Monday, August 19, 2013

News::Papers Please Review | The Average Gamer

Work is scarce in Arstotzka and you have mouths to fed at home. Youre paid on a piece rate, so every prospective entrant you correctly evaluate is another meal for your family, or another night you can turn on the heating in the cold, wintery November. It wont be long before you start to resent the little differences in the paperwork. Where the hell is this passport from? Why is all the information in the wrong place?



via N4G: pc news feed http://n4g.com/news/1336084/papers-please-review-the-average-gamer

News::Battlefield 4 DLC packs named, includes naval warfare-themed expansion Rumour

Battlefield 4 DLC packs named, includes naval warfare-themed expansion Rumour



via N4G: pc news feed http://n4g.com/news/1336073/battlefield-4-dlc-packs-named-includes-naval-warfare-themed-expansion-rumour

News::Review: Layton Brothers: Mystery Room

Despite my affection towards the Professor Layton series, I felt no compulsion to download Layton Brothers: Mystery Room when it released a couple months back. I'm not against mobile gaming, nor do I believe it's impossible for a traditionally home / handheld console franchise to make a successful leap into the mobile space. But I'm not so proud that I can't admit to still being somewhat biased.


And so weeks passed. While flipping through the App Store just the other day, I noticed that the first few chapters of Mystery Room were free. I figured it wouldn't hurt to give the game a quick spin to see if it deserved my money. Okay game, I thought, convince me!


Mystery Room does exactly what a good spin-off ought to do, which is to craft an experience distinct from yet complementary to the mainline series. With a focus on solving murders rather than "I haff twelve metchsteek" puzzles, it's less Professor Layton and more Detective Conan -- a blend of anime antics and crime drama that works perfectly on a mobile platform.


Review: Layton Brothers: Mystery Room screenshot


Read more...



via destructoid http://www.destructoid.com/review-layton-brothers-mystery-room-259887.phtml

News::Disney Infinity review: Dream it. Do it | Joystiq

Joystiq writes: 'Activision's Skylanders series is doing big business -- big enough for the House of Mouse to take notice and develop a multi-million dollar competitor. The result, Disney Infinity, shares surface similarities with Activision's series, but its gameplay skews toward an older audience, in the hopes of capturing a universal appeal. Disney Infinity makes a lot of promises, boasting gameplay that takes cues from big-name hits like Minecraft and LittleBigPlanet. The finished product is a rousing success, offering lightweight but solid co-op gameplay built on a foundation of undiluted nostalgia.'



via N4G: pc news feed http://n4g.com/news/1336062/disney-infinity-review-dream-it-do-it-joystiq

News::Might and Magic X: Legacy Trailer Brings Back Sweet Memories of 3D Dungeon Crawling

It has been a long time coming, but at last Ubisoft is bringing Might & Magic back with an early 2014 release of the 3D dungeon crawling RPG Might & Magic X: Legacy. I call it dungeon crawling, but true to the tradition of the franchise we wont be limited to dungeons, as you can see in the trailer released today.



via N4G: pc news feed http://n4g.com/news/1336058/might-and-magic-x-legacy-trailer-brings-back-sweet-memories-of-3d-dungeon-crawling

News::10 Things You Didn't Know About Dark Souls

There's loads of hidden stuff in Dark Souls, ranging from ghostly babies to deflecting giant arrows. This video explores the mysteries of Lordran.



via N4G: pc news feed http://n4g.com/news/1336055/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-dark-souls

News::Pikmin 3 takes place 250 million years in Earth's future

Fun trivia for the day!


There are plenty of clues in the Pikmin series to suggest that the Pikmin's planet is in fact Earth at a point when humans are no longer around. The most clear-cut evidence to support this theory is during the ending of Pikmin 2 , when the camera pulls back to reveal a blue sphere strikingly similar to own home world.


Pikmin 3 seemingly not only further supports the theory but also establishes a rough time frame for the game's events. According to the Pikmin Wiki entry on PNF-404, the planet's formal name, the surface of the world has been retconned to resemble Pangaea Ultima, a supercontinent configuration that represents what Earth could look like in 250 million years. Sure enough, laying a map of Pangaea Ultimate over the PNF-404 topography yields a damn near perfect match.


