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WRUP: Lost and Found Vikings
What are you playing this weekend? And let's be honest. It's Lost Vikings, right? Or would that be the Lost and Found Vikings? (Get it? Lost and Found? Look, it's the weekend and humor is relative, all right?) Between that and the movie wrapping up, we actually had some news this week. (Oh, and some stuff about cards and warlords and such.) It's not quite the rush of weekend activity that we like to hear, but we'll take what we can get. We asked our staff to opine about the week's events, as well as what they're playing this weekend. But what about, dear reader? What are you playing this weekend? What opinion of the week is on your mind?
WoW in the Wild: Blizzard dragon
We don't feature every little appearance of WoW out there in the world, but it's a Sunday and a bit of frivolity is a nice way to finish off the weekend. The Blizzard dragon you see above is from the mobile gaming phenom Dragonvale. The point of that game is to breed all the different dragons and raise them up to level 20 by feeding them. It's a nice little casual game, so I loved this friendly shout out to our beloved Blizzard. Obviously, the lost Ice Kings are a shout out to the Lost Vikings, though the Berrywhite Mountains are more likely a reference to a certain velvet-voiced singer.
BlizzCon 2010: Retro Arcade
Blizzard released Lost Vikings almost two decades ago and has been making games ever since. Obviously proud of the company's history, BlizzCon has an arcade to play the older titles. The games, their years of release and their promotional posters are in the gallery below. %Gallery-105858% BlizzCon 2010 is upon us! WoW Insider has all the latest news and information. We're bringing you liveblogging of the WoW panels, interviews with WoW celebrities and attendees and of course, lots of pictures of people in costumes. It's all here at WoW Insider!
Breakfast Topic: We heard you like gaming so we put a game in your game so you can game while you game
The release of StarCraft II brought about a surprise for the observant player -- an object in the cantina of ship that lets you play an arcade game called Lost Viking right in StarCraft II. This is a fun little shooter that's a cross between Asteroids and Space Invaders (Alex tells me it's a lot like Touhou, although I've never played that) and easily took up an hour of my night. Just the kind of thing to do while waiting for a raid to begin. The name of the game is a nod to an original Blizzard game called The Lost Vikings which was released back in 1994. In that game, you are a Viking and have to find your way home as you escape the evil Tomator. In the StarCraft II arcade game, you're a mighty Viking on a ship and must fight your way back to Vikingville. And watch out for the evil Terra-Tron; he does not like you!!! I hope that Blizzard sees this game as a success and includes a minigame like this in Cataclysm. Something that can be accessed from the mini-menu would be perfect. Given the awesomeness of Blizzard's newly released Lost Viking (see screenshots below for more pictures), let's give Blizzard a helping hand here and suggest what mini-games they could include with Cataclysm. I'm voting for AQ Tetris. %Gallery-98353%
Blizzard's hate (/love?) relationship with consoles
Rumors are bubbling up from GDC '09 that Blizzard is finally considering consoles again for their future games. Blizzard seems to have a hate/hate relationship with consoles -- despite the fact that they started out with some extremely popular console games (Lost Vikings was one of the best games on the Sega Genesis), they've become very solidly a PC gaming company in the past few years. Sure, they released Starcraft 64 and the Playstation port of Diablo, but since Starcraft: Ghost left a bad taste in their mouths, they've stayed away from the console market (and some might say that's saved the PC market).The main problem, says Rob Pardo, is one of control: console controllers just don't have the flexibility to do what Blizzard wants to do with their games. "If I were them," he told the press, "I'd be sitting around trying to figure out what's a cool new input device that supports all types of new kinds of games." And he also hinted that he might be trying to do just that -- Blizzard is apparently in talks with Microsoft, not to develop for this generation of consoles, but to help them advance to the next generation. This is a little more than just Diablo III on the Xbox 360 (though that's definitely a possibility) -- it's Blizzard possibly getting the chance to bring what they love about PC gaming to the next console generation.Heady stuff. Blizzard doesn't need to do anything these days, of course -- if they want to take their next sequel and release it in, say, three separate parts, they can do that and it will likely still be a hit. But if they want to set their sights on innovating in the console space, we'll probably all benefit.
