I don't know why they didn't pull it after the first weekend. It did the OPPOSITE of what demos are supposed to do. They could've gotten MORE sales, without a demo, just from people blindly picking it up & hoping it would be as good as Billy Hatcher/NiGHTS 2/Blinx the Time Sweeper/Rodea the Sky Soldier/anything else Naota Oshima & Yuji Naka have done post-Sonic. Instead, the demo showed everybody that nah, this is WAY WORSE than anything those games did badly. Instead, by putting out the demo, they showed people like me (who IS a fan of Blinx and Billy Hatcher) that Balan is a turd that should be avoided at all costs.
It's just crazy to me to see any contrarian voices out there for this one, supporting it for some reason. I've seen a handful of youtubers DETERMINED to try and salvage the "good name" of Balan Wonderworld - the platformer that doesn't even understand how fundamentally important it is that your character should be able to jump at any time. Even My Life in Gaming was streaming this the other day and questioning if this is really that bad (though they did correctly mention that weird effect where people who hate a thing stop talking about it, but the people who convince themselves they love it don't, so over time a false positive reputation may appear for something like this as those wack-a-doos try to turn it into a "cult classic," ugh). Some people are capable of some truly crazy mental gymnastics, boy. It's kind of been fascinating watching this all play out, to be honest. Much more interesting than Square's last two complete misfires, The Quiet Man and Left Alive.
Yeah. I want many more Xbox1 games added to the BC list in general. And Hit & Run especially since it is pretty dang fun (I don't think any one Simpsons game is truly great, but this one is up there with EA's The Simpsons Game and Konami's Simpsons Arcade game as contender for best game to come out of the whole IP)... though I genuinely believe Hit & Run's had enough heat on it in recent years that someone will just try to get an HD Remake done a la Crash, Spyro, Spongebob, etc. sooner rather than later.
But yeah, whatever it takes to snap Microsoft back into BC mode. They have to get both MechAssaults on there, and Blinx 2, and Magatama (don't even translate it; I just wanna play it, I don't care), and Sudeki.... just dozens of other games. Heck, just Microsoft's OWN games even; I recognize it's tricky in cases where, like, third parties have plans of their own for the future of the IP, or where there's licensed cars or soundtracks involved (I don't expect Def Jam Fight for NY to ever become backwards compatible, sadly).
Look, I just want to see Microsoft throw some activity at backwards compatibility again. Especially since Sony's being terrible with their stuff at the moment and it's done a lot to refocus people on BC and game preservation right now.
Y'know how expensive physical games from the sixth gen are getting nowadays? Last two years have seen greedy collectors universally pump up the prices of old games to full retail at MINIMUM. And there's a ton now that are going for a hundred or more. The more ways there are to replay older titles in the modern day, FOR REASONABLE PRICES, and the more older titles there are to even access, the better it is for everybody. ESPECIALLY when there are whole genres of games being ignored now, and whole series' like the Simpsons who are pretty much out of action when it comes to game tie-ins...
RalphDibny's 100% right. This is actually a callback to N-Way's mobile title, Power Rangers Legacy Wars. So yeah, this is the not the first time Ryu's gotten his Ranger on. Though last time they had a sweet live action trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luI0jRMUjFo
This game IS really great though, and it's easy enough to keep jumping back into without having to run through the whole training mode to relearn techniques specific to this one game. I've found myself rolling off of games like Sam Sho or Guilty Gear because of that kind of thing, but I will keep coming back to Power Rangers whenever they add new characters.
I would LOVE to see them do more crossover cameos like this though. BOOM Studios' have done a bunch of good ones with the Power Rangers' comic over even just the past 2-3 years, and they're the studio who supplies the keyart for the story mode in this game. After their Power Rangers/TMNT event, it would be freakin' awesome to see the TMNT Rangers show up as future DLC. Their designs are pretty awesome.
You know what I would like to see? A "Mega Bloks Halo" style Doom game - remember that? "Project HAGGAR" as N-Space was calling it? The prototype that Microsoft shut down, largely because Halo was(is?) in a weird place with fans not too happy with 343's main games, so it was deemed not a good time to put out spinoffs? It actually looked like a really cool game; a nice third person shooter/platformer hybrid with tower defense elements in that you could drop/build various structures like turrets (kinda reminds me of Battalion Wars and/or Star Hawk). If anyone hasn't seen the Mega Bloks Halo, here's PtoP Online's video on it: https://youtu.be/VZB8d11d9go?t=90
I wish that game happened; it legitimately looks interesting and fun. Outside of Splatoon, there aren't enough 3D shooters that look properly "cute" or "cartoony" like this, like a 3D take on Metal Slug sort of? At best you have that awful "overly corporate art" seen in titles like Fortnite, and that just sucks.
So yeah, I am not against the idea of a cutesy Doom spinoff on principle, but I would prefer a proper game over a mobile... anything. I think it would be cool to see a production like Haggar starring a cutesy, toylike DoomGuy/Doom Slayer rather than this mobile topdown title.
