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Enjoy the 1998 'Metal Gear Solid' in Unreal Engine 4
Shadow Moses is a labor of love from some serious Metal Gear Solid fans who want to play Konami's pivotal 1998 game in updated, Unreal Engine 4 graphics. So far, it's looking so good. The creators don't have permission from Konami to actually release the remake, though they're aware that conversation will have to take place, eventually. "Konami owns the MGS copyright and therefore sooner or later we will need their full permission," creator Airam Hernandez writes on YouTube and Facebook. "We have therefore chosen to openly share this project from the beginning so that we can deal with any issues that may arise as they come. We believe this is better than putting years of work into a project only to get it shut down. Please, respect this decision."
The best part of playing 'Metal Gear Online' isn't the shooting
Metal Gear Online takes The Phantom Pain, well, online. We've just got to go a few rounds in Bounty Hunter, one of two play-modes -- the other is Cloak and Dagger and focuses on stealthier things. Controls will be familiar to anyone that's played MGS5, but because everyone can't be Solid Snake (ugh), in MGO there's a range of roles and abilities from stealthier builds with non-lethal or silenced weapons, to a half-mech suit (the Walker Gear) that lets you blast the hell out of your opponents. While the mech seems like the easy choice for a whole lot of kills, but that doesn't necessary mean it's the funnest way to play.
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain coming to Xbox One, not an exclusive
Microsoft's just kicked off their E3 press conference by giving the spotlight to Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, and Major Nelson announced it's coming to the Xbox One as an exclusive. This freshest installment of the tactical-stealth shooter promises an open world, realistic passage of time, drivable vehicles, "deeper stealth action" and dynamic close quarters combat. There's not much in the way of other details just yet, but we're sure more news will creep out during the course of E3. Update: Microsoft's Major Nelson has issued an update via Twitter letting us know that Metal Gear Solid V is not an Xbox One exclusive. We're betting Sony is feeling better. Yeesh! Update: Metal Gear mastermind Hideo Kojima just confirmed on Twitter that The Phantom Pain is in development for the PlayStation 4, and that Xbox 360 and PS3 versions are still on the way. Follow all of our E3 2013 coverage at our event hub.
Metal Gear's Raiden cutting into PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale roster [Update: Video]
Raiden from the Metal Gear Solid series is officially in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. Lead game designer Seth Killian shows off Raiden in a video on Gamespot.Raiden's strength lies in one-on-one attacks and air combos, and his level 3 super involves trapping all of the other players under boxes for easy pickings. Characters in All-Stars generally have about two dozen moves, but with his combo chains, Raiden has three or four dozen, Killian says.We first heard rumblings about Raiden in All-Stars back in July, alongside a major character leak.Update: We've added the official trailer showing off Raiden's slick moves, just up there.
Best of the Rest: Arthur's picks of 2011
Battlefield 3 I love Battlefield 3. I love it almost as much as it seems to hate its players. At least, that's the way it feels sometimes, trying to get into a game, trying to get correctly squaded up, trying to find a server with room, having to use a server browser on consoles in 2011, downloading 2 GIGABYTE patches ... y u no luv me, BF3? But when it does love me, it loves me so well ... and there I go, into that cycle of abuse again.
Forza 4 will have Kinect support, Top Gear content
With a quick tease during this past weekend's Spike VGAs, Turn 10 Studios revealed its next project: Forza Motorsport 4. Microsoft confirmed today that Forza 4 will feature Kinect functionality -- the teaser trailer we've dropped after the break shows a brief moment that looks identical to a few of the features we saw at E3 this year. Additionally, the studio is working with the US version of Top Gear "to create an automotive experience unlike anything before it" -- perhaps Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson has been cloned and will ship with copies of the game, cheering and jeering players as they pilot supercars? That remains to be seen. What we do know is that Forza 4 will drift into retail outlets sometime next fall.%Gallery-110457%
Microsoft to open mobile games studio, develop and incubate Windows Phone 7 titles
Microsoft employees may eat their own dog food, but they won't have to code cross-platform Windows Phone 7 games in their spare time -- Redmond job postings recently revealed that there's a studio for that, which will develop and publish first- and second-party titles on the company's dime. According to job descriptions, the newly-christened "MGS Mobile" will develop "showcase" Windows Phone 7 titles with an emphasis on connected play, and also incubate titles from indie devs and partners like the original Microsoft Game Studios, its older Xbox-based sibling. Interestingly enough, games won't necessarily be limited to Windows Phone 7 devices, but may appear on "emerging mobile platforms" as well -- the idea being to advance Microsoft's position in the mobile gaming space rather than just pimp the WP7 platform. Is the world ready for Halo on MeeGo? Oh, you bet your britches it is. Just don't expect to see Xbox games on Android, yo. Update: Looks like Microsoft's actually been on the job hunt since June. It's just so hard to find good employees these days.
