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Intense, Yes. Unique? Maybe…
Here is a video game soldier, rifle in hands, taking cover. A helicopter explodes behind him. The word “intense” might describe this scene from the TV commercial for the new shooter Spec Ops: The Line, but “unique”? The unsolicited point here is not to beat up on IGN, whose quote may well suit the sandstorm-filled…
By Stephen Totilo Published June 12, 2012 -
Dawn of the Seeker is Best for the Lore-Crazy Dragon Age Fan
With games, the whole “ancillary media” thing is usually just not my style. I read and loved all of the Myst books, way back in the day, and for something like a decade that was it. But then came Dragon Age. I’m one of those rare sorts who really enjoyed both games—not just the first…
By Kate Cox Published June 12, 2012 -
I Played Ten Minutes Of Studio Ghibli’s Stunning, Dreamy Ni no Kuni
Not unlike reading a Murakami book or watching a Miyazaki film, playing Ni no Kuni is sort of like wandering into a dream. This makes sense, because Ni no Kuni mostly takes place in a dream world. It’s a fascinating place conjured up by the folks at Studio Ghibli, the charming animation studio behind flicks…
By Jason Schreier Published June 12, 2012 -
Skyrim Director Wishes Console Gamers Could Experience PC Mods
Skyrim‘s vast, lush world is a wonderful thing made all the more remarkable by the fact that it continues to grow and expand, constantly changing in unexpected ways. This is not only due to the downloadable content that Bethesda has planned for the game (the first one, Dawnguard, looks pretty terrific). Skyrim keeps growing because…
By Kirk Hamilton Published June 12, 2012 -
Sell! Sell! Diablo III‘s Real-Money Auction House is Now Live
Rejoice, well-moneyed individuals—Diablo III‘s real-money auction house, which lets players exchange real cash for in-game items, is now live in the Americas Blizzard has posted a guide for new users here, which lays out how to use the auction house, as well as how to attach the required Battle.net authenticator. Players with more questions can…
By Kirk Hamilton Published June 12, 2012 -
Sony Says PlayStation Vita Burials Were Premature, Predicts Good Things
The headlines about the PlayStation Vita are often harsh these days, especially the headlines that deem the system is “almost D.O.A.” That’s a brutal assessment of a machine that’s been out for only about four months in America and is very likely the most impressive piece of portable gaming technology ever sold. “I think, unfortunately,…
By Stephen Totilo Published June 12, 2012 -
Here’s Why You Should Get Cards Against Humanity, The Hilarious Hyde to Apples to Apples‘ Jeckyll
Just yesterday, the long-out-of-stock card game Cards Against Humanity came became available at Amazon. I had been waiting to order the game ever since I first played it at a party about a month ago, so I jumped on the opportunity. What do you know, my deck of cards arrived today! So, I thought I’d…
By Kirk Hamilton Published June 12, 2012 -
Seven Comics That Will Inspire Your Inner Hero This Week
If you’re here in the Panel Discussion programming block, you might be a lapsed comics reader, trying to find a way back to the JLA Satellite. Or you might someone killing time until you pick up your weekly Wednesday pull list. Or maybe you’ve said goodbye to dozens of longboxes to embrace the promise of…
By Evan Narcisse Published June 12, 2012 -
Farewell, My Comic Book Longboxes (You Kind of Sucked)
This past weekend, I transferred my six longboxes of comics from white cardboard longboxes to black, plastic ones. This was the one bit of protection I am giving to my comics collection, which is being moved—deep breath—to the basement. Aside from the years I was in college, I’ve never lived far from my longboxes. They’ve…
By Stephen Totilo Published June 12, 2012 -
New Avengers #30 Puts Three of My Favorite Marvel Superheroes in One Place At the End of the World
To my mind, the best episodes of a big-deal, all-hands-on-deck superhero crossover event are the ones that focus on the ground-level repercussions of the world-threatening chaos. I remember reading a great issue of Gotham Central when DC’s Infinite Crisis event was happening that showed riots and madness in the streets of Batman’s hometown and how…
By Evan Narcisse Published June 12, 2012 -
The Dark Knight Surprises As a Talking Toy in New Lego Batman 2 Trailer
So Lego Batman 2 will be the first toy-centric video game developed by Traveler’s Tales that features voice acting. Now, given that the silent comedy was a big part of the appeal in previous Lego games, there might be some worry about such a change. But as the trailer above shows, the upcoming game looks…
By Evan Narcisse Published June 12, 2012 -
Faster than a Speeding Bullet, Panel Discussion Starts Now!
Are we still pretending that comics and video games don’t have anything to do with each other? Not anymore, we’re not. Welcome to Panel Discussion, where the focus will be on comic books and sequential art, whether they connect directly to video games or not. Confused? Read this
By Evan Narcisse Published June 12, 2012 -
‘I Did It Thirty-Five Minutes Ago’: Before Watchmen‘s Prequel Problem
Last week, Minutemen #1—the first of DC Comics’ suite of Before Watchmen projects— came out. This week, Silk Spectre #1 hits the stands. There’s been a metric ton of controversy surrounding DC’s decision to make more comics set in the beloved fictional universe created by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ landmark 1986 series. And, like…
By Evan Narcisse Published June 12, 2012 -
Finally, Your Xbox Live Avatar Can Take an Official Skyrim Arrow in the Knee
It had to happen eventually, and now it has. Among the many new Xbox Live avatar costumes that Bethesda released today is one that takes the meme to end all memes to its logical conclusion. Yes, for a mere 240 Microsoft points, your avatar can injure him or herself in the best, most Skyrimmy way…
By Kirk Hamilton Published June 12, 2012 -
“There Was No Face Anywhere”: Why One Movie Producer Chose Uncharted over Halo
Not to knock on the PS3’s signature action franchise, but the Uncharted games never sparked the kind of cultural fascination that the Halo franchise did under Bungie’s tenure. So, if you had to make a movie of one series, you’d pick Master Chief over Nathan Drake, right? Not if you’re Avi Arad, you wouldn’t. With…
By Evan Narcisse Published June 12, 2012 -
Final Fantasy Creator’s Next Game Is Just The Kind Of Complex, Meaty JRPG I’ve Been Waiting For
A long time ago, the combat in Japanese role-playing games was extraordinarily simple. Classic turn-based RPGs would hit you with a deluge of random and scripted battles. To beat them, you’d select options like “fight” or “magic” from a series of dropdown menus. You’d usually only die if you were under-leveled, in which case the…
By Jason Schreier Published June 12, 2012 -
This Is How Nintendo Prefers You To See Their Games
Nintendo likes to prioritize their screenshots by what they consider to be the best images to use when discussing their games. Last year we looked at what Nintendo’s favorite and least favorite screenshots post-E3 were, according to the notes in their batch of press kits. It seemed like angle-choice, depth of background action and color…
By Tina Amini Published June 12, 2012 -
Persona 3: Official Design Works Explores the Artistic Process June 20
Persona 3 owes much of its success to the stunning work of legendary character designer Shigenori Soejima. The fan-favorite artist lends his commentary to 144 pages of character art, concept pieces and design work in Persona 3: Official Design Works, coming June 20 from UDON. UDON makes a sexy book, habitually going above and beyond…
By Mike Fahey Published June 12, 2012