The Virtual Console Forums

My Dream Thread: Star Fox U

Kreegs — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 03:37:40 GMT

Star Fox 64 is, and always will be, one of my favorite games of all time. A conversation in the chat prompted me to start thinking again about a new Star Fox game on the current Nintendo console. Last time I had this thread, that was the Wii. Now we have the Wii U and it's gamepad to stir up even more ideas. While this game will probably never happen, or measure up to the greatness of Star Fox 64, it is always fun to speculate.

What are some things that you would love to see in a new Star Fox game on the Wii U? How should the gamepad be used? Any new ideas?

Watch Brian Provinciano's Retro City Rampage talk from GDC

R.O.B. — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 03:32:55 GMT

One of our favorite talks from GDC was Brian Provinciano's session, in which the indie developer discussed bringing his game, Retro City Rampage, to just about every platform known to man. It's a valuable talk for many reasons, giving a clear picture of what it's like working with The Big Three[TM] and the types of hurdles a determined indie developer will inevitably hit.

Provinciano's determination to port Grand Theft Auto 3 to NES hardware escalated into a love letter to video games and pop culture. While Provinciano hasn't announced his next project yet, he says we should expect more humorous open-world games.

Watch Brian Provinciano's Retro City Rampage talk from GDC originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 17 Jun 2013 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Alan Wake's American Nightmare drops price to $10 on XBLA

R.O.B. — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 03:32:55 GMT

Alan Wake's American Nightmare, the standalone follow-up to the original psychological action thriller, is now 800 Microsoft Points ($10) on the Xbox Live Marketplace. The game was previously 1200 MSP ($15), which continues to be its price on Steam.

Developer Remedy has moved on to Quantum Break, but there is the possibility that Mr. Wake's influence will be felt in the upcoming game.

Gallery: Alan Wake's American Nightmare (2/20/12)

Alan Wake's American Nightmare drops price to $10 on XBLA originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 17 Jun 2013 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Panzer Dragoon creator wants to make Crimson Dragon RPG

R.O.B. — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 03:32:55 GMT

If Crimson Dragon is successful, developer Grounding Inc. hopes it will become a franchise, creator Yukio Futatsugi told Joystiq during E3. When asked if he would ever return to role-playing games, Futatsugi told us he'd like to see Crimson Dragon spun out into a full-fledged RPG.

Futatsugi is best known for creating the Panzer Dragoon series, notably the much loved but hard to find RPG, Panzer Dragoon Saga, so the prospect of a Crimson Dragon RPG should be an exciting one for fans.

Right now the team is focused solely on finishing the current game, he said, but the story and atmosphere of Crimson Dragon have been crafted in such a way that it could easily be turned into an RPG. Grounding already has many team members who worked on the likes of Panzer Dragoon Saga and Panzer Dragoon Orta, including Crimson Dragon's programming lead, design lead, art lead and sound team. When the decision was made to bring Crimson Dragon to Xbox One, the team also acquired the art designer from Futatsugi's original Xbox cult classic, Phantom Dust.

Of course, few people have played Panzer Dragoon Saga, and many may not understand what all the fuss is about. The game was released at the end of the Sega Saturn's lifecycle, and only 30,000 copies were produced for North America. I asked Futatsugi if he'd like to see Panzer Dragoon Saga re-released as a downloadable game, especially given Sega's recent retro push with games like Jet Set Radio and Nights.

He would like to see Saga re-released, he said, and the subject comes up from time to time at the Grounding offices. Usually, these discussions end with the team realizing that the game would be very difficult to remake. Still, Futatsugi said he would love to play it again.

Panzer Dragoon creator wants to make Crimson Dragon RPG originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 17 Jun 2013 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Surgeon Simulator 2013 adds support for Oculus Rift, Razer Hydra

R.O.B. — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 03:32:55 GMT

Surgeon Simulator 2013 will soon support the Oculus Rift and Razer Hydra peripherals, adding a new layer of immersion to Bossa Studios' PC medical malpractice sim.

In Surgeon Simulator 2013, players attempt vital organ transplants from a first-person perspective using an intentionally awkward control scheme. It suffices to say that if you're squeamish, head-tracking and motion-sensing peripherals won't make the experience any less nauseating.

The peripheral-enhanced version of Surgeon Simulator 2013 will be playable at Rezzed 2013 in Birmingham on June 22 and 23. An update adding official support for the Oculus Rift and Razer Hydra will be released to the public "soon."

