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January 31, 2012

RedLynx: We didn't leak Trials Evolution

Finnish developer RedLynx has denied that it is behind the appearance on file-sharing websites of its upcoming Xbox Live Arcade game Trials Evolution. The studio once uploaded an incomplete PC build of Trials 2 SE to The Pirate Bay in a bid to stimulate demand for the game. Speaking to Develop, however, managing director Tero Virtala insisted his company had nothing to do with the leak of Evolution, which is due to be released on XBLA this year.
http://www.develop-online.net/news/39629/We-didnt-leak-Trials-Evolution-Redlynx-declares
Develop

Finnish developer RedLynx has denied that it is behind the appearance on file-sharing websites of its upcoming Xbox Live Arcade game Trials Evolution.

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Microsoft: no new Xbox at E3

Microsoft has poured cold water on reports that it is to unveil the Xbox 360 successor at E3 in June. Speaking to Le Point, reported by Develop, Microsoft France marketing director Cedrick Delmax said: "I am not convinced things will happen this year. Xbox 360's cycle is not at all finished.
http://www.develop-online.net/news/39631/Next-Xbox-not-set-for-E3-2012-Microsoft-claims
Develop

Microsoft has poured cold water on reports that it is to unveil the Xbox 360 successor at E3 in June.

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Dark Souls' grand vision

We talk art, design and masochism with the game’s creative director, Hidetaka Miyazaki.

Despite the relentless influx of new titles always coming to market, there are some games that we just can’t seem to permanently eject from the console. Dark Souls has a way of stubbornly finding its way back into rotation. After spending roughly 120 hours living – and dying, and dying, and dying – in the dark-fantasy world of Lordran, returning to a place filled with so many indelible experiences offers a nostalgic headrush on par with visiting the home in which you grew up.

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Dark Souls' grand vision

We talk art, design and masochism with the game’s creative director, Hidetaka Miyazaki.

Despite the relentless influx of new titles always coming to market, there are some games that we just can’t seem to permanently eject from the console. Dark Souls has a way of stubbornly finding its way back into rotation. After spending roughly 120 hours living – and dying, and dying, and dying – in the dark-fantasy world of Lordran, returning to a place filled with so many indelible experiences offers a nostalgic headrush on par with visiting the home in which you grew up.

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Iwata: Nintendo now open to social games

Satoru Iwata has revealed a significant shift in Nintendo policy by saying the company would be open to having social games on its platforms. In an investor briefing, company president Iwata said that Nintendo would not forbid developers from selling virtual goods through microtransactions in a manner similar to social games on Facebook and smartphones.
http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/library/events/120127qa/02.html
Nintendo

Satoru Iwata has revealed a significant shift in Nintendo policy by saying the company would be open to having social games on its platforms.

In an investor briefing, company president Iwata said that Nintendo would not forbid developers from selling virtual goods through microtransactions in a manner similar to social games on Facebook and smartphones.

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Nintendo leaning on thirdparties for Wii U

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has said that the company is using external studios to make games for Wii U which would previously have been developed externally. Speaking to investors following last week's disappointing financial results, Iwata moved to allay shareholder fears about the impact Wii U's processing power could have on Nintendo's development budgets. In addition to using the services of external developers, Iwata was keen to point out that not every Wii U game would take full advantage of its processing grunt.
http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/library/events/120127qa/04.html
Nintendo

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has said that the company is using external studios to make games for Wii U which would previously have been developed internally.

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January 30, 2012

Sony improves Vita bundle to fuel US demand

Sony has announced an improved bundle in a bid to boost US demand for PlayStation Vita ahead of its launch next month. Gamespot reports that a limited-time offer will give those buying a $300 Vita with 3G support an 8GB memory card, which retails for $30, as well as 250MB of data through AT&T, and a free download of a PSN game. The standard $300 3G Vita does not come with a memory card, which is required to play several of the launch titles including Uncharted: Golden Abyss.
http://uk.gamespot.com/news/sony-sweetens-ps-vita-3g-deal-6349368
Gamespot

Sony has announced an improved bundle in a bid to boost US demand for PlayStation Vita ahead of its launch next month.

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Enslaved lead joins Splash Damage

Marc Fascia, lead gameplay programmer on Ninja Theory's Enslaved: Odyssey To The West, has joined Brink developer Splash Damage as technical director. Fascia's remit will be overseeing all of the studio's technical efforts and setting the overall direction for programming teams. In a press release, Splash Damage hints it intends to spread beyond consoles, saying Fascia will support director of production Griff Jenkins "as the studio grows to additional gaming platforms."

Marc Fascia, lead gameplay programmer on Ninja Theory's Enslaved: Odyssey To The West, has joined Brink developer Splash Damage as technical director.

