Saturday, October 22, 2016

News:: The last arcade in Boston

[To this day I still lament the closing of southern California's Arcade Infinity, one of my favorite dives and one of the last arcades to survive into the 2000s. I met and interviewed Mike Z there when Skullgirls was naught but a glint in his eye. But I digress, Mullon has his own memories of arcades past. Why not reflect on your own arcade memories by starting a cblog of your own? ~Strider]

Jillian’s probably wasn’t the last arcade in Boston, Massachusetts, but it was the last arcade I remember going to regularly before they all disappeared.

Jillian’s Boston was an arcade and bar and maybe a club on a street corner about a block from Fenway Park. It is not the classiest area of Boston, and Jillian’s was not the most upscale looking bar. The front door was a simple glass door that led right into a stairwell. I cannot remember if the arcade was on the second floor or on the third floor, the billiards room was on the other floor.

The last arcade in Boston screenshot

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News:: PSA: Keldeo Pokemon distribution ends Monday

As part of Pokémon's 20th anniversary, at least one of the harder-to-get creatures has been made available every month this year. Although there were two of the special Pokémon available this month, the Keldeo distribution is set to end on Monday, October 24.

Downloading Keldeo doesn't require anything other than a 3DS, an internet connection, and a copy of Pokémon X, Y, Omega Ruby or Alpha Sapphire. You can download Keldeo once to every copy you own by selecting "Mystery Gift" from the main menu and choosing "Get via Internet."

The Volcanion cards should still be available at your local game store, and you can check this link for the details. The code cards won't be available after October 31 but are still redeemable until January 2017, so it's not as time sensitive as downloading Keldeo.

Next month's offering is Genesect, which will be available from November 1-24. It looks like you'll need a code card for the Bug/Steel hybrid as well, but we'll let you know when it becomes available.

PSA: Keldeo Pokemon distribution ends Monday screenshot



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News:: Team Liquid Signs The First Pro Civilization VI Player

Stephen ‘MrGameTheory’ Takowsky will be Civilization VI’s first professional player. That’s according to an announcement Team Liquid made yesterday stating it has signed MrGameTheory to head up their new Civilization team and was embarking on “an initiative to launch Civilization VI into the world of competitive esports.”

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News:: Man Vs. Snake Documents One Man's Obsession With Nibbler

Nibbler is a snake arcade game similar to Pac-Man where the player grows longer the more things they eat. In Nibbler, however, there aren’t any ghosts chasing you. Instead, the only thing the serpent has to fear is itself. If it makes contact with another part of its body while zig-zagging through mazes, the game ends. The game’s fail state is literally a snake eating its own tail.

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News:: Oh god, I cannibalized a poor space scientist in Symmetry

Symmetry has a great aesthetic about it. It doesn't really do the game justice, actually. The warm pastel hues and hand-drawn art are inviting, when the in-game conditions are anything but. There's a dire story at the heart of Symmetry, one that the presentation doesn't prepare you for.

I realized that when I killed and ate one of my fellow scientists.

Maybe the look of it all makes those moments easier to accept, but, yeah, not really. All the comforting tones in the world can't really offset exactly how dark it is to murder a friend and cannibalize them. In my defense, she was unhappy. Bringing the whole team down, honestly.

In a more perfect world, I wouldn't have had to resort to this. Symmetry's survival story doesn't need to end up like that. The three scientists who crash-landed on this planet can make the best of their situation to escape. It requires resource management, team management, and understanding the extreme environment. It probably won't be easy, though. An emoticon over each's head indicated their mood; everyone was in poor spirits relatively quickly in the demo.

And, even if those three stay content, it'll likely come at the expense of others. The developers from Sleepless Clinic told me that there are more playable characters who eventually arrive over the course of the four- to six-hour narrative. Depending on their state, it might be best to kill them before they even make it into the makeshift station. Survival of the fittest and all that, I guess.

From the little I saw, it seems like it'll be incredibly difficult to play Symmetry without something bleak happening. The conditions certainly justify it. Against-all-odds survival tales rarely go smoothly anyway. Just don't let its unassuming look fool you; Symmetry is anything but lighthearted.

Oh god, I cannibalized a poor space scientist in Symmetry screenshot



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News:: Battlefield 1 Medic Can't Stop Stabbing People With Syringes

The Hippocratic Oath requires doctors to commit to a code of ethics about saving, and protecting life. Chief among its principles is “do no harm.” World War I was hell though, so the medics in Battlefield 1 can be forgiven for doing as much harm, if not more, than good.

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News:: Weekend deals: Battlefield 1 and Civilization VI, oh my

Welcome to the weekend of 2016 where possibly the two biggest games of year release. Civilization VI and Battlefield 1 are clocking in respectable ratings in review aggregate sites (Dtoid review here). For a limited time, PC gamers can take 20% off either title on both Steam and Origin. This gives a little solace for those of us who game on one of the more expensive platforms.

GMG has a 20% discount on Battlefield 1, getting the game down to $47.99. The same retailer has Civilization VI marked down in the same percentage (just this morning!) via a semi-hidden discount. You must add Civ VI to cart before any price break is revealed.

If you wanted to get your hands on a new PS4 Slim or Xbox One S just to play Battlefield 1, there are some bundle deals available as well. Newegg has a coupon code making the first discount on the Special Edition 1TB "Military Green" Xbox One S Battlefield 1 bundle. Newegg also has a PS4 Slim bundle on its eBay page for $319.99 which includes a copy of both Battlefield 1 and Assassin's Creed Syndicate (of course it's a free Ubisoft game).

