Urgent Frequency Ep. 93 – Exclusive Interview with Starhawk Senior Producer Harvard Bonin

“Starhawk” Senior Producer Harvard Bonin Jr. explains exactly what he does, and gets his very own Spoof Ad.

Partial Artwork from www.starhawkradio.com
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StarHawk has been awarded the Urgent Fury 2012 Multiplayer Tournament Title of the Year

Back in September, we previewed StarHawk for the first time on UFreqTV in PlayStation Home for our fans. Even before this, right away Jack (UFreqTV’s Host) pointed out at E3 that we need to keep an eye on this game. He talked about how the “Build & Battle” would bring a whole new element to our tournaments when the time comes.

Then came the Private Beta in November, and boy Jack was not kidding. Right out of the gate we were ecstatic when we saw that a user could create a Sever/Lobby with a custom title. We had not seen this in a game since Socom: Confrontation. Though many will say, so what, that is not any thing new or special.

Well they are correct  it isn’t anything new, the ability to create a custom lobby was all but a tail from the past until now. Clans putting up Recruiting Rooms, Practice Rooms and Tournament Communities having the Room labeled “UF Blue RVN vs 101” showing the world the clans were battling in a tournament.

And though the Private Beta is a very slim view of what is yet to come, it already has all that is needed for Urgent Fury to launch a full Tournament Offering. The tactical requirements that a team will have to use in this game will make for some nail-biting matches. Throw in the Urgent Fury TacMap element where clans are competing over territories for 13 to 24 weeks to become the champion and you have a recipe for “EPIC”!

We are pleased to present the 2012 Tournament Title of the Year to StarHawk, exclusively on PlayStation 3. Be sure to stay tuned as we begin to announce tournament details and how to sign up.

On top of all the great tactical play LightBox Interactive and SCEA Santa Monica Studios are actually involved with the community responding to bugs, suggestions, gripes and praises. Not only that as one fan pointed out, there were more updates in the Private Beta than in the entire Call of Duty Series. Now we cannot confirm if that is correct, but I will say we saw updates daily and even multiple updates in a day when there was an issue.

The public beta will being on January 17th, 2012 and you can find all the details on the PlayStation Blog. And rest assured you will see at least one UrgentFury.com server up and running almost daily.

Also keep your eye out for Episode 93 of Urgent Frequency as Commander Fury is joined by Sr. Producer Harvard Bonin as they sit down via SatCom and discuss StarHawk and what Harvard’s job really is in the grand scheme of things. This episode is due to release on January 15th.

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I am addicted to the StarHawk Private Beta!

Recently Santa Monica Studios and LightBox Interactive launched the StarHawk Private Beta and after getting a code from GameSpot, I decided to try it out.

My initial reaction can be summed up in one word, AMAZING. Over the last couple of weeks we have put up an UrgentFury.com Server/Lobby, yes I said lobby, in which some epic battles have been witnessed on several occasions. I have no clue how many hours I have logged so far, but three to four hours at a time, you will find me in an endless battle on StarHawk.

In the beginning I was a total noob trying out the different buildings, driving the Razorback like a beast and flying the hawk like a two year old crashing dad’s car. Little by little I got the feel for the rifle that requires you to shoot in bursts if you want accuracy. Who would have ever thought that Spray and Pray would not work in a shooter, hehe.

Next up, I mastered the sniper rifle with a laser from Weird Science. That thing is true to any laser, no matter how far away, you are going to get that red dot and “Boom HeadShot!” Now once you put a supply bunker down, you are now truly prepared to battle with a Rocket Launcher and a Shotty. These are essential if you want to make it more than a couple of minutes against the Hawk attacks and Razorback assaults. Get a couple of rockets into the Razorback and boom. And if the driver is crazy enough to jump ship then bust a few buckshots in them and down they will go.

So let’s talk about the modes, Team Death Match and Capture the Flag… Initially the beta only launched with CTF which forced players to traverse the maps to capture the flag to win. In Acid Sea the flags are located on top of a structure and this became a wall building extravaganza. It did not take long to learn if placed correctly you only had to build three walls on each side encasing the ladders. But even that is not full proof, all you have to do is wisely park a Razorback next to a corner and jump over.

The true trick to CTF is to do a quick grab as soon as the match launches, unless the team is well prepared you can run in and snag a flag with the Razorback within thirty seconds gaining the lead.

Now in Space, the flag is sitting on the deck and if you build three or four walls you can trap the flag, just make sure you build the walls with the ladders facing out. If you do it this way, once the play gets the flag they are stuck unless they are in a hawk. The hawk is able to jump over the wall. Of course it does not take much to blow up a hawk when it is on the ground, so you better have a backup plan ready.

Team Death Match is a well-known mode to all gamers alike and StarHawk is no different until you factor in that you have Hawks rivaled by Beam Turrets, Snipers in Towers behind a Force Field and players owning their area from a Supply Bunker.

