tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59365258020348124142024-02-20T17:50:31.846-08:00video gaming worldAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559099774188667739noreply@blogger.comBlogger303125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936525802034812414.post-46033085544463979732012-03-19T02:29:00.004-07:002012-03-19T02:32:30.650-07:00Ninja Gaiden 3 Review<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Ninja Gaiden used to be about careful combat for skilled players. Knowing the skill-set inside and out was as important as understanding individual opponents, and digging into the complex mechanics was necessary to succeed. One basic enemy could kill Ryu Hayabusa, and getting him out of each encounter alive was an accomplishment. Ninja Gaiden 3 rejects this identity in an attempt to do something fresh and interesting with its hero.<br /><br />This is an admirable ambition that's ultimately responsible for many of the sequel's numerous failures. Shallow combat, a misguided narrative focus, and awful pacing cripple what could have been the most interesting entry in the series' history. With Ninja Gaiden 3, Team Ninja displays an obsession with new-found emptiness that anchors the action, betrays fans, and repels newcomers. <b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"> <span style="color: white;"> ninja gaiden 3 video review </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br />In one of the early encounters, an unarmed enemy begs for his life, takes off his ski mask to show you his face, and talks about providing for his family. The only option is to walk slowly toward the man before cutting him down.<br /><br />As intended, it's an unsettling scene. Thematically, Ninja Gaiden 3 strives for a dark story that wants to be taken seriously. It positions itself as a contemplative character study and reflection on Ryu's psychological struggle with his monstrous ethics.<br /><br />In both the grand scheme and moment-to-moment of Ninja Gaiden 3 this aspect falls short of its intended mark.<br /><br />Right before the credits roll, an ally reassures Ryu he's not a murderer. Hayabusa took 2,110 lives after eight hours according to my stat tally, some of which were more pleading, unarmed men. The questions Ninja Gaiden 3 asks its character throughout its narrative diametrically oppose the events that precede and follow them.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><img alt="NinjaGaiden3" border="0" height="262" src="http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/122/1221032/ninja-gaiden-iii-20111116112035315_1332016176.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px;" width="468" /></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">What...is happening?</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br />Ryu has no motivational consistency and there are frequent narrative contradictions that left me with more questions than answers. Didn't she betray me? Why am I fighting a boss again instead of rescuing these people? Didn't I kill him? Oh, another betrayal? Ninja Gaiden's new focus flails while telling a meaningless story that gets in the way.<br /><br />The prominence of poor storytelling interrupts the slicing and dicing so often that Ninja Gaiden 3 can't keep an enjoyable pace. Ryu's arm is plagued by the blood of his past and present victims, which regularly causes him to slow down and clutch his infected appendage. Why? The arm doesn't play an interesting role during gameplay. Beyond the inconvenience it serves no purpose. It just handicaps your mobility for brief periods, and the A.I. doesn't take advantage of it. If anything, they dial back the aggression.<br /><br />Coming out of one cinematic and walking a short distance to another is irritating as well. Even if you're not interested in what Ninja Gaiden 3 is trying to say, it's going to tell you. These scripted sequences may mean to add tension or gravity, but the reality is that they get in the way of unleashing violence, which is the real reason anyone plays Ninja Gaiden.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><img alt="NG3villain" border="0" height="262" src="http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/122/1221032/ninja-gaiden-iii-20111116112045085_1332016343.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px;" width="468" /></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Expect to fight this boss no fewer than three times.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br />Somewhere along the way, Team Ninja forgot this is what made Ninja Gaiden great. Nothing about Ninja Gaiden 3 is difficult, or even challenging enough to be amusing. Enemies here are harmless. More often than not, the soldiers, ninja, or monsters pop out simply to wait to die. Ninja Gaiden compensates for this with a disarming quantity of guys to kill, which is a cheap cop-out that emphasizes its creative vacancy. Repetition sinks in early, hits hard, and doesn't let up. In addition, the erratic and unreliable targeting means missing marks more often than is acceptable for a franchise revered for precision. In another questionable step backward, Ryu sticks with just one weapon for the entire game.<br /><br />The most challenging thing about Ninja Gaiden 3 is dealing with its confused camera. It tries to highlight big moments via swooping angles and cool cuts, but it can't keep up with the events. How is the perspective more distracting and disorienting in 2012 than it was in 2004? More importantly, how can something this chaotic be so thoroughly unexciting?<br /><br />Such archaic design dominates Ninja Gaiden 3. Structurally, it feels more like Dynasty Warriors than anything else. You'll kill a dozen or so identical enemies in a locked arena, wait for the next wave, and do it again. Every so often you'll unleash magic to wipe out everyone on-screen. Once you've killed 20-50 guys, you'll exit the arena, enter another, and fight 20-50 more hostiles.<br /><br />Boss battles are similarly interminable. Bisecting a Goddess and cutting the arms off a biological experiment could have been climactic finales to otherwise uninteresting, too-similar spectacles. Instead, enemies regenerate lost limbs, repair their bodies, or have armored plates protecting what you thought you destroyed. Worse, Ninja Gaiden recycles bosses frequently. You can expect to fight numerous big-bads repeatedly and to do so in the same predictable fashion you did last time.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><img alt="NG3MP" border="0" height="262" src="http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/122/1221032/crossing-swords-with-ninja-gaiden-3-20111211044642633_1332016215.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px;" width="468" /></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">These are highly customized characters and they still look really similar.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br />Getting through five foes used to mean something. Maybe you'd be rewarded with a decapitation for your effort. Now the reward for enduring Ninja Gaiden 3 is, well, more of it.<br /><br />Team Ninja has too many terrible new ideas that ultimately end up interfering with one another. The throwaway multiplayer mode would have been the one thing worth experiencing if the co-op challenges were even on par with the campaign. Tasks such as "press the attack button repeatedly" or "throw a shuriken" demand even less effort than the single-player. Multiplayer isn't just tacked-on or superfluous, it's also plain bad. The uninspired deathmatch mode is so straightforward, and the character customization is so limited, that there's nothing to keep you coming back.<br /><br />Not that Ninja Gaiden 3 ever gives anyone a good reason to pay attention in the first place.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">CLOSING COMMENTS</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Ninja Gaiden 3 is a gash on the face of the franchise and one of the worst games the action genre has yet suffered. It has no consideration for its fans’ wants or what a new audience may have enjoyed. It’s a nightmare that’s as easy as it is uninteresting, and it abandons what used to work for awful new ideas that don’t work together. Under no circumstance should you ever waste your time on this self-indulgent and abysmal wreck.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; text-transform: uppercase;">IGN RATINGS FOR NINJA GAIDEN III (X360)</span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" id="ratingsBoxTable" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; width: 460px;"><colgroup><col id="ratingsBoxColA" style="width: 70px;"></col><col id="ratingsBoxColB" style="width: 198px;"></col><col id="ratingsBoxColC" style="width: 202px;"></col></colgroup><tbody>
<tr><th class="ratingsBoxHeader txtC" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #b31b00; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: white; height: 29px; text-align: center;">Rating</th><th class="ratingsBoxHeader" colspan="2" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #b31b00; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: white; height: 29px;">Description</th></tr>
<tr><td class="ratingsBoxSubHeader txtC" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: url(http://media.ignimgs.com/media/ign/imgs/img-ratingsbox.png); background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px -238px; background-repeat: repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; height: 15px; padding-bottom: 2px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 2px; text-align: center;">out of 10</td><td class="ratingsBoxSubHeader" colspan="2" id="ratingsBoxInfo" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: url(http://media.ignimgs.com/media/ign/imgs/img-ratingsbox.png); background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px -238px; background-repeat: repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; height: 15px; padding-bottom: 2px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 2px; text-align: right;"><br /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="ratingsBoxScore" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f0f0f0; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 30px; font-weight: bold; padding-top: 7px; text-align: center; vertical-align: 0px;">5.0</td><td class="ratingsBoxText" colspan="2" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f0f0f0; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 12px !important; padding-bottom: 12px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 12px;"><strong>Presentation</strong><br />
The camera hurts the stylish and over-the-top action.</td></tr>
<tr><td class="ratingsBoxScore" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f0f0f0; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 30px; font-weight: bold; padding-top: 7px; text-align: center; vertical-align: 0px;">4.0</td><td class="ratingsBoxText" colspan="2" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f0f0f0; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 12px !important; padding-bottom: 12px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 12px;"><strong>Graphics</strong><br />
Ryu looks fine, the women look like RealDolls, and everything else looks like low-res sewage.</td></tr>
<tr><td class="ratingsBoxScore" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f0f0f0; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 30px; font-weight: bold; padding-top: 7px; text-align: center; vertical-align: 0px;">5.5</td><td class="ratingsBoxText" colspan="2" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f0f0f0; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 12px !important; padding-bottom: 12px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 12px;"><strong>Sound</strong><br />
The voice acting is rough, but the ridiculous metal tunes are super fun to fight to.</td></tr>
<tr><td class="ratingsBoxScore" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f0f0f0; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 30px; font-weight: bold; padding-top: 7px; text-align: center; vertical-align: 0px;">2.5</td><td class="ratingsBoxText" colspan="2" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f0f0f0; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 12px !important; padding-bottom: 12px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 12px;"><strong>Gameplay</strong><br />
When you can tell what’s happening, fighting is easy, repetitive, and dull.</td></tr>
<tr><td class="ratingsBoxScore" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f0f0f0; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 30px; font-weight: bold; padding-top: 7px; text-align: center; vertical-align: 0px;">2.0</td><td class="ratingsBoxText" colspan="2" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f0f0f0; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-size: 12px !important; padding-bottom: 12px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 12px;"><strong>Lasting Appeal</strong><br />
One weapon, no character progression, and pointless multiplayer leave little reason to return.</td></tr>
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3.0</div>
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OVERALL</div>
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Awful</div>
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(out of 10)</div>
