GayGamer.net

Disgaea 3 Trophies Next Thursday

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:00:00 -0500

I was kinda hoping to tack one of those "1 trillion points of damage" screenshots on here, but you know what? I'm having the hardest time finding one that isn't just a YouTube video. Seriously, the people that play this game are insane when it comes to pushing stats to unnecessary levels. I mean, what is NIS good for if it's not good for making games with really big numbers. Even though the game launched almost a year ago, NIS is doing some serious fan service and releasing a trophy enabling patch, one week from today. June 16, players will be able to use their insane overblown stat heavy demons to stat whore their PSN profile. Hey, you want to show off to your friends as well as the YouTube community. The full list of trophies are available after the jump. Here Are Your Disgaea 3 Trophy Requirements [Siliconera]

Penn & Teller Take On Videogame Violence BS

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:00:50 -0500

Well as Asterick warned you last month, it looks like tonight marks the night that Penn & Teller's Showtime program, Bullshit!, takes on the muck that is videogame violence. The show will be airing tonight a 10pm EST/PST on Showtime, and probably numerous more times in the following days on the channel. Among the many colored guests on the show, such as Chris Cooney in the video above, they are also going to have Jack Thompson which I'm sure will be hilarious as usually. For those of you unfamiliar with the premise of their show, Penn & Teller take an issue each week and usually show how the public opinion on an issue is usually just complete "bullshit", hence the name of the show. They usually have on "experts" for the issue, and then rip apart the points that these people try to claim as fact. It'll be interesting to see how they confront the idea that videogames cause violent tendencies, and I'm sure we'll see a lot of recent videogame studies drawn out to refute the points the people are trying to make. As always, the show is for entertainment value, so take everything said with a grain of salt and with plenty of laughter. Tivo Alert: Penn & Teller: Bullshit! Tackles Video Game Violence [GamePolitics]

BioWare Talks Sex In Games

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:00:00 -0500

CVG sat down with BioWare co-founded Greg Zeschuk to talk turkey, but more than just turkey popped up during the interview. Zeschuk defended the role of sexuality in BioWare's plot-driven games, saying they'll include sex scenes as long as they make sense to the plot:

CVG: There was controversy over the sex scenes in Mass Effect, and now there are some in Dragon Age. It's common in films, but do videogames need scenes of this nature to portray a story? Zeschuk: I don't think they need to have them, I think that in certain types of games it makes sense to have them. It's interesting because I think the Mass Effect thing was completely over-blown. There wasn't even really nudity; it was like the side of a leg. I think some of the press took huge advantage of the situation. The reality was that it was the kind of stuff you'd see on evening television. That said, I think from our perspective we want to reflect real human relationships. If you're trying to have a relationship with a character we want to reflect that and the impact of the connection with that character. And if that involves some sort of intimate scenes, we want to provide those for the player.

Really, if you read an interview with Quentin Tarantino about why he puts sex in his movies, wouldn't you get an answer that's a lot less intelligent/intelligible? It's a shame the head of a company has to almost publicly apologize for the fact that romance is a classic storytelling element. Now, BioWare: give us men making out or so help me I'll go on Fox News and denounce you as the peddlers of heteroflesh that you are! BioWare interview Pt. 1 [CVG]

EA LA Announces Command & Conquer 4

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:00:00 -0500

EA has officially announced the development of the fourth and final installment of its Tiberium series, Command & Conquer 4, which will bring back the award-winning RTS gameplay and introduce "a multitude of innovations" to the classic series while retaining the "core compulsions" that have kept C&C fans at it for over 15 years and 30 million games sold.

"Command & Conquer is a powerful franchise with an amazing 15-year legacy. We are thrilled to bring the dramatic Tiberium saga to a conclusion in Command & Conquer 4. This game is designed to give fans all the answers they've been looking for," said Mike Glosecki, Lead Producer of Command & Conquer 4 at EA Los Angeles. "With its objective-based multiplayer mode, persistent player progression and all-in-one mobile base, players will experience Command & Conquer like never before."

