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Dota 2 detailed, includes all 100+ characters and new social features
Valve's newly announced Dota 2 will bring back all of the WarCraft 3 mod's hundred-plus heroes, and bring some new social features in as well. A writeup over at Game Informer says that Valve is updating its Steamworks system specifically for the game, and in addition to including in-game features like the ability to point out and recommend certain strategies and items for beginning players, veterans will get rewarded for helping outside of the game as well, by writing and editing strategy guides and tips. There will also be an in-game coaching system available with voice chat and screen sharing, all designed to help a wider audience adapt to the hardcore world of "action RTS" gameplay. As for gameplay, there will be still only one map to play on, though there will be different match types available, some added after launch. "Denying" is in -- DoTA remake League of Legends decided not to include the controversial mechanic in its gameplay, but Valve's version will let you kill your own creeps to prevent the enemy from getting XP. And AI bots will be available, but not for a full singleplayer experience, just to fill in when human players drop out or aren't around. Graphics will of course be updated -- GI says Valve has "a sizable art team" working on the game, and there are other design tweaks as well, like the environments getting the saturation tuned down so players can focus on the gameplay. Characters will have all new voicework, too, and not just toss out one-liners in certain situations, but sometimes even interact when they have a past with one of their teammates or opponents (we already know who one of those voices will be). And Valve promises the game will get the same community support as its other titles like Team Fortress 2, including possibly more hat-related shenanigans. It all sounds quite fun. Too bad we have to wait until 2011 to actually sit in Ventrilo Valve's own voice chat, and play Dota.
StarCraft 2's designer stands by tradition, promises updates 'soon'
To hear Starcraft 2 designer Dustin Browder tell it, creating games at Blizzard takes years of fighting and yelling rather than coding or creating art -- every little decision is a "a three-week or longer holy war." Browder says that the controversial decision to release the RTS as three titles was made to get the game out faster -- after all that arguing, Blizzard figured that it needed to release something, and if that had been the whole game, we'd have been waiting even longer. As it was, he says, "we wanted to get a product into consumers' hands sometime before the end of the decade. Even that we didn't quite make, I guess, but it was still sooner!" Browder answers fans' concerns about how closely the second game resembles the first by suggesting that adapting RTS competitors' innovations wouldn't have made the game more successful. "I haven't really seen another gameplay experience that's attracted millions of players with hundreds of thousands playing online," he says. "I have not seen someone else be successful by removing economy. I have not seen other RTSes be successful by removing micro." And finally, he says to look for future updates coming to the game, both in the form of patches to Battle.net, and in the other versions. There's no timeline set yet for the paid user maps program, but Blizzard is working on more art for modders, and updates "for our fans to get more value out of Battle.net." As for what updates will be in the second retail title, Heart of the Swarm, Browder seems to hint that Blizzard just hasn't decided yet. They must still be throwing things and yelling down in Irvine.
Here's the BioShock Infinite Game Informer cover(s)
Next month's Game Informer cover isn't revealing a new game – unlike last month's Batman: Arkham City cover – but it's still got plenty to offer. Behold! Three separate BioShock Infinite covers, crafted by Irrational artist Rob Waters, that ape the old-timey, Norman Rockwell aesthetic of "The Saturday Evening Post." Unveiled during a PAX panel titled "From Concept to Cover: The Game Informer Selection Process," GI Editor-in-Chief Andy McNamara shared not only the final three covers, but the many revisions that went into each one. We've got some galleries below of each cover and its various revisions, including some commentary from both Game Informer and Irrational.
Batman: Arkham Asylum contains hidden clues about Arkham City
It turns out the new Batman: Arkham City game recently announced by Rocksteady in Game Informer has been in the planning stages for a while -- there are hints in Batman: Arkham Asylum that the cape and cowl adventure would expand its borders. A secret room hidden in the back of Warden Quincy Sharp's office has actually held concept art and a map of the upcoming sequel this whole time. Players who finished the Spirit of Arkham quest to 100 percent the game will also know that Sharp has some extra agendas goin -- and don't forget that one of the domains registered by Warner Bros. for the sequel is "StopMayorSharp.com." So it appears that Rocksteady has already built story ties between the two titles. Lead narrative designer Paul Crocker also tells GI that the second game will "shed new light on the events you saw in Arkham Asylum," too. Hopefully that means we'll (spoiler!) finally find out what's up with that little surprise scene after the credits.
