New Games |
- Interview: Where is Tommy in Prey 2?
- Assassin's Creed: Revelations 'Animus Edition' looks wild
- Weekend Mobile roundup: Father's Day edition
- Stomp a goomba with these rad Mario shoes!
- Weekend Destructainment: PIDGEY F**K YEAH!!!!
- The 3DS eShop, or why Nintendo has no f*cking clue
- Sell and buy used games (gasp) & get entered to win a 3DS
- Interview: Go go Power Rangers Samurai
- Rock Band DLC: Maroon 5, Puddle of Mudd
- Oh, so that's what Ratchet looks like without skin!
- Live Show: Sat. Morning Hangover wants five more minutes
- Project Zomboid taken offline due to piracy
- Interview: What's new with Assassin's Creed: Revelation
- Weekend reading: BioShock: Rapture novel excerpt
- Killzone 3 getting 'From the Ashes' DLC June 21
- The Daily Hotness: Muppets!
- This is Assassin's Creed: Revelation's multiplayer
| Interview: Where is Tommy in Prey 2? Posted: 18 Jun 2011 02:00 PM PDT
Hollie asked Bethesda's Chris Rhinehart the question we've all had on our minds since Prey 2's reveal earlier this year, and it sounds like Tommy will play a pretty big part in it. There's also talk about the open world design, player freedom in movement and choice, and all kinds of other things. Take a look! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assassin's Creed: Revelations 'Animus Edition' looks wild Posted: 18 Jun 2011 01:00 PM PDT Gamers are no strangers to wild special edition versions of Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed franchise. Hell, before the series was even a hit, the publisher released a version of the original in a special tin with an (underwhelming) figure of the game's lead. In addition to special packaging, we're talking a soundtrack, a short film called Assassin's Creed Embers, an "in-depth encyclopedia," and in-game content. That content includes a single-player mission set in the prison of Vlad the Impaler (awesome!), weapon upgrades, the "Armor of Brutus," and two multiplayer characters -- the Crusader and an "Ottoman" version of the Jester. Oh, and one "exclusive" customization item. Say all of that ten times fast. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weekend Mobile roundup: Father's Day edition Posted: 18 Jun 2011 12:00 PM PDT It's Father's Day tomorrow! I hope you remembered to do something nice for your dad or at least give him a call if he's still alive. And if you've grown apart, it would be as good a time as any to get over your differences before he dies. Alternatively, be exactly like your father was, make a whiny face like he did for three movies, and jump down a shaft. This weekend I found out Grand Prix Story hit Android, Imaginary Range is now on Android, there's a couple of iPhone games, and Gameloft is holding a Father's Day sale on a bunch of their iOS games.
Grand Prix Story (Android, $4.96)
A new game by Kairosoft (Game Dev Story, Hot Springs Story) came out and it's on Android first? Shocking! Actually it's not that shocking, because the Story games were never tailored to any specific mobile platform by design. Because I don't have an Android phone -- or any phone that is worth a damn for that matter -- I couldn't check this out myself and it also passed under my radar. It looks great though, and this time around you're managing your own racing team with some deeper options and harder gameplay. I've heard a few people say they couldn't get it to run on their older Android phone though, so it might be a good idea to search around a bit to see if there are known issues with this game and your phone model.
Not to be confused with Skipping Stones or Stone Skipper (yes really), Skipping Stone is a pretty simple yet colorful rhythm game. You're some kind of creature thing who has to skip on the water by tapping at the right moment. It sounded stupid to me, but I gave it a try nonetheless and it's not bad actually. There's not a whole lot to it, although you get multipliers for doing three properly timed skips in a row and there are random bonuses to grab that give you a range of different effects and items. It's not a game you'll be playing for any long stretches of time, but it is one of those games that are great to just pass a few minutes while you wait for something. The clean art style and the frantic music turn what could've been a really boring mechanic into a frantic timed tap fest. If you're in the market for a simple game that doesn't get old fast, but that you can keep playing on and off where it suits you, Skipping Stone is pretty decent.
