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Jagged Alliance fans have been waiting since 1999 for a new game in the tactical role-playing series — well, those Jagged Alliance fans that are still fans after all these years, anyway. bitComposer Games has acquired the rights to the series from Strategy First, announcing plans to release Jagged Alliance 3 sometime in 2011. The last time anything newish was released from the franchise was last year’s DS port of the first game.

Though bitComposer has taken over development on the series, the announcement doesn’t make it sound like the new studio plans to make drastic changes to the Jagged Alliance formula: “Jagged Alliance 3 will build on the strengths of its famous predecessors and, set against the backdrop of a gripping story, will again deliver the much-loved combo of turn-based strategy gameplay with roleplay elements.”

[Via Gamasutra]

Jagged Alliance 3 due in 2011 from bitComposer originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 13:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Don’t even lie! You’re just as excited as any club kid that boundary-pushing pop sensation Lady Gaga is coming to Rock Band next week. So, in the privacy of your living room, break out the tight-fitting pleather and get your jam on (to the tracks you, publicly, tell everyone you hate).

Of course, you could pretend you “accidentally” bought the Gaga Track Pack, when you actually meant to purchase South Park chubby charmer Eric Cartman’s rendition of “Poker Face.” Yup, that lil’ ditty will also be available. See, now you can cover up that undeniable desire to go goo-goo for Gaga with a veil of irony!

Check out the full release list after the break.

Continue reading Rock Band Weekly: Lady Gaga, Cartman’s ‘Poker Face’

Rock Band Weekly: Lady Gaga, Cartman’s ‘Poker Face’ originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Electronic Arts will publish 38 Studios’ first game — which will not be the studio’s interminably tardy MMO Copernicus — the company announced today. The game has been codenamed “Project Mercury” and is being developed by Big Huge Games, acquired by 38 last year. The mysterious, “epic single-player” RPG is under the stewardship of Ken Rolston, former lead of the last two Elder Scrolls titles.

“Project Mercury” is set in the Copernicus universe, created by fantasy author R.A. Salvatore, with artistic direction by Spawn creator Todd McFarlane. Salvatore is expected to speak later this week at GDC. The game is scheduled for release on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC when it’s done.

EA to publish 38 Studios’ first project, developed by Big Huge Games originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In what’s becoming a GDC tradition, Sony today announced an update concerning the PhyreEngine, a free, cross-platform middleware tool offered to developers interested in creating PS3 games. First introduced in 2008, the PhyreEngine has since been utilized in games like Critter Crunch, Shatter and Flower. Today, SCEA has announced the expansion of PhyreEngine compatibility to the PSP.

“We’re very happy to see the continued popularity of PhyreEngine with the global game developer community,” SCEI senior VP of technology Teiji Yutaka said. “PhyreEngine for PSP was developed in response to requests from the game developer community, and we hope that the release of the PSP version demonstrates our commitment and support for game developers on all our platforms.” The engine will be demoed at GDC this week.

The PS3 version of PhyreEngine has been praised by studios like Capybara and Sidhe. Perhaps the PSP iteration will be met with an equal amount of enthusiasm and help bolster the portable development community.

Sony’s free PhyreEngine expands to PSP originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First he won a silver medal at the Winter Olympics, and now he’ll be on the cover of the Wii-exclusive NHL 2K11. Vancouver Canucks forward Ryan Kesler sounds genuinely excited about the opportunity, telling The Canadian Press that the only way he thought he’d ever end up on a game cover was “if I put my own picture on there.”

“It’s a dream come true for me,” Kesler, ever the good spokesplayer, said. “I grew up playing, and to be on the cover of 2K is unbelievable.”

Kesler confirmed that he got in his motion capture time for the game last year with 2K10 cover athlete Alexander Ovechkin. “I’m not a flashy scorer like Ovechkin, by any means, but I think I’m exciting in my own right,” Kesler observed, suggesting that his Olympic performance was what attracted publisher Take-Two to his game … face.

Hopefully, for Kesler’s sake, there’s no equivalent “Madden Curse” for NHL games. Hockey players are already doomed to lose all their teeth anyway. NHL 2K11 will be out this fall.

Ryan Kesler is the NHL 2K11 cover athlete originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Anger management simulator God of War III cost $44 million to create, according to director of production development John Hight, which is “right within budget.” Speaking with Giant Bomb, Hight revealed that the team of 132 staff required to finish the third installment was more than double the crew (of about 60) on hand to wrap up God of War II, with the biggest growth occurring in the graphics and art departments.

Considering the ultimate Kratos adventure will likely go on to become a phenomenal sales hit, the $44 million budget isn’t as ridiculous as it might seem. Consider that Gran Turismo 5’s budget, at last count, had reportedly ballooned to around the $60 million mark. On the other hand, Ken Levine previously put the first BioShock’s budget at about $15 million. With such variation in current-gen development costs, in the end, the price is just a number — and in the case of God of War III, it was certainly worth the dough.

[Via Edge]

God of War 3 ‘right within budget’ — a $44 million budget originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Game Informer’s latest “TidBits” column features a a glorious list of “inside baseball” stats from Dragon Age: Origins. Some of the numbers are simply cute, while others are positively frightening: “QA analyst Bruce Venne played 1,957.55 hours of Dragon Age PC in 5,352 games.” Consequently, “The Bruce” was awarded to staff that played more than Venne in a single month — the honor was bestowed only once.

While the list is mostly packed with numbers, there are some notable non-numerical did-you-knows, like the staff’s affectionate nickname for the Ogre, “Fluffy,” and, unsurprisingly, the revelation that one of the BioWare crew makes chain mail “from scratch.”

Check out the full list of Dragon Age tidbits on Game Informer.

Dragon Age ‘TidBits’ drop stats like a Fluffy punch originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 10:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s not so surprising, really, that Modern Warfare 2, arguably the world’s most popular video game, would recruit such a staggering amount of bodies for its perpetual online war. But, there it is: 25 million unique players, as revealed in a tweet from Infinity Ward’s community guy-at-large, Robert “fourzerotwo” Bowling. We’ve contacted Infinity Ward for specific platform numbers, but in the meantime, Bowling offers a bit more to chew on:

He confirms the majority of players are taking the fight to Xbox Live, but he says the PS3 comes in at “a close” second. That puts the PC space in third, though it’s still enlisted “millions,” according to Bowling. But, what about that boycott? Oh, right.

Now, it should be noted that Modern Warfare 2’s reported 25 million players aren’t necessarily all on active duty. Surely, more than a few steadfast soldiers have taken up positions in DICE’s Battlefield: Bad Company 2. No rest for the weary, eh?

Modern Warfare 2 enlists 25 million unique players, Bowling says originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 10:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’ve ever wanted to transport into the massively-multiplayer Starfleet of Star Trek Online, now is your chance to make it so.
Amazon’s Deal of the Day features the game for $28 — a better price than even a Ferengi could negotiate. (Mostly because Ferengi don’t really exist.) Plus, the 44-percent discount off the list price should help take the sting out of the monthly fee.

Amazon has also temporarily discounted the Collector’s Edition, from $80 to $48. Don’t you want the little communicator badge? Of course you do. As with all Amazon Deals of the Day, this one’s over at midnight PT or when the shop runs out of stock.

Boldly pay less for Star Trek Online originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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