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Swarm preview: strength in numbers
Hothead revealed Swarm for the first time back at E3. Then, we didn't know much about the game -- it's actually still in pre-Alpha, despite a launch window of "early 2011." We were given a demo of the game at PAX and finally came to understand what we were dealing with. It's hard to see the game and not compare it to Lemmings. Both games have a seemingly dull-witted cast who have found themselves inexplicably stuck in an incredibly dangerous environment. And both have the same means to persevere: teamwork. %Gallery-101328%
Statement: Snarky assassin droid steals the show in PAX TOR trailer
It was starting to feel like forever since any new information had come out of The Old Republic's well-oiled marketing machine. Happily, a new video released at PAX 2010 has temporarily quenched the drought and simultaneously provided a glimpse into ground-based combat in BioWare's upcoming Star Wars opus. The trailer is heavy on dialogue and even heavier on exposition, as BioWare shows us lengthy snippets of a conversation between a player group and an NPC officer who offers them the opportunity to poke around the former stomping grounds of the legendary Darth Revan. There's a bit of battle footage thrown into the mix as well, but the highlight of the two-minute video is undoubtedly the appearance of everyone's favorite assassin droid. Check out the footage after the cut or on the official website.
Portal 2's PAX co-op gameplay footage introduces robot hugs
Just because you aren't at PAX Prime this weekend doesn't mean you can't experience at least some of the joys and wonders that the show floor has to offer. For instance, the 10 straight minutes of Portal 2 co-op gameplay that we've dropped after the break, courtesy of GameTrailers -- hearing the "oohs" and "aahs" of the crowd on all sides, you'll feel just like you're there! And sure, you might not get a free Portal 2 shirt like this session's attendees did, but you can experience a heartwarming robot hug. And isn't that more than enough?%Gallery-101341%[Update 9/9: We swapped out the cam-capture with a direct feed version, muy better. Also, happy birthday, Dreamcast!]
PAX 2010: Guild Wars 2 hands-on
I finally found time to check out Guild Wars 2 firsthand this morning, and the experience will easily be counted as the highlight of PAX so far in my book. The demo booth was my first stop this morning, and I was excited to go through the character creation process and save Shaemoor. I've seen a dozen videos of just that, but there's nothing like playing through it firsthand. As I was playing, several ArenaNet staffers passed by, said hello, and chatted a bit. I spent much of my demo time exploring all the character options, learning the controls, and looking around Shaemoor, growing a little anxious all the while. The clock was ticking and I hadn't seen nearly everything I wanted to. With about 10 minutes left, a few ArenaNet devs surprised me by stepping in and offering to show off some more content -- particularly legacy sites, something that was at the top of my wish list for the demo. While there are no earth-shattering new revelations (sorry, no class reveal), it was exciting to check out some features in more detail. Follow along after the jump for screenshots, pictures, descriptions and video recorded in genuine shakycam!%Gallery-101397%
Halo: Combat Evolved and the battle for boats
During development of the original Halo: Combat Evolved, Bungie actually created a working boat. One map in particular was discussed during today's Bungie panel at PAX 2010 -- an area with several islands where the player would have to navigate from one to the other via watercraft. Bungie showed a video of an early rendering of the craft in use, which very much looked like a futuristic version of a cigarette boat. In the end, it was cut from the game -- not because it didn't handle well, but because "it wasn't fun." Personally, we would've liked to try our hand at aquatic Haloing, but then again we're huge fans of Miami Vice.
Outland preview: When shmups grow legs
If you need proof that the upswing of independent game development is having an impact on more mainstream devs, look no further than Outland, the upcoming XBLA and PSN release just revealed by Ubisoft during PAX 2010. Just tell me this doesn't seem like one of those way-out-there ideas, the product of one-man coding in his spare time: It's a beautifully rendered animated platformer that draws aesthetic inspiration from classics like Out of this World ... oh, and it's sort of based on Ikaruga. Crazy, yes, but also very real and, as I can attest after one of the levels and a boss battle, very beautiful. %Gallery-101170%
PAX 2010: City of Heroes moves Fitness over to inherent powers
Big news got dropped today during the City of Heroes panel over at the inimitable PAX, the sort of thing that every veteran of the game will be interested in. Fitness -- also known as the powerset that is more or less mandatory by level 20, or the Stamina set -- is being moved from power pools into the inherent power set. That means that three of the default power choices in the game have just been rolled into every character from level 1, making builds more flexible and players very happy indeed. It wasn't mentioned specifically whether this means the powers will simply be under inherent powers or base movement speed, regeneration rates, and so forth will be increased. There has also been more information about the highly anticipated Incarnate System, with Issue 19 rolling out the Alpha Slot to start players down the road of improvement at Level 50. We'll have more on the panel as a whole and the details of the revelations, including news on the Issue 20 testing, but for now, all City of Heroes players should be happy to learn they have three new power selections to play with when 19 launches.
