General gaming

General gaming

Review: Skyrim Spans 16 Square Miles of RPG Excellence

Posted: 10 Nov 2011 05:01 AM PST

Between the two of them, Jeremy Parish and Thierry Nguyen have invested more than 125 hours into The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim -- enough to see the two main quest lines to completion, but still not enough to have explored all the game has to offer, by far. Still, their combined experiences (not to mention their wildly different play styles) give them a clear sense of Skyrim's strengths and weakness.

Jeremy: Why do you play video games? And what do you expect from them? Do you seek challenge? Entertainment? Competition? Escapism? Relief for boredom? A compelling story? Bragging rights? Intellectual stimulation? Put all of these motives and interests into a matrix; few corners would be left untouched by Skyrim. It's a vast game, as enormous in the physical real estate it occupies as it in the breadth of material it provides within those virtual boundaries. About all it doesn't do is multiplayer.

Metal Gear Solid: HD Collection is a Hat Trick of Awesomeness

Posted: 09 Nov 2011 03:05 PM PST

Even as our consumer rights are slowly whittled away by binding arbitration clauses, draconian DRM, and "online passes," we gamers still remain an awfully spoiled lot. And if you don't believe me, here's a stunning example: the asking price of the original NES Metal Gear in 1988? 50 American dollars. The cost of a fully remastered bundle containing Metal Gear Solid 2, Metal Gear Solid 3, and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (not to mention bonus remakes of the original MSX Metal Gears 1 and 2), purchased in 2011? 50 American dollars. As a pure value proposition, that's nearly impossible to beat; and, given the amount of finely crafted video game content contained in this little package, it's unlikely that you'll find a better disc to grace the system of your choice -- though it helps to be on board with the polarizing quirks of the Metal Gear series.

As a disclaimer, I feel it necessary to admit I'm a fan of most things Metal Gear, though it's equally important to inform you that I haven't let fanboyism shield me from its many flaws. Regardless of its various missteps, though, Metal Gear remains one of the few gaming franchises that exists solely as an auteurist expression, something that's becoming increasingly rare in these design-by-committee days of game development. That said, either you jive with Hideo Kojima's unique brand of lunacy, or you don't; and no amount of high-def polish is going to change your mind. While the Peace Walker portion of this collection has been granted a much-needed overhaul to controls and online play, parts 2 and 3 are simply prettier -- and these were very pretty games to begin with. Many would argue this collection provides the perfect opportunity to revamp the odd controls of Solids 2 and 3 (which were idiosyncratic at the time), but you only have to look at how Silicon Knights' attempt to do just this in The Twin Snakes resulted in a horribly broken game -- and besides, it's highly unlikely that Hideo Kojima would allow Bluepoint Games to alter even a byte of his legacy.

Miyamoto Still Intrigued by A Link to the Past 3D

Posted: 09 Nov 2011 02:57 PM PST

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

Following the 3D remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for 3DS, Majora's Mask seems like the natural choice for Nintendo's next remake project. The company is instead working on an original Zelda game for 3DS because it didn't want to release back-to-back remakes. While Majora's Mask 3D may end up happening -- fans asking for it will only help its chances -- it's not the only Zelda game that may end up with a 3D remake.

Earlier this year, Shigeru Miyamoto talked about how more game remakes on 3DS are a lock. When it comes to Zelda, it's A Link to the Past he'd like to see next.

The Simpsons Arcade Game Rated in Australia

Posted: 09 Nov 2011 01:46 PM PST

A port of classic side-scrolling beat-em-up The Simpsons Arcade Game appears to be in the works at Backbone Entertainment.

Australia's ratings board popped up with a listing for the beloved title yesterday that showed Backbone as its developer and Konami as its publisher. Konami was responsible for the game's original release in 1991 so it's no surprise to see it back for this project, which would presumably be coming to both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 as a downloadable title. An iOS version was released in 2009 that looked rather nice but wasn't nearly as much fun as the original.

