Poor Harley Quinn. First the Joker breaks her mind, and then The Batman breaks her heart. It’s nice to see that she’s not wallowing in self-pity, though, and that she’s got the initiative to get back out in the world and make a name for herself. Granted, she’s using homicide to do so, but still, good for her.

This latest trailer for Ms. Quinzel’s starring role as an Arkham City DLC antagonist gives us a look at the various brow beatings Batman and Robin will dispense to the citizenry of Gotham’s beating lunatic heart, as well as somewhat unsettling introduction from the man in white himself.

Harley Quinn is still really upset in the latest Arkham City DLC trailer originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 18 May 2012 04:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Double Fine’s Ron Gilbert isn’t content with random websites leaking his own studio’s work: he’ll leak his own stuff, thank you very much. Gilbert posted the above two photos on Grumpy Gamer, his personal game industry blog.

His first post was a link to the monk. Apparently, no, it’s not fanart for Diablo 3, unless developer JP LeBreton, who tweeted he’d been working on the related Monk link for nine months, has a lot of down time at Double Fine.

Gilbert later posted the hillbilly, a character we recognize from the puzzle Double Fine sent the press last week as an announcement of a new, spooky-tinged title. Now the age-old question returns: What do a monk and a hillbilly have in common? Besides mystery, of course.

This monk is suspicious of this hillbilly, only Double Fine knows why originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 18 May 2012 02:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A new Indie Royale bundle featuring Osmos, B.U.T.T.O.N., The Shivah and Blueberry Garden has debuted. Unlike past bundles, all of the proceeds from this one don’t go to the developers – proceeds go to charities chosen by the developers.

In addition to the games, the All-Charity Lightning Pack also tosses in a trio of chiptunes albums should you pony up $7 or more: Level by Disasterpeace, IN1ep by 6955, and FX4 by Jake “virt” Kaufman. Cruise past the break for some video previews of all four games.

Continue reading Latest Indie Royale bundle is the All-Charity Lightning Pack

Latest Indie Royale bundle is the All-Charity Lightning Pack originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 17 May 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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38 Studios is making up its missed loan payment, but apparently at the expense of its employees. According to Providence, Rhode Island-based news outlet WPRI, the Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning developer is submitting a $1.125 million loan payment it missed, but told the state’s Economic Development Corporation that it was unable to pay its employees as scheduled.

This was one Reckoning 38 Studios was unprepared for.

The debt in question dates back to 2010, when the EDC secured a controversial $75 million in loans to entice 38 Studios–founded by former Major League Baseball pitcher Curt Schilling–to relocate from Massachusetts to the Ocean State. According to the WPRI report, 38 Studios employed 379 employees full-time as of mid-March.

The EDC board yesterday held an emergency meeting to discuss whether to provide additional assistance to 38 Studios to keep the company in business. While the board made no ruling on the matter, it is expected to consider the topic again on Monday. 38 Studios employees aren’t the only ones being hurt by the company’s situation. Yesterday, EDC executive director Keith Stokes, who helped structure the $75 million loan, resigned from his post.

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is the first title from 38 Studios. Designed with the help of R.A. Salvatore, Todd McFarlane, and Ken Rolston, the action role-playing game received a positive critical reception upon release in February and sold 330,000 copies in the United States across the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC, according to NPD data. Additionally, a sequel is in the works.

As of press time, a 38 Studios representative had not responded to a request for comment.

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Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

Far Cry 3 doesn’t come out until September 4, but eager gamers can get a taste of Ubisoft’s upcoming first-person shooter a little early. The publisher today announced that it will hold a two-week-long multiplayer beta this summer, with specialty retailer GameStop giving away invites to customers who buy Ghost Recon: Future Soldier.

Do not trust this man. He is not a GameStop employee and will not assure you a copy of Far Cry 3 when it launches in September.

There is a catch, as customers will need to be enrolled in GameStop’s PowerUp Rewards customer loyalty program in order to receive the invite. When they purchase Ghost Recon on its May 22 launch, PowerUp members will be given a code to redeem at a GameStop website. On that site, players choose whether they want to be in the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 beta test, and they will receive the actual code via email once the beta goes live. Ubisoft will also be giving codes out through its social channels and the game’s official site.

The Far Cry 3 beta will include six playable classes, as well as multiple maps and modes. Players will be able to upgrade and customize their characters, as well as get a feel for how the game’s zip lines and combat sliding mechanics will impact multiplayer.

Far Cry 3 will cast players as Jason Brody, a man stranded on a strange tropical island similar to the setting of the first Far Cry. Gamers will head out into this “savage paradise” and “slash, sneak, and shoot” to survive in a world that has “lost all sense of morality.”

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The story behind The Witcher 2 is almost as epic as the plot of the hugely successful RPG itself – a tale of how an independent Polish studio created one of the most technologically advanced PC games in existence and then somehow converted it across to the Xbox 360, retaining and indeed adding to the original gameplay and bringing across the vast majority of the game’s phenomenal visuals.

However, the tale really begins during the development of game’s predecessor – CD Projekt RED’s debut outing for super-powered monster-slayer Geralt of Rivia. In producing this new RPG, the studio turned to an existing engine to provide the technological underpinnings – BioWare’s Aurora – but as development continued, it became clear that while accomplished enough in its own right, the bought-in platform wasn’t entirely the right fit for the team.

“Aurora is a great engine, well-suited to BioWare-like RPGs. The thing is, in many aspects, The Witcher isn’t like any BioWare game. The differences forced us to make significant changes to the engine,” says CD Projekt RED lead gameplay programmer Tomek Wojcik.

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