As the next big indie game, Fez has been on our minds for quite some time now. Each Friday, developers Polytron have posted a little teaser to those eagerly anticipating the perception bending platformer. This past friday, we got one of our biggest teases yet; the game's first two and a half minutes.
While the footage may not feature gripping action or jaw dropping cut scenes, it sets the stage for what to expect from Fez with two simple sentences; "reality is perception" and "perception is subjective". Mind = blown.
No release date yet, but with the next 'Fez Friday' falls on Christmas eve, so we may get a gift from Polytron then.
Remember Xbox LIVE Arcade's Summer of Arcade, the warm-weather promotion that so awesomely stretched our $15 dollar investments on games like Limbo, Castlevnia HD, and Monday Night Combat? Well it looks like XBLA's oft-overlooked little brother is trying to one up the summer by warming up December.
Xbox Live's indie games are often ignored by the greater public. It's probably because there are so many games to wade through, with most of them being pretty terrible. Though there are plenty of dope, inexpensive indie games, they're buried under the crap, almost impossible to find.
The Indie Games Winter Uprising is trying to change that. A group of solid independent developers have come together and are giving their upcoming projects some well deserved publicity in an attempt to school the uninitiated on what good indie titles are about. There are some killer games featured, most scheduled to drop at some point this week, and none will cost more than $5. For such a diverse selection of great looking games, 80 to 400 MS points is a steal. I've been waiting for Alpha Squad and ZP2KX, but some of these other games look new to me. By new I mean fresh, and by fresh I mean I'll probably download all of them.
Right now, 3 of the scheduled 14 featured titles are already on the Marketplace; Break Limit, Epic Dungeon, and Hypership Out of Control. They're only 80 MS points ($1) each, so I suggest you give them all a shot if you're bored of your current games line up. Find out more about the Indie Games Winter Uprising here.
5th Cell, the minds behind the incredibly cutting edge Scribblenauts series for Nintendo DS, have just revealed their next project, a futuristic shooter named Hybrid.
A huge departure from the colorful, kid-friendly world of Scribblenauts, Hybrid seems to fit the mold of a Vanquish or Crysis in the teaser trailer; bleak urban setting, fancy super suit, and soldiers performing crazy feats of superhuman agility, guns a'blazing.
Why 5th Cell decided to take their new IP to the overdone genre is beyond me. Though as innovative as the Scribblenauts series is, hopefully they'll discover a way to make this Xbox Live Arcade exclusive stand apart from the truckload of similar titles out there.
Sega fan since grade school, yo. And that's a long, long time ago. So it's clear to see why the appeal of an attitude-laden hedgehog was a stronger call than the pipe-surfing escapades of a stocky Italian man. Don't get me wrong, I loved both, but Sonic had the charismatic edge. So why is it that Mario games continue to sell well while the Hedgehog series just can't seem to hit the mark? Can Sonic 4 change the series' fate of late? Can a return to 2D reinvigorate the franchise? Can I haz speed?
Disclaimer: The following review may unintentionally contain excerpts which some readers may find inappropriate yet hilarious. Any use of the word "meat" in a giggle-inciting manner has not been done on purpose. That said, are you ready throw throw your Meat headfirst into a gauntlet of circular saws?!
Today, Microsoft herald Major Nelson has announced some much needed changes for the clunky Xbox.com. Taking effect sometime after 5am EST tomorrow, October 20th, the new Xbox.com will look something like this.
It only makes sense that Microsoft would update the tragically designed Xbox homepage to match the sleek new look of its Xbox 360 dashboard. Together with the sexy new appearance of the site, many new utilities will be added to complement the tweaks to some of the older function. Lists are professional looking, so here's an unordered one for that ass.
Browser based Avatar editor: Edit your avatar and preview avatar items before purchase
Combined views for messages, friend and game requests
Improved notification of your account subscription
Leverage Family Reports to understand what your family is doing and how they are using LIVE
Play web games with your Xbox LIVE friends on the web or on Windows Phone 7
Marketplace: More powerful search and more intuitive ways to browse and filter
These changes will no doubt allow Xbox 360 supporters to feel more connected at all times, whether they be killing time between projects at work, or doping around on their new Windows Phone 7. Knowing a majority of 360 users though, they will probably be in grade school, on their $5,000 laptop, in between calling someone a racial slur or homosexual and listening to rap music, while describing to their friends how they totally pwnd last night's cycle of 5 Halo: Reach SWAT games in a row. Sigh, stay classy, kids.
