Daily News - 6th July 2011 - Sony "Online Pass" and The Worst 2 Game Names In History

As you may or may not be aware, the 4th of july occurred in America this week, meaning everybody in the USA got a massively long weekend... so awesome news has been running low lately... until now!!! Daily News Is Back!

Sony Wants You To Pay To Play 2nd Hand Games Online

Following the trend companies like EA have set with their sports games, Sony looks to give you a one-use code when you buy one of their first-party games (the first of which will be Resistance 3) which will allow you to play the game online. Ofcourse, this means that if you buy a Sony game second hand and want to play it online, then you'll have to shell out sonme extra money for a code. If other companies' models are anything to go by you're probably looking at about an extra £10ish to get your multiplayer on. Not a huge surprise, as the industry has been moving this direction for a while now, but it's still always a bummer when a new company jumps on the bandwagon.

Atleast Resistence 3 doesn't look terrible. Oh wait...

Meet The Newest Harmonix Trademark - "Vidrhythm"

Harmonix isn't one for subtle game names (Rock band, Dance Central) but let's be honest, "Vidrhythm" leaves a fucking LOT to the imagination. People are asking, but they're not telling, so it's left up to the video game community to pile conjecture on top of the name and eventually reach a consensus that nobody will like whatever it turns out to be. If I had to guess I'd say it's some kind of free-style visualizer where any movement detected on the Kinect will constitute following the rhythm, leaving you to whatever the fuck you want in time to the music. Let's be honest, I'm just stabbing in the dark around a bad game title, although it's not the worst new game name you'll read today...

Dance Central was a success, so I'm keeping my hopes up for Harmonix on this one.

Prepare Yourself For The Retarded Terribleness Of... "Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy"!!!

The worst name of anything in recent memory was revealed in the Japanese magazine Jump, and is described as a "theater rhythm game". Names like this make me physically angry in weird ways. I kind of feel it in my chest, and then in my stomach where it stews for a while, eventually coming out in outbursts hours later over pointless things like Deal Or No Deal or dropping an ice cube. It hurts my brain that anybody could be this stupid. It gives me a weird headache where my brow muscles are furrowing themselves but I have no control over it. It hurts my eyes to read, and I wanna punch myself in my own fingertips for typing it out. "Theatrhythm" is absolutely ridiculous in every way and it makes me unspeakably infuriated to know that this will actually exist. Fuck you Square!

Here's the scan from the magazine. Looks as baffling terribly as you'd expect

Daily News - 30th June to 2nd July - Bungie Aerospace, Disney and Trenched

It's been a slow few days for news. No excuse for not updating the site though, sorry guys.

Bet You Can't Guess What "Bungie Aerospace" Is!

I'll tell you right now, it's not a game. It's a way for Bungie to help budding mobile and social game developers get their games out there. Weird, right?!? The first game is called Crimson and will be made by Harebrained Schemes, whose Creative Director is interestingly, the guy who came up with the I Love Bees ARG for Halo 2.

I'm not so sure this will be Bungie's best selling merch of all time...

Disney Close Down Black Rock Studio

Those of you that enjoyed Pure and Split/Second will be saddened by this news, but probably saw it coming a while ago. The company suffered pretty big lay-offs earlier in the year, and with no new games in the works this seemed somewhat inevitable. The good news is that Pure and Split/Second were both favourably reviewed so the team should do alright finding work. I wish them all the best, there are much worse games out there than the ones Black Rock has made, so fingers crossed they get to put there talents to work soon.

We haven't heard the last from these guys

XBLA Game Trenched Release Pushed Back Due To... Portugese Board Game?!?

So apparently, Doublefine's latest game Trenched isnt out in Europe yet because a Potugese Board Game is already called Trenched which prevents the game being able to be released in several European territories. The game was due to be out this week, and is in fact already out in America (to very good reviews aswell). The game features mech-based combat versus sentient TVs... yeah, needless to say I wanna play, but it's gonna be a while for us Europeans.

I wanna shoot TVs with a giant mech!!! Not fair!

Daily News - 29th June 2011 - I Am Alive, Limbo and Respawn Give Us A Teaser

I Am Alive Says "I Am Alive!!!"

