Back from PAX and thinking "Man, I would have had much more fun had I dressed up as my favorite videogame character"? There's always next year, and have you considered being a Silent Hill nurse?
Our sister site Japanator has a full-on detailed tutorial on how to make your very own Silent Hill nurse mask. All you need is a dummy head, toilet paper, turpentine, and some other crap and… viola! A terrifying Silent Hill nurse mask to call your own.
No really, it's terrifying; by the time it gets to the last steps, it looks like they're working with rotten meat. Or dog feces. How authentic!
The 3DS is amazing! It's like real life, but BETTER!
We revealed our game of the show for PAX Prime 2010, Jim chatted with Randy Pitchford on Duke Nukem Forever, Sundays with Sagat is over for now, a lucky community member got to check out Enslaved: Odyssey to the West and more happened on 09/08/10.
If nothing else, you have to give credit to Locomalito for excelling at capturing the essence of aged, beloved videogames. And hell, they have the best faux old-school box art I've ever seen. First there was the shoot-'em-up Hydorah, and now we have L'Abbaye des Morts.
It's a platformer in the same vein as Matthew Smith ZX Spectrum titles Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy. Sold yet? Well, it is a free download, so that's okay. The influences are a little before my time, but I can appreciate what Locomalito is going for nonetheless.
"Downloading. I fucking love Hydorah. I checked out a couple of there old games and while most of them are interesting; they lack polish and quality. But Hydorah is "ffffffuuuuuuuuuuuu awesoomneee..."more
The first of hopefully many Blizzard-made StarCraft II custom maps is out, and it's called "Burning Tide."
As you might expect based on the name and attached screenshot, why yes, this is based on the stellar single-player mission "The Devil's Playground" in which you fight against lava swells to collect precious minerals with an army of SCVs.
It's been tailored for three-on-three matches, and you're still supposed to collect minerals to win, but everyone's just going to kill each other instead. Go on, try it out.
"proper MMM harassment has been pretty good for me. Hellion drops work well too.
I havent tried it but, going zerg- nydus canal tomfoolery seems like a lulzy plan."more
If you were at PAX Prime this year, you don't need me to tell you how successful the show was. Merely walking around the packed show floor -- or anywhere nearby downtown Seattle -- told you everything. You literally couldn't walk the streets at any time of the day (or night) without spotting a lanyard.
Such a cool feeling, huh? I suppose if you want to make it all official-like, you're going to want hard data. By Penny Arcade's count, the convention brought in 67,600 people. Compare that to last year's 60,750. We can probably expect to see even more off-site locales next year, if trends continue.
By the way, did anything ever come of that orgy? Was it a success? Inquiring minds need to know!
So look, at the risk of sounding like I'm wearing a money hat (is that something you can hear?), I'll say it: I really liked what I've played of Enslaved. Enough so that, unless it takes a dive in its last half, Ninja Theory's game looks like a winner in my book.
So you know, go ahead and pre-order it; it wouldn't be the worst game-related decision you could make this fall. Depending on where you pre-order it, you'll get a little bonus -- downloadable in-game costumes for Enslaved's duo, Monkey and Trip.
Pre-order it from GameStop, get "Ninja Monkey," which gives you unlimited ammo for your staff. Pre-order from Walmart, get "Classic Monkey," and see improved melee damage. Pre-order from Best Buy get… "Sexy Robot" trip? Apparently, she'll augment Monkey's stun blasts, melee stun charge attacks, and her own EMP blasts. Also, she's "sexy."
The game is out October 5. You can see portions of the game's opening chapter here, and don't forget to read our (ridiculously glowing) preview.
As a cash register display in Seattle once told me, "Buy more ... feel good!" Something like that, anyway.
If you haven't already committed to getting Halo: Reach elsewhere, it's worth mentioning that Kmart has a pretty slick promotion in the works. From September 14 through the 18th, you'll receive a $25 off coupon for your next game purchase when you buy any version of Reach in store.
You also get $25 off instantly if you grab one of the following titles with your Bungie purchase: H.A.W.X. 2, R.U.S.E., Modern Warfare 2, Singularity, Transformers: War for Cybertron, Blur, Split Second, Kane and Lynch 2, Super Street Fighter IV, Lost Planet 2, Final Fantasy XIII, Just Cause 2, Nier, Dark Star One: Broken Alliance, Alpha Protocol, Resonance of Fate, Metro 2033, Ninety Nine Nights 2.
Destructoid would like to congratulate Super Meat Boy as our official PAX 10 Game Of The Show, an honor only second to waking up alone at Sizzler during the lunch buffet. I had a chance to check the game out personally on a pair of headsets and the meaty sound effects alone are worth the ticket of admission. Congratulations to Team Meat! Some of our community members also named it their game of the show: check our Ryan's impressions.
