LucasArts have been curiously posting old concept art revisions on a Facebook page dedicated to the forthcoming Monkey Island 2: Special Edition. Four scrapped versions of your favourite leading man, Guybrush Threepwood, have appeared so far:
My question is, which of these discarded Guybrushes would have been your favourite?
For a completely different type of comparison, you can check out our earlier post that juxtaposes old and new cover artwork from the game.
Together with EA and Epic Games, the Polish Painkiller developers People Can Fly are certainly doing their darndest to specifically target us connoisseurs with their latest Unreal Engine 3 game, Bulletstorm.
How, exactly, you may ask? Glancing over older press releases (frantic, adrenaline fueled, immersive) for Painkiller, the lingo has been amped up several notches: Symphony, carnage, blockbuster, unadulterated, entertainment, arsenal, outrageously, unprecedented, frantic, yell-inducing, inciting, mayhem, insane, execute, exaggerated, excited, onslaught, cutting-edge. 1)http://news.ea.com/portal/site/ea/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20100412006088&newsLang=en
(Only missing the good ol’ slobberknocker and barnburner, in other words.)
Good thing, then, that the just-released debut trailer below should back up some of that smack, too:
Below, a list of excerpts and examples of the aforementioned jargon in action:
While Wolfire & co. have been shoving it to the mainstream in a slightly different manner, People Can Fly seem to be aiming to counter the current established shooter paradigm in ways that are reminiscent of the Death of Glam Metal!
The question remains, then – which side of the fence is glam metal on, exactly, and what about the Death of Grunge? According to Joystiq, EA have slated Bulletstorm for Q1 2011.
P.S.
Ulysses?
References
The shroud has been lifted from 2K Marin’s new first-person shooter, the re-imagined XCOM. Several magazines hitting the shelves this month contain the first details and screenshots. PC Gamer’s article briefly surfaced online courtesy of Games Radar, but has mysteriously disappeared since. The damage has been done, though, the details are out.
You play as FBI agent William Carter, tasked with combating an invasion of alien forces on idyllic 1950’s America. The tranquil and perfect suburbia setting is only a cardboard-thin façade that is set to be torn apart in the brutal destruction to come.
It’s a world where people feel comfortable and everything is optimistic, they feel that there is a great future ahead.
– Jonathan Pelling
The screenshots are raw and unpolished, and the game is obviously still early in development. But already the distinctive style of the era is starting to come together in the art direction.
Valve’s Quintin Doroquez has just released the following crucial information to all those clamouring for the forthcoming revised version of Counter-Strike:
Phase 1 of the Counter-Strike: Source beta has opened at cyber cafes that subscribe to the Valve Cyber Café Program. A full listing of those venues can be found here: http://www.steampowered.com/?area=cafe_directory
Later this month, the beta will be extended to owners of Counter-Strike: Condition Zero and ATI\Half-Life 2 video card bundle owners. 1)http://store.steampowered.com/news/42/
Wait, wai-… wait a minute! Nearly got sucked into a bloody time warp there – that particular press bit’s actually way back from 2004. Believe it or not, after so many years of failed updates and broken netcode, Valve have honestly, really, truly scraped together a new batch of features to the game in conjunction with Hidden Path Studios. Broadly, here’s what the “limited beta” image above is about:
Before these changes are rolled over to the general population, you can sign up for the beta here. Steam is coughing and sputtering as is common with all major releases, so you might have to wait for your turn a bit.
Update: Whoops, the limited beta filled up already. That was quick.
References
You already know the deal. The sale is coming to its end and you now have exactly one day left to purchase (…more copies of…) the “Humble Indie Bundle”:
Somehow missed the bundle altogether?
Notably, for the duration of the campaign, Frictional Games are also offering the remaining two Penumbra games, Black Plague and Requiem, at a 75% discount. Furthermore, you can also preorder their forthcoming project, Amnesia: The Dark Descent, at 50% off (a great idea – the team will produce additional content if 2000 preorders are made before the 31st; the meter currently sits at an even 1900):
While you’re at it – and even if you’re not buying the bundle – please also remember to subscribe to Wolfire and Frictional Games’ development blogs; they contain what can only be described as a cornucopia of information, both intriguing and useful, for indie game fans and developers alike.