This gigantic, bladed, slashing monstrosity is one of the most coveted weapons in all of the World of Warcraft, spoken of in whispers by some of the most epic characters in the game: the Ashbringer. And it's set to feature pretty prominently in Wrath of the Lich King, the second expansion coming to the biggest game in the world later this year. Joystiq's site covering all things Azeroth, WoW Insider, has the story on this sword and much, much more. Here's our biggest posts from the past week in Warcraft.
Know Your Lore: The Ashbringer Everyone's all giddy about Frostmane finding its way into player hands, but Know Your Lore takes a long look at the other side of the "Awesome Two-Hand Sword" spectrum.
We have had a busy week at the PC centric Big Download site. As we approach two big gaming events (next week's Games Convention and Labor Day weekend's Penny Arcade Expo) we should have even more to write about in the coming days. In the meantime let's look back at the week that was:
While most people hail the Dreamcast as Sega's swan song, we want to go back one generation and remember the Saturn, which gave birth to person favorites NiGHTS Into Dreams, Dragon Force and ... um ... Christmas NIGHTS. We know there are other classics, so tell us your experiences with the console. Note how the special NIGHTS controller (mid left) looks conspicuously like the Sega Dreamcast pad. Here's what we'll be playing this weekend. Be sure to let us know what games will be occupying your time!
Alexander Sliwinski: I'll be at a wedding in New Rochelle, NY this weekend, so it's DS time for me. The plan is to keep my Civilization Revolution addiction going with the DS version. Also, hoping to be back in time on Sunday to make some more money with the Fable II pub games. Need to learn and play the table better on Keystone (a variation of Craps -- yes giggling youths out there, that's the name of a real casino game).
Andrew Yoon: I'm only a small handful of Trophies away from getting 100% in PixelJunk Eden. This weekend, I'll be going through the latest Ratchet & Clank adventure, Quest for Booty, and then some demo time with Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.
Christopher Grant is the leader and doesn't have to answer for himself.
Griffin McElroy won't hear our Roll of Thunder call until the weekend begins.
Kevin Kelly: The Fable II pub games will be occurring, with several liftings of ale. I'll also be playing in my D&D campaign (hello, nerdom!) and trying out this new card game called Pecking Order. It's crazy, I tells ya. Plus some of my family is in town, so there will be some board game happenings going on as well.
James Ransom-Wiley: For the first time -- ever! -- I went with a PS3 version; in this case: Bionic Commando Rearmed. I also plan to spend some time psyching myself up for Too Human's imminent release. (Oh, and Amazon, where is my Pub Games code?!)
Jason Dobson: After grinding this week through the Netherworld, I'm going to be spending the weekend mastering the subtleties of the Xbox 360's terrible d-pad in Bionic Commando Rearmed, most likely falling to my death in the process.
Justin McElroy: I'm playing Space Siege as we speak, and I'm enjoying it so far. I'm also going to be listening to the Joystiq Podcast, because it's so funny and good and right. [Ed. - Justin later told me to add "Too Human" to the list because he wanted to flaunt it over the peons.]
Ludwig Kietzmann: I'm taking my copy of Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes (cry more, purists!) to a friend's place and introducing him to the world of cardboard boxes and heavy handed exposition. When I'm back home, I'll be hacking away at Crisis Core's never-ending side missions, fumbling my way through Alone in the Dark and slashing wildly at scantily clad sword mistresses in Soul Calibur IV.
Randy Nelson: My brief stint behind the handlebars of Burnout Paradises' motorcycles has once again revved the throttle of my addiction to the game, so you'll no doubt see me Freeburning on PSN this weekend. I'm also aching to get into the swing of Bionic Commando: Rearmed (I opted for the XBLA route) and should probably brush up on my Soul Calibur IV skillz if I ever hope to go toe-to-toe with Ludwig online.
Ross Miller: XBLOverload with Braid, Bionic Commando and Pub Games. I'm still going through Rock Band drums on left-handed hard mode to try and get the other half of my body more in sync.
