LittleBigPlanet 2
How fitting that for my last contribution to Joystiq's Game of the Year list, I should learn the bitter sting of having my number one choice not breach the Top 10. LittleBigPlanet 2 improved upon the original -- already one of my favorite games of all time -- in every conceivable way, offering one of the most user-friendly, charming UGC systems in gaming history. There is nothing I've thought of that LBP2 wasn't able to create, and that includes a level about interstellar poultry abduction.

Continue reading Best of the Rest: Griffin's picks of 2011

Best of the Rest: Griffin's picks of 2011 originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 04 Jan 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In honor of Bastion earning a spot on Joystiq's Top 10 list, composer Darren Korb and singer Ashley Barrett gave an impromptu live performance of "Build That Wall" and "Setting Sail, Coming Home" in Supergiant's studio.

Well, officially it was done just because they both happened to be around together, and the performance was recorded before we announced the award, but we're pretty sure it's because of our thing.

Bastion musicians provide today's musical interlude originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 04 Jan 2012 18:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Maaaax, dearest of all my friends. You're looking quite well for your March debut. I see you still know how to use a gun, but why no pictures of you shooting while diving through the air? Oh, there it is!

Continue reading Max Payne shoots in new Max Payne 3 shots

Max Payne shoots in new Max Payne 3 shots originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 04 Jan 2012 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A mighty warrior stands in a frozen, Beowulfian wilderness, surrounded by traditional characters and archetypes: kings, damsels, wizards, trolls, dragons and, yes, a quest that promises both personal glory and salvation for the downtrodden. The reward at the end of the quest? Our hero gets to learn a new word.

On paper, Skyrim sounds like your high school English teacher's ultimate fantasy. In practice, it is one of 2011's greatest adventures. That is, of course, assuming you can keep your mind on the quest at hand.

Continue reading Joystiq Top 10 of 2011: Skyrim

Joystiq Top 10 of 2011: Skyrim originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 04 Jan 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The success of the Portal games comes from a combination of two completely different aspects: gameplay and narrative. Portal 2 is, on one hand, a great puzzle game in the classic tradition, sending you through a series of enclosed, self-contained puzzles. These require the arrangement of provided tools to create a single, predetermined "solution" and allow you to advance.

On the other hand, it's the story of the rise and fall of a gigantic research company, and of '60s-style "for its own sake" science -- it even has Flubber! -- told years after the fact, diegetically, by two rogue AIs and a series of tape recordings. And it's genuinely funny!

Continue reading Joystiq Top 10 of 2011: Portal 2

Joystiq Top 10 of 2011: Portal 2 originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This might sound familiar. In 2009, Joystiq awarded Batman: Arkham Asylum its number three spot in that year's top ten list of games and here we are, two years later, giving that game's sequel the same honor. But it's not the same honor.

Referencing the failure to launch of Pandemic's open-world Dark Knight movie tie-in game, I identified Rocksteady's success as one primarily of scale: "Instead of building an open-world Gotham City, they built an intimate (and immediately captivating) Arkham Asylum, as full of history and lore as you'd expect the comic book icon to be." Of course, Batman: Arkham City is an open-world game.

Continue reading Joystiq Top 10 of 2011: Batman: Arkham City

Joystiq Top 10 of 2011: Batman: Arkham City originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 04 Jan 2012 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Flight simulator enthusiasts are a very specific, complex subsect of the gaming world. Their passion for checklists and indecipherable user interfaces places them at an almost MMO-level of dedication and persistence, and -- like the popular multiplayer RPGs -- flight sims are starting to make the leap to free-to-play.

Microsoft Flight will bring affordable ailerons and aerofoils to PC pilots this spring, according to an update on Major Nelson's blog. Everyone will have access to free crashes aircraft, though those who sign in with a Games for Windows Live account will receive additional free planes, missions and access to those sweet 'chievos.

The sim will also include the ICON A5, an amphibious, lightweight vehicle which doesn't enter real-world commercial production until the end of this year. Microsoft's PR describes the A5 as "the jet ski for the skies," which sounds like the most terrifying, fantastic way to die.

Prospective pilots can still sign up for that closed beta we mentioned by clicking here, presumably after strapping on goggles and a dashing scarf.

Microsoft's free-to-play Flight lands this spring originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 04 Jan 2012 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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For most Battlefield 3 players, the huge number of weapon-mounted accessories are little more than filler between the obvious handful of choices that offer the best, effective results. The game's core gameplay designer, Alan Kertz, has picked up on that state and taken to Reddit to solicit advice for tweaking BF3's various gun augmentations.

"I'm not promising this will go live, and I'm not promising there will be an update, I'm looking for feedback and a discussion," Kurtz writes, carefully requesting feedback while trying not to overpromise. He says that the goal in said request is to "focus on improving the under performing and under used attachments," but also to identify how to nerf the most powerful attachments. Interested in sounding off? Head over to the Reddit thread and get passionate.

Battlefield 3 soliciting feedback for gun attachment tweaks via Reddit thread originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 04 Jan 2012 11:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you pre-order Mass Effect 3 just about anywhere, you'll get the M55 Argus Assault Rifle for free. In addition to that weapon, you can get even more in-game swag should you drop some reservation bucks at GameStop (N7 Warfare Gear) or EA's own Origin online store (an AT12 Raider shotgun).

Care to take a look at the pre-order stuff in action? We've got a vid above and another below the break, and they're both full of space bullets.

Continue reading Mass Effect 3 pre-order bonuses barge in, guns blazing

Mass Effect 3 pre-order bonuses barge in, guns blazing originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 04 Jan 2012 10:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It was a foregone conclusion that we'd never play the announced Firefly and Buffy the Vampire Slayer MMOs from developer Multiverse, but the closure of the studio makes that all but certain.

The company actually ceased operations in early December, with a post on its website noting the studio closed due to a lack of funding after it was unable to achieve profitability with the Multiverse platform.

The Multiverse platform was used as "proof of concept" for Facebook titles Battle, Team Battle and Battle: Realms at War. The platform was also used for McDonalds and Coca-Cola web games.

Our condolences go out to Browncoats and followers of the Scooby Gang.

Buffy and Firefly MMO dev studio closes originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 04 Jan 2012 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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