Show full PR text

YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE YOUR EYES. BE NIGEL, ON OCULUS RIFT!

Bossa Studios puts meat on the bones: Surgeon Simulator 2013TM now supports cutting-edge peripherals, playable at Rezzed show this weekend

London, 17 June 2013 - Bossa Studios announced today that Surgeon Simulator 2013 will soon support the hotly anticipated Oculus Rift[TM] and the Razer Hydra(R), taking surgery to the next level of mayhem and creating the most immersive operating theatre experience ever. In addition, the game will be playable with the hardware at the Rezzed Show at the NEC in Birmingham on June 22 and 23 2013.

Released on Steam in April 2013 at £6.99 (or equivalent), Surgeon Simulator 2013 has quickly become nothing short of a phenomenon. The original prototype - developed in just 48 hours at the 2013 Global Game Jam in January 13 - challenged players to complete a heart transplant using a combination of keyboard and mouse actions, armed only with an arsenal of clumsy and inappropriate tools and a hapless hand that was diabolical to control.

Set to release soon and with development kits already with Kickstarter backers, the Oculus Rift allows players to step into game. It was one of the big hits at this year's E3 show in Los Angeles, impressing the audience with its stereoscopic 3D experience and a huge field of view.

For additional information on the game, please visit the following links:

Official game site: www.surgeonsimulator2013.com

Twitter: @surgeonsim2013

Facebook: www.facebook.com/OfficialSurgeonSimulator2013

Steam: http://steamcommunity.com//app/233720

About Bossa Studios

London-based Bossa Studios is led by a team of veterans from the worlds of gaming and entertainment. Proud creators of BAFTA-winning Monstermind, and the BAFTA-nominated Merlin: The Game, Bossa Studios has revolutionised the social gaming market. Its achievements of developing and publishing innovative games resulted in it being awarded the Develop Excellence Award for best 'New Studio' in 2012. As part of Shine Group, the Studio is also developing new transmedia experiences.

www.bossastudios.com

Surgeon Simulator 2013 adds support for Oculus Rift, Razer Hydra originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 17 Jun 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy 13 hosts a party of one

R.O.B. — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 23:30:49 GMT

No development process has been as interesting to watch than the multi-game pile-up known as Final Fantasy 13. It's not that these RPGs have been of poor quality, per se; they just represent the totality of Square Enix's resource mismanagement during the first HD generation of consoles. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that Lightning Returns wasn't the only Final Fantasy 13-related product on the show floor during E3 2013, as Square unveiled the long-awaited Versus 13 under an entirely new (though slightly predictable) name: Final Fantasy 15.

This rebranding - combined with the Final Fantasy 13 name getting second billing to its lead character - provides some compelling evidence that the developer might be a little ashamed of that "lucky" number these days.

Gallery: Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII (E3 2013)

Continue reading Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy 13 hosts a party of one

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy 13 hosts a party of one originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Now Playing: June 17-23, 2013

R.O.B. — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 23:30:49 GMT

Jump into the ultimate retro-style meta RPG experience this week with The Knights of Pen and Paper +1 Edition...

Choose your platform to jump to a specific release list:

Continue reading Now Playing: June 17-23, 2013

Now Playing: June 17-23, 2013 originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PS Plus freebies this week: Saints Row: The Third, Gods Eater Burst

R.O.B. — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 23:30:49 GMT

When the PlayStation Store updates tomorrow, both Saints Row: The Third and Gods Eater Burst will be available as free downloads. Saints Row is a PS3 game, while Gods Eater Burst initially launched on PSP but is also compatible with PS Vita.

Last week at E3, Sony detailed plans for PlayStation Plus moving forward. While it's required for online multiplayer on PS4, it won't be necessary for video services or certain free-to-play games, and won't see a price increase during its transition to next-gen.

PS Plus freebies this week: Saints Row: The Third, Gods Eater Burst originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 17 Jun 2013 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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State of Decay MMO sequel, Class4, in limbo at Microsoft

R.O.B. — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 23:30:49 GMT

State of Decay developer Undead Labs can't begin working on its follow-up game, an MMO called Class4, until it agrees with Microsoft on a series of terms about future technology, support and goals, Undead's community director Sanya Weathers told Eurogamer.

