Nukezilla

Music Monday: Super Metal Brothers

Jenny Rouse — Mon, 21 May 2012 09:08:33 +0000

Geek points to anyone who can guess the quote I’m referencing in the post summary. It’s not hard.

Brothers Dan and Frank Johansen – known collectively as The Dual Dragons – share a love of composing, music, and video games. It only seemed natural, then, that the two would eventually team up to remix Final Fantasy songs with a metal twist. Their album “Final Fantasy History” strives to represent every Final Fantasy game released – up to and including Final Fantasy X. While most of the remixes cover single tracks, there are a few medleys to be found in the mix, and the medleys remain my favorite offerings of these two.

The album’s free to download, as are their one-shot remixes, on their website. The boys have been a little slow to upload lately, but as far as I can tell, they’re still active, and worth checking out if you’re into video game music with a metal flair. I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that they finish their Castlevania tribute album.

Fight of the Red Wings (Final Fantasy IV – Medley of “The Red Wings” and “Battle 2″)

SeeD Mission (Final Fantasy VIII)

Crazy Motorcycle (Final Fantasy VII)

Zeromus The Manipulator (Final Fantasy IV

What’s New and What’s Cheap in the UK: Rayman, Warlock and Arma 2

Simon Julian — Thu, 17 May 2012 09:00:37 +0000

Welcome to this week’s edition of “What’s New and What’s Cheap in the UK”, the weekly post telling you exactly what it says on the tin: what’s cheap in Old Blighty. But fear not, international readers: where applicable, prices will also be listed in Euros and USD.

Releases-wise this week is better than last week’s, a little indie hit called Diablo 3 hits the PC, while Max Payne 3 releases on PS3 and 360, and Sonic 4 Episode 2 hits PSN and 360.

On the Deals Side this week, Shopto has Rayman Origins on 360 for £13.85 and Pandora’s Tower on the Wii for £19.85, Zavvi has Mortal Kombat: Komplete Edition on the 360 for £17.95 and Warlock Master of the Arcane for under a tenner.

Elsewhere Gamersgate has Just Cause 2 for £2.49 and with DayZ fever swearing the Internet ArmA 2 Combined Operations is available for £19.95 or ArmA 2 Operation Arrowhead for £9.95 and Steam has Dear Esther for £3.49.

What catches your eye on either side this week?

What’s New

Diablo 3
Athletics Tournament

Athletics Tournament
Cartoon Network Punch Time Explosion XL
Max Payne 3
Sonic 4 Episode 2 – XBLA

Athletics Tournament
Cartoon Network Punch Time Explosion XL
Max Payne 3
Sonic 4 Episode 2 – PSN

What’s Cheap

Shopto

Rayman Origins | 360 | £13.85
Pandora’s Tower | Wii | £19.85
Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition | PC | £6.85

Play.com

Need For Speed: The Run | 360 | £14.99

The Game Collection

Virtua Tennis 4 – World Tour Edition | Vita | £15.95

Amazon

Bit Trip Saga | 3DS | £18.71

Zavvi

Mortal Kombat: Komplete Edition | 360 | £17.95
Warlock Master of the Arcane | PC | £9.95

Gamersgate

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light | PC | £2.49
Just Cause 2 | PC | £2.49
ArmA 2 Combined Operations | PC | £19.95
ArmA 2 Operation Arrowhead | PC | £9.95

Steam

Plants vs. Zombies GOTY Edition | PC | £1.75/$2.49/€2.49
Dear Esther | PC | £3.49/$4.99/€3.99

Indie Royale

the ALL-CHARITY LIGHTNING PACK | PC | £2.82 at the time of writing, but will change – Includes Osmos, B.U.T.T.O.N, The Shivah and Blueberry Garden

If I’ve missed either a new release or a great cheap deal, please comment and make that information known.

Hans’s May 16 vlog: Tastes Like Freedom

Hans Wuerflein — Wed, 16 May 2012 22:54:10 +0000

Sorry I keep staring off into nothing for like half of the video. Probably should have drank that energy drink about 20 minutes before filming instead. :\

So, what are you up to this week?

Please Continue to Hold: The Woes of Battle.net Security and Trying to Play Diablo III on Launch Day

Meagan Bickell — Wed, 16 May 2012 13:46:10 +0000

The last time I used my Battle.net account was in 2007 when I tried out World of Warcraft again after a few years’ hiatus. I recently tried to play WoW again with a friend who had never played before and had to do the account migration to the new Battle.net system.

I had forgotten my old password and the answer to my security question, so I tried to do a password recovery by changing the email address to my current one and sending my old password to my new email address. I needed to answer my security question to do so. (I think this is what happened, but it’s anyone’s guess what actually transpired during my attempt to get into my account. I know for sure that somehow my email got changed, but I still couldn’t access my Battle.net account.)

Eventually I just gave up, telling myself that when I needed to, I would just make a new account.

So now it’s the release day for Diablo III. To buy the game, I have to log into my Battle.net account. No problem, right? I’ll just make a new account.

Oh, but remember, I tied my email address to my old account that I can’t get into. Now I can’t untie it without logging in, and I can’t do that unless I have the answer to my security question. I also can’t use the first 6 digits of my WoW authentication number because I was never able to migrate my WoW account from the old Battle.net to the new Battle.net.

