Microsoft to Reveal New Console on May 21th

Hold on to your butts: Durango is just around the corner.

...Sorry, been watching a lot of Jurassic Park at work lately.

Microsoft announced last week that they'll be showcasing their newest console at a press event on the 21st of May, at their Redmond, Washington campus. A blog post on the playXBLA site states that the reveal will, "...mark a new generation of games, TV, and entertainment." The event will be live on SpikeTV, and streamed on Xbox.com and Xbox Live.

The next Xbox (codename: Durango), has seen some controversy recently, with the rumors of an always-online console making waves across the Internet (though there are new reports to the contrary). Microsoft themselves haven't said anything on the issue, but sources reporting to Polygon said that the new console will leave online DRM up to the publisher. 

Not too confident about this one so far. Does the world really need to be "always-on?" There are folks both here in the States and the world that either can't afford a decent internet connection or are somewhere with a bad reception - that sort of situation winds up alienating folks that want to play. On top of that, the SimCity meltdown and even the Comixology debacle show that there's no security for this sort of thing if there's a major issue. Unless the folks that want us to be "always-online" can find a way to lock down servers to the 9th degree, or come up with some other solution, then forget it.

Sources: [playXBLA, Polygon]

Robot Unicorn Attack 2: Can You Handle The Awesomeness?!

App Store editor’s choice of the week selected the most bizarre yet awesome game - Robot Unicorn Attack 2 (RUA2), developed by PikPok and [adult swim]. It is a sequel to the amazingly popular Adult Swim game Robot Unicorn Attack. In RUA2 you will control a robot unicorn which farts rainbow, charge it across a strange wonderland filled weird creatures. You will collect teardrops and robot fairy on your path, and you will also have to dash through obstacles like crystal stars and laser shooting monsters.

There are 2 worlds you can race through, and the layout will change every day in both worlds. There are multiple paths through the stage, each with a different set of obstacles. Occasionally, there will be giant unicorn whales and dolphins that swim through the air.

In RUA2 you can customize your robot unicorn by selecting from different bodies, horns, wings etc. You can also arm yourself with boost that you unlocked. And the most awesome part out of all is that you can FLY now!!

Robot Unicorn Attack 2 is available on App Store for free.

Satoru Iwata Becomes New NoA President, Cuts Up E3 Presentation

LIKE A...uh...erm...boss.

Well, you read that right. The CEO of Nintendo, Satoru Iwata, has taken up work as the new President of Nintendo of America. The former President, Tatsumi Kimishima, has been promoted to company shareholder. The news was revealed in the most recent financial support from the company, which is also seeing a sizable increase in downloadable game sales. Iwata, who also hosts Nintendo Direct, will ship over to Redmond, Washington for his new post. The current face of NoA, Reggie Fils-Aime, still has his job (if you're wondering), and will work under Iwata as the President and COO.

In addition to his new job, Iwata also revealed in an investor presentation that the company will skip a big presentation at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) this year. Instead, the focus will be on, "...a few smaller events that are specifically focused on our software lineup for the U.S. market." Of those events, one will be a media-focused event at the Nintendo booth inside the convention, where a small group of writers will be allowed to check out new games. A larger event is set for the Nokia theater, which will be more industry focused. Japanese fans won't be left out in the cold though, as the company will ship information on new games to them through he current Nintendo Direct format.

I'm okay with this, to be honest. The separation from business and software should make for a more direct (no pun intended) showoff from Nintendo, and should get the news out faster about new content. The only issue is, you'll have a much bigger audience with E3 than with the Nintendo Directs, as they seem to announce those mere hours before they're streamed. This should be interesting.

And at the very least, grab a tub of popcorn to watch Sony and Microsoft tear each other up.

Sources - [Destructoid, Joystiq]

Another Nintendo Direct Drops - Minds are Blown

Nintendo's "Direct" shows haven't been much of a let down, lately. Constant streams of announcements and surprises are always around the corner, even if you have to wake up at some forsaken early hour to catch the stream. This one is no different.

