Joystiq

Splash Damage's Brink wants to change your mind on multiplayer

by Ben Gilbert { 59 minutes ago }

Are you one of these folks who don't even realize there's a "multiplayer button" in your first-person shooters? After spending hours with the single-player campaign, you shelve the game and press onward, eschewing time with multiplayer for other, more solitary experiences? Splash Damage head Paul Wedgwood wants to change your attitude, telling Eurogamer in an interview that his studio's upcoming FPS Brink will do just that.

"It's our goal from the outset to incidentally teach people to be good at multiplayer shooters while they're playing our single-player shooter," he says. Apparently, Brink will offer in-game rewards (double XP, for instance) to players willing to take their game online. "At a certain point in the game we say to them, 'Why don't you just try co-op and see how you go? For this next mission we're going to give you twice the number of experience points if you play co-operatively with somebody else.'" Thankfully though, he assures the internet-less among us (how are you reading this?!) that there's plenty of game in Brink without having to go online. "Your experience through it, imagining you have no internet connection should, for us to have achieved our goal, be as compelling as any other triple-A shooter." We'll find out if his plan works when Brink arrives sometime next year.

Gallery: Brink (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

JBO: Joystiq Box Office, November 23 - November 27

by Kevin Kelly { 1 hour ago }

We can't be gaming all the time, despite our best efforts, and from time to time we'll actually take advantage of the movie-playing abilities on our gaming systems. JBO features our top picks for XBL, PSN, Netflix's Watch Instantly and Blu-ray each week.

Recommendation of the Week:

Food, Inc. (Xbox 360/Zune Video)
You cram food in your mouth every day, but do you ever really think about where it comes from? This is especially timely a day after the American holiday that's all about stuffing as much food as you possibly can down your gullet and surviving. Food, Inc. takes a hard look at the corporate food industry in America, and you'll be surprised how many different labels and brands are owned by so few companies. It'll make you think twice about buying food in the future, or even finishing what's already on your plate. Hopefully someone will make a documentary about Joel Salatin, a rancher in the film who you'll write off as a redneck at first glance, but who quickly becomes one of the sole voices of wisdom in the movie. This guy needs to take over the entire FDA.

Read on for the rest of the recommendations, and as usual, we'll see you at the popcorn sta -- well, actually, we won't see you at all. But you catch our drift. Plus, be sure to tell us what you'll be watching, or what you've seen recently that bowled you over.

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MMO Roundup: Massively's week in review

by Shawn Schuster { 2 hours ago }

When it comes to MMO news and special features, Joystiq sister site Massively.com has you covered. Whether you're looking for info on the hottest new MMO, or you're just curious about an old favorite, you'll find it at Massively. Check out our biggest features of the week:

	Massively's Black Friday MMO sales guide The holidays are officially here (if you're a retail chain, then they've been here for about a month) and so it's time to start looking for deals to give to either your MMO-playing loved ones or, well, yourself! Shopping can be a pretty big hassle, especially if you're not accustomed to hunting for the best deals. So, we've gone and outlined the season's new releases, as well as some places you can hope to find sales in the coming weeks.
	Anti-Aliased: Boobs and you This week's topic is one that's near and dear to my heart. Well, it's near to my heart, at least, and I mean that quite literally. It's also a perfect topic for today's holiday! I mean, who doesn't like to talk about large breasts on Thanksgiving? (Score one for the terrible synonym.)
	Space combat! Star Trek Online community Q&A answers It's a little late due to the impending Thanksgiving day gorging, but we've got your second wave of community answers for space combat in Star Trek Online! As this week lands us on a holiday, we'll be putting up the next post for your third wave of questions on Monday, November 30th. For now, we hope you enjoy the answers given by Al Rivera, senior game designer on Star Trek Online.

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Grenade out! Resident Evil plushies blast our hearts apart

by Xav de Matos { 3 hours ago }

If you've got room in your heart for one more thing to be grateful for, may we recommend these adorable Resident Evil inspired grenade plushies (via Sprite Stitch)? Yeah, these exist and it just warms the cockles of our heart. We can't help but dream about how great these crafty items would look hanging on our belt next Halloween (or during our inspired cosplay sessions). If only we knew how to sew!

