New Games |
- Ride to Hell back on the road to development
- LEGO City Undercover assembles a new trailer
- Final Fantasy titles offered half off on PSN this week
- New screenshots have surfaced for the Deadpool game
- The Witcher 3 revealed complete with bearded Geralt
- EVE Fanfest has a trailer and tickets for sale
- Frozen Synapse: Tactics announced for PS3 and Vita
- Guild Wars 2 adjusting how dynamic levels work
- Borderlands 2's Tiny Tina viewed as racist? [Update]
- Review: Dungeonland
- The Network Roundup: How was your Super Bowl party?
- Fire Emblem: Awakening experiencing delays at retail
- Half-Life 2 modded to include motion tracking
- Still flying: Why I play EVE Online
- Amigurumi Snake is a lot less solid, tons more adorable
- Gauntlet-esque Hammerwatch supports mods and co-op
- Bioshock Infinite Achievements reveal new modes, weapons
- Storm's Adventure with Minecraft
- The launch line-up: Xbox Games on Windows 8
- Live show: Logitech Giveaway, and more Star Trek Online
- Koch Media doesn't intend to become 'the next THQ'
- Review: Aero Porter
- PlayStation Plus offers up free Guardians of Middle-earth
- Here's how to get Meloetta in Pokemon Black and White
| Ride to Hell back on the road to development Posted: 04 Feb 2013 03:30 PM PST Ride to Hell is still on the long and winding road to release, says a Deep Silver developer; the very same developer that took four years to release Dead Island with nary a peep until a trailer went viral. And so, it may be the case with Ride to Hell: An action-adventure that immerses itself in the '60s biker culture that inspired numerous films and gross interstate bars throughout the years. Ride to Hell was never out of development, but it hasn't graced a website since 2009 (one year after its initial announcement). With four years out of the spotlight and Deep Silver focusing on other projects, we assumed the game became vaporware. This recent revelation came hot on the heels of LinkedIn profiles listing recent work and a listed Amazon release date of Dec. 31 for PC, Xbox 360, and PS3. Assuming Deep Silver don't put the breaks on the project again -- say, in favor of the recently aquired Saints Row -- chances are looking good that we'll see Ride to Hell before this console generation is over. Ride to Hell still in development [Polygon] |
| LEGO City Undercover assembles a new trailer Posted: 04 Feb 2013 03:00 PM PST
The new trailer for LEGO City Undercover is out, and it's a bit like the one released last year; showing off some story elements and some gameplay. The narrative deals with the conflict between legendary LEGO cop Chase McCain and his criminal nemesis, Rex Fury. In typical LEGO fashion, the game is goofy as all hell, and looks really fun, provided you're willing to buy into the idea of walking, talking toys. As if right now, this GTA style game is a Wii U exclusive. |
| Final Fantasy titles offered half off on PSN this week Posted: 04 Feb 2013 02:30 PM PST When the PlayStation Store updates for the week, shoppers will discover a robust selection of Final Fantasy titles marked down by fifty percent. On offer are the PSOne Classics releases of Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy II and the fifth through ninth installments. On the list for PSP are the Dissidia games, the Tactics remake, War of the Lions, and Final Fantasy IV: Complete Collection. Even though I know that I'll play through the first three missions and turn it off due to encroaching fear of my own ineptitude, just as I have every other time I've played Tactics, its reputation and popularity are such that I feel like I should be obligated time and again to give it another chance. This sale only enables self-loathing for me. How about you? 50% off Select Final Fantasy Games for the Series’ 25-Year Anniversary [PS Blog] |
| New screenshots have surfaced for the Deadpool game Posted: 04 Feb 2013 02:00 PM PST A bunch of new screenshots have been revealed for the upcoming Deadpool game by High Moon Studios, and man do they look interesting. First off, we have full confirmation of the existence of Cable, which totally speaks to the X-Men fanboy in me who thought he was pretty much the coolest thing ever for many years. (A time-traveling cyborg? How can you go wrong?) Other, less obvious shots involve Deadpool having a little fun in a kid's ride, slicing and shooting up some dudes, and fighting an enemy that looks suspiciously like Mr. Sinister. There's also some concept art, involving an arena with a broken Sentinel head, and some pretty badass cityscapes. I'm interested in seeing how this one turns out. I love the Deadpool IP, but it's really easy to overdo it -- plus, High Moon really needs to nail the action mechanics on a technical level to keep me interested. We shall see! Deadpool screenshots [All Games Beta] |
| The Witcher 3 revealed complete with bearded Geralt Posted: 04 Feb 2013 01:48 PM PST The new issue of Game Informer has apparently gone out to digital subscribers, and on its cover is a brand new game: The Witcher 3. The folks at NeoGAF have uploaded the cover art in full as well as the first details on this seemingly next-gen, open-world title. After the teaser message hidden in the Cyberpunk 2077 trailer was found, the inevitability of this new installment seemed all the more inevitable. So while this is the kind of news we might nod to approvingly, I'm more interested to see what it actually looks like. Especially after hearing about CD Projekt Red's REDEngine 3 created for "vast open-worlds with improved tools spanning truly nonlinear stories that are based on real player choices and consequences." The Witcher 3 Announced: Game Informer March 2013 Feature [NeoGAF] |
| EVE Fanfest has a trailer and tickets for sale Posted: 04 Feb 2013 01:30 PM PST
