New Games |
- GameStop wants you to become the 'Ultimate Player'
- Hudson working on a new Bloody Roar game!
- Angry Birds gets ready for Halloween by playing dress-up
- King of Fighters XIII delayed to November 22nd
- Preview: The Adventures of Tintin: The Game
- Nathan Drake is a corporate whore in Subway commercial
- Live show: Mash Tactics special at TopWare Interactive
- Working out with Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012
- That's So MMO!: Freedom Rings
- War in the North depends on the power of three
- Get the Uncharted 3 multiplayer right now through Subway
- Batman gets hardcore flapping in new Arkham City trailer
- Dev: PSN is a 'failure' and Team Meat are 'crybabies'
- Final part of Portal 2 soundtrack now free to download
- Lights Out: Battlefield beta woes, Netflix and ICO on top
- The Daily Hotness: Floppy's Imperial March
| GameStop wants you to become the 'Ultimate Player' Posted: 01 Oct 2011 11:00 AM PDT GameStop is putting together a pretty awesome sweepstakes to promote Saints Row: The Third. All you have to do to be entered is pre-order the game between September 28th and November 14th and then pick up your copy by November 22nd. Or, if you don't want to purchase the game, you can always put your info on a card and mail it in to GameStop. Here's the potential prize package you could receive:
It seems weird to me that someone is still calling the Xbox 360 and PS3 "next generation game consoles" in 2011, but I guess that's besides the point. If you're planning on picking up Saints Row: The Third anyway, why not go ahead and make the effort to throw name in the hat? You know you want that 92" 3D TV. |
| Hudson working on a new Bloody Roar game! Posted: 01 Oct 2011 10:00 AM PDT Remember Bloody Roar, the fighting game in which people could transform into rabbits and boars? Well, in what might be the most surprising news of the weekend, it's coming back! Hudson confirmed via Twitter that an all new Bloody Roar sequel is in production, with apparent plans to release it in 2012. There is no further news on what Hudson is currently calling Bloody Roar 5, but it's certainly set the Internet afire with speculation. Or at least generated a warm glow of mild bemusement. I remember my brother playing Bloody Roar like crazy. I bet he's excited. Are you? |
| Angry Birds gets ready for Halloween by playing dress-up Posted: 01 Oct 2011 09:45 AM PDT Halloween is almost here, which means goofy theme costumes and toys. Angry Birds is jumping on the bandwagon with themed plushes, and if that isn't enough for you, costumes. So you can decorate your house with little costumed birds and pigs, or be one. The costumes, for children and adults, range in price from $24.99 to $49.99, while the plushes are $15.99 or $17.99 for single birds (at 5" or 8" respectively) or $59.99 and $75.99 for the sets of four. The plushes are cute, I won't deny that, but I don't get the costumes at all. I like Angry Birds, its a fun game but really? Costumes? I didn't mind the shirts, but this is getting a little ridiculous. The best way to turn me off on something is to over saturate the market, and that is a thing Rivio is doing with their game. Trick or treat with limited edition Halloween Angry Birds plushes [Tomopop] |
| King of Fighters XIII delayed to November 22nd Posted: 01 Oct 2011 09:00 AM PDT
If you were expecting to finally get your eager hands on King of Fighters XIII in late-October, you're going to have to wait just a tad longer. Atlus announced earlier this week that the fighter won't be available within the original release window of October, but instead on November 22nd. Atlus VP of sales and marketing Tim Pivnicny explained the push was made to "ensure that the game delivers on its promise of becoming the finest entry in the series' 15+ year history." That's an awful bold promise to make, but an exciting one nonetheless. To help tide you through the extra time you now have to wait for KoF XIII, Atlus put a nice little trailer together for you to get excited over. King of Fighters XIII delayed [CVG] --Thanks Epic-Kx! |
| Preview: The Adventures of Tintin: The Game Posted: 01 Oct 2011 08:00 AM PDT When I got the chance to demo The Adventures of Tintin: The Game, the first question I asked is if Snowy is a playable character. If you’ve watched the cartoons or read the comics, you probably know that Snowy is a sarcastic asshole who can’t hold his drink. And yes, Snowy’s the dog. He is indeed in the game, but unfortunately, I did not get to play him in the demo. The Adventures of Tintin: The Game is a companion piece to The Adventures of Tintin The Movie expounds on the storyline and settings introduced in the film.
