Left 4 Dead 2 pre-orders four times greater than first game
Valve has revealed that there are gonna be some very large numbers upon the release of Left 4 Dead 2.
Speaking to CVG in an interview, Valve’s Chet Faliszek said that pre-orders for Left 4 Dead 2 are FOUR TIMES as great as pre-orders were for the first Left 4 Dead game. That’s gotta be some pretty high numbers . . .
To quote:
“As we get closer to launch we see the reaction to the demo, pre-orders are four times what Left 4 Dead 1 was, people’s excitement, the boycott itself and how it’s changed… I think people are just excited now,” he said.
He also made this comment while discussing the infamous Left 4 Dead 2 boycott:
“One of the weird things at E3 was we knew we weren’t showing the complete package, we knew there was a whole bunch of stuff we were holding back but we wanted to show something,” he said.
Via CVG
No comments »LBP2 sequel to LittleBigPlanet not in the works
LittleBigPlanet 2 is not in the works according to a new interview with Danny Leaver, who was the level designer on the original LittleBigPlanet, and producer Martin Lynagh.
Thankfully developer Media Molecule has a great reason for not starting work on the sequel . . . . because they want to continue supporting the first one (not to mention the PSP entry) with great downloadable content and continued updates.
To quote:
“I think what you’ve seen so far from LittleBigPlanet, that’s the way it’s going to continue.” said producer Martin Lynagh, referring to DLC and updates for the existing game.
Level designer Danny Leaver said that a sequel would fragment the LBP community. “We’d never want to do that. That’d be the most counterproductive thing you could do I think.” he said.
This is good news for fans of LBP, and I would have to agree. Kudos to them for not jumping into development on a sequel right away. Though now I have to wonder if Little Big Planet 2 will come at the launch of the PlayStation 4 . . .
Rage may not support dedicated servers, John Carmack muses
And the dedicated servers drama continues.
This time it’s not coming from Infinity Ward however and their Modern Warfare 2 bombshell (Over 100,000 angry fans signed a petition protesting Modern Wafare 2’s lack of dedicated server support) but from one of the prime leaders in the PC field . . . John Carmack, co-creator of Doom and tech lead/co-found at id Software.
Speaking to Variety, he had this to say regarding dedicated server support in their upcoming first-person shooter Rage. To quote Variety:
John Carmack, co-founder and technical wizard of the developer, says the company doesn’t plan to support dedicated servers for the multiplayer component of “Rage,” id’s upcoming new action game.
“It’s not cast in stone yet, but at this point no, we don’t think we will have dedicated servers,” he says.
It looks like the precedent that people feared has already been set with Modern Warfare 2. Now it’s simply up to the game companies themselves and which side of the issue they fall on.
Via Variety, Image via thanks to Maximum PC
3D Dot Game Heroes coming to PS3 in America
3d Dot Game Heroes is coming to America “definitely” announced Sony via their Twitter account. Writing specifically: “No need to import - 3D Dot Game Heroes for PS3 is DEFINITELY coming to NA! Spread the word, more to come.”
So what is this strangely-named game?
It’s a classic Zelda-styled Action RPG that is made-up entirely of 8-bit sprites rendered in high-resolution 3D using the power of the PlayStation 3! It uses voxel volume elements to depict the game world in three dimensions, just like the 1999 PC classic Outcast. The result is a stunning, incredibly artistic, blocky game that looks both intriguing and strange at first glance.
Take a gander at the screens below to see this interesting PS3-exclusive in action. It releases in Japan this month.
The game also features some amazing loading screens which are homages to classic Japanese videogame box artwork using the game’s unique graphics! Below you can see pictures of the loading screens which resemble everything from Final Fantasy to Mega Man to Chrono Trigger!
And last but not least, here is a trailer showing the game in MOTION!
Mass Effect 2 Special Collectors Edition revealed
Bioware has announced Mass Effect 2: Special Collector’s Edition, which will release alongside the normal edition of the game on January 26, 2010 (January 29 in Europe) for Xbox 360 and PC. It will cost $70 on Xbox 360 and $60 on PC.
So what comes with this collector’s edition? Nothing too out of the ordinary but it should still keep fans happy.
Here is what comes in the Special Edition package:
* Premium Tin Case.
* 28-Page hardcover “Art of Mass Effect 2″ book.
* Issue #1 of the Mass Effect Redemption comic book.
* Bonus DVD with behind-the-scenes “The Making of Mass Effect 2″ videos.
* Exclusive in-game weapons and armor.
“We’re really excited to roll out this Collectors’ Edition featuring so many unique items, including special Collectors’ Edition armor and weapons and content that will surprise Mass Effect fans,” said Dr. Ray Muzyka, co-founder, BioWare and Group General Manager of the RPG/MMO Group of EA. “The limited edition comic book and bonus DVD will really enhance and expand the overall Mass Effect 2 experience.”
