That's right, folks, this week we've gone recursive. Who says we can't be our own special edition? Here's what we'll be playing this weekend. Be sure to let us know what games will be occupying your time!
Alexander Sliwinski: With my upgraded PC, I've been checking out some higher end games from the last three years. FEAR, not so bad. Black and White 2, gorgeous but flawed. The big plan for this weekend is Spore ... now I just need to get a copy somewhere.
Andrew Yoon: Braid. Second ending.
Christopher Grant: I've returned from a brief respite in the woods, but I wasn't alone. Something else came back with me. Specifically, my appreciation of the very portable Professor Layton & The Curious Village. I've got 30-some puzzles left and an intense desire to crush them using little more than my carefully honed intellect and a plastic stylus. Also: I've been winding my way through an advance copy of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed – I should be able to wrangle a couple hours this weekend to polish that one off. Still in various stages of completion, waiting to return to favor: Castle Crashers, Siren, Fable 1.
Griffin McElroy: My new roomie recently hooked up his slimline PS2 to our big screen, so I've been playing some classics as of late -- Shadow of the Colossus, Tony Hawk's Underground (you know, the last good one), and a copy of Chrono Cross I recently found at this awesome used game store in Chicago. Also trying to hit the level cap with Mr. Orange in Castle Crashers, and anxiously waiting for GameFly to deliver me into pure pinata pleasure. ... Also, for the theme: perhaps something football related, as the season just started? Or perhaps, the inaugural use of the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, which could ostensibly create a micro black hole, instantly destroying our world on Sept. 10? WRUP: The World Ends with Large Hadron Collider Edition?
Kevin Kelly: I will be playing this thing called "finish your damn PAX posts while doing interviews and watching movies at the Toronto Film Festival." By the way I highly recommend The Brothers Bloom. Great movie. If they made a game out of that, I would die happy.
Kyle Orland: I'm also looking for a copy of Spore to see whether it's a new paradigm in gaming or, as the meta-review seems to indicate, a disappointment. Also hoping to get some more time with The Last Guy and maybe finally take a look at Castle Crashers.
James Ransom-Wiley: Goin' down the shore for one last weekend. Friends are asking me to bring that thing the kids are doing these days ... Wii.
Justin McElroy: If I can bring myself to ignore the title, I'm going to be playing some Infinite Undiscovery in between checking on my new and improved pinata garden.
Ludwig Kietzmann: I hope to double my efforts in stopping the evil Count Waltz in Eternal Sonata, provided I can even manage to switch on my Xbox 360 without instantly firing up Geometry Wars 2. I also plan to feign struggle against and almost immediately succumb to the desire to play through the post-Trophy Uncharted. Again.
Randy Nelson: Like several of my fellow Joystiqers, I'll be tracking down a copy of Spore (no, my attendance at last night's launch party hosted by Mr. Wright did not come with "perks"). I also plan to brush up on my SOCOM skills thanks to the Confrontation beta, although I won't be playing it with the benefit of Sony's nifty new Bluetooth headset. Also: Castle Crashers (go orange!) and The Last Guy (go Himalayan zombie hero!).
Ross Miller: I've got a tough choice to make. I've finally caught up on school work (thanks, PAX!) and PAX articles (thanks, school!), and my copy of Too Human came in early this week – a bit late, yes, but now I get to play it without all the controversy and anger and hype. So I'll finally be trying it out. In between hours-long sessions of Spore, that is.
Of course, if you know Blizzard at all, you know it doesn't really like the whole concept of "release dates" -- the developers prefer to say they'll release the next WoW expansion "when it's ready." But a bunch of retailers have recently pointed their noses at November 4th (with a November 3rd midnight release, so says the sign from an Australian store above), and if that turns out to be true, it's gonna be a busy Election Day. That story and more, all in these highlights from the last week of WoW Insider.
News
1-60 in 20 minutes The Recruit-a-Friend program allows level granting, which lets this Paladin level up to 60 in just a few minutes.
New titles for Wrath Blizzard expands its player title system big time. Want to be a "Grand Master" or an "Ambassador"? Better get started on those achievements.
