Controller-free gaming: Once the collective fever dream of the gaming world, they have found a happy little home in this generation of consoles. All three manufacturers have their offerings, though the Kinect stands out for using neither wand nor nunchuck: rather, it is your salacious, salacious body of yours that provides the input.
Now, with the Move already under its belt, Sony may be looking to encroach on Microsoft territory, according to a recently-discovered patent, filed back in October of 2011. While initially annoying - the Move brought accusations across the web that Sony was simply ripping off the Wii, and the company will no doubt face accusations of ripping off Microsoft - it is worth remembering that Sony has been working with controller-free gaming since the PS2. Invented by Richard Marks, who brought us the Eye Toy, Move and PlayStation Eye, the patent is for a device that provides a "real-time three-dimensional interactive environment using a depth sensing device." While the above sketch is rather basic - no doubt owing to Sony's "thousand of chimpanzees using MS Paint on thousands of PCs" department - it does give credence to the notion that such a device will be, at its core, a ramped-up incarnation of previous camera-based gaming peripherals. News is scant - we'll be providing updates as more details come in - but according to Eurogamer's summary, Marks & Co. aims to provide a more natural, fluid experience than previous devices.
While motion-control gaming has yet to dethrone the almighty controller, the success of the Kinect has shown that such devices can be successful in the marketplace, even if only to fill a niche. Thus, in the interest of f**ktons of cash diversifying one's gaming portfolio, it's not terribly surprising that Sony has an interest in developing a successor to the PlayStation Eye.
So until we step boldly into the inevitable future - 2040 will be the year Microsoft unveils the "NeuroBox 360 Reality Synthesizer" - we'll simply have to settle for our primitive toys. I for one am disappointed. We were promised holodecks; instead, we have tricked-out webcams strapped to our televisions.
Today, Harmonix adds another three tracks from thrash metal band Megadeath to Rock Band: "Symphony Of Destruction," "A Tout le Monde" and "Public Enemy No. 1."
"This is an awesome game and fans get to play a cross-section of our best songs ever," said Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine. "I am going to have to learn my songs all over again!"
"Symphony of Destruction" is the only one with the optional $.99 Pro Guitar and Pro Bass expansions. The tracks are available separately for $2 each, or as the Megadeath Pack 01 for $5.49.There's already a lot of Megadeath in the game, with their albums Peace Sells... but Who's Buying and Rust In Peace available in their entirety in the Rock Band Music Store. So if you're a fan, then... woo hoo! But if you're me, you'll probably just go back and replay Rick Astley from last week a few more times!
Jennifer Hepler is a writer whose work you've likely come across if you've played BioWare games, specifically Star Wars: The Old Republic or the Dragon Age series. In the case of the latter, she was responsible for writing Anders, whose same-sex romance I found to be quite touching in that tortured soul sort of way. She is someone I would consider a staunch ally in the games industry, and someone who has opinions about how to make games more inclusive to a wide set of playing tastes and abilities.
Yesterday both Jim Sterling on Destructoid and Alex Raymond on The Border House outlined recent attacks on her (Edit: adding The Mary Sue's coverage of the timeline as well). Now, despite the fact that I have pointed out that I enjoy Hepler's work, I would also like to make the case that regardless of how you feel about Hepler's writing (and I think most here would agree with her work on same-sex romances in games), the level of vitriol and personal attacks against her? Bullying.
One of the frightening things about bullying is how it gets justified. Justification in bullying is really rather easy to find, and people find all manner of ways to defend it (look at Tennessee's recent attempt at allowing bullying in cases where religious, philosophical, or political beliefs uphold it). Considering how we can question Justice in Dragon Age 2, and the events that concept inspires, it seems apt that we would question 'justice' here in the same way. After all, there is no reason to single out Hepler's sex, weight, or personal appearance in making claims against her writing. If people have a problem with her writing, it is with that they should take issue. Saying this is the internet is getting old. Saying it is human nature likewise.
Allegra, over at The Border House, has now started a petition, asking BioWare to publicly support Hepler. While her GM did stand up for her on Twitter, it would be nice to show that we do support Hepler, much in the same way that we've supported David Gaider when he was slammed for daring to make the argument about inclusiveness and privilege in games. While I do not consider BioWare the most daring game studio out there (perhaps among AAA developers), they are highlighting what can happen when one dares to question the status quo.
