Another Friday, another FRAGnStein to giveaway! This week's winner for the second FRAGnStein PlayStation 3 and PC combo mouse giveaway is John G. Congrats to John, and thanks to all of you who added some more great Halloween gaming recommendations to the list. Wait! There is one last FRAGnStein Monster Controller giveaway left, and we need your help to complete the Halloween games list for Friday, October 30th. Everyone can enter again for our final FRAGnStein giveaway.
Here is the recap on how to enter to win the final FRAGnStein giveaway:
We want to know what are your 3 top game picks to get into the Halloween spirit. Email your name and 3 game picks to (use subject "Halloween games"). The giveaway contest is open to residents in the US and Canada. Winners will be randomly selected from email entries submitted to
.
You can enter more than once for better odds, but your choice of 3 games must be unique for each entry. The FRAGnStein controller is valued at $79.99 MSRP and is provided by Bannco for this giveaway. The final winner will be selected and contacted on October 30, 2009.
Below is the list of recommended Halloween games we've received so far. Any other games you can think of before our final list is posted?
Alone in the Dark Inferno
Alien Versus Predator 2
Batman Arkham Asylum
BioShock
Borderlands
Brutal Legend
Burn Zombie Burn!
Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth
Call of Duty: World at War (Zombie mode)
Castlevania
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Clive Barker's Jericho
Clock Tower
Condemned
Condemned: Criminal Origins
Dead Rising
Dead Space
Dead Space Extraction
Doom
Doom 2
Doom 3
Eternal Darkness: Sanitys Requiem
Fable II
Fallout 3
Fatal Frame 2
F.E.A.R
F.E.A.R 2 - Project Origin
Friday the 13th
Galerians
Ghostbusters: The Video Game
Ghosts & Goblins
Guitar Hero Metallica
Half-Life
House of the Dead: Overkill
Hugos House of Horrors
Indigo Prophecy
Ju-On : The Grudge
Kingdom Hearts
Knights in the Nightmare
Left 4 Dead
Little Big Planet
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2
Michael Jackson Moonwalker
Monster Bash
Nightmare On Elm Street
Oblivion
Obscure Aftermath
Onimusha
Pac-Man
Persona 3
Prey
Quake
Rainy Woods
Resident Evil
Resident Evil 2
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis
Resident Evil 4
Resident Evil 5
Resident Evil Archives
SAW
Shadowman
Silent Hill
Silent Hill 2
Silent Hill Homecoming
Siren
Splatterhouse
The Path
The Suffering
The Witcher
Typing of the Dead
Zombie Apocalypse
Zombies Ate My Neighbors
See the official website for more details of the FRAGnStein Monster Controller or read our review and see more images of it here.
GameFly has launched a free App for the iPhone and iPod touch called GameCenter. The GameCenter App packs plenty of information on the latest games available for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, DS, PSP and PS2. You can see the current most popular games for each platform and what other gamers are rating the games. Games also have cheats and codes listed, along with the standard game information and gameplay controls.
With the GameCenter App you can also access your GameFly account from the GameFly section of GameCenter, great for managing your Game Queue on the go. There's also a news feed which ties into GameFly's recently acquired Shacknews website. The GameCenter App is an essential addition to your iPhone or iPod touch if you are a GameFly member, or even if you aren't a member and want to find information on the latest and greatest games.
Game developer BioWare and EA 2D, a new game development team at Electronic Arts focused on browser-based games, have just launched Dragon Age Journeys. This first chapter in Dragon Age Journeys, The Deep Roads, is a free to play online web game, based in the universe of the upcoming RPG from BioWare, Dragon Age: Origins. Read on to see why you don't want to miss out on playing this action-RPG.
You'll want to sign in at dragonagejourneys.com with your EA ID or create it before playing so you can save your progress and achievements in the game. Dragon Age Journeys has it's own unique art style, which works well for smooth web gameplay. You can create your own character based on Gender, Race (Human, Elf or Dwarf) and Class (Warrior, Mage or Rogue). Once you setup your character, you're off to adventuring! Dragon Age Journeys plays similar to action/adventure RPGs (Diablo and Sacred series). You'll be familiar with the Equipment and Inventory screens and other stats to manage, like Health and Mana. At first you are controlling your own hero, but soon enough other characters will join your party. There are three main quests to complete in Dragon Age Journeys. Battles take place on a hexagonal grid, where you can plan your magic and physical attacks (or heal your party). There is plenty of stash to find along the way, which leads us to another great bonus for playing Dragon Age Journeys.
