General gaming

General gaming

Postcard from PAX: Jaffe's Captivating Keynote

Posted: 26 Aug 2011 05:59 PM PDT

David Jaffe

If you look closely at that little speck -- or open your favorite image-editing program and zoom, enhance, etc. -- you'll see God of War and Twisted Metal creator David Jaffe delivering PAX Prime's keynote speech. To be honest, I didn't really know what to expect; Jaffe's games never did much for me. But his hour-long talk was surprisingly motivational, despite Jaffe's focus on the fact that many of today's popular games didn't move him as they once did.

Oddly enough, a random viewing of the 1940 Jimmy Stewart film The Shop Around the Corner gave Jaffe an epiphany; he found it amazing that this 70+ year old movie could connect with him, even after decades of massive cultural change. He made it clear that games should have the same staying power -- all while admitting that the God of War series would likely be forgotten over the ages. All in all, a surprisingly humble admission from such a polarizing figure -- and even though he relied a little too heavily on F-bombs, I found it funny that said bombs were being dropped in a theater where The Shop Around the Corner could have originally played.

Postcard from PAX: Authentic Grandma Action

Posted: 26 Aug 2011 05:55 PM PDT

Two things struck me as odd about Good Old Games' booth on the PAX show floor: one, that they were doing well enough to afford such an elaborate setup (hey, dealing in retro games isn't exactly the most profitable business model), and two, that they hired a kindly old grandma to dispense cookies and perhaps valuable folk wisdom for those that stuck around.

I didn't grab any cookies -- my stomach was currently occupied by a horrible pastry hastily consumed in line for the keynote speech -- but I was pleased to see Good Old Games showing the youth of today that senior citizens can be active members of today's workforce. And if that kindly old woman had any hand in the recent GOG re-released Dungeon Keeper 2, there's an unsolicited shoulder-rub in her future.

Postcard from PAX: Innovative Fangirl Clothing

Posted: 26 Aug 2011 05:27 PM PDT

While walking the showfloor, I came across this woman waiting to use the bathroom. She spent eighteen hours making holes in each corner of the cards, and then connecting them all. I wonder if she got any papercuts. Wait, those are Pokemon cards, right? Magic: The Gathering cards? Either way, I salute her.

Harmonix's VidRhythm Lets You Make Music Video Mash-ups

Posted: 26 Aug 2011 04:57 PM PDT


When word made it out recently that VidRhythm was coming to iOS devices, Harmonix was quick to correct those who called it a game. The Rock Band and Dance Central maker wasn't willing to explain exactly what it meant by that, but it's much clearer now.

IGN has word on what VidRhythm is, and it's essentially an app that allows you to easily create a strange sort of music video. It's almost like the iOS app I Am T-Pain that takes your singing and autotunes it. The difference is that VidRhythm throws in video and limits your contributions to very short clips that are then synchronized and put together to make a song.

"Multi-track a capella videos and other kinds of synchronized 'video music' can be really entertaining," explained Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos. "It's a young medium with a ton of potential, and there's been a recent groundswell of creative activity in this area in pop culture. There are a lot of people out there now making video music, and some of the best videos have become big YouTube hits.

This Week in the 1UP Community 8/22/11: GameStop Steals Spotlight from SNES 20th Birthday

Posted: 26 Aug 2011 04:29 PM PDT

GameStop certainly stole the thunder from right beneath the Super Nintendo's feet. If you don't know what I'm talking about then you should know that the SNES turned 20 on Wednesday! However, most of the community was more interested in the craziness that had to do with GameStop opening new PC copies of Deus Ex: Human Revolution in order to remove OnLive codes. The video game retailer apologized to its patrons by giving out free $50 gift cards to those affected.

Postcard from PAX: No One Likes Retronauts Anymore

Posted: 26 Aug 2011 04:23 PM PDT

Man, the auditorium for the live Retronauts panel is almost completely empty! We are doomed.

Oh, wait, they haven't let the crowd in yet? Whew. Never mind, then.

Fictional VP Kevin Butler Leaves Sony for a New Job

Posted: 26 Aug 2011 04:22 PM PDT


Fictional Sony vice president Kevin Butler has revealed on Twitter that he has left his position for a new (also fictional) startup, Economy Flooring.

Butler is a character played by actor Jerry Lambert. He debuted in a commercial for MLB 09: The Show in 2009 and has since appeared in several dozen commercials, most a part of the "It Only Does Everything" ad campaign. Each time he's seen, he has a new job title, typically the vice president of a non-existent department. He's been the VP of "Soiling Oneself in Excitement," "Apologetic Apologies," "Yes We Canada," and the "Director of Rumor Confirmation." He even showed up during Sony's E3 press conference last year much to the delight of those in attendance.