Super Meat Boy is one of those games I feel like I've been hearing about for years but has never quite come around. The quirky art style, colorful characters, and punishing platforming are a recipe for success. Every time the latest Super Meat Boy news leaks, I felt like I was being teased and led on. I just want to play the game already!
Well, the time has just about come, as the indie gem with Newgrounds roots is right around the corner, less than a week from release. A talented individual has decided to take the marketing for Super Meat Boy into his own hands, creating an hip and egdy (for the time) 90's retro commercial. I hope these throwback commercials continue their popularity, because they're awesome.
This home-brewed ad is the last straw for me. I need some Meat Boy in my life. In case the thought of playing as a Meat Wad (no relation) is a little repulsive to you, the developers got your back. Somehow, they've managed to squeeze in tons of characters from other indie games, such as Tim from Braid, Ninja from N+, Gish, Alien Hominid, and a Castle Crashers Knight, each with their own special powers.
Oh yeah, replay value and multiple ways to take on the platforming. Team Meat knows what we like, and they're going to give it to us come October 20th.
One of the fondest memories from my childhood was taking vacation with family down to Florida, where the local pristine and hi-tech arcade was home to the much sought after 6-player X-Men Arcade. A world of difference from the local arcades I haunted in Queens New York, which were mostly found in the back of pizza stores and comic book shops. Even then, the best we had were Sunset Riders, Street Fighter: Rainbow Edition, WWF Superstars, and a Neo Geo 4-in-1 cabinet. Don't get me wrong, I loved the ghetto games of my ghetto arcade in the back of the ghetto pizzeria, but damn son, I get to play as Wolverine with five other people? That's what I'm talking about.
When the trailer for X-Men Arcade started rolling at Marvel's Saturday morning video game panel at New York Comic Con, and I realized what it was, my childhood came rushing back. I remembered taking family trips down south, swimming in the pool with with girls more mature than I, being fascinated with their boobs, playing Simpsons Arcade, Tekken, and of course, X-Men Arcade. I also remembered just how much I hated this particular game. Well, hate is a strong word, it was more like I was at odds with it.
I loved X-Men, and I loved arcades, so it's obvious that the joining of the two would be a dream come true for a snot-nosed punk in the early 90's. And it was for a while, until I couldn't beat it with the quarters allotted to me by my father. No matter how hard I tried, no matter how many people who teamed with me, I could never conquer this damned game.
I remember coming close once, really close. I must have spent around five bucks to get to the point I was at, me and one other kid holding it down long after the rest of our team had succumbed to renegade mutants and mutant hunters. The level was epic, the enemies were vicious, and the life was draining quickly. Magneto was the next boss, I could feel it! Boy, was I wrong.
I don't remember the stage, or the boss, but we beat it, and him. Only to move on to the next stage, and die, quickly. Well, I died. My compatriot valiantly fought on, lasting a good 5-10 minutes after me, but he met his inevitable end as well. Dejectedly, we sighed and bid our final farewells as our parents dragged us off, back to the real world.
X-Men Arcade is an awesome throwback to the arcade glory days of my, and probably your, childhood. Unfortunately, Konami says nothing new will be added, so don't expect to be playing as Bishop via DLC. Yes, someone will still be forced to play as disco reject, Dazzler. Not it, I've got infinite dibs on Nightcrawler. That was my man! All things aside, this is an excellent re-release. With six player drop in online support, the fun of the original will be upheld, and you'll be able to save your quarters for laundry.
I make my feelings for Rockstar no secret; I enjoy and respect their work and the effort they make. Their games are always so full of life and brimming over with content, however the departure from their light-hearted roots concerned me. C'est la vie, you can't please all of the people all of the time, but Rockstar aims to please however many as possible with their games. So is Undead Nightmare a six feet under snooze or a howl at the moon?
Hypothetical question: You're hanging out in the sewers, when all of a sudden, a radioactive plumber comes flying out of the nearest pipe and right at you! Sluggish to react, the plumber bites you on the arm! What do you now? Stomp really hard on someone's head, then throw his unconscious body into the sewer water, then go back above ground and stomp the shit out of anyone you can find, that's what. And that is exactly why I cannot wait for the 80's Easter egg hunt that is Retro City Rampage.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010 at 7:12PM 