Fascia's remit will be overseeing all of the studio's technical efforts and setting the overall direction for programming teams. In a press release, Splash Damage hints it intends to spread beyond consoles, saying Fascia will support director of production Griff Jenkins "as the studio grows to additional gaming platforms."

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Final Fantasy XIII-2 review

Can Square-Enix's latest atone for the sins of its predecessor?

You can read this review in full in our print edition.

Our March issue, which goes on sale February 14, includes an in-depth Post Script article on what Final Fantasy XIII-2's use of real-time elements means for the series' future.

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Spry Fox sues over Triple Town clone

6waves Lolapps under fire over "virtual duplicate" Yeti Town; fear of cloning will "stop people making original games," CEO tells us.

Independent developer Spry Fox has commenced legal proceedings against 6waves Lolapps, claiming that the social game publisher has cloned Triple Town.

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Opinion: Playing dumb

In case of a zombie apocalypse, suggests Steven Poole, loot yourself a DVD player and blame videogames.

One thing nearly everyone agreed on about the British riots of last year, 
from sheen-jowled dead-eyed marionette David Cameron downwards, 
was that they were ‘mindless’. That would 
have come as news to the people carefully targeting branches of Game, while not, as 
far as I know, hurrying to loot shops that 
sold wool or buttons. The riots were perfectly mindful; just in a depressing way. There was nothing countercultural about them; instead, people broke into shops and nicked smartphones.

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FIFA 12 still UK Number one

EA's FIFA 12 is once again the UK all-formats number one, retaining the crown it has held every week so far this year. In second spot is Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, which climbs two places after sales rose eight per cent week on week.

EA's FIFA 12 is once again the UK all-formats number one, retaining the crown it has held every week so far this year.

In second spot is Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, which climbs two places after sales rose eight per cent week on week.

There's just one new entry in the top ten: Capcom's Resident Evil: Revelations, the 3DS title entering the chart at number 6.

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Another dev accuses Zynga of cloning

Zynga has again been accused of cloning the work of smaller developers, with Buffalo Studios following Nimbebit's lead in detailing the similarities between its own Bingo Blitz and Zynga's upcoming Zynga Bingo. In an infographic sent to VentureBeat, Buffalo points out the apparent visual and mechanical similarities between the two games. Nimblebit did the same last week when it accused Zynga of cloning Tiny Tower with upcoming mobile game Dream Heights.
http://venturebeat.com/2012/01/29/buffalo-studios-blasts-zynga-for-copying-bingo-blitz-social-game
VentureBeat

Zynga has again been accused of cloning the work of smaller developers, with Buffalo Studios following Nimbebit's lead in detailing the similarities between its own Bingo Blitz and Zynga's upcoming Zynga Bingo.

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Kingdoms Of Amalur online pass confirmed

Upcoming fantasy RPG Kingdoms Of Amalur: Reckoning uses publisher EA's Online Pass to lock out singleplayer content from second-hand buyers. Destructoid spotted that the EA-published title contains a single-use code to wall off an entire faction quest line, with those that buy pre-owned forced to pay a further fee to access the content.
http://www.destructoid.com/kingdoms-of-amalur-hides-seven-quests-behind-online-pass-220459.phtml
Destructoid

Upcoming fantasy RPG Kingdoms Of Amalur: Reckoning uses publisher EA's Online Pass to lock out singleplayer content from second-hand buyers.

Destructoid spotted that the EA-published title contains a single-use code to wall off an entire faction quest line, with those that buy pre-owned forced to pay a further fee to access the content.

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Ace Attorney 5 announced

Capcom has announced that the fifth game in the Ace Attorney series is in production. The news comes from an event held over the weekend to mark the tenth anniversary of the series, known as Gyakuten Saiban in Japan. No platforms or release date were announced.
http://www.siliconera.com/2012/01/29/ace-attorney-5-announced-phoenix-wright-trilogy-remastered-for-ios/
Siliconera

Capcom has announced that a fifth game in the Ace Attorney series is in production.

The news comes from an event held over the weekend to mark the tenth anniversary of the series, known as Gyakuten Saiban in Japan. No platforms or release date were announced.

Siliconera reports that Capcom also announced that remastered versiond of the first three games in the series will be released for iOS and Android, costing ¥600 (£5) apiece or ¥1,200 (£10) for a bundle containing all three.


January 27, 2012

Reviews round-up January 23 - 27

Each week, we'll be posting a round-up of the reviews that have been added to the site over the prior five days. Along with our assessment of all the most important new releases, we'll also be adding older reviews over time, eventually building up to a full archive of every review we've published.

Each week, we'll be posting a round-up of the reviews that have been added to the site over the prior five days. Along with our assessment of all the most important new releases, we'll also be adding older reviews over time, eventually building up to a full archive of every review we've published.

