New Games

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• Report: WWE license picked up by Take-Two Interactive
• First look at Eden Industries' new RPG, Citizens of Earth
• Vigil Games' lead combat designer says his goodbyes
• New Defiance trailer and pre-order bonuses detailed
• THQ is done, all assets sold off
• Lookin' good there, Pikmin 3!
• I helped a girl take a piss in Ni No Kuni
• Call of Duty: Black Ops II gets another double XP weekend
• Rockman Forever album will put you in a 'trance'
• Japan finally gets EarthBound on VC, rest of us don't
• Firefall begins weekend open beta testing
• An aural tour with the composer of Nintendo Land, part 2

Report: WWE license picked up by Take-Two Interactive Posted: 23 Jan 2013 02:30 PM PST While notable intellectual properties like Saints Row, Metro, and even Homefront have been auctioned off by THQ prior to its full closure, that doesn't account for everything. What about, for instance, the WWE license? And even though Vigil is being shut down, how about the Darksiders IP? One would expect that someone would jump on such an opportunity. Sources have told IGN that none other than Take-Two Interactive has secured the rights to WWE. It's unclear what the deal ended up being, but it's probable that, if the reports are true, we'll hear official word from Take-Two before too long here. Interestingly, the @WWE Games Twitter account has reassured that "there WILL continue to be WWE Games. Stay tuned for more information and some exciting news!" That's certainly something. There are still a lot of unanswered questions, and only time will tell how messy this situation ultimately becomes. I'm hopeful that some of these missing IPs can be snatched up. In a staff-wide email to THQ employees, it was noted that "They will remain part of the Chapter 11 case. We will make every effort to find appropriate buyers, if possible." WWE Video Game License to be Acquired by Take Two [IGN]

First look at Eden Industries' new RPG, Citizens of Earth Posted: 23 Jan 2013 01:30 PM PST After releasing its well-received action-puzzler Waveform on PC, independent developer Eden Industries has moved onto its next, much more ambitious project. Citizens of Earth is a role-playing game in which you, the Vice President of the World, come back to visit your hometown only to discover that something's not quite right. Long story short, further investigation becomes a personal responsibility, as is usually the case. A total departure from Waveform, this game brings genre tropes into a modern setting where recruiting party members, for instance, means getting the local teacher or barista to come fight for you. I'll go ahead and point out that EarthBound is one of the influences on this project and kindly leave it at that. We were given an early overview of the game, as well as a few screenshots and some character artwork. In talking about the project, Eden founder Ryan Vandendyck had much to say about the townspeople that players will recruit. Essentially, each would-be party member will have an honest-to-goodness day job that they will return to if they aren't being used in the VP's active party, and battle experience will translate to job-related perks. For example, shop owners might have additional (and unique) items for purchase, while others might grant you abilities like being able to zoom out the map to find secrets or skip time in Citizens of Earth for the sake of power leveling. The hope is to make every character bring something unique to the table, which ties into one of the team's guiding principles: "broader, not longer." In other words, Citizens of Earth promises to be rich in content, but most of it will be optional, providing a critical path for those who lack the time or interest to see and do everything. "I know a lot of people that love RPGs, but can't bear to play them because of the time investment normally required," he told me via email. "So we wanted to come up with a way to let someone with not a lot of time on their hands still enjoy the RPG experience that they crave and play through to completion without feeling like it was a chore. But at the same time, we also recognize that some people love pouring a ton of time into an RPG and squeezing every last bit of content and gameplay out of it. So the 'broader, not longer' mantra came out of the desire to make something to be enjoyed by both groups of people." Eden recognizes that in certain RPGs, "it quickly becomes cumbersome and frustrating to try new characters." To address this, Vandendyck says that in Citizens of Earth, "as soon as you switch to a character, they are absolutely ready to use right out of the box. While they do acquire new equipment and skills down the road, these do not represent incrementally better options (like in most RPGs, thus forcing you to constantly upgrade) but rather new choices and strategic options." The intent is to allow in-depth customization for those who want it, and the option to experiment freely without being punished. The team isn't talking too much about combat yet, but it will be in line with typical Japanese role-playing games; specifically, Dragon Quest was cited as an inspiration. Players can enter battles with three characters and, in a refreshing twist, are able to restart encounters at any time to swap characters in and out of their active party. I was told that the team "want[s] players to be limited only by their imagination of what they can bring into combat, not by artificial design constraints." As you can see from that first screenshot, the enemies most certainly look like enemies. "We’re keeping the story a bit of a mystery at the moment, but what we can say is that someone or something is doing weird experiments on people, animals, and the environment to make bizarre hybrids and re-creations of things," explained Vandendyck. For reference, a couple of examples given were a Rastafarian Samurai and a Toupee Eagle. It also delights me to be able to write that there are no random encounters in Citizens of Earth; foes will be represented on the map, a feature I feel should be the norm by now. Lastly, Eden has plans for an online arena, which is something I wouldn't necessarily have expected but makes sense. Very little about this project is expected, for that matter. It sounds ambitious, and I'm hopeful that Eden Industries can successfully bring some of these ideas to fruition. If absolutely nothing else, it's pleasant to see a small team working on an RPG that doesn't feature a retro aesthetic.

