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Flameseeker Chronicles: Going Commando
Yes, we all made the commando joke, so I couldn't very well leave it out. As my excited and frequent Tweets indicated Friday, ArenaNet carried off full honors for April Fools' Day in the MMO world. Not that there wasn't good stuff out there. World of Warcraft simultaneously cracked me up and charmed me with Crabby the Dungeon Helper -- seriously, could the little guy be any cuter? I loved the introduction of Dungeons and Dragons Online's Broccoli class. Sadly, the page is now gone, but the description pointed out that since broccoli has no legs or arms, it's the perfect class for weaponless fighting. I loved it. However, the ArenaNet team arrived fashionably late to the party and promptly carried off full honors in every category. The April first prank spanned both Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2; had text, video, images and wallpapers; and gave us new (albeit temporary) content. Follow along after the jump for a complete rundown!
NintendoWare Weekly: Fluidity, Commando, SonSon
Finally, this WiiWare game has arrived -- one we've been reading about for months, that will allow us to experience a common natural phenomenon in a new way. We're talking, of course, about Fireplacing (formerly My Fireplace). Oh, also, Fluidity is out. If you download them together, will they cancel each other out? Meanwhile, on Virtual Console, Capcom surprises us with a pair of games that weren't supposed to be out until next year!%Gallery-109311%%Gallery-109310%
Capcom launches free-to-play iPhone arcade app
The Capcom Arcade iPhone arcade app, containing emulated versions of Street Fighter II, Commando, Ghouls 'n Ghosts and 1942, launched today, offering a Game Room-style structure for its offerings. You can purchase "tokens" to play each of the games for $.99, or you can pay three bucks for unlimited access. That much was announced when the game was first revealed last month. However, what we didn't know at the time is that you get three free plays per day. Even if you don't feel like paying anything for the app, you can still play the games. Free seems like an okay price for touch-controlled arcade games.
Capcom Arcade Classics confirmed for North American release in 2011
Nintendo's small collection of Virtual Console Arcade titles is about to get ... slightly less small. Capcom has this poster in their New York Comic-Con booth confirming the addition of six new arcade games to the North American Wii Shop in 2011.
Capcom Arcade to bring retro thrills and clever pricing to your iPhone
Capcom has announced that in early November an App Store near you will be graced with Capcom Arcade, featuring at launch arcade classics Street Fighter II, 1942, Commando, and Ghouls 'n' Ghosts. IGN has a positive writeup of a preview it played, saying that the touch-based controls worked fine but it was disappointed by the lack of online play or leaderboards. Capcom is promising these features in updates down the line, as well as an additional game every month. Personally I find Ghouls 'n' Ghosts horrendously difficult with a proper joystick, let alone a touch interface. Still though, our own Mike Schramm was impressed by iPhone version of Street Fighter 4, and the games will offer the option of adjusted (read: easier) difficulty levels for iPhone play to reduce the number of expensive devices thrown against walls because of the first boss in GnG. Anyway, touch screen controls aren't the clever bit. The clever bit is how you'll be paying for this slice of retro goodness. The app itself will be free, and come with a few tokens you can use to play the games a few times for free. If you run out, you can buy more tokens, or just wait because you'll get a few free ones each day. Eventually Capcom hopes you'll tire of the drip-feeding and pay out for unlimited play of one or more of the games, although exactly how much you'll be paying for this privilege it isn't letting on yet.
OFLC rates Capcom's Commando and Exed Exes, likely for VC
Here's something we don't get to write about very often any more: games that appear to be headed for the Wii Virtual Console. Australia's OFLC rated two classic Capcom arcade games that are most likely bound for the sadly neglected download service: Commando, the top-down shooting game that is probably best known now for being kind of connected to Bionic Commando, and a vertical shooter called Exed Exes. We can be fairly certain these ratings point to a Virtual Console release, because Exed Exes was just put on the Virtual Console in Japan today. And now we begin the long wait until these two games make their way over. (Or we can just play them on Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 1 for PS2 and Xbox.) [Image: The Arcade Flyer Archive]
Gamescom 2010: BioWare reveals 10 new advanced classes for TOR
We've known for a while now that Star Wars: The Old Republic is planning to offer players two different specializations for each class, but up until now we've only heard of a couple of them. Today at Gamescom, however, BioWare unloaded the names and loose descriptions of ten advanced classes. The best part? No Bothans died for this information. Darth Hater reports that imperial agent characters will have the choice between specializing as snipers (long-range DPS) or operatives (who use stealth and short-range weapons to get up close and personal). If a bounty hunter is more to your liking, then the choice between a powertech and a mercenary should get your imagination racing. Over on the Republic side, troopers will sign up for either commando or vanguard training. Commandos are the tanking line, although we don't know much about vanguards yet. SWTOR-Station spied a Zabrak trooper at the BioWare booth, indicating another possible race for the class. Force-users are also in store for powerful upgrades. The villainous Sith inquisitors choose their path between a more Force-happy sorcerer or the twin lightsaber-using assassin. Their counterpart, the Jedi consular, has a similar decision to make: that of a shadow, who can use double-bladed lightsabers, or a wizard, who uses a single lightsaber but can heal. Are Star Wars fans ready for wizards and sorcerers in their MMO? Somehow, we think so.