Tickets are now available for CCP's Fanfest, a celebration of all things EVE Online. This year, we can expect a lot of the coverage to be focused on the integration of Dust 514, since it's now an official part of the EVE server. CCP is definitely an ambitious developer, and one that's doing some interesting things by connecting the events of a shooter directly into what's happening in an MMO. Fanfest will be happening April 25-27 in Reykjavik, Iceland and it will cost $145 for tickets. If you don't have real money, this is the first year you can buy tickets with EVE's in-game currency. And if you have someone you want to bring along on vacation that doesn't play EVE, you can buy a spouse ticket that includes access to the parties at night, but instead of listening to developers talk about mining in null-sec all day, they get to visit a spa and explore some of Iceland's scenery. |
| Frozen Synapse: Tactics announced for PS3 and Vita Posted: 04 Feb 2013 01:00 PM PST Frozen Synapse came out in 2011 and is one of the most tactical and intelligent games I've ever played. The breadth of information you need to take into account before committing to a move is insane! If you didn't account for that grenade launcher to fire around the corner, then you might have just sacrificed you entire team. Mode 7, the developer of the original game, is teaming up with Double Eleven to bring the tactical goodness to both the PlayStation 3 and Vita some time this year. According to the blog, Frozen Synapse: Tactics will not be a straight-up port of the original game and will get the "complete Double Eleven makeover." However Mode 7 also wants to "reinvent the game’s aesthetics and interactivity," which I'm not too sure about. I thought the game's bare-bones aesthetic was rather charming, and fit the theme quite well. Double Eleven Announce Frozen Synapse! [Double Eleven Blog] |
| Guild Wars 2 adjusting how dynamic levels work Posted: 04 Feb 2013 12:30 PM PST Guild Wars 2 has a system in place that allows higher-level characters to revisit low-level zones. The player's level is scaled down to match the zone, so they can still get the same challenge. This means they don't have to miss out on content, and they can jump with friends at any level and not be the overpowered giant in the group. It keeps it fun for everyone involved. Changes are coming to this system to try and make it better, such as making high-level characters less powerful. Sure, it's fun to kill everything in one hit, but it can get boring after a while. Characters will have a better challenge and it should fit in more with the intended difficulty of the area. Rewards are also being tweaked to make it worthwhile for players to return to these zones. Dynamic Leveling Adjustment [Guild Wars 2] |
| Borderlands 2's Tiny Tina viewed as racist? [Update] Posted: 04 Feb 2013 12:13 PM PST [Update: Mike Sacco no longer works with Cryptozoic Entertainment, seemingly as a result of his discussion over Borderlands 2. At first, Sacco stated, "I'm gonna confirm two things: That people tried to pressure Cryptozoic into firing me, and that I no longer work at Cryptozoic." Despite wording that implied Sacco had been fired, Cryptozoic issued a statement to clarify Sacco was a contracted worker, and had been asked not to represent the company with his opinions. According to the company, Sacco then quit, an apparently unexpected move. "We asked him not represent himself as an employee of Cryptozoic. After the message was delivered, Mike quit. We like Mike and we are as surprised by his reaction as you are." Sacco has since said he cast Cryptozoic in a more negative light than intended.] Many critics have slammed Tiny Tina -- a quest-giving NPC in Borderlands 2 -- for being annoying. Until now, few of them have implied she's racist. Last night, however, writer Anthony Burch addressed concerns from players via Twitter after they took umbrage with the way Tina talks. Mike Sacco of Cryptozoic Entertainment led the charge, telling Burch, "Hey. I really like BL2's writing, but Tiny Tina's trope of 'white girl talkin' like them urban folk!!' has got to go." Although Burch first responded with, "Well, it's not going to," he received further criticism. Sacco went to the extreme of calling her "actively racist" as others chimed in. "Its exaggerated stereotypical low class 'black' lingo that with Tina amounts to verbal blackface," wrote one player. "I don't think you meant to make Tina racist but it's a reasonable view IMO. She equates stereotyped ebonics with wacky," suggested another. Tiny Tina has fans, however, and others leaped to her defense with cries of, "DON'T CHANGE TINA." Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford also jumped into the discussion, standing by his writer and declaring that Anthony Burch was certainly not racist. "Tina is not racist because you are not racist," the executive told Burch. "You're a pillar of tolerance and inclusion." Despite the support, Anthony Burch went from dismissing the criticism to opening himself up for it, stating that he may now end up revising the character and her way of speaking, provided he can be convinced her dialog is inherently problematic. "The last thing I want to be is exclusionary or prejudiced, so if Tina truly is problematic I’ll change her," he said. "I’m just not convinced that a character using lingo like badonkadonk/crunk is inherently racist. If I’m wrong I would like to know why." He responded to Kotaku writer Patricia Hernandez to say that he wouldn't update Borderlands 2 to reflect any changes, due to "technical restraints" with the game. Indeed, it would be quite a feat to redo entire portions of a months-old game due to a single Twitter exchange. Any revision to the character would be undertaken in future installments. An interesting discussion, but one that leaves out an important factor -- there are white people who talk like this, believing it's how all black people speak. If Tina herself had been black, and using these ludicrous words, it may indeed look entirely racist, but I never