New Games |
- E3: Jetpack dragons & skeleton boobs in Dragon Commander
- E3: Jimpressions of Darksiders II
- E3: Snoop Dogg raps in his Tekken Tag Tournament 2 stage
- E3: Behind the scenes of Call of Duty: Black Ops II
- E3: Miiverse has spoiler, bad word protection in place
- E3: Here's our Nintendo conference video recap
- E3: F-Zero teased for Nintendo Land
- E3: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate
- E3: Jonathan Holmes commentates on the Nintendo show
- E3: New Paper Mario: Sticker Star images to love
- Internet Explorer for Xbox 360: 18 months in the making
- E3: Playing DOOM 3: BFG Edition in spooky 3D
- E3: Kill viruses and repair DNA in Transcripted
- E3: 'Smart As...' proves game journalists are stupid
- E3: Hands-on with New Super Mario Bros. U
- E3: Watch Dogs also coming to mobile devices
| E3: Jetpack dragons & skeleton boobs in Dragon Commander Posted: 05 Jun 2012 04:01 PM PDT Three things sold me on Divinity: Dragon Commander the moment I first saw a demo of it. If it pleases the court, I should like to list those three things, as they all bear an important role in furthering my excitement for Larian Studios' upcoming game.
With those three killer selling points in my mind, Dragon Commander was among my most anticipated games heading into E3. Having gotten a look at the game in action, I can say that my excitement is not quelled. Set a thousand years before the events of Divine Divinity, Dragon Commander takes players to the earliest seen point in Rivellon's history. The land is being swept up by a new religion dedicated to the One God, a religion that has murdered the player's father and helped kickstart a journey of revenge and conquest. Dragon Commander consists of multiple stages of play, each one appearing to be well crafted. From the player's main airship, the Raven, various political and social activities can be undertaken. Advisers will suggest new courses of action, which can be followed or ignored at will, and ambassadors from other kingdoms can appear to offer various alliances. A princess from one of the kingdoms can be married and visited in the bedroom for advice, and each marriage will affect the realm in various ways. In the demo, the player divorced his elven bride and married a dwarven one, causing various provinces to rise up in rebellion but gaining the trust of the dwarf faction. Undertaking political schemes can reward the hero with cards. Cards can be played in battles to create advantageous conditions -- for instance, deciding to put prisoners to work in the army can yield a reinforcements card, which can be played in a battle to bulk up troop numbers. Of course, these cards are sometimes be gained at a cost -- the aforementioned prisoners are a threat to the general population, and could rob, rape, and murder while battling under the player's banner. Rivellon is represented by a large, Risk-like map, which contains information on the various rival kingdoms, as well as the separate provinces that make them up. While there is a lot of information, it looks rather straightforward and is fairly intuitive. Things get more intense during battle sequences, where players not only get to command troops in real-time, but may also take dragon form and lend a personal hand. Dragons may be equipped with all sorts of devices, most notably the jetpack -- which might seem superfluous, but is useful for control and speed boosts. Battles consist of constantly zooming in and out of the action -- pulling back and sending troops, jumping in to help them out, and pulling out again to build defenses and other useful structures. The battles are what really show off Larian's new engine, which looks incredibly beautiful. The studio said it got sick of wrestling with Gamebryo so a new engine powers Dragon Commander, one that does the ever-pleasant art style justice at last. The vibrant color scheme doesn't hurt either. I was impressed with what I saw, and Dragon Commander remains a personal highlight of the show so far. It does so much, and does it well, and has ticked pretty much every box I could hope for. There will also be multiplayer, but the team is focused primarily on story, which is always good to hear. Given that Larian's trademark weird humor is featured in full effect, I definitely want that narrative-driven experience. Dragon Commander is a game that roleplaying, strategy, and action fans would do well to keep an eye on. |
| E3: Jimpressions of Darksiders II Posted: 05 Jun 2012 03:07 PM PDT After being turned away from the booth of a publisher that shall remain unnamed, I bumped into a cadre of developers from Vigil Studios who were more than happy to shelter me for an hour. After making my way to THQ's super secret fortress in the offices of the convention center, I finally sat down and played me some Darksiders II. As readers will know, I am a big fan of the last game, so I am pleased to report the core of the game remains intact. Once again, combat feels meaty as muscular entities slug it out with ridiculously huge weapons. As Death scales surfaces, runs on walls, and leaps from pillars, I can note that the fast-paced environmental exploration is just as conveniently gratifying as ever. The fundamentals are all in place, and unchanged. The added depth that comes from the enhanced roleplaying elements, however, really adds a new level. Now armed with a full-on loot system, Darksiders II isn't shy about showering players with new greaves, gloves, and immense secondary weapons. A box of stat changes for each bit of new gear appears as Death stands near it, and you can pick it up or equip it at the touch of the button. The new equipment will also appear on Death's body as soon as it's worn, which is always an important flourish. The convenience of the system is great -- the loot hoarding of a dungeon-crawler, without the need to delve into menus and fiddle with statistics. A dungeon crawler for the gamer on the go. Visually, the game is looking a little rough around the edges, with some screen tearing and jagged edges. Hopefully that's the drawback of an early build, because the art direction is as solid as ever and deserves to be presented well. In any case, I got a great first Jimpression from the game and can't wait for more! [Check out our full E3 preview here!] |
| E3: Snoop Dogg raps in his Tekken Tag Tournament 2 stage Posted: 05 Jun 2012 02:55 PM PDT I bet that headline is a sequence of words you were never expecting to see. All you Tekken Tag Tournament 2 fans better get ready to experience kickin' ass on Tha Boss Dogg's stage with my new song "Knocc 'Em Down" banging in the background. What more could you ask for? What more, indeed?
