New Games |
- E3: All of our previews and hands-on coverage so far
- E3: Final Fantasy Dimensions is old-school Final Fantasy
- E3: Hands-on with Halo 4's Spartan Ops missions
- StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm will shake things up
- E3: Getting my grubby mitts on FUS1ON tourney controller
- Weekend PC download deals: Paradox, Anuman, and Swedes
- E3: The Showdown Effect is big, dumb nostalgic '80s fun
- E3: Guardians of Middle-earth won this non-LOTR fan over
- E3: Hands-on with Rayman Legends
- The Network Roundup: Sci-fi me
- E3: Hands-on with ZombiU
- E3: End of Nations combines the old in new ways
- E3: When Vikings Attack is good for drunken party play
- E3: Skyrim's Dawnguard expansion goes gothic on my ass
- E3: Daedalic and the return of the classic adventure game
- This weekend on Dtoid TV: Wrapping up E3
| E3: All of our previews and hands-on coverage so far Posted: 08 Jun 2012 04:00 PM PDT Holy hell! This has been a long week, and we've only just begun. As much as I believe this conference wasn't as eventful as prior years' -- E3 2013 is going to be insane! -- there was still so much to be passionate about, even if we weren't overwhelmed with a flood of surprises. While much of our E3 team makes the journey back home tonight, know that there's plenty more content on the way these next few days. For now, though, here's a recap of what kept us busy in Los Angeles. I don't know what a cuttlefish has to do with E3, either, but we can figure it out together. Wii U: Xbox 360: PlayStation 3: Multiplatform: PC: 3DS: PlayStation Vita: Mobile: Hardware: [Image] |
| E3: Final Fantasy Dimensions is old-school Final Fantasy Posted: 08 Jun 2012 03:30 PM PDT Final Fantasy XIII or Final Fantasy XIII-2 not doing it for you? Is Final Fantasy VI still your favorite game in the series? Or perhaps you insist that Final Fantasy V’s job system is still the best thing in the world? Well, I have a surprise for you! Final Fantasy Dimensions released as a mobile game in Japan in 2010. Accordingly, it was a return to the old-school Final Fantasy style: 2D pixel art, white text on blue menus, random encounters, and turn-based gameplay with active-time battles. Oh, and there is a job system. Interested? Well, Final Fantasy Dimensions is finally coming overseas to iOS and Android. Dimensions stars Sol, an older gent by the name of Aigis, blue-haired Sarah, and towheaded Dusk. After some catastrophic thing seems to have gone down and arguments have arisen, the group finds itself on a classic Final Fantasy overworld. Before the view shifts, however, a mysterious, fairy-looking lass wanders into the frame where the party had just been and looks over the scene. She even had the classic “???” for her name in the dialogue box. Once out on the world map, I booked it towards the nearest town. Puzzlingly, the podunk town was entirely comprised of octogenarians with a strangely slang dialect; the first person I talked to said, “You know why them dragons be all in a tizzy? It’s cause o’ that poison th’ Empire done used.” Another NPC later informed me that the town was made up of elderly people because all the young folks took off. Probably because of how the old people speak. The game has three options for movement. A fixed touch-based directional pad is available, but the build I played was set to use a d-pad that simply shows up anywhere on the screen you click, disappearing if out of use for a while. You can either tap each direction individually, or, more fluidly, slide and hold your finger in the direction you want to go. It’s large enough that is sort of obscures the screen if you click towards the center, and occasionally I would accidentally bring it up when trying to interact with the environment. It is translucent, however, and I did eventually get a bit more comfortable using it; that said, talking with moving NPCs was something of a trial. After buying a bit of armor, I went back to the world map and into a classic Final Fantasy-style cave to get through the encapsulating mountains. The build I played pitted Sol as the warrior, Aigis as the monk, Dusk as the white mage, and Sarah as the red mage. All the roles I expected the characters would be in. Thankfully, it also had all of the jobs and abilities unlocked and mastered, so I was able to check out the thief, red mage, black mage, summoner, and jobless classes as well. Jobless allows you to use all available armor or weapons. In battle, the characters wear the standard accoutrements associated with their respective class, though they wore unique garb during dialogue scenes and in town. Speaking of battles, the game uses an ATB system, is turn-based, and features random battles. All classic Final Fantasy fare. There was a myriad of job-dependent abilities -- Aigis, in particular, had some impressive monk skills, given that I had access to high-level moves. The brief bits of music I heard were good, the enemy design featured the interesting reimagining and adaptations of pre-existing Final Fantasy beasts and the game played well. Provided you don’t mind the old-school style, Final Fantasy Dimensions could be a plenty good entry in the series. It could even be great, if the story and characters are any good. |
| E3: Hands-on with Halo 4's Spartan Ops missions Posted: 08 Jun 2012 03:00 PM PDT Halo 4's new multiplayer wasn't the only thing 343 Industries had to show off this past week at E3, as they also let us go hands-on with Spartan Ops. This mode delivers new content that continues the story after the events of the main storyline are over. The first mission of the Spartan Ops mode sees the Spartan-IVs heading to the Forerunner planet, Requiem, to stop the Covenant from retrieving some sort of artifact. As the mission progresses, you come to discover that the Covenant are somehow working together with the Prometheans, a technologically advanced alien race left behind by the Forerunners to guard the planet. There's more to the race than being simple bodyguards, but that mystery will be explained in the main campaign.