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PS4

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Game deals from Dealzon. Sales help support Destructoid.

Weekend deals: Battlefield 1 and Civilization VI, oh my screenshot



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News:: Is frame rate a game-changer for you?

Video games have come a long way. Technology these days is trying to push the limits of 4K resolution, and VR is a promising experience of the future. We find ourselves in a bit of a rat race to see what's the fanciest tech we can possibly squeeze out onto the market, and just how much can we optimize our games to achieve the best performance. 

I've been playing Rise of the Tomb Raider lately for the Xbox One, and I have to tell you it's a visually stunning game. I'm very much enjoying my experience with it, even though I went into it knowing that it is locked at a solid 30fps count. I actually took this into consideration before even playing the game. Then I got to thinking...does it really matter to me how many frames per second a game runs at? 

Is frame rate a game-changer for you? screenshot

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News:: When An Unstoppable Force Meets An Immovable Object, SK Telecom T1 Wins

Despite an impressive first game from the two-time winners of the League of Legends World Championship, ROX Tigers looked set to beat their more senior South Korean rivals in the best-of-five semifinals against SK Telecom T1. It wasn’t until game four that SKT was able to claw their way back into things and tie the series up at 2-2. And then, in the final game, SKT showed that they weren’t going to just step-aside and let the Tigers barrel on toward the Grand Finals.

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News:: Preacher Co-Creator Steve Dillon Dead at 54

News:: You can now get a lime green edition of the Nintendo New 3DS XL that comes pre-installed with Super

You can now get a lime green edition of the Nintendo New 3DS XL that comes pre-installed with Super Mario World. The old-style 3DS isn’t able to play ports of SNES games, like Earthbound. Nintendo is selling the system exclusively through Amazon.

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News:: What does the community think of the Nintendo Switch?

Nintendo has finally revealed its next console, the Nintendo Switch. I, for one, am glad we can stop calling it the damn NX. In the days leading up to the reveal, almost everyone was skeptical that Nintendo would be showing off anything worth getting excited about.

What does the community think of the Nintendo Switch? screenshot

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News:: Razer's Blade Stealth and 'Core' add up to the gaming laptop I always wanted

For as long as I can remember, I've dreamed of a computer that didn't exist: something that could get me through the work day but also transform into a gaming powerhouse at home. It's taken decades, but that old fantasy is finally starting to coalesce into reality. Laptops from Alienware and MSI can be bought with an external graphics dock that lends them the power of a desktop-class GPU. Earlier this year, Razer even made a bid for my dream laptop -- but its Blade Stealth stumbled with middling battery life and by launching before its companion GPU dock hit the market. Recently the company updated the ultraportable with more storage and memory, a faster processor, a higher-capacity battery and the graphics extender that makes it so special: the Razer Core. Now that we finally have the complete package, it's time to revisit the Stealth and see if it makes good on its promise.



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News:: The Weekend In Esports: Fakest Of Them All

“I would rather sit on a pumpkin, and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion,” wrote David Thoreau in Walden. This weekend is kind of similar. There might be a lull before BlizzCon 2016, and less action than usual in the fighting game community, but the final act of Worlds 2016 is just about to be written.

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News:: Saturday's Best Deals: Harmony Smart Control, DualShock 4, Cast Iron Cookware

Amazon’s most popular subwoofer, the new DualShock 4, and Cuisinart cast iron cookware lead off Saturday’s best deals.

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News:: This Week In The Business: Who's Going To Switch?

QUOTE | “I am most concerned about the target group of the device: who else but die-hard Nintendo fans will buy the Switch? The Switch lacks a killer feature, and I think it will be very difficult for Nintendo to win back the casual gamers that are mostly on mobile now.” - Analyst Dr. Serkan Toto is skeptical about the Switch’s potential for success.

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News:: Here's how to access the new Dark Souls III DLC

One question I get pretty often whenever a new DLC for Souls launches is "how do you access it?"

In true Souls form, you don't really go through a traditional menu. Instead, the player either has to follow vague clues or find the new zone completely on their own, which can get annoying if you're not keen on exploring the entire game again. So, much like my previous videos, here's one for Ashes of Ariandel, which launches in a few days on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

Here's how to access the new Dark Souls III DLC screenshot

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News:: Today’s selection of articles from Kotaku’s reader run community: Battlezone’s Extraordinary Music A

Today’s selection of articles from Kotaku’s reader run community: Battlezone’s Extraordinary Music Augments Gameplay  “Heaven or Hell?” The Awesome Music of Guilty Gear Xrd  VEV VR: The Best PSVR Game Nobody Is Talking About 

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News:: We Were Wrong About Limiting Children's Screen Time

How much time should kids be allowed to stare into their screens like zombies? New guidelines issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics upturns conventional thinking on the matter, showing that a sweeping one-size-fits-all approach is not the right way for parents to go about limiting their children’s screen time.

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News:: The Morning After: Weekend Edition

Letter from the Editor

You have chosen... wisely

Welcome to the very first edition of The Morning After, Engadget's revamped newsletter. First, I'd like to congratulate you for subscribing to what is undoubtedly the greatest newsletter you'll ever read. Thanks are also in order for giving us some of your precious inbox real estate each day. You're hearing from me, Editor in Chief Michael Gorman, because this is the Weekend Edition -- in which I'll be putting context around the most interesting and important stories we published over the past week. Come Monday at 6 AM ET, and every weekday after, the daily version will hit your inbox with summaries of the biggest stories from the previous day, delivered with Engadget's trademark wit and insight. Now that we have that out of the way, let's dive into the week that was...



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