Category: Industry News

Dragon Age II: Rise to Power Trailer Shows the Game’s New Art Style in Motion

As we know, Dragon Age II is being “upgraded” with a new art style, one that takes the game in a slightly different direction. If I’m being honest, and I am the most truthful person that ever lived on this planet anywhere (not the truth), then I would admit that I have not been too keen some of the screenshots I’ve seen up to date.

While some of the initial concept art Bioware showed off was certainly gorgeous, some of the first screenshots just looked bland and lifeless to me. I haven’t necessarily been worried about the game, but that did temper my enthusiasm to some degree.

However, a new all in-engine Dragon Age II trailer is out, and boy does it assuage some of my concerns. The game actually looks much better to me in motion than the first game, which was great but just a bit dated. I know some will disagree with me, though. Give it a watch and share your thoughts and excitement level for the sequel. Come on, you know you want to.

GamerSushi Asks: Ignoring Reviews

Vanquish
It’s human nature that sometimes we become so stubborn about certain things that nothing can change our opinions. Video games seem to be one of the most divisive topics when it comes to people’s stances on them, second only to movies. Some people are so sure of their perception of a title that, even when the reviews come out one way or another, they turn a blind eye to them.

The most recent example I can think of is The Force Unleashed 2, which comes out today. The game is universally being panned for having repetitive gameplay, a meandering, pointless story and a short length. Should I have shifted my pre-order money onto something else? Possibly, but I’m so sure that I’ll enjoy TFU 2 that I marched resolutely into GameStop and picked that game up with pride. Sure, the clerk may have looked at me like I was crazy, his arched eyebrow saying “have you read the Internet this morning?” but I am willing to look past the reviews and try it for myself, consensus be damned.

That little rant brings us to you guys, and whether this little phenomenon has ever happened to you. Have you ever been so enraptured by a game that, for whatever reason, you choose to clamp down on the part of your brain that regulates common sense and proper spending and just buy that sucker?
Continue reading GamerSushi Asks: Ignoring Reviews

Champions Online Jumps on the Free-to-Play Train

champions online free to playThe MMORPG world is quite the cut-throat business and if you want to survive against World of Warcraft then you have to be prepared to make some changes to your subscription model before your game sinks. The current solution to the “WoW Question” is the Free-to-Play option, where the developer makes their game available to everyone, free of charge, and recoups their costs through microtransactions and other options.

Champions Online, which I played and wrote impressions on way back when I first started at GamerSushi, is the newest adherent to this business plan, making the jump to Free-to-Play in the coming weeks. While people will still be able to subscribe for $14.99 a month (called a Gold subscriber), there will also be a new tier available called a Silver membership. While Gold members will retain all the bells and whistles that came with the package before, Silver members are getting the short end of the stick as benefits their thrifty ways.
Continue reading Champions Online Jumps on the Free-to-Play Train

No HD Remakes in Microsoft’s Future?

KOTOR

For the last few years, I’ve been a major proponent of gaming in high definition, which is truly the best and shiniest of all definitions. I’m sure the rest of the definitions line up to pay tribute to it or something. You know, for being so high and awesome.

Because of that love of all things HD, I’m happy to see the new HD re-releases that Sony has been pulling out of its bag of tricks for the PS3. To me, last generation was perhaps the best generation of gaming we’ve had yet, so anything that helps bring those greats over to my HDTV will be welcomed by my brown burly arms. But what does Microsoft think of this new HD re-release trend?

Here’s what Microsoft Games Studio VP Phil Spencer has to say:

We obviously have a lot of new things going on, so the thought of re-doing a bunch of things is probably difficult to just weave into the overall portfolio. If you can provide real value to the customer, there could be possibilities for that, but I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about it.

I guess that means I should stop holding my breath for HD re-makes of Halo, KOTOR 1 and 2, Jade Empire and Panzer Dragoon Orta then, yes? Do you guys think he’s talking crazy talk? Any other Xbox games you’d like to see in HD?

Source – IGN

Poll: Fable III, Force Unleashed II and Rock Band 3

Funny how quickly the big releases sneak up on us, huh? Here I am enjoying Halo: Reach and Minecraft and suddenly several games are out that I want to sink some time into. Not sure how it happened really, but there you go.

If you’re unaware, today marks the release of three of fall’s most anticipated titles. Together, Fable III, Force Unleashed II and Rock Band 3 form a triumvirate of gaming, a three headed Cerberus to close out the month of October with a bang. Personally, I’m itching to play Force Unleashed II the most out of these, with Rock Band 3 as a close second because of that sweet keyboard.

I thought I’d let you guys vote on these three games yourselves. What say you?

Which of these three games do you want to play most?

View Results

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GamerSushi Asks: Exceeding Expectations?

