Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Mortal Kombat - Tip - How to Beat Shao Khan

Mortal Kombat for Playstation 3
 
 How to beat Shao Khan
 
 by AdrianHORE (jtomlinii | AOL)
 
 There are basically two ways to easily kill Shao Khan.
 
 Projectile spamming from afar or jumping over Shao Khan, let him do his move,
 then hit him.
 
 You can also jump over him and kick him, but that only does one hit. When you
 jump over him, he may hit you with an overhead hammer attack.
 
 It seems he does a random attack every time you jump over him, so it's a random
 luck game.
 
 When he is on the ground, do not jump over him right away, especially in the
 corner, or else he will shoulder rush you in the air.
 
 Wait for him to do his move by blocking. Odds are, he will taunt or do his
 X-ray attack. If it's an X-ray attack, teleport or jump back.
 
 Projectile spamming is the easier by far. Duck under his spear attacks and jump
 over his hammer attacks. He normally does 3 spears, then throws his hammer,
 then taunts.
 
 If you can pull off a projectile between spears, great. If not, wait until he
 taunts or does a shoulder rush. He can't hit with the shoulder rush from afar,
 so your safe.
 
 

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Where to See the Gears of War 3 Campaign Trailer Since it Won?t Be On American TV

It?s risky business to plan to run a major ad during game six of a seven-game playoff series, but that?s what Epic did for the Gears 3 campaign trailer, which they?d been promoting with a teaser for a teaser.�When the Bulls were up 77-65 with four minutes left last night against the Heat that seemed like a good plan, but when the Heat ended up winning 83-80, ending the series at five games, it both created a pickle and saved them a boatload of cash.

The trailer will still be broadcast right after the Champions League Final in the UK and Mexico, but American sports fans will have to go on the internet to see what?s what. It?ll show up on the Gears Facebook page and on Xbox Live after it airs on TV, which?ll be around 8pm ET. And that?s that.

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Mortal Kombat - Tip - How to Beat Shao Khan

Mortal Kombat for Playstation 3
 
 How to beat Shao Khan
 
 by AdrianHORE (jtomlinii | AOL)
 
 There are basically two ways to easily kill Shao Khan.
 
 Projectile spamming from afar or jumping over Shao Khan, let him do his move,
 then hit him.
 
 You can also jump over him and kick him, but that only does one hit. When you
 jump over him, he may hit you with an overhead hammer attack.
 
 It seems he does a random attack every time you jump over him, so it's a random
 luck game.
 
 When he is on the ground, do not jump over him right away, especially in the
 corner, or else he will shoulder rush you in the air.
 
 Wait for him to do his move by blocking. Odds are, he will taunt or do his
 X-ray attack. If it's an X-ray attack, teleport or jump back.
 
 Projectile spamming is the easier by far. Duck under his spear attacks and jump
 over his hammer attacks. He normally does 3 spears, then throws his hammer,
 then taunts.
 
 If you can pull off a projectile between spears, great. If not, wait until he
 taunts or does a shoulder rush. He can't hit with the shoulder rush from afar,
 so your safe.
 
 

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Sounding Off On Brink

Brink is certainly one of the most striking looking shooters coming in 2011, but it's also going to sound amazing. The attention to detail on the aural side of things is staggering, and the lion's share of the credit goes to Splash Damage's Audio Director Chris Sweetman, who has gone to great lengths to create a layered soundscape, as you'll find out if you read on?



IGN AU: You started out working in film ? how different is the approach to directing audio in a game as opposed to film?

Chris Sweetman: If I'm honest, the process of actually designing the sounds is really no different. The big difference is the non-linear approach video games take instead of the linear approach you see in film, plus the implementation of sounds and music within memory constraints.

In film, you will generally approach it scene by scene and multiple sound editors will work on different scenes. The supervising sound editor will manage these teams and make sure that the sound is consistent through the reels in collaboration with the director. This process will normally take around four months.

AAA video games are worked on for upwards of two years, so the process is much more iterative. You might also find that certain features won't arrive until the last six months (such as cinematic or dialogue recording). Implementation is the big difference with us having to orchestrate thousands of sounds in real-time over the course of play!

IGN AU: How did the transition across to games come about? What appealed to you about working in this medium?

Chris Sweetman: When working in film during the early 90s I began to feel that the video game industry was pioneering in a lot of areas, and I figured that eventually the audio would follow a similar model to film. In my opinion everything had been done in film audio that could be done, but interactive audio excited me, and I've been passionate about it for over 15 years now.

In film you don't tend to have one person doing all the audio - you play to individuals' strengths and experience by having specific roles, such as sound designers, dialogue editors, foley editors and so on. The games industry hadn't started doing this in 1995, so there were practically no specific roles as "Sound Designer" when I began looking for a way in.

Luckily I met with a like-minded chap called Pat Phelan who was the audio manager at Gremlin Interactive. He was as forward-thinking as I was, and I had a job!

From films like Goldeneye to games such as Burnout Paradise, Sweetman has worked his audio magic on some cool projects.


IGN AU: What are the challenges of working with sound in an active soundscape where you don't have complete control?

Chris Sweetman: It can be a real challenge, but we do have control over most aspects of audio playback.

One of the biggest challenges is creating space so that every sound can be heard properly, especially in first-person shooters when you potentially have 16 characters all firing their weapons at the same time! We use many tools at our disposal to make sure that when this does happen -- and it will -- you are not faced with a wall of cacophonous sound!

One of my processes is to look at how to create harmony very early on in the development cycle by making sure that three main focus areas are all designed with that in mind. In the case of Brink, these were Weapons, Explosions & Foley:

Weapons:
I made sure that each faction would have different weapon sounds even if they were using a re-skinned version of the same weapon. Each faction's weapons are designed as different timbres (kind of like voices in a choir). This means that when you hear lots of weapons being fired at the same time in the game, your chances of it sounding harmonious are greatly increased.


Explosions:
We designed the explosions so they were different timbres to the weapons, which in turn means that they don't occupy the same sonic space as the weapons.

Foley:
Each character class has its own set of footsteps and Foley. This even changes depending on how much clothing you are wearing, again meaning that the chances of the sonic landscape cluttering up are limited.

It's like betting on a horse race while knowing which horses will cross the line first.

IGN AU: In a game like Brink, where there are multiple class-types, is an effort made to make each one sound distinctive? Could a trained-ear tell the difference between classes on the battlefield just by listening?

Chris Sweetman: For Brink I decided to let the dynamic mission auto-chatter handle most of that work. For instance, the Medic is the only one who will hear people shouting for a Medic, while an Engineer is the only class who hears "I'm stuck on a mine."

Aside from that, each body type has different sets of footsteps, so it is possible to tell what size of character is coming around that corner up ahead.

Your footsteps betray you, Luke. Oh, sorry, n00bpwner69.


IGN AU: One aspect of sound creation that is generally overlooked is Foley work. How much detail did you go into to try and achieve realistic sounding movement for all the physical abilities at the player's disposal? Are these sounds distinguishable enough to know whether someone is sliding towards you or vaulting over your head?

Chris Sweetman: I'm really glad you guys picked up on this, as I wholeheartedly agree.

For me Foley is the undiscovered country in video games. It can be so powerful in aiding the player experience, but sadly it's never given the attention it deserves in most titles. Foley was a massive focus for me on Brink; we spent three days at Shepperton Studio recording every footstep, every gun rattle, and every slide, so that we could really go to town on the Foley detailing. Each of our three different body types has its own set of footsteps, scuffs, stops and starts on every surface in the game.

Weapon Foley was another big focus, with each weapon having its own set of weapon movement. -- for example, the sounds change depending on if you are walking or using the SMART system. We also have sets of sounds for mantling, wall jumps, climbing and sliding.

I've taken an unusual approach with particular sounds in Brink. One such example would be the sliding, where you can actually hear the slide further away than you would normally. I felt it was an important gameplay choice, and made sure that even from a fair distance away you would hear it.

So yes, you can definitely hear if someone has just vaulted over your head or is sliding around a corner!


IGN AU: Your game features different ranges of sound depending on how you're shooting and how close you are to another player's gunfire. How did you achieve this and do you feel it will make the sound effects stand out significantly?

