New Games |
- The voices behind Batman: Arkham City GotY edition
- Indie Game: The Movie coming to Steam, iTunes, Blu-ray
- Watch out for tigers in Dead or Alive 5
- Rebellion Pack DLC officially announced for Mass Effect 3
- This man has proof that consoles are better than PCs
- How the Dinobots came to Transformers: Fall of Cybertron
- Teaser site suggests Castlevania: Lords of Shadow sequel
- DTOID Extra: Sleeping Dogs video impressions
- Entire staff at 38 Studios and Big Huge Games laid off
- Live show: Mash Tactics is playing Tribes Ascend
- New Skyrim update brings mounted combat
- Because We May sale discounts many great indie games
- The battle of the E3 2012 predictions!
- Red Bull Battlegrounds kicks off in Austin this weekend
- Review: Diablo III
- This Ecco the Dolphin art installation is a pure trip
| The voices behind Batman: Arkham City GotY edition Posted: 24 May 2012 03:00 PM PDT
Batman: Arkham City Game of the Year Edition is coming out next Tuesday, and as a little reminder Warner Bros. put out a new trailer showing off some of the voice talent do their thing. As shameful as it is to admit, I missed getting my hands on the new Batman game the first time around. Needless to say, I'm definitly going to make up for that with the re-release. The Game of the Year Edition will include alternative skins, Catwoman, Nightwing and the Robin downloadable content, the new Harley Quinn content, the Batman: Year One animated movie and the worst cover art you've seen for a game since Phalanx. |
| Indie Game: The Movie coming to Steam, iTunes, Blu-ray Posted: 24 May 2012 02:00 PM PDT Have you ever thought, "Man, I really want some movies on Steam." Well, that is sort of a reality now, as Indie Game: The Movie is now up for pre-order on Steam this very second. If you pre-order it before June 12th, you can save yourself one dollar and pick it up the 1080p documentary for $8.99. If iTunes is more your style, it's up there as well. If you hate that pesky DRM all those digital stores force on your products, the IGTM site will be offering a direct download DRM-free in either 1080p or 720p for only $9.99. They've also just announced that there is a Blu-ray copy for sale. As an added bonus, if you've already pre-ordered the DVD version, you have the option of upgrading to the Blu-ray version absolutely free. It doesn't seem like it was ever out of the question, but it's still very surprising to see Steam offering a movie for purchase on their store. It was also brilliant to do so, as anything that is offered on Steam usually benefits substantially. I know I'll be putting down my pre-order here pretty soon, as I've not been able to see the film myself yet. Plus, Steam is just pretty damned convenient. |
| Watch out for tigers in Dead or Alive 5 Posted: 24 May 2012 01:30 PM PDT
The latest Dead or Alive 5 trailer shows off Lei Fang and Zack for the first time in action. This particular match is taking place on a stage called The Show. The environment can be just as dangerous as your opponent, as tigers, trampoline artists and giant clown cannon things can inflict damage. Truth be told, I haven't been keeping a close eye on Dead or Alive 5. So I had no idea how interactive the stages are now. Kind of a neat feature to help define it from all the other fighting games on the market. Dead or Alive 5 is out this September for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. |
| Rebellion Pack DLC officially announced for Mass Effect 3 Posted: 24 May 2012 01:00 PM PDT Discovered last week (but officially announced today) is the next DLC pack for Mass Effect 3 called the Rebellion Pack. As we heard before, the pack will include two new maps and three new weapons. You will also be able to unlock an ex-Cerberus character who has two wicked looking electric whips and a Vorcha. Lastly, the missions will now have a new random objective occurring on waves 3, 6, and 10 and a new gear slot will be unlocked in your equipment that will allow you to use an ability that never expires at the end of the match. You know what the best part is though? All this will be absolutely free to download next Tuesday, May 29th! BioWare has been too good to us lately. Sort of makes you want to put that time you raged at BioWare for the ending in Mass Effect 3 behind you, huh? You're not still mad about that, are you? |
| This man has proof that consoles are better than PCs Posted: 24 May 2012 12:30 PM PDT
According to this man, Call of Duty is better than Diablo III. He can also rap like one heck of a little champion and has an angelic laugh that could coax a smile from the bereaved mother. I do believe, in fact, that the world of gaming in all its wonderful forms has found its official spokesman. SEEMS LEGIT! |