Whether or not you wish to sign an online petition (I understand the thought process of wondering whether it accomplishes anything), I do urge people to let BioWare know that we are not among those who would attack Hepler personally, nor do we support removing same-sex options to please some outdated modes of thinking. In today's world of social media, there is after all the ability to reach out via Facebook, Twitter, or good ol' fashioned email.
Update:BioWare has officially put out a response concerning their own support of Hepler on the BioWare Social Network. Chris Priestly, on behalf of co-founder Dr. Ray Muzyka, posted the following:
Jennifer is a valued, talented employee who has been with BioWare for many years and we hope will be with us for many more. It is awful that a few people have decided to make her a target for hate and threats, going so far as fabricating forum posts and attributing them to her, and singling her out for projects to which she has not contributed (i.e., Jennifer is not even a part of the Mass Effect writing team). All of us at BioWare support and will continue to support Jennifer fully, and are happy to see so many people out there are also supporting her during this difficult time.
- Dr. Ray Muzyka. Co-Founder of BioWare; General Manager, BioWare Label; Senior Vice President, Electronic Arts
In addition, they will be giving $1000 donation to Bullying Canada in Hepler's name.
For those who like their robots bipedal (and armed to the gills), the prospective loveliness of Reign of Thunder brings smiles, excited giggles, and enough suspension of disbelief to make one forget that when it comes to mechanized combat, walking robot armies are wholly impractical, vastly expensive, and unlike their tank counterparts, can be rendered prone by a well-placed (and sturdy) tripwire.
The game is being developed by Day 1 Studios, known for their work on the MechAssualt series, and as one would expect, takes place in the Battletech universe. According to the press release, Reign of Thunder will be a "fast paced, multi-player focused title" from a third-person perspective. Players can customize their mechs - having never played an of the MechAssault games, I can only hope my "scores of heat sinks and enough PPCs to rip holes in space-time" strategy will still be possible - and as an added bonus, the orgy of mechanized destruction will be free-to-play.
The game is without a solid release date, though TJ Wagner, Creative Director and Executive Producer of Reign of Thunder, says that "time is very, very near." Platforms have also yet to be announced, though one would suspect PC will be on the bill.
I know it's a holiday, but I'm going to give you a special treat by staying on schedule with my video podcast! Don't say I never did anything for you!
This week, it's all about the game I was expecting to get for my birthday and did: Resident Evil: Revelations. But I also got a fun Star Wars book, and I go on a digression about bad storytelling and how not to ruin a game with a demo. Enjoy!
There are films, and then there are masterworks. Cinema's primitive origins - privileged audiences of the 19th century found themselves enthralled with the simple wonder of Eadweard Muybridge's "Sallie Gardner at a Gallop" - have birthed a groundswell of creativity, capturing the mind's eye of artists across the globe through the magic of the moving picture. Yet every now and again, there comes a truly transcendent work, and staggered by the grandeur, you find yourself left in helpless submission to that singular moment when the third eye opens - the majesty of the infinite possibilities and variables of space-time suddenly beheld by a quivering spirit - into which flows the truth about life, love, sex, death, and the central axiom upon which all existence, both material and transcendent, fundamentally rests. The sudden flood of revelations tears your corporeal form asunder, erasing from this dimension all that was once your mortal essence. Yet it is in this divine trance that the transmigration of the soul begins, hurling toward the Great Expanse on a wave of white hot-flourescene: an ethereal stream, stretching from the now-opened mind into the infinite firmament. Then, finding yourself awash in a sea of celestial light - you, intrepid star-child of the Higher Planes - the screen goes black, a slow crescendo of melody envelopes your being, and the credits roll.
Such is probably not the case with "The FP," a "Warriors"-style jaunt though the fields of silliness. Set in a dystopian future, rival gangs game to the death - their weapon of choice, a knock-off of Dance Dance Revolution - in a battle for pride, power, and the prestige of being the greatest dancer in all of Fraizer Park. Grills shall be flashed, dancing boots shall be donned, and the eyepatch of our noble protagonist shall serve as a harbinger of the baditude that is to come. In "West Side Story," territorial disputes were settle through dance-offs; in "The FP," such disputes are settle through "beat-offs."
So check out the 2:30 fever dream that is "The FP," and happy (very late) Friday!
This week was huge! It's probably the biggest week all year! So buckle in and get ready, because we've got a lot to cover! And I'm not just talking about Carmen's insecurity about her outfit!
Nobody was more surprised than I was when the Kinect game Disneyland Adventures became one of the standout titles of E3 2011. So it was with great curiosity that I awaited its release to see if it would be as much fun as it seemed to stroll around a virtual recreation of Disneyland and play a series of fetch quests and mini-games.
