New Games |
- Live Show: Backlog never says die
- Star Wars Galaxies to close up shop in December
- Sony sees iPhone/iPad gaming as an opportunity
- Xbox Live indie dev Radiangames is raising prices soon
- Live show: Mash Tactics community picks
- Destructoid and iPlayWinner SSFIV: AE on Justin.tv
- Obscure RPG Solatorobo: Red the Hunter coming to NA
- Xbox 360 is halfway through its lifespan, says Microsoft
- Jamie Kennedy lashes out at gaming 'dorks' who hate him
- Bit.Trip Complete scheduled for a September release
- The Question: Classic Sonic or Modern Sonic?
- Rumor: Xbox 360 readying for free-to-play games
- Friday Night Fights: Summer soltice edition
- Review: F.E.A.R. 3
- TMNT: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled getting pulled from US
- Contest: Win Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon!
- The first F1 2011 dev diary has people talking about cars
| Live Show: Backlog never says die Posted: 24 Jun 2011 03:00 PM PDT [Backlog is the ongoing quest to rid Conrad Zimmerman's collection of unfinished games. As voted on by the Destructoid community, Conrad plays each game from start to finish live on Destructoid's Justin.tv channel every weeknight at 8pm Pacific] Last night, during a four-hour marathon session (twice the length of our average Backlog show), I made a massive push to conclude Parasite Eve II. I told all of you at that time that the game would be concluding and made half a liar of myself as I rage quit and proclaimed that I was, in fact, finished with the game. I've lied again. With sixteen consecutive games completed successfully on Backlog, I'm not going to let one final boss encounter (regardless of how unskilled or unprepared I actually am) stop my perfect record without a serious fight. Tune in to Destuctoid's Justin.tv channel, join me and the goons in the live chat and watch as I finally put the last nail in the coffin of Parasite Eve II. |
| Star Wars Galaxies to close up shop in December Posted: 24 Jun 2011 02:10 PM PDT Sony Online Entertainment and LucasArts are shutting down the massively multiplayer online portion of Star Wars Galaxies, in addition to the trading card game, on December 15, 2011. Yeah, MMO-loving Star Wars fans have The Old Republic to look forward to, but it's still sad to see a long-running game close down for good. There's something oddly eerie about online games all of a sudden ceasing to exist. "During the last week that SWG is available, we're inviting the community to participate in a galaxy-ending event," says the official site, which also offers details on fan appreciation offers and important dates. "We're going to end with a bang and we want the final chapter of the galaxy to be written in part by the dedicated and passionate SWG community. Details will be announced at a later date." [Thanks, bluemeep] |
| Sony sees iPhone/iPad gaming as an opportunity Posted: 24 Jun 2011 01:00 PM PDT Speaking with Gamasutra, Sony Computer Entertainment of America CEO Jack Tretton shared his thoughts on the App Store, and more generally, mobile gaming. "If I open a movie theater next door [to a theater] and start charging 50 cents per ticket, but I'm showing you things I filmed with my camcorder, I don't think it's a threat to the theater charging $13 per ticket," says Tretton. "It's about people having reasonable expectations. I don't think we're training people to pay $5 for games ... The cream always rises to the top." It's interesting to hear him take this stance, especially compared to Nintendo's opinion of the App Store. Interview: Sony's Tretton Addresses Hackers, Downplays iPhone Threat [Gamasutra] |
| Xbox Live indie dev Radiangames is raising prices soon Posted: 24 Jun 2011 12:00 PM PDT Radiangames is one of the most consistent developers involved with the Xbox Live Indie Games channel, so I thought this deserved a quick mention. There are currently seven titles with the Radiangames branding, each of which is being sold at $1 a piece. If you are -- or ever were, for that matter -- interested in these games, now would be the ideal time to buy. Beginning on June 28, they're all being raised to $5. You read that correctly. I can't fit all of the information here, but there's a method to this madness; take a look at this Gamasutra postmortem. In related news, the music for this series is temporarily on sale. I'm eager to see how this pans out. |
| Live show: Mash Tactics community picks Posted: 24 Jun 2011 11:00 AM PDT [Mash Tactics airs Monday through Friday from 4-8pm Pacific. Join Jon Carnage and Pico Mause as they host a wacky and interactive show on Justin.Tv. Join us for your chance to win prizes, talk to industry guests, and experience jaw dropping stunts.] Today on Mash Tactics, we are at your mercy. Every Friday, we celebrate the community by letting you control the show. Come hang out and let us know what games you want to see. Better yet, grab your favorite multiplayer title and join us live in front of thousands of viewers. Call up your mama cause you are Internet famous! CLICK HERE for sexy time.
