G4 TV - TheFeed - Videogames

Abbie Heppe Takes A Tour Of Valve's Studio

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 17:10:00 -0800

X-Play's Abbie Heppe recently got to visit Valve Software to get her hands-on Left 4 Dead 2, bringing you some amazing interviews and gameplay walkthroughs. While she was there, she also got a guided tour of Valve's offices from Left 4 Dead 2 writer Chet Faliszek. She was kind enough to bring a camera crew so you could go on your own little virtual tour of the offices.

Won't you go on that virtual tour with me?

Watch Larger Version | Watch HD Version

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 16:50:00 -0800

As every gamer patiently waits for the chance to play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 as we rapidly approach its release date next Tuesday, I'll actually be taking the time to catch up on some games that have slipped through the cracks so far. After wrapping up Brutal Legend last night (thought I do want to dive back in and find all the guitar solos eventually), I'm moving on to Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony. With any luck, I'll manage to see that adventure to the end on Sunday.

That's just me, though. What are you playing this weekend?

What Do You Play First, Single-Player or Multiplayer?

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 16:14:00 -0800

Call this an Afternoon Hangover after a Friday beer lunch (man, I miss those)...

Obviously this is spurred by Modern Warfare 2's release next week, but it's a question applicable to any game with multiplayer. When you boot up a new game for the first time, what takes priority...playing through the story, or hopping online and getting a jump on your stats?

Personally, I can't do anything multiplayer until I play through a significant portion of the single-player campaign. This is for a couple of reasons:

I'm a little sensitive when it comes to story spoilers, even in bad games. (And bad movies, and bad books, and bad TV...) Better to get through the experience myself before co-workers casually mention that character/event/location either died/happened/exploded. I've heard enough chatter about MW2 already, and the game's not even out yet.
I need to get familiar with the basic control scheme of a game before I embarass myself in the public arena. Movement speed, aiming sensitivity, weapon familiarity...I need to know the particulars of all of these things so I can properly blame them for finishing second-to-last in the round.
I always forget to recharge my headset, so I need a few hours alone anyway.

So this Tuesday...perks or plot? Render thine opinions!

No, We're Not Kidding: Someone Is Making A Minesweeper Adventure Game

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 16:04:00 -0800

When I met with OneBigGame charity co-founder Martin de Ronde, formerly of Guerrilla Games, the last project I expected him to announce was an adventure game based on Minesweeper.

Yes, Minesweeper, the point 'n click freeware game bundled with your copy of Windows.

Minesweeper is currently in development at Revolution Software by adventure mastermind Charles Cecil, who previously developed the Broken Sword series and collaborated with Watchmen artist Dave Gibbons on Beneath A Steel Sky (recently released on iPhone).

"He's [Cecil] come up with a back story for as to why the mines are there, he's come up with characters," laughed de Ronde. "It's turning out to be a really, really cool game in terms of mechanics and also in terms of the setting and the universe..."

Who knows how this will turn out, but the concept alone is insane enough for me to sign up.

Music DLC Round-Up -- Week of Nov. 2

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 15:17:00 -0800

It's time once again for our weekly round-up of downloadable content for all of your favorite music games. The first thing you'll probably notice about this week's list is that it's noticeably light. Rock Band fans are the big winners this week with track packs from the Foo Fighters and Nirvana, and a track from Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. Rock Band Unplugged users can go mobile with a track each from Bullet for My Valentine and System of a Down, while Lips belts out songs from Bananarama, Juice Newton and The Supremes.

No new releases

Click through to see new tracks for Rock Band, Rock Band Unplugged, SingStar and Lips.

Packs

“Foo Fighters Pack 03”

“Best of You”
“The Pretender”
“Wheels”
“Word Forward”

Price: $6.99/560 Microsoft Points for pack, or $1.99/160 MSP/200 Wii Points per track

“Nirvana Bleach Pack”

“About a Girl”
“Blew”
“School”

Price: $5.49/440 MSP for pack, or $1.99/160 MSP/200 WP per track

Tracks

Joan Jett & The Blackhearts – “Fake Friends” - $1.99/160 MSP/200 WP

Bullet For My Valentine – “Waking the Demon”
System of a Down – “Toxicity”

Price: $1.99 per track

No new releases

Juice Newton – “Angel of the Morning”
The Supremes – “You Keep Me Hangin’ On”
Bananarama – “Shy Boy”

Price: 160 MSP per track

White Stripes Joining Rock Band

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 14:30:00 -0800

Rockers and/or rollers get ready: The White Stripes are headed to Rock Band and Rock Band 2 next week.

The duo, known for primitive drum lines, fuzzed out blues riffs and its lack of a bass player, is dropping the following tracks on listeners/gamers:

Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground
Girl, You Have No Faith in Medicine
Icky Thump

For (slightly) more traditional music, there's also The Damned (goth-punks from before you were born) bringing their song "Smash It Up (Part II)" to the games and Kasabian is offering "Club Foot" as well. The tracks will be available on the Xbox 360 and Wii on November 10 and the PlayStation 3 on November 12.

