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Rocksteady has a complete build of Batman: Arkham City

Posted on Friday September 3rd, 2010 at 5:05pm by Destructoid

The Batman is very pleased this day. His next adventure, Batman: Arkham City, is "complete," playable from start to finish and in need only of some tender polishing. 

The information was discovered on a recent OPM podcast (#11 for those who want to hear for themselves), which revealed some exciting new details about the sequel. For one, there's a new grapple system that propels you into the air, which should make for some extended bat flight and some harsh punishment from above. 

There was also a discussion of co-op play (which would make sense considering there were previous hints of multiplayer), but nothing is confirmed yet. There's definitely something brewing in the land of multiplayer, but we'll have to wait and see just what it is. I'm sure it involves punching. 

It's important to remember that "complete" doesn't mean that the game's going to be in our hands tomorrow, but, you know, I don't even care. Just knowing that all the parts are in place makes my fists ready for bashing. In the best way possible.

Batman: Arkham City is "Complete" [CVG]

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PAX: See the blinding TRON: Evolution in action

Posted on Friday September 3rd, 2010 at 3:03pm by Destructoid

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Who needs to be at PAX? We're bringing it to you! Disney is letting PAX Prime goers go hands on with its upcoming title TRON: Evolution, allowing them to get a taste of the game's free-running, combat, and the light cycle in action.

While this doesn't quite match playing it, we've got a video of the game in action for you to watch in the comfort of your chair. If you're standing, sit down. I can't imagine why you'd be standing up and reading this though, unless it's on your phone, and chances are you can't watch this video anyhow.

The demo at PAX is the same thing I played pre-E3, and while it showed promise (I had fun with the combat, based on Capoeira) , but need a bit of polishing. If you did attend PAX (or you're there now -- why are you reading this?), then let me know what you think of the game. It's out for PlayStation3 and Xbox 360 on December 7, a few weeks before the film, TRON: Legacy, hits theaters.

 

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272-page Art of God of War III book incoming

Posted on Friday September 3rd, 2010 at 3:03pm by Destructoid

Ballistic Publishing, the folks behind The Art of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, have announced its next PlayStation partnership, The Art of God of War III.

Set for release this October, the 272-page book will feature a "visual history tour" of the game, including 100 pieces of art that didn't appear in the game. The book will feature concept art, character studios, character modeling, and more, giving you a behind-the-scenes look at Sony Santa Monica's production process.

Ballistic is also offering exclusive character modeling walkthrough videos to anyone who purchases the book through its website. The videos will feature Santa Monica character artist Katon Callaway detailing how the Cerberus and Hephaestus characters were designed.

The Art of God of War III comes in two flavors -- paperback for $65, leather-bound for $129.99, and a "Limited Folio Edition" for $300. What does three bills get you? A leather-bound presentation case, a hand-signed an number Certificate of Authenticity, and a hand-carved cover ornament designed to look like the "Blade of Exile."

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Pee, lift weights, shoot hoops in Duke Nukem Forever

Posted on Friday September 3rd, 2010 at 2:02pm by Destructoid

I didn't ever really expect to be playing Duke Nukem Forever. But in my dreams, when I did, I was just shooting, kicking ass, and complaining about how I was all out of bubblegum. Gearbox has other ideas.

In the opening moments of the Duke Nukem Forever demo, playable to the public at PAX this weekend, Duke Nukem takes a leak. What's more, you press a button in order to make him pee. But the level of interactivity with Duke and his world doesn't stop there. As Duke you'll also be able to play basketball, pump iron, read "adult magazines," and even draw nasty messages on white boards. Oh, and drool over half-naked women... how very Duke Nukem of you.

Yeah, all of that shooting and kicking ass I'd dreamed about, it seems we'll get it in 2011 when the game ships for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. We'll be able to do it all over, too, from the Vegas Strip to the Hoover Dam.

I had come to accept that Duke Nukem Forever would have to live only in my dreams. But learning that it's a game where I can both play basketball and take a leak (eat that NBA Elite 11!), well, it can't come soon enough. 

