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Posted by Bob Muir on Apr 3, 2014 in Tech, Television, Videogames 
As rumored, Amazon has been working on a set-top box that will stream video and play videogames. Now they’ve announced the Amazon FireTV, which does that! The box uses a quad-core 1.7 GHz CPU, dedicated GPU, 2GB of RAM, 8GB of storage, and a dual-band wireless radio with two antennas (for streaming 1080p over WiFi) to try to outperform Apple TV and Roku. Naturally, it has access to Amazon Prime, but there are all the usual video and music streaming apps, plus more specialized ones like Twitch and WWE; users can compare prices between various apps to see where it’s cheapest to watch a movie. The remote is also special, with a microphone included that allows you to search content with your voice. Or you could use Amazon’s bells and whistles to have it predict and cue up what it thinks you want to watch.
Read more…
Tags: Amazon
Posted by Bob Muir on Apr 2, 2014 in Videogames 
Since Telltale Games is making both The Walking Dead: Season Two and The Wolf Among Us at the same time (with even more episodic adventure games in the works), it’s understandable that both releases are a bit slower than fans would like. So when I see a “launch trailer” for the third episode of The Wolf Among Us, I understand that the game probably isn’t releasing this week, much less has a release date. Still, it looks like things are heating up in the story, with this episode landing right in the middle. I’m dying to see where this mystery goes, but for now, I’ll have to settle for this trailer. Read more…
Tags: Fables, Telltale Games, The Wolf Among Us
Posted by Bob Muir on Apr 2, 2014 in Videogames 
Half-Minute Hero was a fun PSP game (that later came to PC) giving the player “30 seconds” to save the world, though in-game mechanics allowed you to continually roll back time. Later unlockable modes let you play as an Evil Lord, Princess, or Knight with new gameplay styles. Like many unique ideas, it didn’t sell that well, seemingly dooming the sequel to remain in Japan. But luckily, Marvelous AQL has announced that they’re bringing Half-Minute Hero: The Second Coming to Steam on April 4. Here’s where the info gets murky. Because yesterday was April Fool’s Day, the info provided about the game seems fishy. Marvelous claims the game will support the Oculus Rift (which seems unlikely) and that the game will cost $999.99 on Steam — though owners of the first game will get 25% off. If the game is coming out on Friday, I’d expect the price to be much, much lower. Either way, check it out! Read more…
Tags: RPG, Steam
Posted by Bob Muir on Apr 1, 2014 in Videogames 
It’s taken long enough, but I guess that’s typical for Virtual Console releases these days. Capcom has confirmed that they will release six Mega Man Game Boy games on the 3DS Virtual Console in May — a “Mega May,” according to Capcom. The first Mega Man Game Boy game is already available, but I guess this is the remaining ones: Mega Man II through Mega Man V (the latter of which isn’t just a remix of NES levels), plus the two Mega Man Xtreme games based on Mega Man X (the letter, not a tenth installment, since things could get confusing with the Game Boy games using roman numerals). The games will all be released in one month, but fans can vote on Capcom Unity to decide what game will be released first. Personally, I don’t see anything wrong with just going in release order; they’re all going to be out by the end of the month. Read more…
Tags: 3DS, Capcom, Mega Man
Posted by Bob Muir on Apr 1, 2014 in Tech, Videogames 
Two years ago, Google gave Google Maps a temporary 8-bit facelift, remaking the map in the style of Dragon Quest (or Dragon Warrior as it was called in America) on the original NES in honor of April Fool’s Day. It seems they’ve still got games in the mind, because this year’s April Fool’s Day “prank” has scattered pokemon all over the world. Reports are claiming there are at least 150 pokemon to find, with Google promising that the first person to find all of them will be hired as a Pokemon Master. While I doubt that, there might be some reward for finding them all first, so download the app on your iOS or Android phone — you can’t find them on a computer — and get started on catching ’em all! Read more…
Tags: April Fools, Google, Pokémon
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 31, 2014 in Videogames 
Animal Cross: New Leaf has been one of the most successful games on the Nintendo 3DS. Many chalk it up to the fact that people just like games that are slower-paced and allow you to customize everything, but Nintendo recently revealed the truth behind it at GDC: diversity. Half of the development team was made up of women, an anomaly in the game development industry. Aya Kyogoku, the woman in charge of directing New Leaf, said that it opens “you up to hearing a greater variety of ideas and sharing a greater diversity of ideas.” The full Wired interview with the team is incredibly fascinating, so I highly advise you check it out. Read more…
