Tristan has become a indie developer and he doesn't even realize it. He spends hours sitting in front of the television adding to his level, figuring out ways to torture gamers, defending his creation. Last week he called me to the television for a play through. At one point I decided to break from the obvious path and drop down to the floor of his level, far from the beaten path. Once there I realized I couldn't get back up. I'm stuck, I said. Oh, I'm going to add scorpions there dad.

Watching his interest in game development grow, I suggested that he write up a letter asking for advice in game design, which I would then email off to a few developers I know.

Hit the jump to read what David Jaffe, Matrk Pacini and Cliff Blezinski had to tell him

Tristan's Letter

Hi my name is Tristan. I am 7. I am making a level for LittleBigPlanet.

I have already started my level and it has flames. It has a giraffe with a tree. It has crabs. It's really fun. When I'm finished I want it to have flames everywhere and some ghosts in it. I want it to be really scary. I was thinking of making the whole level underground. I also want people to have to jump a whole bunch. I think I will call it The Tristan Level.

Do you have advice for me about building it?

Thanks,
Tristan

Cliff "Dude Huge" Bleszinski - Epic Games Design Director: Gears of War

Sure.

When in doubt, add zombies and exploding barrels. Your review score is guaranteed to go up by at least 3 points across the board.

David Jaffe - founder EatSleepPlay: God of War

Tristan, hey!

Well, it sounds like you are off to a great start with your level. Very eager to give it a play. I love to jump!

As for advice, I would say the following:

a- make sure you give the player lots of rewards for trying cool things...little treasures and rewards for exploring your map, battling all the ghosts, helping the giraffe reach some fruit on the tree, whatever. Just make sure the player feels like you have gone in before he/she got there and set up lots of cool surprises for him. The player is looking to YOU to make sure they have a good time. Don't let them down.

b- at the same time, if you are not having fun, then change your level. You should do creative work mainly for you. So make sure you enjoy your level first and foremost, otherwise, what is the point?

c- Tell your dad to make commenting on his website easier. It really is a right pain in the fucking ass. I hope he will not show you those bad words.

d- put in more jumping. Man, I love to jump!

Good luck on The Tristan Level, man! That is so cool that your are enjoying the game! Looking forward to your creation!

David

Mark Pacini., Game Director Armature Studio - Metroid Prime

Hey Tristan!

I heard you are building a level for LBP and so far it sounds really cool! (who wouldn’t like fire and giraffes) If you are looking for an easy way to make your level as fun as possible, I wrote up a little level design tidbit that was often used when we were building the environments for the Metroid Prime series. I hope you find it useful!

Try to not show the answer before the player knows the question – If you have a simple puzzle in your level, do not show the player the solution before they know what they are trying to solve. Here is a simple example: You have fire in your level, right? Well, imagine you had a pit of fire that the player could not cross. (It is too long to jump safely across) The only way to cross it is to shut it off by pressing a button. Well, where do you put that button? If you put the button right in front of the fire pit, (See ‘A’ below) the player will probably push the button and shut off the flames before knowing that’s what he needed to do. One place you may want to put the button is above the fire pit, on a platform that the player can reach. (See ‘B’ below) That way, the player is more likely to run into the pit and realize he cannot get across. When he finds the button above the pit, he will probably feel more rewarded because he figured it out on his own. This is the basic principle behind building good, rewarding puzzles.

The fact that this song isn't in Guitar Hero or Rock Band yet is eating away at me, so much so that I actually contacted Stan himself to see if there was anything I could do to help. When he actually answered me I just about died. Turns out not only would he love to have the song in either game, he even contacted Activision himself. His reply to my email follows!

Hey Michael,

Yes, it would be wonderful to get "The Touch" in either one of those games. I've written to Activision, but wasn't able to get anywhere on it. I'd really appreciate any help.

Thanks,

Stan

Note the "Hey Michael," at the beginning. I'm just going to stare at it a little more before continuing.

...
...
...

Okay. So, Stan needs our help. Specifically my help, but I figured I would let you guys in on it. We need to get this song into a game where we can play it with our friends, possibly while wearing giant robot costumes. To that end, we need to bug the living hell out of Activision and Harmonix. It is vitally important that we do so.

I will go as far as to say that whichever game gets "The Touch" first, will be the only band game I purchase for personal use from here on out. I mean, ideally we would want it in both games, but an element of urgency always helps.

For those of you who have never seen or heard "The Touch", here is the music video from way back in the day, courtesy of Seibertron.com, the most amazing Transformers community site on the planet.

See? It's rhythm band game GOLD. Okay Harmonix, Activision. Ready, set, go!

Perhaps they don't even realize it, but these few, these champions of a dying bit of pop culture, come to Las Vegas to scream into the approaching long night of arcade gaming.

Each year EVO gathers the best among fighting gamers to celebrate arcade culture, to stave off, at least for one week, the creeping death that has turned arcades into family fun centers, filled 7-Elevens with console games and not cabinets, swept public gaming from the face of America.

"Arcades have gone away but the culture is not gone," said Seth Killian, one of the group's founders. " It was such a great experience that we’re not willing to say it’s gone."

It's no surprise that a shared passion for fighting games is what sparked the EVO Championship Series.

In the early 90s games like Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter replaced pool as a viable way to shark for money. Most college arcades had its own Street Fighter muscle, Mortal Kombat expert.

In 1995 a group of top arcade fighters, sick of arguing over a newsnet who the player was, decided to gather at an arcade on Broadway in New York City to finally decide it.

"We all came from the street fighter arcades," said Seth Killian, director of EVO and community manager at Capcom. "Everyone coming to that thing was like the kingpin of their local arcades."

There were 40 people at that first throw down. It was played on Super Street Fighter II Turbo.

But turns out that didn't settle things permanently. The one-off gathering of cabinet gamers turned into an annual pilgrimage. They met in Boston, they met in California and finally the settled on Las Vegas as venue best suited for the match-up and inevitable side bets.

As the meet-ups grew each year it coalesced into something more formalized. Now the the group is run mostly by the community that gathers each year to play. Though a few like Joey Cuellar (administrator of the fighting mecca at shoryuken.com and former manager of famous Southern Hills Golfland arcade), Vik Steyaert (founder of Tekken-zaibatsu.com and elite French chef), Tom and Tony Cannon (aka “the Cannon twins,” shoryuken.com cofounders, and Tony created the amazing GGPO.net), and Killian help keep things in order.

"It was all completely organic," Killian said. "The structure was born out of "Shit we have way too many people showing up to these things."

So they started introducing more traditional tournament rules, finally settling on double elimination, to help determine who the best Street Fighter was. The annual gathering also grew in reputation, soon attracting gamers from around the world looking to cut their teeth on a tournament known for it's skilled players.