| How the Dinobots came to Transformers: Fall of Cybertron Posted: 24 May 2012 12:00 PM PDT
Transformers: Fall of Cybertron is looking good, and the thing I'm looking forward to the most are the Dinobots. High Moon Studios had to convince Hasbro to let them include the dinosaur crew, and once they did, they went about creating a whole new origin story for them. Shockwave, the Decepticon's mad scientist of sorts, transformed Grimlock and crew into their new dinosaur forms. He did this in order to control them for his own purposes, but the plan backfired. Now the Dinobots are out for Shockwave's shiny metal ass. |
| Teaser site suggests Castlevania: Lords of Shadow sequel Posted: 24 May 2012 11:30 AM PDT As shared by Konami via Facebook, the company has a new website which seemingly confirms the existence of a follow-up to 2010's Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. We'll find out for sure on May 31, 2012, but a quick look at the site's source code indicates that this is a "CLOS Teaser Page," leaving little room for imagination. The page source also offers a brief description: "Dare you face the evil darkness? It is written that the creatures behind that door will return very soon to claim the souls of your loved ones, and send you straight to hell! Be aware!" I'd rather hear about the rumored 3DS game, myself. Even still, I'm always down for more Castlevania, no matter what form it takes. |
| DTOID Extra: Sleeping Dogs video impressions Posted: 24 May 2012 11:15 AM PDT
With a name like Sleeping Dogs, I can understand why people might overlook this game, but this is one title worth paying attention to. Casey put up his extensive preview earlier today, and it sounds like he's just as excited for it as I am. Check out the video above, and if you want more, be sure to go watch the newest trailer. |
| Entire staff at 38 Studios and Big Huge Games laid off Posted: 24 May 2012 10:40 AM PDT It's a very sad day in the gaming industry, as 38 Studios has laid off its entire workforce -- including Baltimore-based studio Big Huge Games -- due to the financial turmoil the company has been in. That's 379 people suddenly without a job. Employees were notified of the layoffs with this cold internal memo obtained by WPRI: The Company is experiencing an economic downturn. To avoid further losses and possibility of retrenchment, the Company has decided that a companywide lay off is absolutely necessary. The issue first started when 38 Studios missed its loan payment of $1.125 million owed to the Rhode Island government earlier this month. That's just the tip of the iceberg: a studio closure would result in Rhode Island taxpayers owing up to $122.6 million between 2013 and 2020, including interest, on a loan of $75 million, as reported by Joystiq. Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee held a press conference earlier today in which he said experts told him that Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, 38 Studios' first game, needed to sell "in the 3 million range" in order to break even. According to studio founder Curt Schilling, Reckoning sold 1.2 million copies in its first three months of release. To Chafee and Rhode Island, that means "the game failed." Governor Chafee's office had been in contact with Schilling yesterday, and others at 38 as recently as today, yet had no idea that the studio had laid off its entire staff shortly before the press conference. He heard the news during the press conference when journalists raised questions about the layoffs. 38 itself has still released no official comment; it is unclear if the company is planning to declare bankruptcy. If it does go under, ownership of all of 38 Studios' IP would transfer to Rhode Island's taxpayers. This story is developing, and we'll update as we learn more of the situation. A grassroots effort has formed on Twitter in an attempt to help former employees of 38 Studios find new work at a variety of game companies with open positions, via the #38jobs hashtag. We wish them the best of luck in finding jobs. |
| Live show: Mash Tactics is playing Tribes Ascend Posted: 24 May 2012 10:30 AM PDT King Foom is looking for a cheap thrill on Mash Tactics today. By "cheap", I of course mean free-to-play, as seems to be a rising trend these days. One of the latest in the genre of first-person shooters is Tribes Ascend, a game that Destructoid recently annihilated Machinima in. Tune in, jump in the game, and see if you have what it takes to defeat the champs! Mash Tactics airs Monday through Friday at 4p.m. Pacific on Dtoid.TV. Watch King Foom play a variety of games, each day with its own theme. With a heavy focus on community and viewer interaction, you can be as much a part of the show as anything else.
