General gaming |
- The Metroid Legacy: Game Designers Speak on a Classic's Impact
- Rebranded 3DS With Decreased Emphasis on 3D, Second Analog Stick Coming in 2012: Report
- Shoot Many Robots Lets You Do Just That in 2012
- Rayman Origins Astounds Us With Its Visuals, But Worries Us With Its Gameplay
- Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary: Your Pre-PAX Refresher
- Why Valve Trademarked Dota, and What Might Happen to the Revamped Blizzard DOTA
- Portal Lead to Reveal New Game at PAX
- Duke Begins to Mark a Reboot for Duke Nukem - Report
- Daggerdale Dev Lays Off Much of its Staff, Here's a Look at What it Was Working On
- 1UP's Call of Duty: Black Ops Rezurrection Giveaway
| The Metroid Legacy: Game Designers Speak on a Classic's Impact Posted: 22 Aug 2011 08:45 PM PDT
Feature I did not invent the word "metroidvania." I have, however, played some small role in its popularization due to my willful abuse and misuse of the term in high-traffic venues such as 1UP, and for that I apologize. It's not a particularly good word, and in some ways it actually does a disservice to the games it describes. On the other hand, it does have the advantage of being concise, catchy, and somewhat on-the-nose: Important survival traits in the harsh evolutionary testing ground of modern linguistics. In its proper, original sense, the term "metroidvania" referred specifically to Castlevania games that aped the map and layout structure codified by Super Metroid -- Symphony of the Night, Harmony of Dissonance, Aria of Sorrow, etc. -- hence the mash-up of "metroid" and "(castle)-vania". In the decade since I first read the term online, though, it's become synonymous for any two-dimensional platform-style action game that emphasizes exploration and progression through the acquisition of skills and tools. The format seems to wax and wane in popularity as time goes by; it was huge in the 8-bit era, faded away to a handful of notable releases in the following decade, and has seen a resurgence through portables and independently published PC games in more recent years. |
| Rebranded 3DS With Decreased Emphasis on 3D, Second Analog Stick Coming in 2012: Report Posted: 22 Aug 2011 05:55 PM PDT An anonymous source that supposedly works within Nintendo delivered the news to the site, which previously had information about the Vita and Wii U prior to their respective announcements. According to a translation by NeoGAF, Nintendo feels it made a mistake in leaving out a second analog stick (or circle pad, as the case may be). As such, it is reportedly now working on a separate device that connects to the right side of the system and is sold for about $10. That presents a number of questions like how would it connect and if the system can close with it attached. (You'd also have to worry about your finger slipping off and hitting the Power button.) It's possible this bit is outright wrong or simply being misinterpreted; the attachment could be solely for the benefit of developers working to create games for a new version of the 3DS. |
| Shoot Many Robots Lets You Do Just That in 2012 Posted: 22 Aug 2011 04:20 PM PDT Calling it a side-scrolling action game isn't good enough for Ubisoft. A press release sent out today contains a description screaming for a comma: it's "a four-player co-op run-n-gun side-scrolling RPG shooter filled with tons of weapon and item customization." Besides a traditional side-scrolling mode, there will also be a Survival mode where you have to fight waves of enemies, Horde mode-style. If it looks and sounds a bit like Borderlands (cartoony graphics, lots of guns), that could be because developer Demiurge Studios helped to create that game's Arena mode. It's also worked on a number of other titles since being established in 2002; it ported Mass Effect to PC and developed the Pinnacle Station DLC, helped to create BioShock's opening sequences prior to entering Rapture, and more. |
| Rayman Origins Astounds Us With Its Visuals, But Worries Us With Its Gameplay Posted: 22 Aug 2011 03:45 PM PDT Obscured by the ever-growing fame of those crazy Rabbids, Ubisoft's mascot finally returns with a new platform game that's also a reboot. It will explain, as the title suggests, Rayman's origin. It initially was supposed to be released via digital delivery, but has now been delayed for a November retail release on Xbox 360, Wii and PS3. A Nintendo 3DS version will follow shortly, and in March 2012, Rayman Origins will be available on Vita as well. The game's visuals come courtesy of the UbiArt Framework, a development tool by Ubisoft explicitly conceived to allow artists to implement their art seamlessly into the game engine. And thanks to it, Rayman Origins looks just like a beautifully animated digital painting -- that also runs smoothly at 60fps in HD resolution. But it's not a matter of numbers: The game world's incredibly detailed and alive thanks to the talent of the artists working on it. UbiArt has indeed great potential, and it gives artists freedom and a prominent role in the actual development by allowing them to easily manage collisions and animations. |
| Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary: Your Pre-PAX Refresher Posted: 22 Aug 2011 03:16 PM PDT Announced at E3 just a couple of months ago, this Xbox 360 remake of Halo: Combat Evolved is a project created explicitly for all the fans that were strongly asking for it. Original developer Bungie has passed the torch to Microsoft's internal studio, 343 Industries, who will oversee development of the title. Here's a quick refresher on what you'll be seeing when you play it for yourself at Halo Fest this week. Halo: CE is one of the most important FPS in videogame history, often cited as responsible for Xbox's huge success in the west. For this reason, 343 Industries couldn't get away with just another one of those lazy remakes that lately have been plaguing the market, so explains Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary producer Dennis Ries and executive producer Dan Ayoub. They promise that this new Combat Evolved won't offer just a simple HD facelift; it will be packed with new content, goodies and surprises conceived to please the players who've always followed and loved Master Chief's franchise. The Anniversary edition also supports Kinect -- though the demo station we see had a regular controller. |
| Why Valve Trademarked Dota, and What Might Happen to the Revamped Blizzard DOTA Posted: 22 Aug 2011 03:04 PM PDT Valve filed for a trademark on "Dota" last year amidst rumors that it was working on a game based on Defense of the Ancients, which Dota is short for. Valve confirmed it was working on nothing less than a sequel to Dota, known as Dota 2. Shortly thereafter, Warcraft maker Blizzard announced it was creating a mod for StarCraft II known as Blizzard DOTA. Dota is both the name of a genre (also sometimes called Multiplayer Online Battle Arena, or MOBA) and the name of a Warcraft III mod that spawned the genre. The original Defense of the Ancients was itself based on the Aeon of Strife map for StarCraft, and the Dota genre -- sort of a sub-genre of real-time strategy games -- has become more than just a mod with the creation of a number of standalone games including League of Legends, Demigod, Heroes of Newerth, and Dota 2. |
| Portal Lead to Reveal New Game at PAX Posted: 22 Aug 2011 01:23 PM PDT Swift and other members of the development team will be participating in a panel on Saturday, August 27, at 7pm in the Pegasus room. According to today's press release, those who attend will get to "hear their explanation of how they are bringing an incredibly fascinating and quirky game to life." Unfortunately, that's about as much of a hint as we were given, though we do know that when she was hired it was to work on games for "a more diverse audience." Airtight Games was formed in 2004 by former FASA Studio and Microsoft employees, many of which worked on the well-regarded Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge. It's located in Redmond, Washington, a short drive away from Valve's headquarters in Kirkland. It brought out its first game, Dark Void, early last year on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC, not long after hiring Swift. The game managed to receive mediocre reviews; it was the Other Ocean-developed DSiWare game Dark Void Zero that was the standout of the two. |
| Duke Begins to Mark a Reboot for Duke Nukem - Report Posted: 22 Aug 2011 12:38 PM PDT Duke Begins is the name of a game Gearbox was developing several years ago, as revealed in court documents at the time. It was planned for release in 2010 but ended up being canceled, a move that further fueled a legal dispute between Take-Two and 3D Realms. The matter was resolved out of court and Gearbox came to own the franchise. As was rumored, it worked to finish the very-long-in-development Duke Nukem Forever and brought it out this past June to less than pleasant reviews. Like it or not, Take-Two says the game will be profitable, which apparently is enough reason to commission more Duke Nukem. According to CVG, the October issue of the Official Xbox Magazine has word on a tasty rumor: Gearbox will reboot Duke Nukem in the form of "the long-discussed Duke Begins." This won't happen until one of its current projects, Aliens: Colonial Marines, is finished. |
| Daggerdale Dev Lays Off Much of its Staff, Here's a Look at What it Was Working On Posted: 22 Aug 2011 11:02 AM PDT This was first mentioned on Twitter over the weekend by an anonymous account that knew of trouble at Team Bondi last year, well in advance of the past few months' reports about poor working conditions and issues with Rockstar. According to the tweet, Bedlam "laid off most of its staff and effectively shuttered last month." Following up on this, Joystiq confirmed the news with a separate anonymous source who indicated about 90 percent of the staff have been put on "temporary layoffs," with none of them receiving severance pay. Some have gone on to find new jobs, and with so many people being let go, the studio's future isn't looking especially bright. The Toronto-based Bedlam was founded in 2006 and brought together a number of former staffers from The Warriors developer Rockstar Toronto (known earlier in its life as Rockstar Canada). It finally released its first game, Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale, on PC and Xbox Live Arcade in May. It's an action-RPG that was poorly received. A PSN version was delayed and still hasn't been released. |
| 1UP's Call of Duty: Black Ops Rezurrection Giveaway Posted: 22 Aug 2011 10:01 AM PDT We'll post a secret message on our homepage, right next to our Top Story area. Here's a pic: Simply copy the phrase and Tweet it to @1UPsweeps.The first to tweet wins! The winner will be contacted via a direct message, so be sure to follow @1UPsweeps. Keep your eyes on 1UP.com for your chance to win! |
As is customary around this time, the many companies that will be at PAX Prime this weekend are letting us know what games they'll be bringing with them to promote at the show. Along with the games you'd expect Square Enix to say it's bringing with it like 
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