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New World Order
The BRIC group of nations – that’s Brazil, Russia, India and China – have never looked cuter than in this pixel art. | by Dave Wilson Dark Souls: My First 24 Hours in Hell I’m now 24 hours into Dark Souls, the successor to 2009’s brilliant and challenging role-playing game Demon’s Souls. I have, of…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 23, 2011 -
An Xbox, a PlayStation and Batman Walk Into a Bar…
Actually, it’s not a bar. It’s a Chinese market, where this abomination hails from, bringing together the very worst in Xbox, PlayStation and ill-advised superhero movie sequels. Called the Battman, there’s something that looks a lot like an Xbox, only it’s in a hideous “Christmas Tree” colour scheme. There are also two controllers that look…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 23, 2011 -
Play the Layton RPG, From Some guys who Made Mother 3
Nintendo studio Brownie Brown helped make Mother 3. It also, quietly, made a Professor Layton role-playing game, available only in the Japanese and American versions of DS game Professor Layton and The Last Specter It’s called Professor Layton’s London Life, and while it was a “mere” unlockable in the Japanese version, in the US edition…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 23, 2011 -
Let Mr. Zelda Walk you Through Zelda’s Most Notorious Dungeon
The earlier Zelda games were tough, but ask most people on the street what the toughest dungeon in the entire series is and they’ll probably say it’s Ocarina of Time’s Water Temple. Even over a decade on, it still hurts to say it out loud. Water Temple Ungh. I never thought it was that hard…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 23, 2011 -
Don’t Blame Team Ninja for Metroid: Other M’s Story
The latest Metroid game, Other M, took some…liberties with the universe’s story, and what it did to hero Samus in particular didn’t go down too well. Many people blame the game’s developers, Team Ninja for this, but that’s not very fair. You need to blame someone from Nintendo instead. Something Team Ninja is only too…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 23, 2011 -
Remember, Electronic Arts Won’t let you Sue Them, Either
While Sony’s new “don’t sue us” terms of service are terrible, let’s not focus just on Sony. Other companies are now free to do the same thing One example: Electronic Arts. If you scroll down to the bottom of EA’s most recent terms of service, which includes both accounts made for the publisher’s online services…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 23, 2011 -
This Looks Like the Worst (and yet Best) Game On Kinect
You might watch this trailer for Michael Phelps: Push the Limit on Kinect and wince. At the awful acting, the uncomfortable hand gestures, at the sight of a man in speedos bending over more than once. You might then, and this is entirely reasonable, decide never to watch it again. But then you’d be missing…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 23, 2011 -
Uncharted Once had “Elements of Tolkien” In it (wha?)
Uncharted, Naughty Dog and Sony’s sexier, more contemporary take on Romancing the Stone, was at one stage a little more Romancing the Grail/Maiden/Orcs, according to a former developer. Speaking with NowGamer, ex-Naught Dog environment modeller Don Poole reveals “We were talking about a more ‘realistic’ game in terms of how it was modelled and rendered…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 23, 2011 -
Deus Ex Mod Removes “Gold” Filter, Game Suddenly Looks Even Better
Deus Ex: Human Revolution’s “gold” filter may be a visual trademark, but it also affects the way you see the game world. A new mod for the PC version removes this (and makes a few other changes), and boy, do things look different. The ENBSeries mod for the game, made by the same community responsible…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 23, 2011 -
Is MMO Loot a ‘Jackpot’ Under the Law?
Video games regulators in South Korea say MMO publishers there have obstructed an investigation into “jackpot items,” predicated on the idea that players risking in-game currency for random-item payoffs is in fact a form of gambling. While publishers have cooperated so far as to provide the virtual items’ names and virtual costs involved, they haven’t…
By Owen Good Published September 22, 2011 -
Sniper Voice Actor’s Book Picks Up Plugs from Team Fortress 2 “Reviewers”
You may not be familiar with the name “John Patrick Lowrie.” You probably are familiar with the name “Sniper,” whom Lowrie voices in Team Fortress 2. He’s just published the novel Dancing With Eternity and, well, his friends are giving it some kind reviews on Amazon. Heavy gave it five of five stars: Even if…
By Owen Good Published September 22, 2011 -
Valve Wants to Release DotA 2‘s Beta “as Fast as we can”
How very unlike Valve. In a post on the game’s official blog, DotA 2 developers say that while they had planned to keep testing the game for another year or so in a very private beta, they now want to “get it out there as fast as we can”. “Our original plan was to spend…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 22, 2011 -
Dark Souls: My First 24 Hours in Hell
I’m now 24 hours into Dark Souls, the successor to 2009’s brilliant and challenging role-playing game Demon’s Souls. I have, of course, died many times in my struggle to become un-undead. I have killed a half-dozen of its major demons, explored deeply its open world, but have just barely begun to scratch its hard surface.…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 22, 2011 -
In Between System Shock and BioShock, We Almost Had Irrational’s Dungeon Duel
Over at the Irrational Games’ Blog, the BioShock Infinite developer has posted concept art and documents from an old, abandoned game called Dungeon Duel. The game had made it all the way to development back in 2002, based off of a pitch that described it as a “fast-paced RTS strategy with the addictiveness of card…
By Kirk Hamilton Published September 22, 2011 -
Enslaved Won’t Be Getting a Sequel. Maybe That’s A Good Thing?
Enslaved: Odyssey to the West was one of the unexpected surprises of 2010—a wonderfully colorful, well-told story full of enjoyable Uncharted-esque gameplay and some some remarkably well-done digital performances. Its story wasn’t perfect, but those opening chapters (and that finale!) stick with me even today, as do its two mismatched protagonists. So I was bummed…
By Kirk Hamilton Published September 22, 2011 -
Proposed City Law Would Require Mugshot When You Sell Used Games
In Oregon, when I trade my games in, I’m required to certify there is no lien against them, like the IRS wants my copy of NCAA Football 11. It’s one of the many fun-filled ways in which local ordinances regulate the sale of used games. Madison, Wisc., is scheming up another. A proposed ordinance would…
By Owen Good Published September 22, 2011 -
The Raveonettes Premiere A Dark Bit of Sonic Strangeness for the Batman: Arkham City Soundtrack
We already know that the soundtrack for Batman: Arkham City looks promising. It’ll feature original tracks from a ton of bands, including Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Boxer Rebellion, Serj Tankian, and The Raveonettes. All of the groups seem to have put a lot of work into providing quality cuts. The track from the Danish…
By Kirk Hamilton Published September 22, 2011 -
Holding Madden for Later Release Date a Winning Move, Says EA Sports
Traditionally releasing the first or second Tuesday of August, Madden NFL 12 this year moved to the end of the month, Aug. 30. EA Sports insisted the schedule change was not because of this year’s NFL lockout, but because it provided a more natural alignment of the game’s launch to the league’s opening week in…
By Owen Good Published September 22, 2011 -
It’s Payday
Payday –Simon and Ulf from developer Overkill at a recent New York showing of their shooter Payday. If a Train is Traveling 80 MPH, And the Internet is At 1Mbps, When Will Diablo III Crash? Diablo III is a joy on a desktop. It’s even fun to play on a Macbook Air. But how will…
By Brian Crecente Published September 22, 2011