*NEW* Resident Evil 5 Trailer - Terrifying and Delicious!

"I knew it from the moment I arrived.

There's no reason here. No humanity.

Everywhere I look I find vacant stares.

All I see, is death."

View the trailer: http://www.residentevil.com

Gears of War 2 High Res. Scans, Gridlock 2, Stranded COG

New information Official Xbox 360 magazine:

-New weapon Scorcher (Flamethrower) "most realistic fire in a game we've ever seen", "it turns foes into glowing, charred bruiquettes of coal and can be made to shoot farther with a perfect active reload", a red hot barrel means it is ready to fire.

-Assasination gametype altered. everyone respawns until their leader is dead. when the leader is killed they stop respawning and the game ends when everyone is dead on one team.

-Assasination renamed 'Guardian'.

-New gametype 'Wingman' 10 players split into teams of two.each team is played as different character (eg marcus and marcus vs Dom and Dom etc)

-Features Matchmaking (similar to Halo 3)

-'Y' will cause your character to unleash several brutal punches to a downed enemy, killing him.

-'A' will cause you to pick up the enemy and use him as a shield. The player your using as a shield will go to the respawn line.

-New gametype 'meatflag' sort of like CTF but epic have done this in their own way. The flag will instead be character wandering around the centre of the map. He has his own weapons and even a place on the leaderboard. To capture him you will need to down him and pick him up as a meatshield and take him back, slowly, to your base. If you shoot the meatflag enough times while he's being dragged back to base, his captor will loose him and he'll go crazy on everyone around him.

-Specific weapons will cycle round the maps.

-Stopping power - if you're running towards an enemy but he is firing straight into your chest, you will slow down. All weapons have a variable amount of "stopping power" that'll slow down an opponent's running or diving abilities.

-The oppurtunity to spawn with either the lancer or hammerburst.

-Hammerburst gone through significant alterations. The faster you tap the the right trigger, the faster it fires. The downside is quicker shooting = more recoil.

-Medusa Bullet Shields. Big metal shield that stops you from getting hit. Can be planted into the ground to make a new cover. Enemies can kick it down though if they get close enough.

-All three Grenades can be stuck anywhere, not just on enemies. They can be planted on the ground, walls, doors, etc. to produce a proximity mine.

-Smoke grenades carry a stun effect, a concussive blast that temporarily disables nearby players and knocks any sheilds out of their hands.

-Poison Gas Grenade. Produces a cloud of smoke that kills anything that lingers in it. They can be stuck onto enemies were the will slowly die. People stuck with a gas grenade can also injure team-mates if they get too close.

-On games with no respawn, when you are dead you can fly around the map as a "ghost cam". You can even take screenshots that will be uploaded to the community.

-New map - 'river' - symetrical map, each team has a thin strip of land with a house and sniping tower, and inbetween them a river.

-New map - 'Security' - long thin map. to the left and right are stairs leading to veranda's that run the entire length of the map. you are barred access however by red lasers, which will kill you if attempting to pass through. A power weapon is barred on the other side of the map while at the other it is defended by sentry guns. There is a button in the middle of the map that turns the lasers and sentry's off for 20 seconds.

-New locust 'hammerhead' (helmet makes him look sorta like a hammerhead shark)

-Two people can chainsaw one guy at the same time.

-Mortar Type Weapon. Super-class weapon that competes with the Hammer of Dawn.

-In the menu change your weapon to the beginner friendly lancer or a version without the bayonet and get more accuracy with a different barrel.

-A.I bots in the multiplayer game

-When downed with a frag in hand: Martyrdom (R Trigger) detonate a frag when and enemy is close, blowing you and your enemy up.

-When you are downed you can call for help in multiplayer to your teammates.

- War journal: The collection of COG tags has been expanded to include the collection of story-based items such as personal letters and medical records, and a "war journal" will track which collectibles have been found and where missing ones can be located.

- Your teammates can help give you an edge in the duel by shooting the opponent which will give you the upper hand on the "B" button mini-game.