Microsoft owns the IP for Class4, following a deal that funded and developed State of Decay, Weathers said: "We cannot begin working on Class4 without a greenlight from Microsoft ... and a mutually agreeable contract." Undead is still talking with Microsoft about the specifics of Class4.

State of Decay was originally called Class3, and Undead viewed it as the first step toward that larger MMO project, Undead founder Jeff Strain told us in 2011. "The minute-by-minute core of the game will all be there in Class3," Strain said. "The only thing it won't have is the massive player participation the sequel will have."

Today, Weathers explained the negotiations with Microsoft regarding Class4. "We have to agree on where we think the technology is going to be in a few years (since the game will take a few years to develop); we have to agree that we have the same goals; and we have to agree on how we'll collectively run and support the final game," Weathers said.

State of Decay is doing well - since its launch on June 5, it's been crowned the fastest-selling original game on Xbox Live Arcade, ever, with 500,000 sales. We found State of Decay's premise and vibe to be tense (in a mostly good way), but we ran into some technical issues that Undead is currently having problems patching.

State of Decay MMO sequel, Class4, in limbo at Microsoft originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Brad Muir on building trust with Double Fine's Massive Chalice

R.O.B. — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 23:30:49 GMT

Double Fine is drawing funds from another (already successful) Kickstarter to produce "Massive Chalice," an ambitious turn-based strategy game that hinges on the lineage of your kingdom. Project lead Brad Muir is candid about the early delta between the game's promises - allowing you to produce and raise multiple generations of heroes in a war against demons - and the reality anticipated by those committed to its crowdfunding drive.

"We're gonna mess up in public, and that's a little bit scary, but it's also like - I think it helps build trust too," Muir told me during E3 last week. "We're totally fallible, and we're gonna trip up, but we'll figure it out and we're gonna make the game the best game it can be."

Muir also responded to fears from backers who have yet to see the fruition of Double Fine's previous Kickstarter project, Broken Age, and expressed enthusiasm over developing a game with "the doors wide open on the studio."

Brad Muir on building trust with Double Fine's Massive Chalice originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 17 Jun 2013 19:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Xbox boss says $500 Xbox One is 'over-delivering on value,' name-drops Halo 5

R.O.B. — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 19:30:12 GMT

The $500 price tag for the Xbox One elicited audible gasps during Microsoft's E3 press conference. Speaking to Bloomberg, Xbox head Don Mattrick defended the hefty price, saying that Microsoft is "over-delivering on value" with the Xbox One.

"It's a lower number than some of the analysts had forecasted," Mattrick said. "We're over-delivering value against other choices, I think, consumers can get. Any modern product these days, you look at it [and] $499 isn't a ridiculous price point. We're delivering thousands of dollars of value to people, so I think that they're going to love it when they use it."

What will convince consumers to opt for Xbox One, he said, is the breadth of services the console will have available. Specifically, he mentioned Twitch streaming, Skype and SmartGlass.

During the same interview, Mattrick also referred to the next Halo game as Halo 5. At Microsoft's E3 press briefing, a reveal trailer referred to the game simply as "Halo."

Xbox boss says $500 Xbox One is 'over-delivering on value,' name-drops Halo 5 originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Awesomenauts boxed collector's edition headed to UK

R.O.B. — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 19:30:12 GMT

Awesomenauts is getting physical in the UK. Merge Games is giving the PC version the collector's edition treatment, tossing in a handful of goodies with a boxed version of Ronimo's excellent 2D MOBA. The collector's edition includes the Awesomenauts soundtrack, the Costume Party DLC pack, a sticker and a an extra gift key to share the game with a friend.

The Awesomenauts Collector's Edition is set to be released on June 28 for £19.95. It's available for pre-order now from Amazon UK and directly from Merge Games. Merge is currently offering a £2 discount and, incidentally, will ship the game worldwide.

Continue reading Awesomenauts boxed collector's edition headed to UK

Awesomenauts boxed collector's edition headed to UK originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 17 Jun 2013 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Superman defends Tamriel in Skyrim at the Movies

R.O.B. — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:24:00 GMT

The problem with movies is that none of them take place in Skyrim. This is Skyrim at the Movies, a take on the classic tale of Superman created by animation outfit Tyrannicon with Chris Hardwick playing the Man of Steel himself.

