New Games

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• Bitmap Brothers' Z is out for iPhone and iPad
• New Destructoid Episode: 3DS Netflix, Popcap, and Aliens!
• Steam gets Breath of Death VII, Cthulhu Saves the World
• Gamify launches network to help make a game out of life
• Konami shows off early design of young Simon Belmont
• Tomorrow's 3DS update adds Netflix functionality
• Freedom: Visible invisible walls
• PC-exclusive shooter Hard Reset announced
• Gaijin Games overviews Commander Video's bit trip
• Eden Eternal gets cute with mice in latest patch
• Q-Games teases Casual Connect announcement with an image
• Computer learns English so it can play Civilization
• Review: NCAA Football 12
• Final Fantasy Versus XIII still not in full production
• Activision reveals some Marvel-ous pre-order items
• Retrogazing with Twisted Pixel
• SDCC: Dead Island pub hosting 'Science of Zombies' panel
• More L.A. Noire content on the way, 'game isn't complete'
• Ubisoft at Comic-Con: Rayman Origins, panels and more

Bitmap Brothers' Z is out for iPhone and iPad Posted: 13 Jul 2011 04:00 PM PDT Kavcom, the publisher behind Burn Zombie Burn! for OS X, has released its "modern reworking" of the classic real-time-strategy title Z today. This release of the 15-year-old game includes the full campaign and a modified touch-based user interface. The oddly titled iOS version, Z: The Game, was produced by the aforementioned Kavcom, Peter Harrap, TickTock Games, and the original developers, the Bitmap Brothers. "It's finally here, and I’m pleased to say that Z: The Game on iPad and iPhone is everything we wanted it to be," said Kavcom managing director Tony Kavanagh. "We've built it from scratch for touch-screen, so it’s incredibly intuitive to play, but keeps all of The Bitmap Brothers' unique style, humour and attitude. I'm sure Z fans old and new will just love it." I played the original as a young lad, and I honestly haven't thought about it in years. I'd definitely recommend it to other strategy game fans that haven't already tried it. You can find more information about the project here.

New Destructoid Episode: 3DS Netflix, Popcap, and Aliens! Posted: 13 Jul 2011 03:30 PM PDT Ahoy, all! Or something. I really am totally out of cute ways to introduce the show in these silly, silly posts I do. Video game news! [fart noise] First, PopCap Games has been acquired by EA, for MILLIONS of dollars. Or possibly jewels. PopCap is known for its jewels. The new XCOM looks really cool, but the head of 2K Games really isn't helping his cause by saying terrible things about the late Ray Charles. Fallout: New Vegas is seeing some DLC next week with Old World Blues, which has flaming dogs in it. SOLD. Resistance 3 sounds like it's a big improvement on its precursor, possibly because it's set in Oklahoma. Finally, Randy Pitchford gets all red in the face and excited about Aliens: Colonial Marines, which is okay, even though I'm mad at him for that last game Gearbox released. We forgot to mention it in our show, but the contest is still going for pictures of "how to destroy a 3DS." Full details HERE, and if you win, you get a free 3DS case from CM4. Furthermore, the weekly podcast I do with Jim Sterling and Jonathan Holmes is available for download here, and if you don't listen to it, you should. Because we do the nasty with your ears.

Steam gets Breath of Death VII, Cthulhu Saves the World Posted: 13 Jul 2011 03:00 PM PDT Independent developer Zeboyd Games has shifted gears from Xbox 360 to Steam. Today is the day Breath of Death VII and Cthulhu Saves the World are ready to please PC-owning old-school RPG gamers. The two titles are being offered as a bundle for -- get this -- $2.69 while the temporary promotional pricing is in effect. Ordinarily it'll run you $2.99, which is still quite the bargain. The next time a homeless gentleman asks you for spare change, tell him you spent it all on this bundle pack. He'll applaud your spending habits and surely want to give you a high five for making such a wise investment in the high arts. [Thanks, Lenigod] You got it!

Gamify launches network to help make a game out of life Posted: 13 Jul 2011 02:00 PM PDT Gamification is a term that has sprung up fairly recently, though it only serves to label a trend which has been growing in popularity for years. One of the largest networks to get on board with this movement, Gamify, has become incredibly popular lately and has just launched a site that acts as a central hub for all of its gamification-related webspaces. The point of this network, and Gamify as a whole, is to support and spread awareness of what gamification is.  For those of you who aren't familiar with the term, let me take a step back and explain. If you have ever been on a site that tracks the progress of your profile building with something akin to an experience bar, or gotten frequent flyer points from your credit card company for using that card to make purchases, you are gamifying your life experiences. Basically, companies take tasks performed outside of videogames and add motivators like achievement levels, redeemable points, progress bars or leaderboards to encourage continued participation. Not everyone is happy with this new trend mixing life with certain aspects found in videogames, and there are some persuasive arguments against gamification, but there are also those who are using this new trend to educate and promote awareness of issues that matter in today's society. Gamify is one of those groups who sees potential in gamification, and is working hard to spread the word about an idea that is becoming more mainstream.