|
| StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm will shake things up Posted: 08 Jun 2012 02:35 PM PDT The Major League Gaming Anaheim Spring Championships are running today through Sunday. At the event, Blizzard was offering the press an opportunity to come in and play a few hours worth of multiplayer matches of the Heart of the Swarm expansion against some of the competitors. Needless to say, I was utterly destroyed in every single match, though most of them were merciful enough to let me live long enough to mess around with the new units. There's definitely a lot of great content here. Each race gets at least two units, and several others get upgrades and new powers. A Blizzard representative said that they focused many of these multiplayer add-ons on giving players defenses against popular tournament strategies, and trying to refocus some of the powers such that players use a broader spectrum while also keeping with the original concept behind each piece. The changes made to StarCraft II are subtle but game-changing. As I mentioned earlier, everything that was added is designed to very specifically alter how two races interact. For example, one new Zerg unit, the Viper, can grab enemies and pull them to wherever the Viper is. This can have dramatic consequences for Terran players as their siege tanks can be neutralized almost immediately. Protoss can now begin building their mothership earlier, starting with a core before upgrading later in the game. The mothership core has some of the abilities of the full unit, like mass recall. The sheer cost of material for the Protoss often dissuades players from taking risks and this was added to encourage Protoss players to be more aggressive in the early game. Terran players can expect a number of new units and mechanics as well. A new deployable mine, the Widow, can attack both air and ground units, dealing huge splash damage. It is intended as a manner of guarding against unit drops and defensively pushing the border of your territory. There's plenty more than what I've mentioned, but Blizzard wanted to make it clear that this content may be replaced or completely dropped at any time. Additionally, there are a handful of units from the original SCII pantheon that might be removed from the final release. The only unit that was absent in the build that I played, however, was the Protoss Carrier. In addition to all of these unit/mechanic modifications, Blizzard has been working on some game modes and tools to help new players jump in more quickly and old players refine their games. Soon, replays of past games will allow multiple people to watch simultaneously, and pick up and begin playing at any point in time. These are some exciting tweaks, and I can't wait to see how they are used by the community. Unfortunately, the campaign mode wasn't on display tonight, but Blizzard did confirm that they will be releasing more information soon. The closed beta will also be launching sometime in the next month, helping Blizzard fine tune the balance of the new units and figure out how they want to move forward. No word on a release date yet, but then again it is blizzard, so it probably won't be for another several years. Oh, yeah, and not one word on Ghost yet. |
| E3: Getting my grubby mitts on FUS1ON tourney controller Posted: 08 Jun 2012 01:30 PM PDT E3 isn't just a time for reviewing software; it's a time for seeing the latest and greatest in videogame accessories and hardware as well. My visit to Power A was not only enlightening, it also provided me a chance to open my mind a little bit about third-party accessories and the very real benefit they can provide to the gaming community. First up with Power A was the new FUS1ON Tournament Controller for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Now here's a controller I love to have in my hands. As a gamer with a ton of joint problems, I immediately appreciated how light and compact the FUS1ON feels. The buttons are repositioned in a more efficient layout that lessens hand strain simply by reducing the distance your fingers are constantly having to travel from button to button. Not only are the buttons closer together, but the stems on the analog sticks are shorter, too. While I did not get to try the controller out on a fighting game, I can see how it would greatly improve performance simply by eliminating much of the time needed for the player's fingers to move between buttons. I think it stands to reason that other people with joint issues like my own will greatly appreciate the design. While I was there, I decided to also check out the Moga, a new mobile phone attachment that adds a gamepad to your Android device. Five publishers have paired with Power A to distribute content that utilizes the gamepad: Sega, Namco Bandai, Gameloft (the folks behind this gem, and Six Guns, which I actually demoed with the Moga on a tablet), Atari, and Machineworks. It can connect wirelessly to a tablet, and features a lightweight and easy to grip design, with a 24-hour battery life. It also fits easily in your pocket and can accommodate even the biggest