Vigil Games' lead combat designer says his goodbyes Posted: 23 Jan 2013 01:00 PM PST THQ has cleared its plate and sold off all its assets... well... not all of them. For some reason, not one company placed a bid for Darksiders developer Vigil Games, dooming the young studio. Vigil's lead combat designer Ben Cureton decided to pen his own farewell letter (posted below) and share it on gaming forum NeoGAF. But whereas the THQ company letter ends on a hopeful note, Ben's is far more heart-wrenching, coming as it is from one of the talents getting tossed on the street. He knows his stuff, so there's no doubt Ben and crew will go on to bigger and better things. For now, let him express himself. (Thank you for the notice, Squishy3) My name is Ben Cureton, and I was the Lead Combat Designer at Vigil Games. I'm sitting at my desk among... what appears to be a warzone. The walls look bare. It's quiet. The seats are empty. We've all been on edge for the past couple months... and more so, the last couple weeks. I mean, I'm sure you can imagine what it's like to wonder if you will have a job tomorrow. Most of us here joked about it just to keep the mood light, but we all knew what could happen. Now I look around and I realize... it did happen. Am I sad? Well yea. I've been in this industry for 20 years. Seriously. Two decades. I've been laid off more than once. It sucks every time. But am I sad I don't have a job? Not really... I'm sure I'll get another one eventually. I'm sad because it won't be THIS job. It won't be at Vigil. That's why I'm sad. The people I waged war with are no longer together. The people that I bled with, vented with, argued with (often times LOUDLY), and kicked back with... these people will never be together again in the same combination. Not that it was perfect. But what is perfect? Did I like coming to work? Yes. Was I proud of the work that I did? Yes. More importantly, was I proud of the work that WE did? Absolutely. I knew, without a shadow of the doubt, that the project we were working on (Codenamed: Crawler) was going to blow people away. In fact, it DID blow people away. We did, in TWO months, what many companies haven't done in a year. The pride of knowing that no one was doing anything like us was so satisfying, it kept us coming to work and giving 100% every single day, even through the dark times. ... so maybe you can imagine what it feels like when you read the list of who bought what only to discover your name is not on the list. Why? Did we do something wrong? Were we not good enough? Were we not worth 'anything?' Imagine that. Vigil was filled with people that I would put up against the best in the industry. People that made my work better, people that made me a better designer, and people that made me a better person. And now they are gone. Their seats are empty. It's OK, though. I guess this post makes it sound a bit melodramatic. Seriously... if you work in the video game industry you have to be resilient. Doing what you love often comes with a price - anyone who has been around for a while can tell you that. Today, that price has been paid. That being said, I'd still never dissuade anyone from following their dreams if their dream is to make video games. While it's not as romantic as it sounds, it's sure a hell of a lot of fun. So don't cry for the people at Vigil. We made games for game players. I have no Horror stories from working here... only Honor stories. Through both praise and critiques alike, our goal was always to make a product as if we, ourselves, were the end-user. We may have gotten pushed and pulled in certain directions by forces out of our control, we were always in it to make games for game players. And that's what we did. I can only hope that those spared from the other companies remain employed long into the future. There is not much worse than false hope, and these people deserve to continue making great games. You may not know their names, but they exist, and they bleed, sweat, and cry for your entertainment. I mean that honestly, with no negativity. They do it... no, WE do it... because we want you to have a good time. In closing, I can only say thank you to the fans of Vigil games. Your support means more than you can imagine. Your feedback (both positive and negative) gave us long-lasting insight that we will all take with us, wherever we may go. You are the reason we made Darksiders 1 &2... and you are the reason we will continue to make games. And with that... my seat is empty. Ben Cureton Lead Combat Designer Vigil Games P.S. This is no place for a horse.

