Mike Suszek
Articles by Mike Suszek
Tale of Tales' Sunset rises with first screens
Tale of Tales' upcoming narrative-driven game Sunset received its first official set of screenshots today. Announced in March 2014, the exploration game stars Angela Burnes, a housekeeper of a secluded philanthropist, set in a lone 1970's apartment. The Path and Fatale developer noted that the screens are "still work in progress and even though they do not represent the final beauty of the game, they say a lot about what is going to make the penthouse a spectacular environment to explore." Players will scope out the apartment to learn more about Burnes' employer when the game arrives this spring on PC, Mac and Linux. As seen in the gallery below, Tale of Tales said it "pushed the colour scheme to its saturation point with the tones of the evening sky, chic lighting from designer lamps and dramatic shadows" to make the game "feel real," yet stylized. Sunset earned $67,636 on Kickstarter in July and will feature a soundtrack from Journey's Grammy-nominated composer, Austin Wintory. The developer discussed the ways it is "trying something different" with Joystiq following its funding campaign. [Image: Tale of Tales]
The Wolf Among Us down to $20 on Amazon
The first season of The Wolf Among Us can live among your gaming library at a discount today, as the episodic adventure game is currently $19.99 on Amazon. The 33 percent off sale is good for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game, while Vita players can pick up The Wolf Among Us for $24.49 on the retailer's site. Developed by The Walking Dead creator Telltale Games, The Wolf Among Us stars Fabletown's Sheriff Bigby Wolf, formerly known as The Big Bad Wolf. Based on Bill Willingham's Fables comic book series, the game's five episodes follows Bigby as he maintains order in the small New York City community. Our review of the final episode, "Cry Wolf," noted that the game's first season "lays the groundwork for the series that is (hopefully) to come, getting us invested in these pigs, these trolls, these witches, these toads, these people." [Image: Telltale Games]
Appeals court sides with ex-NFL players in Madden likeness suit
A federal appeals court struck down Electronic Arts' appeal to dismiss a 2010 lawsuit in which retired NFL players alleged that the publisher used their likenesses without permission in Madden NFL 09. A three-judge panel unanimously declined EA's motion to dismiss the lawsuit on the grounds of First Amendment protections under "incidental use." Madden 09 included over 140 historic NFL teams as well as the stats and positions of thousands of retired athletes to celebrate the series' 20th anniversary, and EA allegedly altered jersey numbers and removed the players' names to avoid paying licensing fees, according to the August 2010 lawsuit. The judges referred to another recent likeness lawsuit in the opinion, in which former college athletes sued EA in May 2009 over the use of their likenesses in NCAA Basketball and NCAA Football games. EA proposed a $40 million settlement to that lawsuit in September 2013, resulting in those players earning up to $951 for each year their likeness was featured in the games. The publisher added $8 million in expenses related to that lawsuit in May 2014. EA introduced similar First Amendment-based defenses in its appeal for the retired NFL players lawsuit save for one additional argument: That the likenesses were protected under the First Amendment as incidental use. The judges "held that Electronic Arts's use of the former players' likenesses was not incidental because it was central to Electronic Arts's main commercial purpose: to create a realistic virtual simulation of football games involving current and former National Football League teams." The decision upholds a California court's March 2012 dismissal of EA's attempt to prevent the suit from going to court. Among the plaintiffs listed in the lawsuit is Sam Keller, a former Arizona State, Nebraska and Oakland Raiders quarterback that filed the original likeness lawsuit related to the publisher's college sports games. [Image: EA]
Monument Valley dev: 5% of Android players paid to play
Monument Valley developer Ustwo revealed that only five percent of the game's installs on Android are "paid for." It divulged "interesting data" about the game in recent tweets, clarifying that a "small number" of the other 95 percent of installs were legitimate. Additionally, the data does not account for the one promotional day in which Monument Valley was free on the Amazon Store. By comparison, Ustwo said that 40 percent of the installs for the game on iOS were paid for. Piracy isn't a new problem for the Android platform, as indicated by games such as Lucky Frame's Gentlemen!. The Edinburgh, Scotland-based independent developer announced in August 2013 that just 144 of the 50,000 downloads for Gentlemen! on Android were legitimate. Ustwo first launched Monument Valley on iOS in April 2014 before it arrived on Android one month later. The game reached one million copies sold in July after having recouped its development costs after one week on the App Store. It received eight new levels on iOS in November and earned a year-end award from Apple last month. [Image: Ustwo]
