This week’s Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G DLC features two different quests in the same training ground: Hipknock Dairantou and Challenge Quest 09. Bird creatures known as Hipknocks that have the ability to put you to sleep will be your opponent in the first mission while a group of Ranposu and a single Diablos become your foes in the second.
Well we never saw this coming. Oh, no, not by a long shot. Never in a million years did we think that … oh, forget it. Of course, we all pretty much figured Far Cry 2 would be releasing on the Xbox 360. Considering a full three iterations of the franchise have appeared on one Xbox platform or another, it was pretty much a certainty. We do have an official announcement of the game from Ubisoft now, though, and that always makes us feel warm and fuzzy. It is interesting to hear that it is in fact just Far Cry 2 and not Far Cry 2: Bestial Rage or something, so we’re assuming this is the same game that will appear on PC in Ubisoft’s fiscal 08-09 (sometime between April 2008 and March 2009). Peep a gallery of screenshots from the PC version below.
Excitement quickly turned to disappointment when we realized that Sega and Platinum Games’ super-stylized Wii action title, MadWorld, was up-and-running on two kiosks at Nintendo’s Fall Media Summit … but wasn’t actually playable by the media. Instead, Sega reps informed us that the game is currently undergoing some fundamental changes to its control scheme and that, well, they basically didn’t want us to play it in its current state.
It sure looked bloody fun (emphasis, of course, on the “bloody”). We watched those around us slowly back away as we giggled with child-like glee at the on-screen ultra-violence (hey, we’d had a very bad morning in traffic). Someone urged Sega’s testers to show off the most over-the-top move they could think of, so we were treated to a gameplay sequence wherein an enemy was restrained with a tire, skewered through the head with a stopsign post, then cleaved in twain by the main character’s chainsaw.
We also got a peek at the chainsaw in action while riding a motorcycle down the side of a building and along a highway at innapropriate speeds. A sequence which, again, made us even more steamed that we couldn’t grab the controls and try it ourselves. Not mad enough to run anyone through with a signpost, mind you, but most definitely irked.
With Jaffe no longer bound by the chains of God of War, his newly formed independent studio, Eat Sleep Play, can work on smaller projects. Considering his desire to go back to smaller, pick up and play games, it appears that PSP is the ideal platform for Jaffe to begin with. (Jaffe previously worked on a canceled PSP exclusive called Homeland.) Speaking to Level Up’s N’Gai Croal, Jaffe reveals “We’re really more about fun, pick up and play, arcade, multiplayer, just having a really good time, at least on the Sony end.”
Although Jaffe has expressed interest in Sony’s handheld, there’s still no confirmation of what platform his next game will end up on. “We haven’t announced if we’re on Blu-Ray, if we’re on PSN, if we’re on handheld. All we’ve really announced is that we are exclusive to Sony in those areas for three titles.”
Portal is officially getting a sequel. Gamerscore Blog reveals that Portal: Still Alive will continue the single player story found in the original Orange Box collection, and will add new challenges. The title will be available through Xbox Live Arcade … although no word on either a PC or PS3 version at this time. Considering the massive popularity of the original, this is a huge win for XBLA. Potential details of the sequel may have been leaked here.
Epic Dolls recently gave a woman’s perspective to the Ten Ton Hammer article on women in raiding. Essentially the original article brought up some extremely valid points about females in the raiding sphere, and Leala took the time to respond to some of the statements made in the article, explaining them from a female point of view.
What I love about this is the fact that what we have here is an intelligent dialog. In no way is the Epic Dolls response claiming that Ten Ton “doesn’t understand us” and that they write “biased work because they hate women,” both of which are common misconceptions on either side of the gaming gender divide. Leala first begins by explaining that the article on Ten Ton was well written and interesting, and then proceeds to respond to some issues brought up in the article.
The first notion she conquers is the idea that simply adding a woman into the raid brings drama, when in actuality it is the male response to the woman that causes friction. We’ve heard of cases of groups going out of their way to avoid these reactions, but in the end it is the guild/raid leader’s job to create a welcoming environment for all players, male and female. I would have to agree with Leala here. I don’t see how a girl can be blamed for the behavior of the guys around her. Which person is acting childishly? Deal with that person. Removing one stimulus will quiet them down for a while, until something else gets them riled and they go off. If, on the other hand, a female member of the raid is causing trouble, deal with her. It only makes sense to punish the offenders, no matter their gender.