I'm going to download The White Stripes' tracks because I'm curious how Rock Band can possibly make them fun. While Jack White is an interesting guitarist and a great songwriter, Meg White's drumming is among the simplest ever recorded, and there is no bass... so how's it all going to work? In other words, how do you take music made by two artists and make it fun for four fans to play?

I like The White Stripes, but a lot of people don't. They tend to polarize. For example, The White Stripes opened for G4 producer Frank Meyer's band The Streetwalkin' Cheetahs back in the day. This was before The Stripes "sold out," when they were playing at the height of their indie glory, and Frank says he was "not impressed." What do you think? Are you a Stripes fan?

Randy Pitchford Criticizes Valve For "Fanboy" Attitude Toward PS3

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 14:27:00 -0800

Gearbox Software head Randy Pitchford has a long history with the folks at Valve, which is probably why he’s able to speak with just candor when it comes to what he believes are serious missteps on behalf of the acclaimed developer.

Coming off a series of comments criticizing Valve over their digital delivery platform Steam, Pitchford recently told the UK gaming publication OPM that Valve’s avoidance of PlayStation 3 support bears similarities to the kinds of “childish and narrow minded” attitudes that fanboys are famously known for having for or against a particular console, AnalogHype (via Develop) reports.

"I noticed something on the net not too long ago. Doug Lombardi (Valve's VP Marketing) had to take a swipe at the PS3 again, and I thought it was foolish. I read it the same way I read fanboys. Like there's a guy who brought the Sony platform and he's a Sony guy, so he decides he's going to spend a certain percentage of his time bashing Microsoft. And there's a guy on Microsoft doing the same thing,” Pitchford explained.

As for his own stance on the PS3, Pitchford said, “The PS3 is awesome. I think Valve...I don't know why they are doing that. It's weird. But yeah, the PlayStation platform's really cool. It's different to others and it's certainly a challenge to be able to develop software for. But that's where the fun is, right?"

Valve has rather famously criticized the PS3 for being too difficult to program for, and as such, Sony’s console has received very little in terms of support from the developer. Then again, I don’t think anyone would criticize Epic Games or Insomniac Games for having “fanboy”-like attitudes towards the 360 and/or PS3 because they work exclusively on their respective consoles of choice. When developers say things like, “We prefer working on the 360 because we find it easier” and “This game could only be made on the PS3,” it doesn’t strike me as fanboy-ish; it just sounds like developers expressing their personal technological preferences (which are oftentimes dictated by exclusivity deals, but those deals wouldn't have been agreed to in the first place if the developers didn't feel some kind of reasoned draw to a particular console).

I’ve contacted Valve to get their take on this, so I’ll let you know if I hear anything.

Do you think Pitchford’s characterization of Valve’s attitude toward the PS3 is fair/accurate?

Source: AnalogHype (via Develop)

Reply to All: Call of Duty, Sexy Games, and I Don't Even Know What

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 14:04:00 -0800

I stopped playing Madden after I left the confines of college housing, as I was no longer forced to provide human competition to my addicted roommates. And even then, using the term "competition" was a stretch. Even though I love watching the sport and I know how the game works, the deeper strategy of football play-calling has always eluded me, which is why I was one of those guys who always called a fake punt on 4th and 12. It usually didn't take longer than halftime for me to be excused back to my room and Unreal Tournament. I bring this up because I had to endure last Sunday's Packers/Vikings rematch, and watching Aaron Rodgers (whom I still kind of believe in, kind of) go down sack-after-sack reminded me of my own struggles on the gridiron. Slamming my fists repeatedly on the table wasn't a show of frustration, no…it was me frantically pressing the A button to get him to throw the damn ball already. I mean, how could he not see that Driver was wide open? What camera angle is he playing with?! And shame on Mike McCarthy for not attempting a 73-yard field goal. You can't win if you don't score.

In that spirit, let's get started with this week's Reply to All, which has absolutely nothing to do with the story I just told.

* * *

Sex in video games has become much more prevalent (especially in BioWare games). I've been reading reviews for Dragon Age: Origins and most of them mention awkward sex scenes, which I felt was awkward in Mass Effect. My question, I guess, would be do you feel sex in video games really contributes to the story telling aspect of the game or is it just there to bring about some notoriety or attention to the game? -- usemeup

How much or to what effect a sex scene contributes to a story, regardless of the medium, is entirely dependent on the skill of the writers, directors, and actors involved. If done properly, it can contribute quite a lot...the ultimate expression of human love is indeed a powerful thing, but its meaning and impact is heavily dependent on the relationship of the participants. That's why it's much more challenging to get right in video games, where action frequently trumps meaningful character development, and it can easily come across as awkward or done simply for the shock value.

That's not to say that it can't be done in action movies, as anyone who's seen Shoot 'Em Up can tell you. The scene with Clive Owen and Monica Bellucci was shocking in an over-the-top way, but because it fit in with the unrestrained insanity of the entire movie, there was a certain frantic and satirical artistry to it. The closest analogy would be Kratos' exploits in God of War, which could explain why it slipped by the mainstream media relatively free of controversy.