Majora's Mask 3D bundle sports a Skull Kid figurine
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D will receive a limited edition bundle at the game's launch that includes a Skull Kid figurine. The $50 bundle doesn't include any of the goodies packed in to Europe's special edition, as Nintendo noted that it only features a copy of the game and the figurine. The publisher has yet to offer a launch date for the remastered game. Nintendo announced plans to remake Majora's Mask for 3DS during a Nintendo Direct livestream in November. The original game launched in 2000 for Nintendo 64, putting series hero Link in the doomed land of Terminus, months after the events of the other cherished Zelda game for the system, Ocarina of Time. Word of a possible 3D remake of Majora's Mask began in November 2011, when series producer Eiji Aonuma said the publisher was "seriously considering" it following the success of Ocarina of Time's own 3DS remake. [Image: Nintendo]
Kickstarter rakes in $529 million for projects in 2014
Over 3.3 million people pledged $529 million towards projects on Kickstarter in 2014, the crowdfunding platform revealed. This marks an increase over the site's 2013 stats, which saw $480 million pledged by 3 million individuals. Kickstarter reached $1 billion in total pledges as of March 2014. It also revised its terms in September to force the hands of project creators that fail to deliver products to their backers. Of the 22,252 successful projects to earn money on Kickstarter last year, 1,980 of them were in the broad games category. Games made off with 16.8 percent of the total money pledged last year ($89.1 million). While that includes the $626,250 earned by Ron Gilbert and Gary Winnick's retro-inspired point-and-click adventure game Thimbleweed Park, the "Games" category isn't limited to video games, but also includes a large dose of tabletop games as well. Our year-long Crowdfund Bookie research project found that over $35 million was pledged specifically to video games on crowdfunding platforms over the span of one year. [Image: Kickstarter]
Best of the Rest: Mike's picks of 2014
ATTENTION: The year 2014 has concluded its temporal self-destruct sequence. If you are among the escapees, please join us in salvaging and preserving the best games from the irradiated chrono-debris. Desert Golfing Imagine you're stranded in the middle of a vast desert with nothing but a golf club and ball, rolling hills of sand stretching as far as the eye can see. You're not going anywhere soon. May as well play a few thousand rounds and work on your swing, right? Whoa, did you see that cactus on hole #316? Maybe it was a mirage, but I swear I found a rock on hole #537. This delightfully minimal, endless version of golf doesn't drown players in features. Instead, Desert Golfing perfectly mimics life on a desert golf course: Serene. Sometimes maddening.
PSA: D4, MX vs. ATV now on Games with Gold
As the calendar flipped to January yesterday, Xbox Live Gold members are now able to download this month's free games on Xbox One and Xbox 360. As revealed in December, Xbox One owners with a premium Live subscription can now pick up Access Games' quirky adventure D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die free of charge. Subscribers get two games on Xbox 360 this month: Offroad racer MX vs ATV Alive and CD Projekt's The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. D4 will be available throughout the month while the two previous-generation games are on a split schedule. MX vs ATV Alive is free until January 15, then The Witcher 2 will be available to download at no cost on January 16 through the end of the month. Lastly, according to the Microsoft Store, last month's Xbox One game Worms Battlegrounds is still available to download for free. [Image: Microsoft]
Joystiq Top 10 of 2014: Valiant Hearts: The Great War
ATTENTION: The year 2014 has concluded its temporal self-destruct sequence. If you are among the escapees, please join us in salvaging and preserving the best games from the irradiated chrono-debris. War is a common theme throughout video games, usually granting you a trigger to pull and later reminding you of the true cost of battle. Ubisoft Montpellier's approach to one of history's deadliest conflicts in Valiant Hearts: The Great War eludes those narrative methods, instead spinning an endearing tale about a period of sustained malice and sorrow. Set during the events of World War 1, Valiant Hearts' four playable humans (and one canine) get swept in the waves of global catastrophe practically by circumstance. The side-scrolling adventure game begins with the German-born Karl stripped from his family in France, then injected into the side of conflict opposite that of his father-in-law, Emile. As the world around them collapses, they meet the Belgian medic, Anna, who is drawn in for the good of others, and the voluntarily enlisted American, Freddie, who has a personal mission at heart.
