Let’s take a brief break from E3 – shall we? I came into work today and sat down to go about my day with my iPod on shuffle to keep me from bludgeoning myself with a stapler when this gem came on:
…a song from the SMASH 90′s hit family sitcom “Dinosaurs” it was none other than Baby Sinclair singing “I’m the baby, gotta love me…” etc.
How would something like this happen you ask? Simple.
It’s all Arien’s fault…
This is it, guys – the big gaming event of the year running from the 15th to the 17th. While E3 is always an exciting event I feel like this year is going to be a big one. There’s a lot of new technology being shown off between Microsoft and Sony’s motion control devices and Nintendo’s next DS incarnation. There will be some big name games on display like the new Zelda title and Portal 2, and much more.
Things are actually already under way in some respects. Nintendo has revealed details on their upcoming Zelda game simply titled “The Legend of Zelda” – set long before The Ocarina of Time. Microsoft has announced a change in name for their controller-less motion gimmick from “Natal” to “Kinect” – a name which makes sense in theory but in practice kind of sucks. Though, given the way it is looking it’s probably suitable. See and judge for yourself:
I’m personally excited for more footage from the upcoming Scott Pilgrim title. Footage was recently released of the 4 player co-op sides crolling beat ‘em up extravaganza. The visuals are amazing, the music is fantastic, so my fingers are crossed on the game playing living up to the rest of what we’ve seen.
And speaking of multiplayer goodness I am also hoping for a good showing from Behemoth on their next multiplayer title. Previously titled “Game #3″ the anticipated “BattleBlock Theater” will most likely be shown off in more polished form this year.
Aside from all of these titles there is so much more to come in the next week – it’s going to be a killer show with a ton of surprises including an announced surprise from Valve which many are speculating to be Source Engine 2.
Stay tuned to GNSU and our Twitter page (http://www.twitter.com/gnsucrew) to keep up to date on the happenings and check out our Podcast this week for an E3 centric episode!
If Lady Gaga were playable...
In this week’s round of Left 4 Dead 2 mutations we see the debut of “Chainsaw Massacre” which is a strictly chainsaw mode. In this campaign mutation you and your friends (or glorious AI) will be equipped with chainsaws and infinite gasoline for them. Previous mutations thus far have been a success – in fact, Realism Versus was so popular it became a permanent game mode. While it’s not likely this will be a repeat scenario with the other modes, Chainsaw mode is sure to be a hit.
What do you think? E-mail us! Let us know!
Maybe's he's cancelling it in favor of another theme party...
Admittedly it’s a bit strange that Valve decided to cancel their Portal E3 Event a week or two before the festivities but it certainly is an attention getter. Valve is no stranger to getting attention though, made clear by the clever “blue screen incident” from the GDC Awards. So one has to wonder what Valve has up their sleeves. Speculation is abound and gamers seem to be getting their hopes up about the possibility of an announcement on Half Life 2: Episode 3 – a game that has been highly anticipated, long awaited, and in Valve Time Hell. Fans are even speculating and hoping to the point of making screen mockups.
Other fans have been making jokes regarding the possibilities of Left 4 Dead 3 which Gabe himself has had a good sense of humor about to say the least. When one fan suggested Gabe would need protection if they announced Left 4 Dead 3, his response was “Uh… how about Left 4 Dead 2: Episode 1?”
Another possibility up for consideration is The Orange Box 2 – a follow up to the extremely popular Orange Box which contained the original Portal along with the debut of Team Fortress 2 and more. This would certainly be exciting but how would they roll it out? With all of the content updates for TF2 over the years it’s unlikely that would find a home in an Orange Box Sequel. Our guess is that IF Valve announced this we’d probably see Portal 2, Half Life 2 Episode 3, and maybe a few other surprises. It’s unlikely though because we can’t imagine any other material they would package with those two at the moment. Left 4 Dead 3 would be too big of a game to stick in with the others and given the success of the series, Valve would probably want to market that on it’s own. As far as we’re concerned, all of this is really up in the air.
Valve surely has no intention of disappointing us and everyone is certainly talking about what might be in store for us. Even if it isn’t the long awaited HL2:E3 (E3!? COULD IT BE?) – we know they will deliver and mostly likely in an exciting way. One still has to wonder what is taking so goddamn long with HL2 Episode 3…
Of course, this adventure MIGHT have something do with all of the delays…
This is the sort of reason we love Valve.
Years after release they’re still adding little touches to make their popular titles even better. While they might be minor changes it still says a lot about Valve’s dedication to the people who matter most – the fans. Aside from releasing Half Life 2 on the Mac platform a number of other changes have been made including:
-Achievements added to HL2
-Improved graphics in HL2 + HL2:Episode 1
-Some other things!