Android phones at 78mm wide. Additionally, they will be featuring a Google Play app that will direct you specifically to the Moga-compatible titles. Sadly, they do not have a way to utilize backwards compatibility with games not yet adapted to Moga, unlike an upcoming device from Nyko. The feel of the device is just about perfect: as it turns out, sometimes smaller is better. I played a few minutes of Virtua Tennis Challenge and loved the efficiency of the button layout. While the analog sticks could stand to rotate a bit more smoothly, that appears to be a problem they're working on. I found the side grips to be comfortable as well as useful. I also am just a bit too giddy about using a tablet as a game screen and wirelessly connecting the controller through Bluetooth. It works beautifully and changes my entire perception of the range of uses for a tablet. This tool is very interesting to me not only as a person who'd like to see mobile games have options for a more fully fleshed out control scheme, but as someone who also is working on a mobile game in her spare time. The format and concept behind my game was chosen in part to skirt the lack of control options, and with Power A's new system, I could negate that all together. This opens an entire new world of possibilities for mobile gamers. In general, I'd recommend looking at the Power A line-up and seeing if there's something for you. I would suggest starting with their new mini controllers. |
| Weekend PC download deals: Paradox, Anuman, and Swedes Posted: 08 Jun 2012 01:00 PM PDT Sweden used to be famous for three things; ABBA, Ikea, and statuesque blondes. Now there's a thriving videogame development scene happening and GamersGate is having a Swedish Developer Week promotion, reducing titles like Just Cause 2, Renegade Ops, and Sanctum. Sweden's also getting a lot of love on Steam, specifically publisher Paradox Interactive with a special daily deal happening this weekend. Today, it's the turn of those lovable, crazy wizards from Magicka with 75% off the franchise. Wouldn't be surprised if the Mount and Blade series was tomorrow's deal. Publisher Anuman is the subject of GOG.com's weekend promotion, with 50% off their games including Still Life and Syberia. As always my friends, if you find some great PC weekend deals, post them below in the comments. |
| E3: The Showdown Effect is big, dumb nostalgic '80s fun Posted: 08 Jun 2012 12:45 PM PDT Nobody foresaw the success of Magicka, least of all its humble creators. While Magicka did a lot of creative things mechanically, it was the quirky world and humorous presentation that won people over. While developer Arrowhead Game Studios is going in the polar opposite direction mechanically, The Showdown Effect still embodies their offbeat, comedic sensibilities. Polar opposite, meaning: Competitive online shooter. Don’t worry. Arrowhead isn't chasing after that Call of Duty or Gears of War cash, however. Instead, The Showdown Effect is an old-school, side-scrolling shooter. Think Abuse or Shadow Complex, except with a bunch of other players shooting back at you and it all streaming live to Twitch.TV. One of the cooler aspects of the game is a set of OnLive-esque features, where you can view your friends' games as they play them. This is all completely optional, of course, but it’s pretty neat to see implemented. The Showdown Effect is kind of like Deadliest Warrior if the warriors were from B-rate, '80s action flicks. Each team of four players chooses their character from a roster that includes a Russian boxer, a medieval knight, and a disillusioned cop, among other choices. Each character has their own style. Some may zip around areas and beat enemies with a pool cue, while another may fire a machinegun from afar. The arenas, including a futuristic Tokyo cityscape and a medieval castle, are also a collection of cheesy stereotypes injected with a sense of humor. Arrowhead may be biting off more than they can chew with this game. As charming and addictive as Magicka was, balancing a competitive shooter is an entirely different kind of beast. We’ll find out whether they can bring some crafty to the comedy when the beta launches this summer |
| E3: Guardians of Middle-earth won this non-LOTR fan over Posted: 08 Jun 2012 12:30 PM PDT Before I got my hands on the DOTA-inspired Guardians of Middle-earth and talked to the development team behind it, I thought MOBA (Massive Online Battle Arena) was some type of Asian drink. My roommate plays League of Legends obsessively and I’m familiar with the RTS sub-genre’s history, but I don’t know the first thing about how you play these games. That’s okay, though -- Monolith Productions and Warner Bros. are making a new starting point for gamers and it’s all wrapped around a faithful representation of the fantasy genre’s most popular franchise. Best of all, you can play Guardians of Middle-earth on your couch with a controller and it’s a complete blast. For the most part, Guardians isn’t trying to break the MOBA mold. Rather, it’s trying to streamline it for consoles while appealing to the dedicated DOTA players