The best stuff on Destructoid this week [4/12]

It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to

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[We post a lot of articles here at Destructoid. The endless, ouroboros news cycle has us burning the snake at both ends, which will ultimately push big news, thoughtful original pieces, and all sorts of other great content off of the front page. Check here every Saturday for my attempt to rectify that.]

It’s my birthday today. What did you get me?

Here’s last week’s recap. Let’s begin anew.

ORIGINAL CONTENT

The joy of MMOs – Chris Carter

I’ve never played an MMO for more than a couple of hours because I think they’re dumb. But Chris “The Groat’s” Carter loves ’em and he’s here to tell you why. (Yeah, I still don’t get it either).

Crunching numbers in the wee hours of the night to maximize damage output. Grinding out levels and letting auto-attack handle things for a few seconds while you play the air drums to Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight.” Watching 10 different damage meters and battlelogs to see if everyone is running an efficient rotation.

Do these things sound like hell to you? To me, it’s by and large why MMOs bring me joy that many other genres can’t.

Hardline 013: Amazon Fire TV, heists coming to GTA, and too much PAX? – Jordan, Steven, Bill, Brett

Did I end the last episode of Hardline by saying we’d be back a week later if we weren’t murdered and left in a ditch somewhere? And then we went two weeks without a follow-up? Well, we aren’t all dead — just on the inside — but we did bring on Destructoid contributor Brett Makedonski and Hardline producer Bill Zoeker to fill in for this recording.

Hardline 014: Smash Bros. fever – Jordan, Hamza, Brett

The first Hardline without Steven? Probably not even worth listening to imo.

Radio Dtoid 034: ConorElsea.com – Andy Dixon

You know who loves Coldplay? Conor Elsea loves Coldplay. Conor Elsea loves Coldplay Conor Elsea loves Coldplay Conor Elsea loves Coldplay.

Farts ‘N’ Crafts: Alien Vs. Predator Vs. Dracula – Max Scoville

Between the Alien: Isolation release date the new Call of Duty: Ghosts DLC that features the Predator, it seems like we have enough of an excuse this week to draw some Alien Vs. Predator fanart. Also, both involved parties are Draculas, because I felt like it. Man, this series is stupid. Hope you enjoy it!

PREVIEWS

Hyper Light Drifter’s co-op mode will have you dying over and over – Brett Makedonski

The best strategy to employ is to get into the thick of it and hope for the best. Speed is one of the essential elements, as the dash feature will have you zooming across the screen from enemy to enemy. Also, two special attacks can be equipped at a time that draw from a mana pool. You have freedom with these, as we saw a selection of about six that could be switched out on the fly.

Huge open world and endless customization define The Crew – Casey Baker

Small graphical concerns aside, I came away excited for the fall release of The Crew. I know I will spend several hours with the game, whether roaming around to simply explore iconic areas such as The Rockies or Las Vegas, taking on skill challenges and racing against other players or my own ghost, forming my own four person crew to take down others in races or skill challenges, or progressing through the missions of each region and taking on racers throughout the entire United States. The Crew is truly shaping up to be the MMO RPG of racers, and it will possibly take up more than a hundred enjoyable hours of your time.

Preview: Armello combines board games, trading card games, strategy RPG play – Dale North

I can also say that Armello is stunning. League of Geeks is a collective of talent, staffed with veterans from popular board and video games. What’s interesting is that they’re all paid according to their level of contribution to the project. Staff working on Armello also worked on games like Darksiders, Bioshock, Puzzle Quest, Pokemon, Warhammer, and more. They’ve created a world and characters that are very easy on the eyes. Expect lush greenery, striking lighting, and detailed animations — this is a very pretty game. And keep in mind that I saw it on an iPad. Imagine how much better the PC version might be.

Impressions: Luftrausers makes too much sense on the Vita – Steven Hansen

Luftrausers is a great fit on the Vita because a match can last seconds. Minutes if you’re an ace pilot. And that always makes sense on a portable system. But I spent hours at a time playing while sitting in bed, dancing across the skies like a waltzing pinball, trying and trying again. Even if I can’t kill the damn blimp.

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn plays like a dream on the PS4 – Chris Carter

If you haven’t played A Realm Reborn yet, this is the perfect opportunity to do so — and if you already own it on PS3, make sure you opt for the free upgrade. Although I wouldn’t say the game is flawless (nor would I recommend it for those who loathe the genre), I haven’t had this much fun with an MMO in a long while. Stay tuned in the future for continued coverage of A Realm Reborn, including more PS4 impressions.

I almost collected a half dollar in Woah Dave! and that’s pretty good – Brett Makedonski

The game quickly turns into a semi-cerebral affair of throwing everything at everything to try to simply stay alive. Eggs get thrown at monsters. Skulls get thrown at monsters. Skulls get thrown at eggs. Eggs get thrown at other eggs because you just screwed up and AHHHH THIS IS SO CRAZY!

