Amu Search Results

Sound Off: On Marrying a Game Character

Posted May 29, 2012 at 1:07PM EST by Todd B Listed in: PoV Tags: bayonetta, commander shepard, Lara Croft, Master Chief, Nathan Drake, samus aran

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There are plenty of beautiful, strong women in games. Men too, in fact. So, given the choice, with whom do you tie the knot?


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Sega and Double Fine Go Spelunking

Posted May 24, 2012 at 1:37PM EST by Todd B Listed in: PS3 Tags: double fine, monkey island, psychonauts, Ron Gilbert, Sega, the cave

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Crowd-sourcing isn’t the only way to get a game made, you know. Sometimes publishers give you money.


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Ninja Gaiden Devs: Designing for fans ruins series'

Posted Mar 24, 2012 at 12:20PM EST by Harrison E Listed in: PS3 Tags: devil may cry, dmc, ninja gaiden 3, Ninja Theory, nt, ps3

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Ninja Theory knows who their target audience is and how it could kill the industry if you keep designing for them.


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Gratutitous Tank Battles now available for pre-order

Posted Mar 17, 2012 at 1:11PM EST by Harrison E Listed in: PC Gaming Tags: cliffski, gratuitous tank battles

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Cliff Harris, creator of Gratuitous Tank Battles, is ready for you to defend your towers with these tank battles.


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On Shelves this Week: March 18 – March 24, 2012

Posted Mar 15, 2012 at 1:02PM EST by Todd B Listed in: PS3 Tags: angry birds space, Kid Icarus, kinect rush, ninja gaiden 3, rayman 3, resident evil, Silent Hill

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With Mass Effect 3 here and gone, what else is on the horizon?


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Portal 2 was really different...

Posted Mar 10, 2012 at 11:45AM EST by Harrison E Listed in: PC Gaming Tags: eric wolpaw, Portal, portal 2, Steam, valve, writing in games

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The multi-award winning Portal 2 story had a a lot of editing...


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Iron Monkey and ME3 With A Little Cosplay

Posted Feb 23, 2012 at 3:28PM EST by Harrison E Listed in: PS3, iPhone, iPad, Xbox 360 Tags: iron monkey, mass effect 3, mass effect infiltrator, me3 android, me3 ios, me3 preview

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Harrison E attended the Mass Effect 3 event and talked to the creators of Mass Effect Infiltrator, Iron Monkey


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Videogames Fighting Cancer

Posted Feb 18, 2012 at 7:05PM EST by Mr Ham Listed in: Xbox 360 Tags: cancer research, videogames can help, videogames graphics cancer

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Put on your important-hat; this is some interesting and good news.


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Zero Suit Samus Art Book

Posted Feb 10, 2012 at 5:15PM EST by Mr Ham Listed in: Nintendo DS Tags: 31 days, ashley davis, chris furniss, marÃ© odomo, picture of samus, zac gorman, zero suit samus art book

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Not as sexy as you may think, but still damn pretty.


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Risen 2: Dark Waters Getting a UK-Exclusive Collector's Edition

Posted Feb 7, 2012 at 8:46AM EST by Brett Huffman Listed in: Xbox 360, PS3 Tags: Deep Silver, Piranha Bytes, risen 2: dark waters

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Insert pirate booty joke here.


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GameJam Wollongong 2012

Posted Jan 30, 2012 at 8:14PM EST by Harrison E Listed in: PC Gaming Tags: gamejam wollongong, ggj, ggj12, gjwoll, global game jam, ouroboros

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Or How I Spent my Weekend watching 20+ people make games in 48 hours.


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On Shelves this Week: January 29 – February 4, 2012

Posted Jan 26, 2012 at 1:10PM EST by Listed in: PS3 Tags: bioshock 2, final fantasy xiii-2, neverdead, puddle, sakura samurai, soul calibur v

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Hooray for new games! February marks the return of AAA titles and familiar franchises.

Did everyone make it through the post-holiday game release doldrums okay? Sure, there weren’t many big releases, but surely you had a few games to catch up on, right? Well, if you’re done with Skyrim and over Assassin’s Creed, you’ll find plenty to whet your appetite in the upcoming week.

Welcome, to this week’s edition of:

Here’s what you have to look forward to over the next few days:

Soul Calibur V

Xbox 360, PS3

ESRB Teen

Namco Bandai

Final Fantasy XIII-2

Xbox 360, PS3

ESRB Teen

Square Enix

NeverDead

Xbox 360, PS3

ESRB Mature

Konami

SLG SteelWar Online

PC

ESRB Pending

PopPace

Age of Enigma: The Secret of the Sixth Ghost

iOS

ESRB Unrated

THQ

Call of Cthulhu: The Wasted Land

iOS

ESRB Unrated

Red Wasp

BioShock 2

Mac

ESRB Mature

2K Marin

Puddle

Xbox 360, PS3, Vita

ESRB Teen

Konami

Captain Morgane and the Golden Turtle

PS3, Wii, DS, PC

ESRB Pending

Reef Entertainment

Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword

3DS

ESRB Teen

Nintendo

And there you have it. These aren’t all the games coming out next week, but they’re definitely the major ones. What do you think you’ll be picking up? I’m pretty amped on Final Fantasy XIII-2, even though XIII wasn’t exactly the best in the franchise.

Hooray for new games! February marks the return of AAA titles and familiar franchises.


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Move! Johann Sebastian Joust Interview

Posted Jan 26, 2012 at 9:30AM EST by Harrison E Listed in: PS3 Tags: die gute fabrik, johann sebastian joust, jsj, playstation move, ps move, Sony, The Game Factory

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An interview with the 2012 IGF nominated creators of Johann Sebastian Joust, Die Gute Fabrik with one of the best games you will see all year for the PS Move.


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Skyrim Patch 1.4 Details

Posted Jan 20, 2012 at 4:30PM EST by Listed in: PS3 Tags: Bethesda, patch 1.4, skyrim

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Bethesda releases full patch notes for their latest Skyrim update, now in the certification testing.

It seems like it’s been forever since the launch of Skyrim, but millions of gamers are still spending their free time slaying dragons and “accidentally” murdering their followers. And, as is customary with Bethesda games, Skyrim still has a fair few issues interfering with players’ ability to fully enjoy the game.

The company is more than aware of Skyrim’s issues and has been working non-stop to get them fixed –especially the ever-present PS3 bug that makes the game nearly unplayable for some users. I’ll skip the analysis and go straight to the patch notes. If you’re a Skyrim fan, you’ll want to read through these:

NEW FEATURES

Skyrim launcher support for Steam Workshop (PC)

BUG FIXES

General optimizations for memory and performance

Fixed occasional issue with armour and clothing not displaying properly when placed on mannequins in player’s house.(PS3)

Improved compiler optimisation settings (PC)

Long term play optimisations for memory and performance (PS3)

Memory optimisations related to scripting

Fixed crashes related to pathing and AI

Fixed crash in Haemar’s Shame if player had already completed “A Daedra’s Best Friend”

Fixed rare crash with loading saved games

Fixed issue with accented characters not displaying properly at the end of a line

Master Criminal achievement/trophy unlocks properly in French, German, Spanish and Italian

Fixed issue where dragon priest masks would not render correctly

Fixed issue where quests would incorrectly progress after reloading a save

Fixed issues with placing and removing books from bookshelves in the player’s home

Fixed issue where weapon racks and plaques would not work correctly in player’s house if player immediately visits their house before purchasing any furnishing.

Fixed issue where the player house in Windhelm would not clean up properly

Fixed crash related to giant attacks and absorb spells

Fixed issue with ash piles not cleaning up properly

Fixed occasional issue where overwriting an existing save would fail

Fixed memory crash with container menu

Fixed infinite loop with bookshelves

Fixed issue where traps in Shalidor’s Maze would not work properly in French, German, Spanish and Italian versions

Fixed issue where transforming back to human from werewolf would occasionally not fail

Bows and daggers will display properly when placed on weapon racks

QUEST FIXES

The Unusual Gem inside the Thalmor Embassy is now accessible after finishing “Diplomatic Immunity”

In “Breaching Security”, the quest token is no longer required to receive a fortune reading from Olava the Feeble

Fixed issue where Galmar would not complete Joining the Stormcloaks properly if “Season Unending” was an active quest

Fixed issue where starting “Season Unending” after finishing “Joining the Stormcloaks” would prevent “The Jagged Crown” from starting properly.

Fixed issue progressing through “Message to Whiterun” while “Season Unending” was still open would block progression for both quests.

