New Games |
- World of Warcraft celebrates its seventh year next week
- Minecraft leaves beta, gets a funny XBLA trailer
- The great Zelda musical tribute celebration! Day five!
- Live show: Dtoid teaming up with GameOn for charity drive
- The dead rise again in this BattleBlock Theater update
- Mass Effect 3 CE teaser shows off the goods
- Take a closer look at Bullet Marsh in Gears of War 3
- You gonna buy all the games?
- League of Legends hits 32 million players
- MLG National Championship going down this weekend
- Pangya World Championships 2012 in Thailand
- Review: Medieval Moves: Deadmund's Quest
- This weekend on TwitchTV: So much philanthropy
- The DTOID Show goes LIVE today with Saints Row 3 codes!
- Offbeat Hall of Fame: A Link to the Past, the comic
- Friday Night Fights: Who's on your team?
- PSN DRM: Try remote deactivation of all your PS systems
- Bohemia Interactive claims 100 pirates for every 3 buyers
- Review: Carnival Island
| World of Warcraft celebrates its seventh year next week Posted: 18 Nov 2011 03:00 PM PST World of Warcraft turns seven this Wednesday, November 23. Of all the games to play for hours on end ahead of the ensuing family time during Thanksgiving, it might as well be this. Speaking of familial obligations, Blizzard is kicking off the celebration a few days in advance. By logging into WoW between November 20 and December 3, you'll get a feat of strength added to your list of achievements and a Celebration Package item. This shoots off fireworks, gives your character a tabard, and results in a seven percent bonus to experience and reputation while active. Seven years. Has it really been that long? |
| Minecraft leaves beta, gets a funny XBLA trailer Posted: 18 Nov 2011 02:00 PM PST
It's been a long time coming for Minecraft, but some four million purchases later, the game has exited its extended beta phase. Version 1.0.0 is out! So long, annoying text from the top-left corner. Go start a fight with a dragon, why don't you? The Xbox Live Arcade version, currently playable at MineCon in Las Vegas, is still on the way. A handful of screenshots, including some that show a revamped user interface, were sent our way. Better yet, there's a humorous trailer even non-fans will likely enjoy. Rounding out this news is the recent release of Minecraft - Pocket Edition for iOS. Despite costing $6.99 and not having some features we've come to expect, it'll sell very well. |
| The great Zelda musical tribute celebration! Day five! Posted: 18 Nov 2011 01:00 PM PST NINETEEN MINUTES AND FIFTEEN SECONDS. God, I love this song. We are shifting out of fourth gear and kicking it into high! It's metal, baby! The glorious epic above is none other than "Unsealed" by French guitarist CarboHydroM. It takes almost all of the major musical pieces from A Link to the Past and mashes 'em together to provide an aural retelling of Link's adventure, from the moment he stirs awake to his fated bout with Ganon. The SNES sound clip at the start is a lovely touch, and the three-minute finale may just be the most perfect thing ever. The ride isn't over! Below, we've got Powerglove, virt, and Vomitron ready to melt your faces! Power metal, anyone? "Power, Wisdom, Courage" by Powerglove should scratch that itch for ya! I totally need to catch these guys in concert some time. Have you seen the costumes they wear? The band is like a helmet-less, mask-less GWAR. "Blood of Ganon" comes courtesy of virt a.k.a. Jake Kaufman. When he's not too busy making awesome music for WarForward, he whips up game arrangements in his spare time. The man is dedicated to the craft, that's for sure. My favorite part is the abrupt radio tuning at the end. Yay, elevator music! "The Legend of Zelda" by Vomitron comes off their latest album No NES for the Wicked, which took three years to be made. Sure, that isn't exactly at Chinese Democracy levels, but that converts to around five billion years in Internet time! Who has that kind of patience? Only one day left. You sad? You shouldn't be! ["Octorawk" artwork by Glen Brogan] |
| Live show: Dtoid teaming up with GameOn for charity drive Posted: 18 Nov 2011 12:00 PM PST Destructoid is joining forces with the GameOn community in an effort to raise money for the Child's Play charity organization. Child's Play is dedicated to providing videogames, toys, and books to ailing children in hospitals all over the world. Countless sources from the video game industry and gaming communities proudly donate so that suffering children can be eased by the joy of videogames. One way gamers have been known to give back is videogame streaming marathons. GameOn is a community of videogame streamers and viewers that has made it an annual tradition to run multiplayer gaming marathons to bring donations to Child's Play. With four marathons completed so far, GameOn has raised over $20,000 in total for the cause. King Foom has long been a member of GameOn and has recently joined Destructoid's TwitchTV channel, so for this year's events, Foom is bringing the families together. King Foom will be doing his leg of GameOn's streaming campaign on Destructoid's channel. From 9pm Eastern tonight to 9am Eastern this Sunday, Foom will be playing a slew of multiplayer games with his friends and viewers. Throughout GameOn's 5th Annual Multiplayer Marathon, there will be around a dozen other broadcasters running concurrently during the 36-hour period. Each caster has set milestone events, promising to do something wacky and entertaining when donation goals are met. Of course, all proceeds go directly to Child's Play. You can watch Foom's marathon effort on Destructoid's TwitchTV channel or see all of GameOn's casters participating in this event on Swiftor.com. |