Tags: Animal Crossing, Nintendo
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 30, 2014 in Videogames 
Goat Simulator was originally just a joke — a silly video put out by Coffee Stain Studios while they were fooling around. But when the internet got a hold of it, they demanded more. They asked for it to be real. So, on April 1st, you’ll be able to buy Goat Simulator, weird glitches and all. Yup, they’re not fixing it up or polishing it, they’re just releasing it as is. The features list states there are “MILLIONS OF BUGS! We’re only eliminating the crash-bugs, everything else is hilarious and we’re keeping it.” They’ve hidden a lot of easter eggs in it, too. You can start playing it right now by pre-ordering it on their official site (it’ll then download through Steam). Also, below the jump, I’ve included the launch trailer for the game, which parodies Dead Island’s reveal trailer. Read more…
Tags: Goat Simulator
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 30, 2014 in Videogames 
I’m overly optimistic, perhaps. After years of bad Alien games, I keep hoping, beyond all reason, that the next one will be good. Creative Assembly’s upcoming Alien: Isolation looks to be doing a lot of things right: there’s only one alien, you have to be sneaky, there’s no modern technology (it all abides by the original film’s standards), and your main item is a motion detector. All the pieces are there, but it remains to be seen if they come together well. I really hope it does, because I want a good Alien game… so bad. CA announced that the game will arrive October 7th, later this year, so I’ll report back then. Let’s hope we’re not disappointed! Read more…
Tags: Alien
Posted by Bob Muir on Mar 27, 2014 in Videogames 
Opinion is currently split on backwards compatibility, or the ability to play games from previous consoles on a new console. On one hand, it’s great to not need older consoles to play your favorite games, letting gamers sell their old systems for some extra cash and free up space under their TV; it ensures that we don’t lose the ability to play generations worth of games, something movies haven’t had to worry about as much. On the other hand, including old chips isn’t cost-effective, and emulating them is very difficult due to their complicated architecture; plus, backwards compatibility is only a strong selling point for the first year of a console’s life, when game choices are limited. It’s a real shame that the PS4 can’t play any previous games, but it’s understandable. But that may soon change. Read more…
Tags: PS2, PS4, Sony
Posted by Bob Muir on Mar 26, 2014 in Videogames 
After several years, Sega finally released a Hatsune Miku PS3 game in North America and Europe last year, with a Vita version released just this month. Apparently Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F did well enough that they’re bringing over the sequel — also on PS3 and Vita — to both territories this fall. Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F 2nd will continue the music series, which has players pressing buttons in time with music made using Vocaloid voice-synth software, specifically the most popular version featuring virtual idol Hatsune Miku. I wouldn’t say that it’s my favorite music game, but I put a decent amount of time into the original Japan-only PSP game, and it’s pretty fun. Whether you enjoy this comes down to whether or not you enjoy the 40 new songs and returning favorites, but it’s worth trying out if you get chance. Read more…
Tags: Hatsune Miku, Playstation Vita, PS3
Posted by Bob Muir on Mar 26, 2014 in Tech, Videogames 
In an unexpected move, Facebook has announced their plans to buy Oculus VR, the company making the Kickstarter-ed Oculus Rift virtual reality headset. Facebook is paying out around $2 billion, which includes $400 million and 23.1 million Facebook shares, with another $300 million tied to undisclosed milestones. The partnership seems completely random, but Facebook and Oculus VR reason that this is another step in connecting people. After games, the plan is to expand the technology into other areas, like getting ring-side seats at a sports game, consulting with a doctor, and going to school. Read more…
Tags: Facebook, oculus rift, Virtual Reality
Posted by Bob Muir on Mar 25, 2014 in Videogames 
Microsoft often sets up Xbox Live events where gamers can play with various celebrities. With that context in place, it’s easy to see how impressionable people might think an Obama impersonator is actually the real deal, even if there’s no way the president would take the time to play himself. That’s what happens in this collection of videos: a damn good Obama impersonator plays Titanfall in character, promoting the Affordable Care Act and cracking political jokes. His voice isn’t a perfect match, but he has Obama’s inflections down, so I’d imagine this sounded pretty convincing when compressed over an Xbox headset. So does this mean Obama has reversed his position on gun control? Read more…