In “Arniel’s Endeavor”, fixed issue where a quest journal would trigger multiple times

In “Forbidden Legend”, the amulet fragment can no longer disappear after player leaves a dungeon without taking it

Fixed rare issue in “Forbidden Legend” where killing Mikrul Gauldurson while sneaking would make his corpse unaccessible

In “The White Phial”, the phial can no longer disappear if player leaves dungeon without taking it

“The White Phial” will now start properly if player already has a briar heart in their inventory

Player can no longer get stuck in Misty Grove after completing “A Night to Remember”

Fixed issue where leaving Riften during “A Chance Arrangement” would prevent quest from progressing

In “Darkness Returns”, a door in Twilight Sepulcher will properly open if the player leaves the dungeon for an extended period of time before completing the quest

In “Under New Management”, if the player leaves the Oculory for an extended period of time after placing the focusing crystal and returns, the quest will proceed correctly

“Onmund’s Request” will now start properly if player has already found Enthir’s staff before receiving this quest

Fixed instance where Tonilia would stop buying stolen items and also would not give Guild Leader Armor

“Repairing the Phial” will start properly if player already has unmelting snow or mammoth tusk in their inventory

Finding Pantea’s Flute before speaking with Pantea no longer prevents her quest from updating

In “The Coming of the Dawn”, fixed rare instance where a quest object would spawn incorrectly on the Katariah during Hail Sithis

Fixed rare issue in “The Mind of Madness” where player is unable to equip the Wabbajack

Fixed issue in “Pieces of the Past” where Mehrunes Dagon’s Razor will not trigger properly if player leaves the cell for extended period of time before activating it

“Blood’s Honor” will start properly if you visited and completed Driftshade and an extended period of time passes before starting the quest.

Fixed rare issue where “Dampened Spirits” would not start properly

Fixed issue where player would be unable to become Thane of Riften if they purchased a home first

Fixed issue where killing guards in Cidhna Mine woud block progression for “No One Escapes Cidhna Mine”

Fixed numerous issues with “Blood on the Ice” not triggering properly

In “Blood on the Ice”, Calixto can now be killed if player owns a house in Windhelm

In “The Cure for Madness”, killing Cicero then resurrecting him no longer impedes quest progress

Fixed rare issue in “To Kill an Empire” where an NPC would fail to die properly

Clearing Knifepoint Ridge before starting “Boethiah’s Champion” no longer prevents quest from starting.

That’s quite a few fixes for one patch – Bethesda hopes to have 1.4 submitted for certification early next week.

[Edge]

Bethesda releases full patch notes for their latest Skyrim update, now in the certification testing.


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Sony Sees Hope for Vita in 3DS Sales

Posted Jan 19, 2012 at 5:01PM EST by Listed in: PS Vita Tags: andy house, nintendo 3ds, ps vita, SCEI

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The games giant interprets strong demand for Nintendo’s handheld as evidence the portable market is still going strong.

It seems like every week we have a report on how poorly the PS Vita is doing in Japan. The story is consistent enough that I’ve considered not even reporting on it for the time being, since we’re basically making the same post once a week when the sales numbers roll in. But despite the device’s sales troubles, Sony believes there’s still strong demand for portable gaming devices.

Speaking to Edge, SCEI President Andy House noted that while the PS Vita doesn’t have its own strong numbers yet, the company feels comfortable using the success of the 3DS as evidence of a robust “gaming-primary” device market. It may seem strange to see Sony using Nintendo as a benchmark, but with sales like the Vita’s, the company is essentially grasping at straws.

Of course, this is Sony we’re talking about, so House couldn’t resist taking a shot at the 3DS as a casual device:

“What I think we've done is point to a market that really has started out with potentially casual games on other devices but now wants a deeper, or better, or more premier gaming experience.”

It’s amazing to me that Sony still manages to dismiss Nintendo devices, despite the fact that those devices continually outperform Sony’s products. Regardless, House is right about one thing – there’s still definitely a market for handheld games.

Handheld Nintendo games, anyway. Awww snap!

But seriously, what do you think of Sony using Nintendo’s success as an indication of the Vita’s future?

[Destructoid]

The games giant interprets strong demand for Nintendo’s handheld as evidence the portable market is still going strong.


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Zynga Purchases Four Mobile Developers

Posted Jan 19, 2012 at 4:49PM EST by Listed in: iPhone Tags: gamedoctors, hiplogic, mobile ape, page44 studios, zynga

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The social gaming giant continues its push into the mobile market.

Zynga hasn’t been doing so great as of late, with attendance on their social games a pale shadow of what they used to be. But the company is on the prowl for ways to expand its business model, and has the mobile market at the center of its crosshairs. Early today, Zynga confirmed that it has acquired no fewer than four mobile developers with the intent of extending its mobile grasp.

Gamedoctors, HipLogic, Page44 Studios and Mobile Ape were all confirmed to have been picked up, giving Zynga a deep portfolio from which to choose and a few established franchises on which to build. All things considered, it’s a smart move for the company, especially when you consider their stock has been steadily declining in value since the company went public back in December.

There’s no information on what games Zynga plans to make or how the company will be using its new development studios, but we’ll keep you posted as information becomes available.

In the meantime, what do you think of Zynga snapping up smaller studios?

[Reuters]

The social gaming giant continues its push into the mobile market.


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Trion Worlds Banks $85 Million

Posted Jan 19, 2012 at 3:34PM EST by Listed in: MMORPG Tags: defiance, end of nations, rift, trion worlds

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The Rift developer has raised an impressive sum from investors.

Trion Worlds is a studio on the move, with its hit MMORPG Rift quickly rising in popularity and raking in absurd piles of cash each month. But Rift isn’t the only thing on Trion’s mind, and the studio has been working to raise new capital, which it can use to push development on other projects.

In a press release issued early this morning, Trion Worlds noted that the studio had raised just over $85 million from investors, money that the studio will use for its next two games as well as the Red Door platform. This news follows the announcement that Rift banked $100 million in revenue last year – not too shabby for a small studio that’s only been operating for five years.

Trion’s next scheduled title is End of Nations – an MMORTS. Look for it sometime in the first quarter of this year. The second game, titled Defiance, is a project developed in conjunction with the SyFy television channel. The game and television show take place in the same universe and apparently actions in the game and show will have impacts on one another. Crazy.

Trion appears focused on the future, with CEO Lars Buttler commenting, “Rift’s success with gamers worldwide is the tip of the iceberg.”

Trion is certainly a developer to watch in 2012 – have you played any of their games?

[Edge]

The Rift developer has raised an impressive sum from investors.


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Shank 2 Gets a Release Date

Posted Jan 19, 2012 at 2:26PM EST by Listed in: PS3 Tags: klei entertainment, shank, shank 2

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The bloody platformer slices its way to PC, Xbox Live Arcade and PSN next month.

Shank, a game that centered on one man’s extremely violent quest for revenge, was a runaway platforming hit. Shank 2 picks up where the story of the original left off, placing players into the shoes of the very same character, albeit with new moves and new weapons for brutally dispatching foes.

Klei Entertainment, the company behind both Shank titles, announced that Shank 2 would be making its official debut on Xbox Live Arcade, PSN and PC on February 7. European gamers will have to wait a day, however, as their launch isn’t scheduled until February 8.

Shank 2 is similar to its predecessor in terms of game mechanics; however, Klei has added a new survival mode which allows you to cooperate with a friend (online or nearby) to dispatch endless waves of ever-more-dangerous foes. It looks like the stuff that worked in the first game is still present, with a few tweaks and additions here and there.

Did you play the original Shank? What did you think?

[GameSpot]

The bloody platformer slices its way to PC, Xbox Live Arcade and PSN next month.


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On Shelves this Week: January 22 – January 28, 2012

Posted Jan 19, 2012 at 1:19PM EST by Listed in: PS3 Tags: oilrush, quarrel, scarygirl, the sims, victoria ii

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Find out what awesome or not awesome titles are coming your way.

Another week, another edition of “On Shelves.” This week, like the weeks preceding it, is pretty dry. You’re looking at a bit of DLC, a couple of low profile titles, and not much else. This is likely our last lull week, with big titles on deck for the week following that of the 22nd.

That being said, here’s this week’s:

Victoria II: A House Divided

PC

ESRB Pending

Paradox Interactive

OilRush

UNIX, Mac, PC, PS3

ESRB Pending

Unigine Corp

The Sims 3: Master Suite Stuff

Mac, PC

ESRB Teen

Electronic Arts

Assassin’s Creed Revelations – Mediterranean Traveler Map Pack

Xbox 360, PS3

ESRB Mature

Ubisoft

Quarrel

Xbox 360

ESRB E10+

Denki

Scarygirl

Xbox 360, PC, PS3

ESRB E10+

Square Enix

And there you have it. If you don’t see anything you like, just wait a week – FFXIII-2 and Soul Calibur are on their way.

