Category: Videogames

Coffee Talk #480: Your Favorite Beat ‘Em Up Games

Beat-’em-up games ruled in the 8-bit, 16-bit, and classic-arcade days. From Double Dragon to River City Ransom to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to X-Men, these games have entertained millions of people by allowing them to beat the crap out of countless minions and the occasional level boss. The best beat-’em-ups…

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, the NBA playoffs, the Facebook IPO, or Miley Cyrus’ latest red carpet outfit, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Beat-’em-up games ruled in the 8-bit, 16-bit, and classic-arcade days. From Double Dragon to River City Ransom to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to X-Men, these games have entertained millions of people by allowing them to beat the crap out of countless minions and the occasional level boss. The best beat-’em-ups had a magical blend of simple gameplay that anyone could enjoy coupled with clever design that kept players addicted. What were some of your favorite beat-’em-up games?

As for me, I’m going with Streets of Rage for Sega Genesis. This is a total nostalgia pick. I’ve played better games in the genre, but this one has a special place in my heart. I have fond memories of playing Streets of Rage with my brother over and over and over again. We’d spend hours a day as Axel Stone and Blaze Fielding, keeping the city safe from the diabolical Syndicate. We were dazzled by the smashing, combos, and oh-so-cheap special attack from our companion in the police car. To this day, Streets of Rage is one of my favorite multiplayer experiences.

Now it’s your turn! Did you dig any of the aforementioned games? Or are you more of a Golden Axe or Final Fight fan? Please share your favorite beat-’em-up games in the comments section.

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

I so want to be playing Diablo III this weekend, especially after Blizzard’s outstanding launch event and getting to chat with the game creators. Unfortunately, I have to play secret game for a work project. I also have to play some Dragon’s Dogma for another site. All that said, I fully appreciate what a wonderful problem I’m blessed with. Beats the hell out of assembling iPhones in a Chinese sweatshop, no?

How about you? What’s on your weekend playlist?

LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes Renders

Here’s a trio of high-res parody renders Warner Bros. Interactive sent out to promote the upcoming LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes. The LEGO versions of Catwoman, Joker, and Robin are obviously a nod to the outstanding Batman Arkham City. With more than 50 characters rumored to be playable, LEGO Batman 2 is a comic-book nerds dream! The rumored roster includes Batman, Nightwing, Robin, Batgirl, Green Lantern, Superman, Flash, Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, Hawkgirl, Cyborg, Katana, Shazam, Zatanna, and Wonder Woman.

As a Nightwing mark, I get goofy every time he’s featured in a game. How about you? Now’s the time to out yourself as a closet Black Lightning fan! Which DC superhero would you like to play as in LEGO Batman 2?

[nggallery id=100]

Check Out The Sandbox For iOS!

At GDC 2012, I was smitten by Pixowl Games’ The Sandbox for iOS. The game is a wonderfully creative blend of “god” gaming, puzzle solving, and art creation — very cool and very unique. The Sandbox is now available through the iOS App Store. I encourage you to check it out. It’s free-to-play so you have nothing to lose! If you’re into puzzles, pixel art, and controlling worlds (and really, you should be into all three of those things) then there’s a great chance that you’ll dig The Sandbox.

GameSalad Creator Comes to Windows PC

A few weeks ago, I wrote about programming tools that allow you to make games without needing to code. One of the ones I mentioned was GameSalad Creator, which allows you to make games for Android, HTML 5, iOS, and more. Previously available for Mac OS, GameSalad Creator is now available for Windows. If you’re interested in the product then you can sign up for the beta here. To give you an idea of GameSalad Creator’s look and feel, check out the image gallery at the end of this post.

Even though GameSalad allows designers to make games without coding, it’s still a very powerful tool. In fact, the company has had great success (like Borat) on the iOS platform. Here’s more from GameSalad director of marketing Jonathan Hunt:

The GameSalad developer community is both passionate and productive. In just three years, our platform has been used to create more than 60 Top 100 Games in the U.S. App Store, including a game that earned the number one slot. We are thrilled to welcome Windows users to our community and expect that this will open up a floodgate of creativity, resulting in even more high quality games for players everywhere.

I know that many of you have game design ideas floating around your head. I also know that most of you are Windows PC users. Any of you willing to give this product a shot? Perhaps the RPad.TV community will be playing the chart-topping iOS-game you created with GameSalad Creator for Windows!

[nggallery id=99]

Halo 4 Limited Edition Details Revealed

Microsoft has revealed details on spectacularly luxurious limited edition of Halo 4. In addition to a sweet-looking box, gamers that opt for the $99.99 version of Halo 4 will get the following…

Microsoft has revealed details on the spectacularly luxurious limited edition of Halo 4. In addition to a sweet-looking box, gamers that opt for the $99.99 version of Halo 4 will get:

War Games Map Pack Access
The competitive multiplayer modes of Halo 4 are known as War Games. The Limited Edition includes access to nine maps – three future competitive multiplayer map packs, each including three locations, available for download post-launch on Xbox LIVE. Yes, you read that correctly; you get nine maps in the form of future DLC with the purchase of the Halo 4 Limited Edition. Score!

Specializations
Everyone will have access to select Specializations, but those that purchase the Halo 4 Limited Edition will receive the ability to unlock six Specializations early, available at launch on Xbox Live. You can use them, one at a time, to achieve higher ranks in your Spartan career. In addition to gaining access to new ranks, Specializations unlock new customization options. We’ll be releasing more information about Specializations at E3, so expect additional details about this particular feature then.

