Beyond this slightly Buffyesque summary – surely we could replace NYC with Sunnydale and the episode writes itself? – there’s something inherently intriguing about Funcom’s latest offering, The Secret World. Eight years in the making – four of which have been spent on production – this ‘hard to categorise’ game purports to provide a blend of Lovecraftian horror, fantasy, myths and legends, all packaged together in a sociable and engaging MMO. Lofty claims from a story that seems to have stepped out of a Dan Brown paperback, don’t you think?

Ealdwic Park

Horned God. Apparently.

Actually, from the little that we’ve seen, the title may be living up to the claims – lofty or otherwise.

A lot of information was shoe-horned into our Gamescom appointment with Funcom. A lot of information that didn’t tell us very much, actually. But while we didn’t get any hands-on time with the title, we did get to talk directly to developers Ragnar Tørnquist and Martin Bruusgaard about the how the game was going, and we left peculiarly intrigued by this ambitious title.

Packed with secrets and ‘darkness’ and inspired by real myths and legends, TSW is a story of heroes – of being a chosen one, not the chosen one – and offers a cast of many as unite together with London placed as the social hub. There are no classes. No levels. The cinematics are grand, the score rousing and emotive. Whilst there is a story mission – a story that changes for each different playable character – gamers can also choose to explore off-narrative, discovering the ‘huge jigsaw’ of the story at their own pace, dipping in and out of the games many secrets and hidden areas. And whilst you can opt to play as traditional MMO roles like healers or priests, we’re told that it’s possible to mix this up a bit for a touch of individuality, too.

The first rule of Fight Club is, you do not talk about Fight Club.

Flash Forward. Aa-ah.

Our impressions? There’s no doubt that the dev team and Funcom itself have poured a lot of time, money and love into this project. The voice cast, featuring Jenny O’Hara (my second Buffy reference of the article), is quietly impressive. The visuals are good if not gobsmackingly amazing, but what the next-gen visuals may lack is more than made up by the thunderous, soaring cinematic score. As for the story itself … well, as the interviewees remained tight-lipped on details we know about as much as you do. But it certainly seems to be shaping up as something worth checking out.

So here’s a low down of what Funcom want you to know, straight from the horse’s mouth:

Urban environments – throw yourself into the bustling urban environments of New York, London and Seoul. Shop for clothes, weapons and accessories. Stop by the local nightclub to socialise with your friends before heading out into the darkness that is slowly encroaching on the city streets.

Real-world locations – discover real-work locations throughout Europe, Asia, Africa and America. From New England to Egypt, explore vast lands full of detail and story as you unravel the myths, legends and conspiracies of the world through a unique, story-driven gameplay experience.

Freeform gameplay – experience a game that has no classes or levels. Truly freeform character customisation allows you to create the alter-ego you want to play, and gameplay that goes beyond the usually rigid MMO structure allows you to play the game the way you want to play it.

Hundreds of powers – wield firey katanas, gold-plated pistols, and deadly automatic rifles. Learn martial arts, black magic and voodoo. Choose from hundreds of powers to create a character completely customised to your liking.

Outtakes from Bonnie Tyler's Total Eclipse of the Heart music video.

Action-packed combat – lose yourself in the most intense real-time action-packed combat system ever. Aim, strafe, shoot – movement is key as bullets fly past you and explosions threaten to tear you apart. Swords of firearms, magic or melee, each offering a similarly intense, reactive combat system.

Secret societies – join the Illuminati, the Templars or the Dragon – the three secret societies that pull the strings of our world. Work your way to the top, earn titles and rewards, and play a key role in the battle for world domination.

Player-made organisations – create or join player-made organisations called cabals. Create your own headquarters, and decorate and furnish it to your liking. All cabals are ranked against each other, and a cabal’s success will bring fame, fortune and power to its members.

Track your progress – earn points for everything you do – from combat and exploration, to trade skills and PvP – in order to tank high on both local and global scoreboards, gain titles and worldwide acclaim, and help make your secret society the powerful and influential of them all.

Intense player vs. player combat – take part in ferocious, non-stop player vs. player action in the Battle for Hollow Earth. Fight to control anima, a priceless resource deep within the bowels of our world that will bring unprecedented power to whichever cabal that collects it.

