gamescom-2011
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BioShock Infinite Gamescom screens make Elizabeth sad
Don't cry, Lizzy! We know it's going to be a while before we get to meet, but it doesn't mean you have to be all dramatic about it. Turn that frown upside down! Besides we hear your tears can do dangerous stuff -- wait, not those kind of tears? Oh, gotcha.
PSA: Dota 2 match replays online and available to watch right now
Just a matter of days ago, we had generally no idea what Dota 2 played or looked like, and now Valve has posted full high definition replays for most of the Radiant vs. Dire matches from its "The International" tournament going on at Gamescom. Just click "View (Replay)" on the tournament match page to watch. If you turn up the resolution and send it fullscreen, it's almost like you're actually playing the game. The video confirms most of what we knew about the game itself: It includes "denying" (which DotA successors like League of Legends have tried to eliminate), all the old heroes are along for the ride, and it generally plays just like the old DotA, though with much better graphics. Not shown in the videos are the game's extensive social features – that will apparently have to wait until we can get ourselves into the beta and check them all out.
Far Cry 3 screens take a shot at serenity
Ubisoft has sent out a few more images of Far Cry 3 for Gamescom. The foliage exhibits a healthier, more inviting color compared to Africa, but the locals still don't like you very much. Have you tried using a less intimidating gun?
Namco Bandai media roundup: Trailers from Tekken, Tales, Ace Combat, and more
Namco Bandai went just a little crazy at GamesCom, releasing entirely too much media for us to post piecemeal. So after the break, you can find new trailers and screens for two Ace Combats (on PS3/Xbox and 3DS), two Tekkens (on PS3 and 3DS), Tales of the Abyss, Inversion, and more. Armored Core 5 alone has earned a "blowout" appelation, with no fewer than three videos and a gallery. How much do you love mechs? Find out right now!
Devil May Cry preview: From black to white
With any luck, you'll forgive me for not having spent dozens of hours learning the fine mechanics of past Devil May Cry games. Action games of the extra hardcore variety never quite appealed to me (outside of Ninja Gaiden, perhaps). But games like Bayonetta have gone a long way in convincing me I've been wrong all along, and Ninja Theory's take on Devil May Cry may just push me over the edge. Though Capcom's focus for the demo was DMC's combat system, I found myself most impressed by the malignant world of limbo that surrounded Dante.%Gallery-130743%
Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor preview: Hope everything works
The Kinect-based Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor is a concept that has a lot going for it, with a combination of controller and Kinect input opening up a lot of gameplay options to immerse the player into feeling like they're actually piloting a giant "Vertical Tank" (VT) mech. The only thing that could break that immersion, which we saw occur several times when we checked out the pre-alpha build at Gamescom, should be obvious: Kinect not recognizing certain gestures. It's all good and fine for a Kinect hiccup when petting your Kinectimals, but this is war! A small blessing of Steel Battalion is that it's played sitting down (for the most part). Stretching out your arms while maintaining good posture calibrates your pilot for the system. Movement, aiming and firing are handled by the controller, while the player's gestures are used to look out windows, check outside the tank by lifting the hatch (that's the standing part), look around the cockpit and to pull down or interact with several of the VT's controls. %Gallery-130736%
Gamescom 2011: SWTOR wins Best Online Game and introduces Huttball
The excitement revolving around Star Wars: The Old Republic at Gamescom 2011 apparently cannot be contained. Even those voting for the best-in-show cannot help but recognize BioWare's MMO for its achievements. Although Electronic Arts' single-player title Battlefield 3 won the top slot, The Old Republic was voted Best Online Game. Indeed, this game is powerful as analysts have foreseen. In addition to taking home the Best Online Game title, the EA booth introduced a new PvP arena that features something different from the typical faction vs. faction combat. In the new Warzone, called Huttball, players of opposing teams attempt to grab the center ball and score points by crossing over their opponents' goal line. And it just wouldn't be Nar Shaddaa without a little bloodshed, right? Instead of just trying to recapture the ball from the opposite team, you are welcomed -- nay, encouraged -- to strike your enemy down with all your hatred! If that enemy happens to be of the same faction, he's fair game in Huttball. Remember, what happens in Nar Shaddaa stays in Nar Shaddaa. Darth Hater nabbed some footage of Huttball in action. If you speak German or absolutely have to catch the latest TOR visuals, force leap past the break for the footage.