Skill Mastery: Arcane Barrage Our new look at the various skills coming out of the beta examines the spell that might save the Mage class.
Death Knight solos Onyxia It's been done before, but the new class proves it can down the old dragon, too.
Chilton content to endorse multi-boxing Blizzard has always been on the fence about multiboxing -- it's never really had a problem with it. But here's the first time it will actually support it.
WoW Machinima: The basics Our machinima writer posts an in-depth look at how and where to start with making in-game movies.
To demonstrate LittleBigPlanet's level creation tools in a way that we haven't seen or written about ad nauseum, the gang at the PAX 2008 Sony booth helped us model the Joystiq logo and vomit stickers all over it. The entire video initially clocked in at just over 10 minutes, so in the interest of time we've sped up the creation part.
Here's the full LittleBigJoystiq logo -- click for a (slightly) higher-resolution version:
Happy Labor Day Weekend! Big Download has been laboring for the last week of August to give you some cool exclusive features and here's a quickie look back at the week that was:
Guide to Team Fortress 2 Heavy Achievements: It's an extensive look at all of the new achievements you can get while playing the Heavy class in Valve's multiplayer shooter. Check out part one, part two, part three, part four and part five.
It's "The King and I" in the World of Warcraft lately -- the Lich King is everywhere, and this past week we moved even closer to the release of the most popular online game in the world's second expansion. Joystiq's sister site WoW Insider, as usual, has all the angles covered -- if you want the hottest new spoilers, a more casual look at why the expansion is so important, or just to keep up to date on what's in the old game (wait, there's an old game?), we've got you covered.
Wrath cinematic trailer unveiled Blizzard showed the cinematic for the first time at Leipzig. Arthas has left his throne and now he's summoning dragons.
Games Convention generated a ton of new HD trailers for upcoming PC games and we have them ready to download, along with a ton of original content and news stories. Indeed, there were a lot of new PC games announcements this week (more than at E3). Take a look at all of them on our site:
In honor of the new PSP Brite moniker, we present the Lite Brite. Here's what we'll be playing this weekend. Be sure to let us know what games will be occupying your time!
Alexander Sliwinski: Well, after a debilitating incident where some new RAM killed my PC weeks ago, I should have my baby back to me today with several new upgrades. First up: Some glorious all-levels-on-max Sins of a Solar Empire. Also making some headway with the Fable II Pub games (without cheating) and some Civ Rev multiplayer.
Andrew Yoon: Finally, I'm going to spend some alone time with Braid. <3
Christopher Grant: I've got a full plate of partially played games – I need to hunker down, pick one, and make some progress. Too Human, Fable 1, Bionic Commando Rearmed, Pixel Junk Eden, and Siren. Oh, and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed should be in my hands next week, so I don't have much time to take care of all this. Why is life so hard?
Griffin McElroy: I'm still working on Final Fantasy IV, which I've purposefully slowed progress on as I approach one of the saddest moments in video game history. I don't want to get all misty-eyed in public, you see. Perhaps I'll play a little more Geometry Wars 2 as well, if Justin can finally manage to beat my score on Pacifism (the only reason I could be persuaded to return to that unforgiving grid).
Kevin Kelly: Fable 2 Pub Games for me, plus I'm demoing a tabletop game called Monsterpocalypse that looks like a ton of fun. And I'm still finding a way to cram Halo 3 into the nooks and crannies of my free time, and I'm looking to have that addiction checked out soon.
Kyle Orland: Now that I'm done with "Moving to Pittsburgh: The Game" I'll be practicing my drumming for the impending Rock Band 2 release. I'm also still struggling to get those last few puzzle pieces in Braid and resisting the urge to use an FAQ because Jonathan Blow doesn't want me to.
James Ransom-Wiley: Jonesing to finish up Bionic Commando Rearmed, but I'm headed out of town ... why is Remote Play so laggy? Thinking I might cop Bangai-O Spirits...
Jason Dobson: With one week to go till I move across the country, the consoles are packed and the only game I'm playing is fighting with the moving company to make sure my stuff is there when I arrive. I've lost two men so far.
