News:: Is it a game or a dime-store hood?

As much as we all love the actual gameplay of various video games, there is no denying that the look and style of a game is becoming all too important. Even with that said, there are still naysayers out there who proclaim that gameplay is the unforgiving king of any good game and that the "artiness" that many games frequently present in modern gaming is unnecessary when such good gameplay is supposed to be the core of the experience. I agree with this to some extent. Gameplay is supposed to be the center of attention when you play a game; otherwise, why call it a game? I once spoke with a very outspoken and clearly disturbed "gamer" (who I am calling Flappy) and listened to him refer to Quantic Dream's 2005 paranormal thriller Indigo Prophecy (Fahrenheit for non-US gamers) as a "Play" rather than a game. He said it wasn't a game because you didn't do anything except push buttons for the time-based sequences. I told him, "Well, yes, because it's supposed to be an interactive sort of deal". And after that I stopped talking to him because I could feel that he was about to rant about something especially since he mentioned the phrase "Metal Gear Solid" beside the word "awful". One thing struck me though for the first time in my life: At least some people don't like movie-like games.

But can I just ask something?

What do people watch movies for? The story or the moving pictures? The flashy explosions or the demonstration of skill in acting?

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News:: Rockstar Games, Take Two seem to back off of PC game modders

Earlier this month, Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two angered the PC gaming community after sending a cease and desist letter to the developers of the OpenIV modding tool. OpenIV allowed people to create modifications for GTA IV and GTA V single player, but according to its creators, the letter said their tool could "allow third parties to defeat security features of its software and modify that software in violation Take-Two's rights." Facing the threat of legal action, they announced on June 14th that they would stop distributing OpenIV.

Source: Rockstar Games Support, OpenIV

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News:: Catch the first episode of Gundam Twilight AXIS on GundamInfo

As we continue to wait for Gundam Versus' release in the West, the latest Gundam anime, Mobile Suit Gundam Twilight AXIS, is now on GundanInfo's YouTube channel.

The Web anime series is based on a novel that takes place a few months after Gundam Unicorn, with the premise revolving around a group that's exploring the remains of AXIS. One of the things that got me interested in the show was that two of the main characters used to be a part of Zeon.

Unfortunately, the show's first episode is only three minutes, and it felt more like a trailer than an actual short. Either way, it's nice that GundamInfo made the anime available to people outside of Japan since it was originally announced for the Gundam Fanclub Website.

Seeing that the series will consist of four more three-minute episodes and an eight-minute finale, it'll be a shame if the Twilight AXIS anime doesn't change its format. If the show ends up being a disaster, let's hope that one of the future Super Robot Wars games will redeem it.

Gundam Twilight AXIS Net Anime's 1st Episode Streamed With English Subtitles [Anime News Network]

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News:: Did anyone else regularly get scared by Nintendo 64 games?

The Nintendo 64 wasn't my favorite console. Even on a good day, it doesn't make my top five. And many of its best games don't hold up super well if you're running them on the original hardware.

But, all that said, the N64 does warrant a special place in my heart.

It was my system of choice during my peak video game rental years, so I got to try out a good chunk of its library -- a dream come true as a kid with way too much time on his hands.

It also had a bunch of strange or otherwise experimental titles. Remember when companies like Sucker Punch and DMA Design could make things like Rocket: Robot on Wheels and Space Station Silicon Valley? Even if you read the back of the box to the point of memorization, you never quite knew what you were getting into. That made for a sometimes bad but almost always interesting system.

21 years ago, the Nintendo 64 launched in Japan. The milestone has gotten me to reflect on my time with the console. While most of my bubbled-up memories are happy ones, there's also fear. I imagine I'm not alone in saying this, but, a whole lotta N64 games scared the shit out of me. Anyone else?

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News:: Quake Champions will be playable through Steam

Bethesda and id are fielding user-submitted questions for Quake Champions. Since folks have a good sense for the free-to-play shooter from its ongoing beta, the Q&A is surprisingly informative.

