Outland developer has released the above teaser video, which depicts Furmins as a physics-oriented puzzle game of sorts, with the titular fur-balls rolling around elaborate courses and bouncing off objects in the environment.

Hmm, perhaps even five minutes is optimistic.

Housemarque bringing Furmins to iOS this autumn originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 19 Aug 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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See every side of PixelJunk Sidescroller

JC Fletcher — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 15:30:00 EST

In case you frequently get confused by the series name, PixelJunk games often turn out not to be junk at all. In fact, in a bizarre twist, they're often quite good. They always look good, as you can see for yourself in this trailer for Q-Games' new PSN shooter, PixelJunk Sidescroller.

Or Neon Gradius, as we're calling it. Even the logo shows influence from Konami's series. As Gradius-inspired shooters go, this one is a lot easier to take in than Otomedius.

Gallery: PixelJunk Sidescroller (Gamescom 2011)

See every side of PixelJunk Sidescroller originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 19 Aug 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Street Fighter X Tekken set for 'Spring 2012' with 'totally upgraded online'

Christopher Grant — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 11:30:00 EST

Street Fighter X Tekken, you had us at "farting bears." Depending on your partiality to ursine flatulence, you may or may not agree, but a recent Capcom fact sheet provides some additional details. First, Street Fighter X Tekken will not only include the "online features from Super Street Fighter IV," but it also "features totally upgraded online functionality and some new surprises." We'll be honest, the bear farts surprised us a little.

The fact sheet also drops a "Spring 2012" release window. The last window we had broadly indicated a fiscal 2011 release, which would mean no later than March of next year. With "spring" being generally agreed upon as March 20/21, in line with the vernal equinox, and fiscal 2011 ending March 31, 2012, we're putting everything we own on Tuesday, March 27. You can practically take this to the bank.

Continue reading Street Fighter X Tekken set for 'Spring 2012' with 'totally upgraded online'

Street Fighter X Tekken set for 'Spring 2012' with 'totally upgraded online' originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 19 Aug 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Burnout Crash trailer hits the road, terrifies us

Justin McElroy — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 11:00:00 EST

We were really enjoying the first trailer for Burnout Crash, until it occurred to us that, statistically speaking, there are almost certainly some babies in those cars. Maybe even a whole baby family, going to volunteer at a baby soup kitchen or donate blood or something. Oh, and they have one of those cute suction cup Garfields hanging on the window. ... No! It's a baby suction cup Garfield. And he's just finished a 10-year prison stint for a crime he didn't commit, and he was driving to meet his son, Baby Suction Cup Garfield Jr. that was born while he was in lock-up. Also? It's his birthday.

...You should totally watch the trailer though. It's cute. Just try not to think about the ... well, you know.

Burnout Crash trailer hits the road, terrifies us originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 19 Aug 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Silent Hill: Book of Memories is really about a book of memories

JC Fletcher — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 10:30:00 EST

In this video, Konami producer Tomm Hulett explains the premise of the PlayStation Vita's weird spin-off game, Silent Hill: Book of Memories. "You receive a strange book. When you open it, you see your entire life story written on those pages," he said. "All your memories." You can then rewrite your memories and alter reality.

Apparently, judging by the gameplay, all the player-created characters then rewrite their lives as monster-filled nightmares -- with Hulett suggesting that even Pyramid Head shows up. In any other game, that would be weird, but it wouldn't be Silent Hill if the protagonist wasn't totally bonkers.

Speaking of gameplay, the above video features the first (early) direct-feed gameplay footage.

Silent Hill: Book of Memories is really about a book of memories originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 19 Aug 2011 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dance Central 2 keeps the beat going with playlists, improves 'Break It Down' mode

Alexander Sliwinski — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 09:28:00 EST

Dance Central players are well versed in the rote song selection of the original game, but Dance Central 2 will allow those who can't stop movin' to keep on keepin' on with playlists. Players can now chain multiple songs together to avoid being dumped into the song selection menu after every routine.

"20 is the current cap," Harmonix's John Drake told us at Gamescom. He showed us the menu, which featured six customizable options and several pre-made playlists, like "high tempo" or an "easy start." Another nice detail is that the total time required to complete the set updates itself as you add tracks. The transitions between songs are less than 20 seconds, and specific tracks can be skipped if you aren't in the mood.

We also checked out the game's new voice commands and "Break It Down" training mode. Voice selection is fully compatible in song selection (for both DC1 and DC2 tracks) and main menu. Drake demonstrated this by calling out several of the game's tracks.

