I haven't sat down to willingly play a sports game since me and my brother found NHL Face Off '98 on a demo disk during one VERY boring summer vacation. But every time I read one of Jon Bois' amazing Breaking Madden articles I wonder if that's a mistake. When I see Cam Newton relentlessly haunted by an unstoppable poltergeist his teammates seems to ignore, I have wonder if I'm missing out on something.
Over the weekend, I was fortunate enough to check out the alpha build of Discord's enchanting procedurally generated action-RPG platformer Chasm. Now that I've finally had some hands-on with the game, I'd like to share my impressions.
We've talked about this gorgeous game on several occasions, but for those of you still unfamiliar with it, Chasm's list of influences should shed some light on what the team is going for. When asked which titles served as inspirations for the game, director James Petruzzi listed off classics such as Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night as well as The Legend of Zelda and Mega Man. Additionally, and this is something I would not have picked up on without poring over the game's newer screenshots, some not-so-subtle salutes to From Software's Dark Souls.
When I make reference to Discord's homage to Dark Souls, I don't mean it as an indicator of the game's difficulty as one might assume; moreover, I'm saying that those familiar with From Software's action-RPG will most likely feel right at home playing Discord's title due to some familiar mechanics found within the game.
Microsoft has had Project Spark in beta for months now and if you aren't quite sure what it is, this video is a quick way to get up to speed in time for today's launch. Essentially, it is a game about making games and playing other people's creations. It's out now for Xbox One and Windows 8.1.
While Project Spark is free to play (expect monetization), there's also a retail "Starter Pack" priced at $39.99 available -- it comes with the base game, Champions Quest: Void Storm adventure, First Contact sci-fi theme pack, Sir Haakon the Knight playable champion, Arctic Glaciers winter landscape, Massive World Builders Pack expansion, Yeti's Rage content pack, and a one-month Spark Premium membership. In-game credits are earned twice as fast with Premium.
This is one of those things I'm content to watch from the sidelines and see develop over time as the community grows. To that end, I hope someone remakes Conker's Bad Fur Day .
You'll have to hop precariously around Destiny's Venus map to find this one, but it appears one player has discovered an exploit that eventually sends them warping through one of the game's planned DLC maps in the area.
I will not cry over a Gritty Reboot of Adventure Time. I will not cry over a Gritty Reboot of Adventure Time. I will not... dammit.
Earlier this year we got a brief look at The Land of Eyas , which has Super Meat Boy-style platforming with a gravity switching mechanic, as well as a kid in a cute cat suit. At the time, it was seeking approval on Steam Greenlight and it had just launched a Kickstarter campaign with a goal of $10,000.
The original run fell short of that goal, managing to raise only $4,378 in pledges before its time ran out. It has now been approved on Greenlight, and it is back on Kickstarter with a goal half the size of the previous one. $5,000 is still a bit more than it managed to gather with its first campaign, but it is nearly halfway there with three weeks remaining, so it looks like it might work out for the studio this time around.
The Land of Eyas is scheduled for release on Linux, Mac, and Windows next summer, with Xbox platforms planned for later.
Fans of The Binding of Isaac have long wanted the game on 3DS and while that'd be great to see one day, I'd be just as happy to to have it on Wii U. Which might actually happen! I know!
Nicalis uploaded this video yesterday and that blip at the beginning sure is a Wii U overlay. There's also this Twitter exchange between designer Edmund McMillen and Nicalis' Tyrone Rodriguez.
[Via GoNintendo]
Once again Sakurai is hard at work hyping up the Wii U release of Super Smash Bros., which we now know will drop in November. The newest Miiverse post involves the amiibo toys, showing us a screen of what the in-game interface will look like.
Instead of just transporting the toys into the game, there will be a small little cutscene showing a "Figure Player" transformation, which involves a cute little trophy like those typically seen in the series.
Sakurai [Miiverse]
Now that PlayStation 4 players have had time to enjoy the more "casual" content of Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition, it's time to get down to some serious endgame business. Patch 2.1.0 is will be available on the console today. Legendary loot follows.
Official Nintendo Magazine is ceasing operations, Future and Nintendo UK confirmed today.
The publication's next issue will be its last and will book-end a 12-year run when it hits stands next week, October 14. The website will subsequently shutter on November 11.
The announcement follows the closure of Nintendo Power and Future's unofficial Nintendo UK magazine in 2012. Nintendo hopes to stay in touch with consumers via Nintendo Direct presentations and other online channels moving forward.
Official Nintendo Magazine set to close with Issue 114 [ONM via Joysitq]
Update 9.0.0-20 has dropped in North America and Europe for the 3DS, and its biggest feature is decidedly the addition of themes. These basically allow you to customize your UI entirely, with backgrounds, new icons, and sounds.
You'll get five themes for free just for updating. The rest are paid purchases that you can find online. You can also capture screenshots of your home screen now, and the eShop has a cleaner interface.
System Menu Update History [Nintendo]
Here are some great games you probably missed at bargain basement prices.
I cannot imagine the sheer hours of screaming, grunting and shouting that have gone into dubbing Dragon Ball Z over the years. Luckily, I don't have to imagine any more.