took her as a character making fun of the way black people speak. She seemed more to me like a mockery of the way white people speak when they think they're sounding like "cool black people." That was just my take on it, though, and it's far from the only interpretation. We navigate stormy waters whenever we set sail on the sea of racial comedy, and it's hard to avoid charges of racism whenever you dip your toe in that particular ocean. As we saw recently with Django Unchained, the floodgates are more than willing to open when your fiction touches upon a racial issue, and the utmost care must be taken to ensure your writing is tenable. Burch remains confident his is, but it'll be intriguing to see if anybody can change his mind. At least the dialog between Anthony, his supporters, and critics is respectful and enlightening, rather than full of rage and insults. Well ... mostly. |
| Posted: 04 Feb 2013 12:00 PM PST Truly, I had no expectations going into Dungeonland. In fact, I opted to test it out solely because of my profuse love for action RPGs. I was very, very surprised by the results. Dungeonland (PC) Let me start off immediately by confirming the challenging nature of the game: indeed, this is a "hardcore" dungeon crawler in every sense of the word. Exemplified by the fact that Dungeonland's lowest difficulty setting is "Hard," this game will throw the kitchen sink at you, go to a hardware store and put every other appliance on credit, then throw more at you, while sticking you with the exorbitant bill. As previously mentioned, the game plays out like an isometric ARPG (like Gauntlet, with a more pronounced RPG flavor), based in various randomly spawned dungeons. There are three "themed" levels out right now at launch, with more on the way, and a special "Dungeon Master" mode that I'll get to later. The basic premise involves you taking on a dungeon with two other players. Each player can choose between one of three classes, all of which cater to the standard fantasy class tropes -- Mage, Assassin (Thief), and Warrior. You don't have to necessarily stick with this trifecta, but you'll have a much easier time utilizing their team attacks (which are triggered by doing things like laying a fire wall down with a Mage, and throwing knives through it with the Assassin to light them on fire) with a well balanced party. Anyways, back to the difficulty. Unlike any ARPG I've ever played, Dungeonland can get really ridiculous. For instance, two enemy spawn machines might be placed right next to each other right near the entrance to a map, creating around 50 enemies right at the start of the level, killing your party almost instantly (that actually happened to me on more than one occasion).
Another common situation involves randomly spawning elites dropping right on top of you. Because of these entropic surprises of doom, you'll want to opt to play with friends, but you can also go at it alone with two other AI partners. But the main problem with the latter solution is that the game is even more unforgiving once you get past the base difficulty, and at that point, the AI becomes absolutely useless. Often times, the computer controlled AI will rush to revive you even if it means certain death, and since everyone shares lives, you can fail a map completely through no fault of your own. While it's great that the game actually requires amazing teamwork and human interaction, it's a shame that there couldn't be some form of single-player mode that accounted for people who may not want to play with others. Instead, you'll want to opt to play online (with drop-in/drop out support) or locally (with full controller support!), which works out great, given the rather bustling community, solid netcode, and the incredibly well implemented couch co-op. Speaking of co-op, although the game initially features restrictive party options, once you start unlocking things, everyone will look, feel, and play differently -- kind of like Borderlands 2. There are sub-classes, weapon options, perks, full coloring options, and more. Provided you're willing to slog through and grind up coins, you can unlock some really interesting options here. In a stroke of brilliance, the whole team shares all of the pick-ups, from health to gold to potions. Of course, this works both ways, as everyone in the party will also share lives, and thus, share their failure and the potential curse of the weakest link. So it's really, really important that you either go in with friends that have action RPG experience, or have the propensity to make new friends online because you're not going to get very far with the AI. So what's the point of the game? Well, to beat everything on the highest "Impossible" difficulty, unlock everything, and keep playing the game. If you're willing to put up with the insane challenge and the grind, you'll find a lot of content to last you at least twenty hours, if not more. Just keep in mind that any failed run will result in a very paltry amount of coins, meaning it could potentially take three to four runs to unlock even the most menial of upgrades. Once you start to burn out on standard quests, you can opt for the game's Dungeon Maestro mode, which allows you to play the role of the dastardly DM while other unsuspecting players go through your fun house. You can choose before-hand what traps you want to use, and earn new ones with repeated play. Online with strangers, this isn't really that enjoyable, as part of the fun is screwing over your friends and hearing the reactions for singling out someone in particular. Even then, I didn't find myself getting too attached, as it takes quite a bit of effort to set up each game, and often times, my group just wanted to go back to questing together and earning more character upgrades. From a visual standpoint, Dungeonland is incredibly bright, with its unique usage of purple pastels in particular, but there's something about the design that doesn't really grab me. I'm not sure if it's the character designs or what, but it never transcended that "new IP" look during my time with it, even if I had a blast playing it. Despite a few issues I have with the game, most notably the idea of grinding a bit too often early on, this game is a steal at $9.99. If you see it on a sale and remotely enjoy ARPGs, you need to pick this up immediately. |