Tags: Barack Obama, Titanfall, Xbox One
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 24, 2014 in Videogames 
Earlier, some screenshots and a logo for the next Assassin’s Creed game leaked. The game, titled Unity, features the new setting, this time in Paris during the French Revolution. According to Ubisoft, they’ve been working on this game for roughly three years, so this time it’ll be even better! Right?! Unity will also be exclusive to next gen systems, aka PC, Xbox One, and PS4. Reportedly, there will also be another Assassin’s Creed game released on 360 and PS3, but no word from Ubisoft on that one just yet. We’ll hear more at E3. Check out the teaser below! Read more…
Tags: Assassin's Creed
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 23, 2014 in Videogames 
We’d been hearing for a while about Valve’s long in-production documentary about the first Dota 2 tournament, called The International. They had beta-tested the film (yes, really) by screening it early to people and using their feedback to fix it up. Now, it’s finally available to watch, and it is of course free. To play. Yup. You can watch it on Steam or YouTube, and it runs about an hour and 15 minutes. It’s impressive to watch all the effort these players put into the game, and also the rise of esports in general. I’m really interested in taking the time to watch it later. Check it out! Read more…
Tags: documentary, Dota 2, esports, Valve
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 22, 2014 in Videogames 
GDC brought a lot of big announcements, but one of the things I was most interested in seeing was new footage of Hyper Light Drifter. Thankfully, Polygon sat down with the developers of the game and got a nearly 18-minute video featuring footage of the game and dialogue about the game and its features. The animations and art look really impressive despite not being final, which bodes well for the final game. So far it looks like it’ll be exactly the kind of game I want to play. Check out the full video below for some neat footage. Read more…
Tags: Hyper Light Drifter, Indie Games
Posted by Bob Muir on Mar 20, 2014 in Tech, Videogames 
The Oculus Rift has been in development for a while and is getting close to release, but Sony must figure it can do it better. They’ve announced Project Morpheus, a prototype virtual reality device that is being developed for PS4. While much is up in the air, including the design and specs, here’s what the prototype can do. It has a 1080p display at 1000hz with a 90-degree field of view. There’s 360-degree movement, 15mm eye relief, and support for forward prediction. So far, there’s a VR version of God of War being developed, as well as a special build of the recent Thief game, though it will only be key sections, not the entire game. EVE Valkyrie is playable on the dev kit right now, and there are two games called The Deep and The Castle; to complete the VR experience, you can use the PlayStation Move controller in The Castle. It’s a cool idea, but I do wonder why Sony needs their own VR device instead of working with the Oculus Rift. Will the market support a separate VR headset for each platform? Will it even support one? Read more…
Tags: PS4, Sony, Virtual Reality
Posted by Bob Muir on Mar 18, 2014 in Anime, Videogames 
We still may not have gotten an official release for Persona 3 The Movie: Chapter 1, Spring of Birth yet, but that won’t stop the second movie from coming out in Japan! The multi-movie adaptation of Persona 3, Atlus’s successful refresh of their sub-franchise that led to the juggernaut Persona 4, is rolling on. On June 7, Persona 3 The Movie: Chapter 2, Midsummer Knight’s Dream will be released. As with the past movie, the art direction looks great, just dripping with atmosphere. Maybe this one will be a bit more interesting now that the plot is already underway. Read more…
Tags: Atlus, Persona 3
Posted by Bob Muir on Mar 18, 2014 in Videogames 
You could argue that there have been three main “eras” of Konami’s Castlevania series. The first era contains the classic 2D action games that started on the NES. The second era began with Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, which redefined the series with Metroid-like progression and RPG elements, and ended with Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia. The third era includes the middling Castlevania: Lords of Shadow games and whatever other random entries were released while Konami tried to figure out what it wanted to do with the series. Those second era “Metroidvania” games are easily some of the best in the series, only out-done by the level design in a few of the earlier action games, and most of them can be traced to producer Koji “IGA” Igarashi, the cowb0y-hat-wearing, whip-wielding man who was the heart behind Symphony of the Night. But it looks like he’ll never return to Castlevania, as he has announced his departure from Konami. Read more…
Tags: Castlevania, Konami
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 16, 2014 in Videogames 