I Am Alive is a game that's been seldom heard of in about 2 years now. The game's a survival horror set post-apocalypse and is being made by Darkworks, who made such gems as Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare and Cold Fear (I've never heard of it either...). The game was thought cancelled a while ago but the Australian ratings board rated the game a 15 yesterday. Auastralia rates games alot sooner than the rest of the world, so the game won't be out soon, but it's always nice to hear stories about games coming back from the dead.

The world looks suitably fucked up, I guess that's a good thing for a game set after the apocalypse

Limbo Seems Destined For The PS3

Another ratings board blunder, this time from the Koreans, who rated a PSN version of the game. What's also interesting is that some NeoGAF (a gaming forum) users claimed to have found a Steam trailer for the game. It seems likely therefore that the game is set to go cross platform, which is great news! Limbo is not just a great downloadable game, it's one of the best games I've ever played outright... but more about that in an article I'm writing.

Limbo is probably the most atmospheric game I have ever played

Respawn Entertainment Tease Us With Vaseline

If you like your video games, you'll know that Respawn is a new game company made up of ex-Infinity ward employees (of Modern Warfare fame). Their first game, though confirmed as a sci-fi shooter, is an unknown quantity at this point. Well, yesterday they released their teaser website with an appropriately teasery image. It literally just looks like somebody just smeared vaseline over a camera lens and look a picture. Obviously internet conjecture is rife, with people saying maybe dinosaurs? but the real question is: What do you think?

What the fudge?!?

Daily News - 27th June 2011 - Summer Of Arcade, Resident Evil: Mercenaries 3D, Journey and The Supreme Court Rules On Violent Games

Xbox Live Summer Of Arcade 2011 Details

Every year Microsoft do a little scheme called the Summer Of Arcade, where they pick a handful of (generally) awesome games being made for XBLA and release them one after the other, with nerry a rubbish game in sight (again, generally). With past Summer Of Arcade's including such absolute classics as Limbo, 'Splosion Man and Shadow Complex it's always something to look forward to, and this year should be no exception! The games have been named, dated and priced and look like a good bunch!

Bastion - 20th July - 1200 Microsoft Points

From Dust - 27th July - 1200 Microsoft Points

Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet - 3rd August - 1200 Microsoft Points

Fruit Ninja Kinect - 10th August - 800 Microsoft Points

Toy Soldiers: Cold War - 17th August - 1200 Microsoft Points

Plus: Buy all 5 and get Crimson Alliance for free

If I had to only pick 1 for you to buy it would definitely be Bastion, a great looking top-down action game that seems to be an instant classic. From Dust and Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet also look worth a buy, although admittedly I've seen less of those 2. A promising summer! (Unless, like me, you're unemployed)

Bastion is sure to be a classic

Resident Evil: Mercenaries 3D Won't Let You Ever Delete A Save. Yep, You Read That Right.

I had to read this story on 2 different websites just to be sure, and I still don't understand. So apparently, once you start a game on Mercenaries 3D, that will always be the game that is on your cart. What this means is that buying the game 2nd hand is absolutely pointless, as is renting it, as the game you're getting will be, chances are, irreparably completed and there's nothing you can do about it. This is a ridiculous decision, obviously made to counter what were sure to be lots of 2nd hand and rental sales of the game. But, if you want a statement from Capcom about the situation then prepare your eyes to read some bullshit gibberish:

"Secondhand game sales were not a factor in this development decision so we hope that all our consumers will be able to enjoy the entirety of the survival-action experiences that the game does offer. In Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D, all mission progress is saved directly to the Nintendo 3DS cartridge, where it cannot be reset. The nature of the game invites high levels of replayability in order to improve mission scores. In addition, this feature does not remove any content available for users."

That. Answers. NOTHING!!! What annoys me most about this story is that I was actually really looking forward to Mercenaries 3D! Kenzi199 and I have spent many an hour playing Mercenaries on Resident Evil 5 so I'm in a pretty awesome position to be pumped for the game... which I was, before Capcom spat in my face and then lied about doing it.

I was proper looking forward to this aswell :(

Did You Get Into Journey's Miniscule Multiplayer Beta?