Chris Sweetman: The major difference with Brink is that we change the sound when aiming down the sights and focus more on the mechanical aspect of the weapon. The reason for this is twofold: first, it really allows the player to focus on the target without a huge weapon sound creating a distraction, and second, it also permits me to play with the style aspect of the weapon sounds. The iron sights are designed specifically for each weapon, and sit underneath the main weapon sound. When the player moves into iron sights, we lower the normal weapon sound in volume and add the mechanical layer in real-time.

In regards to the other player's gunfire, we use varying stages of distance from the player to play back different sound content. There are three distinct stages - near, mid and far - and the engine crossfades these samples depending on how far the other player is away from you. The great thing about this method is that it fills out your background ambience with an interactive battle. Every weapon sound you hear is what is happening on the battlefield right now!

On top of that, we also filter the ambience of each player through our auto chatter system, so when you get a message from another player over the radio, the soundscape at their location can be heard in the background.

Auto chatter sounds awesome, but can it also filter out foul-mouthed 12 year olds? Now that would be valuable tech.


IGN AU: How do you achieve clarity of sound when you have up to 16 players in an area, all running, jumping, speaking and firing at the same time?

Chris Sweetman: We decided early on that achieving sonic space was the most important thing for us to solve, and our Audio Programmer Simon Price and myself spent months on working out different systems to cull sounds.

Eventually we settled on various solutions. One of the big ones was Simon creating our version of HDR (High Dynamic Range) audio, which at its most basic is an automatic mixing system that scans the volume of a WAV file and decides what the playback volume should be based on the distance from the player.

Alongside HDR we also have a snapshot mixer system which ducks groups of sounds dependent on game states that we set up. For instance, when one of the commanders is speaking to the player about pertinent game information, we duck all other sounds in the world by about 30% to allow him to be heard.

IGN AU: What aspect of your work on Brink are you most proud of? What should we strain our ears to hear when the game comes out?

Chris Sweetman: I'm most proud of the Foley and sonic clarity that we have in Brink. You can hear every sound -- and when you have massive battles raging that's a real bonus!

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Call of Duty's Long-Rumored Subscription Service is Here

Call of Duty Elite

Update: Expect to learn a lot more tomorrow with an NDA lifting, but one detail that's been clarified by Infinity Ward's Robert Bowling is that Elite is a free service, and that certain, undetermined aspects of it will cost money.

Original Story:This year's Call of Duty title, Modern Warfare 3, will bring with it an optional, monthly subscription service that the franchise will carry into future titles. Such a thing was rumored after a survey inquired about the possibility in 2009. Activision denied that Modern Warfare 2 or Black Ops would see a subscription, but CEO Bobby Kotick did admit last year he'd like to see CoD as an "an online subscription service." Sure enough, he's getting his wish with Call of Duty Elite.

The Wall Street Journal brings word of Elite, which will provide content beyond what you'd expect to be on the game disc, including more of the map packs that have been so successful. Elite will also offer functionality similar to that of stock-trading websites that allow players to track in-depth statistics. Another feature mentioned was a social networking service of sorts that allows players to find similar players to join up with, which will be free for everyone to use. A "digital platform" was announced earlier this year as coming from Activision's Beachhead studio which Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter theorized could be a subscription service.

Pricing has not been determined at this time -- or is simply not being announced -- but is expected to be less than that of what the WSJ says are "comparable online-entertainment services," citing Netflix's $7.99 per month fee as an example.

Bobby Kotick said that these features and the accompanying customer service would be impossible without charging players. He said, "This is an enormous investment," also claiming he doesn't think players will respond negatively because Elite will not give players any sort of edge in multiplayer.

The fee could end up helping Sony, as its online service doesn't charge for online play. Microsoft, on the other hand, charges for Xbox Live, and some gamers may be unwilling to stomach subscriptions to both Live and Elite. Microsoft's saving grace is that Elite is optional -- Call of Duty multiplayer will remain free to play -- and the fact that the recent attack and subsequent downtime PSN suffered could make some prospective customers wary of going with PS3 over 360.

Modern Warfare 3 will be facing some extremely stiff competition later this year in the form of Battlefield 3. Electronic Arts has made it clear it wants to take down Call of Duty with Battlefield, and developer DICE has always been known to give away a good deal of free content for the Battlefield games. That's sure to end up being a marketing tool EA will take advantage of -- I can see the "Battlefield 3: Giving you the content you expect without any extra fees" campaign now -- whether or not Elite's content is legitimately more than what could otherwise be offered.

Sony's Rob Dyer said of the news that he's "very confident" that more of these services will be coming from other publishers in Activision's wake. That isn't an especially reassuring notion for those who are hoping that monthly subscriptions are contained to MMOs and Call of Duty. "There's money to be made there," he said.

With E3 set to take place next week, expect to learn a lot more about Elite very soon.

[Image courtesy of WSJ.]

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Playroom Racer 1.2 Update Brings Game Center Support and Many Features

mzl.jmttpijf.320x480 75 Playroom Racer 1.2 Update Brings Game Center Support and Many Features

Intuitive Computers is pleased to announce that the Playroom Racer 1.2 update is out in the iTunes store worldwide, both iPhone and HD versions. Playroom Racer is a new unique micro racer game in top-down racing style for iOS. Children love toy cars, now you can play on your iOS device. Included with this update is a brand new car, Bunny Wagon, Game Center support, decrease in star price of playrooms and Retina display support added for iPhone 4.

New features :
* Brand new car, Bunny Wagon added, with sensational Easter decoration
* HD version now is an universal build supporting iPad, iPhone and iPod touch
* Game Center support with unique leaderboards
* Retina display support added for iPhone 4 devices
* Star price of playrooms decreased

Reviews and User Testimonials:

?Awesome game with excellent graphics, cool sounds, fast cars, challenging AI and creative / beautiful racing environments!!
The game looks amazing on iPad?s screen?? JohnHasio via iTunes

?Choose your car, game mode, and playroom. Collect stars and unlock more cars and sites to race in.
Multiple choices ? multiple replay value, and a load of fun for anyone from ages 3 ? to 90.
? ? ipadgames.org

?Playroom Racer is a delightful game that is perfect for Friday night family game time.? -app-lyspeaking.com

?Great and challenging game. I love the graphics, reminds me of micro machines.
I like the customization and that you have to earn stars to unlock new tracks and new cars.
Plenty of options to control your card to suit your style.? Sh0ck via iTunes

?Awesome new micro racer! Excellent HD graphics, good sound, fast cars, challenging AI, beautiful and creative racing environments?
overall just excellent. With its little toy cars racing through toy mazes, there?s no other game like it on the app store.? ? Garudadelic via iTunes

mzl.mkvsixag.320x480 75 Playroom Racer 1.2 Update Brings Game Center Support and Many Features

Device Requirements:
* iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad
* Requires iPhone OS 3.1.2 or later
* 16.2 MB

Pricing and Availability:
Playroom Racer 1.2 is $1.99 USD (or equivalent amount in other currencies) and available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Games category.

mzl.suqdkjwb.320x480 75 Playroom Racer 1.2 Update Brings Game Center Support and Many Features

Playroom Racer 1.2: http://www.intuitivecomputers.eu/playroom.html
Purchase and Download: http://itunes.apple.com/app/id427403775



Tags:

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Monday, May 30, 2011

Magicka: Vietnam Brings Spellcasting and Wizards To Vietnam

Paradox Interactive has thrown caution to the winds with Magicka: Vietnam�expansion and decided to jump directly into one of the bloodiest and nastiest conflicts in U.S. history, namely the Vietnam War, by tossing wizards and magic into the mix. No longer will you need to rely on guns and grenades to get the job done, as now you can blast spells to initiate giant explosions, or simply fry your foes with lightning.�

We'll have more news on the Magicka expansion later, but for now you can entertain yourself by playing the free demo on Steam.