A Twitter account is kept in his name, and it's on there that a pair of unusual tweets were sent out earlier today. The first reads, "A man can only be made VP so many times, KB's off to be PRESIDENT of my uncle's new upstart company." That was followed by another that stated, "Thanks for all the well-wishes. Yes, as president of a flooring company I'll be hiring but please no job apps yet. Commercials? We'll see..."

Dead Rising 2: OTR Sandbox Mode Kills the Timer, Stops Rushing You

Posted: 26 Aug 2011 03:29 PM PDT

Dead Rising 2 Off the Record sandbox mode

One of the appeals of the Dead Rising games is having a huge environment to explore that's filled with all sorts of stores and places to visit. One of the things that can get in the way of the fun is the countdown timer that constantly pushes you along to get on with the next mission rather than give you the space to hit golf balls at zombies for 15 minutes straight. While some gamers are still upset that Dead Rising 2: Off the Record even exists in the form that it does, it will be bringing with it a much welcome addition in Sandbox mode.

When playing in this mode, you're free to explore the world without having to worry about a timer, the impending arrival of the military, or that daughter of yours and her need for Zombrex. Challenges scattered around will give you something to do if you don't want to purely walk around aimlessly, and by doing them you'll get money that can be spent at the pawn shop and elsewhere. Examples cited in today's announcement include "vehicle-based challenges" and "zombie massacre challenges." Pictured above is one that has you trying to stick a Servbot mask on as many zombies as possible.

Off the Record is a disc-based expansion of sorts for Dead Rising 2. It brings back the star of the first game, photojournalist Frank West, and adds what sounds like a lot of new content. There's the new amusement park area called Uranus Zone, and new weapons, combo weapons, clothing, food items, vehicles, and bosses, plus a new story.

Postcard from PAX: Spending Too Much on Classics is a PAX Tradition

Posted: 26 Aug 2011 03:21 PM PDT

One thing you can always count on at PAX is the inevitable presence of Pink Gorilla (formerly Pink Godzilla, which changed when Toho or whoever owns Godzilla now took offense of the lawyer variety). A well-known Seattle area game shop, Pink Gorilla specializes in import software and classic rarities; when those two specialties overlap, people like me can't help but salivate at best, walk home impoverished at worst.

This year is no different, and for once -- given the absolutely atrocious exchange rate between the dollar and yen the days -- Pink Gorilla's import markup seems pretty modest. So when you see things like, say, a gem mint copy of the exceedingly rare Recca: Summer Carnival '92 for Famicom...

Pink Gorilla

...and the price is $375, you have to realize that you're looking at an amazingly hard-to-find 8-bit game in better condition than you're ever likely to find it even in Japan. A beaten up copy of this particular game goes for about 25,000 yen over there, which is about $325. It may seem strange to say this about a game that costs nearly four c-notes, but this is a pretty good deal. If you're into sealed, perfectly preserved games, that is. Me, not so much. I like playing them. And the appeal of Recca is definitely in the playing -- it's a masterpiece of 8-bit programming, a blisteringly fast shooter that does things with the NES hardware you never knew were possible. Seems a waste to leave it in the shrink-wrap.

Postcard from PAX: Spelunky has Multiplayer, Toys, Fans

Posted: 26 Aug 2011 03:03 PM PDT

Spelunky

Derek Yu, an indie developer who recently discussed his affection for Metroid games, is showing off the Xbox Live Arcade version of his cult hit Spelunky at this year's PAX. It's a brilliant little game that deftly combines two of the most damnably difficult classic game concepts imaginable -- Tim Martin's Spelunker and the entire roguelike RPG sub-genre -- to create a cool randomized action game that's as hard to beat as it is adorable. Yu himself was buried behind a small throng of fans eager to try out the new multiplayer features that are being added to the Live port of the game. Like The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, Spelunky's multiplayer seems to walk a delicate line between cooperation and competition, as players need to work together to overcome the game's ruthless difficulty while still working to come out on top. It appears the different characters available for multiplayer can be swapped in to replace the default spelunker hero in the solo game as well.

Yu is also selling a set of eight Spelunky miniatures, which -- as you can clearly see in these quick snapshots -- are completely adorable. I came to PAX this year determined not to buy anything, but these are putting my steel resolve to the test. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to squeeze through the masses surrounding Yu in order to inquire to about a release date for the game, but by all indications it's still TBA. On the plus side, the PAX demo makes it plain to see that all this time is being put to good use.

Spelunky
Posted by Shri Krishna

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