Justin McElroy: If there's a merciful God in heaven above I'll be able to solve the Too Human game tape and finally move on with my life.
Ludwig Kietzmann: With a patch on the way, I've decided to halt my progress through Alone in the Dark. I still have a survival-horror itch to be scratched and/or violently torn out, so I'll return to Silent Hill: Origins on my soon-to-be-outdated PSP Slim. While I'm there, I'll kill Crisis Core's final boss and close the chapter on that time-sucking mess of side missions. Lastly, I'll try and make some time for No More Heroes, which I've neglected for far too long.
Randy Nelson: I'm off on a Quest for Booty this weekend – after I've finally gotten my fill of saving the same several hundred people over and over (and over) again in The Last Guy demo.
Ross Miller: I'm taking a break from the ION drum set until I can try it with Rock Band 2 (the verdict with RB1 wouldn't be so good, as the cymbals don't register without some serious drum thwacking). Instead, I will be working through his first week of homework (one more semester to go!) and, when time permits, run through The Force Unleashed demo. Maybe I'll pick up Too Human and see what all the fuss is about.
We've long offered a mobile version of Joystiq at m.joystiq.com, for those of you with a Blackberry, Windows Mobile, or what have you. But looking at the data, the iPhone slash iPod Touch platform represents a commanding 79.5% of all mobile pages served (some stats after the break).
So with that in mind, we're unveiling i.joystiq.com, a specially formatted page that delivers the entire Joystiq experience (including comments this time!) with none of the cruft of a full-sized web page. We know there are still some kinks to be ironed out, so consider this service in beta until, well ... there are no more kinks. In the meantime, let us know what you think in the comments (maybe try leaving a comment from your fancy iPhone, Mr. Millionaire).
This gigantic, bladed, slashing monstrosity is one of the most coveted weapons in all of the World of Warcraft, spoken of in whispers by some of the most epic characters in the game: the Ashbringer. And it's set to feature pretty prominently in Wrath of the Lich King, the second expansion coming to the biggest game in the world later this year. Joystiq's site covering all things Azeroth, WoW Insider, has the story on this sword and much, much more. Here's our biggest posts from the past week in Warcraft.
Know Your Lore: The Ashbringer Everyone's all giddy about Frostmane finding its way into player hands, but Know Your Lore takes a long look at the other side of the "Awesome Two-Hand Sword" spectrum.
We have had a busy week at the PC centric Big Download site. As we approach two big gaming events (next week's Games Convention and Labor Day weekend's Penny Arcade Expo) we should have even more to write about in the coming days. In the meantime let's look back at the week that was:
While most people hail the Dreamcast as Sega's swan song, we want to go back one generation and remember the Saturn, which gave birth to person favorites NiGHTS Into Dreams, Dragon Force and ... um ... Christmas NIGHTS. We know there are other classics, so tell us your experiences with the console. Note how the special NIGHTS controller (mid left) looks conspicuously like the Sega Dreamcast pad. Here's what we'll be playing this weekend. Be sure to let us know what games will be occupying your time!
Alexander Sliwinski: I'll be at a wedding in New Rochelle, NY this weekend, so it's DS time for me. The plan is to keep my Civilization Revolution addiction going with the DS version. Also, hoping to be back in time on Sunday to make some more money with the Fable II pub games. Need to learn and play the table better on Keystone (a variation of Craps -- yes giggling youths out there, that's the name of a real casino game).
Andrew Yoon: I'm only a small handful of Trophies away from getting 100% in PixelJunk Eden. This weekend, I'll be going through the latest Ratchet & Clank adventure, Quest for Booty, and then some demo time with Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.
Christopher Grant is the leader and doesn't have to answer for himself.
Griffin McElroy won't hear our Roll of Thunder call until the weekend begins.
Kevin Kelly: The Fable II pub games will be occurring, with several liftings of ale. I'll also be playing in my D&D campaign (hello, nerdom!) and trying out this new card game called Pecking Order. It's crazy, I tells ya. Plus some of my family is in town, so there will be some board game happenings going on as well.
