General gaming

General gaming

OP-ED: I'm Ecstatic Over Double Fine's New Adventure Game, But I Feel Uncomfortable Donating

Posted: 08 Feb 2012 08:20 PM PST

As if the creator of Minecraft funding a dream project from a veteran game designer was not crazy and exciting enough of an idea, Double Fine may have just topped it. One day after Markus "Notch" Persson proposed Mojang help to make Psychonauts 2 a reality, the developer of Psychonauts is turning to fans to bankroll a new, old-school adventure game.

Using Kickstarter, a fundraising platform that has been employed by independent game developers and documentarians alike, Double Fine is looking to raise $400,000. $300,000 of that will be used to fund the PC game's development, while the other $100,000 will be used to document the entire development process. 2 Player Productions, the same group that produced a documentary on the early development of Minecraft at Mojang, has already been tapped to create the documentary, which will be made available in monthly installments for those who back the project. Any money raised beyond the $400,000 will be used to pay for things like extra voiceover work or bringing the game to additional platforms like Mac and iOS.

OP-ED: How Vita Can Avoid The PSP's Fate

Posted: 08 Feb 2012 03:00 PM PST

Read the latest in portable gaming news, and you might think it's 2005 all over again -- but not quite. Though Sony's higher-priced-and-powered piece of tech is once again up against a Nintendo product with a retail head-start, the former handheld doesn't seem like the destined winner this time around. For Vita, competition is stiff: Nintendo's 3DS took only eight months to match the shaky first year of DS sales, and, unlike the PSP's early days, the smartphone market currently provides a multitude of cheaper options for gaming on the go (not to mention multimedia features matching Sony's offerings). And while Vita's hardware fixes many of the PSP's flaws, power alone won't win this arms race; instead, Sony will have to rely on strategies beyond pushing the HD angle.

Review: Rhythm Heaven Fever Masterfully Proves the Power of Physical Buttons

Posted: 08 Feb 2012 03:00 PM PST

Playing Rhythm Heaven Fever reminds me of the dozens of iPhone games I've tried over the last three years. It contains the same type of simple challenges and single tap mechanics as Canabalt or Groove Coaster. Despite the responsive touch provided by an iOS device, somehow an experience like this feels better with buttons -- the sense of feedback is much more tactile and provides less room for error. It probably helps to remember that this single button idea is something Nintendo put to use a long time ago -- specifically in Rhythm Heaven's GBA debut back in 2006 -- and its sheer simplicity, attractiveness, and execution make Fever a notable representation of the idea.

For those unfamiliar with Rhythm Heaven's charms, the series combines a fun and flexible minigame setup with a lot of catchy tunes -- offering a playful approach to playing a music game that's inspired, unique, and surprisingly simple. All mechanics revolve around the A and B buttons of the Wii Remote -- a move that returns the series to its original GBA roots versus the slightly awkward tap, hold, and flick mechanics of the DS game.

How Windows 8 Could Change Casual Games

Posted: 08 Feb 2012 02:51 PM PST

What do you think of when you read or hear the phrase "casual games?" Long considered a dirty word amongst a vocal minority of "hardcore gamers," casual games are undergoing a transformation thanks to new distribution models that make gaming on PC easier than plug & play consoles. A newly leaked list of games available on the upcoming "Consumer Preview" version of Windows 8 provides a glimpse into the future of casual games, and it's a lot more "hardcore" than you'd expect.

Windows 8

Similar to the Mac and Google Chrome app stores, Windows 8 will offer its own software portal for easy to install applications. Called the Window's Store, it will carry the following 10 games during the preview period:

With Sony's Credit Downgraded, Vita Could be Doing Things Better

Posted: 08 Feb 2012 01:38 PM PST

Kaz Hirai Vita

Kaz Hirai, who was recently named the new CEO and president of Sony, accepted the job knowing he would be walking into a difficult position. Sony is not in the greatest of positions right now, and Hirai was not shy in admitting it. "I thought turning around the PlayStation business was going to be the toughest challenge of my career, but I guess not," he told the Wall Street Journal last month. "It's one issue after another. I feel like 'Holy s***, now what?'"

