Review: NBA 2K10

Ten years ago, I had my first experience with NBA 2K on the Dreamcast. I never expected a basketball experience to be so immersive and fun. Sure, I had played most of the games before, with Tecmo Super NBA being my favorite and NBA Live being my least favorite. After 2K, I never really looked back, even though I did give NBA Live a shot every year (including this year). With NBA 2K10 being the 10 year anniversary of the series, you’d expect many great things. While this is true, it’s also true that an unacceptable issue has occurred.

Before I dive into the review, I want to make everyone aware that NBA 2K10 is, out of the box, an unfinished game. There are many issues, most you could say are subtle, but a few are simply inexcusable. For one, there is plenty of slow down in the game, most noticeable when driving the lane (regardless of whether you have key zoom on or off). Another is that online play doesn’t work so well, if you can get it to work to begin with. Visit the 2K Forums and you’ll be able to read about all the issues. The good news, however, is that a patch is coming for both Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. It might be a couple weeks from the time of this writing, but at least it’s coming. Is this a good thing? Sure! Is it right to release an unfinished game just to get in stores at the same time as your main competitor? Not at all, especially considering NBA Live is making some serious moves to knock 2K out of the top NBA spot!


There’s no need to spend much time on the visuals or the sounds. As expected, both are excellent. Players look even better and move more realistically than last year, with a couple exceptions. For some reason, Carlos Arroyo was given black arms, even though the rest of his body is a much lighter tone. With the latest roster update, 2K took what would seem like the harder way out. Rather than addressing the color of his arms, it appears they attempted a create-a-player substitution – the arm problem is fixed, but the face looks nothing like the original.

Tony Hawk Ride Review

Tony Hawk Ride is the ultimate triumph of gimmick over game. The concept: Build a skateboard peripheral that lets players simulate skateboarding in their living rooms. The result: half-functioning hardware that fails to function with consistency and a shallow game devoid of excitement. Vert skating and free skating are the only sources of mild enjoyment here, but the fun is too short lived to justify the whopping $120 price tag. The Birdman was once associated with video game greatness, but this is the worst game yet in a declining franchise, and the result is a massive train wreck.


Fred Astaire taught us how to dance on the ceiling. Now, Tony Hawk teaches us how to skate on it.

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It's impossible to separate the board from the game. After all, Tony Hawk Ride must be played with the included skateboard peripheral, and for the time being at least, the peripheral cannot be used with any other game. It takes some time to get used to the feel of the board, though your skating career begins with a number of tutorials that help you get on your feet, so to speak. From there, it's a matter of completing races, performing tricks for points, and nailing short challenges as you trudge your way through Ride's single-player experience. Fortunately, the peripheral is easy to set up and physically solid. It also feels weighty and resilient, as if ready to withstand hours of punishment.

Yet while the hardware can take a beating, the oft-useless board all too often fails to read your movements with the precision necessary for the game to deliver any amount of fun. Manuals, ollies, and nollies are relatively simple to pull off. You perform manuals much as you'd expect: by raising the nose or tail of the board in the air and holding the position. You do ollies by popping the nose into the air, while nollies, of course, are executed by popping up the tail. Expectedly, ollies and nollies form the core of your move set, but when Tony Hawk Ride starts expecting you to pull off anything more precise, it collapses. The game separates flip tricks into two types: tilt and flick. You perform tilt tricks (like standard kick flips) by performing an ollie or nollie and tilting the board once you're airborne. Flick tricks (like 360 flips and impossibles) occur when you move the nose or tail from side to side after an ollie or nollie. But getting the game to recognize your motions properly is futile. Tilt tricks register as flick tricks more often than not, which in turn leads to constant failure when the game demands any kind of precision.

Tricks that involve the infrared sensors on the front, back, and sides of the peripheral are just as arbitrary, working only some of the time. You swipe or hover your hand over these sensors when you want to perform finger flips and grabs. But these moves aren't consistent. Even when the icon at the bottom of the screen indicates that you have activated the sensor, you will often still fail to perform the trick properly. This baffling issue is compounded by the half-second or so delay between the movement you perform on the board and the action that occurs onscreen. If you fail the trick, you're never sure whether you swiped your hand across the sensor too early, held it there too long, or your movement wasn't recognized at all. Eventually, challenges will require you to flip the board 90 degrees for board slides, and perform advanced tricks after setting one up by hovering a hand (or a foot) over a sensor before your ollie. Stringing tricks together can be a nightmare no matter how agile you are because you absolutely cannot depend on the board to communicate your wishes to the game.



That cameraman had it coming.


If you're a skater, you may be irked by how the game separates trick types (no skater would ever use the term "tilt trick"), but you'll pick up on the game's expectations easily enough. If you're a newcomer, however, you'll find that Tony Hawk Ride does not welcome you with open arms. Early in the Career mode, training videos and interactive tutorials introduce you to the basics. Eventually, however, the training videos are removed from your career progression and the game asks you to do new tricks without telling you how to perform them. Luckily, there are more videos to help you out, though you'll need to exit the challenge to view them. But in some cases, the game will ask you to perform a trick the videos don't cover, so you'll be on your own. At least you needn't worry about steering if you play on the casual difficulty level because the game takes over main steering duties for you. If you play on confident or hardcore difficulty, in which you must lean in order to steer the board, prepare for an even greater headache.

The Challenge mode, where you complete a series of specific tricks, is where you'll find the greatest frustrations because it requires the most precision from the imprecise controller. Your career also features race and trick modes, yet while they aren't as immediately frustrating as the Challenge mode, you won't get any joy out of them because they're too pedestrian. In the Race mode, you can ollie and grind your way through the race, kick-pushing and picking up power-ups that subtract from your total time while avoiding tokens that add to your total time. Trick mode scores you based on the moves you pull off, but moving the board about willy-nilly results in more impressive-looking stunts than exercising any expertise you've developed in the Challenge mode. This is true even on the scattered half-pipes. Vert skating may be fun to watch, but when your actions on the screen don't necessarily reflect your intentions, there's no sense of reward--no matter how sweet your christ airs look.



With Ride, the Tony Hawk franchise takes a dive.


Tony Hawk Ride's flaws don't end with the lousy controls. The game feels half finished, offering up the most bare-bones experience possible. Don't expect skater-specific specials or large, high-concept levels. You can free skate, but most of the areas are small and none of them offer the fast-paced freewheeling of previous Tony Hawk games. This is partially because Ride seems to fancy itself a simulation, though it's hard to take it seriously as a sim when you inadvertently skate across the ceiling or happen upon pedestrians that exclaim their surprise when you almost run into them…in the middle of a skate park. You'd think a leaner game would at least be easy to navigate, but the T-Mobile-branded menus are poorly organized. For example, when you are in the main challenge menu, you can't escape to the main menu from there, but must instead start the challenge before you can access it. You can navigate most of the menus using the board, but to save your score after an event, you'll still need to reach for a controller. You even have to indicate your stance (regular or goofy) before every event. Why not allow players to save their preferences to the skater profile?

