(Source: facebook.com)
DayZ Closed Beta Test Next Week, Could Arrive For Xbox 720, PS4
Dean “Rocket” Hall has updated the Tumblr for the standalone version ofDayZ and answers a few questions regarding the progress and multiplatform possibilities for the game. The most promising news is that if the team has a stable enough build by next week, they’ll begin large scale testing between 50 and 150 people, which means open beta might come sooner than we think.
Examiner spotted the update on the official DayZ Tumblr page. In regards to a question about the next-gen porting of DayZ for the Xbox 720 and/or PS4 and if it would be possible, Hall replied with the following…
Personally, yes I believe it would be technically possible. Some of the consoles will be easier than others. There are some issues with requirements for publishers which are really annoying, and I have been frustrated in the past with some of the rules required that force some weird design changes in games (I don’t like tutorials!).
Tutorials? Who knew?!
I hate tutorials, too. After Assassin’s Creed II I’m almost keen to stop playing a game for a while if the beginning is filled with too many tutorials. I understand bigwigs like casuals needing time to adapt to the game, but I didn’t pay money to play a tutorial and for those who don’t like it, there definitely needs to be option to off that crap.
What’s more is that hardware manufacturers like Sony and Microsoft have some pretty strict certification phases and other parity regulation guidelines that make it almost impossible for a lot of developers to get innovative and original games onto the home consoles. While at one point an argument could be made about quality over quantity, I’m hard pressed to say that such an argument still has legs to stand on in comparison to some of the indie titles that have been released recently and some that are coming to the market (especially the Kickstarted games).
Anyway, DayZ is continuing to shape up nicely as the team is expanding on a number of features, including dynamic loot spawns, increased zombie counts independent of player locations and a better, streamlined inventory system.
If DayZ arrives for consoles or not isn’t much of a concern. For the Xbox 360 there’s State of Decay and for the PlayStation 3…uhhh…well, Sony will think of something. I’m sure there will be plenty of emergent, survival-horror, zombie-apocalypse titles on the next-gen consoles, too. There’s probably no need to worry if DayZ never sees the light of day on Sony or MS’s next-gen platforms; so long as the game is good on PC I think most fans will be happy.
You can read up on the lengthy update for DayZ over on the Tumblr page.
(Source: slavicinferno)
Episode Four Of The Walking Dead Is Out This Week
The next episode that continues Telltale’s intriguing take on The Walking Dead is releasing tomorrow, the developer/publisher announced today.
Well, sort of. PSN users get first dibs with its release tomorrow. Everyone else in NA will have to wait for Wednesday (shucks). From the official release:
The Walking Dead: Episode Four - Around Every Corner will release Tuesday, October 9th on PlayStation Network in North America for $4.99 or as part of the Season Pass option for $19.99 which includes all five episodes. The episode will also be available on Xbox Live Arcade Wednesday, October 10th for 400 MS Points as DLC within the original The Walking Dead XBLA release, and also on PC/MAC as part of a Season Pass on the Telltale Games Store, as well as through our partners on Steam, Origin, Amazon PC Downloads, GameStop, and GameFly. European and international release dates for PlayStation Network are still to be confirmed. The title is in submission with our international partners at SCEE, and as soon as Telltale Games receives a release confirmation, a date will be announced.
We were also sent two new screenshots and one piece of art (featured above) for you to enjoy. As usual, the group of survivors sees themselves in some tricky situations. But most frigthening is Clementine’s look of hope as she leads Lee to what I guess she expects will be a reunion with her parents. Poor Clementine. If only it would be that easy. ‘Cause you know it won’t be.
http://kotaku.com/5949837/episode-four-of-the-walking-dead-is-out-this-week
‘Psychonauts’ Being Re-Released As a PS2 Classic
Get ready to buy Psychonauts again: It’s coming to the PS3 this Tuesday.
Psychonauts, if you happen to have been living underneath a rock, was the first game from Double Fine. It won awards, it was critically beloved, and audiences heralded the return of Tim Schafer as the game became a financial juggernaut.
In an alternate universe, that is. In ours, while critics loved it and it cleaned up awards-wise, it was such a financial flop that it killed Majesco as a console games developer and nearly put a bullet in Double Fine.
Obviously, Double Fine has gotten better, and this is just the capper to a very bizarre history of a game the fans just would not let die.
To give you an idea of just how bizarre, the PS2 Classics port marks the sixth re-release of the game. It’s been on Steam, ported to Xbox 360, there was a Mac version released, and it’s even been ported to Linux. It was even part of one of the Humble Indie Bundles, where inclusion of the game drove sales of the bundle much higher than anybody expected.
And, as Sony notes, fans have been begging for a re-release pretty much since the PS3 came out.
So, in short, Double Fine’s baby turns out to have done well. Now, Tim… how about Android and iOS?
Read more: http://www.uproxx.com/gammasquad/2012/08/psychonauts-being-re-released-as-ps2-classic/#ixzz24foJN8xb
(Source: slavicinferno)
EA Declares Every Game They Make Will Have a Multiplatform “Online Universe” Of Its Own
Do you want to be able to connect to yourBattlefield, Need For Speed, and Sims, games at all times? Do you want to be leveling up skills in FIFA from work, or contemplating Medal of Honor weapons on your commute? EA certainly wants you to, and plans to make it happen.
Eurogamer reports that this week in the UK, EA exec Keith Ramsdale announced that EA will be developing “online universes” for all its franchises. He didn’t mean multiplayer gaming necessarily, but rather a cross-platform, major tie-in approach to games, drawing in more or less every electronic gadget a player could possibly touch during the day. The example he gave was of FIFA:
Imagine a player gets up in the morning, plays an online match on his 360 before going to work. On the bus, on his way to work, he practices his free kicks on his tablet. At lunch he looks at the transfer window on his PC. On the way home he chooses his kit on his smartphone.
Here’s the thing: when he gets home to play again on his 360 that evening, all those achievements and upgrades will be alive in his game.
EA demonstrated a move in this direction earlier this year with Mass Effect 3, not only adding the “galactic readiness” online multiplayer element into the game but also pairing it withFacebook apps and iOS apps and games that could influence the single-player campaign’s readiness level.
Ramsdale indicated that EA intends to create the interconnected online systems for all of their game franchises, adding, “That gives the consumer full control of how and when they play in a rich world of content.”
EA isn’t alone in their drive to create interconnected online ecosystems around their game franchises; Ubisoft is doing the same with Ghost Recon and nearly every upcoming or recently released game has at least some kind of Facebook marketing tie-in.
Does every game need a “play anywhere” system that lets you tinker around the edges whether or not you’re anywhere near your gaming console of choice? Maybe not, and the idea seems likely to translate better to some games than others. But every EA game is now getting one, so let’s hope they’re good.
http://kotaku.com/5903724/ea-declares-every-game-they-make-will-have-a-multiplatform-online-universe-of-its-own
I’VE KIND OF BEEN WAITING FOR THIS FOREVER!!!
