Some Q&A to go along with their new look and logo for the website and game respectively:

1. Will we be required to eat/drink in the game? i.e. If I don’t drink in the desert will I die of thirst?

I realize this has been answered previously, but we hadn’t said anything on it for awhile so I wanted folks to know nothing had changed. You do not have to eat, but your Health and Stamina recovery without a food or drink buff is pretty rough.

2. Will I be able to swim on top of the water, and/or dive under the surface of the water? If yes, can I use a weapon while swimming? Melee or Ranged or both?

Click here to find out the answer

Portion of the Austin 360 article:

On Monday, the first day of the Austin Game Developers Conference, I kept wondering, “How many of these people registered before the recent Austin game company layoffs?”

Bad news at NCSoft and Midway Austin notwithstanding, GDC so far feels like a gathering for an industry that’s still expanding despite the current national economic panic. Merrill Lynch sold? Sorry, we’re busy creating a playable demo for our Xbox 360 game.

Click here to read more

Nintendo will be giving Six Flags Patrons a chance to try out the new Wii game, Wario Land: Shake It!, and two locations are right here in Texas! They are:

* Six Flags Over Texas (Arlington, Texas) – 9/27-28, 10/4-5, 10/11-12
* Six Flags Fiesta Texas (San Antonio, Texas) – 10/4-5, 10/11-12

The details after the break!

REDMOND, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Nintendo and its favorite antagonist, Wario™, have teamed up with Six Flags to take over 10 theme parks throughout the country this September. In celebration of the release of Wario Land™: Shake It!, the new game for the Wii™ console, Nintendo will be giving park guests the opportunity to check out the game and win prizes.

Wario Land: Shake It! plays like a classic side-scroller, but incorporates motion-controlled elements: Players shake the Wii Remote™ controller to help Wario shake down enemies for coins or tilt it to help him decide where to toss them. The game launches exclusively for Wii on Sept. 22

“Wario Land: Shake It! is a game that everyone from veterans to newcomers can enjoy,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “Partnering with Six Flags to bring the title to theme parks nationwide is a great opportunity for consumers to experience the game and rediscover the franchise at a place that is designed for fun.”

As part of the theme park takeover, Wario Land: Shake It! game-play interactives will be available at the 10 Six Flags parks’ Wii Experience areas to allow Wario fans and park guests the chance to experience the game first-hand and reconnect with the long-running Wario franchise.<

In addition, on Sept. 27, Nintendo will host a competition at two Six Flags locations: Six Flags Magic Mountain near Los Angeles and Six Flags St. Louis. Running concurrently at both parks, competitors will play through a level in Wario Land: Shake It! as fast as they can, just as Wario must race through various levels in the game. At the end of the competition, the player with the best overall time will be Nintendo’s guest on a holiday trip to New York and a visit to the Nintendo World store. In addition, one person at each park with the best overall time will win a “Bottomless Coin Sack” containing:

* a Wii system and a copy of Wario Land: Shake It!
* a Nintendo DS™ system
* a gift certificate for Six Flags merchandise
* fun premium items

Remember that Wii features parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other Wii features, visit Wii.com.

For more information about Wario Land: Shake It!, visit www.WarioLandShakeIt.com.

Participating Parks and dates include:

* Six Flags Great Adventure (Jackson, N.J.) – 9/27-28, 10/4-5, 10/11-12
* Six Flags Magic Mountain (Valencia, Calif.) – 9/27-28, 10/4-5, 10/11-12
* Six Flags Great America (Gurnee, Ill.) – 10/4-5, 10/11-12
* Six Flags Over Texas (Arlington, Texas) – 9/27-28, 10/4-5, 10/11-12
* Six Flags Over Georgia (Austell, Ga.) – 9/27-28, 10/4-5, 10/11-12
* Six Flags Fiesta Texas (San Antonio, Texas) – 10/4-5, 10/11-12
* Six Flags New England (Agawam, Mass.) – 9/27-28, 10/4-5, 10/11-12
* Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (Vallejo, Calif.) – 9/27-28, 10/4-5, 10/11-12
* Six Flags America (Bowie, Md.) – 10/4-5, 10/11-12
* Six Flags St. Louis (Eureka, Mo.) – 9/27-28, 10/4-5, 10/11-12

