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E3 2009: The evolution of Jumpgate Evolution
The last time I personally saw anything about Jumpgate Evolution (Netdevil's re-imagining of the the very early space MMO) was almost two years ago when I spoke with the executive producer. At that time, we had little more than a few screenshots and concept art. Massively has spoken with Peterscheck and covered the game multiple times since then, but when I stepped into Netdevil's little booth at E3 (so little, in fact, that it didn't even have their name on it -- it was labeled with Gazillion Entertainment, their publisher), I didn't have any idea what to expect.What I found was both surprising and impressive. Way back in that first interview, Peterscheck told me that they were trying to make a space shooter MMO that depended on skill rather than stats, that offered up a fully realized universe for players to explore, and gave some new options for PvP and space combat that we hadn't seen before. Sitting in their booth watching the game get played on three big screens, I saw all that and more. Hit the jump (gate) below for impressions and even a gameplay video from last week's show.%Gallery-65380%
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.
Sony introduces Rockstar's Agent as a PS3 exclusive
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/playstation/Sony_introduces_Rockstar_s_Agent_as_a_PS3_exclusive'; Sony has landed a big Rockstar exclusive -- they have just announced that the Grand Theft Auto developer is bringing a new IP called Agent to the PS3. Details are still as shrouded in secrecy like so many spies, but we're told the game "will take the player across the globe" to participate in various spy-related activities. Sony says they expect Agent to have the same effect on their platform as the original GTA3 exclusive did with the PS2, but we'll have to see. They didn't show gameplay or even a cinematic at the press conference, so even though the prospect of a Rockstar-developed PS3 exclusive sounds enticing, we'll probably have to wait quite a while for more.
Halo 3: ODST demo expands on story, structure, 'splosions
During Microsoft's Pre-E3 press briefing Bungie's Joe Staten took to the stage and dropped gamers into the first gameplay footage of Halo 3: ODST. In the game players will take on the role of a rookie Orbital Drop Shock Trooper weeks before the events in Halo 3. As part of the single-player campaign expansion, Halo 3: ODST features a greater mystery, as 'The Rookie' attempts to uncover the truth about his fellow hell jumpers. The game features new silenced weapons, a visor -- enabling a 'low-light vision mode' used to point out crucial information -- and a handgun original (Halo) gangsters are sure to 'love,' said Staten. Prepare to drop ($59.99 or more) later this year. %Gallery-64703%
Alan Wake gameplay video is dark, encourages you to 'use the light'
We finally saw video of the long-time coming Alan Wake in action yesterday at Microsoft's mega-keynote, and here it is for you to squint at and pore over. Yes, it's slightly shaky, so you'll have to forgive us for that. Mostly because we were still in shock that the game is finally seeing the light of day. See what we did there?It's definitely moody and spooky, and it looks like your best friends will be spotlights, flare guns, and a trusty flashlight. We're hoping that Microsoft and developer Remedy will jump on the bandwagon now and start packaging this thing with a nightlight peripheral, because you're going to need it to sleep at night after playing this next Spring.
Watch four minutes of Prototype, the death of a helicopter
So, Prototype, we're a little worried about you, not gonna lie. Considering the recent wave of positive inFamous reviews, talk of Crackdown 2, and APB's E3 reveal, a game we once looked forward to greatly could quite possibly fall by the wayside. Luckily, the developer walkthrough of "mission #7" (found after the break) helps to assuage our concerns and brings back some fire into our lonely, cold hearts. Unfortunately for the person piloting Prototype's main man Alex Mercer, things don't go so well and the video ends in tragedy (spoilerz! omg!). Hopefully we'll do better when we get our hands on the retail copy June 9.%Gallery-5779%
Studying WoWcology, where psychology and WoW meet
I've been meaning to write about this WoWcology blog for a few days now, but there's just so much there -- reader Skeuk is guilded up with a PhD in Psychology, who's writing not only about the guild's day to day battles, but also about how the deeper tenets of psychology can be seen in our Azerothian gameplay. This post about group dynamics is extremely interesting -- if you've ever suffered through some bad PuGs in your time, you can see the different stages of group development, and you can probably even figure out where your PuG fizzled out in the "storming" stage or made it all the way through to the "performing" part of the cycle. Fascinating stuff, for sure.Unfortunately, posts aren't coming too often, and it seems like Dr. Amalea -- who for some reason refers to himself in the third person at times -- understandably has other things to do besides keeping a blog about World of Warcraft and psychology. But maybe if we send them a little traffic, we can convince him to keep it up regularly, as what's there now makes for some really interesting reading. It's really interesting that a lot of the stuff we're dealing with the game now -- forming PuGs, guild drama, even loot distribution, has all been studied by psychologists for years and years before World of Warcraft ever existed.
