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Gaikai: Delivering instant MMOs to your browser
Imagine that you're reading up on an MMO on a site such as Massively (far-fetched, but stay with us on this). The words intrigue you and you think it might be worth checking out. You make a mental note to do so in the future -- to head over to the game's site, see if there's a trial, download it, set up an account, and give it a whirl -- but time gets away from you and none of that actually happens. Now imagine that right after you read that article there was a single button or link. Clicking on it, a Java window opens up on top of your screen and tells you that you're now playing a trial of the game. There's no wait, no download, no lengthy form to fill out -- just click and play, right away. You go from interested to inside the game within mere seconds, your computer specs (mostly) aren't an issue, and your curiosity is immediately sated. This isn't a far-fetched dream but the here-and-now reality. This is cloud-streaming MMOs brought to you by Gaikai. And it just might be the future of MMOs as we know it.
Starbreeze self-funding original IP
Starbreeze, the developer behind The Darkness, The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay and the upcoming series reboot Syndicate, is looking to expand its developmental output beyond the intellectual properties of other creative minds."We want to make our own IP; no doubt," Starbreeze CEO Mikael Nermark told Gamasutra. "We're actually self-funding one original IP right now. If we're going to take it to market ourself -- I haven't decided yet. It's always about how you maximize what you can do." Nermark's current strategy is to continue working on high-profile titles like Syndicate while simultaneously looking for opportunities to launch the developer's own original IP. As the old saying goes, "You can only milk another man's cow for so long." Or something.
Free Comic Book Day brings free The Darkness 2 prequel comic
May 7 is this year's Free Comic Book Day, the annual event when fans all around the country crowd into comic book stores for free promotional minicomics (and agoraphobic readers put off picking up their subscriptions). In observance of this ritual, Top Cow Productions is releasing a free The Darkness comic book that is intended to act as a prequel to the upcoming The Darkness 2 game in the works at Digital Extremes. Although we'd argue that if you really want a prequel to The Darkness 2, you could check out The Darkness -- or the comic book series that ran from 1996 to 2005. But those wouldn't be free!
Top Cow announces Darkness sequel in the works [update]
Here's a great indicator of how slowly the wheels can occasionally turn. During Top Cow Productions' Comic-Con panel, head of the comic publisher, Marc Silvestri, was finally able to announce that a follow-up to The Darkness (based on the Top Cow IP) was in the works. We're not surprised if the news has a familiar ring to it: The company hinted at a sequel during the 2008 NYCC ... 15 months ago.In more immediate news, the company announced that the original game would soon be added to the greatest hits value line-up on PS3 and Xbox for $29.99. If you haven't already checked it out, it's an interesting recommendation, if only to prepare yourself for the sequel that may finally be coming.Update: According to comments made to VG247, original developer Starbreeze will not be returning for the sequel.
Deal time: CoD4 GOTY for $49, gift card with Narnia
It's Sunday deal time and this week U.S. retailers are being stingy lil' buggers when it comes to Xbox 360 savings. For serious. The only semi-good deals we could scrounge up were over at Circuit City who is selling the Call of Duty 4 Game of the Year edition for $50 and giving out a free $10 gift card with purchase of Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. And that's it. Seeing that the good deals Stateside aren't as fruitful as we expected, we took our research up north and discovered that this week Best Buy Canada is offering The Darkness for $20 and both GRAW2 and RSV for teh free with an Xbox 360 Pro purchase. That's all we could find, now go be good citizens and spend your bi-weekly check on gaming related goods to help stimulate the economy. God knows it needs it.
