Continuing on from yesterday's Jimquisition on the subject, I want to help a few people who are still confused about BioShock Infinite and, dismayingly, the English language. The general argument against the game seems to be that BioShock was the wrong name for the game, and if they wanted a spiritual successor, they should have removed the "Bio" bit.
Apparently, it must be called SkyShock, or some sort of variant, because BioShock is an explicit reference to either the ocean or the philosophical ideals of Andrew Ryan. I'd like to point out that you do not understand the English language if you believe this is the case. I don't know who told you this, but the "Bio" part of BioShock has nothing to do with philosophy or the ocean.
"Bio" is used to indicate life or living organisms. That's all it references. Nothing about Ayn Rand dystopias or underwater cities. In game terms, it specifically references genetic manipulation and man attempting to control life. If BioShock Infinite has anything like that in it -- and it appears that it does -- then the "Bio" part of BioShock is perfectly acceptable.
I know that for many of you, this is pathetically obvious, but I felt it a public duty to point it out for those who didn't finish first grade English. I hope that's cleared it up for you!
While North America and Japan revel in the pure joy that is playing Deadly Premonition (from here on referred to as the greatest game ever made) and Europe only has to ring their hands in frustration until this Fall you will never, ever, ever, never get to play the greatest game ever made (unless you import, of course). The game's developer, Rising Star Games, admitted, after a brief flurry of rumors that the game was denied classification, that they never even submitted it to be be classified.
In a statement sent to Australian Gamer they said, "As part of our normal procedures in submitting any game for classification, it was determined internally at Rising Star Games that the game would not satisfy the criteria for an MA15+ rating in Australia and further that any changes to the game would not be possible. It was therefore decided, with regret, the game will not be released in Australia."
I can hear your wailing from my chair in front of my TV as I play the greatest game ever made, Australia. A single tear is rolling down my eye. It's so sad, Zach.
"I knew it wasn't going to come here, but thought it'd be due to it being a budget title without much selling power. I suppose they made my mind up for me - importing soon."more
You know the NPD. They track how well things sell in the business of gaming, but we haven't been so consistent on telling you about their monthly numbers. Then I thought of a clever headline for them (you can read it above) and decided that from now on monthly NPD numbers would come on the weekends so I could use said headline.
So here they are with commentary and full numbers below: Console sales surged over last year by 12 percent to $313.8 million thanks to (and despite) the price cutting of almost every system out there. However, retail game sales slumped by 8 percent to $403.3 million despite the landing of plenty of major titles in July. This put the overall sales of all things gaming down by percent from last year for a grand total of $846.5 million.
NPD analyst Anita Frazier does note, however, that with the release PC release of StarCraft II, which sold 721,000 units at retail, "PC games and videogame industry sales combined for an increase of 4 percent in revenues as compared to July '09."
The newest Tony Hawk game is going to have both skateboarding and snowboarding and even more interesting, the newest entry to the series is being aimed at kids. It's not exactly clear how this focus on kids makes Shred any different from the last Tony Hawk games.
Famous skateboarders and snowboarders like Tony Hawk, Corey Duffel, David Gonzalez, Travis Rice, Torah Bright and plenty more are featured in Shred. You'll even be able to play as your Mii or Avatars.
Tony Hawk: Shred will be out this Fall for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii for $59.99 for just the game or $99.99 for the game and the board that no one really enjoyed using. Check out more images of Shred here.
Yeah! Stupid corny wordplay headlines are totally rad! ON TO THE NEWS!
nail'd will now be coming out on October 19 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. Along with the new release date comes the final box art for the game and this brand new trailer showing off the bikes and quads kicking gravity in the balls.
Our newest writer, Tara Long, recently got to check out the game and she enjoyed getting nail'd, hard.
So how would you make your wedding day special? Well, if you're like this couple, you would have ninjas attack you while the Mortal Kombat theme is blasted in the background.
The artist behind the lovely videogame minimalism art series is selling shirts based on his designs! The Mega Man robot masters, Mario, Luigi, Wario Donkey Kong, Jigglypuff, Kirby, Pickachu and E. Honda are all currently available on Infinite Continues shirt store.
