Get Some Russian In Your Independence Day [Men Of
War: Red Tide]

War movies, games and books are a great way to reinforce patriotism on Independence Day; so here's a trailer for a World War II game... that happens to be Russian.

Men of War: Red Tide is a standalone expansion to the March 2009 PC realtime strategy game, Men of War. The game puts players in the shoes of the Black Coats — special Soviet forces that fought a ton of battles along shorelines during WWII. There are 23 missions in the game featuring Soviet, German, Italian and Romanian forces and a ton of military units at the player's disposal like tanks, armored cars, bombers, gunboats and other things that go boom.

This Independence Day... say it with Soviet Russia.

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Take your Zelda on the go with these handpainted
Vans

Kyozo Kicks has been busy creating awesome again. Last time, he whipped up the most incredible tribute to Phoenix Wright in wearable form ever, and this time, he's back with a little bit of love for the Triforce-obsessed.

I really dig the crisp paint job and cool look of these sneakers -- and it seems the artist is open to custom requests as well, so if you're wild about the idea of owning your own Arcana Heart sneakers, get to it and send him an email. Check out his blog if you want to see more about the creation process.

I personally think these are cool, but I would guess some people feel taking your gaming obsessions to your closet might be a little bit further then they want to go. Would you wear shoes like this, or do you prefer to limit your gaming apparel to cleverly worded t shirts?

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Bringing home the mutt

When it first appeared nine years ago, Majora's Mask already had several strikes against it. The game was a follow-up, of sorts, to Ocarina of Time, an instant classic now routinely hailed as the greatest video game of all time. It relied on a repetitive time-limit mechanic many players detested; it told an uncharacteristically bleak story set in a decidedly non-uplifting place called, appropriately, Termina; and Nintendo released it only 17 months after Ocarina, an unusually short interval between major console Zelda games.

And there's Tingle. Yes, Majora's Mask marked the debut of everybody's favorite eccentric, paunchy, middle-aged man in the tight red shorts. I have a contrarian but earnest fondness for the much-despised Tingle that I'll elaborate on some time, but this isn't the post.

In the years since its release, Majora's Mask has generally been seen as the mutt of Zelda litter, a disappointing sequel to Ocarina with less-inspired dungeons, weighed down by burdensome mask collecting and frivolous sidequests. Reviewers liked it overall, but lots of us who bought it and played it in 2000 found it oddly disappointing and incongruous.

Now the sands are shifting. Many of us, at roughly the same time, have begun to reconsider Majora's Mask. Edge Online posted a feature on the game a few days ago; Toronto Thumbs has an especially thoughtful piece entitled "At the Edge of the World" in response to another interesting assessment at 4 color rebellion. Finally, the incomparable Margaret Robertson recently wrote lovingly about Majora's Mask in an essay for Offworld. What's going on?

I think it has to do with a sense that Nintendo took some interesting risks with Majora's Mask that we're able to better appreciate in retrospect. As we learn more about the next Zelda game in the works - Miyamoto: ?I don?t think it?s going to be that radically different.? (Nintendo Power, Aug. 09) - it's possible to see Majora's Mask as the game that pushed the series thematically to a place with enticing possibilities for further exploration.

I also have a feeling we may be drawn to Majora's Mask for the same reasons certain Shakespeare plays ebb and flow in popularity. We live in a social, cultural, and political climate that renders certain works of art more relevant than others. A few years ago, theaters all over America were staging productions of Macbeth and Richard III. Today, we all seem focused on The Tempest. No one sits in an office somewhere coordinating all this. It just happens. I think we've grown interested in Majora's Mask for similar reasons.

A further bit of proof is the Vintage Game Club's choice of Majora's Mask for its next collective playthrough. When we decided to devote our 7th game to a Zelda title, I would never have predicted Majora's Mask would carry the day. But it did and convincingly. It would be foolish to think this outcome proves anything conclusive, but the conversation preceding the vote suggested plenty of us are willing to tolerate the game's flaws in order to revisit the game's other, more vital offerings.