Keep your eye on Heavy Rain, though. We recently interviewed Quantic Dream's David Cage and asked him about sexuality in games, to which he replied, "It is what two adults in love usually end up doing, it is a way to express feelings. I don’t think there is anything wrong if you deal with it in a non-gratuitous way and in a tasteful manner." Basically, if you're a developer who wants to put a sex scene in your game, it behooves you to first ask "Why?"

THIS LETTER HAS MODERN WARFARE 2 SPOILERS!

It seems that Infinity Ward is repeatedly shooting itself in the foot when it comes to the media hype around Modern Warfare 2. Back when the trailer was released that revealed there was conflict on US soil, it felt like a huge spoiler in my opinion. Then with the leaked video of terrorist gameplay and now the recent ad against "frag spamming," it feels like this media coverage has ruined a portion of the game for me. Do you guys think that the hype revolved around Modern Warfare 2 has become detrimental to the game and possibly its sales? -- jsleibold

Patrick Klepek and I talk about this on almost a daily basis, but the way Activision and Infinity Ward are handling the traditional PR run-up to Modern Warfare 2 has been utterly baffling. The amount of goodwill that Infinity Ward has accumulated over the past few years could easily put them at the level of a Valve, a Bungie, or a Blizzard: gamers believe in your brand so devoutly that you can just sit back and let the game speak (and sell) for itself. Instead, we get something new to be confused about every week.

1) We still lack the context for the scene of a destroyed Washington D.C., but regardless, that image will have lost a lot of emotional impact by the time we encounter it in the game -- just as if we saw the now-famous mushroom cloud in a commercial prior to COD4. Simply knowing that something like that exists is enough to damage the experience.

2) The airport scene is a wait-and-see thing for me. That, too, is lacking context, and since you can't fully blame Activision and IW for a leaked video, they deserve the benefit of the doubt (though it is surprising that something that controversial was allowed to get into the wild). It could be a daring and thought-provoking perspective on the blurry lines of modern-day war. Or it could be mindless shock value. We'll find out and debate it next week.

3) However, the grenade spam video was a complete public relations failure. Infinity Ward's most-outward facing employee Robert Bowling, aka "fourzerotwo," described the video as a "social commentary joke" on his Twitter feed. But what that actual commentary was still isn't very clear. That the bulk of their own audience consists of foul-mouthed adolescents? Yeah, we already know that, and it's not that funny. That the design of their game allows for poor play experiences? Also not humorous. Even in the hands of comedic masters, socially-charged humor has a lot of baggage attached, especially when you start throwing around damaging slurs (in acronym form or not).

It may not have been a "fist-bump of acceptance" of the behavior as Bowling claims it wasn't, but officially endorsing it sure as hell wasn't the condemnation it deserves.

4) That's not the only evidence that IW is having a community communication breakdown. PC gamers who were previously looking forward to Modern Warfare 2 have been getting bombed with a constant barrage of bad news. First was the $59.99 price tag (on par with the consoles, but $10 higher than the PC version of COD4), then came the news that there'd be no dedicated game servers, no mod tools, no custom maps, a reduced player limit for multiplayer, and no console commands ("console" in this instance meaning finely-tuned game and technical settings). They even took out the "lean" ability. The omissions themselves speak volumes of IW's attitude toward PC gamers, but that wasn't enough. In a recent online chat, Infinity Ward representatives treated PC-related concerns with vague answers and visible disdain:

maniac1969
Vince, there are 178,000 voices that say you need dedicated servers for the PC. COD4 is the bigest online game in history! Why in the world would you take away dedicated servers and change the whole MP experience for us? And Mackey, the PC version with dedicated servers is already the best experience the way it is!

Vince-IW
All I can say is that we changed it to make it a better and easier experience. Also, not all of the names on that list are legit. ;)

Mackey-IW
402 signed it 4 times I heard.

And:

Moriarte
Ignoring IW.net, is the PC version a direct port of the console version?

Mackey-IW
No, PC has custom stuff like mouse control, text chat in game, and graphics settings.

Here's the thing, though. Modern Warfare sold millions and millions of copies. Modern Warfare 2 is GameStop's most-preordered game of all time. While it makes a difference to industry observers like you and me, the truth is that the summation of these PR blunders does not amount to a hill of beans in the grand scheme. Call of Duty sells. And outside of the peripheral marketing noise, the games themselves are generally very well done (there's a reason 99% of people in the office can't wait to play it, even the Style Network girls).

END SPOILERS!

