Underworld
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Comcast teams with Hollywood to make movies 'more immersive'
Who doesn't love having movies explained to them in real time? Comcast announced on Friday that is is collaborating with a number of major Hollywood studios including Paramount, Universal, Lionsgate and Sony to create a new way to watch movies at home. The company's forthcoming "Enhanced Extras" feature will enable viewers to "explore, connect and engage with a wide variety of online content" -- while the film is playing.
Warren Spector is in charge of 'System Shock 3'
Word broke late last year that the legendary System Shock franchise would get a modern sequel, but no details about what the game will look like were forthcoming. We still don't know much about the game itself, but we do know it's in good hands: System Shock co-creator Warren Spector is rejoining Otherside Entertainment in a full-time capacity to lead development of System Shock 3. He's been a "creative advisor" to the studio for years, but he'll now be a full-time studio director working on both Underworld Ascendant as well as the System Shock sequel.
The Daily Grind: When have you let your group down?
I'll let you in on a little secret: I live in mortal fear of letting my group down in MMOs, which is one of the reasons I don't often group up with others. I hate the feeling of stress that accompanies the first run through a dungeon or during a tricky boss fight, because I just know I'll be the one to slip up and end up wiping us all. It's not just paranoia; it's happened. Last year, my Guild Wars guild was doing a lengthy Underworld run for a Hall of Monuments point and everyone wiped. Except for me. Great huh? Yeah, except that I didn't have a resurrection skill slotted, any resurrection items on me, and I couldn't go to the town to get some. So there was a lot of awkward silence on Vent and me mumbling apologies. Go me! So what about you? When have you let your group down and just how much did that scar you for life? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Flameseeker Chronicles: Guild Wars' elite areas -- The Underworld
All is still quiet on the Guild Wars 2 front, and I'm almost thankful since I was hoping to be able to go over The Underworld in Guild Wars this week. There's a lot more to say about this area because it's so much more difficult, but you can do it -- I promise. The general tips I gave last week apply to this area as much as the others, so take a moment to skim through those as well. There's so much to say that I'm anxious to dive right in, so let's not waste any time. Follow along after the cut!
Flameseeker Chronicles: Come one, come all. Except you.
Today's Flameseeker Chronicles is all about the current Guild Wars community: Elements I love, elements I dislike, and some I'm just unsure about. As with any older game community, you've got a wide variety of personalities and playstyles, and seeing how they mesh with the community at large is always interesting. It would be great if everyone moved through their social circles and the general population while never conflicting or disagreeing, but ... well, we all know how often that happens on the internet. So without further ado, follow me past the cut and let's take a look at some of the current standout groups in the Guild Wars community!
EVE Evolved: Outlaws of EVE
EVE Online's Community Manager CCP Wrangler once said that "EVE isn't designed to just look like a cold, dark and harsh world; it's designed to be a cold, dark and harsh world." That sentiment sums up the core philosophy behind the game, which permits such nefarious gameplay styles as thief, smuggler, scam-artist, pirate and market manipulator. Underhanded deals go on every day in EVE, with bounty hunters hired to ruin someone's day and spies tearing corporations apart from within. Many are drawn to EVE because it's one of the few MMOs that allows players to embrace their darker side. The opportunity to be a real villain in a sandbox universe can be intoxicating. Perhaps more intoxicating is the notion that the presence of tangible villains affords players a rare opportunity to play the role of hero. For every pirate gang lurking at a stargate in low security space, there's an anti-pirate squad somewhere planning an attack. For every thief ready to empty their corporation's hangers, there's a security specialist weeding out spies. The true outlaws of EVE are people who have earned their infamy through acts of ruthlessness in their chosen field. Over the years, we've interviewed and examined some of EVE's most notorious outlaws. In this article, I look back at four of EVE's most wanted, how they earned their infamy, and what they're doing today.
