New Games |
- Gero Blaster: The new game from the creator of Cave Story
- Voice of PaRappa the Rapper petitions for a sequel
- The Last of Us demo scheduled to release on May 31
- EA to offer free PC game for SimCity players
- Deadpool, Dead Space & Dead Tired Of SimCity's BS
- New video for Starbreeze's Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons
- Listen to this music playlist for studying and relaxing
- Natural Selection 2 devs lose $30k to fraudulent keys
- Weekend PC deals: Max Payne 3, Killing Floor, Sonic
- The Black Box: When chiptunes and piano collide
- Shigeru Miyamoto believes in a Wii U future
- Game Debate to the Death! Most loyal game company?
- Animated Skyward Sword diorama is part delicious cake
- Live show: Star Trek Online
- Petition demands the removal of DRM from SimCity
- Review: ATV Wild Ride 3D
- Resident Evil 6 PC includes DLC pass, free RE5, and more
- What if household furniture had DRM?
- FAIL: This Xbox Live Arcade avatar is NOT a corgi
- Mewtwo returns for the 16th Pokemon movie
- Level-5 files trademark for Guild02 3DS games in USA
- Oingo Boingo and Toto in next week's Rock Band DLC
- Friday Night Fights: SimSh*tty
- EA: SimCity's broken because it's just too much fun!
- You can screw with Toad in Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon
- Blade of Darkness is now on GOG.com and I need to play it
- Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 debuts generic launch trailer
- Team Meat thought Microsoft would change its ways
- Review: The Banner Saga: Factions
- SimCity is now available on Amazon...again
- Ubisoft's big PAX East lineup won't be playable by fans
- Osbcure Namco game Bravoman gets a cartoon
- SimCity Metacritic user reviews are brutal brutal brutal!
- Get a deeper look at Killzone Mercenary for the Vita
- Richard Garriott returns with RPG 'Shroud of the Avatar'
- Dance Central's DLC is coming to an end as well
- Review: SimCity
- See your Kickstarter cash at work with Shadowrun Returns
- Tomb Raider on Steam now comes with TF2 items
- Everybody dies in this Dragon Quest X trailer
- Podtoid 243: Do I Wanna Defend Balls?
- See Metal Gear Rising's new DLC in action
- Project Awakened is down, but not out!
- There's gore galore in this Razor's Edge trailer
- Harvest Moon: Gritty Reboot goes back to nature
- The Call of Sarkeesian
- Microsoft quietly cancels the Xbox Live Family Pack
- No SimCity refunds on Origin
- Awkward Wreck-It Ralph short spoofs King of Kong
- Pay your respects to the father of videogames
| Gero Blaster: The new game from the creator of Cave Story Posted: 08 Mar 2013 03:00 PM PST Daisuke "Pixel" Amaya has new game coming out in a matter of months. That news alone is sure to give fans of the illustrious one-man development team a strong case of the vapors. His latest creation is Gero Blaster, a run-and-gun action platformer created in the classic style. It even utilizes the old damsel in distress trope. The difference here is that the damsel in Gero Blaster is a cat, and the her boyfriend is a gun-toting frog. It is impossible for me not to love that, and that's without even mentioning the giant smoking purple cat sticking its butt in the air. It's likely that Gero Blaster will have some ties to Cave Story. There were a couple of very nice Gero/Frog people in that game as well, though they didn't have the steely-eyed, all business look found on the protagonist of this new game. Regardless of how it may be connected to Pixlel's most popular game, Gero Blaster is one to watch for iPhone owners. On top of that, it looks like Nicalis is already planning to bring the game to the 3DS, as it did with Cave Story, Ikachan and Guxt. That would be my console of choice here. Low-res pixel art in 3D looks amazing, and having a traditional control pad and buttons wouldn't hurt either. Cave Story creator's Gero Blaster announced at BitSummit [Polygon] |
| Voice of PaRappa the Rapper petitions for a sequel Posted: 08 Mar 2013 02:30 PM PST PaRappa the Rapper needs the world, and the world needs PaRappa the Rapper. A piddling two games is not enough for the floppy-eared dog, and no one feels that more strongly than the man behind the dog: Dred Foxx. Foxx recently reprised his role as PaRappa in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, which reignited fan interest in a third installment of the legendary rhythm franchise (four if you count UmJammer Lammy). What better time than now to push his "Where is PaRappa?" Facebook group, which he actually launched about a year back. There, visitors can share what the games have meant to them as well as urge Sony to greenlight PaRappa the Rapper 3. For his part, Foxx would love for Masaya Matsuura to produce the music once again, and maybe have a few guest rappers appear, like Snoop Dogg or Method Man. Hey, as long as he's dreaming, might as well dream big! I certainly wouldn't mind a new PaRappa as long as the spirit of the originals remains intact. On a related note, did you know that Dred Foxx also performed Knuckles' theme song from Sonic Adventure? Useful trivia if you ever play Six Degrees of Separation: Videogames Edition! PaRappa Voice Actor Leads Petition for PaRappa The Rapper 3 [Junkie Monkeys via NeoGAF] |
| The Last of Us demo scheduled to release on May 31 Posted: 08 Mar 2013 02:00 PM PST The demo for The Last of Us, Naughty Dog's hotly anticipated next release, has a confirmed arrival date of May 31 on PlayStation Network. The date was derived from a countdown clock which appears when selecting the demo from within the main menu of God of War: Ascension. IGN posted the clock (and the above video of an impatient Greg Miller), followed by a confirmation from Naughty Dog's Twitter feed. I'm ready to play something other than Uncharted from these guys, which is a fine series but has never made me love it the way I see so many others do. The Last of Us looks like a different sort of thrill, less of a pulp action story, and I can't wait to get my hands on it. |