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| New Skyrim update brings mounted combat Posted: 24 May 2012 10:00 AM PDT It took enormous amounts of restraint not to type that headline with about fifteen exclamation points. I thought I'd exhausted Skyrim (250 hours and counting) but this I will start an entire new file for. Today Bethesda has announced that, by popular demand, the upcoming Skyrim update 1.6 will added mounted combat. Players will now be able to deal out melee and ranged attacks from the comfort of horseback. The update also includes a number of fixes, including some for issues raised by the new Kinect functionality on the 360. PC users can check it out now by updating their beta on Steam. Good job Skyrim fans. Now that mounted horse combat is out of the way, we can start haranguing them for dragon mounts. Baby steps. Mounted Combat arrives in 1.6 Skyrim Update [Bethblog] 1.6 Update (all platforms unless specified) NEW FEATURES
BUG FIXES
DOWNLOADING THE BETA UPDATE ON STEAM If you’d like to download the 1.6 Beta Update on Steam, you’ll need to follow these steps:
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| Because We May sale discounts many great indie games Posted: 24 May 2012 09:30 AM PDT
It's live! Some of the folks who make those wonderful independent games you've heard name dropped repeatedly by gaming sites like this have banded together to put on a big, multi-game sale. They're calling the promotion Because We May, and it runs from today through Friday, June 1. Above is a quick trailer that overviews a handful of the participating titles, but this only scratches the surface. The selection of discounted iOS games, in particular, is quite lengthy. It's also nice to see that, while there are some recurring games that always seem to go on sale, there's plenty of fresh faces to be found as well. |
| The battle of the E3 2012 predictions! Posted: 24 May 2012 09:00 AM PDT A few years ago, when I went to a psychic for my annual E3 predictions post, the results were fascinating. Using her specific set of otherworldly skills, the psychic managed to make some fairly accurate predictions about what would happen at that year’s giant videogame expo. It got me thinking: Wow. Maybe some of the most unlikely candidates could make more accurate predictions than a professional videogame analyst. After this my annual E3 predictions were born. The year after the psychic, I went to the L.A. Zoo to see what the animals thought. And then last year I took a wonderful and ultimately very moving trip to a local animal shelter to have the dogs and cats make some predictions of their own (and get adopted in the process!). The one problem with all those predictions, though: I never really had a real-life analyst to compare the final results to. Sure, I assumed the animals and psychic made some great predictions, but who knew if they would actually beat an analyst in a head-to-head competition? So that’s what I decided to do this year. Stage an actual head-to-head competition. A battle of the E3 2012 predictions, if you will. A competition between five completely different contestants: a professional videogame analyst, a hardcore gamer, a toddler, a horse, and a coin. Fifty questions. Five contestants. Only one winner. Who will make the best E3 predictions? Time to place your bets! This is how everything worked this year. A few weeks ago, I asked you, the community, for a list of yes or no questions relating to this year’s E3. From the list of hundreds of great questions, I narrowed them down to fifty of the most varied. (Sorry if your question didn't get selected. There were so many good ones that it was almost luck of the draw!) Once the questions were picked, I took the same fifty questions to each of the contestants and had them answer. The most important rule in answering the questions was making sure the answers applied to E3 specifically. Meaning: If the question was “Will Sony announce the PlayStation 4?” answering “yes” would mean this announcement will happen during E3. A “yes” did not mean “yes ... eventually.” All of the answers had to be about things that would or would not happen at this year’s upcoming E3. After E3 is over, I will calculate the results to see who made the most accurate predictions! Who will win? The videogame analyst? The hardcore gamer? The toddler? The horse? Or the coin? Let’s get things started with the introductions ... Jesse Divnich is a friend of Destructoid and one of the most successful and admired videogame analysts in the industry. He also happens to be a ridiculously nice guy. When asked to be a part of this predictions posts, Jesse was not only happy to help, he was even offering suggestions on how to make the post even more fun and interesting for the readers. So, yeah, he is a great guy and I can’t thank him enough for lending his extensive videogame knowledge to these predictions. OKAY, ENOUGH WITH THIS SENTIMENTAL STUFF! IT’S TIME TO GET SERIOUS! How did Jesse answer the questions? Will he get the most predictions correct and emerge victorious?