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Ubisoft's Outlander: It's like Ikaruga, but a platformer

Posted on Friday September 3rd, 2010 at 1:01pm by Destructoid

Trying to create noise from the deafening silence following the announcement of Bloody Good Time, Ubisoft has revealed Outland, an upcoming platformer adventure inspired by games like Prince of Persia... and Ikaruga.

Here's the official line on this one: "Outland puts players in the middle of a world of balance and chaos where their efforts allow them to bridge the ancient divide, or doom the world to destruction. Each player’s adventure will take them between light and darkness and force them to adapt to an ever-changing world. This light versus dark core gameplay is inspired by the arcade classic Ikaruga."

So it's a platformer, but it's like Ikaruga. I think that's qualifies as "awesome," and it looks wonderful, too. The title is being developed by Super Stardust HD studio, Housemarque, and will be available for Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network in early 2011.

If you're in Seattle for PAX, you can stop by Ubisoft's booth and check it out.

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Killzone 3 hits stores February 22

Posted on Friday September 3rd, 2010 at 1:01pm by Destructoid

Perhaps trying to steal the show from one Mr. Duke Nukem, Sony has announced a release date for Guerilla's Killzone 3. It'll be on shelves February 22 in North America.

If the wait between Killzone and its sequel seemed a bit longer than you had to wait for Killzone 3, you're not imagining things. Guerilla's Herman Hulst admitted that the development cycle for Killzone 3 was much shorter than Killzone 2. He points to a more experienced development, having learned many lessons from bringing Killzone 2 to life. But he's clear that doesn't mean Killzone 3 is a copy-paste of Killzone 2.

"There's nothing really in Killzone 3 that's straight from Killzone 2," he told me, "everything's been improved."

The game's multiplayer is playable to the public for the first time at PAX this week. If you're there, check it out, and stop reading stories on the Internet.

Killzone 3 Coming to PS3 February 22, 2011 [PlayStation Blog]

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Ninja Theory's Enslaved is gold, coming October 5

Posted on Friday September 3rd, 2010 at 1:01pm by Destructoid

Hey everyone, Ninja Theory's Enslaved: Odyssey to the West has gone gold. That's right, it's done, which means it'll be good to go for its previously announced October 5 release.

Enslaved is Ninja Theory's multi-platform (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3) follow-up to the PS3-exclusive Heavenly Sword. Our gamescom team loved it. Like, would not stop talking about it "loved it." I'm playing it now, and I'm not allowed to say anything until next week. But, I completely and totally… wait, nevermind. I'll save it for my preview next week; embargoes and such.

Now that Enslaved is done, Ninja Theory can really get to cracking on Devil May Cry 5, right? Right?

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Preview: Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer

Posted on Friday September 3rd, 2010 at 12:12pm by Destructoid

At a recent event in Los Angeles, developer Treyarch showed off for the first time the multiplayer aspects of the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops. It was a massive, all-out affair, and this was simply for the multiplayer part of the game, which speaks volumes to the focus Treyarch is putting into this aspect of the game. I was at the event and got to see all the new multiplayer features on a big IMAX screen. Really, it was huge; so was some of the news it dropped about the upcoming multiplayer.

We'll get to the hands-on time below, but I'll just explain the new stuff quickly here. The two big things are "Combat Training" and the introduction of a money system/economy for the game. The latter, which uses a made-up currency called "COD points," opens up a variety of new features and gameplay modes for the game including four new modes that let you bet on the match. Yes, gambling has finally come to Call of Duty.

The line that Dan Bunting and David Vonderhaar, the two leads on Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer, were outing at the event was that of three Cs: Compete, Customize and Create. They said that Treyarch went into developing the multiplayer with the idea of taking these three Cs and developing them further than they had ever been pushed before. I'll start with create since it's the biggest sucker of the three, and I've already discussed a bit about it above.

Obviously, competition is the bread and butter of any competitive multiplayer game. We all pretty much know what we're getting at its base when we pick up a Call of Duty game and play the multiplayer, so what is important here are the new features.

The first and most important change is the inclusion of the aforementioned "COD Points." You get "COD Points" for a plethora of different things in multiplayer, and you can use them to buy upgrades, outfits, features, etc. I was told the list of purchasable things in the game was massive, and that implementing this in-game economy was a way to allow players to develop their character the way they wanted to, instead of simply leveling up.