Besides Dragon Age Journeys being just plain fun and addictive, you'll get to unlock content for the retail release of Dragon Age: Origins for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. The items you can unlock from Dragon Age Journeys: The Deep Roads for use in Dragon Age: Origins include Embri's Many Pockets, the Helm of the Deep and the Amulet of the War Mage. They are earned for completing various Achievements and Quests in Dragon Age Journeys. These items can be redeemed in the Dragon Age: Origins game (Xbox 360, PS3, PC) when you sign in with your EA ID in the retail game.
Dragon Age Journeys isn't just a temporary distraction of a web game, but it'll suck you back in for more! It's a great way to learn more about Dragon Age: Origins and will definitely get you hooked. Start playing now, for free, at www.dragonagejourneys.com. Congratulations to EA 2D and BioWare for making such a fun, and free, online gaming experience!
Dragon Age: Origins will be available for the Xbox 360 and PC on November 3rd and PlayStation 3 on November 17th. Visit the official website of Dragon Age: Origins at dragonage.bioware.com.
Ubisoft and the developers of Assassin's Creed II have released Developer Diary #5, titled "Clothes Make The Man." See the creative director, game designer and more developers from the game comment on the progression of Ezio, the lead character you'll play in Assassin's Creed II.
Check out the video below, just after the age gate!
Please enter your date of birth below to see video:
Assassin's Creed II will be available on November 17th in North America and November 20th in Europe for the Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION 3 and at a later date for the PC.
For this featured Getting To Know Your Developer (GTKYD) interview, there's a double dose of strategy gaming developers. Philipp E. and Lennart Berg discuss their work on Arsenal of Democracy and share their gaming influences. Read on for an interesting perspective from the developers at BL-Logic and how they believe in making games that challenge your mind rather than your trigger finger.
Interview 1: Philipp E.
Who are you and what do you do in the gaming industry?
My name is Philipp E., I’m 26 years old and I’m a developer on the Arsenal of Democracy team. I live in beautiful Stuttgart, Germany.
I do game concepts and graphics as my main task, and my secondary job is to organize and manage all the contacts and people who are involved direct or indirectly with the project.
What are you currently working on or just released?
At the moment I'm working on Arsenal of Democracy, a Hearts of Iron series game.
How did you get into the games industry? I always loved to play games. Strategy games with playing depth were always my favorite ones. One day I discovered Hearts of Iron and somehow I got to meet Lennart on the HoI forums a few years later. We get along very well and he's a real skilled guy, not just in terms of coding but also with people and business. He signed up for the Europa Engine program and got accepted. I joined his team and that was how it all began with AoD.
What is your favorite game you have every played on any console and why? I like a Zelda style game on the NES very, very much. But I don't remember its name, it’s just too far away in the past. It had a huge dimension in terms of map size, storyline and overall feel. It had this Indiana Jones flair – like a big giant world and you discover the story piece by piece. I was around 10-14 years old, I guess, but that game fascinated me so much. You somehow felt you could connect to those characters.
What are you currently playing?
Actually I’m not playing very much besides HoI. I tend to read a lot in my free time on economic theory, political science, warfare – the classics, Clausewitz, Sun-Tzu and also the new ones like Schwarzkopf, Greene or Guderian – and history. I think my overall hobbies just match perfect with the development of games on a strategic scale.
What games are you looking forward to playing in the next year and why?
Besides AoD maybe some good “no-brain” shooter. I came to find the last Call of Duty: Modern Warfare very nice. I expect the successor to be as entertaining as the last part of the series.
What was the last game that you finished?
I've mostly played open-ended shooters and Hearts of Iron for the last few years... the last one was probably Half-Life 2.
What is next for you?
Definitely “Hearts of Iron 3: Arsenal of Democracy” – well, it would be really great if our AoD Dev Team gets contracted for a HoI3 Expansion. You can’t imagine what crazy things we could do with this shiny new engine. I promise you if a chain of events would go into that direction for us, we would create a game for you guys that will give you years of fun to come.
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Interview 2: Lennart Berg
Who are you and what do you do in the gaming industry?
