Episodic-Games
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Episodic Jurassic Park game due from Telltale this year
The episodic adventure aces at Telltale Games have set sail from Monkey Island and are soon to arrive at Jurassic Park, Game Informer reports. According to the magazine, Telltale has struck a deal with NBC Universal to develop games based on the media giant's properties, with the Michael Crichton created "dinosaurs in modern day" franchise being the first to get the interactive treatment. The Jurassic Park games will make up one "season," which has -- as GI points out -- historically meant as many as six monthly "episodes" where series such as Sam & Max, Wallace & Gromit and Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People were concerned. No word on a platform or platforms, but it has been confirmed that what Telltale boss Dan Connors calls "the ultimate cinematic adventure" will be uncaged before the year is out.
A WoW player's guide to microtransactions
Well Blizzard has finally done it. After charging only for out-of-game services like faction changes and character customization, with the release of in-game pets on the Blizzard store, they've finally moved on to selling virtual items for real money. And there's a word, dirty in the mouths of some, that's floating around that some of you may not have heard or understood before: microtransactions. We wouldn't blame you -- some of our own staff didn't even know what they were just a little while ago. But with the decision to sell in-game items for straight cash, Blizzard has entered the fascinating and treacherous world of microtransactions. And if you're going to follow them off into this world, you might as well at least know what they're all about. And so, we're here to help. Whether you've never heard of microtransactions before, you're convinced that they're the devil and that Blizzard has grown too greedy for their own good, or you can't wait to open up your wallet and get a Pandaren Monk to follow you around, let's take a second and look at the history of the microtransaction model, what it means that Blizzard made this decision, and what might happen to the game in the future.
Totally awesome E3 games that everyone missed
Lore Sjöberg of Wired took a look at the games from his imagination this year's E3 that no-one wanted to play. In his own words, all these games contained the best mini game of all "not standing in line." So did he find any gems in his mind at E3? Here's a selection of what he imagined saw: Sandbox -- playing off the popularity of open-ended GTA style games comes Sandbox, a game that's 100% true to its genre. Sandbox exposes children to the delights of a real life sandbox, sans the real life sand. The developers told Sjöberg that they'd like to include a shovel and bucket in the final game, "but that may not be a realistic goal." Mission: Marketplace -- this game progresses the demand for downloadable content and episodic games to its climax. Mission: Marketplace's innovation is that it requires players to purchase all the content separately -- alternatively you can just plunk down $200 and watch the credits roll. We can't wait for this one. That's not all: he also discovered Pac-Man Boulevard, a game that demonstrates the continued advantages of sequels over original franchises and Casual Game: The Game, a game so casual that engaging your brain (or even possessing one) reduces your overall enjoyment. We're like, totally hyped about these completely revolutionary games, so get your arse over to Wired and read all about 'em.[Image credit: art.com]
