-
EA Labels President Calls DRM a “Failed, Dead-End Strategy,” Says SimCity “Plays Like an MMO”
At GDC, GamesIndustry.biz had the opportunity to talk to EA Labels president Frank Gibeau about SimCity and its always-online requirement, which caused a considerable amount of grief to many players at the game’s launch. Gibeau acknowledged this, but insisted that what SimCity had wasn’t DRM. “I was involved in all the meetings. DRM was never…
By András Neltz Published March 28, 2013 -
Final Fantasy Versus XIII Isn’t Out, But This Cosplay Is
Where is Final Fantasy Versus XIII? It’s right here in video game fandom, that’s where. While Versus XIII was first announced ages ago, the game has yet to see release. During this long wait, the game’s inability to hit shops hasn’t stopped Final Fantasy fans from cosplaying as characters from the game. Guess that’s a…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 28, 2013 -
What A Horrible Night To Have Such A Wonderful Castlevania Map
Artist Bill Mudron, who is no stranger to amazing video game maps, has produced another amazing video game map, this time for the Castlevania series. Here are the details from Bill’s store page: Explore the wilds of 17th-century Europe with this dye-color map charting both the interior of Dracula’s infamous castle (as seen in the…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 28, 2013 -
Because You Always Wanted To Cuddle Up To A BioShock Infinite Bad Guy
Crafty type Alix has made this wonderful little plush version of BioShock Infinite’s Songbird, matching those you find scattered throughout bedrooms and stores in the game itself. While she only made one, that one is currently up for auction on eBay, with 50% of the proceeds going towards Child’s Play. Bioshock Infinite Songbird Plush [arixystix,…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 28, 2013 -
How To Dress Like Lara Croft
Dancing the line between cosplay and homage, pxlbyte has some sound advice on how to dress like the new Lara Croft while still looking good enough to step out in public. Sure, most of that is accomplished by not being covered in mud and blood all the time, but what’s left is still good advice.…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 28, 2013 -
Double Fine’s Broken Age Is Looking Just Lovely In This New Trailer
This trailer for Double Fine’s Broken Age adventure game was just shown at the Game Developers Choice Awards. It is a very pretty thing to look at. The “credits” at the end is a nice touch, too.
By Luke Plunkett Published March 27, 2013 -
No, EA Sports Is Not Making This All-Girl Roller Derby Sports Video Game
There are so, so many sports in the world that it seems a pity so few are properly realised in video games. We get football, another country’s version of football, basketball, baseball, ice hockey, and that’s about it if you don’t count console mascots facing off every Olympics in a shameless cash-in. Which I don’t.…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 27, 2013 -
These Games Won Awards At The Game Developers Conference Today
Every year, the Game Developers Conference holds awards in celebration of excellence in games. There’s the IGF (Independent Games Festival)—you can think of it as something similar to Sundance. There’s also the Game Developers Choice Awards. The event was held today, and these are the winners. Independent Games Festival Excellence in visuals art award: Kentucky…
By Patricia Hernandez Published March 27, 2013 -
Best Buy Is Making This Man Destroy A Vintage NES Deluxe Set [Update: Nope! Saved!]
Reddit user ipoopinthesink, an employee at Best Buy, says he was handed a rather strange item to recycle as part of the retailer’s “Renew Blue” program, where people’s old electronic gear can be brought in and disposed of properly. It’s not a broken old TV set or outdated mobile phone. It’s a very fancy, very…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 27, 2013 -
I Controlled A Video Game With My Mind
If I could just focus, Lat Ware (pictured above) told me, then I’d be able to launch a vehicle across the room. Simple, right? Earlier this year we told you guys about Throw Trucks With Your Mind, a game that’s pretty much exactly what it sounds like—not that that makes mind-controlled games any less, well,…
By Patricia Hernandez Published March 27, 2013 -
SimCity Designer’s GDC Talk Started With… An Error Message
At the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, Maxis designer Dan Moskowitz gave a talk about SimCity and sandbox design. But before he began, a joke. “So let’s get started here,” said Moskowitz, firing up his first slide. And yet… it crashed with an error message. “Unable to connect to the server.” Laughter from the…
By Kirk Hamilton Published March 27, 2013 -
Is Army of Two: The Devil’s Cartel The Most ‘Bro’ Game Ever?
In terms of ‘bro’ games, I’d thought I’d seen it all. I thought gaming had hit peak bro: the point at which bros could bro no further. I thought we’d fist-bumped, roadie ran and keg-stood our way to humanity’s limit. Well, I was wrong. Army of Two: The Devil’s Cartel is quite possibly the most…
By Chris Person Published March 27, 2013 -
Six Reviewers Consider Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 A Worthy Sequel
Yearly sports video game franchises are faced with a difficult task: continuously renewing and perfecting themselves in order to keep things fresh and to draw people in. The latest installment of Tiger Woods PGA Tour does just that. Deep customization, an overhauled online aspect, and the introduction of the historically-inclined Legends of the Majors mode…
By András Neltz Published March 27, 2013 -
Activision’s Next-Gen Soldier Graphics Have Crawled Straight Out Of The Uncanny Valley
During a talk at GDC earlier today, attended by GameSpot, Activision artists showed off what they think/hope next-gen character models will look like. While stressing that these are just exploratory models, and not in-game assets, the fact this is Activision, and that there’s a soldier there, will still be pointing towards the obvious: your next…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 27, 2013 -
Bart Simpson Has Lived Through Seven Console Generations. Let’s Take A Look Back At All Of Them.
Beginning in 1989, and somehow still running, The Simpsons has seen a lot of trends and fads come and go. Video games, however, have been there for the long haul. And so has Bart’s fascination with them. This amazing video from College Humor shows Bart enjoying games across the decades, from humble arcade beginnings to…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 27, 2013 -
They Want To Let You Smell Your Video Games
If gamers have a favorite buzzword, I’d say it’s “immersion.” We want to be immersed in the games we play, we want the experience to envelop us as best it can. To that end we’ve had motion controls, virtual reality—things that enhance our experience by involving more of our senses. But smell? Smell is mostly…
By Patricia Hernandez Published March 27, 2013 -
Metacritic Treats Some Outlets Differently From Others. Here’s How [Update: Metacritic Disputes Findings]
Industry favourite Metacritic, a site which aggregates review scores, does not simply add up every score it can find and come up with an average. It weights scores, giving some outlets more of a say in the final aggregated tally than others. While the outlet has never publicly disclosed the criteria by which it does…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 27, 2013 -
The Elder Scrolls Online Isn’t Like Those MMOs You’re Used To
I’ll admit that I, too, thought The Elder Scrolls Online looked a hell of a lot like World of Warcraft and any other generic MMO when the first few promotional materials and screenshots were released. I was expecting the game to end up feeling a lot like WoW, too. So I was pleasantly surprised when…
By Tina Amini Published March 27, 2013 -
Maybe Other Publishers Should Start Combining Their Upcoming Games, Too
Imagine waking up one morning and reading a Kotaku story that reads something like: Following Hideo Kojima’s suit, EA decides to put two of their games together and announces DragonField 4 Hey, sure, why not. You’re a bunch of marines in a first-person shooter game fighting…dragons. And maybe there are a few archers and mages…
By Tina Amini Published March 27, 2013 -
The Video Game Based On The Fables Comics Stars Badass Bigby Wolf
In a smart move, Telltale’s video game series based on the Fables comics won’t try and adapt the overall arc of the modern-day epic. Instead, as the developer tells IGN, it’ll focus on one character: Bigby Wolf. Fabletown’s resident detective will be the focus of an episodic series called The Wolf Among Us, and is…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 27, 2013