Rumor: Comic Con brings The Darkness sequel talk
Comic Con is not only good for comic related news and culture, but also for semi-official video game sequel announcements as well. It's true!According to The Quarter Bin's recap of Top Cow Production' Comic Con panel, when talking about their future comic book licensing agreements they responded by hinting pretty heavily that The Darkness 2 is real and in the works. More specifically, Top Cow told everyone in attendance that "we can't say DARKNESS and video game sequel in the same sentence. So, DARKNESS. Wink. Sequel." So, there you have it. A possibly, maybe, probably The Darkness sequel announcement straight from The Darkness creators Top Cow. Fun stuff.[Via Joystiq]
Rumor: The Darkness sequel looking likely after NY Comic Con panel
Like rummaging through celebrity trash for the latest gossip, it often makes us chuckle as to where new video game news emerges, something only reinforced by last weekend's New York Comic Con. Buried beneath action figures, cosplayers, and that Super Girl Barbie we absolutely must have, came word of an upcoming sequel to last year's comic-inspired FPS The Darkness.The news was unleashed during a discussion panel with American comic company and The Darkness publisher TOP COW, during which (according to comic blog The Quarter Bin) it was said: "We can't say Darkness and video game sequel in the same sentence. So, Darkness. Wink. Sequel." While hardly an absolute confirmation, the news is enough to make our stomach rumble with a hunger that only hearts will quell.[Via WorthPlaying]
Look! The Darkness gets free multiplayer DLC
After hopping onto the XBLM this morning, we were surprised to come across new downloadable content for none other than The Darkness. Odd, no? The new DLC can be found under the "New Releases" section of the Marketplace under the not so convenient title "Darkness MP Map: DM_Haunt" (uhh, wha?). The content features the multiplayer map DM_Haunt which is set in the streets of New York City, a new death match and team death match game mode as well as the ability to customize your shapeshifter, darkling or human character. The best part about the DLC is the fact that it is 100% free. Worst part about the DLC is that it's for The Darkness' multiplayer of which we don't know of anyone who has played it in the last three months. Oh well, free content is free content.
Riddick devs to revisit EA classic in mystery project
Electronic Arts announced that it is working on a new project with The Darkness and Chronicles Of Riddick devs Starbreeze Studios to revisit one of EA's "most acclaimed classic franchises" for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. As for which one, EA's keeping mum, simply dubbing the effort Project RedLime and leaving our imaginations to run wild. Work has apparently been ongoing on Project RedLime for some time, as Starbreeze CEO Johan Kristiansson comments that the team is " already deep in development" on the project. Nothing else, and mean nothing, is known about the mysterious project, though EA notes that more details will be revealed "in the coming months," leading us to hope that this game, whatever form it takes, will be among EA's salvo fired during this year's E3. We're crossing our fingers for James Pond.
Best of the Rest: Alexander's Picks of 2007
Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword (PC) Please, make the addiction stop! Civilization IV: Warlords, the first expansion for Civ IV, made my "Best of the Rest" last year and Beyond the Sword tops this year's list. The funny thing is I'm not a Civ fanboy, nor am I even that great of a player (Full Disclosure: I still play on Noble level), but Civ IV is a game I can come back to over and over again. Beyond the Sword added much-needed mechanics for culture-prone and passive-aggressive players, with enhancements in espionage and other concepts "beyond the sword." Oh, and just to keep last year's tradition going: Firaxis (2K, Take-Two), please get the rights to Alpha Centauri back from EA and give us a sequel!
Buy BioShock and get The Darkness FREE!
There's a lot of gaming deals this week, but we thought we'd point you in the direction of an offer that's not-so Assassin's Creed. Right now, Amazon.com is offering BioShock for the nice price of $49 AND is throwing in The Darkness for FREE! Top the offer off with free shipping and (possibly) no tax and you've got a deal worth mentioning. You're welcome fanboys and stay tuned, because we've got Black Friday deals to sift through. Let the deals rain down![Thanks, Messier75]
Rumor: The Darkness 2 is already in development [Update]
[Update: since the source of this claim is shaky at best, we're moving this from the 'rumor' category to the 'nonsense' category, that is, we don't think it's a viable source to even alert the public to. Sorry for any excitement, but until we get a better source, consider this news self-debunked.]While the source of our knowledge for this bit of news may be a site titled "Xbox 360 Only" we know that The Darkness was on the PS3, so we'd expect the sequel to also make it to our sexy monolith. It seems that a rap or some kind of podcast lured Starbreeze out to admit that The Darkness 2 is already in production and will hit late 2008 or early 2009. That's a pretty short development cycle for a sequel, so we hope that there are additions and tweaks instead of simply more of the same. Well, take it with a grain of salt, but we didn't expect this franchise to just have a single game anyway.[via Xbox360 Only]
Blast Factor expansion, GRAW2 demo out on US PSN
Today's American PlayStation Network update includes the Blast Factor: Advanced Research expansion, looking to pump new life into the arcade shooter with new levels, enemies and a $4.99 price tag. Also out today are demos for The Darkness and Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2. And, for those inclined, movie trailers for Michael Clayton, Get Smart and The Game Plan. The two demos are also currently available in Europe. [Via PS3 Fanboy]
Fanboys fight for The Darkness winners revealed
We're proud to announce the winners of our Xbox 360/PS3 Fanboy The Darkness giveaway. Although Xbox 360 Fanboy dominated with a mountain of entries, we're still glad that the PS3 community stood by this excellent FPS. Here are the winners for Xbox 360 and PS3:Xbox 360Chris BrownDion HarrisJames ParnhamPS3Mike WhitfieldMatt TrujilloCongratulations to all the winners!