The full review is after the jump, but SPOILER ALERT: It is!
For me, stealth-oriented games, or anything in the ballpark thereof, is a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand, it looks brilliant on paper: favoring tactical prowess over a mindless barrage of bullets, such games encourage the player to utilize those precious, precious mental faculties, offering an experience far above the simpleton's flavor of ultraviolence.
On the other hand, I'm extraordinarily impatient, and even the faintest waft of danger - harkening back to a time when we gleefully bashed one another's heads in for food, shelter, and the endless pursuit of the fabled "badonkadonk" - sends my little Simian brain into some kind of primal bloodlust, immediately spelling ruin for my most carefully laid plans.
Such was my pain with the original Far Cry, a game that I never finished, on account of "being generally terrible" at such titles. Yet for many of my more savvy peers, the game was not only a visual feast; it was a rather fine FPS title with an immersive environment, engaging gameplay, and of course, a focus on strategically eliminating one's targets, rather than the more intuitive approach of rampaging through the jungle like some kind of coked-up psychopath.
In anticipation of Far Cry 3, a new trailer has been released, offering some cinematic prettiness, as well as giving one a bit of insight into the story, characters, and the environment in which our hapless protagonist finds himself.
Square Enix has announced that another DLC episode for Final Fantasy XIII-2 will be available starting on February 28. The episode, called Sazh: Heads or Tails?, features the popular FFXIII character in a story that runs parallel to the main storylien. And as with the previous DLC, once you finish the story, you can add Sazh to your party. The DLC also includes two new card games for the Serendipity casino, Chronobind and Serendipity Poker. The DLC is priced at 400 Microsoft Points/$4.99.
On the same day, new outfits for Noel and Serah will be made available for 240MP/$2.99. Of course, being a girl, Serah gets a "Beachwear" outfit and Noel gets a "Spacetime Guardian" outfit. So typical. Why can't the guy get a skimpy bathing suit? Heck, I'd even accept board shorts. (Although the press release doesn't indicate that these alternate costumes grant new abilities, so is this another horse armor situation? Or is it like FFX-2, where the costume changes had a point?)
Starting today, Wii owners who have their console connected to a broadband internet connection will be able to watch TV shows and movies with the new Hulu Plus app. The app is free to download, but Hulu Plus itself is a subscription service that costs $7.99 a month. However, during the first month of the launch, new Hulu Plus users can get a two-week free trial.
"Wii offers the most entertainment fun for everyone in the family, with an impressive selection of streaming movies and TV shows in addition to an unparalleled lineup of games that can't be played anywhere else," said Tony Elison, Nintendo of America's senior director and general manager of Network Business. "The Wii console is the hub of the living room, and with the addition of Hulu Plus, millions of households now have even more options for streaming premium TV shows and movies."
I took advantage of the free trial period when they launched Hulu Plus on the Xbox 360, but I didn't continue with it. It just wasn't worth the money for me. But the service does carry quite a lot of shows, so it's almost a reasonable alternative to cable TV. Plus, you can navigate with the Wiimote, which is always fun!
Hulu Plus is also scheduled to hit Nintendo's 3DS handheld later this year, which is cool, but honestly, I barely use Netflix on my 3DS, so I doubt I'd be interested. (For on-the-go streaming, I use my phone so I don't have to worry about WiFi all the time.)
Capcom has revealed the final four fighters that will be included in the roster of the total 38 characters battling it out in the upcoming Street Fighter X Tekken. From the Street Fighter series, you've got M. Bison and Akuma, and from Tekken, the abalicious Jin and Ogre! Mind you, Capcom is careful to call the 38 the "launch lineup," so I would expect more characters in the near future via DLC.
Street Fighter X Tekken will be hitting PlayStation 3's and Xbox 360's on March 6 in the US and March 9 in Europe. But Capcom has also just announced that the PC version will be streeting on May 11. Unfortunately, there's still no date for the PlayStation Vita version, but they say details are coming "in the near future." So look out for that if you're planning on getting Sony's new handheld.
• fillerbunny9 on Supporting Jennifer Hepler: good on BioWare standing up for their employee. I'd like to know what other parts she was specifically responsible for...
• elumExcalmlic on Swap Notes With Swapnote!: With some part or another, the majority of us arrive at the conclusion one way or another that our health...
• Free Makeup Samples on Resident Evil Rises Again: I'm not sure where you're getting your info, but good topic. I needs to spend some time learning more or...
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