Joystiq

Rob Halford – lead singer for Judas Priest and the bearer of the immeasurably cooler-than-ours nickname "Metal God" – has filed a trademark application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office under the "class" of "Computer games; video games; and game controllers for computer games." The name he's seeking to trademark? You got it: "Metal God."

Maybe it's just Halford watching out for numero uno (hey, if our nickname was "Metal God" we'd trademark everything from video games to hair curlers) or maybe, after getting a taste of that Rock Band DLC money, Halford has more palpable ambitions. What could he bring to the world of videogames, you ask? We've got a couple ideas:

1. Better cover art (see our mashup above)
2. An all Judas Priest and/or Rob Halford-themed soundtrack (who wants all the filler?)
3. And lastly, a rhythm game for the bald metalhead – a tragically underserved niche audience

[Via superannuation]

We've had the month of January circled in our brand new 2009 "Hot Men of Epic" calendars since we first caught wind of the promised – and much needed – second Title Update for Gears of War 2. As we cruise into the end of the month, Epic Games producer Rod Fergusson – Mr. January himself – sends word that the patch is now live as of 5am Joystiq Time. What's included in said patch? Frankly, we don't have the time (or the e-ink) to go through everything but we'll hit the big'uns.

First up is multiplayer, and this update "addresses a large number" of "exploits and issues" and tosses in some "balancing tweaks" just to make things fair. For those of you looking for "moar" achievements, this update adds "7 new DLC-based gongs." Still voting with your dollars, refusing to pick up the $10 (800) Combustible map pack until all-things-multiplayer are a-okay? Let's hope this latest update gets us there but, just in case, four of those seven new achievements need only the Flashback Map Pack that came bundled free (0) with every new copy of the game. Buy it used? Steal it from that smelly kid in your dorm? No worries – $5 (400) now grabs you the maps on the Marketplace.

For the full epic list, check out Mr. January's post.

First, a confession: our original headline for this post was "Shane turns down Sony PR job, goes with smaller publisher" – that is, until we heard the kids at Rebel FM jokingly suggest that blogs would use exactly that as a headline. Oh yeah, smart guys? Well, we didn't!

Moving on. So, 1UP's Shane Bettenhausen did turn down a Sony PR job ... several years ago. [Update: Shane writes that he "misspoke" and "never interviewed for the position" – so you can stop writing those scathing forum posts, platform conspiracy theorists.] Right now, the recently laid-off Bettenhausen has taken a gig as Director of Business Development (we call that BizDev, folks) at "smaller publisher" Ignition Entertainment. Says Bettenhausen: "they're not on the map as much as other big publishers." Then why take the position, when fellow 1UP alums have moved onto places like Bungie and 2K Boston? At Ignition, Bettenhausen would get to "choose which games to publish" – in other words, he'd rather be a big fish in a smaller pond. Not a bad plan. Up next from Ignition: Blue Dragon Plus for the DS.

To get the full story straight from Shane himself, tune into the latest Rebel FM podcast at around the one hour 21 minute mark. (Bonus: Listen for Shane's comment that the "rise of blogs – Kotaku and Joystiq – completely reshaped the landscape." Great! Now we can add "landscaper" to the old CV).

You're right, dear Reader. I'm NOT Ross. Why? Because Ross is busy geeketeering with the Engadget crew in Las Vegas. He's probably very tired right now, and I think we should all send him our best wishes and hope he comes back soon ... also, he's on HQ cleaning duty next week, so seriously. Get back here.

• Alexander Sliwinski: Continuing with Prince of Persia. Getting in some Sins if I get the chance. I probably should grab some Fallout 3 time, because the longer I leave that game alone, the harder it is to get back in.
• Christopher Grant: I'll pretend to be interested in other games, but will eventually return to Fable 2 ... just waiting for the Knothole Island DLC to drop. If, by some chance, I can focus on any other game, it will probably be Prince of Persia and/or the last chunk of Mirror's Edge. But, honestly ... Fable 2.
  
