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Get an explosive taste of the 'Doom' multiplayer mode
Doom is upon us. The closed alpha for id Software's Doom launches tomorrow, October 23rd (at midnight ET) and runs through October 25th. The alpha is available to those who pre-ordered the game online before May 24th and people who redeemed beta codes found in some physical copies of Wolfenstein: The New Order. But even if you aren't one of the destined few, fear not -- you can get a taste of Doom's multiplayer in the gameplay video below. Doom is due out in spring 2016 for PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
'Half-Life' barely runs on a smartwatch
We were getting a little tired of playing Doom on every household appliance known to man, office printers and even inside the game itself. That's why it's a nice change to see that it's now possible to play Half-Life on your Android smartwatch, thanks to software modder extraordinaire Dave Bennett. He's been able to squeeze SDLash3D, an open-source emulator for some of Valve's early titles, onto the LG's first generation G Watch. Unfortunately, playing the title from your wrist is problematic, since the frame rate can dip down pretty low and the small screen doesn't leave you a lot of room to use the soft controls. Still, anything's better than having to bum around Knee-Deep in the Dead for the millionth time when we're bored on a bus.
'Doom' multiplayer test run starts 'in the coming months'
It's time to put that Doom alpha code from your PlayStation 4, Xbox One or PC copy of Wolfenstein: The New Order to use if you already haven't redeemed it. Publisher Bethesda's announced that access to the Hell-bound shooter's first multiplayer test will open up "in the coming months." The post on Bethblog says that if you bought the game digitally there's no need to hassle with redeeming keys as you're automagically entered into the selection pool, too. Let's say you didn't buy the latest Wolfenstein though and only pre-ordered Doom after witnessing its big reveal at E3 last month. Well, in that case you have to wait for Doom's beta and that won't happen until next year ahead of the game's scheduled when it's done spring release window. Folks attending id's Quakecon in Texas this weekend, however, get a leg up on everyone else and have access to a pre-alpha build of the multiplayer mode.
Hack makes playing 'Doom' on a computer inside 'Doom' a reality
You know, in case there isn't a printer, ATM or graphing calculator readily available.
ICYMI: Hitchhiking robot, 'Doom' within 'Doom' and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-245360{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-245360, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-245360{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-245360").style.display="none";}catch(e){} Today on In Case You Missed It: A kid exhibit in New York uses Kinects for an immersive environment experience. A robot is hitchhiking across the U.S. and wants strangers to take it to places like the Grand Canyon for the photo-ops. And game coders hacked up Doom to play another version of Doom inside it.
Bethesda launches a hub for all things 'Fallout,' 'Doom' and more
Bethesda.net is the new hub where all of Bethesda's news, mods and content will reside, as announced today during the company's pre-E3 press conference. Bethesda.net was revealed in tandem with the new Doom and its Snapmap functionality, which lets players create and share levels and gameplay modes across platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.
Gaming hall of fame inducts 'Pong,' 'Tetris' and other classics
The results are in. After a selection process that lasted nearly four months, the newly created World Video Game Hall of Fame has announced its first class inductees. Doom, Pac-Man, Pong, Super Mario Bros., Tetris and World of Warcraft were chosen by The National Museum of Play for 2015, narrowing down the choices from a list of 15 finalists. So which games, which you helped vote for, were left out? That includes other classics like Space Invaders, Sonic the Hedgehog, The Legend of Zelda and The Sims -- although the museum did say these will likely be part of next year's nominee class.
Play classic MS-DOS games without even leaving Twitter
Although they went live at the very start of the year, it was like all of our Christmases had come at once when Archive.org added 2,400 playable MS-DOS games to its website. Retro titles like Maniac Mansion, Oregon Trail and Doom are all available, with the only downside being that you have to visit each specific game's page to play them. However, the eagle-eyed folk at Wired noticed these have recently started working on Twitter, meaning you can get all of your social networking done while simultaneously saving Sandy Pantz from the evil Dr Fred. Thanks to Twitter's Cards platform, all you have to do is tweet the URL of the game you want to play and it'll take care of the rest. You can even embed the tweet (and thus the game) inside a webpage, exactly like we've done below.