For instance: "There are several modes we love very much so, but currently adding more modes isn't an immediate priority." Rather, the developers' "immediate focus is on improving the performance, network code, and stability of the game and implementing our latest gameplay balances."

Further out, "two of our largest priorities remain Onboarding and Progress Loops. Our onboarding efforts include additional tutorials, training maps, and UI/UX improvements to build a better user experience for all our future newcomers. The implementation of new progression loops introduces new game systems we've designed to keep players coming back throughout the week, every week."

Someone also thought to ask about Steam support (something that should be a given, but wasn't necessarily a sure thing), and the answer is encouraging.

"You will still be required to have a linked Bethesda.net account, but users playing the game from Steam will not go through the Bethesda.net launcher," according to senior producer Jason Bergman. "During the current beta period the game will only be available through the Bethesda.net launcher."

Ask Us Anything - Dev Answers 6/23 [Bethesda.net]

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News:: Good dogs

『おはよ！今週も張り切ってステージクリアしましょ👍🏻モタモタしてたらクリボー🌰投げるわよ！←！？ http://pic.twitter.com/ybZtekiMM9

— C_Suzuki (@C_S0325) June 18, 2017

Good dogs. Happy Friday, comrades.

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News:: I'm hopeful Hellblade will be worth the wait

I'll have to be extra sure to wear headphones while playing Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice.

Ninja Theory is inching closer to its August 8 launch on PC and PlayStation 4, and this week brings a short, gripping scene from the mythological action-adventure title. The footage speaks for itself -- there's no obfuscation with quick cuts; you're either into it or you aren't -- and I respect that.

Not much longer now.

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News:: Switch sales hit one million in Japan

Despite shortages, in its first 16 weeks of availability, Nintendo Switch has sold one million consoles in Japan. How does that compare to Nintendo's last two efforts in its home country over the same period?

Switch: 1,000,000
Wii U: 820,000
Wii: 1,850,000

The Wii is still the gold standard, selling more than the Wii U and Switch combined, but Nintendo has to be happy with how the Switch is performing, especially as it plans to push out more consoles in July and August to deal with shortages in Japan. With Splatoon 2 and two new Mario games on the horizon, things are looking solid.

Will it hit 10 million sold in the first year as Nintendo hopes? It depends just how much shortages are failing to meet demand. Worldwide, Nintendo moved 2.74 million consoles in March alone and theoretically has the software coming up to keep peoples' interest, and there's still the holiday season. If Nintendo does indeed move 10 million in a year, it should beat the pants off the Wii U's 13.6 million lifetime sales at the very least.

Japan: more sales data for Week 24, 2017, ARMS, Switch @ 1 million units (Media Create, Dengeki) [Perfectly Nintendo]

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News:: Comments of the Week 06: It was the best of E3s, it was the worst of E3s

Hey paisanos, it's the Super Commenter Hosts Super Show - Comments of the Week! We've been through six issues of this beloved feature now and are still sane from the process. Despite what people might think, there's a lot of work behind doing this feature. It made us appreciate all of the hard work done by the likes of Dreamweaver, Fuzunga, and others. Today you are joined by me, PlasticTree! I'm back again! Hope you didn't miss me too much, as I'm always there...watching, observing.

This week I've been given the pleasure of scouring the site for some E3-based comments, and others - I imagine it's been on all of our minds this past week, and you can't really escape this monster of an event where publishers are to free to pat each other on the back.

Let's get to it then!

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News:: Go fast with Sonic shoes

Sonic turns 26 today and Sega has a lot of stuff to sell you, the most notable of which is these Anippon kicks modeled after the fast rat's own. However I am not sure how fast you can expect to go in flat-footed slip-ons.

Unfortunately for the big-footed among us (13, baby!), these only come in US men's size 6 through 10.5, but you twinkle toes can nab these shoes for a somewhat modest $63 with shipping. I've paid more for shoes and they didn't even have a giant "SONIC THE HEDGEHOG" printed on the heel.