I like Milestone. When AAA devs are too busy making "Sim-cade" racers instead of proper arcade racers, Milestone's Gravel was a breath of fresh air - it actually felt like a proper Sega Rally. And it looked pretty great!
They may be a AA developer, but I'm interested in their racing games now; I'm quite looking forward to Test Drive Unlimited 3: Solar Crown and interested in this too. The driving model and drift model here actually look pretty nice and proper arcadey... though I wish it had more crazy stunt stuff. The gold standard for flippin' and spinnin' is, I dunno, like Rush 2049, Stunt Race 64 or Rumble Racing or something and I wish modern games would try to get that crazy.
It's weird that the background/skybox is so dank though. I get it, it's a basement or a garage or something, but c'mon. Who's playing with Hot Wheels in a torture dungeon? Locations should be set in a bright, vibrant bedroom or the backyard. There's promise here. Good on Milestone.
Literally didn't even remember these games had online components. Axe 'em; just focus on bringing the excellent Sigma/Razor's Edge versions of these games together into a solid collection.
I'm so looking forward to this one! Grew up with Alex Kidd, and I was super shocked when this got announced last year, and LOOKED SO NICE! This is up there with Monster Boy as one of the nicest, cleanest, most vibrant, most unironically cheerful art styles any indie sidescroller has sported in the past decade - it's such a great treatment to give Sega's OG mascot monkey boy. Can't wait for this one to come out.
I checked out the demo for this a couple times, once on PC and once last year on the XB1 when Microsoft had that Summer Indie event (heck I still have that demo installed on my XBone)... I've had my eye on this for awhile. It's one of the relatively few modern indie sidescrollers that isn't lazy lo-fi pixel art, and instead seems like it could actually stand up next to 32-bit pixel art at least.
Kaze's sprite also reminds me of Buster Bunny from those old Konami Tiny Toons games
It's pricier than I thought it would be though, and when it comes to DKC replacements & successors, I've not finished (the also excellent) Yooka Laylee & The Impossible Lair yet, actually, and I nabbed that just a few months ago during an Xbox Sale. That titular Impossible Lair is no joke! I'm not exactly in a rush to start another game like that then, but I'm close to finishing Y-K, and once I do that, I'll take a look at Kaze again.
These sizzle-reel videos that ID@XBox's Youtube channel produce give me such an old-school "Jampack" or "Playstation Underground" feel. That kind of excitement you used to get from seeing all these game trailers and trying out demos before nabbing the full game... I really thought we were done with that after demos fell out of favor the past two console generations for the most part, and that sucked. But man, Xbox Game Pass has really emerged to be picking up the torch there in a big, modern way.
I'm so happy to see Microsoft being aggressive about signing indies & AA titles for the service, and gamers in turn checking out and going on to purchase those games. Having access to so much stuff just to give it a try has always had that effect
I genuinely can't stand this format. I'm a fan of a lot of Japanese games, so I've seen it before, and I always hate it. I appreciate outlets like Gematsu putting in the time stamps, but by God, just put out a professionally produced "Guided Tour/gameplay" video that's, like, 4-7 minutes Bamco. I wanna hear the SFX and music from the game, not people blabbing over it. I want to see the actual sights, not some goon on the controls aimlessly wandering around in circles and into walls. These types of vids may be standard procedure for Japanese games, but my God, they do such a poor job of showing off the game.
It is looking pretty good though, from what I can stand to watch here. I'm happy there does seem to be a city to explore, despite catching some invisible walls/barriers. I was worried this was going to be very limited and hub-based, like God Eater.
Now I'll just wait for actual gameplay videos/trailers from Bamco's western marketing department. Their push should be ramping up soon since the game is launching in 3 months, just about.
Dino Crisis gettin' the REmake treatment. Do it you cowards.
Seriously though (well, seriously, they DO need to reboot Dino Crisis. And Code Veronica for that matter; RE4 already plays like the REmakes. Code Veronica needs that treatment first, honestly) I'll guess they might have the first trailer for the new RE film starring a bunch of nobodies, but that is still super promising since it'll actually be a horror movie (instead of whatever bland action movie Paul W.S. Anderson wanted to badly rip off at the time)
@RedShirtRod That's kind of the impression I got from a lot of reviews. Which is why I'm perfectly happy to wait for a sale (or Game Pass inclusion) before giving it a shot.
I think I got Othercide around the time it released instead? That game's cool as heck in terms of atmosphere, but it kicked my ass and kinda put me off the genre a bit for awhile. Just needed a break, y'know?
Though I'll look into Space Hulk now. Maybe Mechanicus too? I know there's no shortage of cool-looking Warhammer themed strategy games out there. Thanks for suggesting it.
