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The Secret World delayed to July 3

2012-05-28T07:44:00.005-07:00

Just when we thought that The Secret World would finally be released on June 19th, developer and publisher Funcom has delayed the title to July 3rd.

The reason for the additional delay was cited as a 'crowded launch window', pushing the game to July should help it succeed according to Funcom.

The next round for the Beta is June 15th through 17th. Pre-Ordering the game will guarantee you access to the Beta, the final event will run on June 22nd through 24th.

3 TV Shows We Wish Would Get a Walking Dead-Style Game

2012-05-26T15:44:00.010-07:00

by Alan Danzis

We can speculate on many reasons why The Walking Dead episode one quickly sold more than one million units for Telltale Games. I’d like to think it was a combination of great writing, a solid story and the fact that decisions the players make will carry over to the other four episodes making up the game.

While Telltale has brought back many beloved properties to fans like Jurassic Park and Back to the Future, never before had decisions mattered game to game. (I’m not counting the end of Jurassic Park for the ten of us who played it all the way through.)

It’s probably due to the fact that the Walking Dead, in its very nature, lends itself to this kind of storytelling and gameplay. By virtue of being a survival (and horror, if you see it that way) game, it’s authentic and perhaps necessary to make your character’s decisions over who lives and who dies matter from game to game. (I have to imagine it’s also a huge pain in the ass for the writers.)

There’s a ton of other existing and gone-but-not-forgotten TV properties that would lend themselves well to a decision-based adventure game like The Walking Dead. Here’s three of my ideas for what I wish Telltale would tackle next:

(Note: potential spoilers for anyone who watched these shows.)

24:

Sure, the 24 franchise already got a game back in the PlayStation 2 days. (And as I’ve sworn to my friend Tina, it’s one of the best, if not the best, videogame based on an existing TV/movie property. This was before I played Walking Dead of course.)
Imagine, however, if you still played over the course of a 24 hour-style story line – which perhaps Telltale could release in 4 or 6 hours at a time – and had decisions that had ramifications later on.

Perhaps if you beat on a subject too much, they closed up and wouldn’t reveal crucial evidence you would need later. Perhaps you could follow the wrong lead and wind up being too late to stop an attack, resulting in civilian casualties.

Or perhaps one false decision in the field could lead to the permanent death of one of your fellow agents. (Though not Chloe. She would be safe back at CTU. And I would be mad if this was possible.)

And by setting the game before the end of the series, we could see the return of characters that may have perished or left the show later on. Except for Kim Bauer. No need to bring her back.

Unless there’s another cougar after her…

Angel:

The series Angel was spun-off from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which had its own line of games across a variety of platforms. I played Chaos Bleeds, and from memory, it was just OK.

Angel was more of a noir as opposed to a horror dramedy like Buffy. (Though they definitely had their funny moments on Angel.)

As the show went on, it became stronger because Angel increasingly had to make more and more difficult decisions. The strongest season of the show was the fourth season which, after about episode seven, was just one long storyline that had every episode flow directly into the next. It was also the season that saw a return to Angel’s violent, evil alter ego, Angelus.

Telltale could do a series of episodic games set during one of the earlier seasons—again, like the 24 game set before major characters had been killed off. Imagine either an existing Big Bad or a new one that Angel and team would have to defeat. The game would be designed around how close to becoming the evil Angelus that Angel would need to be in order to defeat them.

Perhaps he asks the evil law firm Wolfram and Hart for a favor to speed a clue along.
Or he takes the life of a human to make him seem evil to someone he’s trying to fool into helping him.

The entire game could be built around how dark Angel can go before he becomes too dark and becomes Angelus.

(Which I’m sure a lot of gamers would want to have happen anyway.)

Battlestar Galactica:

There was no more show on television that constantly pushed the characters to deal with increasingly morally complicated decisions than this last example. Battlestar Galactica tackled war time decisions that resulted in the deaths of civilians, the use of suicide bombers and more as a group of people and humanoid robots – known as Cylons – looked for a place they could called home.

During most of the earlier seasons, the President of the Colonies, Laura Roslin, would constantly write the current population of the human fleet (usually around 50,000) on a dry erase board. Imagine an entire show based around that idea—get to 0, and, well, you and humanity lose.

Perhaps, like Lee Adama in the first season, you had to make a decision whether or not to destroy a civilian ship called the Olympic Carrier that may contain evil Cylon agents aboard. Destroy it and you lose 10,000 civilians. Risk it entering the fleet and perhaps you lose 20,000.

Perhaps, like season three of the show, you too would be forced to decide whether or not you would resort to suicide bombings to stop the Cylons. You would lose both the life of the bomber, as well as potentially civilians in your quest to take down the Cylons. But would those deaths ensure more didn’t die at the hands of the Cylons?

Then again—maybe it would be more fun to play as the Cylons desiring to kill all the humans in the first place…

Final Thoughts:

I’m sure Telltale’s got a lot of great things in the pipeline, including finishing The Walking Dead. But I’d still love to see them tackle one of those three properties. Or, maybe here are a few other TV properties that would be great to turn into decision-based adventure games.

