Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com Joystiq http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://www.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2013 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[God of War: Ascension demo hits PSN alongside new trailer]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2013/02/26/play-the-god-of-war-ascension-demo-on-psn-watch-the-trailer-he/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/02/26/play-the-god-of-war-ascension-demo-on-psn-watch-the-trailer-he/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/02/26/play-the-god-of-war-ascension-demo-on-psn-watch-the-trailer-he/#comments
The single-player demo for God of War: Ascension is available now for all users on the PlayStation Network. There's also a launch trailer out for the game, as seen above. Turns out the pre-divine Kratos is just as popular with the ladies as the fully-powered one was. Oh, and he's plenty angry, too.

JoystiqGod of War: Ascension demo hits PSN alongside new trailer originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 26 Feb 2013 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>demodownloadfreegod-of-wargod-of-war-ascensiongowkratoslaunch-trailerplaystationps3psnreleasesingleplayersonysony-santa-monicatrailerTue, 26 Feb 2013 20:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Playing with age in Starbreeze's 'Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons']]>http://www.joystiq.com/2012/10/30/playing-with-age-in-starbreezes-brothers-a-tale-of-two-sons/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/10/30/playing-with-age-in-starbreezes-brothers-a-tale-of-two-sons/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/10/30/playing-with-age-in-starbreezes-brothers-a-tale-of-two-sons/#comments Experimenting with Starbreeze's 'Brothers A Tale of Two Sons' with director Josef Fares"Nobody knows how to make a game yet," says film director Josef Fares, quickly clarifying his statement isn't an attack on the industry but a suggestion that game creation shouldn't be a set science. "It's still a time where we're open to experimentation," the international director adds.

Born in Lebanon, Fares grew up in Sweden where he became a director, but his next project pairs him with developer Starbreeze Games to create a game called Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (formerly referred to as "P13" in Starbreeze's internal "project" numbering system). Brothers has been in development for a number of years, with Fares even working on a few of the game's prototypes before the team at Starbreeze locked down the Unreal-developed downloadable title for a 2013 release.

The core feature of Brothers is, of course, the game's siblings. But Fares says he's fought off all suggestions by his fellow game makers that the characters should each be controlled by a separate player. Instead, he says, Brothers is designed to have both characters controlled by a single player in a very specifically designed campaign experience.

Gallery: Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (10/29/12)

Continue reading Playing with age in Starbreeze's 'Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons'

JoystiqPlaying with age in Starbreeze's 'Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons' originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 30 Oct 2012 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>brothersbrothers-a-tale-of-two-sonsco-opjosef-faresp13playstationpreviewps3singleplayerstarbreezeTue, 30 Oct 2012 17:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Mass Effect 3 single-player DLC to focus on Shepard]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2012/07/17/mass-effect-3-single-player-dlc-to-focus-on-shepard/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/07/17/mass-effect-3-single-player-dlc-to-focus-on-shepard/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/07/17/mass-effect-3-single-player-dlc-to-focus-on-shepard/#comments So, what's next for Mass Effect? Producer Mike Gamble showed off one picture of future Mass Effect 3 content in his panel at Comic-Con, and from what he told Joystiq it seems to point to more single-player DLC. "We want to do single-player DLC," he said. "We want to do single-player, maybe more multiplayer if people still play it."

That single-player DLC, whatever it is, will still be about Shepard, not someone else in the universe. "Mass Effect 3 is Shepard's story," said Gamble, "so the single-player DLC for Mass Effect 3 will probably focus around Shepard."

The Earth DLC pack for Mass Effect 3 will be the fifth update to the game since launch, following three other multiplayer updates, and the Extended Cut update that fans begged for. Mike Gamble and his team have learned a lot over the course of these updates, but he told us there were quite a few things that surprised them about the reception to Mass Effect 3 multiplayer.

"We see people who have everything unlocked all the way up to level 20 on everything, plus all the mods, plus all of the gear, everything," said Gamble. "It takes a lot of time, a lot of time to get that stuff, like hundreds and hundreds of hours of play to usually get up to that level. And some of these people had done it in the first month to two months."

Gamble was also been surprised by the response to the Vorcha class, playable for the first time in the Rebellion Pack DLC. "I expected people to shy away from the Vorcha because they're Vorcha, but everyone seems to love to play with them."

