Posts Tagged ‘ japan

Killzone 3 removes the ‘lag’ but keeps the ‘weight’ 13 November 2010 at 3:00 am by Admin

Killzone 3 removes the 'lag' but keeps the 'weight' screenshot

Much has been made of Killzone 3’s controls and the removal of the notorious lag. Many gamers, myself included, were worried that the heavy, weighty feeling of the game were in danger by the removal of what some call “lag”, but senior producer Steven Ter Heide says that we’ve got it wrong — the lag and the weight are two separate issues, and while the former is eradicated, the latter remains.

“Controls are very important and have been quite the challenge,” he says. “There still is some confusion about the ‘weighty’ feel and lag. Those two things are different. We removed the lag completely. This means that when you press a button or move a stick, things happen. This is instantaneous, as it should be. This was a problem with Killzone 2 that we in part remedied with a patch. 

“The weighty feel and skill required to pull of shots comes from things like animation and weapon setup with things like recoil. We are carefully balancing the weapons so each retains its properties and plays into people’s preferences. We’re not done yet, and part of why we do a public beta is to get more feedback on top of all of the playtesting we have already done. 

“Fine-tuning this will go on for a while as it’s very important to get that right feeling. We’re looking for something that is easy to get into, and takes skill to master.”

This is good news. I have never been a fan of the 90’s era “floaty” feeling that I get when I’m playing Halo, and you’d think heavily armored men with massive guns wouldn’t glide along with the grace of a pink swan. I’m sure some people will still complain that it doesn’t feel exactly like every other shooter, but screw those guys.

+ The Daily Hotness: Sega be trolling By Admin 12 November 2010 at 5:59 pm and have No Comments

The Daily Hotness: Sega be trolling screenshot

Look at this drawing that Sega PR sent Jim along with his review copy of Sonic Colors. I’d say they pretty much nailed the guy except for one crucial detail: I have never once seen Jim Sterling near fruit of any kind. So close, and yet…

Speaking of Jim, there’s a new Jimquisition and, f-ck it, he did it live. Plus, Kinect is remarkably cheap to produce, Carnage talked dismemberment in Dead Space 2 and lots more happened on 11/12/10.

Destructoid Originals:
Get a limited Destructoid pin from FanGamer! 
The Jimquisition Live: Call of Duty: Black Ops
Me, you, and Dead Space 2 
PAD LIVE: Can we Sports Champions Move already?
Dtoid (the show): L.A. Noire, Tetris, Tears, and Concelmo

Previews: 
Hands-On: The Sims Medieval
Preview: DC Universe Online character creation

Contests:
Contest: Win a Dead Rising 2 DLC PSN code!

News:
Udon’s Complete Handbook to the Mega Man Universe
Splatterhouse bashing onto mobile platforms
Tim Schafer wants to make Psychonauts 2
Call of Duty: Black Ops PC lag patch released
Gran Turismo 5 release confirmed for November 24
Zelnick: Don’t punish gamers who buy used
Killzone 3 to feature better paced story, more Helghast
Check out Fangamer’s Earthbound fanfest marathon
Call of Duty to feature largest line of DLC ever
Grand Theft Auto Trilogy now available for Macs
Kinect costs $56 to put together
Guerrilla: 3D gaming ‘packs a bigger punch’
Rock Band DLC: Bee Gees, B.B. King, and more
Gamebryo engine for sale, I’d buy that for a dollar
Sub-Zero’s back-story is serious business
Free App of the Day: Ghosts n’ Zombies
Guerrilla not bothered by Killzone vs. Halo comparisons
No Super Meat Boy on PS3, and you can blame Sony
Animated $2 short Assassin’s Creed: Ascendance detailed
GSC Game World wants your S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 quest ideas
Saints Row movie still on, THQ trying cheaper games
Angry Birds making the jump to Xbox 360, Wii, PSN
Xbox LIVE Indie developers band together against crap

Offbeat:
The most ridiculous controller I’ve ever seen
This is how Sega sees Destructoid’s reviews editor

