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BAFTA video game award nominees announced
The BAFTA awards represent a rare opportunity to get the thrill of watching your favorite high-profile games rack up more plaudits long after the end of the year. They also represent the opinions of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, but whatever. The nominations for the 2009 awards have been released, with mostly unsurprising games occupying the "Best Game" category -- Batman, Assassin's Creed II, Modern Warfare 2, Left 4 Dead 2, Joystiq.com Game of the Year 2009 Uncharted 2 -- and FIFA 2009. In the "people's choice" GAME Awards, all of the Best Game nominees but Left 4 Dead 2 make repeat appearances, joined by The Beatles: Rock Band, GTA Chinatown Wars, The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, Street Fighter IV, and Wii Sports Resort. "Everyone's" tastes are much more diverse! See more nominations for specific genres and achievements at the BAFTA site. The winners will be revealed in an award ceremony on March 19.
Uncharted 2 getting multiplayer trophies, more DLC Feb. 25
On February 25, a patch for the multiplayer component of the 2009 Game of the Year™ will be released, adding 12 new trophies and 12 in-game medals. You can find a list of both of these unlockables after the jump. In addition, a batch of Uncharted 1-themed DLC will be simultaneously added to the PSN, giving players access to six character skins from the original title: Original Drake, Elena, Atoq Navarro, Eddie Raja, Gabriel Roman and Javier. There will be two new maps as well: The Flooded Ruins, which takes place in the customs house from the first game, and The Facility, which is based on Uncharted's submarine dock area. The maps and skins will be bundled together for $5.99, or sold piecemeal for $3.99 and $2.99, respectively.
Uncharted 2 outselling first game, 'closing in' on 3m sold
It may not have charted in the January NPDs, but Uncharted 2 has stealthily beaten sales of the first game in the series, according to PlayStation's Jack Tretton. We can think of a number of reasons why: Certainly, the growing install base of the PS3 has something to do with franchise's growing success; and perhaps the addition of multiplayer makes Uncharted 2 a more attractive purchase than the first game; or maybe it's simply because it's pretty darn good. Uncharted 2 sales are "now closing in on three million copies sold worldwide," according to Tretton. Considering those figures, it's clear that Sony management should have one directive for developer Naughty Dog: "Make another one, please!"
BAFTA people's choice GOTY voting now open
Do you live in the UK and dream every night about the possibility of one day voting on a people's choice game of the year award? Right, us neither, but if you're into that kinda thing, UK retailer GAME is holding the second annual GAME British Academy Video Games Awards at the London Hilton on March 19 and you can vote for the awards show's top "honour." Sure, you can't actually buy tickets and attend or anything crazy like that (the event is live-streamed online, in fairness), but you still have just over a month to put in your vote for one of the 10 games in the running -- games that were chosen from a list comprising "the top selling games of the year sold in GAME stores." At the very least, voters will automatically be entered into a contest to win a "Sony Home Entertainment Package," so, if nothing else, there's always the possibility of winning a Sony ... something (or somethings). Click through or glance a few inches up for the people's choice award contestant list.
Naughty Dog's Amy Hennig tells the LA Times how she made it
[Image Source: LA Times] The Los Angeles Times' "How I Made It" feature has shined a spotlight on none other than Naughty Dog creative director Amy Hennig, illuminating the secret of how a 45-year-old woman can conquer the gaming industry and nab Joystiq's Game of the Year with Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. She started out as a film student back in 1989 and says she had a revelation while working freelance for Atari that gaming "was a more interesting and pioneering medium" than even the movies. She worked her way up the ladder and took chances when they came along. When the lead designer on the wacky Michael Jordan: Chaos in the Windy City left the project, she stepped up and took the job. And having talent and intelligence can't hurt either -- she says that she puts her whole education into gaming, from English lit to film editing, and while she downplays her place as a woman in gaming ("This is a young enough and progressive enough industry" to avoid most problems with sexism, she says), she does admit that she, erm, moderated the male perspective on breast size with some of her developers. Because somebody's got to, right? Excellent profile of one of gaming's more unlikely stars. [Thanks, MikeIriye!]
PSN Thursday: Were you waiting for the Uncharted 2 demo?
Folks who couldn't bring themselves to buy Uncharted 2 until they played the demo, well, now's their chance. This week's PSN update adds a single-player demo for Joystiq's Game of the Year for 2009. For those who already have Nathan Drake's latest adventure, the update also includes the $5 "PlayStation Heroes" pack, which allows you to reskin the Uncharted 2 crew with Resistance, inFamous and Killzone bodies. Check out the full PSN update after the break, along with the PSP comics update. Choose your platform to view the corresponding release list: (Note: Continue past the break to view both release lists.)