Joystiq Podcast PAX Prime 2010 #2
New on this episode of the Joystiq Podcast: Duke Nukem Forever is fully coming out. Also new? GSM static at the beginning. Sorry about that, by the way. Also, some chat about Outland and some dudes flop on beanbags. Get the podcast: [iTunes] Subscribe to the Joystiq Podcast in iTunes [Zune] Subscribe to the Joystiq Podcast directly in the Zune Marketplace [RSS] Add the Joystiq Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator [MP3] Download the MP3 directly Hosts: Justin McElroy (@justinmcelroy) and Chris Grant (@chrisgrant) Music: "Gravity (Don't Let Me Go)" by Jon Black, "Red Eye" by Ben Kweller For fans: Joystiq Podcast Facebook group New to the show?: Listen to Episode Zero The Do It Line!: 1-(877)-JOYSTIQ See all of this week's links after the jump.
PAX 2010: Counting down to LotRO's relaunch with Turbine
TweetWith the launch of Lord of the Rings Online's biggest patch to date a scant few days away, we touched base with Turbine's Aaron Campbell, Brian Aloisio, and Bob Hess at PAX Prime to see how their nerves are holding up at this point. It is, as Aloisio laughed, akin to launching the game all over again, and LotRO is definitely under close scrutiny because of it. Many players were surprised to hear that LotRO's free-to-play update was going live much sooner than anticipated, and we asked Campbell whether this was due to a preset schedule or better-than-anticipated beta feedback. He said that they weren't going to release it until it was ready, but by the team's reckoning, the beta process went so smoothly that there was no reason to delay any further. Compared to the betas for Shadows of Angmar, Mines of Moria and Siege of Mirkwood, the F2P beta -- according to Campbell -- was the most upbeat Turbine's ever had, with far more positive feedback than negative. Hit the jump to hear more and see the latest screenshots and video from PAX.
PAX 2010: CCP unveils EVE Online's latest expansion
Tweet var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/story/r/pax_2010_ccp_unveils_eve_online_s_latest_expansion_massively'; At PAX Prime, we caught up with CCP's lead game designer Noah Ward, who paused helpfully between the roaring crowds on all sides of the booth to fill us in on the "secret sauce" to EVE Online's continued growth and success. Ward said it was simple: CCP's steadfast commitment to the game for the long haul. The dev team strongly believes in the growth of EVE and works hard to expand it both inward and upward. Part of that growth includes continued expansions to the title, and Ward was excited to reveal the next one on deck. While it doesn't yet have a name -- at least, nothing CCP could put in print -- the team is hyped up about its latest expansion to the EVE Online franchise. Set to debut later this winter, the expansion looks to build on many of the key foundations that Tyrannis began. Hit the jump to hear about the four new features that EVE fans will find themselves crowing about by the time Santa comes a-callin'!
WRUP: Schrodinger's hurricane edition
With most of our writers off at the two major conventions over the holiday, this weekend poses an interesting conundrum. Either Hurricane Earl will pass by one of our few non-convention-going writers with nothing more than some wind and a little rain... or it will smash directly into the coast and kill him and his cat alike. But at the time this is written, either could happen. That shan't trouble the other writers of Massively, however, so click past the break to find out where everyone is and what we'll be up to... and what those of us left behind would love to be playing if we got to be at PAX right now! Be sure to let us know what you'll be playing over the weekend in the comments!
Swarm gameplay trailer plays follow the leader
While the first trailer for Hothead's Swarm didn't feature any gameplay, it did show off the many, many ways to kill the game's main characters -- those little blue ... things. We're feeling that Lemmings vibe again in this new PAX trailer, which introduces the first gameplay footage. All those gruesome deaths? Just as comically effective in game. Head past the break to see for yourself.%Gallery-101328%
PAX 2010: ArenaNet announces Guild Wars 2 app for smartphones and iPad
The latest news on Guild Wars 2 comes from a direction that most of us were not considering. Part of Guild Wars 2's development is being done by the Extended Experience Team, a group working on game experience that's not strictly limited to your computer. Today the Guild Wars 2 developers unveiled that team's current project: Guild Wars 2 for smartphones and the iPad. The project isn't completed, but it's already very extensive. Players will have the ability to check their friends lists, follow their friends on the map, message their friends, and move around the world on their characters. Game Designer Colin Johanson says that the Extended Experience Team doesn't plan to stop with that, however. The team is planning to take the application much further before release, so expect to see even more in the way of Guild Wars 2-on-the-go.
