New Games |
- BlizzCon 2011: I heard you like Pokémon in your MMOs...
- GameFan chief says the industry is a sad state of affairs
- Here's how Kirby's Return to Dreamland could have been
- Second Mighty Switch Force trailer spiffifies the eShop
- Interview: Six Days In Fallujah
- Pro guide to Dungeon Defenders: solo play & general tips
- BlizzCon 2011 in five* minutes or less
- BlizzCon 11 photos, part deux it again
- Comments of the week: Gnilretsmij
- Review: Kirby's Return to Dream Land
- Original Sonic game unlockable in Sonic Generations
| BlizzCon 2011: I heard you like Pokémon in your MMOs... Posted: 23 Oct 2011 01:00 PM PDT The next World of Warcraft expansion, Mists of Pandaria, and many of its new features were announced this weekend. I sat in on some of the BlizzCon panels, where many of these additions were explained in detail. These include the new (neutral) Pandaren race, the Monk class, a level cap of 90, a complete redesign of the talent trees, a PvE scenario system, dungeon challenges and leader boards, and many new zones, battlegrounds, dungeons, and raids. But in my opinion, the best feature that is going to be added to World of Warcraft is the new pet battling system. This is basically the game I've been wanting since I was in the second grade. Let's break it down. At one point in my World of Warcraft pet collecting career, I had over 150 pets, putting me in the top five in the world for number of pets owned at the time. Since I stopped playing World of Warcraft, dozens more pets have been added, and the top collector has almost 200 pets. I never really cared about raiding or gear, all I cared about was getting the newest, coolest pet (and mount), and having everyone ask me where I got it, how long it took me to get, or how much gold I had to throw down for it. That was when they were called "non-combat pets", and they did absolutely nothing other than follow you around. I don't think it will be the Pandaren race, Monk class, or the nine new dungeons and raids that will pull me back into WoW. I think it will be the release of what will essentially be a Pokémon MMO. While complete details weren't available, we learned quite a bit about this new system from a BlizzCon panel. The almost 200 pets that are already in the game will be able to battle right from the start. All the pets you have are combat ready, and if you've been hoarding pets, your hoarding disorder is about to pay off. If you don't have a huge stockpile of pets, there will be new wild pets that you can catch and train. To keep track of all of this, you'll receive a "Pet Journal" (read: Pokédex) that tells you about all the pets, where to catch them, and what you need to do to get them to join you. Battling with your pets is similar to Pokémon as well. You can go into PvE or PvP turn-based battles with a team of three pets. If you win, you'll gain experience to level up your pets. As your team gets stronger, you can take on the "Pet Masters" (read: gym leaders) scattered around the world. Beating them gives you a master ability (read: Hidden Machine) to teach your pet. While the system is planned to be large, don't expect to level up to 90 by just battling pets. Blizzard has said that the pet battle system won't be providing any rewards that will affect your general PvE or PvP progression. It's something to pass the time, not a replacement for questing or battlegrounds. That's most of the information that's been released so far. As the unknown release date for Mists of Pandaria approaches, we'll likely see more specific information, screenshots, and more details on the actual pets themselves. Rest assured, though, I can already tell you that my Kirin Tor Familiar is in the top percentage of Kirin Tor Familiars. |
| GameFan chief says the industry is a sad state of affairs Posted: 23 Oct 2011 12:00 PM PDT If you're like me, you grew up reading Diehard GameFan. The magazine was as close as we had to a Destructoid back in the 1990's; independent, opinionated, and more focused on the love of games than getting rich. What a lot of people don't know is that Gamefan is actually still in print, though finding an issue in the wild requires more luck and perseverance than acquiring a Shiny Ponyta. GameFan's Editor in Chief Dave Halverson is rightfully disillusioned over that situation, and he lays the blame partially on the priorities of today's publishers; particularly their marketing departments. Among other things, he says- "Never has so much money been spent with so little regard. Knowing what it takes to make a great game it kills me to see how they're treated once they leave the studio. Like these so called "events" that have taken the place of proper objective coverage. Massive parties pilfering 10s of 1000s of dollars from a game’s budget to basically liquor up individuals who, for the most part, could give a rats ass about whatever game happens to be on display--unless it's one they're supposed to like." As someone who's been to his fair share of press events, I know what he's talking about. The amount of money that publishers waste on providing the gaming press with swag, expensive cheeses, and gigantic parties is just ridiculous. Knowing that all that money could have been spent on actually making better videogames is painful indeed (but not so painful that I'm going to let that cheese go to waste). For more from Dave and the rest of the GameFan staff, check out their Facebook page, and don't forget to scour every inch of tall grass for the new GameFan on shelves soon (featuring Dtoid's own SBC Slam. You go girl!) |
