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September 07, 2011

Jetpack Joyride review

Machine-gun jetpacks and prestige ranks boost Halfbrick's one-touch iOS platformer into a masterpiece.

Jetpack Joyride is the culmination of Halfbrick's work on iOS thus far and is a one-touch platforming masterpiece. It shares much with its predecessor Monster Dash – you control stocky protagonist Barry Steakfries in a machine-gun jetpack, boosting up and down with taps of the screen, dodging zappers and missiles to get as far as you can as the screen scrolls from left to right. But that's not the half of it. 

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PopCap's Asian business begins to bear fruit

Inside Mobile Apps' report on PopCap's Asian unit is a fascinating read, telling of how the company's well-considered approach to the Chinese market in particular is beginning to pay dividends. Much of that success is down to James Gwertzman, who worked in Asia for Microsoft during the first tech bubble and now runs PopCap's Asian operation. "What we've come to realise is that this is an incredibly complex market," he says. "It's often very difficult for western companies and they have to be prepared for the long haul." PopCap most certainly has been - the office was set up in 2008 and is expected to contribute 10 to 11 per cent of PopCap's total revenue this year.
http://www.insidemobileapps.com/2011/09/06/popcap-asia/
Inside Mobile Apps


Resistance 3 review

B-movie cliché or heavyweight FPS contender?

The design principle of Resistance 2, seemingly, was escalation rather than careful iteration. Escalation of scale and difficulty without refinement or balance, descending into set-piece gazing, its monstrous bosses dislocating you from the spectacle when you should be centre stage. Resistance 3 presses the reset button on the previous game’s excesses and the delete button on Nathan Hale’s two-game narrative.

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Sony UK appoints new managing director

MCV reports that Fergal Gera, former head of entertainment at UK supermarket Asda, has been appointed SCE UK's managing director and vice-president of SCEE. He replaces Ray Maguire, who left Sony after 17 years of service in April.
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/fergal-gara-named-sce-uk-md/084337
MCV


Disney confirms Avalanche layoffs

Disney Interactive has confirmed to Gamasutra that it has cut jobs at its Utah-based subsidiary Avalanche Software. The studio, which recently completed on Cars 2: The Videogame and before that delivered another Disney tie-in, Toy Story 3, is understood to have let between 15 and 20 staff go on September 1.
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/37067/Layoffs_At_UtahBased_Disney_Avalanche.php
Gamasutra


The Old Republic beta delayed in Europe

European gamers eagerly refreshing their email inboxes in the hope of receiving an invitation to The Old Republic beta will be doing so for a while, after BioWare's Chris Collins said the studio had decided to wait for a new build of the Star Wars MMOG before sending out the invitations. Collins said that asking European players to download a 27GB client, then a few days later wipe their progress and ask them to download the client all over again was "not an experience we want new testers to be exposed to...You have my word that this batch of invites will happen, it may just mean you have to wait a little longer."
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-09-07-euro-swtor-beta-invites-delayed
Eurogamer


Out There: sexy Mass Effect, real Pip-Boy

Plus concepts from an unreleased post-apocalyptic driving game and the best video game song ever.

"Give at least 25 per cent of your game away" is Edge columnist Tadhg Kelly's advice for developers planning game demos, which seems a lot, but it's most likely to achieve both promotion and sales, because a big demo gets players talking about it. Kelly's best demo? Doom's, which comprised a whole third of the game. What's yours?