'Doom' selfie mod lets you indulge your ego while slaying demons
Like it or not, selfies in games are officially a "thing" -- and they're now invading classic titles like Doom. Linguica's new InstaDoom mod lets you spin the virtual camera around to take a shot of your Doom (or Doom II) marine, complete with Instagram-like filters and the seemingly inescapable selfie stick. Yes, you can now show your friends that you've killed a Spiderdemon by striking an obnoxious pose over its body. Is this a novelty? You bet. Still, it's fun to see a decades-old shooter make a commentary on the modern obsession with narcissistic photos.
Games of a Lifetime: Jessica's picks
After more than ten years devoted to video games and the people who make them, Joystiq is closing its doors. We won't be reporting on the best games of 2015, so join us for one last hurrah as the Joystiq family reveals their Games of a Lifetime. Tetris Grandma can beat you at Tetris. This was a foundation of my childhood and an irrefutable truth as I was growing up. Grandma would sit in her office, in front of a bulky 90s-era television, NES plugged in, and she would dominate level after level of rapidly falling tetrominos. My cousins and I would try to do the same and always end up supremely behind her high scores, but always ready to try just one more round. To this day, I'm still ready. Here's to you, Grandma, my own Original Gamer, and here's to Tetris, my Original Game.
RetroBlazer feels like Doom by way of Saturday morning cartoons
Amil Parra isn't a big fan of violence. That might sound strange coming from a man designing an homage to '90s sprite-based FPS games like Doom and Wolfenstein 3D, but one look at the game in motion and it becomes obvious that the inspiration Parra draws from those games is the feel, not the aesthetic. Meet RetroBlazer: a PC game that feels like a 1994 run-and-gun shooter, but looks like something you'd catch between episodes of Biker Mice From Mars and Mighty Ducks (that's the cartoon featuring space-ducks fighting space-dinosaurs by the way, not the live-action film featuring a lawyer fighting to be a better person).
'MythBusters' tackles 'Doom' and the lore of first-person shooters
Have you ever wondered if a regular human could carry the health packs, guns, chainsaw and all the other stuff from Doom? Well, it looks like we're about to find out. The disproving duo of Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman tackle scenarios from that title this weekend (January 31st at 9 PM ET) on a special video games episode of MythBusters. With the help of id Software creative director Tim Willits, the team recreated a level of Doom to see what's what when it comes to human strength in first-person shooters. If you're familiar with the show, you know that a couple of myths are typically addressed in a single episode, so perhaps we'll get a Call of Duty or Gears of War segment, too. For now, a trailer for Saturday's installment resides after the break.
'Doom' designer John Romero tells you about the game while playing it
Most Blu-rays and DVDs these days come with filmmaker commentary tracks, but it isn't too often you get to hear a game developer give play-by-play while running through something they created. That's the thrust behind the latest episodes of Double Fine Productions' "Devs Play" YouTube series, spotted by Polygon. Here we have one of Doom's co-creators John Romero playing a handful of maps from the legendary first-person shooter that runs on basically any platform. He breaks down everything from the work that went into differentiating it from id's other FPS Wolfenstein 3D, how the team used texture irregularities to denote secret rooms and even how he's watched speed runs that not even he can replicate. Oh, and he designed the first level last, incorporating everything he'd learned throughout the other missions to make the initial one the most interesting.
Gaming off the grid: Video game-inspired board games
If you're looking for family fun but don't want to stray too far from the video game franchises you know and love, tabletop gaming may be the perfect alternative for you this holiday season. While there are countless (and not very entertaining) licensed board games available at big box retailers – like Mario-themed Monopoly or Halo-themed Risk – there are far better options available for those looking to further explore their favorite video game worlds. Here is a collection of some of our favorite board and card games based on video game franchises. If you're looking for a fun activity for family and friends this holiday, you can't go wrong with these fantastic board and card games. >>Our favorite video game-inspired board games<<
Joystiq Weekly: Final Fantasy 15, The Crew review, readers' favorite PS1 games and more
Welcome to Joystiq Weekly, a "too long; didn't read" of each week's biggest stories, reviews and original content. Each category's top story is introduced with a reactionary gif, because moving pictures aren't just for The Daily Prophet. The Final Fantasy series has had a fun couple of weeks lately, but between the PC version of Final Fantasy 7 coming to the PS4 and Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster's incoming port, most of its news is focused on the past. Leave it to the spring release of Final Fantasy Type-0 HD, a take on an old PSP game, to bring things into the present – those that grab a copy from Type-0's first run will get an exclusive demo of Final Fantasy 15. So, Final Fantasy fans: Is it going to work? Are you going for Type-0 HD solely because of the demo, or do you kind of want to play the game anyway? Don't worry if it's the former – plenty of people only bought Crackdown to get into the Halo 3 beta before even realizing developer Realtime Worlds' superhero sandbox had its own merits. Demos and ports weren't the only thing that happened this week – The internet seemingly frustrated Tekken series producer Katsuhiro Harada enough to keep a character out of the North American release, we reviewed The Crew and Never Alone, and we highlighted our readers' favorite PS1 games. Those stories and more are all waiting for you after the break!