| Here's how Kirby's Return to Dreamland could have been Posted: 23 Oct 2011 11:00 AM PDT According to our own Jim Sterling, Kirby's Return to Dream Land belongs right up there among New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Donkey Kong Country Returns in the upper echelon of modern-day multi-player platformers. That's partly due to the game's visuals, which Jimothy described as "... damn beautiful, despite the standard definition. Character animations bubble with life, and environments are bright and gladdening." I can't say I disagree, though I'm still left wondering, could the game somehow be more bright and gladdening? Under differing circumstances, could Kirby's Return to Dream Land have been... the gladdeningest? From the looks of this image gleaned from a recent Iwata Asks interview, it looks like the answer is "yes". At one point in the game's long development cycle, Nintendo employed a cel shaded visual style that is almost seizure-inducing in its levels of sugary sweetness. Everything looks so cute and colorful that I just want to eat that entire screenshot (which makes sense, given Kirby's own proclivity for gluttony). There was also a time where the game was more of a 3D experience. I bet that version of the game got the axe shortly after New Super Mario Bros. Wii went on to sell more than double what Super Mario Galaxy sold. The people have spoken, and they want their Nintendo platformers in two dimensions (and with multi-player). Expect Nintendo to follow that trend for at least a little while longer. So what do you think of these alternate versions on Kirby's latest Wii title? Do you mourn for what could have been, celebrate what we have, or both? Here's the unused art styles of Kirby's Return to Dreamland [GoNintendo] |
| Second Mighty Switch Force trailer spiffifies the eShop Posted: 23 Oct 2011 10:00 AM PDT The third entry in WayForward's Mighty series is just around the corner. I can feel it in my bones! The anticipation is eating away at the calcium and leaving me a brittle man. To drum up more excitement, WayForward has unleashed a follow-up to last month's teaser trailer. It is once again exclusive to the 3DS eShop -- though I'm sure an off-screen YouTube capture will appear eventually -- and it reveals even more goodies that we can expect from the game. There's a new variation of the main Mighty series theme, a bunch of prison bimbos who need rescuing, and cannons that launch you or your foes around like Sonic in Oil Ocean Zone. Oh, and there's a giant mech suit, naturally. I'm itching to spend some money on the eShop. C'mon, WayForward! Let the lead out! |
| Interview: Six Days In Fallujah Posted: 23 Oct 2011 09:00 AM PDT If you haven't heard, the United States began the invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq in March, 2003. In late 2004 there was a joint offensive in the city of Fallujah, an insurgent stronghold. What followed was some of the bloodiest and most intense battles of the Iraqi occupation. Controversy and games share a long, sordid history. We are no stranger to the sensational, unscrupulous and the ill-informed. Most of the time, the incessant bleating of fools fades into the background rather quickly; lost in the collective short-term memory of modern society. It is unfortunate then, that the one time a project was cancelled to legitimate and reasonable fear, an opportunity to do real good was lost. Six Days in Fallujah was the first project of Atomic Games. They had been asked by returning soldiers to make the game, because they wanted to tell their story. Sadly, when the press heard that a video game based on one of the worst battles in recent U.S. military history was in the works, there was an incredible backlash. In many ways, their anxiety was completely warranted; it was a recent, very sensitive topic and I'll be the first to admit that games don't have the best track record of handling these sorts of issues with anything that resembles tact or finesse. I had a chance to talk to a family friend, Reed Omohundro. I had no idea he had worked on the project until I watched an older Fox News interview shown in an episode of Extra Credits. After seeing that, I thought he deserved another, better chance to tell his side of things. Destructoid: Why did you join the military? Reed Omohundro: Ever since I was a young boy, I wanted to join the military. I was fascinated with legends and lore of knights, samurai, and Roman Legionnaires. Most of my family had spent time in the military, and I was enamored with the stories they told. I was drawn to fulfilling that sense of "duty" to my country. Most of the public is limited to viewing the stories and recollections of U.S. media. In our culture, we relish in "sensationalism." Every reporter wants to make a name for him/herself. Every media outlet wants higher ratings. As a result, a majority of Americans see the negative aspects of war. Stories that reflect positive images of what America and NATO Forces are doing are more often than not given little notice. My most remembered comment by reporters is "This event has been the bloodiest day in the war." I heard