We'd also like to recognize our nominees: our editors are some of the toughest to please in the industry, so if even a few of them can agree on a title's worth, it must be damn good. Here's our PAX Best of Show winners in no particular order:
Congratulations, everyone! As Jordan eloquently put it, PAX 10 was a big win for the small guys. It was no surprise to me when so many of our editor's votes came back with a few titles that rarely see the spotlight. The next Destructoid awards will be handed out soon as we gear up for the Tokyo Game Show, followed by our Game of the Year during the holidays while you're drunk with grandmother. I'm debating hosting that one at a boxing ring.
I have such mixed feelings about Mindjack, the Square-Enix-published title from Feelplus that puts the player in the role of an FIA agent in search of a missing woman. I haven't cared for anything that Square Enix has published or developed in some time. On the other hand, Feelplus made it, who also made Lost Odyssey, one of my favorite RPGs of the past five years. What shall I do? CONFLICT!
Well, it looks as if for now, I can't do much of anything, because the game is being delayed to 2011. Siliconera spoke with a Square Enix representative who confirmed that the October 2010 release has been nixed, pushing the game into "sometime neat year" territory.
Maybe the delay will help to address the clunky-looking movement we spotted earlier this year at E3. Any of you keeping an eye out for this one?
"I also like the premise but haven't touched a S-E game other than the fantastic just cause 2. Lost odyssey was great but I have to agree with RaidenFan, that was probably due to mistwalker. Still..."more
Hey PC gamers! Remember Dungeon Keeper? Remember using your Hand of Evil to slap your imps and working really hard to summon Horny? Good times! It's too bad that we never got a Dungeon Keeper 3, and with EA having farmed out the name to a still-unreleased, China-only MMO, the chances of our getting it are looking slimmer by the day.
But not to worry! Germany has your back! Developer Realmforge and Kalypso media have been keeping the fires of imp-spanking greatness burning with the imaginatively-named Dungeons, a game about building an evil dungeon and defending it from heroes with deadly traps and horned monsters. For you young'uns and console-only folks out there, it's a little similar to the PSP's My Lord/Badman games, but deeper and more Sims-esque.
The game is scheduled for a PC release early next year. If they can keep the original's sense of humor and fundamentals down, I'd be quite happy. The rest of you can check out some screenshots below. What about you, though? Are you ready to slap your imps?
I've got to hand it to Atlus: sometimes they know that a preorder bonus art book just ain't enough. Now they're including whole other games!
In this case, it's with the upcoming PlayStation Portable version of Knights in the Nightmare, the strategy/bullet-hell hybrid. Dale reviewed it way back when, and now the so far one-of-a-kind title's getting tarted up for a PSP release, with new controls, higher-res graphics, and a (slightly delayed) November 9th release date.
And now they've sweetened the pot by throwing in a free voucher to download Yggdra Union off the PlayStation Network. It's another, equally unique title that just happens to be a prequel of sorts to Knights in the Nightmare. Dale reviewed that too in 2008. He liked it!
Atlus is also kind to poor alienated PSPgo users, as it doesn't matter whether you buy the game at retail or over download, so long as you get a "launch" copy, which I suppose just means "buy it before it goes into the bargain bin".
So tempting! I actually own Knights in the Nightmare for the DS already, but never played Yggdra Union. This kind of deal suits me just fine. Are you in, too?
LittleBigPlanet 2 is on its way to us this November, so fans of the first game don't have long to wait. However, if you're lucky, you just might find yourself playing the beta a little sooner -- if you were a true enthusiast of the first game, that is.
The PlayStation forums have made an announcement that beta invites are going out this week. Will you get one? Well, here's what they had to say:
We will be sending out invitations to the LittleBigPlanet 2 beta during this week to users who’ve been really active in LittleBigPlanet (PS3™). So if you have been a busy Sackboy™ or girl then an invite might be coming your way. This decision has now been made; unfortunately we are not able to recruit any further Beta Testers at present.
Well, makes sense to me. I guess if you didn't put in your time with the first game, you're screwed. I wish more betas worked this way. If so, not only would I be the first b*tch in line for Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon, I'd also get stock in D3 Publisher and my own gold-plated giant ant.
Well, this is embarrassing. This week was supposed to mark the beginning of a new direction for the series. We got writers, a set, a wardrobe consultant, and most importantly, celebrity guests. Unfortunetely, due to Sagat's incredibly unprofessional treatment of Hugo Andore Jr. (our special celebrity guest), he had to be let go.
We fired Sagat.
That means that we need a new star, and it could be you. After what I saw at PAX 10, I know there are a lot of cosplayers out there. This is your time to shine. Dress as your favorite video game character, talk about videogames, shoot it on video, and send it to me at jonathan@destructoid.com. If your video is good enough, it could make it on to next week's show.