| The Network Roundup: How was your Super Bowl party? Posted: 04 Feb 2013 11:45 AM PST
Super Bowl Sunday represents different things for many people. Friends, cold beers, and sports rivalry fill the festive air. However, for one man it could only mean on thing, inhaling pizza. Japan's top eating celebrity, Takeru Kobayshi made an appearance at a Super Bowl party this past Sunday, and inhaled a whole 12 inch pizza in under one minute. This actually breaks his record of one minute 9.36 seconds, but since this wasn't an official event, the record doesn't count. I guess you can actually hire Kobi now to make an appearance and eat for a measly $1,500. However, that's a lof of video games if you think about it. Japanator
Flixist
Tomopop
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| Fire Emblem: Awakening experiencing delays at retail Posted: 04 Feb 2013 11:30 AM PST Those seeking out a physical copy of Fire Emblem: Awakening may have to wait a little longer than expected. Amazon has reported a "potential shipping delay," while both GameStop and Best Buy have the Nintendo 3DS title presently listed as "unavailable." So far our attempts to track down a copy in the wild have yet to yield tangible results. Retailers we contacted seem uncertain of when exactly the game will be released, giving a range of estimates over the next week or so. Should you be willing to settle for a digital copy, however, the strategy role-playing game is available now via the Nintendo eShop for $39.99. Fire Emblem: Awakening Delayed Due To Shipping Error [Game Informer] |
| Half-Life 2 modded to include motion tracking Posted: 04 Feb 2013 11:15 AM PST
I really want to get my hands on an Oculus Rift headset as soon as possible; all this talk about accurate and non-vomit-inducing head tracking is leaving me really intrigued. Modder Nathan Andrews has jumped the gun and tweaked the Source Engine to support his own VR tracking mod. Nathan's mod allows weapon and head tracking, as you can see in the video, with some homebrew hardware similar to the early Oculus Rift prototype. Whilst this isn't official Oculus Rift support, Nathan has said that he can modify official hardware APIs into his mod. Hopefully it would be a simple job to port this support into all Source Engine games; Left 4 Dead 2 with motion tracking? Yes please. Half-Life 2 modded for Oculus Rift support. [PC Gamer] |
| Still flying: Why I play EVE Online Posted: 04 Feb 2013 11:00 AM PST EVE Online is one of those games that people on gaming sites are always talking about, but comparatively few people play it. This crazy sandbox is filled with tales of pirates, thieves, griefing, and war. It has an insanely steep learning curve and it can sometimes take years to get a character that can pilot the high-level ships. The tutorials are lacking a lot of detail, and the developer's response is essentially "Here's a Rubik's Cube, now go f**k yourself."
In the not-too-distant future EVE Online is an open-ended massively-multiplayer online game. Players take on the role of capsuleers, pilots that control the fate of New Eden. You see, 5,000 years from now, the people of earth traveled through a wormhole in space and they founded a colony on the other side. This place was called New Eden, and the wormhole was called Eve. The mega-corporations of the future began to expand to harvest the vast resources of this celestial new frontier. Mankind had a new beginning, and things were looking up. Then the wormhole collapsed. All of these people in New Eden were on their own; there were no more ties to Earth, or the other colonized worlds on the other side. A dark age began that lasted for 8,000 years. Out of this dark age, five empires emerged and began to rebuild civilization. Of course, they pretty much all fought each other and things were terrible for another 7,000 years. Then they got together to try to get things sorted, establishing how trade would be done across New Eden and setting the stage for EVE Online. There is a loose peace in place, but hostilities abound. I really started playing EVE back in 2010. Before that, I had tried the free trial at least five times. It's not an easy game to get into. While there is now a basic tutorial that can point you in the right direction, as of a few years ago, you had to essentially figure it all out on your own. My first mistake was trying to play it like a regular MMO. It's not. I looked for quests and I wanted to to level up my character. There are missions, which are quest-like, but there aren't any levels or experience points to earn. I quickly grew more and more confused and I walked away. But something inside me made me want to come back. There is a freedom in EVE that other games simply don't have. I wanted to just be a part of an online world -- I didn't want to merely level up and run raids for better loot. I wanted to control the economy and impact the game world. You are the game world That's what makes EVE awesome. You aren't just a part of the game world. You are the game world. That ship you're flying was more than likely made by another player. The bullets you fire were made by someone. The people around you are all real. The market is driven by people mining, manufacturing, hauling across space, salvaging wrecks, or stealing from other players. There aren't NPCs handing out epic flying mounts to every person who puts in the time. You've got to earn everything in your possession. Let me walk you through a day in the life of a miner, since that's