GAME CASA NEWS: NEWS YOU CAN’T TRUST
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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. 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! 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. 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. Following the successful ‘Summer of Arcade’ promotion in 2010, Microsoft are set to run the ‘Game Feast’ games release this autumn on Xbox LIVE throughout October. Exactly what this promotion would entail or would contain was unknown until today, as Microsoft have confirmed the titles set to be included. First on the line-up is the long-awaited Hydrophobia from Dark Energy Digital which is set to be available on September 29th for 1200 Microsoft Points. At E3 2010 Hydrophobia received multiple awards, including Best Downloadable Game from Gametrailers.com. On October 6th, we will get the title Comic Jumper: Adventures of Captain Smiley for 1200 Microsoft Points. The first episode in a groundbreaking new series, Hydrophobia will be priced at 1200 Microsoft Points. Zen Studios’ Pinball FX 2, set to be made available on 13th October 2010. Pinball FX 2 is a free update for existing Pinball FX owners, while new users can download and try every pinball table for free. Gamefeast is then finished up as Super Meat Boy will be available from 20th October 2010. Microsoft’s Xbox LIVE promotional activities typically last the duration of an entire month, so if there are any future Game Feast titles, we will have to wait and see. September 29th – Hydrophobia (1200 Microsoft Points) Coming this fall, Microsoft will release a new, re-designed Xbox 360 wireless controller that features a transforming d-pad and different colored buttons. Acknowledging the trouble many players have had with the current d-pad, Microsoft’s engineers have upgraded the controller’s d-pad to go “from a plus to a disc with the twist of the wrist,” according to Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb. The new d-pad provides “ultimate accuracy and control for both directional as well as sweeping movements.” The new, matte silver controller also features concave analog sticks and gray A,B,X,Y buttons for “added style.” The controller will only be available with the Play & Charge Kit on November 9 in the U.S. for $64.99. Hryb speculated the controller will be available in Europe next year. The new, matte silver controller also features concave analog sticks and gray A,B,X,Y buttons for “added style.”
Microsoft has announced that as of November 1, 2010, the price for Xbox Live Gold will go up in Canada, the US, United Kingdom and Mexico. The annual fee will go up by $10 in the United States, with one and three month subscriptions also going up in price. Starting November 1, a one month subscription in the US will cost $9.99 and a three month subscription will carry a price tag of $24.99. These are increases of $2 and $5 respectively. In the UK, a one month subscription will go up by 1 GBP to 5.99. Canadian and Mexican one month subscriptions will go up by $1 CAD and 100 Pesos each to $9.99 and 599 Pesos. All other subscription packages will have the same prices. In his most recent post, Microsoft spokesperson Larry “Major Nelson” Hyrb explained the hike: Mobile developer Daniel Hellerman has released news about an interesting little project he’s working on: an app that promises to let you control Starcraft II from your iPhone (or iPad). It won’t really let you play the game but it’ll still be a neat trick for LAN parties and may even come in handy if you’re stuck on the can a little longer than expected and your build order needs a refresh. In addition to the ability to control nearly everything in the game – the app synchs via USB or wifi with a program you have to download to your PC, so it’s basically a glorified control pad – it also comes with a Starcraft II unit encyclopaedia and tips on successful build orders. It will also allievate the pain of learning all the hotkeys and shortcuts. Hellerman lets in be known on his website that there are no hacks or modifications to ‘essential Starcraft 2 functions’ made by the program, so it shouldn’t suddenly kick you off Battle.net should you use it. The Starcraft II Gameboard, as the app is called, is due out next month for $2.99 as long as the Blizzard gestapo doesn’t shut it down first. In our weekly feature to GameCasa, we will be listing all the downloadable fun you can expect to be released across the video game world. Although one game on this list has been delayed, we’re hoping it is available by the end of this week. XBox Game Room: A Game of Concentration, Boxing, and Super Breakout, which were all originally on the Atari 2600, as well as the arcade game Super Basketball will all be available for download on September 1st. Xbox Live Arcade: Dead Rising 2: Case Zero is an Xbox 360 exclusive download that was supposed to be available for 400 Microsoft Points on August 31st. It will develop the plot