New Games |
- We played Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds on Hangover
- Three-year-old wants to play Donkey Kong as Pauline
- Indie Royale launches the 'Debut Bundle'
- ScrewAttack TOTALLY has the skinny on Xbox 720
- Retro/Grade coming to Steam March 20
- Mega Man Boss Battle art now on sale for a limited time
- Review: Richard & Alice
- Artists Wanted: 'Winter' recap and your next topic!
- Real men play Gradius
- Bloggers Wanted: What's your favorite Destructoid memory?
- Review: Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds
- Dtoid TV Weekend: Fun for the whole family
- PS3 shoot-'em-up Mamoru-kun might be coming west
- Communitoid 009, featuring special guest digtastik!
- The Angry Video Game Nerd tears through Ikari Warriors
- Check out this sick 11-minute NES chiptune rock medley
- Community poll: What would you like from 'Dtoid Premium'?
- Half of Destructoid's readers block our ads. Now what?
- If you found pizza on the ground, would you eat it?
- The Daily Hotness: Hey guys, I think we broke it
| We played Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds on Hangover Posted: 09 Mar 2013 03:00 PM PST We had a delightful little Saturday Morning Hangover this morning, playing the recently released Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds. Jordan, Katrina and I all piled on in this one and found it to be an enjoyable beat-em-up, if a bit demanding and technical. Also, Katrina is deceptively good at fighting games, something I would do well to remember in the future. The week's Xbox Live Indie demos were also played, though there wasn't really anything too exciting, other than a match-3 game, Candies vs. Hypnodeer that amused Jordan for a good bit. I was interested in Chromathud (and may yet give that another go), and you'll be astounded by the revelation which is Break. Totally. All this, plus another trip down the glorious Rabbid hole that is the Dafoeverse for more of your homages to the greatest actor living today, including an incredibly meta drawing of our show surfing the Dafoeverse. It's like staring into infinity and finding it full of spiders! |
| Three-year-old wants to play Donkey Kong as Pauline Posted: 09 Mar 2013 12:00 PM PST Tropes vs. Women in Videogames has finally hit the internet, and people have been more snarky about it than Juno MacGuff at a "learn to write like Joss Whedon" script-writing seminar. Snark or not, there's no denying that all these games employing the damsel in distress trope en mass sends a message to some that in our culture, the helpless prize is the role women are most appropriate for. One man's daughter isn't happy about it. She's three years old, and "seemed pretty bummed out" that you couldn't play as Pauline in Donkey Kong. Lucky for her, she's got a dad with the skill and patience to make that happen. It looks pretty good too! Nintendo, put this version of Donkey Kong out on the Wii U and 3DS and collect one million public relations skill points. |
| Indie Royale launches the 'Debut Bundle' Posted: 09 Mar 2013 11:30 AM PST Indie Royale's latest collection of games has launched today, featuring six titles in the "Debut Bundle," so named for bringing Windows versions of four games and two which are the first commercial release for their studios. As usual, the games are offered at a low minimum price, which increases during the length of the promotion but can be reduced by the good will of folks willing to cough up more than the minimum. Plus, there are a few other bonus goodies and, if you spend above the $8 threshold, they're throwing in the first full-length album by chiptune artist FearOfDark, Motorway. Right now, it's hovering around $4, less than ten percent of the MSRP for the whole collection. The main lure of the collection is probably Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller Episode 1 - The Hangman, but there are a number of other interesting items on offer as well. I'm particularly interested in checking out McDroid, even though I'm sure I'll be horrible at it, and there's something very appealing about Wimp: Who Stole My Pants? There are five and a half days left on the offer but, again, you don't want to wait if you want to save the most money. |
| ScrewAttack TOTALLY has the skinny on Xbox 720 Posted: 09 Mar 2013 11:00 AM PST While the rest of the world awaits the proper Xbox 720 reveal, ScrewAttack managed to learn all the juicy details and spoil the whole mess. Behold, Microsoft's grand master plan to edge out the PlayStation 4 juuuuuuuuuust slightly! This won't be surprising coming from a guy who hasn't even fully entered the current generation yet, but I don't have high hopes for the new Xbox. I've got this gut feeling that Microsoft will do everything monumentally wrong, pissing off consumers and devs in droves. I guess we'll know for sure once the company actually does unveil the machine, whenever that may be. If you want to catch more vids like this one, check out ScrewAttack's new Real Trailers series, which cuts through the bullsh*t and sows the seeds of truth about games like New Super Mario Bros. U and Final Fantasy: All the Bravest. Real Trailers - Xbox 720 [ScrewAttack] |