If shirts aren't your thing, there is a poster on sale of the robot masters set. While you're at it, be sure to check out Infinite Continues as all of the minimalism art series is housed there, including the newest piece based on Mortal Kombat.
As with everything in life, you never start at the top. You have to work your way up and that's what you'll be doing in DJ Hero 2's "Empire Mode." Here you'll be picking your brand, club, DJ and more and building up your career from working small clubs to the big leagues.
Check out our recent preview of DJ Hero 2 for more on this mash-up rhythm game. DJ Hero 2 will be out this October for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
This is Scott Pilgrim week folks! Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game was just released for the PlayStation Network and the movie hits theaters this Friday. So what better way to celebrate all things Scott Pilgrim then by giving away a ton of Scott Pilgrim related items!
We have five prize packs to give out consisting of:
One Scott Pilgrim iPhone skin
Scott Pilgrim Baseball caps
Scott Pilgrim Theatrical one sheets
The Scott Pilgrim official soundtrack
$25 ADIDAS gift card
You'll also win one of the super rare limited edition Scott Pilgrim shirts produced by i am 8-bit that were given out exclusively at the Scott Pilgrim Party during E3. Total value of the prizes being given away is $300!
All you need to do to enter is tell us what seven videogame bosses YOU would fight to win the heart of your true love. Limit one entry per person and contest open to US residents only. You have until August 15 at 11:59PM CDT to enter. Good luck!
"I would fight:
1. Dr. Robotnik from Green Hills Zone in Sonic The Hedgehog
2. Bowser from Super Mario World
3. Aghanim from The Legend of Zelda: LttP
4. Ark from Final Fantasy IX
5. Lavos from C..."more
This week's Bungie update is jammed packed with Forge related goodness for Halo: Reach. Bungie has shown off some of the major objects we'll be able to get our hands on with the $10,000 budget as well as some of the special effects filters for aspiring machinima directors.
The latest update also details the new race mode and that there at least forty different assassination animations. COOL!
Also, check out the awesome Halo: Reach doc up above showing off how the awesome E3 statues were made. You can win the statues through GameStop in fact!
The PAX panel schedule is up, Samit chatted with Irrational Games on BioShock Infinite, Jim brought us some more on Space Marine, Tara checked out Battle vs Chess, Castle Crashers for PSN priced, Rage out September 2011 and more happened on 08/13/10.
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game was just released for the PlayStation Network this week and the lead animator on the project, Paul Robertson, has released some animated sprites of the various characters in the game to celebrate. Scott, Ramona, Knives, the evil ex's and more are all available for you to nab and use as your Forum avatars or something!
I adore everything Paul Robertson related and it's so great that he's finally put out a game. The Scott Pilgrim game is pretty awesome and I recommend you all try it out.
Be sure to check out our Scott Pilgrim giveaway where you can win some awesome items including the limited edition shirts.
"Playing beat-'em-ups online isn't that bad, you still can play with your friends and have a great time. I just like to have the option. Especially now that a lot of my friends are spread out all ..."more
The day after I posted the Scott Pilgrim movie review, I attended a round-table interview with the film's director (Edgar Wright) and three of its stars (Michael Cera, Jason Schwartzman, and Anna Kendrick). They didn't let me bring a video camera in, so I could only capture audio of the event. Don't worry though, I still got you covered, at least where visuals are concerned. When it comes to questions, well, I only got one out before I became mortified to the point where I could no longer speak.
Don't let me spoil it for you though. Watch the video for yourself, and for those of you who've now seen the movie, tell me now; do you think that Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World is the first true videogame film?
Normally we spread our Deal love out to...well, any retailer or website that sends me their hot deals. But today we only have Target stuff. That's fine, as they've got lots of deals.
All the deals come in Target GiftCards this week. They want to give you extra cash to spend in their store so you can buy their awesome snack mix or their brand-name-but-not clothing. Or orange plastic bowls that are "trendy."
You'll get a free $20 gift card with the purchase of a duo of games. First off, you have to buy Madden NFL '11, and then add in either Splinter Cell: Conviction, Aliens vs. Predator, UFC Undisputed 2010 or Final Fantasy XIII. Have at it, you two-game-buying badasses.
