Q&A: Sony's Harvard Bonin talks Starhawk's closed-beta experience, teases future DLC plans

With the Starhawk closed-beta concluded, I wanted to catch up with senior producer Harvard Bonin to see how the past few months have treated the game. While I was able to learn a great deal about the community's involvement with the bug-squashing process, Bonin also teased what the team at Lightbox Interactive have in store for post-launch support.

RespawnAction: Overall, how would you describe how Starhawk's closed-beta went?

Harvard Bonin: From our team standpoint, it had a ton of highs mixed with a few lows. I'm happy to say we were more successful than not when it came to proving out the game. Overall, the fun factor seems to be there and players are responding positively. I can say from a personal experience that I had a few late, great nights playing with the fans. We collected a gigantic amount of data and with that we were able to make frequent (often daily) updates to the beta. It was really done the way betas should be done, and we're proud of that. We're running surveys now at http://www.lightboxinteractive.com/starhawk-beta-survey-1. We ask players to answer some questions and really participate in game making.

We also had private forums for players and we got a ton of info from that. Overall, we had some freezes, crashes, balance issues, etc. There was nothing that wasn't surprising and we've been able to address a lot of this stuff. Our public beta starts soon and the next 1.2 update will fix even more. We realize players want more vehicles, structures, maps, etc. to play with, however, we are testing the game and we're getting plenty just from the content we have right now. We'll see what we add in the future.

We'll have a community page up down the road, but in the meantime if players want to participate with the team on a daily basis, visit https://www.facebook.com/#!/StarhawkTheGame.

Gotham City Impostors delayed until February

Warner Bros. just announced that Gotham City Impostors, the Batman-themed first-person shooter, will now launch digitally on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC this February. No reason was given for moving the date from the intended January 10, though the game is currently in beta, so we can only assume that a few more kinks need to be worked out.

If you are unaware, Impostors has up to twelve players battling it out over control of "an unhinged Gotham City overrun by Impostors." These impostors are based off the likes of Batman and Joker, as seen above. I haven't kept up with the game until now, though a spin like this certainly freshens up a seemingly militaristic genre.

Activision to release Call of Duty DLC every few weeks

As we noted last year, Modern Warfare 3 is aiming to release downloadable content in the form of both multiplayer map packs and Spec-Ops content. This is said to span a total of twenty add-ons (the first of which comes out this month), and Activision's Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg tells Wired that the company plans on releasing downloadable content every few weeks.

"The idea of giving people constant incremental playable content and making it so you're never more than a few weeks away from the next new experience within the Call of Duty universe is part of what we're experimenting with," Hirshberg said.

However, DLC released more frequently could mean smaller portions served: "One of the things that was most appealing when we were researching these ideas with consumers is the idea of breaking up the DLC so that it comes more often and more regularly. We want to provide DLC to people more often and also experiment with more of a variety in the forms of playable content."

We've seen in the past that smaller map packs can work, such as Killzone 2 and 3's add-ons, which contained a couple of maps at under $5. However, releasing a $5 pack every few weeks adds up to the non-ELITE member, so we shall see.

Those expecting Half-Life 3 are "being trolled," says Valve

There have been a lot of clues recently pointing in the direction of a possible Half-Life 3 release this March, and obviously everyone is crazed about it. Well, you shouldn't be, as Valve writer Chet Faliszek confirms, "You are being trolled."

"I just want to say this so there is no confusion," says Faliszek. "This is the community trolling the community, nothing more. While it is nice to see people excited about anything HL, I hate seeing people be trolled like this."

There is also no ARG, Faliszek adds, or any official clue that concludes the pending release of the long-awaited sequel in the beloved series. However, conspiracists will say this is Valve performing a cover-up, and that Half-Life 3 is real! Will it ever end?!

Borderlands 2 Gunzerker detailed, sounds awesome

The Gunzerker class was one of the first things we saw when Gearbox Software officially unveiled Borderlands 2 earlier this year, and today we learn just a bit more about the dual-wielding powerhouse.

As many may have already expected, The Gunzerker's dual-wielding mechanic is his unique ability, and as such can only be done for a short period of time, akin to the powers found in the original game. However, after learning about the class' three skill trees, there's plenty on offer to make the timed dual-wielding experience much more deadly.

The Gunzerker's first skill tree, Rampage, acts as a buff to the character, granting more damage to the dual-wielding act. The "Yippe Ki Yay" skill, for example, allows the player to have more time in the Gunzerker mode for each kill acquired, effectively making large groups of enemies a breeze to overcome.

