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Stardock CEO Brad Wardell has spoken out again on the troubled launch of his studio's latest game, Elemental: War of Magic. Taking to Stardock's forums, Wardell (aka "Frogboy") said, "I don't think people yet fully realize the completeness of Stardock's fail on Elemental's launch. I'm going to write more about this, but not only did we think v1.05 was ready for everyone, but we felt v1.0 was too. That's the level of disconnect/poor judgment on our part we're talking about."

And while he places the blame on Stardock as a whole, he takes a full paragraph to account for his own mistakes. "EVERY competent software developer knows that the programmer must never be the one deciding whether the program is done. Yet, my love of Elemental broke my self discipline and I began coding on the game itself in vast amounts and lost any sense of objectivity on where the game's state was. I normally only program the AI on our games so I can keep a level of distance from the game itself to determine whether it's 'Ready.' On Elemental, I was in love with the world and the game and lost my impartiality."

He finishes his screed with the promise, "We'll do better," and in a separate post lists off the many changes and additions coming to the game (including free expansions and an intended v1.1 patch in September). Both pieces really are worth reading in full. You can grab them here and here.

Stardock CEO calls Elemental launch 'disastrous,' promises to do better originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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"OMG, Duke Nukem is at PAX!" At least, according to an effusive tweet from Joystiq alum Dustin Burg. In addition, a source at the convention told Joystiq that images of Duke Nukem are visible at the 2K booth, which has yet to open to the public. The Gearbox logo can be seen, but the title of whatever Duke Nukem game is being promoted is currently covered.

However, we might have a clue, thanks to reports coming in from CVG's "US dev sources," who tell the site that the game is actually Duke Nukem Forever, and will be given a "grand demo" at the show. Rumors have been flying recently about Gearbox signing on to complete the game. Also flying: pigs, in an image tweeted by 3D Realms' George Broussard (who joked with 1UP in a January 2006 interview that he expected DNF to be released "when pigs fly") . 2K did say it planned "something big" at its booth, and this would certainly qualify.

Update: Gearbox creative director Mikey Neumann tweeted a picture of CEO Randy Pitchford wearing a Duke t-shirt. Seems portentous!

Update 2: A partial image from 2KGames' Twitter account also shows the Duke "radioactive" logo.

Report: Duke Nukem game appearing at 2K's PAX booth originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you're in the mood for a game that's about classic-style dungeons and is an RPG, you'll be delighted to hear that NIS America dated the PSP game Cladun: This is an RPG! The game will be available on PSN on September 21.

Cladun allows players to build their own tiny character sprites and take on randomly generated dungeons. It features ad-hoc play, so up to four players can wander around dungeons together (while wandering around together in real life). To see more of Cladun, you can browse around the game's website, which is designed to look and sound like the game. You can also play Cladun-themed picross. After all, if you like dungeon RPGs, you enjoy difficult games.

Cladun: This is a release date! originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 11:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Albion has entered its industrial age.

Not that I need the helpful, disembodied voice to tell me that in Fable 3's opening, of course. The change is evident in how the once colorful landscape seems to be covered in soot. It's clear from a single glance at the sorrowful, broken eyes of a townsperson worked to the bone.

"The Fable team hasn't changed very much, it's generally the same people and because that's the case, for us, there's a love there for the world, and there's a love there for the characters," design director Josh Atkins tells me. "We can't afford, emotionally, to be complacent."

It's a little ironic that it was the team's commitment to do right by Fable 3, to not play it safe, that forced them to make Albion such an unfortunate place in which to live.

Continue reading Fable 3 preview: a reason to believe

Fable 3 preview: a reason to believe originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 11:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fo' rizzle, Snoop Dogg be the Rock Band DLCizzle next week. The track pack has been a long, long ... long time coming, but it's finally here to bust out flows like ... no. Sorry, no. We can't do this.

Continue reading Rock Band Weekly: Snoop Dogg

Rock Band Weekly: Snoop Dogg originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 10:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The United States vs. Russia. That's all you need to know. Now, skip to the good part!

Continue reading Vanquish story trailer has a good ending

Vanquish story trailer has a good ending originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 10:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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During a presentation at the CESA Developers Conference on Wednesday about the art of animation, Team Ico head Fumito Ueda brought up some shots from Ico as illustrations. Except the images projected don't look exactly like the PS2 game: the aspect ratio is different, the textures are better, and the character models are sharper -- and that's just what can be picked up from looking at pictures of a projector showing the images. NeoGAF's Gribbix and SolidSnakex posted direct comparisons between the CEDEC presentation and the PS2 Ico.

With the persistent rumor of a God of War Collection-style remake of Team Ico's PS2 games, and with TGS around the corner, it's tempting to take these images as evidence. It seems just as likely, however, that Ueda mocked up nice illustrations of iconic scenes for his presentation. In any case, they're lovely and can be seen at GAME Watch.

Team Ico shows off cleaned-up Ico shots at CEDEC originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 10:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Though a European trailer for No Heroes Allowed, the third game in the What Did I Do to Deserve This, My Lord!? series, was released during Gamescom, news of a North American release remained up in the air (instead of buried in a hastily-dug dungeon, where it belonged). SCEA has revealed plans to release the game, but did not offer up a date for the God of Destruction's resurrection.

No Heroes Allowed offers 100 daily dungeon design challenges, along with a new cooperative play mode that stars Badman and his daughter, Badmella. In the new addition, two players collaborate to dig a deadly, devious and dangerous dungeon.