With the growth, the group of gamers behind EVO have had to make some tough decisions. Because they run tournaments that require more cabinets than exist on the whole continent the group decided to start using consoles for game play four years ago.

"It was an extremely hard decision," Killian said.

The tournament, which used to hold four qualifiers a year in the U.S., last year held qualifiers in Chicago, Los Angeles, Sao Palo, Brazil and London. Its from these tournaments that famous moments, like the Daigo full-parry video, are born.

And the meet up each year in Las Vegas isn't just about competitive fighting games, it's also a chance for gamers to hang out, have fun and celebrate quarter on the cabinet arcade console.

"We’ve recreated this experience," Killian said. "The arcade experience is so awesome. People become friends. That’s part of why we started throwing this tournament.

"Its about fighting games and competitions, but arcades are the crucible that sparked the awesomeness. I don’t know what awesome is made up of, I don't know the physics behind awesome, but I know it when I see it."

Fighting games, in particular, are about direct confrontation, Killian points out, and playing in person magnifies that feeling, gives it more personality.

"If Street Fighter only came out on consoles and never were in arcades I don’t think it would have been as popular," Killian said. "EVO isn't about bringing back arcades, but preserving this fire, this passion, this connection.

"The arcade machine is such a ziggurat, you have to engage with it. It’s not disposable, it’s a statement.

Get A Good, Close Look At The DSi
AC/DC Rock Band is Wal-Mart Exclusive Afterall
Thompson Won't Fight Disbarment in Florida
Real Naked Lady Invades Rise of the Argonauts
Sony Booth Will Have 14 Unannounced Titles Playable At TGS
Does Survival Horror Really Still Exist?

Yggdra Union: We'll Never Fight Alone Review: A Battle Hard Won
A Talk with LucasArts: On Plagues, Reviews and Internal Development
Here's Your Kotaku (Video) Podcast (Maybe)
What Koei Is Bringing To TGS
Drum Training: And the Beat Goes On
de Blob Review: Painting A Very Pretty Picture
DSi Not Bound For U.S. Until Well Into Next Year
The Man Behind Marvel Movie Magic Hopes To Do the Same For Gaming
The Sackboys of AMUSEMENT
Let's Compare The DS Lite and the DSi
Nintendo Re-Releasing GameCube Games On Wii, Pikmin's First
Nintendo's New Wii Games: Punch-Out, Another Code, Sin & Punishment 2, Dynasty Warriors
Save Wii Games Direct To SD Card (Starting Spring 2009)
Nintendo Announce New DS: The Nintendo DSi
Binned Fable II CE Contents Back As Free Downloads
Best Buy Ad Featuring Gears 2 RC Tank
Pure Review: Pure Fun
Frankenreview: Silent Hill: Homecoming
New Wii, New DS, New Accessories? What do you think Nintendo Will Announce Tonight
Hands On With the iPhone's First Fantasy Action Game
Animated Resident Evil Movie First Screening At TGS
Silent Hill: Homecoming Review: Hello, Zombie Nurse
EA Axes Tiberium For Not Meeting Standards
Guess What Konami's Bringing To TGS...
New Campaign, Characters Coming to The Force Unleashed
LEGO Universe Already in Some Gamers' Hands
LEGO Batman The Video Game Review: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Nintendo: New DS Story Didn't Come From UsHey Microsoft, Bulgaria Is Not Germany, Japan or Korea!!

Loved
Characters: Despite some rather generic voice-acting, Yggdra's character designs by Satoko Kiyuduki are stylish and compelling. The redone sprites for the PSP version significantly heighten the charm.

The Soundtrack: Yddgra's music, co-composed by Shigeki Hayashi and Minako Adachi, truly shines in the PSP port, imparting a sense of grandeur and adventure that almost feels out of place in a portable title. Perhaps the highlight of the entire game.

Battle Mechanics: At first Yggdra's battle system may seem simple to a seasoned tactical RPG veteran, but as the game progresses I found the system really lends itself to deep strategic thinking. While only one character can initiate a battle per turn, so many factors weigh in on how that battle plays out, from the card you use to the weapons the character wields, managing aggression levels to positioning your units to best take advantage of the Union system, the gameplay is deep, complex, and ultimately satisfying.

The Shoulder Button: The added ability to skip drawn-out, often boring dialog through applied use of the right shoulder button is by-far the greatest addition to the game. The right shoulder of my PSP has never felt so loved.

Hated
The Story: While they've deepened the story a bit from the original GBA version of the game, it still feels a bit on the light side to me, more of an excuse to fight than anything really moving. Perhaps I simply spent too much time fighting to care, but it certainly didn't leave a lasting impression on me.

The Menu System: Yggdra's menu system is a bit of a convoluted beastie, where buttons that you'd think should do something don't, and vice-versa. Without a manual handy there's a good chance you could get more than a little frustrated trying to navigate.

I think it is important to note that Yggdra Union: We'll Never Fight Alone is not a game that a beginner to tactical role-play would want to pick up in order to get their first taste of the genre. While it certainly looks like an adorable anime-style RPG on the cover, once you're deep into the game it is easy to be completely overwhelmed by the complex strategic decisions you'll have to make. You'll have to manage characters, master positioning, and level up a fair amount of cards if you want to excel at the title, and quite frankly it takes an amount of thinking that would completely put off the more casual player.

Yggdra Union: We'll Never Fight Alone is a deep, involving tactical strategy RPG for the PSP that may prove a challenge for even the most seasoned armchair anime general, and if not, there's always Hard Mode.

Yggdra Union: We'll Never Fight Alone, developed by Sting and published by Atlus was released on released on Sept. 16 for the PSP. Retails for $39.99. Completed standard mode, delved a bit into hard mode.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

But what interested me more were the cut force powers.

"We implemented more force powers than we shipped with," Blackman told me. "We removed some because of consumer feed back. There were too many in the game and (the force) started getting watered down.

"We do have other ones we could go back to look at."

While Blackman declined to list out the cut force powers, I did manage to get him to talk about one of the cut powers he particularly liked.

"We had this plague power where you could infect enemies and they would get sick and lose health over time," he said. The plague power, which showed up in a different form in the final game as a crystal power-up for the light saber, also spread. When an infected enemy got near their cohorts they would catch the killing disease too.

The problem was it moved a little too slowly for the pacing of the game, Blackman said.

"The Force Unleashed is such a visceral, fast-paced time, that it wasn’t that effective."

Speaking of not that effective, I also asking Blackman about the sometimes problematic targeting system in the game. (No, I didn't mention my son crying. LucasArts already emailed me to apologize.)

