MK3 DS

With the news of Mortal Kombat 3 being released on the DS my response was... well... let's just say less then caring, but now with the added feature of Super Puzzle Fighter (with MK characters instead of SF) and promise of WiFi support I'm a bit more inclined to keep track of what's up with this new flashback title.

Check out the video, looks just like the original, but.... there's Puzzle Fighter!

\\drew

Dragon's Lair DS?

For those that weren't around (see: not alive) 20 years ago to witness the coming and going of the interactive story Dragon's Lair, featuring one of my favorite dashing heroes of all time Dirk the Daring, you now have the chance to play the "RPG by Numbers" game on your handheld DS platform.

For a bit about the game's past and inception check this out for a good description, reading that is almost as fun as playing the actual game.

The new DS version will feature:

· Dual Screen (book-style) full-screen action

· Single Screen (top-down) full-screen action

· D-Pad & Touch screen support (in both Dual Screen & Single Screen modes)

· Voice Recognition

· Rumble Pak Support

· Arcade & Home modes: This feature allows you to switch between the Arcade and Home versions of the game (Arcade default). The differences between the two are that the latter includes the additional sequences that were not in the original Arcade game.

· Game Statistics: Displays your lives and overall score

· Lives: Choose between unlimited, standard 5 lives or sudden death single life mode

· Difficulty: Easy or Hard. The Hard option complicates things by adding additional moves in certain sequences and mixes up the scenes for less linear stage progression. Timing of moves is also affected - achieve higher scores

· Visual Move Guide On/Off: Toggle this option on to bring up a visual clue that shows whether you entered the right move or not. A red circle means you entered the wrong move or your timing is off, a green one lets you know you did it right.

· Watch mode (learning mode - video mode): All game scenes without deaths - all game scenes with deaths scenes, in addition to an option where the player can choose to watch a specific scene

Now while I look back at it the gameplay makes me sad, but at the time I thought it was the best thing since sliced bread, which is probably why I have a metal Dragon's Lair lunchbox. So for the nostalgia value this is worth picking up, but if you're younger than 20 I wouldn't bother, the interaction is limited, and unless choose your own adventure books have magically become popular again you'll probably be sadly disappointed with your decision to spend the money.

\\drew

Nintendo Announces WiiWare

Nintendo has officially released information this morning revealing plans for their devloper friendly WiiWare, a system very similar to XBOX Live Arcade that they plan to launch early 2008.

According to Reggie Fils-Aime:

Independent developers armed with small budgets and big ideas will be able to get their original games into the marketplace to see if we can find the next smash hit. WiiWare brings new levels of creativity and value to the ever-growing population of Wii owners.

Full Press Release:

Nintendo's WiiWare Paves The Way For Fresh Games, Cool Consumer Experiences Nintendo Sets a New Paradigm: One Game Can Still Make a Difference

SANTA MONICA, Calif., June 27 /PRNewswire/ -- The search for the next ingeniously ground-breaking video game has begun. At a private developers conference this week, Nintendo announced the introduction of WiiWare(TM), a game-creation service that will allow developers large and small to create new downloadable video game content for sale by Nintendo through the Wii Shop Channel of the hot Wii(TM) home video game system. WiiWare paves the way for smaller, more creative games to make their way to the public at lower prices, without any inventory risk to developers. The first WiiWare content will launch in early 2008.

"Independent developers armed with small budgets and big ideas will be able to get their original games into the marketplace to see if we can find the next smash hit," says Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime. "WiiWare brings new levels of creativity and value to the ever-growing population of Wii owners."

The possibilities for WiiWare are limited only by the imaginations of developers. WiiWare provides game creators a simple method by which they can get their games to the public. This approach, combined with the remarkable motion controls of the Wii Remote(TM) and Nunchuk(TM), will give birth to fresh takes on established genres, as well as original ideas that currently exist only in developers' minds. The reduced barriers to development provide developers the freedom to create and an inexpensive, clearly defined path to reach consumers who will ultimately determine which game will become the Next Big Thing.