Will you be picking up any of these games, or waiting until the next week’s drop?

Find out what awesome or not awesome titles are coming your way.


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PoV: Postal 3 review

Posted Jan 12, 2012 at 11:15AM EST by Harrison E Listed in: PC Gaming, PoV Tags: postal 2, postal 3, postal 3 review, review, Running with Scissors

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The Postal Dude is back, but how good is it being back?


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CES: Microsoft announces Metro and PC Kinect

Posted Jan 11, 2012 at 8:50AM EST by Harrison E Listed in: Xbox 360 Tags: CES, ces 2012, consumer electronics show, kinect, kinect pc, metro, Microsoft, windows 8

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Microsoft have priced the Kinect and announced their new interface at the recent CES.


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Cow Clicker Retro: Just as good as the first

Posted Dec 29, 2011 at 10:45AM EST by Harrison E Listed in: PC Gaming Tags: celcius games, colin walsh, cow clicker retro, Facebook

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The guys at Celcius Games have just released a classic just ready for the holidays. Harrison E speaks to it's creator about what it means to be a Cow Clicking creator.


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All Aboard Train Conductor 2: USA review

Posted Dec 28, 2011 at 2:45PM EST by Harrison E Listed in: iPhone, iPad, PoV Tags: review, train conductor 2, train conductor 2 android, train conductor 2 iphone, train conductor 2:usa, voxel agents

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All Aboard - Train Conductor 2: USA review

Voxel Agents new game has just hit the Android market and you better get on track.

I recently got an Android phone - my first smartphone - and whilst I was glad to have a navigational tool and have something to help me on my way, I was also looking forward to playing some of the games I'd constantly heard about. The games for the android aren't really dissimilar from those on the iPhone, but hey, I have an Android and I'm loving it, so why not check out a few games?

However, I was stumped from the get go, most of them I had heard in passing or were on the iTunes store, so I was drawing a blank. I eventually heard someone mention a new game called Train Conductor 2, a game by Australian Developers Voxel Agents. I was a bit hesitant at first, I mean how much fun can conducting trains really be.

The game is in the vein of games such as Flight Control, not just for it's transportation aspect, but also it's game mechanics of moving your desired mode of concern to where it's meant to be. I was going to get Flight Control, but I remembered that I'd purchased it off Steam some time ago and think that was enough. Flight Control is a bit repetitive and the music - while catchy - can be a bit repetitive. Train Conductor 2, never has that problem.

I often praise games with great sound and music, but I always feel like some games just capture the spirit of where it's set or where they're coming from when it comes to the sound design and music, TC2 definitely has that . The game takes place in the greatest country in the world: America - if you didn't get that from the title. You play a train conductor in Miami, initially and you have the cool sounds of a breeze and the gulls then a nice bit of funk begins to play as you're told by a red-headed girl that you will need to make sure these trains get to where they're going.

It's as simple as that, four tracks, several trains, no time limit and you have to make sure they don't crash into one another. The game is quite leanient with close calls with the game which add to the excitement, but if your trains are going to crash, they will crash. The game relies on fast reflexes and strategy, as you see one track light up, you may have to stop another train in it's tracks on number 4, just so you can slide the next one in from number 2, but wait, there's another one coming from number 1, what do you do then?

The game's difficult curve is mixed with over 7 different levels, as each level is barely similar to the last. The Miami level focuses on you making sure you can just maneouvre your trains from one track to the next, but once it becomes dark, the night takes over the game. Ghosts and Aliens roam the American countryside messing with your trains. These are my favourite levels as they aren't restricted to the game's toughest mechanic of crossing trains while making a move. The ghosts and demon trains will simply float through one another and it is magnficent during the challenge maps to see ten of them flow perfectly to where they're going in just a matter of seconds.

The game looks fantastic and has 3-D trains on a fairly 2-D background, but there's always something going on. During the Miami level, a shark swims under the bridged tracks, during the Roswell level, you'll see agents come and go and during the New York level, the underground can be quite lively. The game really situates itself with it's location and even though it kind of uses stereotypes, it never really detracts from the game. It's a bit like if they sat down with a big whiteboard and started with a bunch of levels and then just listed everything they could about those cities. Oh and finally, the character design of the girl is incredibly well-done and cute even. But during the Seattle level, she seems to have a minor crazy streak when you run over a yeti, saying I don't know what that was "but I liked crushing it."

In fact, I tried doing the tutorial later on to show someone she said that and she followed it up with "I feel like a sandwich," despite the lack of voices I feel like they have her character, if a bit mentally skewed, down to a T. Oh and there's also some evil guy during the ghost levels, but I think he just runs an old amusement park and is getting away with it, due to a lack of meddling kids.

The game looks like a triple-A title from the guys at Rovio or Half-Brick but it's just an indie studio here in Australia. The game's design and music is never boring or ever a problem, and levelling up to the next map is never a chore as it accumulate's how many trains you've conducted over the entire game. The levels do get a little bit out there at times with the paranormal levels such as the Seattle level where yeti-like creatures hide in the snow and block your path. I was half expecting Bigfoot to slowly come in Frogger style and cause havoc with the tracks and then you'd have to fix them.

The game has some strong leaderboards, even with a few thousand downloads and I cannot reccommend this any more than I have above. I know I'm usually meant to critique these games harshly but I feel like this is one of those games that just knows everything about what it's doing. The only criticism I have is that I wish there were more levels and that there were a Free trial version for iPhone users. I think the game is almost perfect, even for just a mobile game, I could imagine it being a great little XBLA or Steam game that you could smack on for a few minutes and enjoy yourself.

Voxel Agents new game has just hit the Android market and you better get on track.


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This Week's Deals on Xbox Live

Posted Dec 28, 2011 at 12:30PM EST by Brett Huffman Listed in: Xbox 360 Tags: ea deals, electronic arts sales, xbox live

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The deals on Xbox Live this week run the gamut from zombies to board games to dance games.


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TV and Movie Franchises That Should Be Video Games

Posted Dec 28, 2011 at 11:55AM EST by Brett Huffman Listed in: PS3, PC Gaming, Xbox 360 Tags: goldeneye, gta, mass effect, spider-man, thor

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We all know the video games that should be movies and how most TV shows and movie adaptations are true steaming piles, but there are some franchises that haven't been mined yet.


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Developers Pick Their Top Games of 2011

Posted Dec 26, 2011 at 4:00PM EST by Brett Huffman Listed in: Xbox 360, PC Gaming, iPhone, PS3 Tags: batman: arkham city, skyrim, top games of 2011, uncharted 3

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IGN asked a few legendary developers what their favorite games of 2011 were and their answers are pretty interesting.


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Square Enix. Member info not compromised

Posted Dec 22, 2011 at 8:15AM EST by Harrison E Listed in: MMORPG Tags: square enix accounts hacked, square enix hack, squenx

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Despite the recent attacks, hackers didn't get anything from the Squenix Databases.


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Old Republic Players Slapped with Registration Problems

Posted Dec 21, 2011 at 3:13PM EST by Listed in: MMORPG Tags: battlefield 3, old republic, Star Wars, swtor

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Some box copies of SWTOR have a major issue when it comes to registration codes; namely, that they’re not in the box.

Registration codes are annoying, tedious fact of life when it comes to PC gaming. Nearly every game you buy off a store shelf or download through a digital distributor comes with some sort of multi-character, gibberish code that you must enter in order to prove you’re using a paid copy of the game. It’s an archaic way to do things, but it works well enough that publishers aren’t on the hunt for anything new.

The only problem with registration codes is that sometimes, they don’t work as expected. Recent purchasers of Bioware’s MMO epic Star Wars: The Old Republic are reporting two such issues. The first involves digital distribution codes, some of which are reportedly coming up as invalid. The second involves box copies of the game not containing a code at all, forcing players to go through (shudder) EA support.

This isn’t the first time EA has had problems with registration codes; earlier in the year, numerous players noted that the code included with their copy of Battlefield 3 was printed so crooked it ran off the card, making it unusable.

In the meantime, EA and Bioware are likely trying to get this worked out. The problems reported run the gamut – some Origin purchasers are even reporting that they receive no code, and the Origin system is telling them there’s no record of them ever purchasing the game.

Combine this problem with the long queue times experienced by a large part of the player base and Old Republic seems to be having a bit of a rough launch.

What do you think of missing registration codes? Are publishers allowed to make a mistake now and then, or is this completely unacceptable?

[Destructoid]

Some box copies of SWTOR have a major issue when it comes to registration codes; namely, that they’re not in the box.


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New Soul Calibur V Vid Shows Off the Characters

Posted Dec 20, 2011 at 3:00PM EST by Brett Huffman Listed in: Xbox 360, PS3 Tags: Namco Bandai, soul calibur v, soul calibur v trailer, Tekken

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The latest trailer for Soul Calibur V features some familiar faces and some new ones.


