Monolith
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Project X Zone has more than 200 characters
The Capcom, Sega, and Namco 3DS crossover game Project X Zone will feature over 200 characters, according to a post on the game's official blog, as translated by Andriasang. This number refers to a combination of allies and enemies, and doesn't account for event scene-only characters, all of which will reportedly come from franchises spanning the three brands.Project X Zone is being developed by Nintendo-owned Monolith Soft, which created the spiritual precursor to the game for PS2, Namco X Capcom.
Guardians of Middle-earth brings MOBA to XBLA and PSN
Monolith Productions has one of the most varied histories in video game development. The studio first cut its teeth on first-person shooters, finding a cult hit in the popular No One Lives Forever series. Then, it was a vast experiment with The Matrix Online, before coming back to shooters with the Fear and Condemned series of games. And now, the company's trying to reinvent itself yet again with two licensed downloadable titles for Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment: first Gotham City Imposters from earlier this year, and now Guardians of Middle-earth.Guardians of Middle-earth is a weird one. It's a licensed Lord of The Rings title, starring characters from Tolkien's series. It's a MOBA game, similar to League of Legends or DOTA 2, featuring Tolkien's characters fighting it out across a battlefield full of AI-controlled troops. And it's a complicated, deep online multiplayer title, designed for competitive play."What's so weird about that?" you ask? It's being developed only for consoles.%Gallery-157247%
The first Guardians of Middle-earth trailer puts LOTR's celebs in a fight to the death
Wondering what that DOTA-inspired Lord of the Rings game, Guardians of Middle-earth, will look like? So are we, as the first trailer for the game is little more than a who's who of LOTR, and features zero actual gameplay. But hey, Gollum's got a big rock! Don't you go taking his precious!
Lord of the Rings meets MOBA in XBLA/PSN 'Guardians of Middle-earth' from F.E.A.R. devs
Guardians of Middle-earth is the next "massive online battle arena" heading to Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network. Warner Bros. Interactive's Monolith Productions is crafting the Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit-themed MOBA, and the studio plans on launching the game this fall (ahead of this December's film, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey).According to the announcement, 10 players will battle in five-on-five matches set against the backdrop of Middle-earth. Various Lord of the Rings bulletpoints will be hit, of course, with characters like Gollum and Sauron available for fighting (as "Guardians" – think League of Legends' "Hero" characters). We'll assuredly get a closer look at the game next week during E3.
Gotham City Impostors 'Steamy Punk' DLC adds jetpacks, general dapperness
What's better than being able to fly in Gotham City Impostors? Looking good while you do it, of course – and you'll be able to do both with the upcoming Steamy Punk DLC pack.
New map, game mode in next free Gotham City Impostors update
Another free update is gracefully dropping from on high in Gotham City Impostors, adding a new map, game mode and character customization option to Monolith's downloadable shooter. The East End map is described as a grimy and dilapidated section of Gotham, all the better for two gangs of psychos to wage war.Bounty Hunter is a new team deathmatch-based mode where, upon mowing down an enemy player, you'll see them leave behind a coin – grab enemy coins for points and your teammate's cash to deny the enemy their score. The last part of the update is customizable player character languages, which means you can finally run around as a Spanish wannabe-Batman.
Rumor: The Hobbit movie tie-in games coming from Monolith
This rumor fulfills too many literary and ironic fantasies for us to completely ignore it, but for now it is very much and definitely a rumor: Monolith Productions, under WB Games Seattle, is working on The Hobbit: Part One, the video game tie-in for Peter Jackson's film The Hobbit, rumor hunter Superannuation reports. WB was previously slated to handle the tie-in title with an expected launch this year, making this leap, well, hobbit-sized. We have reached out to WB for comment.Superannuation pegs WB Seattle as handling the second Hobbit game as well, noting that WB Games Seattle consists of Monolith Productions almost entirely, after WB fired 60 employees from Snowblind Studios, Surreal Software and Monolith itself in November.We're just in love with the idea of a studio called "Monolith" -- defined as a large thing -- working on The Hobbit.
Gotham City Impostors' free DLC out on PC
The first batch of free Gotham City Impostors DLC hit Xbox 360 in February, and it's now available on PC; it includes katanas, pistols, drop-in matchmaking, improved mouse support and a new highrise level, The 25th Floor. There's no word yet on a PS3 DLC launch. Producer Nate Edson and associate producer Lucas Myers explain the new PC content in the above video, wherein they prove they are the best actors in existence, ever.No, really -- keeping with the "impostors" theme, Edson and Myers obviously want to throw us off and are therefore pretending to be terrible actors in a scene that is painful to watch, and they act horribly so well that they're obviously the best in the business.
Gotham City Impostors gets free DLC on Xbox 360 today; PS3 and PC 'soon'
You've been doing a great job killing those Batman and/or Joker imitators in Gotham City Impostors and Monolith wants to reward your hard work with some free DLC. Available starting today on Xbox 360, this content update adds a new level called The 25th Floor, a rooftop arena with a lovely view of the Gotham skyline.In addition to the map, there are also some new outfits and a few new weapons: a semi-automatic pistol and a katana. Finally, a new toxic gas support item is available, which should help you injure and disorient your opponents with stinky, stinky gases.PS3 and PC players will have to wait for the DLC, though Monolith and WB haven't revealed exactly when this content will come to those platforms.