I thought Hive Wars was a dope-looking strategy game, but it kinda got lost in the shuffle last year so I never picked it up. Or at least, haven't picked it up YET - I usually only nab a handful of strategy games a year 'cuz I don't burn through them quickly at all.
But an FPS in that world? Yeah, I can nab that anytime. A quality FPS isn't gonna clog up my backlog Real excited to see this get officially announced; this Warhammer setting looks cool as heck, and I think it's awesome that Focus Home Interactive is exploring it with some games.
Now all we need is a few D&D games that use the Spelljammer setting...
I played Tuque's last game, Livelock, and it was fine. When this got announced, I was super uninterested in another isometric, bird's eye hack-and-slash romp. I know the tone of the trailers for this so far have been pretty different from a straight-laced D&D game, but y'know? It's got attitude. It's got personality. It's taking a swing here, and there's plenty of straight-laced D&D games out there, so I appreciate the fact that Tuque is trying to make their second game a lot more memorable than their first one.
I think the new properly third person camera & action looks way better than the old PS2/Xbox1 isometric Baldur's Gates by Snowblind too. It just looks way more intense and exciting now. Seriously, very glad that they're taking some chances here, since Livelock didn't light the world on fire and, let's face it, most people don't even know that twin-stick robot apocalypse-themed schmup even came out back in 2016. Hope this is a pretty solid game in the end. It looks like it could be a fun time.
"...signed an agreement with Square Enix to create and release several remakes of games based on a single brand owned by a Japanese company..."
Why did they phrase it that way instead of "THE" Japanese company? Is it possible that they're not going to be remaking something from Square-Enix's catalog, but one of the Japanese companies they own, like Taito?
"It is entirely possible a live action trailer for Halo Infinite could also be in the works. But considering the show is being filmed predominantly in Hungary, the former is probably most viable"
Why couldn't it be both? You think they'd spring for different props for a live action trailer instead of just use the same stuff they have produced already for the show?
@OliverOwen It doesn't "ruin" anything for most people. If people are excited for something, they want to see it, that's it. Jeez louise. "Being surprised by something" is not a prerequisite for "Being excited for something." Heck, it's not like this is the first time we've even SEEN Halo stuff in live-action thanks to Neil Blomkamp's work, like, 15 years ago... and several trailers and shorts since. If it ruins the experience for anybody, it's their fault for looking at it when they themselves are the ones offended by spoilers
@Deadcow That's not a fair representation to Motive's Gaia developers though. Like at all.
They did work assisting on Battlefront 2. They did work assisting on, and then taking over, Project Ragtag, which was sh*t canned. And they did Star Wars Squadron... which was cobbled together from a larger Star Wars project that was also cancelled. And that's just stuff we know about - if anyone actually pays attention to the credits of various EA games, I wouldn't be surprised to see EA Motive involved in other titles over the past few years, but I know most gamers don't.
It's not like they were JUST f**king around with boxes for Gaia here. They were being pulled all over the company, told to work on random projects and to assist random teams who's work with licensed properties took priority over whatever new IP Motive were trying to cobble together in-between all that when they could.
"... said Paramount Plus was on the hunt for standout series and Halo "fit the bill" for the new service"
Well, the current era of Star Trek definitely isn't doing the job, so I guess I can understand it. It's weird that they still paste Discovery press pics on ads for Paramount Plus alongside anything else when they KNOW no one is buying the service to watch that. It had its chance to break out - either pleasing old fans or making new ones - and it totally failed to do that. Halo sounds like a much smarter choice; unless it's a complete disaster, the show has the potential to be one of those things like the Mandalorian and/or The Witcher in that people will talk about for FOMO, whether they actually care about the IP or not.
I don't care about FOMO impulses though. I'd much rather just not ever pay for Paramount Plus/CBS All Access. I'll wait it out until it comes out on Blu-Ray, just like I'm waiting out The Mandalorian
It's lame that the only news regarding Perfect Dark's big budget US reboot is the studio losing some talent. I mean it's meaningless because we don't have any idea what his involvement really was... or how he shaped a game WE HAVEN'T SEEN IN ACTION YET. Microsoft really announced this thing too early and should've waited until they had more stuff - well, ANYTHING - to show of a game that will release, in some form, at some point, in the future.
The next time we hear about PD, I hope it's some freakin' gameplay. I've heard - from David Jaffe's youtube channel of all places - that it's going to be a third person cinematic thing more in line with an Uncharted than a proper stealthy game or anything resembling Perfect Dark, and that would be lame. That's like what Ubi Soft has been saying for years about Spinter Cell; that stealth games aren't a big enough deal to justify a AAA budget or production. I want to see Microsoft make some effort to proving that wrong, but I'm keeping my expectations in check.
That is pretty high-quality stuff, but it looks weird being stretched out so vertically. Nothing you could do about it, it just looks weird. Still very cool!
