British intelligence group advertising on Xbox
Live

post from Destructoid on 20 November 2009 07:00:00 AM. © Destructoid

British intelligence group advertising on Xbox Live screenshot

You know that old trope about kids who play videogames that are actually secret government evaluation programs designed to draft quick-witted children into secret adventures? British intelligence organization GCHQ has taken that a little too seriously, and is planning to use videogames to attract new blood.

GCHQ, which works with the MI5 and MI6, will use Xbox Live to reach potential employees, where it believes that gamers exhibit the traits they look for, "such as quick thinking, problem solving and team work." If they also needed racists and homophobes, I'd say that Xbox Live users were indeed the perfect recruitment material.

"As well as tackling 'traditional threats' GCHQ's work is also about helping government departments, such as the Ministry of Defence, to protect their information and communication systems," states a GCHQ rep. "This means we can offer excellent training and careers for people with specialist technical skills. However, the fact remains that many potential candidates remain unaware of GCHQ and what we do. Using video on Xbox LIVE helps carry our message to the right people in a creative and innovative manner."

The irony of an "intelligence" organization recruiting through Xbox Live has been lost on none of us.

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Worms 2: Armageddon gets a big ol' update

post from Destructoid on 20 November 2009 06:40:00 AM. © Destructoid

Worms 2: Armageddon gets a big ol' update screenshot

There's a problem with a lot of Xbox LIVE Arcade Games -- their online communities tend to die off before too long. Even the good ones can suffer from this, simply because there's so many competing XBLA games and people often will pick only a few multiplayer games, usually retail, and stick with them.

As noted on Team17's Facebook of all places, Worms 2: Armageddon received a major patch today. Hopefully there are people still actively playing it who will appreciate the work that's been done. Based on how specific some of the comments were to the list of fixes, I'd say their community is still kicking.

A ton of stuff is addressed in the update, many of it game-changing material. If you were ever going to do so, now would probably be ideal time to jump back into Worms 2 while everyone else is seeing what's up with patch.

Plus, the studio says DLC will be out next year. Someone must be playing this still, right?

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Game marketing is three times more important than
product quality

post from Bruce On Games on 20 November 2009 06:33:41 AM. © Bruce On Games

This makes absolute complete and utter sense. People buy perceptions, not reality. And people are[...]

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nt-than-product-quality/

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Sony: PS3 will hit 13 million sales next year

post from Destructoid on 20 November 2009 06:20:00 AM. © Destructoid

Sony: PS3 will hit 13 million sales next year screenshot

Sony bossface Kaz Hirai has stated that the PlayStation 3 will top 13 million sales in 2010, helped along by a bevy of new features. He believes that the target will be met before the financial year is over in March.

Next year will see Sony jump on the whole "it only does everything" tag, as it plans to distribute content over net-work capable TVs, Blu-ray players and, of course, the PS3 itself. Unfortunately, today has been a horrible day for news, and this is literally all the information that Reuters has on Sony's 2010 plans. We were so desperate for stories that I took this awful piece of crap "story" and am now regretting it.

Oh well. PS3 is doing well. News story had.

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Wee Sing London launch with X Factor group Miss
Frank new Nintendo Wii video game

post from Gamezplay.org - Video game updates daily on 20 November 2009 06:07:28 AM. © Gamezplay.org - Video game updates daily

Members of the public joined X Factor group in Oxford Street GAME yesterday for four-player...[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] [...]

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g-london-launch-with-x-factor.html

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Bayonetta Contest Winner Announced

post from Maxim.com - BFG (Blog for Gamers) on 20 November 2009 06:06:40 AM. © Maxim.com - BFG (Blog for Gamers)

Check out the Bayonetta babe who has goth the look.

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Unleashing creativity with PS3-exclusive
ModNation Racers

post from Destructoid on 20 November 2009 06:00:00 AM. © Destructoid

Unleashing creativity with PS3-exclusive ModNation Racers screenshot

A surprise announcement at E3 this year, PlayStation 3-exclusive ModNation Racers looks to redefine the kart racing genre with its ridiculous level of customization and community features.

With a beta being launched soon, developed Sony and developer United Front Games invited us out to its Vancouver-based studio to get an early look at what players can expect. As it turns out, a whole hell of a lot. Kart racing fans, you are not prepared.

More after the jump.

While it's the high level of customization is what truly makes ModNation Racers unique -- and I'll get to that in a bit -- fans of kart racing should rest easy. United Front Games hasn't forgotten about core gameplay, focusing first on creating an easy to pick-up and play, yet deep and satisfying eight-player kart racing experience. With a PS3 controller in hand, the game doesn't feel like the current king of kart racing, Mario Kart, or really any other kart racer for that matter. Basic race controls are tied to the left and right triggers, break and gas respectively. Simple enough, right?