| EA to offer free PC game for SimCity players Posted: 08 Mar 2013 01:55 PM PST After a disastrous launch week for SimCity, Maxis and Electronic Arts are going to offer a free PC game via download to players as an apology. "On March 18, SimCity players who have activated their game will receive an email telling them how to redeem their free game," wrote general manager Lucy Bradshaw in a blog post. "I know that’s a little contrived -- kind of like buying a present for a friend after you did something crummy. But we feel bad about what happened. We’re hoping you won’t stay mad and that we’ll be friends again when SimCity is running at 100 percent." That may win over some of the affected players, but I don't suspect it'll do a whole lot for people who read blogs such as this one and would've rather just spent the week playing the game they purchased. To some extent, I suppose it depends on the restrictions for this make-good offer. More importantly, Bradshaw says that server capacity has been increased by 120 percent, and that "The number of disrupted experiences has dropped by roughly 80 percent." Shame the number of disruptions couldn't have been zero. |
| Deadpool, Dead Space & Dead Tired Of SimCity's BS Posted: 08 Mar 2013 01:30 PM PST
I'm guessing you guys have heard about all the nonsense going on with SimCity, so if you're sick of it by this point, I apologize. There's a new trailer for Deadpool, which I'm a bit underwhelmed by. Dead Space 3's DLC sounds like it's a return to survival-horror. The Kickstarter for Shadowrun Returns raised almost two million dollars, and we've got 20 minutes of new gameplay to show what that money went towards. Finally, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons looks neat. Because you can pat people on the butt in it. |
| New video for Starbreeze's Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons Posted: 08 Mar 2013 01:00 PM PST Coming up later this spring is an intriguing game from Starbreeze and film director Josef Fares called Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons. We got a brief look at this Steam, Xbox Live Arcade, and PlayStation Network title last year that wasn't much to go on. This new footage is far more indicative of how the game will play. In Brothers, players will control two characters simultaneously with one controller. For gamepads, that's one brother's movement mapped to each of the analog sticks. This hook isn't brand new -- Schizoid on Xbox Live Arcade comes to mind -- but it's been used infrequently enough that it still feels somewhat fresh. Also, it's way harder than it looks. While I had forgotten about the announcement last year despite having some interest in the project, now that we have a better understanding, I'll be paying attention. The art style is pleasant. |
| Listen to this music playlist for studying and relaxing Posted: 08 Mar 2013 12:00 PM PST You might recognize the name SupraDarky if you browse YouTube for videos of videogame music. Does "Best VGM" ring any bells? It should! On NeoGAF, he's got a thread about a new playlist that's been tried and tested for studying and/or relaxing: "A couple months ago, I completed my Master and decided to upload the playlist that helped me go through most of my studies. I've been getting tons of great feedback with a lot of people saying it's helping them as well. It's still growing (about 4 hours of music right now). You end up associating the tracks with studying, which allows you to immediately turn your concentration on when needed in a pleasant way. I still use this playlist to surf the web sometimes as well." I'm unsure what the schedules for midterms and finals are like elsewhere, but my ears will surely appreciate the work that went into this project as I complete my descent into madness once and for all over the next two weekends. I made a Studying/Relaxing playlist full of video game music [NeoGAF] |
| Natural Selection 2 devs lose $30k to fraudulent keys Posted: 08 Mar 2013 11:30 AM PST Unknown Worlds has issued a warning to everyone not to buy Natural Selection 2 Steam keys from any shady websites. The Natural Selection 2 developers revealed that 1,341 keys had to be deactivated, as they were likely purchased with stolen credit cards. Naturally, many card holders asked for a "charge back" in order to be refunded. Not only does Unknown Worlds lose the $25 from the original sale, but they also get charged a fee of $22 for the process. In total, the developers have lost approximately $30,000 from the entire debacle. They also mention that the only way to know that a key is legitimate is to buy it either directly from Steam or from the Humble Bundle store. There is also a list of authorized retailers, and it will continually be updated if more sellers become authorized. Remember, stick to the websites that you know and trust! |
| Weekend PC deals: Max Payne 3, Killing Floor, Sonic Posted: 08 Mar 2013 11:00 AM PST If leaping through the air whilst shooting guns and sporting bad Hawaiian shirts and whiskey breath is your thing, then you owe it to yourself to pick up Max Payne 3 on Steam this weekend. Rockstar's latest title is reduced by 66% along with its DLC. Steam's other offer is the massively popular (in the UK) Football Manager 2013 which is half price, but really, you'd be better off purchasing it at Green Man Gaming who has cut the price by 62%. Also on offer at GreenManGaming is the perennial co-op favourite Killing Floor which is the main weekend promo, reduced by 75%. Another cool deal is 15% off a pre-order of Trials Evolution Gold using GMG's newest coupon code for another 20% off the price. Amazon.com has an Enormous ENU adventure game pack which is just $9.99 for 11 games, which would normally be over $80. The many games of Sonic The Hedgehog are featured in GamersGate's big weekend sale; there's between 50 and 75% off titles like recent All Stars Racing Transformed. GOG.com is the ones that can help your cravings for strategy titles in its weekend promo, knocking classic titles like Stonghold HD and Zeus + Poseiden down to half price. As always, if you find a good weekend PC deal, let us all know in the comments. |
