Chatty: Diablo III, Dragon's Dogma
In this week's edition, Chatty discusses more Diablo III, Dragon's Dogma, and...
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FileShack: Unity of Command, Skyjacker
FileShack for the week of May 26, 2012 features a Unity of Command demo, a...
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Daily Filter: Planetside 2, Deadlight
Today's Filter features an air combat trailer for Planetside 2, a plot trailer for...
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Weekend PC digital deals: strategy-o-rama
Do you like strategy games? Then you'll love this weekend's sales at digital...
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38 Studios, Harry Potter Kinect - Shacknews Daily: May 25, 2012
Join Garnett Lee on this episode of Shacknews Daily. Today’s stories: 38 Studios...
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At last year's Game Developers Conference, Sucker Punch co-founder Chris Zimmerman announced user-generated content for Infamous 2. The biggest problem from the first game, he said, was that it ended. A year later, Zimmerman has once again taken to the stage, this time to explain the obstacles that kept the game's UGC feature from catching on.
It's that time of year again: the PlayStation Network "Gamers' Choice Awards" are opening tomorrow, letting your votes determine which games will get deep discounts. The nominees were announced today, across the 4 categories from last year and six new categories.
Three very different PlayStation Network exclusives have been dated today. First up is Infamous 2: Festival of Blood. This standalone expansion to Infamous 2 won't require the original disc, and will have Cole bitten a vampire. He'll have 24 hours before he succumbs to the curse, and stop the vampiric curse from spreading. New to Festival of Blood is support for the PlayStation Move controller, a feature not found in the original two games.
Festival of Blood will be available as a standalone PlayStation Network game on October 25th.
Shacknews receives a slew of new screenshots and trailers for upcoming games everyday. The most anticipated titles receive their own post, because we know you're eager to see that content. For the rest, we have the Daily Filter, a place to feature all of the media we add to our enormous database on a daily basis.
Strap yourself in! It's Gamescom 2011; we have a ton of new videos and screenshots for you to enjoy. Be warned, you might be here for longer than usual.
Sony has announced a surprise price drop for its PS3 hardware at Gamescom. Effective immediately, the 160GB system will drop down to $249, a savings of $50. The 320GB system will be available for $299.
In addition, Sony has announced a new Infamous 2 bundle "at participating retailers." The bundle, available for only $299, includes a 320GB system, a copy of Infamous 2, and a 30 day trial of PlayStation Plus.
"If you liked it, then you should've put a ring on it."
Apparently, Sony really liked inFamous 2, as it's finally acquired long-time partner Sucker Punch Productions--the studio behind the Sly Cooper and inFamous franchises. Although the Bellevue-based developer has enjoyed a twelve year partnership with Sony, it has always been an independent developer. According to the announcement, "day-to-day operations will continue to be run by the current management team and company founders."
Are you done with the campaign of inFamous 2? Well, you can play one of the 50,000 user-created missions available on the PlayStation Network. Or, you can make a new mission for yourself! Developer Sucker Punch has updated the game with its first User-Generated Content Pack, and promises more to come over the "coming weeks and months."
Sony has announced a new promotion called the World Game Project, which will highlight games with Western design sensibilities for event attendees in Japan. Mr. Murata, the project's faceless mascot clothed in Reservoir Dogs attire (shown above), was apparently seen wandering around this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo convention as well.
Two years ago Infamous introduced Cole MacGrath, Empire City's electricity-fueled champion--or villain depending how the game was played--to the world. Gamers not only watched the story of a bike messenger-turned-conduit unfold, but they made the tough decisions that turned him into a force for good or evil. With Empire City behind him, Cole now moves on to a new adventure in Infamous 2. Read more »
Sony had already announced pre-order bonuses for Infamous 2 months ago, but now the company has announced even more pre-order bonuses. These will come via download with a pre-order voucher, and unlike the other bonuses, they aren't retailer specific.
The pack includes a Reaper skin, a caveman club, a samurai sword, and Sly's cane from Sucker Punch's Sly Cooper series. These extras join the retailer-specific 24K Gold Amp (Amazon), Kessler skin (Best Buy), Lightning Hook (GameStop), and Electrocution Grenade (Wal-Mart). The "Hero Edition" will include all of the bonuses, plus a Cole statue, sling pack, and mini-comic, for $99.99. Read more »
The PlayStation Network is still down with no indication of when it might return. On the bright side, your chance to try the mission creator in Infamous 2 won't be cut short by issues. Read more »
The folks over at Sucker Punch have released an electrical new trailer for inFamous 2.
In the first game, Cole was caught in the midst of a city-leveling blast from a device called the Ray Sphere, and found himself imbued with some shocking superpowers enabling him to fight for good (or evil) in Empire City. In inFamous 2, Cole must continue to expand his suite of abilities so that he's equipped to confront an approaching, powerful "Beast," foreshadowed in the first game. Read more »
Sony has announced that sign-ups for the Infamous 2 user-generated content beta test are now open. US residents can sign up at the game's official site, and beta testers will get their invites starting in early April. The beta test itself will begin on April 12. Beta keys will be given in phases, so if you aren't in on the initial run, you might still have a chance to make some missions. Read more »
At Sony's GDC 2011 PlayStation lounge, Sucker Punch development director Chris Zimmerman revealed that inFamous 2 includes a full-featured set of tools for players to create their own missions in the game. After talking briefly about their plans to improve the game, he said that the biggest problem from the first game was that it ended. This is their solution.
Though technically not tagged with the "play, create, share" label, the influence and experience clearly show in the tools and incorporation of the user created levels into the game. I'm watching a level being created right now and the design tool allows the creation of just about anything an aspiring designer could want. It's all done in game, with a set of iconic tools for placing things like items, spawn points, triggers and so on. All manner of parameters can also be tweaked such as idle behavior, default response to Cole, and finer details such as response ranges. Read more »
inFamous 2 will release on June 7 in North America, Sony revealed today on the PlayStation Blog. Release information for other regions wasn't given.
The blog also confirmed rumors of the "Hero Edition." The bonuses leaked by Amazon were spot-on, and as predicted the super voucher extras are being split among retailers as pre-order goodies. Amazon gets the 24K Gold Amp, Best Buy gets the Kessler Skin, GameStop gets the Lightning Hook, Wal-Mart gets the Electrocution Grenade, and "participating retailers" get the digital soundtrack. Read more »
Weekend Confirmed 114 - Diablo 3, Max Payne 3, Lost Planet 3
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