Gotham City Impostors fails to unlock for some PS3 players
It seems that some PS3 users are running into trouble with Gotham City Impostors, and we're not referring to all the fake Batmen clogging the streets. According to posts on the Gotham City Impostors forums, some PS3 users are unable to unlock the full version of the game. Even after paying for the title, some find themselves stuck with the trial version.A forum administrator notes that Warner Bros. is working on the issue with Sony and asks that users experiencing the problem respond to this thread with their PSN ID and the country from which they are playing. In the meantime, if you haven't already purchased Gotham City Impostors, we'd recommend waiting until the issue is resolved.
Take a peek at 100 DLC items for Gotham City Impostors on XBLA
We should have known from its title that Gotham City Impostors couldn't be trusted to operate entirely how it promised. The Xbox Live version isn't set to launch until tomorrow, but today more than 100 DLC items are available in the Xbox Marketplace, ranging from 80 to 320 MS Points. All of the items are cosmetic and won't affect gameplay in any way, Monolith tweeted, and all of them will be unlockable in the full game.We assume it could have been worse -- getting access to optional DLC before a game launches is better than getting access to required, paid-for DLC months after a game launches. So really Gotham City Impostors isn't such a bad guy after all ... oh. We see what you did there, Monolith.
Gotham City Impostors plays dress-up starting Feb. 7
Gotham City Impostors is launching February 7 on North American PSN and PCs everywhere, and on February 8 for Xbox Live and PSNs across the globe. If you can't play it on the first release day, don't feel too bad -- it just means those systems and regions are better at lying, cheating and ensnaring the Batman.
Real shooting with Gotham City Impostors
There's a thing that most licensed games just don't get. The license association, the premise, really, is the bait, but it's the gameplay that's the hook. The game is the thing. For just a few minutes, let's strip away the goofy exterior surrounding Gotham City Impostors. Take away the Batman references, the Joker allusions, the bright colors, the bonkers aesthetic. Dress it all the way down to the only thing that matters: the game. When you do that, you've got something more surprising than a weird Batman game without Batman, with lots of guns: a candidate for the best downloadable console shooter since Battlefield 1943.%Gallery-130941%
The Firing Line: Aiming to misbehave
Hello folks, and welcome to my Christmas list (well, the Massively portion of it, at any rate). For this week's edition of The Firing Line, I decided to take a look at a few of the more obscure titles coming down the development pike. Now, when I say obscure, I don't necessarily mean shoe-string budget indie productions. The games I've got for you after the cut feature a cross-section of both big IPs and big-name development studios, but for whatever reason, they're still a bit under the radar when compared to the likes of PlanetSide 2, DUST 514, and Firefall. Turn the page to read about four online shooters you should be excited about. There might even be some video involved if you play your cards right.
Gotham City Impostors blast away in latest trailer
Guns. There are tons of 'em in Gotham City Impostors, which is recruiting vigilantes for its open beta this month. Meanwhile, the latest animated short for the multiplayer shooter, launching January 10, isn't lacking for death or violence.
Gotham City Impostors outed on Jan. 10, open beta starts in Dec.
With Batman wholly occupied in dismantling disastrously conceived punitive institutions, it's up to a gang of loyal imitators to clean up Gotham City proper. Starting the week of January 10 on PC, PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade, you'll be able to assist either The Bats or -- if you can tolerate their edgy substitution of "s" -- The Jokerz in 12-player online battles for the unusually coveted, crime-ridden city. Gotham City Impostors will undergo an open beta in December, so if you're interested in the game's premise, character customization or odd weaponry, visit the official site and sign up for a WB ID. With a bit of luck you'll get an early tour of what Condé Nast calls "a gloomy, demented place that should have been razed by an orphan."
Gotham City Impostors animated short sets the stage
If you don't already know the premise of multiplayer shooter Gotham City Impostors, this animated short sets it up nicely. Average citizens don the cowl of the caped crusader, while others smear on the Joker's make-up. Then they try to kill each other.
Gotham City Impostors beta invites are the real deal
If you were a keen enough detective and/or a nefarious enough villain to opt in to the Gotham City Impostors closed beta early last month, go check your email and prepare to don your choice of cowl or clown wig: Beta invites are on the move! Now, the beta hasn't actually started yet, but the invitation indicates another announcement "in the coming weeks," which could be any time from now until the heat death of the universe. Those lucky enough to receive an invitation to Monolith's 6-on-6 vigilante shooter are urged to register at the game's official forums. You can still dress up like Batman and fight crime even if you didn't get an invitation, we suppose, but real-world vigilantism never works out the way you think it will. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
Gotham City Impostors gameplay video gives a real look at the fake Batmen
Take a look right hereat the real fake Batmen and Jokers from Monolith's Gotham City Impostors in this in-game trailer, showing off close-quarters combat and innovative jack-in-the-box weaponry a la TF2 meets DCUO. We think Impostors looks like a heap of fun, but even if you don't, at least the characters themselves are having a good time -- half of the players can't seem to wipe those cheek-to-cheek grins off their faces.
Gotham City Impostors expected Winter 2012, will cost $15
According to IGN, Monolith's Batman-free Batman title Gotham City Impostors is expected to hit XBLA and PSN next winter for a cool, crisp 1200 Microsoft Points (or $14.99). We've been trying to work out the exchange rate in our heads since this price was first announced: If Batman: Arkham City costs $59.99 and features one very real Batman, does it make sense for Warner Bros. to charge $14.99 for a game which can feature up to twelve fake Batmans? (Batmen?) While you compute this complex equation, check out the game's latest trailer posted above. Yes, it's all pre-rendered CGI, but it does a great job of giving you a brief introduction to the game's gun-toting counterfeits.
