New Games |
- New Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning vid talks class system
- The DTOID Show: Skyrim DLC, Rayman Origins, & GCI!
- Black Friday: Best Buy deals revealed, start saving
- Microsoft's Xbox 360 Black Friday deals are hot
- Metroid II remake gets demo-- WHY AREN'T YOU PLAYING IT!?
- Halo: Reach players can grab Anniversary maps as DLC
- Activision makes a sizable donation to COD Endowment
- Nintendo 3DS surpasses 1.65 million units sold in U.S.
- Friday Night Fights: Live on Mash Tactics!
- Review: The Lord of the Rings: War in the North
- This weekend on TwitchTV: Changes
- Yup, Xbox 360 players are still getting Skyrim DLC first
- Mario Clash: The first, forgotten 3D Mario game
- UK videogame piracy rises by 20%
- Go listen to Mega Ran 10 right NOW!
- Gotham City Impostors open beta soon, full game in Jan.
- Review: FIFA 12
- Disabling Xbox Live auto renewal is now less of a hassle
- The DTOID Show: Saints Row 3 Review and Giveaway!
| New Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning vid talks class system Posted: 11 Nov 2011 03:00 PM PST
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning seems to be going an interesting direction with its unique take on certain RPG mechanics such as the class creation system. Unlike in most other RPGs where you find yourself stuck in the character creation screen for some 45 minutes as you figure out how to distribute points for certain skills, or simply not knowing which class to choose only to eventually find yourself doing 50 Google searches on which class is "the best," Reckoning will see players develop their own unique class as the game progresses. It's most certainly a great idea, and the fact that they each choice comes with their own pros and cons is definitely a big plus in my book. If there's something I'm worried about with Reckoning, it's how the screen freezes for a split second nearly every time the player hits an enemy. I'm not sure about you, but the constant freezing actually made my head hurt, and it just seems like something that doesn't need to be there; maybe when you pull off an amazing combo or kill the last enemy of a group, but not like this. |
| The DTOID Show: Skyrim DLC, Rayman Origins, & GCI! Posted: 11 Nov 2011 02:17 PM PST Greetings, travelers! In case you missed it, The Destructoid Show went live today and it was totally nuts. By which I mean, it was a totally normal episode in every way with the exception of a giant purple dildo. In videogame news today, Conrad reviewed Rayman Origins and I'm totally jealous, Gotham City Impostors is headed for an open beta next month, Sony's now charging to transfer your PSP games to the PS Vita, and those of you playing Skyrim on Xbox 360 will be getting your DLC a full 30 days before anyone else. Last but not least, do you want to win this totally awesome Skyrim hat and terrifying Argonian mask? Watch the episode to find out how! |
| Black Friday: Best Buy deals revealed, start saving Posted: 11 Nov 2011 02:00 PM PST Let's get right into this one, shall we? Best Buy's Black Friday 2011 ad surfaced recently and it doesn't disappoint. Here's just a short list of some of the more notable deals:
It's pretty crazy to think that a week after it's released this Tuesday, Assassin's Creed: Revelations will only be $35. I just might have to jump on that. Anyway, the rest of the deals are in the gallery below so be sure to check out that for some of smaller deals. (via BFAds) |
| Microsoft's Xbox 360 Black Friday deals are hot Posted: 11 Nov 2011 01:30 PM PST Microsoft is getting in on the Black Friday madness early by sending word of several deals they're working on. Consoles, Kinect, games and even Xbox Live subscriptions are seeing price slashes for the biggest shopping day of the year. Here's what they have lined up:
And if you don't have a console to play these on, the Xbox 360 itself will be discounted, with cuts ranging from $50 to $100. Not bad, right? Keep in mind that this is Microsoft promotional pricing, so the final word comes from retailers. |
| Metroid II remake gets demo-- WHY AREN'T YOU PLAYING IT!? Posted: 11 Nov 2011 01:00 PM PST Over two and half years ago, we learned of DoctorM64's Project AM2R, a fan remake of Metroid II: Return of Samus that promised to update the spinach-hued Game Boy title in much the same way the NES original was overhauled for the GBA. Since then, aside from a little proof-of-concept teaser, we haven't seen much in the way of major progress. The game is still a ways off, but a demo that covers the first two major zones has been made available and HOLY SH*T. Metroid II has a very special place in my heart. Whereas other people hold Super Metroid or Metroid Prime in high esteem, I consider this supposed "black sheep" of the franchise to be the most effective in creating a sense of helplessness and isolation on an alien world. Part of the reason for my endearment is that it was my introduction to the series, but a bigger reason is that it is one of the very few videogames to truly frighten me on a level no other game could match. Some of that fear has been mitigated in this remake, but I'm nonetheless excited for what's to come. I played through the demo earlier this week, and now I want to give you a rundown of what you can expect based on my early impressions.
