The healing power of Gears of War 3

While Dominic Santiago has spent three games slaughtering the Locust, grieving over his wife and exchanging longing glances with Marcus Fenix, he's got it easy compared to his voice actor, Carlos Ferro. Kids today don't care about Gears of War 3, they care about romantic comedies. Hulking space marines with giant chainsaw guns are the furthest thing from their mind. A lancer is definitely something you would want to bring to a hospital, though. You never know when a sick person might try to touch you.

Gears of War 3: Careful What You Wish For [Funny or Die]

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Hands-on with the League of Legends: Dominion
beta

This week, Riot Games announced that it would be starting a limited-run beta session for the upcoming League of Legends mode, Dominion, during off-peak gameplay hours. I've gotten to experience this new mode during one of these sessions, and man was it fresh.

For those of you who may not be familiar with Dominion, it's a new mode and map combo that seeks to drastically change the way this multiplayer online battle arena game plays. To those unfamiliar, this might not seem like much. I mean, in other genres, new modes and maps come out all the time, right? Well, think of LoL like it's baseball for a moment. Dominion does to this game what changing the diamond field to a circle would do for baseball.

And not only does it shake things up, it seems (so far) to do so really well. Initially full of confusion at the unfamiliar yet beautifully detailed surroundings, it quickly became clear that this new mode was set to do away with a lot of the common staples of the genre to make for a more action-filled, fast-paced experience.

I must take some time to single out the amazing audio design that has been done for Dominion. The round starts with a triumphant sound playing that really gets you pumped and ready to go when the setup phase concludes. The music will shift and change depending on conditions of the match, such as which team is winning and by how much.

It's music that's unlike the more paced rhythmic drum beats and clicks of the normal gametype, instead favoring a much faster tempo, with violins playing faster and faster, drums beating with a primal fury, and the choir chanting on and on, urging your team back from the edge of defeat, or egging you to stay your place when your team has the upper hand.

And it clings really well to the faster gameplay. The mode starts off with a deceptively long startup time of about one and a half minutes. In exchange, you always start off at level three -- and with a pile of gold in your wallet -- allowing you to begin with a good bit of equipment. This is great, considering the first thing you'll notice when the magical barrier finally drops is the lack of the three traditional lanes and minions trying to walk from one base to another.

Instead, there is the outer ring, and it is always visible. There are five giant nodes situated along this perimeter, arranged like a star with the fifth one being at the top most point of the ring. There are minions, but they only walk from captured nodes to the nodes adjacent to the originating node. For the most part, there is no laning phase because of this, and there is little in the way of farming.

Minions do give out more gold than in the normal mode here, but there are a lot less of them, and they also have a finite lifetime. Instead, more emphasis is placed on capturing the nodes, and defending them from the enemy champions. Captured nodes will cause damage to the enemy nexus, and an award of gold and experience is given to the champions involved in capturing it. The same is also true of champions that interrupt enemies from capturing an owned node. This also devalues killing enemy champions unless it serves either capturing or defending a node, as the gold obtained that way is only 100, as opposed to 300 in the normal mode.

Most of the action so far seems to take place on the outer ring, but that does not mean you will be spending all of your time there, nor that it would be wise to keep walking along the always visible path. Inside the circle are a series of paths you can take to shortcut your way around the map. This area is also completely shrouded by the fog of war, save for one spot in the center where crystals that can be captured for a buff for a member of each team spawns. In here is also something new to League of Legends, mainly pickup items. There are two, one is a movement buff, and the other is a health pack. There are no neutral monsters at all on this map, and strategic maneuvering through buffs can help your team more efficiently defend or assault nodes.

Dominion seems mostly balanced from what I have played so far, though it appears that some work still needs to be done with it. So far, I've only played with three champions: Irelia, Riven, and Lux. I've had success with all three; it seems that most champions are still very much viable here, although you may have to get used to building your character up with different items. Aside from just the faster startup, and the lack of a laning phase, there are also new items specific for this mode, and some of the old items are unusable.

It also seems like the importance of your team's composition might have been toned down a notch, making room for more people to play who they want to. I think part of this lies in the drastically reduced respawn timers, maxing out at 20 seconds at level 18. It does seem to me though that characters that are fast, and stack movement speed like Master Yi, Irelia, and Teemo have a bit of a favorable advantage, being able to maximize the use of the movement buffs to sneak their way to nodes on the complete opposite side of the circle.