This Great Wave cup is also neat, but also marred by giant "SONIC THE HEDGEHOG" writing. He's on the damn cup, we get it.

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News:: And Destructoid's E3 2017 Game of the Show is...

The internet, full of opinion-havers and never-be-wrongs, had a lot of steadfast thoughts about E3 2017. They ranged from "It was very good" to "It was very bad," with some "It was okay" and "It was not great" peppered in the middle. Nuance is generally not the collective internet's strong suit.

But regardless of how you felt about the show as a whole, it's impossible to deny that there were some absolutely fantastic-seeming games at E3. Yes, it's the purpose of a demo to put the game's best foot forward, but a handful of them went above and beyond in a way that left us more excited than the typical "This is shaping up nicely." We rounded 12 of those titles up as nominees for Destructoid's E3 2017 Best of the Show.

Now that the votes are tallied, we're pleased to announce that when Mario tosses his cap, we're going to quickly replace it with a crown. The King of E3 2017, Destructoid's Best of Show goes to Super Mario Odyssey.

Read more...

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News:: Pokemon Sun and Moon are giving out Mega Stones

"Stones! Stones! Get yer stones right here!"

It's Friday afternoon and that means my brain is dead for the week, so I'm imagining a stadium vendor / concessions-seller / hot-dog man in the Pokémon universe, selling his Mega Stone wares.

With the code MATSUBUSA, you'll get the stones needed to Mega Evolve Sceptile, Blaziken, Swampert, Camerupt, and Banette in Pokémon Sun and Moon. Just head into the Mystery Gift option from the main menu, select Receive Gift, enter the code, and pick up your package at a Pokémon Center.

Pokemon [Twitter]

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News:: ‘Modern Warfare Remastered’ heads to PS4 without the bundle

If you were disappointed that you had to keep the $80 disc for Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare in your gaming rig to be able to play the better-reviewed Modern Warfare remaster, you're in luck. Publisher Activision has announced that it will reverse the classic bait and switch tactic it employed with Infinite Warfare by putting out Modern Warfare Remastered as a standalone title on June 27th. Of course, it's not all straightforward, as the title will only be available for PS4 as a disc or digital download (at first). We've reached out to Activision for more specific information on other platform release dates.

Source: Activision

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News:: What does the community think of Tekken 7?

Ah, Tekken. A stalwart fighting game franchise that takes a licking and keeps on ticking. A mysterious game that's simultaneously serious and goofy at the same time.

This is a melodramatic game that follows the story of a family line that continuously dicks their children over and over in bids for power, while also starring characters such as wrestlers in jaguar masks, panda bears, boxing kangaroos, and a mannequin made of logs.

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News:: This weekend's PlayStation Network flash sale is all about co-op

If you and your wallet aren't burned out from the Steam Summer Sale, there's a flash sale running this weekend on PlayStation Network. The theme is local and online co-op. Good theme. I'm a big fan.

There are lots of notable co-op games missing, but these PS4 deals stood out to me: Divekick ($0.99), Helldivers Super-Earth Ultimate Edition ($15.99), Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris ($4.99), Nidhogg ($4.94), Resident Evil 5 ($7.99), Videoball ($1.99), Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide ($11.99).

The Vita selection is very limited. That said, there is Earth Defense Force 2 for six bucks.

Read more...

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News:: Conan joins Will Arnett for an Arms flavored Clueless Gamer

Clueless Gamer is one of those segments that I'm happy is still around -- especially given how quickly some late night hosts abandon bits or run them into the ground.

People accuse Conan of "hating games," but that's his entire shtick, and he wouldn't have kept this thing running for nearly four years now if he absolutely loathed doing it. This new episode deals with Nintendo's newest (and one of their only) fighting games Arms, with special guest star Will Arnett.

There isn't so much Arms play here as a bit between Conan and Will. It makes perfect sense given their star power that they'd go for this, but my favorite episodes are when Conan just plays games with Aaron and shoots the shit.

