New Games |
- Update: The Shovel Knight amiibo was available for pre-order at Amazon
- This sure seems like a new Valve ARG
- Drifting through time: Arousal and gaming
- They're still making Kinect games!
- Oh yeah, I was on Sony's stream talking about 'What Remains of Edith Finch?'
- Review: UnderRail
- Oculus Rift comes with a cool 3D platformer
- New accessory claims to fully charge an Xbox One controller in under a minute
- Valve finally discusses Steam's 'troubled Christmas'
- All signs point to Assassin's Creed going back to a present-day protagonist
- GOG removes the first two Descent games due to licensing issues
- The Next Penelope is still coming to Wii U, developer opens up on the project
- An oldie but a goodie headlines January's PlayStation Plus free games
- Ramza is coming soon to Dissida Final Fantasy arcade
- No, this isn't a Virtual Console game, it's a PS4 re-release
- Watch close to an hour of Shin Megami Tensei IV Final footage
- Lucas amiibo up for pre-order at Best Buy
- This project gave backers a refund after it changed its art style
- Hyrule Warriors Legends is getting a pre-order bonus in Japan
- Fallout 4 missing in Steam's Winter Sale? It's 34% off at GMG (Updated)
- Rumor: Artwork for Platinum's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game leaks
- This World of Warcraft Dark Portal frame is badass
- Smash glitch lets you control eight characters at once
- Koei Tecmo implies NX is a home console
- Licking and sucking are just two ways you'll control games at GDC 2016
| Update: The Shovel Knight amiibo was available for pre-order at Amazon Posted: 30 Dec 2015 01:26 PM PST [Update: All gone! We'll keep you appraised if Shovel Knight returns to Amazon or Best Buy.] Recently, I purchased a Silver Mario amiibo just because I wanted to say that I had completed Wave 3. Help me. Anyway, the Shovel Knight amiibo is currently up for pre-order at Amazon, and you should probably jump on that when you get a chance. We haven't really had to worry about amiibo scarcity for a while, but I've got a bad feeling about this one. If you're worried about quality, I've held the figure in question back at PAX Prime. It's super neat, and I'm excited to own one regardless of whether I have the game on Wii U/3DS. |
| This sure seems like a new Valve ARG Posted: 30 Dec 2015 11:30 AM PST Valve has seemingly slipped an alternate reality game (ARG) into the 2015 Winter Steam Sale. Over the past week, users have been searching for what they perceived to be clues all across Steam and in Valve's still-unraveling Northpole Noir web comic. Many of them have congregated on a new subreddit, /r/steamsaledetectives. Today, that collaboration led to some interesting developments which suggest, yes, this actually is a full-blown ARG. Notably, a hidden password prompt was discovered on the Steam store. To make it visible, go to an individual game's store listing (while using a web browser, not the Steam client) and type "search" -- then hit enter. You should see an entry field pop up. Super weird, right? Now, using that method, bring up the password prompt on the Hitman: Codename 47 page. Type in "94050999014715" and hit enter. That should result in a dialog box that says "ic/4f21ca7" which, somehow, user DevinWatson determined relates to the URL for the Winter Sale comic. Combining that text string with the Northpole Noir URL redirects to a waveform audio file with a short message: "I was on the right track. I could feel it. Tomorrow, I was going to search again." If this mystery ends up having a significant connection to one of Valve's games, that wouldn't be a first for the company, but I'm going to keep my expectations in check. It's better that way. Still, who knows what tomorrow will bring. I get the distinct sense this is only the beginning. The Steam sale doesn't end until January 4 at 10:00am Pacific. Welcome to 2016. [Via reddit] |
| Drifting through time: Arousal and gaming Posted: 30 Dec 2015 11:00 AM PST [Image: BLUEamnesiac on DeviantArt.] [LinkSlayer readily admits what his formative years of discovering the fairer sex was like through what else but Final Fantasy. After all, Final Fantasy X-2 was about adding a bit of a sexy flair to the returning turn-based combat gals, so who's to say it wasn't successful? ~Strider] Puberty is an awkward time for everyone, is it not? Why am I growing hair? What is my body doing? When do I become a pupa? Additionally, I feel as though all the new stimuli we are exposed to in this day and age has created a cornucopia of research for psychologists and related fields. What do these have to do with gaming? Well, to a young boy with an interest in girls, a poster of a video game character showing the right amount of skin might just be enough to get them to buy the game. A particularly lewd drawing of a girl in cat ears may influence them to search out more of the same. |
