Video
0 Comments

Magrunner: Dark Pulse reveal trailer shows a magnetic science experiment gone terribly wrong

Focus Home Interactive has released an announcement trailer for Magrunner: Dark Pulse, a downloadable first-person action game for Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network and Windows PC. In the year 2050, Gruckezber Corporation starts testing a new kind of clean magnetic technology that could be miraculous for humanity. It recruits a number of physically and mentally fit young citizens to test its new tech, calling them "Magrunners." As seen in the trailer, the tests are somewhat reminiscent of Valve's Portal games, with players asked to solve magnetism-based puzzles using a power glove. However, the experiments don't go as planned when an earthquake strikes the testing facility, and while it's not entirely clear what happens, there are monsters involved. The publisher describes the...
News
14 Comments

'Indie' treatment by publishers reason for low sales of Grasshopper titles, says Suda 51

Publishers' approach to Grasshopper Manufacture titles like Lollipop Chainsaw and No More Heroes may have resulted in the titles' low sales figures, according to studio head Goichi "Suda 51" Suda. Speaking with GamesIndustry.biz, Suda said Grasshopper does have "a very strong base," but the decision to market them as an "indie" company may have hurt the games' performance at retail. "It's just that because we were so indie, publishers were always [treating us] differently," he said. "Each publisher operates a different way, has different strategic ideas, so in terms of sales, what they did, was they kept creating what they thought was good," he added. "But in terms of publishing, it was a different company's strategic choice. So we believe that back then, when we were completely indie...
News
8 Comments

Sleeping Dogs coming to PS Plus Instant Game Collection May 7

Sleeping Dogs, United Front Games' open-world action title, will be added as a free download to PlayStation Plus subscribers' Instant Game Collections May 7, it was revealed on this week's PlayStation Blogcast. The PlayStation 3 game, which was released last August by publisher Square Enix, currently sells for $39.99 at most retailers. It will be joined by several other Instant Game Collection additions coming during the month of May, including a four-table Pinball Arcade pack for PS3 and Knytt Underground for PS3 and PS Vita. Recent additions to the Instant Game Collection include Demon's Souls, Malicious and Zombie Tycoon 2, though these will be bumped out of the roster throughout May as new games are added.
News
25 Comments

Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag story of sex and repentance outlined by lead scriptwriter

Ubisoft's long-running Assassin's Creed series is driven as much by its story as it is assassinations, but during the first public look at Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag not a whole lot was said about its narrative. The game's first trailer only nudged fans gently in the direction of a plot; something that quickly became overshadowed by a montage of pirate debauchery and wench-based threesomes. But Black Flag's lead scriptwriter Darby McDevitt tells us this sexually explicit motif is actually at the heart of the game's narrative. Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag will be the story of immorality and repentance. According to McDevitt, the game's protagonist Edward Kenway is a married man whose strained relationship with his wife is punctuated by relationships with other women. "there is a...
Video
1 Comment

Way of the Dogg trailer shows rhythm-based street fights, Snoop Dogg's mystic wisdom

A new gameplay trailer for Snoop Dogg's downloadable rhythm/fighting game Way of the Dogg shows protagonist America "AJ" Jones in action. Renowned as the best fighter in the city, AJ loses his love interest in a shooting and seeks out the mystic wisdom of Snoop Dogg in order to seek revenge. Way of the Dogg's combat is rhythm-based, with button combinations on the screen tied to the beat of Snoop Dogg's music. Way of the Dogg is out today on Xbox Live Arcade, and will be hitting PlayStation Network, Android and iOS at an unspecified future date.
Video
22 Comments

Watch Dogs dev diary discusses what makes the PS4 version special

Sony and Ubisoft have released a new behind-the-scenes video for Watch Dogs about developing the open-world hacking game for the PlayStation 4. In the video, Watch Dogs' senior producer Dominic Guay and creative director Jonathan Morin say that the PS4 version of the game holds true to the game's vision, but that the "very scalable" Disrupt engine allows them to create a more densely detailed Chicago. Ubisoft is also taking advantage of the PS4's built-in social elements to increase the player's connectivity to the game, where they can be playing in some capacity from their mobile device and interacting with another player at home in their living room. This is the first episode of "Conversations with Creators," a Sony series aimed at shedding light on PS4 games currently in...
News
1 Comment

Sound Shapes DLC queued for May 14 release

The next downloadable content pack for Queasy Games' rhythmic platformer Sound Shapes is set for May 14 in North America, according to a tweet on the game's official Twitter account yesterday. A reply to the original tweet revealed that the unnamed DLC would be headed to each territory worldwide "on their regular release day that week," pegging a European release for May 15. A tweet from the Sound Shapes account on April 11 mentioned upcoming "80's & Dubstep"packs. Apparently leaked trophies for the game on PS3trophies.org list both the 80s Sound Pack and the Dubstep Sound Pack with five trophies each. A tweet from March 25 said that they were "coming soon," while a tweet from April 18 said that there "will be a Dubstep Note Pack in the next release." For more on Sound Shapes and...
News
4 Comments

