The Toilet Escape

post from Escape Games 24 on 05 March 2011 11:05:46 PM. © Escape Games 24

The Toilet Escape is another Japanese point and click type room escape game. Try to escape the place by finding items and solving puzzles. Language barrier may be a problem. There are four possible endings. Good luck and have fun!Play This Game

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F*ck yeah: Master Quest confirmed for Ocarina of
Time 3D

post from Destructoid on 05 March 2011 09:06:14 PM. © Destructoid

F*ck yeah: Master Quest confirmed for Ocarina of Time 3D screenshot

In news that is sure to thrill the hardest of the hardcore, it's been confirmed that The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D will include the Master Quest version of the game as well as the original.

Associate PR manager David Young revealed the feature while rattling off the game's enhancements in a video interview.

The Master Quest version (originally released on the GameCube) is for those who have played the everloving spunk out of Ocarina and want a fresh taste, featuring as it does a series of reworked dungeons and puzzles. Just imagine playing the Jabu Jabu section with 3D cows sticking out of the walls. Yeah ... now you know why this is hot.

In all seriousness, that's pretty cool news!

Ocarina of Time 3D to Include Master Quest [Nintendo World. Huge thanks to Rexwolf2!]

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Gabe Newell gives you his Steam account
information, dares you to steal it.

post from Gaming Nexus on 05 March 2011 08:42:00 PM. © Gaming Nexus

by: John Yan
NEWS - Valve is so confident in its new Steam Guard technology, that Gabe Newell is giving you his username and password to try and steal his Steam account. Steam Guards ties your Steam account to your Intel based PC, making it so that the only PC that can login to Steam will be the one you specify. If you're worried about someone stealing your Steam account, then you might want to use Steam Guard.

This begs the question though, would you even need to login if you are using Steam Guard? I guess if you want to keep anyone in your household from playing without logging in, that would be a reason to keep the login functionality. Anyways, here's Gabe giving you his username and password. See if you can login as him and reap the rewards all the games in his library.

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The current state of 8bitrocket Towers

post from 8bitrocket on 05 March 2011 08:11:10 PM. © 8bitrocket

It has been a long, eventful two months to begin 2011. I have not found the time to write much on the blog, but that will change as soon as Steve and I begin our new adventure in game development. I’m not sure the term “extra” time applies as I am sure we will be [...]

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The ultimate female role models in gaming

post from Destructoid on 05 March 2011 06:05:49 PM. © Destructoid

The ultimate female role models in gaming screenshot

There's been a lot of talk of sexism in the videogame industry, as is inevitable in a male-dominated arena. It has come to my attention that sexism is a bad thing, and as such, it falls to leaders of social progress such as myself to right the course of this little boat we call civilization.

Recently, Gamer Limit wrote a disgustingly objectifying article on female videogame characters, implying with 100% seriousness that the only thing females have to offer the world are their firm, supple breasts and magnificent vaginal crevices. This is NOT true!

Of course, where other blogs screw up, it falls to Destructoid to do the right thing. I set myself the challenge of finding female role models in gaming that provide more than salacious eye candy for teenage males. In this endeavor, I hope to prove that the game industry is more open minded than you think, and that female videogame characters have a lot more to offer the world than their tits.

Mother Brain
From: Metroid series
Positive Traits: Intelligent, strong willed, capable leadership qualities

Metroid's Mother Brain may look like a hideous, squirming mass of mutated grey matter, but she is a cold, calculating, inspiring role model for young women. She was created by the Chozo to act as their unwilling underling, but rebelled against their rule -- an encouraging story to females who wish to break from the oppression of dominating male figures.

Mother Brain refuses to be a slave, and instead displays incredible cunning by aligning with the Space Pirates. While some may see this as a female relying on the strength of men, Mother Brain essentially steamrolled her way into leadership of the group, and looks down on them as worthless beasts fit to be manipulated. In fact, she wants to "reset" the Universe to zero in the hopes of creating life intelligent enough to be deemed worthy of sharing existence with her.

Now that's a smart woman who knows what she wants and how to get it! Bravo!