I tell ya though, it would be easier to feel nostalgic if Microsoft un-suspended the backwards compatibility program and started getting more classic games available for the XBone and Scarlett. I mean, I understand that once you're launching new hardware, it's all hands on deck, so suspending it made sense (same reason why it makes sense that Sony didn't get a PSVR 2.0 ready for PS5 launch). But man, it's been a LOOOOOOONG time since the last update (that brought Unreal Championship 2 to the modern consoles, iirc), and it's a slow start to the new generation atm, so the time to restart it is now.
They still have so much more to go just to get THEIR OWN LEGACY GAMES compatible on modern Xboxes. Sudeki, Azurik, both Mechassaults, Blinx 2 (they have Blinx 1 but not 2?), any Project Gotham game (even if they have to swap out licensed music with generic stuff), Amped, Rallisport Challenge, Brute Force, Magatama (they could finally give it an International release), etc. And then it would be nice to get all those Sega exclusives there too - Gunvalkyrie, Jet Set Radio Future, Otogi 1 & 2, etc. I'll be very happy when Microsoft resumes the backwards compatibility program, I tell ya.
Between the recent Panzer Dragoon remake, Streets of Rage 4, Wonder Boy/Monster Boy/whatever, Alex Kidd DX, etc. Sega clearly has shown willingness to farm out their IP to indie studios... but like, they'll back it with the actual name of the series. As long as this ISN'T called "Crazy Taxi" than it's obviously not a Sega thing.
Weird.
That being said, I just want to say I really like that approach Sega is taking and hope they continue it when it comes to keeping some of their classic IP - the stuff they have no desire to work on themselves anymore - relevant.
People slept on Climax's Dreamworks Dragons: Dawn of the New Rider, but it's a fantastic topdown Zelda-style game. I mean, I get it; it's a licensed kids game, and chances are it would've been horrible. But I nabbed that during a sale for practically nothing over one of the myriad holiday sales and gave it a download after looking at the trailer, and found it super enjoyable. I mean, it's from Climax - the Sudeki devs (which Microsoft really needs to make available via Backwards compatibility already), Silent Hill: Shattered Memories (the best western Silent Hill by a mile), Bloodforge, Assassin's Creed Chronicles, the cancelled Legacy of Kain: Dead Sun, etc. — they're clearly a good team and people should pay attention to their games. So yeah, Dreamworks Dragons: Dawn of the New Rider; a really great classic Japanese-style action-RPG a la Zelda.
Also, since I brought up Sudeki just now writing about Climax, there are two great games actually available via backwards compatibility: Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy and the FANTASTIC Beyond Good & Evil. If people haven't played those when they originally released on Xbox (and Xbox 360, because the BG&E version is the HD Remaster version from the 360/PS3 era), they're still worth checking out!
Does he not know there has been a female Doom Slayer since Quake 3? Her name was Crash. She was apparently the instructor to the original Doom Slayer, and served as the first character you run into who runs you through the tutorials in Q3A as soon as you start up the game.
Just put her in as a skin. Done. Bring back Crash, y'all.
I guess he's arguing that a female Doom Slayer in THIS gameplay style, focused on Glory Kills, would require differences in the actual playstyle? Make her a little faster, give her different animations for killing people because... y'know, Doom Slayer is a monster. Unless any new female Doom Slayer would be built like Nicole from Dead or Alive 4 (The female Halo Spartan), she'd probably have glory kills that were more acrobatic or something, rather than just ripping and tearing through dudes like a goddamn bear made of chainsaws. Kinda like how female pro-wrestlers rarely spear people compared to dudes, but do more moves like flying head scissors or something. If they're talking about stuff like that, that would require some thought... especially since a fighting style too crazy like that might be more disorienting in first person.
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Re: PSA: Balan Wonderworld’s Demo Is Being Delisted Today, In Case You’re Curious
I don't know why they didn't pull it after the first weekend. It did the OPPOSITE of what demos are supposed to do. They could've gotten MORE sales, without a demo, just from people blindly picking it up & hoping it would be as good as Billy Hatcher/NiGHTS 2/Blinx the Time Sweeper/Rodea the Sky Soldier/anything else Naota Oshima & Yuji Naka have done post-Sonic. Instead, the demo showed everybody that nah, this is WAY WORSE than anything those games did badly. Instead, by putting out the demo, they showed people like me (who IS a fan of Blinx and Billy Hatcher) that Balan is a turd that should be avoided at all costs.
It's just crazy to me to see any contrarian voices out there for this one, supporting it for some reason. I've seen a handful of youtubers DETERMINED to try and salvage the "good name" of Balan Wonderworld - the platformer that doesn't even understand how fundamentally important it is that your character should be able to jump at any time. Even My Life in Gaming was streaming this the other day and questioning if this is really that bad (though they did correctly mention that weird effect where people who hate a thing stop talking about it, but the people who convince themselves they love it don't, so over time a false positive reputation may appear for something like this as those wack-a-doos try to turn it into a "cult classic," ugh). Some people are capable of some truly crazy mental gymnastics, boy. It's kind of been fascinating watching this all play out, to be honest. Much more interesting than Square's last two complete misfires, The Quiet Man and Left Alive.
