Major RAGE News, Editor and Gameplay Footage May 8, 2011

A lot of news on id Software’s RAGE has hit the web this week, as well as some brand new footage of the game.

Want to know how the game plays?  Well take a look at this impressive five minute gameplay video.

Next off, all of you dedicated modders out there are going to be very happy to hear that editing tools for RAGE will ship with the PC version of the game.  Like with Doom 3, the Editor will be accessible in the developer console, allowing you to create levels from scratch or modify existing ones.  You will even be able to modify audio files.

The problem is that this comprehensive tool will likely require a pretty high end PC to use to it’s fullest potential (likely higher than RAGE’s system requirements, which will probably require a powerful PC), and building a full level from scratch with the tools is going to take a lot of work.

As for multiplayer, well the game has a multiplayer component but it will not support a traditional deathmatch mode.

RAGE is coming September 13th, 2011 for the Xbox 360, PC and PS3 .

Duke Nukem Forever Shrinker Trailer May 5, 2011

A new “What Would Duke Do” trailer has hit the internet today, courtesy of Gearbox Software and 2K Games.

The Shrinker Gun, made popular in Duke Nukem 3D, which had the ability to shrink your enemies, making it easy to stomp on them with your mighty foot, looks to be making an appearance, but more than that, the ability to get shrunk, also possible in Duke Nukem 3D, looks to be making a return, as this trailer demonstrates.

The early previews of the game taken from the Duke Nukem’s Titty City event did mention that practically a whole level will take place with you playing as a shrunken Duke Nukem.  This looks to be the footage of that level.

Duke Nukem Forever will release June 14th, 2011 for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.

UPDATE:  2K has also announced that a lot of Duke Nukem Forever content has hit the Xbox Live Marketplace.  A premium theme and new avatar clothing is for sale at various MS points.  However, Duke Nukem Forever gamerpics have been released for free.

The Darkness II Release Date May 4, 2011

2K Games has linked this on their twitter feed.  As far as I can tell, this is probably the first official trailer released for the Darkness II, although there has been various amounts of images and previews released for it since PAX.

The trailer glosses over just what’s been going on with the game’s protagonist, Jackie, since the completion of the first game and features no in game footage.  However, at the end, it announces The Darkness II’s release date.

The Darkness II is coming October 4th, 2011 for PC, Xbox 360, PS3.

Gears of War 3 Beta Players Offered Friend Codes on May 8th May 3, 2011

The Gears of War 3 beta testers (myself included) are being notified by e-mail that Epic is going to be offering extra codes to offer to their friends, to bring more people into the Gears of War 3 beta.

By default, all Gears of War 3 Beta players with a valid e-mail address tied to their Live account are being offered at least one extra code to pass along to their friends on the 8th of May.

However, that’s not all.  Starting yesterday, any beta testers who do any or all of the following tasks will get one extra code to pass along, making for a total of five codes.

1.  Buy any Gears of War 3 content in the Marketplace, including avatar clothing or avatar items.

2.  Play 20+ hours of the beta since yesterday.

3.  Buy a new 12-month subscription to Xbox Live Gold,

4.  Log 100 hours of play in Gears of War 1, 2 or any of the DLC.  Single or Multiplayer.

Gears of War 3 is coming September, 2011 exclusive to the Xbox 360.

Duke Nukem Forever System Specifications May 3, 2011

2K Games has announced today on their twitter feed and blog, exactly what the PC specifications are for the highly anticipated game, Duke Nukem Forever.

So, without further ado, here’s what you’ve been waiting thirteen years to read.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

OS: Windows XP/Vista/7
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo @ 2.0 Ghz / AMD Athlon 64 X2 @ 2.0 Ghz
Memory: 1 Gb
Hard Drive: 10 Gb free
Video Memory: 256 MB
Video Card: nVidia GeForce 7600 / ATI Radeon HD 2600
Sound Card: DirectX Compatible

RECOMMENDED REQUIREMENTS
OS: Windows XP/Vista/7
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo @ 2.4 Ghz / AMD Athlon 64 X2 @ 2.6 Ghz
Memory: 2 Gb
Hard Drive: 10 Gb free
Video Memory: 512 MB
Video Card: nVidia GeForce 8800 GTS / ATI Radeon HD 3850
Sound Card: DirectX Compatible

OTHER REQUIREMENTS & SUPPORTS
Initial installation requires one-time internet connection for Steam authentication; software installations required (included with the game) include Steam Client, Microsoft DirectX, Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable (ATL), Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable, and AMD Dual Core Optimizer. (AMD optimizer required only for specific AMD processors to run the game correctly, but installs for all of them.)

Those are some pretty steep specs. I like how the Dual Core Optimizer is included since it usually fixes most gaming problems for people with multiple core AMD processors, but it’s only needed if you’re using Win XP. It won’t even install if you have Vista or 7 installed.

Duke Nukem Forever will release June 14th, 2011 for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.

Back to the Future The Game Episode 4 Released May 1, 2011

Just shy of the end of the month, Back to the Future: The Game Episode 4 has been released to the PC and Mac.  It picks up on the cliffhanger from Episode 3, and continues the highly complex interweaving story these episodes have started.  Some familiar characters also make a nice return.