The Witch
From: Left 4 Dead series
Positive Traits: Tough, no-nonsense, but remains in touch with her emotions

Anybody who has played Left 4 Dead has quickly learned to fear The Witch. Of all the "special" zombies in the series, she is by far the most deadly, moreso even than her brutal, oversized equivalent, The Tank. Unlike that representation of unfocused male aggression, The Witch just wants to be left alone, but if others insist upon oppressing her right to go through life unmolested, she will annihilate you.

To provoke a witch is to essentially invite death willingly into your home. She will drop you within an instant and proceed to claw your ass to pieces and ensuring your stupid heteronormative beak is forever kept out of her business. Despite her horrific exterior, however, the Witch is also unafraid of her sensitive side. She is strong enough to cry, and will do so frequently.

Strong enough to cry, guys. Strong enough to cry.

The Berserker
From: Gears of War series
Positive Traits: Kicks ass, almost impossible to put down

Most gritty, current-gen war games are about burly males with meaty heads and throbbing muscles that carry gigantic, phallic weapons and squirt hot, steaming bullets into the glistening holes of other chiseled, grunting men. Gears of War isn't much of an exception, but it does boast something that most other titles in the genre lack -- a strong female role model.

I am of course talking about the Berserker, a sub-boss creature that provides some of the toughest challenges found in the series. A female drone of the enemy Locust race, these hulking creatures are the absolute terror of the game's universe, deadly to both the heroes and her fellow Locust. She's almost impossible to kill, she can burst through brick walls, and the only way to soften her up is with a beam of radioactive death from an orbital laser. Yeah, these "chicks" are tough cookies.

Now, there is a touchy issue with the Berserker, in that the Locust tend to imprison them for mating purposes, and the human COG forces even speculate that they are sexually assaulted. However, the fact they're a totally alien race notwithstanding, the very idea that Berserkers are so terrifyingly violent that the males can't go near them without significant restraints and disproportionate force is pretty remarkable. Oh, and I'm sure a fair few male Locust end up with their heads battered into a gloopy, viscous paste before, during or after coitus. You go, girl!

Model: Vertigo
From: Primal Rage
Positive Traits: She is a bipedal cobra that can hypnotize dinosaurs

Primal Rage is, without a doubt, the single greatest fighting game ever made, and it should be no surprise that it also boasted one of the coolest female role models in history. Vertigo is a blue snake with arms and legs, boasting hypnotic powers that she employs against fire-breathing, teleporting dinosaurs. Now if only we had a few more ladies like that in our so-called "modern" media, the world would be a fairer place.

She's not only the all-powerful Goddess of insanity, she is also a career-oriented woman who doesn't let the man get in her way. Her plan is to strip all humanity of its free will and ... well ... who the Hell is going to stop her? You? She will make your brain leak out of your arsehole. All women should strive for such dominance!

Queen Pulsating, Bloated, Festering, Sweaty, Pus-filled, Malformed, Slug-for-a-Butt
From: Earthworm Jim
Positive Traits: Confidence, strength, dignity

Queen Pulsating, Bloated, Festering, Sweaty, Pus-filled, Malformed, Slug-for-a-Butt is the epitome of self confidence and dignity. After all, anybody who actually allows themselves to be called Queen Pulsating, Bloated, Festering, Sweaty, Pus-filled, Malformed, Slug-for-a-Butt must be pretty immune to insecurity problems. She has a pulsating, bloated, festering, sweaty, pus-filled, malformed, slug for a butt, and she seems to actively embrace the fact.

While body issues represent a real problem for the modern female in a world of tight bodies and huge breasts, it's nice to know that at least one woman worth looking up to has a pulsating, bloated, festering, sweaty, pus-filled, malformed, slug for a butt, just like Queen Pulsating, Bloated, Festering, Sweaty, Pus-filled, Malformed, Slug-for-a-Butt. She has no shame in the fact that her butt pulsates, is bloated, festers, sweats, is filled with pus, happens to be malformed and is also a slug. She simply is who she is, and she isn't going to change for anybody.

She'll probably keep her own name after marriage too, so she'll remain Mrs. Pulsating, Bloated, Festering, Sweaty, Pus-filled, Malformed, Slug-for-a-Butt. If that's not an inspiring message, I don't know what is.