Ok, no problem. I’ll call customer service and just explain what happened and they’ll be able to fix me right up.

23 minutes later, I’m still holding while a recording keeps repeating every ten seconds “please continue to hold.” Every once in a while another recording chimes in about how I should go to the Battle.net website and it will magically fix my problem. Probably.

“No it won’t!” I keep shouting at the recording, “Shut your goddamned electronic face!”

I visit the website anyway, though, to try everything I can possibly think of. I try resetting the password (I need the answer to my security question), I try making another account again (I need to untie my email address from my old account), I try randomly typing answers to my security question hoping I get it right (I’m eventually locked out and am therefore forced to talk to a customer service rep. anyway).

52 minutes after my initial call, after trying everything on the Battle.net website I can find to do (multiple times) and never getting to talk to a customer service rep., through some sort of divine intervention I miraculously have an account. I don’t know if it’s my old one or a new one I created through the alchemy I practiced on the Battle.net website, but somehow I have an account I can access and buy things with.

So I am finally able to buy Diablo Triple Clawmarks. I had already downloaded and installed it, too, so I am able to go right to enjoying the awesomeness and majesty it radiates.

…for about 45 minutes. Then the Battle.net server goes down.

And here I am, waiting for it to come back up again. All I want to do is play locally with my husband, but I still have to wait for the server to come back up.

In short, the security system for Battle.net is very good and I hate it.

But hey, at least I’m not a Blizzard customer service rep. I bet they’re all getting earfuls from lots of even angrier gamers than I.

The Infinity Ward vs. Activision Kerfuffle

Meagan Bickell — Wed, 16 May 2012 05:03:50 +0000

Okay, so if you haven’t heard about this yet, basically former Infinity Ward developers are suing Activision for royalties that they claim Activision failed to pay them for their work on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

Activision is counter-suing Jason West and Vince Zampella, former heads of Infinity Ward, for breaching their contract with Activision. The breach of contract involved a disagreement on creative direction, not necessarily on COD: MW2 specifically, and the Infinity Ward group leaving Activision and founding a new company, Respawn Entertainment.

That’s the general rundown. Hopefully the upcoming jury trial will clear a lot of the fuzzy details up.

Actually, speaking of the upcoming jury trial, Activision hired a pretty high-profile lawyer last week to represent them, according to The Verge. Ever heard of Beth Wilkinson?

If not, you should. She’s worked on cases against the likes of Columbian drug lord Dandeny Muñoz Mosquera and Oklahoma City bombers Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols. She represents the NFL and Pfizer and is currently working with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission on an antitrust inquiry into Google.

She also reportedly eats four steel I-beams for breakfast every morning and wrestles African elephants in her spare time, although I could not confirm those reports.

Basically, this lady doesn’t mess around. And now she’s working with Activision against West and Zampella, which, as I see it, is bad news for the former Infinity Ward heads.

Although she did work with Fannie Mae for a while to help boost their professional relationships before the global economic crisis, and we all know how well that turned out for them. So maybe Infinity Ward still has a fighting chance.

In a surprising move yesterday, Activision wrote a check to Infinity Ward’s lawyers for $42 million USD. The payment is supposed to include 10% interest and is in addition to an already-paid $22 million USD, which accounted for the former employees’ first quarter launch bonus.

Bruce Isaacs, Infinity Ward’s attorney, spoke to Polygon about the recent payment by Activision.

“Although it is a meaningful payment,” he said, “it is only a small portion of what we are seeking in litigation. It is outrageous that they made us wait, they obviously knew they owed the money and this just shows that they breached the contract.”

The payment is not supposed to be part of a settlement, according to Polygon, which lends some credit to Isaac’s claim that this is simply a “cynical attempt to look good before the jury trial.”

The Infinity Ward group still plans to pursue Activision for the rest of what they claim they are owed. Both Activision and the Infinity Ward group are set to appear before the Los Angeles Superior Court today.

Nukezilla was able to contact Lawyer Dog for comment.

“The case looks pretty black and white to me,” he said this afternoon.

Via: The Verge/Polygon

CoD: BlOps 2 Officially Revealed

Serious Sam HD: Second Encounter Versus Multiplayer Now Free

Hans Wuerflein — Tue, 15 May 2012 20:54:45 +0000

Everyone loves free stuff. Even better is when that free stuff is pretty awesome, regardless of price.

Today publisher Devolver Digital has made the versus and survival modes of Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter free to play on Steam. This doesn’t include the co-op or single player, but it’s still a fun portion of a great game, free of charge.

The single player campaign and other modes are still available in the full game, which happens to be on sale at the moment for $5 by itself or part of a number of Serious Sam series bundles, but is now somewhat humorously listed as the “Campaign DLC.”

Devolver has also released the Legend of the Beast DLC pack, which adds new single and multiplayer levels to Second Encounter.

Apparently Croteam, developers of the Serious Sam franchise, have had this DLC in the works for some time, but needed to finish Serious Sam 3: BFE before they could polish it off. When The Escapist asked why a 2010 remake of a 2002 game was getting DLC in 2012, Devolver Digital CFO Fork Parker was frank.

“F*ck you, that’s why,” Parker said.

Good enough reason for me.