JoystiqMass Effect 3 single-player DLC to focus on Shepard originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 17 Jul 2012 02:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>comic-concomic-con-2012dlcearthinterviewmass-effect-3microsoftmike-gamblepcplaystationps3sdcc-2012shepardsingleplayerxboxTue, 17 Jul 2012 02:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Might & Magic Heroes 6 beta starts on June 28, pre-orders in first]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2011/06/02/might-and-magic-heroes-6-beta-starts-on-june-28-pre-orders-in-fir/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/06/02/might-and-magic-heroes-6-beta-starts-on-june-28-pre-orders-in-fir/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/06/02/might-and-magic-heroes-6-beta-starts-on-june-28-pre-orders-in-fir/#comments Ubisoft has announced that the latest iteration in the seminal fantasy strategy series, Might & Magic Heroes 6, will get a closed beta starting up on June 28. The announcement trailer for the beta is posted after the break and, as you can see, it features plenty of updated mechanics and gameplay systems, new graphics, and lots of strategy nerdery to geek out with.

Pre-ordering the game early will get you access into the beta, which means you'll get to see both single- and multiplayer content before the game arrives in stores on September 8.

Continue reading Might & Magic Heroes 6 beta starts on June 28, pre-orders in first

JoystiqMight & Magic Heroes 6 beta starts on June 28, pre-orders in first originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 02 Jun 2011 06:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>betaMight-and-Magic-Heroes-6multiplayerpcpreordersingleplayerubisoftThu, 02 Jun 2011 06:02:00 EST<![CDATA[Resistance 3 preview: Variety pack]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2011/04/13/resistance-3-preview-variety-pack/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/04/13/resistance-3-preview-variety-pack/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/04/13/resistance-3-preview-variety-pack/#comments Just over a week after its Community Day reveal of new Resistance 3 gameplay, Insomniac was back at it again, this time showing off a new single-player level and a new multiplayer map in Hollywood. I also got a chance to actually play through the boat level we saw last time around, and had the distinct feeling that, more than anything else for this game, Insomniac is really playing with the pacing of a first-person shooter.

"Part of it is really trying to keep a better picture of the game as a whole," lead designer Drew Murray told me. "Much more in Resistance 3 than in past games, the design department has been more aware of what everyone else is doing," he said, which means more playtesting, and more communication between the teams of just what a level is supposed to feel like.

Murray said that early in development, each level in Resistance 3 was assigned a descriptive word, and the word for the start of the forest-based level, seen for the first time this week, was "hunted."

Gallery: Resistance 3 (4/13/11)

Continue reading Resistance 3 preview: Variety pack

JoystiqResistance 3 preview: Variety pack originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 13 Apr 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>deadeyeinsomniacmultiplayerplaystationps3Resistance-3shootersingleplayersonyWed, 13 Apr 2011 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Time-traveling RTS Achron now playable, available for pre-order]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2010/01/05/time-traveling-rts-achron-now-playable-available-for-pre-order/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/01/05/time-traveling-rts-achron-now-playable-available-for-pre-order/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/01/05/time-traveling-rts-achron-now-playable-available-for-pre-order/#comments
 Indie developer Hazardous Software has announced that you can now preorder its still-in-development time-bending RTS, Achron, on its website. "Pre-order" in this case means something a little different than usual: By giving Hazardous $29.99 now, you'll get access to the game's current alpha version, which includes five single-player levels. According to the release calendar, you'll get access to the rest of the game later this year, with a multiplayer beta in February, a level editor around April and a full game release a year from now in January 2011.

We spoke with the developer's rep, who tells us that it's hoping to stick to the release calendar like glue -- he even says the dates there are slightly "conservative." Dear readers of this post in 2011: If time travel does exist in the future, could you maybe come back here to the past and tell us if this complicated little game is any good?

JoystiqTime-traveling RTS Achron now playable, available for pre-order originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 01:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>achronalphadownloadhazardous-softwarelevelsparadoxpre-orderreleasertssingleplayersoftwaretime-travelversionTue, 05 Jan 2010 01:30:00 EST<![CDATA[BioWare's Ray Muzyka on how to make single-player gaming more social]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2009/12/28/biowares-ray-muzyka-on-how-to-make-single-player-gaming-more-so/http://www.joystiq.com/2009/12/28/biowares-ray-muzyka-on-how-to-make-single-player-gaming-more-so/http://www.joystiq.com/2009/12/28/biowares-ray-muzyka-on-how-to-make-single-player-gaming-more-so/#comments The good folks at IncGamers had a chat with one of BioWare's founding medical doctors, Ray Muzyka, about the company's history of classic single-player gaming and its upcoming foray into the world of massively multiplayer with Star Wars: The Old Republic. Muzyka says that the line between solo and collective experiences is blurring: even traditionally single-player games are dipping into the vast realms of multiplayer co-op and competition through online social tools and downloadable content.