• Alias
• Chuck
• Justified
• Heroes
• Supernatural

What are yours?

About the author: Alan Danzis is a senior PR professional in video games among other industries as well as a passionate media enthusiast. You can follow him on Twitter @adanzis.

Mad Riders trailer isn't too shy to be real

2012-05-26T15:24:00.005-07:00

Ubisoft and Techland have teamed up to create a serious ATV game, extremely serious as the below launch trailer will prove. Check out the game as it launches on May 30th.

Ubisoft's Shootmania Storm now accepting Beta Signups

2012-05-23T19:30:00.004-07:00

We finally got our first glimpse of Ubisoft's Shootmania Storm in this new trailer. The game is a fast paced arcade shooter with a powerful editor a la Trackmania. Check out the clip for yourself. Also, Beta Sign Ups are now open.

Episode 4 of Telltale's 'Playing Dead' now available

2012-05-22T17:16:00.001-07:00

In Playing Dead: Episode 4, The Walking Dead designers Sean Vanaman and Jake Rodkin chat about some spoilery details from Episode 1 of the game and let slip a bit about what's coming in Episode 2 - Starved for Help!

XCOM: Enemy Unknown to release October 9

2012-05-22T16:45:00.004-07:00

Players who remember playing the original Xcom in the mid 90s have been waiting for a proper sequel to the property for almost 2 decades. Today publisher 2K Games has revealed the release date for XCOM: Enemy Unknown. The strategy game will start hunting Alien lifeforms on October 9th and 13th in North America and worldwide respectively. 2K also announced that it plans to release PC and console versions on the same day.

Dead Island gets a GOTY Edition on June 26

2012-05-22T16:33:00.002-07:00

Yes, we love zombies, we also love vacation and most of all, we love bashing zombies skulls in while being on vacation. Today Deep Silver announced that the popular zombie slayer will receive the Game of the Year treatment this June. DLC packs "Ryder White", "Bloodbath Arena" and "The Ripper" will be included in the June 26 release. The game will cost 30 Dollars and be available on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.

Watch a new Dev Diary for DUST 514

2012-05-21T13:09:00.000-07:00

Today CCP released part one of an all new developer diary from its upcoming free to play MMO first person shooter DUST 514, which set for release exclusively on the PlayStation 3.

Ghost Recon: Future Soldier "Tech Trailer"

2012-05-21T12:14:00.001-07:00

Ghost Recon Future Soldier is now only a day away from release and will be available tomorrow for all to try. To bridge the extra day of waiting for Ubisoft's latest, we have a new trailer revolving around the tech of the game for you.

'Web Rush' is the name of the latest Amazing Spider Man Trailer

2012-05-21T08:30:00.000-07:00

The latest Amazing Spider Man trailer is narrated by Beenox Executive Producer, Brant Nichols and features the first-ever in-game footage of the new Web Rush mechanic - it is entitled 'Web Rush'.

Valve and Overkill working on Payday and Left 4 Dead Crossover

2012-05-21T08:18:00.001-07:00

Not too long ago the four player coop craze had taken PC's and Consoles on fire and all we wanted to do was kill zombies and pull of heists with our buddies. What if, Overkill and Valve said to themselves, we created a cross over title between the two games? Well, we know that it is happening but no details with regards to what we can expect, except that the game will have an 'infectious' story. Well, we'll take it.

Telltale Games' The Walking Dead sold 1 Million Episodes

2012-05-17T18:27:00.005-07:00

It took only 2 weeks for Telltale Games' The Walking Dead to sell 1 Million copies of its first episode. That is no small feat for the episodic Zombie adventure.

Telltale Games has worked with The Walking Dead creator Kirkman to create a brand new adventure that takes us through the broken and zombie infested world we have come to know and love.

Modern Warfare 3 Content Collection #2 - Face Off Trailer

2012-05-17T18:19:00.006-07:00

We already brought you the news that Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3's latest DLC collection is hitting Xbox LIVE on May 22nd and now you can check out another trailer for the upcoming content.

Below you can watch the 'Face Off' trailer for the content drop, it will be 15 Dollars or 1200 MSP. ELITE Premium members will be able to download this collection on May 15th.

EA Sports reveals FIFA 13 officially along with first details

2012-05-16T18:12:00.006-07:00

EA Sports has been the marquee developer for Soccer games in the past few years and isn't resting on its success. EA has announced FIFA 13 officially and even shared the first details of the game's new features.

FIFA 13 will grace Lionel Messi on its cover when it releases later this fall. The game will come with a new and improved manager mode, even more fined tuned dribbling skills as well as set piece customization.

More details soon, check out the all new images on the game's Facebook page.

EA and Activision settle Infinity Ward lawsuit

2012-05-16T18:07:00.003-07:00

Just as the court happenings between Activision and the ex-Infinity Ward duo West and Zampella get really in motion, the hearing begins on May 29th, publishers EA and Activision settle their own lawsuit.