Armature's Building in Austin

EA announced today that they have reached a publishing deal with Armature Studio, established by Mark Pacini, Todd Keller and Jack Mathew who all worked on the Metroid Prime series. The deal allows the company to work on games for the PS3, Xbox 360, as well as Nintendo consoles, allowing the devs to flew their muscles on systems not made by Nintendo. Kotaku has more details, so go check it out. I have also added Armature to the side bar links.

Read interview with Kotaku here

Note: Picture is NOT me.

Think you can rock out with your plastic guitar out? Then GameStop wants you! The Grapevine, TX-based company is looking for the “Ultimate Guitar Hero” in its latest contest. Details after the break

GRAPEVINE, Texas – (Business Wire) Can you rock out like Aerosmith or Pat Benatar? Are you a master of Star Power? Does your family jam with the best of them? If so, forget American Idol, Making the Band and America’s Got Talent, GameStop (NYSE:GME), the world’s largest video game and entertainment software retailer, today announced its Ultimate Guitar Hero Contest in search of the best video game rockers.

From now until October 10, 2008, Guitar Hero fans are encouraged to visit www.GameStop.com/UltimateGuitarHero to submit a photo and a brief description (300 words or less) of why they should be crowned champion. Held in anticipation of the Guitar Hero®: World Tour release by Activision on October 26, 2008, GameStop is looking to identify the Ultimate Guitar Heroes in each of following three categories:

* Families Who Rock!
* Moms with Star Power!
* Guitar Gods and Goddesses!

“Guitar Hero has become such a pop culture phenomenon with everyone from age six to 60 picking up guitars to play,” said Bob McKenzie, Senior Vice President of Merchandising for GameStop. “As this trend continues and more and more people are playing music-based video games, we’re looking forward to giving a little star power to the players and a bit of recognition for their talents.”

Grand prize winners will be announced prior to the October 26th launch of Guitar Hero®: World Tour. The total prize package for the Ultimate Guitar Hero Contest is valued at $5,000 and will be distributed as follows:
– Three (3) Grand Prizes (each valued at over $1,000):
– Families Who Rock! – Six free day passes to SixFlags Theme Parks and a $500 gas card and a copy of Guitar Hero(R): World Tour Band Kit
– Moms with Star Power! – A $1,000 gift card for the “star” treatment at Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spas and a copy of Guitar Hero(R): World Tour Band Kit

– Guitar Gods and Goddesses! – $200 annual subscription for guitar lessons from GuitarSchool.net, a $800 gift card to GuitarCenter.com and a copy of Guitar Hero(R): World Tour Band Kit
– Four (4) First Prizes: Copy of Guitar Hero(R): World Tour Band Kit and a $50 gift card to GameStop

General contest entry, and a chance to be entered into a sweepstakes to win one of two (2) copies of Guitar Hero®: World Tour Band Kit, is also available online. For additional details and to obtain a list of official rules, visit a local GameStop retail location or www.GameStop.com/UltimateGuitarHero.

DC Comic writer Geoff Johns has been penned for SOE’s DC Universe, giving me more confidence in the project! Press Release with more details after the break.

AUSTIN, Texas – Sept. 15, 2008 – Geoff Johns, the renowned writer behind popular DC Comics such as Green Lantern, Action Comics and Justice Society of America, has been brought on to write the saga of the DC Universe(TM) Online (DCUO) massively multiplayer action game from Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE) in a first-ever collaboration with legendary comic artist Jim Lee, the company announced today.

DCUO for the PLAYSTATION(R) 3 computer entertainment system and the PC is currently in development by SOE in collaboration with DC Comics and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.