But what about Tricia Helfer? What about the ubiquitous Mr. Ironside? Maybe we'll learn more when the first cinematic trailer for C&C4 plays on the July 23rd episode of Gametrailers TV on Spike TV.

Marvel vs Capcom 2 Dated!

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:00:00 -0500

Now here's some news I have been eagerly awaiting! Capcom has announced that Marvel vs Capcom 2 will be available on Xbox Live as part of the Summer of Arcade series. The game will launch on Wednesday, July 29 for 1,200 Microsoft Points. The title is a direct port of the original game, with no redrawing of the original sprites. However, it turns out that the original backgrounds were actually rendered in 3D although early hardware couldn't handle it. I am also anxiously awaiting the launch of Tetsunoko vs Capcom which promises to be as much fun if not more than the Marvel game. The cast of characters is astounding at the very least. No word yet on when this one will be available other than "winter."

GLAAD Tackles Homophobia In Virtual Communities

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:00:12 -0500

A few months back, when all the controversy about some moderation on the BioWare Old Republic community forums happened , Dawdle reported that EA had teamed up with GLAAD to put on a panel about homophobia in online virtual communities. While at the time, infomation was scarce, it looks the event will be going down on Saturday, July 18th at the EA offices in Redwood City, California. The event will have five panelist and one moderator who will ask the panelist three questions and then open the floor for an audience Q&A. One of the speakers will be our very own Fruit Brute, along with Dan Hewitt from the ESA, Caryl Shaw from Maxis Studio, Cyn Skyberg from Linden Lab, and Stephen Toulouse from XBox LIVE. I have to admit that they have some great people and companies on the docket that will have plenty to say about homophobia and virtual communities. So, if you are in the bay area and would like to go, you need to RSVP on their website for the event, and they should tell you if they still have space available and then email you the exactly location and time for the event. I know Fruit Brute will be there and I will be attending along with a few others from the GayGamer crew here in San Francisco. Feel free to RSVP yourself and see what the industry has to say about issues that effect you (unless you live under a rock). Here's the Facebook event too, for more info: Panel on Homophobia & Virtual Communities [Facebook]

Oh, No She Di'int!: Universal Music Announces U-Sing

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:00:00 -0500

People here in the States may not know this, but over in Europe Sony's Singstar is a big seller, with over 16 releases in the United Kingdom alone! Because Sony has access to the vault over in their music department, finding songs has never been that hard and they've been able to include a few picks here and there from other record companies looking to make a quick DLC-infused buck. But one company has almost always been absent from my favorite piece of PS3 software and today we finally have the reason why we've never seen TLC's Waterfalls up on the SingStore. It's because Universal Music Group is making their very own karaoke game entitled U-Sing. Outside of the clever name, not much is known about the game other than that it will sport a different playlist in each country it is released in (No word on a US release yet) and that it will be availible on "all platforms." No one can blame Universal for trying to get in on what is an established game formula, but it's going to take some big guns to attract the eyes of gamers already hooked on Sony's series. I'm hoping that we see a serious effort from them to give Sony a little competition (Sorry, Lips, I wanted to love you, but...). While the bulk of the playlist is unknown at the moment, sharp eyes can spot a bit of Lady Gaga's logo in the top left corner of an announcement image taken from casualgaming.biz. It appears that the inescapable pop phenomena's "Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)" will be included in a least one release. [Universal takes on Sony's SingStar] CasualGaming.biz

Resident Evil 5 Possible On Wii After All...Sort Of

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:00:00 -0500

In the hype leading up to Resident Evil 5's release, Wii fans kept asking why their console was being neglected, and Capcom always responded that the game just wouldn't be possible on the Wii. However, when recently asked again by Games Magazine about the possibility of a Wii version, Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles' chief producer Masachika Kawata was singing a slightly different tune.

Hypothetically speaking, the Resident Evil 4 engine would work perfectly for replicating the gameplay but we would never be able to recreate the graphical quality. A gun shooting game like Darkside Chronicles makes much more sense for Wii so, in short, Resident Evil 5 Wii Edition isn't likely to happen. Having said that, Cavia has surprised us with the quality of graphics in Darkside Chronicles, so it may actually be possible after all...

