All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

Not so sweet at all.

Though public opinion is almost unanimously against Ubisoft's current DRM solution, which forces players to have a constant internet connection in order to play the PC versions of the company's games, Splinter Cell: Conviction creative director Max Béland recently voiced his support for the anti-piracy protocols. "We consider that protecting our PC games is vital to our business and will allow us to continue investing in the development of creative and innovative games on the PC platform," Béland explained in an interview with VG247.

To Béland's credit, Ubisoft's new DRM scheme -- which Conviction will implement when its PC iteration hits store shelves April 27 -- has proven very effective at "protecting" the company's PC games. Seriously, we hear they're hard to get into. Like, really hard. Really, really hard.

[Via Big Download]

#ohboy Granted, the source of this report is the UK tabloid The Star. However, a woman who blames the Wii Balance Board for her needing sex 10 times a day isn't likely to be profiled in The New Yorker. More »

A portion of a WiiLoveIt review… Electroplankton Sun-Animalcule isn’t quite as impressive as some of the other releases, but if you’ve never experienced it before, this isn’t one to disregard either. Full review here

Michael Pachter described the March launch of Nintendo's latest handheld, the Nintendo DSi XL, "solid." Considering it outsold both the PSP and PSP Go combined, we're inclined to agree.

According to NPD figures (via Gamasutra), the DSi XL sold 141,000 units in March, besting PSP's combined 120,000. Even more impressive is that this figure only accounts for four days of sales; the DSi XL was released on March 28th. The tremendous success of the equally tremendous device confirms that there truly is "room to grow" for the DS market.

#clips Did you happen to catch musically gifted chiptune artist Doctor Octoroc's 8-bit reinterpretation of Joss Whedon's musical internet phenomenon Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog? Did you love it? Good news, the Horrible retro saga continues! More »

A portion of a C3 review… Super Yum Yum Puzzle Adventures is able to stand proud amongst its DSiWare counterparts in the same genre, offering a seemingly basic colour-matching gameplay mechanic, but proving to actually be a deeply engrossing, highly engaging puzzle-strategy piece of entertainment that all DSi owners should try out.

Avalanche has been around in the industry for quite some time now. They were plugging away on all sorts of titles that I’m sure you’ve played. From the Doom SNES port to the Tak series, Avalanche has had their hands in all sorts of titles. It’s surprising to see just how much [...]

Next Friday, Gameloft's DSiWare port of Earthworm Jim will be available on DSiWare in Europe for 500 points. Nintendo of America hasn't made any announcements about a release date, but this opens the slim possibility that we could see it in North America next week as well!

It's not exactly Earthworm Jim as we remember: Nintendo of Europe's info page for the game reveals that, in addition to what looks like a faithful port of the Super NES game, the DSiWare version has " facial-expression-based challenges" that require you to make a particular face at the DSi's camera.

Hopefully every single challenge will require a "simultaneously frustrated and delighted" expression, because that's the face we all make unconsciously while playing Earthworm Jim.

From left to right, Franz Lanzinger (Toobin’, Ms. Pac-Man), Steve Woita (Super Sprint, Police Academy) and Mark Morris (Hard Drivin’, 007: License to Kill) discussed the environment at Atari Games in the late 80s and early 90s, programming techniques of the time, the spirit of independent game development, and many more topics that may or [...]

#sports Last year's NCAA Basketball 10 rendered its games in the broadcast style of CBS Sports and ESPN. That game died but the concept survived; NCAA Football 11 will deliver ESPN's college football package of graphics, wipes, themes and more. More »

2K Marin's surprise announcement of an XCOM reboot upset a number of purists. "I'd rather have something that played like X-Com ... than a generic first person shooter with the X-Com name clumsily stapled on," one of our commenters chimed in. If you agree with this sentiment, Goldhawk Interactive has an appropriately-timed announcement for you.

Xenonauts is an indie-developed, PC-only game that's meant to be a spiritual successor to the original X-Com, described as "neither a sequel to X-Com, nor a remake of it ... it shares the same core mechanics that made the original so compelling." Like its inspiration, players will take command of a global organization that must defend the planet against alien invasion. The "planetary defense simulator" will have you constructing bases, managing budgets, and engaging in turn-based squad combat.

Goldhawk's Chris England explained in a press release that "we were a bit put out when 2K made their big announcement," as it may have stolen some thunder from today's announcement. However, England believes this is now actually an "opportunity," allowing the team to "capitalize on the general sentiment that the new X-Com game should be a strategy game." Does this announcement appease those of you burned by 2K's FPS reboot?

Hard to say, harder to play.

#castlevania While developer Mercury Steam and Hideo Kojima whip up an all-new Castlevania console adventure in Lords of Shadow, what is the core Castlevania team up to? Maybe Castlevania: Harmony of Despair? More »

#clips I suppose it was inevitable. More »

Ubisoft's chosen method for distributing the bonus materials in the Splinter Cell: Conviction collector's edition, didn't work out due to defective USB drives. Therefore, rather than hiding the bonuses inside a stealthy card-shaped disk, Ubisoft is taking the direct approach, allowing you to just download them yourself. Which means that those of you who bought the more expensive version saved $10 for the trouble of having to wait just a few days.

Best of all, you don't even have to have the collector's edition to take part in this offer! Just click here. Now you're downloading screenshots, concept art, making-of video, and more! You're a collector!

[Thanks, MLC!]

#nintendo Shigeru Miyamoto, the legendary Nintendo game designer behind classic series like Mario and Zelda, is nearly 60. Which for most people is approaching retirement age. Not Miyamoto! More »

An N64 epic returns on Virtual Console, ready to save a second strategy-starved system.

One of the greatest DS games ever is getting a phenominal sequel.

Save the sea!

#blizzard While naysayers may think corporate greed is the answer, Blizzard tells Kotaku the real reason World of Warcraft mounts have shown up for sale in the company's online store is because that's exactly what the players wanted. More »

#review For me to review Espgaluda II, this thing, this manic greatest-grandchild of the Galagas and Space Invaders with odd soundtrack and as many bullets as there are water droplets in a fire hose, might be like a vegetarian reviewing meat. More »

Does Atlus do retro right in its Zelda-like adventure?

This game is really hard, watch us die.

Too sweet!

Expect #SEM_DL to become a trending topic in Japan. Why? Square Enix is asking Japanese fans to submit their top three most wanted PSone classics on Twitter using the aforementioned hashtag. While Japan has a larger selection of classic titles on PSN already, there are some notable omissions. Fans (like the one above) have pointed out Chrono Cross, Dragon Quest VII, and Legend of Mana as some of their most desired games.

We're certain fans in America and Europe would love to take part in a survey like this. Until Square Enix decides to gauge our interest, why not submit your ideas to our comments section?

[Via Siliconera]