One of the best games ever made, according to Numerous people, finally getting a sequel. Now at E3, there has been some teaser footage…

and some awesome gameplay footage.

I’m sort of excited now.

Head on over to Google and you’ll see the above logo. Clicking once on the “Insert Coin” button allows you to play a game of Google Pac-Man using the arrow keys (or, I’m told, swipes for you iPhone users). Clicking the button a second time allows you or a friend to jump in as Ms. Pac-Man using the WASD control method.

Google’s press release had this to say about the programming of the logo/game:

To pay the homage that Pac-Man deserves as a ground-breaking innovation in the gaming world, Google equipped the doodle with many unique characteristics from the original Pac-Man game. From preserving the distinct personalities of the ghosts Inky (blue: fickle), Blinky (red: chaser), Pinky (pink: ambusher) and Clyde (orange: slow) to re-creating programming bugs from the original game like a “kill screen” on level 256, Sr. User Experience designer at Google, Marcin Wichary, along with Google doodler, Ryan Germick, remained as faithful to the spirit of Pac-Man as possible.

So enjoy Google Pac-Man while you can folks, it’ll be nothing more than a memory tomorrow.

Rather than pre-scripted tackling animations, like in all football games to date, every tackle in the game is completely real-time, resulting in a more realistic looking hit. However, in order to do that, NaturalMotion had to make every player in the game a completely realistic human analog, using natural movement of real humans to simulate that same movement in the game. But in an era where even scripted scenes and motion capture looks awkward, how does NaturalMotion intend to make, well…natural motion? (Un)natural selection.

Making a full human skeleton, and giving it full musculature, the NaturalMotion team set about tweaking those muscles in such a way as to create a walking motion. 100 different variations were created, and then tested. The 5 that walked the longest were deemed the most successful, and were then each copied 20 times. The team then altered subset nerves connections in variations that would occur naturally in a subsequent generation in a biological species. They tested the walking motion again, and again took the 5 best. Over the course of a few generations, NaturalMotion was able to force digital evolution on the skeletons, creating walking motions more natural than any motion capture or script could do, and leaving it completely dynamic.

Oh, and the really cool part of this whole experiment? This was in 2001. Since then, the (r)evolutionary process has been expanded to balancing, walking, environmental interaction, and yes, playing sports. This also isn’t limited to humans, but any animal that can be conceived of. So long as they can create it in a 3D environment, the evolution process can be replicated until even a create with four legs and 2 knees apiece can move in a believable way.

So what does this mean for us right now? It means that come May 18, we’ll be playing the most dynamic sports game, and maybe any game, ever created. Oh, and by this time next year, EA probably will have bought NaturalMotion. Just sayin’.

We all knew this day would come, and soon, but this was done fairly quickly. This new hack requires users to download and install modified executable that will completely remove the DRM and allow for play without the constant connection to Ubisoft servers.

Skid Row even left a message for Ubisoft

“Thank you Ubisoft, this was quiete [sic] a challenge for us, but nothing stops the leading force from doing what we do. Next time focus on the game and not on the DRM. It was probably horrible for all legit users. We just make their lifes [sic] easier.”

A bit of a harsh tone for a group of hackers who have taken a few extra precautions to avoid reverse engineering of their methods for beating this new DRM, but it’s well deserved for beating what most saw as a terrible idea.

Although this is not the first hack to come through the works, it seems to contain the full game as well. We here at The Gamerz Zone don’t condone pirating, but we can’t help but enjoy the backlash from gamers who oppose the DRM that has problems that players have absolutely no control over. Remember Ubisoft, we reap what we sow.

Mutations is a special set of gametypes that will, from week to week, be rotated out. These gametypes will consist of new ways to play, such as equipping the survivors with chainsaws with unlimited gas. Currently, there are more than 20different mutations already planned.

A lot of DLC comes through with nothing more than a new appearance, like Battlefield Bad Company 2′s new multiplayer skins due out tomorrow, but once again, Valve shows how to do DLC right: giving the players something worth the money.

Also mentioned is the fact that two of the songs from the Midnight Riders, the band mentioned several times during the course of the game, will be available on the Rock Band Network. The Passing will also feature a new song, a power ballad by the name of “Save Me Some Sugar.”

As a major fan of everything Blizzard, with the exception of Diablo for some reason, I have to say that this is GENIUS. Apart from having EVERYTHING you’ll ever need as a Starcraft fan (see list below), they will be having an in-game pet for World of Warcraft. Very crafty on Blizzard’s part since they found an easy cash cow with in-game pets already. WoW fans who wouldn’t even know about Starcraft if it wasn’t for the fact that Blizzard also made it are going to be taking a look at this special edition of Starcraft II, or at least looking to buy the code off of eBay.

Special Edition Includes:
-USB Flash Drive Replicated as Jim Raynor’s Dog Tags
-Original Starcraft and SC: Brood War (On the flash drive)
-Behind The Scenes DVD
-Soundtrack CD
-Battle.net DLC
-Art Book
-WoW in-game pet

I was already going to buy Starcraft II and whatever special edition they came up with, but the only thing that could be missing would be a Jim Raynor vulture model for displaying next to my Modern Warfare Night Vision Goggles and my Halo 3 Spartan helmet. I guess there’s still hope for the next two installments for a Carrier or Kerrigan model. I guess an in-game pet along with my special Grunty will do for now.

The game is simple, you move your mouse to move Valentine and click to jump. The screen scrolls sideways until another person is seen, and you then jump to meet them, making them a part of your party. They will then follow you, mimicking your movements, though a hair behind the person in front of them. Once you have a new party member, the Graboids begin to attack, starting off with simple arcing jumps and leading up to vertical and sweeping torpedo attacks. If one of the Graboids manages to hit your party members, they die, forever lost. If Valentine dies, however, it’s game over. Once you’ve rescued everyone from the movie, you get the opportunity to reenact the ending of Tremors, watching as the Graboids plummet to their doom.

Here’s to hoping we will have a true Tremors game in the future.

Just when you thought we might be able to stop running stories about Infinity Ward an Activision screwing something else up, the much debated (overpriced) Stimulus Package has gone live this morning, bringing with it a myriad of problems and errors, including:

Multiplayer lobbies not working.
Images for maps not showing up.
No option to play private matches.

Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb, head of the Xbox Live team, writes via twitter:

The Stimulus Package needs a Title Update and it didn’t go out properly. We’re pushing it out now – it won’t be long

However, as of writing this, the time is 9AM Central, and it’s still not been fixed. Hryb’s second tweet says they are still working on a fix.

I feel it’s important to also mention that, due to a deal who’s numbers have never been disclosed to the public, the DLC is currently only available to Xbox 360 owners, with PS3 and PC to follow at a later date. Certainly seems curious to limit DLC to one console and then royal mess it up.

Hryb’s posted an update to twitter indicating an update is live and should fix the problem. No word as of yet as to what problems that update may cause.

The MW2 Title Update is now live! It may take a few minutes for everyone worldwide to get it – our apologies for the delay. #MW2

It may take a few mins for you to get the update, or for it to work properly. Once things get in order all should be fine.

Some people, including us here at the Gamerz Zone, are still having problems with connecting to the Xbox Live servers. Be not afraid, you are not alone.

The Xbox LIVE support team has published a blog detailing the cause of the problems. Most issues are fixed, with some intermittent issues with account payments still possible.