EA Sports has confirmed an initial report that a demo of its arcade-style boxing game, Facebreaker, will be hitting Microsoft and Sony's download services shortly. More specifically, the Xbox 360 demo will be available on Thursday, July 31 with a PS3 version arriving a week later on August 7.
What sets this demo apart from most others is the approach EA is taking with regards to migrating user-generated content to the final product. Akin to the Spore Creature Creator, players will be able to generate their own custom pugilists and share them with others over the intertubes. The characters will also be accessible in the final version of Facebreaker, which enters the retail ring on September 5.
Capcom is performing a very special move for those miffed at the generally broken state of the Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix "open beta." Despite originally dismissing connection issues and other awkwardness as the pitfalls of pre-release software, it is now planning to offer a patch to address them, according to a post on its official blog.
The patch is slated to contain "several fixes for the open beta," and Capcom states that "the overall experience in the beta will be vastly improved." More details – including a release date – are promised to be forthcoming, so don't put away those arcade sticks just yet.
Fighting fans hoping for a pre-launch lightsaber throw down will wait until Soul Calibur IVcuts into retail shelves later this month, as Namco Bandai informs us that a demo for the game won't be available until after the game is released.
According to reps manning the company's E3 room, the devs are currently putting all of their effort towards getting the game ready for its release for the PS3 and Xbox 360 on July 29. As for what and when exactly we can expect from the demo when it's finally released, Namco Bandai wouldn't say, teasing only that it'll be available sometime "down the road."
Thanks to the dedicated blogging of the folks at Behemoth, we pretty much knew everything there was to know about Castle Crashers coming into E3 -- it's the followup to Alien Hominid, a game that started out on Newgrounds, and ended up on the XBLA. It's got tons of playable characters, lots of "animal orbs" you can recruit to fight with you, and a great art style and a sly sense of humor. In fact, the only thing we didn't know about it was probably the most important thing: how it actually played.
After playing it with Microsoft Director of Digitally Distributed Content Scott Austin here at E3, we can safely say it's going to be one of the biggest XBLA titles of this year (it's due out before September 21st). Castle Crashers is crazy good button mashing fun, and we can't wait to lay down our hard-earned Microsoft Points for it.
Writing about video games can often expose you to those heartbreaking stories of things in development that almost made it, but never appeared. Things like the Phantom game console, Shenmue Online, and the years-in-the-making Duke Nukem Forever.
We spent time with Bethesda's Todd Howard beyond locked doors and found out about some of the dark secrets behind Fallout 3, including the massive real-life Pip-boy that would have had a screen built into it to allow you to interact with the game. Or possibly hold your PSP on your wrist to become a PiPSP-boy. Find out more after the breakage.
Even cynics like us have to admit at least a passing curiosity with the nerd orgasm that is Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe and its cross-universe roster. Earlier today we approached the game's production coordinator, Hector Sanchez, and while he would not let us in on the game's complete lineup, he admitted that the team is looking to feature between 20 to 25 characters, "split up evenly half and half, and then split up again between heroes and villains."
Additionally, while talking about possible alternate costumes or other unlockables, Sanchez told us that the team is "planning to support downloadable content," before stopping short and saying he "was going to say something" but couldn't. Downloadable characters seems the obvious source of his pursed lips, making us continue wondering what comic book icons will be further ground beneath the heel of Midway's floundering franchise.
Universal and GRIN are working on a Wanted game, and we got to take a peek behind the scenes during E3. Faster than you can say "rushing a movie title into development" our cynical preconceptions were shattered. Not only were we impressed with the gameplay they showed us, we also were bolstered by the fact that one of the developers cared enough to drop the f-bomb several times during our appointment.
Find out more about this upcoming title after the break. If you haven't seen the film, watch out for spoilers and don't come crying to us later.
Scorpion vs. Batman. Catwoman vs. Subzero. These aren't exactly matchups players have always dreamed of, but Midway is going to do their best to cram two disparate universes into one with Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, the very first Mortal Kombat game on the next-gen systems. Here at E3, Joystiq got to sit down with Brian Lebaron, senior designer for the game, and we talked about why it's OK to set the Flash on fire, why Bizarro probably won't be in the game, and what Midway is doing to Toasty uppercut the fighting genre.
After the break, find our hands on with the game, as well as details from our chat with Lebaron. When MK vs. DC comes out, you'll finally be able to find out whether Liu Kang's kicks can catch the Flash in the jaw.