Media:
Magic: The Gathering Tactics will have angels and such
Enslaved: Pigsy’s Perfect 10 screens ham it up
ACE Team talks Rock of Ages’ art style

+ Angry Birds making the jump to Xbox 360, Wii, PSN By Admin 12 November 2010 at 2:00 pm and have No Comments

Angry Birds making the jump to Xbox 360, Wii, PSN screenshot

Angry Birds, that game everyone won’t shut up about and I only just saw in motion for the first time five minutes ago, is coming to new gaming systems. We knew that already — kind of. It was previously made clear that the game will release on PlayStation 3, PSP, and DS.

The new word on the street is that Angry Birds will also get Wii and Xbox 360 versions (presumably via download), as revealed by Rovio CEO Peter Vesterbacka at London’s Social Gaming Summit. Purportedly, multiplayer will be a major emphasis and feel like classic Worms.

I’m super interested to see how well Angry Birds does on non-mobile platforms. You can’t really compare any of those marketplaces to what’s happening on the AppStore, which continues to blow my mind on a daily basis and makes me long for programming skills. It’ll be neat to see how that success translates.

Angry Birds coming to Wii, Xbox, PSN. Multiplayer to resemble ‘old school Worms’ [Pocket Gamer via MTV Multiplayer]

+ Hands-On: The Sims Medieval By Admin 12 November 2010 at 11:00 am and have No Comments

Hands-On: The Sims Medieval screenshot

At the EA San Francisco Showcase last night, I got to play around with The Sims Medieval. Now, because I don’t pay attention to things, I was unaware that a Sims game set in the middle ages was in the works. However, upon hearing about said game, I forgot that my mouth was full and immediately shouted “I WAMMA FEE,” and blasted Ben PerLee with taco particles. 

Initially, I assumed the game was going to be The Sims, but you know. With knights and thatched roofs and leprosy and stuff. This isn’t entirely the case. While it does feature a number of familiar (read: girly and dollhousey) features from regular, modern-day Sims – like picking out charming furniture and dressing up your Sims in the majestic petticoats — The Sims Medieval introduces some fantasy RPG elements. 

You start out by designing a monarch (and picking out his/her majestic petticoats) living in a meager throne room and monarch’s quarters (which you can then decorate with charming furniture.) From there, the traditional Sims gameplay stops. In order to expand your kingdom and unlock new Sims, you have to complete quests. For instance, if you go out and fight goblins, you’ll earn enough kingdom points to build a wizard’s tower, and then you’ve got a sorcerer who can learn spells and shoot lightning bolts at people, etc. 

There are ten different playable classes, like blacksmith, knight, bard, or morbidly obese albino drunkard priest. (Actually, that last one was just a character I created. I made him look like he was about to barf, and gave him a genuinely ridiculous-looking hat.) In the past, the audience for The Sims has been casual gamers, little girls, cruel amateur sociologists, and my ex. Meanwhile, games with medieval stuff like swords, wizards, and thatched roofs are more successful with the exact opposite demographic. I’m very curious to see how The Sims Medieval goes over. 

The Sims Medieval will be out next March. I’m sure we’ll have more coverage before then, because let’s face it… Resistance is FEUDAL. (Sorry, couldn’t resist.)

 


Photo


Photo


Photo

+ ACE Team talks Rock of Ages’ art style By Admin 12 November 2010 at 10:00 am and have No Comments

ACE Team talks Rock of Ages' art style screenshot

Rock of Ages continues to look as stunning as ever in these new screenshots. That would be enough for me to go on, but ACE Team also threw in a bonus blog post for those of us who want a behind-the-scenes look at how the art style got to where it is now.

In it, Edmundo Bordeu talks about finding a balance between the number 2D items versus what objects are better suited for 3D. There’s also a rotating picture of a creepy, naked cardboard man. Your day won’t be complete until you watch him spin endlessly.