| The dead rise again in this BattleBlock Theater update Posted: 18 Nov 2011 11:30 AM PST
The fine folks over at The Behemoth have shined the spotlight on a new set of prisoners for the upcoming Battleblock Theater. The two new prisoners are the undead duo of Prisoner #10334 (a.k.a The Mummy) and Prisoner #10401 (a.k.a. The Skull). According to the biography of Prisoner #10334, The Mummy was a grocer some time ago when it developed a terrible case of plastybolsaphobia, the fear of plastic bags. The Skull however seems to be getting a reputation for being a "poor, lazy Mummy" or a "naked hobo-mummy", if you will, for its poor choice of battle apparel. Along with introducing the new prisoners, the video also showcases some of the creative ways that players can "cooperate" together in order to get more gems or to get to out of reach locations. The Behemoth has always been one of my favorite indie studios, ever since I first played Alien Hominid. Their character designs and humor have made them stand out from the crowd and I can't wait to give Battleblock Theater a go in 2012. Plus, I have to stick up for all my Skull brethren out there. Where do you stand on The Mummy versus The Skull debate? |
| Mass Effect 3 CE teaser shows off the goods Posted: 18 Nov 2011 11:00 AM PST
Despite the fact that Mass Effect 3 won't be coming out until March of 2012, a video has been released that details all of the goodies to be found in the collector's edition. Included are alternate costumes, additional weapons, an art book and a comic, to name a few items. I've pre-ordered this on Amazon, but Game Stop and Best Buy are also offering the chance to reserve them for $79.99. While there won't be a dragon figure in the Mass Effect 3 CE, there are still some nice items. Mostly I just want the art book. I also think this is a mean tease, considering the game isn't out for months and months. Ah well, I'll just have to content myself with dragon slaying until then. |
| Take a closer look at Bullet Marsh in Gears of War 3 Posted: 18 Nov 2011 10:30 AM PST
Admittedly, I have not played much of original Gears of War multiplayer, but I always enjoy seeing a new take on an established level. Bullet Marsh is a part of the free Versus Booster Map Pack that is set to go live on November 24. The main feature of the original Bullet Marsh map were the insatiable and frustrating Kryll, the bat-like Locust that attacked players anytime they happen to enter one of the darker areas of the map. There is no word yet if this map will be the Gears of War 3 debut of the Kryll, but I would fine without having dealing with this unstoppable force because some guy turned off the lights in my area. While still being annoying to deal with, I think that the Kryll turn this otherwise regular map into a unique variant of Versus mode. Bullet Marsh will be included in the free Versus Booster Map Pack, that will be available to download for all Gears of War 3 players on November 24. The pack will also include the maps Azura, Blood Drive and Rustlung that came out earlier this month in the Horde Command Pack, and it will also introduce the map Clocktower. So wipe the gravy from your mouth and pass on that third helping of stuffing, it's time to gear up COG! |
| Posted: 18 Nov 2011 10:00 AM PST |
| League of Legends hits 32 million players Posted: 18 Nov 2011 09:45 AM PST Riot Games announced that League of Legends, their free-to-play Multiplayer Online Battle Arena, has hit the 32.5 million player mark. With this, comes a wide selection of cumulative statistics relating to the game that they have apparently been keeping track of. Of course, there are the usual batch of statistics, like number of hours played, and number of kills gained. Riot also detailed statistics related to aspects of League outside the game as well, such as with their Summoner Showcase submission amounts and YouTube channel stats. My favorite have to be some of the oddball statistics related to the game itself, such as how many times a specific powerful item has been bought, or how many times a certain super annoying mushroom planting champion has been killed! It's interesting to see the success of the game over the span of two years, and makes one wonder how the effect of the upcoming Dota 2 and Blizzard Dota would have on it, if any. For now, though, you can check out these stats and League of Legends itself on the official website
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| MLG National Championship going down this weekend Posted: 18 Nov 2011 09:30 AM PST The Major League Gaming organization is celebrating the end of the 2011 season this weekend in Providence, Rhode Island with a three-day championship event. Featuring tournaments in StarCraft II, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Halo: Reach, and League of Legends, 1200 of the best amateur and professional players will be competing in double elimination events to win over $600,000 in prizes. In fact, the event has already started. Right now, you can catch the competition already underway by watching the MLG live stream. |