You see Tony Hawk Ride's shallowness everywhere. You see it in its bare-bones online modes, which very few people are playing. You see it in the visuals, which get the job done without a lick of energy or personality. And you see it every time you have to endure the rest of the challenge, even if you're bound to replay it because you failed the first trick. Tony Hawk Ride is a waste of money.

Fusion Monster Files #1 Supernaturally evil Spookas are swarming the graveyard.

Some might say these ghastly Fusion ghosties are almost cute... almost. They're short and round and always have dopey smiles on their wicked little faces. But make no mistake - they're brutal monsters intent on attacking heroes just like you.

Spookas make their home in Eternal Vistas. They usually lurk just outside the cemetery gates. These level 8 experts at Corruption Attacks travel in packs, so when you face them be sure to bring a weapon that has good stats against groups. To optimize your chances at battle success, we recommend bringing an Adaptium Nano as well.

Ready to splat some Spookas for yourself? PLAY NOW!

THQ Celebrates SpongeBob's 10th Anniversary with SpongeBob's Truth or Square

May 21, 2009 - AGOURA HILLS, Calif. - THQ Inc. (NASDAQ:THQI) today announced plans for the fall 2009 release of SpongeBob's Truth or Square, in celebration of the 10th Anniversary year of SpongeBob SquarePants. SpongeBob's Truth or Square is currently in development for the Wii video game system, Nintendo DS, the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, and PSP (PlayStation Portable) system. The game will feature a unique and never-before-seen shape-shifting capability that will allow players to transform SpongeBob into zany objects. Filled with action-packed gameplay and numerous stimulating puzzle solving challenges, SpongeBob's Truth or Square will draw upon some of the most humorous events from SpongeBob over the last 10 years.

"We are excited to bring the ultimate SpongeBob video game experience to fans and gamers of all ages," said Randy Shoemaker, vice president, global brand management at THQ. "This game will take players deeper into SpongeBob's world than ever before as they relive cherished memories from SpongeBob's off-the-wall adventures."

In SpongeBob's Truth or Square, players must journey through memorable SpongeBob locations to find the missing Krabby Patty formula in time for the Krusty Krab's Eleventy Seventh Anniversary. From the Jellyfish Fields to downtown Bikini Bottom, players will run, jump, spin and hammer their way through 10 challenging levels. Each level will take players back to one of SpongeBob's happy moments from the show, such as when he becomes a fry cook, gets into the Salty Spittoon or meets Sandy for the first time. Equipped with special morphing abilities, players can transform SpongeBob into bizarre objects, such as the Spatula Slam, Propeller Spin and Sledgehammer Smash, to help him conquer treacherous obstacles and legions of Plankton's robots. Players will also be able to soak up water, hose down enemies, and jump into a bubble gum fling as they navigate their way through an obstacle course of traps. In two-player co-op mode, friends will be able to join in on the action and control Plankton to help SpongeBob solve puzzles, unlock new pathways and defeat super-powered creatures.

SpongeBob's Truth or Square is being developed by Heavy Iron Studios. For more information about this game, and the rest of THQ's line-up of family-friendly titles, please visit www.playthq.com.

About Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon, now in its 30th year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products online, recreation, books, magazines and feature films. Nickelodeon's U.S. television network is seen in more than 98 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 14 consecutive years. For more information or artwork, visit http://www.nickpress.com. Nickelodeon, SpongeBob SquarePants and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B).

About THQ
THQ Inc. (NASDAQ:THQI) is a leading worldwide developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software. The company develops its products for all popular game systems, personal computers and wireless devices. Headquartered in Los Angeles County, California, THQ sells product through its global network of offices located throughout North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. More information about THQ and its products may be found at www.thq.com. THQ, Heavy Iron and their respective logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of THQ Inc.

UFC 2009 Undisputed: Patch Detailed

July 7, 2009 - THQ just made a post on the online issues that people have been experiencing in UFC 2009 Undisputed.

While no word was released regarding when people can expect to see the patch online, here's what THQ said to expect when it does finally launch:


We recognize premature match quitting as the biggest online issue and have taken steps to fix it. The Patch will have integrated code that detects who pulls the cable and will assign a Loss as well as a Did Not Finish to that player. The DNF is only counted for the player who executes the disconnection. The DNF rate will be displayed on the fighter selection screen of the Online Ranked Match. When disconnected the Winning Streak is also reset to 0.
Click above to see what we thought of UFC 2009: Undipusted in our Video Review.

We've adjusted Ranked Matches to match up players with better connections, which will improve lag issues we've seen to date.


We've adjusted the difficulty of performing submissions against AI opponents to improve the balance of subs vs. striking when playing against the AI.


We've adjusted the Flash KO rate so that they are less frequent.


We've increased maximum number of points awarded in online play from 99,999 to 999,999 and we've increased the Max Level from 100 to 200.


We've lowered the Winning Streak Bonus Max from 5 to 3.


We've removed the decimal places on the Leaderboard Winning Percentage so we only show whole percentages.


We've addressed the CAF cheat so the skill levels in CAF cannot be cheated and increased. Also any CAF with unfair point values will no longer be able to be used Online.


For PS3 users we've also fixed a bug that causes a freeze during auto-save; whichever controller was used to Press Start on the Title Screen will be identified as the main controller.
We'll have more news on the patch as its release draws closer.

Top Artists Allow Fans To Fill Their Stockings With Guitar Hero and Band Hero DLC

November 30, 2009 - SANTA MONICA, CA - There is no better way to close out the year than with Guitar Hero and one of the hottest line-ups of downloadable content this December. Tracks, never-before available in a Guitar Hero game, from Taylor Swift, Maroon 5, The Fall of Troy, OneRepublic and indie artists Nada Surf, Pavement and Spoon are just some of what fans can look forward to this holiday season. Compatible with both Guitar Hero 5 and Band HeroT, the Guitar Hero music library continues to expand and evolve as fans rock their way through the holidays and into 2010.

The longtime Guitar Hero devout may be familiar with metal band The Fall of Troy from their Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock bonus track "F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X." The band returns to the Guitar Hero stage once again with The Fall Of Troy Track Pack, available for download on December 3, featuring the newly released "Panic Attack," "A Classic Case of Transference" and "Single," all off of the band's October album In The Unlikely Event.

American pop rock band OneRepublic, who first debuted as downloadable content for Guitar Hero® World Tour, are back on December 12 with a three song track pack to celebrate the November release of their newest studio album Waking Up. The Track Pack features two songs off Waking Up, "All The Right Moves" and "Everybody Loves Me", as well as "Mercy," a track off their first studio album Dreaming Out Loud.