Dominion seems to be shaping up wonderfully so far. It's certainly the most impressive endeavor I think I've seen from Riot Games, or really, just any group of people working on a MOBA game at all. It only needs a little more work, but this could truly be a viable next step for the genre -- one that I think really opens up the idea that it can still evolve into something versatile.

If you're interested in checking this out, it seems like the mode has been available around 5:00-8:00pm Eastern. You can sign up for League of Legends here if you don't have an account already.

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XSEED reels in some Fishing Resort Details

If you've just been itching for a new way to simulate the fishing experience on your Wii, XSEED Games has announced that they'll be bringing PROPE's Fishing Resort to the Wii this holiday season.  For those of you who don't know, PROPE is the studio founded by Sonic creator Yuji Naka. As inclined as I am to just shrug this one off, I'm the slightest bit curious. 

Fishing Resort drops you on a  island getaway with places to explore and people to talk to, minigames to partake in, and, of course, fishing. The resort has put you in charge of the hotel's aquarium and all fish you catch and add to the aquarium nets you cash for upgrades and island activities. These "activities" range from hiking and mountain biking, to kayaking and having an all-around relaxing time. 

With over 200 fish and the ability to literally fish wherever there is water, this sounds like the Animal Crossing fishing spin-off we've all dreamed of. 

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So jelly: Korea is getting a Power Rangers MMO

Friggin' Koreans and their cool-as-sh*t MMO scene. We get Free Realms and the endless parade of World of Warcraft updates, while they get the stuff I actually want, like Rockman Online -- this happens to be the only Mega Man known to be in active production, by the way. Oh, and how about a Power Rangers game for good measure?

A teaser site has just opened up for Power Rangers Online, a side-scrolling action RPG with a closed beta scheduled for later this year. It's being developed by IronNos (developers of PSP's Crimson Gem Saga) and co-published by Ntreev (developers of the PangYa golf series). Naturally, nothing has been said about the possibility of release outside Korea.

As for which Rangers series will be represented, we don't know. The Mystic Force Rangers are splashed across the game's page, and according to Wikipedia, the earliest series to air in Korea has been Jungle Force (known as Wild Force in the US). Therefore, the Mighty Morphin team will most likely remain absent.

Still, I want this game. Why won't you let me give you guys my money?

Power Rangers Online Announced As a Side-Scrolling Action MMORPG [DualShockers]

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Super Mario 3D Land brings back the P-Wing

Super Mario 3D Land brings back the Tanooki Suit? Pfffft, whatev. It's a gimped version that doesn't let you turn into a statue or even fly. What's this about the P-Wing, though?

According to the back of the Japanese game packaging, there are Assist Blocks in the game that serve a similar function to the Super Guide in New Super Mario Bros. These blocks, emblazoned with the iconic P-Wing of Super Mario Bros. 3 fame, will bestow special items once opened. If one of these special items doesn't grant Mario infinite flight throughout the level, I will be severely pissed.

There's also a SpotPass feature that allows you to exchange items and possibly more with other players. I hope we get more details on that as well as on the Assist Blocks very soon.

3DS Super Mario Land Has Assist Feature and SpotPass Item Exchanges [Andriasang]

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Crosspoints

Crosspoints Escape is another point and click type room escape game by Tateita. In this game, you try to escape the place by finding items and solving puzzles . Good luck and have fun!Play Crosspoints

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/escapegames24/~3/iK10Gs2feDQ/crosspoints-walkthoru
gh.html

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For real, here's eight minutes of Senran Kagura
gameplay

BWA HA HA HA HA HA! Okay, we all had some laughs. Time to get serious.

Yes, there is actual gameplay footage of Senran Kagura, only it's all hiding. Like all things on the Internet, secrets aren't kept secret for long. Above, you can watch a solid eight minutes of action, which should give you a complete idea of what to expect from this game. I'm surprised by how fast everything moves, especially for 3D brawler. Even with all the cheesecake, it still looks incredibly fun and fluid.

I can finally announce that I'm anticipating this title for a reason other than sheer irony.

Senran Kagura Play Movie [YouTube] (Thanks for finding the vid, DarkSentry!)

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New Battlefield 3 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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Oil on water: How I can't love the games you love

I've played videogames for the vast majority of my life, to the point where I've been fortunate enough to make it part of my life. I feel I could confidently challenge anybody to rival my passion for the medium, my respect for the art, and my simple, honest love of playing games. 

Even so, I have a confession to make. I hate ICO and I cannot for the life of me understand why anybody feels a deep and meaningful connection to Shadow of the Colossus. 