| Pangya World Championships 2012 in Thailand Posted: 18 Nov 2011 09:15 AM PST Do you want to know what my most played PC game is? Golf MMO Pangya United. I play it every day. I have this massive PC rig that will run anything at max settings, but I use it for golf. I am actually playing it now as I write this story. I adore this golf game and I pray that it never ends. I'll never be good enough to get into the World Championships, but that won't stop me from playing it and loving it. The annual Pangya World Championship is set to go down during the Thailand Game Show, held in Bangkok in January. Pangya United is sending the world's top three players to the championships, and to determine that they're holding a tournament today, Friday, November 18. The tournament is set in the game's Wiz City course, and will narrow down 600 players to the top three. Those three will go to Thailand to go up against nine other players from Japan, Korea and Thailand. Over $15,000 in prizes will be split among the winners. Even if you don't get into the tournament, you should try out the brand new course it takes place on, Wiz City. It's nuts, and a lot of fun. |
| Review: Medieval Moves: Deadmund's Quest Posted: 18 Nov 2011 09:00 AM PST Let's get this out of the way immediately. Despite being a Sony-published PS3 exclusive, despite starring a skeleton with a sword, and despite the game's name, Medieval Moves: Deadmund's Quest has absolutely zero relation to the PlayStation classic MediEvil. Hopefully, that has set your expectations low, because expecting too much from Deadmund's Quest is fairly easy, especially given how promising it looks. As one of the few action-adventure games in the PlayStation Move's library, it aims to be more than your usual collection of waggle-based minigames. It's just a shame it didn't aim to be much more than that. Good job, Jeremy! Medieval Moves: Deadmund's Quest (PlayStation 3) Medieval Moves: Deadmund's Quest tells the tale of a young prince named Edmund, whose castle is invaded by the skeleton wizard Morgrimm. He turns the castle's inhabitants, including Edmund, into skeletons, but while the civilian populace become evil thralls, Edmund's mind is shielded by a magical deus ex amulet. Sadly, the amulet has been shattered into four pieces, so the newly styled "Deadmund" must put it back together and stop Morgrimm's generically villainous machinations. With its promise of increasingly powerful items and multiple paths, not to mention its third-person perspective, one could be forgiven for thinking that the PlayStation Move might have finally gotten a decent action-adventure title. Unfortunately, the cosmetics and promises give way to what is fundamentally an on-rails time-waster that attempts a few unique things but is never bold enough to stand out from the pack. Gameplay is mostly split between three actions -- slashing with a sword, firing arrows, and tossing throwing stars. Deadmund's movement is handled by the game, while players wave the controller around in various manners to perform actions. Melee combat is a simple case of swinging the controller around, which the PlayStation Eye will track with 1:1 precision. You can slash in any direction, from whatever angle you wish, then Deadmund will replicate the attack fairly accurately. Pressing the "Move" button will bring up Deadmund's shield, which is manipulated with similar precision to block the angled shots of opponents. Thus it is that combat becomes a fairly fast-paced balance between blocking, which is also crucial in defending against enemy projectiles, and counter-attacking. To fire an arrow, players must simulate taking a bow from a quiver by reaching behind themselves with the Move button pressed. Reaching behind and then aiming forward will make Deadmund draw his bow, which again features totally accurate aiming. Actually shooting the arrows aren't quite so accurate, however, because the on-screen target reticule essentially lies to its users. You can have an enemy directly in the crosshairs, but the arrow will regularly bounce off random environmental debris or miss altogether. I've found that aiming anywhere around an opponent has a greater chance of hitting him than actually trying to aim at him. For mid-range enemies, the throwing stars are an invaluable weapon. Pressing the trigger and flicking the controller will toss a star in the desired direction, and it soon becomes apparent that one can continually toss endless stars without much thought in order to overwhelm incoming attackers. This is a boon when faced with multiple melee opponents, as they'll stagger and fall back when hit with a star. The action is broken up by a few extra motion-based activities, such as tossing dynamite by holding the controller upwards to light it then making a throwing motion. There is also a hookshot-like device which is activated by pointing downward, pressing a button, and then releasing while pointing at the grapple target. Players will need to turn locks to open doors, rotate or pull levers, and also activate special amulet powers by holding the controller to the their chest and pressing two buttons. To replenish health, Deadmund needs to drink milk by having the player press a button and make a swig motion. Finally, a number of quick time events, featuring