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The Sights and Highlights of Halo Fest: Halo 4, Halo: Anniversary, The Duke, and More
Sure, PAX 2011 is taking place in Seattle right now, but let’s not forget that right across the street is Halo Fest. This expo celebrates the game’s 10th anniversary with a look to the future (Halo 4) a nod to the past (Halo: Anniversary), and all sorts of stuff in between. And The Duke. Who…
By Owen Good Published August 27, 2011 - Uncategorized
The Pink Knight Comes to Life in Castle Crashers
The Pink Knight was an urban myth cooked up by Castle Crashers‘ Xbox Live community. No such dude existed. But he does now, as The Behemoth offers him for free and promises to make up to a $50,000 donation to a breast cancer prevention and awareness organization. Pink Knight has all new weapons, says The…
By Owen Good Published August 27, 2011 - Uncategorized
Go Ahead and Shoot Elizabeth in BioShock Infinite. Ken Levine’s Way Ahead of You
“It’s in the simulation.” When I spoke with Ken Levine about BioShock Infinite at E3, I was struck by his use of that phrase. The game as he describes it will be a complex concoction of different AIs, each of which exists independently and interacts in unscripted, emergent ways. Two NPCs get into a fight…
By Kirk Hamilton Published August 27, 2011 - Uncategorized
The Cosplay of PAX: Day One
You can’t have a video games expo without the cosplay, and PAX’s attendees are pulling their weight. So far we’ve managed to spot Duke Nukem, Robocop, Uncle Sam, and Jesus. And when’s the last time you saw all those guys together? Those four, plus a lot more, in the gallery inside. Remember, click the magnifying…
By Owen Good Published August 27, 2011 -
UncategorizedIn a Minute and a Half, BioWare’s Gabe Amatangelo Explains Why The Old Republic Isn’t Just Another MMO
We’ve written our fair share of skeptical previews of BioWare’s upcoming MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic. So I thought I’d catch Gabe Amatangelo and ask him to explain what, specifically, it is that will set The Old Republic apart from other MMOs. Believe it or not, his response was not “Because it’s Star Wars,…
By Kirk Hamilton Published August 27, 2011 -
UncategorizedHere’s a Real Life Minecraft Block You Can Actually “Mine”
Ben Purdy is a designer and technology artist who was working on a projection-mapping project when his brother mentioned that a projection sample looked a little like a Minecraft block. Inspiration thus hit Ben. It appears that the projection device is within this box [Correction: It’s outside the box], putting an image on all six…
By Owen Good Published August 27, 2011 -
UncategorizedWhat Does Jennifer Hale Think of the Nickname “FemShep?” (and Other Things)
From Facebook beauty-contests for the character she plays to big New Yorker profiles to a hilarious case of mistaken Twitter identity, we’ve been talking a lot about Mass Effect 3‘s female lead Jennifer Hale lately. So when given the opportunity to chat with her one-on-one at PAX, I jumped at the chance. We covered a…
By Kirk Hamilton Published August 27, 2011 -
UncategorizedThe ‘Eyeborg’ Matches Up Real Cyborgs Against Deus Ex
Ordinarily I scoff at the age-gate trailer, but here, I think it supplies a useful warning and a chance to say THERE IS VIDEO OF AN EYEBALL BEING CUT OPEN at the beginning. So look away for the first 16 seconds if you don’t want to see that. The rest of the video is quite…
By Owen Good Published August 27, 2011 - Uncategorized
This is Easily The Single Worst Piece of Marketing at PAX
If you visited any of the restrooms at PAX (well, the Men’s rooms anyway. I don’t know about the ladies’ rooms. I could have checked, but… er, anyway). If you visited any of the men’s rooms at PAX, you probably saw this Prototype 2 sticker on the inside of the stalls and stuck above the…
By Kirk Hamilton Published August 27, 2011 -
UncategorizedAngels on Our Shoulders
They’re tank busters, sir. P-51s. Greatest airplane ever made. Hardware • Nintendo Wii console bundle w/ Mario Kart and Wheel is still available for order at $129.99 from Amazon, but shipping is delayed 2 to 4 weeks. [Dealzon] • Wii Knockout Boxing Gloves are $9.99 from Amazon. Next best is $19. [Dealzon] • Gears of…
By Owen Good Published August 27, 2011 - Uncategorized
No Origin-Story Comic For New Players in Mass Effect 3
