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Splinter Cell: Blacklist co-op developer diary works together
This developer diary video for Splinter Cell: Blacklist explores the characters that players can use in the game's co-op missions. The game is coming to Wii U, PS3, Xbox 360 and PC on August 20.
Arctic Combat giving away gamer gear to celebrate latest update
In its first major content upgrade since the game's December 2012 launch, Webzen is announcing a new multiplayer mode for its World War III MOFPS Arctic Combat. Arriving April 18th, the new 4-player co-op mode is said to bring together hardcore and more casual FPS gamers with new maps, weapons, and an upgraded AI system. Plus, Webzen will host a series of giveaways in the near future. Be sure to check out the trailer right after the jump, and watch the game's Facebook page and the official website for more info soon. [Source: Webzen press release]
Diablo III gets massive multiplayer improvements in 1.0.8
The Diablo III team has decided that its multiplayer co-op is in need of improvement. The game's 1.0.8 patch will be bringing in some changes to support and improve the system. Matchmaking tags such as Questing, Full Act Clear, and Keywarden are being added to public games. Explicit bonuses will be added into mulitplayer mode, giving players XP, Gold Find, and Magic Find boosts. Additionally, monster health is getting dropped down from an extra 70% per additional player to 50% per additional player. The UI is going to be working in favor of co-op, too. Whenever a player deals damage to or takes damage from Elite packs or Treasure Goblins, a notification will be sent out and the player's map location will be marked for easy regrouping. Private chat channels with up to 99 other users will be made possible. You can check out the full list of updates on the official dev blog.
MMO Burnout: Yucking it up with Saints Row The Third
So how would you feel about running around in an open-world action title smacking enemies with a giant dildo? The answer to that question will go a long way toward determining whether or not you'll dig Saints Row The Third, which is, naturally, the third installment of Volition's sordid sandbox saga. If that question made you laugh, utter some version of "hell yeah," or type "Saints Row 3 dildo" into your Google image search box, you and SRTT will get along famously. If you shifted uncomfortably in your seat, grumbled about kids these days, or fired off a how-dare-you email in the general vicinity of the Massively tip box, well, you can probably skip the rest of this week's MMO Burnout.
Tiny Brains is first project from former Assassin's Creed, Dead Space devs
Tiny Brains is the first game coming from a new Montreal-based developer called Spearhead Games, made up of developers from popular franchises like Assassin's Creed, Dead Space, and Army of Two. Developers Simon Darveau (who served as design director on Assassin's Creed 3), Malik Boukhira, and Atul Mehra are starting their company together with this co-op puzzle game in which four players, in the guise of test animals, escape a lab and defeat the scientists who have captured you. Platforms for the game are still unannounced, but Spearhead tells us it will be playable this weekend at PAX East. Given the pedigree, we look forward to seeing exactly what these guys have made.%Gallery-183228%
Assassin's Creed considered co-op, but it 'didn't fit' the story
"Before we knew about the Desmond story and Animus link, we had a huge co-op component in there," Assassin's Creed 3 mission director Philippe Bergeron has revealed. "But it just became too hard to do: the engine couldn't support it, and then the metaphor we had above it didn't support it."It's part of an interview featured in the current issue (95) of OXM on news stands right now. Initially the co-op feature was going to be a driving mechanic in the original Assassin's Creed, but Ubisoft abandoned the concept. "Co-op was one of those big things at the beginning that just didn't make sense in the end," Bergeron says. "For us it was really part of the single player experience, to have in-and-out co-op, and in the end we never thought it made sense in the storyline that we had for the Animus."Of course, once the idea became more and more about Desmond and the Animus, it didn't make sense to have someone else running around in Desmond's ancestral memories. "There was no way to reconcile having multiplayer or co-op in an ancestor's memories," Bergeron explains."Your ancestor lived his life in a certain way, so assuming you had branching storylines, it creates a paradox. It didn't fit."
MMO Burnout: Two weeks in the valley with Multi Theft Auto
OK, you know that guy who's always going on about how bloody awesome it would be if someone ever made a working multiplayer mod for Skyrim? If you don't know him, well, you do now, because he's me. Back before I was bitten in earnest by the MMO bug, I spent quite a lot of time messing with private servers of both the Jedi Academy and Neverwinter Nights persuasions. And when I say "messing with," I don't mean I logged into them, I mean I hosted them, made mods and skins for them, and generally wasted significant portions of my youth serving as a GM. Needless to say, it was a blast, and the thought of having that experience again in a larger game world is just short of orgasmic. Alas, no one has made much of a multiplayer Skyrim mod yet, and while private servers for NWN and Neverwinter Nights 2 are still running and serving their niche communities quite capably, those are topics for another edition of MMO Burnout. I'd like to tell you about something similar that I've been playing lately, though. It's called Multi Theft Auto. %Gallery-177696%
ZombiU co-op shelved early on, over 300,000 survivor deaths logged
We lauded the tense moment to moment survival of ZombiU play in our review, but some have criticized the game's lack of online co-op. Developer Ubisoft Montpellier says the idea was considered but scrapped fairly early into development.Producer Guillaume Brunier said "we thought we could not deliver it on time," citing the crunch to make Wii U launch in an interview with Nintendo World Report. "How to bring a cooperative experience and still keep fear and tension is a question we would love to address though."Other topics include potential DLC or even the notion that ZombiU has more games to come – Brunier didn't reveal much but did say that the Ubisoft Montpellier servers have the death logs of 300,000 survivors to draw from. "Who knows what we could do with them," he teased. Our suggestion? Stop scrapbooking our deaths, you monsters.