Turns out he was surprised that so many reviews mentioned the sometimes touchy targeting.

"Targeting wasn’t an issue that came up when we did focus testing," he said. "The other thing I was really surprised about, the story was strong, and reviews have said that, but we haven’t seen a lift in scores."

"Maybe that means stories aren't important to reviewers."

Personally, I think that's more an issue of the current state of review systems, rather than a statement about the the importance reviewers put on story in a game. Or at least I hope that's what the issue is.

Blackman pointed out that the average rating on Amazon is higher than the Meta Critic score, which he found gratifying.

"We worked really, really hard on all aspects of the game," he said. "On bridging the gap between those trilogies. At the end of the day I hope we provided a good, satisfying experience."

Now that the game has shipped, Blackman and some of the team are concentrating on the downloadable content.

"Everybody working on the DLC is someone from the core team," he said. "Everybody worked on The Force Unleashed. It’s all being produced internally.

Blackman brought this up, he says, in part because of the rumors still floating around that LucasArts is no longer doing internal development.

"We absolutely are," he said. "This is the continuation of The Force Unleashed team while we plan our next game."

"We are doing internal development and have projects in the works. I'm hoping more (of my team) will roll onto my next product, which will more than likely be a Star Wars game."

Consider what you see here a test run, a beta of sorts. We're thinking of adding more people and perhaps topics to a single run. Let me know what you think. As always, your suggestions are invaluable. But for the record, I'm not THAT flexible.

DYNASTY WARRIORS: Multi-Raid (PSP) (Action)
WARRIORS OROCHI 2 (PSP) (Tactical Action)
Monster Racers (NDS) (RPG)
Saihai no Yukue (NDS) (Adventure)
DYNASTY WARRIORS 6 (PS2) (Tactical Action)
G1 Jockey Wii 2008 (Wii) (Horse Racing)
Neo Angelique Special (PSP) (Adventure)
Nobunaga's Ambition Online (PC/PS2) (MMORPG)
Uncharted Water Online (PC) (MMORPG)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms Online (PC) (MMORPG)
DYNASTY WARRIORS Online (PC) (MMO Action)

Not only have the months proceeded in a timely fashion, but I have not posted the results of my Drum Trainer experiment. So here's the deal (Yes, an excuse is coming). A week after kicking off my grand experiment, my television went out. Then I had to fly to New York. Now I have to fly to Tokyo. I'm not pulling the plug on the experiment, nor am I changing the rules, really, but I am going to postpone posting the results. I'll still show you the progress of 30 days of training, but it's going to come later in October.

For now relish in the official training guide that John Drake over at Harmonix, a drummer himself, was kind enough to put together for me.

Above all else Drake stresses that you practice makes perfect, lots of practice. But he also said that practicing in this particular order could, perhaps, speed things up for fans of drumming and Rock Band 2.

LEARN HOW TO DRUM IN ROCK BAND 2
To begin:
Start with the “how to play your RB drums” tutorial to get the correct stick/foot position if you’re unfamiliar.

Play each beat to 100%. Play each fill to 100%. Head into freestyle mode with the metronome on and see if you can put the techniques to use!

Then try each song in no fail mode and see how you do. If you struggle, try the beats again. If you still fail out, try the troublesome parts in practice mode.

SIMPLE/WARMUPS
- Mixed Hands
This is a great hands only way to warmup! Alternate between your left and right playing the 8th notes and start loosening up your hands
- 8th note hats
Simplest of beats, hands only
- Kick and Snare
The other half of simple beats, only 2 things
- Hard Rock Hats
Straight forward beat, with quarter note hats
- Baby’s First Rock Beat
Straight forward beat, with 8th note hats
- Pound through the following simple fills:
Quarter Note Snares
Quarter Note Kicks
Quarters down the toms
Flams on Quarters
Quarters with a kick
8th Notes
8ths down the toms
8ths with a kick

Wrap it up with a song: Eye of the Tiger
Play a second song? : Psycho Killer
Play a Third song: Hungry Like the Wolf!

Surfin/Punk (California Times!)
- Surfin on 2 hands
- Surf’s Up
- Poodle Skirt
- We Will We Will Rock You
Sing along if you’re having trouble rocking this one!
- You Will You Will Rock Us
- Fast Punk 1
- Fast Punk 2
- Pound through the following fills:
Chicka Bum Chicka Boom
The Balladier
3 Big Ones
3 Big Ones with a Kick

Wrap it up with a song: My Own Worst Enemy
Play a second song?: Keep Em Separated

Disco Beats!
- Disco 1 (your right hand is going to hit on all the quarter notes…so it matches right up with the kicks! Just alternate your hands…try hands first for all these disco beats!)
- Disco 2
- Disco 3
- Disco 4
- Pound through the following fills:
16th Notes
16th Notes 1 tom
16th Notes 2 Toms
16ths around the set

Wrap it up with a song? : Orange Crush
Play a second song: Everlong (way challenging!)

Tom/Harder Hands Work
- 8th Note Hats
- Tricky Snares 1
- Tricky Snares 2
- Tricky Snares 3
- Kick/Snare Var 3
- Tricky Snares 4
- Smells Like That Beat
- Big Band Toms
- Pound through the following fills
- Little Rock Fills
- Big Rock Fill
- Big Rockin Crash
- Stairway to Flams
- Hands Foot Simple
- Hands Foot Simple 2

Wrap it up with a song: Move Along
Play a Second Song? : We Got the Beat
Try a Third Song: Go your Own Way

Triplet/Swing Week
- 2 Hand Swing (6)
- Swing the Hats (62)
- Swing the kick (63)
- Swing and Stomp (67)
- Triple the Hats 1
- Triple the Hats 2
- Triplet Doom (76)
- Pound through the following fills
Intro to 8th Triplets
All 8t
8t with Toms
8t Around the Set
8t, 1 hand 1 foot
Tricky Triples
Triples around the set
Speed Bonham

Wrap it up with a song: Spirit in the sky

Tricky Kicks Week
- Baby’s First Rock Beat
- Tricky Kicks 1
- Tricky Kicks 2
- Robot Rock
- Prog Rock
- Tricky Kicks 4
- Pound through the following fills
Double Kicks
Quads
Thundering Kicks
Mix it up 1
Mix it up 2
Craziness
Craziness 2

Wrap it up with a song: Alive (Pearl Jam
Try a Second Song? : Lump (Presidents of the United States of America)

Some Tips:
- In these beats, and most of the beats moving forward, the right hand is almost always constant. This means that you can practice the foot/left hand patterns, using the hi-hat as a guide (since it’s evenly spaced). Then add the hats back in. (or get the hand patterns down and then add the kick.) When in doubt, drop out one limb and learn it part by part!
- Play what we call “open closed open”. Start the beats slow, work up to higher speeds and then slow it back down to show that you’ve mastered it!