Guild Wars updates Halloween quest, bringing permanant changes
We can all stop making "Waiting for Godot" (Godhuum?) jokes. Thursday evening ArenaNet quietly updated "The Waiting Game", the Guild Wars quest we all picked up back around Halloween. Dhuum is awake, he's not happy, and the Shadow Form debate rages on. The update to The Waiting Game revealed that Dhuum will appear once all of the Underworld quests have been completed, and defeating him is now required to "complete" the Underworld. With a skill set including things like "Judgement of Dhuum", this new addition to the Underworld is most likely the challenge that bored Guild Wars players have been looking for. Shadow Form continues to be a hot topic, however. Many players expected this to be the thing that put an end to Shadow Form Underworld farming, but one of the earliest reported successes proved that wrong very quickly. Players responded quickly with one commenter summing up many people's thoughts: "It's...disappointing that even a God of Unholy Death can't bypass shadowform...". (Community Manager Regina Buenaobra stepped in to mention that the goal was new content, not a nerf of SF farming.) In the meantime, Dhuum seems to be the biggest challenge around in Guild Wars -- kudos to ArenaNet for the new content!
Neo Steam lets in the soul reapers
It's October, and that means all of the spooky Halloween events are coming out of the woodwork. But how many of them are offering you a pair of steampunk goggles for completing them? Well, only one right now -- Neo Steam.Atlus is throwing open the doors to the Underworld, and all sorts of creepy-crawlies are invading their fantasy steampunk MMO. Defeating these event monsters will get you souls to trade in to special soul reapers to claim pumpkin seeds and pumpkin pie for recovery purposes, but the big 250 soul turn in will get you a special pumpkin hat (as seen above) to commemorate the event.However, some monsters will drop event tickets, which enters your account in for a chance to win a pair of handcrafted steampunk goggles. So, what are you waiting for, an invitation? Kill stuff, get loots!
UK group Underworld streaming footage of tonight's concert live to iPhone
Sure, Google Voice and Slingbox on iPhone might give carriers the willies, but at midnight tonight (ET) you can tune into a live feed of British techno duo Underworld's concert in Oakland, California. Being touted as the first-ever live event streamed to the iPhone -- and if not, it's certainly the highest profile -- the feed utilizes iPhone OS 3.0's HTTP streaming capabilities and plays via Quicktime. Simply point your iPhone's browser to either one of the two streams linked below to join in on the fun tonight. Assuming your local carrier's service (hello there, AT&T) doesn't cave in under the strain, that is. [Via PC World and NewTeeVee] Read - Akamai stream Read - Underworld live
Underworld movie sponsors Fable 2 Play & Win
160,000 Microsoft points are up for grabs during this weekend's Underworld: Rise of the Lycans Sweepstakes and all you need to do to attempt to win your share of the MS point pot is to play Fable 2. Registration into the sweeps can be done online or via the XBLM and, once completed, you're required to play a Fable 2 co-op game. First prize is 80,000 MS points (enough to buy even the most expensive XBLM content) and the giveaway fun ends Monday, January 19th.
Free skintight Lara Croft wetsuits now on the XBLM
There's new Tomb Raider: Underworld downloadable content on the Xbox Live Marketplace today, free content that'll add two new costumes to Lara's wardrobe. But these aren't just any boring old costumes, these two free outfits are skin tight, spandex-like and curve enhancing wetsuits. Mmmhmm. We aren't exactly sure what they look look (probably something like the pic above), but the DLC is free so there isn't much of a decision to be made. Download away!
Video: What Lara Croft can do in TR Underworld
Honestly, when the developers at Crystal Dynamics talk about what Lara Croft can do in Tomb Raider: Underworld, they speak so passionately that one gets the impression they've spent one too many late nights staring at Lara's well proportioned figure on a computer screen. And that's exactly the right attitude. The video above notes that Cyrstal Dynamics began development of Lara's abilities by asking what she -- a highly trained woman with nerves of steel -- should be able to do. The list reads like a checklist of things that probably irked you while playing previous installments in the series.Why can't Lara target more than one enemy? Why can't she just kick that tiger in the face? Why can't she shoot while hanging from a ledge? In Tomb Raider: Underworld, she can, and she does all these things using new motion captured animations. If the developers are to be believed, these animations number somewhere around 2000. Watch the video above and see how many you can spot.
MS secures exclusive Tomb Raider episodes
Microsoft just revealed that they've worked out a deal with Eidos to distribute two Tomb Raider: Underworld episodes exclusively through the Xbox Live Marketplace. One set to release this year. The episodes - one titled "Beneath the Ashes", the other "Lara's Shadow" - will release as episodic DLC sometime after Underworld's November retail release and will provide up to six hours of gameplay per episode. Specifically speaking, "Beneath the Ashes" will release around Christmas time and "Lara's Shadow" will see release in early 2009. Yes sir, exclusivity FTW!
