My favorite thing about the Dissidia series is marking out when heroes from different Final Fantasy games share the screen. This latest Dissidia 012 [Duodecim]clip features Lightning from Final Fantasy XIII and Yuna from Final Fantasy X (as well as loads of other characters). That’s so awesome! Lightning has a ton of fans, but I’m a pretty big Yuna mark — FFX is my favorite “modern” Final Fantasy game and I thought she was a charming character. Seeing them together gives me warm fuzzies…and also naughty thoughts of watching them make out.
Check out the video and let me know what you think (please!).
It’s totally overpriced, but I’m completely fascinated by the iPad 2 Smart Cover accessory. Check out the video above and you’ll see why. The design is just very, very clever. The magnetic latch gives the Smart Cover a seamless feel. The way it folds into a stand for two different viewing positions — one for typing and one for watching — is a piece of brilliant design. Still, $39 for a polyurethane cover and $69 for a leather cover is a lot to pay for something that isn’t a full protective case…but I’m sure that won’t stop Apple from selling millions of these things.
What do you think of the Smart Cover? Are you as charmed by it as I am? Or do you think it’s a woefully overpriced accessory?
Here’s a cute video of Super Mario Bros. with modern and realistic sound effects. I just watched it five times and it made me laugh every time. Check it out!
While I was at GDC 2011, I was surprised by this image of the Red Skull from the upcoming Captain America: The First Avenger movie. The character looks a little ridiculous in the comics, but the movie version looks bad ass! I’m totally intimidated by the movie Red Skull. The only problem is that I know he’s being played by Hugo Weaving, so I’m going to impose Agent Smith and Elrond lines on him. It’ll be something like this:
Mr. Rogers. Why do you use that shield? Why?!? Is it nostalgia? Is it for a false sense of security? Tell me Mr. Rogers, why would an American insist on using something as archaic as a shield? Why?!?
Anyway, let me know what you think of the movie version of the Red Skull (please).
If you have a moment, please head on over to Machinima.com and check out my review of De Blob 2. The original was cool and full of potential. The sequel made some improvements, but also took several steps back. I’m going to guess that the publisher didn’t give the developer enough time and/or money to make the game great. There are just too many design flaws that detract from the lovely music and sound. Now it’s time to quote myself:
I wanted to love De Blob 2. I’m a huge fan of the game’s art and setting. Sadly, its targeting and save point distribution make it tough to recommend for all gamers. If you’re a highly skilled player that loves a challenge then you might be able to look past the game’s artificial difficulty. If you play like most mere mortals then the moments of joy you experience will be negated by moments of frustration. With a few more months in the oven, this game could have turned out great. Instead, it’s just conditionally good. It’s such a shame because the highs are really good. It’s just that the lows will probably cause most gamers to break things.
If you have time, head on over and leave a comment (please)!
Imagine a verbal entertainer, some game designers, and some marketing guys drunkenly talking about games during GDC 2011. The topic of the most difficult game of all time comes up. Some guys bring up…
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, crying with the Miami Heat, Lady Gaga dropping her Target deal because of LGBT issues, or Yemen, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
Imagine a verbal entertainer, some game designers, and some marketing guys drunkenly talking about games during GDC 2011. The topic of the most difficult game of all time comes up. Some guys bring up Ninja Gaiden, others mention Battletoads, and a few swear that nothing tops Mega Man 9.
Pretend you were hanging out in the group. What was the most difficult game you’ve every played? Did you enjoy the brutal difficulty? Or was it just pissing you off to the point that you had to win? Any of you ever hurt your hand because of a difficult videogame?
I wanted to write and post this yesterday, but my web host decided to suck. Here are some random thoughts on my GDC 2011 experience. Some of it is personal and some of it is business. All of it is the truth!
– In addition to some great networking and excellent parties, I got to have some quiet time with some of my favorite developers. Cliff Bleszinski treated me to some quiet drinks at the top of the Marriott Marquis. I caught up with Chris Cross over an excellent burger and learned that he’s now with THQ Partners. My darling friend and hottie Melissa Miller from 2K Games joined me for our annual catch-up session while devouring evil meat. Sure, I enjoyed lots of parties and meeting new people at the crazy crowded W Hotel, but these quiet catch-ups were special.
– Meeting Takashi Tokita was all kinds of excellent. The man worked on Final Fantasy IV, Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VII, and Parasite Eve. I love so many of his games and it was an honor to interview him. I totally marked out and became a fanboy when he gave me an autographed Cecil Harvey action figure. It got even better at the FFIV anniversary party when he asked me to do tequila shots with him and draw Final Fantasy characters. I’m pretty sure I produced the worst black mage, white mage, and chocobo illustrations in the history of Final Fantasy.
– I was really impressed with all the money Google dropped on GDC. In addition to hosting informative sessions, the company gave away Chrome Cr-48 netbooks, Xoom Android tablets, and limited edition Android Nexus S phones. That’s definitely one way to get developers interested in your platforms. It also threw a big and expensive party, but the vibe was totally douchey.