that saying so many times I just renamed it as the "bloodiest day since the last bloodiest day." In June 2004, I deployed to Iraq for combat operations as an Infantry Officer. I was the company commander for Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment. Initially, we established a Company Outpost in the Al Anbar Province of Iraq to secure an Ammunition Supply Point (ASP) that was continuously being looted for IED-making supplies. In October 2004, we relocated to Fallujah, Iraq. In November 2004, we participated in Operation Al Fajr formerly known as Operation Phantom Fury. I led a company of almost 200 Marines into combat operations to secure the city of Fallujah. We returned to the states in January 2005. Later, I redeployed to Iraq in February 2007 as a member of an eleven man Military Transition Team (MiTT) to advise an Iraqi Army Battalion. During this tour, we operated in Al Anbar Province between the city of Haditha and the city of Al Quaim. Our primary accomplishment was being able to progress this battalion to a point where they were capable of sustaining operations within our sector with no American support. We mentored them in all aspects of military operations, logistics, and civil military actions. Yes, but not that often. I find it difficult to allow myself to believe the construct of the game. More challenging for me is getting the controller or keyboard to perform the actions required. For this reason, I almost never play military combat scenario-based games that involve modern military weapons. Trying to believe that a hand grenade can destroy a house, or that a rifle can continue to fire indefinitely is difficult. When I do play, I stick to Fantasy Role Play primarily. Swords and spells are not things I can associate with on an everyday occurrence. So my ability to "participate" in the construct of the game is easier than allowing myself to become annoyed with the unrealistic action of modern military weapons. Perhaps a better example of this is my frustration with driving games. When you can’t feel the action of the car, it's difficult to judge when you're about to lose control. The feeling of being knocked back in your seat from a hard acceleration has yet to be developed for in-home gaming. I got started in 6DF when the producer Juan Benito sent me an email and later called regarding the project. He had been in contact with Gary Livingston, the author of Fallujah with Honor. Livingston had recommended that Juan Benito contact me. Juan Benito and James Cowgill met with me and showed me a demonstration of the game. For the first time, I saw a concept of how Atomic Games planned to incorporate a documentary into a video game format. I felt obligated to participate and get the story as correct and accurate as possible. My goal with this project was to assist in getting the audience to understand what occurred during the Second Battle of Fallujah. As a military advisor to Atomic Games, I acted as a consultant. I would work with the designers in ensuring the characters demonstrated correct military actions. We tried to ensure that the demolition aspects of explosive devices resembled the results of actual military ordnance. More importantly, I wanted to ensure that the story those Marines experienced was told in a format that would reach a greater audience. Yes. Atomic Games went above and beyond any effort I have ever seen to ensure accuracy and legitimacy for this product. Several times we had conversations regarding what stories could or should be reenacted or told. At one point, we had a dilemma as to whether or not to reenact a scene in which a Marine was shot. The company consulted with the parents of the Marine in order to get their approval. Atomic's Director of Development, John Farnsworth, even sent out letters to the family members of fallen Marines to explain the process of the game and how it would be developed as a documentary. Additionally, Atomic exerted an enormous amount of effort in getting the graphics and characters actions to resemble real life as much as possible. Tough question. But, yes, I think it is appropriate to use a videogame to tell this kind of story when it is incorporated into the documentary construct that 6DF used. Medal of Honor [2010], formerly Medal of Honor: Operation Anaconda, was able to tell the story of those special operatives, but had to change the construct to a fictitious environment. EA Games saw the public opposition to Six Days in Fallujah and diverted the attention by portraying the storyline in a fictitious environment. 6DF planned on allowing its audience to view real interviews of Marines. By seeing these interviews, the player would gain insight to the objectives and decisions the Marines had to accomplish in order to achieve mission success for the scenarios a player would participate. I think that books and movies do an outstanding job in allowing an audience to see "a" perspective of a single story. Movies and books relay the perspective of the author. The audience gains little understanding into the decision-making aspects that each soldier or Marine faces when involved in a combat situation. 