Gauntlet is a lot like you remember, just upgraded – Brett Makedonski

It may seem incredibly pared-down now, but these are the conventions from the 1985 classic. The remake’s set to have a 2014-graphical aesthetic to it, but it’s a lot of the same. However, the game isn’t a true recreation; it’s more Arrowhead’s ideal take on it. So, while the content may feel sort of new, nothing’s ever really that fresh with Gauntlet. And that’s probably just the way that fans would want it.

A head in the poles: Project Totem is platforming fun – Steven Hansen

Not enough people appreciated this headline. It’s amazing. And the game is rad. Check it.

Below is a hardcore game that you’ll want to take your time with – Brett Makedonski

But, it seems like that quiet peacefulness won’t permeate the entire experience. As I saw first-hand after many deaths, the general public’s going to consider it tougher than the average game. When you wander into “hardcore” territory, the Demon’s/Dark Souls franchise inevitably gets brought up. Capy didn’t say that Below draws inspiration from this series. Rather, it had the idea before Souls, and those games’ receptions just reassured the developers that there’s actually a market for this kind of title.

An early look at the PC version of Dark Souls II – Alasdair Duncan 

Dark Souls II looks great on a PC but there’s signs of the game’s origins on the outgoing consoles that do weigh it down. Textures can look simplistic and your character will look a little blocky and rough round the edges, though some of the landscapes are beautiful. That’s down to the art style, which some players will understandably find offputting in its bleakness but there is a beauty there too.

Impressions: Broforce – Alasdair Duncan

There’s plenty of game modes available right now, from an online co-op mode and deathmatch available for up to four players to Explosion Run and a Race Mode for you to compete against your friends. Broforce also includes an editor with the ability to create and share your own custom levels. It all makes up for a cool package that might see a lot of changes and improvements before its full release in late summer.

The Evil Within isn’t looking very evil so far – Dale North

While the second demo reminded me a bit of The Evil Within‘s earlier showings, gameplay looked more tense than scary, and certainly not evil. The backdrops to this action could have been pulled from a Silent Hill game, and they looked appropriately spooky, but when combined with the play the overall feel was pretty tame. And the first demo was a bit too third-person shooter for me. I like my survival horror games to be more about horror than anything else, but nothing shown here was scary by any measure.

Impressions: Killer Instinct: Fulgore – Chris Carter

It’s far too early to see how balanced Fulgore is in the grand scheme of things (my early warning signs tell me a patch is on the way in the near future, yet Spinal seems to be a great counter-pick), but he’s a welcome addition to the cast. Not only is he absolutely essential for a Killer Instinct game as he’s one of the most recognizable fighters, but he’s a worthwhile character that you should pick up right away if you’re an active player.

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel takes the shooter looter to the moon – Chris Carter

The Cryo guns are a good example of what 2K Australia brought to the table when creating this latest Borderlands. “I’ve always wanted ice bullets in Borderlands and it finally happened,” Randy told us. “Internally we used to argue about this at Gearbox. The Australian team did not care about our argument. They were like ‘Fuck it. We want ice bullets, we’re going to make damn ice bullets.'”

HOTTEST, SLIMIEST NEWS OF THE WEEK

DTOID News: The Super Smashed of Us, Pokémonopoly & Borderlands – Max Scoville

Hey gang! Here I am again, shouting about the dang news. Super Smash Bros. and Borderlands are making big piles of headlines, and The Last of Us is getting an HD re-release, so I guess we haven’t seen the last of it just quite yet. Pokémon and Zelda are getting Monopolized, and The Evil Within is spooky.

The Last of Us PS4 remaster is real, according to a PlayStation Store listing (Update) – Chris Carter

Sony has confirmed The Last of Us Remastered (PS4). We can expect higher resolution character models, improved lighting, upgraded textures, and a director’s commentary for all in-game cinematics featuring Neil Druckman, Troy Baker, and Ashley Johnson. This will also include the Left Behind expansion, Abandoned Territories map pack, and Reclaimed Territories pack. Various retailers are also providing various pre-order bonuses as well.

The Behemoth is working on an undisclosed Xbox One game – Chris Carter

The Behemoth is apparently working on an undisclosed project for the Xbox One, Destructoid has learned while attending PAX East. No details were given, but it will be playable this year, and there will be more info doled out at major cons like SDCC and Pax Prime.

Super Smash Bros. 3DS out this summer, Wii U version out in winter – Chris Carter

Nintendo has dropped a huge bomb on us at the start of the Smash Bros. flavored direct. The 3DS version will be released this summer, and the Wii U version will be released this winter. Yes, that’s months after the 3DS iteration.

 

Ciao, amiche.


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