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Your search for Create iso located the below Create iso Search Results. The Create iso Search Results are returned from stories QJ publishes stories covering Create iso news, Playstation news, Xbox news, PC news, Wii News, Nintendo DS News, Gaming News, Reviews, Downloads, Custom Apps, Homebrew and much more.


Posted May 8, 2012 at 1:35PM EST by Todd B Listed in: PC Gaming Tags: always on drm, Blizzard, diablo iii
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D3D1After pushing the game’s release back eight thousand times, Blizz has found one last way to make you wait just a little longer to log in.

 

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Posted May 1, 2012 at 4:45PM EST by Todd B Listed in: PS3 Tags: day one dlc, dlc, max payne 3, Rockstar, rockstar pass
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mxpn1Rockstar shows off Max Payne 3’s DLC—and give you a chance to purchase it before the actual game is even released.

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Posted Mar 22, 2012 at 2:00PM EST by Harrison E Listed in: PoV, PS3 Tags: David Jaffe, egoraptor, gaming television, the tester, videogame shows
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thetesterlogoWith the finalé in less than a week, here are five problems with the reality gamer series The Tester and how we can fix the show for the next season and hopefully get better results than some of the latest videogame movies that have come out recently.

 

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Posted Mar 21, 2012 at 12:00PM EST by Harrison E Listed in: PS3 Tags: Interview, Other Ocean Interactive, sara guiness, South Park, south park games, xbla
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tenormangingerHarrison E talks to Sara Guinness, Senior Producer on the upcoming South Park game, Tenorman's Revenge.

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Posted Feb 24, 2012 at 9:45AM EST by Brett Huffman Listed in: PS3, Xbox 360 Tags: Activision, prototype 2, Radical Entertainment
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prototype_2_logoThis time around, you'll have more to worry about than zombies, soldiers, tanks, helicopters, SAMs, and big honking monsters. In Prototype 2, you'll also have to deal with these guys.

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Posted Feb 23, 2012 at 11:40AM EST by Harrison E Listed in: PC Gaming Tags: Bethesda, Blizzard, bonecraft, bonetown, d-dub entertainment, d-dub interview, sexuality in games, Starcraft, valve, warhammer 40k, World of Warcraft
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bonecraft6Harrison E talks to one of the creators of the popular Bone series and talks about their latest title BoneCraft, sexuality in video games and what's on the horizons for D-Dub Studios.

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Posted Feb 16, 2012 at 11:00AM EST by Harrison E Listed in: Xbox 360, PS3 Tags: ea games, Electronic Arts, klei entertainment, shank, shank 2
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shank2-2Harrison E just finished playing Shank 2 and he's ready for more gore...

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Posted Feb 16, 2012 at 8:22AM EST by Brett Huffman Listed in: PS3, Xbox 360 Tags: Telltale Games, the walking dead, the walking dead video game
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walkingdead_logo-1"Another boring zombie game?" Maybe not, as this one has "hugging, crying, and shit."

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Posted Feb 10, 2012 at 3:40PM EST by QJ Staff Listed in: PS3 Tags: apple assault, project citrus, showtime megaviewer, the catachthonic, yet another bypass
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ap125Today is Friday so you know what that means right?  Yup...another QJ.net Homebrew Roundup for you to snag some cool homebrew games and apps created by some very talented devs.

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Posted Feb 2, 2012 at 7:45PM EST by Harrison E Listed in: iPad, iPhone Tags: android market, appstore, stay alive, stay alive android, stay alive ipad, stay alive iphone
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stayalivelogoCreator of one of the best indie mobile titles, Stay Alive, Rob Allison talks to Harrison E about creating the game, reddit and making games.

 

 

 

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Posted Jan 30, 2012 at 8:14PM EST by Harrison E Listed in: PC Gaming Tags: gamejam wollongong, ggj, ggj12, gjwoll, global game jam, ouroboros
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gamejamdaythree-16Or How I Spent my Weekend watching 20+ people make games in 48 hours.

 

 

 

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Posted Jan 21, 2012 at 11:33AM EST by Harrison E Listed in: PS3 Tags: ea fifa street, FIFA, fifa street preview
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ea_sports_thumbThanks to the awesome guys at EA Sports Australia. Harrison E got a chance to check out the soon to be released FIFA Street and check out all the new features.

