The last time Namco Bandai released a Museum collection on Wii with updated versions of its classics ... it didn't really work out. Namco is trying again with Namco Museum Megamix -- sort of. In fact, many of the remixed games in this collection are the same as in the previous collection, judging from the materials released. The Galaga Remix seen in the screenshots is the same "defend Pac-Man" rail shooter seen in the 2007 game, and Pac-Motos and Pac-n-Roll Remix, described in the press release, was also present. That's right, Namco has now taken to re-releasing its remakes.

The Megamix adds at least one new rearrangement: Grobda Remix, based on a shmup you're forgiven for now knowing about. It'll also feature original (read: good) versions of Pac-Man, Mappy, Rally-X, Galaga, and more. Megamix will be out in November.

Continue reading Namco remakes arcade classics again in Wii's Namco Museum Megamix

Namco remakes arcade classics again in Wii's Namco Museum Megamix originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Despite popping up on GameStop and having been rated by Australia's OFLC, the so-called "Dragon Age Origins - Ultimate Edition" still hasn't been officially announced by EA. Now the British Board of Film Classification has gone ahead and listed the supposed contents of the re-release, which is "made up of a number of separate components," including:

• Dragon Age: Origins (original game)
• Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening (standalone expansion)
• "The Darkspawn Chronicles" (DLC)
• "Feastday Combo Pack" (DLC)
• "The Golems of Amgarrak" (DLC)
• "Leliana's Song" (DLC)
• "Return to Ostagar" (DLC)
• "The Stone Prisoner" (lDLC)
• "Warden's Keep" (DLC)
• "Witch Hunt" (DLC)

While the GameStop listing has since been removed, the retailer had posted a $60 price and an October 12 release date for the Ultimate Edition. We'll be sure to note the official details when EA officially announces them.

BBFC: Dragon Age Ultimate Edition to include Awakening and all DLC originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The IndieCade 2010 festival, an annual event held in Culver City, California which celebrates independently-created games, is doing a couple things differently for this year's awards presentation. The first is that all 32 of the finalists are nominated for every award category, such as "Technical Innovation," "World/Story," and the slightly more obscure "Sublime Experience." Check out the full list of categories and their lengthy list of contenders just past the jump.

Oh, the second difference for this year's show? It's going to be hosted by LeVar Burton. In short, it's shaping up to be the best awards show ever.

Continue reading IndieCade 2010 finalists announced, everyone's nominated for everything

IndieCade 2010 finalists announced, everyone's nominated for everything originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Come get some background on Randy Pitchford's back-in-fashion Duke Nukem shirt, seen above:

"I moved to Texas and became a professional game maker to join Alan Blum, he created Duke Nukem 3D," the Gearbox co-founder told Joystiq at PAX. "He and Todd Replogle in Southern California, freaking invented this whole damned thing. And I moved out to Texas to join him and George Broussard and Scott Miller, and all the guys on the team, so that I could be part of Duke Nukem 3D. Because I wanted to add to that. I thought it was awesome; it was really fun and I wanted to be part of that team.

"This t-shirt I'm wearing, George gave me this t-shirt in 1996," Pitchford continued, now speaking as part of the team that now hopes to complete Duke Nukem Forever. "And we've been waiting for this game ever since. Guys like Alan didn't want to let the Duke dream die. They've worked their butts off all this time making great stuff."

[Image credit: Mikey Neumann, Gearbox creative director; via Twitter]

Pitchford explains the Duke shirt that predates Duke Nukem Forever originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 17:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Irem is working on a new Disaster Report game, this time for the PS3. Titled Zettai Zetsumei Toshi 4: Summer Memories, the first HD entry of the franchise has you escaping an earthquake-stricken city in the year 201X. (And no, Mega Man won't be making a cameo ... we think!) In addition to supporting 3D and PlayStation Move, this will be the first title in the series to add a "cleanliness" parameter. According to Andriasang, "if your character gets too dirty, your stress will rise." Thankfully, you'll be able to take care of this with the all-new "use the toilet" feature!