• Griffin McElroy: Is stuck "offline" after his trusty 486DX2 finally broke down.
  
• Kevin Kelly: Fell asleep during the Activision press snoozer. Don't worry, someone will kick him out soon.
  
• James Ransom-Wiley: Was planning to plod, co-operatively, through the Gears 2 campaign, until I found out my boy's copy had been ripped from its GameFly sheath before it ever arrived in his mailbox. How you gonna do him like that, USPS?
• Jason Dobson: Sanity be damned, I'm going to finish Prinny for the PSP this weekend. Oh who am I kidding, I'm headed for a padded cell.
  
• Justin McElroy: Is at CES, playing with a Bluetooth-enabled Skype-phone Netbook digital picture frame. It's this year's must-have gadget!
  
• Ludwig Kietzmann: Has already played every game ever made, and will no doubt play through every Q4 release for the third (or fourth!) time, depending on game of course.
  
• Randy Nelson: Everyone's at a trade show! My girlfriend is at -- of all places -- the Detroit Auto Show, so in her absence I'm going to brush up on my Rock Band 2 drumming skills in order to (perhaps) finally stand a chance against her when she gets home. I'll also probably play lots of CoD4. She has great taste in games, but no appetite for hardcore FPSs.
• Ross Miller: I'm playing "how does this freaking DSLR work?" 28 hours in and I've earned just 1 of 20 Achievements so far: Accurately portray the Sony CES keynote for the crazy-awesome awkward mess it was.

If you've been putting off SOCOM: Confrontation until developer Slant Six worked out all the bugs (oh, and added a Quick Match/Party system ... and Trophies), then today's your lucky day, friend. The long anticipated 1.30 update was pushed out early this morning, bringing with it the aforementioned features and fixes. Will it be enough to restore Sony's once-proud franchise to the top of your multiplayer shooter-heap? We won't pretend to know the answer to that, so we'll ask you. Is SOCOM back in action?

Not content with spending your real Earth bucks on a virtual tankini for your Quincy? Considering Sony has reportedly sold "one million dollars worth of virtual goods" through the still-in-beta PlayStation Home service, that would seemingly put you in the (more frugal, smarter) minority, but perhaps you could take out some virtual needle and thread and make your own, according to Develop Magazine.

Revealed in a two-part interview with Home's lead programmer, Mitch Goodwin, news of user-generated content – while far from a revelation – sends the fledgling service even further into Second Life territory. But what about keeping Home a safe place for the family to wait in a line to virtually bowl? Goodwin concedes, "Obviously we're not naive, and we know that with an online service you have to have strict moderation – we don't want the user to be exposed to rubbish." Of course, by "rubbish" he means "flying penises." Also, speaking of being "not naive" – we wouldn't expect user-generated content to be free ... to purchase, or to make.

Source – User-generated content is the 'ultimate goal', says Home team
Source – PS3 and PSP Userbase Climbs Over 61m

Straight outta CES, Sony's offering two videos of its open-world shock-em-up, inFamous. On display here: open-world gameplay, various lightning attacks, and some grating sound effects (bzzt bzzt bzzt!).

What's really got us, though, is this: Sony first revealed Sucker Punch's inFamous in July 2007 at E3, just one month before Sierra (now Activision) took the wraps off of Radical's Prototype, an exceedingly similar concept. It's like when two movie studios, operating totally independently, plan big-budget movies about asteroids colliding with Earth. Just replace "asteroids" with "super-powered dudes" and replace "Earth" with "Empire City" and "New York City" respectively. Just like it.

Continued →

It's true that here at Joystiq, we know everything there is to know about the French joystick industry (c'est magnifique!); however, MTV Multiplayer does not, despite its namesake, know everything there is to know about multiplayer gaming. So, you can imagine their surprise upon learning that Brütal Legend – newly partnered with EA ... Partners – does in fact have a multiplayer component. Well, if you want details, the Game Developers Conference panel description they pulled this factoid from specified it would be "multiplayer" of the "rich" variety but that's all its got.