If you're shopping for Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days next week when it comes out, go to Target as they'll give you a free $10 gift card.
Finally, they're giving $5 giftcards with a $1 reservation for Halo Reach and Just Dance 2. The same deal is applicable for the reservation of Microsoft's Kinect or PlayStation Move.
The world of MindJack is an interesting one. It's the year 2031, and people have the technology, through the power of special cybernetic devices, to control daily objects with just a thought. However, it's not so simple as that, as these devices also enable players to shift between the minds of other AI controlled players. When a dastardly power hungry military organization tries to take over, what are the good agents of the world to do? Wildly jump between the minds of nearby NPC and use them to lay waste to the oncoming agents and genetically mutated gorillas.
Clearly something interesting is going on with this one. Certainly helps that Square Enix is publishing MindJack, and that this is the first major development project for Japanese development house Feelplus. They are entering a special market, the distinctly western third person shooter, and it's going to take a lot to make an impression, especially over here. However, with a gimmick that runs all the way through the game, there is certainly something to pay attention to.
Yay! Penny-Arcade has released the PAX Prime 10 schedule of panels. As Jonathan Ross pointed out, there's going to be a "sh*t ton" of panels this year. Things get kicked off on Friday at 10:30AM at the Main Theatre as Warren Spector presents the PAX Prime 2010 keynote. The keynote is immediately followed by Gabe and Tycho for the first Penny Arcade Q&A.
So what else is bumping for the weekend? Well we're holding a panel! On Saturday at 10:30AM in the Unicorn Theatre, Jim Sterling, Chad Concelmo, Jonathan Holmes and Niero will be holding the Destructoid LIVE! panel. We have some awesome things planned including giveaways! OMG!
You'll also want to check out the "GameTrailers.com Presents: Entertaining the Gamer: What Does It Take? panel." Our very own Ashley Davis and Anthony Burch will be part of the panelists and will talk about "Hey Ash, Whatcha' Playing" and "Once Upon a Pixel."
Other panels I'm hoping to check out listed below the fold.
"Don't forget, if you haven't gotten any passes yet, you can score some through our giveaway! Free copies of Kung-Fu LIVE and some surprise swag too! Check it here on Dtoid! - http://www.destructo..."more
DuckTales is my jam, ooOOOoooh. In fact, I'm all for all the Capcom and Disney games that featured the duck (or the mouse), especially back in the 8 and 16-bit era. My favorite? A Japan-only QuackShot port for the Sega Saturn, which I proudly show off to visitors. None of them seem to care, naturally. Well, Warren Spector would. I doubt he's ever coming over to see my Saturn Collection, but if he did, we'd play QuackShot, some Magical Drop, and then talk about how Epic Mickey could be on any console, and not just the Wii.
Spector is all about Capcom's classic and says that he would love to make another. He told Industry Gamers in an interview thatt, "A day does not go by where I don't tell somebody at Disney: 'Uncle Scrooge, come on! Donald! Huey, Dewey, and Louie! Come on, let me do a duck game!' So yeah, I would love to do a duck game."
Man, just thinking about this game makes me want to bust out the NES now.
Namco Networks America Inc created an internet domain for...wait for it...AntiqueRoadshowTheGame.com.
I'm so excited! I can only imagine how exciting a game based on the most exciting, action-packed television show ever would turn out to be like. We have no information on what this game would be, but I'm suggesting that Namco Networks go multiplatform with this bitch. The sky's the limit! I mean, who isn't going to buy Antique Roadshow The Game?
There is a board game with the same name, and it actually sounds pretty cool. I wonder if this game is an adaptation of that.
All editorial content, including blogs, comments, and forums written by our community, are licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution. Destructoid is an independently-run publication forged by our love of video games and the gaming community's need of accountable enthusiast press. "Living the dream since March 16, 2006".
Join us - it's free
Viral Survival
BlayzBloo: Super Melee Brawlers Battle Royale
Madden NFL 11
Review Round-Up: The games of July
Movie review: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
19 minutes ago - 12:00 PM on 08.14.2010 | Jim Sterling
Space Marine title is 'a bit tongue in cheek'
Community blogs of 08/13/10