DS releases for the week of August 18th
This week, it's a total reverse of last week. Whereas we enjoyed a flood of releases, while the rest of the gaming world stood by and watched, this week we've got only a single game, while the other major markets enjoy the novelty of actual releases. Note, however, we're not saying they're great games ... but they are games. Commando: Steel Disaster Hit the break to see what's happening in the rest of the world.
Too Human demo classes unlock over time, internal clock shift makes them all available
Despite some minor qualms with the game's control scheme, we're actually somewhat fond of what we've seen from Silicon Knights' Norse mythology flavored action/RPG, Too Human. We were disappointed, however, when we discovered the game's demo, released during E3, only contained one out of five of the game's playable classes -- the Champion. Fortunately, Silicon Knights included a clever time release system with the demo, which will unlock other classes as we approach Too Human's August 19 release date.The Berserker class actually appeared on Friday, and according to mysteriously informed GameFAQs commenter Dimascus, the Commando will report for duty on August 12. However, patience isn't really a virtue possessed by most gamers, so it's no surprise that many Too Human players discovered that with by tinkering with the 360's internal clock and doing a bit of tricky menu navigation, it's possible to play as all five of the classes before their initial dates of arrival. We've got Dimascus' method after the jump -- are you brave enough to propel your 360 into the future?[Thanks, Boff.]
Win a copy of Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3
Whoa, it's the weekend! Yay! What's better than the weekend? Getting free stuff on the weekend. To thank all of you that keep on checking the site during your days off, we're giving away two codes to Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3, the latest PSN download from Capcom.Update: All codes have been given away. Thanks for participating!Good luck, and thanks for reading PS3 Fanboy! Once again, you must be a US or Canadian resident, 18 years or older, to be eligible for this giveaway. Good luck!
Website or command center? You decide
Don't tell us the delay for Commando Steel Disaster was caused by a bunch of web developers anxious to show off their fancy animations before the game was released. The official website for this hot run-and-gun title has gone live, and is an admittedly cool little package featuring screenshots, concept art and the original trailer.That trailer is good and all, but this is a war those badass little sprites are fighting. Get some fitting tunes and the blood will really rise! Commando Steel Disaster is set for an release on August 19 in North America, so there's plenty of time to get in some Metal Slug action before then. It's pretty much the same thing.%Gallery-18362%[Via press release]
Fun with DoTs in Star Wars Galaxies
Lead designer on Star Wars Galaxies, Blixtev, compares going through the old Damage Over Time code to rummaging through your grandmother's attic. "It's loaded with old junk and it sure smells really bad", he says. Still, that's exactly what the SWG developers are doing as they work to revamp Commando abilities for the upcoming Game Update 4. In some posts to the official forums, Blix talks about opening up moldering trunks and tossing aside ancient silverware to get at the DoT code beneath. "The DoT system is one of our oldest systems, and it sure does some wacktacular things. We found 10 different calculations amoungst 5 functions to determine just the value of absorbtion from armor against DoTs. For folks who don't code, that's alot."He goes on to describe their upcoming plans for the system, which will spread DoTs to two different abilities and substantially change the way they're applied. After the update they're going to stack up to 10 a piece on a single character, a process that could take some time. Because of this change, DoT removal will change as well. Taking long minutes to apply the full 10-stack to a PC shouldn't be automatically negated by a Medic power. Instead, DoT removal will take away part of the stack, and make the recipient immune to further DoT additions for a short period. Meanwhile, the existing debuff will continue to tick down - harming the character with an element type determined by the Commando's weapon. A later update indicates that these trials are proving very effective in making the Commando a more fun profession to play, a claim we'll be able to put to the test hopefully very soon.
Commando: Delay Disaster
Remember when we said that Commando: Steel Disaster's early-May release date "puts Commando mostly out of the way of the late-May/early-June rush of action-oriented DS games?" As it turns out, that's not the case. Lexicon Entertainment announced today that the game would be delayed until May 30th in Europe. You know, right around when every other DS game and their mother comes out. Many of the late-May through July dates are for the North American region, but we're assuming that a lot of you English-speaking Europeans import games without tangible release dates because of the cheap dollar. Does this delay push this game off your radar, then, in favor of other things? Gallery: Commando: Steel Disaster [Via press release]
Previews for Star Wars Galaxies Game Update 4
The next big patch coming to Star Wars Galaxies is Game Update 4. It's a systems tweak, aimed squarely at addressing community issues with the Commando and Officer classes. SWG's community manager Valara dropped into the forums this week with previews for both sides in the chain of command. What's really interesting is that she includes the 'top five issues' list that each classes' senator have been maintaining. Senators are player representatives for one facet of the game, and these top five lists are the biggest issues facing each class at any given time. Valara then offers up changes coming in the update that directly stem from this list.For example, the preview of Commando changes lists "Address issues with heavy weapons, including design, DoT complications, and UI interference" as one of the top five community issues. This is the response to that concern on the 'in the works' list: "Investigate issues with heavy weapons including DoT applications and UI interference. Add a new cold elemental weapon." Similarly, the preview of Officer changes has "Leadership abilities such as /sysgroup and /rallypoint need to be re-introduced." The update's response: "Investigate the addition of system group messages and rally points; rally point may grant group members a new buff for meeting at the rally point. Investigate Supply Drop." Both of these threads have several visits from developers as well, making for a very interestinv conversation about these class issues. For more background on the Commando's DoT problems, check out the thread entitled the history of Commando DoTs for more details.