ThatGameCompany invited people to it's multiplayer beta yesterday, but there were some specific requirements. First of all, you had to be an "early adopter" of Flower on PSN and also be a Playstation Plus member, and then if you hadn't done those things, you could email them to be in with a chance of getting into the beta. The nature of the game's multiplayer is unique, with players connecting to other players without being prompted, without being told if there's a player in your game, where they are and not having any means to communicate with them in any way... so they didn't need many beta testers, still, if you somehow got in you're a lucky, lucky soul and I would very much like to borrow your seven-leafed clover.

I think I could look at Journey forever

Video Games Officially Protected By America's First Amendment - Freedom Of Speech

A MASSIVE court case was decided yesterday that would, if successful, have made vigeo games illegal for sale to minors (essentially putting them alongside pornography) which would have been obviosuly devastating for the industry. Thankfully the law wasn't passed, which is a huge relief to anybody who's even glanced at this site. There was a great quote from somebody involved in the case that really sums up the whole needless ordeal:

"Reading Dante is unquestionably more cultured and intellectually edifying than playing Mortal Kombat, but these cultural and intellectual differences are not constitutional ones. Crudely violent video games, tawdry TV shows, and cheap novels and magazines are no less forms of speech than The Divine Comedy, and restrictions upon them must survive strict scrutiny."

Truer words have never been spoken.

God bless our right to shoot a head off

Daily News - 24th and 25th June 2011 - Journey, Star Wars: Galaxies and Video Game Censorship

PSN Game Journey To Get "Very Limited" Multiplayer Beta

ThatGameCompany, the guys behind Flow and Flower, are getting near to releasing their next game Journey, a game about a little guy who goes on a journey (see what they've done there?) and, well, that's it. As with all ThatGameCompany games, the parameters of actually completing the game are basically non-existent, their games aren't about reaching a goal, they're about enjoying the game itself. They're not for everyone, but they're unlike anything else out there. If you're curious about what their games are like then maybe you should try and get into the beta for Journey. It won't be easy though, because according to the company's Twitter feed it's going to be VERY limited. If you get in then you're unbelievably lucky, and I am jealous of you. You bastard.

The game looks insanely pretty, and I want it in my eye holes!

"Galaxy-Ending In-Game Event" To Accompany Star Wars Galaxies Shutting Down

Yes, all you dozens of Star Wars Galaxy players are soon to be without an online Star Wars themed haven (apart from Old Republic ofcourse...) so take it all in now! Because as of December 15th the Star Wars Galaxies servers will be shutting down forever. The company said:

"The shutdown of SWG is a very difficult decision, but SOE and LucasArts have mutually agreed that the end of 2011 is the appropriate time to end the game. We are extremely grateful to all of the SWG fans. We have had the rare opportunity to host one of the most dedicated and passionate online gaming communities and we truly appreciate the support we’ve received from each and every one of you over the course of the past eight years."

Not a very popular MMO, probably best described as a failed experiment, Ijust hope Bioware have learnt enough since galaxies to make Old Republic work, because that's an MMO I have high hopes for.

typical MMO scene. Pretty much the reason I love MMO's!

Huge American Court Case On Monday Will Decide The Future Of Video Games

Are video games too violent? Should they be granted freedom of speech, or should they be sensored? Well, the courts in America will decide these points on Monday in the case Brown Vs EMA. The Entertainment Software Association will argue the case for games retaining some semblance of free speech whilst California's Governor Jerry Brown argues againt video games a medium that deserves to depict whatever it wants. Obviously this is a huge deal, with massive repercussions but there's no point in me giving you any extra information when Giant Bomb's Patrick Klepek did such a fantastic job in letting you know why this case is so huge. I would recommed everybody give the article a look, it breaks the issue right down to it's base and is an interesting read to boot.

Giant Bomb - If You Don't Know About Brown V. EMA, You Should

Scenes like this are what caused the age-old court case... but they're also what makes video games so much fun

Daily News - 23rd June 2011 - Skyrim, Valve On Wii U, Final Fantasy 7 & 8 and Team Fortress 2 Is Now Free!!!

The New Elder Scrolls Will Come With A Map!!!