TDM can become chaotic very quickly with a little team work. I have seen a team immediately take hold of the center of both maps with a Spawn Beacon, Supply Bunker and Force Field. And unless you are downright crazy, you are lucky to ever recapture the center. But the true key is to take the left or right areas on both maps. This gives you access to rift barrels for easy fortification.

Adding the Build and Battle element makes StarHawk an ever evolving game. You never know what you may be up against when you get to the enemy base.

We can only commend the community support we are seeing from the gang over at Santa Monica Studios and LightBox Interactive. They are truely responsive to bugs, suggestions and complaints. Updates roll out quickly, even within hours as was the case just this week. Keep up the Great work fellas!!!

Overall we give StarHawk’s private beta 5 Fists of Fury out of 5!!! The private beta has been extended through January 3rd so forget the family. Lock your doors and man up. Get that rift and build your foothold. StarHawk is going to be an Epic win for PlayStation in 2012, and you can bet that a Tournament or two will be announced by Urgent Fury.

Watch for the UrgentFury.com server and jump in, we always set it to All Mic and Randomized Teams making for some great times, see you on the battle field.

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Ghost Recon: Future Soldier ‘Peeks’ & ‘Beta’ Announcement!

Story by: CritiKiL
Want to know what ‘Data Mugging’ is? When will GRFS be released as well as the ‘Beta’ for the game? Want to see some exclusive muliplayer and co-op footage? ~ Check out some Never Seen Before Gameplay, as the lovely Ms. Brookelyn interviews Tommy Jacob (Creative Director on the Multiplayer)

and Roman Campos (Lead Game Designer on the Campaign) for Ghost Recon: Future Soldier. Together these two guys reveal features in the Multiplayer, the story behind the campaign as well as tell us when we can finally expect that “Beta”…we have all been waiting for.

NOTE: Whenever you PRE-ORDER Ghost Recon Future Soldier at GameStop, you’ll receive a FREE Signature Edition UPGRADE and beta access (on Xbox 360)…you can read more about that, HERE: http://tinyurl.com/5t5hkyk

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PAX East 2011 Update: SOCOM 4 & Brink

Urgent Fury Directors L to R…CIO Shane Bell, CFO Armond Compton, & COO John Ostrow at PAX East 2011.

The official attendance count for PAX East 2011 was 69,500. Breaking last year’s attendance of 52,290.

 

Brink TM from Splash Damage &  Bethesda shows off it’s final build of the game before it’s scheduled

launch on May 17th, 2011.

Don’t worry little buddy….the wait is almost over.

SOCOM 4 launches on April 19th, 2011.

Zipper Interactive’s Kevin Scmitt (Lead Designer, SOCOM 4) gives his Zipper colleagues a

crash course in the mysterious art of Parkour.

Urgent Fury covered the PAX East 2011 SOCOM 4 tournament.

Where 64 fans got to compete for a very nice trophy.

This guy has his sights set on victory. And a shot at SOCOM superstardom.

Shane Bell on the PAX East 2011 SOCOM 4 tournament…

“it  had all the intensity of classic Urgent Fury tournaments”.

The team of 8 shooters who won it all, are scheduled to be featured on a future episode

of Urgent Fury’s podcast Urgent Frequency.

This is just one of the reasons that Urgent Fury has plans for several

“live” tournament events in the coming year.

Stay tuned for more on PAX East 2011!!!

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Urgent Fury invades PAX East 2011

Urgent Fury CFO Armond Compton gets a hands on sample of Zipper Interactive’s SOCOM 4 at PAX East 2011. (Inset) Urgent Fury Media Assistant Will “disfsk3x14” Pulistar gets some stick time on SOCOM 4 as well.

He says…Meow!

Stay tuned for continuous updates from the expo.

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Urgent Frequency Ep. #82- PAX East 2011 PREVIEW

Urgent Fury CIO Shane Bell stops by for a very “loosey goosey” episode of Urgent Frequency.

An episode that features the usual Urgent Fury SITREP, a complete PAX East 2011 Preview, a surprise guest, and Charlie Sheen. WINNING! Duh!

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Urgent Frequency Ep. #80- Urgent Frequency’s coverage of SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs “Media Day”.

With all of the questions that surround the next title in the SOCOM:U.S. Navy SEALs franchise, Urgent Fury decided to do some forward RECON to get some real answers regarding what some are saying, is the most important release in the franchise’s long history.

After being invited to participate in ZIPPER INTERACTIVE’S SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs “MEDIA DAY event in Redmond, WA…..Urgent Fury immediately deployed UFreq correspondent Brian “Inadub” Carey, and he joins Commander Fury with a full report which includes the official SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs press conference.

All that…plus UF gets a new “home”.

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Episode 66 – The Debrief is Coming

Heads up guys we got so much intel, its going to take a few podcasts to do it… Ohh and there are prizes too…

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Want to get back in MAG beta, Here you go!!!

If you are looking for a voucher to get back in the MAG beta, come to the Urgent Fury Blog and click the image… we got your direct link to Sony’s beta giveaway while supplies last… www.urgentfury.com/blog

Click the image

Vouchers available while supplies last.
Vouchers available while supplies last.
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