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LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean First Look Preview -- Captain Jack Sparrow Gets Bricky With It

LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game

What happens when Pirates of the Caribbean meets LEGO? Well, besides LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game.�You get swashbuckling blocks and a lot of attention to detail. But what does the search for a plastic Black Pearl look like? Apparently, not like plain old plastic bricks. But don't take my word for it. Check out what Nikole Zivalich had to say when she checked the game out at GDC.�

"At first glance, LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean looks like a LEGO game; it's colorful, it's bouncy, and everything is made of LEGOS. But after my glance turned into a stare, I noticed the jungle I was in had textures, leaves, vines, none of which were made of LEGOS. What surprised me wasn't simply the detailed landscape, it was how detailed it was. Another level I was shown took place on a pirate ship, but rather than being on a shiny, plastic Black Pearl, I was on a rotted wood, lines in the planks, realistic looking pirate ship."

Find out even more in our LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game First Look Preview.

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1UP's Calibur11 Xbox 360 Game Cases Giveaway

style! Calibur 11 is responsible for some of the greatest Xbox 360 cases on the market. Today, we're giving away two of their coolest - The MLG Vault and the Base Vault! Want to win 'em? Here's how:

We'll post a secret message on our homepage, right next to our Top Story area. Here's a pic:

How-To

Simply copy the phrase and Tweet it to @1UPsweeps.The first to tweet wins! The winner will be contacted via a direct message, so be sure to follow @1UPsweeps. Keep your eyes on 1UP.com for your chance to win!

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING 1UP's Calibur11 Xbox 360 Game Cases Giveaway

1. How to Enter: Beginning May 31st, 2011 at 10:00 AM (ET) through May 32nd, 2011 at 12:00 AM (ET) go to www.1UP.com and complete and submit your entry pursuant to the onscreen instructions. Winner Selection: The first entrant to respond correctly on Twitter.com through one of the following Twitter clients: Twitter (web, or the official mobile OS Twitter clients), Brizzly, Twitter for Mac, TweetFlow, TweetDeck, Tweetcaster, twidroyd, Cotweet, twitterfeed, Twhirl, Tweetie, Touiteur, Twidget, Text Message (txt), TwitterFon, HootSuite, HTC Peep, Echofon, MetroTwit, Tweet Button, Tweetie for Mac, Twitterific, Ubertwitter, Posterous, FriendFeed, Google, Seesmic (or Seesmic Mobile), Kiwi, Chromed Bird, Twittelator, Ada, MetroTwit, TwitterBar, AOL Lifestream, DestroyTwitter, Twitter for iPhone, Tumblr, Ping.fm, Twitter for iPad, Osfoora, Twitter for Blackberry, Twitter for Android, will be the winner. By participating in the Contest, entrant certifies that his/her entry is original, has not been previously published or won any award, and does not contain any material that would violate or infringe upon the rights of any third party, including copyrights, trademarks or rights or privacy or publicity. Sponsor reserves the right in its sole and unfettered discretion to disqualify any entry that it believes contains obscene, offensive or inappropriate content, that does not comply with these official rules or that is not consistent with the spirit or theme of the contest. The decision of the Sponsor and judges is final and binding on all matters relating to the Contest. Prizes and Approximate Retail Values: winners will receive one (1) Calibur 11 MLG Vault XBOX 360 Case or one (1) Calubur 11 Base Vault XBOX 360 Case. Winner will be notified via Twitter direct message, phone, e-mail or postal mail, at Sponsor's discretion, on or about May 27th, 2011. Winner's List: For winner's name, send a separate self-addressed, stamped envelope to 1UP's Calibur11 Xbox 360 Game Cases Giveaway, 300 West 57th Street, New York, New York 10019 by DEC 31, 2011. Incomplete, or mechanically reproduced entry forms or entry forms that have been tampered with will be disqualified.

2. ENTRIES: Limit one (1) entry per household address for the Contest. Multiple entries from the same household will be disqualified. Entries that Sponsor reasonably believes were submitted using macro, robotic, script or other forms of automatic entry and entries that Sponsor reasonably believes are mechanically reproduced entries will be disqualified. Entries become the property of the Sponsor and will not be returned. Proof of submission does not constitute proof of receipt. If there is a dispute as to the identity of an online entrant, the prize will be awarded to the authorized account holder of the email address. The "authorized account holder" is defined as the natural person to whom the email address is assigned by an internet service provider, online service provider or other organization (e.g., business, educational institution, etc.) that is responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with the submitted email address.

3. ELIGIBILITY: Open to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who have reached the age of majority in their state or province of residence at time of entry, unless otherwise stated in the specific Contest. Void in Puerto Rico and where prohibited by law. Employees of Sponsor, its parents, affiliates and subsidiaries, participating advertising and promotion agencies, the independent judging organization, prize suppliers (and members of their immediate family and/or those living in the same of household of each such employee) and entrants that have won a prior UGO.com Homepage twitter contest within ten (10) days of entry are not eligible for the Contest. You must be follow @1UPsweeps on Twitter to be eligible.

4. CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION: Entrants must have valid e-mail address and it is entrant's responsibility to update Sponsor of any change in e-mail address. Expenses not specifically included in prize description and all taxes are the sole responsibility of the winner. Each prize is awarded "as is" with no warranty or guarantee, either express or implied outside of manufacturer's limited warranty. No transfer, assignment or substitution of a prize permitted, except Sponsor reserves the right to substitute prize for an item of equal or greater value in the event an advertised prize is unavailable. All federal, state, provincial and local laws and regulations apply. Entrants agree to be bound by the terms of these Official Rules and by the decisions of Sponsor, which are final and binding on all matters pertaining to this Contest. Winners (and parent or legal guardian if winner is a minor) may be required to sign and return an Affidavit of Eligibility, a Liability Release and where legally permissible a Publicity Release within seven (7) days following the date of first attempted notification. Failure to comply with this deadline may result in forfeiture of the prize and selection of an alternate winner. Return of any prize/prize notification as undeliverable may result in disqualification and selection of an alternate winner. Winner hereby further agrees that it will sign any documents necessary to transfer copyright of the entry to Sponsor within seven (7) days following the date of first attempted notification. Acceptance of the prize constitutes permission for Sponsor and its agencies to use winner's name and/or likeness, biographical material and/or entry (including an altered form of the entry) for advertising and promotional purposes without additional compensation, unless prohibited by law. By accepting the prize, winner agrees to hold Sponsor, its advertising and promotion agencies and their respective parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, partners, representative agents, successors, assigns, officers, directors, and employees harmless for any injury or damage caused or claimed to be caused by participation in the Contest or acceptance or use of the prize. Sponsor is not responsible for any printing, typographical, mechanical or other error in the printing of the offer, administration of the Contest or in the announcement of the prize.

5. INTERNET: Sponsor is not responsible for electronic transmission errors resulting in omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operations or transmission, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to or alterations of entry materials, or for technical, network, telephone equipment, electronic, computer, hardware or software malfunctions or limitations of any kind, or inaccurate transmissions of or failure to receive entry information by Sponsor or presenter on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any Web site or any combination thereof. If for any reason the Internet portion of the program is not capable of running as planned, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of this Contest, Sponsor reserves the right at its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Contest. Sponsor reserves the right to select winners from eligible entries received as of the termination date. Sponsor further reserves the right to disqualify any individual who Sponsor reasonably believes has tampered with the entry process. Sponsor may prohibit an entrant from participating in a Contest if it reasonably believes that said entrant is attempting to undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest by cheating, hacking, deception or other unfair playing practices or intending to abuse, threaten or harass other entrants. Caution: Any attempt by a participant to deliberately damage any Web site or undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest is a violation of criminal and civil laws and should such an attempt be made, Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages from any such participant to the fullest extent of the law.

6. DISPUTES/CHOICE OF LAW: Except where prohibited, each entrant agrees that: (1) any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Contest or any prize awarded shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and exclusively by state or federal courts situated in New York, New York, (2) any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, but in no event attorneys' fees; and (3) no punitive, incidental, special, consequential or other damages, including without limitation lost profits may be awarded (collectively, "Special Damages"), and (4) entrant hereby waives all rights to claim Special Damages and all rights to have such damages multiplied or increased. New York State law, without reference to New York's choice of law rules, governs the Contest and all aspects related thereto.

7. SPONSOR: The Sponsor of this Contest is UGO Entertainment, Inc., 300 West 57th Street, New York, New York 10019.

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Ocarina of Time video: Jabu Jabu’s Belly FAP (The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D)

Part three in our ongoing Ocarina FAP takes us inside Jabu Jabu, a sort of fish-lord that has gone ten kinds of crazy and swallowed Princess Ruto (seen above). I take the helm and guide Link through Jabu?s pulsating innards while Carolyn, Henry and Chris watch and continuously talk about dated news topics. You?ll definitely know when we recorded this!

