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Dale gave us a brief overview of the Digital Experience at CES. Hopefully, Dale brings us more videos of people that look like videogame characters.
Nick checked out Prototype, Frank West gets some awesome costumes in Dead Rising, Zangief just wants to get laid, there's a Grey's Anatomy game coming out, Cooper Lawrence is a dumbass, and plenty more happened on 01/08/09.
BioWare -- my RPG BFF -- are going to host a developer’s session on Mass Effect 2’s level design at Game Developer’s Conference this year. The session is named “The Iterative Level Design Process of BioWare’s MASS EFFECT 2,” and can be found nestled in the event’s schedule.
The session doesn’t sound as boring as the title indicates. ME project manager Corey Andruko and lead technical designer Dusty Everman will lecture an audience through 60 riveting minutes of level building action, focusing on what BioWare has done in ME 2 based on the “major issues” in the original title. The date and time of the session are currently listed as “TBD."
No doubt BioWare are going to rev the marketing engines before GDC, but it’s nice to know that ME 2 will be seen in some capacity this year. Hopefully sooner, rather than later.
It's been awhile since we've seen or heard anything from Radical Entertainment and its third-person, open-world action title Prototype. In fact, the last time we really heard anything new about the game was last year's San Francisco Game Developers Conference. And then when Activision got its claws into Sierra Entertainment, Prototype's former publisher, Radical Entertainment went dark.
Now, with the game shipping for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC this summer and Activision Blizzard taking over publishing duties, they're ready to talk. Today, they've released new screens and a trailer for the game, which reveals a bit about the gameplay and story. More specifically, the game's lead, Alex Mercer, talks about how he can absorb the memories, abilities, and identity of anyone using his mysterious mutant powers.
He's a mutant for sure, but he's no zombie. More after the jump.
It’s been a full 12 hours since I heard about this announcement and I still don’t know why it’s happening. That's right kids; ABC and Ubisoft have teamed up to bring Grey’s Anatomy to the Wii, DS and PC sometime this year.
In Grey’s Anatomy: The Video Game, players will take control of the doctors from the show and make decisions in their personal and professional lives. Players will get to perform surgeries and hopefully have lots and lots of sex just like in the TV show. Yes, I’m admitting that I’ve watched the show. I watch anything at least a few times. All I really know about Grey’s Anatomy is that it’s about doctors having crazy surgeries and f*cked up personal lives. Which leads me to believe that the game is going to basically be a Western version of Trauma Center.
And now, since I had to write up this story, enjoy a gallery of Katherine Heigl photos!
Sony brought along some of the upcoming PlayStation Network games to CES this year, and Rag Doll Kung Fu: Fists of Plastic is one of the coolest ones we've played. This is a multiplayer party fighter, kind of like the Smash Bros. games, but with a shift of focus from Nintendo characters to nonsense and plastic-y characters that look like toys.
Rag Doll is laced with unconventional attack controls that use the SIXAXIS motion-sensing capabilites to do things like throw fireballs of chi energy at opponents. Of course, there's standard controls for you to mash. Face buttons give you kick, punch and jump commands, and the R1 button will let you lift and throw just about anything, including your opponents. If you manage to pick up a pair of nunchucks or a staff, thrashing about the right analog stick will let you get crazy on those around you.
Getting antsy as we near Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II's February 23 launch date? Lucky for you, the sci-fi RTS is getting a beta in a few short weeks, and anyone willing to participate can do so.
The beta is happening through Steam, and if you happen to own Dawn of War: Soulstorm, you'll get access starting January 21. For everyone else, the public release of the beta is happening on January 28.
Mark your calendar yet? Good. This beta will let you play as any of Dawn of War II's four races (Space Marines, Orks, Eldar, Tyranids), includes five multiplayer maps, and features Games for Windows LIVE's TrueSkill Matchmaking.
I'm not sure how much of a selling point that last one is, but I am putting it out there anyway. So, who here wants in on this action? If you are not sure your PC is up to the task, go review the game's system specs.
Jakks Pacific's "Plug It In & Play TV Games" are nothing new; the standalone controller units that plug directly into your television have housed games like Pac-Man, Mortal Kombat, and Street Fighter II for years.