If you’ve ever wanted your own titan from Titanfall, this is as probably as close as you’re going to get! To promote the release of the game, CJ Berg and Daniel’s Wood Land were commissioned to put together a life-size titan. It’s currently making its way across the UK, at various launch events for photo opportunities. SlashGear spoke with the creators about how they made the beast (lots of foam!) and their process of working with Respawn, too. Of course, the article is lavished with a multitude of awesome pictures. I’ve included a few below, but check out the full thing here! Of course, all it does is just make us want a real one! Read more…
Tags: Robots, Titanfall
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 15, 2014 in Videogames 
This is something a bit off the beaten path: an aluminum NES. Yes, that’s right. Analogue Interactive, the company that made that NeoGeo MVS arcade system into a walnut-clad console, is making another system, and this time it’s an NES, called the Analogue Nt. The system is made from a solid block of aluminum, so it resembles an Apple product more than an Nintendo one. It boasts four controller ports, slots for both Japanese and US cartridges, and can output via RGB, component, S-video, or composite. Analogue claims there is no emulation going on, so one wonders how this is all possible (perhaps they reverse-engineered everything). Price and a release date are unknown, but will be revealed by the end of the month. Read more…
Tags: Nintendo
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 15, 2014 in Videogames 
Sony likes to often interview indie devs that are bringing games to Playstation platforms and post about it on their blog. Recently, they interviewed Heart Machine, the group of devs behind Hyper Light Drifter, the wildly successful Kickstarter game (PC, Mac, Linux, PS4, Vita). As part of their post on the Playstation Blog, they’ve also uploaded a new trailer that features gameplay and a plethora of gorgeous pixelated visuals. I love the sharp, colorful art style that Hyper Light Drifter has — and the ruins of a war gone by are a great setting. There’s more details about how the game will play out and what their plans are here. And check out the trailer below! Read more…
Tags: Hyper Light Drifter, Kickstarter
Posted by Bob Muir on Mar 13, 2014 in Fandom, Videogames 
Have you tried out Grand Theft Auto Online? It’s the multiplayer component of Grand Theft Auto V, and it lets you roll around Los Santos with friends, taking on missions with your custom characters and fighting other players. Ideally, you’d get a good mix of progression and mayhem. In practice, it’s very easy to have all your plans go awry due to other players being crazy — you know, the way most players don’t even finish a GTA game’s story and just use it as a sandbox to play around in. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it results in moments like those found in YouTube user Jameserton’s video below. I’m not a huge multiplayer gamer, so I’m okay with sticking to the singleplayer in game’s like this. But I can’t deny the chaotic experience makes for a funny video. Read more…
Tags: Grand Theft Auto
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 12, 2014 in Videogames 
Frog Fractions was one of my favorite experiences from last year. It appeared to be simple on the surface, but after a little prodding, revealed a grandiose labyrinth of hidden gameplay and bizarre content that made you yell at the screen is disbelief. It’s really hard to describe, so if you haven’t played it, go do so now, it’s free. Anyway, this brings us to a Kickstarter for Frog Fractions 2. The trick is, you’re paying for a surprise. The release date for the game will not be announced. It’ll just come out at some point, and people will have to find it. The developer says, “It will not be called ‘Frog Fractions 2.’ It will probably be called something like ‘Lost Kingdom: Reckoning,’ by Fork Bomb LLC or ‘Turbo Finance 2015’ by Vespenta Holdings. Does that Russian flight sim on Desura look suspicious to you? Better play it just to make sure!” Amazing. Watch the equally amazing announcement video below and then pledge here. Read more…
Tags: frog fractions, Indie Games, Kickstarter
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 8, 2014 in Cinema, Videogames 
Interesting: Sony announced yesterday The Last of Us will be adapted as a live-action film. The big thing for many fans will be that Neil Druckmann, the creative director of the original game, is attached to write the script. Screen Gems will be distributing the film, and Sam Raimi’s production company, Ghost House Pictures, will be producing it. I saw some people interpreting this as Sam Raimi possibly directing it, but I’m not sure about that. Just because he’s producing it doesn’t mean he’ll direct too. We’ll have to wait and see. My guess is that we’ll instead see a newer director get this project as a chance to prove themselves to the studios. Read more…
Tags: Sony, the last of us
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