“I won’t kid you: BioShock Infinite is a very big game, and we’re doing things that no one has ever done in a first-person shooter. We had a similar experience with the original BioShock, which was delayed several months as our original ship date drew near. Why? Because the Big Daddies weren’t the Big Daddies you’ve since come to know and love. Because Andrew Ryan’s golf club didn’t have exactly the right swing. Because Rapture needed one more coat of grimy Art Deco.” Ken Levine, Irrational Games

In addition to announcing the later release date, Irrational have also told fans that the game will not be shown at any of the major gaming events this summer. So far it has been confirmed that the game will not be showcased at E3 or GamesCom this year, making a UK appearance also seem highly unlikely. Combined with the later release date this news means that BioShock fans can expect an even longer wait for the game than we ever expected. I suppose the lack of pre-showings may be seen as a good thing to those fans who wish to experience the game in full without any prior knowledge of the story line, however personally I am a little disappointed by this news.

There you have it, looks like we will be waiting until February to take to the sky and explore Columbia for ourselves. Until then I will be keeping faithful watch in hope that more online video content will come our way. Just to soften the blow of the news I have linked a the latest video to be released, which gives us a brief yet intriguing look at NECA’s working Sky-Hook prop, familiar to us from the teaser trailers for the game. Perhaps this sneak peak was released to re-assure fans that the depth of the development behind the game and the commitment to the franchise will be worth the extra wait. As usual, only time will tell.

Until next time,

24

x

Irrational Games

2K Games

Thursday the 31st May, is a day deemed ‘Play’. The game creators among you will revel in such talks as “The rise and rise of play. How games and playful interactions are evolving and what are the biggest opportunities”, a talk by Playgen’s Kam Star, followed by ‘Developing for games as a service’ a talk by King.com CMO Alex Dale. Later in the day Chris Lowthorpe, Lecturer in Game Design Process at the University of Abertay, delivers his ‘Game Design: Art, Science, or Secret? talk, aswell as Nick Brown’s ‘Building Massively Multi-Platform, Multi-Player Games’ among many others. Between 9 – 10pm there will also be a game called Firefly, an inspirational game where players will run about in the dark wearing flashing LED badges, which they will attempt to steal off one another.

Playgen's lovely Kam Star will be sharing his expertise

Other treats include ‘The future is 3D: hands on design & make’, which will take place on Monday the 21st May between 9am and 3:30pm. The organisers of this particular event state :

“We plan to have a range of our equipment for students and teachers to try, allowing them to design in 3D, scan in 3D and print in 3D. If we have the space we will also have some manual and motorised kit tools (lathes, mills, sanders, jigsaws) for the pupils/students to try for themselves.”.

Running at the same time will be a demonstration of the app ‘Art Doodle Live’ which allows users to paint over classical paintings such as the Mona Lisa. It uses a ‘Live Sharing(TM) mobile platform’, which enables multiple users to collaborate on a single picture simultaneously.

Art Doodle Live : funky art app on show

Lastly there will also be a mobile hackathon with a humongous £10,000 grand prize, plus a slew of £500 mini jackpots and Samsung Galaxy Note for the winners of smaller categories (you can find out more about that here : http://digitalshoreditch.com/hack)

The sexy Samsung Galaxy Note could be your's... we wish it were our's!

This article really barely scratches the surface of what will be on offer throughout the festival’s jam-packed 12 days, not to mention the legendary parties that will follow afterwards! For more information please check out their website, which, once again, can be found here : http://digitalshoreditch.com/ See you there!

-HelenBaby

Just when you thought you had found every single Riddler trophy and milked all the side missions in Arkham City dry, developers Rocksteady are throwing some more DLC your way. Time to break out the Baterangs and suit up for Harley Quinn’s Revenge.

From what we know so far this 2 hour long DLC pack takes place a few weeks after the events of Batman Arkham City. With the Joker gone the whole city has been evacuated, but his sassy sidekick Harley Quinn has decided to stick around. Filled with rage and having acquired the Jokers old hide out, Harley is now wreaking havoc in what remains of Arkham City. In this new campaign Harley has kidnapped some of the city’s remaining police officers and Batman was last seen going in after them. The mini campaign mode supposedly starts by putting you in the shoes of Robin as he infiltrates Harley’s fortress to track down Batman and put and end to her dastardly plans once and for all. In addition to Robin’s core storyline there will also be the occasional flash back where you will adorn the Batsuit once more, and take to the city streets as the Dark Knight himself.  This all sounds pretty epic in my opinion.  

