KrabbitWorld Origins Adventure Trailer
Written by from on December 31st, 2009 | 0 CommentsJourney into an enchanted Gothic fantasy world in the online Action RPG.
Final Fantasy 13 Soundtrack Preview Ad
Written by from on December 31st, 2009 | 0 CommentsBefore you play Square Enix’s game, listen to the hits!
Dragon Age Rumored to Get "Awakening" Expansion in March
Written by from on December 31st, 2009 | 0 CommentsWe know that EA and BioWare have a long-term plan for Dragon Age: Origins . Even at launch the developer stated that two years worth of of DLC are in the works, and we’ll be receiving our first major bit of it next week . But a rumor is circulating today that the plans may be even more ambitious than we realized, with a full packaged expansion planned for March. Big Download Blog reports on a page from Eurogamer.cz, the Czech gaming site. According to the translated text, the expansion is titled “The Awakening,” and will come out on March 19. The suggested price is around 2/3 the price of the original game, which would probably translate to $30-40 U.S. dollars. It’s also said to be a full packaged product that would be found in stores, and while only the PC version is mentioned, we expect BioWare would similarly support the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions. The original game is reported to be required, and it will raise the level cap while also creating an entirely new, shorter campaign with a new character. The report states that EA will make the announcement official in early January, so we may see it any day now. We don’t usually see such specificity in a rumor, so it’s hard not to think Eurogamer is on to something. Origins was always meant to be the start of a lucrative RPG franchise — it’s even present in the title. Still, until we hear official word from EA, we’re going to categorize this strictly as a rumor. We’ll keep you posted when, and if, we get more details.
The Best Industry Quotes of 2009
Written by from on December 31st, 2009 | 0 CommentsWords matter. And in a world where the Internet makes sure that anything you write or say will never, ever disappear (so long as no one detonates a weapon to wipe out all technology like that totally rad scene at the end of Escape from L.A. ), they matter more than ever — which is something we’re not quite sure the video games industry has fully appreciated yet. And with any luck they never will, because the world would be a lot more mundane without deliciously insane quips like these flowing through the digital ether. So in accordance with the custom at this time of year, we’ve put together a list of our favorite industry quotes of 2009. From hilarious to delusional, poignant to revelatory, there were nearly enough “say whaaa? ” moments this year to fill two of these features. But below is the best of the best (or worst?) for your reading pleasure. Enjoy. The Wonders of Motion Controls “[It's] like the 2D to 3D shift…that was the degree of shock I felt.” – Hideo Kojima, on his reaction to seeing Project Natal for the first time.
Top 10 Wii Games of 2010
Written by from on December 31st, 2009 | 0 CommentsTop 10 Wii Games of 2010 Okay, seriously, the Wii means more than “inferior port plus waggle” this year. By 1UP Staff While the Wii has had to contend with the “good first-party and a ton of waggle-enabled shovelware” reputation in the past, it looks like 2010 will help shake said reputation. Besides known first-party superstars like Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Metroid: Other M, we have some solid third-party games like Epic Mickey and No More Heroes 2 slated to hit shelves in 2010 as well. Heck, even the download-centric Wii gamer has something to look forward to. And not on this list, due purely to “wow, we don’t know much about it,” is the fabled “next Zelda game” that Miyamoto hinted at. Super Mario Galaxy 2 Dev: Nintendo | Pub: Nintendo As Nintendo personnel will happily tell you, Mario Galaxy 2 marks the first time in a long time that they have designed two big Mario games for a single hardware generation, so it’s no surprise that they went the direct sequel route to follow-up one of 2007’s best games. We don’t know a lot about the sequel just yet, but it marks the return of Yoshi and seems to be incorporating a lot of variety into the already varied Galaxy formula, so we’re excited. Epic Mickey Dev: Junction Point | Pub: Disney Interactive Studios A Mickey Mouse platformer for the Wii that has a “paint the world to save it” premise that sounds a little bit like Okami ? That idea alternates between sounding inspired and concerning. Though, one name has gone a long way to ease our skepticism: Warren Spector. He’s been a producer on such games as Thief , System Shock , Ultima Underworld , and Deus Ex . Now, take that experience of working on action-RPGs with freedom-of-choice mechanics, and apply it to a subject he loves — old-school Disney animation — and suddenly, Epic Mickey sounds like something worth paying attention to. Metroid: Other M Dev: Team Ninja | Pub: Nintendo
2009 Sleepers: The Best Games You Didn’t Play