WiiWare will be posted on the Wii Shop Channel. As with current Wii Shop Channel offerings, users will redeem Wii Points(TM) to download content. It will support a variety of pricing options. Details about that and upcoming projects will be announced at a later date. For more information about Wii, visit http://www.Wii.com.

It's about time Nintendo has decided to jump on the independent developer bandwagon. While I love my 360 its primary use is to play XBOX Live Arcade games. With the versatility of the Wii, and big publishers often afraid to ship an untested idea, independent developers could really make the Wii a stronger system with innovative and addictive games at a low price point for the consumer.

\\drew

Felt and Thread NES

An aspiring OCD seamstress over at Craftster.com has recently posted their masterpiece, an entire NES system, including games, light gun, television and interchangeable screenshots from Mario and Duck Hunt.

Wow...

The fact that the games fit into a flap on the systems boggles my mind. Every so often I hear a story like this and it makes me think the world's not such a bad place. I know it is, but maybe, just maybe, if we had more video game tailors everything would end up being ok. In a world full of felt and plush video game visages made with love how can bad things happen?

Full Post Here

\\drew

Man kills bear with log

Yes that's right, Chris Everhart (a former Marine), was out camping in Georgia with his 3 sons when a 300 pound black bear decided to invade their camp and snatch their cooler.

Everhart's 6 year old son decided that shit shouldn't go down so he threw a shovel at the bear. This apparently pissed the bear off and he charged the boy. Everhart seeing this grabbed the closest weapon he could find, a log from their wood pile, and deftly hurled it at the bear.

To make a long story short Everhart's super-marine-arm chucked the log so hard that it dispatched the bear with the one single blow to the head.

My take on this story? This is why our nation is free, because we have brave souls who are docile, but when angered can kill bears with crude weapons like cavemen used to.

What the story doesn't say is what actually happened. I picture this "camping" trip a good deal like the movie "300", Everhart and his children were out in the woods brawling each other... naked... killing wolves with their bare hands, sleeping with virgins, and eating the babies of their enemies (see: middle-east) *cough* Persian Empire *cough*.

Full NY Times article here

\\drew

Mario 64 Level Editor

Some pioneering individuals have recently released a program called "Toad's Tool 64", a level editing package for Mario 64, arguably one of the best Super Mario games of all time.

All you will need is a set of the tools from this website, and a legitimately obtained ROM of Mario 64. They are legal as backups, buy the game, support the developer.

From there you can build full levels, add textures, and change text. Tools like these are how we have some levels like we've seen bumping around the tubes from SMB1 for the NES.

I can't wait to see a "hardcore" version of Bobomb Battlefield.

\\drew

GDP Map of the US

You know it's awesome when Texas, a singular state in the US has a GDP similar to the entirety of Canada.

Yes... Canada...

Other points of interest on the map. France, they can talk shit all they want to, but they as a nation make as much money as California.

This is a rather fantastically grim view of the world, since the US is such a power-house our individual states out-perform numerous countries.

Full Article Here

\\drew

Ring Game

Just found this puzzle game, it's pretty slick.

Ring Pass Not

\\drew

Mario does death

Sorry for the lack of updates this week, illness has left me indisposed. In trade for your undoubtedly ruined days here's a video *8.5 minutes* of everyone's favorite Italian plumber being murdered in new and creatively painful ways in Mario 64. Some are exploits and others are just cruel.

It makes me wonder how Mario 64 got the ESRB rating it did. Feh, it's fantastic.

\\drew

Brothers in Arms DS

Well as a DS developer myself I've been glued to the reviews of this upcoming Ubisoft title called Brothers in Arms. It seems like your standard run of the mill war sim, but the things that it is currently seeming to do on the DS is insane.

Check out this video.

The game seems to run a fairly in depth scripting system to run the destructible terrain. (I'm working under the assumption that each of those things is a scripted event over the much more costly ability to blemish all objects). The graphics are on par with the best I've seen on the system and the gameplay manages to keep a high paced frenetic feel while not hitting their poly and bone budgets.

