Find Dwarfs in Summer 2011

post from Escape Games 24 on 09 August 2011 11:05:26 PM. © Escape Games 24

Find Dwarfs in Summer 2011 is another Japanese point and click type adventure game by Nekonote. In this game, you try to find all dwarfs. Use your point and click skills to search around and find dwarfs. Good luck and have fun!Play This Game

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Raw TrackMania 2 Canyon footage impresses

post from Destructoid on 09 August 2011 11:05:21 PM. © Destructoid

Raw TrackMania 2 Canyon footage impresses screenshot

video details and more

As if we needed yet another video to show us that watching someone (something?) play TrackMania well is highly enjoyable for our eyeballs.

These are fairly standard courses by TrackMania standards, but I'll take the opportunity to give TrackMania 2 Canyon's pleasing visuals another staredown. When is this game out again? Whatever the answer is, it's not soon enough.

Goes Fast: Trackmania 2 Canyon Footage [Rock, Paper, Shotgun]

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Live Show: Backlog may finish Mega Man Legends 2

post from Destructoid on 09 August 2011 11:05:21 PM. © Destructoid

Live Show: Backlog may finish Mega Man Legends 2 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]}

We're close to the conclusion of Mega Man Legends 2 on Backlog. On the verge of collecting the final key and unlocking the secrets of the Mother Lode, there is not a whole lot further to go and it's possible that we could finish the game tonight. No promises, but I'm feeling sassy.

Tune in to see how I fare as I play live! I'll be hanging out with the chat goons, talking about this and that and doing everything in my power not to make fun of the name "Volnutt" again. It's all going down right now on Destructoid's Twitch.tv channel!

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Are you ready for some football Madden Demo
Released!

post from Gaming Nexus on 09 August 2011 10:16:00 PM. © Gaming Nexus

by: Sean Cahill
NEWS - It is anticipated every single year by every football fan who owns a game system. Madden NFL 12 is still a couple of weeks from launch, but fans can get their taste early on by playing in last year's NFC Championship between the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears by downloading the demo that dropped this morning, courtesy of EA Sports.

While the brother title NCAA Football 12 broke many records for its launch a few weeks ago, Madden is expected to do just as well, if not better, considering that the pro title is always believed to have a stronger and larger fan base. Going along with this was the news a several days ago that digital downloading is going to be available for this title if you subscribe to the new Season Ticket service that is provided by EA. There is still some debate as to whether this service is truly worth it, considering the piggy backing that is going on between EA and Gamestop, but you can bet there will be fans who want the title that much sooner and will take advantage of it.

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Red Orchestra 2 gets pushed back.

post from Gaming Nexus on 09 August 2011 10:13:00 PM. © Gaming Nexus

by: Sean Cahill
NEWS - Tripwire had to break some bad news to gamers who are awaiting the launch of their upcoming title Red Orchestra 2 by informing us all that the game will be pushed back a couple of weeks. While it's never a shock to those of us in the industry and the consumer market to hear of a game going through delays, it is a bit surprising that this news is coming within just four weeks of launch. Usually, this means that a beta test did not go well and there were some major bugs that needed to be fixed. Most people have mixed reactions to news like this, and that depends on how anxious you are to get your hands on the title. In the long run, it isn't a bad idea to make sure that you get as many kinks worked out as possible.

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'Dream with Portals,' a Portal 2 remix project

post from Destructoid on 09 August 2011 10:05:28 PM. © Destructoid

'Dream with Portals,' a Portal 2 remix project screenshot

_{[Editor's note: Zac Bentz here created this awesome Portal 2 remix project and wants to share it with all of you. Yes, even you! -- CTZ]}

I just finished up a new Portal 2 remix project called Dream with Portals. I took five tracks from the soundtrack and turned them into two hours of sprawling dark-ambient dreamscapes.

Best of all? IT'S FREE!

So if you like insane, haunting music and LOTS of it, please check out the album page and grab a copy! Oh and by all means, share the link with everyone, everywhere. Also, if you like this, make sure to check out both my Zoe Keating remix and my EIGHT HOUR album of original material called Field Recordings from the Edge of Hell.

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Amaterasu cosplay dog is adorable

post from Destructoid on 09 August 2011 10:05:28 PM. © Destructoid

Amaterasu cosplay dog is adorable screenshot

The headline should tell you everything you need to know, but in case you want details, Volkodav dressed his dog up as Amaterasu (the main character of Okami) for Otakon 2011. The puppy, named Dante, is a one and a half year old Samoyed, in case you want to go get your own Amaterasu puppy.

There have been some really great cosplay costumes over the years but this might just take the cake for me. For more views of the costume, check out Volkodav's deviant art page. I think Dale's corgis may have competition in the cute puppy department.