Guitar Hero fans should get ready to experience indie rock at some of its best this December. Injecting even more flavor into ever expanding Guitar Hero music library is a three song track pack featuring Nada Surf, Pavement and Spoon. Players can jam to Nada Surf's "Hi-Speed Soul," experience the lo-fi rock music of Pavement with "Cut Your Hair" or rock out to "Sister Jack" by Spoon on December 17.

What better way to welcome in the holidays then by playing along to Steve Ouimette's version of the classic "Hark The Herald Angels Sing," which will be available as a free download on the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system for Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero on December 22.

Bring in the New Year right with the Celebrity New Years Rock Track Pack. Starting on December 22, players can live it up and rock out with a three song track pack featuring all the Band Hero in-game artists. Players can sing along to Taylor Swift's "Our Song," the third single off her self-titled debut album, Taylor Swift, jam to "Harder to Breathe," the first single off Maroon 5's debut album Songs About Jane, or rock to "New" by No Doubt as they bring in the New Year, Guitar Hero style.

The Fall of Troy, OneRepublic, Indie Rock and Celebrity New Years Rock Track Packs will be available on Xbox LIVE Marketplace for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft for 440 Microsoft Points, on the PlayStation Store for the PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system for $5.49 and for Wii for 550 Wii Points. In addition, all songs in The Fall of Troy, OneRepublic, Indie Rock and Celebrity New Years Rock Track Packs will be released as downloadable singles for Xbox 360 for 160 Microsoft Points, PlayStation 3 system for $1.99 and Wii for 200 Wii Points each. The Christmas Rock Pack will be available for free download for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 system.

For more information about Guitar Hero 5, Band Hero and their entire line-up of downloadable content, please visit www.guitarhero.com.

About Activision Publishing, Inc.
Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products.

Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, Russia, Japan, South Korea, China and the region of Taiwan. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company's website, www.activision.com

Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time AU Review

Australia, October 30, 2009 - As you can see above, the subheading for this review is: "You got moxie, kid. I like that." That, however, wasn't the first entry. The original text – before being stricken from the record – was: "A crate love story." Why? Because few modern series' have a love affair with the crate quite like Ratchet & Clank (R&C). The humble crate is – in most contexts – nothing but a cliche these days. That most archetypal, processor-friendly environmental object just isn't necessary anymore. Nowadays, unless a crate serves a functional purpose, it's an artistically bankrupt inclusion in a game. Unless you're Ratchet & Clank that is. In Ratchet & Clank, the piles and piles of bolt-filled crates that populate the levels don't make any sense, but they don't have to – they're a fantastic inclusion regardless.

Why? Because it speaks to the core of the gameplay. Strip away the platforming, the inventive mini-games and the gadgets, and Ratchet & Clank is about two things – destroying stuff and collecting stuff, and smashing up crates gives you both those things in one. They explode in a joyous shower of bolts, the currency of the series, which you can then spend on bigger guns to create even bigger explosions. It's the cycle of life. Sunrise, sunset.

Erm, yeah.



"I am the mighty Ratchet! Behold my Hoverboots!"
Anyway, R&C may be all about having your way with crates and loving every minute of it, but that's common knowledge. What a lot of people may not realise is just how important story and characters are to this series as well. And that's where having moxie ('the ability to face difficulty with spirit and courage' – thanks Free Dictionary) comes in. A Crack in Time doesn't piss-fart around – this is Ratchet's biggest challenge yet. His last two adventures have led to this, and the future of his family and the Lombaxes, not to mention that of the Universe, hangs in the balance. As usual, the story is told with charm and humour through some fantastically animated cutscenes and amusing in-game conversations, and really provides a great framework for the action.

Speaking of which, while A Crack in Time builds on what has come before, it also – as you'd expect - has quite a few new tricks up its sleeve. Ratchet's gameplay is a great blend of fully fledged levels and smaller bite-size challenges. Regions of explorable space are unlocked sector by sector, and in addition to story locations – generally planets or space stations – the inky black is also littered with other challenges you can choose to do while tooling about in Ratchet's ship. You'll encounter hostile fleets to dogfight with, stranded vehicles that need towing and countless planetoids with combat and platform challenges. One may charge you with killing 60 enemies as you run (literally) around its surface, while another may take you through a gauntlet of familiar platforming tricks and traps. You'll be rewarded, not just with bolts, but other collectables, such as mods for your weapons or Zonis, which help upgrade your ship.

"Eeeew. Some kind of alien! RUN AWAY!"
Then there are Ratchet's Gadgets, such as the Hoverboots, which let him zip along a few centimetres off the ground and slow his descent in the air. These are capitalised on by levels with speed boost ramps and large open areas where he can use them for quickly getting around. They can be a little unwieldy to control at times, but are a good addition. Another new inclusion is the OmniSoaker, which lets Ratchet suck up water, nectar and oil, each of which has its own puzzle solving relevance. We use the word 'puzzle' pretty lightly by the way, as you'll never be puzzling over anything for more than a second or two. Partly because the difficulty is pitched a little low, and partly because the game insists on telling you what to do a lot of the time.

Even so, they're good inclusions and fit in nicely with Ratchet's normal running, jumping, grappling and shooting gameplay. Clank also gets kitted out in some new gameplay duds. Not only does he find himself in the home of the Zonis – the Great Clock, which is located at exactly the centre of the Universe (give or take a few metres), but it turns out he has a pretty significant role to play in this place. We won't say any more obviously, but what this means in gameplay terms is that Clank gains some nifty time-related powers. He can throw out a large bubble of slow time, for instance, and he has a Chrono Sceptre, with which he can bonk enemies on the head, as well as use it to rewind time to repair any damage done to the Great Clock by Dr Nefarious – the villain of the piece.

Dr "ridiculous overactor" Nefarious, and Clank "laughs like Scooby Doo" Clankenstein.
Cooler still, however, is his ability to use Time Pads to create multiple versions of himself. This allows the player to record Clank doing things – stepping on switches to open doors or raise/lower platforms, and use those recordings to complete sequences to get through to the next area. These start out simple – make a recording of Clank moving to and standing on a switch so you can go through the now-open door, but become a bit more complex when you have three Time Pads to work with. They never quite get hard enough – a separate mode of challenges would have been awesome – but are satisfying nonetheless.

Incredible Nintendo Wii Deal @ Walmart

Walmart has just announced that beginning this Saturday, December 5th at 8 AM, they will be giving customers a $50 gift card with every Nintendo Wii purchase, bringing the net price of the console down to just $149.99 — and that is by far the absolute best deal on for the Wii we’ve seen so far this holiday season.