I love it when developers give you clues about a game universe's history without going into specific detail. In a time when background lore is often explained in exhaustive length, it's good to know there are still discoveries to be made if you look hard enough.


Pikmin Takes Place on Earth… 250 Million Years in the Future [Gamnesia] (Thanks, Nathanial!)


Pikmin 3 takes place 250 million years in Earth's future screenshot






via destructoid http://www.destructoid.com/pikmin-3-takes-place-250-million-years-in-earth-s-future-260311.phtml

News::Rise of the Triad Review: Blasting at Archaic Ideas | Entertainment Buddha

"As a recreation of a game nearly 20 years old it succeeds, especially with those who feel a nostalgic alliance with the original, but is plagued by numerous issues that simply hold the game back from reaching its full potential."



via N4G: pc news feed http://n4g.com/news/1336046/rise-of-the-triad-review-blasting-at-archaic-ideas-entertainment-buddha

News::Nether is a sandbox survival MMOFPS without a zombie in sight

In development at Phosphor Games, Nether aims to bring a different kind of environment to the genre: a dense, vertical city.



via N4G: pc news feed http://n4g.com/news/1335870/nether-is-a-sandbox-survival-mmofps-without-a-zombie-in-sight

News::TPG Dual Review Episode 10: Sir, You Are Being Hunted (TruePCGaming)

TPG writes: "Corey Lenack and Sean Freeark attempt to survive the British countryside and elude those nasty robots in, Sir, You Are Being Hunted."



via N4G: pc news feed http://n4g.com/news/1336031/tpg-dual-review-episode-10-sir-you-are-being-hunted-truepcgaming

News::Gamer Chatter Podcast - Episode 31: Let's Do This

This week Ed, Tim & Amy start another awesome show by almost screwing things up, but we get back on track to discuss Xbox One delayed in several countries, Kinect is NOT needed and other news. They also discuss what is released this week. Updates to PAYDAY2, Amy has codes for game giveaways and Ed tries to giveaway a beta code, but goes direct to Facebook for it instead. Amy almost checks out, due to lack of sleep. Also, they discuss a new Kickstarter game - Project Pheonix, What They Are Playing, Best Gaming Moment of the Week and of course their Community Question. Also, pay attention as they have homework for the listeners because there will be a one week break between podcasts as Ed brings up an important topic in this generations games. This is going to be a fun one...ENJOY!!!



via N4G: pc news feed http://n4g.com/news/1335936/gamer-chatter-podcast-episode-31-lets-do-this

News::AVIOR 8200 Ambidextrous Gaming Mouse Review *Games Fiends*

The AVIOR 8200 Gaming Mouse is a product created with the customer in mind. If you want to be able to just take it out of the box and play, you can do that. If you want to assign each button to your specifications, even down to the lights, you can do that. Even better you can do all that in perfect comfort. Whether youre a lefty, a righty, or something in between, the AVIOR 8200 fits comfortably in your hand in the first hour, and in the hours beyond.



via N4G: pc news feed http://n4g.com/news/1335890/avior-8200-ambidextrous-gaming-mouse-review-games-fiends

News::Unigamesity Reviews Space Hulk

The game is challenging, making success all the sweeter. However, the road to victory was paved with sighs of exasperation at luck based mechanics and repeated animations



via N4G: pc news feed http://n4g.com/news/1336034/unigamesity-reviews-space-hulk

News::Call of Duty: Ghosts multiplayer brings changes, improvements, and a few concerns | Gamer Horizon

On the surface, Call of Duty: Ghosts multiplayer may seem like very little has changed, but looking closer reveals a lot of changes that could be great. But there are areas of concern as well.



via N4G: pc news feed http://n4g.com/news/1336035/call-of-duty-ghosts-multiplayer-brings-changes-improvements-and-a-few-concerns-gamer-horizon