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| Destructoid and iPlayWinner SSFIV: AE on Justin.tv Posted: 24 Jun 2011 10:40 AM PDT Destructoid's Justin.tv channel is committed to bringing lots of great gaming-related entertainment even during the weekends. For example, this weekend we have a special event happening on the live stream that you don't want to miss! This Sunday, from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM PDT, watch as we hang out with Niedel "Haunts" Crisan and Jared Rea from IPlayWinner as they show us the ropes on what changes have been made for Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition. Not only that, Capcom has agreed to give us some game codes to give away for winners of some online tournaments or random fights! And check out the rest of our weekend programming below! Saturday Morning Hangover with Conrad Zimmerman and Jordan Devore airs from 10 AM to 12 PM PDT and is devoted to showcasing the past week's Xbox Live Indie games. This weekend, the members of "Couchtoid" will be playing Jamestown for PC as well as the week's indie games. As an added bonus, they will be giving away codes for the awesome Double Fine game, Trenched!
Destructoid's live community talk show, Also, Talks, starring Bill Zoeker and Johnnyluchador is committed to bringing interesting conversations about videogames, Destructoid, and other stuff. This week, right after the iPlayWinner stream, they will be joined by none other than the amazing Jonathan Holmes! This is a weekend you don't want to miss.
321gocast is Destructoid's only live show/podcast hybrid airing on Sunday, from 2-4 PM PDT starring Johnnyviral, Jesse Cortez, Analoge, and Ryu89. Every week, they bring the live audience as well as podcast listeners into their conversations about videogames, Doctor Who, Jersey shore and exactly what makes Johnny so angry. This week, due to the iPlayWinner stream, there is no show, but stay tuned for another episode next week! Catch these shows and more on Justin.tv/destructoid! |
| Obscure RPG Solatorobo: Red the Hunter coming to NA Posted: 24 Jun 2011 10:20 AM PDT A few people have hit us up to say that Nintendo is bringing Solatorobo: Red the Hunter to North American Nintendo DS systems. Many people are calling the game, localized by XSEED, a hugely underrated gem, so it may be well worth checking out. The game is coming to Europe next week and will hit the States some time later this year. In case you're wondering, it's a game about anthropomorphic animals that ride around on robots for some reason. It's got a cute anime art style and some classy music, and it'll likely not get noticed by most gamers. In any case, this is a thing you can pay attention to if you want. I'll definitely be looking into picking it up. [Thanks to all who let us know] |
| Xbox 360 is halfway through its lifespan, says Microsoft Posted: 24 Jun 2011 09:40 AM PDT Thanks to the Wii U and even higher-end PC games, it's starting to feel like the next generation of consoles isn't too far off. Or is it? In an interview with MCV, Microsoft EMEA VP Chris Lewis said "We see [the Xbox 360] as about halfway through" its life cycle. Lewis did admit that the console "is defying the normal curve you might expect. There's no doubt that Kinect put a huge shot of adrenaline into the business. What we are now seeing is massive swathes of families and younger audiences flocking to it. As you saw at the press conference, we are now in line with what we projected at E3 2010." [Via CVG] |
| Jamie Kennedy lashes out at gaming 'dorks' who hate him Posted: 24 Jun 2011 09:20 AM PDT It seems that Jamie Kennedy still has a raw nerve over that whole, "Hosting an Activision E3 press conference and being a drunk, unfunny, embarrassing mess" thing. Responding to a discussion over whether or not Kennedy was worse than Mr. Caffeine, the celebrated comic actor had some wise words to impart. "wow u dorks can't let that go, You have no idea what really happened, because ur not in the biz, ur a spectator," he Tweeted, finally explaining to us why he was such an awful host. It all makes sense now. He was later invited by Game Informer editor-in-chief Andy McNamara to discuss the issue rationally, to which Kennedy responded: "would love too, I can After this movie wraps, those guys can do I guess after jerkin off to Zelda." For the record, Jamie Kennedy was far, far worse than Mr. Caffeine. At least Caffeine had charisma ... a very weird, terrifying charisma ... and seems like a nice guy in real life who wouldn't resort to lame gamer stereotypes to win an argument. In any case, Kennedy was last spotted indulging in various flame wars with gamers via Twitter, claiming he won because blogs wrote articles about him. Charming chap. |
