e3-2009
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Sony's Lempel: 'You're not going to see trophies on the PSP'
With Sony's Trophy system coming up on its one-year anniversary this month, we were eager to learn how Sony could enhance the service, leveraging the PlayStation brand and distancing itself from the Xbox 360's Achievements system. So, during E3 last week, we asked Eric Lempel – Director of PlayStation Network Operations – when Trophies would make their way to the PSP, newly invigorated by the PSP Go announcement. Lempel said, bluntly, "You're not going to see Trophies on the PSP." Now, before you curse his name, hear him out, okay? Lempel explains that "there are a few reasons" you won't see Trophies on PSP and, chief amongst them is "keeping it secure." See ... the PSP has been hacked. A lot. Like, a lot a lot. Lempel says that "if people can artificially inflate their rankings and amounts of Trophies" via the PSP on a shared PlayStation-wide Trophy system then it "kills the whole [Trophy] system," PS3 included. So "keeping it secure, keeping it fair" is the best solution – but that means no Trophies on PSP.And, since the PSP has that same promised 10-year life cycle (as evidenced most recently by the PSP Go) it'll be some time before we get an entirely new (and ostensibly secure) PSP platform upon which a functioning Trophy system might be grafted. See you in 2015!
E3 2009: A chat with Cities XL's Alexandre Zambeaux
Last week at E3, we had a chance to sit down with Alexandre Zambeaux, Marketing Director for Cities XL developer Monte Cristo Games, for some more info on the current state of the game, and what MMO gamers can expect from such a project. You may remember a pre-beta Q&A we did with the Monte Cristo team a few months ago, and as the game hasn't hit an open beta just yet, it will later this year. The info we got from that initial interview helped carve an idea in our heads of what this whole city-building MMO could possibly be, but now we're happy to offer a few more details.Even though this meeting was very informal, we took some great info away from Alexandre to relay to you, the readers. Follow along after the jump to find out more about the business model, expandability, gameplay and more.
Hands-on: The Saboteur
Lead designer Tom French calls this world "Disneyland Paris." That's not exactly what came to mind as I jumped from rooftop to rooftop dodging Nazis, machine gun fire, and rockets, but French wasn't characterizing this bleak, occupied (and dangerous) World War II-era recreation of the city. The Saboteur features a scaled down, open-world Paris with oversize landmarks splitting the skyline (like Disneyland!) that trails off into countryside connected to parts of Germany.The entire world has been stripped of color, save for those blood-red symbols of Nazism and oppression. As Sean Devlin (inspired by the real Grand Prix star turned SOE special agent William Grover-Williams), I attempted to bring a little color -- what Pandemic calls "Will to Fight" -- back to Paris as I took on a demo mission to destroy a pesky BFG. %Gallery-49266%
Miyamoto "not worried at all" about Sony and Microsoft's motion controllers
Sony and Microsoft certainly turned the motion-sensing heat up on Nintendo at E3 last week, but it doesn't seem like Shigeru Miyamoto is all that concerned at the moment -- he just told the BBC that while he's "flattered" his competitors are "moving in the same direction," he's "not worried at all" about Project Natal or the Playstation motion controller because "they don't have the type of depth that we're able to provide with Wii Motion Plus." Snap. We don't know about that -- we certainly haven't been blown away by Motion Plus -- but we can see why Nintendo's not sweating it just yet: the Wii's a runaway hit and a pop-culture phenomenon, while Natal and the PSMC are still tech demos without announced ship dates or even final names. That said, it's clear that Microsoft and Sony don't intend to just cede this space to Mario and Co., so we'll see how Nintendo fights back -- we'll tell you right now that the Wii Vitality Sensor ain't gonna cut it. [Via Joystiq]
E3 2009: New classes, prestige classes and more coming to Free Realms
Are you one of the folks who has leveled your classes all the way to max in Free Realms and are kind of wondering what now? Well, if you're the type who loves progression and really building your character up to be better, you're in luck. The folks at SOE are planning to introduce Prestige classes (much like the aforementioned racing ones) that will allow players to level their jobs to 20, and improve them through further play.Along with this interesting development, they are adding in some new jobs to the game, like the Pro Racing class - and perhaps a new class to go with the Soccer game (Soccer player? Footballer?) since SOE has let us know that they are finally bringing those fenced-off soccer fields into play. Added to these new tidbits will be further expansion on the backstory of Free Realms, which will explain a bit more about the lands and inhabitants of this crazy fun casual MMO, as well as opening up more story-driven quests for players. Sounds like a bunch of exciting news coming in the next few months! We can't wait. Massively was on the ground in Los Angeles last week and covering all the latest E3 MMO news coming from the convention. Check out our breaking coverage (or all the Joystiq network E3 reporting) and keep your eye on Massively's front page for the latest developments.