Konami shows off early design of young Simon Belmont Posted: 13 Jul 2011 01:00 PM PDT What's this? Here's some old stuff that Konami was kind enough to share. Castlevania fans will likely enjoy this newly released video that shows an early design of a young Simon Belmont in action. Yeah, that's Simon. You'll see that Simon is entering Dracula's castle in an early concept for Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. He was considered to be a part of the game.  Gabriel Belmont, a new protagonist, later made his debut in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, though. Be patient with this video on the official Facebook page for the game. It takes over a minute to actually see his face. You don't really get a good shot until near the end of the video. What do you think? Is he Simon-y enough for you?

Tomorrow's 3DS update adds Netflix functionality Posted: 13 Jul 2011 01:00 PM PDT Anticipating getting your hands on the Netflix app for 3DS this summer? I hope tomorrow works for you, North Americans. That's when your handhelds will get the ability to stream movies and television shows. The download itself will be free, naturally, but you need to be a subscriber to make use of it. Finally, I can feed my fish -- and watch episodes of The Twilight Zone in 2D on my 3D-capable Nintendo portable -- at the exact same time. Everything's coming up Milhouse! Netflix Arrives on 3DS in North America Tomorrow [Nintendo Life]

Freedom: Visible invisible walls Posted: 13 Jul 2011 12:30 PM PDT [Keep writing your Digital Distribution blogs for this week's Bloggers Wanted topic -- you can still write them all the way up until the new topic is posted next Monday. While you're working on those, I'm still promoting blogs from last week's topic on freedom. Today, Telephis discusses the physical borders and boundaries in game worlds. Want to see your own blog on the front page? Write a blog about Digital Distribution, and it just might get promoted next week! -- JRo] Invisible walls are something every gamer is familiar with. Beautiful vistas can often be misleading due to forced enclosures. Nothing limits freedom more than being shown an area or point of interest, only to have the game physically push you back from it. Anyone who has ever used noclip knows that they are placed because, simply, they need to be there. If a player goes beyond the confines of the play area, they are met with horrible looking renders and see-through maps. It's like when your favourite fem-bot gets chipped, and you can see the steel skeleton and wires underneath the sexy female exterior. You know what I'm talking about. Not something you want to see. It reminds you that you are playing around in a computer simulation prone to errors, and not a fantasy medieval fairy land of magical wonder. Of course, if you are cheating in the first place, that removes you a bit from it already, but glitches have been known to occur where innocent players 'fall through the world'. It's probably more common than you think. How do you present the game world as a massive expansion of territory, as far as the eye (camera) can see? This certainly is a game design challenge not to be taken lightly. Invisible walls, then, are the easy way out. If I am on a beach, and I can look out into the water to the horizon, and then providing water doesn't kill me, I should be able to swim as far as I want to. That is, without an artificial barrier in the form of an invisible wall. Most players who would swim out into nothingness instead of pressing on in their quest do so for one reason - to see what will happen. Will I discover a new area, perhaps an island? What distance can I swim out to? Better check. A big part of freedom is about exploration, and testing limits. Obviously, there have to be limits, like not being able to go in 99% of buildings in the GTA series. Whether it would be just too much work for the devs, or not make sense in the context of the narrative, restrictive player placement is just part of the game. What is unrestrictive, however, is the method of confinement. Invisible walls, to me, scream lazy, and takes away from the game world I am in. In some cases it would be very easy to add a barrier that makes sense and is effective while not breaking immersion. Who remembers Snacker the shark from Banjo-Kazooie? Talk about effective. And terrifying. Every time you go in the water, that ominous music begins and you know, soon, Snacker will be upon you. I was never scared of horror movies when I was younger, but boy was I scared of Snacker. Even if there were invisible walls way off-shore, I would never know, because this shark was super effective and not letting me near them. In fact, I spent as little time in the water as I could. Not only did it make sense for there to be a shark in the water that would chomp your little bear legs off, it was a much more interactive and fun way to keep players confined, and added a whole new element to that gem of a level, Treasure Trove Cove (remember the music in that game? Golden.). Swimming out to sea? Yeah, right. Barriers can be non-interactive as well. World of Warcraft comes to mind, maybe because I spent many years sucked into its world and many of those hours (days?) were spent trying to get to places I shouldn't have been, like getting to the Ironforge airport in vanilla WoW. Most of the invisible wall type blockades are in the form of impassable mountain ranges, which are not only effective but look damn cool. The zones in WoW, no matter what you think of the game, are superbly designed in that you are free and encouraged to explore, with small rewards (cool scenery, hidden NPC's) in hard to reach areas. You never feel confined, although it is very clear where you can and can not travel. Cliff too steep to get to that hut? Find another way around - chances are, there is one. Some games tackle this with timed out-of-area deaths. I have been playing some Battlefield 1943 recently and it is implemented here, as evident when you try to fly a plane to the mainland. Pro tip - doesn't work. You are labelled as a deserter / coward and a timer appears, if you do not turn back before it gets to zero, you die. This is effective in keeping players and the action where it is supposed to be, but what makes you die or explode if you are in a plane? It would feel a lot more free if there were anti-aircraft turrets or the like lining the play area. Instead of 'YOU CAN'T!', it turns into 'Sure, you CAN, but why?'. Novel ways of obstruction are almost a reward for trying to push your freedom as a player to its limits. When it comes down to it, you are doing something you are not 'supposed' to do by trying to leave where you are not meant to leave. When you hit an invisible wall, it feels like a punishment. Nothing cool happens, you can't explore further, and no explanation is offered. Some developers add a short fence with their wall, but in games where you can clearly jump much higher than the fence it is almost like an insult to the player character. I know I have spent many minutes trying to jump over fences or other barriers only to realize, even though I am jumping 5 feet over the top, it absolutely will not let me that way. The opposite is when something does happen, as in the examples previously mentioned. They feel like a reward, put in by clever devs. 'A-ha', they are telling you, 'We knew you would want to go this way - we don't blame you! Alas, you can't right now, and here is why'. The reward feeling comes down to the most basic cause and effect incentive system for game players - what happens if I do this? Oh, cool! Is it fun to spend 10 minutes swimming out to the horizon to be stuck against a wall in the middle of it, like Jim Carrey in The Truman Show? No. Is it fun to meet a creative barrier out there, such as a massive shark (or a disembodied voice telling you that you are being watched and protected in the confines of the area)? Definitely yes, as it seems like those things are put in just for you, the intrepid explorer and boundary pusher extraordinaire.