The Megas: Capcom Mention, New Song, Podcase Update

Some love from Capcom:
The Megas have been mentioned on Capcom's Blog! Cool.

The Megssage from Dr. Light:
Check out their MySpace page to listen to the new track recorded for GameMusic4All.com's second anniversary compilation.

Podcast #4:
Check out the podcasts if you're bored here.

Resident Evil: Something Odd Is Happening Here...

http://www.residentevil.com/

Secrets of the Ninja

Learn about the secrets of the Ninja in this free online book by Ashida Kim.

Making war is not hard, keeping the peace is hard. That is why the Ninja, who value peace and harmony above all else, have gone to such great lengths over many centuries to canonize and preserve these methods. And why, because it is so simple, the techniques have often been turned to revenge or used to raise and army quickly. When there is no justice, the Ninja appear. They are not “called to action” by anyone. They are just ordinary people in extraordinary situations. They need not have a “clan” or “credentials” or even a great deal of training. They only need the Will.

The Ninja do what must be done, then it is forgotten. Princes and kings may gain some
temporary advantage through Force. But, the only lasting accomplishments are achieved
through Love.

This is the true lesson of Ninjitsu

Download the free book here (PDF).

StarCraft II, The Story So Far, Screenshots

THE STORY SO FAR... PART 1: STARCRAFT

THE STORY SO FAR... PART 2: THE BROOD WAR

JIM RAYNOR BIOGRAPHY

Check out all the updates at http://www.starcraft2.com/

Soul Calibur IV HD Gameplay, Destructable Clothes Trailer

I don't know what this is, but I like it.

Cliff Bleszinski Answers Community Questions, Sort of.

Street Fighter II Arcade Papercraft

Presenting, a tECHNICAL dESIGN Exclusive: The Street Fighter II Arcade Papercraft



Click here to download from Rapid Share.

Street Fighter II HD Remix NEW Screens

Alright, these Street Fighter II HD Remix screens are bad ass.







Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix will feature two gameplay modes: classic and rebalanced. Other features will include:

* Online and offline multiplayer
* A training mode
* Hit box display
* Both remixed and classic music
* Voice chat
* A 'Quarter Match' mode which allows players to spectate and jump into online matches simulating the arcade environment
* 8-man tournament mode
* Worldwide rankings and leaderboards arranged by character and country
* Indepth statistics tracking
* A display mode that fits the game into a 16:9 aspect ratio without impacting gameplay

The sprites and backgrounds in the original Super Street Fighter II Turbo will be replaced by high-resolution artwork drawn by UDON Comics, allowing HD Remix to make the most use of high definition displays (but the game can be changed to the original sprites as a option). Remixed music will be added.

Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix is set to release in Summer 2008.

Dragon Ball Movie Cast Pictures

Comic-Con Exclusive Carmine Figure

For all you Carmine lovers out there:

New Layout

Well, I've been reworking and refining my web log. I decided to make it much easier to read by creating a new layout. That is all.

Cereal Mascot Therapy Session

iCall Free PC to Phone Calls

You may have heard of VOIP, or Voice Over IP before. Now there is a company called iCall that lets you make and receive phone calls from your computer to regular land lines. It works all over the U.S.

Click here to view their website and download the free software.

5 Player Glitch in Gears 1

Gears of War 1 already had support for 5 players in the form of a glitch. I thought since Gears 2 announced 5 on 5 action, I would post this to demonstrate what it would be like to have 5 on 5.

Gears 2: "Carmine is BACK!", 5 on 5 Multiplayer

Click here for the Euro Gamer Interview.

New info:
- Cliffy B. says, "Carmine is back!", "He's a hell of a fan favorite." How is he back? Maybe it's his twin. I'm betting that he is a clone, like a storm trooper. Sweeeet.

- Chainsaw duels are a button mash because Cliffy is, "tired of those little quick time events that are in every single game."

- You can crawl away when down, and hit "A" to crawl away faster.