Re: Talking Point: Xbox Fans Really Want The Simpsons Hit & Run Made Backwards Compatible, Do You?
Yeah. I want many more Xbox1 games added to the BC list in general. And Hit & Run especially since it is pretty dang fun (I don't think any one Simpsons game is truly great, but this one is up there with EA's The Simpsons Game and Konami's Simpsons Arcade game as contender for best game to come out of the whole IP)... though I genuinely believe Hit & Run's had enough heat on it in recent years that someone will just try to get an HD Remake done a la Crash, Spyro, Spongebob, etc. sooner rather than later.
But yeah, whatever it takes to snap Microsoft back into BC mode. They have to get both MechAssaults on there, and Blinx 2, and Magatama (don't even translate it; I just wanna play it, I don't care), and Sudeki.... just dozens of other games. Heck, just Microsoft's OWN games even; I recognize it's tricky in cases where, like, third parties have plans of their own for the future of the IP, or where there's licensed cars or soundtracks involved (I don't expect Def Jam Fight for NY to ever become backwards compatible, sadly).
Look, I just want to see Microsoft throw some activity at backwards compatibility again. Especially since Sony's being terrible with their stuff at the moment and it's done a lot to refocus people on BC and game preservation right now.
Y'know how expensive physical games from the sixth gen are getting nowadays? Last two years have seen greedy collectors universally pump up the prices of old games to full retail at MINIMUM. And there's a ton now that are going for a hundred or more. The more ways there are to replay older titles in the modern day, FOR REASONABLE PRICES, and the more older titles there are to even access, the better it is for everybody. ESPECIALLY when there are whole genres of games being ignored now, and whole series' like the Simpsons who are pretty much out of action when it comes to game tie-ins...
Re: Power Rangers: Battle For The Grid Is Getting Street Fighter DLC, Obviously
RalphDibny's 100% right. This is actually a callback to N-Way's mobile title, Power Rangers Legacy Wars. So yeah, this is the not the first time Ryu's gotten his Ranger on. Though last time they had a sweet live action trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luI0jRMUjFo
This game IS really great though, and it's easy enough to keep jumping back into without having to run through the whole training mode to relearn techniques specific to this one game. I've found myself rolling off of games like Sam Sho or Guilty Gear because of that kind of thing, but I will keep coming back to Power Rangers whenever they add new characters.
I would LOVE to see them do more crossover cameos like this though. BOOM Studios' have done a bunch of good ones with the Power Rangers' comic over even just the past 2-3 years, and they're the studio who supplies the keyart for the story mode in this game. After their Power Rangers/TMNT event, it would be freakin' awesome to see the TMNT Rangers show up as future DLC. Their designs are pretty awesome.
Re: PSA: Thanks To An Easter Egg, TimeSplitters 2 Is Now Fully Playable On Xbox One
It's $6 right now on the Xbox Store. Yeah, I picked it up
Re: Xbox And Bethesda Mobile Developer Alpha Dog Working On New DOOM Game
You know what I would like to see? A "Mega Bloks Halo" style Doom game - remember that? "Project HAGGAR" as N-Space was calling it? The prototype that Microsoft shut down, largely because Halo was(is?) in a weird place with fans not too happy with 343's main games, so it was deemed not a good time to put out spinoffs? It actually looked like a really cool game; a nice third person shooter/platformer hybrid with tower defense elements in that you could drop/build various structures like turrets (kinda reminds me of Battalion Wars and/or Star Hawk). If anyone hasn't seen the Mega Bloks Halo, here's PtoP Online's video on it:
https://youtu.be/VZB8d11d9go?t=90
I wish that game happened; it legitimately looks interesting and fun. Outside of Splatoon, there aren't enough 3D shooters that look properly "cute" or "cartoony" like this, like a 3D take on Metal Slug sort of? At best you have that awful "overly corporate art" seen in titles like Fortnite, and that just sucks.
So yeah, I am not against the idea of a cutesy Doom spinoff on principle, but I would prefer a proper game over a mobile... anything. I think it would be cool to see a production like Haggar starring a cutesy, toylike DoomGuy/Doom Slayer rather than this mobile topdown title.
Re: Video: Here's Our First Look At Gameplay For Hot Wheels Unleashed
I like Milestone. When AAA devs are too busy making "Sim-cade" racers instead of proper arcade racers, Milestone's Gravel was a breath of fresh air - it actually felt like a proper Sega Rally. And it looked pretty great!
They may be a AA developer, but I'm interested in their racing games now; I'm quite looking forward to Test Drive Unlimited 3: Solar Crown and interested in this too. The driving model and drift model here actually look pretty nice and proper arcadey... though I wish it had more crazy stunt stuff. The gold standard for flippin' and spinnin' is, I dunno, like Rush 2049, Stunt Race 64 or Rumble Racing or something and I wish modern games would try to get that crazy.
