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New Spy Hunter trailer is loaded with action
The latest Spy Hunter trailer from Warner Bros. shows a familiar red transforming car speeding over water, blasting enemies with missiles, and generally causing a ruckus. Spy Hunter is coming to 3DS and PlayStation Vita in October 2012.
Injustice: Gods Among Us may ditch clash system
NetherRealm announced a wager system in its DC Universe fighting game, Injustice: Gods Among Us, at E3 this year. Dubbed the clash system, this special function combines individualized cutscene cinematics with a process of betting your character's super meter, with the fighter betting the most winning the wager and getting the special move. It sounded confusing at E3, and it still is now at Gamescom, which is why NetherRealm is considering removing it from Injustice entirely."I can see the cinematic moves staying and the wager system going," NetherRealm's Adam Urbano tells Joystiq at Gamescom. NetherRealm is tweaking the clash system and may end up disposing of it entirely, while keeping the character-specific attacks and cinematics, Urbano says.
Peter Jackson's 48 fps version of The Hobbit said to be a 'limited release' only
All told, we can't deny Peter Jackson's caused some madness since announcing the scheme to shoot his upcoming Hobbit film at a high frame-rate, rather than sticking with the more common 24 fps, Hollywood-style method. Regardless, rumor now has it Warner Bros. is supposedly planning a "limited release" of the 48 fps version because, according to Variety, the studio "wants to protect the format" by choosing to go the select-viewing route -- that said, WB's allegedly hoping to "expand the HFR release for the second and third installments." Still, nothing's set in stone just yet, so we'd hold off on throwing any temper tantrums (or celebrating, depending on which side you're on) until we hear something official from Warner.
Paul Dini explains absence from next Batman game
Batman: Arkham Asylum and Arkham City writer Paul Dini isn't working on the next Batman game from Rocksteady, but we already knew that much. However, other than some vague tweets, we didn't know why that was the case. The reason turns out to be much less thrilling than any of his Batman scripts: "The last talk I had with Warner Interactive about future games was while I was doing promotion for Arkham City last September. Naturally as there was such a rush of interest about Arkham City, everyone was asking me about a third game, and frankly, I had been wondering about that myself. When I asked about the possibility of working on a third game I was told that as Rocksteady had just finished wrapping the second one, it would be a while before everyone was ready to sit down and discuss future plans. That said, it was intimated that for future games, Warner and Rocksteady might not be looking as much to freelance writers, the message being, that if I had something else interesting coming my way, I might want to take it."Dini says he wasn't included in Arkham City's DLC projects, and he hasn't been tapped for work on the rumored Silver Age-themed Batman game, said to be Rocksteady's next project. He's since taken on other work that makes him "unavailable to take on anything new until 2013." He's not bitter, though, even noting that "If we wind up working together again at some point, that would be cool, too."
Layoffs hit Warner Bros. Seattle studios [update: WB confirms]
An unknown number of layoffs are affecting WB Games Seattle staff – the umbrella name "WB Games Seattle" comprises Monolith Productions, Snowblind Studios, and Surreal Software. A source close to the studio confirmed reports to us this afternoon, following statements from 3D Realms founder George Broussard on Twitter, stating, "Another Warner Brothers layoff going on as we speak. In progress now. Shame. Hope people land safely."WB Games Seattle is currently working on Lord of the Rings: Guardians of Middle-earth, and it's unclear if any other projects are currently in production. Layoffs hit the studio last November, and were said to have affected "60ish" people. Warner Bros. didn't respond to request for comment as of publishing.Update: WB issued the following statement, confirming the layoffs: "Due to shifting business imperatives, WB Games Seattle has made staff reductions. The group will continue to remain an integral part of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment."
Holy Xbox! LEGO Batman 2 demo now available on Live
A demo for LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes, is now available on Xbox Live. LEGO Bats' latest adventure brings together numerous DC Comics super heroes and super villains, including the likes of Superman, Wonder Woman, Joker and Lex Luthor. Oh, and Robin, we guess.
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.
Gaikai: Delivering instant MMOs to your browser
Imagine that you're reading up on an MMO on a site such as Massively (far-fetched, but stay with us on this). The words intrigue you and you think it might be worth checking out. You make a mental note to do so in the future -- to head over to the game's site, see if there's a trial, download it, set up an account, and give it a whirl -- but time gets away from you and none of that actually happens. Now imagine that right after you read that article there was a single button or link. Clicking on it, a Java window opens up on top of your screen and tells you that you're now playing a trial of the game. There's no wait, no download, no lengthy form to fill out -- just click and play, right away. You go from interested to inside the game within mere seconds, your computer specs (mostly) aren't an issue, and your curiosity is immediately sated. This isn't a far-fetched dream but the here-and-now reality. This is cloud-streaming MMOs brought to you by Gaikai. And it just might be the future of MMOs as we know it.
