Game Informer has revealed that the sequel to Portal — one of the most unique and creative games I’ve played in the last few years — will be released this holiday season! Here’s what you can learn in the latest issue of GI.
Our 12-page cover story gives you the first details on Portal 2’s new gameplay mechanics, storyline, and some surprising new twists.
I’m super-psyched for this game! How about you guys and dolls?
With the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of Final Fantasy XIII getting a nice technical comparison from Digital Foundry, I thought it would be a good time to ask you which version of the game you’re getting. As for me, of course I’m getting it on the PS3! Reona Rewis 4 life!!!
[poll id=”30″]
The fine people at Digital Foundry have posted a technical comparison of the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of Final Fantasy XIII. As expected, the PlayStation 3 version is superior. Here’s DF’s conclusion:
“Adequate but a touch disappointing” best sums up the Xbox 360 version. Fine edges lose precision, and while the effect is mitigated thanks to the MSAA along with the multitude of post processing effects the engine has at its disposal, the fact is that the lack of resolution can make the 360 build look sub-par. The clean CG look of the PS3 game in motion is unduly compromised, and while it’s still a handsome enough title on Xbox 360, it lacks the pristine presentation of its sibling.
If you’re interested in high-level graphics talk, the article is definitely worth checking out. The read reminded me of my PC Magazine Labs days when we’d scream at each other about competing graphics card technologies. Ha!
Hmmmm, I think I’ll start a poll while I’m at it.
Someone should file this under Modern Publisher Warfare 2. *snicker* As some of you know, former Infinity Ward heads Jason West and Vince Zampella have filed a lawsuit against Activision through O’Melveny & Myers. While lawsuits in the gaming business are nothing new and seldom interesting, I found it amusing that the law firm issued a press release to publicize the case. Here’s a quote on the lawsuit from attorney Robert Schwartz:
Activision has refused to honor the terms of its agreements and is intentionally flouting the fundamental public policy of this State (California) that employers must pay their employees what they have rightfully earned. Instead of thanking, lauding, or just plain paying Jason and Vince for giving Activision the most successful entertainment product ever offered to the public, last month Activision hired lawyers to conduct a pretextual ‘investigation’ into unstated and unsubstantiated charges of ‘insubordination’ and ‘breach of fiduciary duty,’ which then became the grounds for their termination on Monday, March 1st.
Honestly, I lost interest in the whole affair on Tuesday. I don’t think it’s as big a deal or as interesting as some people in the gaming press are making it out to be. That said, some of you appear to be interested in it so I thought I’d post the quote and a link to the press release.
Just to check myself, are you still interested in the Activision vs. West/Zampella feud?
With Game Developers Conference 2010 next week, I wanted to talk to you about…uh…game development. A lot of gamers don’t really understand what goes into making a game. Hell, a lot of journalists and critics don’t really understand the process either. I completely admit that there’s still a lot I don’t know about game development after more than 15 years of game writing, but I’ve tried to learn a fair bit and feel that I know more than most writers.
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, all these crazy earthquakes (end of the world?), whether Tiger Woods can dominate golf again, or the ex-Infinity Ward guys taking legal action against Activision, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
With Game Developers Conference 2010 next week, I wanted to talk to you about…uh…game development. A lot of gamers don’t really understand what goes into making a game. Hell, a lot of journalists and critics don’t really understand the process either. I completely admit that there’s still a lot I don’t know about game development after more than 15 years of game writing, but I’ve tried to learn a fair bit and feel that I know more than most writers.
Do you know the difference between a producer on the publisher side and on the development side? Do you understand how budget and time restrictions can limit creativity and quality? Is there anything about game development you’d like to learn more about? Or do you not care about knowing more about the process? After all, you don’t have to know anything about game development to enjoy great games.
In some ways, I think it’s important for you to try to understand game development. It leads to a deeper appreciation of the games you buy. In other ways, it’s trivial. Do you enjoy a movie more knowing what the key grip and gaffer do?
I’m curious to read your responses today. They’ll shape my mindset going into next week’s show. Perhaps I can get some of the information you want. Learning together is cool. So let’s get to it (please)!
After tackling Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz, and Grimm’s Fairytales in videogame form, American McGee is going with Little Red Riding Hood for his next game. The Spicy Horse game designer (that loves to slap his name on boxes) posted some concept art for American McGee’s Red and according to GameSetWatch will be pitching the title at GDC.
The concept art is definitely cool, but I’m interested to hear what you think of American McGee. There’s a whole generation of gamers that have no idea who he is. There are a bunch of gamers that think he’s some guy that feels the need to put his name in the title of every game he works on. There are also a bunch of people that loved what he did with Alice and are waiting for him to do something similarly great.
What do you think of Red and American McGee?
