In this week’s edition, cracking your PS3 turns out to be super-popular and Treyarch talks about Call of Duty: Black Ops’ gritty story.
“Portal Ball” Cut From Portal 2
Valve writer Erik Wolpaw has revealed that there were plans for Portal 2 to have a competitive multiplayer mode as well as its co-op puzzle mode. The multiplayer was supposedly much like speedball, but had a distinctly Portal twist, with players using their portal guns to move the ball around quickly, or prevent opponents from reaching the goal. Wolpaw said that the mode was dropped after it became obvious that it was just an unplayable chaotic mess, and didn’t really feel much like Portal. (link)
No “No Russian” For Black Ops
The next Call of Duty won’t have anything as gratuitous as Mewtwo’s “No Russian” level, according to Treyarch’s Josh Olin, but the developer won’t be pretending that war is all puppies and laughter either. He said that Black Ops was designed to evoke strong emotional responses in its players, but that it would always be with the aim of making the story all the more immersive. (link)
Final Fantasy XIV Adds Mandatory Time Limits
When you’re paying a monthly fee for a game, you’d expect it to be up to you exactly how you played it, right? Well, Square Enix apparently disagrees, as it has placed limits on how long a player can train in any single class over a seven day period. The idea behind it is to prevent hardcore players gaining an advantage over more casual ones, but whether it will actually work out that way is debatable. (link)
Marvel at These Mega Men
Here’s something I bet you didn’t know about Mega Man, he can take powers from anything that has them, not just Doctor Wily’s robots. As sprite artist Irene Y Lee neatly illustrates, Mega Man can nab the abilities of mutants, sorcerers, demons, and even gods. Make sure you check out the full panorama and see how many characters you can name. (link)
PS3 Modchip Sells Out
A plug-in jailbreak kit for the PS3 has been such a big hit that the suppliers were unable to keep up with demand. Shoppsjailbreak announced over the weekend that it had run out of the device and would only be able to take reservations until it replenished its stock. But with Sony trying to get the device banned, its days may already be numbered. (link)