New Defiance trailer and pre-order bonuses detailed Posted: 23 Jan 2013 12:30 PM PST Trion Worlds' upcoming videogame and television show hybrid, Defiance, is almost upon us and I must say that this game has caught my attention. I mean, the fact that whatever transpires in the TV show will affect the online open world shooter and vice versa sounds like something that could attract quite a large fan base -- so long as it's executed properly. But anyway, with the April 2013 release date looming, Trion Worlds has gone ahead and given us a list of pre-order bonuses along with details on the Defiance Digital Deluxe, Collector's and Ultimate Editions. Trion has also thrown in a live action teaser trailer teasing the release of the full live-action trailer. Teaser-teasing. Pre-ordering now will grant you beta access to the game, as will our awesome giveaway. Defiance Pre-Order ($5) Bonuses Include: Outlander outfit helps you blend in with the locals Iron Demon title lets potential enemies know you are not to be messed with Retailer Exclusive pre-order weapon that gives you a leg up out of the gate 3-Day XP boost helps establish you on the battlefield Beta Invitation – get in the game early! Defiance Digital Deluxe Edition ($99) Includes: Rare VBI Sentinel Shield helps you never let your guard down  In-game title:  Badlands Drifter Ark Infiltrator outfit – look good while crackin’ skulls Hydra heavy weapon helps you bring the boom early +5 Increased inventory space – don’t leave home without it 30-Day scrip boost – more everything! 30-Day XP boost – level up faster! Lock Box – sweet random rewards! Defiance Collector’s Edition ($99) includes the following: Unique Defiance Collectors Box CD soundtrack – from legendary composer Bear McCreary Exclusive Art of Defiance book – unique stills and never-before-seen renders Exclusive Hellbug statue An official Von Bach Industries contract Defiance Post Cards and stickers Bonus “Making of Defiance” DVD Rare VBI Sentinel Shield helps you never let your guard down  In-game title:  Badlands Drifter Ark Infiltrator outfit Hydra heavy weapon helps you bring the boom early +5 Increased inventory space Lock Box   7-Day scrip boost 7-Day XP boost Defiance Ultimate Edition ($149), available only at GameStop, adds the following to the Collector’s Edition: Exclusive Defiance Messenger Bag Exclusive in-game title: Pale Wars Ronin  One Year Season Pass (Premium DLC) for Xbox 360, Windows PC, and PlayStation®3 Any of these editions tickle your fancy, or has Trion gone a bit over the top with this?