Source via GameSetWatch
March started out with a bang, hey? On one side you had loads of PlayStation 3 gamers unable to do much with their precious consoles (it only does…nothing?) because of a date-processing error. On the other you had a few high-ranking execs from Infinity Ward ousted under curious conditions. Which story was the bigger deal to you?
I’m telling anyone that will listen that both stories are being overblown. Yes, the 8005010F PS3 error was a massive inconvenience for (probably) millions of gamers, but comparing it to the Xbox 360’s red ring of death is moronic. There’s a huge difference between an issue that can be solved through a software update and faulty manufacturing leading to hardware failure.
The Infinity Ward situation is also being extremely exaggerated. Yes, it’s a big deal that popular execs from a hugely successful developer were dismissed and a giant franchise was given to a “lesser” developer, but the “security guard” issue isn’t that big a deal. It’s common for security to be present when people are dismissed — mostly to protect against IP theft, but also to prevent a scene from being caused. The way this aspect of the story was being played up, it sounded like Activision hired Mafia goons to keep the remaining Infinity Ward employees inline — that’s just complete B.S.
Anyway, which story was the bigger deal?
[poll id=”29″]
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Bobby Kotick talking about creativity, March coming in like a lion for the gaming business, or the hotness of Mika Brzezinski (again), Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
With Final Fantasy XIII coming out next week and Wired’s Chris Kohler spilling the goods on the Japanese version of the game in the latest RPad.tv PadCast, I thought it would be a good time to discuss your favorite game in this legendary series. There are so many brilliant Final Fantasy games that it’s tough to choose. For the sake of this conversation, let’s stick with the mainline games (Tactics, Crystal Chronicles, etc. do not apply).
As for me, it comes down to IV, V, VI, and X. I’ve probably played IV the most, V has the outstanding job system, VI took interactive storytelling to a new level, and X was just wonderfully polished. My favorite usually changes, but it’s always one of these four games. Today I’m going to go with FFV because I absolutely love job systems (remember, FF Tactics is my all-time favorite).
So let me know what your favorite FF game is and why (please)! In addition to your pick, I want to hear the reasoning behind it. Warning: if you pick FFVII then I expect a pretty lengthy explanation or I’ll probably think you’re a VII fanboy.
BioWare has revealed two more characters from the upcoming Dragon Age: Origins Awakening expansion pack: Mhairi and Sigrun. Here are some screens, official bios, and my comments on these new playable characters.
Mhairi
Official description: When Mhairi was a child, she was enraptured by tales of kings and nobles. All she wanted was to be like them, to fight for what she believed. Betrothed to a trader when she turned 16, she saw the life that lay ahead of her and enlisted in the army instead. Her fierce loyalty and devotion to Ferelden earned her the love and respect of her commanders and brothers-in-arms. King Cailan’s betrayal and death hit Mhairi hard, and when she learned of the two Grey Wardens who quelled the Blight almost single-handedly, she vowed to serve the Wardens. When the call came for volunteers to help rebuild the order at Vigil’s Keep, Mhairi jumped at the chance to join.
Raymond’s rant: Dragon Age has a stalker. Awesome! Maybe I’ve seen too many episodes of WWE programming, but Mhairi reminds of Mickie James when she was stalking Trish Stratus. I can totally see her going all fangirl on Alistair. Their interaction should be excellent.
Sigrun
Official description: There is only one way to leave the Legion of the Dead: by fulfilling a vow to die in battle against the enemies of Orzammar, a sacrifice that absolves any guilt. Sigrun craves a chance to prove she is more than a worthless gutter-rat, but it’s hard to rush headlong into a battle you won’t survive. After all, when you grow up casteless, you learn to fight for everything. You learn that you have to watch out for yourself, because no one else will, and the Stone knows no one’s going to miss you when you’re dead. Sigrun’s a survivor, and old habits die hard.
Raymond’s rant: Hmmmm, another casteless dwarf. The Legion of the Dead connection is cool and all, but how many chip-on-their-shoulder little-people does the game need? Then again, the dwarves had the best origin stories by a mile. Perhaps Sigrun’s tale will feature similar writing?
Anyway, let me know what you think of these two Dragon Age characters. I’m definitely going to spend time with Mhairi, but I’ll need more convincing to give Sigrun a good run.
The Princeton Review has ranked the top eight undergraduate programs in game design, so if you’re looking to be the next Cliffy B (but with better taste in cars) then you’ll want to pay attention to these rankings. Ladies and gentlemen…here are your top eight finalists…I’m Raymond Padilla…and this is American Idol. Sorry, I’ve always wanted to do that. Anyway, here they are:
A word of advice — RPI is a great school, but you really don’t want to go to college in upstate New York. The winters are nasty.
Any of you considering these fine institutions?
Source via Game Politics