LittleBigPlanet 2 revealed in June Game Informer
While Gears of War 3 may hold the cover spot of the next issue of Game Informer, the June 2010 issue will also feature a "huge feature" on LittleBigPlanet 2, Sony's not-yet-announced-but-very-real platforming sequel. Considering the numerous leaks surrounding the title, we're unsurprised that the game's existence is confirmed by an uneventful preview of a preview. If Sony shows this off at its E3 press conference, just try to act shocked, okay? [Thanks, Scuba Owl!]
Game Informer rates the best and worst Mortal Kombat fatalities
After roughly 28 years in production and 43 separate iterations, it's inevitable that the Mortal Kombat series would have picked a few bad eggs in the Fatalities department. Game Informer has taken it upon itself to dig through the archives and uncover the best and very worst that the series has to offer. Now, lest there be any confusion, we're not talking about Babalities or pap like that. We're talking terrible finishers like Bo Rai Cho's penchant for blasting his enemies with a venomous murder fart. Yeah, it's adorable. Oh, and at one point, Smoke blows up the whole planet, killing every man, woman and child on it. ... Yeah, we're not sure if that's a good or bad one either.
Game Informer puts Link in 3D Dot Game Heroes
It was almost too obvious: 3D Dot Game Heroes looks a lot like Zelda, it lets you make characters, boom: You put Link in it. Done. But like all innovations that were so natural as to be almost self-evident, someone had to be first. In our case, that someone is Game Informer's Tim Turi, whose achievement you can find after the break. Congratulations, Tim. It may have been obvious, but that's what they said about going to the moon and now who's on Dancing With The Stars, eh?
Dragon Age 'TidBits' drop stats like a Fluffy punch
Game Informer's latest "TidBits" column features a a glorious list of "inside baseball" stats from Dragon Age: Origins. Some of the numbers are simply cute, while others are positively frightening: "QA analyst Bruce Venne played 1,957.55 hours of Dragon Age PC in 5,352 games." Consequently, "The Bruce" was awarded to staff that played more than Venne in any given month -- the honor was bestowed only once. While the list is mostly packed with numbers, there are some notable non-numerical did-you-knows, like the staff's affectionate nickname for the Ogre, "Fluffy," and, unsurprisingly, the revelation that one of the BioWare crew makes chain mail "from scratch." Check out the full list of Dragon Age tidbits on Game Informer.
Portal 2 confirmed by Game Informer cover, due in 2010
The past week's bizarre pair of updates to Portal seemed to point towards an impending announcement of a sequel, and, well, they did. Game Informer has revealed that its April 2010 cover story is none other than ... Portal 2 -- which Valve has given a release window of "this holiday season." The magazine's site teases the 12-page feature, calling the game "a full-fledged, standalone sequel" with "new gameplay mechanics, storyline, and some surprising new twists." We'd venture a guess that one of those twists has to do with wherever the portal featured in the cover art leads to -- a misty, jungle setting where some sort of seemingly derelict facility stands, overrun with vines. The flip-side of the cover is (cleverly) a view back through this portal into a familiar Aperture Science setting. Finally, the single cover line mentions "the people who are still alive," a potential hint at a reason for venturing into the new setting in the first place. The issue should be hitting subscribers' mailboxes soon. Check out the full covers after the break. Source -- Game Informer Source -- Valve
Game Informer walks us through the birth of Mass Effect 2's Thane
It's a pretty sad comment on our unabashed love of Mass Effect 2 that we can happily while away 15 minutes, just poring over a four-page-long story on Game Informer about the creation of reptilian assassin Thane. We learned important stuff too ... like how his look was partly inspired by Hellboy's Abe Sapien! That's interesting! You know, we call Thane a "character," but he's really more than that, isn't he? He's more like a friend. More like a lifelong friend. Or, in the case of Alexander Sliwinski's own Oprah Shepard, a lover. So if you think about it that way, reading four pages about him isn't all that weird. ... Right?