Nintendo has announced Wii Sports Resort, a sequel of sorts to the most popular title on the best selling console system this generation. It will include the previously announced Wii Motion Plus controller, and allow players to experience a fun "day at the beach" -- there will be a frisbee game, as well as a jetskiing experience, and a... sword dueling game?
Nintendo plans to replicate the success of Wii Sports and Wii Play, and throw in a new accessory with the pack as well. The game is set for a release in spring of next year.
If you call the Vault-Tec toll free hotline at 1-888-4-VAULTTEC (dang novelty 800 numbers!), you'll be stuck on immediate hold and told there are 101,000,000 callers in front of you ... which leads to an extremely long hold time. In fact, a mutant voice lets you know it's about 78,643 hours (unless we're hearing it wrong). We checked back to see if it's counting down, and it doesn't seem to be.
Any hackers out there with Rain Man-like number skillz who want to try and decode what this could possibly mean for Fallout 3? Maybe it's the date of the apocalypse. Have at it, and have fun. Also, please don't stay on hold that long and blame us later. If you're phonically challenged, just watch our special Joystiq audio-only recording of the call posted after the break.
We spent some time with the eagerly awaited Mercenaries 2: World in Flames at Electronic Arts recently, and we can safely say that it's a lot of fun blowing crap up in this game. In fact, if they dropped the storyline (you're chasing a druglord) altogether and called this game Blowing Sh*t Up!, we'd still buy it.
Senior Producer Jonathan Zamkoff answered several of our questions about the game after we took a breath to check for scorch marks and shrapnel wounds. We'll be spending a lot more hands-on time with this one at E3, so look for more coverage next week. In the meantime, check after the break to find out why they hope driving won't suck in this one... although they don't explain why this screenshot looks like Motorstorm 2: Save Your Own Ass.
Konami has released a triple-shot boomerang's worth of screenshots from its unorthodox take on Castlevania for the Wii, which promises to take the long running vampire hunt in a decidedly punchy direction. As great as it is to see the Belmont clan stretch their arms (and wings, and whips), with previous 3D Castlevania's driving a stake deep into the heart of "meh," it's impossible to feel anything beyond cautious optimism for Konami's latest experiment.
So what say you? Do these shots whip you into a frenzy for Castlevania Judgment, or simply douse your few remaining hearts in holy water?
Fighting game characters have long been accompanied by their own personal arenas, and that's proving true for the Star Wars combatants appearing in Soul Calibur IV. The game was on display at the recent Anime Expo 2008, where attendees got a first glimpse at a fighting ground from a galaxy far, far away.
In this particular case, it's Darth Vader's stomping (and lightsaber-ing) ground: the docking bay of an Imperial Star Destroyer. No sign of Yoda's yet, but we're hoping for Degobah, the Jedi Council chambers, or Frank Oz's dressing room.
Nintendo's love affair with the Neo Geo continues this week, giving players who have not yet shelled out for one of SNK's numerous other arcade collections yet another outlet to spend their hard-earned dollars, or rather, points.
King of the Monsters (Neo Geo, 1-2 players, 900 Wii Points): While already available on the Wii already as part of SNK Arcade Classics Volume 1, it's good to know that despite all of the problems in the world, there are still some disagreements between a giant lizard and an overgrown beetle than can be settled as part of a midtown battle royal. SNK's arcade original King of the Monsters allows players to choose from six different giant creatures and then grapple with the others in order to decide the fate of the city, as long as that fate ends in total devastation.
Nineteen-year-old German homebrew programmer "Fuzzy" recently revealed his latest project for Nintendo's dual-screened handheld; a portable port of Nintendo's franchise mash-up brawler, titled Super Smash Bros. Rumble. The above shakycam video reveals the early fruits of his labor -- so far, only three levels and one character (Mario) are available. It obviously needs a massive amount of work, particularly in the character design and animation departments, but it's a wicked idea. We hope that Fuzzy will continue working on this inspired project, provided that Ninty's legal juggernauts abide.
We spent some time with the eagerly awaited Mercenaries 2: World in Flames at Electronic Arts recently, and we can safely say that it's a lot of fun blowing crap up in this game. In fact, if they dropped the storyline (you're chasing a druglord) altogether and called this game Blowing Sh*t Up!, we'd still buy it.
