General gaming

General gaming

A Change in Tactics for Metal Gear Rising

Posted: 22 Sep 2012 09:31 PM PDT

You know how modern action games work; surely you've played a few. You move into position to start wailing on a bad guy, he winds up for a response, and you either hit the evasion button or the block button to avoid taking damage. I don't recall exactly when this style of action became the standard -- maybe God of War canonized it? -- but just about any action game worth its salt has some sort of get-out-of-jail-free button to keep players safe and ensure your victory as long as you can master a modicum of timing to roll out of a slow-flying missile's splash damage radius in time.

But not Metal Gear Rising. Platinum Games has elected to take a different approach to player defense for their action-game take on the Metal Gear universe, and it'll take some getting used to. My session on the TGS show floor ended in horrible failure, because I kept trying to figure out how to break away from foes with the one-button block or defense skill. Why wouldn't Raiden hold up his sword to protect himself, like Ninja Gaiden's Ryu? Why wouldn't he simply roll invincible away from danger, like Kratos? And I wasn't alone in my consternation; every other game writer I spoke to who had tested the new TGS Rising demo observed the same experience.

An Oral History of Japanese Games

Posted: 22 Sep 2012 05:30 PM PDT

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1UP COVER STORY

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1UP COVER STORY | WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 17 | RETHINKING JAPAN

An Oral History of Japanese Games

Cover Story: A celebration of Japanese video games by the people who love them.

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ll this week, you've had the chance to read several stories by 1UP staff and contributors about Japanese games and game designers. But for the end of this Japan-focused cover story, we've decided to cap things off by asking our community (and a few notable friends) for the various reasons they treasure Japanese games. Thanks again to everyone who submitted their thoughts, and if you didn't get a chance, please contribute via the comments section! As usual, your input is always welcome.

A Window into a Different Culture
Posted by Shri Krishna

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