| They're still making Kinect games! Posted: 30 Dec 2015 09:30 AM PST 2015 was the year I packed up my Kinect for good. The device wasn't getting enough use -- certainly not for controller-free Xbox One menu navigation, which I never grew accustomed to, and rarely if ever for gaming. I got one of the older Just Dance games on sale and for a while there, it was silly fun. But if I ever feel the urge to dance to "Rich Girl," I can just bust a groove on my own, free of the camera's gaze and spacial requirements. In recent months, our Kinect coverage on Destructoid has mostly related to things like gesture recognition and, no joke, shopping. Where are the new games? Well, actually, here's one. |
| Oh yeah, I was on Sony's stream talking about 'What Remains of Edith Finch?' Posted: 30 Dec 2015 08:30 AM PST PlayStation Experience was only three weeks ago? Why does it feel like it was a year ago? "Because you had to scrape together a bunch of last-minute jobs to make Christmas money like a Dad working overtime?" you say? You're correct! Question mark! Anyway, I was playing Giant Sparrow's What Remains of Edith Finch? (fascinating game, that) at PSX when one of the developers came up to me and asked if I'd talk about it on Sony's Twitch stream. I told 'em I was media, which they had no problem with. I felt much the same about it as Brett did in this preview, but now you can watch the words come out of my mouth while I blink entirely too often. Also watch me occasionally try to flash my business card so somebody, anybody, would know I was from Destructoid. Enjoy: |
| Posted: 30 Dec 2015 08:00 AM PST Dejan Radisic first began development of UnderRail, then known as Timelapse Vertigo, almost seven years ago. Originally a solo effort, and then later conducted by Radisic and his team at Stygian Software, the game proceeded apace, until December 18th, 2015 when UnderRail exited its Early Access period into a full release state. I'm writing this dry history down because if I didn't mention that this game is technically a 2015 release, one could easily mistake UnderRail for a contemporary of the original Fallout, a title from 1997. That's how retro the game is in nearly every aspect of its being, including in ways that aren't necessarily flattering. |
| Oculus Rift comes with a cool 3D platformer Posted: 30 Dec 2015 07:30 AM PST Lucky's Tale convinced me that 3D platformers can make terrific use of virtual reality. I had my doubts going in, thinking the game looked decent at best, but came away impressed. So did Brett. It's good news, then, that it's going to be packed in with the hardware. The space dog-fighting title EVE: Valkyrie, another standout virtual-reality experience, is included as a freebie for folks who pre-order an Oculus Rift. But everyone who buys the device -- even if it's after the Q1 2016 launch -- will get a complimentary copy of Lucky's Tale. There's still no word on how much the Rift will cost, but the Consumer Electronics Show is coming up soon. Oculus founder Palmer Luckey recently reiterated, in a series of tweets, that "VR will become something everyone wants before it becomes something everyone can afford." "There are a lot of people who expect to spend a couple hundred bucks and use their existing low end laptops," he said. "We are taking some big steps to make sure people know what they are getting into - we don't want to sell to people who don't." |
| New accessory claims to fully charge an Xbox One controller in under a minute Posted: 30 Dec 2015 07:00 AM PST PDP, manufacturer of unique gaming products, aims to make dead Xbox One controllers a problem of the past. Well, almost anyway. Controllers might still go dead, but PDP claims to be able to get you back in the game in under a minute. In an exclusive reveal with IGN, PDP unveiled its Super Charger accessory that is supposedly able to fully charge an Xbox One controller in less than 60 seconds. Each charge is said to be good for 10 to 12 hours of play time. A picture of the product was made available; it's just a fairly standard-looking charging base. It's likely that the Super Charger will have a proprietary battery pack, rather than turbo juicing a pair of Energizer double-A. PDP's staying tight-lipped apart from showing the form and function. There aren't yet any details about price or release date. Expect more to be revealed at CES; it's right around the corner, as the show begins on January 6. CES 2016: Charge An Xbox One Controller In Under 60 Seconds With PDP's Super Charger [IGN] |
| Valve finally discusses Steam's 'troubled Christmas' Posted: 30 Dec 2015 06:30 AM PST Five days after we reported that Steam users were seeing account information that didn't belong to them, Valve has issued a public statement regarding that Christmas kerfuffle. A previous comment from a Valve representative confirmed that a caching bug was responsible for this security compromise. A configuration error allowed 34,000 users to see the sensitive personal information that did not belong to them (including addresses, purchase histories, the last four digits of the user's Steam Guard phone number, and last two digits of their credit card). This all happened "between 11:50 PST and 13:20 PST," so if you didn't go to your account or checkout page in that time frame, your information is safe. Valve also admits that "The Steam Store was the target of a [denial-of-service] attack which prevented the serving of store pages to users," which resulted in them deploying new caching rules. A second phase of the attack led to another set of rules, which "incorrectly cached web traffic for authenticated users." After that, some of their customers saw pages with the wrong language displayed and even other people's account pages. Valve ends the post by saying that it will "continue to work with our web caching partner to identify affected users and to improve the process used to set caching rules going forward," and by apologizing to all of those affected by this breach. Update on Christmas Issues [Steam] |