| Retro/Grade coming to Steam March 20 Posted: 09 Mar 2013 10:30 AM PST Though you've been able to pick it up straight from the source for some time now, Retro/Grade will be appearing for sale in the Steam store on March 20. The game will be regularly priced at $9.99, but will have an introductory sale where buyers can save 10% in the first week. That ought to generate some healthy sales for the rhythm space shooter, which is good because Allistair seemed to like it. The name always stuck in my head, but it's so generic that I could never really remember what it was whenever it happened to come up in conversation. Of course, now that it will be in my face on Steam with regularity, there's a pretty good chance I'll pick it up. |
| Mega Man Boss Battle art now on sale for a limited time Posted: 09 Mar 2013 10:00 AM PST [Art by David Alegre] Few games have inspired as much "fan art" as the Mega Man series. That's in large part due to its expansive, iconic and diverse cast that has come to popularize the series over the past 25 years. These days there are hundreds of different Mega Man bosses, each with their own distinct styles. Their existence sends a message to artists that there is room for any and every idea they may come up with for the Mega Man world, and nothing sparks creativity like permission to imagine. That "rules free, room for everyone" philosophy is probably why the recent Mega Man Boss Battle gallery showing was such a success. If you're in the San Francisco area, definitely check it out. The rest of you can experience the show in your own home with limited-edition canvas prints, including the piece I came up with. Full disclosure -- I'm not taking any profits from the thing. I'm giving them all to the colorist and the touch-up artist. So if you want a weird piece of Oil Man art in your house and to give them some money, now's your chance. There's also work by Skullgirl's Alex Ahad, Dtoid alumni Ashley Davis and Mikey Turvey, Heads Up Hot Dog's Diego Garcia, Super Crate Box's Paul Veer, pixel-master Josh Grilli, and many more. All that talent assembled in one place? So great! Mega Man Boss Battle [Gauntlet Gallery] |
| Posted: 09 Mar 2013 09:00 AM PST Richard & Alice is, ostensibly, an adventure game. It's simply presented, short, indie fare made created by the two-man team of former games journalist Ashton Raze and Lewis Denby. Underneath its brevity and simplicity, however, is a story that has left me rather distressed. Upon finishing it, a feat that only took a couple of hours, I gushed at the nearest person about feelings and lots of other things that I keep bottled up because I'm a gruff man who doesn't like to cry. They didn't really care, though, because they were watching the news. So here I am, wanting to tell you the same things, but I can't, because that would render the experience of playing it for yourself somewhat pointless, or at least less satisfying. Such is the horror of reviewing a title with exceedingly simple mechanics but a wonderful narrative. |
| Artists Wanted: 'Winter' recap and your next topic! Posted: 09 Mar 2013 08:00 AM PST [Every month or so we post a new art assignment for the Dtoid community. Fun! Here's a recap of the latest. You have until Friday, March 15th to finish your next project, which is detailed at the end of the post!] Welcome back! Last time around, I asked you to draw something inspired by WINTER. I expected some random drawings depicting the snow levels in games or maybe something Ski Free-related; turns out, I had no idea what I was in for! Hit the jump to see all the wonderful entries! |
| Posted: 09 Mar 2013 07:00 AM PST [This month Destructoid celebrates 7 friggin' years of whatever it is we do! Here's the most popular article of this weekend, back in 2007, and easily one of my favorite story headlines of all time. Check our Golden Archives for more top stories from our past. -Niero] I don't know, but it's likely that you know better than I do; maybe you're the hardest of the hardcore. You probably drink Bawls by the crate, upgrade your computer more often than you change your underwear, and can direct air traffic with the orange glow of fingers long since stained by years of Cheeto abuse. Maybe you're reading this article on Opera via a DS emulator running in Linux installed on a PS3 water-cooled by the tears of weeping babies. Hardcore. You and I probably feel differently about this whole "hardcore" thing -- matter fact, I'm sure we do. There are some insist that hardcore gamers must do certain things, play certain games, partake in specific experiences to deem themselves hardcore. Still others go on to define what they feel is a "true gamer", laying down all kinds of crazy criteria they deem necessary to weed out the gamers from, well, everybody else. Similarly, I've got my own ideas, chief among them the notion that the current climate of gaming has turned us all into pansies -- specifically, pansies dependent upon the domination of other, lesser pansies to make us feel less pansy. And if you disagree, here's another question: when's the last time you picked up a shmup? Hit the jump for more. |