Duke Nukem Forever gameplay surfaces, requests we 'come get some'
Unfortunately, it seems that the death of 3D Realms was the best way for us to get our hands on the largest collection of Duke Nukem Forever screens we've ever seen, and now, footage of the game in action. Found on ex-3D Realms employee Bryan Brewer's personal website (found after the break due to its NSFW-ness), we're treated to the ubiquitous pig cops (now with the ability to jump and climb, apparently) as well as a variety of Duke vulgarities you likely won't want your mother to hear.If anything, the footage proves that a ton of different gameplay was actually finished and -- we're not gonna lie here -- looks pretty decent. We didn't spot any jetpack totin' reptilian enemies unfortunately, but we can only presume the folks at 3D Realms were waiting until the last possible minute to show off such nostalgia laden insanity. Wait, isn't right now the last possible minute?%Gallery-63065%%Gallery-32891%
First Mafia II gameplay video features gunplay, cursing
Norwegian news site Dagbladet recently got its hands on some fresh gameplay footage from 2K Czech's upcoming mobster sim, Mafia II. It's since embarked on a long, tumultuous exodus from its Norwegian homeland, braving arctic chill and aquatic peril to reach it's final destination: Right here -- on this very site, after the jump, anxiously awaiting your viewership. It looks pretty solid -- the gameplay revolves around a tried-and-true cover mechanic that third-person action fans will be no stranger to, and the cutscenes will likely appeal to that part of your brain that prevents you from turning the television off in the middle of a Godfather marathon. It's worth checking out -- but be warned, it's pretty NSFW. Mobsters have some serious potty mouths.
GDC09: Interview with The Secret World's creator, Ragnar Tørnquist pt. 2
So, with expansions, you said that you'll be starting out with New York, London, and Seoul, right? Yes. Those will be the first cities, the hub cities, available at the start of the game. Now, the gameplay takes you beyond that, yes? Oh yeah, absolutely. We're not doing all New York, or all of London, or all of Seoul. We are actually doing very tight and very constrained neighborhoods there. That's where you'll start your gameplay, but they won't be the large, huge open zones where you have tons of gameplay or tons of monsters. That will be left to areas like Egypt and New England, which will be more expansive and include more open-world mechanics and other things that we're not revealing quite yet. We will also be including more instanced and team-based areas as well. Regarding expansion packs, yeah, we're going to expand beyond what we already will include. It's not like we're going to run out of content, the world is a big place. Yes, I was going to ask if it will expand into more locations and cities throughout the world. Yes, it certainly will, but it won't be limited to just that. We have more interesting locations but they won't be limited to just our world. We will be including locations throughout time and space itself. I want to emphasize that this won't be something like Grand Theft Auto with magic, with a focus on huge, huge open cities. They are reasonably small places where you will start out and take the adventure from there. But one very important thing to note is that this sounds like a very fragmented world. London, New York, Seoul, those cities are a long way away from each other. But we are creating, or at least trying to create, a pretty seamless world. This means there are ways of getting from London to New York very quickly, and we are focusing on that. You won't be just walking up to a plane, clicking on it, and getting a red line that quickly points to where you're going and boom, you're there. You will be moving in real-time from London to New York, just a lot quicker. There's alot of traditional MMO components that are around now. We're kinda in a new generation of MMO, and people are tired of World of Warcraft model and they're looking for something new. This is certainly in that realm. Are you guys trying to get away from traditional models, like