Gaming Today |
- PAX 2010: Hands-On With Slam Bolt Scrappers (VIDEO)
- PAX 2010: Tron: Evolution Hands-On Impressions
- PAX 2010: Hands-On with Fallout: New Vegas
- FIFA 2011 Achievements
- R.U.S.E. Trophies
- Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 Achievements
- R.U.S.E Achievements
- PAX 2010: Star Wars: The Old Republic Hands-On Preview
- 67,600 People Showed up For PAX, Third PAX Event Maybe Coming
- Final Fantasy XIII Headed to 360 in Japan
- PAX 2010 Photo Gallery: Cosplay Chicks, Geeks, etc. (PICS)
- Nation Red Updated Demo and Video Downloads
- LikeTotallyAwesome Show: Labor Day Edition (Video)
- Interview: G4TV’s Alison Haislip *Screenjunkies.com*
- Mass Effect 2: Lair of the Shadow Broker DLC Review
| PAX 2010: Hands-On With Slam Bolt Scrappers (VIDEO) Posted: 08 Sep 2010 10:36 PM PDT
I’m not generally a competitive person with games, as I play games because I enjoy the experience of playing games. My gamertag “zone” is recreation. For competitive games/game modes to draw me in, I need to be able to enjoy them despite the fact that I don’t really care about winning. Halo is pretty much the king at this, and that’s why people love that franchise so much. Because i game so damn much more than anyone else I know, I tend to play most games alone. So it’s a big deal when I find a game I can play with my friends that I dig. At PAX, I found one of those games, and it’s called Slam Bolt Scrappers. The game is Tetris meets…. uh, something. OK, so here’s the idea: you are a little cartoon dude with a jetpack. Your friend/friends is/are also that. You fly around beating up each other and these floaty monster things, and you collect different colored Tetris blocks. You then arrange the Tetris blocks so that you make squares of a particular color, and then, depending on the color, you’ll have a shield block, a lazer turret or a rocket launcher of some sort. And then you stack them so you have a tower. Across the way, though, your buddies are doing the same thing. The goal: completely obliterate everything your opponent is building. This sounds easy, but it’s not because you’ll need a lot of firepower before you can do significant damage. The game is quite overwhelming. During my first round, I got my ass handed to me because I had a difficult time keeping track of everything on the screen. You have to collect blocks and line them up properly in order to build things, and if your enemy is particularly aggressive, you’ll have to fight him head on with your fists. I zeroed in on building up my tower that I kept not noticing that my foe was attacking me directly, and so he kept knocking me out of the game for precious seconds. Being killed by your opponent is not the end of the game, obviously. You’ll be sidelined for a few seconds, and if you nail a quick-time event, you’ll be able to come back faster. But if you get knocked out a lot, watch out; your tower is probably not long for this world. Competition is not the only game mode, however. There’s also co-op mode, in which you and your bros fight against a boss monster, and that’s pretty great too. You can also play the game in “beverage mode,” which allows you to handle it with one hand while you drink from a bottle of whiskey with the other. Right on. This game is heading exclusively to the Playstation Network, and it comes to you from upstart Fire Hose Games, who are making their debut with this title. Look for it early next year. And I do mean look for it, because this thing is hella enjoyable. Oh yeah, I have video. Here’s the competitive mode in action at the Fire Hose booth at PAX:
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| PAX 2010: Tron: Evolution Hands-On Impressions Posted: 08 Sep 2010 09:36 PM PDT
In Evolution, we start to see the downfall of TRON. There is a virus in the system, programs are at war with each other, etc. The whole place is basically falling apart (literally). I got some hands-on time with TRON: Legacy at PAX this year, and tried out a few gameplay modes. Here’s how it went. PlatformingTRON: Legacy features a healthy dose of platforming. You’ll be running around the massive, blue city jumping all over the place. Here, Propaganda Games takes a play out of the Ubisoft book with a “wall running” mechanic that’s very reminiscent of Prince of Persia. Hold RT to sprint, vault off a special slab at the edge of ledges, and jump towards the nearest wall. When you make contact, you’ll be wall-running. Push A to jump to the adjacent wall, run for a bit, A again to jump to next wall, and so on. Occasionally, you’ll need to hold B to use your disc to latch onto a hook over the expanse below, and swing to the next available platform. Timing is extremely key in