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PAX 2008: Halo 3 Assembly hands-on
As part of their Penny Arcade Expo presence, team Bungie lifted the mysterious curtain on their latest Halo 3 multiplayer map called Purple Reign Assembly, giving PAX attendees a new map to frolic about in. But knowing that it isn't a Midship, Gemini or any other Halo map remake, the big question is whether or not Assembly plays splendidly or if it is any fun at all. And we're pleased to tell you that, yes, it's an unbelievably well designed map that ranks high among our Halo 3 favorites. Impressions after the break.
Joe Morrissey reveals more details of CoX Mission Architect
One of the most eagerly anticipated features of City of Heroes Issue 13: Architect is the Mission Maker, which will let players build their own story arcs for others to play through. There's been a torrent of speculation about what we will and won't be able to do. Now, lead CoX writer Joe 'Hero 1' Morrissey has given a brief question and answer session live from PAX, via the CoX Test Server.Arriving in character as 'the Honoree', Joe proceeded to answer selected questions from the storm that followed his appearance, mostly in clipped Rikti dialect. An in-the-flesh presentation at PAX filled in some additional information. We were pleased to see that missions will indeed be more sophisticated than just radio missions with new text. Players will be 'able to customize existing heroes, villains and enemy groups with a dozen or so options, if not more at launch.' It will also be possible to include Archvillains and Heroes, though some of this content might need to be unlocked.
Guild Wars 2 lore to be told in book series
At the Penny Arcade Expo yesterday afternoon, ArenaNet played host to a jam-packed Raven Theater within the Washington Convention Center for their panel entitled "Three Years of Guild Wars" where attendees were treated to the history of the game and an open Q&A session regarding the current and future state of the game.Yet possibly even more exciting was a small tidbit of news we got from Chris Lye, ArenaNet's Director of Marketing, regarding Guild Wars 2. The team is working with Pocket Books (a division of Simon & Schuster) for a three-book series that will fill in the lore gaps within the 250-year period between Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2. Stay tuned to Massively for more on this series and any other Guild Wars 2 news we may uncover.
PAX08: WAR's Paul Barnett and Jeff Hickman interviewed
On the first day of PAX08, we sat down with Mythic Entertainment's Jeff Hickman and Paul Barnett to discuss several different topics concerning Warhammer Online. We've covered the game very extensively to put it lightly, so for this go-around our goal was to mix things up a bit for the dynamic duo of Jeff and Paul. (Josh Drescher was there, but he was embroiled in a deep discussion about Bacon Salt and its many uses) Let's just say we got some interesting comments about Vampire Counts and Tomb Kings. So, amidst the constant murmuring of the exhibition hall, we recorded the following interview for your listening pleasure.
PAX 2008 hands-on: Demigod
Following an interview with Gas Powered Games at PAX 2008, we got some hands on time with their newest creation, Demigod. The first thing we noticed while watching it running on glowing, envy-inducing PCs was how deliberate much of it looked. Everything from the unit/map design to the ease-of-use control scheme oozed hours of careful consideration on developer GPG's part. While the concept of Demigod tends to bewilder many who hear it -- ourselves included -- understanding the idea only took us a few minutes of playing the atypical strategy game.Players only control their Demigod and its set of abilities. Our time was spent with the RPG-style Torchbearer, a Norse flavored character that can switch between ice and fire modes. We were digging his armored-burn-victim look, which just so happened to feature more armor and less burn. The Torchbearer is all about freezing everything before switching to fire and watching the screen light up as your enemies burn. Our magical offensive certainly got us some kills, but it wasn't moving the battlefront at all. Once we began to work more attentively with our AI-controlled troops of the non-Skynet variety, the battle quickly shifted to our favor.Our actions in-game where peppered by murmurs of, "Oh, whoa." and "I want this game, now" from various onlookers behind us. We were starting to agree with this sentiment. It surprised us to find out that the game is actually running on a version of the Supreme Commander engine, as we saw more visual variety in 30 minutes with Demigod than we ever did playing hours of SupCom. GPG assured us that the system requirements are designed to include low-end machines, which is very much due to the fact that Demigod doesn't try to do a thousand things at once on-screen while you play it. (our wallets say thanks) Looking at the game, it was fairly hard to imagine that the harpy-like creatures and wiggling death-plant-things were living in the same engine that featured angular robot-spiders and hover tanks that bogged down our computers just a year and half ago. All in all, Demigod looks like it's going to steal away our precious personal time when it eventually ships on Stardock's Impulse service next year. [MP3] Download this interview in MP3 format
PAX08: Day two impressions