Another one of those tilt control jump/fall games, this time with doodle graphics. I'm terrible at tilt controls and quite frankly I hate them, so this was not a game for me. If you don't mind tilt controls though, it's pretty decent. You collect diamonds on your path to the bottom, which fill up a bar that lets you blow through platforms and hazards in super hero mode. You can also use the diamonds to upgrade things like a longer super power bar to save up more diamonds, duration, other characters, and items to save your life. You can also configure the tilt sensitivity which is a huge plus. The game does do a good job at providing incentives to keep on playing it through an in-game locator for your high score and through the upgrades, so if you dig this type of game it's worth a shot.
We've talked about Imaginary Range in a previous Weekend Mobile roundup, but it's finally on Android now. If you don't know what it is, it's Square Enix's mix of an interactive comic book with minigames that combine to tell a very Japanese story. It's great, free, and an innovative mix of elements that work well on the phone platform. Grab it!
I wasn't really impressed when I played this game for a few minutes to do the Free App of the Day post, but after having given it some more time I have to say this is not a bad game. It's still a simple game where you move left and right and shoot automatically, or chainsaw skeletons automatically if they get up close. With the gold you collect you can upgrade your units, castle defenses and Ash himself. There's also only one level, which is pretty lame. But despite this not being a proper Evil Dead game, it's worth giving it a try. Some supporting characters from Army of Darkness make an appearance as powerful heroes, all the different types of enemies are here, and it's addictive to keep playing it and upgrading your stuff. It should be said though, that if you just use Ash to keep the skeletons and Deadites at bay while you save up resources to upgrade the Smithy to the maximum level -- who generates resources to upgrade himself or buy units in a level -- every level is a cakewalk. You can just upgrade Ash to protect the Necronomicon long enough to get to that max Smithy level, after which your income flow is so high that you can just keep pooping out new units to easily win a level. It's by no means the Evil Dead game we've been waiting for, but it pays tribute to a lot of aspects of the classic third movie and they did with the material what they could for this type of game. It's also free at the moment, so there's that.
First some more freebies I found. Burn the Rope (iPhone) is not as good as Burn it All by a long shot, but it's a kind of fun tilt control game where you rotate your device to make a flame burn upwards and burn some rope. I got tired of turning my iPod around all the time, but some of you might dig it. Scene It: Movies 2 (iPhone) is the movie trivia stuff you'd expect. It's not great or as good as the console games, but it can help pass the time when you are watching a boring movie. Gameloft deals (via Touch Arcade), all games are $0.99:
Bumpy Road (iPhone & iPad, $2.99 -- universal app)
A new update for Bumpy Road adds a new Sunday Trip Deluxe mode, which includes speed and brake "gizmos." I'm still loving Bumpy Road even though I can't seem to really get good at it, and it looks like they'll keep on updating this to keep the gameplay fresh. If the "higher than $1" price put you off before, perhaps that will convince you to try it out.
That's it for this weekend. If you know of a ridiculous or cool new Android or iOS game, hit me up on Twitter or send us an email. Or post it in the comments! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stomp a goomba with these rad Mario shoes! Posted: 18 Jun 2011 11:00 AM PDT I wish I could pull off wearing a pair of shoes like this. I can officially say these Chuck Taylors are awesome, sporting a print of one of the most classic levels in the original Super Mario Bros. As a retro guy, I obviously love them. But I know if I wore these they just wouldn't look right. Same thing happens to me in certain kinds of hats. I tried to buy a hat once -- ya' know, the same kind that Luke wears in the Professor Layton games -- and I looked like a fool. So much so, that my friend told me to take it off and never, ever wear it again. Oof. Harsh. But, anyway, these Super Mario Bros. shoes are amazing. Someone buy them so I can admire them and wish I was as cool as you. The only thing that could top these would be Kuribo's Shoe shoes. I would totally wear those. Get to designin', Converse! Converse x Super Mario Bros. Chuck Taylor Hi – Part 2 [Highsnobiety via Hayabusa] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weekend Destructainment: PIDGEY F**K YEAH!!!! Posted: 18 Jun 2011 10:00 AM PDT
Ash is continuing his adventure and this time discovering random battles. I had no idea there were AK-47s in Pokemon! What the hell! Weekend Destructainment is GO! Immersion takes on Horde mode, drum covers fill your ear holes, the Game Genie series is back, El Shaddai's trailer gets mashed up, a one man band goes all Zelda, Cole Phelps is a douche, everyone loves Game of Thrones, Nick Chester is a lush and Freddie Wong went to E3. Rooster Teeth's Immersion takes on the Horde mode.