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</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.facebook.com/ajax/signup_dialog.php?page_id=128738120538778&next=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpages%2F-video-game-world-%2F128738120538778</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559099774188667739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936525802034812414.post-16116294209871616702012-03-18T08:43:00.000-07:002012-03-18T08:43:07.077-07:00Gaming's Greatest Guilty Pleasures<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">The world is full of amazing games yet to be discovered, played and enjoyed. And yet we all find ourselves playing <i>bad</i> games, <i>old</i>games and just plain <i>annoying</i> games again and again. It's like some sort of weird compulsion, a psychological need to punish ourselves.<br /><br />So the IGN team gathered together and decided to reveal our gaming guilty pleasures.<br /><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Harvest Moon</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://media.ign.com/games/image/article/122/1220948/Harvest_Moon_Hero_of_Leaf_Valley_01_1331918871.png" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px;" width="468" /></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /></span></span><hr style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Why I Love It</b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span></span></span><hr style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">I'm an urban creature. Harvest Moon's idealized vision of the rural life - perpetually smiling, happy cows, crops in neat rows, friendly horses, towns full of people whose day-to-day economy revolves around the gentle rhythm of harvesting and sowing - is enormously appealing to me. Harvest Moon sucks you into a world that's so much simpler and more pleasant than the real one. Here, all you have to do is work really hard, and you'll be rewarded with a nice life. And prize-winning chickens. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /></span></span><hr style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Why I Feel So Guilty</b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span></span></span><hr style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">OK, so I've been playing these games for FIFTEEN YEARS now and they never really change that much, and yet I still can't stop. Over and over and over: plant potatoes, water potatoes, harvest potatoes deliver gifts of fresh eggs to the father of my desired betrothed, brush the cows, go to bed, save money, start again. Why don't I get bored of this, ever? Why can't I apply this admirable industriousness in real life? I dread to think how many hundreds of hours I've spent tending a virtual farm. I could have probably learned three more languages in that time. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">-</span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Keza MacDonald</i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /></span></span><div class="IGNE_header" style="border-left-color: rgb(211, 32, 40); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 10px; border-top-color: rgb(211, 32, 40); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 10px;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Castleville</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://media.ign.com/games/image/article/122/1220948/castleguitly_1331918813.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px;" width="468" /></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /></span></span><hr style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Why I Love It</b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span></span></span><hr style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">As gamers, we all </span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">love</i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> to see bars fill. To level-up. To complete check-lists. This is the reason many of us have a near-Pavlovian response to Microsoft's brilliant "Achievement Unlocked" chime. It just feels good. It feels </span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">complete</i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">. Zynga has taken this positive reinforcement and constant sense of progress and distilled it into its most elemental state. Any time I have just a couple minutes to kill I know I can make a bit of progress in my Dream Zoo, or Castleville realm. Who cares if this progress is meaningless? Cheerful music played and fireworks went off. Plus it opened up yet another bar to fill. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /></span></span><hr style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Why I Feel So Guilty</b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span></span></span><hr style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Most of Zynga's games are nothing more than elaborate </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operant_conditioning_chamber" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Skinner Boxes.</a><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> I know that the constant positive reinforcement and steady drip of rewards are essentially cheap psychological tricks but I'm defenseless against them. After spending time playing challenging console & mobile games, I can't help but enjoy some of Zynga's "it is impossible to fail" social titles. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">-</span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Justin Davis</i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /></span></span><div class="IGNE_header" style="border-left-color: rgb(211, 32, 40); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 10px; border-top-color: rgb(211, 32, 40); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 10px;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Mario Party Games</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://media.ign.com/games/image/article/122/1220948/MarioParty_1331918886.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px;" width="468" /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Why I Love It</b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span></span></span><hr style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">A board game I can play on my television without having to memorize complicated rules, lay out pieces or organize neatly in a box when completed? Yes please, sign me up. The Mario Party franchise has always been a fun drunken romp for a few friends. We get to laugh and argue vehemently over and over. The latest installment looks to be no exception. There's something about the randomly delivered assortment of frantic mini-games and stupidly colorful characters that keeps me playing. And unlike actual board games, none of my idiot friends can steal from the bank when nobody else is looking. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /></span></span><hr style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Why I Feel So Guilty</b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span></span></span><hr style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Fundamentally, the Mario Party games are horribly flawed and unbalanced. Beat the crap out of all your opponents in every mini-game and you'll still have a strong chance of losing in the end thanks to random chance. Mash every button, collect every coin and generally dominate every perceivable angle possible and a roll of the dice will send you spiraling back across the map to your doom. Playing Mario Party is like playing a sinister version of Mario Kart where the only items are blue shells. It's both a grueling exercise in patience and an utterly corrupt punishment for skill and ambition. I despise it with a radiating fervor. But hey, does anybody want to play Mario Party 9 with me? I'll bring the booze! </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">-</span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Brian Altano</i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /></span></span><div class="IGNE_header" style="border-left-color: rgb(211, 32, 40); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 10px; border-top-color: rgb(211, 32, 40); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 10px;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Bejeweled Blitz</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://media.ign.com/games/image/article/122/1220948/blitzscreen_1331918801.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px;" width="468" /></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /></span></span><hr style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Why I Love It</b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span></span></span><hr style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">It only takes one minute to play, has online leaderboards so I can compete against my friends, has great sound and flashy visuals and fast, fun gameplay. It's the perfect game to play while waiting in line, before going to sleep, and to help ignore the stares of that creepy vagrant twitching at the other end of the subway car. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /></span></span><hr style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Why I Feel So Guilty </b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span></span></span><hr style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">There are so many other incredible games out there, yet I often ignore them to return to PopCap's match-three sprint. I've been playing this damn game for years. It's like eating the same meal at the same restaurant at the same table every night, even though the place is surrounded by celebrated world class eateries. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">-</span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> Charles Onyett</i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /></span></span><div class="IGNE_header" style="border-left-color: rgb(211, 32, 40); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 10px; border-top-color: rgb(211, 32, 40); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 10px;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="272" src="http://media.ign.com/games/image/article/122/1220948/dirge_of_cerberus_Screenshot_1331918824.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px;" width="468" /></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /></span></span><hr style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Why I Love It</b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span></span></span><hr style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Dirge of Cerberus continued a story I grew up obsessing over. It peered into the world of Final Fantasy VII and expanded on Vincent Valentine's troubled tale. More importantly, it blended the fun and challenge of shooters with the level-building in RPGs long before such a union was popularized with Borderlands. To this day, Dirge of Cerberus is one of the few games I played from start to finish twice in a row. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /></span></span><hr style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Why I Feel So Guilty</b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span></span></span><hr style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Most Final Fantasy fans look down on Dirge of Cerberus. It suffered from stiff controls and bland stage design. It also had enough Japanese melodrama to fill the oceans (which I welcome with open arms). Over the years I learned that when I admit to loving Dirge of Cerberus I get laughs of disbelief in response. Oh well, at least I had fun! </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">-</span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Ryan Clements</i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /></span></span><div class="IGNE_header" style="border-left-color: rgb(211, 32, 40); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 10px; border-top-color: rgb(211, 32, 40); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 10px;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Driv3r</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://media.ign.com/games/image/article/122/1220948/Driv3r_1331918839.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px;" width="468" /></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /></span></span><hr style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Why I Love It</b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span></span></span><hr style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">I've been a Driver devotee since the 1999 original. As much as I equally adore the Grand Theft Auto series, I'm that guy who feels compelled to constantly remind people that Driver 2 did 3D in-car/on-foot free roaming out-of-car action before GTA III did. The car handling remained sublime, the collisions were suitably crunching, you could tip over cars with a forklift and the soundtrack was an absolute belter. Seriously; I even bought the CD. It lived in my car for weeks. Iggy and the Stooges, The BellRays, SLO-MO; I loved almost every track. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /></span></span><hr style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Why I Feel So Guilty</b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span></span></span><hr style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">This game caused an incredible backlash. As good as everything felt behind the wheel, taking to the streets on foot was a disaster. Developer Reflections had been put in a position where it had no choice but to release the game, whether it was finished or not, and the game just wasn't finished. It was buggy, unrefined and (if my memory serves) plagued by at least one insane difficulty spike. I still may have a soft spot for it, but everything Driv3r got right combined with its severe shortcomings to condemn it to a middle-ground of tepid mediocrity. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">-</span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Luke Reilly</i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /></span></span><div class="IGNE_header" style="border-left-color: rgb(211, 32, 40); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 10px; border-top-color: rgb(211, 32, 40); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 10px;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">World of Warcraft</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://media.ign.com/games/image/article/122/1220948/World_of_warcraftX_1331919238.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px;" width="468" /></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /></span></span><hr style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Why I Love It</b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span></span></span><hr style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">World of Warcraft fulfills that primal Diablo-driven urge in me for more and better loot. I've played for years with different friends, in different guilds and with different toons, and whether I'm running a friend's alt through Icecrown Citadel for the first time with my paladin or trying to dogpaddle my warlock through the Lady Sinestra fight in Bastion of Twilight without wiping, I absolutely love the strategy, the camaraderie and yes, the loot, WoW offers. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /></span></span><hr style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Why I Feel So Guilty</b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span></span></span><hr style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">The grind, it will destroy your soul. And I should quit on sheer principle alone. WoW is like a slot machine that's set to never pay out. You can never win, you'll never be good enough, and if you take a break for a few months, your gear becomes so outdated you might as well roll a new character. Going back out to run Heroic instances after patches and level cap changes inevitably render those enchanted boots or that gemmed helm useless, pieces that took 10 raids to drop and win, feels worse than a knee to the nads. Yet… I can't stop. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">-</span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> Casey Lynch</i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /></span></span><div class="IGNE_header" style="border-left-color: rgb(211, 32, 40); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 10px; border-top-color: rgb(211, 32, 40); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 10px;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Naughty Bear</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://media.ign.com/games/image/article/122/1220948/naughty-bear_1331919707.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px;" width="468" /></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /></span></span><hr style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Why I Love It</b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span></span></span><hr style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">One of Podcast Beyond's most infamous inside jokes is how I have this strange and enduring love for 505 Games' Naughty Bear. We gave it a 2.5 on PlayStation 3, and yet I spent quite a bit of time playing it when it had just come out. Beginning as an adventure for Trophies, I ended up falling in love with the idea of a sadistic, angry and outcast teddy bear stalking and brutally murdering the very teddy bears who shunned him. It's hilarious. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /></span></span><hr style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Why I Feel So Guilty</b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span></span></span><hr style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Naughty Bear runs at like 10 frames a second (if you're lucky), and the gameplay isn't always very sharp, either. I feel so damn guilty playing Naughty Bear because I know that I really shouldn't like it. Objectively speaking, it's just not a good game. But I do like it and here's something weird - . I hope 505 Games gets a crack a sequel. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">-</span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Colin Moriarty</i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /></span></span><div class="IGNE_header" style="border-left-color: rgb(211, 32, 40); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 10px; border-top-color: rgb(211, 32, 40); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 10px;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Frogger</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://media.ign.com/games/image/article/122/1220948/Frogger_1331918858.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px;" width="468" /></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /></span></span><hr style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Why I Love It</b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span></span></span><hr style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">It's the croaking noise the Frogger frog makes when it successfully negotiates highway and waterway. That's the froggiest noise ever heard. I love frogs and I especially love that sound, that audible confirmation that I have guided my little frog across perils both urban and sylvan. Frogger is simple and it's fun and damn, it's</span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">really, really </i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">froggy. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /></span></span><hr style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Why I Feel So Guilty</b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span></span></span><hr style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">I know it's an arcade "classic" but it's crap isn't it? The game, I mean. It's terrible. You just guide the frog through pre-determined difficulties, lazily picking up bonuses that don't really mean anything. Frogger starts off way too easy and then, suddenly, gets way too hard. Unfortunately, these subtleties were lost on me when I skipped school and spent an entire year in a launderette, playing Frogger. Now when I see an arcade unit, I have to play it. I feel guilty about this compulsion because this frog game stole my education and secretly, I blame the frog. Subconsciously, I want it squashed. That's not nice. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">-</span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Colin Campbell</i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /></span></span><div class="IGNE_header" style="border-left-color: rgb(211, 32, 40); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 10px; border-top-color: rgb(211, 32, 40); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 10px;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">The Club</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://media.ign.com/games/image/article/122/1220948/the-club_1331919426.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px;" width="468" /></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /></span></span><hr style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Why I Love It</b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span></span></span><hr style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">There aren't a lot of games that blend leaderboard-style high scores and third-person shooting, so Bizarre Creations' The Club immediately gripped me. I caught the score bug and needed to see my name in worldwide bright lights. I almost achieved it too, passing 200th on the global leaderboard. I could headshot from across the map and land some seriously skilled kill streaks during online matches. The Club was super unique and featured all the OCD replayability of a good puzzle game. Sure it didn't look that great and wasn't the most precise shooter, but it sure was fun. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /></span></span><hr style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Why I Feel So Guilty</b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span></span></span><hr style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">The Club wasn't a hit. From early in its life cycle it was clear that the arcade experience couldn't support the longevity of a popular online shooter. So why oh why did I spend so many hours and days blasting online opponents and crawling up the charts? I spent countless hours adding to my kill count, slowly approaching the achievement that rivaled Gears of Wars' "Seriously" with 10,0001 kills. After hitting at least the three-quarter mark, the servers died out and I was left with a useless skill: top tier aim in a game that no longer exists online. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">-</span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Peter Eykemans</i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /></span></span><div class="IGNE_header" style="border-left-color: rgb(211, 32, 40); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 10px; border-top-color: rgb(211, 32, 40); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 10px;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Final Fantasy XIII-2</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://media.ign.com/games/image/article/122/1220948/ffxiii2_1331918849.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px;" width="468" /></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /></span></span><hr style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Why I Love It</b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span></span></span><hr style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">I'm a big nerd for JRPGs, and there haven't been many good ones lately. Eternal Sonata rocked and I liked Final Fantasy XIII more than most, but I've been starving for something I could really spend dozens of hours with. XIII-2 is unconventional, but its battle system is amazing, it looks incredible and it fulfills my need for long, confusing cut scenes. I spent over 90 hours </span>playing XIII-2 to 100% completion<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">, and I loved it. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /></span></span><hr style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Why I Feel So Guilty</b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span></span></span><hr style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Objectively, I know XIII-2 is a majorly flawed game. The story is a mess, navigating the Historia Crux is repetitive and the main campaign is brutally short. Spending so much time with XIII-2 caused me to neglect my ever-growing backlog of great games, and I probably would have gotten nearly the same amount of fulfillment if I'd just stopped after the main campaign. Also, the dumb temporal rift puzzles nearly made me want to quit gaming altogether. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">-</span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Andrew Goldfarb</i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /></span></span><div class="IGNE_header" style="border-left-color: rgb(211, 32, 40); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 10px; border-top-color: rgb(211, 32, 40); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 10px;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Another Century's Episode 3: The Final</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="351" src="http://media.ign.com/games/image/article/122/1220948/ace3_splash_1_1331918780.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px;" width="465" /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Why I Love It</b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span></span></span><hr style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">FromSoft's ACE3 is one of the top tier mecha games on the PS2 - not counting SEGA AM-2's </span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Super Dimensional Fortress: Macross</i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">or LostToys' </span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Battle Engine Aquila</i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">. With a stable of one hundred mechs to choose from, plenty of missions and a built-in infinite ammunition "cheat," the game reflects my darkest desire to destroy what opposes me while operating a 15 meter tall, nearly indestructible weapon system without the need for logistical constraints. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /></span></span><hr style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Why I Feel So Guilty</b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span></span></span><hr style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Since the game is from the previous generation of gaming systems, I don't have that luxury of time to spend role-playing my sadistic </span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Voyo</i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> fantasy. Admittedly, the game does get repetitive, as the fastest method to glass an entire level is to use a Gundam Mobile Tactical Enforcer and fry all matter with laser artillery rated in the tera-joule range. Damn, I love that smell … that ozone smell. Smells like victory. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">-</span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Stephen Ng</i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span> </span></span><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.facebook.com/ajax/signup_dialog.php?page_id=128738120538778&next=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpages%2F-video-game-world-%2F128738120538778</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559099774188667739noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936525802034812414.post-69160091319735823572012-03-17T12:20:00.003-07:002012-03-17T12:20:19.920-07:00Redesigning 3DS<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">It's not a matter of if, just when -- Nintendo always remixes and reissues its portable systems, so it's inevitable that we'll be getting a new 3DS Lite, or 3DS XL, or 3DS SP Advance Plus or whatever sometime in the future. When that happens, we have a few suggestions for fixes and changes we'd like to see. Here's our latest infographic, Redesigning 3DS.<br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><img align="center" border="0" height="2530" src="http://media.ign.com/games/image/article/122/1220512/Redesigning3DSInfographic_3_1331499079.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px;" width="468" /></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">From guaranteed upgrades like the second Circle Pad to off-the-wall ideas like letting the system's StreetPass components break away into a smaller, self-contained Walker device, hopefully the above blueprint has gotten your own creative juices flowing. Let us know what other changes you'd make if Nintendo gave you a spot on the design team, and feel free to let fly with feedback on the ten suggestions we've made. </span></span></span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.facebook.com/ajax/signup_dialog.php?page_id=128738120538778&next=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpages%2F-video-game-world-%2F128738120538778</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559099774188667739noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936525802034812414.post-88238616220715641632012-03-17T08:07:00.001-07:002012-03-17T08:07:18.965-07:00The Six Best-Looking Games for Your New iPad<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">The new iPad looks a lot like the old iPad. Until you turn it on, that is. Once gamers catch a glimpse of Apple's new high-res "Retina Display" iPad screen, they won't want to go back to the iPad 1 or iPad 2's comparatively blurry displays.<br /><br />The new screen contains four times the number of pixels as the previous iPad. That's a total resolution of 2048-by-1536. This is a higher resolution than 1080p HDTVs, for those keeping score at home.<br /><br />Luckily for gamers, cutting edge mobile developers know that all the eye-bleeding resolution in the world isn't worth much if there isn't software available that supports it. The ten games below have all been optimized to take full advantage of the new Retina Display screen. Wow your friends & never deal with standard definition gaming again:<br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Infinity Blade 2</span></span></div>