It's unclear if Disaster Report 4 will make it stateside. The last entry in the series, a PSP game, never found a publisher. The first two games for PS2 were released as Disaster Report and the pornographic-sounding Raw Danger (pictured above).

Disaster Report 4 to shake up PS3 with Move and 3D support originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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After what is arguably the longest, most troubled development in the history of video games, Duke Nukem Forever is finally, really, truly here. It's not being shown secretly, behind-closed-doors at some industry event. Instead, it's at PAX, an event that is, more than any other in this industry, consumer facing, and that tangibility is a big part of Gearbox's reveal.

Wait, who? Gearbox Software, the Texas-based dev who's helping to bring 3D Realms' pre-Google (think about it!) labor of love to consoles, is behind this revival along with publisher 2K Games. "This is a game you can't make promises about," Gearbox prez Randy Pitchford told an audience of incredulous gamers this morning. "Haven't we not been teased enough? We don't want to tease. We just thought we'd bring it to PAX." And Gearbox didn't just bring a trailer - although it did bring one of those - but more importantly, there's about 15 minutes of playable game. Let that sink in for a while.

While we weren't able to grab video of the trailer - you'll have to settle for my account - Pitchford did say that people could take pics. Actually, he said, "You've got cameras. You've got cellphones with cameras on them. Take all the pictures you want [...] We'll even take the pictures for you." You know, when Duke Nukem Forever was first announced, I didn't have a cellphone yet ... and the idea of a cellphone with a camera on it? Madness.

Continue reading Duke Nukem Forever preview: Yeah, it's actually playable. No, really.

Duke Nukem Forever preview: Yeah, it's actually playable. No, really. originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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"Yeah, it surprised us too," Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer design director David Vonderhaar told us at the multiplayer reveal event in Los Angeles earlier this week. What surprised Vonderhaar and the team at Treyarch was the "30 to 40 percent" of Call of Duty players that never venture into mulitplayer, according to Activision research. His goal for Black Ops: To get as many of those people into multiplayer as possible.

With Modern Warfare 2 breaking sales records and its developer, Infinity Ward, in a state of collapse, following the highly publicized departure of the studio's founders and many of its senior staff, all eyes are on Treyarch to pick up the torch and deliver the most robust and polished multiplayer experience the franchise has seen yet.

But how far does Vonderhaar look to find competition? "The benchmark is always the last game that the studio's made, or that Activision's published," he said. "Multiplayer CoD games command three of the four top spots on Xbox Live right now. We're filling stadiums of people every night with players." And that fan base, which is shared across Infinity Ward's two Modern Warfare titles along with Treyarch's zombie-infused World at War multiplayer, hasn't shied away from upgrading annually.

But first, there's a challenge that Vonderhaar notes: A lot of different kinds of gamers buy Call of Duty games and never go online.

Continue reading Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer takes aim at cheaters, looks to recruit more players

Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer takes aim at cheaters, looks to recruit more players originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 15:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We have a pretty good idea what boxing gloves with knives taped to them will do to zombies. But how about wyverns? Japanese gamers will get to find out exactly that when Dead Rising 2 launches there (September 30 on consoles, October 28 on PC).

Those who purchase Dead Rising 2 will get vouchers to unlock Dead Rising 2-themed items in either the PC or Xbox 360 versions of Monster Hunter Frontier. Those items include the aforementioned knifegloves, a boomstick (a shotgun with a pitchfork on it), a moose head, and several different colors of the Terror is Reality racing suit. Now let's see some giant swords in Dead Rising 2!

Monster Hunter Frontier features improvised Dead Rising 2 weapons in Japan originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Level-5's PSP entry to the White Knight Chronicles franchise has finally been revealed in the latest issue of Famitsu. Episode Portable: Dogma Wars is a prequel, set 10,000 years before the events of the PS3 games. Set in the Dogma Age, the Yshrenia and Athwan Empires are fighting for control over the world. You will command the Athwan "Train Battalion" as you fight the towering mecha Knights of the Yshrenia. As Andriasang points out, "you're going to be fighting the giants this time instead of transforming into them."