these situations, and death was pretty unforgiving. While the platforming concept is here, it could definitely use a bit more polish. The controls are a little too touchy, which makes these sections a bit awkward. CombatThe combat animations in TRON: Legacy have the acrobatic flair of parkour and capoeira moves. The basic controls are: A = jump, Y = power throw, X = long range throw, B = melee attack. Holding LT puts you into “combat mode,” so you can execute stylish evades, block, do backflips, etc. By combining these controls, you can do some pretty cool looking animations. You’ll be flipping all over the place and smashing faces with your disc. Again, though, the combat could use a bit of polish here. The controls aren’t quite as responsive as I would have liked. The template is there–it just needs to be tightened up a bit. When you take damage, you lose “energy.” To replenish your energy, look for special blinking energy strips on walls. Do a wall-run across one of these strips, and you’ll be recharged. Pretty cool. MultiplayerWe didn’t get to actually try out any multiplayer stuff in our brief hands-on. We did get to hear how it works though. Like most games, you can enter multiplayer modes from the game’s main menu. However, you can also access multiplayer from within the single-player campaign. Approach a “kiosk,” and you’ll be given the option to warp up into the “grid,” where you’ll be thrust into multiplayer mode with other players. There, you can seamlessly take a break from the single-player game and engage in some competitive multiplayer. Light Cycle SequencesThis was far and away my favorite part of TRON: Evolution. We were able to play through a fairly extended sequence in which you’re racing through the city on a light cycle, while the city is literally falling apart around you, and bad guys are fast on your tail. RT accelerates, and LT breaks. That’s pretty much all you need. It’s simple, fast and exhilarating. You’ll need to go over insane jumps as the road falls apart, and of course avoid enemy light cycle streams as they try and crisscross in front of you. If you’re feeling aggressive, you can push X to throw your disc at enemies. Final WorldTRON: Evolution has a lot of potential. The combat is flashy and fun, and the light cycle sequence was a blast. If Propaganda Games can just tighten up the controls and platforming stuff overall, it’ll rock. TRON: Evolution hits December 7, 2010 for practically every console.
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| PAX 2010: Hands-On with Fallout: New Vegas Posted: 08 Sep 2010 09:14 PM PDT
I have been a hater. For a while now, I’ve been talking s**t to my friends about this game. From what I had seen in the game in trailers and screenshots, I saw very little to set apart the environments in the game from that of Fallout 3, and I resented this because Point Lookout managed to deliver a unique environment while only costing me $10. But I was absolutely wrong. I finally got a chance to play New Vegas at PAX on Friday, and I discovered something that corrected my ignorant-ass worldview: there are hilarious giant geckos in it. And that’s just what I learned from watching other people play it. Once I actually got my hands on it, even if I only played for ten minutes, I completely changed my negative tune. Here’s the thing. Yes, it is very similar to Fallout 3, but it’s also a distinctly new place, almost like Point Lookout. Look, guys and gals, I’ve spent as much time playing Fallout 3 as I have spent with any other game ever, and yes, I am including Mas Effect and Tie Fighter. I have played through it half a dozen times, and I bought all the DLC as soon as they came out. I still own all the previous Fallout games as well, and I even give them a spin every once in a while. The point, here, is that I’m absolutely obsessed with the world of Fallout, and so when I picked up New Vegas for the first time and started wandering around, quickly realizing that everything around me is unfamiliar, and when I first met an NPC and realized I had never spoken to this goofy robot before, and when I was playing the game and it felt like Fallout, I knew that Obsidian had delivered something I want. Will the game feature many of the obscene technical issues that have plagued Obsidian titles in that past? I can’t answer that until I get to play the final build in October. But I can say that, like KOTOR II and Alpha Protocol, Obsidian has made the type of game I want to play. I’m a believer. Please give me a good game, because if you do I will spend 200 hours with it. OK, so that was hardly a good hands-on preview. If you wanna read something legit, check out Ron’s New Vegas preview from E3. I’m out.