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<a href="http://wireless.ign.com/articles/121/1213605p1.html" style="background-color: black; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="351" src="http://wirelessmedia.ign.com/wireless/image/article/122/1220994/the-six-games-that-look-best-on-the-new-ipad-20120316040625790.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px;" width="468" /></span></a></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Chair's one-on-one melee fighter was already the best-looking game on the App Store. The game's new high-res visuals make it an even better way to wow your friends with the power of your new tablet. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/infinity-blade-ii/id447689011?mt=8" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Buy Infinity Blade 2</a><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span></span></span><div class="IGNE_header" style="border-left-color: rgb(211, 32, 40); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 10px; border-top-color: rgb(211, 32, 40); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 10px;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Mass Effect Infiltrator</span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span></span></span><div class="imageInline" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; width: 468px;">
<a href="http://wireless.ign.com/articles/122/1220676p1.html" style="background-color: black; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="351" src="http://wirelessmedia.ign.com/wireless/image/article/122/1220994/the-six-games-that-look-best-on-the-new-ipad-20120316040625557.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px;" width="468" /></span></a></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Infiltrator's visuals are more impressive than its actual gameplay, but the new high-res graphics will allow Mass Effect fanatics to pick up on even more tiny visual details slipped in by developer </span>IronMonkey Studios<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mass-effect-infiltrator/id486601093?mt=8" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Buy Mass Effect Infiltrator</a><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span></span></span><div class="IGNE_header" style="border-left-color: rgb(211, 32, 40); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 10px; border-top-color: rgb(211, 32, 40); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 10px;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Modern Combat 3</span></span></div>
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<a href="http://wireless.ign.com/articles/121/1211308p1.html" style="background-color: black; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="312" src="http://wirelessmedia.ign.com/wireless/image/article/122/1220994/the-six-games-that-look-best-on-the-new-ipad-20120316040624949.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px;" width="468" /></span></a></div>
<center style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></center><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">What Gameloft's Modern Combat 3 lacks in originality it makes up for in pure visual splendor. This was already the best-looking FPS on the App Store, and now it looks even better. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/modern-combat-3-fallen-nation/id442522082?mt=8" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Buy Modern Combat 3</a><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span></span></span><div class="IGNE_header" style="border-left-color: rgb(211, 32, 40); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 10px; border-top-color: rgb(211, 32, 40); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 10px;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Real Racing 2 HD</span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span></span></span><div class="imageInline" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; width: 468px;">
<a href="http://wireless.ign.com/articles/115/1155624p1.html" style="background-color: black; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="351" src="http://wirelessmedia.ign.com/wireless/image/article/122/1220994/the-six-games-that-look-best-on-the-new-ipad-20120316040625247.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px;" width="468" /></span></a></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span>Firemint<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> has always kept Real Racing 2 HD on the cutting edge. The game was one of the first to support HDTV play via Air Play, and now the company's Retina Display update is also available Day one. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/real-racing-2-hd/id414566922?mt=8" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Buy Real Racing 2 HD</a><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span></span></span><div class="IGNE_header" style="border-left-color: rgb(211, 32, 40); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 10px; border-top-color: rgb(211, 32, 40); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 10px;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Sky Gamblers: Air Supremacy</span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span></span></span><div class="imageInline" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; width: 468px;">
<a href="http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/03/05/apple-ipad-3-event-live-blog" style="background-color: black; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="262" src="http://wirelessmedia.ign.com/wireless/image/article/122/1220994/the-six-games-that-look-best-on-the-new-ipad-20120316040626217.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px;" width="468" /></span></a></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Namco's latest entry in its growing Sky Gamblers franchise has moved the series to the modern era in more ways than one. The modern-day planes are now matched up with fresh high-res graphics. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sky-gamblers-air-supremacy/id505730036?mt=8" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Buy Sky Gamblers: Air Supremacy</a><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span></span></span><div class="IGNE_header" style="border-left-color: rgb(211, 32, 40); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 10px; border-top-color: rgb(211, 32, 40); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 10px;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Galaxy on Fire 2</span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span></span></span><div class="imageInline" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; width: 468px;">
<a href="http://www.ign.com/videos/2010/09/14/galaxy-on-fire-2-cinematic-trailer" style="background-color: black; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="312" src="http://wirelessmedia.ign.com/wireless/image/article/122/1220994/the-six-games-that-look-best-on-the-new-ipad-20120316040626014.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px;" width="468" /></span></a></div>
<center style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></center><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span>Fishlabs<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">' gorgeous Galaxy on Fire 2 was already available in high-res on the Mac App Store. So the open-world space combat & trading title was ready for the new iPad from day one. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/galaxy-on-fire-2-hd/id465072566?mt=8" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Buy Galaxy on Fire 2 HD</a><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span></span></span><div class="IGNE_header" style="border-left-color: rgb(211, 32, 40); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 10px; border-top-color: rgb(211, 32, 40); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 10px;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">More Retina Display-Ready Titles</span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Touchgrind BMX</b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/app/touchgrind-bmx/id426072035?mt=8" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">(Buy)</a><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Foosball HD</b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/app/foosball-hd/id372385449?mt=8" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">(Buy)</a><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Labyrinth 2 HD</b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/app/labyrinth-2-hd/id307758975?mt=8" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">(Buy)</a><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Flight Control Rocket</b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/flight-control-rocket/id498136115?mt=8" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">(Buy)</a><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span> </span></span><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.facebook.com/ajax/signup_dialog.php?page_id=128738120538778&next=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpages%2F-video-game-world-%2F128738120538778</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559099774188667739noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936525802034812414.post-35024229827519762882012-03-16T10:21:00.003-07:002012-03-16T10:21:29.011-07:00Are Consoles Dead ?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">The traditional games business is worth around $25 billion a year, so the obvious answer to the question of whether or not consoles are dead, is a resounding 'what the hell are you talking about?'<br /><br />Not only, but consoles are freakin' awesome. They are built to play games. Certainly, they are ugly brutes, hideous noisy boxes, but by all that is holy, they make life good. This is why talk of their 'death' is so upsetting.<br /><br />Nevertheless, talk we must.<br /><br />It's true that consoles move through existence with every sign of vitality, but there are suggestions of an inner sickness, a sense of impending dilapidation. Sorrow awaits.<br /><br />Things go from hale and hearty to stone cold and underground in a spectacularly short period of time, most especially in the tech and entertainment businesses. </span></span></div>
<div class="imageInline" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; width: 468px;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://media.ign.com/games/image/article/122/1220883/death_1331846188.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px;" width="468" /></span></span><div class="inlineImageCaption" style="font-size: 14px; text-align: center; width: 468px;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Ben Cousins' argument from GDC</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /></span></span><div class="IGNE_quote" style="background-image: url(http://guidesmedia.ign.com/guides/uni/IGNE_quote.png); background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-color: rgb(211, 32, 40); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 10px; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 26px; line-height: 36px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 20px; padding-top: 25px; width: 240px;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Between them, the business units at Sony and Microsoft have lost a whacking $10 billion since 2000.</span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">None of this is good. The things that we are supposed to believe will "replace" consoles aren't as good at playing games, aren't designed for this specific, sacred purpose, aren't as emotionally interesting. The death of consoles, if such is their fate, would be a disaster for 'gaming' as we who game understand the term. There is no circle of life crap going on here. It's all bad. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">These notions, and the arguments that follow in this article, will be dominating strategic thinking at Sony and Microsoft, as leaders at these august firms decide how to approach their next generation consoles. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /></span></span><div class="IGNE_header" style="border-left-color: rgb(211, 32, 40); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 10px; border-top-color: rgb(211, 32, 40); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 10px;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Incredible Risk</span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">For the people who make the consoles, this play of launching new machines represents the biggest risks on both companies' books. If they get this wrong, it would be catastrophic for them. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Little wonder they are holding back. (There are no plans for either Sony or Microsoft to show a new machine at E3 this year.) </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Look at it from their point of view. Between them, the business units at Sony and Microsoft have lost a whacking $10 billion since 2000. The opportunity that greeted both companies at the dawn of the century was ownership of the living room, a place at the center of consumer's entertainment lives. It was a noble investment. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">But that opportunity does not look anywhere near as attractive now.