Everyone loves free stuff. I collect free stuff like Joystiq collects talented writers. I have an armada of Kids Meal toys (such as a 6 piece nugget box and soda that inexplicably transform into robots) and several sets of Batman Returns plastic cups from Taco Bell. What do I do with them? Nothing. They just make my girlfriend start yelling and then in my defense I point to the giant Adriana Lima collage I glued over our bed and exclaim "If you loved me, you would look like that!"
Anyway, beyond the jump lie all the snazzy pre-order bonuses from Gamestop you can horde in a corner somewhere with your Garbage Pail Kids cards and Battle Beast. I'm partial to the 100-page artbooks and in-game content like that netherwhelp I paid $120 for. Some level 12 nub ran past me the other day in Ironforge and was like "hay wurd you get that dragon? is cool!" Tooooootally worth it.
If you can't get enough of one of the most ingeniusly obvious slices of pure, undistilled marketing that has ever been created, you might like to know that Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga is on the way, due to arrive for the PS3, Xbox 360, Wii and Nintendo DS. Of course, you'll be wanting a trailer, but fear not, you're covered. Click above for glorious game advertisment in all its many wonders.
Bringing together all six Star Wars movies, this is basically a game you'll play half of, blissfully ignoring the first three episodes, for George Lucas is a pretentious sparrow toucher who just stuck the title Episode IV on the end of the first movie in order to look clever. Well he's not clever, he's a big idiot.
Back on track, it looks like this'll be more of the same, with a lot more packed in than before. That wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing.
Remember GDC 2007? I don't. I recall having a conversation with Adam Sessler, then some darkness, then looking for my pants in Dyson's apartment, then more blurriness, then maybe a bear. Honestly, I'm not really clear on that entire week.
One thing I do recall vividly, though, is the impression made by the people at CCP Games. Not only were they co-responsible for the finest party of the entire week, they were also just intensely cool people, and fans of Destructoid. Since I had always wondered what I was missing by not immersing myself in the open-space-simulator MMO that is EVE Online, I jumped on the opportunity to interview the Lead Game Designer, a Mr. Noah "Hammerhead" Ward on the ins and outs of what makes the most compelling anti-WoW tick.
If you think this is a shameless plug, you get a gold star! Since the final day of GDC, I've been splitting my time rather evenly between my infamous addiction to the wilds of Azeroth and my new heroin: EVE. Hence, follow the jump, read the interview, see what you think, then hit up this public fourteen-day free trial, if you're so inclined.
Gabe and Tycho, the boys behind Penny Arcade, PAX and the annual charitygasm that is Child's Play, decided one day that they wanted to make a game. Unlike you, however, they apparently had the clout (and the total disdain for brevity) to make that happen. With the above trailer for On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness (cribbed from the disc attached to the latest issue of PC Gamer), the end result is C'thulhu meets Celda by way of Guybrush Threepwood.
Personally, I plan on picking this title up on launch day, if only to support the creative efforts of a group designing games the way they want to play them, as opposed to the traditional focus-group-tested, mother-approved approach. Oh, and also because Gabe has expressly assured me that the box will ward off draculas.
My room is chock-full of draculas! Swarms of them!
Anyway, this week's fake game comes from forumite Farktoid, the guy responsible for yet another Dtoid fake game, Tuition. The game is Z-Day: The Zombie Wars, and it may be the only MMORPG ever concieved that I'd actually pay a monthly fee for. Not to spoil Farktoid's incredibly detailed writeup, but it's basically a somewhat slow-paced, nonlinear zombie survival game -- and the zombies are of the slow variety, so consider it the anti-Left 4 Dead.
Earlier in the week, Activision and Red Octane unveiled the next full title in the Guitar Hero series, set to hit the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii later this year. Hidden in the PR, beneath the distraction of a star-studded track listing, was a small snippet that cause a few people to smash their keyboards in frustration:
The exclusive Gibson guitars will include innovative features such as removable faceplates that will allow fans to later personalize their guitars and make it their own, and a new button color design that will be integrated for an even greater authentic feel and rock experience.
Say what now? With a new color scheme, how will that change the game? Will an entirely new peripheral be needed? Can I still play the game with my pants off? I'm very comfortable with my current color scheme, thank you very much.
We contacted Red Octane for clarification, and fortunately for them (money for a hit was seconds away from changing hands), they were able to ease our minds.
"The new color button design will definitely not affect the actual game play," Red Octane's Brian Lam told Destructoid. "Rather it is merely for a more authentic rock look and feel, and the SG and X-Plorer guitars will still work with their specific platform for the next Guitar Hero title."
Call off the dogs, boys; there's no need to cancel Christmas this year.
One of the most important ingredients of a superb video game is good characters. Think back to all the classics you have played over the years; one thing they most likely have in common is a strong cast, headlined by an even stronger main character. If you are going to dedicate multiple hours playing one game, the characters better be strong, right?
