Our Game Site / Online Manual / Devlog for our next game: "The Magic Toy Chest" has launched! You can visit it over here or by typing in http://magictoychest.blogspot.com. Visit the site for periodic updates leading up to the game's release. The idea is that the site will eventually encompass media, pictures, etc of all the trailers, levels, toys, etc present in the game and act as an online manual and player resource for new levels, hints etc. Definitely check it out for public alpha and beta testing of the game in the near future!
5. World of Goo - Gotta support the indie studio 2d boy. I've previewed this title and it has a solid premise/gameplay and interesting art. I'm very impressed that these guys are going to get this game on the Nintendo Wii - that could make it very successful.
4. Little Big Planet - This game could be a huge hit with an immense online community. It looks like a solid enough game, but looks to bring community features never before seen in a console video game.
3. Castle Crashers - This game is officially done (as of last Friday via the Behemoth's devlog). I am a huge fan of Dan Paladin's art style, love the 2d brawler genre, and am thoroughly impressed with the shear amount of content jammed into this game. I can't wait till this baby is released!
2. Killzone 2 - Probably the best looking graphics I've seen in a video game.... I liked the original, love the art style, and hope that this puppy lives up to the hype.
1. Metal Gear Solid 4 - the MGO beta was great (minus the registration), initial reviews for this game are coming in very high, graphics look incredible and it's being praised as living up to they hype and being the best in the series. I'm a complete Metal Gear fan so this is a no-brainer.
First Released: August 29, 1989 (USA) Gaming Era: 16-bit CPU: Hudson Soft HuC6280 Cost: $189.99 (w /Keith Courage) Sales: 2.5 Million Units (USA) 10 Million (Worldwide) Controller: Gamepad (1 port) Death: 1993 (TurboDuo in '92 Japan-Only 32-bit PC-FX in '94) Life: 4 years Best Games: Bonk's Adventures, Bomberman, Ninja Spirit
The TurboGrafx 16 was a joint effort of HudsonSoft (Bomberman Fame) and NEC. It was extremely popular in Japan (games were released through 1999) but fared poorly in the United States. While Turbo Grafx-16 claimed to be the first 16-bit console, this statement was utterly false. The Turbo Grafx 16 had an 8-bit CPU, though it did have a separate 16-bit graphics card and separate sound card. It was in fact a very compact console due to this efficient 3 chip architecture. Secondly, in the US it was not the first 16-bit console to the market (the Genesis was released 2 weeks prior). The start of the 16-bit era saw an intense competition between the Genesis and TurboGrafx. Ultimately, TurboGrafx older technology, lack of a 2nd controller port, and a lack of 3rd party developers led it to a very distant 4th place in North America. The TurboGrafx 16's cartridges were actually really cool. The cartridges were about as large as a credit card, but slightly thicker. The (really 8-bit) TurboGrafx-16 soon began to offer all sorts of expansions including the TurboCD and leading to the TurboDuo in the early 90s in an attempt to claim some share of the US market. This was all too late since the Genesis already had claimed victory, however this failed peripheral expansion was a mistake Sega would make as well.
Remember the Noid? He was that weird looking claymation mascot of Dominos Pizza. If you don't remember the company's mascot than you surely don't remember his NES game: Yo! Noid! The game was marketed towards kids (obviously...who else would be a fan of the Noid) but was a game so hard that it was unsuited for any kid without a Game Genie. Why was it so hard? Well, the Noid had no life meter and died with any enemy contact. That probably wouldn't be that bad if the Noid was equipped with a decent weapon, but alas the Noid only has a Yo-Yo to protect himself. The game was developed by Capcom and shares nearly all it's gameplay concepts (but none of its grahics) with a Japanese game called Kamen no Ninja Hanamaru (Masked Ninja Hanamaru). For some reason, I had this game and attempted playing it for about a day before it started collecting dust on the floor of my room. I gave it a second go around with a Game Genie, and cheated my way through the levels. The game never really left me with any semblance of fun and definitely serves as an example of a failed commercialization/localization/cartoon-tie-in video game project. Luckily this is one of the only such wacky game projects I have ever heard of.
Yo Noid is on the left, crazy Japanese ninja game is on the right
This is a quick video showing off the physics / gameplay engine for the Magic Toy Chest. The basic premise is to get certain toys into the toy chest using the toys in your toolbar. It makes more sense if you just watch it.