Dishonored Void Walker's Arsenal bonus items DLC hits May 14

The Void Walker's Arsenal add-on content, previously accessible only to those who pre-ordered Dishonored, will be available for purchase across at platforms on May 14, publisher Bethesda announced today. The DLC includes four bundles of additional items, bone charm slots, books, coins and other bonuses: the Acrobatic Killer Pack, Arcane Assassin Pack, Backstreet Butcher Pack and the Shadow Rat Pack. Dishonored players can purchase the content through the PlayStation Store and Steam for $3.99 and the Xbox Live Marketplace for 320 Microsoft Points ($4). The Void Walker's Arsenal DLC will be available for PS3 in Europe on May 15. Acrobatic Killer Pack: bone charm bonuses (drop-down assassination health bonus, bolt and arrow dodging, increased swimming speed), in-game hagfish statue...
Culture
1 Comment

The Last of Us Firefly pendant contest winners feature birdhouses, pencil holders and piano arrangements

Twenty-four artistic fans will get to leave their mark on The Last of Us for creating videos, fan art and cosplay based on Naughty Dog's upcoming title, the developer announced today. The winners of Naughty Dog's Firefly Pendant contest will have their names engraved on the pendants worn by the in-game group the Fireflies, a prominent militia organization in The Last of Us a key component of the game's plot. Entries into the game's fan art competition include a pencil holder sculpted to look like one of the Infected, a birdhouse (pictured above) and a handful of artwork. Winners in the video section of the contest feature a recreation of one of The Last of Us trailers in LittleBigPlanet 2, a music video for a piano arrangement of the game's main theme, a short film and a very eerie...
Report
0 Comments

Altered memories, trading hearts: Dishonored devs stretch creative muscles with fiction novels

Both designers began crafting their fiction long before their dive into Dunwall. Smith, who is also Arkane's co-creative director, began writing his semi-autobiographical novel Big Jack is Dead in 2005 and worked on it in brief weekly or monthly stints over the following years. "It was a process that required some care, because the longer I stayed with the book, the more I developed a kind of 'fuck the world' attitude, where I got sullen and more cynical about human experience," Smith told Polygon of his time writing. "I wasn't much fun to be around when I was working on the book; writing it required me to put myself into a specific frame of mind." Big Jack is Dead follows Jack Hickman, an introverted software designer coping with the suicide of his estranged father. The storyline...
News
5 Comments

Fuse demo coming to PSN and XBLA May 7

A demo for Insomniac Games' co-op shooter Fuse will be available on the Xbox Live Marketplace and PlayStation Network May 7, publisher Electronic Arts announced today. The demo will allow up to four players to participate in online co-op or two players in split-screen. All four main protagonists — Dalton Brooks, Naya Deveraux, Jacob Kimble and Izzy Sinclair — are available for testing, allowing players to try out each character's unique skills sets and weapons. EA notes that online co-op requires use of an Origin account. The demo will take players to a weapon depot in a snowy environment, on a mission to track down a source of Fuse, a deadly alien energy source that can be harnessed as a powerful destructive tool. Fuse will launch on May 28 in North America and May 31 in Europe...
News
36 Comments

Aliens: Colonial Marines false advertising lawsuit is 'frivolous,' says Gearbox

Developer Gearbox is calling a lawsuit that claims both the studio and publisher Sega falsely advertised the controversial Aliens: Colonial Marines "frivolous," according to a statement provided to Kotaku. Following the news that Edelson LLC, a law firm representing plaintiff Damion Perrine, will file a class-action lawsuit against both companies, a Gearbox spokesperson released the following statement: "Attempting to wring a class action lawsuit out of a demonstration is beyond meritless. We continue to support the game, and will defend the rights of entertainers to share their works-in-progress without fear of frivolous litigation." Sega also released a statement on the matter to Polygon, writing that the publisher "cannot comment on specifics of ongoing litigation, but [are]...
News
20 Comments

South Park: The Stick of Truth is still on track for 2013 launch, Ubisoft confirms

South Park: The Stick of Truth will still be released this year despite not being included in the publisher Ubisoft's official release schedule made available earlier in the week, VideoGamer.com reports. According to a Ubisoft representative, while there are no updates on the status of the game, The Stick of Truth is still "scheduled for release in calendar 2013." Ubisoft acquired the title for $3.2 million earlier in the year, following THQ's closure. The game was initially slated to be released later this May when it was still under the THQ umbrella; however, it was delayed after being acquired by Ubisoft. South Park: The Stick of Truth remains in development under Obsidian. The title is being developed for Windows PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, while South Park creators Trey...
News
10 Comments

Zone of the Enders sequel put on hold while studio delivers patch for troubled HD collection

