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Telling stories: How much is that ending in the window?
As games have evolved, so too has the role of storytelling in the titles we play. As we turn the corner on 2008, we asked multiple industry personalities across all walks of game development on titles such as Dragon Age: Origins, Bionic Commando and Guild Wars for their thoughts.Epic Games' Michael Capps recently caused quite an uproar among gamers with his suggestion to offer the conclusion to games as premium DLC rather than as part of the core experience. As the latest in our continuing week-long feature, we asked our panel of industry personalities what they thought of the proposal. Interestingly, much of the group was noticibly more tight-lipped in their responses than when answering other questions.
Branching Dialogue: R.I.P. Death
Presenting Branching Dialogue, a weekly, wordy and often worryingly pedantic discussion of video game genres, trends and err ... stuff I didn't think to put in this introductory line. var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/The_End_of_Death_in_Video_Games'; If there's one thing the year 2008 has proven adept at, it's polarizing players with titles that seem to generate more discussion than actual sales. Much like Assassin's Creed before it, Ubisoft's Prince of Persia has been viciously yanking people off fences, this time with simplified controls, Open-World Lite™ platforming and sassy, cel-shaded protagonists. The game's difficulty (or supposed lack thereof) has also come under scrutiny, with some tough-guy gamers lamenting the Prince's newly found and quite convenient resistance to death. I don't wish to argue with the complaint ... but I do want to pluralize it. "This game is not difficult," and, "You can't die in this game," are two very different accusations, and one of them is more than a little unobservant of modern conventions. I hate to break it to you guys, but death has been pushing up daisies for years.
Telling stories: What's up with lame endings?
As games have evolved, so too has the role of storytelling in the titles we play. As we turn the corner on 2008, we asked multiple industry personalities across all walks of game development on titles such as Dragon Age: Origins, Bionic Commando and Guild Wars for their thoughts.While narrative has taken on a larger role, time and again we end up being left unsatisfied in the final moments with endings that fail to wrap up stories in interesting or compelling ways. In our continuing week-long feature, we asked our diverse collection of industry personalities why so many endings in the games we play leave us cold.
Telling stories: Balancing gameplay v. narrative
As games have evolved, so too has the role of storytelling in the titles we play. As we turn the corner on 2008, we asked multiple industry personalities across all walks of game development on titles such as Dragon Age: Origins, Bionic Commando and Guild Wars for their thoughts.How important are stories? How about endings? Over the next week this diverse group of personalities sounds off on these and other story-driven topics, starting today as we open up by asking whether or not narrative shares an equal burden as gameplay in carrying the video game experience.
The Best Thing You'll See Today: The Portal bar
Well this is just magical. After a Final Fantasy-themed night became a big hit, the IT University of Copenhagen decided to celebrate their weekly gathering at Denmark's Scrollbar with an all-Portal evening. That meant tons of themed shots (that's the "Teleportation" up above -- you're apparently supposed to jump from one to the other), plenty of Companion Cubes, and, of course, cake.If you're curious as to where we're we're going to end up when we die, you can check out all the pictures from the event right here.
Street Fighter IV gets new US box art, updated collector's edition specs
Capcom has released the official rundown of what's in the US collector's editions of Street Fighter IV – and what (or rather who) is not on the game's cover anymore. "We had a total re-think on our SFIV packaging," Capcom's PR director, Chris Kramer, wrote on the Capcom-Unity blog. "As a result of [fan feedback], we have opted to drop the initial Chun-Li packfront in favor of Street Fighter IV art director Ikeno-san's amazing Ryu vs. Ken illustration."What's in the box is not all that different from what GameStop listed 10 days ago. Priced at $79.99, both the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions come with the game, soundtrack CD, hint book, and either a C. Viper or Ryu figurine (360 and PS3, respectively). The final bit of bundled swag – a new 65-minute anime movie, The Ties That Bind – "sets up the story of SFIV by explaining events post-SFII." The Studio 4°C-produced film is on Blu-ray Disc for PS3 and a special game disc (not a standard DVD) for 360, which has allowed Capcom to encode it at 720p resolution.Capcom says that the CEs also include "some secret additional downloadable content," which GameStop had previously listed as new costumes, but has since revised. Check out the high-res PS3 and 360 pack shots and CE photos in the gallery below. %Gallery-21918%
Cellfactor: Psychokinetic Wars coming to PSN, XBLA in 2009
Though video games continue to lose the ongoing war against ridiculous subtitles and unnecessary colon usage, Ubisoft is hoping that "Psychokinetic Wars" will sway the fight against boredom in favor of action gamers. Psychokinetic Wars, being the subtitle belonging to Cellfactor, denotes a "fast-paced first-person multiplayer shooter" coming to Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network in early 2009. Developed by Immersion Games and Timeline Interactive, the futuristic FPS gives players "their choice of gunfire and/or telekinetic superpowers," though we suspect "and" would be the wiser battle strategy. After all, why would you turn down the opportunity to "rip objects from the surrounding environment and hurl them at enemies?" Well, assuming you didn't already.Psychokinetic Wars will offer 30 single-player "challenges," three controllable characters and four different multiplayer modes (Death Match, Capture the Flag, Team Death Match and Assault) in support of 16 players. Or, err, psychokinetic combatants.%Gallery-39778%
