New Games |
- Spicy Horse's Big Head Bash now playable in your browser
- Crusader Kings II: Legacy of Rome launches today
- Assassin's Creed III's multiplayer brutally detailed
- Disney reveals new levels for upcoming Epic Mickey titles
- ASTRO Gaming has something for audiophiles
- Sleeping Dogs has new DLC content out today
- This Week in the Community Blogs: Follow that robot!
- Dudebro II still exists, here's some gameplay footage
- Far Cry 3 gets a Minecraft twist with this free PC mod
- Various artists rearrange Dj CUTMAN's Powerglove mix
- Review: Borderlands 2 'Captain Scarlett' DLC
- Chivalry: Medieval Warfare is out now on PC
- Join our 48-hour Extra Life marathon on Dtoid.TV!
- Rumor: 'Dragonborn' to be the next Skyrim DLC
- Zaxxon Escape is out now on Google Play
- Racing is transformed in Sonic Universe #45
| Spicy Horse's Big Head Bash now playable in your browser Posted: 16 Oct 2012 04:00 PM PDT Sidescroller arena shooter Big Head Bash has had a playable beta floating around out there for a while now, but Spicy Horse officially launched the browser-based game this week. It's free across platforms like Facebook, Kongregate, and Armor Games, all of which are compatible with one another for the purposes of gunning down other players. The collectible-toy combatants you play as are the standout feature here -- from comic book characters to game designers to musicians and even a familiar green robot. I'm not a huge fan of this subgenre myself, but this IP mash-up is the kind of thing I used to dream of as a kid who had his action figures all "living" together in a single fictional universe. Going a step further, players will even be able to order real-world versions of some of the toys in Big Head Bash. Admittedly, that's pretty darn cool. |
| Crusader Kings II: Legacy of Rome launches today Posted: 16 Oct 2012 03:30 PM PDT
Paradox Interactive has released the latest expansion for Crusader Kings II today -- a game that has already swallowed up a vast portion of my time. On top of a plethora of new features, "Legacy of Rome" further fleshes out the Orthodox Church and the lumbering behemoth that is the Byzantine Empire. Rulers have become more customizable in-game, now able to work on improving traits and abilities through new ambitions. A new faction system has been implemented, which allows players to join with their cohorts in a royal faction, and scheme to their heart's content. Standing armies, tougher rebellions, new events and decisions, and streamlined mobilization are just a few of the other additions to this already massive game. You can pick it up now via the in-game store for $4.99, along with some appropriate music and unit DLC if you feel like splashing out a bit more. Patch 1.07 has also gone live, meaning that there's a lot of new content even for those who don't want to pick up the latest expansion. |
| Assassin's Creed III's multiplayer brutally detailed Posted: 16 Oct 2012 03:00 PM PDT
I never realized before my hands-on time with Assassin's Creed III's multiplayer just how much fun the mode is. So much fun that it's easily going to be in my multiplayer rotation this year along side Black Ops II, Halo 4, and Hawken. This trailer goes over the modes, abilities, and gives a great overview on what you need to know in general. It's also brutal as hell. Ubisoft stepped up the violence factor all over Assassin's Creed III like whoa. |
| Disney reveals new levels for upcoming Epic Mickey titles Posted: 16 Oct 2012 02:30 PM PDT
Good Sir Warren (and the fine folks at Disney Interactive) have unveiled a few new levels for both Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two, and Castle of Illusion's successor, Disney Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion. As expected, we were also sent a bounty of screenshots to share, so that we can all ogle at them for a bit. This new area, Rainbow Caverns, was one of the first attractions built in Wasteland, but as time moved forward the ride was re-purposed into a power station for the projectors found across the world. The gameplay video shows off some of the new moves and power-ups for Mickey and Oswald to use, along with some of the co-op gameplay that will be featured in the final game. With Disney Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion on 3DS, Mickey will encounter characters and scenes from The Little Mermaid in the South Wing of the Castle, including such memorable underwater companions as Ariel, Sebastian, and Simba! Yes, you will be able to encounter the protector of the Pride Lands... under the sea. All joking aside though, Power of Illusion is shaping up to be a worthy successor to the fine legacy of its forefathers. |
| ASTRO Gaming has something for audiophiles Posted: 16 Oct 2012 02:00 PM PDT
A CGI trailer for a headset and an amp -- I've seen it all now. ASTRO Gaming have just launched updated versions of their A40 Headset and MixAmp Pro, and according the video, the items built themselves in some dark mystical realm while listening to the most obnoxious music known to man. I'm not really an audiophile, as I'm half deaf in one ear, so I'm used to things sounding a bit naff. Like the tune in the trailer. For those of you with fully functioning ears, the amp and headset come with a bunch of additional features. Will they make your eardrums salivate? Should eardrums really be salivating? Don't ask me, I'm no doctor. The 2013 edition of the headset comes with two extra features; although I'm not sure that "it's the best" is really a feature -- it's more of a claim.
