The DTOID Show: It's our Saints Row 3
EXTRAVAGAZMO!

post from Destructoid on 19 October 2011 11:05:25 PM. © Destructoid

The DTOID Show: It's our Saints Row 3 EXTRAVAGAZMO! screenshot

Good news, everyone! The Destructoid Show is back for our 215th episode EXTRAVAGAZMO! It's a lot like a regular episode, except we add the word 'extravagazmo' at the end to make it sound interesting!

On today's extravagazmo, you'll find a preview for Double Fine's new Kinect title Happy Action Theater, release dates for the PS Vita and Sony 3D display, hilarious Japanese Uncharted 3 commercials starring Harrison Ford, and a rather lukewarm announcement for EA's upcoming NFL Blitz reboot. You'll also be happy to know that the last half of today's episode is devoted entirely to the Saints Row 3 and all the wacky shit you'll be able to do in it.

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New Firefall trailer shows the Dreadnaught
battleframe

post from Destructoid on 19 October 2011 11:05:25 PM. © Destructoid

New Firefall trailer shows the Dreadnaught battleframe screenshot

Despite going to both PAX Prime and PAX East in 2011 and Firefall's noticeable presence at both events, I haven't actually tried it yet. Which is a shame, because the more I see of the game, the more I feel compelled to play it.

And this new trailer for the Dreadnaught battleframe shows the different talents and abilities you'll have on offer if you pick this minigun-carrying class. Unlike the slow, pondering Heavy from Team Fortress 2, the Dreadnaught seems to have a good range of skills that will stop them from being bogged down or picked off from afar.

Plus you throw in jetpacks into the deal and Firefall is looking like a fun game. But with PlanetSide 2 on its way, will there be room for two big MMO/shooter titles? Have you guys already picked a game as the one for you, or is there enough room in your heart for both?

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Battlefield multiplayer trailer and first look at
Karkand

post from Destructoid on 19 October 2011 11:05:25 PM. © Destructoid

Battlefield multiplayer trailer and first look at Karkand screenshot

The fact that it's not already October 25 has sent me into a fit of rage. Battlefield 3's latest mutliplayer trailer has calmed me down a little, at least to the degree that exploding vehicles and warfare can calm a person. If it doesn't succeed in calming you down, then I suggest freezing yourself for a wee while.

The video gives us glimpses of each of the nine maps and a sneak peak of the Back to Karkand DLC. I'm looking forward to seeing how they've updated it in more detail soon. The game launches on October 25 for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. Damn, I'm getting angry again.

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PSN games and points no longer on Amazon

post from Destructoid on 19 October 2011 10:06:04 PM. © Destructoid

PSN games and points no longer on Amazon screenshot

If you want to buy PSN games but don't want to entrust your credit card to Sony, there are a number of alternatives like Wal-Mart, Best Buy and GameStop. Amazon used to be on that list, but it would seem that all PSN content has been pulled from the Amazon market. Amazon did confirm that no new PSN content is up for sale right now, but didn't have much else to say.

Amazon is my primary stop for gaming, so this is a little disheartening. There is no way I'm putting my credit card information in Sony's hands, and I like Amazon more than the alternatives. I guess for now anyone who wants to get some PSN points or games is going to have to go somewhere else. Hopefully this is only temporary but if not, booooo!

What Happened To PSN Content On Amazon [PSN Store via Joystiq]

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Meet a model by beating her NFS: The Run demo
race time

post from Destructoid on 19 October 2011 10:06:04 PM. © Destructoid

Meet a model by beating her NFS: The Run demo race time screenshot

EA Games and Sports Illustrated have come together to create a rather unusual competition for the recently released Need for Speed: The Run demo. You see, swimsuit model Chrissy Teigen, who actually stars in the game, has challenged all The Run demo players with beating her personal best time on the Desert Hill level. The Run's demo will only be available from October 18 to November 1.

In order to actually enter, you'll need to tweet @NeedforSpeed with a "NFSTheRun_SI" hash-tag (minus the quote marks of course) along with a picture of your time. This new partnership expands beyond just the competition with both companies making a "Making of" DVD for the game which will be included in a special Sports Illustrated subscription offer along with a copy of The Run on either Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3.

The winner of the competition will meet Teigen at Las Vegas next February during Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit "launch week." You can check out official rules on Need for Speed's official website.

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Integration: Bring on console domination

post from Destructoid on 19 October 2011 09:06:53 PM. © Destructoid

Integration: Bring on console domination screenshot

_{[Last week, we asked you to comment on the meshing of videogame consoles with other forms of entertainment. This promoted blog for the Integration Bloggers Wanted topic was written by meteroscrap, who argues in favor of a consolidated home entertainment center. Want to see your own blog on the front page? Write a blog on the current topic: Online Passes.}_{-- Jordan]}

Quick question: When's the last time you actually watched an episode of your favourite show on TV with that funny-shaped cable that goes into the back? You know, the thing shaped like the SNES and Genesis TV-connection thingy. I'm asking because I assume anyone technical enough to be on Destructoid and remain interested is probably technologically savvy enough that the idea of being bound to a weekly TV schedule feels a bit like using flint and steel to light a fire.

