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Ghostbusters – Sanctum of Slime

Jim Chaliz — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 23:57:40 +0000

Yesterday, when I was talking about Back to the Future -The Game I mentioned the fantastic Ghostbusters – The Video Game. When I said it yesterday I thought, “Wow. When are they going to make a sequel?” Today I find out that they already have. Set to be released as a DLC this April on Xbox Live and the Playstation Network is Ghostbusters – Sanctum of Slime. An all new adventure being developed by Wanako.

Unlike the last iteration, this will not have the voice acting of the original cast members, nor do you get to play as them. Seen as a passing of the proton stick you (and up to 4 players locally or online) play as a nameless Ghostbuster. This shouldn’t be that far of a stretch considering you played as a new rookie in the last game. The other noticeable difference is the change from the third person to an overhead perspective. The last bit of info that’s available so far, is that you can final drive an ECTO, but not the ECTO-1. Here you’ll be able to drive the ECTO-4WD and as seen above there is a heavy emphasis on teamwork.

I’m excited to see this franchise continue on even if just in videogame form, but when is the third movie coming out?!

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Back to the Future The Game

Jim Chaliz — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 05:45:39 +0000

Finally! The world has come to its senses. If you were ever a child, especially one of the eighties, fans of time travel, Michael J. Fox or even deloreans then its time to get really excited. Telltale games have just released the teaser trailer for their upcoming episodic Back to the Future game.
No game play is shown in the teaser, but there is some insight into the story. Doc is in trouble, both in the present and in some other undisclosed time. From the trailer it seems like it’s still the old west, but really who knows? Then like out of one of my childhood dreams the delorean flashes back into existence. I have some questions about that, but Ill get to them later. For now check out the video below.

Back to the Future The Video Game

Like I was saying, it seems weird that the delorean is back. Everyone remembers the moment when the locomotive tears through it like a hot samurai sword through butter at the end of the last film,(Not that a samurai sword would need to be hot to accomplish this, but whatever.) so I’m really interested in seeing how Telltale will make any kind of sense of this. Probably some kind of time swapping awesome ridiculousness that would otherwise only been seen in a Doctor Who episode. I also wonder why Doc’s estate is up for foreclosure when I thought that his he or his family had owned it for years?
There’s also the curious absence of the Xbox and Wii logos at the end of the trailer. I even checked out Telltale’s website, but there’s no mention of them. Okay, Wii I can understand (Sorry Nintendo), but Xbox Live. I’m pretty sure there are thousands of Xbox owners that would like to get their hands on a digital version of the delorean or a real one for that matter. Not to worry though considering that it’ll be released for PC I can only assume that the Live version will arrive soon after.
Personally I’ve had an imaginary count down that I’ve actually never really had for this game, but I knew it was coming. I felt it back when our favorite media companies started scavenging through our collective childhoods for re-marketable material. Not that that was a bad thing we did get some awesomeness out of it, like the first transformers movie and Ghostbusters video game. Back to the Future: The Game seems to be set on the same track, if it captures even a fraction of what the original films were like I think it’ll be a huge hit. So far it seems that way and we’ll be able to get our hands on the first of the five chapters later on this month.

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City of Heroes: Going Rogue and Going Beyond

Frank Hunter — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 17:02:16 +0000

Today, we heard from some of the minds behind City of Heroes, the industry’s leading superhero MMORPG. They talked extensively about what it means to take a game that was solid at release and keep it fresh and fun over the years. They gave a ton of details on the upcoming “Going Rogue” expansion, as well as some never before seen details on the distant Issue 19.

Since NCSoft picked the franchise up completely off Cryptic Studios five years back, the new Paragon Studios put out the City of Villains expansion which doubled the content of the original game, and are now working on Issue 17, the 17^th free expansion. The Paragon team is, in a word, meticulous. They are always looking for new ways to liven up the City of Heroes experience, and they are always adding content that blows away the fanbase. It certainly has continued to impress me..

Matt “Positron” Miller, the game’s lead system designer, credits these plentiful (and dare I mention again, free) upgrades as the key to the franchise’s success. From new power sets and zones, to color customization, to the Mission Architect system that allowed players to create their own missions, this constant new content always does a great job of keeping things fresh. The average video gamer is attracted to shiny things, and Paragon is constantly just rolling them in front of our faces.

So what’s still to come?