It's weird that the background/skybox is so dank though. I get it, it's a basement or a garage or something, but c'mon. Who's playing with Hot Wheels in a torture dungeon? Locations should be set in a bright, vibrant bedroom or the backyard. There's promise here. Good on Milestone.
Re: Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection Producer Explains Why Online Multiplayer Is Not Included
Literally didn't even remember these games had online components. Axe 'em; just focus on bringing the excellent Sigma/Razor's Edge versions of these games together into a solid collection.
Re: Relive The Classic Alex Kidd In Miracle World DX On Xbox Series X This June
I'm so looking forward to this one! Grew up with Alex Kidd, and I was super shocked when this got announced last year, and LOOKED SO NICE! This is up there with Monster Boy as one of the nicest, cleanest, most vibrant, most unironically cheerful art styles any indie sidescroller has sported in the past decade - it's such a great treatment to give Sega's OG mascot monkey boy. Can't wait for this one to come out.
Re: Hands-On: Kaze And The Wild Masks Feels Like A Donkey Kong Spiritual Successor On Xbox
I checked out the demo for this a couple times, once on PC and once last year on the XB1 when Microsoft had that Summer Indie event (heck I still have that demo installed on my XBone)... I've had my eye on this for awhile. It's one of the relatively few modern indie sidescrollers that isn't lazy lo-fi pixel art, and instead seems like it could actually stand up next to 32-bit pixel art at least.
Kaze's sprite also reminds me of Buster Bunny from those old Konami Tiny Toons games
It's pricier than I thought it would be though, and when it comes to DKC replacements & successors, I've not finished (the also excellent) Yooka Laylee & The Impossible Lair yet, actually, and I nabbed that just a few months ago during an Xbox Sale. That titular Impossible Lair is no joke! I'm not exactly in a rush to start another game like that then, but I'm close to finishing Y-K, and once I do that, I'll take a look at Kaze again.
Re: Microsoft Highlights Over 20 Indie Games Coming To Xbox Game Pass
These sizzle-reel videos that ID@XBox's Youtube channel produce give me such an old-school "Jampack" or "Playstation Underground" feel. That kind of excitement you used to get from seeing all these game trailers and trying out demos before nabbing the full game... I really thought we were done with that after demos fell out of favor the past two console generations for the most part, and that sucked. But man, Xbox Game Pass has really emerged to be picking up the torch there in a big, modern way.
I'm so happy to see Microsoft being aggressive about signing indies & AA titles for the service, and gamers in turn checking out and going on to purchase those games. Having access to so much stuff just to give it a try has always had that effect
Re: Scarlet Nexus Gets 20 Minutes Of Pure Gameplay During Live Stream
I genuinely can't stand this format. I'm a fan of a lot of Japanese games, so I've seen it before, and I always hate it. I appreciate outlets like Gematsu putting in the time stamps, but by God, just put out a professionally produced "Guided Tour/gameplay" video that's, like, 4-7 minutes Bamco. I wanna hear the SFX and music from the game, not people blabbing over it. I want to see the actual sights, not some goon on the controls aimlessly wandering around in circles and into walls. These types of vids may be standard procedure for Japanese games, but my God, they do such a poor job of showing off the game.
It is looking pretty good though, from what I can stand to watch here. I'm happy there does seem to be a city to explore, despite catching some invisible walls/barriers. I was worried this was going to be very limited and hub-based, like God Eater.
Now I'll just wait for actual gameplay videos/trailers from Bamco's western marketing department. Their push should be ramping up soon since the game is launching in 3 months, just about.
Re: Resident Evil Showcase Returns Next Month With Some 'Surprises'
Dino Crisis gettin' the REmake treatment. Do it you cowards.
Seriously though (well, seriously, they DO need to reboot Dino Crisis. And Code Veronica for that matter; RE4 already plays like the REmakes. Code Veronica needs that treatment first, honestly) I'll guess they might have the first trailer for the new RE film starring a bunch of nobodies, but that is still super promising since it'll actually be a horror movie (instead of whatever bland action movie Paul W.S. Anderson wanted to badly rip off at the time)
Re: Necromunda: Hired Gun Brings Its 'Violent, Thrilling FPS' To Xbox This June
@RedShirtRod That's kind of the impression I got from a lot of reviews. Which is why I'm perfectly happy to wait for a sale (or Game Pass inclusion) before giving it a shot.
I think I got Othercide around the time it released instead? That game's cool as heck in terms of atmosphere, but it kicked my ass and kinda put me off the genre a bit for awhile. Just needed a break, y'know?
Though I'll look into Space Hulk now. Maybe Mechanicus too? I know there's no shortage of cool-looking Warhammer themed strategy games out there. Thanks for suggesting it.