So nowadays, you might see that headline and think "Ooh, a whole new area of the game world to explore!" but as it tirns out, Bethesda are taking it old school and actually releasing a physical map of the gameworld along with preorders of the game. I love stuff like this, Just Cause 2 came with a cool map and so did Civ V, and they're both awesome, so there you go, undeniable proof that Skyrim will be good. Breathe a sigh of relief, Bethesda!

To be fair, I thought the game look amazing even before this map news came out...

Valve See Wii U As A Good Potential Platform For Valve Games

Gabe Newell (Valve's main man) recently said a few words about Nintendo's next console, and the possibility of Valve games on the Wii U:

"Wii U seems to be a lot more powerful than the previous generation. It sort of fits better into the scalability in terms of graphics performance and CPU performance, so I think it'll be a lot easier for us to fit into our scalability model."

Sounds like a thumbs up for the Wii U! Pretty big deal, to my knowledge there has never been a Valve game on any Nintendo console, so people at Nintendo are probably doing cartwheelsat this news. The list of third parties that intend to make games for Wii U seems to be on the way to including absolutely every game developer in the business, and Valve are a pretty difficult developer to get on board, so this bodes very well for Nintendo fans. So basically, expect Half Life 2: Episode 3 at Wii U's launch and you'll be extremely disappointed.

Kill Headcrabs with a stylus!!!

Final Fantasy 7 & 8 Are On Steam... You Just Can't Buy, Download Or Play Them 

Some online folk discovered today that stored somewhere in Steam's cloud are full copies of the PC ports of FF7 and FF8. What's more, they found that the files had been updated, although not since early 2010. It suggests pretty hard that they were gonna release the games on Steam and that they had been working towards getting the game to run smoother on PCs (as the current PC versions don't run well on newer operating systems). I dunno about you, but I would totally download FF7 and 8 if I could!

Ahh Cloud, nobody likes you

Also....

Team Fortress 2 Is Now Free Forever!

This news came to my attention mere minutes after I updated the site but yeah, expect the game to be free in a matter of hours. Now I'm not a massive fan of the game but this is still awesome news! Here, this PCGamer article (which I was pointed to) has a bit more information.

PCGamer - BREAKING: Team Fortress 2 Is Now Free To Play "Forever"

FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

Daily News - 22nd June 2011 - Best Of E3 Nominations, Portal 2 and Sakurai Talks Smash Bros.

Sakurai Says No New Smash Bros For "Several Years"

I dunno if you guys remember E3 when Satoru Iwata said "Smash Brothers" (and I voided my bowels and scrotum simultaneously), but it turns out that he may have announced a new entry in the franchise a little prematurely... VERY prematurely actually, as the game isn't even close to being started. The series' creator Masahiro Sakurai, who is currently working super-hard on Kid Icarus: Uprising had this to say:

"We've got no plans whatsoever -- we've got two new games out in the open when there's no extra time to work with them at all. It makes me cringe, and I'm not sure it's the smartest thing to make gamers wait for several years, but the early announcement was made chiefly in order to attract new team members."

He also said quite alot about why he thinks it would take them so long, things like trying to please everybody but being careful not to just make the same game again, whilst also not making something too different from past iterations. the guy knows what he's talking about, but damned if he's not a busy dude!

Yay, a reason to post a Smas Bros screenshot!

Portal 2 Sells Over 3 Million Units

I loved Portal 2, and as it turns out, so did everyone else! Valve's Gabe Newell at the Games For Change conference in New York today announced that Portal was doing better than okay, topping 3 million units sold in the 2 months since it's release. For such a risky property this is pretty much a universal success. Selling a sequel to a 6 hour long game for the price of a new game wasn't always gonna work, but evidently it did, and in a big way. Good for you Valve, we love you!

