Archive for the ‘News’ Category

7:30am-pst

The Wii U is available for purchase, the PS4 is well on its way, and now it’s Microsoft’s turn to show us what they’ve got in store for the oncoming next console generation. After months of rumors about always-online functionality, attacks on used games and piracy, and even the name, we will finally get some answers from team green. Today at 1pm Eastern/10am Pacific Microsoft will be officially unveiling the next Xbox via livestream only on Xbox Live, Xbox.com, SpikeTV, and Gametrailers.com.

Feel free to get your popcorn .gifs ready, and come back right here in about 2.5 hours for live updates of the big unveiling.

9:00am-pst

We’re only one hour away from the reveal. Don’t forget to use the #xboxreveal hashtag when tweeting about the next gen event, and until things get rolling use the #xboxmemories hashtag to reflect back on the last two gens.

10:00am-pst

And here. We. Go.

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Nintendo can sometimes come up with some really weird ways to promote their games. Turning Times Square into Super Mario Land was pretty amazing (especially when I got to jump all around and hit blocks and stuff in reality), and turning Times Square into a beach resort for Wii Sports Resort was probably cool (I wasn’t able to make it to that one). But now the West Coast gets some love because to promote the May 24 launch of Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D for the 3DS, Nintendo is hosting an event at the Los Angeles Zoo, specifically at the Campo Gorilla Rerserve!

“Fans will get a chance to spend time with Donkey Kong and some of his friends from the animal kingdom at the L.A. Zoo this Memorial Day weekend,” said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “They’ll be able to experience a fun day with Nintendo at the zoo and play Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D.”

For all of Memorial Day Weekend (May 24-27), the zoo staff will be feeding the real-life gorillas from giant cardboard barrels like in the game, but fans will have to settle for taking pictures with a costumed Donkey Kong character in the zoo. Oh, and naturally, there will be demo stations so you can sample Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D, and get a coupon for $5 off the game at GameStop. Honestly, the whole things sounds bananas. Get it? Bananas? I’m here all week. Don’t forget to tip your waitress!

Capcom is releasing a two-pack of the classic Dungeons & Dragons arcade titles, Tower of Doom and Shadows Over Mystara, as Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles Of Mystara. It’s a remastered version, although as you can see from the screenshots, the modernization has taken place in the gameplay, not so much the graphics. They’ve gone decidedly old-school here, embracing every pixel of the original. You can adjust the views as you see fit, either with a frame or filling the screen, but the best one I thought was probably the one where you can make it look like the arcade cabinet and add scan lines to the game screen so it looks authentic enough you’ll want to put quarters on the edge of your TV.

They’ve added what they’re calling “House Rules,” which let you adjust the game settings to suit your mood. Either make weapons and items unbreakable, have enemies drop lots of gold, or whatnot. You also earn Vault Points by completing specific tasks while playing the game, like achievements. These points can be used to unlock treasures in the vault like new House Rules as well as fan service like concept art and original flyers for the games. If you’re a fan of the series, you’ll love it. There’s also four-player co-op gameplay both on- and off-line, and it’s drop-in/drop-out, so you don’t have to worry about losing your progress.

I played some of it, and it’s pretty much the side-scrolling beat-em-up you remember. Of course, with the added benefit of not having to waste a ton of quarters every time you want to continue. Well, unless you want to set the House Rules so that you only get the one life. Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles Of Mystara is due out in June as a downloadable title for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U and PC at a price of $14.99.

The internet fairly exploded when Capcom announced that it would be updating the classic 8-bit title DuckTales, and I can happily report that WayForward has done right by all the fans. They have taken the basic framework of the game and its levels and redrawn all the art and enhanced all the sound to make DuckTales Remastered.

The hand-drawn sprites are beautifully rendered, but still feel old-school in that as modern as they look, they still retain the old-school animation. The levels are the same structures, but now fully 3D. And to make sure that DuckTales Remastered lives up to the classic ’80s TV series, episodes were used as reference to inspire the backgrounds. And not only did WayForward upgraded the 8-bit chiptunes, but for any new music, they actually went through the effort to first create 8-bit music that they could then upgrade in the same way so the entire game would remain consistent. And many of the actors from the TV series were tapped to provide voicework for the game.