This is actually one of my favorite Zelda dungeons of all time; Japan?s love of classic Disney tropes makes it a loving reference to Pinocchio, plus it?s a thoroughly unique idea that hasn?t been repeated in a Zelda since.

Odds are I?ll fumble with the camera or make a few mistakes while running through the whole game, but keep in mind how hard it is to 1) Play a Zelda game for the first time in 12 years, 2) Carry on a conversation with other people in the room while paying attention to the game?s many puzzles, and 3) Attempting to make said conversation and gameplay interesting to watch. It?s a hard juggling act, so expect at least one of those three bullet points to suck at any given time!

Next up: The Forest Temple as adult Link!

May 26, 2011

Ocarina of Time video: Dodongo's Cavern FAP
Our video playthrough of Zelda's N64 dungeons continues, this time facing down an infernal dinosaur

Ocarina of Time video: Deku Tree FAP
Our video playthrough of Zelda's N64 dungeons begins with a trip inside a dying tree


Thor video: Full Access Playthrough
Ho! A movie tie-in that shames the Thor name? A blacker deed we can't imagine!

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East and West, Warrior and Quest: A Dragon Quest Retrospective

25 years ago, Dragon Quest invented the console RPG. Not that most of us knew what an RPG was back in 1986.

Even three years later, when Dragon Quest finally reached the U.S., I only knew the term RPG as an acronym for "rocket-propelled grenade." Growing up reading G.I. Joe comics had made me moderately fascinated with military terminology; author Larry Hama parlayed his personal experience serving in Vietnam into a war comic that, while not exactly realistic, definitely had a ring of martial authenticity about it. The other (and, these days, far better-known) meaning of RPG -- role-playing game -- was completely foreign to me. My family didn't have a computer, so I was never exposed to the likes of Ultima or The Bard's Tale until years later. As for pen-and-paper RPGs, those were out, too: Dungeons & Dragons was persona non grata in my conservative home town. We even had an overzealous police detective who actively crusaded against D&D, calling it the devil's work and hosting mandatory school assemblies at which he would lecture students about how playing D&D would make us commit suicide and dabble in the Satanic arts.

Dragon Quest

Needless to say, when Nintendo Power magazine -- my primary source of video game information back in those days -- began promoting a "new" kind of video game called RPGs, my first reaction was puzzlement. RPGs? The games they were promoting looked like classical fantasy fare filled with swords and spells, not war epics bursting with machine guns and rocket launchers. Eventually, though, my curiosity got the better of me and I began reading up on these oddly misnamed adventures. One title in particular caught my attention thanks in large part to the detailed illustrations the magazine had commissioned to accompany its write-ups: Dragon Warrior, the U.S. version of Dragon Quest. Its graphics looked awful, but its concept spoke to me on the same level that The Legend of Zelda and Metal Gear had. It was clearly a game full of stuff for the hero to discover and use, and that meant a huge adventure full of exploration and discovery.

When I received a copy of Dragon Warrior that year for Christmas -- from my super-conservative grandparents, who surely would have freaked out if they'd known that they'd all but introduced me to a world of Satanic blood rituals -- I was immediately hooked. The visuals were primitive and the music was simple and frequently shrill, but right away I was pulled in by the sense of scale to the open world as well as the faux-Shakespearean writing. In an age where basic grammatical coherence was a rarity in any Nintendo game, being commissioned to rescue a king's daughter in elaborate formal English was a stunning change of pace. Of course, the idea of saving a princess was hardly original, but Dragon Warrior managed to put a fresh twist on that stale chestnut, too: My unnamed hero (whom I dubbed PSI) defeated the dragon guarding Princess Gwaelin before I'd explored even a quarter of the realm. Where other games ended at saving the girl, that objective was merely a means to an end in Dragon Warrior. With Gwaelin reunited with her family, the true quest was bequeathed upon brave young PSI, and the princess' guidance helped steer me through the remainder of the world. I may have been embarrassed of (and for) Dragon Warrior's stunningly awful graphics, but the quest had me hooked, and when I met up with my school friends a day or two after Christmas I couldn't stop gushing about this crazy game that used rescuing the princess as a mere preamble to the real adventure.

Dragon Quest

I didn't realize it at the time, but I was enraptured with the same story that had hooked millions of my peers on the other side of the world a few years prior. The American game released Dragon Warrior in 1989 had debuted in Japan back in 1986 under the name Dragon Quest. The version published in the U.S. was modestly improved over its initial rendition -- the graphics, surprisingly enough, had originally looked even more primitive -- but the essence was the same. It was the tale of a lone warrior who ventured into the wilderness in search of an abducted princess, battling a variety of colorfully rendered foes as he pursued a quest line that led him all across the land and, ultimately, to the wicked fortress Charlock, glowering directly across the water from the town where the adventure had begun all those hours ago.

Dragon Quest had largely been the brain child of a man named Yuji Horii, who had stumbled across U.S. developer Sir-Tech's RPG Wizardry at a MacWorld Expo and fell in love with the depth and challenge beneath its spartan wireframe visuals. Horii was a writer at Chun Soft, a developer closely related to Japanese publisher Enix, and he quickly began contemplating ways to take his own shot at creating something along the lines of Wizardry. Enix had already established itself as a PC developer, but by 1985 Nintendo's Famicom was all the rage in Japan, and Horii decided that his take on the western RPG genre needed to work on Famicom.

The resulting creation, Dragon Quest, "was very different from PC RPGs," Horii says. "There was no keyboard, and the system was much simpler, using just a controller. But I still thought that it would be really exciting for the player to play as their alter ego in the game. I personally was playing Wizardry and Ultima at the time, and I really enjoyed seeing my own self in the game."

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Bulletstorm Is Funnier Than Killzone 3 - Sessler's Soapbox

Adam Sessler has been shot with two great games this week, Killzone 3 and Bulletstorm. While playing both games, The Sess enjoyed the wild and crazy gameplay experiences of Bulletstorm more than Killzone 3 because it reminded him of games from the 90's like, Duke Nukem, where you would run around with a shotgun killing monsters from out of nowhere. Which brings us to this week's Soapbox. Do you agree that too many shooters tend to follow the Gears of War method of gameplay, where it's very dramatic and tactical?

Subscribe to G4's WEB SHOWS Video Podcast:

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Sunday, May 29, 2011

Magicka: Vietnam Brings Spellcasting and Wizards To Vietnam

Paradox Interactive has thrown caution to the winds with Magicka: Vietnam�expansion and decided to jump directly into one of the bloodiest and nastiest conflicts in U.S. history, namely the Vietnam War, by tossing wizards and magic into the mix. No longer will you need to rely on guns and grenades to get the job done, as now you can blast spells to initiate giant explosions, or simply fry your foes with lightning.�

We'll have more news on the Magicka expansion later, but for now you can entertain yourself by playing the free demo on Steam.

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Weekend Deals: Total War: Shogun 2 and All Things Ubisoft

Total War Shogun 2

Total War: Shogun 2 is still a fairly new game and it's already available for just over $33. If that sort of strategy game is not up your alley, Steam has a ridiculous number of deals on Ubisoft titles -- too many to list them all below. Among the highlights are Far Cry 2 ($13.39), R.U.S.E. ($20.09), and the Ghost Recon Complete Pack ($26.79).

Dawn of War II Retribution is only $20 at Direct2Drive, while Company of Heroes is $7.49 for the Gold version or $12.49 for the complete bundle. GamersGate has Battlefield: Bad Company 2, a terrific shooter, for less than $8 which is an absolute steal.

Look below for this week's deals and share any deals we missed in the comments below.