| Bit.Trip Complete scheduled for a September release Posted: 24 Jun 2011 09:00 AM PDT We know that Bit.Trip Saga for 3DS is going to hit store shelves in September. What of its disc-based Wii counterpart, though? Publisher Aksys Games says Bit.Trip Complete is also on for -- you probably guessed it -- the same day: September 13. When these compilations were announced, I was curious if Gaijin Games and Aksys expected us to buy both titles, since the content between the two isn't drastically different from your average retail shopper's point of view. Based on the timing, it's an either-or situation. That's not about to stop some of you die-hards, I'm sure. |
| The Question: Classic Sonic or Modern Sonic? Posted: 24 Jun 2011 08:20 AM PDT [Every Friday, Destructoid will pose topical a question to the community. Answer it if you want!] With yesterday being Sonic the Hedgehog's twentieth anniversary, it's been a bit of a SEGA-themed week for us at Destructoid Towers. With that in mind, only one question is fit to be asked this week -- do you prefer "Classic" Sonic or "Modern" Sonic? While you can talk about aesthetics, I almost want the question to involve gameplay. Do you still prefer the old school Genesis platforming, or do you think the 3D "racing" style from Sonic Adventure onwards is the way to go? Although Sonic has been in some famously poor games in recent years, the newer Sonic has a very dedicated fanbase that possibly outnumbers those who grew up on the Genesis these days. So let's settle this once and for all -- old or new? Anybody who says "Neither" shall be dubbed St. Smarmy of Smarm. |
| Rumor: Xbox 360 readying for free-to-play games Posted: 24 Jun 2011 07:40 AM PDT According to gossip merchants from Deepest Rumorkistan, Microsoft is currently in talks with publishers about getting Xbox Live ready to accept free-to-play games. The increasingly popular business model allows players to obtain a game for no cost, in hopes of selling them premium in-game content later. Hardly surprising Microsoft is interested in getting a piece of that action. The rumor suggests that MS will get to sell you more Microsoft Points in order to buy your +1 Wand of Frost or Helmet of Things That Happen. Therein lies the sinister catch. I've got no issue with free-to-play models, I just don't like the idea of any of the major console holders getting involved because they'll be assholes about it in spectacular ways we never even thought possible. |
| Friday Night Fights: Summer soltice edition Posted: 24 Jun 2011 07:20 AM PDT Summer has officially started! For many gamers that means a break from school and time to concentrate on your favorite game. Although I'm done with school, I still get excited for these upcoming months. Not only is it gorgeous outside, summer means that Evo and PAX are just around the corner! Time to get serious about my Marvel vs Capcom 3 skills! Speaking of fighting games, our Robot jefe Niero sat down with the guys of The Gamer Studio to talk about or newly launched Fight.destructoid.com. In this interview, he lays out the genesis of our partnership with Playhem and what we have in store. So definitely check out the interview and check out Fight.destructoid.com! We have some things to announce soon! As usual, the Destructoid community gathers together on Friday to play the latest Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC games together. Check below for a list of community hosts and the games they are playing. New to FNF? Read this: Each week, a bunch of Destructoid readers and usually an editor or two get together to play some videogames online. Basically, this is what Friday Night Fights are all about. The planning for FNF takes place in the forums, where community members volunteer to host by posting their information (gamertag, time to meet up, game, etc.) in the forum post corresponding to the system they're interested in playing on. Then, every Friday, reminder posts for those who don't read the forums regularly go up in the community blogs section all thanks to a dedicated group of cool individuals. And for everyone who wants their info all in one place, they have got my weekly recap posts to look forward to between 4:30 - 5:30 PM EST. Now that you're here, just scan the list below and find a game you want to play. All that's left to do after that is to join the match by contacting the host below using any means necessary. For Wii, you might have to be a little creative, but for 360/PS3 a simple "invite me" message will be fine. The names on the left are our Destructoid handles, while the ones on the right are our online handles (PSN IDs, for example). Don't see a game you want to play? Feel free to post a comment offering to take up hosting duties yourself. Tonight's Hosts: (more info found here)
