Fan fiction writers, gather round! Well, first, close out of all those Word documents you've been agonizing over for the past few months. You know the ones we're talking about. The ones which involve throbbing. And quivering. And Sonic the Hedgehog. Why not put your unique skill set to good (and infinitely less creepy) use, and participate in Blizzard's Global Writing Contest?

The company is accepting 2,500 to 7,500-word pieces of fiction set in the Diablo, StarCraft or WarCraft universes until August 23, 2010. The grand prize winner will receive a tour of Blizzard HQ, where they'll meet the team's writing staff, and will walk away with some sweet Blizzard collectibles. Also, though the contest's FAQ doesn't explicitly prohibit it, we'd strongly advise against sending in your steamy, Kerrigan/Thrall-fronted erotic fantasy-thriller.

Blizzard Global Writing Contest now open for submissions originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 05 Jul 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Brink is a tough game to write about, partly because of its unique nature and intriguing new gameplay mechanics but also because I was so immersed in the hands-on demo that I completely forgot to write any kind of notations regarding what I actually did on-screen. Having seen the game in action at last year’s PAX Prime (even wrote up about it here) , I was pretty stoked to take a crack at the game and luckily found myself under the expert tutelage of senior game designer Edward Stern. Setting me up with a controller and some insightful pointers regarding how the gmae was going to handle, I was encouraged to dive right in. With a compellingly crafted art style, EXP based leveling system, and innovative SMART system, Brink was a game to watch and I’m thrilled to say it’s well on its way to exceeding most of my expectations.

Taking the controls for the first time and looking over the tutorial screen, I felt a bit intimidated by the options available to me. Save for your basic movement options, every button had several different subcategories and contextual uses. You see, one of the keys to the new formula the developers at Splash Damage are pushing with Brink is the ability to switch out your character class virtually on the fly. Numerous missions will be available to players during any one level, and sometimes it will be in their best interest to swap roles in favor of another class and the ensuing EXP bonuses that come by completing these unique tasks. Playing as a spy will trigger a mission to infiltrate an enemy base and unlock the ability to disguise yourself as a fallen enemy; becoming an Engineer allows you to buff both your own and allies weaponry and requires you to repair a broken robot, while taking on the part of a Demolitions expert sees you handling more explosive ordinance and blowing smoldering holes through enemy positions.

Switching out your character class requires you to make use of terminals located throughout the environment. Navigating slickly designed menu wheels allow you to cycle through abilities and weaponry while also interacting with these terminals to decide upon your preferred class. This simple aesthetic choice manages to resound throughout gameplay, encouraging an ease of access in the midst of battle while leaving more complex settings and online interfaces to a different subset of menus accessed via normal START and SELECT interaction. Upon settling  your class, a new objective will be highlighted in your HUD while also popping up on a compass-like mechanism located towards the top of the screen, less intrusive than a mini-map but just as effective in calling out your position to your comrades.

If I remember correctly, players possess a primary and secondary weapon as well as maybe one or two different types of explosive ordinance. In my case, I ended up running around with an SMG and pistol combo whilst loading up with some generic fragmentation grenades. The guns handled a bit jumpier than expected, but I found some interesting new combat wrinkles associated with the targeting reticle. Different weapons have wider reticles, with the furious SMG providing a less accurate wide-angle target than the more focused pistol. Movement and stance also affected the way my reticle honed in on my target; stopping quickly encouraged the target to center in while the jostling of a jump or slide caused the area to grow wider. Paying attention to your targeting will help ensure quicker and more efficient kills, providing an effortlessly simple center of attention that encourages players to think about their positioning before they shoot. Combining this intuitive targeting system with the ability to aim down the barrel or fire via line-of-sight is sure to appeal to a wide range of audiences while allowing hardcore shooters to dish out damage with greater speed and effectiveness.

