Beyond Good & Evil HD Hitting PSN/XBLA
Who's ready for another HD remake? IGN broke the news that cult classic and critical darling Beyond Good & Evil is also on the docket for a 1080p overhaul. Ubisoft has the remake penciled in for a vague 2011 release, where it will be a download on PSN and XBLA. Second chance, guys! Please buy it this time? I'm afraid BG&E2 may hang in the balance.
Also, HD remakes are officially a trend now. Who needs backwards compatibility?
From The Game: New Super Mario Bros. Giant Wall Decals
Depending on your point of view, my apartment now looks either totally awesome, or like a 12 year old lives in it. This is thanks to the fresh set of New Super Mario Bros. wall decals, manufactured by Blik and provided for review by ThinkGeek. If you ever thought it would be awesome to have a huge video game mural in your room, these vinyl decals are just what you've been waiting for.
Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep (Review)
Fans have long been awaiting the next main game in the Kingdom Hearts franchise. Between Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II, we received Chain of Memories, an interesting side story that fleshed out the year between the two main titles. While it did add a new level of immersion in the KH back story, playing it wasn’t required to understand the plot in the second game (it does give a good justification for “metroiding” Sora at the start of Kingdom Hearts II, but I digress). One thing the franchise is known for is the difficult to unlock and (at the time) completely incomprehensible Secret Trailers that setup the next main franchise game. While it doesn’t have a 3 in the title, Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep
Mega Man Legends 3 Coming To The 3DS
You read that right. You're not dreaming. It's not a prank. Mega Man Legends 3 is official, and it's coming to the Nintendo 3DS. The news was just posted on the Capcom Unity site [via The Mega Man Network], and it says clear as day that a decade after the last Mega Man Legends game was published, the series will finally be getting a new chapter.
Review: Blade Kitten
Blade Kitten is an odd little platformer. It looks like a standard fare run-and-slash affair, but it features some interesting design choices that really makes it pop. It’s a downloadable title based on the comic of the same name, and it's made the jump from the web page to PSN, XBLA, and Steam.
Minecraft Must Be Stopped: Player Builds 16-Bit Computer Inside The Game
Minecraft isn't a game. It's a playground for psychotic computer engineers. This is the most recent insane Minecraft project I've seen, and it shakes me to my very core. It's a 16-bit ALU (arithmetic processor; basically a computer chip that can perform mathematical functions) engineered completely within Minecraft. Using the game's own engine, it functions just like one of the many tiny chips inside a physical computer, emulating circuits and processing bits to solve basic math problems. This is both impressive and terrifying.
It's not the only one, either. Besides computers, gamers have also used Minecraft to create the Zelda 2 overworld, the starship Enterprise-D, and the Earth. All that's left is to create a computer in Minecraft that can run Minecraft. Then we'll really be getting somewhere.
Bobby Kotick Vs. The World: The Blow-By-Blow Of Activision’s CEO
Activision CEO Bobby Kotick has been swinging at everyone in the gaming world, and taking his own fair share of lumps in the process. Over the last year, the executive has made few friends among gamers and developers, though he has overseen the company raking in profits and placating shareholders. Instead of just highlighting the latest volley between Kotick and Tim Schafer, EA, and others in the industry, let's look at exactly how he's become one of the most hated names in gaming.
The trouble started in June of last year, when Activision filed suit to block EA from publishing Shafer's adventure/RTS Brutal Legend. That wasn't the big red flag for Kotick, though. The real drama happened last March, when Kotick got on the radar of the gaming world after the unceremonious firing of Infinity Ward heads Jason West and Vince Zampella. The two were thrown out just a few months after the November 2009 release of Infinity Ward's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, the single largest video game release to date, which made $310 million in its first day. Sales would top $1 billion by mid-January 2010. Kotick repeatedly defended the firings, saying West and Zampella were insubordinate and planning to file lawsuits against the company. Infinity Ward quickly deflated within Activision, with 35 staffers moving on to West and Zampella's new development house, Respawn Entertainment. Since then, 38 Infinity Ward employees filed suit against Activision for unpaid bonuses.
That set the stage for Kotick's infamy, but instead of fading from the limelight as just the head of a massive gaming publisher, he's continued to poke and prod at figures in the industry far beyond Infinity Ward. Read the full story of Kotick's war of the words after the break.
Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep Final Mix Coming… Just Not To America (Trailer)
In a surprising and wonderful policy shift, Square Enix is now putting up the closed theater trailers from TGS. I'm guessing this has something to do with the amount of people sneaking in cell phones so they could leak footage for those of us unable to go to TGS.
The first trailer to come out is for the upcoming Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep Final Mix. Featuring the English vocal track, Final Mix is an expanded version of the PSP game. Final Mix will include a Japan exclusive additional superboss (the armored figure at the end of the trailer), plus a new secret ending trailer. All of that is in addition to the Crown Stickers and second optional boss that were added for the English version. There will also be new fights in the Mirage Arena like the Monstro battle seen in the trailer. Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep Final Mix is set for a January 2011 release.
Gamer Abandoned By APB Gets Dragon Age 2 From EA As Compensation
Realtime Worlds' shooter MMO APB will likely be remembered mostly for its short lifespan - the game's servers were shut down only three months after launch and closed just two weeks ago. The game's rocky launch and Red Bull Flugtag-style plummet are now the stuff of legend, but what about the players who are out $50 with no game to show for it? Steam, the primary retailer of the game, has merely shrugged at the torches and pitchforks of players demanding a refund, but a Steam forum post (via Destructoid) shows a conversation between a player and EA Support (EA was the publisher) that got the player at least some compensation.
The EA rep initially offered a $20 discount code, but the player pointed out that it was a $50 game. Feeling the distraught player's pain, the EA rep saw fit to throw in a voucher for a $50 PC game of the player's choice. Now, it gets a little confusing, because the rep stipulated that the game had to be "developed by EA," but the player was able to get the go-ahead on applying the voucher to Dragon Age 2, which is developed by BioWare (granted, a subsidiary of EA) and scheduled to launch in spring 2011.
This story is anecdotal, and there's been no official announcement by EA regarding a compensation policy for APB refugees. Still, the takeaway here is that if you are one of the unfortunate few to be left out in the cold from APB's destruction, you might want to try to find a sympathetic ear at EA Support.
Weekend Deal: Get Serious Sam HD Gold For 75% Off On Steam
If you've been hankering for a bit of the old ultraviolence, this weekend Steam deal will satisfy. Serious Sam Gold Edition is available for just $10, 75% off the usual price of $40. It includes Serious Sam HD First and Second Encounters, plus the original versions of the games. The deal is good through September 27. Who needs stealth and cover when you have giant guns and headless screaming guys running at you?
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