While analysts have a more inside look into the videogame industry, it can be argued that hardcore gamers follow games and the news that surrounds them just as closely ... if from a more outside perspective. Going into this post, I knew I wanted to have a serious gamer involved. To fill the role of the “hardcore gamer,” I reached out to Bill Platt, a dedicated Destructoid community member since 2007 who goes by the name ChillyBilly on the site. Bill not only plays videogames, he is an impressive collector of games as well, owning over 1300 games, 30 consoles, and over 30 random handheld machines. Unbelievably impressive. It goes without saying that he knows a lot about videogames. But does he know enough to make the best E3 predictions? <dramatic music>
Sadie is only two-years-old (she is turning three during this year’s E3!) and she already loves monster movies, Jaws, Spider-Man, Batman, and riding merry-go-rounds. So, she basically loves all the same things I do. Especially merry-go-rounds. When it comes to videogames, Sadie may not have the most experience, but she does love playing with her dad’s iPhone. I swear, she could probably school me in Angry Birds if given the chance. Seriously, girl knows how to use the blue birds better than I do! Luckily, Sadie is talking, so asking her the prediction questions was easy -- no need to translate baby-speak! She just answered yes or no to every question that was asked, obviously basing all her answers on the videogame buzz she hears about in all the hottest toddler social circles. As you will see when we get to the questions, Sadie likes to answer "yes" a lot. But this optimism and positivity is completely infectious! All jokes aside, Sadie is my new BFF.
I can’t stop looking at the above picture without thinking that Ciel the horse looks so much like Jeff Winger as the emo magician in this year's season finale of Community. I seriously can’t not see it. Ciel is a male Tennessee Walker horse that lives on a ranch in the mountains of Santa Clarita, California. To say the area is beautiful is an understatement. Take a look at this picture: Yeah, that’s where emo Jeff Winger horse lives. Amazing. Like with the animals I have worked with in the past, getting yes or no answers out of Ciel was a little tricky (but so much fun!). For some answers, Ciel would stomp his hooves on the ground to answer yes. Adorable and very confident. For other questions, he would choose between two apples or two carrots. One piece of food being "yes," the other being "no." Rule of thumb: When questioning a horse about E3 predictions, try not to bring a plastic bag. They do not like those. My God, they do not like those ...
They say -- and when I say "they" I guess I mean ... scientists? -- that a monkey throwing darts at a dartboard can make just as accurate and lucrative investment picks as someone who actually works on the stock market. Since I didn't have a monkey handy (he escaped, okay?!), I figured a coin would be the next best thing. Yup, a simple flip of a coin. Heads for "yes," tails for "no." And the coin I used to recreate this process of random chance was special. The nickel was given to me as change when I bought a lunch at In-N-Out. If that's not a pretty great coin, I don't know what is! Pressed, cut, and polished in 2005, I have no idea what happened to the nickel before it was given to me as change, but I like to think it was used in some of the most awesome ways possible. Maybe it was used to buy a lottery ticket that one someone millions? Maybe Peter Dinklage popped it into a parking meter before going to see Toy Story 3? Maybe Miyamoto himself threw it in a fountain and made a wish after his legendary appearance at E3 2006? Yup, I am going to believe that all of this stuff happened. You are cooler than I will ever be, coin.
Now that the introductions are complete, let’s get to the actual questions! As mentioned, there are fifty questions. Each one of the contestants answered the questions with a simple yes or a no -- or, in the case of the horse and coin, a hearty hoof stomp or spinning plunk on the top of my desk. How will each contestant answer? Who do you think will be the most accurate? Can I delay this any longer? Let's do this!
Hohojirozame asks: Will Dark Cloud 3 be announced? mmortalPaladin12 asks: Will Half-Life 3 be announced? The Silent Protagonist asks: Is Retro Studios working on Metroid Prime 4 for the Wii U? Professor Wright asks: Will there be a PlayStation Vita price drop? OneRed asks: Will Mirror's Edge 2 be announced? GoofierBrute asks: Will Pikmin 3 be a Wii U day one launch title?
tehTommy asks: Will Rayman Legends be playable during the show? fmaguy91 asks: Will Microsoft announce their debut in the handheld market? MuddBstrd asks: Will Square-Enix announce a new Chrono Trigger sequel? MrJoe asks: Will Atlus localize Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers for US audiences? arkane9 asks: Will Final Fantasy XV be announced? Kyle Malone asks: Will The Last Guardian get a release date? Noir asks: Will there be any mention of Persona 5? Handy asks: Will they announce a Final Fantasy VII remake? Azzurus asks: Will Beyond Good & Evil 2 be shown?