Amazon

  • DualShock 3 -- $35.99 (from $54.99)
  • Xbox 360 Wireless Controller -- $36.99 (from $49.99)
  • Mortal Kombat (360/PS3) -- $39.99 (from $59.99)
  • Portal 2 (360/PS3) -- $39.99 (from $59.99)
  • Portal 2 (PC) -- $29.99 (from $49.99)

Direct2Drive

  • Total War: Shogun 2 -- $33.45 (from $49.95)
  • Medieval 2: Total War -- $3.75 (from $14.95)
  • Dawn of War II Retribution -- $20.00 (from $29.95)
  • Dawn of War II Retribution Complete Pack -- $40.15 (from $59.95)
  • Empire: Total War Special Forces Edition -- $17.49 (from $69.95)
  • Aion: Assault on Balaurea -- $14.95 (from $29.95)
  • Company of Heroes Complete Bundle -- $12.49 (from $49.95)
  • Company of Heroes Gold -- $7.49 (from $29.95)

GamersGate

  • Battlefield: Bad Company 2 -- $7.98 (from $19.95)
  • Total War: Shogun 2 -- $33.47 (from $49.95)
  • Dead Space -- $7.98 (from $19.95)
  • Deus Ex -- $2.50 (from $9.99)
  • Deus Ex: Invisible War -- $2.50 (from $9.99)
  • Homefront -- $33.47 (from $49.95)
  • Medal of Honor -- $14.98 (from $29.95)
  • Spore -- $7.98 (from $19.95)
  • Dawn of War II Retribution -- $20.07 (from $29.95)
  • Dawn of War II Retribution Complete Pack -- $40.17 (from $59.95)

GameStop

  • Rift -- $34.99 (from $49.99)
  • Rift Collector's Edition -- $64.99 (from $79.99)
  • NBA 2K11 -- $29.99 (from $39.99)

Good Old Games

Impulse

  • Battlefield 2 Complete Collection -- $10.19 (from $29.99)
  • Pacific Storm Bundle Pack -- $12.49 (from 24.99)
  • Hearts of Iron Mega Bundle -- $12.99 (from $51.97)
  • Arma 2 Operation Arrowhead -- $19.99 (from $39.99)

Steam

  • Total War: Shogun 2 -- $33.49 (from $49.99)
  • Ubisoft WWII Collection -- $33.49 (from $49.99)
  • Assassin's Creed 2 Deluxe Edition -- $20.09 (from $29.99)
  • Assassin's Creed: Director's Cut Edition -- $13.39 (from $19.99)
  • King Arthur Collection -- $14.99 (from $29.99)
  • Star Trek Online -- $3.75 (from $14.99)
  • Brothers in Arms Pack -- $9.99 (from $39.97)
  • Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 -- $2.50 (from $9.99)
  • Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway -- $5.00 (from $19.99)
  • Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood -- $2.50 (from $9.99)
  • Far Cry -- $6.69 (from $9.99)
  • Far Cry 2: Fortune's Edition -- $13.39 (from $19.99)
  • Far Cry Complete -- $20.08 (from $29.98)
  • The Settlers 7 -- $26.79 ($39.99)
  • RUSE -- $20.09 (from $29.99)
  • Splinter Cell: Conviction Deluxe Edition -- $16.74 (from $29.99)
  • Splinter Cell: Conviction -- $13.39 (from $19.99)>
  • Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time -- $6.69 (from $9.99)
  • Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones -- $6.69 (from $9.99)
  • Prince of Persia: warrior Within -- $6.69 (from $9.99)
  • Prince of Persia -- $13.39 (from $19.99)
  • Heroes of Might and Magic V -- $6.69 (from $9.99)
  • Heroes of Might and Magic V Pack -- $20.07 (from $29.97)
  • Rainbow Six Vegas 2 -- $6.69 (from $9.99)
  • City of Heroes Going Rogue: Complete Collection -- $14.99 (from $29.99)
  • IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946 -- $6.69 (from $9.99)
  • HAWX 2 -- $33.49 (from $49.99)
  • World in Conflict: Complete Edition -- $13.39 (from $19.99)
  • Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood -- $13.39 (from $19.99)

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Rumor Patrol: NGP Memory Slashed, Japan Only Launch for 2011

NGP Specs Launch Date

While the current PlayStation Portable continues to enjoy remarkable sales dominance over Nintendo?s 3DS in Japan, Sony is working diligently to bring the PSP?s successor to market. Ideally, the Next Generation Portable would launch worldwide this Fall with a reasonable sticker price. But in order to meet that goal, is the hardware being downgraded?

As previously reported, two SKUs for NGP are expected, one that supports 3G and one that is limited to Wi-Fi. Sony aims to take the handheld battle directly to Nintendo by pricing the Wi-Fi only NGP competitively with the 3DS. But while Nintendo products have traditionally been conceived and produced to be affordable (for customers) and profitable (for Nintendo), Sony has long followed a different design philosophy ? one that emphasizes ambitious technology and results in expensive consoles.

Rumors now suggest that in order to deliver the NGP at a mass market friendly price, Sony is cutting the console?s RAM in half and eliminating its 16GB of internal flash memory. That leaves the NGP with 256MB of RAM, and users will no doubt have the option to buy external storage separately.

With the system?s price apparently brought under control thanks to these technology sacrifices, the focus now turns to the NGP?s launch date. Though Sony insists that the NGP has not been delayed, they still have not specified when the system will be released. While some games due this Fall, like LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7, list NGP among the platforms they will be released for, a worldwide holiday release sounds like a tricky prospect for a company still reeling from the PSN outage and the ongoing absence of the PlayStation Store.

As such, rumors that the NGP will launch only in Japan this year seem entirely plausible. The system will allegedly roll out to the rest of the world in the first quarter of 2012. With luck, the delay in bringing the system to the West will result in a strong, varied lineup of day one titles, and a launch free of the headaches and ?black screens of death? that plagued the 3DS?s early days.

Obviously this news belongs firmly in the ?rumor? category for now, but what if it turns out to be true? Would you be less interested in buying an NGP if its tech specs have been scaled back? Do you think Sony can afford to let Nintendo?s 3DS have the market to itself this holiday season?

-

Follow me on Twitter @HakenGaken

Source: 01.Net [via 1up]

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Weekend Deals: Total War: Shogun 2 and All Things Ubisoft

Total War Shogun 2

Total War: Shogun 2 is still a fairly new game and it's already available for just over $33. If that sort of strategy game is not up your alley, Steam has a ridiculous number of deals on Ubisoft titles -- too many to list them all below. Among the highlights are Far Cry 2 ($13.39), R.U.S.E. ($20.09), and the Ghost Recon Complete Pack ($26.79).

Dawn of War II Retribution is only $20 at Direct2Drive, while Company of Heroes is $7.49 for the Gold version or $12.49 for the complete bundle. GamersGate has Battlefield: Bad Company 2, a terrific shooter, for less than $8 which is an absolute steal.

Look below for this week's deals and share any deals we missed in the comments below.

Amazon

  • DualShock 3 -- $35.99 (from $54.99)
  • Xbox 360 Wireless Controller -- $36.99 (from $49.99)
  • Mortal Kombat (360/PS3) -- $39.99 (from $59.99)
  • Portal 2 (360/PS3) -- $39.99 (from $59.99)
  • Portal 2 (PC) -- $29.99 (from $49.99)

Direct2Drive

  • Total War: Shogun 2 -- $33.45 (from $49.95)
  • Medieval 2: Total War -- $3.75 (from $14.95)
  • Dawn of War II Retribution -- $20.00 (from $29.95)
  • Dawn of War II Retribution Complete Pack -- $40.15 (from $59.95)
  • Empire: Total War Special Forces Edition -- $17.49 (from $69.95)
  • Aion: Assault on Balaurea -- $14.95 (from $29.95)
  • Company of Heroes Complete Bundle -- $12.49 (from $49.95)
  • Company of Heroes Gold -- $7.49 (from $29.95)

GamersGate

  • Battlefield: Bad Company 2 -- $7.98 (from $19.95)
  • Total War: Shogun 2 -- $33.47 (from $49.95)
  • Dead Space -- $7.98 (from $19.95)
  • Deus Ex -- $2.50 (from $9.99)
  • Deus Ex: Invisible War -- $2.50 (from $9.99)
  • Homefront -- $33.47 (from $49.95)
  • Medal of Honor -- $14.98 (from $29.95)
  • Spore -- $7.98 (from $19.95)
  • Dawn of War II Retribution -- $20.07 (from $29.95)
  • Dawn of War II Retribution Complete Pack -- $40.17 (from $59.95)

