Posts

The cloud strikes again In retrospect, if there was one game I would’ve liked to hear more about at E3, it was Insomniac’sSunset Overdrive. The vibrant open-world shooter was a standout title at Microsoft’s press conference early last week and, unfortunately for those of us who aren’t getting an Xbox One, it’s not coming to any other platforms. Insomniac CEO Ted Price explains: “When we first began discussing this idea with Microsoft, we were initially hesitant to shift back into an exclusive arrangement,”writes Price....

The emphasis is on a big-band jazz style TheSuper Mario Galaxysoundtracks feature some of the bestMariomusic of all time. That’s in part thanks to the majestic atmosphere generated by the live symphony orchestra they recorded for those games. The recentNew Super Mario Bros.titles featured rehashed tunes that use a more synthy approach. In a recent interview with lead composer Mahito Yokota, Destructoid learned what directionSuper Mario 3D Worldwould take. “There are naturally a lot of tracks performed live,” Yokota said....

Across 14 games If you own a Switch and took a test drive on the eShop, odds are you’ve seen the Neo Geo ports on there. Despite Nintendo’s insistence to some developersthat they’re not accepting ports— these games, among others, seem to be an exception. It seems to be working out for port studio Hamster Corporation too, as they’ve just announced that they’ve sold 200,000 copies in total from their entire line on Switch (you cancheck out the full list here)....

Something to look forward to E3 was already struggling before the pandemic hit, so its gradual departure over the past few years seemed to be a long time coming. While it may not have taken anyone by surprise, it was still pretty sad to see an event that had become sucha staple of the gaming industryclose its doors indefinitely. We’ve had plenty of other news streams to keep us busy, but it just hasn’t quite been the same....

Believe it WiiWare was a more interesting place than many will ever know. Though Nintendo’s stringent doctrines made it unfairly tough for some to make a profit on the platform, they also made it very cheap to put together a game and release it on the marketplace. That’s likely why it ended up with games likeMuscle March(the endless bodybuilder posing runner)Eco Shooter(the non-stop can-blasting single player on-rails shooter from the developers ofFire Emblem) andMonsteca Corral(where riding a giant space maggot into the sky is the most highly desired win state)....

Hi. Hello. Boy. Yikes. Twenty-sixteen. That was something. I feel like I’m not going to cover enough ground if I write anything about how just absolutely terrible 2016 was, so instead I’m just going to focus on the good here —and that’s right, I’m talking about the good good video games. Video games got weirder. They got more polished and refined. More ambitious, more experimental. Crazier, dare I say. It’s a trend that’s been slowly creeping up on us in these past few years, starting with indie titles and working its way into the life force of the industry — until it suddenly exploded out of nowhere and ashit tonof quality video games came into existence left and right....

Maybe a half hype Nowadays, I actually try to stay away from a lot of previews and sneak peeks. Just like with movies, I don’t like to know too much of what I’m getting into before I get into it. This has been the case withBloodborne. I’ve been keeping things pretty casual with my attention for this game, but this video certainly demonstrates why I should have been paying more attention all along....

It’s back, but I wanna see something new BioWare made an appearance at San Diego Comic-Con over the weekend to divulge some of the first details about the upcomingMass Effecttitle, but all we really know for sure at this point is that there’s going to be a new Mako. Good lord. FromThe Escapist’s video, we can discern a few details about the land-based buggy, but no word on whether or not it’ll flip straight over if you hit even the smallest bump or feel any more useful than it did originally....

Self-aware, spooky, but not smug [Til Morning’s Lightis a new horror adventure title from WayForward and Amazon Game Studios, bringing together talent from titles such asAliens: Infestation,Skullgirls, and…Sailor Moon? We’ve got a variety of exclusive articles and interviews about the game coming this week, so stay tuned.] In the 1990s, the popularity of slasher films was on the decline. While the slasher formula had been a huge part of the genre’s success at the start, oversaturation had caused it to become a liability....

Should be a good talk Sergiy Migdalskiy, a programmer at Valve, will be giving a talk at GDC this week at the start of theTHIRDmonth on theTHIRDday at3PM. According toSergiy’s LinkedInhe has worked on games such asCounter-Strike: Global Offensive,Portal 2,Left for Dead, and its sequel. I personally won’t be there, but if you’re at GDC you might consider going. Seems like Sergiy might give a good talk about physics and you could learn a thing or two orTHREE....

Most will likely agree that the wholeHalf-Life 3joke has worn a little thin. I am certainly tired of it, and just wish Valve would announce the thing and get it over with. Well, apparently that’s not going to happen at E3. The company says it has no plans to do so. Sigh. In words that mirrorlast yearand theyear before, Valve’s Doug Lombardi has toldJoystiqthat it has “No plans to make any product announcement” at the show....

M.C. Escher would be proud Parallaxshowed up onSteam Greenlightlate last year, with gameplay tasking the player with navigating a stark, monochromatic space and traveling between two parallel universes. It looked mind bending before, and now Toasty Games has upped the ante. In addition to traversal between the two universes via portals,Parallaxalso features areas where gravity is not absolute, but appears to act relative to the player’s position. Check out the above video to see it in action....

Free games is the theme on Steam this weekend, so if you’re keen to try something new for no money down, you’re in luck. On offer is the the strategy brilliance ofCivilization Vand the intense WWII multiplayer FPSRed Orchestra 2; both games are free to play this weekend and are reduced by 75% along with all their DLC. If you’re no fan of Steam, don’t fret: GamersGate also haveCiv Vplus DLC reduced by 75% on their service, along with abig Spring Salethat has 75% offMetro 2033andJust Cause, along with theCompany of Heroesfranchise which is reduced by 80%....