Ahh Wheatley, you odd little sphere

Best Of E3 Nominations Announced (Long Post)

Picked by respected journalists in the gaming industry, the "Best Of E3" badhe is the kind of thing you see on the boxes of all the best games, the press releases of all the best games and on the back of the box of all the best games. Basically these are the lists you want to look at to see what games you're gonna wanna be keeping on your radar for the next year or so. The list's a long one but just skim over it, you'll be hearing alot more about these games over the next 12 months

Game of the Show

• Batman: Arkham City (Rocksteady/WB Games for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
• BioShock Infinite (Irrational Games/2K Games for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
• Tomb Raider (Crystal Dynamics/Square Enix for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
• Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (Naughty Dog/SCEA for PlayStation 3)

Best Original Game

• Bastion (Supergiant Games/WB Games for PC, Xbox 360)
• BioShock Infinite (Irrational Games/2K Games for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
• From Dust (Ubisoft Montpellier/Ubisoft for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
• Journey (Thatgamecompany/SCEA for PlayStation 3)
• Sound Shapes (Queasy Games/SCEA for PSVita)

Best Console Game

• Batman: Arkham City (Rocksteady/WB Games for PS3, Xbox 360)
• Mass Effect 3 (Bioware/EA Games for PS3, Xbox 360)
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda for PS3, Xbox 360)
• Tomb Raider (Crystal Dynamics/Square Enix for PS3, Xbox 360)
• Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (Naughty Dog/SCEA for PlayStation 3)

Best Handheld/Mobile Game

• Contre Jour (Mokus/Chillingo/EA for iPad, iPhone)
• Mario Kart (Nintendo/Nintendo for 3DS)
• Sound Shapes (Queasy Games/SCEA for PSVita)
• Super Mario (Nintendo EAD Tokyo/Nintendo for 3DS)
• Uncharted: Golden Abyss (SCE Bend Studio/Naughty Dog/SCEA for PSVita)

Best PC Game

• Battlefield 3 (DICE/EA Games for PC)
• BioShock Infinite (Irrational Games/2K Games for PC)
• End of Nations (Petroglyph Games/Trion Worlds for PC)
• Star Wars: The Old Republic (Bioware Austin/EA Games for PC)
• Torchlight 2 (Runic Games/Perfect World for PC)

Best Hardware

• PlayStation Vita (Sony Computer Entertainment)
• Rocksmith (Ubisoft San Francisco/Ubisoft for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
• Sony 3D Display (Sony Computer Entertainment)
• Wii U (Nintendo)
• Zoom for Kinect (Nyko)

Best Action Game

• Battlefield 3 (DICE/EA Games for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Infinity Ward/Sledgehammer/ATVI for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
• Gears of War 3 (Epic Games/Microsoft Studios for Xbox 360)
• Prey 2 (Human Head Studios/Bethesda for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360)
• Rage (id Software/Bethesda for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360)

Best Action/Adventure Game

• Assassin's Creed: Revelations (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360)
• Batman: Arkham City (Rocksteady/WB Games for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
• BioShock infinite (Irrational Games/2K Games for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
• Tomb Raider (Crystal Dynamics/Square Enix for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
• Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (Naughty Dog/SCEA for PlayStation 3)

Best Role-Playing Game

• Dark Souls (From Software/Namco Bandai Games for PS3, Xbox 360)
• Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (Big Huge Games/38 Studios/EAP for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360)
• Mass Effect 3 (BioWare/EA Games for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
• Star Wars: The Old Republic (BioWare Austin/EA for PC)
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)

Best Racing Game

• Driver: San Francisco (Ubisoft Reflections/Ubisoft for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
• Forza 4 (Turn 10 Studios/Microsoft Studios for Xbox 360)
• Mario Kart (Nintendo/Nintendo for 3DS)
• Need for Speed:The Run (EA Black Box/EA Games for PC, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii)
• Wipeout 2048 (Studio Liverpool/SCEE for PSVita)

Best Fighting Game

• Skullgirls (Reverge Labs/Autumn Games for PS3, Xbox 360)
• Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike Online Edition (Iron Galaxy Studios/Capcom for PS3, Xbox 360)
• Street Fighter X Tekken (Capcom/Capcom for PS3, Xbox 360, PSVita)
• Soul Calibur V (Namco/Namco Bandai for PS3, Xbox 360)
• Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (Namco Bandai Games for Arcade)
• WWE 12 (Yuke's/THQ for PS3, Xbox 360, Wii)