| The Black Box: When chiptunes and piano collide Posted: 08 Mar 2013 10:45 AM PST We have come to know and love the excellent offerings from the Ubiktune netlabel over the years, and they've just unleashed an amazing album that combines chiptunes and live piano titled The Black Box. It features Aivi "Waltz for Luma" Tran and Steven "surasshu" Valema doing what they do best: piano in Tran's case and chiptunes in Valema's (and you may recognize their names because they're both in charge of sound for the recently-funded Cryamore). The interaction between the piano and chiptune elements are simply mesmerizing, weaving a dreamy tapestry that explores ballads, jazz, and even a few videogame remixes. The album comes courtesy of Ubiktune and Bandcamp and is available for streaming or download at name-your-own-price. We'll have a review in Note Worthy next week, but you need to check it out now and let us know what you think! |
| Shigeru Miyamoto believes in a Wii U future Posted: 08 Mar 2013 10:30 AM PST Shigeru Miyamoto is a busy little beaver, isn't he? First a chat with GameSpot, and now a two-part interview with Time? Where does he find the energy? That's why I'm convinced that the man will outlive us all. I'm honestly a little disappointed with the youthful Nintendo elf's Time conversation, as it is nowhere near as candid or as enlightening as his GameSpot session. Nonetheless, it's always a treat to be able to peek into that wonderland of a brain. He addresses the Wii U's slow OS performance: "We had multiple different teams working on multiple different segments of the hardware and its features simultaneously. Certainly we'd had experience with that type of development designing the 3DS, but with Wii U the scope of the project was far beyond our development of the 3DS hardware. And with many of those features, you don’t get a true sense for how they interact or where the advantages and disadvantages lie within the broader framework until you're able to bring all the components together into a single unified system." Once the big April update arrives, however, Miyamoto expects everyone will have a far more convenient experience. |
| Game Debate to the Death! Most loyal game company? Posted: 08 Mar 2013 10:15 AM PST Last week we debated over which of the Dead Space games was most worthy of a trophy, and it was great reading through your comments that brought up gameplay, visuals, scare factors, and other elements to judge the series on. Here are the top three results:
I had other plans for this week's game debate, but the community has spoken. A lot. And pretty much all about SimCity, Amazon, and the perpetually infamous Electronic Arts. So instead of focusing on the bad, let's focus on something positive. What game developer (not publisher) is the most loyal to its fans out of all the other game companies in the industry? Is it because of their refusal to let profits change them? Is it their willingness to change to meet all of their fans' demands? Or maybe it's their unparalleled customer service? There are plenty of companies to choose from, so think long and hard before voting, and make sure you read through the comments to consider some of the other worthy candidates. Check back next week to see which company gets the crown! |
| Animated Skyward Sword diorama is part delicious cake Posted: 08 Mar 2013 10:00 AM PST Parents can be really awesome when it comes to cake. I remember for a birthday long ago, my mom made me a prehistoric landscape cake populated by dinosaurs, rough terrain, boulders, trees, and an erupting volcano. I thought that was just the greatest thing ever. Super parents extraordinaire Will and Liliana like to make custom cakes for their daughters' birthdays, such as this Super Mario Galaxy number for their youngest, Hannah. When Zelda fan Sydney turned 10, mom and dad constructed an impressive Skyward Sword cake. It's technically more of a traditional diorama as a great bulk of the construction is inedible -- only the temple on the Sealed Grounds is made of cake, while the archway is formed by Rice Krispies Treats. But just look at the thing! There's Skyloft floating above the clouds, Link atop his Loftwing, and Groose working on his catapult cart track. And to top it all off, many of the details are motorized! This is seriously great. Chad Concelmo would be proud! Sydney's The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword Cake (10th 2013) [Will and Liliana's Web Page] |
| Posted: 08 Mar 2013 09:30 AM PST [Mash Tactics airs Monday through Friday at 4p.m. Pacific on Dtoid.TV. Watch King Foom play a variety of games, each day with its own theme. With a heavy focus on community and viewer interaction, you can be as much a part of the show as anything else.] Never in a million years did I think that I would be addicted to a Star Trek MMO, as to be quite honest, I'm not the biggest fan of either. I'll be damned, though -- this game has surprisingly sucked me in. From the epic space combat, to the truly awesome community, I honestly just can't get enough. So if you're in the same boat as me, and feel like it's already been too long since we've gotten together and blasted the hell out of some Borg, be sure to come by Dtoid.TV this evening and join the battle. QotD: Are you a bigger fan of Star Trek or Star Wars and why? |
| Petition demands the removal of DRM from SimCity Posted: 08 Mar 2013 09:15 AM PST SimCity is broken. Players aren't able to connect to the servers, and without that connection you virtually cannot do anything with the city building game. Fans are rightly outraged, taking to various social media outlets and forums, warning others to not purchase the game. Still, its unclear if DRM is the culprit of if its because the game is too much fun. Fans have also taken to Change, and created a petition asking Electronic Arts to remove the always online DRM from SimCity and future games: "When I, And millions of other people, buy a game that has a single-player experience. We expect it to work regardless of our connectivity to the internet, or quality of our connection. EA has made this impossible, so many people with an unstable connection will not even be able to play the game in the first place, let alone anyone who wants to play on the go/with no internet connection." There have been nearly 40,000 signatures as of this writing, and another 10,000 signatures are needed before hitting the target goal. Will this actually be enough for EA to listen to the issue of DRM and always online requirements? It's doubtful, sadly. Everyone saw this coming thanks to the Diablo III launch, and yet history just repeated itself. |
