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Codemasters wants you to name your baby 'Jason'
Hey, parents-to-be currently living in the U.K. -- have we got a sweet deal for you. We know you're probably excited for the arrival of your bouncing bundle of joy, but if you're nearing your highly anticipated due date, you've probably begun to wonder how you can use this whole "pregnancy" situation for your own personal gain (short of ... well, you know). Ponder no longer -- Codemasters, in a near inappropriate display of eccentric gusto, has a way for you to turn your brood into a glorified raffle ticket: Just christen the little guy with the name "Jason".Whilst working on last year's Rise of the Argonauts, Codemasters made the shocking discovery that "Jason" (like, of the Argonauts) had slipped from the U.K.'s top 50 most popular baby names, overtaken by "Jack," "Oliver" and "Sir Pumphrey Poncington of Yorkshire." To restore the Jason population, the publisher has begun the "Bring Back Jason" campaign, in which expecting parents send in the birth certificates of their newborn Jasons for a chance to win "a year's supply" of Codemasters games. Awesome. Anyone want us to get them pregnant? We'll totally go halfsies with you.
The Best of Big Download: January 5-11
The first full week of 2009 got Big Download back in full steam with lots of news, downloads and features to make it a pretty busy week. Let's check out the highlights from the last seven days:Exclusive features Console games that should be PC games: We give our picks on which 2008 console exclusive games should come to the PC and which 2009 console titles should do the same. Even more Black Ops PC games: We head to the secret well to get some info on the PC games that are under development that you may not know about. 10 Comics we want to see made into games: There's lots of comic books that would be perfect for games; we just picked 10 of them. Quake Live preview: We go hands-on with id Software's upcoming free version of Quake III Arena. Rise of the Argonauts review: We review this recent action-RPG from Liquid Entertainment and Codemasters. Mac Monday: Our weekly Macintosh column takes a look at the sim game Floating Kingdoms. Big Ideas: Our weekly look at game themes takes a gander at body types in games. Indie Showcase: Our weekly look at indie games is something special: Our picks for the best independent games released in 2008. Big Iron: Our weekly hardware column returns with a look ahead to the next year. Freeware Friday: Our look at free games this week offers up the sandbox-like sci-fi title Transcendence. Virtual Bargain Bin: Our cheap games column returns with a look at the 1998 shooter SiN and its 2006 sequel SiN Episiodes: Emergence.
Joyswag: Let Rise of the Argonauts do your holiday shopping
Update: Congrats to our big winner "Bob McPhail" -- check your email Bob!We know how it is: You get swarmed with all the great holiday releases and then suddenly it's a week before Christmas and you've done none of your holiday shopping. Luckily, Joystiq and Codemasters have you covered. To mark the release of Rise of the Argonauts, you could have all your holiday shopping done in one pass with a box of six faceplates and five action figures from the game. No, seriously. The whole box. See that picture up there? Imagine that, but with like ... five times as many. That's what you're getting.Who wouldn't love to see one of these little guys starting at them from behind freshly-torn wrapping paper? No one, that's who. If you win and you live in the U.S., we'll get you the box before Christmas. If you live in Canada ... well, no promises. We don't know how quickly the mounties deliver mail. And hey, email us some pics of you giving them away and maybe we'll stick them on Joystiq. Leave a comment telling us who you'll be giving the prizes away to (and how many you'll be keeping for yourself). You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec) Limit 1 entry per person per calendar day This entry period ends at 12 pm ET on Thursday, December 18th. We'll randomly select 1 winner at that time to receive six Rise of the Argonauts faceplates (ARV: $60.00) and six Rise of the Argonauts action figures (ARV: $72.00). Please check your e-mail! For a list of complete rules, click here
Shipping this week: Crazy go nauts edition
Another laid back week for Xbox 360 releases this week as the year dwindles to its quiet, bitterly cold end. We only have one game to report, and that game is Rise of the Argonauts. The game centers around the myth of Jason and his Argonauts and their search for the Golden Fleece. As one might expect, the adventure is fraught with peril. We can sympathize. After all, we've seen the Old Navy commercials and know the horrors of searching for fleece.Oh, we have one note for Jason: once you find that Golden Fleece, you might want to check in on Medea. She's looking a might unhinged.[Via Joystiq]
300, The Watchmen composer scoring Rise of the Argonauts
If you've watched the latest trailer for Codemasters' Rise of the Argonauts and have been wondering about the music you've since been humming along to in the shower, you can thank film and television muse, Tyler Bates. Bates, whose credits include the testosterone-fueled 300 and the upcoming movie adaptation of The Watchmen, will provide accompaniment for Jason as he flexes his mythical muscles against both gods and monsters this fall when Rise of the Argonauts ships for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. The Liquid Entertainment-developed title represents Bates' first stab at scoring a video game, and while we're not prepared to award him the Golden Fleece just yet, we certainly approve of what we've heard so far.
Rise of the Argonauts "Departure" trailer is mythologically delicious
You all can keep your King Leonidases and your Kratoses (Krati?). Jason, protagonist of Rise of the Argonauts and mythical leader of the group for which the Codemasters RPG was named, is a tried and true badass. As such, one cannot expect him to take the assassination of his ladyfriend lying down. The trailer above details some of the trials Jason must face to revive his sweetie -- namely, a group of irate Ionians, and the Unreasonably Grumpy Father-in-Law, surely the most terrifying monster in all of Grecian lore. Seriously. Hydra's got nothing on that guy.