Loved
de Storyline: Like any great animated cartoon, in its story of an evil regime taking over a city and the people fighting back manages to convey a strong message while still being suitable for children of all ages via brilliant and humorous CGI cutscenes sprinkled throughout the game.

de Gameplay: de Blob takes a very simple gameplay concept - changing the color of buildings - adds platforming elements, and manages to create one of the most entertaining third-party titles to grace the Wii console. The effects of your colorization are immensely rewarding, compelling you to complete as much of the game as possible.

de Music: Music plays a far greater role in de Blob than in most games, changing as you complete more and more of each level. Unlocking new music genres is a real treat that makes replaying levels with a different tune selected it's own unique experience.

de Presentation:
From the crisp, colorful graphics of the game itself to the comic-book panel intros, de Blob oozes a style all its own. Little touches like being able to doodle with your Wii remote during loading screens only add to the game's charm.

Hated
de Control Restrictions: De Blob controls well for the most part, but I couldn't help imagining it would have controlled much better with a standard controller in place of the Wii remote / nunchuk combo. Flicking the remote up to jump is not a very accurate or entertaining control mechanic.

de Camera: The camera often catches De Blob at strange angles, and while you can press a button to center the cam behind you or use the d-pad to slowly swing it around, stopping to do this in a timed challenge can shave precious seconds off of your alloted time.

de Blob is, simply put, the most fun I've had playing with my Wii in a good long time, which is an extremely rare statement where a third-party title is concerned. Most of the truly quality titles I've experienced on the console so far have come directly from Nintendo, with other offerings generally falling somewhere between better than average and not worthy for inclusion in a flash banner ad. Even after completing the game, a task that took me a good thirteen hours or so, I found myself going into the Free Paint mode just for the sake of splashing some color around while enjoying the music. I'm even looking forward to my nephew's next visit so we can play a bit more of the game's local multiplayer, and half the time he smells like onions.

de Blob takes a simple concept, adds a splash of color, and creates one of the most uniquely entertaining experiences I've had on the Nintendo Wii this year.

de Blob, developed by Blue Tongue and published by THQ was released on released on Sept. 22 for the Wii. Retails for $49.99. Completed all levels to at least 90%, mucked about with multiplayer modes, and spent a great deal of time in the free paint mode.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

Fils-Aime said they wouldn't be bringing the DSi to North America until late 2009 because they want to continue selling the DS throughout the holiday season.

He said that the music and camera functions are not meant to rival the iphones, but rather supplement game play. The onboard imaging software is meant to be a "fully interactive camera for your everyday life."

The music songs are stored on the SD card in AAC so you can transfer between the PC. The DSi will have built in software that lets you speed up or slow down songs, change the pitch, and filter tracks. So you can do things like isolating the lyrics. You can also record your voice as a track and mess around with it.

The DSi actually has two cameras built into it, one on the outside and one inside, centered on the hinge.

Amanda Glasser

Hollywood Producer Ari Arad, 33, hopes the production studio he runs with his father, Avi (former head of Marvel Studios), Arad Productions, becomes the premiere home for game developers and publishers to work with. Having helped turn Marvel comic book franchises like Spider-Man and X-Men into blockbuster film franchises, Arad is now focused on doing the same for games.

Among the games he’s bringing to the big screen as big-budget, studio tent pole films are Lost Planet, EverQuest, Mass Effect and Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. Arad attended E3 this year to announce that he is taking Capcom’s hit Lost Planet game to the big screen with David Hayter writing the script and Warner Bros. distributing the picture.

“Lost Planet felt really original visually with the huge, snowy planet and the giant insects and the VF suits,” said Arad, who’s an avid gamer. “I really liked the art design, which made it look like a futuristic Jules Verne creation. There was also a lot of interesting story elements like Wayne, who's almost like a Top Gun pilot. You have a lot of different factions and everyone has a point-of-view. Some of the stuff we're working on with Eisenberg is really close to how he was in the game. But we have to make a credible argument of why he thinks he's right. Having spent a lot of time inside the game, I felt like there were a lot of characters I could build a story around.”

Arad said he’s played every one of BioWare’s games over the years and he’s had a great respect for the Edmonton-based game maker. When Mass Effect first came on the gaming radar two years ago he became very interested in it.

“Once I played the game, beyond this massive world, the story’s almost structured like a spy movie like a Casino Royale or The Bourne Identity,” said Arad. “You have this guy, the first human spectre, and he has all of this pressure on him to deliver for his species. Then he uncovers this plot that he has to chase down because he’s a hero. I think that's a good central character for the movie.”

Arad has been working with BioWare very closely in developing the story for the movie and has met with founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk The game developer mapped out a world that was ripe for more than interactive entertainment.

“Sometimes when we sit down to adapt a game I'll write a bible for it by playing through the game and culling through a lot of stuff online so when I'm talking to a studio or filmmaker I can explain it to them,” said Arad. “With Mass Effect I didn't have to do that because they had a bible that was incredibly detailed. Even having played through the game, it really helped me understand the world better. The great thing is that you can never stump them, even if it's not in the game they know this world. They'll be working very closely with us and the filmmakers on this project.”

It’s taken several years for Arad to nail down the movie storyline for Sony Online Entertainment’s EverQuest. He read all of the novelizations of the game and played EverQuest II. The film, which Sony Pictures will distribute, will draw from both EverQuest and EverQuest II.

“It was tricky for a while,” said Arad. “I tried to figure out as a gamer what would anchor me to the movie that would make the game more fun to play. For non-gamers, it's just about telling a great story and capturing what's cool about EverQuest. What's cool is the scale of it and the way it looks, but when you get into the mythology and backstory, I thought Innoruuk was an interesting villain. I started to target a lot of the NPCs and build a story around them. It's a complicated world with a lot of different threats and depending on which threat you select as a villain it adjusts who the heroes are in the movie. People who are allied against one villain won't be allied against another villain. So the trick with this adaptation was taking the NPCs that we thought were most interesting and find ways of exploring their stories.”

Arad Productions is working with another division of Sony to bring Naughty Dog’s PlayStation 3 hit, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, to the silver screen. Arad believes the game’s protagonist, Nathan Drake, stands on his own and isn’t just an Indiana Jones facsimile.

