Happy weekend, Dtoiders! We have five codes for Serious Sam HD: Second Encounter for XBLA to giveaway this weekend and you just need leave a comment below with whatever you'd like to enter. No limit to entry and you have until tomorrow at 11:59PM CDT to enter. Contest is open worldwide. GO!
In honor of the upcoming Rally to Restore Sanity/March to Keep Fear Alive I shall deliver all the news this weekend twice: First the sane way, and then the fear way. It's the weekend, I get to do stuff like this (I hope... please don't fire me).
Sane: Square Enix has launched a Japanese site for the next game in the Parasite Eve series, The 3rd Birthday. If you've seen our hands-on with the PSP game you know that it isn't quite a true sequel to the Parasite Eve games, and takes the franchise in a pretty different direction gameplay wise. The site has a new trailer on it to check out that actually looks very promising overall. Everything is in Japanese so I can't understand a word of it, but I'm excited to see how this one is going to turn out.
Fear: They're ruining the franchise by changing it like this, you know. It's all down hill from here. Soon all we'll be getting out of Japanese developers are sad knock-offs of Western third-person shooters. Change is bad and it will destroy everything. No wonder the PSP is the worst thing to ever happen to gaming ever and also the stupidest handheld ever made.
Also, it's a Japanese game. They're foreign and can't be trusted.
There's a huge gap in my gaming knowledge when it comes to the GameBoy Color handheld. W
hen it was present in the portable landscape, I was not, spending most of my time on console and PC gaming. As a result, I had never heard of Shantae until the recent announcement that the revival of the half-genie platforming game would be hitting the DSiWare service next month.
In a press release we received, Wayforward has announced more details about the upcoming return of Shantae in addition to the release date of October 4th previously revealed to fans via newsletter. Originally conceived as an episodic game with cliffhanger endings, Shantae: Risky's Revenge will now be released as a single, standalone product. And we have a price: 1200 Nintendo points.
If that sounds like a lot for a DSiWare title, you're right. In fact, it's the most expensive yet, if the list of DSiWare software on Wikipedia is to be believed (admittedly questionable. But before you get all puffed up about the price, keep in mind that a copy of the original Shantae can run you at least a hundred dollars. Yikes!
(In honor of the upcoming Rally to Restore Sanity/March to Keep Fear Alive I shall deliver all the news this weekend twice: First the sane way, and then the fear way. It's the weekend, I get to do stuff like this (I hope... please don't fire me).
Sane: Microsoft is poising Kinect to be huge, and Hudson, who scored a surprise hit on the Wii with their DECA Sports franchise, isn't going to let another prime opportunity to make more money off of mediocore sports games pass them by. So we receive DECA Sports Freedom, an exclusive for Kinect, which looks a lot like the Wii version of the game.
From the trailer it definitely looks like the kind of stuff that appeals to the target demo of Kinect so if the new "controller" sells well then I'm guessing this one could have some legs as well. I'm not that excited for it since it clearly isn't geared towards the hardcore, but someone out there could probably have some fun with it.
Fear: It's over, man. We've been predicting the downfall of hardcore gaming since the mid-80s, but that trailer clearly shows that it's finally happened. Games are no longer meant for us hardcore gamers and the entire industry has forsaken us. Even indie developers will start going where the money is, I promise you. The end isn't nigh, it's here.
In honor of the upcoming Rally to Restore Sanity/March to Keep Fear Alive I shall deliver all the news this weekend twice: First the sane way, and then the fear way. It's the weekend, I get to do stuff like this (I hope... please don't fire me). Also, Destructoid Baltimore/DC is making loose plans to be at the rally so you should too.
Sane: THQ boss Brian Farrell recently spoke on how his company has noticed that people buy games at lower price points. He noted specifically that MX vs. ATV always has a spike when the price drops down. As such THQ sees the future of console gaming as headed towards a world where you get the initial game for a lower price or for free with less content and then use microtransactions for further content.
"It's what we call a hybrid--it's a bit of the microtransaction and DLC model," Farrell noted when discussing how THQ would release the next MX vs. ATV at a lower price point and then offer DLC like new tracks, modes and vehicles. He went on to say, "It's where our industry is going and this is a very, very interesting experiment with one of our key brands."
Fair enough as long as spending $60 eventually nets you $60 worth of content.