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| E3: Behind the scenes of Call of Duty: Black Ops II Posted: 05 Jun 2012 02:30 PM PDT In this behind-the-scenes video, various members of Treyarch speak about why we should care about Call of Duty: Black Ops II. And, to be frank, I do find myself starting to care -- despite having managed to pass on the last couple of installments in this absurdly successful franchise. The not-so-distant-future setting plays a large role in that, as does the knowledge that, at some point during the game, your squad decides to travel by way of horses in a war-torn world filled with flying death contraptions more terrifying than those floating orbs in Phantasm. Speaking of which, the video has a horse in mo-cap garb. As in, a real, living horse, all suited up for motion capture in a Call of Duty game. Thinking about the logistics required to set up such a thing makes me happy in a bizarre way. |
| E3: Miiverse has spoiler, bad word protection in place Posted: 05 Jun 2012 02:14 PM PDT At tonight's evening hardware presentation, Wii U hardware producer Katsuya Eguchi revealed some anti-spoiler tech that will be put in Nintendo's Miiverse chat service and how it might help block spoilers in Nintendo Land. Miiverse provides the opportunity to make friends in the park in Nintendo Land, and then converse with them to learn game tactics and share. But someone always messes that up, so two systems have been put in place to at least cut back on spoilers. First, players can mark tips left for others as potential spoilers, much like you would on an internet message board. Beyond that, users can mark other tips for review, which will have Nintendo swooping in to save the day. Again, just like a message board. This will make it easy to find people you'd like to learn from and trust. Nintendo will also work to moderate other potential offenses on Miiverse, such as bad language or threats. "We want Miiverse to be a place where people will not feel threatened or uncomfortable with other content," Eguchi says. "Nintendo will be aggressively perusing this." And speaking of message boards, Eguchi got this jab in: "I hate when people go on message boards and complain about games they haven't played." |
| E3: Here's our Nintendo conference video recap Posted: 05 Jun 2012 02:12 PM PDT
In addition to our Nintendo story round-up, Max and Tara have kindly done their own Nintendo recap. They have thoughts and opinions, which you can hear in this video. I missed the Nintendo conference this year, but this was a good way to get a quick overview of everything. Pikmin 3 and Lego City. Got it. |
| E3: F-Zero teased for Nintendo Land Posted: 05 Jun 2012 02:02 PM PDT Well, would you look at that. During Nintendo's Wii U developer roundtable this evening, we got a quick glimpse at a new mini-game for Nintendo Land, and it's none other than F-Zero. Granted, this probably isn't the new F-Zero y'all were waiting for, but it's better than nothing. Come to think of it, I lost a controller to F-Zero GX. It's probably for the best that I not go near this series ever again. |
| E3: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate Posted: 05 Jun 2012 02:00 PM PDT The secret's out. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate is a real game, coming to the 3DS later this year from Konami and developer MercurySteam. And yes, it's a 2.5D affair with four playable characters: Simon Belmont, descendant Trevor Belmont, and two more to be announced at a later date. This game serves as a prequel to Lords of Shadow 2 -- which will be revealed at E3 this week -- and takes place some 25 years after the original game, Lords of Shadow. Even though my thunder was stolen with this news, I can still tell you about how it plays and looks from my recent hands-on session. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate (3DS) Mirror looks great with its full 2.5D side-scrolling play. Even though I usually keep the 3D slider in the off position on the 3DS, I find that side-scrolling games are a good fit for the feature, and this one looks especially nice in 3D with its added sense of depth. Traditional enemies -- bats, skeletons, harpies, mermen, and succubus -- return, but they've been redesigned this time and look great. The stages themselves also shine with some of the cleanest visuals I've seen on the 3DS. For this session I blasted through armed skeletons leading up to a castle entrance where a huge, demonic boss that used a ball and chain waited for me. Dogging his ground wallops and swinging hammer attacks I was able to take him down and enter the castle. Inside, the movement became more vertical, with jumps to ledges with grappling hooks required. I felt right at home swinging off chandeliers to make it across wide gaps . My reward for this work was a boomerang that made it easy to swat down pesky bats. Beyond this, outside the castle, I worked my way into the ground, dealing with time-locked door puzzles and creatures that liked