Darkest of Days postmortem has some bright spots

by Justin McElroy { 4 hours ago }

It's very easy to roundly dismiss a game that most people don't think is very good -- heck, we do it all the time. But we think before you make with the lambasting, you should have to read a postmortem article, like this one on Gamasutra from 8monkey, the developer of Darkest of Days.

Where many terrible games just appear to be rush jobs, the folks working on Darkest of Days (which hovers between a 45 and 52 on Metacritic, depending on platform) seem to be a nice enough group just doing the best with what they had (which, of course, was not enough money, time nor manpower).

A compelling postmortem isn't going to make Darkest of Days a better game (it's a long ways off from that), but maybe it'll make us all slightly nicer people.

Aliens vs. Predator multiplayer trailer watches your back, stabs it

by Ben Gilbert { 5 hours ago }

Something's always struck us as kind of ... off about the title Aliens vs. Predator. For one, there are "colonial marines" up in there, mixing it up. More confusing, though, is the fact that both "Aliens" and "Predators" are, in fact, aliens. [And aren't all of them predators? - Ed.] At least Sega is keeping our minds diverted from these recondite questions with the latest multiplayer footage (found after the break).

Aside from trotting out a handful of European game writers who all tell the same "This game is SO awesome" story, we're treated to a smattering of gameplay snippets from all three sides of the equation. We're only left wondering one thing after watching them – if you can play as a predator against eight colonial marines, who would ever choose the marines side?

Gallery: Aliens vs Predator

[Thanks, Ikarop]

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OFLC rating reveals Q-Games' Reflect Missile, Nintendo publishing

by Griffin McElroy { 6 hours ago }

Q-Games and Nintendo had a recent partnership in the release of Digidrive, but it doesn't seem like they're letting their relationship cool off any time soon. According to a new OFLC rating, Q-Games is developing -- and Nintendo is publishing -- a game called Reflect Missile. No platform was announced, but the safe money's on either a DSiWare or WiiWare release.

Now, let's get to determining exactly what a "Reflect Missile" is. Is is just, like, a really shiny missile, in which one might see themselves? Or is "Reflect Missile" a command in weird, broken English? For instance, "Captain Douglass, reflect [that] missile?" Or is the command being issued directly to the missile itself -- "Reflect, Missile!" The possibilities are as endless as they are nonsensical.

[Via GamerBytes]

Fun with math: Some Rock Band UK packs inconsistently priced on PSN

by Alexander Sliwinski { 7 hours ago }

It appears that, in some cases, the PSN Rock Band track packs in the UK are receiving a price hike in comparison to the individually purchased songs. An EU PlayStation forum user notes the discrepancy, which applies no discount to pack purchases, making it cheaper to purchase all of a pack's tracks individually. The issue had previously been contained to packs with over three songs, but next week's update appears to break that trend. However, reviewing previous weeks with track packs of three, it appears that the EU and UK pricing were accidentally reversed for next week, but we won't be able to confirm that until the update goes live.

We've confirmed the pricing anomaly for the UK PSN Store and we're following up with Harmonix to figure out what's going on. Check out examples of the pricing inconsistencies after the break.

[Thanks Si]

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Section 8 gets new maps on PC only

by Justin McElroy { 8 hours ago }

TimeGate has announced an expansion of its multiplayer-focused shooter, Section 8, with the "Seek and Destroy Map Pack," which adds three new maps and 10 new achievements for 560

($7). Though the game is available on Xbox 360 as well, the company is only making mention of PC availability for the content at the moment.

The industry has become so skewed towards a console focus as of late, it's kind of nice to see PC players getting some exclusive love. Now, let's all be real quiet and see if we can detect the exact moment their heads explode when they hear they have to pay for it.

[Via BigDownload]

Okamiden trailer is in desperate need of a cheek pinching

by Griffin McElroy { 8 hours ago }

Is it a good idea to pinch the cheeks of a rabid, killer God-wolf? Most definitely not -- however, after watching the latest trailer for Chibiterasu's handheld babysitting adventure, Okamiden, we don't think we'd be able to help ourselves if ever placed in the lupine protagonist's presence. Forget that. We'd cheek-pinch every single thing in this adorable video: the little kid who accompanies Chibi, the enemies the duo swiftly cut in half, even the barren trees they magically bring back to life.