A second statement she notes is that point in the article where the author says women are vicious creatures. Profiling of any type is offensive, and you could just as easily put another protected class in that statement and see exactly how wrong it is. It is just as bad to say that all men are pigs, which is equally wrong, if slightly more metaphorical. The only generalization you can make with such a sweeping broad stroke is that all men have Y chromosomes, and all women have X chromosomes, but even then you are pushing it. No entire group of people are vicious. There may be violent and hateful people within a group, but to label the entire group based on one member, or even a few members, is wrong. As Leala puts it, “People can be vicious creatures. It has nothing to do with male or female, it’s just personality, priorities, and morals.”
The last statement Leala discusses about the three types of women gamers I will not comment on, on the grounds that anything I say will come off as sexist toward men, and honestly, what’s the point of fighting fire with fire here? I hate generalization. For me it only works in philosophical discussions. Okay maybe I will make one little comment. In all my time in the game (and I have been playing since 2005) I have never encountered the MSM (Man-Seeking-Missile) type of female gamer Ciderhelm speaks of. But to say that that there are no women who play the game in order to find a guy is again a generalization, so therefore inaccurate.
Any discussion of this type will be heated, and until you can toss what we think we know about the opposite gender out the window and go on what we have experienced personally, any conclusions will be skewed.
Word on the street is that Sony’s Block Party, uh … party is, well, in a word: exclusive. We spoke with several notable video game writers, developers, and others who apparently couldn’t get into Mezzanine, the trendy club you’re seeing in that shot above. To be honest, we hate to sound like the ungrateful twerps everyone assumes we are but, here goes.
Upon arriving at the door, having our unique bar-code invitation scanned, getting a wrist bracelet, and wandering inside, one thing was abundantly clear: There’s a lot of stuff here, and none of those things are video games. There are hula-hoop girls with really short shorts; there’s a breakdancing crew getting boogaloo on the dance floor; there’s a DJ mashing up 70’s throwbacks; there’s a barber shop upstairs (no, seriously, they’re actually cutting hair). We ask a group of people why they’re here. “We’re friends with the bartender.”
Available on the U.S. video marketplace is some free content to help nourish your insatiable appetite for free visual stimulus including some cartoonified anime. The first episode of the animated series Witchblade titled “The Beginning” is a free 269MB download that’s ready to make your HDD its home. Also, under the “Shorts” section, you’ll find a free 139MB episode of Disney’s step-brother cartoon Phineas and Ferb, titled “Lawn Gnome Beach Party of Terror”. Finally, we thought we’d mention that there are a few free music video downloads to check out on the U.S. Marketplace, including Jay-Z, Finger Eleven and even some Chemical Brothers. So, be sure to check those out if you’re interested. That’s all we could scrounge up for today’s free goods, but be sure to keep checking the XBVM as there’s bound to be more free stuff releasing in the near future.
Well, one way to dodge the “Madden Curse” is to just not play. Indeed, recent retiree Brett Favre will be drafted onto the cover of Madden NFL 09, reports GameDaily. While the choice seems somewhat peculiar, it’s possible Favre was chosen to represent the 20th Anniversary edition of the game because of his iconic status. The long-time Packers QB is one of, if not the most familiar and celebrated player in recent NFL history (heck, he even starred in that Farrelley brothers flick some years back — what was it … something about a Mary?). So, what’s it gonna take to get Old #4 to lace ‘em up one last season and test his record streak against the mighty curse?
You know, we just don’t have enough strategy RPGs on the PSP. With the exception of Disgaea, Final Fantasy Tactics, Wild Arms, R-Type Command, and Yggdra Union, there’s certainly a dearth of games to choose from. Thankfully, Neverland Card Battles will fill in this sorely under-represented genre on PSP. Coming this fall, this very anime SRPG combines: cards AND strategy (shock!). Certainly, PSP owners will be totally unfamiliar with this innovative genre of gameplay.
Epic Dolls
Available on the U.S. video marketplace is some free content to help nourish your insatiable appetite for free visual stimulus including some cartoonified anime. The first episode of the animated series 
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