</span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">In 2000, the year the world's best-selling console ever was launched, Apple was still 12 months away from launching iPhone's progenitor iPod and thereby changing the history of entertainment. Now it's the most valuable company in the world and the most powerful player in the gaming business. Facebook didn't exist. Free-to-play made zero sense. PC gaming was screwed. The assumptions and the projections Sony and Microsoft were making back then just don't exist anymore. </span></span></span><div class="imageInline" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; width: 468px;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="307" src="http://media.ign.com/games/image/article/122/1220883/peter_1331842240.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px;" width="468" /></span></span><div class="inlineImageCaption" style="font-size: 14px; text-align: center; width: 468px;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">The confidence of yesteryear.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">When Peter Moore bound onto the stage at various E3s in the middle part of the last decade, he was seriously arguing that consoles would be the devices through which we consumed entertainment and communicated with one another. At the time, it seemed plausible. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">If he tried that shtick today, he' be dragged away by burly nurses, and semi-gently invited to spend some quiet time in a sparsely furnished room. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">It's not just the titanic cost, the gargantuan risk this undertaking represents. Problem is, the opportunity for riches is undoubtedly smaller than it's ever been before. For the first time in many console generations, no-one is seriously predicting that the next generation will be bigger than the last. Not even Jack Tretton. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /></span></span><div class="IGNE_header" style="border-left-color: rgb(211, 32, 40); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 10px; border-top-color: rgb(211, 32, 40); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 10px;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Where are the New Consoles?</span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">So the answer to the question about the death of consoles can be found in how the console manufacturers are behaving. And here's the thing. They don't look too keen, do they? If history is any indicator, we are well past due some new machines. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">The console guys are looking at this like the man who, having furtively popped into Burger King on his way back from work, is presented at home with a surprisingly large spaghetti bolognese. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">At the beginning of this year, </span>Nanea Reeves <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">was mocked and derided for suggesting that one company in the current console battle might drop out. Look, it's unlikely but it's really not that crazy. Sony is seriously short of dough. Microsoft is just starting to claw back some of its investments in the games business. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">There are a lot of great business reasons why either of these companies might find an urgently hot thing to fill their attention. The world has changed. </span></span></span><div class="imageInline" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; width: 468px;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="325" src="http://media.ign.com/games/image/article/122/1220883/kaz_1331842199.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px;" width="468" /></span></span><div class="inlineImageCaption" style="font-size: 14px; text-align: center; width: 468px;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Will PlayStation 4 look like this?</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Sony boss Kaz Hirai loves games, but not enough to bring one of Japan's greatest ever corporations to its knees. Whatever form PlayStation 4 takes, he's got to come up with something genuinely new. A better-graphics box at $400? Not going to work. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Already we hear stories of an next Xbox that doesn't even have a disk drive. What kinda console is </span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">that? </i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Well, maybe it's one that reflects a changing reality - that the future is certainly not about going to the mall and buying a $60 game about shooting people. In England, the country's biggest retailer of games is about to go bust. If that's not a bad sign, then what is? </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">And what of Nintendo, the original high priest of console-dom, keeper of the flame? It is a company that has never looked </span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">less</i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">likely to stand astride the Chichen Itza of global entertainment. It is a supplicant, in the thrall of the new gods. We are told that 3DS is a successful handheld gaming device, Compared to what Vita? Sure. Compared to iPhone? Bow down Mario. Grovel in the dirt Donkey Kong. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Even Wii U, the one and only "next generation" console that we have seen looks a lot like a certain other Apple product. A handheld screen, by golly. So much for disruptive technology. So much for blue sky thinking. </span></span></span><div align="center" class="imageInlineCenter" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 268px;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><img align="center" border="0" height="150" src="http://media.ign.com/games/image/article/122/1220883/WiiU_1331842312.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px;" width="268" /></span></span><div class="inlineImageCaption" style="font-size: 14px; width: 268px;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">A box.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /></span></span><div class="IGNE_header" style="border-left-color: rgb(211, 32, 40); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 10px; border-top-color: rgb(211, 32, 40); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 10px;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Blame the Economy</span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Everyone in gaming is getting ready for the next generation consoles to arrive. We are able to write off 20% year-on-year declines in game sales as a mere symptom of late-cycle ennui and lower numbers of big game releases. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">But there are other symptoms that are not so easily brushed aside. The stock value of companies like EA and Activision have been steadily dropping for the last few years. You want to blame the economy? Sure, go ahead. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">But PC gaming has been exploding. More people spend more time playing games than ever before. Meanwhile, the top five games companies by value have halved in value, and those that have dropped out of the list- traditional games publishers - have been replaced by free-to-play and social companies. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Still blaming the economy? </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">ngmoco's Ben Cousins pointed all this out at GDC last week. He also showed us a graph comparing the history of the arcade game business to that of the console game business. </span></span></span><div class="imageInline" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; width: 468px;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="311" src="http://media.ign.com/games/image/article/122/1220883/appad_1331842159.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px;" width="468" /></span></span><div class="inlineImageCaption" style="font-size: 14px; text-align: center; width: 468px;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">The enemy of consoles?</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">At some point in 1999, consoles overtook arcades, which have since become almost entirely irrelevant both as a business and as a way to consume interactive entertainment. That same year, consoles officially became as good as arcades, graphics-wise, with the launch of Dreamcast. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">This year, we have seen the launch of the new iPad, a device which, despite its current whizzery, offers future powers we can only imagine. Offer a man from Mars the chance to reach out and grab an iPad or an Xbox 360. Which will it be? </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /></span></span><div class="IGNE_header" style="border-left-color: rgb(211, 32, 40); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 10px; border-top-color: rgb(211, 32, 40); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 10px;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">There is Hope</span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">But consoles are seriously great devices, important, essential. In an interview this week, Epic founder Tim Sweeney, one of the smartest thinkers in this business, described them in the simplest terms, as perfectly formed for the purpose of playing games. They are entirely engineered to output fast-moving graphics. They are connected to handheld controllers which have no other purpose than to control games. Their entire eco-system is about competition, fun, excitement. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Sweeney added that when the next generation does come - in whatever form - it will provide a graphical leap that the iPads of this world will take eight years or so to match. Eight years! That's 2020.</span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">So, if we leave PC gaming aside, consoles will still be the best way to consume games for a span of time encompassing three more Olympic games and two World Cups and maybe even another Diablo game. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">People talk about the fact that 500 million people have played Angry Birds compared to 25 million players of Call of Duty. But, really, these numbers are like comparing flying pigs with flying helicopters. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Also, Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo are </span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">smart</i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">. It isn't beyond the realms of possibility that any of them, possibly all of them, will create something that surprises everyone, even Apple. Perhaps we will see a unified platform, or a cloud system that really works or, hell, who knows. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">The fact is that consoles are under sustained attack from alternative devices and platforms like mobile and social and free-to-play. It's like horde mode. The enemy has the numbers. The console has the firepower. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Who can predict the outcome with certainty? </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">But here's an indisputable idea. Any person of good sense must understand which side to root for. </span> </span></span><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.facebook.com/ajax/signup_dialog.php?page_id=128738120538778&next=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpages%2F-video-game-world-%2F128738120538778</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559099774188667739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936525802034812414.post-91003011219924670082012-03-16T10:18:00.002-07:002012-03-16T10:18:49.941-07:00Mortal Kombat - Gameplay Trailer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Not too long ago, pictures of an alleged Neo Geo portable popped up, with many quick to call the device fake and/or Photoshopped. Well, naysayers, the NeoGeo X is real, and it's coming in just a few months.</span></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/03/16/new-neo-geo-pocket-is-official-coming-this-year/logo/" rel="attachment wp-att-86439" style="background-color: black; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; resize: none; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: white;"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-86439" height="194" src="http://oyster.ignimgs.com/wordpress/stg.ign.com/2012/03/logo-e1331906412422-600x194.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;" width="600" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><a href="http://www.joystiq.com/2012/03/15/the-neo-geo-handheld-is-real-coming-out-worldwide-in-q2/" rel="nofollow" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; resize: none; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Joystiq</a> reports that Tommo Inc and Blaze will be releasing the handheld, complete with a 3.5-inch LCD display, SD card support, A/V output, and a headphone port.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">To make sure that you're ready to get your game on when the NeoGeo X is released, the following 20 classic NeoGeo titles come pre-loaded:</span></span></div>
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<li><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Art of Fighting</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Baseball Stars</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Cyber Lip</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Fatal Fury</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Fatal Fury Special</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Football Frenzy</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">King of the Monsters</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Last Resort</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">League Bowling</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Magician Lord</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Metal Slug</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Mutation Nation</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Nam 1975</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Samurai Showdown</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Sengoku</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Super Sidekicks</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">The King of Fighters '94</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">The Ultimate 11</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Top Players Golf</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">World Heroes</span></span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Tommo Inc will be handling distribution in the States, with the NeoGeo X slated for a release during the second quarter of 2012. Pricing has yet to be announced, but there is a <a href="http://neogeox.com/home.html" rel="nofollow" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; resize: none; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">sign up form</a> where you can subscribe for additional information as it is released.</span></span></div>