Personally speaking, I use my a combination of PS3's Crackle, Xbox 360's Zune, and good ol' fashioned TiVo for anything I'd care to view. Crackle gives me access to a bunch of fine movies, Zune allows me to pick up entire seasons of Mythbusters or Top Gear (the UK version, not the crap US version) or whatever on the cheap, and in the worst case scenario I'll use my TiVo to record a program to watch later if I absolutely MUST rely on cable for my entertainment, however tangentially.

Having to actually rely on an RF cable for my entertainment feels evil, blasphemous. Like I'm betraying some higher power.

Personally speaking, I can't stand having to schedule my life around a piece of entertainment I like. Ever since the concept of the DVD Season hit the market, I stopped watching my TV shows on the TV networks. Lost? I avoided talking about it and caught up in a marathon session once a season. Doctor Who? I wouldn't even know it existed without DVD boxed sets, and those are just the precursors to what we have now.

Entertainment on demand. TV that finally matches up to the promise of a golden age. An age where the entertainment you view is not dictated by the schedules of forces beyond your control. Entertainment when you want it, how you want it, and tailored to your requests. A golden age promise made which was fulfilled by video games over thirty years ago.

When I was a child, my entertainment was much like my entertainment today: On demand. I was born in 1984 and the two things which kept me entertained were my NES and my VCR. If I wanted to watch a cartoon, BAM! Bambi or Looney Tunes in the VCR. I wanted to try to kick the Shadow Warrior's ass? My buddy was on his bike and five minutes later, we were ploughing through Double Dragon 2 once more.

TV schedules were something I was annoyed by, growing up. Not something I got used to. When Seinfeld came on, it invariably led to me turning off my SNES so my parents could watch their stupid show at the stupid time they needed to watch it, no matter how close I was to kicking M. Bison's ass.

Then again, in the days of old... People did a lot of stupid crap because TV said they should. Like buy TV Guide.

I think that in this day and age, emerging services like Zune and iTunes are providing a serious boon to the entertainment industry by making entertainment viewable not only when people want it, but doing so at an affordable price. Which is a barrier I think will allow people to overcome a lot of inhibitions about specific forms of entertainment.

These days, on-demand content is a lot cheaper and infinitely more convenient on the various streaming services for consoles, and I think that's a good thing. Anime seems expensive to us now (and admittedly, paying forty bucks is expensive compared to other, western series), but relative to what was available ten years ago, we've never had it better. We live in an age where what we want to watch is available whenever we feel like it, and it costs us less than even someone working minimum wage earns in an hour to be entertained for an hour.

I mean... Anime never really grabbed me in highschool, and a lot of that had to do with the price. The one series I did succumb to was Ranma ½, and at the time Viz Media was charging something stupid like $29.99 for three episodes. The shop I went to diligently ordered each VHS for me as they became available, and I diligently paid the cost for each tape up until the series concluded. I'm not going to do the math for you, but the series had a staggering number of episodes and I had to work a lot of hours at minimum wage to afford them.

The integration of consoles into the multimedia home entertainment center of today is fantastic. Having a couple small units on my entertainment centre which not only can play my games, but show me any movies or TV shows I'd care to watch is a fantastic convenience, beneficial not just because I can watch it when I want, but because doing so has never been more affordable, even for anime fans.

Including more services on our consoles does not dilute them, it just expands their horizons. And for the console gamer, those horizons have never looked so beautiful as they do right now.

So bring me more streaming videos, bring me more services on my console! Make my life more convenient and easy, console manufacturers! I've got a large wallet and a simple demand: Entertain me how I want to be entertained, when I want to be entertained.

It's a simple, easy request, and whichever console manufacturer panders to that side of the market the most will not only help bring non-gamers over to the dark side, but they stand a good chance of winning the war for the next console generation before the first launch titles are announced.

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Unboxing Final Fantasy Type-0's LE soundtrack

post from Destructoid on 19 October 2011 08:05:45 PM. © Destructoid

Unboxing Final Fantasy Type-0's LE soundtrack screenshot

video details and more

While Final Fantasy Type-0 ('Reishiki' in Japan) still doesn't have an international release date, the game's due out next week in Japan. Alongside the game's release, Square Enix is also publishing two versions of the game's soundtrack: a standard edition in a normal jewel case and a limited edition housed in a special box that is featured in the above unboxing video. The limited edition soundtrack is included with the collector's edition of the game, but can also be purchased separately for 3,800 Yen compared to the standard's 3,300 Yen.

