Microsoft's Xbox 360 Black Friday deals are hot

Microsoft is getting in on the Black Friday madness early by sending word of several deals they're working on. Consoles, Kinect, games and even Xbox Live subscriptions are seeing price slashes for the biggest shopping day of the year. Here's what they have lined up:

• Kinect for $99.99
• Three-month Xbox Live Gold sub for $12.99
• Gears of War 3 for $39.99
• Forza Motorsport 4 for $39.99
• Dance Central 2 for $29.99
• Kinect Sports 2 for $29.99

And if you don't have a console to play these on, the Xbox 360 itself will be discounted, with cuts ranging from $50 to $100.

Not bad, right? Keep in mind that this is Microsoft promotional pricing, so the final word comes from retailers. 

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Metroid II remake gets demo-- WHY AREN'T YOU
PLAYING IT!

Over two and half years ago, we learned of DoctorM64's Project AM2R, a fan remake of Metroid II: Return of Samus that promised to update the spinach-hued Game Boy title in much the same way the NES original was overhauled for the GBA. Since then, aside from a little proof-of-concept teaser, we haven't seen much in the way of major progress. The game is still a ways off, but a demo that covers the first two major zones has been made available and HOLY SH*T.

Metroid II has a very special place in my heart. Whereas other people hold Super Metroid or Metroid Prime in high esteem, I consider this supposed "black sheep" of the franchise to be the most effective in creating a sense of helplessness and isolation on an alien world. Part of the reason for my endearment is that it was my introduction to the series, but a bigger reason is that it is one of the very few videogames to truly frighten me on a level no other game could match.

Some of that fear has been mitigated in this remake, but I'm nonetheless excited for what's to come. I played through the demo earlier this week, and now I want to give you a rundown of what you can expect based on my early impressions.

_{[Metroid genealogy from Metroid Guide]}

Complaints surrounding the original Metroid II include the lack of a map, extreme linearity, lack of music, and lack of any background whatsoever. But don't you see? That's exactly what made the game so great! When the only thing you could expect from one screen to the next was disturbingly uniform terrain set against an inky void with nothing but ambient noise to punctuate the silence, how could you not be nervous? Despite how linear the game was -- there is extremely little backtracking compared to other entries -- the game was unapologetic in building an atmosphere of complete uncertainty.

The goal of Metroid II is to exterminate every last Metroid (just under 50 in total) on the planet SR388. Nintendo could have removed all the standard enemies and basically made a boss rush game not unlike Shadow of the Colossus. However, Metroid encounters are unlike the boss battles in other Metroids -- there aren't any giant Kraid battles, there are no gimmicks like dimension-bending alien ghosts or reality-warping mechanical beasts. All you have are Metroids of increasing size and lethality.

There aren't any clear visual cues that you are about to face a Metroid -- no Mega Man shutter doors or pre-battle save stations. Sometimes, you might see a molted husk, but all that means is there is a Metroid nearby and not necessarily where it is precisely. If you are walking down a corridor and notice that no low-level foes have popped up to impede your journey, you might be walking right into a Metroid's lair. Suddenly, the silence is pierced by a most terrifying, grating shrill:

This, my friends, is fear. The Metroids are unrelenting, and your first instinct is always to run away. When you finally think you've overcome those mental barriers, you meet the next evolution, then the next, then the next. When you face the Omega Metroids near the end of the game, only sheer terror prevents you from doing the smart thing by turning off the machine.

The first time I played Metroid II, I hard a hard time progressing. I could never get far before I had to step away for long stretches. The feelings were simply overwhelming. It was all because the game ran on a relatively low-tech portable, the kind of machine that kids would whisk away to shadowy corners of the house for much-desired alone time. How can a full-color remake for the PC ever hope to match that?

In short, it can't. But that doesn't mean it's not worth your attention!