Issue 17: Dark Mirror is just over the horizon, and oh is this a treat. City of Heroes is getting a complete graphical overhaul to catch up with today’s upgraded computer systems. They game will now render shadows realistically, following the sun across the sky throughout each day. This gives Paragon City and the Rogue Isles an unimaginable visual upgrade, as the Studio’s before/after pictures illustrated. They have also done incredible work on reflective surfaces. Now, water and glass will reflect the characters and the world around them, again adding a level of detail. Other subtle changes were made in ambient occlusion. These visual enhancements together are called “Ultra Mode,” and will be available for players with the proper graphical hardware. This will not slow down players on less-than-perfect machines.

In addition, some more content is being included. Moving tails will be available as a costume part, the Positron Task Force will be divided and upgraded for a smoother and more fun game experience, and some more missions will be added. The Issue’s biggest achievement though is in the doppelganger system.

With doppelganger, players will be able to square off with evil versions of themselves within Mission Architect. These doppelgangers will be customizable. They can be a mirror image of your hero or villain, or they can be a polar opposite. They might just be subtly different, with a different costume, or legs growing out of their heads. Either way, this means an unprecedented level of customization in Mission Architect, and additional replay value, as the same mission played with different party members will result in different doppelgangers and a different overall experience every time.

Going beyond Issue 17, the team talked a bit about Going Rogue, the only paid expansion the game has seen since City of Villains in 2005. In Going Rogue, your hero or villain will be able to change sides, falling into a kind of “gray” area and then progressing to the other faction altogether. Obviously this does a lot for characters’ personal stories, and the relationships between heroes and supergroups as a whole. Most of the information on the expansion is already publicly viewable, but I’ve got a few things here you have not yet seen…

Four new power sets will be coming with Going Rogue. Dual Pistols is already available for those who preorder the expansion. Demon-Summoning will be available at pre-order soon as well. NCSoft will be putting up a video for that on Monday, so keep your eyes peeled. The other two sets were only just revealed at PAX, and here they are. Kinetic Melee will be available for scrappers, tankers, brutes and stalkers. This is a punching-based class that will focus on gathered energy. The final class is one that has been clamored for forever: Electric Control for controllers and dominators.

Even beyond Going Rogue, the team decided to spill a little information on Issue 19, and revealed that City of Heroes will be getting some end-game content very soon (look out, Blizzard). This content comes in the form of the “Incarnate system,” which will add additional and different levels, again more classes, new abilities, new rewards, and new zone events. They were very tight-lipped on what exactly these would be, but we can anticipate ten new levels and plenty to do for those stagnant level 50’s who have lingered at the top for too long.

It never ends with Paragon Studios, but, like a smooth chocolate milkshake, you never want it to. Going Rogue, and everything else to come, will continue adding new depth into a franchise that has shown innovation at every turn. Watch NCSoft’s website for upcoming screenshots and videos of the new content, which they have promised will be available soon.

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Welcome to PAX Mother F***in’ East!

Frank Hunter — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 19:46:42 +0000

With the above line, we are up and running. We kicked off with the Ultimate Grudge Match! Game journalists vs. developers. Representatives from Harmonix and Irrational games squared off against reps from one of the biggest websites, Wired.com, and G4 TV. They fielded some of the tough questions and went head to head on the key issues that cause tension between these supposedly related fields.

Overall, we had a good clean match. No one got very mutilated, except for a dislocated toe and one detached retina, but if science has proved anything it’s that these are things we can live without. The panelists sat and took questions, first from the panel’s host and later from the audience. Both sides strangely came to agreement on many of the heated topics, but we saw some decent debates.

One issue that arose is that we in the gaming press are wannabe developers, that we write because we cannot do anything useful in the true gaming world. Patrick Klepek from G4 TV knew where the blame lies. “A lot of people just have a kind of fundamental lack of respect.” Developers feel that writing a review for a game is easy, and that basically a monkey can do our jobs. But, when asked about whether we should be removed entirely, John Drake (from Harmonix) stood up for the press. Once we established that we weren’t eliminating writers physically, John said, “There is something to be said about an unbiased, or relatively unbiased opinion from outside the company.” PR and publicity departments can do something, but we journalists are here to stay.

The question of why Chris Kohler (from Wired.com) is such an asshole came up, but the resulting silence reverberating throughout the room was the panel’s only response. Interestingly, Chris himself also had no comment.