The promotional offer lasts until December 12, or while supplies last. Our guess is that the “while supplies last” part will end the promotion well before the 12th. We’d recommend getting their bright and early Saturday if you wanted to take advantage of the offer. No word yet on whether they will make this offer available online as well.

Brutal Legend Gets First Map Pack DLC

October 27, 2009 - The first downloadable map pack for Brutal Legend will be coming next month, publisher Electronic Arts announced today.

The "Tears of the Hextadon" pack adds two new additional multiplayer maps -- Circle of Tears and Death's Fjord -- as well as a free axe, Blade of Ormagoden.

The pack will be available on Xbox Live starting November 3 for 400 Microsoft Points ($5) and on PlayStation Network starting November 5 for free until November 19 where it will then cost $4.99.

"I play Brutal Legend online every night," said Tim Schafer, President of Double Fine Productions. "And I need more maps! Circle of Tears is named after the crying of my vanquished foes on the battlefield, and Death's Fjord is obviously a tribute to my Nordic ancestors, and their love of fan geysers and... Well, actually I just thought the name was cool. See you online!"

1 million PS3 Slims sell in 3 weeks

TOKYO--The last time Kaz Hirai fronted a major games conference, the Sony Computer Entertainment CEO and president made one of the biggest announcements in the PlayStation 3's short history. Last month at GamesCom in Cologne, Germany, he unveiled the oft-rumoured Slim model with its ultra-competitive price point.



Hirai shows off the PS3 Slim at GamesCom.

Now, Hirai is set to take the stage as the keynote speaker at this year's Tokyo Game Show. And, sure enough, the speculation mill has started to grind again, with reports that another version of the PS3 Slim--one that houses a 250GB hard drive and that will possibly be bundled with the PlayTV peripheral--will be unveiled.

Another likely top of Hirai's speech will be Sony's plans for its new motion-sensing controllers for the PS3. The LED- and camera-based system was first unveiled at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, and Hirai recently revealed that it would be out sometime in spring 2010. As of yet, no firm release date has been announced, and the only game that has been confirmed as using the system is EA Sports' Grand Slam Tennis.

Hirai's keynote address--tentatively titled "Sony Computer Entertainment 2009 Strategy"--is slated to start at 10:30 a.m. Tokyo time (6:30 p.m. PDT).


[6:20] It's 10.20 a.m. Tokyo time, and Sony Computer Entertainment president Kaz Hirai is about to take the stage. As opposed to previous years, when TGS keynote addresses where held in large conference halls, this year's keynote address has been placed inside one of the gigantic halls of the convention center itself. Even though there are a few hundred people here to listen to Hirai speak, the place feels cavernous and empty.


Waiting for the SCEI keynote address to begin.
[6:23] As has become standard for Sony, there have been plenty of rumours about what exactly will be unveiled, with the latest being talk of PS2 and Dreamcast games heading to PSN. That and the supposed 250GB version of the Slim.

[6:25] The speakers are blaring some Mariah Carey-like easy listening tunes. Hopefully the crowd won't fall asleep before Hirai hits the stage.

[6:26] Standing room only now. Thankfully there's plenty of space to spread out.

[6:27] Housekeeping announcements: no photography and filming. Better tell all the camera crews already set up that minor detail.

[6:28] A large ring of people are now standing around the dozens of rows of seats in the middle of the hall. Sony sure knows how to pull in a crowd.

[6:30] OK, here we go. Lights dim, music gets all techno for TGS video sting.

[6:31] TGS logo pops up. Ironically, it looks an awful lot like the 360 power button.

[6:31] Nice Japanese lady onstage presenting Hirai--and he walks on to a decent amount of polite applause.

[6:32] The Japanese-born, American-educated Hirai speaks in his native tongue. Luckily there are translators on hand.


Kaz Hirai takes to the stage.
[6:33] Hirai says the PlayStation business started in December 1994, saying today is the 15th anniversary of the PlayStation brand.

[6:33] Hirai does a quick recap of the PlayStation's history, thanking all the game creators and developers who have supported the platform. Oh, and the gamers around the world, too.

[6:34] Hirai wants to give out his heartfelt appreciation to everyone. Very sweet, and very Japanese.

[6:34] Now he's asking for people's further support as the games industry moves forward.

[6:34] In the last 15 years, he says major changes have happened in technology, environment, and the lifestyle of users.

[6:35] "If we stick to conventional business, we won't be able to survive. We have to consider how we can actually drive the industry forward," he says, "It's quite a serious challenge."


The PlayStation time line.
[6:36] One of the major changes is, of course, networked gaming, where connections are increasing in a connected manner. Networks and game consoles are now inseparable, he says.

[6:37] "Where it was, at one time, only with your family you could play games, the network now allows you to play games with anyone, as well as form communities," says the translator. Hirai is usually a bit more eloquent than that.

[6:37] "So, how can we define this? Listening, viewing, communication, sharing, learning. These are all elements for interactive entertainment experiences, which are essential for enjoyable experiences."

[6:38] He points out Little Big Planet as a key example of a game that gets all these elements right. User-generated content of LBP has been supported by many users. As of today, network stages amount to 1.28 milion user-created stages!

[6:38] That means people have to play for 29 years straight to get through every created stage for LBP.


The eight elements that make up Interactive Content according to Hirai.
[6:38] SingStar now gets a nod as another game that gets it right.

[6:39] As well as the songs on the Singstar disc, people are "flocking" to get DLC songs. Communities are being formed around these songs and the content they create. So the game has moved well beyond just packaged content.

[6:40] Enjoyment is always a core element, Hirai says, but networks can create brand-new entertainment.

[6:41] "So, what do we need to develop now?" Hirai asks. "Well, we have to be always open to what people want."

[6:41] PS3 and PSP, he says, are well positioned to take advantage of these future changes. Shocker.


And now for a pictorial of the eight Interactive Entertainment elements.
[6:42] Moving on to the PS3, Hirai says the new Slim model has sold 1 million units in just three weeks. (Not two, as initially reported by the translator at the conference.)

[6:43] He shows a graph with crazy spikes for added effect.

[6:43] "With the new PS3, we have been doing great, with one of the main reasons being the price drop." Naturally.

[6:44] He says prices shouldn't be dropped after a set amount of time. It's more about having a great lineup of games to make it worthwhile. But Sony has been able to lower the price because of lower manufacturing costs, he says.


Hirai talks about the PlayStation 3.
[6:44] Hirai says there will now be more than 300 titles for the PS3 available by Christmas.

[6:46] Cue flashy video showing off the PS3's Christmas releases and 2010 lineup. Uncharted 2, God of War III, Yakuza 4, and FFXIII make cameo appearances.