Numerous sources have confirmed that in the new DLC Robin will have his full arsenal of unique moves and equipment such as zip kick. This move allows you to grab near by enemies  with your grappling hook, and kick them to the ground. Robin will also be equipped with his bullet shield, allowing him to deflect bullets and get past various gun turrets. It has been suggested that Harley Quinn’s revenge will throw you into the game at a difficulty level similar to that at the end of the main Arkham city game . This means that you will be up against thugs wielding knives, electrical batons and machine guns right from the start. It looks like seasoned Arkham city gamers will be quite at home jumping straight into this new addition to the story.

I personally can’t wait for Harley Quinn’s Revenge. This looks like a DLC that will breathe new life into a game we all know and love. I am pleased to see that this is not just another challenge map with a new character thrown in. Instead it promises to be an exciting continuation to the story that will make Batman fans out there want to dust off their Arkham City discs and put on the Batsuit once more.

Harley Quinn’s revenge in due for release on the 29th of May 2012.

Xbox LIVE  (800 MSP) and Playstaion Network ( $9.99)

Garv.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways…. seems only fair given the amount of steps you’ve counted for me along the way. 3600000 so far… which, I do not hasten to add, amounts to a hefty 1700 miles. And I honestly wouldn’t have done it without you dear, you’ve taken something so mundane as walking and turned it into something fun and rewarding, an everyday chore into a means of obtaining objectives that actually have real value to me in my little Pokémaniac mind. You’ve had me, a habitual fatty and self-confessed lazy basement dweller, to actually opt for the long route home from work many times, seeing as it now meant picking up juicy, juicy Watts.

Garvaos love Pokéwalker

But it isn’t just Watts you’ve given me over the years. Remember when we ventured down the Yellow Road and caught not just Surfing, but also Flying Pikachu? I never would have thought prior I would ever have the chance to get to grips with either of those bad-boys, and now they’re rarely out of my party when I play the actual game. Even if it is in capacity of HM slaves. But hey, I still love them Pokéwalker!

Sidona love Pokéwalker

Yes you’ve bestowed my item box and Pokédex with a veritable plethora of items and Pokémon during our times together. Sure a lot of it has been fodder (I don’t really need 22 Noctowls!) but shoot… at least there was every chance that any one of them could have been a shiny! The same odds as in the main game if internet sources are to be believed (that’s one in 8192 to those of you who don’t know). And you can’t even tell if you’ve managed to bag one until you transfer your haul back to your DS, which adds excitement to the transfer back process. In the end I never did manage to bag one… but thank you for giving me hope, Nintendo!

GuitarGirl love Pokéwalker

Much is said nowadays about the 3DS’ pedometer rewards system being superior to your’s. Poppycock I say! The 3DS will only reward you for the first 1000 steps you take in a day. For me that’s the equivalent of walking to the local shop. Not much of an incentive to push yourself physically really. Then we have the issue of battery life. The 3DS’ battery, on standby, lasts about a day. If you plan to use it on a daily basis this will mean plenty of charging and hassle. Lame! You’re not needy like that dear, the 3V CR2032 you came with lasted for months. Heck I’ve only needed to replace it once so far (and I still use you every day).

HelenBaby love Pokéwalker

Games have come with some pretty cool accessories over the years. The Wii Zapper that came with Link’s Crossbow Training was a really fun addition, the 3D controller that came with Nights into Dreams : arguably essential. But the team that brought us Pokémon Heart Gold/Soul Silver really broke the mould when they decided to bundle these titles along with you. You are, in my opinion, the best video game accessory ever.

Lots of Love

~HelenBaby

Pokéwalker Resources

Official Pokémon Heart Gold/Soul Silver website : www.pokemongoldsilver.com/

Bulbapedia main article on the Pokéwalker : http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Pok%C3%A9walker

Bulbapedia’s list of Pokémon that can be caught through the Pokéwalker : http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/List_of_Pok%C3%A9mon_found_through_the_Pok%C3%A9walker

Are you a fan of both PC and Indie games? Do you love the Eurogamer Expo as much as us here at Plus XP do? If the answer is yes to  one or even both of those questions then this competition is for you.

The awesome minds behind the Eurogamer Expo have come up Rezzed. A new event that is taking place in Brighton on the 6th and 7th of July which focusses on PC and Indie gaming . The 2 day extravaganza boasts a fantastic line up of games to get your hands on including Aliens Colonial marines, Sniper Elite V2, Serious Sam 3, QUBE, Prison Architect, Stronghold kingdoms, Warmage Battle Grounds and Xenonaughts with loads more game to be announced closer to the time. That’s not all though as there will also be developer sessions to attend including a developer session from Creative Assembly, the creators of the Total War series.