6DF planned on breaking this barrier by allowing the audience to gain insight before the scenario, and allowing the audience to feel the emotions of making a decision that directly relates to the action of others. The understanding is that a game will never allow a player to experience the actual effects and emotions of such a decision making process, but at least they would have a better insight. I do have hope that the game will be revived. Just not in the near future; perhaps in a decade. The public seems too attached right now. As with the outcries of war photos from WWI and WWII, and movies about emotional events in combat, the public will eventually agree to allow a documentary in videogame format. Perhaps it will work out better to wait for this type of documentary. As technology increases, so does the gaming format. In years to come, this type of documentary may be better suited for a platform not currently developed. This game was being developed strictly to break the barriers of today's modern way of gaming, in both technical design and story format. By retelling the actions of Marines in combat through a documentary/videogame format, a wider audience would be reached. Not only would the audience be able to achieve a greater appreciation for what combat operations involve, they would gain an insight that no movie or book can provide. In no way shape form or fashion did the development of Six Days in Fallujah seek to dishonor or detract from the sacrifices of the participants of that battle. Instead, it sought to honor those that served and allow their story to be told in a medium that would provide greater insight to those that were not there. |
| Pro guide to Dungeon Defenders: solo play & general tips Posted: 23 Oct 2011 08:00 AM PDT Dungeon Defenders is a great game, but as you may have already experienced it can be very challenging. That's not a bad thing unless you're struggling with solo play, or have friends who are terrible at videogames. Or perhaps they just never listen when you say an Eternia Crystal is at risk of being destroyed. While I can't help you with that last bit, Trendy Entertainment was kind enough to provide us with a wealth of expert strategies for solo players, general tips, and how to get the highest scores to fight your way to the leaderboards. Solo play When playing Solo, you'll want a way to lock down some approaches to your Crystals since you won't have anyone manually covering those. To that end Trendy recommends starting as the Squire or Apprentice. These classes offer a physical blockade early on to stall incoming waves from reaching your Crystals. Remember you can cross-class; change between your created heroes at the Forge during a Build Phase. Leveling up several different classes will make getting through some of the more difficult levels much easier in the long run. You'll have the easiest time in these harder levels when picking the Squire to start with. If you've put most of his level-up points into Defense stats, his Harpoon Turrets can keep enemies at bay and give you the necessary breathing room to switch to another heroes and give them some easy XP for a round. In case you only want to manage two heroes at the time, it's best to add the Apprentice in the mix. His Defenses have a lot of variety and scale well throughout the early game, and his Overcharge ability makes it easy to simply Repair all the Defenses and getting that delicious XP without requiring high level stats. If you want to throw a third class into the mix beside the Squire and Apprentice, Trendy suggests the Huntress be next. Her Inferno trap is a force to be reckoned with in the mid to late game, and since it is based on charges and not health points, the difficulty you are playing on will have much less effect on if you suddenly finding your Defenses are falling due to the high damage of more difficult enemies, or even Ogres. For players who don't mind a little micromanaging and parallel leveling of four different classes, it's recommended to leave the Monk for last. While his Defense Boost can provide much needed support even in Solo, he really shines as a Multiplayer Hero. His Defenses take much more attention and points to become useful early on and one of his more useful Defenses for the late game is not available until you are a few levels in, so it's better to use those Defense Units (the limit for Defenses in a level) on some other Defenses while soloing. You can still go all the way solo as a Huntress or Monk, but it will require some creativity and a lot of skill to pull it off on your own. The best class for manual damage would be the Huntress. Being ranged and applying constant damage with minimal DPS (damage per second) downtime is clutch. While the Squire will be applying a heavy load of DPS through more effort in upgrading stats, the Huntress will seem to simply pick up her total DPS through new drops and having the range to not require chasing down enemies. If you're new to the genre or a game like Dungeon Defenders, the Easy difficulty is the way to go. You'll still get a good amount of experience, but you'll have some more space to get a hang of the UI, the flow of gameplay, and to toy around with how each Defense works against different types of enemies. For the more hardcore players, you should have little problems going through it as the Squire or Apprentice. Moving to a higher difficulty is really up to whether you feel like you've collected enough good gear, and whether you've reached a certain mastery over a level to be able to beat it without almost