The MixAmp appears to have been changed a little more, and it's smaller, too. Try not to lose it.
You can pick up both items now in a bundle for $249.99, which certainly sounds like a lot of your funny foreign currency. |
| Sleeping Dogs has new DLC content out today Posted: 16 Oct 2012 01:30 PM PDT It's hard to believe Sleeping Dogs has already been out for two months now. In an attempt to bring you back into the game's crime-ridden version of Hong Kong (that is, if you ever left it), Square Enix and the team at United Front Games have released three new DLC packs for Sleeping Dogs today in the form of the "Street Racer," "Tactical Soldier," and "Community Gift" packs. "Street Racer" will get you the Sting bike that has the highest acceleration and increased handling, a new Dragon outfit featuring reduced damage, and three new races. "Tactical Soldier" unlocks both the most powerful gun and armor for whenever you feel like destroying everything in the world. The "Community Gift" includes a t-shirt, mini compact car, and luchador mask that are all UFG-themed. The DLC is $2.99 (320 Microsoft Points), $1.99 (160 Microsoft Points), and free, respectively. All are available on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC today. |
| This Week in the Community Blogs: Follow that robot! Posted: 16 Oct 2012 01:00 PM PDT [In "This Week in the Community Blogs", we highlight notable happenings in the Cblogs section of the site. Special thanks to the hardworking Dtoiders on the CblogRecaps team, without whom a feature like this wouldn't be possible!] The good times continue to roll in the Dtoid community blogs! Your community managers recorded a new podcast, ManWithNoName returned with a bang, and two NARP groups announced new gatherings! Hit the jump to see everything else that went down this week!
Monday, October 8 The week started off right with a great blog from Epic KxDtoid about the trials of being an SD gamer in an HD world. Game developers, take note! On a similarly "dated" note, Master Chibi finally discovered the glory that is Team Fortress 2. Hey, better late than never! Shifting gears, siegarettes composed a short-but-sweet thought-blog concerning violence in videogames, and Panzadolphin looked back at the 80s horror game Sweet Home. Great write-ups, everyone!
Kicking off the inevitable influx of Halloween-themed blogs, Lieutenant Bourbon recommended two games to play to freak yourself out in this scariest of months, stubbleman detailed exactly why you should play Endless Ocean 2 if you haven't already, and NoctisDragonGamer looked back at when, why, and how Nintendo got "doomed". Great blogs, people! In other news, our own Chris Carter kicked off the latest in his Quest series, this time tackling everyone's favorite anti-hero, Wario. Check back often for updates as he trudges his way through the series!
In keeping with Tuesday's spooky theme, Garison reminded us all of the Majora's Mask "cursed cartridge" urban legend, while Dtoid New England shared their plans for a Halloween NARP! Elsewhere, Yves Considerably shared a brief story about how videogames helped him get through his uncle's funeral, locketheleisz explained why he's fed up with so-called "triple A" games, and Solar20XX took a look around the newly designed Destructoid and liked what he saw. Thanks for the kind words!
/enters shameless self promotion mode Hey! You! Did you know that your Destructoid community managers recorded a podcast last week? And that in future episodes, you'll have a chance to be on it? Go check out Communitoid and give us some feedback! /ends shameless self promotion mode In other exciting cblog happenings, the ManWithNoName finally made his way back to our mad corner of the universe, while Yves Considerably finally hit that 100,000 gamerscore mark! We all know that was waaay better than the sex you could have been having; thanks for sharing!
Remember all the way back to two sentences ago, when ManWithNoName returned to Dtoid? Well, he wasted no time getting right back into the swing of things, and his first blog since returning was a (pseudo-NSFW) look at pornography in videogames (two of my favorite things). Check it out! Then the Dtoid Baltimore/DC crew announced their upcoming November NARP, kuroir shared some updates for your cblogging software (THANKS!), and Occams electric toothbrush splooged his brain juices all over the internet in his latest Occam's Thoughts. Nice work! Also on Friday, your normal slew of FNF blogs made their weekly appearance. Whether you game on the 360, PS3, 3DS or PC, we've got you covered!
