I was invited by Southpeak to check out their E3 booth and the latest games coming through the pipeline. While I expected a trap as retribution for ourVelvet Assassinreview, I bravely faced the music anyway, and was instead greeted with a demo and playthrough ofSection 8. Our man Hamza had his ownpreview of the gamea few weeks back, but E3 is a time for stepping on another editor’s toes, so sod it, let’s look at the game some more....
In announcing the next “Summer of Arcade” line-up for Xbox LIVE Arcade, Microsoft has confirmed the existence of theheavily rumoredCastlevania: Harmony of Despair. Six-person co-op was mentioned in the Internet rumblings, but is that really the case? Let’s find out: This fast-paced 2-D side scroller takes vampire hunters on a chase to bring Dracula, the Lord of Darkness, to his eternal slumber. Designed by the producer of the legendaryCastlevaniaseries, Koji Igarashi,Castlevania: Harmony of Despairallows friends to play together via online co-op story mode or duke it out to see who the best vampire hunter is in Survival Mode....
E3 hasn’t even begun, and let me tell you: I’m already exhausted. But damn, am I excited. Why? Because the show is going to bemassive. Massive in ways we haven’t seen in years, with one of the biggest line-up of games and reveals in the history of the show. It also might be at throwback to the industry spectacle of old, with a handful of on-floor events that are sure to turn heads —a Mexican wrestling match,Playboy Playmates making booth appearances, hip-hop legends, and more....
TopWare Interactive showed me this strange little game, already released in Europe as “Battle vs. Chess.” It’s been renamed to “Check vs. Mate” for the North American release to avoid potential conflicts with Interplay’sBattle Chess, which is probably a smart move considering the similarities to that classic game. There’s more going on here than just a simple Chess game, however. TopWare is claiming thatCheck vs. Matefeatures the most sophisticated chess engine to date, based uponFritz!...
In a meeting with Topware interactive today, I was given a first look at the upcoming “Pirates of the Flying Fortress” expansion forTwo Worlds II. This new adventure takes place after the events of that game and delves into, well, a pirate-y adventure. As seen in an opening cinematic shown in the meeting, your character has been pressed into the employ of a vicious pirate captain, Ed Teal. From his ship, the Wandering Wraith, the player is sent out to perform quests in a series of small islands in Kangor Bay, traveling in a rickety sailboat from one to the next....
I know what you’re going to say: “Another version of Tetris? Really?” But Electronic Arts is promising thatTetrisfor PlayStation Network will be “The bestTetrisgame yet.” Does that make it any better? What makes it so good? Well, it’s in 1080p, supports 5.1 surround sound (you’ve been waiting for that withTetris, admit it), and it throws in a slew of extra modes including a battle mode with power ups, two-player shared mode, and team battles....
Tony Hawk and Shaun White frown as Electronic Arts’ John Riccitiello talks. The CEO has toldKotakuthat he feels the skateboarding game phenomenon may have “run its course as the representative example” in the broader “action sports” genre. “When it comes to action sports, I think that’s going to be an ongoing exciting genre,” he says. “But at least for the level of excitement out there, skateboarding seems to have run its course as the representative example in that broader genre....
Roger Ebert has something to prove to the world it seems, as hecontinues his asinine viewpointthat videogames “will never” be art. You know what art is, right? It’s that completely subjective thing that by its very nature can’t be exclusive to certain medium just because some out-of-touch hack says so. In his review of theHitmanmovie, Ebert continues his tirade: “The movie, directed by Xavier Gens, was inspired by a best-selling video game and serves as an excellent illustration of my conviction that video games will never become an art form – never, at least, until they morph into something else or more … The troopers spring into sight, pop up and start shooting, and he has target practice....
Yesterday, I had the good fortune of interviewing the project manager for the Nintendo Wii gameElebits, Dennis Lee. For a title that has, in my eyes, been something of a roller coaster ride, the final product actually stands to be one of the better (if not best) games for the Wii right now. In thefull interview, not only will you learn a little more about howElebitscame to be, but you’ll also now know how the game aims to take advantage of Nintendo’s online service....
For the first time, Destructoid will be on hand to bring some on-location coverage of the event, from the matches themselves, to what goes down after hours. Our good friends atiPlaywinner x Team Spookyare in charge of streaming the tournament this year, and so to get everyone hyped for the event, check out thelatest “Bread and Butter” interviewwith one of their favorite commentors, MAGUS1234. Let us know what sort of coverage you’d most like to see, if you’re attending, and if you’d like to see more of these types of interviews on Destructoid!...
Fans of comics books and classic beat ‘em up action should already have their eye on Vogster Entertainment’s upcoming download-exclusive PlayStation Portable brawler,Unbound Saga. The title follows the adventures of the self-aware comic book characters Rick Ajax and Lori Machete, as the two battle thugs, werewolves, and whatever else their omnipotent creator, “The Maker,” can throw at ‘em. Designed alongside the experience eyes of the folks at Dark Horse Comics, it only makes sense that theUnbound Sagatie-in comic book is now available....
I love everything about the look of the Super Famicom, and I can’t deny I have a few original controllers hanging around my house somewhere. That being said, fans of the design like me may be attracted to thisnew Classic Controller from CodeJunkies, which can be used with your Wii and retails for $19.99. Also comes with Turbo fire! I like the idea, but at the same time I think I’d rather own real Famicom products than lookalikes (although I can’t use the real thing with my Wii, so I can see why this would be an attractive prospect)....
Evidently the Japanese rewards season starts late. While all the American gaming publications practically announce their game of the year awards before the year is over,Famitsu, Japan’s foremost gaming magazine, wait s almost a full four months torelease their winners. Wait, you mean they give those end of year games a chance to percolate and actually get played through possibly more then once? This makes absolutely no sense at all! Awards should be handed out as near as possible to the holiday seasons so that judgments are made entirely on pre-release hype....
