Last month, Greyscale Gorilla started a competition to see who could create the most unique and entertaining retro gaming 5 second video.
Yesterday, the deadline for the competition lapsed, so now it’s time to see which one is the best.
Advertising is important in making sure your game sells well, it may even be a more important factor than producing a semi-decent game. Nothing in the universe will ever persuade a tight fisted consumer into buying your game like seeing a beautiful and happy celebrity saying how much they enjoy playing it.
But the coup de grace for a company, the ultimate product pusher, is if you can get a celebrity to make a cameo in your game, or even better, provide some “magnificent acting talent” for whatever blockbuster it is you are creating. It is however, important to make sure you pick the right celebrity to endorse your product.
So Mr (or Mrs) Games Developer and your marketing team, pay close heed to my advice as I give you the low down on the most talented and sought after A-listers on the video games endorsing circuit at the moment. Read more… »
Assassin’s Creed was released for consoles amidst a sea of controversy. Despite its critical praises for its beautifully designed locales and fresh storytelling perspective, it was slammed by some for being too repetitive. Every mission is carried out in the same manner: interrogate an informant, pickpocket a citizen, and eavesdrop on a conversation. These actions would lead towards an assassination, which would complete a mission: rinse and repeat.
The PC version of Assassin’s Creed adds four new tasks to every mission, and brings higher-end visuals to the table. Is it worth picking up over the original, and does it make the experience any less repetitive? Read on to find out. Read more… »
Arcade games and early console titles once relied heavily on abstracted graphics and gameplay that prioritized “twitch” skills and hand-eye coordination. As technology advanced and gaming became a more singular experience, complex systems and narrative depth took the fore.
The rise of downloadable gaming, however, has allowed that design philosophy to once again take prominence, as smaller games offer bite-sized chunks of satisfying old-school gameplay in a “retro revival” of sorts. Bit.Trip Core is one of those games, and does its job very well, all the while incorporating modern design sensibilities to deliver a wholly unique experience.
Whenever we receive something for free, we are getting something for little to no sacrifice. Since we don’t have to give anything up for it, besides our time, I usually anticipate that the amount of quality will fall somewhere in the same range as the price. Well, we may be late to the party, but Cave Story is here to prove me wrong.
Considered one of, if not the greatest indie game of all time, Cave Story was released in 2004 and was the brain child of one, Daisuke Amaya. It’s a 2-D action adventure that feels and plays a lot like the “metroidvanias.” Players run, jump, and shoot their way through different zones in the battle to save the mimagas. Read more… »
No more ‘openserverbrowser’-ing for the elite, now it’s for everyone… The lobby browser has finally been released for public consumption, in the latest Left 4 Dead patch.
Full patch details below.
Frozenbyte’s latest creation, Trine, is an action platform game mixed with a heavy dose of puzzle solving. Just a couple flicks of a wand, a swing from a grappling hook, and a destructive hit with a sledgehammer are just a handful of ways of solving many of the challenges presented within the game.
Aside from the solid mechanics, the game presents a complex storyline told through many artistically draw cut scenes and a deep calming voice. Similarly, the beautiful scenery set the tone for a magical journey. Read more… »
Have you checked out the list of releases this holiday season? It’s absolutely packed with great games, and it is no surprise that things are beginning to thin out. We first received word that Singularity would see a delay. The next victim was Bioshock 2 and now Bayonetta will have to wait until 2010 to cast her spell upon us.
Although this is a disappointing turn of events, January 2010 really is not that far away now, is it?
It’s not often that you see an article on a gaming site about the popular Swedish metal band Opeth, that is unless the band accidentally leaks that a Saints Row game is coming to PSP. How did Opeth slip up? They posted an announcement on their site celebrating that one of their songs has been chosen for the game.
The post reads: “We may not like playing video games all that much but we do like it when our music is featured on them! Makes us a bit proud even when it’s a game as big as Saints Row for the PSP and even prouder when the nice developer people show excellent taste by picking “The Lotus Eater” for it. So if you love playing video games: the game is expected to hit the streets around March 2010.” Read more… »
Today MTV Games and Harmonix announced a new program called the Rock Band Network. The RBN allows artists to upload and price their own songs so that gamers can download them and rock out in Rock Band.
The RBN will launch sometime this year on the Xbox 360. User uploaded tracks that are popular will then be ported over to the PS3 and Wii versions of Rock Band.
The way this new program works is, artists will submit their songs to a team of “Harmonix-trained freelance game developers” who will code the song for the gaming audience. Artists will have the choice to price their songs anywhere from $0.50 to $3, putting 30% of sale into their wallet. Read more… »
I wonder why the Guilty Gear series was never as popular as some of the other fighting games. It was incredibly stylish and deep, and it even had a complex storyline that casual fans of fighting games would go nuts over. Maybe it was just because of its relative obscurity in the United States? Was it perhaps just too complex? It could have been the timing, too, as let’s be honest: the iron is hot with Capcom back at it.
I guess it doesn’t matter now; Arc System Works, the developers of the series, no longer hold the rights to make new games in that series, so they started fresh with BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger. I think that, based on its availability, it’s simpler (but similar) gameplay, and excellent timing, BlazBlue is really going to make waves.
Is the New Xbox Experience wearing off on you? Do you need something shiny to keep you satisfied? Well, wait no longer! Microsoft has detailed what the next update for the Xbox 360 will include when it hits later this summer.
We’re brokenhearted to be forced to inform you that this next update does not include Facebook, twitter, last.fm, Zune Marketplace, or Instant On 1080p. These updates are coming later, presumably near the time NXE launched last year.
You are getting the Avatar Marketplace, Games on Demand, and a sleugh of other features. It’s quite substantial, really. Hit the break for the full press release!
