New Games |
- Nintendo- 'People want' the 2D Mario games to be similar
- Appetite for destruction: Tiny and Big out now for PC/Mac
- Capcom confirms Okami HD for North American release
- Unchained Blades headed to North American PSPs next week
- MechWarrior Online initiates its founder's program
- Devolver Digital asks Jim Sterling five sexy questions
- Team Fortress 2sdays: Boner edition
- Don't you wish you could buy these LEGO Portal concepts?
- Live show: LEGO Batman 2 giveaway on Mash Tactics
- Rumor: Willem Dafoe to co-star in Beyond: Two Souls
- Destructoid's Tony Ponce is now a Resident Evil character
- Hype, deception, and disappointment: Welcome to E3
- The Megas return with MM3-themed History Repeating: Blue
- You'll be rewarded for your Achievements this fall
- Final beta weekend for The Secret World opens June 22
- Rooster Teeth Expo brings playable Halo 4 to Austin
Nintendo- 'People want' the 2D Mario games to be similar Posted: 19 Jun 2012 04:00 PM PDT
I didn't agree with my co-commentator for the Nintendo's E3 press conference on very many things, but even I had to admit that the two new Mario games coming out this year (New Super Mario Bros. 2 and New Super Mario Bros. U) looked almost identical in terms of art direction and in gameplay. Adding insult to injury, both games look almost exactly like to the two prior games in the New Super Mario series (New Super Mario Bros. and New Super Mario Bros. Wii). Our man Tony Ponce had already talked about this thing in great detail, but it really hit home seeing these two "different" games on the big screen at E3. Why didn't Nintendo change it up at least a little bit for one or more of their "New" Super Mario titles? Apparently, you didn't want them to. Takashi Tezuka, Nintendo's General Manager of EAD Development, had this to say in a recent interview with Gamespot- "That similarity in the visual style and the control style is all intentional. The things we feel like we've already promised the gamer is that Peach will be kidnapped by Bowser, and Mario will move from left to right. We know that's what people are expecting! [Laughs] We know that there are all types of Mario games, as you said. So for us, with the New Super Mario Bros. series, we don't really need to mess with it. This is what people want." Do you think they're making the right call here? Do you get the sense that Nintendo would like to do something more creative with New Super Mario Bros. series, but are playing it safe in order to maintain a broader appeal? Would you like to see them change the art direction or central gameplay hook for future games in the series? Tezuka on New Super Mario Bros. U's visuals, what a touch screen-only Mario would be like [GoNintendo] |
Appetite for destruction: Tiny and Big out now for PC/Mac Posted: 19 Jun 2012 03:00 PM PDT
Tiny and Big: Grandpa's Leftovers caught my eye when it was first announced what feels like many moons ago. It has since been refined, but the core hook -- using a laser to slice up structures and watching as physics ensue -- remains very much appealing to me. The unique art style doesn't hurt, either. The name is more than a little odd and might not necessarily grab your attention, so I figured we could help spread the word that it's available right now on a variety of digital distribution platforms, including GOG.com, Steam, and GamersGate. Admittedly, I'm still bitter that more games haven't gone completely overboard with environmental destruction in a post-Red Faction: Guerrilla world. If you'd like a taste of what Tiny and Big has to offer, there's a demo for Windows, Mac, and Linux. It's pretty fun! |
Capcom confirms Okami HD for North American release Posted: 19 Jun 2012 02:00 PM PDT
Today Capcom has confirmed that Amaterasu will soon make her return to PlayStation with Okami HD, exclusively for PSN. This remake of the PlayStation 2 original will add high definition graphics, trophies and of course, PlayStation Move integration for the game's many paintbrush-centered puzzles and battles (making this the first good reason I've heard yet to buy PlayStation Move). No word yet on the official release date but Capcom promises this one for North America and Europe this upcoming fall, set at $19.99. |
Unchained Blades headed to North American PSPs next week Posted: 19 Jun 2012 01:00 PM PDT
XSEED Games has announced that FuRyu's first-person dungeon-crawler RPG Unchained Blades will be arriving on PlayStation Portable for $29.99 via PlayStation Network on Tuesday, June 26. There's no specific date for the 3DS version of the game other than the always fun "later this year." As for whether or not Unchained Blades will make an appearance on Vita, that remains to be seen. XSEED says that, at this point, the decision is up to Sony Computer Entertainment America. I'm hopeful it will appear on the store before long, but there might be some waiting involved. (When isn't there?) If you haven't been following the game, it sounds very promising. As a dragon stripped of his powers, you'll run around on titans, fighting through dungeons with your party and even collecting enemy creatures along the way. The aforementioned price might initially sound steep, but this is promised to provide somewhere in the neighborhood of 60 hours of gameplay. |