to stick an arm out of the dirt to grab your feet while you're trying to hurry. The combat is similar to Lords of Shadow in this outing, as you'd imagine. Trevor uses the Combat Cross, which hits with a slash with the standard attack button, but can also cover the area around him with another attack button. And, as we covered above, he gains a powerful boomerang later. We weren't able to try out his light and shadow magic yet, though. I didn't get a chance to play as Simon, but he has his vampire killer whip, axes and burning oil. For magic, Simon will use elemental spirits during battle. While it always looked great, it felt like the attacks were a bit slow to connect, almost as if they were intentionally held back to give a sense of power. It didn't feel 'off,' but it also never felt like the attacks were truly connected with my button presses. Worse, the movement felt a little soupy. Walking and jumping had a sense of heaviness that never felt great ,though it never hindered gameplay, either. Lords of Shadow was good, so I feel like Mirror of Fate could be just as good. It certainly looks good on the 3DS screen. If MercurySteam can give the responsiveness a little push, and they stay on track to give us plenty of exploration opportunities, we could be in for a nice little game. |
| E3: Jonathan Holmes commentates on the Nintendo show Posted: 05 Jun 2012 01:55 PM PDT
You've watched the Nintendo press conference. You've seen all the latest news from Nintendo all day long. You've learned our opinions of the press conferences. You've heard how adorable the new rock Pikmin are. But have you heard someone talk over Reggie and co.? Join us as Jonathan Holmes speaks with his Nintendo-hating friend John Pungitore about all the announcements Nintendo presented today -- about the entire press briefing! You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll rage about John's tastes in gaming. At least, that's what the YouTube comments have shown so far. See the rest of the epic nine-part video below!
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| E3: New Paper Mario: Sticker Star images to love Posted: 05 Jun 2012 01:35 PM PDT The Paper Mario series is one of my favorite Nintendo series ever, so you better believe I was excited to see Paper Mario: Sticker Star make a way-too-short appearance during the way-too-short 3DS portion of the Nintendo press conference. I still have yet to play it on the show floor (tomorrow!), but some new assets for the game were just released. As expected, they look great, possessing the same charming style and art direction as the other games in the series. Check out the gallery for all the new screenshots. Stick (hehehe) with Destructoid for more information on Paper Mario: Sticker Star coming soon! |
| Internet Explorer for Xbox 360: 18 months in the making Posted: 05 Jun 2012 01:26 PM PDT The title says it all. Internet Explorer for the 360 has been in development for over a year, according to a Twitter post made by Xbox 360 developer Joshua Brokaw. I'm not entirely sure anyone actually uses IE anymore. Considering that I haven't touched it since Firefox came out, I have no idea how good it is. I understand why Microsoft wants their browser on their console, but really? 18 months? @joshuabrokaw [Twitter via @supererogatory] |
| E3: Playing DOOM 3: BFG Edition in spooky 3D Posted: 05 Jun 2012 01:25 PM PDT Today I played DOOM 3: BFG Edition and it was so intensely scary that I did an actual poo in my underpants. Fortunately, it was just a small and hard one, so I don't think anybody noticed. I just slyly shook it out of my leg next to some other jerk and let Bethesda deal with it. The thing about the poo was how spherical it was. We're talking an almost perfect globe. At one point, Pete Hines kicked the poo and it rolled like a marble. I did not see it again after that. I did, however, enjoy DOOM 3: BFG Edition. With a game as functionally aged as DOOM 3, there isn't much point in covering the gameplay, though I can say that the game holds up as it ever did (which makes sense, considering I was happily playing the game on Steam a few months ago). The atmosphere and the shameless jump scares still work together well. Even stood in a brightly lit room, the headphones were delivering enough horrific shrieks to keep me frantic. Being able to play the game in 3D was a nice little touch, but as with all things 3D, it's not something I'd go out of my way to experience. If you're already wired for it, then feel free to crank it up, as it definitely works solidly. I played the console version, which looked good in HD, but it has to be said that the game already looks good in HD on a PC. The visuals upgrades aren't going to be dramatic to any computer user who recently played it, but hey, console players aren't going to be too bothered. One thing to appreciate is the conveniently reworked controls. As Bethesda announced, one no longer needs to hold a torch in lieu of a weapon, allowing one to fire at enemies and see them as the same time. While there's a case to be made for its ability to heighten tension, I found the old torch mechanic more annoying than intimidating. I appreciate that it's easier to navigate the dark rooms, and I found that it didn't take away from the scares at all, which had always focused more on sound and enemies that leap out from corners and demonic spawn points. Speaking as a fan of the original version, I am looking forward to the BFG Edition. It looks like it'll be the definitive version of the title, especially with the improvements and the extra content, so you can count me in. More respect for DOOM 3 is always welcome as far I'm concerned. |