Re: Necromunda: Hired Gun Unexpectedly Revealed By The Microsoft Store
I thought Hive Wars was a dope-looking strategy game, but it kinda got lost in the shuffle last year so I never picked it up. Or at least, haven't picked it up YET - I usually only nab a handful of strategy games a year 'cuz I don't burn through them quickly at all.
But an FPS in that world? Yeah, I can nab that anytime. A quality FPS isn't gonna clog up my backlog Real excited to see this get officially announced; this Warhammer setting looks cool as heck, and I think it's awesome that Focus Home Interactive is exploring it with some games.
Now all we need is a few D&D games that use the Spelljammer setting...
Re: Dark Alliance Delivers Fantasy Co-Op Action On Xbox Series X This June
I played Tuque's last game, Livelock, and it was fine. When this got announced, I was super uninterested in another isometric, bird's eye hack-and-slash romp. I know the tone of the trailers for this so far have been pretty different from a straight-laced D&D game, but y'know? It's got attitude. It's got personality. It's taking a swing here, and there's plenty of straight-laced D&D games out there, so I appreciate the fact that Tuque is trying to make their second game a lot more memorable than their first one.
I think the new properly third person camera & action looks way better than the old PS2/Xbox1 isometric Baldur's Gates by Snowblind too. It just looks way more intense and exciting now. Seriously, very glad that they're taking some chances here, since Livelock didn't light the world on fire and, let's face it, most people don't even know that twin-stick robot apocalypse-themed schmup even came out back in 2016. Hope this is a pretty solid game in the end. It looks like it could be a fun time.
Re: Panzer Dragoon: Remake Publisher Signs Deal With Square Enix To 'Release Several Remakes'
"...signed an agreement with Square Enix to create and release several remakes of games based on a single brand owned by a Japanese company..."
Why did they phrase it that way instead of "THE" Japanese company? Is it possible that they're not going to be remaking something from Square-Enix's catalog, but one of the Japanese companies they own, like Taito?
Re: Live Action Halo Warthog And Marines Spotted In Hungary
"It is entirely possible a live action trailer for Halo Infinite could also be in the works. But considering the show is being filmed predominantly in Hungary, the former is probably most viable"
Why couldn't it be both? You think they'd spring for different props for a live action trailer instead of just use the same stuff they have produced already for the show?
@OliverOwen It doesn't "ruin" anything for most people. If people are excited for something, they want to see it, that's it. Jeez louise. "Being surprised by something" is not a prerequisite for "Being excited for something." Heck, it's not like this is the first time we've even SEEN Halo stuff in live-action thanks to Neil Blomkamp's work, like, 15 years ago... and several trailers and shorts since. If it ruins the experience for anybody, it's their fault for looking at it when they themselves are the ones offended by spoilers
Re: EA’s ‘Highly Ambitious’ Game Gaia Has Reportedly Been Cancelled After Six Years
@Deadcow That's not a fair representation to Motive's Gaia developers though. Like at all.
They did work assisting on Battlefront 2. They did work assisting on, and then taking over, Project Ragtag, which was sh*t canned. And they did Star Wars Squadron... which was cobbled together from a larger Star Wars project that was also cancelled. And that's just stuff we know about - if anyone actually pays attention to the credits of various EA games, I wouldn't be surprised to see EA Motive involved in other titles over the past few years, but I know most gamers don't.
It's not like they were JUST f**king around with boxes for Gaia here. They were being pulled all over the company, told to work on random projects and to assist random teams who's work with licensed properties took priority over whatever new IP Motive were trying to cobble together in-between all that when they could.
Re: Halo's Live-Action Series Is Now A Paramount Plus Exclusive
"... said Paramount Plus was on the hunt for standout series and Halo "fit the bill" for the new service"
Well, the current era of Star Trek definitely isn't doing the job, so I guess I can understand it. It's weird that they still paste Discovery press pics on ads for Paramount Plus alongside anything else when they KNOW no one is buying the service to watch that. It had its chance to break out - either pleasing old fans or making new ones - and it totally failed to do that. Halo sounds like a much smarter choice; unless it's a complete disaster, the show has the potential to be one of those things like the Mandalorian and/or The Witcher in that people will talk about for FOMO, whether they actually care about the IP or not.
I don't care about FOMO impulses though. I'd much rather just not ever pay for Paramount Plus/CBS All Access. I'll wait it out until it comes out on Blu-Ray, just like I'm waiting out The Mandalorian
Re: Drew Murray Returns To Insomniac After Leaving Xbox Studio The Initiative
It's lame that the only news regarding Perfect Dark's big budget US reboot is the studio losing some talent. I mean it's meaningless because we don't have any idea what his involvement really was... or how he shaped a game WE HAVEN'T SEEN IN ACTION YET. Microsoft really announced this thing too early and should've waited until they had more stuff - well, ANYTHING - to show of a game that will release, in some form, at some point, in the future.