losing. If you can't get a 'Flawless Victory' (i.e., receiving no Crystal damage at all) in a mission on Medium, it's recommended to wait a bit until you start trying it on Hard. Trendy's protips for survival Surviving can be hard enough, but knowing how to build your character when you're starting out can be a bit of a guessing game. Trendy Entertainment has these tips to help you out. Protip #1: Hero stats are exponential. Protip #2: Repair. Protip #3: Hunt Mages (those guys who summon skeletons). Protip #4: Add a Monk Healing Aura to the mix. Protip #5: Upgrade, don't repair. General tips & tricks Pets Pets are fun and can give you a good buff in stats, but as you may have noticed they can become really expensive really fast. The shop only re-rolls items and pets after completing a mission. If you're starting out, beat Deeper Well (the first mission) and lock a cheap pet by clicking RS or the equivalent button. This way it won't re-roll if you complete another mission. These pets will be the cheapest pets you'll find in the game and although they won't give you a large amount of DPS support, they can give you some invaluable stat boosts that are well worth the price. Since the store re-rolls after mission completion, this ties into Protip #8 of doing the first mission several times; it gives you the best chance to find and acquire a good early game pet. The Tavernkeep The Tavern lobby's store owner can offer a lot of different items and pets, but it's not always easy to choose between spending your money on those or spending it on upgrades instead. There's a luck factor involved due to the random re-rolls of items, but as you've probably noticed the shop equipment will quickly become out of your financial reach. This is because Trendy wanted to encourage players to find loot rather than just buying loot in the early game. Saving Mana for upgrading the one awesome lucky weapon you find is the best way to spend your Mana. Later in the game when you earn more Mana and have stored some nice savings in your bank, you can spend some time replaying missions to re-roll the shop That way you can try to luck out on a set item to complete a set or try to find the perfect pet. Defense placement When playing Solo traveling distance is always a factor. Placing Defenses at closer choke points will help keep them all in tip top shape. Lowering the amount of choke points is also just as important. For example, on 'Foundries and Forges', the second level of the campaign, placing your Defenses at the three choke points around the core (not on top of it but where they converge) is a much easier setup to maintain than placing them at the four choke points further out. All the same, since you are reducing choke points there will be more enemies per choke point and as long as you are able to soak up the damage with repairs you will be better off. Only in the first few levels will placing defenses near the crystal core be effective, players will have to rely on their speed and tact to keep things up in the later levels. While Trendy didn't want to give away all their secret recipes for Defense success, they do have a couple of handy tips. Magic Blockades: Don't forget that these strip enemies of their immunities! Placing some random Magic Blockades around doesn't hurt to not only distract the enemies but to help your elemental towers take them out. Magic Blockades are also a great Ogre distraction. Placed in their path they will usually want to smash them and it can save you time to rebuild or build more in the case of an incoming Ogre. Darkness Traps: This will become one of the most underappreciated Defenses in the game, but can really help lower the stress of a choke point by confusing the enemies and redirecting them to other Defenses or targets. Huntress Trap Placement: Pay attention to the effective radius and not just the area that triggers it. Also, stagger your traps. Putting the Inferno Trap further back from the Defenses will kill off most of the non-fire-immune enemies and the ones that are can walk into the Proximity Mine just ahead of it. Putting a Gas Trap further ahead of an Inferno trap can cause the enemies to cough and sit in the Inferno Trap even longer which can really help with higher HP enemies. Loot drops and quality modifiers The amount of players never factors into the quality of the loot, it is entirely dependent on the difficulty in which you play and the mission you are on. That said, having more players in the game will result in more loot drops due to the higher amount of enemies, which can give you a better shot at the 'lucky drop'. Later campaign missions will reward better loot and challenge missions do so as well. Survival, Mix Mode, and Pure Strategy will not award better loot than the level already gives. However, loot gets better as the waves go on, so if you play one of those modes into a deep wave you will find better stuff than you normally would otherwise. Not to mention the rare and exotic loot and pets that come from these modes. Scoring I could never figure out what actually defined my scores when playing Dungeon Defenders, but once again Trendy came to the rescue. Here's what they had to say. Score is determined in several ways:
Here is a list of the Wave Bonuses:
And why not have some handy map layouts while you're here? Use them to plan ahead with your friends!