The graphical overhaul isn't quite SNES style. It's a softer look not unlike the one sported by Konami's ReBirth series on WiiWare. It still looks pretty; it's nice to finally see SR388 as a lush world rather than as a cavernous pit of shadow. Plus, Samus no longer takes up a large chunk of screen real estate, so you aren't suffocated by small spaces. Samus repertoire has likewise been upgraded to include diagonal aiming, ledge grabbing, an internal map, and the capacity for Super Metroid and post-Super upgrades. The only non-M2 item pickup in this demo was the charge shot, but I know that more will pop up later.

More or less, these early areas are identical in construction to the original levels, only expanded to allow for the aforementioned breathing room. Samus' increased maneuverability means the game's flow is quickened, and I'm sure most fans will appreciate this injection of agility.

But what about the Metroid battles? The only Metroids you face in this demo are Alphas, and I'm happy to say that they are just as fear-inducing as ever. To compensate for the additional room, Alphas have been made faster and far more aggressive. Their attack patterns are a little bit wilder, and I admit that I've died a number of times fighting these earliest of bosses. When I squared off against my fifth Alpha, I thought I finally got their system down, but no! They adapt! This one started doing quick dodges to avoid the path of my missiles! I can only imagine what nightmares await once the Gammas appear!

The final surprise of the demo was a brand new boss -- a Chozo security system that attacks with laser eyes and compacting spiked walls. I would have liked to battle one more new foe, but this serves as an appetizer for now. Don't want to spoil too much too soon.

Project AM2R feels like a true Nintendo game; all the years it's been cooking have been worth it. If the remainder of the game is this polished, I have no doubt that it will redeem Metroid II in many gamers' eyes. It may not become my preferred version of M2, but I'm enjoying the interpretation nonetheless.

The Demo [Project AM2R]

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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Review

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is much like its predecessors: a bombastic but brief single player campaign coupled with laser-focused multiplayer.

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Halo: Reach players can grab Anniversary maps as
DLC

Dig Halo multiplayer but don't care to buy Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary next Tuesday? So long as you own Halo: Reach, you can save yourself a bit of money. The multiplayer content of Anniversary -- six fan-favorite multiplayer maps and a single Firefight map -- is being sold digitally on the same day.

For 1200 Microsoft Points, this map pack can be all yours. Interestingly, copies of Anniversary will include an installation code for this content, even though it is already on the disc. That way, if you do own Reach, those maps can be launched from that game as well. How thoughtful!

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Sega releases new video on the birth of Sonic the
Hedgehog

by: Russell Archey
NEWS - In celebration of the launch of Sonic Generations, Sega has released the first video in a four part documentary series about the Sega's blue mascot, Sonic the Hedgehog.  The first video, titled "The Birth of Sonic", takes a short look at how Sonic became the mascot of Sega, replacing Alex Kidd.  It's a short video, but I'd love to see the rest when Sega releases them.

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Nintendo 3DS surpasses 1.65 million units sold in
U.S.

With impending big-name releases like Mario Kart 7 and Super Mario 3D Land, not to mention the 3DS' price drop earlier this year, consumers seem increasingly willing to make the transition to the latest Nintendo handheld. The 3DS has sold 1.65 million units in the United States, reports the NPD Group.

To give that figure some added context, the original DS sold 2.37 million units in its first year; approximately half of those sales took place during the "holiday time frame." Nintendo believes the 3DS is "on track to surpass the first-year total of Nintendo DS."

Last month saw sales of more than 250,000 3DS units, nearly 250,000 Wii consoles, and nearly 180,000 DSes. Finally, the Wii is up 8 percent year over year, and the DS is 23 percent over the previous month. Now, how about those games?

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This weekend on TwitchTV: Changes

We have some exciting changes with Dtoid's TwitchTV channel starting this weekend! First up; the goings-on for Mash Tactics on Friday will now be included in this weekly post, and it's kicking off with a bang. Today at 4pm Pacific, Destructoid's very own Director of Communications, Hamza Aziz, is joining the Mash crew to host the first ever live broadcast of Friday Night Fights!

