Joystiq

Happy Birthday, America! Let us be the first to say -- and we really mean this -- you've aged spectacularly well. How old are you? Two-hundred and thirty-three? No, that can't be right. Seriously, you look like you're still in your thirties! No wrinkles, no unsightly varicose veins, no ... well, okay, your Dakotas are sagging a bit, and your Florida has certainly seen better days, but on the whole, you've still got it goin' on. You know what they say -- two-hundred and thirty-three is the new twenty, you saucy, saucy cougar.

While not celebrating our decadent independence or hitting on entire nations, we managed to find our seven favorite gaming-themed webcomics from this past week. We've posted them below for your viewing pleasure, and then listed them in a poll after the break for your ... well, for your voting pleasure, we guess. Celebrate your democracy, dear friends!

Mountain Cracks (Brawl in the Family)
Party Favors (Digital Unrest)
In Which We Declare Our Independence (Dipswitch)
Actually, I'm Just Not Going to Buy It (Virtual Shackles)
The Wee-Bee Overlord (Monday Night Crew)
Team Fortress 2 Babies (GG-Guys)
Mega Man's Workout (2P Start)

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GameTrailers has posted a new Wolfenstein motion comic. We're not quite sure how to feel about it really. Sure, it's nice to see B.J. Blazkowicz doing what he does best. We also like that Wolfenstein's famous chain gun-wielding Hitler once again gets what he deserves. Still, the whole thing is just so cheesy. If we didn't know better, we'd say that B.J. is trying to fill the one-liner chasm that has been left by the dearly departed Duke Nukem.

Don't take our word for it though, watch it after the break and see what you think.

[Via BigDownload]

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Okay, so the latest trailer for TimeGate's Section 8 certainly looks cool. What with the robo-solders dropping into battle from the sky, calling in tanks and giant mechs, and FPS action, we'll give it that. Our only question is this: Where's the heart?

What's that? You don't care about heart? You're more interested in all the action and nifty multiplayer features? Oh, well you should watch the trailer then.

You know what the best thing about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time is? Throwing enemies into the screen. Thankfully, that feature is retained in the upcoming XBLA remake. The HD remake is obviously going to be a much prettier version of the original game -- but how good does it really look? The fine folks at GameVideos have made a stellar comparison video that highlights the sleek new look of this 2.5D remake. Watch all the way to the end to see how even the voice overs have -- for better or for worse -- changed.

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Doug Lombardi has told Joystiq that a multiplayer demo for Valve's Left 4 Dead 2 is planned for both the Xbox 360 and PC. According to Valve's PR guru, users who pre-order the upcoming zombie survival title at "participating retailers or [via] Steam" will gain "advanced access to the demo," which will eventually land on both platforms for all users prior to the game's November 17 launch.

Speaking with OXM at a recent London preview event, Lombardi discussed the strength of Left 4 Dead's "word of mouth," which has presumably fueled the need for a demo to the sequel. With groups calling for a boycott of Left 4 Dead 2 due to lack of content support for the original title, a demo may be the best way for Valve to prove why it believes its sequel warrants a full price tag. Although, strong pre-order numbers tell us the game is already on pace to decimate sales charts like a zombie tank.

Virtual Shackles only just appeared on the gaming webcomic scene, but has held its own in every Wrapup it's appeared on, usually netting one of the runner-up spots. However, their eighteenth strip -- a cautionary tale about the dangers of sentient camera peripherals titled "Still a Few Bugs in the System" -- managed to pull down first place in last week's WeeWebWrap. Congratulations, VirtShack! (Do you mind if we call you VirtShack? We feel so much closer to you now.)

Second place went to GameSpy's "The Life Cycle of a Videogame" (which missed top honors by a mere eight votes!) and Brawl in the Family's "The Lesson," respectively. If you've got a favorite gaming-themed webcomic to throw into the ring this week, act quickly! We'll be webcomic wrapping later today, shortly before we recklessly play with fireworks -- and after that, we may not have enough fingers left to throw any tardy entries into the fray.

Though this is a short version of the show that lacks Chris Grant and Ludwig Kietzmann, we've made up for it with Joystiq's Ben Gilbert and Jem Alexander and super special guest Wombat of Cheap Ass Gamer fame.

