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First Impressions of RuneScape 3 from a returning player
Over a decade ago, two brothers working out of their parents' house in Nottingham set themselves the impossible task of building their own graphical multi-user dungeon, a genre that later evolved into the MMOs we know today. RuneScape launched to the public in 2001 as a low-res browser game with only a few hundred players and 2-D sprites for monsters, but several years later it boasted over a million paying monthly subscribers. The 2007 Sunday Times Rich List even estimated the Gower brothers' business empire to be worth over £113,000,000, due almost entirely to RuneScape. The secret behind RuneScape's success is that it's been continually updated throughout its lifetime, not just with regular infusions of new content but also with several major graphical and gameplay overhauls. The game was recently reincarnated as RuneScape 3, which is as far as it gets from the primitive game many of us grew up with. It now boasts a visually improved HTML 5 client with graphics acceleration, orchestral music, some voice-acted quests with cutscenes, and a fully customisable UI. This combines with last year's Evolution of Combat update and over a decade of new quests and zones to produce an MMO with more depth and character than many other AAA titles. In this hands-on opinion piece, I put RuneScape's three major versions side by side and look at how far RuneScape 3 has come since those early days of punching 2-D goblins and mining for fish.
Nintendo opening eShop purchasing on PC and mobile devices
Nintendo will add the ability to purchase eShop games on PCs and smartphones, according to Nintendo's Business Development Manager Dan Adelman. While Adelman tells Joystiq he's not "personally directly involved" with the project, he confirmed that players will be able to "log onto the site and set [purchases] up for download so that once they get home, it'll be available for them and they can have that at their fingertips whenever they need it." Adelman's confirmation follows a NicoNico report with translation provided by Siliconera that notes the system will be open to PC and smartphone users later this year.
Finally, those Maroon 5 songs you wanted are available in Rocksmith
Just in case the thing that prevented you from buying Rocksmith on Steam was the lack of Maroon 5 songs, we'll just remove that musical obstacle for you right here and now. Valve reports that "Misery," "She Will Be Loved," and "Harder to Breathe" have all been added to the game. You can buy each song for $2.99, or pick them all up together for $7.99. Once purchased, you can play through the songs with a standard electric or bass guitar, and each song also adds a new authentic tone to play with on the game's Amp mode. Sweet Maroon 5-style haircuts are, unfortunately, sold separately.
Defiance team plans five DLC releases, first adds the Castithan race and more
Now that the MMO-slash-TV show Defiance has been launched, says executive producer Nathan Richardsson, things are about to really get good, in the form of five DLC releases later this year. He admits that fan response to the game has it pegged as "about as deep as a bag of chips but great fun," but adds that he'd "like to get to the two-bag of chip depth category or at least, add some salsas for various textures." Most of those spices will come in the form of DLC, and Richardsson has outlined what the game's first addon, tentatively titled "Enter the Castithan," will look like. There will be three elements to it: Those who buy the downloadable content for $10 will get access to the Castithan playable race, along with a new outfit and vehicle, and a new story mission line and game mode. There will also be free content, including new weapons, a new PvP map called Military Academy, and some other game improvements. And then there will be new items in the store, including weapon mods, more vehicle versions, and the ability to change your character's customizations. Richardsson says all future add-ons will have these paid, free, and store components, and the team's goal is to keep the updates and content flowing and focused on what players want. The first DLC release is expected to hit the game after a patch later on this month.
Kongregate adds downloadable, free games to browser-based roster
Kongregate now hosts downloadable, free games, as well as its standard fare of browser-based titles. The first three downloadable games on Kongregate are Super Monday Night Combat, Bomb Buddies and Smashmuck Champions, all available right now.Kongregate will drop more downloadable games in the "coming weeks," and they are all integrated into existing social services. Players must sign into Kongregate to launch the games, and each one now available earns players 10 points."Our players are looking for increasingly sophisticated games," says Jim Greer, Kongregate CEO and co-founder. "Adding downloadable titles brings a new level of gaming to hardcore players looking for high-definition graphics with more options and content to select from."What previously set Kongregate apart from digital distributors is its focus on in-browser entertainment. Now it's inching closer to Steam territory, but still has its own flair in offering only free games for download. It's kind of like a tomcat slowly slinking into another's alleyway, and now we just wait for the hissing to begin.
