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Ken Levine to keynote PAX 2008

Posted by: Chuck at 5/16/2008 1:41 PM - Comments (1)
More On: PAX 08 Gaming Nexus
It looks like it's going to be another good Penny Arcade Expo as it was announced today that Bioshock creater Ken Levine would be the keynote speaker at this years show.  He's got a hard act to follow as Wil Wheaton did a spectacular job last year. 

Musical guests were also announced with MC Frontalot (Cyril's Favorite), Jonathan Coulton, and the OneUps returning from last years show.  New to the lineup is The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets and Anamanaguchi.

The show will take place on August 29-31 at the Washington State Trade and Convention Center in Seattle.


PENNY ARCADE REVEALS PAX 2008 KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Omegathon Grand Prize and Musical Guests also Announced


SEATTLE - May 16, 2008 - The organizers of the fifth annual Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) today announced key details of the upcoming gaming festival, to be held Aug. 29-31, 2008 at the Washington State Trade and Convention Center in Seattle.



Noted game designer, screenwriter, and playwright Ken Levine will provide the keynote address. Mr. Levine is currently best known for his work on the critically-acclaimed BioShock, developed by 2K Boston (formerly known as Irrational Games). Mr. Levine is currently President and Creative Director of that development studio, and has been a coveted speaker at game industry-related events, discussing storytelling and player engagement in gaming. "Obviously, Ken is pimp supreme," said Penny Arcade's Robert Khoo, "We're super excited to have him open up the show."



Another highlight of PAX is the Omegathon, in which twenty randomly-selected PAX pre-registrants compete against each other in tabletop, videogame and computer games each day of the annual gaming festival. Organizers revealed that this year's "Omeganauts" will battle for the ultimate prize: a trip for two to the Tokyo Game Show, along with $5,000 in spending cash and an incredible, almost supernatural home theater system. The 2008 Tokyo Game Show will be held Oct. 11-12 at the Makuhari Messe convention center near Tokyo. In Japan.



In addition to the numerous panels and game demonstrations, Omegathon, Exhibition Hall, and The PAX 10 independent games showcase, PAX offers attendees a musical lineup that spans two nights, delivering an uncompromising selection of acts to tantalize the gamer palate. Returning musical guests include MC Frontalot, mc chris, FreezePop, the MiniBosses, Jonathan Coulton, and The OneUps. New for 2008 are Vancouver, B.C.-based Horror Rock outfit The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets, as well as New York City's bitpop heroes, Anamanaguchi.



As if all of this weren't enough, PAX organizers further confirmed that this year's Exhibition Hall is officially sold out, leaving any industry professionals waiting until the last minute to request space with only the option of peddling their wares on the sidewalk outside the festival venue. Exhibitors interested in getting a jump on PAX 2009 can contact Mike Fehlauer at mikef@penny-arcade.com for more information.



About Penny Arcade Expo: Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) is a three-day celebration of games and gamer culture. The festival includes an exhibition floor filled with playable builds of upcoming tabletop, console, and computer games; a conference program of game industry speakers; music concerts; freeplay areas; industry parties; an independent games showcase; game tournaments and more. Since its inception in 2004 the show has doubled in size year-over-year, growing from 4,500 attendees to 37,000 in 2007, making it the largest gaming festival in North America. For more information visit www.pennyarcadeexpo.com.

About Penny Arcade: Equal parts online comic and commentary, Penny Arcade (www.penny-arcade.com) keeps its finger on the pulse of the gaming industry, prompting conversation and controversy alike from community members and industry experts. What started as a hobby in 1998 for Jerry "Tycho" Holkins and Mike "Gabe" Krahulik has grown into an online phenomenon serving over 55 million page views a month to millions of readers worldwide. In addition to the comic strip and PAX gaming festival (www.pennyarcadeexpo.com), Penny Arcade has expanded its reach to include a growing line of merchandise, a video game and management of Child's Play (www.childsplaycharity.org), a gamer-driven charity for children that spans the globe.

Steel Disaster coming to DS

by: Sean Colleli - posted: 7/24/2008 7:49 PM - Comments (0)
This September the DS's action library will grow a bit with Commando: Steel Disaster.  A single player side scroller with influences of Contra and Metal Slug, publisher XS Games promises the game will have some of the best 2D visuals on the console.  It will also ship at a competitive $19.99, so it should make a good end-of-summer bargain. [READ MORE]

Dust up on PT Boats

by: Sean Colleli - posted: 7/24/2008 7:38 PM - Comments (0)
As Akella's new naval strategy game, PT-Boats: Knights of the Sea nears its release, they have a little history lesson up at their website.  You can check out the details of naval warfare and some of the game's assets at these two features, here and here.  Knights of the Sea launches later this year.

