Only on Destructoid: [Whenever possible, Destructoid critiques overlooked design aspects of games both old and recent for our "Revisited" series.]There exists in the gaming community a particularly virulent strain of... 75 comments
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Assassin's Creed is generally considered to be a solid, if somewhat flawed, videogame. Despite earning praise for its visuals, concept and unique story, the 2007 title was criticized for its repe... 660 comments
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Tis' the season for gift giving. With some many great games released this year, finding the perfect gift for that gamer in your life (or for yourself, you selfish jerk!) can be quite a task.
That... 32 comments
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Zombies. Gamers love them. They infest almost every single genre of gaming and then some. There are zombie shooters, zombie survival-horror, zombie platformers, zombie tower defense games, zombie... 33 comments
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While those of us with laptops who couldn't process their way out of a simple algebraic equation are playing Left 4 Dead 2 on their 360, there is definitely a large chunk of gamers out there who ... 26 comments
A surprise announcement at E3 this year, the PlayStation 3 exclusive ModNation Racers looks to redefine the kart racing genre with its ridiculous level of customization and community featur... 27 comments
Those who have played Left 4 Dead 2's "Dark Carnival" campaign will likely know of The Midnight Riders. They are a fictional rock band that Ellis seems to be rather fond of, and the campaign's fi... 62 comments
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Action packed gameplay, a unique art style and an old school arcade feel couldn't make MadWorld sell well on the Wii outside of Japan (unless you consider mature games on the Wii niche titles, which wouldn't be too far off base), so it seems developer Platinum games is falling back on the tried and true marketing ploy of sex. At a recent press-only event in Japan, Konan, a Japanese model, came out dressed as one of the female characters from MadWorld. She demoed the game and did other tasks that were probably difficult while wearing spikes on her breasts. The full gallery of the pleather clad model can be found here.
I know you're most likely not reading anymore so I'm just going to go on a little rant about how you should really pick up MadWorld. I'm pretty sure it's already bargain bin fodder and it's a great game with plenty of replay value. I also want a sequel, and I don't think that's going to happen unless they think it has a solid niche on the Wii. Come on, help me out here.
"Oh don't worry. Madworld was the game I got for my birthday back in April. I loved the hell out of it, especially for all the ridiculous commentary laid down by John Dimaggio and Greg Proops."...
This weekend, some silly goose put out a trailer that had a couple of doofuses hitting each other with trash bags and called it the King of Fighters movie by mistake. I'm not sure if some intern accidentally mislabeled the file or if it was deliberate, but it was pretty funny. You wacky Hollywood types and your pranks.
Jim reviewed Serious Sam HD, Matthew dislikes Robin Williams, I ate a blueberry muffin, and some other stuff went down while you slowly recovered from your food-induced delirium on 11/28 and 11/29/09.
Thanksgiving is over, and it's time to look back on the week in which we stuffed ourselves. Don't worry, I feel guilty too. In order to distract everyone from the eventual weight loss they're going to have to pursue, why not take a look at some of the best of this week's news from around the network?
At Destructoid, it's pretty obvious what the big stories and cool features have been this week -- the Assassin's Creed 2 review. Over at Japanator, we've kicked off our holiday shopping guide, with plenty of manga recommendations to help out your gift-giving endeavors. You should also be watching our video review of Evangelion 1.01. Tomopop has some nice goodies this week, but be sure to check out the ever-cute What Toys Are Up To column.
Speaking of all this holiday gift guide stuff, if someone bought me this Tsugumi figure, I would love you forever. I want it so bad, but feel slightly dirty buying it myself.
For those out there who are PC gamers and also fighting fans you might want to gather everything you own and move to France. The French publisher of BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger, Tradewest Games SAS, is releasing the game not only on the 360 and the PS3, but also the PC. Time to look into upgrading to a nice, big HD monitor for your computer, because playing BlazBlue on anything else would be uncivilized.
The press release does not mention any PC releases for the rest of the world because it's a French press release for the French release, but that doesn't mean PC gamers outside of France should give up hope. It's most likely that the game will come to PC in other markets as well as all that is needed now is an language dub.
I was recently introduced to a British musical outfit known as Kunt and the Gang. I have decided that it is my favorite band in the whole wide world and that everybody should pay homage to Kunt's musical genius. As evidence of his talent, I submit his cover version of "I Kissed A Girl," titled "I Sucked Off A Bloke." It is the work of a God in human form.
Speaking of sucking people off, we played videogames this week. As always, hit the jump to find out which ones.
"I do believe Jim is responsible for 50% of the corruption of my brain from the interweb.
That said, I played Super Mario Galaxy for the first time since I bought it the day it came out, L4D afte..."...
Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin' is a surreal comedy series made by Anthony and Ashly Burch. They do a (semi) weekly podcast.