Best Sports Game

• FIFA Soccer 12 (EA Canada/EA Sports for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
• Madden NFL 12 (EA Tiburon/EA Sports for PS3, Xbox 360)
• NBA 2K12 (Visual Concepts/2K Sports for PS3, Xbox 360)
• SSX (EA Canada/EA Sports for PS3, Xbox 360)
• UFC Undisputed 3 (Yuke's/THQ for PS3, Xbox 360)

Best Strategy Game

• Age of Empires Online (Gas Powered Games/Microsoft Studios for PC)
• End of Nations (Petroglyph/Trion Worlds for PC)
• From Dust (Ubisoft Montpellier/Ubisoft for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
• Skulls of the Shogun (Haunted Temple Studios for PC, Xbox 360)
• Trenched (Double Fine/Microsoft Studios for Xbox 360)

Best Casual/Social Game

• Dance Central 2 (Harmonix/Microsoft Studios for Xbox 360)
• Disneyland Adventures (Frontier Developments/Microsoft Studios for Xbox 360)
• Rocksmith (Ubisoft San Francisco/Ubisoft for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
• Rhythm Heaven (TNX/Nintendo for Wii)
• Sound Shapes (Queasy Games/SCEA for PSVita)

Best Motion Simulation Game

• Dance Central 2 (Harmonix/Microsoft Studios for Xbox 360)
• Fruit Ninja Kinect (Halfbrick/Microsoft Studios for Xbox 360)
• Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster (Double Fine Productions/WB Games for Xbox 360)
• The Gunstringer (Twisted Pixel Games/Microsoft Studios for Xbox 360)
• The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Nintendo EAD/Nintendo for Wii)

Best Online Multiplayer Game

• Battlefield 3 (DICE/EA for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Infinity Ward/Sledgehammer/ATVI for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
• Gears of War 3 (Epic Games/Microsoft Studios for Xbox 360)
• Star Wars: The Old Republic (BioWare Austin/EA for PC)
• Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (Naughty Dog/SCEA for PlayStation 3)

Best Downloadable Game

• Bastion (Supergiant Games/WB Games for PC, Xbox 360)
• From Dust (Ubisoft Montpellier/Ubisoft for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
• Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet (Fuelcell Games/Microsoft Studios for Xbox 360)
• Journey (Thatgamecompany/SCEA for PlayStation 3)
• Papo & Yo (Minority/SCEA for PlayStation 3)

Thanks to Giant Bomb for making the list so read-easy

Daily News - 21st June 2011 - Wii U, Duke Nukem and Indie Game: The Movie

Wii U Won't Be Hugely More Powerful Than Xbox 360 And PS3

Shigeru Miyamoto (otherwise know as THE man) spoke to a game website recently and set about tempering your expectations for Wii U's graphical powers. His exact quote is:

"So I don't know that we would be able to sit here and say that it's going to necessarily dramatically outperform the systems that are out now. It's part of the balance that we strike in terms of trying to find entertainment that is new and unique."

Relatively cryptic, but then we should be used to cryptic answers from Nintendo after all these years.

Still looks more than good enough for meTake Two Are Gonna Put Out More Duke Nukem Games

"Shocking news!" you may think sarcastically, but actually after the critical pounding it received it was by no means a done deal that we'd be getting more Duke Nukem. Presumably the game must be selling well, and to be honest, the game was kinda destined to be mess. Gearbox did the best with what they were given but I actually think that if they started a new Duke from scratch they're certainly talented enough to make a quality product. Take two CEO Strauss Zelnick said:

"We don’t really talk about it in detail but you will see future Duke IP coming from this company."

And then when he was asked about the game getting bad reviews he said the following:

"...when we put something out I stand behind it, and will not compromise. When you put all those things all together it’s difficult to be critical of the company. Because here in America, thank God, we have the ability to do what we want.

What is there left to be said? I’m sorry if you don’t like it. Don’t consume it."

Don't like the thought of more Duke? Blow it out your ass!!!