Best Games: Alex Kidd in Miracle World, Space Harrier, Strider, Shinobi, Penguin Land
The Sega Master System was pretty much a non-entity in the United States and Japan where Nintendo controlled 95% of the market. However, worldwide it was a moderate success which set the stage for the successful Genesis. In Europe, Sega smartly marketed the system in territories that Nintendos weren't available, and was a rival and competitor to the Nintendo (though it never surpassed it). In Brazil, they still make Sega Master Systems! It was an absolute smash hit and marketed and adapted to the territory expertly by Tec Toy. All in all, the Sega Master System was a mild success worldwide, but allowed Sega to learn and enter the video game market. Sega was able to learn enough to see widespread success with the Sega Mega-Drive / Genesis. Sega's Master System set the stage for the first official console war: SNES vs. Genesis in the 16-bit era of video games.
Here is the very first official screenshot for our next game: The Magic Toychest. The Magic Toychest is a physics based puzzle game where you must put away a certain toy. Obviously the magic toychest is the big blue chest that can hold a near limitless amount of toys. Look for more information on this game in the near future as we finish up developing the game and prepare it for release. Questions and Comments are always welcome.
5. Is chainsaw dueling really a feature needed in this game? In Gears 1, I always felt the first chainsawer won the battle and didn't really have any problems with it. Dueling is going to work well in multiplayer or make it a button mashing toss-up.
4. Control-wise and gameplay wise it doesn't look like much is changing. Still hold 4 weapons, Y still looks at stuff, aiming/firing mechanic looks the same, and stop-n-pop is still there.
3. Epic's playing it safe, but there's some new stuff in there: Holding a Locust hostage is very Metal Gear-esque and could be REALLY cool in multiplayer. There's also some new weapons in the trailer and the aforementioned chainsaw dueling.
2. Graphics are still very impressive- Yes, everyone in Gears is on Roids or HGH, but this trailer shows a lot going on and really looks to capture the feel of a human-locust war much better than the first Gears of War. Is it just me or is this type of gameplay with all the vehicles very reminiscent of Halo?
1. Campaign looks to be a lot more fleshed out and way better. Even in Cliffy B's intro, there seems to be more depth with the tactics and story surrounding GOW2. Hopefuly the dialogue and story will live up the action in these new scenarios.
Grand Theft Auto IV is now the biggest release in Interactive Entertainment, beating out Halo 3 by over 200 million in sales in the first week. It marks the first next-gen installment of the game and has been in development for well over 3 years. Was all of the extra time worth it? It is certainly paying off for Rockstar since GTA is not only a commercial success, but a critical success as well. It sits on MetaCritic as the highest rated game (99/100) for both Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. Is GTA IV my favorite game for Xbox 360 and PS3? Absolutely not, but that doesn't mean it doesn't deserve the praise.
Gameplay: 9.5/10 Pros: The core gameplay that made GTA III, Vice City, and San Andreas is still there. The Gunplay and targeting system finally works the way it should. Replaying missions is easier then ever (you receive a text message and can load up right after the mission intro) and paying for taxis makes traveling around the city much more convenient. The cell phone is a cool new gameplay and story device. The Story of the game is more mature in tone, but retains the signature humor of Rockstar. Oh and there's multiplayer. Cons: A lot of the missions in the first couple hours are very reminiscent of things done in the previous GTA games (watch over a deal and snipe from a rooftop, goto X and kill so and such, etc.). Multiplayer is a great first effort, but needs some work. The deathmatch type modes cannot compete with the Halos and Call of Dutys out there. A large opportunity was missed in Co-op..why not allow for the Bellic Cousins to progress through the campaign together?
Graphics: 10/10 Pros: GTA impresses in the details. Liberty City is one of the most cohesive and immersive video game environments, level, world that has ever been created. It even has it's own Internet! Transitions from indoors to outdoors are seamless (NO Load times). Rockstar's streaming technology has evolved leaps and bounds- the only significant load times are when you skip a taxi ride. Dynamic Lighting adds a lot to the game world, but the best has to be the Euphoria Engine (based off Oxford's NaturalMotion) which allows for amazing citizen interaction, ragdoll physics, dynamic animations, and truly makes Liberty City breathe. Cons: GTA IV still will not impress in screenshots or during cinematics/mission intros. Technically, GTA is a graphics marvel, but the characters that populate the bustling city still do not have the polygon counts of most other games out there.
Sound/Music: 10/10 Pros: Most impressive sound/music moment? Definitely when I was driving away from a hit and a News Broadcast mentioned my latest deed in my car radio. Why are the bridges throughout Liberty City closed? Well the radio tells you that's due to terrorist threats. The radio is as great as ever with even more channels. You could play GTA IV for 40+ hours and still not have heard every song, commercial, newsflash, and talkshow in the game. Add to this that the voice acting is better than ever and you have a pretty perfect aural experience.