Pitchford explains the Duke shirt that predates Duke Nukem Forever
Come get some background on Randy Pitchford's back-in-fashion Duke Nukem shirt, seen above: "I moved to Texas and became a professional game maker to join Allen Blum, he created Duke Nukem 3D," the Gearbox co-founder told an audience at PAX. "He and Todd Replogle in Southern California, freaking invented this whole damned thing. And I moved out to Texas to join him and George Broussard and Scott Miller, and all the guys on the team, so that I could be part of Duke Nukem 3D. Because I wanted to add to that. I thought it was awesome; it was really fun and I wanted to be part of that team. "This t-shirt I'm wearing, George gave me this t-shirt in 1996," Pitchford continued, now speaking as part of the team that now hopes to complete Duke Nukem Forever. "And we've been waiting for this game ever since. Guys like Alan didn't want to let the Duke dream die. They've worked their butts off all this time making great stuff." [Image credit: Mikey Neumann, Gearbox creative director; via Twitter]
Duke Nukem Forever preview: Yeah, it's actually playable. No, really.
After what is arguably the longest, most troubled development in the history of video games, Duke Nukem Forever is finally, really, truly here. It's not being shown secretly, behind-closed-doors at some industry event. Instead, it's at PAX, an event that is, more than any other in this industry, consumer facing, and that tangibility is a big part of Gearbox's reveal. Wait, who? Gearbox Software, the Texas-based dev who's helping to bring 3D Realms' pre-Google (think about it!) labor of love to consoles, is behind this revival along with publisher 2K Games. "This is a game you can't make promises about," Gearbox prez Randy Pitchford told an audience of incredulous gamers this morning. "Haven't we not been teased enough? We don't want to tease. We just thought we'd bring it to PAX." And Gearbox didn't just bring a trailer – although it did bring one of those – but more importantly, there's about 15 minutes of playable game. Let that sink in for a while. While we weren't able to grab video of the trailer – you'll have to settle for my account – Pitchford did say that people could take pics. Actually, he said, "You've got cameras. You've got cellphones with cameras on them. Take all the pictures you want [...] We'll even take the pictures for you." You know, when Duke Nukem Forever was first announced, I didn't have a cellphone yet ... and the idea of a cellphone with a camera on it? Madness. %Gallery-101315%
PAX 2010: DDO Update 7 bringing half-elves, half-orcs, more [Updated]
DDO's Update 7 is coming sometime in October, and we spent some time at PAX this morning chatting with members of the Turbine crew. They had some extremely exciting things to tell about Update 7 and sprung more than a few surprises on us. First up were the new races. Yes, that was plural. Half-orcs, the resident tough guys of Stormreach, are the coming race that players have been looking forward to, but Update 7 will also bring half-elves. Half-elves will be a very versatile race, with some special feats that make them ideal for solo builds. Update 7 is bringing much more in addition to the two new races. There will be a 12-man raid at level 6, the first large raid suitable for players below level 10. It will be added to the Devil Assault Adventure Pack, so if you already own that one, you'll find it within that arc. Devil Assault will also gain epic mode with this update. The raid isn't the end of new content, of course. There's a new adventure pack coming, and this one's free! This level 12 quest arc will send you to solve the long-running mystery of Nat Gann's fate, and it may or may not involve time travel. There are some updates coming to the UI and basic game that players will definitely enjoy. You'll find a slight change to the UI color, but that's not the best part. The inventory UI has an upgrade that will allow you to sort your items by type, making it much easier to keep things organized. You'll find tabs for each gear type, ingredients, potions, and more. And finally, the auction house got an update that should have DDO fans jumping for joy: search. That's right, Update 7 will bring string search to the auction house. You'll be able to search across categories, choose exact phrases, or be a little more general. Engine upgrades to enable DX11 graphics, reactive water, hireling AI upgrades, bug fixes, and a few more special surprises round out this exciting update. Want to know more? Keep your eye on Massively -- we'll be taking an in-depth tour of Update 7 later this month! [Update: To clarify, both of the new races will be available for purchase in the DDO Store.]