News::Saints Row IV In 20 Minutes

News::Forge PvP MMOFPS Going Free to Play

Dark Vale Games announced that the PvP-based MMOFPS Forge will turn free to play soon. Powered by Unreal Engine 3, Forge combines the MMO style PvP with FPS combat. The game features a fluid gameplay based on strategy and skill without the level grinding.



via N4G: pc news feed http://n4g.com/news/1335896/forge-pvp-mmofps-going-free-to-play

News::Mars: War Logs Review: The Indie Game That Could | FanGirl Confessions

Mars: War Logs is an ambitious indie game that wants to play in the big leagues. Did it make the cut? Read my review to find out.



via N4G: pc news feed http://n4g.com/news/1335935/mars-war-logs-review-the-indie-game-that-could-fangirl-confessions

News::Race The Sun Launch Trailer Released

Race The Sun Launch Trailer Released



via N4G: pc news feed http://n4g.com/news/1335905/race-the-sun-launch-trailer-released

News::Payday 2 Review | Saving Content

Excerpt: "Simon Viklunds score is more varied than the original game, going less for a Elliot Goldenthal sound, and providing music that matches the action, or inaction. Simons sound even calls on other games hes worked on, such as the track Full Force Forward, that sounds directly lifted from a Bionic Commando game. The music is the driving force of PAYDAY 2, providing the tempo and motivation to get through a game. The initial defaults for the music was a little too high, not allowing me to hear the rest of the action. PAYDAY 2 is a full execution of greatness, whereas PAYDAY: The Heist was proof of concept. OVERKILL has improved the sequel in every way. If youre a single-player gamer, you should likely stay away. The AI is not beneficial to conducting a well-organized heist or helping you out in any meaningful way. But, if youre paired with at least one or two other friends, youre going to have a lot of fun experimenting and initiating different tactics of play, again...



via N4G: pc news feed http://n4g.com/news/1336018/payday-2-review-saving-content

News::Mars: War Logs Review | post it gamer

Brian from postitgamer states "The very thought of playing a small-budget RPG may send shivers down the spine of some enthusiasts, but developer Spiders Mars: War Logs is an ambitious cyberpunk RPG full of great ideas. Theres an unmistakable underdog appeal to what the developers were attempting to execute, but in their effort to cram in well-established RPG tropes and character-building systems, they've devised a universe that doesnt feel fully refined."



via N4G: pc news feed http://n4g.com/news/1335616/mars-war-logs-review-post-it-gamer

News::Braving the Cosmos: Horizon [Preview] - Mash Those Buttons

If Horizon has taught me anything, it's that aliens are unreliable dicks.



via N4G: pc news feed http://n4g.com/news/1335922/braving-the-cosmos-horizon-preview-mash-those-buttons

News::Gone Home Review (WikiGameGuides)

Environmental storytelling at its finest, Gone Home is a window into the past I never wanted to close not just to 1995, but to the hardships families experience and how they overcome them.



via N4G: pc news feed http://n4g.com/news/1336023/gone-home-review-wikigameguides

News::In Retrospect: 'Gone Home' Designer On 'BioShock', 'Bastion' And The Indie Games Business

When I spoke to Steve Gaynor, designer of Gone Home and founder of The Fullbright Company, in March, success was far less certain. The initial signs were good the Independent Games Festival had created a new category to reward excellence in narrative, and Gone Home had been nominated, and the IGF judges and others who had played an incomplete early build were expressing enthusiasm for its combat-free, emotionally exploratory gameplay.



via N4G: pc news feed http://n4g.com/news/1335947/in-retrospect-gone-home-designer-on-bioshock-bastion-and-the-indie-games-business

News::Takedown: Red Sabre Developer Commentary

IGN:Ryan and Serellan creative director Christian Allen chat while playing Allen's new throwback tactical FPS.



via N4G: pc news feed http://n4g.com/news/1335961/takedown-red-sabre-developer-commentary

News::Team Meat Asked if Mew-Genics Will Have Cheat Codes

GeekParty asked Team Meat whether or not Mew-Genics would have cheat codes. Tommy Refenes gave a cryptic, yet hilarious, answer.



via N4G: pc news feed http://n4g.com/news/1336024/team-meat-asked-if-mew-genics-will-have-cheat-codes