No gameplay details have been revealed, but Dogma Wars already sounds dramatically different from its PS3 counterparts. Fans of the franchise will want to keep an eye on it -- if only for the promised connectivity with the upcoming PS3 sequel.

White Knight Chronicles: Dogma Wars for PSP revealed, will offer PS3 connectivity originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Perhaps it isn't enough for you to know that Firefall -- Red 5 Studios' first release -- is full of guns and jetpacks? Would it help if you knew that the lead designer was also headed up Tribes? Ahhh, good! Firefall is a "team-based action shooter" featuring "hundreds of players" completing objectives and battling to the death in a "dynamic open world." And, frankly, it looks great.

The title is free-to-play and relies on an in-game marketplace for profit. We might normally balk at such a monetization system, but we were thoroughly impressed by the game's debut gameplay trailer, not to mention the pedigree behind Firefall. If you're as enticed as we are, you'll be glad to know that Red 5 is accepting applications for the game's beta starting right now.

Continue reading Red 5 Studios reveal Firefall, coming to PC 'near the end of 2011'

Red 5 Studios reveal Firefall, coming to PC 'near the end of 2011' originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2K Games hosted a video livestream of its booth shortly after the re-announcement (or is it un-cancellation?) of Duke Nukem Forever, showing off a few fans getting their first shot at the alien-murdering sim. You can check out a couple of over-the-shoulder gameplay clips from this stream posted just after the jump.

And, yes, it is worth noting that this particular demo begins with Duke Nukem relieving himself, an action you apparently execute by pressing Right Trigger. You're going to feel tempted to press Left Trigger, but for the sweet love of God, you have to resist that urge.

Continue reading Duke Nukem Forever footage: Press Right Trigger to urinate

Duke Nukem Forever footage: Press Right Trigger to urinate originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PlayStation Blog has announced a February 22, 2011 North American release date for Killzone 3, the fourth installment in Guerrilla Games' FPS series (we know, we still find that confusing too). For those of you keeping score, that's almost two years to the day after the release of Killzone 2. We guess the last week of Feburary holds some kind of secret significance to the Amsterdam-based developer.

If you happen to be attending the Penny Arcade Expo at the moment, you can get your hands on the game much, much sooner -- a playable 8-on-8 multiplayer demo is currently set up at Sony's booth on the PAX show floor.

Killzone 3 wrecking Helghast shop on February 22, 2011 originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 13:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Looks like its time to throw another victim on the pile of DLC which crashes the game upon which it's intended to expand. This time around, it's Crackdown 2's recently released "Toy Box" pack, which is supposed to add the "Keys to the City" mode from the first game, as well as a handful of new weapons and items. According to a number of angry commenters on Xbox.com, the 560 Microsoft Point ($7) download doesn't add this content as much as it ... well, removes everything else.

For reasons unknown, a large number of players report that the game simply freezes up when trying to play after having downloaded the "Toy Box" pack. Some users report that clearing the system's cache and playing offline allows the game to load, but connecting to Live and downloading the game's latest update returns it to its non-functioning state. We've contacted Microsoft to find out what the problem is, and when we can expect a fix. You might want to consider keeping the "Toy Box" firmly closed for the time being.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

Crackdown 2 players report crashing issues with 'Toy Box' DLC originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It's finally, really, actually ... maybe going to happen at this point. The rumors are true: Gearbox Software and 2K Games have taken on the Herculean task of completing and releasing 3D Realms' unfinished Duke Nukem Forever. The project was officially unveiled today at PAX during a livestreamed presentation at the 2K Games booth and announced for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. "It's coming out in 2011," Gearbox president Randy Pitchford said during the presentation. (Of course, we're skeptical about any release date associated with this particular title.)

Gearbox began finishing Duke Nukem Forever in late 2009, according to The Wall Street Journal. "Clearly the game hadn't been finished at 3D Realms but a lot of content had been created," Pitchford told WSJ.