THQ is done, all assets sold off Posted: 23 Jan 2013 12:23 PM PST [Update: Vigil Games' lead combat designer, Ben Cureton, decided to write his own letter following Vigil's closure. Read that here.] When THQ filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last month, it was only a matter of time before the other shoe dropped. As of today, the 23-year old company has sold off all its assets, and in a few more weeks, the doors will completely close. CEO Brian Farrell and President Jason Rubin have sent a final letter (re-printed in full after the break) to all employees, listing which companies have purchased which studios and properties. The distribution is as follows: Sega gets Relic Entertainment (as Jim discussed earlier today) Koch Media gets Volition, Inc. (Saints Row) and Metro Crytek gets Homefront Take 2 gets Turtle Rock Studios' "Evolve" Ubisoft gets THQ Montreal and South Park If you are wondering where Darksiders developer Vigil Games is in all of this, there were unfortunately no bids for the studio, forcing a complete closure. I wish those who lost their jobs all the best, and I wish success for those who have already found new homes elsewhere. To All THQ Employees: We now have the answers we've been seeking through our financial restructuring and Chapter 11 case. While much will be written, here are the facts of the bids and auction that occurred: Yesterday morning, we received a competing bid for the operating business, along with Clearlake's offer, and numerous offers for separate assets. During an auction process that lasted over 22 hours, the final conclusion was that the separate-asset bids would net more than a single buyer for the majority of the company. Shortly, we will, present the results to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, which must concur with our assessment. The proposed sales of multiple assets is as follows: Sega agreed to purchase Relic Koch Media agreed to purchase Volition and Metro Crytek agreed to purchase Homefront Take 2 agreed purchase Evolve and Ubisoft agreed to purchase Montreal and South Park We expect these sales to close this week. Some assets, including our publishing businesses and Vigil, along with some other intellectual properties are not included in the sale agreements. They will remain part of the Chapter 11 case. We will make every effort to find appropriate buyers, if possible. What this means for employees We expect that most employees of the entities included in the sale will be offered employment by the new owners. However, we cannot say what these owners may intend, and there will likely be some positions that will not be needed under the new ownership. You should receive notice this week or early next week if the new owners intend to extend employment to you. Please note that the terms of your new employment, including pay and benefits, may be different from the current terms of your employment with THQ. If you are an employee of an entity that is not included in the sale, we regret that your position will end. A small number of our headquarters staff will continue to be employed by THQ beyond January 25 to assist with the transition. THQ has sufficient resources to pay these employees for work going forward, and we will be contacting these employees immediately to ensure their continued employment during this transition period. We are requesting the ability to offer certain severance pay to minimize disruption for employees of non-included entities as they determine the next steps in their careers. We know you will have many questions about this news. We'll be meeting tomorrow when we return to talk through this announcement and to answer any questions you have. You will receive a benefits fact sheet and FAQs with answers to some questions that may be on your mind. Please review these materials closely. A personal note The work that you all have done as part of the THQ family is imaginative, creative, artistic and highly valued by our loyal gamers. We are proud of what we have accomplished despite today's outcome. It has been our privilege to work alongside the entire THQ team. While the company will cease to exist, we are heartened that the majority of our studios and games will continue under new ownership. We were hoping that the entire company would remain intact, but we expect to hear good news from each of the separate entities that will be operating as part of new organizations. For those THQ employees who are part of entities that are not included in the sale, we are confident that the talent you have displayed as part of THQ will be recognized as you take the next steps in your career. Thank you all for your dedication and for sharing your talent with the THQ team. We wish you the best of luck and hope you will keep in touch. Sincerely, Brian Farrell Chief Executive Officer Jason Rubin President

Lookin' good there, Pikmin 3! Posted: 23 Jan 2013 12:00 PM PST During this morning's Nintendo Direct, Iwata explained how Pikmin 3 would feature an in-game camera that allowed you to take photos from the Pikmins' point of view and share them on Miiverse. Meanwhile, some sample photos were shared, looking positively Tastykakes. Something noted by the NeoGAF community is, though Pikmin 3 uses nice textures, viewing any surface at an angle yields a blurry mess. This is because the game lacks anisotropic filtering, a process that would improve the quality of textures that aren't viewed straight-on. It's not the end of the world, but the nitpickers are bound to jump on that shortcoming. Better to call it out here so we can all move on to better, more important things. Things like, is that a penis? [via NeoGAF]