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Retro Studios Dev could make Zelda in the future

Posted Dec 17, 2011 at 9:45AM EST by Harrison E Listed in: Wii, Wii U Tags: Legend of Zelda, metroid other m, metroid prime, miyamoto, Retro Studios

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Retro Studios Dev could make Zelda in the future

So Zelda could have a father figure that would basically control his life too?

Retro Studios, responsible for the fantastic, Metroid Prime series has burst through the next generation of consoles with their help and it looks like Nintendo could be looking for their help in the future when this generation leaves behind the man in the little green hat. According to an interview with Wired magazine, Shigeru Miyamoto discussed the possibility of a Western imagined version of the LoZ series which Retro would be apart of and the most likely candidate for the job

"As you know, we have already collaborated with Retro for the Metroid Prime series in the past," Miyamoto said. "And I think when we talk about any other franchise, Zelda might be a possible franchise for that collaboration." Which would be fantastic as long as someone else was writing the script.

There was a controversy last year with the development of the most recent Metroid Prime game where Samus, who was only a mildly formed character, was turned into a mix between a Space Pirate and Lara Croft with Daddy issues. People were up in arms about her character change, but I think the outcry from fans was enough for Retro Studios to give them the bird or to never do it again.

Personally, I think a Zelda imagining from them would be incredibly interesting if they stuck to what Nintendo had done in the past, just tweaked it with some new game mechanics, which is what Retro Studios is quite good at, other than making fanboys - who don't know what a reboot or characterisation is, cry.

Via [AusGamers] http://www.ausgamers.com/news/read/3152240?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ausgamers%2Fnews+%28AusGamers+News%29

So Zelda could have a father figure that would basically control his life too via an Ocarina?


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Playing Theme Park Games cost more than going to a real one

Posted Dec 7, 2011 at 10:30AM EST by Harrison E Listed in: iPhone Tags: bullfrog, itunes theme park, theme park, theme park for ios

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When you have to pay real money for a fake rollercoaster...things don't seem right.


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New Arcade Restoration Reality Show starting in 2012

Posted Dec 4, 2011 at 12:00PM EST by Harrison E Listed in: PC Gaming Tags: arcade, high score, reality show, tv

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http://vimeo.com/32819765

American Arcade Business is back in High Score

Remember when you didn't play games at home? No not outside, I mean arcade games.

The old arcade. The smell of the old machines, the sounds with each beckon and call that will hopefully get you to pop a few dollars into it. Why? Just for your amusement. Well with movies like King of Kong and the rise in Arcade machines as trophy items for game collectors, TNT Amusements has struck a deal with production company PBR Productions to produce a reality show.

It's currently called High Score, but will be subject to change depending on who might pick it up. The show is about the "American Restoration" of the arcade machine and pinball world, with Todd Tuckey, the proprietor of TNT Amusements, leads a crew to hunt all over the country to find much-loved amusement machines of the past and restores them back to their working beauty.

The show is ripe for the picking as I actually know a mate of mine who's Dad has a hobby of restoring pinball machines and hiring them out for birthday parties. It's oddly a lucrative market and the show doesn't sound too bad. It'd follow Todd and his crew from acquisition to sale. The sales include going to a large clientell which include celebrities

“This show will help all the collecting world I think as it will get people re-interested in pinball machines and arcade video games! It's a win win for all” said Todd Tuckey of TNT Amuesments.

The crew at TNT Amusements is a lovable cast of characters that walk you through the restorations from start to finish. Tuckey is no stranger to screen as his success in the industry has led him to speaking engagements, for his own 30-minute television special, and being featured on the reality TV show “Kendra” (one of his clients). High Score is currently courting cable networks and other reality television distribution partners. A 22 minute pilot episode has already been created and you can view bits of the show above.

The series is produced and created by Nate Hall and Corey Armideo of Pioneers Beyond Reality. About TNT Amuesments TNT Amuesments is the worlds largest used game show room with over 120 pieces on display in a 4,000 square foot area, which if you think about it that will grow more and more as the show goes on.

Tuckey began a Video Game route in 1979, installing games in stores in the Philadelphia area, unfortunately by 1984, the boom had dried up and arcade parlours began to dry up. They now sit in the back of pizza places, basements and in the home's of video game generation adults, but Tuckey is on the hunt to find, fix and fully restore these machines back to their working glory, I'm pretty excited to see the show air.

American Arcade Business is back in High Score.


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PoV: Need for Speed: The Run Review

Posted Nov 24, 2011 at 9:00PM EST by Harrison E Listed in: PoV Tags: black box, ea games, need for speed, need for speed the run, nfs, nfs the run review

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Fast Cars, Fast Games, Fast Times for Harrison E as he reviews Need for Speed: The Run


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More 3DS Games Coming to eShop

Posted Nov 24, 2011 at 3:21PM EST by Listed in: Nintendo 3DS Tags: 3ds games, mario kart 7, metroid ii

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What, like you’re actually going to spend time with your family this week?

A couple of interesting updates are headed to the Nintendo eShop over the next few weeks. As of the 24th, you’ll be able to download Metroid II: Return of Samus directly to your Nintendo 3DS, Pushmo is scheduled for December and Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword is aimed at January.

The new releases are likely intended to cement the 3DS as a system worth owning, although Pushmo and Sakura Samurai are pretty obscure titles. That being said, Metroid II was one of the best games that ever showed up on the original GameBoy, and it’s certainly worth a look.

Nintendo is making an effort to bring more content to the Nintendo 3DS in the hopes of making it more desirable - the primary complaint with the device (besides the lack of a second analog stick) is that there simply aren’t enough good games currently available.

While most 3DS owners would probably prefer to see some new games released, ports of old classics will just have to do for now – Mario Kart 7 is the last big release of the year.

Is Metroid II enough to sell you a 3DS? I doubt it.

What, like you’re actually going to spend time with your family this week?


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PS3 Skyrim glitch gives sketchy framerates

Posted Nov 20, 2011 at 6:00PM EST by Harrison E Listed in: PS3 Tags: bethesda skyrim patch, elder scrolls, skyrim, skyrim glitches

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Skyrim gltches reign on all ports, but it looks like playing too much could ruin your game on the PS3.


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On Shelves This Week: November 20 – November 26, 2011

Posted Nov 17, 2011 at 10:55AM EST by Listed in: Xbox 360 Tags: arkham city, oh shelves, serious sam, skyward sword, tekken hybrid

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There’s a lot of good stuff coming your way this week, assuming you’re not already burned out on this fall’s releases.

Skyrim finally launched last week, and it’s on track to make a massive pile of money. But for some RPG fans, the title of the year comes next week in the form of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. PC owners will finally get a chance to explore Arkham City, and wrestling fans get a new wrestling game.

We’ve got all the titles to look forward to in this week’s edition of:

Here are the big launches coming your way next week. Which one will you choose?

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Wii

ESRB Everyone

Nintendo

Batman: Arkham City

PC

ESRB Teen

Rocksteady

Tekken Hybrid

PS3

ESRB Teen

Namco Bandai

WWE ‘12

PS3, Xbox 360, Wii

ESRB Teen

THQ

The King of Fighters XIII

Xbox 360, PS3

ESRB Teen

Atlus

Sonic Generations

Nintendo 3DS

ESRB Everyone

Sega

Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion XL

Xbox 360, PS3, WII, 3DS

ESRB Everyone

Papaya Studios

Serious Sam 3: BFE

Xbox 360, PS3, PC

ESRB Rating Pending

Croteam

Corpse Party

PSP

ESRB Mature

Xseed

Jaws: Ultimate Predator

Wii, 3DS

ESRB Teen

Tectonic Studios

Magicka Collection

PC

ESRB Teen

Paradox Interactive

Final Fantasy V

PSN

ESRB Teen

Square Enix

Power Rangers Samurai

Wii, DS

ESRB E10+

Namco Bandai

Get Up and Dance

Wii

ESRB Teen

Crave

Actually, now that I’ve made up the list – screw Skyward Sword. I’m getting that Power Rangers game.

There’s a lot of good stuff coming your way this week, assuming you’re not already burned out on this fall’s releases.


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PoV: PayDay The Heist

Posted Nov 17, 2011 at 10:30AM EST by Harrison E Listed in: PoV Tags: payday the heist, payday the heist ps3, payday the heist psn, payday the heist review, payday the heist steam

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PayDay The Heist

I've talked before about bias and I feel like I have to clarify that despite my interview last week, I feel like a good game developer should listen to fans who speak clearly and with clarity. I hope they read the review in hope that their next game, hopefully another PayDay, will be better and that Overkill will be pleased with this honest review.