| E3: Kill viruses and repair DNA in Transcripted Posted: 05 Jun 2012 01:08 PM PDT It’s not always necessary for games to have any sort of ultimate meaning or context, but when they do, they’re made a bit more satisfying. When you’re given a role, are required to shoot specific anomalies, and are charged with some worthwhile goal, a game can provide a great amount of appeal -- even more so if the game is well done. In Transcripted, players will take on the role of a nanomachine inside of a host, charged with the destruction of an impeding virus, and reconstructing and protecting the strands of DNA and RNA that it threatens. Sounds pretty cool for a puzzle game, doesn’t it? I certainly thought so. Science and games seem to go together quite well -- like bacon and science. Transcripted is one of those puzzle/shooter games that gets you interested, even if you merely see someone playing it in the distance. The game is very visually dynamic, especially for a puzzler. The coldness of the host you’re in compliments the bright, vibrant strands of DNA that players need to maintain. The gelatinous virus cells that antagonize the host explode exquisitely as the nanobot hails lines of colorful projectiles at them. Chromatic variety is the key phrase here. One thing about the visuals that I found kind of cool, if not a tad unnecessary, was how the developer, Alkemi Games, partnered with Alienware and made Transcripted interact with the PC line’s Alien-FX lighting system. As players are given different chunks of DNA (yes, genetics come in chunk form here), the color of their PC and keyboard change depending on the color of the piece they carry. Again, it’s not really needed, but it’s pretty neat, nonetheless. This eye candy only helps the eclectic gameplay sizzle. As said before, players are given pieces of DNA to repair constantly moving strands that appear in each stage. As the strands move, the sequence of colors moves with them, and, much like the popular Bejeweled, players must link common colors together to gain points. However, that’s not all this game requires -- it’s only a small portion of the task. As players link DNA and score points, they also must use the bot’s defenses to shoot and destroy small virus cells that float around the stage. Not unlike a real virus, though, consistency isn’t a common trait of these evil fragments. Some fragments are big, some are small, some even infect specific areas of the stage, requiring the player to “disinfect” the area, so the speak. Oh, but don’t let the cells touch you; the little bastards wreak havoc on 21st century tech, duh. To add even more value to the experience, points that players accumulate can later be used to upgrade their nanobot with different types of weapons. Two types of armaments that I saw were a fast-firing, quick-traveling barrage of pellets, the other was slow and less constant, but slightly locked onto enemies. I’m anxious to see what other types of upgrades players can purchase; nuclear weapons are where it’s at, if any Alkemi employees are reading this (all three of them). Nukes inside of living bodies make complete scientific sense. Expect Transcripted to hit PC and Mac sometime later this year. Kick Chlamydia ass. |
| E3: 'Smart As...' proves game journalists are stupid Posted: 05 Jun 2012 01:00 PM PDT It took me a good 15 minutes of playing Smart As... until the pun in the game’s title hit me. Clearly, I shouldn’t be playing a brain training puzzle game but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy it. Like Brain Age, developer Climax Group’s Vita experiment is centered around a variety of mini-games that challenge you in different ways. The 20 games are divided into arithmetic, logic, language and observation categories. Turbo Tap tasks players with quickly hitting signs, either on the front or back of the Vita. Reading the signs, processing the words, and tapping the screen will make you feel frustrated at your brain’s inability to perform. If you do well on that one, you may find trouble with Word Wheel, a twist on anagrams using the touch screen, or Less Equals More which presents a series of numerical pairs and the player must decide if a number is greater or equal. A lot of this stuff doesn’t sound fun on paper, but you’ll be surprised by how addictive the game can be when it’s in your hands.