Are you not planning a review of Torchlight? Sure, it's PC only and has to be bought through Steam or directly from the developer, but it's becoming a really hard choice for me each day of whether to fire up Borderlands or head back into the Ember mine. At $20 it's probably the best value in gaming right now. I have a lot of respect for what you guys do on X-Play and g4tv.com, but I wish you'd give Torchlight some love. -- Brad

Torchlight isn't currently on our official reviews list, but I recently downloaded it from Steam because it's been getting such good worth of mouth. I haven't had much time to attack it yet due to other assignments, but I can easily see it eating up hours and hours of my free time just based on the 45 minutes I've put into the intro. I'll try to make more official coverage happen in the near future. In the meantime, if you like the loot, definitely check out Torchlight.

Will they make E3 open to the public? -- Michael

Probably not, but honestly...you don't want to go to E3. You want to go to Penny Arcade Expo (PAX). More and more publishers are showing their games there, there's more that's playable, and guys like me don't get to cut in front of you. E3 is properly enjoyed from the comfort of your den, office, or living room, streaming videos, reading previews, and arguing on forums while drinking tasty beverages and wearing loose-fitting clothing.

In fact…Adam and Rob, if you're reading this, I officially am choosing not to attend E3 next year. Let me know if you have any questions!

What classic Sega games would you like to see remade? Jet Set Radio is the main reason I bought an Xbox, and I'll be damned if it doesn't get another game. -- DreamingDarklyRobin

I came from a Nintendo family, so my appreciation for Sega games is based mostly on the Dreamcast. That part of me wants to see Jet Set Radio, Chu Chu Rocket, Crazy Taxi, Sega Bass Fishing, Skies of Arcadia, Virtua Cop…but another part of me wants to let that era of Sega live peacefully in the past. Their development studios aren't the same, their publishing philosophy isn't the same…and as much as we'd all love Jet Set Radio Future Perfect or Get Way More Bass!, it'd be awfully difficult to recreate that turn-of-the-millennium magic. They tried with Crazy Taxi 3, and it didn't work.

But there's no reason we can't get those games re-released on Live Arcade or PSN. You hear that, Sega? No. Reason.

I was wondering whether I should get Left 4 Dead 2 or Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City. Can you give me your opinion? -- Julian

To me, these questions are just as ineffective as "What should I have for dinner, grilled cheese & tomato soup, or a delicious steak?" The answer, always, is to satisfy the immediate craving. L4D2 has you killing zombies with your friends. Lost & Damned and Gay Tony are really well-done Grand Theft Auto stories. If you can only do one, which one do you want to do first?

If that doesn't help, I'll flip a coin. Heads is L4D2, Tails is GTA.

….flipping….flipping…flipping…

…enjoy Liberty City!

What do you think about a G-Police remake? I think that was a title ahead of its time and suffered from lack of technology. I think with multiplayer (good guys vs. bad guys) and open world gameplay the opportunities would be near limitless. What's your take? -- ghostflesh

You know, the near-complete disappearance of space shooters has been baffling me for quite a while. It doesn't make any sense: people like shooting things, people like space, ergo, people should like shooting things in space. I know that G-Police didn't even take place in space, but its cousin Colony Wars did, and both are two PlayStation era franchises that I'd love to see come back. The developer that made them, Psygnosis, is now a part of Sony's internal studio system (renamed as Studio Liverpool). They've been busy updating their other other PSone classic franchise, Wipeout, so it's not a complete stretch to think they could do the same for G-Police and/or Colony Wars. If you put G-Police type vehicles in an open world in the vein of say, Crackdown? I would buy.

We can also hold out hope that "Starhawk" comes to fruition soon. Remember that? All we have to work on is a trademark filing from earlier this year, which includes the comment "Operating a real-time game for others over global and local area computer networks."

In the meantime, I'm going to check out Shattered Horizon for the PC. It's an FPS and doesn't involve spacecraft, but it reminds me so much of the battle room in Ender's Game that I cannot resist. I'll also continue to harass LucasArts' official Twitter feed (@lucasartsgames) to get them to re-release the X-Wing and TIE Fighter games. And...and...the great Freespace 2 is available on Good Old Games for $6.

Is there any possibility that Brutal Legend will come out for the PC? -- Gorlioth

Possible? Sure. Probable? Doesn't seem like it. Double Fine's Tim Schafer did a live chat with Eurogamer back in July and shot down the idea, stating that the game "was meant to be on a console." It's one of those situations where the door isn't locked, but it's been securely closed, soundproofed, and somebody's blocking it from the other side.

But who knows? Maybe one day you'll try to go through the door, and as you grab the handle it opens outward and almost smacks you in the face. Then you awkwardly apologize, even though it's ridiculous to feel guilty for trying to go through a door. Yes, this has been happening a lot to me in the office.

F7 Letter of the Week

need for speed sucks again heres why again they suck at making games not everyone wants to steer with the L3 button or the joy stick or the anolog stick there are those that are fine with using the direction buttons you know the buttons with arrows and here is the big one not a two player game on the ps3 internet only 2 or more forget that i want my friends in the same room to play games with and not every one has cable internet because they live to out in the striks so take your game and stick it were the sun does not shine

-- Eric M.

I sympathize with your plight, Eric, in regards to the lack of local multiplayer. We've been hearing a lot about that in Feedback and mailbag questions lately; it's something that we're going to look into.