James Ransom-Wiley: For the first time -- ever! -- I went with a PS3 version; in this case: Bionic Commando Rearmed. I also plan to spend some time psyching myself up for Too Human's imminent release. (Oh, and Amazon, where is my Pub Games code?!)
Jason Dobson: After grinding this week through the Netherworld, I'm going to be spending the weekend mastering the subtleties of the Xbox 360's terrible d-pad in Bionic Commando Rearmed, most likely falling to my death in the process.
Justin McElroy: I'm playing Space Siege as we speak, and I'm enjoying it so far. I'm also going to be listening to the Joystiq Podcast, because it's so funny and good and right. [Ed. - Justin later told me to add "Too Human" to the list because he wanted to flaunt it over the peons.]
Ludwig Kietzmann: I'm taking my copy of Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes (cry more, purists!) to a friend's place and introducing him to the world of cardboard boxes and heavy handed exposition. When I'm back home, I'll be hacking away at Crisis Core's never-ending side missions, fumbling my way through Alone in the Dark and slashing wildly at scantily clad sword mistresses in Soul Calibur IV.
Randy Nelson: My brief stint behind the handlebars of Burnout Paradises' motorcycles has once again revved the throttle of my addiction to the game, so you'll no doubt see me Freeburning on PSN this weekend. I'm also aching to get into the swing of Bionic Commando: Rearmed (I opted for the XBLA route) and should probably brush up on my Soul Calibur IV skillz if I ever hope to go toe-to-toe with Ludwig online.
Ross Miller: XBLOverload with Braid, Bionic Commando and Pub Games. I'm still going through Rock Band drums on left-handed hard mode to try and get the other half of my body more in sync.
OK, set your mind to "fully open," because it's going to have to be pretty wide to wrap itself around this: Joystiq gave birth to the Joystiq Podcast, which gave birth to the Joystiq Podcast Appreciation Group on Facebook. Now, that community has rallied itself to create the Joystiq Pocdast Appreciation Group Podcast, which we are now posting about on Joystiq! The snake has eaten its own tail!
Lesser podcasts would probably be weirded out by such meta-admiration, but not us, we kind of expect it. Nay ... we demand it. Thanks to Randall Smith, Wesley Johnson, Chase Murata, Chris Miller and James Lockwood for heeding our orders.
We can't exactly decide whether this freaky-looking Dwarf makes us want to play as a Death Knight more or not, but he does look freaky. This was just one of the hundreds of images and impressions coming out of the Wrath of the Lich King beta this week on Joystiq's sister site WoW Insider. Below are our top posts from the past week, and as you can see, there's lots and lots of Death Knight and Wrath beta news to be had.
Wow. Our coverage of E3 was pretty extensive but that doesn't mean we have been lazy since then . . . far from it in fact. Check out our extensive original features (including our QuakeCon 2008 coverage), new downloads and important news items from the past couple of weeks:
Exclusive Features
QuakeCon 2008 coverage: Big Download went to Dallas for the annual free gathering of gamers sponsored by id Software. Check out our round-up of all our extensive coverage of the event, which includes new info on Rage, Wolfenstein, a QuakeCon picture gallery and a case mod gallery.
GOG.com Interview: We chat with Tom Ohle on their upcoming digital download gaming site that will offer classic PC games that will be DRM free and sold on the cheap.
Hinterland Interview: Tilted Mill's Chris Beatrice chats with us about their first original downloadable game.
ECA Interview: We talk with Hal Halpin, the president of the Entertainment Consumers Association.
PAX 2008 Interview: Robert Khoo gives us the 411 on their plans for the 2008 edition of the Penny Arcade Expo.
Digital Unrest's Chris Simmons originally made this comic in April 2006, and we subsequently crashed his servers. The strip has bee remade this week with new art and, given that it never got a fair shot last time, we're going to throw it in again this week. Thanks for the trip down memory lane, Chris. Here are our picks for the week's best game-related webcomic. Polling after the break; be sure to vote for your favorite!
_thumbnail.jpg "i am 8-bit: 2008")