The Wankend, October 13 and 14 As if to say, "Ha, and you thought you were going to get some sleep this weekend!", you were busier on Saturday and Sunday than on all the other days in the universe to have ever been... uh... something. The point is, you wrote a ton of blogs this weekend! ManWithNoName kicked things off with his thoughts on how to fix Mirror's Edge, ReeceH92 shared his list of the top five most innovative zombie games, and PhilK3nS3bb3n announced a new community podcast, the Low(er) Tier Podcast! (Now, can someone please teach Phil how to upload a new blog header?) Also, Excel-2011 shared exactly how he would "fix" Capcom, and MisterDonut called it quits with Pokemon. (Well, maybe.) All in all, a wonderful weekend! Pat yourselves on the backs!
We promoted two of your blogs to the front page this week! First up was Cutie Honey's write-up on his issues with Project X Zone, followed by Revuhlooshun's open letter to Capcom. I'm happy to say that these were two of the most widely-read blogs ever to appear on our front page; great job, guys! This week's community podcasts Not much on this front this week, but what's there is glorious! The Low(er) Tier Podcast was announced (hooray!), and Communitoid recorded its very first episode! Go give it a listen! This week's community contests PhilK3nS3bb3n is giving away Resident Evil 4 HD, and all you have to do to win is tell him to upload a new blog header! (Well, there may be a bit more to it... but not much.) Thanks, Phil! And that's it for this week! As always, thanks to everyone who takes the time to cblog, and we'll see you next time, Dtoiders! |
| Dudebro II still exists, here's some gameplay footage Posted: 16 Oct 2012 12:45 PM PDT With a name like Dudebro -- My Shit Is F*cked Up So I Got To Shoot/Slice You II: It's Straight-Up Dawg Time, you know you're in for something special. This is the project from Grimoire Assembly Forge, a team made up of NeoGAF members who have turned a joke into an honest-to-goodness videogame. Well, maybe we aren't quite there yet -- this trailer shows real progress, however. I was skeptical about where this whole situation would go, but I must admit, there are some genuinely funny moments in the video. Better yet, the sidescrolling-action gameplay looks solid enough to back up that humor. Above all, it's nice to see that Dudebro II has persevered. Too many creative endeavors on the Internet fall apart. |
| Far Cry 3 gets a Minecraft twist with this free PC mod Posted: 16 Oct 2012 12:30 PM PDT I'm not sure about most players, but when I hear people talk about the Far Cry series, what comes to my mind are the scenic locales, the interesting level design and the awkward massacre of zebras. In an unique marketing move, Ubisoft has decided to team up with a Minecraft mod creator to recreate the island setting and characters found in Far Cry 3. The map will feature key locations for players to visit, as well as tools and weapons from the upcoming game. The creators have also strewn about 50 hidden Easter Eggs through out the island, for those in the mood for a scavenger hunt. Well known Minecraft aficionado Michael "Sacr3" Lambert will be creating the island, while texture artists Axel Janssen and Yohann Delcourt will be working to bring Far Cry 3's level of high-fidelity beauty into the Minecraft's 16 by 16 blocky world. The Far Cry 3 pack will be available to download on October 26 2012 from the official Far Cry 3 website, so now would be a good time to start sharpening that pixelated Combat Knife. |
| Various artists rearrange Dj CUTMAN's Powerglove mix Posted: 16 Oct 2012 12:15 PM PDT Back in May, web musician Dj CUTMAN asked any and all artists to remix one of his songs for fun and profit. His track, "Powerglove (It's So Bad)" featuring Ben Briggs, spliced audio from the cult classic The Wizard with tunes from a little-known NES shooter called Mig 29 Soviet Fighter. Today, CUTMAN has released a short pay-what-you-want album that includes six of the best submissions. Even though they all draw from the same source track, each is very distinct and -- if I may -- quite badical. Also, I just realized that these are remixes of a remix... Chiptune-ception! Powerglove: THE REMIXES [Bandcamp]
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| Review: Borderlands 2 'Captain Scarlett' DLC Posted: 16 Oct 2012 12:00 PM PDT Borderlands has often been described, perhaps not unfairly, as "work." In the sense that it can be repetitive and monotonous, yes, but also in that it's largely driven by a kind of materialistic consumerism. There's not that big a difference between, say, farming Scorch for a Hellfire SMG or spending 40 hours per week doing data entry saving up for a, I dunno, a new watch. Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate's Booty -- and this is a misnomer, actually; the eponymous booty belongs to one Captain Blade, and Scarlett is trying to find it, with the help of a rather dashing Commando in green -- introduces clever wrinkles into the game's ethos. The mechanics of piracy and Borderlands are more less identical (i.e., taking things by force that don't belong to you), which makes Captain Scarlett a natural fit into the world of Pandora. But life aboard Scarlett's ship suggests a broader economy that isn't as closed off as the one in which Vault Hunters participate. Borderlands may be work, but piracy is a business. (I guess Hyperion Corporation is also technically a business, but its CEO rides a horse named Butt Stallion, so who knows?)