Commando: Steel Release Date
Previously announced for a Q3 release in the U.S. from XS Games, Mana's Metal Slug-ian shooter Commando: Steel Disaster is now coming out on May 6th, published by Take-Two subsidiary Jack of All Games, according to Gamestop. While we don't know about the release date, the publisher information is consistent, since Jack of All Games distributes XS's releases in the U.S. (according to the original press release).We want to believe this listing ourselves, since it puts running and gunning in our hands sooner. And it puts Commando mostly out of the way of the late-May/early-June rush of action-oriented DS games.%Gallery-18362%
Blu-ray releases on April 15th, 2008
There's something for everyone coming out this week on Blu-ray with the number one title easily being the Academy Award winning Juno (IMDB 8.1), which features the best audio Blu-ray has to offer: DTS-HD MA (48hz/24-bit). But that's not the only title featuring master quality audio this week, as Alien vs. Predator:Requiem is sure to thrill you -- even with it's painfully low IMDB score of 5.1 and a unfun BD Live game. The somewhat unknown title this week, which also looks like it's worth a watch is Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. Fox has a few catalog titles this week as well, but from the looks of the reviews, it doesn't appear Fox is very serious about releasing high quality HD catalog titles as both Predator and Commando get low marks on both audio and video quality -- perhaps the prints were so bad, Fox didn't have much to work with. Blu-ray 504*Blu-ray Alien vs. Predator: Requiem (Fox) Alien vs. Predator/Alien vs. Predator: Requiem (Two-Pack) (Fox) Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (Image) Commando (Fox) Juno (Fox) Mariah Carey: The Adventures of Mimi (Image) A Passage to India (Sony) Predator (Fox) * Blu-ray total does not reflect 32 Paramount titles that were previously officially available.
Commando locks and loads for U.S. release
Mana's Metal-Slug-but-not-really run-and-gun Commando: Steel Disaster will be coming to the U.S. in Q3, courtesy of XS games. We've been keeping tabs on Commando for a while now, anxious for some Metal Slug-style blasting, and a U.S. version has felt increasingly likely since a European release for the game was confirmed.With a Metal Slug 7 release date still to be fired our way, we fancy that Commando might just beat SNK's title to shelves, while the trailer we posted earlier this month suggests it could be a capable imitator.%Gallery-18362%[Via press release]
Commando: Steel Trailer
Lexicon Entertainment has made a new Commando: Steel Disaster trailer available, and it certainly impresses. It seems that Lexicon knows exactly how to convey the important qualities of a shooting game through video. We admit that we're a bit disappointed with the lack of actual in-game sound effects in the trailer, and we don't even know if that music appears in-game.The graphics and animation are great, actually, but even that's not what really gets our attention. What tells us that this might be an interesting run & gun is that the player dies in almost every scene. In the trailer. That's hardcore.[Via GoNintendo]
Commando to Slug it out in Europe this May
It's been quite some time since we've heard from 07 Commando, the surprisingly nice-looking total ripoff of Metal Slug. Since then, the name has changed to Commando: Steel Disaster -- maybe because it's "08" now? Today, publisher Lexicon Entertainment announced a European release date for the derivative run & gun: May 9th. They'll probably beat Metal Slug 7 into stores (SNK's game was fairly early at GDC), which is probably an important component of the business model. We wouldn't mind an extra seven levels of Slug-esque shooting, ourselves, before the main course comes out.%Gallery-18362%[Via GamesPress]
Joystiq hands-on: Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 (XBLA/PSN)
Call it another old-school remake/update; Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 will be out on XBLA and PSN this Spring. The angled, overhead shooter draws on its MERCS origins, bringing three-player destruction to those systems for $10 or 800 Microsoft Points.At a recent demo, I played the 360 version of the game. Controls felt good, with walking assigned to the left stick and shooting to the right. I lobbed grenades and launched super attacks with other buttons; the arsenal held my interest. Vehicles should be a big part of the game, too. In my demo, we drove in an armored truck, shooting from our different seats, and floated down a river raft. Hopefully the full game will feature lots of these breaks, since on-foot battles could grow monotonous.%Gallery-18256%