You'll earn money the usual way (killing, winning, etc.), but thanks to the inclusion of the "COD Points," there are also a few new kinds of gameplay. One kind are the Wager Matches, which you can check out here in trailer form. These matches allow you to wager "COD Points" and then play out a battle, with the top three players receiving the pot divided up in decreasing amounts.

The four Wager modes actually sound really interesting. The first is "One in the Chamber," in which all the players start the game with a pistol, one bullet, and three lives. If you kill a person with your one bullet, you can pick up their bullet. If you miss, then you're running around weaponless, and have to use a bit more stealth to get a kill and another bullet.

The second mode is "Sticks and Stones," which starts everyone off with a crossbow, a knife, and a tomahawk. The trick here is that if you're hit with a tomahawk, you're bankrupted and lose any money you might have earned. I actually got a chance to play this mode, and while I suck at hitting people with tomahawks, I must say it was a shining example of how much more you care about something when money (even if it is fake) is on the line. I was so much more pissed-off every time I died because I was actually losing something, and when the match ended I just wanted to play again to see if I could get my fake money back. It definitely shifts how you play a round a bit, and I think it will be a welcome addition to the multiplayer, especially since these modes are separate from standard, ranked gameplay.

As for the last two modes, they are "Gun Game," where players progress to a better and better gun every time they get a kill and drop down to a worse gun every time they are killed, and "Sharpshooter," which starts the match with every person playing having the exact same weapon, and no other weapons are on the map. After a certain amount of time the weapon changes for all the players, so in essence everyone has to fight with the exact same gun at all times.

However, placing wagers on your matches isn't the only way to earn yourself some extra cash. The game will also feature Contracts. Contracts are challenges that you opt into and have to complete in a certain amount of time. For instance, you might have to kill 10 people with a headshot in 24 hours. If you take a Contract and complete it you get paid, if not, you get nothing. Contracts will vary in type, length, and difficulty, with the more difficult ones being worth more money. Treyarch says that it will be putting out new contracts nearly daily, so there will always be new challenges to sign-up for.

The second big, new thing in the "Compete section" of the presentation was the "Combat Training" mode. This is basically single-player (or co-op) multiplayer. That might sound like one of the most idiotic statements ever made, but it is actually a brilliant idea, especially for people like me who hate hopping into a multiplayer game and getting destroyed before they can even learn a map. What "Combat Training" does is put AI bots into a multiplayer level, and lets you learn the level and tactics before jumping into an actual multiplayer bout.

While playing against bots in a multiplayer stage isn't a new idea per se, it's something that hasn't been featured in a CoD title, and the mode isn't just an offshoot of having bots in the multiplayer -- it's actually designed to help teach people how to play multiplayer. The devs are hoping that it will bring the 40 percent of CoD players who don't touch the multiplayer mode into the fold. I likened it to the Wii, which Nintendo says will bring casual gamers to hardcore games. Well, this brings hardcore gamers into more hardcore things -- bridging the gap between single-player and multiplayer, if you will.

There are other changes to the competition as well. These include new, more interactive, killstreak rewards, which were demoed in a video for us, and included a giant chain gun called the "Death Machine" and a rocket launcher type device called the "Grim Reaper." I, sadly, suck at shooting people dead, so I didn't get to experience using any of these new perks, but I did have the pleasure of being mowed down by a few of them. They hurt.

The final change worth noting is something that seems small, but could change the way people play. When you choose your loadout before the game it will affect the way your character looks. A sniper will have a gilly suit on while an explosives expert will be more heavily armored, etc. While different stats and abilities are obviously not new, looking different depending on your class is. They didn't dwell to much on this, but for me it seemed like one of those things that could lead to people playing the game very differently in that you may go after a certain person or fight a certain way because now you'll know their strengths and weaknesses at first glance.

Now on to the other two Cs, which turned out to be far less important, but still pretty cool. Customize is exactly what it sounds like. You'll be able to customize almost everything from your face paint to your gun's site and colors. You will even be able to throw your own symbol, which you can also create and design in far more detail then ever before, onto your gun. Of course, all of these options and modifications are going to cost you "COD Points." It's a nifty feature.