[6:46] Footage of Team ICO's The Last Guardian shows up, and it looks like the main boy hero has gone through a bit of a visual upgrade since we saw him last, sporting a shawl.


Final Fantasy XIII comes up onscreen during the software montage.
[6:47] Now on to Blu-ray. Hirai says three years ago, Sony got a lot of flack for putting it in the PS3, but Sony still believes it's the only way to go.

[6:48] Now Hirai is chatting about the DualShock 3 and other controllers for the system, including the EyeToy camera, which he says is for casual users to get into the action.

[6:48] The PS3's motion controller is now onscreen, with Hirai referring to the big reveal at E3 this year. He says even core gamers will be into this.

[6:49] He has a motion controller with him, and he's holding it up now. It looks like a black flashlight with a round ball on top, which changes colour once in a while.


Hirai holds up the PS3's motion controller.
[6:50] Hirai says the tech inside the controller can detect movement very accurately when used in conjunction with the PlayStation Eye camera. "Very real enjoyment can be contained," says the translator.

[6:51] He repeats the motion sensor's 2010 release date, but nothing more specific.


The PS3 motion controller alongside the PlayStation Eye.
[6:51] Hirai then calls out to other developers to work on getting games out for the motion controller.

[6:51] Now it's the PSP's turn to take center stage. Cue the obligatory video montage.

[6:52] It starts with some shots of the PSP Go, followed by gameplay footage. Gran Turismo PSP heads the list, followed by plenty of Japanese games.

[6:53] Little Big Planet for the PSP is onscreen now, as well as EchoShift, the EchoChrome sequel.

[6:54] Hirai recaps the PSP Go release dates around the world and runs through the key features of the new UMD-less device. It comes out in North America on October 1.


Cut to the PSP software montage: Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep is on the screen.
[6:55] He says the number of downloadable games available for the PSP Go will be "greatly accelerated."

[6:56] Hirai hints at other applications that will be available for the PSP soon, but isn't talking about it just yet. Oh Kaz, you tease.

[6:57] Is the PS2 still around? Of course it is, with Hirai announcing that more than 130 million units have been sold worldwide.


Hirai shows off PS2 sales figures
[6:59] EDITOR'S NOTE: Classy. Nintendo decided to announce the Wii price cut in the middle of Hirai's speech. $199 starting September 27, people.

[7:00] While the hardware is their vertical axis, Hirai says, the PSN is their horizontal network.


PlayStation Network sales figures.
[7:01] PSN is now traded in 22 different currencies, with sales so far exceeding 25 billion yen (nearly $274,000,000).

[7:02] "We expect to triple last year's sales in 2010," says Hirai.


The various forms of non-gaming entertainment the PlayStation Network has to offer: movies, TV shows, BBC iView, and comics.
[7:02] Hirai is now talking about the video download service in the US for PSN, with more than 33,000 movies to date. It's now expanding outside of the US, with November launches for UK, Germany, and Spain. The rest of Europe gets it in 2010.

[7:03] He recaps some of the GamesCom announcements, including the BBCi player announcement for the UK.

[7:03] PlayStation Home now has more than 8 million users.

[7:03] Hirai now asks people to make sure to visit the booth on the show floor and heads off to another round of applause.

[7:03] But wait! That's not all folks!

[7:05] A table and two chairs are set up, and Hirai heads back out accompanied by a journo from Nikkei Business Publications, one of the sponsors of the TGS Forum. Guess it's question and answer time.

[7:05] The journo starts off by asking about the differences between the Western and Japanese game industries.


Hirai wraps up his keynote speech.
[7:06] Hirai starts right off with Guitar Hero and Rock Band, saying there was considerable attention about Beatles Rock Band in the US.

[7:07] He says games like Beatles are being covered by non-gaming media outlets, which may lead to an an even stronger growth in the games industry.


Hirai sits in on a Q&A session with a Nikkei Business Publications journo.
[7:07] Next question: What's the next stage of evolution for gaming?

[7:08] Hirai says 3D gaming is the next step, recapping the Sony Group's recent commitment to 3D in HDTVs and 3D gaming.

[7:08] Hirai says experiencing 3D gaming and TV is "quite enjoyable" and it's well suited to television gaming.

[7:09] Next question: With the motion controller, what's your expectation of what you can achieve?


Next question: Technology leaps have been always about processing power. Is it all about controller technology now?
[7:11] Hirai says there are a lot of emotions you feel in gaming, but they're not possible to reflect in a game. He thinks there's plenty of potential in that. An example: If an RPG character can tell if you're lying or excited by looking at your face (via a PlayStation Eye, presumably), then that would be very exciting.

[7:11] He says that's his dream, and it could include things like heartbeat monitors, eye monitors, or even sweat!

[7:13] Hirai says the network is a bigger issue--if you don't have network connectivity, then you're not really there in gaming.

[7:17] He says new synergies will be created within Sony to better take advantage of the company's network assets. Hirai says Sony Corporation places plenty of focus on how the network can impact users.

[7:19] Next question: What messages are you giving games publishers about the PS3?

[7:19] Hirai says the world is becoming borderless, and companies need to have a global perspective.

[7:20] And the journo is wrapping things up, thanking Hirai for his time. So much for the 250GB PS3 announcement...

[7:21] And that is actually it. Check back soon for more of GameSpot's coverage of the 2009 Tokyo Game Show.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii UK Review

UK, November 19, 2009 - Often, as they say, the best ideas are the simplest ones. When Nintendo made a song and dance about New Super Mario Bros. Wii's brand new four-player mode at the game's official E3 unveiling, the concept was so underwhelming in its obviousness, naysayers thought the company had finally lost the last of its creative marbles.

Now that New Super Mario Bros. Wii is here though, it's hard to think of a more significant revolution for Nintendo's flagship mascot. Every single aspect of the game is open to anywhere between one and four players and it's a brilliant move for Mario's 2D adventures - from its note-perfect execution to the sheer amount of entertainment value the simple tweak offers.




Let's dive straight in: we're guessing everyone here understands the basic concept of a Mario platformer after 20 years of the genre: run left and right, and jump until you reach the end of a level. That's it, no convoluted 'innovations' - it's a formula so unwavering in its purity that literally everyone gets it after ten seconds of staring at the screen. Indeed, after some - admittedly unscientific - focus-testing, we've yet to find a person who hasn't fallen for the game's charms, and it's Nintendo's most joyously inclusive offering yet. That's all the more astonishing given that it doesn't sacrifice anything of the Mario formula in the name of accessibility.

This is a proper Mario platformer through and through and, while the original New Super Mario Bros. played like a love letter to Mario Bros. 3, this Wii iteration has more of a Super Mario World vibe, with its playful ingenuity, chunky environmental hazards and refined power-ups. True, it might not be particularly original - and much of the game will be familiar to anyone who's played one of Nintendo's previous platform classics - but it's infused with the company's trademark design excellence, taking traditional Mario tropes and giving them a subtle new spin.