You beta watch this Halo: Reach thank you video
As a quick, dirty and violent thank you to everyone that participated in the Halo: Reach beta -- and there were a lot of you -- Bungie has released a video montage of some of the greatest and weirdest moments captured by players. Check out the video above for some killer snipes, super sticks and some truly bizarre bugs. While we're at it, why not share some of your own badass moments in the comments?
Shine a light on Alan Wake for $49, get $10 bonus credit
Excerpt from Alan Wake's technological thriller, It Came from Amazon: I sat there staring at the screen, unable to believe my aching eyes. Had I had too much to drink, or was this real? The Amazon checkout cart read $49.99, and it was definitely Alan Wake sitting in the basket. That alone didn't really frighten me. What tipped me over the edge was the $10 bonus credit on a future video game purchase. The site had similar deals on other games. Super Street Fighter IV for $30, God of War 3 for $45, Splinter Cell Conviction ... again $45. All of these and more, like Super Mario Galaxy 2, with at least $10 bonus credit. Was that even possible? Or, had the Darkness managed to infiltrate my computer? Unsure of itself, my shaking index finger finally clicked true. The purchase was made -- with free Super Saver shipping -- and now all I could do was wait, wait and contemplate how to spend that $10 credit. Red Dead Redemption was supposed to be pretty good.
Sony Walkman W252 gets a Limited Edition MGS makeover
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker is coming out for the PSP soon, and in classic Sony style, we're being treated to a custom-painted W252 Walkman to celebrate the event. This wearable MP3 player can fit 2GB of your favorite stealth action theme music, and gets the party started with six preloaded tunes from the Peace Walker soundtrack. Beyond that, you're getting that gorgeous camo outfit and the same water-resistant durability as the less Limited W250 models. Full PR and one more pic after the break.
Ben Kingsley joins Fable 3 voice cast
If you thought that the Fable 3 voice cast couldn't get any classier, you'd be wrong. But how, you ask? The game already packs the wonderful John Cleese and the inimitable Stephen Fry, you say. Well, guess what? Ben Kingsley, that's what. Oscar-winning, Gandhi-playing, Ben Kingsley. The actor informed CVG that he'll be portraying the "king of Mist Peak," whom Kingsley described as "a wonderful wizard character." He added that acting in video games is "very demanding." And with that, maybe it's time to forgive Mr. Kingsley for Bloodrayne. Then again, maybe we should wait to see how that Prince of Persia movie turns out. [Image: David Shankbone]
Perfect Dark updated with new control options
Apparently, even Perfect Dark isn't perfect, as Rare and company have released an update for the XBLA port. Although the update includes a host of tweaks, the biggest change is the addition of several control options. Chief among these is the (blessed) option to lock the targeting reticle in the center of the screen. Southpaw and legacy control options have been added as well. Beyond that, there are some Achievement fixes and a few tweaks to help match the original N64 experience. The update has also been incorporated into the trial version, so those turned off by the initial control options are able to test out the new tweaks. Find a full list of changes after the break.
Halo: Reach beta logs over a million players on first day
digg_url = 'http://www.joystiq.com/2010/05/06/halo-reach-beta-logs-over-a-million-players-on-first-day/'; It looks like Bungie is well on its way to engaging its expected three million plus players for the Halo: Reach beta. According to a recent news post on Bungie.net, the ongoing Reach beta logged well over a million players on its first public day. Specifically, the beta saw 1,170,112 total players, who manage to frag, stick, headshot, pummel or otherwise maim one another 157,972,986 times over the 14,205,611 games played, totaling 936,864,266 seconds of play time. That's 260,240 man hours or over 29 man years. If you prefer your jaw-dropping facts to be less numerical, Bungie concluded that the Reach beta saw more action on its first day than the Halo 3 beta did over its entire three-week run. One stat missing from the rundown: How many jet packs were used? We're presuming the number is incalculable.
Halo: Reach beta opens to Xbox Live Silver members May 14
Are you an Xbox Live Silver member? Have you been staring with green-eyed envy at all your Gold-subscribing friends currently enjoying the Halo: Reach multiplayer beta? If so, we've got some good news, because Shacknews reports that the Reach beta will be opening up to Xbox Live Silver members next week. Starting May 14 at 9:00am PT, Silver members with a copy of Halo 3: ODST will be able to access the beta. You'd better get as much as you can though, because the party ends on May 17 at 9:00am PT, two days before the beta closes for everyone else. But hey, some Reach is better than no Reach, right?