crafting, and moving to something new? Ah, I can't really talk about crafting right now. What I can say is that while combat is a core focus, we really want other non-combat stuff in the game. We're just not going to be talking about them as of yet. But there will be gameplay that isn't all about fighting monsters or exploring. There will be other things that you will be able to do. Like you said earlier, like mysteries? That, yes, that also and there will be other ways for people to play in the game, to participate in the game, that isn't about traveling around the world. Exactly what that is, I can't say as of yet. Now, will there be a player driven economy? Well, I can't speak much about that now, but there will be ways for players to take part in the economy. Sorry for being so cryptic, but trying to keep this very focused and very narrow for now. And player guilds? Ah, we are going to have cabals, yes. There will be a point to making cabals, and it will play a very large role in the game, but exactly what that is I'm not going to say as of now. We are a game and we are focusing on the social aspects of the game. We are, in some aspects, a story driven game and alot of it you can play solo, but we really want to emphasize that it is an MMO. There will be stuff that will require you to team up with people in small groups and also in larger teams, without me going into deeper detail. I hate having to keep saying I can't talk about this stuff. Oh, so what about in-game factions? ...and I can't talk about that. *laughs* Ok, so what about the range between hardcore and casual? Yeah, well, we always say we're going to cover all of it, but the fact is that you can't the game for everybody. So I think we're leaning towards... *sighs* I wouldn't say the casual, because when you talk about MMOs and casual you usually end up at Club Penguin or something like that, and we're really not there. We're somewhere between halfway, I think. There's tons of stuff for the hardcore MMO players, like the whole skill based system and the tweaking that you do to those types of systems with numbers and all the items we'll have, and that will be a hardcore player's dream. But I think in terms of time investment and what's required of you, we're leaning towards the middle ground. It will be fun for MMO players, but it will be equally fun for someone who just likes the idea of a world that has a bunch of other people in it, is completely open, you can play it online, and you can chat, but doesn't feel so unfriendly and unwelcoming as other MMOs. So, would your target audience be someone who has played MMOs? I think a large part of our target audience is who are playing or have played MMOs. We want it to be different enough for them to come back or a game that is different enough to have them come to play it with their friends. In addition to action/adventure gamers who play games like Fable 2 for the Xbox 360 and just want to try their hand at something that's online and not feel completely eliminated and have something that's recognizable to them.We'd like to thank Ragnar for meeting with us at the GDC, and we're looking forward to more information on The Secret World!
New Jumpgate Evolution trailer is very definition of large scale battles
The newest trailer for Jumpgate Evolution is nearly 100% all combat, aside from the brief moments of textual drama. And with all that combat comes a pretty large sense of scale that we've really only seen in a few MMOs since the genre's inception. This and wonderful joyous action being NetDevil's specialty, it comes as no surprise.Between the announcement of the game's minimum requirements and all of these gameplay videos, we're feeling very assured in our belief that Jumpgate Evolution is shaping up to be a visually stunning title that doesn't demand the world of our hardware. And so long as there aren't any significant bugs or crashes to desktops going on once the game releases, we'll probably be able to call the game 2009's most technically and visually impressive MMO.Check out the full trailer after the break, or download the HD version directly from Big Download's super-fast file service.