"We're in the polishing phase now. This is a game where we can not make a promise we can not fulfill," Pitchford added. "We need to get past the shock and awe, and then we can go to all the retailers and first parties and work out a launch plan."

Duke Nukem Forever is a sequel to Duke Nukem 3D and will feature both a single-player campaign and multiplayer. "Aliens come and say they're going to be our friends, and Duke knows this isn't going to work out," Pitchford revealed of the plot. "Duke once again is in the pivotal spot and it's up to him to save the world."

[Image credit: Kurt Miller]

Duke Nukem Forever coming '2011' on Xbox 360, PS3 & PC, courtesy of Gearbox originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 13:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A few details about the Move-equipped Ape Escape outing for the PS3 (which was outed for a possible North American release by GameStop) recently surfaced during the Japanese CESA Developers Conference. Ape Escape Fury! Fury! designer Takamitsu Iijima explained the game's goal is to place the player in the shoes of the series' stalwart monkey catcher, resulting in a game of on-rails, first-person net-swinging.

We find it refreshing to play an on-rails shooter without any shooting to speak of, though we'll reserve judgment until we've gotten a chance to incarcerate a few simians ourselves. Provided Ape Escape Fury! Fury! is even the game hinted at by that recent Gamestop listing, of course.

Move-enabled Ape Escape is an on-rails, first-person monkey catcher originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Stardock CEO Brad Wardell has spoken out again on the troubled launch of his studio's latest game, Elemental: War of Magic. Taking to Stardock's forums, Wardell (aka "Frogboy") said, "I don't think people yet fully realize the completeness of Stardock's fail on Elemental's launch. I'm going to write more about this, but not only did we think v1.05 was ready for everyone, but we felt v1.0 was too. That's the level of disconnect/poor judgment on our part we're talking about."

And while he places the blame on Stardock as a whole, he takes a full paragraph to account for his own mistakes. "EVERY competent software developer knows that the programmer must never be the one deciding whether the program is done. Yet, my love of Elemental broke my self discipline and I began coding on the game itself in vast amounts and lost any sense of objectivity on where the game's state was. I normally only program the AI on our games so I can keep a level of distance from the game itself to determine whether it's 'Ready.' On Elemental, I was in love with the world and the game and lost my impartiality."

He finishes his screed with the promise, "We'll do better," and in a separate post lists off the many changes and additions coming to the game (including free expansions and an intended v1.1 patch in September). Both pieces really are worth reading in full. You can grab them here and here.

Stardock CEO calls Elemental launch 'disastrous,' promises to do better originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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"OMG, Duke Nukem is at PAX!" At least, according to an effusive tweet from Joystiq alum Dustin Burg. In addition, a source at the convention told Joystiq that images of Duke Nukem are visible at the 2K booth, which has yet to open to the public. The Gearbox logo can be seen, but the title of whatever Duke Nukem game is being promoted is currently covered.

However, we might have a clue, thanks to reports coming in from CVG's "US dev sources," who tell the site that the game is actually Duke Nukem Forever, and will be given a "grand demo" at the show. Rumors have been flying recently about Gearbox signing on to complete the game. Also flying: pigs, in an image tweeted by 3D Realms' George Broussard (who joked with 1UP in a January 2006 interview that he expected DNF to be released "when pigs fly") . 2K did say it planned "something big" at its booth, and this would certainly qualify.

Update: Gearbox creative director Mikey Neumann tweeted a picture of CEO Randy Pitchford wearing a Duke t-shirt. Seems portentous!

Update 2: A partial image from 2KGames' Twitter account also shows the Duke "radioactive" logo.

Update 3: Well, here's the most concrete evidence you could ever ask for. Pikimal [via Shacknews] posted several images, like the photo stand seen above, of Duke Nukem Forever signs at the 2K booth.

Duke Nukem Forever appearing at 2K's PAX booth [update: pictured!] originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you're in the mood for a game that's about classic-style dungeons and is an RPG, you'll be delighted to hear that NIS America dated the PSP game Cladun: This is an RPG! The game will be available on PSN on September 21.