My name is Lennart Berg, an educated electronic engineer, but I am at heart a programmer. I am also the founder and owner of BL-Logic, where I have worked the last 6 years. The gaming industry has always been a dream of mine, without ever having the time or the right angle to make a more complex game, however I have been busy working on developing 3D engines / animation and networking code in my free time the last 10 years.
What are you currently working on or just released?
Well I am the lead developer for Arsenal of Democracy, which should be released around December 17. And without doubt it will be by far the most polished game based on the Hearts of Iron franchise… It should be... we have been working on it for quite some time ;)
How did you get into the games industry?
Well me and Johan (lead developer for Paradox Interactive) had some talks regarding the release of the old source codes to the community in 2006-2007, which he took further and instead gave the option to license the Europa engine and source code to their old games in 2008. As I already had prepared the infrastructure and written down all my ideas and plans for HOI2, I was accepted without much fuzz and here we are almost 2 years after.
What is your favorite game you have every played on any console and why?
To be honest I don’t play consoles that much – I don’t even own one. I’m an old school PC user and find the dumbing down of games so they can be ported to consoles rather frustrating, to be honest. But as we are talking about all time, then either Populous 2 or Powermonger on the Amiga 500 would have the top spots. Both developed by Bullfrog and truly inspired me by showing that gameplay, depth and immersion is without doubt the heart of any game.
What are you currently playing?
Good question – well if I really have the time I keep working on/playing AoD. But when we play over Lan/ internet the games would be:
Empires: Dawn of the Modern World (Stainless Steel),
Sins of a Solar Empire (Ironclad),
and last but not least Europa Universalis 3 (Paradox Interactive).
What games are you looking forward to playing in the next year and why?
Starcraft 2, as Blizzard always seems to get the gameplay right, and I am also very interested to see what the billions they earn each year for WoW are getting us in the end ;)
Also, I think R.U.S.E and Overlord 2 might be interesting to watch.
Other than that I only see sequels on sequels, or just another Shooter 32(tm).
What was the last game that you finished?
Hmmm… as the clause is “finished” that would probably be a Tetris clone (my first game ever).
What is next for you?
Well we have talked a bit about that and we have some good ideas up in our sleeves for the future games. We will keep to the strategy sector as that is, in our opinion, a very underdeveloped market, and these games are just more fun for us to play ;) So its like the old slogan “Games for gamers by gamers.”
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Thanks to Philipp E., Lennart Berg, Tom Ohle, BL-Logic and Paradox Interactive for making this interview possible! Visit the official website from Arsenal of Democracyhere. Arsenal of Democracy will be available for the PC in December 2009 for $19.99.
Gamers that are upgrading to Windows 7 today or in the near future can expect DiRT 2 to run on Windows 7 and DirectX 11 technologies in December. DirectX 11 will provide an enhanced graphical experience as you race through more realistic water, crowd animations, shadows and more.
"The opportunity to enter into a strategic relationship with Microsoft to fuse key DirectX 11 technologies with Codemasters' EGO Engine and set the new standard in race gaming on home computers was irresistible," said Bryan Marshall, chief technical officer, Codemasters. "By taking advantage of the DirectX 11 feature set included in Windows 7, including hardware tessellation, multi-threading and Shader Model 5.0, we will deliver the most immersive and realistic off-road racing experience yet and set the technical benchmark in the genre."
DiRT 2 has been given the release date of December 1st (December 4th for Europe) and will be compatible with the Directx 11 technologies and Windows 7. DiRT 2 is also available for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, Nintendo DS, and PSP in stores now. Visit the official website at www.dirt2game.com.
Want to earn up to 10,000 Wii Points? That means plenty of downloadable WiiWare, Virtual Console and DSiWare games! Nintendo UK is looking for experienced Wii gamers to help get other fellow Wii gamers connected online. Nintendo UK (not announced for US) has kicked off the "Connection Ambassador" program. Nintendo UK is looking for your help in getting friends or family connected online with their Wii system. For each person you get connected to the internet on the Wii, you get 500 Wii Points. Here's some more incentives, as noted by Nintendo UK:
"If you help 10 people connect to the Internet, you reach Gold status and can download ALL Nintendo-published NES games for free on Virtual Console as well as receiving a total of 5,000 Wii Points. If you connect a maximum of 20 people to the Internet, not only will you attain Platinum status, you will also receive a total of 10,000 Wii Points to spend on WiiWare games and can download ALL NES, Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64 games on Virtual Console for FREE."