Free Far Cry 3 'High Tides' co-op DLC reaches PS3's shores in January
Two additional Far Cry 3 co-op chapters will be available for download on PS3 starting in January and you won't even have to break out the metal detector. Titled Jailbreak and Redemption, these free DLC chapters will be exclusive to Sony's platform and document events following the conclusion of the co-op campaign.Over on the PlayStation Blog, Meghan Watt from multiplayer side developer Massive Entertainment describes these additional chapters as "the final moments" of the four co-op campaign survivors. So a lot of lounging around and sipping on cocktails inside of coconuts? That's how we'd spend our "final moments" on a tropical island.
Playing with age in Starbreeze's 'Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons'
"Nobody knows how to make a game yet," says film director Josef Fares, quickly clarifying his statement isn't an attack on the industry but a suggestion that game creation shouldn't be a set science. "It's still a time where we're open to experimentation," the international director adds.Born in Lebanon, Fares grew up in Sweden where he became a director, but his next project pairs him with developer Starbreeze Games to create a game called Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (formerly referred to as "P13" in Starbreeze's internal "project" numbering system). Brothers has been in development for a number of years, with Fares even working on a few of the game's prototypes before the team at Starbreeze locked down the Unreal-developed downloadable title for a 2013 release.The core feature of Brothers is, of course, the game's siblings. But Fares says he's fought off all suggestions by his fellow game makers that the characters should each be controlled by a separate player. Instead, he says, Brothers is designed to have both characters controlled by a single player in a very specifically designed campaign experience.%Gallery-169592%
Super Mario 64 mod adds cooperative multiplayer
The hack seen in the above video delivers multiplayer options to Super Mario 64. Thanks to YouTube user Skelux, players that follow the given instructions to patch the Nintendo 64 game can enjoy local and online co-op throughout the entire classic adventure.For those disturbed by the obvious snubbing of Luigi in this hack, we're certain that the inclusion of Mario's long-lost cousin Blario isn't considered canon by Nintendo.
PSA: Krater co-op, Mayhem MK13 DLC packs drop today
Krater's latest DLC is out today on Steam, and it's co-op-tastic. The co-op DLC is the first of three free packs, while the Mayhem MK13 character is $3. He's also ugly. But in a good way. We think. Check out the video above and screens below to decide for yourself.
The Joystiq Indie Pitch: Party of Sin
Indie developers are the starving artists of the video-game world, often brilliant and innovative, but also misunderstood, underfunded and more prone to writing free-form poetry on their LiveJournals. We believe they deserve a wider audience with the Joystiq Indie Pitch: This week, Crankshaft Games' Daniel Menard talks about his PC co-op puzzle-platformer about breaking out of Hell and storming Heaven, Party of Sin. What's your game and what's it about?Our game is called Party of Sin. It's a puzzle-platformer where you get to embody the Seven Deadly Sins. The Sins are locked in a prison deep in hell after an angel sting operation lead by the arch-angel Michael. You must use the Sins' seven unique powers to solve puzzles and battle your way out of hell and take the fight to the angels in Heaven. You can swap sins at any time (much like Lost Vikings or Trine) and must combine their powers in interesting ways to overcome the challenges that await.The game also has a coop mode, and in coop the Sins can directly interact with each other. They can use their to help the team, or fall to the other side of morality and backstab / grief each other. Two players can't have the same sins, so there is a lot of social interaction involved in solving the puzzles.%Gallery-167543%
Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge to include playable Ayane, online co-op
Tecmo Koei introduced Dead or Alive/Ninja Gaiden mainstay supporting character Ayana as playable in Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge for the Wii U, in the only way it knows how: by first showing her getting a massage in the nude, and then ruthlessly slaughtering dozens and dozens of men, as seen in the trailer above.Playing through the entire game as either ninja is possible thanks to a new Chapter Challenge mode. Ayane's exploits won't be entirely solo, however, as an online co-op mode starring both her and resident ninja Ryu Hayabusa has also been announced for the port, according to Siliconera.Razor's Edge will also see the return of dismemberment capabilities, which is important considering that dismemberment physics are to Ninja Gaiden as those other physics are to Dead or Alive.%Gallery-165268%
Snapshot: A Virus Named Tom (PC)
There are so many games out there we couldn't possibly review them all. Welcome to Snapshot, where we highlight games that might fall outside our usual coverage but are still something we think you should know about. Today: A Virus Named Tom for PC. A Virus Named Tom developer Tim Keenan of Misfits Attic makes a point to mention the uniqueness of his game's 54 local multiplayer levels to every potential reviewer, in almost every email.He has good reason to do so.A Virus Named Tom is a tile-flipping exercise in cartoonish hacking simliar to Pipe Dream, but with a Jetsons-like futuristic twist. As the single-player campaign ramps up in difficulty, it becomes a challenging, stressful and exhilarating test of dexterity and logic – but A Virus Named Tom is better as a multiplayer game, if only so you don't feel so idiotic for failing to solve yet another grid-based puzzle on the first try.After all, failing with a friend is always better than failing alone. Take those suckers down with you.
