Posted by ASandoval on November 21, 2009 under Games | 
Always bet on Duke.
Yeah, right. The joke that is Duke Nukem Forever became tired and cliche even 3 years before it was canceled rather unceremoniously. Despite the ironic humor attached to this ad, however, the actual story of the game’s road to extinction is a roller coaster ride of twist, turns and laughs. The game industry is known for its radically shifting nature; many ideas and projects never see any sort of public announcement, some lasting as little as a week. Duke Nukem Forever stands almost as a testament to that concept, a story of false starts and tragedies that an aspiring game developer could learn from.
So rather than relish in its long road to failure, like some sites have done, I’ve cataloged the more significant events leading up to its crash and burn earlier this year. If you spot anything that may have been left out, let me know. Also, a word of warning; Dipity is an amazing service in that it exists at all, but its also buggy as hell and a bit of a pain to navigate. Any technical issues should be brought to them, as I have nothing to do with it. So without further ado, the DNF Timeline.
Posted by ASandoval on November 19, 2009 under Games |
On Tuesday, I picked up Assassin’s Creed II (yes, it’s amazing) for Xbox 360. I also picked up a copy of Square-Enix’s Unreal Engine epic The Last Remnant, also on 360, as well, as it was $15 on clearance and figured “Why not?” As I’m leaving the store, I went to go move the games into my book bag when I noticed something not quite right about Creed in comparison to Remnant… that being the box felt squishy, almost as if it had no front cover. “Great,” I thought to myself. “The box is broken.” I quickly tore off the shrink wrap to ensure my copy wasn’t broken when I came to the startling realization that the box was fine, it just wasn’t the same box I had been used to. The area where the CD is held on the bottom and what lays on top of the CD had been hallowed out! Well, almost anyway.
For comparison, I took another 360 game and put it next to Creed II (I would have liked to use Creed I, but alas, I don’t actually own it). Take a look yourself:
If you’ve picked up Creed II, then you know what I’m talking about, but for anyone else, the box feels as if it could break at any time. I recognize this was probably done to save some money, but much like the switch from plastic cases to cardboard in the Sega Genesis era, it’s an unwelcome one. DVDs are hard enough to take care of as it is, and some collector’s out there maintain that the case should be in mint condition, so why make it harder on us? Is this supposed to be yet another excuse to shell out money for collector’s editions?
But what really bugs me is that I had no idea this even happened. I haven’t bought any 360 games in a while. Is this a recent trend? Are there other games out there like this? As much as the internet likes to crap on the cardboard Genesis cases, how come no one has said anything about it?
One of these things, is not like the other.
If this kind of thing matters to you, understand now that these are your options:
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Buy the limited edition. Sure, you’ll get the same case, but at least you’ll have a better case to keep it in!
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Buy the PS3 version. Unless they changed their case, too. I honestly wouldn’t know. This also assumes you’re like me and actually own both.
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Suck it up.
Not quite consumer friendly, but there you have it. Can anyone else shed some light on this for me?
Posted by ASandoval on November 17, 2009 under Games |
It’s been a while since we did a ‘weekly’ highlight. To make up for it, I figured I’d try something a bit different this time and cover all the major releases this week in a paragraph or so. And there’s plenty coming out this week, to boot! So let’s get started:
New Super Mario Bros. Wii
The first New Super Mario Bros. on DS was alright, but nothing special. Ultimately, it was more of a nostalgic look at what made Mario games cool, but it didn’t really add anything new or feel like much more than a greatest hits. The reviews have said that the game now feels like a much more full experience, and that’s awesome! Beyond that, it adds the ability to play on the same game board with up to four players. My original fear is that this would put restrictions on the single player; make some worlds and bonuses unaccessible to solo players, or even making some levels nigh impossible or comparitively boring. After seeing some video, I know this is not the case; NSMBW is a single player game that lets you play with four people. The thing that makes this fun, then, is seeing just how uncoordinated four people can be when put in limited space, which sounds more like something I’d see as a novelty; something I’m pop in for five minutes at a party before moving on to a truly fun co-op experience like Rock Band. However, I know some people, my girlfriend included, get a real kick out of this kind of thing. That, and I’m fine with playing by myself if the single player really is up to par with the former Mario games.
Assassin’s Creed II
Just picked this one up today, in fact! Haven’t had a chance to play, but I’m excited. Apparently it takes the original, fairly mediocre game, and actually makes it alot of fun. Considering every review has used the same phrase “makes the original seem like a proof of concept” despite being written by three entirely different people, they must be right!
Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlines
The portable variant of AC this time around for PSP, Bloodlines is supposedly more of a sequel than ACII is because it features the main character from the first game. And also favors boss fights instead of assassinations. Wait, what’s the name of this game again? But you can unlock exclusive content for ACII if you own the PS3 version and this game, and that’s cool I guess. Still got the 360 version myself though.
Assassin’s Creed: Discovery
Rounding off (Priming up?) this trifecta of awesome, Assassin’s Creed: Discovery is the other portable entry for the DS and iPhone. I don’t actually know much about this game other than it’s a sidescrolling platformer, and that it uses the DSi camera to post wanted posters of you all over 15th century Spain for… some reason or another.
LittleBigPlanet PSP
Speaking of four player platformers… actually, that’s the one thing LittleBigPlanet lost when moving from the Playstation 3 over to its little portable brother. Considering that you’re still able to make full levels with ridiculous amounts of customization over the internet though, this seems like a rather fair concession to make.
Tony Hawk: The Ride
Like spending 150 dollars to play yet another rehash? Neversoft seems to think you will! Admittedly, I’m tempted to play the game if not only for the novelty of trying out the skateboard controller. Not for 150 dollars, but I’m sure I’ll know some poor fool who is.
Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues
Not content with just one lego Indy game, Telltale games made another one. And it doesn’t just add content from “The Crystal Skull” (Although it does that too), it has both new levels based on scenes in the movies not used in the original game AS WELL AS new levels based on scenes in the movie that WERE used in the original. I’m told this actually works, but I’m willing to wait as long as I did to play the original game; when I can get it on clearance for a dollar.
Left 4 Dead 2
So a bunch of people were boycotting this game for being so close to the original’s release, right? And then Valve FLEW OUT the people who were holding the boycott to play the game early, then they promptly said that the game was alright, and then people shut up. If this doesn’t prove Valve’s devotion to the fans, I don’t know what does. Also; I hear the game actually IS alright.
Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles
A weak rehash of an already weak story, put in a format that is strictly linear as opposed to the original’s open ended adventure roots. And I can’t wait to play it.
Posted by ASandoval on November 7, 2009 under Games |
Today marks a special occasion for the Relay: Our first podcast! But more than that, our first developer interview – Kef Schecter, a programmer amongst other things for Island Officials.
Island Officials is based in Sicklerville, NJ along with their publisher, Storm City Games. Primarily focusing on casual games, their first project Hands On! Tangrams will be released on the Nintendo DS on the 17th of this month. Kef himself worked on the project as a programmer, and does other things such as music for projects when he is needed to do so. . . but does not actually live in New Jersey himself.
So please enjoy the listen, and for more information, you can visit the Island Officials website at www.islandofficials.com.
Digital Relay Podcast – Interview
Posted by ASandoval on November 3, 2009 under Games |
I very rarely read the long pieces at Kotaku. Not for any particular reason against the site, but I’m generally not interested in what they have to say and they can be a bit on the long side. I’m the kind of person who likes to just grab my news and go; I’ll just stick to the latest magazine like top 5 or developer interview at 1up, thanks.
Tim Rogers of Action Button Dot Net’s article grabbed me for two reasons: The title, seen in my title, and that it had to do with Love Plus, a dating simulation game in Japan. Dating simulations are by no means rare, but this one has been stirring all kinds of controversy in its native country because of its use of the DS function. For example, Tim begins the article by explaining the difficulty he had saying I love you, a word he mentions he does not use normally and has difficulty saying in actual situations, into the DS microphone to advance the game’s narrative.
What goes from their is an extremely indepth look at the emotional connections we make with our games, and the societal and design problems when a game like this one tries to force that connection onto the player itself. Insightful but never pompous thanks to Rogers’ loose humor, the article hits on many angles. Some of its educational as to why Japanese culture is so open to dating sims, hostess bars and general issues of sexuality, to the divide between ‘casual’ and ‘core’ gamers, and to the heart of the issue: How can a video game be considered art?
Its worth noting that the article is more than a tad on the long side and has a tendency to veer off course, but it never seems haphazard and all threads opened do eventually get closed, albeit not always in the same paragraph. There’s also a bit of sappiness every once in a while, some of which may be the emotional pangs of someone who is growing up (On some of his longer rants about the connection he has to games as well as the people who play them, Rogers constantly reminds us to how old he is), but again, there’s enough light hearted humor before it goes into the realm of being pretentious.
This was a somewhat touching and insightful read, so I decided to share. Hopefully you’ll feel the same way.
Source: Can Video Games Be Our Friends? (Via Kotaku)
