Griffin McElroy
Articles by Griffin McElroy
Starbreeze has a PSN title in the works as well
If you thought Starbreeze was running out of fingers or pies in which to stick them, think again; in a recent CVG interview, studio head Mikael Nermark revealed that the company was also working on a smaller-scale PSN title. Nermark said the "self-financed" project is currently running with a much smaller dev team than that of its Syndicate crew, but didn't expound on what the game would actually, you know, be. We've contacted Starbreeze to try and find some elucidation on the subject, though we wager it has something to do with the new IP it's developing with film director Josef Fares. Still, we've petitioned any and all powers that be that the response to our email will be "Oh, we're making a new Chronicles of Riddick, and it's going to be super good this time, and hey, you know what, here it is. You go ahead and just have it right now."
Will Wright reveals 'Hivemind,' his new, personal gaming venture
Will Wright has told VentureBeat that he, in conjunction with a new California-based social gaming startup named Hivemind, is working on a new genre of "personal gaming" -- the first installment of which shares the name of his new company. The "personal" aspect of Hivemind will be derived from the game's capacity for learning about "you and your routines." Wright added, "If we can learn enough about the player, we can create games about their real life." Of course, since we spend a majority of our time writing about games, we're worried about the potentially infinite feedback loop Wright's title would create. Don't get us wrong, we're just egotistical enough to enjoy such an experience, but it would pretty much be a game about writing about a game about writing about a game about writing about a game, and so on, forever and ever, ad infinitum.
Grab some collector's editions on Amazon, collect some savings
Amazon's running a pretty enticing promotion well before the Black Friday onslaught begins. If you've had your eye on a collector's edition version of a recent game, Amazon's probably got it discounted right now. Some of these bad boys are marked down up to 75 percent. Crazy, right?
Uncharted 3 'Helghast' skin DLC arrives today, Fortune Hunters get for free
If you went in on the $24.99 "Fortune Hunters" club membership for the multiplayer component of Uncharted 3, then your list of (already beefed up) character skins will be increased with today's PSN update. That's when the Helghast DLC arrives on the PlayStation Store, adding the Capture Trooper skin, ISA helmet and iconic Helghast helmet to your collection for free. If you're super into PS3 franchise mash-ups but didn't join the Fortune Hunters, you can pick up the pack for $1.49. This information comes to us from PlayStation Blog, which also has a few teaser images of the maps which will be added to the game in the coming months. That's one of them, posted right above. Doesn't that look serene? Doesn't it look idyllic? Don't you just want to grab a dude and throw him off that waterfall?
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword review: Such great heights
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is a game that is going to mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people. For the base which took hold of Nintendo's initial vision for the Wii console, imagining future games where the controller in your hand was -- hey! -- not a controller, but the Master Sword itself; it is that. For those who simply imagined a narrative evolution of the long, long-stagnant Hylian franchise, it is that, too. For Wii owners who just want something to play, it is that as well. It must be that. As the flagship component of the Zelda franchise's 25th Anniversary, you couldn't ask for a better identikit of the series. As it moves through the all-too-familiar cycle of temples, tools and time-travel, it touches on the franchise's lowest points, adopts its most stellar attributes and, at frequent intervals, taps into a kind of magic that no game ever has before.
Valve: Steam user database hacked, no evidence of personal info taken
In a message sent to all Steam users by Valve's Gabe Newell, it was revealed that the vandalizing of the Steam forums, which occurred on November 6, was followed by an intrusion on "a Steam database." The hacked database included usernames, "hashed and salted" passwords, transcripts of game purchases, email and billing addresses, and encrypted credit card info. The message specified that Valve doesn't have any evidence of the intruders taking the credit card numbers or any other "personally identifying information," or that the encryption on said numbers or passwords had been cracked. The company is investigating the incident, but because a few forum users have been compromised all users must change their passwords during their next forum visit. Steam users aren't forced to change their passwords, but are encouraged to do so, especially if they match their forum passwords. Also, if your bank account, Paypal account, PSN, Xbox Live, email, AIM or, you know, anything, shares your forum password, you should probably change that too -- and then you should probably just move into a log cabin in the woods for a while. You can read Newell's full message after the break.
Check out Bohemia Interactive's watery FADE anti-piracy
We're so inspired by Bohemia Interactive's new implementation of its FADE anti-piracy software, we've decided to adopt it ourselves. See, FADE is designed to cause illegally downloaded versions of Bohemia's titles (starting with Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis back in 2001) to experience a rapid decline in performance. The latest game to feature the safeguard is Take On Helicopters, which gets all wiggly and wobbly as the game progresses, as seen in the screenshot above. We're still figuring out how to get that safety protocol on our website, but we're pretty sure it's going to have to involve getting the pirates to spread Vaseline on their monitor. We'll have no way of enforcing that, of course: It'll be on the honor system, which should go pretty well.