Does this mean we should be expecting a Resident Evil 5: Hunky Chris Chronicles to bring another on-rails shooter to the Wii? It's still probably much too early for any serious speculation, after all Darkside Chronicles isn't even done yet, but I can't say it would be a surprise. Would you be interested in an on-rails interpretation of Resident Evil 5, or would a RE4 engine port with downgraded graphics be more desirable? Or, and this idea might just seem completely crazy, Capcom could lay off Resident Evil for a while and build up some of its under-developed franchises. What I wouldn't give for a proper Zack and Wiki sequel. Resident Evil 5 Wii Possible [Now Gamer]

Keysaw: Tetsuya Nomura Wanted A Kingdom Hearts Chainsaw

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 10:00:00 -0500

I'm pretty sure it's safe to say that when any of us played Kingdom Hearts, the last thing we ever expected to see was a chainsaw. Seriously, can you imagine Mickey cleaving into someone with a gas powered, flesh rending tool of deforestation? Okay, so I can but I think there might be something wrong with me. The funny thing is I'm not alone, as the keyblade was not the first choice of concept designers. While the keyblade and the whole concept of doors and what have you is pretty much the foundation of the game... it's not the first thing that was presented to Disney. Tetsuya Nomura told 1UP probably the single most amusing thing I've ever heard presented to a company centered on family entertainment:

"Actually," he continues, "the first weapon I showed Disney was a chainsaw. It was this chainsaw-like weapon that I had a rough sketch of when I first showed my concepts to Disney. Everyone got this scrunched-up look on their face and nobody said a word in the entire room. Dead silence. And I thought 'No, I guess this wouldn't work, huh?'"

Tetsuya Nomura Discusses Kingdom Hearts' Past, Present [1UP]

Namco Is The Only Dragon Ball Game In Town

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 21:00:00 -0500

dNamco Bandai has announced that they have secured exclusive North American rights to publish videogames across all platforms for the popular anime series Dragon Ball. Wait, it's still popular? Really? Well, anyway, their new deal will run for five years and cover all existing console and portables.

"We are very excited to have signed this long term agreement with Toei Animation Co., Ltd and FUNimation® Entertainment, which grants Namco Bandai Games North American multi-platform rights to the testosterone driven action packed world of Dragon Ball. This move reunites Namco Bandai Games with the Dragon Ball series which will considerably increase our ability to develop titles that perfectly capture every nuance of what makes the Dragon Ball world exciting to the consumer."

I had no idea the consumer still thought the Dragon Ball world was exciting. At any rate, Namco Bandai has three games in the pipeline: Dragon Ball: Raging Blast for the Xbox 360, Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo for the Wii and Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans for the Nintendo DS. So if you're a Dragon Ball fan, enjoy! If not, sorry to have wasted your time!

GameStop Slashes Prices On Guitar Hero World Tour Sets

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 19:30:00 -0500

This is actually quite the deal. From now until July 12, GameStop is dropping $100 off the regular price of Guitar Hero World Tour Band Kits. That's the Drum Kit, Microphone, Guitar, and game. The Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360 versions are now $89.99 and the PS2 one is $79.99. So what to do with that hundred bucks you're saving? Well, they've also got a slew of games now under $20 like de Blob (Wii), Spore (PC), Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles (Wii), LEGO Batman, Prince of Persia, and a whole bunch of... well, crap to put it nicely. Although hey, I'm not one to judge. Perhaps one of you is super excited to pick up Diva Girls: Divas on Ice for your Nintendo Wii for just $19.99. Who knows? GameStop.com is also teasing some more summer sales. I have no idea what "May I Have Some More Please?" means, but I guess we'll find out from July 15 to July 17. Although "Wii Thiink You'll Like Thiis Offer" from July 22 to July 25 sounds like a buy one get one kind of sale. The Guitar Hero Band Kits are only on sale for a limited time, at which point the next sale will take effect. But the games will remain cheap until August 2. Although by that point, all the good ones will probably be gone!