PC-exclusive shooter Hard Reset announced Posted: 13 Jul 2011 12:00 PM PDT Flying Wild Hogs, a new Polish studio made up of people who worked on Painkiller, Bulletstorm, and The Witcher 2, have announced a new first-person shooter that they are working on called Hard Reset. It's described as dark sci-fi set in a dystopian future. The robots are out to kill us all, and you are humanity's only hope. That's all I need to hear to want this game. Hard Reset was teased by Flying Wild Hogs a while ago, but we didn't really know what it was. We still don't have a whole lot of details, but what we do know is that it looks fantastic. From what we can see in the screenshots, the game's engine shares some similarities with CD Projekt's RED Engine (all kinds of blur and lens flares), and if it looks half as good as The Witcher 2 when it comes out, we are in for a real treat. Hard Reset is scheduled to come out in September. There no details on pricing or distribution method yet, but we'll keep you posted as we learn more. Flying Wild Hog announces cyberpunk FPS Hard Reset [PC Gamer]

Gaijin Games overviews Commander Video's bit trip Posted: 13 Jul 2011 11:30 AM PDT Our own Jonathan Holmes has talked at length about the Bit.Trip series' deeper meaning. I personally come for the fun, aesthetically pleasing games and stay for, well, those same reasons. I won't pretend to know what any of it means, but that's okay! Fans and not-yet-fans need to catch this GameSpot video with Gaijin Games CEO and creative director Alex Neuse. He discusses the series' overall narrative and themes, the less-obvious reason behind Bit.Trip Complete's name, and also the "criminal" challenge levels found in the upcoming compilation for Wii. This seems like a definite buy, if it wasn't one already. Bit.Tripping with Alex Neuse (3DS) [GameSpot via GoNintendo]

Eden Eternal gets cute with mice in latest patch Posted: 13 Jul 2011 11:15 AM PDT Eden Eternal -- a free-to-play MMORPG offered by Aeria Games -- just received a patch that brings along a significant addition: a second playable race, the Zumi. The Zumi are a mouse-like race that favor creation, invention, and commerce. They are not restricted on any of the classes they can use, though the bonus received for using a specific class will be different than what a human character gets. With this race comes a new continent and starting area, The Fegeral Valley of the Southwestern Continent, which is home to the Zumi. Other than the new race, the patch offers some bugfixes and localization changes. Two new high-level dungeons were also added. These raid-type dungeons -- dubbed The Heroic Trials -- are for players at level 50 or higher, and feature stronger monsters and better drops.   The main draw to Eden Eternal is that you as a player can change your class whenever you want without restrictions. I've had the opportunity to try the game before, and the system works. It offers players the freedom to play how they want, but does not lock them into a single path or tree like in other MMORPGs. It's got a charming art style and holds up as fun, if also a little generic. Eden Eternal Patch Notes (7/12/11) [Official Eden Eternal Forums]

Q-Games teases Casual Connect announcement with an image Posted: 13 Jul 2011 10:45 AM PDT Dylan Cuthbert of PixelJunk-maker Q-Games has "posted a little sneak preview of something we'll be revealing next week at Casual Connect" on Google+. Social media! His post, which includes the image above, is viewable here. Looks like PixelJunk Something or Other to me. Possibly even a little Facebook-y, especially given that Casual Connect is about "iPhone, Social, Android, Flash, Browser MMO, and Download Games." Whatever it is, I'm on board. Q-Games hasn't let me down yet.