The Adventures of Tintin: The Game (PlayStation 3, PC, Wii, DS, 3DS, Xbox 360 [Previewed])
As for the game itself, there are three modes: the story mode, the co-op mode and the challenge mode. We were able to view four of the mini-games from the story mode that involved typical Tintin adventures -- swordfighting with pirates, shooting from a running vehicle and maneuvering an aircraft.
The swordfighting was more fun than I imagined. From the third-person perspective of Tintin, you get into a tussle with a crew of pirates. With the power of Kinect, you can do two basic moves against them -- slashing and parrying. By slashing, you wave your arm around like the Star Wars kid, only this time you are given the impression that you are actually hitting people. When parrying blows, there would be cues on the screen when to hold up your hand to block.
 At one point, the pirates would be shooting cannonballs at you so you have to swing them back at the pirates at the appropriate time. Other pirates would be better protected so you also have to time your strikes whenever they have their shields down. So yes, the movements were guided, which probably made the game pretty easy once you got the hang of the movements. But it was just so fun, and the visuals and musical scoring really captured the spirit of a swashbuckling adventure. The next adventure has Tintin driving a bike with Captain Haddock or shooting from the passenger seat, depending on which mode you choose. Hand movements guide the direction of the vehicle and likewise help you aim and shoot at the targets.  In the aerial flight simulation, you have to pretend to fly the plane through hoops in the sky. This is part of Tintin’s mission to take aerial photographs from exotic locales around the world. The Adventures of Tintin: The Game seems to me like something that can be enjoyed by the young ‘uns but also fans old and new alike. Its fantastical elements breathe new life into longtime fans’ nostalgia while incorporating a little bit everything in its storyline to use the breadth of the Kinect technology. |
| Nathan Drake is a corporate whore in Subway commercial Posted: 01 Oct 2011 07:00 AM PDT
"Hey, I'm Nathan Drake. If you're the adventurous type like me, then get in on the Subway taste for adventure," says Nathan Drake in the above video. The idea of videogames and marketing departments working together is nothing new. We've had Master Chief adorning Mountain Dew bottles and Slurpees made to resemble Kratos. However, the Uncharted 3 star has gone a step further by "acting" in a commercial of his very own. He details the "Taste For Adventure" promo we posted earlier, where you can buy sandwiches in exchange for game content. It's an interesting idea, but it's also damn hilarious to watch Nathan acting like a corporate prostitute. Commercial products are often photoshopped into a game character's hands as a joke. To see it done sincerely is highly amusing. So yeah, be a winner like Nathan and eat fresh! He shoots fellow human beings in the face and cracks wise about it, so you need to be just like him. |
| Live show: Mash Tactics special at TopWare Interactive Posted: 01 Oct 2011 06:30 AM PDT Mash Tactics is breaking free of its usual Monday-Friday schedule to bring you a special broadcast from the U.S. headquarters of TopWare Interactive, developers of Two Worlds II. Today from 12:00-5:00pm Pacific, Jon Carnage will be joined by Pico Mause in her final official appearance for a massive event at TopWare's California offices. During the show, the crew will be playing Pirates of the Flying Fortress, a new DLC for Two Worlds II, available now on Steam and coming soon to XBLA and PSN. TopWare is also going to show off trailers for its upcoming titles Scivelation and Raven's Cry, as well as offer interviews from some of the development team (via Skype) and free games to give away to the viewing audience. Of course there will be much more happening, planned and otherwise. Tune in, wish Pico a fond farewell, and enjoy the show. Watch the action and chat it up on Twitch.TV/Destructoid |
| Working out with Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012 Posted: 01 Oct 2011 06:00 AM PDT Exercise games tend to forget that they are supposed to be just that: Games. On the other hand, Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012 promises to strike the balance between burning calories and being entertaining at the same time.
Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012 (Xbox 360) Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012 is the second title in a series made especially for the Kinect. While I am not too familiar with genre of exercise games as a whole, this seems like a game to seriously consider if you wake up one day repulsed by your own body image. Of course, being a Kinect game, it is more attuned to your movements than the Wii ever was. It can even tell if you are not doing your sit-ups right. After all, why play an exercise game if you’re gonna be lazy. This is because it’s motion tracking technology is different this time around, said Nicola Godin, one of the game designers for Your Shape. He explains to us that instead of using skeletal tracking like in other games, it zeroes in on the user’s head in relation to the rest of his body. This enables the system to detect more precise movements even when you’re lying down.  One thing I liked about it is the variety of options to choose from. There are the more conventional forms of exercise available. I was (reluctantly) able to try the jump rope simulation for a full two minutes. It requires you to time your pace and footwork as shown on the screen, moving at faster speeds or switching positions as necessary. Another mode that appealed to me is the bootcamp feature seemingly drawn from the weight loss format of The Biggest Loser. Your avatar is transported to a literal boot camp where your commanding officer shouts at you to work harder. While pushing yourself to your limit, you are bombarded by the sight of exploding barrels and even a helicopter landing on the screen -- as if your push-ups had somehow caused World War III. This over-the-topness shows that this an exercise game that doesn’t take itself or its theme too seriously. Aside from being able to choose your workout, you can also choose the level of difficulty for your workouts for the day -- whether at the moment you’re feeling like a couch-potato or if you want to go a bit more extreme. Similarly, you can choose whether you’re playing to lose weight, relax, do cardio, build your muscles, etc.  Finally, it introduces features to track your progress and keep you motivated to exercise. It has a “my objectives” section to review your exercise goals and a calendar to show your playing history. The point system in this game is basically the number of calories you lose while exercising. Accordingly, you can unlock achievements for losing calories, accessing content or spending time to work out. Ultimately, Your Shape: Evolved 2012 seems to be a more intuitive exercise game that thinks forward in terms of design and how people can customize their workout. |
| Posted: 01 Oct 2011 05:00 AM PDT Hearty October greetings to you and yours and welcome to another scintillating collection of massively multiplayer news & views. Let’s reach deep down into our weekly Bag-of-Holding and pull out some especially sharp bits! “Liberate your wallet” NCsoft’s seven-year-old superhero MMO City of Heroes is now free-to-play. The re-branded City of Heroes Freedom allows players to create two heroes from eight character archetypes, adventure up to level 50, access 45 zones, and run over 1,000 missions -- all without cost. Along with the change to F2P, developer Paragon has propped the “Issue 21: Convergence” update which brings a new First Ward zone, a giant monster to face off against, a Time Manipulation power set, and fancy new costumes. While you can play Freedom “forever” without incurring costs, if you want to actually run missions in First Ward or create more than two characters, you’ll need to provide some cash. There’s always a price to pay for liberty isn’t there, friends?
“Ash bash” RIFT's content patch 1.5, “Ashes of History,” is live on servers. AoH offers up a new Chronicles System, Planar Attunement (for advancement beyond level 50), a new Library of the Runemasters PvP warfront, and in-game rewards for Veteran players. The longer Veteran players have been subscribed the better the phat lewtz on offer. New events are also forthcoming including a three-part epic which will eventually lead to a new kingdom. Smokin’!
“End Run” Trion World’s MMORTS End of Nations has been delayed into 2012. Free-to-play EoN features futuristic tank and Mech battles which unfold across a persistent global map. While any release date slippage is sad news for fans, somehow 2012 seems ironically perfect for a game promising the “End.”
‘The Saruman Plan” Turbine’s large and lovely “Rise of Isengard” add-on is now available for purchase for players of The Lord of the Rings Online. RoI provides three new regions; Dunland, the Gap of Rohan, and Isengard; a level cap rise to 75; a new 24-player ‘Draigoch” Raid; and oodles more. Fresh quests, skills and deeds await those ready to hop to the Misty Mountains. Grab your cloaks, folks.
“Choco-Blow” Speaking at a Tokyo press conference, Square Enix CEO Yoichi Wada has acknowledged that the company’s much-maligned Final Fantasy XIV has greatly damaged the brand name. Even though the MMO has just “celebrated” its one-year anniversary, upcoming patch 1.19 has been slightly delayed and Wada says the dev team is hard at work “re-doing the game.” Hopefully this isn’t the Final straw for subscribers and they’ll continue believing in the Fantasy. See what I did there?