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Posted Jan 21, 2012 at 10:35AM EST by Harrison E Listed in: PS3, Xbox 360 Tags: ea games, EA Sports, Electronic Arts, jen riley, ssx
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ssx_qj_thumbHarrison E checked out the snow-shredding, avalanche causing, deadly descending SSX thanks to the guys at EA Sports.

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Posted Jan 19, 2012 at 9:07AM EST by Harrison E Listed in: PC Gaming Tags: elevator source, hl2, moddb, mods, pixeltail games, source mods, valve
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elevatorsourcelogoA brand new Garry's Mod game called Elevator Source just hit the internet and Harrison E. sits down with it's creators to know what's up and what floor is it on?

 


 

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Posted Jan 19, 2012 at 8:40AM EST by Harrison E Listed in: PC Gaming Tags: indie fund, Portal, q.u.b.e, q.u.b.e. review, qube, Steam, toxic games
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qubeQ.U.B.E is a newly indie funded game available on Steam but does it scrunch you up into a little ball or does it crush you between it's mighty three dimensional weight? Harrison E. reviews.

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Posted Jan 5, 2012 at 5:30PM EST by Harrison E Listed in: PC Gaming Tags: free pc games, Interview, jordon hemenway, nitronic rush, rollcage, torcht, Tron
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nitronic-rush-flightOne of the coolest, fastest and greatest free games you will see all year and Harrison E gets to interview the co-creator of Nitronic Rush.

 

 

 

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Posted Jan 5, 2012 at 1:40PM EST by Harrison E Listed in: Wii, Xbox 360, PoV Tags: audiosurf, beat hazard, boogie, dance central, dj hero, Guitar hero, just dance, music games, rock band, rock band 3, rock band network
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rockband3_screenHarrison E looks at the current state of music games and who took their instruments and went home.

 

 

 

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Posted Dec 31, 2011 at 2:00PM EST by Harrison E Listed in: PS3 Tags: avenger controllers, n-control, ocean marketting, ocean stratagy, paul christoforo
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Paul Christoforo holding social media accounts hostage
Ocean Marketing still lost at sea
The tale of Paul Christoforo will go down in history as a tragic tale of one man who said the wrong thing, at the wrong place
at the wrong time. I recently read an interview with the man himself on GameRanx and the guy has a lot of deep-seeded
personal issues and it looks like now those issues are more public than ever. Whilst the interview was meant to be revealing
and honest, it seems Paul has been anything but, as his actions have taken the world by storm, yet again, as he holds the
twitter and main website hostage.
Paul was let go from the company and has since been replaced with Moisés Chiullan. Chiullan is slowly picking up the peces
from N-Control's PR Nightmare and has gone into damage control including a complete corporate disowning of Christoforo and
his efforts, including a wonderful quote ending with the fact there "isn't a bus big enough for me to throw Paul Christoforo
under"
Chiullan then went to Twitter to answer people's questions about the current situation. Chiullan then followed it up by
setting up a Reddit AMA to directly respond to all the big questions and revealed that Mr. Christoforo isn't finished making
the guys at N-Control a living hell. See, as it turns out, the man is trying to commit extortion and gain a little profit
from the ordeal.
Chiullan tweeted out that Christoforo was holding N-Control's email, Twitter and Facebook accounts hostage. One of the first
questions asked in the AMA was how this could happen. Chiullan's answer was that he has "been trying to get him to give up
the access." Chiullan insists that he's been asking nicely for a couple of days but "the gloves are off now."
Paul told Chiullan via phone that "Eight months ago, I locked down all this stuff so they wouldn't be able to fuck with me.
If they don't give me what I want, it's war." Paul doesn't really want money but demands include a contract written on his
terms and substantial compensation, both immediate and for as long term, basically tll the company implodes due to Paul being
an unstable coworker. It's almost as though he's trying to pull a Fight Club and going about it in the worst way possible.
Paul even, flaunted the PR debacle he created as proof that he "made the company a success", citing all the media and public
attention as the "best thing that ever happened to Avenger".
Paul didn't count on the fact that Chiullan had anticipated all of these comments and issues and has been working on computer
hardware and web tech since I was 14. Chiullan did have control over the AvengerController.com domain. It was transferred
away from its original account, which Paul had complete control of. Because of how GoDaddy works, that old account retained
all of the email addresses and their master control settings (forwarding and so on) and N-Control not supporting SOPA, left
the GoDaddy account and Paul in the dust. Paul even continued to respond to customer emails from his personal GMail account
and lied to Moisés repeatedly about that fact.
Chiullan played it nice, and Paul played it stupid, acting like he didn't have full access to the master account, blaming his
"Indian outsourced tech team" being on vacation. Chiullan gave Paul an ultimatum: Paul was given two days to give over N-
Control's digital property.
Moisés closed the statement saying "He finally leveled with me tonight that he knew I wasn't that stupid and that he was
lying about his access to all these accounts. That's when he issued the above-mentioned threat. He reiterated that he had the
hosting, email, and everything on lockdown," which is simply not true.
The entire saga has played out for the entire world to see and everyone is far ahead Paul in the most darkest ways possible.
Where he will go, nobody knows but sadly, I wouldn't rule out suicide for the most feeblest of hearts.