European PSN releases for November 9: Elite, Premier Manager and Hydrophobia
European PSN users who are looking to shoot every single one of their friends and relations, and then have documented evidence of the affair: You are the worst murderers ever. However, you're the ideal audience for Call of Duty Elite, which launched today on the Euro PlayStation Store. You can grab the app and sign up for a premium membership through the Store, then fly your K/D spread like a proud, proud flag. Also on the European Store is the managerial football sim Premier Manager 2012, and the revamped, Move-enabled Hydrophobia Prophecy. Check out PlayStation Blog for the full list of releases!
Saints Row: The Third's Tim and Eric promo gets weird
You know how you're not supposed to look at eclipses unless you use one of those tubes with the slit paper at the end? We'd suggest crafting a similar apparatus before watching Tim and Eric's 12-minute Saints Row: The Third promotional video posted above.
Poleriders: The new browser game from QWOP creator
If you've just finished Dark Souls and are looking for an entirely new method of torturing yourself through video games, this new project from QWOP developer Bennet Foddy should suit your needs quite well. It's called Poleriders, and it's a competitive, two-player pole vaulting game. Only, instead of trying to use a pole to clear a raised bar, you're trying to either kick a ball through your opponent's goal, or kick your opponent's head, which is also tantalizingly ball-shaped. Truth be told, we didn't find it nearly as difficult as QWOP -- though, we suppose difficulty will change based on the relative pole vaulting skill of your adversary. Vaulting against your roommate? No problem. Vaulting against four-time US Nation Outdoor Champion vaulter Jeff Hartwig? Well then, buster, you're in for a world of hurt.
Take-Two earns $107m in second fiscal quarter, thanks to L.A. Noire
Take-Two Interactive recently released its financial figures for the second quarter of the 2012 fiscal year, boasting "better-than-expected" net revenue of $107 million. That figure -- driven largely by L.A. Noire and MLB 2K11 sales -- pales in comparison to the company's $245 million in earnings from the same period last year. Of course, that period last year had Civilization 5, Mafia 2 and Red Dead Redemption on the docket, so there's that. Despite the surprise upswing, Take-Two didn't revise its expectations for the entire fiscal year, during which it hopes to earn around $1 billion in revenue. Though they didn't explicitly say so, we're assuming they've revised expectations for whichever quarter Grand Theft Auto V will launch in to "three bajillionty dollars."
Chahi: No plans for From Dust 2, new game will take a year or two
In a recent postmortem interview with Eurogamer, Eric Chahi spilled his guts about his world-shaping strategy-esque downloadable, From Dust. While development on the game had its share of highs -- Chahi said he was "very touched" after getting an endorsement from fellow gaming industry icon Peter Molyneux -- and lows, Chahi was happy with the finished product. Of course, it doesn't hurt that "it sold very well." We'd be pretty happy about that, too. Despite his exuberance for the game, Chahi told Eurogamer that "right now there is no plan" to do a From Dust sequel. He explained he wants to do something "very original," and that he has a few ideas as to what that could be. Don't worry about him taking a 13-year break (as he did after his last game, Heart of Darkness) -- Chahi said that work on his next game will take "something between one year and two years, maximum." Godspeed, Eric. (No, seriously. Pick up the pace.)
Alan Wake's Night Springs developer defends decision to go XBLA
There's been a not-insubstantial outcry of concern from fans of the Alan Wake franchise following the announcement that the series' next installment, Night Springs, would be an XBLA exclusive. Worried parties shouldn't fear a sea change in the original game's setup -- on the game's forums, Remedy community manager Peter Papadopoulos explained it will be "structured like a full release," asking posters to "wait for the official announcement before making up your mind." But ... but we've already rolled out our Jump to Conclusions mat! Remedy CEO Markus Mäki also chimed in on the forums, adding, "If you're thinking about this in terms of some kind of a, I don't know, super simplified 'we still use the name but changed everything about it' version of Alan Wake, let me just say that this is not the case. That's all I'm gonna say." Other than these defensive statements, all we have to go on is the meager announcement from yesterday, as well as the supposedly leaked title screen acquired by XBLAFans this past May, posted above. We'll have to wait until the VGAs to see the game in action -- or, as the title screen would seem to hint at, in "Arcade Action."
