The next instalment of Blops multiplayer cash-for-maps, Rezurrection, is to be set on the moon. Activision claim that the DLC will feature an “enhanced zombie soundtrack”, whatever that means, but the core of it is a new “low-gravity” map set on Earth’s favourite orbiting rock. So Moon Zombies, then. The Windows version of the DLC will be available after 23rd of August (although precisely when isn’t clear) and the price isn’t yet clear either. This is a terrible news story. Must do better.
This concludes your Call Of Duty news for today. (Probably.)
After the success of Jordan Moments last year, 2K Sports brings 15 of the NBA’s greatest players to this year’s game.
Two weeks ago when 2K Sports revealed that three of the greatest NBA players to ever take to the court would be gracing the cover of NBA 2K12, we should have figured there was more to it. Today, 2K Sports revealed a new mode coming to this year’s game titled NBA’s Greatest.
Similar to Jordan Moments from last year, NBA’s Greatest lets you play as 15 of the greatest NBA teams in history and re-create some of the best matches ever seen.
A number of readers have written in to express concern about this clause in the terms of service for Electronic Arts’ new digital distribution, Origin. Here’s the key bit: “If you have not used your Entitlements or Account for twenty four (24) months or more and your Account has associated Entitlements, your Entitlements will expire and your Account may be cancelled for non-use.” The “entitlements” it’s talking about are “paid and free downloadable content, unlockable content, digital and/or virtual assets, rights of use tied to unlock keys or codes, serial codes and/or online authentication of any kind, in-game achievements and virtual or fictional currency.”
We’ve asked Electronic Arts for clarification on this, but it suggests you might lose DLC, achievements, and even your account if you don’t log on for two years. Not exactly the kind of permanence we’ve come to expect from certain online services, is it? I can think of quite a few services I’ve not logged into for two years, and I’d still expect all my stuff to be there. Is anyone aware of similar clauses in other distribution systems or online game services?
In Port Royale 3, players will embark upon an epic adventure through the Caribbean during the 17th century.
Kalypso Media announced Port Royale 3 for the PC and next generation consoles. PR3 lets players step into the role of a 17th century sea captain trying to make a name for themselves in the Caribbean.
There are two ways for the player to attain fame and fortune. Action fans will opt to become an adventurer. They’ll conduct raids, conquer cities, collect bounties and plunder anything that isn’t nailed down.
Alternately, players can find success through commerce. They’ll set up trade routes, construct production facilities, and develop settlements. The game’s economic system is said to be both deep and realistic.
The campaign asks you to pick one path or the other. In free-play mode, though, you can find a balance between the two approaches. Judging by the name, free-play mode will probably just let you build up your empire to your heart’s content.
Port Royale 3 also includes multiplayer modes. You and another player will be able to go head-to-head. No other details were provided but presumably you compete to amass the most wealth or power. Or maybe you just try to wipe each other out.
PR3 is being developed by Kalypso Media subsidiary Gaming Minds. Gaming Minds is composed of former employees of Ascaron Entertainment, the developer of the first two games in the series. Ascaron went bankrupt in 2009.
Kalypso expects PR3 to be released in the second quarter of 2012.
The morning brings a trio of horror-news about Diablo III. I’m outright bewildered about what Blizzard have done, and shuddering about the likely reaction in comments. I won’t muck around here, and instead shall just wade straight into the things that are probably going to end up being PC gaming’s biggest controversy of 2011.
1) The game requires a constant internet connection. It cannot be played offline.
2) Mods are “expressly prohibited.”
3) Items in the auction house are bought and sold for real-life money.
At E3 this year, THQ showed an impressive, if somewhat unrepresentative, demo of Metro: First Light. Instead of showing the game as it will play, they created an all-action sequence that shows off quite how remarkable the engine is. Rather than offering slow, spooky the atmosphere you’ll really be playing in. The first part of that video, broken up into three chunks for maximum annoyance, is below.
The trailer shows off how you can manipulate the environment to your advantage, bringing darkness to areas infected by light.
We thought we had seen the ultimate street brawling crossover when Street Fighter X Tekken hit the scene. We were wrong. In fall 2012, Street Fighter and Hello Kitty will finally be one, at least from a merchandising perspective.