But in the words of game designer Matt Thomas, the goal was to create a game with lots of "physicality," an in-depth racer designed to offer "more experiences." ModNation does this in a number of ways, the first of which is in how it encourages drafting, drifting, tricks, and player-versus-player combat by rewarding it with boost.

The game's drift mechanic is dependent entirely on its own button, however -- by pressing and holding "X," you can drift around corners with ease, while still maintaining control over the kart with the analog stick. This defies expectations -- the "hop to drift" of Mario Kart is already so familiar -- but after a few races, I had gotten the hang of it, holding drifts long enough to shoot flames from my tires and pick up the maximum amount of boost to speed ahead of my competition.

Simple spin tricks can be done mid-air using the right analog stick, your only real goal being to keep your kart facing the right direction before hitting the ground. The result is a quick boost pick-up, and finding and nailing trick jumps across tracks can mean the difference between first and seventh place.

The right analog stick can also be used to nudge other kart racers as you pass them, using a little of your boost in the process. This is particularly useful when you haven't picked up any of the weapon power-ups that can be strewn about the track, and a successful nudge can result in earning even more boost, and sometimes knocking a driver off of the road. Another interesting use of the nudge, Thomas explained, would be to edge into and out of tight paths or short cuts, or even evading weapons.

Speaking of which, ModNation features a similar weapon system to other kart racers -- you'll pick up "orbs" found along the track -- with an interesting twist in that the weapons are upgradeable. Take the standard "rocket" weapon, for example -- picking up one orb will allow you to fire up to one rocket, but holding on to the weapon and picking up two more orbs will upgrade it to a triple rocket blast.

The game features a wide range of these abilities, from the kart-racing staples (like the aforementioned rocket) to the unexpected and unique. One example was an offensive-style power-up that created a warp on the track in front of you to launch you far ahead in the track, or a black hole that would rip through and disrupt an entire pack of racers at once.

Those looking to avoid pummeling from other drivers have an option -- using the game's shield. Provided you have enough boost to power it, you can press the "circle" button the surround your racer in a bubble. This is particularly useful against weapons like the rockets, or even provided a bit of protection against a nasty racer's side-swipe.

We had the opportunity to race on five tracks -- "Village Run," "Farm Frenzy," "Miner's Rift," "Market Run," and the tentatively-named desert track, "Sandstorm." Of the five, "Miner's Rift" was easily my favorite. The track featured a twisting and undulating track, including a slick jump into a miner's tunnel. While UFG wouldn't commit to a specific number when asked how many tracks would appear on the final game disc, the opening cinematic we were shown very specifically mentioned the number "28" when referring to the game's single-player story "ModNation Racing Championships."

Thinking 28 isn't enough? No worries, that's where the game's track editor, called "Track Studio," comes into play. Simply put, the level of control ModNation Racers will give players over track creation is jaw-dropping. You'll be able to choose from a number of templates to start; we were able to play with a rustic village style template, with at least four more "mystery" templates unavailable in our demo. These templates give you a large area of terrain to work in, along with a huge set of tools and "brushes" to work within.

I started by manipulating the environments terrain, using a number of "sculpting brushes" to deform the terrain to my liking, adding mountains, craters, and more. The number of "brushes" available was staggering, ranging from simple mountain styles, to curious shapes like hearts or skulls. Brushes can be made larger or smaller, giving you more control over the types of terrain you can create -- the variety you can get out of a single brush is truly impressive.

Once I had set my terrain, I was also given the option to manipulate other environmental options, like cloud cover or position of the sun to create different effects, the lighting changing in real-time before my eyes. Water level can also be set, filling craters will lakes or even for making larger bodies of water.

After manipulating the canvas to my liking, I popped open a simple circle menu and plopped a kart into the large environment. I then navigated to the point in which I wanted to begin my track, and clicked open the menu once more to begin my road, which brings up a "steam roller." Using standard and familiar racing controls (right trigger/gas to move forward, left trigger/break to move back or erase), you can drive around the environment and lay track, moving left and right in real-time.

By default, the steamroller will follow the environment, adding hills as it goes up a mountain, for example. But by detaching the steamroller and going into "free drive" mode, it's possible to create steep hills, for example, wherever you choose, with the game auto-generating bridges or plowing right through mountains.

Once I finished designing the track (you can hold the "triangle" down at any time and the game will auto-complete the track loop for you), UFG showed us its "auto-populate" feature for this first time. This feature automatically generates various environmental elements (trees, fences, road surfaces) and on-track props for you, allowing for a quick finish so you can then test drive your track.

