Joystickwidow.com Headlines

Trials Evolution Gameplay Trailer

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:42:27 GMT

Today, Redlynx, and Ubisoft, released the first Trials Evolution gameplay trailer. After seeing this on playable display at PAX last year, it is good to see the progress they have made. In particular, the multiplayer aspect of the game. Something I have been hoping they would have had long ago. This will of course ben available come SPRING 2012 via Xbox LIVE Arcade. No word yet on the actual price, but I am sure it will be one of the higher priced ones available. Before watching the video below, here are some points of interest about the game that'll make your moutch water a bit:

Multiplayer: four players head-to-head, locally and online
Challenging single player game
Outdoor environments and curved driving lines
Extremely powerful, full-featured track and game editor
Global track sharing for easy access to user-created content
Customize your bike and rider’s appearance

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Ghost Recon Future Soldier Gameplay Trailer

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:53:36 GMT

Super fun folks! if you take a gander at the video below, you will see the very first gameplay trailer for Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Future Soldier. I get a feeling this may be a really fun play and have a relatively good storyline. You can see some updated screenshots here.

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Max Payne 3 Website and Gameplay Video

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:29:12 GMT

Today, like literally minutes ago, Rockstar Games released a new and improved Max Payne 3 website. Just click that hyperlink you read past to get there. With this new release of the website, there will be some sweet site interactions on the weapons you will be using in the game. First up, you can see the 608 Bull revolver which is a super big ass handgun holding eight rounds of death accurately at close range. Expect to also see the first details on the Comando Sombra cartel you will be fighting against in the game.

MLB 2K12 First Trailer Released

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:04:36 GMT

2K Sports released the latest...scratch that, the FIRST official trailer for Major League Baseball 2K12. In this video, you will get an idea on what the My Player mode is along with a rookie minor league up at bat against 2011 AL Cy Young and MVP award winning pitcher, Just Verlander of the Detroit Tigers. So without giving you a bunch of extra fluff, just head over to the Youtube channel and watch it now.

Steam gets all mobile

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:58:05 GMT

Valve announced today that if you have an iOS or Android mobile device, you can now get your hands on the Steam App. This must mean that last weeks closed beta received a thumbs up from all of the users who were able to get their greasy fingers in on the action. In case you didn't know, you will be able to chat with fellow Steam users, view their profiles, check out user create content and screenshots. In addition it will allow you to also view gaming news and see the latest Steam deals.

BONUS POINTS! - The app is free!

I AM ALIVE Release Date

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 22:20:31 GMT

Ubitsoft announced today the release date for I AM ALIVE on Xbox LIVE. For 1200 MSP, expect to download and play come March 7, 2012. To get an idea in case the video below doesn't quite make your brain realize what is going on with this game, "I Am Alive follows an everyman’s journey to find his wife and daughter, who were lost during the “Event.” A year later, he finds Haventon, his hometown, in shambles. Buildings are destroyed, toxic ash fills the streets and society has been torn, causing inhabitants to take all necessary actions to survive.

In I Am Alive, players will be challenged by both the environment and the enemies. Stamina and resource management are key when being exposed to deadly atmospheres and scaling enormous buildings in search of supplies. The unique combat system requires players to utilize intimidation - cowards are easily swayed with an empty gun, while other enemies will put players to the test."

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The Witcher 2 on Xbox 360

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 22:00:33 GMT

Some information rolled out today for fans looking to see The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings make its way to the Xbox 360. On 01.26.2012, CD Projekt RED will let loose all of the goods about the game in a conference being held at the Copernicus Science Centre in Warsaw. This will be a live stream of the conference starting at 7PM GMT+1 and can be seen via the Witcher Facebook page.

"CD Projekt RED will be unveiling many exciting details about the game such as its release date, brand, new trailer, additional features coming to the console adaptation and many more.

"Witcher 2 on Xbox 360 is not just a simple port of a PC game, it’s an adaptation. Our newest game has been enhanced with many new features, and according to many specialists it’s one of the best looking games on Xbox 360 ever" – said Michal Nowakowski, Member of the board, CD Projekt RED S.A.."

