Chousoku Henkei Gyrozetter is a recently released Square Enix arcade game. Developed by Rocket Studio, it’s a blend of racing and turn-based RPG combat featuring transforming cars and Unreal Engine 3 graphics. Square Enix has plans to take the game out of arcades and possibly to Western markets. Andriasangtranslated some GameBusiness.jp information and reported that a 3DS installment is coming in Spring 2013, with possible home-console versions on the way.
In Japan, Chousoku Henkei Gyrozetter is a pretty big deal. The Gyrozetter franchise has a tradable-card game, an anime series, and manga.
This is the Transformers game I’ve always dreamed about, but never thought would happen. I love transforming vehicles! I love turn-based RPGs! Ergo, I would love an English version of Chousoku Henkei Gyrozetter. Hopefully the Western name ends up being Mega Transforming Auto Giant Battle or something.
Would any of you play a turn-based RPG/racing game featuring transforming cars?
I would kill for Google Fiber. Maybe not kill…but I’d punch someone really hard to get it. Part of it is the 1Gb/second Internet speeds, not having to worry about data caps, the 1TB of Google Drive storage, and the included Nexus 7 that serves as a remote control. The thought of downloading a 1080p movie in five minutes or less sounds…amazing. Google Fiber is the stuff nerd dreams are made of.
Another reason I dream about Google Fiber is the lovely thought of being able to give cable and telephone companies a big FU. I’m tired of…
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, NBC getting heat for its coverage of the 2012 Olympics, Amish people giving it a go in Manhattan, or overdosing at a churrascaria, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
I would kill for Google Fiber. Maybe not kill…but I’d punch someone really hard to get it. Part of it is the 1Gb/second Internet speeds, not having to worry about data caps, the 1TB of Google Drive storage, and the included Nexus 7 that serves as a remote control. The thought of downloading a 1080p movie in five minutes or less sounds…amazing. Google Fiber is the stuff nerd dreams are made of.
Another reason I dream about Google Fiber is the lovely thought of being able to give cable and telephone companies a big FU. I’m tired of the Internet duopoly held by AT&T and Time Warner Cable in my part of Los Angeles. I hate that my two choices for Internet service are “mediocre” and “worse”. I hate that my apartment building only has one (woefully overpriced) choice for television. There are times when I wish that Time Warner Cable were a person so that I could him in the face.
Right now, Google Fiber is only available in Kansas City, KS and Kansas City, MO (I have no idea which one has the baseball team). I can’t imagine living in either city and I sincerely doubt that Google Fiber is coming to Los Angeles (or any large city) in the immediate future. It’s great the Google is showing people what Internet service could be like, but I don’t see this happening in big cities any time soon. I’m sure I’ll spend several nights over the next year or two dreaming that I’m wrong.
What do you think of Google Fiber? Is it the kind of Internet and television service you dream of? What would you do with that godly amount of bandwidth? Would Google Fiber significantly change your gaming habits? Share your Google Fiber dreams in the comments section (please)!
A stupid vendor sent me the wrong part, so my broken television is still broken. Thankfully, Insomniac’s Outernauts is here to save my weekend! This Facebook game is like a sci-fi Pokemon. Insomniac + Pokemon gameplay = Bliss. My Google Nexus 7 is still getting lots of play. The excellent Jazz: Trump’s Journey is on sale for 99 cents (sale ends today!) and the Nexus 7’s Tegra 3 processor handles it with aplomb. If you’re not familiar with the game, it’s a platformer loosely based on the life of Louis Armstrong — you know, that part of his life spent running, jumping, collecting things, and stopping time with his trumpet. Between Outernauts and Jazz, I’ll be a happy gamer this weekend.
Set to take place from August 3-4, 2013 in San Francisco is GaymerCon. The show is open to gamers of all genders, races, and sexual identities, but will obviously focus on the LGBT videogame community. To help make the event the best it can be, the organizers have put together a Kickstarter pitch. Check out an excerpt from the pitch and the (funny) video below.
We are creating a convention where all types of geeks can come together, meet others like them, and have a blast without having to worry about what their peers think of them or being discriminated against.. We will have exhibitor space, cosplay, guest speakers, live music, panel discussions on topics that are directly relevant to our interests, gaming industry professionals who support including queer content in their products, social events, and of course…GAMING!
We want to be clear this isn’t just for gay white dudes either. We want all genders, races, and sexual identities including our straight friends and allies to come together and have a gay, geeky good time. We believe very strongly that creating a space like this is not only important for building a strong community, but also showing new generations of gaymers that there are others like them out there, they are not alone, and there is a welcoming place for them, not just at GaymerCon, but as part of the larger gaming community.