Check out the recording of the Direct above, and get excited if you're a proud 3DS owner. Diehard Earthbound fans, get hype, too.

Cart Life: Try it out

↑Click me↑

Cart Life is downloadable on the official website. There are freeware edition, and the everything edition, which you can have a bonus playable character, Vinny the bagel cart owner. 

Cart Life: Live A Simulated Hard Life

Cart Life is a 2D retail simulation game developed by Richard Hofmeier. There are three playable characters in game, each one of them have their own story, challenge, addiction and specialties. You have to control the character and overcome their struggles.

Cart Life has won the Seumas McNally Grand Prize and Nuovo Award in the 2013 Independent Games Festival.

One of the playable characters is Melanie Emberly, a recent divorce single mom who really cares about her daughter. She runs a coffee shop, and has to take care of her daughter at the same time. Her goal is to make at least one thousand dollars in sales by custody hearing on Monday. And because she cares about her daughter so much, she has the need to maintain a good relationship with her daughter.

The other playable character is Andrus Poder, an immigrant from Ukraine hoping to start a new life. He runs a newspaper stand that sells the local newspaper, The Georgetownian. He lives in a Motel with his beloved cat, Mr Glembovski. His goal is to find a place to live by Monday, and find enough money to sign the lease. He is a heavy smoker, therefore he will cough and constantly carves for cigarettes.

The last character is Vinny, this character only available in the Everything Edition, it can be purchase for $5 off the developer's site. He is the owner of a bagel cart, an excellent baker who can make a variety of bagels to sell. He’s addicted to caffeine, without caffeine, he will walk slower and fatigued.

I found this game refreshing since it didn’t aim for exciting gameplay, like any other usual game. It really shows the griping reality of life. The game came along with an awesome soundtrack, and a black and white 8-bit graphics. Some may dislike the black and white graphics, but I really like it, cause it sets off the monotony of everyday life.

There Once Was an FPS Called "Maverick Hunter..."

Image originally from Polygon

Polygon has put up quite the interesting piece on a canned first-person shooter starring a revamped version of Mega Man X. Codenamed Maverick Hunter, the game would have been developed by Armature Studios, who were a collection of folks from Retro Studios that made the Metroid Prime games. The game was scrapped after the father of Mega Man, Keiji Inafune, left Capcom.

The game doesn't look all that fantastic, but keep in mind that you're seeing a six-month build. But it was ambitious - a planned trilogy featuring Zero as the star in the third game. On top of being able to use enemy weapons temporarily (such as the above cannon), the same boss power steals from the original would have been there, with the ability for weapon combinations. It all sounds like a good time.

Check out the feature. Meanwhile, I'll continue to wonder just what the hell Capcom is doing with Mega Man.

Maverick Hunter: The Mega Man First-Person Shooter That Could've Been

Spy Party: Hey Guess Who's The Spy

Spy Party is a multiplayer espionage games, developed by Chris Hecker. In each game, you will either play as a sniper, who will be trying to find out that one spy who has blend in with a bunch of NPC in a cocktail party, or you will play as a spy who has to perform a few tasks in the cocktail party without being spotted. This game is still in early stage of development, but it had already gained a lot of attention.

As a spy, you will have to perform a few tasks in the cocktail party, such as bug the ambassador, switch statue, contact double agent… in a limited period of time, and be as inconspicuous as possible.

You can see the laser sight when the sniper is watching you.

As a sniper, you will have to try hard and spot any unusual behaviors performed by the spy that are not NPC-like, and shoot him/her with your one and only bullet. And because you have only one bullet, you have to be super sure when you pull the trigger.

This game is about human behavior, performance, perception, and deception. The gameplay is very creative and stimulating, in fact I have never played something like this before. I really think this game is going to be huge.

If you wish to play this game, you can sign up at the official website for Early-Access Beta, and pay $15 for the beta when they email you your confirmation.  

