One of the biggest problems gamers have is that they seem addicted to scooping up endless sequels and reiterations of a game, and then turning around and complain about them. Would we still complain if a sequel was completely different from its predecessor though?
Peter Molyneux thinks that is what Fable III is, and that's one of the reasons he's just so super excited about it. Speaking with Switched, he said, "We could make Fable III like any sequel. Surely we know what the world is now and the game mechanics. You know, 'now is not the time to experiment.' But no, I think my point is that we need to surprise people."
Of course Mario has been switching up his formula each game since day one, but we'll pretend this was yet another stroke of genius from Molyneux. Should we believe that Fable III is redefining the franchise or is this just more hot air?
German and British people, it's time for free stuff! The fine fellows at Telltale Games are giving away free episodes of Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People in both of your respective countries. Residents of either country who own a Wii simply have to fill out a survey and they get the game.
The survey is all about fun things like videogames and other forms of entertainment so it's super easy to take. The running time is about ten minutes, but I bet you can finish it faster. I've got faith in your ability to speed read.
Once you've defeated the survey and its remains lay before you, you will receive the second chapter of the Strong Bad games, titled "Strong Badia the Free." They'll send it to you over the internet, so make sure you have your friend code at the ready.
As seen on Weekend Destructainment: Porn Stars playing Dungeons & Dragons. [Via The Escapist]
What classic IP should Sega resurrect next, SWE3tMadness wrote one of the best Community Blogs so far this year, Final Fantasy XIII sells over 1 million, Killzone 3 is confirmed, one of the original Left 4 Dead survivors will die in the next DLC and more happened over the weekend.
Listen, when the zombie apocalypse comes you're not going to make it out alive. There's a flowchart to prove it. Game Informer tossed this guy together to illustrate the many ways that a videogame zombie apocalypse will kill you.
Survival really isn't an option when it comes down to the dead rising. Even if you don't die you'll just be going to a sequel where you will. The only choice you really have is how it's going to end. I think going out in a blaze of lifeless-corpse destroying glory is better than being woken up from a cryogenic sleep and then being eaten by the space zombies wandering your now abandoned ship.
The best part of this flowchart isn't the sarcastic commentary on videogame tropes, it's the fact that it actually works in Plants vs. Zombies.
I was going to feature the brilliant new music video for Hot Chip's "I Feel Better" for our Games of the Week post, but finding a vid without embedding disabled is impossible, so there shall be no promotion. Shame, because it really is quite brilliant. You ought to go and check it out yourselves if you can be arsed.
In other news, we played videogames! Read on to find out which ones!
"Wrapped up FF13, GoW3, had to play Moto GP 09/10 which sucked at first (on an SDTV) but was surprisingly better on my own tv. Also finished Uncharted 2, and agree with Matt on it. Really great ga..."more
What is all this talk about Nintendo not making adult games? The video above clearly shows that WarioWare D.I.Y. is heavily gunning for "Most Violent Game of the Year," and at the moment seems to have a healthy lead in the "Nailing Someone to a Cross" category.
It's not clear who the wonderfully demented person that came up with all of these is, but it is clear that you can pretty much do whatever the hell you want in D.I.Y. As we previously pointed out in our preview, it's surprisingly easy to do it as well.
I'm going to have trouble shaking the image from my mind of Wario maniacally laughing after watching someone get beheaded by a saw. I'm sure his laughter looked friendly once, but it will now haunt my dreams forever.
Want to save the world? Play videogames more. That's what director of game R&D at the Institute for the Future Jane McGonigal is saying you need to do.
In a speech given at TED 2010, a conference where smart people spread smart ideas, she argues that if humanity played 21 billion hours of games every week we would pick up the skills required to solve all the world's problems. She even calls gamers "super-empowered hopeful individuals" because when gaming we have an actual drive to overcome challenges and a belief that we can accomplish anything. It is when we switch to reality that we lose these beliefs.
The solution? Achievements for reality. If you apply the reward system of games to reality people start changing the world in order to get to what she awesomely calls an "epic win." The complete strategy to unlocking world peace is revealed in the video below.
"The achievements in reality thing was Schell imo, this one is talking about how games work better to lure us in with short term problem solving engagement and totally forgets that 99% of us don't..."more
I'm not going to review Metro 2033. I haven't made it past the third chapter of the game, and I doubt I'll ever make it any further.
It's not that Metro 2033 is irredeemably awful, or anything. It's got some good points, which I'll get into after the jump. But there was a moment when I was playing -- a sudden, awful, awe-inspiring moment -- when I realized I would no longer be able to tolerate the game any longer, and would be incapable of writing a proper review.
