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Grab the reins of Fable: The Journey's demo on September 17
Fable: The Journey may not launch until early October, but you'll be able to take its virtual reins on September 17 when a demo for the game goes live worldwide on Xbox 360. Microsoft and Lionhead describe the demo as filled with "heart-pounding action," so, uh, maybe take some heart medication ahead of playing the game.Should the potential for heart failure caused by playing a demo worry you too much, you could always just watch the new "ViDoc" above. It's a lot like a trailer, but with a weird name. Take a look!
Newest City of Heroes video documents the heroes of the Freedom Phalanx
The Surviving Eight, the members of the Freedom Phalanx, are the most important heroes in the mythology of City of Heroes. But in the not-so-distant future, they're going to be down a member as the game's first signature arc reaches its conclusion. In case you're not totally familiar with the characters in question, however, you're in luck -- the latest video documentary shows off the big eight in all their glory, explaining how they got where they are and what the team hoped to explore with each character. Narrated by Matt Miller and Sean McCann, the video goes into detail about the powers of the survivors and their roles in the game, from Positron to the now-marked Statesman. It's a useful refresher on the game's lore, so if you're looking forward to the remainder of the signature arc and want to get a refresher on some of the fine points of lore, jump past the break for the video.
A look behind the scenes for City of Heroes' first signature arc
The second part of the first signature arc for City of Heroes is now available for players (free for VIP and in the Paragon Market for everyone else), continuing to ask the question of who will die. It's a weighty question when you're dealing with the key NPCs of the game lore for the whole of its lifespan, one that Paragon Studios isn't addressing without a keen understanding of the consequences. A new video documentary has just been released, with the staff discussing the creation of the arc. As laid out in the video, one of the major pushes for the signature arc wasn't just to engage the players who were already committed to the game but to attract new players to City of Heroes Freedom because of the major changes being wrought upon the lore. Check out the full documentary just past the cut, with a few hints about where the arc might end up when the dust settles.
Bungie vidoc drops hints, possible art from new project
"We wanna build a universe where any crazy shit can happen." That's one of the few vague/tantalizing statements Bungie staffers make in the latest vidoc from the company: "O Brave New World." Though mainly a rumination on Halo, the nearly hour-long feature makes some passing nods at the "new thing." Including: 1. It's referred to at one point as "Tiger", a codename that's been kicked around for months. 2. A couple of brief scenes are shown while Tiger is being discussed. There's also a scene where two actors have movement and facial animations captured. They're possibly lifted from the new project, but that's pure speculation on our part. 3. The video closes with a picture of this logo which was previously attached to Bungie and the name "Destiny," which may or may not be the working title of an MMOFPS. 4. Bungie co-founder Jason Jones says "One of the reasons that Tiger is so intriguing to people in the studio is it's reaching players in a way we haven't before." OK, so that's all we know. We'll now leave the speculation to you. Oh, and watch the video itself, of course. The Tiger stuff starts around 53:00, but the whole thing makes for a heck of a compelling story. %Gallery-129981%
Halo: Reach ViDoc looks for a Noble Spartan to rise
It's pretty much a universal truth that there can be only one. But which one? The suspense isn't exactly killing us in this latest Halo: Reach ViDoc, which details the six Spartans of Noble Team -- of which "only one will hold our fate in their hands," according to the wise Dr. Halsey (her mind was cloned twenty times, you know!). We're betting on Noble Six, the guy with the "hyper-lethal" classification. After all, "there's only one other Spartan with that rating" ...
Third Crackdown 2 ViDoc revels in mass destruction
We should warn you right off the bat that the ViDoc for Crackdown 2 embedded above does at one point feature a Ruffian Games employee using the word "awesomeness," though he thankfully catches himself quickly before the madness spreads too far. While his excitement for this summer's Xbox 360 release is appreciable, we're not so sure that devolving into Valley Girl-isms is the way to play up the game's comically destructive sandbox gameplay. As senior designer Dean Smith puts it, "For some reason, there's a lot of explosive things lying around Pacific City as well, so there's always a new prop to grab or a new explodable of some type." Now that's what gets us excited for more Crackdown: stuff exploding! Lots of stuff exploding! Hooray explosions!