I helped a girl take a piss in Ni No Kuni Posted: 23 Jan 2013 11:30 AM PST It wouldn't be fair to say that Ni No Kuni has a specific urination quest. It's more of a side story or side effect of a larger task, if you will.  Nevertheless, when I came upon this girl who needed to whiz, I immediately wrote it off as filler NPC chatter. A few missions later I had learned that my tasks had indirectly let her use the bathroom. Someone went through the trouble of updating our hero on this story. Planning went into this. Okay, then. She made an impression on me because, of all the things this young girl could have vocalized to me, she was intent on telling her mother and I that she needed to execute a mad leak. She needs to piss really bad, you see. Either that, or she required some for alchemy. The dialogue isn't really clear on what she intends to do with said pee-pee, but le't just assume she had made a surplus and wanted to remove it from her body. Why not just run behind a tree?  We're in a forest, after all.  Despite the marvel of modern videogames, here's a cute example of why NPCs are still the dumbest forms of life in gaming. As cleverly editorialized in The Secret Lives of Non-Player Characters, the idiocy of NPCs is one of the funniest things about our primitive videogames. This chick will stand there until the end of time holding that bladder until I go a vast journey talk to a tree, beat down guardian, and return to steal a guy's heart ten feet away from The Pissy One so the gate can open. Unlike the ants in your kitchen (which some heavenly power has expertly scripted for thousands of years to solve every task possible) it does not occur to this bitch that she can take a whiz behind a tree. Ants are my favorite script, by far. Whomever invented ants is probably rich. The mom will stand there and ignore that her child desperately needs to defecate, and will also starve her for as long as I please. It's unfortunate that if I leave my PS3 on for the weekend I wouldn't return to an angry mob beating the tits out of the guards, or a camp of hippies cooking turkeys in front of the castle that I can spy sometimes pooping in the woods. It's my hope that in the not-so-distant future game engines will allow developers to instill more common sense of survival to their non-player characters. Until then, I'm happy to help them twinkle.   Also, slow news day.  Sorry THQ, you'll be missed.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II gets another double XP weekend Posted: 23 Jan 2013 11:00 AM PST Greetings fellow Call of Duty fans -- it appears as if Activision is launching yet another double XP weekend for all Black Ops II players.  In typical COD fashion, the "switch" for double XP should be flipped at approximately 1PM EST on Friday, until 1PM EST on Monday. If you're excited for the upcoming DLC, set to drop on January 29th, check out the newest trailer, and some info on Revolution. Treyarch Studios [Twitter]

Rockman Forever album will put you in a 'trance' Posted: 23 Jan 2013 10:30 AM PST I think everyone on staff just sorta... crashed. Time to fill in the empty space, and what better way to do that than with free music, yeah baby! Today's offering is a free Mega Man series tribute album from Taiwanese doujin label Prismatic Music. Unlike other albums I have shared in the past, Rockman Forever sits deeply in trance / happy hardcore territory. Not saying that it isn't good, but this is a fair warning if you aren't the biggest fan of those genres. Even at a mere eight tracks in length, Rockman Forever manages to offer a decent variety of tunes from the Classic, X, and Battle Network series. Yes, "Dr. Wily Stage 1" from MM2 is here, but the obscure Battle Network tracks more than make up for that annoying repeat customer. Go on and dance, monkey! Rockman Forever [Bandcamp via The Mega Man Network]

Japan finally gets EarthBound on VC, rest of us don't Posted: 23 Jan 2013 09:30 AM PST As we learned earlier today, the Wii U will finally be getting a proper Virtual Console this spring, and part of the grand opening is a "Wii U Virtual Console Trial Campaign" in which select titles will be available for a reduced price for a month. Through July, we'll be receiving seven different VC games as part of this promotion, but the selections for the US and Japan are slightly different. Instead of F-Zero and Punch-Out!!, the Japanese will get Fire Emblem: Monshou no Nazo and Mother 2, a.k.a. EarthBound. Fire Emblem appeared on the original Japanese VC back in 2006, but this marks the first time EarthBound has appeared in full digital format. That's quite shocking to be honest, but not quite as shocking as learning that WE ARE GETTING SCREWED ONCE AGAIN. We've told you time and time again, Nintendo, that we want our EarthBound. Jump through all the legal hoops that you need to, but just GET IT DONE! Damn! (Thanks, Brian!)