And trees don't even have cheeks. How crazy is that?

Why 'Lords of Shadow' wasn't 'Castlevania: Lords of Shadow' at first

by Ben Gilbert { 9 hours ago }

Being Dave Cox, head of European development for Konami, can't be an easy job. For one, he's not Hideo Kojima, so he's already got that going against him. Worse yet, he's had to tow the company line and let his upcoming Castlevania: Lords of Shadow languish out of the spotlight while Castlevania Judgment got all the attention. It seems Konami didn't even have the confidence to allow Lords of Shadow the Castlevania license -- nor did fans. "It was quite a radical departure from what had gone before with Castlevania, and there was a little bit of nervousness that perhaps it wouldn't be accepted as a Castlevania game," Cox told GameReactor.

Though he claims the project was approved originally as a Castlevania game and was built from the get-go with the vampire-hunting series in mind, the folks in charge at Konami had cold feet going into the big reveal at Games Convention 2008. "Senior management took the decision that we were going to announce it as Lords of Shadow, see what the reaction is, and if it's a good one then this would become a fully-fledged Castlevania." It was definitely a good one.

Gallery: Castlevania: Lords of Shadows

[Via VG247]

Desert Bus for Hope raises more than $132,000 for Child's Play

by Justin McElroy { 9 hours ago }

After five days and 16 hours of playing the world's most boring game, the Desert Bus for Hope crew has reached its final stop for the year, bringing in a staggering $132,392.94 to benefit the Child's Play charity. With the third iteration of its annual marathon play session of "Desert Bus" -- a mini-game from the unreleased Penn and Teller's Smoke and Mirrors -- comedy troupe LoadingReadyRun raised nearly $110,000 more than its first year. If you want to see just how brutal the experience was, you can try the game for yourself right here.

It's just the latest piece in a long line of evidence proving that a bunch of good-hearted gamers and Canadians with a brutal, masochistic streak can accomplish just about anything. Congrats, everybody.

Steam Deals Day Two: KOTOR, Dead Space, L4D2 discounted

by Griffin McElroy { 10 hours ago }

The second day of Steam's five-day-long "Early Holiday Sale" has arrived, bringing with it another batch of wallet-friendly prices on a few excellent titles. The highlight from today's offers is, of course, Left 4 Dead 2, which you can now purchase for just $37.49.

A few older titles have also undergone a bit of cost reduction surgery, including Dead Space, which is $14.99 for today only, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, which is just $2.49. None of these float your boat? Swing back by tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. PST for the next round of cheapenings.

Check out Joystiq's Black Friday Game Deals Hub or jump to a retailer guide below:

For more Black Friday coverage, check out Black Friday Deals, Cyber Monday Sales,
And other Black Friday 2009 stories today from Walletpop.com

The9 posts 94 percent drop in Q3 revenues after losing WoW

by Griffin McElroy { 10 hours ago }

Mother of pearl! We thought it was safe to assume that Shanghai-based MMO operator The9 would lose a chunk of its revenue after handing the license for World of Warcraft over to competing company NetEase. By "a chunk" we, of course, meant "a fraction." Not "almost all revenue," which according to the company's Q3 2009 financial report, is how much it lost year-over-year after passing off the rights to run WoW.

To put it numerically, The9's revenues dropped 94 percent from the same quarter last year. A hit that big must have left a sizable dent in the ol' pocketbook -- however, we're guessing the company's board members take some small, spiteful satisfaction from the tribulations the game has brought to its new operators.

Lucidity update adds checkpoints to address difficulty concerns

by Justin McElroy { 10 hours ago }

Writing in a recent Workshop blog post, LucasArts responded to complaints that its XBLA and PC puzzle-platformer, Lucidity, can be "particularly punishing." A new update, which adds checkpoints in an effort , has been launched on PC and is set to via an update set to arrive on Xbox Live within the coming weeks. "We feel that there is so much great content in Lucidity that we want to open it up and make it more accessible for people to experience."

Listen, LucasArts, we respect what you're doing here, we do. But please, for all our sakes, be careful. Listening to the internet is a slippery slope, one that ends in everyone hurling dung and racial epithets at each other. And if you don't agree with that, you're a Nazi.