News::Top Video Game Podcast of the Week #111 - Red Heist

Horrible Night: "Andy drops some serious Saints Row and Mars knowledge in his podcast debut. Justin will take an arcade machine any way he can get it, he's even practicing for a potential heist. Plus the 3D in 3DS, and Gen Con wants our gaming attention."



via N4G: pc news feed http://n4g.com/news/1335996/top-video-game-podcast-of-the-week-111-red-heist

News::Indie Royale Prairie Dog Bundle Released

Hardcore Gamer: The Indie Royale bundle has returned with an offering of five games for a bit under $5. That gets you Retrovirus, Signal Ops, Zack Zero, Vox, and Sol Survivor. A bonus game will be unlocked at some point in the future, and if you spend $8, you get the Lost Floppies Vol. 2 album.



via N4G: pc news feed http://n4g.com/news/1336005/indie-royale-prairie-dog-bundle-released

News::Payday 2 Review | The Game Scouts

Tin Salamunic: People play video games for different reasons. Some play as means of socializing with their friends, some to relieve their frustrations on complete strangers, while others seek unaccompanied escapism. With the entire industry shoving multiplayer and social aspects down our throats, I sometimes feel like I belong to a dying breed of gamersthose who still play games to step away from constantly being connected. Looking at all the trailers for next generation titles, the single-player experience seems nearly extinct. There are fewer and fewer games like Skyrim and The Last of Us and virtually every title these days carries frighteningly similar multiplayer modes with criminally minimal changes to the formula. A few exceptions aside, the differences between most multiplayer ventures are indistinguishable. Fundamentally, I have nothing against multiplayer, but it seems that every competitive match Ive played in the last decade has resulted in some enraged teen throwing a...



via N4G: pc news feed http://n4g.com/news/1336014/payday-2-review-the-game-scouts

News::Rise of the Triad 2013 Review (TruePCGaming)

David Queener from TPG writes: "The price point is very low at $14.99, and perhaps with some extensive patching and consideration external to the context of mid-90s design it seeks to emulate, it may be worth the money."



via N4G: pc news feed http://n4g.com/news/1336015/rise-of-the-triad-2013-review-truepcgaming

News::Deadfall Adventures Preview | IncGamers

"Deadfall Adventures is set in 1938, a time when the term pyramid scheme referred to Imperial powers robbing ancient burial sites, rather than a method of exploiting the disenfranchised with promises of a dream job working from home."



via N4G: pc news feed http://n4g.com/news/1336019/deadfall-adventures-preview-incgamers

News::Europa Universalis IV Review - GamesReviews

From GamesReviews: "Europa Universalis is a franchise where you dont just control a country or play a king, you are the ruler of your very own nation. That comes with all of the good and all of the bad. The power to do whatever you want, but the responsibility to not always do it. The need to protect and expand your nation whilst all others do the same."



via N4G: pc news feed http://n4g.com/news/1336002/europa-universalis-iv-review-gamesreviews

News::Destructoid- Review: Payday 2

DT:PAYDAY 2 is undeniably rough and needs a couple of updates to fill in a few blanks, but the thrill of robbing banks, smashing jewel cases, and cooking meth is too great for the asking price not be returned to the player in spades. If you're willing to work with a team and get involved in some delightfully chaotic situations, the world of poorly made drills and unnecessary amounts of violence is one well worth investing in.



via N4G: pc news feed http://n4g.com/news/1336004/destructoid-review-payday-2

News::Call Of Duty: Ghosts 'Looks Better Than Ever'

Senior executive producer talks up the visual side of Call Of Duty: Ghosts on current and next-gen.



via N4G: pc news feed http://n4g.com/news/1335965/call-of-duty-ghosts-looks-better-than-ever

News::Saints Row IV Review | GameDynamo

GameDynamo - "Saints Row IV lives up to the subtitle that its Limited Edition carries: Game of the Generation. Before you throw a fuss and call me out on this, it's not Game of the Generation because its world is deeper than the one in Skyrim, or because it keeps us on the edge of our seats like The Last of Us did earlier this summer."