| Bloggers Wanted: What's your favorite Destructoid memory? Posted: 09 Mar 2013 06:30 AM PST [When we're looking for blogs on a specific topic, we'll put out a Bloggers Wanted call. Check out the blog prompt, write a response, and you may see your blog promoted to the front page! --Mr Andy Dixon] Did you know that March is Destructoid's birthday month? It's true! So in honor of our green-helmeted robot overlord turning seven (that's the legal drinking age, right?), we'd love to hear your favorite Destructoid memories! For me personally, it was attending my first PAX back in 2011. I had just been promoted to community manager a month earlier by Hamza, and it was one of the highlights of my life meeting and getting to know the Dtoid community on a more personal level. What about you? Hit up the Cblogs and let us know! To participate, just write a community blog, title it "Dtoid Memories: [Your blog title here]", and select the Bloggers Wanted Essay Response tag. As an added incentive, the best bloggers this month will receive a copy of The Witcher 2 (plus five free games) from GOG.com. So get to it, and be sure to wish Niero a happy birthday on March 16th! |
| Review: Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Posted: 09 Mar 2013 06:00 AM PST Side-scrolling beat-'em-ups are a dime a dozen. In every arcade corner and on every console, you'll see hundreds of variations on the genre from River City Ransom to The Simpsons, right down to the pixelated prowess of the Scott Pilgrim game. With every title, the developers try to bring something new to the genre, while also keeping the gameplay familiar and fun for those who love this style of game. Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds is the newest entry into the beat-'em-up genre, based on a franchise you may not be familiar with and using a style that is at once uniquely its own while still being generally familiar. No easy task, to say the least. |
| Dtoid TV Weekend: Fun for the whole family Posted: 09 Mar 2013 04:00 AM PST Time to start another weekend of live content on Dtoid TV. We're kicking things off right now with a Saturday Morning Hangover where we'll be checking out the new beat-em-up Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds right about the time our review hits the page. That's called "synergy," people. But that's just the tip. Brett and Cait will be playing the delightfully camp Earth Defense Force 2017, while Phil keeps plugging away at Devil May Cry 4 as he works on his full series run. And you're not going to want to miss Global Game Jam 2013 keynote speaker and indie designer Erin Robinson on Sup, Holmes? either. |
| PS3 shoot-'em-up Mamoru-kun might be coming west Posted: 09 Mar 2013 03:00 AM PST Good news, everyone! One of the few shoot-'em-ups to come to PlayStation 3 this generation looks to be making the jump across the Pacific. As spotted on Gematsu, UFO has taken to Facebook with some teaser images for Mamoru-kun wa Norowarete Shimatta! Meikai Katsugeki. Mamoru-kun was developed by G.Rev, the team behind last year's high-definition re-release of Dreamcast shooter Under Defeat. Similar to that title, Mamoru-kun has no problem bucking genre trends, differentiating itself from its peers by eschewing eschewing genre mainstays such as flight and auto-scrolling in favor of ground combat and player-controlled movement. Also like Under Defeat HD, Mamoru-kun's western localization looks to be exclusive to PlayStation 3. In addition to the teaser featuring art from the PS3 version, G.Rev president Hiroyuki Maruyama has gone on record stating Microsoft's moon bucks make Xbox Live unprofitable for Japanese developers, as the confusing currency system doesn't take inflation and exchange rates into consideration. |
| Communitoid 009, featuring special guest digtastik! Posted: 09 Mar 2013 02:00 AM PST In this extra juicy episode of Communitoid, we're joined by Dtoid Forums all-star and southern bell digtastik! On the show, Conor laments how his Halo 4 clan sucks, Jo brags once again about her team of science experts, dig is 100% confirmed for PAX Prime, and Aaron should probably be concerned about how much his kiddo enjoys burning things. Click here for the direct download link! You can also subscribe to us on iTunes, RSS, Twitter, and the Cblogs, and talk about us in our Forums! Want to know more about anything you heard on the show? Click here for full show notes, including links to everything on Destructoid we discussed! And don't forget, folks: we're still looking for people to design a Forum badge for us! Thanks for listening! And until next time: Be Better People! |
