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Dragon's Dogma: The Kotaku Review PAX maybe over, but Wired’s Chris Baker has a fantastic Penny Arcade feature up that profiles Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins. The piece is peppered with some nice insights — even if you are a PA fanboy. And that’s always a treat. Stuff like Krahulik saying: One time in high school, someone broke into my locker and stole my stuff, so I had to wear gym clothes for the rest of the day. I developed humour as a defence mechanism. Now I drive a fucking Mercedes.
You listening clothes thief? He’s drives a fucking Mercedes. So those who were bullied in high school have hope. PA Article [Wired Mag]
Looking forward to playing Dragon Quest IX this year? You and all of Japan. Well, ain’t gonna happen. Square Enix has moved the game from its 2007 release schedule to its 2008 one. In an official statement, Square Enix announced that “further quality improvement is necessary” to create content that satisfies users. While delays for Xbox 360 and PS3 games have become the norm, a DS game delay is a little unusual. Just goes to show that you can’t use the copout that DQIX is “just” a DS game. Our theories why the game was delayed:
GAFfer The Mighty Schwein just picked up one of the new black & red DS Lites, got it home, fired it up and noticed something. The screens weren’t very good. In fact, compared to those found on older DS Lite’s, they’re not too good at all, with the viewing angle greatly reduced (as pictured – note that the screen’s brightness remains unchanged). Question is, did he get a faulty DS Lite? Is this affecting all new DS Lites? Or just the black & red one? Answers are currently being sought. In the meantime, if you’ve bought a DS Lite recently and can compare it to an older one, let us know if you can see the same thing. Nintendo DS Lite gets new LCD screens. Not for the better unfortunately [The Mighty Schwein @ NeoGAF]
Is it official? Is BioShock creator Ken Levine a gaming superstar yet? The game is a breakout hit and looks like it’s definitely in the running for Game of the Year. Mary Jane Irwin from sister site Valleywag penned a nice Ken Levine profile for game site 1Up. There are tasty tidbits like Levine saying: Every time I start a game, I’m like, ‘Oh shit, how do I do this?’ You might call it organic [game design] ; I might call it pulling it out of my ass.
Delightful! Now that Ken Levine is famous and crap, someone really needs to provide us a better pic of the guy. This squinty stock pic makes me want to send him sunglasses or a large visor. Irrational Man [1Up]
Ha! J, you may ignore our Xbox Live messages and call us “creepy.” But there are others who are creepy, too. Take Jeff Minter, who features J Allard in the second part of the Space Giraffe level one tutorial, which is appropriately named “The Eyes of Allard.” Yes, Jallard’s mug is visible. Thumbs up!!
Thanks, Protector one!
newVideoPlayer("SingStar_gawker.flv", 475, 376);
This concludes our great experiment.
Verdict: We rock.
–Mark Wilson
One of the main games being focused on this year at the Microsoft booth was Mass Effect with the game being demoed to large crowds every couple of hours. They also ran a contest with the prize being a “customised” Mass Effect Elite 360, “customised” in this case meaning autographed by everyone who worked on the game and featuring a Mass Effect faceplate. As the end of the conference drew near, the crowd gathered en masse to hear who the winner was going to be and I was on hand to snap a photo of the happy winner. Congrats to Brian Webb on his awesome prize! Make the jump to check out a close up of his hard won treasure.
True story. We were witness to the dark side of being employed as a booth babe when one German flesh worker broke down sobbing in one of the temporarily constructed business booths after hours. After holding in the tears after an all day (we assume) grope session and series of harsh evaluations of her figure by German gamers, she’d had enough. While we worked, the soft sounds of weeping continued to penetrate the thin plastic walls of whatever pissant European hardware manufacturer was paying her her daily pittance.
Fortunately, we captured some more tender booth babe moments, such as this young lady’s interaction with one of the littlest Games Convention attendees.
We got to spend plenty of time with Activision’s Guitar Hero III at their press centre as the press presence during the weekend at Games Convention ranges from nonexistant to a mere smattering of aromatic Europeans. While there’s little to add to the amazingly successful Guitar Hero formula, Neversoft has certainly tried to make it their own, revamping portions of the game’s HUD and adding the new Battle Mode.
They’ve also made the game seemingly much easier, even at Expert level difficulty. Using the new wireless Gibson Les Paul controllers, I found myself pulling off solo note sequences with ease, possibly a bit too much ease. Hammer-ons and pull-offs feel more forgiving than ever. Nice for noobs looking to faux shred, but it might not sit well with the more skilled.