Computer learns English so it can play Civilization Posted: 13 Jul 2011 10:15 AM PDT It's one thing to teach a computer how to play another game. It's a completely different story to try and make it learn the game on its own by reading the manual. Some rather smart folks over at MIT decided to see how well a computer could learn to comprehend new tasks from reading text. As a test, they decided to see if it could learn to play Civilization. The computer started out with just the basic ability to use the mouse cursor and click on things. It could see the words on the screen, and by playing the game, it learned what the associated meaning of the words were. The computer learned basic English words by seeing what they did in Civilization. After playing for a while, the computer won 46% of the matches it played, which is more than some human players (like me) can say. To see how much it really understood, they decided to let it read the game's manual. From what it knew about these words from playing, it was able to take this new knowledge and increase the games it won to 79%. It followed the same steps that 80% of human players did while playing the game, and it won more games than another computer that relied on conventional AI methods. S. R. K. Branavan, a graduate student on the project, said that “Games are used as a test bed for artificial-intelligence techniques simply because of their complexity. Every action that you take in the game doesn’t have a predetermined outcome, because the game or the opponent can randomly react to what you do. So you need a technique that can handle very complex scenarios that react in potentially random ways.” Branavan also explained that game manuals have “very open text. They don’t tell you how to win. They just give you very general advice and suggestions, and you have to figure out a lot of other things on your own.” This is some pretty heavy stuff, but it's very cool. The team from MIT is already looking at ways they can implement this new method of AI training into robotics research. Computer learns language by playing games [MIT News via io9][Image]