Left 4 Dead 2

Now that we’re right in the middle of the fall of gaming, it’s probably good for us to take a moment to talk about expectations for the games we’re wanting to play. I know a few people who get so worked up over what they want out of something, there’s absolutely no way it could hit the target they’ve set. Every new movie or game becomes a unicorn hunt, and we all know how hard it is to bring one of those things down unless we’ve got some kind of homing missile.

However, it’s always nice when a game you pick up goes beyond what you hoped and expected for it. A recent example for me would have to be Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, which far out shined anything I could have anticipated for the title. In past years, other titles that did the same thing would include Beyond Good and Evil, Grand Theft Auto 3, Metal Gear Solid 3, Final Fantasy IX (and XII), and Left 4 Dead 2. These were all games where I didn’t know what to expect when I played them, and then happened to pleasantly surprise me or blow me away.

What games in recent years have done the same for you? What games have disappointed you? What games left in the fall are you still looking forward to, and what do you think of the ones you’ve gotten to play? Go!

GameCop Vs LameCop Vs PsychoCop

We’re back with our three favorite enforcers, ready to weigh in on a few hot topics which have cropped up in the past couple of weeks: EA Louse, Gran Tourismo and Fallout: New Vegas’ less than perfect launch.

As always, these sorts of eyebrow-raising news stories are perfect fodder for the Cops. Here’s how they break down: GameCop is a sensible gamer, looking out for your best interests. LameCop is your average forum troll, causing havoc for the lulz, while PsychoCop should be locked up for everyone’s safety. Keep reading to find out what they have to say on these issues:

Continue reading GameCop Vs LameCop Vs PsychoCop

Diablo 3 Brings Demon Hunters and PvP Arenas to BlizzCon

In case you’re living under a rock or just don’t like awesome PC games, BlizzCon 2010 is happening right now in Anaheim, California, and there’s been a few new developments on the Diablo 3 front, which has been pretty silent since last BlizzCon. Today the fifth and final class, the Demon Hunter, was announced with the requisite kick-ass video. Looks like fans of the ranged DPS (damage per second) option will have their choice right here.

The other big announcement today was the introduction of dedicated Player versus Player Arenas for Diablo 3, which should help circumvent the “gank the new guy in town” stuff that keeps happening to me in Diablo 2. Despite these two devilish pieces of info, we still don’t have a release date for Diablo 3, but I’d say late 2011 is probably a safe bet. Anyone getting excited about Diablo 3? Who’s going to roll a Demon Hunter when the game drops?

Valve Rewards Team Fortress 2 Community Contributors with Lots of Zeroes

Golden WrenchWow. This is one of those stories that just oozes awesome. It’s like our “Today’s WTF” topics, but in a totally different way.

If you are a lover of Team Fortress 2, then you’ll recall that Valve launched an in-game store for virtual items, Mann Co. Store. The coolest thing about this marketplace is that it allowed users to buy items for the game that they didn’t feel like earning over the course of time. So basically, the items could either be earned for free, or bought to skip all that grinding.

As part of the launch of this new business model, Valve participated in the Polycount item contest, where users competed to see whose items could make it into the game. Well, it turns out that the five winners not only got their items added to the game, but also to the Mann Co. Store, where other users could purchase them… and Valve gave the content creators a 25% revenue share.

It added up pretty quickly. Continue reading Valve Rewards Team Fortress 2 Community Contributors with Lots of Zeroes

Seven Minute Metal Gear Solid 3DS Demo is Still in a Dream

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is probably still one of my favorite video games ever, so the news that this classic will soon become portable on the Nintendo 3DS is enough to give me mind boners, to coin a term Eddy once used for the Dragon Age cinematic trailer. We’ve seen snippets of the Metal Gear Solid 3DS demo here and there since E3, but never in English, and certainly not for seven minutes. I’ve embedded the demo for Metal Gear Solid 3DS below for your viewing pleasure:

No word of a lie, that was incredible. I mean, it lacks the pop of the 3D, but you definitely get a sense that when we get this thing in our hands we’re going to be blown away. When the Snake Eater theme comes on at the end of the video, I kind of lost it. I mean, I am a huge fan of MGS3, so that’s my natural reaction, but how do you guys feel? Were you as riveted as I was? Are you waiting on a different 3DS title to grab you?

Today’s WTF: Angry Minecraft Fans Shut Down Minecraft Because They Want More Minecraft

minecraft ddos attack

Don’t worry, GamerSushi faithful, today’s Minecraft post isn’t about some crazy contraption or a replica of a Star Destroyer (although that would be cool), but instead about a group of pissed-off protesters who are attempting to force the developer to update the game with a hack attack.