So there you have it -- a list of female role models in gaming that didn't trot out Jade, Samus or Alyx Vance, nor rely on hot girls with big boobs. How about that? Of course, I don't know what kind of point this made, if indeed it made any point at all, but isn't that the eventual conclusion of any game-related discussion about sexism, racism, or other social issues? Nothing is learned, nothing changes, and we just regurgitate the same old rhetoric from emotionally charged positions with no interest in what anyone actually has to say.

At least this time, we got to talk about Primal Rage, so I'd say we've made one positive step forward. We did it, guys!

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Game devs blame Nintendo (and Apple) for ruining
games

post from Destructoid on 05 March 2011 04:05:34 PM. © Destructoid

Game devs blame Nintendo (and Apple) for ruining games screenshot

While GDC is often a place to celebrate videogames, there's plenty of room for complaining, too. Nintendo and Apple were both targets throughout the show, as a number of game devs slammed their business practices and the way they've helped to shape gaming.

"We used to have a free and open game business," said EA founder Trip Hawkins. "And then Nintendo came along and introduced a thing called a licensing agreement ... At least Nintendo had the courtesy to tell you upfront that you were going to be screwed."

iOS developer Natalia Luckyanova said that Nintendo's licensing model made it tough for small developers to make a game, and noted the arrogance of the company for criticizing mobile game development, as Iwata had done at his GDC keynote speech.

Apple has been accused of over-encouraging supply, with 350,000 Apps available on iTunes and little chance for the majority of them to compete. In addition, the company charges developer $99 per year and takes 30% of each transaction. Hawkins noted that Apps make $4,000 on average, which "doesn't even pay for a really good foosball table."

While I agree that Apple and Nintendo could stand to loosen up a bit, I'm interested to know when the industry was a better place. Back during the Atari days, when the industry crashed thanks to a slew of unlicensed crap? It's easy for developers to lament the way things are run now, but I'm not totally sure it would be even better in a Wild West market.

Some game developers unhappy with Apple, Nintendo [CNN]

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Ever Is A Long, Long Time

post from Gaming After 40 on 05 March 2011 04:00:00 PM. © Gaming After 40

The Arcadia/Starpath Supercharger was a pretty nifty add-on for the Atari 2600. It increased the system's limited display RAM, allowing for more and more detailed sprites onscreen with less flicker, bringing the aging 2600's graphics power closer to that of the Atari home computers. It also allowed the system to load games from cassette tape for cheaper distribution, but piracy concerns and limited sales of the Supercharger hardware kept third parties from jumping on the Starpath bandwagon.

Of course, the advertising was hyperbolic in the grand 1980s tradition, promising The closest thing to arcade quality graphics you'll ever have at home:

Ever is a very long time, and this claim was eventually superseded as home consoles caught up with, surpassed and ultimately replaced arcades as the dominant venue for video gaming. "Close" ceased to be a consideration -- most of the arcade classics collections released in recent years are stepping way back to be graphically equal to the original arcade games, faithfully emulated. And modern console graphics are far more sophisticated than the last wave of major coin-op arcade games could muster.

The ad also mentions games Starpath apparently had in the works for the Atari 400/800, 5200 and Colecovision, but I don't think those ever saw release unless they became Epyx titles following the company's acquisition.

I do like the ad's imagery -- now that we have actual 3-D television sets and videogames, the thought of blocky old sprites leaping out of the 12" color teevee seems particularly quaint.

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New Crysis 2 multiplayer trailer brings the gun
porn

New Crysis 2 multiplayer trailer brings the gun porn screenshot

#More Videos

Crytek has released the second part of its Crysis 2 multiplayer video series, this time detailing the varied arsenal at your disposal. From standard heavy weaponry to firearms that shoot holograms to confuse the enemy, there's a lot for gun nuts to wank over.

The game definitely has my interest and I'm looking forward to seeing the final product. I just hope that Electronic Arts' recent obsession with taking down Call of Duty hasn't affected the game too much. I get that EA wants a competitive multiplayer shooter, but I don't think that's going to be this game's biggest strength.

We can but wait and see, I suppose.

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Miyamoto "Mortified" Capcom Got to Steel
Battalion First

Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto had the idea for Steel Battalion, but was beaten to the punch.

View Article

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-Steel-Battalion-First

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Saints Row 3 Officially Announced

The third installment in the Saint’s Row franchise is official and will making its way into stores this holiday season. Volition and THQ made the announcement that everybody expected to...

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