A lot of compromises were made. Both sides generally wished that reviews could afford to be a little more thorough, that journalists could have the time to take a more in depth look at games, that communication could happen more easily between developers and the press, and that developers could afford to have more time to perfect their games.

Overall, one final conclusion was come to. It is press or developers who are responsible for a tension among the various gaming media. It is you, loyal gamers. You with your unrealistic expectations and high standards. You, always demanding more product and more accuracy and better opinions (that last one doesn’t even make sense). At the next PAX perhaps we will see a panel where devs and press join forces to take on the common gamer. Alas though, only time will tell.

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Let the Circus Begin!

Frank Hunter — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 17:57:12 +0000

Ladies and gentlemen, I have arrived at the PAX East convention in Boston. The event is almost underway, and the coverage has begun. Observe below, the cream of the crop of the modern gaming press hard at work to please the fans. We’ve all got nothing but you in mind, my loyal gamers!

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2K Games Announces the North American Street Date for Mafia II

Frank Hunter — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 16:34:36 +0000

2K games announced the release dates for the highly anticipated title, Mafia II, this afternoon. An abridged version of the press release is set below:

2K Games announced today that Mafia® II will be available in North America on August 24, 2010 and internationally on August 27, 2010 for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, and Windows PC. Mafia II is currently in development by 2K Czech, the same creative team behind the award-winning, genre-defining Mafia®, which captivated millions of gamers around the world.

Through a compelling narrative, Mafia II transports gamers into the dark and unforgiving world of the Mafia. The fiction is embellished by a sophisticated, era-evoking atmosphere that meticulously replicates the clothing, cars, music and advertising of 1940’s and 1950’s Americana. Players will easily become immersed in the game’s cinematic Hollywood-style experience with strong, believable characters in a living, breathing metropolis. By fusing high-octane gunplay with white-knuckle driving and an engaging narrative, Mafia II looks to be the industry’s most compelling Mafia title to date.

Born the son of a poor immigrant, Vito is a beaten down Italian-American who is trying to escape the life of poverty that consumed his childhood. Vito, along with his lifelong friend, Joe, will descend into the world of organized crime. Looking to escape the life of hardship that his father led, Vito dreams about becoming a “made man,” and together with Joe, will work to prove themselves to the Mafia as they try to make their names on the streets. However, the two quickly realize that life as a wise guy isn’t quite as glamorous as it seems.

Additionally, Mafia II will be playable by the public for the first time at the Penny Arcade Expo East.

We at AmpedGaming are slated to take a look at Mafia II at PAX East this weekend. We’ll provide some first-hand details and opinions as soon as we’ve gotten the chance to see the title for ourselves. For now though, just breathe deep. Gotta love the smell of tommy guns in the morning…

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PAX East Incoming!

Frank Hunter — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 14:12:56 +0000

Ladies and gentlemen, PAX East, the Penny Arcade’s very first show on the east coast, is right around the corner. With badges sold out, and Boston’s Hynes Convention Center full to capacity, it’s bound to be a kick-ass show. Naturally, you’ll all be wanting to get the latest scoop on this year’s upcoming titles. You’ll want to know what sorts of games

and nick knacks are rearing their heads for the first time. Alas, curiosity is the downfall of the of the compulsive gamer with no travel budget, but don’t worry. Just take a long, comfy sit in your gaming chair and whip out your laptop. AmpedGaming has got you covered.

Our Executive Editor, Jon Huie, and yours truly, Frank Hunter, will be heading to Boston to cover this exciting event. We’ll be talking to the developers. We’ll be asking the hard questions. We’ll be going hands on with some of the newest titles. And of course, we’ll be reporting back to you. So Keep your eyes peeled because even we don’t know what we’re going to see, and that’s not just due to shoddy research! Boston is a land of adventure, and we are the pilgrims. Stay posted for live news coverage this weekend!

And by the way, for you fans attending the show, I know there is one question on your minds above all. One nagging, lingering little question that you need the answer to. Well, wait no longer. The answer is an absolute yes. You may take me out for a drink on Saturday night. My favorite beer is Killian’s, and you’re very generous for offering to pay. I’ll look forward to it!

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NYCBM

Jim Chaliz — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 03:12:42 +0000

All right so I’ve been sitting on this for about a week now. And I gotta tell ya… there was a reason for that. Remember how I said something about any news that might come up I’ll report on it. Well… yeah… There really wasn’t any.
But what there were a lot of comics and what made this con special was the amount of people truly devoted to them. So instead of trying to exaggerate any minor news I might have gotten. I’m just going to show some of the things that I found particularly interesting. I promise I’ll try to squeeze chicks in tight outfits into this. I swear.