GameStop

  • Rift -- $34.99 (from $49.99)
  • Rift Collector's Edition -- $64.99 (from $79.99)
  • NBA 2K11 -- $29.99 (from $39.99)

Good Old Games

Impulse

  • Battlefield 2 Complete Collection -- $10.19 (from $29.99)
  • Pacific Storm Bundle Pack -- $12.49 (from 24.99)
  • Hearts of Iron Mega Bundle -- $12.99 (from $51.97)
  • Arma 2 Operation Arrowhead -- $19.99 (from $39.99)

Steam

  • Total War: Shogun 2 -- $33.49 (from $49.99)
  • Ubisoft WWII Collection -- $33.49 (from $49.99)
  • Assassin's Creed 2 Deluxe Edition -- $20.09 (from $29.99)
  • Assassin's Creed: Director's Cut Edition -- $13.39 (from $19.99)
  • King Arthur Collection -- $14.99 (from $29.99)
  • Star Trek Online -- $3.75 (from $14.99)
  • Brothers in Arms Pack -- $9.99 (from $39.97)
  • Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 -- $2.50 (from $9.99)
  • Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway -- $5.00 (from $19.99)
  • Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood -- $2.50 (from $9.99)
  • Far Cry -- $6.69 (from $9.99)
  • Far Cry 2: Fortune's Edition -- $13.39 (from $19.99)
  • Far Cry Complete -- $20.08 (from $29.98)
  • The Settlers 7 -- $26.79 ($39.99)
  • RUSE -- $20.09 (from $29.99)
  • Splinter Cell: Conviction Deluxe Edition -- $16.74 (from $29.99)
  • Splinter Cell: Conviction -- $13.39 (from $19.99)>
  • Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time -- $6.69 (from $9.99)
  • Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones -- $6.69 (from $9.99)
  • Prince of Persia: warrior Within -- $6.69 (from $9.99)
  • Prince of Persia -- $13.39 (from $19.99)
  • Heroes of Might and Magic V -- $6.69 (from $9.99)
  • Heroes of Might and Magic V Pack -- $20.07 (from $29.97)
  • Rainbow Six Vegas 2 -- $6.69 (from $9.99)
  • City of Heroes Going Rogue: Complete Collection -- $14.99 (from $29.99)
  • IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946 -- $6.69 (from $9.99)
  • HAWX 2 -- $33.49 (from $49.99)
  • World in Conflict: Complete Edition -- $13.39 (from $19.99)
  • Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood -- $13.39 (from $19.99)

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Joker's Wild: The Tale of a Dragon Quest Grudge Match

It's New Year's Eve 2008, and there's a party happening in the old hometown. Friends have gathered, music is playing and the champagne is stocked and ready for midnight. I'm chatting with buddies I don't see nearly enough anymore, with work and life having conspired to move me across the state. It's a great way to draw the year to a close, but my mind is distracted and I'm keeping one eye on the door.

My DS rests in my back pocket, heavy with promise. Waiting.

Dragon Quest

The door bursts open, bringing a blast of cold December wind and my friend Charles. He unloads his share of the party supplies and our eyes meet across the room.

"Did you bring it?"

I pull out my DS, scarred from use; the top screen is only barely attached to the base. Charles pulls out his newer DS Lite, itself showing signs of wear as well. We both know that we have the same cart in our systems: Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker.

Joker is part of the increasingly narrow field of Pok�mon-alikes; games built around the capture and training of monsters wrapped in a JPRG shell. Of this once-popular genre, Dragon Quest Monsters is one of the few Pok�-imitators still kicking. The Monsters series has succeeded based on the strength of the Dragon Quest name as well as its blend of both classic and modern play mechanics.

Dragon Quest

Joker itself boasts impressive graphics reminiscent of Dragon Quest VIII, offering a fully realized 3D adventure on the humble Nintendo DS. In the main story line, players take control of a young lad as he travels from island to island, capturing monsters and pitting them against other teams in a tournament. It's standard fare for a monster-catching game, but the single-player experience is hardly what has Charles and I staring each other down months after most people have stopped caring.

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A Retronauts Dragon Quest Comic

Interesting way to narrate the history of Dragon Quest, the Western influence on the early founders has been told over and over, and right now it seems that Western RPGs are pushing out JRPG in many areas - not just battle system, but storylines as well as artisic designs and soundtrack.�

Indeed, I do think Keiji Inafune does have the hindsight of what's happen in the Japanese gaming industry; as of now, SquareEnix looks more like a shadow of its past - you gotta wonder what they have for the future?

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Saturday, May 28, 2011

PSN Offline Due to 'External Intrusion'

Update 2: Patrick Seybold posted an update on the PlayStation Blog tonight saying the outage will continue and that Sony is re-building its system to "further strengthen our network infrastructure." His statement can be read in full below:

We sincerely regret that PlayStation Network and Qriocity services have been suspended, and we are working around the clock to bring them both back online. Our efforts to resolve this matter involve re-building our system to further strengthen our network infrastructure. Though this task is time-consuming, we decided it was worth the time necessary to provide the system with additional security. We thank you for your patience to date and ask for a little more while we move towards completion of this project. We will continue to give you updates as they become available.

Update 1: Sony tonight issued a statement saying the PlayStation Network outage is due to an "external intrusion" but did not clarify beyond that. A timetable for when PSN will be up and running again was also not provided.

Hacker group Anonymous said today they are not claiming responsibility for this particular outage, however.

The statement in full from Senior Director of Corporate Communications Patrick Seybold can be read below:

An external intrusion on our system has affected our PlayStation Network and Qriocity services. In order to conduct a thorough investigation and to verify the smooth and secure operation of our network services going forward, we turned off PlayStation Network & Qriocity services on the evening of Wednesday, April 20th.

Providing quality entertainment services to our customers and partners is our utmost priority. We are doing all we can to resolve this situation quickly, and we once again thank you for your patience. We will continue to update you promptly as we have additional information to share.


Original Story: PlayStation Network outages may last up to a full day or two before the service is back up and running, Sony said today.

The company is currently investigating the cause of the outages, which began late last night. No word yet on whether or not this outage is related to the same outage occurrences from earlier this month that was likely spurred on by the hacker group known as Anonymous.

Users unable to sign on are greeted with PSN Error Message 80710A06. Are you able to sign on? Let us know in the comments below.

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LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean First Look Preview -- Captain Jack Sparrow Gets Bricky With It

LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game

What happens when Pirates of the Caribbean meets LEGO? Well, besides LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game.�You get swashbuckling blocks and a lot of attention to detail. But what does the search for a plastic Black Pearl look like? Apparently, not like plain old plastic bricks. But don't take my word for it. Check out what Nikole Zivalich had to say when she checked the game out at GDC.�

"At first glance, LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean looks like a LEGO game; it's colorful, it's bouncy, and everything is made of LEGOS. But after my glance turned into a stare, I noticed the jungle I was in had textures, leaves, vines, none of which were made of LEGOS. What surprised me wasn't simply the detailed landscape, it was how detailed it was. Another level I was shown took place on a pirate ship, but rather than being on a shiny, plastic Black Pearl, I was on a rotted wood, lines in the planks, realistic looking pirate ship."

Find out even more in our LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game First Look Preview.

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CONTEST: Win a kickass LA Noire prize pack (L.A. Noire)

Listen up Noir fans! LA Noire has become a fairly divisive game around our office, but I for one don?t care. I love me some film noir, so I thought it?d be fun to remove LA Noire?s music track and insert iconic scores from some of my favorite film noir movies. And I was right! Don?t just holla if ya hear me ? Name the FIVE films that the songs in our video originally appeared in, in order of appearance, and then enter for a chance to win a ridiculously cool LA Noire prize pack including the game on the platform of your choice!

