This trailer for Super Splatters, the revised version of The Splatters for Steam, is beyond silly. It does what not enough game trailers do, however -- it gets the point across efficiently. The new release is happening on June 26, 2013 for PC and Mac, followed by a Linux port "shortly after."
Changing direction mid-air is as fun to me now as it was last year on Xbox Live Arcade. Super Splatters is still 30 percent off if you pre-purchase now. Seven bucks is, from what I've played of the original game and a new pre-release PC build, a great price. Using a mouse feels like a step up, and I tend to play most of my PC titles with a gamepad.
You didn't think it was over did you? Okay, so the Mass Effect 3 ending controversy is really over, but that doesn't mean there aren't fair few untold tales about it's development.
In an interview with Eurogamer, ex-BioWare writer Drew Karpyshyn sheds light on what were discussed as possible endings to the Mass Effect trilogy. It seems the initial ideas all placed a heavy emphasis on biotics and dark energy, with the Reapers acting as some sort of guardians to the universe. "Dark Energy," Karpyshyn says, "was something that only organics could access because of various techno-science magic reasons we hadn't decided on yet. Maybe using this Dark Energy was having a ripple effect on the space-time continuum...then we thought, let's take it to the next level.
"Maybe the Reapers are looking at a way to stop this. Maybe there's an inevitable descent into the opposite of the Big Bang (the Big Crunch) and the Reapers realize that the only way they can stop it is by using biotics, but since they can't use biotics they have to keep rebuilding society -- as they try and find the perfect group to use biotics for this purpose. The asari were close but they weren't quite right, the Protheans were close as well."
The full interview goes on to detail even more ending possibilities, which in hindsight all sound pretty cool. Just don't torture yourself with the thought that they would have necessarily have been better. The ideas were all undercooked, and ultimately couldn't go anywhere for one reason or another. Karpyshyn continues, "I find it funny that fans end up hearing a couple things they like about it and in their minds they add in all the details they specifically want. It's like vapourware -- vapourware is always perfect, anytime someone talks about the new greatest game. It's perfect until it comes out."
Ideas left out of a games usually find themselves into sequels though, so who knows. Maybe some of these ideas can crop up in future Mass Effect projects in some form.
Ex-Bioware writer discusses dropped ideas for Mass Effect trilogy ending [Eurogamer]
Former Destructoid editor and doodler of all things cute, Ashley Davis, has done many wonderful things in her years as a freelance artist. From her animated GameTrailers series, Once Upon a Pixel , to her contributions to various art books and fan 'zines, she has perfected an art style that melts even the coldest of hearts.
On hiatus from her main webcomic, Jailbird , Ashley has taken over Legend of the Valkyrie on Namco Bandai's ShiftyLook site. Based on a Japanese-exclusive action-RPG series that dates back to the Famicom days, the comic was originally drawn by Fernando Heinz Furukawa, a South American comic artist who has worked on a number of StarCraft graphic novels. Though the strip had very detailed and dynamic art, it didn't quite sync up with the writing, which shoehorned Internet humor and attempted to appeal to otaku culture with basic Japanese phrases.
Beginning June 4 with the strip entitled "Time for a Change," Ashley has assumed both art and writing duties, and the comic is much better off for it. I'm simply annoyed that it took me so long to learn what she's been up to lately. Anyway, enjoy the comic, which updates twice a week.
And as an added bonus, here's Ashley's original rendition of series heroine Valkyrie as posted on her art blog, no marios allowed!, last September.
Sony went in a different direction than Microsoft with respect to always-on requirements and used games, and the latter company didn't hear the end of it. We certainly weren't buying the explanations. But that's in the past, now. As of today, the Xbox One has shed most of the policies gamers took issue with. According to Microsoft's Marc Whitten, that's not all the console lost.
"One of the things we were very excited about was 'wherever we go my games are always with me,' the VP of Xbox Live told Kotaku. "Now, of course, your physical games won’t show up that way. The content you bought digitally will. But you’ll have to bring your discs with you to have your games with you. Similarly, the sharing library [is something] we won't be able to deliver at launch."
Speaking to Polygon, Whitten said users "have to be connected" for the cloud-based processing to work, as you'd expect. "All of the things that require the Internet will require the console to connect. We want and expect most people to take advantage of those things, but we also want to give people the choice that they can play offline."
The family sharing concept was one I liked, in theory, as was not needing to keep the disc of an installed game in the tray while playing -- but not at such a high cost. Not even close. In light of today's news, Whitten also confirmed that there will be a day-one patch for the console.