what I personally do. I head out to an asteroid field and scan it for ore around me. Then I lock on to the most valuable ores around to start mining. Once my ore hold starts to fill up, I jettison the ore out into space. This system of tossing ore out into space is known as "jet canning," because the ore sits in a jettisoned container. Of course, the downside to this is that anyone can walk up and steal your ore. Back when I first started doing this, I had a guy follow me around while I mined and he would just steal my ore. He had a frigate so he couldn't take a lot, but he told me he did it just to annoy me. He had nothing better to do than annoy a lone miner. I wasn't bothering him, I was just minding my own business, but he wanted to interrupt my day. There are actually a lot of people who enjoy griefing in EVE. Sure, there are people like this in every game, but it's a way of life in EVE. Entire corporations exist just to mess with the powerful and wealthy. You can prove this by heading to any ice field in the game. Players can mine these giant chunks of ice and make a decent profit. Not as much as if you were mining ore, but the upside is that you really don't have to do anything to mine ice. You press a couple of buttons once an hour, which is great if you want to play and not be glued to the keyboard. Some people don't like that other people can make money while not actually playing, so they fly into these asteroid fields and "bump" ice miners away from the asteroids causing their mining operations to stop. Bumping a player is just as simple as flying your ship into theirs. There is no penalty for it, so you can't do anything about it. They just feel it's not fair for you to make money this easily, so they give you a challenge. It takes all kinds That's just one example of how things can go in New Eden. Every play style can find something to do in EVE. If you love PvE, PvP, solo play, hanging out with friends, if you're casual, or if you're hardcore, you'll find a home. Of course, the crazy PvP stories are the ones that people talk about the most, but there are tons of other things going in behind the scenes. Miners mine, people haul freight across space, and stations manufacture ships and weapons. Space is a big place. It can take hours to fly from one system to another. There is no fast travel system, so if you want to go somewhere in the game, you have to fly there one jump at a time. If you buy something that's 10 jumps away, you'll have to go get it and bring it back. This makes for an amazing regional economy system. Something can be priced drastically different if you go to the other side of the map. To make it even better, some resources are only available in certain regions. People have to harvest the materials, manufacture the goods, and then figure out how to distribute the merchandise to the places where people are likely to buy it. It's a real, working economy. As you might have heard, EVE is a hardcore game for sure, and a lot of gamer's don't have the patience to spend years learning how to play something. The general theory of game making today caters around instant gratification. When you press a button, something awesome happens. If you play an MMO and you don't level up in a session or get some awesome new loot, you feel like you didn't accomplish anything. While I don't think that's a bad thing for most games, EVE offers something different. EVE rewards the patient. Skills train up in real time. Early on, this means waiting 15 minutes to fly a better frigate, but as the game progresses it can take days or weeks to pilot a new ship. When I finished my 50 days of training to fly a Hulk (EVE's largest mining barge) it was the most amazing feeling of accomplishment. So why play EVE? It's definitely not an easy game to get into. I've been around for a while, and I am still learning new things constantly. There is a lot going on in EVE to the point where it's virtually impossible to master everything. You have to pick a few things and try them out. Some people want to get a crap load of money and run a mega-corporation, while others want to have badass space ships that can blow up anything. You have freedom to choose what you want to do. There is no end-game, there is no winning, and there is no losing. It's about accomplishing what you want to do. Nothing is more satisfying then achieving a goal you have been working towards for months, or maybe years. I play EVE because it's an engaging simulation of space that's populated with real people. Artificial intelligence can only go so far in mimicking human responses. All the pilots, corporations, alliances, battles, wars, ganking, and pirating are controlled by real human beings. If there was a crazy dystopian future that was like the wild-west in space, it would probably look a lot like New Eden. No computer will ever declare war "for the lulz." It's the crazy people that make EVE fun. Sure, I don't like it when someone ganks me, but it makes the game much more fun when there is always an impending sense of doom floating over your head. Anything can happen, no matter how safe you play. EVE's future is looking bright with constant updates, and the new addition of DUST 514 to the EVE universe will bring even more players into the fold. It has been around for a long time and doesn't look like it's going anywhere anytime soon. So long as its servers are up and running, there will be a dedicated group of pilots, myself included, that will keep flying. |
| Amigurumi Snake is a lot less solid, tons more adorable Posted: 04 Feb 2013 10:45 AM PST PixelBlock, the company that brought the world the ever-adorable Samas Aran amigurumi plush doll today brings us amigurumi Solid Snake, a 5.5 inch doll sporting a bitchin' mullet and some sweet stubble. There are currently only five left in stock as of this post, though more could be ordered so long as you're willing to wait 2-3 weeks for its production. At $30 for a hand-crafted item like this, it will certainly make diehard Metal Gear Solid fans weep in joy -- maybe even for Valentine's Day? Solid Snake (Metal Gear Solid) - Mini Amigurumi Plush [PixelBlock via Tomopop] |