I won't know for sure until the game actually hits shelves but this one seems like it could be one killer game heavily pushing the ds hardware.

Comes out next week, check it out.

\\drew

New tower defense/survival horror game for your office enjoyment. Sorry Tom :p

Say goodbye to another run of possibly productive time.

Zombie Football Players and Cannons, done.

\\drew

Doki Doki Gameplay

Someone with a shaky hand and a hand held video camera took this video of the upcoming witch-discovery-pseudo-erotic touch and go game for the DS, Doki Doki Majo Shinpan.



I love it, slap them witches!

\\drew

Google University E-Mail

With the growing need for Google to expand exponentially past its boundaries they have recently begun working with colleges to have the internal college e-mails just run through google, thus the students will have a permanent e-mail address, not one that is lost upon graduation.

Currently Trinity College in Dublin is using Gmail as their student mail client and others are considering it.

How fantastic is this? Currently Gmail is my primary mail client, and my blog runs through Google servers, I get directions online via Google and who knows what's next? Perhaps I will stop going to my local supermarket and instead go to a google site to ship me my package of blue berry muffins and a carton of milk.

Me? I'm pro monopolies.

Full Article Here

\\drew

Japan's Boobilicious Advertising Campaign

With the release of a new erotic hentai game called Boob Fool, what could the advertisers do to single it out from an already over-inflated crowd of cheap hentai games?

Simple, make life-sized stands of cardboard women with grope-able breasts, because... why not? It's certainly not warped and creepy right?

So now otaku lurkers can feel up a cardboard cutout, buy the game, and head home to stroke themselves into a depraved fervor smelling slightly of Axe body spray and wet towels.

While I'm guessing they don't have Axe in Japan, I still believe I'm fairly accurate in my morbid description of these poor pitiful souls. While porn is fine by all counts, when it begins to bridge into things like this I try my best to distance myself as even me, a self proclaimed sick-minded individual has lines somewhere, and it usually lies with melding fantasy and reality.

\\drew

NES Opening Screens

Someone (see: very bored person) has gathered a video of every single Famicom title, proudly displaying their opening screens in chronological order of their release from 1981 to 1994, that's 1252 games.



This is fantastic, did you see your favorite title in there? I like the Final Fantasy 2 opening screen... it's blue with white text that says FFII, so horrible. :p

\\drew

RPG map of Japan's view of the US

So I found this while bumping through the tubes this morning. It's actually quite hilarious.

A few things to point out, why does Chicago look like Midgar?

How do they, out of all the casinos on the Vegas strip, choose Circus Circus to depict on the map?

And finally, you can tell they are stuck in the past being that they show tepees in Yellowstone nation park. I'm pretty sure the US steam-rolled over all the tepees quite a long while ago, and if there are any they certainly aren't in the middle of Yellowstone hanging out next to Old Faithful.

Good times...

\\drew

MGS4 Remastered Trailer

You've seen it before? Most likely. Is it better now? You'll re-watch it.


\\drew

Diablo 3 still on the horizon?

With the official announcement of Starcraft 2 all of us science fiction fantasy fans tossed our arms up in celebration, yielding many drunken nights and possibly a little too much saké. On the flip side of the spectrum you had all of the Diablo fans who were raised to the pinnacles of excitement only to be dropped 14 stories in an elevator to await their grizzly fates.

Well apparently not all hope is lost (sorry Henry) according to Blizzard fansite www.starcrafttwo.com, a site that has recently gathered "evidence" alluding to the existence of the fabled Diablo 3 being developed behind the scenes and out of the limelights.

Conjecture is all well and good, but I like a little more quantitative proof before I'll jump out of my seat in a future gaming induced merriment.

Here's the article to make your own decisions.

Regardless of all the possibles, maybes and theoreticals, I find that it would be fool hearty for anyone to believe Blizzard didn't intend on making a new iteration of any of their licenses as each of the major 3 have been huge consumer successes (see: Cash Cow). There will be a new Diablo simply because it is nothing except a means of printing money, and Blizzard is above all a business.