via N4G: pc news feed http://n4g.com/news/1336012/saints-row-iv-review-gamedynamo

News::Descent Indie Developer Creating Remake Using UR3 Engine

Indie Developer Creating Remake Using UR3 Engine.



via N4G: pc news feed http://n4g.com/news/1335974/descent-indie-developer-creating-remake-using-ur3-engine

News::Saints Row IV Review - PixlBit

PixlBit | "For me to properly articulate my feelings on Saints Row IV, I think you need to know a little bit about my taste in movies. I greatly enjoy quiet little indie films like The Science of Sleep, Once, and Closer. I find them to be wonderful palate cleansers from all of the big budget action flicks that come out every summer. However, some of my favorite movies of all time are what I can only describe as stupid; stuff like Crank 2 and UHF starring the one and only Weird Al Yankovic. While these movies are lacking in artistic merit, they are immensely entertaining to me, and thats exactly how I feel about Saints Row IV: a game that gleefully throws the are games art question out the window."



via N4G: pc news feed http://n4g.com/news/1335940/saints-row-iv-review-pixlbit

News::Wind Waker HD is a 2.6gb download of fuzzy feelings

I don't think I ever get tired of looking at Wind Waker.


Winder Waker HD is dropping soon (October), so you better set aside a good chunk of time to delete all those games off of your Wii U to make some room. The game, now over a decade old, will command 2.6gb of download space should you choose to nab it from the eShop, according to NintendoLife. And you'll give it its space, damn it. It deserves every byte.


It will also run at 1080p, support surround sound, and support Wii U Pro Controllers.


Do you have the 2.6gb to spare? Are you going retail on this one? Maybe wait until it's on sail? Will Link's emotive little Wind Waker face ever not be the cutest thing? (No, it won't)


The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD Download Sails Away With 2.6GB of Memory [NintendoLife]


http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2013/08/the_legend_of_zelda_the_wind_waker_hd_download_sails_away_with_26gb_of_memory

Wind Waker HD is a 2.6gb download of fuzzy feelings screenshot






via destructoid http://www.destructoid.com/wind-waker-hd-is-a-2-6gb-download-of-fuzzy-feelings-260306.phtml

News::Something About Japan: a tribute to legendary retro arcade Shibuya Kaikan Monaco


On Sunday, one of Tokyo’s most infamous videogame arcades, Shibuya Kaikan Monaco, powered down its cabinets for the last time.


Shibuya Kaikan Monaco was a special place. While arcades around Japan (known here as “game centres”) have modernised at a rampant pace, Monaco was beloved for its dedication to hardcore gamers and seemed to have remained largely unchanged since its opening in the late 1970s. While most game centres nowadays lure in the widest possible audience with a ground floor consisting of UFO catchers, racing games, rhythm games and print club photo machines, with all the fighting games and so on tucked away upstairs somewhere, Monaco offered a mix of decades-old cabinets still priced at 50 yen (33p) a play, respected rhythm titles and linked-up Street Fighter games from several different generations.


When Monaco announced it would be closing its doors on 18 August, my Twitter feed was ablaze with comments like, “See, Japan’s arcade industry isn’t as healthy as everyone says it is”.


But that’s nonsense. Japan’s arcade industry is still alive and well, with new game centres opening all the time, everywhere from city centres such as fashion district Shibuya to otaku haven Akihabara to out-of-town shopping malls and beyond. New games are released constantly, with Tecmo even preparing to return to the arcades after a 12-year absence with DOA5 Ultimate: Arcade. The Japan Amusement Expo still draws respectable crowds each year in February. UFO catcher prizes are an industry unto themselves.



No, Shibuya Kaikan Monaco’s problem was not a shrinking industry, but rather, its niche within it. Chatting with an employee on the Friday night of Monaco’s final weekend confirmed what the eye could already see: The audience for retro games and hardcore experiences is ageing. The arcade was more packed than usual that night, with regulars descending en-masse for one last credit, and not one single person appeared to be under 25. Most of them were grey-haired men in suits or lone office workers bearing the unmistakable mark of the terminally unfashionable otaku.