NukaCola is back with some videogame drum covers! This latest one is based on Castlevania II.
The Game Genie, episode two. Thanks, Mike!
El Shaddai trailer mashed up with Antonio Inoki's theme. Thanks, Felix!
One man band does a cover of "Fairy Fountains" from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Thanks, David!
Cole Phelps is kind of a dick in real life.
8-bit remix of the Game of Thrones theme.
Nick Chester is such a lush at the Harmonix party.
Freddie Wong found the Half-Life 3 booth at E3!
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| The 3DS eShop, or why Nintendo has no f*cking clue Posted: 18 Jun 2011 09:00 AM PDT I am an idiot. Some of you are reading this now and your first thought is, "He finally admits it!" However, I have a specific reason for this self-deprecating opener. There was some part of me -- some naive, doe-eyed, expectant part of me -- that truly thought Nintendo was going to get its act together with the 3DS eShop. For possibly demented reasons, when I heard that Nintendo intended to make serious strides with its digital offerings and give us something to make the 3DS a worthy download platform, I actually wanted to trust it. I wanted to think Nintendo knew what it was doing, had learned from its mistakes, and would kick righteous amounts of downloadable arse. So like I said, I'm an idiot. I'm not saying Nintendo's online plans are the worst plans I've ever seen. What I am saying, however, is that I could cut into my dick and bleed my dick's blood onto a brick of my own shit, and the resultant dickbloody shitbrick would make for a better online plan. Alarm bells were ringing when it became apparent that Nintendo couldn't be bothered to have the store ready in time for the 3DS' launch. The 3DS released incomplete, as far as I'm concerned, especially for someone who primarily cared about the 3DS' potential for downloadable content (more fool me). For Nintendo to make such a big deal out of its eShop, only to wait almost two months after the 3DS' launch to set it live, is contemptibly preposterous. And when it finally launched, did we get the pleasant browsing experience sorely lacking from previous Nintendo marketplaces? Did we buggery! The eShop is still pathetically half-baked and messy compared to pretty much every single rival. Games and categories are just thrown together in random order, all on a single row, so you can only get one item detailed on the screen at once, and you need to manually scroll through icons in order to get to where you want -- if you even know what you're looking for. The arbitrary placement of categories absolutely astounds me. Right at the very end of this long parade of icons, you have the following items in order: For Your Road Trip, What We're Playing, Nintendo 3DS Games Coming Soon, Coming Soon to Nintendo eShop and ... Value Games. That's two release lists nestled in between two game genre categories, hidden at the end after a bunch of other nonsensically placed items. There's no order, no theme, nothing to justify the thoughtless placement of these icons. It's one of the sloppiest layouts I've ever seen. Tapping on an icon in this single row brings us to another bunch of icons, again all arranged in a single row. If you don't know the exact name of what you want, then good luck finding it. Between vague category names like "For The Win" and "Nuthin' But Action," and the horrendously blinkered presentation of games, you're going to be screwed once the eShop's been around a while and amasses a wider selection. It is certainly an "improvement" over what we had with DSiWare, given that DSiWare was a steaming load of pig's cum, but it's far from adequate. Even rating titles -- a lauded new feature -- is an ability that's not immediately apparent to a casual user. You have to click a menu in the top left corner and look for "Rate Titles" in a drop-down list. Intuition tells us that you should be able to rate a game just by finding the product page, but that would make sense, so we can't have that. Worse, though, is what an utter fucking hassle it is to buy something. The eShop misleads you into thinking there are two payment options -- credit cards or Nintendo Points. What it doesn't tell you is that existing Nintendo Point cards just don't work, something our own editor-in-chief found out to his wallet's detriment. Again, it would be too convenient and sensible to work on making current point cards work, so the 3DS will need its own special cards -- something the eShop doesn't bother explaining. That's all fine and dandy except ... these 3DS point cards don't exist. At least, not yet. It's another case of Nintendo simply not having its shit together in time. (Update: Apparently, they have been spotted in stores, but they weren't really publicized and they're not everywhere. They're not even