Love Chronicles: The Sword and The Rose

post from Escape Games 24 on 02 September 2011 11:05:36 PM. © Escape Games 24

Love Chronicles: The Sword and The Rose is another Love Chronicles series point and click adventure type downloadable hidden object games from DG24. Lift an evil curse that has been cast on the kingdom by a witch looking for revenge in Love Chronicles: The Sword and The Rose! Scattering the petals of an island kingdom?s magical rose throughout the land, the witch has plunged the kingdom into

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-and-rose.html

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Preview: Rotastic

post from Destructoid on 02 September 2011 11:05:32 PM. © Destructoid

Preview: Rotastic screenshot

Rotastic is a pretty hard game to describe but an easy one to define. A description would probably be best put as Cut the Rope crossed over with Bejeweled, all wrapped in the aesthetics of Castle Crashers.

The game's identity and definition are fun through the simplicity of arcade conventions such as high scores and leaderboards. It imitates the best of its contemporaries to relativity tepid effect.

Rotastic (Xbox Live Arcade [previewed], PlayStation Network, PC)
Developer: Dancing Dots
Publisher: Focus Home Interactive
To be released: September

There is no apparent story or backdrop to Rotastic, with the focus being entirely on gameplay. Consisting of swinging from different pegs on a 2D plane and collecting as many jewels as possible along the way, it handles well and was easy enough for me to understand after a few seconds. Other controls include the ability to extend the rope by holding the A button and reversing the direction of your rotation by pressing the right bumper.

There is some light-meter management built into the swinging mechanic, but it's nothing too deep. Players have a white meter that whittles away the longer you stick to one peg. This encourages you to constantly stay on the move as pegs will break once the gauge depletes.

You can also gain an orange meter which acts as a shield in boss fights and the multiplayer mode. When going up against bosses and other players, you can cross over each other's ropes and cut your opponents. The orange meter basically acts as a second chance, immediately spawning you an extra rope.

There is also a trick mechanic that rewards players with bonuses (such as the aforementioned shield) and score multipliers. Multipliers gained by tricks (figure eights and the like) can be further compounded by smaller feats like collecting a certain number of the same jewels in a row. Some stages in the game include secondary objectives that encourage completing specific tricks, but these can be ignored or the level skipped entirely.

Just remember, skipping levels affects the amount of unlocks and leaderboard placement. Unlocks in Rotastic are limited to character selections though, and since all the characters play exactly the same it remains to be seen what real rewards you would be missing.

Though the 69 levels in Rotastic are primarily centered around collecting gems, there is also some variety thrown in with the inclusion of block-breaker levels, in addition to a few odes to classic games. From Space Invaders-themed boss fights to block-breaking a giant Pac-Man, there are a few less-than-subtle nods.

As mentioned in passing earlier, Rotastic also includes its own multiplayer component and three modes to go along with it. There is a deathmatch mode where players try to cut ropes until one kills the other ten times. Further competitive modes have players racing to collect 100 gems and another has you racing for the highest score in a certain amount of time. The multilayer maps have a pretty cool feature where they are separated by level of difficulty, the harder ones having more hazards and traps to look out for. All these modes can be played with four people and AI bots to fill up any empty spots if desired.

With chaotic fun multiplayer and an obligatory single-player mode, Rotastic can be simple casual fun at its best. Other times, I wonder if its simplicity could lose player interest fairly early, especially when there doesn't seem to be a solid reason to continue playing outside of leaderboard rankings. You all can see for yourselves when it hits Xbox Live Arcade on September 21st.

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Live show: More adventures with Alice on Backlog

post from Destructoid on 02 September 2011 11:05:32 PM. © Destructoid

Live show: More adventures with Alice on Backlog screenshot

_{[Backlog is the ongoing quest to rid Conrad Zimmerman's collection of unfinished games. As voted on by the Destructoid community, Conrad plays each game from start to finish live on Destructoid's Twitch.tv channel every weeknight at 8pm Pacific]}

While we were able to help the Mock Turtle recover his shell (and score one of our own) last night while playing American McGee's Alice, I just wasn't on top of my game. Landings were repeatedly missed and the aiming reticule is still giving me a little bit of a hassle. Things seemed so promising on the first night, too.

We're soldiering on, however, as we continue to play more Alice on Backlog. As with every weeknight, I'll be playing live and hanging out with the goons in our live chat over on Destructoid's Twitch.tv channel. Come and join us!

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Go nuts: Tons of iOS games are on sale now

post from Destructoid on 02 September 2011 10:06:22 PM. © Destructoid

Go nuts: Tons of iOS games are on sale now screenshot

I'll be straight with you. My pal Brad Nicholson has used his glistening, shapely muscles to do all the work here. I'm really just linking you to several of his good sale roundups of iOS games.

Capcom, Gameloft and Sega are having good sales this weekend. Namco and EA? Yep, they're all up in it as well. Lots of others are also getting down with the discounts. Load up your iPad or iPhone with games you'll never finish! Feel good about yourself scrolling through countless icons on your Apple thing! Tell yourself it's only $0.99! Forget that you could buy 3 packs of ramen with that kind of green! F*ck it. Do it live. Tappity tap tap.