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| BlizzCon 2011 in five* minutes or less Posted: 23 Oct 2011 06:15 AM PDT Okay, so maybe it's technically more like eight or nine minutes. Either way, if you're ever wondered what fighting the crowds at BlizzCon is actually like, then look no further because we've managed to pack about 12 hours of BlizzCon-y goodness into one compact video you can watch on the toilet. It may not be Jonathan Holmes E3 level quality, but hey - we got cameos from Cory Williams and Veronica Belmont. If internet celebrities don't at least convince you to watch this video, then I give up. While you're here, be sure to check out our other videos from this year's BlizzCon, including my Mists of Pandaria preview with Tom Merritt and my interview with a couple of the designers from Diablo III. |
| BlizzCon 11 photos, part deux it again Posted: 23 Oct 2011 06:00 AM PDT The parade of hi-res orgasm fuel continues with the second day of BlizzCon 11 photos. I can't pretend that I'm all too familiar with Blizzard's repertoire, but I can appreciate like-minded geeks coming together to make any ol' day another Halloween. The extent of my BlizzCon knowledge is that Jay Mohr somehow emcees these things every year -- what's the deal with that, anyway? Once again, thanks to Nick Hutchins for snapping the photos and giving us some much needed weekend material. Also, if you want to check out who won this year's costume contest, hit the jump for the video.
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| Comments of the week: Gnilretsmij Posted: 23 Oct 2011 05:00 AM PDT Personally, I welcome our new overlord.
"Dame Mollygos is one of the greatest minds of our generation" -Aurain [aka The Bear King] From The Bar Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go off and make more images of Jim Sterling crossed with Ekans. See you next week. |
| Review: Kirby's Return to Dream Land Posted: 23 Oct 2011 03:00 AM PDT Kirby was in line for a Wii game years before we finally saw Kirby's Epic Yarn, a platformer that turned Nintendo's adorable pink puffball into colored string and changed the series' formula considerably. Interestingly, Kirby's Epic Yarn was not the game Nintendo has promised for all those years -- it was originally an all-new concept that Kirby had been retroactively inserted into. Here we are, a year on from Kirby's Epic Yarn, and we finally have the game everybody was actually waiting for -- Kirby's Return to Dream Land. The pink puffball is back and ready to prove that good things come to those who wait. Kirby's Return to Dream Land (Wii) Kirby's Return to Dream Land is a fitting name for a game that takes our blushing cream puff back to the formula that made him famous. He's no longer made of yarn, he's not been split into ten pieces, and he's not rolling around on magical rainbows -- the experimental directions his last few adventures have dabbled in have been replaced with the traditional gameplay that Kirby fans grew up with. Kirby, Meta Knight, Waddle Dee, and King Dedede unite to help a lost alien rebuild his spaceship for no other reason than charming hospitality. Visiting a variety of levels scattered around the Planet Pop Star, each with their own selection of stages and bosses, Kirby is once again doing what he does best -- eating enemies and swallowing them to gain super powers in a significant collection of ambrosial platforming escapades. A vast number of classic Copy Abilities are back, including the Sword, Flame, and Rock powers. A few new skills have been thrown in to keep things fresh, such as the self-explanatory Whip and the incredibly useful Leaf that allows Kirby to summon gusts of shredding greenery. As always, Kirby gets a cute redesign with every power he attains as well as a range of contextual attacks dependent on whether he's jumping, running, standing, or aiming in a specific direction. In addition, Sleep Kirby is back -- a thoroughly useless ability that is nonetheless too cute not to use. At various points in the game, Kirby will be able to access Super Abilities by swallowing glowing enemies. These powers are audacious in their strength, allowing Kirby to summon gigantic swords, controllable energy beams, or roaring flame dragons. These powers can not only rid entire screens of enemies but also break down otherwise indestructible obstacles, clearing the way to special sub-stages that contain increasingly tricky platform challenges and evil "Sphere Doomer" bosses. Kirby's standard ability to inhale objects has been given a boost as well, with a shake of the Wii remote creating a powerful vacuum that sucks in large enemies or impenetrable brick walls. While mostly optional, there are areas where Kirby's suckage will be crucial, especially in those crafty optional stages. For those with extra remotes, other players can drop in or out at any time, stepping into the shoes of Waddle