But I am curious about your aversion to analog technology (as well as your complete aversion to punctuation, nice job on that). Especially since we're talking about a racing game. I'm going to assume you are not yet of the driving age, so believe me when I say that when you get behind the steering wheel of a real automobile, you're going to want a little more control over where you're going. There's a reason the government outlawed those giant "Left" and "Right" buttons in cars built after 1992.

WEBMASTER DOESN'T UNDERSTAND YOU

Monkey scribbles,

Corrupted illumination, banana feast. Ark house demolishing carnauba. Surfing kaleidoscope blasted noodle; abrasively down plentiful renderings child-like miasma.

Drowning intellect?

Dave
Ann Arbor, MI

Sanitized stapler,

Dwindling water supply, the sharpest of knives. Sun going down, then up, but sideways. Falling technology eats all of the cake -- phosphorescent memories reappear with severe tire damage. Three hundred and twenty-six.

Ya dig?

Webmaster
Los Angeles, CA

* * *

Send your letters to webmaster@g4tv.com. Correspondence will be edited for sanity.

Five Ridiculous Things We Love About Resident Evil

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 13:44:00 -0800

The first Resident Evil was a landmark game for a multitude of reasons, chief among them was that it got a new generation of young people to finally start taking the possibility of a zombie outbreak seriously. With each successive game in the series, we learned more and more about what to do: how to heal ourselves in the case of a bite, what the proper zombie combat attire is, how to navigate through complex building layouts, and how to avoid eccentric rich families...the list goes on. All of this is highly practical information that will...aw, screw it. Resident Evil is RIDICULOUS. Here are Five Reasons Why.

Number Five: Herbal Essence

Video game healing mechanisms are easy targets for us practitioners of logic, as serious medical emergencies require treatments above and beyond gourmet mushrooms, hiker-level first aid kits, and simply "walking off" multiple gunshot wounds. In almost all cases, we accept the "it's just a game" argument and enjoy ourselves. Resident Evil's herb system, iconic as it has become, deserves a spot in the upper echelon of gaming quackery.

Defined no further than "green herb" and "red herb," these little miracle plants are responsible for keeping you alive during a zombie outbreak. But is there real science to it? The Internet site eMedicinal.com believes there might be, offering herbal remedies for the following undead-related conditions:

Skin Troubles, Acne, Eczema, and Bad Complexion
For Dropsy (swelling of soft tissue as a result of pooling fluid from maintaining an upright position)
To Calm Nerves
Prevention of Nightmares
Carinative (relief of gas and bloat)

Missing from this list are "profuse bleeding from the leg" and "missing chunks of neck," which, sadly, no amount of juniper berries or German chamomile can heal. Unless perhaps they're in a spray form.

Number Four: Dressed to Get Killed

The blue tube top flatters as it allows for maximum mobility and provides for proper perspiration. The thigh-level skirt is a little revealing and inappropriate for the job at hand, but what it lacks in practicality, it makes up for by attracting any able-bodied male survivors to join the fight. The knee-high boots just as easily stomp on zombie skulls as they do zombie hearts, and the entire ensemble says "I might die a horrible, fiery death tonight, but at least I'll look good doing it."

But Jill, honey, that wrap-around sweater has got to go.

Number Three: Honey, I Lost My Keys...

The Resident Evil games would be over pretty quickly if Raccoon City's architects abided by sensible design philosophies. For these highly-trained law enforcement officers, getting to the most vital areas of buildings like the mansion or RCPD headquarters would be as simple as walking down the hall, or at worst, waiting a few seconds for an elevator and then kicking down the appropriate doors.

But noooooooooo, in order to get anywhere, there's gotta be an elaborate riddle to solve -- usually involving the placement or rearrangement of old things. It's no wonder that Umbrella Corp. consistently ranks in the lowest tier of American companies for workplace efficiency. (And this is before Facebook.)

Number Two: Family Affairs

Remember Resident Evil: Code Veronica? Yeah, the Dreamcast was a long, long time ago. But besides the awesome opening sequence, the thing that lingers the most was the creepy subplot involving the aristocratic Ashford family. See, Alfred Ashford and his twin sister Alexia torment Claire Redfield and Steve Burnside throughout the game. Only...Alexia is in long-term cryostatic sleep so that she can awaken as a walking biological weapon. Before you say “whaaaa?” consider this:

Alexia is in cryostatic sleep. So who’s that tormenting them? Take a sec and think about it. Alfred’s that creepily obsessed with his sister. When the two finally reunite at the game’s finale, it’s about as uncomfortable as watching any given character turn into a giant sputtering orifice monster. Oh, and they turned their dad into a disgusting level boss.

Give these characters a reality show, stat.