L.A. Noire no longer PS3 exclusive, also on Xbox 360, Game Informer says
At long last, the never-ending mystery of whether Rockstar's "gritty detective tale," L.A. Noire, will be a multiplatform release has ... well, ended. And in a pretty unspectacular way, to boot -- in the comments section of a Game Informer post teasing the magazine's in-depth print preview of L.A. Noire, editor Matthew Kato explained, "It's not a PS3-exclusive," later adding, "it was at one point, but it's coming out for the PS3 and 360." (We've contacted Rockstar to verify this apparent reveal.) Now, we won't know whether this news is worth getting excited about until Game Informer's preview hits newsstands. We're getting tentatively pumped, though -- but that's only because of our pure, unswerving love of fedoras. Seriously, we can't get enough of 'em.
L.A. Noire gets unconfidential in Game Informer debut
As promised, Rockstar's shadowy L.A. Noire has stepped out of the shadows and into the flashbulbs of a Game Informer cover. The magazine has a 10-page feature on the game, highlighting its facial animation and, oh yeah, the recreation of 1947 Los Angeles. Pick up a copy of the magazine for the details or we're sure you can get the information from the dark alleyways of the internet. As for the ongoing saga about what platforms the game is being developed for, neither Game Informer nor Rockstar will comment until the magazine is on shelves.
Activision missed opportunity to buy Blizzard for $7m
Activision CEO Bobby Kotick mentioned in a recent interview that he could have bought World of Warcraft developer Blizzard Entertainment back in the mid-'90s for a mere $7 million -- instead of having to do that whole $18 billion deal 12 years later. Speaking with Game Informer, the polarizing executive notes that during a dinner in 1995 he was shocked that another company bothered to buy Blizzard for $7 million. That year, Kotick says that Activision had about $60 million in revenue. The executive thought at the time that his dinner companions were "out of [their] minds." In fairness, Blizzard only really had Lost Vikings and Warcraft in those relatively early years of the developer. It's actually Blizzard founder Mike Morhaime who is probably kicking himself more (financially speaking) now, as Kotick relays that Morhaime told him recently,"Yeah, could you imagine if I had just held out for the seven billion instead of the seven million?'"
2K Boston is bringing back Irrational Games name, legacy
[Image credit: Game Informer] Halo: Reach isn't the only story that you'll find in next month's Game Informer -- the magazine's blog has also revealed that the developer known for the past two years as 2K Boston will be returning to its roots as Irrational Games. The change isn't unexpected, as we've seen hints of the old identity coming back to the spotlight for a while. But apparently the company is going full force with the "renewed commitment" to the legacy: it'll be kicking off a new website soon (in about three days and 16 hours as of this writing, according to the countdown now running on IrrationalGames.com) that will contain lots of community features and information about Irrational's past -- including fan favorites like System Shock 2 and Freedom Force, in addition to 2K Boston's BioShock and future titles. Meanwhile, the company has a new logo -- spiffy! -- and the next Game Informer will have more information about the studios' history and why it made the choice to turn back the clock on its identity. We look forward to reading all about it.
Halo: Reach detailed in next Game Informer
Here's the news, Halo fans: You're going to buy the February issue of Game Informer. The magazine will have a ten page cover story on Halo: Reach, including screens, details and -- as illustrated by the cover above -- some new artwork. In addition to the cover story, the Halo: Reach hub on GameInformer.com will be receiving updates throughout the rest of January, including a look at the Halo franchise, profiles of Bungie and 343 Industries employees and "expanded details on the new game." The next update is set to drop on Tuesday, January 12. In the meantime, we'll be scrutinizing every detail of the cover for clues about the game. For example, did you notice that the third Spartan from the left has a skull painted on his visor? Because he totally does.