MechWarrior Online initiates its founder's program Posted: 19 Jun 2012 12:00 PM PDT
As previously covered, MechWarrior Online is offering a multi-tier founder's program that gives players willing to throw down some cash up front early access to the free-to-play game and exclusive content. Starting today, you can sign up for the program if you so desire. Beyond the already announced tiers -- "Veteran" and "Elite," which are $30 and $60, respectively -- Piranha Games is also upping the ante with a $120 "Legendary" founder's package. This includes four exclusive BattleMechs, your name in the credits, $80 worth of MechWarrior Online currency, a three-month premium account, a special tag for use in the forums and game itself, and an early playable build on August 7, 2012. While that's not exactly inexpensive, I have a feeling it'll sell just fine. |
Devolver Digital asks Jim Sterling five sexy questions Posted: 19 Jun 2012 11:30 AM PDT
Devolver Digital is one of my favorite companies, mostly due to the fact that it never takes itself or what it does too seriously. CFO Fork Parker is well worth following on Twitter, and the publisher generally has a positive attitude all round. It also responds to jokes I make and turns them into real things, like when I suggested developers could interview me for their blogs during E3 and Parker accepted the invitation. Fork has turned the joke into a potentially running feature, Five Sexy Questions, where it will ask exactly what it advertises to "game industry illuminati." Your humble author was the first to be asked, and I think it is the most insightful interview that has ever been had on the subject of games. That said, one of my answers did not clear Devolver's legal department and had to be redacted. Luckily, Destructoid's legal department is usually hitting the cocaine this time of day, so I should be able to get away with it here. My answer to question three can be seen below. Five Sexy Questions with Fork Parker [Devolver Digital]
I'll give you an example that ought to provide a little more context. Shigeru Miyamoto, as an example, may be small in stature, but his raw physical strength is something that could overpower even a top-billing wrestler such as Doink the Clown or The American Dollars Man Ted DiBiase. It is a strength that he, in a behind-closed-doors meeting, is not shy about using, either. Not in an illegal way. He has ways of making you want it, without realizing what you're asking for. Ways I don't quite understand. He can ... show you things. Things that, when seen, will open your mind just long enough to let the forbidden knowledge in. And when your mind closes, that knowledge is not going away. It's in you now. Shigeru is in you. And he's never leaving. It's like an arrowhead. If you try to pull it out, it'll tear at your flesh with cruel barbs. It'll just stay, and fester, and end you as a person. And it's coming for us all. Better we crook the knee now than die screaming on our feet. Screaming and knowing. Always ... knowing.
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Team Fortress 2sdays: Boner edition Posted: 19 Jun 2012 11:15 AM PDT
Every Tuesday, a bunch of us Dtoiders get together to play Team Fortress 2 on the official Destructoid server. You should join us! Your Spenis has abandoned you. All hail Lord Boner. IP: 63.208.142.126
Do you people actually play any of those maps, or do you just read Andy and Hamza fan fic all night? |
Don't you wish you could buy these LEGO Portal concepts? Posted: 19 Jun 2012 11:00 AM PDT
Well, too friggin' bad. A four-man team dubbed Team Jigsaw designed these concepts and submitted them to the LEGO CUUSOO initiative, where supporters have a chance to vote on which ideas are made into physical sets -- this is how Mojang made his Minecraft set a reality. Unfortunately, LEGO refused to accept Portal as a valid license. Probably because the boys don't actually own the Portal license. Duh. All we have now are these tastes of what could have been. Lego Portal, A Jigsaw Production [Flickr via Sucker Punch] |
Live show: LEGO Batman 2 giveaway on Mash Tactics Posted: 19 Jun 2012 10:30 AM PDT
Strap on your plastic capes! King Foom is getting a gang of DC super heroes together in LEGO Batman 2 on Mash Tactics. The latest in the beloved LEGO series offers a variety of heroes to play alongside the titular dark knight. -Insert Aquaman joke here- We've also got 5 copies(3 PS3, 2 Xbox 360) of the game to give away to the viewers! Prepare thyself for the coming contest by joining our Facebook group, and then tune in for the block-stomping action! Mash Tactics airs Monday through Friday at 4p.m. Pacific on Dtoid.TV. Watch King Foom play a variety of games, each day with its own theme. With a heavy focus on community and viewer interaction, you can be as much a part of the show as anything else.