Uncharted 2 title update 1.04 'fixes' multiplayer data syncing issue
Just in time for tomorrow's DLC update, Uncharted 2 is receiving another title update. Patch 1.04 only addresses one issue, but it's a crucial one. Players affected by a rare "error syncing player data" issue will be able to connect online after downloading this patch. Unfortunately, the fix comes at a huge price: all multiplayer stats will be wiped for those affected by this glitch. "This is going to happen ONLY to the accounts who couldn't connect because of the "error syncing player data" message. Everyone else who has been able to connect and play normally will be entirely unaffected," Naughty Dog's Arne Myer told the community. For those that have yet to see the error message, the patch will come as just a minor step to take before jumping online. However, there are a select few that will lose a great deal of time and effort. "This was not an easy decision for us to make. Over time it became clear to us that there was absolutely no other option remaining to eliminate this issue for all affected." "If there was an alternative that didn't require rolling back the affected accounts, we would have implemented that in a second." Hopefully, you weren't unlucky enough to be stricken by such an unfortunate situation.
Hong Kong International Airport gets PS3 kiosks
[Image: Flickr user charchlam] While we Americans are forced to spend our layovers trying not to get chosen for random cavity searches, folks who end up with some free time at Hong Kong International Airport are given a much more pleasant distraction. According to travel news site The Moodie Report, HKIA now plays host to more than a dozen PS3 "game poles," which give visitors a chance to check out a number of the platform's biggest titles, like Final Fantasy XIII and Uncharted 2. Sounds like a pretty neat idea -- we're just glad Modern Warfare 2 isn't one of the featured games. That'd be ... uncomfortable. [Via Kotaku]
Uncharted 2 demo, DLC climb onto PlayStation Store on January 28
Chances are, you've played Uncharted 2 by now. Wait, you haven't? Why? Do you not trust us?! If the lack of a single player demo has turned you off Naughty Dog's latest adventure, worry no more. A free Uncharted 2 demo is making its way to the PlayStation Store next Thursday, January 28th. In addition, premium DLC will supplement its release for fans that are still making their way through the online leaderboards. As previously mentioned, the first DLC pack will add Sev and a Helghast soldier from Killzone 2, Nathan Hale and a Chimera from Resistance 2, and Cole (both good and evil variants) and Zeke from inFAMOUS. This first set of DLC will be available for $4.99 in the US.
Nathan Drake hoping to take home more shiny trinkets at AIAS awards
We're in the thick of awards season, and video games are no exception. The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences has announced its finalists for the 13th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards ("The 'Racties" -- we're kidding but that's what they should be called), and, as you might have guessed, award hog Uncharted 2: Among Thieves leads the pack with 15 nominations. The rest of the nominees include more of the usual suspects from 2009: Assassin's Creed II with 10 noms, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 with nine and Batman: Arkham Asylum with eight. This year's awards also features three new categories, including Outstanding Achievement in Game Design and Portable and Social Networking Games of the Year. You can find a list of selected categories and their nominees after the break, or check out the Academy's full list in PDF form. The awards will be given out at the DICE Summit on February 18 in Las Vegas, where Activision's Bobby Kotick is scheduled to keynote. We can only guess that he'll go all Kanye on the podium if Modern Warfare 2 doesn't win.
New Uncharted 2 DLC, retail twin pack for Japan
A very elegant Uncharted box set will be released in Japan on February 18 for ¥7,980 (about $87). The Uncharted Twin Pack contains both Uncharted 2 and the "PlayStation 3 the Best" Edition of Uncharted, in a lovely gold box that, thankfully, hides Japan's Uncharted 2 box from view. Along with this announcement comes the reveal of a demo bound for the Japanese PlayStation Store on January 28, plus a bunch of exciting DLC, which we can assume will arrive outside of Japan at some point. The first content pack will be free and in the Store on January 28 -- and it's kinda weird. It contains multiplayer character models of Resistance 2's Nathan Hale and a Chimera, InFamous' Cole (in both "good" and "evil" forms) and Zeke, and Killzone 2's Tomas Sevchenko and a Helghast soldier. The second DLC pack, dated February 25, adds two maps, one of which is based on the first Uncharted's "Ruins" area, and multiplayer models of the first game's Nate, Elena, Atoq Navarro, Eddy Raja, Roman Gabriel, and a mercenary. This pack won't be free, but no price has been specified. The third DLC pack, available April 15 and also premium, adds a new co-op multiplayer mode, along with four new maps and five new character skins. Check out the crossover character skins in our gallery below: %Gallery-83616%
GDC Awards nominees announced, Drake leads the pack
We've just received a press release revealing which titles will be vying for top honors at the 10th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards, held in conjunction with GDC 2010 on March 11. If you're not familiar with the show, picture the Kids Choice Awards, only ... with video game developers choosing the winners instead of teenagers. Or, alternatively, imagine the VGAs, only without all the half-naked women, pot references and awards named after highly caffeinated soft drinks. You'll see some familiar names on the full list of nominees posted after the jump. Uncharted 2 netted seven nominations, Flower managed to grab five, and Assassin's Creed II ended up with four. Will Ezio be snubbed by Nathan once more in the Game of the Year runnings? We'll find out at GDC!