You can look forward to playing this vibrant, original brain-training game this Fall. |
| E3: Hands-on with New Super Mario Bros. U Posted: 05 Jun 2012 12:55 PM PDT Let's get this out of the way right now: Seeing a brand new, 2D Mario in HD is surreal. I have been waiting for so long to finally see a Nintendo franchise in high-definition, so seeing Mario run around the Mushroom Kingdom displayed in such gorgeous, colorful, eye-popping graphics kind of took my breath away. As for the game? It played great. It truly feels exactly like New Super Mario Bros. Wii (one of the best 2D Mario games in a while), with some special Wii U additions. Keep reading to get my hands-on impressions. If you have played New Super Mario Bros. Wii, you are familiar with the basic formula. Hell, if you have played any 2D Mario game you are familiar with how it works. Run right while jumping over obstacles and stomping enemies as you make your way to the flag pole at the end of the level. The gameplay is as smooth and joy-inducing as you would expect. The first thing you will notice when playing New Super Mario Bros. U is the graphics. They are gorgeous. They don't have a super original art style like Kirby's Epic Yarn or Rayman Origins, but the game still looks fantastic. The colors are bright and vibrant, the textures are crisp, and the layered backgrounds are stunning. Once you see a Mario game in HD for the first time you will kind of lose your mind. Especially if you are a huge fan of the Mario games. As far as gameplay, there were three levels on display on the show floor. One was a traditional forest level, one set in the cliffs on the Mushroom Kingdom, and the third was in a star-covered world at night. Each level showed off something new to do and really focused on how cool the new Wii U features are. As a single player, the game can be played with either the Wiimote turned on the side or with the brand new GamePad. Both are great and work pretty much exactly the same. You run with the directional pad and jump with the face buttons. The real features of the GamePad come into play when a second player joins the fun. This second player uses the GamePad to create small platforms which the first player can jump on or use to trap and redirect enemies. This happens with a simple press of the finger on the touch screen. Since the entire game is being streamed on the GamePad touch screen, all the second player has to do is touch anywhere on the screen to create a platform. It is a very simple concept, but really helps add a touch (hehehe) of strategy to the proceedings. It reminded me a lot of the two-player option in Super Mario Galaxy. Yeah, the second player is not doing much, but it is fun to have a friend help you out as you try to make it through a tough level. It wasn't playable, but the menu screen had the option for more than two players, meaning four player co-op like New Super Mario Bros. Wii is likely (and all but confirmed in the screenshots for the game). Heck, five players may even be possible, with one on the GamePad and the rest on the Wiimotes. No confirmation, but I think it will happen. As for the levels themselves, they were classic Nintendo: well-designed and so much fun to play. Outside of the Wii U features, there were two new "power-ups." The first was Flying Squirrel Mario, which is as cute as it sounds. After picking up a special mushroom, Mario puts on a flying squirrel costume and is awarded special powers. He can float in the air when holding down the jump button, or take flight for a short time by shaking the Wiimote. It is awesome and really easy to control. In addition to this, there was a baby Yoshi that Mario could carry around. By shaking the Wiimote, Yoshi blows up into a huge balloon and gives Mario an extra high jump. As far as I could tell, this is infinite and can be used continuously until Mario dies or Yoshi is thrown into a pit by accident. Yes, I did this. BUT IT WAS AN ACCIDENT! Not much was shown of New Super Mario Bros. U, but the stuff I played I totally loved. Even looking past the fact that the game looks amazing in HD, the gameplay was so solid and the new Wii U features so fun that this is shaping up to be a great addition to the classic Mario series. I wish I could have played more. |
| E3: Watch Dogs also coming to mobile devices Posted: 05 Jun 2012 12:50 PM PDT Watch Dogs has been the hot buzz around E3 this week thanks to that amazing presentation during the Ubisoft press conference. The game looks so good that people just assumed it was going to be a next-gen title. Well as it turns out, it's coming out for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. And as I just found out during my meeting with Ubisoft, Watch Dogs is also hitting mobile devices. On the flip side, you can totally screw with your buddies, too. One example we were shown had the iPad user changing the traffic signals just as the driver was about to pass the intersection. Don't worry, though, real life isn't quite like the world of Watch Dogs just yet: people first have to allow permission for others to affect their game. I love it when games allow you to screw with your friends like this, and wish it was more common in games. I'm definitely looking forward to more on Watch Dogs. |
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