Wendy's to include table-top PAC-MAN games in
kids' meals

There's old school, like PAC-MAN, and then there's really old school, like table-top gaming. Mix them and you have the bonus item in Wendy's kids' meals. 

Wendy's has teamed up with Namco Bandai to promote our favorite yellow pellet muncher and celebrate his 30th anniversary with these new toys. There's five table-top games to collect: PAC-MAN Maze Craze, PAC-MAN Tag Game, PAC-MAN Hide and Seek, PAC-MAN Dash Game and PAC-MAN Bowling. GamingBits has images from each. The bowling one looks cool: you shoot PAC into a bunch of ghost standees.

I wonder. Can the kids get chili in the kids meals? And can you get chili on the burgers? I'd like a double with chili on top, with a dallop of sour cream. Can they do that? Gimme that and the bowling toy.

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New Destructoid Show: Pokemanz, Alice, and Danny
B!

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Greetings, fellow 'Toiders. Or do you prefer Dtoiders? Either way, welcome to the 61st installment of the Destructoid show.

In the wake of GDC, we are still somehow managing to convince awesome people in the industry who are in from out of town to come on our show. Today's special guest is Danny Baranowsky, who, as you may know, did the soundtrack for Super Meat Boy. He is also the recipient of last year's Destructoid Award for best soundtrack.

Today, we've got a bevy of news for you. First and foremost, Pokemon: Black and White came out this week and Max can't seem to shutup about it. Fortunately, I have news of my own - Alice: Madness returns got a new gameplay trailer and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3DS is getting a nifty bonus. Also, let's not forget that Catherine officially has a U.S. release and a new trailer, and that people are still talking about Dante's emo haircut like it's 2010 or something.

Also, Harrison Ford is making a Facebook game.

If any sentence was ever deserving of its own paragraph, that was it.

...All this and more, coming up on Destructoid!

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Get your high-res Dragon Age II PC textures right
here

There's still time! BioWare has put up a high-resolution texture pack for Dragon Age II players wanting an extra bit of visual fidelity over the console versions of the game.

You can get the pack here, and I recommend doing so sooner than later, as it's approximately 1 GB in size.

I don't know what else to add here, because no matter what I say, this post is going to devolve into someone bringing up the demo for DAII and how it maimed an entire orphanage full of puppies.

[Thanks, NoBodysGamer]

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Preview: Mayhem 3D

The somewhat barren landscape of demolition racing games has seen better days. We were introduced last November to Blood Drive, Activision's spin on the genre, but its lackluster multiplayer mode and unoriginal gameplay left the majority of derby fans out in the dust.

Enter, Mayhem 3D. Zoo Entertainment's newest project is your typical action arcade racing title with a twist - and no, I don't mean the 3D. It's unique in that it combines demolition derby, racing, and a Frank Miller-esque art style to create what appears to be a decently promising game for fans of the sport.

Mayhem 3D (Xbox 360 [previewed], PlayStation 3)
Developer: Left Field Productions, Inc.
Publisher: Rombax
To be released: March 29, 2011
MSRP: $39.99

The demolition derby genre is one that I would assume developers would be falling over themselves to make games for. It lends itself well to the excessively testerone-ridden action seen in more and more games these days, and it's a great American pasttime - one which I am ashamed to admit I know very little about, despite my Texan heritage. (We're more attune to the NASCAR games, thank you.)

Given the nature of the game, Mayhem obviously places a heavy emphasis on destruction, with various racing elements interspersed throughout. In single player, you're placed in a huge arena with 7 other cars and are required to destroy all of the other cars in order to gain Mayhem Points, which are used to unlock just about everything in the game, from levels to cars to boosts.

The game offers a 2 player split screen mode or, if you want to compete against friends on XBLA or PSN, an online multiplayer, which allows up to 8 players. A total of 120 levels spread out amongst five arenas gives you a diverse array of environments in which to effectively fuck shit up.

There are four different modes of gameplay, two of which I demoed. Demolition Derby is the main attraction of the game, since I wouldn't necessarily say that the game's racing modes are comparable to other such styles currently on the market.

In Demolition Derby mode, you're placed inside the arena with a set amount of time on the clock and must charge at other cars in order to get their parts. Doing so builds boost and eventually gives you Ramming Speed, which allows you to burst through cars and inflict a significant amount of damage. Domination mode is similar, but instead of destroying other cars, the goal is to simply push them out of the arena and into the pit below before time runs out.

In Banger Racing mode, you're racing in the standard figure-8 track and the goal is to get first place, which can often only be achieved by destroying other cars. This mode is slightly more challenging because you're racing against oncoming traffic. Eliminator mode is similar to Banger Racing, but provides a more intense challenge: the player must place first or be eliminated.