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Rumor: Willem Dafoe to co-star in Beyond: Two Souls Posted: 19 Jun 2012 10:00 AM PDT
According to the latest gossip, beloved actor Willem Dafoe is set to co-star in David Cage's next tribute to Hollywood, Beyond: Two Souls. Now sit back and imagine that man's face rendered with Quantic Dream's uncanny valley graphics. Imagine it and suffocate your children, lest they live in a world where they might see such nightmares. The rumor comes by way of a mystical source that divulged all to GI International. He may also be the first of many Hollywood co-stars coming to Beyond, as the developing studio moves one step closer to its ultimate goal of being a film company. Podtoid listeners will know of my unique fascination with Dafoe, and my desire to see him star in ludicrously written, disjointed movies with horrible dialog and plots that make very little sense. In that regard, the man who wrote Heavy Rain may very well make my dream come true. |
Destructoid's Tony Ponce is now a Resident Evil character Posted: 19 Jun 2012 09:30 AM PDT
According to a (quickly retracted) mix-up on the PlayStation Blog, Chris Redfield's cohort in Resident Evil 6 will be none other than our very own Associate Editor Tony Ponce! We're not sure how he pulled it off, but nonetheless it's a splendid choice because, you see, Tony Ponce's eyebrows alone could take down entire planetary systems. Those things are brutal. I'm pretty sure they come with their own laser defense turrets and a small army of attack bears. Do us proud, Ponce. Show 'em what Destructoid is made of (empty beer bottles and dick jokes, mostly). PlayStation Blog gaffe sees games writer become Chris Redfield's partner in Resident Evil 6 [Videogamer via squidmania] |
Hype, deception, and disappointment: Welcome to E3 Posted: 19 Jun 2012 09:00 AM PDT
E3 is kind of bullshit. Though not many will say it, developers, publishers, investors, and media alike think it. And so, it’s not really a controversial statement, except for the one group that isn’t aware of the expo’s privy charades. I’m speaking of the general public. This is the expo gaming our industry currently runs, but is it really the one we deserve?
A Show for Who? E3 started in 1995 with the main purpose of giving developers and publishers a place to come together and meet with potential investors and retail outlets. These are the people that could put developers' games on shelves. Since the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in Las Vegas didn’t have room to spare for meeting rooms and extra booths, Nintendo, Sony, Sega, and everyone else made E3 their new grounds for debuting products and connecting with industry. Somewhere along the way, things changed. The booths got bigger, booth babes came in droves, and the show began to cater to gaming press more than investors and store owners. The people the expo was meant for now met in hallways and meeting rooms far from the show floor (some jokingly call it “Secret E3”). This was a natural evolution. If I’m a Best Buy manager, wouldn’t it be in my interest to let game journalists come to a consensus on what the best games of the show are and then back the developers of those games? A lot of these investors and store owners don’t have much experience with games, so relying on the opinion of journalists is a much safer bet than making an uninformed gamble.
The Golden Age of Headcrabs If the purpose of E3 is for developers to show an honest, accurate view of their games to press, it’s not doing a very good job of achieving this goal. I don’t blame developers, though. After all, E3 adopted the model of CES and similar car shows, instead of building a new model that works well for demoing videogames. Loud music, constant visual distractions (scantily dressed promotional models, large displays, stages with live performers), and a limited window of time may work for checking out tech gadgets and cars but it’s not well-suited for games or film. I imagine most gamers don’t play their consoles in the middle of a warehouse rave, so how can media outlets get an accurate depiction of a game in this frantic, busy environment? More importantly, how can developers build a demo that will be able to cut through the noise and grab people’s attention? In the early years of E3, companies like Valve and Remedy brought slapdash demos and videos of their games to the show. “Here’s a random video we made of maps in progress, badly rendered models, and some basic action set to a crappy techno song,” I can imagine the presenter of the above early Half-Life demo saying. That was fine though, because it was an honest portrayal of their game. While publisher Sierra would go on to run a ill-informed ad campaign for the game trying to ride on the heels of Quake 2, the E3 demo and trailer was a faithful representation of the game that gave journalists a taste of Half-Life’s specific tone and atmosphere that made it stand out.