The Mass Effect trilogy is an emotionally charged science fiction adventure set in a vast universe filled with dangerous alien life and mysterious, uncharted planets. In Mass Effect 2, players will once again step into the role of the heroic Commander Shepard, commanding their crew of some of the most dangerous operatives from across the galaxy on a mission so challenging that it’s potentially suicidal. Featuring intense shooter action, a rich futuristic storyline, space exploration and emotionally engaging character interaction, the game delivers an unparalleled cinematic experience.
Here is the latest developer diary for Mass Effect 2, which takes a look at the enemies in the game.
Spore Islands strategy game launches on Facebook
Spore Islands for Facebook is an all-new version of the popular PC game from The Sims creator Will Wright. Unlike the PC version of the game though, this new game is a strategy game.
In Spore Islands, players create a creature of their own design from appearance to stats, then place it on an island to see how it fares against other wild creatures. These survival of the fittest scenarios are called Observations, and they test the evolutionary advantages and disadvantages of the creature you created.
If the creature outlives the others during the 150 turn Observation (during which, you cannot control your creature), then its well-evolved to that island. If your creature dies, Spore Islands will offer up suggestions on how to use each day’s 12 DNA points to alter its attributes. These changes also change the look of your creature. For instance, increasing the creature’s “threat-detect” gives it multiple eyes as “food-detect” makes a single eye.
The strategy comes in balancing the 12 DNA points between the stats while considering the island you are on and the creatures you will face. Naturally you can also test your creature against friends on their island or invite them to come to yours and so on, as you’d expect from a social network game. It also allows users to purchase extra DNA points (with actual cash) for further customizing their creatures.
The game is available now for free to play for any FaceBook users that add the App.
Via TechCrunch
POP movie trailer looks promising
A new official Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time movie trailer has been released and boy is it stunning!
Actually, the film looks very reminiscent of the kind of high-quality, epic film as Pirates of the Caribeean. Thanks no doubt to the endless stream of money available to producer Jerry Bruckheimer due to the success of those films.
I also love how the Prince of Persia film seems to take some cues from Assassin’s Creed as well. One of those early scenes almost looks like it was ripped straight out of the Assassin’s Creed games.
The movie looks like it is staying as true as you can expect to the game. And that is a very surprising, and very nice, surprise.
The move is set for release on May 28, 2010.
Star Trek Online release date is February 2, 2010
Star Trek Online will be released for the PC on February 2 in America announced developer Cryptic and publisher Atari. It will be released in Europe on February 5th, 2010.
This confirmation follows Amazon.com and GameStop listing the February 2nd release date on their pre-order pages earlier in the week as well as producer Craig Zinkievich telling Eurogamer that the game would be released in early 2010.
Set in the year 2409, Star Trek Online allows players to immerse themselves in the future of the Star Trek universe, exploring strange new worlds, seeking out new life and new civilizations in an ever expanding vast universe. Command a starship as a Federation or a Klingon Captain, outfit it with custom systems and recruit, train and mold a crew into an elite force for exploration and combat. Missions take players into thrilling space battle, planetside for face-to-face combat and even inside starships.
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Multiplayer Beta exclusive to PS3
The multiplayer beta for Battlefield: Bad Company 2 will be exclusive to the PlayStation 3 announced publisher Electronic Arts.
The beta will start on November 19 and you can sign up for the Battlefield: Bad Company 2 PS3 beta at the official Battlefield website.
“This is an outstanding opportunity for PlayStation gamers to get early access to one of the most action-packed and polished shooters in the marketplace,” said Sony CEA Senior Vice President of Publisher Relations Rob Dyer.
Featured in the beta will be a 24-player map called Arica Harbor that will showcase the revised Rush mode. This map takes place in Chile which is a completely different environment than the Russian.
Although this beta is exclusive to the PS3, there will still be a beta for the PC in December. There’ll also be a multiplayer demo for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC early next year.
Here is the announcement trailer.
Via 1UP
Dishwasher Dead Samurai 2 images leaked?
Screenshots of Dishwasher 2 (That is, The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai 2) have leaked onto the Internet from what seems to be a playable version of the game.
This would be the sequel to the hit original Dishwasher: Dead Samurai action platform game that was created by James Silva and released for the Xbox 360 Arcade.
You can see the rest of the Dishwasher: Dead Samurai 2 screenshots at 1UP. Although they are covered by some dude’s name.
Either way it doesn’t confirm anything, but I would expect that Dishwasher: Dead Samurai 2 will be released sooner rather than later given how far along the game looks in the screens.
