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Check out a DC Universe Online interview, gameplay video
Mahalo spoke with DC Universe Online Executive Producer John Blakely at Comic Con this week and videotaped the conversation, along with a whole bunch of gameplay. The gameplay includes a player running around at lightning speed, scaling walls, picking up and throwing cars, and some gunplay. In the interview, Blakely said that to watch DCUO's MySpace page for updates about the release date and other news. Specific gameplay info was thin, but he did suggest that player skill will matter just as much as your character's abilities. They all say that, though, and unfortunately it's usually only half true. Mahalo also recorded video of a panel on which famous comic book writer Stan Lee glowingly talked about storytelling in video games. We've embedded both parts of that video beyond the jump.
Bartle to old guard: "We've already won"
In a wonderful, feel-good-story-of-the-year type of article, Richard Bartle, the father of online gaming, has written a laudable rant in the Guardian, essentially informing the old school haters that they're officially obsolete. You know the ones -- every reporter making a quick buck off of the party line that videogames are dangerous to our psyches; every politician riding the easy ticket of attacking our hobby in the name of protecting the children; every concerned parental activist group calling for the heads of the developers who worked on our chosen pastime -- Bartle has given them notice. In his delightfully-worded article, Bartle reminds us all that these witch hunts are generational: previously, it was television; before that, the enemy was rock 'n' roll, comic books, even the novel. People fear what they don't understand, and aggression is what they employ to mask that fear. Every previous generation seeks to destroy the entertainment of the new generation, and for our age, it's the videogame that's under fire. Bartle understands this and quite calmly uses this knowledge to signal an end to the previous generation's influence. Yet he doesn't just condemn, he also offers a way out.
DC Comics to publish Gears of War series
DC Comics has been busy today, first announcing its kooperation with fighting series stalwart, Mortal Kombat in Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe and also announcing plans for a comic book series based on the Gears of War franchise. We're quite certain that none of this has to do with the New York Comic-Con which, totally coincidentally, got underway today. The series, due in October – again, we're sure this has nothing to do with Gears of War 2: Chainsaw Boogaloo – will be published under DC's WildStorm imprint, whom you may remember from the World of Warcraft comic. No word on the creative team responsible for curb-stomping the video game into the confines of the comic book format, but we're sure any number of lonely high-schoolers with notebooks full of pictures of rifles with chainsaw bayonets would kill for the job.
Ten Ton drops the Hammer on 2008
Almost all gaming sites this time of year weigh in with their predictions for what the new year will bring, but I particularly like what TenTonHammer has seen in their crystal ball. Plus, I just like saying "Ten Ton drops the Hammer." It's fun. Try it.A few of their eight predictions hit close to home with me. In particular, their first prophecy regarding Jumpgate Evolution. I was a huge fan of NetDevil's now defunct MMO, Auto Assault. Not because their shop is only an hour north of me here in Colorado, or that I seemingly enjoy virtually everything NCsoft puts out, but because it was as close to a Mad Max movie as there was. I'm a post apocalyptic junkie. Sadly... it went the way of the Cuban Missile Crisis and died enigmatically. So I can't wait to see how they update their cult sci-fi game, and... well, see how it jumps out of the gate! Oy. Next up, they forecast that Cryptic Studios will at long last release some information about Marvel Universe Online. If I was a gambler I might bet against this, but stranger things have happened. As an obsessed City of Heroes player (and confirmed alt-aholic), my love of the game grew from my passion for comic books. In particular, Marvel comic books. I want to see what the creators of my favorite spandex covered game can do with yet another spandex covered game that's different from the first one, and how are they going to get me to play that one just as much as this one. Confused? So is Britney, but she's doing fine. Sort of.Anyway, be sure to check out Hammer's other prognostications and let us know what you think 2008 holds for this oh so massive industry!
A glimpse of things to come from 38 Studios
The keen eyes of Cyndre from the Kill Ten Rats blog has spotted rare images from 38 Studios top secret, as-yet-to-be-named MMO. On Friday, December 14, the Boston news channel NECN did a video interview (see above clip) with Curt Schilling (he, along with R.A. Salvatore and Todd McFarlane comprise the new gaming company 38 Studios) regarding the announcement of their 1st Annual Game Design Challenge. Which is a very cool endeavor in and of itself. According to Cyndre, right around the 1:16 mark of the three minute video interview you'll see images from their game. This has possibly been corroborated on the blog since someone purporting to be Curt Schilling left a comment saying that the animation shown was from pre-production, the phase they are in now. Curt Schilling (famous professional baseball player) is an avid MMO player. Combined with supremely talented R.A. Salvatore (famous fantasy author) and Todd McFarlane (famous comic book artist and writer), the expectations for a spectacular gaming experience is very high indeed. Catching even a quick glimpse of what these guys have in store for gamers is news worthy.