One of the biggest new changes Splash Damage are bringing to first-person is the much touted SMART system. Providing complex level traversal at the push of a button, SMART allows players to perform wall jumps, slides, hurdles and more at the touch of a single button. Running through the environment, all I had to do was angle my vision in a direction and press the SMART button in order to hop an obstacle or slide into cover, allowing me to maintain my focus on riddling the enemy with holes. True, the ability took a little bit of getting used to, but with more time I feel I could have gotten incredibly creative with how I chose to use the level designs to my advantage.

The AI driven enemies felt suitably challenging, often spinning out of range or endeavoring to constantly flank any position I tried to hold for too long. AI partners were similarly cogent, offering to give me first aid and providing some decent cover fire when the situation got too hot. Brink encourages a squad mentality, providing players with useful data and interactive options with each team-member via the HUD. At any point I could give my buddies more ammo, heal them up or even buff up their guns to deal out increased damage or improve their rate of fire.

During a  brief lull at the booth, I also cycled through some pre-set character designs which showcased the game’s colorful art-style. From the military-trim of the near future police-state types to the hashed together junkiness of the colorful rebels, there was a lot of really great art at play when it came to creating your own unique character. I can foresee much time  being spent in the character editor as you unlock new materials and accessories, tattoos, jewelry and the like. Let us not also forget the game-world as a whole, providing a great deal of variety between the sterile efficiency of the eco-friendly Ark and the decrepit ramshackleness of the surrounding slum islands.

Playing through Brink was both refreshingly new and familiarly comfortable at the same time. The gunplay was fast and furious while the different skill-sets and class-specific abilities really made me think out how to approach different challenges that the game presented. I’ll be very interested to see how Brink‘s campaign and storyline fare under closer scrutiny, while the multiplayer component seems to be well on its way to becoming an addictive new addition to LIVE. There are still a lot of pieces to be put in place before a final word can be given on just how much the title will change the tried-and-true FPS formula, but as of now I would definitely wager that the game is on the precipice of greatness.

If you're anything like us, you're spending today avoiding the family that only comes around once or twice a year and hanging out with the ol' Xbox 360 (preferably with air conditioning as well). And though we have tons of games from the unusually busy first half of this year to still play catch up with, who are we to turn down this week's Xbox Live Arcade deals? Out of the four titles -- Mega Man 10, Scrap Metal, Death By Cube, and After Burner Climax -- all but one are half off, and even that one (Scrap Metal) is dropped in price by a third.

So what're you waiting for? It's not like you'd be silly enough to spend today actually outside. There's sun out there! Gross!

Xbox Live Deals of the Week: Mega Man 10, Scrap Metal, Death By Cube, and After Burner Climax originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 05 Jul 2010 19:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There was a time when Realtime Words' APB was planned for consoles, but as it fights for survival on PC retail and virtual shelves, it appears it still hasn't found the right publishing partner for a console version. Realtime Worlds Creative Director Dave Jones tells Eurogamer that a console version won't happen until it finds a publishing partner and works out several other logistics, including pricing and "running dedicated servers for console" MMOs.

Jones mentions the company is going to remain "heavily focused on building upon" the PC version of APB. He also notes that a console version would require a redesign and that the studio's "immediate concern" is getting "new content out, updating the game and talking about what's coming next."

Console APB still in question, Realtime Worlds explains originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 05 Jul 2010 17:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Although Microsoft didn't provide specific sales figures (per usual), the company claims it's seeing "unprecedented demand" from retailers for its new Xbox 360 console. In a statement released yesterday following May's NPD results, Microsoft claimed a "significant sales spike" for its new Xbox 360 250GB "short" model, along with its older Arcade and Elite units (which both received a $50 price reduction).

The new console hit US store shelves around June 14. As for the sales spike's impact on the June NPDs (which will be released next month), Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter stated in his analysis of May's results: "We think that the boost in June hardware sales could allow June software sales to approach flat, notwithstanding a lackluster release schedule."