| Posted: 08 Mar 2013 09:00 AM PST ATV Wild Ride 3D brings the racing genre to the 3DS eShop. It brings us back to a simpler time, when racing was just about racing, without all the bells, whistles, super charged items, and crazy unlocks. With full online play support, extended and mirror options for tracks, and online leaderboards, there's a lot on offer here content wise. When it comes to substance though, it's unfortunately lacking. |
| Resident Evil 6 PC includes DLC pass, free RE5, and more Posted: 08 Mar 2013 08:45 AM PST If you're committed to playing through Resident Evil 6 and haven't picked up a copy already, the PC version looks like the way to go, and not just for the potential mods. Capcom used a three-tier pre-order system on Steam, which essentially offered more bonus items as more people pre-purchased the full game. This week, the third tier was reached. As a result, those who pre-purchase the game for $39.99 prior to release on March 22 will get the following extras: the digital artbook and soundtrack, a free copy of Resident Evil 5 (or Devil May Cry 4 for non-Games for Windows Live territories, says Capcom), and the DLC Season Pass. Not a bad offering, all things considered. |
| What if household furniture had DRM? Posted: 08 Mar 2013 08:30 AM PST SimCity's always-online DRM scheme is seriously the worst. How anti-consumer can you get? Whenever a studio decides to implement something extremely backwards like limited installations or online checks, you have to wonder if there was even a single Chuckie Finster-esque voice of reason who said, "I don't think that's such a good idea." Could you imagine if DRM was applied to something as commonplace as household furniture? Over on The Deconstruction, an engineering competition / collaboration event in which participants take a preexisting object and improve it in some way, the Swiss team of Les Sugus opted to "improve" a simple wooden chair so that after it's sat on eight times, the joints melt down and the chair collapses. And whenever someone gets off the chair, it produces a knocking sound that indicates the number of remaining "sits" allowed. Talk about biting satire! If putting DRM in a chair sounds entirely impractical, how in the world could anyone think putting DRM in computer software is any better? DRM CHAIR [Vimeo via The Escapist] |
| FAIL: This Xbox Live Arcade avatar is NOT a corgi Posted: 08 Mar 2013 08:24 AM PST I'm on vacation this week. I was looking to take some down time before this crazy year for videogames officially kicks off. With both PAX East and GDC coming up later this month, I'm trying to rest up, but this busted corgi avatar had me hopping out of bed to say my piece. The newly added Dogs and Puppies avatar pack for Xbox Live Arcade would normally be something positive, but its "corgi" puppy avatar is so ugly and off that I can't help but be disappointed. What is up with its legs? Where are the cute, stubby paws corgis are known for? And flopped ears? Corgis have pointed, beautiful ears -- not those abominations. Oh, and the tail. Though things are changing, most Pembroke Welsh Corgis have no tail -- they're either docked or tailless. If the dog had its tail, it would be long and fuzzy, and not gross like this. Have you people ever looked at a corgi? Check my Pinterest board to see how off you are. Is a re-do out of the question? If you need help, I am happy to offer any assistance. We can't just let this go. |
| Mewtwo returns for the 16th Pokemon movie Posted: 08 Mar 2013 08:15 AM PST Truth bomb: The best Pokémon film hands-down is the very first one, Mewtwo Strikes Back, if only because it's the one most of us gave enough of a damn about to actually watch. What kid didn't want to see the legendary psychic titan demonstrate why no other Pokémon can even come close to his level of awesomeness? Exactly how many other Pokémon succeeded in killing the series' main protagonist? Zero, that's how many! So it is with great fanfare that the latest Pokémon movie welcomes Mewtwo back to the silver screen after a 15-year hiatus -- Mewtwo Returns doesn't count because it was just a TV special. Releasing in Japan on July 13, Extreme Speed Genesect: Mewtwo's Awakening also features the cybernetic Genesect from Black and White, so expect some high-speed, Dragon Ball Z-type aerial clashes that threaten to catch every other living thing in the crossfire. You can bet your shinies that I'll be watching this joint when the localized version appears on Cartoon Network a few months from now. [via ScrewAttack] |
| Level-5 files trademark for Guild02 3DS games in USA Posted: 08 Mar 2013 08:00 AM PST It looks like Level-5's Guild02 compilation might be headed for western shores. Siliconera has reportedly uncovered US trademarks for Bugs vs. Tanks! and The Starship Damrey, indicating a possible localized release for the games. For those unfamiliar, Guild01 brought high-profile Japanese developers like Grasshopper Manufacture and Yasumi Matsuno of Vagrant Story together for a game jam that resulted in Crimson Shroud, Aero Porter, and, my personal favorite, Liberation Maiden. Sadly, one of the games may not be making the jump across the Pacific. If these filings are any indication, a western release for Kaiju ga Deru Kinyoubi, ("Monsters Appear On Friday") doesn't sound like it's in the cards. Hopefully we'll have more information on Level-5's plans for the titles in the near future. Level-5 Bringing Guild02 Games Bugs vs. Tanks! And The Starship Damrey Here? [Siliconera] |