paul-christoforoOcean Marketing still lost at sea...

 

 

 

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Posted Dec 29, 2011 at 1:30PM EST by Brett Huffman Listed in: Wii, Xbox 360, iPhone, PS3 Tags: Sega, sonic the hedgehog 4: episode 1, sonic the hedgehog 4: episode 2
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sonic 4 ep2A new graphics engine, a new physics engine, and the return of some familiar faces await us in Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2.

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Posted Dec 29, 2011 at 11:00AM EST by Harrison E Listed in: Xbox 360, PC Gaming, PoV Tags: bethesda software, breath of death, dark souls, Final Fantasy, From Software, jrpg, new vegas, rpg, wrpg, zeboyd games
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darksouls

Harrison E takes a slightly analytical look into the realm of JRPG's and RPG's in general after a trek into Demon's Souls. 

 

 

 

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Posted Dec 29, 2011 at 10:45AM EST by Harrison E Listed in: PC Gaming Tags: celcius games, colin walsh, cow clicker retro, Facebook
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cowclickerretroThe guys at Celcius Games have just released a classic just ready for the holidays. Harrison E speaks to it's creator about what it means to be a Cow Clicking creator.

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Posted Dec 22, 2011 at 5:30PM EST by Listed in: iPad Tags: itunes store, limbo, playdead, Steam
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Looking for a cheap last-minute gift or a game to play while you ignore your family? Pick up Limbo!
Limbo has won a zillion awards and was easily one of the biggest XBLA games of 2010. Since its initial success, PlayDead has done everything they can to expand their stranglehold on the indie market, releasing the game on every system to which they can get access.
Limbo is your basic platformer, where your primary goal is to run from one end of a level to another without being killed. But the vague nature of your location and purpose help to create an intriguing experience, not to mention the monochrome visuals and eerie environment. Limbo is one of the most successful games ever released on XBLA, selling over four million copies to date.
Since its initial release, Limbo has been brought to PC and PS3 – it managed to sell more copies than any other PSN game in 2011. As for the iTunes Store, Limbo is priced at a mere £6.99 – more than worth the cost considering the escape it can potentially provide you during this upcoming holiday crush.
Limbo is set for release on Steam in January, officially putting it on almost every popular distribution platform. It’s nice to see an indie developer do so well.
Have you played Limbo? Would you consider picking it up on your iOS device?
[Edge]

mflimboiso1Looking for a cheap last-minute gift or a game to play while you ignore your family? Pick up Limbo!

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Posted Dec 22, 2011 at 12:45PM EST by Harrison E Listed in: Xbox 360, PS3 Tags: Digital Reality, Interview, psn, skydrift interview, xbla
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skydrift-1Harrison E talks with lead designer on the recently released Skydrift, Tibor Pongrácz, about the game, working for Digital Reality and their upcoming releases.

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Posted Dec 22, 2011 at 11:45AM EST by Harrison E Listed in: PoV Tags: Activision, battlefield, call of duty, doom, Duke Nukem, goldeneye reloaded, modern warfare, mw2, mw3, ungame
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mw2_resurgenceHarrison E takes a  brief look into what the First Person Shooter genre has done and what it might do next?

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Posted Dec 10, 2011 at 4:45PM EST by Harrison E Listed in: PS3 Tags: back to karkand dlc, battlefield 3, bf3, bf3 review, ps3 exclusive dlc, psn
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bf3logo

Harrison E goes back to Karkand but should you?

 

 

 

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Posted Dec 9, 2011 at 12:45PM EST by Harrison E Listed in: iPhone Tags: bits and pieces, convict interactive, developers, garbage monster, igda sydney, questy, spaceracer, speed assassins, toska, triangle man, zombie team defense
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igda_art-sig-logoHarrison E went to his first IGDA event in Sydney on Monday night, Bits and Pieces, and met some of the most interesting and coolest future developers you may have never heard of.