Lasting Appeal: 9.5/10 Pros: Liberty City offers more to do than any GTA game before it. There's bowling, darts, pool, arcade games, internet dating, police computer hacking, car importing, street races, and more. That's all outside the multitude of story missions too and the hidden packages and one's quest for 100% completion. The Xbox version has downloadable content coming your way soon too. Bottom-Line is that if you love Liberty City, you'll have something to do there for a long time. Cons: For me, the longevity of a game is highly based on the quality and competitiveness of its multiplayer. GTA's multiplayer is fun, but hardly addicting. I have found myself playing a round or two and then coming back to the superior single player experience. I don't see people playing multiplayer a year from now on GTA or the MLG picking it up for its competitions.
Average: 97.50% Tilt: +0.50%
Grand Theft Auto IV lives up to the hype and brings a lot more to the table than I expected. There's plenty of room for improvement in the multiplayer sector of the game, but the single player is definitely one of the most engrossing yet. After playing & beating GTA III, Vice City, and San Andreas, I was actually thinking I was done with GTA and had little interest in 4. Luckily the reviews got my attention and I gave it a shot. The single player game is as engrossing as ever and the multiplayer is a nice addition. GTA IV deserves the praise and surprisingly lived up to the hype. Give Niko Bellic a chance.
Verdict: 98% (this review is based on playing the 360 version)
IronMan: the movie is pretty much already a resounding success. It opened this weekend to an estimated $100.8 Million bucks making it the second highest grossing non-sequel ever (right behind the original spider-man). I saw it and was thoroughly entertained, but don't make the mistake of buying into all the Iron Man merchandise.
After enjoying the movie, I downloaded and played Sega's Iron Man Video Game. While this was not the final product and only a demo, I can pretty confidently say avoid this game at all costs. The controls are extremely difficult (you'll be about as adept at flying as Robert Downey Jr. was at first in the movie) and the overall mission structure and level design is sparse and boring. Movie tie-in games have the misfortune of having to release on or around the movie's release date which always results in a rushed game. Don't expect Iron Man: the game to be any different. The demo is god awful and I wouldn't even recommend bothering to download it.
Here's a list of GTA4 Cheat Codes to help you out in the rough parts of Liberty City. These GTA tweaks and cheats will disable and block some achievements in the Xbox 360 version until you reload your game. All of these codes are entered on your cell phone. Hit up once to bring up the phone and up again to bring up the keypad. Enjoy:
227-555-0100 Spawn FIB Buffalo: 227-555-0147 Spawn Turismo 227-555-0168 Spawn Super GT 227-555-0175 Spawn Comet 625-555-0100 Spawn NRG-900 625-555-0150 Spawn Sanchez 482-555-0100 Health And Weapons: Blocks Cleaned the Mean Streets Achievement 482-555-0150 Weapons : Blocks Cleaned the Mean Streets Achievement 486-555-0100 Advanced Weapons: Blocks Cleaned the Mean Streets Achievement 362-555-0100 Health: Blocks Cleaned the Mean Streets Achievement 267-555-0100 Wanted Level Down 267-555-0150 Wanted Level Up 468-555-0100 Climate Change 227-555-0142 Spawn Cognoscenti 359-555-0100 Spawn Police Chopper 938-555-0100 Spawn Jetmax(Boat
Our Game Site / Online Manual / Devlog for our next game: "The Magic Toy Chest" has launched! You can visit it over here or by typing in http://magictoychest.blogspot.com. Visit the site for periodic updates leading up to the game's release. The idea is that the site will eventually encompass media, pictures, etc of all the trailers, levels, toys, etc present in the game and act as an online manual and player resource for new levels, hints etc. Definitely check it out for public alpha and beta testing of the game in the near future!
Remember the Noid? He was that weird looking claymation mascot of Dominos Pizza. If you don't remember the company's mascot than you surely don't remember his NES game: Yo! Noid! The game was marketed towards kids (obviously...who else would be a fan of the Noid) but was a game so hard that it was unsuited for any kid without a Game Genie. Why was it so hard? Well, the Noid had no life meter and died with any enemy contact. That probably wouldn't be that bad if the Noid was equipped with a decent weapon, but alas the Noid only has a Yo-Yo to protect himself. The game was developed by Capcom and shares nearly all it's gameplay concepts (but none of its grahics) with a Japanese game called Kamen no Ninja Hanamaru (Masked Ninja Hanamaru). For some reason, I had this game and attempted playing it for about a day before it started collecting dust on the floor of my room. I gave it a second go around with a Game Genie, and cheated my way through the levels. The game never really left me with any semblance of fun and definitely serves as an example of a failed commercialization/localization/cartoon-tie-in video game project. Luckily this is one of the only such wacky game projects I have ever heard of.
Yo Noid is on the left, crazy Japanese ninja game is on the right
First Released: June 1986 (USA)