BlizzCon 2008: The Retro Arcade
Diablo III, Rock 'n' Roll Racing, and The Lost Vikings 2. What do all of these things have in common? They're all made by Blizzard, and they're all playable on the floor of BlizzCon 2008. The last two, however, are hidden in the Retro Arcade area, where Blizzard has set up all of the old games from their past for visitors to experience and play. It's not a complete display (no Starcraft 64, and Justice League Task Force would have been fun to play), but there are a lot of great titles in there anyway. It's too bad I've got to play Starcraft II for a hands-on later today -- I'd kind of rather go play the original again. But that's not a bad problem to have.Check out our gallery of the retro arcade, and revisit some old Blizzard favorites.%Gallery-34294%
The many MMOs of Blizzard
Our good friends at Massively have put together a feature on "the many MMOs of Blizzard," and we can hear you now: You're asking what they could mean by "many MMOs," since Blizzard only has the one. But Blizzard is working on, as you probably know, a next-gen MMO, and their writeup is all about the many possible MMOs they might have rumored to be in the works.As much as everyone would like a Lost Vikings MMO, or even a World of Warcraft 2, or a long-rumored Universe of Starcraft, I'm going with the last answer: none of the above. Blizzard could adapt any of their worlds to the massively format (well, except for Rock N' Roll Racing, but Massively has included it anyway), but considering that Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3 are already in the works as non-MMOs, my guess is that Blizzard is going to break new ground with a brand-new IP whenever they return to the MMO format with another game.Of course, this being Blizzard, they're not likely to give any hints until they want to give them to us, and if for some reason the next-gen MMO never does come about, we'll probably never even know what it was. But speculation is half the fun. What would a Blackthorne MMO even be like -- maybe a free-to-play sidescroller?
Weekly Webcomic Wrapup announces Lost Vikings
Three sturdy vikings take on an extraterrestrial kidnapper. Coming soon (1992) to a Super Nintendo near you. Here are our picks for the week's best game-related webcomic. Polling after the break; be sure to vote for your favorite!Where There Is No Light (Penny Arcade)Size Matters (Monday Night Crew)A Pirate King (Castle Vidcons)Magic Bullet Theory (CAD)A Different Kind of Activist (Extra Life)The Inevitable Conclusion (Hijinks Ensue)Monopolypse (TBK)Wiik Band (2P Start)Meanwhile On Opposite Earth (Of Noobs and Men)Pretend (Super Effective)
Blizzard's splash screen changes for June 27th: A "Lost" penguin and Death Knight imagery
Good Morning everyone! It is now June 27th, and as expected, Blizzard's splash screen has changed yet again to reveal more of the mystery behind what they may be announcing at the Worldwide Invitational, which begins tomorrow. What exactly they're announcing is still up in the air, but there have been some interesting revelations, especially concerning the mysterious purple monster everyone's been wondering about. The new graphic, named ice5.jpg, doesn't seem to have changed the cracking ice much, but what has changed is the "eyes." There's now very little doubt that they are glowing eyes instead of snow flecks, and to be frank, they do look remarkably like the eyes of Arthas the Lich King from underneath his helmet -- although the ethereal feel of them and the strange ridges being formed in the vapor are also very reminiscent of the Protoss. Whether these ridges indicate Arthas' helmet or the face ridges of a Protoss or a demon might still be up for debate, but this overlay of Arthas on today's splash screen by Zach is very convincing -- the eyes match up pretty much exactly. Hopefully, we'll know for sure who it is tomorrow. In addition, the new rune, located just above the breaking ice, is that of a snowflake, which brings to mind the Frost tree of the Death Knights (even if the frost rune shown on the official Death Knight page doesn't quite match up). Tipster Allen notes that the new rune looks a lot like a Norse Bind-Rune, specifically one known as a compass or the "Helm of awe," which is often used for invulnverability -- perhaps a Lost Vikings reference, or a nod to the Viking-like architecture seen in many screenshots of Northrend? All This new imagery would seem to be a killing blow of sorts for a Diablo 3 announcement, but it is also worth nothing that the new frost rune is in the correct area for the Pentagram theory to continue to apply. In addition, all 5 runes have lit up, so if you weren't able to get a good look at them before, you certainly can now. %Gallery-25975% What's really sort of interesting, though, is what our purple monster friend reveals, which I'll discuss after the break.