Review: NCAA Football 12 Posted: 13 Jul 2011 10:00 AM PDT Last year, EA Sports decided to take a some risks, change up a few things and make a pretty darn good college football game. Well, apparently, we liked the experimental title enough that they decided to do something unprecedented: make a sequel! ... Wait, this is a yearly series? And I reviewed it last year, too? Oh. In any case, yes, EA is putting that NCAA license to use once again with a new version of the popular sports game series. Maybe I should have written that as "new," though, because ... well ... you guys know what deja vu feels like, right? NCAA Football 12 (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 [reviewed]) Developer: EA Tiburon/EA Canada Publisher: EA Sports Release Date: July 12, 2010 MSRP: $59.99 So here we are; another year, another new title in an EA Sports franchise. The good news is since I don't have to sit here and discuss a storyline with you (spoiler: IT'S FOOTBALL), we can jump right into the what's new. So what is new? Well, not the presentation, for the most part. Sure, they've upgraded the ESPN branding a bit to reflect how it looks in the real world better and the entire menu system incorporates some bits and pieces of ESPN College Football's design, but basically, everything's as it was last year. I guess the old saying is true: if it's not broke, don't fix it. Of course, that presentation also matters on the field, especially with an addition made for NCAA Football 11 -- school-specific team introductions. Last year, I bemoaned that some of the classic team introductions like Oklahoma's Sooner Schooner or Colorado's Ralphie the Buffalo charging out onto the field were excluded. Apparently EA Tiburon heard my complaints, because they and a host of other entrances using animal mascots are here. Auburn's War Eagle, Georgia's famous bulldog Uga, Florida State's Chief Osceola and Renegade; they're in the game, as are schools like Oregon and USC. Even some of the smaller schools with traditions, like Wake Forest and Wyoming, are included in the latest batch. Like last year, they're a great touch and really add to the overall feel of the game as being representative of the college game experience. They've also stepped up the actual in-game graphics a bit, changing the lighting to be more dynamic and better reflect the sun's position and time of day. Even the grass has ditched flat textures for fuller 3D animation, allowing for little touches such as greenery poking out of the snow during winter games. The good news is, it works and the game is absolutely gorgeous. The better news is that the fans aren't lost in giant heaps of bloom effects like they were last year either. They are now individually modeled, with deeper stadium effects for a fuller sound, as opposed to using 50,000 fans and doubling the volume, as has been done in the past. The problem of players clipping through one another is still noticeable, though not as bad as in previous games, and there graphical glitches in replay mode remain troubling. I had the sky disappear on me after one game, leaving me with the eternal blackness of what I assume is the vacuum of space. Sadly, we lost the Kent State Golden Flashes to it, but I don't think anyone will miss them. The biggest (and in my opinion, most beneficial) change comes in the form of a much improved tackling system. EA promised that this new system, which uses new animations that begin only when the player makes contact with the ball carrier, would put an end to the dreaded warping, sliding and other graphical glitches that have become the stuff of YouTube legend. The good news, though, is that this isn't just talk; the system and its new animations deliver on EA's promise. Everything looks crisp, natural and fluid in animation for the first time ... well, ever. Defensive players look like they're actually making tackles, and as a side-effect, it looks more natural when the ball carrier breaks a tackle on a defensive player. Also changed this year was the defensive AI, making players in zone defensive schemes able to trade off players and not just stand around in their zone all the time. Again, EA promised this would be improved and make it harder to run short passing routes against the zone, and they delivered. It used to be pretty easy to run crossing routes of 5-10 yards and just keep chaining passes together. This year, my computer opponents were having none of it, even if I had them line up against a bottom-of-the-barrel team like Eastern Michigan or Memphis.  But the more some things change, the more others stay the same. Gameplay-wise, it's fundamentally the exact same game you've seen last year, and the year before, and the year before and so on. The controls remain all but similar to NCAA Football 11, albeit with the tackle button now permanently moved by default to X (Xbox 360)/Square (PS3). Those of you who've played an NCAA Football game in the last 2-3 years should have no problem picking this game up and being able to jump right into it. Dynasty mode is polished up a bit for this year, with some brand new features that, honestly, should have been in the game a few years ago. Chief among those is the ability to create custom conferences, allowing you to freely move schools around and make conferences as big as 16 teams. You can adjust schedules, BCS bowl tie-ins, even division names if you so choose to. It's nice to finally be able to put my created school in a conference without having to kick someone else out. Secondly, EA's changes allow you to start off your coaching career as a coordinator, focusing on one side of the ball, and work your way up to other jobs ... or try to stay off the hot seat. It's a fun addition that adds another level of realism to the game, as most coaches start out as coordinators at one point or another. Outside of these changes, Dynasty mode is almost identical to NCAA Football 11 in terms of recruiting, management and so on. The other main mode from last year, Road to Glory, is back as well, having undergone some rather large changes. The game mode adds a new feature in that it lets you not only start out your career in high school, but play through your entire senior year as well. It's a nice touch, as playing well in games all year builds up your recruiting potential in a much more reasonable manner than just playing through the state playoffs. Along the way, you'll be able to add schools to your interest list, and for the first time, you can play on both sides of the ball, allowing you to be recruited at two different positions. This also might mean more offers; Florida, for example, might be looking for a halfback, but Georgia could be looking for a linebacker, and if you play well enough at both positions, you'll have offers from multiple schools to play on either side of the ball. You can also choose to skip this part if you want and get to the meat of Road to Glory if you want: your collegiate career.   This area, too, has undergone quite a bit of change: you still have to compete for your spot and can move up and down the roster, as well as be challenged by your teammates if you're a starter. Additionally, doing well in practice will garner trust from your coach and allow you perks during the game, like the ability to call more audibles as the coach becomes comfortable with you at quarterback, for example. You also gain experience points that you can spend on temporary stats boosts. However, what gets lost in the changes is the need to balance a schedule between your social life, working out and your studies. Everything's simply been condensed into one lone practice per week and whatever game you have on the schedule. I assume this was done to make the game move a little quicker, but it's sad to see it get so simplified that part of the college experience has been taken out. Maybe they just assume that you get "help" to pass all your classes, but I would have liked to see it remain. And heck, while you're at it, if we're gonna get some special help for keeping our GPA up to the necessary minimums, can't we have a special mini-game where we get to drive around in fancy cars on campus while avoiding NCAA investigators? As far as making the game your own goes, the usual creation and roster management modes are here. TeamBuilder — EA's online create-a-team page — is once again the only option for making custom teams, so if you don't have an Internet connection, too bad. New this year is the inclusion of custom playbooks, allowing you to build a selection of plays that best fits your style. It's a nice addition but one that really should have been a standard for the past few years, especially since I distinctly remember the older Madden games having something like this. And yes, before you ask, the codes to unlock online multiplayer from last year are back as EA continues to discourage buying games used. Did you really expect anything different? But there's one thing kept popping up in my head as I played through NCAA Football 12: "It's more of the same." Or, maybe to put it more precisely, they could have called this game Super NCAA Football 11 Arcade Edition and it would have fit just as well. There's plenty that's been added to enhance the experience of this being a college football game and some (but not all) of the graphical issues from last year's game have been fixed. Dynasty Mode has gotten long-overdue improvements as well, while Road to Glory has been streamlined (a move I'm not completely a fan of). It's basically a slightly better version of last year's game, which isn't a terrible thing at all since I loved it, but those of you hoping for anything groundbreaking are probably going to be disappointed. I'll still highly recommend buying it if you're a college football fan or if you haven't played a game from this series in a while, but if you're content with NCAA Football 11 — and you don't mind seeing your players slide across the field to make a tackle — then NCAA Football 12 might not do much to change your mind.