Deadmund's avoiding traps by prompted swings of the controller, have been tossed in for good measure. For the most part, the game works well, although there are some distinct moments of lag that will often see Deadmund's taking cheap damage. Drawing the bow will occasionally have it stick in a transitional animation, with the player unable to aim for a second or two. This can also happen to the shield, which is particularly frustrating, as well as the quick time events, which get horrendously unresponsive whenever a sideways swipe is required. By far the most aggravating part of the control scheme, however, is how confused it can get. This is a problem in any game that tries to make a single control method handle multiple actions, and it's especially grievous in Medieval Moves. Often, the game can't work out whether you want to draw the bow or toss a throwing star, especially in the heat of combat when the player is pressured into acting quickly. Activating amulet powers is nearly impossible to do on purpose, as the game barely ever understands the chest motion. Trying to do most things in the game will usually result in Deadmund's attempting to light a stick of dynamite, because it seems nobody thought that having over five items mapped to two buttons might have been more than the software could handle. It reminds me of how confused The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass would get with its all-touch controls. Another issue is the fact that the game demands incredibly dramatic movements at all times. Even if the game knows when you have swung the sword, it will actively complain that you're not swinging hard enough. To drink milk, players have to pretend to drink like they're in a Betty Boop cartoon, leaning all the way back and simulating a ridiculous motion in order for the game to recognize it. When it comes to firing an arrow, Deadmund's Quest won't be satisfied until you've reached back far enough to punch yourself between the shoulder blades. Such movements are usually at odds with the combat's quick pace, where players will need to focus on moving swiftly rather than melodramatically. It can also give you tennis elbow if you're not careful enough with those swings. The game is rarely challenging, ever relying on cheap tactics to provide a threat. Such tactics include surrounding Deadmund with multiple enemies while he can only ever effectively block one of them, or having several projectile-based enemies time their shots so that Deadmund can never aim at one without taking damage from the other. Even during these moments, health pickups are plentiful, and players will only ever feel tested by truly overwhelming odds, namely those rare difficulty spikes where the game throws all kinds of crap from multiple directions in an falsified attempt to be challenging. There is a lot to complain about with Deadmund's Quest, but when it works, it really does work quite well. The 1:1 precision leads to some pretty satisfying battles at times, and the flow between melee and ranged combat can be impressively fluid when the input doesn't confuse the software. There are genuinely enthralling boss battles that use Deadmund's skills in innovative ways and blend traditional boss combat with motion activity. When the game wants to be, it can be quite gratifying. Medieval Moves impressively storms through its myriad flaws to become more fun than infuriating. It is certainly not incredible, but it does provide some simple, shallow enjoyment that makes solid use of the Move controller and tells a cute little story. It requires a little luck for all the potentially broken elements to work at once, but when they do, it's a decent little adventure. The game also wins points for having a terrific atmosphere. Despite not being MediEvil, it still captures that same goth-cartoon look and constantly delivers endearingly silly characters to interact with. While Deadmund himself is whiny and annoying, the eccentric skeletons he fights are amusing and affable in their bony, evil ways. The biggest problem with Medieval Moves, however, is that it demonstrates a complete lack of bravery on the part of the developers. The gimmicky pre-subtitle name really indicates exactly what this title is at heart -- just another tech demo. While it bears many similarities to fuller, deeper adventure games, Medieval Moves is a typical on-rails slasher/shooter that sees players' tediously moving from one combat zone to the next across levels that get pretty repetitive after a while. There are only so many times you can trudge along a corridor, slash at some skeletons, then fire arrows at some other skeletons before you notice how formulaic and weary it all is. At its heart, the ideas in Medieval Moves aren't developed much further than what was shown in San Diego Studios' debut Move effort, Sports Champions. While the archery and sword combat have been dressed up in the threads of a more engrossing title, the basic gameplay has barely evolved. It's a game that cowers in its safe zone as much as possible, treading on familiar ground but attempting to use its visuals and premise to look more distinguished than it actually is. Medieval Moves: Deadmund's Quest could have been an incredible new IP for the PlayStation Move, a peripheral that sorely needs something exciting to call its own. Sadly, while remaining quite fun, the end product is a severely problematic and ultimately shallow exercise that covers familiar territory. While it would make a fairly worthwhile holiday game for the kids, the true potential of the game is tragically unrealized, and those looking for that elusively meaty PS Move title will come away disappointed. Still, if you abandon any preconception, Deadmund's Quest will give you at least a couple hours of entertainment before outstaying its welcome. |