OK, set your mind to "fully open," because it's going to have to be pretty wide to wrap itself around this: Joystiq gave birth to the Joystiq Podcast, which gave birth to the Joystiq Podcast Appreciation Group on Facebook. Now, that community has rallied itself to create the Joystiq Pocdast Appreciation Group Podcast, which we are now posting about on Joystiq! The snake has eaten its own tail!
Lesser podcasts would probably be weirded out by such meta-admiration, but not us, we kind of expect it. Nay ... we demand it. Thanks to Randall Smith, Wesley Johnson, Chase Murata, Chris Miller and James Lockwood for heeding our orders.
We can't exactly decide whether this freaky-looking Dwarf makes us want to play as a Death Knight more or not, but he does look freaky. This was just one of the hundreds of images and impressions coming out of the Wrath of the Lich King beta this week on Joystiq's sister site WoW Insider. Below are our top posts from the past week, and as you can see, there's lots and lots of Death Knight and Wrath beta news to be had.
Wow. Our coverage of E3 was pretty extensive but that doesn't mean we have been lazy since then . . . far from it in fact. Check out our extensive original features (including our QuakeCon 2008 coverage), new downloads and important news items from the past couple of weeks:
Exclusive Features
QuakeCon 2008 coverage: Big Download went to Dallas for the annual free gathering of gamers sponsored by id Software. Check out our round-up of all our extensive coverage of the event, which includes new info on Rage, Wolfenstein, a QuakeCon picture gallery and a case mod gallery.
GOG.com Interview: We chat with Tom Ohle on their upcoming digital download gaming site that will offer classic PC games that will be DRM free and sold on the cheap.
Hinterland Interview: Tilted Mill's Chris Beatrice chats with us about their first original downloadable game.
ECA Interview: We talk with Hal Halpin, the president of the Entertainment Consumers Association.
PAX 2008 Interview: Robert Khoo gives us the 411 on their plans for the 2008 edition of the Penny Arcade Expo.
Digital Unrest's Chris Simmons originally made this comic in April 2006, and we subsequently crashed his servers. The strip has bee remade this week with new art and, given that it never got a fair shot last time, we're going to throw it in again this week. Thanks for the trip down memory lane, Chris. Here are our picks for the week's best game-related webcomic. Polling after the break; be sure to vote for your favorite!
He decided to send all of us a picture of the bloodied remains of teeth early this morning
Many of the Joystiq staffers decided to not to have breakfast.
Here's what we'll be playing this weekend. Be sure to let us know what games will be occupying your time!
Alexander Sliwinski: I tried the demo for Braid and the puzzles inspired me to get the full game. Also have Eden to play and I'm sure to get in some Civ Rev as well. Just a little disturbed that PSN and XBLA games are starting to become my go-to style of games.
Andrew Yoon: As a Trophy Whore(TM), I'm still cracking away at PixelJunk Eden and Uncharted. However, if I need to take a break from the PS3, my time will be dedicated to Braid.
Christopher Grant: I'll be taking breaks between some of the more maddening (but oh so satisfying) puzzles in Braid by hopping back into Fable, which I continue to neglect. That's alright, I have until October 21 to finish it.
Griffin McElroy: I'm back into World of Warcraft, people. In the brief moments that I am able to resist Azeroth's siren call, I expect I'll be putting some more time into Final Fantasy IV DS. I expect these moments will be quite brief indeed.
Kyle Orland: More Geometry Wars 2 and Pixel Junk Eden, plus gonna try and dive into this Braid thing everyone's talking about. Also really enjoying the simulation-meets-arcade racing action in GRID at the moment. Gonna try to squeeze all this in amidst Olympics-watching, packing for a move to Pittsburgh and a birthday party for my wife. Busy weekend!
James Ransom-Wiley: I'm going to do whatever it takes to get just one of Ludwig's Geometry Wars 2 scores off the top of my leaderboards. I'll also be continuing my replay of Uncharted (moar Trophies!) and am hitting up All Points West in Jers Cirty tomorrow.