Cladun allows players to build their own tiny character sprites and take on randomly generated dungeons. It features ad-hoc play, so up to four players can wander around dungeons together (while wandering around together in real life). To see more of Cladun, you can browse around the game's website, which is designed to look and sound like the game. You can also play Cladun-themed picross. After all, if you like dungeon RPGs, you enjoy difficult games.

Cladun: This is a release date! originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 11:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Albion has entered its industrial age.

Not that I need the helpful, disembodied voice to tell me that in Fable 3's opening, of course. The change is evident in how the once colorful landscape seems to be covered in soot. It's clear from a single glance at the sorrowful, broken eyes of a townsperson worked to the bone.

"The Fable team hasn't changed very much, it's generally the same people and because that's the case, for us, there's a love there for the world, and there's a love there for the characters," design director Josh Atkins tells me. "We can't afford, emotionally, to be complacent."

It's a little ironic that it was the team's commitment to do right by Fable 3, to not play it safe, that forced them to make Albion such an unfortunate place in which to live.

Continue reading Fable 3 preview: a reason to believe

Fable 3 preview: a reason to believe originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 11:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fo' rizzle, Snoop Dogg be the Rock Band DLCizzle next week. The track pack has been a long, long ... long time coming, but it's finally here to bust out flows like ... no. Sorry, no. We can't do this.

Continue reading Rock Band Weekly: Snoop Dogg

Rock Band Weekly: Snoop Dogg originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 10:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The United States vs. Russia. That's all you need to know. Now, skip to the good part!

Continue reading Vanquish story trailer has a good ending

Vanquish story trailer has a good ending originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 10:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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During a presentation at the CESA Developers Conference on Wednesday about the art of animation, Team Ico head Fumito Ueda brought up some shots from Ico as illustrations. Except the images projected don't look exactly like the PS2 game: the aspect ratio is different, the textures are better, and the character models are sharper -- and that's just what can be picked up from looking at pictures of a projector showing the images. NeoGAF's Gribbix and SolidSnakex posted direct comparisons between the CEDEC presentation and the PS2 Ico.

With the persistent rumor of a God of War Collection-style remake of Team Ico's PS2 games, and with TGS around the corner, it's tempting to take these images as evidence. It seems just as likely, however, that Ueda mocked up nice illustrations of iconic scenes for his presentation. In any case, they're lovely and can be seen at GAME Watch.

Team Ico shows off cleaned-up Ico shots at CEDEC originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 10:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Though a European trailer for No Heroes Allowed, the third game in the What Did I Do to Deserve This, My Lord!? series, was released during Gamescom, news of a North American release remained up in the air (instead of buried in a hastily-dug dungeon, where it belonged). SCEA has revealed plans to release the game, but did not offer up a date for the God of Destruction's resurrection.

No Heroes Allowed offers 100 daily dungeon design challenges, along with a new cooperative play mode that stars Badman and his daughter, Badmella. In the new addition, two players collaborate to dig a deadly, devious and dangerous dungeon.

Holy localization, Badman! It's No Heroes Allowed for PSP originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 09:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you found yourself particularly inspired by the quartet of southern rock troubadours prominently featured in Left 4 Dead 2's "Dark Carnival" campaign, you can now stretch your creative muscles to give one of the fictional band's hit songs some visual flair. Valve recently announced a contest to create the best music video for the Riders' chart topper "Save Me Some Sugar (This Won't Take Long)," which will make its debut in the upcoming "The Sacrifice" DLC campaign. The winner of the contest will receive a Valve "gift pack" and a guitar signed by all four members of the band.

The manner in which you create this video is entirely up to you -- will it be live action, in-game footage or a hybrid of both? Regardless of what you go with, we hope you first seek out some thematically appropriate inspiration.

Make a music video for Left 4 Dead's Midnight Riders originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Are you ready, Steef? Just Add Water is working on a high-definition remake of Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath. The Gravity Crash developer announced the project earlier today, highlighting it as the first in a "long and fruitful relationship" with the original game's developer, Oddworld Inhabitants. "Having a chance to update the great title and release it on PS3 is just a brilliant opportunity, not least for us, but for the fans too," added Just Add Water MD Stewart Gilray.