Via The Escapist

The News that Almost Was: May 7-13

Hans Wuerflein — Mon, 14 May 2012 12:43:42 +0000

This week was slow. We managed to get a few good news posts up, but I just couldn’t find that much to report. We really are in that weird pre-E3 lul right now. A few things will be announced or leaked (probably by a smart PR person, capitalizing on the lack of other news), but most companies are busy getting their presentations ready for E3.

I try to remember to put something in these posts about how you should keep submitting tips, but for the next two or three weeks we really need them. I mean, on one hand there are so few stories happening that they’re hard to miss. On the other, we’ll be really down on content unless we find stuff to fill in the gaps.

Oh well. Complaint/begging for tips part of the post is now over. On to the news that didn’t make it for whatever reason.

EA has been saying that gloom and doom predictions about its subscriber base for Star Wars: The Old Republic were blown out of proportion. This week we found out they’ve actually lost about 25 percent, or 400,000, subscribers in the last month and a half. Ouch. And there might be another wave about to leave as a promotion giving level 50 players a free month to stick around is about to end as well. The current (officially released) numbers put the game at 1.3 million subscribers, but EA has said that the game can remain profitable with as few as 500,000.

There was other EA news as well, including a new Dead Space, the stunning revelation that they are working on games for the next console generation, layoffs are coming, and some numbers on Origin. They say it has 11 million users and has generated $150 million so far. After a bit of math, all that tells me is most of those 11 million accounts bought either Battlefield 3 or Mass Effect 3 elsewhere, then got stuck using Origin to install it. How nice.

There is a $99 version of the Xbox 360 available only at Microsoft stores, which there are only 21 of, that comes with a two-year contract for Xbox Live Gold at $15 a month. The higher monthly cost ends up costing about 10 percent more for the system than just buying it in the normal fashion. It looks like Microsoft is testing the waters a bit to see how a service contract subsidized gaming console would work using more or less the payment system most people get their cell phones under.

Music Monday: Listen To Animal Crossing All Day

Jon Ruggiero — Mon, 14 May 2012 08:01:40 +0000

The music of the Animal Crossing series has always been a favorite of mine, because of how the music syncs with the time of day. The music you heard at 4 p.m. was vastly different from one heard at 6 a.m. It’s a great way to ensure diversity in your music, as you’re always bound to hear something different whenever you start the game up. Now you can have that same philosophy in your daily life, thanks to Brian Lee.

Mr. Lee went on Youtube and found all of the different songs that correspond to a time of day. He then took the videos an set them up in a loop, with necessary transitions at the top of every hour, according to your computer’s internal clock. That means that you can now have your life match the soundtrack of Animal Crossing, something I know we’ve all been waiting for. The only thing that could make this better is K.K. Slider making an appearance on Saturday evenings.

GameStop Drops PSP Games from 1/4 of Stores

Hans Wuerflein — Sat, 12 May 2012 15:12:04 +0000

The PSP has had a troubled life. Despite eventually selling more than 71 million systems worldwide (as of last fall), it never really felt like a success.

Maybe it was the frustration of constant firmware updates, or the fact that just about every game ended up dropping its retail price down to $10 a few months after release, killing any motivation to pick up games at release. Either way, despite being pretty good hardware, it always felt like it was on life support from Sony.

With the launch of the Vita earlier this year it was only a matter of time before the PSP started being phased out.

The first major sign of that happend this week, with GameStop’s decision to stop selling PSP games in 25 percent of its US stores. A representative for the company told Kotaku the games are being pulled from GameStop’s smaller stores, freeing up limited shelf space in those locations.

“It will also provide a greater assortment in those stores that will continue to carry the category,” the company rep said.

I guess this sucks if you love your PSP and live in a town whose GameStop stops carrying them, but at least they aren’t completely dropping support for the system. Yet.

Via Kotaku

id Software Remembers Wolfenstein’s Birthday After All

Hans Wuerflein — Sat, 12 May 2012 06:42:23 +0000

During last weekend’s news wrap-up I lamented that no one involved with Wolfenstein 3D was marking the game’s 20th birthday with anything more significant than a tweet. Well, it turns out that they were planning on remembering it, it just took them a few days.

Earlier this week, Bethesda’s blog (which has handled this kind of stuff for id games too since the ZeniMax buyout/merger) did acknowledge the anniversary, and posted two really cool treats for fans.

First, Wolfenstein 3D is now playable in your browser. I guess all that time id spent on Quake Live is paying off in other ways.

Also, they released a 25 minute video of John Carmack giving commentary on the game, its development, the rise of modding, and other PC gaming history. I’m posting it below because it really is a must see for anyone interested in Wolfenstein or game development in general.

The News that Almost Was: April 30-May 6

Nukezilla Minecraft Server Update: Growth, Expansion, and Bounties

Meagan Bickell — Fri, 11 May 2012 08:00:28 +0000

Alright, so it’s only been about a week since the last update, but there’s been so much stuff being built I need to go ahead and unload some of these pictures.

Some improvements have been made to the base recently, including working light switches, courtesy of wexxy, and a bathhouse and lounge built by zard12. We’ve also got a nice little town sprouting up around the base now, so it’s feeling a bit more homey. Individual projects are looking good. I’m anxious to see how everything turns out.