and everyone else. The standards of the sub-genre are intact: You control a hero, you customize your hero, AI-controlled soldiers do your bidding, and protect and destroy towers/resource points to win. It’s kind of like playing a PvP match in an MMO as someone else plays an RTS in the same area. If you hate resource management, but love beating the shit of out things, you might want to pay attention. The game starts with the hero selection process. You’ll choose between 20 iconic good and bad characters in the Lord of the Rings universe. For the demo, I picked Galadriel who had a long-range default attack, healing spells, a useful area-of-effect stun spell, and other offensive attacks. On the other hand, she was rather weak. Properly balancing the characters is a challenge that faces MOBA developers and players alike. Although Monolith will be tweaking the game and adding content after its release, GoME puts a lot of responsibility in the player’s hands with its extensive character customization options. In Guardians, there is no one Gandalf to rule them all. At the character loadout screen, you’ll be able to equip potions (health, defense boost, etc.), commands, and 100+ items to attach to your belt. This opens the door to a 1,000+ combinations that players will be able to explore and tweak to their liking. Unlike other entries in the MOBA genre, there are no in-game purchases or pay-to-play elements here. If you want new gear, you’ll have to earn it by leveling up your character. For a genre that relies so heavily on quick action and perfect key mapping, GoME feels great with a controller. Using the left stick to move and the right stick to direct action, I felt I had total control over my character. Pressing the right trigger to attack and other buttons to cast magic has a great tactile feel that will please action junkies that were scared off from genre’s keyboard/mouse setup. It also helps even the playing field, since everyone has the same controls, controller, and movement speed. The game will offer two control setups, one for advanced players and one for those starting off. There are also a series of tutorials to ease players into the genre, although there won’t be a story mode. One thing that may not ease players into the game is the crowded HUD. From the minimap to your available potions, the game’s screen is overloaded with information. I can’t imagine it’s all necessary and you do get used to it, but it’s still kind of a mess. Otherwise, the presentation of the combat, characters, and menus are top quality. I never touched a MOBA before and as much as I want to jump into one now, I’ll hold out for Guardians of Middle-earth. Between the controls and deep player customization options, it looks like it will scratch an itch I never knew I had. Look for the game on PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade this fall. |
| E3: Hands-on with Rayman Legends Posted: 08 Jun 2012 12:15 PM PDT Rayman Legends is the direct Wii U-exclusive sequel to the beautiful, gorgeous, sublime 2D platformer Rayman Origins that was released last year. The good news if you were a fan of Rayman Origins: Rayman Legends is even more beautiful, gorgeous, and sublime than its predecessor! So great, in fact, that I almost wanted to punch the fancy T.V. screen when I was playing it. I couldn't hold in all the emotions of how amazing the game looks! Luckily, I did not punch the screen -- whew! -- as that would have ended poorly for all parties involved. So why is Rayman Legends so spectacular? Keep reading to find out! This game will make you want to buy a Wii U. It is that good. So far it is a Wii-exclusive, and, if it stays that way, this game could really be a system seller. If Pikmin 3 wasn't in the picture, Rayman Legends would easily be the best Wii U game I played at the show. Even me typing this hyperbole feels a little crazy, as the only thing on-display for Rayman Legends was the game's co-op mode. The single-player mode -- and the game definitely has one! -- was not playable. To fall this in love with an "extra" mode is insane. I can't imagine how incredible the single-player campaign will be. When I say "co-op mode," I don't mean it in the regular sense of the word. While you can play up to four-play co-op with four characters on-screen like in Rayman Origins, there is a new co-op mode that involves one player playing with the new Wii U Pro Controller and one playing with the GamePad. Let me break down how this works. As mentioned, one player controls the main character on-screen with the Wii U Pro Controller (you can read my impressions on that fantastic controller right here). The other player holds the GamePad and uses nothing else but the built in touch screen. While the first player is running through the splendid levels, the other player is "assisting" them by interacting with the world around them. This could be very basic like the co-op mode in Super Mario Galaxy, but it is not simple at all. There is so much variety to this "assisting" that it is always interesting and fun. In fact, it is so impressive that I gasped on multiple