In 2009, the manufacturer intends to release some new products in its "Plug It & Play" line -- the karaoke Sing Scene TV games; an exercise title called Jump Camp Fitness; and the popular deer killin' simulator Big Buck Pro, complete with plastic rifle. But what I found most interesting was the prototype they had on display for their new "TV Games Motion" series.
Obviously inspired by the frightening success of the Wii, the TV Games Motion line uses accelerometer tech for motion controls. Yes, Jakks Pacific is getting down with the waggle in 2009. The tech will be tossed into the obvious mix of licensed games, ranging from Disney Fairies to Spider-Man, Power Rangers to SpongeBob Squarepants. At a CES preview event last night, Jakks was clearly trying to appeal to the tech-nerd audience of the show -- they brought Star Wars TV Games Motion to the show.
Shaped like the steering wheel of a fighter plane (an X-wing or a TIE Fighter, perhaps), you grip both sides of the controller and tilt left and right to shift the plane horizontally across the screen. And while it would make sense to push forward or pull back to change the pitch, it sensitivity of the prototype unit must have been off -- I found that I had to move both arms up or down to get the fighter to move at all. Obviously, pulling the triggers would cause the fighter to fire, and these prototype games were simple, mostly involving dodging or shooting rocks, or dodging or shooting other aircraft. Brain surgery this is not.
There's definitely potential here for consumers who are looking for a quick, cheaper Wii fix -- the units are being set with an MSRP of $29.99. But if the games are simple as the Star Wars prototype games on display, and the hardware is as unresponsive as the demo unit Jakks are showing off at CES, consumers may still be trying to tear each other apart for Wiis in 2009.
The new Yankee Stadium is currently being finished up in time for Opening Day, which is scheduled for an April 16th game pitting the Yankees against the Cleveland Indians. Built at an astounding cost of $1.3 billion, it’s going to be a state-of-the-art facility -- and you probably won’t be able to walk two feet inside it without seeing something advertising Sony.
This afternoon, the team announced a deal with Sony to bring “a corporate marketing and high-definition technology relationship” to the House that Ruth Steinbrenner Built. What does that entail? Well, there are plans to install over 550 BRAVIA LCD HDTVs around the building -- in luxury boxes, administrative offices, suites, lounges, restaurants, and along the concourses -- as well as “Sony HD branding elements” everywhere. In addition, fans will have access to PlayStation 3 units and VAIO laptops around the stadium. Presumably, Sony’s equipment will be an addition to Cisco Systems’ extensive high-tech systems, which were unveiled in November.
The agreement doesn’t just apply to the building; the right-field wall will feature a Sony ad, and Sony has now been named the official LCD, HDTV, and consumer electronics manufacturer of the team. Such endorsements are common for entire sports -- Samsung is the official HDTV of the NFL, and Sharp is the MLB’s official HDTV -- but I can’t recall an individual team having a deal like this. Still, I wouldn’t be surprised if this wasn’t the first time.
While I personally wouldn’t go to a baseball game to play a baseball videogame, I’m sure it can’t hurt to have Sony’s MLB 09 The Show playable for fans -- fans who might end up liking the experience enough to pick up a PS3 (and maybe even a BRAVIA HDTV while they’re at it).
At the same CES press conference where Sony announced a landmark partnership with MTV, EA Sports announced exclusive content for the PlayStation Home beta. It’s exclusive because Microsoft doesn’t have Home. They only have silly online stuff like Avatars, Netflix streaming, and snowglobes. What EA is planning to release this spring trounces all of that.
The content comes in the form of a building called the EA Sports Complex. As seen in the video evidence above, it is obvious that the building will become a very important recreational hub in Home. Users will be able to expose themselves to marketing, dance the robot, and sling text-based insults at each other all while inside the the Complex.
Those aren't the only reasons the Complex is better. Here are two more: It’s impossible to make an Avatar dance in the snowglobe and doubly impossible to make an Avatar dance while streaming an episode of The Office.
woohoo! another room you have to download over and over again when there's an update...
but then again, its free, and its pretty fun to show to friends since they all think it looks awesome, but...... read more
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Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin: 2008 in Review
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