- There are chainsaw duel draws if both players button mash evenly.

- In a big change to the chainsaw mechanic, when players are dueling they are not invincible.

- Chainsaw duels take as long as a standard chainsaw to complete.

- Blood will spread to cover when injured, with blood trails mentioned.

- 5 on 5 multiplayer game mode added

- More new maps than the amount that shipped in Gears 1

- "Many" new multiplayer modes added along with "Greater" online functionality.

- Players can drive a Centaur Tank, a monster truck/tank.

- Other vehicle sections are in Gears 2.

- Longer campaign than Gears 1.

- Gears 2 will have a party system.

- Official Marcus Fenix doo rags will be released? Haha

- If Gears 2 sells well, there will be a Gears of War 3.

Thanks to anon for the news.

And finally the true reason why the Locust and COG are beefy: Skinny players are hard to see. Proof that picking Carmine as your multiplayer character has an advantage!

Bleach: Memories of Nobody Movie Coming to U.S. Theaters

Soul Reapers, protect the world.
(死神たちよ、世界を護れ。, Shinigami-tachi yo, sekai o mamore.)
Soul Reapers, release your spirits.
(死神たちよ魂を解き放て。, Shinigami-tachi yo, tamashii o tokihanate.)


Bleach: Memories of Nobody is a animated film adaptation of the anime and manga series Bleach. It is Directed by Noriyuki Abe and written by Masashi Sogo.

The opening and closing credits for episodes 106 through 109 of the Bleach anime use footage from the film. If you've seen those credits, you know this movie is going to kick ass!

The movie opens 06/11/2008.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleach:_Memories_of_Nobody
http://www.movietickets.com/movie_detail.asp?movie_id=64628

Gears of War 2 Screens + Info

Here's the info, although all this info borders on being spoilers for me. I didn't read through it fully.

Today at Microsoft's Spring Event Cliff Bleszinski walked members of the press through the entire second level of Gears of War 2. Actually he played through the level, live, as we watched in rapt attention.

Gears of War 2 takes place six months after the first Gears ends, he said. It is fall and the last stand for humanity as the Locust Horde work to collapse the last major city on Sera. To fight back Marcus Fenix and his squad are asked to deliver a "grind lift" to a nearby lost city and ride it into the Locust underground home cities.

Level two starts off with Fenix and company boarding a giant combat truck and riding it as it makes it way to a nearby city. Dizzy, a conscript driver, maneuvers the vehicle as Fenix and the other members of Delta squad work to defend it. The platform the squad stands on is large enough to still make good use of the game's trademark cover system.

The level also showed off some of the other large vehicles found in the game, like helicopters and tanks.

Early in the mission, Fenix and his crew have to blast mortar fire from the air as it plummets toward the lumbering vehicles. After making it through that gauntlet, the vehicles are attacked by reavers until the derrick they are riding is damaged and the squad has to get out to defend Dizzy as he repairs the vehicle.

On the ground, the combat continues to be pretty intense, as Locust swarm up from emergence holes. It's here that we get our first glimpse of the destructible environment and the ability to grab locust and use them for cover.

After a bit more intense combat it's back to the derrick where the ride to the city continues and we get a chance to check out some new Locust tactics, including their use of grappling hooks to swarm a large vehicle.

The level wrapped up with some pretty intense fights with even larger creatures including a corpser and a creature with a gun for a head.

"And that's level two, thanks guys," Bleszinski said. "It's a good sign that my hands still get sweaty when I play the game still to this day."

Judging from such an early level in the game, it looks like Gears of War 2 will indeed be, as Bleszinski says "bigger, better, more badass."

Bleszinski also promises that the game will be one built on a much broader scale, with a deeper darker story line, one that includes Dom's search for his wife and an exploration of who Dizzy is.

The developer said that the game will be running at over 30 frames per a second when it ships and that it will come with more new multiplayer maps than before. He added that they haven't decided how they will introduce new DLC maps to the game, but both the concept of early adopter tax and sponsored maps are being explored.