Mario's new abilities, for instance, are a significant improvement over the DS game's largely superficial inclusions. This time, the likes of the propeller outfit and penguin suit play an integral role in the game, granting abilities that actually give you a tactical advantage when used intelligently - whether that's zipping over troublesome areas, freezing enemies into ice cubes and using them to fell multiple foes or offering greater manoeuvrability underwater. Oh, and Yoshi's back too! It all adds up to a game that's an absolute master class in family-friendly fun, without the design simplification seen in Nintendo's more recent mainstream offerings. Yes, Nintendo might be pushing New Super Mario Bros. Wii's multiplayer focus, but it still sits proudly alongside its predecessors as a bone fide Mario platformer, whether playing with friends or as a solo experience.

But, oh, that four player mode! With a full group of friends in tow, for either story mode or multiplayer-specific extras, New Super Mario Bros. becomes thoroughly compulsive in its hilariously haphazard chaos. Its stroke of absolute genius in story mode is its complete lack of enforced objectives - it's not competitive and it's not cooperative. Instead, each level is a neutral playground that polarizes play styles in constantly shifting directions. With no particular goal - other than to reach the end - it's pretty much a free for all, usually starting off with good-natured camaraderie before nose-diving into vitriolic retribution as the ingenious way characters interact with the world and each other comes to the fore.

Game of the Month: November 2009

November is always full of great games, but the holidays are expensive and its unlikely that you'll be able to play every single title that hits store shelves. That's why we've picked the absolute best releases and given them our prestigious game of the month award.

So pick your platform and find out which game rocked our socks inside out in November. And if you're one of the lucky few who's played multiple games on this list, don't forget to hit our Reader Poll to your right and vote for your overall Game of the Month. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
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To no one's surprise, Modern Warfare 2 turned out spectacularly. The single-player campaign, while short, is full of moments that will have your jaw dropping to the floor, and the new Spec Ops mode blends the awesome single-player with co-op multiplayer in a fresh way. And then there's the online component, which we'll be playing until Modern Warfare 3 drops .
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
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Infinity Ward returns with a sequel to the smash-hit Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. This first-person shooter delivers a thrilling campaign, must-play multiplayer, and the ever-so-addictive cooperative Special Ops mode. This is the videogame equivalent of a blockbuster action movie.
Dragon Age: Origins
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Each of BioWare's games has set an even higher standard in the roleplaying genre, and if Dragon Age is any indication, the king of RPG developers isn't about to relinquish the crown any time soon. The character development and sense of consequence in the story are as great as we've ever seen in the genre, and the combat offers plenty of tactical thrills. What else do you want? A cookie?
New Super Mario Bros. Wii
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The beloved classic side-scrolling platform design continues to show why Mario is the king. The 8-bit NES game gets a current generation facelift, complete with some pretty solid multiplayer support so that friends can join in instead of being observers.
LEGO Rock Band
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Rock Band Unplugged on the PlayStation Portable gets a retooling on the Nintendo handheld with the help of the LEGO characters. This fun rhythm game that features more than two dozen high quality music tracks and multiplayer, something the PSP game lacked.
LittleBigPlanet
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When LittleBigPlanet came to the PlayStation 3, it thrilled Sony fans with cute characters, oodles of collectables, the ability to make your own levels, and a simple system to share your creations with the world. LBP PSP does all of that, and it's pretty frickin' great. The game packs a whole new set of jaw-dropping levels from the developers, kicking tunes, and an online system of uploading and download levels that is so simple you almost can't believe that it's running on the PSP.
Peggle
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PopCap's instant classic has finally hit the PlayStation Network, and though we've already played it on every platform that has ever existed, minus perhaps the Speak and Spell (though we hear a version is in the works), it's still incredibly fun and amazingly addictive. If you somehow haven't graduated from Peggle Academy, now's the time to enroll.
Gyromancer
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Gyromancer is essentially a dungeon crawler where you play Bejewelled each time you encounter monsters -- Bejewelled Twist, to be exact. If you've played Twist, you'll find the same rotating mechanic here where you spin four gems at a time. In order to clear gems from the field you must match at least three of the same color, but you can only spin the cursor clockwise, generally, which is what makes things challenging..
Excitebike: World Rally
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Mario's not the only NES classic to get a revisit this month: the 1985 NES racer gets a fun 3D facelift from the developers of Excitetruck and Excitebots. It's an exciting, teeth-gritting race against the clock, and you can even make your own tracks and send them to friends.
Jet Car Stunts
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What do you get when you combine the heavy car physics and high-flying stunts and level designs that are every bit platformer as they are racer? The answer is Jet Car Stunts, an iPhone-exclusive driving game that reminds us of a cross between San Francisco Rush, TrackMania and even Mirror's Edge. The title features 36 stylized, flat-shaded stages divided between platforming and racing and it plays so good that you won't want to stop drifting and jumping.

Borderlands the Fastest Selling New Title of 2009

November 16, 2009 - Texas-based developer Gearbox Software expressed enthusiasm today over the sales of its new, online co-op shooter franchise Borderlands, declaring the title to be the fastest selling new franchise launch of 2009.

"We are extremely excited about the reception that Borderlands has earned and I am personally very proud of the incredible team here at Gearbox for having created video game's first great shooter-looter," said Randy Pitchford, President of Gearbox Software.

"I want to thank all of the fans of the game who have bought in with us and I want to thank publishing partner 2k Games for taking a big bet on such an ambitious game and standing by the team here at Gearbox Software as Borderlands grew into a very special game - so bold and rare and fun in its style and design."

Borderlands' NPD numbers were impressive for the month of October. The combined platform sales of the title out performed Sony's Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and Nintendo's Wii Fit Plus.

Gearbox maintains Borderlands will continue to receive on-going support through various title updates and paid downloadable content.

Borderlands Soundtrack Coming

November 16, 2009 - Borderlands, the fastest selling new game title of 2009, is getting a proper soundtrack album, distributor Sumthing Else Music Works announced today.

Through its licensing deal with developer Gearbox Software, Sumthing Else will release the Borderlands Original Soundtrack on the 8th of December in retail stores and online via the label's website and iTunes.

Borderlands combines the addictive elements of first-person shooters with the immersive experience of a role-playing game.

The soundtrack album will feature game music by composers Jesper Kyd, Sascha Dikiciyan, Cris Velasco and Raison Varner, as well as bonus material by those artists and Tim Larkin.