| This weekend on TwitchTV: So much philanthropy Posted: 18 Nov 2011 08:30 AM PST This weekend, Destructoid's TwitchTV channel is getting into the spirit of giving a little early. King Foom will be championing a 36-hour multiplayer marathon to help raise money for Child's Play, Mash Tactics will be handing out beatings in another live edition of Friday Night Fights, and Also Talks is delivering unto you some insight into the past week's releases. At 4pm Pacific today, Mash Tactics is once again joining forces with Destructoid's Friday Night Fights. Jon Carnage and Wesley Ruscher will be playing Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 live with the community over Xbox Live. Expect a special appearance by Dtoid's resident fighting game champion, Jesse Cortez. For those of you who don't know, King Foom is a long-time JTV/TwitchTV broadcaster who, along with his community, recently joined us on Destructoid's TwitchTV channel. Foom broadcasts every weeknight at 7pm Pacific (after Mash Tactics). Known for streaming long hours into the night, Foom is putting that talent to the test with a 36-hour gaming marathon to raise money for Child's Play charity. From 9pm Eastern tonight to 9am Eastern on Sunday, King Foom will be playing multiplayer games to bring in donations to this worthy cause. 321Go Cast is Destructoid's only live show/podcast hybrid airing on Sunday, from 2pm to 4pm Pacific, starring JohnnyViral, Jesse Cortez, Pangloss, and Ryu89. Destructoid's live community talk show is dedicated to bringing you discussion about recent events in the videogame world and insight into the Destructoid community. This week, with its new adjusted time of 4pm to 5:30pm Pacific every Sunday, Johnny Luchador and I are joined by Brett Zeidler and Bluuuuuuu to talk about Halo: Anniversary and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, respectively. Chill with Phil is a relaxed gaming show hosted by community member, and video game connoisseur, Philanthr0py. Now on its new time of 5:30pm to 8pm Pacific on Sundays, Phil is continuing his run through all of the major Metal Gear Solid titles, finishing Metal Gear Solid 2 from the MGS: HD Collection. Catch these shows and more on Twitch.tv/Destructoid! |
| The DTOID Show goes LIVE today with Saints Row 3 codes! Posted: 18 Nov 2011 08:15 AM PST You heard right, folks! The Destructoid Show will be going live at 3:30pm PST today on YouTube.com/DTOID. In typical Friday live show fashion, we've got a couple Steam codes for Saints Row 3 to dole out, followed by some videogame news, some last-minute Photoshops, and a brief Q&A session with Max and me. Hope to see you all in the chat! |
| Offbeat Hall of Fame: A Link to the Past, the comic Posted: 18 Nov 2011 08:00 AM PST All this week, Destructoid will be posting Zelda-themed features to celebrate this weekend's release of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. It's Zelda week! If you were a gamer growing up in the States during the late 80s / early 90s, you had to subscribe to Nintendo Power or at least be close friends with someone who had. There were no bones about it! Sure, other gaming periodicals existed, but Nintendo Power had all the really juicy insider info. That was the upside of being published in-house by Nintendo of America. The magazine was able to deliver an unprecedented level of content because there was no middleman. In addition to all the tips, tricks, and game maps you could want, there was the odd treat here and there. My favorite bonuses were the comics. The one-page strips starring Nintendo Power mascot Nester were alright, but they couldn't hold a candle to the monthly serials. For this first entry of Offbeat Hall of Fame, my new gamer culture reflection series, I wish to share with you the glory that is Nintendo Power's The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past... the comic! Imagine coming home from school and finding the latest Nintendo Power peeking beneath the stack of mail on the counter. Imagine racing to your bedroom with mag in hand, plopping on the bed, and flipping through that glossy tome. Now, imagine stumbling across a full-color, 16-page comic smack in the middle. How's that for a surprise? This was the January 1992 issue of Nintendo Power; the comic was an adaptation of A Link to the Past, obviously meant to promote the upcoming release of the game itself. This was no cheap cash-in, though! It was a year-long adventure by one of Japan's greatest manga artists, Shotaro Ishinomori, creator of Cyborg 009 and the first two seasons of what would become the Super Sentai (Power Rangers) series! Have no doubt in your mind that there was love poured into these pages. Want to the know the best part? The Zelda comic ran concurrently with another serial based on the Mario series. Remember, these were bonuses included on top of regular game coverage. Even if you ignored all the other features, these