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Best of the Rest: Griffin’s picks of 2011

Griffin McElroy — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

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.

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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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Tomb Raider developer working on new IP

Eurogamer.net • — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 23:26:00 +0000

Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics is currently working on a brand new IP alongside its impending Lara Croft reboot.

A blog post from Square Enix community manager Meagan Marie mentioned that the studio is getting ready to reveal "exciting new intellectual property".

"2012 is going to be the biggest year in Crystal's history," added studio boss Darrell Gallagher.

Bastion musicians provide today’s musical interlude

JC Fletcher — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 23:15:00 +0000

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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Buffy/Firefly MMO developer closes its doors

Eurogamer.net • — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 22:40:00 +0000

The developer behind planned Firefly and Buffy The Vampire Slayer MMOs has gone to the wall before either game ever saw the light of day.

As reported by Massively, California-based Multiverse ceased operations last month.

Founded back in 2004, the company never actually released a commercial title, with its only tangible video game output being two Flash-based promotional titles for McDonalds and Coca Cola.

Max Payne shoots in new Max Payne 3 shots

Alexander Sliwinski — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 22:30:00 +0000

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!

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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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Joystiq Top 10 of 2011: Skyrim

Richard Mitchell — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 21:00:00 +0000

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.

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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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Joystiq Top 10 of 2011: Portal 2

JC Fletcher — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 20:30:00 +0000

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!

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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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Joystiq Top 10 of 2011: Batman: Arkham City

Christopher Grant — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 19:30:00 +0000

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.

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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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Retailer-exclusive Mass Effect 3 items detailed

Eurogamer.net • — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 19:23:00 +0000

A handful of retailer-exclusive Mass Effect 3 items have been announced.

According to GameInformer, purchase the PC version through EA's own Origin store and you'll snag the AT-12 Raider Shotgun.

"The AT-12 Raider Shotgun fires a large pellet spread, ensuring maximum coverage for close-range targets. Designed for superior rapid fire, the AT-12 allows for optimal recovery time between shot," states the announcement.

A Racing Milestone: Mud Preview

Eurogamer.net • — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 19:00:00 +0000

Racing studios are, sadly, a diminishing breed, and those that still stand are having to adapt to survive. Following the closure of Bizarre and Black Rock last year, existing developers are finding new paths to explore, Codemasters taking its Dirt brand down the downloadable route, while Slightly Mad turn to the strange new world of user-generated content for its ambitious and intriguing Project Cars.

There's one studio that's weathered the storm well enough, and that, despite the struggles elsewhere in the market, still manages to produce up to three boxed racing games per year. And it does that with a thinly stretched team of 90, spread over three floors of a slightly scruffy studio near the centre of Milan.

It's this team that put out the functional yet entertaining WRC game and its somewhat underwhelming sequel, and that in the SBK series has produced arguably the best bike game on the market; not a particularly impressive feat when its sole competitor, Capcom's MotoGP games, has seemingly slipped into obscurity, but a noble one nevertheless.