Spacetime Gets Blackstar MMO Back
May 9, 2008
Developer Spacetime Studios sent out word that it has acquired the rights to the Blackstar IP from NCSoft, its previous publisher. Their publishing deal for the space combat MMORPG had died before, but now that they have successfully negotiated with NCSoft for the rights to the IP, the studio claims that they are going forward with development of the game, which is now titled Blackstar Chronicles.
Set in the far future, Blackstar has players controlling space fighters fighting “horrifying” demonic enemies and participating in an “epic” drama. “The IP lends itself to almost any kind of gameplay that one could ask for, and was specifically designed to be a long-term franchise,” said Cinco Barnes, creative director and co-founder of Spacetime Studios. “It’s a nice sweet spot when you own all the puzzle pieces and we now have extraordinary flexibility in where to take the game universe next.”
The gameplay is being modeled after the single-player traditions of Wing Commander and the multiplayer feel of Descent, both classics from their time. No release date was announced.
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Stride Gum Also Wants to Stop Uwe Boll
May 7, 2008
It seems the ongoing conflict with a million signatures to stop Uwe Boll is only just starting to heat up. Now with corporate sponsorship and nearly a quarter of a million signatures, a simple joke has already evolved into a serious marketing ploy.
Stride Gum has joined the fray, promising if the online petition does indeed hit the one million mark, they will be giving away one million packs of stride gum to everyone who signed the petition.
However there is a slight catch, Stride has placed a very limited time period, leaving us until just May 14th to sign the petition while their deal lasts. Its hard to say whether they actually except the petition, which has been ongoing for several weeks to suddenly boost all the way to the end. Certainly it would be funny if they weren’t fiscally planning on distributing so many free packs.
If nothing else, visit StopUweBoll.org and sign up. If not to stop Uwe Boll, then for the chance at a free pack of hum.
Grand Theft Auto IV Patch Coming Today
May 7, 2008
If you were one of the unlucky PS3 GTA IV owners who has been experiencing an increased amount of lag among other connectivity issues surrounding the games multiplayer, the tables may soon be turning in your favor.
Rockstar and Sony have planned the release of a patch that will help connectivity issues by reducing loads on Gamespy servers ultimately making GTA IV’s multiplayer experience a much more enjoyable one.
Please note: This is a completely different problem than the one that is causing the game to freeze altogether, for which Rockstar recommends deleting the save file and creating a new one which should fix the problem. Hopefully once Rockstar diagnoses the problem we will see another patch completely stopping this problem in its tracks.
Capcom’s Street Fighter Blog Reveals Moon Bloodgood
May 6, 2008
If you are at all still interested in movie game crossovers, especially one that carries the title of Street Fight: The Legend of Chun Li, I’d highly suggest bookmarking the Capcom blog.
Tonight’s update reveals some new exclusive casting information about a new character Det. Maya Sunee played by Moon Bloodgood.
“The character probably won’t sound familiar to you die-hard SF fans out there. And it shouldn’t. Maya’s new to the Street Fighter universe. She’s Bangkok Gangland Homicide. A no-nonsense, fast-talking, half-Thai cop who rocks a Ducati and a set of gold cuffs.”
The website also features some storyboard work, (seen above) of a fight seen with Vega and Chun Li, definitely worth checking out. As a bonus they are opening it up to some reader questions for the next blog post.
Home Delays Ongoing, ‘Not Coming Anytime Soon’
May 6, 2008
During Sony’s Playstation Day this morning, exciting news was certainly not the major keypoint, along with Killzone getting pushed back, President Kaz Hirai wanted to let those holding their breath know to stop.
Unlike Killzone though, Home does not deserve the honor of a firm date, it simply won’t be released until they are happy with it. With everything considered, don’t expect home probably until 2009, as they’d certainly be pushing the product more so if it was at all likely to slip in this year.
With two products out of way, major Sony backed software for 2008 reads LittleBigPlanet, Resistance 2, Metal Gear Solid 4, Haze, and Motorstorm Pacific Rift.
Nintendo Remaining Tight-Lipped on WiiWare Launch
May 6, 2008
Want to know what games will be available next week on WiiWare? Well a part from assembling select titles that 3rd party publishers have confirmed for release, the rest of the list remains a complete mystery.
Reggie has already gone on record that they want to spread things out a bit more then the flood and sudden drought that was the Japanese release. But in speaking with Nintendo, Game|Life confirmed WiiWare would be handled in the exact same manner as the virtual console, absolutely secrecy.