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eSports: Really

post from Destructoid on 09 August 2011 09:05:25 PM. © Destructoid

eSports: Really?? screenshot

_{[Today's promoted blog on the topic of eSports is from Elsa, who argues that games aren't sports, and don't need to be classified as such to be legitimate. If you want to see your blog on the front page, make sure you write a CBlog on our current topic, East vs. West. -- JRo]}

I've caught a few episodes of "Major League Gaming" on G4 TV and it got me wondering if gaming could legitimately be called a "sport". I guess this is an old issue, but I remember a few years ago where the GGL (Global Gaming League) had actually tried to get video gaming into the 2008 China Olympic games as a demonstration sport. They were unsuccessful, but they argued that recognized sports such as golf relied more on hand/eye coordination and skill rather than athletics, and they also pointed to the fact that bridge, chess, bowling, and billiards were recognized by the Olympic committee as legitimate "sports".

I think most would agree that video gaming often requires an equivalent amount of teamwork, skill and strategy to the "sports" such as those mentioned above, and a few could even say that video games such as DDR require physical exertion, artistic flair and skill - like other more classic sports such as gymnastics. That being said, I personally don't think that bridge, chess, billiards, or video games are actually sports. They are GAMES. Call them e-sports, or v-sports, or even "intellectual sports" (a phrase often found when talking about bridge or chess as sport) if you must, but they are not actually sports. Sport requires physical fitness and physical training, and I think that this is the dividing line between "sports" and "games". Sports contain a very real element of danger...that someone could be physically hurt or injured...and somehow the mental agony of being teabagged just doesn't measure up.

Professional sports are also often big money. People will pay money to go to an event to watch physical competition. Apparently as a society we find it entertaining to watch two men beating each other up, or large groups of men or women chasing a ball or a puck around an enclosed area and part of the attraction to this is the fact that an injury could occur -- these are the "ahhh" moments in sports. I don't know that masses of people would be willing to pay hundreds of dollars to go see a gaming event -- it simply lacks that physical sense of danger. Lots of people will watch if the viewing is free...but really, honestly, would they pay money to attend??

The other thing is, everyone knows the rules in sports. One of the problems with video games as either a sport or even as entertainment is that the rules vary from game to game. Virtual sport games such as football or racing tend to borrow the established rules of their real-life counterparts, but there are also fighting games, shooter games, and RTS games -- each with their own environment and rules. There are so many genres of video games that it makes it difficult to offer them as a viable form of entertainment. There is no game that has arisen to international level as "THE competitive video game" where everyone knows the game and knows the rules. In Korea, StarCraft might be that game, but in North America it might be Halo. Even Starcraft and Halo change too quickly for the casual observer to become interested because there are new editions that come out every few years. There is even the difficulty of viewing the event in that each player of a video game has their own individual perspective and the entire "game" can't easily be viewed by an audience.

Video games will likely never become as popular as true sports, very simply because they are not a sport... they are a GAME. In my parent's era, they played billiards, darts, bowling, poker, bridge or Canasta. There was both a social and a competitive element. Today, people play video games. Just as billiards, poker and bowling have all been televised, so too may gaming be televised, but it will never be the same as actual sporting events and because of the different genres involved. Gaming will, to some degree, always be a niche form of televised entertainment, unlikely to appeal to the broader masses.

That being said, competitive gaming will continue to evolve and increasingly it will likely be broadcast in some form. That form may not be on your TV, but may be on your computer, your PS3 or your Xbox as a live stream. It may occasionally make a TV appearance, but will likely be relegated to the 2am time slots previously occupied by poker, bowling and billiard events.

Gaming is gaming. Get over it. There is no need for gaming to be "sports" and the people that play games professionally are not "cyber athletes", They are gamers. Period.

...and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

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THQ realigns business, 200 jobs cut from studio
closures

THQ realigns business, 200 jobs cut from studio closures screenshot

Some sad news out of THQ as the company has announced a "strategic realignment of its internal studio development teams." Basically, THQ is moving away from their kids and movie-based properties to focus on "high-quality owned IP with broad appeal that can be leveraged across multiple platforms."

The shift in focus has thus caused 200 people to lose their jobs and has seen the two THQ studios in Australia and and one in Phoenix to be shut down. At the very least, all affected employees can still apply for any open positions in other THQ studios that are still operational, which are now comprised of these five main branches:

THQ Montreal (Unannounced new IP)
Volition (Saints Row: The Third, inSANE)
Relic Entertainment (Company of Heroes, Space Marine)
Vigil Games (Darksiders II)
THQ San Diego (WWE)

Additionally, THQ has thrown in the towel on the MX Vs ATV franchise. In case you forgot, the Red Faction series was put to rest just last week. Oh, don't worry about the Jimmy Buffet Margaritaville Online game for Facebook. It's safe. Thank Christ.

Sad news all around. We wish all those affected the best of luck at finding news gigs.

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Steam Trading Beta allows you to trade gifted
games, more

Steam Trading Beta allows you to trade gifted games, more screenshot

Valve has announced Steam Trading, which is currently in beta. It allows you to "securely trade your in-game items for other in-game items from participating games. You can also trade Steam gifts (games on Steam that you've purchased but not yet added to your Games Library)."

To opt in, go to Steam > Settings > Account, and you'll see a section on beta participation. You can view your own item inventory -- and other people's, if their accounts are public -- by way of your Steam profile. There are no regional restrictions for trading, which is cheerful news for gifts.

As for expanding what can be traded, "Portal 2 should be reasonably soon and we hope to have several third-party games in the next few months." There's an FAQ over here.

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