| All signs point to Assassin's Creed going back to a present-day protagonist Posted: 30 Dec 2015 06:00 AM PST "Hello, Initiate." Those are the opening words to Assassin's Creed Syndicate. "Initiate" is you, the player, as the last several Assassin's Creed games (Black Flag, Rogue, Unity, and Syndicate) have made you the out-of-Animus protagonist. Your job has been to covertly unravel the memories for the Assassins while using Abstergo's (the Templars) equipment. Over the past three years, Ubisoft has put less and less of an emphasis on the present-day story. The original Assassin's Creed through Assassin's Creed III told Desmond's arc, but current happenings have since become an afterthought. There's good reason to believe that will change with the next installment in the series. |
| GOG removes the first two Descent games due to licensing issues Posted: 30 Dec 2015 05:30 AM PST GOG.com (née Good Old Games) has removed the Descent games from sale after developer Parallax Software terminated its contract with publisher Interplay over unpaid royalties. According to a post on GOG's forums from developers Matt Toschlog and Mike Kulas, Interplay has not paid any royalties to Parallax since 2007. "We've talked to [Interplay] about this numerous times over the years, and finally took action this fall. We served Interplay official notice that they were in breach of the contract, and when they still failed to pay, we terminated the agreement. This means that Interplay has lost the right to sell the Descent games, which is why they came down from GOG. (We're not sure why they're still on Steam; they shouldn't be.)" Toschlog and Kulas said. The duo are correct. As of publishing, both Descent and Descent II are available for purchase on Steam (and they're even on sale). Interplay still owns the rights to the Descent trademark, which explains the existence of recent Kickstarter success Descent: Underground. Parallax Software's original agreement with Interplay was originally forged 21 years ago, and gave Interplay exclusive rights to sell the Descent games. With the dissolution of the contract, Descent and Descent II are in limbo, unable to be sold by any party. Toschlog and Kulas hope to work something out with Interplay, eventually putting the games back on sale. |
| The Next Penelope is still coming to Wii U, developer opens up on the project Posted: 30 Dec 2015 05:00 AM PST I reviewed The Next Penelope earlier this year, and absolutely loved it. Now, I'm able to read (quite comprehensively) how it was made by the one-man studio that crafted it. Developer Aurélien Regard has shared a fascinating post-mortem on the game, and talks sales, expectations, and the design process (fueled by lots of Redbull). In his manifesto of sorts, he details why he created it, why it's so tough to make it in the indie scene, and how he reacted to the subsequent reviews and sales. Ultimately he notes that he has no regrets, and is glad that he was able to craft a critical success, but the entire article is worth a read if you're remotely interested in the indie scene. As a side note, he also confirms that a Wii U edition is coming, by way of Blitzworks, who will be handling the port. I suggest you check it out whenever it arrives. I made a 9 out of 10 on my own. What if I could live from it now? [Tumblr] |
| An oldie but a goodie headlines January's PlayStation Plus free games Posted: 30 Dec 2015 04:30 AM PST PlayStation's ringing in the new year by turning back the clock almost two decades. Double Fine's 2015 remake of Grim Fandango (from 1998) is the game that's meant to stand out in January's lineup of PlayStation Plus free titles. It's also the only cross-buy game, available on both PS4 and PS Vita. The other offering with some cachet is 2009's Dragon Age: Origins on PS3. Come to think of it, that one's also on the cusp of "oldie but goodie." BioWare's Dragon Age series is plenty loved by many folks, so a few new people may find this a good point to jump into the scale-bound lore. Filling out the rest of the month are Hardware: Rivals (PS4), Legend of War Patton (Vita), Medal of Honor: Warfighter (PS3), and Nihilumbra (Vita). PS Plus: Free Games for January, 2016 [PlayStation Blog] |