 

 

 

 

 

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Posted Dec 9, 2011 at 12:30PM EST by Harrison E Listed in: PC Gaming Tags: bill stiernberg, breath of death vii, cthulu saves the world, zeboyd games
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ctu1Co-creator of indie RPG’s Cthulu Saves the World and Breath of Death VII, Bill Stiernberg talks to Harrison E about working on RPG’s, pirates and Microsoft.

 

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Posted Dec 4, 2011 at 12:00PM EST by Harrison E Listed in: PC Gaming Tags: arcade, high score, reality show, tv
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American Arcade Business is back in High Score
Remember when you didn't play games at home? No not outside, I mean arcade games.
The old arcade. The smell of the old machines, the sounds with each beckon and call that will hopefully get you to pop a few dollars into it. Why? Just for your amusement. Well with movies like King of Kong and the rise in Arcade machines as trophy items for game collectors, TNT Amusements has struck a deal with production company PBR Productions to produce a reality show.
It's currently called High Score, but will be subject to change depending on who might pick it up. The show is about the "American Restoration" of the arcade machine and pinball world, with Todd Tuckey, the proprietor of TNT Amusements, leads a crew to hunt all over the country to find much-loved amusement machines of the past and restores them back to their working beauty.
The show is ripe for the picking as I actually know a mate of mine who's Dad has a hobby of restoring pinball machines and hiring them out for birthday parties. It's oddly a lucrative market and the show doesn't sound too bad. It'd follow Todd and his crew from acquisition to sale. The sales include going to a large clientell which include celebrities
“This show will help all the collecting world I think as it will get people re-interested in pinball machines and arcade video games! It's a win win for all” said Todd Tuckey of TNT Amuesments.
The crew at TNT Amusements is a lovable cast of characters that walk you through the restorations from start to finish. Tuckey is no stranger to screen as his success in the industry has led him to speaking engagements, for his own 30-minute television special, and being featured on the reality TV show “Kendra” (one of his clients). High Score is currently courting cable networks and other reality television distribution partners. A 22 minute pilot episode has already been created and you can view bits of the show above.
The series is produced and created by Nate Hall and Corey Armideo of Pioneers Beyond Reality. About TNT Amuesments TNT Amuesments is the worlds largest used game show room with over 120 pieces on display in a 4,000 square foot area, which if you think about it that will grow more and more as the show goes on.
Tuckey began a Video Game route in 1979, installing games in stores in the Philadelphia area, unfortunately by 1984, the boom had dried up and arcade parlours began to dry up. They now sit in the back of pizza places, basements and in the home's of video game generation adults, but Tuckey is on the hunt to find, fix and fully restore these machines back to their working glory, I'm pretty excited to see the show air.

arcadecabines American Arcade Business is back in High Score.

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Posted Nov 30, 2011 at 10:00PM EST by Harrison E Listed in: PS3 Tags: hardboiled chickens, psn, ratloop, rocketbirds, rocketbirds hardboiled chickens, sian tan yue
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hardboiled01Rocketbirds Hardboiled Chickens is exactly what it sounds like...okay, it's a lot more than that.

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Posted Nov 30, 2011 at 10:00AM EST by Harrison E Listed in: PS3 Tags: hustle kings, john kearney, john kearney interview, mantis engine, psn, pure chess, rebel play, voofoo studios
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voofoo-studiosJohn Kearney is the co-founder and Art Director of VooFoo studios, the main man behind the Hustle Kings series and the upcoming Pure Chess. Harrison E sat down to have a game of wits with John.

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Posted Nov 27, 2011 at 7:00AM EST by Harrison E Listed in: PC Gaming Tags: paincon, shootmania, trackmania, Ubisoft
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trackmania2Ubisoft thinks this will help people start working on new FPS titles - especially ones that might have levels that look mildly inappropriate and phallic.

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Posted Nov 17, 2011 at 2:06PM EST by Harrison E Listed in: PS3 Tags: hardboiled chicken, qj interview, ratloop, rocketbirds, rocketbirds:hardboiled chickens, sandra podaag
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ratlooplogoRatLoop Studios has made one of the most exciting and interesting indie titles and all of it stemming from an old flash animation. Harrison E. talks to Sian Yue Tan about the recently released Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chickens.