Tonight's Hosts:(more info found here)
Tonight's Hosts (more info found here):
Tonight's Hosts (more info found here):
Tonight's Hosts:
More information on this community server can be found on Knivy's cblog here! If you want to find people to play with, check out the Steam chat below:
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| Posted: 24 Jun 2011 07:00 AM PDT The F.E.A.R. series has always been a polarizing one. It's earned itself a dedicated cult following but for every fan, there's at least one vocal detractor. Personally, I've always been an admirer of the series, well aware of its faults but respectful of the atmosphere and twisted narrative it's become known for. My anticipation for F.E.A.R. 3 was very high and I'm pleased to announce that this is quite possibly the best game in the series so far. Unfortunately, it's also the worst. F.E.A.R 3 (PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 [reviewed]) If this is your first F.E.A.R. game, you'll need some Wikipedia pages handy, because Day 1 Studios simply does not care. Taking place months after the events of the first game, F.E.A.R. 3 continues the Point Man's story as he finds himself imprisoned by Armacham and tortured for information. He is rescued by an unlikely accomplice -- his cannibal brother Paxton Fettel, who was killed by the Point Man in the first game. If you're not with me so far, I wouldn't recommend jumping into this game, because you'll be lost for the entirety of the game. Back to the story, it turns out that Fettel's psychic ties to Alma (scary girl, human test subject, telekinetic rapist) and the Point Man was too strong for him to die, so now he exists as a wraith-like spirit, bound to his brother and harboring his own twisted agenda concerning his brother and Alma's upcoming baby. Thus the stage is set for a new co-op take on the F.E.A.R. series. It's clear from the outset that F.E.A.R. 3 is intended as a purely co-op situation. The battles are designed for two players to distract and flank enemies, with odds that can sometimes prove overwhelming for solo combatants. While you can play single-player, you miss out on a vast proportion of the game -- the secondary player character, be it Point Man or Fettel, will be removed from gameplay, not even available as an A.I. partner. It's a strange decision, so be warned that if you choose to go it alone, you won't get the full game. The Point Man's style of play remains largely unchanged from previous titles in the series. As the more corporeal of the two characters, he can access any gun that's lying around and he can also make use of Reflexes -- a fancy way of saying he can slow down time temporarily. Being human, the Point Man offers a more traditional approach to combat. Meanwhile, Fettel is the choice for true sadists. With the former antagonist, players can possess enemies, gaining control of their physical form and being able to essentially fight like the Point Man (sans Reflexes). As well as possession, he can suspend opponents in the air via a ghostly thread, shoot energy projectiles, telekinetically fling grenades, and make unfortunate victims explode. With all this power at his disposal, one can expect a fair few fights between friends over who gets to play the ghastlier brother. Day 1 Studios did a tremendous job of building upon previous games and adding a new level of speed and intensity to the combat. Although F.E.A.R. 3 is considerably less scary than its predecessors due to the co-op gameplay and an increased level of action, there is still a healthy dose of foreboding atmosphere, and there's a level of quality in the shooting mechanics and overall presentation that past entries lacked. In many ways, it takes elements of modern military shooters such as Call of Duty and drapes a horror vibe over the framework. The results are quite pleasant to behold. F.E.A.R. 3 has a greater focus on story, better visuals, and a more thrilling execution than the series has ever seen, yet while I want to call it the best F.E.A.R. yet, I'm very sad to say that for everything done right, there are two things that have been done atrociously wrong. For a start, F.E.A.R. 3 is so focused on multiplayer that the campaign has been clearly compromised. At a generous guess, I will say the story took me five hours to complete, but I am certain it was shorter than that. In fact, the game's story really ramps up in the last thirty minutes, to