Set for release on PlayStation Network during Easter next year, the PS3 remake of Stranger's Wrath will offer enhanced 720p visuals, more detailed character models, remastered dialogue, PlayStation Move support and "additional bonus material."

When it launched on Xbox in January 2005, Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath was notable for being, well, a really bizarre first-person shooter. It placed the franchise's environmental missive inside a wild and weird Western aesthetic, and replaced ammunition with ravenous fuzzballs. An EA-developed port for PlayStation 2 never made it to stores.

Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath remake coming to PS3 in 2011 originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 07:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A game based on roller derby is something that never occurred to us, but it seems incredibly obvious now that someone's doing it. Frozen Codebase announced Jam City Rollergirls, a WiiWare game based on women's flat track roller derby and featuring real roller derby leagues. This is the second "official," licensed WiiWare game for an unconventional sport that we can think of, and it's far less disgusting than its contemporary.

Frozen Codebase plans to release the circular skating and violence sim in the fourth quarter of this year. Jam City Rollergirls will also be at PAX this weekend for the curious to give it a spin.

Jam City Rollergirls rolling out on WiiWare later this year originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SNK's oddball bullet hell shmup, KOF Sky Stage, has finally been dated for Xbox Live Arcade -- in Japan, at least. Masochists can check it out on September 15 for 800 MS Points ($10). That's a small price to pay to see Terry Bogard and company fly around and shoot stuff. And, y' know, play a super-tough game.

The game originally launched in Japanese arcades back in January. PSP users can also access KOF Sky Stage right now in Neo Geo Heroes, while those of us in the US can likely look forward to a localized release, so says an ESRB listing. If you're looking to get an early start at finding all of those sweet hiding spots to take refuge from the impending bullet swarms, head past the break for a new trailer.

Continue reading KOF Sky Stage shoots up Japanese XBLA on September 15

KOF Sky Stage shoots up Japanese XBLA on September 15 originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Erin Robinson's excellent Puzzle Bots was chosen as one of the PAX 10 winners for this weekend's Seattle convention, and as a result, Wadjet Eye games has it on sale all weekend long. By entering the code "PUZZLEPAX" at checkout, you can play the cheerful little strategy puzzle title for $4.99 instead of the usual $10.

There's a free demo available if you want to try before you buy and the game will also be playable on the PAX show floor -- so if you have a friend in Seattle, ask them what they think. An excellent deal on an excellent indie title, even for those of us who aren't partying with Tycho and Gabe this weekend.

PAX 10 winner Puzzle Bots available for half price during expo originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 05:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Shin'en, developer of the DS shmup Nanostray and its sequel -- and, most recently, WiiWare platformer Jett Rocket -- has begun to tease its next project for Wii's digital platform: FAST Racing League. Only a single piece of promotional art (pictured) has been revealed so far, but this image is worth at least a couple dozen words. Like, for example, the game looks to be a futuristic racer and the ship design bears an uncanny similarity to those of a certain Sony racing franchise.

It's too soon to hope for an F-Zero style racer on Wii (where is the Wii game in that series, anyway?) but at least those of us who like our racing fast and future-focused have something to put on our radar.

Futuristic 'FAST Racing League' due on WiiWare from Jett Rocket dev originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 04:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Do you feel the inexplicable compulsion to map the contours of your grotesque visage on a professional level? MakerBot Industries has come up with a clever device that should let you do so using a gaming peripheral you might already own: The PlayStation Eye.

The MakerScanner (which isn't available for purchase yet, though interested parties can put their names on a mailing list) is designed to let users create a full 3D geometric scan of an object using the PS Eye and a laser line pointer. This results in a data map that can be used to create 3D models or, with the right -- presumably expensive -- equipment, a physical statuette. We think it would be worth the investment to fill our apartment with busts of ourselves. "Oh, this one," we'd tell our visitors, "this one's us in repose."