Superman defends Tamriel in Skyrim at the Movies originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 17 Jun 2013 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA: Dead Space team working on something new, series not dead

R.O.B. — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:24:00 GMT

Despite being "an important IP to EA," there is no new Dead Space game in development; instead, Visceral Games is working on something else right now. "Is that team working on a Dead Space game today? No they're not," EA executive vice president Patrick Soderlund told Eurogamer at E3 last week.

"They're working on something else very exciting. You have to think of it from that perspective. Is it better to put them on the fourth version of a game they've done three previous versions of before? Or is it better to put them on something new that they want to build, that they have passion for?" This isn't the end for Dead Space, however, as Söderlund reiterates that it's "a brand that is close to Electronic Arts' heart."

"I am of the utmost opinion that we have to put the best possible games in the hands of our fans," Söderlund added. "How you get to a great game, the first thing you need is a great development team that have a passion for building what they're building. That's a simple parameter. Everything else follows. Money, time, everything else follows. It's less relevant. That's ultimately how you get success. It's as simple as that."

Dead Space 3, which launched earlier this year, failed to meet EA's sales expectations at launch and has had fewer sales than Dead Space 2.

EA: Dead Space team working on something new, series not dead originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 17 Jun 2013 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Antichamber trips the Oculus Rift

R.O.B. — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:24:00 GMT

Indie hit Antichamber is already a mind-bending monster, but now add some Oculus Rift and you've got a "trapped on the holodeck" episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. That's what computer science student Vaecon has done in this VR conversion of the game.

"It's interesting seeing that someone has gone ahead and done this, and I guess I really need to go and get it up and supported officially," said Antichamber developer Alexander Bruce when we pointed out the video to him.

"I have an Oculus dev kit at home, but haven't yet run the game on it myself. I tried watching that video using the good old cross-eyed method, but it was pretty much the same as seeing the game normally. The lack of textures in the game makes it really difficult to see any real sense of depth."

At least Antichamber looks like a more cerebral and calm Oculus experience than some of the whiplash inducing games we've seen use the tech.

Antichamber trips the Oculus Rift originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 17 Jun 2013 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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XCOM: Enemy Unknown (iOS) $20

Jogurt the Yogurt — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 14:36:45 GMT

This is nice news. XCOM: Enemy Unknown, one of 2012's top-rated games by many VC-Effers, is launching on iOS for $20. It's missing the multiplayer mode, but apparently there are plans to add that later as a free update. (It's not essential, anyway.)

The iPad crowd might want to check this one out.

Forum Cleanup

Jogurt the Yogurt — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 14:21:23 GMT

Hi folks,

Slowly, over the next few weeks, I'm going to start cleaning up the forum. Most of us have noticed server- & hosting-related problems over the past several months, and the forum organization is pretty messy right now. It's my hope that trimming down some of the useless junk threads and really old non-discussion threads will help with some of these issues.

This morning, I deleted 65 threads that were either moderated or "soft deleted" (usually spam that didn't get deleted & banned properly). I'm going to continue combing through the various forums and removing these threads. They're just taking up space, and no one can look at them anyway.

My proposed second step is to delete any thread older than ~2 years that doesn't have any replies. There are a lot of these, and it could help slim down the forum even more. Ancient threads that did get replies will stay for now, although we can talk about archiving those at another time.

Cheers,
Dairy Rodent

The Last of Us is the first in UK

R.O.B. — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 11:16:37 GMT

The Last of Us represented several accomplishments during its first week of sale in the UK, where it took the number one spot on the region's sales chart. According to Chart Track, the game is the first Sony exclusive to take the top spot since Uncharted: Golden Abyss on Vita in early 2012. It's also the third fastest selling game of 2013 behind Bioshock Infinite and the "weak" Tomb Raider, along with being the biggest launch for a new intellectual property since L.A Noire in 2011. Overall, a fine start to developer Naughty Dog's swan song for PlayStation 3.

The cash infusions for the UK retail market didn't end with The Last of Us, as Nintendo's Animal Crossing: New Leaf debuted in second and became (wow, y'all love your Tom Nook debt programs) the biggest non-Mario 3DS launch ever. The UK top ten indentured to Tom Nook can be found after the break.

Continue reading The Last of Us is the first in UK

The Last of Us is the first in UK originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 17 Jun 2013 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lewis Black pokes at the Kinect on The Daily Show

R.O.B. — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 03:08:28 GMT

Comedian Lewis Black took to his "Back in Black" segment on Comedy Central's The Daily Show to discuss what he sees as growing privacy concerns related to Microsoft's Xbox One. Black specifically pokes fun at the expected improvements to the Kinect's detection capabilities.