The Historical Inaccuracies of Assassin's Creed

Posted: 09 Nov 2011 12:50 PM PST

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The Historical Inaccuracies of Assassin's Creed

Four reasons you might not want to cite the Assassin's series in your next term paper.

By: Scott Sharkey November 9, 2011

Assassin's Creed has a knack for weaving scientific and historical facts in and out of a fantastical tale of ancient conspiracies and hilarious ultra-violence. Meanwhile, for all the time we spend marveling at accurately presented old world architecture and associated historical factoids, we spend almost as much time twitching one eye at ludicrous oversights and inaccuracy. Sure, it's a rollicking James Bond-esque tale where reality sometimes takes a back seat to spectacle and action. We're prepared to accept stuff like ol' Leo DaVinci's prototype parachute actually accomplishing anything besides turning your assassin ass into piazza pizza, but sometimes the game goes beyond Hudson Hawk levels of crazy and takes our suspension of disbelief out behind the barn and shoots it in the back of the head with an unerringly accurate 16th century automatic handgun.

Unerringly Accurate 16th Century Automatic Handguns

Joining the Game of Thrones RPG and RTS is an MMO

Posted: 09 Nov 2011 12:38 PM PST

Game of Thrones

The first game based on A Song of Ice and Fire, a real-time strategy game known as A Game of Thrones: Genesis, was released just over a month ago. An RPG known simply as Game of Thrones is also in development, and that's not the only game in the works based on George R.R. Martin's epic novel series -- at least two more are on the way.

The first of these two, according to USA Today, is an MMORPG. It's being developed by Bigpoint, the company responsible for the browser-based MMO Battlestar Galactica Online, among many other, lesser-known games.

World of Warcraft Subscriptions Continue to Fall

Posted: 09 Nov 2011 10:49 AM PST

World of Warcraft Mists of Pandaria

The latest Activision Blizzard investors conference call has revealed World of Warcraft's subscriber base continues to shrink. Roughly 800,000 subscriptions were lost over a span of about three months, and while that's a pretty substantial number no matter how you slice it, it's not as if it's about to put Blizzard out of business.

In August the company reported WoW had 11.1 million members; that figure has since dropped to 10.3 million, reports GamesIndustry.biz. Blizzard's CEO Mike Morhaime is happy to note that number is still enough to make it "by far the most popular subscription-based MMO in the world." It's also still "one of the most popular online games in China," a market where the largest number of those 800,000 lost subscriptions came from.

Review: Super Mario 3D Land Plays It a Little Too Safe to Truly Excel

Posted: 09 Nov 2011 10:00 AM PST

I make a leap for the platform, catapulting across open air to reach the nearest thing to terra firma in sight: A sheet of what appears to be a giant shortbread cookie, scrolling past with alarming swiftness. But I haven't built up quite enough momentum and, after snagging briefly on the front edge, I plummet unceremoniously to my doom. "TOO BAD," I'm consoled as my doomed hero dies with a falsetto caterwaul.

No matter; this isn't the first time I've died at this spot, and it turns out not to be the last, either. I'm trying to make a tricky series of jumps in a bonus level, and I'm burning through my stock of reserve Marios at a prodigious rate. But extra lives are handed out like candy in Super Mario 3D Land. In fact, as easy as it is to collect coins and 1UP mushrooms in this game, the concept of lives and continues seems a mere formality.

Revamped Xbox.com Adding Xbox Live Beacons Soon

Posted: 09 Nov 2011 09:50 AM PST

Xbox.com redesign

A fall dashboard update is on the way by the end of the year. Before that hits, Xbox.com will be getting an update to introduce some new functionality.

As detailed in an Xbox.com blog, the My Xbox section of the site is being replaced with a new Social section. The big addition is the ability to browse and set Beacons, a form of notification that allows you to broadcast what games you're interested in playing online, as well as specific details, such as a specific time or mode. Up to three can be set at a time, each with their own custom description.

Posted by Shri Krishna

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