"Break It Down," the mode that teaches the routines, has experienced a significant upgrade. Players can now select specific portions of a song to practice, skip certain sections they know better, slow down to learn specific moves and then speed it up again when they think they've got it. And for those who feel they are definitely hitting a move right, despite what the game says, the Kinect can now record and play back a section to show exactly what's going wrong.

Update: 20 is the playlist cap, removed ambiguity.

Gallery: Dance Central 2 (Gamescom 2011)

Dance Central 2 keeps the beat going with playlists, improves 'Break It Down' mode originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 19 Aug 2011 09:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Borderlands 2 improves UI for split-screen, now with online

Alexander Sliwinski — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 08:45:00 EST

Borderlands 2 will allow you to take you couch co-op companion online. Gearbox's Steve Gibson told Joystiq at the Gamescom reveal of the game that those playing split-screen will be able to go online and connect with two other players.

"The only situation you can not do is split-screen plus split-screen because you need a host," Gibson said. "And a split-screen guy uses a lot of CPU, so he can not be the host."

Another improvement for the sequel concerns the user interface, which has been reworked for split-screen. Now you can easily manage the upgrades menu without all that awkward scrolling around.

Gallery: Borderlands 2

Borderlands 2 improves UI for split-screen, now with online originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 19 Aug 2011 08:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amnesia dev discusses success; next project won't lose the 'scary atmosphere'

Alexander Sliwinski — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 08:00:00 EST

Thomas Grip, project manager at Amnesia: The Dark Descent developer Frictional Games, spoke on "Evoking Emotions" earlier this week at GDC Europe, and explained the intricacies of the game that absolutely terrified those who played it. We wanted to discuss his emotions on the success of the game, which has sold over 400,000 copies --- an impressive feat for an indie dev.

"While we were quite confident that we had a game that was better than any of our previous, we had never expected the response we got," Grip told us when we asked if he was surprised by the success. "The press response was very nice -- both in terms of coverage and grading -- but even more fun and surprising was the player response that continues almost a year after. The amount of videos, images, etc. that players have created in response to the game is just amazing, and several orders of magnitude larger than anything we have had. Sales-wise it's, of course, also overwhelming, and I think especially how good it is still selling even a year after."

Continue reading Amnesia dev discusses success; next project won't lose the 'scary atmosphere'

Amnesia dev discusses success; next project won't lose the 'scary atmosphere' originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 19 Aug 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New SSX trailer shows off social features, Ridernet competition

Mike Schramm — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 07:00:00 EST

The latest trailer out of Gamescom for EA's upcoming SSX shows off a little bit of that social functionality we just heard about. After a quick walk around the world and the previously revealed NASA terrain data (that was eventually turned into the game's maps), we get to see an example of how Ridernet will work. You can pull in a friend's (or, presumably, a stranger's) ghost run, then race it down a mountain anywhere in the game's world.

You can also see a quick glimpse of the online gameplay, with "up to 100,000 players" competing all at once around the globe. Not on the same map, we hope -- that would probably get a little crowded. There's a few screenshots of all of this functionality (and a sassy-looking updated Elise) in the gallery below.

Gallery: SSX (Gamescom 2011)

New SSX trailer shows off social features, Ridernet competition originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 19 Aug 2011 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The evolution of the 'Asura Pose'

Ben Gilbert — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 01:30:00 EST

Back at E3, Joystiq Features Editor JC Fletcher took the best picture ever, as seen above. Little did we know that Capcom's Kazuhiro Tsuchiya and CyberConnect2's Hiroshi Matsuyama would be so keen to show off their latest version of "The Asura Pose" this week at Gamescom after demoing Asura's Wrath. Osuuuu!

Continue reading The evolution of the 'Asura Pose'

The evolution of the 'Asura Pose' originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 19 Aug 2011 01:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Groove to the beat of this new Sound Shapes trailer

David Hinkle — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 00:30:00 EST

Here at Joystiq, it's our job to know what you want. We've heard your cries for more trailers featuring attractive 20-somethings playing Sound Shapes, so here you go.

Groove to the beat of this new Sound Shapes trailer originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 19 Aug 2011 00:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Seen@Gamescom: Need for Speed: The Pamphlets

Alexander Sliwinski — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 23:59:00 EST

No doubt, the city of Cologne takes Gamescom very, very seriously. With a quarter million visitors descending on the burg, marketing opportunities abound. There's Street Fighter X Tekken ads on cabs, Modern Warfare 3 mega banners in all the subway stations and every Media Markt (German Best Buy) street billboard in the city featuring hardware discounts.