comics alone made picking up the latest volume worthwhile. Perhaps I'll talk about Super Mario Adventures some other day; for now, it's all about Zelda. The first thing you'll notice about ALttP is the artwork. Ishinomori is a legend from that burgeoning era of manga when the influence of Western animation was still readily apparent. Like Astro Boy creator Osamu Tezuka, Ishinomori had a style reminiscent of old Disney cartoons -- characters squash and stretch, limbs are bendy and lack joints, and clothing and backgrounds are simple but eye-catching. There's a habit these days in a lot of comics, both Western and Eastern, of artists' obsessing over the minute details and creating an overly complex spectacle. That's fine and all, but sometimes you have to scale back in order to draw the readers' attention more effectively. When the comic first hit, the only characterization of Link we were familiar with was the one from the DiC Entertainment cartoon. Though good at his core, this Link is overly self-confident, incredibly sarcastic, and more than a little bit of a horn dog. These aren't exactly the qualities one would associate with the champion of all the land. ALttP's Link feels much more in line with the character presented in the game -- a mere child who knows little of the world and lacks formal combat training but puts others before himself. During any given battle, he goes from resolute to frightened, to confused, to shocked, to perplexed, and back to resolute. It's all written on his face, which I liken to Wind Waker Link's. That game's exaggerated cartoon style lent itself well to a wide spectrum of expressions that added personality to a previously humorless machine (at least when it comes to Ocarina of Time's Link). Comic Link cycles through those myriad expressions as he struggles to grow in mind, body, and spirit at a rate no other person would be expected to do. Though based on Link's SNES journey, the comic understandably omits a lot of content while introducing elements of its own. Link begins his quest by answering Zelda's telepathic summons and taking up the sword and shield from his fallen uncle, and from there, the story moves along at an incredible clip. Rather than having to navigate though puzzle-laden dungeons, Link merely visits the resting places of the Pendants of Virtue and engages in brief confrontations with the domain guardians. Once he enters the Dark World, you only ever see him rescue three of the seven maidens (I can only assume the others are found during the sporadic time skips). Reading through the entire comic run in one sitting gives the sense that the project was rushed through, and I know that's not the case at all. The story is split into 12 chapters with 16 pages each, spread out across 12 months. When there's a 30-day waiting period before the next episode, you take more time reading each panel, each text bubble. You absorb the content and let it digest, and you are more appreciative of the pacing. The comic might have been better if it was twice as long, but I doubt many kids would have been able to retain interest for another year, especially considering the game would already be several months old by the end of year one. Even with the story's rapid pace, a few original characters were introduced to spice up the mix. In Kakariko Village, Link meets a young boy and the town librarian, both curiously remaining unnamed. They provide Link with modes of flight to get around Hyrule, and once Link enters the Dark World, they continue to offer assistance via a trans-dimensional walkie-talkie of sorts. There's also Epheremelda, a fairy with a jealous streak and an obvious crush on Link -- not unlike Spryte from the cartoon. The most notable addition to the cast is Roam, a dead ringer for Jet Link from Cyborg 009. Like Link, he is descended from the Knights of Hyrule and came to the Dark World to kill Ganon. In their first encounter, Roam challenges Link for the right to wield the Master Sword and is soundly defeated. Then he runs off in search of the Silver Arrow in the hopes that it'll bring about Ganon's downfall. Of all the original characters, I feel that Roam added the least to the story. He is introduced as a rival to Link, but there is no reason for his hostility other than the fact that he's just a stuck-up jerk. His is a role that needed to be given proper motivation and incorporated right from the beginning. Instead, he is introduced very late in the comic and only impacts the story in the penultimate chapter. He doesn't impede Link's journey nor does he do anything of worth off-panel. It's cool that Ishinomori wanted to toss in a reference to his most popular manga, but Roam was a forced inclusion. That particular hiccup aside, the comic succeeds at providing an alternate take on the game's canon. All the stylistic interpretations are a joy to take note of, such as Ganondorf's human form. I'm pretty certain that this is the first depiction of non-beast Ganon prior to Ocarina of Time. Far from being a dark-skinned man with an air of regality about him, the comic's Ganondorf extremely brutish in appearance, much more fitting of a desert bandit. There are wonderful full-page or two-page spreads that can't be done justice by computer scans and have to be appreciated in physical form. In keeping with that "less is more" ethic, these scenes really grab