Dead Space: Downfall trailer released: not for the kids

by: Chuck - posted: 7/24/2008 6:36 PM - Comments (0)
Here's the new trailer for Dead Space:Downfall, the prequel to EA's upcoming sci-fi survival game Dead Space. The movie will fill in all of the plot details that lead up to the game.  If you've been tracking the game there aren't a lot of surprises here but it does flesh things out a bit.

Two tons of new stuff and a sale at the PlayStation store

by: Chuck - posted: 7/24/2008 6:27 PM - Comments (0)
PS3 owners are going to be a happy bunch today as Sony has released a ton of new content onto the PlayStation Network today.  There's a demo of the most excellent PixelJunk Eden along with a bunch of DLC content.  The real meat though is Siren, Sony's new episodic horror game which you can download in three separate chunks for $14.99 or pay $39.99 for the whole enchilada.  Also available is Capcom's 1942:Joint Strike for $9.99.

Sony is also having a one week sale on the following titles which you can now get for $4.99 each:
  • PAIN
  • PixelJunk Monsters
  • High Velocity Bowling
  • High Stakes on the Vegas Strip: Poker Edition
  • Rocketmen: Axis of Evil
I'm download Siren right now so check back tomorrow for some first impressions.

Adding a new category of gamers to the mix

by: Chuck - posted: 7/24/2008 1:06 PM - Comments (1)
Over at Edge (formerly Next Gen), Chris Charla has an outstanding editorial on why we need another category of gamers to the mix.  He argues that we need a "mass market" category of gamers that sits between the definition of casual games (online flash/mini-game collections) and hardcore (or core) games.  This category is where games like Rock Band sit as they don't really fit into the casual game category (too expensive to buy/play) and they don't fit into the hardcore category (broad appeal). 

Personally I love this definition as a lot of games and corporations are trying to label games as either casual or core games when there seems to be something in the middle.  What do you think?  Leave your thoughts in the comments

Buy Qore, get into Resistance Fall of Man 2 beta

by: Chuck - posted: 7/24/2008 12:16 PM - Comments (0)
If you buy the upcoming issue of Qore you will get an invite into the Resistance:Fall of Man 2 multiplayer beta which is a pretty good deal for $2.99.  Of course some of the commentors at Shacknews have pointed out that you may also be able to get in for free through alternate methods.   The beta is set to start in September and it will give people the chance to check out the unprecedented 60 player online play which should be pretty damn sweet.

GarageGames bringing Torque engine to the iPhone

by: Chuck - posted: 7/24/2008 12:10 PM - Comments (0)
A lot of people (myself included) have thought that gaming on the iPhone was going to be a fad at best but given the amount of development dollars being thrown at the device I'm starting to think it might become a serious platform. 

Adding further fuel to the fire is the announcement that GarageGame has added iPhone support to their Torque game engine which means game developers now have a solid engine to start building games with.  Time will tell if this really catches fire but if I'm Sony or Nintendo I might start to watch my back. [READ MORE]

PixelJunk Eden embiggened with the power of YouTube

by: Chuck - posted: 7/24/2008 12:06 PM - Comments (0)
YouTube announced today that you will be able to upload videos to the service directly from PixelJunk Eden when it comes out next week. The feature will allow you to record your best moves in the game and then share them with everyone else.  I'm pretty high on the game already and this sounds like another cool feature for people to use and abuse.  Here's a sample of the game in action:

Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 to be released next week

by: Chuck - posted: 7/24/2008 7:58 AM - Comments (1)
The Bizzare Creations Facebook page has word that Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 will be released on July 30th, a full week earlier than expected.  I'm interested to see how the multiplayer works as I really loved the single player side of the game.

Gaming Gibs for 7/24/2008

by: Chuck - posted: 7/24/2008 7:31 AM - Comments (0)
Here are a few things I missed while reading about the new Star Wars Robot Chicken special:
  • Capcom cleans up at E3, does a victory lap in their blog (can't blame them, they had a great lineup this year)
  • Full body gaming chair?  Sign me up.
  • PixelJunk Eden trophies revealed and explained. Look for a demo later today.
  • Kotaku outlines a decent alternate history E3, even they would like to see a new IP from Nintendo
  • Iwata apologizes about weak Nintendo E3, Wii will still be in short supply this holiday season
  • Molyneaux feels bad for Dennis Dyack,may want to hold off on the pity party until after Fable 2 is released
  • Looks like Nintendo developers were suprised by the Wii Motion Plus as well (and that's not a good thing)
  • San Disk blames crap SSD performance on Vista driver support, which is so very 2007

News Roundup: The Last Too Human Guy

by: Randy - posted: 7/24/2008 12:09 AM - Comments (0)
Demos, Patches
 Videos
 Screenshots
 Articles
 Thanks to AtomicGamer, Digit-Life, and TheTechLounge for today's news roundup.