Hello Kitty parent company Sanrio and Capcom are teaming up to mash-up Street Fighter and Japan’s favorite feline in a line of co-branded merchandise featuring Kitty and friends dressed up in iconic Street Fighter garb. The announcement was teased yesterday during the Capcom panel at the San Diego Comic-Con yesterday, when an image of Hello Kitty in a Chun-Li outfit briefly flashed on the screen. I’ve not seen the image, but I assume it looked something like the above picture, the work of artist and illustrator Karen Hallion.
While no specific merchandise has been announced, we can probably expect figures, t-shirts, pencil case, and whatever else Sanrio has sitting around its warehouse, waiting for cat heads to be stamped on them.
“Capcom has long admired Sanrio and their ability to create memorable and cherished lifestyle brands so it is a distinct pleasure to partner with them for this new cross-over line of merchandise,” said Joshua Izzo, Director of Licensing, Capcom Entertainment, Inc. “The combination of Street Fighter and Hello Kitty will offer fans a whole new way to experience our characters.”
I’ll reserve my excitement until there’s a video game that lets me punch that little jerk Badtz-Maru right in the face.
Something else to add to The Infinite Download List Of Infinite Downloads is Aether, a major mod for good ol’ Minecraft that’s so fat with features and changes that you could almost call it a total conversion. It’s also an extension of Minecraft’s ill-defined, open-to-interpretation fictional universe. If The Nether is Minecraft’s hell, then Aether is its heaven – an even more abstract cube-world of floating sky-islands, angry birds (no, not those ones), loot-holding dungeons and flying whales.
They had me at ‘flying whales.’ Oh, and there’s a ton of new block types (including trampoline-like bouncy clouds) plus an expanded, more RPG-like accessory system and even difficulty tiers for the new dungeon runs.
This one will require full exploration for a longer, later post, but meantime find out more and get it installed here.
Bit of a bastard to install, requiring a few other mini-mods first, so if you’re struggling or not in place where you can download lots of random zip files, here’s The Yogcast’s exporation of The Aether:
The Carmageddon reincarnation has been officially revealed. It’s called Carmageddon: Reincarnation, appropriately enough. (The website appears completely broken at the moment.) And it’s being made by the same team that created the original two games, Stainless Games.
“Carmageddon has returned to its Indie developer roots, and the time is right to bring the game to a new audience.”
Are the words from CEO and co-founder of Stainless, Patrick Buckland. He carries on,
“Originally an ambitious title that tested the hardware limits of its day, we’re excited that the game will finally get the showcase it deserves on today’s platforms.”
Volition and THQ are already readying a third game in the open-world crime series, which will take the franchise in a “new direction.”
Having defeated the rival gangs of Stilwater at the end of Saints Row 2 and overthrown the influence of the Ultor Corporation, the Saints have found themselves with free reign over the city. They target a bank, attempting to airlift the vault out of it, but the alarm alerts the Stilwater PD and the Saints are incarcerated. In prison, they learn that the bank they tried to rob was owned by a huge international crime organization called the Syndicate, led by Phillipe Loren.
After bribing the police, the Syndicate capture the Saints’ leader, Johnny Gat, and Shaundi to try and negotiate a business plan with them, aboard Loren’s private jet. While in-flight, Loren tells them they will be allowed to live if they turn over two-thirds of their territory in Stilwater. The leader of the Saints rejects this offer, and a gunfight breaks out, with the Saint’s leader thrown from the jet.
With the Syndicate in full control of Stilwater, the Saints relocate themselves to the city of Steelport. Pierce is instructed to remain in Stilwater to make sure everything runs smoothly. Steelport is a city that was created as factories flourished with little city planning, and since has suffered from economic failure, contrasting the glamour of Stilwater. The Syndicate has already begun to take control of some parts of Steelport, focusing on vices like merchandise and gambling.
To extend their reach, the Syndicate had divided their control of the city through three gangs. The Morning Star, lead by Loren directly, are typically European men with impeccable taste, selling guns. The Mexican wrestler Killbane controls the Luchadores who deal with gambling. The Deckers, led by hacktivist Matt Miller, are computer geniuses, and handle the money laundering. The Saints see the opportunity to take control of Steelport from these groups. A government trained Special Tactical Anti-Gang (STAG) units will attempt to halt any violent activity whether it be the Saints or the Syndicate.