Rumor: Dead Space 2 info extracted from Game Informer
Terrifying video game news site Rely On Horror claims to have recently gotten its hands on the next issue of Game Informer, which contains a pretty comprehensive breakdown of the new methods of Necromorph murder featured in Dead Space 2. According to the site, the Informer article reveals that the game's designers are trying to make the game spookier, placing hero Isaac Clarke (who learned the ability to speak between games, it seems) in more death-defying situations, and likely a few impossible-to-defy-death situations as well. According to the report, the game's action has moved off of the Ishimura, instead placing Clarke on the similarly monster-infested interstellar city Sprawl, which dwarfs the original game's setting in size. Finally, the article supposedly ends with the developer dropping the following tease regarding multiplayer: "All I can say is it's really fun, and you'll get to strategically dismember your friends." Oh, man -- Bushido Laser-Saw confirmed! Or, rather, it might be confirmed. There's no way to tell for sure until we get our hands on the Clarke-covered magazine. [Via VG247]
Jeff Kaplan on WoW development: "We debate like crazy"
Our buddy Phil Kollar of Game Informer (who was on the podcast recently) got a chance to talk to Jeff Kaplan about the World of Warcraft, and while Kaplan repeats a lot of what he's said before, the interview is worth a read for a look inside Blizzard's design process. What's probably most interesting is that it's very fluid and very dynamic -- just as much as we're arguing on this site and on the forums about how Blizzard should do things, they're also arguing and going back and forth behind the scenes. He does talk specifically about cutscenes, saying that the Wrathgate scene was an experiment that paid off well, and we should expect some more of that kind of storytelling even as soon as in patch 3.3 (you may have seen it before if you're checking spoilers). And he does talk about raiding sizes and accessibility -- Blizzard has always wanted to do smaller raids, both for the feel of them and for the tuning, but it apparently took them a while to bring 40 down to 25 and then down to 10 correctly. Finally, he doesn't reveal anything about the new MMO, but he does say that singleplayer gaming will always have a place at Blizzard's core -- even when you're playing a multiplayer game, the singleplayer experience should still feel right. True enough, good interview.
Game Informer analyzes Epic Mickey screenshots
In a new feature titled "Anatomy of a Screenshot," Game Informer dissects in-game screens and details the situations found within. The first title to receive the treatment is the recently revealed -- but long rumored -- Epic Mickey, from Warren Spector and Disney. The screen above details the upcoming Wii-exclusive title's heads-up display (HUD), showcasing Mickey's "persona" status, special items and details on the world around the classic Disney hero.Also, it points out Mickey's "iconic" ears ... you know, in case you missed them.
Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg touts holiday exclusives, 360 sales growth in down economy
Namedropping exclusives from Halo 3: ODST to Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City to Shadow Complex, as well as reaffirming Microsoft's "year-to-date growth in console sales compared to last year," Microsoft's director of product management Aaron Greenberg sounds extremely confident in the Xbox 360 (that's his job, right?). Thankfully, he's not always above admitting when his competitors are going to win. "When NPD releases September sales later today, we fully expect PlayStation 3 will come in as the console with the most units sold for the month," he tells Game Informer in a recent interview. Unsurprisingly, though, he's sanguine on the prospect of Microsoft's console beating out Sony's. "We remain confident that Xbox 360 will not only outsell PS3 for the full calendar year, but for this entire generation." His confidence wanes though when asked about beating Apple with the Zune HD, offering only, "Our strategy has always been to completely focus on delivering the best games and entertainment experience in the living room and not get distracted by anything else." Gotta know when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em, right?[Image credit: gamerscore]
Game Informer confirms Epic Mickey as Wii exclusive
Here's a great example of why it's tough serving two masters. Game Informer has totally re-engineered its web site, and one of its first big scoops was a teaser image and info on Epic Mickey, which was touted as a Wii exclusive.When that last detail was removed from the website, however, it sent the internet into a tizzy of speculation, with some assuming the change put the exclusivity in question. Enter our good friend, the fact: Game Informer has today reconfirmed that Epic Mickey is only coming to Nintendo's box, a revelation that it was hoping to save for the magazine. If only the accursed internet hadn't noticed! We're impressed with GI's new site and wish it all the best as it tries for a stronger web presence alongside its mag; however, we're equally interested in how the team deals with the growing pains from aligning the print and online offerings.