You can do it green screen style like most of this series, do something like the Balrog episode, go for the "at home" stuff as seen in the Felicia and Sagat segments, or something totally different. It's all up to you. The only rule is that you must be a videogame character, and you must talk about videogames. Go nuts.
Tecmo Koei has announce its Tokyo Game Show line-up and the words "ninja," "gaiden," "dead," "or," and "alive" are sadly absent. Here's what they'll be showing on the floor:
TRINITY: Souls of Zill O'll (PS3)
Warriors: Legends of Troy (PS3/360)
Quantum Theory (PS3/360)
Ishin No Arashi: Shippu Ryouma (Nintendo DS)
Winning Post 7 2010 (PS3/PSP/PC)
Nobunaga's Ambition Online (PS2/PC)
Uncharted Waters Online (PS3/PC)
Dynasty Warriors Online (PS3/PC)
Nobunaga's Ambition (iPod Touch/iPhone)
Kanji Shaker (iPod Touch/iPhone/iPad)
Annie's Wild Shot (Android)
Many of these games are Japan-only titles, including Winning Post 7, Ishin No Arashi, both Nobunaga games, Kanji Shaker, and Annie's Wild Shot. That doesn't mean we won't cover them when we're at the show next week, but it does mean we'll be digging around for games we just might see on our shores.
I suspect that Tecmo Koei may have something else up its sleeves next week -- it usually holds a "Western-friendly" gathering with additional titles (and a lot of alcohol)-- but we'll just have to wait to find out.
The PSPgo has been written off by most people as a failure. That would include the game industry itself, since we only ever get PSP-3000 bundles/special editions and the PlayStation Network is woefully undersupported when it comes to PSP games. Still, despite even Sony itself trying to forget the PSPgo, Kaz Hirai insists it had an audience.
"I think we did cater for a market, albeit not as big as the traditional PSP-3000 market," says the Sony Computer Entertainment boss. "It is the first time we have done that with any of our devices, and we did get a lot of feedback, both good and bad. I think we need to make sure we have as many titles available to download as possible, to make the experience as easy as possible."
I totally agree that the PSPgo did have an audience -- an audience that Sony promptly abandoned and alienated, and now currently owns a bunch of $250 shitpieces that were obsolete before release since the PSP-3000 was a billion times better. It's a totally screwed-over and burned audience, but it's an audience nonetheless.
Also, it's hilarious that even Sony is starting to talk about the PSPgo in the past tense, despite it being the latest SKU released. What a success story!
"Sony can introduce a new piece of hardware that tries to do a new thing and fails on epic levels.
Nintendo goes "Hey guys, you know that thing we did when we shrunk the DS? How about we do like..."more
This was my first PAX Prime, but because I'd been to PAX East before, I figured that I knew what to expect.
Boy was I wrong.
The amount of cosplay at PAX is extraordinary. Though this video is over six minutes long, it doesn't even come close to representing the vast array of cosplay I saw at the show. I can't tell you how many times an awesome Jill Valentine, Claire Redfield, low-polygon Cloud Strife, or some other amazing example of cosplay genius would walk by, but because I was too slow or our camera was out of space, I'd have to let them go. Still, I think we have a pretty good group here. Also, Felicia was willing to help me to cover some of the floor, which went a long way towards catching 'em all.
I'm already excited for next year's show. Until then, we have this video. I hope you like it.
Namco Bandai is hoping to sharpen your mind with Kinect, while also bringing an old pal to Microsoft's console using the motion control device.
In advance of next week's Tokyo Game Show, Namco Bandai has revealed a new brain training game for Kinect for Xbox 360. The man behind the game might look familiar to Nintendo DS owners -- it's Dr. Ryuta Kawashima, the face of Nintendo's successful Brain Training series. Kawashima served as an advisor on the title, which will be a mash-up of motion and puzzle mini-games.
One games includes a soccer game that has players solving math problems by kicking balls with the right answers on them. The publisher also demonstrated a Pac-Man mini-game that utilized Kinect. The player moved both hands to control the little yellow pellet muncher through mazes, as expected.
We're in Japan next week for the show, and it looks like Microsoft is doing its best to push Kinect on the Japanese at TGS. We'll get sweaty and tired bringing you the details, so stay tuned.
"Dr. Kawashima defects to Xbox. I bet Nintendo will never work with him again.
I just want to know if I will be able to yell "pickled prunes" at my Xbox to make him grimace. Microsoft has offici..."more
Here's a little video that I whipped up for Destructoid LIVE, which is a very special treat from me to you. I was lucky enough to get my hands on a 3DS and not only experience the power of 3D gaming without glasses, but capture that power on video in order to show you.
Now, for the first time, we have video footage of the 3DS effect in action. This is easily my favorite video I've ever done.
"During the World War II, Art Deco jewellery was ugg sale a very popular style among women. The females started ugg boots wearing short dresses and cut their hair short. And uggs such boyish style..."more
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Community blogs of 09/08/10