“Having a writer of Geoff’s caliber brings even more authenticity to the DC Universe Online, and should provide fans with an exciting new medium for his storytelling skills,” said John Blakely, SOE-Austin’s VP of Development. “Together with Jim Lee, who is our executive creative director for the game, we are tapping into the very best talent from the comic book industry.”

Johns, 35, was born in Detroit and studied media arts, screenwriting, film production and theory at Michigan State University. After moving to Los Angeles, he worked as an intern and later an assistant for film director Richard Donner, whose credits include Superman: The Movie, Lethal Weapon 4 and Conspiracy Theory.

Johns began writing comics starting with 1999’s Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E., which he created for DC Comics. Comic writing eventually became his full-time career with notable works including The Flash, Teen Titans, 52, Action Comics, and Infinite Crisis.

“Taking comic books into the online space presents an exciting and unique opportunity for me as a writer,” said Johns. “I’m looking forward to creating a thrilling story that explains why the DC Universe has suddenly been populated with millions of new heroes and villains in a way that will engage players.”

“We’ve brainstormed about the DC Universe many times but this will be our first time working together on something of this magnitude,” added Jim Lee. “This really shows the level of commitment everyone on this project has to capturing the DC Universe in an authentic, compelling way.”

DCUO offers a dramatic online setting where players can enter the DC Universe and battle alongside or against their favorite DC Comics heroes and villains including such icons as Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and The Joker, as well as many other fan favorites such as Green Lantern, The Flash, Catwoman and Martian Manhunter. The action and drama will play out in such well-known locations as Gotham City and Metropolis among others.

Press Release, via   Comic Book Resources

With the news of Duke Nukem 3D’s releaste date hitting us a few days ago, 3D Realms have also released this trailer, which can be seen above, or downloaded from their website. The game looks to be sticking to its roots pretty well, and I love the ratio border.

Remember, Duke Nukem 3D comes out September 24th on Xbox Live Arcade.

Click here to download the trailer

So you walk into Fry’s and wonder “Which of these video game systems is for me?”  Well, this article aims to help…but not really.

This is a fun little post that looks at how all three consoles stack together and what kind of people they are meant for. Here’s an excerpt:

As it stands, the 7th generation console war is still ongoing.  Though it would be unfair to place all three popular consoles side to side for a comparison, many continue to do so for reasons completely lost upon me.  It certainly doesn’t help that countless so-called market analysts continue comparing Microsoft’s Xbox 360, Sony’s PlayStation 3, and the well-received Nintendo Wii in their seemingly weekly articles, poorly predicting the next big thing in video gaming.

Read the article here

I know, it seems like we’re on a RedFly high today! I was checking out the blog for RedFly Studios (it’s on the sidebar, after all) and read a very interesting article about Mushroom Men: Spore Wars. It seems that a site called “AlabamaMycologist” has experts that picked out inaccuracies within the game’s portrayal of Mushrooms. For example, the hero of the game, Pax, is considered a “bolete mushroom”, but he has been given gills rather than the tubes this type of mushroom realistically has.

The reason for this? According to the blog, it’s  “a lot more visual fun than the tiny, spongy surface on the underside of an actual Boletus mushroom cap.”

Pretty neat if you ask me!

Link

With Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars coming out in a few short months, sites are starting to get some hands-on time and impressions of the game. Let’s cross our fingers that one day RedFly Studios will grace this fellow Texan a chance to meet and greet!

Kotaku.com has a write-up about the game, and how their perception of it has changed:

I never really took notice of Mushroom Men until I saw the announcement stating bassist Les Claypool would be providing music tracks for the game. I was intrigued to say the least, and I finally got a chance to get some hands-on time with it over the weekend. Lead Programmer James Clarendon of Red Fly Studios was also on hand to talk a bit about the development process. The main point he hammered home to me was how much this game was intent on bringing back the hardcore Wii audience.

Read the article here