Complaints surrounding the original Metroid II include the lack of a map, extreme linearity, lack of music, and lack of any background whatsoever. But don't you see? That's exactly what made the game so great! When the only thing you could expect from one screen to the next was disturbingly uniform terrain set against an inky void with nothing but ambient noise to punctuate the silence, how could you not be nervous? Despite how linear the game was -- there is extremely little backtracking compared to other entries -- the game was unapologetic in building an atmosphere of complete uncertainty. The goal of Metroid II is to exterminate every last Metroid (just under 50 in total) on the planet SR388. Nintendo could have removed all the standard enemies and basically made a boss rush game not unlike Shadow of the Colossus. However, Metroid encounters are unlike the boss battles in other Metroids -- there aren't any giant Kraid battles, there are no gimmicks like dimension-bending alien ghosts or reality-warping mechanical beasts. All you have are Metroids of increasing size and lethality. There aren't any clear visual cues that you are about to face a Metroid -- no Mega Man shutter doors or pre-battle save stations. Sometimes, you might see a molted husk, but all that means is there is a Metroid nearby and not necessarily where it is precisely. If you are walking down a corridor and notice that no low-level foes have popped up to impede your journey, you might be walking right into a Metroid's lair. Suddenly, the silence is pierced by a most terrifying, grating shrill: This, my friends, is fear. The Metroids are unrelenting, and your first instinct is always to run away. When you finally think you've overcome those mental barriers, you meet the next evolution, then the next, then the next. When you face the Omega Metroids near the end of the game, only sheer terror prevents you from doing the smart thing by turning off the machine. The first time I played Metroid II, I hard a hard time progressing. I could never get far before I had to step away for long stretches. The feelings were simply overwhelming. It was all because the game ran on a relatively low-tech portable, the kind of machine that kids would whisk away to shadowy corners of the house for much-desired alone time. How can a full-color remake for the PC ever hope to match that? In short, it can't. But that doesn't mean it's not worth your attention! The graphical overhaul isn't quite SNES style. It's a softer look not unlike the one sported by Konami's ReBirth series on WiiWare. It still looks pretty; it's nice to finally see SR388 as a lush world rather than as a cavernous pit of shadow. Plus, Samus no longer takes up a large chunk of screen real estate, so you aren't suffocated by small spaces. Samus repertoire has likewise been upgraded to include diagonal aiming, ledge grabbing, an internal map, and the capacity for Super Metroid and post-Super upgrades. The only non-M2 item pickup in this demo was the charge shot, but I know that more will pop up later. More or less, these early areas are identical in construction to the original levels, only expanded to allow for the aforementioned breathing room. Samus' increased maneuverability means the game's flow is quickened, and I'm sure most fans will appreciate this injection of agility. But what about the Metroid battles? The only Metroids you face in this demo are Alphas, and I'm happy to say that they are just as fear-inducing as ever. To compensate for the additional room, Alphas have been made faster and far more aggressive. Their attack patterns are a little bit wilder, and I admit that I've died a number of times fighting these earliest of bosses. When I squared off against my fifth Alpha, I thought I finally got their system down, but no! They adapt! This one started doing quick dodges to avoid the path of my missiles! I can only imagine what nightmares await once the Gammas appear! The final surprise of the demo was a brand new boss -- a Chozo security system that attacks with laser eyes and compacting spiked walls. I would have liked to battle one more new foe, but this serves as an appetizer for now. Don't want to spoil too much too soon. Project AM2R feels like a true Nintendo game; all the years it's been cooking have been worth it. If the remainder of the game is this polished, I have no doubt that it will redeem Metroid II in many gamers' eyes. It may not become my preferred version of M2, but I'm enjoying the interpretation nonetheless. The Demo [Project AM2R] |
| Halo: Reach players can grab Anniversary maps as DLC Posted: 11 Nov 2011 11:00 AM PST Dig Halo multiplayer but don't care to buy Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary next Tuesday? So long as you own Halo: Reach, you can save yourself a bit of money. The multiplayer content of Anniversary -- six fan-favorite multiplayer maps and a single Firefight map -- is being sold digitally on the same day. For 1200 Microsoft Points, this map pack can be all yours. Interestingly, copies of Anniversary will include an installation code for this content, even though it is already on the disc. That way, if you do own Reach, those maps can be launched from that game as well. How thoughtful! |
