Ellen Page wants you to know that she is in a videogame, but that it’s Beyond: Two Souls, and not The Last of Us. Page participated in Reddit exchange over the weekend in which she expressed her displeasure that Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us may have originally based the Ellie character on her likeness.
“I guess I should be flattered that they ripped off my likeness, but I am actually acting in a video game called Beyond Two Souls, so it was not appreciated.”
When Naughty Dog first revealed their fungal zombie apocalypse videogame, one of the consistent comments in previews was that the character of Ellie looked a lot like movie actor Ellen Page. Ellie, (as seen in the image above) did originally look more like the star of Juno before she was redesigned by Naughty Dog. The developer told IGN in May that the change was done to make her more closely resemble her motion capture actor Ashley Johnson and to make her a slightly younger character.
After Ellen Page’s comment in the Reddit chat, Naughty Dog creative director Neil Druckmann tweeted support for Ashley Johnson.
When there’s no more room in hell, Damon Lindelof will help write a confused Brad Pitt thriller that has some poorly directed zombie scenes in it. If you want to avoid World War Z spoilers, jump to the 59-minute mark for this week’s 3×3 about cheese. Yep, it’s about cheese.
Sometimes a rollback happens in an online game and it’s no big deal because you weren’t playing and didn’t lose anything. Most times, it’s one of those things that happens to other people.
I love the sound of this muscle car’s engine, especially as I slow down to cruise by a farmhouse I spotted from the main road. Should I go in? Are there survivors in there? Is it safe to look for salvage? My stamina is low, so I could use some food. And we’re in dire need of food back at the base. Three of us are weak from hunger. However, my machete broke when I foolishly tried to clear out an infestation at the gas station back there, and I only have four rounds for the shotgun. Do I head home and hope someone else found some food? Or do I make the one last stop?
After the jump, if the zombies don’t get you, the decisions willContinue reading →
Oregon-based Fullbright Company posted on their blog today that they will not show their game at PAX Prime in Seattle despite securing a spot in the coveted Indie Megabooth showcase. Gone Home, their game currently in development, will not be part of the convention and Fullbright Company members will not attend the event.
Studio co-founder Steve Gaynor cited numerous reasons for not participating at PAX. The issues center on what he considers to be the ethical failings and gender insensitivity of Penny Arcade creators Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins.
We believe that people’s opinions and actions on social issues and business ethics are important. We believe that agreeing to pay the organizers of PAX over $1,000 for booth space, and to present our game on their showfloor for four days, provides explicit support for and tacit approval of their publicly demonstrated positions on these subjects. And we have finally come to the conclusion that we cannot support Jerry, Mike, and their organization by participating in this event.
This would not be the first time that actions from Penny Arcade’s creators have caused issues for their PAX event. In 2010, there was a controversial comic which some people objected to and the ensuing Twitter war between Krahulik and rape survivor support groups got ugly. A boycott of PAX was organized, but attendance records were still broken.
In response to this latest incident, Krahulik posted an apology on the Penny Arcade site, vowing to remain silent on issues outside of his immediate realm.
Microsoft has published its Games for Gold schedule and the news is good. From now until the end of the year, Xbox Live Gold subscribers will be able to download – and keep – a free game on the 1st and the 16th of each month! We like free, right?
The current game available in the Games for Gold program is Fable III. At the end of the month, Fable III will no longer be available for free, but one of the July selections will take its place. The games being offered in July will be Halo 3 and Assassin’s Creed 2.
Unlike the free games offered with PSN Plus, the Games for Gold program allows members to keep the downloaded games even if their subscription lapses. Once it’s added to your Live account, the game is yours to download again and play at a later date.
The Arma series was once explained to me as games that try to simulate every aspect of being a soldier on deployment, including the confusion, boredom, and plain unfairness of being a low-level grunt surrounded by machines and men trying to kill you. This is no Call of Duty or Battlefield. This is a series that takes great pride in the fact that you can be killed by a sniper a kilometer away and there’s nothing you can do about it because sometimes the other guys just have better toys.