An obvious point of pride for Mayhem is its customization options. Players have a choice of six different classes of vehicles (Muscle, Sedan, Wagon, Coupe, Truck, or Monster Truck), amounting to 120 vehicles from which the player can choose. With 155 total unlockables, the game poses a decent amount of replay value.

There is some room for improvement in the game's controls, however. It was difficult getting back on track after being stuck or turned around, for example. Seemingly insignificant factors like this tend to make or break racing games for me, and I imagine the same could be said for others.

The graphics are one of the game's more unique aspects. It has the distinct comic book aesthetic with only black and white coloring and splashes of red and yellow. I give credit to the developers for using something other than the drab, muddy color scheme I would've expected from a game about demolition racing. That notwithstanding, the graphics did seem to look a bit unfinished. Perhaps the art style just doesn't lend itself well to games with a lot of detail, but I found it tough to distinguish what was what at points.

Of course, this wasn't an issue with the 3D turned on. The game works with any 3D television, but since I do not have access to a 3D TV, I sported the good ol' red-n-blues. There are 10 different settings for the 3D option, based on your preferences and tolerability. I tried the game in 2D at first, then switched to 3D level 5, and lastly, level 10. I recommend level 10 for the full visual experience, but I can't imagine using it for more than 10 minutes. Which is to say, I have no idea how the 3D option would fare for the duration of the game, but I assume a headache would be involved.

All in all, Mayhem 3D seems promising for anyone who is already a fan of the genre. Its style and intent may be enough to win you over. If you're a seasoned racing game fanatic, however, it may fall short in comparison.

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Microsoft job ads suggests new game system

Over the years we've learned so much by looking at job ads for the games industry. The latest of Microsoft's wanted ads may hint at a new console. It could be us daydreaming about a system that doesn't sound like a truck starting up when you turn it on, but the descriptions from these three new listings sounds like they're working on something new. 

They want a hardware architect, a hardware verification engineer, and a performance engineer for the Xbox Console Architecture Group, according to G4. The listing for the verification engineer sounds promising:

Do you have a passion for leading edge technology? Are you fascinated by the video game industry and Xbox 360? Come join a dynamic engineering team and play a key role in the development and verification of the Xbox and future platforms.

Of course, this could be nothing at all. Nothing has been verified, and you know that Microsoft won't talk. The timing's right, though. If they really are working on a new Xbox console, what kind of silly name are they going to come up with this time?

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Former Bungie employees unveil Fallen Frontier

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Moonshot Games is a studio formed by ex-Bungie -- and, according to the Internet's own Sam Houston, ex-Harmonix -- folks who are working on a side-scrolling shooter. The game is named Fallen Frontier, and above is the debut trailer.

They're offering up a few more details here, on the official site. For PAX East attendees, look for booth #759 stuck between Haunted Temple Studios and Robot Entertainment. Sounds like a happening spot to me.

Jonathan Ross urged me to reference the old run-and-gun Abuse for serious nerd cred, but I don't know what that is. Partial credit for trying?

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Battle Slots official website is now live

by: Russell Archey
NEWS - I've seen adventure games mixed with puzzle games such as Puzzle Quest and others, but an adventure game mixed with...slot machines?  That's what it looks like.  The official web site for Battle Slots is now up and live.  Check out www.battleslots.net for more info on this unique game coming soon to PCs and consoles.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.gamingnexus.com/FullNews/Battle-Slots-official-website-is-now-live/Ite
m21802.aspx

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Mini-Review: Boxhead The Zombie Wars

by: Bengi Selcukoglu
NEWS - Title - Boxhead: The Zombie Wars
Developer - MEDL Mobile, Inc.
Price - $2.99
Other Platforms - iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad

In Boxhead: The Zombie Wars, you're on your own in a land overrun by Zombies and demons. There's several play modes depending on your mood. Select from three different battlefields: Close Combat, Death Alley, and Welcome to Hell, and choose your level: Beginner, Intermediate, and Nightmare. Close Combat is exactly what it sounds, more shooting and less navigating. Death Alley and Hell are small gameboards that require you to move around. You navigate by using a round directional controller on the left, and shoot with a single button on the right. No matter your battlefield, as you progress through the levels, you gain access to bigger and better weapons and defensive barricades that you can switch out by tapping on your current choice in the bottom center of your screen.

On the plus side, the game accommodates a pretty big range of skill level, even giving you the option of turning off the big, mean, red demons that shoot fire. If you want the challenge, you're rewarded, as the demons offer up a bit of your health back on their demise. The game is a pretty simple, action-based shooter game, and allows you to set the difficulty where you want it, ramping up accordingly.