| Activision makes a sizable donation to COD Endowment Posted: 11 Nov 2011 10:30 AM PST In case you hadn't heard, Modern Warfare 3 sold a few copies; roughly 6.5 million on day one alone. That's $400 million and yet another launch day record for the entire entertainment industry. Yeah, they done good. So what's a company to do with record breaking profits on this, the day of our veterans? Make a charitable donation of course. The publisher has made a $3 million donation to their Call of Duty Endowment (C.O.D.E) which in turn helps to provide education, training, and general aid for veterans. Having been raised by a family of Naval veterans, good on you Activision. Activision donates $3 million to Call of Duty Endowment [Joystiq] |
| Nintendo 3DS surpasses 1.65 million units sold in U.S. Posted: 11 Nov 2011 10:00 AM PST With impending big-name releases like Mario Kart 7 and Super Mario 3D Land, not to mention the 3DS' price drop earlier this year, consumers seem increasingly willing to make the transition to the latest Nintendo handheld. The 3DS has sold 1.65 million units in the United States, reports the NPD Group. To give that figure some added context, the original DS sold 2.37 million units in its first year; approximately half of those sales took place during the "holiday time frame." Nintendo believes the 3DS is "on track to surpass the first-year total of Nintendo DS." Last month saw sales of more than 250,000 3DS units, nearly 250,000 Wii consoles, and nearly 180,000 DSes. Finally, the Wii is up 8 percent year over year, and the DS is 23 percent over the previous month. Now, how about those games? |
| Friday Night Fights: Live on Mash Tactics! Posted: 11 Nov 2011 09:30 AM PST [Update: Gamertag Philanthr0py is the host for our Mash Tactics games! Add him now!] Yep, you read that right! For this week's FNF, Internet celebrity Hamza "Shark Dick" Aziz will be co-hosting a live show with the Mash Tactics crew over on Destructoid's Twitch.TV channel! He'll be playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 from 4 PM until he passes out, so look him up online if you've got the game and want to get your ass kicked by a shark! For those of you not playing, be sure to watch this space at 4 PM PST for the live stream! Who knows, maybe we'll even make this into a regular thing! New to FNF? Read this! Each week, a bunch of us Dtoiders get together to play videogames online! It's a 100% community-run event, so feel free to join in or even host something yourself! The planning for FNF starts in the forums, where community members volunteer to host matches and post their pertinent details (game, time, Gamertag, etc.). Then, every Friday, reminder posts go up in the community blogs followed by a recap post here on the front page for last-minute planning. To join in, simply send a friend request to the match host! (Don't forget to say you're from Dtoid!) If you'd rather host something yourself, sound off in the comments section below! We hope to see you online! Tonight's Hosts:
Tonight's Hosts:
Check out the 360 FNF community blog for more details! Tonight's Hosts:
Check out the PS3 FNF community blog for more details! Tonight's Hosts:
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| Review: The Lord of the Rings: War in the North Posted: 11 Nov 2011 09:00 AM PST In a month packed full of huge videogames releases, it's borderline suicidal for any new game to consider joining the pack. Warner Brothers, however, has the Lord of the Rings license under its belt with the desire to flaunt it. The Lord of the Rings: War in the North tells a tale that runs parallel to the events of J.R.R. Tolkien's legendary trilogy and subsequent Hollywood interpretation. With some M-rated violence and online co-op, it's coming out strong in one of the biggest market fights this industry has ever seen. If it gains any measure of success, it'll likely be due to name value alone, because the gameplay just can't compete at all. The Lord of the Rings: War in the North (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 [reviewed], PC) War in the North contrives a new "fellowship" of original characters and sets them against one of Sauron's previously unknown henchmen, a powerful sorcerer known as Agandaur. Set during the events of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, three heroes march forth to distract Agandaur and foil his northern campaign while the rest of the free folk deal with Sauron's machinations. As a side story, War in the North is far less epic in scale compared to the established work, and the lifeless writing doesn't help matters. While familiar faces such as Aragorn and Gandalf show up, the story feels less like a true