Complete: Street Fighter IV full character roster
Click Rose to begin your tour of the cast of SFIV! var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Official_Street_Fighter_IV_character_list_console_versions'; Capcom has today revealed the "long awaited, and not so secret, last character" in Street Fighter IV. We'll spare the drum roll and get right to her: Rose. But, well, you already knew that. Still, Capcom's announcement has sealed the list of 25 fighters. (Sorry to Retsi, Geki, Joe, Lee, T. Hawk, Dee Jay, all of SFIII, some of you Alpha dogs and cats, and any of the rest of yous we missed! Maybe next game, eh?)Get familiar with the entire Street Fight IV gang right here: %Gallery-39771%
Ubisoft bringing Broken Sword to Wii, DS March 2009
Who says adventure games are dead? Well, Sierra for one. LucasArts for another. But not Ubisoft, oh no, as the company just dropped a press release confirming plans to bring Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars, the first in Charles Cecil's landmark adventure game series, to the Wii and DS in March 2009. Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars has been ported to numerous platforms since its original PC release in 1996, including the PlayStation and GBA. Ubisoft describes this latest version, however, as 'The Director's Cut,' promising a new narrative "interwoven with the first story," as well as new puzzles designed to take advantage of each platform's affinity for waggle and touching. Even more interesting, the game's more than decade old graphics have also been retouched, including new facial animation by Watchmen artist Dave Gibbons. Consider us pointed, and our wallets collectively clicked.
Kojima calls Metal Gear Solid Touch a 'simple MGS' shooter
Both 1UP and IGN have poked and prodded new details out of Japanese mag Famitsu's recent Metal Gear Solid Touch reveal, lifting the touchable curtains somewhat off Konami's upcoming head scratcher. According to the article, the game will be based on MGS4, with Metal Gear mastermind Kojima describing the iPhone app as a "Simple MGS." Translation: It's a shooter.In fact, Metal Gear's emphasis on stealth is being pocketed this time around in favor of something that is easier to pick up and play on the go, with much of the gameplay involving sliding and pinching the screen in typical iPhone fashion to move Snake's view and zoom in and out of targets. Additionally, shooting bad guys and exploding barrels is taken care of by tapping directly on the screen. We remain interested, albeit confused, about Snake's latest mission. But the weathered soldier isn't getting any younger, and with all of these fingers in the way, we wonder if he'll be able to see anything at all.Read – Kojima Goes In-Depth on Metal Gear Solid TouchRead – Metal Gear Solid Touch Detailed
Take-Two cements long-term agreement with Rockstar 'senior creative talent'
The Houser brothers aren't going anywhere -- at least not anywhere that's out of the reach of Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two. The company has announced a new long-term employment agreement with "key members of the creative team" behind Grand Theft Auto IV, including Rockstar rockstars, Sam and Dan Houser. The initial term of the agreement runs out on January 31, 2012 -- and by then the world will be close to ending for everyone, not just Take-Two.Also noted in the agreement is a new incentive compensation program for the Rockstar Games label, as well as Take-Two's intention to fund a new intellectual property "to be owned by a newly formed company controlled by key Rockstar Games team members." Whatever this mystery property entails, it will be published exclusively by Take-Two. Do we detect shades of Bungie and Microsoft?
Batman: Arkham Asylum gets Hamill's Joker, Conroy's Batman
Eidos and Warner Bros. have confirmed that Mark Hamill, the voice of The Joker in Batman: The Animated Series, will reprise his sadistically animated take on the Clown Prince of Crime in Batman: Arkham Asylum. Additionally, the Caped Crusader himself will be voiced by Kevin Conroy, recognized as the voice of Batman in numerous animated series and games. While we remain largely undecided regarding Rocksteady Studios' "graphically distinct" take on Bruce Wayne's alter ego (spoiler! - Ed.), today's news brings us dangerously close to being pulled off the fence as we continue to wait for Batman: Arkham Asylum to ship next summer for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.
Four Konami games coming to iPhone, including Metal Gear, Silent Hill
And Dance Dance Revolution, if you can believe it. Konami has announced the impending arrival of four downloadable iPhone games, with all but one scheduled to arrive "from late December." The genres covered are "Music," "Action," "3D Shooting" and the slightly provocative "Touch Shooting." As for the corresponding titles: Dance Dance Revolution S Lite, "a music game where you tap the arrow icons that appear at the bottom of the screen in time with music." Silent Hill: The Escape, "a first-person 3D shooting game that lets players utilize the control features only found on the iPhone and iPod touch ..." Frogger, "a simple game" which probably doesn't require any further explanation. Metal Gear Solid Touch, "an original game that brings to life the world and characters" of MGS4. Eight "touch shooting" levels will be available in the initial release, with more to follow. MGST is currently slated for a Spring 2009 release. All the games are coming to North America, Japan and Europe, with the exception of Dance Dance Revolution, which is apparently too hip for the electronic rectangles in Europe.