Here's what Last.fm on Xbox 360 looks like
Click for the first of many Last.fm images One of the more interesting questions that arose from Microsoft's keynote during last week's E3 was just how Last.fm would be implemented. Well, let Joystiq help clear the air of confusion, as Microsoft has dished out some screens depicting the interface for the soon-to-be Xbox 360-compatible music service. It looks pretty streamlined, if we may say so, with easily identifiable links to tags and artists similar to what you're currently listening to. What we didn't know, however, is that Last.fm will also be a bridge between the Xbox 360 and its closest competitor, Sony's PS3. See the "Play Station" above? When the service releases, you'll be able to play Infamous on your Xbox 360. For reals! %Gallery-65408%
Hands-on: Line Attack Heroes
Nintendo's Line Attack Heroes seems like a game from another time. The self-contained, themed, square levels and simplistic bring to mind NES classics like Kickle Cubicle and Adventures of Lolo and retro arcade games like Toy Pop more than any modern game. Unlike those, however, Line Attack Heroes is all action, with no puzzles to be found, except for perhaps the puzzle of why this is so much fun.%Gallery-33430%
Hands-on: LittleBigPlanet PSP
Perhaps Sony and Media Molecule could have thought up a more clever title: LittleBigPlanet: Portable Sized Platforming ... or Pint-sized Super Playfield. Ignoring the fact that these are terrible title suggestions, we'd have to say LittleBigPlanet PSP works so well because it captures the simple essence of what this game is all about. This is without a doubt LittleBigPlanet on-the-go, nuts, bolts and stickers included.The colorful world of Sackboy and friends translates very well on the PSP screen. Sure, the game is missing many of the lighting and particle effects that make the PS3 game look so good, but considering PSP's limitations, this is an incredibly good fascimile of the original. Even in its early state, the framerate holds up surprisingly well. Even more surprising: it appears the game's use of physics has been largely retained.If the demonstration level at E3 is any indication, it appears PSP owners will be able to create levels of equal complexity as on the PS3. The level we played showcased the requisite spins, swings and grabbable sponges so integral to the LBP experience.%Gallery-64980%
E3 2009: A taste of what's to come in Runes of Magic
We had the chance to sit down and catch up with the guys from Frogster Interactive as well as a few of the Runewaker Entertainment developers at E3. While we knew Elves were coming to Runes of Magic, we didn't have too many details of just precisely how they'd be implemented into the game. As part of our talk, they let me check out the never-before-seen area that the elves will be a part of, as well as showing off some of the new instance content and guild buildings that they're adding to the game. This next chapter - The Elven Prophecy - will give players the option of playing the elven race (surprise) which starts out in a strange and wonderous new area. Beyond that, they're also working on PvP arenas, destructible guild buildings, and some new epic powers. Along with this sweeping update, the game is being updated with several graphic improvements including updates to things like water, and adding in some incidental sounds and music to start to help close the gap in regards to the dearth of sound issue many have decried Runes of Magic for. If you'd like a preview into some of these areas, be sure to check the gallery below, as well as the newly-released trailer showing off the Elven Prophecy, coming to Runes of Magic this September!%Gallery-65389% Massively was on the ground in Los Angeles last week and covering all the latest E3 MMO news coming from the convention. Check out our breaking coverage (or all the Joystiq network E3 reporting) and keep your eye on Massively's front page for the latest developments.
Itagaki has only nice things to say about Team Ninja's Metroid project
Being away from Tecmo seems to have done wonders for Tomonobu Itagaki's attitude. In an E3 interview with 1UP's James Mielke, the former Team Ninja head said he was "very honored and pleased to be of service" in response to the suggestion that Ninja Blade was a close imitation of Ninja Gaiden. He admitted he was "pretty tired" of making games featuring super-unrealistic women. He even went so far as to praise Tekken 6 director Katsuhiro Harada, only hating on Tekken when pressed.And rather than harbor hard feelings against his former Team Ninja colleagues who stayed on with Tecmo, Itagaki offered well wishes to the team and its Metroid: Other M project. He called Yoshio Sakamoto, Nintendo's producer on the game, "a veteran I really respect," and suggested that Team Ninja's Yosuke Hayashi "will learn a lot working with him. I hope Team Ninja works hard in making a good game." We like Nice Itagaki! The only ire was reserved for Bayonetta. "If I made a similar game as a game I made in the company I quit," he said about Platinum's Hideki Kamiya, "people would say, 'What an idiot, can't he make anything else?' Well, that is more or less the opinion I have for, uh, that Bayo-something game."