The latest such issue has to do with Sony's credit rating. A week after Hirai was officially confirmed as Howard Stringer's successor, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered the long-term credit rating of Sony from an A- to BBB+, placing it just two grades above junk bonds (but still well below the AA+ rating the United States was cut to in August). The downgrade follows similar moves by both Moody's Investors Service and Fitch Ratings, as well as a poor third quarter performance Sony reported the details of last week. In addition to revealing a substantial loss for the quarter ended December 31, 2011, Sony projected a loss of $2.87 billion for the full fiscal year. Needless to say that is not good, with S&P deeming the outlook "negative" for Sony's long-term corporate credit rating.

3DS Circle Pad Pro Review: Weird, But Not So Bad

Posted: 08 Feb 2012 10:31 AM PST

Jeremy: The 3DS Circle Pad Pro -- affectionately (I think) known as the Frankenstick -- is finally out in the U.S. this week. It's a weird creature for a lot of reasons. The design of it, its function, the way it only connects through the I.R. port and has to be supported by individual games rather than at the system level, the way it's a retailer-exclusive... Yeah, I don't even know what to think about this thing. You've used it a lot more than anyone else at the office, Jose. What do you think of it?

Jose: Ever since the day we first unboxed it, I've been surprised by how comfortable the Circle Pad Pro feels in my hands. The rounded edges and concave bottom really feel great despite the amount of bulk it adds to the system. I used the Circle Pad to play through Resident Evil Revelations for my review, and I firmly believe its the best way to play the game, even down to the effective use of the triggers to replace actions you'd normally see on the face buttons. The Circle Pad Pro gives publishers and developers a tacked-on solution for future action and shooter games that need a second analog, but I wonder if that's ever been part of Nintendo's portable market?

It does feel slightly awkward to recommend anyone buy a Circle Pad Pro, because so few games actually support it. Outside of Metal Gear 3DS and Kingdom Hearst Dream Drop Distance, what else is there? I know I said that having one is the best way to play Revelations, and Metal Gear comes out on February 21st, but I don't see anything in the near future to keep support for this thing alive. Using the Circle Pad Pro also makes playing a 3DS in public feel slightly less attractive. It reminds me of all those peripherals that came out for the original Game Boy -- some included magnified screen attachments and bigger buttons, and made the fun of gaming on a portable system look questionable. I'd pass a guy using all that on the subway and think, "Man, that looks terrible." In this case, I'd have my 3DS and Circle Pad Pro and the guy next to be is just swiping away on his iPad.

The Wild And Wacky Challenge Tower of Mortal Kombat Vita

Posted: 08 Feb 2012 09:00 AM PST

I can't help but smile while witnessing some of the wacky challenges of Mortal Kombat for PlayStation Vita. One has me attempting to juggle an MK character using missiles fired from the lower part of the Vita's touch screen -- think Missile Command but with an MK twist. Another involves a tug of war mechanic, but also feels like a jab at the popular casual game Fruit Ninja at the same time: A character standing across from my MK fighter throws a handful of items, and the goal is to slice objects he tosses in order to build up a special meter. The twist is that you have to also block incoming grenades by pressing and holding a finger on the screen.

I get to see more examples of the all-new Vita-specific Challenge Tower -- a mode from last year's excellent MK reboot that adds objectives to the notoriously bloody violence already on display -- and I can't help but feel impressed. Each new challenge looks wackier than the last, and highlights the kind of creative ideas developers can realize due to the multiple input types built into Sony's new gaming machine. Another challenge splatters blood across the screen each time my character gets hit, and I have to quickly wipe the blood off using my finger to see what's happening.

Posted by Shri Krishna

Total Pageviews

statcounter

View My Stats