All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

• Game Informer (90/100): "This polished, action-packed adventure has me ecstatic to see not only what's in store for the next 3D Castlevania, but also what talented developer MercurySteam does next. Don't let the deluge of fall releases or the 3D Castlevania stigma keep you from this amazing quest."
• Eurogamer (80/100): "In the future, we can only hope that a developer finds a way to deliver more of the core series components - of buildings that you piece together through exploration, of back-tracking that never seems like a chore. For now, though, even with a missing piece of that magnitude, MercurySteam has managed to deliver a game that's heartfelt, handsome, and quietly distinct."
• Gamespot (75/100): "The combat is great and the boss battles are quite memorable, but it degenerates when those core ideas clash--when Castlevania ignores what it does so well (action) for the sake of creating a more diverse experience."
• IGN (75/100): "Pretty much anything you would expect to find in a Castlevania game is not to be found here. But fans of combat-heavy action adventure games will have fun if they can excuse a lot of mindless button mashing and a couple technical issues."
• 1UP (B): "This won't replace Symphony of the Night as the oft-argued greatest Castlevania, but it should finally at least put to rest complaints that there are no good 3D Castlevania games. If Lords of Shadow sees a sequel, there are lots of important, obvious improvements that need to be made, but Mercury Steam proves that they're at least on the right track."

Hi everyone – Here’s this week’s update for PlayStation Store Digital Comics.

This is one hell of an update actually, and we’ve got it all this week – brand new publishers, brand new comics, and more of your favorites!

Wonder Woman returns with four new comics this week, issues #1 to #4 of Wonder Woman Vol.3, otherwise known as the “Who is Wonder Woman?” story arc. Amazon warrior Diana is missing, leaving Donna Troy in charge of the Wonder Woman mantle. But what happens if Diana returns, and when you have two Wonder Women?

We are also thrilled to introduce new publisher Twistory, who this week bring you three excellent new series: 13 Chambers, a beautifully illustrated fantasy/western series set in 1860s Far West; Dust, another little gem set in a WW2 gone wrong under the influence of new alien technology; and Dust Wars, sultry sci-fi with more of Paolo Parente’s beautiful art.

We also have more Batman for you (#664 to #666, in other words Batman & Son #6 to #8), more Silent Hill with all four issues of Silent Hill: Sinner’s Reward, 1960s Iron Man with five issues of Iron Man (1968), and much more.

Here is the full list of releases:

• 13 Chambers #1
• Atomic Robo Vol.4 #1
• Batman #664 – #666
• Betty #185
• Black Cherry Bombshells #1
• DMZ #24 & #25
• Donald Duck and the Count of Monte Cristo #1 & #2
• Dual #3
• Dust: Tactical Field Manual
• Dust Wars #1
• Fables #26
• Fractures #1
• Green Lantern #7 & #9
• Hulk (2008) #5 – #8
• Iron Man (1968) #225 – #229
• Kane & Lynch # 2
• Melody # 1
• Mystery Society # 3
• Powers (2000) #23 & #24
• Reya # 0
• Silent Hill: Sinner’s Reward #1 – #4
• Sonic Universe # 15
• Starcraft #6 & #7
• Superman/Batman # 31
• Supertron # 3
• Telara Chronicles # 0
• Victorian Undead # 6
• Welcome To Tranquility # 6
• Wonder Woman Vol. 3 #1 – #4
• Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper # 2

Here’s the full list and as always head to www.playstationcomics.com for more info or to view our full catalog and pricing.

Hi everyone! I’m the project lead for Double Fine’s newest downloadable PSN game, Costume Quest. If you haven’t already heard about it, I’ll give you a quick summary: Costume Quest is a Halloween-themed RPG in which you trick-or-treat through neighborhoods as a group of monster-fighting kids who can transform into super-awesome versions of their costumes.

If you’ve seen any of the latest online previews in the past few days and, you probably already have a basic idea about Costume Quest’s gameplay. Today I’m going to tell you a little more about some of the inspirations behind the game.

Homemade costumes

One of the main influences of Costume Quest was my own love for Halloween growing up, and the fantastic costumes that my mom would make for my younger sister and I – magicians and devils for me, princesses and brides for my sister. A couple of the real-life costumes that ended up making it into the final game were the Unicorn and Space Warrior.

Labyrinth

This 1986 film starring David Bowie’s crotch was one of my favorites as a kid. The Goblins (designed by Brian Froud) were a great reference for the enemy designs in Costume Quest, and the goblin city in the film provided inspiration for the monsters’ home world of Repugia.

The films of Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli

Ever since seeing “My Neighbor Totoro” while studying animation in college, I have been a big fan of Hayao Miyazaki’s films. His studio’s animation has a lot of beauty and subtlety to it – kids behave like real kids, rather than a caricature of children. When developing the look of Costume Quest, with its painterly backgrounds and cel-shaded characters, we often used Studio Ghibli’s films as reference.

The Legend of Zelda: Wind WakerM

I hate to admit that I’ve never completely finished Wind Waker – hey, blame the long sailing sections – but this is one of the coolest looking games I’ve ever seen. Its cartoony style has helped it hold up very well despite being made over 7 years ago. Even with their simple designs and lack of voice-over, the game’s characters are remarkably appealing and expressive.

EarthBound

Throughout the years there have been a few select games that keep me going back for replays. EarthBound, a Japanese developed, turn-based RPG released for the SNES in 1995, is one of those games. When planning Costume Quest’s neighborhood layouts, we studied maps of Onett (EarthBound’s opening village) and how they positioned their buildings and roadways for the locked isometric camera angle.

The unique, modern settings and quirky humor are what set EarthBound apart from other RPGs (enemies you face in the game are “Ramblin’ Evil Mushroom” and “Extra Cranky Lady”). Whenever I go back and replay EarthBound, I get a warm, nostalgic feeling, and I hope gamers will end up feeling the same way about Costume Quest.

Well, thanks for reading! Tim and I visited the PlayStation HQ recently to demo the game and that video should be going live on the PlayStation.Blog soon. Also, I’ll be sticking around after this post to answer any questions you have about the game.

Costume Quest will be available on PlayStation Network on October 19th for $15.

#newyorkcomiccon2010 Comic-Con comes to New York this weekend, and as the comic books and the video games stick together like Baron Zemo's face and Adhesive X, we'll be there. More »