Surprise Xbox One DRM Reversal Requires Day One Patch, Cuts Features [Kotaku]
Xbox One loses some disc-free play, family game-sharing plan with revised policies [Polygon]
There was a lot of good buzz surrounding Transistor during PAX East. However, it wasn't until right now, while watching this extensive demonstration from developer Supergiant Games, that the sci-fi action-RPG had me looking into cryogenic freezing. Sadly, I'll have to wait it out like the rest of you.
Beyond the standard real-time combat, players can pause the action to plan out -- and then execute -- their next attacks. This should give Transistor a different pace from the studio's last release, Bastion , while still appealing to people who dug that title.
E3 may be over but some of us can't stop talking about all the cool things we got to see and play at this year's show. There was just so much good stuff on display, both for current-gen and next-generation consoles.
We already announced what Destructoid's official game of the show was plus all our other top picks, but we also wanted to share with you our personal picks for E3 2013. These are the games that will be on our minds everyday until they're finally released and in our hands.
After what already feels like an eternity of warranted criticism over Microsoft's mandatory online check-ins for Xbox One and other related DRM policies, the company has seemingly taken the backlash to heart. The always-online requirement has been dropped, meaning users won't have to check in daily and game discs will function as they do currently, reports Giant Bomb. Sources tell the outlet that the new polices will result in the following:
The official Xbox website's FAQ for Xbox One has been updated today stating that "As a result of feedback from the Xbox community, we have changed certain policies for Xbox One reflected in this blog. Some of this information is no longer accurate -- please check here for the latest." At the time of publication, the link is unavailable. We'll know what's been changed soon enough.
I was so convinced that Microsoft was committed, that it had the infrastructure in place and wouldn't turn back no matter how much heat it took. It feels so great to be wrong.
The fourth Smash Bros. was only announced last week, but fans the world over have already contributed a wealth of art based on the three new characters. However, Japanese art community pixiv has taken a particularly big shine to Wii Fit Trainer, proving that even bleached mannequins can be seen as sexy.
You'll find a number of pieces below showcasing the health-conscious vixen with cameos from the other two newcomers: Mega Man and Animal Crossing's Villager. Of course, Wii Fit Trainer is the star of the show, with her suppleness and perfect form catching the eyes of her associates.
Anybody in the mood for some hot yoga?
Super Smash Brothers' new fighters inspire Japanese nerds [Japanator]
Lately, there's been little talk about Nordic Games' plans for all of those THQ properties it picked up. Last we heard, the company wanted to find other studios that could develop new titles in series like Darksiders, MX vs. ATV, and Red Faction, to name only a few out of a huge list of acquired intellectual properties. You can imagine why this would take so long.
Speaking to Polygon, Nordic business and product development director Reinhard Pollice specifically mentioned the action-RPG Titan Quest as something the publisher would love to bring back. And, personally, he'd like to see a continuation of the unlikely Wii game Deadly Creatures .
According to Pollice, Nordic is going through the list of IPs on a case-by-case basis. Outside of the obvious (Darksiders), which franchises are you hoping survive the death of THQ?
Nordic Games' plans for THQ titles in early stages, Deadly Creatures high on the list [Polygon]
Joe Danger and Joe Danger 2: The Movie will be out on Steam starting June 24. The ability to share levels through Steam Workshop sounded like the real draw until I heard about Hello Games' collaboration with Valve and Mojang, the results of which can be seen in this new trailer. I'm a total sucker for crossovers, even if they've been done time and time again.
"Lately pretty much all of us have been playing on our PCs more than our consoles, especially at lunch, and you know that means Team Fortress 2," writes Hello Games. "Like, we've clocked up over 4000 hours in it between us and have so many hats. Just for fun Aaron started adding TF2 characters into Joe Danger and I was in love with how good they looked. We completely had to make them happen for real, so we called Valve, and now it's a real thing!"
The entire Team Fortress 2 lineup is playable, as is Minecraft's The Player (aka Steve) and Pigman. The latter game will also introduce block-filled levels to Joe Danger. A fun little bonus for PC players, to be sure.
I was playing the two Legend of Zelda Oracle games -- Seasons and Ages -- on my 3DS recently, and found myself once again appreciating the fairly innovative game-link feature that was implemented by Capcom and Nintendo so many moons ago.
For those of you who aren't aware, after a proposal to Miyamoto from a Capcom employee, two Oracle games were commissioned by Nintendo for the Game Boy Color as a follow-up to the incredibly successful Game Boy title Link's Awakening. Just like the Mass Effect series (but six years before it) among a select few other classics, you could transfer progress to another game. Certain parts of the narrative are changed to essentially turn the game into a full sequel rather than an isolated experience.