Today the two big game publishers released a combined statement explaining that their conflict has been settled out of court. Who paid who is not officially stated anywhere and up to speculation.

GoldenEye 007: Reloaded now available on PSN as full game download

2012-05-15T14:45:00.001-07:00

GoldenEye 007: Reloaded has just been made available by Activision as a PS3 downloadable game on the PlayStation Network. While we at onPause are all for digital distribution, I have to say that the one thing that's not so great about this news post is the price. As of this writing the game is still 60 Dollars, not exactly what we expected. Nonetheless, GoldenEye 007: Reloaded is a good game and can now be enjoyed without giving GameStop a penny, that's a pretty good thing.

Activision pays $42 Million to Ex-Call of Duty Developers

2012-05-15T12:05:00.001-07:00

It has now been 2 years since Activision has let go leads Jason West and Vince Zampella from Infinity Ward post the Modern Warfare 2 meltdown. There have been many more employees that left the studio and followed West and Zampella to their new studio Respawn Entertainment.

Activision has now paid the 'Infinity Ward Employee Group' $42 Million for the outstanding bonuses to the group to ease some of the pre-trial events.

Activision will probably have to reach into their pockets again since 'Infinity Ward Employee Group' is seeking a lot more money in the upcoming litigation. Stay tuned.

Watch Ubisoft's Ghost Recon Alpha Short Film

2012-05-15T11:29:00.001-07:00

IF you are like us and just cannot wait for Ubisoft's latest Ghost Recon to release later this month, then we have something to hold you over until you can actually play Future Soldier. Ubisoft has released a short film called Ghost Recon Alpha which is over 20 minutes long.

Ryan Payton's Republique hits Kickstarter goal with hours to spare

2012-05-12T16:29:00.004-07:00

Kickstarter has been very kind to studios lately after Double Fine hit it big just several weeks ago. Among games like Wasteland 2 and the very Double Fine adventure, many other games have been funded on Kickstarter that probably didn't have a shot at being made otherwise.

After ex-343 industries and Kojima Productions developer Ryan Payton had started his studio Camouflaj, he added the game to Kickstarter and needed $500K to get his project running and through development. In a photo finish on Friday afternoon the game just reached its goal and should be available on iOS PC and MAC.

Check out the game here.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 DLC Collection #2 takes off on May 22

2012-05-12T16:20:00.004-07:00

In case you were wondering just when the next Modern Warfare 3 DLC collection was available, I can happily report that this day will be my May 22nd.

Hang on and watch the DLC trailer bellow.

Namco Bandai announces One Piece: Pirate Warriors

2012-04-11T18:24:00.005-07:00

Today Namco Bandai announced a brand new game for the PlayStation 3 called One Piece: Pirate Warriors. The game is being developed by Omega Force and Tecmo Koei Games and is due in North America in 2012.

The title will bring together the world’s most popular manga franchise with non-stop action of the Dynasty Warriors franchise to create a ONE PIECE perfect storm.

The first nautical outing for the ONE PIECE series on the PlayStation 3 system, ONE PIECE: PIRATE WARRIORS will immerse players in the Straw Hat Pirates’ grand voyage around the globe, letting them face hordes of pirate and Marine enemies as well as experience all the great moments from the anime from Orange Town through Marineford. Faithful to the original ONE PIECE manga by Eiichiro Oda, players will relive their favorite scenes controlling many of the beloved Straw Hat Pirates including; Luffy, Zoro, Nami, and others, each with their signature moves, including Luffy’s Gum-Gum attacks.

You can check out the One Piece animated series here.

Dark Souls coming to PC on August 24

2012-04-11T18:11:00.005-07:00

Today Namco Bandai finally revealed that FromSoftware's hardcore RPG will be coming to PCs everywhere on August 24th this year. The game will feature new bosses and even harder gameplay that should be rewarded with satisfying payoffs for gamers according to Namco Bandai.

Mass Effect 3 'Resurgence Pack' now available

2012-04-10T18:42:00.003-07:00

Mass Effect 3 has been the center of attention for the past few weeks with a additional cut scenes on the way and scheduled to hit this summer, some of that excitement has died down.

Now it's back to the game. BioWare and EA have released Mass Effect 3's 'Resurgence Pack' DLC which adds to the game's multiplayer component. The DLC includes new maps Hydra and Condor, six new operatives including the rat pack of Asari, Batarian, Krogan and Geth seen above, and a slew of new weapons.

PSA: Anomaly: Warzone Earth out now on Xbox LIVE

2012-04-10T18:03:00.004-07:00

Sure, some people may not have celebrated Easter or spent the weekend at Pax East in Boston unlike us, and picked up Anomaly: Warzone Earth on Xbox LIVE this past Friday.

In case you haven't heard, the game is out on Xbox LIVE and you should give it a look.

Dirt Showdown Trailer 'Boosts for the Win'

2012-04-10T17:54:00.005-07:00

Codemasters' Dirt Showdown is a new interpretation of the Dirt rally racing franchise out this May. Codies released a new trailer called Boost for the Win and it looks glorious.

Check it out below.