hologames

It’s been a pretty radical past few weeks for comics both online and off. There’s the metric ton of news that came pouring out of Comic-Con 2010, there’s the recently released film adaptation of Scott Pilgrim, and then, of course, there’s the game adaptation of the film adaptation of Scott Pilgrim. Sadly, ev’ry rose must have its thorn, and earlier this week, said thorn was identified: The beloved Sunday funnies staple known as “Cathy” will come to a close in October. Should you find yourself in a beverage today, we humbly request that you pour one out.

If you’re not too torn up about the news we just delivered, you should check out our seven favorite gaming-centric webcomics from this past week, posted below. Make sure you vote for your favorite in the poll after the jump!

Slippy (Brawl in the Family)
Intelligent Design (Virtual Shackles)
The Sixth Slave (Penny Arcade)
Shepard’s Flock (Digital Unrest)
My Only Hope (No Cash Value)
Bat out of Hell (Awkward Zombie)
A Certain Type of Rush (ActionTrip)

Continue reading Weekly Webcomic Wrapup is mourning Cathy

Weekly Webcomic Wrapup is mourning Cathy originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 14 Aug 2010 23:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We feel like Orcs caught a bad rap in Tolkien’s flagship fantasy franchise. Sure, they’re not the nicest of dudes — but do they deserve to be senselessly butchered, like in the trailer for Snowblind Studios’ action-RPG Lord of the Rings: War in the North, posted below? We certainly don’t think so.

Continue reading Lord of the Rings: War in the North trailer displays orcish brutality

Lord of the Rings: War in the North trailer displays orcish brutality originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 14 Aug 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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APB developer Realtime Worlds may be laying off the entire Project: MyWorld team, according to reports from VG247 and Develop, with sources also alleging the dissolution of RTW entirely. One source apparently told VG247 that “The MyWorld team has been completely laid off. As many as 60 may have gone, but there’s a rumor they may be trying to sell the team as a smaller entity.” VG247 also alleges that “the Scottish developer is seeking to sell on APB entirely.”

In early July, RTW announced forthcoming “redundancies” at its Dundee studio, specifically referencing a “second, unannounced project” — now known to be Project: MyWorld. In a statement offered to Joystiq this morning, RTW echoed that earlier announcement: “Further to the press release issued on the 7th July announcing the post-launch restructure for APB and expected redundancies, the 30-day consultation period with the affected staff has ended. The supporting infrastructure for a game inevitably changes once released, and those staff that couldn’t be redeployed to new projects in the Art, Audio, Coding, Design, Production, and QA departments have regrettably been made redundant. APB continues to be our primary development focus, and we remain fully committed to the game and its players.” No specific numbers were given.

Realtime Worlds refused to comment on rumors of a full-studio closure or the possibility of APB being sold off. If you’re an employee of RTW with more information, we’d love to hear from you.

Rumor: Realtime Worlds lays off MyWorld team, reduces APB team size originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 13 Aug 2010 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s hard to not get excited for Codemasters’ next entry in the Dirt franchise after peeping the handful of shots that were just released. As seen in these screens, Dirt 3 won’t exclusively be terrorizing soil, but also leaves and snow. The horror!

Continue reading Dirt 3 screens attack the environment

Dirt 3 screens attack the environment originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 12 Aug 2010 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve seen a few of the bright and generally welcoming environments of Lego Universe — today, we get a look a few screenshots from the MMO’s Gnarled Forest area. We never would have assumed a game about toy heroes could contain such ominous imagery. Check out the images after the break.

Continue reading Chew on these Lego Universe ‘Gnarled Forest’ screens

Chew on these Lego Universe ‘Gnarled Forest’ screens originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 12 Aug 2010 03:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Double Fine announced a second downloadable game today, and we’re reeling from the double Double Fine. Let’s all take a minute to reflect on the first Double Fine downloadable game, Costume Quest, with some screens of the neighborhood RPG. Feels like it was just yesterday that we heard about this!

Continue reading Costume Quest screens are a treat

Costume Quest screens are a treat originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 11 Aug 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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So, LSD: Dream Emulator is the weirdest game ever made by anybody. After becoming entranced by the hours of footage from the game currently on YouTube, we feel like we can make that statement with complete certainty. The game features no plot or any goals to speak of whatsoever — it only tasks the player with taking short, ten-minute jaunts through areas inspired by a dream journal kept by a staff member of its Japanese developer, Asmik Ace Entertainment, who may or may not have been tripping on LSD at the time.

If that sounds like something you can get behind, you’ll be pleased to learn the game’s creator, Osamu Sato, recently announced on Twitter that the game would be coming to the PSOne Classics storefront on PSN. Of course, it’s unlikely the game will come to the U.S. store, as the title was never localized for the States. That’s no problem, though — you might be able to find it at your favorite online auctions site for upwards of $200. That’s a small price to pay for immeasurable weirdness!

Completely bizarre ‘LSD’ game coming to PSOne Classics originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 11 Aug 2010 01:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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“We thought based on the preorder trends that we saw and what we were hearing from retailers and consumers alike and we built our plans for growth in UFC this year,” THQ CEO Brian Farrell said on an earnings call today. However, with 2.7 million units sold relative to last year’s 2.9 million units in the same period, it’s clear the sequel didn’t show signs of “growth.” (Was it Red Dead’s fault?)

After reaffirming it as “still a top franchise” Farrell told the call, “What we’re thinking about – not to necessarily reinvigorate it because it’s a great franchise – but as I said in my prepared remarks, we’re considering a longer development cycle. 15-, 18-, 21-months between releases rather than annually.” That increased development time will, ostensibly, increase product quality and, with fewer releases, increase consumer demand. That combined with the UFC training and fitness game (not to mention PSP ports), Farrell assures analysts that “We think there’s a lot of growth to be had with the UFC franchise over the next several years.”

Farrell is quick to declare that there will be a UFC game in the next fiscal year. “We will have a UFC title in fiscal ‘12,” he said directly. “The question is timing, as I said. Could it be 15-, 18-, 21-months? That depends on both the scope of the game, the window, and how we want to release that game. As I said in my prepared remarks, we thought maybe a 12-month cycle might be a little quick but it’ll be somewhere around 18-months give or take a few months.”

If you consider this year’s UFC Undisputed 2010 on a 12-month dev cycle, an 18-month cycle would put its successor somewhere around late November 2011, smack dab in the middle of the busy holiday shopping season. Might be a tough spot for a UFC game to fight its way out of.

THQ looking at ‘longer development cycle’ for next UFC originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 09 Aug 2010 19:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While the first Monday Night Combat developer walkthrough introduced us to the Tank, today’s video shows off the Support. As his name implies, the Support … erm … supports the team by hacking turrets, healing teammates and calling in air strikes. See him in action after the break.

Continue reading Video: Monday Night Combat is all about Support

Video: Monday Night Combat is all about Support originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 07 Aug 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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His name is actually Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite, but he’s better known as “Kaka.” The Real Madrid midfielder will grace the cover of EA Sports’ forthcoming footballer — FIFA Soccer 11 — in addition to being the “center-piece of global advertising, marketing, and promotional campaigns.”

Continue reading FIFA Soccer 11 cover to feature Ricardo ‘Kaka’ Izecson dos Santos Leite

FIFA Soccer 11 cover to feature Ricardo ‘Kaka’ Izecson dos Santos Leite originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 07 Aug 2010 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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