Finally we come to Create. Create covered two topics, one of which was the previously discussed in-depth symbol creator. They demoed it at the show, and while basic it's more than most FPS give you. You can choose from a plethora of designs and then shrink them, color them, rotate them, and move them all around. Then you can choose other designs and put them on your previous one in layers. The example given was turning a braying horse with its hooves in the air into a braying horse with two guns for hooves in the air. You can also mess around with your emblem's background.

That was probably a paragraph more than that subject really deserved, because the part of Create that is actually important is the Black Op's Theater. In this you can take any match and slice, dice and splice it to your heart's content in order to make the most badass CoD video ever. Vonderhaar discussed it more in depth in an interview Destructoid did with him that will be going up later, but players will be able to choose to grab shots from any players perspective or use the free cam to get the perfect angle on that headshot they landed. Treyarch also really wanted to push this as a way to "study film." The developer hopes players will be able to look back and see how levels are used best and how they got beaten, and thus become better players.

While I only got a little bit of playtime with the game, I can tell you that it's a Call of Duty shooter. It plays like you would expect it to play. Of course, I'm not an expert on the minute details of Call of Duty combat; I just play for fun. If the grenades have been gimped in some way or the new assault rifle fires differently in some minuscule manner, I would not have noticed. I'll leave those details to the relentless experts to argue over.

What I can say is that it was fun, and Treyarch really -- almost desperately -- wants to prove that it can make the best multiplayer experience on the market. With so many competing franchises jumping in, that will be hard to do, but it's definitely clear that they're hard at work on it.

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Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit trailer encourages trash talk

Posted on Friday September 3rd, 2010 at 11:11am by Destructoid

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Criterion's Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit looks gorgeous and super fast. That was expected. It's the amount of trash-talking that you're going to end up doing with your friends that's going to take you by surprise.

The developer has create a unique game hub which it's calling "Autolog." This hub not only keeps track of what you're doing, but what your friends are doing, and how they're progressing. The game is designed to constantly keep you up to date on player progress -- game progression, records being set -- and then shove it in your face. The idea is to get you to keep playing, the incentive to always be number one among your friends.

The idea is rather brilliant, and it looks like it's really well-implemented in Hot Pursuit, but it's not a new one. I always think of Bizarre's Geometry Wars as the gold standard for how leaderboards and score-keeping should be done -- it's a game that (unless you look for it) doesn't shove world leaderboards in your face, instead presenting the scores of people you care about: those on your friends list. It's making these rivalries and high score goals immediate, tangible, and unavoidable that always kept me wanting to play "just one more game."

If Hot Pursuit can do for racing what Geometry Wars did for me, I'm expecting some long, long nights ahead of me when the game ships in November. Cue "Eye of the Tiger."

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Full Power Gig setlist plays favorites

Posted on Friday September 3rd, 2010 at 11:11am by Destructoid

Seven45 Studios has revealed the full soundtrack for its upcoming music title, Power Gig: Rise of the Six String, and I hope you like Eric Clapton, Dave Matthews Band, and Kid Rock.

Those particular artists have exclusively licensed their music for use in Power Gig, and Seven45 studios is taking advantage of the agreements by putting multiple songs from the artists on the disc. Clapton fans can play along with "Layla," "Lay Down Sally," and "Let It Rain." Dave Matthews scores "Tripping Billies," "Why I Am," and "Funny the Way It Is." Kid Rock (who, according to a Seven45 rep during a pre-E3 event, "no one is more authentic than") gets "Rock N' Roll Jesus," "Son of Detroit," and "All Summer Long" on the disc.

The disc will feature 70 tracks, and they are admittedly pretty diverse, with bands ranging from Queens of the Stone Age to Black Sabbath, The Black Keys to A Perfect Circle. John Mayer also makes his debut in a music game, and he gets a few tracks on the disc, too. Seven45 also promises more tracks to come, with downloadable content already being planned.

How do you think Power Gig's selections compare to the Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock and Rock Band 3 tracks?