Microsoft claims 'unprecedented demand' for new Xbox 360 originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 05 Jul 2010 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Titan Studios didn't wait too long after the launch of its multiplayer PSN title, Fat Princess, before it started teasing new archetypes which would appear in the game's first major DLC release. Now that said content has finally launched, it seems the developer is wasting no time in teasing its next expansion for the game: One which might just involve waves of shambling undead.

The game's catalog of in-game tips recently had a message added which reads, "I think Zombies are coming soon, run!" Helpful advice, indeed. A few fans also noticed that the debut trailer for the recently launched Fat Roles DLC features pumpkins in lieu of cakes in a few clips. We could be in for a whole slew of Halloween-flavored Fat Princess classes -- either that, or the titular overweight monarch is switching over to a more vegan-friendly diet.

Fat Princess in-game tips teasing Zombie DLC originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 05 Jul 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Even though it's a holiday today, we managed to round up two of your three usual hosts for a bit of the old Fancasting. But just because it's a holiday, don't go thinking there ain't a thing worth talking about -- we tackle the latest NPD numbers, this Hulu Plus business and even find time to sing our favorite fabric-based commercial from the mid '90s. Grab the latest episode below and be sure to hit the break for all of the pertinent linkage.

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (MP3).
[Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in Zune Marketplace (MP3).
[RSS MP3] Add the Xbox 360 Fanboy Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically.
[MP3] Download the MP3 directly.

Hosts: Alexander Sliwinski (Sli Xander, @xandersliwinski) and Dave Hinkle (KnifefightYaDad, @davehinkle)

Music: Intro/Outro: "Electromooq" by Uma Floresta. Break: "What's In It For?" by Avi Buffalo

For fans: Xbox 360 Fancast Facebook group

Continue reading Xbox 360 Fancast 171 -- Home for the Holiday

Xbox 360 Fancast 171 -- Home for the Holiday originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 05 Jul 2010 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As the always astute Chris Hecker once pointed out, the thing video games do best are power fantasies. While we're literally trying to rescue our family or kill the evil guy, the metaphorical (and arguably more important) journey is in watching our character grow from weakling to demigod, whether that's through the collection of the most powerful weapons or the fastest cars. The balance then is in making the literal journey just present enough that the metaphorical one means something.

For all its strengths, Crackdown's major failing was in not nailing this balance. Punching, jumping and exploding your way to superherodom was amazing, but the story and missions were so threadbare that there was nothing really pulling you through, there was no momentum. Though narrative was never going to be its strong suit, it needed just a few more breadcrumbs to get you from point A to point B.

Disappointingly, Crackdown 2 does not fix the balance between literal and metaphorical journey. In fact, it seems much more content to pretend it doesn't exist.

Continue reading Review: Crackdown 2

Review: Crackdown 2 originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 05 Jul 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Virtual Console is resting for the holiday, but Nintendo has attempted to compensate for its absence with so much DSiWare. If you like ... browsing the DSi Shop, this is the week for you.

Meanwhile, WiiWare has two games, including a WWII air combat game that sounds surprisingly full-featured for WiiWare.

Continue reading NintendoWare Weekly: Pearl Harbor Trilogy, 101 Shark Pets

NintendoWare Weekly: Pearl Harbor Trilogy, 101 Shark Pets originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 05 Jul 2010 12:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The boy who lived placed a binding curse on the Chart Track's UK all-formats chart last week, sticking Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4, Red Dead Redemption and Super Mario Galaxy 2 in their present descending order, with Mr. Potter grabbing the golden snitch (and top spot) for the second week in a row.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11, available on all the major consoles, premiered at number four last week. Also, the Wii's one singular sensation, Ubisoft's Dance on Broadway, let in the sunshine and basked with a sixth place premiere. Of course, perennial favorite Just Dance was ballroom dancing with its Broadway partner in the seventh spot. Find the complete UK top ten after the break.

Continue reading Lego Harry Potter casts 'petrificus totalus' on UK chart toppers

Lego Harry Potter casts 'petrificus totalus' on UK chart toppers originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 05 Jul 2010 11:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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