Zwiki asks: Will the Wii U upscale Wii games to high-definition? Akeeko asks: Will Final Fantasy XIII Versus ever get a release date? Vodshuggah asks: Will we see a new Shadow Complex? Jesse Satterwhite asks: Will Nintendo change the name of the Wii U? King Chrono asks: Will Jonathan Blow reveal more of The Witness? SuperMonk4Ever asks: Will there be a playable build of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance? siddartha85 asks: Will there be a SOPA-related boycott or reduced attendance? Evil Champ asks: Will Fire Emblem 3DS be released outside of Japan? Regnier asks: Will Rare announce a new entry in the Banjo-Kazooie series?
WorldClassGamer says: Will Elly be a playable character in The Last of Us? UNEMPLOYED JEDI asks: Will we see Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 on the Wii U? Danzflor asks: Will Kinect Sports 3 be announced? Gamegodtre asks: Will Namco Bandai release the PSP game Puella Madoka in the west? Red Boss asks: Will Tekken X Street Fighter be playable? Kylehyde asks: Will a Castlevania game be announced for the 3DS? Scissors asks: Will Pandora's Tower be localized for North America? Sparkkirby3 asks: Will Professor Layton vs. Ace Attorney be localized? Meryc asks: Will we finally get the release date for the HD edition of Final Fantasy X?
Kyle Malone asks: Will Overstrike be shown? Noir asks: Will Dead Space 3 get a reveal trailer? JohnApocalypse asks: Will Sony announce Killzone 4? Superluigi6 asks: Will Microsoft announce the new Xbox/Kinect? Someperson asks: Will Paper Mario 3DS get a 2012 release date? CoruptAI125 asks: Will Microsoft talk about the $99 Xbox? Conspiracyguy asks: Will Pokemon Black and White 2 be playable? PrinceHeir asks: Will Hideo Kojima go to E3 this year? SlyDante asks: Will Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time be playable?
Projectexodus asks: Will the Nintendo Network be subscription based? Fluterguy asks: Will there be a new version of the 3DS? Kittenwithbeer asks: Will the PlayStation 4 be revealed? Regnier asks: Will PC mech game Hawken be announced for consoles? yoshi42 asks: Will there be a Demons/Dark Souls game for the PS Vita? tmak94 asks: Will a new Zelda game be announced for the 3DS? Sir Tobbii asks: Will Shenmue III be announced? Sparkkirby3 asks: Will there be any news on the next Smash Bros. title? Since this is a long list of questions and answers, I also created a handy little chart with all the information in one concise, easy-to-read place. Feel free to check it out! Or, if you want to be the coolest person ever, print it out and enter your own guesses! If you go the extra mile and laminate it and wear it as a necklace during the week of E3, I may very well marry you. With all of this -- whew! -- this year's E3 predictions post comes to a close. I just wanted to thank everyone again who helped me with this feature. Thank you to Jess Divnich for, well, everything. Thank you to Bill Platt for not only assisting with the predictions, but helping me with the awesome header image. Thank you to Ken and Mary, Sadie’s parents, for letting their adorable daughter Sadie participate. Thank you to Orion (best name EVER!) for allowing me to meet his incredible (and incredibly sweet!) horse Ciel. Thank you to that nickel, a coin I hope to use to buy something really great in the near future. (MORE IN-N-OUT!) And thanks to all of you for reading! I appreciate all the support every year with these E3 predictions posts. You're the best!