| Oingo Boingo and Toto in next week's Rock Band DLC Posted: 08 Mar 2013 07:45 AM PST Next week, the Rock Band Music Store will be adding a couple of classic 80's songs to the list of downloadable content. "Rosanna" from Toto will be available for purchase, along with Oingo Boingo's "Weird Science." It surprises me that it took this long for Oingo Boingo to appear in the game, but "Weird Science" is as good an entry point as any. With the DLC winding down, hope this news would have given me for "Dead Man's Party" (or, if we want to totally ignore reason altogether, "Little Girls") has already been crushed, so I guess I'll just take what I can get. As ever, the tracks will run you $1.99 (or 160 MS Points) each and "Weird Science" also has Pro Guitar and Pro Bass upgrades for an additional $0.99 (80 MS Points). |
| Friday Night Fights: SimSh*tty Posted: 08 Mar 2013 07:30 AM PST Welcome to another edition of Destructoid's Friday Night Fights! So... anybody wanna play SimCity tonight? No? Too soon? OK then! Hit the jump to see all the stuff we will be playing! |
| EA: SimCity's broken because it's just too much fun! Posted: 08 Mar 2013 07:15 AM PST In what has to be the most incredible display of PR spin seen in a videogame crisis, an Electronic Arts spokesperson has claimed SimCity's notoriously awful DRM setbacks are a result of the game being just too gosh-darn enjoyable to quit! No, this isn't an Onion article. "What we saw was that players were having such a good time they didn't want to leave the game, which kept our servers packed and made it difficult for new players to join," explained senior producer Kip Katsarelis on EA's forums. The remark has already led to SimCity being renamed to SpinCity (thanks to Hollander Cooper!) in celebration of an almost impressive bit of damage control. SimCity is now the game too fun to work, and it's all your fault for wanting to play it so badly. Amazing. |
| You can screw with Toad in Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon Posted: 08 Mar 2013 07:00 AM PST After years of waiting, Luigi fans are finally getting their long-awaited sequel to Luigi's Mansion later this month on the 3DS in the form of Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon. To help curb the pain of the last few weeks of waiting, a few gameplay videos have surfaced showing off some of the more fun moments of the game. Specifically, screwing around with Toad, playing around in a haunted swimming pool, and battling an evil spider. Stay tuned for our full review coming later this month! Luigi's Mansion [Bit Block via GoNintendo] |
| Blade of Darkness is now on GOG.com and I need to play it Posted: 08 Mar 2013 06:45 AM PST Third-person action game Blade of Darkness has been added to GOG.com and, from what I can gather, this is something worth downloading immediately. I've heard that people who like King's Field and Demon's/Dark Souls will appreciate Rebel Act Studios' brand of combat, which is all that needs to be said about the matter. The game itself is $5.99, so even if it's ultimately not for me more than a decade after its original release, that's a risk worth taking. Any fond (or not-so-fond) memories of this game? |
| Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 debuts generic launch trailer Posted: 08 Mar 2013 06:30 AM PST Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 is nearly here, and you can check out what it has to offer with the new launch trailer from City Interactive. Unfortunately, it doesn't really do a good job of conveying what makes this game different from the rest of the first-person shooter pack. Generic bad guy? Check. Quotes like "He thinks he's outside the law?" Check. Tough guy narrator? Check. Is anyone excited for this? |
| Team Meat thought Microsoft would change its ways Posted: 08 Mar 2013 06:15 AM PST It's no secret that Super Meat Boy developer Team Meat has been critical of Microsoft after its experience getting the game on Xbox Live Arcade. Speaking to Eurogamer, designer Edmund McMillen said that "For a while I really thought Microsoft would change and was changing after the bad experiences were made public about working with them that weren't just us. But from what I've heard recently they have not at all changed." "The sad truth of it is they do not need to change," explained programmer Tommy Refenes. "Because Xbox Arcade is such a small portion of them overall it does not matter. And they will still attract developers no matter what." McMillen believes that "The person who controls the money doesn't really need to strategize about anything. They just throw more money around. You look at Kinect and that was the most ham-fisted garbage device in the world, but they got it moving because they invested s***loads of money in it and advertised. In the end you make stupid decisions and don't rely on any intellect at all. That's kind of the way it works with these consoles." The wide-ranging interview also covers Team Meat's new game, Mew-Genics, offering a description that finally has me visualizing what the game will actually be about, as well as thoughts on the future of consoles and gamepads, and what it will take for the duo to develop for Wii U. The answer to that last one is Meat Boy in Super Smash Bros. (or some really good terms). Team Meat on cats, consoles, and its wish for Super Meat Boy [Eurogamer] |
| Review: The Banner Saga: Factions Posted: 08 Mar 2013 06:00 AM PST When we first heard of The Banner Saga and its success on Kickstarter last spring, it was a single-player focused turn-based RPG. Since then, it has split off into two releases: a narrative-driven single-player game to come and a free-to-player multiplayer game called Factions, a taste of what's to come and a standalone release that will receive its own updates in upcoming months. While I was foaming at the mouth for Banner Saga when I checked it out in the fall, it now enters a post-Fire Emblem and XCOM world. By the time the beta rolled out, my interest had faded. Despite these lowered expectations and the misguided community concerns over this free-to-play release, I've been having a good time with Banner Saga and see much promise in how Factions and the upcoming commercial release will improve upon an already solid foundation. |