Borderlands 2: Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate's Booty After playing hours and hours in a positive feedback loop of murdering crazy people and taking their guns (so as to more easily kill more crazy people), it's interesting to see how Blade and Scarlett interact with their respective crews.The profits from the killing and looting and exploding and dismembering they do ostensibly goes to, say, buying fruit to prevent scurvy, paying wages, and mending ships. There's a tension between the pirates' relative open-handedness and the Vault Hunter's individualism, but Captain Scarlett stops at merely suggesting this thematic texture without dwelling on or exploring it: for better or worse, Borderlands is not a game about business or about feelings; it is a game about shooting. And in Oasis, you can do that from a sand skiff, and you can do it to a variety of different faces. Exploding harpoon is my favorite version of new hovercraft introduced by the Captain Scarlett DLC, but you may be partial to saw blades or the more pedestrian rockets. Most of the new creeps are simply re-skinned bandits -- psychos become grogmasters, midgets become cabin boys and swabbies -- but there are a few quirky variations. Corsairs are pirates that can disappear and re-appear somewhere else (similar to Borderlands 2's stalkers), cursed pirates steal health with melee attacks, and harpooners can wreak havoc with your positioning by spearing Vault Hunters and dragging them around the map. These aren't major revelations, but Borderlands' inherent repetition tends to highlight and exaggerate any nuance or shift in the core gameplay. These new types seem to represent minor changes to enemy design, but they stand out clearly against the game's standard goons.
The game's themes and enemies feel new and interesting, but thoroughly within Borderlands' wheel house. This appropriation extends to the writing as well: Captain Scarlett does a great job bringing competent pirate genre fiction to life. This DLC is all mutinies and treasure maps and peglegs, but it feels right. What Borderlands 2 does to Westerns, Captain Scarlett does to pirate adventure. True to form, Oasis is vast. The new characters and enemies make Captain Scarlett feel weighty on their own, but the sheer volume of space and content give the package a sprawling, languid feel. Part of this just the raw time needed to complete the story and Borderlands' now-familiar filler quests, but it's also structural and environmental. Several Fast Travel and Catch-a-Ride stations dot numerous and varied landscapes, from the skanky, Panama City Beach-like town of Oasis, to abandoned dockyards, to a Hyperion refinery. So much of Pandora feels frigid and cold -- Frostburn Canyon, the Tundra Express, the Fridge -- that it's nice to head to the beach for a change. Hayter's Folly, a subterranean grotto-cum-pirate-cove, stands out as the most evocative of Captain Scarlett's environs.