----- Now it’s your turn to chime in! Who do you think will win the battle of the E3 2012 predictions? Do you think the analyst will take it? Are you rooting for the gamer? Does the toddler have a chance with her almost universal "yes" answers? Will the horse be a -- ahem -- dark horse (please, you know I had to do it)? Or will the coin end up winning it all? We will know the results in less than two weeks! Make sure to check back with Destructoid after E3 for the announcement of the winner! Who will it be? Place your bets! And may the odds be ever in your favor. |
| Red Bull Battlegrounds kicks off in Austin this weekend Posted: 24 May 2012 08:30 AM PDT What better way to spend your Memorial Day weekend than with some StarCraft II? Red Bull, who is no stranger to eSports, is hosting a 16-player tournament with some incredibly strong players competing for $41,000 in prizes. Violet and Stephano will be there, hot off their first and third place finishes (respectively) at MLG Spring Arena 2. The HuK vs. MC rivalry will be revisited, and I can only hope HuK performs better than he has in recent tournaments. What has me even more excited is the quality of casters that will be commentating on the matches. Husky, Day[9], djWHEAT, and Rob Simpson is nothing short of an all-star lineup when it comes to personality and casting. Friday is reserved for fans to meet and greet the participants, and if you're in the area you can still buy your tickets over on the official site. I'm very jealous of all of those attending, as Husky is the sole reason I got into competitive StarCraft II in the first place. You'll be able to stream the event free of charge from the site linked above or on Day[9]'s website. Day[9] and djWHEAT have weighed in with predictions of the event:
Personally, I think Stefano will have a great weekend in Austin. He looked really strong at MLG Spring Arena 2, but his ZvZ (Zerg vs. Zerg) just didn't cut it. If he gets paired up with Violet again, his fuel for vengeance may kick in and give him the boost he needs. Regardless, the caliber of players present at this tournament ensure that there will be some fantastic games! |
| Posted: 24 May 2012 08:00 AM PDT It took almost eleven years after Lord of Destruction, but Diablo III finally released, and it was met with immediate controversy. Always-online requirements; a rough first couple of days for the servers; a real money auction house (that, at the time of this review, still isn't live yet). We're now a little over a week after launch, and most of the problems appear to have been smoothed out. My buddies and I each have at least forty hours of game time on our main characters, and we're still going strong. Fundamentally, Diablo III has a number of flaws; some of them are minor, and some of them are fairly obvious. There are certainly valid complaints to be made about the game. In the face of its flaws, though, Diablo III is a tremendous amount of fun. It's been a long time since I've been awake until 3 AM every night playing games, and, even with its problems, I suspect my friends and I will be playing Diablo III for quite a while. Diablo III (PC) If you're coming to Diablo III as a newbie to the series or the genre, the premise is simple. Pick some skills, fight huge waves of monsters, blow the crap out of everything, get loot, and repeat -- against stronger monsters. That's the pure core of the game, and I think one of the reasons why the franchise has been so well received. It's straightforward, satisfying, and most importantly, fun. For everyone with some experience with previous Diablo games, the big question is, "How does Diablo III compare to Diablo II?" The answer is that it definitely feels like a Diablo game, but how it stacks up to its predecessor will really depend on how you remember your Diablo II experience, what your expectations are for this game, and what parts of the Diablo franchise most interest you. The actual combat of Diablo III is where the game really shines. Mowing down hordes of enemies is as satisfying as ever, and every class has a number of viable, gratifying ways to do so (unless you're on Inferno difficulty). Unique monsters and champion packs have interesting new modifiers that make combat much more dynamic and exciting. Far more so than in Diablo II, you'll find that you need to be aware of your surroundings to survive on any difficulty beyond Normal. You may find some really difficult monsters, and you may need to coordinate with the rest of your party and adjust your skill builds, but the frustration of running into one of Diablo II's lightning-immune/frost-immune champion packs as a Frost Orb/Chain Lightning sorceress is gone. It's replaced with new frustrations (jailer/desecrator/invulnerable minions?), but I've yet to run into a monster pack that I literally can't touch. On the whole, I consider Diablo III's combat to be a clear, positive evolution from what was in the previous games. By far the weakest part of Diablo III is the story, and this is mainly a problem because, unlike the previous games, Diablo III is constantly throwing narrative in your face. Diablo has never had a particularly strong story, but in previous games the story generally took a back seat. In Diablo II you would occasionally get some lore through a quest, or would watch a cutscene at the end of an act, but for the most part you could move through the entire game without engaging with the lore or narrative. Diablo III decided this was a problem, so the game is filled with cutscenes, story quests, and conversations. These cutscenes and conversations are skippable, but that doesn't prevent their appearance from being annoying, especially when you're in the middle of vendoring or crafting and are dragged into a cutscene because a party member triggered the next step in your quest. That said, the fully animated cutscenes are absolutely stunning, and I think