Fear: They're going to stop selling you complete games! What terrible human beings. Farrell is clearly in cahoots with Satan himself, and I'm pretty sure the Bible says that an increase in microtransactions is one of the signs of the end of the world. Bust out your pitchforks because it's time to riot!
"or
They're going to stop selling you complete games! , in 5 years when the next gen rolls out and you pop your disc in, it's gonna try to connect to a server that no longer exists and therefore..."more
With Realtime Worlds' APB having met an early demise within a mere three months, some fans are (justifiably) upset that they invested fifty dollars into a game which they can no longer play. Efforts by some to be refunded by Steam seem to have been met with failure, but it seems as though Electronic Arts might be a little bit more sympathetic.
In a thread at the Steam forums, users have been posting about their experiences talking to EA support regarding this issue. Several users have been able to receive a twenty dollar discount code for their inconvenience, while others have managed to convince support representatives to give them a game of equivalent value. The thread's original poster included a chat log showing they were even able to finagle a copy of Dragon Age 2 to be received upon that title's release.
While there seems to be some discrepancy in reports regarding whether you can or cannot have used your unlock key and still be eligible for a reward. In addition, some users claim that EA is not offering this to purchasers who bought in before an undisclosed date. But it's still nice that EA is at least trying to help customers from their role as a distributor. Kudos to them.
If you bought APB, you may want to go and have a chat with EA support and see if they can do anything to help you out. Just be patient and honest, but firm and maybe you'll be able to get a little something back for your trouble.
One of my personal favorite games from last year, Borderlands, have now joined the ranks of the elite (or, at least, most commercially successful) titles in branded value packaging. In other words, you can now pick up the game as an Xbox 360 Platinum Hit or a PlayStation 3 Greatest Hit.
Should you? That's a tricky question to answer. A "Game of the Year" edition including the title's four DLC packs is set for release on October 24th for $60, which would be a savings of ten smackers if you were to purchase each of the packs separately at their individual asking price of $10. But the DLC is a bit of a mixed-bag, with even fans of the game seemingly in disagreement as to the value of each one. I like Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot the best of the four, for example, and have been told that this is an unpopular viewpoint.
Either way, we'll have a review of the next DLC, Claptrap's New Robot Revolution, when it releases on Tuesday. Maybe that will help influence any future buying decisions you will make.
So yeah, Dead Rising 2 is a pretty fun game. Watch this video to get some tips on how to use the upgrading system.
We talked to Riot Games about on the DotA trademark, check out Dale's top ten list of videogame songs, see the making of TRON: Evolution and more happened on 09/24/10.
I came across this video late last night on one of my nightly insomnia-fueled Internet runs, and to make sure it had the full effect on all of you, I held off on posting it until now.
YouTube user Hard8Times found this hilarious glitch in the NBA Elite 11 demo for PlayStation 3. Skip directly to the 2:45 mark, and prepare yourself for an equally funny reaction from the player.
I never really thought about it before, but I bet I get more enjoyment out of sports games than someone like Samit does, even though I never play the genre; the glitches are that good.
"Awesome - on 2nd viewing I thought the neatest part is that the narrator doesn't even notice Bynum lurking there at halfcourt the first time up the floor...the play goes right by him...
(The 1st..."more
CVG has learned from Deus Ex: Human Revolution art director Jonathan Jacques-Belletête that Ubisoft was working on reimagining Prince of Persia with a more modern twist.
Jacques-Belletête, who used to work for Ubisoft, said the studio wanted a PoP spinoff. Work had already begun on 2008's Prince of Persia, "but they wanted really something completely out of the left field," he explained.
"So I had this little team, and [our PoP] was actually in the contemporary world. Think a bit Day After Tomorrow, but replace the snow with sand and everything. It was really wicked. But it got canceled, and then we did all the Far Crys."
Sounds to me like it would have been competing with Assassin's Creed for our attention. Even still, it's fun to imagine where the series would be now had Ubisoft gone ahead with a modern Prince.
It's been a while since we've seen a Mega64 video where the guys are reenacting a videogame. Not to say their previous offerings haven't been hilarious, but it's good to see more of the skits that started it all for the Mega64 guys.
In other news, Mega64 is inviting their fans out to Disneyland this Sunday for GameDays! It's going to be a gay old time!
