#impressions
I've never seen combat, but I've heard it said that it is hurricane bursts of life-and-death activity bridged by an indescribably tense boredom. EA DICE miniaturizes this model in an grimly realistic presentation of war for Medal of Honor More »
At some point, every Civilization player has uttered the words: "Just one more turn." But, we all know that sometimes enjoyment of Civ can turn into addiction. For those who really need to learn that "one more turn" is already one too many, there's the CivilizationAnonymous support group. Find an informational video about the organization after the break. Mainline Civilization V on September 21.
Our preview of Hydrophobia from E3 2010 covered what we saw in the first installment of the planned trilogy; however, if you want an idea of what to expect in the next installment, we got a better idea by checking out the game's "Challenge Rooms," which unlock only after the player finishes the main campaign. What's tucked after the break may be considered spoiler-ish, so click on through if you're willing to take the plunge.
Nobody puts the Wii in a corner, except Harmonix that is! Speaking to Kotaku, Harmonix's Alex Rigopulos intimated that the company's upcoming Kinect title, Dance Central, might raise the roof on PS3. Should the game shake its groove thing on PS3, it will be doing so with the help of PlayStation Move. The Wii, unfortunately, will have to sit this dance out, as Rigopulos noted that its motion tracking capabilities aren't up to snuff.
Of course, it's not like the Wii is a total wallflower. After all, people have been Just Dance-ing on Nintendo's diminutive console since 2009, with an encore performance expected this October.
#rockband
With her latest album, Can't Be Tamed, hitting stores this week and a kick-off concert on Monday, Miley Cyrus sat down with MTV to talk about just how very rad Rock Band is now that it includes her music. More »
Nintendo enjoys breaking conventions. Disruptive ideas have been part of the company's heritage, and while some innovations set industry standards -- from the D-Pad to motion controls -- other ideas seem different for the sake of being unique. Case in point: Nintendo's implementation of online in both the Wii and DS. In an interview with IndustryGamers, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime admitted that the company has shortcomings in that arena. "The online ... or let me state it more broadly, the digital area is an area where we can improve, and we've made a commitment to dramatically improve in that area."
It may be too early to celebrate the death of friend codes, though. In typical Nintendo fashion, the company won't be following the models created by Microsoft and Sony. "I can just about guarantee [our plan] is unlike anything that our competitors have done to date. The reason for that is it wouldn't be innovative, it wouldn't be distinctive, and therefore, it wouldn't be Nintendo ... Our approach will be to enable the consumer to discover our digital content much more easily."
It's hard to imagine a service that offers a drastically different experience from PSN, Xbox Live, or even Steam. Let's hope that Nintendo's desire to appear innovative in the online space results in something more akin to the 3DS and less like the Virtual Boy.
#mac
The rollout of Valve classics to Mac OS continues this week with oldie-but-goodie Counter Strike: Source, which in addition to getting a "major update" is on sale the next two days for $6.80. More »
The latest Famitsu has an interview with Square Enix producer Tetsuya Nomura about Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded, the game originally leaked by a voice actor and then officially announced at E3 last week. The title is indeed a remake of the mobile phone game from Japan -- Square Enix found that none of the phones required to play the game were sold in North America, so it decided to bring it to the Nintendo DS instead. The hardware will bring 3D models into some parts of the game, and the battle system will be different, incorporating some elements from 358/2 Days, though Nomura says it will be more casual than that game.
And the extra development time will allow Square Enix to sneak some more characters in, too, including Final Fantasy XIII's Lightning. Which sounds great to us -- in fact, we'll take anyone but Hope. Man, Hope is really annoying.
We’ve known for awhile now that Killspace has two projects in the works, but just recently they’ve filed the ‘Necromancer’ name. No word on which of the two projects is getting this name, nor do we know the platforms involved. I guess we’ll find out those details when Killspace is good and ready [...]
What's the biggest change being made for Bungie's final Halo game? Some would argue that the visuals, powered by a brand new graphics engine, make the greatest impact. Sure, Halo: Reach looks better than any Halo before it -- but that's not what I was taken aback by. Others would argue the lack of Master Chief makes Reach feel different from its predecessors. Yes, the Spartan-III jumps a bit differently, but that doesn't define Reach's new emotional direction. No, the biggest game-changer is this: the Covenant don't speak English.
Before you angrily hit the "Back" button on your browser, hear me out. In the previous Halo games, the Covenant were like movie villains; they could even quip one-liners at you. Some would even squeal, comically, as they ran away from an overpowered Master Chief. However, because Halo Reach isn't a story about a triumphant victory -- rather, a tragedy against an overwhelming alien force -- Bungie was left with a challenge: how do you reinvent the Covenant -- familiar to a generation of Halo gamers -- and make them threatening again? You make them truly alien.
While it may seem like a rather cosmetic change, this creative decision represents a maturity in Bungie's storytelling abilities. The developer wants you to take the story seriously -- so much so that the flaming helmet included in the $150 Legendary Edition can't be used in the campaign. (Apparently, having someone's head on fire in cutscenes drastically reduces its gravitas.)
#progressperhaps
Russian President Dimitri Medvedev joined Twitter today. Why? Maybe because, according to his Twitter feed, he visited Twitter HQ. And then went to Apple, Tweeting this image. Naturally, Barack Obama has already Tweeted at him. Medvedev is now following Obama. More »
At 8:00 PM EDT tonight, our friends at The Engadget Show will broadcast a live episode featuring Jimmy Fallon and special guest, Microsoft's Kudo Tsunoda. The subject? Microsoft Kinect, of course! (In addition to iPhone 4.) Check out the live stream after the break!
#apb
That's police-scanner speak for "Be on the lookout" for Realtime Worlds' E.J. Moreland and Chris Collins, discussing their cops-and-robbers epic APB on Kotaku Talk Radio, available now for download. Did we mention APB's also an MMO? More »
Being a giant, beloved video game site has its downsides. For example, we sometimes neglect to give independent developers our coverage love (or loverage, if you will) as we get caught up in AAA, AAAA or the rare quintuple-A titles. To remedy that, we're giving indies the chance to create their own loverage and sell you, the fans, on their studios and products. This week we talk with mif2000 (Deins Galanin) about how he turned the unlikeliest of IPs into a point-and-click PC adventure called Hamlet.Joystiq: How did you or your company get started?
Deins Galanin: Before I became an independent developer, I spent five years working in a Russian game development company, where I helped develop a number of commercial games. (Some of them are very popular in Russia, but almost unknown in the west.) At a certain point, each developer faces a tough moral choice: either do what you're told to do, or do what you want to do. I chose the latter and became an independent developer.
George of the Jungle better watch his *crag*ing back.