GDC09: Leaked Uncharted 2 gameplay shows urban gunplay, acrobatics
You might want to stop reading this now, and check out the video posted after the break. You see, when dealing with leaked gameplay footage posted on content-removal-friendly YouTube, time is seriously of the essence -- particularly when that footage was shamelessly yoinked (no, not by us) from a closed-doors GDC panel showing off the highly anticipated Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.In case it gets pulled before you can lay eyes upon it, here's a brief recap: The footage shows the familiar gunplay and monkey-esque environment navigation from the original, though this particular clip eschews the jungles and tombs of Uncharted the First in favor of a war-torn urban locale. The series' sleek animations are even sleeker, and the gunshootery looks a bit more responsive. Also, Nate's apparently developed the ability to survive point-blank explosions. We can't wait to see how this invulnerability factors in to the game's story.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
GC: If you're OOM, tell your guildies to get out of the fire
Ghostcrawler did battle with the forumites this weekend, and the topic of discussion was the recent mana changes. Players are saying that the changes (including the BoW and Mana Spring change last week) are basically forcing them to bring more healers along to larger raids, and GC in return expounds on the raid balance that Blizzard is aiming for lately. Interestingly, it's not the 5 healers / 5 tanks / 15 DPS that you might think it would be -- Ghostcrawler says that if they aimed for that makeup, bringing more healers would often make the fights inconsequential.He goes on to say that the way the fights are designed, you aren't supposed to run out of mana, as long as you're dodging the AoE and are geared up correctly. Making mistakes in gameplay digs into your mana reserves, and so when Blizzard nerfs mana regen, they aren't just trying to make things harder, they're trying to take away that extra breathing room that you get around errors. They don't want healers just healing through damage -- they want people trying to avoid it in the first place.And, if guildies won't get out of the fire, and your healers keep running out of mana because of it, it's time to weed out the ranks a bit. Finally, GC adds what we've heard before: those looking for a tough battle in Ulduar likely won't find it right away -- the instance is designed to be only a little harder than Naxx. But the hard modes are where the difficulty will really ramp up. If short, says GC, if you don't have enough mana on the easy modes, it's not Blizzard's design: it's the way you and your guildies are geared and playing.
The Old Republic video details Tython, shows off unexpected footage
BioWare has unleashed what they're calling the first Developer Dispatch on their official Star Wars: The Old Republic website. In truth, it's an exceptionally high quality developer diary video centered around Jedi training planet Tython and its laborious creation. And while that doesn't sound particularly awesome, it actually is pretty much that.Disappointingly, no new combat footage was given up this time around. Mostly, we weren't given any gameplay to indulge upon. What was offered was soothing geek-surances like the above image of lightsaber concept-to-game model. This is BioWare saying, "See? Our concept art translates quite well into game engine!" and they're basically on the mark.One thing BioWare was able to do is say a lot with just a little. The gameplay footage that was revealed caught us a little off guard. Not only did this fresh early footage bare what most MMOs have a player staring at for hours -- their avatar jogging along complacently -- but it looked pretty good. Obviously, we're not raising The Old Republic's right hand in victory over "pretty good" looking footage. Yet at this early date, such a routine-but-key visual looks like it's been pretty well nailed down. Check out the full video after the break.
New Champions Online gameplay video, screens and writer interview surface
.msnbcLinks {font-size:11px; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #999; margin-top: 5px; background: transparent; text-align: center; width: 425px;} .msnbcLinks a {text-decoration:none !important; border-bottom: 1px dotted #999 !important; font-weight:normal !important; height: 13px;} .msnbcLinks a:link, .msnbcLinks a:visited {color: #5799db !important;} .msnbcLinks a:hover, .msnbcLinks a:active {color:#CC0000 !important;} Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy It looks like Champions Online is surfacing in some new places with a new gameplay video up on MSNBC and an interview with John Layman, the game's writer, up on Comic Book Resources. The video isn't in the best resolution, but it's enough to see that the visuals and new powers are really starting to come along. A lot of ambient lighting seems to have been added, which is making the game look much more visually appealing. We did notice some of the animations were certainly looking finished, while some weren't quite there yet. A caveat: If obsessively following MMOs-in-development for over nine years has taught us anything, it's that games often don't look "finished" until they just about ready to ship.The interview with John Layman comes with a cache of new screens, which are the first set that really make the game look good in a paused state -- something not achieved until now. As for the discussion with Layman, it's entirely worth a read if you're interested in Champions Online at all.
TUAW Exclusive: Nnooo's Pop for iPhone
Pop is a new game coming soon to the iPhone by a company called Nnooo, and TUAW got an exclusive look at the new app before the official announcement of the release later today. As you can see from the video preview above, it's a very simple, very casual game, but nevertheless offers some fun and quick touchscreen gameplay. Pop was originally released on WiiWare, the Nintendo Wii's downloadable content service, and I was wrong in the video -- there are no PC or Mac versions out currently, so the App Store is the second platform the game will appear on. I also show off a similar "game" called Bubbles, put together by Jesse Grosjean (maker of Taskpaper and Writeroom) for his three-year old daughter (I said six in the video, but she's younger than that). Pop runs with that idea of popping bubbles and turns it into a timed and scored game that turns out to be pretty fun. Click the link below to read more about Pop, including some features that aren't shown off in the video above. Update: Pop is now available on the App Store.
