Portal 2 players will soon have a whole lot of additional puzzle options starting May 8, when Valve releases a free DLC called “Perpetual Testing Initiative,” allowing gamers to create, share and play new puzzles.
Value has announced the release of a new Portal 2 DLC called “Perpetual Testing Initiative” for the Mac and PC, arriving on May 8. With a Metacritic score of 95 percent and numerous Game of the Year awards under its belt, Portal 2 is about to expand its horizons with a new way to create and share puzzles with other players.
“The ‘Perpetual Testing Initiative’ allows players to easily create, share, and play Portal 2 puzzles,” the company announced on Thursday. “The Initiative comes with a simplified puzzle maker that allows that creation of mind-bending puzzles without ever leaving the game.
“The puzzle maker can directly publish maps to the Steam Workshop where users can browse, vote on, and select to play them,” Valve adds. “Selected puzzles will automatically be downloaded and installed inside Portal 2.”
New Portal 2 puzzles will add a new dimension to the already expansive single and cooperative multiplayer game modes offered by Valve — now the only thing you’ll have to do is wait a week or so for the calendar to turn over to May 8.
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Jetpack Joyride, an auto-runner type iOS game from Halfbrick Studios, is hands down one of the most addictive games I’ve ever played. The “just one more” urge every time a round ends, the large assortment of goofy items unlockable through coin collection – it took every ounce of my feeble willpower to pull myself away and play other worthy titles. But thanks to a massive update, the addiction is back in a big way.
As announced back in March, during the annual Game Developer’s Conference, the 1.3 update to Jetpack Joyride is more than just bug fixes and performance improvements. A whopping 15 gadgets are added to high-flying protagonist Barry Steakfries’ arsenal, changing the game drastically, for better or worse.
Gadgets are purchased through the game’s store, the Stash. Spending some collected coins – or buying a handful of coins through in-app purchases – allows you to buy any of the 15 available upgrades. Gadgets are organized into a tier system, with a particular number of purchases required to unlock the next level. Regardless of the number of gadgets in your inventory, you can only equip two at the beginning of any run.
The gadgets themselves vary in use, but they’re all designed in the typically cartoonish manner of Halfbrick. The Freeze-O-Matic, for example, places Barry in a block of ice immediately following a death, allowing him to slide along floor for those precious extra meters. Free Ride, one of the highest-tier gadgets, gives Barry a vehicle right at the start of the run. Combining certain gadgets offers a clear advantage, with some pairings – like the Gravity Belt and Air Barrys – noted in the game’s menu as “high mobility,” for example.
When the update was announced during GDC, Andrew Hayward made the accurate assumption that these purchasable devices could actually irritate some hardcore Jetpack Joyride players. A big part of the game’s draw is the competition on the leaderboard, and frankly, the gadgets do provide an edge; and edge that’s easily obtained through in-app purchases. All that said, I’m actually enjoying the new additions. Games like Jetpack Joyride are immensely addicting, but the repeated task of flying through static levels can grow monotonous. A new twist is exactly what this app needed.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to crush everyone’s score with my Ezy-Dodge Missiles.
Developers, start your engines: Apple has finally announced a date for its 2012 Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, where we’ll presumably get a peek at iOS 6 and perhaps even a near-final version of OS X Mountain Lion.
Apple’s developer portal has announced that the annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) will be in held in San Francisco from June 11-15, 2012. Calling it “the week we’ve all been waiting for,” tickets are now on sale at 99 each for members of the company’s developer programs
“Get your ticket now,” Apple teases. “WWDC 2012 promises to be one of our best ever and we expect the limited number of seats to sell out very quickly. To accommodate as many paid members of our Apple Developer Programs as possible, we are limiting ticket purchases to one (1) per person and five (5) per organization.”
Last year, WWDC tickets sold out in record time, and given the increasing popularity of iOS and even the Mac, it’s likely that scenario will play out again this year — even though Cupertino is limiting the number of tickets sold.
If you can’t make it, don’t worry — Apple will be posting videos of all WWDC sessions online shortly after the conference wraps, “so everyone can take advantage of great WWDC content for free.”
If you’re a developer, you already know what to do — hit that tickets page, sign in and drop the cash! Good luck!
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Two great tastes that taste great together? That remains to be seen, but like it or not, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg took to his Timeline on Monday to announce the social network’s acquisition of Instagram, which is said to be a cash and shares deal.
Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg laid a bombshell on his Timeline today, announcing that the social network has “agreed to acquire Instagram and that their talented team will be joining Facebook.” The news was quickly confirmed by a press release posted on AllThingsD, which pins the value of the acquisition at “approximately billion in a combination of cash and shares of Facebook.”
“This is an important milestone for Facebook because it’s the first time we’ve ever acquired a product and company with so many users,” Zuckerberg elaborated on his Timeline on Monday. “We don’t plan on doing many more of these, if any at all. But providing the best photo sharing experience is one reason why so many people love Facebook and we knew it would be worth bringing these two companies together.
“We think the fact that Instagram is connected to other services beyond Facebook is an important part of the experience,” Zuck continues. “We plan on keeping features like the ability to post to other social networks, the ability to not share your Instagrams on Facebook if you want, and the ability to have followers and follow people separately from your friends on Facebook.”
The Instagram acquisition is expected to close later this quarter, but “is subject to customary closing conditions.” Facebook also promises to “keep the company independent.”
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Where will you be on Tuesday, April 24, 2012? If you’re an investor in Apple or otherwise invested in the company’s future, you’ll probably be tuning into the next conference call to discuss the company’s second-quarter earnings call.
Apple has updated their website to include details of the company’s second quarter 2012 financial results for the January through March period. As usual, the conference call will be streamed live via QuickTime shortly after a press release is made public with the key details.
The company’s financial Q2 2012 report will include the first wave of sales for the new iPad, although Apple has already announced that more than three million of the tablets moved during the mid-March launch weekend.
Some analysts believe that Apple is on target to hit more than ,000 per share by 2014, which would make it one of the world’s first trillion-dollar companies, should such predictions come true.
With Apple’s stock closing at 8.63 on Monday, you can bet that all eyes will be on the conference call, which takes place Tuesday, April 24, 2012 at 2pm PST (5pm EST).
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