Duke Nukem Forever back for good, actually coming out

Posted by Chris Holmes at 6:06pm on September 3rd, 2010

Few stories in videogaming last as long as 13 years, but there has been a crucial saga that has made us gamers stand to attention and weep. The Duke Nukem Forever saga has been rumbling along since 1997, and the internet thought it was finally dead and buried in May 2009 when 3D Realms terminated the DNF development team.

Well, I’m pleased to say that Duke Nukem Forever is now back. Take-Two showed off the game today at PAX over in a little place called North America. Gearbox Software (Brothers in Arms, Borderlands, Half-Life: Opposing Force and Half-Life: Blue Shift) will be taking up development duties on the game and they will be finishing up what 3D Realms started all those years ago. It will be running on the Borderlands engine and 2K Games will be publishing it.

Randy Pitchford, CEO of Gearbox Software said: “Clearly the game hadn’t been finished at 3D Realms but a lot of content had been created. The approach and investment and process at 3d Realms didn’t quite make it and it cracked at the end. With Gearbox Software we brought all those pieces together. It’s the game it was meant to be.”

“Aliens come and say they’re going to be our friends and Duke knows this isn’t going to work out,” Pitchford says. “Duke once again is in the pivotal spot and it’s up to him to save the world.” He went on to say: “We’re in the polishing phase now. This is a game where we cannot make a promise we cannot fulfil. We need to get past the shock and awe and then we can go to all the retailers and first parties and work out a launch plan.”

Duke Nukem Forever is now expected to ship in 2011 (we’ll believe it when we see it). We’ll be updating this post with pictures and video whenever we get it. We’ll probably turn the front page into a shrine to Duke with a load of posts about the news if anything else exciting breaks.

2K Games | Duke Nukem Forever | Gearbox Software | News | PAX | PC | PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360

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Take-Two makes Q3 profit

Posted by Chris Holmes at 5:23pm on September 3rd, 2010

Take-Two has confirmed that they made a profit in the third fiscal quarter that ended on July 31st, 2010. The company managed $354.1 million in sales, which is up from $94.9 million for the same quarter last year. Net income clocked in at $6 million, which is up from a loss of $56 million last year.

Red Dead Redemption has been credited with achieving most of these numbers. The game has now shipped 6.9 million units. Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City, GTA IV, NBA 2K10 and Borderlands also managed to contribute. The company expects to be profitable for the full fiscal year with sales of $1.05 to $1.1 billion.

“Our results for the third quarter and our expectations for the remainder of fiscal 2010 reflect significant progress toward achieving our goals,” said Take-Two CEO Ben Feder. “First, we expect to be profitable in a fiscal year without a major multi-platform Grand Theft Auto release. Second, Take-Two’s broad array of hit franchises highlights our ability to deliver a diverse product line. Third, Red Dead Redemption has shown that our creative teams can produce multiple mega-hit franchises.”

Read the rest of this story »

Gaming Culture | Industry News | News | Rockstar Games | Take-Two

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Telltale Games reveals Poker Night

Posted by Chris Holmes at 4:40pm on September 3rd, 2010

Telltale Games has announced Poker Night at the Inventory. It’s essentially a regular poker game but it features Penny Arcade’s Tycho, Team Fortress 2’s Heavy, Homestar Runner’s Strong Bad and Sam & Max’s rabbit thingy Max. It’s looking pretty entertaining, and apparently has a lot of dialogue that you’ll hear throughout the game. Poker Night at the Inventory is currently down for a “fall 2010” release.

News | PC | Telltale Games

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LA Noire pushed back to 2011

Posted by Chris Holmes at 3:33pm on September 3rd, 2010

Take-Two has delayed LA Noire from late 2010 to “the first half of calendar 2011”. The Team Bondi title has been pushed back a fair bit, but it looks like development is picking up steam. At a recent GameStop manager’s convention, it received a good response. The game will be coming out on the PS3 and the 360.

News | PlayStation 3 | Take-Two | Team Bondi | Xbox 360

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Sony files US PSJailbreak lawsuit

Posted by Chris Holmes at 3:23pm on September 3rd, 2010

Sony Computer Entertainment America has filed a lawsuit against an online distributor that was planning to sell the new PSJailbreak USB modchip. Sony believes that the device circumvents the PS3’s copy protection as it allows people to back up and play games copied to the system’s (and external) hard drive.

The distributor in question is Zoomba LDC, and they have been accused of copyright infringement, violations of the digital millennium copyright act and trademark infringement. Sony is beginning to clamp down on the device, having recently got a temporary injunction that stops the PSJailbreak being sold in Australia.

However, it looks like the cat is out of the bag as clones of the device have already started to crop up. Inventive folk can even make their own with a teensy board or a few other USB development boards.

Gaming Culture | Industry News | News | PlayStation 3 | Sony

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PES 2011 demo dated

Posted by Chris Holmes at 3:06pm on September 3rd, 2010

Konami has confirmed that a demo for PES 2011 will be released on the PC and PS3 on 15th September. PlayStation Plus subscribers will be able to pick up the demo from 8th September. It’s not currently known when the 360 demo will be released yet, but we’ll let you know when Konami figures it out. Regardless, the demo allows you to take on a friend on the same console/PC or the AI as Barcelona, Bayern, Chivas Guadalajara or Internacional. PES 2011 will be released on 8th October.