Final Fantasy Versus XIII still not in full production Posted: 13 Jul 2011 09:45 AM PDT C'mon! Why tease us with games you've barely started working on yet? This whole time we've been hearing about Final Fantasy Versus XIII could be counted as one long tease if you consider that the team at Square Enix hasn't even started full production yet. Seriously? What's the hold up?Check out what Producer Tetsuya Nomura says in the latest issue of Famitsu (translation via Andriasang):  "Since we’re still taking on so many new development challenges, the team is still made up of the core members," he said. "Right now, we’re making preparations to go into full production." We have yet to see anything in the way of demos or gameplay footage. A few dim screens are all we've seen, really.  It does sound like things are ramping up a bit. When they do finally start full production, it sounds like Nomura has big plans for the game. For example, all the cutscenes are said to be controllable. He teases that he's trying something completely new for this aspect of the game. Timing for a reveal of new details has been set, but he didn't pass dates along to Famitsu. Soon, I hope. Maybe Tokyo Game Show?

Activision reveals some Marvel-ous pre-order items Posted: 13 Jul 2011 09:30 AM PDT Activision has revealed some of the GameStop exclusive pre-order items for its upcoming titles, X-Men Destiny and Spider-Man: Edge of Time. Get it, like they're both Marvel character titles so I used "Marvel-ous" in the headline? Right? Right? Anyway… So if you pre-order X-Men Destiny with the monster game retailer, you'll get a code to unlock exclusive Havok X-Gene Powers and costumes. This will apparently let players wield plasma-enhanced attacks, stunning enemies by absorbing their energy and increasing damage over time. Also, don't forget about the costume: you'll be able to wear it. Pre-orders for Spider-Man: Edge of Time will get you a code to -- are you sitting down? -- unlock some costumes. It's the Identity Crisis Suits front he comic book story arc of the same name: Dusk, Prodigy, Ricochet, and Hornet. The suits will grant players increased health, increased damage, health regeneration, or shield regeneration respectively, depending on the suit you choose. So there you go. Those really were Marvel-ous, right? I mean, there's really no other way to put it here, guys.