Sega's AM2 fighting games arrive on XBLA and PSN next week
The official Sega blog says Fighting Vipers, Sonic the Fighters, and Virtua Fighter 2 (three classic fighting games made by Sega's legendary AM2 team) are all heading to Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network next week. Each games will include Achievements and Trophies, and support online multiplayer.All three games are set to show up on PSN on November 27 in North America for $4.99 each, and on November 28 on Xbox Live for 400 MSP. Then, they'll finally appear on the PSN in Europe on December 5 for €4.49.You'll find screenshots for each game in the gallery below, and hopefully that'll be enough to tide you over until you get to throw down again in these old-school fighters.%Gallery-171485%%Gallery-171487%%Gallery-171488%
Guardians of Middle-Earth release dates clarified, out 12/4 on Xbox and 12/5 on PSN [Update: In Europe]
Warner Brothers sorta, kinda dropped release dates for the various versions of Monolith's Lord of the Rings-flavored MOBA Guardians of Middle-Earth earlier today, but fans were still confused about exactly when the game was going to be out, especially on Xbox 360. So let's set the record straight: The game will arrive on PSN on December 5, and an actual retail version for the PS3 (complete with early access and a full season pass to the DLC) will be out on December 7. On the Xbox 360, there won't be a retail version, and the downloadable version will arrive on December 4 [Note: These dates are unfortunately just for Europe. A North American Xbox 360 release hasn't been announced yet].So there you go. By December 8, you'll be upgrading towers, killing minions, and ganking top lane with Sauron and Gandalf. And on December 14, you'll be watching The Hobbit in theaters. It's almost here!Update: Warner says the dates are wrong again. In North America, the PS3 version will be out at retail on December 4, and the PSN version will be downloadable at that same time. There reportedly will be Xbox 360 versions for both XBLA and retail, but official dates on those haven't been announced yet -- Warner is still saying "this fall." Joystiq is following up to find out why, and when we can expect the Xbox versions.
Mass Effect 3 enacts Operation Overdrive this weekend
The forces of Mass Effect 3 are back at it again this weekend, running a weekly event called Operation Overdrive. Just like the other events in this series, there's both a squad and an allied goal, with separate rewards for each.The squad goal this time will be to hit full extraction on any map in just 20 minutes or less, and that will nab you a Commendation Pack if completed. The Allied Goal is across all of the game's players, and asks for 200,000 extraction waves to be beaten in total. Completing that goal will get everyone involved a Victory Pack. Not to mention all of the lives that will be saved from repelling the Reaper invasion, right?
Papo & Yo review: Father knows beast
The abuse of a child by a parent is one of the worst betrayals a human being can face. Our families are meant to be the one guaranteed bit of love we have in this often cruel world – people who will support and embrace us even when the rest of creation has turned its back. But the tragedy of an abusive parent (usually driven by alcohol, drugs, or their own traumatic experience) casts a person that's meant to be a child's loving caretaker into the role of an enemy. Parental abuse turns what's meant to be one of the purest relationships of love into one of anger, distrust, and violence.Papo & Yo is a game about that tragedy. It's about a relationship that is by turns loving, gentle, and even playful, but can instantly turn into something ugly and full of violence and pain.As a video game, Papo & Yo can be lacking – the mechanics are simple, and while the technology is capable of creating some beautiful moments, it's just as capable of being frustrating. As an expression of autobiographical emotion for creator Vander Caballero, however, and a rendition of the complicated relationship between a young son and his abusive father, Papo & Yo succeeds in the strongest ways.%Gallery-157413%
Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault on PSN includes Captain Qwark, tower defense
The official PlayStation blog has some new info on the upcoming Ratchet and Clank: Full Frontal Assault. While the game is returning to more core R&C gameplay, Captain Qwark will still be available as a playable character throughout. The PSN game will contain five different levels across three planets, along with an online mode to be announced later, and lots of unlockable content including character skins and weapon upgrades.There's also a new feature in the gameplay that Insomniac describes as "tower defense," which "will have you building and defending a base against invasions using your ultimate Ratchet & Clank arsenal." That's all we've got for now, but presumably you'll be building or placing towers as you play, defending against invading waves of enemies. We'll hear more about Full Frontal Assault before the end of the year.
Digital gaming soars nine percent, still knows nothing of rarity value
It's already chewed up some big names on the retail scene, but the game-downloading trend shows no sign of being sated. Fresh figures from market research firm NPD show that American digital game sales (including rentals and DLC) amounted to $2.04 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011, which represents a nine percent year-on-year hike at a time when physical game transactions fell three percent. Things are going the same way across the Atlantic, with the UK, France and Germany adding a further $1.29 billion to the burgeoning click-to-buy market. Industry types will surely welcome the news, since digital titles rake in higher margins (hello, PS Store) and reduce the trade in used discs, but what about those of us who'll one day want to swap our dusty copy of Fight Night Round Four for something more subtle?
Iron Galaxy Studios' Wreckateer leaked in ratings, to be published by Microsoft
A game called Wreckateer has been spotted in the Australian ratings classification system, listed as being developed by Iron Galaxy and published by Microsoft. Iron Galaxy Studios is a company that's done a lot of technical consulting for other game developers -- it recently helped Capcom bring Street Fighter 3: Third Strike Online to digital platforms, not to mention work on You Don't Know Jack. According to its webpage, Iron Galaxy is also working on some yet-to-be-announced projects with Microsoft and Twisted Pixel, and it appears as though Wreckateer is at least one of those projects. That's all we know about the game thus far, other than that it's an original title, and it's been rated General for all audiences. Wreckateer, whatever it is, was just classified this week, so presumably we'll be hearing more about it soon.