Blizzard's cinematics team is legitimately the best in the industry. With the exception of Jennifer Hale as Leah and a few of the playable characters, the voice acting generally ranges from substandard to straight-up cringe-worthy. (Emperor Hakan is probably the most egregious offender.) After your first play-through, you'll find yourself skipping everything story-related, every time -- there's simply no reason or incentive to go back and listen to them again, and if you want to watch one of the awesome cutscenes, you can do it straight from the main menu without being annoying to your group members. The user interface also suffers from a number of problems, most noticeably that the screen simply feels cluttered for a Diablo game. Given that you will spend most of your time frantically clicking around the screen, it's all too easy to accidentally click on a party member portrait and bring up a window, or to accidentally click on an achievement notification that just popped up on your screen; on later difficulty levels, this can mean death. Having to scroll through six separate pages of skills while swapping builds gets annoying, since they can all easily fit on a single page. It can be difficult to see when certain skills like Arcane Dynamo, which allow you a damage burst once the skill has triggered five times, are active, because most of your buff icons are small and placed very low on your window and they force you to look away from the action to check their status. Some buffs, like Magic Weapon, don't even have icons at all, leaving you to either guess when it's almost up, or just make refreshing it a regular, constant habit. One positive addition to the UI has been the social features. They're easily turned off if they bother you, but I've been finding that I like them. You can easily quick-join your friends' games straight from the character select menu, they can quickly join yours, and you can all view each other's progress as you work your way through the game's hundreds of achievements. One of the exciting parts about unlocking achievements in Diablo isn't just the accomplishment, but also knowing that it's going to trigger conversation with a bunch of my friends who want to congratulate me on what I just did, or ask me how I did it. That said, the in-game chat leaves something to be desired, and Diablo II fans will likely lament the loss of private chat channels and the tragic removal of the chat gem. The gold Auction House (all references to the Auction House are to the gold Auction House; the Real Money Auction House was not live at the time of this writing) can be clunky and awkward to use -- you'll find yourself swapping tabs constantly when trying to sell things, and when buying items it seems odd that you can't sort by low bids or time remaining. Having a limit of ten items to sell at a time with no way to cancel auctions is also extremely frustrating, given the amount of loot that drops in the game. Additionally, the Auction House has been having a number of problems lately -- searches sometimes don't work, bids occasionally don't go through, or items will sometimes return an error when you attempt to list them. These are sporadic problems, but nonetheless annoyances, and I think they're a cause for concern for when the Real Money Auction House does go live. These issues certainly don't ruin the game by any means, though; they just serve as annoyances and distractions. Probably the biggest fundamental change from Diablo II to Diablo III is the revamp of the skill system. Skill points and attribute points are entirely gone -- skills, and runes that modify those skills, unlock in a set order as you level up. On the whole, I prefer the new system. I like being able to experiment with different builds on the fly, and I like not having a ruined character because I invested in the wrong skill or put too many points into the wrong attribute. So far, at least on Hell difficulty, my friends and I have found totally different, viable builds on the same classes that we're all enjoying playing -- my wizard is using a Living Lightning/Arcane Orb build that revolves around stun procs and Arcane Dynamo, while my buddy is mostly focused on Magic Missile and Disintegrate. I simply don't have the time anymore to run a brand-new character through 20 hours of leveling to try one new skill. In Diablo II, the alternative to grinding it out was just to get instantly rushed to a high level by sitting in on Baal/Cow Level runs, and I think this new system elegantly avoids that problem. That said, it is a little disappointing to lose out on those fun one-point utility skills that many builds in Diablo II had. Essentially, those who really enjoy carefully mapping out a character and making difficult, permanent decisions on how to build them (assuming you're not just following a guide) will likely find Diablo III's advancement system disappointing. If you like being able to try new skills and abilities on the fly, or want the ability to modify your character in response to specific situations, the new system should appeal to you. The way loot is handled in Diablo III also is a bit of a departure from Diablo II. On the surface it appears the same, but many character stats have been condensed (which affects what kinds of things are showing up on loot), good item drops are significantly rarer than in previous games, and legendaries and set items are currently just not that powerful. Some people may be put off by how the stats have been condensed -- damage and health are paramount, and people are generally just looking for items that boost their primary stat (which increases damage), their damage, and their health pool, and nothing else. This is essentially how itemization worked in Diablo II as well, except it was more obscured, and Lord of Destruction added a lot of variety with items and runewords that gave you other class' skills or