Privacy concerns related to the Kinect were addressed by Microsoft earlier this month, which said that users "will determine how responsive and personalized your Xbox One is to you and your family during setup." Black's satirical take on the Kinect, as with his comments related to other products such as Google Glass, still make for an entertaining video to check out, not one to take at face value. Be warned, the video also contains mature language.

Lewis Black pokes at the Kinect on The Daily Show originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 16 Jun 2013 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DayZ creator considering PS4, Xbox One after PC, has an early favorite

R.O.B. — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 23:06:06 GMT

Dean Hall is focused on launching the PC version of his zombie-infested baby, DayZ, but he's talked with both Sony and Microsoft about the PS4 and Xbox One, too. Nothing's set in stone, but Hall "absolutely" likes Sony's approach to indies; he's turned off by Microsoft's ban on self-publishing and history of charging thousands for game updates.

"Sony lets you self-publish and they don't make you pay for updates," Hall told Eurogamer. "Microsoft requires you to have a publisher. They have no digital distribution strategy and they require you to pay $10,000, or whatever it is, for updates."

Hall mentioned potential console releases for DayZ back in April, and said he'd already met with Sony in particular. Sony was "obviously interested," Hall said, though he didn't mention next-gen at the time.

Last week Hall said that once the PC version is good to go, a PS4 iteration is "definitely" something he'd look at. "But we have to do the PC version first," he said. "Once we get the alpha out, that's a good time for us to run it up on a [PS4] dev kit and see what happens."

Hall isn't counting Xbox One completely out, but he still has some unanswered questions about developing for Microsoft's console: "I like what I saw on the Xbox in a lot of cases as well. I'm not ****ting on them. I'm kind of hopeful that Microsoft has just forgot to talk about its indie support. Maybe I'm being a bit naive."

Last we heard, the DayZ alpha was scheduled for June (that's this month) at the earliest.

DayZ creator considering PS4, Xbox One after PC, has an early favorite originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 16 Jun 2013 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Banned Xbox One accounts will retain access to purchased games

R.O.B. — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 23:06:06 GMT

Users banned on Xbox One will not lose access to the games they've purchased, Director of Programming Larry Hyrb (Major Nelson, colloquially) told Reddi t Games during an E3 video interview.

This became a popular question following an Xbox Support Twitter answer from June 13 that read, "If your account is banned, you also forfeit the licenses to any games that have licenses tied to it as listed in the ToU." The question specified Xbox One, but later, Xbox Support said this answer was in reference to Xbox 360.

Major Nelson had a clear answer for future banned users on Xbox One: "Absolutely not, you will always have access to the games you purchased."

As for what will happen if, down the road, Xbox One's authentication servers are shut down, Major Nelson couldn't say. "I'll get the real answer, I just don't know it yet," he said.

Banned Xbox One accounts will retain access to purchased games originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 16 Jun 2013 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Antichamber half-off on Steam today, soundtrack now available

R.O.B. — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 18:50:36 GMT

Antichamber is on sale for $10 on Steam for today only. If you are only interested in hearing Antichamber, the soundtrack for the game is now available on BandCamp for $6, as well as a four-track "Meditation Walk" ambient album by Antichamber Sound Designer Robin Arnott for $4.

The soundtrack, provided by Siddhartha Barnhoorn, features nine tracks in total. You can purchase both albums in a special double album pack for $8 through BandCamp.

Antichamber half-off on Steam today, soundtrack now available originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 16 Jun 2013 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Total War: Rome 2 is a 'completely reworked vision' from The Creative Assembly

R.O.B. — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 14:46:15 GMT

Rome: Total War is one of those games that a certain, very dedicated audience loves, while the rest of the gaming world is left outside admiring the craft but not quite understanding the dedication. The first Rome: Total War was critically acclaimed and spawned a line of expansions and updates, and now strategy giants The Creative Assembly are returning to the game with a full sequel, not to mention switching around the title to Total War: Rome 2.

What's different? "Just about everything, really," says lead battle designer Jamie Ferguson during an interview at E3 2013. "In the ten years since we did Rome 1, we've completely overhauled the game. The game engine isn't even the same."