Bohemia Interactive’s combined arms military simulator Arma 3 Alpha has been available on Steam Early Access since March, but the developer announced that the Beta will officially begin on June 25th. The Beta adds a Green faction to the game’s current Red and Blue forces, as well as new vehicles, weapons, and missions. Owners of the Alpha can get the Beta now by participating in the development branch. Just set your Steam game properties to opt in the Beta.
Having just showed off the Beta for Arma 3 at E3 2013, we are keen to get it into gamers’ hands quickly. Bringing some heavy firepower and additional transport options will allow for more diverse scenarios in both singleplayer and multiplayer. We also can’t wait to open up the Steam Workshop scenario publication, which will make content-sharing with other players much more convenient.
One of the ten new vehicles being added is the Ghosthawk, based on the highly classified officially-does-not-exist stealthy helicopter made famous by the US military’s raid on the Bin Laden compound. You can see some in-game video of it in action here during a pre-E3 event.
When the Beta goes live, the early access price will increase from $32.99 to $44.99, so get it while you can if you want to take advantage of the discount. If you’re one of those people that wants to give more money to the developer, there is a Supporter Edition available at the developer’s store.
A mod for The Witcher 2 wouldn’t normally be notable, but the Full Combat Rebalance 2 Mod was made by Andrzej Kwiatkowski, who works at CD Projekt RED as a game designer. The game may be more than two years old, but Kwiatkowski apparently just couldn’t stop working on the gameplay. The mod completely overhauls the combat in The Witcher 2 to make the main character more mobile and responsive.
– Up to 80% increase in responsiveness per Geralt’s animations.
– Up to 50% increase in responsiveness per NPCs animations.
– Added strafing while being locked on an enemy and walking.
– Geralt can block while moving.
– Geralt automatically parries enemy sword attacks and deflects incoming arrows.
– Geralt and his attackers are no longer bouncing off parry.
– Monster attacks still cannot be parried with a sword.
– While using Guard Stance Geralt channels an active Quen shield.
– Decreased importance of rolling in combat.
There are a lot of other balance tweaks which are listed in the notes.
Now that Microsoft has announced the reversal of its DRM policies for the Xbox One, their next-gen console is in a more competitive position. The Xbox One still costs more than other consoles, but price objections are something that can be overcome with value propositions. Unfortunately, one of the things that the Xbox One could lack is a strong indie game catalog. Why? Because Microsoft has stated that their indie game approval process will remain similar to how it works now.
This week we talk with Vic Davis about his new game, Occult Chronicles, in which Nick Diamon’s nemesis is a baby grand. Vic also reveals his favorite character in Injustice: Gods Among Us, what he wished he’d named his company instead of Cryptic Comet, and what Microsoft and Saturday Night Live have in common. Stick around for some talk about kicking doors in Door Kickers, shooting up a dynamic galaxy in Drox Operative, and gunning for your chance to get on TV in Defiance.
You won internet! Congratulations! Microsoft is reversing their DRM and online verification policies for the Xbox One. There will be no required 24-hour online check. Singleplayer games can be played offline. Your disc-based games can be sold, lent, traded, or gifted with no restrictions.
We appreciate your passion, support and willingness to challenge the assumptions of digital licensing and connectivity. While we believe that the majority of people will play games online and access the cloud for both games and entertainment, we will give consumers the choice of both physical and digital content. We have listened and we have heard loud and clear from your feedback that you want the best of both worlds.
Enjoy your victory internet! The race for console supremacy just got heated.
EA Sports’ FIFA and Ultimate Team trading card feature has had some ugly issues with security. One of the more popular techniques involved unscrupulous folks accessing other players’ Xbox Live accounts and using the saved credit card information to buy hundreds of dollars worth of points. The thieves would then transfer the points to another Live account to buy Ultimate Team trading card packs. We had a few forum members of Quarter to Three that were hit with variations this exploit.