the point where the game is over before it felt that things got properly started. The co-op itself is also incredibly stunted. You can't choose characters freely or swap them between levels. The host always starts as Point Man and whoever joins gets to be Fettel. To make matters more obnoxious, there's no drop-in/drop-out feature, something I consider a crime for any narrative-driven co-op game. F.E.A.R. 3 tries to make things more interesting by adding a level of competition, with players able to complete objectives in order to become Alma's "favorite son." F.E.A.R. 3 is so bad at player feedback, however, that it's never really explained how best to earn points and become the winner. Not to mention, Fettel has more skills at his disposal and it's far easier for him to win every time. The lacking amount of feedback is also evident in the rather poor level design, which fails to be intuitive despite the game's linearity. If co-op is useful for one thing, it's that you get to have two people testing all of the identical doors to see which one is the actual exit. All of this could be easily forgiven, though, had the campaign not been so thoroughly shafted in order for perhaps the sloppiest, most miserable multiplayer system I have had the displeasure of suffering in a long while. That F.E.A.R. -- a series that made its mark with excellent narrative campaigns -- chose to cut its campaign short for a buggy, crimped, broken multiplayer delivery fills me with a disgust so strong it could almost gain a physical form. Let's ignore the galling online pass feature that refuses to download half the multiplayer features unless you exit the entire game, and focus on just how awful the netcode is. For instance, the Quick Match option doesn't work. At all. It simply sits with a perpetual loading animation that cannot be backed out of until the player gets bored and exits the game. Then there's the matchmaking. While some players have reported being able to get into games, I was among the many others that could not. The most irritating part of this is that when you get an inevitable "No Available Slots" or "Unable To Join Game" message, you're booted out of the entire matchmaking menu and have to get back into it from the main menu. The reason for such backward design lies outside of my clearly limited grasp of human logic, but someone saw fit to make it this way. I was finally able to get into games by hosting them myself, although there don't seem to be many players online so full games were rather rare. So far, hosting has proven to be my only way into an online game, with Quick Match trapping players in Loading Limbo and game searching leading to failed join attempts and menu booting. The truly upsetting part is that there is a truly great multiplayer game hiding behind the wall of bullshit. F.E.A.R. 3's multiplayer eschews traditional deathmatch gametypes for a range of interesting and unique modes, with each one proving to be incredibly fun in its own right. Contractions is the most traditional mode, being a "horde" style affair where four players team up against waves of increasingly difficult enemies. Between rounds, team members can find supply crates to bring back to base and repair defensive barricades to keep enemies out. Alma will also wander the map, with a stiff penalty paid to anybody unfortunate enough to look at her. Soul Survivor is perhaps the weakest of the four modes, being an elimination game in which one player is a wraith and has to "corrupt" downed players in order to boost his own side. Enemy soldiers flood the map, which wraiths can possess at any time. While it's a decent idea, the game can get pretty dull, especially for the lone wraith player until he can win some team members. F**king Run is a panic-inducing game in which four players have to keep moving and shooting at opponents, chased all the while by a wall of darkness. Staying in the darkness for too long causes a player to be consumed, and if just one player falls, the whole team loses. It's a frantic and particularly engaging experience, although I feel it would last a bit longer if the game relied on elimination rather than ending if one player falls. That said, I can see how it encourages team work rather than having players abandon their allies and run ahead. Finally, we have my favorite mode, Soul King. In this match, all players are wraiths and they face off against A.I. enemies, all of which can be possessed. Killing an enemy causes them to drop a soul which is collected for points. Players can also kill each other to steal vast quantities of souls, and therein lies the true trick of the game. The better you do, the