Digital Foundry analyzes the Halo: Reach ViDoc
By now, you've likely dissected every frame of the new Halo: Reach trailer, mining its most precious infoz to your heart's content. Or maybe (like us) you work for a living, or have other responsibilities that keep you from busting out the microscope and going to town. That's where Digital Foundry comes in. DF conducted a thorough breakdown of the X10 video, monitoring the frames-per-second (fups, as us cool kids call it) in all of the presented gameplay. All in all, the ViDoc seems to have spoken the truth: Halo: Reach's engine is a significant improvement over that of Halo 3's. It looks like Reach should run at a smooth 30fps, the same as its predecessor, at a higher resolution: 1152x720 over Halo 3's 1152x640. Yep, you pixel-counters just read that right. Head on over and give the video a gander. [Via HBO]
Halo: Reach ViDoc heads Once More Unto the Breach
Coinciding with the info avalanche at X10, Bungie has released a new Halo: Reach video documentary (aka "ViDoc"). There's something for every Halo fan here: Spartan customization, new weapons, huge maps, new music, and plenty of human-on-alien warfare. A few things to look out for include a grenade launcher, stealth kills and a Spartan actually sprinting. You'll even get an un-textured peek at the huge battles Bungie demonstrated during X10. A full squad of marines, Spartans and 30 Covenant duking it out all at once? Yes, please. Once you pick the video apart -- and we know you will -- be sure to post your OMG megaton discoveries in the comments. Once you're done doing that, go download the ViDoc from the Xbox Live Markeplace and watch it in HD. Shortcut: Download the 'Once More Unto the Breach" ViDoc to your Xbox 360 [via Xbox.com]
Third ODST ViDoc takes a peek at development
Bungie has released the third in the Halo 3: ODST ViDoc series, entitled "Terra Incognita." With the help of Bungie staffers like Curtis Creamer, Joseph Staten and Marty O'Donnell, the video takes a look at the development of ODST, which was completed in just one year. The team spends a good deal of time -- the video is over 8 minutes long -- discussing the hub of New Mombasa, the open-world area where players will spend their time as "the Rookie." The video also goes over some of the additions to the game, as well as the subtractions. Incidentally, if you miss dual-wielding, blame design director Paul Bertone. Apparently he "doesn't like it." Give it a watch, and be sure to check out Joystiq's latest hands-on impressions of the ODST campaign and new screens below: %Gallery-72961%
Ensemble gives strategic advice in Halo Wars ViDoc 4
The fourth and final Halo Wars video documentary (the cool kids call 'em ViDocs) just made its way online. This time, Ensemble Studios talks about the design process, how much enjoyment can be had with the various multiplayer modes and a few Ensemble members even detail their personal Halo Wars strategy. Pottinger's plan that involves two Scarabs firing blue death like an uncontrollable fire hose is pure strategic genius.
Halo 3 'Journey's End' doc sneaks onto Xbox Live Marketplace
Though we can't recall Major Nelson mentioning it, a new Halo 3 video documentary (or ViDOC, as the cool kids say) is now on Xbox Live Marketplace. Available only in HD and weighing in at 753 MB, "Journey's End" discusses the events in the first two Halo games as told through in-game footage and interviews with Bungie staffers. Ardent fans of the Halo universe will probably not glean any new information, but they do get a chance to stare into Managing Editor Frank O'Connors gorgeous eyes - in HD no less! We've also embedded the video above (via Gametrailers) for those unable to get to an Xbox 360. [Via X3F]
Journey's End ViDOC recaps the Halo saga
Again we've stumbled across some new Xbox Live Marketplace content prior to any announcement and this time it's a brand new Halo 3 ViDOC. W00t!The new Journey's End ViDOC is a 753MB download (only available in HD) and we presume to be available worldwide to all Xbox Live subscribers via the XBLM. In essence, it's a fifteen minute introduction to key Halo characters and a brief overview of what events occurred in both Halo and in Halo 2. And, since it is a ViDOC, it's sprinkled with the patented Bungie charm we've all come to love. So, if you're rather new to Halo or just want cliff notes on what has taken place over the past few years as it pertains to the game, then give the new ViDOC a watch. If, at the very least, it'll leave you salivating and want to pick up and play Halo 3 again.
Just released: Bungie how-to saved films ViDOC
Over on Bungie.net, the Bungie gang (yes, they're actually a real gang) just released a brand new pre-launch ViDOC that was promised a long time back and this time we get learned about the Forge and saved films in full color video motion! The ViDOC teaches and discusses both of these new Halo 3 features and should get you feeling confident enough to jump in head first without a life jacket when Halo 3 releases next week. You can download the how-to ViDOC online in a WMV flavor over at Bungie.net or off the Xbox Live Marketplace.Also, they've posted a little more boring text version of the how-to saved films stuff on Bungie.net, so you can check that out too. And since we're talking about all this Halo 3 how-to stuff, you might want to make your way over to the newly posted Forge advanced techniques article which compliments the Forge intro and objects tutorials quite well. You've got a lot of reading, watching and learning to do before next Tuesday fanboys. Study up, because we're only days away.[Thanks, MokeUSA]
Halo 3 video questions cleared up
Bungie's own Frankie jumped over to the NeoGAF forums to clear up some speculation floating around the new Halo 3 vidoc that was released this morning. In Frankie's post, he re-emphasizes that all the multiplayer gameplay footage was taken from the alpha build and that it is not representative of how pretty the game looks saying that, "All of the water you saw, for example, is placeholder. No decorators are in those maps. The frame rates are all over the place. Some of that footage has correct lighting, some of it doesn't. All of that footage is olde." He also goes on to explain that the new bubble shield and trip mine are two of the X button's deployments and are not treated as grenades as some thought. So, the beta will be graphically prettier, the frame rate will much more consistent, and the X button does indeed control the bubble shield and trip mine. Not too shabby. [Via HBO]
Halo 3: deconstructing 'Et Tu Brute'
"If you're not a helpless Halo nerd, turn back NOW!" So begins this nearly half-hour-long analysis of the 7-minute Halo 3 ViDoc released on Xbox Live Marketplace and across the internet last week. Secrets exposed? Spoilers unraveled? Not quite. Just loads and loads of speculation. It's sorta like watching a DVD with the director's commentary on -- minus the director.
Bungie talks up the Brute video
Now that the latest Halo 3 "ViDoc" has been released and allowed to simmer for a few hours, Bungie has responded to some of the most common questions and concerns associated with it. Chief among these questions is of course the graphics. Already announced as being placeholder graphics, many still found the video to be lacking -- in some cases barely above Halo 2's visual quality. In response, Bungie says that essentially nothing in the video represents the actual look of Halo 3, save for a few very brief snippets. Furthermore, all footage in the video is several months old, as that is when they started creating the documentary.