“As gamers get older, the time they can come to the arcade gets later and later, because they have to come after work,” said the part-timer. “And that has affected our bottom line. We don’t get any young people here really.”


Shibuya Kaikan Monaco did its best to keep up. True, older cabinets in the retro basement included classics such as Vs Super Mario Bros., a couple of Metal Slugs and Bomber Man World, plus a smattering of smutty strip mah-jong games, erotic puzzle games and super-difficult bullet-hell shooters such as Cave’s Ketsui, their faded tube monitors a testament to their age. And yes, it boasted dozens of Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike cabinets, linked back-to-back so that players could literally face off against each other. But there were also newer machines, like recent entries in the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure and Dragon Ball Z series alongside K-pop-heavy touchscreen rhythm game DJMax Technika 2.


But clearly it wasn’t enough. The arcade’s location on the Center-Gai shopping street, one of the most valued bits of real estate in all of Shibuya, probably didn’t help; a great location for attracting passersby, sure, but the rent and rates must have risen even as Monaco clung to its 50-100 yen price point. The flagship HMV store opposite got turned into a Forever 21 a few years ago, and no doubt Monaco’s slightly grotty building will be repurposed as something glamorous and intensely lucrative within weeks.



Sadly the arcades that disappear tend to be the ones that trade in nostalgia – a lovely old place near my apartment also packed it in a few months ago, while Shibuya’s excellent all-you-can-play retro console bar Famicon Cafe only lasted about a year. But the brand-new, gleaming, state-of-the-art game centres that continue to pop up all around Japan suggest that arcades are moving with the times.


Despite their venerable age, the cabinets at Monaco were surprisingly all rentals, according to the youthful staffer (he was in his forties, like many of the clientele). So while Monaco may have powered down, Mario and chums will potentially go back into circulation, waiting for someone new to take the ludicrous risk of starting up an arcade for oldies.


In the meantime, I had an hour and a stack of 50 yen coins to burn through before saying my goodbyes to an arcade I first visited almost exactly 10 years earlier, in September 2003. I nestled in among the tunnel-visioned Pop’n’Music geniuses, the street-fighting salarymen and the thick stench of cigarette smoke and inserted a coin. Shibuya Kaikan Monaco may be gone, but those old enough to remember the games it celebrated will remember it too.


The post Something About Japan: a tribute to legendary retro arcade Shibuya Kaikan Monaco appeared first on Edge Online.






via Edge Online http://www.edge-online.com/news/something-about-japan-a-tribute-to-legendary-retro-arcade-shibuya-kaikan-monaco/

News::8 games to watch out for at Gamescom 2013

CVG: "Just a few months away from the launch of Xbox One and PlayStation 4, Gamescom 2013 stands to be the most braggadocious gaming event of the year."



via N4G: pc news feed http://n4g.com/news/1335973/8-games-to-watch-out-for-at-gamescom-2013

News::Payday 2 Review - Where Being Bad is Good | IRB Gamer

IRB Gamer: "Waiting for Payday 2 seemed endless. I for one thought I was never going to get my copy. Waiting for launch is one thing, but being miss informed about the streetdate which was actually the shipping date is another. Everyone expected to have their copies on August 13th but had to actually wait the time it took for it to ship, which completely depended on your location. But now we can all take take a HUGE sigh of relief because it is here! AND I promise you it was more than worth the wait."



via N4G: pc news feed http://n4g.com/news/1335972/payday-2-review-where-being-bad-is-good-irb-gamer

News::New Battlefield 4 map leaked, features a tropical island setting?

