Articles by NaviFairy
At last year's E3 XCOM was announced, and stirred up quite a bit of bile in the stomachs of fans. The classic tactical gameplay had been replaced by an utterly generic first-person shooter. We haven't heard much from the game since then, and after seeing the game in motion at E3, it's clear why. The developers have been working hard at revamping XCOM into something that comes closer to living up to the series' tactical legacy.
Before the demo, the developers helped set the stage for the game's setting. Taking place in the 60's, XCOM's story tells an alternate history where an alien invasion interrupts the Cold War right before the Cuban Missile Crisis. Kennedy is still the president, and civil rights movements are in full swing. Keep that last point in mind as you continue reading.
I'm not really the biggest champion of Sony's systems in general. I had a PSP once, but hardly played it, and generally only use my PS3 for exclusives. So it's fair to say I wasn't expecting to be impressed by Sony's new handheld system at E3. It didn't help that with all the tech packed in the system it would surely be ridiculously expensive, looking at the system it is clearly too big for any pocket.
Then Sony's press conference happened. The price, $250 for the wifi model, definitely caught many gamers' attention, and announcements like a new Bioshock title pretty much sealed the deal. But how does the thing actually play? Thankfully, immediately after the press conference Sony had a number of systems on hand ready to show off what the Vita can do. And it can do quite a lot.
Next week Wootini and I will be flying off to LA for E3. To prepare we've mostly been playing lots of L.A. Noire to learn the lay of the land, but we've also been plotting and scheming which games we're most excited to play and learn more about at the show. We thought you might like to know what we're anticipating to be some of the big games of the show, so we made this nice list for all to enjoy.
The competition is tough this year, with tons of great games already announced and more likely to be announced at the show that we don't even know about yet, so don't think that these are the only games we're excited for. Be sure to let us know in the comments your own most anticipated games of E3. After all, we want to cover the games you care about.
So without further delay, here are our most anticipated games of E3 2011.
For anyone who was gaming 20 years ago, this is is an absurdly surreal image to witness. Sure, There have been plenty of Sonic games on Nintendo systems since Sega bowed out of the console race, but Nintendo Power's retro-styled cover complete with classic Sonic still gives me chills. It really puts things in perspective. 20 years from now, will it really matter if Xbox 360, PS3, or Wii was the "best" system? No. It's the games that endure.
Sorry, I think I have something in my eye.
Anyway, I'm supposed to be reporting the news, right? The reason for the fantastic magazine cover is to announce the 3DS version of Sonic Generations. The cover also mentions a new Shinobi game, which is perhaps more exciting news than a new Sonic game since it's been 9 years since the last game in that series was released. All that's old is new again, eh?
Now I'm in a nostalgic mood, so let's get some discussion going in the comments. What are some of your favorite console war memories? Of course, they'll all seem silly in retrospect, but that's kind of the point. Let the absurdity of blind fandom be known, and hopefully fanboys and girls of current hardware can look in the mirror and see just how silly and petty the arguments are.
Image source: [NeoGaf]
E3 is just two weeks away, and Microsoft is getting ready by sending out press badges to its big press conference for the show. And while I normally wouldn't report on this sort of thing, Microsoft's press badge seems to be dropping some hints as to what their big games of the show will be.
The badge came in the mail in two parts. First, there is the badge itself, which has a number of blank boxes marked as "Status," "Favorite Hero," "Motto," and such. The second part of is a sheet of stickers, which can be used to fill in the blank boxes on the badge.
Now, what stands out most are the sticker options for the "Favorite Hero" category. Some of the characters are the expected standard Microsoft fare, like Marcus Fenix, Master Chief, and Cortana. Others represent big games that will be present at the show, like Batman and Lara Croft. Arkham Asylum had exclusive PS3 content, so it's possible Microsoft has secured its own exclusive DLC this time around and will announce it at E3. There really isn't a lot known about the new Tomb Raider, but the fact that Microsoft is billing it as one of their top titles certainly is encouraging for the reboot.