The simplicity can be a bit of a drawback, though. As designed, the game is really what you make of it. It has very basic graphics and only the sound of shots as background. If you're looking for flashy animation and a killer soundtrack, you won't find it here. The basic template, though, provides a good platform to think strategically and long-term. The single-purpose controls are ideal for this, especially on the smaller iPhone and Touch screens, though I did have a little bit of a sensitivity issue in getting my avatar to grasp the nuance of angled directions as opposed to just up/down and left/right. Also, the game did get a bit choppy when a lot of action happened at once on screen, and had a hard time keeping up with quickly and accurately displaying vitals and choosing weaponry.

I'm not a particularly known for my strategery, so the $2.99 pricetag might be a bit more than I'd be willing to pay, though I did feel competent right off the bat, and the game did keep me well-entertained with minimal glitches. It also should be noted the game is available as a free PC version that is likely easier to play and offers a bit more content.   

Read The Full Article:
http://www.gamingnexus.com/FullNews/Mini-Review-Boxhead-The-Zombie-Wars/Item21801
.aspx

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Using piracy devices could brick your Nintendo
3DS

We have touched the Nintendo 3DS and piracy before, but even some of our own staff members here at Destructoid were surprised when they heard what could happen to their shiny new glasses-free 3D game system in recent tips, so we thought we might cover it as its own news item. 

Know that the Nintendo 3DS logs every cartridge you put into it. An image of my own play history can be seen in the image above. The moment you push a cartridge in the system, it pops up on this list, and there's nothing you can do to change this list, let alone clear it.

Those not concerned with piracy see it is a cool feature, as it logs your play time and date, and can even sort all your played games to tell you which ones you play the most. The flip side of this is that the system 'knows' what you've put into it. So, if you put an R4 or other piracy device into it, it'll know. Nintendo will know.

Nintendo is now making it clear here in Japan that they'll disable any 3DS with illegal games on it. Call it a remote bricking. A system update could easily shut your 3DS down. The 3DS and its always-on wireless ability make fun things like Street Pass possible, but it also gives your system automatic access to hot spots and access points. Updates can come in automatically, as you're always 'on.' Maybe Nintendo is watching you, gamer.

GoNintendo points us to a Japanese retailer that warns of this bricking by firmware update. The store also says that they won't buy systems with a record of illegal equipment use. 

The 3DS actually logs every single thing you do, even beyond what games you're playing. You can actually go into your history and see how many steps you took on each day. A system that knows every step you've taken? I don't think piracy is going to be that easy on a system like this.

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Technical Difficulties: What a difference time
makes

_{[You guys have had about a week to think about March's Monthly Musing. Blogs are starting to come in now, so I'm kicking off the beginning of this month's promotions with manasteel88. He writes about his difficulties in adjusting to a new control scheme when he switched from playing certain games with a controller (boo!) to a fightstick (yay!). We'll be promoting blogs on the Musing topic all month, so make sure you get one written. -- JRo]}

Difficulty is something that we as gamers come across often in our hobby. Said difficulty is perceived very differently from player to player. When I find a game like Bionic Commando to be hard, some of you might scoff at my ineptitude. It's all about perception of what your true ability is as a gamer.

Likewise, some games are just inaccessible for some people. I can have a blast in games like Operation Darkness while others just can't wrap their head around the mechanics. This difficulty lies in how we as gamers respond to certain games.

These are all things that we progress through and try to figure out on our own. Something interesting happened to me when I got my very first fightstick in the mail this week. I learned that I had a new found difficulty with games I've never really found difficult.

Like many people my age, I grew up in arcades. I was standing shoulder to shoulder in a dark room with people I wouldn't dare look in the eyes. I wanted to play and I had two pockets full of tokens to take on all challengers. All this to kill time with some buttons and a stick. There was a time where I was more comfortable playing Street Fighter in an arcade than at my house. Wishing to relive this (and to be able to work a shoryuken again) I got a fightstick to replace my standard 360 controller.

As soon as I unboxed this beauty, I opened the tray and plopped in Virtua Fighter 5 as the first test of my new toy. Finding out that my cord is about half of a foot short in reaching the 360, I was forced to sit on my child's frogged-shaped cushion chair in front of my couch. Looking down at this box in my lap, I pushed the buttons for the first time and went to conquer my games. I decided to go through the Quest Mode and take on the beginners for the first time with a character I hardly use. Lau Chan (affectionately renamed King Koopa since he now has green hair) was a struggle to control.