Jason Dobson: As I pack away games for my move out west on the Oregon Trail, I'm being judicious about what titles I keep out to play. After being reminded recently about Heavy Rain, I've decided to brave the snow once more and try to solve Quantic Dream's Indigo Prophecy.
Justin McElroy: I'm going to be playing Braid, which everyone who's not a dummy should rush out and buy, A+, 10/10. It makes Portal look like Brutal: Paws of Fury. And yes, I'm hoping that you'll all send this to Jonathan Blow and he'll see this and add it to his blog, because he's the best.
Ludwig Kietzmann: Braid is aiding me in my recovery from dental surgery -- a beautiful, melancholy and mentally involving game. This disgustingly vegetative weekend will also be spent playing Battlefield: Bad Company and Soul Calibur IV online. Just don't ask me to voice chat, you might make my gums bleed. Eww.
Randy Nelson: FYI, I'm settling in for some XBLA PSN TLC. This means wrapping my brain around the sheer genius of Braid, blowing it to bits with too much GeoWars2, and just plain chillaxin' with a game I find both challenging and utterly soothing: PixelJunk Eden.
Ross Miller: Just bought a new 60GB Xbox 360 after having another one die on me (second unit, no RRoDs so not covered under warranty *sad face*). Now to try out this Braid thing everyone's been talking about ...
In August 1982, about 26 years ago, the ColecoVision sported a 3.58MHz processor, 1KB Ram and 16KB VRAM, a 256x192 resolution with 32 sprites and 16 colors, 3 tone and 1 noise sound generators and storage cartridges ranging from 8 to 32 KB. Just thought it'd be fun to put some things into perspective. Here's what we'll be playing this weekend. Be sure to let us know what games will be occupying your time!
Alexander Sliwinski: I have discovered the crack-cocaine called Civilization Revolution. It's a completely different experience from actual Civilization and I haven't decided whether or not I like it; however, four hours just disappeared the other day while I was playing it, so the addiction level is certainly still there. Need to test the multiplayer.
Christopher Grant: After trying – and subsequently failing – to find my controllers and AV cord for the original Xbox, my copy of Beyond Good and Evil must wait. Instead, I'll be giving some TLC to Fable: TLC this weekend. Works great on the 360, except if you want widescreen support, you need to set the console to 480p mode. Ahh, that's better. Also: Siren and Eden ... and maybe GeoWars 2.
Jason Dobson: With Disgaea 3 promising to have me grinding teeth on the PS3 later this month, I've recently returned to the series' PSP flavor, Afternoon of Darkness, to help prepare me for the long hours of power leveling, character building, and manic wit to come.
Justin McElroy: I'm playing a bizarre combination of The Neverhood and Alone in the Dark, if I get any free time. Go figure.
Ludwig Kietzmann: I've been nursing a hangover all day. Not from drinking, but from the unrelenting assault of colors and particles that is Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2. Playing it until 5AM this morning was not a good idea ... but quitting the game seemed like an even worse decision. And I expect this trend will continue throughout the weekend as I zip through gates (which could kill you OH NOES) in Pacifism mode.
Randy Nelson: Geometry and PixelJunk filling my screen. Who will win? Why, me of course. That is unless I can't stop playing to eat. Actually, when was the last time I ate? Or drank anything? Oh my. Fact: the Remote Play function of the PS3 is super-rad. It lets me take PixelJunk Eden anywhere. Anywhere.
Ross Miller: I've been told to haul my Rock Band and Mario Kart Wii gear to a friend's house for a birthday celebration, but while that's going on I'll likely be sipping on a beer playing The World Ends With You.
With the bleeps and bloops of our beloved games -- and we suppose Mega Man 9 was the only thing that sounded like that, really -- echoing through a cavernous and lifeless Los Angeles Convention Center, it was clear that this year's E3 was different. But the more things change, the more they stay the same. We still got to play some promising games, we still had to endure some rotten ideas and we still had to roll our eyes at corporate PR foibles. Thankfully, that's exactly what the Joystiq E3 2008 Awards are for.