Dee, Dedede, Meta Knight, or a different colored Kirby. Interestingly, the co-op harks back to Sonic the Hedgehog 2, with extra players filling more of a "Tails" role than becoming truly independent characters. If secondary players die or fall out of the camera's range, they'll respawn next to the main pink protagonist, as lives and progress are only at risk if the first player dies. Non-Kirby player characters don't possess their own unique attacks either, taking their cues from established Kirby Copy Abilities (Waddle Dee uses Spear, Dedede uses Hammer, and Meta Knight uses Sword). Co-op is fun but entirely optional. There are no forced and convoluted co-op puzzles, instead inviting the kind of couch-based multiplayer that we had in the good old days. Just having friends jump into a game at any time is so much more refreshing than watching two characters help each other open doors in games that are desperate to justify their co-op status. In fact, refreshing is a great word to use for Kirby's Return to Dream Land in its entirety. After a year of complex and brooding games, it's a breath to fresh air to have Kirby on a console again, sticking to the colorful and adorable basics of good, old-fashioned platforming fun. Kirby's more unique adventures have been great, but it's ironically stimulating to have Kirby going back to a conventional title, especially in an industry so pressured to innovate. Kirby doesn't need to innovate, he just needs to be fun; Return to Dream Land brings the fun in spades. As ever, much of the challenge in Return to Dream Land is volitional. Finding hidden items to unlock sub-games and other bonuses can provide considerably more demanding gameplay, but the main stages can be conquered by players of almost any skill level. That said, those who want to see harder platforming action ought to play through to the end, because a few of the latter stages will give such gamers what they're looking for. While the game never ramps up the difficulty to hardcore degrees, these levels put up just enough resistance to satisfy all but the most desensitized of masochists. Graphically, Hal Laboratories deftly ignores the technical limitations of the Wii and delivers a game that looks damn beautiful, despite the standard definition. Character animations bubble with life, and environments are bright and gladdening. If there are any glitches to be found, I couldn't see a single one. As with nearly all Kirby games, there's a great soundtrack on offer, although the selection of tunes aren't quite so memorable as in other titles. Come to think of it, the soundtrack is the only real complaint I can muster about this game. It can take a solid six hours to beat the first time around and packs plenty of extra content to keep it bolstered. The levels are superbly constructed, and the boss fights make for engrossing confrontations. Outside of the music, there's not a single thing about Hal's latest game that I could think of changing for the better. With its impeccable balance of difficulty, satisfyingly simple level design, and insurmountable overload of squishy charm, Return to Dream Land provides a platform experience that comes as close to perfect as one can get. As so many games strive to be considered art or emulate blockbuster movies, it's becoming increasingly rare to find a videogame that sees itself simply as a videogame and devotes itself entirely to giving gamers the kind of authentic, natural fun that many of us grew up enjoying. Although polished to modern standards, Kirby's Return to Dream Land carries the spirit of the 16-bit era in its heart, bringing one back to a time when games could be bright and happy without feeling the need to serve two scoops of cynicism at the same time. This is the kind of game you could once find in abundance on the SNES and Sega Genesis, now refined to a distilled and ultimately superior form. Videogames simply do not get any more pure than Kirby's Return to Dream Land. |
| Original Sonic game unlockable in Sonic Generations Posted: 23 Oct 2011 02:00 AM PDT At a recent Sonic Generations panel during Paris Games Week, Sonic Team's Takashi Iizuka revealed that the original Sonic the Hedgehog will be available in the upcoming nostalgic platformer as a full unlockable game. Sonic Team also showed off the game's level hub, which is a scrolling selection of doors containing levels and littered with Sonic's furry friends. Don't worry -- their inclusion seems minimal and not too horrific. Sonic 1 is a cool bonus but it's a shame they couldn't include all the Genesis titles. Of course, by "couldn't" I mean "didn't want to" because SEGA could easily have tossed those in, the cheeky bastards. [Thanks Isshak!] [Edit: Jesus fucking Christ that last paragraph was a flippant remark and not intended as a slamming indictment against Sega for fuck's cunting sake.] |
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