"Morningwood"...Great stuffIndie Game: The Movie Trailer Makes Me Extremely Happy

This trailer, for Indie Game: The Movie hit the internet and it fills my heart with such joy that I can't help but vomit rainbows... metaphorical ranbows ofcourse, in the form of a post on a website. I actually think the movie will be very compelling, making games on your own money is no small feat and these guys certainly don't make it sound easy, but it just adds to how compelling the subject matter is. If you've got a spare 90 seconds then take a look and then visit their website www.indiegamethemovie.com. They haven't actually got the money to make the project fully happen yet but they're damn close right now. If you feel the need, you can donate some money, but if not, just look forward to it as much as I am!

Indie Game: The Movie Official Trailer from IndieGame: The Movie on Vimeo.

Daily News - 19th and 20th June 2011 - Robin In Arkham City, Halo: Anniversary and Why Crysis 2 Is Off Steam

Robin Will Totally Be In Arkham City!!!... If you Pay Extra

I love Robin, he's far outgrown the "gay sidekick" thing uneducated people assumed he was and is, in my opinion, a cool superhero by his own merit. Remember that old adam West Batman show from the 60s? Remember how shit Batman was back then? Well think about the transformation Batman's gone through since then and then apply the same badass transformation to Robin. Yeah robin's cool. Aaaaaaaaaaaanyway, down to the point; in America if you pre-order the game at Best Buy then you get Robin as a bonus, but only in challenge mode. You'll be able to download him a few weeks after the game's release though, if you can't get him through Best Buy's insidious means. No word on if we'll be getting the bonus over here, but you can bet good money on it. I'm excited!!!

BADASS!!!Halo: Anniversary Will Support, But Not Require The Kinect

According to Micrsoft the game will spice up the game but won't force you to buy a Kinect... so breathe easy! They say it will:

"Enhance game experiences in authentic and meaningful ways. The Kinect features we’re exploring with Halo: Anniversary are additive and will not affect the core gameplay experience or alter our mission of delivering a faithful recreation of the original game."

And if that wasn't enough to douse the worry-flames, a further quote from Jessica Shea (343 Community Manager) should flog the dead horse appropriately:

"The Kinect features we're exploring with Halo: Anniversary are optional and won't affect your core gameplay experience. Our mission, from day one, has been to deliver a faithful recreation of the original game, and we remain dedicated to seeing that through to completion."

Some kind of Halo screenshotDLC Distribution Behind Crysis 2's Steam Absence

So it turns out Crytek had organised for Crysis 2's DLC to be put out exclusively by a Steam competitor, and because Valve aren' stupid, they pulled Crysis 2 from the service. The weirdest thing about this to me is that Crysis 2 has been out for a while now, so I don't get how this DLC Distribution deal is only now coming to light. I guess it's not a massive deal, Crysis 2 is crap anyway but the implication for future EA titles is interesting. Battlefield 3 comes out in October, will it be on Steam? Who knows!!!

Ugh, what a fucking poo game anyway

Daily News - 17th and 18th June 2011 - £150 Portal 2 DLC and Steam And EA's Little Tiff

£150 Will Buy You A Weird PC Controller And Some Portal 2 DLC

Valve promised us some free Portal 2 DLC when the game launched and thus far... nothing. Nothing from Valve anyway! A few days ago a company called Sixense Studios released a 10 level pack for Portal 2. "Great!" you may say, but the snag (and there's almost always a snag) is that you'll need to invest in a controller that'll end up costing you a tasty £150. The controller seems quite nifty, letting you warp objects in the world. I'll put a video from the level pack below, along with a picture of the controller. Pretty superfluous sentence as you can probably see those things below right now... great stuff.

If you think it looks weird, you're right!

EA And Steam Fall Out?...

A few days ago Steam pulled Crysis 2 and Alice: Madness Returns from sale, leaving people wondering why, and the only reason we were given was that terms of business had changed. Crytek, the makers of Crysis 2 apparently had an arrangement with somebody else and having the game on Steam violated that arrangement. Okay, so then what happened to the new Alice game? Well, we don't know. The game's back on sale now (though Crysis 2 remains absent from the service) and all we've heard is EA basically saying thanks to Steam for "letting" the game back on the service. I've got to wonder if this is all because EA are launching their own game download service: Origin. As long as we get all the games we wanna get, I'll be happy.

Alice is not amused!