The next time we hear about PD, I hope it's some freakin' gameplay. I've heard - from David Jaffe's youtube channel of all places - that it's going to be a third person cinematic thing more in line with an Uncharted than a proper stealthy game or anything resembling Perfect Dark, and that would be lame. That's like what Ubi Soft has been saying for years about Spinter Cell; that stealth games aren't a big enough deal to justify a AAA budget or production. I want to see Microsoft make some effort to proving that wrong, but I'm keeping my expectations in check.
Just show the game next time, MS.
Re: Random: We're Feeling The Nostalgia With This OG Xbox Series X Skin
That is pretty high-quality stuff, but it looks weird being stretched out so vertically. Nothing you could do about it, it just looks weird. Still very cool!
I tell ya though, it would be easier to feel nostalgic if Microsoft un-suspended the backwards compatibility program and started getting more classic games available for the XBone and Scarlett. I mean, I understand that once you're launching new hardware, it's all hands on deck, so suspending it made sense (same reason why it makes sense that Sony didn't get a PSVR 2.0 ready for PS5 launch). But man, it's been a LOOOOOOONG time since the last update (that brought Unreal Championship 2 to the modern consoles, iirc), and it's a slow start to the new generation atm, so the time to restart it is now.
They still have so much more to go just to get THEIR OWN LEGACY GAMES compatible on modern Xboxes. Sudeki, Azurik, both Mechassaults, Blinx 2 (they have Blinx 1 but not 2?), any Project Gotham game (even if they have to swap out licensed music with generic stuff), Amped, Rallisport Challenge, Brute Force, Magatama (they could finally give it an International release), etc. And then it would be nice to get all those Sega exclusives there too - Gunvalkyrie, Jet Set Radio Future, Otogi 1 & 2, etc. I'll be very happy when Microsoft resumes the backwards compatibility program, I tell ya.
Re: Report Suggests Dying Light Developer Techland Is 'Bleeding Talent'
Sounds like a talented new studio might be on the horizon chock full of ex-Techland guys & gals...
Re: No, Sega Hasn't Given Any Support To The Crazy Taxi Inspired Taxi Chaos
I don't know why this rumor would even take root.
Between the recent Panzer Dragoon remake, Streets of Rage 4, Wonder Boy/Monster Boy/whatever, Alex Kidd DX, etc. Sega clearly has shown willingness to farm out their IP to indie studios... but like, they'll back it with the actual name of the series. As long as this ISN'T called "Crazy Taxi" than it's obviously not a Sega thing.
Weird.
That being said, I just want to say I really like that approach Sega is taking and hope they continue it when it comes to keeping some of their classic IP - the stuff they have no desire to work on themselves anymore - relevant.
Re: 10 Zelda Alternatives To Play On Xbox One, Xbox Series X
People slept on Climax's Dreamworks Dragons: Dawn of the New Rider, but it's a fantastic topdown Zelda-style game. I mean, I get it; it's a licensed kids game, and chances are it would've been horrible. But I nabbed that during a sale for practically nothing over one of the myriad holiday sales and gave it a download after looking at the trailer, and found it super enjoyable. I mean, it's from Climax - the Sudeki devs (which Microsoft really needs to make available via Backwards compatibility already), Silent Hill: Shattered Memories (the best western Silent Hill by a mile), Bloodforge, Assassin's Creed Chronicles, the cancelled Legacy of Kain: Dead Sun, etc. — they're clearly a good team and people should pay attention to their games. So yeah, Dreamworks Dragons: Dawn of the New Rider; a really great classic Japanese-style action-RPG a la Zelda.
Also, since I brought up Sudeki just now writing about Climax, there are two great games actually available via backwards compatibility: Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy and the FANTASTIC Beyond Good & Evil. If people haven't played those when they originally released on Xbox (and Xbox 360, because the BG&E version is the HD Remaster version from the 360/PS3 era), they're still worth checking out!
Re: Doom Eternal Director Shares His Idea For A Female Doom Slayer
What a curious thing to say or even bring up.
Does he not know there has been a female Doom Slayer since Quake 3? Her name was Crash. She was apparently the instructor to the original Doom Slayer, and served as the first character you run into who runs you through the tutorials in Q3A as soon as you start up the game.
Just put her in as a skin. Done. Bring back Crash, y'all.
I guess he's arguing that a female Doom Slayer in THIS gameplay style, focused on Glory Kills, would require differences in the actual playstyle? Make her a little faster, give her different animations for killing people because... y'know, Doom Slayer is a monster. Unless any new female Doom Slayer would be built like Nicole from Dead or Alive 4 (The female Halo Spartan), she'd probably have glory kills that were more acrobatic or something, rather than just ripping and tearing through dudes like a goddamn bear made of chainsaws. Kinda like how female pro-wrestlers rarely spear people compared to dudes, but do more moves like flying head scissors or something. If they're talking about stuff like that, that would require some thought... especially since a fighting style too crazy like that might be more disorienting in first person.