A PAX East attendee was arrested on Sunday after attempting to steal code for Atomic Games’ upcoming Live Arcade title Breach, according to a report from Joystiq.
According to a representative from the studio, the thief connected his laptop computer to one of the company’s Xbox 360 units and, utilizing software often used for piracy, began downloading a build of the game. When caught, the thief reportedly ran into a crowd before being apprehended.
The chances of Washington Wizards star Gilbert Arenas making the roster for the upcoming NBA Jam are looking increasingly bleak. After hinting that he might appear in future updates for the WiiWare title, Electronic Arts has backtracked and said that they can’t commit to updates for the title.
The comments made to the Sporting News jive with the relative lack of updates released for WiiWare titles. Electronic Arts had previously attributed his absence to “production deadlines and Gilbert’s current inactive status,” but said that it would be monitoring the situation and suggested that it could update the title in the future.
Arenas was originally suspended for storing unlicensed guns in his locker room and later mockingly “shooting” his teammates during a pre-game ceremony. He was recently sentenced to probation for carrying an unlicensed pistol in violation of Washington D.C.’s gun control laws.
With the iPad nearly upon us, high-definition versions of popular iPhone and iPod Touch are steadily emerging. The latest is Words with Friends HD, which is similar to the popular Facebook game Scrabulous (now Lexulous).
Words with Friends makes it possible to run multiple games at once and chat with friends while playing. The new version looks to be much the same as the iPhone game, but with enhanced visuals suitable for the iPad’s large display (via GamePro).
Words with Friends HD is one of a number of games that are rumored to be in the works for the device. Appannie recently posted images of what appears to be the iPad App Store’s front-end, complete with a list of software for the device.
Of all the places in the universe to find something resembling Pac-Man, the surface of one of Saturn’s moons probably isn’t particularly high on the list. Beyond a crater on the moon Mimas that causes it to resemble the Death Star, NASA has noticed that the crater — combined with a peculiar infrared temperature reading — makes the moon look very much like the dot-eating protagonist of the Pac-Man games doing what he does best.
When conducting the infrared scan, scientists expected “smoothly varying temperatures peaking in the early afternoon near the equator” on the surface of Mimas. Instead, what they found was what you see above, leading a NASA press release (via The Great Beyond) to even describe the temperature readings as being “along one edge of the moon’s disk, making a sharply defined Pac-Man shape.” While scientists can explain the higher temperature readings in the crater, the overall result has left them “baffled.”
But that doesn’t mean that they’re without any theories. John Spencer, a team member working on the infrared readings that the NASA spacecraft provided, said in the press release, “We suspect the temperatures are revealing differences in texture on the surface,” adding, “It’s maybe something like the difference between old, dense snow and freshly fallen powder.”
The run-up to the summer release schedule has brought us some new gameplay video from one of Nintendo’s biggest releases. A new Metroid: Other M trailer has been released, starring Samus as she battles aliens from first, third and 2.5D perspectives.
While much of the footage appears to be new, the details should be relatively familiar to those who have been following the latest updates on the upcoming title. Metroid: Other M is notable for its use of multiple perspectives as well as its increased emphasis on the narrative.
Though also known and beloved for its work on the Geometry Wars franchise, Bizarre Creations primarily made its name over the last decade with the sim-leaning (but still arcade-oriented) Project Gotham Racing series for Microsoft. Now under the wings of Activision, the studio is just a couple months away from finally releasing its newest take on the racing genre, Blur, a high-impact, weapons-based title with a strong emphasis on social gaming.
At a recent event to check out the game’s multiplayer modes prior to the just-launched online beta test, we had an opportunity to speak with lead designers Ged Talbot and Gareth Wilson in separate interviews to discover what factors led to Blur’s creation, the importance of the beta, and what the future might hold for the Liverpool, England-based studio.
The Four Horsemen will soon be riding onto other platforms. THQ has announced a PC version for Darksiders, which was originally released for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in January.
“We are really excited to have the opportunity to bring Darksiders to the global PC audience,” said Vigil’s David Adams. “We are working really hard to make sure that key features such as user-defined resolutions, interface and both keyboard and game pad control sets are all up to the standards for today’s discerning PC consumer.”
The original game was an action-adventure title that was often noted for its mixture of elements from God of War and The Legend of Zelda. It stars War in his hunt for those responsible for giving the Apocalypse an early start.
There’s just over a month left before the Halo: Reach public beta begins, so more and more details are being divulged by Bungie with each passing week. On the newest episode of the Bungie podcast, multiplayer designer Chris Carney and sandbox lead Sage Merrill answered a wide variety of fan-submitted questions, revealing a lot of new information in the process. It’s a good listen whether you’re simply looking to hear something new about Reach or even if you’re not fully caught up on everything that Bungie has made public.
Fall damage is making a return to Halo multiplayer in Reach, along with the accompanying stun that long time Halo fans will be accustomed to. There will be ways to mitigate the damage you receive as the result of a high fall, but it was made clear that you’d need to be “trying to hurt yourself” in order to actually suffer any fall damage — don’t expect to die by jumping out of a second-story window.
The ability to play as an elite is returning to multiplayer, as we already know, but now we also know how Bungie will compensate for the Elite’s larger model: Their shields and health will be able to sustain more damage. This won’t turn Elites into a juggernaut by any stretch, though it should level the playing field for people who opt to play as those big-headed aliens. In order to ensure that no one has an advantage one way or the other, Arena mode won’t allow players to choose between playing as a Spartan or Elite. In the public beta, Spartans will be the only choice when playing Arena, whereas there is a possibility that there will also be an all-Elite Arena mode when Reach is released.
The above image is one of two that have been circulating around the internet this morning alleging to be the first snapshots of a long-rumored “slim” revision to the Xbox 360 console.
The photos originated from a Dutch gaming site called Gamekings, who claim (via Google Translate) that the images come from the site’s “network of knowledgeable insiders.”
Time: Tuesday, March 30, 2010, 5 p.m. PST
Location: Watch the embedded video player above.
Last year, I invited Northern California tournament players to join me for an informative and fun session of Street Fighter 4. We had fun answering questions from the community, and tried not to suck in front of the camera. This time, on the next Game Night, they return for another round of Super Street Fighter 4. Plus, Capcom’s Seth Killain will join us on the couch. Here’s your chance to ask your question about Super Street Fighter 4 including the changes made to gameplay, the new characters, and the nerfs and buffs. Leave a question in the Fighting game meet-up thread on the 1UP boards, and we’ll try our best to answer them.