Ashly and myself enjoy Doctor Who. We've made very little secret of this throughout both seasons of "Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin." We also typically end up discussing it in some way during the other HAWPcast episodes, so we figured, to hell with it -- let's just devote an entire episode to Doctor Who conversations and leave it at that.
With that in mind, this week's HAWPcast functions as a commentary track for "The Waters of Mars," the most recent Doctor Who special. You'll need to not-download a copy of the episode to get the full nerdosity.
If you're not into Doctor Who at all, you're honestly better off skipping this week's podcast altogether. We'll go back to telling random childhood stories and embarrassing anecdotes next week.
Screw Duke Nukem. Sam "Serious" Stone is the real king of first-person-shooter meatheads and if anybody deserved to make a triumphant comeback, it was him. Sure, Sam may not be quite as high profile, and his games may not be quite as refined, but at least Sam's adventures are released on time, and who needs refinement when you've got headless men running toward you with bombs in their hands?
Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter takes us back to Sam's very first adventure, giving the near-ten-year-old shooter a fresh coat of paint, a new Serious Engine, and 16-player co-op. All worthy additions, but is this a case of mutton dressed as lamb, or does Sam still have the stones? Read on as we review Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter.
"@Blackdove - There isn't shame in this sort of game and it's a great addition to a downloadable library. It would be out of place making this a physical piece of media for pick up at Best Buy, b..."...
Thief 4 (I refuse to write Thi4f because a 4 does not look like an e) was announced a while ago to much fanfare and rejoicing, but not much has been heard since then. To be fair the game was in a very early stage of production, but a bit of information here and there to keep us thinking about it wouldn't be too bad.
Well, speak of the devil! Here's Eidos Montreal boss Stephane D'Astous speaking about how far along the game is at this very moment. "The team is making leaps and bounds," he told IncGamers, adding later, "personally I have never seen a team, at this milestone (middle of pre-production) in such good shape!"
So there it is. Game is being worked on. It'll be here at some point. Move along. Nothing more to see here.
"why didn't they do THIE4? it looks more like an F than an E.
though I don't know why I care- thief games were really not m y favorite- waaay too much stealth, it got really old"...
Link has used plenty of forms of transportation through his games, from horseback to boats to trains, but his feet have never really left the ground (unless you count magic owl teleportation or giant leaf hang gliding). That may change in the next Legend of Zelda as Eiji Aonuma hints at Link being able to take flight somehow. Where did the idea come from? Much like Miyamoto, Aaonuma is taking ideas from his life at home.
"I have an eight-year-old son myself at home," he said in a recent interview, "and quite recently he started playing The Phantom Hourglass for DS, because when the software first hit the market he was too young. When he started playing with the boat, I told him: 'In the next Zelda, you are going to be able to ride on the train.' He answered: 'OK, Dad, first boat, and then train? Surely next time, Link is going to fly in the sky ... '"
"I just don't know. If many people make many speculations ... some of them might be correct. Right now, I have to refrain from commenting on anything," he concluded, while grinning.
He then went on to spill a few more beans as he praised the Wii MotionPlus controls that are being implemented into the game. "I believe that we will be able to offer some great innovations in the new Legend of Zelda. Of course I have to refrain from giving any details, but we are contemplating altering the way the game progresses in comparison with all the past Legend of Zelda franchises," he said after detailing how well the MotionPlus works for the game.
The Steam sale is still going on people, and if you haven't spent all your money on the previous three days then it's time to spend the rest of it today (and possibly tomorrow when the final day of the sale occurs. Today features the Star Wars pack and the THQ pack that has been available through the entire sale, but also the games below for varying low prices.
EVE Online: Apocrypha for $4.99 (75% off)
Battlefield 2: Complete Collection for $14.99 (50% off)
Lucidity for $2.49 (75% off)
Trackmania United Forever for 19.99 (50% off)
Prince of Persia for $14.99 (50% off)
World of Goo for $4.99 (75% off)
Guild Wars Trilogy for $24.99 (50% off)
Great deals for all! I might pick up World of Goo finally, though I had been wanting to play it on my Wii instead. What are you getting today?
Attending E3 -- it's the ultimate dream. And trust me, as someone who has been there twice, it should be. Hell, it's the reason Destructoid exists. E3 is absolutely pukka. It takes a a lot of work to get there, though. Breaking into the games industry is not the easiest thing to do, and while some may luck out, being an attendee at E3 is a pretty exclusive club.
But what if you could go to E3 without doing all the work it takes to break into the gaming industry? What if you could attend every gaming convention without having to jump on a plane, deal with convention funk, or actually physically be there? Awesome, right? Microsoft may be planning to do just that -- bring the convention to Xbox 360 owners.