Funcom 'Celebrates' A Year Of Improvements With Age Of Conan, Offers 2 Weeks Free Play To Former Players

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 19:00:00 -0500

Funcom has launched the first "re-evaluation campaign" for its MMO Age of Conan, which was saddled with balance issues, an annoyingly repetitive opening area, and seemingly unfinished or nonexistent content at higher levels. But now, with a year to fix problems that shouldn't have been there in the first place, Funcom is inviting players back - from July 8 to July 22 - to anyone with a closed account "in good standing." Regardless of when you reactivate between July 8-22, you'll get two weeks of free play. Also important to note is that the free trial will be closed "to ensure the best play environment for all returning players." That's a little telling to me - what, you don't want current players sharing their feelings about AoC? Or is the non-closed world of AoC so caustic that Funcom doesn't want to risk scaring away any potential subscribers? Then again, returning players will enjoy DirectX 10 graphics - a feature originally planned for launch - as well as the outdoor area of Ymir's Pass, the huge dungeon Xibalaku, and the vast cityscape of Tarantia Commons. Check out the re-evaluation website here. Anyone still playing AoC: yay or nay?

SNATCHER Mod For Crysis Wars In Development

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:00:00 -0500

As I'm sure a lot of you can guess, I'm a huge fan of Snatcher. Take everything I love about retro gaming, slap a little bit of blade runner and Kojima lore and you have probably my favorite adventure game ever. I've been waiting for it (and Policenauts) to be remade since sometime in the mid-nineties. Enter ASH712. This industrious modder has decided to create a Mod that will allow players to enjoy the title in using the CryEngine (Crysis Wars). The game has been in development since February 2008, and hopefully it has seen a bit of progress since then. ASH also promises that he will return the 'deleted and cleaned' scenes from that we received in the Sega CD version. I'm going to start off by saying that I think this project is not likely going to see the light of day, but I really REALLY want it to. After seeing ambitious project after ambitious project destroyed by lack of resources and over zealous lawyers, it's pretty much just waiting for someone to put the coffin in the ground. SNATCHER mod for Crysis Wars [Project Homepage] [via Joystiq]

WoW! Peggle A Plenty

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:00:59 -0500

Leave it up to two of the most addictive online games to work together to create a new game that will devastate office work habits forever. Those two games, of course, are World of Warcraft and Peggle. Looks like the folks over at PopCap have been hard at work to bring you Peggle: World of Warcraft Edition with 10 unique levels and backgrounds, just in case you don't get enough of either game in your diet already. What's more, the game is now going for FREE on their website. All it takes is about 14MB on your computer and you'll be wasting your productive time in no time. You can even play against a friend if you want. On top of giving away this new game for free, from July 7th until the 17th, normal Peggle and Peggle Nights are 50% off at the PopCap website, so feel free to pick those two games up at a discount if the WoW one doesn't hold enough replay. I'm just scared to see what these two forces together might do . . . Peggle: World of Warcraft Edition [PopCap]

Media Molecule Wants Backward-Compatibility With LBP2

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:00:00 -0500

While Media Molecule's Alex Evans is quick to reassure GamesIndustry.biz that everyone at Media Molecule is still hard at work on the original LittleBigPlanet, he's got an eye on the horizon and the demands of the future. Evans believes a sequel will be inevitable - and when it comes, he'd like it to play nicely with the worlds of content created in the original game:

If you look at online distribution for LBP, when the sequel comes along, what do we do with all that content? We can give [consumers] backwards compatibility with those levels."

Also, the PS3 will finally get a demo for LBP soon, which should give anyone with a PS3 who hasn't enjoyed the wonders of LBP a chance to play - hopefully some of the 2 million user generated levels will be included in the demo. Again with the alsos, LBP itself should see some improvements too, such as the originally-planned-but-axed feature of sharing objects as easily as you can share levels. Changes to the sharing system are also in the mix, as are some other fundamental tweaks to LBP's suite of tools. Media Molecule's Alex Evans [GamesIndustry]

Harmonix: Music Games Could Leave Consoles Behind

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:00:00 -0500

Wow, Hannah Montana has affected the music game biz in a big way: Harmonix box Josh Randall thinks the future of music games may be to abandon consoles entirely and opt for instruments with built-in music:

"I think you could foresee a future where maybe you don't even have a console," said Randall, speaking to VideoGamer.com. "Your instrument can have all these songs and you just plug it into your TV. I'm sure it [the genre] is going to start to move in weird ways that no-one's even thought of yet." "We're obviously focused on the consoles, but outside of Harmonix there are people doing interesting stuff in the mobile space. It's going to be interesting when it all splinters apart and then comes back together in some form we've not even thought of yet."