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Dragon Quest X to require subscription fee

Since Square Enix's confirmation on Monday that Dragon Quest X would be an online RPG for Wii and Wii U, one question has gone unanswered. The publisher has now confirmed on its support page that the game will require a subscription fee to be playable beyond the first few hours.
http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2011/09/06/dqx_fees/
Andriasang


AMD shifts blame for Dirt 3 code theft

Yesterday reports claimed that up to three million codes giving a free Steam copy of Dirt 3 had been taken from Codemasters' servers. The developer later got in touch to clarify that it was an AMD promotional site, and the graphics card manufacturer has confirmed that. In a statement, it said: "These activation keys were hosted on a thirdparty fulfilment agency website, www.AMD4u.com, and did not reside on AMD's website. Neither the AMD nor Codemasters servers were involved. We are working closely with Steam, Codemasters and our fulfilment agency to address the situation. AMD will continue to honour all valid game vouchers, however the current situation may result in a short delay before vouchers can be redeemed."
http://amd4u.com/dirt3promo/
AMD


Microsoft bans XBL Marketplace thieves

In a post on the Xbox Live support forums a Microsoft spokesperson confirms a new wave of bans affecting those who are deemed to have "illegitimately accessed" Marketplace content. "Our investigation reveals that this access was intentional and not accidental, constituting a blatant violation of the terms of use for the service," the post reads. "Please know that we are being very careful regarding these suspensions, and have clear evidence regarding each account issued a permanent suspension from the service."
http://forums.xbox.com/xbox_forums/xbox_support/f/41/t/62589.aspx
Microsoft


Report: Yoshi, Ace Attorney and more set for 3DS

Etrian Odyssey, God Eater and Baten Kaitos among raft of new titles to be announced next week, sources claim.

Nintendo is to unveil a host of new 3DS games at its pre-Tokyo Game Show event next week, according to reports.

Japanese blog Hachimaki, translated by Gematsu, claims that a side-scrolling game starring Yoshi, developed by Kirby's Epic Yarn studio Good-Feel, is on the way. A fifth Ace Attorney game featuring Miles Edgeworth will also be announced.

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The Sims Social passes 30 million users

EA took its time bringing The Sims to Facebook, a curious move given that it seems such a good fit for social gaming. However, it appears to have paid off, with the game amassing more than 30 million active users since its launch last month.
http://www.facebook.com/TheSimsSocial
Facebook


Steam Trading leaves beta

Valve launched Steam Trading last month, a beta phase in which users were only able to trade Steam Gifts and virtual Team Fortress 2 items. Over a million trades later, Steam Trading is now out of beta and officially live, with Portal 2 items now included and, in Spiral Knights, the first sign of thirdparty support.
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/37056/Valves_Steam_Trading_Leaves_Beta_Adds_Portal_2_Support.php
Gamasutra


ESRB rates Devil May Cry HD remakes

A Devil May Cry HD Collection was first rumoured in June, when a Spanish retailer briefly listed it for PS3. Now America's ESRB has rated the first three games in the series - originally released on PlayStation 2 - for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. With the Tokyo Game Show kicking off next week it appears an official announcement may be imminent; we'll be spending the next week or so brushing up on our (hopeless) Royal Guard skills and hoping it's Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition, with its kinder difficulty level and save system, that's included rather than the punishing vanilla release.
http://www.esrb.org/ratings/search.jsp?title=devil+may+cry+
ESRB


Famitsu outs Monster Hunter 3G and 3DS peripheral

Expanded version of Wii's Tri playable at TGS and out this year; "Expansion Slide Pad" adds second circle pad, shoulder buttons.

Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu has revealed that Capcom's Monster Hunter franchise is bound for 3DS, along with a peripheral that adds a second circle pad and set of shoulder buttons to the system.

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September 06, 2011

Ubisoft waives Driver’s online pass fee

Ubisoft is offering free access to Driver: San Francisco’s multiplayer modes to all players – and not just those who bought the game new at retail, as initially planned - after a printing error left users unable to redeem codes to unlock the title’s online component. Beginning with Driver, copies of the publisher's "popular core games" were supposed to ship with a valid one-time code required to access multiplayer features, while second-hand buyers would have to pay to get in on the action. A post on the Xbox support forums confirmed that printing errors had put paid to those plans, for now. "To solve this problem, Ubisoft has made the Uplay Passport offer free for all purchasers of Driver: San Francisco,” it read. Ubisoft says players can access all of the game’s online features at no extra cost by accessing the Uplay Passport option from Driver’s online multiplayer menu.
http://uplay.uk.ubi.com/passport/
Uplay