The Darkness giveaway winners revealed
We're proud to announce the winners of our Xbox 360/PS3 Fanboy The Darkness giveaway. Although Xbox 360 Fanboy dominated with a mountain of entries, we're still glad that the PS3 community stood by this excellent FPS. Here are the winners for Xbox 360 and PS3:Xbox 360Chris BrownDion HarrisJames ParnhamPS3Mike WhitfieldMatt TrujilloCongratulations to all the winners!
PS3 Fanboy review: The Darkness
Starbreeze's Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay was one of those titles that you really, really should have played. The critically acclaimed game was known for its incredible graphics, atmospheric story and brutal, violent gameplay but was largely ignored by gamers who wrote it off as another cheap movie tie-in or were distracted by Half-Life 2 and Doom 3, both of which had just been released. It's a shame though, because Riddick easily held its own against both of those titles and is considered by many people to be the best FPS of 2004. And now, three years later, Starbreeze has done it again with their latest effort, The Darkness. Though only a little more than half-way through the year, The Darkness is an early runner for best FPS of 2007. A fantastic amalgamation of tight gameplay, mature storytelling and excellent graphics, the title is an absolute must-buy and is an instant classic.Based on Top Cow's long running comic series of the same name, the story revolves around an anti-hero by the name of Jackie Estacado. Adopted by a mafia Don when a child, Jackie was raised to be the perfect hitman and enforcer for the mob. Things were going swimmingly until his 21st birthday when a strange and evil power within him called the Darkness is awoken. Older than time, this menavolent entity gives its host incredible powers and protection -- but nothing in this world is free and Jackie is about to find out what the cost of ultimate power is ...
X3F Achievements 101: Dark Pirates
Welcome back to another edition of X3F Achievements 101, complete with Gamerscore whoring goodness. This week we take a look at finishing up Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, a very quick look at the ever distracting and delicious Darkness, as well as some personal Achievements, while not exactly adding any value to my Gamerscore, are still pretty cool little accomplishments that occurred over the past week. All in all, it was a solid week, with a few minor hiccups that'll you'll have to check it out for yourself.
Rumor: The Darkness is the banned in Singapore
A Singapore based game website says The Darkness is banned in that country. They report that the "distributor responsible for bringing in games from 2K" says the title has been officially banned for "excessive violence." The same website reports that another 2K game, BioShock, is also on the chopping block.We can semi-understand the whole Manhunt 2 saga, we're even on board with some of Germany's issues causing The Darkness to be delayed there for a month, but why did Singapore pick The Darkness when there are plenty of violent games out there to ban? We'll admit that we aren't on top of our Singapore game banning rules, so we don't know what major issues they found offense to. Maybe it was the ever-present heart eating mechanic? Although, The Darkness' heart eating mechanic isn't offensive because of the gore, it's more offensive that it's such a tedious task that needs to be performed on every ... single ... body. There wasn't a more efficient way to make that concept work? The whole process seems tacked on for shock value ... ohhhhh, now we get it.[Via GamePolitics]
The Darkness Achievements menu shows progress!
When browsing through the Achievements menu in the pause screen in The Darkness, we came across a nifty feature that we saw in GRAW 2: Achievement Progress reports. Any Achievement that requires you to do an action multiple times, it will display a percentage for completion on the bottom. Also, the "collectibles" Achievements show which ones you're missing in numerical order, so that is very handy indeed. Starbreeze knows where it's at.
Final reminder: win The Darkness from X3F
Alright folks, this is it. Today is your last day to enter our Fanboys Fight for The Darkness giveaway. Not to be cocky, but we currently have just over twice as many entries as PS3 Fanboy. If you don't already know, whichever site gets more entries gets an extra copy of The Darkness to give away. So far, it's looking pretty good for us to have that third copy. If you'd like your shot at The Darkness, head over to the official contest page and enter. If you don't, then the Darkness will possess you and give you cool superpowers. Wait ... no ... if you don't, then the Darkness won't possess you and give you cool superpowers*, so hurry up and enter already.*Regardless of whether or not you enter this contest, you more than likely will not be possessed by anything other than jealousy of the winners, or elation, should you turn out to be one those winners.
