XBox 360 Universe
Straight from the source
-
July 31st, 2010NewsThe official schedule has been announced for this year's QuakeCon, which is taking place August 12-15 in Dallas, Texas. In addition to the usual id gallery, none other than Jason West and Vince Zampella of the newly formed Respawn Entertainment will be in attendance.
The ousted Infinity Ward heads will sit on a panel the Friday morning of the conference called "Building Blockbusters," talking with Tim Willits and Tom Howard of id and Bethesda about how to make big games (like the "huge summer blockbuster" they're supposedly working on). Todd Alderman, also of Respawn, will sit on a panel the previous day speaking about "The World of Design" with a few other developers.
Elsewhere in the schedule, John Carmack and Richard Garriott will hold court on Thursday evening discussing rockets and space travel, and Friday and Saturday afternoons will bring preview panels for RAGE and Brink. Sounds like an excellent weekend of FPS gaming -- so if you're in Dallas (or plan to be there), the event is free and open to the public.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
Respawn duo, Richard Garriott speaking at QuakeCon 2010 originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. -
July 31st, 2010NewsControversy is not new to games, but few tend to attract it as eagerly as the upcoming Splatterhouse remake. Following our E3 preview of the game, we were unsure if Namco Bandai's effort would be little more than fodder for your local news looking to stir up viewers. I chatted with producer Dan Tovar at Comic-Con last week to find out if there's more to Splatterhouse than blood, guts and a sensational headline.
"I was a huge fan of Splatterhouse since as far back as I could remember," Tovar told me. "Played the crap out of all three of the original games back in the '80s and '90s, and so when I came to Namco years ago, they were looking for concepts to get going in the next couple of years. I asked them, 'Are we going to be able to do old properties?' and they said yes. Splatterhouse was on the top of my list, so we just went to work trying to get a concept together, and it just snowballed from there."
Continue reading Splatterhouse producer talks blood, guts and paying homage
Permalink | Email this | CommentsSplatterhouse producer talks blood, guts and paying homage originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. -
July 31st, 2010NewsAll good things must come to an end, friends, but -- wait a second, is war really a good thing? We guess not. In that case -- hey, great news! The virtual streets of Kabul are about to become a great deal more peaceful, as the Medal of Honor beta is slated to come to an abrupt stop tomorrow on PS3 and PC, and August 9 on Xbox 360.
We know you're sad, but think about all the good you've done, figuring out all the things that were wrong with the game's online multiplayer component before it came out. Think about all the grief you saved your future self -- and, for that matter, our future self! We owe you a great debt of gratitude. Or rather, we will. In the future.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsMedal of Honor beta ending tomorrow on PS3 and PC, August 9 on 360 originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. -
July 30th, 2010NewsBungie has something special in store for Halo fans that have been with the series since the beginning -- on PC, at least. The developer has revealed on its official forums that those who purchased the PC version of Halo: Combat Evolved and activated their CD key before May 26, 2010 will receive "a small visual flair" in Halo: Reach. (Flair, no matter how small, is very important to some people.)
Why that date? Bungie is going to pour over a list of keys activated (by joining a multiplayer game) before then in an effort to ensure that only valid ones -- i.e., those not produced using a key generator -- are rewarded. As for the reward, Bungie is assuring its community that it is "not armor or anything in the Armory," so no one is "missing out on something like Recon or Flames, it's just a little indication that people have been part of a certain Halo community for a while."
Given the cut-off date, the keys from any copies of the game that may be on shelves right now aren't eligible. Owners of the original Halo for the Xbox are out of luck, too, as Bungie says, "we have no way of telling if you've played the Xbox version." The exact nature of this especially exclusive tip of the hat to old-school franchise fans will be revealed on Bungie.net "a couple of weeks before Reach launches" on September 14.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsHalo: Reach in-game 'flair' awaits some owners of Halo for PC originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 18:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. -
July 30th, 2010Previews
This game was classified by the community with the following category scores - Violence=0/3, Sex=0/3, Mature Content=0/3. In the near future pigs gain superior intelligence and learn of their eventual goal, The Slaughterhouse. They band together and create ships to leave earth! What will all the farmers and chefs do without the delightful pig to serve people up bacon and ham! The farmers and chefs join forces to go after the pigs into the far reaches of space, where the final battle of PIG KIND will take place!
