It should come as no surprise at this point, but Bioware and Dark Horse have announced an upcoming digital comic based on the hit title, Dragon Age: Origins. Titled Dragon Age: Those Who Speak, the three part series will focus on the characters of Alistair, Verric and Isabella, as they investigate the death of Alistair’s father. As a bit of a spoiler for anyone who has yet to play the game, Alistair is apparently crowned King at the end of the game, with the comic taking place during his reign. The first issue of the digital comic will be available on August 22nd.
EVE Online has always been fascinating to me, mainly due to the open nature of the digital economy it has. Anyone can do anything they’d do in real life – sell goods, steal goods, attempt to control a resource in high demand – it’s all possible. So for your lazy Sunday, take a look at this: EVE Online is currently going through a massive upheaval as a powerful federation called Goonswarm (a player-created federation, by the way) is killing anyone in the trading hub Jita. This is the final piece in a massive plan by Goonswarm to control alloy prices and become the sole provider right before the EVE expansion, Inferno, is released. And the game’s creators are going to stand by and watch it all happen. Read more…
That doesn’t mean it doesn’t look fun, though! Sony recently announced a new PS3 game that will finally combine all your favorite first-party Playstation characters into one fighting brawler. Wanted to have Fat Princess fight Kratos? Done. Parappa the Rapper versus Sly Cooper? It can happen. If you like the gameplay of Smash Bros. Brawl, then you’ll feel right at home here. No news on a release date yet, but I’m sure we’ll hear more at E3. Read more…
You’re going to have to forgive me for bringing up Portal 2 again so soon, because this new trailer featuring J.K. Simmons reprising his role as Cave Johnson is hilarious. If you pay attention to the computer screens, you can also catch a short glimpse of Meet the Pyro, Valve’s final short film for Team Fortress 2. I must also admit, the idea of utilizing alternate earths as gardens for harvesting creative ideas while never paying for them is very clever. However, what if the earth creating that idea is already being used by another earth for their ideas? It boggles the mind. I think.
I know a lot of you have been interested in Valve’s teasing of a map creation tool for their ace 2011 first-person puzzler, Portal 2. It was one of my favorite games to come out last year, so more free downloadable content is always welcome. Valve has officially announced the “Portal 2 Perpetual Testing Initiative” which will allow players to create and share their custom-made maps. You’ll be able to easily pull new levels from the Steam Workshop – with a single click it’ll be added to the game next time you start it. Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 26, 2012 in Tech, Videogames
So what you’re looking at above is the Sony PSP — right? Wrong! It’s the JXD V5200 which is of course powered by Android, the preferred OS of uninspired industrial designers. Although I have to admit that there is something cool about ripping off poor ignored Sony, and I can only hope that duo screen faux Nintendo DS comes next. Although if you’re an old school Nintendo fanboy check out the JDX 100 which reminds me slightly of a Game Boy from back in the day: Read more…
Here’s an exciting bit of breaking news for Resident Evil fans. Series creator, and grandfather of the survival horror genre, Shinji Mikami announced a new horror game this morning. Codenamed “Zwei,” the game is to be developed by Mikami’s new studio, Tango Gameworks. Those of you who may recall, his last entry in the Resident Evil series, Resident Evil 4, has been the most successful and critically acclaimed to date. If you’re wondering why he’s no longer with the company, Mikami had been transferred to Capcom’s Clover studio prior to its dissolution following the release of the not-so-successful cult-favorite God Hand. He then worked briefly for Platinum Games, the studio responsible for Bayonetta and Vanquish, before leaving to create Tango Gameworks. There’s no other details to note, other than the game is in the early stages of development and that his studio was acquired by Zenimax, the parent company of Bethesda Softworks back in 2010. For the sake of the genre, let’s hope his latest foray into the world of survival horror is as successful as his last.
