Those awaiting Capcom‘s upcoming action RPG, Dragon’s Dogma, will be disappointed to learn that publisher has pushed the game’s North American release date back to May 22. In a move that may soften the blow however, a demo for Resident Evil 6 will come bundled with the game.
Though both the XBox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game will include the demo, it will launch on XBox Live on July 3 and later arrive on PlayStation Network on September 4th.
This week you get the privelage of listening to Jessie, Modus, and Adam as they discuss the finer points of Star Wars, poop, and meat. Though not necessarily in that order.
[podcast]http://www.roboawesome.com/podcast/robocast024.mp3[/podcast]
Phantasy Star Online for the Dreamcast was my first “MMORPG.” It holds a special place in my heart. I had been excited when they made Phantasy Star Universe, but it was missing something. Recently though, SEGA has been working on a Phantasy Star Online 2, which obviously I am getting excited about. Hopefully it will be as good as the original, or at least better than Universe was. The game is currently only in Alpha test, but we have scored five great videos to show off what they’ve done so far.
My dad once told me something that has stuck to me to this day. He said “Boy, no matter how hot a woman is, remember someone some where is sick of her shit!” Such powerful words and I am pretty sure they can be used in this situation. I know there are a lot of Capcom fans and that’s fine. I realize that I am just one man and that my anger towards Capcom for their recent mockery of Megaman may be irrational, but dammit I am passionate about Megaman and this is the last straw for me. Basically, I believe it boils down to bad timing. Had the terrible box art Megaman spoof was around BEFORE all the other BS occurred, I’d be laughing it up with everyone else. Instead they choose the worst possible time. The video below is my response to Capcom for all that they’ve done. I hope you can at least see a little bit of the pain inside me.
"At least we didn't bring Sid Meier."
So SOPA has all but been killed. There’s still work to do and new bills just like this one could crop up at any time. Still, it’s nice to see the good guys win every now and then.
And I make no apologies for the title of this comic. That’s how I roll.
See you next week.
I CAN HAZ UR SOUL?
The Pokémon Company has announced that they will be releasing a special Mewtwo, one of the most powerful pocket monsters of the original generation.
Pokémon trainers worldwide will have an opportunity to obtain this extraordinarily powerful creature beginning on February 12th via the Nintendo WiFi Connection. In order to get your hands on this particular Mewtwo, you will need to have an English copy of Pokémon Black or White, a 3DS or any DS system, a high speed wireless internet connection, and you will have to complete enough of the main story to obtain the Pokédex in the game.
These WiFi events are a refreshing change from the previous brick-and-mortar ones, which forced large 30 year-old men (like myself) to hide in the corner of a game store, hoping no one would notice the DS in our hands as we downloaded the latest addition to our Pokémon collection. Now we can leave all of our Poké-shame at home, where it belongs.
When looking at my list of my most anticipated games of 2012, one would find a lot of the usual suspects. That new Tony Hawk game looks pretty sweet (especially if the original soundtracks make it in), Diablo 3 is going to be amazing, and whatever the hell Valve is up to is going to be a day one purchase. However, I made the list while kind of drunk, so I’m really confused about this one entry. It is called “Nomolos” and next to it, I drew a tiny doodle of a cat in armor humping an old NES and saying “You never forget your first”.
Curious about this poorly animated mystery, I found a business card from a small team called Gradual Games. Ah, now all the blurry memories come flooding back. I remember a small, unassuming table with a single monitor, 3 eager, tired developers, and a demo for an upcoming NES action game.
Yes, that’s right, an upcoming NES action game. Yes, that NES. Nomolos is a totally original action platformer in the vein of classics like Ninja Gaiden or Castlevania. Except, it’s not just an homage to classic games, it is a classic game. Gradual Games has built the entire game from the ground up using old NES assembly language. They expanded the memory from 128k to 256k, but other than that, the game will see a physical release for the Nintendo Entertainment System.
So, putting the novelty of an actual NES game coming into the world, how is the game itself? Can it live up to the hype of being the singular NES release of 2012, or is the whole thing a gimmick?
It’s totally awesome.
