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Alter Ego Leaps the Uncanny Valley

admin — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 17:16:12 +0000

Pendulum’s AlterEgo facial performance division is trying to break through the uncanny valley effect with it’s CGI human and humanoid animation. The uncanny valley is a phenomena where the closer to life-like a robotic or CGI representation of a human is, the more it bothers those viewing it.

The company, which is handling animation for Silent Hill: Homecoming (you can read my E3 impressions of Silent Hill 5 on Gaming Today), has added some new videos of their work to its site. The motion capture is stunning, but some of the models are very plastic in appearance. Check out the new Retargeting videos to judge for yourself. In my opinion, they are still a little creepy, but they are closer to real-life than anything I’ve seen before.

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Call of Duty World at War Trailers

admin — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 17:12:17 +0000

The Call of Duty game series is set to return to World War 2. Call of Duty World at War takes players into the Pacific Theater of combat operations during World War 2. I’ve posted links for two trailers that should give you a great look into how the final game is going to play. The first is the debut cinematic trailer while the second trailer is actual game play footage from a two player co-op session. More information and links are included on the trailer pages.

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Line Rider 2: Unbound Updated Impressions - Online Content Sharing

admin — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 17:11:22 +0000

The first incarnation of Line Rider could hardly have been any simpler. You used your mouse to draw a line on a white screen, hit play, and watched a little character sled down the hill you just created–that was more or less it. But despite this stark minimalism, the game picked up a massive following, as the 24,000-plus YouTube search results for “line rider” can currently attest. Now that Line Rider is being spruced up for a full retail release in the form of Line Rider 2: Unbound–a game whose myriad enhancements we’ve previously covered–taking this grassroots community following and giving it a proper home has become one of the primary goals for developer InXile Entertainment. To achieve this, InXile is working on turning LineRider.com into an all-purpose community hub where owners of all three versions (Wii, DS, and PC) can share their handiwork to do some good old-fashioned Web 2.0 social networking.

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Shippin’ Out August 11-15: Madden

admin — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 17:09:20 +0000

In a little more than three months time, gamers will have successfully navigated the holiday 2008 shopping season and gained unfettered access to such games as Gears of War 2, Resistance 2, MotorStorm 2, Fable II, and Mercenaries 2 along the way. That holiday season kicks off aptly this week with the traditional mid-August launch of Electronic Arts’ flagship football franchise, Madden NFL.

As is customary, EA Sports will be hitting all applicable marks with its annualized football sim, with one notable exception. Madden NFL 09 will be available this Tuesday on the Xbox 360, Xbox, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Wii, and Nintendo DS. However, the PC edition will be benched for the season to give the developer time to retool its online connectivity, according to EA Sports chief Peter Moore. The Xbox 360 and PS3 $90 special-edition bundles will also contain NFL Head Coach 09, which will see a stand-alone release on September 2.

Check GameSpot’s Madden NFL 09 Launch Center later today for the full review of this year’s edition, as well as a special Twenty Years of Madden feature.

Publishers typically steer clear of EA Sports’ annual juggernaut, but the game won’t march to retailers alone this week. Of note, Chris Taylor’s Gas Powered Games has hit the switch on Space Siege, a spiritual successor to the developer’s 2002 action role-playing game Dungeon Siege. Also a relic of the future, Bangai-O Spirits will bring its fast-paced shoot-’em-up action to the DS this week, courtesy of D3 Publisher and Ikaruga developer Treasure.

Perhaps the stiffest competition that EA Sports will run up against this week comes by way of each console maker’s digital storefront. With Capcom and GRIN at work on a fully reimagined Bionic Commando, the two have also teamed on a revamp of the classic 1988 side-scrolling platformer. Available on Xbox Live Arcade this Wednesday and on the PlayStation Network a day later, Bionic Commando Rearmed costs $10 (800 Microsoft points).

Fable II Pub Games is the second significant addition to Microsoft’s online platform this week. The casino-style minigame compilation, which lets gamers earn cash that can then be transferred to Lionhead Studios’ upcoming Xbox 360-exclusive action RPG Fable II, can be had for 800 Microsoft points ($10). Participating retailers will also be including the game gratis as a preorder incentive for Fable II.