This is one of many things Valve has done to show how much they actually care, and to be honest the little things matter. For instance: see here. We’ve had our own experiences with Valve, even. When GNSU made a Team Fortress 2 munny we sent the images off to Gabe and Robin Walker who both answered the e-mail personally to comment that they enjoyed it.
While this post was meant to simply report on the HL2 update I did have to put it out there that Valve is pretty goddamn awesome.
And not Activision.
In other news I am starving.
Big words from a big man [Kotaku] – or so a lot of people seem to think.
The comparison is certainly one that will turn heads in the gaming community when you hear it – immediate reactions ranging from “Gabe Newell is fat and dumb!” to people deriding the PS3 and triumphantly raising their Apple products gloriously. A polarizing statement indeed – but what is the real context?
In Dan Benjamin’s “The Conversation” Gabe Newell discusses the reasons they decided to open themselves to releasing Steam/Valve Games on Macs. Kotaku’s posting, titled “Valve: PS3 is like a Gamecube” caused quite a stir as seen in the comments on the matter, but did everyone miss the point? Kotaku’s article addresses that the heart of the conversation is Valve’s decision and why they feel that releasing their products for the PS3 doesn’t make sense to them.
Whether or not Gabe is correct in his assessment on investing in consoles like the PS3, the whole thing raises some good points about consoles vs. pc/mac gaming and how ridiculous the fan community can be based on the simplest of situations. Kotaku did, however, make the excellent point of addressing that this goes to show how much weight (no pun intended… okay, maybe a little) Valve carries in the industry by making a comment like that toward Sony without much worry.
It is worth mentioning that our own Brian Frobel, who alerted me to the Kotaku piece, is a big PS3 guy and not a huge fan of Apple and therefore his comments fell in line with what most of the fans thought of the comparison. He seemed to retract his statements however when he got the bigger picture about things. He’s still a jerk, but that’s besides the point. His idealistic solution for this is that all games should be on one console. After discussing that this is flat out unrealistic Brian told me “reality is for suckers, that’s why I live in Second life” and then promptly flew away on a giant penis. [NSFW!]
Left 5 Dead: Throwing down in Arlen
We made it to the FIFTH Good News Shut Up Podcast!
As always you can click the above image or link to listen, or if you’re an idiot manchild with ADD you can click [HERE]
If you want to subscribe to us on iTunes: click [HERE]
This one is a DOOZY, folks. We discuss (primarily) Left 4 Dead 2 (including Left 4 Dead 2 DLC, why we hate Rochelle, Elli’s buddy Keith, and more) but we also branch off into other fantastic subjects! Also, you could win a free fucking copy of Left 4 Dead 2! How about them apples? So join us, enjoy us, and bask in the glow of the Good News Shut Up Crew!
BREAKING NEWS
Valve’s hit Left 4 Dead’s sequel, creatively titled “Left 4 Dead 2″, has been unexpectedly delayed. GNSU reporters finally spoke to a Valve representative who had this to say about the delay:
“It’s quite unfortunate. Being a big company like this you expect things to go along smoothly but that doesn’t always happen. We’re investigating the reasons as to why the game won’t launch properly but we believe it’s because someone shoved a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in our VCR in the break room. ”
Although it’s not quite clear how this would effect the launch of the game, one can only wonder how it’s effecting fans across the globe.
Should Left 4 Dead 2 DIE?
BREAKING NEWS!
Microsoft just sent out news that on Tuesday November 17th there will be a mandatory update for XBox live. The colorful HTML newsletter features some dick in a bad hat partying with rhythmically challenged friends (you call that dancing?) making attempt to draw in the youth demographic.
In the update e-mail, Microsoft informs XBox live members of several features that will be available to them. While having access to Facebook, Last.fm and Twitter is not news to most gamers, the release date is.
So why all the fuss?
It’s simple, it is being released the same day as Left 4 Dead 2.
The news reportedly has Valve rushing to push for a November 16th release. Given Valve’s track record this means the game will be released on November 17th. It’s with that in mind that one questions Valve’s decision to push for an earlier release. When GNSU reporter asked Valve to comment on the decision a spokesperson issued the following statement:
“It’s simple, people like Perez Hilton and Ashton Kutcher are all over twitter. This could detract from our sales, big time. People will see Perez twittering from Halo 3 and they’ll want to twitter too. It’s not right but we have no choice.”
A rather curious decision on Valve’s part as the update is free for XBox live users. Regardless, they are clearly worried. Spokesperson David McKinley also had this to say:
“Quite frankly, we’re worried that people like updating their statuses more than shooting zombies.”
Valve has nothing to worry about in Australia however, as Twitter has been banned for being too violent.
More on this as it develops. . .
The Good News Shut Up Podcast