Yikes! What kind of Tron-esque future will we live in, where guitars have built-in music and consoles roam free, hungry to devour even the smallest kazoo. Imagine. Harmonix: music games could abandon consoles [Videogamer]

Dungeons & Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited Dated

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:00:00 -0500

The big Dungeons & Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited free digital upgrade and new pricing structure are coming your way. The big changeover is set to happen on August 6th with DDO VIPs getting in on the action early on Aug. 4. As we mentioned, the game's new pricing structure will see a new DDO store that will be selling you your items a la carte rather than having you pay a monthly fee. Everything from adventure packs to character classes will be available for purchase with real cash or in-game points depending on the item. The game itself will be free to download and play.

Video: Meet Ezio From Assassin's Creed 2

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 13:00:49 -0500

As any fan of the first game knows, Ubisoft is hard at work bringing to life Assassin's Creed 2 to fans this Holiday season. This time around you'll be controlling an assassin from Florence, Italy during the Renaissance period known as Ezio. Turns out that Ezio is the son of a Italian nobleman which apparently makes him rich, suave, and proud. In the developer's diary above, the team on the game gives us some insight into who Ezio is and why he becomes and assassin. They do give some of the plot points of the game away, so if you are a stickler for 'spoilers' you may not want to watch the video, but it's nothing too specific, just generalities as to how Ezio becomes an assassin. One cool part is that since Ezio has no formal training as an assassin, he'll start off the game somewhat novice in his actions and movements, but will slowly progress in the his art of this actions and movements as you progress. Overall, I have to say that this game is shaping up to be a great sequel to the first, plus there are rumors that there may be something in the game that the crowd at GayGamer may enjoy (okay, maybe I made that rumor up, but he's Italian, do you blame me for hoping?).

New MechWarrior Teased With Cryptic Videos

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 12:00:00 -0500

It appears as though not even the death of developer FASA can keep a good (or bad) Mech down. According to Gamersyde, MechWarrior 5 is on its way from Canadian developer Piranha Games. Of course, nothing's official yet as neither Smith & Tinker nor Piranha responded to Gamersyde's emails, but somehow the people at Gamersyde were able to get their hands on two video clips of what appears to be some robotic in-game action. The clips may but short, but they are most certainly sweet! One video features a extremely close up of a mech stepping into a futuristic city setting, while the other shows a mech gracefully strolling through a combat scared street. Both looks great and should be met with a warm welcome by series fans, but neither clip shows off which sub series of the MechWarrior line this installment will fall under. A sim-focused MechWarrior? Or something more action oriented like MechAssault? Maybe a new title? While I'm hoping for a new MechAssault because of my nostalgia fueled memories of the early days of Xbox Live, I know I'm going to be happy getting anything even remotely connected with the series. With these videos now out there for everyone to see, we should be seeing an official announcement soon! [MechWarrior 5 is coming!] Gamersyde

Rumor: LucasArts Remembers How To Make A New IP - Lucidity Coming To XBLA

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 11:00:00 -0500

LucasArts has been doing a lot of soul searching lately to regain some of the creativity the studio was once known for. Mostly this has taken the form of re-releasing its amazing back catalog of games, but according to an "inside source" over at Joystiq LucasArts has some new ideas up its sleeve as well. Namely, rumor has it that LucasArts is working on a new side-scrolling game for XBLA called Lucidity. The game will have you controlling the main character Sofi as she explores the recesses of her own mind looking for her grandmother. The twist is that you won't be controlling Sofi directly, but instead providing her objects and tools to tackle obstacles as she comes to them. It's great to see LucasArts getting back to making some new and creative games. Let's just hope that we actually get to see something of this new game at some point. Rumor: LucasArts bringing Lucidity to XBLA [Joystiq]