| Ramza is coming soon to Dissida Final Fantasy arcade Posted: 30 Dec 2015 04:00 AM PST Right now, the roster for the Dissida Final Fantasy arcade edition is complete. Well it mostly is, outside of Final Fantasy Tactics' Ramza, who will be added in "soon," according to Famitsu. Ramza was initially teased back in November, and will join the cast as the only current non "core" character (one person from Final Fantasy I-XIV is present). After that, Square Enix tends to add in characters with a "one and a half" or "two month" cadence. There's still currently no word of a console port (though a PS4 one is in the works and is expected), or a localization. But I relish the prospect of playing this series on a big TV with current-gen visuals. Dissidia [Famitsu via Siliconera] |
| No, this isn't a Virtual Console game, it's a PS4 re-release Posted: 30 Dec 2015 03:30 AM PST Do not adjust your television set -- what you're seeing is a brand new PS4 game, set to drop in Japan early next year. Yep, Mebius and Clarice Games have taken it upon themselves to resurrect the Bases Loaded franchise (Moero!! Pro Yakyuu), as a remake of sorts. The catch is, this won't be in HD, but will instead channel the old school style of the original. Originally it was set for a winter 2015 date, but now it's been pushed to spring of 2016. There's probably very little chance you'll see this in the west. Bases Loaded [Mebius via Gematsu] |
| Watch close to an hour of Shin Megami Tensei IV Final footage Posted: 30 Dec 2015 03:00 AM PST We just saw a brand new trailer for Shin Megami Tensei IV Final, but now Atlus has gone and done a livestream of the game, clocking in at nearly two hours. All of it isn't gameplay (that starts 45:00 in, with tons of artwork on display before that), but SMT fans should probably take a look regardless, as there is tons of new stuff to ogle at. The game is still set for a February 10, 2016 release date in Japan. No localization or target has been announced. I'm unsure on this one. I guess it will ultimately depend on how different it is, but I'll likely get it for my collection at some point. |
| Lucas amiibo up for pre-order at Best Buy Posted: 30 Dec 2015 02:40 AM PST There's no telling how long it'll last, but the Lucas amiibo is up on Best Buy's website and available to pre-order. If you want one, best to not wait too long, as the Mother 3 protagonist will likely be in fairly high demand. As was the case with the Falco amiibo, Lucas can only be picked up in stores on its January 22 release date. It's kind of a pain when other retailers will ship it right to your house, but it's also the earliest you can secure a North American version right now. Pros and cons. Even though Falco stayed up for days upon hitting Best Buy's servers, don't assume that'll be the case with Lucas. There's no rhyme or reason when it comes to amiibo -- just heartbreak. Although, thankfully, that has been less of an issue the past several months. Chris hasn't broken down and cried in a Target parking lot since May! That's progress, Nintendo. Lucas amiibo [Best Buy] |
| This project gave backers a refund after it changed its art style Posted: 30 Dec 2015 02:30 AM PST Well this is an interesting one. Some time ago, Steel Assault garnered $8,706 on top of a $8,000 goal for an 8-bit style platformer on Kickstarter. I think it mirrors the Batman NES game in all the best ways, offering up a darker style but still maintaining its retro roots. But things change. Over time, the developers decided to go with a newer look, overhauling the game to feel more like an enhanced 16-bit project. Both of them look pretty great to me, but the project creators have taken it upon themselves to refund backers if they want, as this isn't exactly what they signed up for -- pretty noble if you ask me. Most of the backers seem content with the change, too. I hadn't heard of Steel Assault before this situation, but now I want to check it out. Steel Assault II: A New Direction [Kickstarter] |
| Hyrule Warriors Legends is getting a pre-order bonus in Japan Posted: 30 Dec 2015 02:00 AM PST When Hyrule Warriors Legends arrives next month in Japan on 3DS, it'll bring a pre-order bonus in tow. For those of you who are keen on pre-ordering the new gold 3DS, you'll net a classic Link costume (from the Wii U version), and a special Link-themed Fairy. For those of you who aren't aware of the latter feature, Legends adds an extra Tamagotchi-like pet system into the game featuring fairies. We still have a ways to go before it launches in the west in March, and we don't know if this offer (or the gold 3DS) will extend to regions outside of Japan). Hyrule Warriors Legends [Nintendo via Nintendo Life] |
| Fallout 4 missing in Steam's Winter Sale? It's 34% off at GMG (Updated) Posted: 30 Dec 2015 01:30 AM PST [Update 12/30: It took a week but the deal is now back again for a limited time. The game is 17% off at Steam, which means Bethesda has decided to give a price drop across all authorized retailers, including GMG who has stacking coupon savings on Fallout 4.] Gamers waiting for Steam's Winter Sale to see if Fallout 4 would be discounted got a big of a disappointment this morning, but Green Man Gaming has revamped its respective Winter Sale with one additional hot deal. For a limited time (we honestly don't know how long this deal will last), you can get Fallout 4 on PC/Steam for 34 percent off. That's only $39 for one of better title of 2015.