your focus. From Link's battle with the Lanmola to his stare-down against Aghanim, from his extraction of the Master Sword to the sight of the bizarre floating sphere that is Ganon's Tower, each perfectly encapsulates the grandeur of Link's quest. It's a daunting world that would overwhelm weaker men with feelings of insignificance, yet Link never strays from his destined path. ALttP may be a comic intended for the young readers of Nintendo Power, but behind the characters' comical reactions and colorful environments is a tale of discovery, struggle, and loss. Ishinomori had this talent of balancing levity and gravity without letting one overtake the other, very much like an animated Disney film. It's a very subtle technique that only masters of the craft can pull off. In contrast with the game's celebratory finale, the comic ends on a heavy, heartbreaking note. Having saved two worlds and won the affections of the princess, Link assumes the position of Master of the Hyrule Knights under the newly appointed Queen Zelda. Unfortunately, their new roles prevent them from following their hearts' desire. The final image of Link is not of a proud hero with visions of a brighter tomorrow but of a forlorn child who was forced to grow up way too quickly, gained a burden no man should have to bear, and has now lost the only person who could connect with him spiritually. I still fight to hold back the tears. A Link to the Past is a great game, and that greatness is reflected in the pages of this comic. It's a must-read for Zelda fans and people who love simple, effective, powerful art. I have a copy of the standalone compilation published in 1993, but that can be a little tough to come by at decent price nowadays. Thankfully, you can find scans of the comic all over the net, but there really isn't anything like holding the pages in your hand and just soaking in the atmosphere. However, there is another, more recent A Link to the Past manga that can be had on the cheap. Made by the female comic duo Akira Himekawa, it was released to capitalize on the Game Boy Advance port. The artwork is more detailed, though not what I would consider a very distinguishable style. Curiously, most of the events that receive chief focus are the same ones found in Ishinomori's comic. They even play out in a similar fashion -- Link receives the Pendant of Courage directly from Sahasrahla in both, Link turns into a wolfish beast in both Dark Worlds rather than a bunny as in the game, and the depiction of Ganon's Tower as a spiked moon is identical. There's even a female thief name Ghanti who is essentially a combination of Epheremelda and Roam, though a bit more fleshed out than either. It makes me wonder if the comic is a legitimate remake, if Nintendo requires adaptations to follow a shared template, or if Akira Himekawa just copied Ishinomori straight up. In any case, nothing beats the original Nintendo Power comic. Read it and get lost in the adventure. |
| Friday Night Fights: Who's on your team? Posted: 18 Nov 2011 07:45 AM PST Well, it's official! Last week's Friday Night Fights/Mash Tactics experiment was a resounding success! From now on, you can count on a kickass party hosted by Dtoid celebs every Friday over on Destructoid's Twitch.TV channel! For this week's happenings, Dtoid's own fighting game extraordinaire Jesse "Tactix" Cortez will be joining Carnage, Ruscher and the gang for some Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 action! Tactix is giddy to show off his team of ultimate badasses to the world, so tune in at 4 PM PST to find out if he can deliver! (Add Gamertag Philanthr0py to your friends list to play with the pros!) As for the rest of you, check back here between matches of whatever it is you're playing to join in on the fun! Those load times between Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 3 matches are for more than just checking your K/D ratio, you know! 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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| PSN DRM: Try remote deactivation of all your PS systems Posted: 18 Nov 2011 07:00 AM PST With the new PlayStation game sharing restrictions set in place today, you might have to might have to activate or deactivate one or more of your PS3 or PSP systems to make sure your games are playable on the right systems. With purchases limited to only two PlayStation devices, you might have to do some juggling. As someone that heads up a major videogame website, I know that I'm not a typical case, but I have 3 PS3s and 5 PSPs, and I use them all for various purposes. You can imagine how happy I am about this change. Management of your devices is easy through Sony's website. You just need to log in and work with systems you'd like to deactivate. Beyond this, another deactivation feature might prove useful to those that, like me, have a whole bunch of systems, and might not have access to them all at this one time. For example, one of my PSP systems is about 5 hours away from me right now. A full remote deactivation of all PlayStation systems is possible. The account management application says that this is only possible every six months, and that you'll have to activate each system again through the XMB. If you're dealing with a lot of of systems, this clean wipe may be the way to go. You'll find this option under the Account tab.