No, really. Get at least some of the Gameloft ones. Almost all their good okay stuff is $0.99. There's action and sports packs that are normally $5; they're a total steal for a buck.

My corgi Einstein makes a guest appearance in this header!

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Deus Ex to receive 'The Missing Link' in October

post from Destructoid on 02 September 2011 10:06:22 PM. © Destructoid

Deus Ex to receive 'The Missing Link' in October screenshot

How does some downloadable content for Deus Ex: Human Revolution sound? On the game's official site, a post describing the first add-on has gone up. Dubbed "The Missing Link," it will fill in three days of the main storyline in which Adam is trapped on a freighter with his augmentations left disabled.

New environments and characters are promised, and it sounds like you'll have the opportunity to (at least temporarily) rebuild Adam's augments. I think most of us could use an excuse to try a different loadout without starting a brand new save file from the beginning.

Platforms and price points haven't been divulged, but the post says this content will drop in October.

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Call of Duty XP11: Impressions of Modern Warfare
3's multiplayer modes

post from Gaming Nexus on 02 September 2011 10:04:00 PM. © Gaming Nexus

by: Sean Nack
NEWS - Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg promised an enthusiastic COD: XP crowd the most "epic, cinematic" COD experience yet; Infinity Ward community manager Robert Bowling calls MW3's multiplayer "deepest experience ever." Big promises, GNers, but Modern Warfare 3 looks like it just might deliver after a serious re-tooling of the game's multiplayer.

The name of the game is "balance." All of the major complaints have been addressed: no more Commando, One Man Army, or Last Stand Perks, no more shotguns as secondary weapons, and kill-streaks are seeing a number of revisions. Those of us who don't enjoy getting tele-shanked no doubt appreciate the changes, which focus on a return to close-quarters gun-on-gun combat.

Kill-streaks are seeing a number of significant changes: no longer based solely on kills but instead on points, which can be earned through kills or by completing mission objectives like capturing a point in Domination. Killstreaks have also been organized into three different strike packages: Assault, Support, and Specialist.

The Assault package focuses on, essentially, offense: attack choppers, airstrikes, that kind of thing. Support packages are more defensive in nature, utilizing reconnaissance drones and new features like ballistic vests and air defense turrets. The Specialist package is described as "the greatest test of individual skill in a Modern Warfare game" by Sledgehammer Games' Michael Condrey, and allows you to unlock perks in game instead of killstreaks: after an 8 kill streak, the player has access to every perk in the game. The drawback is that conventional killstreaks aren't available: no UAVs, no airdrops, just perks.

It's definitely a game changer, and is intended to make the player think more strategically about the way they play. For the teeming masses who do a lot of run 'n' gun in TDM it may not make much of a difference, but for experienced players looking for a deeper COD experience, strike packages bring a whole new level of gameplay to MW3.

MW3's weapons are also getting a significant change with the addition of "proficiencies," essentially perks for guns. The "kick" proficiency, for example, reduces the weapons recoil, nearly essential for players using light machine guns. Some perks have also been broken down into individual components. Sleight of Hand used to speed up both reloading and aim-down-sight (ADS): in MW3, faster ADS is provided by the Gunslinger perk in the second slot, forcing players to thoroughly consider what attributes they want to make the most use of.

Finally, a new gametype is coming to MW3: Kill Confirmed, a TDM-style mode where dead bodies drop colored dog tags, gold for enemy and red for friendly, that have to be collected. No long-range individual sniping in Kill Confirmed, as points can only be earned by picking up the fallen tags, and points denied to enemies by picking up your fallen teammates' tags.

The game played very well, was so much fun in fact that before I knew what had happened, two hours had gone by. There are a lot of subtle changes to the gameplay as well: speed changes based on what kind of weapons your character is actively carrying, for example. Changing between classes and perks felt more noticeable and, therefore, more consequential.

Gameplay was fast, kinetic, the same thing you've been getting from COD for almost a decade. But when "more of a good thing" is this good, is that a problem? Developers have given just enough of a change here to make the game fresh, but it's still fast, frenzied, and lethal. Map designs were great, very detailed and well-planned, with plenty of little hidey-holes and fields of fire.

COD: MW3 is the latest installment in an indisputably historic franchise, unquestionably the best yet, with a new focus on strategic gameplay. This is Call of Duty on a whole other level.

Click here to view the rest of the content.

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are-3s-multiplayer-modes/Item24019.aspx

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Call of Duty XP11: Impressions of Modern Warfare
3's multiplayer modeds

post from Gaming Nexus on 02 September 2011 10:04:00 PM. © Gaming Nexus

by: Sean Nack
NEWS - Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg promised an enthusiastic COD: XP crowd the most "epic, cinematic" COD experience yet; Infinity Ward community manager Robert Bowling calls MW3's multiplayer "deepest experience ever." Big promises, GNers, but Modern Warfare 3 looks like it just might deliver after a serious re-tooling of the game's multiplayer.