“The best thing about Drake is he's not an archeologist,” said Arad. “He's not a benevolent guy, but he's certainly not a great guy. Indiana Jones was always a good guy and he relentlessly did the right thing. Drake is a guy who's being hauled over to virtue throughout the game. One of my favorite scenes is when he finally finds Drake's body and he discovers he was out to hide the statue instead of steal it. Suddenly, after all of these excuses he had of being a marauder like his forefather, now he discovers he was a hero. He's required to become a better guy and he does become a better guy. The secret of El Dorado ties into that because he doesn't become a greedy guy and doesn't become a monster.”

When it comes to the big screen adventure, Arad said the plan is to mix things up a little bit. In the game, the action moves very quickly to the island, but the film will open things up a bit and add some depth before the island adventure. In addition, the film will explore some of the modern day piracy that’s going on today in South America, which is something that Naughty Dog had researched in developing this game.

“I really love playing games and I enjoy meeting all of these developers,” said Arad. “I hope we become one of the premiere Hollywood game production studios because we really want to live up to what these guys have created. We know they've spent two to three years creating these games. We want these movies to not only expand the audience of these games but expand the worlds of these games. These are all babies we're taking care of.”

The magazine was kind enough to send over some images from their shoot to Kotaku to show off some of the things they're doing. It sort of looks like they're going for the art, culture aspect of gaming, which is a HUGE plus in my book.

More pics on the jump.

Amusement

• Size of Liquid Crystal Display
Nintendo DSi: 3.25 inches
Nintendo DS Lite: 3 inches

• Liquid Crystal Screen
Nintendo DSi: Possible to display 260,000 colors
Nintendo DS Lite: Possible to display 260,000 colors

• Portable Size
Nintendo DSi: Width 137mm, Length 74.9mm, Thickness 18.9mm (touch pen is approx. 92mm in length)
Nintendo DS Lite: Width 133mm, Length 73.9mm, Thickness 21.5mm (touch pen is approx. 87.5mm in length)

• Power Supply
Nintendo DSi: AC adaptor for Nintendo DSi
Nintendo DS Lite: AC adaptor for DS Lite

• Weight
Nintendo DSi: Approx. 214g (with touch pen)
Nintendo DS Lite: Approx. 218g (with touch pen, Game Boy Advance cover)

• Charging Time
Nintendo DSi: Approx. 2 hours and 30 minutes
Nintendo DS Lite: Approx. 3 hours

• Battery Life
Nintendo DSi: The lowest brightness (9-14 hrs), low brightness (8-12 hours), medium brightness (6-9 hours), high brightness (4-6 hours), highest brightness(3-4 hours)
Nintendo DS Lite: The lowest brightness (15-19 hrs), low brightness (10-15 hours), high brightness (7-11 hours), highest brightness(5-8 hours)

• Software
Nintendo DSi: Software for Nintendo DS, Software for Nintendo DSi.
Nintendo DS Lite: Software for Nintendo DS, Software for Game Boy Advance

• Input-Output
Nintendo DSi: DS card slot, SD memory card slot, AC adaptor connection, stereo headphone/mic jack
Nintendo DS Lite: DS card slot, Game Boy Advance cartridge slot, AC adaptor connection, stereo headphone/mic jack

[Liveblogging the Nintendo Press Conference Liveblog]

[Liveblogging the Nintendo Press Conference Liveblog]

[Liveblogging the Nintendo Press Conference Liveblog]

The DSi also features an SD memory card slot, making it possible to take pictures with the DSi and then view them on the Nintendo Wii. The DSi features a built-in browser, and it's possible to download games and keep them on the DSi.

For digital delivery purchases, there is a DSi Shop, from which users can download DSiWare from. Pricing categories for the DSiWare are: Free, 200 points, 500 points and "Premium" or 800 points. Customers will get 1000 free points to spend at the DSi Shop that are good until March 2010.

The DSi will be released in Japan on November 1. It will retail for ￥18,900 (USD$180), and will be available in two colours, white and black. It will be released in other markets sometime "next year".

Liveblogging the Nintendo Press Conference Liveblog

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The GOW2 Limited Edition order will, according to the pictures, include a free remote control Centaur Tank normally worth about $30. Pretty sweet.

Today another tipster sends us what they say is a scan for next week's Best Buy circular featuring the mini tank in all of its glory. Consider this a rumor until we see something official. If it is real, the fact that the images avoid anything that would put the toy's size into perspective leads me to think it's super small. Like mouse-sized even. Which would be totally OK with me.

According to the Ad above the tank will be available to those who pre-order the L.E version. Also the tank will not be available until November 7th when you pick up your copy of the game.

Can Disney break into an already saturated genre, taking on BAJA: Edge of Control and MotorStorm: Pacific Rift with an ATV trick title? Lets see.

Loved
Exhilarating Tricks: Tricks in Pure truly stand out. They are what make this game different from the others hitting this year. And it's not just about the occasional can-can or Superman, it's about building up your ability over the course of the race to do increasingly absurd, over-the-top tricks that have you floating free of the ATV for giant chunks of time. Better still, if you mess up, and don't scramble back into your seat in time, you know there's a good chance you'll lose.

Snappy Controls: Forgoing the realism of locked tires, or speed-induced topples, Pure concentrates instead on making sure the controls are exceptionally responsive. It might not be completely realistic, but it's fun.

Custom Rides: I'm not a gear head myself, but even I thought that it was kind of neat to be able to change every single piece of my ATV out with a laundry list of substitutes earned through races. You can even paint everything. And if you don't want to bother you can have a ride randomly created for you.

Tight track design: The tracks in the game, there are only a dozen locations, are all fairly hitch free. Each offer up enough different routes over the course of a race to almost give the illusion of total access.

Strategic Boost System: Boosting in Pure is tied directly to tricks, which are tied directly to boost. To earn boost you need to perform tricks. The more boost you have the more complicated the trick you can perform, which delivers even more boost. This yin and yang of boost and trick adds a bit of strategy to races as you try to determine if you can pull off a trick in the short amount of air time you get on a jump. If you don't take the chance you can boost as much, but if you do and fail it's going to be hard to catch up.

Hated
Limited Tricks: With the game relying so heavily on its beautifully animated trick system, you'd think the developers would have included more. Sure, getting up to the highest level of tricks is hard and performing them requires monster air and very good timing. But even the 70 or so tricks will get old overtime.

Static Tracks: The tracks are well designed, but it would have been nice if they showed a bit more wear and tear as you zip around them over and over and over again. I'm all about track deformation these days and while the game says it has deformation, I've yet to run a race where it was noticeable in a way that affected the outcome.

No Local Multiplayer: Local multiplayer should be a must, in my book, but I understand the reasoning behind not always including it. Well, usually I do. With a racing title, one that has such a short list of tracks and tricks, you really should include the option for split screen racing.