Read comic books on your Nintendo DS
Joystiq's sister site DS Fanboy recently posted about a homebrew effort called Comic Book DS that lets you transfer comics from your computer and read them book-style with the DS flipped on end. You don't have to conceal issues of Action Comics underneath an old copy of Newsweek that you swiped off your dentist's waiting table on your commute any longer. Now people will think you're doing some serious work on your stylish PDA while you secretly use the touchscreen to pan and zoom on comic panels -- pure genius. Comic book fanboys can rid themselves of their secret shame.If you're wondering when pr0n will start appearing on your DS so it can catch up to the PSP, you either have to wait for the browser -- available only in Japan, or else check out the ... educational effort from Ubisoft's Heather Kelley. Will that thing support multiplayer?What are some real-life things you'd like to see migrate to your DS? Personally, we'd love a Checkbook Lite program to keep track of our finances, since the DS is so checkbook-ish looking already. Maybe even turn it into an RPG so we could level-up our savings. If someone made balancing finances fun, more people might actually do it. Final Fantasy XXXIV: Tax Time, here we come.[Thanks AF]
Interview indulges Marvel: Ultimate Hype
We're regular readers of Superhero Hype!, a fact rendered unsurprising given our unhealthy obsession with gravity-defying men and women in brightly colored garb. The site recently posted a drab interview with Matthew Paul, producer of the upcoming altruistic all-stars adventure, Marvel: Ulltimate Alliance. Little did we know that the article would contain such a high volume of fluff, reading it would be akin to getting smothered by a pillow in your sleep. Locking an Activision PR person in a room and having them read a press release aloud would likely have resulted in a more intriguing investigation into the game's features. Features like unbelievable, hyper-real graphics!When queried about the game's graphics on next-generation systems, Mr. Paul points out the "life-like" textures on Captain America and The Thing, commenting that there are times when "you feel more like you're watching a blockbuster Super Hero movie as opposed to a video game because it looks so real." Right. Ignoring the fact that the official PS3 screenshot above flamboyantly contradicts such a claim (and such acclaim), it's unbelievable that the interview doesn't change course when it suddenly finds itself covering the "real" nature of comic book characters and movies. It looks so real it's like watching a movie? That must be the one directed by Hyper Boll -- we've seen it far too many times already.
Superman needs no health bar [update 1]
The Superman franchise has some bad luck on the gaming market, and not just Superman 64, considered by many to be one of the worst games ever made. After taking a look at 1UP's feature chronicling the worst Superman video games, one thing was made abundantly clear: developers don't like to make Superman ... well ... super. Every Superman title shown had the Man of Steel burdened by a health bar, fighting to protect himself against countless thugs and hackneyed plots. The hackneyed plots are fine, but Superman has only one weakness, and it is not a punch to the face. Developers put too much emphasis on a health bar, prevalent in almost every game now (even Mario gained a health bar when he went 3D). Let's make one thing abundantly clear: Superman needs no health bar. He's Superman.
ComicBookLover
Bit Cartel has recently released ComicBookLover, an application that allows you to view, organize, and archive your digital comics. It sports a number of very cool features including: full screen mode on external monitors, smartlists, auto-resizing of pages and much more.All of this for a low, low price of $24.95. How can you go wrong? Plus the icon is very cool.
Get a glimpse of the Halo graphic novel
Marvel is offering a sneak peak at the upcoming Halo Graphic Novel (that's HGN for those of us in the know). They're teasing the Halo-faithful with some panels from each of the four main stories -- "The Last Voyage of the Infinite Succor," "Armor Testing," "Breaking Quarantine," and "Second Sunrise Over New Mombasa" -- as well as a short strip titled "Shore Leave: Master Chief on Holiday." It also has the release date emblazoned on the back page: oh seven-twelve-oh six. That's less than a month away, fanboy. You can make it. We believe in you. Master Chief believes in you. *Registration is required so try user/pass: gimmewallpaper/gimmewpaper (Bugmenot). [Update: Forget Marvel's obnoxious, interactive, reg-required site. Check out Bungie.org for some regular, plain-ole JPGs and a little background on the preview. Thanks, supersloth!]