EA might have unintentionally leaked the new Battlefield 4 map on the official Facebook page, where it shows a new map with a tropical island setting.



via N4G: pc news feed http://n4g.com/news/1335893/new-battlefield-4-map-leaked-features-a-tropical-island-setting

News::Betrayer Preview | GIZORAMA

GIZORAMA - Horror games are a genre that have gone through more peaks and valleys than most. Starting back arguably as far back as Haunted House on the 2600, this style of gameplay has adapted from the early 3D awkwardness of the original Resident Evil and Silent Hill, to the surge of over-the-shoulder Resident Evil 4 knockoffs during the PS2/GameCube era, to the recent adaptation of horror game tropes into new forms, such as the first-person exploration of Amnesia to the pseudo-16 bit stylings of indie titles like Jasper Byrnes Lone Survivor. No matter the presentation, the gameplay trappings remain similar across most games of this ilk: sparse enemies that are far more powerful than you, a lack of readily available supplies, oppressive environments, and ambient sound design. Despite the action-heavy pedigree of its development team, Blackpowder Games, the upcoming title Betrayer meets all of these criteria, and should prove worth a look for any fan of Amnesia or Call of Cthulhu.



via N4G: pc news feed http://n4g.com/news/1335966/betrayer-preview-gizorama

News::Upcoming Serious Game Choice: Texas | The Indie Game Magazine - Indie Game Reviews, Previews, News

The upcoming indie game Choice: Texas is a very serious game, according to Indie Game Magazine's Meg Stivison. This project is an interactive fiction game discussing accessing to legal abortions in Texas. Like the successful serious game 'DepressionQuest', 'Choice: Texas' will use a browser-based IF gameplay medium to engage the player in a storyline with a message. Choice: Texas, developed and designed by Carly Kocurek and Allyson Whipple, uses careful research into Texas legal regulations and demographics to create fictional characters. These characters encounter realistic situations, financial and geographic limitations, as well as personal choices and goals. By asking players to take on the role of one of these women, the developer invite players to consider the situation Texas woman might encounter, and asks the players for empathy and understanding.



via N4G: pc news feed http://n4g.com/news/1335608/upcoming-serious-game-choice-texas-the-indie-game-magazine-indie-game-reviews-previews-news

News::Why we should be grateful for Free to Play games

With every day that passes, more and more developers of big name, AAA titles are starting to advance on the realm of free-to-play, offering their players experiences without any monetary transactions having to take place. MMO-Play gives us few reasons on why we should be all thankful to the Free to Play system.



via N4G: pc news feed http://n4g.com/news/1335467/why-we-should-be-grateful-for-free-to-play-games

News::Have an Early Look at the Booths from Gamescom: PlayStation, Square Enix, Quantic Dream and More

Gamescom 2013 is going to kick off on Wednesday, with tomorrow as a day zero that will include the Sonys, Microsofts and Electronic Arts press conferences, and many developers and publishers are already spreading the love via social networks by posting pictures and clips of their booths.



via N4G: pc news feed http://n4g.com/news/1335951/have-an-early-look-at-the-booths-from-gamescom-playstation-square-enix-quantic-dream-and-more

News::Puppeteer gets a Japanese trailer


It's been a while since we've heard anything substantial about Puppeteer , but the SCE Japan developed platformer is so close to release (September 5th) that we'll get a chance to see what it's really about for ourselves pretty soon.


In the meantime, a new Japanese trailer is here, complete with a showing of the adorable Picarina. Pretty much every bit of gameplay I've seen looks beautiful in action, and I hope it measures up in the full version next month.


Puppeteer gets a Japanese trailer screenshot






via destructoid http://www.destructoid.com/puppeteer-gets-a-japanese-trailer-260304.phtml

News::Batman Arkham Origins New Screens Confirm Batcave

Batcave and Mad Hatter shown off in new Arkham Origins Screenshots.



via N4G: pc news feed http://n4g.com/news/1335926/batman-arkham-origins-new-screens-confirm-batcave

News::6 New ways to die in Call of Duty: Ghosts

MMGN: Youve read the previews, youve listened to Eminems trailer and you know all about the new game modes and killstreaks. Heres what you havent thought about: All the new ways youre going to be killed in Call of Duty: Ghosts.



via N4G: pc news feed http://n4g.com/news/1335606/6-new-ways-to-die-in-call-of-duty-ghosts

News::FIFA 13 Best Goals of the Season

FIFPlay: FIFA 13 Best Goals of the Season 2013 video.



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News::Disney Infinity review collectable content | Metro

Metro: "Corporate greed and some avoidable flaws prevent it from reaching infinity and beyond, but this is still a game that can delight and inspire in equal measure."



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