Ender's Project, an upcoming sequel to Zone of the Enders first announced last year, is being put on hold while its development team focuses its efforts on fully re-programming the PlayStation 3 edition of Zone of the Enders HD Collection, Hideo Kojima announced during the recent HideoBlog web radio show. According to Kojima, the studio is aware the recently released HD remaster did not live up to fan expectations. During the show, as translated by Siliconera, Kojima explained the transition from 30 FPS to 60 FPS was not as smooth as he had hoped, and resulted in "choppy" gameplay. The developers have re-programmed the entire game, which will be released as a free PlayStation 3 patch; however, there are no plans for a Xbox 360 patch just yet. The team behind Ender's Project has since...
News
7 Comments

Defiance surpasses one million registrations

Trion World's massively multiplayer online game, Defiance, surpassed one million registered accounts across all platforms since its launch on April 2, the company announced. Trion noted other stats, such as more than 500,000,000 Hellbugs have been killed, gamers have driven 50,000,000 miles around the Bay Area and 1,000,000 Arkfalls were undertaken. The company recently announced a cross-promotion between Defiance and its older MMO, Rift, where Rift gamers are given the chance to receive Defiance-based rewards and Hellbug mounts. The PlayStation 3 version of the sci-fi MMO received an update this week to improve server and client stability. The same patch was issued to PlayStation 3 and Windows PC versions of the game last month, which initially caused problems and ended the...
News
11 Comments

Injustice: Gods Among Us' second downloadable character may be Batgirl

Batgirl may be the second of four downloadable fighters coming to NetherRealm Studios' fighter Injustice: Gods Among Us, according to Xbox Live Marketplace screenshots and a YouTube video obtained by GameInformer. The below video by YouTube user SFilp runs through the Xbox Live Marketplace procedure to bring up the Batgirl DLC option. A price was not listed on the video capture or screenshot and the Marketplace error has since been corrected. It was announced earlier this week that DC Comics fighting game's first DLC character, the alien bounty hunter Lobo, will arrive on May 7. It is not known how much individual DLC characters will cost; however, gamers can purchase a DLC season pass for $14.99 on PlayStation Network and 1200 Microsoft Points ($15) on Xbox Live, which includes the...
News
28 Comments

Sony's PlayStation E3 2013 press conference scheduled for June 10

Sony will hold its PlayStation E3 2013 press conference on June 10, 2013 at 6 p.m. Pacific, according to invitations sent from the company today, where it's expected that the company will showcase new games for the PlayStation 4 and PS Vita. The company didn't elaborate on its E3 plans, but it will likely devote some time to currently announced but still unreleased titles for the PlayStation 3 and Vita, including games like The Last of Us, Beyond Two Souls, Rain, Killzone Mercenary and Tearaway. Sony announced its next-generation PlayStation and a handful of new games, including Killzone: Shadow Fall, Knack and Infamous: Second Son, at an event in February. PlayStation's E3 2013 media briefing will follow Microsoft's Xbox press conference, which takes place at 10 a.m. Pacific on...
Speed Run
8 Comments

Speed Run: Grand Theft Auto 5, TimeGate, Sony, Camelot Unchained

We've got a smattering of new details on Grand Theft Auto 5. TimeGate Studios, the developer that assisted Gearbox Software with Aliens: Colonial Marines, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Sony executives are giving up their annual bonuses, roughly 30 to 50 percent of their salay, for the second year in a row. City State Entertainment and designer Mark Jacobs' Camelot Unchained emerges victorious from its Kickstarter campaign. Grand Theft Auto 5: Plenty of promise(s) Section 8 developer TimeGate Studios files for bankruptcy protection Sony executives give up bonuses for second year running following unprofitable year in electronics Camelot Unchained funding closes with $2.2M, additional $3M coming from private investors
Video
9 Comments

Splinter Cell: Blacklist trailer pits spies against mercs

A trailer released today for Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist, Ubisoft's upcoming stealth franchise reboot, shows off the return of the series' Spies versus Mercs multiplayer mode. Check out the gameplay trailer above to see the stealthy spies attempt to hack some data as the heavily armored mercs use the tools in their arsenal to stand in their way. Splinter Cell: Blacklist is headed to PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U and Windows PC August 20. For more on the game, be sure to check out Polygon's impressions from earlier this year.
News
24 Comments

Borderlands 2's latest DLC is Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep, hits June 25Â?

Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep, the fourth expansion to Borderlands 2, will launch June 25, the developer confirmed to Polygon this afternoon. The DLC will be available for $9.99 or 800 Microsoft Points and will come free to those with the game's Season Pass. Polygon will have impressions of Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep May 28 at 8 a.m. ET. As a teaser trailer foreshadowed during PAX East, the premise of the DLC will be that Tiny Tina is hosting a Dungeons & Dragons-like tabletop game. News of the DLC first game to light recently when Borderlands 2 writer Anthony Burch tweeted a picture that included a promotional image for Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep in the background.
tracking_pixel_5353_tracker