| SimCity is now available on Amazon...again Posted: 08 Mar 2013 05:45 AM PST SimCity is finally here, and to say EA has had a disastrous launch is an understatement. Among connection issues due to its always-on DRM scheme, EA has also reportedly denied customers refunds. As a result of this maelstrom of madness, Amazon pulled SimCity from its storefront to account for the massive amount of refunds it was issuing. Now, the game is back and ready to be purchased, with a giant warning below the product page, noting, "many customers are having issues connecting to the SimCity servers. EA is actively working to resolve these issues, but at this time we do not know when the issue will be fixed." In case you hadn't heard, this game has issues. |
| Ubisoft's big PAX East lineup won't be playable by fans Posted: 08 Mar 2013 05:30 AM PST Ubisoft's biggest titles for 2013 such as Assassin's Creed IV, Watch Dogs, and Splinter Cell: Blacklist will all be at PAX East, but you won't be able to play any of them. There will only be controlled demo presentations, with swag such as an inflatable ACIV sword or a Watch Dogs lanyard given out to those that wait in line to watch someone else play. What will be playable at Ubisoft's booth? ShootMania Storm, Might & Magic Heroes VI Shades of Darkness, Might & Magic Duel of Champions Online Card Game, Spartacus Legends, and Call of Juarez Gunslinger. Oh boy! |
| Osbcure Namco game Bravoman gets a cartoon Posted: 08 Mar 2013 05:15 AM PST I know you're looking at that headline and saying to yourself, "What the hell is Bravoman?" It's a fairly unknown Namco arcade game from the 80s that was later ported to the TurboGrafx-16 -- and incidentally is also available on the Wii Virtual Console. The titular star is a send-up of Japanese superheroes who can extend his bionic limbs like Stretch Armstrong. Got that? Cool. So why is it getting a cartoon? It's all thanks to Namco Bandai's ShiftyLook initiative, which breathes life back into forgotten Namco properties through the power of webcomics. Bravoman: Super-Unequaled Hero of Excellence is among the more popular of those comics, thus it was selected for an animated treatment. Kotaku even has an exclusive 30-second preview clip, should you want to give it a quick watch. What truly catches my attention, however, is the voice cast. Playing Bravoman is none other than Rob Paulsen, best known as the legendary talent behind Raphael and Donatello in the 1987 and 2012 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series respectively, as well as Yakko Warner in Animaniacs. Also lending his pipes is the fairly illustrious Dee Bradley Baker, who I learned just this second was the voice of Olmec in Legends of the Hidden Temple. Holy fudge! If Bravoman works out well, I hope Namco Bandai decides to adapt the Klonoa comic next. A Brand-New Cartoon Shows Video Game Heroes Hate Annoying Help Messages, Too [Kotaku via GoNintendo] |
| SimCity Metacritic user reviews are brutal brutal brutal! Posted: 08 Mar 2013 05:00 AM PST Big game releases these days are almost always going to be subject to some literary abuse via the outlet of Metacritic user reviews, especially when a major publisher like Electronic Arts is concerned. In the case of SimCity, however, the rage has been taken to the next level. As used as I am to seeing Metacritic user review backlash, SimCity's overwhelming negativity is nothing short of a spectacle. The general sense that it deserves all the criticism it gets for a contemptible use of always-online DRM serves to make the whole thing even more delicious. People are righteous in their fury, and this time there are few who would argue otherwise. At the time of writing, SimCity has a user score of 1.6 with 1,848 negative reviews compared to 260 positive and 41 middling. The most interesting part is that the vast majority of reviews are decently written and make calm, calculated criticisms. This is a break from the usual blind venom that gets spewed, and certainly helps show just how seriously angry users are with EA's horrible decision. We've collected some favorite comments below for your reading pleasure. |
| Get a deeper look at Killzone Mercenary for the Vita Posted: 08 Mar 2013 04:45 AM PST Killzone Mercenary is on the way for the PlayStation Vita, and will drop on September 17. But for the time being, Sony has given us a better look at what the game has in store in the above video, specifically showcasing a lot of violent melee touch-screen mechanics. According to the developers, multiplayer is a "definite focus," and the game will ship with three multiplayer modes. At the current moment, only Team Deathmatch is confirmed. Hopefully this won't end up like Resistance: Burning Skies! Sony doesn't have the greatest track record when it comes to portable spinoffs of their main franchises. Killzone Mercenary [PS Blog] |
| Richard Garriott returns with RPG 'Shroud of the Avatar' Posted: 08 Mar 2013 04:30 AM PST With so many other notable game designers using Kickstarter to fund their passion projects, it only seemed like a matter of time before Richard Garriott's name popped up in relation to the crowdfunding site. The creator of Ultima and his Austin-based studio Portalarium are back with a fantasy role-playing game called Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues. The Windows, Mac, and Linux title "will include what I think are the keys to an ultimate role-playing experience," said Garriott. "These important tenets include things like a fully interactive virtual world, deep original fiction with ethical parables such that players' choices are relevant, cultural histories and fully developed alternative languages and text. Also we want our players to have physical game components like cloth maps, fictional manuals and trinkets. These are all things that people came to expect in my earlier works and we plan on bringing them all back to create Shroud of the Avatar." After the recent (and ongoing!) performance of inXile's Torment: Tides of Numenera, I would be shocked if this project doesn't meet the million-dollar milestone within its first day. The stretch goals are going to be interesting with this one. Of special note is the $10 "Guilt Pledge" for those who "ever pirated an Ultima game or used an exploit to grief other players in Ultima Online." |