This is an event you would surly not want to miss out on and we have a pair of tickets for one lucky Plus XP Reader. To be in with a chance of winning just answer this simple question.

We all know what Indie Games are, but what does the word Indie mean?

A) Individual

B) Independent

C) Indecent

Send your answers to competitions@plusxp.com with the subject header, “Plus XP must send me to Rezzed“. Get your answer along with your name and e-mail address in by Friday the 18th of May 2012 to be entered into the draw.

The winner will be picked at random from all of the correct answers. Only one entry per reader. The winner will be announced on Monday the 21st of May on PlusXp.com. The winner will also be contacted by e-mail. The tickets can either be used for the winner and a friend to attend Rezzed on either the 6th or 7th of July, or the winner can go alone on both days of the event.

Best of luck to our readers and look out for more info on Rezzed over the coming weeks.

Garv

Absolutely, we all were! Especially Lead programmer Daniel is a die-hard fan of it, being one of his mainstay games when he was growing up. I could probably have made him work on it for free! =)

2) Besides boulder dash XL what is our favourite boulder dash game?

Personally the C64 version, simply because that’s what I played! As an aside, we looked through all the cover artwork that’s been done for the game over the years, and there are some definite gems there. I recommend everybody doing a quick image search, it’s a real treat!

3) Can you tell us more about the new scoring mechanics in the game?

There is a simple and intuitive chain-scoring system where you need to pick up the diamonds in quick succession to keep the combo alive. You should also try to kill the bad guys during the combo for extra score.

4) What is your favourite world in Boulder Dash XL 3D?

My personal favourite is the Retro world, it’s a very charming voxel-version of the original C64 game’s graphics.

5) If you were to give one top tip on how to perfect your bolder dashing skills, what would it be?

Practise of course. But one thing you shouldn’t miss, is to learn the movement patterns of the enemies. Knowing it will be extremely useful for perfecting your high score.

Boulder Dash XL-3D is due out on the 20th of July for the Nintendo 3DS.

Garv

I am writing this open letter because I have a dream, a dream to see a lost favorite of mine returned to glory. I am talking of course about the magnificent LucasArts title, Maniac Mansion II: Day of the Tentacle, and how I would love to see it brought to the iPhone. Day of the Tentacle is without a doubt my favorite point and click adventure, and I believe that in this opinion I am not alone. I first played the game during my childhood and though over time have enjoyed many different consoles and genres, Day of the Tentacle has somehow remained with me. Imagine then my distress to find that my own cherished disk had been lost in the post-moving out clear out at my family home. The distress, the horror, the loss. With the disk and the game lost to me I suddenly had a thought. I wondered how many other poor disks had met the same fate as mine, and how great it would be if somehow the game could be brought back not only for the core fan base but also for a new generation of gamers.

So why do I think Day of the Tentacle should be brought forward in time to 2012? Well, In which other game can you be flung across time in a modified time toilet to meet wacky presidents of the past, paint a cat to look like a skunk or get glammed up to participate in a tentacle beauty pageant? In which other game can you then use these time toilets (Or Chron O Jhons, to the fans) to send objects back and forward through time to solve a variety of puzzles which are both beautifully cleaver and highly amusing at the same time? In which other game do the main characters have names as cool as Bernard, Laverne and Hoagie? I could go on and on about why the game is awesome, but hey, you already know that it is.

I also truly believe that this game would transition to iPhone, iPad and other touch screen devices well. The Iconic graphics would scale down well onto the smaller higher resolution screens, and the creativity behind the character design and graphic styling makes the game to me appear timeless. Further to this we already have the example of Monkey Island to show that the transition of the classic point and click adventure to touch screen devices works. The puzzle solving element of the game also makes it perfect for playing in short bursts, something which I think would be appealing to the iPhone customer who often may often chose to play games on the move. I believe so strongly in the potential of this game that have come up with a visual taster of how it may look on iPhone, both on screen and in the app store below. Nice, huh?

So please, phone Dr Fred, break out the imitation diamond and send Day of the Tentacle forward in time for me. If my own personal happiness is not enough for you to do this then you only need to type the game’s title into google to see that there is still a whole lot of love for the Tentacle out there. I leave you with some of my favorite finds uploaded to the world wide web by your loyal fan base, all of whom I am sure would be ecstatic to see those Tentacles try to take over the world once more. From cakes to cosplays, jewelry to body art, there is nothing fans won’t do to show their love for this game, bring it back for them, Please.

Thank you for your time,

Yours Sincerely,

24

Some truly dedicated fans cosplay

Some yummy Tentacle cake

Amazingly detailed Day of the Tentacle converse

Some Tentacle modern art

If this isn't dedication what is?