Those who tend to play in groups ought to go for The Brawn skill tree, which has skills like "Come at me, bro." Similar to the tank class in MMOs, this enacts a taunt that will have the enemies attack you first and foremost, which in turn allows your team to lay waste from behind or afar. 

Gun Lust, the last skill tree, is all about even more buffs and abilities. "No Kill like Overkill," for example, converts any extra damage done to an enemy to health regeneration for you. So when an enemy is near death, swapping to a weapon more powerful than the one equipped will deal extra damage, which then goes to your own health bar.

But wait, that's not all. Combining the perks of "Money Shot", which makes the last bullet of each clip more powerful, with the aforementioned "No Kill like Overkill," will produce deadly and healthy results.

Grenade tossing while in Gunzerker mode will chuck two grenades, though the second doesn't deduct from the ammo count. Combining that with grenade-spamming mods makes clearing a room become a "boom, boom, boom, boom, boom" experience, according to lead writer Anthony Burch. 

New to Gears of War? There's an Online Mode for You

If you have never fought the Locust horde before yet are interested in Gears of War 3, don't fret--GameInformer found out that Epic Games is adding a "Casual" multiplayer mode that will only feature those who are new to the series. How? By looking through your Achievement list; those who have achievements from either of the first two Gears games or even participated in the beta are not eligible for this playlist.

To make things even more "newbie-friendly," "Casual" mode will also have aim assist.

Sounds pretty good to me, as this will hopefully turn more people onto the game.

[Destructoid]

GoldenEye 007: Reloaded is Real--Heading to Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 this fall

The aforementioned GoldenEye domain names have now come with a final result; GoldenEye 007: Reloaded is real and will be shipping this fall, in HD, for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

The game will ship with a new challenge mode dubbed "Mi6 Ops Missions", and will feature levels that differ from the original campaign and offer players a series of objectives, including Assault, Elimination, Stealth and Defense.

Oh, multiplayer has been scrapped from the game...

...tee hee...

16-player online support and 4-player split-screen will also be packaged in with Reloaded, bringing you classic GoldenEye gameplay in glorious HD!

Check out more of GoldenEye 007: Reloaded here.

via Destructoid

Modern Warfare 3 Multiplayer Harkens back to Call of Duty 4; Less Emphasis on Air Support, more "Gun-on-Gun Gameplay"

Screen of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare multiplayer

This week in New York City, Infinity Ward's Creative Strategist Robert Bowling revealed some interesting information to Kotaku regarding the multiplayer gameplay of Modern Warfare 3. In short, Mr. Bowling proclaimed that Modern Warfare 3's multiplayer will feel more like 2007's Call of Duty 4, and less like 2009's Modern Warfare 2.

Yeah, I think we can all agree that's a good thing.

There will be less reliance on camping in Modern Warfare 3, as the developers are hard at work constructing maps that only contain around five or so "hotspots"--places on the map where players can either hide or shoot from. Bowling stated that an emphasis on this idea makes it so the "less skilled player" has less to think or worry about on the battlefield. A downplay on hiding spots on the map also de-emphasizes the camping mentality that was heavily portrayed in Modern Warfare 2. Tactical Nuke, anyone?

Battlefield 3's Classes Detailed; No Medic Class, Recon "more of a team player"

DICE detailed the four playable classes for Battlefield 3--Assault, Engineer, Support, Recon--on the game's official blog. Notice anything missing? That's right, there is no Medic class in Battlefield 3, but rather...

...the Assault class now carries both the Med-kits and the defibrillator. Senior Multiplayer Designer Alan Kertz states that since the Assault class is usually the run-n-gun class, "it makes sense that the guy on the frontline will be able to revive fallen teammates..." On the other hand, players can still customize the Assault class to play more like a soldier, and less like a medic.

Yeah, I'll Head to No Mercy Again

After a long, hard week of work (and blogging), my girlfriend Gina and I spend the weekend together, doing the usual boyfriend/girlfriend type of things. Ultimately, this ends up in a nonstop barrage of, "I dunno, what do you wanna do?" While we can hardly every agree on what to do, there's always a certain question that ends up with the same answer no matter how many times it's asked.

"Hey, you wanna play Left 4 Dead?"