As seamlessly as Captain Scarlett fits into Borderlands 2 proper, it's obvious to me that this was clearly designed to be post-game DLC. Quests, loot, and enemies of course scale to the current level of any wayward adventurers to stumble into Oasis (indeed, the town is immediately accessible from any Fast Travel station), but my advice is to nevertheless wait until you're finished with at least your first playthrough. Narratively, Captain Scarlett stands as a vignette or short story, independent of the travails of Handsome Jack, complete with its own chapter numbering scheme. But the real case to be made for the delay is mechanical: jumping into a scaled-up Oasis at, say, level 20 like I did will drastically over-level your character once you resume the main quest. More interesting is the creepy vendor in Oasis that refuses to talk to you until you've obtained a Seraph Crystal. This new currency is, as far as I can tell, tied to the last, optional quest in Captain Scarlett, which is hardlocked to level 50. Being severely under-leveled, I haven't traded with Bobbum Man, but some digging reveals a supposed pink weapon tier only available in Oasis. Captain Scarlett's end-game shenanigans notwithstanding, this remains a thorough and thoughtful addendum to Borderlands 2. It's funny and confident in its storytelling and presentation with enough variation in enemy design and mission structure to stand out against the enormous backdrop of the core game. Get to work. |
| Chivalry: Medieval Warfare is out now on PC Posted: 16 Oct 2012 11:45 AM PDT Don't watch this launch trailer for Chivalry: Medieval Warfare if you're the kind of gentle soul who doesn't like seeing people's heads fall off. Fair warning: there's a decent amount of that in here. This first- and third-person melee game from Torn Banner Studios is available now for PC via the usual digital distribution outlets. Environments appear to be the the star of this multiplayer-centric game. That pit! The bridge! These are the types of places that should generate some great emergent gameplay -- the kind of battles you tell friends about as if the encounters physically happened in real life. We'll have a review coming later this month, but if you aren't patient enough to wait that long, I totally feel you. |
| Join our 48-hour Extra Life marathon on Dtoid.TV! Posted: 16 Oct 2012 11:30 AM PDT Beginning this Friday at 1 PM Eastern, Destructoid is hosting a weekend-long Extra Life charity event on our Twitch.TV channel! Join King Foom and our other awesome Dtoid.TV streamers as they play games to raise money for sick kids! We've got a celebrity-filled lineup in store for your viewing pleasure, including appearances and giveaways from:
Additionally, our community webcast site Streamtoid will be holding a 24-hour marathon of its own! Tune in to both channels all weekend long to be a part of the action, and please help us in our effort to raise $10,000 for sick kids by donating to our Extra Life page! 100% of the proceeds go to charity! Thanks so much, and have fun! |
| Rumor: 'Dragonborn' to be the next Skyrim DLC Posted: 16 Oct 2012 11:15 AM PDT With Dawnguard and Hearthfire well out of the way, it seems that we're due for some Skyrim DLC, right? That is, unless you're a PS3 user. Well, some crafty PC players from the Bethesda forums looked into the files of yesterday's Skyrim beta update and found something worth of note. Particularly, some keywords found in the filenames include "DLC2" and "DragonMounted." Okay, that second one has me standing at attention. People are speculating the new content will be titled Dragonborn (as hinted, again, by the filenames), will include dragon mounting, and might even take you to Morrowind. This just gets better and better, right? Four new armor names have been found as well. Hearthfire had similar rumors about its release beforehand, and they ended up coming true. I'd imagine the same could be said here, but only time will tell. Oh, did I mention there's talk that you can shoot spells from the back of a dragon? I'll just let that one sink in. Skyrim DLC "Dragonborn" to feature mounted dragons, Morrowind armour, Solstheim [OXM via VG 24/7] |
| Zaxxon Escape is out now on Google Play Posted: 16 Oct 2012 11:00 AM PDT Growing up, Zaxxon was one of my favorite games that I didn't have. I had a ColecoVision and the game released for that console, but it just never found its way into my home and I was always a little bit jealous of a friend who did have a copy. Even if it weren't a rather unique shoot-em-up for the time, more about avoiding collisions than killing enemies, the name alone was awesome for a kid whose last name didn't share a first letter with a whole lot of words (probably why I'm such a fan of the Zik-Zak Corporation too) Sega is pulling on my nostalgia leash pretty hard here with Zaxxon Escape, a fast-paced chase game where the player must escape the exploding Zaxxon fortress through twisting passages and narrow gaps. Looks like fun to me. |
| Racing is transformed in Sonic Universe #45 Posted: 16 Oct 2012 10:45 AM PDT Sonic Universe #45 hits newsstands tomorrow, but non-subscribers can steal a peek at some fresh pages in the gallery below. This is the Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed adaptation issue that was first revealed right here on Dtoid and which features cameos from several Sega stars as well as NASCAR's Danica Patrick. AiAi from Super Monkey Ball, Beat from Jet Set Radio, and Vyse from Skies of Arcadia all gather 'round for some wholesome fun and friendly competition. Naturally, Dr. Eggman has to storm in and be a big tool because reasons. None of this is canon, of course, but it may be your only chance to catch these legendary Sega icons in comic book form. Especially Vyse -- Skies of Arcadia fans never seem to catch a break. |
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