The Tentacles are still alive and kicking on Draw Something

Image sources:

http://www.theworst.ca/cosplay/nintencos.htm

http://artofdrawsomething.com/drawings/tentacle/3647

http://fyeahtattoos.com/post/5663544319/the-start-of-my-lucasarts-sleeve-day-of-the

http://www.gamecakes.nl/

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2009/04/16/maniac-fashion-day-of-the-tentacle-shoes/

http://ch-thingol.deviantart.com/art/Day-of-the-tentacle-87641872

I take my inspiration for the design of my website from other website designs, seeing how other sites are laid out and work, and adapting it to work on EC. One of the features I’m most proud of is the themes option which allows any visitor to change to colour scheme and style of EC with the push of the button. It adds variety to the site, something that I think is missing to a lot of Sonic fan sites which go for mostly blue themes for obvious reasons.

It really depends, currently I have a lot of things going on with work and real life so I can’t work up the enthusiasm to work on EC that much. In the past I’ve had far more time to dedicate to the site and I’ve really enjoyed working on it, generally though I try to put at least an hour or two into it a week, more if I have time.

It’s actually really hard to pin something specific down, when I set out to start EC I was just looking to do it for a bit of fun. I never thought my work would end up giving me so many opportunities, but if I had to choose one it would be getting the opportunity to interview Yuji Naka, the creator of Sonic the Hedgehog, it really blew my mind that I got this chance just from running a small fan site.

 

Emerald Coast's been going since 2005

What are your future plans for Emerald Coast?

I keep asking myself that question; in the short term I want to continue to produce comics, it’s what I started the site for and I still enjoy doing it, although coming up with ideas seems to be a lot harder than I remember. Beyond that, I’d look to maintain it as a place for my staff to publish their comics and ideas. I have a few ideas floating around but nothing specific; once again it all comes back to finding the time and inspiration to do what I’d want to do.

Summer of Sonic is an annual UK based convention celebrating the world’s favourite blue hedgehog, run by fans (primarily the Sonic Stadium) in conjunction with SEGA. In the past SoS has had musicians like Crush 40, Julien K, Bently Jones etc who have helped shape the sound of Sonic; Comic artists from the Archie and Fleetway comic series’; and even some of the creators of Sonic himself.

Crush 40 performing to a crowd of 800 people at Summer of Sonic 2010. The event gets bigger every year, with this year's set to have a guestlist of 2000...

What can you tell us about the upcoming Summer of Sonic event happening this July?

At this stage I’d say expect more of the same from what we’ve had previous years. This year’s SoS event will be taking place on the 7^th of July, this time the event will be all ticketed so make sure you get one when they become available, beyond that it’s a case of keeping an eye on the Summer of Sonic website details of where and guests at the event will be announced soon.

What are your personal opinions on the recent Sonic games (eg. Generations et al)

I’ve really enjoyed the recent Sonic games, with Colours, Generations and Sonic 4, Sonic seems to have had a good run recently, pardon the pun. I like the decision that has been made to focus more on Sonic and the core concept of speed for the games, that is what drew me to the Sonic games way back in the early 90′s and it’s what keeps me going even now 20 years later.

Emerald Coast : http://emeraldcoast.co.uk/
Summer of Sonic : www.summerofsonic.com

Find Phil :
On deviantArt : http://vger.deviantart.com/
On Twitter here : https://twitter.com/#!/philvgersims

In a similar trend to Capcom’s recent moves with Devil May Cry and Dead Rising titles, Lost Planet 3 will not be developed in Japan, rather built externally by Spark Unlimited – creators of FPS titles Turning Point: Fall of Liberty, and Legendary, two titles that had rather little success. Hopefully we’ll see some better results working with a pre-existing concept and direction from Kenji Oguro, creator of the Lost Planet series. While this could be a risky move, what we’ve heard so far about the game does sound compelling.

The original Lost Planet title was a character-driven story set in the snowy world of E.D.N. III – with Wayne Holden starring as the emotionally involved hero fighting for a personal vendetta. Lost Planet 2 gave us a completely different scenario – an arcade style squad shooter set in a tropical E.D.N. III with four-player co-op as a large focus, using customisable characters. While I enjoyed both takes on the Lost Planet universe, I’m glad to hear that Lost Planet 3 will be returning to the series’ roots by going back to the character-driven plot, focusing on a new lead character, Jim, in a prequel story set back in the ice-age stage of E.D.N. III’s history.