Next-generation graphics – featuring the latest in cutting-edge graphics technology, explore beautifully realised real-world locations that will truly set the standard for next-generation massively multiplayer online games. Prepare for an audiovisual experience unlike anything seem before.

So will I buy it? To be frank, I’m not sure. But considering I don’t play MMOs of any description – and the fact that this game has me quietly intrigued – take this as praise indeed. I’m looking forward to seeing what else Funcom put out there to help me make up my mind.

Here’s a little taster to see us out:

Yeah. I know. FREE TAMPONS. Awesome, right?

But apparently it’s not all arsing about, frothy coffees and non-profit sanitary products. They have games to develop, goddammit – it’s SRS BSNS. And just in case you thought that picking up an industry internship is nothing but fun and frolics, take a look-see at what the latest batch of EA interns have to say about their time at Electronic Art’s Californian studios and see for yourself that . . . well, it kind of does look like fun, actually …

[Destructoid]

Today, they’re working with publishers Funcom and are putting the finishing touches on their upcoming arena-based PvP game, Bloodline Champions.

And because Funcom are thoroughly awesome, they invited me along to check their new title myself at Cologne’s Gamescom in the comforting surroundings of a mock English pub – albeit a mock English pub that served a weird alchopopesque Spanish beer …

But I digress.

At first glance, there’s a lot about Bloodline Champions that looks familiar. There’s a Blizzard-esque portal to help you select your chosen character – or ‘bloodline’ as they’re called – and a built-in matchmaking system designed to align your character with your perfect combatees. Players can select one of sixteen playable bloodlines, all of whom boast the same basic skills and mechanics, but all interact and behave uniquely when it comes to tactical play and boast seven unique abilities each. The emphasis is on team work; with different bloodlines complementing each other in different ways – and different modes requiring different strategies – players must work together to bring the other team down.

The game accommodates up to ten players split across two teams and there’s a clear steer away from luck as nothing is left to chance. Spells and abilities are neither random nor fluctuate, meaning that outcome is entirely dependent upon player skill rather than good fortune. Furthermore, Stunlock think that the game’s intuitive system and pick-up-and-play mechanics will appeal not just to the PvP hardcore, but casual gamers, too.

Features include (and all exclamation marks are the website’s own, I assure you):

• Experience intense, adrenalin-fuelled multiplayer battles with thousands of other players. Short matches ensure you will never get stuck in a long drawn out game – great for quick bursts of fun!
• Grinding bases, levels and gold – you’ll find none of that here. Just pure, exciting, all-out player vs. players battles where you and your skills is all that matters.
• Choose your character from a total of sixteen bloodlines, each with their own abilities and specialties. From the fire-wielding Igniter to the elusive Ranid Assassin, each offers a unique experience!
• Easy to learn, difficult to master. Direct controls, cursor-based aiming, focused characters and an easy-to-learn interface allows you to enjoy Bloodline Champions just minutes into your first battle!
• Thanks to a robust matchmaking system you will be off onto the fields of battle immediately after joining. Play up to five versus five battles, either with strangers automatically matched to your level of with a team of your best friends!
• Keep an eye on your progression using an in-depth start tracking system that allows you to review your own as well as other players’ effectiveness with different tactics, abilities and bloodlines.
• Short and intense battles, focus on player skill, and an elaborate stat-tracking system makes Bloodline Champions perfect for competitive gaming.
• Vibrant graphics, a unique art style and a superb sound design brings the world of Bloodline Champions to life as you keep yourself busy with dealing out death and destruction.

What was it like in practice? Constrained by a right-handed set-up when I’m left-handed – and limited to only a few minutes practical gameplay – at this point it’s difficult to surmise with any certainty. That said, the brief time I did spend with the game was indeed enjoyable and loads of fun. Without more hands-on time it’s hard to say if Stunlock are bringing anything new to the table, but they’re certainly not bringing anything bad … which is always a good thing, right?

Bloodline Champions is set for release in 2011 on the PC. Visit the official website for more details on signing up to the public beta testing.

Set to be a prequel to the original title BIoshock, the game is set in 1912 and set on a Columbia, a sky city.