First and formost. While riding the subway and checking some emails I noticed that my bad was somewhat lighter than usual for something like this. Lo and behold I forgot my camera. Yes. Awesome. Go to an event sans camera. Brilliant, but not to worry. The trusty iPhone to the rescue. So there ya go.

So the New York Comic Book Marketplace is a one day annual event held in the center (or heart, if you will) of Manhattan. Across from Madison Square Garden. As soon as I walked in I was greeted by the first counter selling rare comics. Awesome. This will probably be the only time I’ll get close enough to touch the first Issue of Spider-Man or the introductory issue of Robin, because they are Fu-king expensive. If you didn’t already know that.

10 cents my ass. Try $6,900.00 and I think thats on the low scale for the issue. I know you cant see it very well but I love the little price tag with the big number. All right moving on. To this guy.

This is Yogen and he is awesome! I mean that. Seriously, he was awesome. Super nice guy and he dressed as a Jedi for a reason outside of the fanboyism. He’s part of “New York Jedi”, basically I guess you could call them a theater/ performance group dedicated to saber battles. They also make and sell light sabers that you can actually beat the hell out of. Pretty sure they are unlicensed versions, but who the hell really cares when you’re sitting there whacking your friend over the head with a lit up saber that wont break and if it does guess what? The blades are replaceable. You can check them out here.
www.NewYorkjedi.com

Some more walking and a ridiculous amount of comics later I ran into this. Now some of you may not be as excited about this as I was, but this was a set up I haven’t seen since maybe 1989.

Come on isn’t that great. I was five in 89 if anyone was wondering. The blurry guy in the background was selling stuff I think but I cant be sure. All right. Final two bits and I’ll be out of your hair.

The guy on the left is Jimmy Tran. If you’ve picked up any recent Ninja Turtles dvd’s specifically TMNT: Fast Forward it means you’ve probably seen his work as a colorist. What you may not have seen is his work as an illustrator. Which blew my mind. A really talented guy. I urge you to check it out at
www.jtapp.com .

Finally the guy on the right. This is Chris R. Notarile. You may not know who he is but you will probably know some of the films he’s done. He’s the writer/director/actor in Blinky Productions versions of comic films. Like Mr.J, Blinky’s rendition of how the Joker and Harley Quinn met. Obviously done on a small budget, but they are fun to watch and these two are in it.

HA! I said I’d get chicks wearing skimpy outfits into this post. Anyway, this is Kim Santiago and Johanna Telander. Both of which are heavily featured in Blinky Production films.Telander actually plays Harley Quinn in the Mr.J series. Sadly I wasn’t able to get them in costume. I’m the guy that got the photos of them after they changed.

Still beautiful girls. Sadly, I just missed the spandex and gratuitous cleavage.
But back to the films and rounding this out. After speaking with Chris for a while we got to the topic of a Street Fighter film that he would like to do. He mentioned trying to get the rights and told me the plot outline. I hope he’s able to get it done. Because it would almost definitely be better than the live action crap thats out now. He did shoot a trailer though. Check it out and other films at www.Blinky-Productions.com

All in all the experience was great. The people were really friendly and I bought a bunch of comics for a dollar. So against all odds and weather this thing got off the ground and was fantastic. At least for me.

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Coverage from The New York Comic Book Marketplace

Jim Chaliz — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 00:46:20 +0000

The Comic Con that won’t give up. Now I know that sounds a bit extreme, but here in New York the weather has been just that. With snow piling up the New York Comic Book Marketplace is making sure that it’s doors will be open for it’s annual event and I’ll be making sure to bring any and all news from the show floor.

You can check out the website here: www.nycbm.com

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More Gameplay footage of Red Dead Redemption

Jim Chaliz — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 02:36:02 +0000

red dead redemption
So here is some more game play footage from Red Dead Redemption. Now I really have no idea what’s going on with the voice over. You might feel like you’re in the middle of a power point presentation, but the video shows that the game will most likely be the most bad ass thing ever. Much like the first game, you will be able to use the dead eye targeting system. Only this time they’ve revamped it for more targeted shots. Either several shots to one opponent or singles to multiple. Anyway the video tells all.

Source: www.Joystiq.com

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