Pardo says Warcraft IV is "one of the ideas on the table" after SC2
Our good friends at Gamedaily recently got a chance to sit down and talk with Rob Pardo, VP of Blizzard, and he dropped hints about yet another new game that they might be working on. No, not Starcraft II, or the rumored Diablo 3, or even the long-awaited (and unfortunately, probably never coming) Lost Vikings sequel. Nope -- he hinted that after the release of Starcraft II, whenever that happens, Blizzard's RTS team might be hard at work on... Warcraft IV.Don't hold your breath, of course (this is Blizzard we're talking about) -- this would be after the current real-time strategy game is done, and Pardo says it would be "one of the the ideas on the table," so it's not exactly in the planning stages yet. But it's interesting to hear that Blizzard may still return to the Warcraft universe under the RTS banner -- we've seen such a different aspect of the world in the MMO, it would be very strange to go back to controlling these units from the top down.Pardo also says that a console version of WoW is pretty much out of the question at this point -- if there is going to be a super-successful console MMO, it's not going to be World of Warcraft, as this game was designed for PC and has gone through so many iterations since that Blizzard isn't at all interested in trying a port. We are still waiting for that playable version of the Molten Core console game, though...[via WorldofWar]Update: Whoops, the interview is a bit old (Pardo said this last year). Still, news to me that Blizzard might bring RTS back into the Warcraft universe, but considering that Starcraft II doesn't even have a rumored release date yet, we're going to be waiting a long, long time.
Samwise Didier on Blizzard's art and games
Eurogamer has interviewed Samwise Didier, Warcraft artist and icon, and the man who's pretty much defined the look and feel of Blizzard since even the early days. There's a lot of great stuff for Blizzard fans in this one -- I had no idea that an early build of The Lost Vikings had about 20 Vikings in it instead of the three we know -- and Samwise talks about his influences, including the way that Blizzard makes twists on standard genre conventions.But the guy still stays incredibly humble, and acknowledges that as great as Blizzard's art is, the thing that really brings people back to these games is the fun factor. It's the humor and the enjoyment that Blizzard fans love, and Samwise's (and all of the other Blizzard artists') art make it that much better.[Via WorldofWar]
Ask Massively: Old games, Blizzard's next MMO and bugs
Did you know that Thursday really was named after the god Thor, and that in Thailand, Thursday is associated with the color orange? Here on Massively, Thursday is known for something else: it's the day we take your questions and answer them in a feature known as Ask Massively.This week, we talk about refreshing old MMOs, Blizzard's next massive project, and how MMO devs should deal with bugs-- should they try to hide them under the carpet or shine the light on them. Click the link below to read this week's edition, and be sure to send us your questions, either by posting them in the comments here or by dropping them in our tipline.
The concept art of Starcraft II with musical accompaniment
Sure we made a handy-dandy gallery (seen below) of some of the Starcraft II goodness revealed over the weekend, but for those of you more audio/visual inclined here's a video. For all of you out there upset that the big announcement this weekend wasn't the Starcraft MMO, the inevitable Diablo 3 reveal or the Lost Viking first-person shooter -- buck up. There's still Min-E3 announcements and Blizzcon. Blizzard doesn't just have one thing in the pipeline currently. World of Warcraft money buys a lot of development ... a whole lot. Maybe Starcraft: Ghost might finally get taken off the purgatory list. Not a chance, but it's fun to dream what Blizzard can do with the ridiculous amounts of cash coming their way over the next few years.%Gallery-3311%
Blizzard's itinerary lists 'Medusa Demo' for the weekend
We have less than 24 hours before Blizzard is set to make their major announcement, and there has been speculation galore as to what new game they'll reveal. According to the developer's itinerary, as reported by 1UP, following the announcement, there will be a showing of the "Medusa Demo."Knowledgeable readers (or savvy Googlers) might recall that Diablo II featured an item entitled Medusa's Gaze, but wouldn't that make the codename too easily identifiable? Surely Blizzard is sneakier than that.A 1UP commenter named merc84, however, came up with the tenuous connection to Medusa and this quote by the infested Sarah Kerrigan: "I am the Queen of Blades. And my stare alone would reduce you to ashes." According to mythology, Medusa's stare could turn you into stone, so you could read Kerrigan's quote as a parallel to the mythology.With the announcement being made in Korea, a.k.a. the Starcraft Capital of the World, the odds of Starcraft 2 being unveiled seem a lot greater. Here at Joystiq HQ, however, we're still holding out for an original IP or, better yet, a Lost Vikings first-person shooter (with sneaking gameplay elements, of course).
10 franchises that need to return
Racketboy.com recently offered up this list of 'Classic Franchises That Actually NEED a Resurrection'... Darkstalkers Shining Force Battletoads Strider Killer Instinct Vectorman Starcraft System Shock Road Rash PowerStone Runners-up: Clayfighter, Story of Thor/Oasis, Lost Vikings, Rocket Knight Adventures, Jetman, and Jet Set Radio