enhancement of Tolkien's universe and more like a shallow, paint-by-numbers presentation of the Northern territories. Its three main characters all share the same personality, and by that I mean none have have any personality, solely defined by the fact that they must fight some Orcs in the snow. They have no real feelings on that and no stated goals outside of the mission at hand. NPCs aren't any different, while the main villain could be literally any other bad guy from any other second-rate fantasy story. The gameplay isn't much different, doing the bare minimum to be considered decent. Liberally pinching role-playing elements from Dragon Age and tossing in some basic hack n' slash combat, War in the North is a serviceable action RPG that relies heavily on its co-op to be enjoyable. Due to the swarming nature of enemies and the incredibly brutal damage they can dish out, I would strongly advise against solo play. The game is horrible when played alone, especially with its terrible ally A.I. that will see friendly characters' refusing to dodge or defend themselves in any way. To its credit, the ally A.I. is at least really good about ensuring downed players are revived, but that's all it's good for. It seems the game is designed entirely around the idea of lazily enforcing co-op by making players die a lot. Thanks to the huge amount of enemies and their ability to drain a life bar in seconds, characters will hit the ground a lot. When downed, players can crawl on the floor for a brief period before bleeding out, so another player will need to hold a button to revive them. This is the only real co-op interaction outside of trading equipment, and the game works extra hard to make sure it's done all the time. It also doesn't help that enemies will constantly harass any player trying to revive another, thus it's not uncommon for a reviving character to need its own revival almost immediately thereafter. The combat system consists of rather vapid button mashing, with extra experience earned by pressing the "strong" attack button at various telegraphed points to perform extra attacks or cut off limbs. It's a decently violent system that has head and arms flying in all directions, but it's harmed by a terrible targeting system that often has players attacking thin air, as well as incredibly slow animations that affect everything from attacking to recovering from enemy knockdowns. Nevertheless, the game is a solid little distraction that does nothing truly unique but certainly isn't offensive. There are three playable heroes -- Eradan (a ranger), Farin (a dwarven champion) and Andriel (an elven loremaster) -- and each one fulfills the stereotypical character classes of ranged scout, melee warrior, and mage respectively. Certain weapons can only be used by certain characters, and each one has its own tree of skills to unlock during the course of the adventure. There's an obligatory leveling system, allowing players to boost stats for health, power, stamina, and strength. Players start off remarkably weak and never get truly competent until they pass the halfway point and gain some decent abilities. Even then, the game's power recharge rate is agonizingly slow, which makes playing as the mage frustrating. There are potions to instantly replenish health and magic, but they drain way too fast to be considered useful for long. It boggles the mind how a game with such a focus on special skills could make those skills so hard to use. Even with an excessive amount of stat points invested in power, the meter still empties swiftly and takes a long time to refill. War in the North's biggest problem isn't that it's particularly bad, it's just that it does what a ton of other role-playing games already do, just on a far less impressive scale. The Rings flavor doesn't really add anything to the game, especially with a graphically unimpressive, corridor-based representation of Middle Earth. There's no joy to be had in exploring Tolkien's universe in a game this visually unremarkable, populated as it is by dull characters who have never been seen before and will never be seen again. The fact that it resembles an RPG in only the most aesthetic of ways is fairly disappointing. Despite its leveling system and dialog trees, the game only makes vague and halfhearted attempts at being anything more than a linear trek from point A to B. In games with a strong narrative or exciting pacing, linearity is perfectly fine, but there's a dishonesty to War in the North that sees it attempting to look more open than it actually is. The dialog trees, for example, don't influence the outcome of conversations as there's only ever one "right" reply that advances the conversation. There is a single player choice in the entire game, but it comes during the final boss fight and exists solely to obtain an extra Achievement/Trophy. Even more insulting, the game's mandatory objectives have been called "quests," as if to try and trick the player