God, what has happened to my game?Shenmuewas the pride of Sega, weird stretchy face textures and all. It was a flagship game for Sega’s flagship game system. From there the IP slowly crept down in respectability. There was that Xbox release that made me feel kind of icky. More recently, the series creator, Yu Suzuki, made the latestShenmuegame all web-based and frilly. And now there’s talk of an iOS port ofShenmue Town?...
Since lurking around here at the end of ’06, first commenting for a photoshop contest in the beginning of ’07 (yeah I was THAT guy), then bringing the Advent Calendartoid to all via C-Blogs, Destructoid has always provided the opportunity for me to share some of the stuff I got in my head. You have to admit — this community is generally the most embracing and constructive gaming communities out there on and off the webZ....
Before we begin, just look at this adorable Christmas card Bungiewhipped up for the “Halodays.”Wait, is that the first official artwork for the Master Chief without his helmet?! So on to the real story. Stats! Yay! Bungie has released stats onHalo: Reachand over 33 billion kills have been accumulated from the campaign, multiplayer and Firefight. Users have clocked in a total of 1.3 billion games which equals 24 thousand years....
Do you have a dollar to spare? I recommend you put it toward8bits Fanatics‘ newest Xbox LIVE Indie title,Aban Hawkins & the 1000 Spikes. Thetrailer warnedthis would not be an easy game, but uh, I guess I was expecting something different? ThinkRick Dangerouswith way more out-of-nowheretraps. To be fair, if I were going to build secret temples containing treasure, I’d make would-be heroes work for their valuables. So far, my favorite part was right at the beginning ofAban Hawkinswhere it’s made clear you literally have 1,000 lives to burn away....
Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, Funcom’s DirectX 10-touting MMORPG, has been delayed time and time again, but it seems that the game has gone gold and will make its May 20 release date after all. Funcom’s CEO Trond Arne Aas has gone on the record saying, “Age of Conanhas been in development for a long time, as with all MMOs, but we have spent that time well and ended up with a game we are incredibly proud of....
I haven’t playedAlan Wakeyet, but if we are to trust the ever trustworthy Jim Sterling then it’sa very good game, despite a few flaws. One of those flaws is some really funky looking facial animations throughout the game. That might not be an issue for the game’s DLC, though. OnRemedy’s forumthe developer posted that the disappointing facial animations were being worked on for the upcoming DLC of the game. “We have a few different methods of doing facial animation – in-game using FaceFX and motion capture used in cinematics....
Wow, Apple. Dick move, much? The annual Apple Worldwide Developers Conference is scheduled for June 6 through June 10, directly clashing with this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo, which runs from June 7 to June 9. It’s not yet clear if this was a deliberate move by Apple, or a case of crappy planning. Either way, it’s rather wankish behavior. E3 is pretty much the Wrestlemania of videogame events, with most of the biggest announcements and hottest games unraveling....
Let us all lower our heads. This is a very dark day. Rumor has itStern Pinball, Inc., one of the last pinball makers left in the world (if not theonlyone), has laid off a handful of workers and several designers — a move most likely related to the economic downturn in the country right now. This horrible economy combined with the sad state of arcades today does not bode well for the iconic company (makers of classic pinball machinesMonopolyandLord of the Rings)....
Here’s the word so far on Ubisoft’sAssassin’s Creed Brotherhood. It’s coming “Holiday 2010” for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. Ezio is in Rome this time, going up against the Templar Order. It’s a bit more than even the best assassin can handle, so he’ll have to put together a Brotherhood to help him take them down. A new multiplayer layer has players heping the Templars by using Abstergo to train in the art of assassination to, well, eliminate assassins....
You probably knew that Capcom has its hand inAsura’s Wrath, but did you know CyberConnect2 is involved as well? Yeah, the.hackandNarutopeople! They kind of had me sold after the whole “Gigantic bronze dude punches the protagonist from space” thing. All has been relatively quiet as of late, but you can count onCapcom Unityto swoop in at the last moment. This latest trailer has one-versus-many violence of manly proportions, so feel free to give it a look....
At Anime Expo, Atlus gave fans us an inside look at upcoming PS3 titleDemon’s Souls. Takeshi Kajii,Demon’s Soulsproducer from Sony Computer Entertainment Japan, was in attendance to give us some perspective from the producer’s eyes. Demon’s Soulsis an action RPG set in a dark fantasy world, with the concept being “back to basics” for its gameplay, says Kajii. It’s set in a classic RPG style, but has online capabilities, mixing old and new....
Bionic Commando— the new one, notRearmedor the NES classic — is now available for PC at retail stores and Steam for $39.99. Actually, scratch that. If you pre-purchasefrom Steam, you may save a few bucks; also, there’s supposed to be a bundle withRearmedfor $44.99, but it hasn’t showed up yet. Ordinarily, I would try to look for the positives in the situation, but there aren’t many to be found here. The buzz aroundBionic Commandois that it can be fun once you pick up the swing mechanic, but itdidn’t exactlyreview well....
What is it about popular exclusive titles and rumors that they’ll soon be appearing on other systems? Besides the usual “BioShockon PS3″ chatter and the “MGSon Xbox 360″ warbling, nowMass Effectis the latest in lineto be lashed by wagging tongues thanks to analyst Michael Pachter. BioWare has quickly nipped theMass Effect/PlayStation 3 talk in the bud by denying that there are any current plans to convert the 360 exclusive RPG. The company did, however, state that it could do such a thing one day if it ever felt inclined....