“A Mighty Wind” The second chapter in Guild Wars’ three-part “Winds of Change” update has gone live. This chunk o’ Change (or “multi-stage storyline”) brings Ministry vs. Brotherhood violence, 11 new quests, five new respawn zones, and intriguing “hidden scenes.” All this goodness is intended as a bridge to Guild Wars 2 which should arrive ... someday.
“Without a hitch” Developer Tiny Speck has launched fresh and funny Flash-based MMO, Glitch. Within Glitch, players are figments of a giant’s imagination (how’s that for an unusual class?) and can “grow and shape the world ... collaborating or competing with everyone else in one enormous, ever-changing, persistent world.” It all sounds rather bizarre and worth exploring.
A new MMO makes its debut. A long-awaited MMO is delayed. Another MMO goes free-to-play. Whatever’s coming up next week? Yep, you guessed it -- more of the same! Until then, have a frosty mana potion on my tab and keep it logged in.
---- David Moore co-runs torwars.com, a site focused on all things Star Wars: The Old Republic, and has run the site gamebunny.com for the past ten years. |
| War in the North depends on the power of three Posted: 01 Oct 2011 04:00 AM PDT
As we've learned from the hit magical drama of the early 2000s Charmed, nothing can defeat the power of three; unity trumps individual power. That fact remains in Lord of the Rings: War in the North. Dwarves, Elves, and Men may have their own strengths, but neither can stand alone. You may also recognize that concept from another area of Tolkien's fiction, but this is a fellowship. Everything about this game looks too good to be true. As one who has read Tolkien's tale countless times, the lack of acceptable game adaptations is a bit disheartening. So fingers are firmly crossed for this to be the RPG deserving of the Lord of the Rings brand. After all, the man laid the foundation for modern fantasy, can we at least give him a great RPG in that fantastic world?
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| Get the Uncharted 3 multiplayer right now through Subway Posted: 01 Oct 2011 03:00 AM PDT So, I've been doing this job for over five years now and I've done a lot of crazy stuff. Yesterday though? Yesterday was the strangest event for me yet. PlayStation and Subway have teamed up to do an actually rad promotion for Uncharted 3 and they invited the press to play some of the multiplayer at a Subway. Yes, like an actual Subway restaurant. So there I was, playing the Uncharted 3 multiplayer while I was overwhelmed by the smell of Subway. I don't know if that last part was a good or bad thing, but this tie-in means something really awesome for all of you. Go buy a large drink at Subway, redeem the code that comes with the cup and you'll have immediate access to the Uncharted 3 multiplayer. Not like just one map and some guns. I mean the whole entire multiplayer. A full month before the game is released!
You basically get the entire multiplayer experience and access to everything, up until you hit the level cap set at 35 for this promotion. So maps, gametypes, weapons, etc. Once Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception is released in November, all the stats and earnings you've acquired transfers over to the full retail release. Part of the Subway tie-in also plays in within the game. You can unlock shirts, hats and other stuff adorned with the Subway logo. You can even get the "5 Dollar Footlong" hand gesture thing as one of your taunts, which is pretty damn cheesy. And before you ask, no you can't unlock Jared as a playable character (yes I really asked.) The Subway tie-in also has some actual useful stuff, such as "Paid Boosters." It's basically perks you can purchase before a match that can only be used in the one match. That's not all. The Subway sandwiches, chips and more also have codes on them which go into getting you real world prizes. Want to win a trip to France? Dubai? Nepal? Well there's the chance you can win a trip there and do crazy shit like white water rafting on the Naranjo River. Other prizes include a Sony Bravia 3D TV, PlayStation 3 systems, $1,000 and of course, Uncharted 3 itself. So yeah, that's a lot of stuff you can win. I've seen lavish tie-ins and promotions before, but never on this level. The prizes are one thing, but I think it's ridiculously awesome to give players access to the full multiplayer a month before release. No one, at least on the console side, has ever done that before. Oh, and thanks to Sony and Naughty Dog, we're going to giveaway 20 of the Uncharted 3 mutliplayer codes to you starting on Monday. |