| Dance Central's DLC is coming to an end as well Posted: 08 Mar 2013 04:15 AM PST In a shocking turn of events, after 275 straight week of DLC, Harmonix announced that Rock Band would cease offering new content. Now, it seems as if its other major franchise, Dance Central, will be following suit "for the near future" after developing a song library of over 200 tracks. Just like their reasoning for Rock Band, Harmonix cites that it is moving forward with "several new titles," and it's choosing to focus on those instead. Well, it was a good ride, Harmonix -- I can't wait to see what you come up with next. March DLC update [Dance Central] |
| Posted: 08 Mar 2013 04:00 AM PST I love the SimCity series. I played the first one for countless hours growing up, and my younger years were filled with endless play sessions of SimCity 2000 and 3000. I wanted to like the latest SimCity. The visual style looks great, and it seemed like a good idea to streamline some of the games more radical detail. Sadly, SimCity has some weird design decisions, and the worst problem with it is the fact that you always have to be online to play. This might be overlooked as a minor annoyance, but the servers aren't up to the task of handling the player load. I've had a hard time getting online to play, and it's made judging it as a game difficult. We tossed it out there to you to see what you wanted us to do, and you responded loud and clear that the game deserved to be reviewed in its current state. You are why we review games, and you are the ones that care about our opinions. Things might get better in the future for SimCity, but right now it's bad and unplayable at times. This review is based in part on time spent before release when I was able to connect, but mostly my opinions are formed on the actual retail version of the game. |
| See your Kickstarter cash at work with Shadowrun Returns Posted: 08 Mar 2013 03:45 AM PST Developer Hairbraned Schemes is ready to show off a full 20 minutes of gameplay for its Kickstarter project, Shadowrun Returns. The demonstration moves around from the free exploration to combat pretty consistently, so you can get a full idea of what it has to offer. It seems to be a live demo, which is pretty cool, and a nice departure from the smoke-and-mirror tactics from major publishers. The presenters note that all of the levels shown in the video are built with the in-game editor, and said editor comes with the PC and Mac versions of the game (YES!). |
| Tomb Raider on Steam now comes with TF2 items Posted: 08 Mar 2013 03:30 AM PST If you already bought Tomb Raider on Steam or do so before March 12, your Team Fortress 2 inventory will have three brand new Tomb Raider related items bestowed upon it. The "Tomb Wrapper" is a Scout-only item of a blood-stained bandage around his arm, the "Fortune Hunter" is Lara's pickaxe available for all classes, and finally the "Croft's Crest" is a badge for all classes, resembling something from the game I'm sure. These items will likely be available to anyone playing Team Fortress 2, but those who buy Tomb Raider before March 12 will get the items in "Genuine" quality, which directly increases their worth in the TF2 market. With more and more players buying games mainly for the items though, these Genuine items are slowly starting to lose value. |
| Everybody dies in this Dragon Quest X trailer Posted: 08 Mar 2013 03:15 AM PST This new Dragon Quest X trailer is brought to you by the concept of death. Death: the great inevitability for us all. The opening seconds show the typical burning RPG village, all the motionless villagers strewn about, before an evil purple badass cuts a crescent-shaped rift in the sky that begins seeping a very foul miasma. Jump ahead a minute and our heroic party is now engaged in a montage of monster battles, paying back for all the innocent lives lost with even more bloodshed. This Wii U up-port of the Wii MMO looks... well... like a Wii U up-port of a Wii game. But at least the graphics benefit from the extra sharpness. Dragon Quest X, which recently entered open beta in Japan, still hasn't been announced for the West, but our pals in the East will be getting their Akira Toriyama on come March 30. |
| Podtoid 243: Do I Wanna Defend Balls? Posted: 08 Mar 2013 03:00 AM PST It's a laid back episode this week. People are tired, stressed, but keen to talk shop! SimCity gets the savaging it deserves, while Trent Reznor's up to his ol' texting tricks. Elsewhere, Jim's ludicrous PC problems are fully detailed, and there's a debate over the merits of testicles. So here's your Podtoid that you kept bloody asking for! Eat it up. As ever, you can subscribe to us on iTunes and RSS, buy our Android App or download directly! |
| See Metal Gear Rising's new DLC in action Posted: 08 Mar 2013 02:45 AM PST The upcoming free 30 VR Mission DLC pack is on the way for PS3 owners, but that's not the only add-on on the horizon for Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. In addition to the PS3 exclusive content, there's also the wacky Soul Snake Sword, and extra campaigns starring Sam and Blade Wolf. For those of you who are curious, Konami has just put up a trailer showing off the new VR Missions and the Soul Snake Sword. It's in Japanese, but apparently Snake's voice is context sensitive, which should make for some awesome Easter egg style experimentation. |
| Project Awakened is down, but not out! Posted: 08 Mar 2013 02:30 AM PST Project Awakened unfortunately failed to meet its Kickstarter goal, despite an intensely promising concept. However, Phosphor Games is keeping its spirits high and is still determined to find a way to dedicate itself fully to the game's development. The game's official website now has a community poll allowing gamers to help decide its fate. Phosphor is considering taking donations directly from interested parties, either via PayPal or credit cards, but it wants to gauge the realistic results first. So, the poll is quite simple -- if Phosphor ran a direct fundraiser -- which meant it would keep your money regardless of a stretch goal being met -- would you pledge? In the meantime, Phosphor is working on a "Create-a-Player Sandbox Demo," allowing users to get in and play with the customization options. It will be similar to this video, but with a lot more toys to play with. I still wish this project all the best, in spite of its setbacks. I'm a big believer in its concept and the honest passion for it is something I always admired in Phosphor. The idea of crowd funding is something I still go back and forth on, but ultimately I hope they get to make the game, because I want to play it, and I want ambitious independent game development to thrive. |