| Gauntlet-esque Hammerwatch supports mods and co-op Posted: 04 Feb 2013 10:30 AM PST
The old Gauntlet games are some of the best cooperative experiences of days gone by. There was something about destroying monsters with your buddies, leveling up your character, and competing for loot that made those games special. Hammerwatch is a hack-and-slash dungeon crawler that is currently hanging out on Steam Greenlight. It's inspired by Gauntlet, though I cannot confirm whether or not anyone needs food badly. It's definitely worth checking out as it will include modding tools to extend the game's life indefinitely, online and local co-op, a hardcore mode, and it is coming to Windows, Mac, and Linux. Remember, if you like it, give it a vote on the Greenlight page! Hammerwatch is Gauntlet-inspired, mod-friendly co-op action with bosses and puzzles [IndieGames] |
| Bioshock Infinite Achievements reveal new modes, weapons Posted: 04 Feb 2013 10:15 AM PST Once again, Exophase has revealed a listing of in-game Achievements for an anticipated upcoming title, this time the long awaited Bioshock Infinite. For those of you who want to go into a title spoiler-free, you may want to avoid the next paragraph. There's three Achievements connected with the game's 1999 mode including one for unlocking it, one for beating it, and one for beating it without utilizing the dollar bill vending machines. There are also a lot of weapon-centric Achievements, and while this is not a huge surprise as many games have this, certain weapons have unique names that really sound kick-ass. The "Founder Pig Volley Gun" and the "Paddywhacker Hand Cannon" sound especially fun to use, based on name alone. Finally, and biggest of all for BioShock series fans, it appears that special abilities are no longer injected via EVE syringes, but through ingestion of elixirs named "vigors," of which there appear to be eight separate types. Beyond these, there are your typical "do X number of " tasks -- be they kills, actions, etc. -- as well as a few secret Achievements which tend to reveal enemy and event names. If you're so inclined, check them out, as they spoil a few more things than I have here. Bioshock Infinite Achievements [Exophase] |
| Storm's Adventure with Minecraft Posted: 04 Feb 2013 10:00 AM PST And concluding "Playing Catch Up to the Catch Up"... You do know there are no enemies in "Peaceful Mode"? You do know the XBOX 360 version has tutorials? You do know Minecraft has sold over 9,000,000 copies? Post and abandon...post and abandon. Also, confirmed. Car bombs are in Minecraft. |
| The launch line-up: Xbox Games on Windows 8 Posted: 04 Feb 2013 09:45 AM PST We had a chance to take the launch line-up of Xbox games on Windows 8 for a spin this past week. These games are available for play on any Windows 8 or Windows RT device, including laptops and tablets. I played them all on a slick Asus Vivo Windows RT tablet, which was nice as its detachable keyboard and USB port for a standard Xbox controller made for a really flexible system. Just like with Xbox 360 games, all of these Xbox Games for Windows 8 feature achievements, and more support leaderboards, co-op, and more. It's the full Xbox experience on something other than your Xbox, which is pretty neat. There's already a fairly broad selection for launch, and many more are in the works. We've prepared a quick rundown of the launch titles in this preview for you. Rocket Riot 3D Before I get to anything else, if you somehow haven't heard of Rocket Riot 3D before, I have to mention the background music. It's hilarious! The song's vocals sing about the game, making the crazy bombing action that much more nuts. This pixel-y, arena-based shooter has you blasting around freely with one thumb on the tablet, while flinging rockets and other projectiles with the other, just like you'd expect with a twin-stick shooter. Or, attach a mouse/keyboard or Xbox 360 controller if you'd like. It's an expanded, upgraded version of the Xbox 360 release, and it's a lot of fun. My memory isn't what it used to be, but I think it looks better than the original with its new visual effects. The Windows 8 version adds 24 new levels, taking the total to over 100. Skulls of the Shogun This amusing/weird strategy game just dropped for Xbox 360, so if you're playing it, this Windows 8 version would make a perfect companion version with its cross-platform saves and resumes. Speaking of cross-platform, asynchronous play is supported for this game across Xbox 360, Windows Phone and Windows 8. As we said in our review, this is a solid SRPG where you'll play as an undead samurai, commanding an undead army for revenge's sake. This game does away with your standard tactical grid, using circle-of-movement fields instead. For the tablet version, it's nice to poke at and drag units over using a controller. I like this portable, easy controlling version a lot. Hydro Thunder Hurricane HYDRO THUNDER! While a new version of this water racing franchise will never fully compare to the loud, crotch-vibrating original arcade cabinet, hitting the waves is always a good time. Hydro Thunder Hurricane looks respectably nice on Windows 8, but the gameplay experience feels more like a mobile game and less like the splashy, tight turning console one I loved so much. ilomilo+ This cute game had my face buried into the tablet most despite having played it before. The puzzle action it offers is just as cute as it was on Xbox Live, but it somehow comes off as more impressive on a tablet. The touch control scheme is sufficient, but I found myself longing for buttons and a stick after a bit. The "+" in the title means that the Windows 8 version adds new