Fox, Warner, SanDisk and Western Digital's Project Phenix: promotes DRM, misspelling
Studios Fox and Warner Bros. have teamed up with SanDisk and Western Digital to create "Project Phenix." Beneath the orthographically offensive name, it's pitched as DRM that'll permit you to organize, move and watch high-definition content on more than one device. It's the brainchild of the Secure Content Storage Association (SCSA), which has ensured compatibility with UltraViolet, so that users will be able to download cloud-based media to compliant WD and SanDisk storage -- to play on any alliance-approved TVs, tablets and display devices. We'll see the technology available to license later in the year, which promises to render content ten times faster than streaming media on "over the top internet" (translation: streaming services). Yes, there's PR after the break, but we'd only suggest taking a look if you've got a good pair of waders.
Latest Lord of the Rings Online dev diary is rather audacious
Lord of the Rings Online's PvMP changes just keep rolling in, it seems. Last week, the Turbine team announced that a new currency known as commendations will be replacing the role of destiny in matters of PvMP transactions. Today, we've got a new dev diary that announces the upcoming addition of a new PvMP-only stat called Audacity. What is Audacity, exactly? Well, put simply, it's a PvMP stat that will provide players with benefits such as reducing incoming damage and lowering the duration of crowd control abilities. Higher audacity, obviously, equates to lower incoming damage and shorter crowd control effects. But why introduce this feature in the first place? According to the post, the team believes that having PvMP and PvE gear on the same progression path resulted in underwhelming or overly difficult-to-obtain PvMP gear since the team had to ensure that "the PvMP items did not devalue the PvE offerings." In addition, Turbine feels that, thanks to the damage changes made in Rise of Isengard, PvMP combat was too fast-paced. The addition of audacity is intended to nix both of these problems. Freeps will acquire their first rank of Audacity automatically at level 40, and further ranks will be boosted by PvMP gear that can only be purchased with commendations. Creeps, meanwhile, will gain their first rank of Audacity upon creation, and they'll gain further ranks by purchasing them directly from class trainers (seeing as how Creeps don't wear equipment). For the full details on this new system, just click on through the link below to the official dev diary.
Warner Bros. invests in Korean publisher to 'co-develop certain online games' [Updated]
Unless you live in South Korea or are a massive fan of the F.E.A.R. series, chances are you haven't heard much about Korean studio Inplay Interactive. That's going to change right now, so prepare yourself. Inplay is a developer that's worked on F.E.A.R.: Origin Online and SNK All Stars Online but is now poised to rapidly expand its portfolio. Today, the studio announced that it has inked a deal with Warner Bros. to develop two of its most significant IPs into MMOs: Batman and Lord of the Rings. In turn, Warner Bros. will be both an investor and a shareholder of the company. [Update: We've learned that our original source was mistranslated. Warner Bros. has indeed invested in Inplay Interactive with intent to "strengthen the Korean development capability of online games to the world." The partnership "Intend[s] To Co-Develop Certain Other Online Games by utilizing Warner Bros. Properties," but the specific properties have not as yet been disclosed as originally reported. We apologize for the confusion.]
Mortal Kombat goes portable on Vita in 'spring 2012'
The folks at Mortal Kombat dev studio Netherrealm have had their hands on a PlayStation Vita dev unit in some form since way back in September 2010, so it stands to reason that the upcoming port of last year's Mortal Kombat to Vita will be packed with bells and whistles. Said port will arrive sometime after the Vita's North American launch this February, with publisher Warner Bros. Interactive pinning a "spring 2012" launch window to the portable fighter. Studio head Ed Boon promises both "original game content" and "new features" will arrive in MK's Vita iteration, though the announcement PR only teases the inclusion of "several" additions to be "revealed in the coming months." But if Netherrealm follows its usual marketing plan, all of those details will be leaked much, much sooner. The Vita iteration also include the PS3's exclusive character (God of War's main angry dude, Kratos) as well as all four DLC characters (one Mr. Freddy Krueger, Kenshi, Rain, Skarlet are all pictured on the box above). So it's kinda like that "Komplete Edition," just shrunken down.
The Game Archaeologist answers Asheron's Call 2: The community
Time machines are expensive, and with gas the price it is today, it's not always viable to fuel up your DeLorean and travel back to the early 2000s just to check out some of those long-gone MMOs. Fortunately, jawing about them with former players and developers is the next best method of revisiting canceled MMOs. It's been a personal treat to spend the month covering a game I never got to see when it was live. Asheron's Call 2 seems like it was a special game that tried hard and resulted in spectacular ideas and flaws alike. We've gotten to hear from former fansite owners and a developer on the team, which leaves just one group to check in with: the players themselves. So today it's all about reminiscing over AC2 with the players who still carry a torch for this title and perhaps have a poster of it on the ceiling over their beds. I wouldn't be surprised if there's one or two people out there who made "children" out of discarded Asheron's Call 2 boxes and have enrolled them in elementary school only to be declined because they couldn't be authenticated. That's just how much love there is out there for this game.