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| Posted: 08 Sep 2010 06:50 PM PDT
Backed by the financial clout of EA, a team of canny developers have taken FIFA from the land of soccer also-rans and turned it into the killer app. After the introduction of a robust physics engine, along with 360-degree dribbling, the game is now the title to beat. This year’s iteration boasts features like improved off-the-ball tussling, Pro Passing, and personality-dependent traits that represent the ways different players excel at different skills. Similarly, a new crop of achievements will represent the way gamers excel at different aspects of FIFA 11. Check ‘em out below. Regular Achievements
Aerial Threat – Score a header with a player with the Aerial Threat Specialty – 10G Against the Odds – Win a Head to Head Ranked Match using a weaker team – 10G All My Own Work – Win a match with Manual Controls (auto-switching must be set to ‘Manual”) – 10G Always Friendly – Cross for a Friend to score – 10G Anything in Particular? – Visit the FIFA 11 Store – 5G Around the World – Play a match with a team from every league – 25G Back of the Net – Score 5 goals in one Arena kick-about – 5G Club Glory – Win the Cup as part of an online Pro Club – 25G Crosser – Create a goal with a cross with a player with the Crossing Specialty – 10G Distance Shooter – Score from outside the box with a player with the Distance Shooter Specialty – 10G Eat My Goal – Upload a Video to EA SPORTS Football World – 5G Established Keeper – Play a season as a Goalkeeper in Career Mode – 50G Experimental – Play 5 consecutive Head to Head Ranked Matches with different teams – 15G First Time Out – Win an online Friends League match – 10G Folklore – Become a Legend as a player in Career Mode – 25G Founding Member – Include a Creation Centre Team in a Kick-Off match – 25G Good Form – Play 5 consecutive Head to Head Ranked Matches without losing – 20G Home & Away – Play & win in every Stadium – 50G Home Maker – Change the Home Stadium of any team – 5G Hundred and Counting – Play 100 Head to Head Ranked matches – 100G In for the Win – Take a Head to Head Ranked Match to extra time with a weaker team – 10G In the Game – Create a Virtual Pro – 5G It’s in the Blood! – Go from being a Player to the Manager (or Player Manager) in Career mode – 25G Look at me! – Download your Game Face from EA SPORTS Football World – 25G Mastermind – Have a substitute score a goal in Career Mode – 10G New Choons – Import your own sounds into the game using the Custom Music & Chants feature – 10G Once in a Lifetime – Score as the Goalkeeper in any match – 10G One Club Man – Play 50 matches for the same online Pro Club – 50G One to Remember – Save a highlight to the Replay Theater – 5G Perfect Keeping – Play as the Goalkeeper in a Kick-Off match & finish with 100% Saving Accuracy – 15G Picture Perfect – Upload Screenshot to EA Sports Football World – 5G Playmaker – Create a goal with a player with the Playmaker Specialty – 10G Poacher – Score from inside the box with a player with the Pocaher Specialty – 10G Record Holder – Get your name on any Career Mode Leaderboard – 25G Rising Talent – Complete 100 Accomplishments with your Virtual Pro – 25G Safe Hands – Play any match as the Goalkeeper with no Assistance – 10G Team Training – Play a Practice Match with your online Pro Club – 10G Training Time – Work on your skills in any Arena Practice Mode – 5G Virtual Debut – Play an online Pro Club or Pro Ranked match with your Virtual Pro – 25G Virtual Football – Play a Pro Clubs match as a team of 10 or more – 25G Virtual Legend – Play 500 matches with your Virtual Pro – 100G Warming the Gloves – Make 10 saves in 1 Arena kick-about – 10G Woodwork & In! – Score off the post or cross bar in a match – 10G Good Week! – Get yourself selected in the Team of the Week in Career Mode – 15G Great Month! – Win the Manager of the Month award in Career Mode – 25G Regular AchievementsSecret Achievement – Continue playing to unlock this secret achievement – 100G
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| Posted: 08 Sep 2010 06:21 PM PDT
