First Duke Nukem Forever DLC to Release This Fall July 26, 2011
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Gearbox Software has officially announced in a twitter post that the first DLC pack for Duke Nukem Forever will release this fall. The DLC will add four new multiplayer maps, three new multiplayer modes, and a new weapon unique to each map ranging from sticky grenades to the DFG (which might be a parody of the BFG, the Big…uh…freakin’…gun). New game modes involve a new twist on Hot Potato, which the objective will be to see who can hold onto a babe for the longest, and a new mode called Hail to the King.
Duke Nukem Forever’s multiplayer was not considered one of the major highlights of the game upon release. There were only a few maps at release, and gameplay was quite unbalanced. This DLC pack looks to be the answer to that. From the looks of it, this map pack is intended to be a parody of other multiplayer gametypes ranging from Doom to Call of Duty.
As promised, this DLC will be free to all First Access Club members. The Duke Nukem Forever Hail to the Icons DLC pack is coming this fall for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3. Details about a chance to play the DLC pack early are included in the link.
Mortal Kombat Legacy Stupidity July 25, 2011
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This weekend, the final episode of the online webseries Mortal Kombat: Legacy was released. Now, I’ve been pretty lapse to link the series up on a regular basis (I think the last one I embedded was Episode 4) so since the series was finished, my intention was to link up the newest episode and all the previous episodes I missed, but I can’t do that…because WB has issued copyright takedowns of all the previous episodes. For those of you who don’t know, it was Warner Bros who released that series online in the first place!
There’s stupidity, and then there’s just shooting yourselves in the foot. Does Warner Bros not know they OWN what has been posted up already, and they were responsible for putting it online in the first place? What idiot at WB whose job it is to regularly sue people who show even the slightest second of something they might own thought that video was invalid? Now I understand WB might have owned at some point every movie ever made, but in that case it might be easier to just send notices to the few videos who didn’t put up something they owned on it and ban every other video on YouTube!
Well, here’s the final episode of Mortal Kombat: Legacy. Try to catch it quick before the bean counters take it down for no reason too!
Mortal Kombat is out for Xbox 360 and PS3 right now.
ESA Intends to Collect 1.1 Million in Legal Fees from California July 25, 2011
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Just as they had with every state they successfully defeated who tried to pass illegal laws, the ESA has just issued a press release saying they intend to collect $1.1 million dollars from the state of California after defeating them on the Supreme Court level. This money will cover their legal expenses fighting their unconstitutional video game law.
The intention of the ESA all along has been to show these states that passing illegal laws would fail and end up harming their states more than the media publicity brought by their passage would help their political careers individually. According to the ESA, they were able to win eight times in similar cases and collect fees in every win from the various states they defeated. They have made it no secret to the states they will do this to them if they pass laws that violate the first amendment. In fact this tactic had prevented one state governor from signing a similar law which already had passed in the legislature.
As I feel is becoming a repeated statement about the state of California, you couldn’t tell them any of this. Leland Yee (D) and the Govenator (R) thought they were right and they were going to force this passage unless they were stopped. And now, like all tragedies, it is the people of that state who will suffer. The law was clearly not on their side. The similar state laws all lost. They were wasting further state money in legal defenses appealing in a futile battle. No one forced Yee or the Govenator to continue to appeal the law, but they did it anyway at the state’s expense.
So now California has one more bill to pay, one they CHOSE to pay. The Govenator did not seek a new term, but If I was a voter in the state, I would be asking for Yee’s resignation right about now.
Penguin Revealed For Batman: Arkham City July 22, 2011
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After announcing it at E3 this year, the game developers for Batman: Arkham City have finally released an official trailer for the game which shows the famous Penguin.
The Penguin is an interesting choice for the game since he has never been so much as a straight out thug villian that Batman could simply beat up, but more of a crime boss in the same vein as Don Corleone, and you get that sense here in the trailer.
Penguin has been previously played by such acting alumni as Burgess Merideth and Danny deVito. When I was at E3, I was sure I could place this guy’s voice actor when I first heard him speak, but hearing his voice in the trailer, I no longer can recognise the actor playing him.
Unlike the Catwoman gameplay segment I posted up here a while ago, some snippets of the second gameplay sequence I saw at E3 did find its way into this trailer, and it looks just as good here as it did when I saw it back in June.
Also, since we’re revealing villians for Batman: Arkham City here, here’s the announcment trailer for another major villian in Batman’s rogue’s gallery. He played a major role in the first game, but we never saw his face. We’ve known for a while that he would be returning in Arkham City, but not what the extent his appearance would be. Well, now we know. Ladies and gentlemen, I present you with Edward Nygma, The Riddler.