Of course, being video game experts, we vividly remember every detail of that November 2007 IGN Australia interview with Tim Schafer, wherein he revealed that Double Fine actually "tackled [multiplayer] first and that's how [it] came up with the core gameplay mechanic that [it's] now using in the single player game." Want more details on the multiplayer mechanic? According to Tim "Freaking" Schafer, "It's more focused on ... large battles" – what IGN calls, and Tim confirms, is real "army versus army" stuff.

Wow, we can't believe MTV Multiplayer didn't remember that interview. A classic!

[Via MTV Multiplayer]

Source – The Brutal Art of Brütal Legend GDC listing
Source – Brutal Legend - Tim Schafer AU Interview

Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness
It's almost a no-brainer if you know me: Take the Penny Arcade "universe," send it back in time, turn it into an episodic video game – blending old-school adventure and Final Fantasy-style turn-based RPG mechanics – and then have PA's Jerry Holkins (aka Tycho) handle the writing while adventure-game legend Ron Gilbert pitches in with design. Oh, and then release it on every platform under the sun, including Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Xbox Live Arcade, and PSN. Perfection.

Oh, and the first installment was really great (I'm still working through Episode 2).

Continued →

It's like this: there are two sides to every story (even stories about things with more than two sides, apparently). Take last night's 1UP / UGO situation (UGO-gate? 1UP-ton?). On the surface, that certainly appeared to be a gruesome bloodletting, with the entirety of EGM's staff let go, the magazine shuttered, and much of 1UP's popular media production teams sent packing. That's certainly not good news for any of the affected, including Ziff's community.

But, inversely, it's no secret that EGM and other video game mags (not to mention the entire print journalism industry in general) aren't doing so well – one need only peruse themediaisdying for a moment to get the idea. From UGO's point of view, they weren't laying people off, but hiring 24 new employees and expanding the UGO workforce by 33%. Speaking with MTV Multiplayer, UGO chief J Moses says that "the simple reality is that we only wanted to buy 1UP and related sites" and that "closing EGM has absolutely nothing to do with UGO."

What about all those podcasts and video shows? 1UP's Sam Kennedy – who agrees that UGO is not the bad guy – tells MTV that "the Retronauts podcast will continue" and there are "some possibilities" regarding the future of the 1UP Yours podcast. As for the The 1UP Show video podcast? It's "more up in the air," according to MTV. So, dear readers (and angry 1UP / EGM fans), does this help you understand the situation? Empathize with UGO? Still gwumpy? Sound off in the comments.

We'll be honest: we fell asleep during anatomy class. But we knew our destiny was in video game blogging, not cutting people (and/or frogs) open. The plus side: some extra Zs, preparation for those all-night Skate or Die sessions. The downside: we still don't know what "lungs" are. Oh well ...

But imagine this: Today's youngsters won't even need school anymore! As if hit educational television shows like Grey's Anatomy weren't enough to teach kids all about the human body, ABC has partnered with the game craftsmen at Ubisoft to deliver all of that education in an interactive, video game format. Now, as rumored, high school dropouts can learn all about anatomy on the PC, Wii, or DS platforms in "early 2009" (that's now!).

[Ed: This blogger has never seen Grey's Anatomy and, truthfully, isn't really sure what it's about.]

Look, we know the economy is in shambles; a perambulating corpse, gnawing its way through the hopes and dreams of the global populace ... but this is getting ridiculous. Reports of "drastic cost cuts" at Sony have us really spooked – think not only "factory closures" but also "the abolition of several major divisions," according to the Times of London. (In response to the report, Sony told Reuters, "We don't have any such plan.")