We're talking The Conduit, Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood and a load of other stuff. Enjoy it and have a happy 4th! Oh, and thanks to TV's Alan Black for the photoshop.

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Hosts: Jem Alexander, Ben Gilbert, Wombat of CAG Fame and Justin McElroy

Music: "Gravity (Don't Let Me Go)" by Jon Black, "The Problem With America" by The Vitamen

For fans: Joystiq Podcast Facebook group

See all of this week's links after the jump.

Swag Saturdays continue on this 4th of July with Atlus' first downloadable XBLA game, Droplitz. Don't know much about the game? Well, watch the video to find out how to play this puzzler.

• Leave a comment telling us what XBLA game is your favorite game so far. Note: If you say Yaris, you are automatically disqualified from this contest.
  
• You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada, excluding Quebec. Note: In Quebec, you are legally required to like Yaris.
  
• Limit 1 entry per person
  
• This entry period ends at 7:00pm ET on Sunday, July 5. We'll randomly select 4 winners at that time to receive: one download of Droplitz for Xbox 360 (ARV $10.00).
• For a list of complete rules, click here

In the celebration of all things great and American, we're proud to present the characters of inFamous and Prototype cross-dressing. YAY! (See inFamous' Cole after the break.)

Okay, so you're probably wondering where these images came from. Yahtzee presented a challenge to the development teams of these two games after he couldn't decide which game was better in a recent episode of Zero Punctuation. So, he jokingly said the "winner" would be whichever team sends in an image of the other game's protagonist cross-dressing.

And now the world is a much better place.

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Concept and execution are two totally different worlds. Although the concept and initial presentation of Lionhead Studios' Milo blew everyone away at E3 2009, what does fate have in store for the little digital boy's longterm execution? IGN attempts to answer that question in a little sketch they put together. We all know Milo will lose his innocence once he's in the hands of normal people, but just how bad will it become? Check out the video after the break.

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What's that, Chris Cashman, host of Xbox Live's 1 vs 100? Oh yeah, "skill-based prizes" start next week, July 10, specifically. Great! Unfortunately, though, what we heard from Mr. Cashman during tonight's game of 1 vs 100 wasn't all good news.

He continued, saying that while the prizes will start next week "for the mob," the game will be staying in beta. Guess that means this isn't part of the first "season" of prizes? We're not so sure, but we are sure of this -- given the whole fireworks thing going on this weekend, we're probably not going to hear more news on the subject until at least Monday.

Update: Near the end of the episode, Cashman also seemed to mention that "the one" would also be eligible for "skill-based prizes." We're currently following up with Microsoft about getting more concrete information about the prizes, the new sweepstakes announced last night and how long the show plans to stay in beta. We'll be sure to update as soon as we hear back.

So this is kinda confusing, try to roll with us. Developer Reality Pump announced that it's working on Two Worlds II, due this winter. Only ... it had already announced a sequel to Oblivion-esque FPS RPG called Two Worlds: The Temptation. We're pretty sure the team just decided to go with the number instead of the subtitle, but we guess we'll never know. (Yeah, we've emailed them.)

Set two years after the original, TW II promises "completely overhauled AI and balancing standards, experienced authors, [an] active combat system and the brand-new engine." Here's hoping the changes can make the sequel not so ... you know ... wretched?

[Via Eurogamer]

Video Games Live continues touring with a few special shows during the month of July. On July 10, the National Symphony Orchestra (which did two sold-out shows at the Kennedy Center in DC) will perform at the WolfTrap Feline Center in Virginia. Sid Meier, Civilization IV vocalist Ron Ragin and game composer Grant Kirkhope (Donkey Kong Country, GoldenEye, Banjo-Kazooie, Viva Pinata) will all be in attendance.

For Texans, Halo composer Mike Salvatori will make a "special guest appearance" at the Ft. Worth show on July 14. A few days later, The Houston Symphony will perform the show in its namesake city for two shows on July 18, in collaboration with MusiCON 09. The special afternoon show is entitled "Blizzard Live!" and will showcase songs from the Warcraft, Starcraft and Diablo games. Five Blizzard composers will attend and participate in a Q&A panel.

There will also be a performance at the San Diego Comic-Con on July 23 at the outdoor Embarcadero Marina Park, which will include synchronized fireworks. Tickets are available at the Video Games Live site. Check out the full list of July tour stops after the break.

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