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News:: Paradox Interactive backpedals on their decision to increase prices

Paradox Interactive may not be the most well known publisher around, but they have a pretty dedicated cult following of fans in the states. Their real prominence rests overseas, where they are providing games within a niche that more appeals to gamers in Europe. About a month back, the company announced it would be increasing the prices overseas on all of their games in an effort to "match the purchasing power of those areas." This did not sit well with fans.

The main defense from Paradox was that, "Our prices have remained pretty much the same for several years," which sounds a bit odd. Shouldn't a product getting older face natural depreciation value over time? Regardless of whatever the real reason was (probably that everyone loves money), the company has now backpedaled entirely on that decision.

The boss of the company, Fredrik Wester, issued a statement on their official forums to apologize for the rash choice. He also stands committed to refunding anyone who purchased the games at a higher price point, is promising to get prices rolled back once the Steam summer sale ends (something about Steam's policies prevents them from changing prices during a sale) and will communicate any future decisions "well in advance" of when they go live.

The man even refers to himself as a "pig-headed CEO" before claiming, "All problems/feedback can easily be sent my way, I will not always agree but I promise to listen." He's nothing if dedicated, that's for sure.

As for how the aforementioned refunds will work, Wester states, "For anyone who bought any of the games during this time (including during the summer sale) we will try to refund (if possible in the Steam platform) or reimburse with games of a value exceeding the difference. If none of this is possible (I do not in detail know the limits to the Steam platform) we will internally calculate the difference in revenue before and after the price change, double the value, and donate the money to the UNHCR [the UN's refugee programme]."

I don't think anyone can be mad at that. This could have all been avoided in the first place, but at least the result isn't a slap in the face to long time fans. It may also directly help a lot of people in need, so that is just plain great.

Paradox performs price rise U-turn following fan backlash [Eurogamer]

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News:: Watch a random world record speedrun all day, every day

Speedrunning is one of my favorite things to watch. Sometimes presented with our without commentary, I just love watching people tackle a game and using strategies from the community while adding their own spins to it. It helps me become a better player and it feels like a shared experience -- something I see first-hand when I attend AGDQ events.

A new website has spawned from that passion called speedrunwr.com, and as advertised, you can click a button to get a random world record run -- whether it's from YouTube, Twitch, or what have you.

I've spent a few hours on it randomly going through, finding games I didn't even know existed. But to these speedrunners, it's what they lived and breathed for days or weeks on end getting these records. Again, this whole community is fascinating, and I'm happy that I have some local friends to speedrun with and partake in it as much as possible.

Speedruns [Speedrunwr.com]

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News:: The official Detroit: Become Human Twitter account has some choice words for Xbox fans

While fanboys and fangirls may have no filter when it comes to insulting their opposition, usually professional or official Twitter accounts have some form of decorum for poking fun at their competition. I guess whomever is running the account for David Cage's next "masterpiece," Detroit Become Human, failed basic PR classes.

I have no idea how this got by anyone.

Read more...

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News:: First details for Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Future Tone DX shown

Hot off the heels of the recent announcement for Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Future Tone DX, Sega has opened an official Japanese website for the game with official clarification, and right now things are looking good  for previous owners of  the digital version Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Future Tone.

Currently, the biggest detail on the site is in regards to the previously released digital version of Future Tone. Sega has stated that the new elements included in Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Future Tone DX will be released as downloadable content for the digital version of Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Future Tone. The content will be released sometime in December, save data will be carried over, with more details to come at a later date.

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News:: 'Pokémon Go' badasses can now play Raid Battles

Some Pokémon Go players can now start working in groups to take on powerful creatures in Raid Battles, one of the long-awaited features for the popular augmented reality game. There's a catch, though: Pokémon trainers have to be level 35 and up to access the new co-op mode, so don't get too excited if you're a noob. In addition to that, developer Niantic says the Raid Battles are only live at "select" Pokémon Go Gyms around the world, though it's unclear which exactly. Those of you who do happen to be near one will have the chance to capture rare Pokémon and unlock a handful of other rewards, such as Rare Candies, Golden Razz Berries and different types of Technical Machines.

