Kotaku

Molyneux Begs For Non-Gamer Game Review

Variety's Ben Fritz points out that his review copy of Fable II just landed at his office and along with the usual fare of review guide, tips and details came a personal plea from developer Peter Molyneux about how to review the game:

I have a favour to ask you — we build this game not only to appeal to gamers like yourself, but to appeal to anybody. So please, please, please, please, please find somebody who doesn't play games, watch them play it and see how their world turns out, because I think it's only when you see those differences that the unique experiences comes through.

While on some level I can understand where he's coming from, it seems to me that the underlying message of that request is that Molyneux thinks game reviewers are too jaded to do their jobs. It's just the latest in an increasingly long list of excuses developers use for low game reviews, including not "getting" casual and not "getting" the Wii. I can't speak for everyone, but personally I get all of those things. I sometimes just don't like them.

Peter Molyneux's Request [Variety]

PowerUp Forever Gameplay Vid

We caught a glimpse of the potential machine-exploder that had Fahey so enamored at E3 earlier this year. PowerUp Forever looks to be flOw's take on the never ending , bullet-hell shoot-em ups that do so well in Japanese arcades and on PSN and Xbox Live Arcade.

In PowerUp Forever you play your way through procedurally generated environments trying to take on bosses bigger than you to evolve. As you grow, so do the enemies you face. The game will include four modes:

• Survival Mode - Survive relentless waves of non-stop enemies
• Guardian Rush Mode - Defeat a series of guardians in the shortest length of time
• Defender - How long can you survive only using a shield?
• Overkill Mode - Unlimited weapons!

The space shooter is do out this fall on the PSN and XBLA.

Namco Bandai's Tokyo Game Show Schwag

Namco Bandai's pre Tokyo Game Show press conference may have been a little light on the news, but at least they handed out some classy goodies to departing journalists, if only to wake them back up before their trip back to assorted hotels.

Live action samurai versus ninja fights aside, the Afro Samurai presentation at yesterday's Namco Bandai presser was surprisingly brief. They showed a trailer which featured Afro cutting lots of people in half, both horizontally AND vertically. It didn't demonstrate, however, how effective the game play mechanic will be in emphasizing what the developers call the game's "elegant violence", a style of fighting that is meant to balance acrobatic platforming with stylistic slicing and dicing. Still, the art style is striking and shading and texturing different enough to make me want at least a better look. Check out the game's latest screens on the jump.

Hey! Teruaki Konishi! You're working on Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World, right? You got 15 seconds. Justify that Tales.

NPD's PC Sales Charts September 21-27

The latest bricks-and-mortar PC sales charts are in. They cover the week of September 21-27. As you expect, the words EA, Maxis and Blizzard feature prominently. But then so do the words Crytek, Firaxis and Traveller's Tales, so please, enjoy the variety.

1. Spore
2. Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
3. Civilization IV: Colonization
4. Crysis Warhead
5. The Sims 2 Apartment Life
6. WoW: Battle Chest
7. World Of Warcraft
8. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe
9. LEGO Batman
10. WoW: Burning Crusade

[via Shacknews]

Mod Lets You Use Your PSP As A Second Computer Monitor

Tetsuya Mizuguchi Is Making New IP

Tetsuya Mizuguchi is best known for Rez, Space Channel 5 and Lumines. He's made lots of Lumines spin-offs like Lumines Live! and Lumines II. Key words: Lumines. We haven't seen a new game from Mizuguchi for a while, but he confirmed to Kotaku that, yes, he's working on a new IP. Says Mizuguchi:

Yes, I'm working on a new IP.

We've heard from sources that it may be an Xbox 360 title. Wonder what it is...

Wii Ski and Snowboard: EXCITING

Sure, nothing can top a Japanese guy with a gi-normous Afro faux slicing up undead ninja, but it was still pretty cool to watch someone playing Wii Ski and Snowboard using the balance board, remote and nunchuk.

Namco Bandai Pre-TGS Press Conference: The Choicest Quotes

Sometimes, things read better on paper than they do said out loud. That's especially true when the script your emcee is working with sounds like it had been written by the "funniest" top-level Namco Bandai executive, the one who's always quick with the puns. Josh Keller, who performed his duties admirably and annunciated with panache, delivered a few duds in between presentations. To be fair, some were delivered by PowerPoint slides.

• "Music by the Reeza." - On Afro Samurai's soundtrack, a mispronunciation that mildly amused the hip hop snobs in attendance.

• "I love my cute stuffed panda. But I really love playing National Geographic Panda!" - The pitch for National Geographic Panda. It worked!