But, it's the Need for Speed: The Run / Gamestop leaflets lining the subway cars for the straphanger crowd that really caught our attention. By this evening, most of the ads had been taken by the ravenous Gamescom public.

Seen@Gamescom: Need for Speed: The Pamphlets originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 18 Aug 2011 23:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PlayStation Vita has more RAM than PS3 (hey, cross-game chat!)

Christopher Grant — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 23:00:00 EST

More is always better, right? For Sony's upcoming PlayStation Vita portable, more RAM means it has some features that big brother PlayStation 3 doesn't: namely, cross-game chat, courtesy of the console's Party system. "So the reason why we were able to include something like Party, which enables cross-game voice chat," Sony Worldwide Studios prez Shuhei Yoshida told Eurogamer, "is because we designed Vita so it always has enough resources to handle something like that behind the game while it's running."

Sony has finally confirmed the specifications of the system's RAM, after rumors that the electronics giant had halved the RAM to better compete on price with the 3DS. "There were some rumours for the last few months. Some developer mentioned the RAM was halved. We never announced the amount of RAM, and we never changed it," Yoshida said. So in order to combat confusion, they went into Gamescom unafraid to share those details.

And, without further ado, we'll share those deets! The PlayStation Vita has 512MB of RAM and 128MB of V-RAM, compared to the PlayStation 3's 256MB of system RAM and 256MB of video RAM. While that's half of the PS3's video RAM, Yoshida reminds us that the resolution of the two platforms is very different. "The resolution on the PS Vita screen is much lower," he explained. "Even though it's four times the resolution of PSP, compared to the console, the amount of data you have to push is much smaller."

While this all sounds like good news, there is another reading: Since the Vita uses all that extra system RAM to allow for cross-game chat, one could assume Sony will remain unable to implement the long-requested feature on the PS3. Then again, nearly five years into the console's life, that inability should be pretty apparent to everyone by now.

[Update: Apparent as it may be, we thought we'd share this additional quote that Eurogamer published. "Once a game gets RAM we never give it back," Yoshida said. "It's not possible to retrofit something like that after the fact."]

PlayStation Vita has more RAM than PS3 (hey, cross-game chat!) originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 18 Aug 2011 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Seriously, give these Serious Sam 3: BFE screens from Gamescom a look

David Hinkle — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 22:30:00 EST

There's a GIANT SCORPION MAN THING in it for you.

Continue reading Seriously, give these Serious Sam 3: BFE screens from Gamescom a look

Seriously, give these Serious Sam 3: BFE screens from Gamescom a look originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 18 Aug 2011 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Binary Domain marks February 14 launch

Alexander Sliwinski — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 21:30:00 EST

Sega confirmed with hugs and kisses at Gamescom that Binary Domain will arrive February 14 and 17 in North America and Europe, respectively. The squad-based action game for Xbox 360 and PS3, by Yakuza creator Toshihiro Nagoshi, allows players to command their team via controller or voice commands.

Speaking of the voice commands, the publisher admitted that feature still has some lag to work out before launch. During our Gamescom presentation today, we learned that professing love for your female squadmate in the middle of a battle against a robotic army won't be appreciated, indicating there are some nifty Easter Eggs to be found in the voice commands.

Binary Domain marks February 14 launch originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 18 Aug 2011 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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'Frobisher Says' it's time to see a new Vita game

JC Fletcher — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 21:00:00 EST

If you haven't had enough PlayStation Vita media yet, here's an "absurd new game": Frobisher Says, a sort of WarioWare-style collection from developer Honeyslug. It appears to differentiate itself from other microgame collections with a really quirky art style, and this much, much quirkier trailer.

According to the trailer, you'll fight bears, stir soups, and smash your face into a cake as it goes by on a model train. Now that we think about it, we could have said that part first and the quirk would have been self-evident.

'Frobisher Says' it's time to see a new Vita game originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 18 Aug 2011 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nine minutes of Assassin's Creed: Revelations, direct from Gamescom

David Hinkle — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 20:30:00 EST

Unable to attend Gamescom this year? Well, you're not alone -- and thanks to the internet, you don't have to miss much beyond all of the people and smells and walking. The nine-minute demo above for Assassin's Creed: Revelations is just for you.

Now, it goes without saying (but we'll say it anyway) that this video may contain spoilers. So hit that play button at your own risk!

Gallery: Assassin's Creed: Revelations (Gamescom 2011)

Nine minutes of Assassin's Creed: Revelations, direct from Gamescom originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 18 Aug 2011 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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