– I was disappointed in Nintendo’s GDC keynote. There was way too much marketing content. Last time I checked, this was a developers conference. Nintendo’s message to developers wasn’t powerful enough. Iwata’s charming was drowned out by all the sales and marketing. Honestly, the company should have copied Google and gave free 3DS units to developers. That would have taken attention away from Google and the Apple iPad 2 press conference across the street.
– Cliffy’s panel was well attended and well received. I’m so proud of all his success. I’m even prouder that one of us has matured. Hmmm, I suppose that makes me the immature and (financially) unsuccessful one. Crap.
– Battlefield 3 looked ridiculous. I didn’t really have any expectations going into the preview event, but I was floored with what I saw.
– The new Unreal Engine tech demo (That someone snuck me into. Thanks babe!) was even more ridiculous. I swear to you that it looked like CG-quality graphics in gameplay scenarios. I was half expecting to see a wizard behind the curtain after the demo ended. That said, most companies don’t have the art budget and technical skills to make games look that way. I’m sure the bar will be raised, but I’m not going to expect the majority of Unreal Engine games to look like that brilliant tech demo…though I hope I’m wrong.
– I was happy that I saw more GDC panel coverage than ever before. I’m sad that there are so many publisher preview events during the show. It takes away from the “developer” part of the conference. I understand that it makes economic sense since there are so many reporters there. I also understand that outlets get more traffic from previews than writing up developer panels. Still, it goes against the spirit of the show. Writers could be cranking really interesting and insightful articles on panels — articles that would help gamers understand more about development and help them get to know the amazing people behind the games. I remember posting an article about this at G4tv and getting heat for it. There was someone there that thought it was silly to admit that we made a mistake with our approach to coverage. Pfft.
– Absolutely loved the 1Up party. It was a bunch of old friends drinking and making a mess at the 1Up office. It was cool seeing people that I’ve known since the ’90s and hanging out with new friends. I had a blast taking over Sam Kennedy’s office, writing things on his white board, and making long distance calls to China.
– A lot of game writers use a similar rule, but if you grab me for a random demo and give me a USB drive then it better be a good size. Journalists judge PR this way. It’s true. This loud German developer grabbed (and frightened) me for a demo for an okay game that will stick in my head because of the 8GB USB thumb drive with the beta. Okay, I’m half kidding about this.
– Overall it was an excellent show with lots of great networking and a reminder that I should still try to do this. Sometimes it’s hard to see the “value” of what I’m doing and what I’m trying to do, but I’m surprised by the amazing people I’ve gotten to know over the years and even more surprised that some of them are interested in my perspective. DICE 2011 reminded me of how incredible the gaming business is, while GDC 2011 reminded me that I have a small place on the outside of the business. Prior to the show I had fears that this would be my last year covering games and that I would soon be on the management track at Burger King (not that there’s anything wrong with that). Thanks to a visit from Zoe and a great GDC, I’m determined to stay here.
I highly recommend updating to version 10 of the Google Chrome web browser. In addition to JavaScript performance that’s up too 66 percent faster, Google has extended Chrome’s outstanding sandboxing feature to Flash. Prior to this release, each Chrome tab was an independent process, except for Flash. With version 10, the sandboxing extends to Chrome’s integrated Flash player. This makes browsing Flash heavy sites more secure and stable. It’s just great, great stuff.
Once you’ve downloaded Google Chrome 10, kindly share your thoughts on its performance and features.
So I’m getting an iPad 2 for work purposes. I should head to one of the two local Apple Stores and buy it so that I can quickly take video, do some benchmarks, and set it up. However, I don’t want to deal with any lines (it won’t be that bad, will it?) and I like to get my Apple products engraved. I think it’s cool that Apple let’s you add custom messages to its products.
What do you think? Is engraving cool or lame? Is it worth waiting an extra couple of days for a more personal touch? Kindly take today’s poll and discuss!
Sony’s annual Spring Fever sale starts with some nice discounts on some great games. PlayStation Plus subscribers get 50% off, while regular PSN customers get 30% off. Here are some of the initial deals…
Sony’s annual Spring Fever sale starts off with some nice discounts on some great games. PlayStation Plus subscribers get 50% off, while regular PSN customers get 30% off. The sale runs until April 12, 2011. Here are some of the initial deals:
Castle Crashers – Best PS3 Downloadable Game (Sale price $10.49, Plus price $7.50, Regular price $14.99) God of War: Ghost of Sparta – Best PSP Downloadable Game (Sale price $27.99, Plus price $20.00, Regular price $39.99) Age of Zombies – Best PS3/PSP mini (Sale price $3.49, Plus price $2.50, Regular price $4.99) Dead Nation – Best PlayStation Network Exclusive Game (Sale price $10.49, Plus price $7.50, Regular price $14.99)
Ghost of Sparta is a fantastic game. I highly recommend it. Future sale titles include:
Eat Them! Savage Moon: Hera Campaign Tetris (PS3) Top Darts Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light Worm’s Battle Island
Let’s all pounce on the Tetris sale and get an RPad.tv Invitational Tournament going! Also, please let me know if you’re interested in any of the Spring Fever 2011 sale games.