Want to know more? The press release tells us:

The player assumes the role of former Pinkerton agent Booker DeWitt, sent to the lost city to rescue Elizabeth, a young woman imprisoned there since childhood. He develops a relationship with Elizabeth, augmenting his abilities with hers so the pair may escape from a city that is literally falling from the sky. DeWitt must learn to fight foes in high-speed Sky-Line battles, engage in combat both indoors and amongst the clouds, and harness the power of dozens of new weapons and abilities.

“We are excited to expand the world of BioShock, which is one of the industry’s most critically acclaimed and beloved franchises,” said Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K. “We believe that Irrational Games will lend their meticulous attention to detail and unique storytelling expertise to make BioShock Infinite an incredible entertainment experience that will immerse new and diehard fans of BioShock alike.”

“When it came to begin work on BioShock Infinite,” said Ken Levine, creative director of Irrational Games, “we only had one rule: No sacred cows. This game is both true to what people love about the series and unafraid to question every assumption.

“In order to explore the floating city of Columbia, we needed an entirely new engine. To bring Elizabeth to life, we had to build brand-new animation and AI systems. To create wide-ranging indoor and outdoor firefights at 30,000 feet, we had to rethink, rebuild and expand the BioShock arsenal. The only thing gamers can be certain of is this: the rules of the BioShock universe are about to change.”

Bioshock Infinite is set for a multi-platform release – Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and PC – sometime in 2012.

The new episode from 505 and A2M features Naughty pitting his skills against the ‘X-Bears’, a posse of awesome superheroes bears headed up by – wait for it – DANGER BEAR. There’s also the chance to unlock new weapons, hats and costumes within an “originally themed environment”. Apparently.

However if you’re really like me, maybe you’re thinking – wait, a DLC? For Naughty Bear? But I can’t even be bothered to finish the entire game I PAID FOR, let alone buy any new content! Well here comes the good news – it’s free. Which – let’s face it – is probably the only way it was going to get downloaded at all. For as wonderfully clever, funny and interesting the Naughty Bear IP is, anything good about it is completely canceled out by bad cameras, an unresponsive control scheme and utterly frustrating gameplay.

Here’s hoping some of our frustrations are addressed in this new episode.

[ Joystiq]

Microsoft and Lionshead have released the opening cinematic from Fable 3. The video gives a great idea of the political tone of the games story, and how people will have to fight to gain the freedom they wish for, which is indicative of what our main character will be going through. However, the video is funny whilst being extremely poignant, and the chicken who is the main character in the video is a great symbol of the struggles which come with fighting for power. Makes me feel pretty bad considering I just had chicken for dinner! I was already looking forward to Fable 3, and the video has made me more excited for the game’s release in October.

Source: Destructoid

Follow this link to see the video, it also has a full HD version aswell for those of you with a fancy computer and speedy connection.

Oh and you might want to settle down with some earphones or crank up your speakers because it is kind of hard to hear at times.

What do you think of it? Does it look like it will be as good as the last? Tell us in the comments below!

So what do we have? Well, not much. A prisoner. Escaped. In the woods. A female cop. Some blurry bad guys. The Welcome to Silent Hill sign. A creepy kid and a musical score not composed by legendary the Silent Hill composer Akira Yamaoka. (Wow. Those are some boots I wouldn’t wanna be filling.)

Other than that, producer Devin Shatsky wasn’t telling us much other than, um, it’ll be scary – oh, and that it’ll be coming to us on the 360 and PS3. But rather than me narrate, why not just watch it for yourself and tell us what you think?

Apparently the gaming franchise for Mortal Kombat, which had also branched out to a few feature films is potentially coming out with a THIRD movie. There’s a video that popped into my email from a friend, but I kind of dismissed it as being a really well made fan movie. That is until I noticed that Jackson Briggs was the dude from Spawn and Sonya Blade was being played by Jeri Ryan. That sounds a bit more legit, right?

WATCH THE SEVEN MINUTE DEMO REEL HERE!

I did some snooping around and this is as real as it’s going to get. Although it’s in the developmental stages, and the IMDB page for a Mortal Kombat: Devastation provides absolute shit results, there’s more than enough information spilling out to make this more than a mere hoax. Here’s what was written on IMDB:

Ian Anthony Dale as Scorpion talk[s] of a new “Mortal Kombat” movie [that] has gained steam over the past year or so and today it seems to have boiled over as a new seven-minute video starring Michael Jai-White as the video game character Jax and Jeri Ryan as Sonya Blade [and] has hit the Internet and Chud has confirmed it is related to a new film.
Devin Faraci writes: This is for the movie, and it comes from the mind of genius fight choreographer Larnell Stovall.