 

• Eric Clapton - Layla
• Eric Clapton - Lay Down Sally
• Eric Clapton - Let It Rain
• Dave Matthews Band - Funny The Way It Is
• Dave Matthews Band - Tripping Billies
• Dave Matthews Band - Why I Am
• Kid Rock - All Summer Long
• Kid Rock - Rock 'N' Roll Jesus
• Kid Rock - Son of Detroit
• John Mayer - No Such Thing
• Jane’s Addiction - Been Caught Stealing
• No Doubt - Platinum Blonde Life   
• Ozzy Osbourne - A.V.H.
• Queens of the Stone Age - You Think I Ain't Worth a Dollar, But I Feel Like a Millionaire
• Smashing Pumpkins - Cherub Rock
• Disturbed - The Night        
• Rage Against the Machine - Bombtrack
• Stevie Ray Vaughan - Couldn't Stand The Weather
• Black Sabbath - The Devil Cried
• Stone Temple Pilots - Plush
• Living Colour - Cult of Personality
• John Mayer - Who Do You Think I Was
• Snow Patrol - Hands Open
• Three Days Grace - Break
• Paramore - Ignorance
• Silversun Pickups - Substitution
• The Offspring - You’re Gonna Go Far Kid
• The Black Label Society - Retribution
• Breaking Benjamin - Breath
• The Tragically Hip - New Orleans Is Sinking
• The Used - Blood on My Hands
• Mastodon - Crack the Skye
• A Perfect Circle - The Hollow
• Buckcherry - Tired of You   
• Firewind - Head Up High
• The Black Keys - Strange Times
• Flyleaf - Again
• Godsmack - Awake
• Incubus - Wish You Were Here
• Jet - She's A Genius
• The Hives - Tick Tick Boom
• John Mayer - Crossroads
• Bad Religion - I Want to Conquer the World
• Korn - Hold On
• The Academy Is... - His Girl Friday
• Lacuna Coil - Spellbound
• MuteMath - Chaos
• New Found Glory - Listen to Your Friends
• P.O.D. - Alive
• Puddle of Mudd - Blurry
• Rise Against - Paper Wings
• Sick Puppies - You're Going Down
• The Donnas - Fall Behind Me
• The Get Up Kids - Martyr Me
• Idlewild - Reader and Writers
• Surfer Blood - Swim
• Channels - Chivaree
• Superdrag - Aspartame
• Envy on the Coast - Headfirst in the River
• Damiera - Silvertongue
• A Cursive Memory - Everything
• The Hounds Below - She's Alchemy
• A Love Like PI - Innocent Man
• The Willowz - I Know
• I See Stars - Comfortably Confused
• The Paris Riots - Hotel of Infidels
• School Boy Humor - Camera Shy
• So Many Dynamos - Artifacts of Sound
• Taxpayer - When You When Young
• The Fatal Flaw - Don't Start Believing

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Rock Band DLC: Uh... Snoop Dogg?!

Posted on Friday September 3rd, 2010 at 10:10am by Destructoid

It's an actual thing that is actually happening -- Snoop Dogg's music is coming to Rock Band next week.

Eight of of Mr. Calvin Broadus' hits will be coming to the game, available for download from the Rock Band Store. These versions were evidently produced specifically for Rock Band.

• “Beautiful”
• “Drop It Like It’s Hot”
• “Ridin’ In My Chevy”
• “Sensual Seduction”
• “Snoop’s Upside Ya Head”
• “Tha Shiznit”
• “That’s Tha Homie” *
• “Who Am I (What’s My Name)?

Tracks are $1.99/160 MS Points/200 Wii Points per track, or $13.49/1080 MS Points for the full "Snoop Dogg Pack 01." Here's what it gets confusing, so takes notes…

The individual tracks will be available for download on all platforms (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii) next week as individual song downloads; you'll only be able to get it as a pack next week on the Xbox 360. Oh, and "That's Tha Homie" won't be available for download on the PS3 until September 14 in North America, and September 15 in Europe. On September 21 in North America and September 22 in Europe, the entire "Snoop Dogg Pack 01" will be available for download on the PlayStation 3.

Confused? Bottom line is that if you have an Xbox 360, you can get everything next week and in a nice package if you want. If you're on another platform, just fire up your console and see what's available, because keeping track of all of this is too much work. Fo' shizzle.

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Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath remake coming to PSN in 2011

Posted on Friday September 3rd, 2010 at 9:09am by Destructoid

Next year, developer Just Add Water will be bringing an updated port of Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath to the PlayStation Network.