Halo 4 creative director exits Microsoft

Ryan Payton, one of Halo 4’s creative directors, has left Microsoft's 343 Industries to establish his own development studio, Camouflaj. Having previously served as a producer on Metal Gear Solid 4, Payton joined Microsoft to help create the new Halo trilogy, focusing largely on story and developing the fictional universe with franchise director Frank O'Connor. "I had a great run at Microsoft," Payton told Kotaku. "I don't regret one day of it. But after a few years, there came a point where I wasn't creatively excited about the project anymore. The Halo I wanted to build was fundamentally different and I don't think I had built enough credibility to see such a crazy endeavour through." He added: "I think time is the most valuable thing we have and I've decided that I'm not going to waste one more day working on something that doesn't speak to my values.” Payton is currently working on two unannounced titles of his own. "Some people say I'm crazy, but I want to make a game that one billion people play at once, and it's something that hits them harder than a great book or film.”
http://kotaku.com/5837475/
Kotaku


Namco Bandai steps ups support to new parents

The publisher is doing its bit to help reverse Japan's declining birth rate, offering parents having a third child a support bonus of ¥2 million (£16,120) and those expecting a first or second child ¥200,000 (£1,612). Both male and female employees are eligible for the ¥2 million bonus provided they take a week off in the first 56 days following the child's birth, and write a "child rearing report," though there are no such conditions attached to the ¥200,000 bonus. Namco Bandai will also open a child care centre in its Shinagawa office, and is looking at doing the same in its other offices across Japan.
http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2011/09/06/namco_bandai_parent_support/
Andriasang


Deep Silver to fix Dead Island Steam error

The publisher had somehow uploaded a development build of its zombie FPS instead of the final version, leaving many North American players with a less-than-satisfactory experience. Deep Silver has since confirmed to Rock Paper Shotgun that the correct build will be released "during the day."
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/09/06/dead-island-proper-released-later-today
Rock Paper Shotgun


Official Xbox Magazine launches new website

Future Publishing stablemate Official Xbox Magazine has relaunched its website with a complete redesign today, ushering in a new focus on Xbox Live. The site is celebrating with a selection of new articles, including an interview with Epic Games' Cliff Bleszinski as well as previews of Battlefield 3 and Modern Warfare 3. Head over to the site by clicking the source link below.
www.oxm.co.uk
Oxm


Slavery: The Game is a hoax

Platform holders and alleged developer all deny knowledge of supposed RTS.

Microsoft, Sony, Sega and The Creative Assembly have all denied knowledge of the existence of Slavery: The Game.

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Guardian Heroes remake out next month

Sega has just announced that the HD remaster of Treasure's classic Sega Saturn brawler will be released on Xbox Live Arcade on October 12. Supporting online play for up to 12 players, it will cost 800 Microsoft Points.
http://www.sega.co.uk/news/
Sega


Zelda 25th Anniversary Symphony competition

Win a pair of tickets to the London leg of Nintendo's Zelda celebration concerts.

Remember the orchestral renditions of classic Zelda themes that accompanied Shigeru Miyamoto's appearance at Nintendo's E3 conference this year? Well, the tour he promised is now on, and we have five pairs of tickets to the London leg of the concert to give away.

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Land of Me at Port Ellen PS: Encouraging Outdoor Adventure 5/5

A few months back I featured the work of Bernadette Donald from Dundee who was involved in the Land of Me pilot project. She was inspired by the idea that a digital game such as Land of Me was designed to encourage enquiry and learning away from the digital screen, possibly more than actually from [...]

via


Land of Me at Port Ellen PS: Encouraging Outdoor Adventure 5/5

A few months back I featured the work of Bernadette Donald from Dundee who was involved in the Land of Me pilot project. She was inspired by the idea that a digital game such as Land of Me was designed to encourage enquiry and learning away from the digital screen, possibly more than actually from [...]

via


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