He’s the guy who did the fights for the excellent Undisputed 3: Redemption, on DVD and Blu-Ray right now. I hope that this movie gets made with Larnell plotting the punches, because this guy isn’t just a geek like us, he’s also got an incredible skill and ambition to create the next generation of fight choreography. I’ve only seen the 1995 version of Mortal Kombat based on the Midway video game.

That entire quote was a grammatical hot mess but I did my best to fix any errors as I possibly could without reformatting it. Mainly ’cause I’m a dick and want to show that people can’t spell anything properly so I’ll point out their mistakes by snidely correcting. Wow, tangent!

Right now, seeing as this is just a demo reel, it’s being shopped around to investors. Hopefully this’ll do better than the Tekken movie as it seemed to be stuck in 2005 and went straight to DVD. Mortal Kombat has been in developmental hell for more than 13yrs, and even though I actually ran into Linden Ashby, who played Johnny Cage in the first Mortal Kombat, he seemed unsure about a new Mortal Kombat ever coming out. Although, rightfully so, he was probably confused by me as I approached him at a film festival and asked what it was like to fight Scorpion.

The video portrays actual in-game characters in a real world situation, mimicking the person in their every day life. It goes on to talk exclusively about how they act in the game, and what their avatar means to them. In the very end, they show the actual people and how they feel playing World of Warcraft is an escape but it’s no different than any kind of hobby.

Yes, I am aware that there are easily obsessed people out there. Either looking for a distraction or missing something in their life. Although I am by all means a casual player nowadays, I will admit that there was a time where I played World Of Warcraft every day for a year. It’s not as embarrassing if I were to say the same thing about Farmville, or Tetris, but WoW carries a social stigma that’s the equivalent of admitting you have herpes. I was a normal player in the respect that I didn’t care terribly about gear, and would often delete a lot of high level characters (which is blasphemy), but it didn’t matter how little I cared or what I did; the shame was still there and the smirks were still apparent when I said I played this game.

Why is there such social ridicule, though? Let’s face the facts here. World Of Warcraft is THE most played game of our time. Here’s something to back me up.

With more than 11.5 million monthly subscriptions in December 2008, World of Warcraft is currently the world’s most-subscribed MMORPG, and holds the Guinness World Record for the most popular MMORPG by subscribers. In April 2008, World of Warcraft was estimated to hold 62 percent of the MMORPG subscription market

That was just in 2008. I think they recently broke 14 million. 14 million people are playing this game and yet they’re regarded as outcasts and a minority. Gamers, as a whole, are looked upon as a tiny group when we’re really not. We are a formidable force, although most are basement dwellers and virgins who can’t drive. The fandoms for some games are so huge that they create cult followings, and often those people are more passionate about the genre or subject than someone who’s regarded as ‘normal’ by society. Games like WoW create a social net that’s very hard to replicate, in the fact that everyone can identify and understand the other person because they’ve played the same character or have done something similar in the game.

But, again, who wants to admit they’re part of a geeky social group? When you look at a game like WoW and the people that play it, the first thing that comes through your head is that the player is shy, a geek, and a virgin living in their mom’s basement with no social skills or job. That stereotype is somewhat reinforced if you watch Avatar Days, because all of them are men who are seeming to live alone and in boring jobs. One in particular even gleefully talks about killing people in-game because he’s upholding to his character as a Warlock, and all because someone smiled at him. Bringing the Role Playing into MMORPG.

Just like any group, though, the exceptions are pointed out the most. But why is there so much hate and ridicule towards playing this game? Is it just uncomfortable to face the fact that most people are socially inept and feel more comfortable behind a persona they created? It’s basically how the internet works. Why single out the one thing that makes us human, which in this case is our insecurities, when most people can overcome these things and have fun playing a mage or warrior? I understand where there’s obsession, and neglect in personal lives (and hygiene), but the people playing WoW shouldn’t be regarded as outcasts or like they have a mental defect. On the opposite spectrum, there’s plenty of people who waste their lives watching reality TV and Home Shopping Network and not doing anything with themselves. At least playing a game adds mental stimulation and has goals. Although those goals are often dragon slaying and fishing.