E3 may be over (and it may have not been the greatest installment of the event) but Big Download has some more game impressions from the show plus some other original features to check out. Here are the highlights from the past week:
Interview: Microsoft's Kevin Unangst: We chat with the Games for Windows general manager about their decision to make Games for Windows Live free and offer the first screenshot of the revamped UI for the service.
Downloads
Far Cry 2 E3 trailer: Check out the shoot-em-up action in this trailer promoting the Ubisoft FPS
Project Origin E3 trailer: It's both exciting and scary at the same time. It's footage from the Monoloth shooter sequel
Thanks to the power of the internets, a brief childhood memory about "a game where you move boxes" was decoded in approximately 28 minutes. (Answer: Shove It! The Warehouse Game for Sega Genesis). Here's what we'll be playing this weekend. Be sure to let us know what games will be occupying your time!
Alexander Sliwinski: I'm gong to finish MGS 4 this weekend. E3 got in the way, but it's time to finish the fight ... er, yeah.
Andrew Yoon: I have to finish MGS4, but will I be able to stop playing PixelJunk Eden to do that?
Christopher Grant: I've got a handful of Xbox 1 games that I've been meaning to play, and chief amongst them is (the back-compat-less) Beyond Good & Evil. That means busting out the old Xbox ... I have no idea where those controllers are ...
Griffin McElroy:Having already finished Fable after picking it up on Wednesday, I've started my second run-through -- though I'm finding my new character, a nefarious mage named Dickfish the Piemaster, much more enjoyable than my original hero.
Kevin Kelly: I'm playing "Comic-Con 2008: Line Waiting and Panel Liveblogging: The Return". You can follow along at home!
Kyle Orland: Gonna try to squeeze in some more time with MGS4, out of some misplaced sense of obligation to the series more than anything else.
Jason Dobson: I finally unboxed Diablo II, and while everyone has likely moved on from the Diablo thrill ride last month, I'm going to install the game and click on some demons till they die.
Ludwig Kietzmann: Well, I haven't been home in almost 3 weeks, so I'll probably stick with the portable systems. Despite the lousy story, I really want to go back to Crisis Core's bite-sized grinding.
Randy Nelson: Chant it with me, people: Pixel-Junk E-den (da-da-dadada!) Pixel-Junk E-den (da-da-dadada!). All right, that was my exercise for the day. Once I've fully absorbed all that demo-y goodness I'll head back into Liberty City. I've got a few dozen more flying rats to cap.
Ross Miller: I've been playing my own version of Shove It! by moving across town to a new apartments. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to play eight hours of Little Nemo: The Dream Master.
Yes, motorcycles in Azeroth. One half of the octopus on a motorbike Druid form is complete! This and many other revelations came to us this week at WoW Insider as the Wrath of the Lich King beta opened up, and all kinds of Death Knight and Northrend news and information came falling out. Here's our most popular posts from the last seven days, with lots of new info about the reason you'll be playing WoW again this winter.
It's E3 week and we were there getting some hands-on time and some eyes-on time with some of the biggest PC game releases in the next several months. Here are the highlights from Big Download for the past week.
When Harmonix throws a party they get The Who to headline that jam; when Joystiq throws a party, we get Harmonix to headline. The generous devs from Boston brought Rock Band 2 to our E3 afterparty in Santa Monica for the 300 plus attendees to prove their mettle. Take Joystiq superband The Blueberry Muffintops who closed off the night with this rendition of Elvis Costello's "Pump It Up" – take note: by this point in the night, we'd already blown out the setup's speaker. Rawk!
So really, our heartfelt thanks to Harmonix for making everyone's night. But we'd also like to thank Nyko for the peripherals, Naughty Dog for the great signed stuff, and of course Mahalo.com for the super generous use of their space. Most of all, thanks to everyone that showed up. We put Joystiq together every day for you guys and it was flattering, and humbling, to see everyone turn out today. This one's for you (hit play now!).
_thumbnail.jpg "i am 8-bit: 2008")