Getting into a race with the new track was as simple as selecting the "test drive" option from a radial menu, which after a short load time put me into the race alongside seven other AI kart racers. Even on my first try quickly throwing a track together, it felt like a full and completely playable race -- power ups, "boost strips," and more were all placed appropriately by the game's AI. Within ten minutes of using the "Track Studio," I had a complete and fully functional track.

If for whatever reason you're not happy with the track, it's possibly to go back and tweak it. The word "tweak" I don't use lightly -- the advanced options in "Track Studio" allow you to manipulate every damned thing, from prop placement to the splines of a track to the angle of jumps... you name it, you can do it.

In fact, these very same tool being offered to the player were used by the track designers at United Front. We were shown one example of one of the game's later tracks, an insanely complicated roller coaster-like experience, with a spiraling road that took players high into the air. Complete with moving platforms and robot environmental hazards (called "ModBots"), it looked more like a level from Ratchet & Clank than anything you'd see a traditional kart racer.

The level of customization doesn't stop with the game's tracks, as ModNation Racers also has full-featured kart and character customization as well. Character creation and design is largely influenced by vinyl toy culture, giving all players a blank, white canvas to start with. From here, it seems like just about anything is possible.

Dozens of parts are provided for players to mess with, from eyes to hair styles, skin patterns, and more. While it's possible to create a unique-looking randomly generated character (I did this a dozen times, and not one looked alike), the real fun comes from taking your time and playing with some of the game's deeper customization features.

While UFG will be providing a ton of stock parts, each one can be manipulated in so many ways -- color, size, angle, material properties, and more -- that the possibilities seem endless. Instead of sticking to the basics, and inspired by nearly two weeks of playing Left 4 Dead 2, I decided to spend time creating a zombie character. Sounds easy enough, and the parts provided definitely simplified the process -- jagged monster teeth, squinting and blood shot eyes (it's possible to use two different eyes... and I did) all helped me get closer to by goal. But something just wasn't right, and I knew I'd have to dig into some of the deeper options.

On top of the standard parts (clothing, noses, eyes, hair, helmet, props, etc.), the game also gives you a number of stickers and decals to play with. If you're familiar with Forza Motorsports' deep customization options, and the kind of stuff you can do with a little creativity, you're on the right track. With a little help from some of the designers at UFG, my zombie was looking deliciously gory in no time. I created facial wounds by creating one layer using the a sticker of a tear in black. I then duplicated the later, changing the color to a deep, blood red, and made it just slightly smaller than the original.

The result looked good, like someone had drawn a scar on the characters face, but something was not right. Here's where the next layer of advanced options came into play -- changing the material's properties. I added an "emboss" style to one of the layers, and then changed the material properties of the underlying "red" layer (sliders allow you to control the cloth, metal, and plastic properties of layers). I then linked these scar layers together, duplicating and changing the size to create unique looking wounds. I even used a similar technique to create rips and tears in my character's shirt. The final product, after a bit of tweaking, was pretty amazing -- I had, with some ingenuity, created a unique and convincing ModNation ghoul that looked like no other character in the game.

Maybe you're not as morbid as I am; perhaps you'll want to create a bunny, or maybe even create a ModNation replica of yourself. With the tools I used, I have little doubt that will be possible for most players. Even those who aren't artistically inclined will be able to design something completely unique -- the tools really are that easy to come to grips with. Looking around the room at other journalists who had been playing with the editor, no two looked alike, and it was interesting to see how each had his or her own idea of how the tools provided could (and should) be used.

Of course, creation and design would be mostly pointless if you couldn't share it, and ModNation Racers addresses this with what sounds like some impressive community support. All creations can be shared and downloaded for free across the PlayStation Network. The influence of LittleBigPlanet is easily spotted here -- ModNation will allow players to rate creations, with the custom designs getting the spotlight as "top rated" so they can be found easily.

The potential here is incredible, with the longevity of the game truly being linked to the amount of effort the community puts into supporting it with original, creative designs. Based on the time I spent with it, I have little doubt that creativity will be sparked, and it won't be long before PSN is flooded with wholly unique fun track, kart, and character designs.

A public beta for ModNation Racers, complete with the customization and sharing tools, should be launching soon. Talking with the folks at UFG, they were hopeful we'd see something before the year's end. You can get your beta codes in the currently available at retail LittleBigPlanet: Game of the Year Edition; nothing's been confirmed, but it's likely the beta access will be granted through other means as well.

It would be a shame if it wasn't -- described, ModNation Racers sounds like a neat idea, but it's only in getting your hands on will you realize its full potential. With its built-in creative tool set, all Sony and UFG need to do is continue to support its community. It may very well be the last kart racing game you'd ever need to own.