Nothing to report on the spawn point improvements yet, but hopefully that project will get underway soon. The deforestation, however, is coming along nicely ;) In addition, we’ve had a couple more players join our Minecrafty family. Yay!

Speaking of that, EiC and ex-EiC sightings have been very few. As such, we are offering a bounty of 64 lapis lazuli each to whomever is able to get them to start building stuff on the server. We’ll need photo evidence, and be warned–I’m like a basset hound when it comes to sniffing out photoshops. And by that I mean I’ll be taking frequent naps during the investigation process.

Enjoy the screenshots :)

What’s New and What’s Cheap in the UK: Saint’s Row, Final Fantasy XII-2 and Portal

Simon Julian — Thu, 10 May 2012 09:00:14 +0000

Releases-wise this week looks a little better than last week’s, but not by much, Warlock – Master of the Arcane hits the PC, while Starhawk releases on the PS3 and Minecraft hits XBLA.

On the Deals Side this week, Shopto has Saint’s Row The Third on PC for £6.85 and Catherine for £19.85 on the 360 and PS3, Zavvi has Final Fantasy XIII-2 for £11.95 on 360 and PS3 and GoG has Alan Wake for around £9.31.

Elsewhere Impulse has Space Pirates and Zombies for £1.54, Gamersgate has Majesty 2 The Fantasy Kingdom Sim for a quid, with each of it’s expansions going for the same price, and Steam has the Portal series on offer in various forms, either Portal, Portal 2 or the Portal Bundle are all silly cheap.

What catches your eye on either side this week?

What’s New

Warlock – Master of the Arcane

Akai Katana
Minecraft – XBLA

Starhawk

What’s Cheap

Shopto

Saint’s Row The Third | PC | £6.85 – Steamworks
Catherine | 360 | £19.85
Catherine | PS3 | £19.85
Binary Domain | PS3 | £19.85

Zavvi

Final Fantasy XIII-2 | 360 | £11.95
Final Fantasy XIII-2 | PS3 | £11.95

Impulse

Space Pirates and Zombies | PC | £1.54/$2.49
Batman: Arkham City | PC | £9.99/$16.18

GoG

Alan Wake | PC | £9.31 Approx /$14.99

Gamersgate

Majesty 2 The Fantasy Kingdom Sim | PC | £1.00
Majesty 2 Monster Kingdom Expansion | PC | £1.00
Majesty 2 The Fantasy Kingdom Sim | PC | £0.99
Majesty 2 Kingmaker Expansion | PC | £0.99

Steam

Portal | PC | £2.37/$3.39/€3.05
Portal 2 | PC | £5.09/$6.79/€6.79
Portal Bundle | PC | £6.11/$8.49/€8.49

If I’ve missed either a new release or a great cheap deal, please comment and make that information known.

Meta Knight Banned from SSBB Tournament Play

Meagan Bickell — Thu, 10 May 2012 04:52:34 +0000

If you’re familiar with competitive gaming, then you’re familiar with the drama that goes with it. I’m not talking about the drama that unfolds during a close match, when both players and the entire audience are on the edges of their seats, breath held, and when a victor finally emerges the room explodes with cheers and applause. No, I’m talking about the cries of “broken” this and “over-powered” that. Sometimes those cries are justified. Sometimes they aren’t.

Whichever is the case for Meta Knight in Super Smash Bros. Brawl–and it seems there are plenty of arguments for each–the character was banned from tournament play starting January 9, 2013.

No, Nintendo didn’t issue a patch or anything. This ban is part of the current edition of the Unity Ruleset, the governing document for most major tournaments in the US and Canada.

The ban was actually announced last September, but APEX 2012 in January was the last major tournament to see the character on anyone’s roster.

In the January tournament, four of the top eight players and 21 of the top 64 competitors in the singles tournament used Meta Knight. The doubles tournament saw a similar saturation, with all four players in the grand finals competing with the character.

The way I see it, these statistics can be read in two ways–either people are playing Meta Knight because he’s considered “broken,” or he’s being considered “broken” because he’s so popular. In reality, though, it’s probably a bit of both.

Either way, it’s been about four years since Nintendo released SSBB, so they’re kind of beating a dead horse at this point. And besides, the upcoming Wii U/3DS sequel will soon replace Brawl, giving competitive players a new set of characters to argue about.

Via: the Escapist

Hans’s May 9 vlog: Yukon Wrap-up and Other Stuff

Hans Wuerflein — Wed, 09 May 2012 17:05:56 +0000

I give my final thoughts on the potential announcement of Microsoft’s “Yukon” (or Xbox 720, or whatever), CES, and other related stuff I’m tired of talking about. This one goes a bit longer than past weeks. Let me know what you think about how long I should ramble in these.

Also, what are you guys up to this week?

GOG.com Lands Alan Wake, Puts it on Sale

Hans Wuerflein — Tue, 08 May 2012 14:05:25 +0000

It was cool when GOG.com announced they were adding newer games to the site. After all, more games available at a good price, DRM-free is never a bad thing.

The only problem was that other than a few indie games, the newer stuff was all four or five years old and available cheap elsewhere.

That changed a bit today with the addition of Alan Wake to the site’s catalog. It was a big deal when it landed on the Xbox 360 a couple of years ago, and generally really well received too. But the PC version of Alan Wake first appeared on Steam just three months ago. In fact, it just hit physical retail a few weeks ago, so while not a same day release, I think they can go ahead and call it “new” instead of “newer” with a clear conscience.