Batman: Arkham City is coming October 18th, 2011 for PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3
RAGE Behind the Scenes Part 4 July 22, 2011
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Part four of a six-part behind the scenes documentary series about id Software’s next game release, RAGE has been released. This one focuses heavily on the game’s enviroment, called the Wasteland, and the gameplay options that the enviroments give you. Included are interviews with id employees Tim Willits and Kevin Cloud.
RAGE is coming October 4th, 2011 for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.
Halo Anniversary Pre-Order Incentive Announced July 21, 2011
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Halo is no stranger to providing exclusive preorder incentives when launching a new game, they did it for Halo 3 ODST and Halo Reach, and it looks like Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary will be no exception.
By preordering the game at select retailers you’ll be entitled to a download code which will get you the Master Chief’s Armor for your Xbox Live Avatar, and the exclusive Grunt Funeral Skull, which you will be able to use in game to…well…modify the gameplay…okay you’ll make grunts explode really good after you kill them. Just take a look for yourselves.
Halo Combat Evolved Anniversary will release November, 2011 exclusive to the Xbox 360.
The Darkness 2 Delayed July 20, 2011
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Bringing some relief to what was already going to be a HEAVILY swamped Fall release schedule, 2K Games has officially announced that The Darkness II has been delayed until February, 2012.
No specifics were gone into about what the reason for the delay was, but I’m going to feel free to speculate. This fall is looking to be the most jam packed three months (September through November) in this console generation, probably in the history of gaming outright. The sheer amount of major platform releases and major cross platform releases is going to put a dent in any gamer’s wallet, and by delaying until Feb of next year, The Darkness II has a better chance of getting recognition at a time when there will be no competition released. Of course they could also be delaying it to add multiplayer, but other than the “No Comment” I got at E3 I have no evidence whatsoever to support that speculation.
The Darkness II is now coming February 7th, 2012 for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.
RAGE Behind The Scenes July 16, 2011
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As you know from some of previous writings, I’m a followed the history of id Software since I was still in High School. Their next major game release, RAGE.
So far, three parts of a planned six part series have been released on Bethesda’s official YouTube Profile, they start off with a general history of id, and then move on to a more detailed conversation about RAGE’s game design. If you want a good idea about how RAGE plays (and you can’t wait for my preview) then it’s definatly a good watch. Plus, there’s a good chance you’ll see some new game footage.
RAGE is coming in October, 2011 for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.
For those of you who are interested in hearing more about the game, I did get a chance to play RAGE at E3 and I do have some comments about it in the next part of my E3 wrap up video, which I plan to upload Monday.
PS3 HDMI Controversy Clarified and the History of HDCP July 13, 2011
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Recently the internet has been in a bit of an uproar when an internal memo from GameStop leaked that they needed to start training their people to inform customers that a new hardware revision of the PS3 would only allow HD playback of any kind if you had an HDMI equipped HDTV. Anyone using a legacy HDTV without HDMI support (like those who would use component cables) would have to buy a new TV or be forced to play their games and watch their movies in standard definition (considered by many online a fate worse than death).
When I first read the news I dismissed it, because I already KNEW this was coming, and GameStop had made a small error in the memo. Today GameStop did in fact announce that they were misinformed or at least misunderstood what the new specifications for the PS3 would be and have corrected their mistake and clarified what would be going on with the Playstation 3’s HD output. The internet is still in an uproar of course, but it’s a little late to the party since this has been something the movie studios have wanted for years now, and it was announced at the beginning of this year that this would finally be happening in 2013 if we liked it or not.
When Blu-Ray and its dead rival HD-DVD were announced, the movie industry was more overzealous than ever to protect their movies from people copying them as much as possible. Whearas DVD’s copy protection standards were broken quickly and could not be changed, with the advent of upgradable player firmware, they could simply change the encryption codes as new discs were being released. Of course home owners would need to be informed to plug their players into a dedicated high-speed internet connection and to continually check their players for updates, but they so far haven’t done a good job of that. That’s why there’s a leaflet in pretty much every Paramount disc saying, “Update your player’s firmware for this to work,” instead of a chapter listing insert.
The protection in question is called HDCP and it’s been bad news since pretty much the start of the HD format war. This is also why all your HDMI equipped HDTVs, Receivers, Computer Monitors, and cables have the HDCP certified sticker on them, because if they didn’t, they’re pretty much worthless. Now, HDCP equipped HDMI equipment has been standard since pretty much the format was introduced, so don’t worry if you’ve bought some cables or a HDTV recently if your movies will eventually stop playing.