The second, and arguably largest day of PAX 2008 is behind us, and we thought we'd get you up to speed on our ongoing expo impressions. Saturday was packed with some exciting panels from the MMO developer community, such as one accurately called "NCsoft is kicking @r$e at PAX!" This panel was all about the many games published and developed by NCsoft, including the much-anticipated Aion, new exclusive info for the City of Heroes franchise and more chances for players to get their DNA into space with Tabula Rasa's Operation Immortality.Later in the day there was an exclusive showing of Warhammer Online in a more "closed" setting where Paul Barnett and Jeff Hickman showcased the features of the game. Then there was an ArenaNet panel that ended up being a full house with an endless line waiting to get in almost an hour before it began. This panel was especially exciting to this blogger as the ArenaNet devs ran down a history of Guild Wars over the past three years, and told us a tiny bit of info on Guild Wars 2 that we'll be reporting on later. Check out the still-growing gallery below and stay glued to Massively for more of this weekend's PAX 2008 coverage.%Gallery-30683%
Seen@PAX08: Warhammer Online team going all out
We've spent a lot of time stomping around the exhibition hall at PAX this year and there are plenty of sights to see. One constant of the show floor was the never-wavering, always-happy-to-see-you team at the Warhammer Online booth. They also liked to make strange "w" signs with their hands at us. We think it's probably some east-coaster thing or maybe a esoteric European gang sign. It could've also been related to Warhammer Online, but that's probably unlikely.This was the first year that Paul Barnett, Jeff Hickman and Josh Drescher were there to answer questions, chat with fans and generally be cool, approachable guys. While hanging around the booth after our (soon to be available) interview with Jeff and Paul, we lost count of how many times they posed for pictures, signed things, repeatedly discussed issues, or just generally made themselves available for poking and prodding throughout the day.%Gallery-30683%
PAX 2008: TellTale talks Wii, IP licensing and the future
TellTale, purveyors of all things pointy and clicky, were kind enough to have a natter with us on the PAX show floor. Designer, Mark Darin, and PR Manager, Emily Morgant, chat to us regarding developing for the Wii, how deals for the Sam and Max, Homestar Runner and Wallace and Gromit franchises came about and plans for the future. Hint: we won't be finding out about any more TellTale products for a little while. Are there any plans to bring any of TellTale's properties on to XBLA or PSN?Mark: Start with the hard questions! I don't really have too many answers to that. I know that we're looking to get on as many platforms as we can. We're talking to people about opportunities but no solid plans right now. Emily: I would add to that that when we announced that we coming out with a WiiWare game and it was already in production and that it would be coming out a few months later, everybody was very surprised. We do things and don't talk about them.How has your experience been with Nintendo's platform versus the PC?Mark: Working with Nintendo's been pretty good. Actually our production process is kind of streamlined and our TellTale Tool is created to work well with multiple systems. So for us there's really no bottleneck, it's the same as working on the PC environment. All the help that Nintendo's been giving us and allowing us the opportunity to be on WiiWare has been great for our company and great for getting titles like SBCG4AP out there to a new audience who maybe isn't used to Adventure games. It's been a great partnership with Nintendo so far.
PAX 2008: The Vault-Boy Puppet
"That has to be the coolest piece of schwag ever made." People were honestly saying this about the coveted Vault-Boy puppet that Bethesda was giving away after their Fallout 3 panel. It was hard to come by too, since you had to attend the panel, get a special Fallout 3 fat boy (read: atomic bomb) card, bring it by Bethesda's booth afterwards, and hope you got the puppet as a prize instead of the t-shirt (which was pretty damn cool too).Check out the gallery below, which is full of the Vault-Boy puppet. Is he good? Is he evil? We hope to find out before he kills Ross.%Gallery-30869%
PAX 2008: Polly wants a tank rush
Although we missed the presentation ourselves, the gang at Robot Martini caught Ubisoft's demonstration of Tom Clancy's EndWar audio power at PAX 2008. To do so, they pitted two parrots against each other in a multiplayer match. Check out the video yourself after the break. When Polly says "deploy tanks," you take cover and hide your crackers (har).
PAX 2008: Pink Godzilla revisited
Feeling that we didn't do it enough justice the first time, we've updated the Pink Godzilla booth tour gallery from this year's PAX. Click on the golden NES for more.%Gallery-30810%
Choose your own adventure with Mirror's Edge's 'Alternative Paths'
Were you entranced by the E3 footage of DICE's highly acrobatic action-platformer Mirror's Edge, but wished you could have seen more of the title's totalitarian cityscape? A recent developer walkthrough, showcased yesterday at PAX, might be right up your alley, over your catwalk, and onto your adjacent roof. Pop some Dramamine, then check out the video after the break to see some of the more unconventional tactics one can use to deliver a package. We just wish our trusty FedEx guy could perform l'art du déplacement with such intrepidness and grace.