While the normal price of $29.99 is the same as the Steam price, GOG is launching it on sale for $14.99. Pretty good deal really. The sale only runs through the morning of May 15 though, so if you want it at this price, grab it soon.

Included with the GOG version are most of the goodies that come with the Collector’s Edition elsewhere ($34.99 on Steam), with the rather sad omission of the game’s soundtrack. GOG usually manages to land those as a bonus, so it must have just been some weird licensing thing this time around. Too bad.

Haiku Impressions: Zenbound 2 (PC)

Meagan Bickell — Mon, 07 May 2012 22:07:08 +0000

Feels quite villainous
Tying up figures with rope.
Just needs a train track.

Music Monday: Rayman Origins

Sean Fletcher — Mon, 07 May 2012 19:12:21 +0000

After hearing nothing but good things about it, I picked up Rayman Origins for the Vita in March, and it’s one of the best platformers I’ve played in recent memory. The only games I can think of that come close are the New Super Mario Bros. Games for the DS and Wii.

The entire game is just completely charming. Everything from the colourful backdrops and characters to the excellent level design and controls. To top it al off, the soundtrack is great. There aren’t many games that can stop me becoming frustrated with a hard level just because I enjoy listening to the music.

The soundtrack was composed by Christophe Héral who also worked on Beyond Good and Evil, and I can only hope he will be involved in the recently leaked sequel, Rayman Legends.

Lum King

Chest

Ocean World – Glouglou

Ocean World – Abyssal Glouglou

The News that Almost Was: April 30-May 6

Hans Wuerflein — Mon, 07 May 2012 00:54:13 +0000

Finally! I’m done talking about ‘Yukons’ and release windows and other industry crap. Don’t get me wrong, I’m super happy we got this story, and I stand by our reporting of it. I’m just tired of looking over the same documents, page after page of marketing BS, day after day. I’ll probably end up doing my vlog next week at least partly about the next Xbox posts, but I’m glad to be moving on from that story.

And while that was a cool story, the scope of getting it all organized written and posted, combined with me going to a wedding last weekend and my sister’s college graduation this weekend means I haven’t had time to get as much other stuff posted, or even submitted to my writers as I would have liked. Oh well. Gives me plenty of good material for this post, I guess.

This week Wolfenstein 3D, essentially Genesis to the first person shooter genre, turned 20 years old. I’d love to post a link to a big retrospective IGN or Gamespot did to commemorate the event, but I can’t seem to find one. A Google search turns up more forum posts than news stories. Here’s an interesting wrap-up John Romero wrote over a decade ago to make up for that. The shareware is still out there if you want to try in out for free, but you’ll probably have to set up DOSBox yourself to get it running. Steam has the full version for $5, pre-set up for modern operating systems, so that would be the way to go if you’re feeling lazy.

Indie game bundles are so played out. Indie music bundles are where it’s at. The Indie All-stars Bundle features 10 albums (with five more as a ‘beat the average’ bonus) from various indie artists. The gaming connection (and thus, justification for it being plugged here) is the inclusion of PPPPPP: The VVVVVV Soundtrack and Buckner and Garcia’s Pac-Man Fever. The money gets split between the artists, bundle creators, and charity. The two charities supported here are the EFF and VH1′s Save the Music, which supports school band programs threatened by budget cuts.

If you clicked the link to the Wolf3D shareware up above, you might have noticed something odd about the top of the page. It looks like FilePlanet will soon be no more. I’ll have to admit, I haven’t really been to any of those old download sites in a while, other than to dig up a patch for a game released in 2001. Still, it’s kind of sad to see a site most PC gamers knew and used back in the day shutting down.

TERA is out and some people are excited. Until a couple weeks ago, I honestly thought TERA and Rift were the same game, and couldn’t figure out what all the fuss was about. I stand by that assessment.

You will play this, and you will be changed forever. That is all.

Exclusive: Next Xbox Pricing, Launch Window Revealed

Hans Wuerflein — Sun, 06 May 2012 11:24:44 +0000

All this week we’ve been telling you about Microsoft’s Yukon project, the follow up to the Xbox 360. It sounds great. Well, except for those plans about pulling backwards compatibility a few years in.

Anyway, I’m sure everyone is wondering how much can we expect to pay for Microsoft’s next console, and when will it arrive.

It seems like there was still a debate going on within Microsoft when these documents were created. In some places it suggests a retail price of $399, in others, $299. In fact, they bring up the phrase “$2000 PC in a $300 box” multiple times.

I also questions whether or not Kinect v2 will be included, and how this will affect the price. Everything in the planning for the next Xbox suggests that Kinect v2 won’t just be another peripheral, but an important part of the system’s functionality, whether games make much use of it or not. Although I’m sure marketing wants it to hit shelves at the cheaper $299, that might be hard to pull off as a package, console, Kinect and all.

Either way, it looks like they are trying to avoid the slow start Sony had with the PlayStation 3. Top of the line technology or not, people have trouble justifying $600 for a videogame system.

