What's the antonym for delay? Whatever the word, we're not used to using it around here. So when Bizarre Creations community lead Ben Ward let us know this morning that Geometry Wars 2 will be released on Xbox Live Arcade one week earlier than expected (next Wednesday!), we were at a loss for the word (of course, we could have settled along the lines of "bumped up," but opted instead for a geeky math-related term: realigned -- get it?). Ward also confirmed that the age of super-budget priced geometric space shooters is over, as we'll be paying 800 Microsoft Points ($10) this time (of course, the premium comes with a whole lot more game -- more on that in a minute).
In addition, Ward revealed that the Geometry Wars 2 trial version is "basically" the full Deadline game mode, including multiplayer support (up to four players locally). We've posted Bizarre's descriptions of Deadline and the 5 additional game modes, preserved in their original British flavor, after the break. (But before you read on ... FUN FACT: Geometry Wars 2 is the first Bizarre game published by proud, sorta new parent company Activision.)
The two-episode Watchmen series that was announced yesterday will be a prequel, according to a preview from 1UP. You can choose to play as either Nite Owl or Rorschach, with the other controlled by AI or via split-screen co-op, in the time before masked heroes were outlawed.
The third-person action games take place exclusively at night is set to be M-rated. While they brought on some heavy-hitters for the story -- notably Wolverine creator Len Wein and Watchmen illustrator Dave Gibbons -- we're always hesitant when someone other than the original author tries to expand a story. Still, an M-rated series with visuals reportedly "worthy of being a now-generation game" and Rorschach's infamous makeshift flamethrower? We remain cautiously optimistic. Watchmen episodes will be released around the same time as the film (March 6, 2009).
The supposed full set list for Guitar Hero World Tour has been making its way around the forums (Something Awful, GameFAQs). The 87-song list is divided by 73 main tracks and 14 bonus tracks. Additionally, there are 3 guitar battles (Ted Nugent, Zakk Wylde ... and renowned bassist Sting) and 7 "sample songs," presumably for the song creation mode. We're still looking into the source of the list; with no official word from Activision or Neversoft, consider this a rumor. Full set list after the break.
It appears NinjaBee is ready to talk a little about its upcoming city builder, A Kingdom for Keflings. Teasing the title in a viral video last month, the company finally gave some details to IGN, details which make the game look and sound like a cross bee-tween SimCity and Gulliver's Travels.
It appears the player takes on the roll of a Gulliver-esque character and must build a kingdom for the Keflings, with the final goal being to create a castle. The game features 50 buildings, a tech tree and optional quests. Isn't it interesting that all the different smaller-scale city builder games, like Hinterland and My Life as a King, are releasing this year? Check out video for A Kingdom for Keflings after the break.
The 1942: Joint Strike shirts from E3, featuring Street Fighter's Cammy doing her best bomber nose art impression, are available now from Meatbun.com. The shirt will cost $26, plus shipping, and is available worldwide in the three colors seen above. A close-up of the shirt's image can be found after the break.
Fun fact: Yoshiki Okamoto created both 1942 and the Street Fighter series, so the shirt's image with Cammy isn't an entirely random cross-promotion.
We didn't even need to play Fallout 3 at E3 to know that it's going to be a very big deal (but we're glad we did, and have a hands-on coming soon). In continuing to ramp up excitement for the game's upcoming release, Bethesda is collaborating with the Penny Arcade crew on a weekly series of Fallout webcomics, the first of which debuted today.
According to Bethesda's Pete Hines, the idea was actually pitched to PA's Gabe and Tycho "years ago," ultimately resulting in an original story focusing on a Vault other than 101, which is the kick-off point for Fallout 3. Click here or on the panel above to read the entire three-panel debut strip. New strips will go up on the Fallout 3 site every Wednesday, come rain or nuclear holocaust.
XBLA's excellent Ticket to Ride is ready to cross the Atlantic to receive the Europe expansion board next Wednesday. According to developer Playful Entertainment, the new continent will cost 600 MS points ($7.50) and add new gameplay elements like ferries, tunnels and train stations.
In the retail board game world, Ticket to Ride and Ticket to Ride: Europe -- which are sold separately -- would cost over $60, so we're not that sore about getting both on XBLA for $17.50. No word yet if the painfully close red/orange color blending will be fixed on the new board.
Fable frontman Peter Molyneux has raised his metaphorical fist of solidarity, showing support for fellow game designer and Too Human trumpeter Denis Dyack. "I feel sorry for Denis Dyack because you know, I think a few things were said wrong, there was that really unfortunate showing at E3 a few years ago," Molyneux told VideoGamer.com at E3 last week. "Everyone got on the bandwagon of saying things about Too Human. Now I've played it and, you know, it's a good game. It doesn't deserve a lot of that harsh criticism. But as soon as something starts it's very hard to turn the tide and pull it back again." Molyneux, of course, speaks from experience, having survived a similar "avalanche" of negative criticism after the first Fable game was released in 2004 and failed to meet expectations hyped by Molyneux himself.