While game's second level has some pretty intense pacing, it's not like that throughout the game, Bleszinski said.

"There are scenes where we take our time," he said. "This is a scene that is at 11 but if it were like that all the time no one would notice it anymore. The game is very much a roller coaster ride."

Bleszinski was also quick to point out that while Gears sort of got a name for itself through it's many underground levels, the sequel will only spend about 30 percent of the game underground.

"A lot of people's memories from Gears one was grey pillars and we wanted to get rid of that this time around," he said. "We wanted more vistas this time around."

So there will be snow levels and underground levels and levels on mountains.

"From the deepest depths of the underground to see how the locust live, to the highest peaks of Serra and everything in between, we are going to include it all."

The World Ends With You

http://www.theworldendswithyou.com/

The Console Wars

Browsing Wikipedia lead me to a rather lengthy and detailed article on console wars of the past and present. Click here to read the Wikipedia Article on Console Wars. It's worth reading the discussion page to get a look behind the scenes of articles on Wikipedia. Simply click on the Discussion tab at the top.

Gears of War 2 Gameplay Footage

Important points from the video:
- The Locust have the ability to create a monstrous emergence hole that can sink cities
- The COG APC/Tanks are called "Derriks," and they tow "Grind Lifts," weapons that are going to be used against the Locust
- The lancer now has the reflex scope matching the original concept
- As reported, Destructible environments are present
- Lancer tracers have been altered to be every shot
- As I reported, we see huge amounts of Locust on the ground (battlefield)
- Use enemies as a Locust Shield (Human Shield)
- Chainsaw duels are done by smashing on the B (Red) button

Gametrailers.com has the video in High Definition and they have comparison videos comparing Gears 1 to Gears 2. Worth a view.

This one has a good slowdown of the details from the video with commentary:

Production begins on Doom 4

From id Sofware:
THE BATTLE VS EVIL CONTINUES IN DOOM 4
Production has begun on DOOM 4™, the next journey into the legendary DOOM universe. We are expanding our internal team and are currently hiring to work on this highly anticipated title.

"DOOM is part of the id Software DNA and demands the greatest talent and brightest minds in the industry to bring the next installment of our flagship franchise to Earth," said Todd Hollenshead, CEO, id Software. "It's critical for id Software to have the best creative minds in-house to develop games that meet the standards
synonymous with our titles."

The DOOM franchise is one of the most recognizable and important in gaming history, having been named "one of the ten most influential games of the decade" by PC Gamer and "the #1 game of all time" by GameSpy. DOOM 4 will join the award-winning series which has consistently topped sales charts throughout the world.

We are looking for talented, ambitious and passionate individuals eager to join our accomplished team of developers working on the industry’s most innovative and anticipated games. For a complete listing of available positions, visit our id Careers page. Resumes can be submitted via email to jobs@idsoftware.com. All applicants must be authorized to work in the United States.






Get excited. The game is expected to be based off of id Tech 5, the new rival of EPIC's Unreal 3 engine.


Highlights of the id Tech 5 engine are as follows:
The demonstration with which the new game engine was shown had 20 GB of texture data (using a more advanced MegaTexture approach using textures with up to 128000x128000 pixel resolution) and a completely dynamically changeable world.

One of the features the renderer will include is a penumbra in the shadowing, by using shadow maps. This is unlike the shadowing of the id Tech 4 engine, which had very sharply defined shadows, with no penumbra.

John Carmack mentioned in his keynote at QuakeCon 2007 that the id Tech 5 engine will be OpenGL based, thus not requiring DirectX 10 to run.

The engine is cross-platform, making it possible to render the same models on different platforms without the developer having to write different code for each platform. This reduces the complexity of deploying a game on multiple systems.

The engine will likely feature a number of other graphical effects such as various materials for lighting, high dynamic range rendering-centric effects, and motion blur. The engine will also support multi-threaded processing on the CPU for many of its tasks, including rendering, game logic, AI, physics, and sound processing.

End of transmission.