It's just a teaser video for this summer's Tyrannis update for Eve Online, but it's always nice to see those graphics in action.
There aren't a lot of details available about Tyrannis yet, but here's the basic idea from developer CCP's blog:...you will finally be able to survey for juicy deposits of minerals and other goodies, build infrastructure to harvest them, store them, process them and launch them into space. Build complex networks of facilities and fine tune them for optimal production. All in a very massive single shard sandboxy way as only EVE can provide. And it's not just the terran planets. It's ALL OF THEM. The gas giants, the lava planets, the ice worlds, the water worlds and even the elusive plasma planets. Each type with their unique properties. Maintaining facilities on gruesomely hostile planets will be tougher and more demanding, but the rewards may be so much more "onturning."
Have a look at the Skate 3 screenshots below and let me know if you spot anything totally new. For extra credit, see if you can spot the Tony Hawk: Ride screenshot I hid among the Skate 3 screenshots just for fun.
Skate 3 will be released on May 11th, does not come with its own skateboard controller, and does not cost $100.
]]>Transport build costs increased by 50%.It's unconscionable. Where is it going to stop?
Among the other changes in the patch is a Universal Colossus who's easier to unlock and cheaper situational awareness technology. Also, gunships have been nerfed, which is part of an ongoing dance ever since the last game. It wouldn't be a Supreme Commander game without a series of gunship nerfs.
]]>Nintendo DSi XL will be available at a suggested retail price of $189.99, and that includes three titles that have been pre-installed on the system. These include the brain-training games Brain Age™ Express: Math and Brain Age™ Express: Arts & Letters, as well as Photo Clock, which lets users customize the pictures on the background of their clock. Nintendo DSi XL launches in both Burgundy and Bronze, with a glossy top and a matte-finish bottom for a better grip.The ability to customize the picture on the background of a clock is considered its own "title"? I'd like to see the math that determined that.]]>
Here's the skinny on Monster Bug:This is one of the more gruesome pieces of concept work to emerge during work on BioShock - a huge insect slowly growing from within a human being and taking over the physical form. And as sickening as this image is, its true power comes from what's implied: what was it like for the original person transitioning to this state of organic fusion? And what mash-up of man and bug is hidden under that cloth?
See more here.
And if you want an in-depth look at various directions Bioshock 2 could have gone, get your own yam hands on the coffee table book that came in the collector's edition. It's full of fantastic artwork and explanations of material that didn't make the cut in the sequel, including monsters, weapons, and places.
]]>The press release elaborates a bit on what you get:The single-player demo will feature the opening segment of the Michigan Avenue Reservoir level and serve as an introduction to the game's core gameplay mechanics for Splinter Cell fans. Gamers will have the opportunity to find out for themselves why brand-new innovative features such as Mark and Execute and Last Known Position have made Conviction one of the most anticipated games of the year.
The demo is not available for the Playstation 3. Which makes sense when you consider the game won't be out for the Playstation 3.
]]>However, I quite like that screenshot up there, which was just released today. Giant robots are all good and well when they're shooting giant arm-guns and punching each other with giant metal fists or maybe even vibro-swords or whatever. But part of what makes the concept interesting is the juxtaposition of giant robots with mundane stuff.
That comes across in that screenshot of two giant robots -- I believe they're called wangers or something in the Front Mission series -- shooting each other in mild temperatures on a street where the speed limit is so low. I hope it's an indication of the direction the game is headed. Wanger battles in familiar settings. Let's get those guys out into the suburbs, shopping malls, and maybe even an amusement park. In short, anyplace zombies have been is prime real estate for giant robot battles.
By the way, Front Mission Evolved takes place 150 years in the future. It's nice to see the United States still hasn't succumbed to the metric system.
]]>It's easy to make jokes about the PSP collecting dust, but Sony's littlest system is still chock full of unique games that you can't get anywhere else. Patchwork Heroes, which comes out tomorrow, looks like one such game. From developer Yuki Ikeda's entry on the Playstation blog:The idea for Patchwork Heroes came from wanting to make an action game that was sort of like cutting up paper with scissors, and I ended up pairing that with something very dynamic: giant aircraft and battleships! The basic premise of the game is to use a big saw to cut giant flying battleships into pieces before they come and destroy your town. As you cut chunks off the flying gunships, there's lots of other action in fighting and dodging enemies, and also saving friends and collecting items.
Little Big Planet meets Dig Dug meets physics meets crazy Japanese artwork? Throw in whatever weird J-pop pomp-pomp-pomp song is playing in the trailer and I'm sold.
From the Marketplace page:Experience every twist of the story, every stray bullet, every gadget and upgrade, every newly polished texture - and top it all off with full access to multiplayer modes now playable across the globe through Xbox LIVE.
It may not look like much based on that screenshot up there, but keep in mind this is from the creative team that would go on to form Free Radical and create the Timesplitters games. You could see in Perfect Dark some of the same variety, replayability, and inspired multiplayer support that made Timesplitters so special.
(Thanks Slashdot !)
]]>My favorite one reads, "Scan the lands, work the mines, know the market, trust the Twelve." It sounds like good advice as you're reading along. "Scan the lands" -- uh-huh -- "work the mines" -- sure -- "know the market" -- absolutely -- "trust the Twelve" -- wait, what? The who? Who are they? Apostles? Days of Christmas? Eggs? Trust them to do what? Or is this some sort of economics thing? Does Timothy Geithner know about this? Is it going to be on the final?
]]>Read the review after the jump.
That changes a little bit today. From the notes for latest patch:- Added "randomize" feature in all missions of the game, including multiplayer. Switching on randomize mode shuffles locations of non-quest monster dens, and places for construction of temples and trading posts. Warning! This can dramatically affect the difficulty of the mission.
The patch also adds a map editor and a few interface improvements. Oh, and then there's this:
- Random filling of chests. Now heroes can find various amounts of gold, as well as weapons, armour, elixirs, and artifacts.- Added the possibility of purchasing additional game content. Part of additional content is available for free.
Get the v1.3 update here.
Yet Bad Company 2 is full of people who don't know that. So I've started playing a new class: the sniper cop.
After the jump, read about how you, too, can be a sniper cop.
Read the Yakuza 3 review after the jump.