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| Bohemia Interactive claims 100 pirates for every 3 buyers Posted: 18 Nov 2011 06:30 AM PST Yikes. 100 pirates for every 3 legitimate buyers? That has to be the worst piracy figure I've ever seen. This is exactly what Bohemia Interactive, the people behind the ArmA series of PC games, is dealing with. CEO Mark Spanel says that this is just their multiplayer figure, and that single-player piracy rate is probably worse. How could it get much worse? "Our statistics from multiplayer show that for every three legitimate buyers playing their game in multiplayer, there are 100 attempts to play with a pirated version," Spanel told PC Gamer in an interview on DRM. "This indicates that piracy is an extremely widespread problem on PC, and it's also really worrying for us as a mid-sized, independent, PC-oriented developer." Bohemia uses their own DEGRADE anti-piracy system to throw a wrench in pirates' games. Pirated copies see handicaps like lower accuracy in weapons, with such handicaps eventually making the game unplayable. Their goal is to avoid standard DRM; they're not out to try to prevent pirated games from running, but instead gimp the standard experience. Later in the interview Spanel says that they stick with PC because they believe that it's the superior platform, with its freedom and flexibility. I get that, but piracy figures like this would send me running to consoles instead. |
| Posted: 18 Nov 2011 06:00 AM PST A year removed from the PlayStation Move's launch, one should expect that tech demos and minigame compilations would be out of the door to make way for the kind of genuinely rich experiences that were promised. Carnival Island is a compilation of minigames that demonstrate the technology of the PlayStation Move. Oh well. Same time next year? Carnival Island (PlayStation Move) Carnival Island has a name that really does say it all. One look at the cover, with its illustrations of vapid funfair chicanery, lets you know exactly what you're getting. Following on from titles like Carnival Games, which have permeated the Wii's library since 2007, Carnival Island aims to do nothing different while providing its range of familiar festival-based motion exercises. The contrived "story mode" will see players exploring the tiniest carnival in the world as they play games and bring life back to an empty fair. Broken into four distinct realms, the titular island provides various stalls that contain a series of themed games. Each game has a set of nine challenges. If you successfully complete one challenge, you'll bring an animal to life, which will act as a mascot and cheer for you during games. If you complete two challenges, you'll unlock the next stage of the minigame you're currently playing. For example, coin toss is a simple game in which you flip coins onto markers and score points. Completing a challenge, such as scoring a certain amount of points, will unlock a cartoon zoo creature which will sit on the screen and make gibberish noises while you play. If you complete a secondary challenge, such as getting one coin each on every score marker, you'll unlock the next coin-themed game, Nom Nom, which puts an extra spin on the coin toss format by introducing a mechanical yeti that will spit out extra coins when you hit flashing markers. This is the structure the entire game follows. Each stall contains multiple variants of its specific game, with varying degrees of difficulty, and every map location has up to two stalls each. There's some decent variety in the games, with some variations that border on clever (piloting frogs onto lily pads is a particularly interesting idea), but nevertheless many of the games feel incredibly similar to each other in terms of input. There are only so many ways you can throw balls, hoops and coins, so the entire game starts to feel rather mundane and old pretty quickly, save for the occasionally interesting game variant. Extras include spending tickets earned in games to unlock costume pieces for one's avatar, but since the island is actually little more than a series of animated menus, there's barely any point. The player's character is barely seen and is never directly controlled, so outfitting him or her seems rather pointless. There are also balloons to buy and a "hall of mirrors" in which players distort images of themselves as seen by the PlayStation Eye, but again the entertainment value here is shallow at best, and hardly unique to this experience. Despite boasting over 35 games, Carnival Island can be beaten in about two hours, with players more than able to see everything the game has to offer within that time. As well as the main story mode, up to four players can compete in the various attractions using multiple or single Move controllers. Still, the games are not engaging or unique enough to really encourage spending too much time on the island. As a launch title, Carnival Island might have been an interesting demonstration of how precise the PlayStation Move is. It's certainly an excellent showcase for the technology and how accurate its mimickry of player movement is. The catch is that we know what the PlayStation Move can do, and we know how accurate it is by now. With its bunch of mindless minigames and saccharine carnival aesthetic, Carnival Island is nothing we haven't seen before. It's quick to show everything it has, and it shows very little of value; there's simply not much point in a game like this anymore. Those players who don't have any minigame compilations but need something to shut their kids up might find worth in Carnival Island, as it's at least good at being a shallow selection of hackneyed diversions. Anybody who has played any other motion-based carnival adventure, however, will find nothing remarkable at play with this one -- not unless they really want to see animated raccoons screaming incomprehensible drivel at them. |
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