The game of PayDay The Heist, is not a simple game, 'tis a complex head blend of working together and patience. Seeing a fallen team mate will make your heart pound more, especially when playing with friends, but the second you see that cash, it may be too late for your friend and even later for those around you. Okay, PayDay is a simple game of four guys who steal money and that is all I can say about the plot. To be honest, there is no plot, but who cares, let's steal some money.

The game's mix of Left 4 Dead's comradery and Kane and Lynch's love of heists, brings Overkill Software's PayDay The Heist to a place I'd hoped a co-op game would come to eventually - a game of fun and eventually, betrayal. The game is set between a series of distinct, but fairly similar, scenarios in which you have to run and gun as you make your way to a fairly large sum of money.

This sum is arbirtrary int the world of the game, but does provide a good upgrade system as you earn "reputation", to go along with it, you better enjoy the game or at least the premise. Whilst there was some speculation from the game's "every game is different" I'm somewhat happy to report that this is more or less true. It's true in that no game I've played, even on the same level, has had the same scenario, except for a few instances of SWAT teams invading at particular times and the amount of time it may take you to drill through a gate or burn through to a vault.

The less, is the amount of fun you will get from the game, you will have levels you won't like, players you won't like and scenarios which will be frustrating. The game does not have a sophisticated AI Director, a lá L4D, but it does have a good sense of direction when it comes to helping you play through a scenario. There is often an even amount of ammo on the ground or good place to take cover, but more or less if your buddies aren't around the director will screw you over and you may have to let go a hostage just so you can play, some time later.

There are a few arbitrary or minor issues, mainly graphical and audio ones, first and foremost the fact that when I look outside on some of the maps, the SWAT and police members will become glitchy ghosts that are just waiting to enter the nether worlds of the heist, a bit ironic considering what me and my heist-mates are about to do. There are a lot of glitches that could be easily fixed, such as Team AI, such as in Heat Street or Panic Room.

They will sometimes go through the props in the level and it really throws you out of the experience, as does the fact that the buzz saws on the Panic Room level doesn't really cut and the drill in the other levels don't drill. It'd be a simple animation, unlike the running. I wasn't sure if it was my internet cocking up or the game just had a weird animation. Turned out to be the later. It's a bit weird, especially when characters are crouching.

I do have to say the game is quite gory, especially when you shoot up close or get a good headshot (which is rewarded, in-game) Other than that, the game looks pretty good, Overkill, not stunning, but enough to make you enjoy it more than Kane and Lynch 2 but less than Portal 2. The game looks good on the modded Diesel engine, let's just leave it at that.

How it sounds is amazing. I do have one gripe that the fact the Heisters don't have more than a few catchphrases, even when you're telling the hostages to "get down" "get down" "get down", you think they were about to start a DJ set, not a heist. It's a small problem but it's always something that's really gotten me down, especially after other games such as Uncharted, The Simpsons Game and SWAT 4, have all had good simple voice acting gigs and rarely have a repeated line, hell, hire me for $10 an hour and I'll record whatever the heck you want. That being said, some of their dialogue is amusing, not on the level of the castmates of L4D or their sequel, but still a wry smile forms between getting shot at and restarting saws/drills.

Sound effects, which is quite different from the voices, are absolutely fantastic. In my interview last week with Simon Viklund he stated his favourite sound effect was the shotgun and I could not agree more. Having it unlocked as you go into the game is a sight for sore eyes as the world seems to go a lot better (depending on your level and experience, of course) but having that fire into a bulldozer is more than satisfying as you continue through your heist. The music is always rarring for me to get into the game. The perfect music starts off the game, it reminds me of the opening of The Dark Knight and as it flashes up the face masks of our heistmates, you are ready, you just are.

Wolf's frightening bloodied mask, Dallas' patriotic smile, Hoxton's red eyebrows and Chains cross eyes are fairly distinct as well and all provide a great opening to the game, but the menus and a few visual cues leave a lot to be desired. A lot could have made the game look really flashy and interesting but a simple pallette of black, yellow and grey makes it look as if the game is ready to be taped up behind Police Lines

Finally, the gameplay. The game is broken up into six different levels. First World Bank, a traditional bank heist, Heat Street, a plan gone wrong, chase'em down, Panic Room, a break in, break it out mission, Green Bridge, shooting in the rain...I'm just shooting in the rain, Diamond Heist, a sneak in smash and grab and finaally, Slaughterhouse...is exactly what it sounds like.

To focus on the more difficult and interesting levels, Green Bridge is the most exciting, being in the rain, breaking over prison convoys, donned in yellow raincoats and escorting a chinese prisoner. Things just escalate, even when you start on a half-exploded bridge. The level is fun and exciting and atmospheric at it's core. The most fun is probably Panic Room, simply due to how cool you can act before the heist starts and

Diamond Heist is quite difficult and starts off sneaking, but if someone's being an asshat, this plan can and will go awry in a matter of minutes. This one is best to be kept in the shadows. Sure, cops will be alerted eventually, but planning and timing your moves to silently take out the security guards is a wonderful sense of fun and comradery I wouldn't change for the world.

Slaughterhouse is just chaos. Starts off with a "The Usual Suspects" scenario as a bunch of trucks pull up outside a warehouse and you have to take them out and kill a lot of people while you take some money out of Secure Van. Gold everywhere and bulldozers stormed during the last few minutes after the Gold came out and it was insane.

The Single Player mode is fairly useless as are the AI from time to time and when you can turn the AI on for not having enough players in the online mode, what difference would it make? Why wouldn't you play online? This game could've done better with co-op and a better matchmaking system as well. The difficult system alone is quite confusing, not that they're confusing in general, but it's enough to question a thing or two.

For example, the last two modes (Slaughter and Diamond) are available on the hardest setting, and I do have to question why. The levels themselves are as complex as Panic Room and require less in-game set pieces. It boggles the mind on why they're specifically hard, possibly a question I should put to Simon, next time I talk to him.

PayDay The Heist is a great game, it has great play but could have been better. There is so much here that could have been even a great storyline, but Overkill has made a decision to make it for hard and fast gamers. Varying difficulty levels, great upgrade system and some fairly intriguing level design, makes this a must-have PSN title.

Harrison HAS E. is in jail from pulling an EB Games heist. He's serving hard time for Grand Theft GTA.

PayDay The Heist has made it's way to Europe on Steam and PSN and Harrison E. has decided to steal some words and give the heist-sim a whirl.


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PoV: Ratchet and Clank All 4 One Review

Posted Nov 10, 2011 at 11:00AM EST by Harrison E Listed in: PS3, PoV Tags: Insomniac Games, ratchet and clank, ratchet and clank all 4 one, ratchet and clank all 4 one review

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All 4 One or All For Nothing as Harrison E. reviews the latest Ratchet and Clank title.


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Recoil Games PSN title Rochard heading for the PC

Posted Nov 8, 2011 at 3:00PM EST by Tim Curtin Listed in: PS3, PC Gaming Tags: psn games on steam, rochard pc, rochard psn, steam games

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Rochard will be available through Steam for $9.99 from November 15th, removing its PSN exclusive status.


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Vote for Your Favorite Blizzcon Costume

Posted Oct 31, 2011 at 2:09PM EST by Listed in: MMORPG Tags: Blizzard, BlizzCon, blizzcon costume contest, Mike Morhaime

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If you didn’t make it to Blizzcon, you can still enjoy some of the festivities by voting on your favorite costume from its legendary costume contest.

The Blizzcon costume contest is probably the most fun event of the weekend. Costumes that run the gamut from incredible to hilarious are all on display, and the judges often have a tough task in deciding a winner. Now that Blizzcon is wrapped up, Blizzard is giving fans the opportunity to participate in an online costume contest by voting on the Blizzcon costumes they liked the most.

Here’s the rundown on the contest, straight from Blizzard:

We’re giving 20 contestants we weren’t able to recognize at BlizzCon a second chance at sartorial glory, by offering you a chance to vote on your favorites. We’ve added images of each contestant to a brand-new Costume Contest Voting Gallery. Each contestant’s picture is marked with a number. That’s where you come in; just make note of the number belonging to your favorite costume, then head over to our poll to cast your vote.

The costumes that earn the most votes will earn a chance at some impressive loot, including cash prizes of $1,000, $750, and $500. Runners-up will receive a SteelSeries prize package that includes 5H V2 Headphones, a 7G Keyboard, and an Ikari Optical Mouse or a World of Warcraft virtual pet package that includes Lil' Ragnaros, Moonkin Hatchling, Lil' K.T., Pandaren Monk, and Lil' XT.

You can check out the gallery by clicking this link. Hey, it’s not like you have anything important to do today, right? I’m partial to the Minecraft paladin, but I’d also really like to take contestant #4 out on a date.