Konami | News | PC | PlayStation 3 | PlayStation Plus

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Conduit 2 delayed until 2011

Posted by Chris Holmes at 2:35pm on September 3rd, 2010

Conduit 2 has been delayed until the first quarter of 2011. The game was originally supposed to be released on 2nd November. The sequel includes new control methods, enabling players to use both the Classic Controller and Wii MotionPlus alongside the regular remote and nunchuck. High Voltage, the team behind the game, laid off 25 members of staff a few weeks ago.

High Voltage | News | Nintendo Wii | SEGA

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Super Stardust HD developer lifts the lid on Outland

Posted by Chris Holmes at 1:53pm on September 3rd, 2010

Housemarque (the development team behind Super Stardust HD) has announced that its next title after Dead Nation will be Outland. It’ll be downloadable game on the PlayStation Network and the Xbox Live Arcade. Ubisoft have picked up the publishing duties. Outland is a platform shooter that’s set in a branching jungle environment. Players have to switch between light and dark forms to deal damage to light and dark enemies and dodge light and dark attacks. An official release date is yet to be announced.

Housemarque | News | PlayStation 3 | PlayStation Network | Ubisoft | Xbox 360 | Xbox Live Arcade

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Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath PS3 remake confirmed

Posted by Chris Holmes at 1:25pm on September 3rd, 2010

New Oddworld developer Just Add Water will be releasing a HD version of Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath for the PS3 next Easter (April 2011). It will be a PlayStation Network title and marks the franchise’s first title on a PlayStation console since Oddworld: Abe’s Exoddus back in 1998. Stranger’s Wrath was released back in 2005 for the original Xbox. The remake will take the game to 720p and will feature normal mapping, self-shadowing, re-mastered dialogue, Move support and some other new secret bits.

“Since word got out that we’ve been working with Oddworld Inhabitants there have been many rumours circulating about what we’re working on,” said JAW boss Stewart Gilray. “Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath is the first project in what we believe will be a long and fruitful relationship. Having the chance to update this great title and release it on PS3 is just a brilliant opportunity, not least for us, but for the fans too.”

Just Add Water | News | PlayStation 3 | PlayStation Network | PlayStation Store

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Ubisoft announces Bloody Good Time

Posted by Chris Holmes at 1:14pm on September 3rd, 2010

Ubisoft has announced Bloody Good Time for the Xbox Live Arcade and Steam (PC). The game is a multiplayer shooter running on Valve’s Source engine. Essentially, the Bloody Good Time puts players on a Hollywood set and lets them decide what they want to do. It supports up to eight players and features lots of weird and wacky weapons like frying pans and explosive remote-controlled rats amongst usual gun fare. A release date is yet to be announced.

News | PC | Steam | Ubisoft | Xbox 360 | Xbox Live Arcade

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Wu-Tang’s RZA signs deal to appear in DJ Hero 2

Posted by Chris Holmes at 5:14pm on September 2nd, 2010

Activision has confirmed that Wu-Tang Clan co-founder RZA has signed up to DJ Hero 2. He will be a playable character in the game and has also mixed some music for people to play. The tracks he’s produced are: Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five’s “The Message” mixed with LL Cool J’s “I Can’t Live Without My Radio”, and Damian Marley’s “Welcome To Jamrock” mixed with Walter Murphy’s “A Fifth of Beethoven”. DJ Hero 2 will be released on the Wii, PS3 and 360 on 22nd October.

Activision | News | Nintendo Wii | PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360

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Cloud-based music service coming to PSN

Posted by Chris Holmes at 4:53pm on September 2nd, 2010

Sony has unveiled a new cloud-based digital music service for the PlayStation 3, called Qriocity. It will be available on the PlayStation Network. The service will also be available on BRAVIA TVs, some Blu-Ray players and VAIO computers. Users can use one account across the service on multiple devices without having to fiddle about with digital files. Qriocity will be released later this year.

“We are excited to offer our customers high quality, cloud-based entertainment experiences across many of Sony’s network-enabled devices,” said Kaz Hirai. “Services ‘powered by Qriocity’ will revolutionise the way that users play, listen, watch, share, communicate, learn, discover and create their digital entertainment content.”

News | PlayStation 3 | PlayStation Network | Sony

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Top Gun going to the PS3 next Wednesday

Posted by Chris Holmes at 4:06pm on September 2nd, 2010

PSN-exclusive Top Gun will be released on 8th September for £7.99. Top Gun’s gameplay is basically an arcade-styled aerial combat game. It has 16 player online multiplayer and a story mode written by the writer of the Top Gun film, Jack Epps Jr. The story follows Maverick after graduating from Top Gun. He is embarking on his first tour of duty over the Indian Ocean. Reports that he is flying in to the danger zone remain unconfirmed.

News | Paramount | PlayStation 3 | PlayStation Network | PlayStation Store

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Bangai-O coming to the XBLA

Posted by Chris Holmes at 3:45pm on September 2nd, 2010

Treasure has confirmed that Bangai-O is coming to the Xbox Live Arcade. The 360 incarnation will be called Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury. Apparently, there are over 100 levels to play with and a level editor to make your own and share them with friends.

News | Xbox 360 | Xbox Live Arcade

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GTA: Chinatown Wars HD heading to iPad next week

Posted by Chris Holmes at 12:35pm on September 2nd, 2010

Rockstar has announced that Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars HD will be released on the iPad next Thursday (9th September) for £5.99. The game now has over 50 missions, some more side activities and the ability to listen to your iTunes library in-game. Chinatown Wars has been about the block a bit, having been released on the DS, PSP and the iPhone before stopping off on the iPad.

News | Rockstar Games | iPad

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