into thinking they had any other choice. There are no "quests" in the game, there's one mission with straightforward targets. Add to that the terrible voice acting -- all the free folk have either gained American accents or poorly faked British ones (because, of course, all British people say "rarth" instead of "wrath") -- and you have a game that could only really appeal to the truly obsessive LotR fan. Even then, those fans may feel a bit let down at the vapid and flavorless interpretation of their favorite fantasy world. The Lord of the Rings: War in the North is a decent little distraction, but it's out during a period when "decent" distractions should be low on a gamer's list of priorities. There's just no need for this game right now, and while it presents some solid role-playing action, it's a fairly threadbare experience in a world where far deeper, more engaging RPGs are widely available. For those who can't live without more Lord of the Rings entertainment, or for anybody who literally has nothing else to do, then War in the North does a fair job at amusement. Most people, however, can safely live without it. |
| This weekend on TwitchTV: Changes Posted: 11 Nov 2011 08:45 AM PST We have some exciting changes with Dtoid's TwitchTV channel starting this weekend! First up; the goings-on for Mash Tactics on Friday will now be included in this weekly post, and it's kicking off with a bang. Today at 4pm Pacific, Destructoid's very own Director of Communications, Hamza Aziz, is joining the Mash crew to host the first ever live broadcast of Friday Night Fights! In other news, Chill with Phil has moved over to Sunday nights! Philanthropy is bringing his sensual gaming journey to follow Also, Talks. After getting an earful from me this Sunday, stick around as Phil continues his Metal Gear Solid series playthrough with Metal Gear Solid 2. Mash Tactics is Destructoid's flagship show on TwitchTV. Every weekday from 4pm to 7pm Pacific, Jon Carnage and Wesley Ruscher bring you a torrent of improvised entertainment while playing the latest videogames for your viewing pleasure. Today, the guys are joined by Hamza Aziz for the first ever live FNF with Modern Warfare 3 on the Xbox 360. Saturday Morning Hangover with Conrad Zimmerman and Jordan Devore airs from 10am to 12pm Pacific. Come watch as they play the latest Xbox Live Indie Games demos for your enjoyment, and revel in the beauty of Conrad's mustache! 321gocast is Destructoid's only live show/podcast hybrid airing on Sunday, from 2:00-4:00pm Pacific starring JohnnyViral, Jesse Cortez, Pangloss, and Ryu89. Destructoid's live community talk show, Also Talks, starring Bill Zoeker and Johnny Luchador is committed to bringing interesting conversations about videogames, Destructoid, and random nonsense on Sunday from 4pm to 6pm Pacific. This week, Sterling "Aiayla" Lyons and Brett Zeidler are on to talk about the joy that is writing for a videogame blog. Chill with Phil is a relaxed gaming show hosted by community member, and video game connoisseur, Philanthr0py. Now on its new time of 6pm to 8pm Pacific on Sundays, Phil is continuing his run through all of the major Metal Gear Solid titles with Metal Gear Solid 2 from the MGS: HD Collection. Catch these shows and more on Twitch.tv/destructoid! |
| Yup, Xbox 360 players are still getting Skyrim DLC first Posted: 11 Nov 2011 08:30 AM PST Bethesda had previously commented that the first two downloadable content packs for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim would be making an appearance on Xbox 360 first, as tends to be the case for certain games. Microsoft has reminded us that this 30-day exclusivity is still very much the case. Uh, thanks? At my current rate of progression, it's not even going to matter -- I'll still have plenty on my to-do list by the time any add-ons roll out. Plus, you just know someone's going to put out a PC mod that awkwardly gives genitals to Skyrim's inhabitants. I think I made the right purchasing decision here. |
| Mario Clash: The first, forgotten 3D Mario game Posted: 11 Nov 2011 08:00 AM PST When people complain about getting a headache from playing the 3DS, I want to roll up my old man sleeves, wave my cane, and tell them how much worse it was back in the days of the Virtual Boy. “You think a little headache is bad? Try playing the Virtual Boy! You will be seeing red for weeks!” Talking about the Virtual Boy is my generation’s walking uphill both ways in the snow. Because of its notoriety, it is no wonder most people talk about the games on the Virtual Boy with nothing more than a reference to the painful sense memory they get from playing Nintendo’s noble, awkward failure. But in the sea of discomfort, there were a couple of Virtual Boy games that were surprising gems. One of these better games was Mario Clash, an odd, quirky installment in the legendary Mario series. And the first 3D Mario game ever released! That’s right. Despite all the deserved attention on