PAX 2008: Cosplay, day two
click above to enter the gallery Day two of our collection of people embracing nerd culture to the fullest extent. We're continued to impressed by what we've seen here so far with the cosplayers, in both selection and execution. And don't forget, Darth Vader can rock a mean Alanis Morissette. We've also mega-expanded our general PAX 2008 showfloor gallery to show you every square foot of what you're missing.%Gallery-30788%%Gallery-30778%
Penny Ar-cake makes Gabe cry, us drool
Click to giganticize Penny Arcade's Mike/Gabe told us in an interview that he hates all cake coverage. The good news is, you can't hate our cake and eat it too. So, it's with love and appreciation that we present this glorious photo of a sweet-looking, sugary Penny Arcade cake, featuring deliciousness from the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness.Gabe, you might hate cake, but we think the masses would decimate this Penny Arcade pastry piece with vim and vigor. It was created by cakesmith Brian Kurtz, who is also available for weddings, bar mitzvahs, your LAN party, or "any other situation that calls for a bad-ass 3D cake that will make your guests crap their pants in disbelief." Stay tuned for our interview with Tycho and Gabe later this week.
PAX 2008: Darth Vader and Stormtroopers rock to Alanis
Having just exercised our right to go broke at the Pink Godzilla mini-store on this year's PAX 2008 showfloor, we were surprised and elated to turn around and see Darth Vader and a merry band of Stormtroopers taking the stage to play Alanis Morissette's "You Oughta Know" on Rock Band 2, with vocals being handled by some unknown non-cosplayer. Apologies for the quality, as the moment was rather impromptu, but we had to share this with you.
PAX 2008: Rooster Teeth show off Red v. Blue anime
The Rooster Teeth gang had a rather interesting reveal at this year's PAX 2008 ... an anime of Red v. Blue. Yes, the known machinima has crossed the threshold into Japanese animation. Of course, the voicing and ad lib comedy that's made them famous is still intact. Check out the shaky came footage after the break.
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PAX 2008: Halo Mythic ain't mythical, it's here... sort of
Is this what Microsoft was not so quietly sweeping under the carpet when they nixed the Bungie announcement during their E3 keynote? We have no clue as of yet, and all we can get out of Bungie is a "we can't talk about it." We're going to try and batter down Bungie's doors today to get more info.So far, here's what we know. The menu screen says System Version 1.2, when the Halo 3 retail version is only at 1.1, and there's only a multiplayer option, no campaign. What does it all mean? We caught up with Bungie's Brian Jarrard who told us the screen was from a build that they brought on Friday that "wasn't really meant to be seen. However, it's really not that exciting, it's gotten kind of blown out of proportion."While the shakey-cam photo above from Addict Gaming might be the only visual evidence of Mythic, it's definitely coming. At some point. Bungie wasn't forthcoming with details, but we'll see what we can find out.[Thanks, Robert]
Rock Band PAX Pack DLC brings charity
This week's Rock Band DLC is a philanthropic one -- all the money from the tracks will be going to the Child's Play charity. The PAX Pack will contain the following songs: "Skullcrusher Mountain" -- Jonathan Coulton "Livin' on the Corner of Dude and Catastrophe" -- MC Frontalot "Shhh...." -- Darkest of the Hillside Thickets (previously unreleased track) Each band is performing at PAX and all the songs are master recordings. Look for these on the PS Store on Thursday for $0.99 each or $2.99 for the entire pack.
PAX 2008: Highlights from the Jonathan Coulton concert
Last night, Jonathan Coulton (preceeded by the awesome OneUps and Frezepop) rocked the PAX 2008 house in the only way a bearded man with an acoustic guitar standing in front of a crowd of nerds can -- with clever puns and nerd references. Check out our highlights reel of the show, including: A "Still Alive" duet with Dr. Horrible's Felicia Day A more subdued, romantic "Code Monkey" A cover of They Might Be Giant's "Birdhouse in Your Soul" A sea of arms stretched out mumbling "eat your brains" Lots of great Coulton banter We've embedded the highlights reel above. Check out the separate videos for "Code Monkeys" and "Birdhouse in Your Soul" after the break.
PAX 2008: Highlights from Freezepop concert
In case you missed the concert Friday night at PAX 2008, or just want a quick refresher, we've created a highlights reel for the Freezepop show. What you'll see is clips from their opener ("Brainpower" of Rock Band fame), a shiny sea of cell, phone and DS lights, a rather unique "Star Spangled Banner" performance and their closer, a cover of Europe's "Final Countdown." Stay tuned later today for video from the night's headliner Jonathan Coulton.