I like Pure, a lot. But I suspect that won't last. I need my off-roading to be a bit more robust, offer split screen races, maybe some more modes, to keep me interested. Despite that, Pure has one of the best trick systems for an off-roader that I've seen in quite awhile.

Pure, developed by Black Rock Studios and published by Disney Interactive onami was released on Sept. 23 for the PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. Retails for $59.99. Played all tracks and modes of Playstation 3 version and tested online.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

IGN
Homecoming doesn't radically attempt to revamp the established universe that's existed for almost a decade, but tries to tie the plot of Alex's adventure to pre-established canon. There are a number of nods to both the Silent Hill film from a few years ago as well as the movie Jacob's Ladder, which adds a couple of layers to the development of the characters as well as the situations they find themselves in. However, even with all of that going on, the main twist related to the game can easily be figured out before it happens, leaving a rather bland taste when it's finally revealed. Homecoming eventually feels more like a subplot to a larger, unfinished tale with tenuous connections to the rest of the series.

1UP
While Homecoming's combat system has its growing pains, I wholeheartedly endorse the new camera and movement controls. You move with one analog stick and control the camera with the other, which enables you to manipulate the view with far more precision than ever before. Moreover, your character can now strafe, which really helps cement the more action-centric focus. I'm sure some Silent Hill fans will miss the cinematic angles when entering an unknown area, but this should pass — the new camera and controls do little to detract from the atmosphere in the long run.

TeamXbox
Silent Hill: Homecoming proves to be a welcome step forward in the series without breaking the foundation that has made it a success. By staying true to the series’ roots and not trying to rely on unnecessary mechanics or gimmicks, Double Helix has created yet another unsettling gaming experience that is sure to stick in the minds of players long after the end credits roll. Fans of the series are sure to be pleased, as well as spooked, by the expected, yet unexpected twists the plot takes as Alex searches for his missing brother and father.

UGO
All of this praise doesn’t mean that Homecoming is without its flaws. The combat system, built upon a series of basic light-heavy-dodge combos, works reasonably well but some of the monsters feel a bit too cheap. Siam’s attacks in particular are nearly impossible to dodge while no such complications interfere with the game’s four bosses, all of them larger than Siam and some of them more agile. In many ways, it’s best to save firearm ammo for encounters with Siam or Smog, the game’s only true ranged attacker until the very late stages, rather than holding out for the boss fights.

Kotaku
Silent Hill: Homecoming is a very capable entry, maybe better than cynics were expecting, one that should please most fans of the series and anyone looking for a good scare layered with respectable storytelling. Homecoming fluctuates from moments of brilliance to shades of mediocrity, a bit of a junk food entry that may leave you hungering for something meatier. But less picky players, ones who don't mind the graphical quirks and sameness, will likely not take issue with the final product. There's plenty of frustration to be had and little in the way of traditional "fun," as the game's mechanics are starting to feel in need of a revamp, but Homecoming gets the job done.Some nice scores, but still not convinced I want to cross over into Silent Hill one more time.

We've heard about a new media-friendly DS with MP3 playback and a camera, we've heard about possible new peripherals, we've heard about some big much-anticipated game remake, we've even heard about a new Wii iteration, this one in high-def.

But unlike with Microsoft, not all Nintendo rumors are true. So what do you think will be happening tonight when Nintendo kicks off their presser in Japan?

Hit the poll to vote and the comments to discuss and then come back tonight to find out.

In the game you play as a barbarian named Delon off to find Kroll, the Lord of Life, last of the seven mage lords, and use his power to return a loved one back to life. I'm sorta guessing here, because the plot is ultra light, though delivered inside the illustrated pages of a digital book.

I've played through the first two levels so far and it seems like your typical side-scrolling action fare. You play the game holding the iPhone sideways. To move you touch the transparent arrows at the bottom of your screen. To attack you touch one of four transparent hammer icons, two on each side of the screen. The top icon delivers a heavy attack and the bottom a regular attack. Touching the left ones attacks to your left and the right attacks to your right. I found that by tapping between the two types of attacks or repeatedly tapping the same attack you can pull off a couple of mini combos.

As you fight you build up life energy which can power up your weapon, making the hammer larger and spikier. The weapon auto upgrades as you battle, but maxes at after two upgrades. Those upgrades disappear if you die, but having them prevents you from starting the level over, instead you lose the upgrade but revive on the spot.

You can also pull off a special attack, if you save up power earned through kills, by either tapping Delon or shaking the iPhone. I found that shaking works better, because if you miss with the tap you pause the game. Which can get a little annoying.

The levels are broken up into long crawls across the screen battle bad guys and end with a boss fight that involves tapping icons that appear on the screen. The animation for these fights, and the game overall, is some of the best I've seen in an iPhone to date.

So far it appears that the game is relatively light on variety, really only giving you the option to slug it out as you move left to right through the world. Of course I'm only two levels in, but I suspect that is what the game is, an old-school button masher, a screen masher, if you will.

What I would like to see, and perhaps will find, are more weapons, power-ups, something to reward me for my dungeon crawl. Having said that, I'm still really enjoying Kroll so far. Let's just hope it's longer than the three levels it shows on the current page of the book I'm on.

Sony Pictures and CAPCOM® Present an All New CG-Animated Feature Film, RESIDENT EVIL: DEGENERATION

World Premiere October 10th at Tokyo Game Show

North American Premiere November 13th at New York City Horror Film Festival

Fangoria-Sponsored West Coast Premiere in Los Angeles November 18th

CULVER CITY, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Seven years after the destruction of Raccoon City, Leon and Claire are back as the war against the zombies rages on in RESIDENT EVIL: DEGENERATION, a co-production of CAPCOM Co., Ltd. (CAPCOM®) and Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan Co., Ltd. (SPEJ) based on the popular video game franchise.

Making its worldwide theatrical debut in Japan on October 18, 2008, RESIDENT EVIL: DEGENERATION will be exhibited in the US at the New York City Horror Film Festival on November 13th and at a screening in Los Angeles on November 18th hosted by Fangoria.

Produced by renown gaming producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi (associate producer of Resident Evil: Apocalypse and video game producer of Resident Evil® 4 and Devil May Cry® 4) and directed by Makoto Kamiya (special effects director of L: Change The World, Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All Out Attack), RESIDENT EVIL: DEGENERATION is a spectacular, CG-animated thrill-ride that takes the terrifying zombie action of the blockbuster Resident Evil franchise to a whole new level with jaw-dropping visual effects and heart-pounding suspense.

