General gaming |
| Castlevania Chronicles: We've Been Killing Dracula for 25 Years Posted: 25 Sep 2011 01:11 AM PDT
Feature  Castlevania Chronicles: We've Been Killing Dracula for 25 YearsLooking back at a quarter-century of (mostly) greatness.By: Jeremy Parish September 25, 2011 Twenty-five years ago, on September 26, 1986, Konami launched a brand new game in Japan that would go on to become one of the longest continuously running franchises in the medium's history. Akumajou Dracula -- roughly translating to "Demon Castle Dracula," which became "Castlevania" in the West in accordance with Konami's weird obsession with pun-laden localization in the '80s -- was actually two different games on two different platforms. The better-known of the two was a straight-up action platformer for Famicom Disk System, the rewritable NES add-on released only in Japan. On the MSX computer, on the other hand, Akumajou Dracula featured the same general play mechanics and aesthetics as its FDS counterpart but wrapped them in a more labyrinthine format, compensating for the MSX's lack of smooth video scrolling by turning its castle stages into self-contained mazes. Castlevania was a different kind of game than players were accustomed to, especially on Famicom. Unlike so many of the other platformers that had followed in the wake of Super Mario Bros.' success (Mario having launched on Famicom almost a year to the day before Akumajou Dracula), Konami's game was slow-paced, methodical, and possessed a fairly realistic ambiance. The hero, Simon Belmondo (Belmont in the West), was proportioned like an actual human adult. Japanese games of the era tended to warp the proportions of characters to give their faces more real estate and allow for cute, visually expressive designs. Simon had a tiny four-pixel face with no details, his characterization instead coming through his determined gait and unique method of attack. The Vampire Killer whip was an uncommon choice for any video game protagonist outside of Indiana Jones, striking a middle-range balance between fists and guns. The game's unconventional look, pacing, and weaponry set it apart from its peers. |
| Star Wars: The Old Republic Has a Release Date Posted: 24 Sep 2011 09:46 AM PDT We truly have a Star Wars Holiday Special this year. Earlier today as reported by IGN UK at the Eurogamer Expo, Bioware co-founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk revealed that December 20th is when we can expect Star Wars: The Old Republic to hit retail. Subscription details were also revealed and it's pretty standard compared to other MMORPG's. The first 30 days will be free with $14.99 being the price-per-month fee. Alternate plans will be available such as paying $41.97 for three months and $77.94 for six months at a time. |
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