this weekend’s release of the incredibly good Super Mario 3D Land, Mario Clash was actually the first Mario game in 3D. And even though it was only playable on the Virtual Boy, it was surprisingly good! For anyone that doesn’t know, the Virtual Boy was Nintendo’s failed videogame console released in 1995 that displayed games in fancy stereoscopic 3D. In fact, it was the first system to display its games in 3D right out of the box! Take that, 3DS! Unfortunately, all of this cool technology was implemented in a horrible way. Unlike the sleek, easy-to-use 3DS, the Virtual Boy was an uncomfortable, ludicrous console. The strange system had players placing their head against a weird goggle/helmet thing and controlling with an admittedly cool boomerang-shaped controller. Too big to be used as a handheld (or faceheld?), the entire setup was ridiculously cumbersome, as the system had to be placed on a table at the perfect height in order to be comfortable. But that wasn’t the worst of it. Because of the 3D technology, all of the games on the Virtual Boy could only be displayed in red, void of any other colors. On top of all this, the discomfort level was so high (be it the headache caused by the red 3D or the neck and back pain caused from hunching over a table) that players could never play for more than a few minutes. The Virtual Boy may go down as Nintendo’s biggest, weirdest disaster. But there was a light at the end of the really red tunnel ... Despite all of the system’s shortcomings, there were actually a couple really great games for the Virtual Boy. The first was Virtual Boy Wario Land -- a really solid, creative platformer -- and the other was Mario Clash. In a refreshing twist, Mario Clash plays much more like the arcade Mario games than the more recent 2D Mario platformers we have all come to know and love. When people mention an “old school” Mario game, they are usually referring to one that plays like Super Mario Bros. Mario Clash is so “old school” that it plays like Mario Bros., the arcade classic that pre-dated Super Mario Bros. by two whole years! In the game, you play as Mario as he navigates a simple series of platforms at various heights, trying to destroy all the enemies in the single-screen level. Putting the 3D effects of the Virtual Boy to good use, Mario can travel between the foreground and background using a set of pipes. Each level consists of various enemies, each having to be taken down in a different way. To do this, Mario must use a turtle shell, which he can either kick from side to side (like in most Mario games), or, in a clever twist, throw between the foreground and background. This is what makes Mario Clash so neat. It is a really cool effect to throw the turtle shell back and forth between two layers of depth, all in 3D. Maybe it was the harmful rays being admitted into my head by the Virtual Boy, but, when I first played Mario Clash, I thought the game looked and played great! The game is very basic, but its solid design, addictive combo-based gameplay, and large collection of levels makes Mario Clash a tough game to put down. Or, step away from. Whatever you call it when you stop playing the Virtual Boy. It may be a little embarrassing to admit, but I still find myself playing Mario Clash every once and a while. Playing the game itself is not the embarrassing part, but nothing is more humiliating than dragging out a Virtual Boy from your closet, sitting down, placing your head in the crazy ass system, and grabbing that funky controller. I think it is physically impossible for someone to look cool playing the Virtual Boy. It is so uncool, that there is a reason no pictures of me playing the Virtual Boy exist. I HAVE BURNED THEM ALL! Looking past all the theatrics, Mario Clash is actually something special. It is a solid game with really fun gameplay, and, most importantly, it was the first 3D Mario game ever -- one that was released 16 years ago! That is an entire new driver’s lifetime before this weekend’s Super Mario 3D Land. That alone is worth celebrating. Once you get past the initial embarrassment of putting your head in a giant pain-making machine, Mario Clash is really fun. I know most of you don’t own a Virtual Boy, but if you are ever hanging out at my house, I will make sure to pull out the system and let you try out the game. You may be surprised by how much fun you actually have with it. Okay, that decides it: VIRTUAL BOY PARTY AT MY HOUSE! Someone bring the aspirin. |