Tempting offer! The program has not been announced for other regions. See how to sign-up for the Connection Ambassador program here.
Today Atari announced that Cryptic Studios' Star Trek Online Closed Beta has begun. If you have a PC and meet the requirements, you can help test the massively multiplayer online game set in the Star Trek universe. Sign up for the Star Trek Online Closed Beta at www.startrekonline.com/preview_application.
"We’re pleased to begin sharing our addition to Star Trek’s legendary story with the public," said Craig Zinkievich, Executive Producer of Star Trek Online. "We know fans of Star Trek, and fans of MMOs, will be incredibly impressed by what they see when they play Star Trek Online.”
Get started and sign-up now for a chance at an early preview of the game and to help the developers test it out!
One of the most anticipated downloadable games to come out this year, Trine, is finally making its way onto the PlayStation Network today in North America. Coming from Finnish developer Frozenbyte and publisher Nobilis, Trine is an action platformer with some amazing visuals. Released previously on the PC, Trine has been received by critics very well and can now be experienced by PlayStation 3 owners everywhere. Trine was previously released in the UK PSN. The game does have full Trophy support and is available later today. Go download Trine later today and experience a great action platformer on the PlayStation 3.
This week's GTKYD featured guest is Taichi Inuzuka, from Square Enix. He's a seasoned producer in the Dragon Quest series of games and recently worked on the DSiWare release from Square Enix, Dragon Quest Wars (official Japanese website here). It is our first DSiWare game (and first game developer from Japan) we've had featured in GTKYD. There is some good insight on developing on the downloadable Nintendo DSi platform. Read on and learn more about Taichi Inuzuka, which game claimed 500 of his hours, and
learn more about Dragon Quest Wars from Square Enix!
Who are you and what do you do in the gaming industry?
My name is Taichi Inuzuka. I'm the producer for DRAGON QUEST WARS at Square Enix. Since joining Enix, I have been involved in DQ series related titles.
What are you currently working on or have recently released? I cannot say details, but I am currently working on a new DRAGON QUEST related title. Previously, I worked on DRAGON QUEST MONSTERS: Joker.
How was it different in developing for DSiWare than a regular DS cartridge?
The biggest advantage was that it is absolutely clear that the users are in an environment able to access Wi-Fi (If users cannot access to the Wi-Fi, they cannot download this game to begin with). To make good use of this advantage, we could create a game focused on Wi-Fi battle as a main element. I would say the capacity limitation was the only disadvantage. But we just needed to do things we could do within the limitation, so it did not become a big problem.
How is the learning curve to playing Dragon Quest Wars?
I saw a child around 5 years old who was playing the demo version at TGS, but it seems like he was playing without any problem. There is not much you need to remember to play, so I bet it is easy to remember the rules.
What is one of your favorite things about Dragon Quest Wars?
I would say, Wi-Fi battle. Because it became the outline to create this game.
How did you get into the games industry?
The company I joined after I graduated from university was Enix.
What is your favorite game you have every played on any console and why?
This is not promotion or anything, and it comes from the bottom of my heart, but I think DRAGON QUEST IX is the best and favorite game I've ever played. I've played around 500 hours so far. Reasons are because I could play such a long time and haven't felt almost any stress while I play.
What game(s) are you currently playing?
I recently played Pokemon SoulSilver. But since I finished everything that I could do, I am back to playing DRAGON QUEST IX now.
Which games are you looking forward to playing in the next year and why?
I do not know when it will release, but I am looking forward to playing "Okamiden: Chisaki Taiyo." I am strongly attracted to the point that it builds and establishes its own world completely.
What is next for you?
Regarding a sequel and additional contents [Dragon Quest Wars], we would like to consider it if we receive as much demand from users.
Anything else you're itching to tell us?
DQ Wars is created only after the fun element of "think and play." At first, you sort of just have a "win and lose" feeling, but you'll be able to battle against foes with reading into the next step and next next step after repeating the battle. From that time, the true point of this game starts.
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Thanks to Taichi Inuzuka, Brandon Smith and Square Enix for making this interview possible! See more details on Dragon Quest Monsters here on at the official website. Dragon Quest Monsters is now available for $5 (500 DSiWare Points) from the DSi Shop.