</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.facebook.com/ajax/signup_dialog.php?page_id=128738120538778&next=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpages%2F-video-game-world-%2F128738120538778</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559099774188667739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936525802034812414.post-82077014051086505642012-03-16T05:10:00.000-07:002012-03-16T05:10:01.209-07:00Report: Elder Scrolls MMO to be Announced in May<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">According to </span><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Tom's Guide</b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">, Bethesda and ZeniMax Studios is poised to announce an Elder Scrolls MMO this May. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">The report cites three seperate sources, all unnamed, and claims that the game will be set in the Second Era, well before the other games in the Elder Scrolls timeline. One source also claims that there will be three playable factions, represented by "one of three animals: A lion, a dragon, and a bird of prey (either a phoenix or an eagle, we aren't sure)". </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">There's a lot of credibility to this story despite the unnamed sources. An Elder Scrolls MMO has been widely rumoured since shortly after Oblivion's release in 2006, and Bethesda and ZeniMax have been openly hiring staff for an MMO previously presumed to be part of the Fallout series. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">If this information is accurate, we can expect to see the game at this year's E3. We've reached out to Bethesda for comment - more updates as we get them. </span> </span></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.facebook.com/ajax/signup_dialog.php?page_id=128738120538778&next=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpages%2F-video-game-world-%2F128738120538778</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559099774188667739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936525802034812414.post-2397993937808507572012-03-16T05:07:00.002-07:002012-03-16T05:09:33.278-07:00Pokemon Black 2 and White 2 Japanese Box Art<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Official box art for the forthcoming sequel games, Pokemon Black 2 and Pokemon White 2, was just released on the Japanese Pokemon website J.<br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><img align="center" border="0" height="361" src="http://dsmedia.ign.com/ds/image/article/122/1220928/pokemon-black-version-2-20120316003405632.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px;" width="398" /></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">As you can see, the box art for Pokemon Black (above) features Black Kyurem, presumably a fusion of the legendary monster with Zekrom. The art for Pokemon White 2 (below) features White Kyurem, a fusion of the monster with Reshiram. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /></span></span><div align="center" class="imageInlineCenter" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 399px;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><img align="center" border="0" height="361" src="http://dsmedia.ign.com/ds/image/article/122/1220928/pokemon-black-version-2-20120316003406495.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px;" width="399" /></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Though nothing is confirmed, it's safe to assume the American box art will be the same... only in English. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">For all the breaking news on Pokemon Black 2 and White 2, keep it here on IGN. </span> </span></span><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 24px;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.facebook.com/ajax/signup_dialog.php?page_id=128738120538778&next=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpages%2F-video-game-world-%2F128738120538778</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559099774188667739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936525802034812414.post-89217504106297552522012-03-15T16:31:00.002-07:002012-03-15T16:31:31.471-07:00The Walking Dead: The Game - Teaser Trailer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">The first three Ratchet & Clank games may be headed to PlayStation 3 in HD this May.<br /><br />Rumors indicate that the Ratchet & Clank Trilogy would hit PlayStation 3 on May 16th featuring the franchise's first three games in high definition. The collection will allegedly run at 60 frames per second and will include Trophies and 3D compatibility. Ratchet & Clank 3's multiplayer will also be included, featuring support for up to eight players.<br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="590" src="http://ps3media.ign.com/ps3/image/article/122/1220860/ratcheti_1331826913.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px;" width="468" /></span></span><div class="inlineImageCredit" style="font-size: 10px; text-align: right; width: 468px;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">- NeoGAF</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">This comes as no surprise considering the recent HD collections for other notable PS2 platformers </span>Sly Cooper<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> and </span>Jak and Daxter<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">. In fact, we've been expecting a Ratchet & Clank collection </span>since 2010<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Sony hasn't made any official announcements, and while the company doesn't normally comment on rumors or speculation, we've reached out for more information just in case. Would you re-play the Ratchet & Clank games in HD? Let us know in the comments below. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Source: </span><a href="http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=36048650&postcount=1" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">NeoGAF</a><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span> </span></span><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.facebook.com/ajax/signup_dialog.php?page_id=128738120538778&next=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpages%2F-video-game-world-%2F128738120538778</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559099774188667739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936525802034812414.post-1116940923965801092012-03-15T07:07:00.002-07:002012-03-15T07:07:27.977-07:00LEGO Batman 2 Trailer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.facebook.com/ajax/signup_dialog.php?page_id=128738120538778&next=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpages%2F-video-game-world-%2F128738120538778</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559099774188667739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936525802034812414.post-7144432741770278562012-03-14T16:45:00.003-07:002012-03-14T16:45:41.695-07:00what is "1666"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><a class="autolink" href="http://games.ign.com/objects/025/025159.html" style="cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">THQ</a> has trademarked a new game known as 1666.<br /><br />Little is known about the project, but its patent filing specifically refers to it as "video game software," though no platforms are noted.<br /><br />The game's title, 1666, is especially interesting in that it marks the year of the Great Fire of London. That disaster destroyed 70,000 homes in 1666 and is known for the great deal of difficulty involved in attempting to put out the flames.<br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="337" src="http://media.ign.com/games/image/article/122/1220815/2_1331767522.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px;" width="468" /></span></span><div class="inlineImageCredit" style="font-size: 10px; text-align: right; width: 468px;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">- Wikipedia</span></span></div>
<div class="inlineImageCaption" style="font-size: 14px; text-align: center; width: 468px;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">The Great London Fire</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Previously, THQ was hit by </span>rounds of layoffs<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> following the</span>unexpected low returns of uDraw hardware and kids software<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">, making its future uncertain. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">The company made it clear that it </span>has titles in the works through 2014<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">, noting that it "is focused on high-quality core games and continues to build our digital platform and business. We are excited for our pipeline of original and high-quality content along with our relationships with some of the best talent in the industry." </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">We've reached out to THQ and will update with any information we receive. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">What do you think 1666 will be about? Let us know in the comments below. </span></span></span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.facebook.com/ajax/signup_dialog.php?page_id=128738120538778&next=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpages%2F-video-game-world-%2F128738120538778</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559099774188667739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936525802034812414.post-40377549317365111252012-03-14T16:27:00.002-07:002012-03-14T16:27:53.440-07:00Sony: XBLA Achievement Change Won't Affect Trophies<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Earlier this week, some interesting news hit the wire. What started as an unsubstantiated rumor was eventually confirmed by Microsoft's Larry "Major Nelson" Hyrb: </span><b>Achievements for XBLA games would be lifted from 200 points to 400 points</b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Of course, how this may affect PlayStation Network titles remained to be seen. After all, while both PSN and XBLA have their fair share of exclusives, the services share a majority of their games. Would Microsoft's new policy have any effect on how Sony doles out its Trophies? We went straight to the source for an answer. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">"There are plenty of downloadable games on PSN that currently offer Platinum Trophies," an SCEA spokesman told us. This is true; Sony seems to randomly give some PSN games – ones such as Dead Nation, Rocketbirds and Trine – Platinum Trophies, while not giving them to most others. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">The spokesman went on, noting that Sony has "a standard and consistent system to determine the Trophies available for a particular game. The overall scope of the game determines the Trophies available, not method of distribution." </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">So it appears that, at least for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita gamers, nothing will change following Microsoft's new XBLA Achievement policy. Sony seems to judge the games themselves with unknown parameters to figure out what kind of Trophy support it will get in lieu of using a blanket policy to determine what all PSN games get. </span> </span></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.facebook.com/ajax/signup_dialog.php?page_id=128738120538778&next=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpages%2F-video-game-world-%2F128738120538778</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559099774188667739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936525802034812414.post-56123365590370753522012-03-14T16:24:00.004-07:002012-03-14T16:24:36.522-07:00XCOM -- Designing a Game for Two Audiences<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Older games weren't better because you had to decipher how to play them. People constantly belittle current games with lengthy tutorials and forgiving check points, wondering what happened to the days when someone would take the time to read a 50-page instruction manual and be OK with constantly reloading a save. The truth is we did those things because we had to; we hadn't been shown anything better. And the reason – at least, in part – that designers don't do that anymore is due to the fact that they're making a product for millions of dollars, and the audience that wants a super-niche, complex title might not be big enough to make it profitable.<br /><br />All of this puts a team like Firaxis, who is taking on the monumental task of reviving XCOM, in a tough spot. How does the team remain faithful to XCOM's brutal difficulty and complexity while creating something that will attract new audiences?<br /></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">For starters Firaxis doesn't make XCOM a sequel. It's been almost 20 years since the original was made, and </span>XCOM: Enemy Unknown<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> serves as a reset for the franchise. The series was never particularly story focused, but Enemy Unknown takes the series back to where it started. You're in charge of an international coalition called XCOM, whose sole mission is to stave off alien invasions. You have to pick your battles, taking your squad of elite soldiers all over the world in order to keep your fledging organization, as well as the human race, alive. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Part two of Firaxis' XCOM strategy is to make it a multiplatform release. While the original X-COM came out only for PC, Enemy Unknown is releasing for consoles as well. Thankfully XCOM's turn-based combat makes it more reasonable than, say, a console-based real time strategy title. But systems have been reworked – dare I say simplified – for Enemy Unknown. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">When your units hit the field, you don't manage every individual trooper's time units (the currency that determined how many actions they could do per turn in the original). Instead, every trooper can make one movement and do one action – or, alternatively, make two movements – per turn. When you move, you don't have to worry about nickel and diming your movement points to get to just the right spot, you just look at the highlighted parts of the environment for that trooper and then move to anyone of the indicated positions. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">The simplified movement and action system makes Enemy Unknown more accessible but also retains the tactical feeling. Moving your troopers is a breeze, but picking smart positions for them still takes skill. Both the aliens and your soldiers seek to outmaneuver one another, so pushing for cover and protecting your flanks becomes paramount. You might have your heavy weapons guy lay down suppressing fire on an alien who's looking for opportune shot, enabling your relatively weak sniper to rush up to a rooftop and get a better vantage. You also need to think about whether the cover you've positioned your soldiers behind will hold up against alien assaults, as many parts of the environment are destructible. Vice versa, you might want to position someone with explosives close enough to break the wall of a building to give your other troopers a new point to fire into. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">The retooled movement and action system may not be exactly like the original, but certain staples for the franchise remain. The one that will be the most divisive being permanent death. Every soldier you deploy to the field can be named, and soldiers that live through multiple battles will level up. But, just like real war, one bad move or a stroke of bad luck can cost you someone precious. I watched as one soldier rushed a door, preparing to infiltrate a building, and a gigantic alien crashed through the wall and beat him to death. The importance of that moment may be minimal in a demo, but imagine a situation where you've spent hours with that guy, perhaps even naming him after your best friend. The effects of your actions could feel crushing in XCOM. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /></span></span><div align="center" class="imageInlineCenter" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center; width: 468px;">
<a href="http://media.pc.ign.com/media/126/126070/img_8876514.html" style="background-color: black; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: white;"><img align="center" border="0" height="263" src="http://pcmedia.ign.com/pc/image/article/122/1220803/xcom-enemy-unknown-20120314035817156-000.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px;" width="468" /></span></a></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Base building also helps ground the new XCOM in the lore of the 1993 classic. Excavating the earth beneath your facility opens up new space to build in. How you build out your base is up to you: you could focus on hangars for air defense or perhaps build science facilities to gain more from the alien artifacts you recover in battle. Layout of your base matters, as bonuses are allocated based on location of buildings and their proximity to similar facilities. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Like permanent death, other parts of XCOM are, like the original, not very forgiving. The XCOM organization relies on many member nations, all of whom will ask for your support from time to time as they get harassed by invaders. The problem comes down to limited resources; you simply can't help everyone all the time. Neglect a country long enough, though, and it'll leave the organization and rob you of valuable resources. Thus, just like the XCOM games of old, your job comes down to triage: you can't save everyone, so how do you do the most good with the little you have? If you can't keep it together, you'll lose, forcing you to load an earlier save. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">It's still too early to say whether XCOM: Enemy Unknown will touch fans of the original as well as an entirely new audience. Firaxis is clearly making it for a much larger group of people, but also striving to retain the spirit and foundation in design that made the original so beloved. We'll find out if they've succeed when XCOM releases this fall. </span> </span></span><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.facebook.com/ajax/signup_dialog.php?page_id=128738120538778&next=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpages%2F-video-game-world-%2F128738120538778</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559099774188667739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936525802034812414.post-81507866693419987352012-03-14T14:10:00.002-07:002012-03-14T14:10:34.864-07:00PS3-Exclusive Resident Evil Collection Details<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Late last October, we reported that <b>PS3 would be getting an exclusive Resident Evil HD collection</b>. Resident Evil: Chronicles HD Collection would be a compilation featuring two previously Wii-centric on-rails light gun shooters, Umbrella Chronicles and The Darkside Chronicles.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">...good lord.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Ever since then, unfortunately, </span>Capcom<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> had little else to say. That is, until now. </span><b>The PlayStation Blog</b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> has revealed that Resident Evil: Chronicles HD Collection would be coming exclusively to the PlayStation Network this June. "The collection will initially be sold as a discounted two game bundle, but at a later date, each of the titles will be available for purchase separately," notes Capcom's Product Manager Mike Lunn. </span></span></span><br />
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<center><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Resident Evil: Chronicles HD Collection Trailer</span></span></center></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Both games will support PlayStation Move, and both will have Trophies. </span> </span></span><br />
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</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.facebook.com/ajax/signup_dialog.php?page_id=128738120538778&next=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpages%2F-video-game-world-%2F128738120538778</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559099774188667739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936525802034812414.post-16524250353721032182012-03-14T14:09:00.000-07:002012-03-14T14:09:02.759-07:00New Apple iPad Buyer's Guide<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">We're just a couple days away from the release of the new iPad. To ensure that you are properly prepared for the latest iOS tablet, here's what you need to know about Apple's "Resolutionary" device.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">What is the New iPad?</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Apple's third generation iOS tablet features a number of upgrades and improvements from the previous models. The new iPad sports a hi-res Retina Display with a 2045x1536 resolution and over 3 million pixels on a 10.1-inch screen, a 5MP rear facing camera, a dual-core A5X CPU and quad-core graphics.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">The new iPad will utilize iOS 5.1. Additional features include iCloud connectivity, voice dictation capabilities and AirPlay functionality.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Overall, the design is almost identical to previous iPads, although the new version is slightly thicker and heavier.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">In addition to a standard Wi-FI model, the new iPad also includes the option of adding a 4G LTE radio. All models come in black and white.</span></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/03/07/hands-on-with-apples-new-ipad" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; resize: none; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Check Out Our Hands-On Impressions</span></strong></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Will My Old Accessories Work with the New iPad?</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Although largely similar in dimensions when compared to the iPad 2, some accessories will not fit the newest tablet. In particular, hard plastic cases and form-fitting docks will likely not be compatible. The new iPad is just under a millimeter thicker than its successor, but that tiny increment may be just enough to make your old docks and cases obsolete. Existing Apple 30-pin connector cables should have no problem with the new model.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">As with every iPad, new accessories will be in abundance, and you'll surely be able to find plenty of products to fit the third generation iPad in no time.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Other accessories, like screen protectors and Apple's Smart Cover will work on the new iPad since the dimensions of the front of the device are completely identical to the previous version.</span></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/03/14/new-apple-ipad-buyers-guide/smartcover_000/" rel="attachment wp-att-86222" style="background-color: black; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; resize: none; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: white;"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-86222" height="150" src="http://oyster.ignimgs.com/wordpress/stg.ign.com/2012/03/smartcover_000-e1331743365122-600x150.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;" width="600" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Will My Old Apps Work on the Retina Display?</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">All existing iPad apps will work with the new model, although not all will make use of the new display. Since the aspect ratio is the same, scaling will not be an issue, but apps not built specifically for the Retina Display will obviously not be as crisp and clear as those that are.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">A handful of Retina Display apps will be available at launch, such as Apple's first-party offerings like iMovie and iPhoto, in particular.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">New Infinity Blade and Sky Gamblers games have been announced, both are built to utilize the Retina Display.</span></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/03/14/new-apple-ipad-buyers-guide/ipad-02/" rel="attachment wp-att-86216" style="background-color: black; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; resize: none; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: white;"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-86216" height="125" src="http://oyster.ignimgs.com/wordpress/stg.ign.com/2012/03/ipad-021-e1331741793266-600x125.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;" width="600" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">How Much Will it Cost?</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">The new iPad's pricing is tiered based on storage space and connectivity.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">New iPad (Wi-Fi only)</span></span></div>
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<li><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">16GB: $499.00</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">32GB: $599.00</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">64GB: $699.00</span></span></li>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">New iPad (Wi-Fi + 4G)</span></span></div>
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<li><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">16GB: $629.00</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">32GB: $729.00</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">64GB: $829.00</span></span></li>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Stateside, 4G LTE is provided by AT&T and Verizon. The two carriers offer different monthly pricing structures. Wireless service is not handled on contract, and you can opt-in and -out whenever you like.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">AT&T</span></span></div>
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<li><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">250MB: $14.99</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">3GB: $30.00</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">5GB: $50.00</span></span></li>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Verizon</span></span></div>
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<li><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">1GB: $20.00</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">2GB: $30.00</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">5GB: $50.00</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">10GB: $80</span></span></li>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">At release, Verizon will offer free mobile hotspot with its 4G LTE iPads. AT&T will not offer hotspot at launch, although that may change later in the product's life cycle.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Where Can I Get It?</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Online pre-orders are currently available from Apple's website, although launch day delivery is no longer guaranteed. Official Apple retail stores, as well as Best Buy, Radio Shack, Sam's Club, Target and Walmart, will be selling the new iPad on release day.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">AT&T and Verizon will begin taking online orders when the new iPad is released, although it is unknown when other online retailers will begin selling the device.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">When is it Coming Out?</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Apple's new iPad will be available on Friday, March 16. Official Apple retail stores will open up their doors at 8am on release day.</span></span></div>