As made famous by Homestarrunner.com, Strong Bad will make his gaming debut in the first installment of Telltale Games’ latest episodic-adventure series, Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People: Homestar Ruiner. The vehemently obtuse pugilist will retail for $8.95 on the PC, with the edition for Nintendo’s WiiWare Channel clocking in at a dollar more for 1,000 Wii points ($10). Billiards simulator Break In (700 Wii points, $7) and Star Soldier spoof Star Parodier (900 Wii points, $9) round out Nintendo’s digital offerings.

This week’s new releases are listed below (list taken from retailer information–actual dates may vary).

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Path of the Ninja 2 Multiplayer Hands-On

admin — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 17:07:50 +0000

Naruto: Path of the Ninja 2 is Tomy and D3’s upcoming role-playing game for the Nintendo DS that will feature new characters and online multiplayer. Although not a sequel, Path of the Ninja 2 will have an original storyline in the Naruto universe so that fans can expect something new and potential fans can dive in as well. Recently, Tomy and D3 stopped by to let us play around with the multiplayer feature. For a turn-based RPG, it’s fast, it’s frantic, and it’s fun.

Through the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, you can play with anyone and anywhere. Also, there are additional bonuses by playing against people in different regions. You will be asked to enter what state you’re from so that players can collect cards from all the states, as well as the rest of North America, which includes Canada and Mexico. These cards are used to unlock special items in the main game. Wireless play isn’t ready right off the bat; you still need to progress through the game a bit until you come across a Wi-Fi machine. This gives you some time to build up your characters so that the fights will be more interesting.

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EIF 08: Codemasters exec talks development costs

admin — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 11:34:55 +0000

EDINBURGH–As the managing director of Codemasters, Rod Cousens is well placed to talk about development in the UK, and he used the Edinburgh Interactive Festival to extol the virtues of working within the UK in light of recent debate on the matter.

Rod Cousens on stage.”GRID cost us £6.8m to develop,” said Cousens. “But as we expect to sell 1.8 to 2 million copies of the game, it will make a healthy return.” Cousens put the relatively low development costs down to shared technology, namely its in-house engine EGO. GRID is the latest driving game from Codemasters, which is already well established in the genre, having produced the Colin McRae series of rally games. The publisher has also recently taken over the F1 licence.

The same will be true for the company’s upcoming shooter Operation Flashpoint 2, which Cousens says will “be more expensive than GRID, but not more than £20m” to develop. He claims that the UK’s “savvy technological know-how” will allow Codemasters to compete with games that cost four or five times as much to make.

Development costs of major games have spiralled upward in recent years–a Konami executive said in November that its latest blockbuster, Metal Gear Solid 4, needed to sell a million copies on day one to recoup its costs. The financial results of major publishers have also been affected by the amount of money needed to produce titles.

Aside from the costs involved with making major titles, the main point behind Cousens’ presentation was that the high labour rates in the UK are “nullified by creativity and productivity.” There’s also the “benefit of the English language” and the fact that “outsourcing is risky”–facts that he believes have led Sony, Warner Bros., Take Two, THQ, EA, and Disney to invest in developers in the region.

Cousens also hinted at more UK expansion for Codemasters. The publisher last year opened a new development studio in Guildford, Surrey, and also bought Sega Racing Studio in April.

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$139 Gears of War 2 Bundle Includes Life-Size Lancer

admin — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 11:28:23 +0000

Think a replica Master Chief helmet is hardcore? It won’t be when a far-too-dedicated Gears of War 2 fan tears it in half with his replica, chainsaw-equipped Lancer assault rifle this November. GameSpot reports that Amazon.com is taking pre-orders for an exclusive $139.99 Gears of War 2 bundle that’ll come with said replica Lancer, making a mockery of any videogame bundle that ever dared claim to be a Collectors Edition.
The toy Lancer (because let’s get real, it is a toy) is made by NECA, the same company that makes the Gears of War line of action figures. It’ll come with a removable “ammo clip” and adjustable side-handle, and when you pull the trigger, it’ll produce what will surely be a gnarly sounding chainsaw noise (just try not to feel too silly the first time you find out you need to replace the necessary three C batteries).

Oh, you also get a videogame with your toy gun: a standard edition of Gears of War 2. You can add an extra $10 dollars to the ridiculous price tag if you want to bump up to the Gears of War 2 limited edition, and complete your Gears of War 2 nerdgasm in full glory.