Now, before you write this off as "trolling" or think I am trying to be contrary on purpose, you have to understand -- I don't enjoy this. I find no fun in not having fun, and when I see other enjoying a game I cannot, it's rather horrible. 

But what can you do when a videogame beloved so many is like oil on water to you?

My wife adores Jeff Buckley, as do a fair few people I've met over the years. They say his music touches their soul, speaks out to them, and provided the soundtrack to a considerable majority of their lives. I've heard his stuff, and I just don't get it. It doesn't sink in. There's something interminably frustrating about that, to know that somebody is getting so much satisfaction out of something, and you can't access whatever font of pleasure others can merrily tap into at will. 

Having played a little of the ICO & Shadow of the Colossus Collection, I found that I still couldn't penetrate whatever depth there was to these games. ICO, to me, is a glorified escort mission with poor controls, while Colossus is a slower, less interesting Prince of Persia with ... poor controls. I Tweeted this past weekend that I just didn't get why they were so popular among "hardcore" gamers, and I was swiftly buried under a torrent of desperate and invested appeals. 

Many of these retorts said the same thing -- the atmosphere, the visuals, the rich artistry of it all -- that's why these games are enjoyed so much. A few even admitted that the gameplay of both titles weren't quite up to par, yet still contended that the aesthetic pleasure was enough to make up for it. I understand that, I've been there before. I've had games speak to from beyond a veil of poor interfaces and aged gameplay. I am not here to argue whether or not Team ICO's games are good or bad. I'm here to tell you that my low opinion of these games is not something I revel in. 

In fact, if you love ICO or Shadow of the Colossus, I'm quite jealous of you. I wish I could join you in gushing over these amazing works of art. I love videogames that can make an emotional connection with the player, and to try these games, coming away with nothing but exasperation and regret that I wasted my time, completely confounds me to an unpleasant degree. 

To use an incredibly nerdy -- but game-related -- comparison, I feel like the Heartless from Kingdom Hearts, or really any stock character that is born without feelings and watches enviously as the "normal" people laugh, cry, love and feel things that I can't. There's an almost crushing emptiness when these games are brought up, a black hole where I know unfettered adoration ought to be. Some people think that I dislike certain games for fun and profit, but the truth is -- it's deeply uncomfortable. 

The same is true of fighting games, although there's a far more scientific reason for my disliking them -- I just can't play them. Of all the genres of games out there, the one-on-one fighting game is something I've never been able to wrap my head or hands around. Of course, it didn't help that Rise of the Robots and Primal Rage were my fighters of choice as a child, but the fact remains that, when people get excited for a new Street Fighter or Marvel vs. Capcom, I'm on the outside looking in. I can see the passion, but I cannot feel it, and I envy all of you who can. 

When Street Fighter IV released and fans begun to gibber with excitement, it was like I was a man without feet, surrounded by people who'd just bought the hottest new pair of shoes. 

The worst part is, disliking some of these games makes one feel like less of a gamer. Destructoid itself voted Shadow of the Colossus as its greatest game of the last decade. A game that means absolutely nothing to me, voted by my primary employer as the best game of an entire ten-year span. How can one not feel something of a fraud when confronted with a fact like that? 

There are plenty of gamers out there would would happily help that attitude to fester, as well. One reader told me that he'd lost "huge respect" for me after finding out that I didn't appreciate ICO or Colossus. Others in the past have entreated me with incredibly patronizing language, as if attempting to explain nuclear physics to a three-year-old. Telling hardcore gamers that you hate ICO is like telling a Tea Party supporter that you're gay ... only with a significantly decreased threat of being shot. 

Is it really so wrong to not love what everybody else, does? It certainly is frustrating, but gamers these days are so quick to jump down the throats of anybody who doesn't march in step with them that they might have forgotten that we're not all the same person. The phrase, "If you hate this game, you're not a true gamer" is one that I've seen far too many times over the years -- sometimes the wording is different and the games are never the same, but the sentiment is identical across the board. If you don't like a certain game, you are a fraud, and you deserve nothing more than to become a pariah. 

"We have this weird attitude that if we don't like a popular game either we're wrong, or the game is bad," Ars Technica writer Ben Kuchera told me after my Team ICO confession. "Games aren't objectively good and bad, and we don't need to connect with every one."

Ben is right, of course. No gamer needs to love the same games as everybody else. There is no one game good enough to define the difference between a gamer and a non-gamer, and thinking that one exists is extremist thought of the highest order. 