Writers Guild of America announces 2010 game writing nominations
Well folks, we've been here twice before -- it's that very special time of year when the Writers Guild of America announces nominations in the category of "Videogame Writing." As has been the standard for the past two years, the list of games is a dubious mix. We'd certainly point to Naughty Dog's Uncharted 2 (our 2009 Game of the Year, lest you forget) and Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed 2 as worthy of the title, but ... well, nearly everything else on the list strikes us as either unworthy or straight up misplaced. It reads as follows: Assassin's Creed 2 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Wet X-Men Origins: Wolverine We're just as flummoxed as you are that titles like Wolverine and Modern Warfare 2 showed up -- especially while a litany of other great writing falls by the wayside (we're looking at you, Dragon Age and Professor Layton 2) -- but that might have something to do with the WGA membership requirement for consideration in the nominations. Regardless, we'll find out who's going to take the golden manuscript home when the show takes place simultaneously in both Los Angeles and New York City on February 20. [Via GamesIndustry.biz]
Uncharted 2 gets big multiplayer site update
Just before the clock struck midnight to round out the last decade, Naughty Dog unveiled (and released) a major overhaul to its online stat tracking for Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. The game's new stat display digs let us get down and dirty into the tiniest little details. Need to know your kill/death ratio, and your lifetime loot stockpile, and see how you compare to the entire global average on a specific map? Done. Looking for detailed breakdowns of previous multiplayer showdowns? Covered. This stat update is a monster and according to Naughty Dog, the team may still expand the system further. We're willing to let them sit on it for a while, but only because we're still a little busy swooning over our top pick of 2009.
Uncharted 2's sexual politics examined
Gamasutra has posted an interesting analysis of the treatment of sexuality in Uncharted 2. The article mainly focuses on Chloe, which the author, Tom Cross, describes as "a smart, competent, sexually aware pointedly heterosexual female character." The article further notes that Chloe, in an unusual turn for most video games, "constantly disagrees with and harries the main male character, sometimes out of self-interest and sometimes out of deeply felt connection and respect." While Cross notes that Uncharted 2 sticks to common story tropes and character arcs, he acknowledges the "incredible quality of Among Thieves' script, story, and acting," noting that the main cast are "some of the most fun, interesting, inoffensive characters in video games." We're inclined to agree. After all, Uncharted 2 didn't take Joystiq's top honors for nothing.
Joystiq's Top 10 of 2009: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Describing Uncharted 2: Among Thieves as a "roller coaster ride" may seem like apt commentary, but only if it was your intention to conjure a deranged park that's exchanged amusement for sheer terror. The official Uncharted 2 roller coaster reaches miles into the horizon, its numerous knotted tracks casting a silhouette of snakes writhing in a late-afternoon wrestling match. Once you board the cart and hurtle across the first peak, the harness tightens and holds you captive for about ten hours, only offering a break when a piece of the track explodes and leaves you dangling from a deadly precipice. So, really, it's much better as just a game. Despite plundering the realm of film for its adventurous spirit, its hewn heroes and its desire to unearth suspense within spectacle, Uncharted 2 is not just like a movie. It's better than most big-screen fare in superficial ways -- a snappy script, clashing characters and sincere performances -- and in ways that show how the video game equivalent isn't just equal to Hollywood's medium. The hook in this game's script (and its scripted moments) is that the protagonist can be two people at once. There's Nathan Drake, the occasionally unscrupulous and frequently clumsy fortune hunter, and there's Player One, vicarious adventurer and -- if he's rubbish at the game -- experienced time traveler. Of course, the best thing about Uncharted 2 isn't dying and reloading a checkpoint. It's almost falling, almost getting run over and almost being able to stop playing. Yes, it's all a linear, sometimes literal tunnel of fun that entirely ignores fancy emergent gameplay and the consequent "this cool thing happened to me" water-cooler stories. But by shoving the hero through meticulously assembled action sequences and spectacular near-death scenarios, developer Naughty Dog has guaranteed that this cool thing happened to all of us. We were all Nathan Drake and we were all almost killed by that train. It's not hard to point out the various elements that make Uncharted 2 the best game of 2009, certainly not when it boasts unsurpassed graphics, robust multiplayer modes and a level of mobility and improvisation that's rarely seen in tank-man shooters. What's difficult is illustrating how well it crafts suspense as it plunges you down to the brink of defeat before rocketing you into the heights of yet another climax. Oh, hey ... have you ever been on a roller coaster? << Back(2) | Comment Joystiq's Top 10 of 2009 1. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves 2. Assassin's Creed 2 3. Batman: Arkham Asylum 4. Dragon Age: Origins 5. inFamous 6. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 7. Shadow Complex 8. Borderlands 9. 'Splosion Man 10. Little King's Story Previously: Top 10 of 2008, Top 10 of 2007
Naughty Dog's Evan Wells talks writing, pacing of Uncharted 2
Truth be told, there's so much info contained in G4's massive interview with Naughty Dog co-president Evan Wells that we couldn't possibly encapsulate it all in one headline. Naturally, it all focuses on Uncharted 2, which has been raking in awards left and right as 2009 comes to a close. Among other things, Wells discusses the script, which the team actually wrote as the game was being developed. While there was a rough outline at the beginning of production, Wells notes that having a fully fleshed out script can cause trouble if changes have to be made in the middle of development. Wells also discusses the pacing of the game, which he likens to pulp novels and movies like Indiana Jones. He admits that Uncharted 2's treasure hunting mechanic can actually slow the pacing. Should Naughty Dog work on another Uncharted -- and we get the feeling they just might -- Wells says the treasure hunting could be improved, perhaps by making more hidden treasures available only after the first playthrough. Other topics covered include the complexity of the train level, sales numbers and how far Naughty Dog thinks it can push the PS3 hardware. Uncharted fans should definitely give it a read.