Number One: Masters of Unlocking

Resident Evil games aren't scary scary, they're campy scary, and that's why we love them. RE4 and RE5 tried to be more serious (and mostly pulled it off), but the series' legacy will always be cheap gotcha moments and hammy voice acting, highlighted by Barry Burton's famous possibly-botched pick-up attempt to Jill Valentine: "Jill, here's a lockpick. It might be handy if you, the master of unlocking, take it with you." Even RE4's merchant and his frequent inquiries into your spending habits became part of RE's lovable lore.

What am I buying? I'll take a Jill sandwich. Extra cheese.

What Resident Evil foolishness are ya selling? Give your ideas in the comments...

Several Digital Distribution Services Won't Sell Modern Warfare 2 Due To Steam

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 12:30:00 -0800

You won't be able to purchase Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on Direct2Drive, GamersGate or Impulse when it's released next week because of the game's integration of Steam. Infinity Ward integrated the Steam client into Modern Warfare 2 to support Steamworks, prompting all three digital distribution chains to decide the game will not be available in their stores.

"At Direct2Drive, we believe strongly that when you buy a game from us, you shouldn't be forced to install and run a 3rd party software client to be able to play the game you purchased," reads a statement on Direct2Drive's website. "Because COD MW 2 requires you, the consumer, to do that, we aren't able to offer the game via Direct2Drive at this time."

Direct2Drive is also offering a $5 coupon off any other Activision title in its marketplace.

"Impulse will not be selling Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 either," said and Impulse spokesperson in a statement to Voodoo Extreme. "We share some of the same concerns as Direct2Drive over the bundling of the Steam client with the game. The most obvious issue is the forced inclusion of a competitor's store that blocks us from carrying the game."

I've contacted Activision about these developments. If they comment, I'll let you know.

Were you planning to buy Modern Warfare 2 through any of these services?

James Cameron's Avatar: The Game Hands-On Impressions

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 12:08:00 -0800

We're still around six weeks away from the theatrical debut of "Avatar," James Cameron's long-awaited return to the director's chair. But you'll have the chance to whet your appetite earlier than that. Ubisoft Montreal has been toiling away at James Cameron's Avatar: The Game for some time -- it releases in early December -- and Phil Theobald checked it out for us a few days ago at an Ubi event in San Francisco. According to him, the team wants to make a game so nice, you'll have to play it twice. That's once as the paramilitary RDA and as one of the blue-skinned Na'vi:

"At a crucial point, you are given a choice: do you continue to work with the RDA or will you turn against your fellow humans and help the Na'vi defend their home? Your decision affects which character you play as for the remainder of the game, and there are separate human and Na'vi stages and missions. For the full experience, you'll want to play through Avatar at least twice to ensure that you've seen everything that it has to offer."

Read more of his preview here, and let us know if you're excited for the game and the movie!

Rock Band 3 Will Teach People To Play Music For Real

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 11:59:00 -0800

In recent interviews, Dhani Harrison, son of Beatle George Harrison, has not only revealed the existence of Rock Band 3, he's also dropped a tantalizing detail about the gameplay. According to Harrison, Rock Band 3 will teach gamers how to play music "for real" as they go.

“I’m working on Rock Band 3 and making the controllers more real so people can actually learn how to play music while playing the game,” Harrison said. “Give me a couple years, it’s going to happen.”

Any stories about music games that originate from rock-personas have to be taken with skepticism -- musicians have often dropped wrong information about the video games they're working on because they're way too busy making music and/or pulling groupies to worry about the finer points of video games -- but Harrison is different. By all accounts, he was a major figure behind the scenes of The Beatles: Rock Band, and seems to know his stuff. So when Harrison talks, you have to listen.

My question is: Do gamers want to learn to play music? As a (mediocre) guitar player, lemme tell you: Playing real music is nearly infinitely more difficult than playing video game music. It's not fun to learn to play an instrument in the same way it's fun to learn a game (It's much more rewarding when it actually "works," though,) and I, for one, have no desire to mix these two things.

Currently, other than the vocals, no part of Guitar Hero or Rock Band actually improves your real musicianship very much. You can gain rudimentary rhythmic improvement from drum playing, and maybe a touch of limb-independence front the guitar and the drums, but nothing too serious. I could see it working as an optional "learning mode," but not as a core gameplay mechanic. For a more in-depth look at using Rock Band to play "real" drums from an actual musician, please enjoy this video:

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What do you think? Do you want to use a game to learn to play real guitar, bass or drums better?

Source: Chicago Tribune

Nintendo Talks Wii Zelda, The Existence Of Wii HD And Modern Warfare 2's Sales

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 11:45:00 -0800

Soon, Nintendo will drop its biggest game of the year, New Super Mario Bros. Wii. It's being released in the days after Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 comes out, widely expected to be one of, if not the, biggest releases of the year (Activision's CEO said it could be the most impressive launch in any entertainment medium -- ever). Nintendo disputed that point in little bit a Gametrailers TV interview with Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime.

Files-Aime believes once the holiday dust has settled, New Super Mario Bros. Wii will outsell Modern Warfare 2, if you look at a single platform's sales (i.e. Modern Warfare 2's sales on Xbox 360).