occasions because I was so impressed with what the game was letting me and my partner do. At first, the assisting is much easier. The second player can cut grass by swiping the touch screen to uncover shiny lums, tap on something in the background to open a secret area, or grab enemies and hold onto them to help the player. As the levels progress, things get much deeper (and much more fun!). In one section, the second player has to shoot projectiles at dragons in the background to protect the first player. In another, player two can grab parts of the environment to help player one proceed further. And this is some of the stuff that impressed me the most. In one level, a huge wooden wheel was in front of Rayman. The wheel had a complicated maze-like passage through it that needs to be traversed in order for the first player to proceed. In the passage were deadly, one-touch-and-you're-dead spikes and hooks to grab on to. In order to proceed, player two has to grab hold of the wheel and turn it for player one. To to this, the second player taps the touch screen to lock in the hold and rotates the actual GamePad back and forth. There is no lag and everything is smooth and intuitive. When the wheel is placed in the right direction, the first player can move forward. This dance between both players takes a lot of cooperation, and, when successful, is ridiculously satisfying. There were several puzzles like this, and they were all extraordinary. And then the second part of the demo started. I was already impressed by everything I played, but the second part of the demo involved Rayman running through a fast, auto-scrolling level timed to the music being played and activated by the second player. It's hard to describe unless you see the video (watch it right here!), but, basically, every jump, item grab, and movement the first player makes is timed to the music playing in the background. To help with the beat, the second player can tap on-screen statues. It is unbelievably cool and one of the most impressive levels I have ever seen in a 2D platformer. After talking about all this, I didn't even mention how beautiful Rayman Legends looks. I mean, it kind of goes without saying. But it should be mentioned. Rayman Legends is jaw-droppingly gorgeous. One of the best-looking 2D platformers ever. Hell, one of the best-looking games ever. I didn't think it was possible, but Rayman Legends looks ever better than Rayman Origins. And, keep in mind again, that I saw only two small sequences in the game. I can't imagine how amazing everything is going to look when all the various levels are opened up. Ubisoft and Nintendo were smart to show off the co-op version of Rayman Legends on the Wii U. A single-player demo would have been a nice bonus, but we already know what that is going to look like -- we have Rayman Origins to play over and over. With Rayman Legends, Ubisoft has taken things to a whole new level. The game looks incredible, it plays just as well as its predecessor, and the Wii U-specific co-op features are fun and never once feel gimmicky. Rayman Legends is a masterpiece in the making. If the final game is as strong as the demo, this could be some serious Game of the Year stuff. |
| The Network Roundup: Sci-fi me Posted: 08 Jun 2012 12:00 PM PDT It was both an exciting and somber week of science fiction for me. As my dear Game of Thrones was wrapping up its season I turn my eyes from fantasy fiction, over to my all time love, science fiction. I had a chance to check out the visually gorgeous Prometheus last night, and really started to feel spoiled by all the great science fiction around me. This was all heightened by the fact that we lost a huge pioneer in the genre this week, in the amazing Ray Bradbury. Without works like Fahrenheit 451, I wonder how much I would have latched on to the genre like I have. Today we celebrate a bit of sci-fi around the network with Destructoid's reports on some potential future hits. Japanator looked at some fun sci-fi from the East, with Power Rangers and Sentai news. Flixist has what you have all been waiting for, the Prometheus review. Finally, Tomopop took a look at some amazing toys based off the Aliens franchise. What are your favorite science fiction series, games, or books? Japanator
Flixist
Tomopop
|
| Posted: 08 Jun 2012 11:30 AM PDT Huh. That was my first reaction after playing ZombiU for the Wii U at Nintendo's booth during E3. Huh. Now, "huh" usually has a negative connotation, but that is not necessarily the case with this particular game. The "huh" is more a simplified version of the actual, widely varied reactions that occurred when playing this M-rated, Wii U-exclusive game. I had a few OMGs, some Woahs, some Mehs, some Cools, and some Ughs, all leading up to my final, summarized reaction. A simple huh. Let's get to all the good stuff first. Even though zombies are completely overused in videogames, ZombiU surprisingly feels fresh. This is due to a few key things. One, the controls. The Wii U GamePad feels great, and playing a first-person shooter like this with it is totally comfortable. The draw to this