Which costume do you think is the coolest?

If you didn’t make it to Blizzcon, you can still enjoy some of the festivities by voting on your favorite costume from its legendary costume contest.


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Classic Dungeon Crawling with Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls

Posted Oct 28, 2011 at 10:30AM EST by Tim Curtin Listed in: iPhone, iPad Tags: acquire corp, ios rpg, lost souls, tench, wizardry: labyrinth of lost souls

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Japanese mobile games developer Acquire Corp takes us back to the good old days, with a classic RPG for iOS.


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Newly Released: Scribblenauts Remix for iOS

Posted Oct 12, 2011 at 11:47AM EST by Listed in: iPad Tags: ipad, iphone. ios cloud, scribblenauts

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The quirky Nintendo DS word puzzle game shows up in the iTunes store and supports iOS 5’s cloud-saving technology.

Scribblenauts is a game that depends as heavily on your imagination as it does on your vocabulary. Instead of providing you with a puzzle and a few tools to use to solve it, Scribblenauts instead asks you to invent your own tools. This added element makes the game more fun and gives it much greater replay value.

Now, a “remastered” version of the title is available for your iPhone or iPad device. The game boasts levels from both Nintendo DS titles in addition to a few new ones designed exclusively for iOS devices. All of the controls have been translated into touch commands, naturally, but the bulk of the gameplay remains the same – type words, use items, solve puzzles.

You’ll also be able to save your game via the new iOS 5 iCloud functionality, which allows you to save your game at any time on your iPhone or iPad and pick up from right where you left off with another device. So if you run out of time while playing on the subway, for instance, you can resume the same puzzle a few hours later from the comfort of your living room.

Scribblenauts recognizes thousands of words, so the more creative you are with your solutions, the more fun you can have. Here’s a quote on the game from Samantha Ryan, the Senior Vice President of Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment’s Production and Development branch (whew):

““Players can let their imaginations run wild by solving challenges with objects they’ve created such as a ‘colossal, winged, rainbow car’ or a ‘shy, frost-breathing, robotic hippopotamus,’ and easily share the results with their friends.”

Scribblenauts is available as of today and both the iPhone and iPad versions of the game will run you $4.99.

Are you excited to see ports of great games slowly making their way to iOS devices?

Via GamingBits

The quirky Nintendo DS word puzzle game shows up in the iTunes store and supports iOS 5’s cloud-saving technology.


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Gotham City Impostors achievements revealed

Posted Oct 10, 2011 at 10:57AM EST by Karl B. Listed in: Xbox 360 Tags: gotham city impostors, Monolith Productions, warner bros.

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Check out what you have to do to rack up more Gamescore points.


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Skyim Beta Bug Turned Chicken into Informers

Posted Oct 8, 2011 at 2:00AM EST by Harrison E Listed in: Xbox 360, PS3 Tags: Bethesda, elder scrolls, Machinima, skyrim

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Hey you there?! I mean bawk bawk bawk.


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Yakuza: Dead Souls officially announced

Posted Oct 5, 2011 at 3:03PM EST by Karl B. Listed in: PS3 Tags: Sega, yakuza: dead souls, yakuza: of the end

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Yes, it's a localized version of Yakuza: Of The End.


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Burnout Crash and The Gaming Identity Crisis

Posted Sep 29, 2011 at 4:00PM EST by Harrison E Listed in: PC Gaming Tags: burnout, burnout 3: takedown, burnout crash, ea games, music in games, PS2, psn, xbla

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The Burnout series is synonymous with fun for me. Being a PS2 owner from way back when I was a cursey teen instead of a cursey adult (or someone in their early 20's) as I am now, it's like a Pokémon evolution except not cool and really just learning about controlling my emotions and maturity and all that lame stuff. Included in that evolution was getting a PS3, and eventually being excited about the release of Burnout Paradise. I actually owned a PSP at one point and playing Burnout Dominator was bliss for me. Long bus rides filled with angsty or beat-punching music as I swerved corners and took badasses down whilst everyone just kinda looked at the weird fat kid and wondered where his guardian was.

Burnout Paradise was a personal low in the series. Despite, friends having the initially pre-release, I convinced myself that a free-roaming city was actually "really cool" and that it totally wouldn't be "lame" and you'd have a lot more freedom. I was wrong. Really wrong. I don't know about you but being in a free-roaming cityscape and having no sense of direction, as well as a poorly intuitative, linear map design really doesn't bode well with someone thinking in free-roaming mode. So burned by that Burnout experience, the announcement of another Burnout game spurred the pessimist in me and I was excited once again, but when I saw the first video's for it, I wasn't too pleased. I was less than pleased and the optimist inside me died...just a little...not too much, I hope.

I did go into Burnout Crash with less than a positive aspiration for what the game actually might be. I know people don't like people who waffle on, so let's just say Burnout Crash is good and there is a demo you can play, it's free, it'll give you a good indication of what it's like except for some modes but let's also say that Burnout Crash is initially underwhelming.

The 2D opening is cutesy to say the least but so mediocre it doesn't really register on my mental spectrum as being a video game. It reminds me of the animated sequence in Catch Me If You Can and I'm half expecting the little ute (or pick up truck for our US readers) to hit a tiny Leonardo DiCaprio and send him flying against a 2D wall...but yes, it's underwhelming and my memories of Burnout begin to fade, like the opening screen does. I left the opening on too long to start writing the opening paragraph, the visuals humming away in the background with my PS3 and then a song begins.

This is where my opinions change by a simple video and musical manipulation. The song by The Primitives, aptly titled - at least for this game - Crash and I'm brought back to a simpler time in my childhood called the 90's, when this song was not written. It's an 80's New Wave pop song and whilst I became a fan of New Wave some time in my late teens, the song still resonates and I'm back to apart of what makes the Burnout series amazing, the mind numbing, heart racing music. When I say mind numbing, I don't necessarily mean it in a bad way, it's just beautiful background fodder. Much like the Clair De Lune in Burnout Paradise or Shotgun by The Outline in Burnout Revenge, it brings you into a different element when it comes to the game.

One of my fondest memories of Burnout Paradise is watching the sun slowly set just as Clair De Lune began and I started a Takedown Race and watched the shadows stretch and pull the landscape of the city as I raced from night into day and won with 12 Takedowns when I only needed 5. I get weird when it comes to games and music. Most pieces just wash over me and I just shrug my shoulders, but when there's a piece that's memorable, it really sticks. Whether it's the beautifully whimsical music from Legend of Zelda, a series I've barely played or the block rocking minimal piano and beats of Minecraft - it all sticks in my mind like Tetris tessalated musical blocks.

PICTURE OF MARIO MUSICAL BLOCK

Of course, the Burnout series is just more than music and so I actually start playing Burnout Crash and stop listening to the Primitives for the 12th time....and I press start and the song actually starts to play in full, kicking off with a lovely little animated explosion of the pick-up. The menu kicks in after a failur to login to the PSN/Autolog network and a voice gives me a warm douchey welcome, sadly often associated with Burnout games. No one I really know is a frat kind of person and I feel EA keeps those voice over guys for that reason, I kinda liked it when it was the chick running Crash FM, but meh, that was then, this is now.

So far, the visual design is nothing like the little opening animated feature, with a nice little neon sign design floating as the menu and I kick off the game itself (after adjusting the sound settings, music up, voice over off). So after I'm told I'll be on the wildest ride of my life I choose the first mission and go on a bit of a rampage and you know what, it's fun. It's consistently fun, it's a whole lot of fun. Seeing those little cars coming, which is indicated in-game by a yellow arrow, and noticing all the little details on the houses and cars and just everything, I want to look at it closer but also destroy it at the same time. It's like being Clockwork God with a magnifying glass, but alas, my creations are not my own, only the destruction. But alas, before all the destruction there's a tutorial and it's a bit annoying.

Last time I was in a gaming DMV I decided not to play the game, that game was Driver, I was 8, things were different. Here it's nice little tutorial that tells you about all the great things including the "Crazy Special Feature", which didn't exactly hype me up despite the vocal inflection and after playing Bastion last week I feel all voice overs need better voice actors or better writers, seriously. There could have been a lot more to do with the wacky voice-over, there are a few amusing lines here and there such as the description of the area being remembered as "all field" and the voice over actor pausing and being like "oh...it still is", I laughed at that, but the humour was far and few between and like Dreamworks movies, relied too much on pop culture than raw wit.