Tomb Raider devs talk story, locales
While most of the in-game footage of environments from Tomb Raider: Underworld that is shown in the video above was taken from the other, non-Wii systems, it's still a great look at how the developers recreated the wonderful real-world locations we'll no doubt be traversing when the game releases, as well as Underworld's story. When Tomb Raider: Legend released, it brought an actual half-decent story to the franchise and ever since we've finished that game, we've been waiting to see how all of this pans out. Apparently, Underworld will involve a god and Thor's hammer.Check it out above, as it shows all of the hard work developer Crystal Dynamics has put into the game. Excited? We are.
Tomb Raider: Underworld vs. Legend
Click for more comparison shots Lara Croft's latest handheld adventure looks, well, dark. Not necessarily in tone, but in color. As in, it's sometimes difficult to make out just what the hell is going on. If it's brown, does that make it next-gen? What's it mean if it's blurry?Does Tomb Raider: Underworld look better than the DS's last tomb raiding experience? The backgrounds have a little more definition, but that leads to the murky quality in the screens. In our gallery below, not only do we have screenshots from the new game, we've also put together a few comparison pieces for your perusal. Which one looks better? Of course, as long as Tomb Raider: Underworld is playable, it will probably trump the DS version of Legend.%Gallery-30018%
First gameplay trailer for Tomb Raider Underworld
Eidos just dished out the first "real" trailer for Tomb Raider: Underworld. Those of you keen on Lara already know another trailer released for the game (along with that dev thing), but it was little less than a teaser. This one actually has a bunch of gameplay footage in it, so we're calling it the first. But, just as the previous teaser had something wrong with it (it didn't show any gameplay), so does this. We're pretty sure this isn't the Wii version. What tipped us off? The fact that it's in HD and the environments look a lot better than we could've hoped for. It's okay to still watch it, though. The console ports are essentially going to be the same game.Are you anxious to tackle Lara's latest adventure? Have you been sucked back into the franchise by Tomb Raider Legend, like so many of us, and have high hopes for Underworld?%Gallery-29889%[Via press release]
Tomb Raider: Underworld boxart revealed
We're no boxart designers. But, we guess it's kind of understandable for Eidos to go and cut off half the head of your game's protagonist on its boxart, considering most don't remember her for the smart head she has on her shoulders (hey, she does solve a lot of puzzles). No, what they care most about are her pair of ... handguns. What did you think we were going to say?And what at first appeared to be dirt, turns out to be some swirling dark energy thing. We're not digging that, to tell you the truth. It gives us flashbacks to that one really bad game she did.[Via Go Nintendo]
WoW Moviewatch: Voyage
From the WoW machinimator that brought you 300 Moonkins comes Voyage, a mixed-media adventure. Voodooray blended music, machinima, and clips from both music videos and real movies to create an alternate reality. In fact, it's so convincing that he had to post what he did to it for us to believe him!He included scenes from 300, Underworld, and two different music videos. In some of them, he even digitally removed the real actors! Look out for cameos by Salma Hayek, Baron Soosdon's Nikita, and a crazy looking bird.[Via Warcraftmovies.com]Previously on Moviewatch ...
Tomb Raider Underworld: death defying screens
We've scanned through these new Tomb Raider Underworld screens several times to no avail. Try as we might, we can't find a single example of the game's hyper-realistic footprint physics. While we're disappointed, we suppose we'll have to make do with Lady Lara doing boring things like walking down a thin stone beam as jaguars slaver below. You know, everyday stuff. Still, we take solace in the fact that the game is apparently shaping up quite nicely, so we'll save our judgments for later. For now, we're happy to see she hasn't lost her penchant for raiding. Check out the new screens in the gallery below.%Gallery-15179%
One Shots: Into the Underworld!
Several weeks ago we featured a Guild Wars screenshot sent in by Paul showing off an entrance to the Underworld in Lornar's Pass. In this shot, also by Paul, we see the gateway leading to that hidden statue. Though the character above seems to be bravely charging in, the Underworld is one of the game's most challenging PvE areas, and there's no doubt that death lies ahead.Do you have shots of heroic deeds being done in your favorite game? Tell us all about the monsters you've slain and the foes you've vanquished -- so we can feature your story for tomorrow's One Shots! It's easy to participate -- just send your screenshots and stories to oneshots@massively.com. %Gallery-9798%