Set long before even Lost Planet: Extreme Condition, Lost Planet 3 will tell the story of E.D.N. III’s first human colonists. As a part of the Neo-Venus Construction company - or NEVEC, as most fans will recognise the group – Jim has come to the ice-planet to help mine minerals that can be sent back to Earth, where he has a family. At this point, NEVEC will not appear to be the antagonists that they become in the first game – although it seems Jim will discover some dark secrets within the company as his story progresses.

So what does this mean in terms of gameplay? Well, the biggest change is that to a more open-world, RPG style of gameplay. Jim will occupy a mobile base called a “utility rig”, which serves as transport across the snowy terrain, as well as apparently feeding him information to his HUD – meaning you can never wander off too far without leaving yourself vulnerable. The game will offer NPC’s to meet and talk to, with the option to pick up side-quests as well as fulfilling your primary objectives. When traversing the wilderness in Jim’s rig, you control movement and combat from a first-person perspective, while on foot you revert to the usual, third person shooting.

Since this is a prequel, the rig takes the place of VS suits from the previous games – and rather than using long-range weaponry, focuses on melee combat since the vehicle is equipped with mining tools such as drills and claws. I can’t say how I feel about this, but it depends on how often we’ll be using the rig for combat purposes – I’m hoping the majority of the gameplay will still be revolving around the third-person action.

On that note, it does seem there will be more of a survival feel to some of the third-person parts of the game than before - as Jim will be exploring uncharted territory, he’ll be scouting out various Akrid-infested interiors full of claustrophobic corridors and dark, icy caves. It’s been said that the game feels like Dead Space in these areas – which could be fun, but I hope we’ll still be grappling about and shooting up big Akrid on foot on a regular basis. I don’t want to be spending the entire time watching my ammo and watching every step in case something nasty jumps around the corner – a little of this is fine, but I want some classic action, too.

While I’m glad that we’ll be seeing some of the things I loved about the original Lost Planet making a comeback, I do hope that a lot of the good features from Lost Planet 2 won’t be completely scrapped. Mostly, I’m talking about co-operative play and character customisation. While it’s looking like Lost Planet 3 will be a solo campaign experience, I’m hoping we’ll have some arcade-style co-op scenarios as part of the multiplayer options – having a buddy join you in the campaign was one of the best improvements LP2 made to the series, and it would be a shame to lose this altogether – while I understand it’s more difficult to create a co-op campaign with the new direction, I’d love to explore E.D.N. III in its frozen glory with a friend. I also hope they’ve kept the same depth to the character customisation and unlockables – even if it’s restricted to multiplayer mode.

Overall, I can’t really decide how I feel about the direction that Lost Planet 3 is being taken. While Lost Planet 2′s lack of snow and a decent plot did disappoint me in comparison to the first, I hope Capcom will take the good parts of both games and incorporate them into something that is better than both. With a change of developer, I am most concerned that they keep the game feeling like Lost Planet at its core, and not a completely different beast entirely.

More than anything, I’m just happy to see that there will be a Lost Planet 3 at all. I’m just feeling really fidgety about it, because it could end up being fantastic or terrible – and I don’t know how long I can stand not knowing which way it’s going to go. This game has real potential – let’s hope Capcom and Spark Unlimited don’t screw it up.

- Leon

 I have been a gamer for well over 20 years and in this time I have never stopped loving games.  I’m also into comics and graphic novels (which you probably knew already since I keep posting about comic based games) which has helped me to become the geek I am today.

The very first games console I played on was the ZX Spectrum plus 2. With this retro console you needed to load tapes to play the games, and the games took hours, literally hours to load. After a few year of waiting for the technology to evolve beyond tapes and keyboards I was finally able to get my hands on a the next generation of games consoles, and I never looked back. Since then I have enjoyed many console from the Sega Megadrive to the Playstation 3, not forgetting the Panasonic 3DO, which was the very first console to use CD’s. Growing up I would play everything and anything, but games like Final Fantasy 9, Soul Reaver, Breath of Fire 3, Command and Conquer and Metal Gear Solid were what really lead to my passion for RPG and Strategy games.

I almost forgot to tell you the reason I am called Random Man 5000, well it’s for two reasons. Reason one is that I tend to say and do things that are just a bit random. There was this one time I remember mentioning jumping up and down like a school girl but that was in context, I think. Anyway the second reason is that I am geeky piñata crammed full of random gaming, comic and film facts. Oh and there is also the random weird facts that I know, like that  the hottest chilli in the world cannot be touched by hand as it is so hot that it will give you second degree burns, sorry… what was I saying?

Oh yeah, well here I am and I hope that the many articles I write in the future are informative and help you as a fellow gamer.

-Random Man 5000