GAME CASA .NET

Get ready to Hail to the King. Not Arthur. Not me either. –IGN

After nearly 13 years of development time, Duke Nukem Forever is finally complete. The game was on display at the Penny Arcade Expo this weekend in Seattle. Texas-based Gearbox Software confirmed they finished development of the title. Studio president Randy Pitchford said during a presentation the game is in the final polishing stages, and is coming in 2011 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. It will have a single-player campaign and competitive multiplayer. “We couldn’t let the Duke die,” Pitchford told the crowd. First announced in 1997, Duke Nukem Forever was originally planned as a sequel to the 1996 hit Duke Nukem 3D. Since then, however, the game has famously suffered from continuous development delays, leading many to wonder if Duke would ever see the light of day. For nearly a decade not much was seen or heard about the project until things began to heat up in May 2009 when rumors surfaced of 3D Realms’ closure. That same month, publisher Take-Two filed a lawsuit against 3D Realms/Apogee Ltd for breach of contract. Studio co-founder George Broussard soon spoke out saying that due to a lack of funding the Duke Nukem Forever team was let go, but 3D Realms would remain open in a much smaller capacity. A courtersuit claim was filed against Take-Two a month later. The lawsuit and countersuit were finally settled this past June, paving the way for the game to be released. Duke Nukem Forever again made headlines last month when rumors began that Gearbox Software had taken over control of the game. At PAX this morning, 2K and Gearbox turned gamers loose on the first stage of Duke Nukem Forever.

The trailer for the game shows off Duke in fine form, giving alien ass with a variety of his best weapons, like the shrink ray, freeze ray, and devastator. It looks like the aliens Duke punished before are back – and they are here for our women. This personal affront to Duke leads him on a mission to kill everything in his way, including a giant alien queen with three breasts. And in typical Duke fashion, after seeing the entirety of this tri-boobed enemy, the hero quips, “Hell, I’d still hit it.” At the conclusion of the trailer, a woman remarks to Duke that his new adventure looks great “Yeah, but after twelve f—ing years, it should be,” he responds as the logo – and icons for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC – slam into place below it.
PAX attendees got to try out the game. The game opens with Duke standing at a urinal, doing his business. You then go through a football team’s locker room as professional soldiers discussed the parameters of Operation: Cock Block. The mission would go awry within seconds, though, as a giant alien called a Cycloid wasted half of the squad. Well, that’s because they were mere mortals. Duke grabs a Devastator launcher and rides an elevator up to the football field above. The Cycloid is a two-style tall monster with Psychlo boots bought during a Battlefield: Earth prop fire sale. Naturally, neither 2K nor Gearbox gave a hard date for Duke Nukem Forever. Sometime in 2011, that’s it. That’s not was this re-unveiling was about. This was about blowing minds, because show-goers were genuinely surprised to see that Duke Nukem Forever was not just at PAX, but was also playable.

Gameplay from Mega Man Universe, Mortal Kombat, and Batman: Brave and the Bold

Bonus points if you can tell me the voice of Bat-Mite

Gameplay from Mortal Kombat 2011

Got a message from the OnLive Facebook page today that had some awesome news.  Here’s the fillins, from their blog:

The one OnLive feature request near the top of everyone’s list is support for Wi-Fi, and today I’m happy to announce that Wi-Fi Beta (available to all OnLive members) will be enabled starting in mid-September.

We know that a number of OnLive members have been using Wi-Fi “unofficially” since we launched, and many have reported good results. But what will be different with this “official” Wi-Fi release is new technology optimized for various real-world Wi-Fi scenarios including handling interference, congestion and drop out issues. Why a Beta version? Because even though we’ve thoroughly tested Wi-Fi in a wide range of real-world scenarios, there still exist a large number of possible scenarios which require further tuning of the technology to address optimally. We’re looking forward to receiving your valuable feedback when Wi-Fi Beta is released mid-September. Please send any and all comments to support@onlive.com.

Furthermore, and available today, OnLive will be directly supporting lower minimum system requirements, including most netbooks, and connection speeds as low as 3 Mbps. And, for Macs, OS 10.5.8 is now supported. These minimum specs will be suitable for small display devices like netbooks and small laptops, but we continue to recommend at least 5 Mbps, a dual-core CPU and on a Mac, OS 10.6, for larger displays.

Again, we know OnLive members already are experimenting with these low-end systems and many are getting solid results. But, with this “official” low-end support, you should find the video quality to be better and more consistent, and will be able to use a lower speed connection.