Type-0's soundtrack is being composed by in-house composer Takeharu Ishimoto, who fans may know from his work on Crisis Core, The World Ends With You, and Dissidia Final Fantasy. A preview album titled Final Fantasy Type-0 Music Collection -First Campaign- showed off Ishimoto's epic orchestral score, bits of the Final Fantasy "Prelude," and some grungy alternative rock tracks similar in style to Crisis Core.

The soundtrack and game are out on October 27, so let us know what you think of the lack of an international release date and of the above limited edition soundtrack packaging!

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Review: Wizorb

post from Destructoid on 19 October 2011 08:05:45 PM. © Destructoid

Review: Wizorb screenshot

Though we don't tend to do full reviews for Xbox Live Indie Games, we attempt to highlight the ones worth playing. The perception is that this hub is primarily filled with bad to mediocre games, and while I think that's still very much the case today, there are gems hitting the scene every now and again.

Wizorb is one such title. It's a brick breaker in the same vein as Arkanoid, but with a splash of RPG elements added in. From the moment you dive into the title screen, the menus, and then the actual playable content itself, you can tell much thought went into the game's overall design.

It feels like a fully realized product, one that would have fit in on Xbox Live Arcade.

Wizorb (Xbox Live Indie Games [reviewed], PC)
Developer: Tribute Games
Publisher: Tribute Games
Released: September 28, 2011
MSRP: 240 Microsoft Points

As I said, the remarkable visuals and animations immediately stand out. They're a great introduction to Wizorb, which comes off feeling like a celebration of the 16-bit generation. Between the art, the attention to detail in the user interface and menus, and even the soundtrack, this is professional-grade quality.

You play a Wizard who must earn money to rebuild a devastated town by completing levels. Interestingly, you're able to walk around and interact with citizens of the village in typical RPG fashion. While this part of Wizorb is charming -- and you're rewarded with perks for your generosity, so it's not a total waste of time -- it does ultimately feel unnecessary. Little of your in-game time will be spent messing around here.

Instead, the in-level action takes the form of Breakout. Stages are broken up into 12 individual levels where the win condition is clearing all breakable blocks and dispatching enemies. You aren't simply using a paddle and ball, though -- you've got magic, too.

There are a handful of spells, such as an upward fireball attack, the ability to manually place the ball on the field, and a gust of wind that can shift movement left or right, to name a few. As helpful as these are, you only have a limited amount of energy and can't always fall back on using them. Collectable potions and a few other methods do replenish your reserves, however.

You can also come across bonus rooms, which have extra lives, coins, and other assorted goods floating around in breakable bubbles, in addition to item shops. An extended paddle and having three balls on the playing field at once are two examples of temporary upgrades you can buy.

Each of the five stages ends in a boss encounter, which is always fun to see in this genre. They all basically come down to you chipping the enemy's health away while avoiding brushing up against any projectile attacks with your paddle. Straightforward, sure, but these fights are at least visually interesting.

The one question that's bound to come up is that of paddle movement. All in all, it feels pretty tight. I like that the d-pad offers a slower, more deliberate speed than the analog stick, though I primarily stuck to using the latter because that's what I'm more comfortable with when it comes to the Xbox 360 gamepad.

Wizorb is a joy to play early on, but a little past the halfway mark, levels become increasingly obsessed with either having many unbreakable obstacles or packing the screen full of blocks. In both cases, I often found myself destroying all but a few targets only to run out of lives and have to restart the entire level again. This becomes incredibly frustrating rather quickly, since the levels really aren't compelling enough to retain your interest a second time. Certainly not a third.

This carries into another complaint I have, which is that there are perhaps too many levels per group. In order to unlock the next area in Wizorb, you must complete every single level of the stage. I took my sweet time going through the game, and even still, it felt like too much for any one sitting.

Despite being overly challenging for my tastes near the end, Wizorb remains largely enjoyable and is worth checking out even if you have no intention of seeing everything on offer. If by chance you ran into a game-killing error at launch, that's since been fixed via update. Put this one on your to-play list.

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Fight Gotham crime with a Batarang controller

by: Travis Huinker
NEWS - Power A has released a new set of Batarang controllers to tie in with the recent release of Batman: Arkham City. The controllers are available in either a wired version for the Xbox 360 or wireless version for the PlayStation 3. Both feature rubber grips, rumble capability, and seven color options for built-in LEDs. The controllers are now available for purchase in retail and online stores.

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Grand Theft Auto III Turns Ten, Celebrate With
Video

Rockstar Games is celebrating the 10-Year Anniversary of Grand Theft Auto 3, and they are kicking if off a video that showcases the classic open world sandbox title. Rockstar is also releasing HD versions of the game on mobile devices, however there is not release date at this time. Check out the trailer below, and [...]

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http://monstervine.com/2011/10/grand-theft-auto-iii-turns-ten-celebrate-with-vide
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