Red 5 Studios reveal Firefall, coming to PC 'near the end of 2011'
Perhaps it isn't enough for you to know that Firefall -- Red 5 Studios' first release -- is full of guns and jetpacks? Would it help if you knew that the lead designer was also headed up Tribes? Ahhh, good! Firefall is a "team-based action shooter" featuring "hundreds of players" completing objectives and battling to the death in a "dynamic open world." And, frankly, it looks great. The title is free-to-play and relies on an in-game marketplace for profit. We might normally balk at such a monetization system, but we were thoroughly impressed by the game's debut gameplay trailer, not to mention the pedigree behind Firefall. If you're as enticed as we are, you'll be glad to know that Red 5 is accepting applications for the game's beta starting right now.%Gallery-101312%
Duke Nukem Forever coming '2011' on Xbox 360, PS3 & PC, courtesy of Gearbox
It's finally, really, actually ... maybe going to happen at this point. The rumors are true: Gearbox Software and 2K Games have taken on the Herculean task of completing and releasing 3D Realms' unfinished Duke Nukem Forever. The project was officially unveiled today at PAX during a livestreamed presentation at the 2K Games booth and announced for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. "It's coming out in 2011," Gearbox president Randy Pitchford said during the presentation. (Of course, we're skeptical about any release date associated with this particular title.) Gearbox began finishing Duke Nukem Forever in late 2009, according to The Wall Street Journal. "Clearly the game hadn't been finished at 3D Realms but a lot of content had been created," Pitchford told WSJ. "We're in the polishing phase now. This is a game where we can not make a promise we can not fulfill," Pitchford added. "We need to get past the shock and awe, and then we can go to all the retailers and first parties and work out a launch plan." Duke Nukem Forever is a sequel to Duke Nukem 3D and will feature both a single-player campaign and multiplayer. "Aliens come and say they're going to be our friends, and Duke knows this isn't going to work out," Pitchford revealed of the plot. "Duke once again is in the pivotal spot and it's up to him to save the world." [Image credit: Kurt Miller]
Duke Nukem Forever appearing at 2K's PAX booth [update: pictured!]
digg_url = 'http://www.joystiq.com/2010/09/03/duke-nukem-forever-rumored-at-pax/'; "OMG, Duke Nukem is at PAX!" At least, according to an effusive tweet from Joystiq alum Dustin Burg. In addition, a source at the convention told Joystiq that images of Duke Nukem are visible at the 2K booth, which has yet to open to the public. The Gearbox logo can be seen, but the title of whatever Duke Nukem game is being promoted is currently covered. However, we might have a clue, thanks to reports coming in from CVG's "US dev sources," who tell the site that the game is actually Duke Nukem Forever, and will be given a "grand demo" at the show. Rumors have been flying recently about Gearbox signing on to complete the game. Also flying: pigs, in an image tweeted by 3D Realms' George Broussard (who joked with 1UP in a January 2006 interview that he expected DNF to be released "when pigs fly") . 2K did say it planned "something big" at its booth, and this would certainly qualify. Update: Gearbox creative director Mikey Neumann tweeted a picture of CEO Randy Pitchford wearing a Duke t-shirt. Seems portentous! Update 2: A partial image from 2KGames' Twitter account also shows the Duke "radioactive" logo. Update 3: Well, here's the most concrete evidence you could ever ask for. Pikimal [via Shacknews] posted several images, like the photo stand seen above, of Duke Nukem Forever signs at the 2K booth.
Bastion is Supergiant Games' first title, playable at PAX
When Supergiant Games opened its doors during GDC earlier this year, it revealed it was working on a digital title to be released in 2011. This week, Giant Bomb unveiled that title -- it's called Bastion and should be available for public consumption by next summer. Supergiant explains Bastion as an "action role-playing game set in a lush imaginative world, in which players must create and fight for civilization's last refuge as a mysterious narrator marks their every move." The "mysterious," somewhat lyrical narrator makes his first appearance in the game's trailer -- which we've dropped after the break. Considering Supergiant's pedigree (ex-EALA Command & Conquer devs) and how beautifully detailed this initial media is, we have high hopes for Bastion. The game will be playable at PAX Prime this weekend as part of the "PAX 10."%Gallery-101176%