Aurora Feint II: The Arena adds asynchronous multiplayer, in-game messaging
Our good friends at Massively got an opportunity that turned us green with envy -- they got to sit down with the devs of Aurora Feint, one of our favorite iPhone games, and see how its fulfilling the "MMO" promise they've been offering up since it first debuted on the App Store. The new game is called Aurora Feint II: The Arena, and while it doesn't exactly offer real-time MMO gameplay, it does let players compete with ghosts -- the game will record what you or your friend plays, and then offer up that re-play as an opponent. There's also a new "Tavern" feature which will let players leave messages to each other from right in the game.And the goals don't stop there -- they're working on a third version of the game, which will eventually feature an offline MMO mode, as well as a very, very deep experience for a fairly casual iPhone game. "Warcraft on the iPhone" -- it's not a phrase I'd use to describe Aurora Feint yet, but it's one the creators will happily use for the future.The early MMO features are in the App Store right now -- the app will normally be priced at $9.99, but it's currently in there for $7.99 during the holidays (the free, non-MMO version is still there as well). Pretty amazing -- this was one of the games that jumped to the forefront in terms of presentation and quality right when the App Store opened, and it doesn't look like the creators have any plans to slow it down. Gallery: Aurora Feint 2 - The Arena
Watch live Wrath of the Lich King installation and gameplay on WoW Insider this evening
I'm heading out to our midnight launch in Chicago here in a bit, but as soon as I get my game and get back, I'll be streaming the installation and my first few hours of gameplay live on our WoW Insider Ustream page. We've also placed a copy of the stream after the break on this post, so come on back here just after midnight central time to watch us take the first few steps into Wrath.We'll also be chatting live in the chat channel, and I'll be broadcasting audio as well, so we'll be able to talk live about how the launch went and how everyone is doing in Wrath so far. Whether you weren't able to get the game this evening (or just want to watch along with us as you play), definitely tune in. The stream will start up right around 12:30am Central time, and it'll go until I hit level 80 or until I pass out from lack of sleep, whichever comes first.Everybody have a great time at the launches -- here's hoping for a smooth transition from Outland to Northrend.
CCP Games lead economist on social structures in EVE Online
Phil Elliott from Gamesindustry.biz recently conducted an interview with CCP Games Lead Economist Dr. Eyjólfur Guðmundsson (known as CCP Dr. EyjoG) titled "Star Bucks." While the interview discussed the importance of social structures in EVE Online given the game's single-shard nature and of course the game's economics, he was asked questions about gameplay and some of the core foundations of the game -- namely the freedom to act and the consequences that result (or the perceived lack of consequences). Dr. EyjoG was asked about the concept of trust in the sandbox game, how some players feel there's not enough reciprocity in terms of consequences for one's actions in EVE. "Should we provide more security, more traceability -- that would help it out, but it's definitely a game design and balance question. For us we see the universe as it is, we don't see that need... at this point at least," Dr. EyjoG responded. The interview also hinted at some of the as-yet unrealized possibilities in the game such as player-requests to tie sovereignty in with rules that govern those regions of controlled territory and what the game might be like years down the line.
BlizzCon 2008: The Retro Arcade
Diablo III, Rock 'n' Roll Racing, and The Lost Vikings 2. What do all of these things have in common? They're all made by Blizzard, and they're all playable on the floor of BlizzCon 2008. The last two, however, are hidden in the Retro Arcade area, where Blizzard has set up all of the old games from their past for visitors to experience and play. It's not a complete display (no Starcraft 64, and Justice League Task Force would have been fun to play), but there are a lot of great titles in there anyway. It's too bad I've got to play Starcraft II for a hands-on later today -- I'd kind of rather go play the original again. But that's not a bad problem to have.Check out our gallery of the retro arcade, and revisit some old Blizzard favorites.%Gallery-34294%