The quirky first- and third-person shooter was originally released in 2005, and had players taking the role of the bounty hunter known as the Stranger. The game had a quirky feel that you'd expect from an Oddworld game, with players using "live" ammo (read: animals and bugs) to take out enemies.

The updated version of the game will boast updated visuals at 720p, along with updated graphical bells and whistles that you'd expect from a current-gen game. The title's dialogue is also being remastered, and Just Add Water is shoving PlayStation Move support into the thing for good measure.

The Stranger's Wrath remake is slated for an Easter release, with even more "bonus material still to be revealed."

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An evening with the gods of God of War

Posted on Friday September 3rd, 2010 at 8:08am by Destructoid

Cory Barlog is officially one of my favorite videogame personalities. David Jaffe was already up there, along with Mark Rein, and a few others. To me, these people are known for their brutal honesty and undeniable personality. Working in this industry and meeting such people is the best part of it, even better than playing games a day earlier than everyone else.

Of course, I didn't know that's how I'd feel until after Barlog and Jaffe spent four and a half hours pointing out sexual references, and telling funny stories about their time developing the God of War games. But it wasn't just these two -- the whole of God of War game directors met, for an off-kilter round table discussion slated for your home theater this holiday season.

Hosted by G4s Allison Haislip, David Jaffe, Cory Barlog, Stig Asmussen, Ru Weerasuriya, and Dana Jan -- the game directors of God of War, God of War 2, GoW3, GoW: Chains of Olympus, and the upcoming GoW: Ghost of Sparta, respectively -- talked about everything from their inspiration to create their games to who would make the best Kratos in a supposed God of War movie. (They didn't agree, but my vote goes to either Old Spice Mascot.)

Jaffe, known for his outspoken personality, unintentionally stole the show, but his comrades asked for it. For the first hour, every question posed by Haislip was met with a turn of the head and a quiet stare in Jaffe's direction. It wasn't until Jaffe got fed up with answering everything that the rest of the team, besides Barlog inputting every witty quip he could, really opened up.

Quite a bit about the God of War franchise came out that night. How Kratos was originally envisioned (Martin Riggs plus Russell Crowe); why his skin was so pale (the unfinished original artwork for Kratos, uncolored with nothing but primer, looked perfect according to Jaffe; what God of War was originally pitched as (Clash of the Titans directed by Ridley Scott); and why Kratos is so likable ("While destroying everything around him, [Kratos is] inadvertently better," said Barlog. And he's the ultimate badass)

But perhaps the most interesting bit, which so many people are curious about, is why every game had a different game director. Each had their reasons for stepping aside, but it also gave each new title a fresh start. As Asmussen pointed out, "the first time [directing] is the hungriest." Both Jaffe and Barlog left to pursue personal ventures, while Weerakjniya gave up his directorial role to run the business side of Ready At Dawn Studios.

Barlog was an absolute treat. Some of his memorable comments include "I build a big level because I can build a big level! Aren't I awesome?!" and "Athena: 'I'm gonna take your visions away', then later, 'nobody can do that sucka!'" And when Jan was asked how he kept enemies fresh, he told a story of Jaffe's Napkin O' Monsters, a restaurant napkin with every character in the God of War series. According to Barlog, "Jaffe draws like a three year old." Yes, that's how the night progressed.

Also discussed was the ludicrousness of the series. "Death doesn't really mean anything," Jaffe pointed out, as everyone dies yet Kratos himself died twice and escaped Hades. One comical debate compared Kratos to Bruce Wayne. Both fight for revenge and vengance over the anguish of their lost families, but Jaffe couldn't wrap his head around how Kratos remained so angry.

"Peter Parker lost uncle ben, and he's still cheery," Jaffe joked. "Get over it."

On their inspirations, the entire team agreed when Jaffe said "go play games you haven't heard of," pointing games to Ico and Onimushu. "That's the hallmark of God of War," Barlog said jokingly. "We take unknown games and completely rip them off."

Other unknown tidbits about the series?

