General gaming

General gaming

The Overworld is Actually a Dungeon in Skyward Sword

Posted: 07 Oct 2011 05:00 AM PDT

Once upon a time, getting about in a Zelda game was such a clear-cut process. You had your dungeons (anywhere from four to 12, depending) and you had the overworld that linked them all together. Aside from the occasional spin-off (Four Swords Adventures was broken into levels, and Majora's Mask centered around the hub of Clock Town), that's how it always worked. You'd wander around, maybe poke into a cave for a Heart Piece, clear away some scrub, fight some bad guys, and eventually work your way to the next subterranean puzzle labyrinth.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is mixing things up, and -- for the first eight hours of the game, at least -- the results are pretty great. Skyward Sword's design makes the distinction between overworld and underworld much muddier than in past games. Perhaps that's appropriate, since this adventure divides its world into three layers rather than the usual two. Above the dungeons, you have the overworld; meanwhile, above it all is the realm of Skyloft, best described as an aerial take on Wind Waker's sea. At the heart of Skyloft is a large city held aloft by (one assumes) ancient magic or technology or something, but the skies are littered with floating islands, and Link travels between them on the back of a huge red bird.

Battlefield 3's Single-Player Still Plays Like Terrorist Whack-a-Mole

Posted: 07 Oct 2011 03:00 AM PDT

Battlefield 3 multiplayer is a unique beast. Its current incarnation is influenced by the massive success of Call of Duty, but plays and feels entirely differently. I've put my share of time into the series from the current Battlefield 3 beta all the way back to BF1942 and nothing quite feels the same. However, based the time we spent with BF3's single-player campaign and co-op missions, we can't say the same about them. Depending on who you are, that could be good or bad news.

Battlefield 3's debut series of trailers, Fault Line, showed a game that distinguished itself from its looming competition by taking a more serious and realistic (but not too realistic) look at modern military combat -- less Michael Bay and more Generation Kill. After playing through the Fault Line section in the campaign we can't say this impression is wrong, but there're more set pieces and Michael Bay left in the game than many people are expecting. The two of the three single-player missions we played were effectively the same game of terrorist whack-a-mole as Call of Duty.

VVVVVV 3DS Port Set for Release Later This Year

Posted: 06 Oct 2011 03:55 PM PDT

Excellent 2D indie platformer VVVVVV is headed to the 3DS eShop.

Publisher Nicalis announced today it had reached a deal with designer Terry Cavanagh to bring the unusually-titled game to Nintendo's latest handheld. It was originally released on computers in 2010, making a name for itself with its old-school gameplay and soundtrack, composed by Magnus Pålsson. It's a fairly straightforward platformer where you're able to reverse gravity in order to navigate the environment.

Why Didn't PlayStation Vita Games Go Digital-Only?

Posted: 06 Oct 2011 03:14 PM PDT

PlayStation Vita

Sony may have abandoned the PlayStation Portable's UMD format for Vita, but gamers will still be able to opt for physical copies of games if they so choose. The PSP Go experimented with the idea of a digital-only system in 2009, so why isn't the Vita -- being released in December in Japan and early 2012 elsewhere -- also eschewing physical media? It all comes down to a matter of digital not being right for everyone at this point in time.

"We believe, for some consumers, the time is [right], but for other consumers, the time is still not [right]," Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida told Edge. "So we believe the time is still not right to go download-only as a platform. Some PS Vita titles, like Uncharted: Golden Abyss, will be close to 4GB in size, which could be too large to download for consumers who do not have a fast broadband connection. Also, some consumers like shopping in retail stores, talking to knowledgeable store clerks, buying and playing games on the spot. We do not want to remove that capability from consumers."

Fortunately for those who do wish to abandon the need for physical games, Sony has indicated more than once that all Vita retail games will be available as downloads. (There will be some downloadable games that can't be found at retail, but by and large those should be smaller titles as opposed to something on par with Uncharted.) This is very good news, and it's nice to see Sony learned from the PSP Go. Those who purchased the device had spent a premium to go digital-only and then were unable to play the entire back catalog of PSP games because many titles were not available on the PlayStation Store. To make matters worse, the lack of sales and competitively-priced content (as compared with what could be found at retail) made owning a Go a less than attractive prospect.

Review: Spider-Man Edge of Time Traverses Mediocrity

Posted: 06 Oct 2011 03:03 PM PDT

I like me some cross-over events in comics but I sure hope this is the last time it shows up in a Spider-Man video game for at least a couple of years. Last year's Spidey adventure was split across various dimensions -- this time around we have a time vortex as the central plot device starring Spider-Man 2099 and Amazing Spider-Man in developer Beenox's latest, Spider-Man Edge of Time. It's a capable superhero action game that demonstrates that the team is getting better at crafting a Spider-Man game, but like most comic-licensed properties there is still room for improvement.