But two of the options just don't fit like the others. Luke Skywalker, specifically, seems to suggest that the Star Wars Kinect game first revealed last year will get a more formal introduction at E3 2011. The press badge also included stickers of a lightsaber and the phrase "May the force be with you," so expect some significant Star Wars-related news to come out of Microsoft's press conference. The other name that stood out to me was GLaDOS, which could simply be capitalizing on the recent popularity of Portal 2. Though, her inclusion on the press badge reminds me of the Xbox Live Arcade release of Portal: Still Alive and the possibility of a similar XBLA release tied in with Portal 2.
Will Tomb Raider, Gears 3, Arkham City, and Star Wars steal the show at E3? Is a new Halo (or the often rumored remake of the original) planned for the series' 10th anniversary? Is Microsoft just having a bit of fun and I'm reading entirely too much into it? We'll find out on June 6 when Microsoft kicks off its press conference bright and early at 9AM PST.
Big surprise, after releasing Chrono Trigger last week there's nothing new for the Virtual Console in this week's Nintendo shop update. But that doesn't mean WiiWare is being neglected. Overflow is this week's sole WiiWare release, a puzzle game where players create paths to direct colored liquids to their proper homes. From the description, it sounds almost like Lemmings with water, which actually sounds rather good.
Three new games come to DSiWare. Well, actually it's two new games, since one of those three is Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords. It's nice to have the game in downloadable form, but it might be a bit late. This week also sees the release of the retro-styled shooter 99Bullets and the puzzle game 3D Twist & Match.
Are you planning on downloading any of this week's Nintendo releases? Is the original Puzzle Quest still relevant? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. And check out the full descriptions of this week's Nintendo downloads after the break.
It's been a while since there was a weekly Nintendo update worth paying attention to, but this week is a special case. Chrono Trigger releases on Virtual Console today! Often considered one of the best games of the 16-bit era, if not beyond that, Chrono Trigger is an absolute steal at $8 for any RPG fan.
Aside from that classic, Gabrielle's Ghostly Groove: Monster Mix comes to WiiWare. Though it's not the Elite Beat Agents style rhythm game that it is on the DS, Monster Mix tries to be more like a chibi gothic version of Just Dance with players waggling and shaking the Wii remote along with the music. There's also a demo for Lead the Meerkats, which it's always nice when Nintendo releases free demos of WiiWare games.
On DSiWare, there's Big Bass Arcade, which sounds like a pretty extensive fishing game for fans of the genre, with 42 events spread across seven different lakes. Also on DSiWare is Word Searcher 3, for those who can't get enough word search puzzles, and Hellokids - Vol. 1: Coloring and Painting to provide a digital coloring book for younger gamers.
I'll be downloading Chrono Trigger for my 4th time re-buying the game (so worth it). Any of this week's Nintendo downloads catch your eye?
Check out the full descriptions of this week's Nintendo download titles after the break.
Oh Nintendo, I have such a love/hate relationship with you recently. File this one in the "hate" column: the 3DS eShop has been delayed until June 6 in the US, and June 7 in Japan. Yes, that's the same eShop that originally was going to launch with the system, then got a delay to an unspecified May release. But hey, with so many 3DS games coming out this month, who needs the eShop, right?
Nintendo will launch the 3DS eShop on June 6, then hold its E3 press conference on June 7. With both Microsoft and Sony holding their E3 press conferences on June 6, any 3DS eShop news is likely to be overshadowed until Nintendo's press conference anyway. Then again, Nintendo specifically says the eShop update will arrive "the evening of June 6 Pacific time," so more likely it's just an early launch so that everything is up and running for the June 7 press conference.
Now for the good news. The eShop isn't the only new addition arriving on June 6, as it will be joined by the long awaited 3DS internet browser. The 3DS eShop will also launch downloadable 3DSWare, allow for transfers of DSiWare to a 3DS system, and introduce the 3DS Virtual Console which will feature Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Gear, TurboGrafx-16, and classic games updated with 3D effects.