in between the two main games and will act as the demo for Dead Rising 2. The story takes place three years before the events of Dead Rising 2 and involves Chuck and Katey’s first large-scale adventure against the horde of zombies after escaping Las Vegas. The player can reach up to level five in Case Zero, after which the player may carry over his experience and cash earned into Dead Rising 2. There is a report that is saying this game will be delayed. The reason? “Inappropriate Language”. We’ll have to wait and see on this one. It could only affect games in Japan. Xbox Live Deal of the Week: The two LIVE Arcade games that are on sale for 50% off this week include Galaga Legions and Alien Breed Evolution Episode 1 both for 400 MS Points. The normally 1200 MS Point Zeno Clash Ultimate Edition also gets a $5 discount and is on sale for 800 MS Points. Aliens vs Predator owners might consider checking out the Swarm Map Pack which gets $2 sliced off and is 400 MS Points for this week only. PlayStation Network Store: Castle Crashers was a game that was originally on Xbox Live Aracde and was the 2008 XBLA game of the year. It is a side-scrolling, beat-em-up which incorporates a small number of role-playing game elements. After selecting a character, the player then selects a starting level through a graph-like world map; once the player completes a level, they may then opt to move or revisit that level any time. Also available is Sam & Max Episode 5: The city that Dares Not Sleep. Debuting as a comic book in 1985, Sam & Max have their own episodic video game in its third season. Episode 5 of The Devil’s Playhouse grants Max the ability to shape shift, teleport and use future sight to fight an arcane scholar. PlayStation Network Demos Wii Ware: Tales of Elastic Boy: Mission 1 is now available for download on WiiWare. This game offers a innovative and unique style of game play that takes full advantage of the Wii Remote controller. To fulfill your quest and save your planet, you’ll have to travel through many lands, defeat various enemies, meet unexpected friends and solve tricky puzzles. Play in single-player mode or with your friends and discover funny games. Use your stretching arms to swing and punch, roll as fast as you can or jump onto your enemies. Wii Virtual Console: Get ready to Hail to the King. Not Arthur. Not me either. –IGN
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. 
Game Center to launch next week
“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. 
I want Biff. And Griff. Xbox Live to follow up “Summer of Arcade” with “Game Feast”
October 6th – Comic Jumper: Adventures of Captain Smiley (1200 Microsoft Points)
October 13th – Pinball FX 2 (Tables purchased individually)
October 20th – Super Meat Boy (Pricing TBD)Microsoft reveals their new design for the XBox 360 controller — IGN
X-Box Live Subscription to go up by $10 a year… no one surprised.
“Since launching Xbox LIVE in 2002 we have continually added more content and entertainment experiences for our members, while keeping the price the same. We’re confident that when the new pricing takes effect, an Xbox LIVE Gold membership will continue to offer the best value in the industry. However, we do want to thank our loyal members and give you the opportunity to lock in your current price with an additional discount, so now would be a good time to renew your subscription.” So you can get grandfathered in to the current rate for the future in the next few months.
It’s doubtful that this price increase will have a major effect of Microsoft’s momentum or subscription base. Microsoft could be responding to Sony’s move to charge for the Playstation Plus and they also have to worry about new interface problems once Kinect launches… right around the same time as the price hike. Get an edge on those Koreans while battling Zerg
Vanquish — If the creator of Resident Evil, Shinji Mikami woke up from a dream one morning and wanted to create his very own third-person shooter (and destroy San Francisco) he’d named that dream Vanquish. In the distant future, Russians have captured a US space station which harnesses solar energy, and have used it to annihilate the Bay Area faster then you can say Nuclear Man.
Armed with the Augmented Reaction Suit (ARS) — you play as Sam Gideon — the last defense against the Russians. Your mission is to restore peace and recapture the space station before they reach their next target, New York City. Associate Community Manager for Vanquish, Julian Mehifeld posted a blog earlier this week, with more details on PlantiumGames‘ latest title.
R.U.S.E. — Deception and intellect are the key ingredients behind this real-time strategy game. Play up to six different factions ranging from the US to the USSR, and change the tides of war using decoys and ruses to trick your enemies. Ubisoft and Eugen Systems deliver a demo this Tuesday and promise PlayStation Move support in the future.
Hit it Gene
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