It may be a holiday here in the US, but the show must go on! This isn't a traditional episode -- instead, we're just talking PAX Prime 2010, answering some questions from Twitter and addressing some fanmail. We're trying to keep it casual, you know, so pull up a chair, grab a frosty beverage and kick it with your X3F buddies below. Enjoy!

Oh, and we'd like to thank @_misterd_ for releasing the butterflies in the wonderful chop above.

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

Music: Intro/Outro: "Electromooq" by Uma Floresta. Break: "Bandages" by Hot Hot Heat.

Xbox 360 Fancast 179.5 -- PAX Prime 2010 originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 06 Sep 2010 18:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The first public appearance of The Witness, a new game from Braid designer Jonathan Blow (and a small team of independent designers), almost went unnoticed. Its presence at last weekend's Penny Arcade Expo wasn't announced by an enthusiastic press release or trumpeted by a flashy trailer. It didn't even have a sign.

"PAX is a huge show, with tons of stuff to see everywhere; if the game could hold peoples' attention under those conditions, purely on its own merits rather than by hype or pedigree, then I would know that it was really working," Jonathan Blow wrote on The Witness blog. "Happily, the game worked very well - despite the fact that the visuals are still in an early prototype stage. People tended to play for a long time, and they liked what they played."

Kotaku's Stephen Totilo compared the first-person exploration and puzzle-solving to Myst. The game's beautifully lit and serene world hides abstract enigmas, such as boards that require you to trace the correct route. What's most interesting, however, is that there don't seem to be any prompts or instructions for the player -- making this understated PAX reveal seem very appropriate indeed.

The Witness makes low-key debut at PAX originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 06 Sep 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Develop reports that bankrupt studio Realtime Worlds has seen its Project MyWorld IP bought up by an "anonymous American company." It's currently unclear what this means for the 23 developers who were working on the project at the studio's location in Dundee, Scotland. One of the more optimistic scenarios is that the American outfit will create a satellite studio nearby and hire the current staff to finish the (allegedly almost done) project.

This means that Realtime's APB IP, which at last count had about 130,000 players, is still up for grabs from Begbies Traynor, the company handling the bankruptcy. Okay, Begbies, we've got $5 and some gummi bears in our pocket -- what do you say?

Develop: US firm acquires Realtime World's Project MyWorld originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 06 Sep 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon's deal of the day is Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Ultimate Edition at 33 percent off, for $40. ThriftyNerd noticed the discounted bundle -- which was just officially announced last week -- which includes the original game (w/ VIP access), Onslaught mode, Battlefield 1943 and items that were initially available through the "limited edition" back in March.

For those who still haven't played Battlefield: Bad Company 2: the single-player campaign isn't anything special, but get some friends together in a squad and you've got some of the best multiplayer this year.

Continue reading Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Ultimate Edition is Amazon's labor day deal

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Ultimate Edition is Amazon's labor day deal originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 06 Sep 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bungie revealed an interesting tidbit about the creation of Noble, the protagonist Spartan squad engulfed in the conflict on the titular planet in Halo: Reach. There were initially more members of the team, though two were eventually cut in favor of the five in the final Noble team we know today (excluding Noble Six, the player character in Halo: Reach).

"Back in the early days, we talked a lot about The Magnificent Seven and The Seven Samurai," Lee Wilson, story and cinematics lead, said. "And yes, originally, there were seven Spartans. Here's a little bit of trivia for you guys: Rosetta and Tom, yes, were two of the Spartans we had to cut, unfortunately."

Wilson described Rosetta as being "sassy," while Tom was "a cowboy." If you need us, we'll be pouring one out for the first casualties in the Fall of Reach.

Halo: Reach's Spartans who didn't make the cut originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 04 Sep 2010 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Just because you didn't attend PAX this year doesn't mean you can't tell your friends and loved ones that you totally did. Just click through our gallery and memorize every nook and cranny of the expansive show floor. Then you'll be ready when your friends and family try to test your story. "Ricky, when you were at PAX, did you see a giant dinosaur statue, Phoenix Wright cosplayers and Jonathan Blow working on a laptop?" You bet your sweet ass I did, grandma.

But enough with the words, let the images commence!

PAX 2010: A visual tour originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 05 Sep 2010 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Just two days after revealing its stewardship of the Duke Nukem Forever title at PAX, Gearbox Software just revealed that it has actually purchased the Duke Nukem brand. Gearbox president Randy Pitchford told an audience at PAX this afternoon that they're not just making sure Duke Nukem Forever makes it to store shelves, but they've actually purchased the entire Duke Nukem IP. "We actually bought the brand," Pitchford told fans. "We bought Duke Nukem."

A press release timed to go out with the announcement has some more information. Here's the big picture quote: "Gearbox Software announced today that it has acquired the full intellectual property rights of the 'Duke Nukem' brand including Duke Nukem Forever and all future projects in a cooperative deal made with 3D Realms." Even more interesting: "The first product to be available under the Duke Nukem brand will be the long awaited Duke Nukem Forever." Naturally, if they're buying the brand you can imagine DNF won't be the last game to feature the Duke.

