New Games |
- This is what MAGFest 12 looks like
- PopCap CEO retiring, studio co-founder taking over
- Wikipad to produce Gamevice mobile gaming controller
- DayZ has sold more than 400,000 Early Access copies
- Microsoft files a trademark for 'Throne Together'
- Live show: Left 4 Dead 2
- Review: Indoor Sports World
- Xbox One gets early access to TV show Chozen
- Sabrewulf is the next free Killer Instinct character
- Friday Night Fights: Win SteamWorld Dig
- Burrito Galaxy combines two of my favorite things
- Valve could've been successful just doing Half-Life
- Yuji Naka makes a whale photographing game
- Deep Down trademarked for North America and Europe
- Sony patent points to adding new content to classic games
- Bravely Default's western release has edited outfits
- Criterion co-founders Ward and Sperry leave studio
- Bethesda working to bring the Fallout games back to Steam
| This is what MAGFest 12 looks like Posted: 03 Jan 2014 02:00 PM PST Destructoid is at MAGFest 12, and in addition to our "Community First" panel, we're also roaming the halls looking for trouble. For those of you who haven't attended before, there's a large dealer room to peruse and purchase games and art (games are art too you know), a table flipping event for charity, and a boat load of arcade, console, and PC games to play. I'm talking full multi-cabinet racing titles to old school adventure games on Commodore 64 hardware. There's also tons of cosplay (including some dude who dressed up and did the chicken dance in random hallways) and random activities going on, like the second Mega Manathon for charity. Overall MagFest is a very community oriented convention, so if you aren't here already, consider checking it out next year. |
| PopCap CEO retiring, studio co-founder taking over Posted: 03 Jan 2014 01:00 PM PST As of January 8, PopCap CEO Dave Roberts, who joined the studio nine years ago, will be stepping down. Replacing him in the head role is John Vechey, one of the studio's original co-founders. The only remaining one, in fact, as co-founder Jason Kapalka is leaving along with Roberts, though he will remain a creative consultant for the company. On the heels of the release of both Peggle 2 and Plants Vs. Zombies 2, it seems an interesting decisions. Apparently PvZ2 didn't monetize as well as EA would have liked and Vechey, speaking with GamesBeat, said of PopCap, "We need to get back to the place where we used to be and not just in mobile." Seems that means less work on sequels, as well. Or at least more work on new ideas. "Getting more new IP out per year is the goal," Vechey said. "We want to formalize the creative process and get it to scale better." I like the sound of more new ideas as PopCap turns back a bit more towards development. And even that Plants Vs. Zombies shooter actually looks pretty fun. PopCap CEO to retire, cofounder will take over the Plants vs. Zombies studio (exclusive) [GamesBeat] |
| Wikipad to produce Gamevice mobile gaming controller Posted: 03 Jan 2014 12:00 PM PST The manufacturers of the Wikipad gaming tablet have announced plans to release a controller accessory compatible with other brands of mobile devices, Gamevice. The controller, which can expand or contract to fit various tablet designs, features dual analog sticks, two pairs of shoulder buttons, four face buttons and a directional pad. Wikipad is currently working on versions compatible with Android and Windows 8 mobile devices and hopes to announce support for "other important OS systems" soon. Yeah, they'd better get on that. Seems like you'd be shooting yourself in the foot a bit to release an accessory like this without including iOS in the range. Still, if you've been eying the Wikipad's controller design and feel your current tablet is a bit sad without something of the sort clamped to it, this could be an option. |
| DayZ has sold more than 400,000 Early Access copies Posted: 03 Jan 2014 11:00 AM PST For what seemed like ages, DayZ existed only as a mod for ArmA II. Then, finally last month, DayZ saw a standalone release in alpha form via Early Access. It made more than $5 million in its first day. Clearly, people want massively multiplayer zombie survival games. DayZ continued its sales dominance, holding the top spot during most of the recent Steam Winter Sale, despite not being discounted throughout the event. In a development blog post, it was revealed that the title has sold more than 400,000 copies to date, and there were more than 40,000 players on servers at one time. That makes for a lot of opportunities to be a dick or just plain creepy to random strangers. |
| Microsoft files a trademark for 'Throne Together' Posted: 03 Jan 2014 10:30 AM PST Back in May when Microsoft first announced the Xbox One, it also promised to bring a fair number of exclusives and new IPs to the platform. While there's some stuff currently available and more in the pipeline, a title just popped up that will likely be yet another new property. A trademark was filed by Microsoft with the USPTO in late December for the mark "Throne Together." All we know about this term thus far is that it has been classified as game software. Anything else is pure conjecture. But, conjecture's fun, so let's speculate as to what this could be! I'm putting my money on a crossover between Game of Thrones and Drawn Together where you have to use Kinect to hit Wooldoor Sockbat with big, floppy weiners. Maybe some dragons will eventually show up, too. Trademark Status & Document Retrieval [United States Patent and Trademark Office via IGN] |