Out of what I can only assume is tradition, Nintendo has made no announcement yet about when the eShop will arrive in Europe. I guess Nintendo just really likes the old adage "better late than never."
Namco Bandai made a long-awaited announcement at last night's Level Up Dubai 2011 event: Tales of Graces F will see release outside of Japan. This is both good and bad news for RPG fans in the US and Europe. The good news is that this is the enhanced PS3 version of the game, with a 10+ hour epilogue story not found in the original game. The bad news is that it doesn't sound like Tales of Graces without the F, the original Wii release, will make it stateside. So while PS3 gamers have something to be happy about (and they need all the good news they can get right now), Wii gamers are left out.
There's still a pretty long wait for Tales of Graces F, with an ambiguous 2012 release date, but it's good to finally have some confirmation that the game is actually coming. Between Tales of Graces F and Tales of the Abyss 3D, perhaps there's hope that Namco Bandai will keep the US and Europe in mind as development on Tales of Xillia progresses.
Seeing as I haven't played more than a few missions into Splinter Cell 3D, I am not comfortable calling this writeup a review of the game. However, it doesn't take very long to realize that the game is fundamentally broken is a significant enough way that continued play would not change my assessment of the game.
Splinter Cell 3D is a remake 2005's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. Now, I have not actually played Chaos Theory, but I am told that it is one of the best stealth games on the market. If this is true, then some significant effort must have gone into Splinter Cell 3D's development. It takes true passion and dedication to take something great and mess it up this badly.
I'm not entirely sure what innuendo that headline is suggesting, but reading it back it does sound dirty to me for some reason... Anyway, the important thing is that the game Your Doodles are Bugged is available on Steam right now!
The game actually came out as an Xbox Indie game about a year ago, and I had nothing but good things to say about it then. Things like:
In what can best be described as a combination of Lemmings and Crayon Physics, you draw lines on the doodle-art levels to guide a horde of bouncing bugs to the level's goal. On first glance, each level looks like a haphazard mess of squiggles and designs, befitting of the game's doodle title. But upon closer inspection there are carefully crafted pathways hidden in the level for you to find and utilize, assuming that you can draw the right lines to guide your bugs there.
The Steam version adds all the sorts of Steam enhancements you'd expect, like cloud saving, leaderboards, and achievements. It also lets you control the game with a mouse, which is far more suited to the drawing gameplay than the 360's analog stick. But probably the biggest addition to the Steam version is the new doodle studio, letting players create their own doodle levels and share creations with their friends.
Your Doodles are Bugged is available for PC on Steam and through publisher Blitz 1Up's website for $9.99 (£6.99).
Tales of the Abyss 3D was one of the first games announced for the 3DS but then things got oddly silent on the title, with some wondering if it would actually see a release outside of Japan. Well, have no fear, because the latest issue of Nintendo Power magazine confirms that the game is on its way to US shores later this year.
Though Nintendo Power didn't specify when we'll be playing Tales of the Abyss 3D on our 3DS, it seems Amazon may have leaked that information. The Amazon description for the first issue of the Tales of the Abyss manga, which has since been removed, included the line "This series premiere will also match that of franchise's RPG title debut on Nintendo 3DS." The first issue of the manga is scheduled for August 16, which isn't too long after the game's June 30 release in Japan.
Tales of the Abyss on PS2 is easily one of my absolute favorite JRPGs, right up there with Skies of Arcadia, Grandia II, and Lost Odyssey. The story and pacing are great, the combat feels like a more evolved Super Smash Bros, and it has Guy, who is pretty much amazing. No, unfortunately he isn't actually a gay character, but that didn't stop me from developing a serious crush on him when I played Tales of the Abyss back in 2006.
Boyhood fantasies aside, expect a more official release date for Tales of the Abyss 3D, and possibly some Tales of Graces F localization news, from E3 in June.
And girls who like girls who like rumble packs!
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