When the BBFC first outed Activision's plans to release a title called Blood Drive, we immediately jumped to the conclusion that the publisher was working on an ultraviolent car combat game. Little did we know that what it was actually working on was a car combat game ... with zombies! A press release has revealed more about the title, in which "contestants must use their motorized death steeds of steel in a televised game show where drivers battle each other and hordes of revolting flesh eaters in an all-out fight to the death." It's a very poetic press release.

Blood Drive will start its engines this November on the 360 and PS3 at a slightly embargained price of $49.99. You can check out the first few screens for the game in the gallery below.

Continue reading Blood Drive mixing car combat and zombies this November

Blood Drive mixing car combat and zombies this November originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 10 Sep 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Final Fantasy V may not have the most recognizable soundtrack from the series, but we trust that OCRemix's five-part ... remix of the fifth game's score should wedge itself quite nicely in our brainpan. Click here to download the first part of the FFV soundtrack compilation for free.

Continue reading OCRemix releases first part of five-part Final Fantasy V compilation

OCRemix releases first part of five-part Final Fantasy V compilation originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 10 Sep 2010 18:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Try before you buy. It's a simple concept, and it's been a key element in marketing games this console generation -- at least on platforms that aren't WiiWare. But Nintendo did give demos a chance once upon a time ago and Gaijin Games' Bit.Trip Beat was one of five titles consumers could try free of cost. According to Gaijin Games, it helped.

Alex Neuse, CEO of Gaijin Games, told Joystiq that when the "demo was active," his company "started to see sales more on par with our projections." We've heard the same WiiWare story over and over again from developers and publishers: Nintendo doesn't promote; many Wii consoles aren't hooked up to the internet; nobody is buying these games. It's interesting that something as small as a playable demo could affect sales in such a positive manner.

"I think this is because Bit.Trip Beat is the type of game that people really have to play to understand," Neuse said in regards to the success of his demo. He went on to say that "a screenshot just doesn't do it justice" and that he's "sad to see that the demo program has ended."

We are, too -- WiiWare developers work very hard to create games and support the platform. It's gotta be frustrating when there's no reciprocation.

Gaijin Games: Bit.Trip Beat demo helped get sales 'on par with projections' originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 10 Sep 2010 18:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We don't know what you guys are pumped for most in Halo: Reach, but for us it's easily the new Firefight mode. That's why we had to share this video, which does an amazing job at slowing down time and making our wait that much tougher. Join us by checking out the video past the break.

Continue reading Video: Halo: Reach's Firefight, as previewed by Bungie

Video: Halo: Reach's Firefight, as previewed by Bungie originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 10 Sep 2010 15:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A study by the Nielsen Company found that the glasses required for the 3D television experience -- which includes 3D gaming -- appear to be the tech's greatest hurdle. About half of those surveyed said the glasses were uncomfortable or a hassle, while 89 percent said the specs made it harder to do other things while watching TV (we assume the inability to multitask is less of a problem when playing 3D games). There's also the issue of no standardization -- your Sony glasses wouldn't work on your friend's Samsung TV, for instance.

The study noted that "active TV shoppers" who were considering a 3D TV purchase dropped from 25 percent to 12 percent after trying out the tech and considering the higher cost and limited available content. Still, half of the respondents were impressed by the 3D picture quality.

Nintendo's glasses-free 3DS tech could be a potential option for consumers wanting a 3D experience, albeit on a much smaller screen. Speaking of Nintendo's portable marvel, we're expecting the release date and pricing on September 29.

[Image Credit: Frank Reese]

Nielsen study: People don't like 3D glasses originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In case you haven't been following along too much at home, we'll give you the quick recap: The Apple App Store submission and review process has been, historically, something of a total mess. There's been very little consistency in Apple's standards and plenty of app developers (including game developers!) have found themselves on the wrong side of Apple's approval process. But the Big A is looking to change all that. In a public statement, the company says it's looking to "relax some restrictions [it] put in place earlier this year."