The name of the game is "balance." All of the major complaints have been addressed: no more Commando, One Man Army, or Last Stand Perks, no more shotguns as secondary weapons, and kill-streaks are seeing a number of revisions. Those of us who don't enjoy getting tele-shanked no doubt appreciate the changes, which focus on a return to close-quarters gun-on-gun combat.

Kill-streaks are seeing a number of significant changes: no longer based solely on kills but instead on points, which can be earned through kills or by completing mission objectives like capturing a point in Domination. Killstreaks have also been organized into three different strike packages: Assault, Support, and Specialist.

The Assault package focuses on, essentially, offense: attack choppers, airstrikes, that kind of thing. Support packages are more defensive in nature, utilizing reconnaissance drones and new features like ballistic vests and air defense turrets. The Specialist package is described as "the greatest test of individual skill in a Modern Warfare game" by Sledgehammer Games' Michael Condrey, and allows you to unlock perks in game instead of killstreaks: after an 8 kill streak, the player has access to every perk in the game. The drawback is that conventional killstreaks aren't available: no UAVs, no airdrops, just perks.

It's definitely a game changer, and is intended to make the player think more strategically about the way they play. For the teeming masses who do a lot of run 'n' gun in TDM it may not make much of a difference, but for experienced players looking for a deeper COD experience, strike packages bring a whole new level of gameplay to MW3.

MW3's weapons are also getting a significant change with the addition of "proficiencies," essentially perks for guns. The "kick" proficiency, for example, reduces the weapons recoil, nearly essential for players using light machine guns. Some perks have also been broken down into individual components. Sleight of Hand used to speed up both reloading and aim-down-sight (ADS): in MW3, faster ADS is provided by the Gunslinger perk in the second slot, forcing players to thoroughly consider what attributes they want to make the most use of.

Finally, a new gametype is coming to MW3: Kill Confirmed, a TDM-style mode where dead bodies drop colored dog tags, gold for enemy and red for friendly, that have to be collected. No long-range individual sniping in Kill Confirmed, as points can only be earned by picking up the fallen tags, and points denied to enemies by picking up your fallen teammates' tags.

The game played very well, was so much fun in fact that before I knew what had happened, two hours had gone by. There are a lot of subtle changes to the gameplay as well: speed changes based on what kind of weapons your character is actively carrying, for example. Changing between classes and perks felt more noticeable and, therefore, more consequential.

Gameplay was fast, kinetic, the same thing you've been getting from COD for almost a decade. But when "more of a good thing" is this good, is that a problem? Developers have given just enough of a change here to make the game fresh, but it's still fast, frenzied, and lethal. Map designs were great, very detailed and well-planned, with plenty of little hidey-holes and fields of fire.

COD: MW3 is the latest installment in an indisputably historic franchise, unquestionably the best yet, with a new focus on strategic gameplay. This is Call of Duty on a whole other level.

Click here to view the rest of the content.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.gamingnexus.com/FullNews/Call-of-Duty--XP11-Impressions-of-Modern-Warf
are-3s-multiplayer-modeds/Item24019.aspx

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I'm Sorry. Your XBOX 360 and Kinect are in a
Different Mansion.

*DING DING* I'm sorry, but tours to the mansion are now closed. Please come back this Sunday at 12:00am when they will resume.

View Article

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Tecmo Koei TGS line-up includes Ninjas and
Warriors

Tecmo Koei TGS line-up includes Ninjas and Warriors screenshot

You know what's up. Here, test yourself. Put your hand over the rest of the post under this line and try to guess what 11 games Tecmo Koei has lined up for this month's Tokyo Game Show. I bet you'll get about half right on your first try. Ready? Go!

Here's the answers to the test:

Dynasty Warriors 7 Xtreme Legends
Ninja Gaiden 3
Dynasty Warriors Next (PS Vita!)
Samurai Warriors 3 Empires
Champion Jockey Gallop Racer & GI Jockey
Ambition of Nobunaga Online
Dynasty Warriors Online
Uncharted Waters Online
One Million Person Winning Post
One Million Person Samurai Warriors
Ambition of Nobunya

How'd you do? You probably didn't guess that half the stuff was online titles, did you?

Andriasang says that Dynasty Warriors Next will be video-only at this booth, but will be fully playable at Sony's booth. Noted. Also, a stage presentation schedule teases some new announcements. Hey, maybe they'll announce this game!

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A nice mix of Vita screens to tease you

A nice mix of Vita screens to tease you screenshot

Why is it when you want something really bad but can't have it that it all of the sudden looks so much more attractive to you? The PlayStation Vita is that way for me now. I'm close to raging now, overcome with portable gaming technolust for the damned thing. Everything I read, hear or even think of makes me want a Vita more. It's to the point now where I'll get it and hate it! You killed it for me, Sony.

Nah, you didn't. I'm ready.

Enough about me. There's a new batch of Vita screenshots out of Sony Japan to put you in the same bad place I am. In our gallery you'll see a bit of the new Dynasty Warriors game, Persona 4 The Golden, AR game Combat Digi Q, and a bit more of Gravity. All things that I want.