While Molyneux doesn't offer any sage advice for braving the inevitable storm to come (you don't actually have "something" in your back pocket, do you Mr. Dyack?), might we suggest, sir, that you quietly step away from the computer and out into the open air. Take a deep breath. You'll be safe there. Remember, it's not the whole world that's judging you (just a teeny, tiny nugget of web real estate). And besides, just like your pal Peter, you've always got the sequel to make good on empty promises.
Whether delayed by last-minute technical deficiencies or a newly discovered apathy towards overblown trade shows, several announced, expected or downright anticipated games managed to escape our studious glares and hastened notepad summaries at this year's E3. Dash through our punchy list of MIA attendees and let us know which ones had you tapping your wrist watch and asking, "Do you have any idea what time it is? We've been worried sick."
EA Sports has confirmed an initial report that a demo of its arcade-style boxing game, Facebreaker, will be hitting Microsoft and Sony's download services shortly. More specifically, the Xbox 360 demo will be available on Thursday, July 31 with a PS3 version arriving a week later on August 7.
What sets this demo apart from most others is the approach EA is taking with regards to migrating user-generated content to the final product. Akin to the Spore Creature Creator, players will be able to generate their own custom pugilists and share them with others over the intertubes. The characters will also be accessible in the final version of Facebreaker, which enters the retail ring on September 5.
GameDaily BIZ got some details on the revenue sharing structure of the recently detailed Xbox Live Community Games. While we reported that developers could receive "up to 70%" of sales, Microsoft's Chris Satchell clarified the structure this way: "The better you're doing, the more we'll take." Sure, this sounds pretty cutthroat (newsflash: Microsoft is a business!) but the relationship here isn't dissimilar to traditional retail arrangements.
If your Community Game performs well, it will be plucked from the crowd and placed in the "storefront" where it should enjoy a great deal of promotion and, in turn, sales. Satchell says, "The game will spend most of its time at 70%, but if we're promoting you and you're getting more traffic, there will be a 10% to 30% marketing fee." Once it's out of the storefront – bam! – "you're back to 70% again." In other words, if you want more of your hard-earned ... uh, Microsoft Points to go to Bobby Developer and not Johnny Microsoft, wait until things have settled down a bit and the game has left the storefront for the relative anonymity of the crowd. Then, swoop in, make your purchase, and consider The Man stuck.
If you've made it all of the way through XBLA's N+, we already know a few things about you. 1. You're a lot more hardcore than we are. 2. You have a lot more free time than we do. 3. You're probably ready for more. Good news on that last front: A 200-level, 200-point pack has just been dropped onto Xbox Live, according to official site metablog.
The site promises "there are 150 'easier' single-player levels, which should ease the pain of those who have found N+ too difficult, and 50 co-op multiplayer levels, which should appeal to even the most hardcore N+ players." So hey, a little something for the both of us, how nice.
Inside every horror filmmaker lurks a budding comedian struggling to claw its way out, showering the audience with the goo inside. At least that's Microsoft's hope, as this week the company tapped a handful of directors, known for creeping us out in films like Hard Candy and Friday the 13th, to create a set of freely downloadable comedy shorts for release globally this fall over Xbox Live to coincide with the service's major facelift.
The brainchild of Slither's James Gunn and Peter Safran of Scary Movie infamy, the film series has a number of notable directors on board, including James Wan (Saw), David Slade (30 Days of Night), Lucky McKee (The Woods), Andrew Douglas (The Amityville Horror) and Marcus Nispel (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre). With each itching to trade in their bloody hatchets for hilarious, madcap antics, with now look forward to the filmmakers' unique take on what promises to be sidesplitting comedy.
We were so angry with the Writer's Guild of America strike back when it was messing up Lost, 24 and Ugly Betty...The Daily Show. Now though, we in the video game industry (and appreciators of it) are reaping the rewards with a lot of upcoming games' scripts having come from the pens of some very talented folk. The latest example is Aliens: Colonial Marines, which Gearbox's Randy Pitchford recently told ShackNews was being written by Battlestar Galactica's Bradley Thompson and David Weddle.
Does that mean we can expect the aliens to [insert BSG fan service gag here] or a head marine voiced by [some BSG actor guy goes here]? Also, does it mean that Justin should watch Battlestar if he's going to be posting about it? Yes. Yes it does.
It occurred to us that despite all our passion for first-person parkour-inspired game Mirror's Edge, you probably still don't get the appeal unless you've seen it in action. "A girl running around on rooftops fighting crime?" you ask with a sneer. "I liked it better the first time, when it was a guy, and it was called Batman."
We understand distrust of the unknown (it's the reason we're still alive) so we'd like to present, for your edification, the Mirror's Edge demo. Now, if you can watch this and still not get excited we really have nothing more to talk about.
