Webzen/Huxley updates; Sony cuts PS2 price ...

1. Webzen/Huxley updates
2. Cool Xbox 360 hardware additions
3. Atari woes cause Timeshift jump
4. Phantasy Star Universe coming to Xbox 360
5. Sony cuts PS2 price ot $129
6. I'm playing ...

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NEWS:

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1. Webzen/Huxley updates

It's no secret that I'm pretty stoked about Webzen's Huxley, the sylistic Massively Multiplayer Online First Person Shooter (MMOFPS), the potentially hugely evolutionary leap over PlanetSide and the Tribes franchise.

The videos are absolutely gorgeous, the premise is engaging, and if the story and gameplay measure up, Huxley could be a Game of the Year contender.

And there's been some recent activity on the Webzen/Huxley front.

First, Webzen is an impressive worldwide contender, but is headquartered in Korea. Recently, they named Cindy Armstrong as the CEO of the company's North American operations. Armstrong will be responsible for bringing Webzen games to the West and has more than 15 years of industry experience, working for Nintendo of America, Boss Game & Film Studios, NES International, Inc. (Paris, France), and Activision UK Ltd. Most recently, Armstrong hails from Sony Online Entertainment, where she was VP of Business Development.

Secondly, there's a Q&A interview with Huxley producer Kijong Kang over at GameSpot.com, that digs into some of the details of the game.

Some of the high points:

• "Gameplay in Huxley will take place both in one of the cities and in battle areas."
• Cities will support "upward of 5,000 people who can be together at one time"
• Battle areas will "support several hundred"
• "[T]here will be multiple battle areas in which people can challenge each other"
• Of the 3 factions, two are playable (alternatives and sapiens), with apparently 2 classes in each of the playable factions
• Powered by the Unreal 3 Engine
• "[S]everal stages of growth" allow players to "progress to higher grades, ... purchase additional weapons, shields, and skill items"
• "There are ways by which players can also obtain honor and further define their own personalities"
• "Huxley will be a game where player skill matters"
• "Between levels, the intent is not to increase their strength and striking power but rather to increase the kinds of weapons and skills a player can use"
• "In Huxley, the vehicles are not only strong weapons, but they also serve a transportation function to convey squads in battle. There will be vehicles used for land, sea, or air"
• Choice of vehicle selection is also class-based
• Though being developed for both Xbox 360 and PC, Webzen is creating "unique content and features for each platform" (looks like gone is the cross-platform play premise)
• Huxley will be playable on the PC at E3

2. Cool Xbox 360 hardware additions

The Xbox 360 Quick Charge Kit should be in stores now (I can't find it yet), and lets you quick-charge your controller rechargables, without the Play and Charge kits that basically turns your wireless controller into a wired one.

Another kind of cool gadget is the Datel XSATA, which allows transfer of content between your Xbox 360 hard drive and your PC hard drive, so you can ostensibly keep unloading your console hard drive of all of the Xbox Live demos, trailers, and content that's picking up steam.

I say "kind of cool", because though it's fast USB 2.0, you still need to have your Xbox 360 close enough to your PC to plug in and transfer.

And ... Let's get with the times, shall we? If my Xbox 360 is able to wirelessly connect to with my Media Center PC to stream music, TV, videos (except freakin' DivX!), etc. -- I should be able to move stuff from my Xbox 360 to my Media Center PC.

Hey, if the Xbox 360 gets a DirecTV blade, I'm going to need that functionality.

3. Atari woes cause Timeshift jump

The current incarnation of the Atari brand has had some recent financial woes.

Most recently, Timeshift -- the delayed, time-mucking First-Person Shooter developed by Saber Interactive that was supposed to be published by Atari in the next month or two -- has shifted to Vivendi Universal Games. Timeshift is supposed to ship soon for both Xbox 360 and PC, but given the switch in publishers, the ship date is up in the air.

Which is probably just as well, because I played the Xbox 360 demo on The Official Xbox Magazine game disc, and was seriously unimpressed.

4. Phantasy Star Universe coming to Xbox 360

The Phantasy Star franchise has been building steam since the late 80s, and the Xbox 360 version -- to be published by Sega this fall -- will have both an offline RPG and an online RPG. The single player will have a 40-hour story arc, and the multiplayer will let players create characters and quest online with five friends exploring three planets filled with other gamers.

Sega's dedication to the Phantasy Star franchise is exemplary -- they kept Phantasy Star Online alive as the single longest-runnign online game for the now-defunct Sega Dreamcast -- well beyond that console's too-short life. Let's hope this version's offline RPG is better than its predecessor.

5. Sony cuts PS2 price ot $129

Today, Sony said it's lowering the PS2's price to $129, effective ... now. This is a smart move by Sony, as they need to keep their majority share in the market in the face of production ramp-up for the Xbox 360, and the cut makes the PS2 even more attractive as an option for first-time and multi-console homes.

Let's see if Microsoft counters with a last-gen Xbox price cut -- though they probably don't need to (but should, to support hte third-party love being shown the original black 'box).

If you just bought a PS2 for $149, all is not lost. Check to see if your place of purchase as a 15-30 day price guarantee, and get the $20 difference back. If you bought it more than 30 days ago, please don't whine -- you probably got 20-bucks worth over 30 days...

6. I'm playing ...

Battlefield 2: Modern Combat (BF2:MC). Check out my "I'm Playing" blog for a mini review.