levels, chapters and cubes. Pinball FX 2 The tablet version of Zen Studios' XBLA hit game looks really great on the small(er) screen. And with the tablet turned sideways, it's like carrying around a little portable pinball machine. This version also fully supports all leaderboards, and a four-player/one device multiplayer option is now available. They're working on more tables for the Windows 8 version, too. Adera The find-the-hidden-thing graphical adventure type play of Adera didn't speak to me, but it's really the perfect kind of game for a touchscreen device, and I could see fans of that type having a good time with it. It sure looked great running on this Asus Vivo. The game's chapters come by way of episodic releases, and cloud save/resume is available across Windows 8 and Windows Phone devices. A nifty spectator mode lets other Windows users watch in and provide hints for the game's puzzles. The Gunstringer: Dead Man Running This runner moves from Kinect to Windows 8, adding touchscreen and tilt controls for tablets, or mouse and keyboard for bigger rigs. I'll tip my cowboy hat the game for its presentation and use of skeleton outlaws, but gameplay is clunky and very mobile-ish, taking some of the fun out of it. Reckless Racing Ultimate Mobile top-down racing game Reckless Racing HD gets an upgrade for Windows 8, adding leaderboards, multiplayer invite support and more. From a gameplay standpoint, this plays exactly like it would on a mobile phone, so don't go in expecting a console-like experience. Other launch titles: 4 Elements II Special Edition -- Your tween girl is going to love this item hunt game Windows 8 Microsoft casual launch titles: Microsoft Mahjong -- Supports cloud saves, leaderboards and achievements
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| Live show: Logitech Giveaway, and more Star Trek Online Posted: 04 Feb 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.] Whats this? Another Star Trek Online stream!? Yes, it's true, you're not seeing things. Once again we'll be diving into the realm of STO with the live crowd tonight on Mash Tactics. Now, while I've had an amazing time with this game, and it's a hell of a lot of fun, the main reason for another live stream of it is mainly due to the fact that, well, I forgot to give some goodies away last week. So join us for one more fine evening of outer space action, while we give away some Logitech goodies, courtesy of Perfect World Entertainment! QotD: Who would win in a mud-wrestling match, Jean-Luc Picard or James T. Kirk? |
| Koch Media doesn't intend to become 'the next THQ' Posted: 04 Feb 2013 09:15 AM PST While Koch Media isn't a household name, it and Deep Silver have been in the background for years, and its recent acquisition of Saints Row maker Volition and the Metro property helped to raise awareness of the German media group -- at least among this audience. Speaking to GamesIndustry International, CEO Klemens Kundratitz says "I appreciate that we now get more of the spotlight with these new IPs, but, having said that, we are not ambitious to be the next THQ." According to Kundratitz, "It's important that you understand who you are and what you're capable of doing. Other publishers are very ambitious, but they aspire to grow their businesses in ways that aren't healthy. That's a problem of publicly listed companies, which go from quarter to quarter and are pushed into this ambitious way of running their businesses. Unfortunately, that doesn't always pay off." The CEO has "no doubt" we'll be getting Metro: Last Light and the next Saints Row this year as originally intended. "I think it would have been daunting two years ago, but we have really come a long way since we started publishing," he explained. "With Dead Island, for the first time we had a global success. One thing leads to the next, and after Dead Island to go a bigger step further, it's not something we don't know enough about. We have grown and matured as an organization in a way that enables us to take on a project of that size." Koch Media: "We are not ambitious to be the next THQ" [Games Industry International] |
| Posted: 04 Feb 2013 09:00 AM PST A videogame is a thing that asks you to do a series of tasks in order to meet arbitrary goals that were established by someone else. Videogames are things that most of us partake in for "fun," regardless of how difficult the tasks are. In fact, a lot of people only want to play videogames that present them with tasks that "offer a nice challenge." A job is a thing that asks you to do a series of tasks in order to meet arbitrary goals that were established by someone else. Jobs are things that most of us will only do if we get paid, regardless of how easy the tasks are. In fact, a lot of people with jobs that present them with tasks that "aren't challenging enough." Where does the line between job end and videogame begin? What makes a game, or a job, "nicely challenging?" These are some of the the questions I was left asking myself after my time with Yoot Saito's Aero Porter.  Aero Porter (3DS eShop) Yoot Saito is most famous for creating the Dreamcast classic Seaman, arguably the strangest game ever made. It is a game where you take care of a fish man. That's it. Do a marginally good job, and you may have a few interesting conversations with it about existentialism and the possibility that The Beatles weren't real. Then he'll leave. Game Over. Knowing this about Yoot Saito, I went into Aero Porter expecting something surreal. Shame on me for thinking I know what to expect from Yoot Saito. While Aero Porter does delve into a few playfully strange moments, it's a fairly straightforward game about sorting luggage. What's strange about the game is that it's compelling. Sorting luggage sounds boring as hell. You'd have to pay me to do it in real life. In videogame form, it's something that I'm paying Yoot Saito and Level-5 for the permission to do.