The Last of Us: Though the Sony press conference demo was impressive, it left many confused on what exactly was going on a mechanical level. What's so special about another scripted cover-based shooter, many asked. When we awarded The Last of Us as Dtoid's Game of Show, it was mainly due to what we saw behind closed doors. Without witnessing the character interaction, subtle mechanics, and hearing the advanced A.I. explained, The Last of Us could be mistaken for simply a post-apocalyptic Uncharted. Along with my Far Cry 3 and Beyond: Two Souls experiences, the above games are only a small sampling of the disconnect going on between developer intentions and publishers' marketing strategies at E3. They think that Call of Duty fans will mistake Far Cry 3 for a COD-killer from a distance, when really they are only stripping away the unique aspects of the series and selling the game short for a crowd that is much happier with less -- less player agency, less open space, and less tactical options. I’m not sure if the mainstream want a dumbed-down Far Cry, however. And, even if they are right, is it worth getting on series fans and NeoGAF posters’ bad side? Why not just present the game as it is and limit the flashy stuff to TV trailers?
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The Megas return with MM3-themed History Repeating: Blue Posted: 19 Jun 2012 08:30 AM PDT
During the four years since The Megas re-imagined Mega Man 2's soundtrack through the incredible Get Equipped, the band has been working on new material (as well as earning a very special reference in the Archie Mega Man comic series). Next up is Mega Man 3, but that soundtrack proved to be so monumental that a single album would not be enough to contain its glory. To that end, The Megas have split the album in two and will release the second part at a later date. Right now, you can snatch up History Repeating: Blue, in which the boys add their own lyrical spin to the themes of Top Man, Magnet Man, Spark Man, Snake Man, and Wily's fortress. You can choose to download all this goodness right now for $10, or for the same price, you can pre-order the physical CD, to be released later this month. I'm assuming the second CD is going to be called History Repeating: Red because of reasons. So... yeah, guys. Get that sh*t out there as soon as you can. History Repeating: Blue [Bandcamp] (Thanks for the tip, JT!)
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You'll be rewarded for your Achievements this fall Posted: 19 Jun 2012 08:00 AM PDT
Back when we collectively still had biweekly debates about the importance of Achievements or lack thereof, conversations frequently drifted toward "Hey, why don't they just give us Microsoft Points in exchange for our climbing Gamerscores?" Indeed, why not? That might just happen yet. "We've hit 50,000 followers, which means it's time for an announcement! Coming Fall: a new way to earn Rewards based on your Achievements!" reads a tweet by Xbox Live Rewards. Currently, the service gives out Microsoft Points when you do things like spend money on digital goods or take a survey. While it's possible Achievement-based rewards could be something other than MS Points since that wasn't explicitly stated, that appears to be the implication. Sounds like a step in the right direction for people who don't care for Achievements and a nice bonus for those of us who do. Achievements will earn Xbox LIVE rewards this autumn [VideoGamer via VG247] |
Final beta weekend for The Secret World opens June 22 Posted: 19 Jun 2012 07:30 AM PDT
The fourth beta weekend for The Secret World will run from 9:00am Pacific on June 22 to 11:59pm Pacific on June 24. In addition to being the final event -- the full release of the MMO is set for July 3 -- this one is worth a special mention because it'll be open to everyone who signed up for the beta. If you have yet to do so, it's not too late: Funcom is going to let anyone who signs up by June 22 into the beta weekend. The content itself spans what was featured in the three prior events, plus the introduction of player vs. player modes. You're getting the persistent 200-person PvP and smaller-scale battles in Stonehenge and Eldorado. Seems like a perfectly reasonable way to spend the weekend. |
Rooster Teeth Expo brings playable Halo 4 to Austin Posted: 19 Jun 2012 07:00 AM PDT
Though PAX South may be a pipe dream, internet sensation Rooster Teeth (Red vs. Blue) are offering Southern gentlemen and ladies the next best thing with Rooster Teeth Expo (RTX), coming to Austin, Texas July 7-8. For this public debut, RTX is bringing the first public multiplayer demo of Halo 4, indie dev exhibitors (Twisted Pixel, Robot Entertainment), and panels featuring Mega64 and other internet icons. And, of course all the main Rooster Teeth guys will be in attendance. Every year PAX is becoming bigger and bigger, so RTX may be exactly what the gaming community needs: A toned-down expo with big games that still manages to focus on community. With an amazing venue (Austin Convention Center; also used for SXSW), solid line-up, and affordable weekend pass, RTX could potentially be the next big gaming expo. I'll be there along with some Austin Dtoid community members, so leave a comment below if you plan on going. We'll organize a meet-up if enough of you reply. Tickets are currently on sale but only until June 22nd, so get on that while you still can. Check out the full line-up after the jump. Confirmed Exhibitors:
Confirmed Special Guests:
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