 

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Posted Nov 7, 2011 at 2:10AM EST by Tim Curtin Listed in: PS3 Tags: call of duty modern warfare 3, call of duty stolen, cod: mw3, modern warfare 3
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codmw2ps3Heist of the century? Maybe not. But hey, 6000 lucky people could have Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 a little early.

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Posted Oct 24, 2011 at 11:30AM EST by Harrison E Listed in: Xbox 360, PC Gaming, PS3 Tags: call of duty, DICE, FPS, patrick bach
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dice-logoDICE has seen the future of first-person shooters...it's not pretty...but you know, there's always blood and guns and stuff.

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Posted Oct 20, 2011 at 12:10AM EST by Harrison E Listed in: PC Gaming Tags: cliffski, dlc, doomdarks, gratuitous space battles, gratuitous tank battles, gsb, gtb, interviews, popcap, positech, rts, tower defence, Ubisoft, ww2, zulu
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gratuitous-tank-logo

From the creators of Gratuitous Space Battles...comes Gratuitous Tank Battles and I chat with one of those creators.

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Posted Oct 13, 2011 at 8:00PM EST by Harrison E Listed in: MMORPG Tags: beta, jc smith, the repopulation, World of Warcraft
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therepoplogoThe Repopulation is an upcoming MMO and the creator JC Smith took some time out to talk about the game and where MMORPG's are at in 2011.

 

 

 

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Posted Oct 8, 2011 at 11:34AM EST by Listed in: PC Gaming Tags: DRM, s.t.a.l.k.e.r. 2, Ubisoft
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The hardcore PC shooter is the latest in a long line of titles requiring a constant online connection, but is it really DRM?
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, sequel to very hardcore and often frustrating S.T.A.L.K.E.R., is headed to PC systems sometime next year. Details on the game are slim – we know that the story picks up from roughly where the original left off and there will be new characters and items, pretty much what one could guess about any sequel. Now, thanks to an interview with a Russian (Ukrainian?) website, the studio head of GSC Game World has confirmed another feature for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, one that gamers may not be too excited about: always-on DRM. Maybe.
Here’s the quote from the interview, translated via Destructoid:
"Protection from piracy? Part of the content will be located on the server and downloaded as the game progresses. Permanent internet access is required. Text information, code and quests will be loaded through that connection.”
"Software piracy is an issue for us, we try to fight it, but within reason. If people cannot afford a licensed version, it is to our advantage if they download a pirated copy, and then want to buy a license. In Ukraine, there are different products that people love so much that they buy a license in principle. We want to create just such a product."
While GameSpy and Destructoid have interpreted this response as confirmation that S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 will have always-on DRM similar to what Ubisoft used with Assassin’s Creed II, it doesn’t really sound that way to me. Always-on DRM is in place to check whether your game license is valid, not to load content as you quest through the world. In fact, streaming data directly from servers sounds a lot more like a core component of an MMORPG than any sort of copyright protection scheme.
Whether you consider it official DRM or not, one thing is certain: If you want to play S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, you’ll need to stay connected to the internet at all times.
How do you feel about always-on DRM? Necessary evil or frustrating inconvenience?

mfstalk1The hardcore PC shooter is the latest in a long line of titles requiring a constant online connection, but is it really DRM?

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Posted Oct 6, 2011 at 2:38PM EST by Carl B Listed in: Wii Tags: Nintendo, tony key, Ubisoft
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nintendo_wii_bAccording to Ubisoft, nobody really figured out how to make a shooter for Wii.