Original Kinect for Windows being phased out next year
Microsoft will phase out sales for the original Kinect for Windows in 2015. The decision follows the arrival of the sensor's second version and PC adapter in October, as well as the latest hardware's SDK being made freely available. The company noted in an announcement blog that companies reliant on the original motion sensor should contact Microsoft soon to fill orders for the older hardware, though "no more original sensors will be manufactured after the current stock sells out." Version 2 of Kinect for Windows is essentially the same tech paired with the Xbox One when Microsoft's latest home console launched in November 2013, save for two changes: Microsoft pulled the Xbox logo from the camera and added a separate hub and power supply to operate. Microsoft's PC adapter for the Xbox One Kinect links the new camera to Windows 8 machines using USB 3.0 for $50. The original Kinect for Windows hardware launched in February 2012. [Image: Microsoft]
Planetside 2 beta aims for PS4 next month
Planetside 2's beta program on PS4 is now expected to arrive in mid-January 2015. The news comes from Sony Online Entertainment President John Smedley, who confirmed via Twitter that the first-person MMO shooter was "approved [in its] first pass" by the publisher and will go live during either the week of January 13 or January 20. The developer will know for sure as it enters the new year, "when we are back on [January 5]." In November, Creative Director Matt Higby said the developer planned to launch Planetside 2's PS4 beta by the end of this year. The developer added that its goal is "to have our launch on the PS4 feel like a great PS4 native console game. Not just a PC port." SOE is hoping to reach a resolution and framerate of 1080p and 60 frames per second on the system, though if the developer opts for 30 fps "it'll be because we want to maintain a completely solid 30 fps. But that's the optimization we're working on right now." [Image: Sony]
XNA, Xbox Live founder leaves Microsoft
Xbox Live Founder Boyd Multerer announced his departure from Microsoft this week after 17 years with the company. Multerer revealed the career change via his Twitter account, saying "Goodbye Microsoft. It was a good run. Xbox was Great! Time to do something new." Multerer's bio on the social media site indicates that the "something new" he's up to is on his own terms, as he is "currently doing independent secret stuff." Multerer not only led the design and direction of Microsoft's Xbox Live service starting in 2000, but also served as project manager and led the creation of XNA, the company's toolset that facilitates independent game development for its platforms. The longtime Microsoft designer's last position with the company was as director of development since 2011, designing the operating software of its latest home console, Xbox One. [Image: Microsoft]
Assassin's Creed prices cut during Xbox Live sale
Microsoft's "Countdown to 2015" sale continued today with deals on two games in Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed series. Xbox One players can pick up Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag, last year's pirate-themed entry in the series, at half off ($25). As for Xbox 360 owners, the Xbox Live Arcade version of Assassin's Creed Liberation HD is 75 percent off today ($5). The publisher's Countdown to 2015 sale began earlier this month and features a mess of other discounts. For instance, players can pick up episodes in Telltale's The Walking Dead series for $2.49 each, L.A. Noire for $7.49 and Fable 3 for $6.59 on Xbox 360. Alien: Isolation is down to $30 on Xbox One, alongside Destiny ($45), Diabo 3 ($40.19) and Sleeping Dogs' Definitive Edition ($30). Head over to the sale's site for a look at the full list of deals. [Image: Ubisoft]
Halo 5 kicks off multiplayer beta today
Halo 5: Guardians launched its multiplayer beta program today, Microsoft announced. The beta phase was originally planned to arrive a few days ago, but is now scheduled to run through January 18. The program was announced during the publisher's E3 2014 press conference in June and is open to those that purchased Halo: The Master Chief Collection. Additionally, Microsoft unveiled the bonuses goodies coming to those that pre-order one of the various editions of Halo 5 starting today. The $60 standard version of the game includes an exclusive poster, whereas the $100 Limited Edition includes the poster and adds "exclusive items" in a steel book case as well as bonus digital content for the game. Halo 5's Limited Collector's Edition features everything in the other two versions and adds in commemorative statue signed by 343 Industries. Halo 5 is slated to launch in fall 2015. Those missing out on the beta program can watch our archived stream of the game from earlier this month. [Image: Microsoft]
PSN Store Update: Alien Isolation, Diablo 3, more
In a last-ditch effort to get in your wallet before the end of the year, the PlayStation Store has a number of good deals on games this week. Among the many deals for PS4 players at the moment, Alien: Isolation is $35.99 ($29.99 for PS Plus members), while the game's season pass is down to $14.99. Additionally, Diablo 3: Ultimate Evil Edition is $39.59 ($35.99 on PS Plus), Escape Goat 2 is half-price ($5, $4 on PS Plus), Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes is just $6.80 and Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag is $25 ($20 on PS Plus). As for Vita, players can download Danganronpa 2 for $27.99 ($23.99 on PS Plus), Nidhogg for $10.49 ($8.99 through PS Plus), Thomas Was Alone and Stealth Inc. for $3.99 each as well as Lone Survivor: The Director's Cut for $5 ($4 via PS Plus). A number of games, such as Nidhogg and Thomas Was Alone, are Cross-Buy compatible, so those with multiple systems only need to pay once to access each version. That includes Flippfly's Race the Sun, which is down to $6.99 at the moment across all three PlayStation platforms ($5.99 on PS Plus). Head over to PlayStation Blog for a full list of the current deals. [Image: Sega]