on Amazon yet. That's almost more annoying). Instead, if you want to add funds to your eShop wallet (you can't just buy a game, you need to stockpile money in pre-set quantities) you've no choice but to reach for your credit cards. Also, you'll need to do this every time you add money to the eShop, because heaven forbid the 3DS give you the option of saving your details or making a persistent online account. I'm sure Nintendo can hide behind the guise of "customer safety" in this respect, but I call it "customer wanted to buy a game but had to put his card details in for the third time and lost his purchasing impulse as he leafed through his wallet." Nintendo, I'm a grown man and I can look after my shit. At least give me an option to save my details for easy purchasing next time and let me deal with the risk -- a minimal risk at that, since I mostly use my 3DS near a power source for obvious reasons. I'm also going to go on record as saying that, after two months waiting, having such a barren marketplace is a slap in the face. I was genuinely looking forward to Thursday, to see what brand new Virtual Console games or 3D NES Classics would appear, and I got ... Donkey Kong. Fucking Donkey Kong for the Game Boy. I grant you, it's a pretty cool game, but a single pretty cool game is nowhere near enough to satisfy my lengthy wait for substantial 3DS content. At the very least, the eShop should have launched with more than four Game Boy games and a single NES title. That Nintendo's going to insist on a drip-feeding approach by giving us one or two downloadable games a week is frustrating beyond measure. Between the Game Boy, the Game Boy Color and the SEGA Game Gear, not to mention the NES' library, Nintendo has months and months of content. It can afford to release more than one or two games a week, and I dare say people would appreciate not having to wait an entire week to be let down that the single Game Boy titles they've been holding their breath for was something dumb. Oh, and let us not forget to mention that Nintendo still won't pull its head out of its arse when it comes to international offerings. We're in a global market now, yet still I am told by my Australian friends that they don't get jack-shit on the eShop, while they get to read about what other territories are getting. While the offerings are poor in North America, they're even worse elsewhere. In a modern, open industry, this kind of backwards bullshit just isn't acceptable. I wish I knew what Nintendo's damage was when it came to downloadable marketplaces. The search feature is a pain to use with its tiny little keyboard and results that are yet again arbitrarily lined into a single row, and the inability to queue downloads is yet another issue that we shouldn't be dealing with in 2011. Nintendo clearly knows what the competition is doing, whether it's Sony or Apple, and yet it seems to willfully refuse to compete on an efficient level. Nintendo claims that it's not concerned about the likes of mobile gaming, and it can keep telling itself that, but the truth is that mobile gaming utterly humiliates the 3DS right now. But don't worry, we can watch a 3D trailer for Green Lantern, so that's alright! Yet ... you know the worst part of it? The infuriatingly, utterly, incomprehensibly worst part? I am still excited for the eShop. Yes, somehow the thought of Nintendo offering original and classic downloadable gameplay turns me on like a motherfucker, and every Thursday -- like a newborn, yapping, excitable puppy -- I am going to turn my 3DS on with the hope that this week, finally, will be the week I get something awesome. Nintendo has proven time and again that it either does not know how to handle digital distribution, or that it deliberately refuses to do so properly. Yet here I am, unable to stop myself from looking forward to the downloadable loot that the eShop could potentially offer. Here I am, still giddy to play the 3DS and wanting to find excuses to turn it on, no matter how hard Nintendo makes it for me to care. Like I said, I'm an idiot. The people behind the eShop are clueless fuckwads, and I recognize that on an intellectual level. Yet the moment they stick Pokemon Red on there, they can have my money again. Because this is Nintendo, a company of idiots that makes idiots of us all. Damn it. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sell and buy used games (gasp) & get entered to win a 3DS Posted: 18 Jun 2011 08:30 AM PDT Destructoid is proud to bring you the laziest way possible to buy and sell games. We've partnered with Glyde and created The Destructoid BUY AND SELL GAMES THING. Why you should try it: you'll get way more money selling with us than trading in your games at retail stores. Unless Jim's coming over you can turn those seven copies of Dynasty Warriors into cash, people!