Old system of "More stars to unlock more cars" gives you a good old sense and even with the top-down look, Burnout Crash becomes a lot less like the Burnout series minute by minute. What I feel is Criterion should have just called it Crash. I understand that they may have possibly been sued by Universal for use of the fluffy Bandicoot character, but using the brand recognition of Burnout really doesn't work here. It's a real identity crisis where it's clear they want to re-establish their brand for whatever reason. I remember Burnout selling like hotcakes, with every iteration since the 3rd one, and personal favourite, Takedown. The actual game itself does get a big hand from musical and sound cues, but a better focus on gameplay and making the game a lot more interesting, in regards to the voice work and writing, would have been better. For example, whilst the game out and out visually wants to have a rough design, it wants new players to the franchise to remember "to use that Crashbreaker" in an overly excited tone as if the big flashing x button on screen and the fact that other than kinda moving/sliding around the map, there isn't much else to do in-game, other than be amused and giggle when a bank truck comes along and the bombastic voice of Shirley Bassey claims "HEY, BIG SPENDER"...I giggled...like a girl.

Despite my girl giggling, there will be a lot of references young player - new players - won't get and will be baffled why they're in the game at all. Hearing Spandau Ballet's Gold when I blew up a golden truck was amusing for me but may only reach 5% of the people who play the game, seriously after reading the above paragraph, who knew 1. Who Spandau Ballet was/is? and 2. Who Shirley Bassey was? The identity crisis Criterion creates is more of a cultural problem than a gaming problem. Licensing those tracks would have cost them/EA millions, literally, and if it was worth it, I feel like we're on the inside of an in-joke, but everyone keeps beating the outside of it and it just keeps making a hollow thud.

I do want to give a handshake this week to two people, the guys who chose the music and the visual designers. As much as I've bitched about the visuals in the game, I do have to say the mix of eclectic styles of Neon-signed - almost Las Vegas in tone - and the cute top down car creations, it all works. It melds into this odd piece of automotive Americana, filled with the right colours here and there to look it mildly entertaining as well as watchable. When almost every week there's a lot of grey and brown being sloshed around, it's good to see emerald, aqua and crimson red to be thrown into the mix. Sure, the game does have a fairly consistent use of black on the menus, but it adds to the steel and burning rubber style Burnout is known for, and that's where it really takes a different side to the Burnout series.

However, it being a top-down game, it does have it's visual misdemeanours, such as the

The game's reward system is quite classic too. The star system is something I've always favoured in the series, with the whizzing or rushing of the flaming stars to come crashing into my self-gratification coz I pressed da buttons and dey do da ting dat it was programmed to do. The actual gameplay itself is quite simple, you're in a runaway car and you're going to crash. It's a lot more interesting to imagine you're a man who recently just went through the worst day in the world and intend to have the most creative day in the world, which includes ending with a multiple car pile-up, however, he keeps having a Groundhog Day-Quantum Leap scenario where he wakes up in a new car and new body everyday and ends it all the same...or I might be insane.

A few minor gripes about the game itself as there were a few framerate issues, even playing on the first level, but nothing to noticable as the game went on. The gameplay element of The Good Cops was a bit weird and has never really come up in previous parts of the Burnout canon...I guess, there really isn't a canon to a series about cars that gone and done smashed demselves up. However, the game does require a bit of strategy and it would have been interesting, if a bit farfetched, if you could place the cops at an entering intersection of yout choice.

See putting in extra obstacles such as The Ambulance, sometimes makes me feel as though they're dragging out the level, but then again hearing the words "Paging Dr. Beat" followed by the song by Miami Sound Machine, just makes me want to throw on some more 80's tracks and start dancing...nobody wants that. But it is a nice touch, if a bit cheap, I say cheap but honestly it resonates with my pop culture brain like a meth addict and I can't wait for that siren blaring bohemoth to come screaming through the streets again.

Having elements such as Tornados and Magnets are incredibly fun and don't outstay their welcome, the actual gameplay does begin to get stale in the other modes, but it's really just a personal preference and I think you should try out the other modes such as Rush Hour and Pile Up, I highly recommend them but they're not particularly my thing.

Rush Hour is a personal pain as I hate almost all timed missions in games and it just frustrates me. It almost seems like it'd be a lot interesting if it was an extra option that you could turn on or off, even have it as a version of the game like a Quick Match section of the game. Meanwhile, Pile Up is just cause as much destruction as possible, it's fun if a bit boring after a while, all the same gameplay elements are there. A co-op implementation would have been freaking amazing with you having to smash into a friend's car on the same interesection and see who could do the most amount of damage on a stretch of road, like a drag-race + Burnout...just an idea, Criterion.

Other than the music, which turns a bit generic but fun after Crash plays, the sound design is phenomanal with firey auto crashes sifting through my ears and the sound of poker machine winnings as points rack higher and higher like the possible animated body count, if the game was any ballsier...coz that's totally a word. The random sound effects add to the crazy style The money has always been an interesting thing to me, not just money in general, God knows how the economy works, but the actual pricing of each car and the potential for costs and multipliers is just something I've wanted to calculate, make a big chart of, actually do math...yep, definitely insane.

In the corner I'm informed I'm a Wannabe, which gives me the assumption that the writers or designers of the game, and a lot of game worlds for that matter, really have this disdain towards players from the get go, but then again I'm a bit of a wuss who can't take any form of criticism whatsoeverpleaseloveme. But the actual gameplay elements are never really against the player, there is a balanced sense of both challenges and even with a plot-less game, there is a drive - whoa, pardon the pun there, been left over for weeks - to actually see the next intersection, the next car and the insanity that will ensue. For example, really how determined are these drivers, logic is best not put in the way of the Burnout series...especially when car magnets are concerned.

Burnout Crash is not a bad game, it's just not a Burnout game. It does take the basic game mechanics of Crash, my honest to God, favourite part of the series, something I always look forward to and just made it a Downloadable Title. I'm looking forward to the good old days of burning through a city doing challenges and having some real fun, but for now, I guess this will tire me over. It's not expensive, it's a lot of fun, it's great to listen to and look at, it's like the

perfect girlfriend...there's your selling caption for Burnout Crash - Burnout Crash: The Perfect Girlfriend.

So Burnout Crash is out, but is it really a Burnout game?


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Yakuza: Of The End being localized?

Posted Sep 28, 2011 at 3:54PM EST by Karl B. Listed in: PS3 Tags: Sega, yakuza: dead souls, yakuza: of the end

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The zombie-infested spinoff might be on its way to the west.


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PlayStation Store EU Update - 09/21/11

Posted Sep 21, 2011 at 10:39PM EST by Ryan F. Listed in: PSP, PS3 Tags: Europe, PlayStation Network, PlayStation Store, Sony

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Head's up Europe, here is your weekly dose of PlayStation Store goodness.


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Bastion and the Big Company

Posted Sep 21, 2011 at 4:00PM EST by Harrison E Listed in: Xbox 360, PC Gaming Tags: bastion, reviews, warner bros

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Bastion and Big Companies

I was gonna play From Dust this week but sadly my router screwed me and I was left almost gameless for a good two hours. So instead I called up my bro from last week and asked if he'd gotten anything new. Bastion lept forth from his mouth and I was in my car and over in minutes. My mate was busy with a coding assignment and I was reserved to being quiet and to only have the sound of the music up a little bit. As a writer, the conditions were not uncommon, but still I decided to write something good this week...well, objectively good.

The game starts off and the loading screen looks like someone trying to uncover elvish ruins and then the narrator speaks and it is glorious. I want to fall asleep to this man's voice cradling me and telling me every story known to man and I want to serve under his every golden voiced whim...but I keep playing the game and it is incredible in every way imaginable, without him holding me.

I start off with a gigantic hammer, which in the book of gaming, almost all great characters have gigantic hammers. Super Mario, Ramona Flowers, Tomba and now Bastion, and you can destroy everything in your path. Blocks just crumple under the weight of mighty hammer. You are Thor's tiny narrated brother and your whim is the world's way. So yeah, the game is a highly stylised, beautifully narrated and cleverly designed hack and slash.

The narration is not only soothing but it's helpful. In a comparative note, you would have Portal's GlaDOS, a mean-spirited but contextually justified character voice, whilst Bastion's narrator is calming but casually reassuring as the game's linear world forms around you, so does his words, creating an audible scenery to match the colourful block-filled world.

The collectables in the game, other than your weaponry, are tiny little crystals, which at first seem fairly arbitrary, but become incredibly useful regarding the RPG elements later on and even finding them is half the fun. The landscape forms beneath your feet and as such, secret areas will pop up by just wondering around and leading you in a path of danger or delight. Also destroying blocks around you, free-form GTA style will find a few more bits of fun and a lovely bit of narration, such as "The Kids just rages for a while...", I smile with delight and continue to punch the B button.

The difficulty curve of the game is interesting to say the least, but using the right weapons, skills and heals you can get yourself through any battle with the salty voice of the narrator peppering you through the worlds.