See lots of chiseled Greek bods in new Rise of the Argonauts screens
Click for high-resolution image. You know, Codemasters can do a whole lot more than just racing games like GRID and DiRT. They can also make RPGs like Rise of the Argonauts, a tale chronicling Greek hero Jason and his search for the Golden Fleece. The art style in these new screens has a sort of Sands of Time quality to it. Check them out for yourself. %Gallery-25252%
Rise of the Argonauts video features dramatic lighting, sunsets
Here's a video detailing some of the finer points of Rise of the Argonauts -- namely, cutscenes! The highlight to us, the part that pumped us up, was the short clip of Jason facing off against what is most likely a god or giant atop a volcano. Gigantic boss battles? Check. Slamming someone in the face with a mace? Check. Dramatic view into the sunset? Check. We've got this game on our radar; how about you?
Rise of the Argonauts to be unlike other action-RPGs
If there was one thing we should have learned from classic games like Contra or Bushido Blade, it's that bullets and swords hurt. Bad. Rise of the Argonauts is continuing this train of thought, says the game's director, Ed Del Castillo. Gamespot sat down for a Q&A session, so we're going to do what we do and summarize the important points for those interested in this game.This isn't a true recreation of the classic Greek myth. Jason is off to find the fleece not because he was commanded to, but to resurrect his wife. So expect a lot of internal reflections about love and commitment. The game is an action-RPG, but without hit points or layers of menus. It's ... an action game, but role-playing. As such, there's no HUD to display (although you can turn it on in the options menu if you really need to). To save you from any spoilers, they list a couple of the special moves you can unlock in the game -- they sound pretty vicious. Kratos would be pleased.The game progresses differently based on what god you choose to follow: different skills appear and certain enemies will be more or less difficult to destroy. The game needs to be executed well, obviously, because the ambition felt by the developers is rather large. We'll keep looking for more info because if done right, this could be a nice addition to the PS3 library.
Learn about Rise of the Argonauts in this video interview
Rise of the Argonauts features the mythical Jason on his mythical adventures, acquiring mythical things and accomplishing mythical feats. It's like God of War, but much, much older. This video interview with the game's director, Ed Del Castillo, showcases some pieces of gameplay and cinematic that actually seem rather cool. The Argonauts are described by Castillo as "the X-Men of the Greek Mythology universe" -- something that should pique the interest of many gamers and comic book fans. And Greek myth fans.You can choose which characters to take with you on different quests to different places and they will alter the choices and experiences you will have -- they might even banter with one another depending on who you choose. There are a lot of consequences for your actions and branching paths, as well. Every character with a name will have a story arc and a series of events relating to the game's path. The graphics might not be the best we've seen, but there's definitely a lot of hidden potential in this game and we'll keep an eye on it.
Rise of the Argonauts and promising new games
Greek Mythology is one of those things that you either love or hate. You can't really "kinda" be interested in mythology because then you'll come across as a fool who Wikipedia's myths to sound smart. Of the big three mythologies, Greek, Roman (more a variation of Greek than anything else, along with Christian overtones later down the pipes), and Norse, we'd prefer Norse above all else. Greek is a close second. Jason and the Argonauts is one of the most celebrated Greek myths. So much so, in fact, the tale is getting its own game, with the flavorful twists to spice up the story. We present Rise of the Argonauts.We like IGN's analogy of the ship, Argos. They said "think of it as a buoyant Suikoden fortress and you'll get the general idea." Obviously they skipped over the fourth installment in the franchise. The fact remains, your ship will grow with you -- recruits will pop in depending on your path and actions. Speaking of teammates, the other All-Star myth heroes will pop in to help you fight your battles in your stead (Jason was a sissy, after all) and the actual fighting mechanics play out akin to God of War or The Mark of Kri or some hybridization of the two.Your teammates matter, much like certain parts of the X-Men Legends titles. In the demo IGN got to sample, using Hercules as a teammate against a giant boar creature (we'll spare you the mythological background) proved effective as he could stop the creature in its tracks by holding onto the tusks and digging into the ground with his powerful little feet. This lets Jason cut up the bad ol' boar with ease. What's cool is the damage. Cuts and wounds appear on enemies in real-time. Everything will have realistic reactions, basically. This game has so much promise, especially with online co-op, and we could talk about it for a long time, but we'll leave it up to you to decide if it's worth your time. We think it just might be.
Rise of the Argonauts revealed -- Jason wants royalties
Have you ever desired that Greek mythos found in God of War but wished it was wrapped in a role-playing shell? Seems you've got your chance -- Codemasters have come out and announced their new Action-RPG: Rise of the Argonauts, due out for next-gen consoles and the PC. Expect "deep exploration and brutal combat," says the Codemasters.Playing as the mythical "hero" Jason (if you've read the classic myth, you'll know that he was a sissy... and his witch-lover Medea was the real brains behind the group), you'll team up with other Greek superheroes like Heracles and Atalanta (Not Hercules and Atlanta... plus, Atalanta was a woman). Details are sketchy, but they obviously don't want to stay true to the myth. No matter. As long as it's fun, we'll set those things aside. Details forthcoming!