| UK videogame piracy rises by 20% Posted: 11 Nov 2011 07:30 AM PST Research group Envisional declares that videogame piracy in the United Kingdom has risen by 20% over the past five years. Its unnamed list of "top five games of 2010" were downloaded over one million times. Despite the findings, games aren't doing quite as badly as television and film piracy, which has risen by over 30% since 2006. Conversely, the theft of music albums has apparently decreased, most likely due to the rising popularity of downloadable music via Amazon and iTunes. I think the success of the music industry is the real key here. Thanks to digital distribution, prices went down and obtaining music became fast and convenient. I have no problem buying music these days, since I can get any tune I want piecemeal and do so incredibly swiftly. Meanwhile, the games industry has a lot to learn about treating customers right. Not that it morally justifies piracy, of course. Both sides could be a little less sleazy. |
| Go listen to Mega Ran 10 right NOW! Posted: 11 Nov 2011 07:00 AM PST The release of Skyrim may have kicked off the holidays for some of you fine folks, but for me, November 11 was Mega Ran Day! After months of waiting, nerdcore rapper Random has unleashed the final album in his Mega Man tribute series, Mega Ran 10. I listened to the whole thing this morning, and now you have to sit there while I do my gushing fanboy bit. For those two people who still aren't familiar (shame on you!), the original Mega Ran in 2007 was a landmark event that blew up on the web. The marriage of classic Mega Man tunes and hip hop beats was so fresh that Capcom has fully endorsed Random as an artist. When Capcom released Mega Man 9, Mega Ran 9 was naturally just around the corner. Sourcing on a single game this time, the album was a lot more focused and polished with some truly standout numbers. In fact, you can catch the "Splash Woman" instrumental hiding all over TV and even on the Dtoid Show! Unlike those two previous projects, Mega Ran 10 wasn't conceived as a full album. Random was just planning on releasing a few pieces here and there, but fan support convinced him to compile everything into one big track list. As a result, the album isn't as cohesive as the others, but that just gives the individual songs more time to shine on their own. Sample the album right now at the link above, or hit the jump if you need more convincing. Again, not all the tracks on the album are new. However, the "album versions" of previously released songs have benefited from remastering and audio adjustments. I was surprised by how incredible some of the songs were, considering that the original Mega Man 10 soundtrack is not as immediately catchy as its predecessor's. He was even able to transform Commando Man's theme, one of the weakest songs in the game, into an incredible, bass-thumping anthem ("Commando"). As before, Random incorporates game narrative into his lyrics, giving voice to a warrior robot's struggle against a foe he's ill equipped to handle -- a computer virus ("Sick!!!") that has infected the world and turned friends on each other while leaving others on the brink of death. In between acts, he drops a little bit of social criticism such as with "The Day The Robots Took Over," a song about our reliance on technology and the Internet to do what we once were capable of accomplishing on our own. Then, as salt on the would, he laments the cancellation of Mega Man Legends 3 and the downward spiral the franchise seems to have taken while reminiscing about the old days ("Mega Man Forever"). "Team-up" is the name of the game, and Random grabs plenty of outside talent for a bulk of the album. Even the Dtoid community's own guitar god, Torzelan, gets his shreds on ("Bassnium")! Probably my favorite track is "Pump It Up!" featuring guest Adam WarRock as Protoman. The duo unite to take down Pump Man, engaging in a lot of back-and-forth banter while they hype themselves up. There's even time for a surprise Step Brothers reference! Who could have seen that coming? Overall, though, it's not the best of the Mega Ran series, due in part to the how disjointed it feels at times as well as some weak musical picks here and there. Still, it still kicks a lot of ass; I know I'm going to blasting this album through my speakers almost nonstop for the next month! The rest of you, BUY MEGA RAN 10 now! Mega Ran 10 by Random (Mega Ran) [Bandcamp] |
| Gotham City Impostors open beta soon, full game in Jan. Posted: 11 Nov 2011 06:30 AM PST Following the closed beta, players will have another opportunity to try Gotham City Impostors before it releases on January 10, 2012 for PC, PlayStation Network, and Xbox Live Arcade. An open beta on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 is expected to go live in December. Monolith warns that there is a limited number of keys, so it's best to sign up early if you're curious about the game. You can do so at the link above. |
| Posted: 11 Nov 2011 06:00 AM PST My first impression of FIFA 12 was not good. FIFA 12 (Xbox 360 [reviewed], PlayStation 3) EA Canda’s endless refinement, endless iteration, has turned FIFA 12 into the Galapagos Islands -- everything from the physics engine to the controls to the high-level design choices of each mode has been rarefied, specialized, and tailored to suit its environment. It's ostensibly similar to other games in its genus, but unrecognizable in its specificity and mutation.
