General gaming

General gaming

Four Ways Publishers Will Use Wii U's NFC

Posted: 27 Jan 2012 07:15 AM PST

Nintendo's newly-announced Near Field Communication (NFC) technology allows the Wii U controller to exchange wireless data with outside objects -- similar to last year's Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure game and figurines. Company president, Satoru Iwata, announced the device at an investors meeting, but gave little information as to how the company intends to utilize it. Developers may find creative uses for this tech, but we think it's likely that publishers will try to milk money out of consumers in the four ways below.

1) Micropayments

Iwata only gave one explicit example of how the NFC tech might be used, "micropayments." He didn't elaborate beyond that one word, but this probably means Wii point cards will no longer come with scratch codes. Instead, Nintendo will probably sell cards with NFC chips. Swipe it and points will be added to your Nintendo Network account.

Five Ways Skyward Sword Went Wrong

Posted: 26 Jan 2012 03:10 PM PST

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Five Ways Skyward Sword Went Wrong

How Nintendo's latest Zelda dropped what once made the series so legendary.

By: Bob Mackey January 26, 2012

Since its humble 8-bit beginnings, Nintendo's Legend of Zelda series acted as the frontrunner for both game design and technology, offering well-crafted worlds much larger and content-heavy than its competitors. Just as Link's debut proved the true potential of the NES, Ocarina of Time convinced the world that polygonal third-person gaming could be more than an ambitious-but-clumsy mess. Soon after Zelda's monumental N64 installment, the series expanded its scope by playing with time travel (Majora's Mask), and opening up an entire ocean of possibilities for young Link to explore (The Wind Waker); but from 2006's Twilight Princess onwards, The Legend of Zelda swapped its once-daring nature for a more eager-to-please, conservative philosophy which proves irritating for those who've stuck with the series for more than two decades. Skyward Sword is the latest victim of Nintendo's one-size-fits-all style of game design, and as a result, falls short of the potential possible from a studio overflowing with talent.

Skyward Sword is not a bad game, but a deeply frustrating one. Baby steps like user-dictated UI options, impeccable motion controls, and an evolution in dungeon design show that Nintendo may be on the right track in some respects, but the following flaws of Skyward Sword do their best to pin down this formerly free-roaming series.

Steam Mobile App Lets You Shop and Chat From Your Phone

Posted: 26 Jan 2012 01:50 PM PST

Steam Mobile

Valve has at long last released a Steam app mobile phones which brings with it much of Steam's core functionality.

The app can be downloaded now for iOS and Android devices, but not everyone can make use of it just yet. With the app still in beta, Valve will be allowing gamers in as time goes on. In order to enroll for the beta, you'll want to download the app, sign in with your Steam account, and then hope you're selected.

Resident Evil Revelations Offers the First Blockbuster 3DS Game

Posted: 26 Jan 2012 11:30 AM PST

We live in a world where the increased processing power of dedicated gaming portables can bring some of our wildest handheld video game fantasies to life; and in many ways the scope and scale of Resident Evil Revelations serves as proof of those ambitions. The goal seems simple enough: Take the blockbuster formula of RE and make it portable. But in the end the level of execution on that promise remains key, and the limitations of the format can undo the boldest attempt. While distilling any blockbuster franchise down to a portable experience seems like a daunting task (especially for Resident Evil), Revelations proves the idea's potential in this new age of handhelds; but it also brings to light some of the limitations inherent to the platform.

Adhering closely to the mold of Shinji Mikami's Resident Evil renaissance title RE4, Revelations follows the survival-action model of the past two console installments. The controls, perspective, and mechanics support the idea that Mikami's influential installment is the future of RE; but there are also indications of iteration and refinement present at the same time. The ability to move and shoot lifts a huge burden from the series; and one that's stood out prominently over the past few years. Hallelujah, right? Capcom finally delivers controls we've been waiting for in a RE game.

Netflix Ditches Plans for Game Rentals

Posted: 26 Jan 2012 11:24 AM PST

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Netflix bewildered nearly everyone last year when it announced it would separate its streaming and DVD-by-mail services into distinct brands. There was a piece of good news in all of it, and that was Netflix's intention to add game rentals to the newly revealed Qwikster. But between the negative backlash and confusion generated through this plan, which looked to be an attempt to move away from the DVD-by-mail business it made its name on, plans for Qwikster were dropped and the prospect of game rentals was called into question.

As a part of Netflix's Q4 earnings report conference call, CEO Reed Hastings stated there are "no plans" to begin offering videogames in addition to DVDs and Blu-rays, Engadget reports. It's an understandable decision as the company's mailing service is clearly in decline and its future lies with streaming content. So barring any interest in acquiring a company like OnLive or Gaikai (or developing its own technology) games and Netflix won't have anything to do with one another in the near future. And it's a very unlikely scenario to change as Netflix is faced with enough problems in acquiring streaming video content; it doesn't want to pay more money on a per-user basis in licensing fees but wants to continue growing its user base. Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter is among those who are skeptical such a scenario is possible.

The Witcher 2 Plays Best on The Xbox 360

Posted: 26 Jan 2012 10:00 AM PST

I hate to confess it, but I'm a bit of a PC snob. When given the choice, I'll often pick a shoddy console-to-PC port over an arguably superior 360/PS3 native version of a game. There's just something about knowing that I'm not playing the best looking version of a game. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, for example, played amazingly on consoles, but I couldn't resist the call of the incredibly minor graphical updates sported by the PC version -- even if all my friends played the game elsewhere; and make no mistake, the best parts of the game don't reveal themselves until you start challenging your friend's Autolog records.

I walked into a console demo for The Witcher 2 with these biases firmly intact -- only to find myself contemplating abandoning my current PC Witcher 2 playthrough in order to tackle it fresh on the 360. From the graphics to the controls, every change in the Witcher 2 came as a pleasant surprise.

Posted by Shri Krishna

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