Selling is easy Unlike eBay, selling doesn't take 30 steps and photography. It works kind of like Netflix: Buy or sell something and the pre-paid mailers (pictured above) do all the work. Its almost too easy. Try it!
Our prices may surprise you Dare to compare! We're usually cheaper or the same price as the big guys. Plus, when you buy a game on Dtoid you might be helping another community member buy their next game. Try listing a game and see.
BONUS: Try it and you're entered in a drawing to win a Nintendo 3DS We're so confident you'll like our shop that we're giving away a virtual raffle ticket each time you list and sell a game (or) purchase a new or used game between now and July 30th. Destructoid earns a small commission for each transaction, which helps us pay for prizes and tacos. Plus, you make more dough for your games than at those strip-mall pawn shops. You know what I'm talking about.
Nintendo 3DS Contest rules: 1) You must either complete a purchase (buy something!) or list and complete a sale (sell something!) 2) You must be in the United States (sorry, we're working on this. Caramba.) 3) Winners will be selected by our partner at random and announced on our contest page and contacted over email with the address you have on file. If you do not respond within 10 days the contest resets and you forfeit your prize. You'd be surprised how often this happens. Its amazing. Good luck!
Want our game deals in the mail? Ok, we'll write some. We promise to not bother you unless we have something dirt cheap going on, and we'll never share your contact information anyone. In fact, we use a third-party service to manage and keep your email safe.
Let us know what you think in the comments below!
We'd love to know what you think of our shop. Please send us your feedback, wishlist, and suggestions.
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| Interview: Go go Power Rangers Samurai Posted: 18 Jun 2011 08:00 AM PDT
I MET THE POWER RANGERS! YES!!!!!!!!!!! Easily the highlight of my E3, and for that matter any E3 I've attended, was getting to hang out with the Power Rangers. We posed, we danced and then the Power Rangers kicked me out of their own booth to play their game. I cried. Before all that, Austin Keys, Producer on Power Rangers Samurai, showed me what we could expect from the upcoming title. POWER RANGERS!!! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rock Band DLC: Maroon 5, Puddle of Mudd Posted: 18 Jun 2011 07:00 AM PDT Anyone know what's going on with the U.S. version of that show The Voice? I ask this because my wife and I saw a few episodes, and while we mostly were disappointed by the talent, we had a good time talking about Cee Lo Green's arms. You see, they're short, like a dinosaur's or something.
You can buy those bands' three tracks as packs for 440 MS Points/550 Wii Points/$5.49. Or, you can purchase the songs individually for the usual 160 MS Points/200 Wii Points/$1.99. Tracks marked with the "X" mean that a "Pro Upgrade" opportunity is in the house, which you can o for an addition 99 cents. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oh, so that's what Ratchet looks like without skin! Posted: 18 Jun 2011 06:00 AM PDT Insomniac has chosen the winners of its skin design contest for the upcoming Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One and… oh my god, what the hell did they do to Ratchet!? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Live Show: Sat. Morning Hangover wants five more minutes Posted: 18 Jun 2011 05:00 AM PDT [Tune in to Saturday Morning Hangover every Saturday at 10am Pacific for the latest Xbox Live Indie Games, co-op play and assorted hijinks. We have a couch! Come join us live on Destructoid's Justin.tv channel!] Please, mom? Guess not. Time again to get up early and face the day. What new horror and indignity will the morning sun bring? It's Saturday, so that probably relates to the Xbox Live Indie Games we'll be playing. And the second half of the show will be a lot of blank stares and gasps as we pop in Child of Eden for a little audio/visual orgasm. It's all happening on Saturday Morning Hangover, airing live right now on Destructoid's Justin.tv channel! Watch live video from Destructoid on Justin.tv
