Well, it’s not so much a Brigade, as it is an…office. The US Army have decided that rather than trying to modify existing commercial games like Full Spectrum Warrior (whose hidden Army mode was a complete arse-kicker) for use as training programs, they may as well try building their own. So they’ve established the Training and Doctrine Command Project Office for Gaming, which will be looking at the best (ie cheapest) way to turn today’s soldiers into tomorrow’s killing machines. They’re currently working on two projects: one to sex up their simulation program’s graphics, the other to set up a simulation “level editor”, which would allow officers to build their own training scenarios without the need of costly, pesky civilian contractors. Both sound just wonderful, with the “level editor” expected to be ready to enter service by around, oh, 2015.
Your crying, wailing and gnashing of teeth (especially the gnashing) has gotten to Turok developers Propaganda Games. Convinced now enough of you may actually play the game’s multiplayer aspect for them to bother mucking about with it, they’ve said that their previous plans to include an achievement which rewarded team-killing may have been a bit silly. Propoganda VP Josh Holmes: We’ve read some of the concerns that were described online, and maybe we underestimated the length to which so-called ‘achievement whores’ will go to [in order to]get their achievements.
As a result, they’ve got a patch ready, and should these so-called “achievement whores” start ruining everyone’s fun, the patch will deployed without a moment’s hesitation.
We’re still giving away a copy of Godzilla Unleashed (on PS2, DS or Wii, up to you). You’re still going to have to earn it. How do I earn it, we hear you ask? Simple. Pretend you’re Godzilla. Do things Godzilla would do. Like Kotakuite Kiriphii has here, terrorising the Mushroom Kingdom like it was nobody’s business. Just make sure you hold up a sign while you’re doing it. And make sure that sign says KOTAKU. Then make sure you take a photo of all that, because just telling us you did it won’t cut it. Once you’ve got all that sorted, email it off to kotakucontestATgmailDOTcom.
You’ve got until midnight EST on December 19. Get cracking. Godzilla Unleashed [Official Site]
Hey. Burnout fans. Wake up. The demo for Burnout Paradise just turned up on Xbox Live. It’s 835MB, and it’d be great if any silver account holders could try downloading it, see if you’re really going to get shafted or not.
Microsoft have just released the XNA Game Studio 2.0. Which is supposedly a big improvement on the previous version, which for all its good intentions hasn’t really set the user-generated content scene alight like MS were probably hoping it would. The newer, bigger, meaner XNA adds a bunch of new features to the service, chief amongst them the ability to craft cross-platform (ie 360-PC) multiplayer games. It’ll also allow developers to code matchmaking into their multiplayer titles. Those with piqued interests, more info can be found below.
Xbox Australia are crowing about some sales figures they’ve seen fit to disclose. First up, console sales: the 360 has, since launching down here in March 2006, sold over 300,000 consoles, though that’s including New Zealand in order to bump the number up to a nice round figure in time for Christmas. They also this week sold the 500,000th “accessory” (again including New Zealand), and say the most popular is the 360′s wireless controller, followed by the 360 wheel and, for some godforsaken reason, the wireless network adapter. Consider these facts, and yourself? Armed.
Ramon enjoys modding Wiis. Indeed, we’ve featured some of his work before. This here is his latest enterprise: a Rockstar-inspired Wii, complete with the requisite colour scheme and illuminated company logo. Not as intricate as his previous works, perhaps, but definitely classier.
Coolest Custom Wii Ever [Thatgirlsite]
Nyko’s wireless nunchuk? Clever, but pointless. Which leads us poignantly to this, Nyko’s Charge Base 2 for the PS3. Which looks great, but is also pointless. Designed for those who just can’t bear the thought of turning their PS3 on to charge their pads, it plugs into the wall, can charge two controllers at once and looks like something you could use to detonate military-grade explosives with. The dual-charging is mildly convenient, we suppose, but for $US 30? When the PS3 runs as quiet as a church mouse and you’ve probably got dozens of mini USB cords lying around the house? No, thanks.
WHO WANTS NUMBERS? Gaf poster JoshuaJSlone has done us all a favour and jumped headfirst into the Wii’s lifetime Japanese sales data, coming up with all kinds of neat figures, charts and comparisons. Neatest: the Wii has already overtaken the Gamecube’s lifetime sales. Poor Gamecube. Slightly less neat: he’s charted the Wii’s sales against the other major consoles, showing that only the GBA and DS, with its mysterious money-printing ways, can hope to stand against the might of affordability, waggle and Wii Sports.
Wii Sales Data [via GoNintendo]
Tony Hilliam, CEO of Brisbane-based developer Auran, has issued a statement regarding Auran’s closure earlier today.
In it, Hilliam confirms that all Auran staff were today let go, and that staff will be paid their entitlements, supporting our anonymous source.
He then goes on to reiterate the recent changes to Fury, including the Age of the Chosen content update and the new free-to-play mode, and his belief that the game will eventually become “successful”.
As you can see, this new statement stands in stark contrast to Hilliam’s comments from last week, where he reassured us that things were fine.
Hilliam also mentioned to Kotaku AU that ex-employees will be compensated under GEERS (General Employee Entitlement and Redundancy Scheme).
Full statement after the jump. More »