Bloons 2 is out, and it's decidedly more of the same awesome balloon-popping, madness-inducing fun that the original flash game was. About as simple a concept as you can get, but the execution is perfect.
Apparently the first game was played more than one billion times, which sounds about right. All that really needs to be said about Bloons 2 is that you get to directly control bees. BEES!
This video has been dubbed "Most Wanted Racer." Do you see what they did there? As with essentially every single prior piece of media for Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, we're once again shown a police chase that ends with the cops getting foiled.
I hope Criterion Games and/or EA start showing some of those community features that made Burnout Paradise such a delight to play and replay. I mean, I guess people like the chase sequences -- there's going to be a fifth Fast and the Furious movie, after all -- but the integrated multiplayer stuff is neat too.
Oh, and there are totally people in those cars. In a Criterion-made game. What!?
This week we're giving away two copies of Ace Combat: Joint Assault for the PSP! In order to win a copy of the game, just tell us what kind of animal or creature you would ride upon if you were forced to take a jet one-on-one. Doesn't matter if the animal can't fly in real life as anything is possible with the power of our IMAGINATION.
No limit to entry, but you must space out your comments so that at least three other people have entered before you can try again. We'll be randomly selecting to two comments to give Ace Combat: Joint Assault to after the contest closes on September 27 at 11:59PM CDT. Contest open to US residents only. Good luck!
Crocheting looks tedious when others do it, and it never seems like they get anywhere. I guess some make that long-ass, misshapen blanket that has too many holes in it to keep you warm, but those don't count. These sweet crocheted game characters do count, though.
Nikki, who is known on YouTube as GoldenJellyBean, has created something worthy of all that stitching or spinning or whatever crocheters do. She has made her own...sackboys, for a lack of a better term. They stand at about nine inches tall, and are wonderfully detailed. All of the examples found in the asylum article are great, but I'm a sucker for the Ico one. I'd gladly buy one, but it turns out that these creations are not for sale.
There was one day where someone decided it would be a good idea to have a pop-style theme song in videogames. With the space and sound quality that CD storage provided, why not? Some publishers pulled in top performers and wrote full love ballads to for their latest release, and it turned out that gamers liked it. Especially Japanese gamers. This trend continued up to present day (mostly in Japan) and now there are countless videogame theme songs with full vocals. In Japan, these songs even chart alongside top pop songs!
If you ask this game music fan, there are a lot of good vocal theme songs out there. It was hard to pull together the ten best, but I did for AOL Radio. My choices may seem sappy and RPG-focused at first glance, but when you really think about it, game theme songs and sappy RPGs go hand in hand.
Previously an iDevice exclusive, Pix'n Love Rush will soon be making the transition to both PlayStation 3 and PSP by way of the Minis label. It's a swanky, arcade-style platform game with distinct visual callbacks, in case you missed the original version.
No price yet, but I have to imagine it won't break the bank based on the affordable marketplace it comes from and comparable Minis releases. As for when Pix'n Love Rush will be up for purchase, well, officially it's "soon." The date is likely still being figured out, but we can expect to hear an update "shortly."
This is quite literally one of the few Minis to interest me since the program started. Such a shame.
Wow. This is a real thing. Amazon lists a Halo Covenant Titanium Color Energy Sword for $44, marked down from the list price of $99.99, sold by Top Swords. Hey, there's only five left in stock -- order soon!
This is a real (not real) 27" Energy Sword, Type-1, made of heat-treated stainless steel, giving fans their own IRL version of the much loved close-quarters melee Halo weapon, complete with an ABS plastic handle. "It is favored by Sangheili and it's more dangerous than its ceremonial nature implies," says the item listing.
Also, a wooden wall plaque is included.
If you're going to be silly and really order this thing, don't hang it on the wall. Jab people with it. Make 'em bleed. One reviewer on Amazon said that this sword "can EASILY penetrate flesh." Right. If you're worried about killing, maybe you could do what another reviewer did:
My 11 year old son wanted this halo sword and so we ordered it and I was a little shocked when we got it. It is definitely a real sword. It is EXTREMELY sharp and dangerous for children. Now I know why it wasn't sold in stores. My son loves it still, because it is great quality. We had to put duct tape all along the sharp edges and thank goodness they already had the points at the ends covered with very sturdy plastic that we left on.
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Community blogs of 09/24/10