Celebrate Doom's 21st birthday with 'never-before-seen' development art
Iconic shooter Doom turned 21 this week, but there's one thing to do before it goes for a wild night out on Phobos. Yes, it's time for an "awwww-mommmm" gander at some baby pictures! Designer John Romero took to Twitter to reveal an album's worth of "never-before-seen" development art ... which technically makes them less baby pictures and more fetal scans. Anyway... we've bundled them all into a gallery, so gather round, everyone! D'awwwww! Now what about that next shooter, Mr. Romero? PS: For more on info on what you're looking at, have a peek through John Romero's Twitter feed. [Images: John Romero]
Ultima Online dares you to seek the Treasures of Doom
Ultima Online's publish 87 arrives on all shards today, bringing with it Halloween gifts as well as a fresh round of 17th anniversary gifts meant as an apology for their tardiness. The patch introduces a new Halloween event, Treasures of Doom, which funnels players into the dungeon Doom. Artifacts collected inside the dungeon can be traded to new NPC researchers stationed outside in return for brand-new titles and loot items, including named lanterns, unique slayer bonus buffs, and several pieces of high-end gear. The update also installs bug fixes for the vice vs. virtue PvP system, trade quests, and enhanced client. The game's standard trick-or-treating events run until November 19th, while the Treasures of Doom promotion continues until December 1st and won't resume again until Halloween next year.
Can you play Doom on a printer? Yes you Canon
With wearable computers like Google Glass and Apple Watch wooing the tech obsessed, it's hard not to feel bad for older machines showing their age. Printers no doubt look at fax machines and imagine a grim future of irrelevance, but they can buck up thanks to hot new game support! Printers are finally getting id's Doom just 21 years after the game came out. Only one printer is actually running Doom at the moment. Michael Jordon, a researcher with Context Information Security spent four months hacking a Canon Pixma printer to get it to run the classic shooter. The Pixma's online access interface lets owners check on the status of their printer remotely via a web browser, but it also created a massive vulnerability to hacking as noticed by Jordon. Once he realized the extent to which he could access one of the printers through the web, he got it running every hacker's delight. "Running Doom, that's real proof you control the thing," Jordon told the BBC.
There's a Canon printer that can run 'Doom' (really)
It's been over twenty years since the original Doom first hit PCs, and we're still obsessed with getting the damned thing running on just about everything with a processor. See that tiny screen up there? That's a Canon PIXMA printer that's been coaxed into running the classic shoot-em-up, thanks to a bit of elbow grease and an once-insecure web interface that lets users remotely print test pages and download firmware updates. Since you didn't need to punch in a username and password to access that interface, security researcher Michael Jordon used that oversight to get the lowly-printer to executing foreign code. The end result? Yet another device we can use in our apparently never-ending war against hellspawn (though the color palette does get a little screwy sometimes). Naturally, don't expect to pull the same fast one on your own for much longer -- Canon plans to release a fix the issue as soon as it's "feasible".
'Rise of the Tomb Raider' is a 2015 exclusive for Xbox One
Hoping for some Xbox One exclusives to be announced at Gamescom? You're in the right place. Phil Harrison, corporate VP at Microsoft, just announced Rise of the Tomb Raider will be coming to the platform around a "holiday" next year (though we're not sure which). It'll be the latest instalment of the legendary franchise, one that's probably older than many of the people who will play it. Even if it isn't the "definitive version."