UNSC Infinity Briefing Packet
The UNSC Infinity Briefing Packet includes a Spartan armor customization schematic, information about UNSC weapons, an introduction to the massive ship UNSC Infinity, and insight into what it means to be one of humanity’s finest warriors: The Spartan-IVs. Story lovers will especially enjoy this in-fiction offering that provides a glimpse into the indoctrination of Spartans aboard the Infinity.

Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn Special Edition
The Special Edition of Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn is a 90-minute extended version of the live-action digital series which will take fans back to the terrifying beginning of the Human/Covenant war, when the Master Chief inspired a young cadet who would eventually become a leader aboard the UNSC’s greatest vessel ever: the UNSC Infinity.

Digital content also includes in-fiction bonus content that expands the characters and stories of Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn, special featurette Bringing Gaming into Reality, and a behind the scenes look at the making of Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn.

Bonus digital content through Xbox Live
The Limited Edition includes the following bonus digital content through Xbox Live: unique in-game Spartan-IV armor skin, unique in-game weapon skin for the Assault Rifle, an exclusive in-game emblem, Xbox Live Avatar prop, and Xbox Live Avatar Spartan IV armor set.

Any of you going to buy this baby? Halo 4 Limited Edition looks hot!

Source

Aerith and Sephiroth Were Originally Brother and Sister

Did you know that Final Fantasy VII Aerith Gainsborough and Sephiroth (Jones?) were originally written to be brother and sister? It’s true! Legendary game designer Tetsuya Nomura said so. In this nifty bit of translation from Andriasang, Nomura spilled the beans on the evolution of Aerith. Check it out:

The original character setting had Aerith and Sephiroth as brother and sister. The effect of this setting can still be seen in the designs of their front hair. Later, they changed the setting so that Sephiroth was Aerith’s first love. That eventually resulted in Zack.

Wow. Sephiroth would have been even more of a dick for killing his sister. Killing his ex-girlfiend would have been nasty too. As it ended up, killing an unrelated mystic/flower merchant was pretty evil, but I wonder how much more impactful it would have been with the other scenarios.

Check out the entire translation for lots of great info on Final Fantasy VII from Nomura, Yoshinori Kitase, and Kazushige Nojima. Also, let me know if Aerith’s death would have been different for you had she been Sephiroth’s sister or lover.

Source

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Screens Show Character Team-Ups

The newest batch of Theatrhythm Final Fantasy screenshots show off the music selection and characters. As a longtime Final Fantasy nerd, I was particularly geeked out by the latter. I totally marked out seeing “chibi” versions of the Warrior of Lights, Bartz, Terra, Cloud, Squall, Tidus, Zidane, Firion, and more sharing the same screen. I want this game now!!!

[nggallery id=98]

Scott Foe Talks About the Nokia N-Gage

My friend and colleague Scott Foe kicked off his blog with a post titled “What the F*ck N-Gage?” For those of you that don’t recall the device, the N-Gage was Nokia’s failed foray into the gaming market. Scott used to work at Sega during the Dreamcast days and was a key player at Nokia during the N-Gage period. He knows all about failed consoles and labels himself as “the undisputed most-spectacular failure that the games industry has ever witnessed”. I respectfully disagree with that self assessment.

Scott’s rant covers all sorts of topics, but my favorite part covered the failure of the N-Gage. Here’s a snippet:

Who could deny that the N-Gage was a spectacular failure? A “failure,” because, today, there are more people who own my self-produced album of J-Pop lounge-covers, Sakura Scotty, than own N-Gages. A “spectacular” failure, because there wasn’t a man, woman, nor publisher-side producer in the games industry that didn’t see it fail.

The logic of Nokia’s games strategy was so straightforward as to be un-ignorable, “We are Nokia, the largest handset manufacturer in the world, absolute masters of sourcing and logistics, capable of buying component parts for cheaper and putting the products for sale in more places than any other organization on the planet. The games industry is worth billions, and when we throw our winter cap into the ring, we will take a piece of that market.” The logic was also terminal due to a very straightforward lack of heart.

I covered the hell out of the N-Gage back in 2003. I loved the idea of a connected gaming platform integrated into a mobile phone. The potential was awesome and realized today in Android, iOS, etc. The problem was that Nokia was never (and still isn’t) great at software; expecting the company to build a robust backend and an intuitive frontend for gaming was a little ridiculous when viewed through the good old retroscope. The other problem was that Nokia was (and still is) great at making hardware, but laid an egg with the N-Gage. Nokia made (and still makes) some of the most beautiful phones in the history of the business. The N-Gage doesn’t look or feel like Nokia hardware at all.

Anyway, kindly read Scott’s blog when you have a chance. It’s witty, insightful, and intelligent.

Source

Tomb Raider Delayed to 2013

The highly anticipated Tomb Raider has been delayed to 2013. Being developed by Crystal Dynamics and set to be published by Square Enix, the game was a fantastic surprise at E3 2011 and on my most-wanted list for 2012. Sadly for everyone amped for the game, the wait will be a wee bit longer. In a statement to the series’ fans, Crystal Dynamics studio head Darrell Gallagher wrote:

Our priority now is to make sure we fully deliver the very highest quality game. In order to do this, we have decided to move the game’s release date by a few months, from Fall 2012 to the first quarter of 2013.

The good news is that the delay is only a few months. Hopefully the developers will make a game that was worth the wait. With the customary onslaught of games in Q4, I don’t mind waiting a bit longer. How about you? How do you feel about Tomb Raider being delayed until 2013?

Source