MakerBot mod turns PlayStation Eye into 3D scanner originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 03:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gaijin Games (of Bit.Trip fame) announced during GDC that it is was bringing Different Cloth's award-winning inside music game, Lilt Line, to WiiWare. The first video of the port in action is out -- which looks and sounds just like the iPhone original (i.e, great.) Now all we need is a date!

Continue reading Look and listen: Lilt Line for WiiWare in motion

Look and listen: Lilt Line for WiiWare in motion originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 02:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lording over your Keflings in A Kingdom for Keflings was easily one its most amusing aspects. Watching this trailer for the sequel, A World of Keflings, confirms your duty has risen to a whole new level. Really, why would you help them build things when you can just stuff them into cannons?

Continue reading World of Keflings trailer debuts tiny man cannons

World of Keflings trailer debuts tiny man cannons originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 01:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well, what do we have here? While visiting lovely and scenic Redmond, WA to spend some time (about two hours, to be exact) with Fable 3, we accepted an invitation to swing by one of the Xbox buildings and check out the new (and, yes, improved) Xbox 360 wireless controller with transforming D-pad. We not only played with a final prototype controller, but also got a first look at the retail packaging, lenticular image and all.

First, the obvious attraction: The new "transforming" D-pad. With a not-so-simple twist of the D-pad, the corner quadrants drop out of the way leaving just the cross-shaped D-pad. I say "not-so-simple" because it actually requires a little bit of effort; after all, you don't want to go from cross-shaped to old-fashioned in the middle of a hadouken. Using two thumbs to spin the D-pad improves the process though, when not being twisted deliberately, it remained firmly in place. We were told that engineering the transforming D-pad was no easy feat and the final product is not only the result of several prototypes, but all sorts of stress testing.

Continue reading Hands-on with the new Xbox 360 controller with transforming D-pad

Hands-on with the new Xbox 360 controller with transforming D-pad originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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That mysterious Telltale mashup game teased last week? Telltale laid its cards on the table, revealing ... Poker Night at the Inventory, the second "pilot" game from the adventure publisher, which brings Team Fortress 2's Heavy, Penny Arcade's Tycho, Homestar Runner's Strong Bad, and Sam & Max's Max together for a little good-natured gambling. Now, we know what you're thinking. How can Strong Bad play cards with boxing gloves on?

Poker Night at The Inventory features fully voiced characters utilizing Telltale's dynamic dialog system," according to the announcement. "All the characters will talk trash, give unique tells, and react to the game dynamically as it is being played, providing a unique experience with each round played." It also features Steamworks integration, a first for the publisher. Oh, and pre-orders from Telltale for the fall release ($4.95!) come with coupons for 25% off your order. If we knew the first thing about poker, we'd totally relate that to a hand of cards you'd be confident about holding.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

It's Poker Night at the Inventory for Max, Tycho, Strong Bad, and the Heavy originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 23:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Podcasts

We've just touched down in Seattle for PAX Prime, but we've already made a brief stop in Redmond to check out a few hours of Fable 3 and get hands-on with the new Xbox 360 controller.

Chris and Justin found a few minutes as they waited for a pizza to talk about what they've seen so far. So come, pull a chair, grab a beer and enjoy the calm before the storm with us.

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See all of this week's links after the jump.

Joystiq Podcast PAX Prime 2010 #1 originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 23:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We don't think it would really be all that nice to bathe in a hot tub of money. It makes for a pretty memorable image in this Yakuza 4 trailer, though. Head past the break to see the yen-soak. Plus guns! Explosions! Tattooed gangsters fist fighting! Men in black suits looking tough!

Continue reading Yakuza 4 trailer revolutionizes expensive bath products

Yakuza 4 trailer revolutionizes expensive bath products originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When Supergiant Games opened its doors during GDC earlier this year, it revealed it was working on a digital title to be released in 2011. This week, Giant Bomb unveiled that title -- it's called Bastion and should be available for public consumption by next summer.