TO WIN: Simply email your answer entries to lanoire@gamesradar.com with ?LA Noire Contest? in the subject line, and the entry like this:

1. [INSERT MOVIE TITLE]
2. [INSERT MOVIE TITLE]
3. [INSERT MOVIE TITLE]
4. [INSERT MOVIE TITLE]
5. [INSERT MOVIE TITLE]

Obviously, you?ll be filling those numbers in with the names to those five films as they correspond to the video. Film Noir fans should have no trouble, but I may offer hints in the comments below if you?re stuck. Here?s what?s on the line:

GRAND PRIZE
-LA NOIRE on PS3 or 360 - (Take it outside, fanboys!)
-LA NOIRE Globe Lighter - (Straight from the Bamba Club!)
-LA NOIRE Parnell?s Soup Can - (Filled with green Pea-ness!)
-LA NOIRE T-shirt - (Just like they wore in the 40?s!)
-LA NOIRE Serial Killer Magnets - (For the sociopath in your life!)
-LA NOIRE Fancy Evidence Journal - (Notes!)
-LA NOIRE Pencil case - (Holds several pencils!)
-LA NOIRE Pencils - (Compatible with LA NOIRE Evidence Journal!)
-LA NOIRE Stickers - (Better than an Achievement/Trophy!)

2ND PRIZE
-LA NOIRE on PS3 or 360
-LA NOIRE T-shirt
-LA NOIRE Serial Killer magnets
-LA NOIRE Evidence Journal
-LA NOIRE Pencil case
-LA NOIRE Pencils�
-LA NOIRE Stickers

3RD PRIZE
-LA NOIRE T-shirt
-LA NOIRE Stickers

Email your answer entries to lanoire@gamesradar.com. Must be a North American resident over the age of 17. Contest ends June 3rd. NO SHAZAMING, ya cheaters!

LA Noire review
Why do they always run?


L.A. Noire five-star walkthrough and newspaper guide
Everything you need to ace every interrogation, find every paper and become Shamus to the Stars

L.A. Noire film reels and landmarks guide
50 film noir classics and 30 old-Hollywood sights are yours for the taking. Here's where to find them

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What adults want from games (Xbox 360)

We?re all adults here, right? What? We?re not? Well the gamerlings amongst us will one day grow up to be adult gamers, and one day you snot-nosed brats will understand the pain of us geezers, so this will serve as a manifesto for all gamers everywhere, since we all eventually join the creak-kneed club, and dammit if we aren?t cranky as hell about the immaturity still festering in our favorite artistic/entertainment medium. And developers have no excuse, because they?re all adults. Well, in theory at least. So here are the things we adults want to see in our games, because we?re actually not the boob-ogling, guffawing at exploding heads man/woman-babies the industry seems to think we are.

That?s why we want to see?

An online experience free of children

Look, we have nothing against kids and teenagers in principle. We were teenagers about seventy years ago so we remember having an inflated sense of superiority (also, dinosaur saddles) so the young?uns are just dandy as members of society. However, the internet has created a wholly unprecedented and utterly unnatural social soup, and this shit frankly has to stop. Outside of the internet and birthday parties of our friends? offspring, adults will never choose to hang out with children. We don?t go to the park and play ultimate Frisbee with random kids we don?t know. We don?t sit down to have intellectual discussions about science fiction novels with eight-year-olds.


Above: Online gaming sometimes feels like this

So why the hell do we have to do these things in online games and internet forums? We want servers in online games where only ages 18+ are allowed. We want the same for discussion boards. Yes, we realize this shit isn?t easy to implement, but we don?t care. It?s absurd that every other aspect of society has a way of maintaining the natural order of ?kids should be seen and not heard? (and preferably not seen either) but in gaming we can have a screaming larval human butt its way into a sober, polite game of adult competition. Yes, we know that in the days of arcades there would be comingling of adults and children, but being in-person made a huge difference: you knew right away you were dealing with a child, and the threat of punching made children a lot less arrogant.


Above: Child discipline sure has declined in quality since the old days

The same holds true for gaming discussions. We could save a shedload of our precious time if we knew we were having conversations with adults. In current forums, the moment we find out someone is under eighteen we ignore them because their opinions are stupid ? sorry teenagers, but you have to know that everyone in their teens suffers from a condition where they think they know everything and think they?re smarter than they really are. We know this because we were once those people. Once you get a twinkle of maturity and a glimmer of world perspective suddenly you think you?re fricken? Plato, and we hate to break it to you, but you don?t know shit. We?re not saying a teenager can?t contribute to an intellectual discussion, but the few of you with your anuses not wrapped around your necks would be minor collateral damage in our proposed 18+ only forums. Besides, then you could be the big fish amongst your peers and teach them a thing or two about critical thinking.

Again, we know it would not be easy to enforce 18+ servers and forums, but surely it can be done, because it damn well needs to be done.

Non-adolescent portrayals of sex and nudity

Nudity and sex are awesome. Getting these things in our entertainment makes up for the sad fact that we can?t play with toys anymore. Movies and books have provided a lot of immature portrayals of titillation, but these media have also figured out how to depict adults? idea of fun in tasteful ways, and complex ways, and story-relevant ways. We?re not talking about prudish approaches to sex ? hell, we don?t even require them to be tasteful, although we like that approach also. We?re talking about a perspective on sex that?s deeper than just ?hurr hurr lookit the naked gurls.? Even supposing some games have managed to get past thinking that sexy = premature ejaculation, they still haven?t gotten past awkwardly shoehorning sex into stories where it feels totally unnatural and the kind of thing that would embarrass us if anyone walked in when it was happening.

Let?s take a look at two examples of the more ?mature? portrayals of sex we have so far: Heavy Rain and Mass Effect. Potential spoilers ahead (although we?ll leave out as much plot detail as possible). In Heavy Rain, the actual sex scene, despite being kind of ridiculous looking, does a decent job of at least making the sex seem like something between two tender adults and not the typical porno-style bouncing and screaming. We have to give them credit for that. Yet the timing of the sex is beyond ridiculous: two characters decide to hump when there is a freaking clock ticking on the life of one of their children. Not only is this unbelievable and doesn?t fit with these characters? established personalities, but it?s also a hoary storytelling clich�: two people in extreme circumstances are drawn together magnetically, releasing their pent up passions the only way they know how. To an adult whose idea of sex doesn?t just come from movies, this is not a mature portrayal.


Above: The only word that comes into our mind is "Ew"

Mass Effect falls into a similar trap. Again we have people under extreme circumstances, under a ticking clock, deciding ?Hey, might as well bang even though the entire universe is waiting for us to save its ass.? Then the characters have sex in the engine room (or whatever that room is called). We can see two major problems with this: anyone could just walk in and catch them (or are they hoping for that?), and that floor is not going to be comfortable ? yeah sex on a hard kitchen table might be sexy but we?re talking about steel grating, which would surely remove the skin from your ass/knees. Then there?s the other silly thing: they have sex with their clothes on. This annoys us because despite the reality that people do sometimes have sex with clothes on, it?s highly unlikely they would do that the first time they had sex. Come on ? they?re going to want to see the goods. And you know what? So do we. Show us some freakin? nudity during the sex, and not just of the women.

Does our asking to see nudity make us sound immature? Sorry, but there?s a reason why the word ?adult? when added to ?entertainment? translates to ?porn.? We?re not saying we need hardcore pornography in our games, but we also don?t like that the industry keeps things wimpy and safe because we?re sharing this medium with children, and we?re sharing it in a way that other media don?t have to. A goddamn PG-13 movie can show nudity but if a game does the same, it won?t get anything less than an M rating and even then it has to be displayed in a carefully constructed context so as not to freak anyone out. A sign of a medium growing up is when it stops worrying about freaking people out.

Philosophical/political/satirical stories (that aren't amateurishly pretentious)

We love that games have finally started to tackle this stuff. We?re sure you can find some obscure game from thirty years ago that was super clever satire, but attempts at intellectual themes in games didn?t really hit the mainstream until recently. We?d say that BioShock did a decent job at tackling multiple heady ideas, even if a lot of it wasn?t ultra-subtle. Yet the way the game subverted entrenched tropes of videogame empowerment fantasies revolving around choice and control was pretty damn clever. It unfortunately lost its way toward the end and, possibly afraid of delivering a ?disappointing? climax, wussed out and provided a bog-standard videogamey boss battle, when instead it could have done something really mind-blowing (like find a way to toy with the player?s sense of agency even more).

Braid built itself on a clever premise: construct gameplay around the idea of rewinding time and then make a story about how [spoilerish] we can never go back and undo our worst mistakes. If it had left things at that simple level it probably would have been hailed as a brilliant allegory game. Instead, it piled on staggeringly pretentious text in an attempt to be ?complex? or ?artsy.? It?s a common mistake for artists ? have a big idea, but then instead of allowing the idea to shine on its own, try to dress it up because you?re worried no one will notice your amazing idea if you keep it simple.