• The main selling point was always the brutality and violence, because Jaffe knew it would sell.
• Jaffe's vision of Kratos is as a man who puts work before everything else, and pays with his family for it.
• Most everything in the game, from the environments to characters, are highly romanticized and not historically accurate, because otherwise it would have looked like crap.
• The idea for huge environments and enemies was to evoke a sense of wonder (which clearly worked wonders).
• The supposed God of War movie has been in and out of production for years, and Daniel Craig turned down the role of Kratos a year ago. (Probably to keep his hair.) One unnamed actor did sign on, and all Jaffe would reveal is that he played in a recently released sequel (the third part of a trilogy) that flopped.

The directors left the audience with an important lesson to learn from Kratos.

"Take what you want, and damn the consequences," Barlog said. "If you want it, take it. And if you love it, people will follow you."

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A look at Guitar Hero's crazy Warriors of Rock

Posted on Thursday September 2nd, 2010 at 9:09pm by Destructoid

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Totally new and totally metal is the new Guitar Hero Warriors of Rock character artwork and this nifty new trailer! Despite what some people say about the series, I think it looks interesting. Of course, I love heavy metal and think this sort of stuff is hilarious, but that's just me. The art assets are all one shots containing before and after shots of the transformations focused on in the new game. Besides that, also contained were images of the loading screens featuring each characters metamorphasis.

The idea here has to do with the characters transforming into all new, more powerful versions of their looks from previous games. Each character is shown off with all their complexities readily visible. There was the punk rocker girl becomes all angelic with some gigantic boots. This other face painted guy turns into boar warrior with an axe guitar. I liked that. Guy with a mohawk flips into this green spiked monster, I found that particularly prickly design fascinating.

My favorite one is the hat guy with those glasses because he has that cool looking goatee. Goatee's are the most menacing of all facial hair styles. He looks cool to me! I like that he has dreadlocks and is wearing a hat too, that looks pretty funny. Homeboy then for whatever reason became the headless horseman. He had green ectoplasm seeping out from his neck and this wonderful jack o'lantern guitar.

What do you guys think?

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inFAMOUS 2 playable at PAX Prime

Posted on Thursday September 2nd, 2010 at 6:06pm by Destructoid

As if people heading to PAX Prime didn't have enough to be excited about, Sony and the crew at Sucker Punch have a little something for the crowds in attendance: a playable demo of inFAMOUS 2. Seven kiosks will be set-up at the inFAMOUS 2 booth, #122 on the show floor, with demos featuring Cole's new weapon, the "Amp," and a new power called Ionic Vortex. Plus, they'll be giving out inFAMOUS 2 t-shirts to demo players until they run out. Sounds positively electric! (Sorry, couldn't resist.) 

Oh, and if that wasn't enough for you, there's the inFAMOUS 2 panel featuring new gameplay footage showing off the new Kinetic Pulse power and Ravager enemy. The panel is on Friday night and, according to the PlayStation Blog post, starts at 6:30 p.m. at the Pegasus Theater inside the Sheraton Hotel across the street from the convention center. Are any of you guys amped up about getting to play inFAMOUS 2?

Play inFAMOUS 2 at PAX! [PlayStation Blog]

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New screens, trailer capture essence of FEAR 3

Posted on Thursday September 2nd, 2010 at 5:05pm by Destructoid

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If you ask me, there just aren't enough games with scary-ass pregnant ladies. At least we have FEAR 3, which Warner Brothers and Day 1 Studios is showing off in this brand-new trailer. 

While we may not see FEAR 3 until 2011 now, that hasn't stopped the team from continuing to reveal more about the game. The main focus of the trailer is "capturing the essence" of the franchise: great A.I., plenty of horror, and strong combat. Since Day One Studios (the team behind the MechAssault series) is now handling development, they're playing up their expertise in mech combat. If you've played the MechAssault games, you know they're not just blowing smoke.

Coupled with the great promise of FEAR 3's cooperative focus, I'm expecting this entry to push the series from being decent into being great. There's certainly a lack of high-quality horror games out there (I want Condemned 3 so hard), so I'm asking, nay, begging FEAR 3 to get it right. Please? For me?

At least the game has a damn fine look to it, which you can see in the screens below. Electricity is pretty!