The RPG elements of the game really help with adding a bit of flavour to the game. The elements range from little things such as levelling up to building brand new places on the Bastion such as a forgery and distillery. The distillery promotes some minor underage drinking musings but nothing harmful...as long as a kid doesn't know what a distillery is. The forgery brings you new weapons so you can kick more arse and before you know it, you're hacking and slashing like never before unless you fall off the edge of the floating world...which happens a lot.

When you die, you fall into the Bastion. It's a beautifully green landscape. The call of a crow, the hum of the cicadas i nwhat looks like the freshest brightest spring day you've ever seen and somewhere standing on a golden and freshly cut pasture...is someone simply called Stranger...the narrator calls, he finds "another...he finds me", you can actually talk to the narrator and a beautiful guitar melody begins to play. Something akin to Neil Young or early Willie Nelson and I just want to sit here and turn up the soundtrack. It's monumental and oddly moving, but I must continue my quest. But actually it's here where the greatest plot element is revealed. It's a bit of a spoiler so if you want you can just play the first 30 minutes of the game or the demo and just wait for the words "subtlety is key".

Upon plot-assisted-death or what anyone who played the first Silent Hill and understood the opening without going, "Dude, wtf do I have to die, srsly, lame?!" the Bastion is essentially an overworld that actually helps you to different parts of the game world. The world itself acts as a land slowly growing and renewing, much like the game's landscapes during the gameplay. It's a beautiful landscape in a beautifully constructed game.

Subtlety is key here...with people who are made of ash, who when you smash to pieces the narrator gives a minor backstory to them and you either go "Sorry, my fault", or you chuckle unevenly. The game's key is playing with established video game and narration tropes and playing them with and against the player. Whilst some bits of narration and gameplay are expected, they're played into the story and atmospheric strengths, except for a few minor naming issues...such as "Something Heavy" and "Something Stringy", which I find lacking in creativity rather than subtley humourous, but I'll get to my gripes later.

Healing in the game is represented by fountains and tonics and the first time you hear the narrator talk about it, it seems real and almost like an advertisement for a fictional drink with the tagline "Sometimes you need a drink"...take all my money, now, magical narrator man.

"And then he falls to his death...I'm just foolin'" had me laughing so hard I annoyed my friend anough to throw a wireless mouse at me. I returned it sullenly and was told to keep writing or otherwise he'd not take my job as seriously. My friend is a coder and his work is serious business, whilst I takka takka away.

Some of the story elements, whilst almost non-sequitor like adds to the feel of the world. I'd use the word atmosphere a lot, but I did last week so I'm just gonna write the words Shabadoo instead. The Shabadoo works so well in this game that the little embers that burn in the opening world and the creatures you encounter seem to just add so much more to the game than just the narrator's voice. The crafting of the character and the narrative elements and how they seem to drip slowly and poignantly like water from a tap into a long deep echoing well makes for one hell of a Shabadoo-ic experience.

Weaponry such as The Fang Repeater, a shark-looking weapon - that's right SHARK-LOOKING - and the Breaker Bow - which the narrator tells you after you fall on it - "it breaks his fall, but it ain't broken - is given to you and the narrator professes delicately how they should be used. Not mockingly, not annoyingly, just subtlely with a bit of an onscreen flash of a button tutorial. This is barely half an hour in to the game and you're just riding the wave and the Shabadoo of the experience - that'll become clearer later on . You're just into the narrator's voice and the mood of the game; you just feel like it's right, that the gun or the voice will never steer you wrong...and this is where my first problem comes into the game. Nothing to with the gameplay or the game itself, this is where I'll become mildly analytical and you can tune out till I write the words, 'so the game'.

The tone of the game is strictly, speaking all over the place. Whilst thematically, there is little to draw on from the get-go, the game's style and over-arching story-based narrator-heavy theme leaves me high and dry sometimes, but the gameplay and humour just slides me back into a forgiving mode. I'm not sure what Bastion wants to say about games or narrative or characters or if they creators wanna say anything at all...all I want to say is that the game is amazing looking, great to play and also structurally beautiful...literally.

So the game does a lot of things amazingly and I've found the testament of a true game is that it keeps me wanting more of it. Resident Evil 4, LA Noire, Plants vs. Zombies and Half Life 2 all have kept me - and a million other gamers like me - wanting more and more like a battered lover. The look of the game just is amazing from the character design, overworld and parchment style menu design, the game has a very distinct style like a mix between nature-based artwork and naturalistic writing.

Like last week's Audio Team for Dead Island, this week's Handshake Award goes to the Design team for Bastion as they have created stunning architecture which is both eye-catching and never boring, some points in the game I feel bad for a micro-second for destroying things with a gigantic hammer.

A repetitious soundtrack - which isn't annoying - pumps in a lovely low bass as I pause the game, continue to type and it doesn't annoy my mate. The game has heaps of tracks and they all do follow a fairly similar progression but it never gets on your nerves. My mate was trying to code quietly and calmly, but when I pause so he can focus, he just grooves and hums along with it. We smile and clink our drinks together and go back to our prospective mediums, his "real work", my....uh...this. The slow strings of a guitar whine in as I enter a saloon, the narration is slow, perfect and much like this sentence ends on a sarcastic but humourous note, damn.

Falling off is an inconvenience, but is even greater so when dodging an enemies attack. The game treats death like "it ain't no thang", but really that "thang" does become quite annoying after a while when you wish you hadn't destroyed the barrier around the land looking for more crystals to level up your stuff. Aiming can also be a serious pain in the arse. You may be a fraction of a degree off and end up wasting a Fang shot or two or just simply miss a crucial shot instead of healing and it's Game Minor Inconvenience for you, buddy.

Whilst the enemies are fairly varied, they all have two or three attacks and one of them is a strictly "Come at me bro" strategy, to just run directly at you, you can usually expect it, but it does become mildly annoying.

The voice for The Kid is mildly unfitting, I imagine more of a young Link voice, but he sounds like a whiny 20 year old who just found out he's got a term paper due in a fortnight. There are more unexplained things such as where do my weapons go when I obtain new ones and why couldn't I switch them out with the D-Pad and when I defeat the big Gas guy in the second area how all those guy love me and then disappear...I want them to be my slaves and to build a posse rather than turning up randomly...well I did free them...maybe I shouldn't have slaves...slaves are bad.

Picture of THE MORE YOU KNOW (with Kirby)

The life point system for enemies is a intriguingly redesigned circle beneath the NPC and disappears with every swift ring of the hammer towards it. Bastion is not a perfect game and whilst the experience is enjoyable some minor things like the AI being too easy, a lack of co-op, a slightly meh RPG, XP system and a leaderboard system (something I've personally never cared for) do not keep this game from being perfect, but just feeling a bit undercooked. I wish the game was a bit more creative or exciting in those elements.

I know I spent a good 90% of this article praising the heavenly voiced angel which descends into our mortal audio realm, but maybe having a secondary voice or another voice to play off would have been interesting. A finely-tuned weapons upgrade system, rather than just pictures and purchasing. Buying stuff in-game almost always makes me feel cheap. Oh and according to the game, you fly to each of the Skyway levels...I would have loved to have seen a bit of that, even in an opening cut scene.

Actually that being said I'm glad there are no cut-scenes in this game, it would have ruined the flow and fun...but flying would have been nice and interesting, but maybe a bit too much. To be honest, when I find flaws in a game I know it's just apart of me, not as a reviewer, but just knowing my tastes vs. knowing my standards as a gamer. I feel at a loss when I see potential and finances wasted on mediocrity.

And Bastion is not mediocre, it could be better, everything could be better, I could be a hell of a lot better...what I'm saying is...I just want a Bastion 2, I want to meet the developers and thank them and I wanna work on anything they make in the future, if they'll have me...and I know that's asking a lot. It's like asking for a shark to borrow it's gills and to be bros or for a volcano to not erupt and to be quiet, but I do love this game and I expect more amazing things from these guys.

Games like Bastion rarely get everything right and I do have to commend Warner Brothers for publishing a title, letting it be made and it being amazing in almost every domain. It's rare that a game will inspire me or at least enlighten me, entertain me and brighten up my day like Bastion does, the only other games I can think of similarly is the visual poetry of Flower or the blocky-creativity of Minecraft. The narrative, gameplay and music fit so perfectly together, you'd think three pieces had been scattered across the globe and the developers had put them together perfectly. So I do implore you, nay, beg of you to get this game on XBLA or Steam, it's worth every single dollar as I want these guys to make another game or for the narrator to come to my house and give me a lecture about quantum mechanics and their relation to the Futurama Universe.

Why you should play Bastion and why Warner Bros. publishing may be the next big thing.