The post is a cool read, and I couldn’t be more excited to get my hands on Rock of Ages. There’s something about controlling a ball-shaped character in videogames that I find incredibly appealing.


Photo


Photo


Photo


Photo


Photo

+ The Jimquisition Live: Call of Duty: Black Ops By Admin 12 November 2010 at 8:00 am and have No Comments

The Jimquisition Live: Call of Duty: Black Ops screenshot

Watch live video from publicaccessdestructoid on Justin.tv

Missed the show?  Catch the archived clip here, or follow us on Justin.tv to catch the next one.

+ Sub-Zero’s back-story is serious business By Admin 12 November 2010 at 7:20 am and have No Comments

Sub-Zero's back-story is serious business screenshot

I love playing me some Mortal Kombat, but I’ll admit I’m not steeped in its lore. I just kind of want to rip people’s spines out and punch them into pits. I’m fine with that.

But let me get something straight: Scorpion is mad at Sub-Zero because Sub-Zero killed him and his clan, right? But this new Sub-Zero, who is actually the brother of the old Sub-Zero (who killed Scorpion and his clan), is upset with Scorpion because he… killed the old Sub-Zero? Is that what’s happening?

My brain hurts, and I’m not even sure that’s actually the story. But who cares? The new Mortal Kombat looks awesome. I just hope these fighters don’t talk that much, because I’d then have to crush their lungs by smashing in their ribs. But hey, isn’t that what Mortal Kombat is all about?

+ Contest: Win a Dead Rising 2 DLC PSN code! By Admin 12 November 2010 at 5:00 am and have No Comments

Contest: Win a Dead Rising 2 DLC PSN code! screenshot

The latest downloadable content pack for Dead Rising 2 was released this past week and to celebrate, Capcom has given us a total of 20 codes to give away for the PlayStation 3 version of Dead Rising 2! We have five “Ninja Pack” codes, five “Sports Fan Pack” codes, five “Soldier Pack” codes and five “Psycho Pack” codes to give out, all of which will give you new clothes and weapons against the zombie horde.

In order to win a code, you’re just going to need to Like us on Facebook! Yes, it’s that easy! Like Destructoid on Facebook AND like this post right here promoting this Dead Rising 2 contest on Facebook. See? Super easy. We’ll be picking 20 random people that Like this post on Facebook to give out the codes to once the contest closes on Saturday at 11:59AM PST.

+ Grand Theft Auto Trilogy now available for Macs By Admin 12 November 2010 at 4:40 am and have No Comments

Grand Theft Auto Trilogy now available for Macs screenshot

Better late than never, Rockstar Games has announced that its “Grand Theft Auto Trilogy” is now available for the Mac.

The games in the trilogy — Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas — are now available for purchase and download from GameTreeMac.com. After a period of 30 days of exclusivity, the games will be available at retailers across North America and Europe.

Seriously, all three of the games are great. If you play videogames and haven’t played them yet because they weren’t available for Mac… uh, really? Get to it!

+ Call of Duty: Black Ops PC lag patch released By Admin 12 November 2010 at 2:00 am and have No Comments

Call of Duty: Black Ops PC lag patch released screenshot

Treyarch has finally released a PC patch for Call of Duty: Black Ops in order to fix the game’s broken multiplayer mode. As detailed in our sadly controversial review (sad because pointing out documented technical issues shouldn’t be f*cking controversial), the game has suffered from intense lag, stuttering and connection issues since launch. 

The new patch aims to fix this issue, which ought to bump the game up from shattered mess to GOTY-contending classic. I have not yet personally tested the patch out, but should it work, you can add up to three extra points on our review score should you wish, since the game ought to now be rockin’ awesome. 

Black Ops was easily among the most miserable reviews I’ve written. It’s never fun to have to bash a game that one knows is great, all due to some absolutely stupid technical problems that shouldn’t be there, yet completely ruin the experience. This was Treyarch’s big stamp on the series, and it’s sad that this had to happen.

Call of Duty: Black Ops PC Patch Now Live on Steam, More Incoming [Black Ops Blog]