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| Project Zomboid taken offline due to piracy Posted: 18 Jun 2011 04:00 AM PDT Project Zomboid has gained a cult following since it released earlier this year. Like all indie games, it relies entirely on dedicated support from fans in order to survive. So when people decide to pirate the game, it's going to hit the studio pretty hard. Hard enough to force the three-man team to take the game offline. It's worth noting that the game being stolen costs a measly five bucks. Stay classy, gamers! "We’ve always turned a blind eye to pirate copies, even on occasion recommending people who had problems with the legit version try a pirate version until the issues are resolved," said the team. "We realise the potential viral benefits of pirate copies, and while obviously we’d prefer people to purchase our issue is not with those." The issue is with an exploit that's been released, allowing people to steal the game en masse simply by clicking an "update" button. The Indie Stone team has had to take the game down due to the risk of losing the money it made back on development costs. Hopefully the game is back soon with tighter security measures, because people have been enjoying the game and I think it's only fair the guys who made it recoup their investment. Seriously, when a game like this gets hit, especially with developers who have previously been so cool about piracy, I think it's safe to say that the pirates involved went from morally grey individuals to straight-up shitty little bastards. Sorry we’ve had to take the game down for the day [Project Zomboid, thanks Pancakesremo!] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Interview: What's new with Assassin's Creed: Revelation Posted: 18 Jun 2011 03:00 AM PDT
Hollie Bennett is super duper excited for the next Assassin's Creed so it was only right to let get the Assassin's Creed: Revelation interview at E3. Hollie finds out where the new game takes place, how you'll be building up your new Brotherhood and some of the new weapons Ezio will get his hands on. Assassin's Creed: Revelation will be out on the PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on November 15. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weekend reading: BioShock: Rapture novel excerpt Posted: 18 Jun 2011 02:00 AM PDT BioShock: Rapture, the prequel to Irrational Games' BioShock, is out July 19. It's not a game, though, it's a novel. Fun fact: Rapture is written by John Shirley, who wrote the the 1994 film, The Crow. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Killzone 3 getting 'From the Ashes' DLC June 21 Posted: 18 Jun 2011 01:00 AM PDT If you're still playing Killzone 3 and waiting for something fresh, then let it be known that Guerrilla will be launching a new map pack, From the Ashes, next week. It contains four maps -- two for Guerrilla Warfare, two for Warzone. The PlayStation Blog shows off two of the maps, Lente Missile Base and Mobile Factory, designed for 24 and 16 players respectively. These maps will join two others for the price of $4.99 on June 21. It's better than $15 map packs, that's for damn sure. If you've not bought any of the DLC, however, then Guerrilla has a pretty sweet deal running. Next week it'll also offer all three map packs -- Retro, Steel Rain and From The Ashes -- together for $9.99. That's turbo better than $15 map packs.
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| Posted: 17 Jun 2011 04:59 PM PDT
I'm pretty excited that there's a new Muppets movie on the way. On that note about movies, I'm kind of concerned about the Green Lantern movie. Have you seen it yet? What did you think of it? Are cutscenes representative of narrative failure, the new episode of Podtoid is out, we checked out Ms. Splosion Man, Jim reviewed The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, Battlefield 3 won't look as good on PS3 and more happened on 6/17/11. Destructoid Original: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| This is Assassin's Creed: Revelation's multiplayer Posted: 17 Jun 2011 04:00 PM PDT
So I'm not into the Assassin's Creed series. Like at all. Hollie Bennett loves the series though so we thought it would be a good idea for me to interview her as she played Assassin's Creed: Revelation's multiplayer mode. The idea was that maybe she could convince me to like the series. In actuality, the video just sees me being a giant dick to Hollie the whole time as she tries to be all serious and enjoy what she's doing. Videogames! |
Skipping Stone (iPhone, 
UltraDeep (iPhone, 
Imaginary Range (Android, 
Army of Darkness Defense (iPhone, 
Watch Pikmin transfer a DSiWare game to the 3DS
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