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Destiny 2: Forsaken's Gambit mode is open to everyone this weekend
With the base Destiny 2 free for PS Plus members through the month of September, Bungie is determined to sell newcomers on Forsaken -- and that means giving players a taste of what they're missing. The developer is making Forsaken's Gambit multiplayer mode available to everyone between September 21st and September 23rd. It might be worth a look, especially if you're not usually fond of human-versus-human combat.
Barely Related: Ghost in the Shell snags Scarlett Johansson
Welcome, 2015! Welcome to Barely Related, a conversational Friday column that presents the non-gaming news stories that we, the Joystiq staff, have been talking about over the past week. And no, we're not stopping our focus on industry and gaming news. Think of this as your casual weekly recap of interesting (and mostly geeky) news, presented just in time to fill your brain with things to discuss at all of those weekend shindigs. Grab a fresh drink, lean back in your armchair, and get ready to talk nerdy with us.
Gambit comes to Marvel Heroes
Gambit is one of those superhero concepts I wish I'd come up with. He's got it all, from the Cajun accent to the kick-ass name to the card-shark skills and kinetic badassery that's made him an X-Men favorite since his first appearance in 1990. Gazillion no doubt sees his appeal, too, and the company has finally added him to its Marvel Heroes title. The firm has also released a Gambit-focused trailer, which you can view after the cut.
Singapore-MIT Gambit Game Lab hosting huge game marathon for Haiti
We've seen a ton of gaming marathons attempt to raise money for charitable causes, but we've never seen anything quite so ambitious as this: Boston's Singapore-MIT Gambit Game Lab is hosting the "Complete Game-Completion Marathon" from February 26 - 28, in which 11 teams will attempt to beat a wide variety of video games, ranging from the original Final Fantasy to NHL 10. Video of their efforts will be streamed online, where viewers can donate money to Haiti's earthquake relief efforts through Partners in Health. You can find a full list of the games being played and their anticipated completion times after the jump. We wish all participants the best of luck -- especially the team that's trying to beat Mass Effect 1 and 2 in 25 hours. That's just madness! [Via GamePolitics]
Gambit facilitates sales of virtual goods
Did you know that Gambit can help you increase your CPM rates and offers a completely customizable payment interface that can be integrated into your casual game in just minutes? No, not that Gambit. We're talking about Gambit, a new company created by former Amazon and Ning employees. VentureBeat reports that the company helps casual game developers make more money by optimizing their payment systems. Essentially, the company makes it easier for casual gamers to fork over real money for a digital sofa (or the in-game currency needed to buy it).The company trumpets the fact that it helped the Facebook app myFarm increase its CPM rates from $350 to $544. After trying for several minutes to grasp exactly what CPM means, we're guessing that's a good thing. VentureBeat notes that several other companies are springing up to provide similar services. Given the amount of money being poured into casual gaming, we imagine they won't be the last.
LotRO dev diary looks back at creating the Warden class
Turbine's posted a new developer diary that exposes the creative and mechanical processes of designing the Warden, one of the new classes coming in Mines of Moria. There's something for everyone in the diary from the inspiration of the Warden to its gambit combat mechanic. We don't get an in-depth look at gambits and instead get a more introductory look at how they function. Thankfully we didn't come out of the read-through confused, in fact we felt like Turbine did a good job of laying the groundwork for understanding the class even before it hits retail.Anyone who's watched movies like 300 or Troy is definitely going to fall in love with the Warden. Not that the class is exactly like the Spartan soldier led by Leonidas -- it evokes that imagery a bit, though. We can't wait to see the Warden in action on our monitors in just a months time.
New PC game accessible to blind players, uses Wiimote
AudiOdyssey is the work of the folks at MIT's GAMBIT Game Lab, and is designed to be playable for both visually-impaired and sighted users. It's not alone in this respect -- in 2006, Nintendo released Soundvoyager for the GBA in Japan, a title that featured exclusively sound-based gameplay -- but AudiOdyssey is the first Wiimote-compatible title to be designed with both groups in mind.The aim is straightforward enough: as questionably coiffured DJ Vinyl Scorcher, your task is to keep a nightclub dancing by swinging the Wii Remote to the beat. Keep up well, and you'll be allowed to freestyle, but getting the crowd overly excited isn't advised, as patrons are likely to bump into your wheels of steel, messing up your tracks.Needless to say, it's heartening to see any game catering to visually-impaired gamers -- if AudiOdyssey enjoys some success, it may not be the last of its kind. Make the jump for footage of the game in action.%Gallery-24343%
Marvel Universe Online: how would it have worked?
Here's a question I haven't heard anyone ask. I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Marvel Comics geek; I know what both MODOK and AIM stand for; I remember Wolverine from when he wore those silly little eye-wings and whiskers on his mask; heck, I recall Nick Fury heading up the Howling Commandos. So I was pretty excited to hear about the Marvel Universe MMO. I had fantasies of playing as my favorite character (Adam Warlock, in case anyone's interested) until I realized that the game couldn't possibly work that way.Think on it for a second: how many players would want to be Gambit, or the Hulk, or the Punisher? If even just two people, then there's a problem with identity. Even if you were to get around the problem with a suffix, i.e., Punisher213, then the brand has been diluted, and it no longer means anything. So, how would this MMO have worked?