| Posted: 03 Jan 2014 09:30 AM PST [Mash Tactics airs Monday through Friday at 4p.m. Pacific on Dtoid.TV. Watch Rick 'King Foom' Olson 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.] A few days ago, a certain game was free on Steam, and it was so popular that it caused servers to crash on and off for quite some time, that game, is Left 4 Dead 2. We'll be taking advantage of pretty much everyone on earth owning it at this point, by getting together with the community, and rocking a few rounds of undead slaying action tonight on Mash Tactics. While I'm not actually the biggest fan of the franchise, it's no doubt popular with a great amount of people, and it's a game that is commonly requested at our live channel. So this evening, I'll suck it up for the sake of Friday Night Fights, and we'll have some fun with it for a night. Don't expect any awesome skills out of me however, instead, I'd just count on watching me die over and over, getting bored, and eventually trolling the holy hell out of my team mates. If that sounds like a good time to you, be sure to come by Dtoid.TV and jump in on the action with us! QotD: Lets make tonight a bit more interesting. List the best L4D2 mods that you know of. |
| Posted: 03 Jan 2014 09:00 AM PST Bar games (or pub games) can be a fun diversion when you're out and about: hanging with friends, drinking, and generally making a fool of yourselves when at a bar. The bar atmosphere and playing with friends is what makes games like billiards, snooker, air hockey, and darts fun. So naturally, a portable title featuring unpopulated venues and minimal online support is a perfect way to play them. Or rather, it isn't. |
| Xbox One gets early access to TV show Chozen Posted: 03 Jan 2014 08:30 AM PST What Xbox One games are you most excited about? Perhaps Chozen? Playable through the FXNOW app, Chozen stars a, "a gay white rapper fresh out of prison" on a quest to upset the rap bourgeoisie and lay claim to his rightful place as the world's number one rapper. While Chozen, debuting January 13, is an FX animated comedy meant to spell the wildly popular Archer, you can watch it a week early -- on January 6 -- through the Xbox One's FXNOW app. That is, if you're "Xbox Live Gold members who are customers of AT&T U-Verse, Comcast, Cablevision, Suddenlink and WOW." That's certainly a partnership. Kind of neat, I guess? I'm more of a "three weeks late" sort of watcher, but feel free to laugh at all your stupid friends who don't have an Xbox One and cable. They're definitely the stupid ones. Watch FX's Chozen One Week Early Exclusively on Xbox One |
| Sabrewulf is the next free Killer Instinct character Posted: 03 Jan 2014 08:00 AM PST Killer Instinct has swapped out its first free playable character as of a new 675MB update. Since launch in November, Jago has been freely available to test out. Now, it's Sabrewulf. The full list of patch notes from developer Double Helix can be viewed at the link below. There's balancing and general improvements, like a forced pause when player two's controller is removed and the display of rank-up/rank-down notifications for both players at the start of a match. As someone who hasn't been playing the game and can't comment on specific gameplay tweaks with any real confidence, I will say it's nice to see those nasty "Chosen One" Achievements reduced. Previously, players needed to 2,000 matches completed with each character. That number is now a more sane 200 wins, which should be great news for completionists. KILLER INSTINCT 1/2/2014 Update w. Dev Notes [Double Helix Games via OXM] |
| Friday Night Fights: Win SteamWorld Dig Posted: 03 Jan 2014 07:30 AM PST Happy Friday everyone! The fine folks over at Image & Form have bestowed upon me 10 codes (5 Steam and 5 3DS eShop) for their ridiculously addicting and widely acclaimed game, SteamWorld Dig. For those of you not familiar with SteamWorld Dig, you can check out Destructoid's Review of it here. I personally rated it as one of my top ten games of the year, and honestly cannot recommend it enough. Now, I know what you're thinking, "What the hell are we going to have to do to get our hands on one of those codes?!" -- it's easy really, simply tell me in the comments below, what you would want to find at the bottom of a mine. Ten lucky winners will walk away with a free code for their platform of choice. Please make sure to specify in your comment which platform you prefer (Steam or 3DS eShop). The contest will end, Sunday, January 4th at 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time. *Note - eShop codes are NA only |
| Burrito Galaxy combines two of my favorite things Posted: 03 Jan 2014 07:00 AM PST In case you haven't yet had a WTF moment today, allow yourself to indulge in the video above. That is Burrito Galaxy 64: Mega-Tortilla Bean Saga 30X6 - Planetoid SAL-5A XIV Director's Cut: Extreme Edition, or perhaps just Burrito Galaxy for short. This was posted on Steam Greenlight shortly before the new year. If this is an indication of what 2014 has in store, then we're all in for a weird, psychedelic ride. In an adventure that takes "hand drawn art" literally, players take on the role of Guac, the first female Bean Commander. She wields burritos, taquitos, churros, and other Mexican food items as weapons. Also, pirates stole her bean core. Also, her hands look like sporks. Also, what? |
