All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

Check out the full versions here (thanks Hero of Legend!)

Difficulty is the most important part of gaming. Too bad it's so misunderstood.

"They support the living sh*t out of it, and they support it really well," Capybara's Nathan Vella told Gamasutra when talking about Sony's free PhyreEngine. "Any of the parts that are inside Phyre that we didn't know how to fix or we had an issue with, they would fix it for us in a day. Overall, I think Sony's doing a lot of right stuff for small independent developers." Vella's praise echoes similar sentiments from other PSN developers, like Shatter's Mario Wynands. In addition to free development tools, Vella noted other benefits by partnering with Sony. Critter Crunch was promoted heavily on the PlayStation Network via the PlayStation.Blog, Pulse and banners on the PlayStation Store. Most importantly, though, Sony "treated us like we weren't a small nobody developer from Toronto." In spite of Sony's best intentions, though, Vella notes that sales aren't quite where they should be on the PSN. "It's still a fraction of what XBLA is doing, and we know that," he admitted. "But that's okay for us because they let us do what we wanted to do." Apparently what they want to do now is work on a zombie game.

We sit down with Capy Games and talk DS development, Clash of Heroes, and why indie game developers never get vacation time.

Three hours in, does the experience hold up?

The BBFC classification site lists a "Sonic Classic Collection" coming to DS soon. Normally, with these ratings, we'd be left to speculate as to the identity of the games on the collection -- however, the BBFC helpfully provided a list of games on the cart! According to the rating, it'll feature Sonic 1-3, plus Sonic and Knuckles -- with the ability to virtually "Lock-on" and play as Knuckles in the older games. Also included in the shockingly specific list of in-game content: Sonic Chronicles and "The History of Sonic" video content and the art gallery. We can only hope it turns out better than Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis on GBA. [Via Kombo]

The Empire's might does not extend far.

Your first look at Holyfield vs. Tyson as well as info on the new modes and boxers.

Having not played Renegade Kid's first survival/horror-FPS on the Nintendo DS back in 2007, Dementium: The Ward, I had few expectations going into my recent hands-on with the game's sequel, the aptly titled Dementium 2. I knew that the first game enjoyed critical acclaim for more than adequately bringing survival/horror tropes to Nintendo's handheld, and ultimately scored pretty well with reviewers, but ever since Metroid Prime Hunters I've been wary of first-person mechanics on the DS. Thankfully, when first faced with manipulating Dementium 2's main character, it became quickly obvious that the game's slow pace helps to account for any discomfort issues that might arise from the control scheme. Over the course of 45 minutes, I put together puzzles, traveled between two dimensions multiple times, and even fought a boss who tried to throw up on me from the ceiling (what a jerk!). Though its content and storytelling seems to be a carefully crafted amalgam of games from the three or so genres it mashes up (fps, adventure, survival/horror) - a handheld Half-Life meets Silent Hill on Monkey Island, almost - the time I spent with a preview build of Dementium 2 earlier today felt like the beginning of what could be a very interesting game.

Though yesterday's Sony investor's conference featured a concerning reference to the PSN's "new revenue stream from subscription," another slide from the presentation seems to indicate that the platform is already making money hand over fist. According to the slide (seen above), the company has set a lofty goal for the current fiscal year: It expects the PSN to bring in ¥50 billion (roughly $561 million) in revenue by the end of FY 2009. That's three times the amount of cash collected by the platform in the last fiscal year. Exactly how Sony plans to boost its revenues so drastically is outlined by other statistics on the slide. According to the company's calculations, the PSN currently has 33 million registered users, 1.4 million of which visit the PlayStation Store on a daily basis. We fall into the latter group -- but only because we can't stop window shopping for celebrities we can fling into oncoming traffic. We confess: It's one of our dirtiest, guiltiest pleasures. Source - "Media / Investor Conference - November 19th 2009" [PDF]

Our friends at Destructoid already showed you what The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks train whistle sounded like, so I thought I’d take a few more pics of the bad-boy.

Movie buffs need apply.

One of the best words in the English language sums up this free timed-arcade game.

You know, living rooms (or parlors, for you weirdos out there) are damn boring -- it goes double for outdoor patios. Luckily, System Flaw is attempting to address your home and its surroundings' severe deficiency in fun as one of the first DSi-only games. Utilizing the handheld's built-in camera, it populates your real-world locale with virtual enemies to shoot down in a kind of first-person shmup. It's an interesting concept, as you can see for yourself in the video past the break. [Thanks, RupeeClock]

LittleBigPlanet meets Mario Kart in Sony's fun-filled racer.

A good Mini at a good price? Someone check if pigs are flying.

LittleBigPlanet meets Mario Kart in Sony's fun-filled racer.

A good Mini at a good price? Someone check if pigs are flying.

Time for the motherload of spoilers for The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks. We have details on everything up through the second temple, so please don’t read on if you don’t want things ruined for you! There’s also some more multiplayer details for those interested. I’ll place the huge list after the [...]

Ubisoft chats about some of its favorite things in Assassin's Creed 2.

Space exploration has sure taken a violent turn.

Jump in a tank and give your enemies a really bad day.

The PS3 Beta is up and rocking in full force.

Square Enix begins countdown to the final trailer.

The Guardian reports that British Intelligence is looking for a few good men. Specifically, the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) is running ads on the Xbox 360 dashboard and within Xbox games to recruit new members. The GCHQ, which works with both MI5 and MI6 (yes, that MI6), seeks to recruit young people with an affinity for "quick thinking, problem solving and team work." GCHQ believes that these criteria are "reflected in game-play experiences on Xbox." We're expecting a new generation of foul-mouthed, teabagging James Bonds any day now.