Nintendo introduces paid DLC, lets you complete the games you completed
Did you get a Nintendo shaped bundle of joy for Christmas? Completed the games already? Fear not, as from March Kyoto's gaming veterans will be launching paid downloadable game content for its 3D handheld. The first title to get the goodies will be Fire Emblem, and as yet, there's no clues about what treats you'll get for the reported "several hundred yen" you'll be asked to stump up. Nintendo, however, is understandably keen to stimulate interest in its 3D titles, and more importantly, claw back some of that mobile gaming market-share. With hints of downloadable add-ons coming to the Wii-U also, and Mr. Iwata's previous commitment to deliver the goods, it clearly thinks this is the way to go -- let's just hope all the kinks have been ironed out come release day.
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."
Shank 2: Back for more
Klei Entertainment's Shank was a lovable, uncomplicated indie beat-em-up. The game's protagonist went on a murderous rampage using whatever he had lying around, including guns, a big knife, a chainsaw, and a few other items. It's probably no surprise that the recently announced Shank 2 is more of that kind of thing. The backgrounds are nicer and more colorful, Shank's enemies are more varied, and the controls are refined. It's a better, cleaner Shank experience. The indie charm is still there, and the whole game is more polished. Oh, and there's one big feature that will probably make the game for fans of the series: An endless online co-op survival mode.
Driver: San Francisco to be offered as full download on PSN
A full downloadable version of Driver: San Francisco will arrive on PSN alongside the retail version of the game, Ubisoft's Gareth Edmonson revealed during a Gamescom panel last week. That's right: In what's likely to be our favorite irony of the month, you don't have to actually drive anywhere to buy the new Driver. Speaking at a Gamescom panel last week, Edmonson said the PSN version would arrive "in a few weeks" which would roughly correspond to the game's Sept. 6 retail release date. We've asked Ubisoft for more details, especially whether the 360 will get similar treatment.
Konami guides Leedmees to a September 7 release on XBLA
If your life lacks the kind of refreshing responsibility that comes with shepherding a flock of mindless, adorable drones, you're in luck! Or rather, you're about to be: Konami's clever little Lemmings-esque puzzle title, Leedmees, will make its debut on Xbox Live on September 7 for 800 Microsoft Points ($10). If you haven't heard of the Kinect-enabled downloadable title before, check out our Comic-Con preview for a brief explanation of how all the titular leeding plays out.
Wii platformer LostWinds coming to iOS
I really enjoyed the Wii game LostWinds, released a few years ago as a downloadable title on Nintendo's popular home console. So I'm excited to hear that the developer, Frontier Developments, is planning to bring the original game over to the iPhone and the iPad, as well as the Android platform. The game features a little protagonist named Toku, who can either move around the beautiful cel-shaded world himself, or have the wind, managed with motion controls, help him get little boosts and support. On the iOS version, Toku will apparently be moved via an on-screen touchpad, and of course the motion controls will be replaced with swiping and gestures. Sounds fun. The game also had a sequel called "Winter of the Melodias," though it appears this initial release is just for the first title. The game is expected out on the App Store later on this year.
TUAW's Daily iPhone App: Kard Combat
Kard Combat is a new universal iOS title from Hothead Games, the folks behind the Penny Arcade videogames, DeathSpank, and the iPhone's Bunny the Zombie Slayer. As you may have guessed from the name, Kard Combat is a Magic The Gathering-style card game, where you use a deck of cards that represent magic spells or creatures and fight them against each other. To be honest, Magic the Gathering isn't really my thing, so I can't compare the two super closely. But Kard Combat offers some innovation, I think, in the way the cards are laid out -- any cards summoned to your side first attack cards laid across from them, and then the health pool of your opponent, so there's some interesting positioning strategy involved. You also oversee a few different types of mana that grow over time or based on certain cards you have out, so that provides a lot of complexity to the gameplay. There's a lot of content to play through as well -- four decks, each with their own single player "Tower" campaigns, and then of course multiplayer gameplay. The game's business model is almost tougher to figure out than the actual strategy -- currently, the title is a free download with five single-player missions unlocked, though an in-app purchase of $2.99 will unlock everything. After that, there are more decks and cards to buy, of course, and more to come. In the end, Kard Combat is an excellent little turn-based title. It's definitely worth a free download, and then if you consume all the content there, you can see if you want to dive in deeper.
Rhapsody on Android now works offline, but still goes online too (video)
Rhapsody member on Android? Your life just got a little sweeter. Following up on August's iPhone update and in the footsteps of other downloadable streaming services like Slacker Radio, Rhapsody's Android app now offers playlists that don't turn into pauselists when you go offline. Subscribers paying the $10 per month can now make a list of whatever tracks they want (including full albums of content available on the service) and download those to the phone, where they can be played back even if there isn't even a whiff of network connectivity in the air. Naturally we're guessing the DRM is strong with these tracks and they'll surely only be playable through the Rhapsody app itself, but if you have a long flight ahead and need a bunch of fresh tunes to come along you could certainly do worse.