A small but neat feature of the PS3 version of Mass Effect 2 was the “Mass Effect: Genesis” comic that allowed new players to go through the story of the first Mass Effect and make all of the decisions that would come into play in the sequel. Mass Effect 3 is surely being designed with…
By Kirk Hamilton Published August 27, 2011 - Uncategorized
PAX Day 1: The Expo Booths
As I make my way around the PAX Expo Hall, I’m trying to take as many pictures as possible. Here are some shots I grabbed yesterday; from the completely awesome Skyrim dragon to Bioshock: Infinite‘s Songbird, dramatic props, creatures, and models cover the halls and skybridge. My personal favorite is the GoG.com booth, which is…
By Kirk Hamilton Published August 27, 2011 -
UncategorizedCounter-Strike: GO‘s PAX Booth is Using a Scope
The Counter-Strike: Global Offensive booth at the Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle is a madhouse. People are waiting on long lines to play it. But if you can’t get in, you can at least watch it played on the big screen, through the largest crosshairs in town. You can contact Stephen Totilo, the author of…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 27, 2011 - Uncategorized
PAX After Hours: Behold the Screen-Fields of Freeplayvainia
During the day, PAX is a chaotic bustle of fans, enforcers, media and game reps, thousands upon thousands of people flocking through the Seattle Convention Center, bright lights offset by dark expo floors, and a constant hum of excitement, cheers, and laughter. But I like it here at night. After hours, the rooms dedicated to…
By Kirk Hamilton Published August 27, 2011 -
UncategorizedThese Massive Original Xbox Controllers Were Transformed into Xbox 360 Controllers, for Halo
As promised, Microsoft’s Halo team is bringing Duke to their big Halofest celebration this weekend—that is, the massive Duke controller that originally sold with the original Xbox. The Halo crew commissioned hardware modder Ben Heck to transform eight classic Dukes into wireless pads that will work with Xbox 360s. Watch the video to see how…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 27, 2011 - Uncategorized
EA Sports’ Season Ticket Hears Crickets on Debut Day [Updated]
The first day of EA Sports’ “Season Ticket” premium subscription, offering a three-day (or more) full preview of Madden NFL 12, does not reflect wide acceptance among the hardcore community it was meant to appeal to. As of 11 p.m. EDT, Madden NFL 12 showed 3,559 users connected to the game through Xbox Live. On…
By Owen Good Published August 27, 2011 - Uncategorized
The Next Generation of Online Multiplayer Mobile Games Debuts at PAX
Founded by online gaming vets Chris Chung and Rick Lambright, Seattle-based startup Motiga aims to revolutionize mobile gaming using its scalable, cloud-based mobile game server technology, the Motiga Infinite Context Engine (MICE), which allows small development teams to create a wide range of real-time mobile multiplayer games faster and more efficiently than ever before. Motiga…
By Mike Fahey Published August 26, 2011 - Uncategorized
Torchlight II Hits PAX To Show Off Embermage and $20 Price
Torchlight II will sell for $19.99, the same price as the original, surprisingly fun PC action game when it releases later this year, developer Runic Games said today. “It’s always been our goal to provide exceptional value for the price,” says Max Schaefer, CEO of Runic Games. “Everyone who wants to play Torchlight II will…
By Brian Crecente Published August 26, 2011 -
UncategorizedWarhammer Online: Wrath of Heroes’ Bright Wizard is One Hot Little Number
Warhammer Online: Wrath of Heroes mixes the player-versus-player combat of Warhammer Online with the champion system of games like DOTA to create a unique free-to-play competitive online experience. Meet Felicia. She’ll be your Bright Wizard today. The player-versus-player combat was my favorite aspect of Warhammer Online proper, which is rare for a pansy role-player like…
By Mike Fahey Published August 26, 2011 -
UncategorizedFuncom Welcomes Enlightened Players to The Secret World Beta
After an agonizingly long wait, Funcom has finally opened up beta signups for The Secret World, the modern day supernatural massively multiplayer online role-playing game where nothing is as it seems and every dark legend comes true. There’s a secret war going on that you won’t know about until you sign up afor (and hopefully…
By Mike Fahey Published August 26, 2011