Similar to their plans to drop backwards compatibility, they already have a rough outline of the price-drop schedule for the console, for both $299 and $399 starting price points. Either way, don’t expect to see a price drop before its third year on shelves, and then only by $50. The plans stretch out for the full proposed ten-year lifespan of the system. For context, I just landed my first real job out of college, and under one plan Microsoft plans to still be charging $200 for this system when I’m 35. Good luck with that.

But when will this thing actually drop? If I were you, I wouldn’t hold my breath for news out of E3. Not anything concrete anyway. The documents strongly suggest the official unveiling of Microsoft’s next console will happen at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, January 2013. A quick search around the internet reveals that one date hinted at in the documents, January 6, is the date of “The Ofﬁcial Press Event of the International CES“, or the big official press conference day a couple days before the show officially opens.

Actual boxes on shelves aren’t expected until the somewhat vague “holiday season 2013.” In other words, somewhere between September at earliest and mid-November at the latest. After all, gotta have them ready to go for Black Friday.

So, you’ve got a year and a half to save up. Who’s interested?

The Xbox Leak:

Disclaimer: The documents Nukezilla have seen come from a trusted source, and while we believe them to be accurate, and have done our best to verify them, we can not be absolutely certain. As such, consider this information more strong rumor than fact.

Elder Scrolls Online Announced

Hans Wuerflein — Sun, 06 May 2012 06:21:19 +0000

This one confuses me.

Not why it exists. I’m sure someone in a boardroom at ZeniMax said something about ‘strategically leveraging intelectual property’ or some other BS and here we are.

And not the idea of a popular RPG series getting the MMO treatment. This isn’t the first time someone has tried.

It doesn’t really bother me that the art style in the few early screenshots reminded me more of the first Guild Wars, only in higher resolution, than an Elder Scrolls game.

It’s not even how many of the elements people claim to love about the series don’t really seem to lend themselves to an MMORPG, at least not in the way the genre has been handled thus far.

What confuses me is why Bethesda chose to introduce this game to the world with a picture of three dragons eating each others asses.

Preview: Guild Wars 2 Weekend Beta Event Was SO AWESOME!!!!1!!!

Meagan Bickell — Sat, 05 May 2012 06:09:08 +0000

As you may know, April 27-29 was the first weekend beta event for those who pre-purchased Guild Wars 2, including Yours Truly. It was pretty much Awesome Sauce.

I tried out the Charr race this time around. If you aren’t already familiar with the Guild Wars lore, the Charr are a race of cat-cow humanoids with violent tendencies. Their capital looks like a giant scrap heap held together with rust and duct tape, and it’s kind of confusing to get around, but it looks pretty cool.

I got to choose from eight different classes, of which I tried the Guardian and Ranger. After I chose my class, I got to customize my character’s body-type, skin pattern and color, and face and head. Then I answered a few questions that determine the details and arcs of my character’s story, and off I went.

The Guardian class wasn’t what I expected. I had envisioned more of a stand-out-of-harm’s-way-and-heal-my-party-members type of experience. What the Guardian class actually ended up being is more of a go-up-and-hit-things-and-die-a-lot type of experience. Dodging is a new mechanic in GW2, and it’s a must for melee classes. I didn’t know that, hence the dying a lot. All classes have a personal healing ability, but the weird thing is that the Guardian doesn’t start with any group or party member healing spells. It apparently gets them later, but at level five I still hadn’t gotten any and decided to try another class.

The Ranger was a lot more like what I had envisioned. I got a pet and an axe and went on my merry way. My starter pet was a fire-breathing lizard that looked bad-ass. Unfortunately, Charmander got its ass handed to it by every mob I fought (and some I didn’t want to fight) and I had to resurrect it every couple of minutes. It was killed by a deer. A DEER.

Besides the pet being a waste of a class mechanic, the Ranger has some cool abilities. It’s got AOE (area-of-effect) attacks, knock-backs, and can use and switch between many different weapon types. You can do other things with your pet besides using them to fight. One ability allows you to send your pet out to revive fallen allies nearby, although it didn’t seem to work all that well. The Ranger also has a lot easier time staying alive than the Guardian because it can keep mobs at a distance.

As far as abilities go, depending on your class and the kind of weapon you have equipped, the attacks you have available to you will change. The more you use a weapon, the more attacks you’ll unlock with it. This lends a lot to the customization of your play-style. (I recommend the not-dying-style, myself.)

Dying isn’t just dying, either. When your health runs out, you fall but can still save yourself by using special abilities that are only available at that time. For the hunter, one of the choices is to call your pet to have them revive you. If the mob that killed you dies while you’re trying to save yourself, you “rally” and immediately get back up. Everyone can revive everyone, and you even get XP for doing so, providing some incentive for other players to, you know, not be a dick.

Something else that’s pretty cool about Guild Wars 2 is that you don’t really get “quests.” There aren’t NPCs just standing around telling everyone to go get them 20 zhevra hooves (and you’re lucky if you get one fucking hoof from a four-hooved fucking zhevra) for some potion to save their sick relative or something. There is a little bit of that, but more prominent are the personal story quests–determined by the details you chose when creating your character–and public events. Even better, you don’t have to make sure your whole party has certain quests to go do to be able to play together. You can just play together and walk around doing public events. You can also join in on other people’s story quests.

