Playdom pulls the plug on developer's entire catalog three months after acquiring the free-to-play online game specialist.
Awards apparently dead again. Just three months after the free-to-play online games publisher was acquired Playdom , the social gaming company has pulled the plug on Acclaim's entire catalog.
Awards lasted nearly three months under the auspices of Playdom.
On what used to be the official Acclaim Web site, visitors are given a short message saying that Acclaim games will no longer be in service, effective yesterday. The site also contains instructions on how customers can be reimbursed for unused Acclaim Coins (the in-game currency that drove the company's microtransactions) and plugs for Playdom's lineup of Facebook games. The site gives no indication that the Acclaim name will continue in any form. Playdom did not return GameSpot's request for comment as of press time.
Originally founded in 1987 as a publisher for consoles, PCs, and arcades, Acclaim enjoyed mixed success until it filed for bankruptcy in 2004. The company published critically lauded titles, such as Turok and Burnout 1 and 2, as well as less warmly received titles, such as BMX XXX, Batman Forever, and Space Jam.
Following the breakup of the company, Throwback Entertainment purchased many of Acclaim's key intellectual properties, while former Activision executive Howard Marksacquired brand. Signs went to restart the game awards a free-play portal, and had some success with titles like Bots, 9Dragons, and the rhythm of the game RockFree action which at one point boasted 15 million registered players.
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Today, we are not 't even use our AC ... We must say it was a good day.
Def Jam Rap Star Updated Hands-On Today we didn't even have to use our AK... we gotta say it was a good day. By Brian Ekberg
Hip hop fans finally have a game that's just for them: Konami is bringing Def Jam Rap Star to consoles later this year, a game that will look to do for rap fans what Rock Band and Guitar Hero have done for guitar-slingers. We got our hands on the game earlier this year at Konami's spring press event and today, on the show floor of E3 2010, we wrapped our hands around the mic and had a go with Ice Cube's "It Was a Good Day."
While nobody would ever confuse our flow with that of Mr. Cube, you don't need to be master MC to have a good time with the game--that's what variable difficulty levels are for, after all. You can play by yourself or as part of a duet--for example when singing Kanye West's "Goldigger", one person will be laying it down as Kanye, and the other player singing the parts performed by Jamie Foxx.
There are three main modes in Rap Star: Party, which is essentially a chance to pick up and rap straight away; career which follows your path through all of the songs in the game and even serves as a tutorial of sorts--teaching you the finer points of rapping and singing. Finally there's Freestyle mode, where budding hip hop stars can put their own lyrics over a number of pre-produced beats and tracks. You'll also be able to tie specific samples to the face buttons of your controller which you can cue during your songs.
If you've got a camera hooked up to your gaming console, you'll be able to record a video of you rapping to your favorite songs. Using an easy-to-use interface, you'll be able to add rudimentary graphics to your video performance, as well as special video effect filters, audio filters and more. After that, you can upload your video to the Def Jam Rap Star Web site, where community members will be able to rate videos, share commets, and issue challenges to one another. Everyone will have a respect rating that will be based on the number of rap battles they've won or lost, as well as the number of challenges they've ignored. Certain performances will then be featured in the game (though they'll be moderated for content before being featured).
Even if you don 't have a great interest in hip-hop, it is likely that there will be two songs, or do you know about the game' s soundtrack and you can expect a lot of DLC to follow after the game is released later this year.
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There will also be community news, multiplayer events , special leaderboards and lots of stats tracked on the Social Club website. 100% completion is even "exclusively" in the Social Club, so presumably the only way you'll be able to know that you've done everything the West has to offer is to log on with a Rockstar Games account and find out. Kind of peculiar that information isn't in the game itself, no? At least signing up for the Social Club is free, so if you're planning to ride the plains next week, might as well do it now.
Additional
- The Best PC Games of 2010 (So Far); We take a mid-year inventory of the best PC games released so far in 2010
- Rock Ages Interview : We chat with ACE Team's co-founder about this upcoming and unusual strategy game.
- The Asskickers Interview: We chat with AGO Team's co-founder about its upcoming retro 2D brawler title
- Reviews: We give are final verdict for and Feature .
- Startup Disk : Our retro game feature checks out Team Fortress Classic .
- Freeware FridayRobotzDX .
Continue reading The Best of Big Download: July 5 - 11
Contents: Split Second Demo | 07/28/2010 | |
| FIFA 11 for Wii to include street soccer mode | |
 FIFA Jam, to be honest. FIFA 11 launches on the Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360, PS3 and PC on October 4. Feel free to breakaway into our gallery below for some new screens, fresh off the bench. Gallery: FIFA 11 (Wii)    
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| 05/10/2010 | |
| NintendoWare Weekly: Photos Dojo, Earthworm Jim, Phoenix Wright | |
 It's free for the next month, is what we're saying. Gallery: Photo Dojo (DSiWare)      Continue reading NintendoWare Weekly: Photos Dojo, Earthworm Jim, Phoenix Wright
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| 04/27/2010 | |
| Released: New shots of Ninja Theory's Enslaved | |
 Click to free this screen from its 580-pixel-wide constraints Don't take this as a slight against the game by any means -- we think the post-apocalyptic retelling of the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West looks just super. Plus, this round of shots seems to include a few that look like actual gameplay, which is always, y'know, good -- with or without fancy-schmancy shader effects. Gallery: Enslaved (4/26/10)     
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| 06/06/2010 | |
| Rumor: Half-Life 2 announcement teased by 'Freeman' art [update] | |
 The image features the Half-LifeLambda symbol, the word "Freeman," are barely visible watermarks that appears to be G-Man's face, and a mention of June 14 -- the original date for the (rather humorously) canceled Portal 2 event . We're still worried about playing the Charlie Brown to Valve's Lucy -- Rock, Paper, Shotgun claimsthe image is fake, but t does not 'to provide the source of this information. We 've contacted the valve on the teaser' s authenticity, even though we 're find it very difficult to type out an e-mail, when all our fingers crossed. Update: Reader Jake Handy pinged Valve's Gabe Newell about this, and Newell's response couldn't have been clearer -- or more terse: "Fake." Continue reading Rumor: Half-Life 2 announcement teased by 'Freeman' art [update]
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| 08/07/2010 | |
| See Jimmy's betrayal in these new Mafia 2 screens | |
 Betrayal Jimmy DLC will be free for all who take Mafia 2 for the new PS3 (via the included voucher) and is available for download through the PSN for $ 9.99, when the game starts on August 24. Gallery: Mafia 2 - Betrayal Jimmy     
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| 06/30/2010 | |
| The Sims 3 hits the 'Fast Lane' this fall | |
 This new content pack gives players the choice between four different lifestyle options: racing; intrigue; rockabilly; and classic luxury. Each option provides your Sim with custom furniture, outfits, and vehicles suited to the respective lifestyle choice -- there's even a garage for storing and/or pimping your rides. Suddenly, Xzibit's services don't seem so valuable. If you want to pre-order the $20 add-on, head on over to the EA Storeand him. In the meantime, feel free to turn in our gallery below of new screens. Gallery: The Sims 3 Fast Lane Stuff   
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