Ubisoft and Eugen Systems have cooked up a spicy take on Real Time Strategy gaming. Will wargamers the world over like the dish? Either way, combat in R.U.S.E. is based around mystery ingredients — sneaky maneuvers called “RUSEs” that enable dueling generals to try to outfox one another. It’s nice to see a game that encourages the use of the thinking part of your brain, as opposed to the spawn-camping, sticky-grenading part. Boasting a slick design and the ever-popular WWII setting, R.U.S.E. could be a clandestine hit, in keeping with its gameplay. Whatever happens, we’ve got all the trophies below. Bronze TrophiesFirst Captain – Complete 50% of secondary objectives Competitor – Complete an operation Acheiver – Complete all operations' bonus objectives Recruit – Defeat A.I. in battle mode Trooper – Defeat an A.I. in battle mode on Medium difficulty and in all time periods (39/42/45) Parasite – Capture 50 buildings Ambassador – Defeat an A.I. in battle mode while playing each nation Collector – Defeat all A.I. profiles in 1v1 battle on at least Medium difficulty Cunning – Use all RUSEs Destroyer – Destroy 5000 enemy units Regular – Get to level 20 Veteran – Reach the Veteran league Elite – Reach the Elite leage Eug-virus – Defeat one of Eugen Systems' team or someone having already unlocked this achievement Best Enemies – Play a four-player game with your friends only Atlas – Play a game on every map in a ranked match Got Your Back! – Play a game with a friend Occaisonal Allies – Play a game with a stranger in a team ranked match Battle Hardened – Achieve a victory in every ranked match mode One Hand behind My Back – Defeat an opponent without using the airfield and armor and artillery base camps in a ranked match Top Gun – Defeat an opponent with air units only in a ranked match Invincible – Achieve a 90% or more survival ratio in a ranked match Who's Your Daddy – Achieve a 200% or more kill rate in a ranked match Silver TrophiesHard Boiled – Complete all secondary objectives Best Friend – Complete all cooperative operations One Vs. All – Complete all 1 vs. all operations Nemesis – Complete all 1 vs. 1 operations Staff Officer – Complete all operations Ace – Defeat an A.I. in battle mode on Hard difficulty with Total victory Mercenary – Win 5 games with every nation in ranked matches The Terrible – Achieve a winning streak of 3 in ranked matches The Great – Achieve a winning streak of 10 in ranked matches Gold TrophiesWar God – Got to level 100 Platinum TrophiesPlatinum Trophy – Unlock all R.U.S.E. Trophies Secret TrophiesFirst Contact – Seize Colditz Castle (Bronze) Holding the Pass – Successfully hold Kasserine Pass Sand Storm – Throw the Axis out of Africa From Cover to Cover – Neutralize the Italian Secondary HQ by moving from cover to cover Tank Buster – Eliminate the last Italian Forces Highway to Heaven – Complete the Italian Campaign D-Day – Successfully land at Utah Beach Hedgerow War – Complete the Cotentin Campaign Death From Above – Complete Operation Market Garden Battered Bastard of Bastogne – Successfully hold Bastogne V-E Day – Survive to see the German capitulation The Facility – Recover Germany's secret weapon plans Payback! – Prevent the Russians from attacking the Western allies Brigadier General – Prevent World War III in Easy difficulty level Lieutenant General – Prevent World War III in Medium difficulty level General of the Army – Prevent World War III in Hard difficulty level Desert Fox – Play two RUSEs on the same sector (Bronze)
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| Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 Achievements Posted: 08 Sep 2010 06:08 PM PDT
We’ve got more PES 11 achievements here than Cristiano Ronaldo has gallons of hair gel in his house. 27, to be exact — all the crucial info Pro Evo fans will be eager to acquire. FIFA may be putting up stiff competition, but Konami’s franchise still rules the roost among the die-hards. Whether it’s single-player, multiplayer, or Become a Legend mode, all the digital silverware is listed below. First Glory – Awarded for your first win – 10G Perfect 10 – Awarded for winning 10 consecutive matches – 25G Come Back Win – Awarded for your first Come Back Win – 15G Last Gasp Winner – Awarded for scoring the Winner in Extra Time – 10G World Traveller – A Title awarded for playing at all featured Stadiums (excludes stadiums created in Edit Mode) – 20G The Gentleman – Awarded for committing an average of fewer than one foul per match in your last 10 matches. Possession Play – Awarded for having a Possession Rate of 60% or higher in your last 10 Matches – 25G Hat-trick Hero – Awarded for scoring 