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Posted Sep 21, 2011 at 4:00PM EST by Harrison E Listed in: Xbox 360, PC Gaming Tags: bastion, reviews, warner bros
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Bastion and Big Companies
I was gonna play From Dust this week but sadly my router screwed me and I was left almost gameless for a good two hours. So instead I called up my bro from last week and asked if he'd gotten anything new. Bastion lept forth from his mouth and I was in my car and over in minutes. My mate was busy with a coding assignment and I was reserved to being quiet and to only have the sound of the music up a little bit. As a writer, the conditions were not uncommon, but still I decided to write something good this week...well, objectively good.
The game starts off and the loading screen looks like someone trying to uncover elvish ruins and then the narrator speaks and it is glorious. I want to fall asleep to this man's voice cradling me and telling me every story known to man and I want to serve under his every golden voiced whim...but I keep playing the game and it is incredible in every way imaginable, without him holding me.
I start off with a gigantic hammer, which in the book of gaming, almost all great characters have gigantic hammers. Super Mario, Ramona Flowers, Tomba and now Bastion, and you can destroy everything in your path. Blocks just crumple under the weight of mighty hammer. You are Thor's tiny narrated brother and your whim is the world's way. So yeah, the game is a highly stylised, beautifully narrated and cleverly designed hack and slash.
The narration is not only soothing but it's helpful. In a comparative note, you would have Portal's GlaDOS, a mean-spirited but contextually justified character voice, whilst Bastion's narrator is calming but casually reassuring as the game's linear world forms around you, so does his words, creating an audible scenery to match the colourful block-filled world.
The collectables in the game, other than your weaponry, are tiny little crystals, which at first seem fairly arbitrary, but become incredibly useful regarding the RPG elements later on and even finding them is half the fun. The landscape forms beneath your feet and as such, secret areas will pop up by just wondering around and leading you in a path of danger or delight. Also destroying blocks around you, free-form GTA style will find a few more bits of fun and a lovely bit of narration, such as "The Kids just rages for a while...", I smile with delight and continue to punch the B button.
The difficulty curve of the game is interesting to say the least, but using the right weapons, skills and heals you can get yourself through any battle with the salty voice of the narrator peppering you through the worlds.
The RPG elements of the game really help with adding a bit of flavour to the game. The elements range from little things such as levelling up to building brand new places on the Bastion such as a forgery and distillery. The distillery promotes some minor underage drinking musings but nothing harmful...as long as a kid doesn't know what a distillery is. The forgery brings you new weapons so you can kick more arse and before you know it, you're hacking and slashing like never before unless you fall off the edge of the floating world...which happens a lot.
When you die, you fall into the Bastion. It's a beautifully green landscape. The call of a crow, the hum of the cicadas i nwhat looks like the freshest brightest spring day you've ever seen and somewhere standing on a golden and freshly cut pasture...is someone simply called Stranger...the narrator calls, he finds "another...he finds me", you can actually talk to the narrator and a beautiful guitar melody begins to play. Something akin to Neil Young or early Willie Nelson and I just want to sit here and turn up the soundtrack. It's monumental and oddly moving, but I must continue my quest. But actually it's here where the greatest plot element is revealed. It's a bit of a spoiler so if you want you can just play the first 30 minutes of the game or the demo and just wait for the words "subtlety is key".
Upon plot-assisted-death or what anyone who played the first Silent Hill and understood the opening without going, "Dude, wtf do I have to die, srsly, lame?!" the Bastion is essentially an overworld that actually helps you to different parts of the game world. The world itself acts as a land slowly growing and renewing, much like the game's landscapes during the gameplay. It's a beautiful landscape in a beautifully constructed game.
Subtlety is key here...with people who are made of ash, who when you smash to pieces the narrator gives a minor backstory to them and you either go "Sorry, my fault", or you chuckle unevenly. The game's key is playing with established video game and narration tropes and playing them with and against the player. Whilst some bits of narration and gameplay are expected, they're played into the story and atmospheric strengths, except for a few minor naming issues...such as "Something Heavy" and "Something Stringy", which I find lacking in creativity rather than subtley humourous, but I'll get to my gripes later.
Healing in the game is represented by fountains and tonics and the first time you hear the narrator talk about it, it seems real and almost like an advertisement for a fictional drink with the tagline "Sometimes you need a drink"...take all my money, now, magical narrator man.
"And then he falls to his death...I'm just foolin'" had me laughing so hard I annoyed my friend anough to throw a wireless mouse at me. I returned it sullenly and was told to keep writing or otherwise he'd not take my job as seriously. My friend is a coder and his work is serious business, whilst I takka takka away.
Some of the story elements, whilst almost non-sequitor like adds to the feel of the world. I'd use the word atmosphere a lot, but I did last week so I'm just gonna write the words Shabadoo instead. The Shabadoo works so well in this game that the little embers that burn in the opening world and the creatures you encounter seem to just add so much more to the game than just the narrator's voice. The crafting of the character and the narrative elements and how they seem to drip slowly and poignantly like water from a tap into a long deep echoing well makes for one hell of a Shabadoo-ic experience.