WoW Insider Show Episode 93: Avoiding the scam
Our podcast was so much fun last Saturday that we went even longer than usual -- this week instead of the usual hour, you get nearly an hour and ten minutes for your download (and all for the same low, low price of free!). Robin Torres and Lesley Smith joined Turpster and me to talk about what I did at E3 last week (meeting Michele Boyd was definitely a highlight), the new Druid forms and how they look, what's new in the game with 3.1.3, and some recent player achievements, including Ensidia's big win, and the no-deaths character. Plus, we talked with Robin about her recent scam experience, and how you can avoid having something like that happen to you in the future. One quick note: during the show, we guessed that Blizzard would never ask you for your Authenticator passcode, but that's not true: they do require you to give it to them when you sign in on their site. But our other tips are valid: if you make sure that you're the one typing the URL in to "blizzard.com" or "WorldofWarcraft.com," then you'll never have to worry about any sneaky sites grabbing your name and password.And of course we answered your emails as usual -- if you have any movie posters to send in to us this week, you can send them along to theshow@wow.com. Enjoy the show, we'll see you next weekend.Get the podcast:[iTunes] Subscribe to the WoW Insider Show directly in iTunes.[RSS] Add the WoW Insider Show to your RSS aggregator.[MP3] Download the MP3 directly.Listen here on the page:
E3 2009: Fallen Earth lead designer says 'We're not the Fallout MMO'
It's a post-apocalyptic world. Civilization has completely collapsed. You find yourself scavenging for food and supplies on a barren American frontier. And the thing you're looking for? Clean water. Just watch out for giant mutants along the way. No, I didn't just describe a Fallout game. Well, actually I did, but I'm also loosely describing the plot of Fallen Earth. Developed by North Carolina-based studio Fallen Earth LLC, the MMO shooter takes place during the near future in America's Grand Canyon and allows players to switch between third- and first-person views. The game promises over 600 hours of play, extensive character customization, no fixed classes but six factions, and plenty of everything that good MMOs have to offer: an epic, immersive story, voice-over in missions as well as tons of equipment, weapons, vehicles, crafting and PvP. However, besides all that, there was one main idea that lead designer Lee Hammock wanted me to take away from our demo session at E3: Fallen Earth is not the Fallout MMO. See his explanation why.
Hands-on: Overlord Dark Legend
Overlord Dark Legend is an all-new Wii adventure set in the fractured fantasy world of the dark lord and his minions. The game puts players in the steel shoes of a younger overlord in a more fractured fairy tale setting than those of the series proper.Despite Dark Legend taking the minion's debauchery down a notch (they don't get drunk, vomit or pee), the core evilness is still present in the adolescent Overlord. The title is still a "core" gamer's game, which is part of publisher Codemaster's strategy for the console. For those who have never played an Overlord title before, Dark Legend brings the authentic experience in a new package.%Gallery-45512%
Impressions: Undead Knights (PSP)
A game filled with zombies made by Tecmo -- sounds like a recipe for success, right? Unfortunately, the demo we saw at E3 didn't inspire much confidence in the upcoming PSP exclusive. Conceptually, Undead Knights seems ripe for fun: imagine creating a zombie horde to tear apart your enemies and do your bidding. Instead, what we saw at E3 was an unpolished, uninspired brawler that doesn't take advantage of its unique premise or the PSP hardware.After an impressive CG intro, we see a world that's ... brown. Most games nowadays have broken away from a monochromatic color scheme, but looks like Undead Knights didn't get the memo. The drab look just doesn't look very good on the PSP screen. A hulking figure takes the screen, and starts pummeling enemies with a sword. How does this invovle zombies? Well, you can go up for a finishing move, transforming your victim into a mindless zombie.%Gallery-65172%
DS trailers and screens you may not have seen yet
Nintendo announced a ton of new games at its E3 keynote, but it announced even more afterward. We've decided to round up the trailers and screens we haven't shown you yet all at once, in the interest of getting all this stuff out as quickly as possible! The trailer above is for Fossil Fighters, the game released in Japan as We Are Fossil Holders. It's about digging up fossils, reconstructing dinosaurs, and then making them fight. After the break, see trailers for Style Savvy, the latest Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, and the new DSiWare lineup, as well as screens for Picross 3D, Glory of Heracles, Style Savvy, and the one game we really wanted to play at E3 but couldn't, WarioWare DIY.%Gallery-65413%
E3 2009: Free Realms to introduce Guilds
While the recent heads-up that we'll be able to add people to our friends list is definitely a welcome bit of Free Realms news, we were even more excited to hear that guilds are soon coming to this casual MMO. That's right - now you'll be able to add your friends and family to a special guild group! From what we were told, guilds will be given their own in-game chat channel so you can chat back and forth without having to worry about others intruding into your private chatter. Another nice thing that will be coming is the option for guilds to create their own guild halls to spend time together. While we heard a bit about player housing, the specific details on guild halls are still largely under wraps for now - or perhaps Sony Online Entertainment is holding on to the details to give players an overview at their upcoming Fan Faire in Las Vegas. Whatever the case may be, we're glad to see all the new things coming to Free Realms. Massively was on the ground in Los Angeles last week and covering all the latest E3 MMO news coming from the convention. Check out our breaking coverage (or all the Joystiq network E3 reporting) and keep your eye on Massively's front page for the latest developments.