TCA has released a number of Total War sequels and spinoffs throughout periods of history, and updated the original title with new features and systems already. But even despite those improvements, Ferguson says the new game has even more updates and improvements. "When we call it Rome 2, it might be a bit of a misnomer in a way," he says. "We might call it Rome Redux, I guess. It's a completely reworked vision of the game."

Gallery: Total War: Rome 2 (E3 2013)

Continue reading Total War: Rome 2 is a 'completely reworked vision' from The Creative Assembly

Total War: Rome 2 is a 'completely reworked vision' from The Creative Assembly originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 16 Jun 2013 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nyko keeps your second screen experience close at hand

R.O.B. — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 02:35:06 GMT

There are always a lot of buzzwords and phrases at E3. One of the big ones at this year's show was the "second screen experience," using phones and tablets to enhance a game in one way or another. Whether it's through Microsoft's SmartGlass or Sony's PlayStation app, it seems that one screen just isn't enough for next-generation games.

Spotting this trend, Nyko was on the scene at E3 to showcase one of its cleverer peripherals, the Smart Clip. Attached to an Xbox 360, Xbox One or PlayStation 4 controller, the Smart Clip adds a cradle for mobile phones - similar to the Moga Pro controller. We were told it would accommodate anything up to and including a Samsung Galaxy Note 2. It seemed kind of silly in person, but we couldn't deny the convenience of it, especially if second screen gaming becomes ubiquitous in the next few years.

Nyko has created some other accessories for the PS4 and Xbox One as well. Both consoles exclusively use HDMI for audio and video, so Nyko is preparing an HDMI pass-through adapter that will allow users to connect audio receivers and headphones that require traditional red and white RCA inputs. Finally, Nyko is crafting controller charging docks for both consoles.

Gallery: Nyko PlayStation 4 and Xbox One Accessories (E3 2013)

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Nyko keeps your second screen experience close at hand originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 15 Jun 2013 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Seen@E3: The Evil Within's terrifying blockhead

R.O.B. — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 22:30:02 GMT

Pyramids don't have a monopoly on terrifying head shapes, at least not if The Evil Within has anything to say about it. You might be wondering what's inside this fellow's safe-head. We got as close as we dared to take a few pictures and, frankly, we're not sure we want to know.

Gallery: The Evil Within (Box Man)

Seen@E3: The Evil Within's terrifying blockhead originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 15 Jun 2013 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Best Buy E3 Event

The shoemaker — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 21:21:32 GMT

Did anyone go to this? I went today and it was pretty sweet, got 15 StreetPass's and probably could have gotten a lot more!

The wait in line was about an hour long but I was just playing Animal Crossing with my buddies so it wasn't bad.

Zelda looks gorgeous in HD, all of the colours just pop. Donkey Kong I saw the least; it looked just like the Wii version but with more detail and it seeemed to rely on shifting platforms. Mario Kart looked really really pretty, best looking Wii U game I've ever seen, and the shifting gravity mechanic was cool. So far I haven't seen any blue shells.

Super Mario 3D World was the only game I actually played and it was fun, didn't have the wow factor of Galaxy but it looks like a solid game and the cat suit is really awesome. It's laid out much like 3D Land but with much bigger worlds and it uses the cat suit very well.

I showed up about 15 minutes after they started so they were all out of Luigi hats! Not sure if they were just using the left over supplies from Wednesday or if they just didn't have much stock. I got a Mario Kart flag though, so that's cool.

All in all it was a fun event, I'd recommend going if you just want to nab a few StreetPass's, it's on till 5pm so I'm sure some of you can still make it!

The Witcher 3 DRM-free on PC; 'gamer-friendly' solution sought on consoles

R.O.B. — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 03:00:23 GMT

The Witcher series of action role-playing games is reaching further than ever before, with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt launching simultaneously on PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 in 2014. The new consoles have been mired in discussion over DRM (digital rights management) recently, with Microsoft instituting connectivity requirements to play games, and PlayStation leaving publishers to decide how to control the sale and resale of their content. The Polish developer behind The Witcher, CD Projekt RED, now tries to find an ideal incarnation for its publicly asserted values, which are staunchly opposed to DRM of any kind.