Speaking specifically, he says that Dragon Age: Origins is a good example, with online social features for what is definitely a single-player experience. And Mass Effect 2, he says, will explore these ideas through its own DLC. In fact, he outright guarantees us that BioWare is "planning more [DLC] than in Mass Effect 1." As players who couldn't get enough of the two packs on offer for the original game, that's Muzyka to our ears.

JoystiqBioWare's Ray Muzyka on how to make single-player gaming more social originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 28 Dec 2009 22:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>biowaredlcdoctorsdownloadable-contentdragon-agefeaturesgreg-zeschukincgamersmass-effectmass-effect-2massively-multiplayerMicrosoftmmomultiplayeronlinephdray-muzykasingleplayersocialsocial-networkingstar-wars-the-old-republicuniversity-of-albertaXbox-360Mon, 28 Dec 2009 22:15:00 EST<![CDATA[Sierra and Radical Entertainment remove multiplayer from Prototype]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/29/sierra-and-radical-entertainment-remove-multiplayer-from-prototy/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/29/sierra-and-radical-entertainment-remove-multiplayer-from-prototy/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/29/sierra-and-radical-entertainment-remove-multiplayer-from-prototy/#commentsFiled under: , ,


Those who harbored desires to go on Crackdown-esque romps through New York City with a genetically mutated pal will undoubtedly be crushed to learn that developer Radical Entertainment and publisher Sierra have decided to scrap Prototype's multiplayer mode in order to encourage players to truly delve into the single-player storyline, and, more truthfully, so they could meet their original Fall 2008 launch window.

Radical's Tim Bennison defended the decision in an interview with TeamXbox, hinting at a possibility of co-op functionality in post-release DLC, and confirming that "multiplayer will definitely be on the table from the start" when, should the game be well-received, it comes time for a sequel -- which we can only guess will be titled Reference Design, followed by the critically acclaimed Initial Model, and then the action-packed conclusion, Finished Product.

JoystiqSierra and Radical Entertainment remove multiplayer from Prototype originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 29 Mar 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>co-opmultiplayerPCprototypePS3radicalradicalentertainmentsierrasingleplayerteamxboxXbox-360Sat, 29 Mar 2008 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Single player gaming doomed, say execs [UPDATE 1]]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2006/02/10/single-player-gaming-doomed-say-execs/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/02/10/single-player-gaming-doomed-say-execs/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/02/10/single-player-gaming-doomed-say-execs/#commentsFiled under: ,

At the Churchill Club in California yesterday, Peter Moore wasn't the only one gazing into his crystal ball. Raph Koster of Sony Online Entertainment and Lars Butler, formerly of EA, were cheerfully predicting the downfall of single-player gaming, with Koster going so far as to say that the last 21 years of gaming history are an aberration.

Drawing from the fundamental principle that "people play games together", Koster and Butler predict a huge shift in the games industry as the impact of online gaming starts to really hit home. Butler's claim that "linear entertainment in single-player is to media what masturbation is to sex" is eerily similar to David Jaffe's comparison between games and porn. Experiences are enriched by the presence of other people, and perhaps the depth of multiplayer gaming and the online social interaction embodied in these games can provide the emotional content that Jaffe finds so lacking.

[Via Raph's Weblog]

[Update: Raph has written a much more detailed explanation behind his statement.]

JoystiqSingle player gaming doomed, say execs [UPDATE 1] originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 10 Feb 2006 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>butlerfuturekostermooremultiplayeronlinepredictionssingle playerSinglePlayerFri, 10 Feb 2006 19:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Single player games get competitive again]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2006/02/02/single-player-games-get-competitive-again/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/02/02/single-player-games-get-competitive-again/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/02/02/single-player-games-get-competitive-again/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Many gamers' favourite moments include racking up high scores at the local arcade and boasting about them to friends--that's about as competitive as single-player games could get. Multiplayer games, with their inherent replayability, are dominating the sales charts; has the humble high score died a death?

No, says this article from competitive gaming site MLG Pro. Instead, single player games have moved into a new era of competitiveness via the likes of Xbox Live. With achievements and gamerscores that are influenced by your single-player prowess as much as your multiplayer muscle, we have incentives to do well at single player games again; we have our friends' scores to beat, and the world records to challenge.

It's an interesting observation. Given the number of fiercely competitive FPS gamers who have been spending more time in the Live Arcade, racking up score after score, it seems to be spot-on, too. The next step? More obscure achievements, perhaps -- games that award points just for finishing the game don't really carry the feeling of competitive triumph that gamers seem to be lusting after these days.

[via /.]

JoystiqSingle player games get competitive again originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 02 Feb 2006 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>competitive gamingCompetitiveGaminghigh scoresHighScoressingle playerSinglePlayerslashdotXbox-360Thu, 02 Feb 2006 19:00:00 EST