Over-all my friends and I had a lot of fun over the weekend, especially during the last hour when a huge public event called The Great Critter Hunt took place. This was basically a mass killing-spree in one of the racial zones. After all the players on the server had swept through the region in a huge group, killing everything in their path, a cute, murderous rabbit appeared at the top of a mountain for us to slaughter. Once the rabbit was defeated, everyone took to killing critters again. Some were normal mobs, some were ravenous tougher-than-normal mobs, and some were elite mobs with tentacles and AOEs and other scariness. There was also a dragon at some point.

Pre-purchasing the game will guarantee you a spot in the next beta weekend. Personally, I can’t wait to see the progress they’ve made. Until the next beta event, feel free to peruse these screenshots captured for your enjoyment :)

Exclusive: Next Xbox to have Blu-ray, Support Augmented Reality Glasses

Hans Wuerflein — Sat, 05 May 2012 06:00:27 +0000

Some of the changes coming to Microsoft’s next console will be more surprising than others.

One of the more interesting peripherals hasn’t even been officially announced yet, but isn’t an unheard of concept. According to documents seen by Nukezilla, Microsoft’s Innovation Center in Foraleza, Brasil has been developing a set of augmented reality glasses for some time now. If you aren’t familiar with the concept, Google announced their version of AR glasses earlier this year.

The glasses won’t be included with the next Xbox console, or even available at the system’s launch, but there are already plans in place to make the two technologies work together. No concrete release date is given, but the documents suggest sometime in 2014 at earliest.

Information regarding the glasses is limited, understandable so being so far from release, but interaction with Xbox and Kinect is suggested. Much remains to be seen, but this combination of technologies could produce games and other experiences like a rough version of the holodeck from Star Trek.

The other tech changes in the next Xbox are a bit more commonplace, but still interesting. The documents make multiple references to Microsoft’s next console being an all in one box.

“All in one modern entertainment box with native 1080p 3D video capabilities, Blu-ray and multiple power states.”

Much like backward compatibility though, Microsoft are considering producing a version of the next Xbox somewhere down the line without an Optical Disc Drive.

“At launch we believe Yukon ships with a multi-format ODD with Blu-ray support. This fulfills two key launch requirements: 1) position Yukon as the only box you need and 2) support backwards compatibility. It is not a requirement that game discs ship on Blu-ray (whether we support that or not can be a late binding decision). Blu-ray, much like backwards compatibility, is a user perception issue more than anything else. Having it removes one more barrier to purchase and leaves our competition with one fewer talking point. Of course this does not preclude a SKU being offered without and ODD at a reduced price point. This should be planned for as our audience moves more and more to digital distribution.”

This seems to suggest a possible split within the Xbox brand sometime during the upcoming console generation. While there would still be systems with a Blu-ray drive included, Microsoft might also sell a smaller, cheaper version just for streaming and downloaded content. This sounds like a better way of working toward a digital only console than just making a clean break from discs.

Microsoft is also hoping to utilize more cross device functions. In theory, tablets and smartphones would be able to either be used as a secondary screen and input device, or as a display for content to be streamed to while something else is running on your TV. Kind of like the Wii U, or even certain DVRs.

“Yukon will enable the next step in cross screen functionality. At its most basic Yukon will be little different than a PC, Windows Phone or Slate albeit with a unique I/O interface. Developers and Creators will be able to deliver application experiences across three screens easily and dependably via HTML5 authoring and the scotch platform. The platform will enable cross platform game development to allow companion gaming experiences.”

Here are some of the examples given:

Select plays in Madden on a phone, then watch it play out on the TV.
Learn more about an actor or (their example, not mine) where to buy the dress she’s wearing.
Start watching something on one screen, switch to another at the same spot (lots of cable DVRs claim this functionality, but it’s hit and miss)

The Xbox Leak:

The EA Indie Bundle is… Wait, What?

Hans Wuerflein — Fri, 04 May 2012 00:45:58 +0000

No really. Steam has something for sale called the EA Indie Bundle.

My first thoughts on seeing this were that EA is indie like people walking down the street confuse me for Shaquille O’Neal, and that EA’s indie cred is about as authentic as a hooker’s smile.

After the initial shock wore off though, I noticed that it’s actually a pretty decent deal. The bundle includes DeathSpank, DeathSpank: Thongs of Virtue, Gatling Gears, Shank, Shank 2, and Warp. There are some pretty good games in there, and at just under $21, it’s probably worth it if you haven’t picked any of those up yet.

And I will give them a little bit of credit on the premiss. Yes, all of these games were made by indie devs, then published by EA. I just have a hard time taking it seriously because indie to EA just means a studio they haven’t bought out, closed down, and named an unwanted, mandatory online service after. Yet.

No related posts.

Nukezilla Review: Dustforce (PC)

Jon Ruggiero — Thu, 03 May 2012 11:30:41 +0000

Let’s be honest: in today’s indie games market, the 2D platformer is king. Such a simple facet of game making has become the skeleton for many an indie darling over the past few years such as Super Meat Boy, N, I Want To Be The Guy, And Yet It Moves, Fez, and Cave Story. This has lead to a deluge of like-minded titles flooding the market, forcing you to wade through nonsense before you find a true gem. Dustforce is just another one of those games, presenting you with quirky art, teeth-gnashing difficulty, and a neat little twist on the genre. Thus, a question must be asked: if Dustforce is so similar to these kinds of games, why is it worth purchasing?