5 hat-tricks – 35G Predatory Striker – Awarded for playing over 20 Matches, averaging more than two goals per Match – 40G Dead-ball Expert – Awarded for scoring 5 Direct Free-Kicks – 40G Long Ranger – Awarded for scoring from 35m out or more – 50G League Winner – Awarded for winning one of the top leagues in [Master League] – 15G European Elite 16 – Awarded for making the Knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League in [Master League] – 20G Kings of Europe – Awarded for winning the Master League UEFA Champions League – 30G The Invincibles – Awarded for an undefeated season in Master League, winning League, Cup, and UEFA Champions League – 90G No. 1 Club – Awarded for topping the team ranking in Master League – 50G World Footballer of the Year – Awarded if a member of your team wins World Footballer of the Year in Master League – 70G 10 Years of Service – An award to honor 10 years of service in Master League – 50G The Debutant – Awarded for your First Professional Appearance in Become a Legend – 10G International Cup Debut – Awarded for your First Appearance in the Become a Legend International Cup – 15G International Cup MVP – Awarded for being named Internation Cup Player of the Tournament in Become a Legend – 30G The Journeyman – A title awarded for playing at 10 different clubs across 6 countries in Become a Legend – 40G The Super Hero – A title awarded for being named World Footballer of the Year in Become a Legend – 50G Mr. Consistency (Online) – Awarded for winning 75% of your Last 20 Ranked matches Online – 50G Made the Knockout Phase – Awarded for making the Knockout phase of the UEFA Champion’s League – 40G European Champions – Awarded when you win the UEFA Champion’s League – 70G Kings of Latin America – A title awarded for winning the Copa Santander Libertadores – 80G
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| Posted: 08 Sep 2010 05:38 PM PDT
Not to be confused with The Princess Bride‘s “R.O.U.S.” (Rodents of Unusual Size), Ubisoft’s deception-based strategy title R.U.S.E. is available without having to infiltrate a forest full of exploding geysers and quicksand. By using various sneaky tactical gambits in game, players will get a leg up on their competition, crushing them under either the jackboot or the Sherman tank, depending on which faction you pick. Online multiplayer will introduce Russia, Great Britain, France and Italy into the mix, while exponentially increasing the amount of ruses transpiring in the world today. If you’re especially successful pulling them off, you’ll earn achievements. We’ve got the full list below. Regular AchievementsFirst Captain – Complete 50% of secondary objectives – 25G Hard Boiled – Complete all secondary objectives – 50G Competitor – Complete an operation – 5G Acheiver – Complete all operations’ bonus objectives – 10G Best Friend – Complete all cooperative operations – 25G One Vs. All – Complete all 1 vs. all operations – 25G Nemesis – Complete all 1 vs. 1 operations – 25G Staff Officer – Complete all operations – 25G Recruit – Defeat A.I. in battle mode – 5G Trooper – Defeat an A.I. in battle mode on Medium difficulty and in all time periods (39/42/45) – 25G Ace – Defeat an A.I. in battle mode on Hard difficulty with Total victory – 50G Parasite – Capture 50 buildings – 10G Ambassador – Defeat an A.I. in battle mode while playing each nation – 25G Collector – Defeat all A.I. profiles in 1v1 battle on at least Medium difficulty – 25G Cunning – Use all RUSEs – 25G Destroyer – Destroy 5000 enemy units – 25G Regular – Get to level 20 – 5G Veteran – Reach the Veteran league – 10G Elite – Reach the Elite leage – 25G War God – Get to level 100 – 50G Eug-virus – Defeat one of Eugen Systems’ team or someone having already unlocked this achievement – 25G Best Enemies – Play a four-player game with your friends only – 10G Atlas – Play a game on every map in a ranked match – 10G Got Your Back! – Play a game with a friend – 5G Occaisonal Allies – Play a game with a stranger in a team ranked match – 10G Battle Hardened – Achieve a victory in every ranked match mode – 10G One Hand behind My Back – Defeat an opponent without using the airfield and armor and artillery base camps in a ranked match – 20G Top Gun – Defeat an opponent with air units only in a ranked match – 20G Invincible – Achieve a 90% or more survival ratio in a ranked match – 25G Who’s