PlayStation Vita media roundup: New trailers for Uncharted: Golden Abyss and 11 others
Sony always makes a big splash at Gamescom and this year is no exception. In addition to a newer, cheaper PSP and a cheaper, if not newer, PS3, Sony is also ready with plenty of PlayStation Vita materials. You want a dozen trailers showing off what the device is capable of? After the break you'll find video of everything from Uncharted: Golden Abyss to LittleBigPlanet Vita to augmented reality app Tag. We've also got some screens for the newly titled Resistance: Burning Skies and the newly announced Smart As.
X-Men Destiny trailer encourages choice in your mutanthood
While some folks in the X-Men universe didn't have much of a choice in their particular mutation, the characters of X-Men Destiny seem more than happy to forfeit their boring old humanity for a taste of the wild side. That very choice becomes yours when X-Men Destiny launches next month.
The Joystiq Show - Gamescom 2011 Day 0
Gamescom is just officially kicking off, but there has already been a cavalcade of news. As usual, the big press conferences took place before the actual convention festivities began, and Alexander and Ben were on site to deliver the news to your eyes. And now they're here to deliver it to your ears. In this late-night conversation, Ben and Alexander are joined by Jonathan Blow, designer of Braid and The Witness. Get the podcast: [iTunes] Subscribe to the Joystiq Podcast in iTunes [Zune] Subscribe to the Joystiq Podcast directly in the Zune Marketplace [RSS] Add the Joystiq Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator [MP3] Download the MP3 directly Hosts: Alexander Sliwinski (@xandersliwinski), Ben Gilbert (@BigBossBGilbert) Guest: Jonathan Blow (the-witness.net) Producer: Jonathan Downin (@jonathandownin - Game Thing Daily) Music: "Bust This Bust That" by Professor Kliq See all show links, and stream the show, after the break.
Street Fighter X Tekken trailers are a gas
This is normally where we'd talk about the characters seen fighting in the two latest Street Fighter X Tekken trailers (one above, one after the break), including Hugo, Poison, Raven, and Bob. We'd maybe offer an opinion about how the game is shaping up. But ... well, Kuma the bear has an ultra combo in which he knocks his opponent down, puts his bear butt right up in his or her face, and lets one rip. We're never, ever going to be able to talk about anything else in this game. This is what the Tekken series has brought into the mix. Bear farts. We love it!
Ninja Gaiden 3 will be compatible with PlayStation Move
Ninja Gaiden 3's obsession with conveying the feel of a katana -- while it slices the flesh off a man's bones -- is now supplemented with another vicarious attack. What does it feel like when a glowing, squishy ball bounces off a skull? Team Ninja has announced PlayStation Move support for the PS3 version of Ninja Gaiden 3, presumably enabling spirited swings and forceful bops in your offensive arsenal. Studio lead Yosuke Hayashi claims that it will "bring players even closer to the game's protagonist Ryu Hayabusa," which is a particularly unfortunate occurrence if you also happen to be a generic soldier, a demon, an evil ninja or ... anything that's alive, really. Ninja Gaiden 3 is set to slice up PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 owners in early 2012. A Wii U version is also in the works.
3DS 'Tekken 3D Prime Edition' comes with Blood Vengeance movie
We've seen almost nothing about the 3DS Tekken game, except for a flash of footage during Nintendo's E3 stage presentation. Namco Bandai has released a new trailer of the game now called Tekken 3D Prime Edition, allowing us to see just how much body glistening Namco has been able to generate with the 3DS hardware. It's more glistening than you'd probably expect! Namco also revealed that the 3D movie Tekken Blood Vengeance will be included on the cartridge, making it the first feature-length 3D movie announced for 3DS. Namco says only that the package will be released "soon," but it's likely to be the first 3D movie released on 3DS as well. Blood Vengeance is also part of a PS3 bundle including Tekken Tag Tournament HD and Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Prologue.