The "Umbrella Incident" that took place in Raccoon City ended with a missile attack ordered by the government intended to wipe out the deadly zombie virus. Following this catastrophe, the Umbrella Corporation’s stock plummeted, bankrupting the business giant. Seven years later, at an airport in the Heartland of America, a commercial airliner unwittingly delivers some deadly cargo. Now, in an airport beginning to fill with the undead, the horrific disaster is about to repeat itself.

More information available at http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/residentevildegeneration/

We contacted Harmonix this morning for clarification and it turns out the New York Times got it right: AC/DC Live: Rock Band Track Pack will be released as a disc-only game exclusively at Wal-Mart.

The standalone game will include 18 classic live tracks from the band's live performances for more than 99 minutes of gameplay on each instrument. And, according to Harmonix, the game will not be available as DLC only as a disc.

If you buy the disc you can export the tracks from the pack to Rock Band or Rock Band 2 at no extra charge by entering a special export authentication code from the manual, though an online connection will be required. The $30 to $40 game will also be available for purchase at Sams Club in the U.S.

For those living in Europe, Australia and New Zealand the game will be available at most major retail outlets, but still not online.

With a new developer at the helm and new, more powerful consoles to showcase the world(s) of Silent Hill, does Silent Hill: Homecoming bring the series into the next generation? Or is just pure hell?

Loved
Thematically Strong: Silent Hill: Homecoming delivers on a solid, exciting storyline, one peppered with dense themes: child abuse, infanticide, religious fanaticism, mental illness. It's far more straightforward in comparison to other Silent Hill games, ones which often needed the aide of a plot guide to disassemble, but it's administered with finesse. Double Helix supports their storytelling with brilliant symbolism, little of which rarely detours into the obvious.
A Reasonably Good Facsimile Of A Silent Hill Game: If you're desperate for another trip to Silent Hill, Homecoming fits the bill. At times, the game feels like a "greatest hits" compilation, borrowing monster and environmental designs too liberally from previous entries and, unfortunately for this reviewer, the Silent Hill movie. At others, it feels more like a tribute band doing a well-worn cover version of older games, abstracting subtlety and nuance.
Improved Controls: From a mostly better inventory interface to more logical action controls, Homecoming is much easier to get a handle on than its predecessors. That doesn't necessarily mean that hand-to-hand combat is any fun. It's not. It's just better than what Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo was capable of with the older, more cinematic camera style.
Hell Looks Hellishly Good: The "Descent to Hell" portion of the game looks stunning. If only the camera were pulled back just a few more feet to get a better view...

Hated
Graphical Letdown: While Double Helix nailed portions of Silent Hill's "otherworld," the game is disappointingly inconsistent in its technical execution. Alex Shepherd looks well detailed in comparison to Shepherd's Glen's other inhabitants, with fathers, mothers, sons and daughters all looking, curiously, the same age, more like action figures that human beings. Homecoming also has some of the worst water we've seen this generation. Ugly textures abound.
Odd Bugs and Visual Quirks: Getting stuck on an invisible platform in the first fifteen minutes, forcing a restart of the game, did not leave a good first impression. Fortunately, this was a unique circumstance, but it made moments of geometry clipping and moments of violently spinning camera angles tied to enemy death animations that much more noticeable. Some lip-syncing in the game feels like it was left unfinished.
Annoying Enemies: While the game's combat mechanics are somewhat improved, it doesn't prevent the battles with the blade-limbed Needlers from being any less controller-throwing. A severe lack of supplies, that tends to irritate more than add to the "survival" of the horror, required reverting to an older save to beat one of the tougher bosses.
Obtuse Puzzles: Even for a Silent Hill game, Homecoming's puzzles are simply... puzzling. Too many simply devolved into a frustrating series trial and error attempts.

Silent Hill: Homecoming is a very capable entry, maybe better than cynics were expecting, one that should please most fans of the series and anyone looking for a good scare layered with respectable storytelling. Homecoming fluctuates from moments of brilliance to shades of mediocrity, a bit of a junk food entry that may leave you hungering for something meatier. But less picky players, ones who don't mind the graphical quirks and sameness, will likely not take issue with the final product. There's plenty of frustration to be had and little in the way of traditional "fun," as the game's mechanics are starting to feel in need of a revamp, but Homecoming gets the job done.

Silent Hill: Homecoming, developed by Double Helix and published by Konami was released on Sept. 30 for the Xbox 360, PC and PlayStation 3. Retails for $59.99. Played Xbox 360 version to completion on normal difficulty.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

"I will focus on the federal suit and will prevail," Thompson said. "Piece of cake."

In his federal emergency motion to stay the Florida Supreme Court Order, dated Monday, Thompson argues that the disbarment should be postponed until the federal courts can hear his arguments and that disbarring him would prevent him from representing new clients and could damage his career. He also writes that his disbarment is without merit and that he can prove it.

Last Thursday we broke the news that the Supreme Court of Florida entered a motion that approved the call to permanently disbar Thompson, effective in thirty days. In the motion the judge wrote that Thompson could only have a motion for rehearing filed by another attorney in good standing.

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT IN AND FOR
THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