"I'll take that bet," he joked.

In the same interview, Fils-Aime also addressed other rumors regarding Nintendo. It's been long rumored Nintendo will release an updated version of the Wii with support for high-definition visuals. Despite the head of Nintendo's R&D division recently telling investors that "moving to HD appears to me a natural flow," Fils-Aime outright denied the existence of the theorized "Wii HD."

"I don't know how forcefully we can say there is no Wii HD," said Fils-Aime.

Lastly, the Nintendo head honcho briefly discussed the next Zelda game. Nintendo designer Shigeru Miyamoto confirmed the game's existence at E3 this year, but Fils-Aime wasn't willing to commit to a 2010 release date for Link's next adventure, but he didn't rule it out, either.

“We haven’t committed to Zelda for 2010," he said. "That’s what he [Miyamoto] said. So we’ll see how that continues to develop.”

[image credit: flickr / Brian Clary Photography]

Source: Gametrailers TV

Leaked Screens Provide Early Look At Halo: Reach?

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 11:32:00 -0800

The Interwebs have a long and storied history of providing nothing but factually accurate information, so I’m going to trust that these recently leaked images of Halo: Reach, Bungie’s next (and final) installment in the Halo series, are in fact the real McCoy (or they could be fake. Either one).

The point is, someone posted the pics on a message board, claiming the images were snagged during a visit to Microsoft headquarters. In addition to showing off a variety of weapons (new and old), the screens reveal a new HUD that apparently “lists teammate names as well as shows what ‘perks’ players are carrying.” As Koku Gamer points out, three of these supposed perks are “sprinting,” “cloaking,” and “hologram.”

It’s hard to draw any real conclusions about the game based on these blurry images, and considering it will most likely be a while before Bungie drops some solid info about the game, take these screens for what they are: a potential/brief glimpse of a game that will be out in the future.

Check out our photo gallery for more screens.

What kinds of elements are you hoping make a return/get an overhaul for Halo: Reach?

Source: Koku Gamer

Gran Turismo Creator Says Gran Turismo 6 Won't Take As Long

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 10:54:00 -0800

Polyphony Digital will finally deliver Gran Turismo 5 for the PlayStation 3 in 2010. The 1,000 cars on the disc should keep racing fans happy for some time, but even when they've exhausted everything Gran Turismo 5 has to offer, series creator Kazunori Yamauchi told Autoweek that next entry, presumably titled Gran Turismo 6, shouldn't take as long to arrive.

"You won't have to wait as long as you did for GT5," said Yamauchi. "GT5 represents a whole new operating system. GT6 is just new apps that run on the GT5 system."

It seems a little premature to already start requesting features for Gran Turismo 6...

Source: Autoweek

The Man With An Xbox Live Gamerscore Of 384,155 Points (And Counting)

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 10:00:00 -0800

Sometime in 2015, 26-year-old Xbox Live user Stallion83, otherwise known as Robert, expects he'll achieve the goal he set out for in 2006: earning an Xbox Live gamerscore of 1,000,000.

According to achievement tracking website TrueAchievements, it's currently possible to unlock 733,835 achievement points across every Xbox 360 and Xbox Live Arcade game. Microsoft was unable to verify this statistic or provide their own achievement numbers for me. It sounds about right.

Robert, who declined to reveal his last name to me due to legitimate fears of someone hacking his account, has currently accumulated a monstrous gamerscore totaling 384,155 points.

(Note: It's very likely that number will change by the time you read this story.)

According to TrueAchievements, Robert has the most achievements point of anyone on Xbox Live. He's closely followed by Zakke Wylde with 351,090 points. Robert says that's been true for years. Robert told me Microsoft has never contacted him about cheating, but plenty of players illegitimately chasing after scores higher than his own have been caught gaming the system since he started.

Unsurprisingly, he's been playing games since he was 3-years-old and followed games ever since, especially shooters like Halo and Counter-Strike. He didn't become a self-proclaimed "achievement whore," however, until early 2006.

His first Xbox 360 red-ringed the day he bought it.

"I've gotten the coffin from Microsoft 10 times," he said. "I had to get a couple of them fixed multiple times. Out of 4 systems I bought brand new, only one of them has never red ringed. One time I got the 360 back from repair and it worked for only two weeks. The system that broke on me launch day was a kick in the pants. It was kind of weird calling tech support for a system that I just waited hours to get. The good news is, I unlocked a few achievements before it kicked the bucket."

I have friends who are obsessed with achievements (my former boss, Dan "Shoe" Hsu, spent over six hours unlocking Modern Warfare's end credits mission achievement), but Robert takes the cake. He's aiming for 400,000 by the end of 2009. He was hoping to achieve 100,000 points per year, but in order to keep his progress on track, he's been forced to alter his road to a million.

"That won't cut it with more and more games being released each year," he explained. "I plan on getting an achievement in every state in the USA before I hit 1,000,000. So, I guess you could say my road map to 1,000,000 is to mix things up."