What kind of restrictions? "In particular, we are relaxing all restrictions on the development tools used to create iOS apps, as long as the resulting apps do not download any code," the statement reads. "This should give developers the flexibility they want, while preserving the security we need." If you don't speak Giant Corporation, let us translate: Developers will be able to use third-party tools like Adobe's Flash CS5 to create iPhone apps. Adobe, surely having thought this was a battle it had already lost, was pleased with Apple's announcement, telling All Things Digital, "We are encouraged to see Apple lifting its restrictions on its licensing terms, giving developers the freedom to choose what tools they use to develop applications for Apple devices."

While Apple may be relaxing those restrictions, it's also going one step further and publishing its "App Store Review Guidelines to help developers understand how we review submitted apps." This new found desire for transparency has already given us an amazing amount of insight into the app review process. For example, did you know Apple has a policy on fart apps? Did you know it was this direct? "We have over 250,000 apps in the App Store. We don't need any more Fart apps." If you insist, Apple!

Check out Engadget for some more great pulls from the Review Guidelines PDF (or snag a copy for your Kindle at the source link below). With the iOS platform becoming an increasingly important (not to mention vibrant!) marketplace for indie games, we're thrilled to see Apple make some difficult, though necessary, steps towards opening up its walled garden. Now we can see if there's a policy against us making a Tower Defense game called Apple's Walled Garden, where you strategically place reviewer-shaped turrets to keep unwelcome apps out.

Apple will 'relax' some iOS development restrictions, notably third-party tools like Flash CS5 originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 21:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Halo: Reach isn't even out in stores, but IGN has already found a way to exploit part of the game for the sake of easy Achievements. In this video, its outlines a surefire method for farming up a good amount of the game's cheevos by tweaking the customized Firefight system to be really hard and then giving yourself invincibility. Which means "you can basically shoot around in circles, and get massive amounts of points." Seems like fun ... we guess?

If nothing else, this shows off just how customizable the multiplayer system in Reach actually is. Bungie has made it so that the priority is coming up with fun gametypes with your friends, not just tweaking for as many points towards Achievement as possible. Not that we don't appreciate sweet, sweet cheevos, but that's not the only reason we're Firefighting against the Covenant, right? Right?

Continue reading Video: Halo: Reach Achievements made easy (and cheat-y)

Video: Halo: Reach Achievements made easy (and cheat-y) originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 20:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It's difficult to convey the sheer terror and chaos I experienced in the first few minutes of the Slam Bolt Scrappers PAX demo. Though the Firehose Games reps told me how to play, it wasn't preparation enough for the actual game, a combination puzzler/brawler/strategy title that is one of the most unique blends of genres I've ever played. The learning curve was, um, kinda steep!

Continue reading Slam Bolt Scrappers preview: Build those blocks up

Slam Bolt Scrappers preview: Build those blocks up originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 19:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Though the scripts of most game-to-movie adaptations are written with a heavy focus on maintaining the canon and integrity of the source material, it seems ... HA! Oh, man, we almost made it through that sentence without breaking. Anyways, Resident Evil: Afterlife producer/director/writer Paul W.S. Anderson recently gushed to Reuters that much of the script for the fourth film in the franchise was deliberately penned with 3D technology in mind.

"I wrote things into this script that I knew would work well in 3D, like lots of sets with depth-like tunnels, elevator shafts, and big wide landscapes," Anderson explained. We suppose that doesn't stray too far from the actual Resident Evil games. For instance, this trailer for the film features a ton of people throwing sharp hand tools at other people -- an attack that rings familiar of Resident Evil 4, no? Oh, and let's not forget the absolutely devastating sunglasses death-fling maneuver from Resident Evil 5, seen in this spoileriffic video.

3D effects written into Resident Evil: Afterlife script originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 17:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Did you know that Kratos is the most popular PlayStation character (with Nathan Drake a close second)? And did you know that 40% of PS3 gamers can't be in a relationship with someone that "gets in the way of their gaming"? Sony shared some fun facts for its 15th anniversary.

30% of surveyed PS3 owners own more than 20 games, and other fun facts originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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