Enter the Comix Zone in new Unbound Saga trailer
Looks like the PSP resurgence is kicking in just in time for Unbound Saga, a PSP-exclusive beat 'em up that's heading solely to the PlayStation Network. When we saw it months ago, we were worried that no one would notice a PSP download-only title. With Patapon 2 and PSP go, more and more people have been paying attention to the download capabilites of the PSP. Who knows, perhaps this Comix Zone meets Duke Nukem-ripoff will actually have a chance at selling some copies.
E3 2009: Player housing coming to Free Realms
Now that Free Realms is live - and by anyone's standards, tremendously successful - SOE's Free Realms team (at around 100 people) is busy working on new features and improvements. In September (or October, perhaps) they plan to add in player housing for everyone to enjoy. For those of you who have been pelting them on the forums for a home of your own - your request has been heard! A nice, shiny home in Free Realms should be yours in time for the holidays. You'll be able to select land, size, and style of house; then really dig in and modify it to make it all your own. The plan is also to create new mini-games involving maintaining your house as well - we're guessing something along the lines of time-management games, perhaps? According to what we've heard, the garage coming out in July will be attached to your house, so you can show off your cars to friends. Neighborhoods will be instanced (currently planned for three buildings per personal plot with no word on neighborhood size) but they expect this will give players a new place to hang out and enjoy their time in Free Realms. There's currently no specifics on what will be available for F2P and paid members, so we'll have to wait and see. Massively was on the ground in Los Angeles last week and covering all the latest E3 MMO news coming from the convention. Check out our breaking coverage (or all the Joystiq network E3 reporting) and keep your eye on Massively's front page for the latest developments.
Impressions: Heavy Rain
Heavy Rain is not your typical game -- the experience promises to change and morph throughout the different scenes. While the Taxidermist and Mad Jack scenes are reasonably similar, with our protagonists infiltrating areas for clues and then making their escape after being discovered, the new scene shown off at E3 by Quantic Dream's David Cage illustrated how situations and gameplay styles will differ throughout. This new scene does exactly what it says on the tin. Named "Madison At The Blue Lagoon," it follows the exploits of our female protagonist, Madison -- who you may recognise from the Taxidermist scene -- at a busy club called the Blue Lagoon. Madison has gone in search of the club's owner, Paco, in order to get new information regarding something. As usual, Quantic Dream's David Cage is appropriately cagey about giving away too much of the story. In contrast to the other scenes we've been shown, which have involved only a couple of characters at a time, the Blue Lagoon is packed full of people. Madison weaves through them naturally and realistically as she makes her way through the dancing throng towards the bar. This game's graphical fidelity tends to range from "incredible" to "a bit iffy," but this scene looked great, despite the relatively large number of characters on screen. With a Q1 2010 release date and with the game 70% done, there's still time to iron out any graphical kinks. %Gallery-30067%
TUAW at E3: Castle of Magic hands-on
Gameloft was kind enough to show us their whole upcoming stable of iPhone and iPod touch titles at E3 last week, and the most impressive game we saw in their "party bus," parked outside the Los Angeles Convention Center, was Castle of Magic. It's a 2D platformer with colorful and great-looking 3D graphics in which you play a young wizard trying to get a girl back. So it's pretty well-tread ground, especially as platformers go (so named because you spend the game jumping from platform to platform), but it's one of the first straightforward examples of the genre on the iPhone.The game's controlled with a virtual d-pad right on the screen, as well as two ability buttons that change depending on whatever powerups you have at the time. And powerups are found throughout the game world -- there are five themed overworlds to choose from (space, water, ice, forest, etc.), and three levels each within those worlds, and while the kid can pick up some abilities any time (a magical beam to shoot enemies with is a pretty common one), each world also has its own ability (you can be a spaceman in space, Robin Hood in the forest level, a swordfish while swimming, and so on). The game's graphics are immensely charming, and given that, like most platformers, there's plenty of doohickeys to collect, there's a good amount of replayability here as well.