Supergiant explains Bastion as an "action role-playing game set in a lush imaginative world, in which players must create and fight for civilization's last refuge as a mysterious narrator marks their every move." The "mysterious," somewhat lyrical narrator makes his first appearance in the game's trailer -- which we've dropped after the break. Considering Supergiant's pedigree (ex-EALA Command & Conquer devs) and how beautifully detailed this initial media is, we have high hopes for Bastion.

The game will be playable at PAX Prime this weekend as part of the "PAX 10."

Continue reading Bastion is Supergiant Games' first title, playable at PAX

Bastion is Supergiant Games' first title, playable at PAX originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The bump in cost for a Gold membership on Xbox Live is just the tip of the iceberg, according to game industry seer Michael Pachter. Predicting a $100 plan as the next evolutionary step in subscription options soon to be available to Xbox Live consumers, he told IndustryGamers reports that while the initial extra $10 "translates to around $100 to 150 million per year in additional revenue for Microsoft," the company will "reinvest at least this much in developing other new applications, and will roll out a premium service with $100 to 200 million worth of enhancements. If they can get 2 million users to switch from the $60 plan to the $100 plan, they'll make an extra $80 million a year, and can keep investing to try to grow that business."

It makes sense: Xbox Live is easily one of the biggest draws of the console and consumers have already shown they're willing to pay a premium for it. But even if Microsoft were to offer a "Platinum" service, what could justify what is comparably such a heftier price tag?

"For all I know, the Platinum plan might include virtual goods credits for various Microsoft games," Pachter posits. "If members could get specialized Halo armor or weapons worth the extra $40, they might be more willing to sign up, and it doesn't really cost Microsoft anything to offer things like that." You know what? We may know a few people willing to pay for something like that.

[Thanks, Mark]

Pachter predicts $100 'Platinum' Xbox Live membership originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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At last year's TGS, Capcom producer Keiji Inafune had some pretty grim things to say about the Japanese game industry. "I said that comment hoping that the Japanese creators were going to wake up," Inafune told Videogamer in a new interview. "However, there has been no change whatsoever to the situation since last year, so I'm still very pessimistic."

Inafune said that some Japanese developers are "still living the glory of the '80s and '90s," when the NES, Super NES and Genesis delivered a steady stream of hit games from Japan to the world. "So they don't admit that there is a problem to start with." He advised his colleagues to "get humble and start learning what's going on."

Inafune also added that just buying Western companies isn't enough, unless publishers "start working with them properly, rather than just commissioning a game and then putting their name on the final product." One company must be feeling that one in its Extreme Edges.

Inafune: Japanese devs have to 'get humble' originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A feast of XBLA games may be headed to Xbox Live Marketplace soon, but that's not all there is. First up, there are a lot of festivities planned for the launch of Halo: Reach. Microsoft is dubbing September 14-20 "Invasion Week," and plenty of Halo goodies will be available "including new gear, exciting content, spectacular prizes and a chance to play with the creators of the game." Microsoft will also be offering opening up Xbox Live Gold features to Silver members from September 17-20. Finally, "all fans that jump online" can download a free "Invasion" theme. It's a bit unclear exactly what's meant by "jump online," whether it be players that play Halo: Reach or simply anyone that signs into Live. We've contacted Microsoft for clarification.

New Deals of the Week are headed down the pipeline as well, with Resident Evil 5 "avatar outfits and game add-ons" receiving as yet unspecified discounts next week. The week of September 13, several puzzle games will get the DoTW treatment. Bust-a-Move Live, Puzzle Chronicles and Tower Bloxx Deluxe are all being knocked from 800 MSP ($10) to 400 MSP ($5), while Gyromancer will drop from 1200 MSP ($15) to 800 MSP ($10).

If you still have money to spend after all that, some new Rock Band 3 Avatar items are now on Marketplace, as are two new Games on Demand, Bully: Scholarship Edition and Cabela's African Safari.

Xbox Live in September: Halo goodies, free Live Gold, cheap puzzle games originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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