With the next-gen consoles’ emphasis on a cloud-based future, one can imagine that the bad guys are already thinking up ways to foil the system. EA told Eurogamer that they are thinking very seriously about this issue.
Wilson told us that Microsoft and Sony are re-architecturing their networks to increase security, adding double authentication among other things. As for EA, Wilson said the company has started investing in a brand new ID system to be built on top of the first-party networks that will be rolled out this year. “That should make gamers feel better,” Wilson said.
“We haven’t had any major or serious attacks. You never say never, but we understand the value of information and privacy and the value of maintaining the integrity of the data. We are investing heavily – I mean heavily – in that and I believe first parties also are.”
Both Microsoft and EA maintain that none of the Live account breaches involving FIFA were the direct result of hacking. They point to phishing and user error as culprits. EA hopes that its next-gen approach to security will help solve the issues.
2K Marin and Take-Two Interactive announced that buyers of the Xbox 360 version of The Bureau: XCOM Declassified will get access to an exclusive chunk of DLC. This as-yet unnamed DLC pack will be narrative-driven. Morgan Gray, development director at 2K Marin, says that the XCOM setting provides ample material for many stories.
“The alternate 1962 universe that we’ve created for The Bureau is vast and there are many more stories to tell about the early days of XCOM. We’re excited that our stories will provide a new perspective on the war effort, much like how our critically acclaimed Minvera’s Den DLC for BioShock 2 allowed us to present a unique perspective of Rapture.”
If you PC or PS3 players are jealous of the exclusive content your Xbox friends get to pay for, you can always one-up those guys by preordering from one of the retail chains offering the Codebreakers pre-order DLC. That will show them!
Devolver Digital’s Hotline Miami got players’ blood pumping with frenetic pig-masked killing action tuned to a pulsing soundtrack. Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number promises more violence and mystery.
Step into the murderous mind of several distinct characters – each with their own motivations and methods of execution – as storylines intersect and reality slips away into a haze of neon and carnage. Blistering combat, an unmistakable visual style, and a powerfully intense soundtrack will once again push you to the limit and questioning your own thirst for blood.
Devolver Digital is aiming for a late 2013 release.
Michael J. Bassett might be the new Paul W.S. Anderson when it comes to translating videogaming absurdity into cinematic silliness. So if you’re willing to sit through a Resident Evil movie, there’s no reason not to sit through the latest Silent Hill movie. Bassett is an ideal man for the job, considering his Solomon Kane is another one of the best worst things you can see all week. Say what you will about the guy’s movies, but he’s got style and he knows how to gather watchable actors. This Silent Hill features Carrie-Anne Moss as Edgar Winters, Malcolm McDowell as a really lame boss fight, Sean Bean sitting out most of the action, Martin Donovan as a detective you’ll forget was in the movie before it’s over, and Michelle Williams look-a-like Adelaide Clemens showing the sort of commitment that will serve her better in her small role in The Great Gatsby and in her kick-ass turn in Versus director Ryuhei Kitamura’s surprisingly good No One Lives.
Of course, you don’t come to Silent Hill for the human players. Revelation does an admirable job collecting a bunch of cool sets and weird creatures, all loosely connected by what might be a story. Pyramid Head moonlights variously as a carny, a prison warden with an effective solution for grabby inmates, and even a Big Daddy. The nurses are disturbingly erotic in a way that I’m not sure I noticed playing the videogames. And the movie’s counterpart to Silent Hill 2’s disturbing mannequin rape is a wonderfully creepy introduction to a new creature as memorable as anything from the games. What sense does it make? What story does it tell? What do we find out about the town itself? What motivates the characters? Forget it, Tom. It’s Silent Hill.
Silent Hill: Revelation is on VOD, Blu-Ray, DVD, and Netflix.