Max Payne 3 Release Dates and more

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 18:53:20 GMT

Rockstar Games has two announcements today that you may want to know about. For starters, the release date of Max Payne 3 has been officially set to the following:

Xbox 360 and PS3: May 15/18, 2012 in NA/International respectively
PC: May 29/June 1, 2012 in NA/International respectively

And then it was announced that the Max Payne 3 Special Edition pre-orders have been extended to April 2, 2012. This is good because you get some pretty neat things. Check out details on the Special Edition at http://www.rockstargames.com/maxpayne3/preorder, featuring the 10" Collectible Max Payne Statue, Original Still Life Art Prints, Bullet Keychain, Classic Multiplayer Character Pack, Disorderly Conduct Multiplayer Weapons Pack and Official Soundtrack.

Assassin's Creed Revelations "Mediterranean Traveller Map Pack" DLC

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 21:50:54 GMT

If you have finished up your Assassin's Creed Revelations multiplayer game play, rejoice if you have nothing else to play or just can't get enough of Ezio Auditore. Ubisoft announced the Mediterranean Traveler Map Pack DLC to be available 01.24.2012 on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

"Players can journey to the majestic holy city of Jerusalem, the opulent imperial district of Constantinople and the colorful mercantile district of Dyers. Fans of the franchise can also revisit favorite Italian Renaissance maps from Assassin’s Creed® Brotherhood specifically requested by Assassin’s Creed players to be included in the pack. To start, players will explore the historic city of Firenze (Florence), then travel to the mountains of San Donato and visit nighttime Siena with its carnival lights, talented performers and deadly hiding spots.

The Mediterranean Traveler Map Pack will be available for download on January 24 for 800 Microsoft Points on Xbox LIVE® and $9.99 on PlayStation®Network and Windows PC."

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Future Soldier in May 2012

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 21:47:39 GMT

Ubisoft announced today that Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Future Soldier has been set to launch on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC in 05.22.2012. Even cooler is that there will be a Multiplayer Beta on the two consoles in 04.2012. NICE! Head over to the main Ghost Recon website by following this link after tihs tid bit of information from the press release:

"Ubisoft prides itself on creating some of the most compelling and innovative experiences in digital entertainment,” said Adrian Lacey, IP development director at Ubisoft Studios France. “Today we are feature complete in our multi-player, single-player and four-player co-op campaign modes. We have made the decision to move the date in order to ensure that all these ingredients are pushed to the highest level and provide a truly unique shooter experience. The Ghost Recon franchise is known for setting the standard of high definition gaming and we believe the extra couple of months will allow us to reach that goal. We would like to thank all Ghost Recon fans for their patience and look forward to unveiling some exciting new elements in the coming weeks."

Max Payne 3: São Paulo, Brazil Research

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 22:41:48 GMT

Max Payne fans. Rockstar released a new research post about what it was they did to get things right in Max Payne 3. This post will discuss how the developers researched the various areas in São Paulo, in particular the favelas. “Gathering assets to help accurately inform and create faithful game level environments set in São Paulo, Rockstar game developers and designers took several trips to the area to extensively document everything from the glamour and exclusivity of posh spots like Avenida Morumbi, Avenida Paulista and the Jardins district, to harsh high-crime locales like Favela Japiaçu (Favela do Nove) and the infamous Edificio São Vito (aka Treme Treme or the Vertical Favela). Thousands of pictures were taken for mood and texture, local fashions and outfits were scanned for reference, and a diverse array of Paulistanos from all walks of life — from bossa nova singers to jujitsu champions to favela gang members — were consulted and interviewed to provide thorough background on the dazzling and dangerous world in which the game is set.”