Many gamers describe a tangible sense of accomplishment when an achievement is unlocked in a game, especially the difficult ones, the achievements designed to be out of reach. But doesn't that hurt the reason many of us play games in the first place...you know, to have fun?

"Sometimes it feels that way but I wouldn't want it any other way," said Robert. "Instead of playing a single game all the time, I get to play everything. It’s an acquired taste for sure and I don’t think I’ll ever change my ways.

When asked, Robert isn't able to remember the hardest achievement in his quest for a million ("after you unlock around 15,000 achievements, you kind of forget where you have been"), but he can recall the easiest one along the path: earning 5 points for just pressing start in The Simpsons Game.

"I don’t have any regrets about embarking on my journey to 1,000,000"

According to TrueAchievement's data, which only pulls from users from their database and not from all Xbox Live users (Microsoft keeps that data private), the most commonly unlocked achievement is "Landfall" ("Completed the first mission of the Campaign") from Halo 3.

Almost four years into his million gamerscore journey, Robert isn't looking back.

"I don’t have any regrets about embarking on my journey to 1,000,000," he said. "It has been an interesting ride so far. The crazy thing about this is, when I’m at 700,000, I’ll feel like I’m getting close. At that point, I will still be around 3 years away."

For the record, my gamerscore is 18,469 points. The only game I've "finished" is King Kong.

You can follow Robert's quest to a million at his blog, 1 Million Gamerscore.

[image credit: flickr / the gentlemen's game]

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Skate 3 Reveals First Look At Team-Based Gameplay

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 09:42:00 -0800

We've been in a drought of Skate 3 news since the announcement back in early September. Now, EA Black Box drops a legit look at the team-focused gameplay in the fictional city of Port Carverton with new screens and the below trailer. Give a watch, drop your thoughts.

Skate 3 arrives in May 2010.

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Feedback -- Potpourri Edition: DJ Hero, Tekken 6, Ballad of Gay Tony

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 09:40:00 -0800

Can you guess what everyone on Feedback was talking about this week? Hint, hint: we're one week away from the highly anticipated launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. However you feel about Infinity Ward's latest entry in its shooter franchise, it's shaping up to be a monumental day for games. Chances are everyone could have talked about Modern Warfare 2 for an entire show, but as it turns out, there's a bajillion other games being released right now. So, we talked about those, too.

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Here's what else Adam, Abbie, Sterling and I cover on this edition of Feedback:

That controversial Modern Warfare 2 viral video that showed up last weekend (and has since disappeared) sparks some heated discussion...and harsh words for Infinity Ward.
Even Nintendo's not sure what to do with the Wii these days. We look at where the Wii's come in the past few years and some up with some easy ways Nintendo can patch things up.
Game of the week? How about games of the week? DJ Hero, Tekken 6 and Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony -- batter up!
As more casuals join the ranks of our fellow gamers and achievements encourage players to venture into harder difficulty settings, a reader probes us about difficulty settings in games.

Feedback: doing a poor job of hanging signs with scotch tape since mid-2009. Sing our ballad and subscribe:

Video: iTunes | XML | Audio: iTunes | XML

(And yes, we are aware that Sterling's microphone is underperforming this week. Top men are on the case. Top. Men.)

Sorry Kids: Xbox Live Twitter, Facebook, Last.Fm To Remain Adults Only... For Now

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 09:13:00 -0800

This posts is strictly for teens, and by "teens" I mean people between the ages of 13 and 17 who are Xbox Live Gold members, so if this isn't you, please stop reading immediatly...

Seriously, stop reading this post. Go read The Wall Street Journal or something, old man.

Are they gone? Good. Now that it's just us kids, I'm gonna "rap" at you in a language that you'll totally grok, and lay down a real bummer trip: According to Microsoft's Major Nelson, the Xbox Live versions of Twitter, Facebook and Last.fm that are coming to Gold members won't be usable by anyone under the age of 18. That, my homies, is wickety, wickety wack. Denied... TO THE EXTREME!

Major Nelson says: "We made this decision because as it stands now, parents aren’t able to use Family Settings to customize which of these applications their children can access."

Dude, that's a total downer. But don't become a cutter or light up a crack-pipe: There's hope. According to Nelson, the radical dudes over at Microsoft are "working on an update that gives parents the choice of which social applications their children can access," so hang tight, good buddy. 10-4!

Now that all the parents/adults are gone, I want you all to check out this tubular TV show I found on the YouTubes... but make sure you get your homework done! Homework is for awesomes:

Source: Major Nelson

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks Trailer Delivers Release Date And New Details

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 09:01:00 -0800

Nintendo has released new details, screenshots and a new trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks. It has also been revealed that for the first time in the franchise’s storied history, Link and his beloved Princess Zelda (seemingly in spirit form only) will be joining forces to protect Hyrule and win the day. Aside from most likely criticizing every little decision Link makes, Zelda will provide players with tips and hints along the way, revealing paths to discover new areas, storylines and items.

Spirit Tracks will be rolling into town Dec. 7.

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