The conclusion, Episode 5, dubbed Outatime, has no release date.  It’s tagline is “a climatic chase through Hill Valley’s past, present and future.”  If this doesn’t spark your memories of Back to the Future: The Ride, I don’t know what will.

In other Telltale Games news, it seems that the other series that was expected to launch this month for PC and Mac, Jurassic Park: The Game, has been delayed until the fall.  It will now release alongside the console versions of the game.  Specific platforms for the console versions have not been mentioned, however I have read of demos of the game using Xbox 360 hardware, however this does not however negate the possiblity of a PS3 release.

Portal 2 DLC Announced, Free on All Platforms April 29, 2011

Valve Software has announced that the first DLC pack (dubbed DLC #1) will be released this summer for Portal 2.  The DLC will include new test chambers, challenge modes, and multiplayer leaderboards.

The DLC is expected for PC, Xbox 360, Mac and PS3 and will be free on all platforms.

I’m curious how these new features are going to be integrated into the core game.  The multiplayer and singleplayer components of the game are pretty self-contained, there would be no way to expand them with new test chambers.  My guess is they’re going to have to update the game in some way to add menus to access the new content, which is probably going to be self-contained.

Sony Sending Out Playstation Rewards Gifts April 29, 2011

I got an envelope today with the Sony Playstation logo as the return address.  I figured it was probably some kind of long catalog or binder.  When I opened it up, there was an extra-large black t-shirt with Japanese lettering on it that spelled out Playstation.

Enclosed with the t-shirt was a thank you from Sony for participating in the Playstation Rewards Beta Test.  Because I had tiered during the Rewards test, I had gotten the shirt.

For those of you who were also beta testers for the Playstation Rewards program, you will probably be getting your goodies soon as well.  I don’t know what higher tiered users will be getting, but I was the lowest tier and I got this shirt, so if you were on a low tier, you’ll probably get that.

Sony did announce they’re not following through with fully launching the Playstation Rewards program just now.  It’s likely that they decided it just wasn’t worth it when they made that decision, so unfortunatly if you weren’t part of the Rewards beta, I don’t think they’re going to do another one just now.

If anyone else got something different from Sony since you got a higher tier, please post a comment!

Mortal Kombat: Legacy Episodes 2 and 3 April 27, 2011

Wow these episodes are getting posted up faster than I can talk about them!

The second and third episodes of Mortal Kombat: Legacy have hit the web.  The second picks up where the first left off with Jax, Sonya and Kano, the third is about Johnny Cage, that’s right the famous Hollywood star, and is done in a different style.  There’s also cameos by Ed Boon and Victor Lucas, which is always a plus to any series.

This is machinima.com’s YouTube embeds we’re talking about so make sure to disable all captions before the video starts or you’ll never be able to see half the screen.

Meanwhile, Mortal Kombat is out for PS3 and Xbox 360 right now.

Latest Prey 2 Details April 25, 2011

Human Head has started doing a bunch of interviews with the press about the upcoming Prey 2, the sequel to 2006’s Prey. In the interviews, they’ve been dropping a lot of tidbits about what to expect about the game.

The game appears to be using a heavily modified version of the engine that powered Doom 3. They promise to retain all the bells and whistles that engine provided, including the lighting and shadowing systems, but also the ability to support LARGE enviroments, something that will be provided in the game.

There will not be any multiplayer. I’m really bummed out by this. I mean, I know that the Xbox 360’s multiplayer was practically unplayable, but the PC’s multiplayer (dubbed MultiPrey) was playable, and really a lot of fun. All the game mechanics, portals, and weapons made for a fun multiplayer experience.

The game will not have portals. Their reasoning is that the portal system would only be on the Sphere, which was the major enviroment of the first game. Since this new game isn’t taking place on the Sphere, there would not be portals.

Finally, the game will have a whole new protagonist. As previously reported, the new character will be an air marshal who was on the 747 that crashed into the Sphere during the first game. To survive, he has become a bounty hunter, and will use weapons and gadgets unique to the game both for killing and capturing targets, as well as a scanner for detecting targets.

As for the fate of the first game’s hero, Tommy? Well, that’s currently unknown. However they did tease we might run into him in the new game.

Well, with that all out of the way, here’s my take on this. Why this game has the Prey name is beyond my comprehension. It has nothing to do with the spirit of the first game. The entire basis of the Prey property revolved around being respectful to Native American roots, and using that heritage to defeat a technologicially superior alien race. None of that is going to be in this game.

However, this design reminds me a lot about the very FIRST game design for Prey, as written by Tom Hall. I’ve looked like crazy to find that original game design document but I think the original site hosting it has been shut down. It was about a regular human, abducted by aliens, being forced to compete in alien gladitorial games. Along the way he had to mingle and gain the trust of three distinct alien species, and learn the secrets of a special fourth species that exists behind the scenes.

The new game design documents for Prey 2 remind me a lot of this design, opposed to the revised design which basically was father to the first game. Still upset over losing multiprey, but they are promising a deep open world single player campaign.

Prey 2 is coming for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3. If you’re interested in playing the first Prey, its out for Xbox 360 and PC.