Firefall begins weekend open beta testing Posted: 23 Jan 2013 08:30 AM PST Have you been itching to try out the Firefall beta but couldn't because, you know, beta access codes? Well, Red 5 Studios is about to make your day (or weekend) because the studio has today announced a temporary open beta test allowing anyone to participate -- no beta key required. The Firefall public beta will begin on Friday, January 25 and last for 48 hours. On top of that, two more of these everyone-haul-ass-into-the-beta events have been planned by Red 5 for February and March. So go have a blast, and let us know how Firefall is shaping up for you.

An aural tour with the composer of Nintendo Land, part 2 Posted: 23 Jan 2013 08:00 AM PST We're back with part two of our audio walkthrough of Nintendo Land with composer Ryo Nagamatsu. This time we visit Luigi's Ghost Mansion, Mario Chase, Metroid Blast, and Octopus Dance. And be sure to read part one of our feature which covered four other Nintendo Land attractions. On his approach to Nintendo Land and the main theme "For Nintendo Land's music, we decided to go with a mixture of nostalgia, fun, and novelty, something that could be enjoyed by people who have played a lot of the old games as well as those playing a Nintendo title for the first time. "Videogame music has evolved with the times, going from the classic NES sound to the point where it can recreate the feel of real instruments. Following that flow, I chose to use NES-type sounds for flat scenes but a more realistic sound using orchestras and acoustic instruments for larger, more spread-out 3D scenes. "Nintendo Land's main title tune plays throughout the Plaza, but it's set up to change as the local environment does, like when you press the buttons that change the time of day or start the parade. "There's also a jukebox in the Plaza that lets you enjoy all the new rearranged tracks that play in each attraction. "You can use the jukebox to bring up your favorite tune while walking around a Plaza filled with all the prizes you earned in the Coin Game. Or you can play with the time-change or parade buttons and take in the atmosphere that results. Either way, I hope players take the time to adjust the Plaza environment to their full liking." Luigi's Ghost Mansion "Given the attraction's ghostly theme, the soundtrack is generally pretty soft and quiet. "The first stage uses a rearranged track from the original; everything besides that is new music. There's a fun stage with a bunch of conveyor belts in it; I was inspired by the tune you hear when Professor E. Gadd makes his first appearance in the original when composing that stage's music. "Meanwhile, the scarier-looking stages go all-out scary with the music. I hope that players get a sense for that scariness and the chase-or-be-chased excitement of the game." Mario Chase "This attraction uses arrangements of old tunes in all of the stages. "The assorted 'Athletic' and 'Slider' themes from the Mario series were arranged with strings, electronic sounds, and so forth to match the game's atmosphere. "The music speeds up in each stage when time's about to run out, accelerating to a point where a human being would never be able to play it. I went with this after conferring with Mr. Kondo, who figured that games are clearer and more fun if they take simple-to-understand tactics like that." Metroid Blast "Metroid Blast is the most complex attraction in Nintendo Land, one that gives you a really full-on action experience. I gave the music an orchestral arrangement for an epic, flamboyant sound, something that made you feel you were playing inside an enormous space. "The chorus you hear in the arrangement of Super Metroid's 'Lower Norfair' music is composed entirely with my own voice, without any processing. "There's a lot of original music here, too, songs that retain that grand sort of Metroid impact. I hope it'll help players really lose themselves as they're thrown into battle inside this massive space!" Octopus Dance "I went through a great deal of trouble producing the music for this game since, after all, there wasn't any other game I could base the music off of. [Laughs] "As a result, everything in this game is an original composition, and since this is a dance game, I tried to get as much variety in as possible. So I produced music that'll expose you to a bunch of different styles as you go through a set of stages. The tune that plays as you're selecting a player in the game uses the sound effects produced by the original Game & Watch title as a motif. If you still have it around the house, try it out and compare the sound!"

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