I've been playing Virtua Fighter since the original. While Lau wasn't one of my favorites, I at least knew how to use him. Here though, I went from decent to pushover in no time flat. For those that haven't played the game, the beginner tournaments in Quest Mode are cakewalks. None of the fighters block and they'll stand in front of you for a good majority of the round. I shouldn't lose a round with these, but I almost did on multiple occasions.

This was mainly because I wasn't moving in a way I was preconditioned to move. Playing on my standard pad paired with the lack of any real arcades to practice on had completely neutered my technique. I was left wondering why I just wasn't moving like I should. Out of frustration, I decided to jump in to some easier stomping grounds with Dorito's Crash Course.



Okay, I guess a simple platformer like Dorito's Crash Course doesn't work with the stick. How odd. Even a game like Figment, wouldn't allow me the option to choose between characters.

Sigh.

Back to the fighters. Ooh, Dead or Alive! That's an easy one!

I don't know why I started with Ultimate over Dead or Alive 3, as I prefer the system in the latter, but I had a hard time with the movement. Try to sidestep right, and I duck. Try to sidestep left, and I block. Paired with the fact that I'm splitting my fingers to punch and kick, I'm out of my element. I'd say that, but I dominated my first playthrough against every opponent except for counter-heavy characters like Gen Fu. That's where I saw my button mashing offensive come to a halt.

As I kept playing, my hands kept loosening up. I was getting better at the game. Figuring out the way to move around was getting easier. Even with its unnatural button layout, adaptation was happening. I was thinking of button mapping it to a more comfortable level, but I don't ever remember having an option of doing that in the arcades. Why shouldn't I learn the way its telling me and if it's drastically unnatural, I'll change it up later.



With a new found confidence, I decided to switch it up and run a simple horizontal shooter in Aegis Wing. Do you ever get that feeling when you play a simple game and for some inexplicable reason, just keep dying? In embarrassing fashion no less? I couldn't make it to the end of the first level in one of the easier shmups on the system. No worrying about button layouts here, I was just doing awful.

My confidence now shot, I decided to take on some of the better games on my system. Shoot1Up was certainly a much better experience with my talents still downgraded due to my fingers uncertainty of the expand and contract buttons. I got through the first level which boosted my confidence ten fold.

Metal Slug 3 was next and I found out that the shooting button isn't conducive to rapid button presses. My shots would pause in between as if I didn't hit it hard enough. I actually died on the first level which made me sad, but this time I knew it wasn't my fault.



In a trial by fire, I then decided to explore Battle Fantasia, BlazBlue, and finally Marvel vs Capcom 2. Battle Fantasia is the only game I use a charge character in. He's an effeminate choir boy dressed as Harry Potter, and for some reason I can use him. Or maybe that IS the reason I can use him? With my stick, however, the charge mechanics just don't seem to register for me. Down to up and back to forward left me with a 1 in 7 accuracy of attack. It was never completely responsive before, but it worked at a solid rate. Maybe I'm moving my hands funny?

Screw it. Now it's time for some BlazBlue. BlazBlue is a monster of a fighting game. Something that I need a good deal of preparation to get in to. The button layout for the stick is simply perfect and moves feel natural. My Haku-men was better now that I didn't have to mash my hand to get a Barrier move up. I was content that maybe I had gotten better. I mean there is no way that BlazBlue is easier to access than Battle Fantasia, right? Now that I have worked my way up the ladder, I'm off to the sole reason I have a fightstick: Marvel vs Capcom 2.

I've been playing this game on and off for about 10 years on a pad. I wouldn't say I understand the combo system or how to properly swap characters, but I have some experience with it. This game simply couldn't be played without me changing the button layout. I did try, but punch was next to kick which was confusing me to all madness. As a major Wolverine player, I was amazed that my Drill Claw could now work when I wanted it to, but my Berserker Claw didn't. I would get stuck doing a low punch instead. After an hour or so of play, I finally got the hang of it, though it never came naturally. Sure my moves weren't smooth, but at least I could finally pull of what I wanted when I wanted.



Through these battles I've found that I can't play on an arcade stick like I used to. It was saddening, but it just showed how rusty I truly am to this experience. Through adjustments in how I play, I'm finally climbing back on that horse. It isn't however the improvement I was hoping for. My age in this style of play has worn down my abilities as a gamer. I am undergoing a point where I have to sharpen my skills to become mediocre.

It's an odd feeling that I've only really experienced recently. First person shooters have been slightly more difficult just due to inactivity in the genre. I guess I'm getting old. My reflexes are dulling. I guess it's time to buckle down and really sharpen up on my gaming skills.

All this is a bit difficult, but I'm just going to have to knuckle down and get better. It's the only thing I can do.

I'm just surprised by the time it has taken me to run through games with a controller I mastered in 1992.

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