Batman: Arkham City ships 4.6M in first week, 2M sold
Batman is kind of a big deal, with his latest starring role catapulting Batman: Arkham City to astronomical shipping numbers: an approximate 4.6 million in the first week. LA Times reports that among those shipments, Bats has already slipped into 2 million homes. By most accounts, Batman: Arkham City is earning those numbers, with reviewers (including our own) praising the sequel's densely packed open world and attention to detail, among other things. And if the rest of those shipped copies eventually end up in consumer's homes as well, the game will have already surpassed sales numbers of its predecessor (4.3 million). Not too shabby for a development studio whose only non-Batman game is about being a random police dude!
Batman: Arkham City swoops to PC on November 18
Warner Bros. has deemed today the day to reveal Batman: Arkham City's delayed PC launch date as November 18, one month to the day after its arrival on consoles. The Games for Windows version was delayed last month via a terse WB announcement, which didn't provide an explanation at the time. We can exclusively reveal why today: Bruce Wayne is exhausted, y'all. He's got a lot going on, between film and TV and video games, and he just needed a few weeks to chill. Okay, that and PC version bug fixes.
DDO prepares us for Update 11 with a new catch-up trailer
This year was supposed to be the year of the MMO, right? We did have a couple of decent MMOs make an appearance earlier this year, but the summer has been kind of dry. You need something to occupy your time, so what are you going to do? Turbine Entertainment would like to suggest that you play its free-to-play MMO Dungeons and Dragons Online. To help set the mood, the developers put together a two-minute trailer to get you ready for the full DDO experience. The trailer visualizes the adventurer's journey through the land of Eberron which includes demons, dragons, and of course, magic. Besides the MMO release lull, another reason you may find this to be a great time to experience DDO is the newly released Update 11. The Secrets of the Artificers is now live on the DDO servers waiting for you to get your steampunk on. Check out the trailer after the break!
Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster preview: A children's game for adults
I'll let you in on a little secret about me and Double Fine's next game, Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster -- I played it back at E3, but unfortunately let my preview writeup fall to the wayside as the days after the big show continued. What's more shameful is that it was essentially the best game I played at E3, so I was more than happy to check out a new area at Gamescom and get a second opportunity to speak about it. A chance for redemption, if you will. Luckily, nothing has changed, and Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster remains a magical experience two months later.%Gallery-130943%
Arkham City's Batman is a fashionista, rocking six suits in his wardrobe
Batman's a busy guy, sure, but when he's out prowling the streets of Arkham City looking for thugs, he wants to feel pretty just like anyone else. Developer Rocksteady Studios has clearly taken that into consideration, as the caped crusader has a sextet of costumes to don in his upcoming game, Batman: Arkham City -- should you procure all available pre-order and exclusivity offers surrounding the game, that is. As seen above, everything from classic 1970s Batman to Batman Beyond's version of the Bats' suit has made the cut thus far. Fan site ArkhamCity.co.uk rounded up the various bat suits offered in a variety of different means and provided details on how to grab each for yourself. Unfortunately, it's possible you'll have to spend many hundreds of dollars and possibly import versions from other countries. But hey, that's fashion! Update: To be extra clear, the image above is a fan-made amalgam of existing pre-order images and (possibly) non-official game art. We anxiously await an official image from Rocksteady/Warner Bros. [Image credit: Fan-made; Thanks, Regis.]
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 cuts Kinect, launches on July 12
When The Boy Who Lived makes his big return to Hogwarts for the finale of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, he'll be doing it without the aid of motion peripherals on the Xbox 360. EA producer Gary Napper confirmed to Joystiq that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 won't have any Kinect functionality (unlike its predecessor), as the development team at EA Bright Light made a decision "early on to focus on the core of the experience, get as close to the atmosphere of the movie and make the flow of the combat feel right." The first Deathly Hallows game arrived last November to negative reviews. The sequel will touch down on July 12, just three days before the final movie launches in US theaters. Unfortunately, its short development time -- it's been approximately eight months since the first game launched -- raises questions about how much the sequel can really improve beyond Potter's previous outing. According to Napper, "We didn't want to dilute any of our efforts on other things that would require a lot of the team's time to perfect." We were told that EA Bright Light currently has two unannounced projects in development.
Rumor: Turbine working on console MMO?
Internet scuttlebutt has it that Turbine is cooking up a console MMO codenamed Project Hendrix. A posting at GameSpot cites a Turbine job listing that seeks an engineer for an "unannounced online console project." The article also mentions the resume of one Josh Phelan, a Turbine employee who apparently mentioned the Hendrix title in his online resume (which has since gone dark). Turbine's console aspirations are nothing new, as studio VP Craig Alexander hinted at such desires as early as 2009. Commenter speculation links the job listing to the mysterious Pottermore title, and given Turbine's acquisition by Warner Brothers (which also owns the Pottermore trademark), it's not unreasonable to suspect that the sorting hat could be getting ready to assign a Potter MMO to House Turbine. Check out the details on GameSpot and let us know what you think in the comments.