In other news, Chill with Phil has moved over to Sunday nights! Philanthropy is bringing his sensual gaming journey to follow Also, Talks. After getting an earful from me this Sunday, stick around as Phil continues his Metal Gear Solid series playthrough with Metal Gear Solid 2.

Mash Tactics is Destructoid's flagship show on TwitchTV. Every weekday from 4pm to 7pm Pacific, Jon Carnage and Wesley Ruscher bring you a torrent of improvised entertainment while playing the latest videogames for your viewing pleasure. Today, the guys are joined by Hamza Aziz for the first ever live FNF with Modern Warfare 3 on the Xbox 360.

Saturday Morning Hangover with Conrad Zimmerman and Jordan Devore airs from 10am to 12pm Pacific. Come watch as they play the latest Xbox Live Indie Games demos for your enjoyment, and revel in the beauty of Conrad's mustache!

321gocast is Destructoid's only live show/podcast hybrid airing on Sunday, from 2:00-4:00pm Pacific starring JohnnyViral, Jesse Cortez, Pangloss, and Ryu89.

Destructoid's live community talk show, Also Talks, starring Bill Zoeker and Johnny Luchador is committed to bringing interesting conversations about videogames, Destructoid, and random nonsense on Sunday from 4pm to 6pm Pacific. This week, Sterling "Aiayla" Lyons and Brett Zeidler are on to talk about the joy that is writing for a videogame blog.

Chill with Phil is a relaxed gaming show hosted by community member, and video game connoisseur, Philanthr0py. Now on its new time of 6pm to 8pm Pacific on Sundays, Phil is continuing his run through all of the major Metal Gear Solid titles with Metal Gear Solid 2 from the MGS: HD Collection.

Catch these shows and more on Twitch.tv/destructoid!

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Review: The Lord of the Rings: War in the North

In a month packed full of huge videogames releases, it's borderline suicidal for any new game to consider joining the pack. Warner Brothers, however, has the Lord of the Rings license under its belt with the desire to flaunt it. 

The Lord of the Rings: War in the North tells a tale that runs parallel to the events of J.R.R. Tolkien's legendary trilogy and subsequent Hollywood interpretation. With some M-rated violence and online co-op, it's coming out strong in one of the biggest market fights this industry has ever seen. 

If it gains any measure of success, it'll likely be due to name value alone, because the gameplay just can't compete at all.

The Lord of the Rings: War in the North (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 [reviewed], PC)
Developer: Snowblind Studios
Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Released: November 1, 2011
MSRP: $59.99

War in the North contrives a new "fellowship" of original characters and sets them against one of Sauron's previously unknown henchmen, a powerful sorcerer known as Agandaur. Set during the events of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, three heroes march forth to distract Agandaur and foil his northern campaign while the rest of the free folk deal with Sauron's machinations. 

As a side story, War in the North is far less epic in scale compared to the established work, and the lifeless writing doesn't help matters. While familiar faces such as Aragorn and Gandalf show up, the story feels less like a true enhancement of Tolkien's universe and more like a shallow, paint-by-numbers presentation of the Northern territories. Its three main characters all share the same personality, and by that I mean none have have any personality, solely defined by the fact that they must fight some Orcs in the snow. They have no real feelings on that and no stated goals outside of the mission at hand. NPCs aren't any different, while the main villain could be literally any other bad guy from any other second-rate fantasy story. 

The gameplay isn't much different, doing the bare minimum to be considered decent. Liberally pinching role-playing elements from Dragon Age and tossing in some basic hack n' slash combat, War in the North is a serviceable action RPG that relies heavily on its co-op to be enjoyable. Due to the swarming nature of enemies and the incredibly brutal damage they can dish out, I would strongly advise against solo play. The game is horrible when played alone, especially with its terrible ally A.I. that will see friendly characters' refusing to dodge or defend themselves in any way. To its credit, the ally A.I. is at least really good about ensuring downed players are revived, but that's all it's good for. 