Because it might be the best platformer you’ll play this year.

Possibly drawing from it’s platforming great-grandfather, Dustforce’s heroes are also menial servicemen; janitors, rather than plumbers. They are tasked with traversing the walls and ceilings of a city, forest, laboratory, and mansion, disposing of refuse such as dead leaves and dust. The focus here is speed, getting through levels and dust quickly and efficiently. Running or sliding along a surface clears the debris away, and adds to a combo meter. If you stop dusting for too long, or get hit by an enemy, you lose your combo. At the end of each level you’re given a time and a grade for how well you cleaned the level and kept your combo alive. You can also view a video each and every run that other players have done on the game’s leaderboards.

The refuse is apparently causing problems in the environment, causing animals, humans, and statues alike to animate and attack people. That’s where our grime-fighters come in. Our heroes have a defense against these dirty foes. Each Dustforce member can use their personal cleaning utensil to perform heavy and light attacks. These attacks can also be utilized in platforming. By knocking the dirt off an enemy or, you can replenish your double jump, and constant attacks on masses of dust can propel you forward without using a second jump. Also, by building up your dusting combo, you gain power and pull off a room-sweeping flash of raw dusting power, useful for defeating the last few enemies that usually end the levels.

Each level has a different philosophy to approach from. Most, like the Server Room and Grass Cave are about precisely timing jumps and letting the environment work for you. This is broken up by levels that throw you into a small room filled with enemies (Store Room, Containment), and larger stages that encourage exploration to make sure you’ve eradicated each and every bit of dirt (Caverns, Forgotten Tunnel). All of the levels have something for those that like exploring, as well as those who want to speed through as quickly as possible.

The game’s aesthetics are what really make it special. Dustforce is one of the prettiest games I’ve ever laid my eyes on. The heroes you control have these vibrant hues that set themselves out from the dull, drab earth tones and gunmetal grays that litter the environment. That’s not to say the levels themselves aren’t gorgeous. Exposed circuitry and wiring, shelves upon shelves of books, and rolling hills connect each area with its theme and grime type. The concert of all of the visuals makes for a game where almost any screen shot could be framed and admired as art. And then there’s the music. My God, the music. Robot Science has gone and made a soundtrack that almost anyone could just burn to a CD and play on repeat in their car. It’s dancey and funky, with mellow synth-heavy roots of the bygone video game soundtracks of yesteryear. “Swimming Through The Waves” is the perfect example of this.

The Nexus itself stands out as a high point in the visuals. Each area and its unique art style are seamlessly integrated into each hub area, with a few secrets tucked away for the dedicated to find. The hubs are a fun diversion from the fast-paced levels, as you can leisurely roam around looking for the next room you want to try out. Some doors are locked, and obtaining keys is as easy as completing levels. Gold doors are by far the hardest levels in the game, meant only for expert players. I’ve taken a look at some of these rooms and can’t even comprehend how to complete them. But that’s the thing, these are the kinds of levels that make you want to push yourself and better your dusting skills. This game may be hard, unbearably so at times, but you never really feel like walking away from it.

Back when I first got my hands on Dustforce, I knew I was getting into something special. The game hasn’t changed much since those initial impressions, save for more things to do and an overhaul of the key collecting system. It’s still the graphically-breathtaking, aurally-orgasmic, finger-breaking good time it was when I downloaded the demo that I couldn’t stop telling people about. Only now I can edit levels and play it on my Macbook. It may take the form of many other great indie titles that have come before it, but Dustforce makes a name for itself, and it begs to be tried out once.

What’s New and What’s Cheap in the UK: Alpha Protocol, Skyward Sword and Bastion

Simon Julian — Thu, 03 May 2012 09:00:53 +0000

Release-wise this week is almost completely dead, Tera releases on the PC, Mortal Kombat hits the Vita, Awesomenauts does hit PSN and XBLA after all and Fable Heroes releases on XBLA.

On the Deals Side this week, The Hut has The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword for £19.99 and Simply Games has SSX on 360 for the same price, while Zavvi has Assassin’s Creed Revelations: Ottoman Edition for £19.95 on 360 and PS3 and for £17.95 on PC.

Elsewhere Gamersgate has Alpha Protocol for £2.99 and Magicka Collection for £4.49 and Steam has Bastion for £4.59 and DustForce for £3.49.

What catches your eye on either side this week?

What’s New

Tera

Awesomenauts- XBLA
Fable Heroes – XBLA

Awesomenauts- PSN

Mortal Kombat

What’s Cheap

Simply Games

SSX | 360 | £19.99

Asda

Child Of Eden | 360 | £5.00

Shopto

Formula 1 2011 | 3DS | £9.85
The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim | 360 | £24.85

The Hut

Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword | Wii | £19.95

Zavvi

Assassin’s Creed Revelations: Ottoman Edition | 360 | £19.95
Assassin’s Creed Revelations: Ottoman Edition | PS3 | £19.95
Assassin’s Creed Revelations: Ottoman Edition | PC | £17.95

Gamersgate

Alpha Protocol | PC | £2.99
Magicka Collection | PC | £4.49

Steam

Bastion | PC | £4.59/$5.99/€5.59
DustForce | PC | £3.49/$4.99/€4.49

If I’ve missed either a new release or a great cheap deal, please comment and make that information known.