By Alec Meer on August 8th, 2011.
Murder Dog IV: Trial of the Murder Dog is Crime and Punishment as starring a homicidal, humanoid mutt who isn’t at all interested in moral justification for his thousands of remorseless kills.
It’s The Outsider, if Meursault actively enjoyed his act of murder (and was a dog).
It’s a libertarian rebuke of the modern justice system (starring a dog).
It’s a liberal treatise against the covert endorsement and use of violence by police (as made by a dog).
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By John Walker on August 8th, 2011.
I’ve had enough of the downright prejudice against Escape From Monkey Island. When I originally reviewed it for PC Gamer in 2000, I recognised what a superb adventure game it was. And replaying it eleven years later, it remains every bit as funny, clever and well constructed. Yes, Monkey Kombat sucks beyond belief and was a stupid mistake. Yes, the camera was often poor. But the adventure game it’s all in? Well, in my Eurogamer retro, I say this:
“The humour is just wonderful. It’s certainly a damned sight funnier than the first and third games in the series, making me laugh out loud a remarkable number of times. It’s a game that understands the basics, such as: ducks are funny animals. And the complicated, like… okay – there’s nothing complicated. But there’s a lot that’s clever.”
By Alec Meer on August 8th, 2011.
It’s Monday morning, and that means you’re probably in a mope. You know what helps with moping? Spending lots of money on items you don’t actually need. Perhaps sir would like a Kindle? A new phone? A suit that makes you look like Dr Who? A rare French cheese so potent that it causes pan-dimensional blindness within a three kilometre radius? Or, if you really want to push the boat out, the £130/$150/€150 The Elder Parchments V: Skyrim Collector’s Edition. £130! What delights it must surely, surely contain…
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By Jim Rossignol on August 7th, 2011.
A post on the EA forums has thrown a bit more detail into the blaze of speculation surrounding Battlefield 3′s failure to appear on Steam. While we’re still not precisely sure what it is in Steam’s terms of service that preclude its inclusion, it is, as many speculated, down to how Steam restricts DLC and patch distribution on their service. The author of the post explains: “EA offers games to all major download services. Unfortunately, Steam has adopted a set of restrictive terms of service which limit how developers interact with customers to deliver patches and other downloadable content. No other download service has adopted these practices.”
More on EA’s own policies appear here. I don’t think expect this will be the end of this particular power struggle.
By Jim Rossignol on August 7th, 2011.
Sundays are for wondering why the mysterious shoulder injury you somehow picked up in the week has not been fixed by two successive nights of boozing. Has ale really lost its magical healing properties? These thoughts are of grave concern. But oh well, you don’t need to be able to lift heavy objects to collect some of the more interesting bits of videogame commentary from across the interworld. Let’s see if any of those have healing properties…
Spreading His Dirty Seed
By Robert Florence on August 6th, 2011.
Hello youse.
So I asked myself, what do these PC freaks like? I made a list.
1. They like banging on about how great PCs are, because they’re insecure.
2. They like having to deal with DRM stuff and patches, and games not even working.
3. They like getting a sore back, sitting playing games at a desk, like a BUSINESS MAN.
4. They like buying Diablo 3, and supporting gold farming and oppression.
5. They like playing games where you click on little men and make them–
WAIT! We got something here. You like clicking on little men and making those little men do things for you. WE GOT SOMETHING HERE!
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By Jim Rossignol on August 6th, 2011.
Game Informer are doing one of their big, slow reveals for Borderlands 2, and some details have already begun to trickle out. The characters from the first game are apparently now NPCs in this game, and robo-host Claptrap will also be making an appearance. The new game will have a currency and resource system, based on an element called “Eridium”, and there will apparently be a big overhaul of the weapons. These will now be customisable and more visually distinct. There’s also going to be wider range of vehicles.
The biggest improvement, however, seems to be in the NPCs, who will be more dynamic in combat, interacting with each other and so on, and also moving about and interacting with characters in the world, which they entirely failed to do in the first game. It’s looking intriguing.
By Lewie Procter on August 6th, 2011.
I may be grumpy, and have a horrible cold this weekend, but that doesn’t stop the games from being cheap. Games are always cheap. For evidence of this phenomenon, consult with the constantly updated record of gaming value I keep over at SavyGamer.co.uk. You ponder these cheap games, and I’m going to crawl back into bed. Could someone bring me a Lemsip with a splash of Southern Comfort please? Read the rest of this entry »
By Jim Rossignol on August 6th, 2011.
Aha! I am not sure this video had surfaced while I was posting yesterday, but here it is anyway, below, via Bethblog. It covers Rage and the tech behind it, what Carmack thinks of the PC as a platform now, Doom 3 code being released, and lots of tech jabber about various platforms and games (even some mentions of Doom 4 tech) that you may or may not understand or care about. Nevertheless, one of our finest traditions.
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By Jim Rossignol on August 6th, 2011.
The internet’s appetite for dressing up as videogame characters and acting out the activities we usually play on screen is boundless, as is evidenced by this rather high-quality live action Team Fortress 2 video. It’s a familiar tale of sapping a sentry gun. The film was made by some chaps called Corridor Digital. Go watch, below.
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By Jim Rossignol on August 6th, 2011.
A few minutes ago I didn’t know, but now I do – that’s the magic of online marketing materials for The Old Republic. They’re not just entertaining, they’re educational! And when it’s your job to be an enormous nerd on the internet, as mine is, it’s good to know this stuff. I’ve posted the Jedi Consular trailer below, so that you can see it too. Being a Jedi Consular involves wearing very large shoulder pads, looking at glowing machines, deflecting energy bolts, and basically being a big old space wizard. Good times.
WARNING: The trailer auto-plays, for some reason.
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