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A Few New Details on Star Trek Online

admin — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 11:24:53 +0000

Cryptic’s Leonard Nimoy-equipped world reveal for Star Trek Online may be set for tomorrow, but the Associated Press (via Kotaku) has passed on a few details a little early (including the pictured logo).
Star Trek Online players will create a character that can be modeled either after one of Star Trek’s famous alien species, or based on original player-created alien races (which we suspect may irk the more canonical Star Trek devotees). After creating their character, players will captain their own Starfleet or Klingon Empire ship, traveling to different planets, and — naturally — having plenty of adventures.

“You’ll venture through space exploring new civilizations and life-forms,” said Jack Emmert, Cryptic’s chief creative officer. “You’ll also beam down to planets and have adventures inside your ship. It’s a galactic-wide game. There’s going to be tons of space to investigate. We have a great system for exploration, which will allow for almost infinite possibilities.”

The game will be set “a few generations” after the latest Star Trek film, meaning players won’t see familiar faces such as Captains Jean-Luc Picard or James T. Kirk. That doesn’t mean there won’t be any familiar names in Star Trek Online, though. “There might be a ship called Enterprise flying around, but it’s probably not the same ship anymore,” said Emmert. “Most of the characters will have either retired or passed on, but you’ll definitely be going to all the places you know and love from ‘Star Trek.’ Expect to see oldies like Vulcan and Bajor but also fan favorites like Andoria and Qo’noS.”

Players will also be able to engage in ship vs. ship battles in deep space, although it wasn’t made clear if those will be player vs. player bouts. In fact, that raises another question: If every player will be captain of his or her own starship, how exactly will the partying system work? Will you be able to recruit team members to join you on your own ship?

Perhaps more clarification will come with tomorrow’s unveiling, which Emmert promises will have tons of real gameplay footage to show. “You’re going to see the actual game working and functioning,” he said. “This isn’t renders. This isn’t concept art. Everything that people will see on Sunday is going to be taken right from Star Trek Online as it stands today, so hardened people should know that a release date might be closer than they think.”
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Funcom employee fired for cybersex with player in Age of Conan

admin — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 11:23:23 +0000

It seems that somebody has been sticking their sword into the wrong dungeon. The story goes that an Age of Conan player summoned a GM and convinced them to engage in a little “role-playing”. The GM then took the player to a more secluded portion of the game world and (after a bit of hemming and hawing) proceeded to describe a sexual scenario in graphic detail.
Best of all? The whole thing is a setup. Shortly after things get really hot and heavy, the player reveals that he lied about his gender before screaming, “THIS IS SPARTA!” and announcing that he has AIDS. It’s times like this where I have to thank God for the creation of the internet.
Funcom, understandably, was less amused with the situation and released the following statement:

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Epic Calls Bullsh*t on Lower Gears of War (PC) Review scores

admin — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 10:58:19 +0000

Epic President Mike Capps was a little frustrated at the lack of love the PC version of Gears of Wars got:
“I think it’s bullshit,” he told MundoRare. “Because what we did was take a great game, Gears of War 1 for Xbox 360, made it run at higher resolutions and added three new hours of really good gameplay and it got lower reviews. I think that’s bullshit, and I don’t understand it. I can’t figure out what it is.
“Like, ‘It’s an old game.’ Well, yeah, but it’s new on that platform, so I was really surprised to see lower reviews for what I think a much better game. It had new multiplayer modes, new levels, three hours of gameplay you never saw on 360 that the 360 guys are still upset we haven’t given them, right? So to get lower reviews for more game that’s good? It just doesn’t make any sense.”

Here was the problem(s):
1) It used Windows Live for multiplayer — However you want to spin it, unless you were a paying member, GFWL made for an ass-sucking experience trying to set up matches and finding games. Windows Live is now free, so assuming all of the “Gold” crap is now unlocked for everyone to use, might be decent now.

2) Bugs & Crashes - I don’t know how well they eventually patched Gears of War on the PC, but at the time of its release, you were lucky to even be able to load the game much less play the new chapters.

If the matchmaking stuff has been unlocked and the game is all patched up, GoW PC might be worth another look. It’s pretty cheap now as well — check your local bargin bin — so that’s a plus too.

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