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New details on Tokyo Jungle confirm that yep, it's weird

Posted on Thursday September 2nd, 2010 at 4:04pm by Destructoid

When I posted about Tokyo Jungle yesterday, I noted that the game promised something called "hunting action." Many of you took this to mean that Tokyo Jungle was yet another contender for Monster Hunter's dominance of the monster-hunting game space, except this time involving real-life endangered species.

However, now that our available information level has upgraded from "blurry Famitsu scans" to "low-res Famitsu screens", you might be happy (or disappointed) to know that Tokyo Jungle is no Monster Hunter clone. Instead, it looks like a weird sort of side-scrolling action-adventure, where you play as an animal roaming the apparently depopulated city of Tokyo in the year 20XX. Yes, friends, they still use "20XX" as a year designation.

The game's "story mode" takes you through a campaign focusing on the trials and tribulations of several newly liberated animals, including a racehorse looking for competition and a pomeranian looking for snacks. "Survival mode" has you, well, survive as any of over 80 selectable animals, including lions, tigers, crocodiles, beagles, and what is clearly a reference to Japan's genius chimpanzee, Pan-kun.

Now, if you're wondering how, exactly, those crazy people at Sony thought of something like this, know that Tokyo Jungle comes from the PlayStation C.A.M.P. (for "Creator Audition Mashup Project), a development initiative that spawned such titles as Echochrome, Patchwork Heroes, and the My Lord/Badman series.

So yeah, weird. And totally desirable! Are you in? Will you be the controller animal?!

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Battle vs. Chess hits shelves September 28

Posted on Thursday September 2nd, 2010 at 3:03pm by Destructoid

After reading ou r Battle vs. Chess preview, I know what you were thinking: "Who the hell is Tara Long?" and when can I get my hands on this fine original piece of software?

The answer to your first question is… I don't know either. But she'll be at PAX, from what I'm told, so find her and ask her. To answer the second question, September 28 is when Battle vs. Chess will be out for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC.

Publisher SouthPeak announced the date in a press release this week, which sounds like it was written more for investors than press. Actual text from the release: "Classic Strategy Game Expected to Propel Sales and Achieve Profitable Margins." What I would have written: "Old Stupid Chess Now Features Demons, Knights, and Boobs." Not sure what they were thinking with that "profitable margins" thing.

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Devil May Cry 5 to have a 'Western touch'

Posted on Thursday September 2nd, 2010 at 3:03pm by Destructoid

It's been awhile since we've heard anything on the Devil May Cry front, and while Capcom isn't ready to announce anything just yet, Keiji Inafune is willing to drop a few hints.

In an interview with 3D Jeugos, Inafune admits that the series doesn't do particularly well in Western markets. With that in mind, it's likely that the games will be given a "Western touch" to make them more attractive to American and European players.

While it's not a confirmation that the game is in development, it's an interesting comment based on what we've previously heard. Rumors have been floating around for some time that Cambridge, England-based Ninja Theory has been working with Capcom on the upcoming sequel. The developer, who had worked on the PlayStation 3-exclusive Heavenly Sword, will ship Enslaved later this year.

Dead Rising, Mega Man, DMC, Onimusha… ¿Resident Evil 6? Charlamos con Keiji Inafune. [3D Juegos]

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Capcom wants Resident Evil 6 out soon, so do we

Posted on Thursday September 2nd, 2010 at 2:02pm by Destructoid

It's been a little over a year since Resident Evil 5 was first released. Can we get another Resident Evil already? Damn, Capcom… what is the hold up here?!?!

Okay, so maybe that's going a little overboard. We can wait; it can take its time, as long as it turns out great. But in a recent interview with Spanish gaming site 3D Juegos, Capcom's Keiji Inafune hints that the publisher is as eager to get it out as we are to get our hands on it.

"Due to the great success that Resident Evil 5 had for us, we want that Resident Evil 6 come out to the market as fast as possible," he said. "In fact, you will have news about this from Capcom shortly."

Oh, will we now? With Tokyo Game Show right around the corner (and you know how much the Japanese love them some Biohazard), we'll be keeping yourselves up at night with anticipation.

Dead Rising, Mega Man, DMC, Onimusha… ¿Resident Evil 6? Charlamos con Keiji Inafune. [3D Juegos - Thanks, Miles!]

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