Nimble Quest: Line Up! Heroes!

Remember the game Snake from Nokia mobile phone? Nimble Quest is a game inspired by that classic arcade game. It is developed by NimbleBit, the very same studio that created the popular game Tiny Tower and Pocket Plane.

You will control a line of heroes, and each of the heroes possesses a special ability. As you walk along the map, you will come across monsters, and your line of heroes will help you slay them.

There are 15 heroes in total that you can control, such as knight, mage, archer etc. you can choose a hero to be the leader. There are also power-ups and buffs you can purchase before each game.

The idea of the game is quite innovative and interesting, the controls are really simple too. But if you want to survive longer in the game, there are also tactics you can refer to. For example, if the leader of the monster dies, the whole horde of monsters will be dead too, however the same principle applies to your line too. This makes the game more addictive.

NimbleBit can always make the most addictive games…

Nimble Quest is available on App Store and Google Play, for FREEEEE!

Project X Zone Arriving June 25th

Namco Bandai, in impressive feats of handling what was surely a licensing nightmare, has now posted a concrete release date for their crossover strategy-RPG, Project X Zone. The website for the game has pushed out a June 25th release date, but according to Joystiq, no official announcement has been made by the company.

Project X Zone brings over 200 characters from the Capcom, Namco Bandai, and Sega universes (amongst many others), into a flashy, deliciously combo-heavy game for the 3DS. Hopefully that date is official, and if so, expect to see stars from Street Fighter, Rival Schools, & Tekken enter the battle in a few months.

Source [Joystiq]

Call of Duty Fans, Your Championships are Live

The Call of Duty Championships are live and direct in Hollywood this weekend. $1 million bones are up for grabs as thirty-two teams compete in one gigantic room to see who's the best in Black Ops 2. You can see the stream over Xbox Live or Twitch.tv.

So There's an Injustice Demo Available...

And...it feels much like Mortal Kombat a la DC Comics. Not that Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe abomination of course, but something that's much, much better. The game has looked fantastic since an early gameplay demo was shown off last year, and now we've got a small build out in the wild.

Injustice: Gods Among Men is being developed by NetherRealm Studios, the folks that brought back Mortal Kombat. In it, you're looking at the same storytelling style as MK, with character-based chapters and seamless transitions from cutscene to fight. Superman leads a new world order after the Joker destroys Metropolis, and tricks him into killing both Lois Lane and their unborn child. Batman's insurgency is there to put a stop to it all, which causes the mass brawl.

There's no tutorial or direct explanation of the controls to speak of in the demo, so you're mostly just diving in and going for it. Wonder Woman, Batman, and Lex Luthor are all on board, and you'll take each one through a series of fights that end with a battle against Doomsday. It feels strange not having Superman on board (better him than Lex), but it's still a lot of fun.

Much like any fighting game available, you'll have a full movelist in the pause menu. If needed however, you can move a list of moves to the main fight screen to practice. It's a four-button system: three for light to heavy strikes, and one special button that brings out gadgets or changes stances depending on the character. For example, hitting the button for Batman will bring out three mini robot bats that can be shot at the enemy. For Wonder Woman, she'll switch from a Lasso dependent stance, to one that focuses on her sword and shield.



I'm pretty terrible at this so far, but other people have fared better with the combo system. I can see a lot of the MK crowd and DC fanbase looking into this one, so hopefully it does well when it comes out this Tuesday. The demo is available on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

This Guy Turned BioShock Infinite into a 3 1/2 Hour Movie

The quickness of the internet never ceases to please and entertain. A gentleman by the handle dansg08 has a knack for movie-fying (awkward) games into full fledged films worthy of the popcorn. Through his House of Cinematic Gaming, he's dropped that same treatment onto BioShock Infinite (which you should play now). Go take a look if you're desperate to play but without the means. Not as helpful as experiencing it yourself, but worth it for the tale told in Columbia.

dansg08's Channel