PAX2011
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BioShock Infinite PAX panel video explores the importance of relationships, crying in tiny rooms
PAX can be a fantastic catalyst for news and breaking information about upcoming games, but it also provides a unique window into the development process that we as consumers don't often get a chance to see. This year's BioShock Infinite panel, for instance, dove into the art of voice-acting, the challenges associated with dynamic story telling in a first person environment, and the benefits associated with crying in a 5-by-6 closet while strangers viciously berate you. The panel, hosted by G4's Adam Sessler, starred Irrational Games' Creative Director Ken Levine, as well as voice actors Troy Baker and Courtnee Draper, who voice Infinite's Booker DeWitt and Elizabeth, respectively. The group covered a wide range of topics regarding Infinite's lead characters, their motivations, and the somewhat unorthodox techniques used to extract such emotional performances from the actors. Despite being fairly F-bomb heavy, the above video doesn't disclose any information we weren't already aware of, so the spoiler-cautious among you need not worry.
New Final Fantasy XIII-2 trailer has everything you'd expect
Final Fantasy games are universally known for certain things, and even with a brand-spankin'-new trailer like this one, it's easy to guess what you're getting into. Moogles? Got 'em. Gorgeous pre-rendered cutscenes? Yup, got those too. Metal horse? You'd better believe it.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim preview: Dovahkiind of wonderful
"Oh that? That's old man McElroy's house. People say he hasn't left since Nov. 11, 2011. I guess a video game came out that day -- it was on a disc, if you remember those -- called The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and he just never, ever left after he started playing it. It's very sad. But they say he warned everyone in a preview he wrote at PAX Prime 2011. They say he played an hour and knew right then that his time as part of human society was limited." %Gallery-131028%
New Faraway video trailer, game coming to PAX
After an extended wait, here's some news on Steph Thirion's long-awaited iOS title, Faraway. I played it at GDC last year, and it's won several awards since then. Thirion then worked to refine and update the gameplay. It looks like he's satisfied, because a brand new, amazing Faraway trailer posted on the official website. Thirion says the game will be playable at PAX in Seattle this week, and an iOS release will be announced soon. He's gotten some financial support as well. Faraway has been selected as the fifth project supported by the Indie Fund, a funding source meant to offer indie game developers a little extra help with getting their games together. It's good to see that this one is headed back towards the spotlight -- I really liked it when I saw it last year, and was a little disappointed to hear that it had been delayed. Hopefully Thirion's put together the game he wanted to make, and we'll see a full release on iOS soon.
Sonic CD coming to XBLA, playable at PAX [update]
Major Nelson, majordomo of all things Xbox, took to his blog this afternoon and posted a detailed list of all the games and events that will be spread out across Microsoft's five booths at this week's Penny Arcade Expo. It's about what you'd expect; Gears of War 3 Horde mode, Forza 4, Mass Effect 3, etc, until you get to the list of Booth 432's XBLA titles. Right near the end, snuggled squarely between Retro City Rampage and War of the Worlds, is an unannounced XBLA port of Sonic CD. We've reached out to Major Nelson and Sega for comment, but as of yet no additional confirmation has been provided by either party. We suspect they're too enthralled by Sonic CD's masterful theme song to even move, let alone respond to our e mails. Update: A communique has hit our inbox from Sega PR: "We don't have any details at this time, but we'll be sharing some more information soon."
Radeon HD 6990 pictured, GeForce GTX 590 rumored for PAX East 2011 reveal
Multiple cores are old hat, particularly in the GPU world where you can have hundreds of simultaneous processing units working in concert, but multiple GPUs on the same PCB, that's still exciting territory (not least because of the crazy thermal and power requirements that go with it). AMD and NVIDIA are set to clash horns on this field of battle once again, fishing for mindshare as much as they are for high premium sales, with the Radeon HD 6990 and GeForce GTX 590, respectively. The former has already slipped out of the shadows of mystery to reveal a size slightly longer than an A4 sheet of paper, while the latter is being rumored for an unveiling at the PAX East 2011 gamer gathering. Expected GTX 590 specs include 1,024 total CUDA cores, 3GB of onboard RAM with dual 384-bit memory controllers, and three DVI outputs for some single-card 3D Vision Surround gaming. This year's PAX East is kicking off on March 11th and AMD is also looking very close to launching its part, so you should need no more than a couple of weeks' worth of patience before everything about the latest and greatest from both camps is known.