Your Daddy – Achieve a 200% or more kill rate in a ranked match – 25G Mercenary – Win 5 games with every nation in ranked matches – 25G The Terrible – Achieve a winning streak of 3 in ranked matches – 25G The Great – Achieve a winning streak of 10 in ranked matches – 50G Secret AchievementsFirst Contact – Seize Colditz Castle – 5G Holding the Pass – Successfully hold Kasserine Pass – 5G Sand Storm – Throw the Axis out of Africa – 5G From Cover to Cover – Neutralize the Italian Secondary HQ by moving from cover to cover – 5G Tank Buster – Eliminate the last Italian Forces – 5G Highway to Heaven – Complete the Italian Campaign – 5G D-Day – Successfully land at Utah Beach – 10G Hedgerow War – Complete the Cotentin Campaign – 10G Death From Above – Complete Operation Market Garden – 10G Battered Bastard of Bastogne – Successfully hold Bastogne – 25G V-E Day – Survive to see the German capitulation – 25G The Facility – Recover Germany’s secret weapon plans – 25G Payback! – Prevent the Russians from attacking the Western allies – 25G Brigadier General – Prevent World War III in Easy difficulty level – 25G Lieutenant General – Prevent World War III in Medium difficulty level – 25G General of the Army – Prevent World War III in Hard difficulty level – 25G Desert Fox – Play two RUSEs on the same sector – 10G
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| PAX 2010: Star Wars: The Old Republic Hands-On Preview Posted: 08 Sep 2010 05:32 PM PDT
The day after we saw (and filmed) the information-packed Star Wars: The Old Republic panel, we headed over to the BioWare booth to try out the game for ourselves. For anyone who played Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, you’ll know that BioWare is not new to the Star Wars series. They’re also infamously good at converting licensed material into fun games (i.e. D&D in Baldur’s Gate/Neverwinter Nights), so I was excited to see how they’re doing here. We fired up a build of the Trooper class, the equivalent of the “Tank” in the game. The Trooper is the guy you send in to the front lines, blasters a’blazing. The demo starts out aboard a transport ship. We’re headed to the planet of Ord Mantell, where a group of Republic separatists have hidden a very powerful bomb. You can initiate a couple conversations with “Gearbox,” a fellow Trooper. Conversations are navigated with Mass Effect-style dialog trees. We played it tough/cool with Gearbox, selecting responses like “Doesn’t sound tough to me…,” and “I was born for this.” The ship is attacked! The separatists are firing missiles at you, and your ship is on fire. You have to walk over to a fire extinguisher, right-click it to pick it up, and then use it to put out the fires. CombatWhen you land, it’s time to fight right away. You make your way through an abandoned town, disabling the separatists’ missile launchers while Gearbox repairs the ship. The Trooper class I played had the following abilities:
Each of the abilities are mapped to a number key at the top of the keyboard, 1-4. To queue one up, simply click the appropriate button while you have a target in range. After you use each ability, there’s a brief cooldown period before it can be used again. The standard attack for the Trooper is Hammer Shot, a low-damage blaster attack. One thing to note is that there is no auto-attack mechanic in SW: ToR. Every time you attack, you’ll need to manually select an ability. This puts you right in the action with a sense of urgency. Rifle Grenade was a blast to use (literally). It fires a super powerful grenade, triggering a pretty big explosion and dealing massive damage. If up-close-and-personal is more your style, get up in melee distance, and use Stalk Strike. You’ll smack the enemy with the rifle, and knock them over. You can’t use Rifle Grenade infinitely, though. The Trooper class has another energy meter to watch, called “Ammo.” When the Trooper has depleted his six rounds, he can’t use any abilities requiring ammunition. To recharge, you’ll need to stop for a second to use the “Recharge and Reload” ability. It takes a good few seconds, but it fully restocks the Trooper’s ammo so you can get back to blasting. So, how does the game look? GraphicsPersonally, I have issues with the graphics in Star Wars: The Old Republic–both the art style, and the graphical quality. The art style, which BioWare is describing as “stylized realism,” to me resembles the art style in the Clone Wars animated series. Basically, it looks cartoony, and maybe even kidsy. That doesn’t sound like what BioWare is going for, though. Here is a snippet from a post on the official SW: ToR site, describing the motivation behind the art style:
While this “through a painter’s eye” visual style sounds like a good concept, I don’t think it’s there yet in the execution. The graphical quality also looked pretty low, perhaps because of BioWare’s focus on optimizing the experience for “lower-end computers” (mentioned earlier in that post). This is definitely understandable for an MMO. You can’t expect this game to look like Uncharted. It’s also worth mentioning that graphics are not everything in an MMO. Still, this seems a little below the bar I expect from a BioWare game. Am I wrong here? Let me know what you think in the comments. Final WorldI only spent about 15 minutes with the game, so these impressions are very limited. The game gets big props for being a full-voiced MMO (every single person talks), and combat abilities are simple and fun to use. I’d love to get some more time with the game, to dive into quests, leveling up, the whole package. Hopefully we will in the near future, so we can update our impressions. While the graphics didn’t wow me, the thing to keep in mind there is Star Wars: The Old Republic is due out TBA 2011, so there’s still plenty of time to polish up the visuals. It sounds like BioWare has a grand vision for the game’s art style. If anyone can get there, it’s BioWare.
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| 67,600 People Showed up For PAX, Third PAX Event Maybe Coming Posted: 08 Sep 2010 01:56 PM PDT
Penny Arcade’s Robert Khoo tells Big Download that 67,600 attended PAX Prime this past weekend, which is the most that has ever attended the convention. He also said that “I personally feel we’re closing in on our limit to the show in regard to physical space.” That surprises me, because the expo never felt upsettingly crowded, as there were only a handful of booths that were overwhelmingly crowded, and none of the panels I attended filled up. I think PAX has such a large focus that it spreads out folks enough that it never seemed like too much, particularly this year when they took some of the events out of the convention center. Oh, but there’s something else I forgot to post in my post-PAX delirium (which is still going strong, as I think I picked up West Coast disease). On Sunday, Penny Arcade creators Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins spoke to the press, and they mentioned that maybe they’re considering making a third PAX event to go with Seattle’s PAX Prime and Boston’s PAX East, and that it may take place somewhere outside the United States. Very intriguing.
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| Final Fantasy XIII Headed to 360 in Japan Posted: 08 Sep 2010 01:21 PM PDT
So, uh, all you folks in Japan who have a 360 but no PS3, today is your lucky day. Well, it’s your lucky day if you want to play Final Fantasy XIII but can’t, because you don’t have a PS3. I’m sure some of you exist. Anyway, the good news is that Final Fantasy XIII is on the way to the 360 in Japan. And it’s the version that we got here in North America, meaning it’s in English (with Japanese subtitles) and has that Leona Lewis song we all love so much, but there’s one key change: it has an easy mode. It also comes with a bonus: an art book called Final Fantasy XIII Corridor of Memory, which also features an epilogue to the game, so you’ll be able to find out what happens after the game to all those characters you’ll come to absolutely detest by the time you finish playing. You’ll get all this for the bargain price of 4,980 yen, and it’ll hit shelves on December 16. This is all so very something.
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| PAX 2010 Photo Gallery: Cosplay Chicks, Geeks, etc. (PICS) Posted: 08 Sep 2010 11:31 AM PDT We were at PAX all last weekend, and took a ton of photos to document the experience. Here are 57 photos of all the best PAX cosplay chicks, geek costumes, extravagant booths, long a#$ lines and more. Enjoy!
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| Nation Red Updated Demo and Video Downloads Posted: 08 Sep 2010 10:43 AM PDT
Features:
Download the new update demo here.        