"The Borderlands soundtrack was a tremendous collaborative effort between Cris Velasco and Sascha Dikiciyan, Jesper Kyd and myself," said Borderlands Audio Director Raison Varner. "From the very beginning we wanted to provide a score that would stand out as unique and fresh. Borderlands spits attitude from the opening scene until the end of the game and we needed to match that energy. I hope that listeners will enjoy the mix of ethnic instrumentation, heavy electronic influences and driving beats that help keep Borderlands in your face all the way through!"

Here's the complete list of Borderlands OST tracks:

1. Prelude (Jesper Kyd)
2. Welcome To Fyrestone (Jesper Kyd)
3. Enter Skag Gully (Raison Varner)
4. Fighting Off The Skags (Raison Varner)
5. Removing The Bandit Threat (Sascha Dikiciyan and Cris Velasco)
6. Traversing The Deep (Raison Varner)
7. Fighting Sledge's Minions (Sascha Dikiciyan and Cris Velasco)
8. Welcome to The Bunker (Sascha Dikiciyan and Cris Velasco)
9. Smoking Out The Bunker (Sascha Dikiciyan and Cris Velasco)
10. Burning Rubber and Shooting Bullets (Sascha Dikiciyan and Cris Velasco)
11. The Junkyard Vista (Jesper Kyd)
12. Welcome to The Trash Coast (Raison Varner)
13. The Rakkhive Emerges (Raison Varner)
14. Assaulting Krom's Canyon (Raison Varner)
15. Battling Krom's Minions (Raison Varner)
16. Fighting Krom and His Gun (Sascha Dikiciyan and Cris Velasco)
17. Trash The Bandits (Sascha Dikiciyan and Cris Velasco)
18. Trash The Bandits Some More (Sascha Dikiciyan and Cris Velasco)
19. Welcome To The Wastelands (Jesper Kyd)
20. Traveling To The Vault (Raison Varner)
21. Destroying the Destroyer (Raison Varner)
22. Bonus - Bring Your Guns (Jesper Kyd)
23. Bonus - Borderlands (Sascha Dikiciyan and Cris Velasco)
24. Bonus - The Old New Haven (Tim Larkin)
25. Bonus - Exploring the Mine (Tim Larkin)
26. Bonus - Exploring Overlook (Sascha Dikiciyan and Cris Velasco)
27. Bonus - The Threat At Overlook (Sascha Dikiciyan and Cris Velasco)

WWE SVR 2010: Friday Fight

October 16, 2009 - Now that the dust has cleared and WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010 has been reviewed, you have just one more weekend to wait before you can get your hands on a copy of the game and delve into the world of digital Sports Entertainment.

However, IGN's not content to let you sit in your room all weekend and dream of the game – we'd rather show it to you.

Over on our WWE SmackDown message board, we asked fans to vote on who they'd like to see in a Championship Scramble match. The five Superstars who got the most votes got some alternate duds from Superstar Threads and were then tossed into the match in WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010.

We filmed the whole thing, and now, we're showing it to you. Below are four videos that show you every chair shot, every bump, and every pin from the 20-minute match for the Intercontinental Championship.

Hopefully, this will help keep you sane this weekend.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Championship Scramble - Intercontinental Championship
The Brian Kendrick vs. Chris Jericho vs. John Morrison vs. Evan Bourne
vs. Jack Swagger



Part 1: The Beginning



Part 2: The Panic



Part 3: The Pain



Part 4: The Victory


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Modern Warfare 2 five-day sales hit $550 million

Taking into consideration just North America and the UK, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's launch could be considered a resounding success. Two days after Infinity Ward's modern military shooter's November 10 launch on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC, Activision said that the game had sold 4.7 million units in the two aforementioned territories in 24 hours, generating revenue in the neighborhood of $310 million.


Modern Warfare 2 brought in more than half a billion dollars within a week.
Today, Activision returned to provide more blockbuster Modern Warfare 2 sales statistics. According to the publisher's internal estimates, Modern Warfare 2 generated $550 million during its first five days on the market, a figure that sets a new entertainment record for the period. Activision did not provide a unit-sales update, however, and had not responded to requests for clarification as of press time.

The publisher did make claim to a variety of first- and five-day entertainment records spanning movies, books, and games. Beginning with the most direct comparison, Activision claims Modern Warfare 2 bested Grand Theft Auto IV's first-day worldwide game sales records of 3.6 million units and $310 million. The game also apparently busted GTAIV's five-day global haul of 6 million units on $500 million of gross revenue.

As for other media, Activision said that Modern Warfare 2 broke Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince's five-day global box-office record of $394 million. The game also eclipsed The Dark Knight's first- and five-day domestic theatrical opening, which stood at $66.4 million and $203.8 million, respectively. Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows' first-day book sales record of $220 million was also surpassed.

In terms of usage, Activision said that more than 5.2 million hours of multiplayer matches were played through Xbox Live on November 10. The publisher also noted Xbox Live's new concurrent user record of 2.2 million following Modern Warfare 2's launch, before saying that some 11 million achievements were earned within 24 hours.

[UPDATE] According to the Los Angeles Times, Modern Warfare 2's success didn't come cheap. The paper reports that the game had a budget between $40 million and $50 million before the cost of worldwide marketing, disc production, and distribution to retailers. Once those costs and the royalties paid to Microsoft and Sony are factored in, the game's final overall budget is estimated at around $200 million. The figure means that Activision spent far more producing, distributing, and marketing Modern Warfare 2 than it did developing it.

Check out GameSpot's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 launch center for more on the top-selling shooter.

Call of Duty franchise sales top $3 billion

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 smashed more than just game-industry records upon its launch for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC in November. Generating some $550 million within its first five days on the market, the Infinity Ward-developed first-person shooter sailed past top earners within the film and book industry, giving Activision cause to lay claim to the title of "biggest entertainment launch in history."


Modern Warfare 2's sales likely got a boost on Black Friday.
Activision has now provided some perspective on just how big Call of Duty has become. Over the holiday weekend, the publisher announced that the Call of Duty franchise has pulled in more than $3 billion at retail worldwide, according to industry-tracking groups NPD, Chart-Track, and GfK, as well as Activision's own internal estimates. Beginning with 2003's acclaimed original, the series has sold more than 55 million units globally.

The Call of Duty franchise's achievement can largely be attributed to the three most recent installments in the series. In 2007, Infinity Ward rebooted the World War II-centric series it created with its contemporary-set Modern Warfare, a game that has now sold more than 14 million units. Activision's Treyarch studio returned to the WWII era with World at War in 2008, a game that used the same engine as Modern Warfare and achieved sales in excess of 11 million.

Activision has yet to provide an exact global sales figure in terms of units for Modern Warfare 2. However, the publisher did say that Infinity Ward's latest sold 4.7 million units within 24 hours in the US, UK, and Canada, earning some $310 million in the process. The game's prevalence has also been evidenced by its popularity with online networks, as Microsoft announced that it had achieved a new record of 2 million concurrent Xbox Live users following the game's launch.