Source: Pokémon Go (Twitter)

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News:: Amazon terribly rolls out their exclusive Zelda amiibo without warning, grab it now

It's amiibo hunting day!

Three new Zelda figures are out (Skyward, Majora, Twilight), and at least two retail outlets have it together. Best Buy and GameStop's latter two exclusives (respectively) have already been shipped after being available right after they were announced, but Amazon has dropped the ball completely with a surprise release without warning.

Whereas even Palutena was announced in the past, this one just sprang up without a heads-up and is a "Prime Only" affair. Please Nintendo, refrain from giving Amazon any more exclusives (or any exclusives actually). It's much easier to deal with nabbing a figure when only one place drops the ball, but if that place has the exclusive, you're screwed.

Link [Amazon]

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News:: That long rumored Modern Warfare Remastered standalone is coming next week for PS4

When Modern Warfare Remastered was first announced, I had the chance to speak with one of its lead developers. The first thing I asked? If it was getting a standalone release, as it was originally tethered to Infinite Warfare. He danced around the idea but said they were open to it. To no one's surprise, it's happening.

Activision has revealed that Modern Warfare Remastered will be ready as its own standalone game on June 27, but there's a catch -- that always present "first on PS4" phrasing. Given that every Call of Duty DLC drops a month later on non timed exclusive platforms it's a good guess that PC and Xbox One players will get it on July 27.

Is it too little too late? Well, maybe for some people, but a lot of folks that want nothing to do with Infinite Warfare are probably into this. It's just a shame that all of the post-launch DLC wasn't free.

Read more...

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News:: Review: Nex Machina

Housemarque combined Robotron: 2084 with Resogun. The end result, Nex Machina, is sublime.

After spending some more time with the human-saving, robot-blasting arcade shooter following my review-in-progress, I'm ready to call this one. It's arguably the studio's best work yet.

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News:: The Nintendo 64 is old enough to legally consume alcohol today in the US

21 years ago today, the Nintendo 64 launched in Japan. It would take several more months to arrive in the US and nearly a year later for Europe. In its lifetime (which lasted until 2002 in Japan and 2003 in the west), it made a major impact on me, and a lot of my peer's formative years.

It's currently the 14th best selling gaming system right in front of the Genesis, beating out the Xbox, GameCube, Wii U, Xbox One, Saturn, and Dreamcast. Leading a lot like that doesn't make it the biggest success, but taking a coveted spot right behind the SNES isn't considered a failure either.

While we literally pour one out for this odd amazing machine, let's take the time to talk about our favorite 64 games. I'll go first -- Mario 64.

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News:: Review: Dead By Daylight

If you haven't been living under a rock the last year, you've probably heard of this asymmetrical multiplayer horror title, thanks to every YouTuber and Twitch streamer on the planet screaming over it. 

If you have, you probably think it is copying the recently released Friday the 13th game, but if anything it probably is the other way around. That said, it looks like at least Jason and friends have a bit more variety, but I wouldn't know as I've never played it and after seeing all the bugs I'm not sure I want to.

That said, I never want to play Dead By Daylight again.

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News:: Here's how to play Dissidia Final Fantasy NT from the ground up

Square Enix just put out a very helpful video tutorial on all things Dissidia Final Fantasy NT, and if you're remotely interested in picking it up it's worth the five minute watch. It not only goes over the 3v3 lobby setup (which a quick look at the character select screen), but even shows the full control scheme and breaks down all of the UI.

As Nick said it looks more hectic than your average 1v1 fighter, but I see a lot of Power Stone-esque craziness in there, which will be a nice break from the competitive tinted scene today. Really, I just want to pick it up and immediately play as Ramza -- what a blast from the past that rarely gets any crossovers!

In the meantime outside of the PS4 NT world, Square Enix intends on adding many, many more light and dark characters to the arcade edition -- which may or may not arrive as DLC in the future for the console version.

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