According to the blog of the head developer of Minecraft and newly minted owner of Mojang Specifications, Notch, the Minecraft servers starting having trouble last night because of a DDoS, or Distributed Denial of Service, attack. For those unfamiliar with the term, this basically amounts to occupying a specific resource for a long time so no one else can utilize at. As Notch himself put it, it’s kind of like paying for your groceries with small coins, then finding out you don’t have enough after you’ve counted all of them up very slowly.

Notch himself isn’t too sure why Minecraft is being targeted, but Kotaku dug up an apparent manifesto on 4chan, which is the Internet equivalent of Mos Eisley from Star Wars. According to the rant, a group of hackers banded together to force Notch to update Minecraft which, for a half-price Alpha, isn’t being improved upon fast enough in their eyes. Here’s the group’s alleged ransom letter: Continue reading Today’s WTF: Angry Minecraft Fans Shut Down Minecraft Because They Want More Minecraft

Battlefield: Bad Company 2: Vietnam Trailer Loves the Smell of Napalm in The Morning

Out of all the multiplayer-centric franchises out there, I’ve got to say that the Battlefield games are still my favorite so anything new on this series is bound to get me “stimulated”, if you’ll pardon the inside joke. Bad Company 2 is still hands-down the best multiplayer experience I’ve had this year (Reach is a close second), so needless to say that the upcoming Vietnam expansion is right up my rubble-strewn alley. Check out the new trailer, which gives us the price and a vague release date:

Four multiplayer maps for fifteen dollars? I’ve payed more for less, so I’m happy as a clam. What about you guys? Anyone going to be picking this up? I know that Bad Company 2 isn’t super popular on the Xbox anymore, but it’s still kicking on PC, which is where I’ll be hanging my hat. Let us know!

Apparently 80% of Gamers Don’t Mind 3D Glasses

3D glasses

To me, one of the most exciting prospects of the Nintendo 3DS is that it can provide the promised benefits of 3D gaming without having to sport some new 3D glasses while enjoying its retro titled goodness. I have never been one to criticize the idea of 3D gaming simply for what it is, but rather because the glasses are just something that I’m not interested in wearing every time I fire up a disc. But maybe I’m alone in that.

It seems that a new study from the U-Decide Initiative has found that as much as 80% of gamers don’t view 3D glasses as a barrier to enter into the next dimension of gaming, and wouldn’t mind donning 3D glasses in order to do so. The study also found that interest in 3D was indeed greater when glasses weren’t part of the equation, but even still, the numbers are different than what I would have suspected. Granted, all studies like this need to be handled with a grain of salt, but I still found the idea to be interesting, nonetheless.

So what do you guys think of this? Are 3D glasses a breaking point for you when it comes to 3D gaming? Or is it more about the price involved in purchasing a TV that can support it? Challenge my assumptions! Do it!

Source – Industry Gamers

THQ’s Danny Bilson to Publishers: Make New IPs

THQ New IP
It’s always refreshing to see someone high up in the games industry look at things the way we do. While there are going to be some people who won’t feel the same, we bemoaned the lack of original games in a recent podcast (and many times before) because we’re getting a little tired of spending our money on the same thing every year.

At the recent opening of their Montreal studio, THQ’s Executive VP of Core Games Danny Bilson talked with IndustryGamers about a variety of things, one of them being the importance of new intellectual properties, or IPs. While most publishers seem to be content to push out a new title in a franchise every year with little experimentation because it’s safer, Bilson argues that this could be more harmful in the long run. See his reasoning after the jump: Continue reading THQ’s Danny Bilson to Publishers: Make New IPs

GamerSushi Asks: Launch Day Frustrations

fallout-new-vegas bugs

It’s happened to all of us. We get home from work or school, tear the shrink wrapping off the box or boot up Steam, only to discover that the video game gods have different plans for us. Whether it’s a RAIDed video card melting inside of an improperly ventilated Alienware PC or Games for Windows Live just decided to take a day off (or even the dreaded Red Ring of Death), there are many malignant forces at work attempting to prevent you from playing your game.

The last sort of launch day shenanigans I can remember happened with Fallout 3, which needed to go through Games for Windows Live and just didn’t like the fact that I kept trying to sign into my Gamer Profile. I eventually got it to work, but at the cost of a day’s worth of Fallout. Recently, I’ve heard that New Vegas is pretty unstable, and has been giving users some grief when they try to load it through Steam.

I didn’t have any problems with New Vegas personally (except for my weapon clipping through my body in third-person view), but I was wondering if you guys had any launch-day horror stories to tell. Did your computer blue screen, or were you just unable to play your game? Any Xbox owners experience the RRoD, which always seems to come out of the woodwork on the launch of big games. I’ve never heard of a PlayStation crapping out on a new game, but I’d love to hear about it. Tell us your harrowing tale in the comments!