Bethesda gets Fallout MMO rights from Interplay

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 22:33:53 GMT

So today, ZeniMax Media Inc. let the words loose that a settlement had been reached between Bethesda Softworks and Interplay Entertainment Corporation on All Fallout Intellectual property
rights. They now fully belong to Bethesda. The full press release is below:

"January 9, 2012 (Rockville, MD) –ZeniMax® Media Inc. today announced that a settlement had been reached in the lawsuit filed by its subsidiary, Bethesda Softworks®, against Interplay Entertainment Corporation in 2009, Bethesda Softworks LLC v Interplay Entertainment Corp., seeking cancellation of the license granted to Interplay to develop a massively multiplayer online game (MMO) based on the Fallout brand. Bethesda maintained in its complaint that Interplay had failed to meet the conditions for the license and the license was therefore of no continuing validity.

Under the terms of the settlement, the license granted to Interplay to develop the Fallout MMO is null and void, and all rights granted to Interplay to develop a Fallout MMO revert back to Bethesda, effective immediately. Interplay has no ongoing right to use the Fallout brand or any Fallout intellectual property for any game development. ZeniMax will pay Interplay $2 million as consideration in the settlement, each party will bear its own costs of the litigation, and Bethesda will continue to own all Fallout intellectual property rights. Interplay will be permitted to continue to sell the original Fallout ®Tactics, Fallout® and Fallout® 2 PC games through December 2013, after which time all rights to market those games revert to and become the sole property of Bethesda. Under the original agreement pursuant to which Bethesda had acquired the Fallout property, Interplay was granted certain merchandising rights to sell those original Fallout games, but those merchandising rights will now expire on December 31, 2013.

The lawsuit against Interplay arose after Bethesda Softworks acquired all Fallout intellectual property rights from Interplay in April 2007, and conditionally licensed back to Interplay certain trademark rights to make a Fallout MMO, provided Interplay secured $30 million in financing for the MMO and commenced full scale development of the game by April 2009. Bethesda alleged in its complaint that Interplay failed to meet either condition of the license back agreement but refused to relinquish its license and insisted it would develop a Fallout MMO. Bethesda filed suit to declare the license void.

In a separate but related matter, Bethesda commenced a second action against a purported developer of the Fallout MMO, Masthead Studios, Bethesda Softworks LLC v Masthead Studios Ltd. In the course of the original lawsuit against Interplay, Interplay had claimed that it had engaged Masthead Studios to develop the Fallout MMO under its license, and contended that Masthead was engaged in full scale development of that game. Bethesda filed its separate lawsuit against Masthead to assert copyright infringement and other violations of Bethesda's intellectual property rights. Under the MMO license granted to Interplay, Interplay was not permitted to sublicense any rights granted without the prior approval of Bethesda, approval which had never been requested or granted. In responding to Bethesda's lawsuit, Masthead denied that it had been using any of Bethesda’s intellectual property in developing an MMO. Masthead and Bethesda settled that second lawsuit on December 29, 2011. In the settlement, Masthead acknowledges it has no legal right to use any Fallout intellectual property, and agrees it will not use any such intellectual property of Bethesda in the future. No payments were made by either party as part of this settlement. The two settlements resolve all pending litigation over the Fallout intellectual property owned by Bethesda.

Robert Altman, Chairman and CEO of ZeniMax, expressed satisfaction on behalf of the Company with the resolution of the two lawsuits saying, "While we strongly believe in the merits of our suits, we are pleased to avoid the distraction and expense of litigation while completely resolving all claims to the Fallout IP. Fallout is an important property of ZeniMax and we are now able to develop future Fallout titles for our fans without third party involvement or the overhang of others' legal claims."

Following the purchase of the property, Bethesda Game Studios, the 2011 ‘Studio of the Year’ and the development team behind the 2011 ‘Game of the Year’, The Elder Scrolls® V: Skyrim™, developed Fallout® 3. ZeniMax Media’s publishing subsidiary, Bethesda Softworks, published Fallout® 3, a highly acclaimed sequel which won ‘Game of the Year’ honors in 2008, for Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, and Games for Windows. Bethesda also published the popular title, Fallout: New Vegas®, in 2010 for the same platforms. Fallout: New Vegas® Ultimate Edition, which will include the original game and the award-winning downloadable content in one special package, is planned for release by Bethesda in early 2012."