Holy localization, Badman! It's No Heroes Allowed for PSP originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 09:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you found yourself particularly inspired by the quartet of southern rock troubadours prominently featured in Left 4 Dead 2's "Dark Carnival" campaign, you can now stretch your creative muscles to give one of the fictional band's hit songs some visual flair. Valve recently announced a contest to create the best music video for the Riders' chart topper "Save Me Some Sugar (This Won't Take Long)," which will make its debut in the upcoming "The Sacrifice" DLC campaign. The winner of the contest will receive a Valve "gift pack" and a guitar signed by all four members of the band.

The manner in which you create this video is entirely up to you -- will it be live action, in-game footage or a hybrid of both? Regardless of what you go with, we hope you first seek out some thematically appropriate inspiration.

Make a music video for Left 4 Dead's Midnight Riders originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Are you ready, Steef? Just Add Water is working on a high-definition remake of Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath. The Gravity Crash developer announced the project earlier today, highlighting it as the first in a "long and fruitful relationship" with the original game's developer, Oddworld Inhabitants. "Having a chance to update the great title and release it on PS3 is just a brilliant opportunity, not least for us, but for the fans too," added Just Add Water MD Stewart Gilray.

Set for release on PlayStation Network during Easter next year, the PS3 remake of Stranger's Wrath will offer enhanced 720p visuals, more detailed character models, remastered dialogue, PlayStation Move support and "additional bonus material."

When it launched on Xbox in January 2005, Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath was notable for being, well, a really bizarre first-person shooter. It placed the franchise's environmental missive inside a wild and weird Western aesthetic, and replaced ammunition with ravenous fuzzballs. An EA-developed port for PlayStation 2 never made it to stores.

Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath remake coming to PS3 in 2011 originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 07:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A game based on roller derby is something that never occurred to us, but it seems incredibly obvious now that someone's doing it. Frozen Codebase announced Jam City Rollergirls, a WiiWare game based on women's flat track roller derby and featuring real roller derby leagues. This is the second "official," licensed WiiWare game for an unconventional sport that we can think of, and it's far less disgusting than its contemporary.

Frozen Codebase plans to release the circular skating and violence sim in the fourth quarter of this year. Jam City Rollergirls will also be at PAX this weekend for the curious to give it a spin.

Jam City Rollergirls rolling out on WiiWare later this year originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SNK's oddball bullet hell shmup, KOF Sky Stage, has finally been dated for Xbox Live Arcade -- in Japan, at least. Masochists can check it out on September 15 for 800 MS Points ($10). That's a small price to pay to see Terry Bogard and company fly around and shoot stuff. And, y' know, play a super-tough game.

The game originally launched in Japanese arcades back in January. PSP users can also access KOF Sky Stage right now in Neo Geo Heroes, while those of us in the US can likely look forward to a localized release, so says an ESRB listing. If you're looking to get an early start at finding all of those sweet hiding spots to take refuge from the impending bullet swarms, head past the break for a new trailer.

Continue reading KOF Sky Stage shoots up Japanese XBLA on September 15

KOF Sky Stage shoots up Japanese XBLA on September 15 originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Erin Robinson's excellent Puzzle Bots was chosen as one of the PAX 10 winners for this weekend's Seattle convention, and as a result, Wadjet Eye games has it on sale all weekend long. By entering the code "PUZZLEPAX" at checkout, you can play the cheerful little strategy puzzle title for $4.99 instead of the usual $10.

There's a free demo available if you want to try before you buy and the game will also be playable on the PAX show floor -- so if you have a friend in Seattle, ask them what they think. An excellent deal on an excellent indie title, even for those of us who aren't partying with Tycho and Gabe this weekend.

PAX 10 winner Puzzle Bots available for half price during expo originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 05:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Shin'en, developer of the DS shmup Nanostray and its sequel -- and, most recently, WiiWare platformer Jett Rocket -- has begun to tease its next project for Wii's digital platform: FAST Racing League. Only a single piece of promotional art (pictured) has been revealed so far, but this image is worth at least a couple dozen words. Like, for example, the game looks to be a futuristic racer and the ship design bears an uncanny similarity to those of a certain Sony racing franchise.

It's too soon to hope for an F-Zero style racer on Wii (where is the Wii game in that series, anyway?) but at least those of us who like our racing fast and future-focused have something to put on our radar.

Futuristic 'FAST Racing League' due on WiiWare from Jett Rocket dev originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 04:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dark Chocolate Brownies, Ginger Ice Cream and Salted Butter Caramel Sauce.

Watermelon, bell pepper and chili cold cream soup. Vegan and gluten-free, without soy (text in Italian)

Chocolate and Coffee Shortbread

Macaroni and cheese, a comfort food favorite, a classic recipe, worth making again and again.

Warm or cold, the flavor and texture of this golden beet root soup will make your taste buds dance.

Do you feel the inexplicable compulsion to map the contours of your grotesque visage on a professional level? MakerBot Industries has come up with a clever device that should let you do so using a gaming peripheral you might already own: The PlayStation Eye.

The MakerScanner (which isn't available for purchase yet, though interested parties can put their names on a mailing list) is designed to let users create a full 3D geometric scan of an object using the PS Eye and a laser line pointer. This results in a data map that can be used to create 3D models or, with the right -- presumably expensive -- equipment, a physical statuette. We think it would be worth the investment to fill our apartment with busts of ourselves. "Oh, this one," we'd tell our visitors, "this one's us in repose."

MakerBot mod turns PlayStation Eye into 3D scanner originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 03:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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