PLAINTIFF’S EMERGENCY MOTION TO STAY FLORIDA SUPREME COURT ORDER OF SEPTEMBER 25, 2008

COMES NOW PLAINTIFF, on his own behalf, and moves this federal court, with Cerification of Emergency attached hereto, pursuant to the applicable Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, for the following emergency relief on the following grounds, stating:
1. All seventy-seven defendants have been served with the complaint herein; thus, they are all fully on notice as to the nature of this suit, the relief sought, and the basis therefor.
2. On September 25, 2008, the Florida Supreme Court entered an order, a copy of which is attached hereto, permanently disbarring plaintiff Thompson, the respondent therein, effective in thirty days. Thus, the clock is now running on those thirty days.
3. Under this order, Thompson is unable to meet, as he is scheduled to do this Friday, with Richard Gorman, who is an inmate in a state prison for the purpose of being retained by him as his lawyer. Mr. Gorman is sitting in his prison cell solely because of the unethical conduct of Assistant State Attorney Matthew Alex Smith, coupled with the decision of The Florida Bar’s Board of Governors of The Florida Bar to pervert the lawyer disciplinary process by a) acknowledging the prosecutorial misconduct of Mr. Gorman’s prosecutor, and then b) pretending it did not happen. More specifically, the attached “Report of No Probable Cause” is a smoking gun document that proves that the entire Board of Governors of The Florida Bar is involved in a cover-up in order to keep this innocent man in jail, all for the purpose of protecting the corrupt Leon County State Attorney’s Office. This formal Florida Bar document proves that the Board of Governors of The Florida Bar is looking the other way from this prosecutor’s “win at all costs” prosecutorial misconduct.
4. This exhibit hereto is the single most remarkable document Thompson has ever seen in his 31-year legal career. It indicts the entire Bar’s disciplinary process which has been for him a travesty but for Mr. Gorman, because of the obstruction of justice of the Board of Governors, has been a means to keep a man in jail despite prosecutorial misconduct that The Bar itself admits in this document. It is little wonder that these same Governors would then do to Thompson what they have demonstrably done over the past four years. They purport to take away Thompson’s ability to earn a living. By criminal act, this same Bar has conspired to take away this young man’s freedom.
5. Mr. Gorman is not alone as a victim of The Florida Bar Board of Governors’ perversion of the entire lawyer discipline process. Attached hereto is the timely and disturbing editorial this last Saturday in the Palm Beach Post lampooning the “revenge politics” of The Florida Bar’s disciplinary process. The undersigned has been a victim of these same “revenge politics,” and in fact the current Florida Bar President Jay White has been deeply involved in the efforts to pervert that disciplinary process to help his firm’s client, Judge Wennet, just as Mr. White has perverted this same process to harm the undersigned.
6. The presumption must now be that the disciplinary process of The Bar is flawed, that it is being used for purposes that have nothing to do with the ethics of its targets, but have everything to do with punishing The Bar’s perceived enemies and protecting its friends. This is precisely what has happened to the undersigned, as The Bar used its “discipline” to protect two corrupted judges, two porn-to-kids entertainment enterprises, and a Bar Referee who was on the bench by virtue of a forged document.
7. Plaintiff herein thus seeks an immediate stay, on an emergency basis, of the Florida Supreme Court’s September 25 disbarment order because a) he can show a substantial likelihood of success on the merits, b) irreparable harm unless the injunction/stay issues, including public damage to his career and to the rights of others, such as those of Mr. Gorman, c) this harm to Thompson far outweighs any conceivable harm to defendants if the injunction issues, and d) the injunction/stay will not disserve but actually serve the public interest. Thompson, this Friday, must be allowed to meet with and be retained by this other victim of The Florida Bar’s “disciplinary system” so that this innocent, imprisoned man can petition, through Thompson, his trial court to set aside his sentence secured by fraud.
8. Further, there are demonstrable, patent errors on the face of the disbarment order itself which provide the basis for the disbarment.
9. Justice Canady, who has hardly had time to have his new judicial robe fitted, could not have reviewed the entire disciplinary record as to Thompson, yet he has nevertheless put his name to this permanent disbarment order on the very day that he was served by Thompson with the federal civil rights action against him. Justice Canady has thus put his name on a permanent disbarment lawyer in a case about which he knows absolutely nothing. This is not a state Supreme Court interested in doing justice. It is a Supreme Court which is the dog being wagged by The Bar tail that is interested in and pursues, according to the Post, “revenge politics.” The Bar put this disbarment order under the noses of the Justices, and they signed it, completely unaware of its baselessness. Thompson can prove just that.
WHEREFORE, plaintiff respectfully seeks an order, on an emergency basis, staying the Florida Supreme Court’s disbarment order until such time as an evidentiary hearing, either before Judge Cooke or Magistrate Bandstra, can be secured as to the granting of the preliminary injunction sought in the complaint.
I HEREBY CERTIFY that this is an emergency and that this pleading has been provided to all defendants and/or their counsel by various means, including fax and e-mail, this September 29, 2008.

JOHN B. THOMPSON, Plaintiff
Attorney, Florida Bar #231665

Kotaku obtained a copy of the internal memo sent to staff earlier today outlining the reasons why the game was axed. In the memo Mike Verdu, of EA LA, says that the game would not be able to get up to snuff given the amount of time and resources left in the production cycle.

The memo goes on to state that several people on the team had to be released.

" We will make every effort to place affected individuals on projects within the studio – and where that isn't possible, to connect them with opportunities in other teams at EA."

More interesting is the fact that Verdu calls for this decision to serve as a warning for future projects.

"The quality bar has been raised. Now we need to step up our focus on great design and execution, catching any problems early and correcting them quickly."

While Electronic Arts declined to comment on the memo, they did verify that the game has been killed.

"EA has suspended work on Tiberium effective immediately," said Mariam Sughayer, EA spokesperson. "The game was not on track to meet the high quality standards set by the team and by the EA Games Label. A lower quality game is not in the best interest of the consumers and would not succeed in this market.

"This decision will result in some individuals being released. However, EA will make every effort to place talented people on other projects. Eligible employees will receive severance and outplacement support."

Sughayer added that EA LA is home to several units of the company including EA Mobile, EA Casual Entertainment Headquarters, EA’s Global Online group and others. At the EA Games Label studio in that facility, developers there are creating Command & Conquer Red Alert 3, a series of titles in development with Steven Spielberg, and other games which have not yet been announced.

And for those interested, here's the full memo:

It is with a heavy heart that I announce an end to all work on Tiberium effective immediately. I've consulted with Nick Earl and Frank Gibeau at the EA Games Label and together we have reached the conclusion that given the time and resources remaining, we will not be able to deliver this product to an appropriate level of quality.

The game had fundamental design challenges from the start. We fought to correct the issues, but we were not successful; the game just isn't coming together well enough to meet our own quality expectations as well as those of our consumers.

Unfortunately, this action will result in several individuals on the team being released. We will make every effort to place affected individuals on projects within the studio – and where that isn't possible, to connect them with opportunities in other teams at EA.

This is the right move for the studio and the company, but it's particularly hard for me because of the impact it will have on our people. Many individuals contributed their time and talents to this game. I spent time in the trenches with them and I was continually impressed by their work.

Moving forward, we need to make sure this doesn't happen again. I believe we are already doing a better job of engineering success in from the start. The quality bar has been raised. Now we need to step up our focus on great design and execution, catching any problems early and correcting them quickly.

We will strive to live up to our values: To make great games, treat people right, keep our commitments, and grow our business.

_______________________
Mike Verdu
EA LA
5510 Lincoln Blvd
Playa Vista, CA 90094

The images feature former Cyber Girl of the Year Alex Sim-Wise in a set of provocative poses that have been digitally enhanced with imagery from the upcoming action role-playing game set to hit the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 this autumn.

The images are part of a six-page feature published in this month's FRONT magazine that hit stands today.

“The shoot was super rad,” says Alex Sim-Wise. “I’m massive gaming geek – so taking down the incredible bosses from Rise of the Argonauts was definitely my cup of tea. The results of the shoot are incredible. So much so I’ve been jumping around since, casting flames from my hands. Although, I did accidentally set light to a small cat.”

The images are safely locked behind the jump and very much NSFW, so don't blame me if you get fired.

Full-sized, unfishy, images can be found here.