Pitchford made a point to say that Alan Blum, the creator of the Duke Nukem franchise, is now with Gearbox. "He's on the 10th floor with his team," he said. He also wanted to explain that this franchise couldn't simply have been purchased by anyone. "I didn't buy it from [3D Realms]," Pitchford said. "They sold it to me." In the press release, 3D Realms' Scott Miller said, "Gearbox was handpicked as the new home for Duke Nukem because of their continued passion, commitment and long-time heritage with the brand and 3D Realms."

Continue reading 'We bought Duke Nukem.' Franchise rights transferred from 3D Realms to Gearbox

'We bought Duke Nukem.' Franchise rights transferred from 3D Realms to Gearbox originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 05 Sep 2010 19:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We've got bad news and good news. First, the bad news: The new Borderlands DLC pack - that's Claptrap's New Robot Revolution - won't include the two most requested features. Those would be a new level cap and a rebalancing of the main game to accomodate the new level cap. And neither of those will be included with the latest DLC.

Now the good news: They are being included in a free update for the game across all three platforms, Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford told a live PAX audience they resisted making it a part of a DLC pack since if they included those features, "you'd have to buy every previous DLC" to get access to these new features. So, instead, Pitchford said they were going to release a "free update to Borderlands that will both rebalance the original game around the level cap and increase the level cap for everyone."

But Pitchford said the studio still struggled with how far to raise the level cap. On the one hand, they didn't want to match the 11-point upgrade that many people paid for with the "General Knox" DLC but they didn't want it to be too low, like 5-points. Instead, they came up with another number. "With the current level cap at 61," Pitchford teased, "we realized if we added 8 levels ... "

The audience groans.

So the new level cap is 69 and it will be released sometime around the October 12th Borderlands Game of the Year Edition release.

Free Borderlands update will raise level cap, rebalance main game originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 05 Sep 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The new labor report released this morning finds that unemployment rose last month to 9.6 percent. Still, the economy added a better-than-expected 67,000 private sector jobs in August. ?Since its most recent low in December 2009, private-sector employment has risen by 763,000.?

“Republicans have declared 2010 their ‘Year of the Woman,’ but come January, the Senate GOP will be without a female on its leadership team for the first time in nearly a decade.” With the defeat of Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Senate Republicans are left with just three female senators, but none of them “appear likely to lobby” for Murkowski’s leadership spot.

Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) said the explosion aboard a Mariner Energy rig in the Gulf of Mexico yesterday ?is further proof that offshore drilling is an inherently dangerous practice.? Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) added, ?much is left to be done to keep America?s workers and waters safe from those risks.?

Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin issued a new attack on the media yesterday in the wake of lengthy and critical profiles published in Vanity Fair and New York magazine. “Impotent, limp and gutless reporters take anonymous sources and cite them as being factual references,” she said. “It just slays me because it’s so absolutely clear what the state of yellow journalism is today.”

A new poll released by the New York Times finds that two-thirds of New Yorkers oppose the construction of the Park 51 Islamic community center two blocks from Ground Zero. Opposition is lowest in the Manhattan borough, where 41 percent oppose its construction.

President Obama will hold a press conference in the Rose Garden next week to discuss the steps his administration has taken to fix the economy. The Sept. 10 press conference will come after Obama visits Wisconsin and Ohio for economic events during the week.

Knocking down a report in the Washington Post, Obama administration aides said they are not considering a second stimulus package to jump-start the economy. The administration is considering “more federal spending on infrastructure projects and tax cuts popular with the business community,” and a $55 billion package that would cut small business taxes.

A new report from the Kaiser Family Foundation finds that there was a 14 percent jump in the cost of the average “employer-sponsored family healthcare coverage” plan from last year. “The average worker is now paying roughly $4,000,” annually to purchase such coverage.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pledged yesterday “to keep meeting at regular intervals, aiming to nail down a framework for overcoming deep disputes and achieving lasting peace within a year.” “You each have taken an important step toward freeing your peoples from the shackles of a history we cannot change,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said.

And finally: Walker Texas Ranger star Chuck Norris is raising his political profile, cutting a new web ad for the NRA, to ?trigger? the vote. “In the spot Norris visits a local tea party (complete with chalkboard!) and ?triggers? them to vote.”

ThinkProgress is hiring! Details here.

We can all agree that Sonic Unleashed had some pretty deep lows -- specifically, the Werehog. But the daytime segments in the game showed promise; almost a return to form. These areas of the game, for the unaware, combined Sonic Adventure-like 3D free-running elements alongside more classical, 2D elements from the series' past. It was easily the highlight of that game.

And Sega knows it, which explains why Sonic Colors is pretty much nothing but those portions of gameplay. That alone would make for a pretty serviceable Sonic game, but Sega has also added Wisps: small alien creatures who imbue Sonic with one-time-use powers.

Continue reading Sonic Colors preview: Wisp you were here

Sonic Colors preview: Wisp you were here originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 05 Sep 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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