GaymerCon 2013 will take place whether the organizers make their Kickstarter goal or not. I love that this show is happening and will make a pledge in the near future. I hope some of you do too. If you’ve ever played games online then you know that there are many homophobic and bigoted gamers out there. It’s awesome that gay gamers will have an expo that aims to be a “more tolerant and safer space in gaming”.
NBA player Baron Davis has started a company called 5 Balloons Interactive. The company’s first game, Getting Buckets, is available for iOS. It’s a Temple Run-style game that has you literally collecting buckets. The twist is that it stars basketball players Baron Davis, Steve Nash, Rajon Rondo, Brandon Jennings, and Candace Parker.
As for 5 Balloons Interactive, the company site says that it, “was created in 2012 to offer celebrity talent meaningful opportunities to extend their brands into the digital space through engaging and entertaining gaming applications.” The initial focus will be on mobile games.
Athletes forming videogame companies isn’t a new thing. Baseball player Curt Schilling started 38 Studios, which was off to a promising start before it hit numerous financial problems. Perhaps jumping into the big-money and ultra-competitive world of console games wasn’t the best idea for 38 Studios. Perhaps Davis is taking the smarter approach by going with mobile games; it’s the hottest segment of gaming at the moment and the costs aren’t as high.
Do you think Baron Davis will be successful with 5 Balloons Interactive? Any of you interested in Getting Buckets?
The latest Kickstarter gaming project getting buzz is the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset. I’m sure that some of you are having flashbacks to ‘Nam the horrendous Virtual Boy right about now, but the Rift is getting support from industry heavy-hitters like id’s John Carmack, Valve’s Gabe Newell, and Epic’s Clifford Bleszinski. Oculus claims that the Rift offers “an incredibly wide field of view, high resolution display, and ultra-low latency head tracking”. Check out the video below for more information on this hot Kickstarter project.
Bleszinski mentioned that Epic is working on Unreal Engine support for the Oculus Rift. Unity CEO David Helgason is also featured in the video, showing support for the project. That’s tremendous. A ton of developers — ranging from small indie teams to dev teams with hundreds of people — create games with Unreal Engine and Unity. Being able to make games with two major engines bodes well for the future of the Rift.
I know that many of you are down on 3D gaming on consoles and PC. How about VR gaming with a headset? Is the Oculus Rift something you’d by and/or support on Kickstarter?
Bethesda has announced that Symbiote will be making a line of toys based on The Elder Scrolls, Dishonored, Doom, Quake, and Fallout franchises. Skyrim fans will want to pick up the Dragonborn figurine, which will be available later this month. QuakeCon 2012 attendees that ordered the Swag Pack will get the sweet QuakeCon Symbiote figure pictured below.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Dragonborn figure retails for $9.99 and is available for pre-order on Symbiote’s web site.
I’d love to hear your ideas for Bethesda Symbiote toys. Which Bethesda heroes or baddies would you like to see as a toy? Personally, I’d love to see real-life Bethesda and id people as toys. I would buy John Carmack, Todd Hollenshead, and Todd Howard Symbiote action figures in a heartbeat!
My pal Jon Robinson has a new book called My Favorite Match: WWE Superstars Tell the Stories of Their Most Memorable Matches. Guess what it’s about? If you said, “I bet it’s about WWE Superstars talking about their most memorable wrestling matches,” then you win today! Seriously though, J-Rob is a great guy and a fantastic writer (you’ve probably read his videogame stories on ESPN.com). Please show him so love and pick up his book, which is available in paperback and on Kindle.
Here’s the trailer for The Dark Knight Returns, an upcoming two-part animated movie based on Frank Miller’s critically acclaimed Batman mini-series. The first part hits on September 25, 2012 (my birthday!) and the second will be released in early 2013. Voice talent include Peter Weller as Batman, Ariel Winter as Carrie Kelley/Robin, and David Selby as Jim Gordon.
Considering that the Batman franchise is riding high off of the release of The Dark Knight Rises, DC’s animated features are generally great, and the movie is based off of one of the most revered Batman tales of all time, this should be a “can’t miss” movie for DC, right? Then again, Miller’s art style is so distinct that some people are bound to dislike an animated interpretation of it. Additionally, a ton is riding on the voice actors delivering top-notch performances of words and scenes that have been playing in comic-book fanboys’ heads since The Dark Knight Returns was released in 1986. Perhaps it’s not a sure thing that this animated film will deliver.
Kindly check out the trailer and let me know what you think. Will The Dark Knight Returns be the next great DC animated movie?