The Ring-Forge of Eregion brings to a close Volume I of Lord of the Rings Online

by: Randy - posted: 7/23/2008 11:30 PM - Comments (0)
Details for the sixth content update to The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar emerge in the form of Book 14: Ring-Forge of Eregion.  This finale to Volume I of LOTRO is a simultaneous lead-in to Fall 2008's pay-to-play expansion pack, The Mines of Moria.  A handful of pre-expansion pics showoff plenty of artful details in this still-pretty MMO, while the continuing story, new battlefield adventure instances, and new animation technology read themselves between the lines.
[READ MORE]

EA bringing Operation to PC's everywhere

by: Chuck - posted: 7/23/2008 11:16 PM - Comments (0)
EA and Hasbro are continuing their partnership by bringing the classic game Operation board game to the PC in September.  The game is called OPERATION Mania and it will allow you to play Dr. Humerus (*sigh*) as he tries to build his surgical reputation by admitting, diagnosing, and treating patients.   The real heart of the game (pun intended) is the micro-games that are based on the classic board game action.  Personally I think this would be kind of a cool use of the Novint Falcon as the vibration feedback  would do a fantastic job of recreating those vibrations you got from the old board game.   [READ MORE]

Sam & Max Season Two collector's DVD out this August

by: Randy - posted: 7/23/2008 10:20 PM - Comments (0)
Telltale announced the eminent release of a Sam & Max Season Two Collector's DVD.  This edition, due in August, will contain all five episodes that comprise Season Two, along with hours of special features viewable in a standard DVD player.  Already bought Season Two?  Then you'll get the bonus DVD for free.  But if you haven't seen this duo's second season yet then you'll only be out $34.95 for the whole package.

Telltale's store also has some new Sam & Max merchandise available for preorder:
  • The complete Sam & Max Season Two soundtrack; a 2-CD set featuring three hours of jazz music from the games and another Steve Purcell (creator of Sam & Max) original on the cover, retailing for $19.99.
  • A limited edition case file stuffed with "evidence" from each Season Two episode, priced at $5.99.
  • A poster print based on the Season Two DVD cover art, available unsigned for $14.99 or signed for $19.99.
[READ MORE]

EA Sports Fantasy Football Live Draft Tracker now available

by: Randy - posted: 7/23/2008 10:15 PM - Comments (0)
"The days of paper draft boards are over," according to EA Sports.  The web-based EA Sports Fantasy Football is free, and players interested in the new Live Draft Tracker can buy the application through Xbox Live (400 points/$5.00) or Playstation Network for 50 cents.  Quite the price discrepancy. [READ MORE]

Time Hollow announced for DS

by: Sean Colleli - posted: 7/23/2008 7:35 PM - Comments (0)
Konami is hard at work on a new adventure game for DS, titled Time Hollow.  Konami promises that the game will have a unique art style and feature puzzles that require working in both the past and present.  The hero, Junko Kawano, discovers the Hollow Pen, which allows him to draw portals connecting the past to the present.  I really like the sound of this idea--kind of a mix of Timeshift and Portal, and it's always great to get a creative new franchise instead of just another sequel. [READ MORE]

Xploder now supporting Brawl

by: Sean Colleli - posted: 7/23/2008 7:28 PM - Comments (0)
The Xploder cheat service is now offering cheat saves for Super Smash Bros. Brawl.  Xploder is a web community that offers exploits, transferred to your Wii  through  an  SD  card.  You can get the saves for a small fee at their website, or at retailers.   I know Nintendo looks down on cheatsaves, but without any Gameshark or Action Replay devices on Wii, this might be the only option for now.  Use at your own risk. [READ MORE]

Penny Arcade game coming to PSN

by: Chuck - posted: 7/23/2008 6:54 PM - Comments (0)
The folks at Hothead Games announced today that they will be bringing Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness darkness to the PlayStation Network later this fall.  The game will be a straight port of the game that's already available on the Xbox 360 and Live and will be priced accordingly.  With the Penny Arcade Expo just around the corner you have to wonder if we are close to an announcement of the second game in the series and if that game will hit all three platforms simultaneously or if the PSN version will come later. [READ MORE]