This is a big job, but if there are any reviews you'd particularly like to see on the site sooner than later, let us know in the comments below and we'll prioritise those.

--

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PixelJunk Eden announced for Steam

Indie PSN hit PixelJunk Eden will be released on Steam next week, developer Q-Games has announced. Kotaku reports that Eden will be priced at $9.99 on Steam, and a 17-song soundtrack featuring Japanese multimedia artist Baiyon will also be available, for $5.99.
http://kotaku.com/5879854/pixeljunk-venturing-from-psn-to-steam
Kotaku

Indie PSN hit PixelJunk Eden will be released on Steam next week, developer Q-Games has announced.

Kotaku reports that Eden will be priced at $9.99 on Steam, and a 17-song soundtrack featuring Japanese multimedia artist Baiyon will also be available, for $5.99.

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50 Must-Play iOS Games

Three years and hundreds of thousands of apps later, which are the games that deserve your attention?

The App Store isn’t just the largest games marketplace in the world, it’s also the most dynamic. It’s a virtual shop-front that’s capable of ensuring Top 50 lists are comfortably out of date before the last full stop has been typed. The games gathered below all have one thing in common, however: they’ve endured, earning their space on your iDevice while other distractions come and go.

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Steam app now on iOS and Android

Valve has released a Steam app for iOS and Android devices. The app, which has been released in closed beta, lets users chat with friends, browse community groups and user profiles, and view the latest screenshots and user-generated content. It also contains the latest gaming news and information on Steam sales.
http://store.steampowered.com/mobile
Steam

Valve has released a Steam app for iOS and Android devices.

The app, which has been released in closed beta, lets users chat with friends, browse community groups and user profiles, and view the latest screenshots and user-generated content. It also contains the latest gaming news and information on Steam sales.

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Super Mario 3D Land sells five million

More than five million copies of 3DS platformer Super Mario 3D Land have been sold worldwide since its launch in November, Nintendo has announced. It means Mario's 3DS debut is the first game to cross the five million barrier, though figures released alongside Nintendo's latest financial results show Mario Kart 7 isn't far behind. The kart racer, which has been number one in Japan for five of the last six weeks, is currently on 4.5 million.
http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2012/120127e.pdf
Nintendo

More than five million copies of 3DS platformer Super Mario 3D Land have been sold worldwide since its launch in November, Nintendo has announced.

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XBLA Quarrel reveals mad Microsoft word filter

'Help' and 'train' among words forbidden in online sessions of Denki's multiplayer word game.

Quarrel, the multiplayer word game released on Xbox Live Arcade this week, falls foul of a curious, Microsoft-imposed word filter that forbids players from playing seemingly inoffensive words.

Shortly after the game's XBLA release on Wednesday, reports appeared on forums from players who had seen perfectly valid words turned down during competitive play on Xbox Live, including 'balls', 'train', and 'shaft'.

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Sakaguchi to speak at BAFTA HQ

Hironobu Sakaguchi, creator of Final Fantasy and upcoming Wii RPG The Last Story, will speak at the British Academy Of Film And Television Arts' London headquarters next month, Nintendo has announced.
http://tinyurl.com/BAFTALastStory
BAFTA

Hironobu Sakaguchi, creator of Final Fantasy and upcoming Wii RPG The Last Story, will speak at the British Academy Of Film And Television Arts' London headquarters next month, Nintendo has announced.

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The Friday Game: RUN

Grobitbox’s survival horror game explores the dark pleasures of the chase.

Ludum Dare ran another of its mini events a few days ago, and the theme designers had to work to was 'Fear'. Coming so soon after 'Alone' in the main competition, it’s another rather broad topic, and it’s inspired some interesting results. One of my favourite entries is a game by Grobitbox. It’s simply called RUN.

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Rayman Origins confirmed for PC

Ubisoft has confirmed that Michel Ancel platformer Rayman Origins will be released for PC on March 30. Even better news for PC owners: the digital download will only require a single activation, while the retail version will not feature Ubisoft's dreaded DRM at all
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/01/26/rayman-origins-coming-to-pc-drm-free
Rock Paper Shotgun

Ubisoft has confirmed that Michel Ancel platformer Rayman Origins will be released for PC on March 30.

Even better news for PC owners: the digital download will only require a single activation, while the retail version will not feature Ubisoft's dreaded DRM at all.

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Resident Evil: Revelations review

An uneven pick’n’mix of the series’ iconography and mechanics.

You can read this review in full in our print edition.

Our February issue, which is on sale now, includes an in-depth Post Script article on the steep challenge of making Resident Evil's trademark scares and tension work on a handheld console.

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