If you've been looking forward to doing mindless randomly generated "settlement being attacked" quests, or dealing with an okay-but-not-great main storyline, this is your chance to shine! Cynicism aside, Fallout 4 was a relatively well-received title and there is plenty of modding fun to be had once you get the initial game out of the way. Game deals from Dealzon. Sales help support Destructoid. |
| Rumor: Artwork for Platinum's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game leaks Posted: 30 Dec 2015 01:00 AM PST We still don't have actual confirmation that Platinum Games is working on a new Turtles game, but we basically know it exists. And given how well Transformers Devastation turned out, I'm really looking forward to it. Captured by way of lifelower on Twitter (an Xbox Live watchdog), this seems to be the official boxart or promo art for the game, giving us an idea of what to expect -- since there's no screenshots or gameplay, because it doesn't "exist" yet. According to the ratings board where it was initially found out, it'll launch for PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. Poor Wii U -- maybe the NX will buck this trend of "everything but." lifelower [Twitter via Gematsu] |
| This World of Warcraft Dark Portal frame is badass Posted: 30 Dec 2015 12:00 AM PST I'm generally not a fan of expensive photo frames, but this one has me making an exception. It's a replica of the Dark Portal from Warcraft, which, as any Warcraft player (RTS or MMO) knows, is a huge part of the lore. Sadly, it's limited to China only, by way of NetEase -- the Chinese publisher of World of Warcraft. It's a resin base, and runs for 488 RMB (roughly $75). There's also only going to be 500 made overall. World of Warcraft – China publisher reveals limited edition merchandise [MMO Culture] |
| Smash glitch lets you control eight characters at once Posted: 29 Dec 2015 10:00 PM PST Super Smash Bros. on Wii U was a pretty polished game at launch, with very little in the way of bugs and glitches. Still, this has not stopped people digging around in the game seeing what corners and cracks they can find hidden in its depths. If you've ever for some weird reason wanted to control eight Smash characters at the same time, with the same controller, well a newly discovered glitch will apparently make this possible. I'll allow discoverer Gluetendo from reddit explain how it's done:
So, there you have it. If you can explain to me why this is a thing you might actually want to do, please let me know in the comments below. |
| Koei Tecmo implies NX is a home console Posted: 29 Dec 2015 09:00 PM PST While we still don't know anything official or on the record about the nature of Nintendo's upcoming NX gaming hardware, pretty much everyone is expecting it to be a new home console of some sort that will take on the role of a Wii U successor in some shape or form. While Nintendo still has not confirmed this, third-party publishers are slowly painting a picture of the nature of the hardware. Speaking to 4Gamer, Koei Tecmo President and CEO Yoichi Erikawa seemed to imply that the NX would as many suspected be a dedicated home console.
While this statement doesn't rule out the idea of a home console and handheld hybrid, it does seem to imply that the NX is more comparable to the PS4 than to just a 3DS handheld successor. So, how long do you lot think before we actually hear Nintendo talk about what the NX is? |
| Licking and sucking are just two ways you'll control games at GDC 2016 Posted: 29 Dec 2015 03:30 PM PST The games lineup for GDC 2016's Alt.Ctrl.GDC showcase has been announced, and the control schemes sound crazy as heck, if not tasty. Hello, Operator! has players acting as a telephone switchboard operator in the 1930s by physically connecting calls with patch cables. If there is any voice acting, I hope it is old-timey. I love the dialect of that era. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from destructoid. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States | |