Is this game the mutt of the litter or an underappreciated gem? The best way to find out is to examine it purposefully and discuss it with friends  If you'd like to play The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask along with the VGC, you're welcome to join us. We'll begin on July 10 and continue for approximately a month. You can find out more here.

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/brainygamer/~3/2-nsf0vORF4/majoras-mask.html

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Yup, Looks Like There'll Be A Skate 3 [Rumor]

Sounds like EA are already hard at work on Skate 3. Not the most shocking thing you'll read today, since it is an EA title, but still, it's a great series, so news of more games is always welcome.

Schmitty, from Skate website Epicly Trife, has posted on his Twitter account "I just got told 'tonight we gotta celebrate', one of the bro's got offered to be in SKATE 3". Which reader Ultimate Russ, who first spotted the news, deduces to be skater Chet Childress.

We're cool with a third Skate, on one condition: it has another overblown, live-action intro.

As with all rumours, we've contacted EA. Will let you know if we hear back.

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Trine dev: Project is 'a big mess'

To be clear, Frozenbyte spokesman Joel Kinnunen wasn't saying that the company's fantasy action platformer itself is a mess, but everything surrounding it -- like price point disparity between regions and territories -- has become quite the kerfuffle.

The problem, apparently, is that Trine started life as PC game before migrating to PSN and (maybe) XBLA. While that may be good for getting the game to as many people as possible, it's not ideal for a game launch.

"Trine as a project is a big mess," Kinnunen said, "as opposed to Trine as a game, which is pretty sweet. Ultimately it's the game part that really matters and helps us sleep at night, though."

Trine dev: Project is 'a big mess' originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Formation And Evolution of CyberConnect2

Japanese independent developer and .hack creator CyberConnect2 has made an enduring company and franchise, even while adhering to much stricter 'quality of life' than many Japanese developers. In a rare, personal interview, companypresident Hiroshi Matsuyama explains the firm's founding and how work/life balance became so important to him.

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Friday Night Fights: Fourth of July weekend
edition

Friday Night Fights is a weekly gathering of Dtoiders to just play games with one another.

It's the Fourth of July weekend here in the United States so a lot of people are out of the house doing family stuff. Such a weird concept. Still, there are people playing some games tonight and you can get the lowdown of tonight's events after the break.

Today also marks the beginning of the Friday Night Fights tournament. We're giving away a badass computer worth $9,000. Kick some ass at Quake Live and you'll be on your way to owning a sweet new computer. More details on the tournament here and here's how to set up a match in Quake Live.  

Quick guide to Friday Night Fights for fresh meat: Each week, a bunch of Destructoid readers and usually an editor or two get together to play some videogames online. Fun times!

The planning for FNF takes place in the forums, where Dtoiders volunteer to host by dropping their information (gamertag, time, game, etc.) in the forum post corresponding to the system they're interested in playing on.

Then, every Friday, reminder posts for those who don't pay attention to the forums (the scallywags) go up in the community blogs section, thanks to a dedicated bunch of cool folks. And then for those who are too lazy to read the c-blogs, they have got my weekly recap posts which bring all of the FNF-related details into one unified place.

From there, all you need to do is shoot a quick message over to one of the hosts listed below asking for an invite, or simply force your way into the room. Whatever works! The names on the left are our Destructoid user names, and the names on the right are our Gamertags/PSN IDs/Friend Codes/etc.

If you want to get your gaming done later on in the evening, scroll on down past this section, otherwise hit up the following European hosts/early FNFers for a good time.

Tonight's Host (more info from Gibbo):
• Gibbo - JGibbo08 (Halo 3 @ 10:00 GMT)
• Wilbo - Wilbo25 (Worms 2: Armageddon @ 10:00 GMT)

No hosts tonight. You got something going on? Let us know in the comments!