The problem is the copy protection does NOT work using component cables! Anyone who accesses an HD stream using those analog cables is getting a completely unprotected video output, and that has terrified every movie studio for the past five years because it can be copied. When they found out about this back when HD-DVD and Blu-Ray Disc launched in 2006, the movie studios actually demanded the disc manufacturers to not allow any HDTV output of the discs through component, and only provide HD output through HDMI. At the time, this was universally considered the dumbest idea ever.
HDTVs had a 20% install base at the time of the format launch, and HDMI was only then becoming a standard port in new TVs. HDMI equipped HDTVs were rare at the time and extremely expensive, and the HDTVs people did have, while they did not support HDMI, worked just fine and displayed picture with negligible quality difference. Five years ago people were still just as cheap as they are today (sarcasm) and just didn’t want to buy new TVs. Since these people were ALSO the immediate customers of the new HD formats, and since a war was going to be going on to get at that 20%, when the formats launched the studios did a rare sane thing and did not restrict the component HD stream of the movies.
But the day has come where this status quo will cease to be. Starting in 2013 all new Blu-Ray players will not be made with any component connections in them at all. Current players will be just fine and continue to run, although a new firmware update might be coming for them. Current discs will not be modified and their HD streams will continue to play through component, but after that time the future discs are going to not allow HD playback in component. However, the discs with this restriction will be marked on the package. If you don’t have an HDMI equipped HDTV and you want to enjoy new Blu-Ray movies in HD, you’re going to need to buy one.
Now this brings me back to the PS3, which I’ve kinda neglected during this history lesson. As a Blu-Ray player as well as a gaming console, the PS3 is just as susceptible to this controversy as the dedicated players, and what GameStop was informing their staff of is literally what I just said in the previous paragraph. This was the decision of the big movie studios and not of Sony or the Playstation teams, and if it was left to them it would have been made sooner. It’s an unfortnate predicament, but for those who have followed the format for some time, an expected one.
You’ll still be able to play all your PS3 games in HD if your HDTV supports the resolutions through component, but future Blu-Ray Discs will require HDMI playback for full HD support. Look for the label to know for sure, and if you don’t have an HDMI equipped HDTV, I recommend you start your shopping for a new HDTV.
Bungie Leaves Halo to Microsoft July 10, 2011
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After twelve years and five games over two console generations, Bungie has started the transition process to leave the Halo franchise that they created behind to focus on new projects. This is a major changing of the guard, as all of the major Halo online stat servers have been hosted on Bungie’s official website for the past seven years. Those servers are going to be moving to Microsoft, where they will be maintained by a separate team.
As a PC user, I think a lot of people’s first exposure to Halo came when this video came out, back when Halo was expected to launch on the PC.
This video is likely what made Microsoft decide to buy the company and have Bungie retool the game to run on their then unannounced first gaming console, the Xbox.
Make no mistake about it, the launch of Halo defined the Xbox and made a new console by a new manufacturer hold its own against the power of Sony better than Nintendo could in the last console generation.
When Xbox Live launched, Halo 2 defined online play for that platform and was widely successful. In fact, I still remember Halo 2’s launch quite fondly.
And for those of you who might be interested, I consider Halo 2’s Limited Collector’s Edition the definition of a REQUIRED CE purchase.
But Bungie wouldn’t be staying as a part of Microsoft’s main studios forever. After finishing Halo 2, while working on their first unannounced Xbox 360 exclusive game, Bungie got a whole new building to develop in.
I just want to know where all those belts came from. Of course that game they couldn’t show us in that video of course turned out to be the highly rated Halo 3.
With the release of Halo 3 many felt the Halo series had come to a wrap. It ended on a cliffhanger but the main story was complete. Having made them millions upon millions of dollars, Microsoft gave Bungie back their independence and the ability to develop whatever they’d like, but they would be keeping Halo. It could’ve easily ended there, but Bungie had some more surprises up their sleeves and Halo 3 ODST was coming.
But this wouldn’t be their final Halo game. As announced in E3 2009 right after the stage demo of Halo 3 ODST, Bungie’s final Halo game would bring the series full circle back to the beginning, set back before the events of Halo: Combat Evolved, their final Halo game would be Halo Reach.
Bungie hasn’t posted up their final ViDoc yet, but for Bungie Day two years ago, they released this video showing the evolution of Halo over the years, and since they are wrapping up Halo, I thought it was quite fitting to show here.
Take care, Bungie, and good luck in all your future endeavors.