[Image source: Massively]

Shoot Many Robots Dev Diary

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 17:07:58 GMT

Shoot Many Robots is on its way to XBLA and PSN. Watch the video to check out some of the behind the scenes action about the rendering tools used in the game.

GTA III mysteries and more

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 21:54:26 GMT

So Rockstar Games released some information today that some people may be a little curious about. Consider this to be part of a "behind-the-scenes retrospective on Grand Theft Auto III". You will see what influences from 9/11 made on the game, why the airplane didn't fly, and early GTA III logos and concept art. If you're a GTA fan, then this is a nice link to read to the insight on one of the best franchises in game history. Curious to see some of the images related to this directly? Head over here.

MechWarrior Online Dev Blog 2

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 21:43:53 GMT

Today we have the link to part 2 of the MechWarrior Online Developer Blog. Entitled "Information Warfare", you will get information on the map and control center you will use to assess where enemies are: The Battlegrid. In addition you will find out how detection of enemies work and the different modes you will have available. So without dragging this on, be sure to head over here for the complete data.

How not to treat your customers

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 11:27:14 GMT

Word to the wise, do not treat your customers like the douche in the following link. I won't spoil it for you, but just read it for yourself and realize that yes, there are people like this in the world. I've dealt with people like this in a different industry before and it truly is pathetic to deal with them. Even more so when the realize towards the end of the conversation, that they fvcked up and begin to back peddle. Or make even more outrageous claims. Enjoy the show folks!

[Image from SocialMediaCommando.com]

Mechwarrior Online - Dev Q and A 2

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 12:43:51 GMT

Robot warrior fans interested in the development of MechWarrior Online, the new developer Q&A is now up for viewing. Click over to the MechWarrior Online website for nealry two dozen questions answered on topics like Loyalty Decay that has been coming up in the community forums. Also, if you haven't done it already, be sure to reserve your pilot name by visiting the website.

Serious Sam 3: BFE Santa Sam Badass

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 12:35:09 GMT

It is the holidays, obviously, and if you're bored at work or at home listening to the in laws chuckle about "how it was" back in the day, head on over to YouTube and check out this video of Serious Sam kicking ass as Santa. What you will see is Santa Sam running about the Great Pyramids blowing up a lot of stuff. Nice! Explosions during the holidays. Head over to Steam or Get Games Go to get the game in hand to head off the weekend pain you'll most likely be eduring.

Rockstar Games Holiday Sale

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 12:23:38 GMT

If you are looking for some last minute gifts for that special gamer in your life, or for yourself, Rockstar Games has something going on until 12.29.2011. If you have an iOS device or Android device, check out the following deals Rockstar has going:

GTA III: 10 Year Anniversary Edition – 40% off - $2.99 (iTunes/Android Marketplace)
GTA: Chinatown Wars – 40% off - $5.99 (iTunes)
Beaterator – 33% off - $1.99 (iTunes)

Max Payne 3 Twitter Contest: be in the game

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 21:01:07 GMT

Starting today and running through 01.13.2012, Rockstar Games is doing a sweet sweet contest for their Twitter followers. With Max Payne 3 making its debut soon, Rockstar Games will be giving 8 Twitter followers that chance to have their likeness in the multiplayer version of the game. All you have to do is add the #MaxPayne3 hashtag to all of your posts from now until the end of the contest period to have a chance to be in the game. AWESOME! Here are the full details:

"Every week from now until January 13, we will be selecting 10 people at random that have used the #MaxPayne3 hashtag. If selected, participants will be contacted either via tweet or direct message to submit a photo for consideration. Two finalists will be chosen from each group each week (eight people in total), and will have their likeness appear as a multiplayer gang character in the upcoming action shooter Max Payne 3.

Make sure to follow @RockstarGames on Twitter.
Make sure to use the hashtag #MaxPayne3 when talking about the game.
Keep an eye on Twitter replies and direct messages for contact through January 13, 2012. All fans that we contact will only have 48 hours to respond.

Visit the casting page for all of the details, and the official rules. (www.rockstargames.com/maxpayne3/casting)"