The Killzone 2 FAQ
Killzone 2 is a remarkably divisive game, as noted in the fierce comments to our last hands-on post. Killzone 2 is one of the few games that can get overzealous PS3 fans, insecure 360 fanboys, and downright-confused Wii owners in one place and start a verbal riot. With so much fervor surrounding the title, we decided to simply break down the game and answer some of your more burning questions.When is it coming out?Killzone 2 will be available in North America on February 27, 2009. Expect a "similar timeframe" for European countries.What are the controls like?The controls are much slower than most other FPS games on the market. Instead of running and gunning, you'll be taking cover and aiming down your sights. When behind a wall or object, you'll have to hold the cover button. Releasing it will allow you to peek out and fire your gun. It takes some time to get used to fully first person cover, but it's meant to keep the experience immersive. If you play like the guys at G4, you will die. A lot. (According to G4, that was a developer playing. Whoops!)%Gallery-4719%
Club Nintendo back up, accepting NA members [update]
After years of chanting "Let us in, let us in!," the doors to Club Nintendo have finally been opened to those living in North America. The service, which was announced this summer, takes the place of NOA's previous My Nintendo site. Nice to join you, Japan and Europe.Already have your Nintendo gear and games registered on My Nintendo? Not to worry. Logging into the Club Nintendo site automagically converts your old account and – most importantly – makes sure Club Nintendo knows about all the stuff you've bought. So you can, y'know, start saving up for exclusive merchandise and other rewards, including the (now official) US version of Game & Watch Collection.There's just one problem – after seeing the site with our very own eyes (!) it ... disappeared, and was replaced with placeholder art assuring us that Club Nintendo was "Coming Soon!" Lucky for us then that one NeoGAF user thought to grab a screenshot (seen above). Don't worry, you take the night off. We've got our clicking finger on the Reload button and we'll let you know when everything's back up. Now go have a drink, you look tired.[Update: It seems – seems – that Club Nintendo is now live for good and all. Yep, it's up.][Thanks, Fernando]
How to fix the Video Game Awards
In a lot of ways, last night's Video Game Awards were the most promising and yet, the most frustrating. It was a far cry from 2007's awards, a two-hour long cringe made bearable only by the occasional exclusive trailer. This year, there was real entertainment to be had, as well as a better sense than ever before of how to appeal to gamers. There were even some good gags. But that made the areas where the show stumbled, both big and small, even harder to swallow.Fear not, the internet, we at Joystiq are ready to spring to the rescue and humbly provide our suggestions to help the VGAs reach their full potential (without the use of topless girls). Which brings us to tip number one:
Dead Space devs cooking up Dante's Inferno
Electronic Arts may be planning fewer titles next year, but that won't stop EA Redwood Shores from sending players straight to hell. The Dead Space developers have officially announced their next hellish project, dubbed Dante's Inferno.Little is known about the upcoming third-person action title, other than it will be based upon Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy. Jonathan Knight, executive producer on Dante's Inferno, simply notes that "the time is right" to adapt the 14th Century literary work into a game, though with Universal tapped to twist the game into a movie, clearly the time is also right to make lots of money. A teaser site and embedded video have also been released, and after playing through Dead Space it seems that we might soon abandon all hope of sleeping through the night.
Grand Theft Auto IV crowned Game of the Year at Spike VGAs
It seems like Spike Video Game Award judges and Time magazine now have something in common. The Spike VGA Game of the Year was just announced and it was ... wait for it ... drumroll please ... more drumroll, please ... that's better ... Grand Theft Auto IV. The announcement was preceded by the latest Brutal Legend trailer, so we almost missed it basking in the awesomeness of Tim freaking Schafer. Congratulations to Rockstar.Curious which games won – and, by proxy, which ones lost – in the rest of the categories? Find the full list of winners after the break.
Liveblogging the 2008 Video Game Awards
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Liveblogging_the_2008_Video_Game_Awards'; Forget reading! Here's our video stream.We literally don't know what channel Spike is.It's not the most noble start to our annual VGA liveblog, but it's the best we've got. We hope you'll hang in there with us as we detail all the ... well, whatever it is. Our man Kevin Kelly is inside, and he'll be giving us the dog's eye view.And away we go!
Pearl Jam's 'Ten' album coming to Rock Band in March
An "exclusive" from Geoff Keighley, who likely read that line from a teleprompter while presenting live from the Spike VGAs: Pearl Jam's "Ten" album is coming as a Rock Band downloadable album in March. That should be just enough time for you to find the appropriate amount of flannel to wear while you play.