-
July 30th, 2010NewsEA announced today that, in addition to some generally underwhelming digital goodies like early access to shotguns, the Medal of Honor Limited Edition will come with an invitation to the Battlefield 3 beta, being developed by MoH's multiplayer team at DICE. As for when to expect that beta to begin, an EA representative tells Joystiq that the company has "no further details" and that it'll start "within 12 month of Medal of Honor's release."
Check out our multiple previews on Medal of Honor to find out what your Tier 1 self is in for when the game begins its retail assault on October 12.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsMedal of Honor LE tied up with Battlefield 3 beta invite originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. -
July 30th, 2010NewsTo love the Virtual-On series -- like really love it -- is to have some fantastically deep pockets. Sega has announced (via Siliconera) that 4-on-4 robot battle fest Virtual-On Force will arrive in Japan on December 22. While a casual player might plunk down the standard ¥6,090 ($70) for the regular edition, the true fan would undoubtedly fork over ¥10,290 ($119) for the collector's edition. The Virtual-On Force "Memorial Box" comes packed with the game, a six-disc soundtrack and Virtual-On Chronicle 15, a booklet that explores the 15-year history behind the bot-blasting series.
Of course, to be that true fan, you would have already pre-ordered your $350 twin-stick controller from Hori. Hmm? You say you haven't ordered the collector's edition or the massive controller? And you call yourself a "fan."
Permalink | Email this | CommentsVirtual-On Force dashes to Japan in December, collector's edition announced originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. -
July 30th, 2010NewsOn August 2, Amazon is having a pretty sweet deal on the Final Fantasy XIII Xbox 360 bundle, but if online retailers aren't your thing, Joystiq has just discovered from a reliable source that a new initiative at brick-and-mortar retailer Best Buy will discount both the Final Fantasy XIII and Splinter Cell: Conviction bundles to $299.99 permanently, starting August 1, and lasting until the retailer runs out of stock. How else did you think the retailer would clear shelf space for the new hotness?
Each bundle comes with the titular game, two wireless controllers, a 250GB HDD and Xbox 360 console. The suggested retail price of each bundle right now is $349.99 (they both initially launched at a $399.99 price point), so this saves consumers a cool $50.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsSource: Best Buy offering $300 FF13, Splinter Cell Conviction Xbox bundles next week originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. -
July 30th, 2010NewsTHQ and 4A Games have announced Metro 2033's minimalistic DLC, the "Ranger Pack," will launch on Xbox Live Marketplace and Steam next Tuesday, August 3. The update will allow players to traverse the game in Ranger Mode, which "dramatically" reduces the amount of ammo you'll stumble upon but increases the damage dealt by players and enemies alike. It also adds a "Ranger Hardcore" mode, which does the same thing, but completely does away with the player's HUD, meaning you'll be able to see all those things that are killing you with unparalleled clarity.
The pack, which also adds new weapons and Achievements to the game, will arrive as a free update for Steam users -- though Xbox 360 players will have to purchase it from the Marketplace for 240 Microsoft Points ($3).
Permalink | Email this | CommentsMetro 2033 'Ranger Pack' DLC coming to Steam and XBLM next week originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. -
July 30th, 2010NewsLast year's "Hardened" and "Prestige" editions of Modern Warfare 2 set a precedent -- a precedent apparently being reinforced by similar "limited editions" for Call of Duty: Black Ops, as spotted by IGN. The listing was seen over on Buy.com (it has since been pulled) for "Hardened" and "Prestige" editions of the forthcoming CoD sequel for the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions, though unfortunately no details are given in the listings.
For its part, Activison told Joystiq "We haven't made any announcements to date," but we would be downright shocked if the two editions don't pop up in a press release in the coming weeks; we're only a few months out from the game's release, after all. As for what we can expect to be packed in with the two versions -- listed at $80 and $150 (just like last year) -- we're not so sure. Perhaps an actual, working ghillie suit to combine with those night vision goggles? We can only dream.Continue reading Report: retailer lists 'Hardened,' 'Prestige' editions of Call of Duty: Black Ops
Permalink | Email this | CommentsReport: retailer lists 'Hardened,' 'Prestige' editions of Call of Duty: Black Ops originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