\\drew

Fallout 3 official teaser

I'd like to see in-game before I pass judgement... Don't drop a deuce on my childhood Bethesda.

Please...

Trailer Here

\\drew

New York Game Developers speak out against Video Game Legislation

As a forward I believe that it's very important for all enlightened and educated members of society to keep track of the laws their local governments are attempting to pass. We are ultimately the deciding factor in how our country is run, but unfortunately people tend to treat local government with a level of quiet neglect.

Recently there has been a wave of video game bills passed quietly through NY legislation, quiet because they won't make it known, and we as the populace don't keep track.

There was a bill being deliberated on yesterday that would make it a felony for retailers to sell some games to minors. While I don't believe the games should be sold to kids, it's not a felony to sell alcohol and pornographic movies to the same child. Video games should be held in the same regard as all entertainments, from movies to music and in turn should not suffer from different regulations on sale.

Well thankfully some individuals spoke up, namely Guha and Karthik Bala, President and CEO respectively of Vicarious Visions, a video game developer recently bought by Activision based out of the Albany area.

Check out the article here

Thanks for trying to get our voice heard guys, perhaps our nation's 20 and 30 somethings will read this and take a more active role in our political system.

\\drew

Collection of the Best Tower Defenses

Here at idiosyncrasy Today we've given you knowledge about only 1 of the "Top 5 Tower Defense", well here's the other 4. Mwahaha! Productivity? Bah.

Top 5 Tower Defense Games

\\drew

Google Maps... Invading Privacy

I love it, I really do. As I have stated before... Google is helping stalkers be better stalkers.

By quickly hitting this link, everyone can pop down to street level in San Francisco and check out some girl's readily protruding thong.

While most of these events normally go by unnoticed now internet denizens can cross their grubby little fingers that the magical Google Picture Van will find them and forever capture them on camera.

Ok, so in all actuality this kind of creeps me out, and it bothers me that I know the populace would be up in arms over the whole thing if this was being done by any number of government agencies (FBI, CIA, etc...)

Basically, if Google can do it, why can't they? Or rather, are we ignorant enough to believe they haven't yet.

<<2>>

\\drew

Gates on Microsoft Vision

Bill Gates and Steve Jobs (Apple-man) recently attended the All Things D conference to talk shop about the future of their companies.

So check these glimmering tidbits of "creativity"??? from Bill Gates:

Software is doing vision and so, you know, imagine a game machine where you're just going to pick up the bat and swing it or the tennis racket and swing it.

Last time I checked this was quite possible... and possibly the main intent of a next gen system already *cough* Wii *cough*. But I'm just a grunt, maybe I don't understand the whole story. Bill, could you possibly explain how this factoid of your game plan differs from turning on my Wii and rocking out with some tennis?

No, that's not it. You can't pick up your tennis racket. And swing it.

Ok, now I'm lost. When delving way back into my childhood (see: those hazy years when I used to go outside), that was called "playing tennis" I'm pretty sure you don't need a microsoft console to do that one, but again, I'm just a grunt, I can't possibly conceive the inner-workings of "the Gates" (see: very similar to the Hasslehoff, but less popular in Germany).

Seriously though, can Microsoft actually intend to branch over into the Wii's territory and claim that they are revolutionizing gaming? That's like saying we settled the America's, which we totally did, you know... if we ignore all the people previously there.

\\drew

Castle Wars

So I'm a little slow on the draw with this one, but hey, better late then never. A pretty slick little online game just came out called Castlewars.

It's castle on castle combat.... as a card game.... heh. Check it out.

\\drew

Blizzard one ups themselves

A few posts ago I wrote about how Blizzard totally hooked up a youth through the Make a Wish program.

Well now they have gone and sweetened the pot even more. With the release of their new epic mount, the Phoenix, guess who the first recipient of one was? Yep, congrats man, fly that bitch like there isn't a tomorrow.

Full Article Here

\\drew