With Ubisoft pulling back the curtain on a title releasing just next week, there is no saying how many titles wait hidden in the wings, but we certainly can’t expect any help from Nintendo on that topic.
Ubisoft Slips in Last Minute WiiWare Effort
May 6, 2008
Ubisoft has promised to avoid crappy ports, but they aren’t avoiding ports altogether with their first WiiWare effort just announced that will actually join the service when it launches next week.
For a price of 1000 WiiWare points, or 10 dollars, you can get your hands on a copy of Protothea, which is a remake of the 2005 PC game designed with the with in mind.
The team behind the project has rounded it out with 3 additional missions of the original project, a new fully 3D look and naturally sporting Wii controls. You’ll actually be using both the Wii remote with IR and nunchuk to control the game.
Ubisoft has proven in the past to be a master of capitalizing on the Wii’s launch and with Protothea it appears WiiWare launch will certainly be no exception. Although hopefully it falls on the Raving Rabbids end of the scale, rather than Red Steel.
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May 6, 2008
GTA IV Ousts Call of Duty 4 from Xbox Live’s top spot
May 6, 2008
Yet again reassuring of just how popular it is, GTA IV has done it again and managed to knock Xbox Live superstar Call of Duty 4 from the spotlight and take its position. Being released just last week, it is obvious that there is still a lot of hype surrounding the game, so just how long it will stay at the top is yet to be determined.
While pushing CoD 4 to second place, GTA IV has also pushed Halo 3 to third, Guitar Hero III to fourth, Gears of War to fifth, Rock Band to sixth, and Rainbow Six: Vegas 2, the Iron Man demo, FIFA 08 and Forza Motorsport 2 to seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth places in the top 10 games played over Xbox Live.
It is unlikely CoD 4 will stay in second place for long, but Rockstar is sure to be rejoicing while they can and they sure do have the right to considering GTA IV’s record breaking sales.
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May 5, 2008
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EA Land Becoming No Man’s Land
May 1, 2008
Electronic Arts today announced that it will be shutting down its online game called EA Land on August 1. Initially known as The Sims Online and launched back in 2002, the game was rebranded with a new name, new servers and new features earlier this year.
A post on the company’s blog reveals the reason behind the closure: “The lifetime of the game has drawn to an end, and now we will be focusing on new ideas and other innovative concepts in the games arena.”
Subscription billing is set to end soon, with any current subscribers receiving either $15 off at the online EA store or a three month subscription to the POGO casual games portal.
City of Heroes Getting Mission Creator
May 1, 2008
Celebrating the fourth year of the game, City of Heroes community manager Lighthouse has announced that a new feature will be put live “very soon” letting players create their own storylines within the superhero MMO.
“Similar in concept to our character creator, [the new feature] allows you, the players, to create missions and story arcs for your characters and others to participate in,” he wrote in a post on the game’s forums. “You’ll be able to pick the map, villain group, and objectives, as well as write the dialog and any clues needed for the missions.”
This custom mission creator will also feature community-based sharing and rating system. Players will be able to upload it to the game’s servers where others will be able to download and rate the stories. “Fame will come to the players whose stories rate the best overall,” he added.
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May 1, 2008
BattleForge Announced
April 30, 2008
In a surprising move, EA has announced BattleForge, an online real-time strategy game that has players assembling their forces and fighting through virtual trading cards. The game is in development at EA Phenomic, the studio behind SpellForce and Siedler, for release this Fall.
As with other online trading card games, players will be able to win and trade cards, as well as buy new cards through micro-transactions, which seems to be the new rage these days. However, the company notes that the retail release of BattleForge will be the “complete game” and that micro-transactions won’t be necessary to experience the full game.
“BattleForge is the next step in compelling RTS gameplay by taking the battles completely online,” said executive producer Richard Leinfellner. “With co-op play, challenging tournaments, Guilds, chat rooms and a robust marketplace for trading and buying your cards,” he continued, “BattleForge is the first RTS to add integral social and community components to an exciting fantasy RTS.”
New Metal Gear Online Map, Game Mode Released
April 29, 2008
The recently launched (also delayed) online beta for Metal Gear Online has been updated with a new map and a Sneaking Mission gametype, having players engage enemies as Solid Snake, the series’ protagonist.
Sneaking Mission divides players into three teams – red, blue and one player as Snake. The one who plays Snake has to stun or hold up enemy soldiers and steal a set number of dog tags before the match ends. Sounds pretty fun!
The new map, dubbed Midtown Maelstrom, is a middle-eastern locale that has a variety of intertwining alleyways and passages. It joins Blood Bath and Groznyi as the third map available to those in the beta.
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April 29, 2008
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