Today’s WTF: Gran Turismo 5 Honcho Asks Players for Frame Rate Forgiveness

Gran Turismo 5

Oh, Kaz Yamauchi. I know it seems tough for you right now, with Polyphony Digital under the gun for the many Gran Turismo 5 delays. But soon, soon the game will be out (holiday season 2010, maybe?), it will be incredible as always, and all of this silliness will be behind you. Right? Maybe not.

Apparently, Gran Turismo 5 is having some frame rate issues these days. While the team at Polyphony Digital worked hard to ensure that the powerhouse racing simulator ran at a smooth 60 fps at 1080p, it doesn’t seem that this is always the case. And because of that, Yamauchi wants your forgiveness.

Check out the quote from Yamauchi himself, after the jump. Continue reading Today’s WTF: Gran Turismo 5 Honcho Asks Players for Frame Rate Forgiveness

GamerSushi Asks: What Are You Playing?

Fallout New Vegas

It’s that time again, folks. The time where all of us check in and talk about the games we are playing. Or in my case, the games we wish we were playing. At the moment, I happen to be in the middle of a self-imposed ban of all things gaming until I finish a certain stupid novel I’m writing. But believe me, there are games I wish I could get my hands on.

For one, Fallout: New Vegas unfurls its Sin City makeover this week, and I’m kind of itching to see if Obsidian picks up the mantle from Bethesda in a meaningful way. While at first I was skeptical of the game, all of the material I’ve seen from it lately give me hope, so I’m anxious to get some playing time with it. In addition to that, I would like to play Dead Rising 2 and of course, Halo: Reach. Surprisingly, though, the game I’ve been dying to play most of all over the last few days? Final Fantasy VII. The music has been stuck in my head, and now I just want to relive the magic for some reason. Soon.

Anyway, go ahead and tease me with all of the great games you guys are playing that I’m not. Rub it in my face. Tell me how much fun it is. I won’t cry… much. What are you guys playing? Go!

The GamerSushi Show, Ep 10: Percentify

PercentWhat’s that? Two podcasts in one month? Welcome to generosity. Or just bored dudes with too much time on their hands. Either way, you get more podcast goodness. In this edition of the GamerSushi podcast, we chat about iPhone gaming, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, Dead Rising 2, the 25th anniversary of the NES and play a hilarious game of percentages, hosted by the bearded one himself.

The exciting thing about this podcast and the last one for us is that we finally feel like we’re getting closer to figuring out the best format for what we do, and could maybe turn this into a weekly venture with some more practice and a few tweaks. I’m digging the “over/under” and “percentage” type games, and hope you find them just as enjoyable.

As always, please go rate this cast on iTunes and subscribe with the handy links to the right. Enjoy!

Continue reading The GamerSushi Show, Ep 10: Percentify

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World of Warcarft: Cataclysm Cinematic Intro Brings the Wrath of Deathwing to Azeroth

I know that World of Warcraft ain’t too popular around these here parts, but there’s no denying that once your subscriber numbers and gross monthly income surpasses most small nations, you’re definitely on to something. Blizzard’s MMORPG juggernaut has been gaining steam since it launched in 2004, and now, six years later, it shows no signs of slowing down. Blizzard just put the cinematic intro to the newest expansion, Cataclysm, up on the YouTube account, and good lord is it both gorgeous and terrifying:

The most amazing thing is that all of Blizzard’s incredible cinematics are done in house, not sourced out to a third-party studio like Blur (best known for The Old Republic trailers). While Blizz’s movies have been incredible in the past, this one seems to take them to a new plateau. I’ve never been more impressed by their videos, so kudos to them for continuing to raise the bar. We must have a few WoW players on the site, so can anyone share their thoughts on Cataclysm? Looking forward to the end of the world as you know it? The game launches December 7, 2010.

Update: Valve Not Considering Steam Trade-Ins

steam trade insWe generally like to avoid cluttering up the front page with multiple articles on the same story, but I think that this particular story deserves a follow up. A couple of days ago, I published an article in which I quoted Michael Pachter saying that Steam is “supposedly” looking into allowing trade-ins via their digital store. Now that the interview has had sometime to make it’s way to Valve, the quote is coming back to haunt Mr. Pachter.

Valve marketing head Doug Lombardi recently spoke to EuroGamer regarding the alleged trade-in plans, and said that Valve has never met with Michael Pachter, and they have no idea where he got the notion from. Pachter responded in turn, agreeing that he had never met Valve, and that the problematic quote came around because the game journalist posed the question to him awkwardly. This is his new stance on his line from a couple days ago after the jump: Continue reading Update: Valve Not Considering Steam Trade-Ins