Knowing this truth doesn't take away the sting of disliking games that so many others adore. It doesn't make one feel more justified or soothe the jealous pangs. Writing this definitely helps though. Attempting to communicate exactly how one feels about hating the games you love is somewhat cathartic -- and while there are definitely trolls out there who will take a contrary stance just to watch the feather fly, who will say they hate a game simply to rile up its fans and make them dance like puppets, there are others with legitimate, valid reasons for not enjoying the same things as you, and chances are good that they don't get off on it. Quite the opposite, in fact. 

So, what can you do when a videogame beloved so many is like oil on water to you? 

Nothing. 

But you can at least write a fancy little blog post about it, and hope people understand.

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Fantastic Arcade: Closure is kind of like Limbo
but good

I really didn’t like Limbo. I know, not the most popular opinion, right? Something about its pairing of “gotcha!”-traps , numerous checkpoints and dull, repetitious visuals got in the way of me enjoying its hit-and-miss puzzle design.

Now that the rabble is on its way to shank me outside my house, I must hurry and tell you about Closure. Much like Limbo, it’s a minimalist, black-and-white puzzle game made by a very small team (two guys). Unlike Limbo, I rather enjoyed my time with this game and look forward to its full release. Read on to find out why (shank later, please).

Closure (PlayStation Network)
Developers: Closure Team
Publisher: Closure Team
To be released: Early 2012

If Closure seems eerily familiar to a Flash game you played a couple of years ago, it’s probably because it is a Flash game you played a couple years. After a successful 2009 release that had indie game blogs comparing it to Braid, creator Tyler Glaiel decided to rebuild Closure as a PlayStation Network release. Everything from the graphics to the levels have been redone for this console version. Where the Flash original was about 90 minutes long, this remake will be closer to eight hours.

Closure is full of death-traps and restarts, but what makes me okay with these things is that the game is divided into small levels. These levels are a bit more compact than Braid but they grow more expansive as the game progresses. The goal of each stage is as simple as it gets: Find the exit! Finding the correct path is the tricky part.

Darkness literally means death in Closure, as stepping into it sends you falling into the abyss. Your way around this persistent obstacle lays in finding sources of light, via spotlights and light orbs you can pick-up. At first, stages are as simple as jumping from light source to light source, aiming a spotlight near the exit, and juggling light orbs until you get to the end.

While I quickly ran through the opening tutorial stages with ease, I found myself pleasantly surprised by the challenge I soon found afterward. All of a sudden, I am using light orbs with nuance, positioning them in such a way that they light some portions of the stage while leaving others in darkness. For example, you may move a light orb away from a wall in order to make it disappear. The game introduces concepts to you in a very smart way that makes you feel clever (like Braid), rather than feel like you’re banging a wrench until you find the solution (like Limbo).

One of the most frustrating things in puzzle games like this is when you screw up and are not sure if it’s you or the game’s fault. As a result, you find yourself running around like a chicken with its head cut-off until you read a FAQ. You then discover you either missed the solution or something did go awry, leaving you stuck. In Closure, as soon as you screw up – for example, a key falling into the darkness – the game immediately suggests you restart a stage. It’s a small detail but one that makes a big difference in a game like this, where you don’t want anything to get in the way of logical puzzle-solving.

The black and white visual style and art direction are kind of boring. The stages and characters look like a cross between Tim Burton’s drawings and a grimy, indie comic you’d find at your local comic shop. It’s kind of cool in a way, but I soon grew tired of looking at the screen. In a medium where anything is possible, looking at literally nothing starts to bother me after a while.

The resolution of the game also seems to be lacking; it lacks the crisp detail you’d expect of a contemporary PSN game. Perhaps it's an aesthetic choice but it's one that didn't speak to me. Visuals aside, the sound design and ambient soundtrack are striking. They make Closure’s world feel real and full of freighting possibilities.

There seems to be a narrative buried somewhere in the game, but I didn’t play nearly enough to discover it. Not to mention, I was playing a far-from-final build. In fact, many levels present in the build were removed or spliced into a later section. Glaiel has been taking feedback from players and retuning the game so that the more challenging levels don’t show up too early on.

As a straight-forward puzzle game, Closure has my interest. By establishing rules in a clever, simple way and building upon them with intelligent puzzle design, Team Closure has side-stepped the pitfalls of its contemporaries. This is a game that knows its medium and genre, made by a developer that rather dedicate resources to puzzle design than have stunning visuals. The cinematic moments and narrative are just a bonus.

_{[Also, Limbo sux. Send me your hate mail.]}


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