              Beyond FNF:

• Saturday Night Arcade Games

Tonight's Hosts (more info from Y0j1mb0):
• Santanaclaus89 - Moosehole (BlazeBlue @ 8:00 EDT)
• Trev - El Zilcho (Killzone 2 @ 9:00 EDT)
• y0j1mb0 - k0wb0y-b33b0p (BlazeBlue @ 11:00 EDT)
  
  Beyond FNF:
• Destructoid's Killzone 2 clan

No hosts tonight. You got something going on? Let us know in the comments!

Tonight's Games:
• Quake Live
• (Most likely) Team Fortress 2, Left 4 Dead, and other assorted games. Check the Steam group for more details!

Beyond FNF:

• Destructoid's Steam group

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Apocalypse Lane: Womanly Advice

Steve has a moment of weakness and things may never be the same again. For any of us.

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Sword of the Stars Ultimate Collection space
strategy anthology for the PC

Sword of the Stars Ultimate Collection is the definitive space strategy anthology for the PC, released to retail today by Ascaron Entertainment. The collection contains Sword of the Stars and the two expansion packs, Born of Blood and A Murder of Crows, offering value for money and extensive gameplay for existing fans of the series and strategy gaming enthusiasts.

In the Sword of the Stars Ultimate Collection, players can take control of six different species in a fight for galactic domination. Human and alien races such as Hiver, Liir, Tarkas, Zuul and Morrigi each possess unique modes of transport enabling players to move between star systems at varying speeds and in different spaceships. For example, humans can fly quickly between stars using special space lines while the hivers rely on building interdimensional gateways for direct travel to different galaxies.

Gamers can design and build spaceships from three different classes; Destroyer, Cruiser and Dreadnought. By mixing and matching a wide variety of technologies players can customise their fleets, arming them with a choice over 40 different weapons including point-defence cannons, cloaking devices and missile launchers.

Sword of the Stars

It is the year 2405 and human scientists discover a new technological system called Node Drive that allows space travel faster than light speed. However, the Hivers choose this moment to attack Earth killing 70% of the population. A military organisation called Sol Force is established allowing players to develop infrastructure, build new ships and colonise other planets to ensure the survival of the human race.

Born of Blood

Set 40 years on from Sword of the Stars in 2445, the violent wars between the Humans, Hivers, Liirs and Tarkas have subsided and diplomacy is dawning. However, the Zuuls, a species of marsupial-like creatures, emerge and shatter the peace. Players can take command of the Zuul army utilising over 90 new ship sections and 15 new weapons to obliterate enemies. Alternatively, players can unite with other races against the Zuuls using the new ship upgrades War, Projector and Boarding and a new type of defence satellite, the Torpedo Defence Platform.

A Murder of Crows

While battles against the Zuul continue, a ghost from the past returns in the form of the scheming Morrigi. A host of new features is available for players with 12 new ship sections and a unique Grav Flock Drive system so that the more ships are added to a fleet, the more speed will increase. New gameplay options include the addition of espionage operations and demands for planetary surrender.

Publisher: Ascaron Entertainment
Developer: Paradox Interactive
Release date: 3rd July 2009PEGI: 7+
Format: PC
Genre: Turn based Strategyca-pub-5833246175841206

Read The Full Article:
http://gamezplay.org/2009/07/sword-of-stars-ultimate-collection.html

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FNF: I played Cosmic Cannon and all I got was a
9800 GTX+

So, how's your Cosmic Cannon score these days?  I'm up to 26 and about to stab myself in the eyes. Anyway, the score is irrelevant: we're giving away random prizes for another week to participants in our raffle tournament.  All you have to do is give it your best and you're entered in the game. Good luck!

Also, congratulations to Super Drybones, our randomly selected winner from last week's Cosmic Cannon giveaway.  You sir will receive this lovely vidia e-GeForce 9800 GTX+ GPU! video card as seen modelled by our San Francisco correspondent, Mr. PerLee, who is out buying explosives and meat to celebrate America (f*ck yeah)! A steak sounds awesome right now, actually. Why am I still at the computer?

Also, very special thanks to the Eidos family for providing this prize. We salute you, Battlestations: Pacific!

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