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Dragon's Dogma: The Kotaku Review The mounting buzz on the Playstation forums are true, you can play Lair on your PSP using Remote Play. Well, you can sorta play Lair on your PSP using Remote Play. Unfortunately the PSP does not have the R2 or L2 buttons, so you can’t brake, but who needs to brake anyway. Sure it makes the end bosses and many of the levels a lot easier, but honestly, not that big a deal.
If you do want to do this make sure you play through the tutorial level first because unless you can brake it won’t let you continue through the training and get to the meat of the game. Check back in a bit for our video of this in action on the PSP2K.
To: Ash From: Flynn Subject: All spliced up
So, I attended Dragon-Con this weekend here in Atlanta, clocking in my fourth conference in two months. With two more to go yet this year, I am feeling a little Con weary but I’m sure I’ll be able to get it together for the excitement of TGS. Everyone told me how amazing Comic Con was going to be for cosplay and I have to say that after having gone to both, Dragon-Con has it all over Comic Con in the costume department. I even managed to cobble together a Splicer costume for myself (Purely so I didn’t seem out of place, of course!) and got my picture taken in front of an appropriately watery backdrop.
Some things you might have missed this weekend:
• You can pre-order Halo 3 and get a Slurpee at the same time. • EA is offering the original Command & Conquer for free. • This guy makes me proud to be a gamer
I hope you have a great week as we over here in the US celebrate a holiday weekend and I actually get a rare full day off. I plan on gaming until my fingers curl into claws. Goodnight!
Gamasutra has an interesting take from a couple of analysts on which publishers have hopped on the Nintendo DS/Wii bandwagon (and profited from it) and who’s been slow to try and get a piece of the pie, as well as their predictions for the future market and suggestions on how some of those ‘less-apt to get involved with the Nintendo platforms’ companies can get in on the action without sacrificing their core audience and styles. It’s an interesting, short little piece looking at Nintendo’s share of the action – and how developers can get in on the party:
The downside is coming in the form of a glut of games for the Wii and DS. Nintendo will try to maintain quality, but I worry that we’ll see far too many crappy games for the Wii and DS. I’d like to see publishers take risks on the DS and Wii, as they can afford to try new things at lower costs. However, publishers tend to follow rather than innovate ….
With all the travelling I’ve been doing lately it’s been hard for me to play any new games and probably won’t get much of a chance for a few more weeks. Some good titles coming out this week though and I’m sure you’ll be able to find something on this list that strikes your fancy. Personally I’m rather intrigued by the Sherlock Holmes title which has been getting decent reviews. Sherlock Holmes and the Cthulu mythos? Sounds like a winner to me.
Stranglehold (X360, PC) All the fun of a John Woo film on your 360!
Medal of Honour: Airborne (PC, X360) It’s WWII as seen from above.
The Sims 2: Bon Voyage (PC) Send your little Sims on a dream vacation.
Naruto: Uzumaki Chronicles 2 (PS2) The Naruto machine keeps on pumping.
It’s been out in the rest of the world for several months, but Chinese gamers have yet to see The Burning Crusade expansion pack for WoW – but The9, the Chinese operator for the game, has finally announced it will be arriving 10 September. Chinese gamers haven’t gotten any new content since October of last year, and their patience is running thin – not a good position for a currently beleaguered company to be in (lawsuits, pissed off gamers, and possible early licence termination – oh my!):
Here we have the Japanese trailer for the much talked about NiGHTS for the Wii. The video is a little pixely and the music is god awful but it’s enough to give you a little taste of what the game is going to be like. Legions of NiGHTS fans have been eagerly awaiting this title’s release, but if the game is anywhere near as bad as the music, I don’t think I will be picking it up. As a matter of fact, just do yourself a favour and watch it with the volume down. Believe me, you’ll be much happier. If only I had had someone to warn me before I pressed play…
It always warms my heart to hear gamers acting selflessly and this little tale from the halls of PAX is one that deserves telling.
Mr. Pulsar (pictured, above) arrived at PAX this year wanting to compete in the Guitar Hero II Tourneys and with the help of a new found friend ended up taking first place in the GH II team competition. In an amazing feat he turned around the next day and took home first place in the GH II singles tourney as well. Using the prize points he had won in the tournaments, he then purchased a Wii which he took around the conference and had various internet gaming celebs sign. Signers included VG Cats’ Scott Ramsoomair and the masters of PAX themselves, Gabe and Tycho. Once the Wii was autographed to the teeth, he promptly donated it to Child’s Play, Penny Arcade’s charity for hospitalised children, to be auctioned off.
It really gives me renewed faith in the gaming populace to hear stories like this and I hope that other gamers will read this story and be inspired to similar acts. A tip of the hat to you, Mr. Pulsar, you are truly a Guitar Hero in more ways than one.
A “rather sensationalised editorial” (as Worlds In Motion describes it) by Ma Jun in the Shanghai Daily suggests that the government should step in and add another level of control to the Chinese MMO industry: banning the sale of virtual goods for real money. While the author takes a dim view of the conditions gold farmers and their ilk work in, they take a really dim view of the people who make their living stealing account passwords and equipment from virtual avatars:
An entry at Terra Nova links to a rather lengthy paper on architecture, space, and gameplay in WoW and Battle for Middle Earth 2. The paper is well worth a read through, but the Terra Nova entry has some choice quotes pulled out for those short on time. The paper concerns itself with how two different games use their spatial organisation and architecture – both in terms of buildings and the fundamental design of a game world – to impact play experiences: World of Warcraft privileges architecture as a spatial experience. It is concerned with the ability to move through space, constructing architecture as a series of solids and voids. When we interact with the architecture we are alternately channelled and impeded. The architecture encompasses us, organising our activities into discrete zones and structuring the way in which we move between activities ….
Etsy member n2Imaginations has been working overtime to create this sweet Space Invaders sweater. Not surprisingly it has already sold, but if you’re feeling extra crafty or know someone who does, n2Imaginations is also offering a PDF version of the pattern for download.