From here, FIFA 12 balloons outward like a circus tent, with a host of elephantine modes and options. EA Canada took a few core concepts -- it’s fun to improve, it’s fun to compete, it’s fun to collect famous soccer players like Pokemon, and it’s fun to do all these things online -- and remixed, remastered, reconfigured, and recontextualized them over and over.
Player development, both for youth squads and the player-created Virtual Pros, is particularly slow. After three seasons, virtual Joseph Leray is rated at 75 -- he hardly competes with Javier Pastore and the newly-aquired Cesc Fabregas for a starting position on my team. But, still, these issues often get swallowed up in the enormity of FIFA 12. There’s so much content, so much flexibility, so much dynamism that it’s hard to gripe too much. Tweaked mechanics and game modes aside, the defining achievement of FIFA 12 lies in the ways individual players change the contours of the game. Roman Palyuvchenko is no longer just a name on a character model: he likes to drop back and play as second striker, mopping up loose balls and creating plays. Aleksander Kolarov prefers making runs and crossing than he does actually defending. Mevlut Erding seems at his best sitting at the back post. boxing out smaller defenders for crosses. Andrei Arshavin and Kevin Gameiro make -- in my Twilight Zone version of Ligue 1 -- a devastatingly effective duo.
It’s weird, for example, that sports games assign arbitrary numerical values to athletes; it’s weirder still that EA Canada made an effort to eschew that reduction, to show us that pathfinding and AI aren’t -- or don’t have to be -- static and one dimensional. In the public eye, athletes tend to oscillate between being seen as outsized, outlandish personae, or reduced to a series of statistics and metrics. FIFA 12 attempts to humanize the enterprise of videogame sports simulation. EA Canada's relative success in that attempt depends, like actually playing the game, on players' willingness to buy into the system. It's an arduous mountain to climb -- even while writing this review, I was trounced twice in a row by lowly FC Souchaux and those irascible Girondins in Bordeaux -- but there's gold in them hills. |
| Disabling Xbox Live auto renewal is now less of a hassle Posted: 11 Nov 2011 05:45 AM PST Have you seen the redesigned Xbox.com? It's more social network-y now, in an effort to match this year's Xbox 360 dashboard update. Those looking to guilt friends into a multiplayer session will appreciate the new Beacons feature that allows you to mark your current interest in specific games. Best of all, however, is the ability to easily disable auto renewal of Xbox Live. No more struggling! Simply go to Social, then My Account. Underneath the Xbox Live logo, there will be a "Change" link. From there, you'll just need to go through a few offer pages. Xbox.com update is live, features Beacons and local Auto Renewal options [Joystiq] |
| The DTOID Show: Saints Row 3 Review and Giveaway! Posted: 11 Nov 2011 05:15 AM PST What a week! When we haven't been busy slaying dragons and wooing wenches in Skyrim, Max and I have spent almost every waking moment this week gangbanging and bludgeoning thugs with oversized dildos in Saints Row: The Third. It's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it. UPDATE: We've also got our hands on some packs of groovy Saints Row: The Third vinyl toys to give away. To win, just leave a comment on this post by 11:59pm PST on November 15th, and we'll randomly pick two winners! Contests Official Rules
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