greater your losses upon death. It's a fascinating game with a great risk/reward dynamic that keeps winners unpredictable until the very end. It's helped along by the amusingly cheesy wraith voice acting, too. Every single mode has merit and F.E.A.R. 3 boasts one of the most unique online offerings I've ever seen, yet all of it is pissed on by the aforementioned connection trouble, broken matchmaking and poorly designed menu system. When one can get into a game, it's great fun, but the fact that getting there is such a hassle is simply inexcusable. It's clear that Day 1 Studios intended this game to rely heavily on the multiplayer component, couldn't meet even basic standards and has wrecked what is, at its core, a superb game. Even if the connection issues and infinite loading bugs are patched, so few are playing now and the menu is so badly put together that any matchmaking experience is destined to remain unpleasant. I don't often talk about review scores within the text of a review, but I want to make this abundantly clear -- I think F.E.A.R. 3 is a 9/10 game at heart. The quality of gameplay is on par with some of the best games that the first-person shooter genre has to offer, and I feel that this is the game that should have put the series on the map. Unfortunately, I cannot in good faith give this game the score it should get due to how badly the developers screwed it up. It deserves merit for the gameplay that's offered while it lasts and while it works, but turning that "9" upside down is the best I can do. Thanks to its pathetically short campaign, dodgy co-op setup and broken multiplayer matchmaking, F.E.A.R. 3 is one of the best shooters I've played presented in the worst possible way. It pains me to have to be so harsh, but there's simply no justification for how this game's excellence has been squandered and ultimately ruined. If you can't get your online shit together, don't give me a compromised narrative, because right now, F.E.A.R 3 feels like half a game and one that's simply not worth paying anywhere near full price for. Never has such a fantastic experience been ruined so tragically. |
| TMNT: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled getting pulled from US Posted: 24 Jun 2011 06:20 AM PDT Ubisoft has confirmed that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled will soon be de-listed and abolished from Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network in North America. The yanking is due to an expiring license, and it'll occur on June 30. The game was largely considered an awful take on a classic game, so I doubt many tears will be shed. Just goes to show, however, that one can't rely on digital content forever. Makes one wonder what'll happen in this industry's fabled all-digital future, though, that games can just disappear forever like that. TMNT Re-Shelled no longer available in US after June 30 [Joystiq] |
| Contest: Win Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon! Posted: 24 Jun 2011 06:00 AM PDT The bugs are taking over the planet in Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon and it's up to you and your team to stop the invasion. We have five copies of the game to give out before the July 5 release date for either the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. To enter, we want you to take the images in the gallery below and create your own bug invasion with a photo editing program. Take a picture of the Earth, other videogame worlds -- anything is good so long as you use at least one picture from the gallery below. Feel free to include real bugs in your creation too! The best submission will get a copy of Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon AND a copy of the ultra rare retail version of Earth Defense Force 2017. Four runner-ups will each get a copy of EDF: Insect Armageddon. You have until June 30 at 11:59PM CDT to enter and contest is open to US residents only. Good luck! |
| The first F1 2011 dev diary has people talking about cars Posted: 24 Jun 2011 05:40 AM PDT Formula 1 has had a bunch of popular games before, like the wall-hittingly good Ayrton Senna's Super Monaco Grand Prix II and the classic Grand Prix 2. That's where I stopped playing those games, but Codemasters' F1 series has proven to be very successful in recent years. A bigger focus on multiplayer seems to be the big thing for F1 2011, something that will probably lead to a fair few divorces in the UK among its 15 year old dads. If anyone was wondering about that safety car, I suggest you ask Community Manager Ben Bateman. I hear he loves to talk about that! |
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