The plot itself is... a little silly. But that's why I like my superhero comics. This game nails the whole "comic book mini-series cross-over event" and Peter David (co-creator of Spider-Man 2099) deserves some props for the story. Each of the Spider-Men are well written and performed just as well with O'Hara's inability to take a joke clashing with Parker's wisecracks throughout the adventure.

Pokedex Update and Side Pocket Billiards in This Week's Nintendo Download Update

Posted: 06 Oct 2011 01:28 PM PDT

Side Pocket

Following up on a week where the Nintendo Download update brought both The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition for free and Super Mario Land 2 is an unenviable task. Short of some surprising or rare release, this week was going to seem like a disappointment by comparison. Unfortunately, there's nothing like that to be seen today on any of Nintendo's downloadable services.

3DS owners can check out the classic Game Boy billiards game Side Pocket for $2.99. It features 16-ball and 9-ball versions to play, and while the animation isn't especially great (what did you expect?), playing well presents you with the opportunity to be called a hustler by a young-looking, monochromatic girl as you jump up and basically fly away. (See it for yourself in the trailer on Nintendo's website.)

The other 3DS exclusive item is an update for Pokedex 3D. You can download it by opening the app, hitting the Settings button (the gear icon) in the upper-right corner, and selecting the Update button.

Ravings Rabbids Getting Their Own Nickelodeon TV Show

Posted: 06 Oct 2011 12:13 PM PDT

Raving Rabbids

The Raving Rabbids' connection to Rayman at this point feels nonexistent; since getting their own game in 2006, the crazy, rabbit-like critters have established their own brand. The Rabbids franchise has sold 11 million units to date according to Ubisoft, and whereas Rayman has remained within the realm of videogames, the Rabbids are set to expand to television.

Ubisoft today announced plans to produce a TV series based on the Rabbids franchise. It'll create 78 CG episodes in total, each about seven minutes in length. Nickelodeon will then package three episodes together at a time to create 26 30-minute broadcasts. They'll be aired by Nickelodeon worldwide except in France, Ubisoft's home country; broadcasting company France Télévisions will air the show there and in other French-speaking countries in Europe.

Red Dead Redemption on PC Deemed Unviable

Posted: 06 Oct 2011 11:19 AM PDT

Red Dead Redemption

L.A. Noire was a curious omission on PC given its genre. It launched on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and it was only after weeks of waiting that Rockstar delivered the official word that a PC version would be coming before the year was up. Each time I've covered a story about Noire's PC port, I've mentioned the absence of another Rockstar hit, Red Dead Redemption, on PC -- it's been out for upwards of 16 months and Rockstar has still given no indication it plans to bring the game to computers.

The subject of Red Dead on PC and Rockstar allegedly abandoning the platform came up in an FAQ Rockstar published this week. The answer didn't dive into any specifics, which is what we really want to know, but it did imply RDR on PC wouldn't be viable.

"We hope that with the announcement that L.A. Noire is coming to PC this fall, and the knowledge that our next big game Max Payne 3 will have a PC release (plus that we've released both Grand Theft Auto IV and the Episodes from Liberty City for PC), we can finally put to rest any misconceptions that we've 'abandoned the PC platform,'" the FAQ reads. "We do know that, yes, there is just one title absent from our PC release plans -- that game of course being Red Dead Redemption, and of course we're well aware that some fans have been asking for it.

Max Payne 3 is The Max Payne HD Update You Didn't Know You Wanted

Posted: 06 Oct 2011 09:45 AM PDT

Of all the things I see in a recent hands-off demonstration for Max Payne 3, the exploding hobo takes me by complete surprise.

A Max Payne game carries certain expectations, which are maintained by this new installment. Even though it's being developed by internal Rockstar Studios (specifically, a joint effort from Rockstar Toronto, Vancouver, London, and New England) rather than original developer Remedy Entertainment, series hallmarks such as Max's gruff demeanor, bullet time, and run-and-gun gameplay still make an appearance. And I've seen the early screenshots of a very bald Max shooting his way through Brazil already, so that doesn't surprise me. But a crazed hobo wielding a shotgun and some grenades? Yea, that stands out.

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron Announced

Posted: 06 Oct 2011 09:44 AM PDT

Transformers Fall of Cybertron

A sequel to last year's surprisingly good Transformers: War for Cybertron is in development at High Moon Studios.

The new game, Transformers: Fall of Cybertron, was unveiled today by Game Informer. Details are very scant, but after how War for Cybertron turned out, Transformers fans should be quite pleased to hear another original game is in the works after the movie-inspired Dark of the Moon turned out to be a disappointment.

The civil war between the Autobots and Decepticons continues to rage on in Fall of Cybertron; unfortunately for those eager to know what will happen, we only have that and the name to go on at this point as far as story details go. Well, that and an image of Optimus Prime lifting up Bumblebee, who seems to be dead (or close to it).

Posted by Shri Krishna

Total Pageviews

statcounter

View My Stats