And if you’re attending PAX this week, swing by our booth—we’ll be glad to show you a demo of our “official” Wi-Fi Beta and answer any questions you might have. Definitely check out the pre-release MicroConsoles there, too. We have lots of other great contests and events planned for the booth throughout the weekend—so see Rachel’s post for more information.

Have a great Labor Day Weekend!

—Steve Perlman, OnLive Founder & CEO

Good stuff!

Out in the Northwest USA this weekend? Check out the Penny Arcade Expo, also known as PAX. PAX Prime 2010 is taking place at the Washington State Convention Center for the fourth time. Confirmed musical guests include Anamanaguchi, Jonathan Coulton, MC Frontalot, Metroid Metal, The Minibosses, Paul and Storm, Martin O’Donnell, and The Protomen. For the first time since occupying the Washington State Convention and Trade Center, this year’s PAX will include events at offsite locations. Instead of occupying an exposition hall at the Center, the Main Theater, where the keynote speech, large panels, and concerts are held, will be located down the street at Seattle’s Benaroya Hall, normally the venue for the Seattle Symphony and other fine performance arts. The newly renovated Pike St. Annex (since renamed to The Convention Center) will again be used (as it was in 2007), as well as registration and one panel room located at the nearby Sheraton. These changes have allowed PAX 2010′s expo hall (where vendors hock new games) to double in size over 2009. The three-day pre-registration passes are $55 while day passes are $35.
Many companies will be showing off upcoming games this weekend. From Ubisoft attendees will be able to check out Kinect titles Your Shape, Fitness Evolved, H.A.W.X. 2, Just Dance 2, and Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood. Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood fans that pre-order the game onsite at PAX will receive an exclusive Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood T-shirt, and there are also opportunities for consumers who fan the Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood Facebook page to win Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood posters. Nintendo will be bringing Donkey Kong Country Returns, Kirby’s Epic Yarn, and Goldeneye for Wii. Not to be undone, Capcom will be showing off Dead Rising 2, Marvel vs. Capcom 3, the PS Move version of Resident Evil 5, and the much hyped Mega Man Universe.
Attendees can also check out many of the special events and panels that will be featured all weekend at PAX Seattle. Some examples include:
Friday, 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM, Raven Theatre
Game Design 101
In an hour we’re going to try to answer all your questions about what a game designer does, how to become a game designer and how to improve your game design skills. Impossible? Yes. Will it be awesome anyway? Absolutely! All levels of experience are welcome, from students to seasoned industry veteran to kick ass DMs who just wants to improve their D&D game. If you want to become a better designer this is the place to be! So join James Portnow, Richard Garfield, Nichole Lazzaro, Nick Fortugno and Jeff Hickman as we discuss how to get your design on.

Friday, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM, Unicorn Theatre
The Myth of the Gamer Girl: True Demographic or Anthropological Hooha?
Whether it’s just a single gal at home or an entire crew like the Frag Dolls & PMS clan, there are definitely hardcore gamers out there of the female variety. That said, is there something unique about women who play games? This panel will explore the myth of the gamer girl to settle the question once and for all: are there attributes that game designers and publishers need to consider to appeal to the women, or is it all just a bunch of hogwash that the marketing team is selling? Come listen to an expert panel of women who are confirmed passionate gamers of both the video and table topvariety. We will be providing cards at the beginning of the panel on which the audience can submit questions or discussion topics to ensure no stone is unturned in our quest for truth!
Panelists include: Karen Clark [Co-Founder GameMentorOnline at Women in Games International , EA & Bioware], Farah Houston [Sr. PM Xbox, Microsoft], Cassie Wallender [Product Manager, MySpace], Beth Goza [Sr. Community Manager, Microsoft], Alexis Hebert [Community Relations Manager, Terminal Reality]

Friday, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM, Wolfman Theatre
Testers vs. The Game, the Life of a Tester
Have you ever wondered, “What does a QA Tester really do?”. We’ve got a panel of grizzled QA vets, filled to the brim with experience. Looking to get in the industry? We’ll dole out pearls of wisdom about life as a Tester, and you can decide if it’s the life for you! We’ll explore some of the horrific and awesome experience that our QA vets have been thru, as well as a demonstration about the different types of testers. When we’re done with our soapbox-rantings, we’ll open our panelists to your questions, No-Holds-Barred.
Panelists include: Michael Jorgensen [QA Lead, Zombie Studios], Ryan Sharpe [Founder, Get Well Gamers], James Costello [QA Lead, Sandlot Games], Chris Chamberlain [Lead SDET, and Co-Host of “Platform Biased”, MGS Rare], Kevin Darby [GTO Lead SDET - Halo Waypoint, MGS]
Friday, 4:30 PM – 5:30 PM, Unicorn Theatre
Movin’ on Up: How to Make It (Or Not) in Videogames Journalism
Do you run a videogame website and not getting enough PR love? Do you write about videogames and looking to go pro? Are you looking to get into videogame journalism? We’ll drop knowledge on how to get your site or writing noticed by the right people, how to run into the “right” people, and how to just get started in the first place — all straight from PR folks, veteran, and panelists who have gone virtual unknowns to writing for some of the biggest sites or publications out there. We’ll also dedicate a good amount of time to answer to your questions, so come prepared!
Panelists include: Arne Meyer [Community Strategist, Naughty Dog], John Drake [Manager, Communications and Special Projects, Harmonix Music Systems], Chris Kohler [Game|Life Editor, Wired.com], John Ricciardi [8-4]