offered unique abilities (these were almost always secondary to +skills or magic find, though). It wasn't readily apparent how, say, a plus to a skill or an increased attack speed affected your damage output, so items with those properties felt different. In Diablo III, all the calculations are done for you -- it's immediately apparent that your 10% attack speed increase will add 300 to your damage. Transparency has trade-offs, and here, having a solid sense of how items affect your character without being hidden behind complex calculations comes at the cost of feeling a sense of homogenization among items -- everything generally comes down to an increase in damage dealt, a decrease in damage taken, or your health pool, and it's right there in your face. Making gear decisions at this point (and, again, we're only a week since launch, so it's possible that builds will be discovered that stray from the stack damage/vitality formula, like the just-nerfed Wizard No-Vitality Force Armor build) seems to revolve mostly around balancing your total damage output against your health pool, with almost everything else being a complete afterthought. I've taken my wizard to right before the level cap, but I've yet to see a set or legendary item drop, although I have found a number of rares that ended up being a significant upgrade from what I'm carrying. Generally speaking, I don't find the item scarcity to be a bad thing -- the game has only been out a week, and I'm under no delusion that I should be rolling in powerful items already. (In fact, I'd be disappointed if I already had acquired the top-tier items.) I'm personally willing to deal with the scarcity if it means that the game isn't distilled down to running the same boss over and over again as fast as possible because I know they have the highest chance to drop uniques or set items. The scarcity can, however, make you feel like you're not making much progress. Almost all of the items that drop for you will be functionally worthless -- unsellable on both the Auction Houses, and unusable by you simply because the stats are bad. If you're particularly unlucky with drops, you can conceivably move through entire acts without finding any substantial upgrades for your current items outside the Auction House. It seems clear that the scarcity serves to drive people to Blizzard's Auction House. Clearly, no one is being forced to use it -- and I'm currently leveling a Barbarian who is avoiding the Auction House entirely and is still enjoyable to play -- but those who don't will likely run into problems on Hell and Inferno difficulty, unless they've been extremely lucky or spent significant time grinding for gear. For many people, including myself, playing the Auction House is something of a metagame unto itself. I personally don't mind the Auction House at all, and I'm not bothered by the fact that a lot of my gear upgrades have come from it (and they've been mostly paid for by items that I sold there). I do mind, however, the restrictions Blizzard has placed on it. Currently, you can only list a maximum of ten items, and there's no way to cancel any item you've placed unless it's a commodity. It can be really frustrating to have a great item you know you can sell, and have to wait a full two days to put it up because you've run out of auction slots. Diablo III is something of an enigma. Virtually all of my friends who have been playing it agree -- there are definitely things that could be improved. No one agrees on exactly what those improvements should be, and we're unsure if this feeling is simply a result of us misremembering fundamental aspects of what Diablo II was actually like. It just feels like Lord of Destruction added so much to the Diablo experience, with jewels, runes, charms, synergies, etc., that it's a bit of a surprise to see so much of that missing here. That's not to say the current system is bad, because I really don't think it is -- it's just different. What we all do agree on is that, while we all have things we'd like to see changed in future patches or expansions, Diablo III is fucking fun. Period. I honestly haven't had as much fun gaming in years as I've had this last week, jumping onto Skype with three of my friends and blowing demons away while we talk until the early hours of the morning. Soloing the game is fun, and I sometimes enjoy playing alone because I find it almost hypnotically relaxing, but Diablo really shines when you're playing with a group of buddies. Even if it's not a perfect game, there's something special about Diablo, and it's something that keeps people playing beyond just a basic addiction to loot. That I've already sunk over 40 hours into the game in just over a week and I'm not even close to being bored of it yet is a testament to the magic of Diablo, and something that can't be ignored. At the end of the day, fun is what gaming should be about, and Diablo III delivers. |
| This Ecco the Dolphin art installation is a pure trip Posted: 24 May 2012 07:30 AM PDT
Ecco the Dolphin inspires many feelings: awe, sadness, regret, absolute terror. I hate to use the word "experience" -- such a loaded cliche -- but Ecco is indeed an experience of the mind and body. Artist Andrew Norman Wilson believes as much, which is why he wants to develop a bizarre art installation called "Center for Wave Change" based around the Sega Genesis classic. The centerpiece of the installation is "ECCOS," an 80-minute run of Ecco the Dolphin that has been warped and stretched to six hours in length. You can catch a sample of the video above in all its trippy, ambient glory. The video will play on a screen in the middle of an echo chamber with speakers and mirrors and waterbeds and sh*t. It's bananas, and I would pay good money to visit this place, if it's ever finished. ECCOS [Andrew Norman Wilson via The Verge] |
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