game -- and the feature that drew the most applause during the Ubisoft press conference -- is the cool implementation of the GamePad controller. While running around doing normal zombie-killing things, you can use the GamePad for many different things. When opening a box, you can see the contents on your touch screen. Just tap what you want and slide it into your inventory! Get to a door that needs unlocking? You can pick the lock in a super easy (almost too easy) lockpicking minigame on the GamePad! Need to type in a code to open a door? Type it in on the touch screen! This stuff is fun (if a little gimmicky) and helps mix up the action. Another cool addition to the game is permanent death. When you die in ZombiU, you die forever. There are no retries or lives in the game. When you die, you restart as a brand new survivor, with your old character walking around the level as a zombie. It's a really neat addition and makes death feel so much scarier than in most games of the type. Now ... the not so good. First, ZombiU doesn't really look that great. Compared to the Wii, the game looks incredible. The textures are detailed, the lighting is slick, and the environments are appropriately atmospheric. But when you compare the game to other current gen games of the same type, it doesn't hold up. If it was very stylized, this comparison wouldn't be fair. But it's not. It is supposed to look as realistic as possible, and the graphics just don't feel as advanced as they could. The game doesn't look bad by any means, but it's hard not to compare it to similar games on other systems. The comparison is inevitable. Another problem with the game is also one of the ZombiU's greatest strengths: the implementation of the GamePad controller. As mentioned, there are some really cool things about the new control scheme -- lockpicking and item management is particularly neat. But there are some sequences that are just plain weird and a little awkward. Some parts of the game have you hold up the GamePad screen and look "through" the touch screen. Sometimes this is used for aiming with your sniper rifle, which is pretty cool, but most of the times it is used to "scan" the area and find secret thing using a special kind of vision. In concept, it sounds neat, but it doesn't work very well and totally takes you out of the action. (It is also accompanied by a very awkward on-screen animation of your character also looking through the same type of tablet screen. Why does he/she have this device in their backpack?) Adding a few clever elements with the GamePad is great, but add too many and the game collapses under its own cleverness. And, unfortunately, ZombiU falls into this category more often than not. Some of this stuff could be cleaned up before the final version, but, as of now, the game just feels to unsure of its own strengths and weaknesses to excitedly recommend it. Seeing an M-rated game being promoted on the Wii U is very exciting, and bodes well for the future of the system. With ZombiU, though, a little more work needs to be done to stay away from the gimmicks and focus on the core gameplay. I liked ZombiU, but didn't. I was impressed by some of the new features, but confused by them as well. I had fun with the game, but also was frustrated. So, in short: Huh. |
| E3: End of Nations combines the old in new ways Posted: 08 Jun 2012 11:15 AM PDT You had me at RTS, but lost me at MMORTS. What’s that? You’re made by ex-Westwood Studios members and heavily inspired by Relic Studios’ output? Okay, you have my attentions again, End of Nations.
For example, the Blitz company are a fast group of German infantry that can quickly infiltrate enemy lines and capture resource points. Conversely, Liberation Front are a group of rebellious French-Canadians with powerful, long-range tanks that rely on scout units for reconnaissance. Whatever your play style may be, there will be a company that meets your preferred approach. Once you feel comfortable working with these starter groups, you can start building your own unit loadout. |
| E3: When Vikings Attack is good for drunken party play Posted: 08 Jun 2012 11:00 AM PDT Okay, so State of Emergency wasn’t the GTA III-killer that Rockstar hyped it up to be. So, what? Sometimes it’s fun to play an embarrassingly dumb game about throwing things into other things. I want to flip cars and incite an angry mob! Though SoE is forgotten by most, When Vikings Attack captures that same kinetic energy and stupidity, albeit in arcade form. When Vikings Attack is a top-down brawler combined with dodge ball. Sounds awesome, right? You control a mob and throw things at enemy mobs, until you clear the small rectangular arena and are shuffled off to the next one. There is some nuance to the combat, but that’s pretty much all you do. The size of your mob is your health bar. As you take damage, your mob buddies will run off. You can dash and chase after them, but if they get away, you’ll lose some lifting power as well. To lift cars and other big objects, you’ll need a large mob. If you are left with only one guy, you won’t be able to lift much.