| The Angry Video Game Nerd tears through Ikari Warriors Posted: 09 Mar 2013 12:00 AM PST Man, know what we haven't shared on Destructoid in a long while? A good ol' fashioned episode of The Angry Video Game Nerd. James Rolfe is still polishing that movie of his, but he managed to squeeze out a solid 20-minute session with SNK's Ikari Warriors on NES. You'll be happy to know that the Nerd has gone back to basics -- no wacky skits or excessive non sequiturs here. He just plays the game and comments on the questionable gameplay. Hell, he doesn't even swear all that much, saving his outbursts for only the most opportune moments. This video also marks the return of AVGN theme song composer Kyle Justin, who hasn't had this much screen time since the famous Battletoads episode. Kyle contributes by whipping up songs on the fly based on whatever is happening in the game at the moment. It gets so intense, in fact, that James almost breaks character trying to stifle his laughter. Old-school Nerd. It's a good thing. AVGN: Ikari Warriors [Cinemassacre] |
| Check out this sick 11-minute NES chiptune rock medley Posted: 08 Mar 2013 10:00 PM PST Guitarist Psycho Crusher, whose amazing rock arrangements I've shared numerous times in the past, originally composed this latest jam with the intent to play it live as a full band. Instead, he decided to turn it into a chiptune medley complete with double bass "drumming." At over 11 minutes in length, "NEStalgic" runs through some of the brightest gems of the NES library, including the Mario trilogy, Marble Madness, Bubble Bobble, Bionic Commando, and more. And as the music and video play, an adorable sprite band rocks out in the bottom-left corner. It's just the ticket to jump-start your weekend! Psycho Crusher - NEStalgic (Epic Nostalgic Chiptune-Rock Medley) [YouTube] |
| Community poll: What would you like from 'Dtoid Premium'? Posted: 08 Mar 2013 07:30 PM PST As our esteemed leader just told you, Destructoid is currently toying with the idea of adding an optional "premium" membership to its tool belt. In addition to the obvious ad-free browsing, we'd be offering up exclusive new* content to paying members, along with other, members-only perks as an incentive and reward to those willing to make the plunge. But what other perks might those be? That's where you come in! We'd love it if you would take a moment and let us know the kinds of things you'd like to see as a paying subscriber. Bonus episodes of Podtoid? Sexy new video content? Jim Sterling's voice on your home answering machine, a la Carl Kasell? (OK, maybe not that last one.) Let us know! Feel free to continue your discussion in the comments thread as well. And thanks! We appreciate all your support <3 |
| Half of Destructoid's readers block our ads. Now what? Posted: 08 Mar 2013 06:45 PM PST [Webmaster Dojo is a column where I share my experiences running Destructoid, one of the last sites not owned by a media conglomerate or venture capital velociraptor. I'll sling exotic coffee bean water to keep servers on.] Relax. We're still friends. Last month, I learned that the primary way we support Destructoid was quickly shrinking due to a browser plug-in: the ad-blocker. On the bright side, it brought some closure on why our ad checks never quite kept up with perky site traffic or growing bandwidth bills. No, I'm not going to chainsaw your face for installing an ad-blocker. Chances are, though, you understand that blocking ads denies us some coffers and you probably feel a little bad about it, but all ads intrinsically annoy you. That's okay. Still, it is enough for me to say that it's a problem facing my site and other sites like it, and a few weeks ago, I started to appeal to readers to whitelist us -- that mostly failed. Is asking for nickels the best way to future-proof a gaming site? |
| If you found pizza on the ground, would you eat it? Posted: 08 Mar 2013 05:00 PM PST Well, would you? That's what our newest shirt in the Destructoid store is asking, and if you've ever played a beat'em up before then you know the answer is giant yes! The new design was created by Josh Grilli, and features a tasty 8-bit pizza. As always, each shirt goes for $19.95, and you'll receive free shipping worldwide when you spend over $60 on anything in our store! |
| The Daily Hotness: Hey guys, I think we broke it Posted: 08 Mar 2013 03:59 PM PST Jesus H probably-non-existent-Christ! Talk about all across the board, SimCity seems to have hit many people in many different ways according to Metacritic. Or maybe it hasn't hit you at all. Don't worry, keep refreshing that login page and I'm sure you'll get to play that game you paid for, someday. In the mean time you can enjoy the free game EA is offering though. Not like you can get a refund or anything. VIDEOGAMES! Today, Mike Capps officially cuts all ties with Epic Games, Take-Two offers words to live buy in reference to Grand Theft Auto, and Capcom offers a ton of goodies to those of you brave enough to pre-purchase Resident Evil 6 on PC. I was hoping one of the bonuses would be taking the suck out of RE6, but that is not the case. Destructoid Originals: Community: Reviews: |
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