Written by from on December 31st, 2009 | 0 Comments2009 Sleepers: The Best Games You Didn’t Play Once you’re done with Mario and Modern Warfare, hunt down this baker’s dozen of overlooked greats. By Jeremy Parish Even with all the fall 2009 releases that were delayed into 2010, it’s still been a heck of a year for games. Blockbusters everywhere! You couldn’t walk to the bus without tripping over one, it seems. And with all that obsessing over the big-name hits, a huge number of worthy also-rans have gone almost completely overlooked by gamers at large. Well, that just doesn’t sit right with us. Sure, we like the triple-A titles as much as the next batch of game-obsessed nerds, but we love the little guys, too. So, we’ve put together a baker’s dozen of overlooked or sleeper games that you might have missed amidst all the furor. At the very least, they’ll give you something to do before March hits and we’re drowning in goodness again. A Boy and His Blob Dev: WayForward | Pub: Majesco | Platform: Wii Less a remake than a total overhaul of an inspired but uneven NES classic, WayForward’s take on A Boy and His Blob is visually stunning — and almost as difficult. By getting rid of the concept of limited lives and building in a generous checkpoint system, the developer was able to create a platformer that consists of hundreds of challenging little puzzles strung together in a package that manages not to frustrate despite its difficulty… well, except the bosses, which tend to inspire infuriated hair-pulling. A curious blend of storybook charm and old-school videogame challenge, it’s a true Wii gem. Critter Crunch Dev: Capybara | Platform: iPhone/PS3 Critter Crunch is basically Magical Drop mixed with Space Invaders and dressed up with a cute rendition of the food chain, which means it’s a fast-paced puzzler that arguably teaches kids about nature. (Red in tooth and claw and all that.) Really, though, it’s just a fun, addictive game that perfectly fits the iPhone platform (and isn’t too shabby on PSN, either). The object-matching puzzle genre is pretty well tapped out by now, but Critter Crunch is the most memorable entry to hit this crowded field in quite some time — and at $1.99 on iPhone and $6.99 on PSN, the price is just right. Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War II Dev: Relic | Pub: THQ | Platform: PC
Wii Dominates Amazon’s 2009 Sales List
Written by from on December 31st, 2009 | 0 CommentsDespite all the economic mishaps, Nintendo has had a pretty good year for sales — particularly at Amazon.com. The online retailer released a list (via Kotaku ) of their top sellers for the year, which includes both hardware and software. Of the top 10 alone, Nintendo claimed nine spots. Wii Wii Remote Wii Motion Plus Wii Nunchuck New Super Mario Bros. Wii Wii Fit Plus with Balance Board Wii Sports Resort Wii Fit Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (360) Mario Kart Wii with Wheel PS3 DualShock controller Wii Play with Remote Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PS3) Official Wii Wheel Assassin’s Creed 2 (360) Halo 3 ODST PlayStation 3 120 GB Uncharted 2: Among Thieves EA Sports Active Left 4 Dead 2 (360) For those curious only about software, if we remove hardware and accessories from the list, the top 10 sales are a little more evenly spread among the consoles.
You’re Going to Hell Because of Pokemon
Written by from on December 31st, 2009 | 0 CommentsPreacher warns us that these creatures are the devil’s work.
Biggest Delayed Games of 2009
Written by from on December 30th, 2009 | 0 CommentsIf one trend defined 2009, it was heavy delays on some of the year’s most anticipated games. Though we had the usual holiday flood this year, it would have been much bigger if not for all the pushed back games that are set for early 2010. We even published a feature on the trend in August, and the delays just kept coming. So as we close out the year, let’s take another look at some of the titles delayed this year, and when they’re due. One way not to delay a game can be found in an example from Sega. Rumors spread of an Alpha Protocol delay as reviewers noticed the company hadn’t sent any copies of the game; but it took until the game’s release day to finally confirm it. Now it’s set for spring of 2010. On the other end of the spectrum, Bayonetta was pushed into early next year to “maximize [its] potential,” but seems to have leaked to the public by major retailers already. So to be clear: one game waited until its release date to announce a delay, and the other was delayed but unofficially came out early. The delay of BioShock 2 wasn’t quite as storied. It seemed to be a necessary move to improve the quality of the game, and now it’s due early next year. Dark Void , meanwhile, was more bluntly delayed to avoid the “crowded fall season.”
Biggest Canceled Games of 2009
Written by from on December 30th, 2009 | 0 Comments2009 had its fair share of big releases and announcements, but we saw quite a few cancellations as well. The economy seemed to make publishers nervous and pull back on just about anything but the surest successes. So, as another part of our ongoing retrospective, we’re going to take a look at the games you might have been playing or looking forward to right now… if the plug hadn’t been pulled. The most publicized canceled game this year wasn’t actually canceled at all, though we all thought it was. Duke Nukem Forever suffered a setback when 3D Realms shut its doors , and this was seen as the death knell for the longest-lasting vaporware in the industry. Reasons behind the move were plentiful , but it didn’t take long for 3D Realms to show itself again, pointing out that the studio as a whole wasn’t shut down, and it retained the rights to Duke Nukem Forever. The team working on Duke was let go, but we recently heard CEO Scott Miller state that it “doesn’t correlate to the demise of the project.” So Duke Nukem Forever isn’t dead, but it may well be in a deep coma. Other canceled projects were only discovered in the aftermath of shuttered studios. When GRIN closed late in the year, it teased an “unreleased masterpiece that we were not allowed to finish.” Less than a week later, sources confirmed that the unfinished game was actually a western-developed Final Fantasy game being worked on with Square Enix. There was plenty of concept artwork to go around (above), but rumors spread that Square hadn’t paid GRIN for the work, instead arranging a deal to pay when the project was finished. That lack of funds may have helped lead to the studio’s closure.