|
| E3: Skyrim's Dawnguard expansion goes gothic on my ass Posted: 08 Jun 2012 10:45 AM PDT Stuff you should know: I am not a vampire, I am not employed by Bethesda, and I didn’t complete Skyrim, not even the main quest. That’s okay, though, because Dawnguard isn’t more of the same. It’s a 15-20 hour expansion based around new ideas in new areas that are tied to new characters. The hands-on E3 demo of Dawnguard starts five hours into the expansion. I am already a Vampire Lord with abilities that make Morrowind’s lycanthropy seem like child’s play. By activating the power (right bumper/shout button), you change into vampire form which grants you access to a new vampire perks tree, including some of the game’s most outrageous spells. As a vampire, you can transform into a group of bats and quickly warp across a room, lift characters off the ground and choke them Darth Vader-style, and even summon a gargoyle to join your winged, bad self. As cool as these spells are, being a vampire has its downsides. Some technical, others mechanical. The third-person view of Skyrim was a vast improvement over previous Bethesda games, but you’d still be hard-pressed to find players who prefer it to first-person. It’s baffling to me, then, why the vampire form restricts the player to third-person combat. When I asked the developers about the decision-making process behind this, they sheepishly replied, “Well ... it’s what we did for the werewolf in Morrowind.” Making the same mistake twice is a defining trait of Bethesda, so maybe I shouldn’t be so surprised. No matter what, third-person will be less immersive than first-person, but that doesn’t mean it has to be bad. Dawnguard is bad because the animation, combat, and movement of the vampire is incredibly awkward -- a few steps back from what Bethesda achieved in Skyrim. The vampire shuffles forward with his hulking body obscuring most of your view; his hand-to-hand combat has a considerable amount of lag on it; and transforming in and out of vampire form is awkward. Then there are other annoyances, like losing the ability to check out your map or manage inventory in the form. Because, you know, vampires are just too evil to stop and read maps. Another big concern with the vampire form is that it doesn’t complement all character builds. The vampire has some of the strongest spell-based attacks of the game, but he will quickly drain your magicka resources. As a result, you’ll want to jump into hand-to-hand combat until your magicka refills. But what if you are a mage? Or what if you are a rogue and find the vampire form often blows your cover? Bethesda didn’t really have a good response to this. It seems the vampire form will be used for brute-forcing your way through some nasty encounters. If that doesn’t work with your style of play, well, tough luck. As in Oblivion’s Shivering Isles expansion, Bethesda is building a new area in Dawnguard that fills a void within Skyrim’s world. The demo took place in Soul Cairn, a nightmarish, gothic land of skeletons, lost souls, and other things that come straight out of a heavy metal album cover. It’s definitely something new. I’m just not sure if Dawnguard is something good. Gliding over the terrain as a vampire is cool, and I like the new powers, but there are a lot of problems that need to be addressed until this expansion meets the high standards Bethesda has previously set. |
| E3: Daedalic and the return of the classic adventure game Posted: 08 Jun 2012 10:30 AM PDT One of my favorite things to do at E3 is visit the smaller publisher and developers and try out their games. Usually creative and made with such a large amount of heart, the smaller games at E3 are always a breath of fresh air. This year, my favorite stop with a publisher-that-is-not-EA was Daedalic Entertainment, a German-based company that loves to make graphic point-and-click adventure games. You may have heard of and played some of their older titles like The Whispered World. The new games they had to show off were right up my alley. The two games Daedalic Entertainment showed off were The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav and Deponia. The Dark Eye is a more traditional fantasy adventure game like King's Quest, while Deponia is a wacky adventure set in space that very much reminded me of Space Quest. Both games look absolutely gorgeous, with hand-drawn backgrounds and smooth animation. Just looking at the games for the first time brought back such memories of how beautiful adventure games used to look with their hand-drawn and hand-painted art. As great as the little I got to see of Deponia was, that game is still a little ways off. I will focus on The Dark Eye, as that is the game that featured an extended demo. It will also be available on Steam on June 22, so the release date is only a few weeks away! Like most point-and-click games, The Dark Eye involves a main character exploring a vast world, interacting with characters, and solving puzzles to reach the end of the game. Obviously, the first thing you will notice about the game is how gorgeous it looks. The fact that