Monthly Archives: December 2011

EverQuest II executive producer Dave Georgeson has announced that all characters created before Age of Discovery’s launch will be grandfathered into the game. Now, characters previously locked when going from having a subscription to choosing the free-to-play model are now playable. Station Cash points spent to unlock the characters following the AoD release will also be refunded. Any character created on an EQII account before December 6 is eligible. More information on the matter is posted on the forums. The forum also has word that Veteran Rewards will be made available to F2P users as well. Thanks, Massively.

Harmonix has announced that a three-pack of Canadian prog-rockers RUSH will be made available on PS3, Wii, and Xbox 360 December 13. Track include: Fly by Night, Caravan, and The Spirit of Radio (Live). Also to be made available are the singles Rebel Love Song from Black Veil Brides and A Warrior’s Call from Volbeat. Each track will run you $1.99, with an additional $0.99 for Pro tracks. More information is available on the Rock Band Blog.

Sony has updated its US movie and TV offerings with plenty of goodies to watch, starting with The Hangover Part II an the sci-fi western, Cowboys & Aliens.

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Half-Life 3 rumors have been swirling the net since Half-Life 2 was released to the console masses in fall 2007 via The Orange Box. Starting last week, the rumor sector lit up to boiling when a Half-Life 3 shirt was sported by a Valve employee at an event, which was either the biggest troll ever or the smarted marketing ploy in the world. Today, a “US-based voice actor” has told OXM they recent recorded lines for “Half Life Episode 3″. OXM has asked the actor for further clarification on the matter. This could be another massive troll, a lie, or a slip of the tongue. No matter what the case may be, one thing is for certain: if Half-Life 3 or Episode 3 is in the works, Valve will announce it when it is damned good and ready to do so – unless there’s a proof-positive leak beforehand. [pic]

Kinect Rush: A Disney Pixar Adventure has been announced by Microsoft. Set for a March 20 release, the game, previously code-named “Rush”, brings five “beloved Pixar films to life like never before.” Players can team up with characters from: The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Up!, Cars and Toy Story to “race against time and solve time-based challenges.” Watch the video of the game below. It’s rather adorable.

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It looks as though Nintendo fans in Europe have plenty to look forward to between now and January 5, thanks to various DSiWare, eShop and WiiWare offerings.

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The opening chapter from the Gears of War 3 DLC RAAM’s Shadow has been videoed, and is posted below in three-parts,courtesy of Ve3tro. The campaign takes place before the events of the first Gears, and will last around three hours. It will also include six new multiplayer characters, the Chocolate Weapon Skin Set and an additional 250 Gamerscore. RAAM’s Shadow is set for release on XBL December 13 and it will cost you 1200 MSP.

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GSC Games World has tweeted that a statement regarding the current situation at the firm will be released on Monday, December 12, after internet reports steaming from a Ukrainian news site called UkraNews reported that GSC had been closed down by owner Sergei Grigorovich, and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 development cancelled.

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Seriously, words can never do this justice. Watch after the break and you’ll see why. Utterly incredible.

Thanks, CVG.

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Microsoft is requiring all future apps developed for Xbox 360 Dashboard to contain Kinect functionality. According to statements given to Kotaku and Joystiq: “With the new dashboard our objective is to bring the power of Kinect functionality to every experience where voice and gestures make sense.” This doesn’t mean controller support is on the way out, of course, just that users will have the option to use either if they wish.

Rovio’s very popular Angry Birds will turn two years old on December 11, and the firm is celebrating with a Happy Birthday update which unlocks all episodes and adds an extra 15 levels.

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It was Boom City tonight, with Skyrim winning Game of the Year, Slegehammer getting teabagged and Naughty Dog’s next project unveiled to the world at the Spike VGAs. Get all of the happenings below the break.

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FireFall developer Red 5 Studios has announced former Crytek team lead, Ury Zhilinsky, has joined the firm as its senior graphics programmer. At Crytek, Zhilinsky was the firm’s senior R&D graphics programmer and R&D manager, and worked on Crysis 2 and and CryEninge 3. “We’re still a relatively small team here at Red 5 Studios because we’ve been very selective when choosing ‘tribe’ members,” said Red 5 CEO, Mark Kern. “It’s not just about talent, it’s about what happens when you put together a group that shares the same commitment to quality, community, and fun.”

Zhilinsky is the latest Red 5 hire, with former WoW, Tribes, and MAG developers recently signing with the firm.

UKIE has announced it has appointed former Channel 4 editor Dr Jo Twist as its new CEO. The firm believes her background in education will benefit the trade body, and she will step into this new role on January 9. “UKIE has already achieved so much in bringing the potential of our games industry to the national debate, and I am hugely excited to represent its members and help shape its vision for 2012 and on,” said Twist in a statement. UKIE chairman Andy Payne seems delighted with bringing Twist on as a well, stating that the firm took its time “to find the right CEO” and “Jo’s passion for games and her background in media and commissioning” will further help UK games and interactive entertainment makers.

Thanks, Gamasutra. [pic]

Vietnam’s Emobi Games is working on FPS called 7554 based on the eight-year First Indochina War. The title, represents May 7, 1954 which was the day the Battle of Dien Bien Phu took place between the French Union’s French Far East Expeditionary Corps and Viet Minh communist revolutionaries.

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Organisers of Game Connection Europe 2012 have announced the four winners of the Selected Projects competition, supported by SCEE, out of 15 entries. The main Ultimate Prize winner was Mimimi Productions for their project Tink. Their prize will consist of the choice of either a PS3 or Vita dev kit. Runners-up included Casual Brothers and Blossom Minds, who’ve been invited to SCEE’s London offices for a training day that will consist of QA, tech support and PSN business. The winner of the special SCEE award was Facepalm Games, who will get hardware and development support, plus pre-certification support.

Hit PSNStores for details on all four games from the winning studios.

A number of independent studios are upset over the revamp of the Xbox Live Dashboard, claiming the new interface has once again “hidden away” the indie marketplace.

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For today only, EA’s allowing Mirror’s Edge for iOS to go free. Go pick the side-scrolling effort up on iPhone or iPod Touch here or iPad here. And then play it. And dream about Mirror’s Edge 2, realising that no matter how much we want it, it probably will be a pipedream. Get to it.

Thanks, Joystiq.

The Korean Game Rating Body has rated Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode 2. The KGRB, according to Siliconera, typically don’t rate a game unless a release is close, which suggests it’s about to come out sooner than later. It’s the first time anything has been heard on S4, E2 since August, when Sega West boss Mike Hayes told VG247 information would be coming soon.

Piranha Games has published the first developer diary for MechWarrior Online and it contains information on the free-to-play title’s factions and timeline, the later of which corresponds interestingly with the actual calender.

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