In addition to the original game, there is also some new content. Like a tutorial level and a museum where you can track your progress and leaderboards. And what would Scrooge McDuck be without his Money Bin? Nothing, that’s what. So WayForward has added the Money Bin as a playable level where you can not only track the amount of wealth you’ve accumulated throughout the game, but go for a swim in it!

I played through a level, and even with the modern HD polish, the charm still comes through. Underneath all the stunningly rendered sprites and backgrounds, at its heart it’s a really strong platformer. I have to admit that I had a little trouble getting the hang of Scrooge McDuck’s pogo attack, but by the end of my demo, I was okay. Well, aside from the stupid ghosts that you can’t hurt and have to just avoid. I hated those things. And unfortunately, I was unable to even attempt the boss fight, because I kind of broke the demo. I find that I do that a lot at these press events!

DuckTales Remastered is due out this summer on Xbox LIVE, PlayStation Network and the Wii U eShop. I was told that there’s also the possibility of a PC version, but they can’t confirm anything on that yet.

Ever since Remember Me was announced, I was intrigued. Both by the Neo-Paris 2084 futuristic setting and by its strong, female lead (who actually wears functional clothes that cover her realistically-proportioned body!). But it wasn’t until now that I was able to get my hands on a controller and actually play through some of the game. It was such a lengthy demo that I stopped after a while because I felt like I had been hogging the game for too long, and also because I’d reached a cinematic and I didn’t want to spoil the story. Read on for my impressions…

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I thought Resident Evil Revelations was a great title for the Nintendo 3DS, bringing the series back to its roots and focusing more on being scary than over-the-top combat. Unfortunately, when the game came out, not that many people had 3DSes, so they missed out on what I consider the best Resident Evil title in the past few years. But now that’s all changed, with the game getting an HD makeover and being ported to all the current consoles!

I got my hands on the Xbox 360 version at a Capcom press event in New York City, and can happily report that it has made the transition quite well. The graphics have received a serious upgrade, and the characters and environments look fantastic. Also, the controls are smooth like buttah. I appreciated the old-school RE controls on the 3DS, but putting in that second analog stick… oh, it’s wonderful. The actual game and storyline remain the same, although they have added Infernal Mode which is a punishing difficulty level with more enemies that are seriously harder to kill. So you know, if you’re a glutton for punishment…

Resident Evil Revelations is headed for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC and Wii U (the Wii U version features off-TV play where you can just play directly on the GamePad!) on May 21, so look for it very soon. Don’t miss out on it this time! (Also, if you really need some more incentive, there’s a hot sailor costume to unlock for Chris in the game!)

Nintendo’s Tomodachi Collection is a life simulation series only available in Japan. It can be best described as a mix between The Sims and Animal Crossing. Players control their Miis (which they can transfer over from their Wii consoles) as they go about every day tasks in real time. The newest entry in the popular series, Tomodachi Collection: New Life for the 3DS has been making the internet rounds over the last few days as news spread about the game allowing for same-sex marriages.

Quite the big step coming from the same company that recently saw so much controversy over its treatment of gay marriage and child rearing in Fire Emblem: Awakening, right?

Not really.

Turns out the ability to marry a Mii of the same sex was not only a glitch, but one that was also limited to male characters (sorry lesbians). The glitch also made it possible for male characters to become pregnant. Glitch or not, many Japanese players rejoiced at Tomodachi Collection: New Life‘s accidental equality. The trending topic #homokore, a play on #tomokore (a shortening of Tomodachi Collection), was born and many gamers began tweeting screenshots of their happy little gay Miis living their everyday lives. Some players decided to buy the game because of the glitch. Many news outlets called for Nintendo to embrace the glitch and merely patch it to allow female Miis to get in on the marriage fun.

Well, Nintendo did release a patch….but rather than allow for ladies to marry ladies it just goes ahead eliminates same sex marriage options in the game altogether.

Adding insult to injury, Nintendo said in a statement that players should download the patch if they are experiencing any of the following:

“The inability to boot up the game

Error messages

Human relations that become strange

The inability to save”

Here we go.

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