Weaponry such as The Fang Repeater, a shark-looking weapon - that's right SHARK-LOOKING - and the Breaker Bow - which the narrator tells you after you fall on it - "it breaks his fall, but it ain't broken - is given to you and the narrator professes delicately how they should be used. Not mockingly, not annoyingly, just subtlely with a bit of an onscreen flash of a button tutorial. This is barely half an hour in to the game and you're just riding the wave and the Shabadoo of the experience - that'll become clearer later on . You're just into the narrator's voice and the mood of the game; you just feel like it's right, that the gun or the voice will never steer you wrong...and this is where my first problem comes into the game. Nothing to with the gameplay or the game itself, this is where I'll become mildly analytical and you can tune out till I write the words, 'so the game'.
The tone of the game is strictly, speaking all over the place. Whilst thematically, there is little to draw on from the get-go, the game's style and over-arching story-based narrator-heavy theme leaves me high and dry sometimes, but the gameplay and humour just slides me back into a forgiving mode. I'm not sure what Bastion wants to say about games or narrative or characters or if they creators wanna say anything at all...all I want to say is that the game is amazing looking, great to play and also structurally beautiful...literally.
So the game does a lot of things amazingly and I've found the testament of a true game is that it keeps me wanting more of it. Resident Evil 4, LA Noire, Plants vs. Zombies and Half Life 2 all have kept me - and a million other gamers like me - wanting more and more like a battered lover. The look of the game just is amazing from the character design, overworld and parchment style menu design, the game has a very distinct style like a mix between nature-based artwork and naturalistic writing.
Like last week's Audio Team for Dead Island, this week's Handshake Award goes to the Design team for Bastion as they have created stunning architecture which is both eye-catching and never boring, some points in the game I feel bad for a micro-second for destroying things with a gigantic hammer.
A repetitious soundtrack - which isn't annoying - pumps in a lovely low bass as I pause the game, continue to type and it doesn't annoy my mate. The game has heaps of tracks and they all do follow a fairly similar progression but it never gets on your nerves. My mate was trying to code quietly and calmly, but when I pause so he can focus, he just grooves and hums along with it. We smile and clink our drinks together and go back to our prospective mediums, his "real work", my....uh...this. The slow strings of a guitar whine in as I enter a saloon, the narration is slow, perfect and much like this sentence ends on a sarcastic but humourous note, damn.
Falling off is an inconvenience, but is even greater so when dodging an enemies attack. The game treats death like "it ain't no thang", but really that "thang" does become quite annoying after a while when you wish you hadn't destroyed the barrier around the land looking for more crystals to level up your stuff. Aiming can also be a serious pain in the arse. You may be a fraction of a degree off and end up wasting a Fang shot or two or just simply miss a crucial shot instead of healing and it's Game Minor Inconvenience for you, buddy.
Whilst the enemies are fairly varied, they all have two or three attacks and one of them is a strictly "Come at me bro" strategy, to just run directly at you, you can usually expect it, but it does become mildly annoying.
The voice for The Kid is mildly unfitting, I imagine more of a young Link voice, but he sounds like a whiny 20 year old who just found out he's got a term paper due in a fortnight. There are more unexplained things such as where do my weapons go when I obtain new ones and why couldn't I switch them out with the D-Pad and when I defeat the big Gas guy in the second area how all those guy love me and then disappear...I want them to be my slaves and to build a posse rather than turning up randomly...well I did free them...maybe I shouldn't have slaves...slaves are bad.
Picture of THE MORE YOU KNOW (with Kirby)
The life point system for enemies is a intriguingly redesigned circle beneath the NPC and disappears with every swift ring of the hammer towards it.  Bastion is not a perfect game and whilst the experience is enjoyable some minor things like the AI being too easy, a lack of co-op, a slightly meh RPG, XP system and a leaderboard system (something I've personally never cared for) do not keep this game from being perfect, but just feeling a bit undercooked. I wish the game was a bit more creative or exciting in those elements.
I know I spent a good 90% of this article praising the heavenly voiced angel which descends into our mortal audio realm, but maybe having a secondary voice or another voice to play off would have been interesting. A finely-tuned weapons upgrade system, rather than just pictures and purchasing. Buying stuff in-game almost always makes me feel cheap. Oh and according to the game, you fly to each of the Skyway levels...I would have loved to have seen a bit of that, even in an opening cut scene.
Actually that being said I'm glad there are no cut-scenes in this game, it would have ruined the flow and fun...but flying would have been nice and interesting, but maybe a bit too much. To be honest, when I find flaws in a game I know it's just apart of me, not as a reviewer, but just knowing my tastes vs. knowing my standards as a gamer. I feel at a loss when I see potential and finances wasted on mediocrity.
And Bastion is not mediocre, it could be better, everything could be better, I could be a hell of a lot better...what I'm saying is...I just want a Bastion 2, I want to meet the developers and thank them and I wanna work on anything they make in the future, if they'll have me...and I know that's asking a lot. It's like asking for a shark to borrow it's gills and to be bros or for a volcano to not erupt and to be quiet, but I do love this game and I expect more amazing things from these guys.
Games like Bastion rarely get everything right and I do have to commend Warner Brothers for publishing a title, letting it be made and it being amazing in almost every domain. It's rare that a game will inspire me or at least enlighten me, entertain me and brighten up my day like Bastion does, the only other  games I can think of similarly is the visual poetry of Flower or the blocky-creativity of Minecraft. The narrative, gameplay and music fit so perfectly together, you'd think three pieces had been scattered across the globe and the developers had put them together perfectly. So I do implore you, nay, beg of you to get this game on XBLA or Steam, it's worth every single dollar as I want these guys to make another game or for the narrator to come to my house and give me a lecture about quantum mechanics and their relation to the Futurama Universe.