I got to run through two levels and a boss battle, and so far, the game is shaping up to be stellar, and on it’s own merits at that. The gameplay is everything that was right with NES games of the era, with a bit of modern design philosophy to temper the “Nintendo difficulty” that prevents so many younger gamers from enjoying classic games. The controls feel tight and less floaty than most of the games from the era, and the deaths, though frequent, never feel unfair. Masochists and Super Meat Boy fans will not be disappointed if my demo was any indication of the challenges to come.
The art is a gorgeous trip down memory lane and really stretches the hardware available to its limits. Every sprite is amazing and the artist obviously has a firm grasp on how to emote on a tight pixel budget.
Talking to this new studio was the icing on an already tasty cake. Each member seemed really passionate about the game and the role that they played in making it. Their energy was infectious and really made the demo experience all the more gratifying (and each new level nervewracking). It is obvious that this project is made with boundless love for the games of yesteryear and if even a fragment of that gets into the final shipped product, it is going to be time to dust off that NES.
Check out the trailer and gameplay footage below.
Nestled in the center of Tokyo’s bustling Shinjuku district is Cap Bar, Capcom’s new joint venture with karaoke chain Pasela. It’ll have game kiosks, merchandise, and a Capcom-themed food and drink menu. Here are the teaser photos of the menu release by Cap Bar, my favorite being the Resident Evil ‘Brain Cake’.
Horrifying? Yes. Tasty? Maybe. Awesome? You’re damn right.
Cap Bar opens in Tokyo on January 25th.
via Joystiq
Magfest 9 was a landmark event in my life. It took my con virginity, but it still called afterwards. I met a lot of really cool people in January 2011 from all around the country. It was a small intimate con of 3,100 people stuffed like a sausage into an undersized venue overflowing with alcohol, poor judgment and a 24 hour elevator party.
Magfest 10 was like someone took that ragtag con with the amazing energy and gave it a budget. It’s easy to screw up something when you have a lot of money riding on it. After all, with a new venue, bigger ambitions, and more than double the previous year’s attendees, the Magfest guys had a lot of pressure to bring the sexiness.
And bring it they did.
Left 4 Dead Cosplay Requirements: Be black, own katana.
Magfest 10 kept everything that was great about previous years and just made it bigger, better and louder. Glados and the Sniper from Team Fortress 2 made some incredibly memorable appearances, there were more free to play video games than can be truly comprehended (including a actual full-sized Taiko Drum Master cabinet) and an incredibly rare performance by the musical genius Nobou Uematsu (Final Fantasy and Blue Dragon) and his band: the Earthbound Papas.
Add on top of that the dozens of panels and 3 nights of concerts featuring The Oneups, The Megas, Armcannon, Metroid Metal, Brentalfloss as well as a dozen chiptune artists, a giant LAN center, more awesome swag than one geek can handle, a dedicated tabletop section and even a persistent Jam Space for musicians, this con had a bit of everything for everyone. I have failed to mention all of the non-sanctioned room party fun, but what happens in Washington D.C. should probably just stay there.
2 of the hundreds of dedicated cosplayers wandering around Magfest.
It’s almost too much. The difference though between Magfest and other larger cons is that it strikes the a really good balance between stuff to do and being totally open ended. Panels featuring the Angry Video Game Nerd, Hey Ash Whatcha Playing and Ellen Mclain were scheduled opposite of concerts so that attendees weren’t forced to divide loyalties too much. Though I did have to choose between going to a voice acting panel featuring a handful of amazing, talented working voice actors within the videogame industry and playing Taiko Drum Master over and over. In the end, I chose to go hang out with Glados, but my heart was in the game room.
The attention to detail in this costume is just really astoun...I'm not staring.
That’s not to say there weren’t downsides to all this new found popularity. With double the attendees, lines were noticeably longer all around, and every major event was lost in a swarm of eager nerds. The con is sure to lose fans for a less personal, less intimate feeling.
Not me though. Magfest has become an absolute must on my yearly activity schedule. The more the merrier, and they heard our merriment for miles around. Magfest has a unique soul that I haven’t found a substitute for as of yet. The people there are really pumped to be there and everyone comes together to celebrate that one great passion that unites us all: video games.