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Apr 24, 2012 in Videogames
It’s either insane, or absolutely brilliant. Valve has always taken an unconventional approach to game development, but I’ve never known how unconventional — at least, until now. Recently a copy of their employee handbook leaked online, and while I can’t imagine they were pleased about it happening, what’s done is done. The 56 page 2012 New Employee Handbook details the companies internal practices, internal structure (or lack thereof) and comes littered with hilarious diagrams and in-jokes many of which relate to the various games they’ve released over the years.
God of War is back in prequel form with God of War: Ascension for PS3 – and Kratos still seems kind of pissed. According to the trailer, this game will take place before the events of the original trilogy, possibly when Kratos was serving under Ares. Of course, like any announcement trailer, there’s no gameplay and it’s all CGI. I wonder, though, do we need another God of War game? Probably not, but I suppose the demand is there. I hope they’ll spice things up a bit and try some new things with the series this time around!
Yesterday, Nintendo announced that the 3DS will be receiving a sequel to New Super Mario Bros., the best-selling DS title (and a Wii sequel that also sold gangbusters). New Super Mario Bros. 2 will arrive in August worldwide, and it looks like more of the same old Mario. The NSMB line of games have always been great, although I feel the art style isn’t nearly as solid as Super Mario Galaxy’s. But for you fans of older Mario games, the P-meter is back, as well as the Raccoon Tail and bolted blocks. And I must say, that logo is rather eye-catching – I like it! Read more…
Wanted to get some of the Diablo 3 beta action but haven’t gotten in yet? Well, your good buddies at Blizzard are opening up the floodgates and letting everyone play the beta this weekend, until Monday, April 23rd at 10am PDT. You can play as five classes and up to level 13, according to the official blog. It’s mostly just a stress-test to see how the servers handle the load of new players (so it may be up or down sometimes), but hey, why complain when you can test the game for free? Start downloading here! Read more…
Consider this another bizarre cross-promotion from Japan. Sega had previously featured model Yukie Kawamura in their Japanese advertisements, apparently with much success, because they’re bring her back, but this time as a Super Monkey Ball Vita map. Now you can roll down Yukie’s face, beside her image plastered on the skybox, and down her… breasts? This is just silly, especially given how amateur the map looks – it’s as though all they did was a quick texture-swap and called it a day. How bizarre! Watch out for some mildly questionable images below. Read more…
Bethesda recently released a new trailer for Dishonored, their latest action game. It’s a first-person shooter, but you also have magic and technical abilities at your disposal, similar to Bioshock’s setup. The game will allow you to sneak up on enemies and eliminate them stealthily or simply run-and-gun everyone down. Although, a lot of games promise this level of choice, but don’t always fulfill it, so let’s hope Dishonored does. Apparently Half-Life 2’s art director is working on it, and you can definitely see some similarities. So: this looks great – now how about some actual gameplay? Read more…
IGN recently released an exclusive teaser for Digital Extreme’s upcoming PS3/360 title Star Trek. Set in the Abramsverse, this co-operative 3rd person shooter lets you take control of Kirk and Spock and will reportedly serve as a tie-in for the upcoming sequel currently being filmed. I have to say, in comparison to most Star Trek titles out there, this one doesn’t look half-bad. Of course, that isn’t saying much. Namco Bandai will be co-publishing the title, due out early next year. Read more…
Earlier this evening, some more details regarding Resident Evil 6 surfaced. It’s already been revealed that both Leon Kennedy and Chris Redfield will be playable for the first time in the same game, and that the game will take roughly 30 hours to complete, featuring three 10-hour-long chapters. However, this latest bit of news might seem a bit more exciting for fans of the earlier entries in the series — Zombies are back. While the previous two entries dealt with an infectious parasite, Resident Evil 6 introduces the C-Virus. This latest strain pits our heroes against a new breed of zombies, capable of running, jumping and using basic weapons.