It seems the game is designed entirely around the idea of lazily enforcing co-op by making players die a lot. Thanks to the huge amount of enemies and their ability to drain a life bar in seconds, characters will hit the ground a lot. When downed, players can crawl on the floor for a brief period before bleeding out, so another player will need to hold a button to revive them. This is the only real co-op interaction outside of trading equipment, and the game works extra hard to make sure it's done all the time. It also doesn't help that enemies will constantly harass any player trying to revive another, thus it's not uncommon for a reviving character to need its own revival almost immediately thereafter.

The combat system consists of rather vapid button mashing, with extra experience earned by pressing the "strong" attack button at various telegraphed points to perform extra attacks or cut off limbs. It's a decently violent system that has head and arms flying in all directions, but it's harmed by a terrible targeting system that often has players attacking thin air, as well as incredibly slow animations that affect everything from attacking to recovering from enemy knockdowns. 

Nevertheless, the game is a solid little distraction that does nothing truly unique but certainly isn't offensive. There are three playable heroes -- Eradan (a ranger), Farin (a dwarven champion) and Andriel (an elven loremaster) -- and each one fulfills the stereotypical character classes of ranged scout, melee warrior, and mage respectively. Certain weapons can only be used by certain characters, and each one has its own tree of skills to unlock during the course of the adventure.

There's an obligatory leveling system, allowing players to boost stats for health, power, stamina, and strength. Players start off remarkably weak and never get truly competent until they pass the halfway point and gain some decent abilities. Even then, the game's power recharge rate is agonizingly slow, which makes playing as the mage frustrating. There are potions to instantly replenish health and magic, but they drain way too fast to be considered useful for long. It boggles the mind how a game with such a focus on special skills could make those skills so hard to use. Even with an excessive amount of stat points invested in power, the meter still empties swiftly and takes a long time to refill. 

War in the North's biggest problem isn't that it's particularly bad, it's just that it does what a ton of other role-playing games already do, just on a far less impressive scale. The Rings flavor doesn't really add anything to the game, especially with a graphically unimpressive, corridor-based representation of Middle Earth. There's no joy to be had in exploring Tolkien's universe in a game this visually unremarkable, populated as it is by dull characters who have never been seen before and will never be seen again. 

The fact that it resembles an RPG in only the most aesthetic of ways is fairly disappointing. Despite its leveling system and dialog trees, the game only makes vague and halfhearted attempts at being anything more than a linear trek from point A to B. In games with a strong narrative or exciting pacing, linearity is perfectly fine, but there's a dishonesty to War in the North that sees it attempting to look more open than it actually is. The dialog trees, for example, don't influence the outcome of conversations as there's only ever one "right" reply that advances the conversation. There is a single player choice in the entire game, but it comes during the final boss fight and exists solely to obtain an extra Achievement/Trophy. Even more insulting, the game's mandatory objectives have been called "quests," as if to try and trick the player into thinking they had any other choice. There are no "quests" in the game, there's one mission with straightforward targets. 

Add to that the terrible voice acting -- all the free folk have either gained American accents or poorly faked British ones (because, of course, all British people say "rarth" instead of "wrath") -- and you have a game that could only really appeal to the truly obsessive LotR fan. Even then, those fans may feel a bit let down at the vapid and flavorless interpretation of their favorite fantasy world.

The Lord of the Rings: War in the North is a decent little distraction, but it's out during a period when "decent" distractions should be low on a gamer's list of priorities. There's just no need for this game right now, and while it presents some solid role-playing action, it's a fairly threadbare experience in a world where far deeper, more engaging RPGs are widely available. For those who can't live without more Lord of the Rings entertainment, or for anybody who literally has nothing else to do, then War in the North does a fair job at amusement. Most people, however, can safely live without it.

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Skyrim new game screenshots released - PC PS3
X360

More here...

Read the full post at www.gamezplay.org use the search option if there is no link above...

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Dungeon Defenders open to the Community, Releases
Development Kit & 16-player Capture the Flag Pre-Alpha

Dungeon Defenders Development Kit and 16-player Capture the Flag pre-alpha on PC. With...

Read the full post at www.gamezplay.org use the search option if there is no link above...

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