| Valve could've been successful just doing Half-Life Posted: 03 Jan 2014 06:00 AM PST In an interview with The Washington Post, Valve co-founder Gabe Newell described the company's inner workings which have been the topic of discussion time and time again. Did you know, for instance, vacation time isn't tracked? And for those who have wondered why Half-Life 3 hasn't happened yet, a few quotes bring the point home. "When we started out we were a single-player video game company that could have been really successful just doing Half-Life sequel after Half-Life sequel," explained Newell, "but we collectively said let's try to make multiplayer games even though there's never been a commercial successful multiplayer game ... Then we tried to do Steam." Elsewhere in the interview, he talks about how "specialization in gaming is sort of the enemy of the future," noting "...being really good at Half-Life level design is not as nearly as valued as thinking of how to design social multiplayer experiences." While Valve undoubtedly has the money to bring that long-awaited next installment to market if it so desired, collectively, that's not been a priority for employees. I can't say I blame them, either. Not with the success of Steam, Team Fortress 2, and Dota 2. Newell is thinking much more long-term than a single game, even if it is a game we desperately want. Gabe Newell on what makes Valve tick [The Washington Post] |
| Yuji Naka makes a whale photographing game Posted: 03 Jan 2014 05:00 AM PST Prope, the studio founded by Sonic the Hedgehog main programmer Yuji Naka, has just released a whale photographing game called Real Whales. Yep. This iOS and Android release lets you visit locations all over the world in your boat. You swipe to look for whale photo ops, and tap to snap. The game is free on iOS, with in-app map purchases available. It's $4.99 on Android. Holy humpbacks! I'm going to download it now! |
| Deep Down trademarked for North America and Europe Posted: 03 Jan 2014 04:00 AM PST I don't think anyone ever doubted that Capcom's online PS4 RPG Deep Down would be coming to the west. You didn't, did you? It was never officially announced, but they showed it at the PS4's US debut, showed it to western press at Tokyo Game Show last year, and they keep it fresh in our minds on the regular. It's called Deep Down! In English. It's probably the most western thing Capcom has ever made. Of course it's coming west. A Deep Down trademark was just published in the US database says DualShockers, and another popped up in Europe. So there's more support for a western release. I still love that the game's name sounds like a porn title. Love that so much. |
| Sony patent points to adding new content to classic games Posted: 03 Jan 2014 03:00 AM PST A new patent from Sony points to pumping new content into emulated classic games. Titled "Suspending State of Cloud-Based Legacy Applications," and published this week, the patent suggests that new objectives can be added "in a format that was not original designed to be in the legacy game." The patent goes on to say that since the gamer is likely to already know the characters and basic components of the game, they're more likely to play this new content. To get away with not having to recode and reverse engineer the game, triggers and snapshots will provide information for the minigames. A script from game designers would be combined with these snapshots and triggers to make this new content. Is this something Sony is toying with for their pending Gaikai cloud-based launch for PS4? Could they, like, make more crazy sh*t to add to God Hand? Sony patent covers adding new content to classic cloud based games [CVG] |
| Bravely Default's western release has edited outfits Posted: 03 Jan 2014 02:32 AM PST The above image comes from a forum post at IGN. It compares the original Japanese (right) and European character outfits (left) from Bravely Default and shows that there have been some changes to them. The clothing is less skimpy, which works out from a western view as these characters are young. Well, they used to be. NintendoLife says that the ages have been changed, too. For example, Edea is 15 in Japan, and 18 in Europe. I don't think this is that big of a deal. Now that you've played the demo, you know you want it, and you know that these changes do not impact the game negatively. You also know Japan is weird about the young kid stuff and that we're not as weird as them, so these changes make sense. Plus, there's still the Bravo Bikini (Jump to 16:00 in this video for a spoiler.) Personally, I wouldn't have changed a thing. I wouldn't have bothered. But, if someone asked me to, I wouldn't have minded. That's probably where Square Enix was coming from. Again, not a big deal. To me. But what about you? |
| Criterion co-founders Ward and Sperry leave studio Posted: 03 Jan 2014 02:30 AM PST "Alex Ward and Fiona Sperry have decided to leave EA," a spokesperson told Polygon this morning. Welp. I'd drop some joke about how they were burned out, but that's been taken already. Ward and Sperry co-founded Criterion Games, the studio behind Burnout. EA says that the studio is hard at work on a new project for next-gen consoles, and that Matt Webster will be heading up this new game as well as Criterion in general. Criterion jumped into the Need for Speed franchise with Most Wanted last year. But Ghost Games took over for this most recent one, Need for Speed Rivals. As for why they left, a recent tweet by Ward gives us some idea:
Good luck to you both. I can't wait to see what you end up doing. |
| Bethesda working to bring the Fallout games back to Steam Posted: 03 Jan 2014 01:06 AM PST If you were losing your sh*t about the Fallout series games disappearing from Steam, here's some good news from Bethesda's Twitter:
As I'm sure you heard, the Fallout games (Fallout, Fallout 2, and Fallout Tactics) went poof from digital distribution outlets after some rights changes at the beginning of this new year. If you're one of those that got those three free Fallout games on GOG before Christmas, know that Bethesda is looking to figure out what they'll do with other digital distribution outlets after they "handle" Steam. |
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