| There's gore galore in this Razor's Edge trailer Posted: 08 Mar 2013 02:15 AM PST In case you didn't get a chance to play the slightly better Wii U port of the underwhelming Ninja Gaiden 3, you'll have your chance soon on the Xbox 360 and PS3 come April 2nd. This version will basically be the same as the Wii U release (minus the GamePad-centric features of course), with the added benefit of Smartglass support for the 360 version. It'll also come with the two free character add-ons from the Wii U version: Kasumi and Momiji. |
| Harvest Moon: Gritty Reboot goes back to nature Posted: 08 Mar 2013 02:00 AM PST Gritty reboots are all the rage these days. Recently, we have seen the release of Battleship, Hansel and Gretel, Jack the Giant Slayer, and more. Once Hollywood runs out of comic books, fairy tales, and board games to bastardize, you know it will target beloved childhood videogames. Enter Harvest Moon: Gritty Reboot. There are some nice touches in the video that pay homage to the admittedly bizarre Harvest Moon universe. From the town's minuscule population to the mathematically ideal shape of the crop plots, the Gritty Reboot team really did their homework. But of course, the trailer ends with a cliffhanger. To whom will our plucky protagonist offer his blue feather? (I hope it's Mary.) |
| Posted: 08 Mar 2013 01:30 AM PST I have of late been subject to some strange occurrences. Some may even say ... frightening ... circumstances. Indeed, the things I have seen make me so very grateful for the inability of the human mind to truly understand our universe in all its vastness. We strive, in our small way, to know. We want to know everything, but we know merely a sliver, and should we ever expose ourselves to more, we may all go mad. This much, I do know. This much, I do understand. |
| Microsoft quietly cancels the Xbox Live Family Pack Posted: 08 Mar 2013 01:00 AM PST Microsoft has decided to quietly cancel the Xbox Live Family Pack, which netted you four Xbox Live Gold accounts at the discounted price of $99.99. The benefits for this system were tenfold, including a massive discount in price, and other helpful options like the ability to restrict child accounts, and allot a Microsoft Point allowance with the press of a button. Rather than give users a heads up however, Microsoft has simply stopped offering the service under cover of the night, and when users woke up this morning finding that there was an error code for their renewal option, a rep informed them that it was "no longer being offered." If you renewed already you will still have access, but if you tried to renew today, you're basically screwed. I can confirm personally that I am not given the option to renew. With the PlayStation 4 on the horizon, and the PS3 offering free content and application access right now, this move is beyond idiotic, and will no doubt sour a ton of paying customers. |
| Posted: 08 Mar 2013 12:30 AM PST If you are one of the many who purchased SimCity this week and found yourself unable to play it, you may feel like you were gypped out of $60 and want your money back. Unfortunately, while physical retailers might do the honorable thing, Origin won't refund you. An Origin rep told Polygon it doesn't refund users unless there are "special mitigating circumstances," and EA selling a game that doesn't work through self-serving design doesn't count. A refund situation may include your computer not meeting the requirements for something you bought. It doesn't include EA putting its fearful need for post-purchase user control above the enjoyment of its customers. While the lack of refunds on Origin isn't exactly a new policy, situations like this expose the risk of purchasing digital content, and highlight the need for more efficient and consumer-friendly refund policies. The "Wild West" factor of digital distribution allows platforms to refuse customers the right to a refund, but if the industry wants physical media to be taken over, it's going to have to eventually start treating digital like a real business. There's simply no long-term value in doing what this industry's doing right now. If games increasingly release in deliberately unplayable states, while refusing refunds, it will eventually burn even the most patient and loyal of users. EA's been steadily displaying a fear of its own customers for a while now -- and the more it acts on that fear, the more it'll fulfill its own prophecies of consumer abandonment. EA not offering SimCity refunds [Polygon] |
| Awkward Wreck-It Ralph short spoofs King of Kong Posted: 08 Mar 2013 12:00 AM PST Wreck-It Ralph is now available on Blu-ray and to celebrate the launch, Disney released this half-hour short mockumentary spoofing the King of Kong film. Garlan Hulse: Where Potential Lives follows the one time Fix-It Felix Jr. high score champion Garlan Hulse after his fall into obscurity, and attempt to be on top again. The short was directed by Rich Moore, director of the Wreck-It Ralph movie. Which, by the way, is a great film and one you should definitely watch. |
| Pay your respects to the father of videogames Posted: 07 Mar 2013 11:00 PM PST PBS's "Inventors" series profiles the work of inventors and the latest episode focused on Ralph Baer, the father of videogames. Ralph briefly talks about how the Odyssey, the first gaming console ever, was created and talks about some of his other successful inventions. And then things get extremely depressing. Yet as sad as I felt, I immediately felt huge respect for Ralph. He turned 90 years old in 2012, the same year the Odyssey turned 40, and is still inventing with no plans of ever slowing down. Inspiring stuff. |
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