I’m sure in some office at Bethesda, a developer was thinking to himself, “Man, I wish there was a way to actually yell shouts from Skyrim in real life.” Then Microsoft laid piles of money on the table and they arrived at the next best thing: Kinect support for Skyrim. You still play the game with a controller, but now you’ll be able to yell (literally) each shout without swapping it in a menu. Silly? Yes. Are you going to do it anyway? Probably! Read more…
If you haven’t had a chance to catch this brand new English trailer for Studio Ghibli & Level 5’s upcoming role-playing epic Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, prepare to be amazed. Initially, I was a bit worried when I heard the game had been delayed until 2013, but after viewing the trailer, I’m convinced they’ve done it for the right reasons. Some things are just worth waiting for, and I wouldn’t want anyone to rush such a wonderful looking game. It’s better they take their time and really make everything shine. The voice-overs, for example, fit so well, I’m convinced I wouldn’t want to settle for a Japanese language track, and subtitles. The game is still scheduled to ship sometime in the first quarter of next year for PS3. Hopefully someone plans to pick up its DS counterpart at some point.
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Apr 12, 2012 in Videogames
A few months back, Nintendo stunned us all when they announced a direct sequel to last year’s Pokémon Black & White, instead of opting for a new set of colors. Today, a few more details have emerged regarding the upcoming sequel. Set in the same region as the first game, Pokémon Black & White 2 will start in a new city located in southern Unova, featuring an entirely new cast, and story. Two new protagonists, male and female respectively, have also been announced, both clad in the usual active-wear, with the female protagonist reportedly sporting Princess Leia-esque hair buns. Read more…
I think it’s a testament to Skyrim’s longevity that we’re still seeing so much fan-made material for the game, even long after its release. This recent video from YouTube user Timtimfed is very clever in its literal interpretation of Skyrim’s game mechanics. “Uninterrupted” indeed! Thankfully it doesn’t overstay its welcome like most fan videos. All that said, as cool as this video is, this is still my favorite Skyrim fan video. You’ll never guess why.
I have to admit, these Mega Blok sets don’t look too bad! Looks like MB has teamed up to create World of Warcraft sets, and if you’re a fan of building blocks, then these sets might just scratch that itch. I was always a LEGO kid, and Mega Bloks just seemed like a rip-off brand to me when I was younger. They’re certainly better now, but it still seems like a lot of large pieces. Check out more pics below! Read more…
It’s a bit of a hot topic right now, but everyone seems to be up in arms over this Consumerist.com “Worst Company in America” poll that recently named Electronic Arts the worst company in America. From what I’ve gathered, over 250,000 people voted to determine the winner of the not-so-prestigious title with Electronic Arts receiving 64% of the votes, with Bank of America trailing at 36%. There’s no question that gamers are passionate about their games, or that Bank of America destroys the lives of countless households on a daily basis with foreclosures, or questionable banking practices, but for whatever reason my twitter feed seems to have exploded with debates backing both sides of the coin, and the tweets aren’t pretty.
College Humor is at it again. Some of you might recall their Game of Thrones video game parody from last year. This time they’ve given the 11th Doctor and crew a 16-bit JRPG makeover. The video follows the fifth and sixth seasons of Doctor Who, so if you haven’t been keeping up you’ll be in for some spoilers — that said, they don’t actually do a great job of summarizing the series, not that they ever intended to. Just try to appreciate the cute references, like the group squaring off against a Weeping Angel with the only commands available being “blink” or “don’t blink.” The soundtrack is a real treat, though.
Every year ThinkGeek likes to tease us with a wonderful array of fake products we’d love to waste money on. Well, some of us any way, and this year was no exception. Some of their better gag gifts this year included a Skyrim electronic dragon shout hoodie, Minecraft-themed green marshmallow peeps, or ‘Creeps,’ and even an inflatable Star Trek Captain’s chair. Okay, so that last one is actually a real product they’re selling. Still, a Skyrim dragon shout hoodie? I’d totally get one for Halloween next year. Read more…
By now you’ve probably heard of Google’s fantastic April Fools joke: 8-bit Google Maps. They partnered with Square Enix to Dragon Quest-ify the entirety of Google Maps, and even produced a fake commercial for a cartridge version of the software. Given that this is Google, though, they hid tons of little items and cute references within the joke (like the adorable pixel art, seen above, found at the Google HQ). Don’t want to go hunting yourself? Hit the jump for a few cool easter eggs! Read more…