bastion-thumbWhy you should play Bastion and why Warner Bros. publishing may be the next big thing.

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Posted Sep 14, 2011 at 2:10PM EST by Harrison E Listed in: PS3 Tags: Australia, dead island, shooters, Silent Hill, zombies
Ó

dead-island-logo

 We sent an Australian writer to a little place in the red sun to die...

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Posted Sep 10, 2011 at 6:06PM EST by Harrison E Listed in: Xbox 360, PS3 Tags: Eidos, Montreal, oh canada, tribute, tribute games, Ubisoft
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ubisoft_logo_1When game companies go down, there is always a light at the end of the console.

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Posted Sep 2, 2011 at 8:18PM EST by Harrison E Listed in: Xbox 360, PS3 Tags: Avalanche Studios, DRM, just cause 2, perfection, saints row 2
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justcause2_thumbAnd for that alone you should love him

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Posted Sep 2, 2011 at 4:28PM EST by Carl B Listed in: Xbox 360 Tags: call of duty, Infinity Ward, modern warfare 3
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Call-Of-Duty-Black-OpsInfinity Wards reps discuss what they hope to achieve with Modern Warfare 3.

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Posted Aug 28, 2011 at 11:35PM EST by Harrison E Listed in: Wii U Tags: 01net, nintendo world report, wii development, wii u
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wiiu-thumb1Wii U components causing trouble for developers as rumours circle Nintendo's new console

 

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Posted Aug 24, 2011 at 7:32PM EST by Karl B. Listed in: PSP Tags: kenma9123, krap-psp, plugin
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psp homebrewHomebrew coder kenma9123 is back with a new update for his feature-packed homebrew application, Krap-psp.

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Posted Aug 20, 2011 at 6:24AM EST by Ryan F. Listed in: PSP Tags: ne0h, psp homebrew, xplora 2
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pspblue_thumb

A test version of Xplora 2 with an added PSP Go support has been released by homebrew developer ne0h.

 

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Posted Aug 11, 2011 at 3:30PM EST by Carl B Listed in: Xbox 360 Tags: Sega, Sonic, takashi iizuka
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Sonic-GenerationsSega's Takashi Iizuka discusses the challenge of bringing Sonic from 2D to 3D.

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Posted Aug 3, 2011 at 11:02PM EST by Mabie A. Listed in: PSP, Wii, PS3, Nintendo DS, PC Gaming Tags: gamescom 2011, Ubisoft
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ubisoft

Ubisoft is making sure that their presence will be very much felt at the upcoming Gamescom 2011 later this month. 

 

 

 

 

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Posted Aug 2, 2011 at 3:25AM EST by Mabie A. Listed in: Nintendo 3DS Tags: Capcom, mega man legends 3
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mml3-p-thumbCapcom's very much aware that there's a heavy clamor from fans to get things going for Mega Man Legends 3, that's for sure.

 

 

 

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Posted Jul 26, 2011 at 9:22PM EST by Ryan F. Listed in: PSP, PS3 Tags: PlayStation Network, PlayStation Store, Sony
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psstore_bag

A massive THQ sale, more price drops, the latest PlayStation Plus contents, a new server application that utilizes the PlayStation Move and a demo of No More Heroes: Heroes’ Paradise, are just some of the highlights of this week's North American PlayStation Store update.

 

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