Aqua: Naval Warfare splashes XBLA this summer
click for more screens Slovakian developer Games Distillery has announced that its Aqua: Naval Warfare will arrive on Xbox Live Arcade this summer. The game, to be published by Microsoft Game Studios, features -- unsurprisingly -- a lot of naval warfare. Aqua takes place in a "fantastic Victorian industrial scenario," which gives way to its steam-powered watercraft. Players will take control of these craft, which can be unlocked, upgraded and enhanced as the game progresses. The press release doesn't offer any further gameplay details, though the screens certainly feature plenty of open water destruction. Check 'em out in the gallery below. %Gallery-91470%
Forza 3 Road & Track DLC out now
Good news for the digital gearheads and livery artists out there, as new DLC for Forza Motorsport 3 is available on Xbox Live Marketplace. Up for grabs is the Road & Track Pack, which is being released in cooperation with Road & Track magazine. The pack includes ten new cars for 400 ($5). As usual, Turn 10 is also offering a free sample car, the adorable MINI Coupé Concept seen above, to give players a taste of the content included in the pack. See the full list of cars below and check out stats for each on the official Forza website. 2010 Volkswagen Golf R 2009 Holden HSV w427 2010 Ford Taurus SHO 2010 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG 2010 Renault Megane RS 250 2010 Vauxhall Insignia VXR 2010 Mini Coupé Concept 2010 Bentley Continental Supersports 2010 Mazda MX-5 Superlight 2010 SEAT Leon Cupra R Xbox.com: Add The Road & Track Car Sample to your Xbox 360 download queue Xbox.com: Add The Road & Track Car Car Pack to your Xbox 360 download queue ($5)
Fable 2 follows the breadcrumbs to Games on Demand
You've been able to download Fable 2 through Xbox Live episodically until now, but who has time for all that thumb stick manipulation, button pressing and dashboard navigation? Zeroes, that's who. Starting today, you can buy the game like a sane person: In one big chunk for $20 from Games on Demand. Additionally, Kung Fu Panda is now available for purchase through Games on Demand for $30. Major Nelson also announced that Fallout 3 is now available on demand in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, leaving India and Japan as the sole holdout territories that can't experience the joy of nuclear devastation with a single button press. Soon, guys. Soon. Xbox.com: Add Fable II to your Xbox 360 download queue ($19.99) Xbox.com: Add Kung Fu Panda to your Xbox 360 download queue ($29.99)
Video tour: Game Room
After a small snafu this morning, Microsoft's Game Room service is now up and running. We figured people might like to know the ins and outs of the new service, so we decided to put together a quick video tour. In the video above, you'll learn about creating and decking out your own arcade, buying games, visiting the Showcase Arcade and, of course, actually playing the retro fare on offer. Check it out and leave your own thoughts on Game Room in the comments.
Fable 2 episodic experiment deemed 'massively successful' by Molyneux
At the tail end of our GDC interview with Lionhead's Peter Molyneux, we remembered one more question we simply had to know: How well did Fable 2's episodic experiment go? We'll refresh your memory: Last August, Molyneux announced plans to release Fable 2 as a series of five downloadable "episodes," with the first one given away and the subsequent four priced at $10 each. Molyneux's response: "That was hugely successful. There were something like over half a million. I think it was 600,000 downloads of the first episode, which was very, very cool." Of course, the first episode was free so how was the conversion rate? "It was a much higher than a normal conversion rate," Molyneux smiled. "Massively, massively successful, and I really love this relationship, which is much more sliced into episodes with consumers." Of course, knowing where we were going with this particular line of questioning, Molyneux preemptively offered an answer."But we're not announcing whether that's coming out in this release," he said, tossing a smile towards the attentive PR people behind me.
John Cleese is your butler in Fable 3
Peter Molyneux lives a fearful life. Ever since he promised the moon and failed to deliver with the original Fable, he has been relentlessly trailed by PR ninjas. We were expecting a special Fable 3 reveal during GDC, and Molyneux obliged, but not before checking with PR. During the Fable 3 panel at GDC, Molyneux said that people have referred to Fable as a "Monty Python-esque" game, and so Lionhead decided to recruit John Cleese himself to play your butler in Fable 3. He noted that Lionhead has record a "vast amount of AI dialogue" for Cleese, whose job as the butler is to "big you up, in a slightly sarcastic way." Unfortunately, Molyneux stated that the rights for Cleese's voice hadn't been secured "just yet," so we didn't get to see Cleese implemented in the demo. He's definitely a perfect fit for Fable though, and we can only be thankful that he hasn't run down the curtain and joined the choir invisible.