| Batman gets hardcore flapping in new Arkham City trailer Posted: 01 Oct 2011 02:00 AM PDT
Here's a new trailer for Batman: Arkham City. The promotion has been so focused on the huge rogue's gallery that it's easy to forget Batman is actually in it, so this video is centered squarely on Bruce and his criminal-punching skills. I love the way the game seems to flow, with Batman flapping around Gotham, dropping down to hit some idiots, and then flapping away again. It seems to work incredibly smoothly. Yeah, this one can't come quickly enough. |
| Dev: PSN is a 'failure' and Team Meat are 'crybabies' Posted: 01 Oct 2011 01:00 AM PDT You may not have heard the name Guillaume Boucher-Vidal, but you're about to. He has opinions and he wants to share them with the world. The Nine Dots Studio manager has gone on record as saying the PSN is close to a "complete failure" and that Team Meat are "crybabies." "Microsoft's XBLA is very strict, and their technical requirements represent about 800 man hours from the programming team to adapt to," he said. "PSN doesn't have those kind of requirements, but at the same time, PSN is an almost complete failure in regards to sales, so they have to find a way to cater to developers somehow, and they do so by having very low standards. "There is no chance in hell that PlayStation would offer a platform that is as open as Xbox Live Indie Games. The test kits for PlayStation are also something way beyond what a start up could afford, so their accessibility is a moot point if you don't have significant funding. So while you have very strict requirements for XBLA, it's a very successful platform in terms of sales and consistency, and there's a lot of freedom on XBLIG." Team Meat recently criticized Microsoft for its handling of indie devs and claims it got the shaft with Super Meat Boy. Boucher-Vidal disagrees, and thinks that the Team Meat lads are whining. "I think that the Super Meat Boy's team is just being loud crybabies and Sony wants to use their recent noise to stand out as the good guy. But among a lot of people I know in the indie community, SMB is perceived very negatively for their childish and egocentric behavior." Recently, an anonymous ex-Vivendi employee slammed Sony's developer relations, as developers seem to be "picking sides" and coming out to support or attack either the PS3 or Xbox 360. Being indie devs, there aren't any PR shackles holding them back, so I have to say that their unfettered opinions are refreshingly entertaining. PSN 'An Almost Complete Failure' and Team Meat Are 'Loud Crybabies,' says Developer [Industry Gamers] |
| Final part of Portal 2 soundtrack now free to download Posted: 30 Sep 2011 08:00 PM PDT Have you ever heard of drip marketing? The idea behind it is that you have an asset that people want, often information but it could be anything, and you keep people engaged with you and the product you're marketing by slowly feeding them tiny portions of the full product for free. It's one of the most effective means of creating customer loyalty. In a related note, the third and final portion of the Portal 2 soundtrack has just been released by Valve. You may now go and pick up the tracks you're missing or download the entire 64-track release in one easy file. Go forth and consume, consumer. Portal 2 Music [Portal 2 official site] |
| Lights Out: Battlefield beta woes, Netflix and ICO on top Posted: 30 Sep 2011 06:30 PM PDT
Time to wrap up the week with a little of that sweet Team Fortress 2. And, while we're at it, another edition of Lights Out. I'm joined once again by Jordan Devore and Brett Zeidler to discuss the stories that matter to gamers. Or, at least the ones who happen to be recording the show. In tonight's episode, we discuss the Battlefield 3 public beta and how well that's been going. We also touch on Netflix's new spin-off service Qwikster and their upcoming games initiative and how it is that the ICO & Shadow of the Colossus Collection wound up topping the charts this week. |
| The Daily Hotness: Floppy's Imperial March Posted: 30 Sep 2011 04:59 PM PDT I never tire of listening to old computer equipment produce equally old pieces of my favorite music. This time around, it's Star Wars' "Imperial March" lovingly performed by a pair of floppy disk drives. Enjoy! Jim reviewed X-Men: Destiny with the biggest of smiles on his face, EA trolls (again), Pac-Man got a delightful stop-motion musical, someone finally realized that games are not to blame for violence, and more happened on 9/30/2011. Destructoid Original: Contests: News: |
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