The Joystiq Indie Pitch: Wyv and Keep
Indie developers are the starving artists of the video-game world, often brilliant and innovative, but also misunderstood, underfunded and more prone to writing free-form poetry on their LiveJournals. We believe they deserve a wider audience with the Joystiq Indie Pitch: This week, the happy crew from Jolly Corpse describes the joy of retro co-op on modern machines with Wyv and Keep. What's your game called and what's it about?Jesse: Wyv and Keep is a 2D platform-puzzler starring two rookie treasure hunters. It's packed with team-based puzzles where you must use both characters to unlock and reach a door to the next level. You can play solo, switching between the two, or cooperatively, locally on one computer, or online.It's also full of adventure, twitch-action and comedy. You'll be dodging poison darts, snakes and spear-throwing pygmies, leaping over spike traps and pits of lava, and using TNT to blast through crumbling walls and floors. All the while you'll be entertained by the looney antics and witty banter of adventure-loving Wyv and cunning Keep!David: It's about getting really frustrated with the person playing with you – or, if you are that person, it's about repeatedly making ever-so-slight mis-steps to wind up your partner.
Spec Ops: The Line updated with co (spec)-op
Today, you and a friend can confront the grim reality of war together! 2K Games announced a free update for the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC versions of Spec Ops: The Line that adds a cooperative multiplayer game mode for two players. As usual, expect the PS3 version to be available sometime today, whenever the PlayStation Store updates.The new co-op mode consists of four objective-based missions, "each with its own unique objectives, environments, and playable characters."
Co-opinion: XCOM: Enemy Unknown multiplayer
.portal-left { padding: 10px; background: #CCC; margin: 20px 0; min-height: 85px; } .portal-right { padding: 10px; margin: 20px 0; min-height: 85px; } .portal-right img { padding-left: 5px; } .portal-left img { padding-right: 5px; } Richard Mitchell: So Alexander and I got a chance to try out the XCOM: Enemy Unknown multiplayer mode at Gamescom. Both of us played single-player before, so we had some idea of what we were getting into – but multiplayer is an entirely different beast. Using a pool of points, players "purchase" the units that will comprise their team: XCOM soldiers, aliens, or a mix of both. The standard match has a pool of 10,000 points and a turn time of 90 seconds. For this press demo, we had a whopping 20,000 points and 120 seconds. It sounds like a lot of time, but it wasn't – more on that in a bit. What units did you pick? (Keep in mind, folks, I had no idea what I was going to face on the field, and neither did Alexander.) Alexander Sliwinski: I believe in the power of humanity! Actually, no, it's mostly that I'd never played an XCOM game prior to the E3 demo, and I had no idea about each race's powers. So, I went with three human soldiers, two Thin Men and then spent a massive 7,300 points on an assault gunner with an alloy cannon. I figured I'd wipe out any alien scum you threw at me.%Gallery-162799%
Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition has cross-platform playability
Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition will support cross-platform co-op, allowing the iPad to function with Android, Mac and PC, creative director Trent Oster has tweeted. This augments news of multiplayer functionalities first reported in March. To be precise:"#bgee will have co-op multiplayer and will work across platforms. iPad can play with Android, Mac and PC. On happy gaming family."Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition will launch September 18 for PC, in September for iOS and Mac, and at an unannounced time for Android devices. It is available for pre-order now, for $18 rather than the full $20 if purchased once it officially launches.
Assassin's Creed 3 multiplayer trailer sneaks out
A new trailer for Assassin's Creed 3 multiplayer was posted on GameTrailers yesterday. Apparently it wasn't quite ready for prime time, as it was quickly taken down – but not quickly enough to keep it off YouTube. The trailer is framed as a commercial for Animus technology, created by the evil Abstergo Corporation that's dogged Desmond across several games now, and showcases several different multiplayer modes and features.Check out the video for a look at character customization as well as the Domination and Wolfpack modes, which we tried out earlier this month at Comic-Con.