We love both of these games because not only are they great purely as games, but they are stepping stones to something bigger. Developers can study these games and learn what to do and what not to do when attempting serious discourse in a game. Portal 2 is a fantastic example of how to add a layer of depth and symbolism to a game without beating it over the player?s head ? if a game can spawn�this type of analysis�then we?re headed in the right direction. But developers: please study the work of others so we can move forward and not tread water in the mire of obviousness and pretentiousness.

More games that don?t assume violence = gameplay

We don?t have any problem with violence in entertainment. We?re adults, not pussies. What we do have a problem with is how developers, either through a lack of creativity or a fear of risking their jobs on breaking out of the mold, almost always rely on the act of killing things to make up the main component of gameplay. Games are inherently about overcoming obstacles, and enemies with independent AI serve as interesting obstacles. It?s also just fun to make heads explode. We understand (and don?t bemoan) the reality that combat satisfies the caveman impulses in many gamers to hunt and conquer our enemies. Aside from the issue of this being an extremely male-centric mentality to what constitutes fun (although we?re not saying women can?t also enjoy a good headshot), the saturation of the industry of this ruling type of gameplay means that killing shit gets monotonous after a while.

We love Tomb Raider and Uncharted. Both series offer a mix of combat, exploration and puzzles. Tomb Raider?s combat has always been terrible, but it?s clearly in the games because the developers are afraid exploring a bunch of empty tombs would get boring. Notice that we said we love the games, but that the combat is terrible. The obvious conclusion is that we love exploring things and solving puzzles, and begrudgingly accept the combat. We also love encountering a T-rex because that shit is scary, but who says we have to kill it? Why can?t we just run from it, or maybe solve a puzzle that traps it? Tomb Raider does exploration and puzzle solving better than almost any game out there, so why not just toss out the combat altogether so we can get more exploration and puzzles, and with the resources saved on not programming and designing enemies and weapons, the exploration and puzzles could be even better.


Above: It's okay if this is the most fun part of your game

Uncharted does combat much more deftly than Tomb Raider, but it has too damn much of it. Both Uncharted games throw so many enemies at you that it becomes a boring slog at times (and also makes Nathan Drake seem like a genocidal maniac). Again, Uncharted is great, but after playing years of Tomb Raider our first impression of Uncharted was ?Tomb Raider Light? ? this was because everything other than the combat (climbing, puzzles) felt dumbed down. We actually think Uncharted 2 is better than any Tomb Raider game, but it still features slightly weaker non-combat elements. We argue that if the combat wasn?t such a focus (or was thrown out), Uncharted?s climbing and puzzling could potentially surpass anything these types of games have achieved. We know that suggesting Uncharted have no combat is absurd to many fans, so take this as merely an example of how combat can affect other game elements and not a demand to have a pacifist Nathan Drake.

Games are special to adults because they touch on activities we loved as children: climbing things, jumping over things, role-playing, exploring, puzzle-solving, and yes, pretending to fight things. We spent hours climbing trees without needing to also pretend we were shooting bad guys. There?s no reason we would be bored doing the same thing in games. Shadow of the Colossus was ultimately about killing things, but 98% of the game was riding a horse and climbing on things. ICO was at its least fun when those goddamn shadow monsters showed up. We know there are some games out there that don?t center on violence, but we want more of them. There are only so many ways you can punch, shoot, or eviscerate something.

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Mortal Kombat: First DLC to feature klassic character skins and fatalities (Mortal Kombat (2011))

Developer NetherRealm Studios recently announced the first DLC pack for the new Mortal Kombat. The package offers all the ?klassic? character skins previously offered as pre-order extras from various retailers. The DLC will feature seven new skins for Sub-Zero, Scorpion, Reptile, Ermac, Mileena, Jade, and Kitana that?ll make them look old school ? and will also include ?klassic? fatalities for Reptile, Scorpion, and Sub-Zero.

The klassic skins and fatalities DLC pack will cost 400 Microsoft Points�on�XBLA��and $4.99 on PSN ? and will launch on Tuesday, June 7.

Above: A trailer promoting the first DLC pack for Mortal Kombat

May 27, 2011

Mortal Kombat super review
A bloody good fighter that reboots and redeems the wayward series

Mortal Kombat: How to make a fatality
A behind-the-scenes look at how NetherRealm Studios kept fatalities bloody and funny

Mortal Kombat watches you play, fixes balancing issues when you?re not looking
NetherRealm explains its persistent balancing system

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Serious Sam 3: BFE Gets Summer Release Date

Serious Sam 3: BFE Gets Summer Release Date

Serious Sam 3: BFE is heading for consoles and PC this summer and will include a 16-player co-op campaign mode. The third installment in this bizarre first person shooter franchise is once again being developed by Devolver Digital and will be a prequel to the original indie game Serious Sam: The First Encounter. We're speculating the "BFE" in the title could mean "Before First Encounter" but as of right now, the name is still a mystery.

Serious Sam 3: BFE will take place in 22nd century Egypt and feature new baddies from Lord Mental's legions like the rumbling Scrapjack and towering Khnum. BFE is the next in line in a series of new age down and dirty FPS games like� Bulletstorm and Duke Nukem:�Forever. I'm just hoping that there's a Team Fortress 2 hat involved with the preorder.

Source: Rock, Paper Shotgun

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Friday, May 27, 2011

Jet Set Go released for Mac

mzl.ryzsrjep.800x500 75 Jet Set Go released for Mac

Finding yourself staring out the window and daydreaming about your vacation? Turn those dreams into reality with Jet Set Go (OK ? play reality, but still). Jet Set Go is a whole new kind of time management game for the Mac App Store created by the designer, programmer, and artist behind the #1 PC, Mac, and iPhone game Sally?s Spa. Download Jet Set Go from the Mac App Store!

Developed by Ph03nix New Media, Jet Set Go is a new style of time management game for the casual player. In the game, players help April to put together dream vacation packages in the agency, fill up your charter flights, and travel with customers to a variety of exotic locations to ensure they experience the time of their lives. Players serve cheesecake in New York, take photographs at the Grand Canyon, dance the Congo on a cruise ship, and get to experience 15 exotic locales, from Paris to Hong Kong to Montreal.

mzl.lcvgcawg.800x500 75 Jet Set Go released for Mac

?After being away from the casual scene for a few years, it was time to do some research to see how much things had changed in the traditional Time Management genre. We were honored to discover that many games had adopted the ?Pop Up Micro Game? from the Sally?s games! One thing that hadn?t really changed was the age old mechanic of having to score X amount of points in X amount of time with a number of target, expert goals etc.? said Dan Kratt, lead designer.

?We really felt like it was time for this to evolve.? said Lead Programmer Craig Rushforth. ?Over the years, we?ve seen countless videos of beta testers and how they react to a Time Management games and a lot of the time it isn?t pretty. It?s pretty intense ? a massive barrier for entry and really not very casual.?

?Obviously Dan and Craig had a lot of success on their previous Time Management game. Sally?s was a fabulous franchise! Jet Set Go is the next evolution of that style ? instead of the same old levels over and over again, there are 5 unique gameplay types. This gives players a lot more variety and keeps every minute in the game fresh,? said Jon Lam, founder and CEO of Ph03nix New Media ?the other great thing is that you get to travel to all sorts of places around the world ? Venice, the Carribbean, Tuscany, and it gives that sense of relaxation and escapism that players will love.?

mzl.lumigexx.800x500 75 Jet Set Go released for Mac

System Requirements:
* Mac OS X 10.6.6 or later
* 96.1 MB

Pricing and Availability:
Jet Set Go 1.0 is $6.99 USD (or equivalent amount in other currencies) and available worldwide through the Mac App Store in the Games category. To learn more about Jet Set go, visit Ph03nix New Media online.

mzl.ialwcqli.800x500 75 Jet Set Go released for Mac

Jet Set Go 1.0: http://www.jetsetgogame.com/
Purchase and Download: http://itunes.apple.com/app/id432627996
Download (PC): http://www.bigfishgames.com/download-games/12220/jet-set-go/index.html



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