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| LikeTotallyAwesome Show: Labor Day Edition (Video) Posted: 08 Sep 2010 10:26 AM PDT
There’s a new edition of LikeTotallyAwesome up on YouTube, the video games recap show that highlights big news, hot gamer chicks and the like. Among other things, this week’s edition points out that there’s a StarCraft II class you can take. As in, at a college, where you have to play StarCraft II to get a good grade in the class. Check it. LikeTotallyAwesome Channel
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| Interview: G4TV’s Alison Haislip *Screenjunkies.com* Posted: 08 Sep 2010 10:09 AM PDT
Our homies over at Screenjunkies.com caught up with G4′s Alison Haislip at the Television Critics Association press tour, down here in LA. Check out the gaming vixen’s thoughts on guest hosting for Olivia Munn, old school video games, and technology. Preview: Her favorite NES game is Duck Tales, straight up. That’s legit. Interview: G4TV’s Alison Haislip
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| Mass Effect 2: Lair of the Shadow Broker DLC Review Posted: 08 Sep 2010 10:09 AM PDT
While I have enjoyed all the Mass Effect 2 DLC missions thus far, I’m a little miffed that none of them really played into the overall of the Mass Effect saga. Firewalker was cool, and Overlord told another tale of Cerberus atrocity, but they were just side missions, and they didn’t demand to be played. So a new DLC episode about Liara and the Shadow Broker piqued my interest. First, it wraps up the story from the Redemption comic book, and, second, after having completed the mission, I get the feeling that events here will have a significant impact on Mass Effect 3 in a couple ways. The Story is this: Cerberus has obtained some intel that points to the Shadow Broker’s home base. You take that intel to Liara, because she’s beefing with the dude, and then you’re off. Explaining the plot any further would spoil some nice twists, so I’ll leave it at that. But since the pack is called Lair of the Shadow Broker, you can safely (and correctly) assume that you’ll make it to the Shadow Broker’s House and start some s**t with him.
This mission is hard. BioWare here throws wave after wave of baddies at you, and at a couple points I flashed back to those parts of Uncharted where Drake starts whining about the enemy just won’t freaking go away. And, right in the middle of the mission, you’ll face the most difficult boss fight in the entire game; it’s right up there with the final battle with Saren at the end of Mass Effect 1. However, the pack is still pretty short. I managed to wrap it up in a little over an hour, and I can’t say I wasn’t disappointed with the reveal of who the Shadow Broker is, though it isn’t necessarily a bad reveal. Ultimately, though, the mission underwhelms because it’s kind of awkwardly paced, and the writing leaves a bit to be desired; I don’t feel like the folks at BioWare were on the top of their game with this one. Considering the mission is less than half the length of Overlord and more expensive than that pack (it’s 800 MS points instead of 560), you might think you’re getting screwed on this one, but there are a couple reasons why it’s worth it. As I said before, the events in this pack will almost certainly affect events in Mass Effect 3, and if you had a relationship with Liara in the first game, you’ll get a chance to hold onto that relationship. On top of all that, once you get into the Shadow Broker’s base, you’ll find plenty of fun things to do, like taking a look at your crew members’ extranet usage and learning that Miranda uses an online dating service and that Jack writes poetry.
Oh, and you get to drive one of those flying cars around Illium, although the controls are screwed, because you steer with the right stick and accelerate with the left trigger. That’s backward, BioWare. But it’s still fun, and the banter that goes on during it is entertaining. One last note: there’s a lot of joking about the first game here. Some samples: Shepard complains about how bad he is at driving the flying car, and Liara comes back with, “It’s still better than the Mako”; Shepard: “Remember the old days when you could just slap omnigel on everything?” Liara: “That security upgrade made a lot of people unhappy”; “[Joker] did ask me record any parts of our conversation where my eyes ‘do that freaky black eternity thing.’ “ The mission itself did not blow me away like Overlord did, but I still think it’s worth it for the peripheral stuff. Pros: Impacts Mass Effect 3, probably Cons: Short
Final Score: 80/100
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