But it takes a lot more for a video game to be memorable than just interesting character choices alone. It is the relationships between these characters that transform a simple video game into a deep, emotionally fulfilling experience.
A character could be one of the greatest designed characters of all time, but place him or her in a world with nothing to do but run and jump and that character becomes nothing more than a pretty computer-generated image, possessing no connection whatsoever with the player.
In this edition of The Memory Card, one of the greatest video game moments in recent memory is honored primarily for its realistic and almost cinematic portrayal of its in-game characters. Hit the jump to enter the world of one of the most underappreciated and, frankly, greatest games to come out in the last decade, Beyond Good & Evil.
Nintendo has announced a new live ad campaign set to run in UK cinemas over the next couple of weeks, consisting of a live demonstration of Wii Sports by some planted actors.
The plan is for the usual Wii trailer to run as part of the pre-film adverts, wherupon an actor playing the character of "Elsa" will enter the auditorium calling to her son "Steve". At this point, the trailer will pause, the house lights will come up, and the actor playing Steve will identify himself in the audience before being challenged to a Wii Sports rematch by his mother. They will then play tennis live using the cinema screen.
Understandable. After all, my Mum and I love to play Wii Sports in random public venues all the time. In fact we're planning a stage invasion at the Rod Stewart gig in Manchester next month. See you there.
But while my initial reaction to this was one of bogglement and pre-emptive embarrassment, it very probably will work. With the Wii stomping all over the competition's sales at the moment as the accessible gaming machine for all, pushing the ease of interaction in a public forum like this will seriously hit the "Ooh, that looks like fun" market Nintendo is aiming for. Pick the right sort of family-oriented films to run it with as well, and many a car journey home will see parents marauded for a Wii by the l'il uns on the back seat.
The ad is set to run in Clapham, Greenwich, Stratford East, Cambridge and Liverpool this weekend, followed by Edinburgh, York, Southampton and Brixton the weekend after. I live in none of those places, so if you happen to see it, let me know what the reaction's like.
The original Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles on Nintendo's Gamecube was met with mixed reviews from fans. While some applauded it, a vast majority found Square Enix's adventure game to be a big pile of sugary lizard spunk. That hasn't kept the Final Fantasy powerhouse from pressing onward, first with a DS sequel, now with a brand new console version in the works. Due for the Wii is the abhorrently named Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers, and you can view the trailer right here.
As far as actual gameplay footage goes, we're shown very little. About two second's worth of it, in fact, but it looks like this will still be a damn pretty Wii game. That said, I'm not convinced this is making the most of the hardware, which surprises me, being from Square Enix. It looks firmly like a PlayStation 2 title, and we all know the Wii can do better than that. Well ... we're led to believe it can.
That aside, I'm looking forward to seeing what Square Enix can bring to the Wii. Here's hoping it's a fun, original game on a system that really, really needs more of them.
Look, I rarely drink. Being the happy go lucky lad that I am, I also don't usually pay much attention to polititicans, lawyers, or even public service announcements for that matter. However, sometimes an article will land in my virtual lap and I have no choice but to pass it on to you fine folks. In essence, it is my civic duty.
Such is the case of the latest entry from Mark Methenitis's The Law Of The Game blog, a sort of social commentary on video game life as we know it -- from a game playing attorney's vantage point.
In his most recent commentary, titled Video Game Regulation Is Just Poor Governance, Mark continues to debate the hot topic that just won't fade away. With all the negative media attention that video games continually attract (Thanks in no small part to crusaders of the uninformed such as Jack Thompson), just who exactly is to blame?
In our recap yesterday, we covered just about everything Ubisoft had to offer at this week's Ubidays event. Still, there were quite a few titles that appeared to be missing from the show.
When the Prince returns, will he be angry or mellow again? Is Jade still wearing that lovely shade of lipstick? Will we be able to see freckles on a digital Kate Austen? Oh, the mysteries!
Keep in mind that what follows is purely based on either rumors, leaks, or speculation. None of this is written in stone and in many cases, some of it shouldn't have been written at all. It is however, a short list of games whose whereabouts we're a bit curious about.
Trying to set itself aside from being just another first-person shooter, one of the unique aspects of 2K's The Darkness are what is called The Creeping Dark. Here's a good description of this little bastard:
Creeping Dark, the snake-like appendage that slides along the ground, up the walls and through windows in The Darkness, can be used to attack Uncle Paulie’s hitmen and devour their hearts, open locked doors, and much more.
Funny enough, just as 2K sent this to our inbox this morning, I actually have an appointment with them today to get some quality hands-on time with this upcoming title. Stay tuned to find out how that goes.
Since the Wii obviously uses a non-standard control scheme, owners are always curious how they'll be able to control certain games. One of those of interest is the mature title Scarface. In a thankfully toned-down demonstration video, you'll now be able to see just how you can control this Cuban legend.
Why is he a legend? Hmmm, I believe this explains it all:
In this country, you gotta make the money first. Then when you get the money, you get the power. Then when you get the power, then you get the women.