Chrono Cross, Final Fantasy 5 and 6 all coming to PSN in coming weeks
If you, like us, have felt jilted as other territories received a glut of Square Enix RPGs while the U.S. got table scraps, it's time to relieve yourself of your worries. PlayStation Blog has just announced the "Winter of RPGs" campaign, which will see the release of three much-desired PSOne Classics on the PSN: Chrono Cross, Final Fantasy 5 and Final Fantasy 6. You'll be able to grab the character-rich Chrono Cross next Tuesday, November 8, the career-oriented Final Fantasy 5 on November 22, and the positively operatic Final Fantasy 6 on December 6. It's nice that they'll finally be on there -- though forcing them to compete for our free time with Skyrim, Batman: Arkham City, Uncharted 3 and Assassin's Creed: Revelations seems, well, kind of mean.
Watch the sounds of Skyrim get made, pre-order the four-disc soundtrack
We appreciate all the work that went into the sounds of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, as seen in the developer diary posted above. It seems a bit excessive though -- the only sounds and music we need are ones to accompany us breaking into every house, and stealing every pair of pants. Regardless, if you want the powerful hymns of a barbarian choir to make your working day that much more enthralling, you can pre-order the four-disc Skyrim soundtrack through DirectSong right now, for $29.99. That's a lot to pay for a soundtrack, but just imagine how great you'll feel as you fold your laundry as ninety dudes shout "DOVAHKIIN! DOVAHKIIN! DOVAHKIIIIIIN!" at you.
Walmart hosting Modern Warfare 3 tournaments prior to midnight release
You can go ahead and cancel that intricate, Ocean's Eleven-style Gamestop heist you've been planning -- we've discovered a sure-fire way to get your hands on Modern Warfare 3 before its release. Just roll on up to your nearest (participating) Walmart at 8 p.m. on November 7, and you'll get to participate in a Modern Warfare 3 tournament, the winner of which will get a free copy of the game. The losers? They'll probably get those Walmart smiley face stickers. It's win-win! Sure, that just gives you four hours with the game before you can play it indefinitely in the comfort of your own gaming cave. Still, have you played competitive Call of Duty at launch before? Four hours of extra insight is enough to turn the tide of any given match. Like the Joes say, knowing is half the battle, and the other half is having ninja-like reflexes and an unending pool of tolerance for having slurs hurled at you by sixth graders.
Rainbow 6: Patriots revealed by next month's Game Informer cover
Both the reports of an early concept video leaked this past June and the web domain acquisitions which pointed at Ubisoft's next installment in the Rainbow Six franchise have proven authentic: Game Informer just announced its December issue will focus on Rainbow 6: Patriots. The title, which is tentatively scheduled to launch on 360, PS3 and PC in 2013, prominently features the compelling (and presumably controversial) moral dilemmas seen in the video from earlier this year. Creative director David Sears told Game Informer that in addition to that new "narrative direction," the game will feature "all the team play, tactics, and realism that fans of the series love." You can watch an expanded version of that video from June on Game Informer -- just be forewarned, it's kind of upsetting. Terrorists are mean, you guys. %Gallery-138341%
THQ's sales 'exceeded expectations' in Q2, Space Marine sold 1.2 million
THQ has announced financial figures for the second quarter (July through September) of its 2012 fiscal year. Despite having a release schedule that any company would consider light, it managed to bring in net sales of $146 million. That's a pretty significant increase over the $77.1 million it brought in during the same period last year. Of course, its losses nearly doubled year-over-year as well. Easy come, easy go. The top performer was Warhammer 40K: Space Marine, which managed to sell 1.2 million units across all platforms during the quarter, a little under half of which were sold in North America. Brian Farrell, THQ's CEO, explained during a conference call that older catalog titles also sold well, specifically mentioning Saints Row 2. We guess people are eager to get back into the swing of (blowing up) things. Farrell added, "We are encouraged that our second quarter performance exceeded our expectations, particularly in a quarter with a light release schedule." We imagine he'll be pretty darn encouraged next quarter, which sees the release of the ridiculous Saints Row: The Third, and the somehow even more ridiculous WWE '12.
Need for Speed: The Run multiplayer trailer spins the wheel
Chance plays a pretty big role in the multiplayer component of Need for Speed: The Run. Not in the actual driving -- though it'd be neat if you had to maneuver around the occasional stray buffalo -- but in the pre-match modifiers, as seen in the trailer above.
More Dota 2 beta invites going out this week
If you haven't already thrown your name in the ring for the Dota 2 beta test, you might want to do so in the next couple ... seconds. Valve has announced that a new wave of beta invites would be sent out this week to select participants who have filled out this Steam survey. Don't forget: If you get picked to test the game, you'll get two extra downloads of the beta to distribute to your friends. As it stands, your best bet isn't to apply for the beta yourself, but just, you know, be really popular.