Destructoid reader Dr. Rockso was taking an online survey when he was asked to read the following concept and answer some questions about it:
Imagine that interactive, online versions of E3, BlizzCon, GamesCon, ComicCon and every other major video game convention were made available through Xbox Live.
So it might not be like actually attending the event, but it would be a pretty awesome deal. Check below the fold for the full list of features this supposed "Virtual Video Game Convention Service" may have and do give the screen grab* of the survey a look if you're interested in such things.
"Xzyliac
@Jon B
Do what they've done in the past: Pretend it's completely exclusive and hope you fool enough people.
THIS.
Have MS had one single original idea this generation?"...
The death knoll of consoles and physical media has been ringing since before this current generation of consoles hit the market. It's a long, slow knoll, but it seems that almost everyone is in agreement that its end is coming. Adding his confirmation to the pile is Square Enix CEO Yoichi Wada, who in a recent interview with MCV said his company, along with Sony and Microsoft, are ready for the shift.
“In ten years’ time a lot of what we call ‘console games’ won’t exist,” he said. Elaborating that console makers like Sony and Microsoft have already prepared for the shift and third-parties need to start doing the same. "Somewhere around 2005 the console manufacturers’ strategy shifted,” he said.
“In the past the platform was hardware, but it has switched to the network. A time will come when the hardware isn’t even needed anymore. With that, any kind of terminal becomes a potential platform on which games can be played – that’s exponential growth in the potential of gaming. The potential size of the market is enormous.”
How is Square Enix getting ready for this impending console doom? They're ramping up their production of social and browser games and using the launch of Final Fantasy IV beta as a test for how their online services will work in the future.
Not that we haven't had this debate50 million times already, but what say you? Prepared to forsake your shiny discs for downloadable games? Ready for a future with a single "console" for your games. I know I'm holding on for dear life to every ounce of physical media I can.
"Sounds like someone spent a little too much time with the rep from OnLive! - It's not going to work as a viable console replacement until the whole world has fibre optic 20mb/s cable broadband wi..."...
Many RPGs claim to be based in some kind of high-technology science fiction-y setting, but are surprisingly devoid of the things that would likely make up a real-life future. Some RPG folks still use swords in the far future and get everywhere by walking.
Furthermore, where is the internet? I mean, it's become such an essential part of our lives in the present, but why is it somehow excised from our future? About the only games I can think of that have made effective use of it are of the .hack series. Where are my forums, my page comments, my RSS news feeds? I need to stay up-to-date with the latest skateboarding dog videos while in the middle of a random encounter!
However, thanks to Final Fantasy XIII, which you're probably sick of hearing about, the wonderful world of online shopping is coming to its in-game "Cocoon" city-world. Thankfully, I'm not talking about microtransactions or DLC - not for real money - yet. Instead, save points inside Cocoon will allow access to an "online" item store from which characters can do the buy-and-sell.
Director Motoru Miyama thinks that it's all rather "cool" and "different from the traditional FF series," also implying that some secret characters might appear on the faux-digital storefront. Wait, what? Secret characters? We can buy people online? Perhaps FFXIII's use of the intertubes is even more realistic than I imagined...ewww.
Anyway, I hope their item shop includes product commercials. Imagine being encouraged to buy Elixirs by the videos below...
We haven't heard too much about No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle lately, which had me worried that the game wasn't going to make its January 2010 launch date. Seeing the ESRB rating for the game has put those worries to rest. Unless the game's publisher has a sudden change of heart, NMH2 should arrive right on schedule.
That's just the start of the good news. This ESRB rating summary for the game almost seems to be bragging about how awesome No More Heroes 2 will be. Details include talk of enemies pulling their own heads off, players being able to watch portions of Travis Touchdown's favorite anime Bizarre Jelly, and the confirmation of both breast and buttock-jiggle physics. Sorry ladies (and gentlemen), no testicle-jiggle here. Maybe you'll get your chance in No More Heroes 3.
That's not to say that the male genitalia is completely left out of the description. In fact, my favorite part of the posting relates to the entire male crotch. Specifically -- "The battery meter for Travis's sword is always represented by a cartoon-like penis icon in the upper-right corner of the screen: as battery power runs out, the icon starts to shrink—a sad face appears".
Hear that folks? The battery meter for Travis's sword isn't sometimes represented by a cartoon-like penis icon, it's always represented by a cartoon-like penis icon. GOTY 2010 confirmed?
I'm not joking. If No More Heroes 2 turns out to be anything but the most surreal, eye-popping release of 2010, I'm going to be highly disappointed. The ESRB-hype machine has done it again.
"i always tough surrealism relied on relatively familiar forms to express its content while showing completely unnatural scenarios
anyways not all surrealist works has be aligned with the dada m..."...
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
2 hour ago - 1:00 AM on 11.30.2009, Matthew Razak
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