</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.facebook.com/ajax/signup_dialog.php?page_id=128738120538778&next=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpages%2F-video-game-world-%2F128738120538778</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559099774188667739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936525802034812414.post-81321153716795590322012-03-14T14:07:00.004-07:002012-03-14T14:12:27.057-07:00The House of the Dead 4 Gets PSN Release Date<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">If you've been waiting for more news on The House of the Dead 4 on PlayStation Network, wait no longer. Today, SEGA revealed the game's release date and pricing. American gamers can look for it on April 17th. European gamers will have access to it the next day, on April 18th. It will cost $9.99.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><img align="center" border="0" height="263" src="http://ps3media.ign.com/ps3/image/article/122/1220765/the-house-of-the-dead-4-20120314004136377.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px;" width="468" /></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Watch out!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">As a PSN-exclusive, The House of the Dead 4 has never before appeared on console. It was released in Japanese arcades in 2005 and a year later elsewhere in the world. Since it's an on-rails shooter, The House of the Dead 4 will be compatible with PlayStation Move. It will also come packing Trophies, a multiplayer mode, ranking and grading systems and more. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">If you're looking for a fix between now and then, The House of the Dead 3 is already on PlayStation Network. Released back in February, we gave the game </span><b>a 6.5</b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">. </span></span></span><br />
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<center><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">The House of the Dead 4 PSN Trailer</span></span></center></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Look for a full review on IGN in April. In the meantime, check out the all-new trailer above. </span> </span></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.facebook.com/ajax/signup_dialog.php?page_id=128738120538778&next=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpages%2F-video-game-world-%2F128738120538778</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559099774188667739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936525802034812414.post-70386504966995186222012-03-14T14:06:00.003-07:002012-03-14T14:06:16.396-07:00Sega Envisions Sonic on PS4, Xbox 720, Wii U<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Sega's Takashi Iizuka has spoken out about the future of the Sonic franchise.<br /><br />Speaking in a recent interview, Iizuka noted that he's "interested in the challenge of doing something completely new with the 3D Sonic's forward view platform action," but that Sonic won't make a shift to photo-realism despite the more powerful specs of next-generation consoles.<br /><br />"I don't think Sonic will ever become photo-real," Iizuka said. "I think Sonic will always remain stylized and will have that bright, colorful world. What the high hardware spec will allow us to do is make that more convincing. By having higher end hardware...we'll be able to do, for example, the real-time lighting calculations. That will give more presence to Sonic. We're not after realism. We're after making it more convincing." </span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 24px;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Iizuka also noted that Sonic is the "right fit" for Nintendo's upcoming Wii U, noting that "the Wii was an extremely successful platform. It was totally global. It went into the families that maybe would not have picked up a home console before. It created that living room experience with families, and it had great success." </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">"Adding the controller," he continued, "and in a sense upgrading the Wii, it has got potential to further that and increase its customer base. I feel Sonic is the right fit because it is that kind of family experience game. I do feel Wii U is applicable to Sonic, but how we will apply using the controller to Sonic is something we're still thinking about at the moment." </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Source: </span><a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-03-14-takashi-iizuka-outlines-vision-for-sonic-on-ps4-next-xbox" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Eurogamer</a></span></span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.facebook.com/ajax/signup_dialog.php?page_id=128738120538778&next=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpages%2F-video-game-world-%2F128738120538778</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559099774188667739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936525802034812414.post-22296406212896040272012-03-14T10:32:00.000-07:002012-03-14T10:32:37.971-07:00Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier - Believe in Ghosts Video<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">A leading business analyst group has released a statement suggesting that Grand Theft Auto V will be released in March 2013, and not late 2012 as previously thought.<br /><br />Publisher Rockstar has yet to officially announce a release date for its much-anticipated crime-spree adventure, but various retail leaks and the company's previous form in marketing time-lines have suggested a 2012 arrival.<br /><br />A launch trailer for GTA V was unveiled in November last year, setting the game in a Los Angeles-type city and featuring a retired criminal as the lead character.<br /><br />Rockstar released its first trailer for the series' predecessor GTA IV almost exactly a year before the game was released. This pattern was repeated with the pre-launch marketing of Red Dead Redemption. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Grand Theft Auto V Trailer</span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">But financial analysts at Sterne Agee say the game will drop in March next year. The company is warning investors - who are keen to reap a dividend from such a huge money-spinner - that Rockstar will seek the extra time to polish the game. It argues that a later date makes sense to avoid clashing with other major franchises like Call of Duty and Assassin's Creed, while waiting for a larger installed base of Wii U, due to launch later this year. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Rockstar has enjoyed significant success with launches in the March-May time-frame in recent years, with GTA IV, Red Dead Redemption and L.A Noire. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Sterne Agee's games industry analyst Arvind Bhatia had previously said that the game will arrive in 2012, but is now pushing the date back. He has not revised projected sales figures of 25 million units within its first year. </span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Source: </span><a href="http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/165750/Analyst_GTA_V_likely_to_launch_in_early_2013.php" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Gamasutra</a> </span></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.facebook.com/ajax/signup_dialog.php?page_id=128738120538778&next=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpages%2F-video-game-world-%2F128738120538778</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559099774188667739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936525802034812414.post-32706885621219386012012-03-14T10:22:00.000-07:002012-03-14T10:22:02.983-07:00Walking Dead Gameplay Footage Incoming<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><a href="http://games.ign.com/articles/122/1220730p1.html" target="_blank">IGN</a> has been pumped for developer Telltales Games' The Walking Dead: The Game since it was announced more than a year ago. There's just one problem -- we've only seen screenshots and never seen it in motion. Yes, even though we've written about its story focus, the characters and the fact that it's based on the comics, no one's ever seen the game in action.<br /></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://media.games.ign.com/articles/122/1220730/img_8875581.html" style="background-color: black; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: white;"><img alt="Come on! I just cleaned that floor." border="0" height="263" src="http://media.ign.com/games/image/article/122/1220730/walking-dead-gameplay-footage-incoming-20120314092138159-000.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px;" width="468" /></span></a><div class="inlineImageCaption" style="font-size: 14px; text-align: center; width: 468px;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Come on! I just cleaned that floor.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">That changes next week. Monday, </span>Up at Noon with Greg Miller<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> -- IGN Start's weekly talk show -- will debut the first footage of The Walking Dead game, show a new trailer, and interview Gary Whitta, the title's story consultant and Book of Eli writer. </span> </span></span><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.facebook.com/ajax/signup_dialog.php?page_id=128738120538778&next=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpages%2F-video-game-world-%2F128738120538778</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559099774188667739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5936525802034812414.post-57558496931015217882012-03-14T07:58:00.003-07:002012-03-14T07:58:42.213-07:00Amazing Spider-Man Borrows from Arkham City<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">The Amazing Spider-Man</span><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> game is looking good, and that might have something to do with it looking like Batman: Arkham City. A demo from Spider-Man developer Beenox was going pretty much by the numbers -- open world to websling in, red and blue tights, etc. -- and then it went indoors. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">From the ceiling, Spider-Man could hang and use a new power called "web rush" to execute stealth takedowns. Each enemy has a color indicator to specify their awareness of ol' webhead. And if you choose, Spidey can throw himself right into the fray with Arkham City-like attacks (complete with a multiplier counter and similar dodge counters). Heck, if you suck, Spider-Man takes damage and his suit degrades over time. Sound familiar? </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">My time watching Peter Parker in action was actually my first exposure to the Amazing Spider-Man, a game set in the movie universe after the events of the film and penned by Battlestar Galactica writer Seamus Fahey. As of now, not too many details are known about the premise, other than certain events reveal Peter Parker's "untold story." Oh, and Rhino and </span>the newly announced Iguana<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> are two of the main enemies Spider-Man will face. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">I'm excited to see the open world, go anywhere Spider-Man gameplay return, although I couldn't shake how much Time Square reminds me of the version found in Prototype from a couple years ago. Some could argue that they look similar because of the locale, and there's no confirmation regarding if the game is using the same environment as Prototype with a fresh "paint job." Regardless, the city makes for some opportune webslinging moments -- amplified by the new camera position that follows right behind Spidey's movements. It's a cool effect, as long as you aren't prone to motion sickness. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Web rush is another new introduction developer Beenox is touting. It is a mode Spidey enters for the sake of slowing down time to make navigation decisions. With one button press, the game displays a destination Spider-Man can parkour and websling to with a yellow icon. This can come in handy if you quickly want to get to precise locations. A Beenox developer took Spidey from a rooftop to the top of a lamp post without having to manually direct the hero. By continuously mashing the web rush button, Spider-Man quickly maneuvered through Manhattan. Right now, the web rush movements look too jerky and unnatural when used this quickly. I was told that players will have a cool down period in retail version of the game, but the ability is upgradable. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Looking good, Pete.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">As players navigate through Manhattan, random opportunities will appear. Aside from Peter Parker being sent on various photo missions, Beenox showcased a "police deadlock." In the demo, the NYPD was chasing a perp, and the only way to stop the bad guy was to web rush on top of the criminal's car and successfully complete a quick-time event. More random missions are in the game, but these are all that I saw. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Sadly, Beenox also didn't let me know who is voicing Spider-Man.</span>Activision<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> has yet to announce the voice actors for the game, but I'm hoping they can nab some notable people preferably from the Amazing Spider-Man film itself. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Curious to see how Batman fans will react once they get their hands on this game? I'm actually eager to try it out for myself, as it looked fun but I won't know until I play it. What do you think of the comparison? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, and then check out all our info on the Amazing Spider-Man, including news on </span>the game's new villain, Iguana<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">. </span></span></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.facebook.com/ajax/signup_dialog.php?page_id=128738120538778&next=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpages%2F-video-game-world-%2F128738120538778</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06559099774188667739noreply@blogger.com0