Lady Gaga was already announced for Rock Band’s DLC update next week — but she’s bringing friends along. The pop sensation will be joined by some, ahem, actual rock bands.
Check out next week’s full list of releases after the break.
Continue reading Rock Band Weekly Redux: Lady Gaga, Cartman, 3 Doors Down, Mute Math, The Subways
Rock Band Weekly Redux: Lady Gaga, Cartman, 3 Doors Down, Mute Math, The Subways originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Amazon lists Xbox 360 Elite spring 2010 hardware package with 120GB hard drive, two of last year’s biggest exclusive releases.
Gamers in the market for a new Xbox 360 system have a wealth of options on the way. Beyond the already available Xbox 360 Arcade and Xbox 360 Elite options, Microsoft has announced a pair of bundles that will see a 250GB version of the Xbox 360 Elite packed with a long-awaited game launch and two controllers. Next week, the Square Enix role-playing game Final Fantasy XIII will receive the Elite bundle treatment, while Ubisoft’s stealth action game Splinter Cell: Conviction will get its own Elite bundle in early April.
Microsoft is apparently not over its bout of bundle fever just yet, as online retailer Amazon.com is listing a new spring 2010 Xbox 360 Elite configuration that will see the system packed in with two of its biggest exclusives from last year: Halo 3: ODST and Forza Motorsport 3. Judging from packaging art, the bundle will include a 120GB hard drive and a single controller. The product page suggests the package will arrive March 9, but Amazon has not started accepting preorders for it, nor is the retailer listing a price.
A Microsoft representative did not return GameSpot’s request for confirmation and further details regarding the spring 2010 bundle. For more on the packed-in games, check out GameSpot’s reviews of Halo 3: ODST and Forza Motorsport 3.
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Click to enlargeBackbreaker may be the greatest football game no one will ever play. While I can attempt to detail its incredible use of the Euphoria physics engine, its spectacular graphics and truly innovative gameplay, all these features are moot thanks to the crippling fact that the game does not have the NFL license. Without the license, the annual Madden devotee won’t have this on his (or her!) radar — ironic, because Backbreaker makes good on the lofty promises of Madden 06’s teased “CG movie” effect, which EA Sports has yet to deliver on, even four years later.
It’s easy to get jaded about sports games as they iterate, releasing slightly improved games year after year. We’ve grown accustomed to complacency. But simply watch a video of Backbreaker and you’ll probably agree: this game is a breath of fresh air no one expected from the genre. It goes to show that with proper competition, there’s a lot of room for innovation.
Perhaps the most obvious thing to discuss are Backbreaker’s animations, powered by the same tech used in Grand Theft Auto IV and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Euphoria allows game characters to react to their virtual environment and create dynamic animations. Unlike canned ragdolls, these animations are surprisingly lifelike, and because they can be generated on the fly, ensure the game feels spontaneous. Backbreaker has one huge advantage over games like The Force Unleashed, though: it’s developed by NaturalMotion, the studio that made the Euphoria tech.
Continue reading Impressions: Backbreaker
Impressions: Backbreaker originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 05 Mar 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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PlayStation Store Update: Sony, THQ samplers lead week that also revels in Greed Corp; Game Arts’ Grandia becomes PS Classic.
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With all the layoffs and financial hits game publishers and developers have absorbed over the past year, it should come as no surprise that the retail branch of the industry is hurting too. In a statement to Edge today, UK retailer Game said it would close 12 of its stores, six Gamestations and all 25 of its outlets in the Debenhams chain of department stores.
Though Game qualified it as a small percentage of its 682 stores, it still translates to 247 lost jobs. Here’s hoping that those affected will land on their feet.
UK retailer Game closing many of its stores originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 26 Feb 2010 06:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Metal Gear Arcade, which has been sneaking under the radar since its unveiling last June, is playable at Japan’s AOU Expo this week. To mark the occasion, Konami has released a new trailer and two new screenshots of the Metal Gear Online-based arcade cabinet. The trailer is available on the game’s website.
Konami has also provided a first look at the 3D glasses used to enable the game’s “Integral Vision” effect. It’s going to be totally worth putting on those goofy glasses, even after some sweaty guy just used them: not only do they create a 3D effect, the glasses also enable head-tracking. Where you look, Snake looks. To further immerse you in the experience, Metal Gear Arcade also has a mic for voice chat and a giant speaker system surrounding your head. !.
Metal Gear Arcade’s head-tracking 3D glasses exposed! originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 19 Feb 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Sega bringing Tri-Ace’s Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 RPG to North America on March 16.
Sega won’t have to wait much longer to see if its upcoming role-playing game Resonance of Fate will resonate with Western gamers’ tastes. The publisher today announced that it will be releasing the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 game in North America on March 16.
In Resonance of Fate, players will control members of a private military contracting firm in a world where most of Earth has been rendered uninhabitable. The only remaining pockets of civilization surround the tower of Basel, an experimental air purifier with a mind of its own. The game carries a steampunk aesthetic, with the ordinary RPG trappings of swords and sorcery traded in for guns and acrobatic attacks.
The game was developed by Tri-Ace, which has built up a reputation for role-playing games. The studio’s previous efforts include the Star Ocean and Valkyrie Profile series, as well as one-off titles like Radiata Stories and Infinite Undiscovery.
Resonance of Fate is already out in Japan, where it’s being called End of Eternity. In its first week of sales, the PS3 edition of the game came in second on the top 10 sales charts, with the Xbox 360 version finishing in eighth.
For more on Resonance of Fate, check out GameSpot’s previous coverage.
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We might normally start a post on a regional game launch event (or events, in this case) by questioning if you live in or around the geographic location in question (San Francisco), but with a game like Final Fantasy XIII, we’re not entirely sure if that kinda thing matters — we hear that FF fans can be a bit … dedicated. That said, Square Enix is holding two separate parties celebrating the March 9 release of its next in the Final Fantasy series.
Both are limited to Square Enix Members, with the launch party on the evening of March 8 limited even further to just 50 Bronze (and up) Members while the day event is limited to “200 Members and their guests.” In order to snag yourself an invite, you’ve gotta have one of those snazzy Square Enix Member IDs and enter the sweepstakes right here before February 23. After you hurriedly enter the contest, come right back here and check out the 20 new screenshots of FFXIII that we’ve dropped into a gallery below. We command you.
Final Fantasy XIII gets two launch events in San Fran and a mess of new screens originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 12 Feb 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Original Guitar Hero shop named as the latest casualty in publisher’s sweeping cuts; Van Halen developer also shuttered.
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Microsoft has just sent off a handful of screens for the upcoming Lionhead adventure, Fable III. Featured in the images is a gruff-looking anti-hero, who has clearly lost more than a few followers from a slew of evil decisions. The pirate-hat wearing character isn’t all bad, though; one image shows the gun-toting maniac playing with his son. We presume, that is. Unless of course kidnapping is a brand new Fable III feature.
X10: Welcome back to Albion, Fable 3 screens emerge originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 12 Feb 2010 01:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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