While there's no mention of specifics (will the PlayStation brand/division be affected?), the Times does quote a Credit Suisse analyst who says that, unless Sony takes aggressive steps to consolidate power in the hands of prez Howard Stringer – it will be unable to "close the gap with competitors such as Apple and Nintendo." Perhaps more evident to those of us watching the gaming industry specifically is the mention of "frustrations ... and a clear internal cultural clash between Japanese Sony and its US and European operations." We thought Kaz was going to bring some of that good, ol-fashioned American can-do attitude to Japan back in ought-six? Nevertheless, we want to talk to the investors directly:

Listen guys, we know Sony's got some problems. We know that. But you've got to just chill out and relax – chillax even – and wait until the Big S shows off whatever Team ICO's got in the oven. Not buying it? How about this: Microsoft is feeling the economic pinch also, but the grapevine seems to think the Xbox division will be spared. Nintendo isn't the only competition out there, you know?

[We've got our winner! Congrats to snake and thanks for entering, everyone!]

Just like you, we get all sorts of gifts around the holidays here at Joystiq HQ. Probably unlike you, we don't keep any of them (even the good ones!). With that in mind, we've got five days of regift giveaways planned, where you get some free stuff (and we get some of our HQ real estate back).

Today, we're offering up this silver PSP-3000 Ratchet & Clank Entertainment Pack. Why do they call it the PSP-300 Ratchet & Clank Entertainment Pack? Well, it's tricky ... but we're professionals, so here goes. First, it contains a PSP-3000. Not a 1000 (they don't even make those anymore!) or a 2000, but an honestogoodness PSP-3000 ("better" screen and all). The Ratchet & Clank part? Well, it comes with Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters on UMD, so pretty self explanatory there. But the Entertainment part, yes ... this is a bit tougher. First, a copy of National Treasure 2 on UMD and nothing screams "entertainment" like Nicholas Cage tracking down history. Next, a download code for Echochrome, and a 1GB Memory Stick to hold it – if bending your mind sounds like a good time, this has your name all over it.

Here's how you win:

• Leave a comment pondering what new features the inevitable PSP-4000 will introduce (internal memory!).
  
• You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec)
  
• Limit 1 entry per person
• This entry period ends at 8:30 pm ET on Monday, January 5th. We'll randomly select 1 winner at that time to receive a Silver PSP-3000 Limited Edition Ratchet and Clank Entertainment Pack (ARV: $200). Please check your e-mail!
• For a list of complete rules, click here

[We've got our winner! MooseMuffin wins our Game of the Year. Thanks for entering, everyone!]

Just like you, we get all sorts of gifts around the holidays here at Joystiq HQ. Probably unlike you, we don't keep any of them (even the good ones!). With that in mind, we've got five days of regift giveaways planned, where you get some free stuff (and we get some of our HQ real estate back).

Today, in celebration of our look at the best games of 2008, we're offering up a copy of Fable 2 (Limited Edition of course, not that that nets you much). Haven't had a chance to explore Lionhead's second tour of Albion? Now's your chance!

Here's how you win:

• Leave a comment telling precisely how wrong we are about Fable 2.
  
• You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec)
  
• Limit 1 entry per person
• This entry period ends at 8:30 pm ET on Friday, January 2nd. We'll randomly select 1 winner at that time to receive Fable 2: Limited Edition (ARV: $70.00). Please check your e-mail!
• For a list of complete rules, click here

In many ways, Peter Molyneux and friends at Lionhead had a steeper hill to climb than most of the games on this list. Fable 2 is, after all, the sequel to 2004's Fable – one of gaming's great "disappointments." It went something like this: the delta between what was promised and what was delivered was so great, that the press – roped in by the charming Molyneux – and by proxy the players, retaliated. The result: what really wasn't a terrible game is still now, years later, remembered as a disappointment.

Enter: Fable 2. Like Nintendo's illustrious Zelda series, Fable 2 is more of an aesthetic, as opposed to a narrative, sequel. You'll spot familiar gameplay elements, familiar narrative themes, and even some familiar places – this is definitely a Fable game. But it's also something entirely new: a new Albion, with a new Hero, new quests, a new enemy and, most importantly, the newfound ability to marry execution with ambition.

Continued →