Halo 4's Spartan Ops comes to Master Chief Collection
Halo: The Master Chief Collection received another update this week, improving the game's matchmaking and other functions. The update also added Spartan Ops to Halo 4 in the collection, 343 Industries' cooperative multiplayer mode. Teams of up to four players barrel through missions in the episodic mode, which was purposely not included in the collection's initial 20 GB patch; the developer planned to issue Spartan Ops in December so that it could make "technical enhancements" to the mode. Spartan Ops features 10 episodes, all of which are now available in The Master Chief Collection. The update includes a number of other fixes for the collection, such as hit detection for online multiplayer in Halo: CE and also giving a loss to players that disconnect from matches before a round ends. The patch should also improve roster update times as well as statistic and achievement tracking. It's the latest in a line of updates for the game, which launched with severe online multiplayer issues, among other problems. 343 Industries head Bonnie Ross apologized to players for the collection's issues in late November, recently offering free goodies to affected players, including the Halo 3: ODST campaign. [Image: Microsoft]
Joystiq Presents: Dragon Age, Dark Souls and dominatrixes
Anthony John Agnello (@ajohnagnello) chats with BioWare Creative Director Mike Laidlaw about Dragon Age: Inquisition. They discuss the influence that From Software's Dark Souls series had on Laidlaw when crafting the developer's latest RPG. Listen to the MP3
Canada celebrates Boxing Day with two-game PS4 bundle
Boxing Day, the festive day following Christmas in which folks shop even more is upon us, friends. To celebrate, Sony will offer Canadian players a new PS4 bundle that includes two games. For $450, players can pick up the 500 GB PS4 console with NHL 15 (because Canada) and LittleBigPlanet 3 this Friday, December 26. Pre-orders for the Boxing Day bundle open on Wednesday, and it will be available through "major retailers." Canada's Boxing Day bundle's value compares fairly well to previous ones: Sony offered a PS4 for $400 earlier this month that packed in the buyer's choice of one game out of four options, LittleBigPlanet 3 being one of them. Walmart later sweetened that deal by tacking a $50 gift card onto the offer. While NHL 15 wasn't received well at its launch due to a number of missing modes, some of which returned in via patches, the platforming sequel starring Sackboy did get praise in our review for its "vibrant and inviting" world. [Image: Sony]
Assassin's Creed director's next game is 'historical action'
Former Assassin's Creed series Creative Director Patrice Desilets discussed the direction of his upcoming game this week. The game will be of the third-person, "historical-action-survival" variety, as noted in a press release found after the break. Desilets launched Panache Digital Games just over one month ago, a Montreal-based studio consisting of "industry veterans that got together to tell stories that we feel are original and cool," according to the developer's website. "Indeed AAA Games, I believe in them," Desilets added. "I believe wholeheartedly that this medium we call 'video games' can be a positive force for change in our society and that AAA quality gaming experiences have unmatched strength to achieve this." The statement complements Panache's mission, per its website: "We make AAA quality third-person action-adventure games, with a narrative twist. We're not a 'me-too' company. We don't do trendy game models or content." To thank "first and beloved supporters" that showed immediate interest in Panache's ambitions, Desilets said the team decided to give those fans a "full copy" of its next game. "Let's call it a free to play game that's not a 'free-to-play' game," he added. Desilets was let go by Ubisoft in May 2013, marking his second departure from the company. The Assassin's Creed director first left the publisher in June 2010 to take a "creative break from the industry" before joining THQ Montreal one year later, following the expiration of the non-compete clause in his contract. THQ Montreal was acquired by Ubisoft in January 2013 along with Desilets' project at the time, 1666. Just two months after Desilets officially re-joined Ubisoft, the publisher suspended development on 1666. He filed a lawsuit against Ubisoft in June 2013 with the option to acquire the rights to the game. [Image: Panache Digital Games]
Toys R Us: Lucario amiibo pre-orders not being canceled
Numerous Toys R Us customers received emails from the retailer this morning, seemingly canceling their pre-orders for the Lucario amiibo figure. As a Toys R Us spokesperson told Joystiq in a phone conversation today, the emails were part of a "technical issue," and pre-orders for the figure will not be canceled. Toys R Us added via email, "we apologize for any inconvenience that may have been caused pertaining to customers' amiibo pre-orders. Please know that we are working on an email communication to all customers effected, which will provide instructions on how we plan to fulfill their order." The Lucario amiibo was revealed in November as a Toys R Us-exclusive figure, though the retailer's listing for the figure is currently missing from its storefront. Toys R Us was unable to offer specific inventory data for amiibo, but assured that the issue was unrelated to its supply of the figures.