Retrogazing with Twisted Pixel Posted: 13 Jul 2011 09:00 AM PDT Have you ever wondered what your favorite developers were like when they were kids? What games they played? What they had to do to play them? Retrogazing is a new interview series where I talk to game developers about their childhood and time growing up with games. For the series’ first entry, I spoke with Twisted Pixel about shady, small town game rental shops, K.C. Munchkin (note: not a rapper) and what games influenced the company’s aesthetic and attitude. It’s been a busy year for Twisted Pixel, to say the least. With three games in development, it’s impressive that Ms. Splosion Man got made at all -- not to mention it’s pretty okay. Perhaps, super okay? Despite being hard at work on the company’s first boxed retail release (The Gunstringer), lead programmer Mike Henry, 2D artist/community manager Jay Stuckwisch and audio designer/”The donut song guy” Matt ‘Chainsaw’ Chaney were willing to sit down and allow me to pry into their childhood. Childhood Matt 'Chainsaw' Chaney: I just played a lot of games as a kid and growing up in a small town,I spent a lot of time outside. I guess I was a geek. I was into comic books and stuff so I was pretty geeky, I guess. Jay Stuckwisch: I probably was too. I was really into comic books and got a part-time job at a comic book store. I basically just worked for free comics. I spent a lot of time outside but I was more artistic. I would stay at home where I would draw and watch a lot of cartoons. Bugs Bunny was my best friend. I definitely wasn’t as geeky on the game front, but definitely was geeky about cartoons and animation. Mike Henry: I was a complete nerd, not much different than now actually. In addition to the NES, I had an Apple IIe growing up and I played a lot of games on that. As few places as there were to buy NES games, there were no places to buy Apple 2e games. You had to drive a good hour to get to a store. It was basically whatever I could pirate from a friend at school who had a cousin who had a uncle that had access to whatever. Once I ran out of those, I started programming them around 8 years old. That’s kind of how I got started programming. My mom apologized to me the other day for wanting me to go outside so much. I had never wanted to go out and play because I would be playing video games inside. My mom actually told me the other day -- now that I have a real career in video games -- “Oh, I’m so sorry I tried to make you go outside all those times.” Vindicated! First system Jay: The first system I owned was the ColecoVision, actually. My parents picked that up and the game I was addicted to was The Smurfs. I was thinking about that the other day. My God, that game was so stupid but I loved the hell out of it. Technically the Odyssey 2 was my dad’s but he didn’t get to play it a whole lot... Chainsaw: My first system was the Atari 2600. I had a lot of really good memories playing that. Berzerk was one of my favorites and I really liked Yar’s Revenge. I had that E.T. game for Atari that’s supposedly the worst thing ever and I would attempt to play it. I’d fall down in a pit and it’d just be game over. I didn’t know why I couldn’t play the game -- I thought it was me. Mike: It was like you thought there were secrets to be unearthed. And, if you could only find out, you would be awesome at it. My first console was a Philips Magnavox Odyssey 2. That was like one of the first consoles. It was so early they didn’t think about the fact that they should be making intellectual property for the thing, so the games were like “Football”, “Basketball” -- those were the titles of the games. I think the pack-in game was a Pac-Man clone but they called it K.C. Munchkin. Old Favorites Chainsaw: I still have my copy of [the original] Zelda and a map I drew of the final castle that shows how to get from the front door to the, uh, silver arrow? Then to the blue ring and finally to Ganon. “Bomb wall left, move up.” I actually mowed yards to buy that game. I was so excited. My parents brought me to Walmart to pick it up. When I got home, my dad was residing the backyard and he told me I couldn’t play until I picked up all the big rocks. I was so pissed off! While I was saving up money for Zelda, I mowed this lady’s yard one day but she only paid me in prunes and a kitten. I was so mad. My parents wouldn’t even let me keep the kitten. Mike: The first game I can ever remember being aware of the release date for was probably Super Mario Bros. 3. I remember I talked about that game so much before it came out. The game was sold out in stores for weeks after it came out, but my mom just happened to be in a Walmart or something the day it was released. They were unpacking boxes of them and my mom was like, “Oh, hey! Can I have one of those?” I don’t think, to this day, that she understands the magnitude of what she did for me there. I would have been sitting and waiting for weeks with tears in my eyes. Jay: That’s awesome. I loved Nintendo’s commercial leading up to it, where there were all those people and this big world pan out and all the people in the different colored shirts made the Mario face on the planet. That was pretty cool. Nintendo was the first time I ever had a system that was all my own. We didn’t have a lot of money when I was a kid, but my aunt bought me a Nintendo for my birthday that was like the end-all-be-all present I could get as a kid so I got that with Super Mario Bros. and loved the shit out of it. Chainsaw: My parents got me an NES for Christmas and my grandparents got me Fester’s Quest and Marble Madness, which is an insanely challenging game for a kid. Fester’s Quest is just a really confusing game. Mike: I think the same company that did Blast Master, Sunsoft, did that. Blaster Master was one of my favorites. It’s probably because I was so impressionable back then but the game had such great atmosphere. The music is cool and you’re driving around in a tank and all of a sudden you get to his point where you get out -- the whole scale of the game changed on you. Chainsaw: I remember griefing the hell out of my brother in Super Mario Bros. because if you were playing as Luigi and the other player pauses the game in the middle of a jump and unpauses you don’t carry your momentum. You just fall straight down. If he was doing really well, I’d be like, “I’m tired of this. I want to play again.” He’d jump over a gap and then I'd pause. Mike: That’s like in Duckhunt, where the second player can move the duck around. I just found that out one day and freaked the shit out of whoever I was playing with. Bad Games Mike: My mom bought me Bible Adventures. It was for the NES but it was not licensed so the game came in a different cart. It had three games on it. There’s this Noah game where you have to gather up animals for the ark; you pick up shit like in Mario 2 but you can pick up multiples, so you run around with a goat on your head that has another couple goats stacked on it. The other one that is even weirder. It’s a game where you have baby Moses in the basket and you have to carry him from point A to point B, making sure he doesn’t get hurt. But, in order to do that you have to chuck him places. So you have one of the most important people in religious history and you are just throwing him around at snakes and shit. Also, not very good. It was one of the only new game I got in a while so I played it. Jay: I don’t remember the title, but I had this Nintendo game “Kings of” something. There were three kings on the cover and a golden castle in the background, I think it was like a early RPG but I totally didn’t get it. It didn't make a lick of sense to me. I couldn’t get past the first level. Mike: My vote for worst Nintendo game has to be Dragon’s Lair. I have to imagine the studio insisted they keep all the animation super smooth so your character would be like: OK, wiiiiiiiind up taaaaake a step! And then he’d stop and take a couple more steps and wind down. It was the hardest thing to control ever. I returned that thing so fast. What game do you wish you were a part of? Jay: Earthworm Jim. That game blew me away with the animation, character design and just how funny it was. That’s why I’m really happy to be a part of this team because that’s what we do. It’s so much fun to bring that back into games. Even if it’s not Earthworm Jim, it’s that kind of feeling. Mike: For me, it would be Super Mario World. That was like all the existing Mario games rolled into one, and now you got all these ridiculous thing you can do with scaling and rotation -- it had giant bullet bills! And Yoshi, of course. Matt: I have to say the original Legend of Zelda, because that game was such an influence on me. It just blew me away the first time I played it. I’ve always been into music and sounds, but I don’t think at that point I was thinking about making any of my own. I always loved the “doo-doo-do-doo-leh!”       Mike: Super Nintendo all the way.   Winner: Super Nintendo Chainsaw: I like the speed of Sonic, but Mario hands down. Jay: For me, that was a close one. Winner: Mario Chainsaw: I’m going to say MK. I loved ripping spines out of dudes as a kid. Mike: I never had the Genesis and I didn’t like the idea that SNES neutered it so I had Street Fighter II and not MK so I have to disagree. Jay: Argh! Finish him! Winner: Mortal Kombat Jay: I played a lot more of Doom over the years. I was aware of Duke Nukem but I played Doom the most. Mike: Duke Nukem was the first game I ever tried to play networked. I think I got it working and played it with my brother. I will say that vote is not influenced in any way by Duke Nukem Forever. If I took that into account, I would have to say Doom all the way. Winner: Duke Nukem 3D [silence] Winner: Earthworm Jim Mike: I actually enjoyed the 3DO more but I have to go with Jaguar for the shlock value. There were just so many shlocky games on it. Winner: Jaguar Chainsaw: Kriss Kross is way funnier. Mike: I have to go with Marky Mark on that one. Chainsaw: C’mon, they wore their clothes backwards! Jay: I never owned either one but I have to agree. Mike: I hated them so much. I definitely was a grumpy old man before my time, when it came to Kriss Kross. Winner: Kriss Kross: Make My Video ------------------------------ Hey, Destructoid gang! Surprised by any of the answers? Will you stop buying Twisted Pixel games because they are Nintendo lovin', Marky Mark-obsessed Earthworm Jim fanboys? Or, will you buy more? What developers would you like to see in the spotlight, in future editions of Retrogazing? Any questions you wish I asked Twisted Pixel? I'd love to hear your feedback, so post in the comments! Retrogazing will be back next week, where I talk to Karakasa Games about obscure PC adventure games.