Blacklight: Retribution: An Interview with Jared Gerritzen [Part 2]

In Part 2 of our interview with Jared Gerritzen, we discuss the introduction of "mechs"--better known as Hardsuits--into the world of Blacklight, what the team plans to do with post-launch support, and we also answer a few of your questions from Twitter. 

Gear up, turn on your HRV, and get ready--we're goin' in!

[Review] Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D

The drought of playable games on Nintendo's revolutionary 3DS handheld is slowly coming to a close, and next up is Capcom's Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D, a $39.99 title based around the series' highly popular mini-game. Is it worth the price-tag to slay zombies against the clock, or should you conserve your ammo (and money) for something else?

Blacklight: Retribution: An Interview with Jared Gerritzen [Part 1]

Jared Gerritzen and the rest of the crew at Zombie Games are hard at work creating Blacklight: Retribution, the sequel to last year's downloadable first-person shooter Blacklight: Tango Down. Having found the first game to be quite intriguing, I just had to see what the studio was up to for the game's sequel, so I contacted Mr. Gerritzen and got the 411, as they say.

What You Need to Know: Call of Duty XP 2011

Activision is hosting a two-day Call of Duty community event--ala BlizzCon--called Call of Duty XP 2011. The event takes place Los Angeles, naturally, and will only feature the Call of Duty franchise, so no need to worry about any other Activision title showing up out of nowhere. There's a lot to know about Call of Duty XP 2011, so let's bullet-point the nitty gritty.

The First Screenshot for the Unknown Shooter

Here is the very first screenshot for the unannounced first-person shooter from Polish developer Flying Wild Hog. There is nothing else of substance to say at the moment, but Tom Ohle from Evolve PR says the full reveal will come very soon.

Source

Modern Warfare 3's Killstreak System is Unlike its Predecessors

Without going into too much detail--as in, no detail at all--Robert Bowling of Infinity Ward commented about the Modern Warfare 3 killstreak system via the internet's most trusted news source, Twitter.

"We changed the entire way the Killsteak system works. I can't go into detail yet, but I will share when I can."

Personally, I think Black Ops got it right when it came to killstreaks, but that's just me. How can the killstreaks be changed for Modern Warfare 3? Perhaps, only one killstreak per class? I dunno, I'm just guessing...

RAGE Special Edition outed by EB Games

EB Games in Australia outed a "Special Edition" of RAGE which has quite a few items in it. Now, whether these items are worth $108.00 (AUS) can be debatable.

• Weapon and Vehicle DLC
• Numbered Art Print
• Gang Badges
• Wing Stick

So, we'll let the debate begin!

Source

'GoldenEye Reloaded' Domains Registered, Speculation Leads to HD Upgrades

Perhaps more people want to get in on the GoldenEye multiplayer mayhem, because Twitter user supererogatory spotted four new GoldenEye domains registered  by Activision. With the name leading towards "GoldenEye Reloaded", the speculation on "teh netz" is leaning towards the game being an HD remake of last year's Wii title. That wouldn't be a bad idea, as personally I liked what I played of the game's multiplayer, though I wasn't too fond of the motion controls.

Here's what was registered:

• GoldenEyeReloadedGame.com
• GoldenEye007GameReloaded.com
• GoldenEyeReloaded007.com
• GoldenEye007Reloaded.com

Yeah, I am thinking the internet's theory on this may be correct.

Duke Nukem Forever Hits Macs this August

Gearbox Software announced today that Aspry Media "has been recruited" to bring Duke Nukem Forever to Macs this August. Additionally, those who pre-order the Mac version will receive 10% off plus free shipping via USPS.

More information is said to drop in the coming weeks, so stay tuned for that.

Gearbox Twitter via GameAgent

Bodycount Ships this August, Trailer looks like Michael Bay: The Game

Bodycount, the pseudo-sequel to the cult-classic FPS Black has returned with a new trailer straight from E3. Now, either this was a closed doors showing beforehand or Codemasters is a few weeks too late--nonetheless, the trailer contains more explosions than you'll see in any blockbuster film this summer, but I'm not saying that in a bad way by any means. Just as I said with Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon, I admire games that have more fun with themselves as opposed to being strictly serious all the time; that's something the industry needs more of if you ask me.

In Bodycount, "everything is focused on the experience of squeezing the trigger, hearing bullets tear through the air and watching them obliterate the enemies and the environment," says Codemasters' Community Manager Benjamin Bateman.

Bodycount is scheduled to ship this August on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

If you want to see obliteration in action, watch the explosive gameplay trailer after the break.