You can hit the jump for my incomplete thoughts on the game, but don't go looking for a numerical score. You won't find one.
"Dont really understand what Jim or Anthony are talking about.
I completed this game on normal difficulty and thought it was one of the easier games i played lately. Thinking about giving it anoth..."more
There are almost 500 Pokémon in the world, and that's a lot. With so many unique and varied pocket monsters out there, it can be hard to separate the wheat from the chaff and determine which creatures are the best. Of course, if you're smart and hip with the kids like I am, then you already know the answer. In fact, the answer was in the very first Pokémon games ever made.
Obviously, Ekans is the best Pokémon.
Ekans is absolute. I cannot stop thinking about Ekans. Some of you might think that this is a ridiculous forced meme that is being beaten into the ground, but it's more than that. I believe in Ekans, and I want you to believe as well. If you do not agree that Ekans is the best Pokémon, I will prove it to you, right here and right now. I need you to understand what I am saying here.
[Editor's Note: We're not just a (rad) news site -- we also publish opinions/editorials from our community & employees like this one, though be aware that it may not jive with the opinions of Destructoid as a whole, or how our moms raised us. Want to post your own article in response? Publish it now on our community blogs.]
It's a sad fact of life, but cold hard cash is the ultimate caveat. The truth is, almost any rule can be circumvented if Benjamin Franklin is a member of the negotiating team.
A little paper pressed discretely into the palm gets you past the velvet rope at the club while the masses stand and gripe. A high-dollar attorney turns jail time into community service. Even in the Middle Ages, indulgences meant carte blanche on all the deadly sins you could get on the scoreboard; a vigorous jingle of your coin purse was like shaking the Etch-a-Sketch of your soul back into a blissful tabula rasa.
When it comes to moral standards in digital entertainment, the game is no different. There's one set of rules for the heavy hitters; meanwhile, everyone else is told to "do as I say, not as I let those other guys do."
How do you review a game that has simultaneously brought you endless frustration and endless wonder? A game that has made you want to throw the controller and keep your eyes glued to the screen with a dropped jaw all at once? Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon is a conundrum. A deep, dark, desolate and thoroughly beautiful experience married to an aggravating, repetitive and lacking game.
Fragile Dreams is brilliant. It is also quite bad. Yet it is also very good.
How do you review a game like this? Very much like this game's intrepid hero, Seto, you just keep walking aimlessly in the dark and hope you find something. Then you get kicked in the back by a giggling pair of ghost legs that appeared out of nowhere.
Did I mention this game is weird as Hell, too? Read on as we try to review Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon.
Look with interest at these winners for our "F .. K in the coffee" Deadly Premonition contest. At the beginning of the week, we charged Destructoid readers with the task of FK'ing in their coffee for a chance to win a copy of Deadly Premonition for the Xbox 360, along with a promo poster. It was a hard fought contest, but we have finally picked three winners, haven't we Zach?
Here are the three winners that stood out, crisp as a clear spring morning:
Shadowii: For randomness and EKANS
Instant_Awesome: For being just too damn clever
BeardedUnderdog: For the ridiculous video you see above
Congratulations to our winners and thank you for all taking part. If you are a winner, please use the Destructoid frontpage Private Message feature to send me a shipping address. Ignition will then send you your prizes. Be sure to keep reading Destructoid for more hot contests, too!
BioShock 2's "Sinclair Solutions Test Pack" DLC offers new playable characters, a third weapon upgrade level, five more masks, 20 new trials and the level cap has been raised to 50. The extra content is going for $5 and we have ten codes to give away this weekend for the PlayStation 3 version of the game!
All you need to do to enter is leave a comment with either your favorite character, weapon or Plasmid ability that has appeared in either the original BioShock or in BioShock 2. You can enter as many times as you like and contest is open worldwide.
You have until Sunday at 11:59PM CDT to leave a comment below. Good luck!
Destructoid just turned four-years-old this past week. It's been a very wild ride and old man Niero shares with us some of the experiences he's had in the past few years running this crazy robotic beast.
On Destructoid, we present to you the most immature thing we've ever done at Destructoid. On Japanator, Japanator AM continues to rock out awesome episodes. And on Tomopop, the Miyazawa Model Exhibition 2010 contains some awesome figures.
Destructoid is an independently-run publication forged by our love of video games and the gaming community's need of accountable enthusiast press living the dream since March 16, 2006
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22 minutes ago - 3:00 AM on 03.22.2010 
Games of the week for 03/21/10: No Hot Chip edition