1942: Joint Strike now available on PSn and Xbox Live

by: Chuck - posted: 7/23/2008 6:51 PM - Comments (1)
I've been playing 1942: Joint Strike on our debug for the last couple of months and if you're a fan of the series you're in for a real treat with the new game.  The graphics and gameplay have been updated without losing the feel of the old game.  If you like top down shooters the game really is worth your $9.99/800 MS points to play the game. [READ MORE]

Bethesda hooks up with Penny Arcade for new comic strip

by: Chuck - posted: 7/23/2008 6:48 PM - Comments (0)
Penny Arcade has been doing game themed comic strips for game companies for a few years now (primarily with Ubisoft).  The folks at Bethesda Softworks noticed and have brought in Gabe and Tycho to do a cartoon for Fallout 3.  While the game certainly doesn't need any more promotional material, the cartoon itself is actually pretty funny and I'm interested to see where it goes.  Personally I wanted to get sent to Vault 69 but that's just me.

Women are more endowed in Disciples III

by: Nathan - posted: 7/23/2008 4:35 PM - Comments (0)
"...women are more endowed with abilities that are beyond the natural, and they have become the best elven magicians."
And so with these words the class of Archon in the game Disciples III: Renaissance is revealed. The Archon is kind of the elvish take on the moTre traditional RPG class Paladin but with a elven and magical twist. The Archons are the elite of the elvish battle mages and have some pretty nifty special armor and magical abilities.
Anyway check out the WEBSITE  for the concept art and more details about the class and the up coming game by Akella.

Frontline: Fuel of War gets patched

by: Dan - posted: 7/23/2008 12:17 PM - Comments (0)
According to KAOS Studios, patch 1.1.1 was released for Frontline: Fuel of War on PC this morning. There were approximately 10 fixes that went in including the following:
  • Players will no longer be kicked by PunkBuster for using the comma “,” or forward slash “/” character in their names in multiplayer matches.
  • The binding for the Action key (E) has been fixed. This is also used for the Exit Vehicle function.
  • Keys that have already been used will be checked for when changing control key bindings.
  • The distance for melee attacks has been shortened.
  • The “pipe” character will no longer hide text in the server information window.
  • Chinese translation errors on the server browser have been fixed.
  • The Frontline will show up properly on the map.
  • Fixed first-person weapon animation blends between run and sprint.
  • Added functionality to allow firing of a weapon to break sprint. Previously you had to come out of sprint and then left-click to fire.
  • “Master server connection ID verification failed” error has been fixed.

A most puzzling plague

by: John - posted: 7/23/2008 9:29 AM - Comments (0)
Cyril loves him some Puzzle Quest and there's about to be more as the expansion Revenge of the Plague Lord is available on Xbox Live Arcade for 700 points. You can now play as a bard, rogue, ranger, or warlock exploring the new area on the Southern Map. You'll have access to 50 new spells and can collect more than 40 new items. All in all, there's a lot of new content to be had if you're a fan of Puzzle Quest. I'm sure Cyril will be all over this.

Gaming Gibs for 7/23/2008

by: Chuck - posted: 7/23/2008 7:37 AM - Comments (0)
Here are a few things I missed while wondering when Buckeye fans will realize they don't own the entire state:
  • Savage 2 is free this week, go forth and mutilate each other.
  • Chris Satchell gets promoted, begins plans to rule XNA empire
  • Microsoft was worried that Bungie was going to undercut them?
  • A teeny, tiny sneak peek at MAG.
  • Commissioner Gordon accidentally outs Batman game.
  • Watchman game to be episodic, hopefully the go the Sam and Max route

Lets get excited about E3 09!

by: John - posted: 7/23/2008 6:43 AM - Comments (7)
OK so E3 08 wasn't that great from what a lot of the media is saying. E3 07 wasn't that much fun either. Third time's a charm for a format change right? Well Gamespot has word that another E3 is planned for next year but the specifics aren't known yet of course. For a little bit before the show I was sad I missing out but as the show went on and I read some of the people's experiences I felt a lot better for missing out. While I'm sure everyone has their opinion on how they want E3 here's my quick take. Go to a show the size between the original and this years. Double the width of the aisles between each booth. This will fill up the halls a little more with the decreased amount of vendors showing. For the first three days, only let press through. The final two days let anyone in. Or, limit the number of public in the first few days in. That's a few of my suggestions, what's yours?