Check out GameSpot's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Launch Center for more on the top-rated shooter.

Halo 3: ODST prepares to drop

Who Was There: The Halo: ODST panel held during the 2009 Penny Arcade Expo, titled aptly enough "Prepare to Drop," featured a small battalion of Bungie crew. On hand to represent the studio were creative director Joseph Staten; design director Paul Bertone; composer Marty O'Donnell; executive producer Curtis Creamer; community director Brian Jarrard; cinematics director CJ Cowan; art lead Michael Woo; and senior designer Lars Bakken.

New Mombasa under siege.
What They Talked About: Halo 3: ODST is locked and loaded for a September 22 release on the Xbox 360, and judging by the popularity of its 2007 predecessor, the title will be more than a bit of a big deal. With that release date looming, a host of Bungie staff offered a bit more insight into the history behind the game.
Creative director Joe Staten began the PAX panel by briefly touching upon the fundamental decision to create a game that followed the orbital drop shock trooper, rather than, say, Master Chief. In fact, Master Chief and the Arbiter were originally discussed as lead characters for the game. However, the team decided that bringing Master Chief or his close compatriots back would weigh too heavily on the game, and the studio wanted to start fresh with something new.
After eventually arriving upon the orbital drop shock trooper, the team began by designing the drop pod and its process of falling from the sky, as could be seen in the initial teaser trailer for the game. The drop pod went through a number iterations to amp up its dramatic feel, art lead Michael Woo noted, with cinematics lead CJ Cowan saying that the interior of the pod and its initial impact constituted the biggest opening for a Halo game yet.
The discussion then moved to the game's environment, better known as the arid, east African town of New Mombasa. Having made appearances in Halo 2 and Halo 3, the team quickly realized that fleshing out the city and bringing it to life required a number of changes; a process Woo called agonizing. Re-creating New Mombasa in intricate detail was made all the more difficult due to the nighttime gameplay that Halo 3: ODST will offer.
The process was aided along, however, when Staten made the decision to bring a gritty, film noir aesthetic to the game. The decision allowed Bungie to deviate significantly from the often colorful environs that have defined previous Halo games, giving the team the chance to introduce high-contrast colors, as well cinematic lighting.
The film noir theme extends well beyond art, with Staten noting that the genre's hardboiled detective was the inspiration for the character that players will control. It was important, he said, to make the character dark and mysterious, showing concept art of a lone soldier walking through a dank alley in the rain on a dreary night.
Film noir also heavily influenced the game's sound. Before playing a sample tune, composer Marty O'Donnell noted that Halo 3: ODST will feature sound that markedly contrasts with previous installments in the serious. He then cued up a somber tune that featured melancholy string instruments and a wayward piano, which stirred up sentiments of the old black-and-white detective films.
O'Donnell also inadvertently revealed that Halo 3: ODST will feature about eight to 10 hours of gameplay--which Staten quickly asked everyone in attendance not to repeat--for which he composed about three hours of music. Notably, before the game transformed into a full-priced venture, Bungie had indicated the game would be a "three-to-five hour expansion pack."
The panel then shifted back to the art direction, with various concept art and screenshots shown of New Mombasa at night. Notably, one shot showed the city being flooded by a wall of water, indicating some kind of natural disaster of biblical proportions. Other shots shown included ways in which the team went about breathing life into the city, with one example being signage that had a decidedly ironic element a la Starship Troopers.
Also in the art vein, various vehicles and weapons were shown, including a revamped Pelican and what appeared to be a heavily armored dump truck. The team also noted that two of the primary weapons in the game would be a sound-suppressed pistol and sound-suppressed SMG.
As was the case with Halo 3, Bungie has tapped a number of vets from Joss Whedon's cult-sensation Firefly to lend their voices and likenesses to the game. As has previously been announced, this includes Nathan Fillion, Alan Tudyk, and Adam Baldwin. Battlestar Galactica's Tricia Helfer, who Blizzard Entertainment recently announced would voice Kerrigan in Starcraft II, will also lend her voice and likeness to the game. Again offering a bit of a slip, O'Donnell noted that Fillion's character and Helfer's character have some smoldering romance that will impact the game.
Staten concluded by offering a few details on Sadie's Story, which will apparently be a tangential plot line from the perspective of a New Mombasa civilian caught up in the ordeal. The story, which will emerge as a player progresses, details the events leading up to the arrival of the orbital drop shock troopers.
A number of odds and ends were also offered during the Q&A portion of the panel. According to community manager Brian Jarrard, people should "be sure to keep your ODST disk handy" for when Bungie begins to talk more about its next Halo project, Halo: Reach. Senior designer Lars Bakken also stated that "there are no current plans for doing DLC for ODST," though Jarrard quickly chimed in with a practiced community relations response that Bungie is always evaluating its options.
Takeaway: With only a few short weeks left until Halo 3: ODST's launch, gamers will soon know how well Bungie's latest effort will complement the franchise. As is becoming more and more obvious, the game will represent a marked departure from the vibrant Halo aesthetic, with the film noir bent offering more complex and, possibly richer, characters.

Halo 3 Top 10 Kills of the Week

December 2, 2009 - Every week, millions of Spartans are killed in Halo 3 multiplayer. Some deaths are tragic, others comic. Thousands are uploaded and shared via bungie.net. We've sorted through the coolest, funniest, and best kills of the week to deliver a worthy Top 10 list. Each week, we offer a countdown of the best kills from the previous week, ranked from great to greatest. And best of all, you can get in on the action. Upload your best kill from the week -- one's truly worthy of being immortalized in our Top 10 list -- to bungie.net and then email a link to your vid to halovids@ign.com. For details on how to do this and tips on ways to get your vid selected, check out the details below our sweet video. Only videos posted between October 20 and October 26 can be considered for next week's list. Oh, and the person who submits the #1 video will win a $60 gift card to Gamestop*. That's good enough to get you a game of your choosing. Congrats to PTGotHops who scored top prize this week.
How to Submit Your Video
Edit a replay of your clip in either Halo 3 or Halo 3: ODST.
Choose the file share option.
Log in to your bungie.net account (it's free to create).
Your video will appear in the File Share section of your account. Select the video you wish to send.
Copy the URL of that page and email it and your Gamertag to us at halovids@ign.com.Tips on Getting Your Video Selected
Render your video with a Bungie Pro account.
Keep your clip to under 30 seconds.
Add a descriptive title to your video so we know it's worth watching.
Make sure it's awesome. If you send us mediocre kills repeatedly, we'll stop looking at your submissions.Give us your thoughts on this feature in the comments field below. *NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. MUST BE 18 OR OLDER AND A U.S. RESIDENT TO WIN GIFT CARD.