PSA: Uncharted 2 double cash weekend, Santa hats in play
In our rush to the yule late this past week, we nearly forgot to mention that Nathan Drake and Nathan Drake lookalikes (Drakealikes?) have the chance to earn double cash (read: XP) this weekend in Uncharted 2's multiplayer mode. Donning the ubiquitous red cap (and apparently two brand new invisible hands), those taking Drake online will encounter not just jollier looking foes, but also "double for all kills and medals," according to Naughty Dog marketing man Arne Meyer on the PlayStation Blog. The temporary XP boost kicked in on Christmas Eve (December 24) at 10AM PST and goes until tomorrow at 11AM PST, so there are still at least another 24 or so hours to shoot some of those dastardly Drakealikes in multiplayer. %Gallery-51151%
VGA 2009: Claudia Black talks about our favorite subject, Claudia Black
This past Saturday brought us the Spike TV Video Game Awards and – before experiencing the litany of world exclusives that awaited us inside – we spent some time outside cruising the red carpet and talking (briefly!) to many of the game developers and talent. We squeezed them for information as fast as we could while simultaneously wishing them holiday cheer and good tidings. Yes, it was as awkward as it sounds. Here's what we learned from the voice of Chloe from Uncharted 2, and star of Farscape, Stargate, and more, Claudia Black.. So you've jumped genres from science fiction television shows to swashbuckling video games. How has that been? Oh, I think it is all one in the same, isn't it? It is all part of the same genre. So I mean for me, it has been a very easy segue into this, and I think it has sort of corresponded at the same time with the industries starting to coalesce, too. You know, the film industry, which is sometimes considered, I think, to be a snobbish cousin of the gaming industry, is now really starting to take notice. I'm sure the smell of money is helping a bit. Yeah. I mean I think it really came to the floor when Van Helsing the film was kind of like the launch pad for the game, and the game was sort of more relevant and important, in a way, than the movie. You've done a lot of video game voices, but was this the first time you did motion capture? Yes, this was my first motion capture experience. I am a huge proponent of it because I think what impressed me about Naughty Dog's is that they respect and appreciate the magic that occurs over time between the performers. That you can have a great script, and you can have great voice actors in the booth, but you are never going to recreate that incredible alchemy that occurs with people in a room together. And they hired such amazing actors, you know, theater trained, very experienced actors to work together. And also, they were very specific and particular about whom they hired based on personalities because they wanted us to be a really tight knit family. And every single day it was fun. Every single day. And I know that games have become a very serious business, but they wanted the levity and the bonding to be the overriding essence on the set. What is next for you? Well I just wrapped up a little independent film called Rain from Stars which is written and directed by Steven Wallace and French Stewart, a wonderful comedic actor, and Jeremy London, Brian Krause ... a really lovely cast. It's called Rain from Stars, and is like 12 Angry Men meets Saw.
Uncharted 2 multiplayer adds rematches, clan tags with title update
A recent PlayStation.Blog post contained great news for your ragtag group of trained virtual killers: an Uncharted 2 title update which goes live later today will add Clan Tag functionality to the game's multiplayer component, allowing you to proudly display your team's four-letter moniker before your PSN ID. Sure, this isn't exactly the full clan support that your clan might have hoped for, but it still lets you represent. Isn't that what really matters? The update's other features, which include quick rematches for online games and hastened load times, can be found in a list after the jump.