Part of that comes from how the game starts off so deceptively simple, and how Yoot (or as he's known in the game, Bob) treats you as an employee. He makes is all sound so easy, and is so disappointed with you when you screw up. That kind of management makes you really want to do better, which leads you to keep playing even when things get tough. Make no mistake about it, this game gets really tough. You start with three conveyor belts and three different types of colored bags. The bags continually spin on the conveyor belts until you flip a switch to send the bags onto their corresponding flights. By lowering or raising connecting bridges between the belts, you can send different bags to different belts. Get all the yellow bags on the yellow belt, flip the switch to get the bags on the flight, and you're doing your job right. Get too many of the wrong colored bags on the wrong flights or fail to get all the bags on the plane before take off, and you're going to have some very disappointed customers (and Yoot/Bob Saito) on your hands.  The catch is, if you activate the bridge to raise or lower a bag from one belt to another, you activate all the raising or lowering bridges in the whole baggage department, which could cause you to raise/lower a bag onto another belt that you didn't intend to move. This forces you to simultaneously focus on all the belts in the department at once, while assessing where each bag is and where you want to move them. As your airport continues to expand (thanks to your super profitably baggage handling skills), you'll eventually end up managing seven conveyor belts at once. That's more than twice as much work as you started with. Anyone who's ever been "that guy" at a job who's willing to go the extra mile for the same pay knows how typical this workplace scenario can be. On top of all that, you'll also have to manage your fuel levels. Run out of fuel and your belts will start running at a snails pace, making it almost impossible to get anything done. You'll have to buy more fuel and get it lowered all the way down to the bottom of the screen into the engine room (but don't accidentally lower any bags into the engine room too, you moron!) There are a few ways to make your job easier though. Score enough combos and you'll gain better equipment that'll allow you to shut the lights down (to save fuel), stop incoming baggage from unloading for a few seconds, adjust the speed of your belts, and to make your belt bridges raise/lower at a faster pace. The may sound like small details, but they can mean the difference between a flight full of happy customers and a plane filled with the incorrect, sometimes deadly baggage.  This deadly baggage comes into play during Aero Porter's "specialty" situations. These events can happen at any time, and do well to simulate the kinds of unforeseeable problems that can happen in even the most serene work environments. Terrorists will occasionally throw explosive luggage into the mix. You'll have to be sure to get the bomb sorted onto the disposal truck (and not a plane, you idiot!) if you want to keep your airport's reputation (and passengers) alive. You'll also get ball shaped VIP luggage that needs to be rolled (via motion controls) around the belts to get it onto the right flight, and bags that belong to high powered politicians that are intentionally mis-colored in order to keep their owners' identity a secret. You'll have to take a close look at these bags to to see what colored tags they carry. Their tags aren't visible from every angle, which forces you to narrow your focus to just these bags for at least a few seconds. In a game that's all about taking in information from both 3DS screen simultaneously at all times, it's cruel task indeed, but necessary if you want to keep the president of some random nation (and Yoot/Bob) happy. The beauty of Aero Porter is in how it forces the player to make these kinds of on-the-fly judgement calls while simultaneously tending to the craft of baggage handling. When those bombs or VIP bags show up, you have to make them top priority, which may mean ignoring other flights and bags for a while, or even intentionally putting the wrong baggage on the wrong flight just to get the plane out of the port. If you try to play Aero Porter like it's only a puzzle game by sticking strictly to the goal of doing everything perfectly, you will never truly master it. Only those who are willing to make tough, potentially damaging management decisions while simultaneously keeping track of every belt and every flight time and your fuel gauge will become a master baggage handlers.  Aero Porter is a brilliant amalgamation of the puzzle game and the business management simulator, though it's not for the faint of heart. The amount of information the game asks you to juggle at once will be too much for a lot of people. It took me a long time to get past the third day of work, though that level of tough-but-fair challenge only worked to enhance my level of excitement about pushing forward. My only real issue with the game is that it runs out of new rewards fairly quickly. After you've maxed out your airport to "Space port" size and gained all the new equipment available, your only in-game motivator for continued play is the opportunity to unlock a variety of new customizable planes for your personal hanger. I'm sure that aviation enthusiasts will find that compelling. The rest of you may drop out. That deficiency aside, Aero Porter is a definitely worth the time of anyone looking to have both their decision making skills and color sorting technique pushed to their limits. |
| PlayStation Plus offers up free Guardians of Middle-earth Posted: 04 Feb 2013 08:45 AM PST Starting tomorrow, PlayStation Plus members can nab Monolith's console-exclusive MOBA, Guardians of Middle-Earth, for free. A less-than-active community made it difficult for me to play the Xbox Live Arcade version not long after launch, and I have to imagine things aren't much different here. Hopefully the promo will give the game a nice boost, because it really is worth checking out for a few hours. (And possibly many, many more.) Rounding out the list, Plus subscribers can also save on the remake of Karateka ($5.00), a procedurally-generated shoot-'em-up called Big Sky Infinity with PS3/Vita cross-buy functionality ($5.99), and the exploration-centric Knytt Underground ($5.00). PlayStation Plus Update: Guardians of Middle Earth Free; Karateka 50% Off [PS Blog] |
| Here's how to get Meloetta in Pokemon Black and White Posted: 04 Feb 2013 08:30 AM PST March? I don't even want to start thinking about March yet. That said, it's nice to get the heads-up on the planned distribution event for the Mythical Pokémon Meloetta in North America. You'll want to take a trip to GameStop on March 4, or EB Games in Canada on March 9, to get this Pokémon. As per usual, a DS or 3DS will be needed, as will either a copy of Pokémon Black or White, or Pokémon Black 2 or White 2. Beyond wanting Meloetta just because that Pokédex isn't going to fill out itself, it's worth noting that this is normally a Normal- and Psychic-type Pokémon but it can turn into a Normal- and Fighting type in battle. I need to revisit the weakness chart again. |
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