Grasshopper and Digital Reality reveal 'Black Knight Sword' for PSN and XBLA
Grasshopper Manufacture and Digital Reality are partnering for a second XBLA/PSN game, in addition to Sine Mora. Announced at a Grasshopper Manufacture event during Gamescom, Black Knight Sword is a side-scrolling platform action game that takes place in a sort of puppet play. The scrolling is made to look like the character is actually standing in place, and the background elements are constantly shuffled and replaced as if on a stage. In the above video, taken by Gamer365, Akira Yamaoka introduces the game. It's like you're at the GHM/Digital Reality party yourself!
New Assassin's Creed: Revelations trailer dubsteps into the light
Some things in this crazy world of ours are just meant to be paired with their spiritual counterpart. Peanut butter and jelly. Chocolate and also peanut butter again. And, as seen in the Assassin's Creed: Revelations trailer above, stab-attacks and chunky, nasty, wobbly-ass dubstep.
Dota 2 beta starting soon, game launch targeted for this year [update: Newell says 2012]
Following yesterday's announcement of the Dota 2 public beta, Valve informed us today that the stress testing should begin "a few weeks following Gamescom," the mega-sized games convention currently taking place in Germany. A Valve representative also told us that the company is targeting the Dota 2 launch for the end of this year, but it could be early next. Steam users who registered should keep an eye out for an invite to the beta shortly. Update: Speaking to Eurogamer, Valve boss Gabe Newell stated that he doesn't believe Dota 2 will ship until 2012 %Gallery-130669%
Gamescom 2011: ASTA video talks design philosophy and DAoC inspiration
Last month we brought you a brief blurb about ASTA, the new fantasy MMORPG from NHN. The CryEngine3-powered title is making its official debut at this week's Gamescom in Cologne, Germany, and a six-minute video trailer has surfaced that shows off quite a bit of detail about the new title. The clip features a lot of concept art, behind-the-scenes shots, and talking-head developer interviews as well as an English-dubbed voiceover that's heavy on lore and backstory bits. There's also a lot of commentary regarding ASTA's design philosophy as well as how the developers are striving to avoid Asian MMO cliches to create a title that is original yet familiar. Finally, the video lets us in on the fact that ASTA is aimed at players "who are not very good at controlling the keyboard and the mouse simultaneously." Despite its apparent simplicity, ASTA will be featuring RvR and PvP mechanics designed specifically to facilitate large-scale conflict rather than small-party skirmishes or duels. Dark Age of Camelot fans may be interested to know that the ASTA video specifically references the older title as inspirational material, and you can find that and more after the cut.
See the new €99 PSP for free in our gallery
Now you can get a good look at the new "E1000" model of PSP headed to Europe, one of the most curious announcements from Gamescom. We've got a gallery of official photos, allowing you to examine the budget-priced hardware in detail. We like that the price-conscious streamlining resulted in such a clean, simplified look. If only Sony hadn't streamlined the Wi-Fi out of it.%Gallery-130875%
Ubisoft goes for money, money, money with Abba dancing game
Ubi, meet Abba. Ubisoft is adding to its expansive slate of dance games, currently home to star power like Michael Jackson, The Black Eyed Peas and The Smurfs, with Abba: You Can Dance, out in Europe before Christmas. MCV has few details on this game except that it's on Wii, but having seen every other Ubisoft dance game, we can safely assume it'll feature glowing silhouette characters on-screen, whose movements you have to match with Wiimote motions. This time, we suppose, the silhouettes will be Swedish.
Witcher 2 version 2.0 arriving September 29, included in Xbox 360 version
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings will be upgraded to version 2.0 on PC with an automatic update on September 29, CD Projekt revealed today at Gamescom. The free enhancements include a new tutorial system to train players on the game's mechanics, hopefully sparing the frustration of dying 18 times in the first 20 minutes of the game. It will also add a "Dark Mode" difficulty, which is like Insane Mode but allows saving. There will also be a new "Arena Mode," an arcade-style survival mode that has you hacking and slashing through wave after wave of ever-more-hearty beasts. The update throws in 20 new tech enhancements that the devs didn't delve into. CD Projekt also announced that the Xbox 360 version of The Witcher 2, scheduled for Q1 2012, will include all the DLC updates to the game, including the 2.0 version.