"I can only talk about our intentions; we don't have any agreement finalized yet," CD Projekt co-founder Marcin Iwiński tells me, carefully choosing his words. "It's all quite early and we're finding out about it this week, at the conference. But our intention, obviously, is to choose the most gamer-friendly solution." In CD Projekt's perfect world, those solutions would be aligned with their PC- and Mac-based digital distribution platform, GOG.com, where games are 100 percent DRM-free. "Whatever the solutions will be for our partners, we choose something ideally as close to what we have on GOG as possible."

Continue reading The Witcher 3 DRM-free on PC; 'gamer-friendly' solution sought on consoles

The Witcher 3 DRM-free on PC; 'gamer-friendly' solution sought on consoles originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 14 Jun 2013 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rain: Boy meets invisible girl

R.O.B. — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 03:00:23 GMT

The concept at the heart of Rain is magical. Looking out his window, a boy witness a seemingly invisible girl, her silhouette revealed by the rain as she ran splashing through the night. She was followed by another invisible entity outlined by the rain, a ferocious bipedal monster, which was referred to only as an "unknown."

Fearing for the girl's life, the boy chases after her, following her and the monster through a strange door of light. Emerging on the other side, the boy finds himself in different though familiar world. It looks like his own, a seemingly European city filled with alleyways, though this world is cloaked in perpetual night and never-ending rain. In this world, he too is invisible, his presence revealed only by the rain pattering against his body. The boy sets off in search of the girl, looking for answers. Is he cursed to remain invisible? Can he ever return to his own world?

Those will have to wait though, as the boy is soon running from a pack of different four-legged monsters. He quickly discovers that invisibility has its advantages. By hiding under structures so that the rain doesn't give away his position, the monsters can no longer see him.

Normally, this sort of storybook world would be right up my alley (see: my Unfinished Swan review), but I'm afraid Rain's big trick may be its only trick.

Gallery: Rain (5/30/13)

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Rain: Boy meets invisible girl originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 14 Jun 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Harmonix' Fantasia: Music Evolved is made of pure magic

R.O.B. — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 22:50:21 GMT

I can name the exact moment that I fell in love with Harmonix' latest game, Fantasia: Music Evolved, at this year's E3. Periodically throughout the game, you're presented with an on-screen globe, and you can wave your hand over it to create a tune. The science of how it works isn't exactly clear (you're adjusting the pitch and rhythm of a tone somehow), but though the tool is simple, it works, and the game will periodically play back your creation to you, and then allow you to redraw it over if you don't like it. Once the tune is set, you can swipe both your arms outward to zoom out to the game's "overworld" level, which in this case was a beautifully rendered, very animated robot factory, with various pipes and pistons jumping up and down in time with a rhythm.

This was the moment Fantasia showed me just how magical it was. As I tried to navigate around the stage and solve a problem by manipulating the world with the Xbox One's new Kinect sensor (a group of robots needed to get into a small doorway, so I had to swipe over some magic to shrink them down to fit), I suddenly realized that I recognized the tune that the pipes and valves were dancing to in the background. It was the one I'd just made, subtly mixed into the rhythms of the stage itself.

Gallery: Fantasia: Music Evolved (Announcement)

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Harmonix' Fantasia: Music Evolved is made of pure magic originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 14 Jun 2013 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sherlock Holmes Crimes and Punishments' new mechanic inspired by BBC show

R.O.B. — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 22:50:21 GMT

Sherlock Holmes Crimes and Punishments is a departure from Frogwares' previous investigation game, The Testament of Sherlock Holmes, in a number of ways. Crimes and Punishments aims to put players inside the mind of the world's greatest detective, to see the world as he sees it and deliberate the moral choices within Holmes' logistics of justice. It's emotional and dark, and in a demo showing off the story as told in Unreal Engine 3, it already appears insanely effective.

One of the most obvious changes is the new "Character Portrait" ability, which allows Holmes to take a moment and examine a suspect or witness with his keen, investigative eye. As he scans the person, words in white appear over certain features, noting how expensive or worn down certain articles of clothing are, noting scrapes or signs of labor on limbs, and deducing relevant, personal information.

This ability in particular is inspired by the BBC show Sherlock, designer Olga Chalovskaya told me. Sherlock is, itself, a dramatic interpretation of Holmesian detective stories, and Crimes and Punishments draws on many of the same, human-driven tones.

Gallery: Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments (6/7/13)

Continue reading Sherlock Holmes Crimes and Punishments' new mechanic inspired by BBC show

Sherlock Holmes Crimes and Punishments' new mechanic inspired by BBC show originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 14 Jun 2013 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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