Make sure to check out all the info at Paxsite.com

Comic Book Geeks get nerd wood over this soon to be hit sequel

I don't want you anywhere near Batman 3



Dammit this Talkshoe thing is hard to figure out!

Reminds me of the sandwich guy at WaWa

Batman likes these odds

This what happens when your Super Bowl party sucks

Game Center to launch next week

Apple’s mobile gaming experience will get a shot in the arm next week when Game Center is launched. Game Center will include a social gaming network, the ability to invite and track friends, matchmaking, leaderboards and those oh so coveted achievements. Friends lists, matchmaking, and a unified multiplayer gaming experience come to the iPhone in next week with the release of Apple’s Game Center in iOS 4.1. Today at Apple’s special event in San Francisco, Steve Jobs revealed that the Game Center will be a part of next week’s iOS 4.1 update for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Games like Angry Birds were featured on the big screen behind Jobs, showing off the Game Center interface. The new service adds Xbox Live-like features to the iPhone and iPod Touch, including persistent screen names, enhanced multiplayer functionality, and score comparisons. The system will also make it easier to discover other games related to the ones you are playing. iPad users will have to wait until November, when iOS 4.2 brings Game Center to the iPod Touch’s big brother, along with the long-awaited multi-tasking capability.

As we all know, Trials HD is the super fun physics-based motorcycle game on Xbox Live Arcade. Today, its developer, RedLynx, announced it is working on something along the same old for Nintendo’s WiiWare. It’s called MotoHeroz, and it is described as a physics-based racing adventure. Players race against their friends and hunt for secret items and coins on over 100 tracks. There will be several ways to play this game: a single-player adventure, a four-player local versus mode, and daily online competitions. Also, look for a new online track everyday for which players can post their best times to the leaderboards.
“With this game, we are taking our expertise in downloadable content, addictive gameplay, and the racing genre, and adapting it to the strengths of the Wii,” said Antti Ilvessuo, Creative Director of RedLynx. “We’re thrilled to be working with Nintendo on this project,” said Tero Virtala, CEO of RedLynx. “With a game like ‘MotoHeroz’, we are expanding the number of retail quality releases we are delivering to online marketplaces.”RedLynx promises MotoHeroz will run at a smooth 60 frames per second, support widescreen, and will have very fast load times. Look for it this winter season.

The rumors are indeed true. A video game based on the Back to the Future movies is in the works. Being developed by Telltale Games, the Back to the Future game series will include the likenesses of Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd, who portrayed the characters Marty McFly and Doc Brown in the films,and Lloyd will also provide his voice for the games. Bob Gale, who wrote the screenplays for the three films, is working with the game developers on the plot for the planned five “episodes”. Telltale’s recent releases include a series of Sam & Max games available for download on Xbox Live, the PlayStation Network and for computers at www.telltalegames.com. As for the storyline, Telltale would only confirm that the games would include an appearance of the DeLorean time machine and the standard California setting of Hill Valley. The time periods covered will include 1985 and additional characters from the movies will crop up in the game.
I want Biff. And Griff.

So IGN put out another one of their lists. This time it was the top 25 XBox 360 games. They seem to redo this list every year and new games push out some of the older games and sometimes games go up or down in place when looked at in a new context or with some added DLC. I’ve been known for having a deep rooted psychotic hatred for many of IGN’s lists. What I’ll do here is recap the 2010 version of IGN’s list and see what it does to me.

#25. Super Street Fighter IV – The Street Fighter games have been holding strong and can do no wrong. I was not disappointed.

#24. Left for Dead 2 – Zombies and Vampires have been engaging in a pop culture war for the past two years or so. When it comes to video games, zombies have the market owned.

#23. Splinter Cell: Conviction

#22. Batman: Arkham Asylum – With all the awards this game won, this title should be much higher on the list

#21. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 – Four million twelve year olds excited to say the word “Fuck” can’t be wrong

#20. Gears of War
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