SDCC: Dead Island pub hosting 'Science of Zombies' panel Posted: 13 Jul 2011 08:45 AM PDT What if zombies were real? You know, like, eat your face off, "oh, snap, we have to break this staircase so they can't get to us" real? Science, as usual, has the answer. You can learn more about the science behind the undead at the "Science of Zombies" panel, which Dead Island publisher Deep Silver will be hosting at San Diego Comic-Con next week. The panel will consist of World War Z author Max Brooks, Dead Island writer Haris Orkin, and some doctors and smart people who are all listed below. It'll all go down in room 8 of the San Diego Convention Center on July 22 at 7:30pm, and there's going to be 12-hour line to wait in, like all other Comic-Con panels. So bring snacks, because you can't go biting into someone's skull and eating their brains. …or can you!?!? TO SCIENCE! Max Brooks, universal zombie expert and author of The Zombie Survival Guide, World War Z and The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks Haris Orkin, writer of the anticipated video game, Dead Island Steve Schlozman, M.D., author of The Zombie Autopsies and assistant professor of psychiatry, Harvard Medical School Bradley Voytek, Ph.D., Post-doctoral Fellow: Neuroscience, University of California, San Francisco Andrew Groen, freelance journalist and editor of GamePro Magazine’s “Real Science” column Bruce Geryk, M.D.,  Resident Physician, Department of Neurosurgery, University of North Carolina Hospitals

More L.A. Noire content on the way, 'game isn't complete' Posted: 13 Jul 2011 08:30 AM PDT The recently released "Reefer Madness" downloadable content for L.A. Noire may not be the last we see of detective Cole Phelps. "The game isn't complete yet," Rockstar told Kotaku when asked if there was more to come. "Reefer Madness" was the fourth case released post-release. Doesn't this Phelps guy get a break? Rockstar's comment can be interpreted in a few ways. Could we see more cases along the lines of what we've already been given? Or does Rockstar and Team Bondi have bigger plans in store? What kind of content would you like to see added? L.A. Noire 'Isn't Complete Yet', Rockstar Says [Kotaku]

Ubisoft at Comic-Con: Rayman Origins, panels and more Posted: 13 Jul 2011 08:15 AM PDT Ubisoft has just revealed its line-up for next week's San Diego Comic-Con. On the floor you'll be able to roll up and get your hands on the very first public demos for both Just Dance 3 and Rabbids: Alive & Kicking. Ubisoft will also be demoing Rayman Origins -- definitely go see that game. I want all of that game's 2D loveliness inside of me. If you want to get your walk on, Rayman Origins lovers can nab a free T-shirt by checking in on Facebook at the Rayman Origins billboard at 6th Avenue & F Street, in the Gaslamp quarter, and then claim their prize at Ubisoft’s booth. Footwork for that bitch, yo. Other prizes will be given away at the booth, including pre-order discounts and goodies for Assassin’s Creed Revelations and Just Dance 3. Ass Creed fans at the show will want to get down with Ubi's exclusive panel for Assassin’s Creed Revelations on July 23 from 3–4 p.m. in Room 25ABC. The writers behind Revelations will discuss and answer questions about the new game in this Assassin’s Creed: The Creation of a Universe panel.

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