a small group of people made a game that looks this good really boggles my mind. It's incredible how talented some people in this world are. Exploring the world is as simple as clicking on any object or character you want to interact with. Again, it is classic graphic adventure stuff. In addition to this, a very large inventory system is also used. Like most adventure games, you can pick up a ton of items, some so random you won't even know where to use them until just the right time. One addition to The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav is a basic, yet effective magic system. Along the way, the main character can learn spells that will interact with the environment. One spell will break items. This can be used in many scenarios with no real result -- it is more of an aesthetic thing. But some items need to be shattered to solve puzzles. In one scenario in the demo, the main character was tied up and trapped in a cave. By using his magic power combined with many items in his inventory, he eventually escapes in a plan of almost Rube Goldberg-proportions. It was quite complicated, but very well-designed, so the solution could be figured out eventually with some focused thinking. In fact, all of the puzzles in the Dark Eye felt very challenging, but never too challenging to be frustrating. I am one of the first people to admit being driven to madness in some old adventure games, due to the puzzles being near-impossible. That is not the case with Dark Eye. Yes, the puzzles are tough, but they are never too daunting. If I had to have one negative about both the Dark Eye and Deponia, it would be the localization. So far, the localization is not perfect, leaving jokes kind of hanging and some dialogue very awkward. It is not a deal breaker by any means, but when the games are so visually strong and beautifully designed, you want everything about them to be perfect. The same can be said for the voice acting. While not bad, it definitely could use a little work. Outside of these small issues (or big, depending on what you look for in an adventure game), both The Dark Eye and Deponia look great. I adore adventure games, and I am very much looking forward to playing both of these promising games. Deponia is still in production, but The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav is set to hit Steam on June 22. If you are a fan of classic adventure games, you will want to check this one out. |
| This weekend on Dtoid TV: Wrapping up E3 Posted: 08 Jun 2012 10:15 AM PDT This year's Electronic Entertainment Expo is finally coming to a close, and we're ready to get back to business as usual on Destructoid TV. Okay, those of us not recuperating from being at E3 will be on top of things, anyway. Expect some hindsight on the news out of E3 all weekend. Jump in our chat and offer your two cents. It starts with Philanthr0py in the place of Mash Tactics tonight. We'll just be dicking around in whatever games we're feeling and talking about the slew of news out this week. Awdamn is bringing us a full weekend of action on Substituted Reality, starting with Harley's Revenge in Batman: Arkham City. And Philanthr0py is finally stepping into the wilds of Africa in Resident Evil 5, with Crux as backup, marking the beginning of the end of the Resident Evil run on Chill with Phil. Catch the full schedule below! Today at 4p.m. Pactific, Philanthr0py and yours truly are going to be jamming on some random games and discussing all news and mediocrity out of E3 this year. Substituted Reality is Destructoid's only PC exclusive gaming show, hosted by lovably offbeat caster, Awdamn, and airing every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at 8p.m. Tonight, Awdamn is getting down with the clown in the Harley's Revenge DLC for Batman: Arkham City. Saturday night is arena haberdashery in Team Fortress 2. Sunday will be some Assassin's Creed Revelations action.
Chill with Phil airs this and every Saturday at 4p.m. Pacific. Phil is going strong in his playthrough of the entire Resident Evil series. This Saturday, Phil is finally reaching the home stretch of his Resident Evil run! It's time for Resident Evil 5, but don't worry, Phil will be avoiding Sheva's bullsh*t by partnering with Crux this week. Super Fantastic Videogame Rad Show: Get There! starring Johnny Luchador and Bill Zoeker airs every Sunday at 4p.m. Pacific. Rad Show takes a light-hearted approach to gaming, with the guys usually focusing more on breaking games for ridiculous results than completing feats of skill. Retroactive centers around the games of yesteryear. Every Sunday at 6p.m. Pacific, and Monday at 8p.m. Pacific, its host, Crux adventures through nostalgic games on the consoles of his childhood. Sunday night, Crux is getting primitive in Chuck Rock for the Sega CD. Monday night will be most excellent with X-Men for the Sega Genesis/MegaDrive. Catch all of Destructoid's live programming by following Dtoid.TV! |
E3: Hands-on with Super Mario Bros. U
| You are subscribed to email updates from Destructoid To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
