Part of latest Gears 2 patch might not working
offline

post from Destructoid on 04 July 2009 02:30:00 PM. © Destructoid

Part of latest Gears 2 patch might not working offline screenshot

Some offline Gears of War 2 enthusiasts aren’t happy with Title Update 4. In addition to adding XP to Horde mode, Epic Games added oomph to the smoke grenade. The sissy projectile now causes a momentary cringe effect on players during animations. While people seem somewhat fine with the change, they aren’t in love with the update. According to a few rabble-rousers on the game’s official message board, the added cringe effect won’t work offline.

Title Update 4 was released on June 3 and was accompanied by a bonus XP weekend deal, a celebration of sorts for the American national holiday. Instead of barbequing or risking their lives with mini-ballistics, Gears 2 message board users have been furiously posting in a thread about the issue. It’s currently over 65 pages long.

Apparently, national videogame tournaments that feature Gears 2 are still playing games over LAN, so this is a bummer for those who desire to compete with Title Update 4.

We can’t verify the offline cringe claim. It’s 2009 and the Internet exists. But we get your complaint: just give Epic some time. Dudes are probably off for the weekend.

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Madballs in Babo Invasion: The DLC that could
have been

post from Destructoid on 04 July 2009 02:00:00 PM. © Destructoid

Madballs in Babo Invasion: The DLC that could have been screenshot

I'm sure by now that you've spent some time checking out the trailers for Madballs in Babo Invasion, as well as Hamza's hands-on preview of the game. Yes, we know that the game is a rather... non sequitur... of an IP, as the Madballs IP hasn't been the most active brand since, well, before I was born. Thankfully the team at Playbrains is very "in" on this oddity, and they know that they have to work with the pros and cons of this IP as much as possible.

Interestingly, most of the characters in the game are brand new creations, with only two, Oculus Orbus and Horn Head, being original Madballs. This brought up an interesting conversation with Scott Simpson, President and CEO of Playbrains. Madballs in Babo Invasion, being based on a toy line, could offer a lot in crossover appeal. Could we see game characters crossover to become toys in the Madballs line? Or what about the marketing opportunities to offer free DLC for the game with Madballs toy purchases?

Unfortunately for those looking a Webkinz-like experience, buying Madballs toys to get Madballs game content, it looks like this has all been considered by Playbrains, Microsoft, Madballs IP owner American Greeting, and Madballs licensee Basic Fun Inc. Simpson sums it up:

It was actually AG who suggested this "webkinz"-like model of putting codes on toys, and we thought it was a neat idea. They're coming out with a Series 3 line later this year and they thought it'd be cool to put the codes on the toys so you can play your new toy in the game. Cool idea. Microsoft liked the idea as well, but there is a discussion (a whole lot of discussion) of how feasible it is to do this. Can you create DLC that's code-exclusive and not available/visible to anyone else on the platform, or would you make it so that anyone could buy the skin as it's own piece of DLC if they didn't buy the toy? And if you did do that, do you really want 12 pieces (or however many toys there are) of DLC listed with your title that are all these minimal-sized transactions?

Well there you go! Ultimately, I think this is a pretty interesting situation, as I'm sure more than Playbrains has struggled with dealing with the DLC situation for contemporary games. Would you purchase DLC if it came in a non-traditional package?

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Buccaneer The Pursuit of Infamy PC video game
annouced

post from Gamezplay.org - daily video games news on 04 July 2009 01:37:00 PM. © Gamezplay.org - daily video games news

Buccaneer: The Pursuit of Infamy, a PC game developed by Stickman Studios. This game will be released in Q4 2009.
Buccaneer is a single and multiplayer game where players strive to become the most infamous pirate captain of all time and etch their name in The Hall of Infamy.

Set against a backdrop of the sunny Caribbean, players will control a variety of classic tall ships, bristling with cannons, as they plunder their way through a 50 mission campaign and go head to head against other cut-throats online with the Player versus Player mode.

Employing a simple and intuitive control system, players will be able to jump straight into the action and begin their career in piracy.

With a wide variety of non-linear single player missions and a choice of more than a dozen fully customisable ships, Buccaneer will have budding pirate captains clamouring for more!

ABOUT THE GAME

Genre: Sea Battle / Pirates
Platform: PC
Publisher: Nobilis ? Blitz Arcade
Developer: Stickman Studios
Release date: Europe ? Q4 2009ca-pub-5833246175841206

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http://gamezplay.org/2009/07/buccaneer-pursuit-of-infamy-pc-video.html

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Just Dance video game coming from Ubisoft

post from Gamezplay.org - daily video games news on 04 July 2009 01:26:00 PM. © Gamezplay.org - daily video games news

Well that's what some site are reporting as Ubisoft have registered the name Just Dance.
No platform or date has been released.
Activision Blizzard already have Dance Hero registered...

Dance Dance Revolutionca-pub-5833246175841206

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http://gamezplay.org/2009/07/just-dance-video-game-coming-from.html

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Weekend Download

post from Jay is Games on 04 July 2009 01:00:00 PM. © Jay is Games

Painfully difficult retro gaming time!!! Three platform games on this edition of Weekend Download, each one doing its part to remind you just how bad you are at playing games. Until you play the same part a dozen times, then you're awesomely talented!

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http://jayisgames.com/archives/2009/07/weekend_download_91.php

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Gearbox: How did we forget games were supposed to
be fun

post from Destructoid on 04 July 2009 01:00:00 PM. © Destructoid

Gearbox: How did we forget games were supposed to be fun? screenshot

Gearbox seems to have catapulted into the spotlight ever since it wowed the gaming world with its radical redesign to the previously obscure Borderlands. This RPG-styled shooter is coming along really well, but the studio's Mikey Neumann explains how the developer almost missed the most important aspect.

"The art style, again, is the glue to everything. It allows us to embrace what our game actually is," he states, "and man, when we had that epiphany, when it all came together, we were like, 'sh*t man, that's what this game is, this game is about having fun.'

"Really, as developers, when you have an epiphany that the game's supposed to be fun, you simultaneously feel like the biggest genius in the world and biggest idiot that has ever existed. Like, how did we forget this? How did we forget games are supposed to be fun? And we do! Walk the show floor! We forget!"

I'm glad they remembered it in time. A fair few studios seem to have been getting amnesia when it comes to fun in games. Borderlands is looking amazing in any case, and it looks like it'll certainly be fun. Hopefully we get our hands on the game soon!

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Find the Object in Hospital

Find the Objects in Hospital is another new point and click type hidden objects game from 123peppy. Find out all the items on the list given right. More instructions are in the game. Good luck and...